A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Amamiya Files! With any luck, this chapter should be the final chapter for the Phantoms Awaken arc! Next chapter will finally be the start, with any luck, of the second arc of the game, The Kitsune Artist! Again, that title is subject to change. I'm not sure to be honest if the term kitsune is synonymous with the word fox, but I think they are. And after running a quick Google search, I can in fact confirm that foxes and kitsune are one in the same so yeah the title of arc 2 is officially The Kitsune Artist! That said, let's get the disclaimer over with.

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does not own the Persona series in any way shape or form (aside from the OC Kusa/Draconis, who he created and thus does own), and any actual credit for owning the Persona series belongs with Atlus, Sega and to a point Koei Tecmo! So credit to them for owning the Persona series.

And with that disclaimer out of the way, on with chapter 12!

Chapter 12: A Heart Changed! Rise of the Phantom Crew! Phantoms Awaken part 12

(After school, in Ren's classroom, with Ren and Morgana, neutral POV)

After looking around, Ren noticed Mishima still sitting in his desk and walked over to talk to him.

"Hey, been a bit since our last chat, Mishima-kun. How's it hanging?" Ren asked Mishima who looked up and spoke up in surprise.

"Oh, hello there Amamiya...I never thought it would end up like this...Mister Kamoshida hasn't been coming to school lately...What does this mean for us...?" Mishima asked Ren who shrugged before speaking up.

"Honestly not sure of the answer to that either, Mishima-kun. Probably we'll have to wait and see what happens at the board meeting." Ren said. Mishima nodded and waved to Ren as he walked off into the hallway to ponder what to do. After a bit, he decided on going and following up on his last visit to the doctor who had agreed to sell him medicine for the group, figuring Morgana was right about needing to keep a good relationship with her. However, before that, he sent a quick private chat to Kusa.

"Just letting you know, I'm going to be working on forging another Confidant link so I might not be able to do much with you today, Kusa. Hopefully you have plans of your own to keep you busy." Ren sent, waiting for a short bit before getting a response from Kusa.

"That's fair, Ren. Ann asked me to go with her to visit Suzui-san anyways. So I said I would. Have fun with that Confidant, but don't have TOO much fun." Kusa sent as Ren shrugged and put his phone away. After that, Ren walked over to the clinic, Morgana snoozing away in his bag as he walked. Once there, he walked up to the counter where Takemi looked up and spoke up as she noticed Ren standing there.

"What are you here for today?" Takemi said to Ren, who pondered his options for a bit before speaking up.

"I heard some stuff about you, and I feel the need to ask, and you can tell me no or to mind my own business if I'm overstepping by asking this, do you carry any sorts of 'special' medicine?" Ren asked Takemi. Takemi blinked at the question before speaking up.

"Huh? ...Oh, now I remember. You're the kid who was at Leblanc. Regular medicine won't do the trick?" Takemi asked Ren who thought about it before replying.

"First of all, I recall mentioning to you the other day when I was last here that you'd seen me at Leblanc so I'm surprised it took you this long to remember that. That aside, I have my reasons for needing the extra medicine..." Ren said, trailing off near the end of his response. Takemi gaped at Ren for a moment, whether in shock at how boldly he was speaking to her, or in disbelief at what she was hearing, Ren wasn't sure. Eventually, she spoke up again.

"Very well...Just head into the examination room for now." Takemi said to Ren, who did as told, Morgana poking his head out of Ren's bag to listen in on the conversation. Once he was inside, Takemi locked the door as she looked at Ren.

"That 'medicine', huh? What are you trying to do!? And just which conversation of mine did you eavesdrop on to hear that?" Takemi asked Ren, giving him a disapproving glare as she spoke, hoping to convey how unimpressed she was with him at that moment. Ren blinked at her comment, surprised she knew about him eavesdropping on her the last time he was in this building. Takemi then smirked at the shocked look on Ren's face as she spoke up.

"It was obvious, actually. You call that hiding? Not that I care, of course. I was going to dispose of that medicine anyway. I got a little too carried away with it. But tell me...why would a high schooler like yourself be so interested in that medicine?" Takemi asked Ren who blanched, trying to come up with a good reason for needing the medicine as Takemi kept speaking, amused at how much she was making Ren seem to squirm as she spoke.

"It's very strange, indeed. You don't seem to be athletic, so...What exactly are you up to?" Takemi asked Ren, who finally spoke up after pondering his options a bit longer.

"Honestly? I'm hopeful that this 'medicine' of yours can help improve my studying habits, or at the least give me extra brainpower, something like that." Ren said. Takemi blinked at Ren's response before speaking up in confusion.

"Studying...? Oh, for your entrance exams? So you're looking to improve your concentration and reduce fatigue? Hm, that's not the best idea. But, if that's what you want to do...Then good luck with that." Takemi said as she unlocked the door and fixed Ren with an unreadable look as she kept speaking.

"Take care. I have no obligation to help you with that. Why don't you have an energy drink or something?" Takemi asked Ren who frowned at the question as he spoke up.

"First of all, I'm not that big on energy drinks. Never have been, really. That said, I know it seems a bit strange, but I need that medicine. But if you can't help with that, I understand." Ren said. Takemi looked at Ren in surprise, presumably stunned by how accepting he seemed to be of her terms, even if he did seem a bit hard up for the medicine. Takemi looked at Ren curiously before speaking up again, a frown on her face as she spoke.

"You're really annoying, you know that?" Takemi said to Ren who nodded as he spoke up once more.

"I get that a lot from people. I'm used to it by now." Ren said off-handedly as Takemi spoke up again, hoping to dissuade Ren from the medicine.

"The medicine is really expensive. And it's not something a high schooler can get his hands on. It costs almost as much as a car. Got it? So how about you just go home?" Takemi said, figuring that would scare off Ren, but of course she made the mistake of underestimating how tenacious and persistent Ren could be when he chose to be.

"That is a bit of a problem, I agree...but maybe if I worked here for it, like gradually did enough work to earn it? Might that be an option?" Ren asked Takemi. Takemi blinked at this not expecting Ren to actually have a good idea right then. After a bit to ponder the idea, she spoke up again.

"What, like part-time help?" Takemi asked, once more giving Ren what seemed to be a surveying glance before speaking up.

"...Do you consider yourself someone with a good amount of stamina?" Takemi asked Ren after a bit, making him look at her in a mix of confusion and apprehension, perhaps misreading the context of her question. Either way, Takemi kept speaking before Ren could respond at all.

"I admit I have been looking for a young person around your age to help me out. But I haven't been able to find one, even after putting an ad in the paper. Are you up for it?" Takemi asked Ren, who thought about it before speaking up once more.

"I'd ask how much this pays, but considering I was the one who brought up working for the medicine, that might be just a tad redundant and/or tacky. So my question then becomes, what would I be doing if I am up for it?" Ren asked warily. Takemi frowned at the question before speaking up once more, not pleased by Ren's response.

"Do you want to do it or not?" Takemi asked Ren in a slightly annoyed tone making Ren blanch and just mutely nod his head in the affirmative. Takemi then smirked as she kept speaking.

"Okay then. You'll be participating in clinical trials for my medicine." Takemi said to Ren, who blinked in surprise at this but Takemi kept speaking before he could say anything.

"Hang on. I'll be right back." Takemi said as she walked off, coming back shortly after and handing a cup full of red liquid to Ren.

"Here you go." Takemi said to Ren who sweatdropped but nodded as he accepted the cup. Takemi smirked at this and kept speaking.

"Worried about the side effects, huh? Well, you can relax. Rest assured my autopsy is guaranteed to find out exactly what part of it killed you." Takemi said jokingly as Ren blanched in horror at that comment, making Takemi smirk as she kept speaking.

"Did you change your mind? What, aren't you going to take it? The exit's right there if you want to leave." Takemi said to Ren, who frowned at this and contemplated his options. After a bit, he realized this was the only way to get that medicine. Takemi frowned at Ren's hesitation as she spoke up again.

"Well? Go on." Takemi said to Ren who sighed before speaking up after a bit.

"The things I do for medicine...Oh well, bottoms up I suppose." Ren said as he put the cup to his mouth and downed the contents in a few swift chugs making Takemi look at Ren in wide-eyed surprise as she spoke up.

"Huh? I can't believe you actually drank it..." Takemi said to Ren who smirked.

"You asked me to take it, so I'm just doing as I'm told." Ren said before contemplating the stuff he'd just downed. It had tasted bitter, yet sour. The flavor was beyond description in Ren's opinion. But it wasn't anything Ren couldn't handle, or so he felt. Takemi looked at Ren in surprise before speaking up again.

"Wow...Still doing okay, huh? Hm. Not bad for a high schooler. Uh..." Takemi said, cutting herself off mid-sentence as Ren suddenly swayed slightly, grabbing his head before falling out of his chair, and taking a knee on the ground before passing out abruptly, to Takemi's surprise.

"...Welp. Game over, I guess." Takemi said as she laid Ren on the nearby bed and waited for him to come to...

(A short time later, still neutral POV)

Takemi was looking over stuff when she heard movement and looked up as Ren slowly sat up and looked at her.

"Good evening. Do you remember anything from the moment you took the medicine up until now?" Takemi asked Ren who looked at her in confusion, making her shrug as she took notes on her clipboard as she kept speaking.

"Hm, by the look in your eyes, I'd say you don't. You briefly woke from your coma, but you were completely dazed during the entire examination. You eventually lost consciousness and fell back asleep." Takemi said. Ren frowned at this and looked down, wondering if he'd bitten off more than he could chew in this instance. Takemi then chuckled as she kept speaking, making Ren unsure if she was impressed with or annoyed by him, if not both, as she spoke.

"Are you out of your mind? Only an idiot would have drank that." Takemi said to Ren who shrugged before speaking up.

"Perhaps, but I do know this for sure. I'm not outta my mind." Ren said, offended by the idea that Takemi would think he'd lost his mind. Takemi nodded as she spoke up.

"Fine. By the way, the reason you lost consciousness was because of the taste. It produces a foul smell when it mixes with gastric juices, similar to surstromming. Oh well. All that matters is that thanks to you, I was able to get some good data. Okay, it's my turn to make good on my part of the deal. That's why I waited until you woke up." Takemi said as Ren looked at Takemi in surprise at her words, making her smirk as she looked at Ren before speaking up more.

"I don't want the general public to know about my original medicines. So, you're strictly prohibited from disclosing what happens here to anyone...Understood?" Takemi asked Ren who spoke up at that point.

"Wasn't expecting to basically have to deal with making a verbal NDA when I did this, but I understand. Of course, I'll keep what goes on here between us." Ren said. He left the idea that the same applied to Takemi unspoken since he felt it was both rude and unprofessional to point that out. Takemi nodded happily at Ren's response as she spoke again.

"Then it's a deal. As long as you come here for it, I'll give you the medicine at a good price whenever you want. I may even add additional selections, in time. I look forward to your continued patronage." Takemi said as Ren nodded, registering that he'd just made a deal with Takemi, wondering if he'd gotten himself in over his head on this one...

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

Joker looked over at Sae, expecting her to speak up which she immediately did, looking back at Joker as she spoke.

"Considering all the actions you've taken, you must've had someone with medical expertise. Who? And how did you treat your wounds? It'll be easy to find out who if we look into this, you know!" Sae said to Joker who frowned...

(Back in the present with Ren and Takemi in the examination room, neutral POV)

As Ren was pondering the potential implications of his new deal with Takemi, he heard the expected voice in his head speak up.

"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 Death Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power..." Ren heard in his head as a new card appeared in his mind's eye, this one simply reading 'Death', with a 'I' appearing under it to signify it was at Rank 1. And with that rank, Ren found he'd earned an increase in the available healing items at the clinic, specifically in 'Rejuvenation' type medicines. After a bit, Takemi spoke up once more, drawing Ren's attention back onto her and out of his internal musings as she spoke.

"So...When can you come back for the next clinical trial?" Takemi asked Ren who blinked as he spoke up.

"Next clinical trial? Actually...that makes sense. Of course there'd be more than one trial to go through. Why would I think otherwise?" Ren said rhetorically as Takemi blinked, mistaking his response as one of confusion rather than self-rebuke and spoke up in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, you don't remember that part, either? Well, I was saying that teenage test subjects are quite valuable in the research industry. So I'll provide you the medicine for the entrance exams, and in exchange you'll be my guinea pig." Takemi said to Ren, who nodded as Takemi kept speaking, a serious look on her face.

"...I have to perfect this medicine." Takemi said, before noticing the unreadable look on Ren's face and speaking up once more, not sure what to make of the look on his face.

"If you're able to move now, you can go home. All right, take care." Takemi said to Ren who nodded and got up to leave, noting as he did so that his Guts had gone up for doing the trial. After that, he made to leave when Takemi spoke up and stopped him.

"Hey, hold on a second, Ren, almost forgot something." Takemi said as Ren turned to face her as she kept speaking.

"Oh yeah. I'll contact you when I'm done prepping for the next clinical trial." Takemi said, causing Ren to give her his full attention at that point, making her smile as she kept speaking.

"And I'll put together some compensation by then, for all your efforts today. But you're not getting that in writing. Based on today's results, I think I can whip up some new medicine for next time. Drop by when you're ready for it." Takemi said as Ren considered Takemi's words carefully before nodding as he spoke up, having slung his bag over his shoulder as he spoke.

"Fine by me. We did make a deal, after all. All I ask is that you not go too all-out with the trials and somewhat go easy on me. In turn, I'll give these trials everything I've got." Ren said. Takemi nodded in satisfaction at Ren's response.

"Good to hear. You live pretty close, right? You might still feel some dizziness, so take it easy on your way home. I'm not really in the mood to write up an autopsy. So take care of yourself." Takemi said to Ren, who nodded and headed back to Leblanc, unaware of Morgana blanching in his bag at the mentions of dizziness and autopsies as he went back to Leblanc. Once back, Sojiro looked up as he saw Ren walk in and nodded as he spoke.

"Ah, you're back. Welcome back, Ren. Kusa should be back shortly. Apparently he decided to go take a stroll for whatever reason." Sojiro said as Ren nodded his acknowledgement of Sojiro's words before speaking up.

"Good to know. Thanks, Sakura-san." Ren said to Sojiro who nodded in approval of Ren's words. After a bit, Ren decided to have a sit at the counter, deciding to finish the book he'd started on the train the other day. Sojiro looked over as Ren sat down.

"Hm? You gonna use the store for somethin'?" Sojiro asked Ren who nodded.

"Yeah, I figure I'll probably finish reading this book I started reading, and then if that doesn't take too long, I'll probably squeeze in some studying afterwards for good measure." Ren said as Sojiro nodded approvingly before speaking up.

"Good idea. Well...Don't leave a mess. I'm headin' home." Sojiro said as Ren nodded right as the door opened and Kusa walked in, nodding curtly to Sojiro who returned the nod as he went upstairs to set his bag down while Sojiro left. After a bit, Kusa walked back downstairs, and on seeing that Ren was reading, he decided to quietly study a bit before slipping back upstairs to flip idly through chats on his phone to pass the time. Unaware of any of this, Ren kept reading to himself.

"After his death, the statue of Buchi became a symbol of Shibuya." Ren read, making Morgana speak up as he recognized what Ren was reading.

"Hmmm...Buchiko...The story about this dog makes me cry every time...But I think I said that already." Morgana said as he curled up on the chair next to Ren while he finished reading, after which he looked the finished book over with a sense of satisfaction on finishing it. At that point, Morgana looked up and spoke up.

"So you've finished reading 'Buchiko's Story'. What're your thoughts?" Morgana asked Ren who spoke up.

"Not bad, all things considered. Though I'm surprised you cry over a story about a dog, Morgana. And yes I heard you say that earlier." Ren said as Morgana smiled and spoke up.

"Yes, well, my current form aside, that story is a good one. A dog who kept waiting for his master in Shibuya, huh? A noble and loyal friend to the end... I have to admit, this story moved me... Can't you feel it in your heart, too?" Morgana asked Ren, who nodded with a smirk as he felt his Kindness get a sufficient boost to lift it from Rank 1, 'Inoffensive', to rank 2, 'Considerate'. Morgana spoke up at that point.

"I know you had plans to study after this, but it's gotten kind of late. That said, I guess we should go to sleep. Staying up too late isn't healthy, you know. I wonder if Kusa's in bed yet. I know he came back awhile ago, but I don't recall seeing him saying anything to you afterwards. Probably because you were reading and he didn't want to disturb you." Morgana said as Ren nodded his agreement. He and Morgana then went upstairs to bed, smirking in amusement as they saw the oddly-contented look on Kusa's face as he was sleeping on the sofa, his phone sitting on the nearby table where he'd set it after laying down.

Ren smirked at the smile on Kusa's face, knowing Kusa had met someone special, presumably a girl given the look of contentedness on his face, which Ren had to admit was one he hadn't seen on Kusa in some time. But he put that thought aside to lay down and fall asleep, Morgana carefully curling up on top of Kusa as the group fell asleep...

(The next day, at the station, with Ren, Kusa, Ann and Morgana, neutral POV)

As Ren and Kusa walked out of the station, having just gotten off the train, they were unprepared for Ann to walk up to them with a smile on her face.

"Morning! Crowded as ever today, huh? How do you like being packed in like sardines, city-style? I bet you've had enough." Ann said as Ren and Kusa frowned at the off joke and the latter of the two spoke up uncertainly.

"Honestly? I could definitely do without the crowding. Ren's managed to get a seat on the train a few times so far, but I've not yet managed to have any such luck. That aside though, is something bothering you? I don't think your humor is usually this off, Ann." Kusa said uncertainly as Ren nodded his agreement and Ann spoke up.

"Sorry. I don't mean to joke around. I just don't know what to do. I get anxious unless I'm doing something, yet here I am suddenly with nothing to do. It's so awful just waiting for the results, isn't it? It's so worrying..." Ann said as Ren and Kusa nodded and both spoke up, Ren speaking up first.

"I feel you on that one, Ann. I'm a bit worried as well if I'm being honest, even if I keep telling myself things are going okay." Ren said honestly as Kusa spoke up.

"We both are. But I recall hearing someone wise once say 'The worst part of anything new is oftentimes the wait for said new thing'. That said, we just have to have faith that things will work out in the end." Kusa said reassuringly to Ren and Ann, both of whom nodded and the latter spoke up.

"Exactly, Ren. And Kusa? You're right...All we can do is believe, and wait. Heh, thanks. I feel better after talking." Ann said as Kusa and Ren nodded, both speaking up, the former speaking up before the latter.

"Any time. I believe I said once before that we're here if you need a sympathetic ear to talk into or even just someone to listen while you vent. That's what friends are for, after all." Kusa said as Ren smirked before speaking up.

"Uh-huh, friends, right. I thought you said you two were starting to see each other as siblings, rather than friends?" Ren pointed out sagely. Kusa blinked but nodded.

"That's true, we did say that. However, we're both still getting to know one another, so for now she and I are friends first and foremost. And I do hope, Ren, that you weren't trying to infer anything more than that? Because for one thing, I recall Ann quite distinctly saying she's interested in Suzui-san. And for another, while Ann is a nice enough girl, I only see her as a friend, and maybe down the line, a sister of sorts. But I don't think, with all respect to Ann, I'd ever be interested in her romantically. Y'know, the way you might or might not be interested in Yoshizawa?" Kusa said to Ren with a smirk as Ren frowned.

"Touche. And no, I wasn't. Besides, if the look on your face as you were sleeping last night is any indication, I'd say you have an interest in someone else anyways. Probably this person you won't tell me about that you said you met while running an errand for our guardian?" Ren said to Kusa, making both Ann AND Kusa blink at this before the former spoke up in intrigue.

"Wait, what? Kusa met someone? When was he gonna tell me about that?" Ann asked with a smirk on her face, making Kusa huff as he spoke up.

"I was going to tell you about it soon enough, or at least what I feel I could tell you. Keep in mind there are parts of it I have to keep to myself for now since I don't even think that our guardian knows I know about it. Suffice it to say, he doesn't live alone. That much I think I can safely say. But I'm leaving it at that for now." Kusa said simply as Ren and Ann nodded and the latter spoke up.

"Fair enough, Kusa. That said, it's not good to be a downer in the morning. Well, let's have a great day today!" Ann said as the group headed to school, the school day being uneventful...

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

After thinking about it a bit, Ren decided to go look at the library and see if there were books there worth checking out. Once he walked in, the student at the desk, a female, looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Excuse me? Oh...Is this your first time at the library?" The student asked Ren, who nodded as the student kept speaking up.

"Um, it's my job to explain the rules of the library to first-time visitors, so here they are. You can borrow books from the library. Furthermore, if a desk is available, you can use it to read or study. More books will be added as the seasons pass. Stop by by to see what they have. You're only allowed to borrow one book at a time. Once you finish, please be sure to retur-Huh? That badge...Are you a second-year?" The student asked Ren, and when he nodded, she looked at him and gasped.

"...Oh, could you be that transfer student I keep hearing about!?" The student asked Ren who smirked as he spoke up.

"Yup, afraid so. But none of what you hear about me is likely true so you can relax around me if you want." Ren said. The student frowned as she spoke up.

"I knew it...Um, I don't mean to be rude, but maybe you shouldn't come here...See, you're scaring the other students too..." The student said as Ren frowned but quietly spoke up.

"Excuse me!? Are you trying to imply I'm not allowed to use the library!?" Ren asked, clearly annoyed by this. The student blanched as she shook her head quickly and spoke up.

"Oh...No, I didn't mean that you can't use the library, but..." The student said, trailing off as Morgana spoke up in annoyance while his head poked out of Ren's bag.

"Aw, man...You're not welcomed anywhere you go...I guess there's nothing we can do about it." Morgana said before he huffed and kept speaking.

"The other students are scared of you...? I'm feeling more hostility than anything." Morgana said. He then spoke up again.

"Check out that study corner. Looks like you can raise your Knowledge and Guts here..." Morgana said as Ren nodded. He then looked at the student again and spoke up.

"Oh, did you need something?" The student working the desk asked Ren who nodded.

"Yes, I was looking to see if there were any books I could borrow, so I can at least be able to read on my own time and not bother people in here?" Ren said as the student smiled and nodded as she kept speaking.

"There are indeed. Keep in mind that you can only borrow one book at a time. And you have to return it when you're done with it." The student said as she held out four books: 'The Great Thief', 'Legend of Zorro', 'Story of Captain Kidd', and 'History of Carmen'. There was a fifth option by the name of 'Speed Reader', but according to the list, it was already checked out. Ren looked the options over before deciding to borrow 'The Great Thief', seeing that it boosts Knowledge, and he felt his Knowledge to be a bit lacking compared to his other stats. The student nodded as Ren made his selection, speaking up once more.

"This one, yes? Okay, be careful with it." The student nodded as Ren accepted 'The Great Thief' and put it in his bag, attracting Morgana's attention as he spoke up.

"'The Great Thief', eh? Sounds interesting!" Morgana said as Ren nodded. After a bit, Ren shrugged and decided to study a bit causing Morgana to speak up again.

"Oh, looks like you can study here. Your Knowledge might improve if you study at one of the open tables. There's other people around, but your Guts might improve because of it. What do you wanna do, study here?" Morgana asked Ren, who nodded.

"Yeah, let's do it." Ren said as Morgana nodded and Ren sat down to study. Of course, as a result, he heard people murmuring about him, but Ren tuned it out as best he could and focused on studying.

"Is this guy gonna sit down and study?" One student said. His friend shrugged as he spoke up.

"This guy must be really serious about his studies..." The other student said as a third spoke up.

"Whoa, don't stare at him. If your eyes meet, that guy is gonna kill you..." The third student said as Ren rolled his eyes as he kept studying, not acknowledging the comments around him. Morgana huffed as he spoke up in annoyance, clearly irritated with the conversation around him and Ren as he spoke.

"Sheesh... Can't they take their conversation somewhere else?" Morgana said as Ren shrugged and kept studying. After a bit, he finished studying and Morgana spoke up in awe and respect as he looked at Ren.

"Whoa...Good job not getting discouraged by the bad reputation. That dauntless spirit will take you far in life." Morgana said as Ren's Guts increased a bit. Morgana then huffed as he kept speaking.

"Man...There's no way anyone could focus on studying in this environment...Let's change Kamoshida's heart and redeem ourselves!" Morgana said to Ren who blinked and spoke up quietly.

"That's what we're waiting to find out, is it not? If our efforts to change his heart were successful?" Ren said to Morgana who nodded as Ren's Knowledge also went up.

"Exactly. Well, it's getting late. You should probably call it quits for today!" Morgana said to Ren, who nodded as he and Morgana headed back to Leblanc, getting the usual greeting from Sojiro as they walked in. After a bit of considering his options, Ren decided to speak to Sojiro, who looked up as he saw Ren looking at him.

"What's up? 'You don't work, you don't eat.' Ever heard that phrase before?" Sojiro asked Ren who shrugged but nodded as his parents had tossed that phrase around a few times when he and Kusa were younger. Sojiro then kept speaking.

"If you're up for it, why don't you learn how to work here..." Sojiro suggested as Morgana spoke up so only Ren could hear.

"What are you going to do? Will you help the chief out?" Morgana asked Ren who nodded, and looked at Sojiro.

"I don't have a lot else to be doing, aside from studying, but I did that all afternoon already at school to pass time so I don't see why I can't help you out, Sakura-san." Ren said to Sojiro, who chuckled and nodded approvingly as he spoke up.

"HA! So you do get it. All right, put your stuff down and come back here. Kusa should be upstairs, either studying or texting on his phone, not sure which. Either way, he's really quiet when he wants to be." Sojiro said as Ren nodded but Sojiro spoke up again as he went to leave.

"It's about time one of the regulars arrives. She's a talkative one..." Sojiro said as Ren nodded, heading upstairs to set his bag down (along with Morgana who was in it) on his bed before going to go back downstairs only for Kusa to look up and see Ren, smiling as he spoke up.

"Oh, hey Ren. You're home. How was your day?" Kusa asked Ren who shrugged.

"Can't complain. Got to check out the library, had to deal with some gossipers talking crap about me, but I tuned them out and studied. I'd talk more, but Sakura-san's waiting for me to help him out downstairs." Ren said to Kusa who nodded understandingly.

"Ah, I getcha. No worries, bro. You go help out Sakura-san, and I'll keep Morgana-sensei company for you if he wants me to while you do that." Kusa said as Morgana nodded, curling up happily on Kusa's lap as Ren went downstairs to help out Sojiro, who nodded approvingly as Ren came back down and put an apron on before walking behind the counter as Sojiro spoke up.

"Good, glad to see you follow through on what you say. That said, listen up! Now then, since you're gonna be working in my store, I'll need to hammer home the basics...You know what I'm talking about, right?" Sojiro asked Ren, who nodded.

"But of course, Sakura-san. Our deal was that if I help out around here, you'd show me how to make, and I quote, 'The perfect cup of coffee.' That said, you mean the basics of making coffee." Ren said to Sojiro who smiled in satisfaction and nodded as he spoke up.

"Yup. Glad to see you at least understand that much. This store's not the busiest around, but I'm real particular about how we do things here. And I'll kick you out no questions asked if you serve a bad cup, you got that?" Sojiro said to Ren who nodded as the female customer currently enjoying a meal spoke up at that point, looking at Ren as she spoke.

"Let me tell you, So-chan definitely does things right with his coffee. It goes so well with his special curry, I can't help but order the set meal every time." The female customer said as Sojiro smirked and spoke up, looking at the customer more than at Ren as he spoke.

"What can I say, each of my regulars gets an experience personally tailored to them." Sojiro said as the female spoke up once more with a coy smile on her face as she spoke.

"Can you tell me the key to that wonderful flavor, So-chan? I'd love to make it at home sometime." The customer said as Sojiro laughed as he shook his head and spoke up.

"Sorry, that's a trade secret. You're free to try and guess based on the taste though." Sojiro said as the female chuckled as she spoke up, a half-hearted glare on her face as she spoke, the smile on her face as she spoke betraying her true feelings.

"Cheapskate. Keeping secrets from me even though your food's already stolen my heart..." The female customer said as Sojiro chuckled, ignoring the perplexed look on Ren's face as he spoke up again.

"How about a nice dessert then? It's only three hundred yen." Sojiro said to the customer. After a bit, she finished her meal, paid for it, and left. At that point, Sojiro looked at Ren as he spoke up.

"When you run a shop, you get all sorts of customers. Knowing their personalities is absolutely vital. That's what being in food service is all about." Sojiro said as Ren nodded and the door opened up. Sojiro looked over and spoke up.

"Welco-" Sojiro said, stopping short as he saw who it was, his eyes going wide as he kept speaking.

"You..." Sojiro said to the person who walked in, a cheerful elderly man by the look of the person. The cheerful elderly man spoke up.

"Hello there! It's been quite a while, Sakura-san! I heard you opened a shop, so here I am! It wouldn't have hurt to mention it to me though. Huh, you've got a real nice location here. Right by the station and everything." The cheerful elderly man said to Sojiro, who frowned at the man before speaking up in a gruff voice.

"Your order?" Sojiro asked the cheerful elderly man who spoke up again.

"No small talk? That's cold. Oh, but this smell...Sure brings back memories! You're still making that curry, huh? I guess you haven't gotten over her yet..." The cheerful elderly man said as Sojiro gritted his teeth and spoke up once more, his tone even gruffer than before.

"Your order, sir?" Sojiro asked the man who laughed at Sojiro as he kept speaking, not answering Sojiro's question.

"Haha, so pushy. I just stopped in to say hi today...but I'll be back again soon! Bye." The man said as he walked out of Leblanc, letting Sojiro breathe a sigh of relief before turning to Ren, not seeing Ren's concerned look on his face or the fact that Ren had been subtly glaring at the cheerful elderly man the entire time he'd spoken to Sojiro as he spoke up.

"Ugh...I don't know where he caught wind of this place." Sojiro said as Ren spoke up.

"That's a good question, Sakura-san. Truth be told, That guy seemed rather suspicious to me, and not just because he spent most of the time disrespecting you." Ren said. Sojiro looked at Ren, and actually smiled as he spoke up, impressed with Ren's observation.

"Heh, I guess you have an eye for some things after all. Anyway, if you have time for questions, you have time to be learning about bean types. You're not gonna be any use to me if you can't pick up on the ABCs sometime soon. Besides, ladies love a guy who knows his coffee. This isn't such a bad deal for you." Sojiro said to Ren who nodded as he spoke up.

"Indeed it's not. And you have a point, Sakura-san. I want the ladies to love me." Ren said with a chuckle. Sojiro laughed at Ren's answer before speaking up.

"Heh, if only you were this obedient all the time. Either way, I'm gonna teach you right. That way I'll be able to sit back and relax while you work." Sojiro said as Ren nodded, sensing that his bond with Sojiro was growing deeper. At that point, the 'Hierophant' card appeared once more in Ren's mind's eye, the 'I' on it becoming a 'II' to signify that his rank with Sojiro had reached rank 2. As a result, Ren unlocked the ability to brew coffee, albeit beginner-level coffee with limited effect, but he figured everyone's gotta start somewhere. Around that point, Ren and Sojiro heard chimes from a clock nearby making Sojiro blink as he spoke up.

"Oh, is it time already? Let's start closing up. And no slacking off, you got it?" Sojiro said to Ren who nodded.

"Understood, Sakura-san. No slacking off from me." Ren said agreeably as he felt his Kindness improve from working for Sojiro. After that, he went to head upstairs, smirking as he saw Kusa and Morgana curled up together and dozing off, the latter purring contentedly as he rested on the former's stomach. At about that point, Ren's phone went off and he quietly answered it, not sure who'd be calling at this time.

"Hello?" Ren asked quietly as he went downstairs so as not to wake Kusa. Once there, Sojiro spoke up from the other end of the line.

"Hey, it's me. Guess this number works. I forgot to ask for your cell number, so I had to dig it out of your papers. A real hassle, lemme tell you. Anyway, you done closing up yet? I'm gonna have you handle that form now on, so you better learn now. Seems like you're a quick study, so I hope you've got the hang of it." Sojiro said as Ren nodded.

"Yeah, I got it. But I appreciate you calling me a quick study, Sakura-san." Ren said as Sojiro nodded on the other end of the phone.

"Don't forget it. Once your'e a little more settled in, I'm gonna have you doing more chores. Can't foist all of them off onto Kusa, after all. As it is, he always does what I ask without complaint, which surprises me since I would've figured he had people to hang out with rather than spending time with me." Sojiro said as Ren nodded.

"That's just how Kusa is. Once he gets used to someone, he's usually pretty loyal to that person and look out if you're someone badmouthing someone Kusa cares about. He might not look it to you, but that guy has a lot of patience. But if his patience is ever exceeded? Hoo boy, you don't want to see the ensuing explosion from him, especially if you make the mistake of badmouthing someone he cares about on top of it. The last guy that did that learned that the hard way when Kusa blacked both his eyes and broke his nose. But nowadays, Kusa usually does better about keeping his temper in check that I've seen." Ren said as Sojiro chuckled.

"I see. Maybe I should give him some tips on picking up the ladies. I'd imagine it'd come easy to him from what you just said. ..But man. Not sure how I feel about calling up a guy's phone." Sojiro said as Ren nodded agreeably.

"I'm sure it's not fun for you, but sometimes it's a necessary evil. After all, I doubt very much that you deal with a female probation officer where it comes to me. Speaking of, sorry for causing you so much trouble, Sakura-san. I really am grateful to you for taking me and Kusa in, though." Ren said as Sojiro smiled on the other end and spoke up.

"Heh, thanks Ren. You're all right. That said, you'd be right on your guess that you have a male probation officer. Anyhow, we'll get the routine ground into you. That way, I might be able to take it easy. All right, don't stay up too late." Sojiro said to Ren who nodded as he hung up his phone, going back upstairs to set his phone down and get ready for bed, though not before he frowned as he saw that Kusa's phone had been left open, showing that his last private chat was with an 'Alibaba-san', making Ren blink at that and wonder just what Kusa found that day on his errand for Sojiro. Ren then went to bed and put it out of his mind...

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

"I got a chance to talk to this girl the other day...We had an amazing conversation after I brought up some of the stuff I read about! We're gonna go out somewhere together soon!" Ren and Kusa heard a student saying to his friend, making them stop to listen in as the guy's friend spoke up.

"Well don't get ahead of yourself because it happened to go well. Look, Knowledge isn't enough. You need Proficiency to adapt on the fly. You also need Kindness to be accepted and Guts to be honest and direct. Plus Charm, to draw people to you. The quality of your character says a lot about you, so it's important to better yourself every day." The first student's friend said as the first student spoke up.

"Really? But it takes so much work...But I'll do it, if it means I'll get a girlfriend! I guess I'll start by showering every day. I hear girls prefer a guy who's hygenic." The first student said. At that point, Morgana spoke up, looking at Ren and Kusa as he spoke.

"Hey, this applies to both of you, too." Morgana said as Ren nodded.

"I know it does." Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up

"Of course it does, Morgana-sensei. How else is Ren going to be able to keep Yoshizawa-san interested in him if not because he keeps bettering himself? As for me, I already keep that in mind for when and if the day comes I find myself a nice girl to potentially take a romantic interest in. Though I don't see that being anytime soon." Kusa said with a shrug, making Ren blink at Kusa as he recalled what he'd seen the night before when he came up to bed, but decided not to call Kusa out on it for the time being. Morgana then spoke up once more before Ren had the chance to do so.

"You get it. That's a good attitude to have." Morgana said to Ren and nodded to Kusa as he kept speaking.

"And Kusa, I'm sure you'll find a special girl for you soon enough." Morgana said, right as Ann walked up to Ren and Kusa and nodded to both as she spoke up.

"Oh hey, Ren, Kusa! Morning! Hm? Is there something over there?" Ann asked Ren and Kusa who shook their heads.

"Nah, we were just discussing guy stuff basically. You didn't really miss much, Ann. That said, morning to you as well." Kusa said by way of response. Ann nodded.

"Fair enough. I won't ask for details then. C'mon, let's go! We're gonna be late!" Ann said to Ren and Kusa who nodded while Morgana ducked back into Kusa's bag as the group headed to school...

(That morning, in class with Ren, Morgana and Ann, neutral POV)

"I just remembered. There's been a lot of dire news lately, with the train accident and the volleyball team incident. People are theorizing that it's these sudden psychotic breakdowns, but the cause is still unknown...Well, unexplained occurrences like these are commonplace in the world of math. For instance...Amamiya-san. Please look at this." The math teacher said to Ren who looked up at a picture of squiggles and shapes.

"It's said you only need a few colors in order to paint so that adjacent colors are clearly separated. Do you know the name of the theorem named after this number?" The teacher asked Ren, who thought about it then nodded as he actually knew that one from his studies at the library. Praising himself for opting to study math that day, Ren spoke up.

"THIS IS IT! The answer is the 'four-color theorem'." Ren said as the teacher smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"That's correct. I suppose the four-color theorem is common sense." The teacher said as she showed the colored-in version of the previous image which brought Ren to mind of a painting in that moment before she kept speaking.

"As you can see, any flat image-a map of the world, or anything-can be painted using only four colors. Many people have realized this principle based on experience since ancient times. However, it's difficult to prove, and was an unsolved problem for a long time." The teacher said as more murmurs broke out.

"Wow, really?" One student said to their friend who nodded and spoke up.

"Amamiya-kun seems kind of smart, doesn't he?" The other student said with a nod as Morgana smiled at Ren and spoke up.

"Nice going! I know for a fact you studied that one so well done Ren! Wow, you must be really smart to be able to answer a question like that. After Ren's Knowledge increased the teacher spoke up again.

"I hope the psychotic breakdowns don't just end up as another unsolved mystery. My heart hurts just thinking about the economic losses this string of incidents has caused." The teacher said as Morgana spoke up once more from inside Ren's desk so only he could hear.

"The world's full of dangers, huh? I guess even the world outside school is no good, either." Morgana said as the rest of the class passed without any events of note...

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

"Hey! By the way, you got a notification on your phone. Make sure you check it, all right?" Morgana said to Ren, who nodded as he saw his phone had 3 new chats on it. On checking it, he saw chats from Ryuji, Kusa, and the store Ren worked at, Triple Seven. After reading through the messages from Ryuji and Triple Seven, Ren looked at the chat from Kusa, not sure why Kusa was messaging.

"Hey Ren. First of all, no need to panic. I'm just seeing what you're up to. Also, per usual, Yoshizawa said to tell you hi for her so I'm passing that along as well. That said, I realize we haven't been hanging around that much of late, so I thought maybe we could go hang out together and do something? Let me know what you decide, Ren. If you have other plans, I understand that as well. Oh, and sorry I didn't say anything to you much the last couple days, been really busy with stuff." Kusa sent as Ren nodded his understanding and sent a response.

"That's understandable, Kusa. To be honest, I was thinking about training with Ryuji if you wanted to join us on that. Granted, first I'd have to make sure Ryuji was fine with it, but I think he should be okay with it." Ren sent. A short time later, Kusa sent a response.

"Training, eh? That could be fun. Besides, if nothing else, it'll help build up our endurance which can only be a good thing for us. But yeah, if Ryuji's down with it, I'm up for training with the two of you. Yoshizawa had to head home early anyways so I was just gonna be chilling by myself anyways otherwise." Kusa sent as Ren nodded to the response, opening up the chat from Ryuji. Ren then thought about it and sent a response to Ryuji.

"I'm down for training with you. However, Kusa messaged me and when I told him that I planned to hang with you, he said he'd be interested in joining us, but I said I'd have to run it by you first since you're the one running the training at this point. So what do you think? We got room for one more, or do you want it to just be you and I?" Ren sent as Ryuji read the response, smiled and sent a response of his own.

"Yo, if Kusa wants to join us, I'm down with that! The more the merrier, after all. Within reason, of course. All right! Let's do some intense training today. Text Kusa and tell him to get changed into workout gear and both of you meet me behind the gym." Ryuji sent as Ren nodded, sending a response to Ryuji.

"Got it! I'll let Kusa know and the two of us will meet you there as soon as we can!" Ren sent before opening up his private chat to Kusa and sending a response.

"All right, Ryuji said he's down for you joining us, so get changed into some workout gear and meet Ryuji and I behind the gym." Ren sent to Kusa, who nodded as he sent a reply.

"Cool! I'll be there shortly." Kusa sent as Ren put away his phone, got changed, and met up with Kusa before both of them met up with Ryuji behind the gym...

(In the courtyard with Ren, Ryuji and Kusa, neutral POV)

"Ugh, dammit! I wanna move better, but I just can't...I was trainin' for nationals back in the day...but now I totally suck balls." Ryuji said as Ren blanched at Ryuji's word choice while Kusa just laughed and spoke up.

"Hey Ryuji, remember what I said about word choice? Might wanna think about that here as well..." Kusa said with a laugh as Ryuji frowned before blanching as he spoke up.

"GAH! I didn't mean it like that, Kusa!" Ryuji said in embarrassment as he playfully slugged Kusa in the shoulder while he kept speaking.

"Don't tease me like that, man!" Ryuji said, as another voice spoke up at that point.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ren, Kusa and Ryuji heard as three other guys in tracksuits approached Ryuji, and he blanched as he recognized them.

"Whoa! Nakaoka...Takeishi..." Ryuji said in surprise as the now-named Nakaoka spoke up in a dry tone.

"Running, huh? I saw you from the window." Nakaoka said as Takeishi spoke up.

"What, you gonna try to come crawling back to the track team?" Takeishi asked Ryuji who blanched as he spoke up.

"Huh? H-Hell no..." Ryuji said stubbornly as Nakaoka spoke up again.

"Hmm...Speaking of which, this was your secret training spot, wasn't it? Well, it's our spot now. You know, us. The former track team." Nakaoka said as Takeishi spoke up, glaring at Ryuji as he spoke up with bitterness in his tone as he spoke.

"We don't even have a locker room anymore, thanks to someone I know." Takeishi said as Ryuji frowned at that, not having a response to it. Kusa huffed and made to speak up, but Ren shook his head subtly before speaking up himself.

"Easy does it, there. Let's not fight here." Ren said, trying to mediate if he could, ignoring Kusa's annoyed huff behind him as he focused on Ryuji, Nakaoka and Takeishi. Ryuji looked over at Ren, both surprised and impressed by Ren's intervention and his words as he spoke up.

"We ain't fightin'..." Ryuji said as Nakaoka nodded his agreement and spoke up in agreement.

"Yeah, this isn't anything like a fight. Not even close." Nakaoka said before frowning as he looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Hold on, aren't you two those new transfer students that transferred in recently? The younger one of you isn't that bad by all accounts, but you have a reputation. You're really gonna hang around with this loser?" Nakaoka said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Excuse you!? Ryuji's not a loser! If anything, you lot are the losers for being so quick to shun him for standing up for himself and defending his beliefs! And it's my brother's business who he hangs out with, no one else's!" Kusa snapped, very offended at Nakaoka insulting both Ryuji AND Ren in the same sentence. The ex-track team member that came over with Takeishi and Nakaoka spoke up in a wary voice.

"You better watch out for the delinquent. He'll hit you the second he gets pissed off." The unnamed track team member said as Kusa frowned.

"Shut your mouth, you ignorant fool! Ren would never hit someone unless they deserved it! I, on the other hand, might be tempted to hit you if you don't quit talking smack about my brother and my friend!" Kusa said in a huff. The unnamed track team member frowned at Kusa as he spoke up.

"Chill, Amamiya! I meant Sakamoto, not your brother!" The unnamed track team member said before turning to Takeishi and Nakaoka as he kept talking.

"I heard his dad was the same way. Like father like son, right? Now that's some scary shit." The unnamed track team member said as both Kusa AND Ryuji glared as the latter spoke up.

"That don't got anything to do with this..." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up at that point.

"Calm down, Ryuji. These guys aren't worth it. You too, Kusa. I appreciate you standing up for Ryuji and I, but we can fight our own battles." Ren said firmly. Ryuji looked at Ren and nodded understandingly as did Kusa moments later when Ryuji spoke up.

"You're right." Ryuji said as Nakaoka frowned at Ren but said nothing as Ryuji looked at him and spoke up.

"Look, back then, I..." Ryuji said as Nakaoka cut him off before he could finish by speaking up.

"I don't need to hear your excuses. Everyone was going through the same bullshit with Kamoshida. The beatings, the impossible exercises...but we put up with all of it for the track team. But no. You had to go and fuck all of that up! Man, I was stupid for ever thinking you were my teammate. ...That's all I have to say to you. I'm outta here." Nakaoka said as he, Takeishi and the unnamed track team member left, Kusa glaring at them as they left. Kusa huffed as he spoke up.

"Good, get those jerks outta here. Ren, you're lucky you spoke up when you did, because I was about ready to knock that unnamed guy out when he talked smack about you and Ryuji, not to mention what he said about Ryuji's dad...that was so out of line!" Kusa said angrily as Ryuji smiled and spoke up.

"I appreciate that, Kusa. But smacking that guy should really be my job. And I nearly smacked him when he was talkin' about my dad...I haven't changed at all..." Ryuji said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"The hell you haven't changed! I bet back then, you would've ignored Ren and vented your mind on those fools! Now, you have enough maturity and restraint to listen to him and ignore those jerks. Not that I have room to talk given how close I was to beating them all up on principle." Kusa said huffily as Ryuji smiled and spoke up.

"I feel that, Kusa." Ryuji said before turning to Ren as he kept speaking.

"But y'know...you actually helped me calm down a little. I'm glad you were both here with me, even if Kusa was probably likelier to help me beat them up than calm me down. Thanks, guys!" Ryuji said as he, Ren and Kusa high-fived. Ren then smiled as he felt his bond with Ryuji deepen more. At that point, Ren saw the 'Chariot' card show up in his mind's eye, where the 'II' became a 'III' to signify his Chariot confidant link reaching Rank 3. With it, Ryuji gained the ability to use 'Follow Up'. After that, Ryuji looked at Kusa and Ren before speaking up.

"...Let's call it a day." Ryuji said as another voice could be heard speaking.

"Hey, Nakaoka! Why didn't you kick his ass!?" The unnamed track team member could be heard asking Nakaoka who frowned as he spoke up.

"What?" Nakaoka said as the unnamed track team member spoke up.

"The hell's your problem!?" The unnamed track team member said to Nakaoka as Ryuji frowned and spoke up in confusion.

"Now they're just arguing with each other...I should stay out of it." Ryuji said as Ren and Kusa nodded their agreement.

"Anyways, nice trainin' with you guys." Ryuji said as Kusa and Ren nodded before heading back to Leblanc together. As they reached the door, Ren's phone rang, and he waved for Kusa to take Morgana and go inside which he did before Ren answered the phone.

"Hello?" Ren answered the phone as Ryuji spoke up.

"Yo, it's me. You good to talk?" Ryuji asked as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Yeah, I'm good to talk for a bit. What's up Ryuji?" Ren asked.

"I wanted to thank you again for today. I really owe you one, man. I get pissed off so damn easily. I really gotta work on that." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"I can't exactly blame you, man. Those guys were pretty out of line with what they said eariler. As for working on your anger, maybe Kusa could help you with that? Believe it or not, back when he was younger, he had a pretty short temper himself. It was only in the last couple of years that he finally managed to get it in check to the point that he angers so seldomly as he does now, despite his outburst earlier. I can speak to him about it for you if you want?" Ren offered to Ryuji. Ryuji shook his head as he spoke up.

"Nah, this one's definitely my bad. As for what you said about Kusa, that could be something to pursue. Yeah, you can speak to him about it if you want, but I understand if he says no. Besides, I can't cause a scene. Don't wanna get you pulled into even more bad shit. Huh...I gotta wonder what they were arguin' about." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"If I had to guess, based on the last comment we heard about 'kicking his ass', I'd guess they were arguing about you. But that's just my opinion." Ren said as Ryuji spoke up.

"That's true. But hey, I'm an outsider. Nothin' to do with me past our beef earlier. Thanks again for today! Don't forget to massage your legs before you sleep, 'kay? See ya later!" Ryuji said before hanging up the call as Ren walked inside, greeted by Sojiro via a nod of the head as Sojiro spoke up.

"I don't mind if you use the coffee maker, just clean up when you're done." Sojiro said as Ren nodded his understanding.

"Got it, Sakura-san." Ren said. He then went upstairs to set his bag down, only to stop short as he heard Kusa talking on the phone, staying at the bottom of the stairs to listen in.

"...Wait, wait. Run that by me again? You heard what?" Kusa asked, listening to the voice on the other end.

"...I see. Well dang 'Taba, that sounds rough. Best I can tell you is to try to not listen to it and remember that you have people who care about you and are there for you even if it's only just me and your dad. For what it's worth though? I'm sorry you're dealing with that. Never doubt that I'm here if you want to talk, or even just want a sympathetic ear to vent into. Either way, you can reach out to me anytime, within reason." Kusa said as the voice on the other end spoke up more and Kusa smiled.

"Would I like to hang out sometime? Of course I would! Not sure how we'd pull that off given you don't exactly leave your room much, but I think we can work something out if need be. After all, a young lady like yourself shouldn't have to be suffering on your own like this. And if hanging out with you is the only way to help you through it, that's just what I'm gonna do." Kusa said as he listened to the voice on the other end before nodding.

"I get it, you have to go because you're expecting him back at home anytime now. I'll let you go then. Just try to not think about that, okay? Talk to you later." Kusa said as he hung up the phone and frowned before speaking up with a slight frown in his tone.

"You can stop eavesdropping now, Ren." Kusa said dryly as Ren sheepishly walked up the steps and gave Kusa an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Kusa. I didn't mean to. I just couldn't resist when I heard you speaking as I came up the steps so I hung back for a bit because it piqued my curiosity." Ren said contritely as Kusa sighed before waving Ren into the room and lowering his voice as he spoke.

"Can you keep what I'm about to say to yourself. both of you? I know you're listening in too, Morgana-sensei." Kusa said, looking over towards Ren's bag which Morgana was hiding in and listening in as well, making Morgana pop up and give Kusa an apologetic look.

"But of course, Kusa. Like Ren, I was just curious and a bit worried about how secretive you were being. I will of course keep whatever you say here to myself." Morgana said as Kusa sighed and nodded.

"Very well then. Let's start with that night I went to run an errand for Sakura-san. As it turns out, he doesn't live alone. Apparently Sakura-san has a daughter who's about our age. I managed to have the opportunity to speak to her when I was putting stuff down in Sakura-san's kitchen for him since she happened to be in there getting a drink. Her name is Futaba, and apparently she doesn't get out of the house much.

But I didn't ask about it because frankly, that's not a gentleman's place to pry into a lady's personal business uninvited. Needless to say, she and I got to talking, and we found we had stuff in common so we exchanged contact info and became friends. As it turns out, she's a lot like me in many ways. As for what you two likely overheard, all I'll say on that is like all of us, she has her share of demons she's working through. And she happened to feel comfortable reaching out to me for support in this instance which I readily offered her. I wont lie, she's a really nice girl. And yes she's pretty. But that doesn't mean I like her as anything other than a friend. After all, she and I only just met, and you know damned well, Ren, that I don't rush into things if I can help it." Kusa said huffily as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"This is true, Kusa. You do tend to take your time when doing things." Ren said agreeably. Kusa smiled as he spoke up once more.

"See? You get it, Ren! Not saying you don't, Morgana-sensei, just that Ren's known me longer than you have. Besides, I'm not exactly trying to make a move on her just because I'd rather not have Sakura-san possibly trying to skin me if he thought I had anything other than pure intentions with Futaba. Which, for the record, my intentions are nothing but pure. I just want to be her friend and help her work through her issues if I can, since from what I've gathered, she's been through a lot already even though she's younger than I am by a few months. And as I tend to say, everyone's gotta have someone they can confide in, even you Morgana-sensei." Kusa said sagely as Ren and Morgana nodded.

"That's true, Kusa. But don't rule out the possibility that down the road a ways, maybe you and this Futaba could be more than friends when things are more conducive to exploring such things? Because knowing what I do now, I think Futaba's the reason you had such a contented look on your face while you were sleeping last night, Kusa. And so you know, it's not a crime to like someone. If it was, would we be so cool about Ren liking Yoshizawa?" Morgana pointed out sagely as Kusa laughed.

"That's a fair point right there, Morgana-sensei. Sorry for it being at your expense a bit, Ren. Actually, to be honest, I feel better having shared that with you two. Maybe down the line, Futaba will open up enough that we can add her to our group chats. I think she'd get along quite well with Ann and Ren in particular, and she'd go positively ga-ga over you, Morgana-sensei, since she's a sucker for a pretty animal. And with all apologies, your current form is kind of animalesque in appearance." Kusa said as Morgana just nodded as he spoke up.

"Nah, that's fair Kusa. At least you don't call me a cat like Ryuji and Lady Ann do, even if the latter apologized for it right away." Morgana said as Kusa smiled while speaking.

"Of course I don't do that to you, Morgana! It might not seem like it, but I do care about you! Sure, at first it was just because you were willing to take clueless buffoons like us under your wing and teach us the ways of the phantom thief, but as we've worked together, I've come to respect you as a person and as a mentor. So it's not a stretch to say that I, for one, have your back." Kusa said with a smile to Morgana, who smiled back as Ren also smiled as he noted that his bond with Kusa was getting a bit better. At that point, the 'World' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'I' improving to a 'II' to signify that his World confidant had reached rank 2, and with it, Kusa gained the ability to use Follow-Up, like Ryuji had gotten previously. After that, Kusa smiled as Morgana spoke up.

"Thank you, Kusa. That means a lot to me. But I think Ren's also starting to understand you a bit better now as well. Aren't you, Ren?" Morgana asked Ren who sheepishly nodded as he spoke up.

"That I am. Sorry if I come off as harsh and rude at times, Kusa. But you have to admit, us sharing a room is a bit of an adjustment for us both after having our own rooms for so long." Ren said as Kusa nodded his understanding and spoke up.

"That's fair, Ren. Luckily, it's just for the one year, then provided you don't get into trouble, your probation will be lifted and we can go back home. Assuming, that is, we don't find ourselves enjoying this life so much we end up wanting to stay. Because let's be real, anything's possible." Kusa said as Ren and Morgana both nodded their agreement.

"That being said, I think I'm gonna go see if Sakura-san needs any help. You guys do whatever you want." Kusa said as he headed downstairs to speak to Sojiro while Ren sat at the desk with Morgana. Morgana spoke up.

"Oh, going to craft some stuff?" Morgana asked Ren who nodded.

"Yeah, why not? I figure I'll give making some Lockpicks a go, probably two of them." Ren said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"So, you want to make two of the Lockpick?" Morgana asked Ren who nodded.

"Yeah, let's make it." Ren said as Morgana nodded. Ren managed to successfully make 2 Lockpicks, making Morgana smile as he spoke up.

"You're definitely getting better. I can tell just by watching you." Morgana said as Ren nodded while his Proficiency improved. Morgana then spoke up.

"Okay, let's go to bed!" Morgana said as Ren nodded, smiling as Morgana happily leapt up onto Kusa's sofa and curled up on it as he rolled over, falling asleep immediately, not even being woken up by Kusa gently lifting Morgana up so he could lay down then setting Morgana down onto his lap...

(The next day, at the station with Ren, Kusa and Ryuji, neutral POV)

"Whaddup..." Ryuji said as he walked up to Ren and Kusa the next morning as the two were headed towards school. Ryuji then spoke up before Ren or Kusa could speak up.

"He had a change of heart for real, didn't he?" Ryuji said to Ren and Kusa who shrugged as the latter spoke up.

"Not sure, honestly. But given he's been relatively radio silent, I'd believe it if he did have a change of heart for real." Kusa said. Ryuji nodded.

"It's kinda hard to believe right now...I'm gonna cry if we still get expelled after all this." Ryuji said as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"I think we all will since it means we did that more or less for nothing if we still get expelled. That said, me too..." Ren said. Kusa huffed as he spoke up.

"Let's be fair here, Ren. While I won't deny we'd all cry in that instance, I think Morgana-sensei would just be disappointed in us all. That aside, I think it'll all work out." Kusa said as Ryuji chuckled at Ren's response and spoke up.

"Right? I knew it." Ryuji said, now grinning as opposed to the slightly bummed expression he'd previously had on his face. Ryuji kept speaking before Morgana or Kusa could speak up.

"I would've been super disappointed if you told me to calm down and wait or something. Oh yeah! You free today? If you got nothing to do, come see me after school. It's not like I got something to say, but I find talkin' helps calm the nerves." Ryuji said as Ren and Kusa nodded and the three headed to school...

(The next day, by the batting cages with Ren and Morgana, neutral POV)

"Seriously, Ren!? I didn't think you were into batting cages, of all things?" Morgana said to Ren who nodded, having spent the rest of the previous day studying and watching the movie he'd swapped 'Wraith' out for, 'The X-Folders', which upped his Guts, giving his Guts a gratuitous boost along with a slight Knowledge boost.

"Dead serious. I used to practice at them at home a fair bit before Kusa and I had to come out here. Speaking of Kusa, I'm surprised he's spending his off day walking around the city. I invited him along but he said no." Ren said in surprise as Morgana chuckled and spoke up, sitting on top of Ren's bag as he spoke.

"Ren, you silly man, you. That was clearly a code. What he's probably really doing is spending time with that Futaba girl he told us about recently." Morgana said as Ren blinked then nodded.

"Ohh, right, that girl. Forgot about that. Well, that's his choice I guess." Ren said as Morgana spoke up.

"Indeed it is. That said, batting cages? In a small place like this? ...What's it like inside?" Morgana asked Ren who thought about it before answering Morgana.

"In a nutshell? Very fun but very loud with the fact that there's a lot of baseball bats hitting baseballs and making clanging noises, so if you have sensitive hearing, this might not be for you, Morgana." Ren said. Morgana shook his head and spoke up.

"Nah, my current form aside, my hearing is just fine." Morgana said as Ren smiled and nodded as he spoke up.

"Oh yeah? In that case, let's take a look inside." Ren said. Morgana nodded as they went inside, and Morgana looked around before speaking up.

"I see. So they're doing this on the rooftop..." Morgana said, ducking into Ren's bag as the receptionist looked up at Ren.

"Hm...? I haven't seen you here before. In case you didn't know, the services here change depending on the time of day. During the day, you can win prizes based on your performance. More fun than just playing normally, wouldn't you agree?" The receptionist asked Ren who nodded. The receptionist then kept speaking.

"At night, you can play all you want for 500 yen. If you perform well, I'll give you a ticket for a free session during the day. Well? Would you like to play?" The receptionist said as Ren nodded, and spoke up.

"Of course. Looks like all that you have open is the Beginner course, so let's go with that please." Ren said politely as the receptionist nodded.

"Certainly. That'll be 500 yen." The receptionist said. Ren paid the money and the receptionist smiled as he spoke up.

"Good luck! It looks like you haven't won the slugger prize or the home run prize yet. Well, do your best and don't get too worked up." The receptionist said. Ren nodded as he went to the cages. Though he didn't hit a single home run, Ren DID hit every single swing perfectly so the receptionist smiled at Ren.

"Oh, you didn't miss a single shot. Well done. I'll give you the slugger prize." The receptionist said, giving Ren an 'Accu-Speed S'. Morgana then spoke up.

"We've still got time left. Do you want to keep on playing?" Morgana asked Ren who nodded. Two tries and 1000 yen later, Ren didn't get the home-run prize, but Morgana still smiled as he spoke up after the third session.

"It's getting pretty late. We should stop there for today. Wow, you've got a really good swing. I'm impressed." Morgana said as Ren smiled as his proficiency went up from Rank 1, 'Bumbling', to Rank 2, 'Decent'. At that point the receptionist spoke up.

"We're only offering one course at the moment, but there will be more available once we finish the fine-tuning." The receptionist said to Ren as he smiled and nodded.

"Good to know. Thank you for the info. See you next time." Ren said as he walked away when Morgana spoke up.

"Wanna head back? All right, let's head home." Morgana said as Ren nodded and the two went back to Leblanc where Sojiro greeted Ren with the usual nod of respect. Ren and Morgana then went upstairs where Kusa was already sitting on the sofa, making him look up as Ren and Morgana came up.

"Oh, hey you guys. I heard you went out to check out the batting cages?" Kusa said to Morgana who nodded before speaking up.

"Indeed we did. Turns out Ren here has quite the good swing on him." Morgana said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"That's true. I hope he didn't deafen you too much with how hard his bat hits the ball at times. One time, someone was sitting close by when he hit the bat and they actually suffered hearing damage as a result of the clanging the bat made. Granted it was only minor damage, but the fact there was damage at all is impressive if you ask me." Kusa said as Ren nodded while speaking up.

"That's true, but that guy was an idiot and stood right nearby as I swung the bat so of course he'd get the full blast of the impact audio. Not my fault he didn't get far enough away." Ren said dryly as Kusa nodded.

"Too true, Ren. Too true. So, did you ever swap out that 'Wraith' movie yet?" Kusa asked as Ren nodded.

"Yep, swapped it out for some movie called 'The X-Folders.' From what Morgana and I have seen of it so far, it seems like a sci-fi type film. If you want, I can let you watch the first half on your own after you watch the rest with us if you want." Ren said as Kusa smiled and nodded approvingly. Ren then put in the second disc of 'The X-Folders.', as he and Kusa got settled in to watch it after the latter of the two gently set Morgana in his lap so he could also watch the movie, getting a grateful smile from Morgana as the three watched the movie. As they watched, Kusa and Ren just smirked at how blatantly this movie was a rip off of 'The X-Files', while Morgana spoke up at one point in the movie getting a chuckle from Kusa as he spoke up.

"Whoa, whoa, why would you preserve alien larvae? Curiosity killed the cat, you know!" Morgana said to the screen as Ren smirked.

"You mean a cat as in the thing you currently are stuck in the form of?" Ren joked as Kusa and Morgana booed at Ren's lame joke and both spoke up.

"First of all, Ren, he only LOOKS like that! His real form is currently lost to him. And mind you don't forget that." Kusa said simply as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly, Kusa. Also, that joke was terrible, Ren. I bet even Ryuji could've done better than that!" Morgana roasted Ren as Kusa gaped at this and spoke up.

"Dang Morgana-sensei, do I need to get an icepack for Ren? Because that was at least a second-degree burn right there!" Kusa said laughing as Ren rolled his eyes.

"Oh shut up, Kusa." Ren said. After the movie, Morgana spoke up once more.

"So we finished watching 'The X-Folders', huh...I bet you've summoned a little more guts by watching this drama." Morgana said as Ren nodded, smiling as his guts got a sufficient boost to go up from rank 1, 'Milquetoast', to rank 2, 'Bold'. Kusa smirked at the stat sheet that popped up to confirm the rank up as he spoke up.

"So you have a rank 2 in every stat except Knowledge, Ren!? That's funny. I'd have thought you'd have gotten that stat up there first." Kusa said. Ren rolled his eyes at Kusa as he spoke up.

"Knowledge will get there in time, Kusa, so chill bro." Ren said as Morgana chuckled and spoke up.

"Okay, break it up, you two. Anyways, let's go return the DVD soon. Preferably without taking literal days to remember this time, Ren." Morgana said as Ren nodded. At that point, Morgana spoke up once more.

"Well, it's starting to get late. Let's head to bed soon, okay?' Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded approvingly.

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

"Hey! Ah, we were all able to grab a seat for once! Why don't you read something until we get there, Ren? I sense Kusa will just spend the time texting." Morgana said as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"That's because you know me too well, Morgana-sensei." Kusa said as he pulled out his phone to send a private chat. Ren then shrugged and pulled out the book he'd borrowed from the library, 'The Great Thief', and started reading it to himself.

"Tonight, I will be taking the phantom diamond..." Ren read as Morgana smiled and spoke up with a smirk.

"Ah, the legendary gentleman thief, Arsene. It's hard not to idolize him-he's preeminent in our field." Morgana said as Ren nodded and resumed reading as Kusa texted. A short time later, Morgana spoke up.

"Hey, hey! Hm? Oh, I didn't realize how long you've been reading. So, how far did you get?" Morgana asked Ren who shook his head and spoke up.

"I didn't finish it, but I did get around halfway through it, give or take a page or two. I bookmarked my spot so I could find it again." Ren said as Morgana nodded.

"Seems like you still have some pages left. You should continue some other time." Morgana said as Ren nodded his understanding. Morgana then spoke up again.

"Oh, we're almost at the station. I'd say that was an efficient use of your time." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded, finishing what they were doing. As they got off the train, Ann walked up to them and smiled as she greeted them.

"Morning, guys. The board meeting is the day after tomorrow. ...I wonder if Kamoshida really had a change of heart? What if we failed? That's all I've been able to think about..." Ann said as Kusa and Ren both spoke up, Kusa speaking up first.

"Honestly? I doubt we failed, Ann. But on the off chance we did, we did all we could do. We have to remember that regardless of the outcome. However, there's an equal shot we succeeded. Only time will tell." Kusa said sagely. Ren nodded and spoke up at that point.

"Exactly. For now, we have to believe. If for no other reason we have to try to stay positive." Ren said. Ann nodded understandingly as she spoke up.

"That's true you guys. We did do all we could, didn't we Kusa? And Ren, you're right. I guess all I can do now is believe...But how strange. I feel a bit better now. Maybe it's because of your composure, Ren?" Ann said to Ren as he and Kusa nodded and the former spoke up.

"If not my composure, then Kusa's level-headedness and iron will." Ren said sagely as Kusa spoke up.

"I wouldn't call what I have an 'iron will' so much as a resilient tenacity." Kusa said simply as Ann chuckled.

"Either way, it's an admirable trait, Kusa! That said, We'll be able to avenge Shiho, and you won't get expelled! After break, we'll all be able to laugh together! That's what I'll believe." Ann said. Ren and Kusa nodded as the three went to school together...

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

"Hi, everyone! How're you all doing? These days, you're expected to know colloquial English-even its idioms that come from other languages. I want you to forget that you're Japanese during this class, and make yourself believe you're a foreigner. What's important is becoming someone else. In this day and age, being able to swap your mask depending on the situation is a critical talent." The teacher said as she looked at Ren and kept speaking.

"How will you fare, Mr. Amamiya? Here's a question. 'Are you a wunderkind?' See if you can work out the answer based on what you know." The teacher said to Ren who looked up and gave the teacher his full attention as Morgana spoke up.

"Interesting question she asked. 'Are you a wunderkind?'...Well, seems to me like we need to work out what that is so we can answer properly. My German is a little rusty, so I'll give you a hand if I can. First off, the 'wunder' part probably means..." Morgana said, trailing off as Ren quietly spoke up.

"Wonder?" Ren guessed so only Morgana could hear as Morgana kept speaking.

"Right, wonder! So something...wondrous, I guess, or impressive. Next, the 'kind' part. That's probably..." Morgana said as Ren quietly spoke up.

"Child." Ren said to Morgana who nodded and kept speaking. Morgana spoke up.

"Hm...Let's think about this again. Oh, huh. If the 'kind' in 'kindergarten' refers to all the kids in it...Yeah, that's gotta be it. 'Kind' means a child...or at least a young guy, in your case." Morgana said to Ren who nodded.

"Given that context...Yeah, I think I have it." Ren said as he spoke up.

"This is it! A 'wunderkind' is a prodigy!" Ren said as the teacher smiled and clapped as she spoke up.

"Correct! That's right! I was asking if you were a wonder child-in other words, a youth of uncommon talent. But I suppose if you were able tot think and adapt so quickly, that proves you certainly must be! Oh, the word 'talent' comes from the Greek 'talanton', a sum of money referenced in the Bible. The more skilled a servant was, the more coins they would receive from God-their talent lead to wealth." The teacher said as the usual murmurs ensued.

"He's pretty smart." One student said as another student spoke up.

"I didn't expect that." The second student said as a third student spoke up.

"He might not be too bad..." The third student said. Morgana smirked as he spoke up.

"Nice going! You're on a roll today!" Morgana said as Ren's Knowledge went up some more. After that, the teacher kept speaking.

"The English word 'talent' didn't originally have anything to do with our modern concept of celebrity. But the ability to change one's mask depending on the situation is surely a talent given to one by God. It's not too far off calling people who can react to things on the spot on TV 'talents.' The teacher said as Morgana chuckled while he spoke up.

"Mwehehehehemreow! The talent of changing masks...Does that make us all 'wunderthieves'?" Morgana asked Ren who shrugged as he spoke up.

"Maybe? And I know only I can hear you, but can you not mention us being thieves in class, Morgana?" Ren asked Morgana quietly getting a nod from him as the class ended. After school, Ren saw he had two new chats, one from Takemi and the other from Kusa. After looking over the Takemi message, Ren looked at the message from Kusa.

"Hey, just letting you know I won't be available for hanging out for the next couple of days. As it turns out, Futaba had a lot more demons to work through than I thought so I'm having to put most all of my time into talking to her, and she asked me to come hang out with her so I'll probably be doing that the next couple days, but after that I should be free again. Apologies for the inconvenience. Also, remember, for now that stays between you, me and Morgana-sensei.

But I sense that sooner rather than later we'll be able to fill the others in on Futaba's existence. However, we have to use discretion in mentioning her for now until Sakura-san gives an indication one way or the other that he wants us knowing about her. So yeah, have fun Ren." Kusa sent as Ren nodded and spent the rest of his day studying, first in the library, then at home, so he could get his Knowledge up to the rest of the other stats at Rank 2.

(The next day, with Ren and Morgana, neutral POV)

Ren got up, going downstairs to check out the home shopping program, and this time he was able to afford the 'Military Ration Set', which he ordered one of, after which point he opted to head to work at Triple Seven to make up the cash he spent. While working, he was surprised to find Ryuji coming in, making Ryuji smirk as he saw Ren working the counter and spoke up.

"What the heck! I didn't know you work here." Ryuji said to Ren who smirked as he spoke up.

"As it turns out, it was a fairly recent development. I saw they were hiring one day while Morgana and I were walking through the underground, decided why not and called them, and then next thing I know I got hired, with few questions asked. This is actually only the second time I've come in to work here." Ren said. Ryuji nodded as he chuckled.

"I see...This is kinda exciting. Alright, I'll see you when I'm ready to pay." Ryuji said as Ren nodded while Ryuji walked off to shop. A short time later, he got in line behind another customer who practically threw his money at Ren, and then Ryuji approached the counter with his purchases.

"Ramen is the way to go when you're hungry, amirite? I"m all about the carbs." Ryuji said to Ren who nodded.

"Agreed. I'm personally more of a equal-opportunity eater in that I'll try anything at least once, but I never turn down a bowl of ramen to be sure." Ren said as Ryuji smiled and nodded.

"Truth! Thanks man, keep it up!" Ryuji said as he left, his bond with Ren improving slightly. After Ren rang up Ryuji, Morgana spoke up.

"Hey, hey! Good work out there. You got to learn how to be considerate of others through dealing with customers." Morgana said as Ren's Charm increased. After that, Ren collected his pay and headed back to Leblanc after changing out of his uniform...

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

Morgana spoke up to Ren as he walked into Leblanc.

"Hey! Tomorrow's the board meeting...Don't worry. I'm sure the change of heart worked." Morgana said to Ren who nodded as his phone went off to signal a group chat with Ann, Ryuji and Kusa.

"The board meeting's tomorrow, right?" Ann sent. Ryuji and Kusa both sent responses close together.

"That's right, Ann. Tomorrow's the day that Ryuji, Ren, Mishima-san and I find out our fates." Kusa sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"We're gonna get expelled if Kamoshida doesn't have a change of heart by then..." Ryuji sent as Ren sent a response of his own.

"That's true. Well, however this plays out, at least we know we did all we could." Ren sent. Kusa and Ann then sent responses close together, Kusa's coming in first.

"That's true, Ren. However, don't forget that for those who have Personas, all things, within reason, are possible. That aside, before you ask Ren, I'm upstairs." Kusa sent.

"OK...? Anyways, back on topic, either way I'm not going to lose hope." Ann sent as Ryuji and Ren sent responses in close together, Ren's coming in ahead of Ryuji's.

"I wasn't going to ask, but thanks for the confirmation. I'm downstairs by the way, Kusa. That said, Morgana says not to worry and that the change of heart will work." Ren sent.

"You're right. It's a little too early to be giving up now. Guess we're gonna find out one way or the other tomorrow. We just gotta brace ourselves for all the possibilities." Ryuji sent. Ren nodded as he put his phone away as Morgana spoke up.

"I'm sorry I can't offer more reassurance, but he should have the change of heart. Let's just believe in that while we wait for tomorrow." Morgana said as Ren nodded. Having said that, Ren went upstairs to set his bag down before heading downstairs to study until it was time for bed...

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

"Mondays are such a drag...Why couldn't they give us today off, too? We have the rest of the week off, starting tomorrow..." Ren and Kusa heard a student in front of them say to their friend who spoke up.

"Yeah, it's ridiculous. Speaking of, what's up with that calling card? The one sent to Kamoshida. Didn't it say something about 'stealing his distorted desires' or something weird like that?" The other student said to the first student who spoke up once more.

"Yeah, something like that...I'm sure it's just a prank. No one's taking it seriously." The first student said as the rest of the walk to school was uneventful...

(At school, during the assembly with Ann, Ryuji, Ren, Kusa and Morgana, neutral POV)

"What's with the sudden morning assembly?" Ann heard a student ask nearby. She then frowned as she heard the student's friend reply, especially when she heard what the girl had to say.

"I bet it's about that girl that jumped the other day." The second student said to the first who nodded as they spoke up.

"They don't have to tell us not to commit suicide." The first student said as the second one spoke up again.

"There was that weird calling card, too, so I guess the teachers are freaking out?" The second student said as a bunch of other murmurs happened around Ann who huffed as she stood alone, waiting for Ryuji, Ren and Kusa to show up. Eventually, Kobayakawa walked up to the podium and spoke up, effortlessly quieting any murmurs.

"Let's begin this school-wide morning assembly. As you all know, a tragic event took place the other day. Thankfully, we have been informed she has pulled through, but it will take some time until she recovers. Everyone here has a bright future ahead. I implore that you rethink the importance of life, and-" Kobayakawa said as his speech was interrupted by the sounds of the doors opening making Ann turn to see who had walked in, only to be shocked.

"Ah!" Ann said in shock as the person who had walked in was none other than Kamoshida himself, prompting everyone to look at his arrival in surprise. Kobayakawa spoke up.

"Mister Kamoshida, what's the-" Kobayakawa said but was interrupted as Kamoshida spoke up.

"I... have been reborn. That is why I will confess everything to you all..." Kamoshida said as he walked up onto the stage, drawing gasps from the assembled crowd, including Ann who gasped as she spoke up.

"Huh?" Ann said in shock as Kamoshida spoke up amidst the murmurs of the confused students.

"I have repeatedly done things that were...unbecoming of a teacher. Verbally abusing students...physically abusing my team, and...sexually harassing female students. I am the reason why Shiho Suzui tried to kill herself!" Kamoshida said as all of the students started gossiping among themselves, but then he kept speaking as he went to his knees and looked ready to break down as he kept speaking.

"I thought of this school as my own castle...There were even students that I sentenced to expulsion, simply because I didn't like them...I will, of course, rescind those...I am truly sorry for putting innocent youths through such horrible acts...I am an arrogant, shallow... and shameful person. No, I'm worse than that...I will take responsibility and kill myself for it!" Kamoshida said, causing a panic with his words as Kobayakawa's eyes went wide and he ran over to Kamoshida and spoke up.

"Mister Kamoshida! Please get off the stage for now!" Kobayakawa said as the teachers tried to take control.

"Everyone, return to your classes!" One of the teachers said as Kamoshida spoke up.

"I-" Kamoshida said but before he could say much more, Ann's voice could be heard over the crowd yelling at Kamoshida.

"Don't run, you bastard! Shiho's still alive even after all the things that made her want to die! You have no right to run from this!" Ann rebuked Kamoshida, unaware of Kusa and Ryuji crossing their arms in agreement with Ann in the back of the room, where they were standing with Ren. Kamoshida then nodded as he looked at Ann as he kept speaking.

"You're right... You're absolutely right...I should be punished under the law and atone for my crimes...I did horrible things to Takamaki-san, as well. In return for giving Suzui-san a spot on the team...I...I tried to force her into having relations." Kamoshida said as the students all looked at Kamoshida in horror and revulsion as he spoke up once more.

"As of today, I will resign from my position as an instructor and turn myself in. Someone, please call the police!" Kamoshida said as the camera panned over to Ren and Ryuji who were stood near the middle of the crowd with Kusa as Ryuji spoke up.

"Wow..." Ryuji said as Kusa nodded his agreement as a teacher walked over and spoke up to try and maintain order.

"This morning's assembly is over! Return to your classes immediately!" The teacher said as a student spoke up.

"Isn't this just like what that calling card said?" The student said in shock. His friend nodded as he spoke up.

"Does this mean the Phantom Thieves things was for real!?" The student's friend said as the student spoke up again.

"Was something done to Kamoshida!?" The student said as his friend spoke up again.

"C'mon, there's no way you could steal someone's heart!" The student's friend said as a girl nearby huffed and spoke up.

"But why else would he start saying things like he'll kill himself or turn himself in?" The girl nearby said as her friend spoke up.

"Maybe because it almost got leaked? Don't they go easier on you if you turn yourself in?" The girl's friend said as the first student spoke up once more.

"I wonder what happened..." The first student said as his friend spoke up once more.

"Who knows? But man, Kamoshida turned out to be one sick bastard." The other student's friend said. At that more murmurs broke out as the same teacher from before spoke up once more to try and get the murmurs under control.

"Return to your classrooms at once!" The teacher said as he managed to promptly lead everyone except for Ann, Ryuji, Ren and Kusa to their classrooms, while the four named stayed behind in the stadium where Ann spoke up.

"His heart really did change..." Ann said in surprise as Ryuji spoke up, also stunned by what had happened.

"Seems like it. But, was this really for the best?" Ryuji asked Ren and Kusa, as both of them spoke up, Ren speaking up first.

"Honestly? I dunno." Ren said as Kusa shrugged.

"In the long run, yes. In the short term? Who knows. All I know for sure is this will go a long way in getting justice for all those he wronged, and we managed to at least save myself, Ren, Ryuji and Mishima-san from expulsion, so on that count at least, mission accomplished. Now all that's left is to hope that Suzui-san gets well soon so she can see the news for herself. She deserves at least that much." Kusa said. Ryuji nodded in agreement with Ren's statement as he spoke up.

"That's true, Kusa. But I gotta agree with Ren here. I ain't so sure either." Ryuji said as to his surprise, Mishima and two girls walked up to the group making Ryuji speak up.

"Huh...? What the...?" Ryuji said. Mishima then spoke up, bowing to Ann as he spoke.

"Takamaki-san...I'm sorry!" Mishima said making Ann turn around to look at him in surprise as she spoke up.

"Huh...?" Ann said as Mishima kept speaking.

"We all knew... but we pretended we didn't." Mishima said as the taller of the two girls with Mishima then spoke up.

"Takamaki-san, I had you all wrong...I'm sorry that I spread rumors about you!" The taller of the two girls with Mishima said as the shorter girl spoke up.

"I didn't know at all...Kamoshida was forcefully pushing himself on you... It must've been so hard for you!" The shorter female said as the taller female spoke up again.

"I'm sure there's a ton of people who want to apologize to you. We're so sorry!" The taller female said as Ann shook her head and spoke up.

"No, it's okay. The same goes for me too...Besides, that's all in the past now." Ann said as the teacher from before walked over and spoke up.

"Hey, you there! Return to class at once!" The teacher said as the taller of the two females with Mishima looked at Ann and spoke up.

"W-Well, see you later then..." The taller female said as the two females left with the teacher, leaving Mishima with Ren, Ryuji, Kusa and Ann, at which point Mishima looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Amamiya-san the elder, I can't apologize enough for what I did to you. ...I swear, I'll make it up to you someday." Mishima said as he walked off, at which point Ryuji spoke up.

"Looks like Kamoshida ain't the only one that had a change of heart." Ryuji said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Indeed. However, unlike Kamoshida's change of heart, those others were probably just apologizing to cover their asses and save face. I don't know that they sincerely had changes of heart. That said, I'm proud of how you didn't throw their apologies back in their face, Ann. That was very mature of you. And I'll be honest, I'm not sure I'd have been able to do the same had I been in your position. So take that as a compliment that you have a much bigger heart than I do." Kusa said dryly as he rolled his eyes. Ryuji nodded his agreement as he spoke up.

"I agree with you, Kusa. I don't think I'd have been able to do what Ann just did either if I were in her position. That said, Ann...Man, I'm glad for you. Looks like those weird rumors are gonna go away." Ryuji said as Ann shook her head as she spoke up.

"My thing doesn't really matter. We made Kamoshida apologize about Shiho...That's more than enough for me." Ann said as Ryuji nodded, crossing his arms as he spoke up.

"You should hurry and tell her about it then." Ryuji said as Ren and Kusa nodded their heads in agreement as both spoke up.

"I agree with Ryuji. Shiho deserves to hear about this from you directly, Ann. Go to her." Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Seems like we all got what we were after here. Kamoshida apologized for Shiho, while Ren, Ryuji, Mishima and I were spared from expulsion. Well, ALMOST all of us. Morgana just got to be satisfied that he was right all along about the change of heart. So it seems like mission accomplished. Wow, we make a great team." Kusa said with a smile. Ann nodded, both to Ryuji's remark and to Ren's encouragement as well as Kusa's statement as she spoke up.

"...Yeah." Ann said as she ran off to see Shiho, leaving the guys to look at each other and shrug...

(After school, on the rooftop with Ryuji, Morgana, Ren and Kusa, neutral POV)

Ryuji smiled as he spoke up, looking at Morgana, Ren and Kusa as he spoke, Morgana having been filled in by Kusa and Ren on what happened at the assembly.

"Man, I totally freaked out...He really did have a change of heart...AND we were lucky his mind didn't get messed up either! This was an A+ job!" Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up in surprise.

"Does this mean that they won't have a mental shutdown even if their Palace disappears?" Morgana asked as Kusa spoke up, his arms crossed as he spoke.

"I can't say for sure on that, but if I had to guess Morgana-sensei, I'd say it's more apt to say that a properly-done change of heart can safely avoid a mental shutdown if done properly. I think it's only when a change of heart fails or is varied in any way that the risk of a mental shutdown really comes into play. But again, that's purely a guess on my part." Kusa said with a shrug as he smiled at Morgana encouragingly. Morgana nodded at Kusa as he spoke up.

"That makes sense actually, Kusa. That said, I see...So we need to persuade the Shadow without killing it, and then send it back to its real self. Our targets won't undergo a cognitive collapse if we do that." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up in excitement, a grin on his face as he spoke up.

"So, we can get 'em to confess with no bad stuff? Hey! That works for me!" Ryuji said happily. Kusa frowned as he spoke up.

"That's the idea, in theory at least. I'm not in a rush to test the bounds on it to see if our theory is correct or not, however." Kusa said simply as Ren and Morgana nodded. At that moment, Ann joined them, frowning at Ryuji as she spoke up.

"Ugh, do you have to be so loud?" Ann asked Ryuji, not seeing the smirks on Ren and Morgana's faces or Kusa stifling a laugh at the look on Ryuji's face as he looked at Ann and spoke up.

"Egh, don't worry about it. Soo, how'd it go? With Shiho, I mean..." Ryuji asked. Kusa frowned as he spoke up.

"Did the way Ann came in LOOK like it went well, Ryuji!? I think Morgana-sensei and I are gonna have to have a little discussion later on with you about this little thing called tact." Kusa said with a huff as Morgana nodded approvingly at Kusa's words before Ann surprised both Kusa and Morgana by winking and smiling as she spoke up.

"She's regained consciousness!" Ann said happily, getting a trio of dropped jaws from Ren, Kusa and Ryuji in response as the latter of the three spoke up.

"For real!?" Ryuji asked as Ann turned away to wipe tears from her eyes as she spoke up.

"It was only for a little bit, but I got to talk to her! I was able to tell her that Kamoshida admitted to what he did!" Ann said as she dropped to her knees and briefly wept, though Kusa could tell that they were tears of joy so he just smiled at Ann, watching as she straightened up as she kept speaking.

"Shiho, she...she told me she was sorry...Looks like she found out that I was flirting with Kamoshida for her sake..." Ann said as Kusa chuckled and spoke up.

"I'm not surprised. I always did think Suzui-san was smarter than most give her credit for, and stronger to boot. You should give her more credit, Ann. I doubt she was upset with you for it, especially if she was willing to apologize to you for it when she was the one who really suffered over what that scumbag did." Kusa said as Ann nodded and spoke up, smiling at Kusa as she spoke.

"Yeah, you're right. I should give her more credit. As I was saying, and here I was, wanting to apologize to her." Ann said as Morgana padded over to Ann, gently nuzzling his head against her palm comfortingly, making Ann look in Morgana in surprise as he spoke up.

"Kamoshida's at fault for all this." Morgana said simply as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"I know..." Ann said, as she then got a sad look on her face as she kept speaking.

"Shiho's mom is thinking of transferring her to another school after she recovers. The whole sexual harassment and attempted suicide...people will label her after that. Sounded like Shiho had the same idea too." Ann said as Kusa and Ryuji gave her sympathetic looks and the latter spoke up.

"It's gonna get lonely..." Ryuji said to Ann who smiled sadly as she spoke up.

"But, I think it's for the best...I'm sure it'll be hard if she stays here." Ann said as Kusa spoke up.

"That's true...however that does put a slight timer on things for you, unless you plan to still confess to her and try for something akin to a long-distance thing with her?" Kusa said uncertainly as Ann shrugged uncertainly, not having considered her feelings for Shiho at all as Ryuji spoke up.

"She's alive. You can see her anytime." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"That depends on where she transfers to, as well as if she moves to another country or not for the new school. Granted, there are such things as video chat and texts that can be used for correspondence but still that's a lot of distance to put between you two." Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Be that as it may, as long as Ann's okay with this, then we have to be supportive of this as well as her friends." Kusa said sagely as Ann nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, Kusa. But...I need to change too." Ann said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up, changing the subject.

"That aside, I was surprised you could hold yourself back against Kamoshida's Shadow." Ryuji said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"That's because, unlike you or I, Ann here has a lot more emotional and moral fortitude than either one of us has. I think you'd agree with me when I say if it'd been up to us, we'd have beat the scumbag within an inch of his life before letting him go back to atone. But not Ann. She spared him so he could do the right thing with himself. And I respect her a great deal for being able to do that." Kusa said with a nod. Ann smiled at Kusa's words and spoke up.

"Thanks, Kusa. But it wasn't like that at all...I just wanted Kamoshida to apologize himself." Ann said as Morgana smiled and spoke up.

"You're so kind, Lady Ann." Morgana said as Kusa frowned as he recalled something else that had happened after the showdown with Kamoshida's Shadow as he scowled and subtly flicked Ryuji and Morgana in the backs of their heads in annoyance, making them both blanch at Kusa in shock as they simultaneously spoke up, ignoring Ann and Ren laughing at the twin looks of indignation on Ryuji and Morgana's faces as they spoke.

"OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" Ryuji and Morgana both snapped at Kusa who smirked as he spoke up.

"What part of 'being absolutely thorough about using those code names' didn't you two register!? I can grant that Morgana probably slipped when he did it, but Ryuji also calling Ann by her real name!? Seems pretty egregious of a screw-up to me. Luckily, Kamoshida's Palace was deleted so it doesn't matter this time, but we really need to stop slipping like that. Or do you consider yourself an exception to the 'code names only' rule, Morgana-sensei?" Kusa said firmly yet rebukingly, making Morgana and Ryuji wince as they remembered what Kusa was talking about and both gave him contrite looks as they spoke up.

"Oh crap, my bad man! I didn't even think about it when I said it!" Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up.

"You're right. I messed up once more and you were right to take me to task for it. My apologies for such impudence on my part." Morgana said. Ryuji shrugged and spoke up.

"Anyways, that being said, back to what Morgana and I were saying to Ann...No matter how much of a shitbag he was, finishing him off woulda left a bad aftertaste, huh?" Ryuji said as Ann laughed at Ryuji's remark as she spoke up.

"Huh? That's not it. I think revenge is better served if I make him repent. Realizing what he's done, he'll grovel for forgiveness the rest of his life, you know? I just believe there are fates worse than death." Ann said with an almost sadistic look on her face that made Morgana, Ren, Kusa AND Ryuji all gape at her in shock and respect, and a bit of fear. Ryuji then spoke up, voicing the guys' thoughts perfectly in one sentence.

"Holy shit...Ahh, A-Anyways, now that that's all settled...But you know, there was one more thing I was wondering about that castle. Why was Kamoshida the only one who had that Metaverse thing?" Ryuji asked as Morgana looked at Ryuji before speaking up to answer his question.

"It isn't necessarily limited to him. It's something anyone could have if their heart became warped from their desires." Morgana said as Ann, Ren and Ryuji all nodded in acceptance of his words while Kusa's eyes went wide at hearing this from Morgana, wondering if maybe he might have to redouble his efforts with Futaba in case she manages to end up with a Palace of her own. Before he could voice his thoughts, Ann spoke up.

"Anyone..." Ann said in what almost sounded like reverence. Morgana nodded and turned to Ann.

"Wanna check it out?" Morgana asked Ann, though Ryuji spoke up before Ann could answer Morgana.

"N-Not right now. We better lay low for a while. People are still gonna be talkin' about Kamoshida. Then again, it's totally impossible for someone to find out what we did at his Palace." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up uncertainly, looking at Ryuji and Ren in particular as she spoke.

"Yeah, about that...Weird rumors about you guys are already going around. Stuff like, you got together and threatened Kamoshida with something close to physical violence..." Ann said to Ryuji who blanched as he spoke up in shock.

"The hell!?" Ryuji said in shock, not seeing the wary glances Ren and Kusa exchanged next to him as Ann kept speaking.

"People aren't easily going to believe that phantom thieves really exist. The calling card's being treated like it was a prank by someone who knew what Kamoshida was doing." Ann said as Ryuji sighed and nodded as he spoke up.

"Mmm, makes sense...We're the ones that did it, and I still don't completely believe it myself." Ryuji said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Let's wait for things to settle down for the time being." Ann said as Ryuji nodded, smiling as he pulled out his phone and spoke up.

"Anyways, let's check how much this medal can be sold for. It'd be better if we pawned it off ASAP." Ryuji said as he looked through the net and smirked as he kept talking.

"Ooh, got a hit! ...Wait, thirty thousand yen!? That's all a gold medal's worth!?" Ryuji said in shock as Ann smiled mischievously as she spoke up, looking at Ryuji as she spoke.

"Remember that time in middle school? I lent you some money." Ann said to Ryuji who blanched at this and spoke up in disbelief and anger.

"There's no way I borrowed thirty thousand yen from you!" Ryuji said as Ann smirked and spoke up again.

"Wouldn't it be around that much with compounded interest?" Ann asked with a playful smirk, making Kusa and Ren exchange horrified wide-eyed looks at Ryuji and Ann as Ryuji spoke up, his eyes also widened as he spoke up.

"Interest, my ass!" Ryuji huffed, making Kusa's eyes go even wider at his choice of words as he winced and spoke up.

"I don't think Ann wants to do that, Ryuji. And again, think before you speak man!" Kusa said as Ren laughed at Kusa's horrified expression. Ann then spoke up.

"I'm not saying that I'm taking all of it. I mean, it's YOUR fault for not paying me back all these years! It's just common sense!" Ann said. Kusa frowned as he spoke up.

"While that makes sense, since we all found that medal together, wouldn't it make more common sense that we'd split whatever take we got for it five ways, though I'm not sure what Morgana-sensei would do with six thousand yen thinking about it, but anyways, you could take Ryuji's share if you had to, but I don't think you'd have reason to take any of our shares necessarily, Ann." Kusa said warily. Ryuji looked at Kusa and nodded as he spoke up.

"Exactly, Kusa! We all get a share of the take from the medal! Ann can just...ah, dammit." Ryuji said as Morgana cleared his throat and spoke up.

"For your information Kusa, I can use my share to invest in materials to make us better able to make infiltration tools." Morgana said huffily as he kept speaking.

"That said, I agree on laying low and keeping an eye on the situation. However, you dragged me into this. It would be nonsense not to celebrate a successful mission." Morgana said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Dragged you into this!? I call lies on that, Morgana! If I recall right, YOU offered to help US. We didn't drag you into shit." Ren said in annoyance as Kusa spoke up.

"Calm down, Ren. And he's technically not wrong. We did drag him into it by making him have to chase us down after we left him hanging that first time he helped us out. So really by him helping us out, that just makes us owe him more if anything." Kusa said calmly. Ryuji shrugged and spoke up with a grin, changing the subject.

"Well, I guess we could blow this dirty money on something fun." Ryuji said as Morgana smiled and nodded as he spoke up.

"Discussions among phantom thieves are to take place over luxurious food. How about it?" Morgana asked as both Ann and Kusa balked at this, with Ann speaking up.

"Hey, wait-Nah, I guess it's fine. There's somewhere I want to go then." Ann said. Ryuji shrugged and spoke up.

"Where's that?" Ryuji asked. Ann smiled as she spoke up once more.

"It's a place Shiho and I have been wanting to go for a while." Ann said as Ryuji sighed and spoke up with a nod.

"I owe money, so I can't complain..." Ryuji said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"I can't believe you actually borrowed that much from her, Ryuji! I don't even think I wanna know what you needed all that money for in middle school! And another thing, is that an actual rule that discussions among phantom thieves are to take place over luxurious food? I feel like you just threw that in there to get a meal out of our work." Kusa said warily. Morgana smiled at Kusa as he spoke up.

"No, that actually is a rule. I just added the luxurious part to make it fancier." Morgana said as Kusa nodded.

"I see. Fair enough." Kusa said as Ryuji turned to Ren.

"You good with that?" Ryuji asked Ren who stroked his chin in thought before speaking up.

"I kinda think we should save the money in case we can get it to pile up interest and multiply. But sure, a nice meal for our efforts sounds fine by me." Ren said with a nod. Morgana spoke up, smiling at Ann as he spoke.

"I'll leave it up to your discretion as well, Lady Ann." Morgana said suavely, not seeing Kusa cross his arms in annoyance behind him. Ann nodded as she spoke up.

"I'll call and check the prices later then." Ann said as Ryuji smiled and spoke up.

"When should we go? Wanna do it soon, like tomorrow?" Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"Whoa, whoa, have some patience Ryuji. I doubt we could get the money, let alone the place Ann wants, so fast." Kusa said with a frown. Ann nodded as she spoke up.

"Exactly, Kusa. Why don't we go on the last day of the holidays? It'll help energize us when school life starts up again the day after." Ann said as Ryuji nodded.

"Then...the 5th, on Children's Day." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up, looking at the medal as she spoke.

"So, who's going to sell this?" Ann said as Morgana smiled and spoke up, looking at Kusa and Ren as he spoke up.

"Leave that to us. We know a store that'll buy anything. Don't we, Ren and Kusa?" Morgana said to Ren and Kusa who blanched at being volunteered but Ann smiled and spoke up before either could even begin to voice a protest.

"Okay, I'll leave that to you guys." Ann said as Ren and Kusa blanched at this, the latter frowning at Morgana as the group dispersed for the day...

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

As Ren and Kusa got back to Leblanc, their phones went off to signal a group chat with Ryuji and Ann.

"Is that gold medal real? When did it get inside his Palace...?" Ann sent as Morgana spoke up.

"No, that one is a fake. it's just a by-product of his cognition. The real medal should still be in his possession." Morgana said as Kusa and Ren frowned and the latter sent a response.

"No, that medal isn't real, according to Morgana. Apparently it's a by-product of his cognition. Kamoshida has the real one according to Morgana." Ren sent as Kusa sent a response shortly after.

"And he can keep it as long as we can sell this one and use the cash up ASAP. Besides, if nothing else this doesn't even begin to cover what that scumbag owes Ann, but also Suzui-san, among the many others he's hurt through his despicable actions." Kusa sent. Ryuji sent a response shortly after.

"What...? You're telling me Kamoshida's still got the medal?" Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.

"Who cares? What matters s that we changed his heart. And anyway, if we had taken the real thing, that'd be stealing! I don't think he'll be proud of that medal anymore regardless." Ann sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Would it really matter if it was stealing? Is that not the point of phantom thieves? To steal from those who don't deserve it and then give it to the less fortunate, or something like that?" Kusa sent. Ren rolled his eyes as he sent a response of his own.

"Kusa, first of all, you're thinking of Robin Hood, NOT the Phantom Thieves. Secondly, you know Ann has a strong sense of justice so it'd bother her if we actually stole stuff." Ren sent as Kusa huffed but Ryuji sent a response before Kusa could do so.

"You let go of stuff pretty easy, huh? Wanna forget about my debt?" Ryuji sent. Ann scoffed as she sent a response.

"That's different. Five hundred yen is a lot of money for a middle schooler, you know. Do you even still have that dolphin anyway?" Ann sent, making Ren and Kusa exchanged confused looks as Kusa sent a response.

"First of all, five hundred yen!? That's all he borrowed!? Given that it's only been tops 3-4 years since that loan, there's no way in hell that comes even remotely close to 30,000 yen with interest like you claimed, Ann! At most it might come to 5 to 10k yen, IF THAT! So I say take Ryuji's share, and call your debt good since that should come close enough to clearing it out if he gives you his share to make up what he owes." Kusa sent as Ren sent a response shortly after.

"Exactly, Kusa. Also, why would Ryuji have a dolphin? I didn't think he was into those?" Ren sent. Ryuji flushed in embarrassment as he saw Ren and Kusa's response and sent a response of his own.

"I agree with Kusa. If it'll get you off my case, you can take my share and use it towards our meal or to forgive the debt, whichever you prefer. Also, stop digging that up!" Ryuji sent as Ann sent another response to Ren and Kusa.

"Back in middle school, we went on a field trip to the aquarium. But Ryuji had to spend all his money on a souvenir, so I lent him some for the train fare." Ann sent as Ryuji sent a response before Ren or Kusa could do so.

"I said I was sorry...That was for my mom." Ryuji sent as Kusa and Ren both chuckled at Ren being a good son to his mother. Ann then sent a response.

"Well, I guess I can call it even after all we've been through. And Kusa, I don't know if I should be impressed you were actually able to do the math on that, or that you could figure out interest that well." Ann sent as Ryuji smiled on seeing Ann's message as Kusa sent a response.

"To make a long story short, I've always had a good head for numbers. Needless to say, somewhere along the line it lent itself nicely to being able to manage a budget well, something that unfortunately for him skipped past Ren. That said, I could see you exaggerating the interest a bit to mess with Ryuji's head, but still that's a bit cold." Kusa said. Ryuji then sent a response before Ren could do more than huff at Kusa's response.

"...Thank you. Anyways, we don't gotta worry about selling that medal off if it's a fake! End of story!" Ryuji sent as Ren set his phone down as Morgana spoke up.

"Kamoshida will never be proud of that once-in-a-lifetime gold medal ever again. Depending on how you look at it, that punishment might be even worse than death for him." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded as Sojiro spoke up.

"So, starting tomorrow, you two'll have a lot of time off, huh? Must be nice...For me, it just means more customers and even more work." Sojiro said as Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"Sorry to hear that, Sakura-san. If you want, since we'll have the extra time during our week off, maybe we can help out around here a bit more to make up for the extra work you have to deal with as a result of the vacation?" Kusa suggested, not seeing Ren's eyes go wide behind him at what Kusa was suggesting. Sojiro smiled as he spoke up.

"Hmm, not a bad idea, Kusa. I might take you up on that a few times this week. Anyways, hey...A package came for you. Can't imagine what you bought..." Sojiro said as Ren looked at Kusa who nodded.

"Let's see what's inside, Ren!" Kusa said as Ren nodded and the two opened up the package, Morgana poking his head out of Kusa's bag as he spoke up.

"Hey, what did you get?" Morgana said as Kusa and Ren showed Morgana the contents of the package by way of response. Morgana nodded as he saw the contents.

"Ohh, must be what you ordered off the TV." Morgana said. Ren nodded as Kusa glared at Morgana.

"You can do what you like the rest of the night, Ren, but Morgana-sensei and I have a conversation to have about volunteering people for tasks, WITHOUT ASKING THEM FIRST." Kusa said to Ren, making Morgana wince at the icy glare he got from Kusa as Ren nodded.

"Got it, Morgana's yours for the rest of the night." Ren said as Morgana was carried up the stairs by Kusa. After that, Ren did a crossword and finished reading 'The Great Thief', the latter of which gave him enough Knowledge to rank it up from Rank 1, 'Oblivious', to Rank 2, 'Learned'. After that, Ren went to bed with a satisfied smirk as he saw Kusa and Morgana were laid together on the sofa, the latter looking apologetic as he laid his head on the former's chest. The next day, Morgana looked at Ren as soon as he got up.

"Morning, Ren. Kusa said to apologize for him since he got a message from Futaba pretty early and apparently she wanted to hang out with him and find out how the assembly went. Seems he was filling her in on the particulars of his life while they hung out. And no he didn't mention us being phantom thieves as far as I can tell. Anyways, that said, you and I are going to pawn that medal today." Morgana said, right as Sojiro called up the stairs.

"Hey, you can hear me, right? You don't have plans, do you? Come help me out, instead of sleeping your life away." Sojiro called up the stairs making Morgana wince as he spoke up.

"We do owe it to him..." Morgana said as Ren nodded, glaring at Morgana.

"Why didn't you just have Kusa take the medal with him and have him pawn it off so we could get it done while we help out Sakura-san?" Ren asked Morgana who shrugged.

"I didn't think of that at the time. Sorry." Morgana said as Ren just nodded and spoke up with a firm look on his face.

"I understand. Either way, we're helping out Sakura-san." Ren said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Okay, we'll just have to wait. Hurry down and help him out." Morgana said to Ren, who nodded and went downstairs. A short time later, Sojiro sat down and smiled at Ren as he was doing the dishes and spoke up.

"Heh, sorry I kinda pressured you into doing this." Sojiro said as the news came on at that point, mentioning a documentary about a dishonored Olympic medalist. Sojiro frowned as he recognized the area in the background and spoke up.

"Hm? Isn't this...?" Sojiro said in disbelief as he watched the TV. After seeing a few students from the school in mention interviewed, Sojiro frowned as he recognized the uniforms and looked over at Ren as he spoke up.

"I knew it. This is your school, isn't it?" Sojiro asked Ren. Ren blanched as he reluctantly nodded as he spoke up.

"Seems like it." Ren said honestly, knowing Kusa would've been on him to be honest had he been there at that moment. Sojiro sighed as he looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Things might be getting turbulent at school, but you need to just keep your head down, all right? ...More importantly, keep those hands moving. I've got more stuff I need you to do." Sojiro said to Ren who nodded. Some hours later, almost in the evening, he finally let Ren go upstairs at which point Morgana huffed and spoke up.

"Aww, man. The chief really worked us hard..." Morgana said as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"US!? I was the only one doing any work down there! You were just watching the whole time!" Ren huffed, but before Morgana could reply, Ren's phone went off to signal a group chat with Ryuji, Ann and Kusa.

"Did you see!? It was all over the news! No way the school's gonna be able to play dumb after that." Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.

"I saw it too. Shiho's name didn't come up, right?" Ann sent as Kusa sent a response at that point.

"No, I'm pretty sure no names were mentioned. And before you ask, I saw it too. I was hanging out with a friend and we watched it together on their TV. Needless to say, they were horrified when they heard about everything Kamoshida did. Makes me glad they don't go to school honestly, lest that scumbag have found a way to make them a victim as well." Kusa sent as Ryuji sent a response after that.

"Ahh, what's this now? Kusa's making friends other than us? Well done, man! That said, not that I saw, no. I'd bet they wanted to keep that part quiet." Ryuji sent. Ren sent a response at that point.

"No shit they wanted that kept quiet. Why would they want it on the news that their inaction led up to the attempted suicide of a student on school grounds during school hours? Can you imagine how many pissed-off parents they'd be dealing with, not to mention all the parents threatening to pull their kids from Shujin?" Ren sent as Kusa chuckled as he sent a response at that point.

"Couldn't have put that better myself, Ren. Also, if you're downstairs, make sure the door's unlocked so I can get in, I'm on my way home. I just left my friend's house since they said they were tired and wanted to go to sleep." Kusa sent as Ren nodded as he read Kusa's response while Ann sent one of her own.

"I'm so glad..." Ann sent as Ryuji also sent a response of his own.

"It's finally over then...All we gotta do is stuff our faces and put this Kamoshida crap behind us. I'm totally looking forward to this celebration party. Also, Kusa, when are we going to get the deets on your new friend?" Ryuji sent. Kusa frowned as he sent a response.

"First of all, Ryuji, NEVER use the word 'deets' around me like that again. I almost ended up banging my head hard on the nearest wall when I read that. Secondly, I can't say much just now, but what I can say is that she, and YES my new friend is a girl, has been through quite a bit already even though she's younger than I am by a few months. So it'll depend on when she's comfortable with letting me tell people about her. I'll be honest and say that Ren and Morgana already know, but only because they eavesdropped on one of my conversations with her and I had no choice but to tell them.

The only reason I'm not telling you and Ann is because a)she asked me to not tell a bunch of people about her, thankfully she forgave me for telling Ren and Morgana about her, b)I don't know if her guardian knows I know about and am friends with her, c)I'm not sure it's relevant just now, and d)I want to make sure she's comfortable enough hanging with others before I go into too many details about her. And Ren, do not say anything about her until I say you can or she tells me we can tell the others. For now, the details stay between you, me and Morgana. And if he's reading, you keep your mouth shut too Morgana!" Kusa sent as Ann smiled and sent a response.

"Aww, how cute, does Kusa actually have a girl he likes? And don't worry, we won't pressure you for details until you can share them, WILL WE RYUJI!? Also, I'll try not to let you guys down!" Ann sent as Kusa huffed in embarrassment as he tucked his phone away, as at the same time, Ren did the same while Morgana spoke up.

"YES! All right, we need to go sell the gold medal tomorrow. And I wonder if Lady Ann might be right about Kusa liking Futaba? I could see it." Morgana said, as Ren looked behind him and Morgana, only for his eyes to go wide at the sight of a very annoyed Kusa glaring at Morgana as he spoke up.

"Excuse you, Morgana-sensei!? She and I are just friends, thank you very much! I'm in NO rush to push for anything more than that given what she's been through! And no, I'm not telling you either until she says I can. So kindly quit making such embarrassing suggestions." Kusa said huffily. Ren smirked as he spoke up.

"Karma's a bitch, isn't it bro? Now you know how I feel every time you give me crap about Yoshizawa!" Ren said with a smirk as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Fine, I'll quit teasing you about her." Kusa said with a sigh. Morgana then spoke up.

"Even if the chief wants your help, make sure you turn him down, okay?" Morgana said to Ren as Kusa frowned.

"While you're correct in your statement, I'll make it a point to stick around here tomorrow and help Sakura-san out so you lot can go sell that medal. Futaba said she's not feeling up to company or texting tomorrow anyways so it's just as well that you needed someone to cover for you with Sakura-san. I figure, more I help him out, less likely he'll be to kill me once he figures out I've been hanging around his daughter and making friends with her, hopefully." Kusa said, his face slightly pale as he finished speaking. Ren nodded as he went downstairs to study while Kusa laid on his sofa and eventually dozed off. The next morning, Sojiro spoke up as Ren went to leave.

"Make sure you do the dishes." Sojiro said to Ren, who spoke up regretfully.

"As much as I'd like to help you out, I can't right now. I gotta go out and do stuff. But I think Kusa said he'd stay around the place today so he can help out if needed, so maybe he can do them and I'll help out when I get back?" Ren said. Sojiro sighed and spoke up.

"Don't get cocky with me." Sojiro said as the door opened up, and a female in a suit walked in. Sojiro turned to the female and spoke up.

"Welcome." Sojiro said as the female spoke up, looking from Ren to Sojiro in intrigue as she spoke.

"Am I interrupting something?" The female asked. Sojiro shook his head as he spoke up.

"Not at all." Sojiro said as the news came on talking about the subway accidents making Sojiro frown as he spoke up.

"Oh, is that the thing everyone's been talking about?" Sojiro asked as the female nodded and spoke up.

"Doesn't it make you curious? People who were living normal lives suddenly went mad or deranged out of the blue...Not to mention that it's happening one after another...Could they really be coincidental?" The female said as Sojiro shrugged and spoke up.

"Hmm...Leaving that aside...What'll you have?" Sojiro said to the female who spoke up after a bit.

"I'll have the house blend please." The female said. She then turned to face Ren as she kept speaking.

"Are you a part-timer? I'm surprised this place can afford one." The female said as Sojiro sputtered and spoke up before Ren could reply.

"Uhh, n-no, not exactly..." Sojiro said as the female kept speaking to Ren.

"Are you a high school student? Where do you attend?" The female asked Ren who shrugged and spoke up.

"Shujin Academy." Ren said honestly. The female blinked at this in surprise.

"Oh? Someone I know goes there as well. I've heard that things are rough right now. A teacher named Kamoshida confessed his crimes like he was a completely different person, supposedly. And it happened 'all of a sudden' one day. Can a person's mental state change so easily?" The female asked as Sojiro spoke up.

"Huh." Sojiro said as the female sighed and spoke up once more.

"Is my drink ready yet?" The female asked Sojiro who smirked as he spoke up.

"Coming right up." Sojiro said as Ren walked out the door while Sojiro chatted up the female. Once outside, Morgana spoke up.

"All right, today's the day we turn in that medal for cash. You know some place that'll buy it off you, right?" Morgana asked Ren who nodded.

"I know of the airsoft shop, but I'm not sure if they're open during the day or not." Ren said but walked with Morgana to find out and sure enough, when they got there, it was open. The owner looked up as Ren came walking in alone. The owner then spoke up in a surly voice.

"...Huh? You again? What do you want?" The owner asked as Ren put the medal down on the counter.

"I was going to see about selling this to you, if you'll buy it." Ren said honestly. The manager frowned as he looked over the medal.

"Huh? A gold medal? Why do you have this? We don't buy any fake or stolen goods here, kid." The manager said as Ren frowned and made to put it away before the owner spoke up again.

"...Hold on a sec. Lemme see it." The owner said as he took it to run some tests on it. When he walked back in, he looked at Ren in shock as he spoke up.

"I'm just...not gonna ask where you got this. How's 30,000 yen sound for it though?" The manager asked Ren, who smiled as that was about the amount that was quoted for it when Ryuji had looked it up two days ago. Ren nodded as he spoke up.

"Works for me." Ren said agreeably as the owner adjusted his hat with a smirk and spoke up.

"Hmph. 30,000 it is, then." The owner said, as he handed Ren 30,000 yen. The manager then spoke up once more.

"It's almost time...Here, take this with you. It's a thanks for sellin' me that medal. But, uh...best not to open it. Just bring it with you next time you come back here." The manager said to Ren who raised an eyebrow but just nodded as he spoke up.

"All right then, got it." Ren said deciding not to argue with the manager after he'd given Ren such a generous offer for the medal. The manager smirked as he spoke up again.

"Good. Glad you're so quick to understand." The manager said before huffing as he spoke up.

"..Tch. They're here." The manager said. As he finished speaking, two men in suits walked into the store and spoke to the manager.

"Munehisa Iwai, yes? There are some matters we'd like to discuss with you today." The stern-looking man said to the now-named Iwai who nodded as he looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Go, kid." Iwai said as Ren nodded, but stopped as he went to open the door of the store as the stern man spoke again.

"Do you know why we're here?" The stern man said as Iwai huffed and spoke up.

"I dunno, lookin' for evidence? You tell me, ." Iwai said as the vulgar man in the black suit slammed his palm on the table and spoke up.

"Watch your attitude!" The vulgar man said as Iwai shrugged and spoke up.

"Well, you guys gonna search me? Go on, do what you gotta do." Iwai said as the vulgar detective frowned and spoke up.

"What was that?" The vulgar detective said as Iwai smirked and spoke up.

"An upstandin' citizen's supposed to cooperate with the cops, right?" Iwai asked the detective as the stern detective spoke up.

"Hey, you sure that lead was legitimate?" The stern detective asked the vulgar detective who frowned and spoke up.

"I could've sworn it was..." The vulgar detective said as Iwai laughed and spoke up.

"Can you two hurry it up? I got a business to run here." Iwai said as the vulgar detective frowned and spoke up.

"You bastard..." The vulgar detective said before turning and noticing Ren standing at the door.

"Hey, you! What's in the bag, huh? Show me!" The vulgar detective said as Iwai spoke up.

"The kid's just a regular ol' customer. You can check the tapes if that'll convince you. They'll show everything that's gone down here today." Iwai said as Ren blanched, realizing he needed to scarper before the detectives see the footage of him selling off the gold medal to Iwai. Ren then decided to leave. The vulgar detective noticed Ren moving to leave and spoke up with a frown.

"I won't let you get away that easy! Show us what's in the bag!" The detective said to Ren who thought about it before speaking up.

"I should actually be going. I got people who're waiting on me to get home." Ren said. Iwai sighed at Ren's response as the vulgar detective spoke up again.

"Hmph. All this is starting to feel a little too fishy..." The vulgar detective said as the stern detective frowned and spoke up.

"Hey, you're talking to a kid, remember? Besides, he's not the one we're here to see." The stern detective pointed out as the vulgar detective spoke up.

"Urgh..." The vulgar detective said as Iwai smirked and spoke up.

"That's right, Mr. Detective. Maybe next time try not harassin' my customers, see how that goes." Iwai said as the vulgar detective growled furiously. Iwai then nodded to Ren.

"Go on, get going. Safe trip home, kid." Iwai said as Ren nodded.

"Thank you, sir. Farewell." Ren said as he left the store in a hurry. No sooner than he'd gotten outside did Morgana poke his head from outside of the bag and speak up.

"What were those detectives doing there? More importantly...aren't you curious about what's in the bag?" Morgana asked Ren who spoke up.

"Maybe a bit, but he asked me quite clearly not to look." Ren said. Morgana then spoke up with a mischievous look on his face.

"C'mon...There's no harm in a little peek. Come on, let's open it up." Morgana said as Ren sighed and relented, carefully opening up the bag, his eyes AND Morgana's going wide at the contents as Morgana spoke up.

"A real gun!? Wait...I think it's just a model. It's incredible though! Miles ahead of the one Ryuji had. There's something weird about that place...Hey Ren, I just had a great idea. We should totally buy this gun from him later!" Morgana said as Ren frowned at Morgana and spoke up.

"What are you talking about? And should we really be discussing this in front of the shop?" Ren quietly said. Morgana shrugged.

"I mean, it's perfect. Something this real-looking would work wonders in the Metaverse...Anyway, he told you to bring it back the next time you came, right? You should try striking a deal with him when we go to return it!" Morgana said as Ren shrugged and got on the train, heading back to Leblanc, in time for his phone to go off, signalling a call from Ann, which he took, noticing as he did so that Kusa wasn't in the room. Ren answered the phone.

"Hello? Ren speaking." Ren said with a smirk. Ann smiled as she heard Ren's voice.

"Oh...Hello, it's me. I saw the news. You know, about Kamoshida. It's getting a lot of coverage..." Ann said as Ren spoke up.

"I say it serves him right. But honestly, how do you feel?" Ren said to Ann. Ann sighed as she spoke up.

"I don't know...The reaction's been bigger than what I was expecting...I guess I'm just...surprised. I don't think we did anything wrong though. I wonder if we helped those people speak up about it..." Ann said as Ren thought about it before speaking up.

"It's possible, so I'm sure we did." Ren said. Ann smiled as she spoke up.

"That's pretty amazing, huh? I didn't think we'd actually be able to do it! And yet look at us now! This calls for a celebration! Let's meet in front of Shibuya Station at noon tomorrow! Don't be late! Oh, and did you pawn off that medal? You didn't forget, right?" Ann asked Ren who spoke up with a smile.

"I remembered, all right. Though, I almost had a run-in with some detectives after I pawned the medal off, which I'll go more into later, but yes I pawned it off." Ren said as Ann smiled and spoke up.

"Good to hear! I already made reservations! You should really be excited about the place I chose, by the way. I'm sure everyone's going to love it! Well, see you guys tomorrow!" Ann said as Ren hung up the phone and sat down on his bed as Morgana spoke up.

"Ah, a restaurant of Lady Ann's choosing. Finally, a decent meal! Hey, what do you think we're gonna be eating?" Morgana asked Ren who thought about it.

"Depends on what she chose, but considering she said something everyone will love, it's probably one of those all you can eat places. But considering how thoughtful she is, it's probably a place with sushi, among other things." Ren said with a shrug. Morgana nodded appreciatively as he spoke up.

"O-Oooooh! Tuna, sea urchin, and maybe even... salmon roe! In any case, I'm surely looking forward to it! Mwehehehe!" Morgana said as Ren nodded and stood up as Morgana spoke up once more..

"We're finally having that celebration tomorrow. I can't wait!" Morgana said as Ren nodded, right as Kusa came up the stairs. Ren nodded as he spoke up.

"Ah, there you are. I was surprised when you weren't here when Morgana and I got back." Ren said to Kusa who nodded as he spoke up.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Had to run some errands for Sakura-san while you were out doing whatever you were doing all day. You're welcome, by the way. I did the dishes for you so that Sakura-san wouldn't be angry at you for not doing them. So did you pawn off the medal?" Kusa asked as Ren nodded.

"Yup. Had kind of a dicey run-in afterwards, too. But we'll leave that at that for now. I say for now, we watch this new movie I got." Ren said as Kusa nodded, having finished watching the first half of 'The X-Folders' with Futaba the last time they hung out, since as it turned out that movie was one of Futaba's favorites. Kusa then spoke up.

"Sounds good to me, bro. What'd you pick out this time?" Kusa asked Ren who smirked as he pulled out the movie so Kusa could see it, making him facefault and speak up.

"SERIOUSLY!? Out of all of the movies you could've picked, you picked the one that's a blatant rip-off of Beverly Hills, 90210!? Need I remind you how hung up our parents were on that show a few years ago?" Kusa mentioned as Ren nodded.

"That's why I picked it, partially. But also because it apparently boosts charm." Ren said. Kusa shrugged and nodded his agreement.

"Why not, got nothing much else to do? Pop 'er in, Ren." Kusa said as Ren nodded and the two got comfortable to watch the movie, Kusa letting Morgana sit in his lap per usual.

As the movie played, Ren and Kusa laughed at the drama being shown, since the show was about young adults, set in the ritzy upscale neighborhood of Bubbly Hills. Morgana blinked as his ear twitched while he spoke up, looking at the screen with a frown.

"Whoa, is this what high schoolers are like overseas? Don't get any ideas, all right?" Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded approvingly, the latter absently petting Morgana's fur as he watched the movie, getting contented purrs from Morgana for his efforts. After the first disc was done, Morgana spoke up again.

"I really felt their desperate need to be loved by someone. Maybe you learned a thing or two about Charm by watching this drama." Morgana said to Ren who nodded as his Charm increased. After that, the group went to bed...

(The next day with Ann, Ryuji, Ren, Kusa and Morgana, neutral POV)

As the group sat around enjoying the food that they'd picked out, Ryuji spoke up happily.

"Mmmn...So good..." Ryuji said as Morgana's head poked out of Ren's bag as he spoke up.

"No wonder Lady Ann chose this place!" Morgana said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Of course it's good. This is a famous hotel, after all. Oh yeah, I heard that the police are coming to interview some people at school." Ann said as Morgana frowned before speaking up.

"That's troublesome." Morgana said. Ryuji frowned and nodded as he spoke up.

"Our names are gonna come up for sure. People're spreadin' all sorts of rumors about us and Kamoshida...But we got 'em pumped up! I keep hearin' stuff like 'The Phantom Thieves really stole his heart!' I think most people don't believe it, but some of 'em actually seem grateful. Look at this." Ryuji said as he held up his phone. Ann and Kusa looked over at the screen, the latter frowning as she spoke up.

"...The Phantom Aficionado Website? 'Well done, Phantom Thieves'...'Now I can keep going too'...'Thank you for giving us hope'..." Ann said as Ryuji put the phone down.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Ryuji said as Ann nodded and spoke up, noticing Kusa's frown as she spoke up.

"I was just desperate to deal with my own problems, but seeing people saying all this feels...strange." Ann said.

"Yeah...Hey, what do we do now?" Ryuji asked as Kusa spoke up.

"I'm not sure. But am I the only one who wonders how that site got started up in the first place? After all, aren't the five of us here, and YES I'm including you in this Morgana, the only ones who know about the Phantom Thieves?" Kusa said with a frown as Ren nodded.

"That's true. But it's not like they're naming names or anything. Just spreading posts with well-wishes." Ren said as Kusa nodded.

"That's true, I suppose. Sorry, just caught me off guard, that's all." Kusa said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"I understand that perfectly, Kusa. That said, we good on time?" Ren asked the others. Ryuji blinked at the question as he spoke up.

"Huh?" Ryuji said as his eyes went wide in realization as he spoke up, frowning as he spoke.

"Oh crap, you're totally right! We only got an hour to eat!" Ryuji said as Ann stood up and spoke up.

"Just fifty minutes left!" Ann said as Ryuji frowned while speaking up.

"Ugh! I'm not gonna finish all the beef dishes at this pace!" Ryuji said in frustration as Ann spoke up.

"I need to eat my way through the entire dessert menu!" Ann said as she walked off, Ryuji turning to Ren, Kusa and Morgana as he spoke up hurriedly.

"Look after our stuff! We'll snag somethin' for you guys too, don't worry!" Ryuji said as he walked off before Ren or Kusa could respond, leaving Kusa to huff in annoyance. Some time later, Ryuji and Ann returned with huge plates, the former speaking up as he ate his plate.

"Aw man, it melts in my mouth!" Ryuji said as Morgana frowned at the contents of Ryuji's plate and spoke up.

"Seriously? Only meat?" Morgana said as Ann spoke up happily.

"Now where should I start?" Ann said to herself as Morgana frowned and spoke up once more.

"And she's all about the cake..." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up with a smirk, making Ren groan as he had a feeling he knew what Kusa was about to say.

"Be that as it may Morgana, didn't you hear that the cake is a lie?" Kusa joked, referencing a meme he saw online once, and making both Ren and Ryuji facefault while Ann nearly choked on her cake as she glared at Kusa with a mock-scowl on her face as she spoke up in mock-anger.

"Oh yeah? If I recall correctly Kusa, wasn't this also the same meme that said I can have my cake and eat it too?" Ann said as Kusa blinked before laughing and nodding.

"Indeed it is. Well played, milady. Well played. But for real, you and Ryuji know NOTHING of how to have a balanced meal!" Kusa said with a smirk. Ann ignored him, smiling as she ate her cake with a smile as she spoke up.

"Ohh, soo happy..." Ann said as Ryuji spoke up with a smirk on his face, nudging Kusa as he spoke up, making Kusa look over in intrigue as Ryuji spoke up.

"Hey. Calories." Ryuji said as both Ren and Kusa actually busted up laughing at that comment, smirking at the annoyed look on Ann's face as she glared at Ryuji and spoke up.

"Shuddup! How much do you think one of these costs!? I'll never get the chance ot do this again!" Ann said huffily. She then smiled as she kept speaking.

"Mmm, the Wilton Hotel cake buffet...I'd heard rumors, but I never thought it'd be so amazing!" Ann said happily as Morgana pouted and spoke up.

"And...where's our share?" Morgana said in a whiny tone, making Kusa chuckle as he patted Morgana's head comfortingly. Ryuji then spoke up.

"I didn't really know what you'd want...So I just grabbed you some beans." Ryuji said as Morgana huffed and spoke up.

"B-Beans?" Morgana said as Ann smiled and spoke up at that point.

"There were some pretty bizarre things there too, so we got you a variety of those. Fried bananas, preserved eggs, and...some kind of beans." Ann said as both Morgana AND Kusa huffed at this, Morgana speaking up in disbelief as Kusa pouted at the listed foods.

"M-More beans?" Morgana asked as Ren smirked as he looked at Kusa while speaking up with a grin.

"What're the odds, Kusa!? They got ALL of your least favorite foods!" Ren joked as Kusa huffed and pouted as he spoke up.

"Oh, shut up Ren! I didn't see anything YOU liked on that list either, you know." Kusa said with a huff. Ann nodded as she spoke up.

"We put so much on the plate that it got all mixed up, but it should probably still taste good." Ann said as Kusa now looked visibly horrified at this as he spoke up.

"I'm sorry...WHAT!? You mixed the food all up!? That's wrong on so many levels! Everyone knows that the point of making a variety plate is that the foods NEVER touch one another. Even Ren knows this to be true." Kusa said as he crossed his arms in annoyance. Ren nodded his agreement as he spoke up.

"This is true, Kusa. I don't even know where to begin to describe the horror of what they did..." Ren said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"This is just plain grotesque." Morgana said bluntly as Kusa nodded his agreement. Morgana then looked over at Ren and Kusa and spoke up.

"Let's go, Kusa and Ren. These two just don't know what fine dining means! We'll show them!" Morgana said as Kusa smirked and nodded as he spoke up.

"I quite concur with you, Morgana-sensei. Let us show these uncultured swine what a real variety plate looks like." Kusa said in a mock-snooty tone, making Ren and Ryuji crack up at his tone as the former spoke up.

"Heh, uncultured swine. That's a good one, Kusa. Anyways, let's do this together you guys." Ren said to Morgana and Kusa who nodded as the former spoke up with a smirk.

"That's reassuring!" Morgana said as Ren turned to face Kusa.

"And when you say show them fine dining, that doesn't mean a well-proportioned, but not that balanced, plate with just cheesy and chocolatey stuff, Kusa." Ren joked as Kusa pouted as he spoke up.

"Aw come on Ren, don't spoil it. ...Kidding! I wouldn't dream of doing something that simplistic!" Kusa said as he saw the stunned looks on Ann and Ryuji's faces. Morgana then spoke up, a very mocking tone in his voice as he spoke.

"You guys watch our things while we're gone! Wait patiently for our return!" Morgana said mockingly as Kusa laughed at the snark in Morgana's tone. Ryuji nodded and spoke up, his words nearly causing Kusa to facefault as he spoke.

"Ahhh, it's like a meaty explosion in my mouth..." Ryuji said as Ann also spoke up happily.

"Ooh, this part's cream cheese!" Ann said. Morgana sighed as he spoke up.

"They're not even listening..." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded and they went to get their plates. Morgana then spoke up as they saw the buffet.

"As I'd expect from the buffet at a top-class hotel." Morgana said as Kusa nodded, grabbing plates for himself and Ren, making Morgana pout.

"Hey, where's my plate?" Morgana said. Kusa spoke up.

"Ren's going to make one for you with half of his since you're sharing his bag, right Ren?" Kusa asked Ren who nodded.

"Right, Kusa. Meanwhile, you get to make your plate just how you like it." Ren said as Kusa smirked as he spoke up excitedly.

"Damn straight! Don't mind if I do!" Kusa said as he walked off to fix his plate the way he wanted it while Ren and Morgana looked at each other. The ingredients and variety of dishes are crazy good. There's a reason it costs 8,000 yen. They have a lot here...But fish should come first! Let's fill our plate with all sorts of fish. Which table do you think they're at...?" Morgana asked Ren who shrugged, even as he mentally cursed Kusa in his head for sticking him with the fish-crazy feline. After a bit, Ren and Morgana found the fish on the teal colored table as Morgana spoke up.

"Oooh, look! There's the fish! I'd prefer it raw, but grilled is great too!" Morgana said as a rich couple spoke up next to Ren.

"Have you heard, my dear? The news about that Kamoshida fellow was absolutely dreadful." One of the two females said to the other, making Ren and Morgana blink at the apparently girl/girl couple as the other female spoke up.

"Ah, right. That teacher at Shujin Academy, caught doing such indecent acts. Shameful, really." The other female said as Morgana spoke up.

"Hold on a sec..." Morgana said as the second female kept speaking.

"And they still haven't managed to solve those horrible psychotic breakdown episodes, have they? I wish they wouldn't let themselves be distracted by such a tawdry scandal." The second woman said as the first spoke up, her voice radiating her disdain for those beneath her as she spoke.

"Perhaps it's a sign of how peaceful this country is. I honestly pity those poor Shujin students though." The first female said as Morgana spoke up.

"Huh. It sounds like the Kamoshida incident is the talk of the town." Morgana said as the second woman heard Morgana meowing and looked over and spoke up.

"Hm?" The second woman said as Morgana spoke up huffily.

"Shoot, they noticed you! Just grab some food and act natural! On the plus side, we'll get to eat the food later." Morgana said as Ren shrugged and put food on his plate as the first woman spoke up, looking down her nose at Ren as she spoke up.

"Tsk, how did a child like this end up in here? I certainly hope he didn't bring friends. I prefer my meals to remain hooligan-free, thank you very much. Come, let us go." The first woman said as she stormed off with the second woman in tow. After they left, Morgana frowned as he spoke up.

"What's so bad about kids coming to enjoy a buffet...?" Morgana asked as Ren spoke up.

"Maybe the fact that they saw you in my bag and figured I was smuggling you food or something?" Ren said with a shrug making Morgana huff as he spoke up.

"How rude!" Morgana said. He then kept speaking as he looked at Ren.

"Hm, I wonder how the other people here are reacting to the news. Let's get some more food and listen in. Maybe there are more people we can eavesdrop on at other tables..." Morgana said as Ren shrugged and went along with it. After the fish, Ren and Morgana hit up the rice table, right as Kusa walked away from it towards the other tables. As they got to the table, Morgana spoke up.

"Rice is incredible! It's the cornerstone of every great meal! ...Sorry. I got a bit carried away there." Morgana said as he saw the look Ren was giving him as Ren spoke up.

"Nah, it's fine. I've seen Kusa get way more carried away over food before so I'm used to it." Ren said with a laugh. As he put rice on his place he heard people talking.

"So the ratings for the news were really that good? It was because it was about that teacher who sexually harassed his student, huh? Was it Kamoshida?" A girl in a fancy dress was saying to the guy next to her. The guy next to her spoke up with a nod.

"It's all about how you frame it. You've got to cater to the idiotic public. Ratings go up when you show them crude, sensational news, and make it easier for them to understand." The guy in a suit said making Morgana huff as he spoke up.

"How can he be so insensitive? A student almost killed herself because of that Kamoshida..." Morgana said as the girl spoke up again.

"By the way, do you think these 'sudden changes of heart' might be real?" The girl asked the guy in a suit who huffed as he spoke up.

"Well, that's-Hmm?" The guy in a suit said as he noticed Ren nearby as Morgana spoke up.

"Quick, grab some food! Oh, and don't forget the crispy bits!" Morgana said, as Ren kept putting food on his plate as the girl spoke up.

"So because he had a sudden change of heart, he just confessed to all his crimes?" The girl asked as the guy in a suit laughed and spoke up.

"Hahaha, who knows? Sorry, but it's time. I have to go. I'll call you again after the meeting." The guy in a suit said as he and the fancy girl left. Afterwards, Morgana spoke up.

"A sudden change of heart, huh? I suppose I can't blame him for seeing it that way." Morgana said. Ren then kept moving. Ren then went to the meat table as Morgana spoke up, smirking as he saw Kusa at the dessert table grabbing a bit of chocolate. He then listened to Morgana as he spoke up.

"Ah, meat! I'm no Ryuji, but a meal is just not the same if you don't have any-I got distracted." Morgana said as Ren heard some men in suits speaking to one another.

"When you really look at it, he's just an ex-athlete who overestimated himself. He should have just accepted his lot in life and quietly done his job as a teacher." One of the guys said as another spoke up with a scoff.

"It's not even an incident we can take seriously. The whole story is pretty ridiculous. We should probably look into it, but we can also just let the low-ranking scrubs handle it." The other guy said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"Look into...? I guess they're investigating Kamoshida? They don't sound very enthusiastic about it though." Morgana said as one of the two saw him.

"Hmm?" The haughty guy said. Morgana panicked and looked at Ren as he spoke up in a hurry.

"Gah, grab some food! Ah, get the part that's not too fatty!" Morgana said as Ren put some meat on his plate. The insolent guy spoke up at that point.

"He's gonna be arriving soon. We don't want to keep him waiting, so we better get going too." The insolent guy said as the haughty guy spoke up.

"What is he gonna discuss with the higher-ups? Well, I'm sure it's more important than lunch." The insolent guy said as the two left and Morgana spoke up.

"They were dressed quite well, but they still looked pretty shady to me." Morgana said as Ren nodded, before heading to the dessert table as it was the last one left. Once there, Morgana smiled happily as he spoke up in excitement.

"Up close, it looks even bigger and more delicious. This giant, sweet-Ah, I got distracted." Morgana said as a man and woman were talking next to Ren so he listened in.

"News travels quick. It's already all over the internet. You know, the story about how Kamoshida got his ass kicked by some world-reforming heroes..." The guy said as the girl spoke up uncertainly with a shrug.

"It doesn't sound like a serious story to me. Some of the details are pretty far-fetched." The girl said as the guy spoke up again.

"Don't worry about it. We just have to do what they tell us to do. It's all rumors made up by school kids, anyways. If it's gripping news, who cares if it's not true?" The guy said as Morgana spoke up with a frown.

"So they don't believe themselves, but they're making up stories to make the Phantom Thieves seem real...And they're doing this in front of the actual Phantom Thieves." Morgana said, smirking as he finished speaking. Needless to say the guy spotted Morgana and spoke up.

"Hm?" The guy said as Morgana panicked and spoke up.

"Whoa! Act fast, and grab some food! And make sure it's got a lot of whipped cream." Morgana said as Ren nodded and put some dessert onto the plate as the girl spoke up.

"What's wrong?" The woman asked as the guy spoke up.

"Ah, nothing. I thought some weird kid was looking at us, that's all. Why don't we go? It's almost time for the meeting." The guy said as the two left and Morgana spoke up.

"Well, that was rude. Did you hear him? He said you were weird." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"Pretty sure he meant both of us since he saw you if I'm not mistaken." Ren pointed out as Morgana shrugged.

"Possibly. Either way, don't think there's anyone else we can listen in on. But it's shocking... So many of the adults here don't seem like nice people. Now according to what we heard...It seems most adults aren't interested in the news about Kamoshida. Well, now that we've got a nice variety of food on our plates, let's head back to the others." Morgana said as Ren nodded and carried his plate back to the table, where Kusa, Ryuji and Ann looked up as Ren sat back down, Ryuji smirking at the plate Ren brought and speaking up.

"...Ooh, you brought a ton back. Whaddya think about comin' up against such ritzy food?" Ryuji asked Ren who smiled and spoke up.

"Considering how many close calls Morgana and I had getting this, partly because people kept hearing Morgana meowing, I just want to eat." Ren said. Ryuji nodded as he spoke up.

"I was thinkin' that too, but take a bit. Usin' better ingredients makes stuff taste way different!" Ryuji said as Kusa just nodded to Ryuji's comment, too busy stuffing his mouth with rice to speak up at that moment. Ren smirked as he saw Kusa's plate and how it was composed.

"HA! I knew it! Your plate is 1/3 chocolate, 1/3 rice and the other 1/3 meat! Balanced plate indeed." Ren said as Kusa huffed and subtly flipped off Ren so only Ren and Ryuji could see, making the latter laugh at how subtly and non-verbally Kusa had responded to Ren as he kept eating. Morgana then spoke up as he smirked at Ryuji.

"Look at you, acting like you've got a refined palate all of a sudden." Mona said as he kept eating the fish off of Ren's plate. Ryuji frowned as he spoke up.

"Don't you think you're eatin' too much, Mona?" Ryuji said making Kusa's eyes widen as he swallowed the bite he was on and glared at Ryuji as he spoke up.

"Did you just call him Mona, Ryuji? Does this look like the Metaverse to you!?" Kusa hissed so only Ryuji, Ren and Morgana could hear. Morgana spoke up before Ryuji could reply, speaking around bites of fish.

"There's no...knowing when we'll get to come back here again." Morgana said as Ann nodded and spoke up as Kusa went back to his food.

"Sure, but you guys brought back loads of food...It'd be a shame to let it all go to waste. Why don't YOU help them out, Ryuji?" Ann said to Ryuji who shrugged and spoke up.

"We should both help." Ryuji said as Ann blinked and spoke up once more.

"Oh, me? I'm wayyy too stuffed! I couldn't possibly help!" Ann said as Ryuji chuckled and spoke up.

"Yeah, stuffin' your face with cake..." Ryuji said as he huffed and spoke up in annoyance as he looked at Ren and Kusa in particular as he spoke.

"Whatever. Let's deal with this ourselves!" Ryuji said as the group kept digging in to their food, blanching as they noticed that it felt like no matter how much they ate, the amount of food they have stays the same. At that point, Morgana spoke up looking particularly stuffed.

"There's still more?" Morgana asked as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Don't give up! Let's keep at it!" Ryuji said as between him, Ren and Morgana, plus Kusa to a lesser extent, the plates were all eventually emptied. After that, Morgana spoke up, looking queasy.

"W-We did it..." Morgana said as Ren winced, noticing that his belt feels multiple sizes too small. At that point, Ryuji spoke up looking as queasy as Morgana and Ren probably felt.

"Ye-Oh yeah...This is a victory... for all of us..." Ryuji said as Kusa sagely nodded, leaning back in his chair as he contentedly patted his stomach, not looking the least bit queasy or stuffed, making Ann and Ryuji blink at him in surprise.

"How are you not looking fit to burst like Ren, Ryuji and Morgana do, Kusa?" Ann asked as Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"I'm glad you asked that, milady. It's all in the ancient art of pacing oneself...that and knowing how not to overload one's plate in the first place." Kusa said with a smug smirk. Ren glared at Kusa, but was too busy being sick to his stomach to yell at him. After he managed to get well enough to speak, Ren spoke up.

"That was tough. But Kusa, no fair not packing your plate full to bursting in an all-you-can-eat buffet!" Ren said as Ryuji nodded.

"Yeah! That's cheating, man!" Ryuji said in agreement with Ren as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Oh screw off, the both of you. You're just mad because Ann and I were smart enough to know our limits and obey them to some extent. Of course that may be because they say a warrior's body is like a temple to them so they should take care of it as such." Kusa said with a smirk as Ann nodded her agreement. Ryuji then spoke up again.

"We won...because we did it together..." Ryuji said as Ann smirked and spoke up.

"Good job, you guys. How about one last dish to cleanse your palates? I recommend the seasonal tart! The grapefruit has both alluring sweetness and a tangy sourness!" Ann said as Ryuji spoke up, looking queasy.

"Ugh, stop...I don't want to hear about sour stuff..." Ryuji said as he burped and then frowned.

"Oh, this isn't good. I gotta go to the bathroom..." Ryuji said. Morgana nodded as he looked at Ren as he spoke up.

"Urp...M-Me too...Please carry me gently..." Morgana said queasily to Ren who nodded, needing the bathroom as well. At that point, a couple walked by and the woman spoke up.

"My, look at that table..." The woman said as the man with her spoke up in a condescending tone.

"Come now, pay them no attention. I'm sure they must not normally have the chance to eat such exquisite food." The man said as the woman nodded and spoke up.

"I can only imagine what their parents must be like..." The woman said haughtily as both Ryuji and Kusa glared at this and made to stand up, the former looking queasy.

"What was that?" Ryuji snapped after the fleeing couple. Kusa huffed as they walked off and he spoke up.

"Hmph! Damned cowards better keep walking after that! They're lucky I'm not trying to make a scene, or I'd be helping you drag them the hell outside so we could kick their ignorant asses! How dare they make fun of our parents!? That's totally not okay! Not to mention them saying we must not get to eat good food often. I almost jumped over the back of my seat to punch that asswipe's lights out right then! How dare he insult Sakura-san like that! That rude, snooty asshole..." Kusa said, trailing off as he grumbled various obscenities under his breath. Ryuji nodded his agreement before he grabbed his stomach.

"...Urp! We don't got time for that. C'mon Ren, Morgana, let's go..." Ryuji said as the three got up and went to relieve themselves...

(A short time later, by the elevators with Ryuji, Ren and Morgana, neutral POV)

"Ughh, I'm stuffed..." Morgana said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"I totally panicked when I saw the 'Closed for Cleaning' sign at the bathrooms..." Ryuji said as Morgana smirked and spoke up.

"You were talking big about eating until you puked but your really did puke...Are you some kind of moron?" Morgana asked as Ryuji huffed and glared as he crossed his arms and spoke up.

"Hey, same goes for you! What floor was that restaurant on?" Ryuji asked as Morgana spoke up.

"We came up to get here, so it has to be on a lower floor, right?" Morgana said as Ryuji pushed the 'down' button. However, right after he did that, a group of people walked up and shoved Ryuji out of the way to get in line for the elevator, getting glares from Ren and Morgana for their efforts. Ryuji himself huffed as he spoke up.

"What the-" Ryuji said as he was cut off by the bald man among the group speaking up.

"There's still no update on the case?" The bald man said as one of the guys in suits walked up to him and spoke up.

"N-Not yet...Excuse me, but why are you so involved? It's not something you should be concerned with..." The man in a suit said as the bald man spun around to face him and spoke up, his tone unarguably livid as he spoke.

"I don't care about your opinion, you incompetent buffoon! When I say pick up the pace, you do it!" The bald man said as Ryuji huffed and spoke up.

"Hey, you're cuttin' in line!" Ryuji said as one of the men in suits turned to face him and spoke up.

"What do you want?" The man said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"We were here first, sir. So kindly please wait your turn for the elevator." Ren said as politely as he could manage. The man turned to Ren and spoke up.

"We're in a hurry." The man said as Ryuji huffed and spoke up, clearly unimpressed with the man's response as he spoke.

"Oh, I'm sorry. So you can butt in front of other people if you're in a hurry?' Ryuji said as the bald man turned to face Ryuji and spoke up.

"It seems the customer base has changed since I was here last. Have they started a day care?" The bald man asked rhetorically as Ryuji spoke up.

"What?" Ryuji said in annoyance as the man who had rebuked Ren spoke to the bald man.

"Sir, we don't have time for this." The man said to the bald man, who turned and spoke up.

"I know." The bald man said as the elevator opened up, and when Ryuji went up to get it, the man in a suit literally punched Ryuji out of the way making Ren frown as the bald guy spoke up again.

"Don't bother with them!" The bald man said as Ren frowned, feeling like he'd heard the bald man's voice somewhere before. While Ren was distracted, the men filed into the elevator as it closed, leaving Ryuji to huff as he spoke up.

"The hell was with that bossy guy?" Ryuji asked Ren who didn't answer as he was massaging his head at that moment. Morgana spoke up instead.

"Shouldn't we head back down?" Morgana asked as Ryuji huffed and spoke up.

"Yeah, but..." Ryuji said as he pushed the 'down' button once more as he spoke up, his rage exploding out of him as he spoke.

"That dick really pissed me off. He wasn't even hidin' the fact that he looks down on everyone!" Ryuji said huffily as Morgana spoke up.

"Don't lose your temper over this." Morgana said reprovingly. Ryuji frowned as he spoke up, still agitated as he spoke.

"I just can't forgive shitty adults like that!" Ryuji said as Ren frowned. That bald man's voice...it sounded like a voice Ren had heard once before, the night his luck got him AND Kusa into trouble. At that point, Ryuji finally noticed Ren holding his head and spoke up.

"What's wrong?" Ryuji asked Ren who spoke up after a moment.

"Just had a bit of a light-headed spell. That, and that bald-headed fucker who was talking down to us, his voice sounded oddly familiar to me for some reason, as if I've heard it somewhere else previously but I can't put my finger on where." Ren said. Ryuji frowned as he spoke up.

"You not feelin' good?" Ryuji asked as Morgana spoke up right then.

"He almost never eats well, after all...Plus I'm always stuck eating canned cat food..." Morgana said as Ren glared at Morgana pointedly as Ryuji huffed and spoke up.

"Ugh, that 'sir' bullshit makes me sick! ...Dammit!" Ryuji said as the elevator came back and the trio headed back down to Kusa and Ann, who both frowned as the trio of Ren, Ryuji and Morgana sat back down, Ann immediately speaking up with a frown.

"What took you so long!?" Ann asked as Ryuji frowned at Ann and spoke up.

"Why're you all pissy?" Ryuji asked as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Maybe because you three were gone for way longer than you were supposed to be, making us almost worry about you?" Kusa said dryly, the look in his eyes a very unimpressed look. Ann nodded approvingly to Kusa's remark as she sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, sorry...I had a run-in with some woman a second ago. SHE bumped into ME, but then said it was all MY fault when SHE dropped her plate..." Ann said as Kusa smirked.

"To be fair Ann, I'm just impressed you didn't fight that bitch when she did that! If that had been me and that chick had been a guy, you can bet I'd have been dragging them outside to fight them. What she said and did to you was not okay." Kusa said huffily. Ryuji laughed as he nodded to Kusa's remark.

"Couldn't have put that better myself, man! Sounds like a real bitch..." Ryuji said as Kusa nodded approvingly. Ann nodded as she spoke up.

"Yeah...thanks though. But...the restaurant workers all looked at me with this disapproving expression..." Ann said as Ren and Ryuji sat back down as she kept speaking.

"I wonder if we're out of place here..." Ann said as Ren shrugged and spoke up.

"We're not, but it always feels like this it seems like." Ren said sagely as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly! And Ann, do not get me started on those snobby pricks! I had to keep myself in my seat every time they'd look down their noses at us! Ugh." Kusa said as Ryuji nodded and grunted as he frowned. He then looked over at Morgana.

"Hey, Morgana." Ryuji said, making Morgana pop out of Ren's bag in shock on hearing his name as he spoke up.

"What is it?" Morgana asked Ryuji who frowned and spoke up.

"...Anyone could have a palace, yeah?" Ryuji asked Morgana who nodded.

"Yeah...Anyone with a strong, distorted desire." Morgana said as Kusa frowned, thinking about what Futaba had told him about, and wondering if that counted as close to distorted, making him worry about her, but he kept his face neutral as he pondered this. Ryuji nodded as he spoke up once more.

"Same for them havin' a change of heart if their Treasure gets stolen?" Ryuji asked as Morgana nodded once more and spoke up.

"That would be the case." Morgana said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?" Ann asked Ryuji as he spoke up with a frown.

"We had trouble earlier too. These selfish shitheads who just looked down on everyone else...I was just wondering' if we'd be able to change those kindsa people too." Ryuji said making Ren and Ann both look at Ryuji in surprise along with Kusa once he registered what Ryuji had said. Ann then spoke up.

"You mean... you wanna continue as the Phantom Thieves?" Ann asked as Ryuji nodded and kept speaking.

"I've been thinkin'. We put a lot of work into changin' Kamoshida's heart, but nobody believes in the Phantom Thieves. Plus...those others guys who had no other choice but to just deal with it are thankin' us. Us, of all people." Ryuji said as Ren stroked his chin thoughtfully as he spoke up.

"I admit I'm inclined to agree with Ryuji, but as Morgana once said, all decisions we make have to be unanimously decided on. So that said, what do you two think, Ann and Kusa?" Ren asked Kusa and Ann, who blinked as the former spoke up.

"I'm for keeping the team going! I've been sayin' the whole time we could keep having each others' backs no matter what, so why should changing more hearts change that at all?" Kusa said with a smile. Ann briefly paused before speaking up after thinking it over.

"I...I agree. If we ignore people who are in trouble, I'd go back to being the same as I was before..." Ann said with a frown as Morgana spoke up.

"Well... that's true." Morgana said before smirking as he kept speaking.

"You're under MY tutelage. There's nothing we can't accomplish as phantom thieves!" Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Shouldn't we be able to help 'em out?" Ryuji asked as Ren blinked, not honestly expecting this possibility to occur...But it's true that with this power, the group might well be able to help people. Ann then spoke up with uncertainty.

"But...That means we'll have to fight Shadows again, doesn't it..?" Ann asked as Morgana nodded as he spoke up encouragingly.

"Indeed. That can't be avoided." Morgana said as Ryuji smirked and spoke up.

"Eh, I'm sure we'll manage. Hehehe...Right?" Ryuji said as he looked at Ren who stroked his chin in thought before smiling as he spoke up.

"I confess that when we came here, I wasn't expecting us to discuss continuing what we did against Kamoshida, but at the same time, I'm not against it. I want to help people so if you want us to do so as phantom thieves, then fine by me. I'm down for that. Don't you agree, Kusa?" Ren said as Kusa smiled and nodded eagerly.

"Damn right I agree! Being able to help people is like one of the best things to happen to us in my opinion! And I don't know about the rest of you, but I take pride in all the people we save when we fight those Shadows. So I'm all for us continuing to save people as phantom thieves!" Kusa said with a firm nod. Morgana smirked as he spoke up.

"Heh...Even if you guys are just fledglings, this means we're an actual organization now." Morgana said as Ann chuckled as she spoke up.

"Fledglings? Haha, that's actually pretty fitting for us." Ann said with a smile as Ryuji smirked and spoke up.

"All right, it's settled! We're gonna catch all these shitty adults by surprise, and make ourselves known to the world!" Ryuji said as Ann then looked over at Ren.

"Are you okay being our leader?" Ann asked Ren, ignoring the three looks of shock from Ren, Kusa and Morgana at her question. Ren spoke up after a bit.

"I'm not sure why you want me in particular to be the leader, but if that's what you want, I can't say no to a lady. So of course, I'm okay being leader, with apologies to Kusa and Morgana who probably figured Morgana would be leader." Ren said. Ryuji nodded his agreement.

"No objections here. I can't handle all that responsibility stuff." Ryuji said as Kusa chuckled in amusement before speaking up.

"I'm a bit surprised that you were picked to be the leader Ren, but given how well you did at it against Kamoshida, I agree that you should be leader going forward, unless Morgana has objections to it?" Kusa said as Morgana spoke up at that point.

"Where's MY say in this? But Lady Ann made the recommendation, so I'll allow it." Morgana said as Ryuji smirked as he spoke up.

"Well, should we decide on a name for our group? I just went with Phantom Thieves of Hearts as a one-off, but don't you think a real name would be cooler?" Ryuji said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Ooh, I've got it! I want it to be something both cute and luxurious sounding...Let me see...How about 'The Diamonds'?" Ann suggested as both Kusa and Ryuji blanched at her suggestion as Ryuji shook his head.

"I'm getting a real little-league baseball feel from it." Ryuji said as Morgana smirked and spoke up.

"Well then, here's my suggestion. How about 'Tilefish Poele'?" Morgana suggested as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.

"Tile...uh, what?" Ryuji asked. Morgana smirked as he spoke up.

"That's what I ate earlier. It's commemorative, no?" Morgana said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Hell no, you idiot!" Ryuji vetoed the name and then turned to Ren.

"Ugh, you and Kusa decide for us..." Ryuji said to Ren who nodded as he turned to Kusa.

"Any ideas, Kusa? I'm inclined to suggest something simple like 'The Phantoms' myself. But if you have a good suggestion, I'm open to input." Ren said to Kusa who stroked his chin as he thought about it before smirking as he spoke up.

"While I do think 'The Phantoms' is decent, I'm reminded of Ryuji's previous 'little-league baseball feel' comment he made about Ann suggesting 'The Diamonds' and inclined to use that argument to veto that name. Fortunately, thinking about it, I have a better idea in mind." Kusa said as he quickly wrote something on a piece of paper which he held up so Ren, Morgana, Ryuji and Ann could see the two words written on it in all upper-case lettering: PHANTOM CREW. After looking at it for a bit, both Morgana and Ryuji smiled at the name as the former spoke up first.

"Phantom Crew...Yeah, I like it. Has a very 'fear us!' vibe to it, yet also is succinct and to the point. Not to mention I can see us being able to be literal when we tell new recruits 'Welcome to the Crew!' after they get their code names." Morgana said as Ryuji smirked as he spoke up.

"I like it too, since it also has that 'BAMF' or 'Bad-Ass Motherfucker' energy in it plus I could see me or Kusa using it as an intimidation play like 'Don't fuck around unless you want to face the wrath of the Phantom Crew!', so I agree with it." Ryuji said as Ann looked it over and smiled as she spoke up.

"Huh, that's not bad at all. I think it's a bit rough and masculine, but also elegant enough that it has that hint of sophistication you want in a team name. I support that name." Ann said as Ren spoke up after a bit.

"I have to say, Kusa...I'm impressed. I like your name too. 'Phantom Crew.' If we're all agreed, Let's go with this name." Ren said with a nod. Kusa spoke up.

"I think we all know my opinion, but for both the sake of formality and for a properly unanimous decision, I agree with Phantom Crew as our name." Kusa said. Morgana nodded as he spoke up once more, looking impressed with Kusa as he spoke.

"A good name, for a rookie." Morgana said with a nod ignoring the frown Kusa gave him for his 'rookie' comment. Ryuji then spoke up.

"Phantom Crew...We goin' with that?" Ryuji asked Ren and Kusa who both nodded as the former spoke up.

"It seems like we all agree, so if that's okay, our name will be Phantom Crew going forward, but we can still be known to the community as the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts' for the sake of consistency." Ren said. Ann nodded as she spoke up.

"Well, now that the name's set, who's our next target?" Ann asked as Ryuji spoke up with a smirk.

"There are tons of rotten adults and all...Why not just stick to targeting big names?" Ryuji said as Kusa and Ren looked at each other as Ren spoke up.

"You mean, like a celebrity?" Ren asked as he reached for his drink to sip what was left of it as Ryuji spoke.

"Yeah, something along those lines. if we go after some bigwig, it's gotta get on the news, right? Don't you think more people would believe in us if we did that?" Ryuji said as Morgana smirked and spoke up.

"That's not a bad idea... for you, Ryuji." Morgana said as Ann spoke up before Ryuji could sputter at Morgana's shot at him.

"True. If we become better known...we might be able to give courage to a lot more people. I don't like the idea of just picking someone out of the blue though." Ann said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Let's narrow it down to someone we can all agree on then." Ryuji said as Morgana smiled, speaking up as he smiled.

"Hm, so we need a bigwig we decide on unanimously." Morgana said as Ann smiled and spoke up.

"I like that unanimous decision part! It's like we're making some kind of pact!" Ann said as Morgana smiled as he spoke up with a smirk on his face as he spoke.

"Now then, this is the official formation of the Phantom Thieves organization!" Morgana said as Ann blanched and spoke up in a sad voice.

"Oh no! Our time for the buffet ran out..." Ann said as Ryuji nodded as he spoke up.

"I guess we'll just have to talk more tomorrow." Ryuji said as the others nodded...

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

Sae frowned as she spoke up, looking at Joker with deep skepticism as she spoke.

"Another world in which people's distorted cognitions take shape? Stealing treasure to change hearts? And top of all that, a talking cat told you all this?" Sae asked Joker who nodded as he spoke up simply.

"It's all true, but I can see you don't buy it entirely so believe what you will, Niijima-san." Joker said. Sae nodded as she spoke up.

"Honestly speaking, that all sounds absurd. It's hard to believe that this even worth listening to. Still, it can't be considered nonsense when parts of it align with Kamoshida's confession. The same goes for the testimonies of the officers who arrested you. ...But so be it. At any rate, you mentioned something more important. These three other accomplices, besides this talking cat thing that appeared in your story...From what you've been telling me, they're students at the same school, aren't they?" Sae said to Joker who stroked his chin as he spoke up.

"Perhaps." Joker said simply. Sae frowned at this.

"'Perhaps'? Don't take me for a fool. Very well, I'll leave it at that. Let's continue on. The questioning's not over, anyway. If you are making this up, the cracks in your story will prove it. The next to receive a calling card was this individual..." Sae said as she showed Joker a picture of an old man with silver hair, beady eyes and a cream colored kimono worn over a dark-blue robe as she kept speaking.

"A master of Japanese arts: Ichiryusai Madarame. It's even more incomprehensible than Kamoshida as to why this man was targeted. Where did you come to know him? And how did you learn of his crimes when you weren't a victim of them? Start by telling me what you all schemed..." Sae said as Joker frowned while looking over the picture as he continued his retelling...

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

Morgana looked at Ren and Kusa as he spoke up.

"Well, we spent all our money on the buffet, but...We officially established the Phantom Thieves, so it was totally worth it." Morgana said as 24,000 yen was subtracted from Ren's on-hand total, leaving him and Kusa with a bit over 11,000 yen still on hand. At that point, Ren and Kusa's phones went off to signify a group chat from Ryuji and Ann.

"The Phantom Thieves, huh...I'm liking the sound of that!" Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response of her own.

"I hope we can really help people. I'm curious about that Phantom Aficionado Website too. I wonder who made it..." Ann sent as Kusa frowned and sent a response.

"Ignoring what Ryuji said about our team name, I agree with Ann. That Phantom Aficionado Website seems kinda sketchy a bit. And also, I too hope we can help people." Kusa sent as Ryuji sent his own response.

"No clue. More importantly, you see the survey on there? I dunno how I feel about it." Ryuji sent. Ann nodded as she sent her own response.

"Yeah, there was this approval rating thing, but it was only at like six percent..." Ann sent as Ren and Kusa frowned and both sent responses.

"That's better than I expected, honestly. I thought it'd be at like 2.5 percent or so." Ren sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Regardless, that's less than a tenth of the total people polled, so that's pretty damn low in my opinion." Kusa sent. Ann sent a response to Ren's response.

"I guess it's not so bad if you put it that way, though Kusa is right that our approval is rather low." Ann sent. Ryuji then sent a response.

"But don't you just wanna get it higher than that? I bet it'll go up tons if we keep taking down big targets. It's pretty damn exciting if you try and think about it like that." Ryuji sent as Ann nodded and sent a response of her own.

"You know, you're actually right. Well then, let's keep working hard from this point on!" Ann sent as Ren closed his current chat only to see another group chat that had been sent by Ann and Ryuji.

"Oh yeah, lemme send the celebratory pic I took for today! Celebrating the founding of the Phantom Thieves! And celebrating us crashing that classy buffet!" Ryuji sent as he sent a pic of himself posing for the camera as Ann was stuffing her face, Ren was sipping his drink and Morgana was just looking over the spread on the table. As for Kusa, unfortunately so, he got the misfortune of being 'Mike Wazowski'd in that Ryuji's pose perfectly covered up where Kusa had been sitting so all you could see of him was an arm scooping rice onto a fork behind Ryuji. Kusa frowned and sent a response.

"OH COME ON! How come I got Wazowski'd out of the photo? RUDE!" Kusa said huffily as Ren sent a response.

"Better you than Morgana, am I right?" Ren sent as Kusa huffed. Ann then sent a response.

"You can cool it with all the 'celebrating' any time now...Wait, you took that while I was eating!? Why didn't you tell me!?" Ann sent as Kusa sent a response.

"At least YOU were actually visible in the picture, Ann!" Kusa sent huffily. Ryuji smirked and sent a response.

"My bad, Kusa. I forgot you were behind me when I took that photo or I'd have changed the angle to fit you in the picture. And Ann? Uh, I did. You just never stopped eating. Anyways, this is our start as the Phantom Thieves!" Ryuji sent. Kusa huffed as he sent a response.

"Unless you're referring to our official handle of 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts', please refer to our group as the name we agreed on, aka 'Phantom Crew'!" Kusa said as Ren and Ann nodded. Ryuji nodded as he sent one more response.

"Fair enough. That said, those shitty adults better look out! We're gonna take the world by storm! All the shitty adults in the world better watch out for us!" Ryuji sent as Kusa put his phone away at the same time Ren did, both shrugging and deciding to relax. With their team officially formed, all that remained now was to watch for their next target to be made apparent for them, and then it'd be time for the world to see just what the Phantom Thieves of Hearts could really do...

END OF CHAPTER AND OF ARC 1: PHANTOMS AWAKEN

A/N: Whew, that was one HUMONGOUS chapter! But I finally managed to wrap up the first arc with a nice neat little bow as such, so I think the extra length was worth it! But to be fair, don't ever expect a chapter this length from me again! This chapter took me literally over half a day to finish, after taking out food and bathroom breaks! So yeah, not gonna do another one this length for awhile, if ever! Either way, next chapter will begin Arc 2 of the story aka 'The Kitsune Artist' so look forward to that! Untll next update, sithlorde1988 out!