"I still can't believe we can't go further." Shiho complained as the Team returned to the real world.

After they had gotten out of school, the first thing the group did was head into Mementos, in order to finish what they started. It started out well enough; the Team was able to clear through level after level with only minor difficulty. The problem came when they arrived at the end of the block. Like with the others, there was an obsidian door with crimson markings on it, sealed at the walkways that would take them further into Mementos. But unlike the others, when Yu touched it, the door didn't budge. The Team tried to open it in every way they could; they had the Mona-mobile attack it, they assaulted it with their Personas, and they even looked to see if there was some kind of lock they could bypass to open it. Nothing worked. Sugimura was beyond their reach.

"We can't go further for now. The Nav said that removing distortion cleared the way before. If we can make another Palace collapse, we should be able to make it further." Yu reminded her.

"Yea yea." Shiho replied, but Yu knew the real reason why she was so dejected.

She hates the idea of someone like that being allowed to keep doing what they're doing. Looks like I'm gonna have to pretend to be Haru's boyfriend. There'll no doubt be rumors about me being a piece of shit, but there'll also be some that'll say it's because she can't satisfy me.

The only progress they made was reaching the end of a block they already half explored, and even with them taking extra caution to not encounter the Reaper again, the whole ordeal took about two hours.

"Alright, everyone head back home. Akechi, let us know if you find anything." Yu ordered. As his teammates went their separate ways, he felt his phone ring.

Futaba: Yo Yu! Get ur booty over to Akihabara! The King's gonna meet a challenger!

Yu: I'm sorry, what?

Futaba: Get to Akihabara! Now! I'll explain later!

Might as well. I got nothing else to do.

Yu arrived at the so-called arcade town, and he had to admit, there were way more people here than he thought there would, and almost all of them were crowded around the arcade. Looking around, it didn't take him very long to find Futaba; the girl was jumping up and down like she found the greatest treasure of all time. The teenager walked over, and the small girl grabbed him and dragged him inside, where it was even more crowded, except for one area; the Gun About video game.

"Alright, so here's the level description; a guy by the name of Takekuma has reached second place in the Gun About high scores. Because of that, he gets to challenge the King himself, which he did. So now, the King's gotta come on out to defend his title."

"I'm sorry what? Who thought that up?" Yu asked, utterly confused.

"Basically, the King of the 'Cade is one of the greatest video game players to ever live. He holds the top score for pretty much every game in every arcade in Tokyo. The handful of times he's been beaten was only because the guys fighting him were using cheats. Trust me, this guy is no joke. So many people were trying to take him down or challenge him that he made a rule; if you made it to second place in any game, then and only then will you be able to challenge him to a fight. If you win, he'll delete his high score, making you number one. But if you lose, you can't challenge him again for another year."

"Wait, seriously? Why don't they just beat his high score?"

"Because he literally has the highest possible score. The machines just cannot count any higher than what he's got."

Before Yu could question her further, he heard someone cry out.

"Make way for the King!"

Yu turned to the source, and the people did as they were told; acting like the new arrival was Moses and they were the Dead Sea. As the people parted, Yu was finally able to see who was arriving. From the way Futaba talked about him, Yu expected a man dressed in a cyberpunk sort of outfit. But what he got was a boy who couldn't have been older than twelve.

He must be quite the wunderkind if he can obtain such fame at such an age.

The kid in question was wearing a zipped-up blue sweater with the word 'NOOBS' printed on it, a pair of worn jeans, but the most distinguishing feature was the bright red hat that had only two words on it; 'Get Smoked.'

"There he is. The King of the Cade. Shinya Oda." Futaba introduced.

Shinya Oda. So that was his name. Behind him was his opponent, Takekuma, looked ready and eager to begin the showdown, while Shinya himself looked like this was nothing more than a giant waste of time. He even yawned as he took his place. The two of them exchanged words that Yu couldn't hear because of the crowd, and started the game up.

Izanagi?

I gotchu my friend

The god hovered behind the two gamers and Yu focused on seeing the world through Izanagi's eyes. The battle was simple enough; the two of them were in a contest to see who could survive the longest on the hardest mode possible. As expected, it started fairly easy; only the most basic of enemies were sent, and easily dispatched. Time seemed to fly by as the enemies became stronger, faster, more durable, and more numerous. Every round took more and more health and life from the two players, but as the contest continued, Takekuma gradually lost more health than Shinya did, and by the time they reached level 360 out of 500, Takekuma had run out of lives while Shinya still had three to spare. Yu expected the kid to end the match, say "good game", and everyone else could go back to their lives.

But it turns out Shinya didn't appreciate coming all the way out here and having to put down this guy. So he kept playing, as if to showcase just how outclassed Takekuma was. He climbed the levels with ease, making his way all the way to 460. The crowd muttered words of amusement and awe, but the King wasn't satisfied with just that. No, he had to humiliate Takekuma even further, climbing the ranks to the final level. Once that level was cleared, Shinya still had a spare life, and the kid glared at the man who challenged him, as if to say "They call me King for a reason."

Wow. This kid is not a good sport whatsoever.

Thoroughly humiliated, Takekuma left the arcade, and Yu had a feeling he wouldn't ever come back. The people themselves followed shortly after, each and every one of them either mocking Takekuma or praising Shinya. But before the King himself could leave, Futaba approached him.

"That was brutal, even for you." She accused.

"There's supposed to be a new character in Super Bash Bros dropping today. I'm missing out on a new challenge because some idiot actually thought he stood a chance. But why are you here Futaba? You should've known the outcome the moment you heard who he was up against."

"I'm actually here to introduce you to someone!" Futaba answered, gesturing to Yu to come closer.

"No." Shinya replied, turning around.

"He's not a challenger! He actually wants to be your student!" Futaba hastily spat out.

"Huh?" Both the teenager and middle schooler asked.

"Yup! This guy reallllllly wants to train to become a pro gamer! It could help him with… other activities." Futaba replied, giving a gentle nudge to Yu in the hopes he'd play along.

He does know how to handle guns. Don't know how well that will translate to the Metaverse.

Well, if worst comes to worst, at least we'll be better at video games.

"Let me think about it… nah." Shinya replied in a bored tone.

"Alright, now that's what I'm talking- wait what?"

"I ain't in the mood to train some nobody. Got a busy enough schedule as is."

"Busy?! All you do is play video games and watch anime!" Futaba countered.

"Pot, my name is kettle." Shinya replied.

"Come on Futaba. He clearly isn't worth it." Yu interrupted, gesturing towards the door.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Yu managed to hide his smile. Shinya had made it abundantly clear that he was as proud as a peacock. And thanks to the fact that Yu's guts could be considered bold, he decided to take a chance at manipulating the elementary student's pride.

"Clearly he's not as skilled as he wants us to think he is. I bet he's using cheats somehow, and that's why he's not taking me on as a student; he knows he'll get exposed if he does."

"WHAT?! That ain't true!" Shinya yelled, his face turning red from Yu's words.

"Then I guess you don't understand the game all that well. After all, a true pro should have no problem teaching a noob the ropes." Yu countered.

By now, Shinya's face was as red as a tomato, and he looked ready to throttle the highschooler. He opened his mouth, and Yu could clearly see the restraint the boy had in keeping his tone calm.

"Ok, you know what? I'll train you. Give me your number, and when I call you, you'd better be ready. Here's my contact info."

The two of them exchanged information, and the middle schooler pushed past Yu with a huff. Before he left the arcade, however, he turned around.

"You can expect me to put you through the grinder. And if you're a bad student, I'm dumping you, got that?"

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow

It shall become the wings of freedom that will lead thee to the truth

With the birth of the Emperor Arcana,

Thou hast obtained the blessing that will grant thee new power.

"I understand, your majesty."

Well, that's one way to establish a bond I guess.

"Wow. I thought for sure that we'd lost our chance. Nice going! Did you max out your speech stats or something?"

"No, it just happened to be high enough. But why'd you ask me here Futaba?"

"Huh? Weren't you paying attention? I thought that you'd be able to use the skills in your… other job."

"Ok, Futaba, I know you don't know the details of that, but I fail to see how video game skills will translate over to my other job."

"Well there's the basics; faster reflexes, quicker decision making, and so on. But you also never know what will come in handy. Like one time, I made mom and dad play tetris on a day we were all free. Later, dad had to help a friend move stuff to a new house, and not all of the stuff would fit in the trunk. But dad was able to find a way, and he said he got the idea from playing tetris."

"Really?"

"Yup!"

Well, this is a gun based game. At the very least I should improve on that.

"Huh. Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Hey, while we're here, you want to play some rounds?" Yu asked, gesturing to the Gun About game. Futaba's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"OH YEA!" She squealed a little too loudly.

Ryuji found himself back at Kosei High. By this time of the day, most of the students had already left, only the clubs sticking around. But those that he crossed paths with gave him a nasty glare, and the glare only worsened when he asked where he could find Hifumi Togo. Ever since her mother's confession she's been ostracized from her school community. Thankfully, the people weren't so nasty they couldn't answer his one question. So now he was on the rooftop. And just like the people said she'd be, Hifumi Togo was there, playing shogi with another guy with blue hair. The blonde delinquent approached the pair, who noticed him.

"Oh hello Ryuji." Hifumi greeted.

"Sup." He responded in kind, but lacked his usual energy.

"Hifumi, who's this? I haven't seen him before." The blue haired boy asked, holding up his fingers as if they were a frame of a painting.

"Name's Ryuji. Do ya mind if I talk with Hifumi for a moment alone?" Ryuji asked, earning a nasty glare from Hifumi's friend.

"It's alright Yusuke. He won't hurt me." Hifumi assured.

"Very well. I shall take my leave then."

The boy, Yusuke, left as Hifumi began to put away her pieces. Ryuji took Yusuke's spot, a sullen look on his face. There was a brief moment of silence between the two, and it became more and more unbearable as Hifumi waited. Finally, Ryuji began to talk, finally deciding what he wanted to say.

"So, congrats on gettin' free of your old lady. Didn't think she'd be… ya know…"

"So awful of a person?"

"I was gonna say shitty, but that works too. Good to know that makin' that post actually made a difference!" He added, some of his usual joyfulness returning.

Hifumi simply smiled and nodded, not wanting to tell him that they were taking her heart regardless of his post.

"So anyways, I came 'cause… I need some advice." He confessed.

"Alright, considering how you were there to be a shoulder to lean on, I can certainly repay the favor."

"So um… I'm playing this real-time strategy game, so I want some tips."

"Oh really?"

"Yea. So, let's say… I make some mistakes in battle and the enemy's got me cornered. What should I do?"

"Well, since this is a game, I suppose you die. But, before you engage the enemy, you should construct a secondary base to retreat to. Defeat is always a possibility in battle, so it's a good idea to have a place to run to if the fight doesn't go your way."

"So that's it? Just turn tail and run?" Ryuji asked, a little surprised.

"Ryuji, there's a very big difference between running away because of cowardice, and running away to fight another day."

"Well… ok, that's a good point. Alright, thanks Hifumi! I'll put it to good use!" Ryuji replied, getting up to leave, only to have Hifumi grab his arm and stop him.

"Ryuji… this wouldn't happen to have anything to do with your fight with Yu, would it?"

"W-what?! W-where would you-?"

"Akechi told me everything. We were investigating mother together, after all."

It wasn't a complete lie; Akechi made sure to tell her and the others the same lie he and Yu told the Niijima sisters. Ryuji looked to the ground, then back to her, the forlorn look returning to his eyes.

"Believe it or not, nah. This ain't got nothin' to do with him. It's just… just stuff at home. Don't worry about it." Ryuji replied, yanking his arm away and strolling towards the exit. Before he left, however, he turned around to Hifumi.

"Hey, I know that your life's pretty much gone to shit. If you could go back, would you… stop yourself from meeting me? So I don't post your old lady's name on the Phansite?"

"Ryuji… it's true, my life has been hectic as of late. I've been kicked out of the Shogi League, the only person who doesn't glare at me with disgust is Yusuke, and I've had to endure harassment and death threats from families of my mother's victims. But if I'm to be honest, I think I'm stronger for it. So no, Ryuji. I wouldn't. I don't regret meeting you, nor do I regret what you did for me."

The blonde delinquent smiled, and for a moment, he looked ready to cry

"Thanks Hifumi, that means a lot. I… wanna be there for ya in the future. You need anything, give me a call." Ryuji declared, waving goodbye and going to meet his dreadful new acquaintance.

"I want to be there for you too Ryuji." Hifumi replied, determination beginning to settle within her.

Yu had plopped down on his bed, the exhaustion hitting him like a bag of bricks. After Futaba defeated him ten times in a row at Gun About, she had to go back home. With nothing else to do, Yu decided to read a book about the strategies of Fu Hao, and when he was done, he felt like his knowledge had increased to scholarly levels. Once that was over, he made a few lockpicks, a task that was quickly stopped once he realized he didn't have any materials. By the time he had returned, it was already evening. Now, with the lockpicks and homework done, Yu prepared to get into bed. But before he could slip away into sleep, his phone buzzed.

Hifumi: Hey, are you still up?

Yu picked up his phone, but saw that she put it in the group chat.

Akechi: I am. Been working on uncovering the Puppet Mater's identity.

Shiho: Why not interrogate Mitsuyo?

Akechi: That thought crossed my mind. But not only does she not know their identity, as her Shadow proved, but my director has stonewalled any and all attempts to interrogate her.

Yu: Really? Why?

Akechi: The official excuse is that the case is closed, and because of that, there's no need to see her. Unofficial excuse is he wants all of my efforts to be focused on taking down the Phantom Team. It actually took a bit to convince him that my loyalties lied with the Department despite my public support.

Hifumi: I'm a little surprised you didn't get fired for that.

Akechi: My intellectual prowess is rivaled by few others. The police would rather have me working with them, rather than against them.

Morgana: Well, they're in for quite the shock if they ever find out!

Shiho: Anyway, what'd you want to talk to us about Hifumi?

Hifumi: It's about Ryuji. He came to see me about strategic advice. But he didn't seem like himself; all of his usual energy and spirit seemed… drained.

Yu: No, I haven't seen him. Not since we duked it out.

Shiho: Wait, hold up. That brawl everyone was talking about was between you and Ryuji?!

Morgana: How come you didn't hear about it before? The rumor mill should've told you right from the start.

Shiho: Well… people did quiet down when they saw me walking down the hall… But still, why'd the two of you fight?

Yu: He saw me and Hifumi hanging out to discuss Phantom Team business. He assumed I was cheating on you, and proceeded to fight me.

Hifumi: It didn't help that I rejected him when he asked me out.

Shiho: Beating someone up because he thinks they're hurting someone else. That sounds like Ryuji alright. Why'd you reject him?

Hifumi: Because I simply wasn't ready, and now that I'm a part of the Team, I doubt I'll have the time.

Shiho: He's pretty reliable, loyal, and considerate. You should at least give him a chance. He could… pleasantly surprise you ;)

Hifumi: B-back on topic, do you think that brawl is the reason why he's so down?

Akechi: I know that Ryuji kicks himself way too hard when he feels like he messed up or failed people, but he'd try to fix his mistake rather than sulk.

Yu: Yea. In fact, after the fight, he asked me what to do to make it up to me, and I told him to go to Makoto.

Hifumi: I see.

Akechi: Knowing Makoto-san, she probably sent him on a mission to retrieve Buchimaru merchandise. They stopped making that years ago, so he might be sulking over his failure.

Shiho: No no no. That's not Ryuji. If that's what happened, he would've apologized to Makoto-senpai and asked if he could do something else. He wouldn't brood around, and he certainly wouldn't go to anyone for strategic advice.

Morgana: Well, almost everyone here goes to school with him. Why don't we ask him then?

Akechi: He might get nervous if a large group confronts him. Especially if it has a stranger and a cop.

Yu: That's a good idea. I'll confront him tomorrow.

Shiho: I want to be there when you do. He might open up more if I'm there.

Yu: Alright, I'll see you then. Good night everyone.