Akira blinks through the sudden haze. His head is degrees heavier than it was a moment ago. A groan escapes him in the form of a whimper, and he buries his face in his hands, hoping the black inside his palms will offer respite.

His throat hurts from talking, and he knows he has so much more to say.

"Kurusu."

"A minute," he mutters.

"Kurusu," Sae snaps.

"Just... give me one minute."

He doesn't need to look to know Sae is checking her watch. He hears the soft rustle of her sleeve as she shoots her cuff. "We don't have that kind of time."

"Right," he says, and leans back in his chair. The movement makes him dizzy.

"Stay with me," she says.

Stay with me. He's heard these words before.

A smile writes itself across his face. "I'm right here."

Behind the fog in his mind, he can see the look Sae gives him. It is a look only Sae can give - Makoto's is somewhat less apocalyptic - but there is something softer in it. Something sad. And then, something very angry. He knows what's coming.

"For now, let's say I believe that the Phantom Thieves had nothing to do with Madarame's murder."

"We didn't," Akira whispers.

"And given Principal Kobayakawa's death-"

"That wasn't us either."

Sae glares over at him. "Let's move on." She flips open the manila file and withdraws another picture. Even now, seeing him makes Akira flinch.

"Let's talk about-"

"No," he cuts in.

"Excuse me?" Sae asks, her voice an ice wind.

He drags his eyes away from the photo, and up to hers. "I know what you think, and I know why you think it. But he's not who we hit next. There was another."

Sae blinks. "Are you admitting that the Phantom Thieves targeted another individual that the authorities know nothing about?"

Akira hunches over the table. The words dance in his skull.

You have to tell her everything. All of it. Because if you do, I know she'll believe you.

Akira looks up at Sae. "Yes."

Sae frowns. "And their name?"

Akira tells her.

Her eyes widen. "That's... surprising."

Akira lets out a breath, and says, "The whole thing started with my - admittedly - really, really dumb plan."

6/5

"This is a really, really dumb plan," Morgana says.

Akira glares down through the grate at him. "Yeah, well, I already bought the carrier, so we're doing it." He jostles the thing in his hand, probably a little more than he needs to, and says, "Let's go over it once more."

"This isn't quantum physics. I've got it."

Akira stops walking. "How do you know what quantum physics is?"

Morgana rolls his eyes. "Hey, maybe you don't pay attention in class, but I try to, at least."

"Bullshit," Akira says, shaking his head. "When I bring you to class you just nap in my desk all day. And we've never talked about quantum physics at school." He purses his lips. "I mean, I don't think we have." He shakes his head. "We're getting off topic. Isn't making sure we're on the same page the most basic of basics?"

Morgana groans. "Fine. Haru's going to take me to her house. I'm going to spy on her, and when I get a chance, read any texts she's exchanged with Makoto. And," he says as he pats the carrier's false bottom, "we've got Yusuke's fully charged phone in here. I can use it to record any relevant conversations, and take photos if I need to."

"Only take pictures if they pertain to our investigation," Akira reminds him. "Not of random stuff."

"So, if Makoto shows up in a skin-tight ninja outfit, you don't want me to take a photo?"

Akira blinks and thinks this over. "It'd be suspicious if she did that. So, in that case, you probably should take a photo and-"

"Oh my god," Morgana mumbles, and bangs his head against the carrier's plastic wall. "Now who can't focus? Seriously. You're sure the hack-track worked?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I had Ohya show me how to do it the last time I was with her. We're tracking Yusuke's phone, no problem. And we're not calling it hack-track."

"Why not? It's a cool name."

"It doesn't need a name, it's just 'tracking Yusuke's phone.'"

"Fine. Whatever."

Akira glances back down at him. "I'd think you'd be a bit more enthused about us tracking your position. It's for your safety after all."

"Oh, sure. It's not like you guys are a SWAT team. If something does go wrong, you're not gonna rappel down any buildings and bust through windows."

Akira rolls his eyes, but doesn't reply. Morgana had a point, but it wasn't as if Haru's house would be dangerous.

He crosses the street and heads towards the cafe. It's a place he hasn't been before, but one Haru apparently frequents. She'd requested it for the drop-off when they'd spoken last.

Before he can reach the entrance, the front door flies open and Haru steps out, a bright grin on her face. "Hi, Mona-chan!" She calls to the carrier, then gasps. "Oh my! That carrier is lovely."

Morgana glances up at Akira through the grate. "Told you," he whispers.

Akira smothers the frown on his face and says, "How's it going, Haru?"

She fixes him with a neutral gaze. "Well, thank you for asking. And you?"

"I'm g-"

"Glad to hear it," she cuts in. "So, should I bring Morgana to the shop on Tuesday?"

Akira shrugs. "I mean, you could bring him to school tomorrow too. I keep him in my bag."

"But what would you do with this large carrier?" She asks.

Akira frowns. "Good point. Alright. Tuesday, then." He'd planned on this. Giving Morgana extra time with Haru meant more time to possibly discover Makoto's plans. "He's all yours." He reaches into his pocket and withdraws a list of instructions. "This is the stuff he likes to eat. I also wrote down when he likes to nap. And it's okay to let him outside, if he wants to go."

Haru takes the note, and stuff it into her pocket. Then, she takes the carrier, and holds it gingerly before her. She peers into the cage and says, "We're going to have such fun, Mona-chan!"

Akira leans in and says, "Hope you have a good time, Mona-chan."

Morgana glares up at him. "No stupid hats."

#

Akira races back to Ryuji's. His friend's mom answers the door. "Akira-kun! Welcome!"

"Hey, Miss Sakamoto," he manages, doing his best to keep his breath under control. "May I come in?"

"Of course," she says, and takes a step back. A smell wafts out from behind her, and it tantalizes Akira's nose. It smells hot and spicy, but very different from the aroma that typically fills LeBlanc.

Ryuji's mom smiles at whatever look crosses his face. "I'm making Ryu-kun's favorite. It'll be ready in a few hours. You should join us."

"Sounds great," he says, as he moves past her. He removes his shoes and bows. "Thanks for having me."

"They're up in Ryu-kun's room."

Akira glides through the house, heading for the stairs. Given Ryuji's robust personality, the house is quaint by comparison. Eggshell white walls. Framed photos of Ryuji as a child - perfect blackmail material - and comfortable looking furniture, if a bit threadbare.

He climbs the steps to the second floor. He finds Ryuji's room easily enough. It's the door with the 'BIOHAZARD WARNING' poster unevenly taped across the wood, and knocks.

"Akira?" Comes his voice.

"Yeah."

"C'mon in."

Akira opens the door and steps inside. The walls are decorated in an assortment of posters, between rock bands, people dashing across finish lines, and sports apparel logos. There's no apparent logic to their placement. Rather, they all seem to be competing for space.

The room is otherwise sparse, save for a pile of clothes shoved into the far corner. Akira finds it all too easy to picture them scattered across the floor a mere hour ago.

Ann sits on his bed, flipping through a magazine. She smiles at Akira when he walks in.

Ryuji sits in a black and red gamer's chair next to her, phone up to his face. "Yo," he says, when Akira shuts the door. "I gotta get a new phone. This screen is all scratched up. That's what I get for keeping my keys in the same pocket."

Akira and Ann share a look. Morgana's use of Ryuji's phone is something that still escapes the blonde boy. "You know," Akira says, eyeing the two of them. "It's pretty cool of your Mom to let you hang here with Ann, all by yourself. With the door closed."

Ann's cheeks redden as she glares up at him, even as her lips smile. Ryuji's eyes never leave his phone. "Nah. She knows Ann's more like a sister than anything."

Ann's magazine sails through the brief span of air between them, and slams into the side of his head. "Ow," he yells, rubbing the spot, and turning to face her. "What the hell?"

"Jerk," she hisses, and crosses her arms.

"Okay, okay," Akira says, and pats the air. "How's Morgana doing?"

Ryuji casts one last glance back at Ann, then returns to his phone's screen. "I dunno. So far so good, I guess? I've got no idea where Haru lives. Looks like she's heading through Aoyoma-Itchome."

Ann frowns. "That's weird. You'd think an heiress like her would live in a ritzy neighborhood."

Akira and Ryuji both say, "Heiress?"

She looks at Ryuji, then Akira, face blank. "Yeah. Haru Okumura."

Akira looks at Ryuji, who shrugs.

Ann's mouth drops open. "You're joking. You're seriously joking."

"About what?" Akira asks.

"Yeah, spit it out, Ann," Ryuji replies.

Ann drops her head into her hands. "Oh my god, you guys are hopeless! Haru Okumura, as in Okumura Foods, as in the company that owns Big Bang Burger? Her father's the CEO."

Akira cracks a grin. "No way."

"Yes, way!" Ann says. "You've worked in the same flower shop all these weeks, and you didn't know that?"

Akira clears his throat, and casts his mind back. "Now that you mention it, she did seem a little put off when I first showed up."

I'm Haru Okumura.

I'm Akira Kurusu.

Yes, I know. But I'm Haru Okumura.

Oh. You don't know.

He frowns. "I never did ask her what she meant. But wait, if she's rich, why was she working part-time in a flower shop?"

Ann shakes her head. "I don't know. Why do rich people do anything? And you," she says, spinning to Ryuji. "How'd you not know about this? Everyone made a huge deal about it last year when she transferred in."

Ryuji rolls his eyes. "Uh, in case you forgot, I kinda sorta had my hands full with the whole Kamoshida thing."

Ann looks between the two of them. "So neither of you knew that Haru Okumura was the daughter of a rich CEO?"

Both boys shake their heads.

Ann sits back down with a huff. "You two better count your blessings I didn't leave."

Ryuji groans, but Akira bows. "Thank you for not leaving."

Ann smiles. "You should be glad I already threw my magazine at Ryuji."

"But like, what's the big deal?" Ryuji asks. "Haru's some rich girl. So what? Now Morgana will be lounging at a mansion instead of in Akira's attic. Sounds like a sweet deal to me."

Akira thinks this through. "I guess that's true. But Ann's right. Why are they heading through Aoyoma-Itchome?"

"Also," Ann asks, raising her hand. "There's something else I wanted to ask. Are we sure this is a good plan?"

Akira looks at her. "It's a little late to have doubts now."

She frowns. "Well, you didn't exactly fill me in on all the details until today."

Akira nods. "Point. Okay, look. I know, on the surface it seems kind of silly. But, if Makoto is still investigating us, and let's be real here, she definitely still is, then Haru's weakness for 'Mona-chan,' is our best bet to figuring out what that is. There's no direct involvement with Makoto. Morgana's objective is to scour Haru's texts and listen in on any phone calls she makes. Maybe Makoto will let something slip. At the least, we may learn about her plans for the upcoming week, and we can tailor our movements around them so we don't cross paths with her."

Ann frowns. "I guess."

"It's a long shot, I know," Akira says. "But it's the best plan I can think of to eliminate the danger Makoto poses to us, for good. If there really are others who can use the Metaverse, we want to minimize our exposure as much as we can. But if this doesn't work, it doesn't work and we're no worse off than we were before. Plus, we've already started investigating our next Mementos targets, so as long as we keep pursuing those, we won't lose any real time."

"Uh, guys?" Ryuji mutters, eyes narrowing.

"What's up?" Akira asks.

"This is getting a little weird. Weirder, I guess."

Ann stands and leans over his shoulder. "What?"

Ryuji lifts the screen so she can see. Akira moves over behind him so he can take a look as well. "I might be lookin' at this map wrong," Ryuji says. "But doesn't it look like Haru's heading for Shujin?"

#

Morgana yawns and stares at his paw. To think that I, a thief of the highest caliber, would be reduced to being carted around like this.

Granted, Akira carries him around in his bag almost every day, but that was different. Morgana - in that context - was a partner in crime, a source of information and a potential spy if the need arose.

And yes, he knew that technically, this job involved those same roles. Still, it grated to not just pretend to be a cat, but be treated like one as well.

"Almost there, Mona-chan," Haru says, in her high, dainty voice.

"Whatever," Morgana replies, and rolls onto his back. The carrier swishes through the air, but Morgana is used to the abrupt movements of Akira's bag, so this is a cakewalk for him.

Still very much bored, Morgana stares out the grate.

He stiffens. Wait a second.

Shujin Academy waits at the end of a familiar road. "What are we doing here?" He asks, then remembers Haru can't understand him.

Relax. Think. It was Sunday. Shujin wasn't closed because clubs still operated on Sundays. But was Haru a member of any clubs? He can't remember her ever mentioning any. To the best of his knowledge, Haru didn't have any friends in clubs either. The only confirmed confidant for Haru Okumura was Makoto Niijima.

Haru turns towards the steps, and begins to take them two at a time. Morgana peers up at her, and sees her texting with one hand, a small smile on her face. What's going on?

Did Haru have a boyfriend? Were they perhaps taking a detour so she could enjoy some quality time with a hunk on a sports team?

Haru enters Shujin and walks the length of the hall to the stairwell. The clubs meet in the other building. Why's she going upstairs? Think.

Haru was a third year, which meant her classroom was on the ground floor. There were a few offices on the second floor, but would Haru really meet up with a teacher - with a cat - on Sunday? The third floor held the library, and the student council room, but why would she be going there?

Morgana's eyes widen. Wait.

Haru ascends to the top floor, and exits the stairwell.

She strides down the length of the hall, and passes the library.

Waitwaitwait.

Haru knocks on the door to the Student Council Room. Then, she knocks again.

A moment later, two knocks sound from the inside.

Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwa-

Haru pauses, then knocks once more.

The door opens.

Makoto Niijima stands there, a grim look on her face.

"Are we prepared?" Haru asks.

Makoto nods. "Of course. Let's get to the bottom of this, once and for all." She peers down at Morgana. "It's nice to meet you, Mona-chan. Or maybe I should say, it's good to see you again."

#

"Okay," Ryuji says. "So, like, Haru doesn't live at the school, right?"

"Of course she doesn't," Ann replies, and swats him on the shoulder.

"Then what's she doing there?" Ryuji growls.

Akira peers at the screen. The phone's location is hovering more or less still somewhere in the classroom building. "We can't get any more details? Like, what floor they're on or something?"

Ryuji rolls his eyes. "Bro, look around. This isn't the freakin' Pentagon."

Akira frowns. Why would she be heading to Shujin? The school had been open all day. If she'd had to do something there, she could've done it before picking up Morgana. Unless she's doing something she couldn't until after retrieving Morgana.

His eyes widen. "Oh no."

#

Haru shuts the door behind them. Locks it.

Simple door lock, Morgana thinks. Grab the handle and pull, it'll unlock on its own.

His eyes drink in all they can. He spies the words written across the marker board. 'Operation Destroy Akira Kurusu or Something Less Drastic.'

This...

Haru sets the carrier on the table.

Beneath the 'operation's' moniker are dozens of pictures. Blurry, distant shots of Akira and the other Phantom Thieves. Underneath, is a large map of Tokyo, with pins marking locations like LeBlanc, Shibuya Station, and others.

This was...

"Should we begin?" Haru asks.

Makoto nods. "I'd like to check his collar first. Perhaps there's something there, or evidence of a device previously planted."

Haru unlatches the carrier's grate.

This was...

"A setup!" He hisses this last part, and Haru's encroaching hand snaps back.

Morgana darts out of the carrier, and the girls jump back. Alright. Focus!

"It's okay, Mona-chan," Haru says, a nervous smile on her face. "This is my friend, Makoto."

Morgana scowls. "Yeah, no shit." He returns his eyes to the board and notices another phrase written near the bottom of the map. 'The Cat is the Key.'

"Akira, you moron," he mutters. He arches his back and hisses into the air. If the girls think he's dangerous, they may not approach, and it'll buy him a few seconds to learn what he can.

Makoto frowns at him.

Okay. Maps. Photos. They must've figured out I can communicate with the team somehow. There was nothing on the board about Yusuke. They probably don't know about him yet. That's good. There's information pertaining to Nakanohara and Daisuke. Madarame. Kamoshida. Nothing about their current targets. Precious little about the PhanSite. A copy of Kamoshida's and Madarame's calling cards are taped up on the board. Morgana squints, trying to see if any of the others are present.

"Wait a minute," he hears Makoto say.

The girl's arm suddenly blocks the space of the board Morgana had been staring at.

Morgana hisses and tries to peer around it. She adjusts her arm as his head bobs up and down. "Cut it out," Morgana spits.

"No way," Makoto says.

Morgana's ear perk up.

"What is it?" Haru asks.

Makoto jumps in front of the board and spreads her arms wide. "Haru, quick! Block the board!"

Haru joins Makoto a second later, spreading her arms wide, obscuring a different part of the board from Morgana's view. "Why, um, are we doing this, Mako-chan?"

"Get out of the way!" Morgana hisses, trying to read what little he can.

Makoto's eyes are wide. "I don't believe this. He's... he's reading."

Morgana blinks. "Ah, crap."

Makoto gasps. "Morgana? Morgana, can you understand me?"

"Screw this," Morgana replies, and turns back towards the carrier. Yusuke's phone is still inside. His mode of conveyance will need to be abandoned, but he can't just leave the phone. With it, it would be easy for them to track down Yusuke.

He rushes back into the carrier, hits the false bottom with his paw, popping it up, and wraps the phone in his tail.

Then, he beelines for the door, and leaps into the air as he hears Haru ask, "Is that a phone?"

Morgana wraps the handle in his paws and lets his body weight pull him down and unlock it. The door clicks, and slowly swings open.

"Don't let him out!" Makoto shouts, but Morgana is already on the floor and sliding through the small space towards freedom.

#

"Hey, check this out!" Ryuji yells, straightening.

"We're already right behind you," Ann replies.

"Whatever." He points at the screen. "Mona's goin' haywire."

The dot representing Yusuke's phone begins to shift within Shujin rapidly. A short burst in a straight line, and then circles.

"Stairs," Akira says, and snaps his fingers. "They're going up or down stairs."

The dot suddenly halts, and a moment later, Akira's burner vibrates. Everyone jumps at the noise. Akira snatches it from his pocket, and his eyes widen. "It's Yusuke's phone."

"His burner?" Ryuji asks.

"No, like his actual phone."

"Oh, crap," Ann says. "Do you think Haru found it?"

Akira shakes his head. "Even if she did, our burner numbers aren't supposed to be saved in the phone's history. We've been deleting the records after every call." He looks up at them. Both blondes are glancing away. "We have, haven't we?"

"Yep!" Ryuji blurts.

"Totally," Ann says.

Akira works his jaw. "Okay then."

"You gonna answer it?" Ryuji asks.

Akira nods, presses the receive button and brings the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

A series of screeches beat into his ears, and he jerks away from the phone with a wince.

"What's wrong?" Ann asks.

Akira hits the speaker button. A high pitched sequence of meows and yowls batter the walls in Ryuji's room. Ann curses and covers her ears.

"Is that Morgana?" Ryuji asks.

Ann makes a face. "Why does he sound like that?"

"Morgana?" Akira asks into the phone. "Morgana, we can't understand you. Slow down."

The cat noises slow, but there's no coherent words among them.

Ryuji's eyes widen. "Oh shit, dude! We had the same problem with the app when we were lookin' for Madarame's palace. The phone can't understand him!"

"What?" Ann asks. "That's stupid. We can understand him. Why's it different that we're talking over a phone?"

"But we're not really hearing Morgana, you know? We're hearing how the phone hears Morgana. You never really hear the person on the other end. You're hearing a scramble of code that kind of sounds like them, but it's not really their voice."

Ann's brows rise. "How do you know that?"

Ryuji shrugs. "I watch a lot of TV."

"Clearly."

"Guys," Akira snaps. Both shut up. He tries to think. It sounded like Morgana was in trouble, but he was safe enough to try and communicate. But if they couldn't understand him, how could they help him? "Okay. Morgana, listen up. For whatever reason, we can't understand you over the phone."

Another series of screeches.

"I know, I know! It's bullshit," Akira calls back. "Just calm down. We don't know what's wrong, but we're still tracking you." He looks back at Ryuji's phone. "You're still at Shujin. Alright. Hang up, and text me. Tell us what's going on. We'll figure it out from there."

A short meow, and the call ends.

Ryuji perks up in his seat. "Wait, Mona can text?" He looks back down at his phone. At the scratches. "Hey!"

#

Morgana pauses at the entrance to the alley, and takes up the phone once more. Stupid Metaverse versus reality rules! None of this makes sense! He pulls up Yusuke's messenger app and begins to text Akira.

YUSUKE: AMBUSH! MAKOTO & HARU 2X TEAM! HELP!

He sends it. And waits. And waits.

The phone vibrates a few moments later, with a response from Akira's burner.

AKIRA: Head to Shibuya Station. We'll meet you there.

Morgana rolls his eyes. "Shibuya Station?" He hisses. I've got to run all the way there? Oh, I am going to have so many words with these idiots when they find me!

He hears a gasp, and lifts his eyes from the phone.

Makoto and Haru stand a few meters away, eyes wide. Staring at him.

"It's..." Makoto starts. "It's..."

"Texting?" Haru asks.

"Crap," Morgana spits and wraps his tail around the phone and darts off down the alley.

"After him," Makoto calls.

"So many words!" Morgana shouts at the sky.

#

Akira and Ann reach Shibuya Station. The two try not to look as if they're in a hurry, but Akira keeps the phone up to his ear. "Okay, so he should be by the entrance," Ryuji says, from his burner. "I can't tell though."

"By the entrance to the Ginza line?" Akira asks. "Or the statue of Hachiko?"

"Dude, I don't know." Ryuji had wanted to come with them, but Akira had instructed him to remain in his house and give them directions as they went. If Ryuji had been jogging along with them, and tripped and broke his phone, they'd have no clue where Morgana was.

Akira pulls out his burner, checking for another message.

The last had come several minutes ago.

YUSUKE: PURSUIT! BAD TIMES!

Ann puts her hands on her legs, breathing heavily. "You know..." she groans out, "we should've taught Morgana how to text properly."

Akira nods. "Teaching the cat how to use Messenger wasn't at the top of my priorities' list."

"Just... saying," Ann heaves.

They cross the street and join the pulsing crowd. Akira calls his position into the phone, but Ryuji's directions don't change beyond, "He's around there somewhere."

Ann curses and grabs Akira's arm. She drags him around the corner of a series of smoking booths. Akira juggles his phone before getting a good grip on it, and turns to her. "What the hell?" He asks, shaking his arm loose from her grip.

"Look," she says, and points. Akira peers around the corner and follows her fingers. His eyes widen when he sees Makoto and Haru crossing the street, eyes searching between the legs of the pedestrians.

"They're looking for him," Akira says.

"Who?" Ryuji asks, over the phone.

"Makoto and Haru just showed up."

"For real?"

Ann frowns, a few beads of sweat running down her forehead. "I guess we know what, 'Pursuit, bad times,' means now."

Man. They chased him all the way here from Shujin? Just how dedicated were these two? Akira thinks about the short time he's known Makoto Niijima. Stupid question.

"Do you guys see Morgana yet?" Ryuji asks.

Akira's burner vibrates. He pulls it out.

YUSUKE: AT ENTRANCE? WHERE AT U?

Ann peers at it. "Is he saying he's at the entrance, or is he asking if we're at the entrance?"

"I don't know!" Akira growls, and texts out a response.

AKIRA: We're by the smoking booths on the surface. Where are you?

YUSUKE: AT ENTRANCE DUH

"Oh my god," Akira says, draws his hand down over his face. "He never gets a phone again."

Akira peers towards the multiple entrances to Shibuya Station.

And then, he sees him.

The cat sits near stairs leading to the Shibuya Underground, his paws covering Yusuke's phone, eyes darting around the crowd. A few people bend down to pet his head, but he hisses up at them before they get to close.

Akira is about to step around the corner, when he turns back to Makoto and Haru.

The latter tugs at Makoto's sleeve and points right at Morgana. She mouths something that looks like, "There," and the two take off running.

Morgana stiffens a moment later, and snatches the phone back up off the ground, and darts down into Shibuya.

The girls follow him a moment later.

"Dammit," Akira shouts. A few pedestrians turn sullen glares his way.

"Now what?" Ann asks.

Akira starts marching towards the entrance. "We need to find him before they do, and we need them to not see us." Akira tries to run it all through his head. "Okay, you take the mall. It won't look out of place if you're shopping. I'll head down by the commuter lines and see if he's there. Ryuji," he says into the phone. "I don't suppose you can give us a hint to his location?"

"Hard to say. But his little dot thing made a circle just now. Looks like he went down some steps."

Akira turns back to Ann. "Text if you see him. Something simple."

Ann nods. "I'll tell you I found a cute outfit near a store I want you to see me in."

Akira feels his face flush red for a moment. "Uh, yeah. That works. I'll say something similar."

"Seriously?" Ann asks, but Akira is already running down the steps.

#

Ann searches for ten minutes, doing her best to keep her heart from hammering out of her chest.

She's spent her time in the shopping mall. She's yet to find a trace of Morgana, and checking her cell every few seconds yields nothing. If the cat was in the area, and he saw her, she was sure he'd come bounding out of his hiding spot and leap into her arms.

Speaking of, I'm going to have to do something about that pretty soon. Now that things were better with Akira - present mess excluded - there were other things she needed to focus on. Shiho. The Mementos Requests. Bringing her grades up.

Ryuji.

She shakes the thought away. This wasn't the time to be thinking about him or the dumb things that could come out of his mouth.

A sister? Seriously? A sister?

Ann raps her own forehead with her knuckles. "Come on," she growls out. She needs to focus. Morgana needs their help. She peers into the next storefront, but sees nothing.

Wait, the flower shop! Morgana knew that place like the back of his paw. It'd be a perfect place to hide. She starts to cut through the crowds, hoping her hunch was right. Wait, but Haru works there too. What if she thought the same thing?

Ann turns down the hall with the flower shop, and finds it shuttered and closed. A sign posting the hours appears on the metal link, and she steps up to it, trying to guess if there was some way for Morgana to slip inside.

"Mona?" She whispers into the dark of the shop. "You in there?"

No response.

"Damn." She takes a step back, and pulls out her phone. No message from Akira. She peers to her left, down into the dark hall leading towards a service tunnel. Maybe he'd gone down there?

Ann isn't sure that's the kind of place she should be poking around, and Morgana would know that too, so she turns and starts to head back into the mall proper.

Makoto Niijima comes around the corner.

The girl stops.

Ann feels her eyes widen.

Makoto's narrow.

"Hello, Takamaki."

#

Akira takes the steps two at a time, climbing to the level above the commuter terminal. Morgana hadn't been anywhere below. He'd kept in touch with Ryuji, but the sprawling underground mass of Shibuya had been difficult to navigate, even with his two months of experience.

Akira figured Morgana might've tried to head back to the surface. There were a number of corridors on the upper levels that weren't frequented by commuters. Those were primarily used for maintenance professionals when the station shut down for the night. A few homeless cluttered them, but not many.

He turns the corner into one of them, and is greeted with a, "Finally!"

Morgana scurries across the dirt-streaked linoleum floor and hops up into Akira's arms. "Are you okay?" Akira asks, scratching his head.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Morgana says, with a scowl, as he climbs onto his shoulder. "It was a total set up."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." He puts his phone back up to his ear. "Ryuji. I got him. I'm hanging up. We'll get Ann and get out of here."

"Got it," Ryuji replies.

"Did you track me?" Morgana asks, hefting Yusuke's phone once more with his tail.

"Yeah, but when you went downstairs into the station, it got harder to locate you. Ann's in the mall, searching there."

"It's not my fault. Makoto and Haru followed me here."

"Don't worry about that. Let's just smuggle you out of here while we can."

Morgana's eyes widen. He hops back down to the floor and holds up a paw. "Hold on. Let me get this out while it's fresh. It's so much worse that we thought. They've got a whole headquarters set up in the Student Council Room. It's like a full-on police operation."

Akira groans. "Great. Awesome." He takes out his phone. "I'll text Ann. Tell her to meet up on Central."

Morgana trots down the length of the hall.

AKIRA: Found a cool hat. Want your opinion. Meet up at Central?

"Crap!" Morgana hisses, and darts back into the hall.

Akira looks up. "What's wrong?"

"Haru," Morgana says. "She's coming this way from down the hall. I think she spotted me."

Akira runs to the only service entrance door and tries the handle. It won't budge. "Shit."

"This is bad," Morgana says. "This is bad."

Akira thinks, and his eyes widen. He stares at the ceiling. At the ground around them. "I've got it," he says, and pulls out his cellphone.

"What're you doing?" Morgana asks.

"Mementos," Akira says, pulling up the app. "We'll wait for a bit until she passes, and then come back out."

Morgana dashes towards him. "Wait-"

It's too late.

The world shifts.

#

Joker sets his phone back in his pocket. "That's weird."

Despite their physical location being at least one level down in Shibuya Station, the actual transportation to Mementos had taken them to a few steps down from the entrance.

He smiles. "Guess it's better than being trapped six levels down." He turns to look at Mona.

The cat is crouched with his paws over his head, a wince on his face. As Akira watches, the cat opens one eye, glances around, and breathes a sigh of relief.

Then, he straightens and glares up at him. "You moron! The layout of Mementos doesn't match the actual layout of Shibuya Station. We could've been trapped super deep. Or in a wall. Or in the floor or something."

Joker shrugs. "Alright, well, my bad. What's the big deal? Aren't your memories buried deeper in Mementos?"

Mona shakes his head. "That's not the point! I'm saying that you can't just pop into Mementos or Palaces willy-nilly from wherever you feel like. The inside of the Palace doesn't always match the inside of the physical location they're based on. You could've buried us alive! Or we could've popped up in the middle of a bunch of super strong Shadows!"

Joker feels some of the blood leave his face. "And you didn't think that was an important bit to mention?"

"I didn't think it'd be relevant. I didn't think you'd try to enter Mementos from a location already inside Mementos!"

Joker blinks. "Wait. What happens if we leave? Are we going to pop out at the entrance?"

Mona lets out a sigh and glances around. "I think we should be okay. We're right by the entrance. Maybe we'll exit to reality where we always do, or maybe we'll exit to where we entered. If we tried to exit Mementos from a few floors down, though? We could enter reality on the train tracks, or buried miles under the earth!"

"That'd be... bad."

"Yeah, it would. Don't do something like that again."

Joker crouches down until he's more or less eye level with Mona. "Alright. I'm sorry. But take it easy. No need to panic. It got us away from Haru and-"

"Makoto?" Comes a shaky voice, from outside the entrance.

Mona's eyes widen. Joker feels his own do the same. Together, they creep up the steps until they're just shy of the landing to the outside.

Haru Okumura stands by herself. Her phone is clutched to her ear in both hands. Her eyes are white saucers. "Mako-chan? Are you there?" When no answer evidently comes, she lowers the phone and calls out, "Hello? Is anyone there? Is this, um, a dream?"

Joker looks down at Mona. "Oh, shit."