Thank you for your reviews! I read them all, but sorry, I'm so stupidly tired from working healthcare in active COVID area so forgive me for everything lol.

Well then! Enjoy!

Preparation

"Azathoth is his Persona's name."

Mochizuki says as soon as they step into the real world, his eyes clouded by sadness unreachable by any man's understanding. Ren gulps, tightening his arms around Yoshizawa's legs, shifting her body weight so that she could rest a bit more snuggly against his shoulder. He looks to others for input, but there are none to be given, even from Crow. So, he asks, "Azathoth?"

"An Outer God in Cthulhu Mythology," Mochizuki explains, taking a few deep breaths before continuing with his voice as steady as he could manage, Ren thinks. "Ancestors of all the Outer Gods. That amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity, the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth."

Ren is not very well-versed in mythologies, but that description sends chills of dread down to the marrow of his bones and sinking deep under his veins. He gulps, his scars itching yet again, and Raoul quietly stirs, responding to his silent distress with an input of his own; We were all born from your hearts, shaped by your factual and imaginary interpretations of all things in your world. The Sea of Souls are where the myths in your world came to be. Azathoth is very old, as ancient as some like Kohryu or Lucifer, very powerful… and vile. He is known as the Sultan – the King, the Ancestor… for those Outer Gods born from collective madness and hunger for unreachable heights, anyhow.

"Wait," Goro says, a finger in the air, before he repeats slowly. "…Persona?"

"Yes," Mochizuki says, eyes scanning the others for their reactions. After a brief pause, he nods and looks back towards the sky-high Palace that reaches to the heavens. "He has a Persona. He is a Persona User."

"A Persona User and a Palace Ruler as the same person," Yusuke murmurs, a finger on his bottom lip. "How is that possible? Having a Palace means your heart is twisted, but—"

"He's not twisted the same way the others are," Goro interjects, folding his arms over his chest. "I do believe him now, when he said that he meant for us to live free of pain. I disagree, of course, but I can't deny his intentions. They are genuine."

"Fuck," Ren breathes, knocking his head to the side with a long sigh. "I'm too hurt and too tired to think. Let's get some rest, for now."

As if hearing his words, Yoshizawa stirs, mumbling quietly next to his ear. He turns his face slightly as her hand comes up to his shoulder, gripping it as a way to anchor herself, maybe. Ren decides to push all the talks about Azathoth and Outer Gods away from his mind, for now, as he focuses his attention on his Kouhai as she breathes. "…Uh."

"Yoshizawa!" Morgana (oh, he's now a cat) (Slow on the uptake, are you, boy?) (Shut up) says from the ground, face tipping upward. "Are you alright?"

"I…" She trails off, unsure. Ren could see from the corner of his eyes her uneasiness, since they have just fought her Persona and denying her the chance to live in the blissful, alternate reality, after all. He sighs, glancing at Goro, who simply nods at him.

After a moment spent chewing on his own tongue, he says quietly. "Are you okay? Can you stand?"

"Oh, yes," She murmurs, and Ren carefully lowers her down on the floor before spinning around to grab her arms before she falls over. "…Thank you, Amamiya-senpai. I—"

"We can talk tomorrow," Ren says with a small smile. And then, he remembers that tomorrow is— "Holy shit, tomorrow is the start of the third semester, isn't it?"

"Yes," Mochizuki hums. Ryuji groans indignantly at that, while Ann just instantly deflates. Death laughs, but the sound is scratchy and parched, not as jovial and light as it used to be. "It would be best if all of you sleep on what happened today first."

All of you, not us, Ren notes, eyeing Death as he briefly checks on Yoshizawa. He has tugged most of his expression, his fear, his sorrow, under the folds of the diluted yellow, his eyes dulled with worry. Ren thinks it might be best to check on him when they're alone, so he simply nods at the boy before turning his focus back to the Thieves. "Let's go back to our homes, for now. We'll discuss this later."

He stays to make sure Yoshizawa can walk before letting Queen and Haru take her back home, and once everyone but those who resides in Leblanc leaves, he turns to Goro, who sighs. "This is much more troublesome than I'd like. But I supposed all we can do for now is wait. The Palace won't go anywhere, nor will Maruki-san, after all."

"That's true," Ren hums, patting Futaba's head. She's thinking about her mother, there's not doubt about that, so he'll give her time. As much as she needs. "Let's head back. We're all tired, especially the two of you, Futaba, Morgana."

The girl hums flatly, her voice soft and broken. "…Yeah."

"Ren," Goro nudges his ribs, and when Ren turns, the boy murmurs, just enough for him and him alone to hear through the cacophony of cars and whispers and drums of this false reality against his ears. "…Are you sure you're alright?"

He forces out a smile – of course he's not, not exactly, but it's not as bad as he thought it would. For all the good Maruki means, his rebellious heart and his masks will not allow his freedom to be taken, even if fighting against the chains of captivity is painful. He just shrugs, knowing that saying he's fine is not something he should, and not something Goro wants to hear.

Goro takes a moment to look at his face, brows slightly furrowed, but he ultimately nods and pats at his shoulder as he nudges Ren to start walking back to their home (theirs, since Goro has to ditch his Shido-provided apartment entirely due to loss of support), and once they start making their ways through the barren street, the boy murmurs quietly. "I'm here."

I'm here for you.

Ren smiles. "I know."

He sends Futaba back to her house with Morgana to keep her company (three people under the same damn attic is already too many, thanks) before locking the door.

Instead of going back to sleep like he's promised Sojirou he would, he walks behind the counter and puts on the apron, hands deftly gathering his tools to make himself something to keep him company for the night. Mochizuki and Goro exchange a look before quietly taking their seats on the counter opposite from him, with the former's face lined with worry more than everyone in the Thieves combined.

He leaves his phone on mute after he's read the first few messages. His friends, who's been led by the nose inside the reality Maruki creates, are a little… disoriented, and he couldn't quite blame them. Anyone would, after believing so absolutely that everything they were experiencing before were the truths and the only truths. But, given time that's slowly running out and down the storm drain, they'll come around.

…They have to, for Yuuki's safety.

"…Checking on him?" Ren decides to say, steam rising from the cup as he pours all their black coffee in, one at a time, careful not to spill the liquid to the woods. He decides to ignore the rising itch that prickles at the edge of his scars.

Mochizuki nods solemnly, his arms crossed on the cold wood. Ren silently places the cup before the boy and then to Goro before pulling off his apron, taking his own cup into his hand and walking back towards the other side of the counter. Ren doesn't nudge for him to speak more – god knows how much the boy has to sacrifice to help them with their fights, with so little received in return.

After a moment, where Death takes a long, careful sip out of his cup, his expression unchanging, he says under his breath with as much life in it as Death would have – practically none. "…The same. In pain and distressed and exhausted. I can't read him very well like this, but… sometimes I can feel him clear enough to hear him begging for help."

Begging for help. Torture, then. Ren swallows that wad of air that's built up and pushes it down his windpipe, his eyes glancing towards Goro, who seems thoughtful. Carefully, he places his hand on the boy's shoulder and says with as much sincerity as he could. "…I'm so sorry."

Mochizuki shakes his head. "It's nothing you should be apologizing for. I know this would happen, but it doesn't make this hurt any less. But why would they torture him, and not kill him? And using Persona Suppressors on him? If I have to guess… they're—"

"—Experimenting on him," Goro finishes quietly. Mochizuki doesn't seem angered by Goro's bluntness, rather, he's more or less resigned. Once Mochizuki nods, Goro continues. "That means we might have more time than we normally would. Still, it's been months. We should hurry."

"I've told Futaba as much," Ren says, waving towards the direction of the door. "She said tracing the locations of the shipments are a bit hard, but she seems to be making some progress. Will need more time to actually pinpoint where Yuuki is exactly, though, since she said she found more than a few dozen shipment locations."

"Underground organization, then, and seemingly a large one at that," Goro hums, finger tracing along the rim of the cup. "We'll need to take time that we don't have to make sure they can't retaliate. But it's been too long since his captivity. Maybe we should take some risks, exchanging the time we use to cover our tracks to find out Yuuki-san's whereabouts—"

"No," Mochizuki says flatly. "I will not allow any of you to risk your lives for us. While his safety takes priority for me, first and foremost… I cannot allow that. I cannot let you put so much on the line for us."

"But—" Ren begins, but pauses when Mochizuki looks his way, determined, unfaltering.

"Amamiya, Akechi-san… we can't. I'm not going to ask you to sacrifice yourself for my – our – sakes. I've asked that of Makoto once, to sacrifice the world to fulfill my selfish wish, to save him from pain. I'll not ask another person for something like that ever again," he stands his ground, and Ren is reminded of one of the tales Mochizuki had said, about him asking Yuuki to kill him in order to erase his memories. And then, Mochizuki adds, a little softer. "…Not to mention that Makoto would scold me if I do."

"…If you insist," Goro relents, taking a sip of his own before placing the cup back onto the counter. "My search is faring no better, although I think I might've picked up something. We'll see what I can do about that."

"Speaking of which," Ren says suddenly. "When are your school's third semester?"

"January 12th," the detective replies. "I have a bit more free time than you do. And, Mochizuki-san?"

"…Yes?"

"I'll do my best to help you. On that, you can trust me."

Goro is changing – or rather, having his kindness pulled out from the abyss of his own anger and hatred and near-apathy. Ren smiles to himself; Goro is getting better at sympathizing with others, and he's not doing this to keep a promise to Ren anymore. He's doing this out of his own free will, with nothing to steer his decisions but his own two hands.

Mochizuki seems a little taken aback, and it is no surprise, since Ren thinks most people don't understand Goro like he does. Hell, the Thieves are still a bit skeptical around him, even if they're slowly warming up to his blunt, sarcastic, murderous (his true self) side. Before long, though, Death is smiling, warm and gentle and genuine as he whispers to the still wind. "…Thank you, Akechi-san. You as well, Amamiya."

"No problem, man," he says, squeezing the boy's shoulder lightly before letting go. "…Welp, looks like I'm not going to be sleeping tonight, but I gotta try to crash or I'm not going to be up for school tomorrow."

"I'll wake you up," Mochizuki hums. "Just make sure to get enough rest to not fall asleep in class."

He laughs. "Alright, mom."

January 11th, 2017 [Wednesday]

To think that the Phantom Thieves are the ones who give Maruki powers.

It scares him, that deep down, all of them – even him – want Maruki to become their savior. They all wish for the reality Maruki had created through the counseling, where he made them revealed their deepest wishes, their unreachable dreams. They all walked into the spiders' webs, and the desires for his world, his actualization, is why all of this is happening.

After Lavenza has finished her explanations of the world, they now have what they need to proceed – Maruki is continuing to actualize the world of the mass, and is merging the two worlds together. They are racing against time, and Maruki's final date is probably right before his plan, his ascension to the throne left behind by the God of Control, would be completed.

So that's probably the last day they have to secure their route towards the Treasure.

After they've made their plans, Lavenza turns to Mochizuki, who has been listening in silence for all this time. Once he looks at her, the attendant says. "As for you, Death… my sister said that she hasn't found Yuuki Makoto-san yet, but there is something she wished for me to pass on to you."

"…I see," he murmurs, saddened, before he steels expression back into one of neutrality. He kneels down to Lavenza's eye level before asking. "What is it that she wanted to give me?"

"She said that she will await your information about his possible whereabouts first," She explains, and then hands Mochizuki a gun – but, unlike real guns or the Thieves' model ones, it looks… odd. There is a scribbled SEES on the barrel, and the shining silver of the material and the seeming lightness as Mochizuki takes it into his palm gives him an impression that this must be what Death has called an Evoker, the instrument the SEES used in order to bring out their Personas.

"…It's his, isn't it?" Mochizuki says quietly, fingers tracing along the barrel, his eyes forlorn. "…Hasn't Aigis been keeping it as a memento, though?"

"She had, for a while… but she had put it back where Makoto-san passed away—"

"On the roof of Gekkoukan," Mochizuki finishes, his brows furrowing. He glances up at Ren before looking back down, absently putting the gun away under his school's blazer. "Is that where we ended up? On that roof? Then why are those people there?"

"This, I cannot readily answer. But Elizabeth-Neesama doesn't believe you were there," Lavenza shakes her head, her eyes downcast. "There is no trace of struggles, only a peaceful garden and various flowers. However, we do know a little of the people who captured him. Elizabeth-Neesama told me that some of them are Persona Users, just like all of you here."

And that scares Ren – Persona Users are those who have overcome their darkness, stepping past their boundaries and rebelling against the world's injustices and lies. For ones like that to turn to something other than doing good and getting revenges, as in Goro's case, makes his skin crawl with disgust. They have a theory that those people know about Persona, but to actually have it confirmed that they're Persona Users scares Ren a lot more than it should.

Mochizuki's eyes are hard and cold, frozen fury bubbling and bursting in his pool of sapphire that dim and dull at every passing second. He then heaves out a sigh then stands up, forcing himself to smile through the turmoil raging under his skin. One look at Ren, a finger to his lips – I'll discuss this with you later – before he turns back to Lavenza and nods. "…That helped a lot, Lavenza-san. Thank you."

"It's the least we could do for you," She smiles slightly. "We owe you the survival of this world, after all."

"Not me," he hums. "Him, not me."

"You helped him fight for this world by giving him the info he needed and the power of Thanatos, right?" Ann suddenly says. When Mochizuki gives a reluctant nod, the blonde smiles warmly. "Then you are to thank for this world, too. Indirectly, but still responsible for our lives!"

"I agree with her on that one," Ren adds, patting Death's shoulder. "Come on, man, take the credits when it's due. You've earned our thanks."

"I concur," Goro adds sternly, a bit reluctantly, drawing out a surprised hum from Ryuji. "If your stories are to be trusted (dude, don't put it like that!), then I suppose it's no over-exaggeration to say that you had played an important part in Yuuki-san's success. So, I agree with them, here – this is the credit that you can take for yourself."

"Sorry about this guy's bluntness," Ren says, ruffling Goro's hair lightly with a laughter. Then, quieter, he murmurs. "But yeah. You deserve our thanks as much as your friend does."

"And this doesn't mean I'll stop looking for your friend, either!" Futaba declares, determined. When Mochizuki gives her an odd look, the girl smiles brightly. "I mean, why would I? Even if I know there are other people who're helping you find him, that doesn't mean I'm going stop! The more the better, right?"

Death remains silent for a while before he smiles brightly. "Thank you, all of you. I cannot express my gratitude enough."

"You've helped us plenty, as well," Yusuke adds with a small smile of his own. "We're even now, I should think. Wouldn't you agree, Ren?"

"Yep!" He says brightly. "Now then, let's go Palace-exploring tomorrow, guys!"

"Yeah!"

Mochizuki decides to look more into mythologies upstairs while Goro helps him with closing up the shop, much to Sojirou's surprise.

But Boss doesn't complain, so Goro makes no fuss about it, his movement careful and efficient, helping them closing up the shop faster than the two of them could manage on their own. After a while, the door rings, and Ren's we're closed dies in his throat when he sees those red hair and the glasses and the pale, guilt-ridden face.

He exchanges a glance with Goro, who takes a momentary pause before nodding at him while he takes over Ren's share of work. Boss hums, patting his shoulder silently before leaving the keys on the counter and leaving the three (four, counting Mochizuki) of them alone.

"Evening," He says with a small smile, gesturing for her to sit as he goes about preparing a cup that she's not asking for but probably will. When he finally serves her the coffee, he says before she gets the chance to. "Don't apologize. You look like you need a talk."

She blinks, before smiling thinly, her shoulders slightly squared and her eyes downcast towards the steaming cup. "…I suppose that is true. Would you mind if I… got something off my chest?"

"I don't," he says, resting his arms on the counter.

And so, she says, slowly, reluctantly, admitting her faults and her fears, things that Ren understand would take courage to face. He listens without uttering a word with Goro in the background, cleaning up the shop and stocking the shelves. She is lost, rightfully so, and she isn't sure what she should do.

But the hums in his chest from Raoul's everlasting grin tells him enough.

"Senpai," she murmurs softly, eyes looking up at him for something – confirmation, perhaps. So he looks back at her as she asks, "What should I do?"

"Only you can decide for yourself," Ren says with a smile, taking back the emptied cup of coffee, which Goro promptly takes from him. He gives the man a look, but the detective just shrugs before going about cleaning it. He takes another pause before continuing. "We Thieves fight for freedom, after all. And freedom of choice is one such things. You admit to yourself, to me, that you're running away, and you don't want to anymore, right? So I think the choice you'll make will be a good one."

She blinks, dumbfounded, as if his words – the truth, unchained and unmasked – are something she hasn't been expecting. He hears Goro hums from the back, and Raoul laughs delightedly in the back of his mind as Yoshizawa lets out a small puff and smiles. "…You can be awfully firm sometimes, Amamiya-senpai."

"That is unfortunately the truth we'll have to deal with," Goro says, and Ren throws him a stink eye, only for the other to give him a smirk that taunts him. Yoshizawa tilts her head as Goro continues. "But I suppose that is one of his charms, his strong points. If he isn't firm in his ideals, he wouldn't have made this many friends, and wouldn't have won against a god."

"Is that some kind of backhand compliment, dude?" Ren pouts, laughing lightly, then turns back to Yoshizawa as she blinks. The girl takes a moment, smiling to herself, before pushing herself up. Ren hums and asks quietly. "Anyway, you sure you're good, Yoshizawa?"

"Yes, I am," She says with a bow. "I must thank you, for allowing me to unload all of this on you. I'm still not completely sure what I should do, but I plan to think more on it."

"Take all the time you need," Ren says. "I'll be here whenever you need me."

"…Thank you, Senpai."

Once she leaves, Goro speaks up from where he is, his hands busy scrubbing away at the plates and the cups. "You are quite a reliable person, aren't you?"

Ren, being who he is, immediately thinks that Goro is being sarcastic. So he replies skeptically, "What? Are you going to give me another backhand compliment or something?"

Goro snorts. "I mean exactly what I said. Don't twist my words."

Ren hums, putting the last of the ingredients and the boxes away. Goro finishes at the same time, and after he puts the apron on the hanger, he turns to Ren and leans against the counter. Ren just sits on it, swinging his legs absently. After the both of them have settled into a comfortable silence, Ren says, his eyes looking straight at Goro. "I'm not that reliable. I only meant what I said; I want to help as much as I can."

"I don't think I've asked you this before," Goro hums, rubbing at his chin. When Ren motions for him to continue, the boy states, curiosity clear in his voice. "I've asked you why you'd want to understand your enemy. Me. Maruki-san. But I've never known exactly why or what it is that spurs you to help others. Haven't you been given nothing but misery after you save that woman from Shido?"

That brings up a sour memory he could do without. But when he looks into those crimson eyes that now never betray the feelings Goro's having, all he could see in genuine curiosity and something he thinks is a hand, reaching out. And then, he realizes, that Goro wants to help him.

He blinks, unsure of what to say or do, since this is probably some of the rarest moments he's ever seen from Goro. It is true that the boy's been offering him help multiple times before, but this feels different, to him. More personal, he thinks. Raoul hums quietly, stirring and pulling the curtain of curses over his mindscape, as if to say that he should continue the conversation. Ren sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose for a few seconds.

"If you don't want to talk, then you don't have to," Goro says slowly. "I do realize that this is a sensitive topic."

"No, no, it's not that," Ren quickly adds, holding up a hand. "Just… yeah, it's kinda touchy. But I think talking about this with someone might be good for my mental health in the long run."

Ren leans back, eyes glued to a blight on the ceiling, his nails deep into the scars on his thigh – one that's stomped over months ago in that interrogation room – through his pants. He's told his friends – Ryuji is the first, actually – about that incident before. But he thinks he's never said why he'd help the woman. They all just assume that he is that good a person, to help someone without any ulterior motives or any personal causes. He scoffs at the thoughts; in hindsight, his friends are all too trusting of a backwater-originated delinquent like himself.

He lets out a long breath, filling the air with fog of cold, before saying reluctantly, his brows furrowed. "Do you know I came from Inaba? A small town in the middle of nowhere, where everyone knows everyone?"

"…I do," Goro hums quietly.

"Before that incident, I think I don't have that many friends to begin with," He says. "I really hated it there, you know? My parents are almost never home, but have enough money for me to live comfortably. The neighbors talked about us all the time, about how perfect a family we were—" The words feel like poison at the tip of his tongue "—and that I'm lucky. Truth be told, though, that's loads of bullshits."

Parents who are working all the time and never home. No relatives to speak of, no friends to lean on – just the three of them in the world. And using that sentence is a stretch, since mom never came back before eleven in the evening while dad would come back from his oversea job once every three months for a day. He growls quietly, before remembering himself, that he shouldn't be swept up by the storms of emotions, of something that should've been left well alone.

"I was always alone, and I know all too well how that feels. Parents who're never home, parents who've never taken your side when the others are wrong, parents who scold you for not coming out the way they wanted you to, blaming you and not their shitty parenting," He growls. All too often they'd blame him for things he wasn't in the wrong, too often they'd say he's a failure and a disappointment. That time with the woman and Shido, too. He frowns. "Being alone is scary. You remember what Mochizuki said, when he told us about Yuuki and his description of life?"

Goro tilts his head slightly and nods upon recalling the exact words. "I think he said, and I quote; "To live is to bond, to connect. Without bonds, there is no life. We are defined by the connections we've shared with others, and through these connections, you will get stronger"."

"What do you think of those phrases?" Ren asks.

He's not sure what Goro thinks of bonds, since he is a Wild Card who's never offered a contract, a man defined by hatred and lust for revenge that will never be enough. Ren knows how that must've felt, since it isn't a lie if one says that he, too, might've wanted to exact revenge on the system, on everyone who's abandoned him, once.

"I would've thought it's a bunch of lies created for the weak," Goro says, and Ren is about to scoff when he notices Goro using the words would have, so he continues to listen. "Relying on other people have never crossed my mind before. There are many other ways to find strength, so why would one insist that only through bonds will power comes to you?"

"You think differently now, don't you?" Ren asks, smiling slightly.

"…Begrudgingly, I do," Goro hums. "These past few months… make me realizes that revenge and anger aren't the only thing that can give me power. And do not tell anyone this – but I think my friendship with you in particular changes the way I see the world."

Ren blinks, humbled by Goro's response. He then laughs, infinitely delighted. And then, his face falls as he sighs and gets himself back on track; Goro asked a question, and he intends to answer. "I agree with it, too. I feel like Yuuki is… much too kind. Kinder than I ever will be, helping people without any underlying motives in mind. Helping just for the sake of helping and making the world better. Who else could've done that? I know I couldn't."

"But you're doing it right now," Goro says, a statement fused with confusion.

"You think too highly of me, man," Ren laughs mirthlessly, the sound grating his eardrums and making his stomach shifts and churns. "I'm not helping just cuz I'm a good person or anything. I just don't wanna see people going through what I had. Getting abandoned sucks, I can guarantee you that. And I help because I can, and it makes me feel like I'm worth something."

Goro says nothing, and Ren couldn't bring himself to look up, so he just lets the silence blankets them and quiets his beating heart that's getting too loud to bear.

But then, a third voice comes from the staircase, jolting him out of his thoughts. "That is exactly what Makoto said back then, too."

They turn. Mochizuki is standing there, the monstrosity of a tome in his arm, his smile so kind and so gentle. Ren gapes for a moment before managing out quietly. "…What do you mean?"

"You said you helped people because you don't want anyone to feel things you have, to experience what you've gone through before," Mochizuki says, leaning against the wall and tugging half his face down into the folds of fading yellow. "If that is not your definition of kindness, then what is? There are no ulterior motives behind your actions but to genuinely help those in need, Amamiya. Don't sell yourself short."

"But—"

"He is right, and you know that," Goro cuts him off, his tone surprisingly soft, considering that he usually would've bitten Ren's head off with sarcasm by now. "You're thinking you're not the kind of person we thought you are just because you feel wrong validating your actions with your past. I would've decked you by now, had Mochizuki-san not come down in time."

He winces at the memory of being gut-punched, but then cracks out a laughter. Mochizuki smiles softly as he says, "He said the same thing you did. He helped people – even used himself as a shield to prevent a man he barely knows from getting killed – and he said that's because he didn't want to feel useless, and that he wanted to feel needed. But his actions – and yours, too – aren't something people who'd help just to validate their existences would do. It goes beyond that. If you doubt yourself, that's alright, but don't doubt those around you, Amamiya."

Those words couldn't quite reach him, settling themselves in his chest and clinging to him like tar, but not enough to get into him. But he thinks – maybe, just maybe, that's okay.

He'd need time to sleep on all of this.

So, he grins, wearing his Joker-mask once more, with Raoul by his side. "If you say so. Who am I to doubt a murder bird and Death?"

And, for the day, he lets all of his insecurities go.

A lot of things happened during the following weeks.

First and foremost, Yoshizawa – Violet – has rebelled against her own weakness, awakening to her true self. He is proud (damnit, just like with Futaba, he's becoming a doting fucking brother) (Be honest, little one, you do not regret it one bit) (Don't shove words into his mouth, thank you) and to see her dance like that – not fiercely, but softly, and freely, different from when she wore the mask of Kasumi – is a sight to behold, indeed.

Exploring that damn Palace has been kind of a drag that makes him want to shove all the responsibility to Goro, for some reason. But aside from that, this Palace does nothing but confirms what he already knows about Maruki – that he is kind, and that he's broken and wronged on the inside. He's lost something, or rather, someone dear through the injustices of the Fates and the trauma. He's restlessly trying to correct the world the best he know how. And even if it's wrong, Ren has to agree that, indeed, Maruki is just the same as them, but with difference in company and choices.

He spent the weeks talking to his friends – and all of them are as he remembers; they're willing to discard this blissful future for a life they can walk by themselves, and thus, their power grows, their bonds deepen, their convictions steeled. Mochizuki said that the SEES were much the same; that it took them a while, but they all come to the conclusion that their lives are theirs to live, that none will allow a god or a man to dictate it for them.

Futaba has been making a certain progress regarding Yuuki. The Suppressors were originated right under Kirijou Mitsuru's nose – that one is to be expected, but still surprising all the same – and that they were distributed along the Kirijou Group's branches under the false pretense of being a performance enhancer for athletes. It doesn't seem like Kirijou is aware of its true nature, or even aware that it exists, but that is beside the point – what the point is, is that she is unaware that something that could be used against her and her team (the so-called Shadow Operatives) is manufactured with the resources of her company.

To make matters worse, Futaba managed to dig out a name that Mochizuki said is unfamiliar to him. A name that is not the scientists involved in the affair, but the name of a person that's becoming a hindrance to the operation – Shirogane Naoto, the first Detective Prince (Princess?). So Ren arranges for an appointment to meet with this Shirogane in a few days, in order to glean into something, to find any place at all that would hold Mochizuki's light under chains and shackles.

There are a lot of things to think about, a lot of things to do – but he supposes that's just to be expected when a man tries to be a god.

Today, he's having the pleasure of welcoming Lavenza into his home. After he stops her from blowing the whole place up with a Megidolaon (Oh, screw it. Megido—) (oh please god no don't do that), they sit together on the couch, with Goro silently making his way back downstairs when he walks up to see the both of them.

Lavenza then begins, "I've heard that you've found a lead to Makoto-san's whereabouts?"

"Yeah, hope so," He says, rubbing the tip of his nose lightly. Mochizuki has practically holed himself up in Futaba's room just to work the details out. They'd meet with this Shirogane Naoto on February 1st, exactly two days before the date Maruki has set as the deadline. He's not worried much, though; the route to the Treasure is already secured, after all. "How do I update Elizabeth?"

"I will do that for you," The girl hums, leaning back against the old couch that has become home for two people, her lips quirking up into a small smile. "I believe Elizabeth-Neesama might want to speak to you about this after you meet with Shirogane Naoto-san, since timing is most important when the world is trying to merge with Mementos still."

"Please don't remind me," Ren groans. "But wait – how did you know—?"

"Shirogane Naoto-san is a companion of another Wild Card who dispelled the fogs of lies years ago," She answers his unspoken question, and his mind suddenly clicks as to why the name Shirogane brings a note of familiarity out of his masks, from his Personas. She is— "She is a Persona User, much like all of you are."

"Holy shit," He breathes. "We just hit a jackpot?"

"Possibly," Lavenza hums, dusting the tome in her hand before opening it. And she draws out from the pages an Arcana number XXI – the World. "Margaret-Neesama is speaking with the Truth Seeker at the moment. When you meet, do not be alarmed – they might know that you are Persona Users, and they are friends with the old members of the SEES, but no more."

"More help outside the Kirijou Group, the better," Ren nods. "Thank you for your help, Lavenza. I'm sure Mochizuki would want to thank you in person, as well."

"There is no need," She smiles. "We owe him and Makoto-san this world, after all."

"Yeah," He laughs. "We do."

"Lavenza-san said that?"

Mochizuki says, his eyes alight with hope that shimmer and shine like moonlight on the quiet, waveless pool of pure water, and it makes Ren absently thinks that it's beautiful. Ren nods, handling him a can of BOSS no-sugar black coffee, one he claims Yuuki likes, before he sits down beside the boy on Futaba's increasingly disorderly bed as the girl taps away into the computer, with Morgana sleeping in her lap.

"She did," He nods, glancing at Futaba as she rummages through the files, tracing back as far as Shirogane Naoto's high school year, trying to find this Truth-Seeker ahead of time. "I don't think we need to bother looking for this Truth Seeker, but in an off chance that our meeting with Shirogane-san is fruitless, having his name with us might prove a useful bait."

"You are pretty cunning, Amamiya," Mochizuki smiles, fingers gently tracing along the edge of his phone, his eyes shifting between the black screen and the lights of Futaba's various monitors. "But this gives me hope. If a Persona User who works independently from the Kirijou Group exists, then they will be our first and possibly only ally in this endeavor. I fear that if Mitsuru-san knows, those people will also catch wind of this, and it will put all of you in danger, as well."

"A risk we all are willing to take," Ren says. "Right, Futaba?"

"Yeah!" She says, munching on a Snickers as she furiously taps the keys off of her keyboard. She then turns to Mochizuki. "You are a good guy, Mochi! Your and your pal's lives suck, and helping you two seems like a right thing! Not to mention that this is a good way to flex my skills!"

Mochizuki laughs, delighted. "If you insist, Futaba-san. And… You're shortening my name?"

"Why not? It sounds cute," She hums. "Like the soft, small, fluffy mochi ball. You are like that. Er, outside of the Metaverse, anyway. In there, you're just a different person entirely."

"A person is a bit of a stretch, but who am I to rebuff you?" He says with a small smile and leans back on his hands, humming a tune he says is the song Yuuki used to listen to a lot in the past – Burn My Dread.

"Anyways, Lavenza said that after we meet with Shirogane-san, her sister – uh, Elizabeth, I mean – might or might not come visit us. Said something about the timing having to be perfect because of the whole mess Maruki's causing," He explains what Lavenza had told him just a few days ago.

At this, Mochizuki makes a slow, surprised hum. "Oh. That actually makes sense, but why wait then, and not tell us now? Then again… Elizabeth-san is the most eccentric being I have ever had the pleasure to meet, so I don't think this is too out of character for her. It could also mean that—"

"—She might do it for a reason," Ren finishes. "We won't know until then. We'll meet Shirogane-san in ten days anyway, so there really is no need for us to fret, right?"

"I suppose not."

"Found it!" Futaba says suddenly, clapping the table hard enough to jolt Morgana out of his sleep and sending him tumbling off her lap and into the floor. The not-cat yowls, but he stops when Futaba spins the chair around and scoots it to the side, showing them all the screen. "I think I found him! His profile is just like yours and Yuuki – a transfer student at Yasogami High, during the same year Shirogane Naoto enrolled!"

The screen depicts a man, now in his early twenties – sharp silver eyes, silver bowl-cut hair, lean. Even through the picture, he reeks of authority and determination Ren would often see in Raoul's body language. And, to confirm their findings, Raoul gives out a laughter and flaunts around inside his mind, steam billowing out through his mask and eyes as the crows of laughter grows louder with delight. It is this person's Persona that had helped me and Thanatos reach Yuuki Makoto within the Sea, Trickster. He is the one you are looking for.

"This is him," Ren says, getting off the bed to get a closer look. "Raoul confirms it, that he was the one who helped you and Raoul find Yuuki back then?"

"Not exactly him, no," Mochizuki says, a finger to his lip. The boy absently pulls Morgana up and holds him in his arm, and the not-cat purrs, satisfied. "His Persona? Yes. The only other one there was Izanagi, the Original God of Lightning."

"So that must be his original Persona, and he, the Wild Card?" Morgana says from Mochizuki's hold. When Ren gives him a thoughtful hum, the not-cat continues. "So, we have the names of our potential allies. But are you sure we can trust these guys? If something like the old Akechi happens, we might end up dead."

"Lavenza confirms it herself, and that Igor and another attendant of his is communicating with him at the moment," Ren says. "I don't doubt Lavenza's words."

"Neither do I," Morgana says softly.

"So, his profile…" Mochizuki murmurs, leaning in a little closer. "22 years old, currently studying Master's degree in Criminal Psychology at Tokyo University. That sounds like something a Wild Card would do."

"Not what I'd do, though," Ren chuckles. Then, a little quieter, he adds, "Not that Tokyo University would allow me in to begin with."

"Hey!" Futaba hits his arm. "Stop with the pessimism!"

"Ow!"

Morgana sighs, exasperated, while Mochizuki scrolls down the data Futaba has dug up, absorbing in the new information that would help him find Yuuki. Ren has been impressed by Death multiple times, but his focus is indeed unparalleled. And when he leans a little closer, he hears the boy murmurs under his breath, "…No name comes to mind, but that is beside the point… Shirogane Naoto, Tatsumi Kanji, Kujikawa Rise—"

"Wait a minute," Ren whispers to Futaba, who's bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "Kujikawa Rise? As in Risette?"

"Yep," She says flatly. "Color me surprised, too."

"—jima Ryotarou as his guardian… well, at least he has a family looking out for him," Mochizuki sighs, his expression heavy, before he pulls himself away, carefully patting Morgana's fur, making the not-cat hums out in contentment. "…Thank you, Futaba-san. Then, what do we do next?"

"We meet with Shirogane-san," Futaba says. "And by we I mean you, Morgana, Ren, and Akechi. I'll keep tap, and will call if the coast is clear or if something happens. And then, we hope for the best."

February 1st, 2017 [Wednesday]

Yu thinks this is the first time in a while that the Investigation Team is investigating something on their own, without a request from the Shadow Operatives.

As it turns out, whatever conspiracy they stumbled upon a few months ago have their fangs and claws and roots inside the Kirijou Group itself. While he knows not the full extend of their reaches, if Kirijou knows, there is a chance these people would move before they can, and he couldn't risk that.

Thinking back, he thinks it was the first time Izanagi was angry.

A few months ago, Izanagi suddenly glowered and snarled and snapped as lightning rumbled inside his chest, and he was almost thrown off his seat during lecture. And it wasn't just him, either – Margaret and Marie had called him to the Velvet Room immediately after. Not only had Igor disappeared without their knowledge a few months ago and trapped somewhere they couldn't reach, there were people that had appeared at Doujima's (and all their neighbors') front door, asking about the murders in the fog from his fighting days.

Who were they? He doesn't know, but not good people, Izanagi confirmed as much. Margaret said that there is another Wild Card who was held captive – the Wild Card Elizabeth used to attend to. Not Aigis, she said. But her predecessor is dead, so Yu wonders who it could've been. Although Margaret did tell him his name; Yuuki Makoto. Come to think of it, he's never asked Kirijou what their previous leader's name was – it's such a crass, heartless question, after all – but he suspects that this person might be their deceased leader. How could he be alive after he's buried, though? No idea. Still, that changes little in what he had to do – the stranger is held in captivity, and Margaret thinks they were doing something to him, something that no humans should have to experience.

When Shirogane started her investigations, they stumbled upon a single name of the person who visited Doujima – a name of a scientist who was under the Kirijou Group. And from then, the name of the drug that Aragaki used to take before his Persona evolved from Castor to Chiron – Persona Suppressors. From what the man said before, it shouldn't do anything more than to help a person control their other selves, but the documents Shirogane manages to acquire allude to the fact that these new batch is designed to do more.

It makes him sick.

When someone named Alibaba suddenly called them, though, everything changes.

Shirogane said that they wanted to help with the Investigation Team's current mission, too, and had claimed that they could help. Yu was skeptical, and Yosuke objected the idea, but when Alibaba said Shirogane's name is marked as a danger to their operations, they're practically forced into working with these strangers – strangers that Margaret told him are also Persona Users. He sighs and pulls out his phone, as if to distract himself, only to see that Shirogane is calling him.

"Can you find your way to Café Leblanc?" Shirogane asks as soon as Yu picks up the phone. He tugs the scarf closer to next mouth and digs his fingers down the pockets of his coat.

"Yeah, I think so. Where are you?"

"In front of the Café," She says. "Kanji-kun is not happy about only the two of us here, but I suppose it is better than I alone."

"Keep your hand on the gun," Yu hums, making his ways down the dark alley and walking past eerily silent buildings. "We don't know who they are, or what they want. Even the fact that your name is on the radar might be a lie, for all we can tell."

"I doubt that," She says. "If they are actually with this group we're investigating, then why call us and alert us at all? They could've easily tracked us down and take care of us – of me, in particular – without setting off the alarm. I think, these people might have the same goal we do."

"You mean – to save that stranger? The Wild Card?" Yu asks. When he thinks about it, that would explain almost everything about Alibaba. "…Hm, that might explain it. They are Persona Users, after all. They might even be this person's allies. You can't let your guard down yet, though."

"Roger that."

It takes him about ten or so minutes to arrive at the café. He waves as Shirogane bows slightly at him, his nose picking up the scent of coffee from inside the shop.

"Shall we?"

When they enter, there are five cups of coffee on the table. On the side facing them are three boys – one with eyes piercing blue that reminds him of Aigis' own, one who he recalls to be Shirogane's protégé, the second coming of detective prince Akechi Goro, and the third is a boy with frizzly black hair and black eyes that screams I will not yield to him.

Izanagi stirs, but doesn't lash out, so he sighs before walking over.

"Good evening," Yu says, sitting at the innermost seat of the chair and allowing Shirogane to settle herself at the edge, ready to bolt if needed be. "I'm Narukami Yu. This here is Shirogane Naoto."

"Amamiya Ren," The frizzly-haired says, and he pulls up from his lap a black cat that shifts and purrs before curling up on the table next to his steaming cup. Yu tilts his head slightly, but doesn't comment on it as the boy continues. "Here is Akechi Goro, and that over there is Mochizuki Ryoji."

"Well then," Akechi says, putting the cup to his lips and taking a small sip before continuing. "Shall we begin?"

Yu thinks… they're in for a wild, wild ride like no other.