Hi nerds!

Sorry for the long break - I did, admittedly, say it was gonna be a bit. Holidays, cons, and other stuff happened, and I hope everyone had a great Christmas (or whatever) and a happy new year!

Two things: First, I've got a commissioned art piece of Phantom Thief Naoto by the wonderful sunnjays on the way! I'll post a link to it in an upcoming chapter. I really like how it looks so far, and I think you will too!

Second, over the break, Akira got a name change because of the anime. For simplicity's sake, and to prevent me from doing a find-replace operation on every chapter thus far, I'm going to stay with Akira Kurusu for the remainder of the fic.

Thanks for reading! As always, leave any comments you have (please do so, I love reading every single one of them, you're all lovely people) and if you want to follow me on Tumblr, you can do so at aflirtingaccident for my personal and philwritestuff for my writing

There was a moment of stunned silence as the Phantom Thieves saw their same power manifested before them by Naoto Shirogane of all people. Naoto remembered the feeling - when she had first met Mitsuru and the rest of the surviving SEES members, it was like finding family you didn't know you had, one you got past the initial shock of it all.

And they looked quite shocked.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Ryuji suddenly yelled, and everyone turned to face him as the awe of the moment was unceremoniously shattered. He straightened up and fixed Naoto with a glare. "This is effin' crazy! How the hell can we trust her enough to tell heranything ?! She's supposed to be huntin' us, there's no way we can just start blabbin' about everything we've done and seen!" He pointed a finger at her, squinting in suspicion. "I know what you say when you arrest people! 'Anything you say or do can be used against you in a court of law!' Well, I ain't gonna say anything!"

"While you do have the right to remain silent, I'm not arresting you. Still, you have a point," Naoto agreed as she folded her arms, clearly relaxed about the situation. "How can you trust me? I am, after all, publically attempting to find you and arrest you. In normal circumstances, you'd be foolish to trust me, but I'm sure you can tell these are far from normal circumstances." She raised her hands to indicate the space around them and Yamato Sumeragi, who did another blade flourish.

Ryuji made a disgruntled noise, but no further protests came from him. He instead slouched down more, but continued to stare at Naoto and her Persona, as if searching them for a shred of ill intent.

"It has become increasingly clear to me that you are not the killers," Naoto said, "And I am far more interested in finding out who is. You don't have to trust me, but if what I think is going to happen has even a slight chance of happening...you'll want to trust me."

Morgana took a step forward, and all eyes turned to him. "As loathe as I am to agree with Ryuji, he's right. We only really know you as the ace detective trying to catch us. Right now, you have all the power in this situation. How can we be sure that you're telling the truth about wanting to help us?"

Naoto nodded in a 'fair enough' style. "Well, let me see how much of your story I can guess. One day, probably in April, two of you - I'm going to guess Kurusu-san and Sakamoto-san - found yourselves in an unexpected, strange, decidedly otherworldly place. A world of dreams, in a sense, populated by Shadows - manifestations of human ego. In that world, you ran into a natural denizen of it that was friendly," and she gestured to Morgana, "who told you a little bit about it and helped orient you to the new place.

"During the course of your adventure, you were accosted by Shadows and were almost hurt or killed before one of you - I'm guessing Kurusu-san - manifested the power of Persona." She indicated her own, who was still floating in the air behind her. "It gave you the strength to fight back and escape from the world, a little worn out but not seriously injured. At a later point, likely when you intentionally went back to that same world for noble or curious reasons, Sakamoto-san gained his own Persona. How am I doing so far?"

All of them looked surprised at the fairly accurate summation of events. Ryuji and Akira traded glances, then cast their eyes back over to Naoto. "That's, uh," Ryuji stammered out, "That's kinda freaky."

Naoto flashed a knowing smile. "It's freaky because the story I just told you is what happened to one of my best friends., Yu Narukami. As a bonus, he too was new in town, same as Kurusu-san is. Just as you were gathered as allies along the way, so too did we eventually join him. Like us, I imagine that all of you were in some way personally wronged by one of the people the Phantom Thieves have subsequently targeted. Takamaki-san with Kamoshida, Kitagawa-san with Madarame, and…"

She puts her hand up to her chin, looking out over the Thieves. "...admittedly, I don't know which one of you Kaneshiro was after, but based on the timing, I would assume either Niijima-san or Sakura-san. As for you, Okumura-san, I believe you are having some trouble with an arranged marriage? I apologize for prying," she said with a small bow, "But it is the job of a detective to know such things."

"It's all right," Haru said with a gentle smile. "But I believe that's a discussion best left for another time."

"Indeed. As for Okumura's death…" Naoto paused, again thinking. "If I had to guess, you went to change his heart and something went terribly wrong?"

"As far as we knew, nothing had," Makoto said with a nod. "But something did. Our best guess is that someone came in behind us, or after we left. Before his Shadow faded away, Madarame spoke of a man in black. We believe he was the one who killed Haru's father."

So they're already on it. Good for them. "A wise suspicion," Naoto confirmed, "and I believe that working together, we can fill in some gaps that the others have - but that's all in due time. We have a more pressing issue to discuss, as I'm sure by now that you've figured out that you have gained the ire and attention of some very powerful enemies."

Naoto leaned back against the table, resting her hands behind her on the flat top. "I'm not sure how high up they go, but at the very least, you have politicians and directors of police operations coming after you. They are willing to capture you by any means necessary, and they are not going to bother with a fair trial. They are going to find you, nail you to the wall, and exploit your case for all of the public opinion that it is worth. They're not looking for the true culprits of the mental shutdowns - they're looking for someone that they can burn."

There was a moment of uneasy silence as the Thieves regarded Naoto, the true consequences of getting caught running through their heads. All of them seemed to deflate a bit, dark clouds and dim expressions appearing on them in various fashions. She kept going, figuring that all the bad news at once was best, like ripping off an adhesive bandage. "I'm not sure if you've been told, but there is an operation in the works to find and capture you, one headed by the justice department and the police working in tandem. They don't have enough evidence for a conviction - and they never will - but they're not too concerned with evidence. If I can find enough to suspect you, so can they, and they won't be so nice as to announce that they're coming for you ahead of time.

That, of course, only made the Thieves sink even more into a depression. Naoto offered them an understanding smile, despite the dour air of the conversation, and she stood up once more. Now for the good news.

"In conclusion, I want to help you, and I think I can help you - not just against the police, but against whatever is coming for you down the line. If what happened to me is the same as what is happening to you, things are going to get serious - far more serious than just the Tokyo police after your heads.

"Thus, I offer you a deal: Let me join you. I bring with me my own considerable prowess as a Persona user and a network of friends and allies who are the same, and I will also share what I know of the case, along with what I suspect is coming for you down the line. In return, I want you to include me in on your meetings, activities, and tell me everything you know about how to change a heart - along with a summary of your deeds thus far. I'm not going to take over leadership, as it seems to be that your dynamics are already well established, but I'm sure that you could use the help of an ace detective and experienced Persona user on your team.

There was a moment of silence as she let them digest it, and they looked at each other, trading glances. Naoto went on. "Before you say anything, know that you don't have to accept this deal. If you tell me no, there are no hard feelings. After we leave here, I will act as though I had my heart changed, I will go on camera and profess the dangers of my pride and ego, and I will bow out of the investigation accordingly - however, I can promise you that such actions will only further enrage those who are looking for you. I will do everything in my power to obstruct them, but believe me when I say that it is only a matter of time.

"What do you say, Phantom Thieves? Do you accept my deal?" Speech finished, Naoto regarded the Thieves as one, searching their faces for reactions and clues as to their next move - and then, she caught herself, and stopped.

She already knew that they were going to say, but she wanted to hear them say it.

Akira, looked back at the group, silently asking for their opinions. Makoto, the closest one to him and the seeming second-in-command, spoke up first."I believe her. And I believe I know who is heading the investigation." She looked past Akira to Naoto, and the hesitance in even asking the question told Naoto just how much it was hurting Makoto to even ask the question. "It's Sae, isn't it?"

Naoto nodded, keeping the pain in her heart off of her face. "We can talk about her after you all reach your decision. I want to help her, Niijima-san."

"Yeah," Makoto said, quietly. "Me too." She sighed, then looked back at the group, composed. "We know that we got duped with Okumura. What she's saying makes sense, and I trust her. If we had to be caught by one of the Detective Princes, I'd much rather it be her than Akechi."

"I believe her too." Haru gave Naoto a small nod, one Naoto returned. "And I want to know who killed my father."

"For revenge?" Ryuji asked.

"Revenge does not imply the true amount of suffering I will bring into his life, but that's as good as word as we'll get for it, I suppose."

There was a moment as everyone, Naoto included, pondered Haru's bloodthirstiness. Still, her dad was killed. She had every reason to be angry.

"I'm in favor," Yusuke said, breaking the silence. "She hasn't lied to us so far as I can tell, and her experience will be invaluable in the Metaverse - and, indeed, if there are darker clouds on the horizon."

"She's squeaky clean and, as a bonus, she has a public rep for honesty," Futaba said with a resigned sigh. "Count me in."

"Ah, what the hell." Ryuji shrugged. "I ain't got no reason not to trust her, other than her being a cop. Not like we can fight off every cop in Tokyo, eh?"

"It sounds like a better idea than getting caught in some kind of weird forced investigation. I'm in," Ann said with a nod.

Everyone turned to Morgana. He looked up at Naoto, then strode forward, stopping just a few steps in front of her. "Swear to me," he said, staring right into her eyes. "I want you to swear to me that everything you're saying is the truth, and I want to hear you say it."

A power move. What a unique cat.

She nodded, then got down on one knee to be on the same eye level as the mysterious cat. She didn't break his gaze as she spoke. "I swear to you that everything I have told you is true as far as I know, and my intentions are as genuine as they could possibly be. Truth be told, I like the work you've all done," she said as she flashed a charming, genuine smile. "There are few feelings more frustrating to a detective than watching a criminal get away on a technicality, or get released on a lack of evidence when we just know they're guilty. Hearing that you all had gotten to Kaneshrio was a dream come true for me."

She stuck out a hand. "I believe in the Phantom Thieves," she emphatically declared, "And I believe that they are just."

There was a pause as Morgana regarded Naoto's extended hand, and then with a lopsided grin, Morgana stuck out his paw and shook Naoto's hand as best as he could. Naoto stood up, hand extended to Akira. "That sounds like unanimous support. Do we have a deal, Kurusu-san?"

He smiled, then stepped up and shook Naoto's hand as Morgana had just done. "We have a deal," he said. "Welcome to the Phantom Thieves, Naoto Shirogane."

After releasing Naoto's hand, he placed it over his face. In a flash of blue fire, a white mask appeared and covered the top half of his face. It was visually striking - black eyesockets, a pointed nose, and wide flairs out on either side of his face gave it sharp angles and contrasting colors. With a single smooth motion, he tore it off, leaving behind a bloody smear on his eyes and nose. In another flash of blue flames, a figure materialized behind him, bound by chains - tall, gangly, and dressed in a red and black tuxedo, with long black top hat and black feathered wings.

The others did the same motion, tearing off their own unique masks and summoning their own Persona. Naoto looked over them, all of them - manifestations of their own souls, turned into fighting spirits and rebelling against the natural social order that had hurt all of them in some way.

They look a lot more...punkish than ours did. No wonder they're Phantom Thieves.

"Excellent," she said as she dismissed her own Persona. "Now, we can truly begin. Follow me out of here, Phantom Thieves. We have much to discuss."

The Phantom Thieves returned to Leblanc, where they sat down with several good cups of coffee while Naoto told them her story about Adachi, the Midnight Channel, and the Investigation Team. She told them of the murders, Teddie, Namatame, and Am-

"Wait, let me get something straight," Ann said from a booth bench, stopping Naoto in the middle of her explanation.

Ryuji snickered, opposite Ann in the booth. "That'd be a change,"

Ann shot him a look, but Makoto placed a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder, sitting behind her. "He's right, you know."

"ANYWAY!" Ann rerailed the conversation and turned to face Naoto. "Some god was actually behind all the fog and everything? You were all just...parts in a play, as you said it said?"

So Naoto went on and told them of Ameno-Sagiri, how their Persona evolved, and the true nature of the Midnight Channel. Up until that point, it had been a semi-believable story, if a little strange, but nothing that Akira and the others hadn't kind of experienced themselves. But when a literal, actual god entered the picture, things went from a tiny bit odd to full-on crazy.

And she still hadn't gotten to the end.

"So, you beat a god with the power of friendship?" Ryuji asked, summing it all up rather nicely.

Naoto smiled. "That's a way to put it, but yes. I suppose the real power was the friends we made along the way."

"That's fucking sick," he said with a wide smile as half of the Phantom Thieves groaned.

Makoto, though, was silent. She was thinking about something, her hand on her chin. "Ameno-Sagiri said it gave you all the power to enter the Midnight Channel after you all gained Personas, correct? Then what about-"

"Yu, Adachi, and Namatame?" Naoto finished with a grin. "I knew you would catch that - you're as clever as your sister. We did too, as we sat down and talked about all of this the day before Yu left to go back home. Even counting what Ameno-Sagiri said as true, things didn't quite add up. Adachi himself noted that he didn't get the power until he arrived in Inaba, and Namatame said something similar in his statements - and both of them heard rumors of the Midnight Channel before it became widespread. Someone was spreading it deliberately around town, and someone had given the three of them the power to enter the TV world. Plus, the Midnight Channel itself was still filled with fog.

"So many elements that previously were unrelated seemed related now, like it was all part of some master plan. Someone, or something, was pulling the strings behind the scenes, and we'd barely noticed it."

"But you beat the final boss, right?" Futaba then gasped. "Unless...there was a super secret final final boss!"

Naoto nodded. "There was. You're all in high school, so I'm sure you'll all recognize the name Izanami…and I see from your reactions that you do," she said to their slack-jawed faces.

She continued on, telling them of Izanami's plan, what her three chosen represented, what she knew about the Midnight Channel, where the rumors came from, and how they ultimately defeated her at the eleventh hour, with a little help from the truth.

There was silence following Naoto's words. She had told them quite the tale, and she wasn't sure what conclusions they would draw from it.

"Why are you telling us all of this?" Haru asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

Naoto sighed, looking down at her cup. It was good they asked, but it didn't make this any easier. "Because if my hunch is right, I suspect that your own group may be facing a similarly supernatural situation. I can't prove it, but I strongly believe that there are forces at work behind your rise to fame and, indeed, your strange powers at all. Such abilities do not come from nowhere - they have to earned or granted, as ours were.

"And now that I've told you mine," she said, looking back at the Thieves and turning around so she could lean back against the countertop, "I'd like to hear your story. We still have some time, and I want to know everything that's happened. Leave out no detail, if possible - everything could be important." She pulled her notebook from her pocket, flipped it to a fresh page, and produced a pencil from her suit jacket.

"From the top, if you please?"

Akira began, and told the majority of the story, with the others filling in details as needed. He told Naoto about his arrest, his arrival in Tokyo, and his first day of school. He told her about Ryuji, Kamoshida, Ann, Madarame, Yusuke, Kaneshiro, Makoto, Medjed, Futaba, Okumura, Haru. He told her about Akechi, Morgana, the Metaverse, Mementos, the assassin in black, the Velvet Room and Igor, the strange ma-

"Wait." Naoto cut Akira off mid-sentence. "Igor? Big nose, well past middle aged, lives in the Velvet Room? That Igor?"

"That's him. There are two short women with him, Caroline and Justine. They're...wardens, in a sense. There's a prison theme."

Naoto leaned back in her seat, the implications of Igor being here rocketing through her mind. That was it. If she needed any further proof that there was something larger at stake then the Phantom Thieves and a murderer, she just got it. She had never been in the Velvet Room, the one that Aigis, Yu, and Akira had been in, but she had been in one before...

"You're familiar with him, then?" Akira asked, eyebrows furrowed as he watched Naoto think her way through the conclusions.

Naoto nodded. "Yes, Yu described him to us, along with the Velvet Room - a place only he could ever go. Yu didn't have Caroline and Justine, though, he had a woman named Margaret - and before that, Minato had Elizabeth. We went to a Velvet Room once, but it was...a temporary one. Different. Does that mean you have the Wild Card ability as well, with the power to summon multiple Persona?"

She continued on after Akira's nod. "That means two things. First, there's definitely much more going on here than it seems, and I need to talk with my friends about it. Second, try not to think about that, because there's a far more immediate issue that requires your attention."

"You can't talk with us about it? If there's something coming for us, we have the right to know," Makoto said, crossing her arms.

"You absolutely do," Naoto agreed, "But I don't know for sure what's going on - there's only a hunch. I promise you that when I know more, I'll come to you, and we can figure this out together. But as I said, we have a pressing matter to deal with first - namely, your sister's investigation."

Naoto then filled them in on what details they didn't already know from Makoto, creating a more complete narrative on their situation. When she was finished, there was an uneasy tension across the room. This was no longer a game - this was, conceptually, life or death.

"So, now that you all know what's going on behind the scenes, I have an idea," Naoto said when she was done, "and I want to hear what you all think."

"Rrrgh! I think it's bullshit that she's even being forced into this!" Ryuji said, slamming his fist on the table. That he had held in his anger this long was surprising. "Why the hell can't they just leave her alone?"

"Because somebody has to take the fall." Haru shook her head, looking down at the table. "They can't afford to just leave us be anymore, not after…"

"We're too big, and we've done something worth prosecuting now - or it looks like we did." Makoto said, sighing. "We have to do something to help her, and I think I know what that is." She looked up at Naoto. "You want to change her heart?"

"Right idea, wrong person." Smiling, but shaking her head, Naoto reached into her briefcase and pulled out a photograph, handing it to Akira. He looked at it, and the group passed it around as Naoto spoke. "This man, Hiroshi Kuromaru, is the director of the SIU, and Sae-san's superior in the investigation - he's the one who put her in charge of it. Changing Sae-san's heart would help, but she's reluctant to be doing this anyway, and it isn't addressing the root of the issue. Despite her earlier fervor to catch the Thieves, I believe she now feels trapped. Rather than go after her, I believe we should change the heart of the man putting pressure upon her in the first place."

"Because if he gets rekt, so does the case!" Futaba said, smacking her palm with her fist. "We forget about the dragon and go right for the real bad guy!"

Makoto nodded, then pulled out her phone. "Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's see if it's possible." She tapped with her fingers a few times, opening up an app on her phone. "Hiroshi Kuromaru."

"Candidate found."

"That's a start," Ann said, flashing Makoto a thumbs up. "But what do the others think?"

"I'll be surprised if anyone disagrees." Yusuke looked at Naoto, handing the photo back to her. "How long do we have?"

Naoto slid the photo back into her briefcase, clicking it shut after. "Unfortunately, I don't have an exact date, because I don't know. If I were to give an estimate, it'll take a few weeks for everything to be lined up - even ramming it through the system requires the proper paperwork and arrangements with personnel. I was hoping I'd never have to say this, but bureaucracy is our friend here." She put her hand to her chin for a moment, doing some mental math.

As one, all of the Phantom Thieves except Makoto studied Naoto's pose, then looked at Makoto, then back at Naoto.

"It's not our exclusive thing, you know!" Makoto mumbled, disgruntled. "Other people hold their chins while they think."

"They do, but not in that specific pose," Yusuke said, studying Naoto. "It's a very distinctive stance."

"Today's the 26th, so...I'd say three to four weeks. Let's call it exactly three weeks, just to be safe - November 16th."

"Aaah, that's plenty of time," Ryuji said. "We've done it in less than that before."

"Then we should take a vote," Morgana said, looking around at the others. "If everyone agrees, our next target will be Hiroshi Kuromaru, leader of Japan's Special Investigation Unit, for putting excessive pressure on Sae Niijima and for being complicit in a fraudulent, face-saving investigation by the SIU to find and arrest us. This isn't our normal kind of target, but this is for our survival. All in favor?"

A chorus of affirmations followed. "Anyone against?"

Silence.

"Then it's decided."

"Good, cause it's gettin' pretty late," Ryuji said with a nod to the clock. "I gotta get home, my mom's gonna get worried."

"Meeting adjourned for tonight," Makoto said. "We'll be in touch, Shirogane-san."

"Call me Naoto," she said with a smile. "We're equals now."

"Then….Naoto it is. We're all on a first-name basis with each other, so don't worry about formalities," Makoto said, brushing her hair from her face. "I never thought we'd be doing this together. To be honest, when we heard you were coming to town, we were a little scared that you'd find us out. How long have you known?"

"About two months now. I got the hunch after I saw some of you here, as a matter of fact - it reminded me so much of the Investigation Team, of people so separated otherwise coming together." She smiles. "Had I not been through all of that, I doubt I would've figured it out so quickly."

"Two months!?" Ann groaned and slumped over, head on the table. "But we were so careful!"

Naoto nodded. "You were, and there's no physical evidence, but the connections can still be made. I'm not faulting your methods here, but there is no such thing as the perfect crime. I must also confess that I didn't know all of you were part of the Thieves - Futaba was not on my list except in name, and you, Haru, were only added when I spoke to you recently at your house. It's unfortunate, biding forever was never an option. Sooner or later, you were going to get flushed into the open and captured." A small, humorless smile. "You've made a mockery of the police and the SIU for too long to be ignored."

"Yeah, well, bastards deserve it sometimes," Ryuji muttered. Makoto shot him a dirty look. "C'mon, Makoto, you know what I mean."

"If we're all done here, I need to be going," Yusuke said as he stood up and stretched. "I still have to take the train home." Ann rose as well, along with everyone that wasn't Futaba and Akira. "After school tomorrow, in the usual spot?"

Akira nodded. "We can take a Mementos trip, as planned, and show her the ropes. Though, it sounds like you may not need the help."

"It's been a while," she assured Akira. "I could use a refresher."

It had been a very long day.

Naoto's hair was fanned out in the bathwater to her sides, and the soothing scents of lavender and vanilla filled the air from the steaming water, calming her fast-running brain and soaking into her skin. She was reclining, and while it wasn't as spacious as it could be in the tub, she was compact enough to have room to spare.

Shame Rise isn't here to join me…

She managed a smile at the thought of her lover with her, and she permitted herself a few minutes of idle dreaming - what better time to indulge in them than now? After the sheer insanity of today, it was nice to have an anchor for her mind, in the form of her beautiful, charming, intelligent, talented, lovely girlfriend.

Sometimes I still don't know what she sees in me...but I can guess.

The heat of the bath and the intimacy of her own thoughts brought a flush to Naoto's face, and she covered it with her own hands, even though nobody was around to see her. She couldn't even see her reflection in the mirror due to the angle, and she was kind of glad of that fact.

If she saw me now, she'd just say it was cute, and I was cute, and she'd kiss me.

The flush spread up to her ears, and it didn't stop there. Naoto had intention of doing so, so she enjoyed her time in the warm, calming water, staying in until her fingers were well past the prune stage.

By the time Naoto had gotten out of the bath and brushed her teeth, there was still over an hour to go before her usual bed time. Still, she had nothing else to do, so she decided to turn in after one last check of her email.

Nothing from Sae, Akechi, or work - but there was a new one, marked priority. Upon seeing the sender's name, she smiled and opened it without a moment's hesitation.

It had been quite some time since she'd spoken to Mitsuru Kirijo.