Persona Trinity

by IIIIIIIIII

Six months have passed since the defeat of Yaldabaoth and the disbandment of the Phantom Thieves. Ren Amamiya now enjoys a normal high-school life, hard-won though it may be. For once, normalcy started to feel normal. However, the whims of fate would set the Wild Card User on another path. And he would be far from the only one fate would call on. Pairing: Pseudo RenxHarem YuxHarem

29. Sasaki

A/N As promised, here's the latest chapter. Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona, or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this

Chapter 28

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN NOW!" Ren shouted.

Those were the last words said before bullets started to fly.

Ren tackled whomever had been standing directly behind him, in this case being Makoto. Even in his state of panic, he hoped so desperately that the others heard his warning in time. That they were on the ground. That they wouldn't get hit.

But that was just it. He could only hope.

The horrifying sound of shattering glass and splintered wood played like a video on repeat for what felt like an eternity. Worst among the sounds was the clanking of bullets ricocheting off the cafe's metalware. Each time it happened, everyone was struck with the same reflexive fear that a stray bullet was headed their way.

Everything went quiet as the rain of bullets stopped came to a crashing halt, but even then, no one dared to open their eyes.

The fear of what they might see was just too overpowering.

Ren was one of the first to fight through said fear and picked his upper body off the ground. He looked at Makoto just below him, finding relief at the fact that there wasn't any blood in sight.

"Makoto…?" Ren uttered quietly, a rare uncertainty to his voice.

Hearing his voice seemed to give Makoto the courage to open her own eyes. She appeared as panicked as he was at first, and immediately ran her sights over every visible inch of his body in search of obvious injuries.

"Thank goodness…" she sighed, her voice shaking. "I-Is sis okay? Is everyone—"

"I don't know," he admitted.

The Wild Card picked himself up and helped the brunette onto her feet. They felt an indescribable sense of relief upon seeing most everyone else was doing the same, but for Makoto, this feeling was no greater than when her eyes landed on Sae.

"Sis!" Makoto exclaimed.

Sae marched towards her as fast as she could and wasted no time wrapping her arms around Makoto. She held on to her so tightly to the point that it actually surprised her younger sister.

"Thank god you're okay," Sae uttered breathlessly.

Makoto smiled, returning her sister's embrace. "Thanks to Ren, yes."

"I believe that's something that applies to all of us," Naoto remarked.

The shop itself was in complete and total ruin, but it seemed that by some miracle everyone was okay. A quick glance around the room showed that every core member of both the Investigation Team and the Phantom Thieves were alive and well, standing tall and devoid of bullet holes.

"W-Wait a sec," Futaba uttered, worry returning to her eyes. "Where's Sojiro?"

The shopkeeper was nowhere to be seen and his voice didn't respond to her call. In a panic, Futaba rushed towards the far-end of the bar where she was sure he'd been when the bullets started to fly.

And it was then and there that her skin went pale and her body froze in place at the sight that laid in front of her.

Sojiro was laying on the ground, a deep red staining his apron and dress shirt. Subtle groans could still be heard leaving his lips, and his body had started to stir, but that hardly came as a source of comfort given the circumstances.

Futaba couldn't even say a word. She collapsed onto her knees, all but certain that her heart had stopped beating. Several of those nearby noticed her reaction and came to her side, all of whom gasped at the state of Leblanc's beloved owner.

"Ugh, my head…" Sojiro grumbled. He appeared to snap back to reality immediately upon seeing the sorry state his daughter was in. "F-Futaba, what's wrong? Wait, why are all of you looking at me like that?"

"…huh?" Futaba murmured, her eyes unblinking. "You're… not hurt?"

"Hurt?" Sojiro repeated confusedly. "Well, sort of. I just knocked my head against the side of the bar when I was diving to the ground. I'm a little dizzy, but I'm sure I'm fine."

"B-But what about all that blood?!" Futaba exclaimed.

Sojiro looked down at his clothes, his brows furrowed. "Oh, that. It's not blood, Futaba, it's just wine. Must've spilled over on me from the countertop when the bottle was shot."

The orange-haired teen blinked in disbelief, unable to truly put into words what she was feeling. Without warning, she lunged forward and hugged Sojiro, squeezing him tightly. However, before he could even hug back, she released her grip and began to walk towards the staircase and then up into Joker's room.

There was hardly a soul present that wasn't confused by the display.

"She'll be screaming into a pillow for about five minutes," Ren explained.

"And on that note…" Yu trailed off.

He dialed for the police, sighing at the reality of an already long night getting even longer.

Shinjuku Central Precinct: Office Space

In recent weeks, the SPD had been a revolving door of officers on rotation with little if any rest allowed for anyone on the force. Yet for that night, and for the first time in nearly two weeks, things were relatively quiet.

None of the officer on duty found that to be a problem, not even in the slightest. There was one among them, however, that didn't get caught up in the thrill of a much-needed break.

Tetsuo Jirkishi eyed the calm and quiet airs of the office area with evident suspicion. He sat in near total silence with the only sound he produced being that of his coin, which he continued to flip over and over again to help himself think.

After some time, he slumped back in into his desk chair, placing the coin in his pocket as he released a deep sigh.

"Something wrong, Tetsuo?"

Chief Kentaro walked up and made himself known with that remark. For the first time in several days, he appeared to be sporting a smile, however slight it may have been.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing, really. It's too quiet is all."

"Most people would consider that a good thing. In fact, I'd personally give up about anything if all nights could be this quiet."

"I'm not most people," Jirikishi stated pointedly. "When things change up without warning, it makes me suspicious."

"Well… even if this is the calm before the storm, all the more reason to cherish it while it lasts, don't you think?"

"Maybe you do have a point, but I'll stick with being an overthinking paranoid lunatic."

"To each his own," the Chief replied, a hearty laugh lining his tone. "But just for tonight, try not to burn the midnight oil too much, okay?"

"No promises."

"Smartass."

The Chief took his leave, and seconds later Jirikishi felt his cellphone begin to buzz in his pocket. When he took it out and saw that the caller was Yu, he appeared somewhat relieved.

"Hey kid, what's up?" Jirikishi's brow furrowed as he took notice of a very specific sound in the background on the other end of the call. "Are those sirens? Where the hell are you right now?"

Yongen-jaya: Outside Café Leblanc

Yu hung up his phone in the aftermath explaining the current situation to Jirikishi, all the while a paramedic finished triaging him from where he sat on the back of an ambulance.

The young woman bandaging up his forearm, giving him a warm look as she finished up. "There you go, you're all set."

"Thank you," Yu said graciously.

She blushed at sight of the effortlessly charming smile.

"Y-You're very welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me, I-I have to check on one of the others."

She packed up her first aid kit and scurried away awkwardly, somewhat to Yu's surprise. It hadn't been the only time something like this had happened, but it usually took more than two words.

"It's things like this that make me wonder if it's all intentional or if you really just can't help it," Sae remarked.

The young lawyer's gaze shifted towards the approaching silver-haired beauty, who looked somewhat annoyed.

"I don't really know what you're talking about," Yu replied in a deadpanned voice.

"Somehow I doubt that, but that isn't why I'm here."

Her crimson eyes narrowed heavily and fixated on his bandaged forearm. It would have been obvious to even a blind man what she was trying to infer.

Truthfully though, Yu had expected this conversation from the moment the bullets started to fly.

"You could've gotten very hurt, you know," Sae began. She sighed deeply, dropping her crossed arms to her side in resignation. "But I suppose I already know how this conversation plays out. I lecture you about how you could've been seriously hurt, about how you shouldn't have tackled me to the ground and shielded me… and then you tell me with those frustratingly pure eyes that you'd do it a thousand times over if you had the choice. Is that about right?"

"That's mostly right," Yu answered. His words were clearly leading and earned him a curious brow. "I might've gone with a thousand and one."

She stifled a laugh, but couldn't help but smile. "Then I suppose I'll just skip to the part where I say 'thank you'. For both that, and…"

In a turn of events that genuinely came as a surprise to the silver-haired young man, Sae walked forward and wrapped her arms around him. It lasted only seconds, but when she pulled back, she looked at him with such warmth to her eyes.

"I'm sorry for what happened in the Metaverse. Obviously, I lost control of myself, and…" spoke Sae softly.

She lost track of what it was that she wanted to say. It was clear by her expression that she wanted them to be just right to convey both her regret and gratitude, but that alone was enough for the man in front of her to understand how she felt.

"You don't need to say more," Yu stated, his tone genuine. "Whether it's an apology or thanks, you don't owe me either."

That he was so serious about it made her sigh, though she did so with a bittersweet smile. She found it so frustrating to deal with him at times like this, and yet at the same time it always made her heart feel lighter.

Perhaps that was why it was so 'frustrating' in the first place.

"Even if they're not owed, I'd prefer to give them," Sae replied. "That includes you too, Kujikawa-san."

The mentioned songstress laughed awkwardly as she popped out from the side of the ambulance in front of them.

"Sorry for eavesdropping, but I, uh… didn't really want to ruin the moment," Rise replied.

That was only half-true, of course. It was more correct to say she wanted to see where it was going.

"It's not a problem. I owe my thanks to both of you," Sae replied, offering a good-natured smile. "But in any case, I should go find Makoto and head home for the night."

"Take care, Sae."

"Good night, Sae-san."

As the silver-haired beauty was walking away, she had a few choice words to give in parting. She looked over her shoulder, an almost teasing look in her eyes.

"Oh, and Kujikawa-san, if you're here to give him an earful for shielding us during the shooting, my advice is not to waste your breath," Sae began. "He just never seems to listen."

Yu nodded. "That is very true, yes."

The eldest of the Nijima daughters rolled her eyes before fully walking off.

"I was just here to thank you," Rise stated pointedly, grabbing the Wild Card's attention for herself. "Like I told you before, I learned a loooong time ago it was a waste of time to try and get you to change."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Yu replied.

She gave no response.

---

"Okay, Sakura-san. Follow the light… yes, just like that."

Though he clearly didn't appreciate the fact that the paramedic sounded like he was talking to a pet, Sojiro did as he was told. His annoyance did at least entertain Futaba, Ren, Ann, and Ryuji who were close by watching his examination.

Mona just felt sympathy since it was how people talked to him every day.

"Alright, Sakura-san, we're all finished," the man said, putting the light away. "It seems that you have a slight concussion. But otherwise, you're perfectly fine."

"Yippee…"

"Aw, cheer up, Sojiro," said Futaba, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Things could be worse, right?"

"…man, screaming into that pillow must've really worked for her," Ryuji whispered into his best friend's ear.

"It usually does," said Ren.

"Well…" Sojiro grumbled, his icy demeanor thawing somewhat. "I suppose that's true. Even if the shop is a wreck, at least we're all okay."

"I couldn't have said that better myself," Naoto called out.

All eyes were drawn to the approaching detective in blue as she made her way towards the group.

"Yo, what's up, Naoto-san?" Ryuji greeted.

"I just wanted to confirm everyone is in good health," she replied. "That… and there was a something relating to the shooting I wished to discuss with Sakura-san."

"That being?"

"The matter police protection," Naoto answered. "I've arranged for a squad to be posted outside your residence for the evening. I simply wanted to make you aware given that I suspect you won't have any objections."

"Well, I'll certainly be getting questions from my neighbors if they see cops standing outside my door." Sojiro took another glance back at his destroyed coffee shop. "But I'm sure that ship has long sailed, what with my shop getting shot up and all."

"To be clear, this is purely precautionary," Naoto stated plainly. "I believe the shooting was more of a message than anything else given the lead-in. However, it remains true that at the very least they tracked us back to Leblanc. And since your residence is so close by, I didn't want to take unnecessary risks."

"In short, she's saying she thinks you'll be safe for the night with or without the officers at your doorstep," Yu remarked.

Both he and Rise approached the group and were a sight for sore eyes.

"I gathered as much, but thanks for the translation," Sojiro chuckled. "Though that aside, there is still one important detail left to figure out…"

The shopkeeper looked at Joker, cupping his chin in deep consideration. The teen in question found it odd, especially since he couldn't recall a time that Sojiro had ever looked at him like that before.

"Something wrong?" Ren asked.

"Not necessarily. It's just that… well, with the shop destroyed, you'll be needing a new place to stay," Sojiro replied.

Futaba looked at her father with deadpanned eyes. "Uh, can't he just stay with us?"

"And sleep where, exactly?" Sojiro countered. "It's not like I have an issue with him staying at the house, but there aren't any spare rooms. And Leblanc will be closed down for repairs for a while, so having you sleep on a couch or the floor for a prolonged period of time would be kinda…"

"He could just sleep in my room with me," Futaba suggested.

Everyone looked at her in disbelief, unable to tell if she'd been serious on account of the emotionless expression she bore on her face. Of course, they then shifted their sights towards Sojiro, who reacted about as one would expect.

For just a split-second, calm and collected coffee shop owner knew what it felt like to have a heart attack. The sole reason he remained standing was purely because every fiber of his being fought to give a response that came from the pits of his very soul.

"Uh-oh…" Mona muttered under his breath, voicing everyone's collective thoughts.

Sojiro grinned good-naturedly, though it masked killer intent. "Over his dead body."

"And since my preference is to not die, I'm gonna say that's a no," Ren stated.

"I'd offer my place, but same issue as with boss—not enough space. That, and explainin' this situation to my mom is definitely a no-go," Ryuji stated. A wry grin spread across his face. "You know what, now that I think about it, why not stay with Ann? Her parents are never home anyway, right? I'm sure she's got the space."

"Huh?!" Ann exclaimed. She clearly started to consider it if her red-tinged cheeks were anything to go by, but she quickly shook her head of such thoughts. "I mean, I… N-No, there's no way! My parents might be out, but we still don't have a guest room, so the only open bed we have is mine."

Ryuji spoke as quietly as he could, ensuring that only the blonde could hear him, "Somehow I doubt you really see that as a problem."

Her face went crimson.

She immediately turned her sights towards Ren to check for signs that he'd heard the comment, and luckily it seemed as if he didn't. That might have actually been luckier for Ryuji, though. It went without saying that if the Wild Card had heard him, she'd have beaten Ryuji to a bloody pulp then and there.

"In that case, why not just stay with me?" Yu offered, unknowingly acting as Ann's savior as she tried to get her reddened face under control. "I have an extra room, so you could stay as long as you need to and it wouldn't be an issue."

Ren hummed in thought. "I think that works out perfectly. You're sure that's okay?"

"Completely," he answered with a smile. "Come on, I'll walk you back through the police tape so we can get your things from upstairs."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Ren replied. He turned to his feline companion. "You coming, Mona?"

"Actually, I think it'd be best if I kept a watchful eye around here," Morgana stated. "Provided you'll somehow survive without me, of course."

"I think I'll manage. Won't be easy though," Ren answered.

Mona laughed good-naturedly as both the Trickster and Yu began to walk away. He then hopped up onto the ambulance's side next to the Futaba, who took him into her arms and began to pet his head softly in appreciation for his concern.

"With that settled, the rest of you should return home as well," Naoto stated. "I've arranged for a number of undercover officers to drive you back. I'll take you to them now, if you'd like."

Both Ann and Ryuji nodded before they walked off with the esteemed detective, which left the two Sakura's and their cat sitting in comfortable silence for a time.

"…you weren't actually serious about letting him stay in your room, were you?" Sojiro asked.

"Who's to say?" she replied cryptically. "Maybe I was joking, and maybe I wasn't. Maybe Ren has even stayed the night before without you knowing."

"Okay, are you just trying to give me a heart attack now?"

Futaba's eyes narrowed. "Do you wanna be the pot or the kettle here, wine boy?"

"That's…!" Sojiro exclaimed. He sighed and shook his head, knowing a lost fight when he saw one, though he couldn't help but mutter, "You really do take after Wakaba, you know that?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing," Sojiro replied dismissively. "Let's get home. I could use a good night's sleep."

Tokyo: Upscale Apartment Building

The Nijima sisters had arrived home safe and sound, and immediately after they had, they wished each other good night and headed to their rooms for some much, much needed rest.

However, one of them had no intention of falling asleep anytime soon.

Sae sat silently in front of the vanity within her room, staring into the mirror with terrifying determination. She'd been patient, expecting her other self to make an appearance, and yet it seemed she wasn't intent on showing.

"Come out already," Sae all but demanded.

Yet again, her Shadow neither appeared before her nor answered her words.

"We both know you can hear me. Come out, we need to talk," Sae repeated. "Or are you just too afraid to face me after what happened in the tower?"

In an instant, her gold-eyed, gothic alter ego appeared within the mirror sporting a deep, venomous glare. The Shadow clearly made no secret of its anger at her words, though she didn't care in the slightest.

"What took you so long?" Sae taunted.

Her Shadow's glare deepened.

"I'm not some pet that answers your beck and call," Shadow Sae growled. "Say what it is you want to say so I can leave. I have no desire to speak to you."

"You may not want to have this conversation, but it's one we need to have," Sae firmly stated, more than matching the intensity of her internal reflection. "Or do you disagree that events earlier today were proof that we need to get our emotions under control?"

Shadow Sae looked away in disgust, though she knew in her heart of hearts that her real-world self was completely right. Even as stubborn as she was, she couldn't deny she felt guilt at the raising her hand against Yu and Rise.

"…there's nothing that could've been done," Shadow Sae replied, her tone heavy with frustration.

Sae took a calming breath. "Then if that's the case, how do you suppose we deal with Eiji Sasaki?"

The mere mention of the man's name boiled her own blood even in spite of her best efforts, though her Shadow on the other hand made no attempt at hiding her feelings. A murderous glint shined in her golden eyes, and her fists bawled so tightly that it looked as if her nails were piercing her skin even through her leather gloves.

"I don't think I even need to dignify that question with a response," Shadow Sae replied. "But just so I can enjoy the mental image, I may as well answer: I'm going to rip his throat out."

"A part of me feels the same. One that isn't the 'you' part of me, at least," Sae admitted. "That being said, it still isn't right. That isn't what we… what he would want."

Her Shadow-self went quiet for a time. She couldn't deny that her words were perfectly true.

"So then what are you proposing we do?" Shadow Sae inquired.

Those were the words Sae had wanted to hear. She stared deeply into her golden eyes, a deathly serious look to her own.

"If and when the time comes, let me remain in control. Feel free to let my emotions loose, but let me make the decision."

The Shadow looked at her disbelievingly. "Do you really think you can handle it?"

"I do," Sae replied.

Those words would have seemed empty to most, but not to her Shadow. They were one in both body and mind, and so she could feel the true resolve that burned within her.

The gothic-styled woman needed no more reassurance than that.

"Hmm…" she hummed in consideration. "Alright, I'll do as you've asked. However, I have one condition."

"That being?"

A bloodthirsty scowl marked the Shadow's lips. "If you decide he dies, I get to do the honors."

There wasn't even an ounce of hesitation in Sae's response.

"Deal."

Tokyo: Fukushima Towers, Some Time Later…

"Good night, Yu, Ren!"

"Good night, Rise."

"Take care, Rise-san."

The Wild Cards parted ways with their neighbor and entered Yu's humble abode. They wasted no time in taking Ren's things to the downstairs bedroom and began to unpack. They did so blanketed by a calm quiet, and in no time at all, the Trickster was settled in.

Ren casually walked up to the window, getting a good view of the outside skyline. "The view here really is something. It's amazing that you can actually see the night sky. I'd bet it's even more amazing when there's a full moon."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Yu replied conversationally, though the mental image did give him some discomfort that went unnoticed by his friend. "But anyway, I'll leave you to it. If you need anything, just let me know."

The young lawyer was nearly out the door, and though he went back and forth in his head as to whether or not he should say anything, he ultimately called out to him.

"Actually, before you go… I had something I wanted to ask you."

Yu sported a friendly smile when he first turned around and, though his expression fell upon noticing the emotion written deep within Ren's eyes. He knew by that point what kind of a conversation they were in for.

"You know what, why don't we talk out here?" Yu abruptly offered, gesturing towards the living room. "It'll be a bit more comfortable that way."

Ren nodded, appreciating that the silver-haired Wild Card seemed to grasp the significance of what he wanted to discuss. They took their seats around the sofa, overlooking the large window that showed off the starry skies above Tokyo.

"So," began Yu, "What'd you want to ask me?"

"Earlier at Leblanc, when those bullets started to fire off," Ren spoke, his tone soft and reflective. "I've thought about this a lot in the last few hours, so when I say this, I know it's the truth. When I saw that gun, that was the first time I've ever really thought to myself 'all of us might not make it'. It's a moment that I just can't get out of my head, no matter how hard I try. I know I seemed calm afterwards, but…"

It was clear that as he stared off into the star-lit skies that the memory of seeing the gunman and what followed was playing over and over again in his mind. First the gun, then turning and shouting, then tackling Makoto, and then the worst part: waiting.

Every second his eyes were shut as the bullets flew was a living hell. He was left wondering if his friends were alright, all the while being completely powerless to affect the end result.

Ren sighed deeply. "I just wanted to know if you've ever felt that way before, and if so, how you dealt with it."

No one said a word for a time as one Wild Card had already said his piece while another was contemplating what to say in response.

"…I never told you why it is that I fight, did I?" Yu questioned. The raven-haired teen shook his head. "I fight because I don't want anyone I care about to get hurt. I know it's simple, but it cuts deep. The reason I can always keep pushing forward, the reason I always get back up whenever I'm knocked down—it's because the thought of them getting hurt tears me apart inside. I can deal with my own injuries, but that's the worst kind of pain. Because they're what give my life meaning. The bonds I've formed with them—with you—they're something I'll never give up as long as I'm alive. I guess to sum it all up… you could say that they're where all my strength comes from."

His solemn gaze shifted towards the starry night sky.

"I take it you're the same?"

Ren stayed quiet in contemplation, though it wasn't because he struggled to answer the question. His mind was simply captured by countless memories with the people he cherished most. Yu's words were certainly things he'd felt, but hearing them said aloud by someone who knew—someone that understood—made him appreciate it all the more.

Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru…

Sojiro, Sae, Takemi, Kawakami, Hifumi, Chihaya, Iwai, Yoshida, Mishima, Oda…

Even Akechi…

The connections he'd made from the moment he'd stepped into Tokyo were what gave his life meaning. He may have been intelligent and talented in his own right, but the truth was that without them, he was empty.

Then again, that was what a Wild Card was. He was just limitless potential, but they were what pushed him to reach it. And he'd never give that up.

"Yeah," Ren answered wistfully.

"Then you understand what I mean," Yu mused. He offered the teen a reassuring smile. "If it really came down to it, I'd gladly give up my life if it only meant my friends would live a few seconds more. I'm sure you feel that way deep down too, so back at Leblanc when you couldn't make that trade, you felt afraid. The truth is, it was only natural for you to feel that way, and I don't think you should run from it. That's because all it does is validate how you really feel deep down, and there's no changing that. Not for you, and not for me."

Ren matched the smile that was given to him, though his was bittersweet. "…I really appreciate you saying all that. I guess we really are two of a kind, huh?"

"For better or for worse, yeah," Yu replied with a dry laugh. "But on a serious note, if you ever need to talk to me about anything you're struggling with, please don't hesitate. I know better than anyone that Wild Cards aren't perfect, and believe me when I say I've made my fair share of mistakes. So, I'll always be happy to share my perspective if ever you need it."

"I might just take you up on that," Ren said. He stifled a yawn. "But right now, I think the best thing for me is to get some sleep. I'm beat."

Yu himself yawned. "Same here. Good night."

With that, the two parted ways and went off to bed, each heading for a deep, much-needed night's sleep.

Tokyo: Shibuya Central Hospital

All was quiet in Yumiko Hebiza's hospital room for the moment, save for the sounds of the machines that kept tabs on her vital signs. Two nurses were attending to the other two women separate beds while Naoto stood by the lone doctor present overlooking Yumiko herself.

"…you're certain?" Naoto inquired.

"Quite so," replied the doctor as she scrolled through a series of papers in her hands. "As things stand, Hebiza-san is in a catatonic state. Strangely, she seems to be in perfect physical health, but no matter what we do, we can't provoke a response from her in the slightest."

The more she thought on it, the less shocking the raven-haired woman's current state became. After all, Eiji Sasaki didn't seem like the type to let information about him out into the open if he could help it. It would make sense for him to have taken certain 'precautions' should Yumiko be freed from his control.

That just seemed to be the type of person they were dealing with.

"Is there any hope her condition might improve?" Naoto pressed.

She knew the answer already, but the doctor's awkward silence confirmed that to her all the same.

"I'd thought so," sighed Naoto. "And what of the other two?"

"Extremely fatigued," the doctor replied, her eyes widening in disbelief as she looked over their charts. "We have them hooked up to vitamin and IV drips, but they'll be out like lights for at least the next ten hours by my estimation."

"And do you—"

"Excuse me."

An officer had spoken up as he and three other policemen entered through the doorway. They stepped towards the blue-haired detective casually enough, even tipping their caps to her out of respect.

"I take it you'll be the officers on guard duty?" Naoto mused.

"That we are," he replied as he and the others took out their badges. "Straight from the Shibuya Central Precinct on direct orders from Chief Yamada himself."

Naoto nodded. "Excellent. I would ask that you keep to watching outside the room so as not to disturb the medical staff."

"Actually, we'd pretty much finished up here," the doctor stated as she glanced over towards the two nurses. "Unless you had anything else you wanted to discuss, detective."

"Nothing for now," she replied. Her gaze shifted back towards the officers. "In that case, we'll be leaving you to your duties sooner than expected."

"Sounds great. Take your time though, no rush."

Despite the friendly words, Naoto and the medical staff made themselves scarce. They walked out the doors alongside the officers and vanished down the hallway while the men remained by the doorway to guard it as instructed.

After a few short minutes, everything went quiet again. Neither a footstep nor whisper could be heard from within the dimly lit hospital halls.

And that was when the four men looked towards one another and nodded.

They carefully turned around and entered the hospital room, making sure to make not a sound as they did so. Within seconds, they were near the foots of the beds that contained the three women who were still sound asleep.

"We do this nice and quiet. Those are the orders," the lead officer whispered.

He took the initiative and walked straight towards the unconscious Yumiko Hebiza, drawing a knife from his blazer that he'd obviously kept hidden up until that point.

However, he only made it a few steps before his feet were knocked out from under him.

The officer hit the floor with a loud thud, taking the other three by complete surprise. Each turned in a panic to see that someone had appeared out of nowhere right behind him to take out his legs.

They soon realized the person they were looking at was none other than Naoto Shirogane, but who she was didn't matter'; all that mattered was taking her out and finishing their mission.

Within seconds, each of the four policeman turned on Naoto and came out her with knives drawn. She in turn drew a metal baton, and as they approached her one by one, she struck at their hands and disarmed them before swiftly striking at their torsos to further disorient them.

The officers refused to go down despite the initial beating. They tried repeatedly to rally for a charge that would involve all four of them at once, but she was far too smart to let them. She would make a point of hitting each when they were down and allowed no more than two of them on their feet at a time.

Eventually, it looked like she'd done enough damage to cause one of them to go down for the count, but sadly the tables quickly turned.

One of the men had risen to one knee and gained enough of an opening to draw their gun. They primed it at Naoto and cocked it with authority, wanting her to hear it so that the situation was nice and understandable. It was clear by her reaction that she had.

"That's enough," he simply said.

His other two remaining men drew their own guns and pointed them at the blue-haired detective. The man in charge then gestured his head and the barrel of his pistol onto the floor, obviously wanting her to throw her weapon onto the ground.

A few seconds went by in which she tried to work through her best options, but the officer knew giving her more than that would've been beyond stupid.

"Don't try to be a hero," the lead officer stated. "Try coming at us again and we'll plug you full of bullets. Go for your gun, and we'll do the same. So, listen to me and—"

A kick slammed directly into the side of the man's head that had such force to it that he literally slammed into the wall several feet away. The other two men turned around, only for each of them to be have a hand chop straight into their necks. They instinctively grabbed at their throats, leaving them wide open to a set of punches to the sides of their heads that knocked each of them out cold.

When the fight came to its abrupt end, Naoto took notice that standing over their now-unconscious bodies was none other than the amethyst-eyed woman that she'd thought was still sound asleep on her hospital bed.

"Khh…!" Lanaya hissed.

The blonde leaned on the hospital bed just behind her to keep herself from falling to the ground. It was obvious that she was still beyond drained.

"Here, let me—" Naoto began.

"No," interjected Lanaya, shaking her head dismissively. She then stood tall, adding, "I'll be fine."

In a turn of events that stunned Naoto to no end, the tall young woman bent down to the nearest officer, took their handcuffs out of their belts, and began restraining them with the poise of a pro.

Lanaya noticed her expression as she moved on to the second. "Is something wrong?"

"…no, it's nothing," Naoto replied. "At least nothing I think you'll be able to answer."

Her meaning was quickly understood.

"Not necessarily," Lanaya replied. "Though let's keep this simple: I'm a former intelligence agent, and from which country I'm sure you can guess. Emphasis on former."

That explained things well enough, and at that point Naoto herself went about restraining the other two men. She then put on a pair of gloves and began to look for the badges that they'd shown her just recently.

Once she had the number, she took out her phone, earning a raised brow from the blonde-haired woman that hovered behind her.

"What are you doing?" Lanaya inquired curiously.

"Looking up their badge numbers," Naoto replied evenly. Her eyes narrowed at her phone screen. "Just as I expected—Shinjuku police officers. Which means…"

She then took out a tiny flashlight from her pocket and lit it up right in front of one of the unconscious men's eyes while she peeled back his eyelids one by one. Sure enough, she saw the same dulled coloring of the pupil that she'd seen in countless other brainwashed people thus far. She hadn't been able to notice it during the fight, but now it was more than clear what had happened to these officers.

Abruptly, the color of the man's eyes returned to normal, and by some stroke of luck, he started to groan and stir awake.

"Ugh, my head… What the…?" he muttered. Upon realizing his hands were cuffed and that he was on the floor of a hospital room, he started to panic. "Who the fuck—hey, someone get me out of these damn things! I—"

"Officer Nakamura of the Shinjuku police department," Naoto plainly addressed. "That is your name and precinct, correct?"

"Huh? I mean yeah, but—"

"And what's the last thing that you remember?"

The man seemed to think hard on the question for a few seconds, eventually answering, "The grocery store. I was… yeah, I was at the grocery store. I had to pick up milk, and then… W-What the hell happened? No, wait a second. No, no-no-no, was I…?"

A horrifying realization seemed to don on the officer's face. He knew—they all knew—that what was going on in Shinjuku wasn't right. Each of the criminals they picked up and then arrested were all the same. They each couldn't remember anything leading up to their arrests.

He was just like all the others.

He was just like them.

"Please, try to keep calm," Naoto stated as warmly as she could. "These are unique circumstances. I understand the situation, and you have my word you'll not face unjust punishment. Understood?"

The policeman still shook with fear, but nodded all the same. It was difficult to say if that was because he knew and respected Naoto or if he was just desperate to cling on to any thread of hope, but at that point it didn't matter.

The blue-haired beauty stood up with a displeased look on her face, though none could blame her under the current circumstances.

"This is worse than I'd thought," Naoto remarked bitterly.

"Is it really that shocking that Sasaki was able to brainwash officers of the SPD?" Lanaya asked.

"Not in the least. In fact, I expected he might have, which is why I specifically requested for officers from the Shibuya police department to stand guard over your room," answered Naoto.

"Then you're concerned those orders weren't followed," Lanaya mused, nodding her head in understanding. "As I understand it, Sasaki is a talented hacker. It would make sense to me that he'd be able to jumble communications and make it so that Shinjuku officers took the assignment instead."

"True," Naoto agreed. "However, the fact remains that he'd need to know of those orders in the first place, wouldn't he?"

Just as Lanaya was about to respond, realization seemed to strike. The blue-haired beauty wasn't worried because of what had happened, she was worried because it had happened. There was really only one possibility…

Someone in the SPD had told Eiji Sasaki in the first place.

Naoto went on, "The only person I'd told within the SPD was the Chief himself, and I can only assume he'd told a select few people at most."

The fog of suspicion started to set it, and only a handful of names immediately came to mind. Worse was that the more she thought on it, the more the concept of a mole in the SPD started to make sense. Now, she was more than sure that it had been the case.

That it had always been the case.

'Even with Akashi Nijima's case files—I recall Yu telling me that they were stored incorrectly. That can't have been an accident. Clearly, they were hidden away,' Naoto thought.

Now, only one question remained: Who?

August 7th – Tokyo: Residential Apartment Area

Ryuji stirred from his bed without a care in the world. He was so relaxed and nonchalant that you'd never guess he was on the receiving end of a shooting less than ten hours ago. Even by the standards of Persona users, he was quick to recover.

Though without warning he snapped towards his alarm clock, his pupils shrinking to the size of dots as he saw the time.

"S-Shit, I overslept!" Ryuji exclaimed.

The blond rushed out of bed and changed into his street clothing in no-time flat before grabbing his gym bag. If he was lucky and didn't miss his train stop, he might be able to make it to physical therapy on time and avoid having Isane give him a lecture.

Or worse.

Scratch that, definitely worse.

'Legs, don't fail me now!' Ryuji thought as he bolted for the front door.

"H-Hm? Ryuji?" his mom called out confusedly as he rushed by her in a blur. "Sweetie, what's the rush? Breakfast is—"

"Sorry, mom, no time to eat!" he exclaimed. "Have PT, can't be late, doom and death if I am!"

"Don't bother locking the door then, I'll get it!"

Ryuji couldn't help the wide innocent smile that donned on his features. "Thanks, you're the best!"

The sounds of his mom's girlish giggle were the last thing he heard before he opened the front door and prepared to run down the hall and out of the building. He would have done just that, too, were it not for the fact that he noticed a piece of paper dropping off from his front door.

"…huh?" Ryuji muttered curiously.

He bent down and opened the folded note, and even as he did so, he thought nothing of it…

That was until he saw the familiar graffiti-like text written within.

Hello.

Ryuji's shock was so great that he dropped the paper immediately. His felt a cold chill throughout his entire body, and he stood in place like a statue for so long that he'd lost track of time. He only broke out of it when he'd heard his mom's approaching footsteps, at which point he instinctively grabbed the paper and hid it behind his back.

"Oh, you're still here," his mother thought aloud. "I thought you said that you—w-wait, are you okay? You look a bit pale."

"N-Nah, all good, mom," Ryuji replied, unable to hide the nervousness in his voice. "Just a little hungry is all. I was just thinkin' maybe I should grab something after all. But then I remembered I had some protein bars in my bag, so I should be good."

She eyed him skeptically. "Are you sure?"

"Totally sure!" Ryuji answered. "Anyway, love ya, ma! Stay safe! Don't answer the door for strangers and all that!"

"Weird for you to say that, but um, sure. Love you too, sweetie," his mom stated, speaking warmly in spite of her evident confusion.

Ryuji ran down the hallway and she in turn locked the door. He took glanced back worriedly as he took out his phone, a paranoid specter gnawing at the back of his mind. As he tried to text Naoto and Yu, his hands started to shake. He took a calming breath to get himself together, only just barely managing to. He didn't know what would come next, but one this was certain…

PT would have to wait, as would the ass kicking he'd get from Isane.

Tokyo: Fukushima Towers

Ren entered the living room area looking calm and refreshed after a long night's sleep. He saw Yu over to the side already at work in the kitchen making breakfast over the stovetop.

"Aw man, you beat me to it," Ren said with a wry grin. "I'd wanted to make you breakfast as a thanks for letting me stay here. Guess that's not happening after all, huh?"

Yu chuckled. "Next time. Anyway, how do you like your eggs?"

"No preference," he answered.

The time from when the silver-haired young man had finished making the food to the time they sat down at the dining table was quiet and peaceful. Little did they know how short-lived it would be.

"These are good," Ren commented. He cheekily added, "But I think I could do better."

A knock on the door cut their banter off before it even started. Given the hour, they were both confused, but the apartments actual owner had a clue as to who it might've been.

"That's probably Rise," Yu mused.

"Does she normally knock on your door this early in the morning?" Ren asked amusedly.

"No, but I don't really know who else it could be. Hang on a sec, I'll go see what she needs."

The minute the young layer excused himself from the table was the minute that Ren felt his phone start to vibrate on a loop. At first, he thought someone was calling him—maybe Sojiro or Futaba—but it proved to be just their group chat.

Messages were just flying so quickly that it was as if he was getting a phone call.

"What the hell…?" Ren muttered confusedly.

At the doorway, Yu peered through the peephole and confirmed that it was exactly who he'd thought it was on the other side. He opened to greet her with a smile, though it quickly faded upon seeing the worry written all over her face.

He could tell something had happened.

"Rise, what's—"

"This," Rise stated.

The redhead extended her hand, holding in it a folded piece of paper. Yu took it and read it as quickly as he could, his jaw slacking as he recognized the blood-red graffiti-like font of the one single word printed on the paper.

Hello.

"I found it taped to my door when I was leaving this morning," she added. "There's one on yours, too."

"…and if that's the case, we're probably not the only ones," Yu reasoned.

He took out his phone a split-second later and saw the sea of messages flying back and forth in their chat. They were happening so quickly that he could hardly read them, but the general theme was consistent enough that he got the gist of it.

An incoming call from Naoto then blocked out the messages, and of course he answered immediately.

"Yu," spoke the detective. "We've got a problem."

Shinjuku: SPD Central Precinct, Some Time Later…

A conference room containing most every member of the Investigation Team and the Phantom Thieves was dead silent. They'd been kept waiting for nearly an hour after police had discretely escorted them to the precinct, and in that time, not a single one of them had so much as cracked a smile.

Ryuji in particular wasn't handling the situation well. Frustration was written all over his face, though it wasn't born from impatience.

It was born from worry.

"A penny for your thoughts, Ryuji-kun?" Yukiko offered as pleasantly as she was able.

"I'm fine," he curtly replied.

"If you're going to lie, at least try to make it believable," Morgana stated.

"Mona, do not start with me right now, I swear to god…!"

"Yeah, well, maybe if you actually talked about what's bothering you instead of being all mopey, it'd make you feel better," countered the feline. "And by the way, if you're just in a foul mood because we're couped up in here, I'll just remind you that none of us are happy about this."

"It ain't that," Ryuji scoffed. "I just… It's my mom, okay? She's working today, so yeah, she's out of the house, but if this Sasaki shit-bag knows where I live, who's to say she doesn't know about my mom? If he does, what's to stop him from goin' after her? And the twisted shit we've seen him do up until this point ain't exactly makin' me think he won't."

Everyone could understand how he felt, but none more so than Futaba. She curled up in her seat, hiding her expression behind her legs.

"I'm worried about Sojiro, too," Futaba admitted. She held her legs tighter. "Notknowing if he'll be targeted feels so frustrating. I just… I just can't get it out of my head."

"And don't get me started with that 'discrete surveillance' crap," Ryuji continued angrily. "I appreciate that Yu-san and Naoto-san set it up so at least someone is lookin' after her, but the cops ain't worth shit right now. They were even posted outside boss's place last night, and a note still ended up on his door, right?"

His words had the effect of worsening Futaba's already horrific mental state. Ann threw her arms around the orange-haired teen in an effort to comfort her as best as she could, all the while glaring daggers at Ryuji.

She wasn't the only one, either. Makoto and Haru stared at him with even more ferocity. Even Ren felt that he'd gone too far.

"S-Sorry, that's my bad," Ryuji muttered, feeling genuine guilt as he didn't intend for his words to do any harm. He scratched the back of his head in an aggressive act of frustration. "Look, you guys at least get where I'm comin' from, right?"

"Yeah, we do," Ren stated sympathetically. "But being worried and mad about it won't change anything. Even if it's tough, you've gotta try to keep calm."

Ryuji sighed deeply. "Trust me, I'm tryin'."

If his words were true, then how worried and upset he actually felt must've been beyond anything any of them had ever seen before.

"For what it's worth, I don't believe your mother is in any danger, Sakamoto-kun. The same goes for Sakura-san as well," Sae spoke, her voice like a calming breeze in a heating conversation. "These notes weren't an attempt at actively harming us. I suspect that even the shooting last night was much the same given that it was pre-empted by that rock thrown through the window and that the shooter hadn't even started firing until after Ren-kun had seen him and already told the rest of us to duck for cover. Sasaki is toying with us, that much couldn't be clearer. If he wanted us, or any of our loved one's dead, he'd have done so by now."

"But to what end?" Makoto asked.

That was a question that no one had the answer to.

Shinjuku: SPD Central Precinct — Conference Room 1A

"…great, thank you," Jirikishi spoke into his phone. "Yeah, bring 'em in for further questioning. Not that it'll do much good."

The detective hung up and gave his full attention back over to Naoto and Yu, who looked to him blankly as if they already knew what he was about to tell them.

"That makes the last of the delivery drivers that left those notes. I'm sure you can guess what they said once we our men started to question them."

"I'd have been shocked otherwise," Naoto replied. She crossed her arms, clearly discontent with the situation. "These men were disposable, just like everyone else that's been arrested during this whole mess."

"But unlike before, we at least know who sent them," said Yu, offering a thin silver lining to their current situation.

"I think the who is far less important than the why," Jirikishi stated. "Whoever Eiji Sasaki is, it's beyond clear to me that this was a clear message to say he's just about done fuckin' around. He knows who you are, and he knows where you live. In my opinion, we've only got one option in front of us, but I know you're not gonna like it."

His tone held a noticeable sharpness to it that the detective-lawyer duo hadn't ever heard out of him before. They further noticed that his demeanor was far more serious than it typically was, though that they could understand.

"What are you suggesting?" Naoto inquired.

"I think our best move is to get you and all the others into a safehouse."

"Over my dead body," Naoto replied, her eyes narrowing at the thought. "For all we know, gathering us up in one place here in Shinjuku is exactly what Sasaki wants us to do. While we're on that subject, it's bad enough that you had all of us gather here in the first place, especially after what happened last night."

"No arguments here, but unless you wanted everyone's names in the news, or worse in the case of Rise Kujikawa, then it can't be helped. If you wanted any kind of discretion, this was our best option," Jirikishi countered, his typically calm demeanor cracking somewhat. "And to be clear, I wasn't suggesting a safehouse here in Shinjuku. I'm nowhere near that stupid."

"Be that as it may, I remain vehemently opposed to the idea. Keeping us locked away—"

"Would you stop being so stubborn and think about this from my perspective for just one second?! Look, I know for a fact that all of this is above my head, and I've been willing to give you plenty of rope as a result. However, it's painfully clear to anyone with half a braincell that you two, and everyone else waiting in the downstairs conference room have a giant target painted on your backs!" Jirikishi exclaimed. "As far as I'm concerned, keeping the lot of you alive is the only thing that matters because I don't think anyone but all of you can finally put an end to this mess!"

The rare passion that shined through his voice stunned both Yu and Naoto, who couldn't for the moment say anything in response. It was just as well, too, because the detective wasn't done.

"And not for nothing, but the name 'Eiji Sasaki' doesn't help for shit. There's not even a god damn parking ticket on the books with that name tagged to it, and I know for a fact as of this morning that not a single officer here has ever heard the name before," Jirikishi continued, his voice lowering in volume but his gaze just as stern as prior. "As far as we know, the guy's a ghost, and the only potential lead right now is a woman that's lying semi-comatose in a hospital bed. And call me crazy, but I'm skeptical that even if she wakes up that she'll be able to magically tell you how to find him."

It wasn't as if the two Persona users didn't see where Jirikishi was coming from. In fact, his perspective was probably the most rational given what he knew. He couldn't have known what they did.

"I understand what you're saying, but Naoto is right. We can't afford to box ourselves in like that," Yu replied.

The brown-haired man took a deep, frustrated breath before he started to head towards the door, clearly dissatisfied with how the conversation had gone thus far.

"I need a smoke," Jirikishi stated. He stopped, lingering in the doorway for a few seconds before turning around to address them once more. "Just… just think about it, okay? I'll go talk to the chief too to get his perspective."

And with that, he was gone.

"…he's not totally wrong, you know," Yu stated.

"Neither are we," countered Naoto.

The two stood in silent thought for a time, only for it to be interrupted courtesy of the conference room developing a sudden dark-red tinge. They hoped desperately that they were hallucinating for a brief moment and that the room would return to normal in a flash.

Obviously, it didn't.

"You're seeing this too, right?" Yu questioned.

"Sadly, yes. And if I were to take a stab at the cause, my guess would be that the graffiti has just expanded to the precinct," Naoto replied. "We need to hurry and get to the others. If we're being forced into the Metaverse, I can only imagine an attack of some kind will follow."

---

"Is it… food?" Ryuji asked.

"No," replied Yusuke.

"Oh!" Chie perked up, believing she was on to something. "Is it an art supply?"

"Yes."

"Is it a type of paint?" Yukiko guessed.

"That it is. Care to guess which kind?"

"Maroon?"

Yusuke smiled cheerfully. "Yes, that's correct."

As if on cue, the room's color began to shift, all the while the Phantom Thieves were forced into their Metaverse attire as a clear undeniable sign of what was going on around them.

"Um, are we…?" Skull trailed off.

"Considering how we're dressed, yeah, it definitely looks like it," replied Joker.

"But how?" Panther asked. "I mean, no one did anything with the Meta-Nav, right? And since when was the police precinct even an entry point?"

Oracle's glared beneath her goggles. "Put a pin in that one, Panther. We've got bigger problems headed our way."

A series of raspy, skin-chilling giggles started to echo from the corners of the room. A number of zebra-skinned Halberies started to ooze through the walls, staring down the Persona users immediately after making their appearance.

They lasted less than five seconds before they were cut down or smashed to pieces.

Chie blinked as the room went quiet. "Um… was that it?"

"Give me a sec and I might just have an answer," Rise uttered in response. She clasped her hands together and focused her energy. "Kanzeon!"

Her Persona arrived and set about a full scan of the area. It was difficult to tell by the redhead's reaction what exactly she was seeing, but given that she wasn't panicking, it couldn't have been too bad.

"There's definitely a presence of Shadow's here, but…"

"It's super small, right?" Oracle uttered. "You'd think that if we were getting ambushed like this that there'd be a bit more force behind it."

"Exactly. I'm not seeing… Hmm, wait, scratch that. I've got something," Rise stated, heightening her focus on the approaching energy signatures. "I'm sensing multiple Persona users headed towards the main lobby from outside the precinct."

"Guess we'd better be at the door to give 'em a warm welcome then," Kanji mused.

Joker nodded. "Agreed. Let's go meet up with Yu and Naoto-san so we—"

The very same individuals he'd mentioned burst through the door as the Trickster was in mid-sentence. Clearly, they'd sprinted down from the upstairs level judging by how rushed they looked.

"Perfect timing," said Sae. "We were just discussing the fact that we have a few guests that're headed for the main lobby."

"How many?" Yu inquired.

"Seven in total," Rise answered. "If we hurry, we can get into a good position to get the jump on them."

Both Yu and Naoto nodded in understanding, not wanting to waste any more time discussing their course of action. The group raced up the stairs and towards the main entrance, finding it completely empty.

The strategists among them gave directions to fan out and lay in wait until their attackers breached the doors. They could hear the sounds of their approaching footsteps, and with them the raspy growls of the demonic creatures that came along with them.

As the doors to the precinct opened, several Shadows began to seep in from the front-end of the building, most of which were the same zebra-striped Halberies that they'd taken out in the downstairs conference room.

"Easy does it, everyone," said Queen. She waited only a few seconds more. "And… now!"

An outcry of 'Persona' resounded as the Phantom Thieves and the Investigation team leaped into action. Almost immediately, the hoard of Shadows that stood alongside the Persona users were destroyed and left disintegrating, while even several of the Persona users themselves were cut down.

Those few that remained didn't react quickly at all. They stared at their attackers like zombies, their pupils dulled and their energy levels practically nonexistent.

"Thor!"

"Bishamoeten!"

"Norn!"

A torrent of lightning and wind forced back those that surrounded them temporarily while Bishamoten used its staff to strike them as they retreated. Even that offensive proved weak and nearly pointless, and if anything, proved to be the perfect window for a well-positioned Yusuke to swoop in and do some damage.

"Goemon!" Fox exclaimed.

A massive ice nova engulfed Bishamoten and crushed it to pieces within seconds. The other two were taken down by a swarm of bullets courtesy of Noir, Panther, Avenger, and the Wild Cards.

"N-Nngh…!" grunted the last of the enemy Persona users as they fell to the floor, unconscious and unmoving.

The battlefield was deathly quiet thereafter, and not a single one among the winners could quite believe it. They waited in silence for anything more to be thrown their way, as if there was a true challenge hidden behind the fodder they'd just cleared out.

"Was that it?" Panther asked, at a near loss for words. "Oracle, Rise, is there anything else headed our way?"

The orange-haired teen shook her head. "I'm not seeing anything."

"Me neither," stated Rise. "I can see everything so clearly, and there's literally nothing."

"And even what was sent our way was barely even a speed bump," Chie remarked.

"Sooo… what the hell was the point of all this then?" Skull asked.

"Could it have been another 'message'?" Noir wondered aloud.

Yukiko cupped her chin in consideration. "But if so, what could it possibly have been?"

Reality shifted before their very eyes once more. The group found themselves standing in the middle of the precinct's lobby, surrounded by the unconscious Persona users they'd so effortlessly dispatched just minutes ago.

"Okay, how does that keep happening?" Yosuke asked, hoping someone might actually have the answer.

A sea of whispers started off all throughout the area, the obvious cause being that a crowd had started to gather. Dozens upon dozens of police officers were staring dumbstruck at the center of the room, wondering what the hell had just happened.

"It looks like any discussion on that will have to wait," Sae commented.

Abruptly, the men they'd knocked out started to stand up off the ground, and against expectations, they were far from their ordinary selves. Each pulled out knives, and though they did so almost lazily, it was clear what they intended to do.

Several were ready to make a move and disarm them, but there proved to be no need.

"Hey! Drop it!"

A hoard of police officers immediately went into action and tackled them to the ground. They groaned and squirmed like lethargic zombies but even so they were easily subdued by the admittedly confused policemen.

It was only then that they seemed to return to normal.

"Hm?" one muttered. "H-Hey, what the—"

"What on earth…?"

What they saw was predictable, and yet all the same the cross-generational team of Persona users were at a loss for words. None of what had just happened make any sense whatsoever, at least none that they could see.

*Bzzzzt* *Bzzzzzzt*

The silver-haired Wild Card's phone began to ring, he answered upon seeing the caller ID was Jirikishi.

"Hello?" Yu asked.

"Look up top, kid."

He turned to see the brown-haired detective staring down at the group. Even from that distance, it was clear by his expression that he was beyond upset.

"I'm guessing you saw that just now," Yu reasoned.

"Just the tail end, but I think I can piece together everything just fine. We need to talk," Jirikishi replied, being cold and direct. "Grab Shirogane and get up here. Now."

The phone hung up from the other end, leaving the silver-haired lawyer sighing to himself as he had a feeling he could tell what was about to happen next.

Yu turned to Naoto and spoke plainly, "Jirikishi wants to talk."

Though she scowled, the detective nodded. "The rest of you should head back downstairs again."

The pair walked off in absolute silence, a dark cloud hanging over them as they did so. It was clear just from their body language that they were getting ready to fight a losing battle.

---

The sounds of metal ripping through flesh filled the air. Body after body hit the tatami-matted floors of a large classical Japanese manor. The beautiful garden within the interior courtyard, once green and full of life was now coated in red and littered with death.

A gangster who remained standing with a katana in hand looked to his comrades. "Is that it for this floor?"

"Looks like it," one answered.

"Then let's move on to the next one. The boss should be—"

The unsheathing of a blade could be heard as another gangster ran out from a well-selected hiding spot.

"Die!" he exclaimed.

His hand was lopped off before he could get within a foot of his target, and before he could even scream in pain, his throat was slit and he was shoved down to the ground.

An astounded group of Yakuza looked to the man that stood overhead the now-corpse. He was of average height, but had a steely aura even sterner than that of the sword in his hand. He ran a hand through his slicked-back salt-and-pepper hair and brushed dirt off the shoulder of his bright white suit, which even in spite of the killing still had not a drop of blood on it.

He turned to face the others with his steadfast silver eyes, and on reflex, they lowered their weapons and bowed deeply in almost religious reverence.

The man whose life he'd clearly saved was first to speak.

"Thank you, boss!"

"You can thank me by being more careful," he replied, his voice gruff but pleasant. "That goes for all of you. The Inagawa won't give up quietly."

"Yes, sir!"

Just then another group of his men came rushing through a nearby hallway. "Boss! Boss!"

"What is it?"

"Kurosawa took out their family head," one replied. "They made a stand in the main lobby, and we've got confirmation on fifty kills out of fifty expected."

The man nodded. "Good. Start a final sweep of the house, move in groups of five. If there's anyone else here, they're small in number, so don't get careless and we'll avoid further losses."

"And if we find anyone, boss?"

"If they ambush you, kill them. If not, offer them a chance to surrender, and if they refuse, kill them." he replied. "I'll be heading upstairs to get a good look at their records."

As he walked away, his men didn't even bother insisting he take someone with him, and for obvious reasons. After making his way up the staircase and past a sea of bodies, he set about finding his way to the clan heads room.

His memory served him well and he found it within minutes, at which point he made his way straight towards the far-end wall and started searching it for a pressure plate. When he'd finally activated it, a section of the wall receded and revealed a doorway into a hidden room. He couldn't help but grin pleasantly.

"The intel I purchased was worth more than its weight in gold after all," he muttered.

The files within proved to be everything he'd been promised and more. Splinter cells, shipment manifestos, bank accounts, hierarchy structure—the entirety of the opposing faction's worth must have been held within this one room.

"He—d—sto—"

*smash*

The man's ears perked up as they were touched by the sound of breaking glass. He could hear multiple voices as well, and though their words were inaudible, he recognized it to be the beginnings of some kind of struggle.

He placed down the papers he'd been going over and immediately took his leave. Theyweren't going anywhere, after all.

"Look, would you put down—"

"—the boss did give us the orders."

"But…!"

The suited man finally made his way into the room, immediately drawing the eyes of his men in the process.

"What's going on here?" he asked plainly.

"B-Boss! Um, we…" one of the men stammered.

Believing a picture to be worth a thousand words, he gestured towards the far end of the room. It was there that a boy stood with a knife in his hand, which he was pointing directly at the Yakuza facing him down.

He had short brown hair and eyes of matching color, and judging by his height and his body type, there wasn't a chance in hell he could've been older than ten years old.

"Were you planning on killing him?" the boss asked.

One of his men cleared his throat nervously. "W-Well, he didn't surrender and is resisting, so we know your orders, but…"

The white-suited man stepped forward in front of his subordinates and stared directly into the child's eyes.

"How old are you, boy?" he asked. "Nine? Ten?"

There was an incredibly tense silence that followed as the Yakuza boss stood firm and the boy stood silent. It became clear though that he was willing to wait however long he needed to for his question to be answered.

"…eight," he replied plainly.

The man audibly scoffed. "Any of you feel like killing an eight-year-old?"

Complete silence.

"Good, I'd thought so. My orders weren't meant to apply for children."

He knelt down and took a good hard look at the young brown-haired boy. Abruptly, his expression shifted from stern to curious. He started to see a certain resemblance he didn't quite believe given the kid's age.

"Are you the clan head's son?" he asked, quirking a curious brow.

Yet again the brown-haired boy was silent, but eventually the Yakzua boss could see the answer in his eyes. That that confused him all the more.

"Strange, I thought Mizuichi only had one son," he muttered to himself.

"He does."

"Is that so? Well, let's just get this out of the way then, shall we?" the man asked as he stood up once more. He stared at the child dead with a steely gaze that would've intimidated most. "Your father, brother, and mother are all dead. I don't want some kid chasing after my life for the rest of my days, so I'll give you the opportunity to get the job done here and now. If you're ever going to avenge your family, now's the time."

Most of the men present looked at their boss as if he was crazy. They of course thought that only one of two things were going to happen—either the boss would somehow be injured by the child or, far more likely, the boss would cut down an eight-year-old boy.

None of them were right, though. And it had everything to do with the kid's response.

"Not interested."

The seasoned Yakuza ringleader looked at him confusedly. His response was one thing, but the fact that he actually meant it was another thing entirely.

He truly held not even a shred of love for the people that were listed off.

"…you really don't care that they're dead, do you?" the boss inquired, receiving a shake of the head in response. "Then why didn't you surrender when my men came in here? Why bring out that knife?"

"Because they were going to kill me no matter what."

"They weren't."

"I don't believe you."

Without warning, the suited man leapt forward. In response, the brown-haired boy slashed his knife in a panic, only for his hand to be grabbed moments before his entire body was pinned down onto the floor.

"Any of these men could've done this anytime they wanted. The only reason they didn't was because…"

It was then as the boy was struggling to break free from his hold that the Yakuza boss noticed something in the shadow of his crumpled hakama.

He saw a bruise, and the beginnings of several more—all of them a deep blue, and all of them recent.

Those were the last thing that the seasoned gangster needed to see to understand who the boy was. To know what he was. He wasn't a 'hidden treasure' of his family, he was their dirty, unwanted secret.

A son sharing the clan head's blood but not that of his wife. And one that was clearly hated for it.

"I see…" he whispered to himself.

Without much real effort, he quickly grabbed the knife and released the young brown-haired child from his grasp. He'd been too worn out from his struggle to stand up, though, and even when he finally managed to pick his upper body up off the ground, he was panting heavily.

"If you don't want to die here, you'll be coming with me," he spoke in a voice of authority. "Make your choice."

Even the eight-year-old that he was understood that what was offered to him wasn't even a 'choice' at all. He stood up and walked over to the white suited man's side, staying perfectly quiet the entire time.

"My name is Asahi Sasaki, and while I don't know what your name was before, it no longer matters. You'll walk this world bearing my last name. Understood?"

"…yes, sir."

---

The police chief of the SPD sat back in his chair, rubbing his eyes tiredly as both Yu and Naoto stared at him expectantly. They'd been talking for what felt like hours, but in reality, was somehow only ten minutes.

"I understand your concerns, Detective Shirogane," Chief Kentaro stated. "But I want you to be honest with me: were those men that were arrested in the SPD's precinct here for you?"

"Yes, but—"

"And they just happened to teleport into the main lobby?" he pressed, disbelief clear in his voice. "No one saw them, and even our security cameras didn't register them stepping through the front door. Just poof, they're there, and so are you and those people you brought in that received those threatening notes. Is that about right? A simply yes or a simple no will suffice."

"I think we both know that understanding this situation is the furthest thing from simple that you could get," Yu cut in.

The chief nodded in exasperation. "On that, we certainly agree. Look, I'm in the same camp as Tetsuo—I get that this is above my paygrade, and I don't necessarily care as long as you're in control and I can trust that you'll be able to save Shinjuku."

"And we will," Yu stated firmly, his resolve shining in his eyes. "But we're telling you that in order to do that, we can't be sent to some random safehouse. It's even likely at this point that was Sasaki's intent in the first place."

"Meaning we're enough of a threat that he needs to slow us down, or that he simply wants us to be gathered in one area to take us down all at once," Naoto added.

"How could he possibly know where we'd take you?"

Naoto, her annoyance rising, looked the chief dead in his eyes. "Ask your own officers that question and get back to me."

The seasoned lawman looked away, biting his tongue on account of the two things. The first was the amount of respect he had for Naoto Shirogane, the greatest detective Japan had ever seen. The second was because with what was going on, even he wasn't sure his officers were one hundred percent of the right mind. It would've been impossible for say that. Least of all after what just happened the previous night.

"Point taken," he replied evenly. "But I still share the same opinion as Tetsuo. There are ways we can ensure that you'll—"

The very detective the chief had named waked through his office doors before he'd finished his sentence.

"Any progress?" he asked.

"Essentially none whatsoever," Yu replied.

Jirikishi nodded, though he said not a word. He walked straight over towards the chief's desk, staring back at the layer-detective duo as he placed a sheet of paper down for all to see.

"That's fine since this is no longer a discussion," Jirikishi stated. "This is straight from the head of the SIU. Effective immediately, you, and all of your friends, are to be taken to a safehouse for the purposes of protection."

Yu looked at him with disbelief and marched up to examine the paper himself. To his great surprise, it was an official documentation of the SIU director's go-ahead, signature and all and sent from the Tokyo SIU headquarters no less.

There were no ifs, ands, or buts.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Yu muttered under his breath.

"Feel free to call him to talk it over, but for now, this decision is to be followed to the letter, and I'm not keen on wasting any time," Jirikishi stated.

Naoto was more than ready to protest as best as she could, but once glance at her partner gave her pause. He was silently telling her to back down, and though it didn't sit well with her, she trusted his judgment.

Jirikishi gave the pair a solemn look, "I know you don't agree with the decision, but I still want both of your inputs on the plan to move you all to the safehouse within the next few hours."

"…very well," Naoto replied, dissatisfaction evident in her tone despite her best efforts. "As we do so, Yu, would you mind—?"

"Already in the process of calling Director Tachibana as we speak."

"Excellent. Please continue, detective."

Jirikishi rolled his eyes as he pulled a folder out from under his arm and gestured it her way. "In this file you'll find a list of safehouses that operate outside of Shinjuku. I'd like for you to be the one to pick the location for, let's say 'investigative' reasons. I trust you've no objections to that?"

"None," Naoto replied.

"In that case, I'll move on to the proposed method of transport," he began. "We'll split up each of you into separate police cars and have them drive out alongside other officers who will travel to other safehouses or to their local duties so that we can minimize the likelihood of our being tracked. The only ones who will be aware of the location you'll be taken to will be the drivers of the cars themselves, and even then, they are only to be informed of said location as we're leaving the precinct and as directed by myself personally. And, finally, since our mystery man's MO seems to be brainwashing, I'd like for you to evaluate all of the drivers up close and in-person before we set off. I've compiled a list of the most trustworthy men on the force; their profiles are in the folder I just gave you."

The plan that was put forth was thorough and well thought out. In fact, Naoto knew that she couldn't have done a better job herself. Yet all the same, she looked to the silver-haired lawyer in the hopes that he'd managed to get through to his boss.

Yu sighed, placing his phone away. "The line's not getting through. He must be at a meeting."

"Wouldn't shock me, he's an important man," Jirikishi said with a shrug. "Let's get going, shall we? Lots of names to comb through, you know."

A light drizzle started to pelt the window in the chief's office as a frustrated Naoto gave a begrudging nod. She quickly walked out the window, leaving both the detective and her own partner behind.

"She'll get over it quickly. Don't take it personally," Yu stated.

"The same goes for me," Jirikishi replied. "This isn't personal, kid. I hope you know that. Hell, I hope Detective Shirogane knows that."

Yu nodded in understanding, though a frown marked his face. "Don't worry, we do."

"Good."

---

In the middle of a tranquil, quiet garden, Asahi Sasaki and his eldest son sat in place, being separated by nothing more than a chessboard and a relaxing breeze.

"I heard that you got into a fight at school."

The father spoke dispassionately, his eyes never leaving the chessboard as he moved one of his metal pieces forward.

"It couldn't be helped," replied the boy, sounding equally uncaring. "What was I supposed to do? Just let them get away with beating up my younger brother?"

An amused chuckle escaped the man's lips. "You misunderstand. I'm not upset that you got into a fight—I'm upset that you got your ass handed to you."

"There were four of them and one of me," he replied, his brow furrowed.

Asahi nodded and hummed along in what was clearly a sarcasm-laced attempt at humoring his son. Needless to say, it wasn't appreciated.

He moved another of his pieces, saying, "You know, there are roughly one-hundred and twenty million people here in Japan, and about four billion people in the world. So, if being outnumbered is your excuse, you're in for a long, hard life."

"Gimme a break…" the boy sighed.

"No," Asahi replied plainly. "Also, that's checkmate."

The brown-haired young man stared at the board and sighed, this being the most recent of many, many losses to Asahi Sasaki that he'd experienced since entering his house several years ago. He was more annoyed at his lecture, though.

"What would you have done?"

"In chess or with the bullies?" Asahi asked. He donned a cheeky smirk. "You lose at so many things these days you're going to need to be more specific, you know."

"Good talk."

With his curt response given, he started to walk away. He'd have left fully, too, were it not for the Sasaki patriarch calling out to him with a serious response to his question.

"You fought without thinking. That's what your problem was."

He peered over his shoulder out of curiosity, asking, "…how do you mean?"

Asahi waved an inviting hand towards the seat across from him once more, and though he was hesitant to sit back down with him, his son would end up giving in.

"If before that last match, I'd told you I was going for the Queen's Gambit, would you have played it differently?" he asked.

"Of course, but a game of chess is hardly the same thing as my fight with those morons."

"That's where you're wrong," replied Asahi. "With any problem or contest of any kind, there will always be elements of strategy that often decide if you come out on top. Take these bullies for example—they beat up on your little brother, and you tracked them down to teach them a lesson, right? Did you need to confront them all at once in a heat of passion?"

The boy averted his gaze and scowled, but he gave an honest answer.

"…no."

"Exactly," Asahi began, a proud grin spreading across his lips. "They were never after you in the first place, so you were in a position to define the terms of the fight. For example, you could've struck at them one at a time while they weren't around each other. It didn't even need to be at the school, either. Do you know where they live? How they get to school? Ambushing them on the way would be nice and easy. Or alternatively, you could've evened the odds by finding other people to fight with you. They're bullies, right? There must be no shortage of people that hate them. You may even end up with more than enough people to make it a one-sided fight in your favor."

"But how would I do any of that? I don't know where they live, and I don't know anyone that hates them."

"Knowing those things upfront isn't important. What's important is that you think along those lines. If you can't even figure out what's useful to know, how could you ever even come to know it?" countered the father. "And you don't have to know all of that anyway, just enough to the point you're sure you can win. The goal is to know the outcome of every fight you take before it even happens. The beauty is most other people don't think like that. They do what you did; they just do. It's people that think—that gather information and use their brains—that will always come out on top."

"Is that how you've managed to stay alive this long?" the boy asked cheekily.

"Hehe, what's the old saying again?" he chuckled amusedly. "Beware the old man in a profession where men usually die young."

"You're not that old," the boy replied, a cheeky smirk tugging at his lips. "Still old though."

"Smartass," Asahi muttered playfully. "Come on, let's go get your brother. It's almost dinner time."

"Right."

---

A sea of police vehicles started to pull out of the SPD's main lot, going out in dozens of different directions with their sirens on to blow through whatever traffic was in their way.

"Don't you guys think this is a bit extra?" Ryuji asked from the shotgun seat. "Like, ain't this a waste of time for such a huge number of cops?"

He turned around to look at Ann and Ren, who sat in the back seat alongside Morgana. None of them appeared to be particularly in the mood for conversation, but they at least humored him.

"Most of them are probably headed out on their normal patrol routes anyway," Ren mused.

"Riiight," cooed Ryuji in realization. "Yeah, that makes sense."

The abrupt sound of what sounded like rocks panting the windshield gave the blond a clear scare. He recoiled in his seat, seeing that it was little more than the rainfall picking up.

What was previously a decent drizzle had quickly become a torrential downpour.

"Was the weather supposed to be this bad today?" Morgana inquired.

"Even if it wasn't, it fits the mood perfectly," muttered Ann. She rested her hand on the door and gazed out the window. "Shitty weather for a shitty day."

Ren couldn't help but agree, "No arguments here. But at least it should make it even harder for anyone to tail us."

Everything was quiet thereafter. No one was in a particular mood for conversation.

Inside Jirikishi's Car…

The seasoned detective looked in his rear-view mirror for the third time since they'd started to drive, seeing that Naoto still looked just as sour as the second she'd stepped into the back seat.

"If you keep frowning like that, you'll get wrinkles, you know," Jirikishi remarked.

"Noted."

He turned to the silver-haired teen in the passenger's seat. "Is this normal or is this the most pissed off you've ever seen her?"

"…it's close," Yu replied, giving what seemed like a serious answer. "Definitely more upset than I've ever made her."

"Somehow I doubt that," Jirikishi muttered with a cheeky grin. "Care to weigh in, Detective Shirogane?"

The question was completely ignored as Naoto turned towards her partner in response.

"Any luck getting through to the director, Yu?"

"Not yet," he replied with a shake of his head. "I'm not getting very good reception right now though, so that might have something to do with it."

"The safehouse should have good reception," Jirikishi remarked.

"That makes one reason I'll be happy to get there," Naoto replied.

"Then cheer up, cuz' we're almost there."

---

A familiar scene played out with Asahi Sasaki sitting across from his eldest son in his garden, enjoying a friendly but competitive game of chess.

"Check," the brown-haired young man uttered.

Asahi smiled proudly as he stroked his beard. "Saw that last move coming, did you? Heh, good, that means you're finally learning."

"Cut me some slack, I had a crappy teacher."

"Watch your god damn mouth, young man," Asahi replied jokingly, earning a slight laugh. He moved another piece to block the check. "You know, your brother and I were talking the other day and he told me that those bullies that'd been bothering him were suddenly expelled from the school."

"Yeah, that did happen, now that I think about it."

"Funny, isn't it? How just a few weeks after we talked about your fight with them, they end up getting expelled."

"I guess you could say that."

After Asahi made his next move, he eyed his son with a pleasant grin. "You went about it the right way. I couldn't be prouder."

"…it wasn't that big of a deal," he replied, doing his best to hide the childish happiness that was creeping its way onto his expression. "I also can't even take full credit. Without your advice, I prolly wouldn't be able to do what I did."

"You're giving me a bit too much credit. I didn't even lift a finger," the father chuckled. He made his move on the board once more. "Except for when I was spanking you in chess, of course. Also, that's check, by the way."

The game continued on in silence for a time, though eventually Asahi would come out on top yet again. It was far closer than most of their other matches, though. They then reset the board amidst a pleasant silence.

"Here's a question for you," spoke Asahi offhandedly. "What do you think it means to be 'family'?"

The brown-haired young man looked at him strangely. "What?"

"I was just curious," Asahi replied. "Is it blood? Is it simply paper and ink? But how could it be either? Blood would say that you're no son of mine and that you don't have a brother, and paper would say that you're the son of a father that paid you no mind and a mother that did nothing but beat you. And yet, would you not consider me your father, your brother your brother? Would you not think of us both as your family?"

The brown-haired young man cupped his chin in deep consideration. "You're not wrong, but what was the point of all that?"

"Because I got to thinking… I never did give you a name."

"Uh, yeah you did," he uttered, raising a curious brow.

"Not my surname you dumbass," Asahi groaned, rolling his eyes. "I meanyour given name. Any father worth a damn should give their son a name, right?"

"You don't really have to…"

The white-suited man looked at his son warmly, chuckling at his wishy-washy response.

"Let's just say I want to," he said with a knowing smirk. "As for what it should be… Ah, I've got it!"

---

A total of six police cars pulled up to a very large but pristine warehouse-like structure. The location was well into the Chiyoda district off to the east of Shinjuku. Assuming they weren't followed, it may very well have been the last place for anyone to come look for the Persona users.

The police officers that had driven the vehicles handed out umbrellas as everyone walked out into the pouring rain.

"Alright everyone, listen up," Jirikishi spoke, shouting on account of the torrential downpour. "I'm gonna open up the loading bay doors now. Hurry inside so we can get out of the rain."

As the detective activated the switch and the others started to run off to follow his instructions, Yu remained stationary as he looked down to his phone in relief.

"Looks like I've got my reception back," Yu stated, offering his blue-haired partner a hopeful smile.

"Hopefully the director takes your call in time for us to have these officers take us back to Shibuya," Naoto replied.

"Come on you two!" Jirikishi exclaimed near the lifted entrance. "Unless you prefer to sit in the pouring rain?"

The young lawyer sprinted forward, though at the same time he wasted no time in dialing for the director's personal cell. He'd made his way into the safehouse alongside Naoto before he'd even gotten one ring to go through.

'Come on, come on…!' Yu though impatiently.

Thunders started to rage in the skies and the winds amidst the storm started to pick up. Yu checked the reception on his phone yet again, finding that it improved the further into the large safehouse he moved.

His hope and faith were eventually rewarded.

"Hello?" came Director Tachibana's voice, albeit somewhat scrambled. "Yu? What is it?"

"Can you hear me okay, sir?" Yu asked.

"Your—little—choppy, but I can mostly hear you."

"I'll be quick," Yu replied. "Sir, I'm begging you to reconsider your recent order."

"Whi—ch one? You'll need to be more specific."

"The one that mandates the placement of Naoto, myself, and several other key persons of interest into a safehouse," Yu replied. "I understand the circumstances, but I need you to trust me here. It's a bad move."

"—talking—about? Safe—ouse? I never—"

Another bolt of lighting flashed and echoed beyond the still-open loading bay door, and then the line went dead.

Yu stared down at his phone seeing that his reception was shot once more, but more worrying than that were the last few words that Tachibana had said to him.

It was clear he was trying to say he had no idea what he was talking about.

Before Yu could even turn around, he heard the distinct sound of a pistol being cocked that pierced through even the pouring rain. He turned around in shock, staring wide-eyed at Detective Jirikishi, who stood just a short distance away with the barrel of his gun aimed directly at him.

"Get—what the—!"

"Hey, what're you—!"

The faint sounds of his friends' voice filled the room as each of them were gradually losing consciousness. Behind each was a man holding an empty syringe near their neck, all the while keeping them in a light chock hold.

It was clear that the men had gotten the jump on them, with several even being the very drivers that'd taken them to the safehouse in the first place.

Yu couldn't believe his eyes. He looked at the brown-haired detective at a loss for words. He both understood clearly what was happening, and yet a part of him refused to accept it.

---

"Tetsuo," spoke Asahi. "From now on, your name will be Tetsuo."

---

"Jirikishi, what are…?" Yu asked, almost too shocked to finish his sentence.

"Stay right where you are and don't make a move," he replied, his tone firm. "I don't need to tell you what happens if you do."

The sound of footsteps clacking down in the rain-soaked exterior of the building could be heard, and soon enough a man casually approaching. He entered the safehouse surrounded by a small squad of what appeared to be personal guards, but they were hardly noticeable on account of the aura of authority that the one man carried with him.

He was a fairly tall man with long, well-groomed silky black hair that extended to his upper chest and parted to the left side of his face, kissing the edge of his eye as it made its way down. He sported a deep navy vested suit with above a blue undershirt while a pitch-black tie wrapped itself around his neck. His clothing appeared expensive, if nothing else, though they weren't meant to compensate much as his features were overall quite handsome.

His dark-grey eyes landed on the Wild Card the second that he stepped into the room. He held his gaze, sizing him up in the coming moments as if comparing the silver-haired layer with the mental image he'd had of him.

"Is this Yu Narukami?" he asked, his voice smooth.

"Why don't you ask me that question yourself?" Yu shot back, his eyes narrowing confrontationally as he kept them locked on the gangster's gray orbs. "Unless that's too much for you, Sasaki."

In response, the black-haired man smirked arrogantly as if he cherished what he was about to say. "And which Sasaki are you talking to? Me, or my brother?"

He took one look at Jirikishi, shocking the young lawyer even more so if the disbelief in his expression was to be taken at face value.

"You know, you're pretty much exactly what I expected after all," Sasaki abruptly commented. He turned to his older sibling. "Go ahead and get this over with."

It was difficult to describe the look in the detective's eyes in that moment. They weren't quite steely as they showed no resolve. They didn't show sympathy, remorse, regret, anger, resentment, or anything else approaching an emotion of any kind.

They were simply empty.

"Sorry, kid," Jirikishi spoke. "It's nothing personal."

A shot fired off from his pistol and slammed right into Yu's chest. The silver-haired man reflexively grabbed the point of impact, all the while he looked down at the explosion of blood near his heart. His body recoiled and started to shake, but before he could move or do anything, two more shots fired off.

As one bullet hit his chest and the other tore into his head, he collapsed onto the ground. The room grew so silent that you could even hear the blood start to pool around his body.

Jirikishi holstered his pistol and took a deep, calming breath. "There, it's done."

"Do remember that you asked to be the one to do it. That, and one way or another, it had to be done," Sasaki replied, placing a comforting hand on his brother's arm. "He's the only one that—"

"Hey, what the hell?!"

Off to the sides, one of the drugged Persona users had broken free from their captor's arms and stumbled towards the Sasaki brothers in a blind rage. He didn't get far before he was restrained again, but that didn't stop him from giving everything he had into struggling to break free.

Sasaki quirked a brow. "Did you not manage to inject the entire syringe?"

"N-No sir! I got 'im with everything! He's must have some kind of freakish immunity or somethin'!"

"Bring him up," he ordered. "I want to get a good look at him."

Several of the other men whose captives were totally out cold came over to help restrain the raven-haired teen so that he wouldn't break free and lunge at their boss. With so many bodies pinning him in place, even the Wild Card that he was couldn't move so much as a muscle.

Sasaki stepped forward, cupping the raven-haired teen's chin and looking directly into the pits of his eyes. On the surface, they appeared calm, but there was a burning fire that laid deep within. He knew from experience that it was the type that would simply never die out no matter what was thrown at it.

"It doesn't seem as if he can talk," Sasaki mused, eying the teen analytically. "Still, to even be standing right now is more than amazing in and of itself."

He walked away, his face betraying no emotions whatsoever as he considered what to do from that point forward.

"I don't like that look in his eyes," Sasaki plainly remarked.

His brother was the only one to understand immediately what he was getting at.

"You're shitting me," Jirikishi uttered in disbelief. "Here and now?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure your sick little show will be what you want it to be without him?"

"I would strongly prefer you not call it that," Sasaki replied, still appearing calm despite some annoyance making its way into his voice. "But I see your point. Hebiza did say he was a linchpin, if I remember correctly."

"Actually, here's a thought…" Jirikishi muttered in an emotionless tone. "Why not let him go?"

The mere idea of that had the black-haired man looked side-eyed at his brother, though after a few seconds thinking on it, he started to see exactly what he was suggesting.

"Oh, I see…" Sasaki spoke to himself, a donning a small but twisted smirk. He looked back at the captive Wild Card. "You mean to say let him come after us. Yes, that could work."

He could see it play out in his head over and over again. Taunting his prey with the thinnest sliver of hope only to rip it to shreds right before their very eyes.

It was truthfully even better than what he'd originally had in store. However…

"No," Sasaki stated. "Something tells me that letting him live would be a mistake."

"I feel the opposite."

"And why's that?"

"Couldn't tell ya, I just do."

"Then I don't care."

"Fair enough," said Jirikishi with a shrug. "Though as I remember it, the last time we had a conversation like this and you chose not to listen to me, things didn't work out so well."

There was a veiled look of deep rage deep within Sasaki's eyes that festered like a stain on his very soul. Even so, he made no move whatsoever, almost as if he begrudgingly knew his brother was right.

"Then we've reached an impasse," Sasaki mused.

"That we have. So…"

Jirikishi reached into his pocket and pulled out an ordinary-looking coin. Yet again, his brother immediately understood what he was getting at. He chuckled, finding the morbid scenario oddly amusing.

"Heads we let him go, tails he dies," Jirikishi announced plainly.

"Flip away," replied Saskai with a grin.

All conscious eyes watched as the brown-haired detective did just that. He spun the coin off of his thumb and let it drop towards the floor, and though it only took seconds to settle, it felt like an eternity given the weight the outcome held.

But eventually, the result was read off.

"…heads," Jirikishi uttered calmly.

Sasaki frowned, though he nodded in acceptance. "Consider yourself lucky, Amamiya. And don't worry, you won't have too much trouble finding us on the other side. Not anymore."

With a snap of his fingers, the men that restrained Ren proceeded to bash him upside the back of his head, effectively knocking him out. To his credit, the Wild Card fought to maintain consciousness, but there was never a chance in hell he'd actually succeed.

"Take the others and let's get moving," Sasaki stated, taking out his phone. "I don't want to waste any time getting things ready."

In a flash, Sasaki and his men cleared out of the safehouse and shut the door behind them. Everything was silent…

Save for the subtle tapping of a cat's feet on a series of cardboard boxes nearby.

Morgana jumped down from where he'd remained hidden as soon as the coast was clear. He took one look to confirm that Ren was still breathing fine, but it was the other Wild Card that had him more concerned.

The feline walked up to Yu as he lay in a pool of his own blood. Just the sight of it made him want to shake uncontrollably. From afar he could hold on to the thinnest of hopes, but seeing him up close quickly put an end to that.

Yu wasn't breathing. He wasn't moving. He was covered in blood.

There just wasn't any hope left to hold on to.

"Yu-san…" Morgana whispered sadly as tears started to pool in his eyes.

In his head, he knew from the very second that they intended to kidnap his teammates that remaining hidden was the correct decision. And he knew that there wasn't a chance that he'd have been able to prevent Yu from being shot.

However, Morgana couldn't deny that a heavy weight was crashing down on his heart all the same.

"Relax, I'm not dead just yet."

The feline perked up confusedly upon hearing Yu's voice call out to him. He stared, dumbfounded, as the silver-haired Wild Card picked his blood-covered upper body off the floor and stared down at him as if he were perfectly fine.

"W-Wait, but you were…" stammered Morgana.

"Not exactly," Yu replied. He pulled off his red-soaked blazer showing no bullet hole beneath the surface. "See?

Morgana's jaw dropped. "I-I mean, not that I'm not relieved, but how can that even happen? Is your jacket made out of Kevlar or something? Wait, no, you also got hit in the head, so…"

"Fake bullets," Yu explained plainly. "Pretty realistic blood though."

The feline appeared far more confused than he had when a dead Yu Narukami rose up before his very eyes.

"I… what?"

"I was pretty surprised too," he admitted. "But as far as explanations go…"

Yu walked over to the coin Jirikishi had flipped which was still sitting on the ground. He picked it up and confirmed his initial belief—it wasn't just an ordinary coin. He frowned as he twirled it over on each side repeatedly, all the while his feline friend observed it silently.

"Double-sided," Mona uttered in realization.

"Yep," replied Yu.

He pocketed the coin in silence, but still one burning question remained on Mona's mind that he couldn't help but ask.

"But… why?"

"We'll find out soon enough. But for now, we've got more important things to deal with."

That was all Yu said before he walked towards his fellow Wild Card, and Morgana, more than agreeing with his sentiment, shook off the innumerable questions that plagued his mind and followed in tow.

---

Ren's eyes began to slowly open bit by bit, though they moved at a dead man's pace. His head was spinning worse than perhaps it ever had before, and his limbs felt as heavy as sandbags.

He groaned tiredly and grabbed his head on instinct, though eventually his vision was no longer blackened and he was able to move his body again, though it still took considerable effort to do so.

"Ugh, my head…" Ren muttered.

"Easy. You've been out for almost half an hour," Yu said, guiding his friend into a comfortable position. "Don't push yourself too hard. Here, drink this."

He nodded, taking the bottle of water that was offered to him. "Got it. Thanks."

It took another few seconds for the raven-haired teen to realize that he was speaking to a dead man.

Ren looked at his fellow Wild Card, confused and at a loss for words. Just the sight of his face made him think that he was stuck in a dream, because of course what he was seeing couldn't have possibly been real.

"Not dead, wasn't shot," Yu summarized in brief, donning a friendly smile. "Your head's probably spinning as it is, so try not to think about it too hard, okay? I can always explain later."

From the tone of voice to the choice of words to the reassuring look in his eyes, the Trickster knew the person standing in front of him to be the one and only Yu Narukami.

No one else would've made light of their would-be death so easily. Other than maybe himself, of course.

"Yeah, it's you alright…" Ren whispered to himself. He leaned back onto the ground, relief shining on his features. "I'm just… really glad you're okay."

"What am I, chopped liver?"

"Mona?" Ren uttered curiously.

"The one and only," he replied proudly.

"They probably overlooked him because he was a cat," Yu reasoned.

"Which I'm not, by the way."

"Be that as it may, it's a good thing we've got an extra person," Ren stated, his voice almost uncharacteristically serious. He picked himself up off the ground without the need of his older friend's aid. "We'll need all the help we can get to go after Sasaki."

"And, on that note…" Yu trailed off.

He pulled out his phone and access the MetaNav, and true to his suspicions, there was a new blip on the home screen that hadn't been present any of the other times he'd accessed the app.

"Looks like Sasaki wasn't lying when he said he wasn't hiding anymore," Yu stated, scowling at the mere mention of the man's name. He turned to Joker. "How's your physical condition?"

"Not important," Ren replied firmly. "That detective mentioned something about a 'sick show'. Given what we've seen that bastard capable of so far, I'm not in any mood to waste any time tracking him down."

Yu nodded, a steely look in his eyes as he said, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

A/N Okay, so hopefully that was worth the two weeks wait. Next chapter will be another two weeks wait, and it'll be the semi-finale of this arc of the story.

Explanations:

Yu and Ren's Conversation: I feel like these two work really well as a 'big brother-younger brother' dynamic, and I think moments like the one in this chapter are half the reason that I wanted to write a P4 and P5 story in the first place. They're incredibly alike, but also Ren hasn't ever really met anyone quite like him before, so I think it's just a subtle but wholesome dynamic and I hope that comes across well.

Jirikishi: Tetsuo (哲) actually means 'Wise Man' and I'm sure people can see why that fits. I hope the reveal was at least somewhat of a surprise. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was, but you didn't give a shit about him anyway up until this point so you don't care haha. Either way, more of his backstory etc. is going to come out semi-similarly to how Yumiko's & Genzo's backstory came out. Obviously, he's a complicated character at this point in the story because he didn't kill Yu and managed to save Ren, too.

Yumiko Hebiza: Comatose because Sasaki still has some kind of hold on her mind. Just wanted to clarify that here.

Why Yu 'Needed' to Die: Sasaki wanted Yu dead for reasons we'll get into later. It'll be I think two or so chapters before that's delved into, but yes, he knew who Yu was by name and wanted him dead. It has nothing to do with him being a lawyer or anything, btw. I'll just say that much. Oh, lastly, Jirikishi did recognize his name when they first met. It had nothing to do with knowing him from the SIU, or only a little bit to do with it. He knew him for the same reason his brother did.

If Naoto Suspected the Officers were from the Shinjuku PD, why wait it out instead of calling them on it?: In case anyone is wondering why, few things: 1) Her suspicion was a bit shaky and she wanted to be sure. 2) If she had called them on it, and been right, she's in a room with four officers who each have guns that have no reason to hold back if their cover is blown. Dumbass idea to press there surrounded by innocent bystanders when she can just back off, confirm if she's right, and then get the drop on them like she had.

Lanaya's Background: CIA. That's what I was implying. She's ex-CIA.

The SIU Director's 'Official' Sign-Off: Fabricated by Sasaki. Just normal computer hacking BS-no-jutsu honestly, but it was made to look legit for story purposes. Yu didn't suspect it because it would seem to be super impossible to do, plus he could always just call the director to find out.

The Men that Drove Everyone to the Safehouse: Not brainwashed, just paid-off and in the pocket of Sasaki. I wanted to make sure that was known because obviously Naoto & Yu at a bare minimum would know how to identify that.

Yu's Phone Having 'No Signal': Callback to Genzo's backstory. Sasaki scrambled radio signals back then, he did the same to cell signals now.

The Population Metaphor in Jirikishi's Backstory: Numbers are from 1980. Obviously not current world population as this is a flashback to when Jirikishi was a kid.

Yu's Dislike of the Full Moon: This is hidden in subtext, but for those who noticed it, yes that was very intentional. I'm sure some may be able to guess why.