6/23 – Thursday
After School
Cafe Leblanc

It was raining again. A little out of nowhere, Ren hadn't even thought to bring his umbrella, when morning clouds turned to noontime drizzle and then a late-afternoon downpour. He'd made it back to Leblanc in one piece, though a little damper than he'd like.

But he didn't mind that much, not really. There wasn't much on his mind besides the steady beat of anticipation, and the raindrops helped keep rhythm. Yusuke and Makoto were hard at work with the calling card, and there was a bare twenty-four hours between the Thieves and their final return to Kaneshiro's Palace. Tomorrow, they'd take his heart.

So Ren sat at the counter, sipped at a cup of coffee, and put as many thoughts out of his mind as he possibly could. Just let the sound of rain outside soothe the worry aching its way through his bones. Sojiro had rushed off for another errand, so it was just Ren and Morgana alone in the quiet cafe, with a petrichor melody filling the empty space.

The bell atop the door chimed. "Oh," came a familiar voice, tinged with both glee and surprise, "if it isn't just the guy I was looking for!"

Ren glanced over to see a silver-haired young man standing in the doorway, grinning and drenched head to toe. "Hi Yu," he said, a little too surprised to say much more. It'd been weeks since he'd seen him, after all.

"Hi you too," Yu quipped, and chuckled. He shook his head like a wet dog, sending droplets across the cafe.

"Woah!" Morgana flinched across one of the booth tables. "Watch it!"

"Sorry," Yu said with a sheepish smile. "I won't track water in or anything, just here to...uh..." He shifted in place. "So, Ren."

"Uh huh," Ren replied.

"There's a friend of mine who wants to meet you," Yu explained, "but I didn't want to intrude into your space." He rubbed the back of his neck. "All of this, with the SRU, Oxymoron giving us information about you, Mitsuru keeping half a tab on your activity...it's a lot. And I want to say that, for what it's worth, I'm sorry that this has been such an invasive process." He'd begun to slouch, but caught himself and straightened back up again. "I don't want to throw you another curveball without your consent."

Ren just took that in. It was a lot to process. In lapse of words, he took another sip of bitter coffee. "What's your friend like?" he asked.

Yu's serious expression softened into a smile. "He's a lot like you, I think," he said, without elaborating further.

"Another Shadow Operative?" Morgana added, a little suspicion creeping into his tone.

Yu furrowed his brow in thought. "I don't think so, not technically at least. He helps out the Kirijo Group – and he's a Persona user too – but he's not quite...I guess you could say he's on retainer? Oh, wait," he snapped his fingers, "a consultant! Yeah, let's go with that."

Ren couldn't help but smile at Yu's excitable way of speaking. He stared down at his cup, at the swirling brown ichor. He trusted Yu. From all of his impressions of the young man, he seemed to understand Ren's position far more than Mitsuru did, and Ren still trusted her, at least a little. Yu had been both helpful and respectful, and if he was vetting a friend, then Ren had no reason to feel suspicious. He was a little nervous, but he swallowed that feeling under another sip. "Sure, I'd be okay to meet him."

Yu grinned. "Awesome. He's right nearby, I'll go grab him, one sec." And he turned to leave.

"Oh!" Ren said. "Uh, real quick." Yu turned back around, staring at Ren patiently. "I haven't heard from Aigis in a while. Is she...doing okay?"

"She's doing fine," he said, calm and kind. "Been kinda crazy busy around the SRU recently. Lots of activity in the depths of Mementos, strong Shadows coming out of the woodwork, and she's been shouldering most of the exploration and extermination missions." He sighed. "She works herself a little too hard, I think. Just because she can handle it doesn't mean she should force herself to."

Ren nodded.

"But she's alright," Yu concluded. And he stared at Ren, as if he was waiting for another question.

Ren just waved his hand. "Go get your friend. And, uh, thanks."

"Don't mention it," Yu replied. And he ducked out of the cafe.

Quiet again.

"What do you think he meant, that his friend is like you?" Morgna asked.

"No clue," Ren said. "Guess we'll find out."

He didn't have to wait long. The door to the cafe chimed again.

The first thing Ren saw was the umbrella; navy blue, covered in raindrops. Then, the entrant closed it, and hung it on the nearby hat rack. Curiously enough, he didn't take off his hat, a dark blue cap with a bill that covered his eyes. In fact, he was dressed head-to-toe in blue, from his buttoned jacket to his teal-plaid pants. Even his short hair was dyed blue.

"Hello," he said, and raised his head to lock his gaze with Ren's. Cold, tired grey eyes. "Did Yu happen to tell you much about me?"

Ren shook his head. "Only that you're, like, a consultant for the SRU."

"Consultant," he mumbled, scratching his chin. "I would say that's an accurate description." He gestured to the chair at the counter next to Ren. "Do you mind if I sit?"

"Go for it," Ren said.

"Thank you." The young man did so, and neither said nor did anything further for a long few seconds. "My name is Naoto Shirogane. I'm a detective. Formerly a police detective, but I quit the force to start my own private firm."

Akechi's smirk in the back of Ren's mind. "A detective," he repeated. Stiff. Uncomfortable. He sipped at his coffee. "Why did you quit the force?" he couldn't help the slight resentment that crept into his tone.

"For the same reason I joined it in the first place," Naoto replied. He drummed his fingers on the counter, staring straight ahead at the shelves of coffee bean jars. "I thought it was the right thing to do. I assisted the police because I assumed they were just, but I was wrong. They are an inflexible system; unchanging, unaccountable and eternally violent. So, I left."

Ren let that all sink in, and he found the tension starting to melt away. "Why did you want to meet with me?"

Naoto seemed to consider that. "I was alone, until I met Yu and his friends. So, impossibly alone." Ren nodded along, he knew well what that was like. "And even after I joined their group, became their friend too, I think still felt alone. No fault of theirs, but at the time I felt as though I had stepped into a false role. I opened up my scars before my heart. And I that strained my friendships far more than any of my friends deserved." He sighed, shaking his head slightly. "I'm better now. I know who I am, and I'm confident in that. I've repaired all those bridges I might have burnt, and I'm surrounded by people who know me, the true and honest Naoto." He smiled slightly at Ren. "I'm still a mess, I'll admit that. But I'm at least a mess who's comfortable to be himself."

"I'm glad," Ren mumbled.

"I suppose I'd like to check if you feel the same way, now." He tapped the countertop again. "And if you feel as if you know who you are."

Ren wasn't sure how to answer. "I mean," he said, "I think I feel like a faker, sometimes. And I'm still not sure who I am, really." Another sip. "I think my friends keep me pretty accountable, though. I don't feel like I'm pressured to be someone I'm not, or to lie to them." He chuckled, thinking of Ann's furiously passionate expression, of the endlessly earnest Ryuji, of Yusuke's creative gaze and Makoto's equally analytical one. "There's sort of the opposite pressure, actually."

Naoto nodded. "That's wonderful to hear." And he paused. "I'd also...like to extend an apology." He stared back down at the counter. "As part of the SRU's investigation into the Phantom Thieves, Mitsuru asked me to see if I could find your file from when you were incarcerated. And I did; it wasn't very difficult to do so." He was quiet, for a moment. "I'm pretty sure she still resents me for refusing to share all that information with her."

Ren blinked. Naoto had...wait, what? "I don't understand."

"Let's just say in a lot of ways, looking at your file was like looking in a mirror." Naoto fiddled with one of the buttons on his left sleeve. Then, he unbuttoned it, and slowly pulled the sleeve up, moving his arm closer to Ren, palm up. It took a long few seconds for the sight to sink in, but when it did, Ren found himself without breath or speech. A criss-cross pattern of faint scars, raised skin across Naoto's arm, some redder and others paler. "Your file is a cruel depiction of you," Naoto continued, pulling down his sleeve and buttoning it again, "and I regret reading it in the first place. I wanted to apologize for that invasion of privacy, if nothing else. And to assure you that I did not share any of your personal details with another soul, nor do I ever plan to."

Ren had no idea how to respond. It was all a little too much. He picked up his cup, and put it back down without drinking. He ran a hand through his hair. "So you know about...uh..." He gestured vaguely to his left hand.

Naoto nodded silently.

"And the whole..." Ren paused. How exactly was he supposed to imply gender here?

"I'm aware that you are trans," Naoto replied. He glanced at Ren for a moment, cracking the slightest of smiles. "In case you haven't caught on, I'm in quite the same boat."

The same boat. First the scars, and he was...was he trans too? Was that what he was implying? It seemed like that. But in lieu of confidence, Ren simply pointed towards Naoto. "Trans?" he asked.

Naoto nodded. "Trans," he confirmed.

"Oh." Ren sat with that. "Cool."

"Very," Naoto said.

No words between them, a silence filled only with the rain outside.

Naoto took a deep breath in and out. "I won't assume this can act as recompense," he said, "but I feel it prudent to make you aware of something that Mitsuru feels you are better off not knowing."

Despite the hot coffee bubbling in his gut, Ren felt barely warmer than frigid. "Please do," he said, quietly.

"Are you aware of the mental shutdown incidents?" Naoto asked.

Ren nodded. He'd heard a little about them from the news, particularly some concerns that they might be connected to the Phantom Thieves.

"Roughly a month ago," he began, "a small team of Shadow Operatives were investigating a disturbance within Mementos. And what they found was a single Persona user – a young man dressed in all black, including a black mask – executing a Shadow. One of the Operatives was able to identify the Shadow by sight as belonging to a local politician, who was not simply defeated but obliterated."

Ren felt his stomach turn.

"The team confronted the masked Persona user, and he opened fire on them with a pistol in order to cover his escape. One of the team was hit in the shoulder, but the others managed to retreat unharmed." He sighed. "While treating the wound, it became obvious that the weapon that young man was using wasn't a cognitive-enhanced facsimile. It was a very real firearm."

Ren's mind flashed to the pistol hidden in the attic.

"Furthermore," Naoto continued, "a few days after, the politician whose Shadow was identified during that incident suffered a mental shutdown." He tangled his fingers, shoulders tense. "I feel it is incredibly likely that someone is making use of the Metaverse in order to inflict these mental shutdowns. For profit, or chaos, or simply an effort to cause harm. No one knows for certain at this point. But it stands: that Persona user in the black mask is extremely dangerous." He glanced towards Ren, his expression firm. "Mitsuru felt that it would worry you too greatly to know about this. But I feel it is far more dangerous to leave you unaware and unprepared." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small teal business card, placing it on the counter in front of Ren. "My number. I'm available at any time of day, should you need assistance or protection. Your safety is worth more than I can possibly articulate." He smiled, ever so slightly. "So please, do whatever you can to stay safe, Ren. You've fought far too much to give up now."

Ren didn't know what to say. This was too much, this was all...this was...he took a deep breath. This was too much, of course it was. It would never not be far more than he could handle. All of this, the time travel, the Metaverse, the SRU and now this dangerous Persona user. There wasn't a single part of this that wasn't insane. But he'd had quite a few victories already, despite all of the insanity. All the Thieves had. So, what was one more piece of unreasonable bullshit he couldn't process? "Okay," he said. And he took the card. "I'll keep fighting. Thank you."

Before either of them could say another word, the bell over the door chimed.

"Guess who!" came an excited, almost sing-song voice from the young woman standing in the doorway. She had glasses on, and long reddish-brown hair that spilled over the shoulders of her fuzzy coat, a pink scarf around her neck and a grin on her lips.

Naoto started, and turned around to stare at the young woman. "Rise?" he said, surprised. "I...what you are you doing here?"

"Picking you up, silly!" She scooted her way inside. "Aaaand finally introducing myself to this awesome kid over here." Rise grinned and extended a hand to him. "Rise Kujikawa, at your service!"

Ren looked down at her hand, then back at her, and gingerly shook it. Rise, that name sounded so familiar. Oh! "Wasn't Yukari talking to you? Back when we ran into her in Mementos."

Rise nodded vigorously. "That's me! Secondary senior navigator of the Shadow Response Unit, and number one superstar." She looked a little bit odd, half tense and half expectant.

"Uh," Ren said. "Thanks for the save? Telling Yukari about that Shadow, that was a huge help."

She stared at him, maybe surprised and maybe delighted. "Well, you're very welcome!" she chirped.

"You know," Naoto cut in, "I was planning on walking back. I like the rain."

Rise stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at him. "Not likely. Kanji'd chew my ear off if you caught pneumonia." She nearly pranced over to the nearest booth and plopped down in it.

Naoto stood up and rolled his eyes, one hand in his pocket. "You can tell Kanji I'm not going to catch pneumonia from twenty minutes outside under an umbrella."

"Tell him yourself," she quipped, smirking, her hands in her lap. "He's right outside."

Naoto blanched.

"Who's Kanji?" Ren asked, as the door chimed once again.

"That," Naoto replied, with an awkward chuckle, "would be my husband."

"And Rise's agent, don't forget," said the young man who must have been Kanji. For a moment, Ren had the haunting suspicion he was staring at an older version of Ryuji. Kanji had a button-up white shirt, pierced ears, a scar on his left temple, and combed blonde hair. Something about him looked at once imposing and harmless, Ren really couldn't read the guy. He gave Ren a tight-lipped smile and awkward wave, which Ren returned. "Sorry to interrupt," Kanji said to Naoto, breaking into a much more honest smile as soon as he glanced towards him, "Rise just got done recording, so we thought we'd head over and give you a lift."

"Always the thoughtful one," Naoto replied. It was like he was a totally different person than he'd been a few minutes before, all visible tension had melted off him, and he looked like he was perpetually trying to stifle a grin. "And here I thought I'd have to walk all the way back on my lonesome."

"Oh my godddd," Rise whined, rolling her eyes despite the grin on her face. "No flirting in public, you two are insufferable. Come on, back in the car." She jumped to her feet and slapped her hands on Naoto's shoulders, pushing him towards the door.

"Hey, no rushing my guy, come on." Kanji crossed his arms, planting himself firmly in the doorway.

"It's alright," Naoto said with a laugh. He turned back towards Ren and gave him a nod. "You can call me. For what we spoke about, or anything. And don't worry about waking me if it's late, I'm a pretty shameless insomniac."

"Despite my best efforts," Kanji grumbled.

"I'll call," Ren said. "And thank you, again. For all of this."

Naoto nodded, leaned over to grab his umbrella, and then let Rise shove him out the door. Kanji watched them go, then turned to Ren, seeming a little lost for words, finally settling on: "you're not alone, kid. We've got your back, even if no one else does." He patted his bicep awkwardly, and then scooted out the door himself.

"More weird allies," Morgana mumbled, his tail twitching back and forth. "Do you trust them, Ren?"

Ren just stared at the door as he thought about his answer. "As much as I can, I think," he replied.


6/24 – Friday
After School
Cafe Leblanc

Ren was late. He'd been dragging his feet all day, far too many thoughts weighing him down, and he'd accidentally managed to just barely miss his train back to Yongen-Jaya.

"Surprised that you're the last one here," Sojiro teased as Ren entered. "All your friends are upstairs already." The cafe was more occupied than usual, a woman with a black dress and wide-brimmed blue hat at the counter, and an older couple at one one of the booths.

"Thanks," Ren said. He headed towards the stairs, only to bump into the woman with the hat, who had risen out of her seat to leave.

"Oh," she said, in an almost whisper, "I'm very sorry, please excuse me."

"It's alright," he said, and stepped to the side, letting her pass. Then, he walked past and scrambled up the stairs.

The attic was already a bustle of excitement, but Ren was almost bowled over by the sight of four Thieves grinning at him.

"About time you made it!" Ryuji said, a little too loud, sitting on Ren's bed.

"Sorry I'm late," he replied. "Just got lost in thought."

Ann shrugged. "Hey, you're here now. That's what matters."

"Is there anything further we need to take care of before we steal Kaneshiro's heart?" Yusuke asked, from next to Ann on the couch.

Makoto shook her head, crossing her legs on her chair. "I've ensured that Kaneshiro received our calling card. Unless there's any further part of the process I'm not aware of, we should be all set."

"Oh," Ren reached into his jacket pocket, where he'd stored the bundle of cloth from the parcel. "That reminds me Makoto, I had something to give you, but...I sort of...forgot..." The cloth was there. But the broken glasses...

The broken glasses were gone.

Ren stared into nothing, trying desperately to remember where he could have put them. He hadn't used them their first infiltration into Kaneshiro's Palace, but he'd changed jackets just earlier that same day, and he made sure to move the glasses over when he did so. Did he...

The woman. Downstairs, she'd bumped into him. Maybe it was nothing, but there was just something...something so awfully familiar about her voice.

"Ren?" Makoto asked, her face concerned. "Are you alright?"

In one smooth motion, Ren slipped his bag off his shoulder, placed it down on the table next to him, and then sprinted down the stairs. His foot slipped against the last stair, and he nearly fell, his heel screeching out a pang of protest, but he stumbled back upright and ran out the door as fast as he possibly could. Glanced right, then left – there she was, just walking along. And Ren jogged after her, heart screaming in his ears.

"Excuse me!" he called.

The woman froze. Stopped walking entirely, her back still to him.

"I think I might have dropped something of mine," he continued, not sure how he was able to remain so articulate in this sort of situation. "Would you happen to–"

"Cronos," she said. The single click of a clock hand, echoing through reality.

And all sound vanished from the world. No chirping of birds, or the distant rumble of the subway, or the sound of gossip from Leblanc's neighbors. Ren found himself unable to breathe, unable to speak or move even his eyes. They were locked on the woman, and he was frozen mid-step.

But she moved. Her shoulders raised and then lowered with a deep sigh. "Yet again, I continue to underestimate your perceptiveness." She chuckled. "Fool me twice, Trickster. Shame on me." And Oxymoron turned around, the brim of her hat still down. "I must admit, I'm not the most elegant pickpocket. It has been a few decades since I first learned to do so." She held her right hand, and opened it to show a pair of broken glasses in her palm. "But better you notice after the fact than before. I'd be quite embarrassed if you caught me in the act, what a shame that would have been." She laughed.

Ren couldn't speak. He couldn't move. No matter how much he wanted to, no matter the fury boiling behind his ears. He couldn't do anything.

She walked closer, quiet for a moment. And she adjusted her angle, and walked around him. But she stopped mid step; Ren could almost feel her standing next to him. "I have no desire to steal from you," she said, a little regretful note in her voice. "Especially not such a valuable gift as this. But then again, you do remember what I told you last time we met, yes?"

Her hand outstretched in front of his face, the glasses just a few inches from his nose. But something else caught his eye, just barely in his field of vision. Four crimson lines across Oxymoron's shoulder, barely obscured by her dress, scars that brought to his mind visions of beasts, of long claws and bared fangs.

"Not every door is meant to be opened. And certainly not all of them by you." And with that, Oxymoron's fingers closed around the glasses. The horrifying crunch of glass and plastic, splintering and shattering and collapsing in on itself. When she opened her fingers again, she held not broken glasses but utter refuse in an unharmed hand, shards of glass and a frame twisted beyond hope of repair. "Please," Oxymoron said, "keep in mind what you are meant to be doing. I will allow your search for knowledge, for now, but I would ask you to insure that it does not interfere with the operations of the Phantom Thieves. For your best interest. And with any luck, next time we meet, I will be congratulating you on a job well done." She tipped her hand, letting the obliterated glasses slip from her fingers and clatter to the cement below, and then she walked past him. The only sound in the world was her footsteps, and then even that was gone.

And then, everything else returned.

Ren gasped for air, stumbling as momentum caught up with him. He whirled around, staring down the walkway towards where Oxymoron had left. But she was gone now, gone completely. Only Ren, standing in front of a small pile of glass, and his worried friends now pushing their way through Leblanc's entrance.


It was silent in the attic. All previous excitement had melted away into raw tension, not helped by Ren's still cacophonous heart.

"What exactly just happened?" Ann asked. He could tell by the tone in her voice she wasn't in the mood for any bullshit; she sounded concerned, and kind, but firm.

"Oxymoron," he said, and the other Thieves flinched as one. "She was downstairs in the cafe. Sojiro said she just ordered a coffee, drank it and left when I got here. And she stole the broken glasses when she did. I realized, and I chased after her, and she..." He stared down at his hands. Helpless. Powerless. He felt a shudder tear through his chest. "She stopped time again. Destroyed the glasses. And told me to stop getting distracted. And then she just...fucking vanished."

Another silence. And then Ryuji's chair screeched across the attic as he stood up, hands balled into fists by his sides. "I'll kill her," he said, and the absolute fury in his voice was more terrifying than anything Oxymoron could have done. "I swear to god, I'll fucking–"

"Ryuji!" Makoto now, stern, glaring at the jock. "Stop. I understand you're upset. Trust me, I want nothing more than to find this woman and put my fist through her face. But she's gone now, and we need to focus on Ren's well-being – not just get angry on his behalf."

Ryuji almost looked like he was going to yell back, but he took one look at Ren and the anger melted off his face. "It's," he mumbled, and he sat back down, "it's just bullshit. This sucks, this whole thing is fucked."

"Yeah," Ren said, barely finding anything more to say. "It really is."

"Ren." Ann walked over and sat on the bed next to him. She reached out, testing the waters, and when he nodded she placed her hand on his shoulder. "What do you need? We're here for you, we've got your back."

A fuzzy shape pressed itself against his left arm with a similarly affirming purr.

What did he need, exactly? A deep breath, and a glance around at his friends. Something inside him clicked back into place. He didn't feel scared anymore, not really. Far closer to anger. "Okay," he said. "We've got a heart that still needs changing."

"You take priority–" Yusuke began, but Ren cut him off.

"We've already sent the calling card. We can't take that back, and we can't throw our infiltration away for my comfort." He glanced towards Makoto, and she refused to meet his gaze. "We can't leave Makoto behind. Not for something like this."

She smiled, even though she still wouldn't look his way.

"We could fight Kaneshiro with just the four of us?" Morgana offered.

Ren shook his head. "I'm okay. I promise, I'm okay." Another long, deep breath. "Hey, Makoto, catch." He fished the bundle of cloth out of his pocket and tossed it underhand to her.

She caught it, and rolled it over, one eyebrow raised. "Is this some sort of boxing wrap?"

"Oh!" Ren said. "I mean, I have no idea what it is. Got it in a parcel and I assumed it was for you."

Makoto unwrapped it, and tucked her right thumb into a loop at one end. "Looks like it," she mumbled, and began to wrap her hand. "I haven't used one of these in a while, but I took used to take self defenses classes, and they always made us wear these." It was sort of hypnotic, the speed at which she wove the cloth up and over and around and down again. Soon enough, she velcro'd the end against her palm and then rolled her wrist. "Huh. Feels pretty nice, actually."

"That design should bring some cognitive strength in the Metaverse," Morgana pointed out.

Makoto clenched her right hand into a fist, pressed it into her left palm, almost smirking. "Good."

Ryuji sighed, ran a hand through his hair. "Ren, you sure you're up to this? I'm not trying to be a jerk or nothing, I just..." He shrugged.

"I'm sure," Ren said. "I'll be with you all, so I'll be okay."

Ryuji nodded slowly. "Then, I won't slack. This time, I'll keep you safe for sure." He sounded so utterly sincere, Ren was worried he might break down right then and there. But he held steady.

"Alright, Phantom Thieves." He stood up, adjusting his glasses. "It's showtime."


█████
After School
Cafe Leblanc

The boy not currently in the black mask placed the pawn down with a resounding clack against the board, trembling fingers releasing their grip after a moment of hesitation.

"You're angry," the Trickster said, eyes looking over his options, not shifting to meet the other boy's eyes.

"No shit," the boy not currently in the black mask said with a scoff. "What was your first clue? That I stormed in here and demanded a chess match?"

The Trickster smiled, moving his knight out of its starting position. "What's got you so worked up?"

"Don't patronize me. You already know," the boy fired back, moving another pawn, this one two spaces forward.

"Really?" The Trickster looked up, genuine surprise in his voice as he looked over the other boy's expression to see if he was serious. The boy not currently in the black mask stayed fixated on the board. The Trickster averted his gaze, as well. "Out of everyone, you're by far taking it the best." Knight moved forward again, threatening the second pawn.

"Of course I am. That should come as no surprise. I'd resigned myself to this fate a long time ago." The boy let out a dry, pained laugh, one that sent an ache through the Trickster's heart that he'd never dare admit to. "Frankly, a part of me is overjoyed." Another pawn moved forward one space, threatening the knight. Take a pawn, die to a pawn. Not a fair trade.

The Trickster moved his knight back, beating a retreat from the boy's aggressive attacks. "You don't deserve this. None of us do." He was silent for a while before taking his hand off the piece. "We're just kids, ████."

The boy's expression winced before returning to its normal, unfeeling neutral scowl. "You don't shut up, do you? How many times are you going to push your morality on me?" The far pawn advanced another space. "I don't want your fucking pity."

The Trickster sighed. "I just don't think you're giving yourself enough credit," he mumbled, advancing a pawn of his own at last. Forward, two spaces. "You like moving your pawns, huh?"

"I've always felt a camaraderie with them. They're useless, aggressive, and they die when they're no longer useful. I've never known anyone to mourn the loss of a pawn." The boy gave a sad chuckle, seemingly satisfied with his own comparison, moving another of his pawns out of its starting position. He'd built up quite the wall, now, in a pyramid formation, so that each pawn threatened anything that approached them. Power in numbers, so that even pawns could take out anything that threatened them.

"I like pawns too. I can relate to finding them sympathetic," the Trickster said with a small smile, moving his pawn another space forward, now face-to-face with the centermost pawn on the boy not currently in the black mask's field. Two pawns, facing down one another, neither capable of making an attack. "They have to overcome great odds to reach the other end of the board. But once they make it into enemy territory, they have infinite potential. They can evolve and become whatever they need to be."

That finally got a smile out of the boy, though the Trickster could hardly tell if it was amused or annoyed. "So, what? Even a pawn isn't useless? There's hope that even the weakest piece on the board can change?" Now that the back row of pieces was completely open, the boy slid a bishop across the board, into position, threatening the Trickster's king. A move as aggressive as it was easily dodged.

"Check."

The Trickster shook his head, smiling as he moved his king forward one space. "I'd say the pawn is the strongest piece on the board, myself. The king is overblown, some bloated ego with a lot of supposed importance, who gets to end the game when he dies, because he deems himself the most important. Despite all that, the king is no stronger than a pawn. Weaker, even."

The boy not currently in the black mask smiled, watching intently as the Trickster's finger left his piece. "In how it isn't expendable?" he lulled, a cocky amusement in his tone.

The Trickster shook his head. "In its lack of potential. Unlike the pawn, the king can never change. It will always be itself."

"And what a terrible thing it is to be stuck forever as yourself," the boy snapped, eagerly and furiously grabbing ahold of his queen and placing it in a diagonal position from the Trickster's king. "It seems you and I are not so lucky as to be pawns." The boy scoffed as he stood from the small booth, heading for the door. "For all your talk of how you hate the king, you've happily embraced its role yourself, haven't you?"

The Trickster hesitated, words caught in his throat. He didn't have anything to say. The boy was right, all of his friends were right. He smiled sadly, examining the sorry state of the board.

"I'll be whatever piece you want me to be when the time comes," the boy said, an angry tired smile on his face that hurt so much more than his rage ever could. That hint of sympathy, of understanding, cut the Trickster more than any of his biting insults. The boy turned, shutting the door on his way out.

"Checkmate."


6/24 – Friday
After School
Kaneshiro's Palace

During their last investigation, Morgana had likened Kaneshiro's Palace to a spiral. From that waiting room and the bloated falsity of Salvation at its entrance, all paths tightened, twisted and eternally descended. Even the unlit secret tunnel between Safe Rooms was more vertical than horizontal, a steep climb down to the Palace depths.

Finally, the Thieves stood before the unguarded elevator down to the Palace's lowest point.

"Kaneshiro's probably waiting down there for us," Mona said, planting himself firmly between Ren and the elevator. "So, what's the plan, Joker?"

Ren felt better. Tense, still a little jumpier than usual, but he was focused again. Something about just wearing his mask again, donning the garb of a Thief, being even slightly more than powerless here, that helped. He could fight. He wanted to fight. "I think," he said, "if you all accept it, I'd like to split us into pairs. Mona and I taking point, I'll use Arsene and he can support me. Skull and Panther as our secondary frontguard, they can follow up if I falter. Then Queen and Fox as our mobile navigators, they're both sharp and fast enough to cover the whole field and make best use of the skill cards."

"We'd be staying out of danger then?" Queen asked.

"Unless you needed to rush in," Ren said, "then you should focus on just making sure we're informed. Stay on Johanna, keep you and Fox safe, and be ready to rush in if we need you."

Queen nodded, as did Fox, who immediately started passing out skill cards to the other Thieves.

"Hey Mona," Skull said, slipping a couple cards into his pocket. "Swap with me."

"What!?" Mona's fur ruffled. "Why!?"

Skull shrugged. "I just...don't wanna leave our leader defenseless. You're a kickass healer, but I'm better at guarding. If Joker gets overwhelmed or exhausted or whatever, I can get him out of danger."

Mona looked about to shoot back some furious remark, but Panther quickly cut in. "How about," she said, "instead of three pairs, we just have our navigators pair off and the rest of us fight together." She glanced towards Ren, pointed but still as if she was looking for confirmation.

And Ren nodded. "That's a good idea. Unless there are any objections, we'll go with Panther's suggestion then." Neither Mona nor Skull responded, they didn't exactly look ecstatic, but they did not object. "Okay." With that, Ren lead the way into the open elevator, and pushed the single button. The door closed behind them, and the elevator lurched downwards towards Kaneshiro's treasure chamber.

Silence.

"Hate elevators," Skull grumbled under his breath. "Stairs are worse but this still sucks."

"Oh," Panther said, "claustrophobia right?"

He just shrugged and bounced on the heels of his feet, mouth drawn in a tight line.

"We'll keep you safe," Ren said. "If anything goes bad, we'll protect you."

Skull still looked tense, but he smiled. "Yeah dude," he mumbled. "Of course you will."

A voice drifted from below. "–sure, Mister Kaneshiro? I would say current circumstances makes my offer far more valuable now then before." Something about it was almost familiar, but...not quite. The Thieves all seemed to be holding their breath, listening intently.

"Nice try, kid," Kaneshiro's Shadow now, clear despite the distortion in his voice. "I'm Junya fucking Kaneshiro, I can handle myself without your help."

"Who's he talking to?" Makoto wondered aloud.

A quiet, mocking laugh that echoed into the elevator and sent a shiver down Ren's spine. "Against the Phantom Thieves? You should be aware you're not their first target; and they're stronger than you might think."

"Still not interested," Kaneshiro replied. "I'm not about to sell my life's work to some idiot kid like you. Go fly off back to your papa now."

"You do realize," and that stranger's voice was furious now, filled to the brim with venom, "that I could simply kill you here and save myself the work."

The elevator lurched to a stop. "Well," Kaneshiro said, "you could do that. But then again–" And the metal doors slid open. "–I think you'd want to let me kill the Phantom Thieves."

Kaneshiro's treasure chamber was vast, rocky, cavernous, and lit only by pale neon lamps threaded across the jagged ceiling. The majority of the floorspace was taken up by a massive lake of ice, thick enough to prevent the light from reaching far into it. And at the center of that lake was an enormous ice statue of Kaneshiro, one hand outstretched, holding in his palm a glittering golden light – his Treasure.

And at the shore, just a few dozen feet away from the elevator, was Kaneshiro's Shadow. In front of him, a figure. Someone wearing an all-black outfit, with a tattered grey cloak. And when they turned around to face the Thieves, Ren could see his mask, pointed like an avian's beak, covering his entire head, with only two red-visored eyeholes and an opening for his mouth. "Oh," he said, disdain evident in his tone. "You all got here quicker than I thought. If you don't mind, please wait patiently. Mister Kaneshiro and I were in the middle of a conversation."

Ren didn't think. He was out of the elevator, walking towards the young man in the black mask. A roaring thunder in his ears. "Arsene!" he snarled.

"Persona!" the young man in the black mask retorted.

And dark struck dark between the two. A swirling oblivion tempest of clashing curses, no more vile than the next. By the time Ren could see the young man, his mask had reformed, continuing to cover his features.

The young man glanced over his shoulder. "Considering my offer now?" he asked Kaneshiro, almost humming the words.

"Kick rocks, kid," the Shadow replied, his expression somewhere between pissed and amused.

The young man shrugged. "Oh well," he said, "it was worth a try." And his hand went to his waist–

Ren drew Ryuji's pistol from his coat with trembling hands and pointed it at the young man. "Don't move," he said. "Don't you even dare."

The young man stopped moving. Stared at Ren with two cold eyes, mouth set in a firm line. "I think you're right, Mister Kaneshiro. If you could kill them," he grinned with his teeth, "that would be very appreciated. Allow us to discuss our offer at another time, then." A click, and the young man whipped his hand up, chucking something into the air.

Ren's gaze shot up, focusing on the spinning cylinder, that strange grey tube turning in midair. He didn't know for sure what it was, but he knew exactly what it was intended to do. "Get down!" he yelled, and threw himself to the hard ground just as the flash grenade burst into a furious whine of light and sound.

It took a while for Ren's ears to finally stop ringing, and when they did, he found himself hefted back up onto unsteady feet by Skull and Panther. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"Don't mention it," Panther said. "Also, ow."

"Same," Skull wheezed.

Ren steadied himself, brushed the dirt from his outfit. "That guy get away?" he finally asked.

"He did," Fox replied. "He took the elevator back up before we recovered."

Ren forced himself to focus again. Kaneshiro, where was...

The Shadow was standing on the ice lake, staring up at his own statue. As if he was waiting for the Thieves.

"Joker," Queen said, eyes locked on Kaneshiro in the near distance. "Do you know who that was? That Persona user."

Ren paused. "A little," he admitted. "He's–"

She shook her head. "Tell us after. Right now, Kaneshiro is your target. Take his heart first."

Ren took a deep breath, and nodded. "Okay."

Fox, nearby Queen, gave Ren a quick nod before the two of them jogged off to the left, probably to find a better vantage point.

Ren carefully reached one foot out onto the ice, expecting it to be slick, but it had a surprising amount of traction. It felt more like a solid floor than actual ice. "Alright," he said, "let's finish this." And with that, four Thieves made their way onto the lake towards Kaneshiro's Shadow.

"You poor, dumb kids," the Shadow said as they got closer, his back still to them. "Thinking I'm evil. You don't even know how the world works."

"We know enough to know you're a creep and a half!" Skull retorted. "I'd say profiting off addicted kids and people with debt makes you pretty fucking evil." He braced his crimson pole over his shoulder, ready to swing.

"If I didn't profit off of them," he replied, "someone else would. Don't you see!" He raised his hands, as if praying to the statue of himself. "It's not me who's evil! It's this rotten society!"

"That doesn't give you the right to do whatever you want," Panther said. She clicked the button on her dagger, extending it into a whip.

Kaneshiro's Shadow shook his head. "You don't get it. I'm saving innocent lives. If it were anyone else, they'd milk that debt for every single penny. But I help poor lost souls get free of their burden. What's so wrong with that?"

"Stop trying to justify your abuse!" Mona snarled. He drew his blade and pointed it at Kaneshiro. "If you were really trying to help people, you'd absolve their debt in the first place. But if it doesn't line your pockets, it's not worth doing; isn't that right?"

Kaneshiro's Shadow was quiet, for a moment. He lowered his arms. "Money makes the world go round," he said, almost sing-song. Then, he laughed. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I really am just some sort of demon." His whole body warped, for a moment. Pulsed like a beating heart, spasming and then settling. "But I'm not going to let some snot-nosed brats boss me around."

Ren tensed. Slowly, he drew his blade from its sheath. "Junya Kaneshiro," he said. "We are the Phantom Thieves. And we are here to take your heart."

Kaneshiro's Shadow pulsed again as he burst into loud, raucous laughter. "Oh, that's right. I never did introduce myself properly, did I?" He turned towards them, his eyes closed, black ichor dripping from his lips down his chin. "I am the ruler of this world, the demon king of hell itself." He opened his eyes, those that had once been yellow, now a brilliant glowing crimson. "I am Beelzebub. And you are nothing but flies."

The illusion shattered. The Shadow that stood before them, that abomination of chitin and hatred, should not ever have been mistaken for a human. An enormous insectile form with a disgusting engorged abdomen, four arms with talon-like fingers, four wings sprouting from its back, a gnashing maw of metal teeth and two enormous compound red eyes, a necklace of skulls around his neck. Kaneshiro's Shadow raised one hand up, and the golden Treasure lurched out of his statue's grip, falling into his outstretched hand. The glow faded, solidified into a long staff made of a human spine, with a skull as its ornament. The eyes of that skull glowed gold, and Kaneshiro pointed it at the Thieves. "You are all," he bellowed in a voice far more distorted than before, "unworthy!"

The ice beneath Ren's feet burst. He flung himself forward, barely able to dodge out of the way, as a column of calcified spikes pierced the air behind his head.

"Joker!" came Mona's voice, and Ren whirled to see his surprised teammates on the other side of those spikes. From a second look, they weren't quite spikes, but the skeletal bars of a large cage, encircling the three Thieves.

"But you," Kaneshiro's Shadow continued, "little leader. You're quite the strong one, aren't you? Come on then, let's see how well you can fare. Maybe your friends will last long enough to watch you croak."

"Guys," Panther said, staring farther into the cage, her voice breaking. "We've got company!"

A skeletal hand, bursting from the ice below. And then, an entire form, a skeleton wrapped in darkness, chattering jaw and rambling step, and another four bursting out of the ice around it.

Ren's hand flew to his mask, Arsene's name on his lips, but Skull shook his head firmly. "Save your strength!" he said, and nodded towards Kaneshiro's Shadow. "He's the target. We'll keep each other safe, but you've gotta kick that guy's ass."

Ren's hand wavered. He didn't...he couldn't just... "Okay," he said. "Don't die, Skull."

Skull grinned. "And don't lose, Joker."

The roar of an engine. "Joker!" Queen and Fox, atop Johanna, skidded up to Ren. "Need a hand?" Queen asked.

Right. Right, it wasn't just him. Never. "Fox," Ren said, refusing to let his mind falter, "see if you can break the bars of that cage, get the others free. Queen, you're with me." And he turned back towards Kaneshiro's Shadow.

"Aye-aye, Joker!" Fox scrambled off Johana and out of the way.

"With pleasure." Queen dismissed her Persona and strode to Ren's side.

"And Miss Niijima too," the Shadow crooned. "As if that'll change much. We both know she's too much of a coward to do what needs to be done."

Ren grit his teeth, expecting a similar fury from his teammate, but Queen simply burst out laughing. "Kaneshiro," she said, finally, "I don't think I ever had the chance to thank you properly."

Neither Ren, nor apparently Kaneshiro, knew how to respond to that.

"If it weren't for you," she said, running a hand through her buzzed hair, "I never would have heard Johanna's call. I'm far more myself now, more than I have ever been in my life. And you're not wrong to call me a coward, you piece of shit." She was still smiling, but now Ren felt her anger, that rage bubbling off her. "I won't deny, you scum, that I've been been too afraid to act. I have been for years, not that it would take a thickheaded pig like you to tell that. But you're wrong about one thing." Queen raised her right hand, wrapped in that odd patterned cloth, and tightened it into a fist. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but Ren could swore he saw that pattern glowing. Was it letting off sparks? "If you think my previous cowardice will stop me from breaking your jaw for what you've done, you're more of a moron than I thought." And with that, she dropped into a dead sprint across the ice towards him.

Kaneshiro's Shadow shrieked, scrambling backwards, pointing his staff towards Queen. More bone spikes burst from the ice, blocking the way between her and him.

"Arsene," Ren commanded, "clear her path!" One swing of his blade was all it took, and the spikes were razed.

Before Kaneshiro had a chance to attack again, Queen reached him, and he threw up all four arms in front of his face. With a furious cry that almost sounded like the roar of an engine, she slammed her fist into him.

Blue fire, like the solar flare of a cerulean star. The sickening crack of crumpling chitin. And Kaneshiro's Shadow was sent hurtling across the ice, slamming into the foot of his statue with enough force to send a spiderweb crack up its shin. The statue teetered for a moment, and then keeled over backwards, breaking at the ankles and then exploding across the ice with a thunderous crash.

Queen stood alone, panting, her right hand still wrapped in an otherworldly azure glow. Ren jogged over to her. "You alright?" he asked.

"Much," she said, a little strained, "much better now. Thank you. For...everything."

He nodded, a smile creeping onto his lips.

"Holy shit!" Panther yelled, from some twenty feet across the ice. Ren turned to see the other four Thieves making their way towards the pair. Panther in particular was grinning like an idiot. "That was so sick!"

"Fuck yeah it was!" Skull echoed, a similar grin on his face.

"You," came the strained voice of Kaneshiro's Shadow, "little bitch." Ren whirled back around to see the insectile demon lord stumbling back to his feet. Two of his arms lay limp by his sides, dripping black blood onto the ice, and his wings were buzzing ineffectually. "You dare raise your hand against me. Me!? Junya Kaneshiro!?" He gripped his bone staff with both claws and raised it above his head. "Why don't you all just die already!" A flicker at that staff's tip, a little purple flame. No bigger than a marble, but Ren felt his whole body chill at the sight. Kaneshiro's Shadow pointed his staff, and the flickering flame, at the Thieves.

"Uh oh," Mona said.

"Mamudoon!" The flame vanished.

Something shot across the ice towards them. Distorted air, like a heat wave, knocking aside the discarded and broken spikes, warping and twisting and Ren swore he could hear it screaming, a horrid hum that grew louder until it was deafening–

He was fine. Ren patted his chest, he was definitely alive. Judging by the confused sounds from the other Thieves, they were similarly okay and surprised to be so. And then, Ren felt a slight tug on the chain anchored in his chest, and he glanced up to see Arsene Dusk, simply floating there, holding that little purple flame in his talons.

"Such an attack is hardly a noble gesture," he said, and quenched the flame. "Now then, Beelzebub, allow me to return it to you in kind." Arsene grasped his cane with both hands, pulling the blade from within, pointing it at Kaneshiro's stunned Shadow. And then he stopped. Hesitated. Turned not towards Ren, but towards Queen. "Shall I strike him down, then?" he asked. "Return to him every ounce of suffering he inflicted upon you?"

Queen stared up at the Persona, looking lost for words. Then, she glanced over at the cowering Kaneshiro. "No," she said. "He deserves it, for everything he's done. To me, to Eiko. But if he dies, he can't absolve our debt. After that, he can rot for all I care."

Arsene nodded slightly. "I accept that mercy, such as it is." He sheathed his blade again. Then, he met Ren's perplexed gaze for just a moment, before vanishing back into his mask.

"You heard me," Queen continued, raising her voice, gaze locked on the Shadow. "You're done. Your whole stupid crime empire, all that debt you've bought, it's all over. Free everyone, and then turn yourself in."

Kaneshiro's Shadow said nothing, for a while. Then, he lowered his fearsome head. "Yes," he said. And the monster faded away. Just a man in a tattered gold and white suit, on his knees, holding a bone staff in one hand. "I just wanted to feel strong," he said, in such a small and pathetic voice. "I've been walked over my whole life. When people say you have to be born lucky, that's not true. I was born lucky, and I still got fucked over. It's a mean world, you've got to be mean too. That's the only way you survive."

"Stop sniveling," Queen snapped. "You're pathetic. That's just more justification, more reasons why you forgive yourself for hurting others. Stop hiding behind the world and take responsibility for your own cruelty!"

The Shadow did not reply.

"The world is cruel," Ren added. "None of us disagree with that. You should never have been allowed to hurt people how you did. But we're going to change that."

The Thieves have successfully taken the heart of Japan

"We're going to change this whole rotten society." It felt like another person was speaking through him, some other's confidence behind his words. "We'll take this country's heart!"

Kaneshiro smiled. "Aren't you just the little optimist?" And he tossed his staff towards them. It spun across the ice, sliding and coming to a rest by Queen's feet. "Fine. I've got nothing better to do than believe that. I've got no place in a good world, so I'll turn myself in." He began to glow, an odd pale light surrounding him. "Miss Niijima, consider your debt lifted. That Eiko girl's too; and everyone's. And I'm...sorry. For all that I've done." And with that, he vanished.

Queen picked up the staff, staring at the spot Kaneshiro had been like she wasn't sure what to do.

"Queen," Ren said. "Let's go. We've won."

She nodded, and looked down at the staff in her hands, at Kaneshiro's Treasure, as the ceiling crumbled and the ice began to splinter around them. "Alright. I'm right behind you."


Credit and many thanks to Jane for writing the redacted "Trickster" section in this chapter.