CONTENT WARNING: The section "█████, Evening, Cafe Leblanc" contains a discussion of food and disordered eating that may be very uncomfortable for some readers. Please take breaks or skip sections as necessary. Stay safe.
8/20 – Friday
Evening
Yongen-Jaya
The other Thieves' stops had all come and gone, and now it was just Ren and Futaba and Morgana, the lattermost in the foremost's bag, and only Ren was fully awake, as far as he could tell. Morgana was silent, and Futaba was slumped against him, still and quiet and relaxed. The train was mostly empty, he felt sort of thankful for that, he'd never liked crowds and something about having Futaba with him amplified that anxiety. Maybe that's what being an older brother felt like. He didn't really have much way of knowing.
"Yongen-Jaya," the announcer's voice rang out. "Now arriving: Yongen-Jaya."
"Futaba," he said, gently nudging the girl. "It's our stop."
She breathed in sharp, straightening up and blinking at the far end of the train car. Then she yawned. "M'kay."
Ren waited until he could feel the train stop before reaching down to scoop his bag up from between his feet. After another glance towards Futaba to make sure she was awake enough to follow, he stood and slipped out into the station, with his sister right behind him.
It wasn't a long walk, but something about the silence, the curious quiet of being alone with someone, made the minutes stretch in an odd way. Ren had walked alone before on more than a few evenings, but most of the time he'd had his thoughts to keep him company when Mona was similarly restful. And when he'd walked with Ryuji, the jock always had something to say to fill the space. Now though, he neither drifted nor spoke, and time seemed to ooze like so much honey through an hourglass.
"I'm happy," Futaba said. He glanced towards her. She was still hugging the stuffed snowman – Jackie – tight to her chest. "I'm really happy." She wasn't quite smiling, but he believed her.
"I'm glad." He turned his attention forward again. "Things can get kinda tense with us sometimes too, I'm sure you've seen that. But I like to think we're still pretty fun."
She snorted. "You guys are super fun, don't be dumb." Futaba hummed something to herself, like a thought, like a song. "This was probably the best week I've had in a while. I didn't used to think that things would be this good again. After Kana left..." She trailed off.
"Your friend, right?" Ren didn't let the silence linger. "You don't have to tell me. Not until you're ready. And it's okay if you never are."
"Okay." Futaba seemed to consider that. "I messed up, with her. She was my only friend, and I messed up, and she left. I don't...want to do that again." She half-buried her face into Jackie. "I wanna be good. Cause you guys are good to me, and I don't wanna hurt anyone like that ever again."
Ren just nodded. He wasn't sure what to say, for a while. They were pretty close now, he could see the lights of Leblanc glowing around the corner. "Do you want me to walk you home, or do you want to chill in Leblanc for a bit?"
"I think–" Futaba yawned. "Tired. Tired Taba, gonna sleep."
"Home it is." Ren glanced towards Leblanc when they passed it. Home. Maybe that was his. Maybe, if he could stay. Past probation, past insanity and apocalypse, past all those burdens that awaited at the end of the year. Past where he could remember. If he could stay, he wanted to. More than anything.
8/21 – Saturday
Morning
Cafe Leblanc
Sojiro didn't say anything for the longest time. Just stared at the coffee pot, at the bubbling umber. Then, he carefully lifted it, pouring out three cups with a delicate hand. He placed one on the counter in front of Ren. "Drink up." And he lifted the second to his lips.
Ren followed suit. Before the ichor even made it to his mouth, the scent hit him. Almost earthy, it half-reminded him of the strong aroma of freshly plowed fields before they were fertilized. The taste stood out as well, but that smell lingered longer, it stuck to him. "It's really good," he said.
Sojiro smiled. "Blue Mountain, best of it I could find. Quality beans like that aren't the easiest to come by, so I don't make it often." He looked away, staring off towards the stool next to Ren. He lowered his own cup, and then picked up the third, placing it in front of that empty seat. "It's two years to the day since Wakaba died." He swallowed hard, like he was trying to compose himself. "She was on her way to me, when it happened. I made that same cup for her, Blue Mountain just the way she liked it. But she never made it." Sojiro closed his eyes, took a long breath. "Last year, I made her a cup again. Like my way of honoring her memory. It's not much, it's barely anything, but it almost feels like one day she might just walk through that door again–"
The bell above Leblanc's door rang. Sojiro jumped, and Ren couldn't help but flinch, and the entrant seemed taken aback by the reaction. Futaba stared at the two, blinking fast, as if equally alarmed by their surprise.
Sojiro laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Morning Futaba. Doing alright?"
Futaba raised an eyebrow. "Mhm. Good day." She slipped farther into the cafe, continuing to talk. "I had a lot of fun yesterday, and I slept really well, and I even had some–" And she paused. Staring at the cup of coffee in front the empty seat. Futaba's expression twisted into a scowl. She took three insistent steps forward, grabbed the cup, and downed it in a single gulp.
"Futaba!" Sojiro looked aghast, and Ren couldn't blame him.
"You can't just leave it out like that!" Futaba slammed the empty cup back down on the counter. Glaring right at Sojiro, like she was daring him to disagree. "When you leave it out, it gets cold and lonely and you can't just leave it there forever." Futaba's voice broke, and she looked away. "You shouldn't put love into something and then let it go to waste."
The cafe owner stared at his daughter. Blinking, processing. "I..." He took off his glasses, massaging the bridge of his nose. Was he stressed, or hiding tears? Ren couldn't tell. "I'm sorry. You're right, Futaba, of course you're right. I won't leave it out like that again. I promise." He lowered his hand, smiling softly. "Not ever again."
She nodded, making a little almost-uncomfortable noise in her throat. "We should do something nice. Like, make some curry, or watch a movie together, something. She...I think Mom would want us to be happy when we thought of her."
"That does sound like Wakaba," he chuckled. "You know, she told me once that you were like her little ray of sunshine. Whenever things got tough, she'd think of you, and she'd smile her way through it." Sojiro leaned over the counter, ruffling Futaba's hair. "She never wanted her daughter to cry, especially not because of her. And I don't want that either."
Futaba swatted at his hand, beaming the whole time.
Sojiro glanced towards Ren. "Hey. I know it's a little early for it, but how does sushi sound to you?"
Ren could hear Morgana perk up with an audible murp. "Uh," he said, "I mean, sushi for breakfast sounds like a great idea."
Futaba nodded very fast, her long hair nearly smacking her in the face.
"Good!" Sojiro straightened up, pulling off his apron. "Alright you two, come on. My treat."
Ren blinked. "I didn't...uh, I mean, I thought this was just for you and Futaba." Four eyes turned towards him, and he stifled the urge to drop the issue completely. "I didn't know Wakaba, and I don't want to intrude–"
"Ren!" Futaba glared at him. "You're part of the family too, you know. Mom would have wanted you to come along."
He just stared at her, unsure how to respond. Something about those words felt wrong. Like a shoe that didn't fit. But he wouldn't dare disagree, because it was Futaba saying it.
"She's right." Sojiro smiled. "And besides, when Futaba gets her mind set on something like this, there's not much use arguing."
Futaba nodded once, insistent, arms crossed.
Ren raised his hands in mild surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll eat sushi with you. Might as well come along so I can order something for Morgana, at least."
She mimed playing a violin, and then burst out laughing.
8/22 – Sunday
Afternoon
Cafe Leblanc, Attic
"I think we need to make a decision about Medjed." Ren paused, taking a glance around the room, ensuring that none of the Thieves had any protest. Ryuji and Morgana next to him on the couch, Ann and Makoto and Yusuke on chairs around the snack-covered table, and Futaba sitting on Ren's bed – she hadn't so much as stopped typing or looked up from her laptop. "Mishima's doing an amazing job keeping the peace on the Phan-site, but there's still a lot of our supporters calling for us to 'shut Medjed up.' And Medjed themselves keeps issuing demands, insisting that we changed the hearts of their operatives."
"They've taken advantage of our silence," Yusuke commented. "Their accusation came roughly a month after Kaneshiro's arrest, during a period where we were still recovering from our latest mission." He smiled wryly. "Our alibi would be Futaba, and the infiltration of her Palace is no business of Medjed's."
"Right." Morgana stretched out, flopping onto his stomach. "They still haven't proved anything, and we're not outing Futaba to show our innocence. That's not how the Phantoms operate."
"Our word against theirs." Ann fiddled with her ponytail. "I think everyone's fans will probably just pick the same side, that's not going to accomplish much."
"I suspect that might be their aim." Makoto crossed one leg over the other, deep in thought. "If they really are trying to start some sort of nonsensical war, I can see only two reasons to do so. Dragging themselves into the spotlight recently shone on the Phantom Thieves, or...baiting us."
"Baiting?" Ann asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like they're trying to get us to do something stupid by calling us out?"
"Most likely, yes," Makoto said. "It would be to their advantage if we fell for their taunts. Medjed probably just wants us angry enough to make bad decisions. Maybe expose our identities, or target the wrong person."
"Can't say it's not working," Ryuji grumbled. "That shit still kinda pisses me off."
Yusuke hummed a little thoughtful note. "I'm surprised they haven't taken more drastic action against us. If they are indeed 'hackers for justice,' attacking the Phan-site makes a great deal of sense."
"They can't attack the Phan-site," Futaba chimed in, still staring at her laptop, typing away. "I mean, it's been a while, but Medjed's more recent heists have still been overflowing databases, DDOS-ing servers, skimming traffic for info; stuff like that. They're all about exposing secrets. I mean the biggest stunt Medjed ever pulled was throwing a Trojan at a bank exec, stealing his password and then zeroing out a couple million in debt."
"I dunno what half those words mean," Ryuji admitted, "but I heard about that bank thing. It was on the news for weeks, everyone was freaking out."
"Mishima's web security is really solid and she's not storing that much," Futaba continued. "Plus, I don't think she's stupid enough to fall for a virus like that, and she's obviously using a proxy. Medjed might have tried to mess with the Phan-site, but there's not much they'd be able to do. Besides, bold stuff like that kinda dropped off after I left."
And that last sentence cleanly knocked any previous thought out of Ren's head. "Wait, back up a second, 'after you left?' Are you saying you–"
Futaba nodded, pointing a thumb at her chest. "Founding member," she said, as if that would make things more clear and not less. "I told you, I found some friends who helped me."
"You didn't tell us your friends were cybercriminals!" Ryuji said, gesticulating wildly. "That's so fucking metal! Why didn't you say anything sooner!?"
She just shrugged, shrinking down slightly into her sweater. "Didn't think it mattered."
Ren put a hand on Ryuji's shoulder, trying to silently request the jock to lower his intensity a little. "Futaba, if you were part of Medjed, do you know much about Anu and Sobek?"
Futaba blinked. She finally looked up from her laptop, staring inquisitively at Ren. "Who?"
"They're the two Medjed operatives who have been making statements on the organization's behalf," Yusuke said. "They announced first their support of the Thieves, then followed up with the falsified attack on their ranks."
"I've never heard of them." She turned her attention back to her computer. "I left like a year ago, when stuff got bad for me, but Bis was always the one who made statements – she was the best at it. And she was our resident Anubis. We never repeated names, so I don't know why someone else would go by Anu."
"Maybe she changed her name?" Makoto offered.
Futaba shook her head insistently. "Bis wouldn't do that." Ren expected her to continue, but she just silently kept on typing.
Ann glanced around the room, then cleared her throat. "So, if you never heard of these two, they must have joined after you left. A year's kind of a long time, maybe Medjed operates way differently now."
"If we can find out who Anu and Sobek are, maybe we can get them to leave us alone," Morgana grumbled.
"Changing their hearts seems like a drastic action," Yusuke said. "It would paint the Thieves as guilty of the same crime they accused us of. Even if Anu and Sobek are heavily distorted, we should still act carefully."
Ren agreed, but something stalled his tongue. Like he was missing something, something obvious, right in front of him. Anu and Sobek. What was he missing? What was it, what did he... "An-So." The name left his lips as it struck his brain like two tons of freight. "Wait, shit, An-So."
All eyes turned towards him. Of them, Morgana and Futaba looked as though they were catching up too.
"Mitsuru warned me about a group called An-So that might have been connected to the mental shutdowns," Ren explained, almost tripping over his words as his mind outpaced his breath. "They were funding a bunch of politicians who all suffered mental shutdowns. And these guys from Medjed are Anu and Sobek. An, So."
"If that's a coincidence," Makoto said, brow furrowed, "then it's an impossibly unlikely one."
"An-So," Futaba said, staring at her laptop, a little slow like she was reading the words. "They've thrown a bunch of money around, but there's barely any info on them. No history, no member list, no big name investors, no mission statement. A bunch of deleted forum threads, that's kinda weird." Her fingers flew across the keyboard. "They've funded like a whole lot of politicians, some random privately-owned business, and..." Futaba froze. "Laboratories. I know these names." She glanced up towards the other Thieves, her breath shallow. "They were giving money to labs researching cognitive psience."
"Holy shit," Ryuji muttered, his eyes just as wide as her. "Wait, does that..." He shook his head, letting out a frustrated breath. "What the fuck does that mean?"
"If they were behind the mental shutdowns," Morgana said, the gears clearly turning in his little fuzzy head, "then they might have found a way to use that cognitive psience to access the Metaverse somehow."
"My mom's research..." Almost a whisper, Futaba half-shuddering out the words.
"Hold on," Makoto protested, "let's not jump to conclusions. We don't have all the information yet."
Ren found himself nodding. "Right. There's still a lot we don't know."
"What we do paints a fairly damning picture," Yusuke said.
Makoto shook her head. "Not quite. Think about it for a moment. Ren said they funded politicians who suffered mental shutdowns. If they were trying to use the Metaverse for profit, they would have attacked political opponents, not people on their own payroll. An-So obviously has some connection to the mental shutdowns, but until we know their motivation, we can't tie the two together just yet."
"So that guy in the black mask from Kaneshiro's palace," Ann said, "does that mean he might be trying to act against An-So somehow?"
"There might be some vendetta there we're not aware of," Morgana added. "If he's got a grudge against someone there, he might be trying to hurt them."
"Damn, this shit's confusing." Ryuji leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "So we've just got a bunch of yarn and nothing to do with it."
Ren couldn't help but chuckle at the metaphor. "I think that about sums it up, yeah."
"I'll message Bis," Futaba said, quieter than before. "I've still got her contact info. Maybe she knows more about this stuff."
"And you should probably warn Mitsuru about this connection," Makoto added, glancing to Ren.
He nodded. "I will. But let's try to focus on what's in front of us right now. We've got requests to fill, and a new Phantom Thief to train." He smiled towards Futaba, then addressed the group again. "Everyone get some rest. We'll meet back up here tomorrow."
"Mementos better look out," Futaba said with an impish grin. "There's a new girl in town and she's got a UFO."
█████
Evening
Cafe Leblanc
The Trickster couldn't focus, not on his food. He didn't feel like eating, not something he'd made. It seemed almost grey to him, joyless, like a thick layer of fog on his plate. So he watched his moon eat, watched that little smile on her face. She seemed to savor things he took for granted. Food, coffee, air. Little moments between them. Fresh sheets, and how soft his hair would get after he showered. Like she wasn't afraid to love being alive.
His moon gave him an odd look. "What's on your mind?"
"I love you," he said.
She stared at him, confused, and then burst out laughing. "I love you too. But what's really on your mind?"
He just shrugged, digging his fork farther into the curry as if stalling the bite would make it more bearable.
"Not going to eat?" she asked.
He shrugged again. "Maybe later. I don't think I've got much of an appetite."
"███ hasn't eaten anything since breakfast," his cat chimed in grumpily from the booth behind him.
"Snitch," the Trickster shot over his shoulder.
And of course, her expression fell. "Darling..."
"Don't–" he cut himself off, tripping over his words. "Sorry, I just, uh, not like this. Not while you're..." The Trickster gestured at nothing.
He felt like an insane person, but she just nodded. "███," she corrected. And his moon slid her plate to the side, then reached over to slide his as well, so she could take his hands in hers. "I want you to take better care of yourself. I love you, and I know you can't be perfect – I won't ever expect that of you. But you still deserve so much better than starving. Especially not when there are people like me, like ████," she smiled over his shoulder at the feline behind him, "and like ███, who care so much about you. We're here, and we can help. You pushed me to lean on you when I was struggling, so I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to push you right back."
The Trickster tried to be bitter, tried to focus on how she had chosen her words in just that way she knew would reach him, but he couldn't. He was tired, depressed and temperamental, but he loved her. He knew that to be true, if all else were false. "Okay."
"Will you try to eat something?" she asked. "For me, please."
He squeezed his moon's hands. "I'll try," he said.
8/23 – Monday
Afternoon
Mementos, Entrance
Futaba reached up to fiddle with the goggles on her mask for the fifteenth time, and Ren couldn't help but interrupt himself mid-explanation. "Sorry, uh, out of nowhere but is your mask uncomfortable at all? We can help adjust if you need." The Phantoms were sitting in a loose circle, not quite long enough to break out the snacks, just ensuring that their newest Thief.
She tilted her head, then started in place. "Oh, not uncomfy. I just wanna try out all the functions."
Skull blinked. "Wait, your mask has functions?!"
"Mhm!" She turned one of the red lenses in place, and it clicked. "Infrared." Click. "Thermal." Click. "Night vision." Click. "Vitals." Click. "And this one says you're 'Level 35;' so I think you've got a ways to go."
"That's so cool." Skull looked first awed, then thoughtful, then sour. "Wait, why did fuck did everyone who joined this team after me get such cool shit!? All I got was a big stick!"
"Sorry?" Futaba said, looking half-sheepish.
"It's fine," Skull squeaked, his voice breaking. "Not your fault." Ren leaned over and patted his boyfriend on the shoulder, as much sympathy as he could give without laughing.
Queen tried to hide her smile behind one hand. "If I'm not mistaken, Futaba should be up to speed on our day-to-day operations now. That only leaves one major matter of business."
"Ah, of course!" Fox snapped his fingers. "A codename."
"Uh," Panther mumbled, "maybe...Toucan?"
"Ooh," Futaba said. "That's very tempting."
"Ain't that some kinda bird?" Skull asked.
"It's Phoenix Ranger," Queen said, hurriedly, "don't worry about it."
"Oh, okay." He seemed satisfied with the answer, then double-took at nothing. "Wait, why do you know–"
"Don't worry about it," she repeated, a little more insistently, turning her face as if trying to hide the embarrassed flush painting her cheeks.
"That's our Bald Eagle for you," Futaba said. "Strict as a feather."
"How rude," Fox said, frowning. "Queen still has most of her hair."
Ren choked on sudden laughter, coughing as both Panther and Futaba stifled their own giggles. Even Queen looked like she was trying to stay composed.
"We don't have all day," Mona grumbled. "Try to stay focused." He scratched at his fuzzy chin. "What if we just stuck with Osiris?"
Futaba shrugged. "I dunno, that feels kinda weird."
Ren cleared his throat. "What about Pharaoh?"
She wiggled her fingers at him as if casting some diabolical enchantment. "I'll curse you," she teased, and then giggled mischievously.
"What about you, Futaba?" Queen asked. "Any ideas?"
She hummed, turning her head up towards the ceiling, like she was searching for an answer in the concrete. "Oracle," she said, abrupt and firm. Then she half-winced. "Is that okay? I don't want to turn down your suggestions or anything."
"Futaba," Panther said, smiling softly across the circle, "of course it's okay. It's your codename, so you're the one who gets to pick it. And I think Oracle fits you well."
"Welcome to the Phantom Thieves, Oracle," Ren added. "You ready to get started?"
Oracle grinned and nodded so quickly that some of her hair fell in front of her mask. She brushed it away, then sat up straight. "Mhm!" She raised one finger dramatically skyward, and her mask shattered. "Necronomicon, beam me up!" Ren blinked, and she was gone.
He flinched upright, and the rest of the Thieves similarly scrambled to their feet. "Futaba!?"
"Sorry!" her voice rang out, like an odd static echo. "I had a theory, and I didn't wanna spoil the surprise, but I realize that kinda scared you guys and I'm so sorry–"
"Where are you?" Mona asked, glancing around the room frantically.
"I'm in Necronomicon!" Oracle replied, excitement leaking back into her voice.
"You're inside your Persona?" Fox asked, amazed.
"Mhm!" He could hear the grin in her voice. "I thought my mask was neat, but this is awesome! There's a whole bunch of screens up here, and she's got a built in keyboard. And I'm floating!" She let out a delighted giggle, and the sound was oddly warbled – Ren was struck with the momentary mental image of the girl doing cartwheels in zero-g. "This is so cool!"
"I'm happy for you," Queen said, though she sounded more confused.
"Okay, okay, focusing now." A series of taps like fingers against a keyboard. "Uh, Necronomicon's got a lot of built-in programs; scanning stuff, a Shadow database. She accepts console commands, that's pretty convenient. I wonder if she's running the same sort of OS as my laptop..." Oracle muttered, before falling into a mumbling almost-silence. Ren realized her voice didn't quite mesh with the ambient noise around them, almost as if it was superimposed. "Uh, you guys go on ahead and just do what you do normally, I'm gonna see if I get this baby to play Doom!" A soft static buzz, and then the soft echoes of Mementos flared back into focus.
A moment of stunned silence stretched into uncomfortability.
"I guess we don't have to worry about keeping her safe?" Panther offered.
"Guess not." Ren took a second longer to compose himself, then turned towards the escalator. "Alright everyone, you heard Oracle. Business as usual."
Oyadama's Shadow held himself as every bit the elitist Ren would have expected. Arms behind his back, dressed not like a doctor but an executive. "And who are you supposed to be?" he asked.
"The Phantom Thieves of Hearts," Ren replied. "Maybe you've heard of us." Indulging his sense of theatrics a moment, he swept his arms out into a dramatic bow.
"Shiochi Oyamada," Queen said. "Your negligence is chronic and well-documented. After a single whistleblower, we've had more than a dozen requests to change your heart from those who claim to have been personally wronged by you."
"Lies and slander." The Shadow raised his nose a little higher. "Squabbling children have no place defining the truth."
"Even kids like us know shit when it reeks!" Skull retorted.
"You mean to tell us accusations of nepotism and hiring bias were unfounded?" Fox added. "How about a toxic workplace culture? A history of misogyny within your department gone unresponded to for years?"
Panther sent a glare towards Oyamada that could melt metal. "Inappropriate comments, workplace harassment, protecting abusers you were friends with. Any of that ring a bell?"
Oyamada's Shadow narrowed his eyes at the Thieves. "I'm in the position I am because I'm the best. My work saves lives, you have no right to judge me."
"What about that girl who died because you rushed her treatment?" Mona growled out every word. "Or the doctor you blamed for her death!?"
A faint crackle of static, and then Oracle's disembodied voice joined in. "That doesn't sound like saving lives, just like you covering your own ass."
He sneered. "The Plague was a stain on my department, one I was eager to rectify. You must understand that sorry excuse for a doctor is nothing more than a common–"
The blood behind Ren's eyes burned cold. "I would be very careful about the next words that come out of your mouth," he snarled.
Oyamada seemed momentarily taken aback, but he composed himself. "This conversation is over," he replied, and his form distorted into an oozing darkness that rapidly reformed. One moment a man, the next a white-haired baboon with an Egyptian headdress and a papyrus tome.
"Joker?" Oracle again, like a whisper. "Are you okay? You sounded really upset."
He forced his anger back down, forced himself to swallow that rage. "I'm okay. I'll be alright." A breath, Ren would allow himself that much. "Let's change this bastard's heart." He wasn't sure how much of the rest of that conversation his allies had heard, but they definitely heard that.
Oyamada's Shadow raised the book over his head, pages towards the heavens. "Behold!" he shrieked, and the ceiling above them glowed with a heavenly radiance.
"Scatter!" Ren called, and the Thieves darted apart as lightning rained down on their heads. "Fox, throw off his rhythm! Oracle, back him up!"
"With pleasure!" Fox veered straight for the Shadow, blade drawn.
"I've got you," Oracle announced. "Run like the wind, Inari! Speed up!" And a soft green glow wrapped itself around their frontrunner. Ren wasn't sure he could spot a difference, but he couldn't focus on Fox long enough to be sure.
"Skull, think you're good to bulwark with me?" Ren asked, sprinting to try and catch up with the jock.
Skull ducked under a lightning bolt and flashed him a grin mid-step. "Yeah man, let's do this!"
"Panther, Queen, ready a volley!" One hand on his mask, Ren faced the bombardment head on, Skull barely a step behind him. A name on his tongue and lightning through his veins. "Take-Minakata!"
"Captain Kidd!"
Voltage coursed through him like a full-body shutter. Uncomfortable; no more, no less. And out of the corner of his eye, Ren saw Fox raise his blade.
"Goemon, strike!" And he brought it down. A thunderous clash, and ceiling ceased its glow as the book was knocked from Oyamada's hands.
"No!" the Shadow yelped, scrambling for the tome. Fingertips inches away, the pages burst into flame, screeching as it crackled and burned.
"Oh, so sorry," Panther said, her mask gone and her smirk evident. "Were you using that?" She reached out and smacked Queen's nearby palm.
"I recognize you've got a god complex," Queen began, stepping towards Oyamada, cracking her knuckles, "but may I offer a second opinion?"
Ren would have expected Oracle to be tuckered out, but she looked more energized than he had felt in his entire life. Bouncing on the heels of her feet as they rode the escalator, intermediately pausing her excited rambles to flap her hands rapidly. "You guys are so cool!" she concluded.
"You were pretty awesome yourself," Ren fired back. "Me, Mona and Queen all have a decent amount of experience navigating, but I think you've blown all of us out of the water."
"It took me the better half of an infiltration to get used to it," Queen admitted. "You seem to be a natural."
"She's still got a lot to learn," Mona said, puffing out his chest in a little prideful display, "but I can admit Oracle's got potential."
"Aww, Mona." Oracle leaned down and scooped the feline into her arms. "Don't be jelly, you're always gonna be my favorite navigator."
Despite Mona's squirming protests, Ren could hear a distinct purr from the not-a-cat.
"You'll be following up with Doctor Takemi, right?" Queen asked Ren.
He nodded. "Yeah, day after tomorrow. I've got my meeting with her then. I'll throw an update in the group chat after."
"Aw, man," Panther groaned, staring down at her phone. "Just checking my schedule and there's only like two weeks of summer vacation left."
"For real!?" Skull echoed her groan. "Dude, that sucks. Feels like we've barely had a whole month off."
"At least it was a summer well spent," Fox said, nodding sagely. "We helped a friend, gained a Thief, and we even took an excursion into an Egyptian pyramid. Memories to last a lifetime."
"I don't think Taba's Palace really counts," Skull mumbled. "Plus the whole thing was upside-down, that's like, super not real right?"
"Please don't shatter my romantic illusion," Fox replied, deadpan.
Ren was about to quip further when he stepped off the escalator and found himself locking eyes with a pair of strangers. He froze.
A young man, probably high school but he could pass as a middle schooler, with blond hair and blue eyes in a plain-looking black suit, a metal rose pinned to his jacket. And the other...wasn't human. Long off-white hair in a ponytail, threaded through a metallic contraption that brought a knight's helm to mind. Red eyes, piercing yet somehow warm. An outfit that almost looked like a school uniform, a plain black top and a matching skirt. And she was clearly robotic; armored arms and legs, red gauntlets and two odd protrusions against her back that reminded Ren at once of both wings and the blades of an axe. The two were sitting across from each other, the young man cross-legged and the young woman sprawled out far more casually, each holding a hand of playing cards. Right now though, their focus was on the Thieves.
Panther was the first to break the silence. "Are you two Shadow Ops?"
"Depends on who's askin'," the young woman said, light but serious. She had a very distinct accent, sort of...Kansai, maybe? "You guys the Phantom Thieves?" Oh, definitely Kansai.
"Yeah, that's us," Ren said, cautiously. He could feel Oracle scoot closer to him, the tension in the room was probably getting to her.
The young woman nodded to herself, then broke into a smile. "Yep, we're SRU. Got it in one."
"Are you sure they're right people?" the young man asked, eyeing the seven Thieves carefully. "Yosuke said they were supposed to look cool."
"Dude," Skull said, sounding legitimately offended.
"Yeah, that's kinda harsh," the young woman added.
The young man threw up his hands, remarkably without throwing cards across the entire room. "No no no, Yosuke said they were supposed to look cool. The last time he told me to expect cool things was to trick me into inventory management."
"Fair point, I guess," she mumbled, "but why're ya getting your info on the Thieves from him anyway? Yukari's the gal who knew what they look like."
"I like getting my info from Yosuke." The young man grinned. "He sucks at it! Means I get to be surprised."
The young woman just blinked at him for a long few seconds. "Teddie," she said, finally, "you are the strangest bear I have ever had the pleasure of knowing."
"I'm the only bear you've ever had the pleasure of knowing!" he fired back.
She turned back to the Thieves, jerking a thumb towards the young man. "That's Teddie, and I'm Labrys. Pleasure to meetcha."
"Nice to meet you too," Queen replied, slow and perplexed.
"Uh," Ren started, "Labrys, would be rude of me ask if you and Aigis are, like, related in any way? You've got the same..." He had no clue how to articulate the specific word, so he just left the sentence incomplete.
"It's a little rude," Labrys said, "but I don't mind. We're sisters! Technically I'm the older one, but she's way more responsible than me. Plus she's got that, uh, Wild Card thing going. So she's doing all the cool stuff, while I'm stuck around here, watching the entrance."
"Don't be sad, Labby," Teddie chimed in. "If you weren't stuck here, you wouldn't be able to hang out with your favorite bear!" He poked his own cheeks, and beamed at her.
Labyrs burst out laughing, off-key and raucous. "Don't worry your fuzzy little head, I ain't one to be bitter. 'Sides, Aigis is living her best life, and I'm glad for her." She raised her cards carefully, staring at them. "Bout time she got somethin to be happy for. Felt like she kept going downhill, after her sweetheart...uh, you know." Labrys adjusted herself, clearing her throat. "She's doing better now though. Good for her, I say. Sad robot like that deserves a break and a half."
"Amen," Teddie finished.
"You said it." Labyrs paused, then stared at him with vicious intensity. "So, you got any fours?"
