Chapter Description:
Ren checks in with Ryuji & Ann after their midterms whilst entering Mementos for the first time. Afterwards, the Phantom Thieves make a decision on their next target. Meanwhile, Ren is surprised by Shujin's handling of the aftermath of Kamoshida.
Author's Notes (Beginning):
Hello, it's me again! Sorry this chapter wasn't out sooner, but I just finished Final Fantasy XVI a week ago and needed some time to recover from & process the ending (great game BTW). As for whether I'll write some FFXVI fanfics? Maybe I am mulling around something, maybe I'm not…
Also, the Two Sides to a Story rewrite has been delayed. I just need some more time to mull over some revisions to the outline & one or two characters. Since Slimeboyo2's writing the next 2 chapters (both because he needed the time & because we agreed it was fair after I got 2 chapters in a row), I'll probably either post a comment when it's posted or just note it in my next chapter, I'll figure something out. But following me on AO3 or FFN would ensure you will be notified when it is posted.
The last thing to note is that, if the tags didn't make it obvious, this fic is based on Persona 5 Royal, so I'll be introducing Maruki & Jose in this chapter as well.
Anyways, on to the chapter proper!
Chapter 3: Target Acquired, by NN010
Unfortunately for the part of Ren that was (to his surprise) very concerned about his friends, there was a school-wide assembly called the afternoon after the last midterm. While Ren was still new to Shujin, he gathered that school-wide assemblies during this time of year were not normal. So Ren, like most of the student body from what he overheard, immediately suspected this had something to do with the faculty's response to the aftermath of Kamoshida's confession. Therefore, Ren went in with rock-bottom expectations for what would be said.
So imagine Ren's shock when the Principal announced that the faculty had hired a therapist to help the student body deal with the aftermath of Kamoshida… And the women in the audience immediately swooned over how attractive he was. Meanwhile, his youth and good looks just made Ren more suspicious of him & his competence.
And, surprise, surprise, his introduction was interrupted by mic issues. Ren couldn't possibly be more whelmed by the incompetence of Shujin…
The therapist proceeded to introduce himself as Takuto Maruki… before proceeding to hit his head against the mic.
"No need to be formal with me, though. I'm just here to counsel anyone who's interested. You can even call me Doc, if that would help you feel more comfortable. Any assistance you need, I'll be- Oh… I guess I'm not really any good for helping with money problems…" Maruki added afterwards.
"Thank you Doctor Maruki," the Principal added before droning on about responsibility, that Maruki's services were completely optional (he had a sneaking suspicion this wasn't true for everyone) & patting himself on the back for hiring Maruki and some other shit that Ren just tuned out to think about new Phantom Thieves target possibilities.
He left the gymnasium with Ryuji and Ann and stopped to talk with them in the courtyard.
"You ever expect this place to actually give a shit about our mental health," Ryuji asked.
"Nope. To be honest, I'm surprised they even hired the therapist," Ren answered.
"Well, our school's made national news. Maybe they figured they'd look even worse if they didn't do anything for us," Ann noted. Ren did have to admit that Ann made a good point. This could just be about saving face…
"And Doctor, uh… Doctor Whatshisname," Ryuji continued before realizing he forgot Maruki's name.
"Maruki,' said both Ann & Ren at the same time.
"Yeah-wasn't that guy just basically clownin' it up on stage? You really think he'll do us any good," Ryuji asked.
"No, I don't. If that clownery was a tactic to endear himself to us & make us trust him, I'd say it backfired on me. It just makes me wonder if he's actually competent, or if he's just some guy Shujin was able to hire for cheap. He seems pretty young, so I wouldn't be surprised if he just started practicing & needed the job," Ren answered.
"Ren…" Ann whispered. Ren soon realized why she did so as he saw Maruki had walked up to them, doubtlessly overhearing both his & Ryuji's doubts about him.
"Hey there… Sakamoto-kun & Takamaki-san, right? And that must make you Amamiya-kun," Maruki said. Ann & Ryuji were shocked by that. Ren… not so much.
"How'd you know our names," Ryuji asked in an annoyed tone.
"He was probably briefed on the Kamoshida shitstorm & was specifically told by that Principal of ours to talk with us," Ren responded in a distrusting tone before Maruki could answer.
"Amamiya-kun is right. I was informed of certain students before beginning my tenure here that had… previous interactions with Mr. Kamoshida," Maruki proceeded to say.
"It must have been especially tough for you, Amamiya-kun, after having just transferred here," he added.
"Not really. It wasn't the first time I've been dicked around by a corrupt adult in power & knowing this world it probably won't be the last," Ren told him curtly.
"You're quite the tough youngster. Just don't overdo it, okay," Maruki responded.
He then proceeded to ask them if they would be interested in counseling.
"Nope, not at all," "Fuck no," both Ryuji & Ren respectively said simultaneously.
Maruki was a bit shocked by that but was undeterred. Offering free snacks if they came.
"Nope. We aren't little kids, you'll have to do better than free snacks to convince us," Ren said firmly.
It was this that finally got him to admit what Ren suspected all along: He was ordered to provide counselling to "the students directly involved with Mr. Kamoshida". Meaning, they didn't really have a choice.
Maruki did his damndest to downplay the mandatory nature of it, even offering something that piqued Ren's interest.
"If you attend my counselling sessions, I'll teach you different ways to improve your mental acuity. Like ways to hone your concentration before exams, or not getting nervous on dates. How's that sound," he offered.
Ann didn't sound completely sold, but this convinced Ren to go along with this. If Maruki could teach them techniques that would aid them in the Metaverse… that would be a hell of an asset.
"Now you're talking. We accept," Ren answered
"Splendid! Feel free to come by the nurse's office whenever it's convenient for you," Maruki said.
"Sounds good to me. You've got yourself a deal," Ren told him. And with that, Ren felt another Confidant bond forming. Fittingly, it was of the Councilor Arcana. So that was another good reason to go along with it.
"Did you really have to offer us up like that," Ryuji asked him.
"Think about it, Ryuji! The Metaverse works around cognition! What if Maruki's mental training could help make us more effective Phantom Thieves?! It's the perfect win-win! He gets the faculty off his back about getting us to talk with him, as well as a change of pace from all the other shit he'll have to deal with from the rest of the student body & we become stronger and more effective in the Metaverse! We have to give him a chance," Ren exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Damn… Well, I guess if Ren 'suspicious of almost all adults in power' Amamiya of all people is won over, there's no point arguing with him," Ryuji responded.
"Anyways, let's meet up at Shibuya station after school. Morgana said he had something to show us there after our midterms, remember," Ren said.
And there they went after classes. Not much of note happened, besides Kawakami telling them that Maruki was only posted at Shujin until November. Good for Ren to know, he definitely can't afford to slack off on spending time with Maruki then.
There they pulled up the Phantom Aficionado website (they really should just start calling it something shorter like the Phansite or something) and, as Morgana instructed, searched for a target post with a full name in it.
"I already said many times there's no info on any big shots! Don't you remember? But man, people actually go put someone's real name on here. That's some scary shit," Ryuji exclaimed.
It didn't take them long before they landed on something serious.
"I don't know what to do about my ex, who's stalking me. His name is Natsuhiko Nakanohara. It says he's a teller at City Hall," Ann read.
Morgana seemed satisfied with that, so they proceeded to the next step.
"Now get the Meta-Nav ready," Morgana instructed.
"We're just gonna jump right into a Palace? Fine by me," Ryuji said, throwing his prior reservations to the wayside.
"Hey, what happened to all that talk of "unanimous decision"? What do you think we should do," Ann asked in an annoyed but quickly calmed tone.
"Let's go. I've got a good feeling about this," Ren answered.
This seemed to put Ann at ease, as she now seemed ready to jump into the thick of it.
"We need a name & a place, right? So the name is," Ryuji started before Morgana cut him off.
"Actually, we don't need a location this time. Just enter exactly what I say. The keyword is "Mementos"," Morgana told them.
"Huh? What're you tryin' to pull," Ryuji asked.
"Just listen to me. It should work… I think," Morgana responded.
"Geez, that again? Uh… "M-e-m-e-n-t-o-s," was it," Ryuji asked in response.
The app then proceeded to find a hit, much to everyone's surprise. (Besides Morgana)
"Just as I thought," Morgana exclaimed as they were transported to this "Mementos".
"Everyone's disappeared! It… kind of feels like I'm… walking on air," Ann said confusedly.
"Is this that Nakanohara guy's Palace," Ryuji asked.
"That's half right, but half wrong. This is a type of Palace, but it's different from the normal ones. Come on, let's head down. The Shadows here lurk underground. I don't quite understand why. It may be because they're drawn to something," Morgana answered.
"Underground? How are we going to get there," Ann asked.
"How? You use it every day on your way to school. Follow me," Morgana answered, telling them to go down the stairs that normally lead to the subway.
When they went down, they saw a twisted version of the station. The lighting was dark red and black veins were all over the place. They also transformed into their Phantom Thief costumes. Meaning the Shadows already knew they were here.
It took a bit longer for Ryuji and Ann to notice.
"Wait?! How long have the Shadows known we've been here," Ann asked
"Since the moment we stepped in," Morgana answered.
"You should've told us," Ryuji exclaimed.
"We're still safe right here. I've come to investigate this place a number of times. Shadows never come up to this floor. But it's a different story once you go down. This place is simply teeming with them," Morgana explained. (Slimeboyo2:(Shadows when they see a 1 foot tall elevation: Guess there's nothing up there))
"More importantly, what is this Mementos?! It's about time you start explaining," Ann demanded.
"Mementos is… Everyone's Palace," Morgana obliged by revealing.
Ryuji was confused by this.
"A Palace as grand as the previous castle only forms when a person's wishes are extremely distorted. So instead of many individual Palaces, the general public has one gigantic shared Palace. That's where we are now… Mementos," Morgana elaborated.
Now that he mentioned it, this place does seem different from said castle. Something Ann noted aloud before he could.
"When you said shared… You mean they're all put together? Even though they're just strangers," Ryuji asked.
"Think of it as the collective unconscious… No, never mind. You wouldn't understand that," Morgana started before changing his mind due to his perception of Ryuji's intelligence.
"So what you're saying is… Using this place, we can even change the hearts of people who don't have a Palace," Ann asked.
"Correct! The steps to change a heart are slightly different, though," Morgana answered.
"But this place looks pretty huge. Are we gonna be able to get around just by walking?" Ryuji asked.
Morgana responded by transforming into a bus. That, Ren didn't expect. Neither did Ann & Ryuji, it would seem, based on their reactions.
"Come now, Panther. Ladies first," Morgana said in a slightly flirtatious tone.
Ann meanwhile still couldn't get over the car bit.
"This comes from the way cognition materializes in the Metaverse, plus a bit of extra training. It's not dissimilar to how you guys transform," Morgana explained.
"You turnin' into a car is totally different than our clothes changing," Ryuji exclaimed.
"For some reason, "cats turning into buses" is an extremely widespread cognition among the general public," Morgana explained. Morgana clearly had no idea why this was the case, though.
Ren could definitely understand why Morgana didn't do this at the castle, though. That was way too cramped for a bus.
They all proceeded to get in the Monabus, as Ren called it in his head. Ryuji and Ann went in first and did some tussling as Ryuji went in first… even though Morgana said ladies first.
When they all went in, Morgana told them he couldn't drive himself. Meaning, someone needed to get behind the steering wheel.
"Do you know how to drive," Ann asked him.
"I've had some lessons from my dad… not that many before the shitstorm that sent me here though… Oh, and I don't have a license," Ren lamented.
And with that, driving the Monabus in Mementos fell to him. Morgana told him there was a switch next to the steering wheel he could flick to get the bus rolling… and it made Morgana act ticklish.
"Oh, there… That feels sooo goooood," Morgana said in a tone of voice that made it clear he was enjoying it.
Ryuji and Morgana had a brief squabble again as Ren prepared to get rolling.
As he got started driving, Ren asked the other question on his mind.
"So… how are you two feeling about those midterms," Ren asked.
"I'm just glad it's over," Ryuji said dejectedly, clearly not feeling confident.
"Same here! How about you, Joker," Ann said in an excited tone.
"I'm feeling confident about mine. I just wanted to know how you two felt… and it seems like I was right to be worried," Ren answered.
"Traitor," Ryuji said in response.
By the time they finished, they reached the first area with Shadows inside, and it was time to start looking for Nakanohara. Morgana told them that he was most likely in a segment of his own creation, it would be smaller than a Palace & that strong distortions should be an obvious visual clue as to where that segment is.
It took them a while. There really were a lot of Shadows Ren had to choose whether to avoid or confront. Mostly confronted because the week spent writing and preparing for midterms had meant that they all needed to blow off some steam. Less so Morgana & Ren though. Although it gave Ren an excuse to try out some Personas he'd fused shortly before the buffet, so he wasn't complaining. It wasn't as if these Shadows were particularly challenging anyway
But eventually, they found their distortion.
"Dude, the hell is this? It's all wavy and shit," Ryuji exclaimed.
"This is the place. I sense the target on the other side. Are you ready, Joker," Morgana said.
Ren just drove in as a way of saying yes.
On the other side, they saw Nakanohara's Shadow. Ren was forming a plan in his head while the others conversed. He had to assume things would go to shit quickly and result in a fight like with Kamoshida.
"Who are you," Shadow Nakanohara asked in an annoyed & distorted tone.
"Are you that stalker?! Haven't you stopped to consider how your ex feels?" Ann asked back.
"She's my property! I can do whatever I want with her! It's not like she didn't treat me like a plaything! What's wrong with me doing the same," Shadow Nakanohara shouted in anger.
"You can't treat someone like shit just 'cause they did it to you! What a load of crap," Ryuji said in response, annoyed at even having to spell out such a thing.
"We're gonna change the hearts of all the bastards like you," Ryuji exclaimed.
"There are millions of people far worse than me! What about Madarame…? He stole EVERYTHING from me, but you're letting HIM off the hook," Shadow Nakanohara angrily said, clearly upset that the Thieves weren't going after him. Sounds like someone to look into later.
"...Madarame? The hell's this guy goin' on about," Ryuji asked.
And with that Shadow Nakanohara transformed into a Shadow like the ones they'd been fighting on their way to him.
"Now that I finally have what's rightfully mine… I'm not going to let you take it away. Look… This is a winner-takes-all world. Come fight me, and I'll show you what I mean," Shadow Nakanohara said to them.
Morgana noted that Shadow Nakanohara was weak to Electricity attacks. Sounds like a job for Ryuji & Pixie then.
Not that it mattered, as Ann was able to put Nakanohara to sleep. Allowing Ren to use Aresene to get the Technical on him to launch an All-Out Attack to take him down.
"I-I'm sorry… Please forgive me… I-I couldn't stop obsessing. N-Not after this person I trusted used me and then disposed of me," Shadow Nakanohara apologized and then explained.
"Was it this Madarame guy you mentioned earlier," Ren asked.
"I… Was afraid of being thrown away again like some worthless thing," he said.
Still didn't excuse his bad treatment of his lover. Which he did acknowledge.
"Yes, I know that now. I'll put an end to my love for her… Hey, you can change people's hearts, right? In that case… won't you change Madarame's heart?! Before more people fall victim to him," he pleaded as he faded away into some shiny thing.
"Change… Madarame's heart," Ann wondered aloud.
"What's that shiny thing," Ryuji asked instead.
"It's the bud of a treasure. Had we left it be, it very well may have blossomed into a Palace,. Joker, this will make a perfect reward" Morgana responded.
Ren simply walked up and took it. In his hand, it became some sort of pearl necklace.
"So Nakanohara had a change of heart, right," Ryuji asked.
"Most likely," Morgana responded.
"But how are we supposed to know we succeeded," Ann wondered.
"The lady posted the dude's name online. If he really does change, she'll prolly comment again," Ryuji reasoned.
"Hm, you do have a point," Morgana said.
"Either way, trainin' against Shadows down here's the best! It's great prep for our next target," Ryuji exclaimed.
"It's also nice to be able to give courage to the people who post their problems online," Ann said excitedly.
"On top of that, we can sell whatever treasure we get for some cold, hard cash," Morgana exclaimed.
"Sounds like things are goin' pretty great for us! All right, we did it," Ryuji said excitedly.
"Hold on. There's somewhere I want to show you guys before we leave," Morgana responded.
"What, there's more," Ryuji asked.
"Don't worry. It won't take long," Morgana responded.
As he drove, Morgana explained that what he wanted to show us was at the end of this area, that it seemed close, but the layout of Mementos changes constantly, so whatever prior experience he had navigating this area wasn't much use. The journey downward also afforded more opportunities for training.
When they reached the end of the area, they saw trains running in an area opposite where they were. When asked about it, Morgana simply brushed it off as public cognition and that they'd be fine as long as they aren't on the same tracks (but warned he was no train expert).
When they went down the escalator to the lower area, they saw what Morgana wanted to show them.
"What is this place? It's kind of creepy," Ann wondered.
"And a dead end at that. Why does it even exist," Ryuji asked.
"Now hold on… Just watch. This is most likely not an ordinary wall. If my hunch is correct," Morgana said as he went to the wall and put his hands on the floor. The wall then unravelled and revealed another escalator, doubtlessly leading to another area of Mementos.
'It opened," Ann noted.
The Nav app then played a notification saying "A new area has been confirmed in the depths. Updating guidance information."
"See! It's just as I thought," Morgana exclaimed.
"What do you mean," Ann asked.
"That wall wouldn't budge when I came here by myself before. But it'd be weird for the deepest part of Mementos to be some normal place like this, wouldn't it," Morgana explained.
"So you were thinking there's gotta be more," Ryuji asked.
"Yeah! Now that Kamoshida's Palace is gone and people are actually starting to talk about us… I knew something had to have changed down here," Morgana answered.
"How deep is it? Should we try going further down," Ann wondered.
"Let's not. That's not why we're here today, remember? We've already accomplished our goal. We should head back and I'll explain more once we're home," Morgana responded.
And with that, they went back to the top… where they saw some kid-like figure in a white coat with a car full of items looking at an orb of flowers.
The others noticed too, of course, as Ann pointed him(?) out.
"A Person?! In Mementos," Morgana asked in shock.
"Hmm…" the boy said as he took in the orb.
"Maybe it's this one… Ooh! Tasty," he exclaimed as it turned into a drink of some sort.
They walked up to him.
"Hey, what's he drinkin'," Ryuji asked.
"Oh? Hmm, I thought I felt something strange for a second. So, who are you guys," the boy asked.
"WE should be the ones asking YOU that," Morgana exclaimed in response.
"Good point. Sorry about that. It's customary for a human to introduce himself before asking another human for its name. Thanks for reminding me, Misterrr… um, Tanuki? No, um… Hmmm…. Cat," the boy asked and proceeded to trigger Morgana.
"What took so long to come up with "Cat"!? And I'm not either of those," Morgana exclaimed.
"Yeah, gettin' confused about that seems pretty normal to me," Ryuji said.
"My name is Jose. I'm looking for flowers. I'm pretty surprised to see some normal humans running around. I didn't know people could just come here," the boy, Jose, said as he introduced himself.
"Well, we are pretty special- W-wait, that's not important. Who YOU are is what matters right now, Morgana exclaimed.
"When you said you were looking for flowers, did you mean that floating thing," Ann asked.
"That's right, pretty lady. Those seem to be the ones I was looking for. I'm collecting as many of 'em as I can 'cause I'm studying humans," Jose said in response.
"Studying humans? That's why you turned a flower into a drink," Ryuji asked.
"Yup," Jose simply answered.
"Drinkin' flower juice counts as studying?" Ryuji wondered in confusion.
"Hey, could you guys help me with my research," Jose asked.
"How?" Ann asked.
"By collecting flowers for me. I wouldn't ask you to do it for free, though. I find all kinds of stuff you can use while you're exploring. I'll trade you some of that stuff for flowers," Jose answered.
"Whaddya think? Should we try an' get him some flowers?" Ryuji asked.
"Seems like it could do us some good, but we don't know this kid… We gotta be careful," Morgana answered.
"Oh, I'm sure he's fine. Let's give him a hand. He seems like he could use it, and it shouldn't be too hard to pick flowers while we're exploring, right," Ann asked.
"Okay, any OTHER reasons," Ryuji asked in an annoyed tone.
"Hehe, he called me "pretty lady,"" Ann admitted in a giggling tone.
"Nooo! Lady Ann," Morgana lamented.
"Eh, it's prolly fine. I mean, he said he'd give us useful stuff an' all. Whaddya say?" Ryuji responded & asked Ren.
"Well, are you going to help me find the flowers or not?". Jose asked.
"Let's help him. That stuff Jose has sounds useful," Ren answered.
"Thanks," Jose said.
"Wait, wait, hang on a second! We still have no idea who this kid is! Don't go thankin' us just yet, bud," Morgana exclaimed.
"Aw, are you tired, kitty? You seem grumpy," Jose asked.
"I AM NOT A CAT! And I'm NOT grumpy," Morgana yelled.
"O-Oh… are you hungry? I learned that hunger can make a person turn grumpy. Here, you can have this," Jose said as he handed Morgana some cookies.
"Thanks, but I'll pass," Morgana said in an annoyed tone.
"You're makin' the kid worry about ya even more. Guess there's no way outta this one," Ryuji exclaimed.
Morgana threw his hands up and just took them.
Jose just got in his car and said, "I'll be looking for flowers around here, so stop by and say hi if you see me. Oh, and I guess just gathering flowers would be kind of boring, huh? Since you humans seem to enjoy playing so much, I'll come up with some fun games for you. Ah, I also remembered something humans like to say to each other: Good job," Jose said as he honked his car's horn and drove off.
"Who in the hell was that?" Ryuji asked.
"If he's studying humans, does that mean he isn't one. I mean, he just seemed like some nice kid," Ann asked.
"Well, he didn't feel like a Shadow… I wouldn't say he's dangerous… at least, for now," Morgana answered, uncertainty clear in his voice.
"Anyways, if we see any of those flowers he wants, I guess we can grab 'em for him next time we're here," Ryuji said as the Thieves turned around to prepare to leave Mementos.
"I TOTALLY FORGOT!" Jose exclaimed as he honked the horn on his car & came driving right back.
"There's something I've been meaning to give to all of you," Jose said after he parked & got out of his car.
"Something for us? What would that be," Ren asked.
"Yeah. The thing is… I picked up something strange while I was exploring earlier. Here it is," Jose answered as he pulled out some star shaped crystal thing.
"Huh? What the heck is that," Ryuji asked.
"It's a star. At least, that's what they look like, so that's what I call them," Jose answered.
"A star," Morgana asked, clearly unsatisfied with Jose's answer.
"Um, so what about it did you want to show us," Ann asked.
"Humans make wishes on stars, right? That's so interesting. Stars granting wishes… So this star is going to grant your wishes," Jose answered, to the shock of everyone.
"… Or, it would be nice to think that," Jose added.
""Nice to think that"… Seriously," Morgana said with a hint of annoyance.
"I'll give this to you. It's so sparkly and beautiful, you want it too, don't you? It's a "sign of our friendship". I know what that is. Off I go now. Good job," Jose said as he tossed the star to Ren & got ready to leave, ignoring Morgana's comment.
"Hey, wait," Morgana said as Jose drove off into Mementos.
"Welp, there he goes. A star, huh? He said it'd grant our wishes or somethin'," Ryuji said afterwards.
"I highly doubt something like that would actually happen, even in Mementos. Well, I guess you can at least try making a wish," Morgana said dismissively.
"Okay… I wish for all-you-can-eat parfaits! With zero calories," Ann said excitedly, all too happy to test it.
"An extra large beef bowl! WIth pork soup on the side," Ryuji followed up with.
"...Nothing's happening," Morgana said, surprisingly disappointed that it didn't work.
"Was Skull's wish too petty," Ann asked, ignoring the fact her wish was just as petty.
"You're one to talk," Ryuji responded, pointing out the hypocrisy in her question.
"Hm. I guess things don't just happen that easily. But we can't throw the thing away… Hold onto it for now. Well, that was a bit unexpected… Let's head back now," Morgana said.
Ren silently agreed by pulling out his phone & hitting the button on the Nav app to return to the real world.
"Mementos, huh? I still don't really get that place. Oh, and what was that wall thing we saw at the end," Ryuji asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, but that wall must've been there for a reason. If Mementos is the public's Palace though… it might be affected by the public's belief in us," Morgana responded.
"Why do know so much about it, Morgana?" Ann asked.
"My memories are a little foggy in that regard… However, I need to know what lies in the depths of Mementos, no matter what," Morgana answered.
"No matter what?" Ann asked with some concern.
"Mementos is not just everyone's Palace, it's the source of all Palaces. It used to be that Palaces like Kamoshida's with one ruler simply didn't exist. So if we can do something about the greatest cause of distortions, I'm certain my appearance will," Morgana responded before trailing off.
"You needed someone to save you too," Ann said.
"I-I just needed pawns," Morgana said with haste & defence.
"I see… So that's why you came pokin' your nose around with us," Ryuji said in response.
"… I'll help you. I hope you can regain what you've lost," Ann told Morgana.
"I'll… be relying on you guys," Morgana said, seeming to be a thanks of sorts.
"By the way Morgana… are you a boy? Or might you be a girl," Ann asked.
This gave Ren some food for thought… They'd all been assuming Morgana was a boy all this time (Morgana himself included), but who's to say Morgana isn't actually a girl? But Ren supposed that, given how much knowledge of the Metaverse & Mementos he retained, he probably retains memory of his gender. And even if he didn't, who is Ren to judge if Morgana chooses to be a boy regardless?
"Definitely a boy," Ren said.
"Yeah, I agree… I wanted to make sure though, just in case," Ann responded.
"He could turn out to be pretty ancient. What if he smells like an old person," Ryuji said.
"Stop that… In any case, of course I'm male! I mean, I…" Morgana said, confidence trailing off quicker than he'd probably hoped.
Ren could sense he was uncomfortable with this conversation, so he decided to change gears.
"On a somewhat related note, today's events proved that we can perform minor changes of heart in Mementos," Ren said, trying to change the subject before anyone else could get a word in on Morgana.
"Correct. If we come across any eye-catching leads, it may be worth dealing with them for a bit of combat practice," Morgana added.
"There weren't any outstanding ones though," Ann lamented.
"I bet we'll get tons of 'em if we can change some famous and make the Phantom Thieves well-known! The big fish are our main targets after all, Ryuji noted.
"On that note. I looked into Madarame on our way up. He seems like quite the big fish. One of the most acclaimed & famous painters in all of Japan, renowned for his abnormally broad & varied paintings. So varied in fact that some are in disbelief that they could all come from one man. And if what Nakanohara said in Mementos is true… it explains a lot," Ren said.
"Hold on, are you saying that this Madarame guy is plagiarizing the work of his pupils," Ryuji asked.
"I'm saying it's looking incredibly likely that he is. And if the sheer variety of artstyles in the paintings he's at least claimed are his own are any indication, he probably has had a lot of pupils… Hell, let's try the Nav right now. Sure, we won't be able to access his Palace if he has one, but we can at least make sure he does," Ren responded as he pulled out his phone & opened the Nav app.
"Madarame," Ren said.
"Cadidate found," the Nav app said.
"Ah yes! Looks like we've found our big shot!" Ryuji exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Right, before we proceed any further, I should make sure everyone's on board with going after Madarame. I know you're on board, Ryuji, so you don't need to say anything," Ren said, going into his leader mindset.
"I am worried about his pupils if Nakanohara is any indication of how he's treating them… So yeah, I'm on board," Ann answered.
"If you guys think this will do some good & help us get deper into Mementos, then I'm game too," Morgana said.
"Then that's a unanimous vote! We can start digging deeper into him tomorrow after school," Ren exclaimed.
And with that they went their separate ways to head home. Little did they know that one of Madarame's pupils was watching them from a distance…
Author's Notes (End):
Yes, I am keeping Morgana's attraction to Ann in this story. But I probably won't be pairing them together considering certain things that are revealed later on. Anyone who's at least familiar with Persona 5's plot can probably guess what I'm hinting at.
Also, the reason I kind of had the PTs stomp Nakanohara is because this chapter was getting pretty long as is & I'm pretty inexperienced with writing action scenes, so I didn't want to go into unnecessary detail. I'll be endeavouring to get more experience writing action scenes through my other fics like Two Sides to a Story though.
As always, if you enjoyed this chapter and you haven't already, give this fic a favourite and/or follow! Slimeboyo2 & I appreciate it. We'd also appreciate your praise & constructive criticism in a review if you're inclined to share.
For this chapter's fanfic recommendations, I'll be suggesting a pair of fics that are part of a single series: A Shadow Operative Starts Stealing and its prequel The Trickster SEES Some Shadows. The two are Persona 3 & 5 crossovers wherein Ren attended high school at Gekkoukan High in 2009 rather than Shujin Academy in 2016.
The Trickster SEES Some Shadows depicts Ren's perspective on the events of Persona 3 in a universe where both the Male & Female protagonists (named Minato & Minako in this universe) attend Gekkoukan. Oh, and he also may or may not fall in love with FeMC along the way.
A Shadow Operative Starts Stealing meanwhile focuses on this universe's version of the events of Persona 5. The plot is reimagined in ways that make sense given Ren's older age in this universe (for instance, he already has Raoul and is actively investigating the mental shutdowns on behalf of the Shadow Operatives from the start in this universe) and has no shortage of its own twists.