This one was a pain.

The Trickster's Playground?"

"It's this new magic show everyone has been talking about in Shinjuku. Everyone who went said it's totally spectacular!" Her friend was even more bouncy than usual, which said a lot. Eyeing the red and black theme and the white mask on the flyer, Ukiyo was skeptical.

"It looks like some BDSM club."

"It's a magic show!" Her friend loudly corrected her, making more than just one head turn their way in the classroom.

"Shh! Everyone's looking at us."

Of course that only made her bring on the water works.

In a split second Kina was on her knees with her hands folded together and her eyes as big as saucers as she pleaded desperately up at her. "Ukiyo, you have to come with me! I'd feel so lonely going by myself. Please, please, please, please!"

There were definitely more people staring at them now. 'Screw you, Kina!'

"Okay! Okay! I'll go with you!"

"Really! Yay! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I swear you won't regret it! It'll be so much fun! We'll-" Her friend shot up to her feet and glomped her into a hug. She immediately began to ramble on in a happy spill about how thankful she was and how much fun they'd have. Ukiyo just smiled and let her prattle on.

She hopes she won't regret this.

Akira stared at his reflection in his dressing room mirror. He always took this time to himself before every show while the crew set up outside, readying and preparing for the crowd he knew was gathering outside - each excitedly chattering about the growing crowd.

On his desk was a small picture frame and a white mask, the spiky black trimming around the eyes making it stand out from any other. He kept them there to remember the past: the good, the bad, and even the harsh times. He never wants to forget any of them. Some he'd like to return back to.

But the funny thing about the past is that it's the past for a reason. You aren't meant to return to it.

A knock to his door awoke him from his brooding. "5 minutes till showtime, Mr. Amamiya."

"Huh. Guess it's time." He stood from the dressing room chair, fixed his hair, and adjusted his jacket and gloves. Then he looked back at the table, at the mask and the framed picture. He reached out and slowly swiped his thumb across the smooth glass, memories coming and going.

"Showtime, beautiful."

"Wow! This place is packed!" Ukiyo had to agree with her friend. This was way more than she expected. She couldn't even walk through the door without bumping into like five people. She and Kina had to hold hands just to keep up with each other.

"I didn't think there'd be this big of a crowd!" Ukiyo shouted over the noise.

"I told you it was a big deal! Here!" Kina passed her the other ticket she had. "Just in case we get separated so you can get in instead of waiting in the long line." She pointed behind her towards the ridiculously long line of people trying to get seats.

"I guess it's a good thing you bought them early then, huh." They shared a laugh before her friends started pulling her through the door.

It took her less than a few minutes for her to lose her friend and get lost. Suddenly this place looked completely foreign. She stood on the tip of her toes to see if she could see her friend over the crowd. No Kina.

"Are you lost?"

"Huh?" The man had shaggy brown hair and his eyes a deep red. His smile was sweet as he inquired about her. He has this princely aura around him too. He looked like a detective. He was dressed more for a formal meeting than a magic show.

"I asked if you were lost."

"Oh! Uh, yes. I lost my friend. I came here with her you see," she rambled.

"Do you both have tickets?" She nodded. "Then maybe she's already at your seats. Can I see your ticket?"

"Uh, sure." She passed her ticket to the strange man. He studied the ticket with a scrutinizing eye, like he was picking apart a crime scene or something.

"I see. You're in Row A, seat 11. You're in the front row."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. Mr…?"

"Akechi. Goro Akechi."

"The next Detective Prince? Uh, forgive me for asking, but what are you doing at a magic show?" The school girl gasped. "Is this place really an illegal BDSM after all?"

"Ah, no." The sweat drop was huge. He did not expect her to say that. "I take it this is your first time attending."

"Yeah. My friend dragged me here. I was really typical at first but I guess it's been okay so far. I definitely didn't expect it to be this packed."

The sparkly man chuckled. "Well, I hope you enjoy the show. You'd best get to your seat before the show starts."

"Arigato, senpai." She bowed to her famous senpai before running off to find her seat and her friend.

"Ukiyo! You made it!"

"Yeah, no thanks to you." It took her a while but she finally found the seats. "Luckily I ran into Akechi-kun"

"Goro Akechi!" Her friend's eyes grew a sparkle to them at the name of the famous teenage detective. She had such an infatuation with him that she had begged her parents on her hands and knees to let her transfer schools just for the chance to be near him. She only shrugged her shoulders when she had called her a stalker.

"Was he as cute as he is on TV?"

"You don't get to know that since you left me to find our seats on our own."

"What! Come on! That was so not my fault!" She started yelling as the lights on the stage and all around them started to dim.

"Shh. It's starting."

"The show's over. Thank you ladies and gentlemen!" Akira bowed deeply on the stage. The audience erupted in applause and gave him a standing ovation and those who were shocked quickly got over it and joined in too.

Their cheers faded as the curtains started to close in and the lights started to turn back on. The curtains swished closed with a flourish and he was back. Akira's shoulders slumped in a moment of exhaustion before he picked them back up. He still had eyes on him; he couldn't relax yet. He started for his dressing room.

"Great show tonight, Joker!" Takuto, his lights manager, congratulated him. He had joined later on in the show. That probably cleared him as more reliable than the other recruits. He's going to have to take that risk. "That trick you started with was amazing."

"Thank you, Takuto-kun. You know, you've been doing such a great job around here." Joker placed his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Thank you for the compliment, sir." The manager clutched his clipboard a little tighter to his chest. He enjoys his job and always make sure everything is in tip top order so the praise was appreciated. But he could clearly see the sullen look in his boss's eyes.

"If you don't mind, can you tell the crew members to go home early? You too."

"H-huh? B-but sir-"

"Tell them to drop everything and go, then you do the same." Joker answered facing away from the rookie manager. He walked away towards the commons that lead towards the dressing rooms.

"Hai!" The manager bowed and clutched his clipboard to his chest before running off to carry out his given task.

Joker continued on his route towards his dressing room, the small lights in the ceiling leading him the way.

"Umm, excuse me, Mr. Trickster." Two school girls approached him, rather the shorter one was dragging the other alone with one being dragged even looked exasperated at her maybe? Friend's antics. The girl dragging the other was bouncing on her heels when they were in front of him. They both had VIP badges hanging from their necks.

"We just wanted to say how much we absolutely enjoyed your magic show. That trick you did at the beginning was amazing."

"Thank you. You two are equally amazing for supporting me." He flashed them a crooked grin that was definitely on the promotion flyer. Both of the two girl's cheeks flushed a hot red but the energetic one's was much more prominent.

"Oh! U-um!" The shorter one twirled the ends of her hair around her fingers, the picture perfect picture of a nervous anime girl. "Do you think you can show us one more trick? You know, since we supported the show and everything."

"Kina!" The taller and calmer one hissed.

"It's all right." He really didn't mind. He's had way pushier and excitable fans than her friend anyway. But he really didn't have the time right now. "But while I would love to, I have something urgent I need to take care of. It was a pleasure meeting the two of you." He took the time to shake both of their hands and give them a playful salute continuing his trek to his dressing room.

"Ukiyo! He. Touched. My. Hand! Eeeeeeeeek!" Ukiyo covered her ears as her friend combusted beside her. There's never a day that her ears don't complain about having such a loud friend.

"Calm down, Kina. You just met the guy."

"No way. I'm never washing this hand now." As she was waving her hand around to show her friends something had slipped out of her sleeve. A card. On the front was the signature logo of the magic show, crooked grin and all. On the back, a date, time and front row ticket for this next show. Ukiyo checked her sleeve and found the same card and a front row ticket in hers too. He slipped them in without them even noticing.

"HOW DID HE DO THAT!?"

Akira finally reached his dressing room. "The building should be cleared by now," he thought. With his hand on the door handle, he took a deep, readying breath, and opened the door.

"The dressing rooms are restricted for crew members and VIP only. You're not a member of my crew." He looked the intruder up and down before adding: "and I don't see any VIP pass on you."

The man let this observation and thinly veiled threat sweep over him, choosing to continue to examine the items in view on the desk. He was holding the framed picture in his hands.

"After all these years you still have this same picture of her." He set the picture down back where he had picked it up from, not really done contemplating it as he still didn't tear his gaze from it. "You'll have to forgive my lack of a proper invitation, Mr. Kurusu. Oh" This time he actually looked at him. "You go by 'Amamiya' these days. I forgot."

He's been keeping tabs on him.

"What do you want, Akechi?"

The shaggy haired brunette adjusted his black gloves and turned around. It was then that he saw the gun strapped to his hip. He obviously didn't come for a friendly hello.

"Did you honestly think you could just leave the life of the Metaverse behind and we wouldn't find you?" That princely aura and sparkly attitude he was known for was gone. What replaced it was chaos personified. Red and black flames began to rise from his feet, and a strong wind appeared out of nowhere, the same thing that happens when he's about to summon his second persona.

"We have a score to settle, Joker!"

Shit!

"Are you crazy! If you summon Loki here you'd tear the whole building apart!"

"And I'll take you down with it!" The flames raised to an inferno and the wind grew stronger. He had to shield his eyes from the onslaught.

"Rise! Loki!"

Then the room became distorted; an anomaly started to form in the middle of the room, slowly growing and stretching until it was a wriggling, hypnotizing, red and black streaked circle half the height of the room. It was a portal from Mementos, a place he's long left behind.

Then out of this portal, someone started to emerge. The person's voice was loud and clear.

"Celestine! Blazing Hell!"

A torrent of hellish flames blazed in a streak straight towards the detective. The wall of flames blocked his view but he could hear the person's screams as the flames wreaked havoc on their bodies.

The room was pretty much gone. The fiery streak left a scorching path in its way. He almost felt sorry for the people who'd have to clean this up.

"Joker!" A title he hasn't heard in a long time. A body squeezed in tight latex slammed into him, knocking him down, and the lips that pressed against his knocked him away.

He knew this body that was clinging to him. It's been so long, all he could do was cling back just as tightly if not more. He returned her kiss tenfold.

Ann Takamaki, or Panther, was back in his arms; or rather, he was back in hers.