Persona 5: The Phantom Files

by sithlorde1988

Will cover the events of Persona 5 Royal, with the sequel set to cover Strikers. What happens when in addition to Ren being sentenced to go live in the care of Sojiro Sakura for a year after being sued for assault, his younger brother is also ordered to go and oversee him? How will this extra character change things? Read to find out! More info in chapter 1! Read and review! Enjoy!

26. Fox Sleeps Over! Rebellious Queen part 3

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5: The Phantom Files! Last chapter came out pretty solid I thought. This chapter will hopefully be just as good. But I suppose we'll have to wait and see on that, won't we? That being said, let's go ahead and deal with the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does not own the Persona series in any way shape or form (barring the OC Kusa/Draconis along with any other OCs that might appear in the story) and the credit for owning the Persona series belongs to Sega, Atlus and Koei Tecmo! So all credit to them!

And with that done and dusted, let me go ahead and say here that the next couple of arcs will be where things start to ever so slightly deviate from canon (though not too much at first), and where a fair bit more character development is observed for Kusa. Also, probably either the end of Arc 5 or early in Arc 6 is where I aim to slot in a scene that may or may not kick-start most of the planned pairings for the story (and by kickstart I mean hook them up) so yeah there's that to look forward to! Now, on to chapter 26, and the formation of Ren's next Confidant link!

Chapter 26: Debating Justice! More Phantom Shenaniganry! The Rebellious Queen part 3

(At Leblanc, in the evening after Day 1 of the TV studio trip, with Ren, Morgana and Kusa)

"Well, that was certainly an eventful day we just had, wasn't it Ren?" Kusa said as Ren and Kusa got comfortable upstairs. Ren nodded and spoke up, smiling at Kusa as he spoke.

"True. I suppose you can just relax, maybe chat with Futaba if you like. Meanwhile, I'll figure out something to do for tonight." Ren said as Kusa nodded approvingly as he relaxed on the couch and pulled out his phone to do a private chat, Morgana curling up happily on his chest as Ren walked downstairs and eventually decided on going to the Velvet Room to rotate his Personas around a bit. To his surprise, Justine and Caroline were waiting for him at the entrance. So after he did his rotating and such, he spoke to them.

"Is it time for the next location already? If so, I'm ready." Ren said as Caroline spoke up.

"What are you going to do today? All right, time to name the location- Justine, you do the honors." Caroline said to Justine who nodded.

"Now...Listen closely: the place we wish to evaluate for your rehabilitation is...one that many young people are said to visit. Here, one had the opportunity to view the fantasies of humans." Justine said as Caroline nodded and spoke up.

"We hear there are a variety of fantasies available for perusal there-and all outside of a Palace! How strange." Caroline said as Justine nodded and spoke up again.

"Yes. These fantasies...They are the cognitions of others given form. They will undoubtedly support your efforts. Does such a location sound familiar to you?" Justine asked as Caroline spoke up huffily.

"Well? You know the drill! If you know where it is, then you have to escort us there!" Caroline said to Ren who stroked his chin in thought.

'Going off of the description given, the twins could be talking about the movie theater over in Shibuya...' Ren thought to himself as Caroline spoke up again.

"What will you do? So, what'll it be?" Caroline asked Ren as he spoke up.

"Are you talking about the movie theater, by chance?" Ren asked as Caroline blinked and spoke up.

"The what? The 'moving theater'!? Is this place cursed to wander the land or something!?" Caroline asked as Justine spoke up allowing Ren to ignore Caroline's remark.

"We shall confirm our intel for ourselves. Lead the way." Justine said as Ren nodded and led the two to the movie theater to see a movie. Afterwards, Caroline spoke up.

"Not bad, Inmate! That was rather enjoyable. We won't underestimate the human imagination again." Caroline said as Justine spoke up with an unamused look on her face.

"You may claim to enjoy yourself, but your screams told quite a different story-to anyone who could hear. It's no wonder how everyone mistakes us for elementary school students." Justine said as Caroline glared at Justine and spoke up angrily.

'SHUT UP! It was only because of that thing jumping out at my face...And you were just as scared, Justine!" Caroline said as Justine spoke up.

"It certainly was startling. The eyes and nose seemed to stretch out right at me...And it all began the moment I donned those black glasses...What exactly were those that we wore?" Justine said, aiming the last bit of her remark at Ren who blinked at the question before speaking up.

"Those are called '3D glasses'. They let you see movies in 3D. They're impressive, but not everyone can handle wearing them." Ren explained. Caroline crossed her arms as she spoke up, both intrigued and surprised.

"Oh, there was some sort of trick to the glasses? But your own glasses are just normal ones, right? Your own attention wasn't wandering while we were caught up in the movie, was it? Why is it that humans even create such large and elaborate fabrications in the first place, though? Isn't the imagining of these things satisfying enough? Even dreaming seems like a superior pastime." Caroline said as Justine spoke up.

"Why do humans go so far as to spend their money just to witness fictional events?" Justine asked Ren who spoke up.

"That's a good question. Some people go to movies, as what we just saw is called, for the fun of it. While others do so as a way to escape their reality, mostly those who have less than ideal realities or have rough circumstances." Ren explained. Justine frowned as she spoke up, not sure what to make of Ren's response.

"So they wish to avert their eyes from the world they live in? What an unsettling answer." Justine said as Caroline nodded and spoke up.

"Escape, you say...That sounds rather human as well...Don't tell me...You wouldn't happen to be plotting an escape of your own, would you, Inmate!?" Caroline asked as Justine walked up to Ren and spoke up in a calm voice.

"No matter how much you might rail against it, you shall remain our Inmate. Even the thought of such a foolish endeavor is pointless for you...Or could that line of thinking be yet another avenue of escaping reality?" Justine asked as Caroline huffed and spoke up.

"Hmpb, what a pathetic fantasy! I'll bet you were thinking of blasting away the cell door, weren't you!?" Caroline asked as Justine frowned at Caroline and spoke up.

"Don't even consider such crassness, Caroline. If he were to attempt such a blatant jailbreak, either our master or ourselves would notice immediately." Justine said as Caroline spoke up, giving Justine a challenging look.

"Oh? And how would YOU do it, Justine?" Caroline asked Justine who chuckled as she spoke up.

"I would use a spoon to dig a hole through the wall, and conceal it with a poster of some distractive image..." Justine said as Caroline spoke up.

"Blowing open the cell door seems more impactful. They used that plan in one of the movie previews, correct? They wielded a bazooka and went ab out blowing everything up." Caroline said as Justine spoke up in a decisive tone.

"Any recaptured escapee is executed on the spot. Freedom or death are the only options for an inmate on the lam. Suspense and excitement are necessary elements of any escape. Did you learn nothing from the movie, Caroline? Or were you simply enjoying yourself?" Justine said to Caroline who huffed and looked at Ren as she spoke up.

"What!? Shut up! The Inmate'll settle this for us! Hey-tell us how you'd try to escape! Would you blast the door or use a spoon?" Caroline asked Ren who blanched as he spoke up.

"I have no intentions of trying an escape anytime soon, if ever. But, IF I were to consider doing so, I'd definitely have to agree with the spoon plot since it's easily the more realistic and viable option of the two." Ren said after a bit to think. Justine chuckled in amused appreciation as she spoke up while looking at Caroline.

"Did you hear that, Caroline? Even the Inmate knows that a crude plan like yours has no hope of succeeding." Justine said with a smirk, making Caroline huff as she spoke up.

"Hmph! Whatever-it's not like he can actually escape either way." Caroline huffed as she and Justine bickered amongst themselves for a bit, before they stopped and Caroline spoke up once more.

"There's no harm in allowing yourself to fantasize a little bit, every now and then." Caroline said as Justine nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed, today we learned more about the power of human imagination. No wonder such vile Palaces plague humanity." Justine said as Caroline looked at Ren with a closed eye smile and spoke up.

"Hmph! Don't fall behind! You're hereby free to fantasize, but keep it in check, Inmate! Your job is to focus on your rehabilitation!" Caroline said as Justine spoke up.

"That being said...here is your reward." Justine said as she gave Ren the 'Frei' and 'Psi' skill cards. After that, Justine spoke up once more.

"Now, let us return. I believe that will be all for today. It is time to return." Justine said as Ren nodded, escorting the twins back to the Velvet Room before returning to Leblanc, where he barely mustered the energy to change into his pajamas (Which for Ren entailed a loose fitting black long-sleeve shirt and slacks while Kusa's pajamas comprised a loose-fitting black muscle shirt and red boxers) before flopping down onto his bed and nearly instantly falling asleep once his head hit the pillow...

(The next day, at the TV studio with Ren, Ryuji, Ann and Morgana)

"Mister Akechi's coming on!" The veteran AD called out, as many of the audience gave appreciative/excited squeals as Akechi walked onto the stage, making the squeals intensify in loudness, perfectly muting the quiet huff Kusa gave as he watched Akechi come out on-stage, his instincts on guard as he watched Akechi walk over to the veteran AD while Ryuji spoke up so only Ren could hear.

"Ain't that the guy from yesterday?" Ryuji asked Ren, who nodded. At that point, the veteran AD spoke up.

"Cutting back from commercial! Seven, six, five seconds until start, four, three..." The veteran AD said as he moved aside so the two announcers sitting on a couch behind him were visible, Akechi having sat on the couch across from the announcers, his olive button-up trenchcoat, white-grey and red striped dress shirt, black and white striped tie, black gloves, black jeans and brown dress shoes on full display while he sat as the female announcer spoke up.

"And now, onto the 'Hottest Meet-And-Greet' segment of our show...After his last appearance was so well-received, we decided to bring back this fine gentleman today. It's the high-school detective, Goro Akechi!" The female announcer said as more squeals and fangirling could be heard from the audience as Akechi spoke up with a smile.

"Hello there." Akechi said as the male host spoke up with a polite nod.

"Thank you for taking the time to join us today, Akechi-kun. Your popularity is stunning." The male host said as Akechi nodded and spoke up.

"Even I've found it to be quite a surprise. It is a bit embarrassing though..." Akechi said as the female host spoke up with a smile.

"Moving along, we've been told there's a case on your mind right now. Care to share, detective?" The female host said as Akechi nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, yes. That would be the scandal involving the master artist Madarame." Akechi said as the male host spoke up.

"There it is! All of this phantom thief excitement has caught your attention too, Akechi-kun! Allow me to be blunt for just a second. What do you think of these justice-oriented Phantom Thieves?" The male host asked Akechi who did a closed-eye grin and spoke up.

"If they truly are heroes of justice, I sincerely hope they exist." Akechi said making the male host blink in surprise as he spoke up.

"Ohhh, so you don't deny the possibility that they're real?" The male host asked as Akechi spoke up with a smirk.

"I may not look like it, but I sometimes wish that Santa Claus actually existed. Although if he did, I'd have to arrest him for breaking and entering." Akechi said, getting laughter from most of the crowd, though both Ryuji and Kusa were shown huffing/groaning at the bad joke, the latter crossing his arms in an unimpressed manner a couple of rows behind Ren, Ann and Ryuji as he paid attention, either not seeing or ignoring the disapproving look on Kasumi's face next to him at his uninterested stance on Akechi, as Akechi kept speaking and the room went silent to listen to him attentively as he spoke.

"But hypothetically speaking, if these Phantom Thieves are real..." Akechi said, his eyes narrowing as his tone turned serious as he kept speaking, his words making Kusa, Ren and Morgana's eyes go slightly wide at what he said next.

"I believe they should be tried in a court of law." Akechi said as Ren, Ann and Ryuji had stunned looks on their faces, while Morgana frowned inside Ren's bag and Kusa glared venomously at Akechi, clearly not pleased with the ace detective in that moment, not seeing Kasumi giving him a surprised look at the pure disdain in his gaze as he looked at Akechi. The male host then spoke up to diffuse the tension a bit.

"That's quite the statement. Are they committing crimes? Some people even say the Thieves are actually helping their victims abandon their evil ways." The male host said, making Kusa smirk at the male host's apparent defense of the Phantom Thieves, not seeing Kasumi give him a contemplative glance as he focused on the hosts and Akechi. Akechi then spoke up, his tone clearly angered and uncaring as he spoke.

"What the artist Madarame did truly was an unforgivable crime. However, they are taking the law into their own hands by judging him. It is far from justice. More importantly, you should never forcefully change a person's heart." Akechi said as the crowd broke into a hush, aside from the murmurs among the crowd, Kusa huffing as he had to reluctantly concede that Akechi did have a point in his remark about not forcefully changing a person's heart, even if what he and his friends had done thus far was far from forcefully done. The male host then spoke up once more.

"You have a point. These people are calling themselves the Phantom Thieves, after all. Amazing as always, Akechi-kun! I could listen to you for days! You have the most radiant charisma!" The male host as the crowd broke out into mixed chuckles, laughs and murmurs as Akechi spoke up with another closed-eye smile on his face.

"I have to say though, I would be embarrassed if it turns out these Phantom Thieves don't exist. If that were the case, I'd summarize it into a report as a school project." Akechi said as more laughs ensued as the female host spoke up.

"Now then, let's try asking some students the same age as Akechi about the Phantom Thieves!" The female host said, and Kusa's eyes went fractionally wide in surprise at this, hoping that Ryuji wasn't called on as one of those students. Next to him, Kasumi was also surprised, but more because she was curious to see if Ren was called on. The female host then spoke up once more.

"First, please press your buttons if you think the Phantom Thieves exist!" The female host said as Ryuji spoke up quietly so only Ren and Ann could hear, an annoyed frown on his face as he spoke.

"Of course they do!" Ryuji said as Kusa had to keep himself from facefaulting, as he barely heard Ryuji's remark. When the button tallying was finished, a big '19' came up on screen in orange-yellow text, making the male host speak up.

"About 30% or so? What are your thoughts, Akechi-kun?" The male host asked Akechi, who spoke up with a surprised look on his face, making Kusa smirk at the shocked expression on the detective's face as Akechi spoke up.

"I'm a bit surprised. That's higher than I was expecting. I'd love to hear some more detailed opinions on the Phantom Thieves' actions." Akechi said as the female host walked into the audience, looking around, before stopping in front of Ren, to both Kasumi AND Kusa's surprise and shock, even as the latter sighed in relief that it wasn't Ryuji being interviewed, and speaking up.

"All right, let's try asking this student here. Hypothetically speaking, what are your thoughts on these Phantom Thieves, if they were real?" The female host asked Ren, not seeing Kusa actually give his full attention to Ren, wanting to hear Ren's response. Ren thought about it before speaking up.

"I wouldn't go so far as to call them justice itself or anything, but I do believe that they are necessary, to a point. And to be sure, they do more than the cops do sometimes. But I do agree to a point with Akechi-kun that the Phantom Thieves are not above the law." Ren replied after considering his response carefully, making both Ryuji AND Kusa blink at Ren's response in stunned disbelief. Akechi chuckled at Ren's response, or possibly at Ren agreeing with him, before he spoke up in amused surprise.

"Ah, haha, I wasn't expecting that." Akechi said as the male host spoke up to refute Ren's statement.

"This completely goes against the opinion you had about them being tried by law, Akechi-kun." The male host said as Kusa rolled his eyes at the high level of blatant simping by the male host, as well as his incorrect remark about Ren's statement going against Akechi's, when Ren clearly agreed to a point with Akechi. Akechi nodded, winking at the crowd as he spoke up with a smirk, looking towards where Ren, Ann and Ryuji were sitting as he spoke.

"Indeed. It's rather intriguing to hear such a strong acknowledgement. In that case, there's one more question I'd like to ask...If someone close to you, for example, your friend next to you...If his or her heart suddenly changed, wouldn't you think it was the work of the Phantom Thieves?" Akechi asked Ren who frowned before replying. *1*

"I'll give you that that's a valid question to consider. However, given that thus far, the Phantom Thieves have only seemed to target criminals, I would then refute your question by then asking what YOU would think if something such as that were to occur, Akechi-kun. After all, I'm sure I'm not the only one here curious to hear your take on this." Ren said, getting more than a few appreciative murmurs from the crowd and a lot of hushed whispers about him as Kusa nodded approvingly at Ren turning the tables on Akechi like he did. Akechi smirked as he spoke up, both intrigued and amused by Ren throwing the question back at him as he spoke up.

"Ah, throwing the question back at me? Well, this is my opinion on the topic. Whether the Thieves' actions are good or not, I feel there is a more important issue at hand." Akechi said, making the male host blink in surprise as he spoke up.

"Hm? What do you mean?" The male host asked Akechi who frowned as he spoke up.

"Why, I mean the matter of how they change people's hearts." Akechi replied, stroking his chin in thought. He then kept speaking after a pause.

"If they honestly possess that ability...It could be used for more than extracting confessions. It could be that what seem to be ordinary crimes are actually being perpetrated by these methods..." Akechi said as the male host nodded and spoke up.

"You know, you're absolutely right." The male host said as Akechi smiled and spoke up to reassure the crowd.

"Oh, please don't misunderstand. This is all purely hypothetical...It is only IF people who can use such a power truly exist. Either way though, this cannot be ignored. The existence of the Phantom Thieves would be nothing but a threat to our everyday lives." Akechi said, drawing many gasps from the crowd and huffs from Ryuji and Kusa as he kept speaking.

"To be honest, I'm already working alongside the police to help sort out this matter." Akechi said as the segment played out fairly uneventfully from there. Afterwards, Ren, Ann, and Ryuji stood to one side as Ann spoke up, looking slightly conflicted and unsure as she spoke.

"It kinda seemed like what he was saying might be right..." Ann said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"He made it sound like WE're the baddies. I don't like it." Ryuji said as Ren nodded, and all three of them nearly jumped as another voice could be heard nearby.

"Neither do I, Ryuji. But then, I didn't like most of what Akechi-kun had to say." Kusa said bluntly as he and Kasumi approached the group, Ren speaking up while looking surprised to see the latter of the two as he spoke.

"Kusa? Kasumi? I didn't know you'd gotten an invite to be part of this?" Ren said as Kasumi giggled and spoke up, smiling prettily at Ren as she spoke, ignoring the smirk on Kusa's face next to her at her smiling at Ren.

"That's because, as luck would have it, my father happens to be the director of this studio, so getting an invite to sit in on a taping was relatively simple, provided we did some intern work in exchange, hence why mine and Kusa's class had to spend yesterday basically being unpaid interns. Thankfully, I'm on a break of sorts from my gymnastics, so I have the time for things like this." Kasumi explained as Kusa huffed and spoke up, conceding that Kasumi had a point, even if he wasn't thrilled about the work entailed therein as he spoke.

"I suppose that it was worth it to some point in the end, but did we really have to be put in charge of lugging around the heavy freaking cables?" Kusa said huffily as Ryuji nodded and spoke up after fist-bumping Kusa, grinning as he spoke.

"Truth, Kusa! That sucked! But I guess at least we got a reward of sorts for it." Ryuji said reluctantly. Ann then spoke up.

"But that stuff about the police...Do you think it's for real?" Ann said as Morgana spoke up, though Kasumi only heard meows from him.

"He can say whatever he wants. The justice of it all is something we can decide for ourselves." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up, his words causing Ann and Kasumi to wince in disgust at what he had to say while Ren, Kusa and Morgana winced at what Ryuji said as he spoke.

"Oh, sorry. I gotta go take a leak. Can you guys wait here? I'll be right back." Ryuji said as Kusa huffed and spoke up, glaring at Ryuji disapprovingly as he spoke.

"Then go already, Ryuji! Don't just talk about it, for frick's sake! And especially not in front of ladies like Ann and Kasumi." Kusa said with a frown as Ryuji nodded and darted off as Ann sighed and spoke up, looking annoyed at what Ryuji had said as she spoke..

"Oh my god, how disgusting can he be? Ugh, I'm gonna keep going, okay?" Ann said to Ren, who nodded as she walked off leaving Ren, Morgana, Kasumi and Kusa to look at one another as Kusa spoke up, smiling at Ren and Kasumi's twin looks of uncertainty as he spoke.

"Well, I guess while we wait, what did we think of that segment? I personally had to keep myself from booing the hosts several times. They were such total simps, it wasn't funny! And don't even get me started on Akechi-kun!" Kusa said huffily, not seeing that Kasumi and Ren's eyes had widened fractionally as Akechi walked up to Ren, as if summoned by Kusa talking about him, speaking up to Ren as he approached the trio, while also giving Kusa a curt nod of recognition as he spoke.

"Oh, it's you! I'm glad I found you. I wanted to thank you in person. To paraphrase Hegel, advancement cannot occur without thesis and antithesis..." Akechi said as Ren gave Akechi a confused look, while Kasumi blinked at the quote and Kusa just huffed as Akechi kept speaking, acting as if he hadn't heard Kusa huff as he spoke.

"Haha, my apologies. What I mean is that our discussion was quite meaningful. Few people around me are so willing to speak their minds as freely as you did earlier. Adults are only interested in using the young, while they simply do as the adults say. There are too many irresponsible people in these modern times. I can understand why you'd support the Phantom Thieves. Hmm...It's possible that this group is just as you believe, and they truly are acting with good intentions.

Since they have special talents, I assume their hearts must be burning with a sense of justice and duty...But that justice is merely a facade concealing their lack of true strength. That's why I believe, if a truly powerful opponent were to corner them, they would flee without a second thought." Akechi said as Kusa huffed and spoke up, turning to give Akechi a blunt, unimpressed look as he spoke.

"Correct me if I'm mistaken here, Akechi-kun, but it sounds to me like you're calling the Phantom Thieves cowards. With all due respect, I have to disagree on that count. If, as you say, they fled from truly powerful opponents, why on earth would they waste their time leaving calling cards for the likes of Kamoshida and Madarame if they were just going to run away? No, I think you don't give them enough credit. Besides, there's more than one way to define true strength, as I'm sure you know." Kusa said, unable to avoid cutting in when he heard Akechi basically calling the Phantom Thieves cowards, which both irritated and angered him inexplicably. Ren nodded in agreement as he spoke up, hoping to both take Akechi's attention off of Kusa, and keep Kusa from saying something both he and Kusa would regret later as he spoke.

"I agree with my brother. But moreover, not only would the Phantom Thieves NOT run, they'd stay and fight to the end. They have that kind of commitment and resolve in them that they wouldn't back down when they start something. They would finish it, no matter what." Ren said honestly. Akechi gave Ren a surprised look before blinking at Kusa who was nodding his approval of Ren's remark.

"Oh...? Both of you are really intriguing. I bet either one of you would make for a worthwhile debate partner on the subject, though probably Amamiya-kun the elder moreso, since I get the feeling he'd keep his temper better than Amamiya-kun the younger would. And yes, Amamiya-kun the younger, I saw that stink eye you were giving the hosts earlier, plus your bored/uninterested stance for most of the segment. Don't underestimate a detective's observational skills." Akechi chided Kusa before turning to Ren and continuing to speak, ignoring the indignant huff from Kusa as well as the frustrated sigh from Kasumi, who gently put a hand on Kusa's shoulder to keep him from doing something impulsive that he might regret later, like possibly socking Akechi in the face, as he spoke.

"If it's all right with you, Amamiya-kun the elder, would you continue sharing your thoughts with me?" Akechi asked Ren who just nodded as he spoke up.

"Fine by me. Our debates have been pretty fun thus far, so I think it could be interesting to keep them going. So why not? I'd love to." Ren said as he took the outstretched and gloved hand Akechi extended and clasped his own hand in it as Akechi smiled at the response and spoke up.

"Thank you, that's great news. I sense something in you that's quite different from other people. I guess you can call it my detective's intuition?" Akechi joked while laughing as he kept speaking, ignoring the unimpressed frown Kusa gave him as well as the politely confused look on Kasumi's face as he spoke.

"Haha, kidding, of course." Akechi said as he shook Ren's hand, Ren musing on how Akechi had appeared to take a liking to him, despite Kusa seeming to take a slight disliking towards Akechi...

(Fast forward to the interrogation room with Sae and Joker)

"Ugh, I can't believe you evaded the police's network until today...The only logical explanation is that someone in the police has ties to the Phantom Thieves...Explain yourself!" Sae said as Joker looked away, not wanting to correct Sae's only partially-accurate observation...

(Back in the present with Ren, Kusa, Kasumi, Morgana and Akechi)

As Ren mused on his new friendship, for lack of a better term with Akechi, he heard the by now familiar voice in his head speak up.

"I am thou, thou art I...Thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy bonds of captivity. With the birth of the Justice Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power..." Ren heard, as another card materialized in his mind's eye, this one simply reading 'Justice', and an 'I' appearing underneath the world 'Justice' to signify that the newly-forged Justice Confidant link between Ren and Akechi had reached rank 1. After that, Akechi spoke up.

"Ah, yes. We should exchange contact info." Akechi said to Ren, who nodded, as a few beeps later, he and Akechi had swapped contact info with one another, to the slight surprise of Kasumi, and the quiet disapproval and irritation of Kusa. Akechi then spoke up once more.

"...And, registered. Well, I hope to see you again sometime soon." Akechi said to Ren, who nodded as Akechi walked off, in time for Morgana to speak up.

"A detective's intuition, huh? We shouldn't underestimate that." Morgana said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"A detective's intuition, you say? While he probably is a detective, I feel like he's actually earned that position about as much as Ryuji earns good grades. Oh wait, that's right, he doesn't." Kusa said in a deadpan tone, making Ren chuckle at the dual-roast of Ryuji and Akechi, while Morgana frowned at Kusa's tone and Kasumi blinked and looked over at Kusa in shocked surprise as she spoke up, feeling the need to voice her confusion and surprise at the, at least to her, uncharacteristic behavior Kusa had displayed towards Akechi as she spoke.

"Kusa? Since when are you so opinionated and judgmental?" Kasumi asked Kusa, who sputtered in surprise at Kasumi's question before he frowned and turned to face Kasumi as he spoke up, looking at her as he spoke, pondering on how best to explain himself.

"I've always been opinionated, Kasumi. As for the judgmental part, I wouldn't say I'm judgmental. Just protective of those I care about. Not to mention, something about Akechi just strikes me as slightly suspect, though that could just be the fact that he implied that the Phantom Thieves are cowards, which may or may not have ended up making me a tad biased against him. I might just be being overly guarded and paranoid, but I get the sense he might be trouble, sooner rather than later. So be on your guard if you take up a friendship with him, Ren." Kusa said sagely. Morgana looked at Kusa and spoke up, giving Kusa an approving nod as he spoke, pleased at how vigilant and wary Kusa could be.

"You might be right, especially with how good those instincts of yours are, Kusa. However, for now, we should give him the benefit of the doubt. That said, on the other hand, there's an awful lot we could learn from him. If he contacts you Ren, try hanging out with him." Morgana said to Ren, who nodded as Ryuji walked over and spoke up.

"Whew, sorry for takin' so long! ...Wait, was that Akechi?" Ryuij asked as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"No, that was totally the other brown-haired condescending asshat detective we know of, Ryuji. Yes, that was Akechi. And he should consider himself lucky I have self-restraint, since I wanted to punch him after he basically called the Phantom Thieves cowards. That is such an effing bald-faced lie, it's not funny." Kusa deadpanned, making Kasumi and Ren exchange concerned looks as Ryuji nodded to Kusa's response, speaking up in agreement.

"Truth, Kusa! I can't stand that high an' mighty attitude! Just breathin' the same air as him makes me sick." Ryuji said as Kusa smirked at Ryuji's remark and fist-bumped Ryuji.

"Hell yeah, Ryuji! You know what's up!" Kusa said with a smile. Ryuji nodded as he spoke up, grinning at Kusa agreeing with him as he spoke.

"C'mon, Ren. Let's go. I suppose Kusa and Yoshizawa can accompany us if they want to." Ryuji said as Ren nodded, though Yoshizawa spoke up before Kusa could answer Ryuji, giving Ren and Ryuji an apologetic look as she spoke up, pointedly not looking at Kusa as she did so.

"Thanks for the offer Sakamoto-senpai, but Kusa and I have a discussion of sorts to have before we join you, so go on ahead without us for now, and if we get done in time, we'll catch up." Kasumi said as Ren and Ryuji nodded, Morgana hiding in Ren's bag as he and Ryuji left the station.

Afterwards, Kasumi grabbed a shocked/surprised Kusa by the wrist and, ignoring the surprised yelp her actions elicited from Kusa, dragged him to her dad's office, which she knew would be empty, since he'd told her he usually had a staff meeting at that time. Once there, Kasumi gently shoved Kusa inside, before locking the door and frowning at Kusa as she spoke up, ignoring the wide-eyed look of surprise Kusa gave her as she spoke.

"Start talking, Kusa! Why do you seem to hate Akechi-kun so much!?" Kasumi all but demanded of Kusa, who sighed and spoke up, realizing he likelier than not owed Kasumi an explanation for his behavior, admitting to himself that said behavior probably seemed both out of character and slightly prejudiced/aggressive to her as he spoke.

"This might take awhile, Kasumi. To start off, the guy gives off a very 'holier-than-thou' attitude, plus he thinks he knows everything. Not to mention, I get the feeling he knows more than he's letting on. But in general, I just have a bad feeling about him. And my instincts are rarely, if ever, wrong. But mostly he basically made Ren to be a pawn of sorts in that little ploy of his to be able to publicly bash the Phantom Thieves the way he did.

I respect if you find him handsome and charming Kasumi, but I honestly find him insufferable and condescending. The only reason I didn't break his freaking nose when he walked up to Ren was because I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt for Ren's sake. But I honestly don't know if I can trust him." Kusa said honestly, as he sighed and leaned back after explaining his opinion of Akechi to a politely confused but understanding Kasumi, who then smiled as she spoke up, her gaze softening considerably as she spoke.

"I see. To be fair, I also didn't approve of him letting that female host call on your brother like that. But it is what it is there. That said, I apologize for coming off harsh and rude earlier, as well as just now, but I wanted to be sure you weren't being unfairly aggressive towards Akechi-kun. However, after hearing your explanation, you're probably justified in feeling the way you do. I think you should go catch up with Ren-senpai and Sakamoto-senpai, while I stay here and help out my dad for the rest of the day. We can talk later, after we both have a chance to calm down." Kasumi said as Kusa nodded, smiling appreciatively at Kasumi as he spoke up, giving her an understanding smile as he spoke.

"Understood. Apologies for my harsh attitude today. I'll try to keep it in check around you if I can. But no promises. Thanks for understanding though." Kusa said as he hugged a surprised Kasumi before walking out the door to catch up to Ren...

(That evening at Leblanc, with Morgana, Ren and Kusa)

"What a boring field trip. We didn't even find any worthwhile targets." Morgana said as Ren's phone went off to signify a group chat with Ryuji, Kusa, Yusuke and Ann, with Ryuji sending the first response.

"That Akechi bastard...Thinking about what he said is just pissing me off again." Ryuji sent as Ann and Kusa sent responses close together, Ann's coming through first.

"He clearly tried to discredit everything we're doing." Ann said as Kusa's response came through.

"You and me both, Ryuji. Ask Ren how close I came to socking Akechi in the effing face after he called us cowards! That's not only a bald-face lie, it's a bigger crock of horse-shit than when Kamoshida was trying to call you and Ren trash, Ryuji." Kusa sent huffily. Ryuji sent a response at that point.

"Truth, Kusa! And not only that, he just had to say it on live TV too!" Ryuji sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Don't be so sour. There are, without a doubt, people we have saved. Those people could not have been saved if not for the heroics of the Phantom Thieves. I am living proof of that." Yusuke sent as Kusa and Ryuji sent responses close together, Kusa's coming through first.

"Ryuji, sour? I don't see it. That said, I quite agree with what you just said. If anyone was a coward, it was your-it was Madarame. That man was probably the biggest coward yet, and given how cowardly Kamoshida turned when we defeated him, that's saying something." Kusa sent. Ryuji smirked as his response went through.

"Truth, Kusa! Also, awww, what a nice thing to say, Yusuke!" Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response, her words making Kusa frown as he read it.

"Still...was what Akechi-kun said actually wrong? I feel like he had a point." Ann sent as Kusa sent a response just ahead of Ryuji's response.

"And precisely what point could he have possibly had, Ann? I'm curious to hear this." Kusa sent as Ryuji's response came through.

"Truth, Kusa! Also, why you gotta bring that up now, Ann?" Ryuji sent. Ann sent her response at that point.

"I mean, is it really OK to be doing this to people just because they're criminals? Doesn't it seem a little selfish?" Ann sent as Kusa sputtered and sent a response which would make both Ren and Morgana wince as they read it, the two of them being easily able to read the irritation in Kusa's tone as his response came through.

"SELFISH!? Ann, the LAST thing ANY of us is being with our actions is selfish! Besides, I'm sure Morgana-sensei agrees with me that the words 'selfish' and 'phantom thieves' do NOT belong in the same sentence, EVER." Kusa sent bluntly, making Morgana nod approvingly as Yusuke sent a response.

"Exactly, Kusa! Also, we are phantom thieves, Ann. I doubt everyone would forgive us for what we did to Madarame. Yet, I still decided that it was a necessary act." Yusuke sent as Kusa and Ryuji nodded while the latter sent a response.

"Truth, Yusuke! Same with Kamoshida. We weren't gonna do shit to him through any kinda normal methods." Ryuji sent. Ann sent a response at that point.

"That's true, but...What do you think, Ren? Are we being selfish?" Ann sent as Ren blinked at being called out for his opinion. He then pondered before sending his response.

"We're not being selfish, if what we do is literally for the benefit of others and not ourselves. Granted, in the case of Kamoshida, that WAS somewhat for our benefit since my future, along with Ryuji, Mishima and Kusa's, were on the line on that occasion. And with Madarame, we were helping Yusuke out of a bad situation. While it could be argued it was selfish of Yusuke to help, for the most part I say we weren't being selfish and helping people. No matter how much Akechi calling us cowards annoyed me, in the end he was correct that we're not above the law. However, I maintain that we're helping people with what we do." Ren sent. Kusa sent a response at that point.

"THANK YOU! Ren knows what's up! I swear, between Ann and Yoshizawa-san, I wonder just how many people Akechi-kun has swayed with that so-called 'charisma' of his?" Kusa sent as Ann sent a response.

"Ignoring your remark about me and Yoshizawa-san, Kusa, I guess I can't really think of any other way..." Ann sent as Yusuke sent a response at that point.

"Hm. I believe our best path forward is sticking to our justice, not that of the law. Shouldn't that be enough? And with the unanimous decision rule in place, I doubt we'll lose our way." Yusuke sent as Ann sent a response.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry for bringing that up. And don't worry, I'm not thinking about quitting the Phantom Thieves or anything." Ann sent as Ryuji smirked and sent a response.

"Just you watch, Akechi. Someday you're totally gonna see who was right!" Ryuji sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Damned effing straight he'll see who was right! That fool needs to be knocked down a few pegs in my opinion." Kusa sent as Ann sent a response.

"OK, Kusa's apparent disliking of Akechi aside, let's stop talking about this for now." Ann sent, after which Ren put his phone away as Morgana spoke up.

"That detective Akechi seems to have a lot of influence on the media. It'd be dangerous to get TOO close to him, but he may prove useful in some situations." Morgana said as Kusa huffed after walking into Leblanc.

"Seriously, Morgana-sensei? The only situation I can see him being useful in would be if we needed a detective, and even then, that's still one hell of a reach." Kusa said dryly. Ren nodded his agreement as his phone went off once more, this time with a private chat from Mishima.

"God, I'm furious! You heard what Akechi said, right Amamiya? How dare he declare the Phantom Thieves are criminals! As the administrator of the Phantom Aficionado Website, I can't stay quiet about this. I'm going to show Akechi how people online really feel! I'll change up the survey question tomorrow morning. Justice is with the Phantom Thieves! Keep on doing what you do best!" Mishima sent as Ren put his phone away as Morgana spoke up.

"Why is he of all people getting angry about this?" Morgana asked as Kusa spoke up, having read the private chat over Ren's free shoulder, and finding himself both impressed by and amused with Mishima's apparent indignation at Akechi's remarks during his interview as he spoke.

"Because he's both smart, and because he thinks the same way I do, namely that Akechi is a smug insufferable prick who doesn't know what he's talking about. That said, I applaud his initiative in having the Phantom Thieves' backs the way he has. He's actually a really good guy, that Mishima." Kusa said with a smile. Morgana nodded before he spoke up, looking warily at Kusa as he spoke, both intrigued by Kusa's stance on Akechi and shocked at how passionate/heated Kusa could be when he chose to be.

"I...see. I didn't realize you could get so heated in your opinions, Kusa. That said, anyway, he means the survey on the Phan-Site, right? I guess we should look forward to it." Morgana said as Kusa then spoke up, deciding to point out something else he'd noticed as he spoke.

"Speaking of the Phan-Site, am I the only one who notices that each of the words in the site's name's first letters spells out the world PAW? Kinda funny, that." Kusa said as Ren and Morgana blinked as they realized Kusa was right. The group then pondered their plans for the evening. After some consideration, Ren decided to start reading 'Pirate Legend', while Kusa went upstairs to private chat on his phone. Afterwards, Morgana curled up in a stool next to Ren as Ren started reading from Pirate Legend.

"The lone pirate ship sailed forward, forging its own path through the crashing waves." Ren read as Morgana chuckled and spoke up.

"Wow! The pirate Captain Kidd, huh...Ryuji should read this book." Morgana said as Ren laughed and kept reading. After a bit, Morgana spoke up.

"Hey, hey! Hm? Oh, I didn't realize how long you've been reading. So, how far did you get?" Morgana asked Ren. Ren shook his head and spoke up.

"I didn't finish the book, but I did get around halfway through I'd say." Ren said. Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Seems like you still have some pages left. You should continue some other time." Morgana said to Ren, who nodded as he went upstairs to go to bed, blinking as he saw Kusa rolled over facing the sofa so all Ren could see of him was the back of his head, where his rust-brown hair fell loosely along his back since he'd undone his usual ponytail so he could sleep comfortably. Kusa was dozing off, looking fairly content even if Ren thought he seemed a bit bothered. Ren then got into his pajamas as he laid down, Morgana gently laying on Kusa's chest as he got comfortable, both Ren and Morgana dozing off quickly for the night...

(The next day, on the train to school with Ren, Morgana and Kusa)

"Did you catch any of that student detective on television yesterday?" A heavily made-up lady said as the loud lady next to her spoke up.

"The Phantom Thieves are so lame! Ah, on that talk show? It was simply dreadful. How can anyone seriously suggest supernatural beings are stealing people's hearts? That...child is a phony. There's simply no way that the Phantom Thieves exist." The loud lady said, as the heavily made-up woman spoke up once more, her response perfectly drowning out the huff Kusa gave at the loud lady's remarks, even if he approved of her calling Akechi a phony.

"Unfortunately, my precious children all think they're real. And what's worse, they also think that this detective is amazing. Children are far too impressionable to see such vulgar content on TV." The heavily-made-up lady said as Morgana sighed and spoke up so only Kusa and Ren could hear.

"Ugh, looks like people still don't think we're real..." Morgana said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Be that as it may, Morgana-sensei, at least not everyone out there likes Akechi, which is music to my ears. But back on topic, we'll show them we're real soon enough." Kusa said with a sage nod as Ren nodded and the rest of the train ride passed uneventfully...

(Later that morning, on the walk to school after the train)

"I can't believe we were on TV yesterday-with Akechi-kun! It was like a dream come true. I can't believe a high schooler moonlights as a detective. He's just like the Detective Prince. He's smart AND handsome. He's almost TOO perfect!" One of the two girls walking in front of Ren and Kusa said as her friend smiled and spoke up with a nod.

"So cool! We had front row seats. I could practically reach out and touch Akechi-kun! I was so nervous! He was really working that uniform, and without seeming like a snob he's a natural at public speaking. I hear he's an orphan who grew up poor. It's part of what makes him so amazing! He wants his last high-school memory to be capturing the Phantom Thieves. This isn't a game to him!" The second girl said as the first girl spoke up.

"Says who!? See, I heard his dad's the head of some big financial conglomerate. I will say, I love that he hates the media. Makes me believe that he doesn't do this for the fame. People say he's so good that he's made enemies in the police force...Oh, yeah-apparently yesterday's interview was so popular, they're going to air it again tonight." The first girl said as Ren and Kusa frowned but finished the walk to school in silence...

(Later that afternoon, around lunchtime in the courtyard with Ryuji, Ren, Morgana and Kusa)

"Man, that detective from yesterday really pissed me off! We're some kinda threat? Let's see HIM do it, then!" Ryuji said as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"Truth, man! That guy was a genuine jackass. He was seriously lucky I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, because I was so tempted to just haul off and smack him in the face, especially when he basically insinuated that we're the ones breaking the law by punishing criminals, on top of implying that we're cowards." Kusa said, just barely keeping his voice down despite his obvious frustration with Akechi. Ryuji nodded as he punched the nearest vending machine, yelling loudly and making Kusa's eyes go comically wide at what he was yelling.

"If someone else could help 'em, we wouldn't be doin' stuff as the Phantom Thieves to start with!" Ryuji said as Ann came walking over at that point, making Kusa have to stifle a laugh when Ann open-palm smacked Ryuji in the face, getting a muted 'OW' from Ryuji as Ann spoke up, speaking around the food she was chewing.

"You're being way too loud." Ann said. Kusa nodded approvingly.

"Exactly, Ann. At least I kept my voice down when I was griping about Akechi-kun." Kusa said huffily as Ryuji spoke up.

"Who cares? Everybody's talkin' about this stuff anyways." Ryuji said as Kusa glared at Ryuji and spoke up pointedly.

"Be that as it may Ryuji, that doesn't mean you can go around yelling at the top of your voice, or close to it, about us being Thieves. What if Miss Prez or Akechi had happened to hear you?" Kusa chastised Ryuji, just barely keeping his voice civil when he mentioned Akechi. Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Fair point, but I say it'd just be more suspicious if we were whisperin'." Ryuji said. Ryuji then frowned as he saw Ann eating and spoke up.

"HEY! You really just gonna keep eatin' and eatin' and eatin' those things all by yourself!? Gimme some!" Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"First of all, RUDE! Second of all, what if she's already eaten them all Ryuji!? Ever think of that?" Kusa said as Ann smiled and spoke up.

"Sorry, just ate the last one. So once again, Kusa's right." Ann said as Kusa grinned.

"Knew it! Sorry about your luck, Ryuji." Kusa said. Morgana frowned as he spoke up.

"You guys are too laid back. The police are getting involved now, you know." Morgana said as Ann spoke up.

"So you think it's true? We'll be okay if we keep doing this...right?" Ann said as Kusa spoke up.

"As long as we don't do anything actually illegal while being phantom thieves, we should be fine." Kusa said as Ryuji spoke up.

"We can't let the cops scare us outta bein' phantom thieves." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up.

"But...what about that weird guy from Madarame's Palace? Isn't there a lot we don't know?" Ann said as Kusa blinked and spoke up.

"Oh yeah, that black masked person. Come to think of it, I wonder if we mightn't have already met that person? If we have, it would explain how they could understand Morgana-sensei already." Kusa said as Ren and Ann exchanged shocked looks with Morgana at Kusa's logic. Before anyone could reply to Kusa's point, a flash behind the group made them all jump, as they turned to see Niijima standing behind them with a phone, making Ryuji blink and speak up.

"The hell?" Ryuji asked as Niijima spoke up dryly, giving the stunned group an appraising look as she spoke.

"You four seem to be having so much fun. I'm a little jealous." Niijima said as Kusa spoke up, frowning at Niijima's remark as he spoke.

"I'd hardly call what we're having 'fun', unless you consider griping about the news to be fun." Kusa said in a deadpan tone. Ryuji nodded and spoke up, grinning as he spoke.

"Are you snoopin' on us again, Miss Prez? We said before, we don't know nothin'." Ryuji said as Kusa blinked at Ryuji's response, groaning when Niijima smirked as she pounced on his wording.

"Why do you think I'm here to question you? Could it be that you're hiding something? My ears are always open to the troubles of my peers, you know." Niijima said as Ann and Kusa huffed at this, the latter speaking up while fixing Niijima with an intrigued look as he spoke.

"That a fact? Maybe you should've extended that offer before shit started gettin' so effing crazy around here, Niijima-san. Maybe then Shujin wouldn't have had a suicide attempt, a dirty scummy bastard of a teacher, and near-constant media attention, if your ears had been open to the troubles of your peers? But then again, maybe that wouldn't have changed a thing. Who's to say, really? And I believe I said before, trying to play the bad cop isn't going to make you any friends, Niijima-san." Kusa pointed out dryly. Ann nodded as she spoke up, agreeing with Kusa as she spoke.

"Kusa makes a good point. But then, I don't think you care about that, Niijima-senpai. You're really THAT hungry for a good letter of recommendation? Of course you are. Nobody would take on YOUR annoying job if they weren't." Ann said as Kusa frowned and spoke up, his words causing both Ann and Niijima to give him surprised looks as he spoke.

"Now, let's not be TOO harsh on her, Ann. Yes, she's being a bit heavy-handed and a bit of a busybody, but I don't think it's fair to call her position annoying. If used properly, a student council president has the potential to be a real force for good, or it can be little more than just another sycophant's position. It all depends on the person holding the position. And I think Niijima-san here, while probably striving to better herself, surely has better ways to do so than reducing herself down to being Kobayakawa's lapdog?

Because I'd like to believe she's better than that. Not to mention, if she was truly as terrible of a person as you seem to think she is, would Ryuji have come to her defense like he did on the rooftop the other day? Granted, that might've been the part of him that was possibly smitten with her talking, but I think Ryuji's a good enough judge of character that he knows a good person when he sees one." Kusa said making Ryuji huff and glare at Kusa for calling out his possible feelings for Niijima, while Niijima AND Ann both blinked at his words, even as Niijima frowned at Ann and spoke up, partly so she didn't have to consider what Kusa had said as she spoke.

"What's THAT supposed to mean, Takamaki?" Niijima asked Ann, who frowned as she advanced on Niijima while speaking up huffily.

"You're student council president, right? Wouldn't you have known about Kamoshida!?" Ann asked Niijima, who winced as she spoke up with a surprising amount of remorse in her tone as she spoke.

"Of course not! He honestly was a good teacher until that day..." Niijima said as Kusa spoke up, frowning at Niijima's remark as he spoke.

"Good? You'd call someone who was harassing, abusing and violating his students good!? I'll give you credit for at least one thing, Niijima-san. You probably didn't know about that when you thought he was good. But even so, I'd like to think you're smarter than that, Niijima-san! Or are you truly as naive as Ryuji tends to be at times?" Kusa said as both Ryuji and Niijima blinked at Kusa's remark, while Ann smiled and spoke up.

"Exactly, Kusa! Oh, but you always take the teacher's side. That's what a good council president does, right?" Ann said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's what a mindless teacher's pet does. And for all that Niijima-san has been stalking us, along with trying to get dirt on us, she's no teacher's pet. Or so I'd like to believe. As to what a good council president does, usually they listen to the troubles of their peers and help out with said troubles, provided it's within their power to do so. Not to mention, they use their power to try and change their school for the better, again if they can reasonably do so. THAT is what a good student council president does." Kusa said bluntly, as Niijima and Ann both gave him shocked looks, before the former of the two looked at the latter and spoke up, frowning at Ann as she spoke.

"Amamiya-kun the younger...thank you. As for you, Takamaki, then how about you? What did you do for your friend?" Niijima asked Ann after smiling appreciatively at Kusa for speaking up on her behalf as she kept speaking.

"You were much closer to her than I was, so how did you help?" Niijima asked as Kusa spoke up at that point.

"She volunteered to ride with her all the way to the hospital when the teachers were too busy acting like sheep to step up for their student. Incidentally, where were YOU while that was happening, Niijima-san? I don't recall seeing you around campus that day?" Kusa said conversationally. Ann smiled at Kusa's words as she spoke up with a wince.

"What Kusa said! But beyond that, there wasn't any way to help! By myself...I couldn't do anything for her!" Ann said, her voice rising slightly as she spoke. Niijima winced as she spoke up.

"There's no need to shout." Niijima said as Ryuji spoke up, his voice surprisingly calm and level.

"If those Phantom Thieves are out there helpin' people...I'd root for them, no questions asked." Ryuji said as he kept speaking, his next words making both Niijima and Kusa wince.

"They've gotta be more dependable than some people I know." Ryuji said pointedly as Niijima winced at his tone, knowing he was right but not wanting to admit it. She then spoke up in a much more subdued tone, frowning as she spoke.

"Just make sure you show up to your classes, all right?" Niijima said as Kusa spoke up.

"Naturally. Last thing any of us, but especially Ren here, would want to do is draw attention to ourselves by not going to classes." Kusa said agreeably. Niijima nodded and walked off as Ann turned to face the others, a determined look on her face as she spoke up.

"You know what I asked earlier about whether we'll be okay if we keep this up? I take it back. I'd be ashamed to let it end now..." Ann said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Hell yeah. It's about time we find our next target too." Ryuji said as Kusa winced, looking around to make sure the group wasn't being eavesdropped on before frowning at Ryuji.

"Can you not say that so loud, man!? What if Niijima had hid around the corner instead of leaving? Luckily she's gone so it's irrelevant, but you need to think before you speak!" Kusa rebuked Ryuji lightly as the group kept discussing business...

(Around the same time in the courtyard with Niijima)

"If only I could...They're not wrong about me. At least Amamiya-kun the younger seemed to be willing to defend me somewhat, surprisingly." Makoto said to herself as she kept walking...

(After school in the Shibuya Station Square with Ryuji, Ren, Morgana, Ann, Kusa and Yusuke)

"Comments are coming in at an alarming rate. However, negative ones seem to be more prominent. 'A criminal group with unknown goals that does whatever it wants in the name of justice.' Huh..." Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up.

"It's prolly 'cause of Akechi...TV's got some crazy sway." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up.

"He's free to deny our actions, but being cursed by his influence is another thing entirely." Yusuke said as Ann sighed and spoke up.

"Agh, just when we were starting to get people to believe in us too..." Ann said as Ryuji spoke up.

"All we gotta do is take down another hot shot, yeah?" Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Well, do you have any ideas who this next 'hot shot' could be?" Yusuke asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Probably not, knowing Ryuji. He tends to fly by the seat of his pants with his planning. But I get the feeling our next hot shot will be huge, both figuratively, as well as literally, speaking. But that's just an instinctive hunch of mine." Kusa said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"As much as I want to say Kusa's wrong, he's really not. I ain't got a thing yet...Dammit, this is real irritatin'...By the way, what's up with that luggage?" Ryuji asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"Oh, I decided to leave the school dorms. They were not only filthy, but too noisy as well. As such, no true art could possibly come from such a place." Yusuke said as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.

"What're you gonna do then? You can't go back to that shack, right?" Ryuji asked Yusuke, who spoke up after a bit, looking at Ann as he spoke.

"I was planning on staying at Takamaki-san's-I mean, Ann's house. I've even prepared a thank-you gift. I hope it's to your parents' liking." Yusuke said as Ann blinked in shock at Yusuke's bold declaration, while Kusa spoke up, his eyes having widened fractionally after Yusuke's statement before they narrowed slightly as he spoke.

"First of all, did you even ask before you invited yourself over there, Yusuke!? Secondly, don't you think such an arrangement might be just a tad inappropriate after what you tried to have her do before we dealt with Madarame?" Kusa asked Yusuke as Ann blinked and spoke up, frowning at Yusuke's boldness as she spoke.

"Exactly, Kusa! Also, WHAT!? There's NO way that's gonna happen!" Ann said as Yusuke blinked.

"Impossible..." Yusuke said as Ryuji huffed and spoke up, frowning at Yusuke as he spoke.

"YOU're the impossible one!" Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up looking dejected, seeming to deflate as he spoke.

"But I spent everything I had on these delectable Japanese sweets..." Yusuke said as Kusa facefaulted and then spoke up in stunned disbelief, fixing Yusuke with a look that was a mix of stunned, horrified, and confused as he spoke.

"EVERYTHING!? Jeez, do I need to look over your finances and help you get better at stretching a budget, Yusuke!? That way you don't go overboard on sweets! Also, that's why you ASK before you make presumptuous plans like you did. Come to think of it though, I recall Ryuji here said his place has a spare apartment vacant that he can get the key for that you could sleep in in the short-term." Kusa said. Ryuji sputtered as he spoke up, frowning at Kusa as he spoke.

"DUDE! I got lucky to get Ren and Mishima in there for our maidwatching plan! I doubt I could get Yusuke in there, especially as a squatter! But I get what you were going for." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up, giving Yusuke a concerned look before huffing as she spoke.

"That's not the issue here, Yusuke! Seriously though...what're we gonna do about him?" Ann said as Ren spoke up, giving Ryuji an appraising look as he spoke.

"Well, it seems like Ann's place is out, and the spare apartment near Ryuji's place is out...is there a reason he can't crash at Ryuji's place specifically?" Ren asked curiously. Ryuji shook his head regretfully as he spoke up, giving the others an apologetic look as he spoke.

"Nah, man. It's way too small. Plus, my mom'd never agree to it." Ryuji said as Ren and Kusa frowned at this, both stroking their chins in thought, as Morgana spoke up from inside Ren's bag, ignoring the glares that his words would get him from both Ren and Kusa as he spoke.

"Well, seeing as Yusuke is an important member of our team...I'll lend a hand! Come stay at our place! It's dirty, but at least you'll have somewhere to sleep!" Morgana said, before wincing as both Ren and Kusa turned to face Morgana, identical looks of outrage, disbelief, and shock on their faces as the latter spoke up, fixing the currently wincing not-cat with a pointed glare as he spoke.

"EXCUSE YOU!? Did you seriously just offer Yusuke lodging at OUR place, WITHOUT ASKING US!? Not that I mind, but Ren and I barely fit in our room! Besides, there's only two beds! And while I might allow YOU to share with me, I draw the line at letting a cat sleep with me. That said, if we can find another bed, and IF we can get Sakura-kun to agree to put Yusuke up for a time, both of which are VERY big ifs in and of themselves, that might be an option. But I wouldn't get your hopes up on that too much, Yusuke." Kusa said making Ann blink at Kusa calling Morgana a cat, Ryujil laugh at Kusa's remark, and Morgana just frown, knowing he deserved that for his presumptuous decison. Ren, for his part, nodded approvingly to Kusa's remark and spoke up, agreeing with Kusa while he looked at the others as he spoke.

"What Kusa said. And I too refuse to share a bed with a guy so we'd definitely have to find another bed for Yusuke if he does stay with us." Ren said. Ryuji frowned at Morgana and spoke up, giving the not-cat an unimpressed look for trying to pull rank on Ren as he spoke.

"Why're YOU the one calling the shots? Isn't Ren our leader?" Ryuji pointed out. Ann blinked as she recalled something she'd been wondering about, making her frown as she turned to Ren and Kusa as she spoke up, voicing a thought she'd had as she spoke.

"Don't you three live in a cafe? I've been wondering about that for a while." Ann said. Kusa smiled and spoke up, having expected one of the others to ask about his and Ren's living arrangements eventually, and deciding to be honest with the others as he spoke.

"It's a bit of a long story, but to sum things up for the time being, we were lucky that Sakura-kun agreed to take us in for the duration of Ren's probation. So yeah, the cafe was the best Sakura-kun could reasonably do on short notice. Besides, I really don't see him trying to cram two teenage boys into a house with him and his shut-in daughter, never mind THREE. So yeah, it's probably just as well he gave us the attic above the cafe to live in. For being an attic, it's deceptively spacious, if a bit of a compact living space." Kusa explained to Ann, who nodded her acceptance of Kusa's explanation as she kept speaking, not seeing the uncertain looks Ren and Kusa traded as she spoke.

"Yongen's not too far, is it?" Ann asked as Ren spoke up, exchanging a wary look with Kusa, who also was not sure he liked where things were headed, as he spoke.

"Nah, it's not that far. It's a bit of a train ride, but it's not that far." Ren replied as Kusa nodded his agreement, still frowning at Morgana as he nodded. Morgana ignored Kusa's glare as he spoke up, smiling at the others as he spoke.

"Nope! And the cafe's only a minute walk from the station." Morgana said as Kusa huffed and spoke up, giving Morgana a look that said quite plainly that the two would be having words later about Morgana being presumptuous enough to offer their living space to others without consulting him and Ren first as he spoke.

"That's IF you speed walk! If you're walking at normal walking speed, it's like a three to four minute walk, but it's still close." Kusa said. Ann nodded and spoke up, a curious and intrigued look on her face as she spoke.

"How about we go there now?" Ann suggested as Ren and Kusa winced as the latter spoke up, not sure how Sojiro would react to the two bringing friends home as he spoke.

"Oof...Sakura-kun usually asks us not to be around when he has customers...but if we're bringing him customers, maybe he won't mind?" Kusa said with a shrug. Ann spoke up with a smile, having an idea for how to handle Sojiro as she spoke.

"We can have a party to celebrate Madarame's change of heart!" Ann said as Ren spoke up, not against the idea, but also uncertain of how Sojiro would react to it as he spoke.

"No problem...provided you or Ryuji can afford to foot the bill, since we'd most likely be bringing you in as customers. Plus, Kusa and I don't exactly have a lot on us at the moment, since we put most of what we had into prepping for the last Palace and maintaining our equipment and weapons. So the two of us are just a tad broke at the moment." Ren said sheepishly as Kusa nodded his agreement. Ryuji smiled as he spoke up, having an idea come to him as he spoke.

"Oh, good idea! We can make it a welcome party for Yusuke, too! And I think Ann and I can handle the bill if need be, or at least Ann can." Ryuji said with a smile and a fist pump. Kusa spoke up warily, looking at the others with an apprehensive look before speaking up in a wary tone of voice, glaring at Morgana as he spoke.

"Just so we're clear, if Sakura-kun objects, we blame you guys. And to a point Morgana, since technically this was all HIS idea." Kusa said, frowning at the not-cat in question as Ann spoke up, seemingly unbothered by Kusa's annoyance with Morgana as she spoke.

"All right, it's decided!" Ann said as she and Ryuji started walking towards Yongen and Leblanc, Yusuke grabbing his luggage as he turned to a pensive Ren and sputtering Kusa as he spoke up, seeing the looks on the brothers' faces and deciding to try and pacify them a bit as he spoke.

"Sorry to cause you trouble." Yusuke said apologetically as Kusa calmed down enough to speak up, giving Yusuke an understanding look as he spoke.

"Yusuke, you're not causing us trouble. Morgana-sensei, on the other hand, should be the one apologizing. He could have at least had the decency and/or courtesy to have asked Ren and I before he offered you lodging at Leblanc. But I think we can figure something out for you. I suppose worst case, you can take the sofa in the attic, while Ren keeps the bed and I either sleep on the floor or maybe I can dig out some kind of blow-up mattress or something as a guest bed. I dunno." Kusa said, giving Morgana a pointed glare. Morgana gave Kusa a sheepish look as he spoke up, recognizing he'd made a slight faux pas when he offered Yusuke lodging without running it by Kusa and/or Ren first as he spoke.

"Eheh, sorry for offering Yusuke lodgings without asking you and Ren first?" Morgana said uncertainly as Kusa sighed and patted Morgana on the head, frowning at the purring not-cat as he spoke, hating that he couldn't stay mad at Morgana.

"Ugh, dammit Morgana-sensei, you're lucky I can't stay mad at you." Kusa said with a grumble as he petted Morgana's head, eliciting a contented purr from Morgana for his efforts as Yusuke kept speaking to Ren, ignoring the frowning Kusa as he spoke.

"By the way...I prefer sleeping on a futon." Yusuke said as Kusa laughed and spoke up, shaking his head fondly yet exasperatedly as he spoke.

"A futon!? Yeah...sorry to say it Yusuke, but that's not happening, my dude. Ren has the bed, and even then, it's not a bed per se, so much as a mattress on some crates. And not even a futon-level mattress. So at best, you'll be lucky if I can find you an inflatable mattress to use. It might end up being we have to make up a stack of sheets on the floor for you to lay on. We'll see what happens." Kusa said, as Ren nodded his agreement with Kusa as he sweatdropped, the three following after Ryuji and Ann as Morgana spoke up to Ren and Kusa, giving the two a contrite/apologetic glance as he looked at Ren as he spoke.

"It'll be up to you, Ren, to convince the chief." Morgana said as Kusa huffed, sighing as he spoke up, realizing that Morgana was correct in his intentions, even if he didn't agree with him doing it out of nowhere as he spoke.

"I think he'd be likelier to be receptive to it coming from me. But if you want Ren to do it, I suppose so be it." Kusa said huffily as the three males and one not-cat followed Ann and Ryuji...

(A short time later, at Leblanc with Ren, Kusa, Yusuke, Ann, Ryuji, Morgana and Sojiro)

"Ah, what a nice smell..." Ann said as Ryuji blinked while looking around as he spoke up, taking in every bit of Leblanc, from the booth seats near him and Ann to the kitchen with its visible stove and refrigerator, to Sojiro who was busily working behind the counter, somehow not having heard the group come in, as he spoke.

"This place looks so outdated...Can't say I hate it though." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up, his words making Kusa blink then chuckle.

"People refer to that as 'retro'." Yusuke said as Kusa spoke up while giving Ryuji a warning look as he spoke, not amused by Ryuji indirectly insulting Leblanc.

"Watch what you say, Ryuji. This place is Sakura-kun's pride and joy, and should be respected as such." Kusa rebuked Ryuji huffily, as Sojiro heard Kusa's voice before he turned around to see the gathered group, frowning as he spoke up, fixing Ren and Kusa with a confused look as he spoke.

"Hm? Who're they?" Sojiro asked as Kusa spoke up, turning to face Sojiro with a polite expression on his face as he spoke.

"Sorry, Sakura-kun. They're friends of myself and Ren. Apparently, they heard about this place, and wanted to check it out for themselves." Kusa explained to Sojiro. Ann smiled at Sojiro as she spoke up, doing her best to sound charming or at least polite as she spoke.

"Hello!" Ann said, making Sojiro blink as he looked at Ann before speaking up, looking at Ren and Kusa in slight surprise as he spoke.

"A girl too...?" Sojiro asked, as Kusa nodded and spoke up, both amused and slightly uneasy with the mixed appraising/intrigued look Sojiro was giving Ann as he spoke.

"Yeah, that's Ann. Ren and I had to help her out of a rough spot once, and we've basically been friends since! Granted, I say friend, but in actuality, she sees Ren and I as brothers of a sort, or at least that's how she sees me. She hasn't said if that's how she sees Ren here yet or not that I can recall." Kusa replied. Ann nodded as she spoke up, agreeing with Kusa's explanation and deciding to try and fill Sojiro in a bit as she spoke.

"Ren and Kusa have really helped us a lot lately." Ann explained as Sojiro chuckled and spoke up, giving Ann his best charming smirk as he spoke.

"Heh, I bet you're the ones doing all the helping, at least with Ren. I could see Kusa being helpful to you though, since he is a pretty good kid, all things considered." Sojiro said as Ann spoke up, smiling at the grateful look Kusa gave Sojiro as she spoke.

"No really, they've both been great, Ren especially. Kusa is a really good guy too, but you already know this for yourself. Ren, for his part, is just a case of not judging a book by its cover." Ann said in Ren and Kusa's defense. Sojiro smirked at Ann defending Ren and Kusa and spoke up, giving Ann an approving nod as he spoke, still reserving judgment on Ryuji and Yusuke for the time being.

"Huh...Sit down. This round'll be on the house." Sojiro said before looking at Ren and Kusa as he kept speaking.

"You two're helping though." Sojiro said as Ren nodded while Kusa smiled and spoke up, expecting this from Sojiro, and not finding himself opposed to it in the least as he spoke.

"Fair enough, Sakura-kun. Gotta earn our keep after all." Kusa said agreeably making Ann chuckle at the easy give-and-take between Sojiro and Kusa. A short time later, Sojiro had plates of curry and cups of coffee served all around as Ann gave Sojiro a closed-eye smile after trying the curry.

"Wow...It's delicious." Ann said as Yusuke sampled it and gave a contented sound as he spoke up.

"Mmm...Indeed, there's great depth to its acidity." Yusuke said as Ann blinked and spoke up.

"Oh yeah, I remember now! I think I've seen Leblanc mentioned in a magazine before..." Ann said as Sojiro chuckled and spoke up, knowing what she was referring to as he spoke.

"Heh, that was a long time ago." Sojiro said as Ryuji spoke up, blinking at Ann in surprise as he spoke.

"For real? Gimme a taste." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up in surprise, exchanging a confused/surprised look with Ren as he spoke.

"Give you a taste!? Did we not give everyone their own plates before?" Kusa asked in surprise, as he did a quick head count and blinked, as he realized that he and Ren had miscounted and accidentally forgot to include Ryuji in the plates while making a plate for Morgana, who was happily feasting on his plate upstairs. Ryuji reached over and took a sip of the coffee and gagged as he reached for his drink as he spoke up, his reaction making Kusa wince and hope that Sojiro wasn't offended by it as Ryuji spoke.

"Blech!" Ryuji said before pounding his drink as he spoke up, an unsatisfied look on his face as he spoke.

"It's so bitter! Gah, this has gotta be cruel and unusual punishment!" Ryuji said as Kusa glared at Ryuji for his lack of tact, offended on Ren's behalf as he spoke.

"Nice to know you think so little of Ren's handiwork, Ryuji!" Kusa huffed, revealing that Ren had made the coffee while rebuking Ryuji. Luckily for Ryuji, Sojiro just chuckled and spoke up.

"Eh, I didn't drink coffee when I was a kid either." Sojiro said as he turned to Ren and Kusa while speaking up.

"These're your friends, yeah? Go on and take them up to your room. No need to stay down here." Sojiro said as Kusa and Ren nodded.

"Got it. We'll show them up when they're ready." Kusa said with a nod as Ren nodded agreeably as Ann smiled and spoke up.

"Ooh, I wanna see!" Ann said as Kusa chuckled and spoke up, amused by Ann's reaction, fixing the others with a stern look as he spoke.

"Fair enough, but fair warning: It's not much of a room, and it's a bit of a fixer-upper, but I suppose they say home is where you hang your hat, or was it home is where your heart is? I forget which of those it is." Kusa said with a shrug. Sojiro chuckled as he spoke up, both amused by Kusa's defense of Leblanc and amused at how highly Kusa already thought of Leblanc as he spoke.

"I think either of those expressions would probably work, Kusa. That said, it's only an attic." Sojiro said to Ann. Ryuji winced and spoke up.

"Oh man...Gah! That bitter taste just won't leave my mouth..." Ryuji said as Kusa laughed, giving Ryuji a sympathetic look as he spoke.

"I didn't think coffee was that bitter? But you know what they say, chase down bitter with some sweet. And I think if I recall right, we MIGHT keep soda in the fridge? Granted, that's Sakura-kun's domain, so I'm not about to go looking through it without his say-so." Kusa said to Ryuji. Ren just started heading towards his and Kusa's room, followed by Yusuke who spoke up as he went to follow Ren, turning to give Sojiro a grateful look as he spoke.

"Thank you very much for the drink." Yusuke said as Kusa came out with a soda after Sojiro gave his okay to check the fridge, handing a Coke to Ryuji and hefting a Dr Pepper for himself as Ryuji smiled and spoke up, giving Kusa a grateful look as he spoke.

"Up these stairs? Oh, and thanks for the soda!" Ryuji said as he and Yusuke followed Ren and Kusa up the stairs, Ann close behind, though Sojiro spoke up and stopped her as she got up and grabbed the bags that Ryuji and Ren had left downstairs, the latter's bag having a sleeping Morgana in it, who'd snuck back downstairs unseen to climb into Ren's bag for a catnap while everyone was talking, then turned to face Sojiro as he spoke.

"So you're, uhh..." Sojiro said to Ann who smiled at Sojiro before wincing as she realized she hadn't introduced herself, speaking up to do so, looking at Sojiro as she spoke.

"Oops, sorry. Where's my manners? I'm Ann Takamaki. The two who followed Kusa and Ren upstairs are Ryuji Sakamoto and Yusuke Kitagawa." Ann said to Sojiro. Sojiro smiled at Ann and crossed his arms and spoke up, giving Ann an intrigued/impressed look as he spoke.

"Ann-chan, huh? That's a nice name. You got a boyfriend?" Sojiro asked Ann, not seeing Kusa on the stairs until Kusa blinked at Sojiro's question as he spoke up, chuckling at Sojiro being a shameless flirt, even as he winced at the idea of Sojiro flirting with Ann given she likely wasn't that much older than Futaba who, as far as Kusa knew, was Sojiro's daughter while he spoke.

"No, Sakura-kun, she doesn't. But then I don't think she's looking right now either, sorry to say. Besides, I didn't think you were into girls around mine and Ren's age. But I guess you do you, sir." Kusa said by way of explanation. Ann smiled and spoke up at that point.

"Nope. Never have, either." Ann said as Ryuji's voice echoed down the stairs, his volume level making Kusa wince as he spoke.

"HEY! You gotta get up here! This place's freakin' insane!" Ryuji called to Ann as Kusa winced, turning to Sojiro as he spoke up, giving Sojiro an apologetic look as he spoke.

"And that'll be Ryuji being his boisterous loud self. Apologies in advance if there's a lot of noise from upstairs, Sakura-kun. It'll be because of Ryuji, and possibly Morgana, since sometimes those two like to poke fun at each other. But we'll try to keep it fairly quiet so we don't disturb your customers." Kusa said respectfully to Sojiro. Sojiro nodded and spoke up, giving Kusa a look that said he wasn't bothered by the noise as he spoke.

"I understand. I wasn't expecting it to be quiet when you brought friends over. Now go on, you two." Sojiro said as Kusa nodded and gestured towards the stairs as he spoke up, getting Ann's attention as he spoke.

"After you, Ann." Kusa said as Ann nodded and headed up the stairs after thanking Sojiro for the coffee and grabbing the bags that Ren and Ryuji left downstairs, one of which had a sleeping Morgana in it, followed by Kusa, making Sojiro blink as he watched the two go upstairs, stroking his beard contemplatively as he lost himself in thought.

'Huh, that's rather odd that Kusa would know that about Ann-chan. Could they be into each other? No, I don't think so. The way Kusa was speaking, he didn't seem to like Ann romantically. If anything, I think Kusa might have eyes for another, possibly for Futaba? As for Ann, maybe she's not into men at all? That's her choice to make, if it's true. Either way, Kusa and Ren picked some good friends.' Sojiro thought as he did the dishes. He then spoke up as he watched them go upstairs.

"Huh, sweet girl." Sojiro said to himself...

(Upstairs in Ren and Kusa's room with Ren, Kusa, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann and Yusuke)

"Whaddya think of this room? I dunno where to begin..." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up, looking around the attic/living space for Ren and Kusa as he spoke.

"It seems quite ordinary to me." Yusuke said as both Ryuji and Kusa blinked, the former speaking up in a deadpan tone.

"For real?" Ryuji said as Ann and Morgana came upstairs at that point, the former speaking up.

"Oh..." Ann said in surprise. Ryuji smirked and spoke up, grinning as he spoke.

"See? Ain't this crazy?" Ryuji asked Ann who spoke up, though her words would have Kusa almost facefault while Ren chuckled as she spoke.

"It's cleaner than I thought it would be." Ann said as Kusa spoke up, smiling at Ann, clearly impressed by her praise as he spoke.

"Of course it is. Who do you take us for? Do either Ren or myself look like we're as sloppy and careless as Ryuji, Ann!? We know how to keep a clean room. Besides, Morgana-sensei lives in here too, so I don't think he'd approve of us keeping a not-clean room." Kusa said by way of explanation. Ryuji actually facefaulted at Kusa's remark and spoke up in surprise, frowning at Kusa's shot at him as he spoke up in surprise.

"What!?" Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up, smiling gracefully at Yusuke, Ann and Ryuji as he spoke.

"Well, sit wherever you like." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up, looking at Ann, Yusuke and Ryuji as he spoke.

"Indeed, though keep in mind, we don't exactly have a lot of places to sit at the moment. Ren's bed, which is over there in the corner, can probably seat 3 or 4 if needed. Also, the sofa, which is over there behind Yusuke and to the left, can seat probably 2 to 3 more. However, it's also where Morgana and I usually sleep at night." Kusa said. Ryuji, Ann and Yusuke nodded, Ann sitting on the sofa while Ryuji leaned on the work desk in the corner, and Ren sat on his bed, while Morgana sat in the center of the group, Kusa leaning against the wall next to Yusuke as Yusuke spoke up, a contemplative/pensive look on his face as he spoke.

"We're all over the news. Even those who previously believed in us have been influenced by the comments made on TV." Yusuke said as Ryuji huffed and spoke up, making Kusa wince as his decision to apologize to Sojiro in advance for any excessive levels of noise would prove to be a good one as Ryuji's outburst seconds later would prove.

"This is all that effin' Akechi's fault!" Ryuji huffed as Yusuke glared at Ryuji and spoke up, to Kusa's surprise.

"Keep it down. We don't want anyone hearing us." Yusuke said as Kusa gave Yusuke an approving nod as he spoke up.

"Technically the only ones that COULD hear us here would be Sakura-kun, and any customers he might have. And even though Ren and I aren't usually home during the day, I'm pretty sure Sakura-kun once told me this is his slow period. So I think we're relatively in the clear, though I wouldn't be surprised if Sakura-kun doesn't at least suspect something to be fair. Sakura-kun is a pretty smart man after all.

Though I was admittedly surprised when he tried hitting on Ann before. I think it was just a harmless compliment, but considering he has a daughter around Ann's age, it's still a surprise to see him hitting on Ann." Kusa said as he crossed his arms with a shrug. Ann nodded as she spoke up.

"Kusa's correct. But back on topic, at this rate we're just going to worry everyone, instead of give them courage..." Ann said as Morgana spoke up.

"We need to find a way to make our rightfulness known to society." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up, chuckling at how the not-cat had misspoken as he spoke.

"Don't you mean 'righteousness', Morgana-sensei?" Kusa said to Morgana. Morgana nodded sheepishly as he spoke up, giving Kusa a grateful nod for correcting him as he spoke.

"Right, that. Anyways, it's time we think about our next move. You were planning on discussing that today, right?" Morgana asked as Yusuke nodded.

"Yes. First we need to search for a candidate." Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Perhaps, but it's not like we're just gonna stumble upon some important target though." Ryuji said as Kusa nodded.

"Fair point." Kusa said agreeably as Ryuji spoke up once more.

"You guys don't know anyone, do you?" Ryuji asked Ren and Kusa, who shook their heads as the latter spoke up.

"I was considering Kobayakawa as a target since he's basically forcing Niijima-san into investigating the Phantom Thieves for him, but the problem is that doesn't necessarily mean he has a Palace. He could, but without proof he has one and that he's done anything to rate a change of heart, it might be a waste of our time to pursue that option." Kusa said as Ren nodded agreement.

"Yeah. We'd have as much luck finding keywords for Kobayakawa as we might if we were to go after someone like Akechi-kun." Ren said as Kusa laughed.

"HA! Even if he is full of himself, I'd be shocked if he had a Palace. For one, I don't think people our age can have Palaces, err can they, Morgana-sensei?" Kusa said, looking inquisitively towards Morgana as he spoke, realizing he might be mistaken. Morgana smiled as he spoke up.

"It is possible, though unheard of, for kids your age to have Palaces, Kusa." Morgana said as Kusa winced.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that. Well, with any luck we'll never have to find out if that's the case or not." Kusa said as Ren laughed and spoke up.

"True. I mean, could you imagine if Futaba had a Palace and we had to change her heart?" Ren said with a laugh. Kusa winced at that, his eyes going comically wide as he spoke up, both visibly surprised and startled by the abrupt change of subject, as well as hopeful that Ren's joking suggestion was wrong as he spoke.

"REN! Don't even joke about that! Could you imagine if she actually did have a Palace, and it ended up playing out that we had to change her heart? I dunno if I could conceivably stomach trying something like that. What if it went wrong? I'd hate to be the reason someone like Futaba were to die if we botched the heart change. And she's already been through enough as it is. I don't think she needs to suffer more." Kusa said, his eyes going wider still as he heard Ren's phone actually say 'Candidate Found!', which made Kusa gasp as he looked at Ren's phone. Not long after, Kusa found himself swearing profusely as he saw the screen confirm that Futaba did in fact have a Palace, before he glared at Ren as he spoke up, blaming Ren's oh-so-whimsical luck for Ren's joking suggestion being proved correct.

"Dammit! You had to bring that up, Ren! Well, for now, let's table that, since I don't think we'd even be able to begin to find her keywords. Besides, I hardly think that Taba would qualify as a big-shot, in ANY sense of the word." Kusa said decisively. Ann and Yusuke shook their heads as they spoke up, the former speaking up first, giving Kusa a worried look after his outburst as she spoke.

"I don't..." Ann said as Yusuke spoke up, shaking his head in the negative as he spoke.

"Me neither..." Yusuke said. Ryuji sighed as he looked at Ren and spoke up, frowning as he spoke.

"Ugh, whaddya think, Leader?" Ryuji asked Ren who stroked his chin in thought as he spoke up, eventually reaching a decision as he spoke.

"I suppose we could try keeping an eye on both the news and on Mishima's site. But for now, I say we sleep on it. After all, if things go like they did with the last two targets, odds are we'll have the target be made apparent to us in time." Ren said as Kusa nodded agreeably.

"I concur. I doubt it, but what're the odds that both Futaba AND Yoshizawa-san have Palaces?" Kusa asked as much to Ren's relief, Kasumi came back as not having a Palace, making Kusa pout at that before he kept speaking, also relieved that Kasumi appeared to not have a Palace, even if he was annoyed that Futaba had one.

"Oh, come the eff on! For real!? How come Ren's crush doesn't have a palace, but Taba does? That kind of blows to be honest, Ren." Kusa said huffily, as Ryuji laughed before speaking up as he gently patted Kusa on the shoulder comfortingly as he spoke.

"Relax, Kusa. If it comes to it, we can change her heart safely. And besides, I don't think Morgana would let us fail on such a critical task." Ryuji said comfortingly to Kusa, who smiled and nodded to Ryuji's point as Morgana spoke up, his words causing Kusa's eyes to widen before he gave Morgana a mortified glare as the not-cat spoke.

"Right. We wouldn't let anything happen to your crush, Kusa. So don't worry about it." Morgana said as Ren and Ryuji chuckled at Kusa's expense, even as Kusa bonked them both over the head and spoke up, both annoyed at Morgana for mentioning Futaba, but also not trying to acknowledge, even to himself, that he liked her.

"Not funny, Morgana-sensei! But I guess it is comforting that you at least wouldn't let anything happen to Taba if it can be avoided." Kusa said as Ann spoke up, giggling at the very subtle dusting of red on Kusa's cheeks and the put-out look on his face as she spoke.

"Naturally. And how cute, you already have a pet name for her." Ann said with a giggle as Kusa huffed at Ann's remark before smirking as he spoke up, giving Ann and Ren a knowing grin as he spoke.

"You say that now Ann, but if you end up with Suzui-san and Ren ends up with Kasumi, I give it two weeks tops and you guys will also have pet names for each other. Although, I think Kasumi might have already picked out Ren's pet name, assuming Senpai counts as such." Kusa said with a smirk. After the group laughed at Ren's expense, Ryuji huffed as he registered Ren's response from before while he spoke up in annoyance, frowning at Ren as he spoke.

"I knew you were gonna say that, Ren! Seriously...That's so like you!" Ryuji said huffily as Ann spoke up, giving the group a confused look as she spoke.

"But...what else can we do?" Ann asked as Ryuji huffed and spoke up, frowning as he spoke.

"Dammit...We're never gonna prove Akechi wrong at this rate!" Ryuji said in a pouty tone, as a growling sound made the group jump while Morgana spoke up.

"What the...!?" Morgana said as Yusuke winced and spoke up, looking a mix of mortified and embarrassed as he spoke.

"Sorry...I haven't eaten anything since yesterday..." Yusuke said as Kusa spoke up, only just managing not to facefault at Yusuke's remark as he spoke.

"Didn't you just eat some of Sakura-kun's curry?" Kusa pointed out as Yusuke nodded in the affirmative before speaking up to verbally answer Kusa's question.

"I did, but I meant anything substantial. Curry, for all that Sakura-kun can make an amazing curry, isn't a substantial meal, Kusa." Yusuke said as Ann blinked and spoke up.

"And you spent all your money on that box of sweets!?" Ann said in surprise as Ryuji spoke up.

"Dude, how much DID you have?" Ryuji asked as Kusa sweatdropped and spoke up.

"Probably enough that I'd probably wince on hearing how much he wasted. Seriously, between Yusuke and Ren, do I have to help the whole group learn to stretch a budget?" Kusa said huffily. Ann chuckled as she spoke up.

"Possibly. But for now, we'll just have to sit tight until we can find another target. So...how about that welcome party?" Ann suggested as Ryuji blinked and spoke up after sitting on the floor by the work desk.

"Someone's excited." Ryuji said as Ann looked over at the shelf by the stairs and giggled as she spoke up.

"Hee hee, I think I found something. Isn't that a portable stove?" Ann said as she pointed towards a shelf by the stairs. Kusa blinked, being the closest, and got up to check. Sure enough, there was a portable stove in the shelf, and in pretty good condition too. Kusa smirked as he walked back over.

"Nice find, Ann! It's a portable stove, all right." Kusa said as Ann smiled and spoke up.

"Can't we make hot pot on it?" Ann asked as Morgana's eyes went wide in excitement as he smiled and spoke up.

"That sounds great! I've heard that eating hot pot together brings people closer!" Morgana said as Ryuji stood up and grinned as he spoke up.

"Anything with meat's fine by me!" Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up, smiling as he spoke, ignoring the winces and facefaults his words would cause.

"I only ask that we finish it off with porridge. Extra parsley, of course." Yusuke said as Kusa winced and spoke up, frowning at Yusuke as he spoke.

"Oof. Yeah, to be honest, I'm not sure we carry the stuff for porridge OR parsley here, Yusuke. I suppose we could look for some at a store nearby, but I make no promises on that bit." Kusa said as Ann spoke up, lookig at Ren as she spoke with a closed-eye smile.

"So, what do you say?" Ann said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"I wouldn't have thought this was good weather for hot pot, but whatever. Besides, you only live once, am I right? That said, fine by me." Ren said. Ann smiled as she spoke up.

"Okay! Hot pot it is!" Ann said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"C'mon, let's go buy ingredients." Ryuji said to Ann and Yusuke, the latter of whom spoke up.

"Well, I'll need gingko nuts, wonton wrappers, and..." Yusuke said as Ann cut him off by looking at Ren and Kusa as she spoke up.

"Ryuji, Yusuke and I will take care of the shopping. Could one of you borrow a pot from downstairs while we're out? We can split the cost later." Ann said as Ren nodded while Kusa spoke up after seemingly thinking something over, looking at Ann as he spoke up.

"You guys gonna be able to find the shops around here on your own, or do you need a guide?" Kusa said to Ann. Ann smiled as she spoke up.

"No, we can find them on our own, but thanks for the offer, Kusa." Ann said as she, Ryuji and Yusuke headed downstairs to go find ingredients, and once they'd left, Morgana spoke up.

"Looks like this welcome party is going to turn out quite lively. We should go grab that pot and set up the portable stove too." Morgana said as Ren nodded and stood up to do as Morgana suggested. After a bit, the trio of Ren, Morgana, and Kusa headed downstairs to speak to Sojiro.

"I heard you're all having hot pot for dinner." Sojiro said as Kusa spoke up, nodding respectfully to Sojiro as he spoke.

"That's right. Apparently Ann found a portable stove up in Ren and I's room that we didn't even realize was there. Go figure. Thing is, we'll probably need to borrow a pot from you for the hot pot, if you have one to spare Sakura-kun." Kusa said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. You know, you're welcome to join us, if you're not too busy down here that is." Ren offered, figuring Kusa would appreciate him making the gesture. Sojiro laughed as he spoke up, giving Ren an appreciative nod for the gesture as he spoke.

"Thanks, but don't you guys know how busy I am? You guys go have fun. Her name was Ann, right? She's a nice girl." Sojiro said as Kusa nodded.

"Fair enough, Sakura-kun. And yeah she is pretty nice." Kusa said as Ren spoke up.

"Agreed. She's quite nice when she wants to be. But what makes you say that, Sakura-kun?" Ren asked. Sojiro spoke up with a smirk.

"Oh, I just had a chat with her. She said your friend doesn't have anywhere to go. Asked if I could take him in for a bit. I guess she thought it'd be too pitiful for you to ask, since you're already freeloading." Sojiro said as Ren spoke up, frowning at being called a freeloader as he spoke.

"Is it really freeloading if Kusa and I help out around here where we can as repayment for staying here?" Ren pointed out as Kusa blinked.

"Ren! He was just asking a question. Though my question then becomes this. Do we have enough beds up there for Yusuke? Last I checked, we only had the one bed and the sofa up there, and I'm pretty sure neither of those can fit two people, well the bed MIGHT, but the sofa likely won't." Kusa said. Sojiro nodded in agreement with Kusa's observation as he spoke up, his eyes narrowed in thought as he spoke.

"Good point. I'll have a think on that, and see what I can come up with before the end of the night. In the meantime, where did I put that pot? Try looking around." Sojiro said to Ren and Kusa, who nodded and checked the kitchen, Ren eventually finding an old earthenware vessel that should be of sufficient size for the group's needs. Sojiro spoke up as he saw Ren grab the vessel.

"Ah, you found it. It's almost time for the others to get back from their shopping trip, so I'll leave you be. And I'll try to think of a solution to the the fact there's three of you, four with Morgana, in a two-bed bedroom. I'll be down here for a while though...Just be careful with the fire, okay?" Sojiro said as Ren and Kusa nodded before heading upstairs to await the others' return from the store...

(Meanwhile, at around that same time, in another house elsewhere with the Niijima sisters)

Makoto and Sae blinked as they watched the Akechi interview on TV.

"And now, onto the 'Hottest Meet-And-Greet' segment of our show...After his last appearance was so well-received, we decided to bring back this fine gentleman today. It's the high-school detective, Goro Akechi!" The female host said on TV as Sae spoke up.

"This tastes a bit bland...But I'm relieved. A lot's happened, but it seems your grades haven't dropped." Sae said as Makoto spoke up.

"Tch, school's been going fine. I'm more worried about you, Sis. Are you tired? You're probably lacking sodium." Makoto said as Sae blinked and spoke up in surprise.

"Do I seem so?" Sae asked as the sisters trailed off into silence as they heard Akechi speaking on the TV.

"But hypothetically speaking, if these Phantom Thieves are real...I believe they should be tried in a court of law." Akechi said on the TV as the male host spoke up.

"That's quite the statement. Are they committing crimes? Some people even say that the Thieves are actually helping their victims abandon their evil ways." The male host asked Akechi. Akechi then spoke up.

"What the artist Madarame did truly was an unforgivable crime. However, they are taking the law into their own hands by judging him. It is far from justice. More importantly, you should NEVER forcefully change a person's heart." Akechi said as Makoto blinked and spoke up.

"Is it a crime to manipulate someone's heart?" Makoto asked as Sae nodded and spoke up.

"Depending on the means, yes. He's absolutely right." Sae said as Makoto blinked in surprise and spoke up.

"Even if it makes someone admit their evil deeds and helps make them pay for their crimes?" Makoto asked as Sae frowned and spoke up, giving Makoto a confused look as she spoke.

"Why the sudden interest?" Sae asked as Makoto sighed and spoke up.

"It's...it's nothing." Makoto said as Sae spoke up dryly.

"Do you believe that these 'allies of justice' exist?" Sae asked Makoto who chuckled as she spoke up.

"Of course not!" Makoto said as Sae nodded approvingly before she spoke up decisively.

"You don't need to think about such unnecessary things. You understand what I'm trying to say, right?" Sae said as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Yes. Study hard and go to a prestigious college..." Makoto said as Sae spoke up firmly but confidently.

"Moving up in the world is difficult as a woman. Yet, you can't do much if you don't have the authority. I'll use every method necessary to make it happen. All you need to do is remain focused on what must be done now for your future's sake." Sae said as Makoto blinked as for some reason, Kusa's previous words went through her mind at that moment.

"The position of student council president can be used for good, if held by the right person. Or, if used improperly, it can be just another sycophant's post. But I think Niijima-san is capable of doing real good with her post, if she makes the decision to put the effort in. But no one, other than Niijima-san herself, can make her decisions for her." Makoto heard in her mind, making her sigh as she spoke up, looking at Sae as she spoke up.

"Sorry." Makoto said as Sae's phone chose that moment to start ringing making Sae sigh as she spoke up.

"Ugh, now?" Sae said as she picked up her phone and walked out of the room.

"Yes? ...Mm-hm, it's fine. Oh, that case." Sae said before she was out of earshot, leaving Makoto alone with her thoughts.

"What must be done..." Makoto said to herself as she had a thought go through her mind.

'Could Amamiya-kun the younger be right? Could I truly be capable of doing real good in the world if I wanted to do so? I'd like to think he's right, but what can a student council president, much less the kid sister of a SIU agent, do?' Makoto thought to herself. She then muttered a single word to herself.

"Justice..." Makoto said as she recalled what Ryuji had said to her as well previously.

"If the Phantom Thieves are out there helpin' people, I'd root for 'em, no questions asked." Ryuji had said as Kusa's voice echoed once more.

"Are you just a sycophant, Niijima-san? Or are you a true force of good? Make your own decision, and not what someone else tells you!" Kusa had also said. Makoto frowned as she looked at her plate.

"What do I want to do?" Makoto asked herself, actually giving real thought to Ryuji and Kusa's words...

(Meanwhile, a short time later, over at Leblanc with Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Ren, Kusa and Morgana)

"Ohh, I can't eat another bite..." Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up, giving Ann a proud look as he spoke, while also ignoring the groans both Kusa and Ren made at his simping.

"That was delicious, Lady Ann. I'm sure you'll make a wonderful bride some-" Morgana said before being cut off by Ann yawning as she spoke up.

"Sorry, I'm gonna have to borrow the sofa." Ann said as Kusa spoke up, partly to reply to Ann, and partly to change the subject from Morgana's blatant Ann-simping as he spoke.

"No problem Ann, but fair warning, it might have some of my musk on it since I sleep there most nights. That and Morgana sleeps there, so it might smell a bit like him as well." Kusa said as Ann nodded before laying on the sofa and immediately dozing off, to Ryuji's surprise. Morgana then looked over at Yusuke.

"What's wrong, Yusuke?" Morgana asked Yusuke who spoke up, his words making Kusa facefault.

"We haven't finished our meal. What about the porridge, or even udon...?" Yusuke asked as Kusa picked himself up off the ground and spoke up, huffing at Yusuke's words as he frowned while he spoke.

"Look, I know you want those things Yusuke, but we didn't have the ingredients for them this time. Maybe next time we'll make it a point to pick those up before coming back here so we have them, but for now, this is the best we can do." Kusa said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Truth! Just leave it for next time, man..." Ryuji said sagely. At that point, Ann could be heard audibly dozing making Kusa and Morgana blink in surprise as the latter spoke up.

"She's asleep already!?" Morgana asked in shock as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"it'd be weird if she wasn't tired. We should let her sleep." Ryuji said as Yusuke nodded before looking at Ryuji as he spoke up, a question coming to his mind as he spoke.

"By the way, Ryuji...How do you know Ann?" Yusuke asked Ryuji who blinked and spoke up to answer the question, frowning slightly as he spoke.

"Huh? Oh, we went to middle school together." Ryuji said as Morgana gave Ryuji an interested look and spoke up.

"What was Lady Ann like back then?" Morgana asked Ryuji who spoke up with a shrug.

"Not so different from now. Once we got to high school, we ended up in different classes and stopped talkin'...I don't think she had many friends." Ryuji said as Kusa winced before speaking up.

"Oof, that's both surprising and terrible at the same time. I'm impressed she turned out as nice as she did for that being the case." Kusa said sagely. Ryuji nodded and spoke up more.

"Truth, plus I mean she grew up overseas, plus there's her looks. The popular kids hate her, and the quiet ones stay away." Ryuji said honestly. Yusuke spoke up.

"I see..." Yusuke said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"As do I, even if I'm tempted to pummel people if they hurt Ann by ostracizing/hating her." Kusa said huffily. Ryuji nodded.

"Truth. You get like this with most every girl you consider a sister too, Kusa." Ryuji said as Kusa huffed.

"You say that like I don't see you and Yusuke as bros of a sort already too, you know." Kusa pointed out as Yusuke spoke up.

"Fair enough. That said, what about you three and Morgana?" Yusuke said to Ren, Ryuji, Kusa and Morgana, making Ryuji blink as he spoke up.

"Us?" Ryuji asked in surprise. Yusuke nodded as he spoke up.

"This is a great opportunity to get to know each other better. You know every detail of my past at this point. It's only fair you tell me every detail of yours." Yusuke said as Ryuji shrugged as he spoke up.

"That's fair. So you got nothin' to lose, huh? All right, I'll tell you. It's just a normal story about a rotten kid, though. My dad left when I was young. Ever since then, it's just been me and my mom. I was actually trying to get a track scholarship so I could make things easier for her. In the end, I just screwed it all up. Turns out I'm a pretty bad son, huh?" Ryuji said as Kusa huffed and spoke up, giving Ryuji a curt nod of respect for what he'd shared as he spoke.

"You? A bad son? Not effing likely, man! If anything you were dealt a shitty hand by life up to now. Thankfully, it seems Ren and I managed to make that hand a bit less shitty for you, which if so I'm glad since it seems you've had it fairly rough yourself." Kusa said sagely as Ryuji chuckled and spoke up.

"Back when I was a first-year, my mom got called out to school for me raisin' my hand to Kamoshida. All the teachers kept hounding her for what I did, but she just kept quiet through it all...Tch, I'll never forget the look she had on her face though...On the way home, she... she apologized to me. For bein' a single mom and all..." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up.

"So that's what happened..." Yusuke said as Kusa spoke up softly, but with the clear ring of understanding in his tone as he spoke.

"Damn, Ryuji. It sounds like both you AND your mom got dealt bad hands, both by the school and by Kamoshida. The fact she had your back through it all tells just how kick-ass of a mom she really is, especially when she had a son like you. And before you get offended, I mean that as a compliment.

I mean, you were willing to put up with Kamoshida's fucked up crap just to get a track scholarship, not for you, but to make your mom's life easier. That's truly some selfless, noble shit right there Ryuji. Respect, man! I know I give you shit a lot, but I do that because believe it or not, I care and know you're better than the mistakes you make." Kusa said honestly. Ryuji smiled and nodded as Yusuke spoke up.

"They say at school that everyone is equal, but that's a gross oversimplification. That said, I understand how you feel." Yusuke said as Ryuji nodded and looked at Ren as he kept speaking.

"Well, when it comes to getting labeled, nobody's got it worse than Ren here. Way he and Kusa told it to me, Ren got in trouble just because he helped save some woman from a drunken bastard who was forcing himself on her, only for the drunken asshole to sue Ren after he cracked his own head on the pavement when he fell down after Ren gently pushed him off the woman. It was that guy's own fault for being drunk like that." Ryuji said. Yusuke spoke up with a nod.

"Is this about Ren's, and by extension Kusa's, past?" Yusuke asked as Morgana spoke up, a thought occurring to the not-cat as he spoke up, even while he went about fixing Ren and Kusa with an inquisitive look as he spoke.

"Now that I think about it, we never have heard the details." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up, not exactly thrilled at having to talk about that night, but also realizing the others did have the right to know, since they were his and Ren's friends, as he spoke.

"And for good reason. The story's pretty damn fucked up, if I'm being honest. And not just to Ren either. But you'll understand what I mean when Ren and I share the story." Kusa said, as he and Ren exchanged a mutual nod of agreement, at which point Ren flashed back to the night that he, along with Kusa who happened to be walking with him on the night in question, saved a woman from a drunk man forcing himself on her...

(Flashback-Ren's POV)

As I stood there and watched, some bald-headed drunken fucker was going to try and force himself onto a defenseless woman. And Kusa knows by now I'm not about to stand idly by if someone's in trouble, and I can at all help them. So naturally, I leapt in and gently pushed the guy off her, and he scraped his head open from the fall. So when he stands up, he glares at me, and what do you think he says to me!? The drunk man looked at me and then glared as he spoke up in anger.

"DAMN BRAT...I'LL SUE!" The drunken man said as the woman came to my defense even as she was crying.

"If you keep this up...Then I'll report you to the police about the money! Is that fine with you!?" The woman said, as Kusa and I exchanged shocked looks at this. But before we could ask what she meant, the drunk man frowned before he glared at the woman and at me as he huffed and spoke up.

"All I have to say is that you did it on your own, and it's over." The man said, his face flushed and his forehead bleeding from the spot where it got scraped open on the pavement. The woman blinked at this and spoke up in a whiny tone, making me and Kusa wince.

"But...I just did as I was told..." The woman said as the drunk man huffed and spoke up, glaring at the woman and ignoring myself and Kusa as he spoke.

"Who do you think I am?" The drunk man threatened as the woman spoke up in a whiny voice, clearly afraid of the drunk man as she spoke.

"No..." The woman said as the drunk man spoke up, his words making Kusa seething mad as he heard the man speak.

"Hey...make this statement to the cops. 'This kid suddenly attacked me.' Got it? If you even TRY to say ANYTHING else, you know what'll happen to you, right?" The drunk man threatened as Kusa huffed and spoke up, most likely offended on my behalf, as he spoke.

"So you want her to lie for you!? Isn't that both wrong and immoral, sir?" Kusa asked, in shocked disbelief. The drunk man huffed and spoke up, glaring at Kusa as he spoke.

"Stay out of it, kid. Unless you want to be in trouble with this other brat." The drunk man scoffed at Kusa as I frowned and spoke up.

"I can handle you threatening me, and even turning this woman against me, but leave my little brother out of this!" I said, unable to resist sticking up for Kusa. I then huffed as I spoke up once more, glaring at the drunk man as I spoke.

"And this is bullshit, by the way. You fell on your own. Both that lady AND my brother were witnesses to it." I pointed out huffily. Kusa nodded his agreement as the drunk man spoke up, fixing both myself and Kusa with glares as he spoke.

"Shut up. You're done for. You're gonna learn what happens when you cross me..." The drunk man said as Kusa frowned at this, but I gave him a look to leave it be. One of us getting in trouble was bad enough. At that point, two policemen walked over, one of them speaking up as he looked at all of us as he spoke.

"Excuse me, folks. We received a complaint about an argument here. Is something the matter?" The officer asked as the bald man turned to face the officer, who blinked in recognition, apparently recognizing the drunk man as he spoke up politely, looking at the drunk man as he spoke.

"Oh! It's you, sir." The officer said as the drunk man glared at the frightened woman as he spoke, giving her a pointed look as he spoke.

"So, what happened? Explain it to the good officer." The drunk man said as the woman winced and spoke up, her words both surprising me and infuriating Kusa as she spoke, as she then turned on us.

"Ugh...That young man suddenly attacked him...He shoved this gentleman to the ground. And this man...got injured." The woman said, as Kusa gaped at the woman turning on me, but I gently kicked him in the shin to stop him from arguing. I was the one to drag us into this, so it only made sense I be the one to pay the price for it. Besides, I didn't trust Kusa not to get himself into trouble with his temper. He might have it more in check, but not enough, just yet. I gaped at the woman for appearance's sake as the drunk man spoke up, nodding in confirmation of the scared woman's explanation as he spoke.

"It's as she says. Also, make sure you deal with this so my name isn't mentioned at all. You understand what that means, correct?" The drunk man said to the officer who saluted the drunk man as he spoke.

"Y-Yes, sir!" The first officer said before gesturing towards me with his head as he spoke to the second officer.

"Hey, cuff him!" The first officer said as the second one nodded and spoke up.

"U-Understood." The second officer said as he cuffed me, dragged me off to the nearest patrol car, and he and the first officer left, while the drunk man staggered into his car and left, leaving Kusa to glare at the woman who'd turned on me and gotten me in trouble, before he huffed and spoke up, his glare clearly conveying how pissed off he was as he spoke.

(POV shift-Kusa's POV)

I frowned at the cowardly lady in front of me, beyond pissed off at her basically throwing Ren under the bus to save herself as I spoke up, both very pissed and outraged, at basically the entire situation, as I spoke.

"I hope it was worth giving into your fear to condemn the one person who stood up to try and help you, lady. Any legal punishment he gets is on YOUR head." I angrily rebuked the lady, before huffing and leaving to go home before she could answer me, clearly very pissed off at what had happened, but knowing there was little I could do but accept what had happened at that point, even if I had no way of knowing then that the ramifications of that night would end up affecting me as well...

(End flashback, back in the present, return to neutral POV)

"Just listenin' to it pisses me off...Goddammit!" Ryuji snapped as Kusa huffed and spoke up, frowning at Ryuji and giving him a disapproving look as he spoke.

"I'm not pleased at recalling this either Ryuji, but keep your voice down! Ann's trying to take a nap, you know." Kusa quietly rebuked Ryuji. Ryuji looked at Ren and lowered his voice as he kept speaking.

"You got an assault on your record, just for that!?" Ryuji asked Ren, who nodded as Kusa spoke up, his tone slightly irritated at having to remember a night he'd rather forget as he spoke.

"That fucker's damn lucky Ren stopped me, or there'd have been a REAL assault that night! He not only threatened my brother, but he co-erced that frightened lady into basically turning on Ren and condemning him with her testimony. Between that, and the fact that those cops seemed to almost report to him, I'm inclined to guess that man was someone relatively high-ranking." Kusa said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up, not able to blame Kusa one bit for being frustrated in that moment as he spoke.

"That woman sounds quite horrible as well. She's stayed quiet this whole time..." Yusuke said as Kusa spoke up with a slight sigh, clearly not pleased at recounting his and Ren's past, even if he hadn't really recounted his past specifically, but that was irrelevant as far as Kusa was concerned since Ren's past was the main topic, sighing as he spoke.

"You're telling me, Yusuke! Because of her, not only does Ren have an unfair assault charge on his record, I had to basically uproot my life just because the courts deemed Ren an unsafe flight risk that couldn't be trusted to travel on his own, which naturally meant that I got stuck overseeing him, whether I wanted to or not. Luckily for me, I'm quick on my feet, so I was able to make the needed arrangements for my second-in-command to take over running the school martial arts team before I had to move here with Ren.

Not that I'm against it, since I did get to meet you guys because of it. Not to mention the fact I got to meet Taba." Kusa said with a slight smile, making Ren and Ryuji chuckle, both knowing that Kusa was definitely interested in Futaba, even if he wouldn't admit to it just yet. Morgana huffed as he spoke up, clearly enraged on Ren's behalf, as well as Kusa's as he spoke.

"That man is just the kind of person whose heart we should steal! Who is he, and where can we find him!?" Morgana asked Ren, who winced and spoke up, not really able to recall any defining details of the man as he spoke.

"It was pretty dark, and it was so long ago. I don't think I remember..." Ren said as Kusa spoke up, looking at Morgana with a frown at having to think about the man who basically single-handedly forced him and Ren to relocate as he spoke.

"All I remember about him is that he was bald as effing hell, had a goatee, and had brown eyes. Oddly enough, they were almost the exact same shade of brown mine are. But he never did say his name, though as I said, the cops sure seemed to know him and be quick to kow-tow to him, suggesting he's someone either influential, high-ranking, or possibly even both." Kusa said huffily as Morgana nodded understandingly to Kusa before he looked at Ren sympathetically as he spoke up, empathizing with him as he spoke.

"You can't remember, huh? Well, it was at night, and I'm sure you were in shock after getting arrested. I understand all too well the pain of not being able to remember important details about your life." Morgana said as Yusuke spoke up, frowning as he spoke.

"The victim's personal information is always kept secret. Identifying that man will prove difficult...Besides, the courts already made their ruling, didn't they?" Yusuke asked as Kusa nodded and spoke up, pleased by how outraged the others were on his and Ren's behalf as he spoke.

"Indeed they did. I should know since I was there for that ruling at our mother's request. I had to seriously bite my tongue that day not to yell at that judge when he ordered me to accompany Ren here as an overseer. But I suppose everything happens for a reason, doesn't it?" Kusa said with a shrug. Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Even if we manage to get revenge, Ren's past record won't go away." Yusuke said as Ryuji growled and spoke up.

"I can't stand it...This world is so messed up! The weak're left to fight for themselves, while rotten adults get away with whatever they want!" Ryuji said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"And those in power don't do anything to help the situation." Morgana said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Can't we fix this though? Nobody would even know...We just need to show the world what true justice is. We'll make them come to their senses." Yusuke said as Ryuji stood up and spoke up with a nod.

"You're right, Yusuke! That's gotta be what our powers're for!" Ryuji said as Morgana nodded approvingly as he spoke up.

"Sounds good to me. The flashier our missions are, the cooler we end up looking!" Morgana said as Yusuke spoke up.

"You've all taught me so much." Yusuke said, as Ann chose that time to wake up from her nap and blink as she spoke up.

"What're you guys getting all excited about?" Ann asked. Ryuji blinked before sighing as he sat down.

"Oh, sorry...Did we wake you up?" Ryuji asked as Ann shook her head, smiling at the guys as she spoke up, curious to hear what they'd been discussing as she spoke.

"Nah, not really. I've been up for a while now." Ann asked as Kusa frowned and spoke up, not sure what to make of Ann's response as he spoke.

"Oh? And exactly how long is 'a while', Ann? I ask so I have a frame of reference for how much of our last conversation you might have heard, which I don't mind if you did hear it since you'd have found out about it eventually as our teammate anyways, Ann." Kusa asked Ann who smiled and spoke up.

"Long enough to hear you and Ren's explanation of your past, and how you came to be here. And for the record, I agree that what that guy did was totally not okay, and screwed up. But I think I'm more impressed that Ren was able to be man enough to take the L for the both of you, rather than let that jerk possibly try to rope you into false charges too, Kusa. You do realize that was what Ren was protecting you from by stopping you, right?" Ann said to Kusa, who blinked and spoke up, both surprised by Ann's explanation, and stunned he'd never considered Ren's actions in stopping him from that angle, before quickly turning to Ren and giving him an apologetic look and a smile as he spoke up.

"I...never actually thought about it like that, Ann. Ren, I'm sorry for being so hard on you. I didn't realize you were trying to protect me with what you did. My bad, bro." Kusa said with a sigh as Ren smiled and patted Kusa on the shoulder comfortingly as he spoke up, glad Ann had managed to help Kusa understand things a bit more as he spoke.

"No worries, little bro. That's my job as your older brother, to keep you safe and out of harm's way. And yes, I do take that role seriously." Ren said as Kusa nodded and Ann kept speaking.

"Anyways, that said...Still, this weird feeling came over me while I was listening to you guys...It almost feels like I've known you all forever...Do you think it's because our backgrounds are so similar?" Ann asked as Kusa spoke up.

"That's certainly possible, Ann." Kusa said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Well...it sure ain't because of anything good." Ryuji said as Morgana hung his head and spoke up.

"Similar, huh...I'm the only one who doesn't fit in..." Morgana said sadly, as Kusa smiled and scooped Morgana into his lap so he could look into Morgana's eyes, as he smiled at the not-cat while he spoke up, lightly petting the not-cat comfortingly as he spoke.

"Doesn't fit in, you say? Nonsense! You're the reason most if not all of us know what we do today about the ways of the phantom thief! And if we're also being honest, you're a large part of the reason that Ryuji, Ren and I didn't die in that god-forsaken prison of Kamoshida's back on the day Ren and I met Ryuji. So if anything, you're the lynchpin keeping us together, Morgana-sensei!

Not to mention, since you've been around, Ren and I have almost been getting along even better than we already did, I feel. So don't say you don't fit in. You're that cohesive presence that keeps the team gelling, even if you do tend to butt heads with Ryuji here on occasion. That makes you you. So never say you don't fit in." Kusa said as he gently gave Morgana a comforting pat on the head as he smiled at Morgana. Ryuji blinked as he looked over at Morgana, only then registering what the not cat had said and speaking up, looking confused as he spoke.

"Hm?" Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up, looking Ryuji in the eyes and speaking up in a honest, almost sad tone.

"I don't have any past to look back on...No memories..." Morgana said as Ryuji grinned and smiled as he spoke up to reassure Morgana.

"Whaddya mean? We could search the whole world and we wouldn't find a bigger misfit than you. And the reason we're goin' to Mementos is to get your memories back, right?" Ryuji said as Yusuke nodded, deciding to add his own two cents in on the effort to cheer up Morgana.

"I'm sure your past will be just as troubled as ours." Yusuke said as Kusa laughed and spoke up, giving Morgana a reassuring pat on the head, enjoying the purrs it got from the not-cat as he spoke.

"If it's not more troubled. I mean, let's think about it. Morgana is drawn to human desires, can turn into a tour bus, is a shameless ladies' man, and has a very big macho-man complex. I feel like his could be the most troubled out of all of our pasts, at least of us here right now. I'm not going to speak for any future recruits we might pick up, of which we'll probably get one once we get our next target, especially if it goes like the last two Palaces have gone." Kusa said sagely. Ryuji nodded as he spoke up.

"No doubt. Also, truth Kusa! We probably will get a new recruit when we get our next target!" Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"What would be the odds that our next recruit could be Niijima-san, given how often she's been following us around?" Ren said as Ryuji and Kusa blinked at this, the latter speaking up, his face showing his clear surprise at Ren's suggestion, as well as his disbelief that Ren had considered that before he had as he spoke.

"That...makes a surprising amount of sense, to be honest with you Ren. And I did feel like there was an untapped potential inside of Niijima-san. Maybe she could be a Persona user for all we know." Kusa said with a shrug. Morgana smiled at the group cheering him up and spoke up.

"Hmph, we'll see about that! And Kusa, thank you. You're right. I shouldn't be so worried about my lack of a past." Morgana said as he gently nuzzled his head against Kusa's chest while purring, making Ryuji and Yusuke smile and Ann giggle as she spoke up.

"Aww, how sweet...looks like Morgana's proving the old adage about 'man's best friend' true. Granted, he's not a pet, but the idea's the same in any case." Ann said as Kusa shrugged before speaking up, agreeing with her assessment while smiling at Morgana as he spoke.

"Perhaps. All I know for sure is that I'm not gonna turn him away if he wants comfort. After all, he entrusted me with his care, and I intend to live up to his expectations in that regard." Kusa said with a solemn nod. Ann then spoke up once more with a smile and a nod.

"I actually feel like I've known Morgana for a really long time too. It's so strange...I can't really put it into words." Ann said as Morgana sputtered and spoke up, clearly embarrassed by the discussion and presumably trying to act tough to impress Ann, not seeing the amused smiles on Kusa and Ann's faces as he spoke.

"L-Look, I'm helping you guys out for my own sake. Don't get me wrong! If you don't get stronger, investigating Mementos won't be anything but a pipe dream!" Morgana said as Ryuji smirked and spoke up, grinning at Morgana as he spoke.

"That sure was a quick turnaround. One second you're depressed, the next you're acting all tough..." Ryuji said as Kusa smirked and spoke up in Morgana's defense.

"You know how it goes with us men, Ryuji. We often have to put up a tough front to prove we're tough. It's a documented fact that men often don't like to let their more sensitive and kind sides show, probably because they think it makes them less manly." Kusa said sagely. Ren and Yusuke nodded their agreement as Ann spoke up at that point. *2*

"Anyways, all joking aside...let's take this seriously. We should go as far with it as we can...I want to punish those corrupt adults and give courage to people in trouble...Only we can do that!" Ann said resolutely as Ryuji smirked and nodded with a chuckle as he spoke up.

"Ha! You can say that again!" Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up with a smile.

"Being a member of the Phantom Thieves will surely help me grow, both as an artist and as a person." Yusuke said as Morgana grinned smugly and spoke up.

"Of course. You're under my tutelage after all. There's nothing we can't accomplish!" Morgana said as Ann did a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Well...I hope we can keep this up. We should be all right with you as our leader." Ann said as Ren shrugged and spoke up.

"Fair enough. Leave it to me." Ren said as Kusa nodded approvingly to Ren's response as he spoke up.

"Good. I was hoping you would say that, Ren." Kusa said sagely as Ren nodded before Ann blinked as she checked her phone and saw the time.

"Whoa, it's THIS late?" Ann asked in surprise. Ryuji nodded as he spoke up.

"I guess now's a good time to call it for the night!" Ryuji said with a nod. Ann turned to Yusuke as she spoke up, remembering something she had to tell Yusuke.

"Oh, that reminds me! The owner said you're free to crash here, Yusuke." Ann said as both Yusuke AND Kusa gave her shocked looks, the former smiling as he spoke up.

"That's...very kind of him." Yusuke said as Kusa spoke up, blinking before he looked at the others as he spoke.

"And very surprising. I didn't think he'd agree. Now we have to figure out how to make the fact that we only have a sofa and bed to lay on work with basically four of us." Kusa said warily. Ryuji then smirked and spoke up, his words making Ren, Morgana, and Kusa all wince collectively as they listened to them.

"Ohh, you convinced him, didn't you? You go, Miss Older-Dude-Charmer!" Ryuji said as Kusa huffed and spoke up, giving Ryuji a disgusted/annoyed look as he spoke.

"Dude, never say that again! That's disgusting! Especially considering that Sakura-kun has a daughter around Ann's age!" Kusa rebuked Ryuji. Ann glared at Ryuji.

"What kind of nickname is that, Ryuji!? Also, true, he does have Futaba who's around my age, doesn't he?" Ann said as Kusa nodded before wincing, as he realized he'd not told Yusuke about Futaba yet.

"Well, since I've said that much, I suppose I should fill in Yusuke on what I know of Futaba to some extent. Hopefully she's not TOO pissed at me afterward, if she somehow is seeing this. Luckily for me, Yusuke's crashing with us at least overnight, so I have plenty of time to fill him in." Kusa said as Yusuke smiled while Ryuji huffed.

"How come he gets the details, and not us?" Ryuji asked. Kusa huffed and spoke up, glaring at Ryuji, huffing at how forgetful the faux-blonde could be as he spoke.

"You already got them, Ryuji! Or did you forget I told you and Ann about her in a group chat with just the three of us recently?" Kusa pointed out. Ryuji blinked and spoke up.

"Ohh yeah, that's right." Ryuji said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up, a thought occurring to him as he spoke.

"Hmm, I won't be able to sleep unless I take a bath..." Yusuke said as Kusa smiled and spoke up, jerking his thumb towards Ren as he spoke.

"Luckily for you, there's a bathhouse down the road from here a ways. Ren here knows it quite well, since he and Morgana-sensei go there to soak from time to time." Kusa said with a smile. Morgana nodded as he spoke up, seeing what Kusa was getting at and agreeing with the idea.

"Exactly, there's a bathhouse nearby, so you can go there. I won't be able to join you though..." Morgana said. Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Yet you were okay stowing away in Ren's bag when HE went there?" Kusa pointed out dryly. Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"That was different! I rode shotgun with the damp towels on the way back, hence why my fur looked damp when you petted me that night." Morgana said as Kusa nodded and Ryuji spoke up, clearly intrigued at Kusa's suggestion as he spoke.

"Ooh, that sounds great! I wanna come too! How 'bout you, Ann?" Ryuji asked as Ren and Kusa winced, the latter's eyes widening slightly before speaking up.

"Did you just ask Ann to join you for a bath, Ryuji!?" Kusa asked in surprise. Ann spoke up at that point.

"You guys go on ahead. I should get going. Well, good night, Morgana!" Ann said, as she grabbed her bag and left. Morgana frowned as he watched her go down the stairs.

"Dammit...I need to turn back into a human soon. I can't let her get taken by someone else!" Morgana said as Kusa laughed, smiling at Morgana even as he inwardly sighed at how much of a blatant simp the not-cat was for Ann as he spoke up, gently petting Morgana's head as he spoke, getting a contented purr for his efforts.

"Unless you happen to have a female human form, I wouldn't count on you turning back into a human being a magical cure-all for your problems, Morgana-sensei. Also, I do believe Ann already more or less said she likes women. But no worries, we all like and respect you, just the way you are." Kusa said sagely as Ren and Ryuji nodded their agreement as the four guys went to the bathtub, the not-cat staying at Leblanc to rest in the bedroom...

(At the bathhouse with Ryuji, Ren, Kusa and Yusuke)

"Ahh, huge bathtubs really are the best. Ann's missin' out." Ryuji said as Yusuke winced and spoke up.

"It's a bit hot though..." Yusuke said as Kusa chuckled at Yusuke's remark as he spoke up, clearly amused by Yusuke's comment.

"That's why they're called HOT tub baths, Yusuke! And honestly, I prefer 'em hot. Heat's always been something of my element of sorts." Kusa said as he gave a contented sigh as he soaked in the tub. Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Old guys like it hot for some reason...I'm sure he'll stop eventually. You know, I've been wondering for a while now...But what do you think about Ann? As a girl, I mean." Ryuji asked as Kusa spoke up with a shrug, not sure how he felt about having a discussion like this about someone he basically saw as a sister of sorts as he spoke.

"She's cute enough I suppose, at least as girls go. I won't deny she's pretty. But the fact is, she and I see each other as something akin to siblings so it would be wrong for me to think of her in any sort of romantic capacity. Not to mention, completely against the bro code, since Morgana would have first dibs on her." Kusa said sagely as Ren nodded and spoke up, grinning at Kusa bringing up the not-cat as he spoke.

"I concur with Kusa. She's breathtaking, and a great teammate, but I see her as a sister, first and foremost. Besides, I think you know exactly who I have my eye on by now, Ryuji." Ren pointed out. Ryuji smirked as he nodded and spoke up, ignoring the gaping look that Kusa gave Ren after the latter complimented Ann the way he did as he spoke.

"Ooh, you straight-up said it, Ren! Well, in Ann's case, her looks totally make up for her overbearing personality." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"You do realize she has that overbearing personality because of how rough she's had it up until now, don't you Ryuji? Besides, you are aware of what 'inner beauty' is, yes?" Kusa pointed out dryly as Ren and Yusuke laughed at how bluntly Kusa replied to Ryuji while also subtly roasting him. Yusuke then smirked and spoke up with a chuckle.

"I'll be sure to share what you've said with Ann." Yusuke said as Kusa glared at Yusuke and spoke up with a frown, clearly not pleased by Yusuke threatening to share the four guys' discussion with Ann as he spoke.

"The hell you will, Yusuke! That's rule number three of the Bro Code, or at least the unofficial third rule: 'What's said between bros STAYS between bros.' It's right there underneath 'Bros before hoes' and 'Bros for life.' Don't do us like that, Yusuke. For shame, man!" Kusa said sagely as he smirked and a frantic Ryuji turned begging eyes onto Yusuke as he spoke up. *3*

"Please don't. Seriously..." Ryuji said with wide eyes as Yusuke smirked and kept speaking.

"That aside, we need to hurry and find our next target." Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up.

"About that though...Is targetin' famous people enough? Seein' people's reactions these days had been makin' me think twice about what we do..." Ryuji said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"True. Pursuing only what's best in the short term may end up becoming fruitless for us. We need a strategy to appeal to the public..." Yusuke said as Ryuji gave Yusuke an intrigued look as he spoke up, Kusa also giving Yusuke his attention out of curiosity.

"Oh? Whaddya got in mind?" Ryuji asked and Yusuke's response actually made Ren and Kusa laugh at both what Yusuke said and the gaping looking on Ryuji's face afterward.

"Do I look like someone who could come up with such a thing?" Yusuke asked. Ryuji promptly had to catch himself to avoid facefaulting into the water, making Ren and Kusa laugh harder as Ryuji pulled himself up and spoke up.

"I was an idiot for askin'." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up, smirking at Ryuji's self-depreciation before giving Ryuji a reassuring grin as he spoke.

"Maybe, but you're our idiot, Ryuji. Never doubt that." Kusa said sagely. Ryuji nodded and spoke up, giving Kusa an appreciative look as he spoke.

"Fair enough. But I'm on offense duty, y'know? And Morgana specializes in stuff about that world, so...Hmmm..Hrmm...Still..." Ryuji said as he went to put his hand in the water and winced as he swore and cried out.

"YEOW! Ughhhh! It's frickin' hot!" Ryuji said as Kusa nodded, clearly trying not to laugh at Ryuji's reaction and noticing that Ren and Yusuke were having a similar struggle as he spoke up.

"Yeah, and as long as it's not scalding, that's not a bad thing." Kusa said contentedly. Ryuji huffed as he got out of the tub and spoke up angrily.

"How much do you hafta add until you're satisfied, gramps!? Ugahh, I can't stand it anymore! Anyways, let's meet up again early next week. I'll, uh...I'll contact everyone!" Ryuji said as Ren and the others got out, dried off, changed and returned to Leblanc, minus Ryuji...

(At Leblanc, with Yusuke, Ren, Kusa and Morgana)

Ren heard his phone go off and frowned as he looked and saw a private chat with Ann, Kusa, Yusuke and Ryuji as Ann sent the first response.

"Check out the pictures I took today! Not bad, right?" Ann posted as she shared a picture of Ren with fogged-up glasses, while Ryuji laughed and Yusuke was calmly scooping hot-pot into his plate, the plate perfectly positioned to completely crop Morgana out of the shot, much to the not-cat's chagrin. However, this time Kusa was actually visible in the picture, sitting next to Ren with a content smile on his face as he ate his hot-pot, enjoying having his friends around. At that point, Yusuke sent a response and Kusa laughed at what Yusuke sent.

"The steam fogged up his glasses...Another of the many charms of eating hot pot, I suppose." Yusuke sent as Kusa and Ryuji sent replies close together, Kusa's coming first.

"Heh, true that Yusuke! And at least THIS time I'm actually visible in the photo! Unfortunately so, this time Morgana's the one being Wazowski'd by the hot pot." Kusa sent as Morgana huffed but nodded that Kusa was right as Ryuji's response came in.

"Oh man...I keep looking back at this picture, and Ren's face is STILL hilarious..." Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.

"Oh yeah-Yusuke is still at Ren's place, right?" Ann sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Don't go making any trouble for him, okay?" Ryuji sent as Kusa frowned and sent a response.

"That reminds me, Sakura-kun never DID say if he figured out how to work sleeping arrangements for Yusuke, Ren and I." Kusa sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Of course. I'd like to think I'm not THAT socially graceless. All I can ask is a warm futon and a traditional Japanese breakfast." Yusuke sent as Ryuji and Kusa sent responses close together, Ryuji's coming in first.

"That's askin' a lot!" Ryuji sent as Kusa's response came in.

"Truth! Not to mention we don't have a futon at all in this place. And as far as the Japanese breakfast goes...I think the best we can do is curry since that's what Sakura-kun specializes in for every meal." Kusa sent as Ren closed the group chat and saw a private chat from Kusa which he read.

"Disregard what I said in that group chat about Sakura-kun not figuring out a way to make our sleeping arrangements work. Apparently since he couldn't find a third bed here, his bright idea for a solution is to let Yusuke have the sofa while I get to go crash at his house while Yusuke's here. I'm not sure I like giving my sofa to Yusuke, but I suppose I can make this sacrifice temporarily for Yusuke's benefit. Besides, this way I get to spend more time with Taba, so it's not ALL bad.

I'll hopefully swing through at some point tomorrow if I remember to check up on you guys, but if not behave, and don't let Yusuke get you into trouble, Ren! And for the love of God, DO NOT ENLIST HIS HELP IN MESSING WITH MORGANA-SENSEI! It's bad enough I had to leave him there with you, since Sakura-kun's house isn't animal-friendly. So rest well, and I'll see you when I see you, Ren." Kusa sent as Ren laughed at Kusa forbidding him from messing with Morgana in all-caps. He then looked over at Yusuke and spoke up.

"You sure you're gonna be good taking the sofa, Yusuke? I don't mind letting you have the bed if you want. You ARE my guest after all." Ren said as Yusuke smiled and spoke up, giving Ren a grateful look as he spoke.

"Not necessary, Ren. But thank you. I'm okay on the sofa. I'll just have to try not to be too surprised if Morgana decides to lay on my chest while I'm sleeping, in case he thinks I'm Kusa for whatever reason." Yusuke said as Ren had to keep himself from laughing at the affronted look on Morgana's face as the not-cat huffed and spoke up.

"Don't flatter yourself, Yusuke. If I lay on you, it'll because I want to and no other reason. That said, let's turn in for the night." Morgana said as Ren and Yusuke nodded, both getting comfortable as elsewhere, Kusa was doing the same even though he was basically set up on Sojiro's couch...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! I'm surprised it ended up as long as it did, but some chapters are just like that sometimes. At least I got quite a bit of story stuff in here, and not just the Justice Confidant link formation that I thought would fit in there. So that's a thing.

Hopefully people are enjoying the story so far! Next chapter, I have no clue what to expect other than possibly the beginning steps of setting up the third Palace. We'll see what happens! In any case, feel free to leave a review (or a PM, I take either one) with your thoughts/feedback/opinions on the story, I appreciate the support either way. And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1*- Yeesh, took me a bit to find this note. But anyways, I corrected a bit here where Akechi says 'if the person next to you were to suddenly have his heart changed, would you think it was the work of the Phantom Thieves?' since it doesn't make sense for Akechi to basically not consider that some guys are next to girls and girls are next to girls so he should have said 'If the person next to you were to have his or her heart changed, would you think it was the work of the Phantom Thieves?' which is what I had him say instead. Just me catching a minor snafu in the script, nothing big.

*2*- To make what Kusa was saying here more clear, it's more of an unspoken thing with guys than an undocumented fact, but it does seem like most guys do tend to do what Morgana does to hide their more sensitive sides, since for whatever reason guys like to give the impression of being tough/macho. And being a guy myself, I can vouch for that even if I myself don't really do that personally.

*3*- Yeah, totally not a rule in the bro code that I know of. Just had Kusa put that in there since it felt like a good way to slowly build a low-key bromance of sorts with the males in the Phantom Thieves (YES including Morgana. We'll see if I decide to keep a certain ace detective that the Thieves recently encountered the same as canon or if i decide to use a twist to possibly redeem him down the line a ways.) so just go with it. As far as I know, the only ACTUAL rule in the guy/bro code is 'Bros before hoes', which for the record I feel like is only really relevant in bromances, if that. Soo yeah.

CONFIDANT LINK RANKS AS OF CHAPTER 26

FOOL (Igor/Prison Master) : Rank 4

MAGICIAN (Morgana) : Rank 3

HIEROPHANT (Sojiro) : Rank 3

LOVERS (Ann) : Rank 4

CHARIOT (Ryuji) : Rank 4

JUSTICE (Akechi) : Rank 1

STRENGTH (Caroline and Justine/Twin Wardens) : Rank 1

DEATH (Tae/Back-Alley Doctor) : Rank 5

MOON (Mishima) : Rank 3

SUN (Yoshida/Man Of The People) : Rank 1

WORLD (Kusa) : Rank 3

FAITH (Kasumi/Yoshizawa) : Rank 2

COUNCILLOR (Maruki) : Rank 4