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!

52. Pre-Hawaii Prep! Trapped Heiress part 2

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Amamiya Files! Before much more can be said/done, we have an actually constructive guest review to reply to, so let's start off with that. The review goes as thus:

If you can you could make Kusa beat up akechi for insulting his brother about him living in a Attic (in that encounter in shido's palace and try to make him free from Loki because that persona was GIVEN to him not born from him)

First of all, thanks so much for the review Ryustin. That said, all I will say to what you asked is that there are plans for Arc 6 and 7 (and to a minor point Arc 5) that may or may not involve the burgeoning yet complex 'rivalry' of sorts between Akechi and Kusa that might involve what you asked. As to 'make him free from Loki' as you put it in your review, I can't answer that part without getting into slight spoilers for later arcs. But know what you asked will be re-addressed at a later point in the story. That said, thank you so much for the guest review!

Also, huge shout out to my reviewers, as it's very encouraging to see consistent reviews come in for this story. Know that your input is appreciated and taken into consideration so by all means keep suggesting things/offering constructive feedback on the story. I welcome the input! Now then, time for the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (barring the OC Kusa/Draconis who he made and thus DOES own, in addition to any other recurring OCs that appear in the story, as he made and thus owns said OCs unless otherwise stated) and the actual credit for owning the Persona series belongs to Sega, Atlus, and to an extent Koei Tecmo, so all ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to them!

That said, on with chapter 52!

Chapter 52- More Confidant Shenanigans! Preparing for the School Trip! Trapped Heiress part 2

(At Leblanc, with Ren, Kusa and Morgana)

After sitting and pondering his options, Ren decided to go put in a shift at Crossroads, since he felt he needed the boost to his Kindness. After he got ready for his shift, Ren went to work, ignoring Morgana pointing out how Ren should try to learn from Lala's hospitality. After awhile, the businessman from before came in and spoke up.

"Good eveniiing! I'm here!" The businessman said as Lala blinked but smiled as she spoke up.

"Ah, this is a surprise! You're in a good mood today. Well, have a seat." Lala said as the businessman sat down as Lala spoke up.

"Oh, honey. So, Shinsuke Kishi is the boss you've been having problems with, right?" Lala asked as the businessman spoke up.

"Actually, not anymore! I don't know what happened, but it's like he's a changed man! He suddenly said 'I'm sorry for everything,' and then apologized in tears to each one of us individually. He went from being the man his subordinates hate most to becoming the perfect, ideal boss. Hey, Lala, Let me ask. You don't suppose this could be a change of heart? You think the Phantom Thieves did something to help me?" The businessman asked as Lola spoke up.

"I mean, who knows? If they did help you, though, you have a lot to be grateful to them about." Lala said as Morgana spoke up so only Ren could hear.

"Hey, hey! Did you hear?" Morgana asked Ren, who nodded as he spoke up so only Morgana could hear.

"Yes, I heard. Seems he's grateful to us." Ren said. Morgana spoke up at that point with a closed-eye smile.

"Mwehehe! Please, you're starting to make me feel bashful!" Morgana said as the businessman spoke up happily.

"So, to celebrate, we're gonna drink today! I'll order a bunch of food, too!" The businessman said as Lala chuckled and spoke up.

"Hehe, you silly man." Lala said to Ren before speaking up.

"HUGE ORDER COMIN' THROUGH! All right then, we have a bunch of orders coming up!" Lala said as Ren helped prepare the orders as best he could, while leaving any alcoholic elements to Lala. After the businessman had his fill and paid his tab before leaving, Lala turned to Ren after a bit and spoke up. *1*

"Thank you for your help! You were great, but a minor like you should probably be heading home right about now." Lala said as she paid Ren 7,200 yen for his work. Lala then spoke up once more.

"See you! All right, you should be going home. After all you're underage, and Shinjuku is said to be a dangerous place for minors at night." Lala said to Ren as she turned around and walked away as Morgana spoke up.

"Yup! It's easier to see a customers face here, since this is such a cramped place. Hmm, that said, I think you're looking more dependable these days, Ren." Morgana said as Ren got a boost to his Kindness which was augmented by the Luck Reading he'd had Chihaya perform on it beforehand. Morgana then spoke up.

"Wanna head back? We should go home, I'm getting sleepy, plus you have school tomorrow." Morgana said to Ren, who nodded as he changed out of his uniform and went home, where he got comfortable while Morgana curled up on Kusa as the trio dozed off for the night...

(The next morning, between trains to school with Ren, Kusa and Morgana)

"Well, at least it's Friday. Why we had to end summer vacation mid-week, rather than resuming school on a Monday, I have no clue." Kusa said conversationally to Ren, who nodded his agreement as Morgana blinked and quickly ducked into Ren's bag as Ren and Kusa heard footsteps behind them, turning as one to see Akechi walking up, prompting Kusa to shrug as he spoke up.

"Well, so much for Akechi being radio silent. Oh well, at least he waited this long." Kusa said as Akechi looked at Ren before speaking up.

"Morning, Amamiya-kun brothers. It's been a bit, hasn't it? Also, Amamiya-kun the elder, do you seem different somehow? Huh? Did you get a tan, perchance? You seem different." Akechi said as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"If Ren did get a tan, it'd be to impress a certain someone he's got his eye on. But really he's not that different than before, Akechi-kun. Maybe your detective's instincts are starting to dull?" Kusa said conversationally as Akechi blinked at the observation and spoke up.

"Is he really not that different? Odd. Oh, yes. Thank you for the coffee last time, Amamiya-kun the elder. It's a lovely cafe. I haven't relaxed that much in a while." Akechi said as Kusa spoke up.

"Yep, Leblanc is a pretty chill, laid-back cafe like that. At least you have enough class and respectability to recognize that. So you at least get respect from me for that." Kusa said as Ren spoke up, ignoring the stunned/shocked look Kusa sent him for what he said next.

"If you like the place so much Akechi, maybe you should come partake of it again at some point." Ren said to Akechi as Kusa blinked at Ren's remark, but Akechi spoke up before he could even so much as sputter.

"Wow Amamiya-kun the elder, that's nice of you to say. Especially lately, since it seems I'm hated by those who support the Phantom Thieves. Maybe Amamiya-kun the younger is right when he says I should change my beliefs? Who knows?" Akechi said as Kusa spoke up.

"Maybe, Akechi-kun. But I will agree with you that Ren was being rather generous to invite you to come dine at Leblanc again. And I suppose, provided you don't cause a problem, I can put my disdain for you aside for the sake of not driving away potential customers for Boss." Kusa said reluctantly. Akechi nodded as he spoke up.

"Thanks, I think? Maybe you're starting to finally warm to me a bit, Amamiya-kun the younger? Anyhow, it seems your school's in trouble. The media is reporting that the whole school was involved in the cover-up about that gym teacher. Those unfortunate students were made victims all because adults valued their own conveniences over the students' well-being and safety." Akechi said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"As unbelievable as this might be, that's now twice in one day I agree with you, Akechi-kun. Maybe I am starting to get used to you somewhat. That said, I could've told you that most of the adults at Shujin are just a bunch of spineless sheeple who just look for the man on top to give the orders. Other than a few of the teachers, most of the school seems to follow the principal's lead." Kusa said agreeably as Akechi nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Amamiya-kun the younger. In any case, this is unforgivable, no matter the reason. That being said, let me know if you need anything. I'll do my best so that the case is wrapped up quickly." Akechi said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"We'll keep that in mind, Akechi-kun. That's rather professional of you. Maybe there's some decency and professionalism in you after all?" Kusa said, only slightly surprised. Ren chuckled as he spoke up.

"Be nice, Kusa! I know you don't have the highest of opinions of Akechi-kun, but he's not always insufferable. He can be quite a stand-up guy when he wants to be." Ren said to Kusa, who shrugged as he spoke up.

"If you say so, Ren. I choose to take a 'wait-and-see' stance on the guy, myself. After all, wouldn't do to believe the best about him, only for that belief to come back and bite us on the collective ass down the line. And someone's gotta be the cautious-minded realist here." Kusa said to Ren, who nodded as he and Kusa finished getting on the train...

(On the second train to school with Ren, Morgana, and Kusa)

"Hey, those are Shujin students, right?" An observant woman asked her gossipy friend, who nodded as she spoke up.

"Mm-hmm. I read an article about Shujin in a magazine recently. 'High-School Horrors: A School-wide Cover-up' was the headline for it. Seems the administration turned a blind eye to that abusive teacher. It's so hard to believe, though." The gossipy woman said as the observant woman nodded before speaking up.

"The principal claimed he didn't know what was going on, at first. We're talking about children's lives here! And people like him are the ones who should answer for this." The observant woman said as Morgana spoke up from inside Kusa's bag.

"Ugh, I don't like the way they're looking at us, you guys." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up so only Ren and Morgana could hear.

"Let them talk. If you ask me, it's past time that Kobayakawa got what he had coming. We may have decided against going after that tub of lard before, but when you do what he's done to those under you, karma has a way of catching up to you eventually. And it sounds to me like his karma's starting to catch up to him." Kusa said sagely as Ren nodded and the two finished the trip to school in silence. Once they got to the school entrance, Ryuji walked over to the two and spoke up.

"Whaddup." Ryuji said to Ren and Kusa as they turned to face Ryuji while he kept speaking.

"D'you see that ad in the train?" Ryuji asked Ren and Kusa, who blinked as Ren spoke up.

"What ad?" Ren asked as Kusa spoke up.

"I don't think so, Ryuji. We were too busy hearing people gossip about how the teachers and administration of Shujin are coming under fire for apparently covering up Kamoshida's shenanigans before. Sounds to me like karma's about to catch up to the staff of our school, if you ask me." Kusa said sagely. Ryuji turned to Ren as he spoke up.

"Dude, the media's gonna come to our school. At least be a little interested in it. 'Cover-up by faculty and principal of Shujin Academy, where the Phantom Thieves first appeared.' the ad said. It's been a huge deal already. I wonder what's gonna happen to the principal now?" Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up dryly.

"As I already said, it seems like the time's come for most of Shujin to reap their karma for their part in what Kamoshida did earlier this year. As for the media, so what if they're coming to our school? If we have to be interviewed, so be it. But I, for one, have no intentions of going out of my way to draw any more fame than I absolutely have to. I'd much rather just try to get settled back into student life, while adjusting to my new role as part of the student council. Oh, and speaking of which, I think I see one of the third-year council members over there." Kusa said, nodding to where a familiar-looking brunette was watering some flowers, not aware of the trio gathered nearby. Ryuji nodded as he spoke up.

"Fair enough, Kusa. That said, anyways, we made the right choice goin' after big targets! Everywhere I go, people're talkin' about us!" Ryuji said as he went to walk into the school, only to have to stop himself short so he didn't walk into the brunette who'd chosen that moment to start to walk away, making the both of them stop short. As the poofy-haired brunette gave a slight 'Ah!' of surprise, Ryuji blinked as he spoke up.

"Whoa!" Ryuji said as he stopped himself from running into the poofy-haired brunette, who spoke up at that point.

"Ah! I'm sorry." The poofy-haired brunette said to Ryuji, who smiled at her and spoke up.

"Oh no, I'm fine." Ryuji said to the brunette as Kusa gave a curt nod of greeting to the brunette, who blinked before recognizing Kusa and politely returning the nod as she kept walking away. Once she was out of sight, Ryuji turned to Ren and spoke up.

"That girl just now, the one with the watering can, don't you think she was fine? The Phantom Thieves are on fire right now, so I wonder if I got a chance if I asked her out?" Ryuji asked as Kusa laughed lightly at the question, to Ryuji's surprise, before he spoke up in a tone that was a mix of amused and dismissive.

"Hah! You? Have a shot with Okumura-san!? That's laughable! While I'm sure she'd at least deign to be polite and conversational with you, I very much doubt her fiance, assuming that the rumors that're going around about her being engaged are true, would be so understanding of it if you were to try and hit on her, Ryuji. And that's not saying anything of how pissed off Makoto would be at you. So quit trying to reach beyond your grasp, man. Trust me on this, she's a bit above your paygrade, if you catch my drift." Kusa said bluntly, not amused at Ryuji seemingly taking an interest in Haru, not that long after telling Kusa and Ren he was interested in Makoto. Ryuji shrugged as he spoke up.

"Oh. Yeah, that is a problem. Still, it sucks that I can't just say I'm actually a phantom thief to anybody." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up dryly.

"Yeah, because that wouldn't totally blow up in all of our faces if you did that. Ryuji, do you ever think with your big head anymore? Or are you always ruled by your little head?" Kusa said bluntly before heading off to class, not looking at the blinking Ren and Ryuji as he walked off...

(A short time later, outside of the second-floor classrooms)

"Did you do it too, Teach? The whole cover-up thing." A male student asked Kawakami as she passed by, making her huff at the student as she spoke up.

"This is the first time I'm hearing about it too! Even if the police ask you anything, you better not make irresponsible comments to them! Ugh, seriously? Why does this keep happening? All my relatives are gonna call me again." Kawakami said as Makoto chose that moment to walk up the steps as Kawakami spoke up, catching Makoto's attention.

"Oh, Niijima-san. Perfect timing." Kawakami said as she led Makoto to the lockers and spoke up.

"I think you might've been told this already, but it's about the school trip. You know the police have been coming to school again because of that incident? So, a number of the senior faculty are going to be called in for questioning, as annoying as that might be. And that day just so happens to overlap with the school trip." Kawakami said to Makoto who nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, right. Yes, I've been told so." Makoto said as Kawakami nodded and spoke up.

"Now, this came up at the faculty meeting, but the plan is to have a hand-selected group of third-years come along, to act as our proxies. And, well, you're part of that group." Kawakami said before she kept speaking in order to prevent Makoto from so much as squeaking in surprise.

"I'm so sorry to drop this on you, Niijima-san, but we'll be counting on you." Kawakami said as Makoto quietly gasped, covering her mouth before she spoke up in shock.

"WHAT!?" Makoto said in shock as Kawakami kept speaking.

"You know how it is. A lot of the second-years this year happen to be, well, unique. You must have your hands full with the entrance exams, but I'm sure you'll be fine with your grades. Oh, don't worry! There'll be a couple more people going besides you!" Kawakami said to Makoto, who blinked before nodding as she spoke up.

"I see. Well, if that's the case, then very well." Makoto said, indicating her agreement to go on the trip, making Kawakami give her a closed-eye smile as she spoke up.

"Really? Oh, thank goodness! I'll go ahead and pass this news on, then." Kawakami said to Makoto as she walked off leaving Makoto to blink to herself before smiling as she spoke up.

"Well, not how I expected to be included in the school trip, but I guess that works out. Maybe I can use the trip to possibly spend some time with Ryuji?" Makoto said to herself as she headed to class...

(Later that morning, in class with Ren, Ann, and Morgana)

"Listen this time, okay? The tabloids have been all over it. You might have some concerns, but we're going to do things as usual." Kawakami said as Ren heard a male student speak up from nearby.

"I heard the school was in on it and tried to hide it at first." The male student said as a female student spoke up as well.

"Were the teachers involved in the scandal too?" The female student asked as Kawakami spoke up, eyes wide while she spoke.

"I had nothing to do with it! Do you really think I have that much power? Okay, that's enough chitchat! If you're that worried, you can always see our school counselor! Starting today, we'll have Doctor Maruki on call. We went to the trouble of getting him, so don't be afraid to ask!" Kawakami said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"Man! Yikes, Ren. The new semester's barely started and things are already getting crazy. Don't you agree?" Morgana asked Ren, who shrugged as the rest of the morning went uneventfully...

(That afternoon, in class with Ren, Morgana and Ann)

As Ren and Ann were listening to Uchimaru's lecture, their phones went off to signify a group chat with Ryuji, Kusa, Yusuke, Makoto, and Futaba, with Ryuji sending the first response as Ren and Ann discreetly checked the group chat.

"You guys see!? Akechi showed up in the rankings!" Ryuji sent as Kusa sent a response at that point.

"For real!? Damn, that was fast. But I'm also not surprised." Kusa sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Indeed. Perhaps it's due to all the negative comments he made about us." Yusuke sent as Ann sent a response.

"Seems that way." Ann sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"God, this is freaking amazing!" Ryuji sent as Ren sent a response.

"While I do feel bad for Akechi, he was warned numerous times to change his views, by multiple people, so he only has himself to blame." Ren sent as Kusa sent a response.

"I get it, Ren. You feel bad for your friend. That's admirable and all, but if you ask me? This serves that smug bastard right! Maybe now he'll get off that damned high horse of his and quit acting like he's lookin' down his nose at us. You have no idea how much restraint I had to show this morning when I was polite and conversational with him, instead of just reaming the over-confident son of a bitch. Especially since we haven't yet checked to see if he has a Palace. We really need to do that when we get a chance." Kusa sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Truth, Kusa! He deserves what he gets, and gets what he deserves! Also, c'mon Ren! You don't gotta pity a jerk like him. By the way, how's it going, Makoto? You get into your sister's data yet?" Ryuji sent as Makoto sent a response at that point.

"I think she's been busy. She didn't come home at all yesterday." Makoto sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"That's problematic." Yusuke sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"What're we gonna do? We can't do a damn thing till we get that." Ryuji sent as Makoto sent a response.

"Don't rush me. I assure you, I can handle this. But more importantly, everyone at school has been on edge since that tabloid article. Please be careful not to stand out, OK?" Makoto sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Don't gotta tell me twice!" Ryuji sent as Kusa smirked and sent a response.

"She doesn't? That's interesting." Kusa sent teasingly as Ren put his phone away while Uchimaru spoke up.

"Hey, Amamiya-kun! Are you listening!? You! Pay attention! Is that how you listen when someone's talking to you!?" Uchimaru said as Ren felt a murderous intent, only just dodging the throw in time, prompting the usual murmurs about how he was a ninja with epic dodges like the one he just did. Uchimaru just huffed and kept lecturing as Morgana spoke up.

"Ooh, you've got the entire class's attention! Your Charm has definitely gone up from that." Morgana said as Ren nodded, feeling his Charm increase despite being maxed out. The rest of the class passed uneventfully...

(After school, with Ren and Morgana)

Morgana frowned as he spoke up, fixing Ren with an unreadable look while he spoke.

"Aren't people saying the press might show up? Let's keep an even lower profile than usual." Morgana said as Ren nodded before his phone went off to signify a private chat, which to his surprise was from Kasumi, making him hurry to open it.

"Hello there. You remember our deal? How I was supposed to help you with physical training? You think we could put that on hold for next week? I'm going to training camp, so I'll be out of Japan for a while." Kasumi sent as Ren sent a response.

"So you'll be away for a while? That sucks, but at least you're pursuing your dream, so good luck with that! As it happens, it's just as well you want to put it on hold, since I myself will be gone for awhile as well, what with the school trip and all to Hawaii." Ren sent. Kasumi blinked and sent a response.

"Huh? Oh, right! The second-years' trip is next week too. Now that's a coincidence! We're both going overseas at the same time, huh? Okay, then training's on hiatus until we both get home! Enjoy your trip! You have to tell me about it later!" Kasumi sent as Ren sent a response.

"Can do. Enjoy your training camp, Sumi! But don't over-do it too much, yeah?" Ren sent as he put his phone away. After pondering his options, and doing a bit of shopping since he happened to have a free afternoon that day, he decided to hang out with Ann since he noticed that she was available to hang with. So decided, he headed to the Underground Mall after dumping Morgana off with Kusa, who shrugged and let the not-cat hop in his bag. Once he got there, he approached Ann, who smiled at Ren as he walked up, speaking up once he'd gotten over to her.

"Hiya! Oh, Ren! Are you here to shop today too?" Ann asked as Ren spoke up.

"A bit. I did look around a bit first, but moreso I came here to see you." Ren said as Ann blinked in surprise.

"Oh? I see. Hey, you know how I said I was gonna take the world by storm with my modeling? Well, I was thinking of getting into shape first. And who better to help with that than Ryuji, right? Why don't you join in too, Ren? We can train together!" Ann suggested. Ren thought about it and nodded as he spoke up.

"Sounds like a plan to me. I had a free afternoon this afternoon, anyways, so why not spend it working out a bit? I didn't get to work out as much as I'd have liked over the summer, for obvious reasons." Ren said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"True. Well, thanks for joining us! All right, let's go work up a sweat! It's pretty close by. Oh, and I'll let Ryuji know." Ann said as she and Ren headed over to the Muscle Lovers gym, where Ryuji was already waiting. He chuckled at the two as he spoke up once they arrived.

"Hey, you two! Heh, go figure. Me and Ren've actually already been to this gym. It's pretty sweet, huh? Not too many people gettin' in your way. Anyways, uh, not to be rude, but what're you tryin' to do here?" Ryuji said as Ann pumped a fist and spoke up.

"I'm getting into shape! YES! You heard me, I want to slim down!" Ann said determinedly as Ryuji spoke up.

"Huh. You tried joggin'?" Ryuji asked as Ann spoke up.

"Yeah, but aerobics alone aren't enough! I want to tone up too, so I need to start lifting weights. Plus, my shoulders are drooping. I wanna make my biceps leaner, and I need to straighten my back out!" Ann said, not seeing Ren and Ryuji sweatdrop as she kept speaking.

"Obviously I want to cut down on my waist size too, not to mention, I want to get into shape and firm up my butt and calves!" Ann said as Ren blinked before speaking up.

"Huh. That's rather ambitious of you, Ann. But to be honest, I think you've got some real guts to want all that." Ren said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Mm-hm! I'm a guts demon!" Ann said with a closed-eye smile as a familiar voice could be heard chuckling from nearby before they spoke up.

"A guts demon? I don't think that means what you think it does, Ann. But I guess points for wanting to better yourself?" Ren, Ryuji, and Ann heard, blinking as one before they turned around, all three being surprised to see Kusa there, working out by sparring one of the wooden dummies that Ren had been taught how to use when he brought the twins here to inspect the gym. Ren then spoke up, smiling at Kusa, who'd stopped his workout to use the towel next to him to wipe some sweat off his face and then take a drag off the water bottle he'd brought with him while he spoke.

"Oh, Kusa. Fancy seeing you here." Ren said as Kusa spoke up with a nod, crossing his arms as he looked at the others while he spoke so they could see his workout outfit, which was a dark-grey muscle shirt and dark green track shorts that he paired with his usual black shoes.

"I know, right? I just figured this would be a good day to get a work-out in since there's not much else going on. That, and I figured I needed to keep my form honed since I haven't really been able to practice as much as usual what with that whole bit with having to let my leg heal and all. So, I figure I have some practice to catch up on if I want to stay in form, and not let my skills get dull from lack of use. That, and sparring wooden dummies like these makes for good leg and arm workouts. But don't mind me, you keep working out. I just thought I'd add in my two cents." Kusa said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up, letting Kusa get a view of his teal workout shirt, blue shorts and track shoes.

"Truth, Kusa! Also, Ann? What the hell's that even supposed to mean, anyways?" Ryuji asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Usually? It depends on the context, but I think the way Ann said it, she meant it to mean she's full of Guts. Which if so, I think the term she wanted was she's a gutsy lady." Kusa said to Ryuji who nodded as he spoke up.

"I see. Ann? Motivation's good n' all, but you're not gonna be able to move tomorrow if you do all that shit." Ryuji said to Ann who nodded and smiled at Ryuji.

"Oh? Then you come up with a training regimen for me." Ann said as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"Ryuji? Coming up with a training regimen? I don't think he's qualified for that. Nor does he look like a personal trainer to me. No offense, Ryuji." Kusa said as Ryuji spoke up with a huff as he hung his head.

"You're not wrong on either count, Kusa. And ugh, you're such a pain, Ann." Ryuji said as Ann giggled and spoke up with a closed-eye smile, ignoring the shocked looks on Ren and Kusa's faces at what she said next.

"If you do that for me, I'll go out on a date with you as a reward!" Ann said as Kusa spoke up in surprise.

"Wait, what? I thought you said you weren't that into guys anymore, Ann?" Kusa said in confused disbelief as Ren nodded his agreement of Kusa's question. Ryuji spoke up before Ann could answer Kusa, however.

"Eff that. You're cute and all, but even I know your heart is set on Suzui-san, Ann." Ryuji said with a huff. He kept speaking at that point, ignoring the looks of surprise on Ren, Ann and Kusa's face at what he said next.

"Quit thinkin' you're some sexy character in an anime. It's sad watchin' you like this." Ryuji said as Ann blinked and spoke up, eyes wide while she spoke.

"What!? SERIOUSLY!?" Ann said as Ryuji laughed and spoke up.

"No way, man! First off, one of them sexy characters'd never come to the gym in their PE uniform." Ryuji said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Oh, really? And which anime are you talking about that the 'sexy characters' you speak of don't come to gym in their PE uniform? What then, do they come to the gym in, pray tell? Because I get the feeling you've been watching yourself some naughty anime, Ryuji." Kusa said teasingly, barely feeling the annoyed flick Ren gave him on the arm as Ann blinked and spoke up, ignoring Kusa's question while she spoke.

"How am I supposed to know that, Ryuji? I've never even been to the gym before today!" Ann said as her phone went off at that point, prompting her to check it and blink as she did so.

"Oh, it's my agency!" Ann said as she answered the phone.

"Hello? Hi! Oh, yes. Definitely. Even a smaller article would be great! Huh? Wait, what? It fell through? Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Uh, I guess that's okay with me. Mm-hm, okay, bye." Ann said, hanging up her phone with a sigh as she spoke up.

"I was supposed to be in two magazines the month after next, but apparently one canceled on me. It was a black-and-white shoot, so they said I wouldn't stand out. It sounded like fun though. It was about the everyday life of models, too." Ann said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Guess you just gotta find somewhere you do stand out then. And shut up, Kusa! I was referring to how most sexy characters are usually shown in a swimsuit or a cheerleading outfit, sort of like how you seemed to slightly zone out the other day at the beach when Futaba came out in her bathing suit." Ryuji said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Well, excuse me for being appreciative of a pretty lady in her new swimsuit, Ryuji. I seem to recall your reaction to it wasn't that much better. You literally dropped that popsicle stick that was in your mouth when you saw it, as I recall. Or was that because you were stunned by Ann and Makoto's bikinis? Which in fairness to them, they were rather pretty, but as you pointed out, my eyes were firmly on Taba once she came out of that changing room." Kusa said as Ann smiled and spoke up, a closed-eye smile on her face while she spoke.

"Thanks, Kusa. Glad you did notice all of us that day, and not just Futaba. Although you DID win me some money with that reaction of yours. Hee hee, easiest 5000 yen I ever made, too. That said, huh, good point Ryuji. There has to be somewhere my vibrant charm will shine, right!?" Ann asked as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Of course there is, Ann! There's no doubt of it in my mind. Honestly, between you, Yoshizawa and Futaba, I'm practically surrounded by girls who could be models if they so chose to be." Ren said suavely as Kusa spoke up while fixing Ren with a look that was a cross of amused, uncertain and pointed before he spoke.

"Yes, well, just as long as you remember that you yourself said you only had eyes for Kasumi, I have no objections to you complimenting Ann and Futaba." Kusa pointed out. Ann nodded as she spoke up.

"Yeah!" Ann said happily as Ryuji huffed and spoke up.

"Uh, where exactly would your charm stand out, Ann?" Ryuji asked as Kusa huffed and spoke up in Ann's defense.

"She has more charm than you do, Ryuji. After all, last I checked she was the one who had guys all over her at that beach, whereas by all accounts, you, Ren AND Yusuke all three failed to get even one girl interested in you that day." Kusa said sagely as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Whatever. Hey, speaking of magazines, there was a really pretty girl in that one you said you were starrin' in. She's got this innocent vibe, but she's sexy too. Now that's what REAL charm looks like to me." Ryuji said with a grin as Ren and Kusa winced, the latter speaking up as he noticed the rather annoyed look on Ann's face at Ryuji's words.

"Ryuji, you do know that in most cases, beauty is only skin-deep, right? Sure, this girl you're speaking up might be beautiful on the outside, but is that beauty also present in her personality and demeanor? Because just as there's outer beauty, there's also such a thing as inner beauty as well." Kusa said sagely as Ann crossed her arms and spoke up.

"Oh? Were there photos of me too in this magazine you saw?" Ann asked Ryuji, who nodded as he spoke up.

"Uh, yeah." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up again, a slight frown on her face while she spoke.

"And this girl you're speaking of, did she have long, brown hair?" Ann asked as Ryuji grinned and nodded as he spoke up.

"Yup, that's the one! You know her!? You gotta introduce me, dude!" Ryuji asked as Kusa and Ren winced, the latter speaking up after seeing the glare Ann was giving Ryuji.

"Not if it's who I think it is, she doesn't. The person you're describing? She's pretty, yes, but she's also kind of a bitch too. Not to mention, how mean she was to Ann." Ren said as Kusa raised an eyebrow before speaking up.

"Oh? You say that like you've met this girl, Ren. Is that the case?" Kusa asked as Ann huffed and spoke up, and what she said next made it rather obvious she was pissed.

"Yes Kusa, Ren has met her! And Ryuji? UGH! You dick! Of all the girls you could have been talking about, it just HAD to be Mika! Urghhhh, I'm so pissed!" Ann said as Ren and Ryuji blinked, while Kusa gave Ann a confused look as Ann kept speaking.

"Come on, which machine are we using first!? I'm gonna break it!" Ann said determinedly as she headed off to train with Ren and Ryuji, leaving Kusa to resume his sparring and working out, the group training until they had reached their limits. A while later, Ann sat on the ground, panting as she spoke up.

"Ugh, dammit, my body freaking hurts everywhere." Ann said as Kusa spoke up, having walked over as the group finished working out.

"Welcome to working out, Ann. Of course, normally you don't go all-out like you did back there. I'm impressed Ren and Ryuji weren't quaking in fear with how aggro you went on the machines. Not that I have room to talk about going aggro considering I shadow-boxed the tree in Futaba's backyard once when I blacked out, but that's a long story." Kusa said as Ann spoke up.

"Fair enough. That said, but for some reason, despite how much I hurt, I feel oddly satisfied, too." Ann said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"That's what workin' hard feels like. Not bad, huh?" Ryuji asked Ann, who nodded as she spoke up.

"Yeah, good point. That was actually, all things considered, pretty fun. I think it was because the two of you were here with me, plus Kusa was nearby. As such, I had to prove I was working extra hard." Ann said as Ryuji chuckled and spoke up.

"Truth! It's simple stuff like that that'll help you keep pushin'." Ryuji said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"And if it happens to get you into shape so you can look extra-good for Suzui-san? All the better, I'm sure." Kusa said teasingly as Ann flushed and spoke up.

"Shut up, Kusa! And honestly, I hadn't even considered that this could help me look good for Shiho. So good point." Ann said as Ren spoke up.

"Good advice, Ryuji." Ren said approvingly. Ann then kept speaking as she swore.

"Dammit, I wish I had thought of that myself. But you're both right, Kusa and Ryuji." Ann said as Ryuji winced and spoke up.

"Uh, this ain't a competition." Ryuji said as his phone went off at that point, making him blink as he spoke up.

"Crap, for real?" Ryuji said as Kusa, Ann and Ren gave him questioning looks so he spoke up.

"Mom forgot to buy stuff for dinner, so I guess I gotta head home now. Seeya, guys." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"Ah, gotcha. Have fun with that, Ryuji." Kusa said as Ryuji nodded and left. After he left, Ann spoke up with a fond smile on her face.

"Ryuji just can't say no when his mom needs help, huh." Ann said as Kusa spoke up.

"You say that like it's a bad thing for a guy to be close to his mother, to a point." Kusa pointed out sagely as Ann spoke up.

"Not at all, Kusa. The truth is, I'm actually a little jealous of the relationship they have." Ann said as Ren blinked in confusion while Ann kept speaking.

"I mean, even growing up, my parents were super busy. They always told me I was strong, that I'd be fine on my own. I was free, sure, but at the same time, I was lonely. I'd make friends, but we moved a lot, so it was a vicious circle. And every time, I had to start all over again." Ann said, as Kusa blinked at the similarity between Ann and himself while Ann kept speaking.

"I actually got used to the loneliness after awhile, if you can believe that. But all that changed once I met Shiho. Once I met her, the world seemed so hopeful and bright." Ann said with a closed-eye smile on her face as Kusa spoke up.

"Well, you never have to start over again, Ann. Even if we end up separated because most of us move away, we'll always stay in contact. And I can relate, since as Ren probably told you by now, I've had to move away from friendships I've established more than once. However, unlike you, I wasn't so good at acclimating when I was younger, so that may or may not have led to me having a short-lived stint as a shut-in, not unlike Taba.

However, unlike her, I only left my room to use the bathroom while I was a shut-in. You can ask Ren here, and he'll vouch I literally had meals brought in. It almost got to the point where our mom considered home-schooling me so I didn't fall behind on my grades. However, that was right before she and Ren intervened and snapped me out of my shut-in ways, which I will forever be grateful to them for. So I can relate to that feeling of loneliness, Ann. But know that you're never alone anymore, since you have Ren and I and we're just a phone call away." Kusa said honestly to Ann, who smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"Kusa...Heh, thank you." Ann said before walking forward to hug Kusa, who blinked in surprise before smiling as he returned the hug. After a bit, Ann stepped away and spoke up.

"Anyways, I heard Shiho's rehab is going well these days. As a result, she's going to be officially transferring schools soon, too. Hard to believe it's happening, but it is. I need to show her that I'm working hard to better myself, and that she doesn't need to worry so much about me." Ann said as Kusa spoke up.

"Y'know, this could just be me reading too much into that, but could her worrying like that be an indication that she might just feel the same way about you that you feel about her, Ann? Maybe, just maybe, she might love you the way you love her? Also, if she's transferring soon, doesn't that mean you're almost out of time to confess your feelings to her, Ann? Or were you planning to let her leave without confessing to her?

Are you truly that selfless, that you'd let yourself live with the question of not knowing if Suzui-san might in fact be in love with you, much as you're in love with her? After all, if Ren can admit his feelings to Yoshizawa, and if even I can find the nerve to confess to Taba, which for the record I actually did do that, the night of that beach trip. But Taba didn't immediately say if she felt the same or not, but I can wait for her answer since I'm patient.

My point, meanwhile, is this: Ann, do you truly want Suzui-san to transfer schools and possibly move away, without knowing how you feel about her? I said before you needed to give her time to come to terms with it, but if you don't act soon, she might have too much time to process and end up forgetting by the time you two see one another again unless you keep in contact. So I advise you to give some serious thought to if you're gonna confess your feelings to her or not." Kusa said honestly to Ann as Ren spoke up.

"I agree with Kusa. But to what you said Ann, I have a feeling she already knows, but still worries because she cares that much, not only about you, but for you as well." Ren said. Ann blinked at Kusa's words as she spoke up.

"Yeah, Ren. You're probably right. And Kusa, you raise a good point. I should tell her how I feel. I think I will, next time I get the chance even. Also, she needs to see how much I've learned from her since we met." Ann said decisively as Ren smiled, feeling as if he could sense a strong resolve from Ann.

At that moment, the 'Lovers' card appeared in his mind's eyes, the 'VII' becoming a 'VIII' to signify that his Lovers Confidant link with Ann had reached rank 8. As a result of the rank-up, Ann awakened to the skill 'Endure', which afforded her the opportunity to withstand an otherwise fatal attack with 1 HP remaining. Afterwards, Ann spoke up with a smile.

"Thanks for listening, you guys. Let's get back. Come on, let's go home. Though, to be honest? I might have trouble moving, though. My legs are killing me. Well, see you two later!" Ann said as Ren and Kusa nodded, the group changing out of their workout clothes and heading their separate ways for the day, with Ren and Kusa returning to Leblanc, at which point Ren's phone rang and he answered it while Kusa headed on inside.

"Hello?" Ren said as he answered his phone, nodding as he heard Ann's voice on the other end.

"Oh, hello. Ren, are you listening? It's me, Ann. Gah! Oogh, this smarts. My muscles are so sore right now, to the point that going home took me more than twice as long as usual today. However I'm really proud of the work I put in today. I would've just given up if I went alone. I'm so glad I had you, Ryuji, and Kusa with me. You three are the best! To be honest, I wonder if this how Shiho felt with her rehab? Being able to push herself because someone was there with her through it all?" Ann said as Ren spoke up.

"If I had to guess, I'd say that's probably it. But I feel like you'd be best off just asking Suzui-san yourself, since only she can say for sure how she felt with her rehab. Besides, I recall you told Kusa you'd tell her how you feel anyways." Ren pointed out sagely. Ann smiled as she spoke up.

"You think so, Ren? I'd be really happy if I actually helped her push so hard. Not much time left until Shiho switches schools, though. I need to up my coolness so I can confess to her and she can take off without worrying about me. Oh! Gah! Ow! I forgot how sore I was for a second. Ugh, sorry, but I better get some rest for now. Bye-bye!" Ann said as Ren hung up the phone and headed into Leblanc. Once he got inside, Sojiro spoke up.

"What did your principal let happen this time? Your school was on the news again. You some kinda misfortune magnet or something? Just don't bring any bad luck down on me, got it Ren?" Sojiro said to Ren, who nodded. At that point, he headed upstairs, just in time for his and Kusa's phones to go off, signifying a private chat with Ren, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, and Futaba, with Futaba sending the first response, which made Ren realize she didn't send a single response in the earlier group chat that had happened.

"Did you get the data yet?" Futaba sent as Makoto sent a response.

"No, my sister still hasn't come home." Makoto sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Mannn, she's seriously that busy?" Ryuji sent as Makoto sent a response.

"Probably because of us." Makoto sent as Ann sent a response.

"So, uh, Makoto, do you still want to go through with this plan?" Ann sent as Makoto sent a response.

"Yes, I can do it. Hold on, I have a message. It sounds like she's on her way home." Makoto sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"All right! It's finally time!" Ryuji sent as Futaba sent a response.

"My heart's pounding." Futaba sent as Kusa chuckled and sent a response.

"Silly Taba, why would YOUR heart be pounding? Makoto's the one taking the big risk here." Kusa pointed out sagely. Yusuke sent a response.

"Make sure to be cautious, OK?" Yusuke sent as Futaba sent a response.

"Because I'm the one who basically talked her into doing this, so if something goes wrong, it'll be my fault for talking her into this." Futaba sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Would you relax, Taba? Even if something were to go wrong, which I'm sure it won't, it would most certainly not be your fault." Kusa sent reassuringly to Futaba as Ren sent a response.

"Be careful, Makoto. It's up to you to get that data, if you can." Ren sent. Makoto sent a response.

"Understood. I'll report back tomorrow." Makoto sent as Ren put his phone away while Kusa moved into a private chat with Futaba as Morgana spoke up.

"Ooh, I can't wait to see what comes of this plan. Hey, you've got a bit of sooty armor, Ren. Why not give it a wash at the laundromat, or sell it in Kichijoji?" Morgana said. Ren then played a hunch and went up to his and Kusa's room, checking the plant to see it was ready for nutrients. On seeing this, he went to have Chihaya give him a Luck Reading in Kindness, after which he applied a bag of 'Mega Fertilizer' to the plant. Morgana spoke up in surprise.

"Whoa. You're gonna use that one!? You must really care about this plant, Ren!" Morgana said as Ren nodded, feeling a sizable boost to his Kindness, boosted further by the Luck Reading. Morgana then spoke up.

"Perfect. That should keep that plant busy for a while!" Morgana said. Ren nodded before he looked at Kusa as an idea occurred to him and he spoke up.

"Say, Kusa? You know what we've not done in a while?" Ren asked as Kusa thought about it before speaking up.

"You're referring to cleaning up Leblanc, aren't you?" Kusa asked Ren,who nodded as he spoke up.

"Indeed I am. We don't got a lot else going on, plus we've not exactly got homework just now, so why not help Boss out a bit and clean up around Leblanc? Could be fun." Ren said as Kusa smiled and nodded as he spoke up.

"You're lucky I agree with you on that, Ren. Let's do it." Kusa said as the two headed downstairs to gather the cleaning supplies. As they did so, Sojiro arched an eyebrow but smiled as he spoke up.

"Oh? You two planning on cleaning up around here? If so, well, I'd certainly appreciate that. I can understand you've not been that able to do so recently, what with all the stuff happening with Futaba and all." Sojiro said as Kusa spoke up.

"Yes, well, even so, we did promise to help out around here more, and we've really not been making too good on that, so this seems as good a chance as any to rectify that somewhat." Kusa said as Ren nodded his agreement. Sojiro nodded as he spoke up

"Very well. I'm going home now. Don't break anything in the store, got it?" Sojiro said as Ren and Kusa nodded. At that point, Sojiro went home, after which Ren and Kusa started cleaning up, while Morgana spoke up from the chair he was curled on watching them.

"Listen up! Be sure to clean using your whole body, all right? Otherwise your arms will get tired too quickly." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"Thanks for the advice, Captain Obvious." Kusa said dryly as Morgana kept speaking up.

"Hmm. That posture. Ren, looking good! You're cleaning like a pro!" Morgana said as Ren nodded. After a bit, Kusa and Ren finished, with the floors and counter sparkling from how clean they were, making Morgana give the two a closed-eye smile as he spoke up

"That should do it for now! All right, all clean! I bet the chief is gonna be happy with this. And Ren, thinking about the customers and cleaning the store probably helped to increase your Kindness, no?" Morgana said as Ren nodded, feeling his Kindness get boosted from cleaning up around Leblanc, the boost being augmented by the still-active Luck Reading Chihaya had given him before. Morgana then kept speaking.

"Hey! That took longer than I expected. We should go to bed once we clean up the rest." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"Good point. But I feel like you don't have a lot of cleaning experience to draw off of outside of watching us, Morgana." Kusa said dryly as the two finished cleaning and got ready for bed...

(Around the same time, at the Niijima household, with Makoto and Sae)

"Ah, looks like you're busy." Makoto said to Sae as she walked over. Sae nodded as she spoke up in a blunt, yet bored tone.

"I'm listing up the evidence that's been taken into storage. It's a chore that any part-timer could do. I don't have time to waste on something like this, to be honest. It felt like my irritation would show on my face at the office, so I brought it home." Sae said as Makoto nodded understandingly and spoke up.

"Ah, sorry to hear that, Sis." Makoto said. Sae huffed as she massaged her forehead before she spoke up once more.

"Ugh, the Phantom Thieves case isn't so easy that I could pursue it in my spare time, after all. The media keeps making a ruckus about it, so people have been wary whenever we make inquiries. Why, I couldn't get anything out of a man who seemed to have intel, not even when I tried threatening him." Sae said as Makoto gave Sae a shocked look as Sae spoke up.

"Nothing like that. All I did was question him a bit harshly." Sae said as Makoto blinked, recalling something she'd not told Sae, prompting her to speak up.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I'll be going on a school trip starting next week, sis. The senior faculty are being questioned, so I'll be going in their stead as a proxy." Makoto said as Sae smiled and spoke up, nodding approvingly while she spoke.

"Sounds good to me. The school will owe you for it. It won't get in the way of your entrance exams, will it?" Sae asked, voicing a concern she had about the trip. Makoto smiled as she shook her head before speaking up.

"No, not at all. You know, you can feel free to take a bath first if you need to. I, to be honest, still need to study a bit more just to be on the safe side." Makoto said. Sae seemed to frown before she nodded as she spoke up.

"Okay. I think I'll do that. " Sae said as she closed her laptop and went into the bathroom, leaving Makoto alone with the laptop in question. At that point, Makoto winced as she slipped the hard drive Futaba had given her into the laptop to start the copying process. As she did so, she muttered to herself.

"Ugh, this should do it, right?" Makoto said to herself as the copying started. After a bit, Sae's voice came from the bathroom.

"Oh, Makoto?" Sae called out. Makoto turned to speak up.

"Yes!?" Makoto called back as Sae called back out.

"I want to change my toothbrush." Sae said as Makoto blinked before speaking up in a slight panic.

"I-I bought a new one already! It's on the shelf!" Makoto called back as Sae's voice called out once more.

"Thanks." Sae said as Makoto winced at the copying process.

"C'mon, hurry." Makoto said to herself as she watched the progress bar fill. She heard the shower turn off and winced.

"No way, already!?" Makoto said to herself as she raised her voice to speak up.

"That was fast!" Makoto said as Sae's voice answered.

"I'm not really in the mood to relax in the tub." Sae said as Makoto winced and spoke to herself.

"Ugh, and it's so close to being done too!" Makoto said before having an idea as she spoke up.

"Oh, um, Sis!?" Makoto called out. Sae's voice answered.

"What is it?" Sae asked as Makoto spoke up on auto-pilot.

"I bought a new bath salt. It's on the same shelf, so would you mind putting it in the tub?" Makoto called out as Sae chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, not at all." Sae said agreeably. Right at that moment, the download finished, making Makoto breathe a sigh of relief as she spoke up.

"Whew! Yes, it's done!" Makoto said as she removed the flash drive real fast and closed her sister's laptop before scurrying from the room...

(The next morning, with Ren, Kusa and Morgana, in the attic of Leblanc)

As Kusa sat up, sleepily yawning while he stretched and started getting dressed for the day, his and Ren's phones went off to signify a group chat from Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, and Futaba, with Makoto sending the first response.

"I got it." Makoto sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"What're you talking about this early in the morning, Makoto?" Ryuji sent, clearly still half-asleep. Makoto sent a response.

"I extracted the data from my sister's PC." Makoto sent. Ren and Kusa exchanged impressed looks, not expecting it to happen that quickly. Ren sent a response.

"Well done, Makoto. Did she suspect anything?" Ren sent. Makoto sent a response.

"I think it will be OK." Makoto sent as Futaba sent a response at that point.

"Oooh, I've been waiting for this! Gimme, gimme, gimme!" Futaba sent as Kusa chuckled and sent a response, having finished getting ready.

"Patience, Taba. Most of us have school to go to first, then we can give you the data afterwards. Unless you want Makoto to risk being late to bring you the data first?" Kusa sent as Makoto sent a response.

"Exactly, Kusa-kun! And Futaba-chan, I can't right now. I have to head to school right now. But we'll make sure you get it after school. If nothing else, we can meet up and hand it over then." Makoto sent as Futaba sent a response.

"Whoa! My bad, Makoto! And shut up, Kusa! You say that like you weren't impatiently waiting for me to come out of the changing room that day we went to the beach, so don't you be talking to me about having patience, Mister 'I-Couldn't-Tear-My-Eyes-Away-From-You'. Bring it right after school then, Makoto." Futaba sent as Ryuji and Ann laughed, the latter sending a response.

"Hee hee, she's got you there, Kusa. Your eyes were rather locked onto her that day, as I recall." Ann sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Shut up, Ann! At least the rest of us bar Yusuke and Ryuji have confessed to our crushes, whereas you keep putting that off. So until you finally work the nerve up to confess to Suzui-san, don't be teasing me about being drawn to Taba." Kusa sent reprovingly as Futaba giggled and sent a response.

"Get her, Kusa! I always forget that Ann's the one who prefers girls to guys. And personally, I find that both oddly amusing, and rather adorable. Also, I'm gonna punish you if you're lateeee, Makoto!" Futaba sent as Ryuji sent a response at that point.

"Whoa, sounds kinky. Maybe we should get in on that, Kusa." Ryuji sent, making both Ren and Kusa sputter as they put their phones away, the latter slightly red-faced at Ryuji's response, even if he agreed that Futaba had made a rather kinky comment. At that point, Morgana spoke up.

"Looks like it went well! I wonder what we'll find on that drive." Morgana said as Kusa shrugged and spoke up.

"Good question. We'll have to wait until after school to find out, won't we?" Kusa said as Morgana blinked and spoke up.

"Oh! Good point, Kusa! Before that, we should head over to school!" Morgana said as Ren nodded, heading to school with Kusa as Morgana hopped into his bag...

(On the walk to school, with Ren, Kusa and Morgana)

"Seriously!? I wish our principal would have a change of heart. He knew all about Kamoshida, but kept his mouth shut. Ridiculous, if you ask me." A black-haired boy said to his brown-haired friend, who nodded as he spoke up.

"Well, let's vote him up on the Phan-Site. I can't imagine the Phantom Thieves wouldn't go after someone so rotten. I'm sure other teachers knew too. Anyone who did deserves a change of heart." The brown-haired student said as the black-haired student spoke up.

"Yeah, true. But, wait! What if it messes up our school trip? Maybe we should wait until after." The black-haired student said as the brown-haired student nodded, as the rest of the walk went uneventfully...

(That morning in class, with Ren, Morgana, and Ann)

"Oh, yes! Next week is the school trip we've all been looking forward to so much. Have you been getting ready? Your destination is none other than Hawaii. I hope your passport isn't about to expire. You're heading out on Wednesday, so there's no time to get a new one printed. Anyhow, I'm sure you'll enjoy your time sightseeing in Hawaii ore if you have more knowledge. Now then, Amamiya-kun. Look closely at this picture." Inui said to Ren as he held up a picture of what appeared to be a gladiator holding a spear in one hand and holding the other open in what appeared to be a 'come at me!' gesture, before Inui kept speaking.

"This is King Kamehameha, the founder of Hawaii. Each hand in this famous statue represents something, but, by chance, do you know what the right represents?" Inui asked Ren, who thought about it, vaguely recalling hearing Kusa and Futaba talk about it once while talking about the Dragon Ball series, and how the name of a move in that series was the same as a Hawaiian king's name. Ren tried to recall what he'd heard, and then blinked as he recalled the answer, speaking up confidently.

"This is it! The answer is Prosperity." Ren said confidently. Inui smiled, impressed with Ren's knowledge of Hawaii as he spoke up.

"Oh! Not bad. That's right. The right hand represents the prosperity of Hawaii. And the spear in the left hand represents peace. As an aside, it seems that this statue is not of King Kamehameha himself. After Kamehameha's death, another king commissioned the statue, using a boy from his court as the model." Inui said as the murmurs about Ren's intelligence began. Morgana even complimented Ren on how smart he was as he got a Knowledge boost that he didn't need since he had MAX ranked Knowledge. At that point, Inui kept speaking.

"I hope you will make the most out of your five days there. Let me just say I have a fondness for macadamia nuts, so if you happen to be bringing souvenirs back, maybe think of me when doing so?" Inui suggested as Morgana spoke up.

"Hm. Souvenirs, huh? That makes sense. I definitely wouldn't want to get some wooden figurine. I can't understand why people would send things like that as gifts in the first place." Morgana said as Ren shrugged, the rest of the class and school day going uneventfully...

(After school, at the Sakura house, in Futaba's room with Yusuke, Ryuji, Ann, Ren, Makoto, Morgana, Futaba and Kusa)

"Well Futaba, here you go. I think I did it right." Makoto said as she handed the drive to Futaba, who giggled.

"Hehe, leave it to me." Futaba said as Kusa spoke up proudly.

"Yep. If she can't get that figured out, no one can." Kusa said approvingly, making Futaba shyly smile at Kusa's praise even as her cheeks turned a bit red in embarrassment, not used to hearing such sincere praise from people still. Ann then saw the pile of brochures between Ryuji and Yusuke and spoke up.

"Whoa, you grabbed all these? Are they for Hawaii!?" Ann asked as Ryuji nodded with a grin as he spoke up, currently sat on Futaba's bed looking comfy.

"Yep. If we're gonna lay low, we might as well enjoy it. Aww, look at this one! Gigantic sea turtle sightseein' on some beach." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Come on, food's more important than some turtle." Ann said insistently. Her next words had Kusa, Ren and Yusuke all wincing at what she said next.

"You really don't find steak this big and thick in Japan! Also, what's this food they call 'mahi-mahi'? Is that some kind of fish? Think it's good?" Ann asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"It seems it's the season for schools all around. We're going on our school trip as well." Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Yeah? Where're you guys goin'?" Ryuji asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"I believe it's in Los Angeles." Yusuke said as Kusa raised an eyebrow and spoke up.

"Los Angeles? As in the city in California? I had a pen pal from there once when I was younger, and from their descriptions, it sounds like a fun place, if a bit noisy and crowded. Plus I'm not sure I'd want to go to a city that's produced several of the 49ers' biggest football rivals in the Rams, Raiders, and even to a point the Chargers. But cool that you're going there, Yusuke." Kusa said, trying not to let on that he was secretly jealous. At this point, it seemed like everyone in the room outside of himself, Morgana, Futaba and maybe Makoto were going on a trip this week. To Kusa's surprise, Ann burst out laughing at this point as she spoke up. *2*

"Ahaha, that doesn't suit you at all, Yusuke! I bet you wanted to go somewhere like Nikko or Nara." Ann said as Yusuke did a closed-eye grin and spoke up.

"Anywhere is acceptable. After all, the mineral pigments used for Japanese art were originally imported." Yusuke said to Ann as Ryuji looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Hawaii and Los Angeles, huh? Which one would you want to go to?" Ryuji asked Ren, who thought about it before speaking up.

"Is that a question? Definitely Hawaii. LA's great and all, sure, but Hawaii is said to be one of the most tropical destinations on the planet! Not to mention, it's said to be a great place to go during swimming season, if you're looking for a view, if you catch my drift Ryuji." Ren said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"You two WOULD want to go there just to ogle the girls, wouldn't you? And here I thought Yoshizawa was plenty of eye candy for you? Well, that's your look-out. You could put out several of the hottest girls in Hawaii for me to see, and I'd bet good money that they probably still wouldn't hold a candle to Taba over here. And yes, I could be just a tad biased in saying that, but that's my opinion." Kusa said bluntly, not seeing Futaba shyly smile at what he said about her as she kept working.

However, even as she worked, part of Futaba's mind wandered back to that day on the beach and started going back over the image of Kusa in just his dark green swim trunks, sporting that glorious six-pack of his. Futaba smiled contentedly as she kept working, her cheeks pinking a bit as she worked. Ryuji nodded as he spoke up.

"Fair point, but Los Angeles is hard to give up too. I mean, don't I see like an LA guy? Like, a total gangsta?" Ryuji said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"That makes no sense at all." Yusuke said as Kusa spoke up with a smirk.

"Not to mention, while yes, it is true that you'd have lots of 'street cred' as they call it in LA, I doubt very much a mother's boy like you would get far as a gangsta. I mean sure, Slim Shady was able to break pretty big and he shared a trailer with his mother growing up, but even so, he had to make a lot of sacrifices to get his big break as I recall. So are you willing to make those same sacrifices to get your big break, Ryuji? Somehow, I very much doubt that you are, which would speak positively of you if so, since there's nothing wrong with having a good relationship with one's parents." Kusa said sagely. Ann nodded her agreement. *3*

"Exactly, Kusa. Plus, Hawaii's more of a resort place than LA, so I'd rather go there." Ann said as Morgana spoke up.

"So we won't be seeing each other for a while." Morgana said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Most of us won't, no. But you're not the only one being left behind here, Morgana. This trip is just for second-years, so both myself and Makoto aren't able to go either. And obviously Futaba's a shut-in so she probably won't get to go either." Kusa pointed out. Ann and Ren exchanged winces as they realized that Kusa was right, Ann speaking up.

"We'll make sure to buy souvenirs for you guys." Ann said. Futaba spoke up at that moment.

"Ooh, here comes some interesting data." Futaba said as the group gathered around the computer screen as Futaba spoke up.

"This is just from a quick glance, mind you. But it says 'perpetrated' and 'connected'." Futaba said as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"It means that mental shutdowns aren't coincidence, and that this is a 'case' with a culprit behind it." Makoto said as Futaba spoke up again.

"Actually, it's not just about people having shutdowns. Looks like she's inferring that the psychotic breakdown incidents are connected to the same case." Futaba said as Ryuji spoke up after a flashback to the various shutdown victims.

"Go, Makoto's sis!" Ryuji said as Makoto spoke up.

"How long do you think it'll take to analyze all of it, Futaba?" Makoto asked Futaba. Futaba frowned as she spoke up.

"Hmm, there's a lot, so it's not happening overnight." Futaba said honestly. She then smiled as she spoke up.

"But, I'll manage by the time you guys get back. I demand souvenirs from Hawaii and LA for my reward." Futaba said as Ann spoke up in confusion.

"I don't really get all this, but you're as amazing as always, Futaba!" Ann said as Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"Isn't she though, Ann? Taba's so bright, she could do most anything she wanted to. Heck, if she really wanted to, I bet she could out-detective that prick Akechi with one hand tied behind her back, she's so smart." Kusa said proudly. Futaba shyly smiled as she looked at Kusa and spoke up.

"Oh come on, quit showering me with praise, Kusa. You're gonna make me blush." Futaba said in a slightly whiny tone as Kusa chuckied and patted her lightly on the head before he spoke up.

"My bad, Taba. I was only trying to express how much I believe in you, that's all. I was not at all intending it to embarrass you." Kusa said with a smile as Futaba shyly nodded and Ann spoke up.

"Aww, aren't you two adorable? Anyways, I guess it's called an information war? It's so high-tech and modern, it kinda reminds me of a movie." Ann said as Morgana spoke up.

"We're the Phantom Thieves, so it's not that big a deal and all. I mean, I can turn into a car and stuff too, after all." Morgana pointed out as Kusa smiled at Morgana and spoke up.

"This is true, Morgana. But consider this. There's a difference between being a useful fighter and transport mode and being a highly-intelligent and beautiful navigator whose tech-savvy intellect is proving rather indispensable to the team. That's not to say you're not useful in your own unique and special way too, because you are. After all, do the others tend to nuzzle their faces on my palm to get my attention at times, the way you do? Or do they keep my bed warm for me during the day like you do?

No, Morgana, they don't. So don't feel like you're useless, because you're not. Both you and Taba are very special and very indispensable to the Phantom Thieves, just in very different ways. And if some of us disagree, then they can keep that to themselves." Kusa said, giving Ryuji a pointed look as he finished speaking. Ryuji just chuckled as he spoke up.

"Truth, Kusa! And c'mon Mona, don't try and compete with her." Ryuji said as Morgana glared at Ryuji and spoke up, ignoring the disappointed look on Kusa's face while he spoke.

"What did you say!?" Morgana said, making to leap at Ryuji, only for Kusa to catch him in mid-air and give him a pointed look.

"Cool it, Morgana! If you're gonna kick Ryuji's ass, wait until you're outside! Don't do it in Taba's room! She has breakable stuff in here! As it is, Yusuke's lucky she was able to fix her figures after what he did to them. But that's all I'm saying on that." Kusa said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, Kusa's right. You're fine the way you are, Morgana. Like, you're cheeky cute?" Ann said as Morgana winced and spoke up.

"Cute? You said I'm cute!?" Morgana said as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"Morgana, be glad you're getting that much of a compliment from Ann. She could have just said you're amazing or cool. Sure, it's not handsome or gorgeous, but it's a compliment still, no? So take what you can get." Kusa said reassuringly to Morgana. Morgana nodded as he spoke up, to Kusa's surprise.

"Lady Ann! Um, I, iloveyou!" Morgana said, rushing the last part of his sentence out, his face going red at what he'd said, but of course Ryuji cut his admission off by speaking up over his confession to Ann, so only Kusa heard him and smiled at Morgana's confessing while Ryuji spoke.

"Welp, we'll continue this when we get back from the trip! I can't wait to see how much the Phantom Thieves' popularity has increased by then!" Ryuji said excitedly, not seeing Kusa huff at Ryuji not only being pre-occupied with fame, but also being incredibly rude to Morgana. At that point, the group dispensed for the evening as Ren, Kusa and Morgana went back to Leblanc. Once there, Morgana spoke up.

"Ahh, what the hell, Ryuji? How dare you interrupt me confessing to Lady Ann?" Morgana whined, as Kusa smiled and gave Morgana some consolation/comforting pats on the head while his and Ren's phones went off to signal a group chat from Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, and Futaba, with Makoto sending the first response.

"Don't forget to prepare yourselves for the trip, OK?" Makoto sent as Ryuji sent a response at that point.

"You're really sounding like a teacher right now, man. What're you even saying that for?" Ryuji sent as Makoto sent a response.

"Didn't I tell you? I'll be coming along." Makoto sent as Kusa's jaw dropped on reading that and he sent a response after that.

"WHAT!? What happened to 'the second-years' trip', Makoto!? You're a third year! How do you get to go?" Kusa sent in annoyance. Ryuji sent a response.

"Seconded, Kusa! WHAT!?" Ryuji sent. Makoto sent a response.

"I'm sorry, Kusa-kun. But the teachers have asked me to chaperone the trip in their place." Makoto sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Wait, what!? I didn't hear a damn thing about that!" Ryuji sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Agreed, Ryuji! So now, I'm the only one of us who goes to Shujin that's not going on the trip. Well, this blows a big one. Ah well, whatever. I guess I can use the extra time to better myself somehow, maybe fit in some time with Taba where I can, stuff like that. Plus it gives me and Morgana plenty of time to chill together." Kusa said, trying to see the positive in the situation rather than being livid at apparently being excluded from the trip. Makoto sent a response.

"Is there a problem, Ryuji? And way to try and look at it maturely, Kusa. This is why I'm glad I picked you to join the Student Council." Makoto sent. Ren sent a response.

"I'm glad most of us can go together, even if Kusa's still being left behind. But at least he gets to have a desk to himself for the week since Yoshizawa's going out of town as well for training camp the same week as our Hawaii trip. So you don't have to share a desk for the week, Kusa." Ren sent as Kusa huffed and sent a rather dry response.

"Hooray. I get a desk to myself. Some consolation prize. Ugh, well I did say I was okay with it, so I won't begrudge you guys this trip. Have fun, you guys. I'll try to hold the fort down here as best I can while you're all gone." Kusa sent as Makoto sent a response.

"Thanks, Kusa. And yes, I agree Ren. I was worried about how many troublemakers will be there." Makoto sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Are you talking about us!?" Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.

"But why are they having you go at all, Makoto?" Ann sent as Makoto sent a response.

"It seems some teachers have to stay behind to deal with that tabloid article. So, they decided to get a couple of third-years to act as additional chaperones. It seems a few others besides myself will be going as well." Makoto sent as Ann sent a response.

"Oh, I see." Ann sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Either way, this overseas trip has been truly long-awaited. I expect leaving Japan will be a great eye-opener for us. This is a wonderful opportunity, so we should be sure to enjoy it." Yusuke sent. Futaba sent a response at that point.

"Cheer up, Kusa! You still have me and Morgana! So you're not the only one staying behind, right? Besides, who says we won't get to hang out a lot while the others are gone? So don't think of it as a bad thing. If anything, think of it as a mini-vacation from having to oversee Ren. No offense Ren. Oh, and don't forget souvenirs!" Futaba sent as Kusa smiled and sent a response.

"Heh, good point Taba. I could never forget you or Morgana. Maybe if we can swing it over the weekend, and you're up for it, you can bring your work over here and we can hang out in the attic and spend some time together, just us two and Morgana?" Kusa sent as Futaba thought about it.

"I'll think about it, Kusa. That does sound tempting, but I dunno how Sojiro would react to something like that, even if there wouldn't be any closed doors involved. But he might go for it, since it involves me being out of the house, so we'll see." Futaba sent as Ren smirked and put his phone away as Morgana frowned but said nothing. Kusa then went to say something, only for his response to die on his lips as he noticed the brunette-haired detective sat at the counter, speaking up in shock while pointing at the counter.

"Uh, Ren? Are my eyes acting up, or is that Akechi at the counter?" Kusa said in surprise, making Ren's head whip around to look where Kusa had pointed, and sure enough, Akechi was sitting at the counter. Ren smiled as he gestured for Kusa and Morgana to go upstairs, which they did, as Ren sat next to Akechi and spoke up.

"Hey there, Akechi-kun. What brings you to my neck of the woods this evening?" Ren said to Akechi, who blinked and looked up as he saw Ren standing there.

"Oh, hey there. Welcome home, Amamiya-kun the elder. I hope you don't mind that I'm intruding on your home again. I expect we've both had a long day. I was out until now with work, but I think I can finally take a break now. You're not planning on anything too strenuous tonight, are you?" Akechi asked Ren, who shook his head while speaking up.

"Nah, not much. I just got home from doing stuff. To be honest, I hadn't really thought about my plans for the evening. But if you're asking to hang out, I think I could be persuaded to hang out with you this evening, even if we go out to hang out." Ren said. Akechi nodded approvingly as he spoke up.

"Good. Then perhaps we can talk over some of Boss's coffee?" Akechi suggested as Sojiro spoke up.

"Not that I'm complaining, but if you two are so tired, maybe you could use a bath more than a coffee." Sojiro said, as both Morgana and Kusa had to stifle laughs from the stairs at the twin looks of horror on Ren and Akechi's faces at Sojiro's suggestion. Sojiro kept speaking as if he didn't notice a thing.

"I mean, there's a bathhouse right there down the way a little bit." Sojiro said as Akechi got a thoughtful look on his face at that.

"A bathhouse, you say? That doesn't sound too bad. Want to come with me, Amamiya-kun the elder? I'd appreciate it if you could show me the way." Akechi said to Ren. Morgana couldn't help himself as he spoke up from the steps.

"What's the play, Ren? Gonna go spend some quality time with Akechi?" Morgana said teasingly as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Morgana, that was in poor taste! Besides, I don't think Yoshizawa would approve of Ren going out with Akechi-kun anyways. And besides that, I don't think he swings that way anyways, and I'm nearly positive that Ren doesn't swing that way either. But then again, remember how I said even straight girls have at least one bi-curious moment in their lives? The same's true of dudes, too. So anything's possible. But I still doubt those two swing that way, Morgana." Kusa said mock-reprovingly to Morgana as Ren flushed in embarrassment as he spoke up, giving the smirking not-cat and Kusa a mortified glare while he spoke.

"Shut up, Morgana! And don't encourage him, Kusa!" Ren said, his face red with embarrassment at the needling of the two before he turned to Akechi apologetically.

"Sorry about them, that's just their idea of a joke. Pay them no mind. And to your question, I'd love to show you the way to the bathhouse." Ren said agreeably. Akechi looked at Ren in surprise as he spoke up, smirking at Morgana and Kusa as he spoke up.

"Oh, you'd like to join me at the bathhouse, Amamiya-kun the elder? Really? You sure you don't swing both ways? But in all seriousness, if that's the case, I suppose I'll take you and Boss up on that suggestion." Akechi said as Kusa gaped then nodded in respect as he spoke up.

"Well played, Akechi-kun. Well played. Respect for throwing that back at us like that." Kusa said with an approving nod, even while he gaped at Akechi's 'swings both ways' comment he made to Ren. At that point, Ren and Akechi headed to the bathhouse while Kusa and Morgana headed upstairs...

(At the bathhouse, with Akechi and Ren)

"Ahh, this feels wonderful, soaking in a hot tub like this. It's been a while." Akechi said as Ren gave Akechi an intrigued look as he spoke up.

"A while, huh? I take it you used to go to hot tubs a lot, then?" Ren said conversationally. Akechi nodded.

"Indeed. I used to enjoy going to bathhouses, but the last time I did so was years ago. I used to frequent one when I was younger. Of course, these days I'm the Detective Prince, but my family situation was, it was, well, complicated. By the tine I was old enough to realize it, my father was already gone. My mother was all I had. My mother worked at a nightclub. Whenever she had to bring a man home, she'd send me off to the local bathhouse." Akechi said honestly as Ren frowned but spoke up.

"That sucks, Akechi. Sounds to me like you've been through a lot." Ren said honestly. Akechi nodded as he spoke up.

"Indeed I have. But it's in the past. I have no reason to blame her either. The only one who deserves blame is my father. The worthless, degenerate excuse for a man who abandoned my mother. I wanted to force him to finally give her the apology he owes her. But, alas, I'm afraid that's no longer possible." Akechi said as Ren gaped and spoke up.

"You mean your mother's dead? Oh no, I'm so sorry for your loss, Akechi-kun!" Ren said comfortingly as Akechi laughed and spoke up.

"Thank you, Amamiya-kun the elder. Sorry. I didn't mean for our conversation to get so depressing. Actually, are you all right? I know the hot water can make people dizzy if they soak in it long enough." Akechi said as Ren spoke up with a smile.

"It is true that I have a limited amount of heat tolerance, but compared to how Ryuji and even Kusa usually set these tubs, this is nothing. I can stay until you're ready." Ren said reassuringly to Akechi. Akechi gave Ren a closed eye smile as he spoke up.

"I see. I take pretty long baths, though. You sure you can handle it?" Akechi said as Ren nodded and the two soaked for a while. After they finished soaking, they dried off, wrapped towels around themselves and got bottles of milk that they sipped from as Akechi spoke up.

"Ahh, that's refreshing. These really taste the best when you're just out of the bath. Oof, to be honest? I think I feel a little lightheaded." Akechi said as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"To be honest with you, I feel the same." Ren said sheepishly. Akechi laughed as he spoke up.

"Haha, I thought so. Your face is bright red, you know." Akechi said to Ren, who spoke up.

"How do you know that's not lingering embarrassment from those comments Kusa and Morgana made about us earlier? I noticed you shrugged them off, but still they had no business saying things like that." Ren said huffily as Akechi laughed.

"I didn't mind at all, Amamiya-kun the elder. Between us, that's hardly the first time someone's said something like that to me. And I'm kind of used to it by now. Granted, this is the first time I've taken a bath like this. I've never told anyone else about my family situation, either. I wonder why I told you, and by extension your brother, your cat and Boss' daughter?" Curious indeed." Akechi said as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"Because we're both linked together by fate, as you so often seem to suggest? No, but for real, probably because we get along so well. I'd say because we're similar, but if we're being honest, you'd be more similar to Kusa than to me. Since, between us, his father was never around either, even though he eventually came to call my dad his father since my dad raised him as if he were his own son, even if Kusa might be the product of forced relations, if not a one-off illicit affair, though I'm more inclined to suspect the former." Ren said, not seeing the surprised look on Akechi's face as he spoke up. Akechi nodded as he spoke up.

"The shocking details of your brother's potential parentage aside, now that you mention it, maybe we are pretty similar deep down, Amamiya-kun the elder. We're both victims of the adults who unfairly impacted our lives." Akechi said as Ren nodded.

"I think you're right, Akechi-kun." Ren said honestly. Akechi nodded as he spoke up, sparkling blue music notes going over his head as he spoke up.

"Mm, yes. And I'm even more sure of that, after having talked with you. Then again, to be fair, this probably isn't a conversation we should be having naked. Let's get dressed, shall we? That way we don't get more people suggesting we're lovers of some sort?" Akechi said to Ren, who nodded even while he felt his bond with Akechi grow deeper.

At that moment, the 'Justice' card appeared in his mind's eye for the first time in awhile, the 'V' becoming a 'VI' to signify that his Justice Confidant link with Akechi had reached Rank 6, even though no new skills were gained from the rank-up. Afterwards, Akechi kept speaking.

"That said, my skin still feels like it's radiating heat somewhat. Next time, let's keep the competition out of the bath. Best to save it for the baize, right? Although we could always see who changes faster. First to leave wins. Are you ready?" Akechi said as Ren sweatdropped while the two changed and Akechi spoke up as they parted ways.

"Goodbye then. Well, see you later." Akechi said as Ren headed back to Leblanc. As soon as he got back, his phone rang as he headed upstairs, so he headed downstairs to answer it.

"Hello?" Ren said as he heard Akechi's voice on the other end.

"Hey. Between the delicious coffee and the bath, I finally managed to relax, So, for that, I thank you. That said, it's nice to spend the day as Goro Akechi for once, rather than the Detective Prince. You know? I don't know if it's because of the whole Prince image, but everyone seems to think I'm some brilliant prodigy or something. It's really nothing like that. But people always seem to misunderstand. If they saw how I was acting today, perhaps they'd say I wasn't acting like the Detective Prince." Akechi said as Ren winced as he spoke up.

"True. My bad, I guess?" Ren said hesitantly as Akechi chuckled and spoke up.

"Oh, I didn't mean for that to sound negative, Amamiya-kun the elder. I'm sorry if I offended. If anything, I envy you. You fit right in with the retro vibe back there. Honestly though, Amamiya-kun the elder, I just can't figure you out, no matter how much I try. You and I have common ground in some aspects, but in others we're total opposites. It's intriguing. The more I get to know you, the more it makes me think. I wonder why that is. Oh, oops. Ah, now I'm veering into strange territory, indeed. I should let you go for now. See you." Akechi said as Ren hung up the phone and headed up to get laid down for the evening...

(The next day, in the attic of Leblanc, with Ren and Morgana)

As Ren sat up, his phone went off to signify a private chat from Mishima.

"Hey, do you go to arcades a lot? There's a forum post that's been bothering me lately. Apparently there's a nasty gamer at an arcade nearby." Mishima sent as Ren sent a response.

"Nasty how, precisely?" Ren sent as Mishima sent a response.

"From the sounds of it, he's a frequent cheater of sorts. Lately he's been focusing on a popular shooting game called 'Gun About' and ruining people's fun. According to the post, he mostly spends his time down at the arcade called 'Gigolo' on Central Street. It might just be a game, but cheating is inexcusable." Mishima sent as Ren put his phone away while Morgana spoke up.

"A nasty gamer, eh? It's definitely possible he'll exist in Mementos. Mishima said he's at the arcade on Central Street, right? Let's go see what this is all about." Morgana said as Ren nodded, his phone pinging to signal the receipt of a request titled 'Winners Don't Use Cheats'. At that point, Morgana kept speaking.

"You're leaving for your school trip next Wednesday, eh? Maybe we should take care of what we can before then." Morgana suggested as Ren spoke up.

"True. And if you're about to ask if we should fill the others in on the Mementos target, not yet. I think we only have 2 or 3 targets right now, not quite enough for another run. Plus I'd rather wait until after the trip if possible to do another Mementos run, so we won't have to rush through it." Ren said as Morgana nodded approvingly. After looking over his options, Ren decided to put a shift in at the flower shop since hardly anyone was available to rank up, aside from Futaba and Takemi, but he didn't really want to hang out with either one of them right then. Ren decided to go into work. As he got started on his shift, Morgana laughed and spoke up.

"Mwehehe! That apron's really starting to look good on you, Ren!" Morgana said as Ren huffed but kept working. As Ren went to leave, Hanasaki spoke up.

"So, your shift is coming to an end, yes? Nice job, Amamiya-kun. Oh, guess what? Oh, by the way, Amamiya-kun, did you know they caught the culprit behind those assaults?" Hanasaki asked Ren, who nodded.

"I did. One of my friends mentioned it to me at school. Serves that guy right, to be honest." Ren said as Hanasaki nodded and spoke up.

"It turns out it really was Neguri. What's really surprising is that he turned himself in. He was such a delinquent! What do you think made him surrender?" Hanasaki asked Ren who spoke up.

"Divine intervention? No, but for real, probably the Phantom Thieves, if I had to guess." Ren said. Hanasaki nodded as she spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, that's what I was thinking! A lot of these crimes have been ending similarly, in that the culprit has a change of heart and confesses. The Phantom Thieves have to be real, Amamiya-kun! They just have to be! Oh, sorry! I got a little sidetracked for a second there! Here's your pay for today." Hanasaki said to Ren as she gave him his pay of 3,200 yen. Hanasaki then kept speaking.

"You did great! Well, nice work. Be careful out-Oh! I guess there's not actually a need to be vigilant anymore. Your way home should be a little safer now. See you next time!" Hanasaki said as Ren nodded and Morgana spoke up.

"Nice job, Ren! You worked pretty hard today. Still, gotta say. Seems to me like working with these flowers has probably boosted up your Kindness." Morgana said as Ren nodded, smiling as his Kindness got a boost from working at the flower shop. Morgana then kept speaking.

"YES! That's us, fixing the world, one step at a time. But Mementos is-Nah, never mind, not now. Wanna head back? Come on, we should head home." Morgana said as Ren nodded, heading back to Leblanc with Morgana...

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

As Ren and Morgana got back to Leblanc, Ren's phone went off to signify a group chat with Ryuji, Ann, Kusa, Yusuke, Makoto, and Futaba, with Futaba sending the first response.

"I'm so booored!" Futaba sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"What're you talking about!? Analyze that data!" Ryuji sent as Futaba sent a message.

"My PC's doing all the work. That leaves me with nothing! And Kusa's been radio silent all day so far." Futaba sent as Kusa sent a response.

"My bad Taba, was at the doctor getting my knee looked at once more. Seems like it's healing quite nicely. I have one more follow-up sometime late next month, but otherwise, the doctors think I'll be fully healthy sooner, rather than later. I'd come hang out with you, but you know how Boss is with school nights." Kusa sent at that point as Yusuke sent a response.

"Not to mention the rest of us are preparing for our school trips. None of us have the time to entertain you right now." Yusuke sent as Kusa sent a response.

"While that may be true, you could've phrased that a bit less rudely, Yusuke." Kusa sent as Ann sent a response.

"Oh, shoot! I need to go shopping!" Ann sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"All we need is a toothbrush, right? What're you panicking for?" Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.

"There's a lot I need Shampoos, lotions, conditioners, and so on." Ann sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Ah, that reminds me. Thinking about it, I should probably pack a canvas. This trip will be a prime painting opportunity. Will one be enough, though, I wonder?" Yusuke sent as Ren sent a response.

"That's more than enough. Besides, I doubt you have room for more than one in any of your suitcases anyways, Yusuke." Ren sent. Yusuke sent a response.

"No, I should bring three. Inspiration may strike at any moment in time, and best to be prepared for when it does strike. Now regarding canvas size, bigger is better, yes?" Yusuke sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"What're you asking us for!? And what I mean by that is, you shouldn't take shit like that with you at all!" Ryuji sent as Futaba sent a response.

"Thanks, Kusa. Glad your appointment went well. Hm, maybe we can hang out some while the others are on their trip, yes? Mwehehe." Futaba sent as Ren put his phone away. Morgana frowned as he spoke up.

"Being able to talk to each other openly like that must be nice, hm?" Morgana said as Kusa smiled and lifted Morgana into his arms as he spoke up.

"Aw, why so bummed, Morgana-sensei? I'm sorry Ryuji interrupted your big confession, but that's just how he is. He's a bit of a moron, but he's our moron. As for talking openly, you know you can talk openly with me, right?" Kusa said comfortingly to Morgana as he gave him some comforting pats, enjoying the purrs he got for his efforts from Morgana. Ren saw a message from Lala, asking for help at Crossroads. After seeing there were few others to rank up, Ren decided to get a Luck Reading for Kindness, then put a shift in at Crossroads. Ren then put his uniform on and got started working. Morgana then spoke up.

"Wow, this place is packed tonight! I'd say it's time to get to work!" Morgana said as Ren nodded. After a bit, Ren decided to speak to a red-faced businessman, who blinked at Ren as he spoke up.

"R-Really? You work here part-time? Ah, you look very young. This might bore you, but I wanted to ask. What do you think of our nation's economy? They used tax money as an emergency measure to restore the economy recently. But it only increased our nation's debt, which in turn burdens us, the citizens, as a result. Is this really a good strategy for revitalizing the economy?" The businessman asked as Morgana moaned from in Ren's bag.

"Man! Ugh, this is going to take some time, isn't it?" Morgana said as Ren silently hushed the not-cat. He then listened to the businessman talk about politics and economics for quite some time. Morgana then spoke up from in Ren's bag.

"Yup! I'm surprised anyone could be so long-winded. Anyhow, that was kinda helpful. At least we got something out of it, I guess." Morgana said as Ren's Knowledge got boosted from talking to the businessman, which sucked since it was already maxed out. After a bit, Lala came over and spoke to Ren. *4*

"Nice work, honey! Thanks for your help! A minor like you should probably be getting home 'round now, don't you agree? Oh, right, you were speaking with Nagai-san, right? He's an elite banker. He talks a lot, but he's got a wealth of knowledge. I bet you learned a lot by talking to him. Well, here's your pay. Keep up the good work!" Lala said as to Ren's surprise, she handed him 12,000 yen, which he gratefully accepted, having gotten a bit low on funds recently. At that point, Lala spoke up once more.

"All right, see you. You should be going home. You're still underage, and as you know, Shinjuku can be dangerous at night." Lala said as Ren nodded and Morgana spoke up.

"Nice job! I'd say your Kindness went up from helping out the diverse array of customers tonight." Morgana said as Ren nodded as his Kindness got a boost, the boost being augmented by the Luck Reading. At that point, Morgana spoke up.

"Wanna head back? It's getting late, and I'm getting kinda sleep. We should go home." Morgana said as Ren nodded, changing out of his uniform as the two returned to Leblanc to get comfortable for the evening...

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

"Nice work, Phantom Thieves! The Phantom Thieves are amazing, aren't they?" Ren heard a young man say from nearby as the young man kept speaking.

"I mean, even the harshest TV commentators are praising them. A lot of celebrities are talking openly about the Phantom Thieves." The young man said as the young woman nearby spoke up with a smile.

"The Phantom Thieves fight for the people! Anyone opposed to them is just behind the times. Just look at that Akechi kid. He's catching a ton of shit for what happened with Medjed." The young woman said as Kusa smirked while the young man spoke up.

"Right? 'Justice can't exist so long as the Phantom Thieves do', he said. That's big talk from someone who can't even catch them. Even politicians are claiming the Phantom Thieves are dangerous these days." The young man said as Kusa stifled a laugh at hearing that. The young man then kept speaking.

"They're all full of hot air, though. The Phantom Thieves are totally trustworthy." The young man said as Morgana spoke up.

"Hm, looks like people are coming around to us now." Morgana said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Seems that way. But even if they are, unless they stay like that if things suddenly dovetail, so to speak, they're just fake fans, and not worth getting worked up over." Kusa said sagely to Morgana as the not-cat and Ren nodded while the rest of the ride passed uneventfully...

(On the walk to school, with Ren, Kusa, and Morgana)

"I don't get it! Everyone knows about the cover-up. It's not really a big deal anymore." A game-loving student said to his friend before he smirked and kept speaking.

"However, you know what IS a big deal? My Gun About rank going up." The game-loving student said as his impressionable friend spoke up.

"Gun About: The Super Real? That's the one with the gun-shaped controller, right? Everyone's talking about it." The impressionable student said as the game-loving student nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. The multiplayer's sooo good. The arcade on Central Street has it, and so does the one in Akihibara. You should give it a try sometime. I played against someone really good the other day, and surprisingly I couldn't land a single shot on them." The game-loving student said as Kusa blinked at the mention of Gun About while the rest of the walk proceeded in silence...

(After school, with Ren and Morgana)

"Yup! All anyone talks about anymore is the Phantom Thieves. I kinda miss when no one knew who we were, to be honest." Morgana said as Ren nodded. Ren frowned, as he looked over his options, seeing that only Futaba and Takemi were available to rank up, so Ren shrugged and went to go see Futaba, figuring she was only rank 1 so he could at least get her to rank 2, if nothing else. Once he got to Yongen-Jaya, he found her sitting by herself outside of Leblanc.

"Hey there, Futaba. Why're you sitting out here by yourself? Nice to see you outside, but I'm surprised you're just sitting outside of Leblanc." Ren said to Futaba, who smiled as she spoke up.

"Yo, Ren. Oh, that's right. Um, well, to be honest? Sorry about what happened in Akihibara. I really messed up back there." Futaba said sadly, as Morgana spoke up.

"Futaba looks really depressed, Ren. And since Kusa's not here to do it for who knows why, maybe you should cheer her up?" Morgana said to Ren, who nodded, noting that he had the sufficient level of Kindness to cheer Futaba up. Futaba winced as she spoke up.

"Ugh, that police officer, I wasn't ready for him. He was a way higher level than me, Ren." Futaba said as Ren spoke up.

"Don't worry about it, Futaba. Just take things slowly. And to be honest? That small problem aside, you did very well in Akihibara, Futaba." Ren said comfortingly to Futaba. Futaba blinked but smiled at Ren as she nodded.

"Yeah, good point, Ren. I guess you're right. I should just go slow into getting used to being social again. I mean, I still managed to buy some stuff after that. But that was only 'cause you were there, oh invaluable key item of mine. Anyways, if it's not too sudden, can we go up to your room? I wanna talk to you some more." Futaba said as Morgana's eyes went wide at this but he said nothing as Ren spoke up.

"That's fine, Futaba. If Sojiro asks, you can tell him you wanted to speak with me and I'll vouch for you. Same for if Kusa asks. We'll tell him you needed comforting." Ren said decisively as Futaba smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"All right! Okay then. Let's go, Ren." Futaba said as Ren led Futaba up to the attic that he and Kusa shared, where Futaba sat down and hummed to herself before she spoke up.

"Akihabara was lots of fun. I think I wanna try going somewhere else sometime. Though, to be honest? It really sounds like Sojiro wants me to go back to school. But online classes are better for studying! I wouldn't even have to leave the house." Futaba said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Even though I feel like that's counter-intuitive to the whole you getting out into the world again bit, that really is a great idea, Futaba." Ren said. Futaba smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"Ain't it!? I can attend classes without even getting out of bed! Though, if we're being real here, I dunno if Sojiro'd really consider that going to school. Ugh, school, that which most find boring. Um, to be honest, Ren? I really do wanna go back. So, do you think I'll be able to?" Futaba asked Ren, who nodded as he spoke up.

"I don't see why not, especially if we work together! Not to mention, I'm sure Kusa would be more than willing to help out as well if we were to ask him. We both know he's hopelessly crazy about you anyways, Futaba. The only real question here is if you feel the same about him." Ren said. Futaba nodded as she smiled while speaking up.

"Hm, good point. Yeah! You're right! And as for Kusa? I'm honestly not sure how I feel about him. I do know that I've found myself thinking about him a lot more recently, namely since our trip to the beach. But at the same time, I have a hard time describing exactly what I feel for him. At one point I would've said he was a really good friend, but now? I'm not so sure. I feel like he could well be more than that. I mean, we both saw how willing he was to use his very being to protect me in my Palace, after all." Futaba said as she spoke up again, her cheeks slightly flushed for a second before she shook herself and kept speaking.

"That said, I, um, I'm gonna do my best!" Futaba said as she spoke up, a thought suddenly occurring to her.

"Oh, that's right! I should make a promise list!" Futaba said, making Ren blink in surprise, not familiar with a promise list at all. Futaba saw the confused look on Ren's face and explained.

"My mom used to have me do that all the time. She'd write all my goals for the month, like cleaning the house or running errands for her. Then when I'd finish one, she'd mark it off with a big stamp. She always used to write comments too, like 'Good job!' or 'Way to go!'. Those were the best. Oh, and once I finished my goals, she would take a day off work to spend time with me. All right! It's decided then! I'm gonna make a promise list! Time to get my ideas ready!" Futaba said as she set to work making her list. After a bit, she smiled and spoke up.

"Hm, there we are! All done! So, these are my promises. 1: Go somewhere with lots of people. Getting used to big crowds is key. 2: Go to school. I want to see what the inside of a normal high school looks like. 3: Learn about my generation. I definitely need more info to blend in. 4: Have a normal conversation with a stranger my age. Hm, how's that?" Futaba said to Ren, who smirked as he spoke up.

"Sounds good, except you forgot to add '5: Figure out how I feel about Kusa'. Because from what you were saying, I think you might well be falling for him, but are undecided on if you really want to be with him or not, or if he's just the first guy you've really felt drawn to romantically. But in all seriousness, it sounds good to me." Ren said. Futaba blushed a bit as she spoke up.

"N-Not funny, Ren! I'll think about adding that to the list, though, since it does make sense. That said, settled! I'm not setting a deadline for this, by the way. I wanna try and finish them all someday! You're gonna have to help me though. I'll work even harder with my navigation in return!" Futaba said as Ren nodded, smiling as he could sense an increase in Futaba's trust in him.

At that moment, the 'Hermit' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'I' becoming an 'II' to signify that his Hermit Confidant link with Futaba had reached rank 2. As a result of the rank up, Futaba had gained the ability to use 'Mementos Scan', making it so she has a chance of fully mapping a floor of Mementos out on entering said floor. Afterwards, Futaba kept speaking up.

"S-so, um, Ren? If I finish all the promises, do you think I could have a reward? I know it's kind of weird to ask, though. But I feel like having a reward waiting at the finish line will totally push me onward!" Futaba said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Oh? And the thought that Kusa and I, and even Morgana, all have your back and will be rooting for you the whole way, wouldn't already push you forward?" Ren said teasingly as Futaba huffed and spoke up.

"That's besides the point, Ren! And Kusa's not my key item! You are! Though, maybe I can have more than one key item?" Futaba said, making Morgana's eyes widen from on the bed at this, not expecting that from Futaba. But Futaba kept speaking before he could voice his objections to what she'd said.

"Anyway, I got this! Though, I'm kinda exhausted from making the list, sooo yeah. Tomorrow. I got this, starting tomorrow. Welp, I'm gonna make like a hedgehog and roll outta here!" Futaba said as she got up and left, Ren nodding as he made to escort her out, only to blink as Kusa chose that moment to walk into Leblanc, frowning as he saw Ren and Futaba walking downstairs together, prompting him to raise an inquiring eyebrow as he spoke up, crossing his arms while he spoke.

"Oh? And since when do you two spend time together upstairs?" Kusa asked in surprise, fixing Ren with an inquisitive look. Ren shrugged.

"Eh, she asked me for my help. I'm just doing what any good brother figure would do, by helping out their sister. Relax, Kusa." Ren said to Kusa, who frowned but nodded.

"If you say so, Ren. I believe you. But do keep this in mind. If you're going to stake claim on Futaba, at least have the decency to let Yoshizawa down gently first. I'm not so petty and selfish that I won't step aside if it's truly the best thing for Futaba's happiness, after all. But at least think about the other girls you spend time with before you make a decision about who you want to be with, Ren." Kusa said rebukingly before stepping aside so Ren could escort Futaba home. As he got back to Leblanc, his phone rang and he answered it.

"Hello?" Ren said as he heard Futaba's voice on the other end.

"Hoy! It is I! Thanks for spending time with me today! Taking out the promise list brought back memories of when I worked on it with my mom. Hey. If I finish the promise list and start going to school, do you think it'd make Sojiro happy?" Futaba asked Ren, who spoke up.

"I bet it will. If nothing else, he'd be relieved to see you continuing to make progress towards getting out and about more. And if you were to go to school, you'd have at least two people there in me and Kusa that have your back. So just think about it, yeah?" Ren said to Futaba. Futaba nodded as she spoke up.

"Right! Right!? Okay, that's another reason I gotta work at this! I wanted to think of something I could do for Sojiro, but I couldn't think of anything. So that's all I got for now. But first I gotta finish the promise list! Doing this alone would be, like, omega hard. Like trying to solo a final boss. But now I got you in my party. Heh heh. Well, Ren, I'm counting on you! So yeah, I'm stoked!

Let's start Phantom Quest IV: Chapters of the Thieves! Sure, we've only got a party of two, maybe three, but don't worry about that. Bye for now!" Futaba said to Ren as he nodded and hung up the phone, still uncertain about the exchange he'd just had with Kusa, feeling vaguely as if Kusa might be jealous of him somehow. As Ren walked into Leblanc, Sojiro spoke up.

"Hey! Futaba mentioned that most of you guys are going on a school trip later this week. I'm not giving you any money, okay? And don't worry about getting me a souvenir or anything like that." Sojiro said as Ren nodded. He then headed upstairs, where Morgana spoke up.

"So, you guys have the school trip the day after tomorrow, huh? That means I won't be seeing you guys for a while, right?" Morgana said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"That's correct. Though not entirely accurate. Kusa is only a first-year, and as such, cannot go on the trip. As a result, you'll be seeing a good amount of him while we're gone, if nothing else. Plus you'll be able to see Futaba from time to time too, since she's not going either." Ren said as Kusa chose that moment to walk up the stairs and speak up.

"Hm? Did I hear my name? Oh, you're back, Ren. Have fun escorting Taba home?" Kusa asked Ren, who nodded as he spoke up.

"Yep, about as much fun as a brother can have making sure his sister gets home safely. I don't know why you're so aggro, but relax! I have no romantic interest whatsoever in Futaba." Ren assured Kusa, who huffed, but nodded as he spoke up.

"Very well, I'll believe you. And I'm sorry if I'm being too aggro. I think I'm just annoyed still that literally everyone else except me, Taba and Morgana get to go on this trip. Feels a bit like we're being excluded, to be honest." Kusa said with a huff as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. Since I don't have a lot else going on, wanna hang out?" Ren asked Kusa, who nodded as he spoke up.

"That could be fun. What should we do?" Kusa asked Ren, who thought about it.

"Well, I have some new games I bought, and I rented out a new movie. Do either of those sound good?" Ren asked Kusa, who thought about it and spoke up.

"Which games did you get?" Kusa asked, intrigued at the idea of new games. Ren pulled them out and Kusa looked at them as he spoke up.

"Hm, 'Train of Life' could be interesting since it's based off of a board game, but then 'Golfer Sarutahiko' looks cool too. And I think you said the movie you got was 'Mouse, M.D.', am I right?" Kusa said as Ren nodded. Kusa eventually spoke up.

"Let's go ahead and try out 'Train of Life' since I'm curious about it. And then we can always watch 'Mouse M.D.' later." Kusa said decisively as Ren nodded, setting up the game and getting the controllers for the two of them. Ren then handed Kusa his controller while Morgana got comfortable in Kusa's lap as the two got ready to play. Ren then turned the power on for the game console as the two started playing. As the title screen came on and the music started playing, Morgana spoke up.

"Let's start up Train of Life." Morgana said as Ren nodded as he and Kusa selected their pieces as Morgana kept speaking.

"First off is the novice course." Morgana said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"That tracks. Most games usually start off with a novice course to ease people into them. It's most common to see gamers eventually move up to the normal/intermediate course, and a select few eventually get where they start pitting themselves against the advanced/expert course." Kusa said sagely. Morgana nodded as he spoke up.

"Fair enough. Ah, I see. Not only do the dice rolls move you forward, you can also use them to buy properties. I think things are going well, you two. One of you might finish in first place at this rate." Morgana said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Naturally. This game sounds really similar to the game of 'Monopoly', one of the most well-known board games that involves property-trading, using dice to land on properties, and a combination of luck, business savvy and strategic instincts to be able to emerge on top. So as such, if it involves strategy, odds are I'll win since Ren knows strategy games are my strong suit. Ask him about the time I managed to out-maneuver three sixth-graders single handed in a game of 'Monopoly' when I myself was only a third-grader. Their faces when they lost were so effing priceless, like they'd gotten humiliated in the most ruthless way imaginable.

I felt bad for them by the time I was done, to be honest. But at the same time, I didn't, since these were the same sixth-graders who spent a lot of time picking on Ren, who was a fourth-grader at the time, because they were jealous that he had a cute sixth-grader basically ask him out, even if they ended up just being friends afterwards. Actually, now that I think about it, that girl's last name was also Suzui. I wonder, could she be the same Suzui that Ann totally has the hots for? It's possible." Kusa said with a grin as he recalled that occasion fondly even as Ren huffed and spoke up.

"No, Kusa. That was a different Suzui. Besides, as I recall, she ended up moving out of Japan the following year and is currently living somewhere in America as I recall. So your point is moot. And this was shortly before the puzzle incident you roasted me for during Futaba's Palace. Which, come to think of it, wasn't that girl's name also Yoshizawa too!?" Ren said in sudden realization as Kusa blinked before frowning.

"If so, it's highly likely she was the Yoshizawa who died in that accident earlier this year. Y'know, the 15-year old Sojiro told us about the day he got us signed up for Shujin?" Kusa pointed out as Ren's eyes widened in realization.

"Now that you mention it, you're right! And thinking about it, she did look rather similar to what I'd guess a younger Kasumi would've looked like. Maybe it was her sister?" Ren said in surprise. Kusa shrugged as he spoke up.

"Maybe, though I don't think you'll know for sure without asking her, and I feel like that'd be way too sensitive a subject to bring up around her." Kusa said sagely. Morgana blinked as he spoke up in surprise.

"Huh? There's something strange up ahead. Is that? Could it be an octopus?" Morgana said as the octopus spoke up on the game screen.

"Blorp! My name is Octavius! I'll let you go if you can satisfy me, blorp! You'll have three chances, blorp!" The now-named Octavius said as Morgana spoke up.

"Ugh, does this guy exist to get in our way?" Morgana said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Mm-hm. I believe that's what we in the gaming business call a 'roadblock' or an obstacle that we have to overcome, basically what a board game would approximate as a boss." Kusa said as Octavius spoke up.

"If you can roll my secret favorite number or higher, I'll let you pass, blorp! You can roll the dice up to three times if you want, blorp! You'll never guess my secret number though, so give up! Blorp!" Octavius said as Morgana spoke up.

"So we need to roll at least his secret number? He didn't even give us a hint though." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"Okay, first rule of dice games. Assuming they're played with two dice, the number cannot be lower than 2 or higher than a 12. So if we roll a 12 somehow, we've likely won automatically. Similarly, if we roll a 2, we should toss it since unless his number is 2, there's no way it'd win. Outside of that, it's just a matter of guesswork. Though he could've given us at least five tries, since three isn't really a lot of tries to pin down a number." Kusa said sagely. Morgana nodded.

"Good point. I guess we should just try to get the highest number possible." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded. Octavius then spoke up.

"Well then, here's your first roll, blorp!" Octavius said. Ren and Kusa frowned as they rolled a 3 on their first roll, then back to back 4's on their second and third rolls, making them stuck with a 4. Octavius spoke up.

"Okay then, your number is 4, blorp! As for the secret number, well, do you remember my name, blorp? It's Octavius, y'know, octa? As in the number eight? Gloohoohoo! Gloooohoohoo! You lose, blorp! I'll have to take you all the way back to the beginning, blorp!" Octavius said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"Aw, man! This sucks. So the secret number was eight the whole time? Not surprising, considering his name is Octavius and all." Morgana said as Kusa huffed.

"True. I think those dice were loaded, though. I mean. I know for a fact we rolled them good, so why the hell wouldn't it give us a roll higher than 4? That's horse shit." Kusa snapped, clearly livid at the sudden turn of events. Morgana winced as he nodded.

"Agreed. Unfortunately, we've been sent back to the very first space on the board. There's no coming back from this." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"Not without a shit-ton of luck, there's not. It is possible though." Kusa said, but alas, he was mistaken. At that point, the 'GAME OVER' music played after the 'you lose' music, and both Ren and Morgana sweatdropped as the latter spoke up.

"We failed, didn't we? But it seems you at least learned how to keep your heart open even in the face of brutally unfair requests." Morgana said as Ren nodded, feeling a minor boost to his Kindness. Morgana frowned as he spoke up.

"Come to think of it Ren, didn't you pick up a book on secret gaming techniques? Maybe you should try giving it a read sometime." Morgana suggested as Kusa frowned and spoke up, making Ren wince at how easily he could hear the lividness in Kusa's tone while he spoke.

"Perhaps, though I still maintain that those dice were loaded as hell! How else would we end up in such a loaded scenario right then? Thinking on it though, I suppose it was rather obvious in retrospect that his number was eight. But not like we can do much about that if we can't get the effing dice to roll an eight or higher! Dammit. And this would be why I don't gamble. Ren's luck? When it blows, it blows hard, as we just witnessed first-hand. Ugh." Kusa said in frustration as he flopped down on the sofa, grumbling under his breath about rigged games. Morgana winced and spoke up.

"Anyways, I suppose we should get to bed soon? It's starting to get late, and if Kusa's outburst is any indication, you're probably both tired. Let's get to sleep soon, okay?" Morgana asked Ren, who nodded as he got ready for bed, smirking as Kusa reluctantly got up to get ready for bed after gently setting the controller down on the table, despite looking like he wanted to spike it in frustration, but calming himself with a breath. He then got into his pajamas and laid down as Morgana curled up on his chest, and Ren got laid down for the night...

(The next morning, between trains to school, with Ren, Kusa and Morgana)

"Well, at least we're almost to school." Morgana said as Kusa blinked and spoke up.

"True, but look who's coming." Kusa said dryly as Akechi walked over and spoke up.

"Morning, Amamiya-kun brothers! I wonder how much longer this heat will continue as it is? To be honest, it's exhausting. That said, you know the rankings that are popular nowadays? Are you interested in them too?" Akechi asked Ren and Kusa, as Ren spoke up.

"Of course. You never know when someone you know might show up on them." Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up, a wry smirk on his face while he spoke.

"Yes, like certain ace detectives who are nearly out of a fanbase because they keep criticizing the Phantom Thieves. Just a friendly piece of advice, Akechi-kun. Maybe you might try laying low at some point? At this rate, you're gonna end up a pariah, and with everyone in town out for your head, if you keep criticizing the Phantom Thieves." Kusa said in a sociable tone, though Ren could easily hear the hidden dry snark in Kusa's tone. Akechi nodded and spoke up.

"Your point is well made, Amamiya-kun the younger. And Amamiya-kun the elder, I don't blame you. Everyone's paying attention to it. Did you know my name is listed, too? It's apparently due to my recent disapproval of the group." Akechi said as Kusa scoffed and spoke up.

"Recent!? If I recall correctly, you've been very vocally anti-Phantom Thieves since we met you, Akechi-kun. Or am I mistaken that you were criticizing the Phantom Thieves the day we had that shoot together at the TV studio?" Kusa pointed out. Akechi chuckled.

"Good point, Amamiya-kun the younger. And you're not wrong. I have been very anti-Phantom Thieves since back then. But before I knew it, I found myself turned into a bona fide villain. Still, I thought that if I became a target, I could figure out their methods." Akechi said as Kusa blinked at this while he spoke up, reluctantly impressed despite himself.

"Ah, so you're using yourself as bait to try and lure them in and try to dissect their methods, first-hand? I have to admit, that's actually pretty effing clever, Akechi-kun. Maybe there's some actual truth to you being an ace detective? Either way, I'm impressed." Kusa reluctantly said. Akechi nodded before he spoke up once more.

"Exactly, Amamiya-kun the younger. The idea was appealing when I thought about it. Of course, as we all know, there's no guarantee I'd be safe. Oh, but look at the time! Talking any more will make us late. See you later!" Akechi said as Ren and Kusa nodded, the three heading on to school...

(Later, on the walk to school)

"It's all over the news! Check out this Phantom Thieves Chocolate Wafer! I saw it in Shibuya and couldn't help myself!" A fad-followng girl in front of Ren and Kusa said, making Kusa blink and mouth 'Chocolate Wafer?' to Ren in surprise, making Ren chuckle as the fad-following girl's friend spoke up.

"It comes with a sticker, right? There's so much Phantom Thieves merchandise all of a sudden. Although, if you ask me, 'Phantom Thieves' isn't a very cool name." The friendly girl with the fad-following girl said as the fad-following girl spoke up.

"I dunno, I like it. It's so mysterious. Do you think it's a bad idea to post my own name to the Phan-Site to get a change of heart? I just want to meet the Phantom Thieves, to be honest." The fad-following girl said as Kusa huffed and spoke up, keeping his voice down so only Ren and Morgana could hear.

"Is she for real!? She's saying something like that as if what Taba went through was some sort of effing fad!" Kusa huffed as Ren spoke up.

"I agree, but calm yourself. You won't do anyone any good if you work yourself into a half-blacked out state again, Kusa." Ren pointed out as Kusa nodded.

"Good point, Ren. Maybe I'll break down and go in for a session instead? We'll see." Kusa said with a shrug as Ren and Kusa finished the walk to school in silence...

(That morning, in class with Ren, Ann and Morgana)

"Ah, the school trip's tomorrow, huh? I always got so excited the night before my trips. You leave tomorrow, right? It'll take six or seven hours to get to Hawaii, so, if I'm doing the math right, it'll be morning when you arrive. Oh yeah, watch out for that jetlag. Hawaii's time is nineteen hours behind Japan's time zone. Which means you'll get there on the morning of the 7th.

You're leaving at night, but arriving in the morning of the 7th. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that something like that might be quite a shock to your systems. Jetlag is one thing, but our perception of time itself can become distorted sometimes. Have you ever looked at your watch and felt like the second hand stopped for longer than a second? How about you? Say, Amamiya-kun." Maruki said as Ren looked up on hearing his name. Maruki smirked and spoke up.

"Do you know the name of that phenomenon where the second hand looks like it's stopped moving?" Maruki asked as Ren nodded and spoke up, recalling this from a TV show he watched once.

"This is it! The answer is chronostasis." Ren said confidently. Maruki nodded and clapped as he spoke up.

"Right! Yeah, that's correct. You see, when a person changes their viewpoint, there's a moment of time that goes unaccounted for in their mind. In order to fill that blank, the brain experiences a fictional moment. That's where this phenomenon comes from. The human brain really is incredible, right? It can make you feel like time has stopped." Maruki said as the usual murmurs about Ren's intelligence started up, mixed with people questioning if he truly was a criminal. Morgana even chimed in to compliment Ren's intelligence as well, as Ren felt his Knowledge get a boost it didn't need. At that point, Maruki spoke up once more.

"Oh, but my time's almost up. I want to hear all your stories when you get back, okay! Well, see you! Have fun!" Maruki said as Morgana sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, so you're going to Hawaii tomorrow, huh. Don't worry about the house. I'll hold it down. Well, to be more accurate, myself, Kusa, and Futaba will hold down the fort." Morgana said as Ren nodded while the rest of class proceeded uneventfully...

(Later that afternoon, still in class with Ren, Ann and Morgana)

Ren and Ann blinked as their phones went off to signify a group chat with Ryuji, Kusa, Yusuke, Makoto, and Futaba, with Ryuji sending the first response.

"Aw yeah! This time tomorrow, we're gonna be in Hawaii! I can't wait!" Ryuji sent as Ren sent a response.

"True. It's gonna be fun. It's too bad we can't bring the whole group, but it is what it is." Ren sent regretfully. Ryuji sent a response.

"I'm so pumped!" Ryuji sent as Futaba sent a response that had Kusa smirking as he read it.

"Ryuji! You know you're not leaving until tomorrow night, right?" Futaba sent as Ryuji blinked and sent a response.

"Wait, for real!?" Ryuji sent as Makoto sent a response.

"Enough of the chitchat. Not only should you be concentrating on class, we shouldn't be rubbing it in Kusa, Morgana and Futaba's faces that we're going to Hawaii without them. Granted, in Yusuke's case he's going to LA, but that's besides the point." Makoto sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"I don't care about all that after what I just heard. I'm totally outta motivation to work, to be honest." Ryuji sent as Futaba sent a response.

"Sounds like business as usual, eh Kusa?" Futaba sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Yep! I still can't believe I'm the only Shujin student in this chat not going to Hawaii, though. Feels kinda like I'm the odd man out or something." Kusa sent as Futaba smiled and sent a response.

"True, but look at it this way. That's just more time we have to spend together, Kusa. Mwehehe." Futaba sent as Kusa blinked and nodded his agreement and sent a response.

"Good point, as usual, Taba. And this is why you're so effing amazing! That, and the fact you're very easy on the eyes." Kusa sent smoothly. Ryuji sent a response.

"Welp, time to research sightseeing spots in Hawaii!" Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.

"You got over that pretty damn fast!" Ann sent as Ryuji sent another response.

"Oh yeah, are there any famous places in Los Angeles?" Ryuji sent as Futaba sent a response.

"Hollywood!" Futaba sent as Kusa sent a response.

"I could be wrong, but I vaguely recall there being several sporting stadiums in LA and even a racetrack for NASCAR racing, which is pretty fun for the fact it mostly entails driving cars around a track and trying to be the first one over the finish line. It's kinda like track, but for cars." Kusa sent as Ryuji blinked at that.

"Wait, for real? I might have to give that a look sometime, since that sounds so effing badass!" Ryuji sent honestly. Yusuke sent a response.

"It has a vibrant art scene as well. I expect the trip will prove quite stimulating." Yusuke sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"That don't hold a candle to Hawaii's beaches though." Ryuji sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"There are quite a multitude of fabulous beaches near Los Angeles as well, you know." Yusuke said as Ryuji sent a response.

"Huh? It's close to the ocean then?" Ryuji sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Ryuji, do you even know where LA is?" Yusuke sent. Kusa sent a response.

"This is Ryuji we're talking about, Yusuke! I doubt he even knows where stuff is around Shujin some of the time!" Kusa sent as Ryuji sent a response that had both Kusa and Futaba resisting the urge to facefault when they read it.

"Uh, well it's the capital of America, so if I had to guess? Probably in the middle somewhere?" Ryuji sent. Futaba recovered first and sent a response.

"What about Hawaii?" Futaba sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Dunno. Some ocean, I guess?" Ryuji sent as Kusa growled at how clueless Ryuji could be at times. However, Futaba beat him to sending a response that voiced both their thoughts perfectly.

"You're hopeless!" Futaba sent as Kusa grinned and sent a repsonse.

"Truth, Taba! Get that fool!" Kusa sent. Makoto sent a response.

"Ugh, how long are you all going to keep this up!?" Makoto sent irately, making the others all wince as Ren put his phone away quickly. Morgana spoke up at that point.

"Ugh, come on. Can't you guys be more mature about this?" Morgana asked Ren as he put his phone away with a shrug...

(After school, with Morgana and Ren)

"To be honest? I agree with Kusa. I get you all are excited for this trip, but you're getting a little carried away." Morgana said as Ren huffed and spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. And before you ask? NO! We're not telling the others about any Mementos target! So don't ask." Ren snapped quietly at the not-cat, who winced from the harshness of Ren's response and hid in Ren's bag as he considered his options. After weighing his options, Ren decided to head to the flower shop for another shift, figuring he could use the Kindness. Unbeknownst to him, while he and Morgana were off building up Ren's Kindness, Kusa was having an enlightening experience of sorts of his own...

(At the same time as Morgana and Ren going to the flower shop, at the nurse's office, with Maruki and Kusa)

Maruki was working at his desk, getting settled back in after the school year resumed, figuring the reason for the relative lack of people coming in was the upcoming trip for the second years, and probably likely forgetfulness from the first years, plus he heard a lot of the third-years were headed to Hawaii as chaperones for the trip as proxies for the staff. As he was musing on all this, he blinked as he heard footsteps approaching, followed by a knock. Maruki blinked as he spoke up.

"Yes? Who is it?" Maruki called out. He was only a bit surprised when he heard the voice that answered.

"It's Kusa. I know, probably a surprise to hear me coming, but I figured why not? I don't have a lot else going on, plus most of the people I'd usually hang with are busy preparing for the school trip, or pre-occupied with their own projects, plus I recall we hadn't spoken since that unfortunate bit of business that night at the diner. Is now a bad time?" Kusa said as Maruki smiled and spoke up.

"Not at all, Kusa! I was actually hoping you'd show up, as it happens. I had hoped to speak with you for a bit now, but never quite managed to run across you until now, as it so happened. So please, come in. Have a seat." Maruki said as Kusa walked in and had a seat as asked. Once he'd done, Maruki sat down and looked at Kusa as he spoke up.

"So first of all, how's the knee and nose holding up?" Maruki asked as Kusa gave Maruki a respectful nod for his question while he spoke up.

"The nose is fully healed. The knee's just about there, but still has a couple more follow-ups left before I'm given the all-clear health-wise. But I feel like I'm close to that point. Speaking of all that, I actually wanted to thank you for speaking up about what those guys did to me. I assume that that source the news mentioned was you? If so, thank you for not naming names when you said what you did. That was very much appreciated.

If we're being honest here, I might have a lot of fans thanks to my martial-arts talents, but I try not to draw them towards those I'm close to, if I can at all help it. Bad enough I had the misfortune of being jumped by some salty ex-teammates. I'm not forcing those closest to me to get caught in the crossfire of any enemies I might make with my hubris and skills." Kusa said honestly as Maruki smiled and spoke up with a nod.

"You're quite welcome, Kusa. What they did was not at all okay. If not for the fact that Mimille and Lumine, if I have their names right, snuck off to check where you guys had headed, there's no way to know for sure if anyone would've found you any time soon, if ever. While I think you'd have come to eventually, who's to say you wouldn't have been way worse off if you'd come to on your own without someone to fix your nose and stuff? I think we were all quite blessed that things played out the way they did." Maruki said as Kusa smiled his agreement while speaking up.

"You're not at all wrong to say that, Doc. Way the doc told it, my nose had to be fixed back into place when they brought me in, plus they had to operate to fix my right knee, which had been sprained. Luckily for me, I heal fairly quickly, so I wasn't laid up for very long once I got discharged. So yeah, I'm more or less on the mend now, and those scumbags got arrested, which is what they deserve.

To be honest? I feel bad for them, but they were the ones who chose to turn what I thought would be a friendly spar into a straight-up beatdown, where they held me back and savagely beat me, eventually leaving me for dead in that alleyway. Had Lumine and Mimille not come along and found me, I think I'd have ended up far worse off. So I owe Lumine and Mimille a thank-you if I see them again. But that messy business aside, you can probably guess I didn't come in here strictly to catch up from that." Kusa said as Maruki nodded and spoke up.

"I had a feeling that was the case, Kusa. So what's on your mind?" Maruki asked Kusa, who spoke up.

"As I mentioned before, most of my friends are getting ready for the school trip. I think literally I'm the only one out of my friend group here that's not going on the trip, which sucks. But more importantly, some of them seem to think it okay to exacerbate things by constantly bragging about how they're ready to go on the trip, knowing some of us aren't able to go for various reasons.

While I can understand how they feel, it frustrates me to no end that they have so little tact they don't think about those around them before they speak. If not for the fact I'm trying to show restraint, I'd have probably socked them in the face by now, if I'm being honest with you, Doc." Kusa said as Maruki nodded and spoke up.

"That makes sense. I can imagine it's frustrating being the odd one out, Kusa. But it sounds like not all of your friends are going. Way I understand it, you're friends with Sakura-kun's daughter, and she's not going. So you have her you can hang out with while your friends are away. And as much as it might not be the same thing, my door is by all means always open if you feel like coming in. I know you said you wanted to only do so if you had to, but it's not a crime to come in for a social call once in a while either." Maruki said sagely as Kusa nodded his understanding before blinking while he spoke up.

"That's a fair point, Doc. And maybe you're right. We'll see. I suppose I could free my schedule up to come in a bit more often, but to be honest, between hanging with my friends, keeping up with school, and my apparent new-found status as a first-year member of the student council, free time might become more and more difficult to come by as time goes on, but I'll try to manage my schedule as best I can.

And to what you said before about Taba, or Sakura-kun's daughter, we are friends, but at the same time, I feel as if we have the potential to be a great deal more than just friends, Doc. But at the same time, I'm not trying to rush her into it. I want her to want that on her own. Or am I being unreasonable to want her to be able to have it be something she herself wants?" Kusa said as Maruki shook his head and spoke up.

"Not at all. That's a perfectly reasonable way to feel. If anything, it shows that you're trying to be mature about things, Kusa. But anyways, as much as catching up with you is fun, and I could keep going, it is getting a bit late, so we should probably get going so neither of us misses curfew, yeah?" Maruki said as Kusa nodded his understanding and spoke up.

"Yeah, good point, Doc. Nice seeing you again. Hopefully, next time I find myself in here, it'll be for more of a social call." Kusa joked as Maruki nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Agreed. But again, my door's always open if you feel the need." Maruki said as Kusa nodded before walking out of the nurse's office to head back towards Leblanc...

(Back with Ren and Morgana, at the underground mall)

Ren decided to put in a shift at the flower shop. After his shift, he collected his pay of 3,200 yen as Morgana asked him how he was feeling. Morgana then complimented him on how hard he was working that day, as Ren nodded, feeling a boost to his Kindness that was sufficient to rank it up from rank 4, or 'Selfless', to rank 5, which was 'Angelic'. It was also marked as 'RANK MAX!' when showing his ranks. Morgana smirked as he spoke up.

"So you're now a man of Erudite Knowledge, Debonair Charm and now Angelic Kindness? That just leaves Guts and Proficiency and you'll have maxed all aspects of yourself, Ren! Good work!" Morgana said as Ren nodded before the two headed back to Leblanc, or made to, only to be surprised as Yusuke walked up to them.

"Oh, hello Ren. I see your working hard as always. Once again, I'm on the hunt for a still-life painting motif. Thanks to your help last time, I now know where to look. Well then, I should finish my shopping." Yusuke said as Ren nodded to Yusuke as he headed back to Leblanc. Once there, his phone went off to signify a group chat with Ren, Ann, Kusa, Yusuke, Makoto, and Futaba, with Yusuke sending the first response.

"We will be parting ways tomorrow. I pray both trips go safely." Yusuke sent as Makoto sent a response.

"Thank you. Take care of yourself, Yusuke. And Futaba? We'll be relying on you for the analysis." Makoto sent as Futaba sent a response.

"Leave it to me." Futaba sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Just let us know if anything comes up, k?" Ryuji sent as Futaba sent a response.

"A-OK!" Futaba sent as Ann sent a response.

"Then off we go! Look after Morgana and Kusa for us." Ann sent as Kusa sent a response.

"OI! Why do you gotta say that like Taba's the one who has to look after me, when it's usually the other way around? Sorry Taba, but we both know I'm usually the one looking out for you, rather than the other way around." Kusa sent as Futaba sent a response.

"You're not wrong, Kusa! But I think she moreso meant for us to look after one another while both keeping an eye on Morgana and keeping him company during the trip. Speaking of which, have a safe trip, guys!" Futaba sent as Ren put his phone away right when Morgana spoke up.

"You guys are still talking about that trip?" Morgana asked Ren, who nodded as Kusa came up the stairs and laughed while speaking up.

"Of course they are, Morgana! They've been talking about little else all week! And I wish them all the best on that trip. While they're off having a blast in Hawaii, or LA in Yusuke's case, you and I get to have plenty of quality time together, and probably also spend time with Futaba where time permits, so don't feel like we're missing out, Morgana. Try not to get so worked up, yeah?" Kusa said to Morgana, who sighed and nodded as he walked over to the sofa and curled up on it as Kusa looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Well, seems like he's in a mood. Let's let him sleep it off. I think Boss went home, if you want to go chill downstairs or something." Kusa said to Ren, who nodded as he spoke up.

"Yeah. Might not be a bad idea. Plus, I feel like we don't hang out that much, just the two of us." Ren said sagely as Kusa nodded.

"I concur. If you want, I can cook us up some curry downstairs and we can talk over a meal?" Kusa suggested as Ren nodded.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Kusa." Ren said as the two headed downstairs to have dinner together. As Kusa cooked up the curry the way Sojiro had shown him, he spoke up.

"So, first and foremost, I realize I've been in rather a snitty mood with everyone of late. I want to apologize to you for that, since I've just had a lot on my mind. Not to mention, if I'm being honest? I've been feeling kinda left out since I found out I was the only one from our group outside of Futaba and Morgana not going on this trip. That, and I've been having to listen to Ryuji constantly make snide little asides about Morgana. To be quite honest, I've had to stop myself from punching him numerous times. Not to mention, having to hear him constantly bragging about this trip can be quite vexing on anyone. Am I right?" Kusa said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"No, you're quite right. I might have agreed with him, but that was purely to keep the peace. I'm sorry that you feel left out, but there's not much that can be done for it at this point. I'll just have to try to make it a point to bring you an extra-special souvenir if I think of it when I come back. Otherwise, all I can say is try and behave yourself while we're gone, Kusa. Not that you won't, because you usually do behave rather well, but I'm just saying it as a precaution.

And for what it's worth, I do want us to try and get along more, since we are brothers. I know I can be a lot to deal with at times, and I apologize for that. But I appreciate that you've been by my side every step of the way so far, even when you've been away at Boss' house or when you were stuck in that hospital room. I could feel that even then, you were with me in spirit. So know that I truly do appreciate all that you do for me, Kusa.

And I want you to know something. Despite what you might hear between Futaba and I, I have absolutely zero romantic feelings for her whatsoever. I am only helping her out purely because I see her as the younger sister you and I never got to have. Besides, I know better than to take your girl from you like that, Kusa. That's an absolute breach of the bro code. So please try not to worry. No one is trying to take Taba from you, brother. Do you trust me on that?" Ren asked Kusa, who sighed and nodded as he spoke up, fixing Ren with an un-readable look before he gave Ren one of the few real smiles Ren could recall seeing on Kusa's face while he spoke.

"Yeah. I trust you, Ren. We're brothers, after all. Of course I trust you! Would I still be here if I didn't? But I appreciate that you took it upon yourself to re-assure me of that. That means quite a lot to me. More than you could even realize. Ren? We might not always get along, but even despite that, we're still family above all else. And that's something that will never, ever, change. Not if I have anything to say about it! Whatever else happens from now on, never forget that we will always be family! Even if the day might come I finally lose my patience and end up snapping at you and Ryuji, never doubt that I care a great deal for both of you chuckleheads, along with all of our friends.

However, don't forget that I won't hesitate to stand up for my friends, even if it's to my other friends. I will protect those I care about, and that includes you. So no matter what, don't doubt that we have each other's backs. After all, above ALL else, we're family first and foremost! And they say blood is thicker than water, so I'm sure that means a lot for how tight you and I are, Ren! So from here on out, let us never again doubt the strength of our bond as brothers!" Kusa said vehemently, smiling as he walked forward to give Ren a one-armed manly hug as Ren smiled and returned the gesture. At that point, Ren felt a particularly strong surge of trust and brotherly love between himself and Kusa, as he heard the by-now familiar voice echo in his head.

"I am thou, thou art I...Thou has birthed a bond clad in the heart's strength. This union, born and embraced by will unyielding, shall become the balefire that lights thy path. Thou has gained a glimpse of the World's depths, granting thee further power to tread the depths of the abyss..." Ren heard in his head as the 'World' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'IV' becoming a 'V' to signify that his World Confidant link with Kusa had reached Rank 5, and like what had happened with Kasumi's confidant, a 'MAX' appeared next to the 'V', though Ren knew that wasn't actually Kusa maxed out, so much as possibly gated off for the moment.

And as a result of the rank up, not only did Kusa open the way for Ren to gain the power of 'Financial Fortification', which further ups the yen dropped after battles by 5% for each backup team member present, up to a maximum of 6 for a boost of 30%, but Kusa also gained the power of 'Zen Talk', allowing Ren to re-do a failed negotiation with any monk-type Persona with Kusa in the party. Afterwards, Kusa spoke up once more, a serious look on his face while he spoke.

"Ren? We might be going our separate ways for the time being while you're going to Hawaii, but never doubt that I'll be there with you in spirit. So for real? Go and have fun! But try not to have TOO much fun. And behave yourself! But most importantly, don't forget that I love you, brother. Even if I might get snippy with you at times, I love you. So know that nothing will break our brotherly bond. But, hoo boy, maybe it's me, but it got pretty effing sappy up in here. I'd imagine most of the others would've probably either laughed at us or commented on how adorable our little moment was.

Either way, it's getting late, so we should get to bed. After all, the sooner you get to sleep, the sooner you can wake up, get ready, and the sooner you can get going on your trip." Kusa said sagely as Ren nodded, helping Kusa finish the meal and do the dishes before the two went to bed for the evening, the latter smiling as he gently picked up Morgana so he could lay on the sofa, gently placing Morgana on his chest, where he curled back up and dozed off contentedly...

(The next morning, in the attic of Leblanc, with Ren and Sojiro)

As Ren gathered his bags for his school trip after Kusa had left for school, Sojiro came upstairs and spoke up.

"Ah, you're taking off, huh?" Sojiro said as he walked up into view and kept speaking.

"Don't go cutting loose just 'cause neither Kusa or I are there to keep an eye on you." Sojiro said as Ren nodded before Sojiro spoke up more.

"Oh, and I'll be sure to look after Futaba, Kusa and Morgana while you're gone. You owe me one." Sojiro said as Ren nodded, looking over to the not-cat currently sitting on the sofa, a frustrated/distressed look on his face, before walking over to give him a reassuring few pats, making Morgana huff as he spoke up.

"We'll talk more about our next job once you get back, Ren." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"I can't wait, Morgana. Maybe while the rest of us are gone, you and Kusa can work with Futaba and start looking into potential targets? And I'm sorry we couldn't get you on this trip, but there just wasn't a way to do it unless you stowed away the whole way inside my luggage, and that's assuming someone didn't hear you meowing mid-flight and throw you off the plane for stowing away. No, it's just too risky to bring you along. Please try and understand." Ren said to Morgana, who turned away and frowned as he spoke up.

"Ah, I see. Good." Morgana said as he padded off, leaving Ren to head off to meet Ryuji and Ann at the airport...

(That evening, at the airport with Makoto, Ann, Ren, and Ryuji)

"Ugh, I'm so sleepy right now." Ann said as Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"It'll take over six hours to get there, so why not sleep on the plane?" Makoto said to Ann, who nodded as she spoke up.

"Yeah, I'll do that. Good idea, Makoto." Ann said. Makoto blinked but nodded as she spoke up.

"Oh! It's almost time to check in." Makoto said as Ann nodded and spoke up with a sigh.

"Phew! Looks like it's gonna take off on time. I feel like a lot of flights headed to America tend to run late or get canceled for whatever reason. And come to think of it, is it just me, or is Ryuji not here yet?" Ann asked Makoto, who blinked as the group heard an announcement about flights to Los Angeles once again getting delayed. Makoto blinked as she spoke up.

"Good point. Where is he? Oh!" Makoto said as Ryuji ran up, huffing like he'd sprinted the whole way there.

"Hah, wasn't expectin' to have to make a mad dash like this. My bad." Ryuji said as Ann sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, coming late even on a day like this?" Ann said rebukingly to Ryuji. Makoto then frowned as she spoke up.

"That's all you're bringing?" Makoto asked Ryuji with a raised eyebrow. Ryuji shrugged and spoke up.

"It's only four nights, right? Ain't it enough?" Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"One bag? And not all that big of a bag, at that? That almost feels like you're underpacked, if you ask me." Ren said reluctantly. Ryuji huffed and spoke up.

"Really? You guys are just freakin' out over this." Ryuji said as Makoto smiled at Ryuji as she spoke up.

"Well, I suppose, this is better than bringing too many useless things." Makoto said conversationally as Mishima spoke up.

"Hey, guys, they want us to gather near the boarding gate soon." Mishima said to the group before walking off as Ann spoke up.

"Why don't we take a group shot before we take off?" Ann suggested as Ryuji did a closed-eye grin and pumped a fist as he spoke up.

"Ooh, sounds good!" Ryuji said before turning to Ren and speaking up.

"You be our cameraman, okay?" Ryuji asked Ren who nodded as Ann walked over with a closed-eye smile as she spoke up.

"Lemme join in too! Hee hee, you too, Makoto!" Ann said as Makoto sighed and nodded as she spoke up.

"All right." Makoto said as Ren spoke up.

"I can take the photo, but can all four of us fit in it?" Ren asked as Ann squeezed over to pose by Ren while Ryuji smirked and sneakily snaked an arm around a shocked Makoto's waist, getting a slight squeak of surprise from her as Ryuji spoke up.

"Come on, Ren. Hurry up." Ryuji said as Ren snapped the photo as Ryuji spoke up excitedly.

"Lemme see, lemme see!" Ryuji said as the shot was shown to be all four of them together, while a smirking Ann had thrown up bunny ears behind Ren's head, making Ryuji grin in the photo while Makoto just huffed and stood near Ren, her face slightly flushed as she realized Ryuji was holding her close for the photo. At that point, Ren's phone went off with a private chat from Futaba, who sent a message, knowing Ryuji and the others were probably viewing it over Ren's shoulder.

"Ryuji, you've got crap in your eyes, you know." Futaba sent as Ryuji gaped on seeing the message and spoke up.

"What?" Ryuji asked before checking his eyes and groaning as she spoke up.

"Aw, holy shit, she's right, dude. I do have crap in my eyes. Dammit." Ryuji said as Ann blinked and spoke up.

"How could you tell, Futaba?" Ann asked in surprise. Futaba then sent another response.

"You surprised? I snuck an app on Ren's phone. I can see all I want through his camera! You're looking now, right Ren? Mwehehe. You can't underestimate the original Medjed." Futaba sent as Ren put his phone away while Ryuji spoke up.

"Man! Talk about a nasty trick to pull, am I right?" Ryuji asked while Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed! I am so glad she's not an enemy of ours." Makoto said as the group got on the plane as it took off for Hawaii, where the start of the group's tropical vacation awaited...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And damn, there we are. Took me a good while, but the group is now on their way to Hawaii for the week-long school trip! However, that's where the chill vibes start to peter out a bit, since as anyone who's played all the way through Royal at least once knows, the vibes after the group returns from Hawaii? Anything BUT chill! Trust me, the next bit after the week-long trip to Hawaii is a bit widely regarded by many players as one of the worst parts of Royal, especially to those who can't stand Morgana.

Myself, I like Morgana to an extent, but even then, I find this next bit to be not only very difficult to watch, but even more poorly written by the developers. And before anyone asks, YES it will be changed up slightly in this story. However, whether or not the change will be with Morgana's part of said arc or if it instead entails a further fleshing-out of said arc remains to be seen. That said, thanks to everyone who's followed, favorited, and even reviewed this story at least once, as your input and support is not only invaluable, but greatly appreciated. So by all means, keep doing what you're doing. And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1*- As far as I'm aware, this is a relatively obscure voiced line by Lala that I don't think you can get unless you work a shift at Crossroads after finishing the Mementos request involving the abusive boss, since it involves a follow-up to that request where the businessman comes in with a much better mood, leading to a huge party, and the aforementioned spoken (almost sung, really!) line by Lala. Pretty sure this is the only time you hear this line, too, so there's your bit of obscure/throwaway dialogue for the chapter. You're welcome!

*2*- The bit Kusa says about the football teams that were based out of Los Angeles? 100% true. Back in the earlier days of the NFL, before they became the Las Vegas Raiders, the Raiders were initially the Los Angeles Raiders, before eventually relocating and becoming the Oakland Raiders for awhile, before becoming the Las Vegas Raiders, which is their current name.

As for the other two, the Rams have been the Los Angeles Rams on and off for most of that franchise's history, while the Chargers were briefly the Los Angeles Chargers early on before becoming the San Diego Chargers for a while, before more recently becoming the Los Angeles Chargers again. So yeah, there's a bit of football trivia for you.

*3*- To be honest, I myself found Ryuji's line about being 'a total gangsta' and 'belonging in LA' beyond cringy when I heard it the first time, but the more I think about it, there're more than a few similarities between Ryuji and Eminem. For one, both were blondes at one point in their lives. For two, both have big-time daddy issues. And for three, both lived quite cozy if niche lives with their mothers for parts of their lives. However, as edgy and at times on point as Ryuji can be, I still think Eminem has Ryuji whooped in both epicness and badassery by a considerable margin, but I still felt the comparison needed to be made, so hopefully any fans of Eminem that read this won't roast me too much for making this comparison.

*4*- If you come in on days where Lala sends you a message asking for help, there's apparently a line-up of customers you can talk to, and each of them raises a different social stat as far as I can tell. The red-faced businessman (or the guy I chose to have Ren speak to in the chapter) ups Knowledge, while I'm assuming the lady in the evening gown ups Charm, the other businessman ups Proficiency and the scary-looking guy ups Guts. But I didn't talk to the others, so I can only guess at that. And before anyone asks, these gains are on top of the Kindness gain you normally gain for working at Crossroads. So there's another fun fact that most people might not know.

CONFIDANT RANKS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 52

FOOL (Igor/Prison Master) - Rank 8

MAGICIAN (Morgana/Mona) - Rank 7

PRIESTESS (Makoto/Queen) - Rank 4

EMPEROR (Yusuke/Fox) - Rank 5

HIEROPHANT (Sojiro/Boss/Coffee Daddy) - Rank 5

LOVERS (Ann/Panther) - Rank 8

CHARIOT (Ryuji/Skull) - Rank 7

JUSTICE (Akechi) - Rank 6

HERMIT (Futaba/Oracle) - Rank 2

FORTUNE (Chihaya/Fortune-Teller) - Rank 1

STRENGTH (Justine and Caroline/Twin Wardens) - Rank 7

HANGED-MAN (Iwai/Weapons Dealer) - Rank 2

DEATH (Takemi/Back-Alley Doctor) - Rank 7

TEMPERANCE (Kawakami/Becky) - Rank 4

DEVIL (Ohya) - Rank 2

STAR (Hifumi) - Rank 4

MOON (Mishima) - Rank 5

SUN (Yoshida/Man Of The People) - Rank 8

JUDGEMENT (Sae/Prosecutor) - Rank 4

FAITH (Kasumi/Yoshizawa) - Rank 5 'MAX'

COUNCILLOR (Maruki/Doc) - Rank 5

WORLD (Kusa/Draconis) - Rank 5 'MAX'

YET TO BE UNLOCKED: TOWER, EMPRESS