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!

72. Enemy Exposed! Joker's Comeback part 1

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Phantom Files! Here we are, at the start of Arc 7, and just about at the point of the 'final interrogation' sequence that famously can end many players' runs through both vanilla Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal early with a bad ending. I'm both excited to get it over with, and leery of messing up and getting said bad ending. But I'm hopeful I'll get past it on the first try, like I did in my previous playthrough of Royal. That said, Arc 7 will have a lot of big twists in it, as well as a few huge battles. That said, let's hit up the disclaimer while I'm thinking of it, yeah?

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (barring the OC Kusa/Draconis, and the OCs Slim, Kyori, Akira, Lumine, and Mimille, all of whom are made and thus owned by sithlorde1988), and all credit for owning the Persona series belongs to Atlus, Sega, and to a point Koei Tecmo, so all credit to them!

That being said, without further ado, on with the next chapter!

Chapter 72: Interrogations, Plans, and Reveals! Joker's Comeback part 1

(In the real world, outside of the courthouse with Morgana, Kusa, Futaba, Makoto, Ryuji, Ann, Haru, Yusuke, and Akechi)

"I can't believe it! How could this have happened to our leader!?" Yusuke said in annoyance as the group stood together near the courthouse, having moved a safe distance away after exiting the Palace. While most of the others exchanged somber/sad looks, Kusa spoke up, looking each of the others in the eyes in turn while he spoke, a resolved yet firm look on his face.

"I agree, Yusuke. I think it sucks that Ren is currently a prisoner of the enemy, and being carted off who knows where. But we have to remember that Ren made that choice of his own volition, purely out of an interest in not wanting the rest of us to get caught in that trap back there. So as sad as it is that he got caught, we have to keep moving forward for his sake. But I think for right now, our best bet is probably dispersing for the night and returning home to regroup and figure out our next move. After all, Ren, Morgana and I all mutually agreed before this last mission that if anything were to happen to Ren, that I was the intended choice to step in as leader in Ren's absence.

And as such, I don't think we'll be doing ourselves any good staying here and fretting over what just happened. So I'm going to make the executive decision using my newfound authority as acting leader to have us split up for the night, and then in like a day or two, once we've had time to think things over, we can re-group elsewhere to decide our next course of action. But before that, I'd like to thank Akechi-kun for his cooperation to this point, as he has proven to be quite invaluable to our success in this last Palace. But I respect that he only made that deal with us for the one Palace. So I understand that he likely wants to get back to his job.

And hopefully Akechi-kun understands that there'll always be a place amongst our ranks for him should he ever wish to take up the mantle of a Phantom Thief once more. Granted, this assumes we re-form the group, considering that Ren did agree with Akechi-kun that the Phantom Thieves would formally disband after this Palace. So, I suppose the next step would be for us to meet up at least once more to finalize that disbandment.

But until then, consider yourselves dismissed for the night. Get home safely, everyone. Taba, you'll head back with me and Morgana, of course." Kusa said firmly, getting nods of agreement from all involved, including the not-cat currently sitting on Kusa's shoulder, as the group dispersed and headed to their respective homes, excluding Kusa, Futaba, and Morgana, who all headed back to Leblanc together...

(Meanwhile, back at Leblanc with Sojiro, Sojiro's POV)

I frowned to myself as I went about taking orders and serving customers as I so often do at Leblanc. I then wondered to myself why I felt so uneasy if this was the same as any other night. After a bit, I then realized exactly why I was feeling uneasy. It was because Ren, Futaba, and Kusa were all out there putting their lives at risk doing their work as Phantom Thieves.

And my eyes widened as I figured out that the uneasy feeling seemed to be centered around Ren in particular, making me confused. However, that confusion wouldn't remain in place for long, as the door opened and both Kusa and Futaba walked in, both seeming a bit quiet and subdued, to my surprise. I then blinked as I saw that Ren wasn't with them, despite having been with them when they left. After both sat and made no move to speak up, I spoke up.

"Kusa? Futaba? Is everything okay? You're both rather quiet." I said as Kusa and Futaba exchanged a look with each other, almost as if debating something, before Kusa looked at me and sighed as he spoke up.

"Honestly, Sojiro? No. Everything's not okay. Ren, the selfless and idiotic fool, went and got himself arrested trying to buy the rest of us time to get away after our recent mission went horribly awry. Granted, we did defeat the target, but then after that, we found a small army of cops converging on the place we were at. Knowing we couldn't all get away safely while sticking together, Ren selflessly, and frankly stupidly, volunteered to play the decoy to draw the enemy's attention off of us.

However, that gambit failed spectacularly in the end, when even though we got away, Ren found himself pinned to the ground, cuffed, and led away in a police car. So now, Ren's possibly in prison for all I know, while the rest of us are left wondering if he'll be okay, or what sentence Ren could get.

And if that wasn't enough, one of the cops proceeded to taunt Ren by telling him that, and I quote, 'You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out.', meaning that we very likely have a traitor in the Phantom Thieves' ranks." Kusa said honestly, his expression shifting to a slightly disappointed one as he sighed and Futaba spoke up while gently hugging Kusa for all she was worth.

"Kusa, you can't blame yourself for Ren's choices. He knew the risks, and chose to sacrifice himself to buy us time to escape. He made the heroic choice. And it's not like all is lost for us, either. After all, you're still here to step up as our leader. And I have faith you can do a respectable job in Ren's absence." Futaba said encouragingly to Kusa as I frowned at the information that Ren was presumably behind bars at this moment. I then leaned over and lightly patted Kusa on the shoulder as I spoke up while looking into Kusa's eyes.

"Futaba's right, Kusa. In the end, you did all you could have done in getting the rest of your friends out safely. You can't blame yourself for the way this turned out. Besides, if he's there, you get a break from overseeing him, so it's not all bad, right?" I said, trying to slightly cheer up Kusa with a joke, though he just nodded and spoke up.

"That's true, Boss. But even still, I can't help but feeling like I failed, probably because Ren getting captured goes against my being sent out here with him to oversee him. But I suppose it's not all bad. After all, even if he's in jail, I have you, Futaba, and even Morgana. So I suppose I should focus on the positive and try to stay strong while I lead the team for Ren. I'm not looking forward to Mom's reaction when she finds out that Ren got arrested, never mind Dad's reaction.

And by Dad, I mean Ren's dad. So I guess I should try to prepare myself now for that. Thanks for the pep talk though, Sojiro. You too, Taba. I appreciate that you both cared enough to try and cheer me up." Kusa said with a slight smile, giving me a nod of respect while hugging Futaba for all he was worth, getting smiles from both of us as I spoke up once more.

"Fair. Well, I suppose it is late, so I should lock up for tonight. Normally I wouldn't allow this, but given what happened tonight, I think I can make an exception in this case. Futaba, would you like to stay here overnight with Kusa so he's not alone? Not saying he's alone, since he has Morgana with him, but there's a difference in having a cat for company and having his girlfriend for company." I said understandingly, making Kusa speak up with an amused smile.

"For real!? Thanks for the generous offer, Sojiro. Though I feel like Morgana gets a bit offended when you refer to him as if he were a pet rather than a family member, which as far as I'm concerned, he is a family member, for all intents and purposes." Kusa said wisely, getting a nod of understanding from me as I spoke up.

"Right. How silly of me. Of course Morgana's family." I said as Futaba smiled at Kusa before she turned to me and spoke up at that point.

"If you're okay with it, Sojiro, I think I will stay with Kusa overnight. Not just so I can spend time with my boyfriend, but so I can comfort him if he needs it. After all, he's always there for me when I need him. I think the least I can do for him is be there for him in turn when he needs me. It only seems fair." Futaba said with a smile as I spoke up with an understanding nod and a smile.

"Of course it's fine, Futaba. As long as you two are smart about things and don't rush into anything you're not ready for. I think Kusa needs the distraction from things, honestly. I'll see you guys tomorrow then, when I open up Leblanc. Oh, and let me know if you guys need me to book the shop for your group to meet up. I might not be able to do much right now to help you out, but I can at least do that much." I said sincerely to Futaba and Kusa, who both nodded appreciatively as Kusa spoke up.

"Can do, Sojiro. I appreciate that offer. I might be taking advantage of that a few times over the coming days while we sort out our next course of action. Plus we've got some formalities to settle, thanks to the deal Ren and Akechi made in order to get Akechi to work with the Phantom Thieves. But thank you for being so supportive and understanding, Sojiro. It makes me feel even worse that we waited so long to trust you with our secret. Sorry again for not trusting you sooner." Kusa said to me with an almost regretful look on his face as Futaba smiled at him and spoke up reassuringly.

"It's okay, Kusa. I'm sure Sojiro understands. Besides, at least he knows now, right?" Futaba said kindly to Kusa, who nodded as he spoke up.

"That's true. Well, I suppose we should let Sojiro get back home for the night, yeah? Night, Sojiro." Kusa said to me as I nodded and went home, leaving Kusa and Futaba to exchange looks as they watched me leave.

(POV shift- neutral POV)

"Well, that was unexpected, wasn't it, Taba? But I suppose I can't complain about having you to myself basically tonight. And I say basically because obviously, Morgana will be there with us overseeing things. But I trust that he has the discretion of a gentleman when it comes to some things." Kusa said to Futaba, giving a pointed look to Morgana, who just smiled and spoke up.

"But of course, Kusa. I'm not about to violate you and Futaba's privacy." Morgana said reassuringly as Kusa nodded and led Futaba upstairs, where the two got comfortable on the sofa and laid together and watched TV until they dozed off, both idly wondering if Ren was okay...

(Around that same time, at the police station with Joker and some police detectives)

As Joker remained unconscious while cuffed to a chair in an interrogation room, one of the detectives in charge of interrogating him huffed as he spoke up.

"Hm? Guess the drug was too strong for him." The callous detective said before turning to a nearby detective and speaking up.

"You there, wake him up." The callous detective said as the other detective nodded and reluctantly tossed a bucket of cold water over Joker's head, waking him up with a jolt as he looked around in time for the callous detective to scoff and speak up.

"Ha! No dozing off." The callous detective mocked Joker, making him flail around in the chair trying to get free as the callous detective laughed and spoke up.

"HA! You still don't get it, do ya? Give it up!" The callous detective said before hauling off and socking Joker in the jaw before both Joker and the chair were knocked to the ground, making Joker groan as he spoke up.

"Nngh, ow. That hurts." Joker said while coughing as the the callous detective smirked and spoke up.

"Come on, cooperate. Or what, you want another shot?" The callous detective taunted Joker as he walked over and stepped right on Joker's exposed ear, making him wince in pain as he felt the boot turning on his head. At that point, Joker's gaze turned towards the camera that was recording everything nearby, making the detective follow Joker's gaze before he spoke up.

"Huh? What about the camera? Are you thinking it can be used as video evidence?" The callous detective taunted Joker, who scoffed and spoke up.

"Of course not. I'm not dumb enough to think that anything recorded here could be used against an officer of the law. Besides, even if it could, who's to say it'd be admissible in court?" Joker said rhetorically. The callous detective smirked approvingly at Joker's response before he spoke up.

"Ah, I see. So you're not that dumb." The callous detective said as he slammed Joker's head lightly to the ground as he stepped away and spoke up.

"Which is good, 'cause we get to take as much time as we NEED!" The callous detective said, emphasizing the final word by kicking Joker in the chest once more, making Joker writhe in pain a bit on the ground, coughing and wheezing from the rough impact to his chest. After that, the callous detective walked across the room and accepted a clipboard from the nearby detective, smirking as he read it to Joker.

"Hm, what's this? Let's see here. Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons, and the list goes on. Oh, manslaughter too, yeah? Heh, talk about having the book thrown at you, am I right? And to think, all those crimes were led by a punk like this. You don't seem capable of leading such crimes. Yet you were. And not only that, you seemed to be enjoying every second of it, by all accounts. Wait, huh?" The callous detective said, blinking in surprise as he saw the tears in Joker's eyes, wondering briefly if his assessment of Joker enjoying every second might be wrong. The callous detective then shook off the brief feeling of pity he had for Joker before scoffing and speaking up.

"Feeling remorseful, huh? As you should be. Don't forget, you should know your place." The callous detective said before nodding to another nearby detective, who nodded back and removed the handcuffs from Joker's red, bruised, damaged hands as Joker was hauled to his feet and tossed down in a sitting position as the callous detective handed Joker a slip of paper and spoke up.

"Sign here. It's a confession under your name." The callous detective said to Joker, who seemed to weigh his options, before eventually deciding that it might be the wisest course of action to sign the confession in hopes that he could take all the heat for everything so far, and keep the attention off of the others. Joker then spoke up.

"Very well, I understand. I'll sign." Joker said reluctantly, deciding to throw his future away in order to preserve the futures of the others. As he did so, he silently apologized to Kasumi in his head for not being able to keep his promise. At that point, the callous detective got in Joker's face and scowled as he spoke up.

"Good. That said, don't expect to walk out of here in one piece. We're going to make you understand something. One must take full responsibility for their actions, both the good and the bad." The detective said callously as Joker nodded and signed the confession as Ren Amamiya. After handing the confession back, a bruised Ren was led to another room to rest off his injuries...

(Later on, in the Velvet Room with Ren, Caroline, Justine, and Igor)

"Well done on making it this far, Inmate." Caroline said to Ren as Justine spoke up.

"Now that you have traversed your long, perilous recollection, you truly have entered the present, haven't you?" Justine said as Caroline frowned and spoke up.

"The effects of that drug are gonna wear off soon. This is your golden opportunity. You must grasp the truth that will save you from the brink of ruin." Caroline said as Justine spoke up, giving Ren a firm look while she spoke.

"The evil influence who wishes you dead is fast approaching." Justine said as Caroline spoke up.

"Indeed. If you want to win this unreasonable game, Inmate, heed our advice." Caroline said as Justine spoke up.

"If you wish to take back your stolen future, listen well." Justine said as Caroline and Justine both spoke up together.

"RECALL THE BONDS YOU FORMED WITH YOUR ALLIES THUS FAR, INMATE. AND IN DOING SO, GRASP THE TRUTH THAT WILL SAVE YOU FROM THE BRINK OF RUIN." Caroline and Justine said in unison while Igor chuckled ominously as Ren nodded...

(Back in the interrogation room with Sae and Joker)

"Ah, I see. So that's what led to your ending up here. What a disappointing end to the selfless hero of justice. I still can't believe it, even now. But I now have a general idea of the methods you used for your crimes. There's much more I'd like to ask, but my allotted time is nearly up, unfortunately. I do have a suggestion though. That said, care to strike a deal? If you cooperate with me, I'll consider lightening your sentence." Sae said as Joker blinked and spoke up.

"A deal, you say?" Joker said warily. Sae nodded as she spoke up.

"I have a responsibility to solve this case. I will win, even if it means brokering a deal with you, Amamiya. Your operation was leaked and you failed to change my heart. There's no point in being obstinate now. You've corrupted the order of this country and caused an uprising against its very existence. You'll most likely be given life imprisonment or the death penalty, just so you know.

Unless, of course, you accept my proposal. Going forward, I will read a list of people who are closest to you and this case. Tell me honestly whether or not the following are involved with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, or the Phantom Crew as they also are called." Sae said as she started reading names from the list.

"First, the friend who you've been with since the day you transferred to Shujin-Ryuji Sakamoto. Second, your little brother-Kusa Amamiya. Next, one of the victims of the Kamoshida case-Ann Takamaki. Ichiryusai Madarame's pupil- Yusuke Kitagawa. The daughter of Wakaba Isshiki, and your brother's girlfriend- Futaba Sakura. The heiress of the Okumura Foods legacy and daughter of its deceased CEO- Haru Okumura. And finally, the frequently probing student council president of Shujin Academy- Makoto Niijima. Those are your accomplices in the Phantom Thieves case, are they not?" Sae asked Joker, who frowned then shook his head.

"Nope, never heard of them." Joker said with a straight face. Sae frowned as she spoke up.

"I see. So you won't sell out your friends and family. Then let me change the question. To be honest, I find it hard to believe that high schoolers could have pulled off these crimes by themselves. Were there not others outside of your direct group who encouraged your crime or lent direct aid? Not to repeat myself, but remember that your life will be forefeit if your sentence is not lightened. That said, you had the cooperation of people outside your group, did you not? Can you tell me about them?" Sae asked Joker, who thought about it then spoke up honestly.

"To be honest? There were no such people." Joker said to Sae. Sae scoffed as she spoke up.

"Is that so? Tch, I see. So you won't say a word about either your teammates or your collaborators? Do you even understand the position that you're in? Moving on, let's discuss one other person- Goro Akechi. There were reports that he was acting alongside the Phantom Thieves as well. Might he be a part of your team too?" Sae asked as Joker spoke up.

"No, not Akechi." Joker said. Sae nodded and spoke up at that point.

"So Goro Akechi wasn't one of you then. Very well, I believe you. In that case, so be it. You clearly have no intention of bargaining with me." Sae said as Joker spoke up.

"That's right." Joker said simply. Sae frowned as she spoke up.

"Interesting. Even now, you're still acting as though you're a hero of justice? Your teammates have sacrificed you in order to escape, yet you wish to defend their honor? Why won't you talk about them?" Sae asked as Joker spoke up.

"Plainly speaking? It's wrong, and it goes against justice." Joker said bluntly. Sae scoffed as she spoke up.

"Ha! Don't be ridiculous! You're the one who's made wrong choices!" Sae said as she slammed her hands on the table as Joker scoffed and spoke up.

"Oh? Is this what you call justice?" Joker said. Sae frowned at this and spoke up.

"Hm? What do you mean, is this what I call justice?" Sae asked as she slammed her hand onto the table as she kept speaking in irritation.

"If you think you're so smart, then tell me! What is this 'justice' you speak of?" Sae asked Joker, who spoke up.

"Sticking to the right path, but more importantly, saving others." Joker said. Sae blinked and spoke up as she sat down.

"Sticking to the right path? That's no different from us! Ugh, you continue to stand firm in your beliefs. Are you implying that we have no evidence on you? I hate to admit it, but you're right- we have nothing! And it doesn't help that your story sounds like a fairy tale! But many people have fallen victim to this! We need to learn the truth. Ugh! The truth, huh? I don't even know what's right anymore! And it's all due to your strange story!" Sae said to Joker, who spoke up at that point.

"So, is that it? Are you leaving it here? If so, what about the true culprit?" Joker said. Sae frowned at this and spoke up.

"After all this, you're still-" Sae said as Joker shook his head, feeling as if the drug is starting to wear off at that point. Sae spoke up at that point.

"Are you listening? The side effects of the truth serum should be wearing off. I won't be deceived by such a poor act." Sae said as Joker frowned at what Sae had said, blinking as he recalled hearing the words 'I won't be deceived' before that. Joker frowned, getting a feeling as if he was forgetting something important. He then had a flashback to the day of the panel, when Morgana spoke up to him.

"Ah, so you realized it too, then. Then again, considering Kusa practically spelled it out for us that day, I'm not surprised. It was our conversation about pancakes, right? As Kusa pointed out that day, the only way Akechi could've reacted the way he did was if he'd heard and understood me." Morgana had said, but before Joker could continue the flashback, Sae spoke up.

"Hey. Amamiya, can you hear me? It seems your mind is clearing up some. But unfortunately for me, my time has run out at this point. Although I find your story to be quite interesting, I won't be able to speak with you any longer." Sae said as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"That's it? Don't you want to win?" Joker said to Sae, who blinked in surprise and spoke up.

"Wait, huh? What are you getting at? Yeah, that's right. No matter the results of this case, I won't be receiving credit. I even had to call in a large favor just to conduct this interrogation today. Joker blinked at the use of the word 'interrogation', as he recalled another plan involving an 'interrogation' room. He blinked, since if he recalled right, there was another plan. Ren then flashed back to the day that he, Morgana, and Kusa had spoken to Futaba in the attic of Leblanc...

"So, how did that thing we asked you to look into go, Futaba? Niijima mentioned a special interrogation room, didn't she? Good. It looks like we can make this trap work if we lure them there." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"True, but this plan is insanely risky, Morgana! If it goes even a tiny bit wrong, Ren's basically signing his own death warrant! And to be honest, I don't know if I'm comfortable with that!" Kusa said as Sae spoke up once more to interrupt Joker's flashback.

"Hey, Amamiya. Are you listening? As a reminder, our time's up. We're done talking here. And so, this is goodbye." Sae said as Joker spoke up.

"Be honest with me, Niijima-san. Why did you come here?" Joker said. Sae blinked at the question and spoke up.

"Why? Because this is my job. Don't ask me such odd questions. Anyhow, that said, there's one last thing I want to ask you. There's something that's been bothering me for quite some time now. Recently I was removed from my post as head of this investigation and told to remain on standby. A short while later, I received word that you were caught in the act. And what's more, you were apparently caught within some bizarre phenomenon.

However, as confusing as that is, that's what I know. But moreover, that's all that I was told. You were told someone sold you out, correct? If that's true, who could it have been? Don't you have any idea?" Sae asked as Joker thought about it, blinking at the usage of the words 'sold out'. He then nodded, recalling that there was something important he needed to do. He then flashed back to another conversation that he, Morgana, Kusa, and Futaba had had.

"So, not only was Kusa's instincts proven spot-on, but even my own suspicions were true in the end. Still, to think his true intention was to sell us out like that." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up once more.

"It's a shame, too. I was honestly starting to somewhat think maybe there really was a bit of good in him. But it seems that I might be mistaken. Oh well, it is what it is." Kusa said wisely as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"True. You did seem to be warming to Akechi slightly at one point. But in any event, that's moot now. All that's left at this point is to figure out a way to hand it over. It's all up to you, Leader." Morgana said to Ren as he spoke up.

"Hand it over, you say? Well, all right." Joker recalled saying to Morgana. Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Okay then. Giving him the phone without arousing suspicion will be easier said than done." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"True, but if anyone can pull it off, it's Ren. After all, he's one of the most persuasive people I know." Kusa said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Kusa. Okay Ren, we'll be counting on you to pull this one off." Morgana said as Sae spoke up to once more interrupt Joker's flashback.

"What's wrong? Might you have an idea as to who sold you out?" Sae asked Joker. Joker spoke up.

"I might. That said, I'm open to making a deal with you." Joker said. Sae blinked and spoke up.

"Oh? You're not joking, are you!?" Sae said as Joker spoke up.

"My code name is 'Joker' for a reason. But no, I'm not joking here." Joker said as Sae kept speaking while slamming her hand on the table.

"Very well. If you know something, you must tell me! I won't allow things to end like this!" Sae said as Joker spoke up.

"As you wish. That right there on the table is probably the biggest clue we have to the true culprit." Joker said to Sae, nodding towards the phone lying on the table. Sae followed Joker's gaze to the phone and spoke up.

"Do you mean this phone? It's yours, isn't it? I've been told the lock on it is quite complicated. But, it's only a matter of time until it's cracked. What's so important about this smartphone? Are you going to unlock it and show me the data?" Sae asked as Joker had another flashback to the day that he, Kusa and Morgana had spoken to Futaba about an important matter.

"Let's let her sleep. Granted, she's sleeping on Kusa's bed, but I doubt it'll be that much of a chore for him to lift her so he can join her in his bed." Morgana said teasingly as Kusa sighed and spoke up.

"You're lucky this is a serious situation right now, Morgana. Because that last little remark of yours was really uncalled for. And that's our business if Taba and I like to share a bed, or sofa in this case." Kusa said dryly. Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"That's fair, Kusa. But I think I have to be honest with you about something here. The truth is, Futaba hasn't slept for days while getting that app ready." Morgana said as Kusa's eyes narrowed dangerously as he spoke up in annoyance.

"Wait, what!? She's been sleep-depriving herself for this!? Dammit, Taba! You told me you'd start taking your health more seriously." Kusa said in annoyance as he frowned at the now-sleeping redhead who was cutely sprawled out on the sofa he usually slept on, making Morgana nod as he spoke up.

"And she is. That's why she's sleeping it off right now. I was the one who insisted that she not tell you she'd been foregoing sleep, though. So I apologize for making her deceive you, Kusa." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"We'll discuss that later, Morgana. For now, let's stay focused on the job at hand." Kusa said, deciding to shelve his anger for the time being as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. That's a mature decision. That said, now we gotta figure out a way to show him the phone." Morgana said as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"Him? What do you mean, 'Him'?" Ren asked. Morgana blinked at Ren and spoke up.

"Makoto and the others should have told you. I'm talking about the true culprit here. You know, the traitor." Morgana said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"In other words Ren, we're referring to the scumbag who sold us out." Kusa said bluntly. Sae spoke up to interrupt the flashback once more.

"Hey! Amamiya, focus! What are you trying to get at here? And what about this smartphone?" Sae asked. Joker looked at Sae and spoke up.

"If you want answers, you'll have to show this phone to the true culprit. Only they will recognize this phone's significance." Joker said. Sae spoke up in surprise.

"The true culprit!?" Sae asked as a recording played from the phone at that point.

"We could say he stole the guard's gun and committed suicide during his imprisonment to make it seem believable. How about that?" A familiar voice could be heard saying, a voice that both Sae and Joker recognized instantly. But before either could say anything, the recording kept playing.

"Public security questioning will occur on the first day after the arrest. From there, it's just a matter of getting him in the right location. And with that room, my task will be simple. And thus, the dangerous criminal responsible for the mass mental shutdowns shall end his own life." The voice said as Sae slammed her hands onto the table as she spoke up.

"Please! I need you to be clear with me! Who am I supposed to show this to?" Sae asked Joker, who gave her a grim smile as he spoke up.

"Plainly put? Someone who is no teammate of mine, after what he did." Joker said. Sae frowned and sat down as she spoke up.

"Not a teammate? Oh!? My god, could it be? Am I right? You're referring to him, aren't you?" Sae said to Joker, who spoke up.

"I know this sounds ominous and confusing, but please Niijima-san, you need to trust me on this. If you do as I said, all will be clear soon enough, for both of us." Joker said with a smile. Sae sighed and spoke up.

"What are you plotting? I can't even begin to fathom it. Alas, regardless of what you're planning, it's irrelevant now. We did all we could, but it appears my time is up. This is as far as our conversation can go. This will be my last involvement with this case, one way or the other. Heh, how ironic. Ah, very well. I've listened to your whole story, so I might as well play along to the very end. And that honest look in your eyes, Amamiya. To tell you the truth, I used to view the world the same way too, once. I'll place my bet on you. I just need to show him the phone, right?" Sae asked Joker, who nodded once with a genuine smile, feeling in that moment as if Sae finally understood him. At that point, the familiar voice spoke up.

"I am thou, thou art I...Thou has turned a vow into a blood oath. Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion and break the yoke of thy heart. Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret of Judgement, granting thee infinite power..." Joker heard in his head as the 'Judgement' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'VI' flashing before becoming an 'X', signifying that his Judgement Confidant link with Sae had reached Rank 10, also referred to as 'MAX Rank'.

From the maxed-out link, Sae had afforded Joker the boon of 'True Justice', simply meaning that she intends to cooperate with Joker as comrades who fight for justice and seek the truth. Afterwards, the screen changed to the words 'FUSION UNLOCKED', as Joker's phone flashed with the notification that he could now fuse 'Satan', or the strongest Persona of the Judgement arcana. Afterwards, a knock on the door prompted Sae to sigh as she spoke up.

"Thanks for speaking with me, Amamiya-kun. I'll be going now." Sae said as she got up to leave, speaking up once more after she stood.

"What good will this do, though?" Sae asked as she left the room. Once she left, she was surprised to see none other than Akechi walking towards her, making her blink as she spoke up.

"Akechi-kun!? Wh-Why are you here?" Sae asked Akechi, who gave Sae a closed-eye grin and spoke up.

"Why do you seem so surprised?" Akechi asked as Sae frowned and spoke up.

"I needed my director to step in to get access and I was directly responsible for this case. How did YOU get approval?" Sae asked Akechi, who gave her a contemplative look while speaking up.

"For the same reason you did. I am heading up the investigation team, after all. It's only natural I'd have the right to interrogate our culprit as well, don't you think?" Akechi asked as Sae gasped at that point, realization hitting her as she spoke up.

"Oh! They assigned you command!?" Sae asked as Akechi chuckled and spoke up.

"Nope. That was a joke, of course. I'm merely here to assist with the public security interrogation. I am surprised it's this far underground, though, Sae-san. There aren't any others incarcerated here, yes? Nobody would ever know if things got a little violent, would they?" Akechi said as Sae winced at the implied threat in Akechi's words before changing the subject as she spoke up.

"If I remember correctly Akechi-kun, didn't you say there was another culprit besides the Phantom Thieves?" Sae asked Akechi, who smirked as he spoke up.

"That was but a lie I spread to set them up. Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot that I had deceived you too, Sae-san. After all, if you wish to trick your enemies, you must first trick your allies." Akechi said as Sae spoke up with a frown.

"Ah, I see. It's all starting to make sense now." Sae said before fixing Akechi with an unreadable look while she kept speaking.

"So it was you, then. You're the one who sold out the Phantom Thieves." Sae said as she flashed back to asking Joker who she's supposed to show the phone to. Akechi frowned at this and spoke up.

"Hm? Is there a problem?" Akechi asked warily. Sae made a decision, pulling the phone in her pocket out and showing it to Akechi as she spoke up.

"Akechi-kun, be honest with me. Does this phone look familiar to you?" Sae said as she held the phone out for Akechi to see, making him blink as he spoke up.

"Hm? Excuse me?" Akechi asked Sae, before both winced as a brief flash of purple light swept over the room, making Akechi wince and speak up.

"Hm? Oh, what is this phone?" Akechi asked. Sae held it out to Akechi as she spoke up.

"It belonged to the leader of the Phantom Thieves. I believe you'll need it for your interrogation." Sae said as Akechi gave her a closed-eye grin and spoke up.

"Not personally. I was acting alongside the Phantom Thieves myself, remember?" Akechi asked Sae, who nodded as she spoke up, not seeing Akechi wince as he flashed briefly on words he'd heard from Kusa previously.

"Akechi-kun, I know we've been at odds a lot previously, but I want you to understand something. We are what we let our choices make us into. I don't know what your goal is in this, but ask yourself this. Is whatever you're working towards worth it? I think in the end, you'll find it might not be. But I trust you to know the answer to that question for yourself." Kusa had said previously before getting the both of them out of Mementos, the day they unlocked their Showtime. Sae then interrupted Akechi's flashback as she spoke up.

"That's true, Akechi-kun. This is undoubtedly a great accomplishment. Good luck in there." Sae said to Akechi as she walked off, leaving Akechi to blink as he got a more sinister look on his face before he spoke up to himself.

"Hmph! Foolish woman! What does she know?" Akechi said as he walked off to where Joker was being held, looking at the guard standing outside as he spoke up.

**Trigger warnings ahead: Implied murder, slight graphic content**

"May I ask that you accompany me? Going in unarmed to interrogate a murderer makes me uncomfortable, you know." Akechi said to the guard, who nodded as the two went inside, before Akechi pulled a gun on the shocked guard who only had time to yell out 'Ah! What're you-", before Akechi took aim and pulled the trigger, shooting the shocked guard in the chest. Akechi smirked at the downed guard as he spoke up.

"I owe you for all of this, guard-san. Thanks." Akechi said before smirking as he turned to a stunned Joker, who could only look at Akechi with a look of betrayal in his eyes as Akechi kept speaking.

"That's right. You and your little friends were vital to our plan. And now, it will be completed. Your popularity truly was quite stunning. That just made using you all the more worthwhile, though." Akechi said as he pointed the gun at Joker and chuckled as he spoke up, smirking as he saw Joker wordlessly gape at the bleeding guard before turning to look at the grinning Akechi, who spoke up smugly.

"Have you finally pieced it all together?" Akechi said as he turned the gun onto Joker while continuing to speak.

"Heh, case closed, Joker. This is how your 'justice' ends." Akechi said mockingly before pointing the gun right at a shocked Joker, who could only grunt as Akechi pulled the trigger, smirking at the sight of the blood trails running down the sides of Joker's face from where he'd been shot, blood trailing all the way down his face towards his neck, a few drops hitting the table seconds before Joker flopped down face-first onto the table, a giant bloodstain forming where his head hit, leaving a huge red mark where his blood stained the table. Akechi savored the sight of the wide-eyed look on Joker's face as he watched him bleed out with a look of almost sadistic glee on his face...

**END TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR NOW**

(At that same time, at Leblanc with Futaba, Kusa and Sojiro)

Sojiro blinked as he felt a chill run down his spine, at the exact moment he heard a dish hit the ground and shatter from in the kitchen, making him frown and mutter 'Hm? What was that chill I just felt?' to himself before wondering if Kusa had actually dropped something at that point, or if it was Futaba who'd dropped a dish. Unbeknownst to him, both Kusa and Futaba felt chills down their spine before almost feeling a voice crying faintly in their heads...

(Back at the interrogation room, with Akechi and Joker)

Akechi smirked as he pointed the barrel of the gun at the unmoving Joker's head, his sinister yet triumphant smile widening as he confirmed Joker's demise for himself, at which point he unscrewed the silencer from the gun, planted the de-silenced gun in Joker's hand to look like a suicide, tucked the silencer in his coat, and left the room smugly, closing the door on the now-deceased Joker as he chuckled darkly and walked down the hall to pull out his phone and speak into it when the person on the other end answered his call.

"Shido-san, my job is now complete." Akechi said to the person on the other end, now revealed to be Masayoshi Shido. Shido frowned as he spoke up in his office.

"I've told you not to call me by name. Regardless, all that's left is to deal with the remnants." Shido said as Akechi's voice spoke up on the other end of the line.

"The continued deaths of these teenagers would be a bit much, don't you think? I considered making it appear they had a falling out to try and pin it on one of them, but decided against it, as I realized that while it was a viable option, it just wasn't strategically sound long-term. It works, but something like that would only amplify public frenzy when all is said and done. It would be best to have each of them meet with an unfortunate accident once the storm blows over." Akechi said as Shido frowned and spoke up.

"Good point. Be honest with me here, Akechi. Is there any possibility they'll want to avenge their leader, or possibly install a new leader to continue their work? I recall you told me that their leader has a younger brother who shows a strategic aptitude to rival your own, and from what I've gathered, apparently he's said to have a certain charisma to him that could rival my own. I have my suspicions about this, but I'm keeping my cards close to my chest for the time being." Shido asked Akechi, who sneered before darkly laughing as he spoke up.

"No chance. They're nothing but cattle anyways, the lot of them. And even if they did install the younger brother as leader, it matters little to me. He might have a keen strategic mind, but he lacks the experience and resolve to truly be a good leader. That said, they have no backbone without his guidance. I will keep my eye on them, just in case though. You do raise a good point about the younger brother being a potential threat." Akechi said as Shido nodded and spoke up.

"Good, see that you do. Oh, but one thing? If you do make a move, do not kill the younger Amamiya sibling! Leave that for me. If my suspicions about him are right, I want to finish him off myself. That said, I'll be counting on you." Shido said as Akechi nodded and spoke up.

"If you're referring to that list you had me plant at the panel to try and pique the interest of the younger Amamiya brother, that was done to success. However, I wonder why you wanted that planted. I did see an Amamiya on that list, but I didn't think much of it since Amamiya's not that uncommon of a last name. And it's not as if that Amamiya on the list is related to the two we've been discussing, right? That said, they will live their lives cowering in fear of death. An apt punishment for obstructing our work. And no, I don't plan to kill the younger Amamiya brother. I instead plan to confront him directly when the time comes, as I sensed a certain potential from him." Akechi said as Shido nodded and spoke up.

"Very well, so be it. And make sure to kill that strange cat once you find it as well. I don't want it causing any further problems." Shido instructed as Akechi spoke up on the other end.

"Understood, though I doubt there is anything to worry about. It's merely a cat, after all." Akechi said as the camera panned back to him as he kept speaking.

"But more importantly, they should be dealing with the suicide right about now. Things will become quite busy when the word gets out of his death. As such, I'll need to prepare my comments on the matter." Akechi said as Shido spoke up.

"Agreed. I must be prepared to deal with it on my end as well. Beyond that, let us move onto other matters. What of the director of the Special Investigations Unit?" Shido asked as Akechi smirked and spoke up.

"Him? Oh, not to worry. Perhaps he'll be struck by a mysterious illness sometime soon, if you catch my drift." Akechi said ominously...

(At that same time, in the office of the SIU director)

"Ngh, what the hell!? No, is this what I think it is? It can't be possible! This simply cannot be!" The SIU Director said as he clutched his chest and hunched over his desk as he spoke up.

"E-Even me!? G-God effing damn it! Sh-Shid-" The SIU Director said, only getting as far as part of a name before falling face-first onto his desk, very clearly dead...

(Back at the station, with Sae)

Sae sighed as she spoke up, confused as to how things had ended up playing out the way they did.

"Ugh, how could this be?" Sae asked as the phone she had went off while she spoke up, making her pick up the phone to look at it.

"What was all that about, showing him this phone? Wait, what? The Phantom Thief Alibaba? Who is this?" Sae asked as a distorted voice came from the phone right then.

"I am Alibaba, a member of the Phantom Thieves. I inquire as to your justice, Sae Niijima." The voice said as Sae gasped and spoke up.

"How do they know I have this!?" Sae asked as the voice kept speaking, seemingly ignoring Sae's question.

"Goro Akechi is evil. He didn't come to interrogate the captured phantom thief. He came to kill him." Alibaba's voice said as a familiar recording was played.

"We could say he stole the guard's gun and committed suicide during his imprisonment, if you want it to be believable. How about that? Ah, yes, the guard will be one of ours. We'll have to eliminate him after to destroy the evidence though, just to be safe." The full recording played, making Sae gasp as she spoke up.

"Oh! What have I done!?" Sae said as she turned to go back to where Joker was being held as Alibaba's voice came over the phone once more.

"Don't trust the guard, either. He's an accomplice as well." Alibaba's voice said as a male voice replaced hers at that point, a different male voice than the recording.

"But at the same time, don't eliminate the guard if you can help it. You're there to save the captured phantom thief, not become a murderer, Sae Niijima. Do right by Joker, and in turn, Joker will do right by you." The male voice said ominously. Alibaba's voice then spoke up once more.

"Yes, well, all I can say to that is to heed Draconis' words, Sae Niijima. Now then, back on topic, I'll tell you detailed steps to take. You must save Joker, or as he might have signed a certain confession, Ren Amamiya." Alibaba said as Sae frowned and spoke up.

"Me? You want me to go back and save him?" Sae said as she walked back towards the room as another flash of purple happened and Sae winced as she felt a slight headache.

"Nnh, what was that?" Sae said before looking around as she walked back towards the interrogation room, where the confused guard spoke up.

"Oh!" The guard said in surprise as Sae spoke up kindly.

"What is it?" Sae asked the guard, who spoke up in surprise and confusion.

"U-Um, nothing. Nothing at all. Anyway, what brings you here? I thought you were done with your business, Prosecutor Niijima?" The guard asked as Sae spoke up.

"I had something I wanted to check. Also, I have a question. Did anyone else stop by?" Sae asked as the guard didn't reply, making Sae sigh as she spoke up.

"So, nobody?" Sae asked as the guard shook his head and spoke up.

"Nope. Th-There'd be no reason for anyone else to come down here!" The guard said evasively as Sae once more recalled what she'd heard on the recording about a planted guard that was on borrowed time. Sae looked at the guard while speaking to herself.

"So, it's all true, then." Sae said to herself, making the guard wince, as he'd heard the comment, and speak up.

"O-Of course it's true! Is something the matter?" The guard said as Sae made a snap decision and spoke up.

"It's Akechi-kun. He had to take a sudden call, so he won't be able to make it down today." Sae said as the guard blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, huh?" The guard asked as Sae nodded and spoke up.

"That's right. I've been asked to handle things instead." Sae said as the flustered guard spoke up.

"Y-You? But that's not what I was told?" The guard said in confusion. Sae spoke up while looking at the guard.

"You know, it seems rather obvious to me that if you stay here, they'll likely get rid of you to eliminate any evidence. I suggest you go into hiding at once if you value your life." Sae said as the guard nodded and spoke up.

"Y-Yes, ma'am. I'll do as you suggest." The guard said as Sae frowned and spoke up.

"Good. And don't say a word of what transpired here. Trust nobody. Forget this ever happened." Sae said to the guard, who nodded as he walked off, leaving Sae alone outside the interrogation room...

(At that same time, elsewhere in town with Ann)

"And now we return to our continued report. This morning, the police have announced that they have detained a suspect who may in fact be the leader of the Phantom Thieves group." The newscaster said as Ann looked over her sunglasses at the TV, a shocked look on her face, not seeing the concerned looks the cameramen were giving her as she listened to the newscaster continue to speak.

"The suspect is reported to be a young man who is still a minor." The newscaster said as Ann heard her name being called and turned to face the direction of the voice calling her name.

"Ann-chan. Can I get you to look over here?" The cameraman asked Ann, who turned and gave a sheepish look to the cameraman as she bowed while speaking up.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry." Ann said as the cameraman spoke up, having also heard the newscaster speak.

"Hm? Ah, so he got caught. That group sure was something." The cameraman said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Y-Yeah, they sure were." Ann said half-heartedly, internally worried for Ren, but also for the group as a whole. The cameraman then spoke up, not seeing the concerned look in Ann's eyes as he spoke.

"So, the next shoot got me thinking. How 'bout we have you do an idol theme, y'know? That cool?" The cameraman asked Ann.

(Meanwhile, at the same time, in a different part of town with Ryuji)

"What a surprise. To think the one behind all this is just a minor." One newscaster said on a TV as the other spoke up as the camera panned to the inside of what appeared to be a shoe shop where a pair of blue running shoes was zoomed in on as the other newscaster spoke.

"But considering how quickly they announced his arrest, the police must surely be confident in the outcome of this case." The other newscaster said as the camera slowly re-focused to show Ryuji looking into the window of the shoe shop at the shoes in question. Ryuji blinked as he heard someone speak up behind him.

"Hm? Well I'll be darned!" Ryuji heard, turning to see a smiling lady looking at him as she kept speaking.

"Goodness, look at you now! It's been a while, Ryuji!" The lady said to Ryuji, who smiled, apparently knowing the lady. Ryuji then nodded as he spoke up.

"Huh? Uh, yeah, that's right." Ryuji said as the lady kept speaking.

"You stopped visiting so abruptly, everyone was worried about you. It's your second year, right? Are you still doing track and field? I'd love to see you run again." The lady said to Ryuji, who just winced, not really sure how to reply to her.

(At the same time, at Kosei High with Yusuke)

"Also, the young man continues to remain silent, refusing to implicate any potential accomplices. However, considering the number of charges brought against him, it's unlikely that he was working alone." The newscaster said as a group of girls who were sharing a phone to watch the news gaped at this before turning as one to look behind them, where Yusuke was staring at a near-blank canvas and not moving an inch. One of the girls looked towards Yusuke and spoke up.

"Hm? I wonder if something happened to Kitagawa-kun?" The girl said as the other two girls both spoke up in unison.

"Yeah." Both of the other girls said at the same time. They then relocated elsewhere as they heard the footfalls of an approaching teacher, who walked over to Yusuke and spoke up in a kindly voice.

"You seem stumped for once, Kitagawa-kun. Not feeling it today?" The teacher asked Yusuke in a genuinely concerned tone, making Yusuke turn to face the teacher as he spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, uh, yes, that's right. I'm just trying to visualize my next piece, that's all." Yusuke said honestly. The teacher smiled kindly as he spoke up.

"Oh, I'm not chiding you. Just do it as normal at your own pace. With your skills, there's no need to worry about your future." The teacher said encouragingly to Yusuke before walking off, leaving Yusuke to give some thought to the teacher's words. After a bit, Yusuke frowned and spoke to himself softly.

"Normal, hm? Right, just act as if everything is normal." Yusuke said to himself hollowly, only just refraining from laughing at that point.

(Meanwhile, at the Sakura household, in Futaba's room with Futaba)

"He's just a high-school student. How do you think he was contacting the others?" One of the newscasters asked the other, who spoke up.

"The police here can search through any online communications. His accomplices may slip up eventually. Still, it seems the Phantom Thieves' most recent targets have gone comatose." The other newscaster said as Futaba grunted, her finger hovering over a number, as if wanting to dial it, but refraining, partly out of wanting to figure this out alone, and partly out of not wanting to worry Kasumi, but also knowing that someone else was handling Kasumi. Futaba then looked over at an IM that had come in on her computer screen and read it.

"irl resistance is fun but risky af. even the phantom thieves got busted." Futaba saw a person with the screenname 'HoneyOTU' post. She then saw another post from a 'KANAMINprpr' which read 'People should just chill. Don't throw your life away for 15 mins of fame.', making Futaba frown at this as she listened to the news continue. *1*

"Given their lack of physical violence, their method is still a mystery. Regardless, the police are looking into attempted murder charges." Futaba heard as she sat cross-legged in front of her computer screen and got to work typing.

(At the same time, at Shujin Academy with Makoto and the vice principal)

"You never turned it in? That's quite the surprise. I thought I lost it this whole time! Hahahaha!" The vice-principal said as Makoto bowed while apologizing, making the vice-principal smile at her as he spoke up.

"Well, your grades are excellent, AND you're the student council president. I'm sure you'll be admitted anywhere you apply. You know, that one phantom thief should have followed your example. Did you hear? It seems he was caught. Some high schooler. I wonder why he turned to a life of crime." The vice principal said while reading through a file as Makoto winced, not sure how to answer that, instead turning to look out the window at the setting sun.

(At that same time, on the other side of town with Kusa and Morgana)

"Jeez, Morgana. How long do we have to listen to these ignorant sheep tear Ren's public image apart like this? I get that we're doing it for a reason, but it still sucks." Kusa said in slight annoyance, crossing his arms with a frown as Morgana spoke up with a smirk.

"Just relax, Kusa. Once the plan works, we'll be the ones having the last laugh. And I mean all of us by that, including our allies. So just try to focus on that." Morgana said as Kusa nodded agreeably as Morgana ducked into Kusa's bag as he disappeared into the building he and Morgana had walked towards, having planned on surprising a certain someone inside while thanking them for their assistance recently.

(Meanwhile, in a traffic jam on the highway, inside a limo with Haru and her fiance)

"We also received information that the young man was placed on probation for assault." One newscaster said to the other as Haru and her fiance listened to the news on a small drop-down television in the back of a limo while the other newscaster spoke up.

"Because of his previous record, he had to leave his hometown with a court-appointed overseer. Perhaps his motive lies there." The other newscaster said as Haru's fiance sneered and spoke up.

"Ah, I believe your father can rest in peace now. That Phantom Thief could never have changed anything. Only a handful of people are qualified to alter the world." Haru's fiance said before giving her an intrigued look while he kept speaking, seemingly changing the subject.

"So, you've been coming home late. That's what I've heard. Hm, but never mind that." Haru's fiance said before leaning forward to gently stroke Haru's hair as he continued to speak, ignoring the wince Haru made at his gesture, seemingly trying to not react to her fiance running his hands through her hair, despite clearly not enjoying it.

"I make quite a good playmate, you know." Haru's fiance said as Haru frowned but said nothing to her fiance's words. Haru then audibly gasped as the newscaster suddenly spoke up again.

"This just in! We have breaking news! The young man held in police custody has committed suicide! The police have confirmed his death, although details have not been released. To repeat, the suspect has committed suicide while in custody." The newscaster said as Haru gasped and shot to her feet, gently brushing off her fiance's hand in the process as she looked at the TV in horror.

(Back with Ann)

"This station will continue to report any further updates as they arrive." The newscaster said as Ann turned a wide-eyed look of horror at the TV as the news of Ren's apparent demise had been announced, leaving Ann speechless.

(Meanwhile, with Futaba)

Futaba gasped as she increased the intensity of her efforts as she listened to the news in the background.

"It will be difficult to uncover his methods now. Perhaps that's why he decided to take this course of action." The newscaster said.

(Back with Kusa and Morgana)

The camera showed the outside of a building before panning inside to show a slack-jawed Kusa looking at the nearby screen in disbelief, having just heard the announcement of Ren's apparent death. But if he was shocked, that reaction was nothing on the reaction of the distraught red-head currently sobbing into his chest at hearing that her boyfriend was seemingly dead. Meanwhile, the not-cat in Kusa's bag just quietly chuckled to himself, knowing the plan was proceeding smoothly.

As for Kusa, he just instinctively put his arms around Kasumi comfortingly while letting her break down crying into his shirt, also stunned to hear that his brother was seemingly gone, but trying to keep an unreadable look on his face, though internally he was cursing Ren out six ways from Sunday in his head for putting him in this rather precarious position with Kasumi.

(Back at Shujin, with Makoto)

Makoto gasped in horror, documents flying everywhere on the ground after falling from her hands as she gasped in horror at the announcement of Ren's demise. Makoto then covered her mouth as she spoke up in shock, as well as slight grief.

"No! It can't be true. Not Ren." Makoto said in horror.

(Meanwhile, in the underground walkway)

As some trains drove by, the camera showed a stunned Yusuke looking at his phone in horror, speaking up in shock.

"My word, how could this be!?" Yusuke said in disbelief.

(Back at the shoe shop, with Ryuji)

Ryuji shook with a mix of grief, rage, and shock, eventually speaking up.

"No way. You're shittin' me, right? How could he be gone?" Ryuji asked in shock. After a moment, however, the camera zoomed in on his face which slowly morphed from a look of shock to a smug grin as he had one thought run through his head in that moment.

"Heh. We got 'em good. I feel bad for those that weren't in the know, but that just makes their reactions more genuine. Hopefully Kusa and Ann kept their reactions believable." Ryuji said to himself in his head smugly.

(A short time later, in the Velvet Room with Ren, Igor, Caroline and Justine)

Ren got to his feet before approaching the door of his Velvet Room cell, making Igor chuckle as he spoke up.

"How unfortunate, Inmate. It would seem as though you have been killed. But why were you killed? Why did you have to die? Do you remember? It seems you forgot an important fact while your consciousness was hazy. Indeed, you forgot that your 'death' was a necessity for your escape from certain doom. Heheh. What a tremendous plan. How might you be capable of executing such a feat? Well then, let us rouse the memories which are missing from your subconscious." Igor said as Ren nodded, flashing back to when he first sensed things were amiss, which as he recalled was during the school festival...

(Flashback- day of the school festival, at the PE faculty office with Ren, Kusa and Morgana)

While everyone except for Ren, Kusa, and Morgana left the room, Kusa leaned down to scoop up a slip of paper he'd seen lying on the ground where Akechi had previously been standing. Meanwhile, Morgana looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Hey, they're going? In any case, I see you realized it too, then. Maybe we didn't need Kusa to spell it out for you after all." Morgana said as Ren's mind wavered before he recalled more details while Morgana kept speaking.

"That said, you realized it the same time Kusa did, didn't you? It was our conversation about pancakes, right? As Kusa aptly pointed out that day, there's no way he could've reacted like that if he hadn't heard and understood me." Morgana said to Ren, who nodded as he spoke up.

"True. I think Kusa himself put it best that day. No chance in hell we can trust Akechi. Sure, he might act like he wants to help, but doubtless he's working his own agenda." Ren said as Kusa and Morgana nodded approvingly, the latter smiling as he spoke up.

"Agreed, Ren. My thoughts exactly. I remember the day we first met Akechi rather vividly, as I'm sure does Kusa." Morgana said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Of course I do. How could I forget that day? Even before Akechi-kun showed his face, that day was a pain. It was the day of our social studies trip, was it not?" Kusa said to Morgana, who nodded and spoke up.

"That's correct. It was the day of you guys' social studies trip. Granted, none of us counted on Kasumi's dad having the clout to get your first-year class invited as well, Kusa. But back on topic, we met Akechi in the hallway of that TV station when it was just you, me, Ren, Lady Ann, and Ryuji." Morgana said as the screen flashed back to a shot of Ann, Ryuji, Ren, Kusa and Morgana standing in the hall of the TV studio, before cutting back to Morgana as he kept speaking.

"In any case, there's no way that this is the first time he's heard my voice." Morgana said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed! I wouldn't be surprised in the least to find that Akechi-kun's trying to play us." Kusa said, crossing his arms as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"I concur, Kusa. This whole deal feels sketchy." Morgana said as Ren spoke up at that point.

"I agree. That's why our first move should be doing some research into Akechi-kun, so we can be two steps ahead of him if he does try anything. Not that I'll have to do much to get Kusa onboard with that." Ren said as Kusa smirked and nodded agreeably. Morgana nodded as well while he spoke up.

"Yeah, I agree. That was my plan too. Okay, since we're agreed, let's get everyone else on the same page right away." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded, the latter discreetly tucking the folded-up slip of paper into his pocket.

(Time skip- that night, in the attic of Leblanc with Kusa, Ren, Morgana and Futaba)

"Ugh, sorry to bother you so late with all this Futaba, but there's something else we want you to look into." Morgana said as Ren recalled more details of that conversation, as Morgana spoke up.

"One more person has been on our mind. If it's possible, I want to eavesdrop on their phone conversation." Morgana said as Kusa blinked at the request, but Futaba spoke up before he could do so.

"Hm, that'll be tough, but it's doable." Futaba said as Ren spoke up.

"I know it's a lot to ask of you, but we really need this assist from you, Futaba." Ren said. Morgana nodded as he spoke up.

"Right. It's a necessity." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"Be that as it may, you two do realize we're going to owe Taba one hell of a thank you after all this if she does agree to this, right?" Kusa said sagely, crossing his arms as he waited to see Futaba's reaction, not having long to wait as she spoke up.

"Hmmm, Kusa raises a good point. And it won't be easy. To start, I'd have to plant a bug directly on the phone without Akechi suspecting a thing. And this is the 'Detective Prince' we're talking about here." Futaba said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Ugh, I'd forgotten about that flashy-ass title of his." Kusa said dryly as Morgana sighed and looked at Futaba before speaking up.

"So it's impossible even for you, then?" Morgana asked Futaba as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Did Taba say it was impossible, Morgana? I didn't hear her say any such thing that I can recall." Kusa said gently but firmly. Futaba nodded as she spoke up, stamping her feet in annoyance while glaring at Morgana before she spoke.

"Exactly, Kusa! You get it! Also, I didn't say it was impossible!" Futaba said before cutely stroking her chin in thought before smiling as she spoke up.

"Hm, okay! I've got a plan!" Futaba said before swooshing Morgana over to listen to the plan after waiting for Kusa to listen in as well. She then whispered the plan into the ear of Morgana, keeping it at a level that Kusa could also hear, leaving both Morgana and Kusa to give Futaba impressed looks as the former spoke up.

"Ooh, not bad, Futaba. That's perfect." Morgana said with a closed-eye grin. Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Naturally. If anyone can pull that off, Taba can." Kusa said proudly. Ren gave the trio an amused smirk as he spoke up.

"Oh? What kind of plan are we talking about here? Or am I not meant to be privy to that information?" Ren said as Kusa laughed at Ren's question before Morgana spoke up with a closed-eye smile on his face.

"An incredible one." Morgana said as Futaba gestured for Ren to walk over so she could whisper the plan into his ear. Ren blinked as he heard the plan. Apparently, Futaba's going to do something? Ren idly wondered if whatever it was would be okay. Futaba smiled eagerly as she pumped her fists excitedly before speaking up, ignoring the amused smile on Kusa's face while she spoke, knowing that he enjoyed her cute quirks.

"This is gonna be fun! I can't wait!" Futaba said with a wide-eyed smile as she giggled in excitement.

(Time skip- some days later, in an interrogation room in the Metaverse with Yusuke, Makoto, Kusa, and Futaba)

"Ah, I see. So we're going to use this place for the plan?" Yusuke asked as Makoto nodded and spoke up, a worried look on her face as she spoke.

"Correct. Even then, it'll be a gamble whether we can pull it off or not." Makoto said as Futaba spoke up eagerly.

"I think it's gonna work. You can't tell a thing." Futaba said as Kusa spoke up.

"True. I can't even tell the difference, and I'd like to think I have one of the better eyes for detail among our group, as Yusuke here took notice of when he first joined." Kusa said with a smile. The others just nodded.

(Back in the present, in the Velvet Room with Igor, Caroline, Justine, and Ren)

"Hm. It seems you finally remember everything. That said, this 'game' is not over yet. There are still things that must be done." Igor said as Ren nodded, realizing that his memories were starting to become clearer, even now. He then nodded, realizing something else. He fully recalled what had truly happened to him in the moment that most everyone in the nation, including Akechi, believed him to have died...

(Flashback to the day of Ren's 'death')

Akechi smirked to himself as he left the room after killing Ren. As he walked away, he didn't look back once, which was unfortunate for him, since if he had, he'd have seen the dead security guard dissolve into black mist...

(At the same time, in the real world interrogation room with Ren)

As Ren sat alone in the interrogation room, he felt the shift in the Metaverse and smirked a triumphant grin, knowing he'd done all he could...

(Flashback ends. The next evening, in a taxi with Ren)

Ren felt exhausted as he vaguely heard the sound of a vehicle moving, feeling as if his consciousness was about to fade away from him. He then registered hearing Sae's voice as she spoke up.

"Amamiya! Hey, are you all right? Don't fall asleep until we reach our destination. Amamiya-kun, are you listening?" Sae asked as Ren groggily nodded, idly wondering if his current feelings of grogginess was the effect of the drug wearing off? The memories he'd thought were lost to him were slowly beginning to come back to him...

(Flashback to the day before the raid on Sae's Palace, in the attic of Leblanc with Makoto, Yusuke, Haru, Morgana, Futaba, Ann, Kusa, Ryuji, and Ren)

"Hey! Are you listening?" Makoto asked Ren. Ren nodded as he spoke up.

"Yes, Makoto. I am listening. Don't worry." Ren said reassuringly. Morgana nodded as he spoke up.

"Good. Anyway, we need to talk about how to get out of this situation." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up from the chair he was sitting on just behind Ann, a frown on his face while he spoke.

"That's true. And no matter how cathartic it might be, I know that the answer isn't taking out Akechi before he can spring his trap on us. I still can't believe I was right this entire time about that rat bastard, though. And here I was, actually starting to not only respect Akechi-kun, but I think I even was taking a slight liking to him too." Kusa said with a surprisingly sad/disappointed sounding sigh as Makoto gave Kusa a reassuring smile before she spoke up.

"That just shows that you're maturing, Kusa. But back on topic. Futaba's monitoring of Akechi's phone has confirmed it beyond a shadow of a doubt. He did indeed have an ulterior motive." Makoto said as Ryuji nodded agreeably and spoke up.

"Agreed. And not just that, it's on a completely different level than just that." Ryuji said as Makoto smiled at Ryuji's observation before speaking up.

"That's right, sweetie. Not only was he trying to frame us, but he was the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns the entire time. His offer to assist us was simply a ploy to frame the Phantom Thieves, and more than that, kill Ren." Makoto said as Kusa growled under his breath before speaking up.

"How dare he! It's one thing to threaten me, or even take a shot at me, since I can handle that. But I draw the line at him threatening those I care about." Kusa said bitterly as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Understandable, Kusa. Back on topic, though. If we go into Sis' Palace as he suggests, we'll likely be met by a large ambush of police forces." Makoto said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up with a shudder.

"Wow. To think he would be this far gone at this point. I know now what it means to feel a chill down my spine. Furthermore, he wishes to bring a police squad from reality into the Palace the day of the heist." Yusuke said as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly. And to make matters worse, it's not out of the realm of possibility for him to do so. After all, if the nine of us can enter at once, it's not inconceivable to think a larger group is possible. He may even be able to bring in vehicles or other special pieces of equipment." Makoto said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"So this really was just a setup to shift the blame onto us while keeping suspicions off of him." Ann said as Morgana spoke up.

"Exactly, Lady Ann! He made us go after Okumura, then once we triggered the change of heart, we killed him. And I think you can guess what that means from there, Kusa." Morgana said as Kusa nodded and spoke up in a resigned tone.

"Indeed I can. That likely also means Akechi is the bastard who taunted me that day after gunning down President Okumura. I think, at this time, we can conclusively agree that Akechi is most likely the Black Mask that we've been tracking this whole time. And if that's true, then I get first dibs on fighting that two-faced son of a bitch! I haven't forgotten what he did to me the last time he and I fought. While I can handle him giving me a wake-up call like he did, I draw the line at him threatening my friends and family!" Kusa said resolutely, Ren giving Kusa a proud smile as he saw the look of resolve in Kusa's eyes. Haru then spoke up with a frown.

"Not only that, Kusa-kun. He also lied to us! He looked us all in the eyes and said he had seen the true culprit and almost been killed by him, when in reality, it was him the entire time!" Haru said as Ryuji snarled and spoke up.

"Truth, Haru! And what's worse, the whole time he was workin' with Makoto's sister, he was really just some homicidal maniac! C'mon, we gotta take that bastard Akechi down! Isn't that recording that we got enough proof to do it!?" Ryuji asked as Makoto shook her head while Kusa spoke up.

"Not if we want the proof to be legally admissible in a court of law, as ironic as that is." Kusa said bitterly as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Precisely, Kusa! And no, Ryuji. Akechi is merely a tool. His orders come from elsewhere, I'm sure. The grand mastermind behind this all." Makoto said as Kusa scoffed and spoke up.

"Gee, what a shock. There's a bigger fish behind the scenes pulling Akechi's strings. Of course there is. There's always a bigger fish." Kusa said wryly as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed, Kusa. And that 'bigger fish' as you put it in this case is no doubt an unimaginable fiend capable of arranging the murder of a suspect inside of a police station with ease." Makoto said as Kusa's eyes narrowed, a theory coming to him that he kept to himself for the time being as he didn't have quite enough proof to verify it yet. Yusuke then spoke up with a frown.

"I concur, Makoto. And unless we find out who that is, we will continue being targeted, even if we manage to defeat Akechi somehow." Yusuke said as Haru frowned and spoke up.

"But, if that's true, what means do we have of learning his identity?" Haru said as Kusa spoke up.

"Normally, I'd say we could just have Taba work her magic and try to hack the information outta Akechi, but I don't think it'll be that easy in this case." Kusa said as Futaba smiled at Kusa's suggestion while Yusuke spoke up.

"Good idea, Kusa. And you're half-right. We will have to use Akechi to find out the identity of the true mastermind. Namely, we'll have to make Akechi say it somehow. Though, once we do, that mastermind will likely eliminate us." Yusuke said as Makoto spoke up.

"True. But I think that will be the case eventually regardless of whether or not we learn his identity." Makoto said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Be that as it may, if we prepare ourselves sufficiently and work together, I have faith that we can pull this off." Kusa said wisely. Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed, Kusa. But to be honest, the only reason it hasn't happened yet is because we're an easy target to blame for his crimes. If he realizes that's no longer possible and abandons that plan, he may opt to kill us immediately." Makoto said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Dammit, we're screwed, aren't we? So we don't got a choice but to go with that bastard's suggestion for the time being." Ryuji said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"True. But if we go into the Palace like we're told, Ren will get arrested and then Akechi will kill him." Ann said as Kusa's eyes hardened slightly at the suggestion of Akechi killing Ren, though Futaba spoke up before Kusa could say a word.

"Palace, you say?" Futaba said, before her eyes lit up with the beginnings of a plan.

"The Palace! Wait, that's it!" Futaba said to herself as Makoto spoke up.

"Actually, there's something I'd like to say regarding-" Makoto said as Futaba interrupted by speaking up to voice her thought.

"AHA! We can use the Palace to our advantage!" Futaba said as the others gave her shocked looks while Ann spoke up.

"Wh-What's this all of a sudden!?" Ann said as Futaba spoke up with a determined look on her face.

"There's a way to do this. A way to get past Akechi AND get the mastermind to lay off of us, all while learning his identity." Futaba said as Haru blinked and spoke up.

"Really!?" Haru said as Ryuji spoke up in surprise.

"For real!? You gotta be kidding me!" Ryuji said as Futaba spoke up, ignoring the identical wide-eyed looks of horror her next words would get from both Ren and Kusa as she spoke.

"If he wants to kill Ren, why not let him? That is, inside of a Palace. Mwehehe." Futaba said as Kusa gave Futaba an impressed look once he realized what she meant. Makoto then spoke up.

"Yes. We could have him kill the cognitive Ren, all the while believing he killed the real one." Makoto said as Futaba spoke up with a nod.

"Yeah, that's it!" Futaba said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"While I agree with this idea in theory, there are some VERY massive flaws in it that I feel need addressing. First of all, what do we tell Ren's other friends and everyone he hangs out with? I doubt very much that we wouldn't cause at least one of them to panic or have a breakdown if they hear that Ren died out of nowhere! And that's not even speaking of the fact he has a girlfriend to consider! Or were we planning to leave Kasumi in the dark on this!? I get that her reaction would be more believable if we do, but I don't look forward to having to see the hurt and devastated look in her eyes when she finds out about Ren's 'demise'.

Also, what of the reactions of Mom and Dad? I doubt very much this won't make the news if we let Ren get arrested and die. And I guarantee you that at the minimum, Mom will lose it when she hears that Ren 'died'. And that's not even talking about how upset Ren's dad will be. They both love him very much, after all. It was one of the hardest things they ever did, signing that court order to banish Ren and I to Yongen-Jaya for Ren's probation.

So they'll of course be devastated to hear he's dead. Are we going to let them suffer like that!? And that's not even talking about how crushed Sojiro will be if he hears about Ren dying! He might not act like it at times, but I know for a fact he loves both Ren and I like sons. So I don't like the idea of making him think Ren is dead for any period of time." Kusa said anxiously as Ren and Futaba exchanged winces, as they realized that Kusa had raised some very valid points with his words. Makoto then spoke up uneasily.

"As much as I hear and respect your concerns Kusa-kun, I'm sorry, but I think that our plan is our only option right now. We'll just have to deal with all the necessary apologies when the time comes. But for now, the less people who know the truth of this, the better. Now listen closely, everyone. I have a plan for how we can carry this operation out. But we have to do it exactly as I say." Makoto said as the group listened in to Makoto's plan...

(Back in the present, at Leblanc with Sojiro)

"Ever since the death of their teenage leader, the Phantom Thieves have fallen silent. However, the police intend on continuing this investigation until the case is fully solved." The newscaster said as Sojiro looked at the TV, still stunned at the plan that the group upstairs was pulling off, even if he knew not all of them were pleased with it. At that point, the door opened and a female voice spoke up.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I had to finish a few things at work. Where are they?" Sae asked Sojiro, who smirked as he spoke up.

"With one exception, they're waiting upstairs. Go tell them to come on down. I'm gonna fetch them." Sojiro said as he walked out the door, leaving a confused Sae to do as Sojiro asked, unaware of just who the exception was that Sojiro meant...

(A few hours previous, in the early hours of the morning, at the Sakura household with Sojiro, Kusa, and Ren)

"Kusa! Wake up, Kusa!" Sojiro said, gently shaking Kusa awake, making him groan lightly as he sat up, blinking as he saw Sojiro and speaking up while looking at Sojiro.

"Sojiro? What's up?" Kusa asked, giving Sojiro a confused look, making him smile as he spoke up.

"Sorry to wake you so early Kusa, but I have a surprise that I think you'll want to see. Get dressed and join me outside." Sojiro said as a confused Kusa just nodded, quickly doing as told before following Sojiro out front, only to smile as he saw who else was standing there, walking forward to throw his arms around the other person and give them a manly one-armed hug as he spoke up with a relieved smile.

"Ren! Oh thank God, you're all right! I'm glad you're safe! You scared the crap out of a lot of people, you know! Not least of all, both myself and Kasumi! I mean, I know it was part of the plan, but I legitimately thought you'd died for a second when I heard that announcement. And that's nothing to how hard Kasumi took that news. I swear, I must have had her crying into my shirt for a good 20+ minutes before she finally cried herself out and I was able to carefully set her on a bench to sleep it off while praying she won't be too mad at us both for making her think you died.

And for the record? This is precisely the reason why I was against this plan in the first place! So I hope for your sake, you have a damned good plan for making it up to her, Ren! But never mind that now, you're back safe and sound, and that's what matters." Kusa said happily as Ren nodded, smirking as he lightly patted Kusa's shoulders comfortingly while speaking up.

"That's true. Speaking of which, you did make sure to warn Mom about the plan as we discussed, right? That way she could prepare Dad and the two of them could convincingly fake their reactions to the news while knowing I'm safe. You were right to bring up their reactions before, you know." Ren said as Kusa nodded agreeably before he spoke up.

"That's fair. And yes, I took care of it, Ren. Needless to say, I shocked the hell out of Mom by calling her out of nowhere like I did, but she was grateful for the heads-up, but told me to tell you, and I quote, 'Ren has an earful coming from me later for agreeing to such a foolish and dangerous plan! But I'm also proud of him for being so selfless and willing to risk himself for others.' Needless to say Ren, you owe a few people an apology at some point in the future." Kusa said wisely as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"That's true, Kusa. But also, I'm glad you were able to play your part so convincingly and do such an admirable job stepping up in my absence as leader. I'm sorry to put that sort of burden on your shoulders, but I saw for myself that you can handle it. So I feel even more confident in naming you the proper successor to the leader spot should it ever actually be necessary. For what it's worth? I'm proud of you for being able to put the mission first. I can only imagine how livid you are with Akechi right now, but I respect that you're worrying about others before yourself." Ren said proudly as Kusa smiled and spoke up, blue music notes going up over his head as he spoke.

"Of course, Ren. I know that there are more important things than revenge, after all. Unlike Akechi-kun, I don't let my issues stop me from doing what's right or use them as a crutch to be an absolute effing douche and scumbag. And I owe that to not just you, but the rest of the team. So thank you for forming the team, Ren. It's helped all of us grow tremendously as people." Kusa said happily as Ren nodded, feeling a strong surge of trust and camaraderie from Kusa.

At that point, the 'World' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'VIII' turning into an 'IX' to signify that his World Confidant link with Kusa had reached Rank 9. As a result of the rank up, Kusa had awakened to the power of 'Protect', enabling him to step in and take one piece of otherwise mortal damage for Ren during a battle. Afterwards, Kusa and Ren smiled as the latter spoke up.

"Kusa, I appreciate you saying that. But I don't quite think you've let go of all of your issues just yet, which is fine if true. I trust you to handle that yourself in your own time." Ren said as Sojiro spoke up at that point after walking over.

"As touching as this moment of brotherly bonding is, the others are waiting for Ren to 'return'. So can we head back towards Leblanc?" Sojiro asked Ren and Kusa, who nodded as they followed Sojiro to Leblanc...

(Meanwhile, back at Leblanc, on the ground floor with Yusuke, Haru, Makoto, Futaba, Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, and Sae)

"You're Sae-san, or Makoto's sister, correct?" Haru asked Sae. Sae nodded as she spoke up with a smile.

"That's right. Makoto told me everything." Sae said before turning to Futaba with a remorseful look on her face.

"I realize this is probably something I should be waiting for the others for, but I can always repeat myself later if needed. That said, I'm sorry that I caused you so much trouble this past summer. Can you forgive me?" Sae said to Futaba, who cutely scuffed her shoe on the ground and nodded as she spoke up.

"Eh, it's ancient history now." Futaba said as Morgana smirked and spoke up.

"Too bad Kusa wasn't here to see this. He'd have enjoyed watching Niijima-san the elder apologize to Futaba. I recall he was quite irate with how she treated not just Futaba, but Boss as well." Morgana said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Truth, Morgana! But man, that goddamn detective!" Ryuji snarled angrily as the door opened and Sojiro's voice could be heard speaking up as Kusa walked in, as if summoned by Ryuji saying his name, and stood next to Futaba, smiling as he heard Sojiro speak up.

"Look who's here." Sojiro said as Ren walked in at that point, getting swarmed by everyone except Sae and Kusa. Ryuji smirked as he lightly punched Ren on the shoulder playfully and spoke up.

"Hey, you big bastard!" Ryuji said to Ren, ignoring the mock-huff from Kusa at his choice of words. Ann then spoke up, giving Ren a closed-eye smile, relieved to see him alive and well.

"How've you been?" Ann asked Ren, who spoke up.

"Eh, I've been worse, Ann. I mean, I 'died', after all." Ren said jokingly as Kusa frowned at the off humor. Ann giggled at the joke as she spoke up.

"You must be fine if you're joking around like that." Ann said as Kusa spoke up.

"True. Though I don't know that I approve of him joking about dying. But I've already voiced my frustrations with him about this plan, so I won't re-hash them here." Kusa said with a sigh. Futaba smiled and lightly patted Kusa on the shoulder reassuringly as Makoto spoke up.

"Ren, it truly is a relief to see your face." Makoto said as Ryuji did a closed-eye smirk and spoke up.

"Truth! I bet that moron Akechi don't even know we tricked him yet!" Ryuji said smugly as Kusa spoke up.

"As long as you think about where you are before you say that Ryuji, it should remain that way." Kusa said bluntly as Sojiro spoke up.

"While that's true, I find what you all pulled off amazing. Still, how'd you pull this off? Isn't this guy considered dead?" Sojiro said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"To most of the world? Yes. But to those closest to Ren, for the most part? No. I'll admit that I had my reservations about keeping some of us out of the loop, but grudgingly had to concede that it was for the best that we have some of our allies genuinely out of the loop for the moment. Still, I don't look forward to dealing with the pissed-off hell that is Kasumi's wrath once she realizes that Ren's alive and none of us told her about it. But I'll trust that Ren has a good plan up his sleeve for making it up to her." Kusa said. Makoto blinked at this and spoke up in surprise while looking at Sojiro.

"You weren't told anything?" Makoto asked Sojiro as Kusa frowned at her and spoke up.

"Of course he wasn't. I recall that you yourself vetoed it when I suggested we bring him into the loop on this. What were your exact words again, Makoto? Oh, right. 'The less people who know about this plan, the less risk of it leaking to the enemy in the long run. Also, the less who are in the know, the better off we are.' You're lucky I agreed with that logic too, Makoto. Still, he knows now, so I suppose it's better that he knows about it late rather than never, right?" Kusa said as Makoto blinked and spoke up.

"I heard from her that my sister brought him here though." Makoto said as Sojiro frowned and spoke up.

"Yeah. She came over in a taxi, dumped him off, and told me to keep him safe. It was right after they announced that he had 'died', too. Almost gave me a heart attack." Sojiro said with a frown, not hearing Kusa huff and grumble what sounded suspiciously like 'join the club' under his breath as Sae spoke up.

"I didn't have time to explain at the time." Sae said as Ryuji spoke up with a frown.

"Hey, shouldn't we tell Boss what really happened? As you yourself pointed out Kusa, Boss here is a trustworthy man." Ryuji said as Kusa nodded approvingly as Makoto spoke up to explain the plan.

"We wanted to make our enemy believe that the leader of the Phantom Thieves was dead." Makoto said as Sojiro blinked and spoke up.

"Wh-What?" Sojiro asked as Makoto spoke up.

"What we did was make that enemy kill his fake in the Metaverse." Makoto said as Sojiro blinked in confusion while he spoke up.

"H-Hold on a sec! Enemy? Fake? What're you talking about?" Sojiro asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Basically, a lot of this pertains to what Futaba's mom was researching while she was alive. That research ties into a place known as the 'Metaverse', where people can go to explore hidden sides of people's personalities, or more plainly put, their 'cognitions' of reality. As such, we made use of our current target's cognition to trick our enemy." Kusa said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, what Kusa said. The true culprit behind these incidents set us up. Our goal here was to determine their identity." Yusuke said as Sojiro blinked and spoke up.

"True culprit? Ah, I see, that makes sense. So you guys were going up against someone else." Sojiro said as Sae frowned and spoke up, ignoring the muffled string of swearing coming from Kusa at what she said next.

"It was Goro Akechi." Sae said, ignoring the shocked look on Sojiro's face to focus on Ren as she spoke up.

"You knew beforehand that he was the traitor, didn't you?" Sae asked Ren, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yes. Not only did he tip his hand to us early on, but he made the mistake of letting Kusa here get suspicious of him. You see, Kusa might not look like it, but he's the type of person who gets suspicious easily. Not only that, but once he gets suspicious of someone, he'll do whatever digging he has to to get concrete proof of ill intent on a person before confronting them. It was this trait that enabled us to figure out that something was up with Akechi when we first met him." Ren said. Ann nodded as she spoke up while Kusa crossed his arms with a smug smirk on his face at Ren giving him his due credit as Ann spoke.

"Exactly! Akechi himself gave us the chance to strike back. He made one fatal mistake." Ann said as Sae frowned and spoke up.

"Couldn't you have just said from the beginning that Akechi was the real culprit?" Sae asked as Kusa spoke up.

"With all due respect Niijima-san the elder, would you have believed us if we did? I seem to recall that at the time, you were still warped and consumed with determination to succeed. As such, you'd have more than likely simply dismissed our claims as here-say or fantasy." Kusa pointed out. Makoto nodded as she spoke up.

"What Kusa said. Also, that wasn't something we could simply bring up. We couldn't have you suspect Akechi, either. Besides, as Kusa just pointed out, neither you nor the other investigators would have believed something like that, would you?" Makoto said to Sae, who nodded as she spoke up.

"Fair enough. That's true. Akechi was credited with the arrest of the Phantom Thieves. Not even I would think he was the culprit if you'd told me then. In other words, you left him alone on purpose to lull him into a false sense of security while you prepared a very cunning and complex trap for him to fall into. That was a bold move." Sae said, giving the group an impressed look while Sojiro huffed and spoke up.

"God, I can't even keep up with any of this stuff right now. Uhh, but never mind that. What was this mistake Akechi made? What did he do?" Sojiro asked the group. Ann spoke up at that point with a smile.

"Basically, he slipped up in regards to Morgana's voice." Ann said as Sojiro frowned and spoke up.

"Morgana? You mean our cat?" Sojiro asked as Kusa nodded to Sojiro's question before he spoke up.

"It's a long story, Boss. But to sum it up, Morgana's more than he seems. But I don't know how much more detail I can get into and still have you believe what I tell you, since I'll admit some parts of the story are rather unbelievable if you don't see it for yourself." Kusa said understandingly to Sojiro. Ann nodded as she spoke up.

"Yes, Kusa is right. Morgana can talk." Ann said bluntly as Kusa groaned at the way Ann put that. He then spoke up with an unimpressed look on his face.

"Did you have to put it like that, Ann!? You know people who haven't heard him speak in the Metaverse won't be able to understand Morgana. So I don't expect Boss here to believe that for a moment. Sorry Morgana, but you have to admit that your current form and the implications that said form has on most people's cognitions lends themselves rather nicely to giving off the illusion that you're a cat.

And unless we somehow bring Boss into the Metaverse to hear you speak, I don't see him ever being able to understand you. Moreover, I don't think I want to give Taba a heart attack by dragging her dad into danger just to let him be able to understand you." Kusa said wisely as Morgana gave Kusa an understanding nod. Sojiro chuckled weakly while smiling gratefully to Kusa as he spoke up.

"Thank you for understanding my position in this, Kusa. And also, was that supposed to be a joke, Ann-chan?" Sojiro said. Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Oh! Our apologies. It might sound unbelievable, but that's completely true. And Kusa is right in what he says about those who can understand Morgana." Haru said apologetically. Morgana then spoke up.

"You surprised?" Morgana said with a smirk. Kusa swore under his breath as he saw the confused looks on the faces of Sae and Sojiro, both of whom clearly hadn't understood what Morgana said. Sae then spoke up.

"Does that mean, if he can speak, that he said something just now as well?" Sae asked as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Yes. He asked if you two were surprised, but I think he forgets that both you AND Boss have to actually recall hearing him speak in the Metaverse before you can fully understand him. But if you two are agreeable to it, one of us can translate what he says for you in the meantime if you truly want to have some form of understanding of what he says." Kusa said understandingly. Ann nodded her agreement as she spoke up.

"Right, Kusa. But you and Boss don't understand him, do you Niijima-san the elder? That's how it was for all of us at first too." Ann said as Futaba spoke up.

"Exactly. It's as Kusa's been saying this whole time. When you're in the Metaverse, Mona talks like a normal person. Once you hear that and your brain realizes he can actually talk, you start to understand him in reality. As a result, it's a change in cognition! Most likely!" Futaba said as Sae and Sojiro both blinked in confusion as Ann kept speaking.

"But anyways, thanks to Akechi's lame acting, we figured out something was up." Ann said, ignoring Ryuji's muttered 'you're one to talk' as the camera cut to a flashback of the day of the social studies trip while Ryuji spoke up.

"When we talked to Akechi at the school festival, he was actin' like he just realized Mona could talk. But we already saw him drop a mega hint about it waaay earlier. Not to mention, Kusa caught him out in his ruse fairly quickly." Ryuji said.

(Flashback, the day of the social studies trip, in the hallway of the TV studio with Ryuji, Ren, Ann, Kusa, and Morgana)

"Ooh, I know a place! I wanna go to that huge pancake-looking place we passed on the way here!" Morgana said as Kusa patted him on the head lightly while speaking up as he walked over to the group.

"Wow, say that a little louder, why don't you? I don't think the people in the next area actually heard you, Morgana-sensei." Kusa said in amusement, making Ren, Ann, and Ryuji all give him shocked looks as Ren and Ryuji fist-bumped Kusa approvingly.

(Fast-forward to Akechi speaking up)

"Oh, am I mistaken? I thought I heard something about delicious pancakes just now." Akechi said as the flashback ended...

(Back in the present)

"As Kusa pointed out after the fact, Mona was the only one who was talkin' about a pancake. As such, the fact he could hear Mona could only have meant Akechi'd already been in the Metaverse by then!" Ryuji said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"And since he was lying about that, we assumed he had a hidden motive behind contacting us." Ann said as Kusa spoke up with a frown on his face, his arms crossed as he spoke.

"I'm not pleased that this lot decided to act like nothing was different between that day and today, but as they later told me, it was necessary to keep the enemy unaware of how much we knew. As Makoto herself pointed out later on, there wasn't a lot we could do with our knowledge at that point that wouldn't end badly for us. So as much as I wanted to just confront Akechi then and there, I realized she was right and we had to play it smart. So I followed their lead." Kusa said wisely. Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"True. It seemed odd upon further thought. His reaction to my pancake comment was an honest one, after all." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"That's true, but don't forget Morgana, Akechi-kun is a skilled actor. After all, how long has he been fooling people into believing that he's an ace detective who's on the side of justice?" Kusa pointed out wisely. Ren nodded agreeably as he spoke up.

"That's true, Kusa. In the end, we got lucky that he slipped up so we could use that against him, hence the plan we formulated." Ren said. Morgana nodded as he spoke up.

"That said, we weren't so naive to overlook something like that. Even if we had to pretend like nothing was amiss to lull Akechi into a false sense of security as Kusa said." Morgana said as Haru spoke up while Kusa translated Morgana's meows for Sae and Sojiro's benefit.

"And that's why we asked Futaba-chan to wiretap his phone." Haru said as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"I pretended to be interested in checking the phone out, but I was actually planting my app. Kudos to Kusa, by the way. He really sold the whole 'Futaba's just quirky like that' angle super well. Akechi never suspected a thing." Futaba said as Kusa grinned and spoke up.

"Naturally. Akechi thinks he's the only gifted actor we know, but he's sadly mistaken. I think most of us here could make passable actors, especially myself and Ren." Kusa said smugly. Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Agreed, Kusa. But back on topic, my heart was pounding while I was doing it though." Futaba said as Yusuke smiled and spoke up.

"And it was truly an ingenious move by Futaba. Even that ace detective could never have imagined a program being installed so quickly. Futaba's quirky nature proved to be a big help." Yusuke said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Watch it, Yusuke. I might have called her quirky to Akechi before, but I was just selling the pretense that Futaba was just being eccentric when she grabbed his phone. You don't get to call her quirky, though. I, on the other hand, have that right as her boyfriend. So kindly do not make such comments about Taba, please." Kusa said gently. Futaba nodded agreeably as she spoke up.

"What Kusa said! And besides, that was just an act, Inari! Anyways, after a few days of listening, this confirmed his betrayal." Futaba said, as she hit a button, playing a recording of a familiar smug voice.

"So, are we clear? You'll have the units in position when the Thieves infiltrate. Then, I'll guide the police into her Palace and have them catch the Phantom Thieves in the act. That would be the only way to arrest them, given their methods. I'll deal with them after that. Let me see here. Oh, how about this? We could say he stole the guard's gun and committed suicide during his imprisonment to keep the blame off of us. How about that? Public security questioning will occur on the first day after the arrest. And with that room, my task will be simple." Akechi's voice could be heard saying as Futaba paused the recording when Sojiro gasped and spoke up.

"Is this for real?" Sojiro asked as Kusa's eyes narrowed as he spoke up.

"Unfortunately so, yes it is. I was truly hoping I was wrong when I felt the murderous intent from Akechi-kun when he looked at Ren before. But this recording confirms with absolute certainty that Akechi wanted Ren dead. He's going to be lucky if I don't end up beating the fool out of him when we get ahold of his traitorous ass, too." Kusa said irately, trying to keep his temper in check despite his first instinct being to rip Akechi limb from limb for threatening everyone he cares about. Rather than respond to Kusa's words, Futaba merely hit the button to continue the recording.

"Yes, the guard will be one of ours. We'll have to eliminate him after to properly destroy the evidence though, just to be safe." Akechi's voice could be heard saying before Futaba paused the recording once more as Sae spoke up.

"So, they planned to get rid of that guard during the beginning, didn't they?" Sae asked, getting nods from Kusa and Futaba as the latter hit the 'play' button to resume the playback of Akechi's voice.

"Well then, I will make the arrangements the day after the arrest is made. And thus, the dangerous criminal responsible for the mass mental shutdowns shall end his own life. When he does, you will become a great hero who saved Japan from evil. As will I, of course." Akechi's voice could be heard saying as the recording ended, making Sae sigh as she spoke up.

"I knew he was acting strangely, but to think he was this far gone already." Sae said as Kusa frowned and huffed, merely nodding as he refrained himself from cussing out Akechi as Haru spoke up.

"He's no ace detective, despite his claims to the contrary. Akechi is the perpetrator behind the mental shutdown crimes." Haru said as Makoto spoke up.

"Exactly. On top of that, there's someone else commanding Akechi from behind the scenes. Someone with great authority and power. So great, in fact, that they can order an assassination in a police station." Makoto said as Kusa spoke up, frowning as he voiced his theory.

"Or have a teenager sued to get rid of him after stopping him from forcing himself on an innocent woman on a dark night." Kusa said darkly, making Ren gasp before turning to give Kusa a shocked look as he spoke up, his eyes comically wide as the implications of Kusa's words hit him.

"Wait, are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting, Kusa!?" Ren asked Kusa, who nodded and spoke up.

"If you think I'm theorizing that this mastermind could be the same piece of shit bastard that got us both banished here in the first place, then you're right, Ren. If he had that kind of power, who's to say he couldn't also have the power to engineer a string of mental shutdowns and assassinations? It's just a theory for now, but I believe that the effing asshole who sued you, and our mastermind? They could very well be one and the same." Kusa said, getting shocked looks from Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke, as the only ones present for the party where Kusa had recapped his and Ren's past for the group, albeit reluctantly.

Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Sae, and Sojiro all exchanged confused looks at Kusa's theory. Makoto eventually recovered enough to speak up.

"Let's assume for now that your theory is correct, Kusa. Moving on, that's why we had to make a move before they did." Makoto said as Sojiro nodded understandingly, speaking up after a moment.

"I see. I think Kusa might be right. Though I don't think I'd use the same language he just did." Sojiro said, giving Kusa a warning look, getting a sheepishly apologetic look from Kusa in response. After a bit, Makoto spoke up again.

"So, we baited Akechi into Sis's Palace, making him dispose of our leader's fake but think he killed him." Makoto said as Sae frowned and spoke up.

"Can you elaborate on that in more detail? What exactly happened in my cognitive world?" Sae asked. Haru winced at the question before she spoke up.

"Before that, we owe you an apology, Niijima-san the elder. We're sorry for using you without your permission. Your palace had all the conditions we needed to pull our plan off." Haru said as Sae gave the group a confused look while she spoke up.

"Oh? And what conditions are you speaking of?" Sae asked in curiosity. Makoto spoke up to answer the question.

"First, we required a place inside the cognitive world that was the same as in reality." Makoto said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Exactly. That place's based on the real world, after all. Anywhere that's not warped looks just like normal." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up.

"What Ryuji said. And that's why nobody but the person who uses the Nav even realizes they're in the Metaverse." Ann said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Right? Back with Kamoshida, we came in from the station without even noticin', which is pretty crazy to think about to be honest." Ryuji said as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"Ah, the days when Kusa and I first got here. Sure brings back memories, eh Kusa?" Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed, though not all of them are necessarily good memories, considering I recall being pretty harsh on Ryuji back then. Not to mention, back then I believe I was perhaps being a bit too quick to take Morgana's side at times, which is also rather unfair to Ryuji. Sorry about that, man." Kusa said honestly as Ryuji grinned at Kusa and spoke up.

"Don't worry about it, Kusa. I got over that a while ago. Sure, I would've preferred that you not be so hard on me, but I understand why you were. Anyways, back on topic, you totally can't tell the difference if there ain't any distortions around." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up at that point.

"We had already investigated Niijima-san's Palace when Makoto brought this suggestion to us." Yusuke said as Morgana smiled and spoke up.

"I was seriously impressed by that suggestion. To be honest, I didn't quite understand it, but I went along with it." Morgana said as Ren spoke up after a moment.

"Be that as it may, Morgana, her idea was also reckless, whether it was a great idea or not." Ren said wisely as Morgana spoke up.

"That's true. However, we still managed to pull it off, though." Morgana said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Indeed. Makoto is normally so calm as well. Typically, such things as impulsive and half-baked schemes would be more common coming from Ryuji or Kusa, but not in this case. Furthermore, once Makoto's mind is set, she gets oddly impulsive, moreso than Kusa does. Sorry Kusa, but it is true." Yusuke said. Kusa shrugged and spoke up, surprisingly unbothered by Yusuke calling him impulsive as he spoke.

"Eh, can't argue with you when you're speaking the truth, Yusuke. I am a bit of an impulsive hot-head at times. The fact I got Taba to fall for me despite that is something that I'm both shocked by and proud of to this day." Kusa said with a smirk. Makoto spoke up before Futaba had a chance to respond to Kusa's response.

"Be that as it may, Kusa, we do have something in common. Even if yours never was really expressed or acted on, we both had a bit of a rivalry forming with Akechi, even if in your case it was less rivalry and more a wary distrust of him. But I just couldn't contain myself anymore once you became a target, Sis." Makoto said as Kusa just nodded his agreement to Makoto's point. Makoto then kept speaking.

"And the reason I joined the Phantom Thieves was to heal your heart, after all." Makoto said as Sae winced and spoke up, a look of shame and remorse on her face as she spoke.

"That's fair, Makoto. My own achievements were all that mattered to me, and in my pursuit of them, I was desperate. I wasn't myself at all. I'm sorry I couldn't see that. Though I will give credit to Amamiya-kun the younger for being brave enough to stand up to the other me, based on what Makoto told me later on." Sae said as Makoto spoke up, both of the Niijima sisters ignoring the wry smirk on Kusa's face as Makoto spoke.

"That goes for the both of us." Makoto said as Haru spoke up.

"We heard from Mako-chan that you were going to do the interrogation, Niijima-san." Haru said as Sae nodded and spoke up, her eyes lighting up with an epiphany as she spoke.

"I see. And regarding its location, which you shouldn't have been able to get easily. I take it you used the data for my laptop?" Sae said as Makoto winced and spoke up.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm sorry." Makoto said, making Sae chuckle in a mix of respect, surprise and amusement while she spoke up.

"Heh, go on." Sae said as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Right. There were two things we were able to confirm while we were checking the Metaverse. First, our clothes didn't change while we were down in the interrogation room. Second, the scenery and details outside of the Palace proper were the same as in the real world." Makoto said as Ann spoke up.

"Once we heard that from Makoto, we secretly went to check it out without Akechi knowing." Ann said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Luckily for us all, Kusa was willing to put his distrust for Akechi aside enough to help distract him so we could perform our investigation." Ren said as Makoto spoke up.

"That's true, but there was also one more thing we absolutely needed to make this work without a hitch: A perfect cognitive replica of him in the Metaverse's interrogation room." Makoto said as Yusuke spoke up.

"True, but there was one problem with the plan that we had to address. Namely, the fact that since he had yet to be caught though, there obviously wouldn't be anyone in that room." Yusuke said as Makoto got a closed-eye smile on her face while she spoke up.

"However, once we saw the casino guests and police officers, we were convinced this would work. They looked no different from actual living people." Makoto said as Ryuji smirked and spoke up.

"Truth, babe! And after that, we just had to work our way into the Palace like usual while keepin' Akechi in the dark." Ryuji said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Which was arguably my favorite part of the plan, having one over on that smug douche." Kusa said in amusement. Makoto smirked and spoke up.

"Yes well, your predictable disdain for Akechi aside, Kusa, let me finish. Everything went as planned up until we defeated Sis's Shadow. However, it was then that we were met with a terrifying, unexpected police ambush. As a result, even though we managed to grab the Treasure, we couldn't get it out of the Metaverse in the end. Or, that's how it seemed. But the reality was far different. It seemed as if we failed, except that was all an act. We had prepared an empty briefcase beforehand and merely acted like we were taking the Treasure. This was because we knew the police would be coming for us." Makoto said as Ann spoke up.

"We made sure before the operation that the police would be waiting to ambush us. And, just as we expected, he totally took the bait." Ann said as Makoto spoke up.

"In the end, Ren getting captured by the police went exactly how we planned it." Makoto said as Kusa chuckled and spoke up.

"Well, MOSTLY how we planned it. I very much doubt that any of us counted on a certain unknown reading popping up to bail Ren out at one point. And I'm equally certain that reading wasn't a certain someone that Ren knows quite well." Kusa said mysteriously, giving a coy but subtle wink to Morgana and Ren as he spoke. Ren and Morgana exchanged a look, realizing what Kusa was inferring with his words. Sae then spoke up.

"And I had been interrogating him with no knowledge of this. But how did you lure Akechi into this, what did you call it? This cognitive world's interrogation room?" Sae asked as Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"That bit of the plan was entirely the brainchild of Taba here. She devised a plan to use the program she slipped onto Akechi's phone to sneak him into the Metaverse." Kusa explained as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Exactly. And all I needed were the coordinates. Hehehehe, but credit to Kusa for managing to pull off a convincing performance as the concerned leader while thanking Akechi for his services. In actuality, he was enacting his part of our little ruse, wherein he caused Akechi to lower his guard enough for me to hack the coordinates from his phone." Futaba said as Ren sweatdropped and spoke up.

"From there, it was a simple matter of Futaba using her laptop to remotely access the Metaverse. But we'd be here too long if I had her give a run-down of the particulars of how she did it. For now, we'll let Yusuke continue the explanation. Yusuke?" Ren said as Yusuke nodded.

"Right. At that point, Akechi disposed of the fake in the Palaces, and left thinking he had been victorious. It must have been truly hilarious for our leader, who sat idly in the real world's interrogation room. Surely he was acting quite cocky by himself in that quiet chamber." Yusuke said as Kusa grinned and spoke up.

"Ren? Cocky? Eh, I could see it. Nah, but for real, I want it on the record that I wasn't a fan of this plan, but I knew it had to be done. But we also got insanely lucky pulling it off in the end." Kusa said as Sae spoke up.

"I see. So that's why you gave me your phone, Amamiya-kun the elder. I only took it because of what you told me." Sae said as Yusuke spoke up.

"It's a shame I didn't have the opportunity to see it for myself." Yusuke said as Ren spoke up.

"There was no time to modify the plan past what we'd already decided on. And honestly, I'm just glad I didn't die. That was a very real risk, after all." Ren said honestly. Sae spoke up.

"All I could do was try to handle all the messages that started coming to me on his phone. Huh, how do you like that? So in other words, I've been to the Metaverse, albeit for a brief moment." Sae said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Correct. In our experience, there is little danger when someone enters their own Palace for so short a time." Yusuke said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"You're welcome. After all, the only reason we know that is thanks to my indirectly confirming that for the group with Taba's help." Kusa said in amusement. Haru smirked and spoke up.

"That's true, Kusa-kun. But back on topic, that's the other reason we had him give it to you. We needed you to listen to Alibaba and Draconis, deceive the guard, and ultimately aid in his escape. By having you head back to the interrogation room, we could return you to the real world as well." Haru said as Futaba smirked and spoke up.

"True. I mean, I had to think of some way to keep you from running into Akechi mid-assassination." Futaba said as Sae smiled and spoke up.

"Huh. Not only is that impressive and clever, it's also astounding. I hadn't the slightest idea that such a grand operation was taking place within me." Sae said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"True. To be honest, I'm glad Ren was able to persuade you during the interrogation. Even though we knew Akechi's plan, we were pretty worried about that part. Kusa was probably the most worried of us, for obvious reasons." Ann said as Kusa huffed and spoke up in embarrassment.

"Excuse me for being worried for my older brother while he put himself at risk for us, Ann. And if you think I was worried, how do you think Ren's girlfriend feels right now!? She probably still believes Ren's dead, like the rest of the world." Kusa pointed out dryly. Makoto chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, that's true. But that was an unavoidable part of the plan. We couldn't afford to let anyone else in the loop at that point, and you know it, Kusa." Makoto pointed out. Sojiro frowned and spoke up, understanding what Kusa was getting at, even if he wasn't a fan of what Makoto had said.

"Uh, why's that?" Sojiro asked. Makoto spoke up while turning to look at Sojiro.

"Firstly, because the more people that knew of the plan, the greater the risk of it being leaked to Akechi prematurely, thus putting everything in jeopardy. But also, without Sis on our side, Futaba's plan and subsequent breakout would have never been possible. That persuasion was easily our greatest gamble. We couldn't consult Sis beforehand. It was absolutely the make-or-break moment of the entire plan." Makoto said as Sae spoke up with an unreadable look on her face.

"I see. Still, I'm surprised you could convince me in such a short time, Amamiya-kun the elder. Were you confident you could do it?" Sae asked Ren, who spoke up.

"To be honest? I wasn't 100% confident, no. But I knew I had to give it my best shot, not just for my own sake, but for the sake of everyone's collective futures. Thankfully I was able to successfully convince you in the end." Ren said honestly. Sae spoke up, an impressed look in her eyes as she spoke.

"I see. I'm impressed with your honesty, Amamiya-kun the elder. Either way, I can't believe you went for such a risky idea like that." Sae said as Makoto spoke up.

"It was risky, yes. But if we could just tell you the true culprit's plan, I knew you'd realize the bigger picture, if only because you would see it as vital to winning. But more importantly, you'd also realize that our leader, who is Ren-kun over there, was telling the truth. And you'd also realize that there was a greater evil to pursue." Makoto said as Yusuke smirked and spoke up.

"And as a result, we emerged victorious." Yusuke said as Sae spoke up, a realization occurring to her as she spoke.

"Ah, then the reason you kept this a secret from me was so you could catch the true culprit, correct?" Sae asked as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Yes. Plus you had lost control of yourself at the time, making you also a potential liability in your distorted state." Makoto said honestly. Sae smiled and spoke up.

"Understandable. Honestly? This is stunning for me. Yet all I can really do is laugh." Sae said as she chuckled in amusement. Kusa looked at Yusuke and spoke up.

"To correct what you said earlier Yusuke, we did indeed emerge victorious, but only in this round. I would hardly say we've won the proverbial war just yet, though. That's still a ways off." Kusa pointed out sagely as Sojiro spoke up while giving Kusa an approving nod for his logic.

"Well put, Kusa. But back on topic, I've kinda figured out that you guys made Akechi kill a fake version of Ren. But, what did you do about the body?" Sojiro asked as Sae spoke up with a grim look on her face.

"Honestly? The police never even checked it." Sae said as Sojiro gave Sae a shocked look while speaking up.

"Huh?" Sojiro said as Sae nodded and spoke up.

"It's true. They had a coroner working to ensure Ren-kun's death was reported as a suicide." Sae said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Of course they did. Go figure Akechi's working that insane charisma of his to get the police force wrapped around his finger." Kusa said, wincing slightly as he randomly flashed back to the night he and Ren had their lives turned upside down, recalling that the man who sued Ren had mentioned that the police were 'his bitches', making Kusa blink as he wondered, not for the first time, if that man could in fact be the mastermind. Sae then spoke up.

"Not only that Amamiya-kun the younger, but that coroner didn't take one look at the scene, and just passed along a falsified death certificate." Sae said as Sojiro sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, the bad guys have that much influence?" Sojiro asked as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"It seems so in this case, Boss. But this works to our advantage. Granted, I'm no legal expert, but wouldn't I be right to guess that what they're doing is totally against the law to some extent?" Kusa asked. Sae nodded and spoke up.

"Very much so. But again, they can get away with it because of how influential this 'mastermind' is. That, and in their desperation to catch the Phantom Thieves, they might be willing to overlook some questionable acts in the name of justice." Sae said grimly as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"Exactly, Sis. Murder in a police station would be reckless otherwise. We also knew of a possible conspirator." Makoto said as Sae spoke up.

"True. Thanks to Futaba-chan's messages, and I'm guessing Kusa-kun's as well, I eventually came to understand the truth. And since the higher-ups at the police knew nothing of this, they were thrown into disarray. As a result, Ren-kun's suicide during imprisonment was reported on the news, just as Akechi planned." Sae said as Ann spoke up.

"And thanks to that confusion, Ren was able to escape with Niijima-san's help." Ann said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"True, but I wouldn't be surprised if most, if not all, of Ren's other friends are probably grieving right now since they think he's dead." Kusa said grimly as Sae spoke up.

"Good point. Back on topic, I made sure nobody would check the morgue for his body, and thanks to that, nobody knows he survived." Sae said as Makoto grimaced and spoke up with a frown on her face.

"Thinking back to the interrogation though, I feel bad. I can't believe what they did to Ren. The callous use of violence and even drugs is utterly abnormal." Makoto said as Kusa spoke up.

"I think we can chalk this up to a case of 'desperate times call for desperate measures', if I had to guess." Kusa said as Makoto spoke up.

"True. But if Ren had lost consciousness and hadn't been able to tell Sis about the phone, he would've died, and this would've all been for naught. That said, I'm relieved. And, I'm truly glad you made it back safe, Ren." Makoto said as Ren spoke up with a nod.

"Same here. I'll be honest, it was kind of close at times. But I had faith I'd pull through in the end. After all, I have Faith on my side, to some extent." Ren said mysteriously, not seeing Kusa and Morgana both frown at his oblique mention of his girlfriend. Sae frowned as she spoke up.

"That's true. I almost became one of your assailants as well, Ren." Sae said as Ann spoke up.

"True. It still freaked me out when I saw the suicide on the news, though." Ann said as Kusa spoke up.

"You're not the only one, Ann. I legit almost cried when I heard that, before I remembered the plan. However, what wasn't part the plan in the slightest was my ending up having to comfort a certain crying red-head that Ren and I know quite well since I happened to be watching her practice in Ren's stead when the story broke. You do realize, Ren, you're gonna owe your girlfriend one hell of an apology after this, right?

Fortunately for me, I was able to calm her down eventually, even if I had to gently set her on a bench to sleep it off after she cried herself to sleep. I then had to tell her coach that she was devastated by the news of the prisoner's suicide since that prisoner happened to be her boyfriend. Once I mentioned that, the coach smiled and told me she'd handle it, at which point Morgana and I took off to get back to Leblanc to make sure Taba was holding up okay." Kusa said with a frown. The others winced at Kusa's point before Haru spoke up.

"Be that as it may, we made sure to live normal lives while Ren-kun was being interrogated to avoid drawing any suspicion. Even with that, I couldn't help but worry for him in my heart despite knowing it was an act." Haru said as Ryuij smirked and spoke up.

"Well, I knew right away that our plan worked out." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up.

"I wanted to believe that it would work out, but considering what we were up against at the time, I couldn't completely be sure." Yusuke said as Morgana gave a closed-eye grin and spoke up.

"Heh, Ryuji's a bit on the dense and carefree side." Morgana said as Kusa frowned at Morgana, giving the not-cat a disapproving look before sighing and speaking up.

"Isn't that a bit uncalled for, Morgana? Yes, Ryuji is rather carefree for the most part, but I don't think he's dense. After all, he was able to successfully devise a fool-proof plan to make Makoto over there his girlfriend, not to mention he managed to outsmart Akechi by helping with this plan. So let's not be so quick to roast him, yeah?" Kusa said gently but reprovingly to Morgana as Ryuji smiled gratefully at Kusa and spoke up.

"Thanks, man. Maybe you are calming down somewhat. Also, can it, cat!" Ryuji said as Kusa frowned at Ryuji calling Morgana a cat, but just let it slide, recalling that they were around Sae and Sojiro, who would naturally also assume Morgana was a cat. Ann then spoke up to diffuse the potential outburst from Morgana.

"Anyways, I had to be patient and avoid this place until things settled down. I finally feel relieved to some extent." Ann said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Right. We knew he was alive, but, to be honest? It was difficult to not worry until we could confirm it in person." Yusuke said as Sae frowned and spoke up.

"That's true. And now that I think about it, my interrogation was just a formality for the head commander. What a joke, letting me interrogate someone who was meant to die. Tch, they just wanted to avoid backlash and save face." Sae said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, yes. Apologies for the crassness here, but it's needed. That said, sounds like the old 'throw the scapegoat under the effing bus to cover their own screwed-up asses' approach. I feel bad that you were the chosen scapegoat though, Niijima-san the elder. You've proven to be quite the morally upright person so far." Kusa said bluntly. Sae smiled at Kusa's words before speaking up.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Amamiya-kun the younger. Very well. From here forward, I will do my utmost to assist you. It's only fair that I do so. You saved me, after all." Sae said as Ann gave Sae a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Heh, that's reassuring to hear." Ann said happily. Sojiro smirked and spoke up at that point.

"I'll do whatever I can to help too. Just let me know. Let's take a break for now, though. This old brain is pooped." Sojiro said, ignoring the amused smiles Kusa and Futaba exchanged at Sojiro using the word 'pooped' as he spoke up once more.

"Oh, and feel free to use the first floor when you guys want to get together to talk. You'll need a hideout where you can be safe. Just say the word and I'll close shop early." Sojiro said as Kusa blinked at this and made to speak up, only to be shocked when Ann beat him to it, a shocked look on her face as she spoke up.

"Are you sure, Boss?" Ann asked Sojiro, who nodded as he spoke up.

"Absolutely. Besides, this guy here can't leave for now. Plus, you won't make much progress if people can hear you from downstairs. And to be honest, I'd rather not see someone I've come to somewhat see as a son of sorts be in danger if I can prevent it. Also, it's not like this is the liveliest joint in town. It won't be a huge loss for me." Sojiro said as he walked into the kitchen, right before Yusuke smiled and spoke up.

"Let us accept his offer. What a great man Boss is. Truly, Kusa spoke wisely before when he praised Boss' generosity." Yusuke said as Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"Yes, well, to be fair, he might have a gruff and strict exterior, but Boss is a good man deep down. And I don't doubt that helping him get Taba here out of her shell also helped him warm to Ren and I to some extent. Not to mention, I think we got extra brownie points when we took in Morgana here. He might not admit it, but I think Boss is secretly an animal lover. But I didn't say that if he asks." Kusa said with an amused smirk. Futaba chuckled at Kusa's remark as she spoke up.

"Heheh. You're not wrong, Kusa. Sojiro really does have a soft spot for both you and Ren, and even for Morgana. I doubt it was just because you guys saved me, either." Futaba said with a smile as the others nodded and chatted amicably among themselves for a time...

(Meanwhile, elsewhere, in an office with Shido)

"Hm? Ren Amamiya, eh? How odd, that last name sounds familiar to me. I wonder why?" Shido mused to himself before his musings were interrupted by a knock on the door as a familiar voice spoke up.

"Is now a good time? It's me, Akechi." Akechi said from the other side of the door, making Shido look up and speak up.

"No, it's fine. Enter." Shido said as Akechi entered the room and spoke up, looking at the paper on Shido's desk while he spoke.

"Ah, that's the death certificate of the principal offender, correct? Is there a problem with it?" Akechi asked Shido, who quickly schooled his expression into a business-like one, wiping the contemplative look off his face as he spoke up.

"No. Nothing in particular. More importantly, you've done well with regard to the prosecutors." Shido said as Akechi spoke up.

"Indeed. The cause of death for the SIU director has been settled as a 'stroke'." Akechi said as Shido smirked and spoke up.

"Good. You know, I had him work quite substantially on forging evidence. His loss should be mourned." Shido said as Akechi nodded and gave Shido a closed-eye grin as he spoke up.

"True. It was thanks to his efforts that I could enter the phantom thief's interrogation room, too." Akechi said as Shido nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. The SIU is in disarray after his death. I'll take my time choosing a successor after the elections are over." Shido said as Akechi spoke up, still smiling a closed-eye grin as he spoke.

"At any rate, I'm now praised as a hero, and I owe it all to the Phantom Thieves." Akechi said as Shido nodded and spoke up.

"Very good. All possible hindrances are now gone. There's no doubt that this election is mine." Shido said as he chuckled evilly, not seeing the brief conflicted look on Akechi's face as Akechi joined him in chuckling, part of him idly questioning if perhaps he'd gone too far in his actions...

(Back at Leblanc, with Haru, Kusa, Futaba, Morgana, Ren, Ryuji, Yusuke, Ann, Makoto, Sae, and Sojiro)

"And on to our next story, the snap election for the House of Representatives. Discussion is swirling around potential nominees as the deadline for candidacy announcement nears. Candidates will announce on the 23rd of this month, while voting will be held on the 18th of next." The newscaster said on the TV as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Elections, huh? Eh, don't matter to us. It's not like we can vote in 'em yet anyways." Ryuji said as Makoto spoke up at that point.

"That's a good point, sweetie. But anyways, why don't we resume our conversation?" Makoto said as the group got into position to resume said conversation as Ryuji grinned and spoke up happily.

"Well, the Phantom Thieves're back together! We can finally take it to Akechi and the bastard backin' him!" Ryuji said as Sojiro blinked and spoke up.

"Backing him? Have you figured out who's behind all this?" Sojiro asked as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"We do indeed. Akechi accidentally let that slip after the murder. He said, 'Shido-san.' while on the phone." Futaba said as Kusa gasped and spoke up, a thought occurring to him at that point.

"Shido!? Wait a second. Taba, correct me if I'm wrong here, but wasn't Shido the last name of that guy that Akechi had that list of female conquests on?" Kusa asked, ignoring the confused looks from everyone present as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. That list was titled 'List of Masayoshi Shido's female conquests'. Granted, we don't know what this Shido-san's first name is, so we can't be sure they're the same guy yet." Futaba said. Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Shido, you say? Feels like I've heard that somewhere." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Regardless, he is unmistakably a man of power if he has such strong connections to the police." Yusuke said, making Kusa frown as he once again recalled the drunk man's taunt to Ren and Kusa about how, to quote the man's exact words, 'the police are my bitches.' At that point, Sojiro's eyes widened as he spoke up with a thought.

"Shido, did you say? Could it be Masayoshi Shido, or the man whose name was on that list Kusa apparently showed Futaba?" Sojiro asked. Kusa and Futaba blinked at their theory getting some unexpected credence from Sojiro, but Ann blinked and spoke up in confusion before either could voice their theory.

"Um, who?" Ann asked. Makoto blinked and spoke up.

"Ah, I believe he's a politician of sorts. Remember, Ryuji? You said his speech was too loud the other day." Makoto said. Ryuji and Kusa's eyes widened as they spoke up in unison.

"FOR REAL!?" Kusa and Ryuji said in unison, making the others chuckle as Ryuji and Kusa both nodded to one another with wry smirks on their faces. Sae frowned as she spoke up.

"Boss could be on to something here. It's certainly possible that Shido is the mastermind behind all this." Sae said as Yusuke gave Sae a surprised look and spoke up.

"Huh?" Yusuke asked as Haru spoke up in surprise.

"Do you have some kind of evidence?" Haru asked. Sae frowned as she spoke up.

"No, nothing material. However, there are various conditions which align with that possibility." Sae said as the others gave her their attention while she kept speaking.

"First, he would profit from damage done to the current administration by the psychotic breakdown. He's maintained a negative stance towards the Phantom Thieves and has gained tremendous popularity. On top of that, he'll most likely become the next prime minister if he wins this upcoming election." Sae said as Kusa frowned, an idea coming to him, but Ann spoke up before he could voice it.

"No, that can't be. If he wins that election, that could be disastrous for us." Ann said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"I wonder. Did he set us up with that election in mind?" Yusuke said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Honestly? It wouldn't surprise me one bit if that's the case, Yusuke. And it also wouldn't be either myself or Ren's first time being set up by a high-ranking man. After all, he and I wound up sent out here because Ren got sued for stepping in to save some poor woman from a drunken scumbag who wanted to force himself on her one night. And now that I think about it, I recall the way that drunken man brazenly taunted Ren and I afterwards, saying, and I quote, 'The police? Go ahead and call them! The police are my bitches!', meaning that man could very easily have been a politician of some sort." Kusa said as Sae spoke up.

"Interesting. But back on topic for now, if he is behind all this, that would be in stark opposition to his honest public image." Sae said as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"So his current position and popularity is just him benefiting from the mental collapses that have been happening this entire time." Makoto said as Haru spoke up.

"We'll make him have a change of heart, no matter what it takes." Haru said as Futaba winced and spoke up.

"Mom, hang in there. We're closing in on getting justice for you." Futaba said somberly as Kusa gently patted Futaba on the shoulder and spoke up.

"Indeed we are, Taba. We will avenge your mother in the end. I promise you that." Kusa said gently but sincerely while smiling at Futaba. Sojiro grunted and spoke up.

"Ugh. Shido, huh?" Sojiro said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"Hm? What is the matter, Boss?" Yusuke asked Sojiro, who frowned as he spoke up.

"I know of this Shido. I had a feeling he was wrapped up in all this. Just based on the connections I had from my previous job with the government." Sojiro said, getting shocked looks from everyone except Futaba, Kusa, Ren, and Morgana, who all knew about this already. Sojiro kept speaking.

"I think the one who crushed Wakaba's research and confiscated her materials was probably Shido. From the moment Wakaba died a sudden death, I had a hunch he was involved. But there wasn't anything I could do, so I chose to protect Futaba and went into hiding." Sojiro said as Futaba frowned and spoke up.

"Why didn't you say that sooner!?" Futaba asked Sojiro irately. Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"Probably the same reason he took you in, Taba. He wanted to keep you safe and out of Shido's reach. And to be honest, I think he did exactly the right thing, no matter how difficult it might have been for him. After all, if he hadn't done that, who's to say we'd have gotten to meet you and get to know how wonderfully quirky, amazing and beautiful you are, Futaba?" Kusa said, ignoring the amused smiles on Makoto, Haru, and Ann's faces at Kusa's kind words to his girlfriend. Sojiro nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, that's part of it, Kusa. But also, I believe you guys would've gone after him much sooner if I had. He would've just killed all of you, no doubt. That's what he usually does to people who get in his way." Sojiro said as Sae spoke up.

"Originally, I was looking into the mental shutdown cases. It was then that I accidentally stumbled upon government research regarding the psychotic breakdowns. So, I tracked down the whereabouts of that research data and met with the associated parties. Boss was one of those parties. I would never have imagined that all of this was connected, though. The mental shutdowns, psychotic breakdowns, Shido, and even the Phantom Thieves' actions thus far." Sae said as Sojiro nodded and spoke up.

"Way back when, Shido kept saying he was going to be prime minister one day. Nobody believed him though when he said it." Sojiro said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"What's going to happen to this country if Shido becomes prime minister? What about the world?" Ann asked as Yusuke sighed and frowned while speaking up.

"The issue is simpler than that. This is nothing more than yet another selfish adult trying to impose his will on the public." Yusuke said as Ryuji growled and spoke up.

"Ugh, we gotta expose that rotten bastard!" Ryuji said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, we'll do it like always!" Morgana said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Then let's check the Nav!" Haru said as Ryuji got his phone out and spoke into it while opening the MetaNav.

"Masayoshi Shido, the guy runnin' for prime minister." Ryuji said into his phone. Not surprisingly, the phone spoke up.

"Result found!" The MetaNav said from Ryuji's phone as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.

"Got a hit! Well, actually, duh. It ain't a surprise he has one." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Hm. Where would the location be?" Yusuke asked as Ann spoke up.

"Good question. What kind of things go through a politician's head?" Ann asked as Futaba huffed and spoke up.

"Honestly? I always think of dirty money and shady actions." Futaba said as Ryuji spoke up.

"What does he do? And where? We don't got a clue about this guy's life." Ryuji said as Makoto spoke up.

"Well spotted, Ryuji. That said, his Palace must be somewhere that politicians frequent. Any ideas, Ren?" Makoto asked Ren, who thought about it before speaking up, recalling something Yoshida once told him.

"Probably, his Palace is at the Diet Building." Ren said confidently. The MetaNav spoke up at that point.

"Candidate found!" The MetaNav said from Ryuji's phone as Ryuji spoke up.

"Oh! We got a hit!" Ryuji said in surprise as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"How arrogant must he be to see himself as the ruler of the Diet Building?" Yusuke asked in annoyance. Ryuji spoke up confidently at that point, looking at Ren as he spoke.

"Our next target's the big-shot politician Masayoshi Shido. We're gonna do this, right?" Ryuji asked Ren, who spoke up with a nod.

"Absolutely. We have to do this, not just for the sake of our collective futures, but because if we're right about him being the mastermind behind Akechi's actions, we can't entirely blame Akechi for what he's done, though it's undeniable that he has a share of the blame to own as well." Ren said. Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Hell yeah! Nobody against it?" Ryuji asked. Ann spoke up with a frown on her face.

"Of course." Ann said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"He will be a worthy opponent." Yusuke said as Haru spoke up.

"Let's win this, together!" Haru said as Futaba spoke up.

"Time for revenge!" Futaba said as Morgana grinned and spoke up.

"Then it's unanimous!" Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"Yep. It's unanimous, all right." Kusa said, hiding a slightly wary look as he spoke. Ren gave Kusa a concerned look, but Ryuji spoke up before Ren could call Kusa out on what he'd seen.

"All we gotta do now is figure out what he thinks that Diet Building place is." Ryuji said as Sae spoke up.

"Ah, so that's the app that allowed me to enter the Metaverse." Sae said as Sojiro spoke up.

"An old fart like me can't wrap his head around all this stuff, you know." Sojiro said as Kusa spoke up.

"It is a lot to take in, Boss. So I don't blame you for being overwhelmed. When things are less hectic, maybe Taba and I can try to explain some of it to you so you can understand, if you want." Kusa said to Sojiro, who nodded as Makoto spoke up.

"We'll have to deal with this before election day, December 18th. That means we need it done by the 17th." Makoto said as Yusuke spoke up.

"It's best we hurry before they discover there's no body in the morgue." Yusuke said as Ann spoke up with a smile.

"Should we start tomorrow, then? We can meet at the Diet Building after school." Ann said as Ryuji looked at Ren and spoke up.

"That reminds me, what're you gonna do about school, Ren? You can't show up if you're supposed to be dead." Ryuji said. Ann spoke up at that point.

"Ren's fine. Miss Kawakami said he went back home for 'family reasons'." Ann said as Sojiro spoke up.

"That's what I told the school." Sojiro said as Kusa spoke up.

"And that's what the school believes. The truth is, that's the cover that Boss, myself, and mine and Ren's mother came up with. And yes Ren, she's aware you're alive. She helped weave this cover story. Needless to say, because I'm your overseer, that means I went out of town as well. So as far as the school's concerned, both of us are going to be gone for the foreseeable future." Kusa said with a nod. Ryuji spoke up as he looked at Ren.

"Don't let 'em find out you're alive, then, all right? This whole thing'd be for nothin'!" Ryuji said as Sojiro spoke up in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Sojiro asked. Makoto spoke up at that point.

"This operation had another purpose outside of escaping Akechi's clutches. Shido tried to place all the blame on the Phantom Thieves and deceive the public at the same time. He has ruined countless lives, and even made Goro Akechi, a student, assist him with various assassinations. A mere change of heart is to lenient a sentence for such an abominable criminal." Makoto said as a surprised Kusa spoke up.

"True, but isn't that against the Phantom Thieves code?" Kusa asked as Haru spoke up.

"Not in this case. We'll be making use of the police statement that the leader of the Phantom Thieves committed suicide. Our leader, who is presumed dead, will come out of hiding to deliver a grand statement. He'll say he escaped prison, not committed suicide, and was in fact almost killed by a criminal." Haru said as Futaba giggled and spoke up.

"Heh, everyone's gonna flip." Futaba said as Kusa frowned at this before Sojiro spoke up.

"You guys thought through all this stuff, too?" Sojiro asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Yeah, pretty much. Pretty crazy, right?" Kusa said. Ryuji spoke up.

"We're intellectuals, y'know!" Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"I dunno about that one, Ryuji. You are a smart guy, but I dunno if I'd go so far as to call you an intellectual. No offense." Kusa said sagely. Sae spoke up with a smile.

"Ah, so that's why you needed such a daring trick as getting captured and appearing to be killed. Heh, what frightening teenagers you all are." Sae said as Makoto spoke up.

"Right. But the true battle has only just begun. We won the first round, but we must stay on our toes." Makoto said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. We've won the battle, but the war is far from won. Only once we bring down Shido and hold Akechi accountable for what he's done can we truly say we've won the war." Kusa said sagely. Ryuji nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, this ain't the time to be celebratin'." Ryuji said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"Indeed. These people tried to trap and kill us. There is no end to their inhuman, conniving nature. We will need to be prepared for whatever may come our way." Yusuke said as the group nodded in agreement...

(Back with Shido and Akechi)

"I've finally made it this far, my friend. It's already been two and a half years since we met." Shido said as Akechi spoke up.

"True. Back then, you earned the media's attention as a young politician who could rise up against bureaucracy. Because of that, those who wanted to pre-emptively deal with problems tried to tie you up in scandal." Akechi said as Shido frowned and spoke up.

"Indeed. And to think, I would fall for the ruse schemed by those decrepit fools in power. I recall that's when you came to me. You promoted yourself, saying you had 'special powers'. If it wasn't for the research in cognition that I dabbled in, I would've thought you insane." Shido said as Akechi spoke up with a smirk.

"I made those troublesome opponents psychotic, and erased any trace of that scandal." Akechi said as Shido smirked and spoke up.

"So you did. Who'd think that tampering with a person's heart could trigger a psychotic lapse or mental shutdown. And when someone like that said he'd support me, I had suspected there'd be an ulterior motive." Shido said as Akechi gave Shido a closed-eye grin and spoke up.

"It's because I sympathized with your aspiring ideology. I believed that your ideals needed to be achieved for the sake of the country's future." Akechi said as Shido spoke up with a smirk and a nod.

"I see. Well, my faith in you was precisely why I pulled the plug on that research. I only need you using that power. It'd be troublesome if someone else uncovered how it works." Shido said as Akechi nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. And that woman, Wakaba Isshiki, was it? That researcher. She wouldn't have had to die if she'd just complied." Akechi said as Shido spoke up.

"Any suspicions should be snubbed out. Even the smallest doubt must be severed at the root. After all, we had an active Public Prosecutor's Office director on our side until recently." Shido said as Akechi nodded and spoke up with a closed-eye grin.

"Astounding, isn't it? To think the director himself often forged evidence to secure his promotion. He was quite surprised when you confronted him about it. He didn't know who leaked that information. Well, I got that out of his Shadow, so technically speaking, he did it himself." Akechi said as Shido spoke up.

"Agreed. This country's affairs have become stagnant. The political world is filled with old men who only act to preserve their own vested interests. The general public has forsaken such political affairs and don't even bother. Only ruin awaits us." Shido said as Akechi nodded and spoke up.

"I must agree." Akechi said as Shido spoke up.

"There's no need to be ruined along with such incompetent fools. I will lead this country to its revival. Those who get in the way must be eliminated at times. That's the correct way to use the Metaverse." Shido said as Akechi nodded and spoke up.

"True. Still, it would stand out if there were continuous deaths and scandals with your political rivals. Which is why I made them 'suspects'. Prosecute the targets that I turned psychotic, dispose of them, and then solve them as cases unrelated to you. And thus, the charismatic ace detective was born." Akechi said as Shido smiled and spoke up.

"Thanks to your efforts, my clean image remains untarnished, and I've monopolized public opinion. Hmph! Once I gained public sentiment, collaborators from all sectors began approaching me on their own. The police were no exception. With their management in my pocket, keeping them in check was easy." Shido said as Akechi spoke up.

"Fair. When the Phantom Thieves emerged, I thought things might become somewhat troublesome." Akechi said as Shido smirked and spoke up.

"And they were just brats once we looked into it. All we needed to do was lay the blame on them and let them go down for what we did." Shido said as Akechi spoke up with a closed-eye grin.

"When you told me that, I knew then that you were the better man." Akechi said as Shido spoke up with a smirk.

"True. Their popularity was a bit beyond my expectations, but flipping it made the negative press stronger. After that, all I had to do was openly berate them. Lo and behold, I've been gaining more supporters since. The current administration is dead with ongoing scandals of all sorts. Never mind the fact that they were my doing. Even the government parties have begun splitting up as well, and they're dissolving just as planned." Shido said as he laughed evilly and kept speaking.

"The time has finally come now. Just a little more, and I will take the seat of prime minister. However, inauguration isn't my goal. That's when everything truly begins. I'll make this country rich for the sake of its selfish and ignorant masses who can only rely on others." Shido said as Akechi spoke up.

"I see. In other words, you're creating a powerful country that can compete with the world." Akechi said as Shido nodded and spoke up.

"Precisely. The public resonates with my ideals and follows me. And for that, some 'sacrifices' can't be avoided. That is my duty as the chosen one. Your assistance has been very influential in making sure my plans proceed smoothly. When I become prime minister, I'll grant whatever wish you want." Shido said as Akechi got a closed-eye smile on his face while he spoke up.

"I'll keep that in mind. To be honest though, with this most recent case, my name has become known across the country, perhaps even the world. Surely my story will be passed down as a hero who won against monsters that could control people's hearts. I believe I'll lay low and devote myself to my studies." Akechi said as Shido frowned and spoke up.

"Understandable. I suppose with your age, you wouldn't come up with debauched desires." Shido said as Akechi spoke up ominously.

"That's true. However, I am thinking about the future though." Akechi said ominously to Shido...

(Back at Leblanc, in the attic with Ren, Sojiro, Morgana, Kusa, and Futaba)

"Well, how do I put this? Looks like things've finally settled down. Life's gonna get real busy for you startin' tomorrow, right? Get some rest." Sojiro said as Morgana spoke up.

"Well then! The chief's right. Let's take it easy for today." Morgana said as Ren nodded, having a seat on his bed to catch his breath while he pondered what to do next...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! But more than that, I managed to get through the final interrogation safely without triggering that bad ending, so we're in the clear for now. Shout out to my younger brother for helping me with the correct responses for said final interrogation, since it was rather nerve-racking. But now, we're into Arc 7! Next chapter will have a lot more plot stuff, and even the beginnings of a side-plot for Kusa, that might lead into some rather interesting change-ups for the coming Palace. But we'll touch more on that later.

For now, let me thank everyone who's supported this story so far, whether it be by favoriting it and/or following it, favoriting/following me as an author, or even leaving reviews on the story as well as PMing me with input. I appreciate all the support from my readers! As of the most recent check of the stats for the story, it's broken the 23,000 view mark, and is closing in on hitting 25,000 views, as well as inching closer to 100 reviews. Hopefully we can eclipse both marks by the end of the story. For now, keep reviewing, PMing me your feedback, or just straight up supporting the story! Any support is much appreciated! And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - I don't know this for sure, since it was never outright confirmed, but the person that Futaba saw on her messenger app, 'KANAMINprpr', could be a reference to the character Kanamin from Persona 4 Golden, where she was the idol chosen to succeed Rise/Risette after she stepped away from the idol scene to help the Investigation Team with their efforts. If I'm right, and that's the same Kanamin that was referenced, that was a very subtle but very neat touch on the developers' part. Especially for such an obscure and barely-mentioned character.

CONFIDANT RANKS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 72

FOOL (Igor/Prison Master) - Rank 9

MAGICIAN (Morgana/Mona) - Rank 9

PRIESTESS (Makoto/Queen) - Rank 6

EMPRESS (Haru/Noir) - Rank 3

EMPEROR (Yusuke/Fox) - Rank 6

HIEROPHANT (Sojiro/Boss/Coffee Daddy) - Rank MAX (10)

LOVERS (Ann/Panther) - Rank MAX (10)

CHARIOT (Ryuji/Skull) - Rank MAX (10)

JUSTICE (Akechi/Crow) - Rank 8

HERMIT (Futaba/Oracle) - Rank 6

FORTUNE (Chihaya/Fortune Teller) - Rank 4

STRENGTH (Caroline and Justine/Twin Wardens) - Rank MAX (10)

HANGED (Iwai/Weapons Dealer) - Rank 4

DEATH (Takemi/Back Alley Doctor) - Rank 7.5

TEMPERANCE (Kawakami/Becky) - Rank 6

DEVIL (Ohya) - Rank 3

TOWER (Shinya/The King/Skilled Gamer) - Rank 1

STAR (Hifumi) - Rank 7

MOON (Mishima) - Rank 7

SUN (Yoshida/Man Of The People) - Rank MAX (10)

JUDGEMENT (Sae/Prosecutor) - Rank MAX (10)

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

COUNCILLOR (Maruki/Doc) - Rank MAX (10)

WORLD (Kusa/Draconis) - Rank 9

*ALL CONFIDANTS UNLOCKED*