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!

74. The New Recruit! Joker's Comeback part 3

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Phantom Files! Hard to believe we're coming up on 75 chapters typed out, but here we are at chapter 74! Assuming that these next two arcs aren't shortened like Arc 6 slightly was, we might hit the 100 chapters mark in this story, which would be a first for me, since prior to this story, the story I had the most chapters posted for was Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Hacker's Memory- The Amasawa Files, which ended its run at 30 chapters posted.

Needless to say, this story's easily doubled that amount of chapters posted just from what I've actually posted thus far (as of the time I'm typing this start-of-chapter A/N, Chapter 65 should have just gone up to view within the past 24 hours), so that's neat. And we're close to 1.5 million words worth of word count as of that point. For now though, we're working on getting through one chapter at a time, I think. So yeah. Now then, let's hit up the disclaimer before I can forget.

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form, (barring the OCs Kusa/Draconis, Slim, Kyori, Mimille, Lumine, Akira and any other OCs that might appear later in the story, all of which are made by and thus owned by sithlorde1988 unless otherwise noted) and the actual ownership for the Persona series belongs to Atlus, Sega, and to some degree Koei Tecmo, so all credit to them!

Having said that, I think let's just jump into chapter 74 for now! Might have more to say in the end-of-chapter A/N, though, so keep reading after the chapter for that!

Chapter 74- Preparations, Reconciliations, and Shenaniganry! Joker's Comeback part 3

(In the evening, at Leblanc with Ren and Sojiro)

After pondering his options, Ren decided to brew more coffee, partly since there wasn't a lot else to do due to having gone on a Metaverse run that day, and partly because he felt like brewing coffee. Sojiro blinked before smiling and speaking up as he saw Ren setting up the coffee brewer.

"Hm? Well, you're awfully eager about this. The coffee bug really bit you hard, huh Ren? Well, whatever, I don't mind. All right, I'm headin' out to buy some cigarettes, since all the recent excitement has quite depleted my stock." Sojiro said as he headed to the store to pick up more cigarettes. Once he left, Ren ran the brewer, pouring himself a cup of the finished product when he was finished.

At that point, Ren heard the door open, blinking when he didn't see anyone at first, before he heard a light hopping sound and smiled at the sight of a familiar looking not-cat hopping onto a stool and standing up on his back legs, using his front legs to peer over the counter as he watched Ren pour himself a cup of coffee as he spoke up.

"At it again, eh Ren? Looks like I picked a good time to pop in and surprise you for a bit. Also, mmm! I love the smell of good coffee in the evening, don't you?" Morgana asked Ren, who smiled in amusement while he nodded, leaning over to lightly pat Morgana on the head before sitting next to him to sip his finished product and smiling as he pumped a triumphant fist while speaking up.

"YES! Another successful brew!" Ren said happily. Morgana smiled and spoke up at that point.

"Not bad, Ren. I gotta say, the way you're drinking it right now makes it look delicious." Morgana said as Ren nodded, getting two 'Master Coffee' items for his efforts. At that point, Morgana smirked and spoke up while looking at Ren.

"Heh, it probably goes without saying by now, but I'll say it anyways. As always, it looks like the chief's gentlemanly charm is rubbing off on you." Morgana said to Ren, who smirked and nodded as his Charm got a minor, if very unneeded, boost. At that point, Sojiro chuckled as he walked back in, seeing Ren sipping a cup of coffee, Morgana sitting next to Ren happily, seemingly content to watch Ren enjoy his coffee. Sojiro then spoke up.

"Looks like you're at it again, eh Ren? I gotta say, I'm impressed by how hard you work at perfecting your brewing skills. That said, how's it going? Here, I'll have a sip." Sojiro said before taking the vacated seat Ren got up from as Ren walked behind the counter to await Sojiro's verdict as he sipped the coffee, smiling as he spoke up.

"Mmm, yes. This fresh taste I detect, there's no doubt about it. This is Colombian 100% Typica. Let me explain! The high altitude, rainy climate, and soil of the Colombian mountains creates a strong foundation for their high quality coffee. This coffee is made from 100% Typica beans and is rare due to its difficult harvest. It has a citrusy freshness and fragrant aroma. Heh, eh, yeah. There's nothing else to be said about it. This brew is delicious, Ren. I'm legitimately impressed. Although, you'll never completely catch up to me, if only because I won't let you. After all, I'm also continually working to better myself as a coffee brewer.

However, I won't lie to you, Ren. I like your coffee. Furthermore, I'm overjoyed to have such a competent apprentice. Kusa might be better than you for now at the curry aspect of things, but if you work at that like you have this coffee, you'll eventually overtake him there too. That being said, kindly allow me to act as your lead for a little longer, if you don't mind." Sojiro said as Ren nodded agreeably as Sojiro spoke up once more after noticing Morgana curled up on a stool next to Ren.

"Oh, right. Almost forgot that this furry little one snuck over here to see you. I suppose I should take him back with me so no one sees him padding out of here. We're trying to preserve the illusion that you're dead and Kusa's not in town, after all." Sojiro said as Morgana spoke up so only Ren could hear.

"Yeah, I probably should head back with the chief. As for you, Ren, be sure you get lots of rest. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day." Morgana said as Ren nodded agreeably to the not-cat before wishing Sojiro goodnight as he went home, carefully carrying Morgana in one arm, the other being used to flip the sign as he closed the door behind him, trusting Ren to lock up for the night. As Ren went upstairs to lay down, his phone rang, confusing him, but Ren answered it regardless.

"Hello? Ren speaking." Ren said as he smiled on hearing Ryuji's voice on the other end.

"It's me. Sorry, I know you're tired. It'll be a sec, just hear me out." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"I'm legitimately not that tired, Ryuji. Also, I don't mind talking to you when you need it, man. I thought you knew this by now?" Ren said in a mix of amusement and fondness. Ryuji spoke up at that point.

"Right, right. My bad. Anyways, I've decided what I want to do with Shido after goin' into his Palace. We can't let him run free. If there's a heart we gotta steal, it's definitely gotta be his." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"That's absolutely right, Ryuji. We must steal Shido's heart. However, let me remind you of something. Kusa and I are shoo-ins for the front lines when we face Shido down the line. I might be inclined to put you in as well when the time comes, but I only will have two other front-line slots available, three if we count Futaba as a front-line member given her role as the navigator. If you're fine with this though, then I have no problem with you wanting to be in on the action when we change Shido's heart." Ren said fairly as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, that's totally fair. I wouldn't deny the two of you your paybacks for what that bastard's put you and Kusa through. But man, you knew this whole time, huh? I want to avenge you, that's a no-brainer. But that's not it. If we let him run the country, the weak will be totally effed. Isn't it our duty to protect them?" Ryuji asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed it is, Ryuji. And rest assured, we'll protect them until the end. That's our job, no, our responsibility as Phantom Thieves." Ren said wisely as Ryuji spoke up.

"Cool. Remember when I told you that heroes who lurk in the shadows are boring?" Ryuji asked, making Ren smirk as he spoke up.

"Yep. If I recall right, that was the day you then said to me, and I quote, 'Shade? What are you, moss?'. Which to be fair, was pretty funny in retrospect, even if I did get a bit annoyed with you at the time." Ren said as Ryuji chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, truth. I did say that, didn't I? Well, forget what I said. Those heroes are way cooler. Ugh. Hey, Ren? Once we change Shido's heart, will that be the end of our run as Phantom Thieves, do you think? Ah, no, never mind. Forget it. Anyways, let's do it! Let's steal that bastard Shido's heart. I'll do everythin' I can to make that happen. Thanks for listening to me, Ren. See ya." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"No problem, Ryuji. You know I've always got time to listen to you, man. Kusa and I might be closer than we used to be, but if I'm being honest? With all apologies to Morgana and Kusa, you're probably the member of the Phantom Thieves I'd be most inclined to call my best male friend at the moment. Before what he did, I might have said that was Akechi, but now that we know that two-faced snake's true nature, he's lucky he's even still on my acquaintance list. And yeah, see ya later, bro." Ren said as he hung up the phone, idly wondering as he got comfortable if Kusa was having as entertaining of a night as he himself had had...

(Around the same time as Ren's conversation wth Ryuji, at the Sakura household, in the living room with Futaba and Kusa)

"Mwehehe. This is nice, isn't it Kusa? Just you, and me, laying on this hide-a-bed together, without much of any worries in the world?" Futaba said happily as she and Kusa laid together on the hide-a-bed. Kusa smiled at Futaba and nodded as he spoke up.

"Couldn't agree with you more, Taba. This is definitely something I quite enjoy, being able to hold you close like this. I won't lie to you, though. I consider myself truly lucky and grateful each day that we decided to give it a go as a couple. I probably say this to you a lot, but there's no one else I'd rather have laying with me than you, Taba. And that's not counting Morgana, since it goes without saying I enjoy him cuddling up to me at night since his current form makes him look so adorable doing so. But if he asks? I never said that. And I'll deny saying that up and down if he asks me about it." Kusa said, making Futaba giggle as she spoke up.

"Relax, Kusa. It's just us. You don't have to deny it. I know you have a soft spot for animals, namely cats and dogs. But I also like that you're not shy about showing me affection as well. Makes me truly glad I made the decision to stake claim to you as my boyfriend." Futaba said as she leaned in to kiss Kusa, who smiled and returned the kiss happily. After a bit, Futaba looked into Kusa's eyes and spoke up.

"That said, I did notice you seemed a bit distracted earlier while we were investigating Shido's Palace. I didn't call you on it then, since I wasn't trying to call you out in front of the others. But I'm gonna ask now, since it's just us. Was something on your mind earlier?" Futaba asked Kusa, who spoke up with a sigh as he reluctantly nodded to Futaba's question while he spoke.

"Honestly? Yeah, there was. At that point, I was torn between the idea that I finally had an idea of who my biological dad might be, and the fact that said potential dad is the same scumbag who landed Ren and I in our current predicaments, not to mention the double-whammy of also potentially having a half-brother who is the same double-dealing scumbag who hurt practically the entire collective of the Phantom Thieves in some capacity. But especially so, the fact that he hurt you so much, Taba.

I might be happy at the idea of having another half-brother, but not if it's the scum who took your mom from you. That's not fair to you that you'd have him as a potential brother figure. Never mind the fact that he could also be the reason Haru lost her father. Needless to say, it's a difficult idea to wrap my head around, since I could likely be biologically related to not one, but TWO of our current biggest problems.

And also, I meant it when I told you I'd never do anything to knowingly cause you pain, Taba. So yeah, I suppose I'm both excited to see if this DNA test that Sojiro's getting run for us confirms our theory, but also leery of the idea that I could be related to both Masayoshi Shido AND Goro Akechi. If that's true, I have one hell of a crazy family tree." Kusa said, dryly laughing at his own observation as Futaba smiled at Kusa and hugged him reassuringly while she spoke up.

"Don't worry about it, Kusa. You can't help who you're related to. And I can relate to having relatives that you're ashamed of. Or did you forget what my uncle did to me that we changed his heart over? And that's not saying anything about what the rest of my so-called family did indirectly. But we were talking about you, not me. My point is, you don't need to be stressing about that, Kusa. If you do end up related to them, so be it. That doesn't mean any of us will think any less of you for that. So don't get so stressed out about it.

Besides, you should know by now that I love you, and always will, no matter what happens, or who you're related to. So don't feel bad about leaning on me if you need to, Kusa. That's what I'm here for as your girlfriend, after all. This relationship isn't just a one-way street in terms of us being there for one another. It goes both ways. I can be there for you, just like you're there for me. So relax, and just let me be here for you right now." Futaba said to Kusa as she gently rested her head on Kusa's shoulder, making him look down and smile at her as he spoke up.

"Heh, thanks Taba. Y'know, you're right. I think sometimes I forget that you're just as capable of having my back as I am of having yours. So thank you for reassuring me. I appreciate that." Kusa said as he leaned in to kiss Futaba again, which she happily returned as the two made out for a bit, quickly breaking apart as they heard the door open, right as Sojiro came in, Morgana tucked under one arm. Sojiro then set down the not-cat on the ground, where he quickly padded over and hopped up onto the hide-a-bed, curling up on the head of the couch near Kusa's head as Sojiro smirked at the two on the hide-a-bed and spoke up.

"Ah, what's this? Taking advantage of each other's company, are we? Good stuff, you two. Just be smart about it, if you do take it past a certain point. But I think I can trust you to use proper discretion when taking such steps." Sojiro said wisely before retreating to his room, not seeing the twin looks of embarrassment/mortification on Kusa and Futaba's faces, as the latter huffed while she spoke up.

"Urgh. Darn it, Sojiro! We weren't even thinking about THAT! Besides, I think we can both agree that we're not ready for that step yet. We've not been together nearly long enough yet, for starters. Also, I'm not sure if Kusa's even in the proper mind-space to think about that." Futaba said huffily as Kusa spoke up, lightly patting Futaba on the head while he spoke.

"I think he was just trying to tell us to be careful, that's all. But I like that you were so quick to think he was rebuking us. Besides, I would think that you've realized by now that I respect your wishes, and will take our relationship at whatever pace you're comfortable with." Kusa said as Futaba smiled and nodded before speaking up.

"That's true. Well, never mind him. Let's get back to what we were doing, yeah? Mwehehe." Futaba said as Kusa smirked and nodded before he and Futaba kissed for a bit longer, before the two eventually snuggled up together and dozed off happily, neither one noticing the smirking not-cat as he hopped up to curl up across the two while all three dozed off for the night...

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

Ren slowly stretched as he sat up, blinking when he did so as he noticed Morgana sitting on his bed looking at him. Ren blinked and spoke up.

"Um, when did you get here, Morgana? I thought that Boss took you home last night?" Ren said as Morgana spoke up.

"Heh, he did. But then he brought me back over this morning on Kusa's suggestion. Apparently he and Futaba had something else they wanted to do before we continued our infiltration. But never mind that for now. It's almost time. Were you able to sleep last night?" Morgana asked Ren, who spoke up honestly.

"To be honest with you? I think I slept decently well, all things considered. It was a bit surreal, not having the background noise of you and Kusa to fall asleep to." Ren said as Morgana chuckled.

"Heh, that sounds like you, Ren. That said, I'm impressed. Whatever happens, you always manage to just shake it off. You're finally facing off against your arch-enemy. I know you know this, but don't get impatient and try to rush to confront him. But geez, it's been getting cold lately. We might freeze to death before we can change his heart. Let's look to see if we can find anything to help us get warm." Morgana said as Ren nodded, looking around, before he smiled as he spotted a heater tucked under the table behind the bucket by the sofa.

After Ren carefully pulled it out, he plugged it in and turned it on, smiling with Morgana as they quickly got warm while sitting near the heater. Morgana spoke up happily at that point.

"A heater, huh? Oh, this is good, Ren. I bet Kusa will be pleased to see that when he eventually resumes living here with you. Also, it's so warm and comfy." Morgana said happily before blinking as he turned to Ren.

"Hey! Once we take care of Shido, what will we do next, Ren? Uh, Ren?" Morgana said to Ren, who gave Morgana a concerned look as he spoke up.

"Be honest with me, Morgana. What's wrong?" Ren said to Morgana. Morgana spoke up.

"Hm? Well, I suppose I should be honest with you, Ren. I was just thinking, that's all. If we defeat Shido and change his heart, this might be the last job for the Phantom Thieves." Morgana said as Ren blinked and shook his head in denial as Morgana kept speaking.

"I know you don't agree, but let's be honest here. Everyone's goals and ambitions, especially your own and Kusa's, they're all linked to taking down Shido. That's how I feel, at least. Also, we all became phantom thieves for our own reasons. We weren't just playing around. Granted, I don't think we ever did get Kusa's reason, but that's irrelevant. That said, it's not just our friends inside the Phantom Thieves.

Outside of the Phantom Thieves, you also have friends who've been helping you. They believe in you. We have an important battle ahead of us, and we only made it all this way because of them. There's no guarantees that we'll make it out of this. Be sure to see your friends as much as you can with the time you have left, when we're not in the Palace at least, so you have no regrets." Morgana said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"True, I understand what you're saying. But, to be honest, I think I already have at least one regret with how we handled things so far, but I don't think I need to re-hash that again since I feel like Kusa summed up that regret quite nicely when he voiced his objections to the plan before. Granted, I still feel bad for not letting her in the loop on the plan, since she's my girlfriend and all. But Makoto did have a valid point about the less people in the know of our plans, the safer we are. But I feel like we could've trusted Kasumi to keep this to herself if we asked her to. But that's just my opinion." Ren said as Morgana looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Ren, I get how you feel. Also, I'm with you, all the way to the end. This upcoming battle is personal, both for you, and for Kusa. But much moreso for you, so we'll do it your way. Now you can fight Shido on your terms!" Morgana said as Ren nodded gratefully as the two relaxed by the heater...

(Meanwhile, at school, in class with Ann)

"Haven't the Amamiya bros been taking a lot of days off? I wonder if it's got anything to do with the elder Amamiya brother's record." Ann heard a male student say to his nearby friend as Kawakami huffed and spoke up.

"Okay, quiet down! I believe I mentioned this before, but both of the Amamiya-kun brothers are back at their family's home, due to an issue that arose with their mother. It's a personal matter, so don't go spreading rumors." Kawakami said as Ann frowned before muttering under her breath.

"How long can we keep this up? We need to take care of things before we get caught, and both Ren and Kusa wind up in a mountain of trouble." Ann said to herself...

(Later that afternoon, in the lower level of Leblanc with Sojiro, Kusa, Futaba, Morgana, and Ren)

"Hey, are you sure it's okay for him to be down here working right now? I mean, wouldn't it be bad if a Shujin student walked in and saw him?" Sojiro asked as Kusa spoke up.

"That's a fair point, Boss. But it's still the middle of the school day at this point, isn't it? Unless someone cut classes to come and get some of your curry and coffee, who would walk through that door right now?" Kusa said fairly as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"Fair point, Kusa. And Sojiro? Eh, don't worry about it." Futaba said, right as the door opened, and Sojiro turned to the new arrival and spoke up.

"Welcome-" Sojiro said, before cutting himself off as he saw who was sitting there, as it was a certain red-headed first-year that Ren and Kusa were both quite familiar with, making Kusa quietly swear under his breath, careful to keep his external expression unreadable even while inwardly being glad he'd kept his hood up as his eyes widened under said hood as he recognized Kasumi. Kusa then kept quiet for the moment, silently gesturing for Ren to stay in the back as he resumed his meal. But unfortunately for Kusa and Ren, the former's gesture would come too late, as Kasumi walked in and immediately spotted Ren in the back doing dishes, gasping as she spoke up.

"Hello, Sakura-kun. Sorry for the sudden visit, but I heard something through the grapevine that I wanted to-Huh!?" Kasumi said, cutting herself off mid-sentence as her eyes widened on seeing Ren, as Sojiro frowned at Futaba and spoke up.

"See, you two? What did I just say!?" Sojiro asked as Futaba just smirked and spoke up with an amused smirk on her face.

"Nah, still fine. Besides, she can be trusted to know. After all, I seem to recall that two of us in this room wanted her to be in the loop on things in the first place?" Futaba said with a wry smirk. Ren heard Kasumi's voice and put the dish down that he was washing, walking out to greet Kasumi, who gasped and ran forward as she spoke up.

"N-No way!? Is this really real!? Is that you, Ren-senpai!? You're- You're not like a stunt double or something, right?" Kasumi asked, making Kusa have to seriously resist the urge to burst out laughing at the silly question Kasumi had just asked. Ren smiled at Kasumi as he looked into her eyes and spoke up.

"No, not at all, Sumi. It's the real me. I apologize for letting you think I was dead. But there wasn't really a choice to be had, since we had to limit the amount of people who knew about the plan, for the sake of not letting it leak to the enemy pre-maturely. Now c'mere." Ren said as he walked forward to wrap his arms eagerly around his girlfriend's waist, making her give Ren a very brilliant closed-eye smile as she spoke up.

"I don't know what's happening right now, but I really hope this isn't a dream!" Kasumi said as Morgana smirked and spoke up.

"Well, are you pleased, Ren? I'm the one who set this up. A little surprise from me to you. I asked Futaba to do ME a favor, since it seemed like a good place to start." Morgana said as Futaba smirked and spoke up.

"And I then asked Ryuji to pass the message along to Kasumi, knowing he'd make sure she found out." Futaba said, pointedly ignoring Kusa muttering what sounded suspiciously like 'rather bold words for a fool' under his breath as Morgana spoke up.

"I knew you'd be wiped out for a while Ren, so I made sure to give you time to recover first." Morgana said as Kasumi smiled before leaning up to eagerly capture Ren's lips in her own for a bit, eventually blushing prettily as she realized what she'd just done and who she'd done it in front of, turning to give the others in the room an apologetic look before she focused her attention on Ren as she spoke up.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alive, Ren! I'm just so happy! You have no idea how devastated and almost brokenhearted I was when I thought you'd died!" Kasumi said to Ren after the two pulled apart for air, as a shocked Morgana spoke up.

"No one cares about my scheme!?" Morgana asked in disbelief as Futaba spoke up.

"Afraid not, Morgana. Or at least, none of us who are able to voice such things care. I know of one of us in this room who's probably proud of your scheme, but I also know he isn't sure yet about letting that metaphoric cat out of the bag yet." Futaba said with an amused smirk. Sojiro then smirked and spoke up.

"Well, it looks like you know what's been going on with Ren. Take a seat, why don'tcha? No reason to stand around. I'm going out for a bit to grab some groceries. I'll let you all get caught up with each other. And Kasumi? Try not to be too angry with these three. They wanted to let you in on this, but they were convinced it was a dangerous idea." Sojiro said as Kasumi nodded and took a seat in a booth across from Ren and Futaba, before suddenly blinking at Sojiro's mention of 'these three', figuring he didn't mean Morgana, before her gaze turned to the hooded person sitting at the counter that she'd not noticed prior to that point, and her eyes narrowed as she spoke up in realization.

"Wait a second. A forest-green hoodie, and Sakura-kun said 'these three'!? I might be confused right now, but I'm not naive! Is that you under that hood, Kusa!?" Kasumi asked as the once again wide-eyed Kusa swore under his breath before slowly turning around and lowering his hood as he spoke up with a sheepish look on his face as he looked at Kasumi.

"Y-Yeah, that's right. It's me. Sorry for letting you think Ren was dead and I was out of town, but it was necessary to convince our enemy that they'd disposed of Ren. I wanted to tell you the plan, but our other friends were adamant that letting you in the loop was risky, mostly from a security standpoint. I tried convincing them that you could be trusted, though. But they weren't to be budged on their decision. But I want you to know, if it'd have been up to me? You'd have been one of the first to know that Ren was still alive. So, please don't be too upset with me?" Kusa said sheepishly as Kasumi smiled before she giggled and hugged Kusa as she spoke up.

"Don't be silly, Kusa. I'm not mad at either of you that much. A bit annoyed with you for not telling me that Ren was alive the day the story of his suicide broke, yes, but not mad. I understand why you had to keep it from me. I'm just happy that my boyfriend isn't dead." Kasumi said as Futaba spoke up after she sat in a booth seat with Ren, while Kasumi and Kusa sat next to each other as Futaba nervously spoke up.

"Ah, that's right. S-So, you and Ren are boyfriend and girlfriend, right?" Futaba asked Kasumi uneasily. Kasumi smiled and nodded her confirmation as Futaba spoke up.

"Right, I always forget about that. S-So, W-Wassup? Been a bit since we chatted, yeah?" Futaba said shyly. Kasumi nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed it has, Futaba. Possibly too long. I should probably switch seats with you honestly, so that way we can both sit by our respective boyfriends." Kasumi suggested as Futaba nodded and switched seats with Kasumi, sitting next to a smirking Kusa, who snaked an arm lightly around Futaba's waist, making her squeak cutely in surprise before smiling as she laid her head on Kusa's shoulder. Morgana spoke up with a frown.

"As nice as seeing two happy couples like you is, could you four not keep secrets from one another anymore? And, Futaba? I thought you were over being shy around people?" Morgana said as Futaba huffed and swatted lightly at the not-cat before she pouted adorably and spoke up.

"Sh-Shuddup, Morgana! Don't you underestimate my people anxiety!" Futaba said as Kusa smiled and kissed Futaba on the cheek before he spoke up.

"Relax, Taba. We'll help you get better at that together. And I think Morgana was just teasing you anyway." Kusa said in amusement. Futaba flushed shyly but nodded as she spoke up.

"Fair enough, Kusa. So, Kasumi. Mona tells me that you helped Ren out in that Palace a while back." Futaba said, not seeing Ren and Kusa's eyes widen at her usage of Morgana's code name in front of Kasumi, who mouthed 'Mona!?' under her breath as Futaba kept speaking.

"Anyways, we're awfully grateful for that. And by we, I mean myself, Morgana, Kusa, and Sojiro. We all see Ren as family, needless to say. Some of us more than others." Futaba said, smirking in amusement at the twin looks of mild annoyance Kusa and Morgana aimed at her. Kusa then frowned as he lightly poked Futaba's nose and spoke up.

"Be nice, Taba. You say that like it's a crime for me to be concerned for my older brother. Besides, I seem to recall that you were just as concerned for him as I was." Kusa said rebukingly to Futaba, who pouted but nodded her understanding as Kasumi giggled and spoke up.

"You two are so cute like that, Kusa and Futaba. But back on topic, no problem! Oh, no. It was my pleasure. Ren's usually the one who helps me out. Not only that, I'd promised to repay his kindness to me, no matter what." Kasumi said as Kusa smirked and spoke up while aiming a sly grin at Ren, who just groaned as Kusa spoke.

"Gee, and here I was thinking that you agreeing to be Ren's girlfriend was a blanket repayment of his kindness. Silly me." Kusa joked as Ren flushed and spoke up.

"Not funny, Kusa! And I didn't make Kasumi my girlfriend just for the sake of making us even! I asked her to be my girlfriend because I love her and want to be there for her when she needs me!" Ren said mulishly, wrapping an arm possessively around Kasumi's waist, smiling at how eagerly Kasumi leaned into the gesture. Futaba blinked at Kasumi's response and spoke up from next to Kusa.

"What a refined response! Are we really around the same age?" Futaba asked as Kusa nodded in the affirmative, smirking at Futaba as he spoke up.

"I can confirm that this is the case. Your birthday is just under a year after Kasumi's, Taba. She was born on 3/25/00, and you were born on 2/19/01 if what I found out from you two is accurate." Kusa said with a smirk as Morgana spoke up. *1*

"As interesting as hearing Kusa's back-and-forth banter with you two ladies is, that's not important right now. You know, there's something I've wanted to ask you, Yoshizawa. Why were you in that Palace in the first place?" Morgana asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Pretty sure she went in to tail us from a distance in case she needed to step in and protect Ren, to be honest." Kusa said as Kasumi flushed and spoke up.

"Not helping, Kusa! And to your question, Morgana? That's, ah, complicated." Kasumi said as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"I was wondering that too. Of course, I'm extra-grateful that you saved our leader back there. But if our plan had somehow leaked, then we need to change our tactics from here on out." Futaba said as Kusa frowned, eventually crossing his arms contemplatively before he spoke up.

"And it took Kasumi here saving Ren for us to consider the possibility of a leak, why?" Kusa asked rhetorically as Kasumi frowned and spoke up.

"That's kind of a long story, to be honest. It all started about a week ago, when Ren and I had lunch together on the roof of the school with Morgana." Kasumi said as a flashback of the discussion between Kasumi, Morgana, and Ren played, the group hearing flashback Morgana say, 'Uh, but that day's when we have plans.', before Kasumi kept speaking, either not seeing or ignoring the widening of Kusa's eyes at what she said next while she spoke.

"I got the feeling that something big was going to take place that day, so, well, I'm so sorry! I was actually following you the entire time!" Kasumi said apologetically as Kusa almost choked on his drink in his shock at hearing Kasumi admit to tailing the group into the Metaverse. Futaba then spoke up while carefully thumping Kusa on the back to help him not choke while she spoke.

"Wait, hold up. We were tailed there!?" Futaba said as Kusa spoke up after recovering from almost choking.

"Damn, and here I thought I was mistaken when I sensed someone tailing us that whole time. Granted, I might have figured it was Black Mask, so I didn't question the possibility of it being Kasumi. So that's at least partly on me for not doing as much due diligence as I usually do." Kusa said sheepishly as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"Not your fault at all, Kusa. We definitely had no idea about that. It's like night and day compared to when Makoto was following us around." Morgana said as Kasumi frowned before speaking up.

"I see. To be honest? I've been considering it for a while now. Honestly, perhaps I should be fighting alongside you if I have special powers like yours, Senpai. I wondered if an outsider like myself should even get involved, but I couldn't just stand back and do nothing while you put yourself at risk, Ren." Kasumi said as Ren frowned at Kasumi calling herself an outsider before he spoke up.

"Outsider!? Is that what you think you are to us, Kasumi? If so, you're dead wrong! You're at worst an ally to us, and at best, you're as good as one of us! Ignoring for the moment that you're my girlfriend who I love with all of my being, you're also a trusted friend to most of us, even if some of us have only spoken to you a couple of times, such as the time you ran into most of our group in Hawaii.

Sadly, because they were either a first-year and didn't have a training camp in Hawaii like you did, basically home-schooled, and because one of them isn't exactly in a human form at the moment, Kusa, Futaba, and Morgana respectively had to stay behind on that occasion. But you got to meet most of the rest of us when you ran into us at the shopping mall the day we all left Hawaii. So never doubt that you will always have a place among us, Kasumi. But also, you saved my life, and I love you that much more for it!" Ren said sincerely as he gave Kasumi's hand a reassuring squeeze. Kasumi blushed prettily but smiled as she spoke up.

"Aww, that's sweet of you to say, Ren-senpai. But it was nothing compared to how much you've done for me in the past. Hm, that's right. Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but to be honest? You're not done here yet, are you? Then perhaps, I ought to lend you a hand." Kasumi offered as Ren, Futaba, and Morgana all gave Kasumi shocked looks at her offer as Morgana spoke up.

"Well, we could definitely use the additional firepower, but is it really safe to be bringing a potentially untrained Persona-user into the Palace of a crazed person like Masayoshi Shido?" Morgana asked as Kusa frowned at the look he saw Ren and Morgana exchange, giving the two a pointed look before he cleared his throat and spoke up, feeling the need to intervene before Ren, Morgana, or the both of them did/said something they might regret later.

"Hold up! I see those skeptical looks that the two of you are exchanging, Ren and Morgana. Before either of you try and make some asinine remark about it being too dangerous for Kasumi to join the team, let me interject first. Yes, it's dangerous bringing Kasumi along as one of the group, but consider this. It's equally dangerous NOT bringing her along now that she knows that we're both still in town AND that Ren's not dead. What's to say that Akechi, who was with us when we had that party for Ann's birthday and saw Ren kiss Kasumi at least once, thus meaning he knows about you two being in a relationship, hasn't already leaked the specifics of Kasumi and Ren's relationship to Shido?

If he has, then it'd be just a matter of time before Shido's goons come swarming around to try and capture Kasumi, possibly as bait to force our hand. As such, I believe Kasumi will inevitably be in danger whether we turn her away or not. Therefore, there's only one thing to be done for it. The logical course of action, at least in my honest professional opinion, is for us to let her join the Phantom Thieves if that's her wish. I not only say that as someone who thinks Kasumi deserves the chance to show us what she can do, but also so that Ren doesn't have part of his focus dedicated to constantly worrying about his girlfriend's well-being.

Besides, I think we owe it to her to let her help us after letting her think Ren died for the last couple days, don't you? Not only that, I'd be an effing hypocrite if I didn't argue for Kasumi to join us, since I did kind of smuggle Futaba into her Palace with me when we changed her heart, so that wouldn't be fair to Kasumi if we didn't let her have the same chance to accompany us that Taba got.

And unlike Futaba when she accompanied me into her own Palace, Kasumi here has already awakened to her Persona, assuming that Morgana and Ren weren't lying to me when they told me about how you had your Awakening after some near-death experience in some unknown Palace the three of you wound up in. So I think she should be allowed to join the team. If nothing else, we need the extra firepower after the fact one of ours recently betrayed us.

So if you two are going to insist on refusing to let her help us, maybe Ren and I should sit this out while the rest of you infiltrate the Palace, just to make things fair to Kasumi. After all, why should Kasumi be the only one of us in the know that doesn't get to help out? And before anyone brings them up, we're not counting Boss and/or Makoto's sister in this, since they don't have Personas to defend themselves. So consider all this before making any rash decisions." Kusa said firmly. Ren blinked at this as he spoke up.

"Honestly, I'm both ecstatic and grateful that you want to join us, Sumi. But Morgana does have a point that Shido is more dangerous than any target we've dealt with thus far. However, Kusa also has a valid point when he says that you deserve to join after what we put you through recently. So as much as the protective part of me wants to keep you a safe distance from Shido's notice, I think Kusa might be right that it'd be impossible to keep you completely safe at this point.

As such, I think at this time, it's your decision. Will you join the Phantom Thieves and be one of us for real, Kasumi?" Ren asked a pleasantly surprised Kasumi. Kasumi then gave Kusa a grateful look for standing up for her as she spoke up while smiling prettily at Ren.

"Hm? Is this for real, Senpai?" Kasumi asked as Ren spoke up with a nod.

"It is. I appreciate you offering to join us. After all, Morgana and I both told you before that the offer would stay open for you, should you change your mind. As such, if you wish to do so now, I have no problems welcoming you into the ranks of the Phantom Thieves with open arms, since Kusa is right when he says that you've more than earned a spot in our group by now. So would you like to join us?" Ren asked Kasumi, who spoke up while giving Ren an unreadable look.

"Well, you say that, but I can see the worry for me in your eyes, Senpai. But yes, I would very much like to join your group." Kasumi said as Morgana spoke up.

"And we'd love to have you, Yoshizawa. However, it's risky. Honestly, we have no idea what risks you would face. Our enemy this time is more dangerous than anyone else so far. Also, we pretty much brought this entire mess down upon ourselves, so this is on us. We're delighted by the offer, but we really can't drag you into this any further." Morgana said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"And who says that we're dragging her, Morgana!? Did you not hear her offer, of her own volition I might add, to join our group with her own mouth!? I don't think that was at all forced or dragged. And Kasumi's a big girl who can handle herself. So I think it's safe to say that she'll probably just tail us again like she did before if we turn her away. So I think it's wiser we just accept her offer now and save us all that headache in the long run. Besides, I'm sure that Haru, Futaba, Ann, and Makoto would be delighted to have another girl on the team. Basically even out the gender ratio a bit, as it were." Kusa said sagely. Morgana spoke up from his place inbetween Ren and Kasumi.

"Perhaps so. But Kusa, doesn't Yoshizawa here have something to do herself?" Morgana said pointedly in a last-ditch effort to dissuade Kasumi from joining the group. Kusa huffed at Morgana's attempt to dissuade Kasumi and crossed his arms while frowning at the not-cat currently standing up in Ren's lap as he spoke up.

"I didn't want to have to play this card, Morgana. But I will if I feel I have to, and at this point I feel I have to. That said, I would think you'd want to encourage Kasumi to join. After all, I seem to recall someone taunting myself and Ren a while back that our luck would have our crushes, who are now our girlfriends, not only joining the Phantom Thieves, but wind up having special joint attacks with us. And you already called it happening for myself and Taba.

Furthermore, as I recall, Ren here still has all of zero Showtime partners. So, considering that at this point, the only ones with at least one open Showtime slot on the team would be Kasumi and Futaba, assuming that we're not counting Crow as a member of the team anymore. So that makes for VERY good odds that she and Ren would have a Showtime together. So I'm honestly shocked and impressed to hear that you seem to want to possibly prove yourself wrong on the back half of your prediction, Morgana." Kusa said to Morgana as Kasumi frowned and spoke up.

"Ah, it sounds like Morgana-senpai doesn't want me joining. Maybe I should respect his wishes. After all, I believe I'd be acting selfishly if I were to press any further." Kasumi said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"With all apologies to Morgana, screw that! After what we put you through, you've more than earned the right to be a tad selfish, Kasumi. Ren and Morgana just need to get over themselves and accept that you're a vibrant, confident, and independent young woman who's more than able to make her own choices. And if one of those choices is you wanting to join the same group your boyfriend is in, then that's your right to do so, I feel.

And considering you're as good as the sister Ren and I never had, even if Ren obviously made you his girlfriend, I'm damn well going to look out for your best interests here as best I can. If nothing else, I owe it to you to do so after basically disrespecting you by not letting you know that Ren was safe." Kusa said firmly. Kasumi looked at Kusa as she spoke up.

"Kusa!? Thank you. Morgana? I'm sorry, but while I understand your reasoning and acknowledge that we could table this discussion until you guys returned from the Metaverse, I agree with Kusa that I'm in my rights to want to join the group. So, Ren? To answer your question from earlier, yes. Yes, I would love to be a part of the Phantom Thieves for real." Kasumi said honestly as Ren smiled and leaned forward to kiss Kasumi before he spoke up.

"Very well. As the leader of the group, let me be the first to congratulate you on earning a place within our ranks, as well as formally welcome you into the ranks of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Welcome to the Crew, Sumi." Ren said as Kusa grinned and spoke up while chuckling at the reminder of the nickname he'd coined for the Phantom Thieves back when the group's formation had been finalized, which was before Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Akechi, and now Kasumi, had joined.

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot that Morgana had mentioned we could be literal when telling people that back when I coined our group's nom de gurre of the 'Phantom Crew'. Heh, good times." Kusa said in amusement. Kasumi giggled at Kusa's slight stroking of his ego before she smiled and spoke up.

"Somehow, I could see you being the one to come up with that sort of group name, Kusa. And Ren, thank you. Glad to be part of the crew." Kasumi said as she eagerly leaned into Ren before she kept speaking.

"That said, while I am agreeing to join the group, I do have to ask that you all will promise me one thing. From now on? No more leaving me out of the loop on things! I want to be able to help brainstorm with you all where I can. I'll admit that for me, free time is unfortunately rather limited with my training and practices, but I want to be there for the group to the best of my ability." Kasumi said honestly as Kusa spoke up.

"Honestly? Those are all perfectly valid things to ask, Kasumi. You have my word that you'll be kept privy to our group's discussions from here on. After all, this group has no secrets from its' own for the most part. And even if Ren and Morgana over there aren't doing the best job of demonstrating it, in the Phantom Thieves? We look after our own. And we always make it a point to agree on things as a team. We believe in equality within this group." Kusa said as Kasumi smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Kusa. That's reassuring. But to be honest? I don't ever want to feel as horrible again as I did when I thought I'd lost my boyfriend to suicide." Kasumi said, turning to give Ren a warning look as she finished speaking. Ren smiled as he looked into Kasumi's eyes and spoke up reassuringly while kissing her on the cheek.

"Never gonna happen, Sumi. Look at me. I'm not going anywhere. I love you, and I promise to be by your side as much as you'll let me be. As your boyfriend, I'm kind of honor-bound to do my utmost to keep you as safe and happy as I can possibly make you. And once again, I am truly very sorry that we had to make you feel that way for any period of time. I assure you that was the last thing I wanted to do. That said, I'm sure we'll be fine. Moreso now that you're one of us." Ren said sincerely. Kasumi smiled as she blushed at Ren kissing her on the cheek before she leaned up to shyly kiss Ren before she spoke up.

"Thank you, Ren. I really do believe you when you say that. And I forgive you." Kasumi said before turning to face Kusa, Morgana and Futaba as she spoke up.

"I forgive all of you. After all, if we're gonna be working together, I don't think we should start out as a team with bad blood amongst us." Kasumi said wisely before looking at her phone and frowning as she spoke up, her voice clearly full of disappointment.

"Aw come on, for real!? It's that time already!?" Kasumi said before sighing and looking directly at Ren as she kept speaking.

"Ugh, as much as I'd love to stay in your arms like this Ren-senpai, it's probably time I get going. I've got practice today, as usual." Kasumi said as Ren spoke up with a nod while looking into Kasumi's eyes lovingly as he spoke.

"I understand, Sumi. Here, let me get up with you, and I'll walk you to the door at least. And good luck at practice. I'm sorry I can't be there to offer you moral support for now." Ren said as Kasumi smiled and spoke up.

"Don't worry about it, Senpai. I'm just glad to know you're all right." Kasumi said as she and Ren got up, walking to the door where Kasumi kissed Ren once more and spoke up.

"Well, thanks. Not just for walking me to the door, but for welcoming me into your group. I guess I'll be seeing you around, Ren-senpai. I love you." Kasumi said as she reluctantly left the cafe. After she left, both Ren and Morgana gave Kusa pointed glares as the latter spoke up in a tone that was a mix of disappointment and irritation.

"I get why you spoke up for Kasumi like you did, Kusa. But don't EVER question us in front of an outsider again! Technically, that's now twice you've undermined Ren. You're lucky you're Ren's brother and such a good second-in-command." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"What Morgana said. But also, I didn't try to dissuade you from bringing Futaba to the Metaverse, did I? So I can't believe you'd openly speak out against us trying to protect Kasumi like that. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did, since we have a new team member because of it. However, did you think about what could've happened if you'd done that in public? That'd be a pretty bad look." Ren rebuked Kusa, who sheepishly nodded and spoke up.

"R-Right. Point taken. But I won't apologize for standing up for Kasumi. I meant what I said about having her back. So sorry for undermining the two of you, but not sorry for trying to stop you from being that one selfless and idiotic martyr type who pushes his loved one away with the belief that he's keeping her safe. I mean, come on! Yes, you have similar hair-style and glasses to him, but last I checked Ren, you're not the effing Boy-Who-Lived! *2*

Besides, you're gonna be much better off not having to worry about Kasumi all the time!" Kusa said as Ren and Morgana reluctantly nodded and conceded Kusa's point at that. After that, Kusa helped Futaba up as the three headed upstairs, at which point Ren, Kusa, and Futaba's phones went off to signify a group chat with Ann, Ryuji, Yusuke, Makoto, and Haru, with Ryuji sending the first response.

"Man. Suuure must be nice not having to go to school." Ryuji sent as Ren frowned at Ryuji's response and sent one of his own.

"Very funny, Ryuji. Is that aimed at me, by chance?" Ren said as Kusa sent a response.

"Nah, he totally was aiming that at Morgana. Yes, that was aimed at you. Or more likely, aimed at both you and me." Kusa sent. Ryuji sent a response.

"Heh, don't know what you two are talkin' about!" Ryuji sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Let's be fair here, Ryuji. Ren's supposed to be dead. And a dead man cannot go to school, you know. As for Kusa, for the most part, everyone believes he and Ren went back home to tend to a family matter regarding their mother." Yusuke sent as Haru sent a response.

"Good point, Yusuke-kun. Also, let's not forget. This would all be for nothing if they found out Ren-kun's still alive, and that Kusa-kun never left town." Haru sent as Ann sent a response.

"True, but doesn't it suck to live like a fugitive, though? Always having to hide your face?" Ann sent as Ren sent a response.

"It's a thrill, though. It's like I'm living out the scenes of my own action movie. I even have the whole 'fake my death to fool my enemy' plot device going for me." Ren sent. Kusa sent a response at that point.

"Yeah, yeah. We get it. You're big-time into action movies, Ren. But, no. It's NOT a thrill! Or at least it's not a thrill for me. Unlike you, I had to lie to multiple people I'm close to while pulling off our little charade. Luckily, one of said people knows the truth now, but still, I hate that I had to lie at all, Ren." Kusa sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Yes, well, I'm sure it is difficult for you right now, Kusa. And no doubt it's hard for Ren as well, but please bear with it for now." Yusuke sent as Makoto sent a response.

"Don't try TOO hard to hide yourself. You'll only stand out more." Makoto sent as Futaba sent a response.

"Mwehehe. Good advice, Makoto. That's always the hardest part. 'Try hard, but not too hard.' Such a difficult balancing act to pull off." Futaba sent as Makoto sent a response.

"In any case, we're ready to put the plan into action. Now all we need is your signal, Ren." Makoto sent as Ann blinked before she sent a response.

"Wait, back up a bit. What did Kusa mean by 'at least one of said people knows the truth now'!?" Ann sent as Ren and Kusa quickly put their phones away so as not to have to answer Ann's question, Futaba doing the same. Morgana then spoke up.

"Okay, so here's the thing, Ren. You'll stand out too much during the day, so we need to go at night. We're about to face our toughest target to date. Don't skimp on your preparations." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"True. I think we might almost want to take a slightly longer prep period than usual this time, just to allow for extra preparations for this Palace. Not to mention, we might need the extra prep time if we end up having to face a certain someone inside Shido's Palace." Kusa said as Ren and Morgana nodded their agreement, the former frowning as he saw a notification on his phone.

The notification read as thus: 'The plan to steal Shido's heart has begun. Make sure to deal with your target before the deadline. He's tough and knows the Metaverse well. Be sure to strengthen your bonds so that you're prepared for anything.' Ren read from his phone as the usual 'MISSION START!' prompt popped up on the floor as his phone went off with a private chat from Mishima.

"Hey, sorry to bring this up now. I know you have your hands full with the plan and all. But the Phantom Crew can do it. I have faith in all of you. Anyway, here's the info I have this time. This one is cruel. There's a group of scammers out there specifically targeting old people. Apparently they're using some sort of spiritual mumbo jumbo to trick them into paying up." Mishima said as Ren gasped quietly before sending a response.

"The elderly!? How horrible." Ren sent as Mishima sent a response.

"It really is. Anyway, they keep moving around, so it's been difficult to reliably track them. Apparently the police have stopped trying entirely at this point. From what I've read online, their representative is a guy named Yoshihito Wakasa. Sorry I don't have any more info than that. Good luck!" Mishima sent as Ren put his phone away and Morgana spoke up, having read the chat over Ren's shoulder.

"Hm. It might be tough for us to go at a time like this, but the info itself is pretty worthwhile. If we have the chance to head into Mementos, he'd make a great target." Morgana said Ren nodded before the phones of all the Phantom Thieves, minus Kasumi, went off to signal the receipt of a new Mementos request titled 'Swindling Old Folk Is Pretty Low.' After that, Ren sat back to ponder his options.

After a bit, Ren decided to go check in with Haru, as he noticed she was available, telling Kusa to pass along the word that the prep period was starting today before fast-traveling to the school gate with his hood up. Once there, he ducked into a side-alley before deciding to sneak up the emergency exit to reach the rooftop. Once there, he approached Haru and spoke up quietly.

"Hard at work as always, eh Haru?" Ren said in amusement, making Haru gasp quietly and turn around as she saw Ren standing behind her with his hood up. She then spoke up quietly.

"Ah, good day, Ren-kun. What do you want to do today?" Haru asked as Ren spoke up.

"First of all, I recall there was a crop we hadn't harvested before our last mission, so let's harvest those real quick if we can." Ren said as Haru nodded and helped Ren harvest the ready crop. After having to toss most of the crop for being too wilted and withered, Haru was able to salvage a singular Sun Tomato, which she gave to Ren. Ren then spoke up.

"Nice. And now, let's plant more Sun Tomatoes, and hopefully this time the crop won't partially rot on us like this one did." Ren said as Haru giggled.

"Good point, Ren-kun. I'm so happy to see you taking such an interest in my talents." Haru said as the two planted the new crop before Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Very good. The new crop should be ready around 12/1." Haru said as Ren nodded before Haru spoke up again.

"Was that all, Ren-kun?" Haru asked as Ren spoke up.

"Nope. I figure, since I'm here, might as well hang out with you a bit for good measure, try to really make the most of this prep period we have." Ren said as Haru blinked but nodded as she spoke up.

"That's fine, but huh? At a time like this, Ren-kun? Is this perhaps part of your grand infiltration strategy?" Haru asked as Ren spoke up.

"It's a secret, Haru. And a good magician, or phantom in this case, never reveals his secrets." Ren said with a smirk. Haru giggled at Ren's response as she spoke up.

"Hee hee, you make it sound like it's really important. I suppose relaxation is pretty vital at times like these, to be fair. Oh, that's right! I found a place that serves an especially rare type of coffee. Would you be interested in joining me there?" Haru asked Ren, who mused that he'd have to act like a proper gentleman since Haru is inviting him out. Ren then smirked, figuring he easily had sufficient Proficiency to escort Haru like a gentleman. Ren then looked at Haru and spoke up.

"Haru? I would be delighted to join you in seeing this place you've found." Ren said as politely as he could manage. Haru giggled appreciatively at Ren as she spoke up.

"I see. Then it's decided. This particular restaurant is in an expensive hotel buffet. Hopefully the coffee lives up to that reputation." Haru said as she and Ren traveled to the buffet in question, which as it turned out was the same one Ren had come to with the rest of the Phantom Thieves, and which Maruki had brought him more recently. Haru then spoke up once she and Ren were seated.

"Um, do you remember how I mentioned before about my newfound interest in coffee? Well, I've decided to start studing the topic more seriously by going out to places like this. I've been keeping it a secret from my fiance though. You see, just a single cup of the Dark Ivory coffee here costs roughly six thousand yen." Haru said as Ren spoke up.

"Wow, that's pricey. Granted, for that price, it must be amazing." Ren said honestly. Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, I've heard it is. Apparently the beans they use are exceedingly rare. At the very least, we should try it before passing judgement on it one way or the other. Well, shall we order? I'll be paying for your cup as well." Haru said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"As a gentleman, I really shouldn't let you do that, Haru. But I can tell you're insisting, so I'll allow it this time. Cheers." Ren said understandingly. Haru blinked and spoke up.

"Um, I'm sorry. What?" Haru said in confusion before smiling a moment later as realization set in for her and she spoke up.

"Oh, I get it. You're thanking me for treating you, right? Hee hee, you're so funny, Ren-kun! Anyway, it's only natural that I pay for you today. I invited you here, after all." Haru said with a smile as Ren nodded understandingly and Haru kept speaking.

"Hm, I wonder how it will taste." Haru said as she ordered two cups of Dark Ivory coffee. After a bit, the requested cups were delivered to Haru and Ren, as the former spoke up.

"Well, here we go, Ren-kun." Haru said as the two sipped the coffee silently, Ren musing on how there was a faint bitterness beneath the strangely mellow flavor of the beans. Ren then also noted in amusement that this coffee was clearly distinct from what Sojiro serves at Leblanc every day. Haru then kept speaking.

"This is unbelievable! It has a distinctly fragrant aroma, paired with a mild flavor. This is undoubtedly delicious, yet to be honest? I would barely consider it coffee. Um, apparently it's brewed using beans gathered from elephant dung." Haru said as Ren looked visibly disgusted on hearing about the elephant dung, eventually speaking up.

"You mean to tell me I was just drinking elephant poop?! Urgh! I'm sorry Haru, but kindly please excuse me while I vomit." Ren said as civilly as he could manage. Haru giggled at Ren's reaction and spoke up.

"Hee hee, I'm sorry for not disclosing that to you earlier. I just thought you might find it hard to enjoy if you had known ahead of time. I was surprised to hear it at first myself, but that was actually why I wanted to try it to begin with. Another rare type of coffee, kopi luwak, is gathered from the feces of a small cat called a civet. Interestingly enough, the flavor differs depending on what animal it was originally consumed by. Speaking of cats, do you think that Mona-chan would be able to give me a sample if I decide to try my hand at making kopi luwak?" Haru asked as Ren frowned at the question, but spoke up.

"First of all, Morgana's not a cat. That said, I dunno to be honest. I guess let's ask him. But I suggest that if we do ask him, we do it when Morgana's not around Kusa, lest Kusa get irritated at you calling Morgana a cat." Ren said after a moment to consider his response. Haru giggled and spoke up.

"True, Kusa-kun would be rather put out if we called Mona-chan a cat in front of him, wouldn't he? Perhaps it could become Leblanc's new specialty drink." Haru said as Ren frowned, not sure if he agreed with Haru's subtle hint that it could replace Sojiro's coffee as Leblanc's specialty. Before he could open his mouth to reprimand Haru for what he viewed as disrespecting Sojiro, Haru saw the look on Ren's face and kept speaking.

"Ah, but we need Mona-chan for our operations, huh? We can't afford to make him eat beans all day, can we?" Haru said as Ren spoke up.

"Correct. He is rather vital to our plans going forward. And Haru, just a friendly warning. What you just said could've been seen by some as you disrespecting Sojiro, and I know Kusa in particular gets testy whenever someone disrespects Sojiro around him.

I recall quite vividly this one time Morgana cracked a joke about how Boss was an old fuddy-duddy, and then Kusa glared at him in an annoyed manner before he told him, and I quote, 'OI! Can it, Morgana! First rule of living with us! If you're gonna live with us, you need to realize that we respect two things in this cafe. One of them is women, and the other is Coffee Daddy! And if you're going to live here, you'll show both of those things the proper respect. Got it!?', and then Morgana just nodded with this really cowed look on his face. I had to keep from laughing at how priceless the look on Morgana's face was." Ren said as Haru giggled and spoke up.

"I see. I find it so cute how protective Kusa-kun gets of those he cares about. Also, hm, I'm not surprised Mona-chan slightly fears Kusa-kun. That said, coffee is so profound, don't you agree?" Haru said to Ren, but before he could respond, a stocky man in a black pinstripe business suit with a black button-up dress vest over a white dress shirt and a red tie, and greying hair with dress shoes walked over and looked at Haru as he spoke up.

"Haru-chan?" The stocky man asked Haru, who turned to look at the stocky man and gasped as she spoke up.

"Huh!? T-Takakura-san!?" Haru asked the apparently now-named Takakura, who nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. What a strange place for us to meet. It's not often I see people your age at this luxurious buffet." Takakura said kindly before turning to look at Ren as he spoke up.

"Oh, I'm sorry. And who is this?" Takakura asked Haru who smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, he's a friend from school. Ren-kun, this is Takakura-san, the new president of Okumura Foods." Haru said as she introduced Ren and Takakura to one another, as they exchanged curt nods of greeting as the latter spoke up.

"By the way, it looks like we will be able to avoid litigation. We somehow settled on decent terms. You don't need to worry. Oh, and about your shares, Haru-chan? You should consider letting the company hold on to them for the time being. I'm sure you have enough on your plate already, given everything that's happened to you." Takakura said as Haru frowned and spoke up.

"N-No. Well, I dunno if I should give up my shares. Sure, I have a lot going on, but I can't help but wonder if Father would've wanted me to keep ahold of them so as to keep the company at least somewhat in the Okumura family, given that's the name of the company." Haru said as Takakura nodded and spoke up.

"I see. Ah, I'm sorry to bring that up while you two are enjoying yourselves here. That aside, how are things going with Sugimura-kun? You know, these days you need to reserve a wedding hall a year in advance if you want a good one. Sometimes it worries me how laid-back you are, Haru-chan." Takakura said as Haru frowned and spoke up.

"R-Right. We're in the process of securing a wedding hall." Haru said while looking down. Takakura nodded and spoke up.

"Well, I should be heading back to the office now. Oh, but please allow me to pay for your drinks." Takakura said as Haru shook her head and spoke up.

"N-No, that's quite all right. And, um, to be honest? About the shares, Takakura-san? I can handle them for now. I appreciate your advice, but I'm going to protect that which my father left for me." Haru said as Takakura nodded and spoke up.

"Very well then. I understand. Please do try to reconsider though. Well then, if you'll excuse me." Takakura said before he left. Once he left, Haru looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Ren-kun? To be honest, that was a lie. There's no way I can handle the responsibilities I have to deal with right now. I mean, I'm just an inexperienced high schooler, after all. But I can't leave the company in Takakura-san's hands. Hey, um, be honest with me, Ren-kun. What did you think of him?" Haru asked Ren, who thought about it and spoke up.

"To be honest? I'm not really sure. I got a bit of a questionable vibe from him, but at the same time I also got a slight sense of genuine concern in his actions, as if he's genuinely worried for you but also trying to possibly use the shares for some unknown purpose." Ren said honestly. Haru giggled as she spoke up.

"Hee hee, I like that you're so honest, Ren-kun. But as long as we're being honest here, I agree. I really don't know whether or not I can trust him at all. Right now, the most prevalent rumor about Takakura-san is that he was pleased by my father's passing when it happened. I mean, he was certainly the person who stood to benefit the most from it at the company. It's hard to deny that fact.

But at the same time, he says he's trying to rebuild our company's image. I just can't tell if he really means it, Ren-kun. But you know, sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I didn't have money in my life, or more simply put, if I was normal." Haru said as Ren spoke up with an amused chuckle.

"Heh, trust me on this, Haru. Normal tends to be overrated a lot of the time. Both Morgana and Kusa will agree with me on that. But as to your situation, I think there's no way to know what Takakura's intentions are for sure, outside of possibly sitting him down and speaking to him about them." Ren said as Haru spoke up.

"Good point, Ren-kun. And don't get me wrong, the company is definitely important to me. But it's often nothing more than a source of stress. With you guys though, it's different. I feel like I actually belong." Haru said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"And well you should, Haru. You are very much one of us for as long as you want to be." Ren said kindly as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Hee hee, thank you for saying so, Ren-kun. That's why I'm going to work extra hard to make sure my harvests turn out great!" Haru said eagerly as Ren nodded his agreement, smiling as he could sense a strong resolve from Haru. At that point, the 'Empress' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'III' turning into an 'IV' to signify that his Empress Confidant link with Haru had reached Rank 4.

As a result of the rank-up, Haru awoke to the power of 'Celeb Talk', making it so that if negotiation among a group of Shadows fails, Ren could try that negotiation again. Afterward, Haru spoke up again.

"Um, Ren-kun? I should mention something else. Oh, and as for that 'Sugimura-san' that Takakura-san spoke of? That's my fiance. He's been really showering me with presents lately, it seems like. One night he even left a bouquet of roses on my pillow. But to have done that, he would have needed one of my servants to help him accomplish that, right? What a scary thought to consider. Even worse, Takakura-san has been hurrying us to get married after what happened to my father. He claims it's because of the profit the marriage will bring to the company, or so he says. But there has to be more to the situation than just that." Haru said as Ren spoke up.

"Perhaps so. Correct me if I'm wrong here Haru, but isn't it a servant's job to be loyal to their master and not let people into their master's residence unannounced?" ren asked as Haru nodded and spoke up, frowning as she spoke.

"Yes, that's true, Ren-kun. Anyway, I'll look a little deeper into Takakura-san. Perhaps he truly was pleased by my father's death like the rumors suggest. Maybe I should start by asking the employees who are trying so desperately to win my favor all the time." Haru said as Ren nodded and Haru blinked before she kept speaking.

"Glad you agree, Ren-kun. Hm? You haven't drank any more of your coffee, Ren-kun. Aren't you going to finish it?" Haru asked as Ren winced and spoke up.

"I mean, I guess I should. I didn't really care for it, but I suppose it would be rude to waste a perfectly good drink." Ren said before pulling a face as he quickly drank the remaining coffee in the cup, standing up and looking at Haru.

"Welp, as much as this has been fun, I should probably get back to Leblanc before someone recognizes me." Ren said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"I understand. Well, goodbye. Thanks for spending time with me today!" Haru said as Ren nodded and went back to Leblanc, where his phone rang as he reached the doorstep and he answered it.

"Hello? Ren speaking." Ren said as he answered his phone. Ren smiled as he heard Haru's voice on the other end.

"Oh, Ren-kun? Sorry about that awkwardness today. You took the time to hang out with me, but we ended up dealing with my own drama for the most part." Haru said as Ren spoke up.

"Don't worry about it, Haru. I didn't mind it at all. To be honest, if you're agreeable to it, let's get coffee again sometime. I quite enjoyed sharing that cup with you, even if I could've done without knowing about the ingredients of said cup." Ren said kindly. Haru giggled as she spoke up.

"Hee hee, sorry about that. I'll let you know if I find another nice spot. It won't always be that luxurious though. But to be honest, Ren-kun? Lately, I've felt so suffocated. I don't know who to trust anymore. But it's so reassuring to have someone like you. Someone who listens to me. I'm going to do whatever I can to look further into Takakura-san. I might come to you for help again if I find something, Ren-kun. Assuming you don't mind, of course. Well, see you later." Haru said as Ren hung up the phone and headed into Leblanc. As soon as Ren got inside, his phone went off to signify a group chat with Ryuji, Kusa, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Haru, and Futaba, with Haru sending the first response.

"Every news station has been running story after story about Shido and the elections non-stop." Haru sent as Futaba sent a response.

"Akechi too. I can't believe they're calling him the detective of the century!" Futaba sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Tch, do we even have to talk about that scumbag, Taba? But I do agree that it's absolute horse shit how much news coverage both of them are getting. Ugh!" Kusa sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Truth, Kusa! Plus, they're treating the Phantom Thieves like criminals." Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.

"That side of things has faded a little bit though, don't you think?" Ann sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Yes, indeed. All the talk of the elections must have made people forget about the suicide news." Yusuke sent as Makoto sent a response.

"That's because, and I say this with all apologies to Ren-kun, most people are probably satisfied. The main culprit is 'dead', things are settled, and society can go on like normal. That's probably what people are thinking, at least." Makoto sent as Ann sent a response.

"Hm. I have mixed feelings about all of this. I'm not saying they should talk about us more, but the sudden momentum change is weird to see." Ann sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"All we gotta do is hurry up and steal Shido's heart. That'll take care of everything, right?" Ryuji sent as Ren sent a response.

"Don't get so hasty, Ryuji. While I agree that changing Shido's heart will help, we're not rushing headlong into this. We're going to make sure we're good and ready first. As such, today is the start of our prep period for this Palace. Meaning, I reserve the right to ignore any questions before at least 12/7 asking if we're going into the Palace, since the likely answer will be no. However, there is a chance that I might have another Mementos run commissioned during this prep period if I can stack up enough requests in time, so be ready for that.

Also, we'll have to have a meeting at some point before the prep period is over since there's been a development that I think you all should be aware of, though given Ann's last remark in our previous group chat, I think she at least has an inkling of what I'm getting at. And Kusa, I'm not mad at you for saying what you did, but I find it ironic that after all the times you busted Ryuji's balls about thinking before he types, you did the same thing when you typed your 'at least one of those people is in the know now' remark before. So yeah, consider that a friendly reminder to think before you type." Ren sent. Yusuke sent a response as well.

"Yes, I agree. There is no knowing what may happen. Be sure to prepare well, everyone." Yusuke sent as Haru sent a response.

"Well then, we can discuss this more tomorrow! Let's do our best!" Haru sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Eh, whoops? That's actually an entirely fair point. My bad, Ren. I didn't really proof-read what I typed on that occasion. I was just typing on auto-pilot at that point, to be honest. And yes, we do need to fill the others in on that, since it involves a new addition to our ranks. But I suppose if you can get her over there tomorrow, we can tell the others about it then." Kusa sent sheepishly as Ryuji sent a response.

"Wait, hold up! 'HER'!? Kusa, did you do the same thing for Ren's girlfriend that you did with your own!?" Ryuji sent as Ren swiftly put away his phone before he could see Kusa's response, not wanting to read the back-and-forth textfest that was sure to ensue. After a bit, Ren made his way to Central Street to check his Personas, blinking as he saw Caroline and Justine chilling out in front of the door to the Velvet Room. After he finished his business in the Velvet Room, he looked at the twins and spoke up.

"Evening, ladies. Is it already time for the next outing?" Ren asked conversationally. Caroline nodded and spoke up.

"That's right, Inmate! It is indeed time for the next outing. So what're you gonna do today? All right, time to name the location. Justine, you do the honors." Caroline said as Justine nodded and spoke up.

"Very well, as you wish. Now, Inmate, listen closely. The place we wish to evaluate for your rehabilitation this time is, in fact, the castle of your own master, Inmate." Justine said as Caroline nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly. Not only do we get to see where you reside, but we get to see for ourselves the individual responsible for your successful rehabilitation in your own world. Surely, this person is a person of great import." Caroline said as Justine nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. And as your wardens, we would be remiss to forgo a meeting with this person. Take us to your master immediately." Justine said as Ren winced at the request, realizing the twins wanted him to take them to Leblanc. But, he was sure both Sojiro and Kusa, who were probably the ones most directly responsible for his recent changes in his life, were probably back at the Sakura household.

Ren then decided that he'd shoot a private chat off to Kusa to see if he could get Sojiro to accompany him back to Leblanc so they could wait on the twins, and then field the twins' remarks as best he could to avoid awkward questions from either Sojiro or Kusa. Ren then turned to the twins and nodded as he spoke up.

"Sure thing. The thing is, the 'master' of the castle went home for the night, so I'd have to summon him back to the 'castle' if you two want to meet him. And odds are the master will probably bring another with him, one who is basically the equivalent to my warden in this world, to use terms you'd understand. Granted, said 'warden' is in fact my younger brother, but that's besides the point." Ren said to the twins. Caroline nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Ah, excellent. We get to meet the master of your castle AND your warden in this world. Even better! Let's move out, on the double!" Caroline said as Justine spoke up.

"Onward, Inmate. What kind of people could your master and your warden be? Well, lead the way so we may find out." Justine said. Ren nodded and made to lead the twins back to Leblanc, blinking as he saw Kusa standing outside as he got there. Kusa frowned at Ren and spoke up, pointedly not mentioning the fact he recognized the twins from when he and Futaba had seen them with Ren during their date at Destinyland the other day while he spoke.

"Ah, welcome back, Ren. And who, might I ask, are these two little ones in what appear to be police gear?" Kusa asked as Ren spoke up while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Er, right. Forgot you haven't been formally introduced to these two yet, Kusa. Caroline, Justine, I'd like you to meet my younger brother, who's basically this world's equivalent of the two of you in that he's like my warden. Sorry Kusa, but you know the job that the court gave you is basically close enough to being that of a warden.

Kusa, these two are Caroline and Justine, Caroline being the girl with the buns in her hair, and Justine being the girl with the ponytail. That said, they serve as my 'wardens' that help me with my Persona management during Palaces." Ren said as he introduced the twins to his younger brother and vice versa. Kusa turned to face the twins with a polite smile on his face as he spoke up.

"Ah, I see. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you two, Caroline and Justine. I do hope my brother hasn't given you too much grief? He's a good guy and all, but I won't deny that he can be a handful at times. But he's still my brother, so I love him despite the grief he causes me." Kusa said, bowing politely to Caroline and Justine, who looked at Kusa and then turned to exchanged shocked looks with one another. Caroline looked at Justine and spoke up.

"Say, Justine, doesn't the Inmate's brother remind you a bit of someone?" Caroline asked Justine, who nodded and spoke up.

"That's correct. I think this might be the third individual whom our master spoke of previously." Justine said to Caroline, ignoring the confused looks on Ren and Kusa's faces before turning to Kusa and speaking up.

"Ah, apologies for not acknowledging you right away, Inmate's brother. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. At the least, you've got better manners than the Inmate here." Justine said as Caroline chuckled and spoke up.

"True that, Justine! I get the sense he knows how to show respect to ladies." Caroline said to Justine as Ren groaned and shook his head, making Kusa smirk as he heard Ren muttering 'shoot me into the sun right now' under his breath, prompting Kusa to look at Ren and speak up.

"Cheer up, Ren. I get the sense these two are only like this because they want the best for you, but have to keep up a certain pretense for the sake of appearances. And if so, I respect that, since in fairness to them, it's not always easy to work with you." Kusa said before he turned to the twins and spoke up.

"Ah, pardon my blocking the door. I take it you two wanted Ren to bring you here to sample the wares on offer in this establishment?" Kusa asked the twins, who simply nodded as Kusa opened the door so Ren could guide the twins inside, Kusa following close behind. Sojiro looked up as he heard the door open, seeing Ren walking in with Kusa, not seeing the twins at first.

"Hey, welcome back-" Sojiro said before stopping short as he noticed Caroline and Justine, speaking up in confusion.

"Wait, who are those kids?" Sojiro asked as Kusa spoke up.

"It's a long story, Boss. The gist of it is, they're friends of Ren who've been helping him out by way of toughening him up on the side where they can. Just think of them as casual friends of Ren's." Kusa explained as Sojiro nodded his understanding while Justine looked at Sojiro and spoke up.

"That's an acceptable explanation, Inmate's brother." Justine said to Kusa before looking at Sojiro as she kept speaking.

"Ah, excuse me. Are you the master of this place, sir? Thank you for assisting the Inmate with his rehabilitation." Justine said as Sojiro frowned at the twins and spoke up.

"Um, 'Inmate'?" Sojiro asked as Kusa sweatdropped and spoke up.

"Pay them no mind, Boss. From what I gathered from Ren, these two apparently like to dress up in costume and play like they're wardens, and they've apparently latched on to Ren as their 'Inmate'. And from what Ren here told me, they apparently think this place is some sort of castle that you're the master of. To be fair to them, they're not wrong that you're the master of this establishment. So at the least, they have that much right." Kusa said as Caroline nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, what Justine said. It is all going as planned, in no small part due to the efforts both you and the Inmate's brother have put into his rehabilitation. We must express our gratitude for that." Caroline said as Sojiro turned to Kusa, who just shrugged and gave Sojiro a look that seemed to say 'play along', to which Sojiro shrugged and spoke up.

"Uh, sure, if you say so?" Sojiro said, still visibly confused at what was going on. He then turned to Ren as he kept speaking.

"Hey Ren, be honest with me. What kind of crowd are you running with nowadays, exactly?" Sojiro asked Ren, who shrugged as he spoke up.

"A lot's happened, Boss. And even if these two don't seem like it, they've been quite helpful to mine and Kusa's Phantom Thief efforts in their own way, which I appreciate the both of them for, even if I haven't exactly told them so quite yet." Ren said honestly. Sojiro nodded and spoke up.

"Well, yeah, I suppose that's true, but still, I have to wonder. How and where do you even meet these people?" Sojiro asked as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"Trust me on this, Boss. Ren's luck is a rather cosmic power unto itself at times. That's probably the best explanation I can give for how he meets some of the people he does. However, most of the people he's met thus far are really quite nice, as both Futaba and Kasumi can vouch for." Kusa said by way of explanation to Sojiro, who nodded.

"Ah, I see. Fair enough, Kusa." Sojiro said before turning to the twins and Ren as he kept speaking.

"Well, take a seat. Have you already eaten? If not, I could bring out some curry for you." Sojiro said as Caroline blinked and spoke up.

"Curry?" Caroline asked as Justine spoke up, her words shocking Sojiro, Ren, and Kusa all at once.

"We haven't a clue what curry is, but we will politely accept your offer." Justine said, before Kusa and Sojiro blinked and nodded as they helped the twins and Ren to a booth seat before the two disappeared into the kitchen to make curry for Ren and the twins, coming out a short time later with Sojiro holding a single plate out while Kusa carried two plates, one in each hand. Sojiro set his plate in front of Ren, while Kusa set the two other plates in front of the twins. Sojiro then smirked and spoke up.

"Well, here you go." Sojiro said as Caroline frowned and spoke up.

"Hm? What in the world is this? The rice is slowly being absorbed by the sludge somehow." Caroline said as Sojiro rubbed the back of his head and spoke up.

"Ugh. 'Sludge'? Really?" Sojiro asked Caroline with a frown as Kusa spoke up.

"With all due respect to the two of you, I'll thank you both to think before you speak while you're in this establishment. One of the few rules we do heavily enforce here is that we respect Boss, since he's not only the owner of Leblanc, but he's also the one who takes the time out of his day to prepare most of the curry, while providing myself and Ren with the attic to live in. So I'll thank you two not to insult him by insulting his cooking like Caroline just did. But I know you're both unfamiliar with curry, so I think we can let it slide, this time." Kusa said fairly. Sojiro smiled at Kusa and spoke up.

"I appreciate the backup, but I don't think they know better." Sojiro said before blinking as the twins' previous words about not having had curry registered, and he kept speaking.

"Wait, hold on. Have you two really never had this before?" Sojiro asked the twins, who both just politely nodded, surprisingly cowed by the soft-spoken yet firm rebuke Kusa had given them. Justine then spoke up.

"That is correct. However, the scent isn't bad at all, to be honest. In fact, it's rather appetizing." Justine said as Caroline frowned and spoke up.

"What are these poisonous-looking red chunks along the edge here?" Caroline asked, making Sojiro frown as he spoke up.

"They're not poisonous. It's called fukujinzuke, and it's part of the recipe." Sojiro said as Caroline blinked and spoke up.

"Oh, um, sorry. Fukujinzu, you said? What is it?" Caroline asked in a much more polite tone. Sojiro stroked his chin and spoke up.

"It's optional flavoring for your curry. And it's fukujinzuke. They call it that because of the Seven Gods of Fortune, the Shichi Fukujin." Sojiro said as the twins' eyes widened at that before Caroline spoke up in surprise.

"Wh-What!? You chopped up a GOD to make this!?" Caroline asked as Justine spoke up with a frown.

"Interesting. So this is dyed with the blood of a god, it seems." Justine said as Sojiro frowned at Ren and spoke up.

"What are these kids going on about?" Sojiro asked Ren, who shrugged, not really sure of that himself. Kusa, for his part, smirked at the twins and spoke up.

"Yes, that's right. You see, Boss here is so great, he's able to chop up gods and use them in his curry. And if he can do that to gods, imagine what he could do to people who disrespect his cooking. So I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the two of you should really think before you speak, if you can." Kusa said, giving Ren a subtle wink to communicate to him that he was teasing the twins. Ren then nodded understandingly to Kusa before he turned to Sojiro and spoke up.

"Heh, good point, Kusa. Rumor has it, Boss once destroyed a man just by looking at him! He literally glared at the guy and then he spontaneously combusted!" Ren said as Kusa huffed and spoke up. *3*

"Okay, you're just exaggerating, Ren. At least I was only teasing your friends. Besides, if Boss really could do that, I know of at least two people who should be dead right now from how often he glared at them. Fortunately, they're not." Kusa rebuked Ren, who shrugged and spoke up.

"Fair enough. But, for real? I don't think you wanna know, Boss." Ren said to Sojiro. Caroline blinked as she looked at Justine and spoke up.

"Did you hear that, Justine!? This man's a god killer who can make people spontaneously combust by glaring at them. Now I see how he's able to rein in the Inmate." Caroline said as Justine nodded before she spoke up as the twins bowed in prayer while Justine spoke.

"Indeed. I have high hopes for any dish prepared by a godslayer. Let us pay our proper respects and happily eat our sludge." Justine said as Sojiro huffed and spoke up.

"Look, it's not sludge, alright?" Sojiro asked as the twins nodded before digging into the food, before Caroline gasped and spoke up.

"Hrff! It's so spicy! My mouth's on fire!" Caroline said as Justine smiled a closed-eye smile as she spoke up.

"Yes. I agree, Caroline. Nom nom, but it's so good. Mmm, delicious! I know I should probably try to, but it seems I cannot stop myself from enjoying this meal." Justine said as Ren spoke up.

"Are you two fans of the food?" Ren asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Sorry about the spiciness, you two. We didn't know what kind of curry you'd like, and Boss already had the ingredients thrown together for spicy curry, so we just used what was available. I hope it's acceptable." Kusa said apologetically to the twins. Caroline shrugged and spoke up, while shaking her head to wave off Kusa's apology as she spoke.

"Fans? Eh, it's not bad. I think it could stand to be a little sweeter, though." Caroline said as Justine spoke up.

"True. Still, I must say, I do feel this 'curry' sludge filling both my body and spirit to burst. Eating this every day would, no doubt, support your rehabilitation tremendously." Justine said agreeably as Caroline glared at Ren and spoke up, not seeing the widening of Kusa's eyes at what she said next.

"Be grateful to that godslayer for sheltering you and your brother, Inmate. If you were to cross him in any way, I've no doubt he'd chop you up for his next garnish." Caroline said as Sojiro huffed and spoke up.

"OK then? If you two say so? Umm, if it's not too much to ask of you Kusa, can you handle things from here? I have to go and get Futaba's dinner ready. I'll try to have a portion put aside for you when you get back. And Ren, if they want coffee, you know how to make it. Okay, the shop's yours for the rest of the night. And Kusa, once Ren's friends leave, you need to head back to the house as discreetly as possible." Sojiro said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Yep, sure thing, Boss! I got it from here! And I'll make sure to return as soon as Ren's friends are gone." Kusa said agreeably as Sojiro nodded and left. At that point, Justine looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Hm. 'Coffee', did he say? Ah yes, I do believe that was served at the slave camp as well." Justine said as Kusa blinked at Ren and spoke up with widened eyes.

"Slave camp!? Where the heck did you take these two, Ren!?" Kusa asked as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"They're referring to that maid cafe that's open in Akihabara most nights. For some reason, they think of it as a slave camp. Probably because the maids always call the customers 'Master', if I had to guess." Ren explained as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. That makes a surprising amount of sense, in fact. And I can see how they'd make that mistake." Kusa said with a nod as Caroline looked at Ren with a grin as she spoke up.

"All right, Inmate, serve us coffee." Caroline said as Ren nodded, got up, and brewed up a pot of coffee, setting two cups of the finished product in front of Caroline and Justine, the former of whom spoke up with a frown.

"Um, why is everything on the godslayer's menu so murky?" Caroline asked as Kusa spoke up.

"That's just how coffee is, little one. It's usually a bit murky by default. But if you give it a chance, you might be surprised at how it tastes." Kusa said as Justine spoke up.

"True. However, the smell's not bad, though. It's more satisfying than we'd previously experienced as well." Justine said as Caroline nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. And now for a test sip to sample the taste." Caroline said as she sipped the coffee before frowning as she spoke up.

"Gah!? It's BITTER! Is that poison!?" Caroline said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"No, it's not poison! Just because a lot of coffees taste bitter, that doesn't instantly mean they're poisonous! But to be fair, coffee is a bit of an acquired taste. So I can't be entirely angry at you for thinking it's poisonous. Though I will ask that you at least try to have the proper respect for Boss when he's around, since Boss is a great man that gave Ren and I our current living space when we had nowhere else to go after being banished out here." Kusa said while crossing his arms. Ren smirked at the disgusted look on Caroline's face and smiled kindly as he spoke up.

"Just so you know Caroline, we do have milk and sugar to help with the taste. But Kusa does have a point about showing Boss respect. I hear he turns anyone who disrespects him into his next coffee brew, so I'd be careful what else you say about him." Ren said teasingly as Kusa merely nodded, having seen the subtle wink Ren gave him beforehand and deciding to play along for the moment while he teased the twins a bit. Justine frowned and spoke up.

"Are you teasing us, Inmate!? And Inmate's Brother, is that true? I could see the godslayer doing that." Justine said as Caroline looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Yeah? What are those?" Caroline asked as Kusa blinked at this, before shrugging as Justine spoke up.

"Ah, I have heard of them both. Supposedly, they are magical white-colored additives that can enhance the taste of this inky abomination that passes for coffee. That being said, I shall demand those additives." Justine said as Kusa's eye twitched at Justine's usage of the word 'abomination' before he spoke up.

"OI! Did you just say 'abomination'!? Do not call Boss' coffee an abomination in my presence! That is not only rude, it's entirely uncalled for." Kusa said bluntly. Ren nodded and went to get the requested additives, as the twins added them to their coffee. Justine then spoke up.

"Oh? This powder dissolves immediately, no matter how much I add to it. Hmm, I see. Almost there. A little more should do it. That perfect balance of black and white is almost there for me to see. Oh, there's no more left to add." Justine said as Kusa and Ren both blinked at the twins using up all the milk and sugar. Justine then kept speaking.

"I don't believe that I quite reached a perfect harmony of black and white, but there is nothing that can be done now. Now, for the test sip to see how this tastes." Justine said as she daintily took a sip before frowning slightly as she spoke up.

"Ah, it's so sweet now. Also, there is an intriguing, crunchy texture to it. However, it does have its own unique appeal." Justine said as Caroline smiled and spoke up.

"How nice. Not only did we get to meet the Inmate's master and warden in this realm, but we also got to try some exotic food." Caroline said as Kusa sputtered and spoke up.

"Exotic!? Sorry to break this to you, little one, but curry is NOT an exotic food! Curry is, in fact, a cultural staple for most of Japan from what I've read about it." Kusa said with a frown. Caroline nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. Fair enough, Inmate's Brother." Caroline said to Kusa, giving him a respectful bow before turning to Ren with a smile as she kept speaking.

"And as for yourself, Inmate, this assignment is now complete." Caroline said as Justine nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. And as such, here is your reward." Justine said before presenting Ren with a 'High Counter' skill card. Caroline then spoke up at that point.

"Hm. Now that I'm thinking about it, the Inmate's shown us quite a number of different places, huh?" Caroline said as Justine got a sad look on her face as she spoke up.

"Indeed. We've been able to see some unexpected sides to humans. This has been a very fulfilling experience for us." Justine said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Is that so, Justine? Happy to hear you two enjoyed yourselves. Makes what you two put me through worthwhile. As I said before, I do appreciate what you two do for me, even if I do find it annoying at times. But I consider it worth it just to make the two of you smile. You two might not feel the same, but I feel as if you two are not only close friends of mine, but at the same time, you're also like those annoying little sisters that embarrass you with their antics, but who you can't help but feel protective of despite their embarrassing antics." Ren said honestly to the twins. Caroline huffed and spoke up.

"Hmph! While we are flattered that you've come to care for us the way you have, we have no interest in such happiness at all, Inmate. Just rehabilitation!" Caroline said as Justine smiled while looking at Caroline as she spoke up.

"That's true. Although, you do occasionally forget your station in your excitement, Caroline." Justine said as Caroline's cheeks pinked slightly in embarrassment as she spoke up.

"WHAT!? O-Oh yeah!? I could say the same for you, Justine! I KNOW you asked our master if we could get a jellyfish tank for our room! Don't try to deny it!" Caroline said accusingly as Justine's eyes widened as she spoke up.

"Wha? Uh, I have no idea what you're talking about." Justine said before looking away and muttering what sounded like 'ugh' under her breath. Justine then turned to Ren and spoke up.

"Well, it appears we're out of time. We must be heading back now." Justine said as Caroline's eyes widened and she spoke up.

"HEY! Don't act like you can just drop the subject that easily! You're not getting out of this one!" Caroline said as Justine spoke up.

"Know your place, Caroline! He might act like we're friends, but we are wardens, and he is our prisoner. Nothing more, nothing less. However, there is no denying the fact that the Inmate's results have exceeded our expectations. For that alone, we would certainly be remiss not to express our appreciation." Justine said as Caroline did a closed-eye smile of her own and spoke up.

"Good point, Justine! Hey, Inmate! You've done pretty good work to this point! Not bad for an Inmate! Yeah, that's high praise coming from us! Show your own appreciation for us, Inmate! But this isn't the end of your special assignments! You better not give up on 'em now. You got it!?" Caroline said before blinking as she kept speaking.

"Ah, right. Let's finish the godslayer's meal before we leave though. What were they called again? Curby and coughing?" Caroline asked as Kusa had to stifle a laugh at Caroline's mispronunciations of 'Curry' and 'Coffee' respectively. Justine looked at Caroline and spoke up.

"I believe you mean curdy and comfy." Justine said as Caroline huffed and spoke up.

"Oh, whatever! It's just sludge on a plate and sludge in a cup! Now let's get to it!" Caroline said as Kusa's eye twitched again at the disrespect shown to his and Sojiro's hard work, as well as Ren's. Ren just sweatdropped and spoke up after he and the twins had finished eating.

"Yes, well, I suppose I should do my duty as your Inmate and escort you two back to the Velvet Room." Ren said to the twins before turning to Kusa and speaking up.

"Sorry for basically dragging you and Sojiro here so that he had to help cook for these two, and you had to help entertain these two and then find yourself winding up stuck with the cleanup, but I gotta get these two home, Kusa. If you're still here when I get back, I'll help you finish cleaning up. Also, one of us will have to get more milk and sugar for the cafe when we think of it." Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Don't worry about it, Ren. I'll take care of that. And do try to impress on these two how important it is that they respect not only Boss himself, but his place of business AND his cooking. I only didn't lecture them about it out of respect for you and because I was raised to respect females of all ages." Kusa said as Ren nodded before leaving to escort the twins back to the Velvet Room, smirking as he saw Kusa leave to go back to the house as he got back, heading inside to lock up for the night before getting comfortable and laying down on the bed for the evening...

(The next morning, on the train to school with Makoto)

"Have you been keeping up with the election? I wonder if Shido-san's going to take it all at this point." A stylish college student said to his flashy friend, who shrugged and spoke up.

"Not sure. Either way, we might be hearing about the birth of the Shido administration by the end of the year. I wish Akechi-kun would run for office! He'd get more votes than all those incompetent politicians!" The flashy college student said, ignoring the wide-eyed look of shock on Makoto's face as the stylish college student spoke up.

"I don't usually care about elections, but it's exciting when people are so into it!" The stylish college student sad as Makoto gasped quietly and frowned before speaking to herself quietly.

"Oh! Everyone's in danger at this point. We need to make him have a change of heart soon!" Makoto said as the rest of the train ride passed uneventfully...

(After school, in the attic of Leblanc with Morgana and Ren)

"HEY! 22 days left until the deadline! We don't really have time to relax, you know?" Morgana said as Ren spoke up calmly.

"I realize that, Morgana. But we're not relaxing right now, are we? We're having our prep period where we get as ready as possible before we hit Shido's Palace hard and fast. And I have a feeling we're gonna need the extra prep this time. Don't ask me why, but I just have a bad feeling about this Palace, like something might go wrong inside there like it did during the last Palace. And I, for one, don't want a repeat of that!" Ren said as Morgana nodded.

"Understandable. Just so we're clear, I take it you're still trying to stack up targets before we commission another Mementos run?" Morgana asked Ren, who nodded and spoke up.

"That's correct, Morgana. We have two requests so far, assuming we count that unfinished request regarding the cheating gamer as a request. If not, then we only have one target." Ren said as Morgana nodded while Ren looked over his options. After thinking it over, he decided to go to the 'Gigolo' over in Akihibara, seeing that Shinya was available to hang out with, and figuring he could get a jump on ranking him up.

Once he got inside, he noticed the crane game prize had changed out, seeing that it was something called a 'Big Bang Burger-kun' doll. Ren shrugged and dumped 300 yen into the machine to give the game a try. Surprisingly, Ren managed to win the prize on his first try, pocketing a 'Big Bang Burger-kun Doll' as a result. Afterwards, he saw Shinya leaning next to the other crane and spoke to him.

"Hey there, Oda-kun. Been a minute, hasn't it?" Ren asked Shinya, who winced and nodded as he spoke up.

"Mm-hm. The Phantom Thieves are alive. I believe in them. That said, you're here to train, right? Well, are you ready?" Shinya asked Ren, who spoke up.

"Yep. Ready as I'll ever be, Oda-kun." Ren said agreeably. Shinya cheered as he spoke up.

"ALL RIGHT! Let's keep playing." Shinya said excitedly as he and Ren started up a game of Gun About. Not long into the game, Shinya huffed and spoke up.

"YOU BASTARD! What the heck!? You made the same mistake last time! What're you doing!? Don't you get it!? You can't just shoot all over the place!" Shinya rebuked Ren as a nearby spectator spoke up.

"Wow, The King's so awesome at that game." The arcade spectator said as a louder spectator next to him spoke up.

"Tch. Yeah, but he's got such a bad attitude." The loud spectator said as the other arcade spectator spoke up.

"True. It's like he's bipolar." The arcade spectator said as the loud spectator spoke up.

"Good point. I wonder how long that high schooler's gonna be able to keep up with The King." The loud spectator said. Shinya then frowned at Ren again and spoke up.

"AGH! No, not like that! Gahhh! You haven't gotten better at all! When are you gonna learn!?" Shinya rebuked Ren as the two kept playing. A bit later, Ren and Shinya stood in a break room where Shinya spoke up.

"Aw crap! It's really late. Thanks to you taking so long to figure it out, it's getting dark out." Shinya said to Ren, who winced as he spoke up.

"My bad. Though maybe don't compare me to you? I feel like that's unfair to you, since you're the one who's an expert at Gun About, while I'm just a novice struggling to get better." Ren said to Shinya, who chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, good point. Yeah, you're right. Then again, I've always been good at shooting games, so I suppose it's easy to compare others to myself. But I absolutely NEVER wanna lose at Gun About. So I guess I tend to get all heated up about it as a result when I do lose, which is almost never. I've not lost a match since the time your brother managed to steal a closely-fought win from me." Shinya said as an arcade employee calmly walked over and spoke up.

"Sorry, but it's time for all the elementary school kids to go home. Do you understand, little boy?" The employee asked Shinya, who huffed and turned away as he spoke up.

"Tch, whatever. Shut up." Shinya said as the employee frowned and spoke up.

"Now, now. No need for hostility. Do I need to call your mom?" The arcade employee asked Shinya. Shinya sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, whatever. Fine. I'll leave, all right!?" Shinya said as the arcade employee walked off, leaving Shinya to frown and then sigh softly as he looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Well, that just happened." Shinya said as Ren spoke up with a frown.

"I'll say. What a rude employee. He might have been doing his job, but the way he threatened you was entirely uncalled for." Ren said to Shinya. Shinya nodded while frowning slightly, presumably annoyed at the attitude the employee had given him, as he spoke up.

"Seriously. I'm a little bummed though. I wanted to keep playing. Ugh, my house is so boring. No one's ever there and there's never anything to do." Shinya said before turning to face Ren properly as he kept speaking.

"You know, to be honest? Adults and high schoolers are so lucky. They get to play all night long. Having that much time helps you get stronger, I'm sure. Boy, I wish I could play all day instead of going to school. I'd never lose another game if I was able to do that. Man, I need to get really strong, just like the Phantom Thieves." Shinya said as Ren smiled understandingly and spoke up.

"That's understandable, Oda-kun. Level with me here, though. Do you admire them?" Ren asked Shinya politely. Shinya nodded as he put his fists together while speaking up.

"Of course I do! I wanna be just as strong as they are! Heh, I believe in the Phantom Thieves and their strength." Shinya said as Ren chuckled and smiled before speaking up.

"I can respect that, Oda-kun. And to be honest with you? So do I. I respect their strength as well." Ren said honestly. Shinya chuckled and spoke up.

"Of course you do, Amamiya-kun! That's because you're a fan, like me! But seriously though, I can't stop thinking about that employee. He was super annoying, huh? If he says something again, I might just have to use that move on him." Shinya said as Ren gave him a confused look, making Shinya chuckle as he kept speaking.

"You know, the move I taught you. Remember it? You should use it sometime." Shinya said as Ren nodded, getting a vague sense of his bond with Shinya deepening as he did so. At that point, the 'Tower' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'I' becoming an 'II' to signify that his Tower Confidant link with Shinya had reached Rank 2.

As a result of the rank-up, Shinya educated Ren on the way of the Bullet Hail, enabling Ren to have the chance to enter into a gun-based All-Out Attack after a successful ambush. Afterwards, Shinya spoke up.

"Pretty good, right? Well, it's just a move in the game, so it won't work against actual people or anything. But, I wish it did. Then I'd be strong in real life. Man, I need to be able to win in real life, then I'd be strong. Man. Well, later. I'm gonna head home." Shinya said as Ren nodded, before smiling as he felt as if his heart had grown from interacting with Shinya, leading his Kindness to get a sizable, if unneeded, boost. After that, Ren pulled up his hood as he prepared to head back to Leblanc, but not before Shinya spoke up once more.

"Later, Amamiya-kun! Say hi to the Phantom Thieves for me!" Shinya said as Ren headed back to Leblanc, where his phone rang as he got to the doorstep, pulling it out to answer it.

"Hello? Ren speaking." Ren said before blinking as he heard Shinya's voice on the other end.

"Oh, hello? Amamiya-kun? It's me. You remember me? Shinya Oda. Anyways, I was bored, so I thought I'd call. I forgot to mention earlier, but you gotta keep practicing even on single-player, okay? Everyone sucks at first, but you can get good if you do it every day!" Shinya said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"I'll work hard, Oda-kun. And thanks for the advice." Ren said honestly. Shinya chuckled as he spoke up.

"Heh, you're welcome. And you'd better! You're supposed to be the adult here. I'm practicing a lot, too. I wanna get as strong as the Phantom Thieves. Oh, my mom came home just now. Sorry, but I gotta hang up. Bye." Shinya said as Ren chuckled and hung up his phone and headed inside, idly musing how much Shinya's advice brought him to mind of something Kusa would say as he did so.

Once he got into Leblanc, Ren decided to open his phone up again. And once he did so, Ren saw a private chat on his phone from Hifumi, blinking as he opened it up to read it.

"Hello, Amamiya-kun? I'll be at the church again today. However, there's something we need to discuss. I'm not sure how to put this. I'd like to speak with you, if that's all right." Hifumi sent as Ren considered things carefully before he sent a response.

"Not a problem, Togo-san. I'll be there ASAP. Heading out now." Ren sent as Hifumi sent a response.

"OK. I'll be waiting at the church." Hifumi sent as Ren headed to the church. Once there, Ren walked over to Hifumi and spoke up.

"Sorry it took a second, but I'm here, Togo-san." Ren said as he sat down next to Hifumi, careful not to sit on her shogi board as he did so. Hifumi smiled at Ren and spoke up.

"Thank you for coming so promptly, Amamiya-kun. Good evening. 'A meijin knows no standard moves'. Have you heard this phrase before?" Hifumi asked Ren, who blinked before politely shaking his head, making Hifumi smile and nod as she spoke up.

"That's okay. I didn't expect that you would. Loosely translated, it means there are no set principles for victory. You must always seek to make the best move possible. In other words, please continue to do what you believe is right. Ugh, I'm sorry. I'm not in the mood for a match right now, to be honest. And to tell you the truth? I'm sorry, but I can't teach you shogi right now, Amamiya-kun. Or rather, it's more accurate to say I'll be unable to give you shogi lessons from now on. Sorry about that.

The truth is, I'm just not in a good mind space for it. Worse, I feel like I'm at checkmate right now. My only option is to concede, as much as I dislike it. But the thing is, even if I wanted to concede, I can't seem to give up on shogi. Honestly, I'm not sure what my next move is after this checkmate, Amamiya-kun." Hifumi said as Ren frowned, seeng that Hifumi clearly looked troubled. But then Ren smiled, feeling as if his maxed-out Knowledge would help Ren to show Hifumi her potential next move. Ren then looked at Hifumi and spoke up gently.

"That's okay if you're not in a mind space to continue teaching me shogi, Togo-san. I understand and respect that. But to be honest, I feel like you could use someone to talk to about things. You can tell me to go away if you're not comfortable with it, or if I'm overstepping by suggesting this, but why don't we hang out? It doesn't have to be playing shogi. We can also just sit and you can try to tell me what's bothering you, if you think you're comfortable with that." Ren said kindly. Hifumi turned to look at Ren in shock, her dark green eyes widening slightly in a mix of shock, disbelief and appreciation as she spoke up.

"What did you just say? You'll help me think about my next move? Thank you so much, Amamiya-kun!" Hifumi said gratefully as she spoke up.

"Before we play our usual practice match, I'd like to talk to you about something. My mother told me that I should lose my upcoming exhibition match against the pro she'd arranged for me to play." Hifumi said as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, what? I'm sorry, but I don't understand, Togo-san." Ren said honestly. Hifumi frowned as she nodded and spoke up.

"I don't blame you for feeling that way, Amamiya-kun. I felt lost too when I heard her tell me to lose. Apparently, it's a 'strategy' she devised for me. She says that if I lose to a man, I'll get sympathy from women, and as a result get more female fans. Then when I make my comeback, I'll become a symbol for strong women everywhere. That way, I can use the weekly magazine's popularity against them and instantly become famous." Hifumi said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"No offense Togo-san, but that won't work. With all apologies to her, your mother is out of her mind if she thinks that strategy will work! She's just trying to set you up for fame so she can take advantage of it to make herself look good. I've seen this before with another friend of mine, one who you know rather well. I trust you're familiar with the story of how Yusuke's former mentor was stealing his ideas and using him to line his own pockets and become famous?" Ren said honestly to Hifumi. Hifumi blinked before nodding.

"Oh, that's right! Yusuke did say the same thing to me when I talked to him about it. Of course, I may or may not have had to talk him down from going to find my mother and, to use the words he used, 'slice her to ribbons'. That said, I wish I could agree, but I dunno. I feel my mother may be right. People do love a good comeback story. Coming from the TV industry, my mother does have great insight for entertainment. This time around, though, I couldn't help but argue. It's the wrong thing to do in my opinion. I actually got into a fight with my mother. It wasn't the first time, but even so, it still wasn't fun.

And what really made me sad was that my mother insinuated that I was throwing my future away just because I didn't agree with her plan. She then proceeded to insinuate that I should be grateful to her for what she does for me while also implying that I didn't need to tie myself down with a relationship or friends at this time. And that's when I realized my mother doesn't see me at a shogi player at all. She told me that there's no need for me to be putting so much time and effort into shogi all the time.

She then went on to say I was wasting my time having hobbies, and that once I become famous, I can quit shogi and make money from my looks. She then outright added that she'd rather see me rich and famous, but unhappy, rather than poor, practically homeless, and penniless, but happy. Basically she was taking a cheap shot at Kitagawa-kun with that comment, which really hurt me.

After all, Kitagawa-kun might be bad with money, but he's got a good heart and is genuinely a kind and caring person deep down. I then realized at that point that the only reason she continues to support my shogi career is so she can profit off of me as an idol. She doesn't mind if I lose a match, as long as I build my reputation and make money.

But that's not all that's important to me. What about the game of shogi itself? And what about the friends I've made playing it? Truthfully, I'd rather be good at shogi, but be beloved and have lots of friends who care about me for me, than rich and have no one that likes me for me, rather than for whatever money I'd have made. And to be honest, I feel like both you and Kitagawa-kun are friends with me for who I am as a person. I appreciate that a lot about you both." Hifumi said before flushing slightly as Ren spoke up.

"Oh, what's this? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you might be catching feelings for either myself or Yusuke, Togo-san. For both of our sakes, I hope it's Yusuke, since while I do genuinely respect and care for you, I think I see you more as a close friend or a sister figure. Also, I have a girlfriend. But Yusuke is absolutely single, and may or may not be taken with you, though is trying to not overstep your boundaries out of a sense of respect as well as a desire to get to know you at your pace." Ren said honestly. Hifumi smiled shyly as she spoke up.

"Th-Thank you, Amamiya-kun. That means a lot to me. And to be honest? I might be finding myself in the position of possibly having feelings for Kitagawa-kun. But never mind that for now. We were talking about my mother right now. That said, to my mother, shogi is just a vehicle to make me famous and nothing more." Hifumi said before getting a resolute look on her face as she spoke up.

"However, losing on purpose is wrong! Even if it helped me to become famous and eased my parents' burden somewhat, I don't want to turn my back on shogi like that. You see, shogi is very precious to me. Shogi is a game that both my father and I love dearly." Hifumi said as Ren nodded understandingly.

"I understand how you feel, Togo-san. You shouldn't have to turn your back on your beliefs like that. If you'll let me help, let's do something about it." Ren said. Hifumi sighed and spoke up.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Amamiya-kun. Alas, if only that were possible. She's the type of woman who never changes her mind once she sets it on something. She wants to achieve her unfulfilled dream of becoming a celebrity, and plans to do so through me. I highly doubt she would ever reconsider, no matter who asks her." Hifumi said sadly as Ren spoke up.

"Fair enough. If you don't mind me asking this Togo-san, what's your mother's name?" Ren asked. Hifumi looked at Ren in surprise.

"Not sure why you'd want to know that, but ok? It's an easy name to look up. My mother's name is Mitsuyo Togo. Um, but what does that have to do with what we were talking about, Amamiya-kun?" Hifumi asked Ren, who smiled and spoke up.

"Let's just say I need that information, since I might know some people who can help us do something about your mother, and hopefully help her see the error of her ways." Ren said ominously to Hifumi, even as he mentally concluded that he needed to do something about this target for Hifumi's sake. At that point, his phone went off to signify the request of a new Mementos request titled 'Upstaging the Stage Mother'. Ren then stood up and bowed to Hifumi as he spoke up.

"Apologies for the abrupt exit, but I gotta get going, Hifumi. But don't worry. I'll speak to some 'friends' of mine and we'll figure out a way to change your mother's mind. Just have faith in me, and I'll do my best to help things change for you for the better." Ren said before turning and heading back to Leblanc as Hifumi could only nod and wave as Ren left the church, after which he returned to Leblanc and laid down for the night...

(The next afternoon, in the attic of Leblanc with Ren)

Ren noted that there were 21 days left to the deadline, figuring he had enough time to take 10-11 more days of prep time, which should let him get enough requests for another Mementos run, as well as hopefully get some of his teammates' Confidant Links maxed out. To that end, he sat on his bed and pondered his options. After looking at his options, Ren noticed Futaba sitting outside of Leblanc, and decided to hang out with her, idly wondering why Kusa wasn't with her like he so often was as he did so. As he went to go outside, Sojiro stopped him by speaking up.

"Hey, be careful. Just don't stay out too late. Heh, but then again, I'm sure no one's gonna be looking for someone who's supposed to be dead. Also, feel free to use the cafe however you like, within reason. I know it's not much, but it's the least I can do after what you've done for me and for Futaba." Sojiro said as Ren nodded appreciatively and went outside to hang with Futaba. Ren then walked over to Futaba and spoke up.

"And what're you doing hanging in front of Leblanc by yourself, Futaba? I thought Kusa would be with you, since he's basically staying with you guys at this point?" Ren asked Futaba, who smirked and spoke up.

"Kusa? Oh, he had to go make a run to the grocery store down the road. Apparently the cafe's out of milk and sugar after your guests used it all?" Futaba said with a smirk as she kept speaking.

"But anyways, yo! Welcome back! Whaddya wanna do today, Ren?" Futaba asked Ren, who spoke up with a smirk.

"I was thinking we could hang out, to be honest with you. I figured it could be a nice change of pace to spend some time with you, and probably Kusa as well if he happens to show up at some point. Assuming you're fine with that, of course." Ren said to Futaba. Futaba blinked at this and spoke up.

"But wait, wouldn't it be bad if someone spotted you? We're in the middle of our whole infiltration plan, y'know." Futaba said as Ren spoke up.

"We'll be fine, Futaba. Just don't call me by my real name too much in public and it should be okay." Ren said wisely. Futaba blinked and spoke up.

"R-Really? Eh, I guess I can't complain too much since you're gonna be hanging with me. Oh yeah. I dug up all sorts of dirt recently. About Kana-chan, that is. Are you free? If so, I wanna talk to you about it." Futaba said to Ren. Morgana chose that point to make his presence known by speaking up from on Futaba's shoulder.

"Nobody thinks you're alive at this point, so it should be okay as long as you're careful. So what's the plan? Are you going to hang out with Futaba?" Morgana asked Ren. Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Of course I'm gonna hang out with her. I was the one who approached her with the idea of spending time with her, after all." Ren said to Morgana. Futaba smiled at Ren and spoke up.

"Wow, thanks. Come on over to my room then. I'll tell you about it there." Futaba said as Ren followed her to her room. What the two didn't know was that Kusa had finished his run to the supermarket and chose then to walk up and see Ren and Futaba, smirking at the two as he spoke up.

"Ah, what's this? Hanging out, you two? Nice. If you don't mind me tagging along, I'll just go take this in and give it to Boss, and we can head on back to the house." Kusa said as Ren and Futaba nodded, at which point Kusa headed in to deliver the milk and sugar to a grateful Sojiro before guiding Ren and Futaba back to the house wordlessly as the three headed inside, Morgana riding shotgun on Kusa's shoulder the whole way. Once inside of Futaba's room, Futaba turned to Ren and spoke up.

"So I looked up Kana-chan online, and she's apparently still living in the same town in Kansai she moved to. But oddly enough, she never continued on to high school. So of course I got curious, and decided to do some digging into why that might be, and what I found wasn't pretty. Well, to be honest?" Futaba said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Is this Kana-chan the girl you told me you were close with when you were younger, Taba? Because if so, I think I recall hearing you gasp last night when you looked her info up. And you usually only do that when things are rather graphic or unpleasant." Kusa said. Futaba nodded to Kusa's question before turning to Ren and speaking up.

"That's right Kusa. And Ren? The more I dug, the worse it got to be. Ah, I'd never seen anything like it before in my life! It turns out her parents are in heavy debt due to a gambling addiction. So as a result, instead of sending her to school, they make her work to help try and pay it off. And that's where it gets weird. Apparently, they're still having her model in strange clothes. They're even selling the pictures now from what I gathered." Futaba said as Kusa's eyes widened while he spoke up.

"Wait, strange how? They're not having her do what I THINK they're having her do, are they!?" Kusa asked, his tone suspiciously wary. Futaba merely nodded, not trusting herself to speak up. Ren and Kusa gasped at this and spoke up in unison.

"WHAT!?" Ren and Kusa snapped at the same time, the former frowning as he spoke up.

"Sorry to scare you like that Futaba, but what horrible parents." Ren said. Futaba nodded agreeably as she spoke up.

"Yep! Horrible is right. I thought parents were supposed to care for their children, not use them to pay off a debt." Futaba said before she sat on her chair and looked at Ren as she kept speaking.

"Actually though, Kana-chan herself made a request on the Phan-Site. Based on the IP and other tracking data, I'm 99.9% sure it's her. The post was basically just her asking us to make her parents have a change of heart by any means necessary." Futaba said before shaking her head as she spoke up.

"But she didn't put their names. She might be a little hesitant. Or more likely, she doesn't totally believe in the Phantom Thieves yet. Either way, I have a solution." Futaba said as she pulled out her phone while she kept speaking.

"I found her parents' names in the address book we got way back in elementary school. Their names are Kouta and Asami Magario. I got a hit for them from the Meta-Nav too. That tells me that we can fix them." Futaba said as she put her phone away and fixed Ren and Kusa with a resolute look as she spoke up.

"Ren, Kusa, I've decided. I wanna go to Mementos and change their hearts. We can't let them keep treating Kana-chan so horribly, right? Ugh! Please, help me save her!" Futaba said as Ren and Kusa nodded, the former speaking up.

"You got it, Futaba. We'll show them the truth." Ren said as Kusa frowned and crossed his arms while blue sparkling music notes went up over his head before he went about speaking up.

"Damn right we'll show them the truth, Ren! And we'll teach those scumbags a lesson in respect while we're at it. I don't care how much debt you're in, making your kid basically take explicit photos of herself to make you money is NEVER the answer! She's their daughter, dammit! She's not an effing meal ticket!

I freaking despise people who would treat their children that way! And it's even worse since she's a friend of yours, Taba! You have my word that we'll see to it that these scumbags have a change of heart!" Kusa said in a determined tone, his eyes narrowed in a mix of frustration, disgust and determination to protect Futaba if needed. Futaba smiled at Ren and Kusa as she spoke up happily.

"Ren! Kusa! Thank you both! Oh, and since you're gonna help with this Ren, I'll have to return the favor. Hmhmhm, what to do? Oh, that's right! I got it! I'll look extra hard for valuable stuff when we're in the Metaverse! Well? Pretty good, huh!?" Futaba said as Ren happily nodded his approval, feeling as if he could sense a strong bond of trust from Futaba, and even felt a slight sense of gratitude from Kusa. At that point, the 'Hermit' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'VI' becoming a 'VII' to signify that his Hermit Confidant link with Futaba had reached Rank 7.

As a result of the rank-up, Futaba awakened to the power of 'Treasure Reboot', making it so that Futaba had a chance to revive search objects in the immediate vicinity of the group after a battle. Afterwards, Futaba spoke up.

"Cool! Welp, I'll be counting on you both! Let's save Kana-chan!" Futaba said as Ren nodded, feeling that Futaba was counting on him to help put an end to the terrible parenting being done to her friend Kana. Futaba then adjusted her glasses and spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, shoot! It's getting late. Let's adjourn here for today, Ren! Kusa and I had plans after this, you see." Futaba said sheepishly as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Oh yeah? You two goin' on a date or something?" Ren asked Futaba teasingly as all three of their phones pinged after that to signify the receipt of the Mementos request 'Daughter's Just a Meal Ticket'. Kusa frowned at that and spoke up.

"Very funny, Ren. But yes, we are in fact planning to go and grab a bite to eat somewhere, then probably catch a movie or something afterwards. I'd say you should think about doing the same with Kasumi, but you're kinda stuck keeping a low profile right now. As such, the best you could realistically do is hope to meet her in Kichijoji, and maybe smuggle her back to Leblanc for some quality cuddling time at some point. Might make both you and her feel better." Kusa said bluntly. Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough, Kusa. Welp, I guess I better head back to Leblanc and get out of you guys' hair so you can enjoy your date. Oh, but were you gonna just leave Morgana here to watch the house? Or would you rather I take him back with me and watch him for you two?" Ren said to Kusa and Futaba, who exchanged an uneasy look before Futaba spoke up.

"That's up to Morgana, I think. If he wants to stay here and watch the house, we don't mind. But if he'd rather go hang out with you, that's fine as well." Futaba said as Kusa spoke up.

"But it's ultimately Morgana's choice in the end, since he can make his own choices." Kusa said as Morgana spoke up.

"Y'know, I think I will head back with Ren for tonight, let you two have the place to yourselves. Try not to get into too much trouble without me there, heheh!" Morgana said teasingly as Futaba flushed prettily while a red-faced Kusa frowned and glared at Morgana while he spoke up.

"Not funny, Morgana! And that's our business how far we decide to go with one another." Kusa said huffily as Ren chuckled and lifted Morgana onto his shoulder before speaking up.

"All right, guess I've got Morgana then. Night, you two! Have fun!" Ren said as he stood to leave while Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Will do, Ren! Thanks for watching Morgana for us! G-Goodnight." Futaba said shyly as she closed the door behind Ren as he left to go back to Leblanc with Morgana, leaving Kusa and Futaba to prepare for their date...

(That evening, at Leblanc, in the attic with Morgana and Ren)

"So, how much fun do you think Kusa and Futaba will have tonight?" Morgana asked Ren, who laughed as he spoke up after the two finished buying a 'Yaki-Imo Set' off of the home-shopping program on their way up to the attic.

"Depends on the mood they're in. I think they could probably find themselves in a frisky mood, in which case I could see Kusa getting to base with Futaba, so to speak. But given how reserved and restrained he can be, it might only go so far as kissing and some light touching, but that depends on how the night goes, and if Futaba can get Kusa to do what she wants." Ren said sagely as Morgana nodded his agreement. At that point, the two had a seat on Ren's bed while Ren pondered his next move...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, there we go! Another chapter done and dusted! Yes, it was largely filler and Confidant ranks, but there were also a few more Mementos requests added and even a few surprise events mixed in that weren't in canon Royal, or were slightly reworked from the version that was in canon Royal. But I think I got quite a bit in this chapter, whether it be the final Caroline/Justine 'outing', the handful of Confidant rank-ups (Futaba, Shinya, Haru) and even the set up for two more Mementos requests (Hifumi and Futaba's), I got a good bit in this chapter! As to what I was going to say after the chapter?

Well, it's not confirmed yet, but once I finish this adaptation and the Strikers adaptation (which will probably be a direct sequel to this story that follows the events of Strikers, albeit reworked to fit the events of Royal into the timeline), I'm thinking about taking a bit of a gap between the Royal and Strikers adaptations to work on my other stories (e.g. Shuffled Journeys and editing more chapters of Amasawa Files), after which I might also consider taking on an adaptation of Persona 4 Golden in fanfic form, but with some added elements to slightly change up the flow of Golden's plot.

But for now, it's not for sure yet, since there are a few minor wrinkles I need to iron out before I'm fully decided on it! Additionally, I'm considering an adaptation of Persona 3 Portable that covers that game's events from the perspective that both Minato AND Minako (or MC and FeMC as most call them) are in S.E.E.S together, rather than one or the other. But we'll see what happens! Also, I'm aware that Father's Day is coming up (or at least it is the day I type out this end-of-chapter A/N), so I might do a one-shot for that. We'll see. If I do, there's a chance it might be set in the Phantom Files-verse (unlike most of my other Persona one-shots), but I'm not committing to anything just yet.

On a slightly related note, happy belated Mother's Day to any mothers reading this! (As of the time I type out this end-of-chapter A/N, it's currently 12:00AM on Monday, May 15th, so yeah basically happy belated Mother's Day!) Apologies for no one-shot this year, but I didn't have time to make one! But I have one already up that I previously typed out and posted in the form of the Mario one-shot 'Rosalina and Luma's Best Mother's Day Ever! (For Mother's Day)', which is up on my profile for anyone who wants to read it.

But back on the topic of this story, thanks to everyone who's shown it support thus far, whether it be through favoriting this story, following it, or even adding me as an author to their Author Alerts list/Favorite Authors list. And extra-special thanks to those who've reviewed the story thus far, as those reviews give me motivation to keep going and continue to make this story a better read for you, the readers. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Feel free to keep showing this story some love and support! And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - Kusa's remark to Kasumi about her and Futaba's birthdays is one made based off of the fact that each of Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5 have been set in their respective release years (2009 for 3/3 Portable, 2012 for 4/4 Golden, and 2015 or 2016, forget which one, for Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal, though I'm guessing 2016).

And subtracting 15 years from 2016 for Futaba and 16 for Kasumi results in Futaba being born in the year 2001 and Kasumi in the year 2000, if my math is correct. Someone can correct me either via PM or in the reviews if I have those years wrong, however, and I'll not only correct this note and re-post the chapter, but I'll shout-out whoever corrects it in a future A/N.

*2* - Yes, Kusa was essentially comparing Ren to Harry Potter right here, but in his defense, Ren's basically doing the same thing to Kasumi by pushing her away when she offers to join that Harry himself does to Ginny at the end of Half-Blood Prince by breaking up with her, in that both are trying to keep their respective love interests out of their respective arch-enemy's reach.

The irony in this is that both Ren and Harry do so being unaware that they're in just as much danger without them as they are with them. Truly a case of selfless but unneeded sacrifice on both Ren and Harry's parts, if you ask me. And Morgana playing the 'you've got other things you have to do, don't you!?' card like he did didn't help matters either.

*3*- While this bit wasn't strictly necessary, I recalled when I was typing it that someone suggested I let Ren have a bit of 'paybacks' on the twins for their antics towards him, and I figured him and Kusa taking turns lightly yanking the twins' chains seemed an accurate way of both getting Ren some payback and showing how adorably clueless Caroline and Justine can be at times. Also it was kinda deserved when you consider that the twins were indirectly disrespecting Sojiro by calling his food 'sludge' and 'poisonous'. And that is not okay.

That said, shout out to Chaosinthesky13 over on YouTube and Twitch for his amazing playthroughs! He's also the one who coined the phrase 'Coffee Daddy' as a nickname for Sojiro, which I thought was genius by the way. So all credit for the ownership of that nickname is his to take. I'm just making slight usage of it for the purposes of the story.

CONFIDANT RANKS AS OF CHAPTER 74

FOOL (Igor/Prison Master) - Rank 9

MAGICIAN (Morgana/Mona) - Rank 9

PRIESTESS (Makoto/Queen) - Rank 6

EMPRESS (Haru/Noir) - Rank 4

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 7.5

FORTUNE (Chihaya/Fortune Teller) - Rank 4

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

HANGED-MAN (Iwai/Weapons Dealer) - Rank 4

DEATH (Takemi/Back-Alley Doctor) - Rank 7.5

DEVIL (Ohya) - Rank 3

TOWER (Shinya/Skilled Gamer) - Rank 2

STAR (Hifumi) - Rank 7.5

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**