NewWorldFool: Hello, everyone! NewWorldFool and CloudStrife07 here, and we are FINALLY back with more of The Royal Strikers! And yes, we're not dead yet! We both strongly apologize for taking so long with this update. To be honest, after finishing the Alice arc, both me and CloudStrife07 have suffered a bit of burnout from writing for this story, even though we've really been wanting to get back into it. We've also been very busy with other matters in our personal lives, CloudStrife07 especially… I won't go into the details about what he's been going through, but just know that it hasn't really been pretty. However, things are starting to look up for him and we both have been really wanting to make it up to everyone who has been waiting for so long for this story to get a proper update.

CloudStrife07: So, as a way to compensate for me and NewWorldFool's approximate year-long hiatus, we have a very special update to announce for you all. You ready for it? …Drum roll, please!

WE ARE RELEASING BOTH CHAPTERS TEN AND ELEVEN BACK TO BACK!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, everyone who has been patiently sticking with this story while we were away is getting rewarded with, not one, but two brand new chapters releasing on the exact same day! Truth be told, I originally wanted this double chapter upload to be something like a Christmas or New Year surprise for everyone, but that just didn't work out like I hoped it would. So me and NewWorldFool really hope that you all will find much pleasure in reading both of this new chapters, and hopefully, chapter twelve won't take us so awfully long to write like these two chapters did.

NewWorldFool: As usual, once again, we cannot thank you all enough for your support on this endeavor, and for your patience in waiting for these two new chapters. Hard to believe this thing has been running for two long years… But, regardless, it fills both me and CloudStrife07 with so much joy to know that you all still follow our story despite its long journey.

On that note, let us start the game!

Chapter Ten

Taking The Deal

June 20th, 2017

Good Morning Japan Filming Studio

"And now, onto the Hottest Meet-and-Greet," the new hostess, a veteran newscaster, said. "Alice Hiiragi has returned as our special guest."

The hostess then turned to face Alice, who was sitting across from her. "Miss Alice, thank you so much for coming on today despite the last visit's conclusion. From what I hear, there's something you wish to share?" she asked Alice.

"Yes, I need to confess something important." said Alice, her voice heavy with guilt and her hands clasped tightly together. "The incident that occurred with the previous hosts… that was… all my fault."

Silence fell over the entire studio at Alice's sudden declaration.

"I forced the male host to proclaim his love for me during a live broadcast in front of his fiancèe. When I heard that he was engaged to his co-host, I just wanted to ruin their relationship." Alice continued to confess to everyone.

"Wha- Miss Alice?!" the hostess exclaimed in surprise.

"And they're not the only people I've hurt," Alice continued with her voice cracking. "Any time I see a happy woman, I just get so jealous, and I do whatever it takes to ruin any semblance of happiness in their lives. So I would manipulate their boyfriends into thinking that they were madly in love with me, and wanted to devote themselves to me in every way…"

The hostess was now at a complete loss for words, unsure of how to respond to everything that Alice was saying.

"But that's not all I've done…" Alice further continued with her confession. "All of the men I've purposely manipulated, I even turned them all into obsessive fans of mine in order to further boost the sales of my merchandise and allow me to make it further in my career."

"Uhh… umm… is this a prank or something?" she asked in complete confusion.

Alice continued her confession, completely undeterred by the hostess' confusion. "All of my past managers tried so hard to stop me… but then I would assault them until they backed down… in truth, the only reason I've changed managers recently is because my last one had a complete breakdown…" she said.

"Wait, are you… is this real?" The hostess asked aloud to herself, confusion in her voice.

"Everything I've said here is the truth. I'm sure all of it is easy enough to prove now," Alice said as she felt tears starting to swell in her eyes. "I've lied, and I've… I've hurt so many people…"

"Is this… the Phantom Thieves?" the hostess wondered aloud.

Tears were now rolling down from Alice's eyes and over her cheeks; Alice held her hands up to her chest as she closed her eyes tightly.

"I'm the one who did it all! No one but me did all of these horrible things!" Alice cried out as she began sobbing in earnest. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry!"

"CUT! CUUUUUT!" cried the voice of the Senior Assistant Director in a panic. "DUMP TO STANDBY!"

Cafè Leblanc - A Couple of Hours Later

As he, his comrades, and best frenemy sat and stood in Leblanc, with Sumire standing next to him with both her soft hands clenching his own, Ren looked at the TV Screen, which was now showing the "Please Stand By" rainbow, with a solemn expression. Although this was the tenth time doing it, albeit under very different circumstances, Ren never ceased to be moved by just how powerful a change of heart triggered via the Metaverse really was.

And taking a look around at his friends, he could tell that they felt the same way.

"And that was all from the recent live broadcast on Good Morning Japan just earlier this morning." A male news reporter announced on the TV as the "Please Stand By" screen pulled back into a smaller image, allowing the male news broadcaster to be seen. "Alice Hiiragi, distant relative to the beloved enka singer, Misuzu Hiiragi, has made a sudden confession to making countless men act as lovelorn fools in order to hurt countless women and boost her own reputation. Further reports say that this sudden confession is the result of the very sudden and unexpected return of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, who publicly sent out a calling card to Alice Hiiragi in Shibuya just last night."

"Alice…" Ann said sadly.

"This is gonna blow waaay up." Futaba said solemnly. "That hostess and news reporter even name-dropped the Phantom Thieves…"

"Well, whatever may come, at least our job's done," said Morgana.

"Right…" said Makoto with a nod. "We may have gone through something quite different from a Palace, but there's no mistaking we successfully convinced Alice to have a change of heart."

"The people with the stolen Desires seem to be back to normal too." said Ryuji as he scrolled through his phone with his thumb. "It's all over the internet."

Upon hearing Ryuji's words, Yusuke pulled his phone out of his pocket and began searching through many of the latest news articles and blogs about Alice's recent confession and the tie to the Phantom Thieves.

"'My son was about to blow our life savings on Alice merch, but the Phantom Thieves rescued him. Thank you, Phantom Thieves,'" Yusuke read allowed to the group.

"Well, good for that guy." Futaba said. "For me, I'm just seeing a lot of 'I want my money back.' …Welp, we sure can't help them there."

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure everyone who's saying that is a legitimate victim…" said Sumire, doubt evident in her voice.

Ren's phone pinged as Sophia popped up.

"Nevertheless, mission complete." Sophia declared.

"I wonder what's going to happen to Alice next." said Haru, her eyes mixed with curiosity and worry.

"It's more than likely that Alice's brand and public image is plummeting hard as we speak." Akechi added to the conversation, his facial expression still barely showing any emotion. "Considering that she confessed to acts of manipulation, assault and even breaking the mental state of her managers on live television,, she'll most likely be arrested and will have to serve a few years in prison."

"Yeah… It's probably next to impossible for her to make it in either the idol or fashion industries now… her scandal is big news." said Ann, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"No matter why she did it, there are still consequences for her actions," said Morgana.

"But, if Alice is able to rediscover that feeling she had when she first discovered fashion, I think she'll be okay." Ann said in a positive tone. "She can still be a ray of light for others, even if she has to find a different way to shine."

"That reminds me, we should still try to see if we can press her for information." said Makoto. "Even if she had no knowledge of the Jail or her Shadow, there might still be something she knows that we still don't. We have to figure out exactly how we're going to make her Jail fully disappear."

"Hold on. Do we actually have a chance of meeting her now?" asked Sumire.

"I imagine her day-to-day schedule has become quite the mess," added Haru.

"Oh, geez, that's a good point." Ann admitted in a defeated tone. "Her agency isn't going to want anything to do with her after this…"

"Speaking of Alice…" Sophia spoke up, her eyes looking directly at Ann. "Ann, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it, Sophia?" Ann asked the bright redheaded AI.

"When you were first talking to Shadow Alice, you were very angry at her. By the end, though, you seemed happy." Sophia said, her eyes filled with confusion. "Why is that? How can you be happy when you were just recently angry at Alice?"

"Because I wasn't really angry at Alice herself, but more like I was angry at all of the bad things that Alice was choosing to do." Ann explained, her eyes soft with a solemn look. "I understand why she felt like it was necessary to get back at the people who hurt her, because there were a lot of times when I wanted to get back at the people who hurt me too… But there is no real good excuse for someone to become a bad person just to get back at other bad people."

"Okay…" Sophia uttered. "So anger is not just for wanting to hurt people, but it can also be for wanting to help people too… Consider: Anger saved Alice. If someone is in the wrong, anger can be used to show them the error of their ways."

"I'd say that all depends on how much anger you feel in your heart, and who you feel that anger towards, Sophia." Ann further explained. "What Alice had done was absolutely horrible, without question, and those who feel angry at her have every right to be… However, if someone allows themself to become filled with too much anger, it becomes more than likely that they are just unwilling to forgive someone else for the wrongdoings that the other person did, even if that other person becomes willing to change for the better…"

Ann crossed her arms; her eyes narrowed as she continued. "I, myself, am no stranger to feeling so much hatred for someone, that all I want is for him to suffer for all of eternity… However, because I understood how much Alice's dream to be a ray of light meant for her, I couldn't bring myself to hate everything about her. Even though I was angry, I simply wanted to express it in a way that Alice could fully realize what she was doing and strive to be better."

"Feeling angry is okay so long as anger doesn't become a desire to hurt others… The human heart is such a mystery." Sophia said as a smile formed on her face. "But thanks to you, along with Ren and everyone else, I've gained valuable experience… Thank you, Ann, I hope to learn more from everyone."

Ann felt a bright smile form on her face. "Of course, Sophia. We'll all be here to help you learn, every step of the way."

Suddenly, the bell for Leblanc's door chimed. The entire group turned their attention over to whoever it was that came through the door, and much to their displeasure, it was none other than Zenkichi Hasegawa walking into the cafè.

"An enlightening conversation as always in here." Zenkichi said as he approached the group of thieves. "Anyway, how's it hanging folks?"

"Aw, you again, Gramps?" Futaba groaned in annoyance.

"Hey, I won't deny that I'm older than you guys, but that still stings, y'know?" Zenkichi said defensively. "But, more importantly, you guys really hop to work when your minds are set, don'tcha?"

"To what are you referring?" asked Makoto.

"Don't play stupid, I gave you some solid intel, yeah?" Zenkichi said with a smirk.

"Yes, but that's…" Ann said with some degree of uncertainty.

"Well, that's good news! Looks like I'll be getting my own in return," said Zenkichi.

Ren groaned, remembering what Zenkichi said about the group owing him one after giving them all the vital information they needed on Alice. Ren really should have known better that this was going to come back around eventually.

"...What is it that you want?" Ren asked, reluctantly.

"I came here today for your response to my offer. You know, the deal," explained Zenkichi.

"We already told you, we don't work with cops!" said Ryuji aggressively.

"And yet you all are apparently more than willing to continue working alongside the Detective Prince." Zenkichi shot back as he looked over at the shaggy brown-haired boy.

"Former Detective Prince." Akechi said in annoyance.

"Right…" Zenkichi groaned in embarrassment before continuing. "Regardless, what if tossed in a lil' bonus? Like say… running some questions by Alice for you? You were just saying you wanted info from her, right?"

"...That is true…" said Sumire reluctantly.

"But, Alice already confessed to messing with people on live TV!" Ann said angrily. "Our names have been cleared!"

"Yeah, what she said! We don't need you for shit!" said Ryuji.

"...And that is where all of you are wrong." Akechi said with a hand on his hip.

Makoto looked over at Akechi, her eyebrow cocked in confusion. "What do you mean by that, Akechi? How is this case not closed?"

Akechi shook his head in disbelief and annoyance. "Don't any of you imbeciles keep up with the news?… This whole epidemic of changes of heart wasn't just happening here in Shibuya, it's actually happening across the entire country. There's no way all of the cases can be the cause of Alice, considering that a lot of them are fairly different compared to what has been happening here. "

Upon hearing this, the rest of the thieves all looked amongst each other with wide eyes of disbelief at this new revelation. Futaba then pulled her phone out of her pocket and started searching for any information on abnormal behaviors from people outside of Shibuya.

"Not only that, but you all have badly you've stirred the pot." Zenkichi added to the conversation. "That little calling card stunt of yours has fired up the public more than ever. 'These Change of Heart cases have to be the Phantom Thieves!' is all I hear down at the station now. Do you really not realize how dangerous of a position you're in right now?"

"What a bunch of bullshit! What the hell did we do?!" snapped Ryuji.

"Calm down, there, hotshot. Why do you think I offered you that deal?" asked Zenkichi as he then looked back over at Ren. "Amamiya, if I wanted to, I could cuff you and take you in right now and this case would be considered good as closed… The reason I'm not is because I remember what you said to me the first time we met, that the Phantom Thieves only act in changing the hearts of criminals and bringing their crimes to light; the Phantom Thieves don't ever steal the hearts of random individuals just for kicks. I'm the only one who believes you and the rest of your friends are not the culprits behind the rest of these occurring incidents. So in order to catch the true perpetrator, I need your help."

Ren crossed his arms as he cocked his eyebrow at the PubSec detective. "And what makes you think we'd be able to help you catch whoever this perpetrator is?"

"Eh, detective's intuition, maybe?" Zenkichi said with a shrug. "I mean, I'm PubSec, but that's close enough… In all seriousness, the M.O. in this recent epidemic doesn't mesh with the Phantom Thieves' ideology. The motives also appear very are two separate cases, at least that's what I believe."

Ren looked down at his crossed arms. He pondered over all the newly stated facts that were laid out before him and everyone else, and after a few seconds, Ren heaved a sigh before looking back at Zenkichi.

"Would you mind giving me a moment with everyone else? I'd like to discuss things with them first." Ren said.

"Sure, I'll be right outside. Just holler when you're ready for me." said Zenkichi before he walked outside.

Now officially alone with his group once more, Ren turned to face everyone before letting out an uncomfortable wince.

"God, this is so embarrassing." said Ren before he continued. "I was so sure that making Alice confess everything she has done would have cleared things up for us, but all we did was kick the hornet's nest and painted an even bigger target on ourselves… I'm really sorry, everyone."

"This isn't all your fault, Ren. If anything, it's pretty much our fault too." Makoto said, reassuringly.

"Dammit… so Gramps really wasn't kidding…" said Futaba as she scrolled through her phone.

"What is it, Futaba?" asked Ann.

"When I was searching the web for Alice's victims acting weird, I noticed some people saying that weird stuff was happening here and there, and all of it was similar to what we've seen here so far…" explained Futaba. "Almost none of these incidents made the news, and it seems like everyone's just trying to ignore it, but in some of these cases, real damage has been done."

"Sounds like what Gramps is sayin's prolly not bullshit after all…" said Ryuji, a worried look on his face.

"What now? If the police decide to scapegoat the Phantom Thieves, then Senpai will just be thrown in jail again…" said Sumire in a very worried tone.

"Whoever this real perpetrator is, they're not even changing hearts for the same reasons as us!" said Futaba, a hint of irritation in her voice.

"On the bright side, at least no one else is using the Metaverse to cause any more metal shutdowns." said Akechi as he held a hand up to his chin. "That aside, if there are really other change of heart incidents out there, that more than likely means there are more Jails out there, and that there'll be more Monarchs too."

"Then what would we do? Considering what we've gathered, going along with that man could be a viable option," said Yusuke.

"Are we seriously gonna trust that frickin' cop?!" exclaimed Ryuji.

Akechi huffed as he shook his head. "One of these days, you're all going to have to realize that not every police officer is out to get the Phantom Thieves."

"Also, what other choice do we have but to trust that Zenkichi guy?" asked Ann. "At the very least, his intel about Alice was useful."

Morgana looked over at Ren. "What do you say, Ren?.

Ren closed his eyes, allowing himself to get lost in thought. With all things considered, and everything that's happened recently, Zenkichi hasn't really done anything to really endanger Ren or anyone else in the group. He was perfectly fair in asking Ren if he really was the one causing the changes of heart, offering Ren a helping hand in solving the case, and even providing the vital intel needed in order to put a stop to Alice's whole Desire stealing scheme… So far, Zenkichi has proven to be pretty trustworthy.

Ren let out a sigh. "...Let's take the risk and make the deal."

Makoto nodded in agreement. "I think that'd be wisest," she said.

"Hold on. Even if we do level with him, how would we explain everything?" said Morgana. "If he's going to understand what we've been doing, he'll have to learn about the Metaverse."

"Wha?! How?! It's the effin' Metaverse for cryin' out loud!" Ryuji interjected. "How're we gonna get some thick headed cop to buy any of that?!"

"...We'll just have to make him believe." said Akechi, prompting everyone to look at him incredulously. "Our best bet at properly explaining everything to him would be to show him the Jail here in Shibuya."

"Wait, really?!" exclaimed Ann in surprise.

"I think Akechi-san is right." Sumire said, her eyes narrowed. "We need him to believe us, otherwise it's Senpai's freedom on the line."

"Yeah, I agree." Makoto added to the conversation. "We have one playable card in our hand. We just have to go along with it for the time being."

"Hmm… it'll be dangerous in the Jail… but I think we should all be able to protect one man," Ren said with a serious look on his face. "Alright, let's take him to the Jail."

Yusuke sighed. "Let's hope this isn't our undoing…"

"I'll go call him back in." Ren said as he walked over to the cafè door and opened it.

After a short moment, Ren returned with Zenkichi following soon after.

"Huh, that was quicker than I expected," said Zenkichi. "So, what say you all?"

The group took a look at one another, looks of uncertainty and hope in their eyes. Ren looked over at Zenkichi with narrowed eyes.

"If we're going to accept this deal, then there's a place that we need to show you. It is a place that is vital to how we operate as an organization." Ren said to Zenkichi. "Please follow us. We will further explain things along the way."

"Oooookay…" said Zenkichi as the Phantom Thieves and Akechi moved past him and out the door, with Zenkichi following close behind.

Shibuya Accessway-A Short While Later…

As the whole group of thieves walked over to the Shibuya Accessway with Zenkichi following behind them, Ren and the rest of the team tried explaining to him about how they enter a world known as the Metaverse, where the cognitions of how a person views the world is made into a reality. They even tried explaining how the type of part of the Metaverse they recently entered was called a Jail, how Alice was the Monarch responsible for collecting the Desires from people's Shadows, and how Desires are the core of what makes a person function as a human being… However, much like everyone was expecting, Zenkichi didn't seem like he was believing anything that they were saying.

Zenkichi shook his head with his eyes closed.

"Alright, what say we go and get you all tested for drugs?" Zenkichi asked, his eyes squinting with disbelief. "If you're all gonna cook up fantasy to sell me, maybe at least try adding some spice to it."

"Just save it for the time being, inspector." Ren said in a serious tone. "...We're about to show you the cognitive world."

"'Cognitive' world?" Zenkichi asked in confusion.

Ren looked forward as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and opened up the EMMA app.

"Follow us…" Ren said as he and the rest of the group, along with Zenkichi, started walking forward. "...Wonderland."

The Jail of Lust - Entry Point

As the entire group walked into the Jail, the thieves all changed into their cognitive world attire. Following behind them all, Zenkichi found his eyes to be bolted wide open in surprise and disbelief at what he was seeing around him. All of Shibuya had completely changed from the normal busy city he saw during the daytime into some sort of crazy outside nightclub rave version of the Shibuya, and the accessway that he and everyone was walking on was nothing more than what looked like an incomplete catwalk.

"Wha… What?! What is…" Zenkichi fumbled over his own words, completely unable to believe anything he was seeing. "This… isn't real…"

"Everything here is real." Queen spoke up. "Every last bit you can see in this world is real."

Looking up ahead at the group of thieves, Zenkichi felt a jolt in his body at seeing everyone dressed so utterly different from how they all looked just a moment ago.

"Whoa! What happened?! What're those outfits for?!" Zenkichi asked, bewildered.

"This is what we all look like whenever we enter the Metaverse." Joker explained calmly to Zenkichi. "It's a bit of a long story, so I'll keep the explanation brief: These outfits are basically our Phantom Thief attire."

Zenkichi started laughing nervously, which soon led to him laughing like he was going crazy.

"What even is this?! Where am I?!" Zenkichi asked, his voice filled with panic.

"Answer to Question: This is a Jail. You are currently located within a Jail." Sophie answered in her usual programmed manner as she walked up to Zenkichi.

"Wha-?! Who're you?!" Zenkichi asked, still panicking.

"I am Sophie, humanitie's companion." Sophie answered with a smile, causing Crow to groan in annoyance. "Nice to meet you."

"Well, nice to- …What?" Zenkichi paused in confusion.

Suddenly, Mona began walking up to the uneasy inspector. "Chill out, Zenkichi. You gotta keep yourself together."

Zenkichi closed his eyes tightly and started taking in some deep breaths. "Yeah, yeah… Right. I can't be losing my shit like-"

Before he could finish what he was saying, a sudden bolt of curiosity had struck Zenkichi over where the voice he just heard was coming from. Zenkichi opened his eyes back up and looked down by his feet, where he saw a creature that looked like black and white cat with a cartoonishly large head with large blue eyes, a yellow scarf around its neck, and was standing on its own bottom feet.

"MONSTER CAT!" Zenkichi shrieked out loud in fear.

Mona felt a glare form on his face at Zenkichi's comment. "I am NOT a monster cat! …Well, I am a cat, but I am in no way a monster!"

"Do you finally believe we've been telling you the truth?" Queen asked Zenkichi.

Zenkichi, however, looked away from the entire group, closing his eyes again and holding onto his head with his right hand. "The hell? How much did I have to drink last night…? This all just has to be a dream! Yeah, I'm still passed out!"

Unbeknownst to Zenkichi, Crow walked up to the PubSec inspector, and pinched the man's right cheek as hard as he possibly could.

"Ow!" Zenkichi yelped in pain as he shot his eyes back open again, and looked over at the boy in the dark knight's mask. "What the hell was that for?!"

"To prove that you are, in fact, not dreaming, obviously." Crow answered crudely.

"Hey, is Gramps holding up okay?" Skull asked the group.

"No need to worry. He's just having a meltdown." Sophie answered, as if there was nothing wrong with what she just said.

"...That doesn't really sound any less concerning, Sophie." Violet awkwardly pointed out.

Ren let out a sigh. "Alright, let's get him back to the real world before he fully breaks."

With that said, the thieves all started escorting Zenkichi back through the green portal, leading them all back to their own reality.

Shibuya Accessway

Officially now back in the real world, Zenkichi finally began to slowly catch his breath as he held onto his head.

"How did this… What's happened to me?" Zenkichi asked himself as he continued to try catching his breath.

"Haha, it's pretty fun watching him lose it." Ryuji laughed with a smug smile.

"Mmhm, his brain probably overloaded and he can't catch up." Futaba added.

"I really hope we didn't just break him…" Sumire said, holding her hands together.

Ann sighed in annoyance. "Why'd we even bother explaining it all beforehand?"

"In all fairness, we all acted in a very similar manner during our first time in the Metaverse…" Yusuke pointed out. "Such innocence."

"Well, yes, but I don't recall any of us ever having as difficult of a time processing everything as Zenkichi-san is right now." Sumire commented.

Truthfully, it makes perfect sense as to why Zenkich was having a harder time processing everything. The difference between the thieves and Zenkichi is that because the thieves were all still young, their brains were still growing and being developed, so they were better at adapting and learning about new things. Zenkichi, with his age, already has a fully developed brain with solid concepts of what was real and what wasn't. So having all of those concepts be destroyed in a single moment would have a much bigger impact on Zenkichi than on the young thieves.

"Sheesh…" Morgana said in an annoyed tone. "How long do you need to get it together? C'mon, Earth to Zenkichi!"

Zenkichi took in a couple of deep breaths. "Right, right. Get it togethe-"

Zenkichi, once again, felt his eyes bolt wide open at the sudden realization that the tuxedo cat that hung over Ren's shoulder was talking in a human language.

"This cat said my name!" Zenkichi shouted in fear. "Wait! Isn't that the monster cat from that place?! It's the monster cat!"

"I already told you: I am not a monster!" Morgana said, angrily. "I am Morgana!"

"There's no way this is real!" Zenkichi continued to shout. "How can a cat be talking?!"

"Since you're cognizant of Morgana speaking in the Metaverse, you can understand him here now too." Makoto explained.

"This cat can talk because I'm cognizant of it? Hahaha…" Zenkichi laughed in slight panic. "That's really something… Hahahahaha."

"I think he's going to need a little more time to process all of this." Haru said.

"Yeah, and we all need to be patient with him." Ren advised the whole group. "We can't just expect him to just so easily take all of this in."

After a few moments of getting all of his panicky laughs out of his system, and even getting some helpful breathing exercises from Ren, Zenkichi was finally starting to properly calm down.

"Okay… First off, sorry for losing my cool like that." Zenkichi said to the group. "I think I get what's going on, though… Actually, none of it makes any sense to me."

"We understand, Zenkichi." Ren responded. "It was pretty much like that for all of us too."

"Well, regardless, I'm going to strive to understand." Zenkichi replied.

"If we're going to make a deal, then that will make us conspirators." Makoto said before her face turned into a serious look. "Conspirators have to vow never to betray one another's trust."

Zenkichi nodded his head, impressed. "...So, you already know how all of this works."

"Being the daughter of a police officer has its perks." Makoto replied.

"Alright, your trust is repaid with mine." Zenkichi said as he looked over at Ren and placed his right hand next to his head in a vowing manner. "I, Zenkichi Hasegawa, personally vow to protect you and your fellow teammates from any interested police officers in arresting you, so long as you help me solve this nationwide change of heart business and bring this case to a close. That's my vow."

Ren then nodded as he raised up his own right hand. "I, Ren Amamiya, on behalf of the rest of my fellow crew, personally vow to get to the bottom of this whole nationwide change of heart problem, so long as you don't ever hand me or any one of us over to the police to be used as a scapegoat. That's my vow."

Zenkichi smiled as he then placed his right hand out in front of him. Ren grabbed hold of Zenkichi's hand with his own, and they both made a firm handshake, solidifying their vow to one another.

"Alright, with that all out of the way, I'm gonna cut right down to it and ask for your help with a similar incident." Zenkichi said as he and Ren stopped their handshake. "PubSec already has their eyes set on Sapporo right now because of all the Changes of Heart cases there. I need you all to be in Sapporo City by July 5th."

"Why does it need to be July 5th?" Makoto asked.

"Our suspect is currently out of the country on a business trip until then." Zenkichi answered. "We're kicking off our investigation within the hour of her arrival back home."

"I see… Very well, we'll be sure to be there by then." Ren said to the inspector.

"So it's likely that this suspect in Sapporo is another Monarch, like Alice." Yusuke said.

"She could be." Zenkichi responded. "If so, then I'll have to ask you guys to handle it."

"So, we're heading to Sapporo Central in Hokkaido, huh?" Morgana said, his eyes beaming with excitement. "This'll be quite an exciting little trip for us."

"Oh, and word of caution: You'll definitely want to avoid any sort of public transportation." Zenkichi warned the group.

"Why is that?" Sumire asked.

"You just revived the Phantom Thieves to deal with Alice. Any potential Monarch will have heard about it by now." Zenkichi explained. "The way they see it, you're all a real problem, especially if you go after their own Desires."

"They're definitely all on high alert now. They may even try to get rid of us." Futaba added to the conversation.

"There's no way to know who they've brainwashed until after they act. What if one of them was the pilot of your plane?" Zenkichi asked, causing most of the group to look at each other with concerned looks.

"...Then how exactly are we supposed to get to Sapporo?" Ann asked. "None of us really own any vehicles."

"I'd recommend finding a car you can either borrow or rent. That'd be safest." Zenkichi suggested.

"You're not gonna set us up with one?" Ryuji asked.

"Sorry, but I've got to keep this little investigation between us top secret." Zenkichi responded. "Any aid would just leave a trail back to this deal of ours."

Ren simply nodded in response. Ren then held his phone back up and opened up his phone number app.

"Let's at least exchange our contact information, that way we can fill each other in on any important information we find." Ren suggested.

Zenkichi smiled. "I like how you think, Amamiya."

Zenkichi then pulled his own phone out from his pocket, and held his phone up to Ren's. After a few seconds of waiting, both Ren and Zenkichi's phone pinged as their numbers were added to each other's.

"Oh, and one more thing." Zenkichi said as he put his phone back into his pocket. "Don't worry about the whole Alice thing. I'll be sure to grill her for all the answers you kids want to know, and I'll fill you all in afterwards."

"Thanks for that." Ann said with a slight bow of her head.

Zenkichi nodded at Ann before turning his attention back to Ren. "Well, here's to a solved case."

"Same here, Zenkichi." Ren replied. "Oh, and be sure to get along with my talking cat."

"Ah, right…" Zenkichi said, suddenly remembering how the tuxedo cat is capable of talking. Zenkichi looked over at Morgana. "...Sorry I called you a monster cat earlier."

"Oh, you'll be sorry." Morgana threatened.

"Alright, Morgana, calm down." Ren said as he then reached over and patted Morgana on the head.

With nothing else to say, Zenkichi turned away from the group and started walking away. The group could hear Zenkichi mumbling to himself about how he wasn't going crazy and how everything he just recently experienced was all real.

Ren turned around to face the group. "Alright, everyone, let's head back to Leblanc. We have a lot of things we need to discuss."

Most of everyone else in the group nodded their heads in response. Ren turned back around and started walking away with everyone else following him.

However, just before leaving the Accessway, Akechi came to a full stop as everyone else ahead of him was walking off. Akechi held a hand up to his chin as he felt himself get lost in thought.

"Zenkichi Hasegawa…" Akechi quietly muttered to himself. "...Why does that name sound so familiar?"

Suddenly, Akechi felt his phone buzzing from within his pocket. Akechi pulled his phone and looked at the screen, noticing that an unknown number was calling him. However, despite the number being unknown, Akechi already had a good feeling as to who was calling him. Akechi pressed his thumb on the "Accept Call" button on the screen, and held the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" Akechi said into his phone.

As Akechi listened to whoever was calling his phone, he heard a familiar voice on the other end.

"I had a feeling it was you… You saw the news report earlier? …Yes, that was my doing… However, I didn't do it alone… You'll be most pleased to know that I have gained the assistance of the Phantom Thieves… Yes, turns out they learned about Alice Hiiragi's actions not long after I started my investigation… And there's more: They've all just very recently been informed about all the other Change of Heart cases happening across the country… It seems like I'll be doing some traveling with them in order to get to the bottom of it…"

Akechi felt his eyes widen up a little.

"You want me to bring them to you? …Ah, of course. There does seem to be some abnormal cases happening over there too…"

Akechi then felt his eyes narrow.

"There's something I'd like to discuss with you… When I first reunited with the Phantom Thieves, we seemed to have run into a very bizarre artificial intelligence that goes by the name "Sophia"... She claims to have no memories whatsoever, yet she is capable of understanding certain things about the Metaverse that me and the Phantom Thieves never knew about… Yes, I believe this "Sophia" AI knows more than she's letting on.."

Akechi's face softened back to his usual stoic face.

"Very well, I will be sure to bring them all to you… Yes, we'll make our way there soon… Alright, goodbye."

Akechi pulled his phone away from his ear, and pressed the "End Call" button. With his phone call over, Akechi placed his phone back into his pocket and quickly sprinted through the Accessway to catch up to the rest of the thieves.

Leblanc Attic - Nighttime

The Phantom Thieves and Akechi sat gathered around the table, discussing the information they had been given by Zenkichi.

"Talk about an effin' buzzkill…" said Ryuji with a dejected look on his face.

"I mean, Sapporo, really?" said Ann with a similarly downcast expression. "I know it's for finding another potential Monarch, but that's still an awfully long drive."

"Ain't this stuff happenin' all over Japan anyways?" Ryuji pointed out. "Even if we do solve this one, we're just gonna get sent off to some other city…"

"This whole case will more than likely take up our whole summer." Ann said with a heavy sigh. "There goes our vacation, right down the drain."

Upon hearing what Ann just said, Sumire felt her heart come to a sudden halt. Her eyes widened with disbelief.

"Our whole summer…?" Sumire asked, her voice slightly cracked.

"A traveling venture in cooperation with Public Security…" Yusuke said thoughtfully before a small smile formed on his face. "I admit, it doesn't sound all bad. We should stop by Kyoto as well."

"Find that silver lining, Inari…" said Futaba.

"This trip isn't for our enjoyment," said Makoto. "The case will still be our primary objective."

"Well, even so, It's still summer vacation." Ren pointed out. "While it's true we need to keep our primary focus on dealing with the Jails, it's also as Ann put it: This whole trip could take up our entire summer. I see no reason as to why we can't try to find some time to have fun along the way."

"Yeah, what Ren said! July 5th is way off from now!" Ryuji said excitedly. "We can still do all kinds o' shit before then!"

"Ooh! I'd like to experience some regional cuisines!" Haru said excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah! Sushi for me!" Morgana said excitedly.

Ren laughed as he looked over at Makoto. "See, Makoto? We should still try to have some fun, even during our whole cross-country trip."

Makoto closed her eyes in discomfort. "Oh dear… I can't ever understand how any of you think more about having fun than anything else."

Unbeknownst to Ren or the rest of the group, Sumire felt her head slowly and slightly drop down; her eyes filled with discomfort.

"Now then, there are a few things to go over before we discuss the trip," said Morgana. "First up is EMMA. It seems like an ordinary app at first, but now we know that it has a hidden function that can access Jails."

Ren nodded with a serious look on his face. "It works just like the Meta-Nav, and that makes it a danger to the unsuspecting general public."

Makoto shivered. "To think something like that is being used nationwide… it sends a chill down my spine."

"The app itself is fine though, right?" said Futaba. "I mean, you can just delete it if you want, unlike the Meta-Nav. Plus, all the keyword and friend list functions work fine. If the app just let everybody slip into Jails, wouldn't the whole country basically be pure chaos already?"

Haru nodded. "We've all registered as friends on it, but that didn't do anything strange in and of itself…" she said.

"Where did this app even come from, anyway?" asked Ann.

"It's being run by a Japanese IT company called Maddice." Futaba explained. They're an international IT firm, so we're talking tens of thousands of employees."

"That's quite the large-scale operation," said Haru. "With those numbers, they'd have to be a top-tier international enterprise."

"So, zat mean we're dealing with some evil mega-corporation makin' Jails or somethin'?" asked Ryuji.

"If that's true, they'd be one hell of an opponent for us." Ren commented.

"But, we can't use EMMA the same way Alice did," said Makoto.

"Well, maybe that's because we all have pure hearts or somethin'?" suggested Ryuji.

"...Moron." Both Ann and Akechi said simultaneously at the bleach-haired teenage boy.

"There's also a possibility that Alice had a special version of EMMA, one that was modded in some way," said Futaba.

"What makes you say that?" asked Yusuke.

Futaba shrugged. "Eh, just an idea. I'm grasping at straws over here to be honest."

"But it is still a possibility…" said Morgana.

"Maybe if I got ahold of Alice's phone somehow, I should be able to see if her version of EMMA has anything special about it." said Futaba.

"Really?" asked Makoto. "We should ask Inspector Hasegawa if he could confiscate it for us."

"I'll be sure to give him a call tomorrow and ask him if he can get Alice's phone for us to inspect." Ren said.

"All right, then, next topic: the Jail," said Morgana with a serious look on his face. "Each Palace collapsed after the Treasure inside was stolen, but the Jail is still very much intact in Shibuya. Not only that, but the Palaces were the manifestations of their rulers' cognitions. But, that's not true at all with the Jails. Humans can have their Desires seized from their Shadows there."

"And as we all know, tampering with someone's Shadow in such a way can cause terrible things to happen to them, making them behave in ways they normally never would in the real world," said Akechi.

"When you put it all together like that, don't it sound even worse than the Palaces?" said Ryuji.

"If these other bizarre incidents across Japan are genuine changes of heart, that means there are most likely more Jails out there." said Morgana.

"There could be quite a large number of them, considering how impossible it is to report on every incident," said Haru.

Ren looked down at the table, a scowl formed on his face.. "...I know that we're working with Zenkichi to try and clear our names, but… is that really enough for us?"

"How do you mean, Ren?" asked Makoto.

"What I mean is that we already know how dangerous the Jails are and what they're capable of doing to people… Is it really okay for us to think more about clearing our names instead of trying to actually trying to help everyone who is suffering?" Ren asked his entire team. "If all these Jails across the country are causing people to not act like themselves and bring chaos, then I think we need to willingly take it upon ourselves to actually do something about it… It's because of our Persona abilities, that we're the only ones who can actually do anything to stop it for the good of everyone who needs help. That's the sole reason why we all became Phantom Thieves in the first place."

Yusuke nodded firmly. "That's right. You're absolutely right," he said.

"Yes, it's our job to save people who are suffering helplessly…" said Makoto, likewise nodding firmly.

"And give people courage!" said Haru.

Ren couldn't help but smile. "There's my Phantom Thieves!" he said.

"Great speech, Ren! You've got us all fired up!" said Morgana.

"That's just Ren's natural leadership for ya." Ann said, smiling.

"Well, if that's the plan, then maybe traveling by car will work to our advantage." said Makoto.

"Indeed, we may find more Jails on our way to Sapporo," said Akechi.

"That works for me!" said Ryuji. "A little bit of a jailbreak spree along the way!"

"But, how do we actually find the other Jails?" asked Ann.

Everyone hummed in thought for a few moments in an attempt to figure out an answer.

"...Guess?" Ryuji spoke up.

Futaba groaned in frustration. "It'll only take us about a million years."

Ren's phone pinged, drawing everyone's attention to it as Sophia appeared on the screen.

"I believe it may be time for the Sophia Show," Sophia said, smiling.

"Ooh, check the super-AI!" said Futaba in excitement.

"I can detect any Jails in the vicinity by scent!" Sophia said cheerfully.

"By scent…?" Akechi asked with a cocked eyebrow. "...What are you, a dog?"

"A Jail emits a distinct signature," Sophia explained. "When I enter a Jail's range, I can smell it.

"Sophia, that is nuts!" Ryuji cried out in astonishment.

"Praise accepted," Sophia said before humming some musical notes to herself.

"There is still much we do not understand, but at least we have a course of action." Yusuke said.

"Yeah," said Morgana. "This is gonna be…"

Ren smiled. "A Phantom Thieves trip to save the entire country, and a great time with all of you guys."

No soon after the words had left his mouth, Sumire suddenly stood from her chair; a troubled look plastered on her face. Ren looked at her in surprise.

"Sumire?" Ren said.

"I- I'm sorry… I think I need to step outside. Please, excuse me." Sumire said before she walked around the table and quickly walked down the stairs, leaving the attic.

The thieves all listened as the sound of the cafè's doorbell ring, signaling that Sumire had left Leblanc. Ren and most of the group looked at each other with confused and worried looks.

"What the heck was zat about?" asked Ryuji.

"I don't know. I hope it's nothing serious…" Ren replied, obvious worry in his voice.

"Well, whatever the reason is that Sumire had to step outside, we've still got one more important thing we need to discuss." Morgana said to the whole group. "I think the only thing we have left to do is secure our transportation," said Morgana.

"If this is gonna fit all of us, won't it have to be pretty big?" asked Ann.

"It'll only need to fit all of you." Akechi spoke up. "I won't be riding with you."

"What do you mean? Are you saying that you have your own vehicle?" Ann asked.

"I do, actually…" Akechi replied. "...I've got a small black car."

"For real?!" Ryuji exclaimed. "Then why don't ya drive us to Sapporo?!"

"I don't trust any of you to not make a mess in my car." Akechi explained, his eyes narrowed down at the bleach-haired boy. "...Also, my car is only big enough to fit five people at max."

"When did you get a car, or a license?" Futaba asked with her eyes narrowed.

"What does it matter when I got a car or my license?" Akechi scoffed.

"Alright, guys, that's enough!" Ren said out loud, trying to keep the tension to a minimum. "Anyway, excluding Akechi, we're probably going to have to rent a vehicle that can fit eight people and Morgana...Though I'm sure it'll be awfully expensive to rent for two months."

"Money is no object to us!" Yusuke proudly declared. "The prize funds for my most recent contest entry have finally come!"

"Oh, keep your snack money to yourself, Inari." said Futaba.

Ren looked over at Yusuke next to him. "She's right, Yusuke. It's for the best you hold onto your money for food more than anything else, especially with how thin you've gotten."

"Well, we did cut a deal with someone in the police. Maybe he can at least help pay for our rental car? …Nah, no way…" said Ann in defeat.

Suddenly, Futaba's face lit up as if she had just remembered something.

"Some pretty big transportation…" Futaba muttered thoughtfully. " I think I remember Sojiro mentioning something along those lines recently."

"Really? Well then, let's go downstairs and ask him." Ren said as he got up from his chair.

As Ren walked around the table, everyone else got up from their sitting positions and began following Ren down to the surface floor of the cafè. Sojiro could be seen drying a clean glass in his hands.

"Hey Sojiro." Ren spoke up, getting the cafè manager's attention.

"Oh, hey Ren." Sojiro replied as he put down the glass he was holding. "What do you need?"

"Do you think you know where we can get ourselves a vehicle big enough to fit all of us?" Ren asked.

"Huh? A vehicle that could fit all of you?" said Sojiro.

"Weren't you talking to someone about 'big transportation' or something the other day?" asked Futaba.

"Oh, you mean the guy I know with the camper!" Sojiro exclaimed in realization. "Yeah, he was whining about never having the time to use it and how it's just collecting dust."

"Sojiro! That's it!" Futaba exclaimed excitedly. "Please ask that guy if we can borrow that camper! Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaasseeee?!"

Sojiro frowned, humming to himself in thought. "Does this have anything to do with what you guys are getting blamed for?" he asked.

"Yes, actually, it do-" Akechi said before being cut off by the loud sound of Sojiro slamming his hand down hard onto the counter.

"I DON'T REMEMBER ASKING YOU A GODDAMN THING!" Sojiro yelled angrily, glaring lividly at the former Detective Prince.

Ren, Akechi, and the rest of the group all fell into awkward silence by Sojiro's sudden outburst. Most of the group looked at each other with their eyes bolted wide open in surprise.

Sojiro cleared his throat. "As I was saying, does this have anything to do with what you're getting blamed for?"

"...Yyyesss…" Makoto said awkwardly.

"Then I guess I don't have a choice," Sojiro said, casually. "I'll give him a call tomorrow. Sit tight until then."

"...Well, at least we got the chief's cooperation," said Morgana awkwardly.

"But, listen up: no getting too wild out there, all right?" warned Sojiro. "Are you all set with travel funds and whatnot?"

"Yes, sir." Ren replied. "I've still got plenty of money from my part-time job at the flower shop."

"We've all also been saving up for summer vacation," said Makoto.

Yusuke chuckled. "Once art drove me to rags, but now it has propelled me to riches!"

"Yeah, we gotcha…" said Ryuji sarcastically.

With the plans for transportation falling into place, Ren turned around to face his group.

"Alright, if things go well and Sojiro manages to get the camper from the guy, let's give ourselves three days from now to get fully packed and prepared for this long trip."

"Agreed. Three days from now sounds like a reasonable amount of time to get prepared." Makoto responded.

Ren nodded with a smirk. "Alright, I think we're all good to disband for today."

"By the way, Ren…" Sojiro spoke up. "...Is Sumire-san okay?"

Hearing his girlfriend's name brought up, Ren's smirk faded into a concerned frown as he turned to face his guardian.

"I don't really know." Ren admitted. "She just suddenly stood up from the table and said she needed to step outside."

"Well, she certainly left the store." Sojiro confirmed with a worried look. "...She looked really upset when she left too."

Ren could now feel his heart starting to sink in real worry.

"Is she still outside?" Ren asked.

"I would think so." Sojiro replied. "From what I saw, she walked over to where the laundromat is."

Ryuji walked up to Ren and placed his hand on Ren's shoulder.

"Go talk to her, man." Ryuji suggested to his best friend. "We'll all head on home, so don' worry 'bout us."

Ren felt his eyes narrow as he looked over at Ryuji and nodded. Ren quickly turned around, walked towards the cafè door and opened it, causing the doorbell to ring.

As Ren stepped outside, the rest of the Phantom Thieves and Akechi all followed him out. However, just as Ryuji said, they all started walking away from the cafè and making their way towards the train station. Ren made his way over to the laundromat, which stood nearly straight across from Leblanc.

Ren peeked his head over the corner of the entrance to the laundromat, and saw Sumire standing in between the washing machines and the dryers, holding onto her arms. Her lips were pursed together and were trembling, like she was on the verge of crying.

"Sumire…?" Ren spoke up softly.

Sumire's body made a small jolt as she looked over at the entrance of the laundromat, seeing her boyfriend standing by it.

"Senpai…" Sumire said softly. "...You scared me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Ren replied as he walked inside.

Sumire looked away again, her eyes filled once again with the unsettling look of sadness. Ren slowly walked up to her, his heart slowly becoming heavier.

"Sumi, what's wrong?" Ren asked as he gently placed his hands on Sumire's shoulders.

Sumire felt as if she had a lump stuck in her throat. She looked up at Ren; her eyes glistening with tears forming in her eyes.

"Senpai, I…" Sumire practically choked on her own words. "...I can't go with you."

Upon hearing this, Ren felt the weight on his heart become much heavier in an instant. His eyes bolted wide open in surprise and disbelief as he slowly let go of Sumire's shoulders.

"What…?" Ren asked, his voice cracking. "...What do you mean you can't come with me?"

"Do you remember what I said a week ago, about how I recently competed in a gymnastics competition earlier this month?" Sumire asked, her voice cracking. "I have another competition I have to prepare for by the end of the summer… I can't miss out on any of my practice sessions."

"...Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Ren asked

"I thought that after taking care of Alice, there would be nothing left to worry about; that I could simply spend the rest of the summer with you while still getting ready for my next competition…" Sumire answered. "...But after Zenkichi-san said that this whole case is nationwide, and hearing Ann-senpai say that this case will most likely take up the entire summer, I…"

Sumire could now feel the tears leaving her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

"I don't want you to leave…" Sumire cried. "I know it's selfish of me to say, but I don't want to choose between being with you or achieving my dream…"

Seeing Sumire cry like this, Ren felt his breathing get heavier and his hands clenched tightly into fists. Ren internally cursed at himself; how could he be so stupid? All Ren ever allowed himself to think about was spending his time with Sumire and all of their friends, and that this job to travel the country and save it wouldn't change anything. How could he not even bother to think about the fact that Sumire has such a strict training regimen, and about how important Sumire's dream to become the best gymnast in the world is?

Ren was now beginning to absolutely hate the situation that he and Sumire found themselves stuck in right now. Ren's responsibility as a Phantom Thief to save all those who are suffering, and Sumire's unyielding desire and determination to make her and Kasumi's dream come true, both were very important to the young couple… but they themselves were important to each other too. They couldn't stand the idea that this whole Change of Hearts case will have to separate them again.

Ren wished that there was a way, some way, to make it that Sumire could still come with him and the rest of the crew while still making it possible to make her dream become a reality… Suddenly, Ren felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of genius thought. He felt his eyes widen as his eyes were now beaming with excitement.

"Sumire, I think I may have an idea!" Ren exclaimed excitedly.

"Huh?" Sumire muttered as she began to wipe the tears off of her face. "Senpai, what are you talking about? What idea?"

"What if you tried asking your coach if you could do all of your needed practice routines while coming with us to Sapporo?" Ren suggested.

Upon hearing those words, Sumire began to feel her face slowly light up. The idea of her asking for permission from her coach to do her practice routines while on the road didn't sound like such a bad idea. It was enough to make Sumire form a small smile… However, Sumire's smile quickly faded back into a frown.

"I… I thank you for your suggestion, Senpai, but… I don't think that'll work." Sumire sadly uttered.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"Remember, my coach is very strict about my practice sessions, so I don't think that she'd really be willing to let me practice my routines while going out on a road trip." Sumire explained.

Sumire held her hands behind her back as she looked down and twisted her right foot nervously.

"Besides… I'm honestly afraid to ask her myself." Sumire confessed.

Ren's eyes softened. He slowly reached his hands out and gently grabbed onto Sumire's, causing Sumire to look up at her boyfriend.

"...What if I was there to ask her with you?" Ren asked, softly.

Sumire felt her cheeks flush; a smile formed on her face once again.

"...I think I'd like that, Senpai." Sumire said.

Ren smiled back at her. "When is your next training session?"

"Tomorrow, at 11:00am." Sumire answered.

"Then I will be there to watch you practice, and help you ask for your coach's permission." Ren replied.

Ren slowly and gently pulled Sumire in for a hug. Sumire leaned her head against Ren's chest as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's back.

Sumire let out a soft sigh. "I'm still sure that she won't agree to let me go with you…"

Ren leaned his cheek down on top of Sumire's head. "...It's at least worth a try."