Thank you for all the reviews! I shall cover them here

Guest: Honestly not sure how I'm going to tackle the whole traitor thing. Keep in mind that Futaba sees him completely differently than Ren might, so that'll have a huge impact on how he's dealt with

redskin122004: Definitely getting in the groove of things. This is my first Persona work and pacing is already something that I'm trying to improve upon. Thank you for your input! Huge fan of your works by the way.

Chapter 4: Help

The internet was a godsend. It could be an escape from reality, a place to talk when no one in real life would listen, and a safe space. People had an odd sense of comradery on the internet. While most of these people didn't even know each other's names, they would spill secrets that they would otherwise take to the grave.

Suzui Shiho was one of those people. Under the unbearable pressure of Kamoshida Suguru, not even a peep of his actions were tolerated. Students were forced to lie their way through their scars, only for them to be reopened during practice. While Shiho couldn't tell those around her, she sought comfort in the many support groups and group chats she had frequented.

"Hey Shiho, what are you looking at?" Shiho looked up from her phone to see her best friend, Takamaki Ann, taking a seat next to her.

"Just chatting with a friend," Shiho turns off her phone and puts it in her bag. She loved Ann like a sister, but recently, it's been getting harder and harder to hang out with her. Every time she lied to her friend, she felt as if a bit of her soul was being forcibly and painfully ripped out.

"Ooh, can I say hi?" Ann asked with a bright smile.

"No," Shiho felt her cheeks flush as she looked away. It wasn't like she had anything against Ann, but revealing her online friends to her felt embarrassing.

"Oh pooh, you're no fun," Ann pouted. Before Shiho could speak, the sound of a phone ringing interrupted their conversation. "Oh, that's me."

Ann stood up and walked away from the pavilion while she put her phone to her ear. Shiho breathed a sigh of relief and turned her phone back on.

Striker: I'm back. Someone wanted to talk to me

Oracle: It's fine

Striker: Anyways I play volleyball which is why I set my username to this

Oracle: Oh? That's really cool

Striker: yeah…

Oracle: Is everything alright?

Shiho sharply inhaled through her teeth. She knew she sent that last text deliberately as a cry for help, but part of her hoped that Oracle didn't pick up on it. The new member barely joined one of the group chats she was in an hour ago, but she already felt like an integral part of it. Shiho couldn't describe it. She just seemed so… approachable. That was when Oracle DMed Shiho. She didn't know if Oracle did this for the others, so she just rolled with it. They were just doing introductions when Ann butt in.

Oracle: You don't have to tell me if you don't want to

Oracle: I'm here to listen if you need me though

Shiho's shaking thumbs started to blur as she focused on her screen. Could she really burden this stranger with what's going on? The whole reason she joined these chats was to not burden her real life friends, but having a stranger offer their ear really put things into perspective. Was she really just pushing her problems onto others?

Striker: It's okay

Striker: I'm fine

Oracle: Well if you need someone to talk to my DMs are always open

Striker: Thank you

Oracle: No problem

Oracle: So what are your thoughts on Phoenix Ranger Featherman R?

Shiho felt her lips curl into a small smile. Maybe this Oracle person wasn't all too bad.

Futaba couldn't help but smile as she continued to talk to Shiho. She was a little tentative at first, but Shiho seemed like a genuinely good person. Although her favorite Featherman was Yellow Owl, Futaba respected people's right to have incorrect opinions.

Despite that, Oracle could tell that Shiho needed help. Every so often she would write a message differently. She would write with all lowercase letters and add an ellipsis at the end. It was obvious something was bothering her, but whenever Futaba asked about it, Shiho would redirect the conversation. It was as if Shiho didn't know whether or not she wanted help.

For now, I'll continue to support her like this, Futaba said. She didn't have a way to contact her in person, so she decided to talk to her online. It wasn't hard to hack into her phone and find out what chats she's been frequenting. It felt a little scummy, but the girl really needed emotional support.

Now, should I go see Ren? Futaba looked at the time. It was around 4 pm and Ren should be heading back to Leblanc any second now. As much as she wanted to see him, he was probably tired. Not to mention the verbal flogging Sojiro was going to give him for being late to school.

What else can I do? Futaba thought to herself. There was no shortage of things she needed to do. Unfortunately, a lot of them required money. Money Futaba didn't have.

Maybe I'll look for somewhere to work, Futaba said. As long as she didn't have to deal with people, she was fine and while she could go to Mementos, she wanted to save her excursions for nighttime. While she could go to Mementos whenever, there were a lot of things she could only do in the day.

"Alright," Futaba said as she opened a couple browsers. "Let's get this bread."

Sojiro heaved a tired sigh as he sent Ren packing to his room in the attic. He expected a delinquent, but ditching on the first day? Even if he seemed genuinely apologetic, he still ditched class. Even Futaba said he was a good kid. What a letdown.

Speaking of Futaba, he couldn't help but think about their previous conversation. The more he thought about it, the more he agreed with her. Wakaba didn't kill herself. She was too headstrong, too engrossed in her research to do something like that. Even if she did want to do such a terrible thing, she would have never done it in front of Futaba. She loved her daughter.

I guess I should finally call that number, huh? Sojiro thought to himself. He dug his hand under the counter before pulling out a dusty notebook. Sojiro hadn't touched the thing since Wakaba died, but if Futaba was going to do something stupid, he might as well ask for some help. He flipped through the pages of chicken scratch that Wakaba has toiled over for days. He felt a pang of guilt in his heart as he read Wakaba's lighthearted ramblings, but he quickly wrestled it down.

It was then he found what he needed. It was in the latter half of the notebook where he found a phone number.

Call in case of emergency

Kijiro Mitsuru

XXX-XXXX

Mitsuru couldn't help but feel anxious as she waited for Alibaba to message her. She checked the IP address Labrys had found, but it only led to an internet cafe. She tried messaging the chat ID Alibaba went under, but that led to nothing. The only thing Mitsuru could do was sit and wait.

Mitsuru was snapped from her stupor when her cell phone rang. She took it out and saw that it was an unknown phone number.

Could it be? Mitsuru thought to herself. She tried to be optimistic, but regardless of who it was, she was curious as to who had her number.

"Hello?" Mitsuru put the phone to her ear and leaned back in her chair.

"Hello? Is this Kirijo Mitsuru?" A deep voice answered. It wasn't a voice Mitsuru recognized.

"Yes. How did you get this number?" Mitsuru asked.

"I found it in one of Isshiki Wakaba notebooks," The man replied. Mitsuru froze. Wakaba Isshiki was a Cognitive Psience researcher that had been working closely with the Kirijo group for years. That was until she died, at least. Mitsuru had met the excitable woman a few times. She didn't deserve to die in such a tragedy. "The name's Sakura Sojiro. It was a friend of hers."

"It's nice to meet you, Sojiro," Mitsuru crossed her legs. "Can I ask why you called, though?"

"I don't think Wakaba's death was an accident," Sojiro said. Mitsuru immediately leaned forward.

"Can you elaborate?" Mitsuru asked.

"Well, it was her daughter who came up with the theory," Sojiro replied with a tired-sounding voice. "She believes that someone wanted her research and killed her over it."

"That's…" Mitsuru paused. It sounded reasonable. If someone was aware of the supernatural world, Wakaba's research would be invaluable.

"It may be selfish of me, but she wants to go after the person that killed Wakaba," Sojiro said. "I don't know who you are, but you were someone that Wakaba trusted. So I ask you to please protect Futaba."

"Do you know where she's located?" Mitsuru asked. Wakaba had contributed a lot to the Kirijo Company and the Shadow Operatives. The least she could do was look out for her daughter.

"She lives with me, actually," Sojiro replied. "If you can meet me at the Leblanc cafe in Yogen-Jaya, we can discuss things further."

"I'll be there in a couple days," Mitsuru said. She would have gone sooner, but she had a meeting with Shido tomorrow. If the meeting didn't work out, Mitsuru had decided to break off from the police force and start investigating herself. There had to be a reason why Shido wanted to defund the Shadow Operatives and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Thank you," Sojiro said. Mitsuru could practically hear the relief in his voice. "I'll be expecting you."

"I will see you then," Mitsuru said before hanging up the phone. When she did, she leaned back in her chair, letting out a huge sigh. She wondered what Minato would think of this mess.

Futaba had, in fact, failed to get any type of bread. Despite Ren being able to pick up three jobs within a month, Futaba had found it almost impossible to find a place to work since she was only fifteen. She didn't even know why she was looking for a job. She could just grind out some money in Mementos.

Wait! No! Bad Futaba! That isn't the point! The young girl shook her head vigorously. Getting a job was supposed to help her in more ways than just financially. Even if she got a job online, she would still have to talk to people. She needed to increase her social skills and unfortunately, she didn't have the Phantom Thieves to fall back on.

She looked at the time on her computer and sighed. There was always next time. Futaba grabbed the case holding her model gun and snuck out of the house. Before long, she had made her way to Mementos again.

Alright, Aiyatsbus was open, so maybe Chemdah will be too… Futaba thought.

"Persona!" Futaba shouted. With a blaze of glory, Prometheus answered the call. She hopped into her persona and sped down Mementos, completely ignoring any shadows she saw. They weren't worth her time at this point. Luckily, Futaba was still able to make it into the Path of Chemdah. Apparently by the time the Phantom Thieves first found Mementos, all of the exits were sealed off. No one knew exactly why, but Futaba decided to take advantage of this while she still could.

Futaba took a deep breath as she entered the first layer of Chemdah. There was a specific shadow she was looking for. At the moment, her arsenal was still very limited. It took about an hour, but Futaba finally found the persona she was looking for.

When she ripped the mask off the shadow, it burst into goop before revealing a woman with crimson skin and wings that shone in the distorted light of Mementos.

Perfect! Futaba thought as she aimed her rifle. Hua Pos were weak to gunfire, which is why she was looking for one of them specifically. With a single shot, the shadow was knocked to the ground. Futaba did a quick scan before typing a command.

A shaft then opened at the bottom of Prometheus and she jumped down. She landed on one knee and stood up, her rifle aimed at the shadow.

"Alright," Futaba took a deep breath. She could do this. She closed her eyes and imagined Ren in front of her. He's said this line a million times before. It was now her turn. "Lend me your power."

"Hey! Calm down there," The tree spirit held her hands up. "Look, if you don't shoot, I'll give you a kiss. How does that sound?"

Hua Po shadows tend to be irritable… as far as I know, they like more serious answers, Futaba thought to herself.

"Are you really going to sell your dignity like that?" Futaba asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's a fair point," The shadow shook her head. "But hey! What if I call the police? I can tell them you were a horrible person!"

"Really? The police?" Futaba channeled her inner Sojiro and scoffed. "What are they going to do here?"

"Damn!" The Hua Po shook her head. Then her eyes lit up as if she remembered something. She stood up and her wings started to flap. She rose to the air and a genuine smile spread across her face.

"Hey! I remember something!" She said enthusiastically. "I'm Hua Po! For the sake of you who still lives, I shall become a mask."

The shadow started to glow and with a bright flash of light, she turned into a mask. She expected it to look like the one Ren wore, but instead it looked like the visor Futaba already had on. The mask floated to her and Futaba grabbed it with both hands. She then brought it close to her chest, letting the light flow inside her. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"Persona acquired."

I AM BACK AND I AM STILL WRITING! Sorry for the wait. College and all that. If you're wondering about the Persona interaction, those prompts from the Hua Po are all from the game. Royal to be exact since that's the one I played.

I also want to address the case of Shiho. This is something that I am very hesitant to write. I will be skipping the details on certain scenes and I will try my best to be respectful of the topics that will be brought up. If in any way my writing comes off as insulting or flippant in any way, please do inform me so I can fix my error. Thank you.

With that being said, please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! I talk a lot about my thought process while writing, so if you're interested in that, do consider joining. The url is discord . gg (forego the spaces) followed by a slash and CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. If you want to read chapters as soon as they're finished along with a slew of other benefits, check out my Patron at pat reon dot com slash kfpisnotacult. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.