First Mate Violet: Hello students, I have returned with another chapter. The good Captain is still pretty out of it so truthfully, there is no telling when he'll come back so I guess I'll be around for a little while.

Truthfully, I feel uncomfortable with posting things on his accounts. It's like I'm trespassing on someone else's property. Idk, just a silly feeling, I just hope everyone is still enjoying it, even with me at the helm.

Anyway, let's start class.

Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Fifty-One

[Opening Scene: The Crazy Diamond (Evening)
Theme of Unknowing Danger: Restlessness from Persona 5]

"What?! That's fucking bullshit!" Ryuji exclaimed as Hifumi shoulders slumped.

"I agree," Yusuke muttered as he crossed his arms, disgust written on his face. "To think a mother could do something like that…. Sell her own daughter for money and fame."

Shiho, who had a heartbroken expression on her face, turned to Ren and said, "We have to do something."

"There's nothing we can do," Hifumi murmured. "She already has the contract. She plans to sign it at the end of the month. In one month's time, I will belong to Natsume Ango…."

Ann narrowed his eyes as he watched Hifumi ball up her skirt, tears spilling from her eyes. "We can't accept that," Ann said. "There has to be something we can do!"

Ren paced for a moment, this wasn't something that was familiar to him. Even his gut couldn't tell him how to proceed. But considering they dealt with Kamoshida and are preparing to deal with Madarame, Hifumi's mother must be in the same league they are.

"Wait…." Ren breathed. He turned to the group and asked, "Hifumi, where is your house located?"

"My house?" Hifumi asked.

"Yes, where in the city?" Ren questioned.

"It's actually nearby from here," Hifumi answered. "I live in the Kanda District."

"I have an idea," Ren said. "It may be risky, but I think it's something we, as the Phantom Thieves, can do. Hifumi? Lead the way."

[Scene Change: Okumura Residence (Evening)
Theme of Unknowing Danger: Restlessness from Persona 5]

Haru curled up on her bed as she heavily sobbed.

Why hadn't Hifumi told her it was this bad?

She knew that Hifumi's mother was tough on Hifumi to do those idol shoots. Hifumi had told her this back on Shidō Masayoshi's yacht. But to think that her mother would this to her? It was horrifying.

Mariko had always told Haru that having a child was like plucking your heart of your chest and watching it grow. How could Hifumi's mother do this to her heart? Did she even care that she had just sold her daughter so some man for money?

She was no better than—

"Our Father," a familiar voice announced.

[Theme of Thy True Self: Bomb Shelter from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP Ver)]

"Please, no…." Haru whimpered as she felt the hand on her covered shoulder. "Not you. Not now…."

"I know that it hurts, Haru-Hime," the voice whispered. "The girl that you care for is going through the same thing you are. Except for its even a worst reason than our engagement to Sugimura…."

Haru clenched her eyes tight as tears fell from her eyes. She curled herself into a tighter ball as her shadow said, "It hurts, knowing how easy it was for you to blind yourself to your pain, but can blind yourself now when its Hifumi, the girl you gave your first kiss to, that's suffering the same pain you are?"

Haru remained silent.

"I wonder what you will tell her when she comes to you again. Will you tell her the same lies that you tell yourself? That her mother still loves her, even when using her as a tool to gain fame and fortune? That she shouldn't bother to receive help, knowing she's drowning from despair, when she is more fortunate than others?" The shadow asked. "How will you comfort the girl you have feelings for?"

"I-I don't know," Haru finally answered, her voice weak.

Haru then felt the lips of her shadow touch her cheek. "But I do, because I am thou, thou art I. I look forward to seeing how you justify your father's and her mother's actions to her when the time comes, Haru-Hime. Let's just pray you don't lose one of the only beacons you have left before Sugimura smothers the rest…."

The shadow's presence disappeared, Haru was left sobbing once again, this time for herself, and for Hifumi.

[Scene Change: Tōgō Residence (Evening)
Theme of Unknowing Danger: Restlessness from Persona 5]

"Here we are," Hifumi announced as they stood across from a shockingly huge mansion.

The entire group was in awe at the size of the place. Even Ann, who had a mansion as well, was stunned by the sheer size and gaudiness of it.

"What the hell are we looking at?" Ryuji whispered in disbelief. "This place is fucking huge."

"It's just as big as my home," Ann noted.

"This is my home," Hifumi answered.

"Home?" Ryuji questioned. "No, we all live in a home. You live in a gilded white house, girl!"

Hifumi frowned, looked at Ren, and asked, "Why did we come here?"

Ren pulled out his phone and pressed the Metaverse App. "Simple," Ren answered as he stared at his phone. "Kamoshida and Madarame both have palaces. We know that there could be more. What your mother has done is ghastly. Honestly, on the level of Madarame and Kamoshida."

"Yes, what she did is no less prostitution," Ann said. "Sure, you're not willing to give your body up. But she's acting like your Pimp."

"M-Madam would be more accurate," Yūki said. "It's w-what people call a female Pimp."

"Ah, how interesting," Yusuke said, his tone sincere.

"You think my mother has a palace?" Hifumi asked.

"I think she does. What's her name?" Ren asked.

"Tōgō Mitsuyo…." Hifumi whispered.

"There was a hit," Ren announced, which shocked the entire group. "Tōgō Mitsuyo – Madam….Which means the location must be her home, the Tōgō residence."

Ren entered that in, but nothing occurred. "What?" Ren questioned. "It's not here?"

"You would think this would be the location," Ryuji said.

"Wait, so how does this all work?" Makoto asked.

"Well, with Madarame and Kamoshida, we needed three things to transport to their palace," Ann explained. "We needed their name, their location, and a concept. Those three things would unlock their palace for us."

"I see…. I should file this away for later," Makoto said.

"Wait….If it's not here….Then I might know where…." Hifumi whispered.

"Where?" Shiho asked.

[Scene Change: Hasegawa Temporary Residence (Evening)
Theme of Unknowing Danger: Restlessness from Persona 5]

Zenkichi rubbed the back of his neck as he walked to the door of his temporary one-story, two-bedroom home. It had been a long day of trying to follow leads regarding the kids that broke into Madarame's home.

'Don't even know why I'm doing this. I'm here to catch the ones behind the mental shutdown cases, not dealing with some rich man's problem,' Zenkichi thought. He sighed and continued to walk, his eyes closed for a moment.

As Zenkichi took a step, he felt himself step on something, which was immediately followed by a meow filled with pain. Zenkichi moved away and saw a tuxedo cat with a yellow bandana around its neck.

The cat meowed as it tried to limp away.

Zenkichi gasped in horror and said, "Oh god, I'm so sorry little one." He bent down and picked the cat up off the ground. He was surprised that the blue-eyed cat didn't squirm in his grasp. 'He must belong to someone….' Zenkichi thought. He quickly carried the cat to his door and rang the doorbell.

The door opened and an exhausted Akane opened it. "Oh, it's you, Zenkichi," Akane muttered, only for her eyes to focus in on the car. "Oh, this is a new low," she said.

"I stepped him on the path," Zenkichi explained as he rushed into the house and sat the cat on the counter. The cat tried to stand, but it struggled and fell to its side.

"Wow, so you weren't watching where you were going and you stepped on a cat, that's actually worse than trying to buy my love," Akane said. "At least you cared enough for the cat to help it. Unlike mom."

Zenkichi winced.

"Well, I'm going to go to bed. Have some not-so-pleasant dreams, Zenkichi," Akane said as she walked out of the living room, sparing just a second to pet the poor cat.

Zenkichi's shoulders slumped as he bowed his head, unaware of the cat smirking behind him.

[Scene Change: Shogi Arena (Evening)
Theme of Unknowing Danger: Restlessness from Persona 5]

"You know, I knew Shogi was a pretty big deal in Japan, but to have a whole-ass arena dedicated to it? Like, are they for real?" Ryuji asked as the group stared at the modest-sized arena.

"It wasn't always so huge," Makoto said as she turned to the delinquent. "Shogi really exploded when Tōgō Mitsuhide was ranked number in the world. That's why they named the stadium after him. The Tōgō Mitsuhide Shogi Arena, or the "TMS Arena" for short."

"Whoa," Shiho breathed. "I didn't know that your father was so famous, Hifumi-chan."

"I try not to talk about it so much," Hifumi bashfully admitted. "I don't want everyone just to view me as the Undefeated Shogi champion's daughter. I want to overcome his shadow and become a legend that can stand beside him."

"As I always say, it's an admirable goal," Yusuke said. "I used to feel the same regarding Madarame…. Until recently."

"Seems we're somewhat in the same boat, Yusuke-san," Hifumi said.

Yusuke nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so let's do this," Ren said. "Tōgō Mitsuyo – Madam – Tōgō Mitsuhide Shogi Arena – Brothel."

"Why brothel?" Ryuji asked.

Hifumi, Makoto, Shiho, and Ann cringed at the word, much to Yūki's and Yusuke's confusion.

"Since Madam worked and considering what Hifumi's mom is doing to Hifumi, what better place than a bro—"

"Beginning Navigation."

[Scene Change: Brothel of Fraud (Outside)
Theme of New Palace: To Another World from Persona 5]

When the group landed, Joker, Skull, Lioness, Fox, Panther, and Mage found themselves alongside Makoto and Hifumi on the street that looked shockingly like Kabukichō, with the various lights and stores, even down to the Kabukichō Ichiban-gai gate they stood in front of.

Down the street of neon signs, which all had the image of Hifumi in various bikinis, there was a large black building that was shaped like a silhouette of a woman, with a bright red neon sign that read, "Tōgō Mitsuyo's Brothel of Fraud" in Kanji.

Below that however was a black circular building that had a neon sign of Hifumi laying down on the roof, the neon light blinking to signify that the board was winking at customers. Beneath the neon Hifumi was a sign that read "Tōgō's Club" in Kanji.

"What is this?" Hifumi whispered as she looked at all the civilians. All of the civilians were males, and they all had on a black suit and tie, white gloves, and glittery white domino mask on their faces.

"This is what lies in your mother's heart," Lioness whispered.

"Yo," Skull breathed. The group saw Skull beneath the red sign that acted as the street's gate. "Hifumi Street," Skull read once the group was behind him. "This is fucked. Look at all the neon signs."

"They're all images of Hifumi in bikinis," Panther whispered. "That's all the signs are and all of these men are going into the stores."

"That's not all," Fox said. "They are all in suits too. I wonder why."

"Maybe it's a fancy brothel or something," Skull scoffed. He then turned to Hifumi and asked, "Is this what your mother thinks of you?"

"I can't believe this…." Hifumi whispered.

"You better believe it, Champ," a familiar voice from behind them.

[Theme of Thy True Self: Bomb Shelter from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP Ver)]

"Whoa! It's your shadow!" Panther exclaimed as the thieves instantly summoned their weapons.

"Whoa, whoa," Shadow Hifumi said as she raised her hands. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here as a tour guide."

"A tour guide?" Makoto asked with her fists up.

"Yeah, I mean, this is our street. And that's our club," Shadow Hifumi said. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time. Might as well get a jump start on it, right Champ?"

Hifumi frowned. "I'd rather drown than go anywhere with you," Hifumi said.

Shadow Hifumi nodded in understanding. "I knew you would say that—" the shadow said, only to flicker out of existence. She appeared behind Makoto, wrapped her arm around Makoto's neck, and flickered behind the gate leading to the street.

"—which is why I'm going to try this again!" The shadow yelled.

"Makoto!" Joker and Lioness screamed. The two quickly charged at the shadow and lunged for them, only for Shadow Hifumi to flicker out of existence again, leaving the two thieves to fall on the street.

"What the hell?!" Skull and Panther yelled as Shadow Hifumi appeared on top of the gate. Makoto struggled in Shadow Hifumi's headlock by clawing and elbowing the shadow.

"I tried to do it the nice way, but you refused to let me guide you. Because of that, this useless girl is going to be my captive," Shadow Hifumi said.

Makoto flinched and whispered, "I-I'm not useless…."

"Let her go!" Hifumi exclaimed. "She has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh-ho-ho, you think that? But it seems your anger tells me otherwise, Champ. If you want ol' Useless here, we'll be at your club in one of the VIP suites. Until then, have fun and enjoy the sites!" The shadow said only to flicker out of existence with Makoto, who let out an alarmed scream as she vanished for the last time.

First Mate Violet: The Brothel of Fraud is open for business. I decided to go the nine circles of hell route with this and decided on fraud to be Mitsuyo's sin since she would be a Panderer, which is basically a pimp. Also, poor Skull, Panther, Fox, Lioness, and Joker. They are going to be run ragged in this one. At least Mage is there to help. Don't fret, Madarame will get his, but first, Makoto must be saved. Until the next chapter, class is dismissed.