So I'm writing this on the day Persona 5 Tactica and Persona 3 Reload got announced(?) and I have to say that Atlus is terrible at hiding this shit. Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of Senran Persona. Told ya this chapter will be out next month. Along with that, I broke a personal rule of mine that I never thought I'd be comfortable breaking. Will it ever see the light of day? Probably under an anonymous account. We'll see.

Senran Persona: Ninjas of Hearts has a TV Tropes page! Read it, contribute, whatever.

Onto reviews. To Little Voracious: We're already doing something like that. We've already written this stuff. We have a lot of prewritten stuff we just copy and paste into the current chapter. To Autistic-Grizzly: Don't worry about the shadow thing. It's probably nothing…depending on if that scene ever sees the light of day.

Anyways, that's it! Time to get naked!

Load Game…Start!


Chapter 123: Downtime


(9/20, Early Morning)

(Yongen-Jaya, Leblanc Attic)

The sounds of faint bustling in the city along with some birds chirping was enough to stir Akira awake as he blinked a couple times to focus his sight, the first thing that caught his eye was blonde-colored hair. He then shifted his gaze and saw Haruka sleeping in front of him naked, who had a content and gentle smile on her face.

"...Right. We were sleeping together last night." Akira stated on his head before shifting his gaze down further.

The blonde's bare J-Cup breasts were pressed against his well-toned chest, just like last night.

Akira simply stared at them for a while with a slight blush on his face before sighing. "Either I'm one of the luckiest guys in the whole world or..." He began to remark.

In that moment, he heard the blonde stirring herself awake before she shifted her head to meet his eyes

"Good morning, darling~" Haruka sleepily cooed out, leaning in...

CHU!

And kissed the boy's forehead, shifting her large breasts as well on his chest.

"...Why do boobs have to be bouncy and soft...?" Akira asked himself in his head as he then also recalled his own as a female, which was just as soft as well.

He then looked over with his head up and saw both of his own body as well as the blonde's lying on his very bed.

"...Are we still naked?" Akira suddenly asked.

"Yes, we are." Haruka responded as she smiled, shifting herself a bit on the bed.

"So I'm not dreaming then." Akira concluded as he recalled what he did. What in the world was that about? He was not usually like that...but why did it feel right at the time too?

"Nope." Haruka giggled.

"You have work today, Haruka?" Akira then asked, changing the subject a bit.

"Yeah." Haruka replied as she got up and out of the bed before stretching herself with a yawn and walking around the Leblanc attic a little bit, still in the nude.

Akira couldn't help but stare at the blonde's naked body as she was gazing at the shelf beside the bed where his gifts from different people were placed on.

"Where did you get these?" Haruka soon asked in a curious manner.

"Some things that I bought while others where I got as a gift from people." Akira replied, running a free hand on his frizzy, black hair.

"For being a good guy, I assume?" Haruka chuckled a bit.

"Pretty much, yeah." Akira responded. "It was all worth it." He then confessed, getting up from his bed and stretched up his naked body as he yawned.

"Still no reaction down there, huh." Haruka stated, looking at a particular area of the boy's nude body. "Wow, you really are trying to hold back, darling." She then noted.

"Well, I'm not trying to make it awkward for you here when we're both naked together." Akira responded.

"I already saw you naked, both in your male and female states, darling, and you already witnessed mine, like right now." Haruka countered before pouting. "What's there to be awkward about?" She soon asked.

"Some things other than just plain nudity." Akira replied casually. "Like me getting a...you know...down here." He then added, with a slight tint of pink on his face.

"Oh, that?" Haruka guessed. "Well, I am a bit curious what it would look like." She soon confessed.

"Quit dreaming, Haruka." Akira sighed.

Haruka slightly grumbled wordlessly with an audible pout.

Akira then approached his clothes on the workbench and began unfolding his shirt.

"Awww...you're getting dressed?" Haruka mewled.

"I don't want to walk downstairs naked, duh." As much as he called Leblanc home, he was still uncomfortable wandering around the place in his birthday suit.

"You could go run." Haruka suggested. "Oh, even better, I can take you there in a snap." She then added as she snapped her fingers.

"Haruka, I'm not gonna abuse your abilities so I can streak without being seen." Akira told, still unfolding the rest of his clothes. "You should get dressed and head over to the clinic." He then suggested.

"Maybe later. It's still early." The blonde replied as she sat on the couch beside the table with his game console on it, still naked. "Besides, I wish to stay like this for a little bit longer." Haruka then confessed in a casual manner as she relaxed herself on the couch.

"...Are you seriously sitting on my couch naked and all?" Akira soon asked, stopping himself from his task.

"Yes. Why?" Haruka responded and asked before realizing and smirking in a playful yet seducing manner. "Ohhh, Ufufu~ You think my bare body scent will be smeared on this couch of yours? Ha, you really are a perv~" She assumed with a giggle.

"Haruka, not to sound like an unforgivable pervert or anything, but...I already got used to your scent every time we're together, and we've been doing that quite a while now. " Akira replied and reminded as he put on his pajama shirt.

"Ecchi~" The blonde teased with a smirk as she went prone on the couch this time.

"Whatever, Haruka." Akira responded as he rolled his eyes, though had a smirk on his face.

"I have some time before work..." Haruka informed as she twirled finger through one of her hair loops. "So maybe..." She then got out in a suggestive manner.

"Can you teach me how to disarm someone with a gun?" Akira suddenly requested.

"...Eh?" Haruka got out in confusion at the sudden request.

"I had this dream last night. I was in a desert, facing off against my sister. I had this laser sword and she had nothing but her fists, but for some reason she could block all my strikes. Just when I thought I was about to win, she goes ahead and punches me right through the chest." Akira started and described in detail. "Suddenly, Haru came out of nowhere and chopped my sister's arm off. I somehow survive and I defeat her. Weird, right?" He then casually continued.

Haruka blinked. "...Do you have a sister?" She then asked ahead.

"I probably do now since my parents are probably doing it in my old room while I'm here." Akira casually assumed with a shrug. "Anyways, I realized that I haven't been working on my fighting and self-defense techniques lately. So, do you mind giving me a quick lesson before we start the day?" He then responded and asked.

"Sure...?" Haruka responded in a very confused manner.

"Great. Pull-ups get boring after a while." Akira breathed out before swiftly pulling off his pajama shirt, flinging it onto his crafting table without looking and thinking.

SPARKLE!

And Haruka's nose immediately leaked some blood upon the sight. "Best. Day. Ever." She got out in a giddy manner.

"...Right, still naked down there." Akira then realized aloud since he only put his pajama shirt on and that was it, only to throw away his shirt again, leaving himself full-on-nude once again in front of the blonde doctor.

"Still love it." Haruka once more confessed.

"You do you, Haruka" Akira sighed as he added in amusement to the reaction before going over to his box of stuff and pulling out one of his model guns. "Probably should give this to Asuka." He mumbled under his breath. Can't be too careful.

"Hm, didn't take you as much of a gun enthusiast." Haruka noted.

"It's essentially a fidget toy." Akira explained as he swiftly reloaded the gun. "Helps me focus while studying by myself." He explained in a casual manner.

"What a strange, expensive fidget toy then." The blonde remarked with an amused smile. "We'll practice naked together, come on." Haruka suggested, standing up from the couch.

"What?" Akira only got out.

"You wanna practice, right?" Haruka responded. "Let's do this right now, we'll get dressed when we're done." She then decided in a no nonsense tone.

"Well, yeah, but...why do we have to be- I just took my shirt off and everything and-" Akira however began to ask.

"No complaining. Come on, let's practice what you want to do." Haruka soon ordered in a more serious manner with her hands on her bare hips.

Akira thought she was trying to make an excuse just to get closer together naked once again, but then saw the dead serious expression on her face. "...Alright then." He soon responded.

"Okay, gimme your dummy gun." Haruka then instructed.

Akira in turn nodded as he gave it to her in response.

"Now here, I point my gun at you." Haruka began as she then pointed the gun at Akira.

"Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy, I'll give you what you want!" Akira exclaimed as he raised his hands.

"Be serious here." Haruka giggled. "Besides, I doubt someone will aim a gun at you. You're too cute." She then got out in a flirty manner.

"They'd probably punch me though." Akira joked. "Alright, what's the next step?"

"Take a step to your opponent's left." Haruka then started as the boy did as instructed. "There, now pivot counter-clockwise." She continued.

"Like this?" Akira asked as he pivoted.

"Your other counter-clockwise." Haruka pointed out.

"It's...been a while since I've seen an analogue clock." Akira awkwardly admitted. Hell, he couldn't even read one.

"People have gone digital these days." Haruka admitted. "Note to self, get you an analogue clock." She then stated.

"I already got a bed, don't feel as though you need to give me more stuff." Akira muttered before remembering what they were doing and retook his previous stance. "Next?"

"Grab my wrist with your right hand." Haruka soon stated.

Akira did so, gripping the blonde's wrist and waiting for the next course of action.

"Get a hold of the barrel with your free hand." Haruka continued. The Leader nodded and gripped the barrel much firmer than he did her wrist. "There, now I want you to push down with your right hand, and up with your left. Do it gently this time, this is simply practice." She then added.

"Here goes." Akira breathed out before doing as instructed.

"At this point, you should hear your opponent's trigger finger break." Haruka soon stated, causing the boy to wince but did so, gently bending her finger back. "Now pull the gun away from my hand." She then ordered.

"Hah!" Akira grunted as he pulled the gun away, twirling it around his finger once he had a proper grip on it.

"Excellent. Now you can follow it up by pistol-whipping them, aiming the gun back at them, or taking it out of the equation entirely." Haruka praised and informed. "Now let's try that again. I want you to do that in one smooth motion before the hour is up." She soon ordered as she took back the gun.

Akira nodded as they prepared to practice the move once again. They did this five times before the Leader managed to disarm the girl without needing to pause.

"I think you've got it down." Haruka breathed out. "You're a quick learner." She complimented.

"And you're a good teacher, Haruka." Akira complimented.

"Thank you." Haruka giggled. "But it won't be wise to call me sensei just yet. I still need my PhD." She then advised.

"True." Akira admitted with a nod.

"But..." The busty blonde began as she brushed her hand up his arm. "I'll let you call me sensei if you treat me to a quick spar right now." She then offered.

"Well, as much as I've been working out, I haven't been working on my technique." Akira confessed as he rolled his shoulders. "Sure, I'll take you on." He then decided.

"Glad to hear that." Haruka replied before raising her arms into a boxing stance. "Just so you know, I won't be holding back even if I like you."

"Don't expect the same from me." Akira got out before going into a loose boxer stance. "And who knows? I might surprise you." He then smirked.

"Heh, that's so sweet of you, darling." Haruka cooed. "But foolish. You'll need at least three months of training before you can even hope to even touch me without letting you. And that's being generous." She then informed.

"The doctor says three months, the clock says 90 seconds." Akira countered. "First to three hits, BEGIN!" He then declared.

WHAM!

"AH! Sonva-!" Akira swore as he clutched his suddenly sore cheek.

"Point to me!" Haruka stated with a quick fist pump.

The Leader shook his head and refocused on the girl. "I'd say that's cheating, but I would totally do that in a real fight." He soon admitted.

Haruka giggled at that. "Alright, round two." She declared as she brought up her fists once again.

Circling around each other in the attic, they silently dared the other to make a move first. Suddenly, Akira went for a kick, which Haruka easily dodged out of the way of before countering with a quick one-two punch.

Akira quickly ducked down to get out of the way, only to come face-to-face with Haruka's womanhood.

The Leader blinked before doing something he would never do on a good day.

He blew some air.

"Ahn~!" Haruka moaned out as her knees buckled.

"RAH RAH!" The Leader roared as he jabbed the blonde in the side before tapping her chin. "Hah! Two in a row!" Akira cheered, before dodging a swipe.

"That was cheap." Haruka mumbled as she pouted.

"That was winning." Akira replied with a small blush on his face.

"Hmhm~ You're lucky I didn't have my trusted puppet with me." Haruka cooed out and confessed.

"...Puppet?" Akira repeated with a raised eyebrow. This was the first he heard about this.

"...Ah, this is the first time I mentioned it, right?" Haruka eventually recalled in realization. "Well, I have a floating puppet who acts as my personal companion both in and out of combat." She then revealed.

"Really? So how do you usually fight exactly?" Akira asked in an interested manner.

"My puppet does the punches, while I do the throwing of my beloved liquids at my enemies." Haruka informed with a delighted smile.

"..." Akira stopped what he was doing and silently stared at the girl, waiting for something to happen.

"...My potions and such." Haruka then clarified with an eye roll. She was not that degenerate.

Though she assumed someone else would be. The world was a big place.

"Thank you." Akira replied before going in for a punch, which the blonde blocked with no effort. "So, you can do puppet shows?" He then asked.

"Suzune-sensei taught me a lot of things, other than performing puppet shows." Haruka giggled as she countered with a kick. "One of those skills includes beating cocky little boys like you."

"I'm not cocky!" Akira playfully denied. "Just biding my time." He then muttered.

"You're certainly cocky in certain areas." Haruka remarked, quickly looking down.

"Oh crap, you can see-" Akira exclaimed before being slapped in the face. "THAT!?" He then yelped.

"And that's another point for me." Haruka stated with a smirk. "Despite all those workouts and dealing with shinobi, you still fall for amateur tricks like that." She then remarked.

"Nothing amateur about what I'm about to do to you!" Akira declared as he prepared himself for the final clash.

"Show me." Haruka responded as she did the same.

"I'm going All-Out!" Akira declared.

"HORA!" Haruka cried out as the two charged at each other and-

"Sooo...am I supposed to get naked here as well or what?" A voice however suddenly asked in a blunt yet amused tone.

Akira and Haruka froze...mentally. Their bodies, however, kept going and-

CRASH!

Haruka practically bowled over the Leader, somehow ending up straddling him on the floor. However, neither of them were paying mind to yet another perverted situation they have found themselves in and instead focused on the new voice in the room with them.

The two finally turned their heads towards the orangette, who was simply standing at the stairs with one hand on her hip and a smirk forming on her face.

"...It's not what it looks like." Akira plainly stated, already knowing that was not going to help.

"Oh, I know. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop." The orangette casually replied with a wave of her hand. "The line between sex and violence continues to blur in our group. It's only a matter of time before this room smells like fish." Futaba muttered as she headed back downstairs.

An awkward silence filled the attic, the naked two still staring at the spot where the hacker was from.

"...We probably should've done this in a Kekkai." Akira started after that awkward silence.

"Yeah..." Haruka agreed as her eyes wandered for a bit...only to notice that she saw something from the boy that made her widen her eyes and go red. "Ulp!" She got out.

"Huh?" Akira got out as he followed her gaze...and noticed a very distinct reaction on his crotch area. "Oh crap! Sorry!" He quickly apologized as he scrambled off the girl and faced the other way as he covered his crotch's reaction.

"No no no no no! It's...I know it's a natural reaction for boys your age to have." Haruka quickly assured the boy. "Plus it's not like I haven't felt it before..." She thought as her blush grew bigger.

"Normally, I would get my ass reported for sexual harassment if it was any other girl." Akira stated before looking over her shoulder to face her. "...But then again, you aren't any other girl, Haruka." He then admitted after a short pause.

"That I am, darling." The blonde replied with a small giggle and a lopsided smile.

There was silence filling the air of the cafe attic for a while.

"...Can I see it?" Haruka suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Akira got out as he processed this.

"Your...reaction down there." Haruka responded with a blush

The Leader then looked at the blonde with half-lid eyes. "...You really are perverted when you feel like it, huh, Haruka." Akira got out.

"Only when I'm in a private setting, especially around girls, but this...this is a special exception for me." Haruka responded. "Sooo...can I see it?" She then asked once more.

Akira aimed his half-lidded stare at her in response.

"...Please?" Haruka once more requested.

Akira soon felt a shiver down his spine as he then sighed.

Go on...do it...

...Okay, there's that voice that sounds like mine but not even mine... "...Fine...alright, I'll do it." Akira finally replied, albeit almost reluctantly. "Look and only look, Haruka." He then sternly reminded.

To that, Haruka nodded. "H-Hai. For your health of course." She responded as she then calmed down. "Come over here a bit." She then requested before crouching down on his crotch level.

To that, the Leader gulped again. "I can't believe this is happening in my very probation..." Akira stated in his head along with a sigh since he somehow wanted to end this as soon as possible.

With nothing to debate anymore in his head, he reluctantly turned slowly and faced the blonde before uncovering his hands on his crotch.

SPROING!

Immediately, Haruka made a mesmerized look on her face as she gazed at the distinct reaction on the young Shujin student's crotch that happens commonly among hormonal males when they're sexually aroused. She then leaned her head from one side for a while before going for the other, like she was observing the rod from both sides. She even noticed it twitching from time to time.

Akira couldn't help feeling internally dumbfounded in his situation right now.

"Well...um...as expected, of course. You are a healthy young man for your age." Haruka awkwardly responded and pointed out. "Whoa...he's...actually packing..." She then added in her head.

"Sounds like I'm on an actual checkup right now." Akira thought in his head as he heard that from the currently nude blonde. "Really wish I can fully control my libido or something..." He sighed out.

"And why is that?" Haruka soon asked in a curious manner as she stood up and faced him.

"If I'm going to deal with female nudity and extremely sexual situations in the near future, I might as well make sure I don't go catatonic." Akira responded.

"So...you want me to seduce you?" Haruka playfully assumed.

"Right now, it's better if it's you than anyone else." Akira admitted. "I can assume how many hormonal men can fall for those deceptive attempts of seduction and lead to their end by female shinobis." He then inferred.

"Well, men in this country nowadays tend to think with their desires first before their head, so taking advantage of those moments is touch and go for us shinobis sometimes." Haruka explained to him with crossed arms under her large bare breasts.

"If I hadn't known about shinobis until you kidnapped me with Yomi-san, Hikage-san and Mirai, I would've been at my end." Akira however reminded.

"Consider yourself lucky, darling. Good thing we decided to know more about you first before we did our usual procedure towards unnecessarily involved civilians." Haruka playfully assured her with a small giggle. "Hmm...tell you what, darling. If you have time, you can come over to the clinic and have a private checkup with me. And I'm being serious here." She hummed out and offered.

"...Excuse me?" Akira eventually asked after blinking a couple of times.

"A professional private checkup." Haruka repeated with a smile. "And maybe we can hang out together in female form if we have the extra time." She then suggested in a seductive whisper.

"Uh huh...and what is this private checkup going to be?" Akira got out and asked.

"Well, if you're curious...observing your genitals, your erection, getting your sperm co-" Haruka started as she began to list some of the tasks.

"Okay, I've heard enough." Akira interrupted. "The usual stuff from you like always, please." He then requested.

"Well, you can't build up a resistance if I do the usual." Haruka pointed out. "After all, I've never seen you at your worst so you deserve me at my best, darling~" She then added.

"Haruka..." Akira sighed out as the blonde looked intently at him before...

"HEY! ARE YOU TWO STILL UP THERE!? WAIT, ARE YOU TWO SECRETLY MAKING OUT OR WHAT?" Futaba's voice called out, causing the two to blush once more.

"...She's going to be a menace to this society." Haruka muttered, looking a little amused.

"Oh, you have no idea." Akira chuckled before finally deciding to start his day by getting dressed for real now.


(Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)

This morning had been an interesting affair for Asuka and Homura.

While it wasn't rare for them to hear one of them in the kitchen making breakfast while the other was asleep, what was rare was the fact that they were both asleep only to be awoken by cooking.

Homura nearly chopped Miyabi's head off, screaming at her that burning down the apartment building wouldn't stop them and, if else, make them stronger (blame her tired brain), before seeing the white haired woman was only making eggs on rice with slices of bacon and scallions.

Not only that, Miyabi had apparently cleaned their apartment and even organized their bathroom stuff because she was bored, as she claimed. Even arranged their toilet paper by freshness, which they both couldn't tell you what that meant.

Asuka was sort of taking it in stride, thanking the white haired woman but also reminding her that this wasn't her place and she shouldn't do this for them.

Homura, however, was half-expecting needing to take one of the nearest chairs and smash it over the white haired woman's head in a paranoia-fueled panic.

And just when they thought things couldn't get any weirder...

"I'm going to kill Akira the next time I see him." Miyabi bluntly concluded.

Asuka and Homura stared at the white haired woman blankly, wondering why she would bring this up at breakfast of all times. "Aren't you gonna do that already?" Homura got out as she jabbed her chopsticks at the white haired woman.

"Not with my training-" Miyabi corrected as she rolled her eyes.

"Beatdowns." Homura corrected.

"Training." Miyabi responded. "...Well, I might be able to squeeze them both in." She then added.

"Why did you choose violence today, Miyabi-sensei?" Asuka soon asked.

"Does it have to do with that call from last night?" The tan skinned girl assumed.

"Yes. And I would've explained it to you if you didn't yell at me until bedtime." Miyabi grumbled in an annoyed manner.

"You woke up the building." Homura bluntly reminded.

"You woke them up more!" Miyabi countered.

"Who did you call again?" Asuka interrupted, not wanting a fight to break out so early in the morning.

"Murasaki, my best friend's sister." Miyabi answered.

"And...what happened exactly?" Asuka soon asked.

"My best friend's shut-in of a sister literally fell in love with him at first sight." Miyabi bluntly answered.

There was silence filling the air of the apartment room for a moment.

"...Say what now?" Homura broke the silence in disbelief.

"Eeeeeeehhhhhh!?" Asuka squeaked.

"What's with those reactions?" Miyabi questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"They're nothing!" Asuka and Homura cried out. "Just surprise!" They then added.

SMACK!

Right after saying that, the tan skinned girl slapped the white haired woman right upside the head. "Ow! What was that for!?" Miyabi complained and asked.

"For telling us that in the first place!" Homura answered in annoyance. "You shouldn't reveal something like that so casually!" She then called out.

"You don't even know if it's a secret!" Miyabi countered.

"Is it?" The tan skinned girl questioned as she narrowed her eyes.

"...Well, yes, but-" Miyabi tried to explain, only to block another slap to the head. "Not again, Homura." She grumbled.

"You know what you did though." Homura countered in disapproval. "Now, go on. You mentioned Murasaki was a shut-in?" She then got out.

"Was she like Futaba-chan?" Asuka pressed.

"Before I was rudely interrupted, yeah." Miyabi confirmed with a nod. "The two are actually pretty similar. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they become friends." She then revealed and admitted. "...Wait, that wouldn't be possible. Murasaki's not exactly a person who can make friends..." She soon remembered with a sigh.

"Yeah, and what are the chances of them ever meeting? Tokyo, no, Japan is a big place." Asuka added.

"No, I mean the fact that thanks to what she went through that made her a shut-in to begin with, she's not into making friends." Miyabi revealed.

"Huh? What does that mean?" Homura asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She usually thinks people are lonely creatures and that they're always on their own. Rejecting the concept of friends as a whole and assumes the worst in people as a whole." Miyabi revealed with a sigh.

"...That is the complete opposite of the fact." Asuka stated. "People can't live alone." She then added.

"And that is what confuses the hell out of me..." Miyabi responded. "Her suddenly telling me she's fallen for someone and Futaba telling me she's been working out is completely out of left field for me." She then stated.

"Maybe she was always like this and you just didn't know?" Homura suggested. "Three year coma, remember?" She then reminded.

"I know, and it's not like that." Miyabi stated. "Murasaki was always a little gloomy, even before the incident, but last night...she sounded so...full of life when I talked to her..."

"A complete 180, huh?" Homura guessed.

"From thinking she's a sub-water flea to willing to murder me to protect someone she barely knows."

"Yep, that sounds like Akira's influence." Homura deadpanned. Him and his stupid hero complex. "...That should be a good thing in this case, right?" She then guessed.

"It depends." Miyabi answered with a frown, poking at her food in thought. "It feels like she's diving into the deep end instead of taking it slow. You can't fix everything overnight." She then stated.

"So...you disapprove of her trying to change?" Asuka asked in confusion with a head tilt.

"No, I think she's just going into it too fast." Miyabi responded as she shook her head to that, looking rather annoyed at the accusation. "She's barely seen what the world has to offer, and she might not be ready for it." She then explained.

"So, you're concerned for her safety." Homura concluded, getting a nod from the white haired woman. "I thought you were the type to throw people into shark infested waters to teach them to swim." She then confessed.

"I thought you of all people would know by now to not judge people without getting to know them first." Miyabi got out. "I'm usually not the nicest person in the world, but I care about the well-being of my loved ones and comrades." She then confessed and stated.

"Usually? You sometimes are the nicest person in the world?" Homura quipped.

"I will stab you." Miyabi bluntly threatened with crossed arms under her large chest.

"Not now, it seems." Homura responded.

The Vice Leader at that moment however placed both hands on the table. "Moh, no fighting at the breakfast table you two." Asuka chided with a puffed up cheek.

"Sorry, Sis/Asuka." Homura and Miyabi apologized in unison.

"Good. Now then, what made her shut-in, anyways?" Asuka responded and soon asked.

"Let me guess, it was over her first kill." Homura assumed with a frown.

"She's a killer?" Asuka got out in an incredulous manner.

"Everyone in Hebijo is." Miyabi informed. "The only requirement to get into the school is that you need to take a life. I think she killed an instructor..." She then revealed.

"Oh..." Asuka responded with a wince.

"But that's not exactly why she recused herself from the outside world two years ago." Miyabi soon added. "It was a combination of reasons, mainly caused by her family." She then revealed.

"Was that bad for her?" Asuka soon asked in concern.

"Yeah. Mainly due to her family's power she happened to inherit a dark magical power called the Root of Calamity." Miyabi sighed out.

The two sisters in turn blinked to that. "...Sorry, but that sounds like something out of those anime Futaba has in her room." Homura had to admit as her sister nodded in agreement. "Or out of the ones I watch." She then added in her head.

"Being serious here." Miyabi growled in annoyance. "It's supposed to create explosions and strengthen the body as long as the person is miserable all the time."

"Miserable?" Asuka repeated with worry.

"The more depressed she is, the more powerful it is." Miyabi simplified.

"That sounds wrong." Homura got out.

"I know." Miyabi sighed out.

"No, it literally sounds wrong." Homura responded. "I don't think it works like that." She then stated.

"It's how her family's been using it for years." Miyabi sighed out.

"How do you know?" Homura questioned.

"My family and her's have been friends for years." Miyabi responded.

"And...?" Homura pressed with a raised eyebrow. "Have you witnessed it? Read the scroll on it? Anything concrete?" She then questioned.

"...No." Miyabi hesitantly responded. "Only heard secondhand accounts from Imu, and she could never manifest it no matter how miserable she got." She then added. And Imu was miserable almost every day after school.

"Then you shouldn't talk as if you're an expert." Homura scoffed. "That's just a ticking time bomb if that were the case, because there wouldn't be a family to be able to use it. Because they would all be dead. And I should know, I was one before my exile." She then pointed out in frustration.

"Homu-neechan..." Asuka got out.

"Look, the point is that the Root doesn't grant the user a good life!" Miyabi stated. "Or, rather, a worse life than most shinobi." She then added in a somewhat awkward manner.

"Does it kill her?" Homura then asked.

"No. Just...drives them feral with a serious intent to kill. At least, in Murasaki's case." Miyabi muttered. "The best person to ask about this is Imu. She's done a lot of reading on it ever since Murasaki unlocked her Root." She then informed.

"...Would it be appropriate to call her about it right now?" Homura then questioned.

"That would be the worst possible thing to call her for right now." Miyabi stated.

"Why?" Asuka pressed.

"...Hebijo's sort of a disaster currently, and it all stems from the Root." Miyabi reported with a sigh. "A lot of people either want to use it or not, and no matter what happens, no one is going to be happy and someone will get hurt." She then stated.

"Damn." Homura muttered in a sympathetic manner. She really hoped her teammates were okay.

"I feel bad for her honestly." Asuka confessed in a saddened tone. "She never asked for this." She then added.

"None of us are here because we asked for something." Miyabi reminded. "We play with the hands we are dealt with." She then stated.

"I want a mulligan then." Asuka sighed out.

"As much as I feel bad for the girl, it kinda shows the reaction everyone will have if our own secrets are revealed." Homura soon pointed out. "Personas are just as disastrous as the Root of Calamity, if not more." She then stated.

"I don't even want to think of what would happen if Murasaki got a Persona too." Miyabi soon had to admit.

"It would probably start a civil war." Asuka murmured. "...Or get everyone to start hunting her because she's too powerful." She then added in even more concern for her.

"I mean, we're already stirring up the factions just by existing in the public consciousness." Homura stated. "...I am seriously starting to hate being powerful..." She soon sighed out.

"Yeah..." Asuka agreed with a nod.

"Power corrupts." Miyabi soon stated. "But it also gives you the strength to protect who you love most." She then added...before realizing what she just said. "Did I just sound like a Good Shinobi there?" She suddenly asked.

"No, you sound like you have something worth fighting for. That transcends Good and Evil." Asuka responded. "It's called humanity." She then added as her sister nodded in agreement.

"Ugh, and look where that has gotten us." Miyabi however groaned. "A bunch of us are selfish, ignorant, loud and obnoxious pricks with no redeeming qualities whatsoever with achievements in genocide, global warming, and a whole other host of failures and fuck-ups. We are a complete write-off of a species." She soon began listing off the negatives.

"I'm sensing a but." Homura whispered.

Miyabi gave the tan skinned girl an annoyed look. "...But..." She groaned. "Despite all that...I'm not giving up on us until my last breath. We can still change for the better." She soon declared.

"You've been thinking that for a long time, huh?" Homura responded and assumed.

"Ever since mama died." Miyabi responded with a smirk. "How dare you and the others make me care about other people again." She jokingly declared.

Asuka however giggled at that. "The world's too dark already." She responded. "We'll drag you to the light, kicking and screaming." She then declared.

"Oh yeah, speaking of lights, your runway show is tomorrow." Homura recalled.

"Eh?" Asuka got out, her face slightly pale.

"How is that related to lights?" Miyabi deadpanned.

"You know, spotlights? Like one Sis is gonna be under. You agree with that, right Sis?" Homura explained before nudging her sister for a response. However, the Vice Leader was frozen solid. "Uh, Sis?"

Asuka snapped out of her stupor to panic. "EH!? Oh crap, I almost forgot! I haven't gone to work in ages since Kokito-san told me to rest up for it, or really trained, or..." She then panicked as she began to hyperventilate.

"Calm down." Miyabi meanwhile ordered. "Panicking will do you no good." She then stated.

"O-Okay..." Asuka slowed her breathing as she managed to pull herself back together.

"There, is that better?" Miyabi asked in a comforting manner.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine." Asuka nodded.

"Good." Miyabi breathed out. "If you're so worried, we can set up a little practice runway for you and Ann if you want." She then suggested.

"I-I don't want to get in the way of your own things to help me. Oh I should've been more prepared and insisted on more work and-" Asuka then began mumbling, barely able to be understood.

"Asuka, you're rambling." Miyabi then interrupted. "It's just putting on a pretty dress, walking, posing, walking back, then you're done. It's over." She then simplified.

Asuka however gained an offended look to that. "It is way more than just that." She countered.

"Then what else do you do?" Miyabi questioned.

"Making sure the outfits fit, repreparing the make-up we would be wearing, mental preparations to make sure you don't snap, it's a lot more complicated than walking and looking pretty!" Asuka listed off and declared all the work that goes in as a model.

The white haired woman sighed. "And that is why you won't do well."

"Huh?" The Vice Leader got out in confusion.

"You're overthinking it, Asuka." Miyabi explained. "I know next to nothing about modeling, but I do know a thing about getting a job done right. If you overthink it, you risk failing harder and faster than you would just going for it." She then explained. "Just walk and look pretty. Two steps sounds a lot easier than twenty thousand. And you already do step one and two quite well." She then concluded.

"B-But-" Asuka tried to argue, however...

"Asuka." Miyabi interrupted in a much more stern manner. "You are your own worst enemy. Beat. Her." She then ordered.

The Vice Leader still looked unsure, but still nodded anyway. "S-Sure thing Miyabi-sensei!" Asuka replied with a salute.

"Good." Miyabi responded with a nod of approval.

"...What time is it?" Homura suddenly got out with widened eyes.

"Don't ask us. Check your phone, dumbass." Miyabi reminded with an eye roll.

"Miyabi-chan..." Asuka muttered with a frown.

"You don't need to ask for the time when you literally have the world in your pocket." Miyabi countered as she pulled out her own phone. "See! It's only a quarter to eight." She then informed in a smug manner. "...Wait, shit." She then swore as she realized that she was going to be late for work if she didn't run right now.

"School starts at nine, and our train comes in at eight." Homura muttered. "Ugh, we better finish up and get going. Sis and I were late once, we can't repeat that mistake again." She then sighed out as she got up from her seat.

"Hai." Asuka and Miyabi responded with a nod.

BZZT! BZZT!

"Hm?" Miyabi hummed out as she took out her phone. "Speaking of...She sent me a photo of her progress." She revealed she tapped on the screen...revealing the purplette in her work-out clothes as she was doing pull-ups. "Huh, she's developing nicely." She noted in awe.

"Let me see." Asuka requested. "So that's Murasaki-chan." She got out as her sister also looked on at the pic.

"Yeah." Miyabi got out in response, blinking.

"For a recently recovered shut-in, she looks a lot healthier than I was imagining." Homura noted in an impressed manner.

"That, or all her fat went to her boobs." Asuka bluntly suggested.

"..." Homura and Miyabi blinked at that.

"...She's not wrong." Homura soon admitted as the sisters got their things.

"Another thing about this screwed up world...its preference for large tits." Miyabi sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, though couldn't help but smile at the fact her friend was doing better than before.


(Harajuku, Haruka's Apartment)

Takemi had actually decided to give Haruka a half day as they were out of medical supplies and more wouldn't come in until tomorrow. The doctor could take care of the patients coming in today so Haruka decided to head home.

...Something she hadn't done in a while as the blonde made it to the door to her apartment as she soon entered.

"Tsumuji-chan?" Haruka called out, noticing how clean the apartment was, to the point it was practically sparkling. She wouldn't even be surprised if she could eat off the floor.

"Haruka-sama?" Tsumuji's voice got out from another room before coming into the main room in her maid attire and smiled. "You're back!" She happily and excitedly exclaimed.

"I haven't been gone long." Haruka responded.

"Moh! Yes you have! You've stayed over Akira-sama's place so many times!" Tsumuji responded with an adorable pout. "It's nearly been a week." She then revealed.

"Sorry about that." Haruka apologized. "I want to say my work needs me to stay close to the clinic, but I don't want to give you excuses." She then stated and confessed.

"No kidding." Tsumuji muttered. "I've been getting really good at cleaning your apartment. I can get it spotless in ten minutes flat." She then bragged a little with a sparkle in her eyes.

"That's well and good, Tsumuji-chan." Haruka praised. "Have you picked up any hobbies with all that free time then?" She then asked.

"A what?" Tsumuji blinked owlishly.

"...A hobby." Haruka repeated in a much more clear manner.

"I-I know what that is, but I've been so busy cleaning I sort of forgot." Tsumuji assured with a, admittingly fake-sounding, laugh that went on for five seconds too long. "...Does the floor need mopping again, Haruka-sama?" She suddenly asked.

SPARKLE!

Seeing the sparkling floors (yes, even the carpet), the owner of the apartment could only assume the answer was no. "What do you do all day?" Haruka questioned in concern.

"You know. Clean, train...C-Clean, um, eat...er...clean..." Tsumuji began confidently enough, only to slowly realize how little she did. "Oh! Training in a Kekkai using my new...feather duster as a weapon..." She then awkwardly added, feeling as though she was grasping at straws.

"...You don't have anything going on in your life, do you?" Haruka muttered in a flat tone.

"Well what did you expect from me Haruka-sama?" Tsumuji called out in frustration. "I had nothing but revenge before! Revenge doesn't leave much room for hobbies. Not unless you count scheming as a hobby." She then pointed out.

Haruka instantly gave the live-in maid a worried look. "When was the last time you've gone outside?" She cautiously asked.

"The day I came here." Tsumuji casually answered. "You forget I betrayed the academy and Dōgen. There's likely tons of shinobi out there hunting for me." She then assumed.

"Then why didn't Suzune-sensei mention it?" Haruka soon asked.

Tsumuji's pupils shrunk. "...Eh?" She got out in a small voice.

"Now that I think about it, we would clearly be informed of traitors to the school just to keep an eye out." Haruka explained in a serious manner. "And you left right around the time Homura left for her mission, correct?" She then remembered.

There was a silence as the two girls soon came to the realization why Tsumuji's betrayal never came up.

"...Should I be glad or depressed that the school doesn't consider me enough of a threat to hunt me down?" The live-in maid questioned.

"Which one will make you less sad?" Haruka countered with her own question.

"Neither." Tsumuji mumbled as she slumped.

"Then be glad you are happy to be alive." Haruka concluded, patting the girl on the back.

Tsumuji sighed. "I'll take it, Haruka-sama." She replied, feeling as though she just won a participation trophy that she didn't deserve.

"I'm going to be here more often to give darling some space." Haruka soon informed, much to the delight of the live-in maid.

"That's great! I've been sleeping on the couch just so I wouldn't have to mess up your bed every time just in case you came back." Tsumuji responded and revealed.

"Oh Tsumuji-chan." Haruka sighed out, though smiled at the girl's dedication towards her. It was nothing like how she was weeks ago when she first arrived.

BZZT! BZZT!

Haruka soon got out her phone. "Excuse me for a moment." She requested in a serious tone as the live-in maid nodded and stood at attention.

[EMOSnake: Morning everyone.]

[Cute_shutin: Morning.]

[Futsure: Good morning.]

[PrincessBeanSprouts: Are we really texting each other during morning classes?]

[DrSeduce: Are you even paying attention in the first place?]

(...)

[DrSeduce: That's what I thought.]

[EMOSnake: We need to take advantage of Hebijo's resources while we still have them. Our phones most likely will get cut off as well.]

[Cute_shutin: That's a good idea. Although, I'm still a little confused about the merits of a mechanical bull for shinobi training...]

[Futsure: It can be very helpful when dealing with a Yōma.]

[DrSeduce: We'll need to secure a few things before our defection.]

[Cute_shutin: What would they be?]

[EMOSnake: Shelter, income, and anonymity.]

[PrincessBeanSprouts: Why would we need income?]

[EMOSnake: Like it or not, the world revolves around money.]

[PrincessBeanSprouts: We could always live out in the wild, possibly in a cave.]

[DrSeduce: Why is everyone suggesting we live in a cave?]

[EMOSnake: What if we can't find one?]

[PrincessBeanSprout: Then we grab pickaxes and make one.]

[Futsure: Oh great, we're becoming hobbits.]

[EMOSnake: At least we'll still be living.]

[Futsure: Do we have to, like, dye our hair? Give each other scars?]

(...)

[Futsure: Get breast reduction surgery?]

(...)

[PrincessBeanSprouts: Mirai, you wouldn't have anything to reduce.]

[Futsure: Die.]

[EMOSnake: Dye is expensive, and I'd rather not risk cutting something vital. Besides, we should be good at hiding in the crowd. We might need to change styles though, and wear more hats.]

[DrSeduce: Okay.]

[Futsure: Fine, but I'm keeping the eyepatch.]

[Cute_shutin: Wait...that means I'll lose my PC, all my accounts and save files...]

[EMOSnake: A necessary sacrifice.]

(...)

[EMOSnake: But feel free to pre pack them and send anything to Haruka.]

[Cute_shutin: That's...no, if I'm going to restart my life, I need to let go of my...300,000 yen PC. Besides, they could track me down through it.]

(...)

[PrincessBeanSprouts: We are not getting a new one. Send it to Haruka anyway.]

[PrincessBeanSprouts: Moving on, the last thing we'll need is a safehouse. Somewhere we can hide until Hebijo calls off the search.]

[EMOSnake: That should be Haruka's job. Tokyo is a big place and there's only so many shinobi.]

[DrSeduce: Good idea. I will do my best to find somewhere suitable for all of us to live.]

[PrincessBeanSprout: We just need a chance to leave...]

[Futsure: I've been studying the patrols, and they don't leave a lot of room for error. There are a bunch of shinobi hidden around the place that I can barely even sense.]

[Cute_shutin: And we have to do it soon since Imu and the school will keep trying to force me to just abuse the Root again if I stay...]

[PrincessBeanSprouts: Isn't the school making her?]

[EMOSnake: It doesn't matter who's doing it. They're all enemies to us.]

[EMOSnake: We won't let Hebijo force you to use the Root! We promise you'll never use it again.]

[Cute_shutin: Hikage...]

[EMOSnake: And that's why before the end of the month, we finally ditch Hebijo.]

[Cute_shutin: Eh!?]

[Futsure: The 30th.]

[PrincessBeanSprouts: 10 days.]

[Cute_shutin: I know how many days there are, but...you'd really go so far for me?]

[DrSeduce: You're a part of Crimson Squad now. We would die for you if it came down to it.]

[Cute_shutin: I-I don't want anyone dying for me.]

[Cute_shutin: But...I would die for you all too.]

[Futsure: As much as it's all noble and stuff, I don't want to die period. And given that if we escape, we're still guaranteed to die with the Yoke technique.]

[DrSeduce: We should probably get Homura in on this...]

[PrincessBeanSprouts: This whole thing could destroy everything she has there.]

[PrincessBeanSprout: As much as we want to, we can't let her get involved until we finally get out.]

[Futsure: She still hasn't exactly told us how she got rid of the Yoke technique...]

[Cute_shutin: Wait what!? Really!? How!?]

[Futsure: I just said we don't know.]

[DrSeduce: It's most likely she's protecting us. She probably went through hell just to find a way.]

[EMOSnake: We'll talk to her once the heat dies down.]

[DrSeduce: Okay everyone, you all have your roles. Do not give anything less by 100%. Our lives are at stake, so fight for it or die trying.]

The doctor-in-training let out a breath as she finished her text and sent it. "So by the end of the month, everything changes." Haruka muttered as she put away her phone.

"Barely over a week." Tsumuji muttered with a frown. "Can they really do this?" She then asked in a worried manner.

"It's plenty of time for an Elite to plan." Haruka stated. "And I trust them. They will not fail." She then added.

"Hebijo will probably send shinobi to talk to you, and most likely I'll be the one opening the door." Tsumuji assumed. "Despite how low I am on the threat list, I wouldn't bet my life on them ignoring me." She then added.

"All the more reason to find a safehouse." Haruka replied. "There are tons of abandoned buildings and apartments in the city. We might be able to find something suitable, if a bit of a fixer-upper." She then added in a confident tone.

"Guess we're going house hunting then." Tsumuji decided in a curious manner. She should have to look up some carpentry skills.

"Hai." Haruka confirmed with a nod. "Not right now though. My work takes priority currently, but we can go do it, say...on the 25th?" She then got out.

"Sounds good." Tsumuji nodded.

"Great." Haruka breathed out before looking out the window. "You know, for the first time in a long while...I feel like things are going right." She soon admitted.

"Please don't jinx it, Haruka-sama. We still have a long way to go before things finally get better." Tsumuji stated. "Whatever happens, this won't be easy. Still, I bet other schools don't deal with bullshit like this." She then added with a frown.


(Asakusa, Hanzō Academy Elites Room)

"I bet other schools don't deal with nonsense like this." Was a thought that passed through Ikaruga's head as she listened to her team about recent developments that had happened while she was away.

Which was apparently a lot it seems.

She had only called before work to just check-in, but now she was going to have to deal with this entire thing when she gets back.

"So...let me get this straight." Ikaruga sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Hibari-san found a completely working, if broken and rusted, robot-" She then began to recite what she had learned.

"Gynoid." Hibari corrected.

"Don't interrupt." Ikaruga got out through gritted teeth. "A gynoid with cat ears and a fake gun in its-" She then continued.

"Her." Hibari once more corrected.

Ikaruga groaned before letting it go. "Her head and now she wants to be a shinobi because Hibari-san managed to fix her." She finally summarized. "Is that everything?" She then asked in a cautious manner.

"Yeah. That's about it." Katsuragi concluded.

"I'm Muramasa!" Said robot happily introduced herself once again with a raised hand. She was currently wearing a blue t-shirt and a red skirt.

"Yes. You've already told me." Ikaruga mumbled. After what she has been informed of in the last five minutes, she already felt exhausted. "I was away for two days..." She then grumbled.

"Hey, at least the school didn't burn down." Katsuragi tried to assure the ravenette, only to see the white haired girl glaring at the gynoid as she hugged the pinkette. "...Yet." She then added.

"Do not make me leave early. Hanzō Academy is already on thin ice with...Okumura-san as is." Ikaruga groaned. Maybe she should buy painkillers before heading to the HQ.

"Don't worry, I'll be the adult here." Katsuragi promised. She then blinked and winced a little. "...That felt weird saying." She then admitted.

"I also can't believe saying this but please do so." Ikaruga requested. Any help would be better than none whatsoever.

"I'll be sure to...assist her until you get back." Yagyū soon stated in a blunt manner.

"Ah, thank you Yagyū-san." Ikaruga responded in relief.

"Oh, how is it going over in Tokyo?" Katsuragi soon asked. "Any updates on the whole Haru situation?" She then added.

Ikaruga winced. "...The progress there is not as fruitful as I hoped." She reported in an upset tone.

"What?" Hibari quietly gasped while the rest frowned...except for the blonde gynoid, who had no idea what was going on.

"Okumura-san is already making arrangements to begin moving Haru-san's belongings in the coming weeks." Ikaruga responded and revealed.

"Have you talked more to Haru about it?" Yagyū soon asked.

"It's strange, I couldn't find her all day until she came home last night. Even then, she just went straight to bed. I don't even think she noticed me, and I was not trying to hide at all." Ikaruga informed with a frown. "I never seen her so tired before..." She then confessed in concern.

"Well you told us she used to train as a shinobi with you and some other girl," Katsuragi recalled. "Maybe she's training again in secret?" She then suggested.

"And why would she do that?" Ikaruga questioned.

"Stress relief?" Yagyū guessed. "Training to defend herself from her fiancé? There is a non-zero chance he won't take advantage of her." She then assumed.

"It would only make things worse. There's nothing Haru-san can directly do ..." Ikaruga sighed as she shook her head. "...Plus her desired weapon at the time..." She suddenly started, though trailed off, a hint of fear in her voice.

"Huh?" Hibari got out in confusion to that last bit.

"What was it?" Katsuragi soon asked.

"...A chainsaw..." Ikaruga hesitantly and nervously revealed while sounding a bit traumatized.

"Oh..." Katsuragi got out in understanding. "That's awesome." She then chuckled.

"Ignoring that." Yagyū sighed. "Ikaruga, do you have any idea how we can stop this?" She then asked.

"...No. Not unless we wish to risk everything and throw away our lives." Ikaruga answered in defeat. "Okumura is a powerful man. He will do something about us if we truly anger him." She then added.

Katsuragi soon growled as she clenched her fists. "Dammit, is there really nothing anyone can do?" She grumbled.

"No, unless we want to ruin important connections, and risk being branded as renegades." Ikaruga responded and reminded.

"...The Phantom Thieves better do something about him then..." Hibari spoke up.

"Hibari, Okumura was targeted by hackers with malicious intent. The Phantom Thieves would only be playing into their hands if they do so." Yagyū reminded and stated.

"And whoever is targeting Okumura must see the Thieves as a threat and want to eliminate them both." Ikaruga then added. "They would be foolish to even think of touching Okumura." She then stated.

"Well I still believe they have something up their sleeve." Katsuragi countered as she shook her head. "After all, they've taken down so many people already, and helped the world more in a year than what we've done in three. The Phantom Thieves always win, no matter what!" She then declared.

"Katsuragi..." Yagyū sighed as she shook her head. Optimism is one thing, this was another situation entirely.

"That's Katsu-nee for you." Hibari happily giggled out.

"Hehe, she's funny Hibari-chan." Muramasa admitted with a grin.

"Relying on the Phantom Thieves to solve a problem we shouldn't be involved in the first place..." Ikaruga muttered. "How did it come to this?" She then questioned.

"Maybe it was inevitable we crossed paths with the Phantom Thieves." Yagyū muttered. "They are acting within and around our area, and it's not like we can ignore them for much longer." She then stated.

"Hey, maybe this will finally get Asuka-chan back to us." Hibari got out in an excited tone. "Who knows, the Phantom Thieves might be super-friendly." She then added.

"Ooooh~ Maybe the Phantom Thieves are full of girls!" Katsuragi gasped with sparkles in her eyes and her hands up with her fingers wiggling.

"Maybe they'll help return an ounce of sanity to reality." Yagyū deadpanned.

Ikaruga agreed with that last statement before checking the time on her phone. "I need to go to the HQ now. It may not look good, but I can't give up. Is it possible there's something in Haru-san's mother's will...?" She then muttered.

"Well, on my go, I'll do my best as well." Yagyū promised before looking towards the gynoid and pinkette and shivered.

"I hope Asuka is doing better than us." Ikaruga muttered under her breath as she hung up.


(Train)

"One day I will become the Minister of Transportation to make bigger train cars." Asuka quietly declared, stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Or, more accurately, Ann and Ryuji. She had somehow lost Akira and Homura when they entered the train, but she could clearly hear them struggling not to feel any more than necessary.

"MMPH!" Ann's muffled yelp snapped the Vice Leader out of her thoughts.

The ash blonde was in front of the brunette, being completely pressed by the latter's breasts on her face. She had her eyes squinting, clearly struggling with her situation while doing her best to act like this was a usual thing to happen.

"So sorry, Ann..." Asuka apologized.

"Please don't talk." Ryuji quietly pleaded behind her. His personal hormones were somehow struggling inside him as the brunette's plump backside was pressing his soon-to-be-reacting crotch.

Suddenly, the train shifted, causing several people in the sea of passengers to stumble around.

"AHN~!" A feminine voice moaned.

"Oh shit, Asuka! I'm so sorry!" Ryuji quickly began apologizing, anticipating physical punishment. However, nothing came.

"That wasn't me." Asuka however informed in confusion.

"That was me." Mishima's voice responded from somewhere nearby. Not even the brunette's shinobi skills could pick him out in a crowd.

Ann gasped for air as now there was enough room for her to breathe. "Uh, was that...Mishima?" she panted out.

"Dude...did he sound totally girly back there?..." Ryuji stated, a bit dumbfounded by what he had just heard.

"I wish Homu-neechan was here..." Asuka mentally whined.

Nearby them in one spot of the compressed sea of people just near the doors, Akira and Homura were in a similar situation as well: they were pressed together while facing each other, the latter's large breasts pressing on the former's firm chest and the former's right hand wedging between both of their crotches down below.

Akira was doing his best to be completely still like a statue, most especially his wedged hand.

"Sooo...uh...how's your day so far, Homura?" Akira awkwardly asked, before flinching as he felt something go right across his tain-

"Fine, Akira...just fine." Homura replied, almost stiffly. "Just...keep your hand down there completely still." She then sighed.

Akira nodded in response. Compared to him being nude in bed with Haruka, this was a piece of cake.

"...Are my breasts tingling?" Homura asked out of nowhere.

"Wait, what?" Akira only got out, hearing something

"...Nothing, nothing. Just a dumb question." Homura got out, deciding to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the trip.

Meanwhile, in another car, Makoto could only sigh in defeat as she and her recently grown chest were pressed against the window, giving a show to any passing trains...which she couldn't see given (again) her oversized chest.

Just another morning for the Phantom Thieves.


(9/20, Afternoon)

(Shujin Academy, Gymnasium)

The gymnasium was currently used by Akira's class with Daidōji-sensei as their proctor based on their schedule of classes for today.

FTWEEEEEEET!

"Holy crap, that is loud!"

"I think I just got tinnitus!"

"Hehehe, that bird is flying into a window. Silly bird."

"QUIET!" The gym teacher shouted even louder than her whistle, causing several students to cover their ears. "School has started, and that means from now until your next period starts, you will listen to what I say." Daidōji soon stated.

"Hai, sensei!" The class responded in unison.

"All of you will be having four different activities for this PE session. Jogging, sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups." Daidoji informed. "Now, I am not totally unkind. Please split up amongst yourselves into four groups and I'll assign your activity that you'll be doing for 12 minutes each before rotating to the next activity. And please, try and make it all equal." She then stated and instructed.

FTWEEEEEEET!

"You didn't have to blow the whistle again." Akira muttered his breath while rubbing his ears. And he was pretty sure Morgana was suffering even worse in his bag. "Okay, I know how this is gonna go..." He then sighed out.

"Eh?" Asuka got out in confusion.

"Well, let's see. The first group will be a bunch of the boys." Akira answered, not even bothering to look behind his back to know that a bunch of the guys were fist-bumping and high-fiving. "Next group will be a bunch of girls and most likely steal Ann." He then continued.

"What are you- ULP!" Ann began to ask before being dragged away by her shirt collar.

"Over here, Ann-chan!" One of the girls called out as she waved her hand, as if the ash blonde was going over by choice.

"The third group will be all the duos and trio friend groups." Akira continued without missing a beat, looking over to see the group had split into their own social circles. "And...there's us." He then concluded.

The sisters soon blinked as they looked around to see who was with them. "...There's only us and Mishima." The tan skinned girl got out as she looked at their small group.

"Yep." Akira deadpanned. Man, he really wished Ryuji was in their class.

"How did you..." Mishima began to ask, however...

FTWEEEEEEET!

"Hehehe...so fun." Daidōji mentally chuckled to herself as several students jumped in surprise. "Is everyone in a group?" She soon questioned.

"Y-Yes, sensei!" Ann responded.

"Good! Now form lines here, here, here, and here." Daidōji instructed.

The class did so, forming four lines in double time while not wanting to annoy Daidōji-sensei.

The PE eyed up the line-ups. She gave a flat look at the last group consisting of Akira, Asuka, Homura, and Mishima. "Okay, let me reorganize." She muttered before quickly equalizing the groups. Finally, once she was satisfied, she continued. "All right. First line, you'll be jogging. Second line, you're on push-ups. Third line, pull-ups for you. Last line, sit-ups." Daidōji soon revealed.

Several students had differing reactions, some of them relieved, others were sighing and groaned in slight defeat.

As for our familiar people in this class, Ann was in the jogging group, Asuka and Homura were in pull-ups, Mishima was in sit-ups and Akira was in push-ups.

"Now, without further ado...GET MOVING, ALL OF YOU." Daidōji then started yelling. No matter how many times this had happened before, it still managed to scare a student or two every time. "COMPLETE THE ROUTINES, AND I'LL ACE YOUR GRADES IN THIS SUBJECT!" She then declared.

"HAI, IKKI-SENSEI!" A large group of students, both male and female, responded in a military-like tone as they stood at attention.

Ann meanwhile sweatdropped to those responses. "She definitely has more control than Kamoshida, but in a different way this time." She quietly noted.

"Yeah, less fear. More respect." Morgana quietly responded.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVER THERE!?" Daidōji suddenly called out, causing everyone in the gym to jump before staring directly at a few girls in the back.

"U-Uh...talking about music?"

"MAY I RECOMMEND SOME STUFF TO YOU!? IT MAY HELP WITH STUDYING!" Daidōji offered.

"...Sure?"

"THANK YOU!" The PE teacher responded in a satisfied tone before turning to the other students. "Please start your exercises now." She then instructed in a much quieter tone.

FTWEEEEEEET!

"There is still a little fear though." Akira squeaked. "But I'm not bothered." He then admitted.

"Ah. Submissive." Ann got out in understanding before going over to her group's activity.

"Just stay inside there for now, Morgana." Akira stated as he set down his school bag on the wooden floor.

"Okay." The not cat responded with a nod before hiding in the bag once again like usual.

Akira then went prone on the ground along with the other students and got into push-up form before starting.

As for the others, they were now officially starting their routines.

After a while, the regular students were still in their routines, this time some of them were starting to get exhausted.

Ann picked up the pace with her jogs, catching quick breaths with a focused look on her face while passing by some of the students.

"What the- is Takamaki actually outdoing most of us?"

"Wow, she usually gets tired after 10 minutes and drops out!"

"Man, those transfer students must've done something to her."

"...Like steroids?"

"DO NOT INSINUATE TAKAMAKI-SAN IS DOING ANYTHING STUPID! THAT'S TEN MORE PUSH UPS AND A HANDWRITTEN APOLOGY!" Daidoji-sensei yelled at the ones gossiping. "KEEP IT UP TAKAMAKI-SAN, YOU'RE DOING GREAT!" She then called out and encouraged.

"T-Thanks, sensei!" Ann responded. "Thank God for shinobi training and Phantom Thief work..." She thought to herself.

"How does she not lose her voice...?" Akira meanwhile idly wondered. "Does shinobi get training with their voice like this?" He then thought in his head as did his push-ups with ease.

He was also tempted to pick up his pace faster with his push-ups, but he didn't want more attention to himself, so he decided not to.

"By the way, make sure you answer one of my questions while doing routines!" The gym teacher suddenly informed. "I'll randomly call out names, so be ready!" She then explained and instructed.

"She's making us answer questions while exercising!?" Ann exclaimed while jogging.

"My brain...can't handle that...at the same time...as this crap!" Mishima struggled out, attempting to get his body to do a few more sit-ups before he passed out.

"Ngh...ngh...ngh...ngh..." Homura grunted continuously while doing her pull-ups.

"Yosh...feel...the burn..." Asuka meanwhile panted out as she and her sister did pull-ups on the bars, not knowing that they let their breasts bob up and down as they do their routine.

BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING!

"...Daaamn..."

"Wish all of our girls here are like them..."

"Good thing Kamoshida's long gone in this school."

Meanwhile, Akira was secretly hearing the comments of the boys in their class. He also noticed the girls staring at the two having slight glares and some eye twitching. "...Funny how I'm the only guy in this class who has witnessed naked girls' bodies and not minding it. Even feeling one, too..." He solely stated in his head with a sigh while continuing his push-ups... before smirking a little bit.

...Ok yeah, Haruka constantly sleeping over in his room in the buff probably made him immune to it...which was a good thing in the end.

"Hey guys...you know we all wear white t-shirts underneath our PE jackets, right? If they're sweating right now in those shirts..."

"Oh my God, dude...do you think-!?"

"HEY, YOU THERE! I HEARD THAT! I DON'T WANT ANY PERVERTED REMARKS OR THOUGHTS IN MY CLASS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?" Daidōji however ordered and questioned in an authority filled tone.

"Wha-?! How the hell did she hear us...!?"

"A shinobi's hearing...never underestimate it..." Morgana quietly remarked in amusement.

"I wonder how Ryuji is dealing with Ikki-sensei's gym classes...?" Akira idly wondered while casually doing his push ups.

"Shirokage!" Daidōji suddenly called out.

"Yes...sensei...?" Asuka responded in between each rep.

"Name three muscles you are strengthening by doing pull ups." Daidoji requested.

"Um..." Asuka frowned as she tried to recall those muscles. The pull-ups were easy, the knowledge was a lot harder though. "Trapezius, infraspinatus and...erm..." She began answering before floundering a little at the last one.

What was it again?

Lumbar

Latissimus dorsi

Labia

"La...Lab...Latissimus dorsi!" Asuka struggled out, mentally crossing her fingers.

"Correct." Daidoji got out in a pleased manner. "Those are all back muscles you are strengthening right now. There are multiple benefits to doing pull ups such as increasing your grip strength and improving your bone density. You're doing good work there, Asuka. Keep it up." She then praised before turning her attention to other students.

"Hai, sensei!" Asuka responded as she went back to it.

"I'm curious how Makoto dealt with these classes with her you-know-what..." A majority of the Thieves thought as they continued on with their class.


(Cafeteria)

ACHOO! BOING!

Meanwhile while eating lunch, Makoto suddenly sneezed as her bust slightly bounced, getting the attention of everyone around her, causing her to blush in embarrassment.

"Bless her..."

"That was...a bit loud for a sneeze."

"Did you see how her...? N-Never mind."

"Ah, Qu-" A familiar voice soon greeted before covering her mouth. "M-Mako-chan!" She then got out.

"Haru." Makoto breathed out, glad to see a fellow third year who attended Shujin. She also noticed that her actual large chest wasn't shown underneath her pink sweater, which was...weird yet somehow relieving in some way. "She must be really good at hiding those..." She couldn't help but state in her head, glancing at the heiress's chest for a moment...all while blushing a bit.

"Are you ok?" Haru meanwhile asked in an innocent tone.

"I-I'm fine. Just...it's a little weird." Makoto muttered in response.

"Hm? What's so weird?" The heiress questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"That someone approached me during lunch." Makoto answered with a sigh. "Only Homura does that, and only if she isn't with Asuka." She added as she looked around, watching other students mill around the cafeteria with their friends.

"Well, I share a similar experience." Haru meanwhile confessed. "People very rarely approach me, so shall we rectify that?" She then added and offered before sitting right next to the girl.

"I don't think I can answer no." Makoto awkwardly giggled. "What are you having for lunch then?" She soon asked.

"Oh, just a salad and some onigiri." Haru answered, looking down at her humble lunch.

"That's surprisingly simple for...um..." The Student Council President remarked, only to stop herself before she outed the other girl.

"It is, but I made it myself with the vegetables I grew before heading to school today." Haru informed with a proud smile on her face. "And you, Mako-chan?" She soon asked.

"I...I didn't have time today, I woke up later than I liked." Makoto hesitantly revealed. "I had to pick up a bento from Triple 7." She then added.

"Is it tasty?" Haru asked in a curious manner.

"It could use a little salt but I don't want to have too much sodium." Makoto confessed and revealed. "At least it was on sale. It's not often you get 50% off so early in the morning." She then added.

"Oh, are you struggling with money?" Haru soon asked in concern.

"No, my sister's a lawyer. Money isn't really an object most of the time." Makoto assured. "Plus, given the money we make with our activities, I'm never hurting for cash. Still, there are some things I would like." She then explained.

"Which would be?" Haru pressed with a raised eyebrow.

"Guns." Makoto casually replied. If she had been paying attention more, she would've spotted her Vice President and Treasurer flinch as they were sneakily listening in. "And Bachimaru merchandise. But most of all, enough money to buy my sister's retirement. She's done a lot for me, and while she isn't...the most kind person in the world, it's the least I could do after my father's death." She then added and explained.

"Ah, that makes me wish I had siblings." Haru breathed out. "But I guess my old friends shall suffice, even though I haven't seen many of them in a long time." She then added.

"I know Ikaruga-san, but what about the others?" Makoto had to ask.

"I keep a photo of my friends from my childhood on my person at all times." Haru informed as she pulled out her wallet and took out a small picture from it, carefully folding it open. "Here. That's Ika-chan and Kumo-chan." She then revealed.

Makoto looked at the photo, noticing the small tears and slightly faded colors. It depicted a young and happy fluffy haired girl sharing an ice cream with two other girls.

One of them being familiar to Makoto. "Ikaruga-san?" She breathed out.

"Yep. That's her." Haru got out with a nod before wincing. "Kumo-chan meanwhile is really shy." She then revealed.

"And who's the other one?" Makoto soon questioned.

"The...eh?" Haru began to answer only to pause and double check the photo.

"The one to the right." Makoto responded, pointing to the edge of the photo. It was another girl around Haru and her friends' age at the time with her own ice cream, with platinum blonde hair and orchid purple eyes.

Haru stared blankly at the photo and the blonde girl, as if her brain was trying to retrieve the information from deep within but only could find pictures of cats doing cute things.

Aw...the wittle kitty was getting a belly rub...~

The heiress soon snapped back to reality as she caught the Student Council President staring at her, looking increasingly worried. "...What were we talking about?" Haru soon asked.

"I was asking who is the one on the right, Haru." Makoto answered.

"Hm?" Haru got out, taking another good look at the photo. "Oh that's...Leo-chan. Wow, I almost forgot about her." She revealed and confessed.

"Leo?" Makoto responded in a curious manner.

'Hai. Leo Saiga." Haru informed. "She was part of the Saiga family." She then revealed.

Makoto's eyes however widened in disbelief to hearing that last name."...The Saiga family? As in one of the richest families in the world? That Saiga family?" She repeated and questioned.

"Yes." Haru confirmed with a nod before looking down at her lunch. "Although, now that I've seen the darkness in my father's heart, I realize now that I was only friends with her because my father allowed it." She mumbled. "I wonder if she even remembers me?" She then mentally wondered.

"Don't think about your father right now." Makoto got out with a frown. Even if a bond was created on shaky grounds, it was still a bond worth protecting. "And I'm sure she remembers you. So what was she like?" She then reassured before asking.

"...I'm afraid my memory stops there..." Haru sadly responded. "It was a long time ago, after all, and we didn't spend a lot of time with each other." She then stated.

"That's too bad." Makoto got out in a sympathetic tone.

"Hai, though the time I had spent with them was a great time." Haru responded and confessed in a solemn tone. "But enough about the past. What is going on with you, Mako-chan?" She soon asked in a curious manner.

"Erm..." Makoto awkwardly responded from being put on the spot like this.

Though at that moment...

"Miss, we can't allow you to have that much food."

"Well there has to be a reason while there are so many Titszillas walking around school! I mean, think of those two transfer students in the class where that guy with the criminal record was! And...I'm not sure if anyone has noticed yet, but Niijima-senpai's tits have been slightly bigger than the last time I saw her. It's maddening!"

Said fluffy haired girl narrowed her eyes to that in disapproval. "How rude. Anyways, Mako-chan, what do you-" Haru remarked before turning her gaze back to the Student Council President...only to see that she was gone. "Mako-chan?" She got out in a curious and concerned tone.

Makoto elected to have her lunch inside the Student Council room from then on...or underneath a table if push comes to shove, as she was currently doing now.


(Hebijo Academy, Outdoor Training Ground)

It was yet another gloomy day at the Evil Shinobi Academy known as Hebijo, though there were permanently cloudy skies above the school itself as the sounds of hissing snakes were heard throughout the halls as well as the rumblings of a certain Elite's experiments slithered through the walls of the school themselves.

...Not that anyone else but the veteran Elite knows about them though.

"There they are!"

"Huh? Shouldn't there be more?"

"I heard two of them are out on individual solo missions."

"Hey, I never saw her before."

"Is that really the legendary truant?"

"I thought she was a myth."

"Look at all those bahonkers! Like, serious honkers. A real set of badonkers. Really packin some dobonhonkeros. Massive dohoonkabhankoloos. Big ol' tonhongerekoogers."

SMACK!

"WE GET IT!"

"A lot of new voices..." Hikage remarked before spotting a certain someone in the sidelines.

"Imu..." Murasaki harshly got out with narrowed eyes.

"M-Mura-" Imu began, reaching out for her sister, however...

"You keep your distance from her." Hikage demanded as she pulled the purplette away.

"She already suffered enough thanks to you." Yomi harshly reminded with narrowed eyes.

"Bully..." Mirai bluntly stated with her arms across her chest.

"Why is Imu even here?" Hikage asked as she narrowed her eyes at the glasses-wearing girl.

"Despite what you girls may think, she is an Elite shinobi and is qualified to observe this lesson." Suzune answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "If you do not wish for her to be here, feel free to express your concerns with me." She then informed.

Yomi blinked. "Oh. I want her to leave." She soon got out.

"No." Suzune flatly replied.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." The beansprout lover sighed in defeat.

"Don't even think I wanted to be here." Imu remarked. "Considering half the people want to gut me like a fish, I'd rather be anywhere else." She then added.

"Well, let me indulge in this opportunity." Hikage threatened as she pulled out her knife. "It's not like death is uncommon during training." She soon reminded.

"If you wanted to kill me, you would've done it ages ago." Imu scoffed before staring the snake-like girl straight in the eyes. "After all, there was nothing stopping you before." She then reminded.

This however annoyed the greenette greatly. "I will-" Hikage began in a threatening manner.

"Enough." Suzune interrupted, splitting the two girls up. "No one will die today unless I say so." She then stated.

"Then let me!" Hikage called as she tried to push past the teacher.

WHAM!

Hikage's eyes snapped open as she gasped, feeling a soreness on the side of her skull. Did she...Did she blackout for a second?

"Hikage!" Mirai and Murasaki exclaimed in shock.

"You do not demand anything from a teacher." Suzune stated as she rubbed the back of her hand. "Now do as I say and sit. Down." She soon ordered.

The greenette picked herself up from the ground, resisting the urge to glare at the teacher before turning away. "...Yes, sensei." Hikage grumbled as she did as ordered.

"Hikage, what was that?" Mirai whispered in concern.

"It was nothing." Hikage spat out, glaring at the glasses-wearing girl.

"Today's lesson will be a tournament style spar in teams of two." Suzune revealed. "A Second or Third Year will team up with a First Year in combat together with our remaining Elites being an exception from that rule." She then explained as she looked at the trio in mention.

"Heeeeh, so a two versus two, tournament style series of fight." Mirai concluded.

In response to this, Yomi raised her hand. "I have a question." The beansprout loving blonde got out.

"Yes, Yomi?" Suzune responded.

"Why?" Was Yomi's only question.

"To show how much you all have been improving and to display anything new you might have acquired." The teacher answered in a clear and concise manner. "To know your enemies, you must study them in combat." She then stated.

"So we're our enemies?" Murasaki got out with a wince.

"You never know when you will be forced to literally fight one another." Suzune added. "Mind control, blackmail, fun..." She then listed off, looking a little annoyed at that last part.

"Mind control." Mirai bluntly repeated as all the students looked at her with deadpan expressions.

"Is that really what you're skeptical about?" Suzune questioned with a flat stare of her own. "Shinobi are capable of many achievements. There is always a chance of the impossible happening." She then lectured.

"Okay..." Hikage responded. "Where are our partners slash opponents?" She then asked.

"They are coming." Suzune assured.

At that moment...

POOF!

(Cue Funny Farm by Trocadero)

Suddenly, music began to fill the air as five shinobi emerged from the smoke, each wearing the Hebijo uniform.

The one in the middle and out in front had blonde hair, red eyes, and an arrogant smirk on her face with hand on her hip. By her immediate left and right right were a girl with a passive look on her face, and another who looked rather average in looks, strength, and chest size (or, at least, what average entails in a shinobi academy). Finally, the two girls in the back, one with long red hair and yellow ribbons, and the other with a calm and carefree expression on her face as she held an oversized paint brush over her shoulder.

"We have arrived." The arrogant girl declared.

At that moment, the carefree girl pulled out her phone and shut off the dramatic music.

(End Music)

"...So needlessly dramatic." Suzune muttered under her breath with a sigh.

"It was her idea." The carefree girl sighed as she jerked her thumb over to the arrogant blonde.

"No reason to make a good impression." The girl responded with a smirk before turning to the audience. "Especially to all you losers." She then added not-so-quietly.

"What a great first impression." Ryōbi deadpanned.

"First Years..." Hikage quietly noted.

"These shinobi are part of the new wave recently accepted by Hebijo." Suzune revealed. "They are the best of the best from the batch, so get to know them. They may be...unique, but you should not underestimate them." She soon advised as she looked at the newcomers "Girls, introduce yourselves now." She then ordered.

In response the newcomers nodded. "The name's Sōji. Remember it well." The arrogant blonde spoke up first in a demanding tone.

"Oh good god..." The Crimson Squad girls all thought in unison, resisting the urge to sigh in frustration.

"Chitose. Please don't wear it out." The passive-looking girl muttered.

"My name is Ibuki. Thank you for this opportunity to show off my skills, sensei." The average girl soon greeted.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Ashiya." The redhead greeted with a bow. "May the Great Demiurge bless all you humans." She then added while slightly lifting her skirt a little.

"Uh...what?" Mirai got out with a raised eyebrow.

"Bashō." The carefree girl concluded.

"Good. Now, due to Murasaki's prior circumstances, she will be considered as a First Year." Suzune answered. "Now, choose your partner and prepare yourselves within five minutes." She soon ordered.

"Hai!" The entire group responded at the same time.

"Wait, there are way more First Years! There won't be enough people." Imu however pointed out.

"You be quiet." Hikage growled.

"She is right though..." Mirai reluctantly pointed out as she counted the people on her hands, muttering the numbers to herself. "It's like...3 to 8? That's not even an even number." She then informed.

"Eh?" Ibuki got out.

"You got your count wrong, dumbass." Ryōbi remarked. "It's 2 to 8. Suzune-sensei, only Hikage's Third Year while Yomi's a Second Year." She then informed the teacher.

"Wh-What the-?" Imu got out in a stunned manner before turning to the purple haired woman. "Sensei, you're usually on the ball with stuff like this. What happened?" She then remarked and questioned.

Suzune blinked as she remembered what happened last night.


(Rewind)

Once again, Rin was at the bar drinking her loneliness away with sake and shots of bourbon. However, unlike any other night, she actually drank enough to get drunk and well...

"KING'S GAME TIME BABY!" Rin cheered along with the bar patrons before they gathered around a cup of chopsticks.

"I gotta get the red chopstick!"

"I want her strip!"

"BEER IS GOOD! BEER IS GOOD! BEER IS GOOD! AND STUFF!"

"Well too bad, bitches! I'm the king!" Rin laughed triumphantly as she raised her red marked chopsticks. "And I say-" She began before pausing.

Oh wait, wasn't she supposed to be organizing something tomorrow?

Ah, whatever. Suzune could take care of it in the morning. Right now, Rin wants to have fun.

"Number 6 and Number 9, go by Narukami and Daidōji for the rest of the night!" Rin then drunkenly declared.

(Fast Forward)


Suzune silently cursed Rin for being so lazy. Didn't she know that Morning Suzune was next to useless without coffee?

"...I was busy with other matters." Suzune smoothly lied. "Okay, just partner up with anyone you want." She then decided before walking away, allowing the girls to mingle a little before they had to decide.

"Well that was..." Mirai began.

"Weird." Murasaki added.

"And out of character." Yomi finished.

"Let's go and meet these new girls." Hikage decided, shaking her head as the Elites approached the new batch.

The carefree girl was the first one to approach one of the veteran shinobi, walking towards the friendliest-looking one first. "Um, hello, I'd-" Bashō began to greet the flat chested brunette, however...

"Get the fuck away from me." Ryōbi flatly ordered as she shoved the carefree girl out of her way, heading straight for the average girl. "Hey you." She soon spoke up, getting the girl's attention.

"That would be me." Ibuki responded with a nod.

"You seem like the most normal out of everyone here. Wanna partner up?" Ryōbi offered. If she said no...well, she didn't care. She was her partner no matter what because she was not willing to be with anyone else.

Ibuki looked confused for a second before nodding. "Uh, sure. I'm glad to see someone acknowledges my-" She then started.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Ryōbi dismissively got out as she dragged her partner away.

"Um, hey, do you know a Haruka?" Ibuki asked in a curious manner.

"Not really. But she's part of the school." Ryōbi idly replied, not really paying attention to the girl.

"Oh. Good~" Ibuki replied, giggling a little.

Eventually, everyone paired up. Yomi had asked Murasaki who gladly accepted, Mirai and Chitose quickly partnered up, and Ashiya and Bashō joined together seeing that there was no one else they wanted to be with.

That just left...

"I guess it's just us." Hikage remarked as she walked over to red-eyed blonde.

"Oh please, they just didn't want to hold me back." Soji claimed in a haughty tone. "And you won't, will you?" She then assumed.

"..." Hikage was silent as she stared at the girl. She was already regretting everything.

"Are you done?" Suzune soon got out, getting everyone's attention.

"Hai, sensei." Hikage responded with a hesitant nod.

"Good. Alright then, the first battle will be...Yomi and Murasaki against Hikage and Sōji." Suzune revealed.

Hikage sighed while rubbing the back of her head as she made it to the center of the area with her partner, the blonde haired girl with red eyes.

"You ready, Murasaki-chan?" Yomi soon asked.

"Hai." Murasaki responded with a nod before glancing over to Imu. "I'll win with my own strength, nothing else." She then declared as she cracked her knuckles.

Meanwhile, Hikage was attempting to strategise with her partner.

The key word here was attempting.

"Okay, what's your strengths?" Hikage asked.

"What's the best thing I'm good at?" Sōji replied, sounding almost offended before smirking. "Simple. I can go into a fight looking good and come out of it looking better than you."

Hikage didn't look amused. "...Anything specific?" She then questioned in a deadpan tone.

"Specifics? Why would I need to specify how great I am?" Sōji scoffed. "I'm good at everything. Just keep any extras away from me. Don't want everyone to suffer a humiliating defeat all at once." She then ordered.

"...Should I just forfeit right now...?" Hikage thought as she stared at the narcissist.

"Heeeeh, so that's the infamous traunt of Hebijo." Sōji meanwhile remarked while giving the purplette an up-down. "How can she even think of standing a chance against me?" She then added.

"She's stronger than you think. Don't underestimate her." Hikage warned.

"Underestimate? No one is stronger than me." Sōji however responded with confidence with a hair flick. "...Except for her..." She then grumbled in annoyance.

"Let's just...get this over with." Hikage sighed, already expecting a loss.

"Bout 1...begin!" Suzune declared as she chopped the air in front of the two teams.


(Cue Absolute Territory by Ken Ashcorp)

"Shinobi Tenshin!" The four declared at the same time as their bodies glowed.

Revealing herself proudly, Sōji was wearing a white and teal-themed leotard with a gray band beneath her breasts. A line is cut from the top of the left breast and trails down to her hip. Red strings were variously placed around her body to match the red designs and accenting. A pale brown belt and black leg sleeves beneath her pale brown boots completed the outfit. "Gaze upon my greatness and weep, peasants." She soon demanded.

"Just hit them fast and hard, Sōji." Hikage sighed as her Shinobi Tenshin fully formed around her body, soon pulling out her knife and settling into a battle stance.

"Don't tell me what to do! Strength is righteousness!" Sōji roared as she charged in.

"...She's somehow gonna kill herself. I just know it." Hikage sighed as she followed the arrogant girl.

"Murasaki-chan, I'll take on Hikage-san, you fight Sōji-san." Yomi soon ordered while gripping her cleaver.

"Got it!" The purplette responded as she did as instructed.

The arrogant blonde meanwhile lashed her weapon out at the charging girl. "You're mine!" Sōji declared in a cocky manner.

WOOSH! WOOSH! WOOSH!

However, surprisingly, Murasaki easily and gracefully dodged every single lash sent at her without any effort.

"!?" Sōji's eyes immediately widened at the display.

"You were saying?" Murasaki taunted with a smirk.

Sōji in response said nothing before pressing the attack, but grew more annoyed the more the purplette dodged. "How is she not tripping over herself in that dress!?" The arrogant blonde thought in frustration.

Meanwhile, Murasaki gritted her teeth in frustration. Her dress had felt like a second skin so long ago, but now it felt...restrictive. She had to be constantly conscious of where her feet and skirt were at all times, or else she would end up tripping. That also meant she could use her legs for kicks, and right now she desperately needed to get some distance from her opponent.

"Note to self, change. My. Tenshin appearance!" Murasaki thought to herself before crying out in pain as the red-eyed blonde kicked her away.

"I thought this was supposed to be a learning experience." Sōji remarked as she playfully twirled her chain whip around. "Because all you've done is bore me." She then stated.

"Don't let her get to you!" Imu called out.

"No help from the crowd, please." Suzune ordered.

However, Murasaki ignored her sister...and let the insult get to her to fuel her rising anger towards this stupid bitch.

Suddenly, Murasaki rushed in at the red-eyed blonde, throwing her shuriken towards her.

Sōji meanwhile didn't blink as she swiftly dodged the thrown weapons and swung out her chained whip.

Murasaki instinctively raised her arms, only to get her sleeves torn off. "AH!" She yelped.

"You okay!?" Yomi called out.

"I'm fine! Just focus on your own battle!" Murasaki responded as she focused on her enemy.

"Hah! First blood." Sōji declared with a vile smirk. "It seems your days as a truant have dulled your skills. You should give up now and go back to middle school!" She soon taunted.

Murasaki's eye immediately twitched in response...as a dark purple aura surrounded her as her hair began to hover while she cracked her knuckles

Sōji however was unphased by this. "Nice trick. But it's nothing compared to-" And that was the last thing Sōji could say before she was punched in the throat. "ACK!" She grunted out.

Murasaki didn't give her a chance to recover as she then leaned down, having her hair dug into the ground.

Sōji's eyes widened just as she heard something digging through the ground, before bursting out like a kraken in the sea.

GRIP! GRIP! GRIP! GRIP!

"Wha!? Her hair!?" Sōji got out in a panic, her movements now restricted by the purplette.

"You were saying?" Murasaki questioned in a serious tone, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sōji swallowed her fear as she steeled her gaze. "Oh, I'm so scared. Do you use any special conditioner?" She continued foolishly taunting. "Because you're about to have a bad hair day!" She then declared as she pulled out a kunai and-

CLANG!

Only for the weapon to literally bounce off the purplette's hair. "...HUH!?" Sōji exclaimed in confusion with widened eyes. "Do you really use a special conditioner!? Why the hell is it like metal!?" She then questioned in complete panic now.

"A shinobi...dies before they tell!" Murasaki replied with a roar.

"M-Murasaki..." Imu got out from the sidelines in disbelief.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Sōji shouted at the greenette.

"Didn't you say you'll come out of this fight looking better than me?" Hikage reminded.

"I JUST WANT YOU TO CONTRIBUTE TO MY VICTORY!" Sōji responded.

Yomi and Hikage just gave her a look of...something. Not anything positive, anyways.

"SUZUNE-SENSEI!" Sōji then called out.

Suzune sighed. "Hikage, this is two-on-two not one-on-one and one-on-one. This is meant to be a learning experience after all." The teacher informed.

Hikage groaned before pulling out several knives. "I'm going to regret this." She muttered under her breath before throwing the knives at lightning speed.

RIP! RIP! RIP!

"AH!" Murasaki yelped as more of her outfit was torn up by the knives, forcing her to let go of the enemy blonde and jump away.

Hikage soon appeared near her partner and helped her to her feet. "Are you healthy enough to fight?" She soon asked out of obligation.

"Like I needed it." The narcissist scoffed. "Thank you for your assistance, Hikage-san. I'm glad you understand how great I am." Sōji haughtily claimed.

"God I want to fucking murder you." Hikage quietly deadpanned. "But let's do this. Chhhaaaarrrrggggeeee..." She unenthusiastically declared before dashing towards the purplette.

Despite the lackluster battle cry, the greenette still gave it her all as she instantly tore through Murasaki's outfit. "AH!" The purplette yelped as her cleavage was exposed to the world.

"You did that on purpose!" Imu heckled from the stands.

"SHUT U-" Hikage screamed, only to get sucker punched. "Son of a-!" She began to swore out in annoyance.

"Sorry, Hikage, but I'm not going to lose! Even if it means fighting dirty!" Murasaki apologized before raising a leg to prepare a kick.

TRIP!

"Ah!" Murasaki yelped as she accidently stepped on her skirt and fumbled the kick, tripping over and exposing her panties to everyone in the area.

"There's the trip!" Sōji cheered with a laugh.

"G-String!"

"So mature..."

"WHO BOUGHT YOU THAT!?" Imu demanded before glaring at the greenette.

"Not me!" Hikage called out before a certain blonde scientist came to mind, even going Ara ara~ in her head.

"Haruka-sama..." Mirai thought with a sweatdrop.

"Damn, that's a bold set..." Ryōbi muttered. Her butt wasn't as voluminous as her's (probably from two years of sitting all day and night), but she could probably get a cast of it and make it part of Bootyland's gift shop.

"M-Murasaki-chan..." Yomi meanwhile started with a blush at the sight.

"Moh! I bought them myself!" Murasaki declared in annoyance as her sister paled and everyone else paused to look at her. "AND WHY IS EVERYONE LOOKING AT THEM!?" She then screamed with flailing arms.

"We aren't just looking!" One brave student responded. "We're filming! For research!" She then added.

"And okazu!" Another added.

"SUZUNE-SENSEI!" Imu and Murasaki exclaimed.

"You could've gotten up at any point while you were down, you know that right?" Suzune reminded in a flat tone.

"...Oh." Imu got out in realization.

Murasaki's eyes widened as if she returned back to reality.

She had used the Root of Calamity to overpower Sōji. Just after she promised she would rely on her own strength.

"Goddammit..." Murasaki grumbled in annoyance. "That's it!" She then declared.

"Oh, what are you going to do, G-String?" Sōji soon asked in a taunting manner.

RIP!

Murasaki tore off part of her skirt, exposing her legs, before directing her gaze at the red-eyed blonde.

"EH!?" Sōji exclaimed in shock.

"Why don't you be QUIET FOR ONCE, BITCH!" Murasaki soon growled. The purplette soon used the scrap of cloth from her dress to wrap around the enemy blonde's neck and flipped her over her shoulder before stuffing it into her mouth and picking her back up to her feet while she was dazed. "RAH!" She then roared as she drove her knee into her gut, causing the arrogant blonde to spit up the makeshift gag.

"Whoa!" Hikage got out in disbelief at the sight.

"Former shut-in going wild!" Mirai called out.

"Way to go, Murasaki-chan!" Yomi cheered.

"..." Imu, meanwhile, was silently amazed. Who knew that her little sister was so...violent?

Sōji coughed before allowing herself to glare at the purplette. "Grrr...!" She growled with all the hate she could muster at the moment.

"I'm not done yet!" Murasaki soon declared as she pulled her fist back.

"You're about to be!" Sōji countered as she tackled the girl, forgoing her chain whip.

"Now there's a battle." Suzune remarked as the two proceeded to...well, beat the absolute shit out of each other with no restraint.

"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!" Murasaki soon got out as she delivered punch after punch.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

"PEASANT PEASANT PEASANT PEASANT!" Sōji cried as she struck just as fast with her chain whip wrapped around her knuckles. Neither bothered defending, only powering through the blows to punch even harder.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

"MUDA!" Murasaki roared as she prepared one final strike.

"PEASANT!" Sōji screamed with fury.

WHAM!

At that moment, they managed to cross-counter each other and punch their opponent in the face at the same time.

However, it gave the purplette an idea.

"Nope!" Murasaki quipped out as she gripped the chain whip tightly with her free hand. "I am not a peasant! I am..." She then began as she pulled her opponent closer and...

WHAM!

"BETTER THAN YOU!" Murasaki proudly declared after delivering another punch to the red-eyed blonde's face, her fist glowing purple.

The blonde growled before spitting out something along with some blood.

A tooth. A molar.

"...You. Get to die. Now." Sōji declared in anger.

"Bring. It. On!" Murasaki countered, her getting into a fighting stance while her hair shifted into the shape of many fists while her muscles tensed up.

The narcissist twirled her chain whip around before charging straight at the purplette.

"GET BACK!" Sōji exclaimed as she swung her chain whip around, cutting away at the purplette's outfit and skin and preventing her from getting too close.

Murasaki growled, but knew exactly how to counter this. "YOMI!" She called out.

"Hai!" Yomi responded with a nod before lifting her sword into the air as it began to grow in size before charging straight at the other blonde. "Take this! SIGMUND!" She then declared, slamming her cleaver into the other blonde's form, knocking her away.

"Guh!" Sōji grunted in pain before shaking it off. "Hikage! Distract this unimportant fool for me!" She then ordered.

"Hey, here's an idea. Why don't I help with Murasaki and you're already gone." Hikage tried to suggest, only to see the arrogant blonde had gotten bored and left...only to get punched straight in the groin after the purplette ducked under her attack. "I could take a dive right now and just end this fight early. Bring this idiot down with me and start training Poochie to bite her nose off. Pride is all but an illusion here anyways." She then muttered to herself, seriously tempted to allow the Crimson Squad's blonde to tear her clothes off with her cleaver.

Hikage then sighed. No, pride was still there within her. And she didn't want to lose without a fight.

Besides, it would only show Imu that she was weak. And that would never happen again.

So she charged forward with an intent to win or lose with style.

Meanwhile, Murasaki and Sōji engaged in combat once again, except this time they had devolved their practiced stances and techniques to simply trying to claw their clothes, hair, and eyes off their bodies.

"Suzune-sensei!" Imu called out. "This is going too far!" She then declared.

"...Pot, meet kettle..." The three Crimson Squad girls thought.

"Let them work it out. No one is dying right now." Suzune responded. "And look, they're just about to finish." She then informed.

"They're choking each other." Imu pointed out. Well, it was more accurate to say they were choking and punching each other.

"Kinky." One student got out.

"SHUT UP, YOU PERVERT!" Imu yelled out, standing up from her wheelchair...before remembering both her legs were broken and instantly hit the ground like a tipping Tower of Pisa. "...Ow." She winced in pain.

Back to Murasaki and Sōji's fight...which had further devolved into a massive cartoonish dust cloud...

"YOU GIVE UP!"

"YOU DO!"

"GO TO HELL!"

"I'LL KILL YOUR PARENTS IF YOU DON'T STOP!"

"PLEASE DO!"

"RAAAAAAAHHHH!" The two then roared as they then gripped each other by the hair, grit their teeth before...

WHAM!

(End Music)


...Pulling each other into a headbutt, creating a shockwave that kicked up some dust.

"Ngh..." Murasaki and Sōji both groaned in pain, both of them barely able to keep themselves on their feet.

"The hell...so hard...headed..." Sōji moaned out before tipping backwards onto the ground.

THUD!

And then, to add insult in injury, she exposed herself to everyone.

Except this time, she had forgotten to wear underwear.

Hikage and Yomi meanwhile were panting heavily as they looked at one another...just as their clothes burst, leaving them both in their underwear.

"Okay, okay! The bout is over!" Suzune called out. "Please separate and leave the field." She then ordered.

"That was an excellent fight, Hikage." Yomi soon praised.

"You did well too, Yomi." Hikage responded with a nod before turning to the purplette, who was rubbing her forehead and trying to get feeling back into her hand while rapidly shaking it.

"Whoa...that Sōji girl's actually good..." Mirai admitted in a mutter of concern.

"Never thought I'd see someone can actually back up their own claims." Ryōbi remarked. "...I bet she masturbates in front of a mirror..." She then mumbled under her breath.

"How did Murasaki's hair become hard like that?" Mirai then wondered out loud. "The Root?" She then guessed.

"Hmm...a possible Elite Candidate..." Imu quietly muttered to herself as she then looked at her sister, who in response turned her head away from her with a huff.

The arrogant blonde snapped up from her lying position and glowered at the wheelchair-bound girl. "Hmph! You can take your Elite nonsense and shove it." Sōji stated. "I will not join until I defeat my reason for being here, so do not bother me with such an offer." She then declared.

"What? Who?" Mirai had to ask.

"No one but a rival worthy of my attention. We are destined to meet one day, and finally settle who is better...which is me." Sōji answered, her fists clenching as her anger bubbled. "There is only one person here that fits that description: The current Elites Leader here at Hebijo!" She soon dramatically declared, expecting a collection of gasps to fill the air...but got nothing but silence.

The Crimson Squad looked at each other in confusion. "...That would be me." Hikage pointed out.

"Not you, fool! I mean my eternal rival, Homura!" Sōji then corrected.

To that, the three original Crimson Squad members blinked when hearing that.

"She never mentioned you...at all..." Mirai informed.

"What!?" Sōji exclaimed, shocked and appalled at the mere thought someone would not say anything about her. "Did she never talk about why we became rivals in the first place!? Anything about our legendary battle!?" She then questioned.

The trio in response shook their heads.

"She didn't...murder a family member, did she?" Mirai assumed before getting jabbed in the stomach, courtesy of the snake-like girl. "Oof!" She grunted out as the greenette shook her head.

"No! Worse!" Sōji corrected. "She left me humiliated and distraught! I want revenge!" She soon declared dramatically.

"Why?" Yomi got out with a raised eyebrow.

"She cost me two very important victories in my life." Sōji explained, staring off into the dark cloudy sky, returning to that day mentally. "How dare she steal my Student Council Presidency and my only loss back in middle school! My perfection, ruined!" She informed with an angered expression on her face.

Instantly, everyone in the room gave the girl flat looks. "...You're kidding." Yomi deadpanned.

"How is this a joking matter?" Sōji countered in a serious tone.

"Homura was a Student Council President?" Mirai asked. "She didn't mention that either." She then added.

"She doesn't talk much about her middle school years though..." Yomi soon remembered. And likely for a good reason.

"Well, maybe my perfect visage will remind her." Sōji assumed in a confident manner. "Until then, I will wait and get stronger. And only then, once I have defeated my rival, I shall take my place as the Elite of Elites." She then declared before walking away from the group.

"How many people want to kill Homura...?" The Crimson Squad girls (minus the purplette) thought as they watched the narcissist go to her seat.

Suzune meanwhile sighed at this. "Winners of this bout, Yomi and Murasaki." She then announced with a raised hand.

Suddenly, her sister wheeled her way over to the group. "Murasaki, aren't you gonna...?" Imu got out in concern.

"Hm?" The purplette got out before looking down at her torn-up outfit. No sleeves, her skirt massively shortened to her mid-thigh torn open on one side, exposing her right leg and her thigh high boots, of course, a cleavage window.

BOING!

"My bra..." Murasaki muttered in a sad tone.

"K...K-Cup..."

"S-Six pack..."

"G-String..."

"Is she like Miyabi-sama?"

"Dear god, is everyone getting different fetishes from this girl?"

Ignoring the comments about her body and clothing choices (which would get more common as days go on), the purplette let out a breath. "...It's fine. I think I'll keep it like this." Murasaki got out with a shrug before going to her seat.

"WHAT!?" Imu exclaimed in shock. "You're gonna be fighting like that from now on!?" She exclaimed.

Murasaki however smirked at that. "Is there anything wrong with that?" She soon asked in a taunting manner.

"I...I..." Imu stammered before sighing. "...Do what you want." She relented as she wheeled away.

"That's what I thought." Murasaki grumbled as she returned to her friends.

"Let us discuss the match." Suzune began. "Sōji, did you find yourself...lacking in some areas?" She soon questioned.

"Hmph!" Sōji huffed. "She just got lucky, is all." she then denied.

"Luck does play a role on the battlefield, but that does not excuse being unable to roll with it and mount a counterattack...with your partner." Suzune stated. "Hikage, if Sōji here was a lot more cooperative, how do you see this fight playing out?" She then asked.

"We would've temporarily disabled either Yomi or Murasaki then fought the remaining one together." Hikage answered.

"And no holds barred? If this match was to the death?" Suzune pressed.

Hikage hesitated before answering. "...Right as the fight begins, throw a flash bomb, get behind my opponent before she can even react and stab them in the spine while Sōji wraps her chain whip around the other's neck. It wouldn't take more than two seconds." She then answered, wincing at her brutal efficiency.

"Good. Sōji, take this as a lesson, you are not alone here and must pull your own weight." The teacher got out before turning to the purplette. "Murasaki, please tell me what issues you have run into this match regarding your fighting style." Suzune soon ordered.

"Well...I have the strength to disable any shinobi, my problem was being able to hit them. They were faster, and if they kept their distance and wore me down that way, I would've been taken out. It was only because my opponents were close-to-mid range fighters that I was able to win." Murasaki answered and listed off.

Suzune silently narrowed her eyes at the purplette, causing her to sigh.

"But I didn't use the Root of Calamity as much as I should. Only to bind Sōji-san with my hair that I burrowed into the cracks from the crater I made and had it harden my hair to where it was like the strongest metal in the world." Murasaki droned.

Their sensei nodded, pleased with the answer. "Hebijo expects more from you than to waste that power doing something so...asinine, when ninja wire could do the same job. You still have 10 days, do not waste them." She soon advised.

"Hai, sensei." Murasaki responded with a nod as she then was comforted by the beansprout loving blonde, causing her to smile.

"Expect all of you to not repeat the mistakes you made here today. If it hasn't gotten into your head your opponent may not share your sense of sportsmanship, then I ask you to leave now. This world is unforgiving, do not let it take your life." The teacher lectured in a serious manner. "Next up, Chitose and Mirai...against Ibuki and Ryōbi." Suzune announced as the chosen fighters got up and headed onto the battlefield.

"Then it will be us against the loser then." A red haired girl assumed deducted as the girl next to her nodded, gripping her giant inkbrush.

"Hai." Bashō replied with a nod. "However, given our unique opportunity, it would be a good idea to study our opponents." She then suggested as she pulled out her notebook.

"I agree." Ashiya replied with a nod. "Let us hope they won't mind if we cheat a little." She then muttered as the match began to start.

"We won't lose." Mirai got out as she pulled out a Sten gun from under her skirt.

"Let's get this done." The pale brown haired girl got out while holding a giant matchlock.

"After this is over, I'll ask Haruka-sama to spank me silly. Woof~!" Ibuki quietly squealed in delight.

"...Eh?" Ryōbi got out in a surprisingly vulnerable manner.

"Bout 2...fight!" Suzune announced.


(Hebijo Academy, Communal Baths)

A couple of hours later after the battles were over, the Elites were all soaking their bodies in the massive spring-like bath to recuperate, the steam rising up from the baths rejuvenating them even further.

"I was so close..." Murasaki sighed out as she sank into the water down right below her nose so she could breathe.

"It wasn't about winning or losing, it was about testing our abilities." Hikage reminded the upset girl.

"I still lost." The purplette grumbled with a pout. Turns out, the last duo she fought were a much more effective tag team than anticipated.

"Second place isn't that bad though Murasaki-chan." Yomi meanwhile pointed out. "And I mean...you could be like Ryōbi-chan over there." She then added while glancing at the brunette.

"No. Nonononononono NO!" Ryōbi sobbed, crouched down in her corner of woe. "Another masochistic bitch at the same level of my bitch-ass sister!? This...this is too much for my heart to take! WHHHHHHY!?" She then wailed in despair.

"And this is why you and Ibuki lost." Hikage deadpanned. "Anyways, what have you learned after all those matches?" She then asked.

The purplette gave it a bit of thought. "That everyone has a unique fighting style and shouldn't be underestimated." Murasaki answered. "I need to adapt and overcome any challenge I come across, not just rely on pure power to get me through." She then added.

"And?" Hikage pressed as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

"And what?" Murasaki innocently asked.

"Who to look out for when we escape." Hikage answered.

"Oh..." Murasaki got out as she nodded in understanding. "Would it be a good idea if we spiked their drinks at dinner?" She then suggested.

"Poison and sleep?" The greenette soon questioned. She could go for either but she couldn't decide herself.

"...Sleep. They seemed like nice people." Murasaki replied before rubbing her forehead, wincing a little. "Well, most of them..." She awkwardly added.

"What does everyone think of the new wave?" Yomi had to ask in a curious manner.

"They have potential." Hikage had to admit. "A threat to us, but they still have potential." She then added.

"Why don't we convert them to our side?" Mirai suggested.

"No way." Hikage however shook her head to that. "We only came together because we knew we could trust each other. We can't with the new wave. Plus, they just got into the school. What makes you think they'll help us?" She then stated and pointed out.

"It was just a suggestion..." Mirai mumbled.

At that moment, they heard several people entering the communal bath, ending all conversation right then and there.

"Excuse me senpai, do you mind if we join you all?" A young female voice got out, catching the attention of everyone who was currently in the baths.

They noticed familiar people entering from the sliding door, wearing nothing but their towels to cover themselves: Ashiya, Bashō, Ibuki, and Chitose.

"Sure." Hikage responded with a nod, allowing the girls inside.

"Where's the narcissist?" Mirai asked.

"She was gone as soon as class ended." Chitose revealed.

"Sōji-san already left?" Yomi got out in a curious manner.

"Apparently she had something to do after fixing her tooth and something about funding Hebijo somehow. Suzune-sensei wouldn't say." Hikage vaguely recalled.

"Fix her tooth?" Murasaki repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably jam it back in." Hikage answered. "Why do you think we steal medicine from a back alley doctor?" She then questioned rhetorically.

"Ouch." Mirai got out with a wince. "I almost feel sorry." She then admitted.

"Don't." Hikage casually dismissed.

"I said almost." Mirai whined out.

"Hey, um, Ryōbi-san, right?" Ibuki politely greeted. "Mind if I sit here?" She then requested.

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" Ryōbi panickingly demanded as she scrambled away from the "average" girl.

"Oh, uh, sorry, sorry!" Ibuki began apologizing. "I'll just...find somewhere else then!" She then decided as she left the sadist alone.

Ryōbi relaxed a bit, still staring somehow dumbfoundedly at the sandy blonde leaving to find a different spot instead.

"...You know she's not your sister, right?" Hikage bluntly reminded.

"Huh?" Ibuki got out.

"The world's biggest masochist." Mirai bluntly answered.

"It doesn't matter. Anyone even close in personality to her is no friend of mine!" Ryōbi declared.

"O-Oh..." Ibuki got out in a sad tone. "That's fine. By the way, do you know where Haruka-sama is?" She soon asked.

"...You heard of her?" Hikage had to ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Who hasn't?" Ibuki responded as she gained a dreamy expression on her face. "Learning about all her feats back in middle school and the entrance exam just made me so wet!" She then swooned in a love-struck manner.

"PPFFFFFFTTTT!" Murasaki blew out air in surprise as the loli ravenette choked from gasping too hard.

"How did you learn about her...?" Yomi questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Not a lot comes out of their school. Information...people..." She then recalled.

"People talk about you guys around here. And we hear about you guys a lot." Chitose explained. "You're all quite the legends. Although, I was expecting more of you here..." She then stated and confessed.

"Homura and Haruka are out on missions. Could be a while before they come back." Hikage informed.

"Heard about that too. Tokyo, right?" Chitose recalled, causing the Elites' eyes to widen. "Yeah, you hear the rumors around here. Tokyo's already a hotspot thanks to that Phantom Thieves faction thing going on there." She then stated.

"Yeah. And no one's going near it unless they want to get their heart changed." Bashō whispered with a shiver. "...Though good riddance to the rapist and plagiarist, all those people they've taken down." She then added as the others in the new wave group nodded in agreement (except for Chitose, who didn't care either way).

"Good to know even you guys have limits." Hikage deadpanned as the other Crimson Squad girls (and Ryōbi) nodded in agreement.

"Maybe we should send her over there." Ryōbi meanwhile suggested as she looked at the sandy blonde with a distrusting expression.

"O-Oh, did I say something not normal?" Ibuki however asked with an embarrassed blush on her face.

"You kinda did." Yomi replied with widened eyes.

"...Don't tell me, you only act like that when it involves Haruka-san..." Hikage groaned in realization.

"Hm?" Ibuki hummed in confusion. "Isn't it normal to swoon over your senpai?" She then questioned.

"Not to this degree." Yomi informed.

"...A fangirl of Haruka-sama?" Mirai got out.

To that, the sandy blonde blushed scarlet. "I-I respect her as a senpai." Ibuki stammered out. "I'm not like all the other, um..." She then tried to find an appropriate word for the other students.

"Crazies." Ryōbi answered.

"Fine, crazies here." Ibuki sighed out. "I am the most average, sane person in this school." She then stated.

"I severely doubt that." Hikage deadpanned. "And the more you say you're average, the more it sounds like denial." She then added.

"Eh!?" Ibuki looked baffled. "N-No, I can prove. I even took a picture of my exam results in middle school." She then assured before pulling out her phone. "See, exactly in the middle! Completely average." She then insisted in a proud manner.

"That just means you suck." Ryōbi deadpanned.

"Ack!" Ibuki choked.

"Then there's Gundham Tanaka over there managing to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory." Mirai got out as she jerked her thumb over the red haired girl, who had suddenly built a shrine (complete with candles) and prayed to it.

"Please forgive me, O Great Demiurge, I have failed to use the strength you have given me to its fullest. I promise to give you all my love and offerings to you as penitence for my failures. May humanity know true freedom through your guiding hand." Ashiya whispered in prayer.

"Demiurge...?" Yomi repeated with a raised eyebrow, recalling her mentioning that name before.

"At least she's not praying to Satan or God." Hikage muttered.

"...Great, Hebijo recruited a cultist..." Mirai sighed out...before she paled in realization. "...Oh my fuck, HEBIJO RECRUITED A CULTIST!?" She muttered before loudly exclaiming in a panic.

"I am not a cultist." Ashiya insisted with a frown, scoffing haughtily at such a thought. "I'm simply a disciple of my god, mere human."

"Human?" Hikage repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be an insult?" She then asked.

"It's not an insult, it's simply fact, human." The disciple answered in a blunt manner.

"We have names." Hikage reminded. "Codenames, sure, but names nonetheless." She then clarified.

"Names are for friends. Isn't that right, Bashō-chan?" Ashiya claimed before turning to the teal-haired girl.

"..." Said teal haired girl meanwhile stayed quiet in response.

"...Why the hell are you so quiet?" Ryōbi eventually questioned.

Bashō elected to remain quiet as she worked on her poem in her head.

"Hey, I'm asking you a question." Ryōbi got out.

"Um...she's not much of a talker sometimes." Ashyia meanwhile revealed.

"Why?" Murasaki meanwhile asked.

"You know, people can be socially inept for no reason." Chitose pointed out.

"Not in this school." Murasaki reminded with a sigh.

"I-It's because of you!" Basho suddenly called out, getting everyone's attention, which made her sink down a little. "Erm...you...Hikage-senpai." She quietly revealed.

The greenette meanwhile raised an eyebrow to this. "Me?" Hikage responded in a curious manner.

"You...um...erm...uh..." The teal haired girl stammered out.

"She looks up to you." Ashyia playfully revealed.

"Eep!" Bashō squeaked before dipping under the water to hide her blushing face.

"...I got a fan?" Hikage asked with a raised eyebrow. This was different. "Cool." She then admitted with a smirk, much to the delight of the teal haired girl. "I'll let you meet Poochie later." She soon offered.

"The Elites mascot that was able to beat the crap out of Imu?" Chitose recalled.

"You even heard about that?" Mirai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"How much has everyone been hearing about us?" Yomi questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Rumors get around." Chitose simply answered.

Instantly, this put Crimson Squad on edge. No one else was in the room with them when it occurred, so if something like this got out...

"I mean Imu losing to a puppy of all things is pretty big news after all." Chitose pointed out as she shrugged her shoulders.

"But it's not like I bragged about it, and Imu surely wouldn't say anything." Hikage pointed out, her hand twitching under the water. "How and where did you hear about that by the way?" She then questioned.

"Don't know how it started, just a bunch of people started talking about it." Chitose replied. "I don't really care about her, but she seemed sort of sad after class. Guess she heard it going around." She then informed and assumed.

"Good." Hikage scoffed. "Everyone deserves to know how weak she is." She then added.

"Hikage..." Yomi muttered with narrowed eyes. "I know she forced you to go through the puppy test, but Poochie-chan is ok now." She then stated and reminded.

"I don't care." Hikage countered. "God, I should've bullied her more like she kept accusing me of doing to her...make her a shut-in so she would never hurt anyone again..." She then grumbled.

"..." Murasaki went silent out of shame and sank a little bit deeper into the water.

"But enough about her." Hikage sighed out.

"Agreed." Chitose responded in agreement.

"I was going to talk to Bashō now." Hikage got out with a frown.

"Eep!" The teal haired girl in mention yelped.

"So, what poets do you like?" Hikage eventually asked.

The suddenly shy girl murmured inaudibly before finally managing to get the courage to speak. "O-Oh, the usuals." Bashō mumbled out. "M-Masaoka Shiki, Ryuta Iida, M-Mariko Kusumi." She soon listed off.

"That's cool." Hikage replied. "Do you mind recommending some of their stuff to me?" She then requested.

"..." Bashō stared blankly out into space as she recalled some of the poems she's read. And uh...some of them weren't to everyone's tastes. "Um...S-Sure..." She stammered out.

"Thanks." Hikage responded with a smile.

"I-I didn't think you had much interest in poetry, senpai." Bashō shyly admitted, mentally hoping she didn't offend her idol.

"I've been expanding my interests." Hikage simply stated.

"Fashion being one of them as well as her appearance." Mirai quipped with a smirk.

"Mirai-chan, don't butt in." Yomi sighed as she shook her head.

"O-Oh, you would look good...in...anything..." Bashō responded. "I-I really like your hair too." She then complimented.

"Thank you..." Hikage responded with a nod. "But I'm thinking of dying it later." She soon admitted.

"Eh?" Bashō got out in surprise.

"Yeah. Wanna try out some less...outstanding hairstyles, you know. Does anyone have a suggestion?" Hikage vaguely revealed and asked.

"That's natural?" Chitose got out with a raised eyebrow.

"Considering my pu-" Hikage bluntly began as she started to stand.

"It's natural! You can trust us." Murasaki interrupted with a squeak as the Crimson Squad blonde pulled the greenette back down. "B-Besides, hair dye is expensive." She then added.

"Yeah." Yomi replied with a nod. "We don't want to go broke. But if thag becomes the case, I shall step up. I do have the experience after all." She then added.

"We get paid?" Mirai got out in a confused tone.

"I do have experience of extreme poverty as well." Chitose admitted, getting the Crimson Squad's blonde's attention.

"You grew up broke too?" Yomi assumed.

"Indeed." Chitose responded with a nod. "Do not misconstrue this as a bond though. We have no need for that." She then stated.

"No need?" Murasaki repeated.

"We are tools. Expendable." Chitose informed. "We only live to serve another's purpose then to be disposed of once we are of no use." She then added.

The Crimson Squad however grimaced at that.

"Eh, don't worry too much about her. She's always like that." Ibuki waved off.

"Not another one..." Hikage quietly groaned to herself.

"Wh-What makes you believe that?" Mirai meanwhile questioned with a confused and concerned look on her face.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Chitose remarked, turning away from the frugal blonde. "My past should not matter to you, only my present actions. I suggest you follow suit." She then insisted.

Yomi however frowned at that but said nothing. The brunette in front of her was wrong in many aspects, she could agree that she shouldn't care about her. She was just another enemy, best not to get personal with them before their betrayal.

The rest of the bath was filled with small talk and admiring each other's bodies, but to Crimson Squad it was only to keep up appearances.

They didn't care who these girls were, they just wanted them out of the way...or they'll die by their hand.


(9/20, After School)

(Classroom Building, 1F)

Homura was walking down the stairs from the second floor and took a stroll down the hallway. "Ok, what to do this afternoon?" She wondered to herself while listening to the various students gossiping.

"Man, school feels way more like a drag since the principal died."

"Dude, it'll get back to normal in a week. Now, who wants to go to Big Bang Burger?"

"I heard a bunch of recommendations got canceled. Even dead, Kobayakawa manages to screw with us."

"Eh, I still don't buy that the Phantom Thieves did it. The head and the prez really had it out for him."

"The head and the president would never do such a thing. They'd probably try and get him fired through more legal means..."

"Tch, he would probably get hush money on the way out. Glad the fucker bit the dust."

"You think they made those calling cards for the principal?"

"That would be so hardcore."

"Someone must have paid for Niijima's breast implants..."

"Oh they're real alright. Figured that out in the locker room during gym class with Ikki-sensei and in the showers after class."

"Someone from the committee recommended me to a counselor last week. It's been a lot of help."

"The teachers are barely doing anything. I'm glad the committee is actually doing something about all this shit."

The tan skinned girl sighed. The praise for her committee was nice, but it was mixed in with talk about everything else wrong with her life currently. The most troubling of all was the pervasive rumor that she and Makoto had directly contributed to the principal's death. "I know I wanna be looked up to, but not like this..." Homura whispered as she shook her head. She needed to fix this before it spiraled out of control...or maybe it already was and that all she could do was stop the bleeding.

For now, all she could do is take it one step at a time...

Homura continued walking down the hallways until she spotted one of her committee members coming down from the opposite direction.

"Ah, Emica-san." Homura soon greeted as she started approaching her.

"Hello, Homura-san. Nice to see you this afternoon." Emica greeted back.

"Yeah." Homura replied with a nod. "So, everything seems to be going well?" She soon asked.

"Yes, no incidents on my end. Same with the others." Emica informed with a nod. "Things are finally starting to settle down." She then added.

"That's good to hear, Emica." Homura responded with a nod. "But there's still a lot we need to do. The principal's death is a serious setback that won't go away overnight." She then added.

"I know. We've still got a long way to go before our school is back in the good graces of everyone, so let's keep it up." Emica stated with confidence.

"Yup." Homura responded in agreement. "Still, how are you feeling after last time?" She then asked in concern as the two began walking the halls together.

"I've been doing better. There haven't been any issues since then, so there's nothing to worry about." Emica answered and reassured.

"Well that's good to hear." Homura replied in relief, though still felt weary.

"Yeah, but thank you for your concern, Homura-san." Emica responded as she smiled.

"Of course, it's-" Homura soon started, however at that moment...

Emica felt a sharp pain in her leg that caused her to collapse once again, only this time even harder than before and right on her arm. "AUGH!" She screamed out in pain that was heard by the entire school.

"Emica-san!?" Homura exclaimed in a confused panic, immediately going to her side.

"Ugh! My leg! It hurts! And my arm! I think I fell on it!" Emica cried out as all the remaining other students and teachers went to see what all the commotion was including the other Committee members.

"Dammit, Nurse's Office now!" Homura thought in a panic as she got her committee member's arm over her shoulder.

"Let me help!" Ryoga comes in and helps Homura pick up Emica.

"Me too!" Sora joins in.

"Thanks!" Homura responded. "Move out the way! We need to get to the Nurse's Office right now!" She soon ordered out loud.

"You heard the lady! Move it or lose it, people!" Naomi stated as she and the other committee members broke up the crowd.

"Come on, break it up! Make a path to the Nurse's Office! One of our own is injured and needs medical attention now!" Daigo ordered out.

As such, Homura and her committee members made their way while drowning out the comments from the other students.


(Nurse's Office)

The trio managed to bring their fallen member to the infirmary and lay her down on the bed.

"Emica-san, are you alright!?" Homura called out in concern.

"Emcia-nee! Please be okay!" Sora cried as he held her good hand.

"C'mon, Sato-san! You can pull through this!" Ryoga pleaded with hope for his fellow member.

"Jeez, what the hell happened? She just said she was fine!" Homura thought.

Emica started to stir from their words as Sora felt her hand clutching his and started to wake up.

"Guys! She's waking up!" Sora exclaimed in excitement.

"Whew, that's a relief." Homura sighed out as she watched her committee member open her eyes.

"Sora-chan...Shujin-kun...Homura-san..." Emica managed to say as she looked around at her surroundings. "Where am I...? What just happened...?" She slowly questioned.

"The Nurse's Office." Homura answered. "You suddenly felt a rush of pain and passed out and we had to bring you here." She then informed and explained.

"I did...? I guess it happened again, didn't it...?" Emica asked as she realized what just happened.

"...Again?" The three repeated in confusion.

"You're saying this happened to you before?" Ryoga asked in concern.

"Emica-san..." Homura got out in disbelief to learn this.

"How come you never told us this, Emica-nee? You really had us worried when you just collapsed in the hallways." Sora said as he felt her ruffled his hair.

"I'm sorry, Sora-chan. I didn't want anyone to be worried about it." Emica told him "I've been living through this all my life, I didn't want to burden everyone with my problems." She then explained.

"Jeez, it doesn't matter if it's your problem though, we're all here to help you." Homura however reminded.

"Yeah, isn't that the reason why we've joined together in Homura-san's committee?" Ryoga questioned "We all came together because we wanted to not just help the school, but also each other. We might have not known it before, but we've been through so much over this past months." He then added.

"Shujin-senpai and Homura-senpai are right. You shouldn't have to deal with this all alone." Sora replied with a nod. "So if anything that affects you, affects all of us. You don't have to go through this alone. We're all here for you." He then declared.

Homura meanwhile smiled at the loyalty her committee members had for their cause.

"Homura-san...Shujin-kun...Sora-chan..." Emica gasped as she looked at her leader and fellow members as tears started to swell up in her eye.

"Don't worry Emica-san, we'll be here for you." Homura once more reassured, placing a hand on the other girl's shoulder and gave a more gentle smile. "Now, if anything happens Emica-san, please be sure to let me know in the future, ok?" She soon requested.

"I will, Homura-san. No more secrets from me." Emica responded with a nod as she felt safe in her warm embrace.

"Good." Homura praised with a smile.

Soon after, the door to the Nurse's Office slides open to reveal the other committee members coming over to see how their fellow member is doing.

"And this just proves you are not alone Emica-san." Homura soon stated with a smile.

"Emica! Are you alright?!" Suzuka asked as she rushed over to her friend. "You big dummy! You really had me worried sick about you! Don't ever do that again!" She then ordered as she hugged her tightly with tears in her eyes.

"Jeez, passing out like that." Yui got out in disapproval. "But I'm glad you're alright." She then admitted.

"H-Hai, you must've made Homura-sama worried sick about you." Hitomi stated in agreement.

"You really gave us a scare back there. I thought we had to prepare for the worst, but I'm glad that never happened." Daigo nodded.

"We're just glad it wasn't too serious, but you shouldn't have to burden yourself with this." Chitose soon confessed."You really should've told us what was going on and we would've helped you." He then added.

"Come on, you really had to go and pass out like that?" Satoshi meanwhile chided while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Satoshi! It's not like she wanted to in the first place!" Keiichiro countered, disapproving of the other boy's attitude.

"Okay, you two. Break it up. We're here to see how Emica is doing, not bicker about what just happened to her." Ichiko reminded as she separated them. "Let's just all be glad to see she's still in one piece and not in any real danger." She then added.

"Got that right." Hikari responded in agreement.

"Everyone..." Emica gasped as she looked at all the committee members who were all worried about her and came to see her. She couldn't hold back her tears any longer and started crying. "T-Thank you...For worrying about me..." She then got out.

"Hey come on now, don't start crying like that." Naomi however got out.

"I-I'm sorry, b-but I just can't help it..."Emica sniffled "I-I just feel so happy...All of you were so worried about me and all I felt like I was a burden to all of you..." She mumbled out.

"Y-Your nothing of the sort Emica-san." Hitomi stammered out.

"We never once considered you a burden. In fact, I think you were the strongest out of all of us." Ryoga agrees "Despite your disabilities, you've never backed down from any challenge our school has thrown your way. I'd go as far to say you're the backbone of our group." He then declared.

Keiichiro meanwhile nodded to that, but didn't say anything at all while giving an authority-like stance while crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're our friend, Emica and nothing can change that. You don't have to feel all alone anymore." Suzuka soon declared. "We've been together for years, but you've never told me anything about your condition. I know it's a personal thing for you, but I still would've helped you if you told me. So don't you go saying that you're a burden anymore. If you do, I'll never forgive you." She then added.

"Well, you heard them Emica-san." Homura meanwhile stated. "So you better return their feelings." She then advised.

"You're right, Homura-san. I do need to return their feelings." Emica nodded and smiled "I've been alone for a long time, I'd forgotten about Suzu who was always there beside me." She looks up at all of her fellow members. "And all of you, I'm really sorry I had you worrying about me. This is just the first time anyone has ever been so concerned for my safety and I guess I took it for granted. But never again, I'm no longer alone because I have all of you. My friends."

To that, Homura smiled upon hearing that as she felt her bond with her committee improving as a result of her being able to understand the feelings of the others.

RANK UP! Hanged Man Rank 3!

Desperate Risks: Sacrifice Health for SP at critical moments

"So you think you can move again? Or should we let you rest a little while longer?" Daigo asked in concern.

"I think you better let her rest for now." Homura however suggested.

"Yeah, it's probably for the best. I'm still recovering from my fall earlier, so I need to rest up." Emica replied in agreement. "But thank you all for coming to see me. It makes me happy to be surrounded by all of you." She then confessed.

"Not a problem. Rest up for now." Homura soon instructed as she made her committee members leave to return to their duties.

Everyone nodded and headed out from the Nurse's Office to return to their duties. But not before telling Emica to get well soon and she accepted their kind words.

Eventually, the two were alone in the room.

"Again, I'm really sorry you had to see that. I thought I had it under control, but I guess I really didn't." Emica apologized once more. "I had all of you worried sick about me and I even caused a huge scene in the hallway." She then got out in shame.

"Hey come on Emica-san, no need to beat yourself up over these things." Homura however responded. "Rest up a bit more and then head home for the day, okay?" She then requested.

"Yeah, okay." Emica responded and nodded. "But I still need to make it up for all of you for what just happened." She then stated.

"Emica-san..." Homura sighed out in a more concerned manner as she rubbed the back of her head.

"I don't know if I can, but I'll find a way to repay you once I can move again." Emica stated "It's the least I can do for all the trouble I caused."

"Well...ok," Homura reluctantly responded. "But...don't push yourself too hard, ok?" She then requested out of concern.

"Ok, I'll try. I won't push myself too hard." Emica nodded as she lay back down on the bed.

Nodding in approval to hearing that, Homura turned to the door as she was about to leave.

"Homura-san." Emica called out to her.

That in turn got the tan skinned girl's attention as she looked back at the committee member. "Hm?" She hummed out.

Emica was about to say something, but decided not to. "Never mind. It's not important. Sorry." She apologized and laid back down.

In response, Homura nodded in an understanding manner, feeling as though whatever her committee wanted to talk about could be saved for next time. "Ok, have a good afternoon Emica-san." She replied as she opened the door.

"You too, Homura-san." Emica responded back, feeling better than before now that she's not alone anymore.

Then with a simple nod, Homura left the room and headed out for the afternoon after easing some of the concerned students over what had happened before going home for the afternoon.


(Recording Studio)

Rise was worried.

Yumi had come into the studio almost as soon as school let out for the day and just started working her butt off like it was no one's business, going through her lessons and practice like a well-oiled machine.

Most people would appreciate the effort, but not Rise. She learned a lot over the years and she could tell when someone was doing anything they could to escape. Through work, through fun activities...

To lying to themselves and then going about their day as if everything was fine.

She could just tell... something was wrong with her apprentice...

"Play an F chord with distortion! So loud that the needle swings off the scale..." Yumi finished strong before letting out a breath as the final parts of the song played.

"Way to go, Tsukikaze-san!" Inoue praised. "That was great, but we noticed some flaws back there. Let us listen to it again before I go help you correct those mistakes, okay?" He then informed and requested followed by the suggestion.

"Thank you." Yumi politely replied as she bowed. "May I take my break now?" She soon requested.

"Sure. You earned it." Her manager responded with a nod, allowing the light gray haired girl to put down the headphones and head out of the recording booth, heading over to the nearest seat and grabbing a complimentary water bottle.

It was right then Rise decided to make her move. "Hey, Yumi-chan." She soon greeted as she sat down next to her apprentice.

"Rise-san." Yumi responded.

"How are you holding up?" Rise soon asked.

"...I am holding up well." Yumi responded with a nod.

"That hesitation in your voice says otherwise." Rise however responded with a hand on her hip. "Come on, is something on your mind?" She soon asked.

Yumi pursed her lips before letting out a sigh. "It's...my grandfather's funeral. I have to go out of town for it." She hesitantly revealed.

"Ah." Rise got out in understanding. "When are you going?" She then asked.

"Mm." Rise hummed and nodded. "I guess that's why you decided to sing those songs, huh?" She then assumed.

"Eh?" Yumi got out in confusion.

"Yumi, you've been singing some really...lonely songs." Rise informed with a frown. "I know it's for practice, but you put so much emotion and passion in it that it feels like you wrote them yourself." She then got out.

"And that means?" Yumi muttered with narrowed eyes.

"You're relating to the songwriter on a very deep level. You understand their feelings, their thoughts at the moment." Rise explained. "It's a little concerning." She then added.

"Um...I guess I'm just that good." Yumi awkwardly chuckled.

"Yumi-chan..." Rise whispered.

"..." Yumi sniffled. "...I have you. I have friends. I have sisters. I have people who share the same pain. But why do I feel like there's no one else there for me?" She mumbled out as she clutched her head.

"Yumi, do you need to go and see someone?" Rise suddenly asked.

"Eh?" Yumi got out.

"The agency does have counselors for talents to talk to. Mental health is very important, especially in an industry like this." Rise responded in a serious manner. "As much as I would love to help you myself, I'm not the best person to talk to." She then admitted.

"I don't want to talk to someone else." Yumi responded.

"I'm not forcing you to, but it's on the table. Don't be afraid." Rise replied.

"I'm not afraid, just...I'd prefer to be with friends than strangers. And...I just can't open my heart like that to someone who has only seen me on posters." Yumi hesitantly responded.

"And that's a perfectly valid reason, and it's certainly better than bottling it up." Rise responded with a nod of understanding. "...Can I...tell you a story?" She then suddenly asked.

"A story?" Yumi repeated.

"It was...a long time ago. During my hiatus." Rise hesitantly started and revealed.

"Inaba." Yumi recalled.

"Yeah. During the murders and kidnappings." Rise responded. "There was a boy named Mitsuo and...to be honest, he was not the greatest human being." She soon revealed.

"What makes you say that?" Yumi asked in a curious manner.

"He killed a teacher from my school." Rise revealed.

"!?" Yumi's eyes immediately widened.

"Morooka-sensei...I didn't know him for long, but he wasn't a great person either. I even heard he thought I was a scatterbrained idiot. Also heard he was a fan though." Rise soon recalled. "He was not well-liked there, but he didn't deserve to die. So...me and my friends chased after him." She then stated and revealed.

"You went after a killer?" Yumi questioned in disbelief.

"We saw him one day and we couldn't let him get away with it. Plus, the police back then were stretched so thin that we had no choice." Rise responded. "Eventually, we caught him. We thought all those kidnappings were over, that there were no more murders." She then revealed.

"...You thought he was the serial killer?" Yumi assumed.

"The real killer was a police officer of all things, beneath notice. There was no way anyone could've known then." Rise eventually revealed.

Yumi then looked at her mentor before gasping in realization. "You were part of the group that caught Adachi...the Inaba Murder cases..." She soon realized.

"Don't say it out loud." Rise whispered, looking around cautiously for a second. "But yes, but the next part...it's really important." She then informed.

"Eh?" Yumi got out in curious confusion.

"When I said that we thought we caught the real killer, and that it was all over." Rise soon stated. "It...only lasted a minute before Rin- one of us asked him how he killed the others." She then revealed.

"The real killer used some type of poison, right?" Yumi recalled with a frown. Something about it still didn't seem believable, but he had everything else from the motivation to the time.

"Yeah...but Mitsuo claimed he beat their heads in until they stopped moving..." Rise then informed, clenching her hands into fists at the thought. "It was the wrong method, he didn't kill anyone but Morooka-sensei. But he kept insisting, pleading that he was someone, that he was the killer! Even as he was dragged away, he was crying, begging us to say that he murdered them! He just...threw away his entire life just to be famous in everyone's eyes!" She soon revealed.

"Rise-san..." Yumi breathed out.

"But...the police didn't care. They just wanted the case to be closed." Rise responded. "Mitsuo did deserve to rot in prison, but...we didn't expect him to kill himself." She then got out.

"...What?" Yumi breathed out in shock.

"He couldn't take us knowing the truth..." Rise revealed. "For the longest time...we thought we killed Mitsuo..." She then confessed.

"No, you didn't." Yumi instantly shook her head. She was more of a killer than her teacher, after all. "Like you said, he threw away his life just to be famous. It wasn't your fault!" She then insisted.

"I know that now, but 16 year old me didn't." Rise sighed out. "I spent almost an entire month thinking we killed someone, that we were no better than Mitsuo or the killer. It didn't help that everyone just wrote off Mitsuo like he was nothing and just went about their lives like it was normal. If it wasn't for Rin-sensei and...and...I would've..." She then confessed.

"...You have wise teachers." Yumi admitted.

"Yeah. The best." Rise sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "Oh God, I totally forgot what this was supposed to be about." She then giggled humorlessly.

"I...I think I know what you're trying to say." Yumi got out as she gave the woman a kind smile. "Some things are out of your control, but it'll feel like you're responsible, or that you're alone in your grief. But we aren't alone, there's always someone out there to help us." She responded and stated.

"C-Couldn't have said it better myself." Rise complimented with a proud smile.

"Thank you, Rise-san." Yumi gratefully replied.

"Yumi-chan, all I did was dump some childhood trauma on you." Rise sighed as she shook her head. "I hope you grow up better than me." She then added.

"I...I could never..." Yumi hesitantly began to confessed.

"Don't be humble. Be better." Rise soon stated. "Oh, looks like your break is almost over. Sorry for taking up so much of your time. Guess I need to see my own counselor." She then noted and apologized.

"No, I needed that. Thank you." Yumi responded with a grateful smile before finishing her water and standing up.

Yumi soon headed back to the recording booth and listened to the constructive criticism given to her, promising to do better in the next song. She then cleared her throat as she readied herself.

"You ready, Yumi?" Inoue asked.

Yumi nodded. "...Ready." She responded.

"In five...four...three...two..." Inoue counted before signaling the idol to start.

Yumi took a deep breath as the next song began to play. "That band's songs sound to me...Like shrill laughter all around..." She soon began singing.


(Forest)

WOOSH! WOOSH!

Two shadows soon arrived at the training forest the tan skinned girl of Phantom Thieves used to train her fellow Thieves, one having brown hair dressed in the Shujin Uniform, and the other having white hair dressed in a white shirt with a green hoodie and blue jeans.

"Man, you guys have been really wrecking this place..." Miyabi remarked as she noticed all the scarred trees, craters in the ground, and burns and scorch marks around the clearing.

"Well, Homu-neechan wants us all to be prepared." Asuka simply pointed out.

"Which is a good thing." Miyabi responded in approval. "This area is perfect for training out of sight of the public. Hopefully no one explores this far in the woods." She then stated.

"Well it hasn't been discovered so far." Asuka replied.

"And let's hope it never does." Miyabi breathed out before turning to her student. "Ready?" She soon asked.

"Ready." Asuka replied as she nodded.

"Shinobi Tenshin!" The teacher and student both got out as their clothes vanished.

Asuka let out a breath as she equipped her forest green outfit similar to her teacher's before pulling out the katana from its blue sheath on her lower back. "Ready, sensei!" She declared with enthusiasm.

In turn, the white haired woman nodded. "Ok, you got your Yiitsu Style now, but you need to create some original techniques for it since the style revolves more around power then speed like you're used to with your twin blades." Miyabi stated and explained while pacing back and forth.

In turn Asuka nodded as she began thinking. "Hmmm..." She hummed out.

Miyabi meanwhile looked at her student. "Take a stance. Now." She soon instructed.

"Hai." Asuka responded as she did as told.

"Attack." Miyabi soon ordered.

Asuka nodded to that. "Hah!" She grunted as she took a swing.

Miyabi narrowed her eyes as she studied her student's movements. "Hmm..." She hummed out.

"Was that good?" Asuka soon asked.

"Treating the katana or any sword like a baseball bat will get someone killed, and it won't be the enemy." Miyabi sighed out. "At least with that, no matter how you oriented it, it'll still crack your opponent's skull." She then stated.

"Hai!" Asuka responded as she did as instructed. "The katana is an extension of myself." She then recited.

"Well, you're not holding it like such." Miyabi however stated. "Swing at me." She soon instructed.

"Eh?" Asuka got out in confusion.

Miyabi rolled her eyes. "I can take a freaking sword to the head. I'm not made out of wet clay." She stated and reminded.

"O-Okay." Asuka meekly responded as she swung her katana.

Miyabi caught the blade with her bare hands and pulled it out of the brunette's hand. "Improper grip." She stated as she handed the weapon back. "Take advantage of that when you see it. Not everyone improves their grip on their weapons with chakra." She then instructed.

In response, the brunette nodded.

"Now then, again!" Miyabi soon ordered as she summoned her own katana.

Asuka nodded before engaging with her sensei once more.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Asuka grit her teeth together as she locked her katana against her sensei's, attempting to overpower her.

Miyabi simply slid her own blade up, allowing her to move to the side and smack her student in the face. "Don't lock yourself into a clash! This isn't a lightsaber duel! And do not be afraid to fight dirty. God gave you fists and feet for a reason." She stated her instructions in a serious tone.

"Hai!" Asuka immediately responded as she got to her feet...

WHAM!

...And subsequently headbutted back to the ground. "And gave you a forehead too." Miyabi added before a wave of dizziness came over her. "Ow...that seemed like a better idea in my head." She groaned out.

"Hai..." Asuka groaned as well. "Don't let up, even if the opponent is down..." She then got out...right before wrapping her legs around her teacher's shins and twisted her to the ground. "Or else they do something like this!" She then giggled before going for a quick punch, only for the white haired woman to catch it and shove her away.

"Guess I have to try a little harder then." Miyabi got out as she picked herself up.

"I'd like to see you try." Asuka taunted.

Miyabi blinked. "...That's...what I just said." She awkwardly informed.

"...Oh." Asuka simply responded before she suddenly vanished as the white-haired woman saw a hole in the ground where she was.

"The burrowing technique!?" Miyabi got out in disbelief before quickly and frantically looking in every direction. She then felt the vibration underneath her feet and leapt away just as Asuka burst out from the ground and into the air.

"HAAAAAAAA!" Asuka roared as she gathered energy while some rocks began circling around her katana.

"Hm?" Miyabi hummed out as she got into a defensive stance.

Suddenly, all those rocks began to stick and form around the katana, transforming it into a makeshift club. Asuka smirked before charging at the woman, weapon raised into the air.

"...That's different..." Miyabi had to admit, blinking a couple of times at the sight.

"Yeah...it is." The Vice Leader breathed out before swinging at the woman.

"Whoa!" Miyabi breathed out as she forced her body to move out of the way, feeling her muscles burn as she dodged faster and faster. "Is she...getting faster!?" She thought in surprise.

"Is she getting faster!?" Asuka thought at the same time. She wasn't quite used to the weight yet, and was slowly getting better at handling it, but her teacher was getting better at her dodges too.

"How do I beat her?" The two then thought in unison before they suddenly slipped a little on the loose dirt.

Suddenly, Asuka's eyes widened. She quickly stopped her attack and stepped back.

Seeing the opportunity, Miyabi swung with her weapon, causing Asuka to duck...and to pick up something from the ground.

"Let me put some dirt into your eyes!" Asuka declared as she shoved a fistful of dry soil into her teacher's face.

"AH! Sonva-!" Miyabi yelped as she instinctively tried to wipe it off, finally giving her student an opening.

"Batter up!" Asuka declared before swinging her club into the white haired woman's gut, sending her flying into the air. Then, with a quick and fanciful twirl, she aimed her club at the airborne woman. "And, you're out!" She then called out before the rocks on her katana shot out to pelt her teacher.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Once Asuka ran out of rocks on her sword, the white haired woman hit the ground. "Ugh..." Miyabi moaned in pain. "Okay...so you can treat a katana like a baseball bat..." She then groaned as she picked herself off the ground.

"Is that...bad?" Asuka soon asked in concern.

"No, it's good! Turning your katana into a club to break your opponents defense and then back into a blade again by launching the rocks coating it as projectiles. An attack that is both close combat and long range fighting." Miyabi praised and stated, listing off what was done before smirking. "You should be teaching me some stuff, Asuka." She soon remarked in an impressed manner.

Asuka however shook her head and smirked back. "Nah, you're just a good sensei." She replied.

"Well then." Miyabi began as she cracked her neck. "Show me." She soon ordered as she readied herself once more.

Nodding to that, Asuka went into a new stance with her katana close to her body as her free hand at the ready.

Asuka soon gathered rocks around her katana again, but this time they gathered in a way that made the blade look bigger. "DOGON!" She roared as she brought down the massive weapon for an earth-shattering attack.

CRASH! BOOM!

The white haired woman barely managed to dive out of the way and watch Asuka take out a large chunk of the forest with her giant stone sword, which crumbled soon after. "I'm...I'm out." She panted out before reverting back into her normal clothes.

Miyabi soon started sweating nervously as she took in a deep breath. "What a destructive attack..." She breathed out in amazement. "You applied your element in a similar manner to one of my attacks." She then noted.

"Yeah, but earth isn't as...flowy as your element, so decided to add structure rather than power." Asuka replied and explained in slight exhaustion.

Miyabi chuckled as she went up and wiped the dirt off the Vice Leader's cheek, although all it did was smudge it up and make the mess worse. "Let's take a break." She soon suggested,

"Okay." Asuka replied with a nod. "Oh, I bought sandwiches. Do you want one?" She then remembered and offered.

"Sure." Miyabi responded with a nod as her student offered her the food in mention. "Did you make it or buy it?"

"Made it." Asuka answered. "Just a simple ham, cheese and lettuce." She then informed.

"Hm, a classic." Miyabi hummed out and responded with a nod of approval as the two began eating.

"This was a great day..." Asuka breathed in relief.

"Hehe, training with you is always fun, my student." Miyabi confessed in a relaxed manner with a giggle.

"Yeah." Asuka replied with a smile. "It felt really good to learn something new. Been a while since I had a shinobi sensei to teach me." She soon admitted.

"Not really an official sensei, but I'm the best we got around here." Miyabi reminded and stated before sighing. "How did we get here, Asuka?" She then suddenly asked.

"The mental shutdowns and stuff. Black Mask, if we're being more specific." Asuka answered. "It's how I met Homu-neechan, it's why Yumi-chan is here-" She then listed off as she tilted her head left and right.

"And if it wasn't for all of you making the Phantom Thieves, I'd probably be back home training my heart out." Miyabi finished. "Or stabbing you. I think that one's more likely." She then added.

"Like I would let you." Asuka playfully countered with a grin. "But to think if things were different, we would be trying to kill each other, not talking like this." She then admitted.

"That's how choices work." Miyabi soon stated. "One simple decision can change your life. We could've all been enemies, even you and Yumi might've been at each other's throats." She then declared.

"True." Asuka got out with a nod. "Still...we have to face the consequences of our actions...so many other people are now out to kill us..." She then groaned as she rubbed her forehead.

"Including our friends." Miyabi added with a sigh. "We're just renegades without any of them knowing...and that surely won't last that much longer." She then mumbled.

"...Yeah. It feels...really wrong to know that my friends could be hunting us down at any given day now." Asuka mumbled in a sad tone. "...You think our friends would forgive us, or that...we'll be accepted back?" She soon asked.

"Your friends might since they're good people. Imu will for me. Homura's friends, there's a good chance. Yumi's? I don't know, but I have a good feeling." Miyabi remarked. "But the higher-ups might not agree. But then again...fuck them." She then scoffed.

"Yeah. Fuck 'em." Asuka giggled as the two fist bumped. "It's our lives now. And we choose how we live it, even if there's a little risk." She then declared.

"I wouldn't say a little, but we'll get both freedom and safety if we work hard enough." Miyabi stated with a nod. "...Did that sound cheesy?" She eventually asked with a slightly worried look on her face.

"No, it felt that it was perfect for right now." Asuka assured with a giggle.

"You can be honest." Miyabi got out.

"It's not cheesy. It's good." Asuka honestly replied.

"Thanks. Anyways, that's enough rest." Miyabi breathed out as she stood up and wiped off the dirt on her outfit. "We still have some time, so I say we-" She then started to suggest, however...

Rumble...

"E-Eh!? Is there an earthquake!? Because I know I didn't do this!" Asuka asked in a panic as she looked around.

"But our phones would've gotten a text." Miyabi pointed out in worry before it dawned on her. "Hang on..." She then requested as she leaned down to the ground and closed her eyes.

"Are you...sniffing the air, sensei?" Asuka questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Miyabi however suddenly paled with a traumatized expression on her face. She could sense them from their perfume, and sweat...and perfume made to replicate her sweat. "No...they're here." She quietly breathed out.

"Who?" Asuka pressed in an urgent manner, feeling the ground shake more and more.

"My student, my friend...run." Miyabi suddenly ordered.

"What?" The Vice Leader got out in surprise, having never seen the woman so scared before.

"Run and stay at least 100 meters away from me and whatever you do, no matter how much I scream or beg, do not look back!" Miyabi rapidly instructed. "Fuck, fuck, fuck! GOD FUCKIN'-! FUCK!" She then started swearing in anger as she racked her brain to figure out where she would hide.

"Miyabi-chan!?" Asuka exclaimed before her teacher clutched onto her cheeks with a very panicked expression on her face.

"Asuka, if you don't see me in the next 24 hours, assume the worst. Do not be a hero." Miyabi instructed in a very frantic yet serious tone.

"I would never-" Asuka began in a determined manner, however...

"THERE SHE IS! MY HUNKY DREAMBOAT!"

"She's mine, bitch!"

"Who's that with her?"

"An enemy! Get her!"

"RUN!" Miyabi panickingly ordered before vanishing.

WOOSH!

Asuka, like the good student she is, followed her sensei's advice and disappeared as well.

WOOSH!


(Inokashira, Inokashira Park)

"You know, as much as I love the city, you can't really beat a nice walk around a park." Akira muttered. "Would be nicer if I didn't have to pay to go here..." He then grumbled in annoyance.

"Something you miss from the boonies?" Morgana assumed.

"Yeah." Akira admitted with a sigh. "But I'll take a toll over the ridicule and disgust." He casually added.

"Man, those days before you came here must've been real rough, huh Joker?" Morgana remarked.

"Yeah." The Leader sighed as he looked up at the sky. "For too long, there were all these stares and whispers around me, even after getting kicked out of school. Felt like breaking down some days and just shutting myself in until it was all over." Akira soon confessed.

"You never said anything about this before." Morgana noted in a curious manner.

"Been pushing it down since I came here. It wouldn't help at all if I just gave up on my life." Akira revealed with a sigh. "Every good memory of my hometown was ruined after that day, so I was hoping I could make a few good ones here to replace them." He then stated.

"Glad you could then." Morgana replied, rubbing his head in his neck.

"With some caveats...but yeah." Akira chuckled while petting the not cat.

"Let's make some better memories for everyone then." Morgana soon promised.

"That's the plan." Akira nodded to that as he kept walking, replacing another bad memory with a good one right now.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Morgana then asked as he noticed a crowd on the side of the street ahead of them.

The duo then both heard what it seemed to be like a barking dog.

"What the- what's going on here?" The not cat exclaimed.

"That sounds like...a puppy?" Akira thought. "It's not uncommon to see dogs around here, Morgana, but a crowd doesn't form that big if it's cute." He soon noted.

"Look, as much as I'm not a fan of dogs, I don't want them getting hurt!" Morgana exclaimed. "Let's go and save that puppy, Joker!" He soon declared.

Akira simply replied by nodding before jogging over to the formed crowd to see what's going on. When he arrived, he tried to see what was going on by craning his head up, but to no avail. After that, he decided to pat some random pedestrian's shoulder to ask a question.

"Hey, excuse me, what's going on here? Is there a puppy being mistreated or hurt?" Akira asked the man.

"What? N-No, there's no puppy or anything." The man replied right away. "Just some blonde street performer or something playing dog." He then added

The duo soon froze for a second to process and understand what the man just said.

"She's good at playing dog, actually. You should see her, look." The man added before gesturing to what he was talking about.

"Woof~! Woof~!" A voice called out, sounding very distinctly human.

"...Okay, that was definitely not a puppy." Morgana figured.

"I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?" Akira assumed in his thoughts.

"Are you actually gonna watch what's weird going on there?" Morgana bluntly asked in an uneasy tone.

"Yes." Akira immediately responded.

"Wha-!?" Morgana only got out in disbelief. "Hrnnn...we really can't stop ourselves, can we?" He then grumbled.

"Not at all." Akira sighed in a defeated manner before moving closer.

The duo soon saw why there was such a crowd: It wasn't a dog at all. It was a blonde girl wearing a white T-shirt with black dog paw prints on it and a pink skirt with her white panties showing and some white shoes, who was on all fours like an animal with her hands gesturing like a dog.

Akira blinked at the scene in front of him, taking a second to clean his glasses before realizing this was real. "What in the actual fuck..." He muttered in disbelief.

"Woof~! Woof~!" The blonde girl barked as she pranced around on all fours while acting like an animal with a smile on her face.

The not cat meanwhile blinked at the sight. "Uh...is she actually playing...dog?" He soon asked in disbelief.

"I'm more surprised she's half-assing this." Akira soon admitted. If he was in her position, he would go all the way with dog ears and a bikini.

And he'd get away with it with a social life intact, considering things...

"Hey there~! I wanna play fetch with you~!" The girl then called to the crowd and pleaded. "Throw me anything, and I'll catch them with my mouth~! Woof~! Woof~!" She then barked in a coy and pleading tone.

Most of the males in the crowd, except the Leader and the not cat, got mesmerized and blushed with excitement and joy on their faces.

The blonde girl then got into a stance and shook her butt like she was wagging an imaginary tail.

After that, an item was thrown to her and the girl leaped and caught it with her mouth like she said so before. It was a bag of snacks.

"Is this girl seriously doing this?" Morgana questioned, baffled as he stared at the blonde.

"Am...I supposed to be angry, happy or worried people are just playing along...?" Akira couldn't help but wonder aloud while subtly listening into what all the men (and the one woman) were saying.

"Uhm, sorry guys, I need to go."

"Aw come on, you just got here. You only get one chance to play with the Dog of Inokashira."

"Nah, I've had my fill."

"Aw man~ I didn't catch that one~! That means I've been a bad dog~!" The masochistic dog whined before rolling over to expose her belly. "Someone punish me~!" She then pleaded.

"Looks like it's your turn, man."

"Oooh, been waiting for this!"

SLAP!

"Oooohoooo~! Hit me~! Hit me again~!" The blonde moaned and begged.

Morgana stared at the girl with definite disbelief along with his mouth hanging open. "Uhhhhhh..." He then got out.

"...She must have a very high defense stat." Akira couldn't help but think. "Welp, look at the time, let's go home." He declared, taking a jaunty step away from whatever the hell was going on over there.

"Um, Akira, isn't this girl right up your alley?" Morgana questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You're friends with a lot of weird people." He then pointed out.

"Morgana, while I admit to having a weakness for cute and attractive girls, it is times like these where you must draw the line somewhere. You have to look inside yourself and ask: what am I willing to put up with today?" Akira sagely explained before once again glancing over to the blonde masochist. "Not fuckin' this. Let's bounce." He then concluded.

"Hear hear." Morgana responded in agreement as they started to leave, however...

"Hm~? Hey there~!" The blonde got out. "You with the glasses~!" She called out.

"Oh god..." Akira muttered in a slight panic, not sure if he should leave and ignore her or not.

"Akira, we should leave." Morgana advised in an instant. "Now! Before she catches us with her mouth or anything!" He then declared in a panic.

However...

"What a cute kitty you have, mister~! Do you think you can let her scratch this naughty girl~?" The blonde girl coyly requested. "Pleeeeeease~!?" She then begged.

"Wait, what?" Morgana got out in confusion to the sudden compliment and request.

"Uh, do you want...my cat...to scratch you?" Akira slowly got out.

"Yes~! I wanna feel those sharp claws on my pure skin~!" The masochist moaned in pleasure just from the thought. "See how it feels since I'm curious~" She then added.

"H-Huh!?" Morgana exclaimed.

"She's a total masochist." Akira thought as he had a dumbfounded expression towards the girl. "And the fact that I know at least two sadists makes me wonder if the universe really likes making fun of me." He mentally added.

"Come oooon~! I'm waiting for those claws to scratch me sooooo hard~!" The blonde girl pleaded with a cat-like smile.

"A-Akira? D-Do something, will you!?" Morgana whispered in a panic.

"..." Akira went silent for a moment before he finally decided what to do. "...Here. Morgana, can you scratch her, if you don't mind?" He then requested as he set his bag down on the ground.

"WHAT!?" Morgana exclaimed.

The girl gasped in excitement. "Yaaaay~!" The blonde soon exclaimed.

"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME, AKIRA!" Morgana however demanded while thrashing around the Leader's bag in anger and disbelief.

"Ooooh~! What a feisty cat you got there~! That makes me even more excited~!" The masochist giggled as she began wiggling.

"I'll buy you ten packs of fresh tuna as an apology, Morgana." Akira whispered.

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL BETTER RIGHT NOW, AKIRA!" Morgana shouted out.

"Come on, kitty~! Can you scratch my buns for me~!" The girl pleaded as she faced her behind towards the cat before shaking them like a dog, showing her white panties as a result.

The not cat gulped as he went red when he noticed her panties. "There's no way I can do this! I'm a gentleman!" Morgana soon exclaimed.

Akira picked him up for a moment and whispered to him. "Think about it, Morgana. She'll never leave us alone unless we do what she wants, so please bear with it." He then stated.

"Awww, please mister~?" The blonde pleaded in a needy manner.

"B-But..." Morgana stammered.

"Just...think of it as a...human act." Akira stated with a wry smile. "You wanna be a human one day, right? So, consider this as one of your important tasks..." He then encouraged.

"Uuuuggh...fine..." Morgana eventually replied before he reluctantly came out from the bag.

"The sooner we finish this, the better, Morgana." Akira rescinded as he placed him back down on the ground. "And besides, since you're male, try to face it like a real man, if you know what I mean." He then added as he stood up again.

Morgana simply gritted his teeth in worry as he glanced back at the blonde's rear with a slight blush. He then approached the girl and slowly reached out his paw to scratch the girl's rear...before he pulled it right away, rejecting the deed.

"I can't do it, Akira!" The not cat exclaimed as he turned around to face the Leader. "This is waaay out of my league!" He then declared in a panic.

Akira scratched his head as he didn't know what to do here.

However at that moment, the blonde turned her head and saw the not cat's flowing tail, and soon enough ...

GRIP!

"REOW! MY TAIL!" Morgana mewled as he jumped and flailed while crying out in shock and pain before...

SCRATCH!

"Nyahaaaaa~! The blonde exclaimed in a delighted and excited manner as she released her grip on the not cat's tail.

"O-ooowwww...h-huh?" Morgana groaned in pain before noticing something.

There was now a clear scratch mark on one side of her behind.

Morgana's eyes soon widened in shock. "N-No way..." He breathed out, realizing what he just did with a slight blush at the sight of the girl's panties.

"That was one of the best feelings everrrrrr~!" The blonde soon exclaimed in delight as she looked at the not cat. "Thank you, Morgana-chan! You're such a good girl!" She then declared.

"W-W-W-Wha...?" Morgana stammered before noticing what she just said at the end. "Wait...I'M A MALE!" He then declared. "And why is she enjoying it!?" He soon questioned in disbelief.

"Oooh~! Still feisty, huh~ Can you do that to me again~?" The masochist soon pleaded. "This time, scratch me right here~" She then added before hugging her big breasts, trying to flaunt them.

BOING!

"W-What is with this girl!?" Morgana exclaimed in a panic and a scarlet blush on his face before Akira picked him up again.

"...Okay, she is actually, what people call, a masochist, Morgana." Akira meanwhile stated in a whisper.

"H-Huh!? M-Masochist?" Morgana repeated while his head started steaming. "You mean someone who enjoys pain or something like that!?" He then stated.

"Yep, that's the case." Akira replied as he looked at the blonde. "So miss..." He soon started, before trailing off since he never got the girl's name.

"Ryōna-chan is Ryōna-chan~! Ryōna Inoue-chan~!" The blonde soon introduced herself while giving a playful salute.

"...Nice to meet you, I guess?" Akira awkwardly responded. "Uh...the name's Akira Kurusu..." He then introduced himself in an equally awkward tone.

To that, the blonde perked up upon hearing the name and smiled. "I can already see this is going to be a beautiful relationship, Akira-kun~" Ryōna soon declared with stars in her dual colored eyes.

"Oooookay?" Akira responded as he felt an awkward friendship being formed with her.

RANK UP!

SWORDS RANK 2!

"...She's in the same group as Murasaki-chan? This means she's a shinobi..." Akira mentally asked himself and noted before sighing. "...I knew one of these days I'd meet someone like you." He soon bluntly admitted.

"Hm~?" Ryōna innocently hummed out as she tilted her head, the cat-like smile not leaving her face.

"Nothing. A-Anyway, it was nice meeting you." Akira awkwardly replied.

"Where are you going~?" Ryōna got out. "Don't you want to play with me anymore~?" She soon asked while batting her eyelashes.

The Leader's eye twitched as his body didn't move at all. "Curse my weakness to cute girls!" Akira mentally groaned. "Well, um, I suddenly remember I have somewhere to be." He then revealed.

"Where to~?" Ryōna however asked.

Akira mentally spun the Wheel of Excuses, hoping it would land on something less dumb that what he would say without thinking.

DING DING DING!

"Home." Akira finally answered. "To...feed my cat." He then added, mentally palming his face.

Ryōna blinked. "The cat in your bag?" She pointed out as the not cat popped his head out.

Akira's eye twitched again. "...Yes." he then answered.

Ryōna blinked again. "...Well, that's understandable!" She then happily replied.

The Leader mentally let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Thank you. I'll let you get back to your adoring public now..." He then got out while awkwardly glancing over to the crowd staring at them.

"Aw, those guys aren't very good." Ryōna scoffed not-so-quietly, causing several of the men to clutch their chests in pain. "I barely feel my panties dampen when these guys touch me." She then grumbled with a pout.

"Well the lake is always available." Akira deadpanned.

"Not that." Ryōna sighed. "I want to meet more interesting people." She then clarified.

"I could refer you to a couple of my friends." Akira soon offered. "Takemi and Haruka would definitely love a guinea pig who can take anything they throw at them." He then thought.

"Hmm...that's a tempting offer, but I'm more interested in you." Ryōna insisted as she pressed her (really soft) body against him. "Why don't we hang out later? Maybe after school?" She then offered.

"Um...well..." Akira really wanted to turn her down, if only because he had a lot of other stuff going on, however...

"I know some really good places where we have some privacy~" Ryōna continued, pressing her body closer to the boy's chest. "You seem like someone who needs to vent all of their frustrations on." She then remarked.

The Leader swallowed. There were two ways that could go, and he didn't like either of them.

"Ah, dammit. Sure, let's hang out later." Akira sighed. "Probably somewhere less public, please." He then added under his breath.

"Oh, I'll follow you anywhere you go, Akira-sama." Ryōna assured.

"J-Just Akira. Please." The Leader pleaded with the blonde girl.

"Have I offended you? Come on! Spank me! Punish me for my insolence~!" Ryōna pleaded, her eyes sparkling from the setting sun.

"I'm gonna go now." Akira finally decided while stepping away from the girl.

"Ahn~!" Ryōna cried out as she clutched onto her right breast, as if she had been shot by an arrow. "Such casual dismissal, like I'm nothing but trash~!" She then moaned.

"Haruka's gonna have a field day with this one." Akira thought to himself with a sweatdrop. "...Why do I get a feeling that I'll eventually meet an actual sadist this time for real?" He soon muttered.

"...I thought Haru was one." Morgana stated out of nowhere.

"...That's debatable at the moment." Akira responded as they headed out.


(9/20, Evening)

(Shibuya, Central Street)

"Don't do anything stupid, kid." Iwai gave his usual warning to the Phantom Thieves Leader as he left the store.

"I won't. See ya, Iwai." Akira replied before double-checking that he had walked out with everything.

Morgana soon popped his head out of the Leader's bag. "Quite a nice haul you have there." He remarked.

"Nothing like getting new equipment for everyone." Akira breathed out as he hefted a rather large plain paper bag full of melee weapons, guns, and armor. It was a good thing his muscles aren't for nothing because January 1st Akira would be dead before he made it to the station.

"Alright, quick pit stop at the Velvet Room, then I should be ready for the heist." The Leader soon thought to himself. "As for everyone else, I should get Homura to train them a little and teach them a few new skills. I'd also like to itemize a few Personas and what the hell?"

Out of the corner of his eye, someone swifty appeared from around a corner before he or she hid beside the wall in front of a store while breathing out heavily. He immediately noticed that it was Miyabi wearing her casual clothes of a green jacket, blue t-shirt and jeans.

And thus, Akira became concerned. He'd never seen her like this and this worried him greatly.

"Looks like something's up with Miyabi." Morgana noted.

"I can tell." Akira replied with a nod of agreement. "I better go see what's wrong." He then thought as he approached the exhausted woman.

The white haired woman meanwhile was exhausted, annoyed and confused. "How the hell did they find me here!?" Miyabi however panted out. "Aren't they all supposed to be at school!? U-Unless..." She breathlessly muttered.

"You okay, Miyabi?" Akira asked in concern.

"Ugh...I'm only exhausted because I was running from my fan club earlier..." Miyabi got out in annoyance.

"...Fan club?" Akira repeated.

"It's a really stupid thing made by really stupid people." Miyabi sighed out.

"Oookay..." Akira replied, looking a little worried. He'll have to press further about that later when the woman didn't look like she was about to kneel over. "Well, do you mind if we do another spar?" He then asked.

"I...I don't think I can right now...too tired..." The white haired woman groaned.

"Really?" Akira questioned, looking a little hopeful.

Miyabi coughed before answering. "Yeah. I'm gonna sit this one out. Luckily, I've already planned this. I won't be fighting every time but this spar should still be a challenge for you." She then informed.

"Oh joy." The Leader groaned. "And aren't you doing this so that both of us can get stronger?" Akira soon reminded.

"I am, but there's more to strength than power alone." Miyabi responded. "Sometimes, you need to sit back and watch." She then stated.

"And watch me and my dear friends and your teammates beat the shit out of each other." Akira bluntly added.

"Hey, you should enjoy the journey to becoming an excellent fighter." Miyabi countered as she pulled out her phone.

"Who are you calling in, this time?" Akira then asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Let it be a surprise." Miyabi answered as she began texting her chosen victims.

About half an hour later, they all arrived.

"Yo." Ryuji greeted with a quick peace sign.

"Hey guys." Ann waved as she approached.

"Good afternoon." Yusuke got out in a polite manner.

"Good to see you all." Akira replied, mentally hoping they wouldn't hate him for this.

"Did Miyabi call you here too?" Ann assumed.

"Nope." Akira responded.

"Why did you call us all here?" Homura asked with a flat look on her face.

"WHAT THE EFFIN' HELL!" Ryuji screamed, jumping away from the tan skinned girl as the others flinched. "Do you have to effin' do that all the time!?" He then asked while getting into a defensive . I was held up back at school. Homura answered in an apologetic manner. "The Vice Principal needed me to stamp some papers." She then revealed.

"You were only late by, like, ten seconds." Miyabi however informed.

"I know. I promise it won't happen again." Homura sighed as she bowed down. "So what do you want us to kill each other in a battle royale or...?" She then assumed with narrowed eyes.

"Wha!?" Ryuji gasped out.

"No. Yusuke, Homura, you'll be fighting with Leader." Miyabi soon revealed. "Everyone else, you're fighting them. That includes you too, Mona." She then added.

"Eh?" Ann got out.

"What?" Ryuji responded.

"Huh?" Morgana also got out.

"Excuse me?" Yusuke questioned.

"Miyabi..." Akira sighed in a disappointed manner.

"Well, they won't come if I say what the true purpose is." Miyabi explained nonchalantly. "And besides, I'll treat them to lunch after all this is said and done. Anything they want, no strings attached." She then offered.

"Is risking life and limb really worth lunch?" Morgana questioned...only to see the artist already cracking his knuckles and doing stretches. "...You haven't eaten today, have you?" He bluntly assumed.

"I cannot turn down such a generous offer." The starving artist stated.

"Seriously, man?" Ryuji got out before letting out a groan. "Ugh, I really don't want ya to get ganged up on. Give me my shit." He then added.

The white haired woman nodded, only to remember that she had forgotten something. "...Oh crap." Miyabi muttered in realization.

Akira soon let out a groan. "I'm gonna regret this, but here's all the new equipment I just bought." He soon got out as he set down his paper bag.

"Really? Thanks, man." Ryuji responded in relief.

"Yeah. That's really kind of you...and kinda stupid." Homura soon admitted.

"Yep. I love making things harder for myself. Intentionally or not." Akira tried to laugh it off, only to groan in sadness.

"Well, if we're all doing this, I might as well. You better get me the best sweets in town." Ann muttered as she got her equipment.

"And a lot of tuna." Morgana added as he leapt out of Akira's bag.

"If you do well enough." Miyabi stated with a nod.

"Food. The greatest bribe." Akira muttered in a flat tone.

"I want this fight over with soon so you better end this fast." Miyabi soon ordered. "Let's give you...three minutes?" She then decided after a bit of thought.

"Excuse me?" Yusuke got out with a raised eyebrow.

"Three minutes?" Homura repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you believe-" She then started.

"Homura, stop talking before she makes it 30 seconds." Akira interrupted in a flat tone.

"Yeah...besides, the shorter the time, the more brutal the fight will be." Morgana added with a wince.

"Okay, fine. Just three minutes." Miyabi relented with a sigh. "But if Joker loses, he's gonna have to try again until he does beat you all." She then informed.

Yusuke, Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana choked. "Why!?" They all cried out.

"Because I said so. Now, let the battle begin!" Miyabi declared as she did the hand signs for a Shinobi Kekkai.

"I swear, this is just an excuse to beat us up..." Ann groaned before the group vanished.


(Miyabi's Shinobi Kekkai)

(Darkness of the Unknown by Yoko Shimomura)

"Kaito Change!" The Thieves declared as soon as the world charged around them.

"Get ready, Joker!" Panther called out as she cracked her whip.

"Don't underestimate us!" Mona declared as he aimed his slingshot at his opponents.

"Sorry 'bout this!" Skull got out as he twirled his new weapon around.

"We've got this!" Yang stated confidently as she summoned her katanas, sharpening them against each other.

"Let's finish this quickly, Leader!" Fox breathed out as he gripped onto his katana.

Joker nodded to that as he pulled out his knife and rolled his neck. "Don't hold back."

Miyabi smiled. Good to see everyone so fired up (despite lying and bribing them into fighting each other for her own amusement, er, training). "Your three minutes start...NOW!" She announced before snapping her fingers.

SNAP! FWOOSH!

"PERSONA!" The fighters all called out in unison, tearing off their masks at the same time and having their flames and Personas clash with each other. "I won't lose!" They all then declared before pushing off each other.

"Gang up or divide and conquer?" Yang asked as soon as they landed.

"Divide!" Joker responded before summoning Arsene to his side.

"That might not work too well..." Fox however got out.

"Hm?"

"My Fire skills are useless against Skull and Panther." Yang informed with a frown before turning her gaze over to the not cat. "But Mona..." She then began with a sly smile on her face.

"Wh-Why are you looking at me?" The not cat squeaked in fear.

"Joker, would you excuse animal abuse for this one fight?" Yang asked.,

Joker stopped what he was doing and gave it a little thought. "One, animal abuse is not a joking matter. Please don't ask for permission for that again."

"Oh." Yang only got out, while Mona had a sigh of pure relief.

"But...Mona is not a cat, he said." Joker then reminded as the not cat suddenly stopped his feeling of relief and shivered in fear. "I say go nuts." He then advised as the not cat paled and covered the area between his legs.

"Going for the nuts it is!" Yang happily responded before running towards the poor little guy.

"Wait, I mean go-" The Leader tried to correct, however, Yang was already winding up her leg and-

WHAM!

"YYYAAAAAAHHHH!" Mona screamed as he was punted into the air while holding onto his jewels.

"...Crazy." Joker weakly concluded as the not cat finally landed...on his head.

"Touchdown!" Miyabi called out. "...That's the right thing, right? I don't know rugby." She then asked as she turned to the quarter-American.

The ash blonde nodded to that. "...That was a kick the baby moment..." Panther awkwardly admitted with a wince.

"...Who the hell would kick a goddamn baby!?" Miyabi exclaimed in disbelief and confusion.

"You don't wanna know." Panther replied with a sweatdrop before focusing on the not cat. "Uh...Hecate, heal!"

"Ugh..." Mona moaned in pain as he slowly picked himself up.

"You okay, man?" Skull asked in concern.

"I am." Mona answered with a nod before focusing his gaze on Joker. "But...not as bad as they will! Miracle Punch!" He then declared as Zorro came to his side with a boxing glove.

"That's not what I-" the dyed blond began to point out, however...

BOOP!

"Whoa!" Joker exclaimed as he barely dodged the attack before tearing off his mask. "Raga Naga, ZIODYNE!" He soon commanded.

Skull's eyes widened to that. "Get behind me!" He called out.

"AAHH!" Mona screamed as he dived behind the dyed blond while he summoned his Persona.

ZAP!

"Hah!" Skull smirked as Seiten Taisei took the attack like it was nothing. "You ain't gonna take us down that easily!" He then declared.

"Thank you, Skull!" Mona breathed out. "Now let's eff 'em up!" He then declared with a fist-pump.

"Weaknesses might not be our best move right now!" Yang called out.

"I can see that!" Joker responded.

"...Wait, do we know anything that they're weak against?" Panther suddenly asked.

Skull and Morgana instantly froze.

"...Oh, daughter of a bastard." Skull mumbled in seething anger as he glared at the white haired woman.

"Improvise!" Miyabi called out.

"I'm gonna improvise somethin' alright!" Skull responded before he charged at the artist.

"Oh! I got it!" Panther called out, summoning Hecate to her side. "Put 'em to sleep, Hecate!" She soon ordered.

"Don't think a little drowsiness will stop- ZZZZZZZZ...!" Yang tried to declare, only to fall asleep right on her feet, along with the rest of her team after the ash blonde started spamming Dormina.

"Huh." Skull got out, blinking. "That was easy." He then admitted.

"Does that mean we win?" Mona suddenly realized. "They are unconscious." He then pointed out as he turned to the white haired woman.

"I want your opponent to be neutralized through pain!" Miyabi however called out. "By the way, 90 seconds left." She then informed.

"Then why don't we wait it out?" Skull then suggested.

"We're gonna have to do this again." Panther soon reminded. "Seriously, no matter what happens, we're gonna lose painfully..." She then groaned.

"Let's just wake them up and see where it goes." Mona got out as they all pulled out paper fans...but not before robbing them of something.

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

"-Will stop us!" Yang suddenly called out before looking around confused. "Huh, what happened? I feel like I blacked out for a second." She then asked before seeing her allies wake up. "...Dammit! We got hit with the Sleep spell again, didn't we!?" She soon exclaimed.

"Yep." Panther sheepishly replied.

"You need better status resistance." Miyabi remarked.

"Grrrr...!" Yang growled out.

"Oh...no..." Fox whispered.

"Leader, permission to attack Miyabi?" Yang suddenly asked.

"Permission denied." Joker replied as he shook his head. "She'd probably fail us." He then added.

"Permission for misplaced anger and retribution then." The tan skinned girl then asked, her eye twitching.

Seeing that no would be a terrible answer, Joker sighed. "Permission granted." He relented.

"COME HERE RYUJI!" Yang soon roared, sounding all too excited to do so.

"Wait, why me!? It was Ann- OH SHIT!" Skull began before exclaiming as he was pounced on by the tan skinned girl, intent on slashing his face off.

"Get off him, Yang!" Panther called out as she pulled out her SMG and fired at her.

Instantly, Yang used the dyed blond as a human shield to take the bullets for her before throwing him at the ash blonde, taking them both down. "Sorry about that!" She soon apologized.

"That was overkill." Joker bluntly stated.

"One minute!" Miyabi announced.

"Not overkill enough!" Yang countered as she pulled out her own SMGs.

The not cat soon healed the two and helped them to their feet. "You're gonna regret that!" Mona declared as he pulled out the star from his fanny pack.

"Huh?" Joker got out as he patted himself down.

"That little shit, he pickpocketed you!" Yang exclaimed. "...I should do that next time!" She then decided.

"Really!?" Joker got out in disbelief. She was already planning out his murder already!?

"Panther, ready?" Mona got out with a smirk.

"Ready." Panther replied as the star began to glow.

"SHOWTIME!" They declared in unison as they jumped into the air.

Mona proceeded to pull out a large bouquet of roses for Panther. When they romantically jumped towards each other, Panther reached into the flowers and pulled out two SMGs and began firing them in all directions. After a brief pose by the duo, they jump high into the air, where Panther begins shooting the guns downward on the enemy while Mona pulls out a bomb and throws it.

"Now that's style!" Mona and Panther declared, before...

KABOOM!

"AAAAHHHH!" Joker's team cried in pain as they were blown away by the bomb.

"Definitely...getting...the star...next time..." Yang panted out.

"Screw...you..." Joker groaned in pain.

"Stay focused...everyone!" Fox however encouraged his team, shaking off the pain and lack of energy in his body. "We can still win!" He then declared in a confident manner.

"30 seconds!" Miyabi called out.

"We are going to lose!" Fox then declared in the same confident tone.

Joker clenched his teeth before looking at his opponents, his eyes flashing red. "Not if I can help it!" He declared.

"You need us to stand back?" Yang had to ask.

"No time to ask anything, just go! PERSONA!" Joker roared as he tore off his mask.

FWOOSH!

"They've already won." Miyabi thought with an impressed smile on her face as Joker's team prepared to finish this battle off.

"Go All-Out!" Joker ordered.

"You shall be done!" Fox declared.

"Say goodbye!" Yang shouted out as they rushed down the enemy.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

The Leader, Yang, and Fox soon landed back on the ground and walked away from their opponents behind them. "That's game!" Joker declared as he pulled on his glove.

BOOM!

(End Music)


(Shibuya, Central Street)

The Thieves soon reappeared just outside Untouchable (and right near the Velvet Room to Akira). The enemy team instantly ate pavement as they flopped onto the ground, barely able to move.

"Huh. With five seconds to spare." Miyabi remarked.

"U-Ugh..." Ryuji groaned in pain, opting to lie on the ground rather than stand straight.

"Geez, Joker." Ann panted out as she rubbed her sore...everything.

"Impressive. You surpassed my expectations, Leader." Morgana complimented before hacking up a hairball.

"...What was that about not being a cat, Morgana?" Ryuji quipped.

"Oh shut it Ryuji." Morgana grumbled.

"In any case, it was more out of desperation and panic, but thank you." Akira panted out. "But I couldn't have done it without Yusuke and Homura." He then added as he patted his teammates on the back.

"Thanks, Akira." Homura responded with a grateful smile.

"May I get something to eat now?" Yusuke soon asked, causing everyone there to groan.

"Later. I want to talk with Joker first." Miyabi replied before turning to the Leader. "You know, stepping away from the action was a good idea. I was able to see how everyone is doing more clearly." She soon admitted.

"While jeering from the sidelines." Akira added.

"Well, it's not every day you get to see Persona-on-Persona action." Miyabi pointed out.

"Phrasing." Akira quickly spoke up.

"Stop it." Miyabi got out in an annoyed manner before continuing. "I'm actually impressed you all picked up a fighting style. Especially Ann, whips aren't exactly something you can just swing around without hurting yourself." She then admitted.

"She's been a natural at it since getting her Persona." Akira soon said with a proud smile. "All of us are. Benefits of having a will of rebellion and the Metaverse." He then added.

"Maybe, but you're all probably getting that muscle memory ingrained into your bodies. All you need is strength, dexterity, and agility and you should all be masters." Miyabi assumed.

"That's what Homura is for." Akira then reminded.

"Anyways, before I go pay for everyone's lunch, I just wanted to really thank you for helping me." Miyabi got out in a grateful manner. "You really didn't have to." She then confessed.

"Hey, I can't turn down a good friend in need." Akira stated with a smile, which hid the fact that he almost said that he can't turn down a cute girl.

"Now if only training could resolve other problems." Miyabi murmured under her breath.

"Hm?" Akira got out, his eyebrow raised.

"Nothing. It's none of your business." Miyabi mumbled while turning her gaze away from the Leader.

"I'm getting real sick and tired of hearing that from people..." Akira thought with a frown. He was gonna have to resolve that soon.

But, onto more...odder matters...

"So...you have a fan club...?" Akira awkwardly started as he looked at the white haired woman.

"Don't get me started..." Miyabi groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "All I know is that it was around since I woke up." She then stated.

"Why would there be a fan club for..." The Leader began, however…

"SHE'S HERE!"

"KYAAAAAAAAA!"

The Thieves winced as they heard cries and screams coming from nearby.

"Argh! What was that? It sounds like an idol concert!" Ryuji complained as he covered his ears.

"W-Why is the ground shaking?" Homura asked in concern.

The white haired woman however paled. "Shit! They found me again!" Miyabi got out in annoyance as she roughly grabbed the Leader's arm. "Move! Now!" She practically ordered.

Homura immediately took the warning and vanished in a flash.

"H-Hey! What about us!?" Ann exclaimed.

"Scatter!" Miyabi practically ordered as she began running, practically dragging the boy she was holding with her. "It's the I Heart Miyabi Militia!" She then informed.

The Leader however raised an eyebrow to this. "Militia? Not a club?" Akira got out in confusion.

"It's more accurate!" Miyabi replied.

"That raises more questions than answers." Akira thought with a sweatdrop.

Almost instantly, they saw a swarm of girls coming towards them...and promptly absorbing three of the Thieves into their army.

"AAAAHHHH!" Ann screamed, her ash blonde hair barely visible.

"LADY ANN!" Morgana exclaimed. However, he didn't allow himself to leap from the bag, in fear of being trample into a furry black and white pancake.

"HELP US!" They heard Yusuke cry out.

"Don't be a hero, Akira. They're already dead." Miyabi overdramatically told the boy as they kept running.

"GET OFF ME! SOME BITCH ALREADY STOLE MY UNDERWEAR!" Ryuji screamed.

"...Welp, time to be an ass and leave." Akira soon declared before rapidly making his escape.

Despite the guilt of leaving his friends to the wolves/crazed fangirls, he felt his relationship with Miyabi deepen.

RANK UP! Lust Rank 5!

Unlocked Shinobi Sabotage!

Have a 10% chance to inflict a random status effect upon a normal attack.

"Oh, we are definitely getting more than food." Akira remarked.

"I'llmakeituptothemlaterIneedtogoBYE!" Miyabi quickly got out in a panic.

WOOSH!

Seeing that Miyabi had abandoned him in the middle of Station Square, he decided to do something else tonight...while avoiding anyone from the Militia with the same name as her.

He wondered if Tokyo was ever normal to begin with.


(Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)

Homura breathed out in relief as she closed the door behind her. "Home sweet-" She began.

"Homu-nee, lock the door!" Asuka suddenly called out as she popped out of her hiding spot from behind the couch and carefully but quickly locked the door...then barricaded it with several items around the apartment that had no sentimental value (including Homura's long forgotten futon).

"Sis?" Homura got out a little too loudly for the Vice Leader's liking.

"Shhh...!" Asuka however hushed in a panicked manner. "Quiet, they could be listening..." She then whispered.

Homura blinked before slowly nodding, carefully taking off her shoes so she would make as little noise as possible. At that moment, they heard...them.

"She was last seen here going to this building! Find her!"

Soon after, there were sounds of running footsteps getting closer and louder before it stopped.

"Where's Miyabi-senpai? Have you seen her?"

"No, I haven't. I thought she went through here."

"Should we try and inspect each room here?"

"There's civilians living in this place. We might get too much attention."

"Who cares? All I wanna do with my life is-"

"I don't wanna know!"

"I think she was trying to distract us into going here. She must have left the moment we entered and tried to find her in this building."

"As expected from an Elite like Miyabi-senpai. Come on, let's check out the New Moon Apartment Complex in Shinjuku and then the Tokyo Mirage Apartments in Yongen-Jaya. She might be hiding out there."

"Miyabi-senpai, be ready and spread your-"

SLAP!

After hearing someone slap the horny out of their partner, everyone in the apartment waited for silence before even moving a muscle. "...Are they gone?" Homura whispered In a nervous manner.

"Sounds like it." Asuka assumed as she let out a breath.

"Oh thank God, I thought they would never leave." Miyabi sighed in relief.

Asuka and Homura jumped at the sight of the woman seemingly coming out of nowhere. "MIYA-MPH!" They cried out, only for the woman to shove pillows in their faces to muffle them.

"Apartment wasn't safe. Had to hide out here." Miyabi explained the unspoken question. "To be honest, I thought you knew already, my student." She then added in an exhausted tone.

"Sensei! Are you alright!?" Asuka exclaimed.

"I...I...I..." Miyabi got out with a haunted look on her face as the brunette supported her.

"You look like you ran through hell..." Homura got out in concern. "...Also, where's your underwear?" She then asked in concern.

"Had to sacrifice them. They were too...ravenous..." Miyabi answered. She was glad it wasn't her birthday pair and was just an old pair before her coma. Although the likelihood of them framing them did not sit well with her.

Yeah, she was going to contact Suzune-sensei about this later...

"You can stay here again if you like." Asuka soon offered.

"...Thank you..." Miyabi breathed out before flopping over the couch. "So much for a break..." She groaned in exhaustion.

"Homu-neechan, is it alright for Miyabi-chan to have a bath bomb bath? She definitely needs it." Asuka requested and explained.

"Eh?" Homura got out, looking rather unsure. "But...they're supposed to be only for us alone..." She then reminded.

"Can you make an exception? I'll buy another, alright? Please." Asuka pleaded with her sister.

Homura winced, but then looked at the traumatized and exhausted white haired woman. "Sure. Only for tonight. And next time this happens, she has to bring her own." She soon responded.

"Great." The Vice Leader got out in a grateful tone before pushing the woman towards the bathroom. "We'll go after dinner so you enjoy your bath, okay? Oh, and do you mind giving me your keys? I'll go get a change of clothes for you."

"Thanks, Asuka." Miyabi responded with a nod before heading into the bathroom.

Several minutes later, Miyabi had run the water and was stripping herself down as she sighed from exhaustion. "Would killing them all be justified? Do I have to call my father before I start a fangirl massacre?" She grumbled in frustration.

"You don't need permission unless you get caught." The other voice in her head pointed out.

"That's how war crimes are committed. Now, bath bombs...bath bombs..." Miyabi muttered as she rummaged around the cabinet. "Ah, there we are." She then got out as she took out the item in mention. She couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat at the sight of it. It looked like a pink teddy bear.

"Aw...do you really want to dissolve that in the water?" Her other voice cooed out.

"I suggest using one of the other, more generic-looking ones. This might be for a special occasion." Nobunaga chimed in.

"Moh! Can't I be alone in my thoughts for two minutes!?" Miyabi mentally complained.

"Nope." The other part of herself answered.

"Never." Nobunaga responded.

"Goddammit." Miyabi groaned in defeat. "How does Akira freaking deal with this? I think I'd go crazy, no, crazier if I had a dozen other people in my head." She then added.

"They are all different aspects of himself given shape and a voice. He is still one."

"How do we know that?"

"Leader told us as such."

Miyabi stared blankly at the ceiling.

"In Mementos?"

"I usually tune those conversations out when it's nothing interesting." Miyabi mumbled out. "I never thought that these people have the potential to change the world, and yet here they are talking about standard crap." She then sighed,

"They're still teenagers."

"They killed Shin!" Miyabi got out in a frustrated manner.

"You helped kill Shin as well." Her other self reminded.

"Asuka and Akira were the ones that killed the thing..." Miyabi grumbled. "Everyone else was just there to get the majority off of them." She then added.

"You trained your student to be able to stand up to Shin to begin with. Be proud of that."

"I was only here for a month at that point!" Miyabi snapped as she slammed his fist on a wall. "I didn't teach her shit then...Asuka is strong enough on her own without me." She then grumbled.

"Oh stop being so negative." Her other voice scoffed. "You have a lot of contradictory thoughts. One moment you're all gung-ho into turning her into a true shinobi, the next you don't want to even think about teaching her." She then got out.

"Can you blame me?" Miyabi sighed while brushing her hand through her hair. "I've told her before, I'm a terrible person to look up to. A soul stained to pitch black can't compare to one where darkness never touched in the first place." She then stated.

"Don't you want to teach the next generation though?" Nobunaga soon asked.

"...I'm not ready." Miyabi mumbled in response as she looked down at her hands. "I'm still trying to get my old strength back, I need to earn those three years back. Only then I'll be worthy to teach anyone." She then added.

"And for what?" Her other voice pressed. "For a pointless war? For the sake of power?" She then questioned.

"To protect my loved ones." Miyabi answered with a smile. "I wasn't strong enough so many times. My mama, that mission, Futaba...I'm not letting it happen again." She then admitted and decided.

"You didn't even know Futaba even existed then. You have no reason to think you weren't strong enough for her." Nobunaga meanwhile reminded.

"I'm still not." Miyabi groaned out. "I don't even talk to her father about visiting or anything! I just show up and hang out in her room when I have the time! God, I feel like a criminal!" She then reminded and confessed.

"Aren't you already?"

"Ugh..." Miyabi groaned once more.

"Shogun, this is all false and you know it, because I know it." Nobunaga stated. "Didn't you tell Asuka this morning that she was her own worst enemy?" He then reminded.

"This is the exact same scenario." Her other voice added.

"..." The white haired woman said nothing.

"Besides, we know you are proud of Asuka as your student." Nobunaga continued. "And you were happy when she asked you personally to teach her."

"I am." Miyabi mumbled. "But she doesn't need me. She has way more experience, she's a founder for God's sake while I'm just a newbie in comparison. She should be teaching me instead." She then argued.

"Despite the fact that you two are learning from one another?"

"...Eh?"

"As she has been willing to learn from you, you have unconsciously been learning from her as well." Nobunaga explained. "You were fully prepared to die here if it meant proving your worth as a shinobi, but now...you have friends, people who care about you, a life outside the confines of what you were originally taught, the teachings as a harbinger of death."

"You are a person. More than a tool."

"...I know...I know it's true..." Miyabi eventually confessed. "But...there's still a lot I can't just erase with time and lessons." She then confessed.

"But it certainly helps." Nobunaga concluded. "It is almost time to leave. You must find what your heart desires most soon. I will not allow you to languish any further." He then advised.

"...Hai." Miyabi eventually responded as she then got the bath bomb...

PLOP! FIZZZZZZ!

And dropped it in.

Back with the sister, they were preparing dinner.

"You think Miyabi-sensei will like hotpot?" Asuka asked.

"Everyone likes hotpot." Homura responded. "Especially when you have some quality wagyu beef to go along with it." She then added while pulling out a steak from the fridge.

"Wagyu beef?" Asuka got out in surprise. "We can afford that? That feels a little...excessive." She then admitted.

"Well, I wanna give you a serious pick-me-up before your runway show tomorrow." Homura stated with a smile. "Besides, it was on sale." She then assured.

"I don't think hot pot goes well with wagyu." Asuka admitted.

"Well, there has to be something we can make." Homura muttered with a frown. "Unless you want Chinese takeout?" She then suggested.

BZZT! BZZT!

"And there's the daily IM message." Asuka announced as she tossed her sister her phone.

[Negative8Degrees: Dear lord, have any of you seen the news recently?]

[Shut7heFUp: What's up?]

[All4Painting: Is it about the bomb threat recently?]

[FireGirl20: The WHAT!?]

[Road2Queen: Someone posted on the Phan-Site earlier today threatening to destroy a government building. He was just arrested recently.]

[TheWildJ0ker: Yeah. I saw it just now. The bastard claimed that he was one of us and wanted attention.]

[SushiRoll23: WHAT!? We are not terrorists!]

[Sweetkat06: But isn't that really scary? I mean, if we have enough influence to get people to post something like that eventually someone is gonna actually go through with it.]

[B3lladonna: This is quite the concern. And given what the public have seen...]

[Alibaba9: Oh god, are we making a cult by complete accident!?]

[TheWildJ0ker: I mean...we are kind of displaying ourselves as forces of nature...]

[SushiRoll23: Okay, once we take care of Okumura, we are going into damage control and getting people to realize we are only human.]

[All4Painting: I don't think people will believe us though. People aren't always willing to change their mind.]

[SushiRoll23: Then what do we do?]

[TheWildJ0ker: Roll with the punches and figure it out later. Right now, we need to focus on Haru's problem.]

[SushiRoll23: I guess you're right, Leader.]

[Shut7heFUp: Anything happening on your end, Haru?]

[B3lladonna: Nothing yet, but I'm getting worried that I'll be recommended to buy condoms before I leave.]

[FireGirl20: Can I hurt Sugimura after we change your father's heart and your engagement with him dissolves?]

(...)

[B3lladonna: I get first blood.]

[FireGirl20: Deal.]

[TheWildJ0ker: We won't let you get sold off, Haru. Believe it.]

"Fame is overrated." Homura muttered. "I think the worst thing about getting our identities busted is the fact that there might be body pillows made of us." She then stated.

"That'll be the day." Asuka scoffed as she rolled her eyes before pausing. "...Wait, do I have body pillows made of me already?" She then got out with widened eyes.

"I will murder everyone in your agency if that ever happens." Homura instantly declared.

"Homu-neechan!" Asuka exclaimed in disapproval.

"Fine. I'll make sure they never work again instead." Homura sighed. "...I should start collecting blackmail then." She then mumbled under her breath, though at that moment...

PLOP! FIZZZZZZ!

They soon smelled the scent of rose buds and lavender in the air.

"Mmmm~ So good~! The sisters soon heard Miyabi moan out, her voice sounding an octave higher than usual. "You gotta tell me where you buy these Asuka-chan, Homura-chan!" She then called out.

"It's in the Underground Mall! Can't miss it!" Asuka responded. "...She isn't using the teddy bear bath bomb, right?" She then asked in concern.

That immediately caused the tan skinned girl to perk up. "If she is, I'm gonna punch her in the face." Homura responded and declared. "I was saving that for when we beat the shit out of Haru's father." She soon revealed before pausing. "...I mean his Shadow." She then corrected.

"No, I know what you mean." Asuka responded. "I wanna beat up Haru-chan's father too." She then admitted.

"Glad you're with me. And I'm sure the others won't mind too much. Even Haru." Homura responded. "Violence may not solve everything, but it certainly makes me feel better." She then noted.

"Hai." Asuka replied with a nod.

A while later...

"Aaaaahhhhh~" Miyabi moaned as she walked out of the bathroom, clad in nothing more than a towel as steam lofted out of the bathroom.

"Have a good bath, Miyabi-sensei?" Asuka soon asked with a smile.

The white haired woman in response nodded with a grin. "It was great, Asuka-senpai." Miyabi happily replied.

"PFFFT!" Homura raspberries before choking.

"E-Eh?" Asuka stammered in shock and confusion.

Miyabi in turn playfully giggled. "If you're gonna be calling me your sensei of strength, I'm gonna call you my senior of life." She soon revealed. "You got it, Asuka-senpai?" She then questioned.

"M-Miyabi-chan..." Asuka whispered.

"...What the actual fuck happened in the bathroom?" Homura questioned in confusion. "Did you get high from one of the bath bombs!?" She then accused.

"No!" Miyabi exclaimed as she looked at the two. "...Wait, why did you assume that?" She then asked in confusion.

"Um, you know, er..." Homura awkwardly responded. "So, Asuka is a senpai, huh?" She then suddenly asked.

"What a smooth dodge." Miyabi thought in a flat manner. "Hehe, yup." She then outwardly giggled.

"I'm...I'm really flattered." Asuka stammered with a blush. "But uh...why though?" She soon asked.

"Mental chat with Nobunaga in the bath. Help me realize that we're learning from one another." Miyabi simply answered.

"...I thought that was obvious, Miyabi." Homura pointed out.

"Didn't feel like it to be honest." Miyabi admitted while rubbing the back of her head. "But now, I realize how much she taught me, even if it's not entirely clear. So, she's my life senpai from now until...uh...well, not death but-"

"I get what you mean." Asuka interrupted before giggling. "But honestly, I don't feel as though I am teaching you much."

"Felt the same thing, and look how that turned out." Miyabi countered in amusement. "I no longer wish for the death a shinobi expects in the end. I want to actually live now, for myself and my friends." She then confessed.

"Well, us too." Homura spoke up. "Let's help each other with that until the end." She then promised.

"Hai." Miyabi responded with a nod, right before her stomach growled. "...Now, what's for dinner?" She soon asked With an embarrassed blush.

"Hehe, I'll order some Chinese takeout to be delivered." Asuka offered with a grin as she took out her phone.


(Hebijo Base)

Ryōna felt as though she had a good day today as she returned to the base. Not only had she made contact with Akira Kurusu, she did so while indulging in her masochism. Who knew Tokyo would be so open to treating her like the mutt she was! She carefully avoided the ongoing infestation of thick, pink (and suddenly luminescent) beansprouts before making her way to the little desk area she had set up for herself.

...It did make a good night light though.

"Okay, let's review what we have..." Ryōna whispered as she put up a corkboard she stole from some random office building. She had put all the info she was able to gather so far on it, and quickly added the date she had set up with the male target on it, starting with a picture of the boy along with all the other stuff she managed to gather on him. "He better be punctual." She then muttered. Now she had to figure out how to reveal the white haired woman's location, because her true target's side of the board was depressingly empty, other than a rumor that she was working at a host club.

Although, she did hear something about a bunch of fangirls running around looking for some hunky dreamboat that haunts my very dreams...

Pfft, crazies.

BZZT! BZZT!

Almost instantly, the masochist pulled out her phone while she reviewed the board. "Hey there, Ryōna. What the hell are you doing right now?" Her twin bluntly asked.

"Oh hey Ryōbi-chan~!" The blonde masochist happily greeted. "I'm actually trying to figure out if this dog collar that I got from that businessma–" She then started.

"Shut up, you dumb bitch. How's finding that fucker Miyabi?" The brunette sadist ordered and asked. "Any sign of her there in Tokyo?" Ryōbi then questioned.

"O-Oh. No." Ryōna mumbled out her response.

"Oh come on! There can't be that many white haired bitches in the city." Ryōbi growled in frustration.

"Well, I did see someone with gray hair once. But I think that was the wrong person..." Ryōna admitted. "But one thing that did happen to me was good!" She then began.

"Ryōna, if this is one of your stupid ass roleplays, I swear I'll fucking-" Ryōbi soon threatened.

"It was Akira Kurusu!" Ryōna proudly interrupted. "Akira Kurusu! In the flesh!" She then revealed.

The flat chested girl's in turn immediately choked upon hearing that. "Wait...what!? You...actually found that Akira Kurusu guy!?" Ryōbi exclaimed in disbelief.

"Uh-huh! Met him while I was doing my roleplay performance in a park." Ryōna confirmed with a nod. "His cat was cute, too~!" She then cooed out.

"A cat? Why the hell does that matter?!" Ryōbi called out. "And ugh, why the hell were you doing one of your roleplay things again at the park!?" She then demanded.

"To draw him in, of course." Ryōna answered.

"That is a lie! Because it sounded like you met him through sheer dumb luck and-" Ryōbi began to question, only to stop before she gave herself a brain aneurysm. "Anyways, what did he do to you?" She then asked.

"Well, I made him catch his attention like every man would do to a cute girl like me~" Ryōna replied, feeling quite pleased with herself. She managed to satisfy her masochism and do the objective. Quite the win-win.

"Did he try to perv on you or anything?" Ryōbi growled, her cracking fists and grinding teeth being heard over the phone. "If he does, then I'll find him and shoot the dirty bastard in the fucking balls once I go there for Tokyo." She then promised.

"Oh no, he's one of those chivalrous perverts!" Ryōna assured. "I can see it in his dreamy eyes that he wants to spank my butt red, but he holds himself back. Ahn~ the punishment will be much more rough because of it, building up that desire until-" She then moaned as-

"Ryōna! Shut the fuck up and listen!" Her sister snapped.

"Oh. Sorry." Ryōna quickly apologized.

"...Did you just fuckin' call him dreamy?" Ryōbi soon asked.

"He seems like one, so yeah, I like to call him that~" Ryōna happily replied.

"...After we are done, I'm gonna kill him too." Ryōbi grumbled under her breath.

"Awww~ I'm starting to like him, too~ And his cat~" Ryōna whined with a pout.

"Ugh, whatever. Just don't let this Kurusu prick distract you from what's truly important." Ryōbi scoffed. "This is for Nee-san, remember?" She then reminded.

"O-Of course." Ryōna got out with a nod before frowning. "But..." She then began before trailing off.

"But what, Ryōna?" Ryōbi responded.

"Would Ryōki-oneechan...approve of us doing this?" Ryōna soon asked.

"..." To that, Ryōbi went silent on the other end. "...It doesn't matter. Her murderer is still out there, and she won't rest until she's dead too." She eventually responded and reminded.

"R-Right." Ryōna got out.

"So what else happened?" Ryōbi soon asked.

"Mmm...I got a lot of money from my roleplay show from the people watching!" Ryōna hummed out and happily revealed.

"Oh good god..." Ryōbi groaned. Was Tokyo full of perverts? "Hmm...this Kurusu guy...I think we might need him alive after all." She soon stated.

The blonde immediately perked up to that. "What do you mean, Ryōbi-chan?" She soon asked.

"I think we might get some more information about the city if we use him. Maybe some very useful information." Ryōbi responded matter-of-factly. "Akira Kurusu lives around in the city, right? He's probably familiar with what's going on around the city: places, areas, destinations, those kinds of stuff, and we need some information about those areas for us to cover once I go there." She then explained in detail.

"So you're saying we should probe him about the city from time to time." Ryōna concluded.

"That's exactly what I was thinking, dumbass." Ryōbi responded. "Okay, update of plans. We need the perverted boy alive. Try to wring out as much information about the city as you can from the Akira Kurusu guy. Hopefully we'll pinpoint Miyabi's possible locations for her hideout." She then ordered.

"Yay~! I get to play with him more now along with his cat~!" Ryōna happily and excitedly declared.

"Just don't forget to probe him for information, you fuck." Ryōbi soon reminded in annoyance. "...You didn't scare him off, did you?" She then questioned in an accusing and frustrated manner.

"Do you think I'd let him escape so easily?" Ryōna reminded with a cat-like smile.

"...No, but he won't trust you once you try to get information from him, you pig." Ryōbi grumbled.

"Oh, but he's the type to trust anyone as long as they're willing to talk to him and he can take advantage of them." Ryōna informed. "It's part of the psyche profile I managed to assemble. Do you want me to send it?" She then revealed and offered.

"...Sure." Ryōbi sighed. With a quick few taps on her phone, Ryōna sent the digital files. "Looks like a total nerd. Still, he's our valuable source for information about Tokyo." She soon remarked.

"Even a cute little cub can turn into a vicious lion." Ryōna pointed out before drifting off to masochism-land. "Hahhhh~ I can imagine myself as a piece of meat being chewed on by his-" She then mumbled, the sounds of whips, chains, and slapping filling her mind as her panties got-

"SHUT UP!" Ryōbi suddenly called out. "Look, you only have a few more days there, you dumb bitch. Get some info from the guy, and either kill Miyabi or find where she lives so I can personally stab her in her sleep for the both of us." She then reminded.

"H-Hai." Ryōna responded with a nod.

"Good." Ryōbi got out. "And I swear, if we lose this chance because of you...I'll...I'll...I'll compliment you into a crying mess!" She then threatened.

Ryōna widened in horror as her sister hung up on her.

She couldn't let that happen. And so, Ryōna looked at the corkboard with a serious look on her face before studying Akira's psyche profile.

It was too bad a cute boy like Akira was a pawn in the grand scheme of things.

And pawns must be sacrificed for the greater good...once they prove no more use to their masters.


Save Game…Quit!


Asuka/Yin's Social Stats:

Leadership- Paragon (Level 5)

Knowledge- Sage (Level 5)

Proficiency- Masterful (Level 4)

Diligence- Rock Solid (Level 5)

Courage- Heroic (Level 5)

Homura/Yang's Development Stats:

Maturity- Adult (Level 4)

Knowledge- Sage (Level 5)

Femininity- Natural (Level 4)

Elegance- Yamato Nadeshiko (Level 5)

Understanding- Saintly (Level 5)


Whew! Done! Next chapter is a big one full of…odd developments. Some I'm still iffy on even after all this time. God, I wanna complete some Confidants, but I thought it would be a good idea to delay that until after the Palace since they don't want to let themselves get distracted. Is that a good idea or should we just get it out of the way?

UknownHero signing off, my friends!