Persona 5: The Phantom Files

by sithlorde1988

Will cover the events of Persona 5 Royal, with the sequel set to cover Strikers. What happens when in addition to Ren being sentenced to go live in the care of Sojiro Sakura for a year after being sued for assault, his younger brother is also ordered to go and oversee him? How will this extra character change things? Read to find out! More info in chapter 1! ALL CHAPTERS NOW EDITED

28. Chasing The Mob! Rebellious Queen part 5

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Phantom Files! Unlike last chapter, I don't really have a lot to say this time so this opening A/N will probably be a shorter one, but it is what it is there. That said, let's do the disclaimer while I'm thinking of it, so that way I don't forget about it!

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does NOT own the Persona series as a whole in any way shape or form (barring Kusa/Draconis and any other OCs that might either be mentioned or appear which he does own, unless otherwise noted), and the credit for owning the Persona series belongs to Sega, Atlus and Koei Tecmo so all credit to them!

That being said, I will say we're getting fairly close to the start of the third Palace so that's a thing to look forward to! Otherwise, I guess let's get on with the chapter, so without further ado/delay here's chapter 28!

Chapter 28- Niijima's Bold Move! The Thieves Meet The Mafia! The Rebellious Queen part 5

(At Leblanc with Ren, Morgana and Kusa)

"So, what's our plans for tonight, Ren?" Morgana asked Ren who shrugged and spoke up.

"Not sure yet, but I'm not against calling Kawakami since it's as good an option as any and I think my Guts are high enough now." Ren said as Morgana nodded approvingly and spoke up, smiling approvingly at Ren as he spoke.

"Good idea, Ren. Also, sounds like we're going up against a mafia boss...I'd say they might be a decent target." Morgana said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Though we should take the proper precautions first before doing so just to be sure we're as ready as we can be." Kusa said as Morgana nodded approvingly.

"True. So Ren and I will deal with this Kawakami business while you handle whatever prep stuff you can while also probably private chatting people on your phone." Morgana said as Kusa nodded agreeably, the two splitting off to handle their tasks, the former of the two hopping on Ren's shoulder as he went downstairs, while the latter pulled out his phone and started private chatting while musing over all the prep that needed doing. As he got downstairs, Ren was waved down by a rather pompous-looking customer who spoke up as he walked over.

"I was watching television and came across a discussion about the nature of justice. Have you ever given it any thought? What is 'justice' to you?" The customer asked Ren who thought about it before speaking up.

"While I could say it's the opposite of evil, I won't, since that's not always strictly the case. But I also won't say that I don't know, because that'd be a lie. So I'll go with saying that justice largely entails being willing to help others just for the sake of it being the right thing to do." Ren said as the customer nodded, speaking up once more in a pompous voice as he spoke.

"I see. That's one way to look at it, but you only perceive what is on the very surface. The boy who was featured in that TV discussion is still in high school. Akechi, was it? He was well-spoken and skilled in the art of debate-almost as good as I was at that age." The customer said before looking over at Sojiro as he kept speaking.

"Well, I'll be going home then." The customer said as Sojiro nodded and the customer left. After he left, Ren then approached the yellow phone. As Ren reached for it, he had a thought go through his head.

'There's the public phone. Should I call the maid delivery service? I feel like I can call whenever I want since I'm full of Guts!' Ren thought to himself as Morgana spoke up.

"Thinking of calling in a maid? Well, if you use this, you won't leave proof in your call history! This is all for the good of the Phantom Thieves, right?" Morgana said as Ren nodded.

"Of course. Mind you, this is more because Kawakami asked me to request her when she gave me the number for her maid job. If it ends up being beneficial to the Phantom Thieves in the long run, that's just an added bonus as far as I'm concerned." Ren said. Ren then dialed the number as 'Becky' answered and spoke up.

"Hiii, this is Becky-Oh wait, it's you. Well, it'll be 5,000 yen with the request fee included, you know. Is that okay with you?" Becky asked as Ren checked his wallet and winced as he realized he only had 21 yen left after all the recent prep work he'd done so he spoke up.

"Sorry, but I can't afford that this time. I guess I'll have to call back some other time when I actually have the money." Ren said sheepishly, mentally kicking himself for not making sure he could afford the fee before calling the service. Becky blinked before she spoke up.

"Um...Sorry, but I'm in the middle of work right now, so...Call me another time." Becky said as Ren nodded and hung up the phone before giving Morgana a sheepish look while he spoke up.

"Well crap, now what? I forgot to make sure I could afford her fee. I guess, looking at the options, let's go rank up Mishima since he seems to be available." Ren said with a wince as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Seems like the best option you have since I doubt you can sell enough stuff to raise up 5,000 yen anyways." Morgana said so Ren nodded and fast-traveled to Central Street in Shibuya, where he walked over to Mishima and spoke up.

"Hey, Mishima. Pretty wet weather we're having, yeah?" Ren said as Mishima nodded and spoke up.

"Yep, quite wet indeed. I heard the rain front is gonna stagnate here for a while. Oh yeah! Did you know crime goes up drastically during the rainy season? I'll have to check the Phan-Site and see if anything's happened. So, you did the request I asked you to do. Thanks! Hey, so I figured out another way I can help as your strategic image management representative. It's a great deal for you, of course. Are you free today?" Mishima said as Morgana spoke up after Ren mused on how this could be a good chance to deepen his bond with Mishima.

"So, what'll you do? Are you meeting up with Mishima?" Morgana asked as Ren nodded, looking over at Mishima as he spoke up.

"Yeah, I think so. Not only am I intrigued to hear what Mishima has to say, this might be the best usage of my night that I can see." Ren said with a nod. Mishima spoke up.

"Great! We'll be going over to an expensive buffet over in Shibuya. Heheh, all right! Let's go! Don't worry about the price though! Come on, follow me!" Mishima said as Ren nodded and followed Mishima...

(At the Wilton buffet with Ren, Mishima and Morgana)

"Heheh, today's my treat! Phantom thieves are all about fancy stuff like this, right? That's why we're here! Oh, and it's just the two of us, so don't be afraid to go all-out! What do you wanna eat?" Mishima asked Ren who thought about it before speaking up.

"Honestly? Don't ask me why, but steak sounds really good for some reason right now." Ren said honestly. Mishima nodded in agreement as he spoke up.

"Doesn't it? Meat's perfect for tough guys like us! By the way, this place is all-you-can-eat, so let's make sure we get our money's worth. Actually...Anyway, I posted on the Phan-Site that I had connections to you guys. The Phandom really ate that up." Mishima said as Ren gave him a stunned/surprised look, matched by the not-cat hiding in his bag as Mishima kept speaking.

"Heheh, don't worry though! I didn't say anything that would point to my real identity. I did end up talking about how expensive it is to run our little organization though. The donations I got after that were pretty...generous, to say the least. But I guess our loving sponsors just wanted to show some support! Not bad for strategic management, huh?" Mishima asked Ren, who thought about it before nodding approvingly as he spoke up.

"You're amazing, Mishima! I don't know if I'd be able to pull off managing a site as well as you do." Ren said. Mishima chuckled and spoke up.

"Heheh...Eh, it was a piece of cake for someone as skilled as me. Let's take advantage of this windfall as much as we can! Oh, and it's okay to consider this meal an organizational expense, right? ...Wait a minute! I've seen on the news that using donations for stuff other than what's publicized is a serious crime...Food is definitely an acceptable business expense...but can the same be said of an expensive buffet...?

The more I think abut the whole thing, the less I think we should use the donations here. I mean, people would get mad at a politician for using tax money for personal affairs. The same probably applies to the Phantom Thieves. I guess returning the money would be the best choice..." Mishima said, trailing off as Ren got a contemplative look on his face before he spoke up.

"Probably, though I don't see why we couldn't keep the money, but not use it on a buffet...After all it was donated for helping keep the Phantom Thieves afloat, yeah? So if you were to use it to perform upkeep/maintenance on your tech to be better able to run the Phan-Site, that would be a business expense and therefore an acceptable use of the money. But that's just my opinion." Ren said. Mishima shook his head and spoke up in disagreement.

"No, we need to focus on keeping the image of the Phantom Thieves as clean as possible. I think I"ll return the money and thank the Phandom for their generosity. They'll love that! It might be a waste of some nice resources, but it's all good as long as it boosts our popularity, right? Man, maybe I was born to do this strategy stuff...I'm honestly getting pretty good at it. Don't worry, I'm still gathering info on the forum too.

I actually have a few solid leads right now. Everything so far has been close to home, but these next ones are gonna blow your socks off!" Mishima said as Ren nodded, noting that Mishima seemed particularly enthusiastic today. As a result, the 'Moon' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'III' turning into a 'IV' to signify that his Moon Confidant link with Mishima had reached rank 4. Afterwards, Mishima spoke up.

"So if we're returning the money...how are we gonna cover our meal?" Mishima asked as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"I don't know...I didn't bring any cash with me since I'm rather broke at the moment." Ren said honestly. Mishima nodded and spoke up.

"Same. I'm flat broke...I guess let's just go home." Mishima said as Ren nodded, the two going their separate ways, Ren stopping at the door to Leblanc as his phone rang and he answered it.

"Hello?" Ren said as he heard Mishima's voice on the other end.

"Oh, Amamiya? Sorry for dragging you out for no reason again...As strategic image management rep for the Phantom Thieves, I wanted to splurge a little to boost morale, but...I guess it ended up being pretty good for our PR in the end, right?" Mishima said as Ren spoke up.

"Yup. I'd agree with that. And don't worry that this idea didn't pan out since I'm sure you'll get better ones eventually." Ren said encouragingly. Mishima spoke up eagerly.

"Darn straight I will! Leave it to me! We'll just consider today an investment for our future. There's still so much I have to do for you guys. I'll work even harder. I want to be a real asset to the Phantom Thieves! Okay, bye!" Mishima said as Ren nodded and went inside to go get changed and get ready for bed, smirking at the sight of Morgana sprawled out cutely on Kusa's chest, his head resting on Kusa's shoulder as Kusa slept on unawares, one arm draped over the not-cat as he slept. Ren resisted the urge to take a picture and just went to bed...

(The next morning on the train to school with Kusa, Morgana and Ren)

"HEY! Ah, we were able to get a seat for a change, as was Kusa. Why don't you read something until we get there? I already know Kusa will probably be doing stuff on his phone, so I won't bother telling him what to do." Morgana said as Kusa nodded approvingly, already pulling out his phone to start a private chat as Ren pulled out his copy of 'Nightlife Hotspots' to read it.

"The lulling sounds of the waves and Ferris wheels...Dating tips for mature adults." Ren read to himself as he saw the picture of a bridge which overlooked a gated area under the bridge as Morgana spoke up.

"Seaside Park, huh? I've heard it's a great date spot." Morgana said as Kusa huffed and spoke up, feeling the need to add in his two cents as he spoke.

"True, but that also depends on the girl you're taking out. Not all girls are into parks, after all. For example, I feel reasonably certain Yoshizawa would probably be neutral on going to a place like that. And as for Taba? If I had to guess, I'd say that she would probably at least try it once. But outside of that? I'm not sure if she'd really enjoy going to a place like that all that much or not." Kusa pointed out sagely. Morgana nodded as he spoke up.

"Good point. That said, this seems like a fun place to go with a special someone, for anyone who has one of those. In any case, it's not somewhere you'd want to go by yourself." Morgana said, giving Ren and Kusa a knowing wink as Ren finished reading the magazine and Morgana spoke up once more.

"Oh! So, you've finished reading 'Nightlife Hotspots'. Seaside Park seems to be a great place to go, day or night. It's mainly a date spot, though." Morgana said as Ren's map was marked with the location of 'Odaiba Seaside Park'. Afterwards, Morgana spoke up once more.

"You should invite someone to go there, but...Hmm...Who would you choose?" Morgana asked as Kusa gave the not-cat an incredulous glance as he spoke up.

"Did you REALLY just ask Ren that question, Morgana? It's so obvious who he'd choose, it's not funny. Now all Ren has to do is accept this himself and actually use this information to his advantage." Kusa said sagely. Morgana nodded as he spoke up sheepishly.

"Yeeah, kinda didn't think that one through. My apologies. Oh, but look, we're almost at the station. I'd say that was an efficient use of your time, both of you." Morgana said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"True, even if I didn't get to do as much chatting as I'd have liked since Taba didn't really want to get up yet, which I can't blame her for at all, since I keep forgetting she's not really a morning person." Kusa said as the trio got off the train...

(A little later, on the walk to school with Ren, Morgana and Kusa)

Kusa and Ren were walking to school under their umbrellas when they heard people talking, making them stop to listen as the saw a pair of female students talking by the vending machines, deciding to listen in.

"The rumors are insane. Don't you think that blackmail stuff is insane? I didn't think it had anything to do with me, but there are even victims in my class..." One of the females said as the other spoke up with a nod.

"Oooh, I know all about that! These guys supposedly come asking if you want an easy, high-paying job...But then if you say yes, you get dragged into some real shady stuff...The teachers or student council prez'll do something about it though. People're real worried." The other female said as the first female spoke up once more.

"Oh, are you talking about that posting? I wonder if she was serious about it...I heard she knew about Kamoshida and the sexual harassment...She prolly won't be much help..." The first female said as Kusa and Ren exchanged frowns and kept walking to school, filing away what they'd heard for reference so they could fill the others in later...

(Later that morning, in class with Ren, Ann and Morgana)

Ren and Ann's phones went off to signify a group chat from Ryuji, Yusuke, and Kusa with Ryuji sending the first response.

"That Iida guy's here." Ryuji sent. Ann sent a response at that point.

"I'll try and ask him about it." Ann sent as Kusa sent a response at that point.

"Fair enough. Just don't get yourself in over your head or anything like that, Ann. Ren and I, moreso Ren since he's actually in your class, are here if we're needed." Kusa sent as Ren nodded in agreement as he sent a response.

"I agree with Kusa. That said, good luck. We're counting on you, Ann." Ren sent. Ann sent a response.

"Leave it to me!" Ann sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"That level of motivation actually makes me a little more nervous..." Ryuji sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"In any case, let us know if you learn anything." Yusuke sent. Kusa then sent a response at that point.

"What Yusuke said. Also, I'll try to keep an ear to the ground, so to speak, and see if I can dig up anything from here, but I don't expect much from the first-years, even with Yoshizawa's connections. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd want her involved in this, if only to spare us all a lot of concerned worrying by Ren." Kusa sent as Ren huffed and sent a response.

"Very funny, Kusa. And for the record, I trust Yoshizawa to handle herself. She's a mature enough young woman to know what she's doing. Though I do agree that maybe it's not the best call letting her help dig for dirt on what could end up being the mob. I'm sure you'd feel the same if it were Taba you shared a class with instead of Yoshizawa." Ren sent as Kusa pouted but nodded as he sent a response.

"Fair enough." Kusa sent as Ren put his phone away as class proceeded uneventfully for them from there, but unbeknownst to them all, a certain student council president wasn't faring nearly as well as they were...

(Around that same time, in a first-years' classroom, with Kusa and Kasumi)

As Kusa put his phone away, Kasumi smirked at him and spoke up so only the two of them could hear.

"Another chat with Ren and the others?" Kasumi asked knowingly as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, pretty much. Suffice it to say, Niijima-san reached out to our group for help with one of her jobs. And as a result, now we're being expected to help her find intel on some mafia boss who's in charge of Shibuya, presumably in response to all these posts about students getting scammed out of money and stuff that have been around Shujin lately. I'll be honest with you on something, Kasumi.

Between us? I was extremely close to socking Ryuji the other day when he almost got us all in trouble with Niijima-san with his lack of a filter. I'm not sure how much I can fill you in on at this point, but I will say that he said a lot of things he shouldn't have, and summarily got himself recorded saying them by Niijima-san, of all people. And as a result, that's how we're currently tasked with finding out info on a mafia boss. Apparently, it's Niijima-san's condition for not turning her recording over to the faculty and getting all of us in a massive pile of trouble. Go figure." Kusa said dryly as Kasumi giggled and spoke up.

"That sounds like Sakamoto-senpai for sure. But I know he means well, so try to go easy on him if you can, yeah? After all, he IS one of Ren's best male friends around this school, so he needs a lot of those." Kasumi said sagely as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. And I do agree that Ren could use some people to talk to. Y'know, I like that you're so willing to stick up for Ren unconditionally. Makes me increasingly confident that you're one of the best things to happen to Ren since we moved here. So if you two end up giving it a go between you? You've got my blessing, for whatever that's worth." Kusa said as Kasumi smiled and spoke up.

"It's actually worth quite a bit, given that you're the closest thing to a male relative Ren has in this town. So I count it as a temporary stand-in for his mother's approval. Also, I know you care a lot for Ren, Kusa. Even if you do tend to be annoyed with him at times. So I appreciate that you're willing to have his back. And know that despite what anyone else might say, I think you're a cool guy, Kusa." Kasumi said as she hugged Kusa, making him blink in surprise before smiling as he briefly returned the hug and spoke up.

"Yes, well. As much as I appreciate those words, I should probably mention that Ren will probably need my help after school, if we have to do any fact-finding around Shujin. If you wanted to tag along, I'm sure Ren would be happy to accept your assistance with this task." Kusa said slyly as Kasumi blushed and spoke up.

"Sh-Shut up! Not that I mind you saying so, but that's mine and Ren's business how we feel about one another, Kusa." Kasumi pointed out before smiling as she kept speaking.

"However, that being said? I happen to have a free day today, so I'd be delighted to accompany you in whatever fact-finding endeavors you end up undertaking. If I happen to get to spend time with Ren in the process? Well, that's just the icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned." Kasumi said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Uh-huh. So you say, Kasumi. But I guess we're in agreement, then. Well, I suppose we should at least try and pay attention so that the teacher doesn't try to yell at us." Kusa said as Kasumi nodded and the two turned their attention to the lesson as the rest of it passed uneventfully...

(At the end of the class, during lunchtime in Kobayakawa's office, with Kobayakawa and Makoto)

"Niijima-san, what is going on here!? Apparently the damage done by this so-called mafia has even reached our student body!" Kobayakawa demanded of Makoto, who winced as she spoke up.

"Well..." Makoto said as Kobayakawa cut her off by speaking up.

"I thought this absurdity was nothing but a joke. Not only are there victims, but there are even rumors that some are involved with such crimes...I've even received inquiries from their guardians. Why is this happening?" Kobayakawa asked as Makoto spoke up at that point.

"Unfortunately, I do not have the answer to that..." Makoto said as Kobayakawa frowned and spoke up.

"This is the greatest disgrace in the history of the academy...If it were to be discovered...This is a vital issue for the student council! Did I not ask you to resolve it!?" Kobayakawa asked Makoto who bit her lip lightly before speaking up firmly.

"I'm...doing the best I can." Makoto said as Kobayakawa frowned and spoke up.

"And I can trust you!? You must do something about this at once! You're the only one who is reliable around here...Don't let me down..." Kobayakawa said to Makoto who huffed and blinked as she spoke up.

"Tch..." Makoto managed to get out before Kobayakawa spoke up once more, his words stunning and hurting Makoto a bit.

"From what I've heard, even the other students are starting to be dissatisfied with you. At this rate, you and I will BOTH lose our roles in this school. Do you understand?" Kobayakawa said to Makoto who nodded as she spoke up.

"I do. Please, just give me a little more time..." Makoto said to Kobayakawa who huffed at this, but didn't respond. What neither Kobayakawa or Makoto knew was that their conversation had been overheard by a certain wary ponytailed male first-year who frowned at how much he could hear Kobayakawa threatening Makoto...

(Later that afternoon, in class with Ren, Ann and Morgana)

"Kids these days...So I handed a bill over at a convenience store, and they told me they don't take foreign currency...But what I gave them was a bona fide Japanese bank note. Don't tell me young people these days don't know who Hirobumi Ito is. I shudder to think that these will be the people shouldering Japan's economy...I hope you all know your stuff. Here's a quiz just to make sure. Hey, Amamiya." Ushimaru said as Ren looked up and gave Ushimaru his attention when his name was called.

"Between paper bills and coins, which one is issued by the government?" Ushimaru asked as Ren smiled, glad he'd been paying attention when Kusa had been teaching him about how to stretch his budget since this had managed by happenstance come up in that explanation. He then spoke up with confidence.

"This is it! The answer to that is coins, Mister Ushimaru!" Ren said confidently. Ushimaru blinked but then smiled approvingly as he clapped and spoke up.

"Exactly! That's right. Paper bills are printed by the bank, and coins are issued by the government. Originally, the government made both coins and paper money. However, with the ability to make as much money as they wanted, the economy fell into chaos. An independent organization-namely the Bank of Japan-has been tasked with printing paper money since." Ushimaru said as the usual murmuring about Ren's intelligence ensued, complete with Morgana praising his intellect as Ren's Knowledge increased. At that point, Ushimaru kept speaking.

"Coins, which don't have as much of an effect on the economy, are still produced by the government. You simply can't trust a moron to look after your finances. The best they can manage is pocket change." Ushimaru said as Ren quietly chuckled, knowing that Kusa would whole-heartedly agree with Ushimaru's observation had he heard it. Morgana then spoke up at that point.

"Imagine all the money you could ever want, at your feet...I hope the next Palace is somewhere awesome like that..." Morgana said as Ren shrugged and the rest of class went uneventfully...

(After school, in class with Ren, Ann, and Morgana)

Morgana blinked as he saw Ann going to talk to an unfamiliar boy and nudged Ren to get his attention, speaking up once Ren was looking at him.

"HEY! I see Lady Ann's going to talk to Iida. You're gonna back her up, right?" Morgana asked Ren who nodded as Ren got a private chat from Mishima at that moment.

"This isn't actually a request from the Phan-Site, but a personal one...The truth is, a younger student came to consult with me about something the other day. It sounds like he's getting blackmailed at his job...By the store manager." Mishima sent as Ren blinked and sent a response.

"Are you serious!? This is inexcusable!" Ren sent as Mishima sent his response very quickly after that.

"Right!? From what he told me, money went missing from the register he was supposed to be in charge of. As such, he's been falsely accused of stealing money from the store. And now the manager's making him pay back the full amount. It's 50,000 yen..." Mishima sent as Ren's eyes went wide at that and he sent a response.

"I'm sorry, but WHAT!? 50,000 yen!? That's a lot of money." Ren sent. Mishima sent another response after that.

"Yeah, this guy is like the most honest person I know. There's no way he'd steal all that money. And well, I did some research into that store online...According to some rumors, the manager might be the one stealing that money...He's the only person who checks the registers, after all...On top of that, some other staff members saw him taking cash out when he was calculating totals. Anyway, the guys name seems to be Nozomi Odo. I found it out when I looked into the store. Please, you gotta help this student!" Mishima said pleadingly. Ren winced but nodded as his phone went off to signify he'd gotten a request titled 'Part-Time Job, Full-Time Hell' from Mishima. Ren then put his phone away.

After that, Ren walked over to listen in on Ann and Iida's conversation as he heard Ann speaking.

"...And so I really need some money right now. Can you tell me about this easy part-time job? I'm sure you know about it, Iida-kun. Please!" Ann said as Iida hesitated before speaking up.

"...You don't need my help. A girl like you could get a job anywhere, right?" Iida said as Ann gaped at this and spoke up.

"Huh!? Umm...Now that you mention it...Yes. So, um...What I mean is..." Ann said, trailing off as Morgana winced and spoke up so only Ren could hear.

"This is going south fast." Morgana said as Ann saw an opportunity and jumped on it as she spoke up, her words making Ren AND Morgana's eyes go wide as she spoke.

"O-Oh, Francois!" Ann said as Iida blinked and spoke up right when Morgana did the same, the former perfectly muting the latter so that only Ren and Ann could hear him. *1*

"Huh!?" Both Iida AND Morgana said at the same time, or close to the same time. Ann then spoke up again, her words making Ren AND Morgana's jaws drop at how bald-faced of a lie it was, but not saying anything as Ann spoke up before they could.

"M-My cat Francois got run over by a car and has an incurable illness! I need money fast!" Ann said as Morgana winced as he spoke up.

"That's not convincing at all...Is she talking about me?" Morgana asked as Ann kept speaking.

"I-If Francois were to die, I think I'd die too! Probably..." Ann said as Ren just nodded to Morgana's question as Iida spoke up.

"Come on, don't talk like that..." Iida said as Ann spoke up in a whiny but persistent tone.

"If you don't like it, then tell me about that easy part-time job. You know something, don't you? I've heard the rumors." Ann said as Iida's eyes got wide as he spoke up.

"Rumors!? Was it Nishiyama who-" Iida said as Ann cut him off by speaking up.

"Nishiyama?" Ann asked as Iida blinked and spoke up.

"Oh, uh..." Iida said as Ann spoke up once more, her words making Ren wince at how pointed and persistent they sounded.

"Hey, what was that about Nishiyama?" Ann asked as Iida spoke up.

"That's..." Iida said, clearly caught off-guard as Morgana spoke up in an impressed-sounding tone.

"She actually got the momentum back. She's not acting anymore now, is she? Come on, let's leave this guy to Lady Ann and look for that Nishiyama fellow." Morgana said as Ren nodded and left the classroom, but the second he exited into the hallway, he was stopped by Mishima who spoke up.

"Do you have a minute? You're looking for something, right? I want to help you out, so please ask me anything." Mishima asked Ren, who nodded as he spoke up, giving Mishima a grateful smile as he spoke up.

"Anything, you say? In that case, any chance you know where I can find Nishiyama-kun? Supposedly he knows something about this easy, high-paying part-time job that Ann was asking Iida about." Ren said as Mishima blinked and spoke up.

"Nishiyama? He usually hangs out with Iida. Oh, so you want to ask him about Iida? So that's why Takamaki-san was chasing leads on him before. I'm sorry, I don't know where he is right now, but I heard that your younger brother and Yoshizawa-san were chasing a lead on his whereabouts, so maybe try asking them? That said, he usually stays until late, so I think he's probably still somewhere in the school. I'll keep digging around while you're looking for him! Also, I believe your brother and Yoshizawa-san were on the third floor the last time they were seen." Mishima said as Ren nodded and Morgana spoke up so only Ren could hear.

"...Well, I guess we can let him handle this. Though I wonder why Kusa and Yoshizawa were looking for info on Mishiyama in the first place? We'll have to ask someone else about Nishiyama's whereabouts just to be safe. Can you think of anyone who might know?" Morgana asked Ren who frowned and shook his head, figuring Kusa and Kasumi were probably his best bet at finding Nishiyama. Ren made his way to the third floor, following a tip that Nishiyama was said to frequent the library. As he got up there, he had to stop short as he got up the steps so as not to run headlong into Kusa, who was walking around the corner with Kasumi following close behind.

After managing to stop in time and making sure he hadn't made Kasumi trip from the sudden halt he'd had to bring them both to, Kusa frowned as he turned to the person he'd almost walked into and glared at them as he spoke up.

"OI! Watch where you're-Oh! Hey there, Ren. I was just looking for you, as it happens. Well, I should say WE were looking for you actually, considering the fact that it was Kasumi who was the one that actually found info on Nishiyama-kun. Apparently, he's in the library right now. Go figure Kasumi would manage to get that sort of info without trying. Perks of being an honor student, I guess. That said, shall we go see what we can find out?" Kusa said to Ren, who nodded and fell into step with Kasumi as he spoke up giving Kasumi a grateful smile as he spoke.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Hey there, Kasumi. Good job finding that info on Nishiyama, by the way. I really appreciate it." Ren said with a winsome smile at Kasumi, ignoring the knowing smirk on Kusa's face as he watched Kasumi go slightly pink at Ren's praise while the trio headed towards the library. After a bit, Ren and Kasumi split off from Kusa, deciding to check the front of the library while Kusa handled the back. As luck would have it, Kusa would find Nishiyama hiding among the shelves in the back, looking at his phone. Kusa then smiled as he spoke up gently so as not to scare Nishiyama.

"Pardon me, but would you happen to be Nishiyama-kun? I've been told he frequents the library." Kusa said politely as the male looked up from his phone in surprise, but nodded once to confirm Kusa's guess as to his identity as he spoke up.

"Nishiyama? That's me...Oh, wait, I've seen you before. Your brother's that delinquent transfer student, right? Did you need something...?" The now-named Nishiyama asked Kusa, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, actually. We, and by we I mean myself and Yoshizawa-san, who happens to share a desk with me, heard that some crummy stuff happened to you and Iida-kun recently, as well as something about an easy, high-paying job. Any chance you know anything at all about either of those?" Kusa asked Nishiyama conversationally, trying to keep his voice as polite as possible. Nishiyama blinked at Kusa's question as he spoke up.

"Job, you say? Are you talking about that one time? I-I don't know much about that. I said I didn't want to do it in the first place, but Iida insisted!" Nishiyama said as Kusa nodded understandingly and spoke up.

"I understand that. Do you remember anything at all about it? Truth is, my brother and I were recruited by the student council president herself to look into it. So any information you can give would be most beneficial in getting things sorted out sooner than later. Not to mention we might be able to help Iida-kun out of whatever mess he's in." Kusa said conversationally to Nishiyama who blinked and spoke up.

"Th-That's something Iida-Wait, hold up. Amamiya-kun the younger, are you or your brother doing something to him? He's been acting really strange lately, now that I think about it" Nishiyama said as Kusa shook his head and spoke up.

"Absolutely not! We'd never do anything untoward or unprofessional to Iida-kun. We barely know the guy. But from what I've seen and/or heard, he's a pretty stand-up guy, all things considered. If anything, we just want to help him out if we can." Kusa said as Nishiyama frowned and spoke up.

"Wh-What do you mean? Is he really wrapped up in something shady?" Nishiyama said as Kusa spoke up once more.

"That's what Ren, Yoshizawa and I are trying to figure out. Tell me what you know. It might be helpful in figuring it out." Kusa said reassuringly. Nishiyama nodded and spoke up.

"One day the two of us went to Shibuya, and a man approached us both over near Central Street. He asked if we were interested in an easy part-time job that wouldn't take long, and paid well. I said I wasn't, but Iida was into it, if his reaction to the question was any indication. He was asking the guy all sorts of questions." Nishiyama said as Kusa swore under his breath, having a vague idea of what the job might be but still speaking up.

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. Oh, right. Almost forgot an important question. Exactly what was this job, if you don't mind my asking such a question, Nishiyama-kun?" Kusa asked politely. Nishiyama spoke up nervously.

"U-Um, I don't know any details. I was so scared I ended up going home alone after turning the job down. But according to Iida, it only takes ten minutes, and is good for people who don't stand out." Nishiyama said as Kusa nodded understandingly as he kept speaking.

"I see. I'm sorry to bring up such an uncomfortable topic, but we're almost through here. That said, is there anything else you can remember about it?" Kusa asked. Nishiyama frowned but spoke up.

"Iida started spending a lot of money. That's when his strange behavior began too, now that I think about it. But that's all I know about it. That's enough, right?" Nishiyama said as Kusa spoke up.

"Yeah, it's a start, at least. Thank you for your time and information, Nishiyama-kun." Kusa said politely, walking away towards Ren and Kasumi as Morgana spoke up from on his shoulder.

"A man on Central Street, hm? That is suspicious, for sure. Maybe he was making him commit crimes?" Morgana said as Kusa shook his head in the negative and spoke up.

"Perhaps, but I feel like it's unlikely that anything so bold would happen in broad daylight. Honestly, I have a theory on what's going on, but I'm waiting to share it until we have a bit more info so I can be sure I'm right." Kusa said right as Ren and Kasumi walked over, right in time for Ren's phone to go off with a private chat from Yusuke.

"Have you found out anything, Ren? I have tried looking into this high-paying part-time job myself. People seem to be talking about it here as well. Supposedly a man will talk to you in broad daylight over on Central Street...And your job is to deliver a small envelope he hands you. Well, I will contact you again if I learn anything more." Yusuke sent as Ren put his phone away right as Morgana spoke up when Ren and Kasumi caught up to Kusa.

"So that means this part-time job is somehow crime-related...It takes ten minutes, is good for people who don't stand out, and involves a small envelope...Does that ring any bells? It's something the mafia would definitely be up to?" Morgana said as Kusa spoke up with a frown, lowering his voice as he spoke so only Kasumi, Ren and Morgana could hear.

"Worse than that...I think that those kids are being used to peddle questionable substances discreetly. The large pay is to make sure no questions are asked, probably. And it would line up perfectly with what Nishiyama-kun said about Iida-kun's strange behavior and spending habits." Kusa said as Kasuni's eyes got huge as Ren spoke up.

"Drugs, most likely." Ren said quietly. Kusa nodded approvingly as Kasumi quietly gasped before Morgana spoke up so only Ren and Kusa could hear.

"Drugs? Like illegal drugs...? Maybe they made Iida smuggle drugs for them. That definitely fits with the small envelope, and you can get arrested just for possession..." Morgana said as Ren's phone went off once more, this time signalling a private chat with Mishima.

"Did you meet with Nishiyama? Well, I looked into Iida on my own anyway. Rumor has it he got involved in some kind of suspicious part-time job. And that job's apparently totally insane...Something about trafficking drugs, I think. I hear they ask you to take part on Central Street. In broad daylight, even..." Mishima sent as Ren put his phone away as Kusa swore under his breath as he saw the private chat over Ren's shoulder.

"Of course I was right. When am I ever not right these days?" Kusa said huffily as Kasumi blinked and spoke up.

"You were right in your theory? I'm not that surprised by that, since your instincts are honestly usually spot-on, Kusa. But then of course you have good instincts, given your older brother is my Senpai and all." Kasumi said with a smile and a wink at Ren before shyly turning away so Ren and Kusa wouldn't see the light dusting of pink on her cheeks from what she'd said about Ren. Morgana took the opportunity to speak up while Kasumi was distracted.

"So he IS smuggling...This won't be pretty. Come on, let's go back to Lady Ann! We'll ask Iida directly!" Morgana said as Kasumi and Kusa nodded, the latter speaking up.

"I can't speak up for Kasumi here, but I'm with you guys." Kusa said as Kasumi smiled and nodded her agreement as she spoke up.

"Me too. Besides, I'm still on break for now from my training, so this seems as good a use of my time as any." Kasumi said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Very well...Both of you stay close and be ready to grab Ann and bail if it seems like things get hairy between Iida and I, and Kusa, if needed, you get to go find Ryuji in case I need back-up in confronting Iida." Ren said as Kasumi spoke up, making Ren turn towards her as he listened to what she had to say as she spoke.

"You mean Sakamoto-senpai? He went to the gym from what I heard while we were walking to find you, Senpai! So I don't think he'll be much help." Kasumi said honestly as Ren nodded, smiling appreciatively at Kasumi as he spoke up, quickly taking charge of things as he spoke.

"Fair enough. In that case, Kusa, you've got my back right? Meanwhile, Kasumi will keep an eye on Morgana if needed while getting Ann out of there safely, if it comes to that." Ren said in a commanding tone as both Kusa and Kasumi nodded, the trio heading back to the classroom where Ren had left Ann. After a brief walk, Ren re-entered the classroom, Kusa and Kasumi hanging a bit behind to lean on the nearby entrance as they, along with Ren, listened in to the on-going conversation between Ann and Iida.

"Please tell me about the job, or else my beloved Francois..." Ann said as Kusa and Kasumi exchanged incredulous looks, both mouthing 'Francois!?' to one another as the former of the two looked over at Morgana inquiringly, making Morgana wince as he spoke up so only Kusa could hear.

"To make a long story short, Ann's pretending to have a cat named Francois, or ME, who apparently got hit by a car and has an incurable disease that she needs money to treat, which is about as big of a crock of crap as you spontaneously getting on one knee and confessing to Futaba in front of a crowd." Morgana said huffily as Kusa's eyes widened before he glared at the not-cat and spoke up quietly.

"First of all, don't even joke about that, Morgana-sensei! I've already said that I'm in no hurry for things to happen between her and I. Besides, not cool dragging someone who can't fight back into our discussion Morgana, ESPECIALLY around Yoshizawa-san, who I haven't even mentioned Futaba around as of yet. But I do agree that Ann calling you by a fake name and telling lies is horse shit." Kusa huffed quietly before he gently petted Morgana, ignoring the shocked look on Kasumi's face at him calling Morgana 'sensei'.

As he did so, Kusa contented himself with smirking at the purrs the not-cat gave as he scooped him onto his shoulder and walked back over to Kasumi and quietly filled her in on what Morgana had said, but leaving Morgana's name out of the discussion for the moment. Kasumi giggled as she looked at Morgana, smiling at the not-cat as she looked at Kusa before she spoke up.

"My, he's quite the affectionate little one, isn't he?" Kasumi said quietly as she looked at Morgana, Kusa chuckling as he spoke up, nodding to Kasumi's question as he spoke.

"You have no idea, Kasumi. This one can be a total ham, as well as an unapologetic/unrepentant simp, when he wants to be. But he's still a good guy, so we tolerate him despite his quirks. And by we, I mean Ren and I. Granted, I've had to separate Morgana here and Ryuji more than a few times on occasion since those two somehow manage to end up in each other's faces if we leave them unattended long enough. Naturally, I blame Ryuji since Morgana here's a gentleman, so to speak, and would never provoke a fight.

Since he's been around, even Ren's gotten more suave and confident I think. But you might be a better judge of that than me, yeah?" Kusa said with a teasing wink, making Kasumi huff and lightly smack Kusa on the arm as she had to hide the light hint of red on her face at Kusa's teasing comments about her and Ren while she spoke up.

"You hush, Kusa! I'm still irritated at you for being right about me and Ren liking each other." Kasumi said with a cute sort of pout as Morgana spoke up, fixing Kusa with a disapproving glare as he spoke, not seeing the amused look Kasumi gave him as he did so.

"Kusa, quit teasing the lady! Also, Ann's still doing that...? Tell Ren to take over for her, would you?" Morgana said to Kusa, who nodded and went over to speak to Ren who nodded and stepped in to help Ann, frowning at Iida as he spoke up, making Kasumi blink in surprise as she heard the amount of aggression in Ren's voice as he spoke.

"Give it up, Iida! Nishiyama told my brother everything, and he filled me in. So are you going to keep playing coy, or are you going to fess up? We can't help you if you won't fess up." Ren said pointedly to Iida who blanched as he turned to face Ren as he spoke up.

"Amamiya the elder!? Come on, you too...? I already told you I don't know..." Iida protested as Kusa frowned before he grabbed Morgana off of Ren's bag and gently carried him over to Kasumi, looking at Kasumi as he spoke up, not entirely surprised that Ren needed backup as he spoke.

"Here you go Kasumi, hold my sensei! And by my sensei, I mean Morgana-sensei. That said, can you hold my sensei for a moment, if you would please? I think I might have to go give my brother some back-up and I don't think Morgana here needs to be part of that. Besides, he could use some practice being a ladies' man, couldn't you Morgana?" Kusa said, giving the not-cat a pointed look that said 'play along!' as he handed Morgana to a surprised Kasumi who just nodded before she accepted the not-cat and smiled as she gently sat down and started petting him absently, smiling at the adorable purrs that Morgana gave for her troubles.

Kusa then walked over to help out Ren, grumbling under his breath about annoying wanna-be ladies' man not-cat simps as he joined Ren, frowning at Iida as he spoke up, lowering his voice so that only Kusa, Ren, Iida, Ann and Kasumi, the latter two being nearby with Morgana, could hear as he spoke.

"Quit playing dumb, Iida-kun! Nishiyama told me everything. Including how you took up a certain less than ideal side job and got a robust new payroll for your efforts. So just admit to it. We're trying to help you out here, but it won't work if you don't want to be helped." Kusa said huffily, ignoring the twin looks of surprise Ren and Ann gave him, smirking at the stunned look on Iida's face as he spoke up.

"He did!? That bastard...Dammit! Hmph. Shit...Well, if you already know about it, fine...But I don't want to talk about it here. Let's go somewhere a bit quieter." Iida said as Ren and Kusa nodded, the latter walking over to Ann and Kasumi as he quietly spoke up so Iida and Ren wouldn't hear, looking each of the girls in the eyes as he spoke.

"Okay, so we've got Iida ready to fess up. You two bring Morgana and follow at a distance, but also be ready to be witnesses in case we need people to vouch that what Iida says is true. Plus I get the feeling this could be something that might need to be documented, and I know for a fact that Ann for one has a reliable phone that can record stuff. I'm not saying that you don't, Yoshizawa-san, but you said yourself that your phone doesn't always work the most reliably, and this isn't a situation to have anything left to chance.

Plus, I think Morgana's less likely to be a ham if you're carrying him, whereas he might be too tempted to show off for Ann since I have a feeling he might have taken something of a liking to her somewhere along the way. Can you two do that?" Kusa said to Ann and Kasumi, who both nodded, even though the latter was shocked at what Kusa had said. Kusa gave the two a satisfied nod before chasing after Ren and Iida who had walked out of the classroom, Ann and Kasumi following at a distance, the latter carrying a contentedly purring Morgana in her arms as they moved. Once Kusa had caught up to Ren and Iida at the entrance to the rooftop, Iida spoke up in a frustrated voice.

"What's up with you two? Especially in front of everyone...Yeah, I got a job! So what? Isn't that normal?" Iida asked as Kusa spoke up with a frown.

"If it was something like a paper route, or a dog-walking/lawn-mowing service, or something along those lines, yes it'd be normal! But helping peddle contraband!? That's NOT normal, Iida-kun! Not even close to it at all in the slightest!" Kusa said, making sure to keep his voice down even as he rebuked Iida. Iida frowned and spoke up in annoyance.

"What're you getting at?" Iida said as Ren spoke up, both fed up with the games and feeling like Iida might try to give Kusa the runaround if he didn't as he spoke

"Do we really have to spell it out for you, Iida-kun? You're a drug smuggler." Ren said bluntly making Iida gape as he spoke up.

"H-How do you...? I've only told one person about that...Of all people, I can't believe YOU were the one to find out, you and your little brother...Y-You're right...They told me they had an easy, part-time job for me, and I ended up smuggling drugs...All I had to do was put envelopes into coin lockers, and they said they'd give me a hefty paycheck. I didn't know what was in the envelopes though! Still, this is what came out of it..." Iida said as Kusa calmed himself before speaking up with a soft smile.

"Are you being threatened, Iida-kun? Ren and I just want to help you. We're not here to make your life rough or snitch on you. We just want to help you try to find an out from this if it's not something you enjoy." Kusa said reassuringly. Iida looked down before nodding once as he spoke up.

"So you knew, huh? They started threatening me right after they deposited the money into my bank account...They had pictures of me carrying the goods. Said they'd expose what I did unless I paid them off...You know, why are you two even asking me this stuff? Are you just gonna use my job to blackmail me, too?" Iida asked as Ren and Kusa spoke up.

"NEVER! Despite what the rumors might suggest about me, I'm not a bad guy, Iida-kun. And Kusa and I just want to help you if we can." Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly. Besides, Ren and I would never stoop to such scummy and depraved tactics as blackmail. The truth is, we've been looking into these rumors at the student council president's behest. Apparently, she's being leaned on to stop all this, and as she can't do that on her own, she asked Ren and I for help as a favor to her. And as Ren and I are nice guys like that, we of course decided to oblige her and do her this favor. So that said, you being honest like this has helped us get closer to dealing with things and making the student council president's job easier. She might be a bit uptight and strict about the rules, but if you can get past that, she's not a bad person deep down.

A bit intent on pleasing authority figures, but a good person. And let's be honest, having the student council president on one's side can only be a good thing I'd say." Kusa said simply as Ren nodded his agreement, neither one hearing Ann and Kasumi gasp at what the two had said, the latter not even aware that the student council president had been meeting with Ren and Kusa on the sly. As for Iida, he just nodded once and spoke up again.

"I see...Well, even if you WERE planning on doing that, I don't have any money I could give you...If you're really interested in that job, try heading over to Central Street. That's where they told me about it...I-I told you everything you want to know, right? Can I go?" Iida asked as Ren nodded once and Iida spoke up.

"Well then..." Iida said as he walked off. Right at that moment, Ren, Kusa and Ann's phones went off to signify a group chat from Ryuji and Yusuke, the former of which sent the first response.

"How'd it go? Did Ann's acting help at all? I'm thinking prolly not." Ryuji sent as Kusa and Ann sent responses close together, Kusa's going through first.

"It went...interestingly to say the least. Thanks to Yoshizawa's help, we were able to learn quite a bit from both Nishiyama AND Iida. And do NOT mention Ann's acting around me! She's lucky I know she was acting to try and pander to Iida or I'd be irritated at her for using Morgana as a prop in her acting while telling lies about him!

Also, for the record Ann, Francois!? NOT a good fake name for a cat! If you were trying to play up the sick cat angle, 'Fluffy' or 'Garfield' would've been more subtle in my opinion. And before he reacts, Morgana's NOT a cat, Ann." Kusa sent, getting an approving nod from the not-cat in question who was reading the chat from on Kasumi's shoulder, as Ann's response went through.

"It went perfectly, I think! And good point, Kusa, though I think Fluffy might be a bit too basic to be a good fake name too. I'll give you 'Garfield' however, because that is pretty good. But more importantly, were you and Kusa able to secure any info, Ren?" Ann sent. Ren sent a response that had Ann, Yusuke AND Ryuji wide eyed.

"Yep. As it turns out, it's a drug trafficking setup. And several students, namely Iida-kun, were roped into it. It's technically also trafficking, but it's faster to say drugs." Ren sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"So they ask you to deliver drugs..." Yusuke sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"That's serious. I just searched for 'Shibuya drugs' and got tons of hits too." Ryuji sent as Kusa swore quietly and sent a response.

"You what!? Why would you search for that specifically, Ryuji!? At least tell me you did it on an incognito tab, you fool!" Kusa sent. Ann sent a response.

"Honestly? I don't even think Ryuji even knows what 'incognito' is! That said, so they're making people traffic drugs, then threatening them..." Ann sent as Yusuke sent a response, Morgana seeing Kasumi gaping as he gently nuzzled his face on her cheek comfortingly, which worked insofar as it relaxed her enough to smile and gently pet the not-cat while the others read Yusuke's response.

"That must be what I heard people talking about in Shibuya. They seem to be going about this quite openly during the daytime. What bold methodology." Yusuke sent as Ann sent a response at that point.

"I would've imagined they would do it at night...I wonder why they chose the day." Ann sent as Kusa and Ren looked at each other and nodded as Ren sent a response.

"Clearly, it's because they're aiming for high-schoolers." Ren sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Yeah, what Ren said. Plus, it's easier to find people to enlist in the day than at night, since not as many people are out then." Kusa sent. Yusuke sent a response.

"I see. Yes, more students will be out during the day, while the police will be more cautious at night." Yusuke sent as Ann sent a response.

"Ryuji, you're over in Shibuya now, right? Do you see anyone like that there?" Ann sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Yeah, I'm at Central Street. It's tough to tell though. I mean, there're just way too many people. The goddamn rain's not helping either." Ryuji sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"The sun will be setting soon. What should we do, Ren?" Yusuke sent as Ren and Kusa exchanged a nod as Ren sent a response, followed by Kusa.

"Let's do this tomorrow." Ren sent as Kusa's response went through.

"I concur. It's getting too late to be able to realistically do anything today. That, and I don't think we'd be able to get much done with Yoshizawa-san tagging along and Ren having to worry about her a lot if she gets involved." Kusa sent, smirking at the glare Ren gave him at his response before simply mouthing 'Don't deny it, you know it's true.', making Ren even more annoyed but he merely huffed and said nothing. Ann then sent a response at that point.

"Good point, Kusa. And yeah, that seems like our only choice now. We can split up and search separately then." Ann sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"In any case, we have some new intel. Let's call that progress for today." Yusuke sent as Ann sent a response.

"Whoever asks us to take on that job should know who their boss is too." Ann sent as Ryuji and Kusa sent responses close together.

"All right, I'll get in touch with you guys later tonight and we can come up with a plan." Ryuji sent.

"Agreed. And Ann, if she's still standing next to you with Morgana-sensei, tell Kasumi we thank her for her assistance today, and I mean all of us when I say that, but mostly Ren and I. Also, make sure you get Morgana from her if she has to go." Kusa sent as he and Ren put their phones away.

After Kusa walked out to talk briefly to Kasumi, reassuring her that what she'd heard was just rhetoric to get Iida to open up and by no means true, he gently scooped a sleeping Morgana out of Kasumi's arms before smirking at her right as Ren walked out and smiled at Kasumi, the two walking off to talk one on one for a bit while Kusa smiled and headed back to Leblanc with Morgana...

(Later that evening, at Leblanc with Kusa, Ren and Morgana)

Sojiro looked up as he heard the door open, hopeful it was a customer, only to sigh when he saw it was Ren and Kusa, as he spoke up.

"Oh. Ah, thought I actually had a customer, but it's just you two...I never get many customers when it rains. The cash register's gonna run dry at this rate..." Soiro said as Kusa only had time to nod reassuringly to Sojiro before his and Ren's phones went off to signify another group chat with Ann, Yusuke and Ryuji, the former of the three sending the first response.

"We have to find them tomorrow for sure. This is the only lead we have right now." Ann sent as Yusuke then sent a response.

"Yes, it is highly likely that this part-time solicitor is somehow related to the mafia. If we tail him, he may lead us straight back to his boss." Yusuke sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"He talked to Iida and Nishiyama over at Central Street, right?" Ryuji sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Indeed, it seems that is where our target waits. But then...who should be the one to go?" Yusuke sent as Ren sent a response after pondering it.

"I could send Ryuji or Morgana, but I don't think either of them would be a good decoy, and no chance in hell are we sending Kusa or Ann since one's too young and impulsive to be a good decoy, and Ann couldn't barely sway Iida-kun, so I doubt she'd have much luck against a mafia member. As such, that leaves me or Yusuke, and as I think Yusuke might be a bit too conspicuous to be a good decoy, I guess that means leave it to me." Ren sent. Ryuji sent a response shortly after, followed by Kusa.

"Yeah, that's the best idea. Ann'd stand out too much." Ryuji sent as Kusa's response went through.

"RUDE! I know I struggle with my temper, but I can be subtle and incognito when I want to be, Ren! Also, remind me again exactly WHO got us the info we got from Nishiyama-kun!? Because if I recall correctly Ren, it sure as hell wasn't you!" Kusa sent as Ann sent a response at that point.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Ann sent as Kusa sent another response.

"I really don't think Ryuji meant that as a compliment, Ann." Kusa sent as Yusuke sent a response which had even Ryuji wide-eyed at the language in it.

"I have no objections. We'll leave this to you, Ren. Tricking people and using that as blackmail...These bastards are true cowards." Yusuke sent as Ann sent a response.

"It's kinda scary to think people like that are all around us in this city..." Ann sent as Kusa sent a response.

"I concur, Ann. However, at the same time, let's remember this might be a good chance to prove our justice! We have to do our best to get these scumbags!" Kusa sent. Ryuji sent a response at that point.

"Truth, Kusa! Well guys, we gotta brace ourselves. We're up against a serious criminal here." Ryuji sent as Ren and Kusa put their phones away. After a bit, Ren decided to go study at the diner with Morgana, while Kusa decided to do some cleaning around Leblanc for the sake of it. Once there, Morgana spoke up.

"Not gonna lie, was expecting there to be more people here. Instead it's nice and quiet. Perhaps too quiet?" Morgana said as Ren shook his head as the waitress walked over.

"Welcome, may I take your order?" The waitress asked Ren who nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, I'd like to order the steak, please. I'm just in a steak mood for some reason tonight and it sounded good." Ren said as the waitress nodded understandingly and spoke up.

"Got it. I'll be right back with your order." The waitress said as she left and returned shortly after with a full platter that had Morgana wincing as he spoke up.

"That's a lot to snack on while you're studying. The proportions are definitely grand..." Morgana said as Ren nodded before gradually scarfing down everything on the plate as he studied, leaving Morgana to gape at him once he'd finished, making Ren smirk at the not-cat as he idly twirled his pencil around in his left hand smugly as Morgana spoke up.

"You sure look happy. Did you savor the taste of Grandma's kindness?" Morgana asked Ren who nodded as his Kindness went up. Morgana then kept speaking.

"Nice! It got a bit annoying as the customers kept coming in and out, but you kept your focus rather well, all things considered." Morgana said as Ren nodded and pumped a fist as his Knowledge went up a good bit. Morgana then spoke up once more.

"Wanna head back? Well, that should be enough for the day. Come on, let's go home." Morgana said to Ren who nodded and headed back to Leblanc with the not-cat as the two got ready for bed...

(The next day, on the train to school with Morgana, Ren and Kusa)

"It's so humid! Ugh...It's so stuffy in this bag..." Morgana said as Kusa frowned at the not-cat and spoke up.

"It's because of your fur, Morgana. Now hush and we'll get you under an A/C as soon as we can." Kusa rebuked Morgana quietly as the Train News came on. Ren and Kusa listened attentively to the headline, which was the shady drug deals that Iida and Nishiyama had told them about the day before, along with some apparent phishing scams as well. The rest of it was more gossip about people doing weird things, making Morgana frown as he spoke up.

"Hmm...Oh yeah, something weird happened in food service before, right? Some employee cooking naked...With all these extortions and scams...this world's really messed up." Morgana said as Kusa nodded before smirking at Ren as he spoke up.

"I caught that look in your eyes, Ren. Were you perhaps thinking about that incident and mentally replacing the image of the fast-food worker with a certain red-headed first year we both know, by any chance?" Kusa teased Ren who huffed and spoke up, shooting Kusa an unamused glare for being an instigator as he spoke.

"No, I wasn't. Besides, I doubt she'd ever work in the fast food industry, so your point is moot." Ren said as Kusa grinned and spoke up, giving Ren a knowing grin as he spoke.

"Perhaps, but even so, I'm sure that you were thinking of her." Kusa said simply as Ren sighed and just spoke up, shrugging as he spoke.

"Maybe, but not in any sort of inappropriate way. And in my defense, how do I NOT think of her when she's always helping us out, Kusa? She's such a nice, amazing girl." Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"True. And I'm nearly positive I saw her going red yesterday when you looked at her. As such, unless she was just embarrassed, I think you might just have a shot with her, bro." Kusa said encouragingly to Ren who smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you. However, I think I'll wait for things to be less hectic before I decide on if I'm going to make any moves on her or not." Ren said simply as Kusa nodded and spoke up with an understanding smile.

"That's fair. I can't judge you for being slow when I'm taking my time on purpose in getting closer to Futaba, since I don't want to over-whelm her too much too soon." Kusa said as Ren nodded understandingly.

"I see. Hopefully she's doing well." Ren said as the rest of the train ride passed in silence...

(A short time later, on the walk to school with Morgana, Ren and Kusa)

"I don't get it...I saw Niijima arguing with the principal about the mafia or...something. What was that all about?" Kusa and Ren heard an excited student in front of them say to his friend who spoke up, both ignoring the pensive look on Kusa's face at the mention of Niijima and Kobayakawa.

"I hear her older sister's involved with the investigation. Maybe she's just trying to play detective, too." The other male said to the first male as Ren and Kusa looked at each other, both silently mouthing 'her older sister!?' to one another as the first male spoke up again.

"Are you kidding me? I can't handle a student council president with no focus." The first male said as the rest of the walk proceeded uneventfully...

(After school that day at the hideout with Ryuji, Ren, Morgana, Ann, Kusa and Yusuke)

Once Yusuke walked over to the others at the hideout, Ryuji spoke up.

"Mkay, we're all here." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up.

"There sure are a lot of high schoolers during the day. They must be targeting them somehow." Ann said as Kusa nodded and spoke up

"I'd agree that they're targeting high-schoolers. It tracks with what Nishiyama said to me about him and Iida being approached by people in Central Street." Kusa said. Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"I concur. That said, finding the specifics may be difficult. With such a crowd, the odds are against us." Yusuke said as Ren spoke up.

"Be that as it may Yusuke, the fact remains we have to do this. Or am I the only one who remembers the time limit Niijima gave us to solve this case?" Ren said as Ryuji nodded, grinning as he spoke up.

"Right! We're gonna grab 'em by the tail!" Ryuji said as Ann looked at Ren and spoke up.

"You should head over to Central Street, like we planned yesterday, Ren." Ann said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up from next to Ren.

"Sweet! Let's get going, Ren! Let me know if you find any shady people! And the rest of you stay on standby in case things go pear-shaped for Ren, Morgana and I." Ryuji said as Ann, Yusuke and Kusa nodded as they dispersed, the trio of Ren, Ryuji and Morgana heading for Central Street, and the trio of Kusa, Ann and Yusuke to go hang out at some other location...

(At Central Street with Ryuji, Ann, Kusa, Yusuke, Ren and Morgana)

"All right, let's go! Just as we planned! We might end up running into the mafia. Be ready for anything!" Morgana said to Ren who nodded. As he started walking, he blinked as he spotted Niijima standing by the bookstore, walking over to her and speaking up.

"You here on business, Niijima-san? Or are you tracking our progress?" Ren asked Niijima in a low voice so only the two of them and Morgana could hear. Niijima blinked as she spoke up.

"A bit of both, but honestly moreso the latter, Amamiya-kun the elder. Are you investigating with your friends today? I hope something comes of it. I'll be counting on you." Niijima said as Ren nodded and walked away in time for Morgana to speak up.

"Is she following us? Nah, can't be." Morgana said as he and Ren kept moving. Eventually he and Morgana stopped short at the sight of a menacing man with a briefcase, stepping back a bit to listen in as he spoke up.

"Hey, aren't you interested in all the hottest brand names? We're having a special sale just over there. How 'bout you go take a peek?" The menacing man said as a pierced man spoke up at that point.

"We ordered way too much, so I have a ton left over. My boss'll kill me if I go back to him with all these extras. Look, I'll sell 'em to you for cheap. Whaddya say?" The pierced man said as one of the two students the men were talking to spoke up.

"What should we do?" The bespectacled student said as his brown-haired friend spoke up.

"It depends on the price, wouldn't you say?" The brown-haired student said as the pierced man shrugged before blinking as he saw Ren's reflection off of his phone and turned to him and spoke up.

"Hey, what about you? These are unforgettable deals." The pierced man said as Ren blinked before thinking about it and speaking up.

"Sorry, I'm busy right now." Ren said. The pierced man sighed but nodded understandingly as he spoke up.

"Well, that's disappointing. Come back if you change your mind." The pierced man said to Ren before he turned back to the students he and the menacing man were trying to hustle as the menacing man spoke up.

"C'mon, the shops right around here. How about you come take a look?" The menacing man said as Morgana spoke up.

"It seems like some kind of sale. You probably shouldn't bother." Morgana said as Ren nodded as he kept moving. After a bit, Ren saw a guy with a hat standing by himself near the airsoft shop, making Ren frown as he approached the man and spoke up.

"You lost, sir?" Ren asked the man who spoke up with a laugh.

"Nah. What's wrong, kid? Don't see guys like me very often?" The hat-wearing man asked as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"Not really. I'm not sure why I'm telling you this sir, but I could use a part-time job." Ren said. The hat wearing man blinked as he spoke up.

"Hm? Is that supposed to be some kinda password? I have no idea what you're talking about. I haven't been here long. Try talking to someone else." The hat wearing man said as Ren frowned as he spoke up.

"Oh? Mind introducing me to whoever I'm supposed to be talking to?" Ren asked. The hat-wearing man blinked as he spoke up.

"That ain't so easy...I only know one guy around here...Sometimes I see him in the alley across the way, but I don't think he's there today. He might be near the station. Go there if you wanna see him." The hat-wearing man said as Morgana spoke up.

"Ah, I see. Hm, maybe this other person would know something...? Apparently he's near the train station, so let's go take a look over there." Morgana said as Ren nodded and kept moving. Right after Ren headed down to the Underground Walkway to try and find the man the hat-wearing man spoke of, his phone went off to signify a group chat with Ryuji, Kusa, Ann and Yusuke, the former of which sent a response.

"Miss President's here. I walked past her at the station." Ryuji sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Is she keeping an eye on us?" Yusuke sent as Kusa and Ann sent responses close together, Kusa's going through first.

"Wouldn't surprise me. After all, what better way is there to see someone's justice than to observe it yourself first-hand, even if it's at a distance?" Kusa sent as Ann's response then came through.

"Maybe. I guess she's curious about all of this." Ann sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Well let's just ignore her if she's not in our way." Ryuji sent as Kusa sent a response.

"That works, though at the same time we should be ready to step in if needed, since for all we know, Miss President could do something dumb in an attempt to prove herself and end up in over her head as a result. And if that happens, we'd have to save her, if only so we can prove our justice and righteousness to her." Kusa sent. Ryuji sent a response.

"Truth! Also, more importantly, how're things on your guys' end?" Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.

"Nothing so far. Kusa and I are going to try staking out the underground walkway." Ann sent as Ren sent a response.

"That's where Morgana and I are right now, trying to follow a lead we got. Though I wonder if you moreso meant the underground mall, Ann?" Ren sent. Ryuji sent a response,

"Either way, then I'll check around the Inogami Line. I guess I'll get there from the underground." Ryuji sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"I will gather some more intel in the underground shopping mall as well. Please continue on your end, Ren." Yusuke sent as Kusa sent a response.

"No Ren, she definitely meant the underground walkway, considering I saw you two walk down the stairs before Ryuji started this group chat." Kusa sent as Ren sent a response.

"Fair enough, Kusa." Ren sent as he put his phone away as Morgana spoke up with an impressed smile on his face.

"Everyone's really going about this seriously. They're definitely worthy of being phantom thieves. We can't fall behind either. Let's look for that homeless man." Morgana said as Ren nodded and kept moving. Eventually, Ren walked past Ryuji and stopped to talk to him as Ryuji saw Ren and spoke up.

"Yo, you made it. So, did you find anything out?" Ryuji asked Ren who nodded as he spoke up.

"Yup. According to some guy in a hat we spoke to by the airsoft shop, we have to find some homeless guy if we want more info about the job." Ren said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"So you're telling me we're supposed to be gettin' info from a homeless guy? Well, I think I've seen one underground, right near the construction area." Ryuji said as Ren nodded, thanking Ryuji for the info as he kept moving, before shaking his head exasperatedly as he saw Ann standing next to the aojiru stand as her stakeout spot, Kusa leaning on a wall behind Ann. Ren walked over to speak to them making Ann speak up as she saw Ren.

"Oh, Ren. How are things going?" Ann asked as Ren spoke up.

"Decent. In a nutshell, Morgana and I are basically hunting for a homeless guy that supposedly has info on the part-time job we were told about." Ren said as Ann blinked and spoke up.

"A homeless person? I haven't see any around here. And I don't think Kusa here has either." Ann said as Kusa shook his head and spoke up.

"Afraid not. However, I can say that you'll probably want to keep walking this way. Mainly since if you go the other way, you'll just end up running into Ryuji eventually which you already did, so that's probably not the right path." Kusa said. Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Also, there are a lot of people in this area. Maybe he's somewhere else." Ann said. Ren nodded and thanked Ann and Kusa before giving the latter a commiserating look before he and Morgana kept moving. After a bit, Ren took some stairs and wound up in the Underground Mall where he eventually ran into Yusuke who smiled on seeing Ren and spoke up.

"Ah, Ren. How was Central Street?" Yusuke asked as Ren spoke up.

"It was something. In a nutshell, Morgana and I are trying to find a homeless man who supposedly has info on the mafia. You haven't seen one of those around, have you Yusuke?" Ren asked Yusuke who frowned and shook his head as he spoke up.

"...A homeless man, hm? I haven't seen any around here. This place is filled with shops and people. I doubt he would be in such a busy place." Yusuke said as Ren nodded and thanked Yusuke before he kept moving. After going back down into the Underground Walkway, Ren moved around a bit more, until he saw a man sitting next to a pile of boxes. Morgana and Ren nodded to one another before approaching the man as Ren spoke up.

"Excuse me sir, are you a homeless man by any chance?" Ren asked the homeless man who blinked at Ren's expression as he spoke up.

"What's with that scary look on your face? If you have something to say to me, just say it." The homeless man said to Ren who nodded and spoke up.

"Very well. I was told you were the person to see if I wanted a part-time job?" Ren said, keeping his voice down so only Morgana and the homeless man could hear. The man blinked at Ren in confusion as he spoke up.

"A part-time job? You're not talking about some ordinary job, huh? Take my advice: don't do it. They'll squeeze every last penny with threats and extortion. Some of my friends have fallen victim to their schemes...That mafia is evil, I tell you." The homeless man said as Ren spoke up.

"I see. How do I meet them?" Ren asked the homeless man who blinked before shrugging as he spoke up.

"They'll eventually come to you if you walk around this area around now. But just so you know who to avoid, I'll teach you how to tell them apart from normal people. They use some weird phrases. Code words, you know. That's how they communicate with each other. Anyway, watch out if you hear any of that stuff. They'll try to come for you even during the day. They're relentless when it comes to targeting teens." The homeless man said as Ren nodded and thanked the man before walking away as his phone went off to signify a group chat with Ann, Kusa, Ryuji and Yusuke, the former of which sent the first response.

"How's it going? Have you found anything?" Ann sent as Ren sent a response.

"Maybe a little. I did find that homeless man." Ren sent. Yusuke then sent a response.

"Ah, so you've grasped something already. As to be expected of someone like you, Ren." Yusuke sent as Kusa sent a response at that point.

"Naturally, Yusuke. Ren might not look it, but he can be quite persistent when he chooses to be. So it tracks that he'd manage to find that homeless guy this fast." Kusa sent as Ann sent a response.

"Why don't we just go over the intel we've gathered so far?" Ann sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"I'll start. Supposedly some guy near the accessway talking about some kinda 'strong drugs'. I'm not counting on anything, but I'll go check it out." Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.

"As for Kusa and I, we heard about someone soliciting a 'high-paying job' in the station plaza. Apparently they're mostly targeting girls. I'll go see what it's about." Ann sent as Kusa sent his response, his words making both Ren and Ryuji frown at what Kusa had to say.

"First of all, you left out the part where that skeevy jerkwad tried hitting on you, and you had to keep me from turning around and clocking the asshole! Which he had coming considering he was basically propositioning you, Ann! That said and secondly, I guess since Ann's going solo, that leaves me to do my own thing, so I suppose I'll try catching up to Ren and Morgana and link up with them." Kusa sent as Yusuke sent his response at that point.

"On my end, I heard there are people saying strange things in the back alley near the arcade. Something about ice and vegetables, and something about snow tomorrow...I will go observe, just in case. The arcade is on Central Street, correct?" Yusuke sent as Kusa sent another response.

"That's correct. Also, I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain those guys were speaking in code, Yusuke. But if that's the case, that makes your lead that much more suspicious. Don't you agree, Ren?" Kusa sent as Ren sent his response at that point.

"Yes, I very much agree! Especially given that the homeless guy said something about the mafia liking to talk in code words. I almost was going to be angry since I thought he was trying to suggest the mafia was taking a page out of our playbook, but then I realized that wasn't the case." Ren sent as he put his phone away and Morgana spoke up.

"All right. We should do what we can to help them out. I have no idea which of these leads are real. Try going to the most suspicious-sounding place." Morgana said as Ren nodded, as Kusa walked over and nodded to Ren as he spoke up.

"Good idea, Morgana. I'd say by that logic, we should probably go and check out Yusuke's lead to start." Kusa said as Ren nodded his agreement and the trio kept moving. After a bit of navigating, Ren and Kusa found the arcade, walking across to the alley and heading in as a familiar voice reached their ears.

"Hello." Ren and Kusa heard, both turning around to see Niijima walking towards them and speaking up.

"Have you made any progress towards finding the boss?" Niijima asked as Ren and Kusa spoke up.

"Things are going rather well, Niijima-san." Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"We were just tracking some rumors of a potential sale going down in a back-alley near the arcade, which we think could lead to the boss in question if we're lucky." Kusa said, keeping his voice down so only he, Ren and Niijima could hear. Niijima smiled at hearing what Ren and Kusa had to say as she spoke up.

"That's good to hear." Niijima said as they heard a voice behind them, making Kusa blink as he saw the man approaching the trio as he spoke up.

"Hey, you three got some time? I have a great job for you." The man said, walking up so that Makoto and Ren could see the man's mixed pink, red, white and black shirt, black jeans and brown boots as he spoke up in a slightly sleazy tone, continuing to speak before any of the trio could say a word.

"It's real easy. Guess you could call it a delivery job." The man said as Niijima smiled smugly as she spoke up, pleased by the turn of events as she spoke.

"It seems we didn't have to look very hard in the end." Niijima said as the man kept speaking, not hearing Niijima's words as he spoke.

"You're high-schoolers, yeah? Don't you want something more than just your allowances?" The man asked as Niijima smiled and spoke up in an inquisitive tone that had Ren and Kusa exchanging skeptical glances behind her as she spoke.

"Hm...by delivery, do you mean that of suspicious materials?" Niijima asked as the man chuckled nervously as he spoke up.

"Heh, you're a funny girl." The man said, side-stepping the question, but Niijima wasn't so easily deterred as she spoke up once more.

"So, you won't answer me? Then I was right..." Niijima said happily as the man walked over and got into Niijima's face as he spoke up.

"Eh? What's up with you anyways? Why're you asking all these questions, huh?" The man asked Niijima as Kusa and Ren frowned, both speaking up.

"Violence is not the answer." Ren said. Kusa then spoke up with his eyes narrowed as he glared at the man while he spoke.

"Unless, that is, you insist on being a skeevy scumbag. Then it might be something to consider." Kusa said in his best intimidating tone. Niijima looked at the Amamiya brothers in surprise as she spoke up.

"Oh..." Niijima said as the man turned to glare at Ren and Kusa before speaking up.

"It was all a joke. Why would I get worked up over some dumb kids? Anyways, I can't hang. Seeya!" The man said before Niijima spoke up, her words leaving both Ren AND Kusa gaping at her in open-mouthed shock at what she had to say.

"U-Um, if you don't want to deal with us, we could always go see your boss ourselves." Niijima said as the man spoke up in surprise.

"You're really gonna say that, knowing who he is? Heh, no way I believe that. Well, I'm outta here. You guys are annoying me." The man said as he walked off as Niijima looked over at Ren and Kusa as she spoke up.

"I'm pretty sure he's part of the mafia we're looking for." Niijima said as Kusa and Ren spoke up.

"I'm amazed you figured it out, Niijima-san." Ren said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"I'm not. Niijima-san is a very intelligent lady, after all. Of course she'd figure that out. What I AM surprised by is the fact that she so brazenly threatened to deal with that guy's boss. From his reaction, that hit a nerve on him for sure." Kusa said. Niijima nodded approvingly to Kusa's words and spoke up.

"Thank you, Amamiya-kun the younger. I suppose the next logical step would be to go after them, but I think we should get some proof before we do that. I tried to trick him into saying something, but he dodged all the traps I was laying down. Oh, and by the way...thanks for standing up for me." Niijima said as Ren and Kusa nodded, the latter speaking up at that point.

"You're welcome. Say what you will about us, Niijima-san, but even though you're basically twisting our arms to get our assistance, you're not that bad of a person, if a bit stuck-up and strict about the rules. But that said, I think you're actually a rather interesting person. If you weren't saddled down with so many responsibilities and expectations, you could probably make something of yourself in an epic fashion." Kusa said as Niijima blinked at Kusa in surprise as she spoke up.

"I...see. Thank you for saying that, but I'm going to go now." Niijima said as she turned on her heel and walked off. After she left, Morgana spoke up.

"That boss seems tricky...It looks like he taught his subordinates well, too. No wonder the police are having trouble catching him. Anyway, you have some serious guts. You didn't back down at all against that hooligan. Though we still didn't end up with any new information...Let's stop here for today." Morgana said as Ren nodded, his and Kusa's phones choosing right then to go off to signify a group chat from Ryuji, Ann and Yusuke, the former of whom sent a response.

"How about it? Wanna meet up?" Ryuji sent. Ren sent a response.

"I'd say let's do it, but I think it'd be more fair to let you guys decide. So what do you all think?" Ren sent. Ann sent a response at that point.

"Do you think it's safe though? We did ask tons of people, so there's a chance we're getting followed." Ann sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Just to be safe, we shouid refrain from doing anything to make ourselves stand out. The sun will be setting soon, so let us disband for today and report on our findings tomorrow." Yusuke sent as Ann sent a response again at that point.

"Why don't we meet at karaoke tomorrow? We can talk in private and it'll be cheap after school." Ann sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Ah, that must be what they call hustle hour." Yusuke sent as Ryuji stepped in to send a response for one of the few times since the chat had started.

"Dude, it's muscle hour. Wait, is that wrong too?" Ryuji sent as Kusa and Ann sent responses close together, Kusa's coming through first.

"I think you mean happy hour, Ryuji. Except that's less of a karaoke term and more of a drinking term, I suppose. But it might work?" Kusa sent as Ann's response came through.

"No, that's correct, Kusa. And Ryuji...Um, hello? Muscle hour just sounds kinda sweaty...Anyway, see you guys at karaoke tomorrow." Ann sent as Ren and Kusa put their phones away and headed back to Leblanc, right as Ren's phone rang as he and Kusa walked into the door, making Morgana blink as he checked the caller ID over Ren's shoulder.

"It's an unknown number..." Morgana said as Kusa and Ren looked at each other before they both spoke up.

"Probably Niijima-san." Kusa and Ren said in unison as the latter answered the phone.

"Hello?" Ren said as he put the phone on speaker so Kusa and Morgana could also hear.

"Hello, Amamiya-kun the elder? This is Niijima. Makoto Niijima...Thanks. For earlier." Niijima said, making Kusa have to stifle a laugh at the unintentional James Bond reference that Niijima had done at that point as Ren spoke up.

"No problem. If you don't mind my asking, how did you get my number, Niijima-san?" Ren asked as Makoto spoke up sheepishly.

"I, uh...I dug it up. I realize I'm apologizing AFTER the fact, but...It just didn't feel right keeping it from you, so...That's all. Bye." Niijima said as Ren hung up his phone, but before Kusa could make a witty remark about Niijima-san, Sojiro beat him to it.

"You talking to a woman? I heard her voice. Speaking of, some girl called looking for you around noon. Said she's the class president. Said she's got something that belongs to you. She seemed to know you, so I gave her your number." Sojiro said as Morgana spoke up.

"She must've looked up Leblanc's address trying to contact you. That Niijima sure is thorough!" Morgana said as Kusa nodded and spoke up, smirking as he spoke.

"Perhaps even TOO thorough. I don't envy being her if and/or when Yoshizawa finds out she's been stalking you, let me tell you. Hoo boy, that confrontation should be a catfight for the ages. Honor Student vs Student Council President. I heard rumors on the school grapevine that Niijima-san took aikido, but I think Yoshizawa could take her with her gymnastic training. And to be honest, that thoroughness of Niijima's could make for a good asset if we can befriend her, I think." Kusa said sagely as Sojiro nodded approvingly to Kusa's logic. Morgana then spoke up.

"Good point, Kusa. Then again, she called Ren here just to apologize...It's a bit weird, but maybe she's not so bad after all." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up with a chuckle.

"I've been saying that for awhile now. If she WAS all-bad, she'd have just turned around with her evidence and thrown us under the bus, so to speak, and been done with it. But the fact she's letting us prove ourselves suggests, at least to me, that she's at least curious about us, if not outright interested in being friends. And I think she could be a useful ally to have." Kusa said. Ren and Morgana nodded approvingly as the trio pondered their next course of action. After a bit, Kusa spoke up.

"Well, since we don't have much else to do right now, and we've not been helping out Sakura-kun as much these days, maybe we could use our night to help him out by cleaning up the cafe? If nothing else, could be a good way to get you some quick Kindness boosts." Kusa said as Ren thought about it and nodded.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Besides, if nothing else, this can help you get brownie points with Sakura-kun, which can only be beneficial to you when and if you and Futaba-san get serious eventually." Ren said teasingly to Kusa, who sputtered as he heard Ren's remark, frowning as he spoke up.

"Not funny, Ren! Also, should you really be saying that when Sakura-kun is in earshot and can probably hear us!? He might have said he's okay with me hanging out with Futaba, but I had to practically convince him that I had nothing but wholesome and pure intentions with Futaba before he backed down to some extent. Also, I recall telling you that Futaba's likely in no right mental space to consider a relationship at all at this time, and I am in no hurry to push for one either.

Besides, even if it's been a few days, it's close enough to accurate to say that she and I only have just met, and so that would be going way too fast to push for anything more than friendship anyways. Not to mention I quite prefer NOT to have Sakura-kun pissed off at me, thank you very much. So if you're done making stupid jokes, let's get to cleaning, yeah?" Kusa said as Ren just nodded. Morgana then spoke up from Ren's bag.

"All right, time to do some work for the chief. I'm sure he'll appreciate it." Morgana said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Perhaps, but would he appreciate you calling him 'the chief' like you do, Morgana-sensei? The world may never know the answer to that..." Kusa joked as Ren chuckled while Morgana cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Yes well, Do you want to start cleaning now? Your Kindness may improve a little bit if you do so, Ren." Morgana said as Ren nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Let's do it. I do owe Sakura-kun some busy work since I have been kind of not pulling my weight as much of late so this could be a good start towards making good on that." Ren said as Kusa nodded approvingly. Sojiro also nodded approvingly as a sparkling blue music note went up over his head (Which Kusa had jokingly taken to referring to those notes as 'approval' or 'bond points', to the amusement of Morgana and the annoyance of Ren) as he spoke up.

"Oh? You two are gonna clean up around here? Well, I'd certainly appreciate that. I'm going home now. Don't break anything in the store, got it?" Sojiro said as Ren and Kusa nodded. After Sojiro left, Morgana frowned and spoke up after a bit.

"Hmm...But man, this store's pretty old. You sure you shouldn't clean your room?" Morgana said as Kusa frowned and spoke up from where he was carefully cleaning the counter with a wet rag while Ren was mopping the floor as Morgana watched from on a stool.

"Perhaps, but I recall you already got after us to clean it not that long ago, which we did. Plus, it's still clean from the cleaning we gave it after we had the others over that day. And just think, that was us as we are now. Imagine if we do that again a few Palaces down the line, when we have even more members. I don't know how we'd all fit in there. But watch our luck end up making it necessary for our room to become our hideout at some point." Kusa said as Ren laughed and spoke up.

"Yeah, like that'd ever happen. For one thing, Sakura-kun would probably skin us if we did that without his say-so. Not to mention the likely target that would paint on our room as a result." Ren said sagely as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"A point well-made, Ren. I was just being a smart-aleck anyways." Kusa said with a laugh as Morgana spoke up.

"True. As I was saying, I guess you could call this...retro? Antique? It's nice in its own way." Morgana said as Kusa nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Just so long as you have the proper respect for Coffee Daddy and his cafe, I'll ignore you calling the place old, Morgana-sensei." Kusa said warningly as Ren laughed at Kusa's choice of name and spoke up, smirking as he recalled when he and Kusa had coined that code name in a moment of improvisation on Kusa's part as he spoke.

"Oh man, I totally had forgotten we had chosen that as his code name, way back when we first mentioned him to Ren and Ann." Ren said with a laugh as he kept cleaning. Eventually, both Ren and Kusa had finished, the counter, kitchen and floor sparkling clean. Morgana then spoke up, having relocated to a booth seat at some point during the cleaning process.

"All right, all clean! I bet the chief is gonna be happy with this. Thinking about the customers and cleaning the store probably helped to increase your Kindness, no?" Morgana said as Ren nodded as his Kindness went up. Morgana then kept speaking.

"Hey! That took longer than I expected. We should go to bed once we clean up the rest." Morgana said as Ren nodded, finishing the cleanup with Kusa as the two got into their pajamas and laid down, the latter smirking as Morgana curled up on his chest, draping a protective arm over him as the three eventually dozed off for the night...

(The next day, between trains, with Ren, Kusa and Morgana)

"For a rainy day Ren, today's not starting out too badly. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come." Kusa said optimistically as Morgana looked over and his eyes went wide.

"I doubt that, Kusa. Unless you count running into a certain ace detective as a good thing." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa whipped their heads around as Morgana spoke, seeing Akechi walking over to them and smiling as he spoke up, ignoring the polite nod of greeting Kusa gave him as he focused on Ren.

"Morning, Amamiya brothers. Amamiya the elder, we meet again. But my, what murky weather we're having...Speaking of murky, there haven't been any new developments in the phantom thief incidents. If they go so far as using calling cards to get attention, I doubt Madarame's case will be the last. What kind of target will they choose next? What do you think?" Akechi asked Ren who spoke up, cutting off whatever snarky remark Kusa had been ready to make as he spoke.

"A criminal, I would think. Or at least that's what the current pattern of their calling cards would suggest." Ren said. Akechi blinked at that as he spoke up.

"The Phantom Thieves only target criminals, huh...Is that really true?" Akechi said as Kusa spoke up, unable to resist making a dry quip at that moment.

"No offense or disrespect intended Akechi-kun, but does a bear shit in the woods? Of course they only target criminals! Though I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that you would question such a simple concept since in your mind, you see them as nothing more than mere rivals to overcome. When in actuality, you could be using them as a measuring mark to size up how far you yourself have come as a person.

I've no doubt you're an exceptional, bright young man, but if you're that dim in your views of the Phantom Thieves, then be careful you don't let those views distort you and make you into one of those very criminals that the Thieves target. If nothing else, I'm sure the ladies would hate to see that pretty-boy face of yours marred up by them. But that's just my opinion." Kusa said, finally getting to voice most of his opinions of Akechi.

However, Kusa wisely decided against voicing his opinion that the ace detective was, in Kusa's own words, 'an egocentric, condescending, self-assured jackass douchebag', lest he embarrass Ren in front of the detective that he seemed to be somewhat befriending. Akechi nodded in recognition of Kusa's opinion, smirking at Kusa's calmly voiced opinion as he spoke up, giving the younger Amamiya brother a nod of respect as he spoke.

"Fair enough, Amamiya-kun the younger. Your opinion is well-heard and noted. Supposing it is true, there are plenty of villains in the world. How do they choose who to go after? Hmm...Oh, sorry. I'm getting lost in my own head...I have to stay on top of any Phantom Thieves activity, due to what I said on the air. If you hear any rumors at school, I hope you can let me know." Akechi said as Kusa laughed as he spoke up, grinning as he recalled a rumor that Futaba had told him about recently as he spoke, ignoring the groan Ren gave at what he said.

"You mean like the rumors about how most every girl around your age or a little older, and even some of the guys, are trying to see who can land the great and noble Goro Akechi for themselves!? Because I'd say it's not a secret you have a lot of fangirls, Akechi-kun. I'd imagine it has to be quite aggravating after a time." Kusa said teasingly as Ren spoke up, frowning at Kusa as he spoke while giving Akechi an apologetic look.

"Enough, Kusa! I know you're just poking fun at him, but you don't need to be antagonizing Akechi-kun. I'll grant he can be insufferable at times, but I'm sure he has to have some good in him if he has so many fans." Ren said in Akechi's defense. Akechi smiled at Ren as he spoke up, pleased by Ren's defense of him.

"Thank you, Amamiya-kun the elder. At least you respect me. Though I guess I can't be mad at your little brother's opinion of me. I'll admit I didn't make a good first impression with my remarks about the Phantom Thieves. But I hope he'll see in time that I do believe they are good, if a bit morally grey at times. But I suppose for now, goodbye." Akechi said with a curt nod to Ren and Kusa as he walked off, leaving Kusa and Ren to exchange confused looks as they finished the trip to school in peace...

(After school that day at the karaoke place with Ren, Kusa, Morgana, Ann, Yusuke and Ryuji)

"Aw, for real!? We didn't get anything!?" Ryuji said in annoyance. Ann nodded, frowning as she listened to the group on-stage before she spoke up.

"God, they suck..." Ann said as Kusa nodded and spoke up, smirking as he had a thought occur to him as he spoke.

"Agreed. If we all had enough musical aptitude, we could probably blow those hacks out of the water easily." Kusa said as he nodded to Ann's remark. Ryuji smirked as he nodded and spoke up.

"Truth, Kusa! But I don't think Yusuke can sing OR play a musical instrument." Ryuji said as Kusa thought about it before speaking up, nodding to Yusuke before smiling as he spoke.

"You say that, but with his skills with a paintbrush, I bet he could learn the harp if he so chose, since he has the nimble and graceful fingers for it. As for singing voices, I think odds are either myself or Ann would be the singer of the group since I don't believe Ren has any singing talent to speak of, and I'd be scared to hear Ryuji sing in case he causes one or more of us hearing damage. Besides, I get the vibe that Ryuji would be a low-key god of the drums if he was a musician.

Meanwhile Ren would kick ass on the electric, or bass, guitar. Meanwhile, Morgana would probably shred either a harmonica or a trombone and Ann would likely be either a singer, a guitarist, or both. And I would probably either be on vocals or backup drums, maybe guitar." Kusa said after considering it. The others blinked at this before nodding. Ryuji then spoke up.

"Again, truth! But that said...Man, we're goin' nowhere with this...Hey, can't we ask Miss President to change it up?" Ryuji asked as Ann looked at him in surprise as she spoke up.

"You mean...change our target?" Ann asked as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah. I mean, we just gotta show our justice to satisfy her, right? There are tons of shitty adults in this world. It's not like it matters who we're goin' after. She says it's for the students, but I bet it's just so she can go brag about it on college apps." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up.

"True, but that mafia's stealing money from kids. We can't just accept that! It doesn't matter who the target came from anymore." Ann said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Ann's right. We want to give courage to the weak. Isn't this the perfect target to accomplish that goal?" Yusuke asked as the group paused to listen to the group on-stage as he spoke, wincing as he did so.

"They really have no talent..." Yusuke said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"For real, man! I bet Morgana's a better singer than them!" Kusa said as Morgana spoke up.

"Perhaps, except for the part where only you five can understand me. I doubt anyone would call a bunch of meows better singing than what's up on-stage." Morgana said sagely as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Fair point, Morgana-sensei. My point about these guys sucking still stands, though." Kusa said as Ryuji nodded as he spoke up in agreement with Kusa's point.

"Truth! I never thought it'd be this noisy if you weren't singin'...Anyways, I'm sure we'll shut Akechi up if we pull this off, but-" Ryuji said as Yusuke cut him off by speaking up.

"That's exactly why we should do it." Yusuke said as Morgana spoke up.

"It all comes down to intel in the end...If we don't start finding tips on that front, we'll never get any further than this..." Morgana said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"There has to be someone who has what we need." Yusuke said as Ren thought about it and spoke up.

"But who could that be?" Ren asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Well, when all else fails, how about the media? I seem to recall we met a journalist not that long ago out in front of a certain now-abandoned atelier who gave us her card." Kusa said sagely. Ann blinked at that and her eyes widened slightly as she nodded in agreement.

"That's right! What about that journalist?" Ann said as Morgana scoffed and spoke up.

"You mean the woman who was staking out Madarame's house?" Morgana said as Ryuji blinked, remembering the journalist in question at that moment as he spoke up.

"Oh yeahhh. I completely forgot about her! Didn't she give you her card, Ren?" Ryuji asked as Kusa laughed and spoke up for Ren.

"She sure did. She practically thrusted it into his palm she gave it to him so fast." Kusa said while laughing at what he perceived as his own witty wordplay, even as Morgana and Ryuji winced, the latter speaking up as he frowned at Kusa while he spoke.

"Dude, for real. You get on MY case for my word choice, and yet you have just as weird word choice?" Ryuji said as Kusa blinked before wincing.

"Crap, you're right! Sorry, everyone. Also, I didn't mean that literally, Ryuji! Besides, I think Yoshizawa might just kill that journalist if it had been literal, since I get the sense she has dibs on Ren, even if she won't admit to it as yet." Kusa said with a smirk after apologizing to Ryuji. Ren then reached into his bag and dug out the card in question.

"Let's see here, this card says 'Ichiko Ohya of Maiasa Newspaper...'. Huh, interesting..." Ren said as Yusuke blinked and spoke up.

"This is for a rather major publication." Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up.

"You think we can trust her?" Ryuji asked as Morgana spoke up.

"There's no other way." Morgana said as Ann did a winking face as she spoke up.

"Okay, let's contact her!" Ann said as Ren pulled out his phone as he dialed Ohya's number. At that same time, the phone near the group's table went off and Ann answered it.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, thank you..." Ann said as she turned to the others after putting her hand over the receiver as she spoke up.

"He says our time's up. Should we extend it?" Ann asked as Ryuji spoke up.

"Happy hour's over, yeah? C'mon, let's just go." Ryuji said as Ann nodded while Yusuke blinked and spoke up

"How wasteful!" Yusuke said as the music changed at that point, making him blink as the new music was vaguely rock-and-roll sounding, making him turn towards the stage, his eyes comically wide as he spoke up.

"Uh, guys? Either someone's punking us, or there's a rock band up on-stage." Yusuke said as Ren, Ryuji, and Ann turned to face the stage, their jaws dropping as they saw the new singer walk out on-stage, as it was Kusa, who had slipped away while the group was talking, deciding to give the karaoke a try because he can.

Kusa looked a bit uneasy, but he pushed that aside as he had the band he got play a beat while he belted out a surprisingly good, if a bit amateur, rendition of, out of all songs, the Aerosmith song 'Dude (Looks Like A Lady)', making Ryuji and Yusuke gape in surprise as it turned out Kusa wasn't a bad singer, if a bit inexperienced. Nevertheless, his performance was surprisingly well-received, if the amount of cheers and applause the crowd gave him was any indication.

After the song ended, and Kusa got two separate requests for encores, which took the form of the songs 'Last Train Home' by Lost Prophets and 'Mama Said' by Metallica, he eventually returned to the others who gaped at him before Ryuji smirked and fist-bumped him as he spoke up, grinning as he spoke.

"Dude! Kusa, I was joking when I said you could be a good singer, but you really are a good singer! Granted, you lack experience, and perhaps a tad bit of confidence onstage, but otherwise that was insane, man. Respect!" Ryuji said as he fist-bumped Kusa as Yusuke then spoke up, giving Kusa an approving nod as he spoke.

"That...was incredible. If my artistic medium is painting, yours is definitely music, perhaps songwriting, since you mentioned being a good writer at one point." Yusuke said as Ann spoke up, giving Kusa a look that was a mix of impressed and shocked by his abilities as she spoke.

"Wow, Kusa, your voice is insanely good! I dunno why I half-expected you to belt out some sort of pop songs for a second." Ann said as Ren spoke up with a laugh.

"Kusa, do pop music? That's as likely to happen as Ryuji getting better grades than Niijima-san. In other words, never gonna happen." Ren said as Kusa spoke up, smiling appreciatively at the others as he spoke.

"Don't be so sure, Ren. I may mainly listen to classic rock, but I've been known to dabble in other genres from time to time." Kusa said sagely. Yusuke then choked on his drink at Ann's mention of pop music. Ryuji thumped Yusuke on the back to help him spit-take the drink out.

As it happens, the spit-take from Yusuke drink wound up just missing both the table and Kusa, who side-stepped at the last second to avoid the oncoming liquid projectile, which harmlessly hit the ground where Kusa had previously been standing. Yusuke then spoke up sheepishly as he saw the concerned looks aimed at him as he spoke.

"Apologies. But for some reason, Ann's comment about Kusa doing pop songs made me flash to a mental image of him, Akechi, Ryuji, Ren and probably myself dressed as the Backstreet Boys, though I have no clue why that would be." Yusuke said as Kusa frowned and spoke up, both amused by Yusuke's remark and annoyed at the fact that Yusuke had included Akechi in it, who Kusa barely tolerated for Ren's sake, as he spoke.

"Us? Collaborate with Akechi-kun!? That'll be the day! I think I'd be more apt to believe Morgana getting his true form back and somehow winning Ann over, which will also never happen for the record, than I would be apt to believe that we'd ever collaborate with that smug effing prick for any reason." Kusa said sagely as Ryuji smirked and fist-bumped Kusa again, grinning as he spoke up, agreeing with what Kusa said as he spoke.

"Truth, man! That said...Anyways, guess we just gotta wait for that journalist to email us back. Let us know ASAP when she responds! Got it, Ren?" Ryuji said as Ren nodded and Kusa spoke up, grinning as he spoke.

"No worries, Ryuji. Even if Ren somehow responds, I'll make it a point to inform you when she responds." Kusa said. After that the group dispersed for the night...

(That night at Leblanc with Ren, Kusa and Morgana)

As Ren and Kusa returned to Leblanc, Sojiro spoke up, fixing Ren and Kusa with an inquiring glare as he spoke.

"Hey! You've been coming home late. Hope you're not sticking your nose into other people's business." Sojiro said as Kusa spoke up.

"Not at all, Sakura-kun. We've been minding our own business and keeping our focus on our studies and bettering ourselves." Kusa said honestly as Morgana spoke up.

"The chief's as sharp as ever...But it's more like we're the ones being dragged into things..." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded, both pondering their next move...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And there, another chapter done and dusted! Granted, not as long as the last few, but it's not that much shorter really either so I think the length should be sufficient! That said, hopefully you're all enjoying the story so far! If so, feel free to leave me a review or PM me (if not both) with your opinions/feedback/constructive criticism on the story. I appreciate the feedback and support either way! And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1*- First of all, there were accentuation marks and stuff in the world 'Francois' that I can't type, so that got edited slightly. But more to the point, seriously!? Out of all the fake names, she chose Francois? Not to rag on it, but as Kusa says in the chapter, Fluffy, Garfield, or even Snowball would be a better fake name in my opinion.

CONFIDANT RANKS AS OF CHAPTER 28

FOOL (Igor/Prison Master) : Rank 5

MAGICIAN (Morgana) : Rank 3

HIEROPHANT (Sojiro) : Rank 3

LOVERS (Ann) : Rank 4

CHARIOT (Ryuji) : Rank 4

JUSTICE (Akechi) : Rank 2

STRENGTH (Caroline and Justine/Twin Wardens) : Rank 2

DEATH (Takemi/Back-Alley Doctor) : Rank 5

MOON (Mishima) : Rank 4

SUN (Yoshida/Man Of The People) : Rank 2

WORLD (Kusa) : Rank 3

FAITH (Kasumi/Yoshizawa) Rank 2

COUNCILLOR (Maruki) : Rank 4

YET TO BE UNLOCKED: EMPEROR, EMPRESS, STAR, PRIESTESS, TEMPERANCE, HANGED MAN, DEVIL, FORTUNE, HANGED MAN, JUDGMENT, TOWER