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

48. Target Run 2! Traumatized Oracle part 12

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Phantom Files! Real quick aside before I continue with the rest of this A/N, I have officially started the process of cleaning up and fixing the chapters for Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Hacker's Memory- The Amasawa Files, and have already edited and fixed chapters 1-3, and have plans to apply similar cleaning and reworking for chapters 4-30 as time permits, basically fixing the amount of large chunks of text in the story, cleaning up typos, and fixing instances of missing text as applicable.

For now, I will just edit the story since it's much faster, but I might at some point toss the version I have now and re-write that story and make it even better, since I can already tell that I didn't do nearly as good of a job with it as I probably could have. So yeah, quick update there. Focusing back on this story, hard to believe we're already on chapter 48!

Two more chapters and it will hit chapter 50, something that no other fic of mine has ever done. Pretty insane, and just think, odds are it will happen during arc 4, and there are still six other arcs left for the Royal half of the story! So odds are we'll pass the 100 chapter mark just in the Royal half of the story! And with that said, let us proceed to the disclaimer, yeah?

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (barring the OC Kusa/Draconis, who he made and thus does own, as well as any other OCs that appear in this story. They also are made and owned by sithlorde1988 unless otherwise noted) and the actual credit for owning the Persona series belongs to Sega and Atlus, as well as Koei Tecmo to a point, so all credit to them!

That said, on with chapter 48!

Chapter 48: More Waiting! Return to Mementos? Traumatized Oracle part 12

(At Leblanc, with Ren and Morgana)

After considering his options carefully, Ren eventually looked at Morgana as he spoke up.

"Well, we don't have a lot of options today, do we?" Ren asked Morgana, who shook his head before Ren kept speaking.

"That said, I think our best move is to go hang out with Takemi, since it's been quite a bit since I last spent time with her. Don't want her thinking I forgot about her, after all. Although, come to think of it, I could've had her look Kusa over when she looked Futaba over to get a second opinion on his knee. Oh well, it is what it is I suppose." Ren said as Morgana nodded, laying on the bed while Ren headed to the clinic to hang with Takemi. Once he got there, Takemi looked up in surprise as she saw Ren walk in, smirking before she spoke up.

"Well, well, look what the cat finally dragged in. Been way too long since you last showed your face here, oh guinea pig of mine." Takemi said teasingly as Ren winced and spoke up sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment while he spoke.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Was busy with other stuff, plus had some important things come up that needed my attention. That was not at all intentional to leave you hanging this long, I assure you." Ren said as Takemi nodded understandingly before she spoke up.

"I see. I assume this is connected to that girl you had me do a house call to check on?" Takemi said to Ren, who nodded once to signify Takemi was correct, making her smile before she kept speaking, her next words making Ren's eyes go wide.

"Also, would said 'important things' happen to involve your little brother getting himself beaten up the other day? I saw that on the news, you know. You could've brought him in and I'd have looked him over for you." Takemi rebuked Ren, who winced as he nodded his understanding before Takemi smiled and spoke up.

"As long as you understand that. Anyways, the rain is awful outside right now, don't you think? Although it's also nice, because I won't get too many patients. That said, what are you here for today?" Takemi asked Ren, who spoke up.

"I know it's been awhile since I did one, so I'm here to see if you have any clinical trials you need help with, per my end of our deal." Ren said honestly. Takemi nodded as she spoke up, looking at Ren with an unreadable expression while she spoke up.

"As it happens, there is a trial I need your help with. It's almost complete. There's something I want to test out. Could you head to the back?" Takemi asked Ren, who nodded, glad that Morgana had stayed back, since he'd have probably made Ren confirm his plans to hang out with Takemi if he had been there. Ren then spoke up.

"Of course. I'll head that way now, Doc." Ren said as Takemi chuckled and spoke up.

"Good. It's thanks to you that I was able to progress this far. Now you can drink this stuff with no problem, right?" Takemi asked Ren, who nodded as he headed to the back. Once there, Takemi spoke up.

"I suppose that's good enough. All right, that's it for today. Oh wait, are you going home already? If you have some time, why don't you stay and enjoy an apple? It's a gift from one of my elderly patients. She gave me a lot. If the old saying is true, she must really want to keep me away." Takemi said, but before Ren could reply, the door opened up and the voice of a middle-aged man could be heard speaking, making Ren and Takemi blink before both turning to face the person who had walked in as he spoke up.

"Ah. Hello, Doctor Takemi. Kinda surprising to see you with a patient, but not that surprising." The middle-aged man, who had a black pinstriped suit, a white dress shirt, a tie, dress shoes and a black case in one hand. Takemi's eyes went wide as she recognized this man, who she quickly spoke up to address.

"Oh! It's been a while, hasn't it, Chief Oyamada." Takemi addressed the now-named Oyamada. Oyamada nodded as he spoke up.

"Indeed it has. That said, there was a medical conference nearby, so I thought I'd check up on you." Oyamada said before frowning as he looked at Ren before he kept speaking.

"I take back what I said before about you being with a patient. And come to think of it, who's this? He doesn't look like a patient." Oyamada said, nodding his head towards Ren as he spoke. Takemi blinked at the question, before she spoke up to answer it.

"Oh, him? He's just a part-time staffer. I'm having him handle some miscellaneous tasks for me. So, do you have some business with me?" Takemi asked Oyamada, who nodded and spoke up, a frown on his face while he spoke.

"As a matter of fact, I do have business with you, Doctor. I hear you stole one of my patients. A girl with bronchitis. She came here with her father, as I understand it." Oyamada said to Takemi bluntly, who huffed as she spoke up.

"Ugh. I don't have time for this. Bronchitis, you say? Well, I had no intention of taking her from you. I certainly didn't encourage her to visit my clinic." Takemi said to Oyamada, whose eyes narrowed as he glared at Takemi before he spoke up.

"Regardless, now there's talk that the care at a university hospital is inferior to that of a general practitioner! 'Original medicine', you call it? Ha! What you're doing here is simply absurd!" Oyamada said to Takemi, who frowned and looked down before she spoke up.

"Not gonna lie to you, Chief. You're right." Takemi said to Oyamada, who nodded in satisfaction as he spoke up.

"Of course I am. Mind you, I would've turned a blind eye if you had just rotted away out here in this little town, but not if you're going to take patients from me! But this is your final warning, Takemi! Shut this place down and resign your medical license." Oyamada said threateningly to Takemi, not seeing Ren's eyes narrow as he listened to the two talk. Takemi blinked as she spoke up in shock and disbelief.

"R-Resign? What?" Takemi said in disbelief as Ren finally spoke up, having heard enough. Ren glared at Oyamada as he spoke up.

"I know it's probably not my place to say this, but eff that! I'm saying it anyways! What you're doing right now is harassment! And all over one patient! I would think the more important thing is that the patient got the care she needs, rather than who actually gave the care in question." Ren said in frustration. Oyamada blinked as he looked at Ren before he spoke up in shock and surprise.

"What did you say?" Oyamada asked Ren incredulously as Takemi chuckled and spoke up, giving Ren a closed-eye smile for speaking.

"Heh, look at that. Someone actually has my back for a change. Don't worry about it, Amamiya-kun. But I appreciate you speaking up for me." Takemi said to Ren, as Oyamada spoke up before Ren could reply to Takemi, looking at Ren while he spoke.

"Hmph, you seem to be quite fond of her. Perhaps I should reveal this woman's true identity." Oyamada said to Ren, who gave Oyamada his full attention while aiming an unimpressed frown at him while Oyamada kept speaking.

"She's a monster who tortured a patient with her unregulated medicine! Terrible, isn't it? She was such a brave girl, always smiling and willing to face the world head-on." Oyamada said as Takemi gasped at his word choice and spoke up with a shocked look on her face.

"Wait, 'was'!? What do you mean, 'was'!?" Takemi asked Oyamada in horror. When Oyamada spoke up again, Takemi's jaw dropped at what he said next.

"Exactly what I said. She passed away." Oyamada said, making Ren and Takemi both blanch at this while Takemi gasped and spoke up.

"Wh-What!? She passed away!?" Takemi said, looking torn between wanting to cry and devastated at hearing that a patient of hers had apparently passed away. Oyamada chuckled darkly as he looked at Ren while he spoke up again.

"Heh. Perhaps you'll suffer the same fate, hm? Hahaha, wouldn't surprise me one bit if you did. She is the Plague, after all." Oyamada said as Ren frowned and glared at him, but to his surprise, Takemi marched over to Oyamada and frowned as she spoke up, fixing the chief with a pointed glare while she spoke.

"Don't lie to me, Chief Oyamada! She should still have some time! She was slowly recovering, last I checked. Surely, her condition couldn't have deteriorated THAT quickly!" Takemi said in disbelief as Oyamada chuckled and spoke up darkly.

"Oh, but it did. You must've misjudged. Now, back to why I'm here. Don't ever take another patient away from me again. I say this because losing patients makes me angry, and you don't want to make me angry." Oyamada said bluntly before turning on his heel and leaving. After he left, Takemi sank to her knees and frowned as she spoke up.

"Could it be true? Miwa-chan's gone? She's actually dead? How? No, no, no, it can't be! But she's all I've been working toward, all this time. Why? Curing her was my only hope of making amends for my mistakes. There's no way I can do it now, if she's truly dead." Takemi said to Ren, who frowned as he gently gave Takemi's shoulder a pat and a light squeeze of encouragement before he spoke up.

"Don't lose hope, Doctor. Her death wasn't on the news, after all. Besides, unless you actually see the body, there's no conclusive proof that Miwa-chan is actually dead." Ren said comfortingly and encouragingly to Takemi. Takemi just blankly stared ahead, clearly in horror at what Oyamada had told her about Miwa. After a moment, she shook her head and spoke up.

"What have I been doing all this time? Was it worth it? What was even the point of doing any of it? I can't believe it." Takemi said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Just rest for today, Doctor. You've had a very shocking bit of news, and you won't do anyone any good by going to pieces over it. Besides, if it is true, I would daresay this Miwa-chan would want you to keep going and stay strong for her sake. Also, I realize there's probably not much more I can do aside from be there for you, as both your friend and your test subject. But for what it's worth, I'm sorry for your loss." Ren said comfortingly to Takemi, who looked in his direction in surprise at what he'd said. After a moment, she smiled and spoke up.

"Yeah, you're right, Amamiya-kun. Sorry for going to pieces for a moment like that. I feel better now, so thank you for trying to comfort me. And thanks for your help, my little guinea pig. We got this far because of you, after all." Takemi said to Ren, who nodded as he felt his bond with Takemi deepen despite the somber moment. At that moment, the 'Death' card appeared in his mind's eye for the first time in a while, the 'VI' becoming a 'VII' to signify that his Death Confidant link with Takemi had reached rank 7.

As a result of the rank-up, Takemi had opened up the ability of giving Ren a 'Discount' on all items in the clinic, making it so he had to pay less for them. Afterwards, she spoke up, looking embarrassed.

"I don't know what to say, Amamiya-kun. Ugh. I wish I hadn't shown you that side of me, to be honest." Takemi said to Ren, who chuckled as he spoke up.

"Don't worry about it, Doc. We all show a different side of ourselves sometimes. I don't think any less of you for it, if that makes you feel any better." Ren said. Takemi chuckled in amusement at Ren's response before she gave him a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Heh, good point Amamiya-kun. Yeah, you're right. I guess it's fine, once in a while. Go on home for today. I need some time to process what we just heard, but we will continue this another time." Takemi said to Ren, who nodded as he felt his Guts get a slight nudge up from doing the clinical trial and being there for Takemi. Ren then spoke up once more.

"As you wish, Doctor. But don't feel bad if you feel the need to reach out and have someone to listen to. I'm sure I can oblige you should you need to vent to me. Just know you're not going through this alone." Ren said to Takemi, in what he hoped was a re-assuring tone as Takemi nodded before speaking up.

"I'll keep that in mind, Amamiya-kun. Now go on home. And take care of yourself, won't you? I don't need any more of my patients passing away." Takemi said as Ren laughed before nodding that he would take care of himself and headed back to Leblanc...

(That evening, at Leblanc with Ren and Morgana)

Sojiro greeted Ren as he walked into Leblanc, Ren eventually sitting down to size up his options. After thinking it over, he saw that only Hifumi, Ohya and Mishima were available for ranking, and he'd already ranked up Ohya and Mishima recently, but was in no mood to hang with Hifumi at that point. Instead, Ren decided to go put in another shift at Crossroads in hopes of getting the last Mementos target ID'd so he could commission a last-second run to Mementos before the deadline. So decided, Ren fast-traveled to Crossroads, at which point Lala blinked as he approached the counter, speaking up.

"Oh? Are you here for the job?" Lala asked as Morgana spoke up.

"Helping the diverse customers here may improve your Kindness, Ren! That and we could get that target ID'd." Morgana said as Ren nodded to the not-cat before looking at Lala as she spoke up.

"So, what do you say? Do you want to do some work for me today?" Lala asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, I got some time tonight, so why not? I'll put in a shift if you need me to." Ren said. Lala nodded approvingly as she spoke up.

"Thank you. That said, go on and change into your uniform." Lala said as Ohya made her excuses and left. Ren then got into his uniform as his shift started. Once Ren came out, Lala spoke up.

"It's all you. I'll go ahead and have you start now, since the customers are due to arrive anytime. So good luck!" Lala said as Ren started his shift, at which point Morgana spoke up from inside Ren's bag.

"Whoa...the customers seem to be enjoying themselves. Make sure you learn well from Lala's hospitality!" Morgana said as Ren nodded. A short time later, a miserable-looking businessman walked in and spoke up.

"Excuse me? G-Good evening." The businessman said as Lala spoke up.

"Oh! My goodness, you look quite exhausted. Here, have a seat." Lala said as the businessman did as he was told. Lala spoke up again after a bit.

"Oh, honey. I see you're looking miserable as always. Well? So your boss has been bullying you again?" Lala said to the miserable businessman, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. Ugh, I'm beat. As soon as I talk back, he makes sure I know I'm lower than him. He insinuates he'll demote me if I resist him. And after that, I'll overhear him talking about me, calling me useless while I'm at work. Ugh, my job sucks sometimes. Not to mention, the work I've put in. And after everything I've done, all the results I'm getting at that job, he manages to ruin it for me. Somehow, he's taking all the credit." The businessman said as Lala frowned and spoke up.

"So, you're saying he's abusing you? That's terrible! And it's the worst kind of workplace abuse. I cannot believe that man would do that!" Lala said as the businessman chuckled.

"Same here. Honestly, so many people have quit because of stress. And yet, the higher-ups all ignore it. Of all the terrible bosses I could get in the world, why did mine have to be Shinsuke Kishi? Ugh. Hey, Lala. I wish those Phantom Thieves could do something and help me with this somehow." The miserable businessman said as Ren blinked at this, but kept his expression neutral, not wanting to give away that he was, in fact, the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Lala shrugged and spoke up.

"Perhaps. But, I mean, like how? Are you going to ask them to steal all your stress away?" Lala asked as the businessman sighed and spoke up again.

"Hahaha, good one. No. I guess it's impossible. But it's nice to think about, if nothing else." The businessman said as Lala waved her arm dismissively while Morgana spoke up so only Ren could hear.

"Hey, hey! Did you hear that? Isn't that the same guy Mishima mentioned before?" Morgana asked Ren, who nodded and spoke up so only Morgana could hear.

"Seems that way. Let's help this guy, since I can't stand seeing people suffer if I can at all do anything about it." Ren said to Morgana, who nodded and did a closed-eye smile before speaking up so only Ren could hear.

"Hm-hm! Yeah! We can do that!" Morgana said as Ren got a notification on his phone that another target had been identified. After a bit, Ren's shift was over and Lala spoke up.

"Nice work, honey! You should be getting on home by now! After all, it's not wise for a minor like you to be out too late." Lala said as she handed Ren his pay of 7,200 yen before advising Ren to get home because Shinjuku was a dangerous place to be at night for underage people like him. Ren nodded as he changed out of his uniform while Morgana spoke up.

"Yup! I think you did good out there. Not to mention, you seem more dependable now, somehow." Morgana said to Ren, who nodded as his Kindness increased. Afterwards, Morgana spoke up once more.

"Wanna head back? To be honest, I'm a bit beat, so we should head home." Morgana said as Ren nodded after putting away his uniform and heading home with Morgana to get comfortable for the evening...

(The next day, in the attic of Leblanc with Ren and Morgana)

Ren checked the plant after he got up, being surprised that it needed nutrients. Morgana then spoke up.

"Hey, hey! Shouldn't you give your plant some nutrients right about now, Ren?" Morgana asked Ren, who nodded as he applied a bag of 'Mega Fertilizer' to the plant, figuring it was the best boost available, plus it kept the plant nice and healthy. Afterwards, Morgana spoke up.

"Whoa, Ren! You're gonna use that one!? You must really care about this plant!" Morgana said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, you could say I have a real green thumb." Ren said as his Kindness got a sizable bump from applying the Mega Fertilizer. Morgana nodded before he spoke up.

"True. Either way, that should do it for a while!" Morgana said as Ren nodded and proceeded to size up his options. Sojiro spoke up as Ren came downstairs.

"Ren, got a minute?" Sojiro asked Ren, who nodded and had a seat as Sojiro spoke up.

"I thought I'd give you an update on Futaba. She's still not awake yet, but if I recall right, she does this every year around this time. Well, with any luck, I'm sure she'll be up soon. Either way, Kusa's there keeping vigil, so we'll know if she wakes up. I doubt very much Kusa wouldn't let us know if she woke up, since he's just considerate of others that way. Though I can tell he's not much thrilled at being laid up on the hide-a-bed.

But in any case, he goes in tomorrow for another follow-up to get his leg checked on. With some luck, the doctors will tell him he's good to lose the leg brace at that point. I'm sure he'd love to get that as an early birthday gift, honestly. Also, from what Kusa told me, Futaba was mumbling something in her sleep. Apparently she was saying that 'Alibaba won't lose' or something to that effect. Just what kind of dream was that for her to be saying that?" Sojiro said to Ren who shrugged as Sojiro kept speaking up.

"The day of that advertised Medjed attack was the 21st, wasn't it? I'd rather not have people make a fuss about it. As it is, it's bad enough they chose Kusa's birthday to have that attack happen on. Speaking of, did you have any ideas for ways of surprising him on his day? After all, he went to the trouble of putting a surprise party together for you and Ryuji on Ryuji's birthday, so I feel like you could stand to return the favor." Sojiro said as Ren shrugged and spoke up.

"Honestly? Not really. I recall Kusa telling Morgana once he didn't expect a lot for his birthday, since it might be usurped by chaoticness and possibly more important things. Ironically, he said that not long before that declaration by Medjed. Granted, I'm sure he'd be just as thrilled to have Futaba wake up on his birthday, given how close of a vigil he's been keeping near her room from the hide-a-bed." Ren pointed out as Sojiro nodded and spoke up once more.

"Good point. I assume you're keeping up on your studies, what with it being the back half of your summer vacation and all. But back on topic, Futaba's always like that, falling asleep inexplicably at times for long periods of time. However, I will say that since Kusa's taken to staying around the house for his recovery, Futaba seems to be sleeping a little easier. Perhaps it's because she somehow senses Kusa's presence, even in her sleep, and draws comfort from it?" Sojiro mused as Ren shrugged, both pondering that thought as they idly wondered what Kusa and Futaba were up to...

(Around that same time, at the Sakura household, on the hide-a-bed with Kusa)

With little else to do while he laid on the bed and recovered, Kusa turned on the news, frowning as it was yet another story about the imminent Medjed cleanse that was set for his birthday, making Kusa frown as he spoke up, knowing the only other person in the house was asleep still.

"Ugh, can we NOT have an article about effing Medjed every single day? We get it, they're set to attack any day now. At this point, all we can do is hope Futaba wakes up in time to do something about it. But I'm just as hopeful she'll wake up regardless, since I didn't think it was possible for someone to sleep for literally 10 and a half days straight without waking up. How she hasn't starved herself or anything yet, I don't know." Kusa said to himself before he frowned as he heard mumbling from down the hall, which he realized was coming from Futaba's room, making him get to his feet and amble towards her doorway, listening in just in time to hear Futaba mumbling to herself.

"Not a chance. Alibaba will not lose! Watch yourself, Medjed. I'm coming for you once I get up. That is, once I apologize to Kusa for making him worry for me as he no doubt has probably done this past week and a half." Futaba mumbled in her sleep, making Kusa smile as he looked the sleeping redhead over, one thought going through his mind at that moment.

'I could care less if you're worrying me or not, Taba. I'd rather just see you open those big brown eyes of yours. That would be all the apology, and even all the birthday luck, I could want or need. Hopefully your change of heart took, given what we went through to make it happen. Please, come back to us Futaba. No, more than that, come back to me, so I can look into those pretty eyes of yours again.' Kusa thought to himself fondly as he walked back to the couch and got comfortable as he changed the channel to a movie that he settled in to watch, hoping Ren was keeping himself out of trouble...

(Back at Leblanc, with Ren and Morgana)

After looking his options over, Ren reluctantly passed on a Mementos trip, deciding to wait until after Kusa's follow-up to see if he was cleared to be off the knee brace before going so that he could have Kusa on-board for the trip. That said, he saw Ann was available but not ready for a rank-up, so he went to the underground mall to spend time with her, after stopping in at the sweets shop to grab a few sweets, just in case. Once he did that, he walked over to Ann, who smiled and spoke up as she saw Ren.

"Hi, Ren! I guess now we wait? The suspense is seriously killing me, though." Ann said as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"You're not alone in that, Ann. We're all feeling it. Way Boss tells it, though, Futaba seems to be showing signs of being on the mend, considering she's apparently been mumbling in her sleep, according to Kusa. From what Boss told me, she apparently mentioned something about Alibaba not losing. I'm hopeful that means she's close to waking up." Ren said to Ann, who smiled and nodded as she spoke up.

"That is good news. Oh, right! I meant to ask, do you want to go somewhere? If you have the time, I mean." Ann said as Ren spoke up after Morgana asked him about spending time with 'Lady Ann'.

"I always have time for you, Ann. You're like a sister to me, after all. So sure, we can go somewhere if you like." Ren said as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Right? I feel the same about you, Ren. You're like a brother of sorts to me, much like how I see Kusa as a younger brother." Ann said before she kept speaking.

"That said, what should we do today?" Ann said as Ren thought about it before speaking up.

"We could go do something fun, or we could just go have a nice cup of tea together. Personally, I'd be more inclined to lean towards the latter, just to keep a low profile until after we figure out what's going to happen with these Medjed shenanigans and stuff." Ren said as Ann nodded, giving Ren a closed-eye smile as she spoke up.

"Yeah, good idea, Ren! Why don't we hang out at the diner then? I could go for a nice chat!" Ann said. Ren nodded, and the two headed to the diner, where they enjoyed a nice, lengthy chat. From the sounds of things, Ann was working hard at her modeling job, which was good to hear. Ren smiled as he felt his bond get a sufficient nudge to have Ann ready to rank up at some point in the near future, especially if the blue sparkling notes over her head were any indication. After the chat, Ren and Ann parted ways for the day, as Ann smiled and waved good-bye while speaking up.

"Well, thanks for the tea and the chat, Ren! Bye! See you later." Ann said as Ren nodded, heading back to Leblanc...

(That evening, at Leblanc, with Ren and Morgana)

After Sojiro greeted Ren as he walked into Leblanc, Ren's phone went off to signify a group chat with Ryuji, Ann, Kusa, Yusuke, and Makoto, with Ryuji sending the first response as he so often did.

"Dude, we're really running outta time here!" Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response at that point.

"People are getting even more restless online, too." Ann sent as Ryuji sent a response at that point.

"Are we done for if we lose here, do you guys think?" Ryuji sent as Kusa chose then to send a response.

"Absolutely not! Sure, if we don't stop Medjed here, Tokyo could be done for, and our popularity, such as it is, would probably go straight down the crapper. Even so, I have faith that Taba will wake up in time. At this point, that's the only real option we have, is to place our faith in her and wait." Kusa sent as Makoto sent a response.

"I don't even want to think about that possibility right now, Ryuji. And that's a good point, Kusa-kun. We should have faith in Futaba-chan." Makoto sent as Yusuke sent a response.

"Indeed. Those who once revered us as heroes now seem to revile us." Yusuke sent as Kusa sent a response at that point.

"Precisely. And that would be why I always say fame is both overrated and not worth buying into. Sure, it's nice that we're giving people courage, but not if we let ourselves be caught up in fame and lose sight of our goals. Much less if we let it change us as people." Kusa sent as Ren sent a response at that point.

"Calm down, you guys. We've done all we can. At this point, all we can do is heed Kusa's suggestion and put our faith in Futaba waking up in time. It's probably the only option we have at this point." Ren sent. Ryuji then sent a response at that point.

"Truth! Ren's right, of course. Sorry for messaging you all about such weird stuff." Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.

"It's okay. We all feel the same way." Ann sent as Ryuji sent a response that had Ren and Kusa groaning as they read it.

"In any case, I'll try and make sure I, to borrow a phrase Kusa once used, 'don't blow my cover'." Ryuji sent as Kusa sent a response.

"Dude, really!? I said that both as a dumb joke, and to try and make a point while you were being bothered by those drag promoters, who I'm nearly positive were into each other, and possibly you if the looks they were giving you was any indication. Which, if I'm right? More power to them, since that's their choice." Kusa sent as Makoto sent a response at that point.

"As should we all. And Kusa, that's twice now you've alluded to that. One of these days, you're gonna have to tell us, or at least tell me, what happened that night since now you've got me a bit curious about it." Makoto sent as Ren quickly put his phone away, not wanting to be part of that conversation, partly because he didn't trust himself not to laugh at the reminder of Ryuji's expression that night when he was chased off with a dress. Morgana then spoke up after having a chuckle of his own at Ryuji's expense.

"Heh, I almost forgot about that night! Trust Kusa to find a way to lift everyone's spirits slightly, even if it is at Ryuji's expense somewhat. That said, it sounds like everyone's starting to get anxious as the deadline closes in. But, considering how fast the days are closing in, the best thing we can do for now is stay calm." Morgana said as Ren's phone went off once more, signifying a private chat from Ryuji.

"Apparently Yamauchi's gonna be at that monja restaurant again today! Think you can come help me investigate undercover this time!?" Ryuji sent as Ren winced, recalling that he'd ignored Ryuji when he asked this of him before, as Morgana spoke up.

"So, what's it going to be, Ren? Are you going to listen to Ryuji's request?" Morgana asked Ren, who decided to check his options before responding. After a quick check, which showed that only Kawakami was available to rank up, Ren decided to help out Ryuji.

"Yeah, let's go help Ryuji." Ren said to Morgana, who nodded as Ren sent a response to Ryuji.

"My bad for leaving you hanging before, Ryuji. I was busy that night. But I'm free tonight, so I got your back if you want to investigate Yamauchi undercover." Ren sent as Ryuji smiled and sent a response.

"All right, Ren! I'm counting on you, man!" Ryuji sent as Ren nodded before his phone was updated with the location of 'Tsukishima Monja', where he headed to meet up with Ryuji...

(At the 'Tsukishima Monja', with Ren and Ryuji)

As Ren sat at the counter of the monja place, he private chatted Ryuji, who sent a response.

"The teacher who's with him has shit on me too. Sorry man, but I'm gonna stay holed up in the bathroom. Please! Just leave your phone on so I can hear what they're saying." Ryuji sent as Ren nodded and discreetly started a call on speaker with Ryuji, both of whom kept quiet as they listened to Yamauchi and the other teacher speak.

"Wow, you can really hold your liquor, Yamauchi." Yamauchi's fellow teacher said to Yamauchi, who himself was a boring looking man with dark-brown hair, a basic expression, a suit and tie, and beady black eyes. Yamauchi then looked at his fellow teacher while he spoke up.

"Mmm, I've had some experience. Back in my college days, we'd rent a yacht for the weekend and have massive parties. I must say though, to be honest, the sake's been tasting particularly sweet lately." Yamauchi said as his fellow teacher spoke up.

"No surprise there. Things have been much calmer without Kamoshida. But still, those were some real dark times for Shujin though, huh? But now that he's gone, you finally get the chance you deserve, Yamauchi!" Yamauchi's fellow teacher said as Yamauchi laughed and spoke up.

"Don't flatter me, haha. He had his strengths, sure. But he had his weaknesses as well. Either way, because of him, our volleyball team will be forever scarred. The only real option now is to abandon it completely. There has to be a way to bring Shujin back into the limelight though. That's where I come in, of course." Yamauchi said as his fellow teacher nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, right. You mean with the track team, correct?" Yamauchi's fellow teacher said, catching Ren's attention as Yamauchi nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly. The students who went through so much hardship under Kamoshida rise again with a caring new advisor to help them rise up. It'll be the rebirth of a team that found themselves in the depths of despair previously. The public will love it. Despite my lack of track and field knowledge, I'll form a tight bond with the students on the track team.

I'll be the protagonist of my very own tear-jerker, at last. And of course all the praise for reviving them will go to me, their incredible, loving advisor. I'll have to hire a great coach if I want to pull this off, though." Yamauchiu said as his fellow teacher gave him an impressed look as he spoke up, neither one even suspecting that Ren was recording their conversation.

"So you're gonna pretend to coach them, while someone else does all the legwork? Amazing, Yamauchi!" Yamauchi's fellow teacher said, making Yamauchi smirk and nod as he spoke up.

"Naturally, such stunning achievements will look great when it's time to hand out bonuses to people. But I'm not gonna stop there either. I'll keep going. I'll publish books, give motivational speeches, the whole shebang!" Yamauchi said as his fellow teacher then frowned as a thought occurred to him that he spoke up to voice.

"True. Oh, but what about all the troublemakers on the team? I've heard that Nakaoka kid is especially bad." Yamauchi's fellow teacher asked Yamauchi, who frowned while he spoke up.

"Nakaoaka? Who? Oh, you mean the one who asked them to bring the pre-Kamoshida coach back? Don't worry, I've already taken care of him, so he won't be a problem." Yamauchi said as he kept speaking, smirking at the confused look on his fellow teacher's face while he spoke.

"Also, there's this other boy on the team, who if I recall right is named Takeishi. Doesn't really excel in much of anything. Well, I said I would make him the new captain if he could get rid of that troublemaker Nakaoka. I might've mentioned something about how Nakaoka was working with Kamoshida, too, just to make extra sure Takeishi was motivated to deal with Nakaoka. But I did so subtly, of course." Yamauchi said as Ren frowned but said nothing as Yamauchi's fellow teacher spoke up.

"And? What ended up happening?" Yamauchi's fellow teacher asked as Yamauchi spoke up.

"Oh, right. Apparently, Takeishi chased him away and kicked him off the team! The plan worked perfectly! And the best part is, not only are Takeishi's parents loaded, his mother's the president of the PTA." Yamauchi said as his fellow teacher smiled and nodded before speaking up.

"Ah, I see. In that case, he'd make a great pawn!" Yamauchi's fellow teacher said as Yamauchi spoke up once more.

"Perhaps, but a nothing like him could never captain a successful championship-winning team. He may have to have an unfortunate 'accident' at practice one day. But until then, he can show the others the value of obedience." Yamauchi said as his fellow teacher chuckled happily before speaking up.

"Hehehe, that's brilliant, Yamauchi! You're incredible!" Yamauchi's fellow teacher said as the two left at that point, after which Ryuji came out of the bathroom and sat with Ren as he pounded the table angrily while speaking up.

"Dammit! That effin' asshole! If we don't do something quick, Yamauchi's gonna get rid of Takeishi, too, like he had Takeishi do to Nakaoka! Goddammit!" Ryuji said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Calm down, Ryuji. I understand your frustration, but swearing and abusing the tables here isn't going to solve anything. Let's talk to Takeishi instead." Ren suggested. Ryuji nodded as he spoke up, sparkling notes going up over his head as he spoke up.

"Yeah, good point. This ain't our problem, it's the track team's. So, that said, they're just gonna have to decide on their own. Hey, y'know, track ain't a team sport. At least, sprintin' wasn't." Ryuji said to Ren, who looked at him in surprise as Ryuji kept speaking.

"You've got teammates, sure. But they're not really there for you, per se. In the end, you're really just lookin' out for your own time. That's why I never thought about askin' people for help or tryin' to solve our problems together. But then again, I can't ignore the stuff they're goin' through now. I mean, even though we had our own goals n' shit to deal with, we were still runnin' together. They suffered with me, gritted their teeth with me, and everything. And honestly, I think it was only 'cause of them I was able to run at all, Ren." Ryuji said before he chuckled as he gave Ren a resolute look as he kept speaking.

"So I can't just go and turn my back on 'em now, right? I know that ain't the coolest thing to say, but it's how I feel." Ryuji said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Says who? I think it's pretty cool of you to still care for your former track teammates. As Kusa will no doubt vouch, it's not easy to part ways with a team and still try to keep on good terms with them. Granted, this was before his former teammates jumped him and gave him a sprained knee and busted nose, so maybe his viewpoint has shifted now." Ren said. Ryuji blinked at this and spoke up.

"Y-Yeah. Wait, huh? You think that? For real? Thanks, man! And yeah, good point. Kusa would know about having a former team, even if his was more of an actual team than mine." Ryuji said to Ren, who nodded as he felt his bond with Ryuji deepen. At that point, the 'Chariot' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'VI' becoming a 'VII' to signify that his Chariot Confidant link with Ryuji had reached rank 7.

As a result of the rank up, Ryuji had enabled Ren to use the ability 'Insta-kill', making it so that when encountering a weak Shadow, the chance existed to instantly destroy it without needing to battle it. Afterwards, Ryuji kept speaking.

"Anyways, I'm starvin'. Let's eat some monja while we're here, Ren! So far, all I've seen of this place is the goddamn toilet!" Ryuji said as Ren nodded. After they ate, they parted ways for the night, but not before Ryuji laughed and spoke up once more.

"For real though, Ren. Thanks for hangin' with me, man." Ryuji said as Ren nodded and headed back to Leblanc, at which point his phone rang as he reached the door and he answered it.

"Hello?" Ren said as he answered his phone, smirking as he heard Ryuji's voice on the other end.

"Good work today, man! And thanks for stickin' around so late! But goddamn it, Ren! Yamauchi! That dick! Just thinkin' about him pisses me off! At this rate, the track team's screwed. Yamauchi's just gonna take advantage of them! But I also don't want to make a huge scene. I can't let myself mess up their chance to start the team again, especially since I was the reason it broke up in the first place, considering I hit Kamoshida and gave him the excuse to disband it. Besides, to be honest, I doubt those guys are gonna listen to anything I say anyways." Ryuji said as Ren nodded before speaking up.

"That's true, Ryuji. Still, you never know until you try, am I right? And if you try, at least then you can say you did all you could to help out." Ren said sagely. Ryuji nodded as he spoke up.

"Good point, Ren. That's true. I gotta have faith in them. Anyhow, at least we know the truth about him. We just gotta figure out our next move. That bastard Yamauchi, munchin' on monja like he's got us all figured out or something. Well, he won't get away with this! In any case, thanks again for your help today! You seriously saved me, Ren! Bye!" Ryuji said as Ren nodded and hung up the phone before heading inside with Morgana to get comfortable for the evening...

(The next day, in the attic of Leblanc, with Ren and Morgana)

Ren checked his options for hangouts, and was surprised that only Makoto was available to hang with, making Ren seriously tempted to call for a Mementos run, before he stopped himself as he recalled that Kusa wouldn't be available for it that day, since he had a follow-up for his knee to go to. So, he decided to go head downstairs to check the TV out, at which point Sojiro called him over to the counter, which Ren headed that way in surprise as Sojiro spoke up.

"Hey, Ren! Got a second?" Sojiro said to Ren, who nodded as Sojiro kept speaking.

"Good. As you might recall, today's Kusa's follow-up appointment for his knee, so I have to take him to that. As such, I'm gonna have to close the shop up for the day. So unless you plan on hanging around here today, I suggest you figure out somewhere to go. Or, if you don't have much else going on, maybe you can do me a favor and go sit at the house and house-sit for me while I take Kusa to his appointment, so that way Futaba's not alone if she happens to wake up today." Sojiro said to Ren, who nodded as he spoke up.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Sojiro. I didn't really have a lot going for me today, anyways. I suppose I could go house-sit for you while you take Kusa to that appointment." Ren said after thinking it over. Sojiro nodded as the two left Leblanc, Sojiro locking up for the day as Ren and Morgana headed over to the house with Sojiro, as they saw Kusa sitting on the hide-a-bed in the living room, already in his knee brace and ready to go. Kusa smiled as he saw Ren walk in, speaking up amicably.

"Oh, hey Ren! Did Boss ask you to come over or something?" Kusa asked in a curious tone as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"He did, indeed. Apparently, I get to house-sit while you two are at the doctor's office. Good luck on the follow-up. Hopefully they give you the OK to lose that leg brace and be able to walk around again, Kusa. I can tell you've not enjoyed being laid up at all." Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up again.

"You don't know the half of it, bro. I mean, between us, I've taken little walks around the house here and there to stretch my legs, but mostly I've stuck to the hide-a-bed. I'll be happy to be able to walk around fully again, though. That way, if she needs me, I can be at Taba's side at an instant, instead of the couple it would probably take me now with this effing knee brace." Kusa said as Sojiro and Ren nodded, the former speaking up.

"True. Well, let's get going then, yeah Kusa? Your appointment starts pretty soon." Sojiro said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Good call, Sojiro. Welp, see you later Ren. Hopefully with good news to report." Kusa said as he and Sojiro left to go to the doctor's appointment, ignoring the stunned look on Ren's face at Kusa referring to Sojiro by his first name while they left. Once they left, Ren shrugged and got comfortable on the couch and watched some TV, Morgana smiling as he slipped out of Ren's bag before smelling Kusa on the hide-a-bed and curling up contentedly on it as Ren smirked at Morgana's reaction, the two watching a TV show together as they house-sat...

(Meanwhile, with Sojiro and Kusa, at the doctor's office)

"Pardon me. We're here to check Kusa Amamiya in for his scheduled afternoon follow-up appointment." Sojiro said as the receptionist looked up and nodded.

"I see. Have a seat there, and someone will call him back when they're ready for him." The receptionist said as Sojiro nodded, Kusa shrugging as he and Sojiro found places to sit and sat down while they waited for someone to call Kusa back. As they waited, Sojiro and Kusa chatted amicably about topics like Leblanc, school and even to a point Kusa's social life. However, Kusa wasn't expecting the next topic to come from Sojiro as he spoke up.

"So, Kusa. Way I hear it, someone's got a birthday coming up, yeah?" Sojiro said to Kusa, who blinked before he nodded and spoke up.

"That's correct. I do have a birthday coming up on the 21st, but I don't expect much for it, since that's also the day of the supposed 'cleanse' and all. Not to mention, it just feels somehow selfish to be worried about my own birthday when Taba's still not even woken up since she passed out the other day, other than for small periods of time. To be quite honest, just seeing her wake up would be more than enough of a birthday present for me. I know she does this a lot, but I had no idea that waiting could be so tense. But it's for Taba, so it's worth it in my opinion." Kusa said as Sojiro nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. Hopefully, you'll be released from that knee brace today and be good to walk around again. Not that I mind having you around, but I get the sense you're getting fed up with being laid up." Sojiro said to Kusa, who nodded eagerly as he heard his name called, prompting him and Sojiro to stand and follow the nurse back to a room where he was examined briefly before being told a doctor would be back to see him shortly.

After that, Sojiro and Kusa just flipped through things on their phones for a bit until they heard the door to the room they were in open and close, making them look up to see that the doctor had walked in, the both of them putting their phones away and giving the doctor their full attention as the doctor spoke up.

"So, which of you is Kusa?" The doctor asked as Kusa smiled and spoke up, raising a hand while he spoke.

"That'd be me, Doc." Kusa said as the doctor nodded and spoke up, looking at Kusa before he kept speaking.

"I see. Well then, Mister Amamiya, let me give it to you straight. Your leg has healed quite a ways. Enough so I can recommend you not wear the knee brace anymore, but I advise you keep it handy in case you find yourself needing it again. However, I still would recommend you not walk around on that leg more than is absolutely necessary for a couple more days, just to be absolutely sure you won't unintentionally aggravate your knee to the point of needing the brace again.

But if you don't overdo it, I see no reason you can't walk around again, to some extent. So congrats, you're basically as healthy as can be expected for what you've been through. And given that our records seem to suggest you have a birthday coming up, I'm sure that this is news you were hoping to hear." The doctor said as Kusa smiled happily and nodded before he spoke up.

"Indeed it is, Doctor. Between my knee, and the fact that I've been helping Sakura-kun keep vigil over his daughter while we wait for her to wake up, I could use some good news. So thank you for that, Doctor. I don't mind taking it easy to some extent, as long as I don't have to be bed-ridden much more." Kusa said as Sojiro spoke up with a nod.

"He's not wrong. But that's not why we're here, is it? We're here to ensure that you have a more or less clean bill of health, Kusa. And that your knee is well enough you can walk on it, which according to your doctor is the case, provided you do so cautiously." Sojiro said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough, Boss. Well, assuming there's nothing else, I take it we're done?" Kusa asked as the doctor spoke up.

"Basically, you're correct. However, I will ask that you schedule one more follow-up appointment with the receptionist on your way out, just so we can look you over once more to be sure you're fully healed before we declare you at full health once more. And also so we can give that knee a proper once-over before declaring you fully healed." The doctor said as Kusa nodded, as he and Sojiro stood up to shake the doctor's hand as Sojiro spoke up.

"Very good, we'll set that appointment up with the receptionist. That said, thanks for your time, Doctor. Hopefully, the next time we come in, it'll be to have this one declared fully healed. Because, to be honest, I've missed having him around the cafe to help out with work. But as a trade-off, I get to have him around the house keeping my daughter Futaba company. So I guess it's worth it at that." Sojiro said as Kusa smiled at Sojiro and nodded before he spoke up.

"Boss, you do realize that I have you and Taba's backs no matter what, right?" Kusa said to Sojiro who nodded and spoke up.

"I realize that, Kusa. I was just stating that I miss having you around to help out around the store." Sojiro said as Kusa nodded his understanding before speaking up with one of the few genuine smiles Sojiro could recall seeing Kusa make on his face.

"Fair enough. Well, I won't be able to stay around the house much longer anyways, since school's due to start next month if I'm not mistaken." Kusa said he and Sojiro left the room and headed back to the car, eventually heading back to the house, where they walked into the front hall as Sojiro spoke up.

"Well, here we are, back home. I'm heading back to Leblanc to open back up for the rest of the day. If Ren's still here, you and he can hang around until around dinner, at which point I'll ask that you send him back towards Leblanc so that he doesn't miss curfew. After all, I wouldn't dream of denying you the chance to tell him your news." Sojiro said as Kusa nodded with a smirk, pleased to be able to walk around without the knee brace again.

Sojiro then headed back to Leblanc as Kusa walked into the living room, only to smirk at the sight that greeted him, as it was Ren, looking half-asleep on the couch and dozing while Morgana was cutely curled up on the sofa next to Ren, making Kusa laugh as he gently sat down to pet the sleeping Morgana, making the not-cat's eyes crack open as he looked around before blinking and smiling as he realized it was Kusa and speaking up.

"Oh, you're back Kusa. How'd it go?" Morgana asked Kusa, who spoke up at that point.

"Well, it went about as well as could be expected." Kusa said as Ren blinked and shook himself on hearing Kusa's voice as he looked over and spoke up.

"Oh, hey there Kusa. How'd the appointment go?" Ren said, frowning as he saw the slightly disappointed look on Kusa's face and speaking up warily.

"Kusa...?" Ren asked as Kusa frowned a bit before surprising both Ren and Morgana by having his face break out in a closed-eye grin as he spoke up.

"Gotcha both! I'm officially free of the knee brace! Granted, the doctor did tell me to still not walk on the leg more than is strictly necessary, but other than that recommendation, he basically said I was able to walk on my knee again without the knee brace. So basically, as long as I don't overdo it, I'm free!" Kusa said happily as Morgana smiled, happily nuzzling his face on Kusa's palm while purring as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Awesome! Way to go, Kusa! And honestly, good timing, since we're about due for another run to Mementos." Ren said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"I'm not against that, but wouldn't it be smarter to wait for Taba to wake up before going on a run there, so she can see it as well?" Kusa said as Ren spoke up.

"True, but we don't know for a 100 percent certain fact that she's joining the team yet, so no sense in waiting for her until we know she's one of us for sure." Ren pointed out as Kusa huffed but nodded reluctantly, conceding that Ren had a point while he spoke up.

"Fair point. I suppose we can go ahead and go today, if you want to gather the others." Kusa said. Ren nodded as he and Kusa fast-travelled to the hideout, the latter sending a group-chat to the others to call a meeting, saying only that he had news for everyone that he would share when they were all gathered. A short time later, the group was gathered at the hideout, at which point Makoto spoke up.

"Well, we're all here. Mostly. I think we've done all we can for now. Let's just put our trust in Futaba. Which, what was the news you had for us all, Kusa?" Makoto asked as Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"I know what you all are thinking, but it's not news about Futaba, unfortunately so, since she is still very much asleep. However, I wasn't lying about it being good news. I'm finally free of that effing knee brace! I can't really walk around a lot just yet, but I don't need to use a brace anymore, so that's a start!" Kusa said, getting congratulations from the others as Ren spoke up.

"That said, we also called you here because we decided the time is right for another run to Mementos, since we've built up a few more requests. Morgana, if you'd run us through the requests?" Ren said to Morgana, making the not-cat nod as he spoke up.

"First of all, I agree that today seems like a perfect day to go into Mementos. That being said, let me quickly check our intel. One moment." Morgana said before he kept speaking.

"Okay, let's start with this one first. This intel is on an online stalker burning with jealousy because the man she loves has been taken away. It seems that she's also a Shujin student, so yeah more Shujin issues. That said, her delusions are really getting out of hand. She's even writing how she's going to kill them." Morgana said as Ann frowned before speaking up.

"Hmm, if we don't stop her, she might actually do it! We need to figure something out before that happens." Ann said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Okay! Fine by me." Ryuji said as Morgana kept speaking.

"There's still more. This next intel is on a harassing boss. He steals the achievements of his underlings without doing any work himself, all for his own profit. Apparently many of the workers have quit because they couldn't handle his spiteful nature." Morgana said as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"Well, that's terrible. Using his position of power for such wrongdoing? Such a horrible boss must repent for what he's done." Makoto said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"I concur. Let us beat that rubbish mentality into submission." Yusuke said as Morgana kept speaking.

"There are still more, unfortunately. This intel is on a dangerous assailant who's shown up in Shibuya recently. He only targets the weak. Many have already fallen victim to him." Morgana said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Seriously? For real!? What the hell are the police doin' about this? Guess we gotta be the ones who punish this dude." Ryuji said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. Screw cowards like that who only prey on the weak. I despise such people." Kusa said. Morgana then kept speaking.

"And there's still more. This intel is on a college student who is abusing animals to relieve stress. Apparently a lot of cats have died by his hand..." Morgana said as Kusa gasped before frowning as he spoke up.

"WHAT!? I don't care who you are, you do NOT abuse animals for stress relief! They have other things for that, like video games or punching bags! Or failing that, you can work out to vent your stress! Hurting animals, especially cats, is NEVER the answer!" Kusa said angrily as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed! How can someone even do that!? I don't believe this." Ann said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Well said, Lady Ann! I could never forgive a human like that. This will be revenge." Morgana said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly! And if that scumbag tries putting a finger on you, Morgana, then I'll be the one abusing HIM for stress relief. I cannot abide cowards who would hurt animals, even more than I cannot abide cowards who prey on the weak. Let us punish this fool quickly." Kusa said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"And then, there was one more. This intel is on a man who's been abusing his girlfriend. This man called Uchimura has assaulted her countless times. That fortune teller even predicted she'd be badly hurt if left alone. Those fortunes often come true, so we want to prevent that from happening if possible." Morgana said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Would this fortune teller be the same one that basically scammed Ren out of 100,000 yen for a fake 'Holy Stone' that was just a chunk of rock salt!?" Kusa asked, still annoyed with Chihaya for pulling such an expensive fast one on Ren. Ann gasped as she heard Kusa's explanation of what had happened to Ren's money before she spoke up, her eyes narrowing in annoyance while she spoke.

"She did WHAT to Ren!? What a jerk! But we'll deal with that later. Back on topic, fortunes aside, this cannot stand! We can't let this guy use violence against her! I don't want her getting hurt. We should change his heart." Ann said as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"You can count me in! I agree. It's only natural for us to change the heart of a person like that." Makoto said as Morgana smirked and spoke up.

"NICE! Okay, it looks like we're all ready to do this! I already left the calling card at our target's home. No objections, right?" Morgana said as everyone nodded to signify there were no objections. Morgana then kept speaking.

"In that case, yup! Mm, okay then. We're good to go if you're okay with it, Ren. That's a unanimous decision!" Morgana said as Ren nodded his agreement. Morgana then spoke up once more.

"Okay, all that's left now is to take down the target in Mementos!" Morgana said as Ren nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Agreed. Provided no one has objections to it, I say we go deal with those requests now, since we don't have a lot else to do while we wait on the 'cleanse' that Medjed alluded to, other than waiting on Futaba to wake up." Ren said. Ann nodded as she spoke up.

"Fair enough. That said, let's see, how many targets do we have right now? 5 of them? Should we get going?" Ann asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Yep, let's go. I'm sure most of, if not all of us are ready to get back into action again." Ren said as Ann nodded and Kusa spoke up.

"Damn friggin' straight! Let's do this!" Kusa said as the group headed into Mementos...

(Inside of Mementos, with Joker, Skull, Draconis, Mona, Queen, Panther and Fox)

"Hm? I can sense restlessness coming from below us again." Mona said as Panther nodded and spoke up.

"Oh yeah, this happened before too. If I'm remembering right, the Metaverse Nav-" Panther said as Skull cut across her to speak up.

"Yup, we got something." Ryuji said as a new section of Mementos appeared on the map as the MetaNav spoke up from Ren's phone.

"A new area has been confirmed in the depths. Updating guidance information." The MetaNav said as Panther blinked and spoke up.

"Whoa. How much bigger is this place gonna get?" Panther said as Draconis spoke up, frowning before he spoke.

"Your guess is as good as mine on that one, Panther." Draconis said as Skull spoke up, looking at Mona while he spoke.

"Yo, Mona, can't you turn into some kinda high-powered radar or somethin'? We'd know how deep it goes if you could." Skull said as Mona frowned at Skull before speaking up.

"That's impossible!" Mona said as Draconis nodded and spoke up, having to take a breath while reminding himself as he spoke that he was trying to be fair to Skull.

"Exactly! I mean, come on. I get that you think Mona is a cure-all for our issues, but think about it. Does Mona look like a Swiss Army knife to you, Skull?" Draconis pointed out bluntly as Queen spoke up to change the subject.

"Yes, well, changing the subject. Hm, it would be dangerous to wander around blindly. We simply do not have enough information." Queen said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. And just driving around won't likely do us any good either." Fox said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Yeah, but the path keeps going forward! We'll reach the depths eventually! I think." Mona said as Draconis spoke up.

"Probably we'll have to change a few more hearts before we can reach the deepest part of Mementos, if I had to guess. At this point, we've changed three hearts successfully at this point, four if Taba's change of heart took successfully. I'm guessing we'll probably need to change at least three, maybe four more hearts to reach the deepest part of Mementos, unless it's deeper than that?" Draconis said as Skull hung his head and spoke up.

"Ugh, that again?" Skull said as Mona turned to Joker and spoke up.

"Either way, I'm curious about what happened in the depths. We should go investigate, Joker!" Mona said before frowning as he kept speaking.

"Ugh. Wow, it's raining cats and dogs outside right now. No wonder they call it torrential rain." Mona said as Draconis spoke up, blinking as he thought of something that he spoke up to ask.

"Does that mean the torrential rain could have an impact on Mementos?" Draconis asked, genuinely curious to hear the answer. Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Precisely, Draconis! This will definitely have some kind of effect on Mementos. The only question will be what effect it has." Mona said as Skull spoke up.

"Hey, what's gonna happen?" Skull asked as Mona spoke up, looking a bit uncertain while he spoke.

"Well, normal rain affects Mementos. I'd bet this is the same, but possibly to a greater extent?" Mona said as Skull spoke up with a grin.

"Ah, I see. So you're sayin' we gotta psych ourselves up!" Skull said as Panther blanched and spoke up.

"W-Wait! H-Hold on, Skull. Let's not get reckless here, okay!?" Panther said as the others nodded and Queen spoke up.

"You didn't forget anything, did you? No? Okay, let's begin." Queen said as Joker nodded and the group started their infiltration of Mementos. Joker then spoke up.

"Before we go, let's establish our front lines for the infiltration. For now, let's have Draconis, Skull and Mona up front with me while Fox, Queen and Panther are on backups." Joker said, getting nods from the group as the needed tagouts were made so Mona, Skull and Draconis were on the front lines with Joker while Fox, Queen and Panther were on backups. After a bit, the group filed into the Mona-bus, with Queen driving and Skull riding shotgun while Panther, Fox, Draconis and Joker smashed into the back together. Not long after, the group found their first target, in the form of Uchimaru's Shadow. Mona spoke up at that point.

"There it is. That should be the Shadow of the man named Uchimura." Mona said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"He's the one who's abusing his girlfriend, right?" Panther asked as Draconis and Skull nodded, the latter speaking up.

"Didn't her fortune say she's gonna get hurt bad? We can't leave him like this." Skull said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Besides, we respect women in this group, so right there that makes this scumbag the equivalent of human trash, since he abuses them. Let's change his heart." Draconis said as Panther nodded and spoke up.

"Right? We need to change his heart, and fast!" Panther said as the group charged towards Uchimaru's Shadow. After a bit, Uchimaru's Shadow spoke up.

"This is horrible! Dammit to hell! I gambled away all of my money again. This sucks! Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit! Where is she? Get over here, so I can beat you!" Uchimaru's Shadow said as Joker frowned and spoke up, glaring at Uchimaru's Shadow as he spoke.

"I feel sorry for your girlfriend, having to put up with a scumbag like you in her life." Joker said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed! This waste of space doesn't deserve to have a girlfriend if he can't respect her and treat her as the precious treasure that she should be treated as. I know either one of us would be treating our girlfriends, if we were lucky enough to have them, as if they were queens. Because when you think about it, women should be treated with nothing but the utmost respect! And on top of that, he's a gambler too!? How low-life can you get?" Draconis said huffily. Uchimaru's Shadow glared at the two as he spoke up, not seeing the others while he spoke.

"Whaaaaaat!? Don't you dare lecture me! She's mine! I can do whatever I want with her! Beating her is the only right that I have! I'll have you know that she loves it too!" Uchimaru's Shadow said as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"Like hell she does! If that were the case, why then has she been going to fortune tellers to beg for advice on how to change you? You disgust me!" Draconis said as Uchimaru huffed and spoke up.

"Okay, that tears it! If you wanna get in my way, then you're gonna diiiiiie!" Uchimaru's Shadow said before shifting into a monster form which took the form of a being that Joker recognized from his various trips to the Velvet Room to fuse and manage his Personas as a 'Fuu-Ki'. The battle then started as Uchimaru's Shadow spoke up.

"Splendid! I'm gonna punch you too!" Uchimaru's Shadow said as Draconis huffed and spoke up.

"Bring it on! We'll stop you first!" Draconis said as the fight began! After a volley of powerful attacks, Smaug's Assault Dive defeated Uchimaru's Shadow, who huffed as he spoke up.

"How dare you!? Why it have to turn out going down like this with me losing to you scum?" Uchimaru's Shadow said as the ensuing EXP gain from the battle leveled up Joker's Phoenix Persona to level 24. After the battle, Uchimaru's Shadow returned to normal as he spoke up.

"This is horrible! I hate it, I hate it when people look at me like I'm just a bug to them for no reason. I can do better than them! I'm a superior human being, after all! All the people around me just don't get it, that's all!" Uchimaru's Shadow said as it faded away, leaving behind a 'Sleep Stick' which Joker seized. Mona then spoke up.

"Hm, phew, that was rough. But for real, the right to beat his girlfriend? He was really the worst of the worst to think that." Mona said as Joker, Skull, and Draconis nodded and the latter of the three spoke up.

"Agreed. That fool needs to learn that hitting a woman/lady is NEVER the answer! Only the most despicable of scum would do such a thing! After all, Joker and I were raised never to raise a hand to a woman for any reason, or to a girl. So I'm glad we hopefully changed his heart." Draconis said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"True. I sense we changed his heart. So let's go inform that fortune teller when we get a chance, right Joker?" Mona said as Joker nodded. At that point, the group's phones pinged to signify that the request 'Ending the Boyfriend's Abuse' was now marked as 'COMPLETED'. At that point, Fox spoke up.

"Impressive leadership, Joker. Well, what's next. Do you want to continue exploring?" Fox asked Joker as Mona spoke up.

"Hm, how many targets are left in this area? 1? Okay, then what's our next move, Joker?" Mona asked as Joker spoke up.

"Clearly, we keep going." Joker said decisively. Fox nodded and spoke up once more.

"Agreed. Let's do that. There must be more places to explore." Fox said as the group kept moving. After making use of his new 'Insta-Kill' ability to kill weaker Shadows, Skull went up to level 34 off of the EXP gain from one of the Shadows. Not long after, Mona hit level 34 and Zorro got the healing skill 'Mediarama'. After a bit, Queen hit level 34 and learned the support skill 'Dekunda'. Queen then smirked as she spoke up.

"That's a new skill! Let's try it out!" Queen said as Johanna acquired 'Dekunda'. After a battle following a failed attempt to insta-kill, Panther hit level 34. At the bottom of the area the group was in, they found the second target, making Mona frown as he spoke up.

"Oh! There it is, Mogami's Shadow." Mona said as Skull frowned before speaking up.

"She's smirking. That's kinda creepy to be honest." Skull said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Her blog is full of all her crazy thoughts. She must be lost in some sort of sick romance fantasy." Panther said as Skull spoke up once more.

"Shouldn't we do something about it before she can hurt anybody?" Skull asked Panther, who shrugged. Mona then nodded and spoke up.

"Of course we should! Let's do it. I bet Draconis agrees with me." Mona said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Damn straight I do! I know I just said Joker and I were raised to never hit a lady, but since this is technically a Shadow, we can somewhat waive that, considering that this isn't a lady so much as a female Shadow, and I'm pretty sure those don't count as ladies necessarily." Draconis said as Joker nodded and the group charged at Mogami's Shadow. Once they got close enough, Mogami's Shadow frowned as she spoke up.

"What's going on!? What are you Phantom Thieves doing!? I know why you'd go after Kamoshida, but why me!?" Mogami's Shadow said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Hey. I don't blame you for falling in love, but there's a point where it goes too far." Panther said as Mogami frowned at her and spoke up.

"YOU! You're the bitch trying to steal Ikesugi-kun away from me!" Mogami's Shadow said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!? Who are you calling a bitch!? And I'm NOT interested in Ikesugi! To be technical, I'm not even that interested in men in general these days. Not that I'd expect a sicko like you who blogs about killing her boyfriend to understand that." Panther said huffily. Mogami's Shadow scoffed and spoke up.

"Oh, so what, you're a lesbian then? Hmph! So what? You're just a sore loser, hanging out with some lame guys and a funny-looking animal!" Mogami's Shadow said as Skull and Joker winced as they saw the narrowing of Draconis' eyes behind his mask before he glared at Mogami's Shadow and spoke up, his icy tone making the others exchange fearful looks as he spoke up to light into Mogami's Shadow.

"What did you JUST say about Mona!? I don't care if you call us guys lame, since you're entitled to your wrong opinions, but I draw the line at you calling my sensei funny-looking! PREPARE TO GET YOUR HEART CHANGED, YOU CRAZY FRICKIN' FLOOZY!" Draconis snapped as Skull spoke up.

"Truth, Draconis! And what did you just say, Mogami!?" Skull said as Mogami's Shadow shifted into a monster form, or more specifically the stuffed animal Shadow known as 'Bugs', making Mona blink as he registered what Mogami's Shadow said about him while he spoke up.

"Hm!? WHAT!? 'Funny-looking animal'? Is she talking about me!? This makes me mad! Get her!" Mona said as Draconis nodded approvingly.

"And well you should be pissed, Mona! We'll teach this crazy cunt a lesson in manners!" Draconis said bluntly, Joker and Skull nodding agreement as the battle started! At the start of the fight, Mogami's Shadow spoke up.

"JUST DIE ALREADY! Urghhhh! Don't get in the way of romance!" Mogami's Shadow said as the fight started. After a bit, Queen spoke up.

"Skull, shall we finish this?" Queen asked as Skull smirked and nodded.

"Gladly, Queen! Let's get her!" Skull said as he and Queen spoke up as one.

"HA! IT'S SHOWTIME!" Skull and Queen said as they started their Showtime. They then ran forward as Skull spoke up.

"Time to get a little crazy! AGH!" Skull said, the 'AGH!' coming after Queen elbowed him in the stomach and spoke up.

"Stay focused!" Queen said as she ran forward and started swinging at the stunned Shadow.

"HA! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAH! HAAAAH!" Queen said as she unleashed a flurry of attacks on the Shadow before Skull ran up to her with a full can of grape soda that he handed over as he spoke up while Queen accepted the soda can from Skull while he spoke.

"Thanks, ma'am!" Skull said as Queen scoffed and crushed the can in one hand and spoke up.

"Don't be so pathetic!" Queen snapped at the stunned Shadow, all while the ensuing debris from the crushed can slammed into the Shadow and ended up dissolving it into black sludge, ending the battle. From the ensuing EXP gain, Joker's Phoenix Persona leveled up to level 25 and learned the passive skill 'Nuke Boost'. After the battle, Mogami's Shadow returned to normal as she looked at the group and spoke up in a mix of remorse and horror.

"WHAT HAVE I DONE!? M-My romance, my love, my passion, all of it! I can't believe it was all wrong like it was! What is real love and romance!?" Mogami's Shadow asked as Joker spoke up.

"You'll understand someday." Joker said as Draconis spoke up, crossing his arms and smirking while he spoke.

"Yeah, that is if she can stop being psychotic long enough to actually be able to love someone. After all, if you can truly love someone, there's no limit to what you can accomplish, or so they say." Draconis said, making Skull and Joker smirk as they knew he was speaking of his own attraction to Futaba and how it had given him the strength to battle on despite his knee holding him back in the previous Palace. Mogami's Shadow blanched as she spoke up.

"Someday!? When will that be!? What should I do with all of these feelings inside me then?" Mogami's Shadow asked as Panther spoke up, smiling kindly at Mogami's Shadow.

"Just tell him face to face, and don't write weird stuff in your blog. It'll take courage though." Panther said as Mogami's Shadow nodded and spoke up.

"Thank you! I'm scared, but if you think it'll work, I'll do it! Please, wait for me, Ikesugi-kun!" Mogami's Shadow said as Skull spoke up.

"Hey! Just don't do anything weird!" Skull said as Mogami's Shadow faded away, leaving the bud of a Treasure behind as Mona smirked and spoke up with a grin.

"Ooh! There it is, the Treasure!" Mona said as Joker seized it, getting the 'Sticky Hairball' for his efforts. At that point, the group's phones went off to signify that the quest 'The Lovesick Cyberstalking Girl' was now marked as 'COMPLETED'. The group then kept moving as they approached the wall on the other side of the room which opened up as Fox spoke up.

"Oh my! It opened. Could it be this was the door that required us to change Kaneshiro's heart to open it?" Fox asked. Draconis spoke up.

"That would track, Fox. It could be the one that we had to change Futaba's heart to open, except I don't think that change of heart has technically been finalized as yet." Draconis said as Skull grinned and spoke up.

"Truth! That said, don't you just feel like the whole world approves of you whenever these things open?" Skull asked as the others nodded as Panther spoke up.

"For a second, but then I think how there are more of these walls lurking ahead, and I wince." Panther said as Draconis spoke up.

"Peace, Panther. I get the sense we're a good ways into Mementos by now. Not quite the halfway point, but close. Either way, I sense we've come quite a ways since we first started combing this place." Draconis said as Panther smiled and nodded before speaking up.

"Good point, Draconis. I feel a bit better now." Panther said as Mona smiled and spoke up.

"All right, let's get in there!" Mona said as the group kept moving. In the next area, Panther spoke up.

"Oh, look at that! The whole ambiance changed again!" Panther said as Queen spoke up.

"I never realized how creepy the subway system could be. Inside the train, you don't even notice." Queen said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. Perhaps it is like the darkness in all men's hearts. Always there, never perceived, ever elusive and mysterious." Fox said as Draconis huffed and spoke up.

"You say that like women can't also have darkness in their hearts, Fox. But I would be apt to call hard bullshit on that, if only because of the fact we just had to deal with a very distorted version of Taba's mom in that last big fight! So excuse me for not wanting to just accept what you say about all men's hearts having darkness at face value." Draconis said in a deadpan tone as Mona nodded approvingly to Draconis' point while he spoke up.

"Good point, Draconis. And you're right. That said, it's a new area from this point on. Let's be careful heading in! Hm? Wait, I can sense our target somewhere in this area! Let's scour the floor for them!" Mona said as the group kept moving. After smacking around a strong Shadow, Joker and Draconis hit level 35, while Fox hit level 34. Joker grinned as he spoke up.

"With this power, I get ever stronger!" Joker said as he leveled up. And from the level up, Goemon learned the Physical skill 'Tempest Slash', making Fox chuckle and speak up.

"Heh-heh, what a skill!" Fox said as Goemon acquired 'Tempest Slash'. After a bit, the group found the next target as they filed out of the Mona-Bus as it shifted back into Mona. After that, Mona frowned at the target and spoke up.

"It's Tsuboi's Shadow. No doubt about it." Mona said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"He seems a little irritated." Queen said as Skull spoke up, his words making Draconis growl as he heard Skull speak.

"I heard he was abusin' animals just to take his anger out on them." Skull said as Draconis' eyes narrowed and he spoke up.

"Oh, really? So that's the scumbag who was abusing and killing cats as a stress reliever!? What a douche! Hey Mona, what say we use him as OUR stress reliever, make him see how it feels to be on the other end?" Draconis said as Mona nodded before Panther spoke up.

"Ugh! I can't let him get away with something like that!" Panther said as Mona spoke up.

"Exactly! I agree with Draconis! We should make him see how it feels to be abused as a stress reliever! You guys, don't go easy on him!" Mona said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Wasn't plannin' on it, Mona! I plan to smack this fool six ways from next week before we let up on him! Scum like him should have an example made of them!" Draconis said dryly, his tone making Joker and Skull both wince at the mixed venom and minor ruthlessness contained within. The group then charged at Tsuboi's Shadow. As they approached, Tsuboi's Shadow laughed evilly as he spoke up.

"Cats? What about cats? Maybe they die when I use 'em to blow off steam, but the shelter was gonna kill 'em, anyway. In fact, I bet those cats are happy to be so useful to humans!" Tsuboi said as Mona and Draconis both frowned as the former spoke up.

"WHAT!? What a poor excuse for a human being! I could never forgive someone like you!" Mona said as Draconis spoke up with a nod.

"I couldn't agree more, Mona! This bastard gives all of us decent people a very bad name with his actions. 'Happy to be so useful to humans', my effing ass! And who cares if the shelter was gonna kill 'em? That doesn't mean it's okay to kill them as stress relief! What if one of us abused you and spouted off some line of crap about how Death Row was killing people anyways, so you should be happy to be so useful to us Phantom Thieves!? Which we would never do, for the record, even if you would deserve it! We're not trash like you!" Draconis said angrily as Tsuboi huffed and spoke up.

"Oh shut up, weirdo in the dragon mask! Why don't you complain to the irresponsible people taking their pets to the pound, huh? Well, who cares. You guys are superheroes, right? Then hurry up and destroy this rotten society!" Tsuboi's Shadow said as Draconis spoke up.

"That's why we're here, you bastard. We're going to change that rotten heart of yours, which is really far more lenience than an animal abusing scumbag like you deserves." Draconis said as Mona nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Exactly, Draconis! And as for you Tsuboi, we'll take your twisted desires. But first, I'll show you the pain you caused those poor animals!" Mona said as Tsuboi huffed and spoke up, looking at Mona as he spoke.

"Wha-!? Unbelievable! Huh? Wait, are you some kind of cat monster?" Tsuboi's Shadow said as he shifted into a monster form, or the form of Pisaca. Mona hissed at Tsuboi's Shadow as he spoke up.

"I am NOT a cat! Let's do it, Joker and Draconis! I'll show you the wrath of cats!" Mona said as Draconis spoke up.

"And Joker and I will show you the wrath of the Phantom Thieves, while we're at it!" Draconis snapped at Tsuboi's Shadow as Joker nodded his agreement. The battle then began as Tsuboi's Shadow spoke up.

"Why don't you just give up!? Say what you will, Phantom Thieves, but this world consists of the strong and the weak. One controls, the other obeys. Humans and cats are a prime example. Now, who is stronger: Me, or the Phantom Thieves!?" Tsuboi's Shadow said as the battle began. After battering the Shadow a bit, Skull and Fox looked at each other and nodded. Fox spoke up.

"Skull, how about we give this swine a lovely coup de grace?" Fox asked as Skull nodded before speaking up with a grin.

"Yup! Let's do it!" Skull said as he and Fox spoke up in unison.

"IT'S SHOWTIME!" Fox and Skull said as the Showtime started.

"Oh man, I'm starvin'!" Skull said as Fox spoke up.

"Allow me! A splash of red, some broth, and bon appetit!" Fox said as Skull smiled and eagerly dug into the food as he spoke up.

"Looks amazing to me! Huh!?" Skull said as he saw the Shadow looking in and growled as he spoke up.

"UGH, I'M TRYIN' TO EAT HERE!" Skull said as he and Fox pulled out their guns and pelted the Shadow with gunfire before Skull pulled out a grenade and pulled the pin, tossing it at the Shadow as he spoke up.

"Order up!" Skull said as he tossed the grenade at the Shadow, one of Fox's bullets hitting it as it reached the Shadow and making it explode on the stunned Shadow as Skull turned to Fox and spoke up happily as the Shadow dissolved into black mist.

"Oh man, this is amazing!" Skull said as the Showtime and the battle ended. After the battle, Tsuboi's Shadow returned to normal as he spoke up.

"What the hell!? Oh, dammit! Owww, it hurts! You're gonna kill me, aren't you?" Tsuboi's Shadow said as Joker spoke up.

"Feel the pain you caused those animals yet?" Joker asked as Draconis frowned but shook his head and spoke up.

"No, Tsuboi. We're not going to kill you. We should, but we won't. Be grateful we're too honorable for such things, and that we're not scum like you. You get to live, if only so you can spend the rest of your days repenting for what you did to those poor defenseless animals! I don't care what your excuse is, no one should be killing animals as a stress reliever!" Draconis said angrily. Skull nodded as he spoke up with his own growl, both Skull and Draconis glaring at Tsuboi's Shadow while Skull spoke.

"Those cats were actually gettin' killed because of you. Don't you get it now?" Skull said as Tsuboi's Shadow winced and nodded before he spoke up.

"Yes! I-I'm sorry! Wh-What should I do?" Tsuboi's Shadow said as Queen spoke up.

"Remember the awful things you did to those cats. Doesn't it make you feel horrible?" Queen said as Tsuboi nodded before suddenly breaking down crying as he spoke up.

"I've done something terrible. I'm even less than an animal. I'm worthless trash, the worst!" Tsuboi's Shadow said as Mona frowned before he spoke up.

"I won't tell you to give up your life. But you will spend the rest of your life in guilt." Mona said as Draconis smiled proudly at Mona while Tsuboi's Shadow faded away, leaving behind the bud of his Treasure as Skull grinned and spoke up.

"Aww yeah, there it is! The Treasure!" Skull said as Joker seized the Treasure, which turned out to be a 'Blood Scimitar'. At that point, the group's phones pinged to signify that the request 'Calling for Justice for Cats' was now marked as 'COMPLETED'. At that point, the group made to leave as Skull spoke up.

"Yeah! Well, that's that. What now? You wanna keep exploring?" Skull asked Joker as Mona spoke up.

"How many targets left in this area? 2? Okay, then what's our next move, Joker?" Mona asked as Joker spoke up.

"Clearly, we keep going until we get all our targets. And then we go after a rest area so we can leave if needed." Joker said as the group nodded and Skull spoke up.

"Mkay, I'm good to go." Skull said as the group kept moving. After beating a stronger Shadow, Joker's Arsene Persona hit level 16. In the next area, Mona spoke up.

"Hm, the last place had eight areas, so I wonder if this place will be just as big, or possibly bigger?" Mona said as Fox spoke up.

"We're only in the third area. I suppose this leisure ride will continue on for a while longer." Fox said as Draconis spoke up.

"Only you would call this a leisure ride, Fox. Though I will concede that Queen is a superb driver, so that does make the ride more enjoyable, with all respect to Joker. But how much of that is Queen's driving and how much is Mona's watching of the area? Maybe it's both?" Draconis said. Panther nodded and spoke up, frowning at Fox while she spoke.

"I agree with Draconis on this. How is this supposed to be leisurely?" Panther said as Skull spoke up.

"Cut him some slack. Yusuke just wanted to say somethin' cool." Skull said as Draconis opened his mouth to rebuke Skull before pausing and thinking better of it while sighing as he spoke up, seemingly realizing that there wasn't a point in constantly rebuking Skull about using code names.

"Skull, how many times have Mona and I told you-Oh, never mind. I don't think you'll get it, even if I scream myself blue in the face explaining it. But try to stick to code names while we're in here, please." Draconis said, making Joker and Mona blink in surprise at Draconis not rebuking Skull about using the wrong name for Fox. Skull winced and nodded agreeably before he spoke up, slightly surprised that Draconis hadn't rebuked him about using code names as he so often did.

"Right, my bad. Let's keep moving, yeah?" Skull said as the group nodded and kept moving. After running down a Shadow, Skull hit level 35 and Captain Kidd learned the support skill 'Elec Break'. Skull then spoke up.

"Oh cool, a new move! So, whaddya think?" Skull said as Draconis spoke up.

"Not bad, Skull. I give it an 8 out of 10, since I'm taking off points for the limited usefulness of it." Draconis said pleasantly as Captain Kidd acquired Elec Break. Not long after, Mona hit level 35. After a bit, Arsene hit level 17. After a bit, Panther hit level 35 and Carmen learned the mid-tier Fire skill Maragion.

"Ooh! A new move!" Panther cheered as Carmen gained Maragion. After that, the group found the next target, diving into the portal to confront it as they exited the Mona-bus which turned back into Mona as he spoke up.

"Look. That must be Naguri's Shadow." Mona said as Queen spoke up.

"He's got a crazy look in his eyes." Queen said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"He's been known to attack indiscriminately. I suppose he really has lost his sanity, after all." Fox said as Panther spoke up with a frown.

"If we don't make him have a change of heart, I won't feel safe walking around in public." Panther said as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"You say that like Joker and I wouldn't be by your side at an instant if you felt unsafe, Panther." Draconis pointed out dryly. Panther spoke up.

"Be that as it may Draconis, the guy is still dangerous!" Panther pointed out as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yep! Lady Panther is correct! We have to do this. Let's go!" Mona said as the group charged towards Naguri's Shadow, who spoke up as he saw the group.

"Hey, are you the Phantom Thieves? You came to see me? Wow, I guess I must be famous." Naguri's Shadow said as Panther groaned and spoke up.

"Oh geez, he's the annoying type. Of course he is." Panther said as Naguri's Shadow spoke up.

"So, uh, can I help you? You didn't come to pick a fight with me, did you? That can't be." Naguri's Shadow said as Skull spoke up.

"Stop playin' dumb, you crazy criminal." Skull said as Naguri's Shadow spoke up, what he said next making Draconis frown as he listened to him.

"I'm doing the world a service. We've got an overpopulation problem with too many old people. Just think of this as my own personal brand of justice. Anyways, it doesn't involve you punks!" Naguri's Shadow said as he shifted into a monster form, namely that of 'Kin-Ki'. Mona frowned as he spoke up.

"Urgh, let's take him down, everyone!" Mona said as the group nodded and the battle started! Naguri's Shadow spoke up.

"Looks like we got us some tough guys! You'll regret picking a fight with me. I'm going to beat you to a pulp!" Naguri's Shadow said as the fight began! Eventually, Skull and Fox took out Naguri's Shadow with their Showtime. The ensuing EXP gain made Queen hit level 35. AFter the fight, Naguri's Shadow returned to normal.

"Wha-? What have I done? I've been hurting people just because I wanted to vent my frustrations?" Naguri's Shadow said as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"Is that all? You know they have things like punching bags and training dummies for that specific purpose, right?" Draconis asked Naguri's Shadow, who nodded as Skull spoke up.

"Regardless, 'Sorry' won't cut it. You attacked and hurt a lot of people, you know?" Skull said as Naguri's Shadow nodded before frowning as he spoke up remorsefully.

"I feel terrible. What can I do to make up for it?" Naguri's Shadow asked as Joker spoke up.

"For starters, turn yourself in. Once you've repaid your debt to society, then you can think of a way to give back and do that." Joker said as the others nodded and Queen spoke up to add her opinion in.

"Tell the police everything." Queen said as Naguri's Shadow nodded and spoke up.

"Turn myself in, eh? Well, I guess there's no other way. I've been doing something truly horrible. I need to be punished for it, after all." Naguri's Shadow said as he faded away, leaving behind the bud of his treasure, which Joker seized to get the 'Charge' skill card. Fox then spoke up with a smile on his face.

"We were fortunate to have caught him before anyone died. We should be quite grateful for that fact." Fox said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed, Fox. The fact that no one died in all this is truly fortunate." Draconis said as the group's phones pinged to signify that the request 'Who's Been Assaulting People?' was now marked as 'COMPLETED'. At that point, Mona spoke up.

"Well then, that takes care of that! What should we do now? Want to keep exploring? How many targets left in this area? 1? Okay, then what's our next move, Joker?" Mona asked as Joker spoke up.

"We keep going, of course. Once we beat that target, we can then find a rest area, handle any shenanigans we need to at the entrance of Mementos, then head back to the real world." Joker said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Sure thing. We can make some more money." Mona said as the group kept moving. After a bit, Joker and Draconis hit level 36, while Fox hit level 35. The level ups allowed Smaug to obtain the buff skill 'Matarukaja'. Draconis smirked as he spoke up.

"Nice! Finally a group buff skill for Smaug! About time! Can't wait to flex that on some Shadows! Mwehehe!" Draconis said as Skull, Fox and Joker exchanged winces as they all knew that Draconis had been spending way too much time around Futaba if he was laughing like her, despite his claims that he had learned that laugh from Mona, while Smaug acquired 'Matarukaja'. The group kept moving at that point. After a bit of exploring, the group found the final target of their current Mementos run as they exited the Mona-Bus. Mona then spoke up.

"That's Kishi's Shadow, right?" Mona asked as Joker shrugged and Panther spoke up.

"God, he looks pigheaded as hell." Panther said as Skull huffed and spoke up.

"This guy abused his position at work, right? Harassin' the people under him and all that." Skull said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"It's people like him who create awful workplace environments, after all." Queen said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Let us go talk to him." Fox said as the group approached Kishi's Shadow, who spoke up as he saw the group.

"Ah! Are you guys the Phantom Thieves? You look like you have some complaints for me." Kishi's Shadow said as Fox spoke up angrily,

"Stealing credit from your subordinates is one of the worst things you can do as a superior." Fox said as Kishi's Shadow huffed and spoke up.

"That's my way of management. It's efficient-I give the orders, and my underlings do all the work. It's a pretty easy job. As long as the numbers go up, that idiot president won't say anything. If my underlings have a problem, they should just get promoted. But since I evaluate them, that's never going to happen." Kishi's Shadow said as Panther sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, how did someone like you ever get promoted? If I were the president, you'd be fired!" Panther said as Kishi's Shadow laughed and spoke up.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Idiot! Shut up, kids! Your reasoning doesn't apply in the real world! If you don't get it, I'll teach you a lesson as your high and mighty ruler!" Kishi's Shadow said as he transformed into his monster form, namely that of an unknown Shadow, who huffed at the group as Draconis frowned and spoke up angrily.

"Excuse you!? What did you just call Panther!? Never mind that you called us kids, because technically you're not wrong on that point, but no one calls Panther an idiot!" Draconis snapped in annoyance as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed, Draconis! What he said to Lady Panther is unforgivable! Let's go!" Mona said as the battle began! At that point, Kishi's Shadow spoke up once more.

"Only the good die young, kid! In battle, circumstances shape results, and the results are all for the sake of the leader, or more simply put, for me. Say goodnight, kids! Your coming here happened by circumstance, but the results that follow-they'll favor me!" Kishi's Shadow said as the battle began. Near the end, Draconis smirked as he looked at Joker and spoke up.

"Hey Joker, want me to smack this fool a good one?" Draconis said as Joker nodded and Draconis grinned, speaking up.

"Excellent! Allow me!" Draconis said as he hefted his bo staff, spinning it around in one hand before expertly taking aim at the back of one of Kishi's Shadow's legs, and then swinging his bo staff at the targeted spot, the impact hitting Kishi's Shadow for a Critical that did a sizable amount of damage and knocked Kishi's Shadow down as a Hold Up was initiated and Joker spoke up.

"Let's do it, everyone! ALL-OUT ATTACK!" Joker said as the others nodded, all taking turns pelting Kishi's Shadow before the screen cut to a still of Draconis smirking as he cracked his bo staff over Kishi's Shadow's head, and then tossing it up before racing forward, daggers in hand and slashing back and forth across Kishi's Shadow quickly before he caught his Bo Staff and Kishi's Shadow split into two along the middle, gaping in horror as both halves dissolved into black mist as Draconis spoke up.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish!" Draconis said as he crossed his arms and smirked triumphantly as the caption 'THE DRAGON HAS JUDGED YOU AND YOU WERE FOUND LACKING. BEGONE!' appeared on screen where the two halves of Kishi's Shadow had been, Draconis posing next to the caption by doing a dab as the battle ended. After the battle, the EXP gain brought Joker's Orobas Persona to level 20, which allowed Orobas to learn the support skill 'Fire Break' as Mona spoke up.

"Oh! An impressive skill!" Mona said as Orobas acquired 'Fire Break'. After the battle, Kishi's Shadow returned to normal and he spoke up.

"I'm a victim here too!" Kishi's Shadow said as he started sobbing and continued speaking.

"My boss from a long time ago used to harass me. I thought it'd be fine if I did the same thing, but apparently not?" Kishi's Shadow said as Draconis frowned before speaking up.

"You fool! Has no one told you that two wrongs do NOT make a right!? That's one of the most basic things any decent human being knows!" Draconis huffed. Joker nodded his agreement as he spoke up.

"Exactly, Draconis. But to be fair to him, it's a vicious cycle, which he has the chance to break here and now." Joker said. Kishi's Shadow nodded as he spoke up.

"You're right. That cycle should have stopped with me. What have I done to my precious subordinates? I made them take responsibility for my mistakes, sent them far away, messed up their lives, and for what? It's my fault, all of it! All mine, and mine alone." Kishi's Shadow said as Fox growled and spoke up.

"And how do you intend to take responsibility for all this?" Fox asked Kishi's Shadow. Kishi's Shadow spoke up.

"I'll read some business books. I'll try to do what I can to become an ideal boss that everyone can look up to." Kishi's Shadow said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"I want you to think carefully about what kind of boss you'd like to work for. Figure it out." Queen said as Kishi's Shadow faded away, leaving behind the bud of his Treasure, which Joker seized to receive the book 'Theme Park Escort'. Skull frowned as he looked at the Treasure and spoke up.

"An amusement park guidebook!? Even if you abused your subordinates, I guess your kids were real important to you, at least." Skull said as Draconis blinked and spoke up.

"He had kids?" Draconis asked in surprise as the group's phones pinged to signify that the request 'We Aren't Just Your Slaves' was now marked as 'COMPLETED'. At that point, Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"And with that, I believe that the last of our current batch of targets has been dealt with. So what's the play now, Joker? Shall we keep going and try to reach another rest area? Or should we head back from here? For reference, there are no more targets in this area. So what'll it be, Joker?" Draconis asked Joker who thought about it before speaking up.

"I feel like we should look for another rest area, but we did just pass one, so probably we should head back to the entrance to be honest." Joker said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Sure thing. It's important to know when to back off, after all." Mona said as Draconis nodded and the group returned to the entrance. At that point, Joker hit up the Velvet Room for some Persona management, which culminated in a Fusion Accident with the Electric Chair, that gave Joker an 'Incense ST', after which he left and came back, having managed to make a Lachesis with the skill 'Tetraja', per the twins' request. He then spoke to the twins.

"Hi there, I'm here to check on my penal labor." Ren said as Justine looked over and nodded approvingly as she spoke up after looking Ren's Personas over.

"Ah, I see you brought us a Lachesis with 'Tetraja'." Justine said as Caroline chuckled and spoke up.

"Looks like you're getting the hang of this. Well, that's another assignment done for you." Caroline said as Ren took a seat and Caroline kept speaking.

"All right, let's keep moving to the next task before things get all messy like last time. No difficult questions, Justine. Just give him his assignment." Caroline said as Justine nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, understood." Justine said as Caroline blinked and spoke up in surprise.

"Huh? What's with you? You're not usually this cooperative." Caroline said as Justine spoke up.

"I have no intention of abandoning my duty at all, but I would like to know the truth of this situation. After all, we possess a mysterious list which seems to have foretold the current state of affairs to a scary degree of precision. Who wrote it? Why do I recognize the penmanship? Why does observing growth feel nostalgic? And beyond all that, what was the true intent of its creator?" Justine asked as Caroline frowned and spoke up.

"Ugh, I thought I said no difficult questions, Justine!" Caroline rebuked Justine, who just nodded as she spoke up.

"To be honest though, Caroline, I have arrived at a hypothesis." Justine said as Caroline gasped and spoke up.

"What!? You know the answer?" Caroline said as Justine spoke up.

"We manage the inmate's power via several arcana, which symbolize the mystic nature of this world. In truth, the encounter we share with him is represented by the Strength arcana. Strength represents great power, a mighty will, and the awakening of the unknown. Truly powerful stuff, Strength is." Justine said as Caroline nodded and spoke up.

"Sounds about right." Caroline said as Justine then continued speaking.

"Caroline, be honest with me. In our interactions, has the inmate been the only one to have had something awaken within him?" Justine asked as Caroline blanched but couldn't answer the question as Justine smiled and kept speaking.

"And perhaps, with some luck, therein lies the answer." Justine said as Caroline sputtered and spoke up.

"Wh-What's that supposed to mean!? Uuuugh, dammit! Why do I feel so weird!?" Caroline said as Ren looked at the twins in concern, but said nothing, figuring they wouldn't appreciate him sticking his nose where it wasn't wanted. Caroline then turned to Ren, giving him an impressed look as she spoke up.

"Although, to be honest, this next task is gonna be the eighth one. There aren't too many left on the list. You've come this far, Inmate. I hope you see it through." Caroline said as Justine nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. If you do so, Inmate, then the answer will surely become clear." Justine said as Caroline frowned and crossed her arms as she spoke up.

"And, uh, to be honest? You're more than just some random schmuck to us now, Inmate. You're the only one who can find the answer we're looking for. You got that, Inmate!?" Caroline asked Ren, who simply nodded as he felt his bond with Caroline and Justine grow ever deeper. At that point, the 'Strength' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'VI' becoming a 'VII' to signify that his Strength Confidant link with Caroline and Justine had reached rank 7, though no new skills came with the rank-up. Afterwards, Caroline continued speaking.

"Listen up, Inmate! Okay, next! You've only gotta bring us one more Persona before you get another reward!" Caroline said as Justine spoke up.

"Now then, I will give you your next assignment. We would like you to harbor a Hecatoncheires with the skill 'Masukunda' within you." Justine said as Caroline spoke up.

"You got that? A Hecatoncheires that knows 'Masukunda'!" Caroline said as Ren nodded. After that, Joker left the Velvet Room and headed towards the return point, at which point Mona spoke up.

"Hm? Are we heading back? The amount of flowers you have right now is 172. If you leave, they'll disappear." Mona said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"I realize that, but I don't feel like going back down to find Jose, so in this case we'll have to eat 172 flowers worth of Ls and leave. We accomplished what we came here to do, which is deal with that batch of Mementos targets. Let's go home." Joker said as the others nodded and the MetaNav spoke up from Joker's phone.

"Now returning to the real world from Mementos. Thank you for your hard work." The MetaNav said as the group headed back to the real world...

(Back in Leblanc, with Ren and Morgana)

As Ren and Morgana walked into Mementos, the latter riding in the former's bag, Sojiro waved at them by way of greeting.

"Ah, you're back. I see Kusa kept his word and sent you back this way. Since he can walk on his leg again, I'll probably let him remain at the house until his birthday, or until Futaba wakes up, whichever comes last. He seems to be enjoying himself over there." Sojiro said as Ren nodded. After that, Ren remembered he had a book to read, and pulled out his copy of 'Aquarium-A-Day' to read it as Sojiro spoke up.

"Ah, are you gonna read? All right, I'm headin' home. Make sure you close up." Sojiro said as Ren nodded and started reading 'Aquarium-A-Day'.

"Hm, let's see here. This says, 'The more you know, the more you'll fall in love with this water world!'. Interesting." Ren said as Morgana spoke up.

"Man! The Shinagawa Aquarium, huh? I see. It looks like a whole other world in there. Pretty exciting stuff. Looks pretty fun for adults too. There's even a section where you can touch the fishes in there. It's a sort of place that anyone would enjoy. You should go check it out with someone once in a while." Morgana said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"With someone, you say? Maybe I will. If nothing else, it potentially gives me more options for places to invite Kasumi on the occasions that we do hang out. Oh, speaking of whom, I should get on reaching out to her in case we do throw a little something together for Kusa's birthday, since that's in three days from now. I meant to do that today, but between Mementos and Kusa's appointment, I forgot." Ren said. After a bit, he finished reading 'Aquarium-A-Day', making Morgana smirk at him and speak up.

"Oh! So, you've finished reading 'Aquarium-A-Day'. I'm feeling kinda woozy, to be honest. Probably because we saw a whole bunch of pictures of the aquarium, if I had to guess." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"Better that than you having vertigo from all that running around you did in Mementos today." Ren said sagely, making Morgana nod as Ren's map was updated with the location of 'Shinagawa Aquarium'. At that point, Morgana spoke up.

"You should invite someone to go sometime. They're probably not gonna allow cats in there though." Morgana said. Ren smirked as he spoke up with a grin.

"Oh? Good thing you're not a cat then, eh Morgana?" Ren said teasingly as Morgana huffed and spoke up, eventually smiling at Ren while he spoke.

"Oh, hush up Ren! But thank you. At least you do respect what I am. That said, I guess we should go to sleep. It's not healthy to be up too late, you know." Morgana said as Ren nodded, smiling at Morgana as the two went upstairs to get comfortable and lay down for the night...

(The next day, with Ren and Morgana)

As Ren sat at the counter enjoying his breakfast with Kusa, who happened to be there to have his own breakfast, Ren's phone went off, making him frown as he checked it, only slightly shocked to have it be a private chat from Ann.

"If I want to be a great model, I need to start training my body. Ryuji actually just told me about a gym he knows. He even said he'd train with me. Why don't you join in too, Ren? We can train together!" Ann sent as Ren put his phone away. deciding to respond when he wasn't eating, before he saw Kusa looking at him inquiringly. Kusa spoke up.

"Private chat from someone, Ren?" Kusa asked as Ren nodded, right before Sojiro chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh heh. To be honest, a cup of coffee right after some curry is the best. Just be sure to drink it while it's still warm, all right? The temperature affects the flavor." Sojiro said as Kusa spoke up in surprise.

"Really? I didn't know that, Boss. Interesting." Kusa said as Sojiro nodded, turning to face Kusa while the two got into a discussion about coffee as Morgana spoke to Ren.

"Hey, let's just enjoy the chief's coffee for now so we can listen to Kusa and the chief chat. We can leave that message for later." Morgana said as Ren nodded, busying himself with enjoying his breakfast...

(Later that day, with Ren and Morgana, in the attic of Leblanc)

After pondering his options, Ren decided against training with Ryuji and Ann, as he'd hung out with both of them recently, and by the same logic he decided against hanging with either Yusuke or Takemi, as he'd already hung out with both of them recently. Ren frowned as he didn't initially see anyone else available until he looked in the direction of Kichijoji on a whim, smiling as he saw that Kasumi, as if by chance, was available to hang with.

Ren smiled at this before he decided to take the chance to spend time with Kasumi, and got cleaned up a bit before he dumped off Morgana with Kusa, who smirked at Ren as he just nodded and accepted the not-cat from Ren before setting him in his own lap as he wished Ren good luck with Kasumi, before Ren nodded as he fist-bumped Kusa before he left and fast-traveled to Kichijoji while Morgana got comfortable on Kusa's lap...

(A short time later, in Kichijoji with Ren)

Ren made to hang with Kasumi, but stopped as he remembered he had sooty armor to sell, prompting him to head to the clothing store, where Ren sold most of the sooty armor to get a bunch of points that he then swapped for a clothing grab bag and 3 full heal items as he checked the grab bag to see he got a bunch of old gear, which he treated as stuff to sell. He kept 1 of each sooty item he had, so he could wash them later on if he wanted to. After doing that and hitting up the incense shop, Ren then finally walked over to where Kasumi was once again browsing goods and spoke up in an amused sounding tone.

"You know Sumi, we really have to stop running into each other like this." Ren joked as Kasumi gasped lightly and jumped a bit before spinning around and seeing Ren, smiling prettily at him as she hugged him and spoke up.

"Oh, hi there Senpai! Hee hee! It's really sunny today, so be sure to stay hydrated! Um, would you happen to want to go hang out somewhere today? They say it's good to take breaks every now and again, so if you don't mind, and aren't busy, maybe we could hang out together?" Kasumi asked Ren, who smiled as he spoke up.

"As it happens, I came here to see you, since I had a relatively free day today and I saw you were available, so I figured, why not fill my free time by hanging with the prettiest lady I know?" Ren said smoothly as Kasumi giggled and spoke up, lightly swatting Ren on the arm.

"Oh, Senpai, stop it! You're going to spoil me with all those compliments! But in all seriousness, was there anything in particular that you'd like to do?" Kasumi asked Ren, who thought about it and nodded before he looked into Kasumi's eyes while he spoke up.

"Now that you mention it, there is something I was hoping to do. You see, I read about this new hangout spot recently in a book, someplace called 'Shinagawa Aquarium', so I was thinking, if that was something that interests you, maybe we could go check it out together? Also, while I'm thinking of it, we do need to talk as well since someone we both know has a birthday coming up and I was going to see about at least inviting you to the party, if not enlisting your assistance with possibly either keeping him busy or helping plan it out. But we can discuss that after we hang out, if you want." Ren said. Kasumi smiled and nodded before she spoke up.

"Yes, I agree. Hanging out could help us de-stress. And given the fact that last I heard, Kusa was still on the mend, you need all the de-stressing you can get, Senpai." Kasumi said with a giggle. Ren then blinked as he spoke up.

"Oh right, I hadn't told you the last time we hung out. Kusa's home now, and able to walk on his own without the knee brace now, so he's doing much better. And since we're discussing him, it's actually his birthday that's coming up, the day after tomorrow in fact." Ren said as Kasumi smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, is it his birthday? I'm glad he's home now! That said, I'd love to be at the party. We can discuss the details later. For now, you said something about an aquarium, right? As it happens, I love aquariums! I hope there're penguins there, Senpai!" Kasumi said happily as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"I did indeed mention an aquarium. But to tell you the truth, I've never been there myself. As a result, I haven't a clue if there'll be penguins or not, Sumi, but hopefully so." Ren said honestly as Kasumi nodded, smiling excitedly as she spoke up.

"I hope so too, Senpai! Shall we go?" Kasumi asked Ren, who nodded eagerly as Kasumi smiled and spoke up once more.

"All right! Let's go!" Kasumi said excitedly as the duo went to check out the Shinagawa Aquarium...

(At the Shinagawa Aquarium, with Ren and Kasumi)

As Ren and Kasumi looked around the aquarium, Kasumi giggled before she spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Wow, Ren-senpai, it's been ages since I visited an aquarium! It's so beautiful." Kasumi said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Perhaps, but not as beautiful as you." Ren said suavely as Kasumi giggled and spoke up with a smile.

"Oh, stop it! Ahh, I could just stare at this tank forever. Aren't the movements of living creatures just fascinating?" Kasumi asked Ren with a smile, making him smile back as he spoke up.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Sumi. I don't look at fish often, but when I do, they are rather breathtaking to watch, if I'm being honest. Though I may have stopped in part so Kusa wouldn't tease me for being a fish-watcher. As you can probably guess, for all that he's a gamer and more zen nowadays, that wasn't always the case.

You see, when he was younger, Kusa was big-time into sports, like the NFL and baseball. He's not as into the latter nowadays, but he still somewhat follows the former. But to be real, nowadays he's moreso into gaming and martial arts. Or, in the more recent case, he's apparently into spunky redheads around his age." Ren said with a smirk. Kasumi giggled as she gave Ren a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Is that so? Hee hee, I wonder if that's why he spends so much time over at your guardian's house? Didn't you tell me once that the guy who's letting you and Kusa stay at Leblanc has a daughter around mine and Kusa's age that's a redhead?" Kasumi asked Ren, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. That would be Futaba, who is probably one of the people that Kusa is closest to in this city, with Morgana, myself, and probably the rest of our friends, you included as close seconds, or thirds behind our guardian." Ren said as Kasumi giggled and spoke up.

"I see. So if I had to guess, I'd say he's smitten with this Futaba girl, if not head over heels for her. Which I'm sure just tickles your fancy, since that means he's not into me." Kasumi said with a smirk as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly. Not that I have reason to worry, since he himself said he sees you as a sister, if anything." Ren said, flushing slightly as he kept speaking.

"Granted, he may have said that after teasing me about suggesting that if you and I ever got really serious, that'd make you and him basically in-laws. Needless to say, I then gave him quite the verbal thrashing for teasing us." Ren said in embarrassment as Kasumi giggled before speaking up.

"R-Really? That's surprising. I mean, right!? Back on the topic of living sea creatures, their will to survive shines through in their every move. If only I could perform like this when I perform. Oh, speaking of performances! I really want to see the dolphin show! I might get some inspiration from watching an elegant dolphin moving in perfect sync with its trainer. Oh, but there's a sea lion show too, isn't there? Hmm, which to see, which to see?" Kasumi said before looking at Ren as she spoke up.

"Ren-senpai, which would you rather see? The dolphin show or the sea lion show?" Kasumi asked Ren, who thought about it and spoke up.

"That's a tough one. Both sound rather interesting. Actually, is there a reason we can't go see both? " Ren said to Kasumi, who blinked at Ren in surprise before giggling as she nodded and spoke up.

"Wha-!? Oh, I see! Ren-senpai, you're a genius! Why limit ourselves to just one? All right, let's go check out the dolphins AND the sea lions! That said, we still have time before the show starts. Let's look around at the exhibits a bit more. Oh, actually? Before that, I have a present for you, Ren-senpai. I saw this at the gift shop earlier, and it was so cute I couldn't resist! Please, take it." Kasumi said, as she gave Ren a 'Sea Slug Doll', making Ren laugh as he spoke up.

"Oh, how cute, a sea slug! Thank you, Sumi! I'll put it up on my shelf when I get back!" Ren said with a smile. Kasumi smiled and nodded as the two went to see the shows, Kasumi speaking up as they did so.

"Wow, this is incredible! They're so graceful, Senpai!" Kasumi said as Ren nodded, enjoying a fun-filled day at the aquarium with Kasumi. Afterwards, they discussed Kusa's party, and Kasumi agreed to show up on Kusa's birthday. They initially discussed keeping him busy, but then Kasumi smiled and pointed out that Kusa might end up keeping himself busy watching over Futaba in case she wakes up for his birthday.

This had the result of making Ren chuckle and admit Kasumi had a point, before the two parted ways for the night after exchanging a shy, if somewhat awkward hug and kissing one another on the cheek. Ren then headed back to Leblanc with a grin on his face after retrieving Morgana from Kusa...

(That evening, at Leblanc with Ren and Morgana)

Ren and Morgana walked back into Leblanc as Sojiro nodded to Ren in greeting as he spoke up.

"Rain, huh? Just a few degrees cooler with the rain would be nice." Sojiro said as Ren nodded and looked at his options. However, his attention was grabbed by the TV as he heard a familiar voice on there, turning his attention to the screen as the newscaster spoke up.

"So, the day of Medjed's attack is approaching. Any thoughts you'd like to share with our audience?" The newscaster asked the person next to him, who Ren was stunned to realize was in fact Akechi, who then spoke up with a chuckle.

"As a matter of fact, there are some thoughts I'd like to share. For starters, Medjed is extremely dangerous. Judging from their past actions, they'll make good on their threat. Of course, Medjed has only resurfaced because the Phantom Thieves recklessly provoked them. If the Phantom Thieves have any shred of decency, they should step forward and take responsibility." Akechi said as Ren and Morgana exchanged stunned looks as the latter spoke up.

"For real!? He says it's OUR fault!? Can you believe how we got dragged into this?" Morgana said to Ren, who nodded and spoke up.

"Unfortunately so, I can. But what I'm worrying about is how Kusa will react if he saw that on TV just now." Ren said as Morgana winced, nodding as he realized Ren had a point.

"True. Kusa does tend to have a bit of a disliking of Akechi, so this won't help that out at all, if we're being honest." Morgana said as Ren nodded. The two then actually idly wondered what Kusa was up to...

(Around that same time, at the Sakura household with Kusa)

Kusa laid on the hide-a-bed flipping through the TV until he came to a channel with more coverage of Medjed, making him frown as he ended up deciding to watch it for whatever reason, frowning as he saw Akechi come on the screen. And when Akechi basically suggested that the Phantom Thieves should step forward and take responsibility if they had any shred of decency, he frowned at the TV and swore under his breath while he spoke up.

"Excuse you, Akechi!? What the effing hell would YOU know about taking responsibility, you coward? If you knew about that, you'd have owned up to being wrong about us! So you can shut that lying, slanderous mouth of yours before I find you and shut it for you!" Kusa snarled angrily at the TV, before huffing and crossing his arms as he leaned back and kept watching the news, his mind wandering towards the subject of the still-asleep Futaba, as Kusa smiled, hoping idly that she'd wake up soon, before it was too late, not just for her, but for all of Japan, which would be screwed if Medjed went through with their threat...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! Of course I had to slip in that outing with Ren and Kasumi near the end there! It was a good way to end the chapter, plus it sets up part of the next bit of the plot rather nicely. After all, in this story, 8/21 isn't just the day of the Medjed attack, and final day of the fourth deadline. It's also a certain someone's birthday as well.

And next chapter, we will probably explore said someone's birthday a bit, as well as probably some other extra stuff added into the story and potentially the end of the current deadline, along with the start of the last part of Arc 4! If all goes to plan, I might (keyword here being MIGHT) be able to end Arc 4 on Chapter 50! That'd be a pretty interesting way to end the current arc, no? We'll see what happens.

Also, while i'm thinking of it, let me thank Will713Man and TogyTheOneAndOnly for their reviews on the story as while one was kind of short and raised a point that I'd not thought of, but already responded to via PM, the other actually brought my attention to the fact that I apparently have been making Kusa rag on Ryuji a bit too much. To that person, let me just say that I'll make it a point to cut back on that as best I can going forward, and as future chapters are posted, it'll start to reflect that bit of input so thanks to those two for their reviews!

That said, thanks to everyone who's been favoriting and following this story, as it means a lot! If you want to support the story and make your input heard/noted, feel free to leave a review with your opinions of the story, feedback on the plot, suggestions for ways to improve it, constructive criticism, or even just comment on any points you might find interesting. As long as it's not negative or hurtful, any form of review is accepted and appreciated! Of course, you can also PM me instead if you prefer, since I also accept PMs from my readers, too.

I enjoy hearing from and chatting with my readers. I even make it a point, when I get reviews that aren't guest reviews (since guest accounts cannot get review replies for some reason), to message at least some sort of a response to my reviewers, even if it's just to thank them for their review.

But I usually answer any feedback given in the review in question. So feel free to reach out to me and tell me what you think of the story. Until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

CONFIDANT RANKS AFTER CHAPTER 48

FOOL (Igor/Prison Master) - Rank 6

MAGICIAN (Morgana/Mona) - Rank 6

PRIESTESS (Makoto/Queen) - Rank 4

EMPEROR (Yusuke/Fox) - Rank 5

HIEROPHANT (Sojiro/Boss/Coffee Daddy) - Rank 4

LOVERS (Ann/Panther) - Rank 7

CHARIOT (Ryuji/Skull) - Rank 7

JUSTICE (Akechi) - Rank 5

STRENGTH (Caroline and Justine/Twin Wardens) - Rank 7

HANGED-MAN (Iwai/Weapons Dealer) - Rank 1

DEATH (Takemi/Back-Alley Doctor) - Rank 7

TEMPERANCE (Kawakami) - Rank 3

DEVIL (Ohya) - Rank 1

STAR (Hifumi) - Rank 4

MOON (Mishima) - Rank 5

SUN (Yoshida/Man Of The People) - Rank 7

JUDGEMENT (Sae/Prosecutor) - Rank 2

FAITH (Kasumi/Yoshizawa) - Rank 5 'MAX'

COUNCILLOR (Maruki) - Rank 5

WORLD (Kusa/Draconis) - Rank 4

YET TO BE UNLOCKED: FORTUNE, HERMIT, TOWER, EMPRESS