Senran Persona: Ninjas of Hearts

by UknownHero

Collab with JGResidentEvil and VividMind17. Fate can be an interesting thing within life. It can bring unexpected changes that no one can truly see. For two girls, those that were destined to be rivals between good and evil, changed under the masks of rebellion to forge their own true paths. Now get up and stand your ground because these sexy ninjas are gonna steal your heart!

33. L'Empereur & L'Ajustement

I've been waiting for this! UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of Senran Persona! I am currently busy with going through P5R and holy crap, I can already see the differences. I just like the little things, more voice acting for more important scenes, being able to do things instead of sleep after tiring days unless appropriate. I love Persona 5 Royal... but thanks to this story, I can't help but think where Asuka and Homura would be in these scenes.

I'm thinking of doing a Senran Persona Royal, a separate story that covers the changes in Royal like Kasumi, exploding Shadows, all that stuff. Although we are incorporating elements of Royal into this story, I want write about all the changes, treat it like a New Game+ as Akira, Asuka and Homura are going around wondering why things have changed. Just stuff like that.

Anyways, onto the reviews. To Kaiser Dragon: Soon. We have a plan and we're sticking to it. I think we're going for two ranks per Palace or so. But I promise you that Akira will reach Rank 10 before the trip to Hawaii. To Vein Bloodborne: Yusuke and Yumi being a couple? No, but only if you let it. To Panther J: We already have a plan for the Committee members. Actually, it should be starting soon. But some of them having crushes... hm... that could be interesting...

Anyway, that's it! Now, let the Emperor and the Ice Queen unleash their true self.

Load Game... Start!

---

Chapter 33: L'Empereur & L'Ajustement

---

(5/23, After School)

(Shujin Academy, Front Gate)

The Leader sighed as he and Ryuji waited for the girls to arrive. "Damn, what's takin' them so long? We gotta get to the shack soon." The dyed blond soon asked.

"Not sure. But Ann did not look happy at school today." Akira muttered out his response.

"...You think Homura's a hypocrite?" Ryuji asked.

Akira only shrugged in response.

"I...have to admit, that was unbecoming of them to throw Lady Ann to the wolves." Morgana then got out. "But then again, it's not like we had much of a choice..." He then muttered quietly.

"The handsome wolves?" Akira quipped out with a joking smile.

"Please let that go..." Morgana groaned out as the two shinobi walked up to them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Homura apologized. "I had to go and borrow a book at the library."

"What book Lady Homura?" Morgana asked in a curious manner.

"Um...The Alluring Dancer. I'm planning to read it on the subway." Homura replied and explained as she took the book out, which had the image of what looked to be a woman in a red dress.

"The one about Carmen? Yeah, I've been looking into reading that too." Akira admitted. "And why were you late, Asuka?" He then asked.

"Oh, I was in the bathroom." Asuka replied.

"To hide from Ann?" Akira guessed.

"N-No..." Asuka stammered out as she looked away in shame.

"Oh, sorry, cowering from Ann." Akira corrected himself.

However at that moment, the ash blonde arrived...with an irritated expression on her face.

This in turn caused the Vice Leader to wince in guilt. "H-Hi Ann-chan..." Asuka meekly got out.

"Hello, mutual acquaintance." Ann bluntly greeted.

"Hrk!" Asuka choked out as she clutched her chest, as if she was shot in the heart.

"Oooohhh...that has to hurt..." Akira thought with a wince.

"So...you guys ready for the infiltration?" Ryuji asked.

"In a moment. I just need to go home to get a change of clothes. By myself. Because I am willing to sacrifice my dignity and not my friendship with certain people." Ann reminded with a fiery pink aura surrounding her.

"Sorry again, Ann." Akira apologised.

"Thank you. At least someone here feels remorse for their actions." Ann stated with a smile.

"Mmm..." Asuka moaned out in a guilty manner while poking her pointer fingers together in a meek manner. "She hates meeeeee!" She mentally cried.

"O-Okay, Ann, um...I'll go in-" Homura started, only for the ash blonde to raise her hand.

"No, this is my responsibility now. My contribution to helping Kitagawa-kun and freeing him from his abusive sensei, and if I have to strip down to nothing but my birthday suit, I will. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare myself for my immortalisation." Ann declared before storming off to the train station.

"Ugh, I should be doing this too!" Asuka mentally continued crying.

"Dude, that is definitely not time-of-the-month pissed, that is betrayal anger." Ryuji soon got out.

"Hell hath no fury for a woman scorned, but may the heavens have mercy on the women that have betrayed her." Akira muttered out.

"I should have just accepted it as well..." Asuka mumbled out.

"Lady Asuka..." Morgana sighed.

"No you shouldn't!" Homura shouted out before coughing into her fist. "I-I mean, Ann will forgive us, Sis, just...give it time." She reassured.

"And how long are you willing to wait for that?" Akira questioned.

Asuka however just continued crying in her mind from the overwhelming guilt as they headed out.

---

(Shibuya, Madarame's Shack)

"When's Ann-chan going to get here...?" Asuka wondered out loud as she checked her phone. "She's a little late..." She then added.

"Asuka, quiet down." Akira whispered out. "We don't want Yusuke to notice we're hanging around. It'll jeopardize the mission." He soon warned.

"Akira...we're hiding a block away from the shack." Homura reminded.

"Because we didn't go with the box..." Akira grumbled under his breath.

"I'm still wondering what you mean by having a box." Homura however sighed out.

"It's...exactly what it means..." Akira got out with a raised eyebrow.

"...You confuse me on many levels, Joker." Homura deadpanned.

"You confuse me more." Akira replied.

"What the hell is that?" Morgana suddenly got out, getting everyone's attention as they turned to where he was facing, seeing something large waddling towards them.

"Oh my..." Akira got out as he realised who was waddling towards them.

"A-Ann-chan!?" Asuka exclaimed with wide eyes.

The ash blond only gave the group a smile as she approached them...wearing anything and everything she could get her hands on.

"What the fu- MPH!" Homura started to shout at the sight of the ash blonde, only for the Vice Leader to cover her mouth.

"Quiet!" Asuka all but ordered in a whisper.

"Hey guys. So, are we ready to open that door?" Ann asked, as if she wasn't wearing enough clothes to stock an entire store.

Meanwhile, the boys were laughing their asses off while taking pictures.

"Um...You don't feel...hot, Ann-chan?" Asuka asked in concern.

"Cold fury Asuka, cold fury." Ann slowly and darkly declared with a menacing pink gleam in her eyes.

This in turn caused the Vice Leader to wince again in guilt. "Sorry...I-I should be..." She mumbled out before trailing off. "I-I'll make it up to you with modeling sessions..." She soon decided.

"Your debt cannot be paid with hard work anymore." Ann responded as the Vice Leader paled in fear.

"Did you effin' take the train like that!?" Ryuji exclaimed between fits of laughter.

"Guys! Be quiet!" Asuka however ordered in a panicked manner.

"S-Sorry but...oh, this is definitely going to be my wallpaper for a while." Akira chuckled out before doing so.

"And of course I didn't take the train like this. I just changed in the public bathroom a few blocks from here." Ann informed as she jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "Now can we get this over with?"

"O-Of course Lady Ann." Morgana replied as he jumped out of the Leader's bag. "Remember, delay Yusuke until Madarame comes home and then get the ruler to see that his security has been bypassed." He then instructed.

"Heh, I can do that no problem. My feminine wiles should be able to convince him." Ann assured. "I'll seduce him with my masterful acting. Just watch." She got out with a smirk.

"Mmm..." Asuka moaned out in guilt as she dropped her head. "Homu-nee..." She mumbled.

"No." Homura immediately answered in a blunt manner, depressing her roommate even more.

"But-" Asuka started.

"You heard Ann. It's her responsibility." Homura interrupted.

"That's 'cause you think you're protecting me..." Asuka mumbled out.

"Sis..." Homura sighed out, seeing that her roommate was feeling guilty over the entire issue.

"Lady Ann, we can't delay this any further. Are you ready?" Morgana meanwhile reminded and asked in a serious tone to change the subject.

"As I'll ever be." Ann sighed out. "You guys better not get distracted." She then stated.

"We promise we won't." Akira stated. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll be hiding over there." He then informed.

"You do that..." Ann replied, though it was obvious that she was glaring at the other girls. "Let's do this, Morgana." She then declared.

The not cat nodded at that before the two made their way to the shack while the others went to their hiding spot.

Ann took a deep breath before pressing the doorbell. "Um...hello, is anyone home...?" She hesitantly called out.

"Hello? Is that you, Takamaki-san?" Yusuke's voice asked in an eager tone over the intercom.

"Um...Hi, Kitagawa-kun, I'm here~ I'm soooo sorry that Asuka-chan can't come today." Ann informed over the intercom.

"Ah, well, I can always contact her some other time to schedule a session. The door is open, Takamaki-san. You may let yourself in." Yusuke answered. "Please lock it on your way in. I do not wish for any more unwanted guests to get in after all." He then requested. Ann knew he was frowning at the image of Akira, Ryuji and Homura coming in again.

"Yeah. That would be pretty bad..." Ann stiffly replied as she opened the door.

Morgana had to stop himself from laughing as he strolled inside the shack.

"Well then, he better be prepared..." Ann muttered to herself as she gave one last look at the others before squeezing herself through the doorway, before shutting the door behind her.

After waiting a few seconds, they popped out of cover. "Alright, they're in." Akira got out.

"Welp, her acting hasn't improved since the castle..." Homura muttered out.

"So, are you ready to kick Madarame's Shadow in the ass and steal his Treasure?" Ryuji asked the others.

The others nodded to that as they all pulled out their phones.

"You think Ann-chan and Morgana-chan will be alright?" Asuka asked in concern.

"It's fine. She brought like 80 layers of clothes so it's going to be a while before she shows skin." Homura reassured.

"And if Yusuke does do something to her, we'll just beat the shit out of him." Akira casually stated. "But remember, he's the victim here. His mentor is going to kill him eventually. Stealing art, ruining lives. That's something we can't forgive." He then added as he adjusted his glasses.

"You said it. And that's probably not even half of it." Homura growled.

"Yeah. That guy who committed suicide, that ain't probably the first one." Ryuji guessed. "God, that pisses me off, treatin' someone's life as nothing. You ain't gettin' away with it any longer. We're gonna steal your heart, ya old bastard!" He then declared.

"Ryuji, be quiet! You're practically going around with a megaphone saying Hey guys, I'm doing illegal shit!" Homura shouted out. "What don't you get about subtlety? We are thieves, not superheroes!" She soon reminded in annoyance.

"Homura, there's no one here. This is the sleepiest neighborhood in Shibuya. I bet everyone's either out in the city or inside ignoring the world. Besides, we'd notice if someone is listenin'." Ryuji stated in a more easy going manner.

Meanwhile, around the corner...

Yumi Tsukikaze had been in the neighborhood to invite Yusuke to their weekly lunch when she spotted the unusual group talking amongst themselves in front of Madarame's atelier. It looked like they were having a serious conversation, as if they were planning something.

"Them again." Yumi thought as she narrowed her eyes. "The ones involved with Kamoshida. Why are they here? What do they want with Yusuke-san?" She began to wonder as she looked on at the group, beginning to listen into the conversation.

"...You're practically going around with a megaphone saying Hey guys, I'm doing illegal shit!" She heard Homura shout out.

"..." Yumi's eyes widened for a moment as she heard that before she narrowed them, her finally deciding that she had enough. It was time to confront them head-on, no more skirting around the issue.

"Alright, Asuka, you're on healing and support since Morgana and Ann are unavailable. Ryuji, Homura, I need you on the front lines and draw as much aggro to yourselves. You guys can take some serious damage. I'll be at the back using my Personas to knock down enemies and doing some healing of my own if we need it. Remember to pace yourselves in there. Being two people down is a heavy blow to our combat capabilities." Akira instructed in a serious tone as he adjusted his glasses.

However, as Akira continued talking, the two girls slowly tilted their heads so they could see that someone was behind him, arms crossed and tapping their foot.

"We should focus on securing a safe room so we can go get Ann and Morgana to rejoin us." Akira then pointed out as he closed his eyes. "We need our healers if we want to steal Madarame's heart. Ah, we're running out of time. We'll deal with the other smaller details once we're inside. Any questions before we dive in?" He then concluded followed by the question.

Akira however then noticed that the two girls were flailing their arms around, as if they were trying to tell him to shut the hell up while silently panicking.

Which only meant one thing.

"...There's someone behind me, isn't there?" Akira groaned out.

"Just what are all of you doing?" Yumi questioned with a very accusing expression on her face.

"WAH!" Ryuji screamed out, accidentally tossing his phone into the air...

[Now entering Madarame's Museum of Vanity...]

---

(Madarame's Museum of Vanity, Museum Entrance)

...Before catching it as soon as the Phantom Thieves and their new tagalong appeared in the Metaverse.

Both parties were silent as they stared at each other, with Yumi making quick glances around to see where she ended up.

"...This isn't what it looks like." Joker started...before dodging a fan that embedded itself into the nearby truck right next to his head. "...Oh." He then got out.

It was suffice to say that no one was expecting this action from the light gray haired Student Council President of Kosei High School.

But then before anyone could do anything...

"Shinobi Tenshin!" Yumi soon declared as her Kosei High uniform vanished, soon being replaced with a solid white furisode kimono that hung off her shoulders and exposed a large amount of her plump breasts. A plentiful portion of her thighs and bottom were now appeared to be exposed as well, but was soon revealed to have light blue lace panties underneath her kimono while also having a blue double-lined trim with a blue obi on the back. Lastly on her feet, she had white socks and lavender flip flops.

The eyes of the two full face masked girls widened to that term. "Shinobi!" Yin and Yang exclaimed before everyone dived out of the way of a wave of ice.

"Shit! We really don't have time for this!" Skull called out. "But daaaaaamn..." He got out as he looked at the light gray haired girl's attire.

Joker meanwhile sighed to this as he couldn't help but blush. "Man she's exposed..." He admitted. "But then again, so are you two." He mentally added as he glanced at the two girls, instantly seeing the Vice Leader's green lace panties before looking away immediately.

"Ain't that the truth." Yang replied in agreement, not blaming the two boys this time.

"Yumi-chan's...a shinobi...?" Yin muttered to herself, still trying to process this information. "Is she a Good one or an Evil one though?" She however thought in concern.

Yang however placed a hand on her roommate's shoulder. "She's still someone in our way. We either talk her down or take her out. No other ways about it." She then stated.

Joker however blocked the rest of the group from advancing by bringing an arm out. "Hold on." He ordered while looking at the light gray haired girl. "Listen Yumi-san, we are not your enemy." He then informed.

Yumi's eyes however narrowed to that. "Then all of you better explain yourselves now." She began in a threatening tone as she then looked at the two full face masked girls. "And how you two know that I am a shinobi." She then added, raising her other fan towards them as some ice spires formed around her in the air.

"Do you really need to know? Because you're really cutting into our ass- jerkhole butt-kicking time right now!" Yang retorted, correcting herself from swearing.

"Yang! Let me talk!" Joker ordered with a small glare.

"Sorry, but I'm not willing to give up information so easily." Yang harshly responded.

"Well, if you're not going to talk, then I must beat the answers out of you." Yumi stated as she went into a battle stance. "I must apologize if you are Just, but from your appearances, I very highly doubt that." She then declared. "Yumi, sink into the dreams of the sleeping soul." She soon announced as she readied herself.

Yang however groaned to hearing that. "Oh great, she's a deeply trained Good Shinobi..." She muttered out to her roommate.

"And from that, I can determine you are all Evil Shinobi. Which means I have no qualms in destroying you all." Yumi soon stated with narrow eyes.

"W-Wait...Destroy us all...?" Yin repeated in a whisper. "Y-You want to kill all Evil Shinobis?" She soon asked.

"Isn't that obvious? There must be no shadows left in this world!" Yumi stated as she dashed forward.

"What!?" Yin exclaimed as she blocked the attack, locking her blades in place with the other girl's fans. "You temper light with darkness. Destroy either one, and all you've done is blind yourself." She countered as she pushed back.

Yumi however narrowed her eyes to that statement. "Do not try to convince me with that corrupted philosophy. I have heard it all, and mere words will not deter me from my path!" She soon declared with determination in her voice.

Yang on the other hand paled to hearing this. "Oh no, she's one of those types of Good Shinobis..." She got out as the boys then looked at her. "The kind that have some kind of hate towards Evil Shinobis and now wants revenge of some sorts and allowed themselves to be heavily influenced by the Good Shinobi Code, great..." She explained in a serious tone.

"Then we better not tell her you're the actual Evil Shinobi here." Skull whispered.

"Oi, I'm ditching that now." Yang however reminded...before being blindsided by a snowball to the face.

"I heard that." Yumi growled in anger. "I will fulfill Ojii-sama's ideal!" She then declared.

"...I really want to hurt you right now." Yang growled at the blond before being forced to dodge multiple shards of ice shot at her.

"She only uses ice, huh. Well, let's see what she can do against this!" Joker called out as he grabbed his mask. "PERSONA!" He declared as light blue flames surrounded him.

Yumi's eyes however widened to this action. "What?" She got out in confusion as she prepared herself.

However...

"Hee hoo hee!" Jack Frost squealed as he appeared on the battlefield.

To the sight of the new creature, Yumi couldn't help but blush slightly. "J-Just because whatever this creature is cute doesn't mean I won't hurt it!" She stammered out.

"Doesn't mean he can't hurt you." Joker retorted with a smirk. "Jack Frost! Ice Wall!" He then commanded.

"Heehoo! You got it!" Jack Frost squeaked out his reply as a white-blue barrier formed around the Vice Leader.

"Thanks Joker!" Yin got out as she avoided another oncoming ice spire.

"Ugh, please leave us alone! Gurentou!" Yang called out as Wolverine appeared in front of her.

For the light gray haired girl, she was soon confused by the names of the beings that came to her enemies' side. "W-What kind of summons are you able to perform?" Yumi asked before jumping out of the way of the Persona's claws.

"It's the power to overcome life's hardships! Kaeru, Magna!" Yin replied as she ripped off her mask, summoning her own Persona.

Yumi narrowed her eyes. There was no time to understand what these people were saying she sliced through the boulder with ease before dashing towards the enemy. "Choke on this!" She called out as she launched herself towards the dyed blond.

"Oh shit!" Skull exclaimed as he blocked every strike the light grey haired girl swung at him. "SOMEONE HELP ME!" He soon called out.

"Go help him, Wolverine!" Yang ordered as her Persona flew at the girl, going for a slice. However Yumi rolled away, narrowly dodging the attack before she countered by jumping up and slicing at Wolverine's hips.

"AUGH! DAUGHTER OF A-" Yang cried out in pain as she clutched her bleeding hip, which was already healing.

The light grey haired girl's eyes soon widened to this development as she looked at the group. "So these summons...their life is connected to yours..." Yumi deducted. "Is it similar to that JoJo Stand phenomenon I've been hearing about?" She soon asked in a curious manner.

"...Huh. Never really connected the-AAAHHH!" Skull started to admit, only to be kicked in the groin before being thrown against the truck and frozen onto it. "Why...!?" He winced out in a squeaky voice.

The others in turn winced to the sight. "Ooooh, that's gotta hurt..." Yang got out in a sympathetic tone.

The Vice Leader in turn nodded in agreement, "Yumi-chan...please...just listen to us..." Yin pleaded.

"Yeah. We can talk this out." Joker stated in a calm tone. "Don't you see what's around you? What you can feel? You're in more danger than you think, Yumi-san."

Yumi calmly and quietly lowered her weapons...she created a series of miniature icicles, all of which came together to form a frigid lance before launching at the two Leaders.

"Black Ice!" Yumi declared as she fired the giant ice spire.

Yin's body moved before she could even think and shoved the Leader to the ground. "Yu-" Yin tried to get out, only to be frozen before she could finish.

"What!?" Joker exclaimed.

"SIS!" Yang got out in a panic. "Yumi! Calm down and listen to us!" She then called out.

"I think the time for talk is over." Joker stated as he frowned. "We need to knock her unconscious." He then ordered as he ripped off his mask. "Persona! Jack Frost! Rakunda!" He soon commanded.

"Let's-a hee ho!" Jack Frost called out as he weakened the enemy shinobi in a purple and black glow.

Yumi's eyes meanwhile widened to this as she felt something off with her body. "W-What the...What did you do to me!?" She questioned in confusion.

"Lowered your defense. Now you should be-" Joker began explaining, however...

"Hold your tongue!" Yumi suddenly called out as she rushed in and launched both Leaders into the air. "Leave my sight!" She soon ordered as she performed a quick Aerial Rave on the two before slamming them into the ground.

"Ow..." Joker and Yin groaned in pain.

"I can taste...my gallbladder..." Joker moaned out.

"It feels like I can taste your gallbladder..." Yin mumbled out.

"We can't use too much energy. We have to save it for the rest of the Palace and we're running out of time. Now how do I..."Joker thought before pausing. He knew exactly what skill to use. "Everyone, stall Yumi-san." He suddenly ordered in a serious tone.

"Excuse me? What are you planning, Joker?" Skull asked.

"I've got...something. But I need time. Just make sure she doesn't attack me." Joker informed before dashing off.

"Wait, what!?" Yang got out in confusion before clashing with the light grey haired girl. "Jeez Joker, whatever you're planning, it better work!" She thought as she elbowed the other girl in the gut while the Vice Leader went and tackled her to the ground.

"Yumi-chan! This is all a misunderstanding! Please, just listen to us for a moment!" Yin once more pleaded.

"Unhand me Evil one!" Yumi meanwhile ordered. "And no, it isn't. I can see your intentions clearly, so I will not stop until you are all destroyed! All will answer to the principles of justice!" She soon declared as she shoved the Vice Leader off of her and whacked her over the head with her fans.

"Stubborn one ain't she..." Skull soon got out.

"Hey, that's what you get from blind obedience." Yang stated before jumping in to help her roommate.

---

(Cue Mystic Liquid by Kamen Rider Girls)

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Yang roared as she charged at the enemy shinobi, her six katanas at her side before she slashed at the light grey haired girl.

"She's fast." Yumi thought before crying out in pain and jumped back.

"Gotcha!" Yang declared as the light grey haired girl clutched onto the tears in her clothes.

Yumi grimaced before shaking it off. "Hmph, nothing more than an animal, are you?" She soon taunted.

"Not anymore, unlike you right now." Yang countered. "Please, calm down already and let us explain ourselves." She soon requested.

"You will once you're dead." Yumi responded in a dead serious tone.

"There's not getting through to her yet. We need to weaken her resolve!" Yin stated.

"Ugh, to think I used to be like this and jump the gun..." Yang muttered to herself.

"You still kinda do that!" Skull called out. "Now come on, Captain Kidd! Headbutt!" He soon ordered.

"What!? How dare you, y-you ruffian!" Yang and Yumi however got out in unison to the insults towards them before the attack struck the light grey haired girl.

WHAM!

"NGH!" Yumi yelped out in pain as she held her stomach. "I-I won't yield so easily to something like that." She soon declared as she dashed forward with her fans ready.

"Whoa!" Yang got out as she avoided the strikes. "Hah! Missed me!" She began taunting before being slapped in the face "OW!" She yelped out.

"Seriously though! Why does she wield fans!? And why are they so lethal!?" Skull exclaimed.

"Seriously!? You never heard of bladed fans!?" Yang however remarked as she rubbed her cheek. "I mean Yumi's aren't, but still!" She then added.

"I'm just kind of freakin' out over the fact we're fighting a goddamn ninja girl so give me a break! On your left Yin!" Skull shouted out.

Yin's eyes widened before she guarded against another flurry of attacks before kicking the light gray haired girl away. "Thanks Skull!" She called out before facing the light gray haired girl. "Yumi-chan! Please, we're trying to help Yusuke-kun! He's being abused by Madarame! We don't want to fight!" She soon called out.

"..." Yumi only silently glared at the black masked girl before charging once again.

"I don't want anyone to die here but she's not making it an option..." Yang thought, thinking about getting out her guns and kneecapping her or going for the spine. Just some way to stop Yumi without ending her life. "What is Jo-GODDAMMIT!" She shouted in frustration as she saw their leader staring out into space. It seems that Yumi was too focused on the active members to notice his (seemingly) vulnerable state. "Oh this has to be karma for forcing Ann to pose nude!" She meanwhile thought.

"Come on...gotta...stop her...!" Yin panted out in exhaustion as she guarded against the light grey haired girl's unrelenting strikes.

"That's it!" Yang suddenly called out as she cocked her guns. "If you won't settle down, then maybe losing a toe will!" She got out as she took aim.

"Homu-nee! NO!" Yin shouted out in a panic.

Click! Click! Click!

"What the!?" Yang exclaimed as she looked down the barrel of her gun. "No! No no no! Why did you have to jam now!?" She got out in disbelief.

FWOOSH!

And that little distraction gave Yumi just enough time to freeze her solid.

"Yang-nee!" Yin called out in a panic.

"Shit! She's frozen!?" Skull exclaimed in disbelief.

The light grey haired girl then went to the frozen enemy. "You should've maintained your equipment...Homura-san." Yumi got out, saddened by her own action before reinforcing her resolve. "Now this is your punishment for siding with the Evil. Fly apart!" She then declared as she twirled around, slashing at the immobile girl with ice and snow surrounding her. "Ice Pillar Fan!" She soon declared.

Yin could only hear her roommate's muffled screams of pain as she was tossed around by the attack before crashing into the ground.

Suddenly. Yumi threw the still-frozen girl into the Vice Leader, breaking her out the ice but taking both of them down.

SHATTER! CRASH!

"Ugh, that hurt..." Yang groaned out as she rubbed her head. "I can't believe I was frozen...that's a first for me..." She then added in disbelief.

"Me too..." Yin groaned as well.

"Alright, does anyone have a plan? Please?" Skull begged as he joined the girls.

"Uhhh...DOGPILE!" Yin suddenly ordered.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" The other Thieves shouted out as they jumped on the girl, flattening her with their combined weight...with the Vice Leader's boobs depriving her of breath.

"Keep her down!" Skull called out.

"Stop struggling!" Yang got out.

"Please, you have to listen to-AH!" Yin cried out as she instinctively jumped off and rubbed her right breast. "She bit me!" She exclaimed in shock.

"Oh shit." Skull swore out before he and the tan skinned girl were blasted off the light grey haired girl.

"This is the end!" Yumi declared as she quickly got to her feet. "Come, White Widow..." She soon commanded...before a spider completely made of ice descended down behind her.

"EEEEEEEH!?" Yin exclaimed in shock to the sight.

"What the hell!?" Skull also got out in disbelief to the sight. "...Where is it hanging from?" He then asked in confusion.

"Oh, this is gonna hurt, isn't it..." Yang muttered out.

"May all be cleansed!" Yumi soon declared as the spider spun around, creating an ice tornado.

The Thieves screamed as they were pulled into the tornado and torn apart from all the icicles and snow before crashing into the ground, their clothes in ruin.

"Wah! My clothes!" Skull exclaimed as he realized he lost his top.

"Ugh..." Yang groaned out as she regained her focus before looking at her fellow thief, blinking a couple of times as a result of his state of appearance. "...Wow..." She muttered out as she stared. "You are...fitter than I thought. As expected of a former track star." She then admitted in an impressed manner.

"Are you checking me out?" Skull jokingly asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, it's not like you do with us." Yang grumbled out.

"O-Oh my..." Yumi got out, surprised by the dyed blond's current state. "S-So your clothes are similar to a Tenshin." She then added.

"Yeah. A little." Yin replied before she was pinned down by the Kosei student.

"Still, no matter. You've just given me the perfect exhibition to your abilities. I shall use this to eliminate the others." Yumi stated as she aimed her fans at her throat.

"S-SIS!" Yang cried out as she tried to move, but she just couldn't muster the energy,

"Damn it..." Skull growled as he tried to get to his feet.

"Joker...help..." Yin groaned out.

Then...as if he responded to her cry...Joker snapped out of his trance. "Thank you, Justine. That was a big help." He soon thanked one of the twin wardens.

"It is no problem, as long as you complete your rehabilitation Inmate." Justine replied. "I believe your teammates need you now." She then informed him before pointing in the opposite direction.

"Shit." Joker swore out. "HEY! OVER HERE!" He soon called out.

"Thanks for coming back to the Metaverse!" Yang shouted at the Leader. "NOW HELP US OUT!" She then called out.

"Don't need to tell me, Yang!" Joker replied as he pulled out his knife and gun. "Hey, Elsa! Wanna see a magic trick?" He soon taunted.

Yumi turned and faced the Leader as she stepped on Yin's face. "Akira Kurusu...You're the leader of this evil team, aren't you?" She soon accused as she aimed her fans at the Fool.

"Please, I prefer the term thief. And I'm not evil, just rebellious." Joker countered in a confident manner as he aimed his pistol at her in return.

The two soon slowly walked around each other, daring one another to make the first move.

Suddenly, Joker put away his weapons. "Welp, no point in dragging this out. Arsene, Mudo." He commanded while removing his mask, his Persona appearing behind him.

"Eh?" Yumi managed to get out as a dark purple glyph appeared underneath her feet which glowed brighter.

"And...done." Joker got out as he snapped his fingers, Arsene mirroring his actions.

SNAP!

Then in a flash, Yumi's eyes glazed over as she soon collapsed onto the ground, her Shinobi Tenshin fading away and back to her Kosei High uniform.

---

Joker nudged her with his foot before letting out a breath.

"Huh, that was easy." Joker muttered out as Arsene nodded behind him. "Sorry, would've been faster if I could afford summoning Succubus." He then added as he handed out some Sewing Kits to the others.

Yang's eye twitched as everyone stood up while their clothes got repaired. "That was not easy! Why are you poor!? Why can't we meet anyone normal!?" Yang complained as she slapped both hands on her masked face. "I mean seriously!? Another shinobi!? What are the chances of that!?" She then added. "And I had just became friends with her!" She then added in her head.

"Not at the moment you're not." Wolverine got out.

"Hmm, that announcement Yumi-chan made...what school is that from?" Yin asked in a curious manner.

"Sink into the dreams of the sleeping soul." Joker repeated in his own curious tone. "Looks like we're gonna have to interrogate her." He thought.

"Ugh, we spent so much time dealing with her. We need to leave now or else we're gonna miss our window." Yang stated.

"Right. Let's get going." Skull agreed with a nod.

"Um, I'd like to remind everyone we have an unconscious normal (relatively speaking) human inside the Metaverse." Joker pointed out.

"Ugh, just leave her here. She's just dead weight right now." Skull groaned out in slight annoyance.

The Vice Leader however shook her head to that. "I don't think that's a good idea. If we leave her here, the Shadows might get to her..." Yin pointed out.

"Mmm..." Yumi moaned out as her eyes struggled slightly.

"Shit, she's already waking up." Skull swore out. "She might attack us again." He then added.

The Leader however narrowed his eyes to this. "...Tie her up. We have to have someone carry her with us. She's safer around us than here." Joker decided as he kicked the girl in the head, knocking her out again. "Relatively, of course."

"...I'll do it." Yin stated as she removed her mask and brought her Persona to her side. "Kaeru, keep her safe." She soon requested.

The Persona silently nodded to that as she picked up the semi-conscious girl before tying her up with an earth made wrapping.

"I can't fight with Kaeru taking care of her, so you guys are gonna have to battle without me." Yin informed.

"Don't worry. We went far with three fighters, so it's not that much of a disadvantage." Joker replied. "Now let's get going. I hope we didn't miss our window." He then got out.

"Don't you mean door?" Yang pointed out with a joking smile under her mask.

Joker however chuckled to that. "Now who's being a smartass?" He quipped out in amusement as the group started heading into the Palace.

---

(Central Garden)

"Well, now we just have to wait." Joker stated as he then looked towards the Vice Leader. "How's Yumi-san?" He then asked.

"Still unconscious, Joker." Yin reported.

"Huh, so she stayed knocked out for the entire trip here." Skull got out.

"She almost woke up a few times but a quick squeeze fixed that." Yin awkwardly replied. "Erm...maybe we should wake her up and explain the situation now." She then suggested.

"I'm not sure, she might attack us again before we can explain." Yang however pointed out.

"Well, she should be rather weakened thanks to being hit with Mudo. If she still wants to fight, we can easily disable her again." Joker stated. "But just in case, leave her inside the rock...case...thing." He awkwardly got out, trying to find the correct term to use.

"Earth prison." Asuka and Kaeru corrected in unison.

"Yeah. That." Joker responded with a nod. "Alright...how do we revive her...?" He soon asked before blinking. "Mermaid, splash her!" He soon commanded.

"Very well, Trickster." Mermaid replied, circling and swimming around the group for a moment before waving her hand.

SPLASH!

"AAAAHHHH!" Yumi screamed out as her face was just blasted with water before the Leader stopped his Persona. "Urgh..." She soon groaned.

"Uh...you could've been a little less forceful with the water..." Yang deadpanned.

"Sorry." Mermaid apologized with a bow before turning back into the Leader's mask.

"Mmm..." Yumi groaned out as she struggled to open her eyes. "What...happened?" She soon mumbled in confusion before wincing in pain. Did she get kicked in the face?

"Yumi-chan, are you okay?" Yin asked in a concerned and curious manner.

"More than that, have you calmed down?" Yang however questioned while crossing her arms over her chest.

The light gray haired girl's vision soon regained its focus, however she then narrowed her eyes to that. "How can I be calm when I'm encased in stone with the high possibility that I'll be crushed if I say the wrong thing?" Yumi pointed out.

The others in turn sweatdropped at that. "Well, she's got a point." Joker admitted. "Yin." He simply commanded.

The Vice Leader merely nodded to that. "Kaeru, you can unbind Yumi-chan." Yin commanded.

To that, the girl's Persona silently nodded as she lowered the light gray haired girl down as the earth binds holding her broke apart as the Persona then vanished back into the Vice Leader and her mask reformed on her face.

"...Thank you." Yumi got out as she got to her feet, adjusting her uniform before looking around. "Now then, can you please explain where we are exactly?...As well as who exactly are all of you?" She soon asked in a calmer tone.

The Leader in response nodded to that request. "Welcome to Madarame's heart. A museum built to show his stolen art made from the blood of his pupils. A tour goes for 5000 yen or your eternal servitude until considered useless." Joker answered in a joking tone before frowning. "But if you want to know who we are, you have to explain yourself, Yumi-san. Who exactly are you?" He then countered in a more serious tone.

"Besides the fact that you're a shinobi..." Yang meanwhile muttered while grimacing.

To the question, Yumi sighed as she took a deep breath. "Very well then." She started. "Once again, I am Yumi Tsukikaze and before transferring to Kosei, I was a third year at Gessen Girls Academy." She soon informed.

"Third year? If you transferred in June last year, you should've graduated already..." Joker pointed out.

"I transferred as a second year." Yumi clarified. "I was sent to Shibuya for something very important. That's all you are getting from me for now. If you want more, then I ask for more information in exchange." She then stated.

"...Fine. How about we reveal our identities? Who we really are and what we do?" Yin suggested.

"There's no need to, considering what I've learned so far, the boys do not have a mindset the average Shinobi should have and reacted slower to my Shinobi Tenshin than the girls." Yumi began, surprising the group. "Meanwhile, you two quickly went into action and spouted philosophy only a ninja-in-training will feel passionate about. And with the mention of heart, that leads me to believe that Asuka-san and Homura-san are Shinobi but all of you are Phantom Thieves. Plus Ann Takamaki-san, who you sent inside to distract Yusuke-san." She then deducted.

There was a long silence in the area as they stared at the Kosei Council President.

"...That is, if I was simply just going off our prior encounter. I suspected you were all Phantom Thieves as soon as I knew your names and put two and two together considering all five of you were holding serious grudges or had their reasons to punish your P.E. teacher, Suguru Kamoshida. Although, I truthfully didn't know Asuka-san and Homura-san were Shinobi until now." Yumi then calmly added.

There was another long silence as they stared at the Kosei Council President.

"...At least she hasn't figured out the talking cat..." Joker whispered to Yin.

"...Oh goddammit." Yang groaned out in an exhausted manner.

"Language." Yumi immediately chided in an instinctive manner.

The other slightly face faulted to that chiding. "Seriously? You're chiding someone to not swear?" Skull soon asked. "That's effin' lame." He then remarked.

"Language!" Yumi chided a little louder this time.

"Okay, now that's just unfair." Joker pointed out. "It wasn't even that serious of a swear. Like cunt." He barely reacted to the fan being embedded into the wall next to his head.

"Uh...we better not push her buttons too hard, Joker." Skull fearfully suggested.

"You should listen to him." Yang responded with a nod. "Alright, guess we have nothing left to give you but do you trust us now?" She soon asked.

"...Actually, you do have something to give me." Yumi admitted as she closed her eyes. "Please clarify...what do you mean by eternal servitude, and what does it have to do with Madarame-san?" She soon asked in a serious tone.

The group then looked at one another before nodding and looking back at the light grey haired girl. "Madarame is...He's stealing the art of his students and makes them live in poverty while he reaps the fame and fortune. This museum...was born from his vanity." Yin hesitantly informed in a sadden tone.

Now, they were expecting Yumi to deny or react negatively, at the very least react in surprise and shock...but instead she sighed. "...I let this go on for too long..." She soon whispered out in an ashamed manner. "I'm coming with yo-Ah!" She got out, only to suddenly get a headache and almost fell.

Fortunately, Joker caught her before she hit the ground. "You shouldn't move too quickly. You're still weak from my spell." He informed in a serious tone. "You better stay in the safe room, Yumi-san. We'll come get you when we're ready to leave." He then advised in a concerned manner.

The light gray haired girl however shook her head to that suggestion. "N-No..." Yumi got out as she pulled herself up. "I...I knew Madarame-san was doing something shady, and I knew Yusuke-san was hiding it." She soon revealed, causing the group to look at her in a surprised manner. "I tried to help, but he told me that I shouldn't interfere. I should've kept going regardless, but my mission and my duties...I didn't think it would be this bad and now...This place..." She explained in an ashamed tone before hesitating and trailing off at the end.

"...She has a stake in this." Skull stated.

"Like Panther..." Yin whispered out.

"...Fine, but stay behind us. You're in no condition to fight head on." Joker advised. "But if you're lucky, maybe you can soon." He then added as he offered her some medicine.

Yumi in response nodded to that while taking the medicine. "Thank you." She replied in a grateful manner.

"Still can't believe we ran into another shinobi..." Yang sighed out. "Now come on, our door should be opening soon if it hasn't already." She soon advised.

---

(Madarame's Shack, Yusuke's Art Room)

Meanwhile, in the real world, Ann was trying desperately not to ruin the plan with her terrible acting.

"To think you'd really come..." Yusuke got out as he prepared his pencils, brushes and paint. "I assumed you were lying when you contacted me."

"I'm sorry it was so sudden. Asuka-chan says sorry too." Ann replied.

"Oh, it's not a problem. But as I told you yesterday, Sensei will be returning in about twenty or thirty minutes. So um...I'm sorry if that causes some anxiety on your part."

"That's why I'm here today, dammit." Ann growled under her breath. "Stupid shinobi and their stupid selfish love for each other..." She then mumbled out.

"What was that?" Yusuke got out in confusion. "Takamaki-san, you have been...scowling since you arrived." The young artist noted.

"Am I? Sorry, just...I have a lot of things on my mind." Ann replied with a smile that made the apprentice artist a little uncomfortable.

"My apologies. However...Have you gained some weight recently?" Yusuke replied followed by the question.

You know, if she was being filmed, Ann knew the camera would cut to a different angle to show how she was dressed after making sure to avoid seeing her below her neck.

And maybe some goofy music and an optional laugh track.

"You think so? I weigh the same as always...Maybe I'm bloated today?" Ann awkwardly replied.

"So, then...can you, um...get ready here?" Yusuke requested, trying to keep up a professional facade.

"I...need to take my clothes off, right?" Ann nervously asked.

"Y-Yes please..." Yusuke answered as he tried to keep calm. College art students do this all the time...

Though...the subject usually isn't so...attractive...

"I'm embarrassed. Could you look the other way...?" Ann soon requested.

To that, the artist's apprentice turned around...

But then suddenly, Yusuke saw clothes fly past him as the ash blonde slowly and carefully peeled off each layer as the reality of the situation began to hit the young artist. "...Oh!" He got in a surprised manner

"Phew, that was tight..." Ann breathed out. "Only 99 layers left." She added in her head.

"Tight...?" Yusuke repeated before shaking his head. "No, I'm doing this for art...!" He soon reminded himself.

"Don't look over here, OK...?" Ann stated. "Hey, your sensei's coming back soon, right?" She then asked.

"I believe so..." Yusuke answered with a slight frown.

"Hm...Do you think we could do this somewhere else then?" Ann then asked. "A little more atmosphere would be lovely..." She then explained.

"This should be good enough..." Yusuke replied.

"But wouldn't a room with a lock be a bit better?" Ann soon suggested.

"A lock...?" Yusuke repeated in confusion.

"Must a girl say more...?" Ann added as she threw more clothes towards the boy.

"Wha!?" Yusuke gasped out. "But the only one with a lock is...Sensei's room..." He then informed.

"Then why not there?" Ann questioned as she narrowed her eyes.

"I can't intrude...Besides, I don't have the key..." Yusuke responded.

"He says he doesn't have the key." Ann whispered to the not cat, who was hiding behind the door waiting and watching this shitshow.

"Of course he wouldn't! But that's why I'm here." Morgana replied. "There's a lot you can do with a hairpin after all..." He then added.

Yusuke let out a breath before turning around. "Takamaki-san, are you about—" he started...only to see the ash blonde in her uniform, standing next to a huge pile of stretched out clothes. "You were wearing all this?" He got out in disbelief.

"D-Don't you think it's cold today?" Ann stammered out as she did her best cutesy pose.

"I suppose so? The sun is starting to set..." Yusuke muttered out as he looked out the window

"Riiight? That's why a change of location would be nice...I-I mean, I'm gonna take it all off." Ann stated with a false bright smile.

"True..." Yusuke admitted before muttering to himself. "It might make for a better picture if I can brighten my model's mood..."

"Oh, my mood is as low as it can go right now." Ann thought in irritation. "Uh-huh! That's right!" She then got out.

"She may even be willing to try out various expressive poses for use in a dynamic composition..." Yusuke muttered out loud in a intrigued manner.

"Wh-What kind of poses!?" Ann asked in a panicked manner.

"Lady Ann! You have to act! Get back in character!" Morgana whispered the order.

The ash blonde cleared her throat before doing so by calming down. "Let's goooooo...~" Ann soon got out. "I was just getting in the mood~!" She then added as she walked out of the room.

"Now she's acting even more suspicious!" Morgana thought as he began to sweat while hiding away.

"Wait! If you wander around, Sensei will..." Yusuke responded in a panicked manner.

"Ohhh...It's sooo hot." Ann soon got out from down the hallway.

"W-We really can't use any other room..." Yusuke once more informed.

Suddenly, Ann threw her blazer on the ground as she hopped on one foot to take off her shoes. "Hey, why not this one?" She soon suggested.

"Please, wait...!" Yusuke pleaded as he chased the ash blonde out of his room.

"I'm counting on you, Mona...!" Ann whispered out.

---

(Madarame's Museum of Vanity, Central Garden)

"Jeez, what's taking them so long?" Yang got out with a frown as she tapped her foot.

"They seriously gonna be able to pull this off...?" Skull muttered out. "She was sayin' stuff like "I'll just seduce him with my acting," but that sounds outta her league..." He then added.

"Is Takamaki-san a good actor?" Yumi had to ask.

"No. Not at all unfortunately." Yang deadpanned.

"I dunno, she can pull off the dominatrix thing pretty well..." Joker pointed out.

"The what?" Yumi got out in confusion before gasping. "Wait, are you...Are you two...!?" She got out in a panicked manner with a blush on her face.

"What? No! I-It's just a...costume thing..." Joker quickly responded.

"I should have gone with her..." Yin once more muttered out.

"Stop, Sis. It's too late to do anything about it so let them do their part." Yang got out before frowning. "They're taking their sweet time with it though..." She then added.

"Damn, I wish we could communicate between the real world and the Metaverse." Skull grumbled under his breath.

"Well, I doubt the Metaverse has satellites...unless there's a Palace that is a satellite..." Joker muttered out.

"Plus we ain't got one sign this place is gonna open..." Skull continued. "Isn't Madarame comin' home soon? On top of that, even if Mona's able to unlock the door, how's he gonna show it to Madarame? And then even if they do show it open, any normal person'd just close it right up again. Doesn't that mean we only got a few seconds to get in? To be blunt, won't it be a miracle if this works?" He asked in a skeptical tone.

"It'll work, or Panther will kill us all." Joker replied.

"Sh-She won't do that...right?" Yin nervously asked.

"I wanna think that too, but...It's almost time." Skull stated.

"Come on...you can do this..." Joker whispered out as they stared intently at the door.

---

(Madarame's Shack, Hallway)

"Please, can you just wait and-" Yusuke began begging in the same panicked manner.

"What's past here?" Ann meanwhile asked in a ditzy manner, down to her denim short shorts and her top.

"That's..." Yusuke began before hesitating.

"So the door Mona mentioned is up ahead..." Ann whispered to herself before she began to step around the corner.

"I keep telling you, you can't...!" Yusuke begged as the ash blonde looked at the door...only to see the not cat hanging off the doorknob.

"You're still not done!?" Ann gasped out in a whisper.

"It's hard to do...with cat paws." Morgana got out as he began to work faster.

"Argh! Why didn't we get the shinobi to do this!?" Ann mentally complained.

"Is something the matter...?" Yusuke asked in concern. Why was she acting so weird since she came?

"Stall, stall, stall!" Ann rapidly thought as she turned back to face the young artist. "Oh, ummm...Sooooo, what is this room?"

"It's a storage area for old paintings." Yusuke informed.

"Storage..." Ann repeated in an interested tone. "Hey, Kitagawa-kun...Why don't we...do it in there~?" She then suggested. "I won't be embarrassed if we go somewhere nobody can find us..."

"Only Sensei can go in there." Yusuke answered with a frown. "Besides, as I've told you before, I do not have the keys to any of sensei's private quarters."

"Pleeease...? I wanna be alone with you. Somewhere like, quiet. You know, where we won't get interrupted." Ann soon requested, doing her best impression of Cognitive Princess Ann.

"...Is he really going to buy that terrible act!?" Morgana got out as he felt around the lock.

"Stay focused!" Ann quickly reminded the not cat.

"Hm?" Yusuke hummed out in confusion.

"Ohhh, it's just soooo frustrating that my feelings aren't getting through to you!" Ann quickly stated as she hugged herself. "Kitagawa-kun, do you not like girls like me...?" She then guessed in a saddened tone.

"N-No, that's not true..." The young artist stammered out.

"How is that working on him!?" Morgana whispered in disbelief to hearing what was happening

"Please? We can continue this...inside..." Ann once again requested.

"S-Sure...I mean, no!" Yusuke got out as he shook his head. "We can't go in there! It's locked anyway, so..."

"Fine! This is too embarrassing...I'm leaving!" Ann dramatically declared.

"But...!" Yusuke got out in shock.

"Let's just do it in here! Okay!?" Ann once more requested.

"What do I do...?" Yusuke asked himself with a conflicted expression on his face.

Suddenly, a familiar voice filled the hallways as they heard the door slide open. "Yusuke! I'm home!" A familiar old voice called out.

"S-Sensei!?" Yusuke gasped out. How was he going to explain why he had a half-dressed foreign girl with him in the hallway!?

"Yusuke?" Madarame got out in surprise as he walked towards the two...just as the forbidden door opened.

"All right, it's open!" Morgana announced as he rushed into the room, with the ash blonde stepping inside moments after. The room was too dark to see anything.

"Huh...?" Yusuke got out to the sudden action, as well as seeing his Sensei's room mysteriously open.

"What are you doing there!?" Madarame demanded, looking quite angry.

"I-It's...It's not what it looks like!" Yusuke tried to explain, the ash blonde meanwhile narrowed her eyes before grabbing him by the waist and pulled him inside the storage. "Wha...!?" He got out in confusion.

"Not in there...!" Madarame called out as the two went into the darkness.

"Nice thinking, Lady Ann." Morgana thought. "And the door should be opening in three...two...one..." He mentally counted down.

---

(Madarame's Museum of Vanity, Central Garden)

"Nothin's happening..." Skull got out with a frown and in anticipation.

"Did Panther and Mona fail...?" Yang muttered out in a worried tone.

"Calm down. But...if it does go bad, we need to figure out a Plan B..." Joker stated in a serious tone.

However, just as the Leader brought the possibility up, the lasers shut off as the peacock doors slid wide open in a dramatic manner!

"Looks like we don't have to." Skull got out with a smirk.

"Panther and Mona did it!" Yin cheered.

"And all we had to do was sacrifice Panther's dignity." Joker added.

"Eh?" Yumi got out in confusion.

"No time to explain! Get moving before it closes shut again!" Yang called out as they all ran as fast as they could inside.

---

(Treasure Hall Lounge)

Eventually, the group made it into the room as they used this chance to catch their breath for a brief moment.

"Whew! Made it!" Skull breathed out, panting a little.

"Come on, we have to find the control room before the path closes!" Yang called out. "Let's do this Joker!" She then added.

"Yeah. With all four of us, we can get this done no problem!" Skull got out with a smirk.

"Yumi-chan doesn't look so good though..." Yin muttered out in worry. "I'll keep her safe." She then added.

However, Yumi shook her head as she gained a determined expression. "I can...I can still fight..." She declared, however the lack of her Shinobi Tenshin said otherwise.

"No you can't. The enemies we face here are different. Conventional combat won't do you any good here and you're still recovering from our fight. You should've stayed in the safe room." Joker stated.

"Then I won't get in the way. I...I need...to..." Yumi began, only to fall to her knees.

"Yumi-chan!" Yin got out in even more concern.

"Hey, take it easy Yumi." Yang meanwhile advised in a calm manner.

"No...I will help." Yumi growled as she forced herself to her feet. "I can perform Ice attacks for you if you need me to. Just say the word." She soon offered.

"Hm...alright, but Yin's carrying you. Despite the medicine, you don't look well enough to walk on your own." Joker responded.

"It's fine...just let me be helpful..." Yumi got out as the Vice Leader put her on her back.

Yin meanwhile giggled to this. "Hehe, you and Yang-nee will get along great, she's just as stubborn as you are." She jokingly got out.

Yumi however narrowed her eyes. "Don't compare me to an Evil Shinobi." She detestfully ordered.

Yang in response sighed to hearing that. "This is gonna take some time..." She muttered.

The boys meanwhile sweatdropped to this interaction. "In any case, let's kick some tail." Joker declared as he tugged on his red gloves before they ran forward...only to quickly hide upon seeing a Red Shadow.

"Dammit, already?" Skull complained.

"I knew we jinxed this last time..." Yang groaned.

"Looks like we have no choice..." Yin muttered out with a frown as she adjusted the other girl on her back. "Ready, Joker?" She soon asked.

The Leader in response nodded to the question. "It's Showtime." Joker replied with a smirk on his face as they dashed into the open.

"Wait, what are you-" Yumi gasped out in disbelief.

"You, you're gonna let us though, right now!" Skull called out.

"Huh? Who are you?" The Security Guard Shadow demanded. "I see, that attire...you must be the thieves who dare threaten Lord Madarame!" It soon enough accused.

"Lord...?" Yumi repeated in confusion.

"And you've stolen one of the art pieces!" The Shadow growled before revealing its true form. "I will return the art piece back to its original place after I've killed you all!" It then declared.

"W-Wha!? A-A monster!?" Yumi got out in shock at the sight of the creature.

"Yep." Joker answered as he and the others pulled out their weapons. "Let's paint these walls red!" He soon ordered.

---

(Cue On the Precipice of Defeat by Shiro Sagisu)

"How did you get past the security system!?" The Shadow questioned in anger. "Bah, no matter! You cannot go any further! You are trespassing on Lord Madarame's territory and stealing his property!" It soon decided.

"You guys ain't got nothin' on us." Skull however replied with a smirk. "I'm more scared of screwin' up and havin' Panther yell at me! To say nothin' 'bout what she'll do to the shinobi!" He then added.

"Moh..." Yin got out in a sad tone. "Me and Yumi-chan will provide backup." She then added.

"Come on people! Hit it with everything you've got!" Yang soon ordered.

"What's up, Persona!" Skull called out as he ripped off his mask. "Charge into 'em Captain Kidd! Headbutt!" He then ordered.

SLAM!

"Guh!"

"Come on, I know that inflicts confusion!" Skull complained.

"Let's work on figuring out its weakness!" Joker ordered. "Yumi, I need your support!"

"I won't be useless!" Yumi declared as she blasted the Shadow with some ice shards, but it shook it off, looking a little annoyed. "What!?" She got out in shock.

"It's strong against Ice! Try something else!" Joker ordered.

"My turn! Wolverine!" Yang called out as she removed her mask. "Agi!" She soon commanded.

FWOOSH!

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"It has a Fire weakness!" Yang announced with a smirk as they aimed their guns at the Shadow.

"We're going All-Out! Show no mercy!" Joker ordered as the three rushed the Shadow.

SLASH! SLASH! BASH!

"You're done!" Joker declared.

"That's all she wrote!" Skull got out.

"Makes me feel alive!" Yang shouted out as she crossed her arms over her chest while the Shadow burst in an explosion of black blood.

---

"Woo! That was great!" Yin cheered out. "You guys did that pretty fast..." She then added.

"A-Amazing..." Yumi got out. "That was similar to an Aerial Rave..." She then added before blinking. "D-Did that monster drop...money?" She then asked.

"Don't question it." Joker simply stated as he picked it up.

"B-But isn't that considered theft?" Yumi soon asked as she blinked again to the sight.

Yin however giggled to the question. "Well we are thieves." She soon stated.

"Thieves..." Yumi meanwhile repeated.

"Plus, it's not theft if the owner is dead, it's looting. But don't worry though, they weren't actually people." Yang informed. "Just...manifestations of humanity's thoughts." She then added.

"Homura-san..." Yumi muttered, greatly confused as to how the girl was. "Ryuji-san said she's an Evil Shinobi...but doesn't act like one would..." She added in her head.

"Phew...still though, things're really tough without Mona and Panther..." Skull got out.

"Yeah, and Yumi-chan is getting paler." Yin informed the group as she got her into a more comfortable position. "We need to shut off the security system then get out of here." She then reminded.

"And we better avoid being spotted. I forgot to get Personas with Garu so we're gonna be in trouble should we encounter a Shadow with a weakness we can't abuse." Joker added.

"I-I'm alright..." Yumi however struggled out.

"Stop trying to put up a brave face. You're dying in here." Yang stated in concern and with a frown. "Come on, we better hurry. We don't know how long Yumi can last in here." She then added.

Said girl meanwhile felt a wave of exhaustion as she looked at the back of the tan skinned girl. "Homura-san...why are you...?" Yumi thought in confusion as the group continued on.

---

(Madarame's Shack, Storage Room)

The room was completely consumed in darkness as the teenagers tried to find some form of light.

"Takamaki-san, this is bad...!" Yusuke got out in a worried tone. Oh, his sensei was going to be so angry at him after this.

"Are these the lights...?" Ann got out before she flipped the switch, allowing them to see...the stacks of the Sayuri paintings all around the room.

"What the...!?" Yusuke got out in shock and confusion with widened eyes.

"Isn't this..."Sayuri"? Why are there so many of them...?" Ann questioned with widened eyes.

"I have no idea..." Yusuke responded with complete honesty.

At that moment however, the old man entered the room and glared at the two. "Get out!" Madarame demanded.

"Sensei, what is the meaning of all this...?" Yusuke however asked.

"I suppose I can't keep quiet now that you've seen this..." Madarame got out with a regretful sigh. "Truth be told...I'm in severe debt." He soon confessed. "I handmade these Sayuri copies and have been selling them through a special connection of mine..." He began explaining.

Morgana narrowed his eyes. "If these were handmade, there would be imperfections. But no...all of these look exactly the same...like it was from a factory..." He thought, feeling that there was something off.

"But why...?" Yusuke had to ask.

"The real Sayuri...was stolen by one of my pupils long ago. I assume they begrudged my strictness..." Madarame answered. "That moment was quite a shock for me...Since then, I've been mired in a terrible artist's block...Because of this distress, some of my pupils handed their ideas over to me from time to time..." He then explained.

"..." Ann frowned at that explanation. Something was off about that...

"I knew I couldn't keep that up, so I attempted to recreate something like the Sayuri a number of times." Madarame soon confessed. "However, it resulted in nothing more than replicas...That's when someone came to buy the paintings, knowing well they weren't original..." He then stated. "...It's all my fault. I couldn't pay the price of being famous. As expectations for me rose, it reached a point where I had no choice but to keep making them...I...needed money to further your talents..." He then revealed. "I ask that you please forgive your cowardly teacher..." He soon enough begged.

"Please...don't..." Yusuke started, seeing his sensei about to cry.

"Hold on...Something doesn't add up." Ann interrupted. "If the original painting was stolen, how did you make copies of it?" She questioned.

"I...happened to find a finely detailed photograph of it in an artbook." Madarame answered with a frown.

"So you managed to sell copies of a photo of the original? I'm not sure how this works, but...Don't people who buy paintings generally have a keen eye for the fine arts?" Ann pointed out. "This sounds like a lie to me." She soon admitted.

"Looks like Lady Ann got the same idea, this is too sketchy. Even Ryuji would notice a hole in his story." Morgana thought as he narrowed his eyes.

"What would you know!?" Madarame called out.

"It's just logic! Something just doesn't feel right!" Ann countered.

The not cat then looked towards something of notice. "Lady Ann! Behind you!" Morgana whispered out. "The one under the purple cloth!" He then added.

"Hm?" Ann hummed out and turned around to see the hidden painting before going up it and ripping the cloth off.

Yusuke's eyes soon widened to what he saw. "Sayuri..." He muttered in disbelief. "This...This is the real Sayuri! But you just said a moment ago that it was stolen...!" He then stated.

"That's a replica!" Madarame however informed, though there was panic in his voice.

"No, it's nothing of the sort! You should know that I've studied every detail of Sayuri." Yusuke countered in denial. "This painting kept me going...It's the reason I made it this far..." He soon reminded. "Sensei...Don't tell me..." He then got out, not wanting to believe the possible truth.

"It's fake...Yes, a counterfeit!" Madarame quickly got out. "I heard there was a counterfeit spreading around, so I bought it!" Madarame tried to convince the two, but it was becoming apparent that it wasn't going to work.

"So you're telling me the actual artist behind the painting bought a counterfeit? That's pushing it." Ann pointed out once more.

"You're lying, Sensei..." Yusuke stated as he glared at the man. "Please tell us the truth!" He requested in a more demanding tone.

Finally, after running out of lies, Madarame let out a sigh. "You too...?" He got out...before pulling out his phone. "I'm reporting you to my private security company!" He suddenly informed.

"Wait, what!?" Morgana whispered out.

"WHAT!?" Ann exclaimed.

"I had it set up to deal with some problematic paparazzi, but I never thought it'd come in so handy." Madarame soon explained in a more confident manner.

"Please, wait! Let's talk about this...!" Yusuke got out in a panic.

"You can talk all you want to the police...That includes you, Yusuke." Madarame soon informed in a more serious tone.

"Lady Ann, it might be a good time to cheese the hell out of here! RUN!" Morgana soon suggested.

The ash blonde nodded before they rushed past the two artists. "A cat!? Where did it—There's no point! They'll be here within two minutes!" Madarame soon declared.

Ann meanwhile got her phone out as she panickingly pressed the Metaverse Nav.

"Takamaki-san!" Yusuke meanwhile called out as he chased after her.

"Come on come on come on! Work faster dammit!" Ann got out in a panic as Morgana jumped onto her shoulder.

[Beginning navigation...Madarame's Museum of Vanity.]

However just as the app went off, the dark blue haired boy made it to where the ash blonde was...

---

(Madarame's Museum of Vanity, Treasure Hall Lounge)

"Come on, the security room has to be somewhere near here..." Yang muttered to herself before turning on Third Eye and scanning the area. "Over there!" She then got out while pointing in the direction.

"Didn't need it." Joker replied as they dashed into the room.

"We have to hurry..." Yin muttered out in a worried tone. "Moh...please be alright, you two..." She then got out in concern.

"Hello, crappy security!" Joker greeted as he rushed over to the nearest laptop what was currently turned on. "Heh, no password this time. They really need to be a bit more careful about their computers." He then informed with a smirk. "Actually, no. Don't be, Madarame. It makes our job a hell of a lot easier..." He then added.

"Yeah. Morons." Yang giggled out as the Leader hit the Enter key.

"Disengaging security protocols." The computer revealed.

"Shiki-san would have a field day here..." Yumi meanwhile thought, knowing that she was the most IT savvy of her team.

"Alright, mission complete! The lasers shouldn't turn on anymore. Now let's leave before more Shadows come." Yin got out.

Nodding to this, the group began to head back.

---

(Central Garden)

The Thieves let out a sigh of relief upon arriving back at the courtyard. The mission went off without a hitch...

If they ignored nearly getting killed by a new shinobi that was now being carried back with them, looking like she was at Death's door.

But overall, everything went well.

"All right, looks like the security's totally off!" Skull got out with a smile. "Let's get back, meet up with the others and drop off Yumi at her home." He then added.

"I...I can..." Yumi however got out as her vision became blurry.

"Yumi..." Yang got out in concern.

"I hope Panther and Mona are alright." Yin got out. "They're probably in huge trouble since they needed to get Madarame to see that door opening..."

"Yeah." Skull agreed with a nod. "You know, I'd prolly feel better if it was one of you who went, ya know?" He then admitted.

"What did you say?" Yang growled out, only to be interrupted by someone screaming.

"Noooooo!" They heard Panther cry out as a portal appeared above them, spitting out her and a familiar boy.

Luckily, Yusuke caught the ash blonde, his legs stinging from landing on his feet. "Gah...!" the artist groaned in pain...

BONK!

...Right before the not cat literally bounced off his head.

"Aaaagh...! Owwwwww!" Mona moaned out as he writhed on the ground holding the area between his legs.

"Thanks for dropping in guys." Joker quipped out.

"Really Joker?" Panther groaned out.

"He saw the opportunity and he took it." Yang mentally deadpanned.

"Ann-chan! Gah, I mean Panther! Mona-chan!" Yin exclaimed. "Are you okay?" She soon asked in concern.

"I thought I was gonna die..." Panther breathed out before noticing that the boy was still holding her. "Hey, will you let go already!?" She called out before shoving him away, causing him to let go of her and fall onto his back. "Oh no! I didn't mean to push him so hard! Are you okay? Wake up!" She got out in concern.

"Eh? Did something happen?" Yumi groaned out as she regained focus. The Metaverse was really starting to affect her.

Yusuke, noticing a familiar voice, woke up and saw his senpai looking a little weak. "Yumi-senpai? You are here too?" He asked in concern.

"Yusuke-san?" Yumi got out in confusion as she then noticed the ash blonde in the red skin tight suit. "And you're...Takamaki-san?" She guessed, blinking a couple times to her appearance as she got off the Vice Leader's back, though she used her shoulder for support.

"Wait what!?" Panther exclaimed as she looked at the rest of the group. "She followed you in!?" She then asked.

"Followed and attacked us." Skull then revealed while rubbing the back of his head.

"We really suck at not letting people enter the Metaverse..." Yin mumbled out in embarrassment.

"Wait a minute, Lady Yumi attacked you?" Mona soon asked in a surprised manner.

"Eh?" Yumi responded in confusion to the voice as she then looked down to see the not cat. "Oh!" She then got out a blush forming on her face as she felt her energy returning. Immediately, she went and took hold of the not cat and picked him up, looking on in starry-eyed amazement.

"Y-Yumi-chan?" Yin asked in innocent confusion.

The light gray haired girl soon had stars in her eyes. "Is he the physical embodiment of cuteness!?" Yumi exclaimed as she rubbed the not cat against her cheek.

"C-Cute!? L-Lady Yumi!" Mona got out, though he had a blush on his face.

"And he's well-mannered as well!" Yumi cooed out her words in a delighted tone.

Yang meanwhile sighed to this. "And Mona's charmed someone once again." She muttered. "And you're ignoring the fact that she attacked us." She then added.

"Right!? Mona-chan's sooooo cute!" Yin got out in agreement.

"The universal weakness of shinobi: cuteness." Joker stated. "Yin and Yumi towards Mona and Yang toward Yin." He then added.

"Excuse me?" Yang got out in an offensive manner. "I have you-" She soon began.

"Hey, wouldn't Yin look great in a little bunny or cat suit?" Panther however got out in a flat tone.

"...I hate you..." Yang groaned with a blush, though it was hidden by her mask.

"So...yeah, turns out Yumi's a shinobi too. Some all girls' academy." Skull casually revealed.

To hearing that, Mona's eyes widen while still being hugged. "Gessen huh?" He guessed. "The Immaculate? The Private Death CramSchool?" He then stated.

"What a wonderful yet terrifying title." Yang remarked before pausing. "Wait, how did you know she's from Gessen?" She then asked.

"Easy. She smells like spiders and death. Also she has the logo on the back of her panties." Mona answered.

"E-Eh!?" Yumi got out, embarrassed to hearing that answer as she covered her butt with her free hand.

"Too much info." Yang stated in a deadpan tone with a sweatdrop.

"Can someone please explain to me what is going on!" Yusuke soon demanded. "Who are you all!? And why is Yumi-senpai here!?" He then asked.

"Calm down, Kitagawa-kun! It's me!" Panther tried to calm down the artist.

"Yeah. It's just us." Yin spoke up as she and the ash blonde lifted up their masks, the others following suit in hopes of alleviating his concerns.

"Takamaki-san? Shirokage-san?" Yusuke got out in surprise. "You're all..." He then started.

"Yeah." Joker got out as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Call me Joker." He soon informed him as they put up their masks.

Meanwhile, Yusuke noticed the living plushie still being hugged by his senior. "I don't recall ever seeing that doll-like creature before. Did you buy it?" He then asked.

"I am not a plushie!" Mona called out before getting out of the light gray haired girl's grasp, much to her disappointment. "And let me make this clear before anyone says anything: I am not a cat! Got it!?" He soon declared.

This however caused the rest of the group to sweatdrop. "In reality you are though." Yang pointed out.

Shaking his head, Yusuke tried to get his bearings straight, still feeling disorientated from the unexpected trip. "What is this place...?" He soon asked.

"...This is Madarame-san's heart Yusuke-san." Yumi spoke up. "This is how he sees the atelier." She soon informed.

"Sensei's...heart?" Yusuke repeated in confusion as he stood up and looked around. "How he sees it? Am I dreaming...?" He soon asked.

"No. No you're not, man." Skull replied as he shook his head. "This is what that bastard truly feels. He's nothin' but a greed-filled money-grubber." He then revealed.

"He takes the future of every pupil he had and once they had nothing left to give, he throws them away...if they don't leave through other means." Yin added in a tranquil, yet furious tone.

"Enough of this rubb-" Yusuke started to order, however...

"SHUT UP!" Yang loudly interrupted. "We talked to Nakanohara! We know what you really feel! And this entire place is how Madarame feels! He doesn't consider you as human, just another painting on the wall! Stop trying to defend him, we know everything." She soon revealed.

"Yusuke-san..." Yumi got out as she slowly moved towards her junior. "They are telling the truth..." She sadly declared.

"Stop trying to deny it. This is Madarame's view of reality. It's his cognition of the world." Panther soon stated. "This is his true nature." She then revealed.

"This repulsive world...?" Yusuke got out.

"Garish, right?" Joker spoke up. "Lots of gold, tons of killer security, and yet not a single piece of artwork is his." He then added.

"...Just who are you all?" Yusuke once more asked.

"You could say...just a couple of misfits that change the hearts of rotten crooks." Skull vaguely revealed.

The dark blue haired boy soon dropped his head. "...If everything you say is true..." Yusuke started.

"The Madarame you know...doesn't exist." Yumi finished. "Please...Enough with lying to yourself and others. As your senior...no, as your friend, I need you to be honest with me..." She soon requested in a soft tone.

"...I am...but he still kept me safe these past ten years. My gratitude for that won't disappear." Yusuke stated.

"You're gonna forgive him!?" Skull exclaimed. "At this rate you'll...!" He then started.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness came over the two Kosei students as they collapsed to their knees.

"Are you okay?" Panther got out in concern.

"W-Wha...What is this?" Yumi got out in confusion. "I-I thought this was from our battle...but I feel so...sluggish..." She then revealed.

"The Metaverse is causing them to get sick." Mona informed. "We should get them out of here as fast as we can." He then suggested.

"Yeah, Security Level's through the roof anyways. Let's hurry." Joker ordered. "Yin, carry Yumi again. Yang, you get Yusuke." He soon ordered.

"No...It's alright. I can walk on my own." Yusuke responded as he got up. "Senpai, however, doesn't seem to be doing so well." He then pointed out.

"Well, we did kind of beat her up as well." Yang admitted as her roommate threw the light gray haired girl's arm over her shoulder. "Let's just get her home before the Shadows get to us. Fighting would be a horrible idea." She then stated.

"I...have to agree..." Yumi admitted with a nod. "Let's leave before...hrk!" She continued before holding her stomach and bringing a hand up to cover her mouth as her cheeks puffed up slightly before gulping. "Ugh..." She groaned out in a disgusted manner.

"Dude, d-did you swallow your own..." Skull started to ask.

"S-Shinobi training, b-bile would leave a scent behind if it was released..." Yumi briefly explained.

"I can attest to that..." Yang replied with a nod of confirmation as the Vice Leader nodded as well.

"Well, that makes sense." Mona admitted in an awkward manner.

"A disgusting amount of sense." Joker added with wince. "Um...let's move before Yusuke starts throwing up." He then ordered.

---

(SP Exhibition Hall)

Yusuke panted as he tried to keep at pace with the Thieves, but he couldn't help but look around him to see all the things that reveal the man behind the mask.

"So...this is really inside Sensei's heart..." Yusuke muttered out. "A vain museum such as this...?" He then questioned.

"Yeah. And each and every painting here in this gallery is a pupil." Skull informed.

"Not a portrait of his pupils. They are his pupils themselves." Yin clarified. "We...even found one for you Yusuke-kun...and an empty spot labeled for Yumi-chan." She then hesitantly revealed.

"..." Both Kosei students remained silent, however they could clearly tell how much it horrified them.

"Yumi-senpai..." Yusuke thought.

"Why am I a planned addition to this gallery...?" Yumi mentally questioned.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Yang admitted.

"And here's the Infinite Spring of Ideas to your left." Joker informed, acting like a tour guide for a bit, as they ran past the golden statue. "Paid by Madarame himself, it depicts the abuse of his students and depths of his corruption." He then revealed.

"Come on! We're almost at the entrance! We can make it!" Yin meanwhile got out...only to be stopped by two guards spawning in front of them.

"Something tells me he found us." Joker got out.

"The exit is right there!" Mona called out just as they heard vile laughter coming from behind them.

They turned around and saw what appeared to be Madarame, though with golden eyes, face make-up and his hair sticking up like a palm tree while wearing equally golden clothing.

"What the...is that...!?" Panther started.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me..." Yang growled out in disgust.

"Talk about bullshit clothes." Skull got out. "First a king, now some kinda shogun?" He then added.

"Madarame-san...?" Yumi whispered out, feeling something as she looked at the man.

"Welcome to the museum for the master artist Madarame!" Shadow Madarame announced as if it was the grand opening to it.

"Hey, nice lipstick. You paint it on or did you get your students to do it for you?" Joker taunted while keeping a calm look on his face.

"Huh...? Sensei? Is that you?" Yusuke however got out in surprise, not exactly believing what he was seeing. "That attire..." He then added in a hesitant manner.

"Disgusting, isn't it." Panther growled out.

"This...This is all one big lie...isn't it?" Yusuke whispered out.

"My usual ragged attire is nothing but an act. Besides, a famous person living in that shack? I have another home...under a mistress' name of course." Shadow Madarame revealed.

Yumi's eyes meanwhile narrowed to this. "There are no lies to his words..." She muttered in a serious manner as she took out her fans. "Because I already knew..." She mentally added.

"This is absurd." Joker got out. "You could've given Yusuke better living conditions at least." He then declared.

However, the Shadow laughed. "How naive! Great art comes from struggles in life, and it saves on money!" Shadow Maradrame soon explained.

"Bastard...!" Skull got out as he clenched his fists.

"If the Sayuri was stolen, why was it in the storage room?" Yusuke asked. "And if you had the real one, why make copies?" He then added.

"Eh?" Yumi got out in confusion to hearing this. "He had the Sayuri? The real one?" She whispered in shock.

"And a whole bunch of counterfeits to sell." Mona revealed, causing the light gray haired girl to pale.

"If it's really you, Sensei, please tell me!" Yusuke pleaded, feeling as if his world was shattering around him.

"Foolish child. You still don't see? The painting being stolen was just a false rumor I spread! It was all a perfectly calculated staging!" Shadow Madarame revealed.

"What...What do you mean...!?" Yusuke got out.

"Explain yourself Madrame-san!" Yumi meanwhile ordered as she narrowed her eyes.

"Let me see...How does this sound? I found the real painting, but it can't go public...But you can have it for a special price, though..." Shadow Madarame explained. "Haha! How's that for preferential treatment!? Art snobs'll eat it up, and pay good cash at that!" He then added.

To that, Yumi gasped as she fully realized what this was. "Money...you were doing all of this for money!?" She questioned.

"So you sold those counterfeits, claiming it's the real one, while the real painting wastes anyway in some closet..." Panther soon declared.

"Oh, what of it!?" Shadow Madarame countered. "A painting with nothing but two colored squares and a line had been sold for millions, as long as there's a famous name on it! The worth of art is subjective...Thus, this is a legitimate business transaction!" He then declared.

Yumi in response began grinding her teeth to that. "How dare you!" She got out in disgust.

"You know, this is why I hate Mark Rothko..." Joker muttered under his breath.

"Though I doubt brats like you would ever come up with such a brilliant scheme!" Shadow Madarame then insulted in a confident manner.

"You know, you have such a big name for yourself, you could've easily drawn a few lines and pass it off as a real Madarame original. You did say only people care about a piece if it has the artist's name stuck on it." Joker pointed out. "There was no need to destroy the lives of your students." He then added.

"And you keep goin' on and on about money this and money that..." Skull got out in an angered tone. "No wonder you ended up with this stupid, ugly, bullshit museum!" He then declared.

"You're supposed to be an artist. Right!? Aren't you ashamed of plagiarizing other people's work!?" Panther questioned.

"Art is nothing but a tool...a tool to gain money and fame!" Shadow Madarame soon declared.

"Yeah, so's the internet." Joker muttered under his breath.

"And you helped me greatly as well, Yusuke...Yumi..." Shadow Madarame declared.

"Huh?" Yin got out in confusion. "I get Yusuke-kun but...what did Yumi-chan have to do with it?" She muttered.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean Madarame!?" Yang questioned as she prepared to get her submachine guns out.

"...He's right..." Yumi whispered out, causing everyone's attention to turn to the Kosei President. "You knew, didn't you? You knew that I was not acting on what you were doing..." She soon realised.

"That's quite right. Thank you, Tsukikaze-san, for allowing me to continue my business. I didn't even have to pay you off." Shadow Madarame then declared as a smirk came across his face.

"Yumi-chan...?" Yin got out, looking at her in disbelief.

"I...I..." Yumi tried to find an excuse, but she knew she couldn't find any.

"But what about the people who believe in you...? Who think you're a master artist...!?" Yusuke continued his questions.

"...I'll tell you this alone, Yusuke. If you wish to succeed in this world, I'd advise you don't rise against me. Do you believe anyone could find success with my objection holding them down? Hahahahahaha!" Shadow Madarame declared as he laughed with confidence.

"...You...You monster..." Yumi muttered. "Why...Why didn't I do anything...?" She meanwhile thought, ashamed of herself to learning this.

"To think...I was under the care of this wretched man...!" Yusuke mumbled out.

"You thought I took you in out of the goodness of my heart? Plucking talented, yet troubled artists allows me to find promising pupils and take their ideas...After all, it's much easier to steal the futures of children who can't fight back." Shadow Madarame soon explained without any care.

"You son of a...son of a..." Yumi tried to say something but there was still something holding her back as she bit her lip.

"I can't believe this..." Yusuke got out.

"Livestock are killed for their hide and meat! This is no different, you fools! But I tire of this little chat. It's time that I..." Shadow Madarame soon started, however...

Soon, the last chain broke.

"YOU SELFISH SON OF A BITCH!" Yumi soon roared with fury, shocking the rest of the group as she stepped forward with ice forming underneath her while feeling more of her energy return. "HOW DARE YOU TREAT OTHERS THIS WAY! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! I WILL MAKE SURE YOU ARE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE!" She then declared as she readied her fans.

"...You are unforgivable..." Yusuke meanwhile began in a menacing tone. "It doesn't matter who you are, I won't forgive you!" He then declared.

"So, you repay my keeping you around for all these years and allowing you to study my art with ingratitude?" Shadow Madarame soon questioned.

"No...I repay it...with what you deserve!" Yumi shouted out. "I've had enough of letting you destroy and steal the futures of people. I am not a bystander...I am RIGHTEOUS! SHINOBI TENSHIN!" She soon declared, her body glowing as her uniform changed into her shinobi outfit.

"Like I care. Guards, dispose of these thieves!" Shadow Madarame countered as a group of Guard Shadows formed.

"Stay back!" Panther called out as everyone pulled out their weapons.

"Shinobi Tenshin is useless here, Yumi-chan." Yin informed. "Just let us fight them ourselves!" She soon requested.

"No! I refuse to stand idly by once again!" Yumi however called out. "Yusuke-san, I..." She soon started in a hesitant manner.

However, the artist stopped everyone from moving when he began laughing.

"Kitaguwa-kun?" Panther got out in confusion.

"How amusing." Yusuke chuckled out. "It seems the truth is stranger than fiction." He then started as he turned to his senior. "Senpai, I should have listened to you a long time ago." He then confessed. "I wanted to believe it wasn't true...I had clouded my vision for so long..." He soon admitted.

"I am also at fault, Yusuke-san. I shouldn't have ignored you." Yumi also confessed. "I allowed such villainous acts to continue for so long, for such trivial reasons...I cannot forgive myself for such ignorance." She then stated,

"I agree. Our eyes were truly blind...willfully blind...Blind and unable to see the true self behind this one horrible man...!" Yusuke declared as they glared at the artist as reality started to flicker around them, small ice crystals forming around their feet.

"No longer bound by our own chains...WE WILL USE THEM TO LEASH YOU TO HELL!" The Kosei duo yelled out, their eye colors suddenly turning into a rich gold.

"Have you finally come to your senses?" A deep male voice questioned in the dark blue haired boy's mind.

Suddenly, Yusuke's eyes dilated as he felt something try and claw out of his head.

"How foolishly you averted your eyes from the truth...A deplorable imitation indeed...Best you part from that aspect of yourself!" The mysterious voice stated as the artist stumbled around in pain.

"AAAARRRRRRRGGHHHHHH!" Yusuke cried out as he went to his knees.

Meanwhile at the same time...

"Do you intend to let this farce continue?" A serious female voice questioned within the light gray haired girl.

"Eh? Did anyone hear th-AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Yumi started, but soon screamed out loud as she felt an intense pain within her head.

"Yusuke-kun! Yumi-chan!" Yin called out in concern.

The Leader meanwhile narrowed his eyes to this occurrence. "I thought so..." Joker muttered. "Come on, you can do this! Throw away whatever regrets you have! You have a voice, a power, unleash it upon the world!" He soon thought.

"Let us now forge a contract...I am thou, thou art I...The world is filled with both beauty and vice...It is time you teach people which is which!" The mysterious male voice declared, boy's nails digging into the ground, causing him to leave a trail of blood.

"I...I...I will...Goemon...Give me the power...To defy the man who has given me everything and nothing!" Yusuke thought as a white traditional kitsune-style half mask appeared on his face in blue flames.

Meanwhile with the struggling girl...

"If you do, then you will never know the real truth. Is this the truth you have been searching for? Do you intend to let this man do as he pleases? Then what is your resolve? Do you intend to let the young man suffer because of this man's own greed? Or will you stand up and fight for what you truly believe in?" The female voice questioned.

Struggling to stand, the light gray haired girl glared at the old man clad in garish gold with golden eyes. "No...I won't let him...not anymore!" Yumi mentally declared as her own eyes glowed gold.

"...Very well, I have heeded your resolve. Now let us form a pact. I am thou...Thou art I...Through the thick blanket of lies, you shall uncover the truth thou has sought for. For when thou has trudged through the blizzard, the cold hand of reality shall never stop you ever again! Show them the true power of your resolve! With this mask, you shall overcome the storm and wield its power as thy own! Now step forward and fight for those all you hold dear!" Her inner self demanded as blood ran out of her fists from clenching too hard.

"I...I will do just that...Fūma..." Yumi soon responded, the name escaping her lips as if it was natural.

"Yes! Now release thy rage and unleash the tornado of your soul! The judgement of righteousness is yours to determine! Now go, and SHOW THEM JUSTICE!" The now named Fūma responded.

"Grrr...AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Yumi screamed before collapsing to the ground, out of breath...but freer than ever as a blue mask lined with yellow and spider web like additions formed on her face.

Their hearts pounding against their chest, they slowly stood up, masks resting upon their faces. Shadow Madarame stepped back, his eyes widening. Where was this deathly chill coming from?

"Very well." Yusuke whispered as he grabbed the edge of his own.

"Show me." Yumi breathed out as she placed a hand on her mask.

"TRUE BEAUTY!" The duo soon declared.

"PERSONA!"

FWOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Soon, the two were enveloped in a hurricane of icy blue flames, nearly blowing everyone off their feet. And yet...They felt colder...Like it was the middle of winter.

"W-Whoa..." Yin got out as they watched the snow gently fall.

Yusuke wore a black high-collared puff-sleeved jumpsuit with a striped sash worn across his hips, white motorcycle boots and bright blue gloves with a white fox tail attached to his jumpsuit.

Yumi meanwhile was cladded in blue and gold, the blue of the outfit having the imprints of light blue and dark blue snowflakes along with black spider webs like her mask, her bow a pale yellow with it going down to her back. Her clothes could only be described as a two-piece kimono that barely held her breasts, her abdomen fully exposed, with cloth flaps to hide her private parts. She was also wearing thigh-high white stockings and a pair of shinobi sandals.

Behind them, two mighty figures stood, exhuming their power.

Yusuke's Persona looked straight out of an ancient ukiyo-e painting, giving off a heavy theatrical look to the legendary outlaw. He sported a pale complexion typical of the traditional Japanese kabuki plays, and holds a pipe with an axe head at the end.

This was Goemon, the Gallant Rogue.

Yumi's Persona was much different in comparison. It was a female human-oni hybrid with light blue skin and hair, 8 spider-like limbs coming out of her back. She had one inverted eye, ice crystals growing out of arms and legs and wearing a blue and light blue blouse dress along with a red ribbon. And yes, her Persona had the same bust size as her other self.

This was Fūma, the Great Legacy.

"Haha...WOO!" Joker cheered out.

"Holy shit..." Skull muttered out in awe.

"Another two with the potential..." Mona got out with a smile.

"They got Personas..." Yang got out, grinning madly underneath her mask.

"Wow...they're...so pretty..." Yin thought.

"Brrr...Why are their flames so cold...?" Panther shivered while rubbing her arms.

The light grey haired girl soon took in a deep breath as she struck a pose. "Yusuke-san, look at these villains. Do they not look like they need punishment?" Yumi questioned. "They are void of light and have embraced all the darkness within them. Do they not look pathetic as they destroy everything on their path to fame and glory? Truly, we must show them what true justice is...with force." She soon growled out in disgust. "This scene...must be erased from history! Even if I have to embrace my own darkness, I will show them my righteousness!" She soon declared.

"I agree, it is a breathtaking sight..." Yusuke began in a calm tone. "Imitations they may be, but together, they make a fine spectacle...Though the flowers of evil blossom, be it known...Abominations are fated to perish!" He soon declared as their Personas exerted their power, waves of water and ice freezing and destroying all the guards in the room.

"Whoa, this is impressive!" Mona praised.

"I'll say!" Yang got out in agreement.

"Hmph...who do you two think you are!? The price for your insolence will be your death!" Shadow Madarame declared in anger. "Where are my guards!? Kill them all!" He soon commanded as more Guard Shadows appeared to his side.

"The children who adored you as father...The prospects of your pupils...How many did you trample upon...? How many dreams did you exchange for riches!?" Yusuke growled out.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Yusuke-san. We acted too late." Yumi stated. "But at the very least...we can pay back all the blood that stains his art. All the money, all the fame...we will destroy it all in front of your very eyes! That will be my justice...that is my resolve!" She soon declared.

"Let's see what you're made of!" Joker called out as everyone got out their weapons.

Yumi and Yusuke nodded before smiling madly at their opponents.

"Shall we begin?" Yumi soon questioned as she readied her fans.

"We shall, senpai." Yusuke answered as a katana and sheath appeared in his hand and hip. "Bring it on!" He declared with a devilish smirk.

---

(Cue Fly Me to the Moon (Infinite Climax Mix) by Shinta Himura)

"You are in the presence of Lord Madarame! On your knees, intruders!" The Lead Guard Shadow ordered.

"That's a lot of Shadows!" Yin got out as they were faced with seven enemies. Six Foolish Monks and an Embittered Blacksmith.

"We can do this with our new allies! They may all be new and strong, but we can take them!" Mona declared.

"Oh, a fellow katana user!" Yang got out in a intrigued manner as she noticed the boy's weapon.

"Though it's more like Ikaruga-chan..." Yin muttered.

"Shit though, did things get cold or what?" Skull got out as he shivered and began rubbing his arms.

"Let's just hope these guys are weak to Ice. Go for it, Yusuke! Yumi!" Joker ordered.

Yusuke nodded as he gripped the katana and sheath on his waist. "I learned much from you, Madarame. In order to see authenticity...one must be dispassionately realistic. With Goemon by my side...I can now ascertain your true self without any reservation!" He then declared before ripping his mask. "Goemon! Send these creatures into the deepest part of hell!" He soon commanded in a passionate manner.

"Well said, bushi! Strike with all your passion! BUFU!" His Persona declared as he casted ice upon one of the Foolish Monks, knocking it down.

"Yes! That's amazing! Keep going, Yusuke!" Panther called out.

"Every attack is a brush stroke...and you are all my canvas! GIANT SLICE!" Yusuke soon ordered.

"Another knock down! You're on a roll!" Yin praised.

Nodding to this, Yusuke then rushed forward as he unsheathed his sword, slashing at one of the Shadows twice before jumping back. "Damn..." He soon swore out in frustration. "It's up to you, senpai! Destroy it!" He soon called out.

The light grey haired girl in response nodded to this request. "Such a mockery. Of not only the art you've stolen, but that of a human being and that of myself, a defender of justice! To stoop so low to rise to the top...People like you are why I became a shinobi! By my grandfather's teachings, I will show the world your true colors. Fūma...Show no mercy to this merciless man!" She soon ordered.

"She's getting into it! Give it your all, Yumi-chan!" Yin cheered out.

"Take them down!" Yang also cheered in excitement.

"Wash them away, my other self!" Fūma advised.

"I am thou! Fūma, Aqua!" Yumi commanded her Persona.

SPLASH!

Instantly, the head Guard Shadow was splashed with water as it took damage.

"Wait, what?" Yang got out in surprise to what she just said. She just called out the spell instinctively.

"Nice! We got an Aqua Spell user!" Mona declared as he looked at the light gray haired girl in amazement.

"Why don't I use ice...?" Yumi wondered out loud before shaking her head. "Hmm, it'll have to do. Let's do this, PERSONA!" She soon commanded while removing her mask.

"Who said I know just water?" Fūma amusingly questioned as she waved all her appendages.

FREEZE!

"GAH!" The Lead Shadow got out as ice crystals formed on its body as it then stopped moving.

"Hey, it's frozen!" Panther called out.

"Oooooh! She's an Aqua and Bufu user! And she froze the Shadow!" Mona soon declared in even more amazement. "It must be thanks to the Aqua spell!" He then deducted.

"That seems a little redundant but okay." Joker muttered out.

"I get it! Yumi-chan soaked the enemy so bad that when she used the Ice Spell, it froze it!" Yin deducted.

"Guess it's my time to shine! Headbutt the hell outta it, Captain Kidd!" Skull called out while ripping off his mask as his Persona broke the Shadow out with his ship, dealing heavy damage.

"We're not done yet, though!" Joker called out as the Shadows got back up. "Keep it up everyone!" He soon ordered.

"Come on...Agi, Carmen!" Panther commanded as she aimed for the Blacksmith.

FWOOSH!

"Nope!" Panther got out as the Shadow shook off the attack. "Resisted it." She then added.

"Keep fighting everyone! Media!" Mona commanded as his Persona came out and healed the group.

"Thank you, Mona!" Yang called out. "Here we go! Gurentou!" She soon declared as she ripped off her mask, her Persona slicing through the lead Shadow.

SLASH!

"That did some damage!" Yang cheered out. "Passing it to you Joker!" She then declared as the two high fived.

"Thanks!" Joker replied as he let out a rebellious smirk. "Jack Frost, Mabufu!" He commanded.

"Your souls will make a nice snow cone, ho!" Jack Frost squeaked out.

SHATTER!

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"I love the sounds of Shadows crying." Joker got out as all the Shadows except for the Blacksmith went down.

"Woohoo! Amazing Joker!" Yin cheered out.

"Nice Joker! We only have the Blacksmith left!" Mona called out. "Use your guns!" She then instructed.

"Hm?" Yumi got out as icy blue flames formed in her hands before she took hold of it as it became a sniper rifle. "Arctic Warfare..." She whispered to herself before taking aim. "Just like Ryōbi-san..." She then thought to herself in a nostalgic manner before pulling the trigger.

BANG!

"GAH!" The Head Guard Shadow screamed in pain.

"Nice shot!" Yin complimented while pumping a fist into the air.

"Looks like Sniper Rifles can do critical damage sometimes." Mona informed. "Now get out your guns and hold these guys up!" He then ordered.

"Right!" The two new Persona-users replied as they aimed their guns at the Shadows, the new male Persona user taking out an assault rifle.

"Grrr...Lord Madarame will never let you get away with this..." The Shadow growled out.

"Well, he sure can try." Joker responded with a smirk. "Ready you two!?" He then asked.

"Ready!" Yumi and Yusuke answered with a nod.

"Let's go! All-Out Attack!" The Leader ordered as they backflipped.

"I will make you disappear!" Yumi called out as they rushed the Shadows.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! BASH! CRACK! SLASH! SMACK!

Yumi landed on the ground, did a quick twirl before opening her fans. "Frozen righteousness will prevail!" She soon declared as the Shadows burst into nothingness.

---

Yumi and Yusuke panted as their Personas returned to themselves and their masks reformed.

In front of the Thieves, Shadow Madarame stepped back in fear. His most loyal slaves...rebelling against him...

"Ngh..." Yusuke managed to get out before he and the light grey haired collapsed to their knees.

"Yusuke..." The Shadow of Madarame got out before glaring at the two. "You've just thrown your bright future down the drain...I'll destroy every chance you've ever had of becoming an artist!" He then added.

"Oh shut the hell up!" Yin yelled out. "A future where all Yusuke-kun does is paint for you while you take all the money and fame!? Yeah, what a great future." She sarcastically remarked.

"And Yumi is not another tool you can use!" Yang called out. "They'll have brighter futures now...without you!" She then declared.

"And not if we destroy your future first." Yumi declared, trying to hide the fact that she was drained of energy. "We are not afraid of you. I swear your name will go down as hated and forgotten!" She soon added to the declaration.

"Madarame!" Yusuke growled.

"You'll forever rue the day you dared defy me!" Shadow Madarame soon declared.

"Same to you too, old man." Joker replied as Arsene appeared behind him and flared its power, causing the Shadow to stumble back and start retreating deeper into the museum.

"Get...back here...!" Yusuke got out as he stood up, weapons at the ready, only to go back to his knees upon feeling light-headed.

"Yusuke-san..." Yumi panted out. "W-What is this?" She soon asked.

"Why can't I move!?" Yusuke growled.

"Listen, you two are totally drained. You can't do much, even if you wanted to." Panther explained.

"N-No...We just can't let him get away like that...!" Yumi declared.

"Yes we can. It's called a tactical retreat." Joker stated. "Do you feel like you can take on an army of demons and gods right now?" He then questioned.

"Ngh...!" Yusuke groaned out with a wince.

"..." Yumi however became silent.

"Thought so. There's always next time anyways." Joker told the newly awakened duo. "Let's head back and find a place to rest and calm down. You two look like you can barely walk." He then advised.

"Come on, grab my shoulder." Skull offered.

"Here Yumi-chan." Asuka also offered.

The Thieves really didn't have to go that far, considering there were several seats at the nearby info kiosk. Yumi and Yusuke sat next to each other to rest while the others chose to stand.

After a few minutes of silence, the ash blonde spoke what everyone was thinking.

"You guys have known for quite some time, haven't you?" Panther guessed.

"I'm no fool." Yusuke sadly sighed out. "Strange people have been coming by for years, and plagiarism was an everyday affair." He soon confessed.

"And with how I am to Yusuke-san, I was bound to catch wind of something." Yumi added.

"Madarame really is an artist." Joker muttered out. "A scam artist, but an artist nonetheless." He then added.

"Indeed...I should have done something sooner..." Yumi admitted in an ashamed tone.

"But I pleaded for you to not do anything about it." Yusuke pointed out. "I mean, who would want to admit that the man they owed their life to was doing such terrible things?" He then questioned.

"Why didn't you leave then, Kitagawa-kun?" Panther asked. "I'm sure Yumi-chan would've at least offered to let you stay with her." She then added.

"I thought about asking him about that but...the circumstances around my transfer wouldn't allow it." Yumi replied, with everyone knowing why she couldn't let him stay with her, being a shinobi and all.

"And despite his actions now, he still painted the Sayuri. On top of that, I owe him a great debt..." Yusuke added.

"You mean 'cause he raised you?" Skull guessed.

"I...never knew my father." Yusuke confessed as the light gray haired girl looked down sadly. "I was told my mother raised me by herself, but she died in an accident when I was three." He then revealed. "That's when Sensei took me in. I heard he helped my mother while she was still alive." He then informed.

"Heard?" Panther repeated.

"To be honest, I don't remember much about my mother either." Yusuke continued. "I did everything I could for Sensei. I thought of him as a father...but he changed." He soon revealed.

"So he wasn't always a scam artist. He was an actual artist." Yang got out.

"Hai, he must've been blinded by the desire for money..." Yumi deducted in a saddened tone.

"Did he grow up in poverty...?" Joker guessed.

"That's something not easily answered, unfortunately." Yumi informed. "I've done extensive research on Madarame, and there is next to no information about his youth except he was born in Kyoto." She then revealed.

"To think, he would treat the Sayuri, the very foundation of his art, like that...!" Yusuke felt his anger rise, his voice cracking as he thought how...violated the painting had become.

"A lot's happened to you, huh." Skull sighed out.

"The world...it's a harsh place, no doubt about that." Joker soon admitted. "People change, for better or for worse. I'm sure the person you knew as Sensei is still there...but it's too late to get him back now." He then added.

"Hai..." Yin mumbled in agreement.

"When you mentioned plagiarism...deep down I knew you were right. That's why I so vehemently denied you...I was simply running away from the truth. I'm sorry." Yusuke apologized.

"I should also apologize for attacking you earlier." Yumi soon stated. "I should've known better. I thought you were planning to do something to Yusuke-san but...you were helping him. More than I have since we met." She then admitted.

"We understand." Joker replied. "I'm just glad we're all friends here and not trying to sue slash kill each other." He soon admitted.

The two new Persona users looked a little sheepish in response to that. "I'm grateful for the chance to face what I have been denying all this time." Yusuke responded.

"And I am grateful for allowing me to see what true justice is. Thank you." Yumi soon thanked.

"You guys are way too serious." Skull got out. "That's why you're always gettin' stuck in your own head. Look at me! I just go with the flow." He then added.

"For real." Panther replied in agreement.

"Yeah, Joker, Yin and I are making the most of what we've got." Yang stated. "We weren't dealt the best hand in life, but we're not letting that hold us back." She then added.

"Yup." Yin spoke up with a happy nod.

"What are you going to do now, Yusuke?" Mona asked.

"I don't know..." The artist truthfully answered.

"We can't help the fact that Madarame has gone and changed." Skull stated. "But...we can change his heart. We'll make him pay for his crimes." He then declared.

"Ah, yes. You're the Phantom Thieves of Shujin Academy, the ones who got the corrupted gym teacher to confess his many crimes." Yumi got out. "The ones who changed his heart." She then added.

"I've been wondering about that when you mentioned it earlier." Yusuke admitted. "So, you really did all that..." He then got out in awe.

"Yeah. And Kamoshida and Madarame, they're only the beginning." Joker replied with a smirk...only for it to fall when several guards spawned behind them.

"OH CRAP!" Skull exclaimed.

"You know, this is why I said to save conversations for the safe room!" Panther called out.

"Hey, I didn't hear you reminding us of that!" Yang pointed out.

"We can talk more once we're out of the Metaverse! CHEESE IT!" Mona shouted out.

"When did my clothes change?" Yusuke however asked as he looked at himself in an intrigued manner.

"Yusuke-san..." Yumi sighed out before looking down at her own outfit. "W-What sort of transformation is this...!?" She meanwhile asked, an embarrassed blush on her face to how revealing it was as she attempted to cover herself.

"You two just noticed now!?" Skull remarked in disbelief.

"Um, Yumi-senpai, you may want to adjust your clothing." Yusuke suggested with a blush on his face.

"Eh?" Yumi got out in confusion before looking down...to see that her white lace panties with Gessen's emblem were on full display that barely hid her private parts, causing her to yelp in embarrassment as she quickly covered herself.

"That's unfair!" Yin suddenly called out, confusing the light gray haired greatly.

"Save your wardrobe malfunctions and complaints for Metaverse logic for later! RUN!" Yang all but ordered as she grabbed her roommate's arm and dashed towards the exit. The others blinked for a moment before following after them.

"So...what was that about Yumi-senpai being a...shinobi?" Yusuke suddenly asked as they ran.

"...Oh, we talked about that out loud, didn't we." Joker got out, slapping his forehead.

"I'll explain it another time Yusuke-san! Run faster!" Yumi then got out.

[Now exiting...Have a nice day.]

---

(5/23, After School)

(Shibuya, Central Street)

Later on in the Central Street Diner...

All the group members were sitting down in the booth as they were talking and explaining everything they knew to the newest Persona users in detail. The Metaverse, Palaces, Shadows and Persona were explained to them to the best of their ability.

And since there was no point in hiding it, Yumi, Homura and Asuka revealed themselves as shinobi to Yusuke.

"...I see." Yusuke got out.

"So that's how you caused that confession." Yumi muttered to herself. "...But did you really have to mention that slime...phallis...thing?" She then questioned with a blush on her face.

"Yes." Akira replied in a flat tone.

"No." Homura also replied in the same tone.

"The Phantom Thieves who steal hearts...and real life shinobi..." Yusuke began.

"Well, they're both right in front of you." Akira stated.

"I'm sorry for keeping it a secret, Yusuke-san." Yumi apologized. "But I couldn't risk you being involved in such a dangerous world." She then explained.

"It's fine, senpai. Just...it's a lot to take in." Yusuke replied with a comforting smile. "Other worlds...hidden in plain sight all this time...However, it seems I'm involved in both now." He then pointed out.

"Yeah, you better keep it a secret Yusuke." Homura stated.

"Of course." Yusuke got out. "So your plan with Madarame-sensei," He started to question, only to go back on himself. "-With Madarame, is to force a change of heart, correct?" He then stated.

"Easier said than done, but that's the gist of it." Akira answered.

"Then you'll need help. Let me join...as a member of the Phantom Thieves." Yusuke offered. "Had I faced reality sooner, this may have been avoided." He then admitted. "I must put an end to this for the sake of the others whose futures as artists were robbed, as well. That...is the most civil thing I can do for the man who was...in some manner, my father." He soon concluded.

"Yusuke-kun..." Asuka whispered out, feeling sorry for the dark blue haired boy. Despite knowing the monster his sensei had become, it would still hurt putting away the man who raised him.

"Civil, huh..." Ann got out.

"Sounds fine to me. We're gonna deal with Madarame anyways." Ryuji stated.

"Be warned. There's a chance that Madarame could end up in a vegetative state or worse if we screw up. We have ways to prevent such scenarios, but they aren't foolproof." Morgana warned.

"Yes, you mentioned it on the way here." Yumi then got out. "Similar to the shutdowns, correct?" She then asked.

The Vice Leader coughed as Homura looked a little sheepish. "Uh...well..." The tan skinned girl started.

"Hey, if Yusuke's joinin' up, what are you thinkin' Tsukikaze?" Ryuji suddenly asked.

Yumi meanwhile giggled to that. "Please, just Yumi Ryuji-san." She soon requested.

"Of course, Yumi." Akira replied. "However, we still need an answer. Are you in?" He soon asked.

"The Phantom Thieves are truly allies of justice." Yumi calmly declared with a smile. "I would be honored to join them as well." She soon requested.

"Madarame is a man who has the art world under his thumb. He has connections to many organizations." Yusuke soon explained. "If someone like me raises my voice, it'll only be snuffed out...We have no option but this." He then admitted.

"Kitagawa-kun..." Ann whispered out.

"Alright, welcome to the Phantom Thieves. Yusuke. Yumi." Akira greeted the two as they shook hands.

"Wow, two more members. That's so awesome." Ann stated.

"Another shinobi too..." Morgana added.

"You two better not slow us down." Ryuji got out.

"I would never Ryuji-san." Yumi replied.

"I'll do my best." Yusuke then stated.

To that, the Leader nodded as he then looked at the dark blue haired boy. "Oh, and no nude paintings." Akira then got out.

"Eh?" Yumi got out in confusion. "Nude paintings?" She repeated.

"U-Um, you do not need to concern yourself over something so trivial Yumi-senpai." Yusuke quickly got out as he began sweating nervously.

The light gray haired girl soon sighed in a frustrated manner as she looked at her friend. "Please don't tell me you asked one of them to allow you to paint them nude. You ask me at least once every month ever since we met last year Yusuke-san." Yumi deadpanned.

"N-No! Of c-" Yusuke tried to deny.

"Yes." Homura interrupted in a flat tone, causing the light gray haired girl to look at her. "He blackmailed us and threatened to have us arrested by the police if one of us didn't do the nude modeling he wanted after we asked him about what Madarame was hiding. And he also didn't care that we were victims of Kamoshida at the time." She then revealed while her roommate and the ash blonde nodded in agreement.

To learning this, Yumi once more sighed as she looked at her friend before taking hold of his ear and roughly tugged it. "Yusuke-san, what have I told you about asking others to do those kinds of things?" She questioned in a chiding tone.

The others however had sweatdropped at the sight of this.

"He's done it before?" Akira asked incredulously.

"Indeed he has." Yumi responded in disapproval.

"O-Ow! I-It was for the pursuit of art!" Yusuke got out as he winced in pain from his ear being pulled.

"I think we're better off not knowing the context behind that." Homura bluntly stated with a sweatdrop.

"I don't care if it was for the sake of art young man, there was no need to blackmail someone like that!" Yumi however countered in the same manner.

"Th-That's why I wish for Takamaki and Shirokage to come on their own free will next time." Yusuke then explained.

"What." The boy got out

"WHAT!?" The girls shouted out.

"Next time!?" Homura growled with a twitch in her eye.

"Yes. I haven't given up on that yet." Yusuke calmly stated, only for the light gray haired girl to pinch his ear even harder, realizing to his horror that she had been holding back all this time.

"GIVE UP!" Ann and Homura all but ordered in anger.

"I...I wouldn't mind too much if it didn't involve nudity..." Asuka admitted. "F-For modeling experience for my job as one!" She then quickly added as her face became crimson.

"...I'm afraid that's not possible, Shirokage." Yusuke stated. "Your body must be free of its confines in order to bring out the-AH!" He began to explain before being struck over the head.

"That's enough out of you mister." Yumi however sighed, slapping the artist in the back of the head with her closed fan.

"You have to be the weirdest person I have ever met." Homura admitted. "Well, second weirdest." She then corrected with a shudder.

"Second weirdest?" Akira repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Who's that?" He then asked.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Homura answered with a far-off look on her face.

To be honest, she didn't know who was the weirdest out of her acquaintances but they sure as hell would outdo Yusuke...maybe...

"In any case, how did you know about our grudges against Kamoshida? You don't go to Shujin and thanks to the riot and a very mysterious benefactor, no one suspected or will suspect we were responsible for anything involving exposing him outside of baseless rumours." Homura asked in a serious tone to change the subject.

"It was quite easy. I have informants in Shujin Academy." Yumi causally revealed.

This in turn got everyone from Shujin's attention.

"Informants?" Ryuji repeated.

The light gray haired girl in response nodded to that. "My agents. Spies. I pay them to collect information for me on anything I deem worthy." Yumi explained. "If you must know, ever since last year I've had an extensive information network set up throughout Tokyo in order to complete my mission." She then revealed.

"Your mission?" Morgana asked in a curious tone.

The girl in turn nodded once more to that as she began petting the not cat. "To find the source of the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns and put an end to them." Yumi answered.

This in turn surprised the group to this reveal save for the dark blue haired boy, who gained an intrigued expression on his face.

"...Her too?" Asuka and Homura thought in unison.

To learning this information, the Leader of the Phantom Thieves smirked. "Well, you're in luck. You have the very power that's probably related to them." Akira informed.

"...Excuse me...?" Yumi got out in confusion.

"It's a long story..." Ann sighed out.

Yumi soon narrowed her eyes to that in a serious manner. "I have time, please explain." She soon requested.

"Hey, Yusuke? Do you mind writing all this down so we can make pamphlets?" Akira asked.

"Um...I don't have my notepad on me..." Yusuke regretfully informed.

"Make a note on your phone then." Ryuji soon suggested.

"It's not all that long, really. Asuka and I were sent here to investigate the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns, though we had very different goals." Homura explained.

"The Good Shinobi wanted it to stop, the Evil Shinobi wanted to wield it." Asuka added.

The light grey haired girl meanwhile narrowed her eyes to that part. "Hm..." Yumi hummed out in understanding. "So whoever is causing them is...a Persona-user?" She soon questioned.

"Yep." Akira answered. "However, we have no leads so we aren't actively pursuing them until we have enough information." He then informed.

"An enemy Persona-user..." Yusuke whispered out. "Who knows what they're capable of once we confront them. They have more experience than us, and whoever said it's one person? It could be a group like the Phantom Thieves..." He then added.

"Then we'll get stronger, and smarter. We can't let these incidents keep happening..." Ann stated in determination.

"Yes, to prevent more lives from being lost...like the subway incident back in April..." Homura soon stated as she felt her roommate take hold of her hand.

"Hey, before we forget, we need your phone numbers and Chat IDs." Ryuji spoke up.

The two in response nodded to the request. "Of course." Yumi replied as she pulled out her personal phone while the young artist did the same.

["All4Painting" has been added to your contacts.]

["Negative8Degrees" has been added to your contacts.]

"Wow, nice Chat ID names, better than Homura's old Chat ID name." Ryuji quipped out in amusement.

"Oh shut up." Homura grumbled out in annoyance.

"Hey, it even has a happy emoticon in it." Ann noticed.

"Hmm?" Yumi got out in innocent confusion as she looked at her Chat ID. "Where would that be?" She soon asked in a curious manner.

"The 8 and D makes a smiley face. See?" Ann explained as she showed it to her.

"And they're also following the weird tradition." Asuka noted. "Their Chat IDs have their Arcana number..." She soon added.

"Yeah..." Akira got out. "Well, is there anything else we need to discuss?" He soon asked.

"Yes...There is one more thing I'd like to talk about..." Ann growled out as she slowly turned her gaze over to the two roommates. "You two!" She began.

"Oh, y-you're s-s-still a-angry about t-that aren't you?" Asuka stuttered out.

"Look, Ann, I'll gladly take whatever punishment you have but do not involve Sis, okay?" Homura offered.

Ann then took in a deep breath and replied. "...Yeah...No...Here's the thing, I don't care and I want revenge so..." She then started.

"Just tell us." Asuka groaned out.

"Nothing much. All I want you to do is buy a dress for me." Ann soon instructed.

"Huh? That doesn't sound too bad..." Homura stated.

"This is how much it costs." Ann then revealed as she showed the price on her phone.

"WHAT!?" Asuka and Homura exclaimed.

"Oh, that's a lot of zeroes." Asuka got out, tears running down her cheeks.

"I...I still don't have a job, Ann..." Homura stated. "Y-You can't do this to us." She then added.

"Well, you should've thought of that when you forced me to do the nude thing alone." Ann replied with a sweet smile on her face. "You two are gonna have to earn my trust again, because as of now, you two are mine." She then stated in a menacing tone.

"I'll...I'll do what I can Ann-chan..." Asuka replied in a nervous manner.

"I...I'm so sorry." Homura meanwhile muttered out.

"The time for apologies has already passed Homura." Ann stated. "Someone once said: he who sets out on revenge should first dig two graves. That's a stupid-ass quote, revenge is awesome." She then happily declared.

"Such a simple yet brutal picture. Do not anger Lady Ann." Morgana stated.

Asuka soon dropped her head to this declaration. "There goes my next paycheck..." She thought to herself. "I'll be taking up more gigs Ann-chan." She then got out.

"Good, you're already gaining some fame, so it might get a raise soon." Ann then informed. "Not enough to pay it all in one go though. I'm guessing it's going to take until...September to pay it off?" She soon decided.

"Y-Yes ma'am..." Asuka replied once more with a nod.

"And no stealing the money, Homura." Ann quickly added.

"You know the boys were the ones who suggested the dumb thing in the first place..." Homura grumbled out, annoyed that they were the only ones getting punished for what happened.

"Oh, I have something planned for them as well. It's just not ready yet." Ann happily replied, causing the boys to shiver.

"It seems I'm the only one escaping any sort of punishment here." Yumi noted. "If I may ask though, Asuka-san and Homura-san are shinobis correct?" She soon asked.

We just told you earlier." Homura sighed out. "And didn't you figure it out by yourself?" She then asked.

"Just needed the confirmation. This is still a lot of information to process in such a short time." Yumi responded in a calm manner.

"Well that is understandable." Asuka admitted. "But you'll understand it eventually." She then added.

"Yeah, Ryuji's still trying to understand it too." Homura soon got out with a slight laugh.

"Hey!" Ryuji responded in offense.

"What's the definition of cognition?" Morgana soon asked.

"Uh...um...how...someone sees the world in your head?" Ryuji slowly answered.

"...Eh, close enough." Homura muttered with a shrug. "You get a gold star." She then added in a joking manner.

"...Do you-" Ryuji began to ask.

"No." Homura immediately answered in a deadpan tone.

"Well, if that's everything, we will be in your care senpai." Yumi politely stated with a smile and a small bow towards the Leader.

"Er, aren't I a year younger than you?" Akira pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

Yumi however giggled to that. "Hehe, well I was referring to all of you by that due to the fact that all of you have more experience than us as Phantom Thieves." She explained in an amused tone to that confusion.

"Well, Akira or Joker is just fine. None of that senpai stuff." The Leader soon requested.

"Well then, as you wish Akira-kun." Yumi replied with a nod and a smile. "Well, I best be off. The last train to Shinjuku is going to leave in about an hour and a half." She then informed.

"Wait hold up, you live in Shinjuku Yumi!?" Ann asked in disbelief to even imagining a high schooler living there, shinobi or not.

The light gray haired girl simply nodded to that. "Yes. The Red Light District, in fact. The rent is quite cheap, I can easily make contact with my informants and you would be surprised how many minors come there for...less than savoury services." Yumi explained.

"So your parents couldn't get you a better location?" Ryuji guessed.

Yumi in response to that guess, lowered her head in a saddened manner. "My parents are dead." She soon revealed.

"..." This in turn silenced the rest of the group as they looked at the light gray haired girl.

"...Yours too huh?" Homura got out in a depressed tone of her own.

This in response got the girl's attention as she looked at the tan skinned girl. "Eh?" Yumi got out in confusion.

"...My parents are gone too..." Homura darkly revealed with her hair and shadows covering her eyes.

"Oh...My condolences, Homura-san." Yumi soon got out in an apologetic manner.

"Hrn..." Akira hummed out as he gained a thoughtful expression. "I'm sensing a pattern here..." He meanwhile thought.

"I guess that's why you and Yusuke are so close." Asuka got out with a sad smile.

"Yes...It is why I enjoy her company so much." Yusuke stated with his own sad smile. "Perhaps it was fate for us to meet." He then added.

"So you two aren't like boyfriend and girlfriend?" Homura quipped out in amusement.

"No!" Yumi and Yusuke immediately exclaimed in unison, both blushing rather heavily.

"Eh? Really?" Asuka asked in a curious tone. "But you both answered Homu-nee at the same time like a couple would." She then informed.

"Believe me, that is not the first time we've been asked that question in all its variations." Yusuke sighed out. "We merely enjoy being together." He then revealed.

"So similar to Asuka-chan and Homura-chan's sister-like relationship." Ann deducted.

The light gray haired girl however shook her head to that. "No, I sense there's something more there." Yumi stated before smiling. "So, how far have you gone?" She soon asked in a teasing manner.

"Well, we are sleeping together..." Asuka replied without thinking before covering her mouth.

"She meant in the same bed! The same bed!" Homura exclaimed. "It's completely and utterly sister-like!" She then declared.

"...I find that hard to believe Asuka-san, Homura-san." Yumi soon replied.

"Argh...! Why does everyone think that!?" Homura groaned out as she slammed her head against the table.

This in turn got the Kosei High Student Council President's attention. "Oh do they really, now?" Yumi soon asked. "I think that's a sign from the universe..." She then stated.

"Grrr...what's wrong with acting like a protective older sister..." Homura grumbled in annoyance and frustration.

"Most older sisters aren't you." Akira replied.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Homura exclaimed, causing everyone to chuckle and giggle in amusement. "I hate you all so much..." She grumbled out.

"Come on, we're just kidding. But seriously, you do have a sister complex that we should all be slightly concerned about due to your rather violent reactions and responses." Akira admitted.

"...I was an only child remember?" Homura however countered in a dark tone. "And Asuka's been more of a family to me than my former family..." She then added as she pulled her roommate close.

"And that's great, but please try to tone it down, Asuka's a big girl." Ryuji replied. "And it was bad enough when you were basically stalking us the first time me and Asuka went to the arcade." He then added.

"What!?" Asuka got out in surprise.

"Hey! What's wrong with me trying to prevent Asuka from becoming like the former me?" Homura soon questioned. "You know, a dark bitch that hates everyone with trust issues?" She then reminded.

"There's that, and there's going too far with it." Akira stated. "Not everyone is out to get you or Asuka. Wait...Do you trust us?" He then asked in an awkward tone.

"Of course I do you." Homura countered in slight annoyance while rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, it certainly doesn't feel like it..." Ryuji sighed out.

"Hey, I just show it differently than most people, remember where my old school was before I transferred to Shujin." Homura once more countered.

"I feel left out of this conversation..." Yumi muttered out. "Come on, Yusuke-san, let's go home." She got out as she began to move out of her seat.

"Wait! Wait! Sorry Yumi-chan, Yusuke-kun!" Asuka called out in a slight panic. "W-We really got off topic there." She then admitted.

"No, it's quite alright. It's getting late anyways." Yusuke replied.

"But what are you gonna do about Madarame?" Ann however asked, getting everyone's attention. "I mean me and Morgana were in a pretty tight situation at the time." She then reminded.

"Eh? What happened?" Yumi soon asked in concern.

"We'll tell you later..." Ann groaned out.

"Actually, I contacted him before we came here." Yusuke informed. "He believes that I continued pursuing Takamaki-san. And, just as you all explained, it appears he knows nothing about his Shadow."

"Well that is a relief." Yumi breathed out.

"But did he say next?" Homura asked.

"He was complaining to the security company how they couldn't even catch one high school girl. However, he's still furious about it, and that he's going to take legal action against everyone." Yusuke answered.

"Wait, what!?" Asuka exclaimed.

"Talk about bein' completely on guard..." Ryuji groaned out.

"Oh great...something to cause pressure on us now..." Homura muttered in annoyance. "Just like when Kamoshida tried expelling us..." She then added.

"Wait, h-he just means me, right?" Ann got out.

"No, he means everyone here." Yumi sighed out. "If they are related to Ann-san or Yusuke-san, he will take legal action against them over defamation."

"..." The others in turn blinked and paled to hearing this with widened eyes.

"He's really going all out..." Asuka got out. "Why is he acting so...desperate?" She soon asked.

"I can only assume he still has a few skeletons in his closet that need digging out." Yumi guessed. "However, we do have time. Madarame couldn't possibly pursue legal action during an exhibition, after all." She soon added.

"Of course. Any scandal during the show would be his loss." Yusuke stated.

"We'll have to force a change of heart before then, if we're to dodge this legal action thing." Morgana then stated.

"Hey, you're probably not going to jail over this." Ryuji pointed out.

"Yeah, but considering how Madarame is, he'll probably take legal action against Morgana too." Akira stated in a serious tone. "He did get spotted after all." He then added.

"Well, either way, we have to change his heart before the exhibition ends. Although the consequences of failure to meet the deadline has changed, the actual deadline is still the same." Morgana informed. "I want maximum effort from everyone here!" He then demanded.

"Right!" The Thieves replied in unison.

"By the way..." Yusuke started as he stared at the not cat. "What is that...?" He soon asked.

"Hm?" Yumi hummed out before turning to where her friend was looking. "...Oh. We...We were talking to a cat, weren't we..." She soon got out as she blinked a couple of times.

"Yumi, you were just petting him before." Homura however reminded with a sweatdrop, though was amused.

"I know just...it didn't connect to me that Morgana-san is this cat." Yumi admitted.

"Didn't I just say that I am not a cat!" Morgana however reminded in annoyance and disapproval. "How long until it's hammered through your heads that I! AM! HUMAN!" He soon declared.

"...You think." Homura added.

"Yes! I mean, GAH!" Morgana cried out. "Urgh..." He then groaned.

This in turn caused all the girls to giggle in amusement.

"...I forgot my clothes at Madarame's atelier." Ann suddenly remembered. "...Bah, they were just a bunch of old sets from three years ago. I don't need them any more. They're all stretched out anyways."

"...Can I have them?" Homura asked.

"Huh? Why do you want 'em Homura?" Ryuji asked in confusion and a raised eyebrow.

"You know...reduce, reuse, recycle you know." Homura answered with a blush.

"Ah, your femininity training." Ann realized.

"Eh? Femininity training?" Yumi repeated in confusion.

"Homura's practicing to be more of a girl then being a tomboy." Akira revealed.

"Oh?" Yumi got out in a curious manner with a tilt of her head.

"And I'll be giving her a lot more lessons from now on~" Ann suddenly declared in a dark tone.

The tan skinned girl in turn slightly paled to that declaration. "Why do I have the feeling that Ann's going to train her dominatrix act on me...?" Homura thought as she began sweating.

"In any case...I guess you can have them, but that involves breaking into Madarame's shack and she's gone before I finish this sentence, isn't she." Ann deadpanned before slapping her forehead. "She's so poor, isn't she..." She then muttered.

"And you're not helping with that fact." Akira added.

"Now...onto more important matters..." Yusuke soon got out as he reached towards the not cat.

"H-Hey! What are you trying to-" Morgana got out in shock and confusion, however...

RING!

It soon revealed that the artist had pressed the button that the not cat was near. "I was thinking of ordering black-bean jelly." Yusuke explained before blinking. "...I have no money though..." He soon realized.

Yumi only sighed before pulling out her wallet. "Every time Yusuke-san. Every. Time." She got out in a tired tone.

---

(Shin Megami Apartment Complex)

Eventually the two roommates arrived and entered their apartment as they took in deep breaths to relax themselves.

"Well, today...was...holy mother of Arsene Lupin, that was nuts..." Homura sighed out as she flopped onto the couch.

"Hai, made some progress in the Palace and even got two new comrades." Asuka replied with a smile as she also plopped onto the couch.

"Yeah that's great, but I would've like it a little more if we were attacked by a friend..." Homura mumbled out.

"You were really getting along with Yumi-chan?" Asuka soon asked in a curious manner.

The tan skinned girl nodded in response. "A little. But, I guess it gives us more opportunities to hang out now."

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Oh, come on, at this time..." Homura grumbled out as she forced herself to get up. "I'll get it." She then got out.

"Ok Homu-nee." Asuka replied. "I'll get dinner ready. Anything you want?" She soon asked.

"Um...what do we have in the fridge." Homura replied.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Oh jeez, I'm coming already! Don't be so forceful!" Homura responded as she got to the door and opened it. "Hello?" She then asked, only to blink at who she saw.

It was Yumi, still in her Kosei uniform.

"...Yumi?" Homura got out in a surprised yet confused manner. "I thought you were going home..." She then added.

"...Homura-san..." Yumi calmly responded.

"How do you know where we live?" Homura asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Is Asuka-san inside?" Yumi questioned as she poked her head into the apartment.

"Y-You're not answering my question." Homura however got out. "Besides that, she's resting from the long day we had...and you should be too after awakening to your Persona." She then added.

"Homura-san," Yumi once more stated in a serious tone. "I believe you and I must have a personal discussion." She soon stated as she pointed upwards. "Please meet on the roof of your building." She soon requested as she vanished instantaneously.

Homura in response nodded to this as she looked at her roommate that was peeking on them. "Sis, prepare what you want for dinner for the both of us, I'll be back soon." She replied and requested.

The Vice Leader in response made herself known as she nodded. "O-Ok..." Asuka nervously responded. "Good luck." She soon encouraged.

"Why would I? This is just a friendly conversation." Homura replied. "I hope." She muttered quietly under her breath as she shut the door behind her before she watched the light grey haired girl jump and vanish.

---

(Shin Megami Apartment Complex Roof)

"Okay." Homura breathed out as she landed on the roof a distance away from the other girl. "Please tell me why you asked me to come here? Don't tell me you want to-" She soon started.

The light grey haired girl then turned to the tan skinned girl. "Homura-san, Ryuji-san had mentioned you were an Evil Shinobi." Yumi soon stated as she glared, an icy aura soon flaring out and enveloping her.

"Yeah, there we go." Homura meanwhile sighed out, expecting this to happen while a fiery aura soon surrounded her to warm herself up as the two stared each other down.

This was going to be bloody.

---

Save Game... Quit!

---

(Persona Tracking)

Joker

Level: 16

Personas: Arsene (Resist: Curse) (Weak: Ice, Bless), Jack Frost (Null: Ice) (Weak: Fire), Kushi Mitama (Resist: Wind) (Weak: Fire), Shiisaa (Resist: Physical, Gun) (Null: Bless) (Weak: Curse), Saki Mitama (Resist: Ice) (Weak: Electric), Franken (Resists: Bless, Earth) (Drain: Electric) (Weak: Curse, Psycho), Mermaid (Resists: Water, Fire) (Weak: Electric, Earth)

Treasure Demon: Regent [Ma- Elemental Set 1]

Skills: Eiha, Cleave, Sukunda, Dream Needle, Adverse Resolve, Baisudi, Bufu (X3) Mabufu, Ice Break, Rakunda, Ice Boost, Garu, Makajam, Media, Regenerate 1, Wind Wall (X2), Growth 1, Forget Boost, Double Fang, Skull Cracker, Zio, Rampage, Dodge Curse, Dodge Elec, Energy Drop, Resist Dizzy, Bufula, Aques, Media, Rakukaja (X3), Lunge, Zionga, Mamagna.

Yin

Level: 16

Persona: Kaeru (Resist: Earth, Fire) (Weak: Wind, Gun)

Skills: Magna, Media, Sukukaja, Lucky Punch

Confidant Rank: Rank 3

Yang

Level: 16

Persona: Wolverine (Resist: Physical, Gun, Fire, Wind) (Weak: Water, Earth, Bless, Psychokinesis)

Skills: Agi, Cleave, Gurentou, Regenerate 1

Confidant Rank: Rank 3

Mona

Level: 16

Persona: Zorro (Resist: Wind) (Weak: Elec)

Skills: Garu, Dia, Patra, Media, Lucky Punch, Magaru

Confidant Rank: Rank 2

Skull

Level: 16

Persona: Captain Kidd (Resist: Elec) (Weak: Wind, Earth)

Skills: Lunge, Zio, Tarukaja, Headbutt, Adverse Resolve

Confidant Rank: Rank 4

Panther

Level: 16

Persona: Carmen (Resist: Fire) (Weak: Ice, Water)

Skills: Agi, Dia, Dormina, Tarunda, Maragi, Dekaja

Confidant Rank: Rank 1

Yusuke

Level: 16

Persona: Goemon (Resists: Ice) (Weak: Fire)

Skills: Bufu, Giant Slice, Sukukaja

Yumi

Level: 17

Persona: Fūma (Resists: Ice, Water) (Weak: Fire, Curse)

Skills: Bufula, Aqua.

---

(Persona Analysis)

Persona: Fūma
Belongs to: Yumi Tsukikaze
Arcana: L'Ajustement (Adjustment)
Origins: Edo Period (Birth Date: Unknown. Died: 1603)
Stat Spread: High Endurance, Low Strength, Above Average Agility, otherwise Average everywhere else.
Skills: Bufu Family, Aqua Family, Dazzler, Nocturnal Flash, Makajama, Makajamaon, Dormina, Lullaby, Life Drain, Spirit Drain, Ice Boost, Ice Amp, Freeze Boost, Water Boost, Water Amp, Splash Boost, Ailment Boost, Snipe, Cripple, Repel Fire, Repel Curse, Fortify Spirit, Defense Master, Auto-Maraku.
Resists: Ice & Water
Weak: Curse & Fire
Description: This Persona is based on Fūma Kotarō, the fifth clan leader of the Fūma clan. His biggest achievement came in 1580, when the Fūma ninja covertly infiltrated and attacked a camp of the Takeda clan forces under Takeda Katsuyori at night, succeeding in causing severe chaos in the camp, which resulted in mass fratricide among the disoriented enemies. He is often depicted as the rival to Hattori Hanzō.

---

Whew! That was nuts and a little messy. So, Yusuke and Yumi are in the Phantom Thieves! Finally! It only took me 20 hours to get to this point in the game, but here it took several years! Yumi's Arcana, Number VIII: Adjustment, is part of the Thoth tarot deck, like Aeon. It's equivalent is is about self-control and self-order and in order to maintain harmony in our life. The Adjustment Tarot Card encourages us to look at personal responsibility in regards to what happens to us.

Anyways, if you'll excuse me... I'm going to play more Tycoon.

UknwonHero signing off, my friends!