"Gah!" Futaba spat out, throwing up her hands. "What the hell is wrong with this guy!?"

"Is his background that messed up?" Ryuji asked.

Futaba fixed her irritated glare on him. "No, it's not that. I can barely find anything about him."

"What!?" Ann was utterly shocked. "Even you, Futaba? I thought you'd be able to uncover his entire life story in a heartbeat!"

"Well, sorry to disappoint," Futaba muttered, returning her gaze to the screen of her laptop. "No, this guy is being absolutely infuriating to try and find. Shoichi Takada seems to be his real name as far as I can tell; it's the name he had when he and Ren's mom were in high school together, and I found the hospital where he was supposedly born. And I cross-referenced it with what Akari told me. It checks out. He was the guy."

"But…?" Ren prompted.

"I just can't find anything else!" Futaba screamed in frustration. "Every scan I run for his name, I come up with a bunch of randos with no connection to him. I try anagrams, nothing! Names with similar meanings, nothing! And his face is so generic it matches basically every other one on the internet!"

The Phantom Thieves were all gathered around Futaba in the lounge of the Thieves' Den as she tapped furiously on her laptop. After Ren's mother had dropped the bombshell that the man they were looking for was Ren's biological father, every single one of them wanted to track him down. Only Zenkichi was missing due to his work, but Akane was present, and had carried her father's agreement with her.

"Have you tried going off of when he started working for Isobe?" Makoto asked.

"I did," Futaba admitted, "but that didn't really help much. He was employed as a senior advisor and coordinator with other companies, but the records for the companies he was coordinating with are all off the books. As far as I can tell, either the records were destroyed, or nothing was ever done online. It was all paper contracts and in-person meetings and such. And he's only been associated with Sandā Arsenal for the last few years or so. And he has no social media accounts! Seriously, who has no social media accounts!? What kind of monster is this guy!?"

"Calm down, Bug," Ren said soothingly. "Breathe."

"Well," Makoto reasoned, "lack of information is still information."

"What do you mean?" Ryuji asked, sipping his soda.

"If he's this hard to find online, it means he's been using false identities. Fake names and such, and doing everything he can to make sure he's as hard to track down as possible. That's not easy to do, at all, and it has to mean that he at least has some resources at his disposal. Secondly, there must be a reason why he's trying to hide himself. Some aspect of his past that he doesn't want to catch up to him. Furthermore, why did he tell us his real name? And why did he have Sandā Arsenal use his real name? It doesn't make sense."

Futaba added, "His school records claim he's an orphan. They've scrubbed where he lived, but it seems to have been done later on. Seems he does have at least some level of influence."

Ren nodded. "And if we're correct and he did send that kidnapper after Kenzo, he probably has a good amount of influence in the underworld as well."

"Well it's not like he's a threat to us for now," Haru reasoned. "Yes, he does pose a danger due to his knowledge of Palaces and ability to work with Shadows, but if he shows his face again, all we need to do is make sure he doesn't get away again."

"And make sure we don't fall for any more of his traps," Ren remarked ruefully. "If only we'd been there for that fight…"

"Don't blame yourself, Ren," Sumire objected. "I only wish I had gotten there sooner, or noticed him before the fight was over. So him escaping is on me too."

Morgana cut in, "And besides, assigning blame doesn't help anyone. Haru's right. We should wait until we can find a new lead. Until then, we do what we've been doing. Keep the civilians safe from Shadows and if a new Shadow Nest appears, we-"

Mrow!

Morgana was suddenly cut off with a spluttering exclamation as Mia suddenly hopped onto his shoulder and started rubbing against his hair. "Ack! Who let her in here!?"

Futaba snickered. "What, like you could say no to that face?" She immediately snapped a picture.

"Hey!" he protested, but Futaba was already showing the picture to the other girls.

"Aww, look at his face!" Ann gushed, getting a beaming nod in return from Haru.

"And the way Mia rubs against him is absolutely darling!"

"Hey, Sumire," Futaba ventured, "would you say you're a dog person or a cat person?"

"Oh, um," the redhead stammered, caught slightly off-guard. "I guess I would have to say cat. It's close though."

Futaba snickered to herself. "Hehehe. I see, I see. We all know Ann's a cat person and Ryuji's a dog person, hope that's not a bad omen-"

"Whaddya mean by that!?" Ryuji demanded.

Futaba ignored him. "Haru, what about you?"

"Oh, I love all cute things!"

"Yusuke?"

The artist paused, his brow furrowed thoughtfully. "I would say the solitary nature of cats and the cooperative packs of dogs are both compelling to me."

"Makoto?"

"Pandas," Ren interjected before Makoto could answer.

"Ren!"

Ren hastily dodged Makoto's backhanded swipe and proceeded to flee across the room. "Oh no, you're not getting away from me!" Makoto chased after him, prompting the whole team to start laughing. Ren leapt over Makoto's head and scampered over to hide behind Sumire.

"Ah! Senpai!?"

"Protect me, please!" Ren said comically as Makoto tried to chase him around the younger girl. As he laid his hand on her shoulder from behind, she suddenly grabbed it and spun into a pirouette, spinning Ren right along with her and right into Makoto's arms, whereupon the other girl immediately had him in a headlock.

"Ack! I've been betrayed!"

"This place will be your grave!"

By the time Ren had wriggled free of Makoto's grasp, everyone, including them, was weak with laughter. Ren rubbed his throat, still grinning like a lunatic. "Damn, Mako. I don't think I've seen that side of you outside of combat in ages."

"Sorry, was that a bit too much?" she asked. "I may have gotten a little carried away…"

"It's great," Akane suddenly spoke up. "How close all of you are, I mean. I haven't really had a lot of close friends since before Mom died. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to be part of the group like this, it's just…"

"The age gap, perhaps?" Yusuke suggested, looking up from his sketchbook.

"That's a good part of it, yeah. But it's also that I'm the newest member around here. I haven't been through all the stuff all of you have, and… well, it's a little hard to feel like I'm more than just an add-on."

"It's okay, Akane," Sophia told her, stepping over and taking the youngest Thief's hand. "I felt a little like that when I first joined the Phantom Thieves too. But by the end of the summer, I was as much a part of the group as any of them. So maybe you just need time, and some adventures of your own. You've already helped with clearing out the Shadows from the subways with us."

"Exactly," Ren continued, stepping over himself. "We're not asking you to be like any of us. We can teach you some things, but ultimately, how you work and fight as a Persona-user is up to you. And as long as you're a member of the Phantom Thieves, you can be whatever kind of Phantom Thief you want."

"All you ask is that our identities remain a secret, right?"

Ren nodded. "Exactly."

Akane took a breath. "So, there was actually something I wanted to tell you all."

Ren cocked an eyebrow. "Go on."

"Well… yesterday, while I was out on patrol… I ran into a potential new Persona-user. Her name's Kiyoko Abe, and I recently had to save her from her Shadow."

Having a serious talk with one's parents is always nerve-wracking.

Doing it when they subtly disapprove of you having supernatural powers for fighting supernatural monsters?

Even more so.

That being said, the atmosphere of our living room was more anxious than nervous per se. I was worried that Mom and Dad would insist on something that would interfere with my duties as a Persona-user, and they were worried about me going off and getting myself killed.

Understandable.

Unfortunately, none of us really knew where to start. It had only been a minute or so, but it felt like hours that we'd been just sitting across from each other, saying nothing, wanting someone to start the conversation. Even my Mom, who had a pre-prepared question or speech for any scenario, was silent on how to begin.

I tried to break the ice.

"I'm not going-"

"I don't want-"

"Okay, let's all-"

All three of us tried to start at the same time. I let out a short laugh, making both of them crack smiles of their own. "Awkward."

Shizuko Okuda nodded. "Well, your father and I have been discussing how we feel about this whole… situation."

"I'm assuming not great."

Yoshito Okuda said, "Well, there's that. But there's also the fact that every Shadow you and your friends kill is another Shadow that can't harm someone else."

Mom continued, "And that's the main reason why we're not going to tell you to stop fighting the Shadows. As long as you have these… powers, you have the ability to fight back against those monsters, in a way that almost nobody else can. That and the fact that you're sixteen and capable of making your own decisions now outweighs our… apprehension towards you putting yourself in danger. That being said, you do have someone to teach you about Personas and Shadows?"

I nodded. "The Phantom Thieves have offered me training."

"And you don't ever plan on trying to do this alone?"

"Now that I have teammates, no. Big no."

"You promise that you'll heal yourself right away if you ever get hurt and never come home with massive injuries again?"

"I'll do everything I can to make sure of that."

"And if there's anything at all that we can do to help you, you'll tell us?"

I gave them a firm nod. "I'll have to ask Ren, but yes. Absolutely."

Mom sat back. "Alright. Then in that case, we have a deal."

Once again, Saraiah's voice resonated in my ear,

I am thou, thou art I...

Manifest hast been thine vow...

Reforge thy soul and seize thy future with thine own hands...

The birth of the Hierophant Arcana shall give thee the power to open thy wings to freedom...

Mom continued on as Saraiah's voice faded. "Just make sure you tell me when you're going out, where you're going, and when you plan to be back, so I don't have to worry about you constantly."

"Definitely don't want that," I agreed.

Mom took a deep breath. "Thank you, Kenzo. Also, while we're on the subject, how exactly does one get a Persona?"

"You look like you've been through the wringer, man," Shen was saying.

"Yeah, sorry," I told him. "I just had a long conversation with my parents, talking about Persona stuff. Didn't help that I didn't really have most of the answers they wanted."

"Should we keep tonight's patrol short then?" Arisu asked.

"Nah, I'm good. Fighting Shadows should help me clear my head. Let's see how much Spellstone we can stock up on tonight."

"Or if we can get you any new Personas?" Shen asked.

I shrugged. "You never know. I'm pretty sure what I've got is better than anything hanging out around here in Ginza, but one can hope, I guess."

"I'd be very concerned if anything we found tonight was strong enough to give your current Personas a run for their money," Arisu said.

"True," Shen said. "Still, I wonder if there are any Shadow Nests around for us to try and conquer. Could be a nice challenge."

"What is it with you and challenges?" Arisu asked. "Are you in a hurry or something?"

Shen laughed nervously. "Ah, you know. I just want to get stronger. Simple as-"

Boom!

Shen's speech halted at the distant noise. "What was that?"

"Sounded like an explosion," I said.

"Could have just been a particularly loud gunshot," Arisu reasoned.

"Either way, we should check it out," I told them. "There might be Shadows."

Shen's smile flashed through the twilight darkness. "Hunting time!"

Ryouto fled through the back alleyways. Cursing frantically in his head. He had no idea how he was still unharmed, especially after the contraption he'd been working on exploded. Well, not really unharmed, he thought, feeling the bruises along his left arm and side.

Ryouto dashed around the corner and stood for a moment, panting his lungs out and trying to regain some stamina. The howls of the Shadows chasing him echoed out of the alleyway. Every time he thought he'd found a safe place to hide, another one suddenly popped up. Even when he'd tried to hide in a dumpster, one had suddenly spawned in out of nowhere right next to him.

He really hoped no one had heard his shriek of terror.

So now here he was. Hiding behind a corner in a back alleyway, completely lost, with nothing but his phone and a trash can lid he'd grabbed somewhere along the way.

Some Persona-user I am, he thought bitterly.

He peeked around the corner for a second before immediately cowering back again. There was a Shadow right there, just around the corner, hunched over and hairy, masked and in tattered clothing, and having long, clawlike fingernails. His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he heard the cognitive creature sniff the air. Ryouto covered his mouth with one hand, trying in vain to quiet his breathing. He could hear the Shadow step closer. It paused to sniff the air again.

A long, clawed hand grasped the edge of the building he was hiding behind.

Ryouto held his breath.

The Shadow peered around the corner and looked right at him.

Ryouto's voice tried to cry out, but all that escaped his mouth from behind his hand was an undignified squeak as he tried to scramble backward. The Shadow shrieked and lashed out, slashing its claws against Ryouto's impromptu shield, carving large rents into the plastic lid. In desperation, Ryouto threw the ruined trash can lid at the Shadow, bouncing it off its mask. He fled as the Shadow shrieked at him again.

IneedaplacetohideIneedaplacetohideIneedaplacetohide-

He'd hit a dead end.

There was a snarl from behind him as the Shadow peered around the corner and started stalking towards him. Ryouto almost started laughing, he was so utterly terrified.

"Heh, heeey, big boy… Would you like a… bone? Or maybe some orphan tears? Y-you seem like an orphan tears kind of guy-"

The Shadow roared at him. Ryouto flinched again.

"Okay, not- not orphan tears, maybe… my s-"

He was cut off by a sudden crack of thunder and subsequent battle cries that over the last week or so, he'd become quite familiar with.

"Strike them down, Leigong!"

"You're up, Arisu!"

"Very well. Freeze them solid, Chione!"

The Shadow that had cornered him had turned to see what the commotion was, when all of a sudden the temperature dropped. Another Shadow that was hanging out outside the alleyway suddenly froze solid and was shattered by a swift sword strike from a Chinese-looking teenager Ryouto recognized. Ryouto didn't know whether he should be thankful or even more terrified as Okuda-senpai and Fukuda-senpai joined Yang-senpai and faced off with the Shadow that had cornered him.

"It's got a guy cornered!" Arisu called out.

"Alright, that'll make this a little more complicated," I told them as the Shadow let out a cry and dissolved into a trio of Greater Shadows: a shadowy Bicorn, a knee-high eyeless corpse with a hole in its head I recognized as a Tokoloshe, and a wailing female spirit that could only be a Banshee.

"I'll take the Bicorn?" Shen suggested. He knew it was weak to lightning.

"Yeah. And Arisu, you've got the stronger gun. You target the Banshee. Let's see if we can put down all of them at the same time and finish off with an All-Out Attack!"

"Roger that."

"Aye-aye!" Shen charged up an attack with Leigong and cast it at the Bicorn as it charged. Arisu leveled her rifle at the Banshee, downing it with the usual crack! The Tokoloshe sprinted at me, swinging its oversized, long-nailed arms, and I skipped back and slashed with my own claws. I remembered using Tokoloshe before, and if I was correct, it was weak to…

"Lamia, Magna!"

The female persona with the bottom half of a serpent whipped her tail against the ground, causing the pavement to erupt around the Tokoloshe, the spars of rock slamming into its corpse-body and knocking it sprawling next to the downed Bicorn and Banshee behind it. Arisu drew up alongside me, rifle at the ready, while Shen stood protectively in front of the boy cowering against the far wall of the alleyway, aiming with his slingshot at any Shadow who tried to move against either of them.

"Shooting fish in a barrel!" Shen crowed.

"Shall we finish this?" Arisu asked.

"No more holding back!" I yelled, and then the world blurred.

POWCRACKWHAMBAMPOWBONKPAFFCLONKWHAMSMASH

I skidded to a halt at the head of the alleyway on one knee, arms outstretched at my sides and angled towards the ground. Standing up, I brought up my claws above my head and slashed them back down to my side as all three Shadows broke apart into disintegrating piles of ash behind me.

"Done and dusted," I proclaimed.

"So that was all of them?" Arisu asked.

"Whew, that was exhilarating!" Shen laughed. "Man! I know we were going to see if we could find a Shadow Nest or something, but that was fun! Bonus, we even saved a guy! Speaking of, hey man. You alright?"

Shen stepped back, sheathed his sword, and held out his hand to the other boy. He was curled up almost in a fetal position against the back corner of the alleyway, eyeing Shen's hand with a look close to abject terror. I didn't recognize him, but he had dark brown hair and a large frame, though his face was still quite young, marking him as still being a teen. He stood up slowly with his back against the wall, revealing he was actually taller than any of us, by a good amount. Arisu squinted at his face.

"Hold on… where have I seen you before?"

The boy froze for a second. Before I could say anything or ask Arisu what she meant, he suddenly charged forward, making all three of us jump back, startled. He didn't even notice, and just barrelled right on, fleeing out of the alleyway as though he had a dozen more Shadows on his tail. By the time we'd regrouped and tried to call for him to stop, he was already long gone.

"Geez. What spooked him?" I wondered.

"Maybe he was scared of our powers?" Shen asked.

"No, I remember now," Arisu explained. "He goes to Shujin with us. A first year. I remember him because his height makes him stand out."

"To Shujin?" Shen asked.

"Then he definitely knows about us," I reasoned. "So, that Vane of Order we retrieved at the site of that explosion… who wants to bet he was the one trying to make a Catalyst with it?"

We all looked at each other.

"No bet." Arisu said, at the same time Shen answered, "Fifty yen?"