Morgana pulled out his tools out of the lock and walked up to Sumire's door. "You guys go ahead and grab him, I'll open the last door in the meantime."

"So," Ann explained for Yusuke, "apparently those things show the prisoners-"

"They can be opened from the inside and left at will!"

"-their biggest regrets," she finished, putting her hand on the doorknob. "I'm eighty percent sure there's a dead Joker behind that door."

"I wouldn't be so certain," Yusuke replied. "He seems to regret a lot of things."

The blonde opened the door. To her mild surprise, the other side was a bit spacier than the interrogation room, and resembled a dead end in one of the lower levels of Mementos. In the far end, stood Goro, back turned to her, wearing that black-and-purple getup she hoped to never see again. He held a baseball bat by his side, in his limp left arm.

"Crow?" Ann called out to him.

"You are another element of Maruki's psychological torture, I assume." His voice was just barely audible, and facing away from the others didn't help.

"She is not," Yusuke said, loudly. "An ally has explained the situation to Mona and Panther and they were able to catch up with us."

"Hold the door, Fox," she muttered. "I'm walking up to you now," the blonde announced, trying to sound non-confrontational. She took careful steps, not too loud, but not quiet either; aiming for a stride of someone that has nothing to hide. As she got closer, she realized a few things she missed at first glance. Goro, for some inexplicable reason, lost a few centimeters of height. The cape on his back was in a much better state than when they had fought in the engine room. There was something shaped like a corpse at his feet… I probably should've opened with that.

She stood by his side, palms intertwined in front of her. Not even that feature-hiding mask of his could cover up that thousand-yard stare of his. For some reason, there was a faint smell of vomit coming from him.

"I might as well ask:" she said, "is there a reason why that corpse looks like Wakaba?"

"The father couldn't be arsed, the mother died prematurely, the kid got passed from one foster home to another," he replied. "I've put Futaba through the same shit I went through in the name of…" He turned to her, glancing at some hypothetical point behind her. "…of what, exactly? Not even vengeance, we've already established I wouldn't keep going for that long if it was about vengeance. I did it because I could, for the sadomasochistic satisfaction from surviving Mementos."

"I see." Pause. "Truth be told, I expected your attempt at Jokercide to be your biggest regret."

"I didn't succeed, so it's merely a close second."

"If I am allowed…" Maruki started.

"You aren't," Ann and Goro went in unison.

A sigh. "I just wanted to point out that I can bring them ba-"

"No, you cannot," the detective interrupted him, annoyed enough to break out of his stupor. "You can spawn puppets that look like them, and maybe dig through everyone's memories to make them act natural enough, but you can also turn them into dust as punishment when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed."

Groan. "Again with the slippery slope argument."

"To be fair," Ann said, "we're talking to you from a personalized hell you prepared for Cr-" Realization creeped up on her face. "What are you currently showing Yoshizawa?"

The pause wasn't reassuring. "…it's a personal matter."

"Alright then," Goro rested the bat on his shoulder, "angst hour over, I have a teammate to rescue."

"We have a teammate to rescue," Ann corrected.

"So you're on my side?"

"I am on the side that doesn't force people to relive the lowest moments of their lives."

"Reassuring. Welcome back, Panther." The two turned around and marched towards the exit, which Yusuke kept holding open. "Fox mentioned a personal tragedy, but refused to elaborate. I assume you expect to find a reenactment of it in Green's cell."

"Yes, and I really want to be wrong." The blonde noted Yoshizawa's nom-de-guerre for the future. "Did he mention she had gone to Maruki for psychological help?"

"He did not."

"In my defense," the artist said, "it didn't seem important at the time."

Ann and Goro exited the latter's chamber, and the detective returned to his modern form; height, costume and all. The baseball bat on his shoulder turned to a mahogany cane. He turned to the bishounen. "Hey, Mona. You're staying a human for now, I see."

"Have you tried picking locks with no hands?" he muttered. "'Cause I did, and it's hard. Sorry it's taking so long, I must have worn off the tool when opening Crow's door."

"Back in November, I bought a set of lockpicks online on a," the detective ahemed, "an envy-fueled whim. They seemed sturdy enough to be worth recommending."

"Sounds better than sticking to the self-made single-use- there!" He unlocked the door and opened it. Inside was… nothing.

Okay, that's not quite accurate. The room was a rather small cube, three by three by two meters. Its walls, ceiling and floor were covered in uniform white tiles. In the middle of it knelt Sumire, dressed in her PT garb, her head low. She was sobbing, and tears were flowing down her face.

"See?" Maruki said, his tone betraying that he knew he had crossed a line. "Nothing wro-"

"Shut your mouth," Ann snarled, then walked up to the gymnast. "Hey. I'm Ann Ta-"

"Codenames!" the detective protested.

"They're too impersonal for this situation, and the Palace ruler already knows who we are."

"Fair." He got in the room and pulled out the Nagant. "I'll stick by you just in case, okay?"

"Yes, thank you." She turned back to the gymnast. "Anyway, I'm Ann Takamaki. You might recall me from Shujin, I was in class with Akira."

"She's a friend," Goro reassured her. "Jo-Akira would've vouched for her."

The blonde smiled. "I'm here to get you out of this place."

"It's my fault…" Sumire whispered.

"It isn't," Ann replied. "I know what happened, I've seen the tapes-"

"It's my fault…" she repeated. "I killed her… I killed Kasumi…"

For a split second, shock flashed on the blonde's face, before being replaced by anger. Even though she saw it coming, a part of her still expected Maruki to not stoop that low. He was a professional. He had helped Yoshizawa in the past. He was fully aware of what she had gone through. And in spite of that, he actually threw it back in her face for a 'counterargument'. Tormenting Goro would've been justifiable depending on who you asked - Goro himself, for example - but doing that to a harmless newbie was inexcusable.

"Um," the detective said, "what is happening?"

"What is happening?" Ann repeated. "Maruki's a fucking bastard, that's what's happening!"

"If-if you just-"

"No!" she interrupted the therapist. "Not a single goddamn word from you, I can't believe you did this!" She turned to Goro, "You, grab Yoshizawa," and to Morgana, "you, deploy the Goho-M."

The detective swept the gymnast up from the ground and held her in his arms, the bishounen threw something against the floor, and the five Thieves disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

When the group left the Metaverse, Goro was still holding Sumire in his arms. "Will you stay upright if I put you down?" he asked.

"I can't believe you three just walked into a trap like that." Morgana clapped his hands mockingly a few times. "Great job, leader."

"Fuck off, furball," he barked. "I was against the idea but she insisted that maybe Maruki could be talked down." The gymnast sobbed a bit in response, and his first instinct was to gently rock her in his arm like a newborn. "There, there. Mistakes happen, don't listen to that catty jerk."

Ann rolled her eyes. "Gently put her down, Goro."

He did as ordered, and the model offered Sumire a tissue. "I'm-I'm sorry, everyone. I blew it," she said, then blew her nose.

"To your credit," Ann replied, "I would probably try to talk him down as well. He seemed more reasonable back when he worked at Shujin."

"Appearances can be deceiving. Case in point," the detective pointed at himself with his thumb.

"Yeah, that's the thing: even before the betrayal you were kind of a smug prick," the blonde pointed out. "If Maruki showed some red flags, I must have missed them."

"Debating over the past is a waste of time when we have the present to deal with," Yusuke pointed out.

"The past can influence the present in meaningful ways. Or, to phrase it less pretentiously:" Goro turned to Sumire. "What was that thing about killing your sister?"

The gymnast gasped.

"It was an accident she blames herself for," Ann firmly butted in.

"I don't expect that she had shot her point-blank with an edgy one-liner or something," the detective showed his palms in a defensive gesture. "I just want to know a broad outline of what happened so I won't get taken aback by a dramatic reveal, and won't accidentally pour salt on unmended wounds in the future."

A pause followed. Ann, Yusuke and Morgana observed the gymnast carefully, unsure if they should step in and tell the detective to not pry further. "Last year…" she finally muttered, head low, "I argued with Kasumi… didn't watch where I was going…" Longer pause. "...and ran into traffic. She pushed me out of the way of a speeding car…"

"...and I can guess how it went from there," Goro muttered. "It was something beyond your control, it would be unfair to blame you for it."

"That… didn't sound convincing at the time," she replied. It still doesn't, she added to herself. "But that's not the end of the story."

"Oh?"

"I… was in a bad shape," she went on. "Multiple therapists were unable to help me move on, and I found myself daydreaming about just… running into the traffic again and hoping nobody would save me this time. I should have died and she should have lived. And with that mindset… I ended up at Maruki-san."

"I'll take over from there," Ann butted in. "I don't know the exact details, but Maruki has the ability to alter the cognition of an individual - like what he's doing now, but on a much smaller scale."

"Yeah, that's what I meant by dramatic reveals," Goro reacted. "Please, go on."

"Since she was convinced that Kasumi should have lived instead of her, he made Yoshizawa think she was her sister." Noticing the detective's scowl, she added, "Yes, it sounds creepy as hell, but at the time," she stressed, "it was the best solution."

"I was a wreck of a human being, Goro-san," Sumire continued. "It was not a choice between living as Sumire or living as Kasumi, it was a choice between living as Kasumi or not living at all."

From what he had witnessed of Shadow Sumire, it was an accurate assessment. "I understand."

"Once we were made aware of the situation in November," Yusuke added, "Akira argued with Maruki about it and recommended stealing her heart as a better solution - and you can guess the rest."

"Again," Goro gave Sumire a look that he hoped was reassuring, "it was not your fault. Kasumi has made a decision to throw herself under that car and save-" Realization smacked him in the back of the head. "Oh dear fucking God I've already poured salt on that wound. Back on Monday, right after your awakening."

Sumire dared to look back. "Well, I've slit your throat for that so it kinda evens out."

"Excuse me she did what?" Morgana blurted out.

"If I can suggest something:" Yusuke butted in, "I know a secluded ramen shop, I took Goro and Yoshizawa there yesterday. Let us go there and discuss what happened to us up to this point, and maybe focus on less painful memories."

Everyone nodded and murmured in agreement, and so the group marched towards the nearest train station. The detective glanced at Sumire. "I am going to pay for your order, as an apology."

"It's not necessary, Goro-san."

"Then I proclaim it's an official Phantom Thieves lunch and pay for everyone."

"Yeah, that reminds me," the bishounen said, "why on earth are you in charge?"

"I had more experience than Yoshizawa and Yusuke didn't contest my leadership when rejoining," he replied. "Of course if Ann wants to take charge from here on out, I won't complain."

"Honestly," Ann joined the conversation, "at this point we all have the same goal and the duties just kinda… divided themselves, and none of us have enough pull or charisma to overrule everyone else. I don't think we need a leader for now."

"Yes, at this point the only use for that title would be boosting the holder's fragile ego." The detective grinned. "Congratulations, Morgana, you're the leader now."

He hissed angrily in response.

"Yoshizawa?" Ann spoke up. "Everyone's almost done and you didn't even touch your food."

"Worry not," Goro barely suppressed a giggle, "I can use my time manipulation powers and return to a moment where it was warm."

Morgana crossed his arms in a huff. "'We confided in a therapist and he can now alter reality' sounds just as ridiculous and yet here we are."

The gymnast stirred the contents of her bowl with a pair of chopsticks. "I'm still annoyed with myself after today, Takamaki-senpai."

The blonde smiled. "'Ann' is fine. And seriously, don't worry about what happened. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and all that."

"We needed to pull out of Maruki-san's Palace and achieved nothing today."

"I believe we still have almost four weeks to deal with it, correct?" Yusuke asked.

"Exactly," Goro replied. "Really, if that was something to lose sleep over, I wouldn't deserve to- ow!" Goro was interrupted by Morgana grabbing his free arm by the wrist and biting down on his hand. "I wouldn't deserve to close my eyes for the rest of my life."

Sumire looked at him with a pained expression. "Morgana-senpai biting your hand is another inside joke, correct?"

The bishounen let go of the detective's hand to answer "Yep. Also, it feels weird when you senpai me. Call me 'Morgana', or 'Mona'."

Ann watched as the gymnast finally put a single noodle in her mouth and awkwardly slurped it up. She could tell that Sumire felt out of place - whether because she was a newcomer to their circle of outcasts, or because she didn't feel powerful enough to keep up with the rest. "As we said, we seem to have ample time to deal with Maruki. We could take tomorrow off, do some team bonding."

Sumire visibly tersed up. "Are you taking pity on me?"

"It's more that I know how it feels to feel powerless, pushed around by people higher on the food chain," she replied, trying to appear serious. "All of us do, in one way or another. But once you have a means to fight back and people to lean on in hard times, that feeling goes away." Her smile widened. "And you have both of those things now. Am I right, guys?"

The boys all muttered some vague noises of agreement. Morgana gave her a thumbs up.

"I…" Sumire continued avoiding everyone's gazes. "I'm not sure what we could possibly do together."

"If I can make a suggestion:" Yusuke said, putting away an empty bowl, "there is a club in Kichijoji, Sniper, that we occasionally frequented as a group. It has dartboards and billiard tables at affordable prices."

"Money is of no concern," Goro added. "Mementos Shadows drop a lot of cash."

"So," Ann asked, "how does a day of pool, darts and overpriced snacks sound?"

After a pause, the gymnast smiled. "Fun, I guess."

"It's set then," the blonde smiled back. "We'll meet tomorrow at noon by the entrance to the club."

annT: I didnt want to weird yoshizawa out
annT: she already feels like a third wheel
annT: but I gotta ask
annT: what was the edgy one-liner u had for akira
ak56: "Case closed, this is how your justice ends."
annT: lol
annT: 2edgy4me
annT: u spent a whole day coming up with that didnt u
ak56: ...promise not to tell anyone?
annT: my lips are sealed
ak56: Three days, actually.
annT: xd

Evening

"You've been really quiet after they left," Morgana remarked as he and Goro exited the Yongen-Jaya station and marched towards Leblanc.

"It's nothing," he muttered, staring intently at his shoes.

"It's something you don't want to admit to maintain the image of an unflappable edgy anti-villain, isn't it?" he retorted.

"Focus on maintaining your image, catboy." He motioned at the bishounen to stop just far enough from the entrance to not be visible from the inside, took a breath to calm himself down, and put on a harmless smile. "Alright, let's do this." He walked into the building, dreading whatever was waiting for him inside. "Good eveni-"

"Morgana Sakura."

"-ng, Wakaba."

The researcher was sitting on a chair by the counter, holding a coffee cup in her hand, staring at the boy behind the detective with a disappointed frown. Sojiro stood on the other side, conveying as much disapproval as his wife with nothing but his pointed stare. Futaba was sitting in a booth just next to the stairs to the attic with a gremlin grin on her face, looking forward to a distant family member getting dressed down.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?" she said, just barely raising her voice. "You didn't come home for over twenty four hours and didn't return our calls."

"I'm sorry," Morgana patted himself down. "I-I lost my phone somewhere."

"Couldn't you have borrowed one from someone?"

"I-I-I don't remember anyone's phone numbers."

"Where were you, by the way?" Sojiro joined the conversation.

"Um…" Put at the spot, he went for the very first thing that came to his mind. "At my girlfriend's house?"

Goro just barely stopped himself from laughing out loud.

"Really?" The barista seemed interested. "Did we meet her before? What does she look like?"

"Like an angel."

"Long blonde pigtails, blue eyes, looks a bit… foreign, overall." the detective butted in. "Mona introduced me to her today, she seemed nice."

"Back on topic," Wakaba wasn't mollified, "I won't prevent you from spending nights out of the house, but I expect some sort of notice, so I don't lose sleep worrying about you. Memorize our phone numbers or keep them written somewhere if you must. Understood?"

Morgana nodded feverishly. "Yes, yes. Again, I'm sorry for that."

Sojiro chuckled. "Ladies finally began to take interest in our boys, apparently," he remarked to nobody in particular. "A few days back, a girl wanted to leave her phone number for Goro."

Too many reveals for one day, the detective thought to himself. "F-for me?"

"Well, to quote, 'to that cute brown-haired boy in a suit and gloves'," the barista elaborated.

"You…" Act casual, act casual, act casual. "You didn't happen to hold on to it, did you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you mention you're ace?"

"He's still young, and discovering himself," Wakaba said, then glanced at Goro. "I don't mean to devalue your current identity, of course, I'm just saying that humans are bags of meat that tricked themselves into cognizance. They can change over time."

"It's moot anyway," Sojiro shrugged. "I threw it away 'cause I wrongly assumed you wouldn't be interested."

"Well, dang it." The detective decided to not draw any more attention to himself that evening. He slowly walked towards the stairs to the attic. "I'm tired and I ate something on my way home, I'm gonna go to sleep early."

"Is everything alright, Goro?"

Of all the present people in the room, of course it was the dead woman walking that had to ask. "Yes, it is," he stopped, but didn't turn around. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"You seem on edge for some reason," Wakaba elaborated. "You know that you can be open with me if something bothers you, right?"

Foolish woman, he thought. "I know, I know," he said. "Goodnight, everyone."

He all but ran to the attic, then slumped down on the couch and closed his eyes to stew in his thoughts a bit more. Goddamn Maruki and his goddamn fake reality. He had respected him more when he attacked him with that goddamn tentacle as opposed to this indirect guilt-tripping bullshit.

He felt something near his temple and recoiled, guard raised. Morgana somehow managed to sneak up on him and had a hand reaching out to him.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he snarled.

"If I was as upset as you are, I would want to be scratched behind the ear," Morgana shrugged.

"Please don't touch me."

"Yeah, sorry." The bishounen inched away and sat on the bed in the corner, out of ideas for how to lift the detective's spirits.

After a period of uncomfortable silence, Goro muttered. "And I'm sorry for not warning you about Wakaba being worried."

"It's fine. You had a rough day," Mona waved him off. "If the couch isn't comfy enough for you, I could change back to a cat and we could share this bed. Or hell, I could sleep on the couch."

"I'm already all but living Akira's life, sleeping in his bed is a bridge too far," he replied, to the disappointment of all the shippers in the audience. "Not to mention, I like this couch. Also, I'm not going to sleep yet, just waiting for the Sakuras to go home."

"Why?"

"You know it might have been just a coincidence," Morgana remarked. "Some random girl might have thought you're cute."

"I want to know that for certain," Goro replied, rooting through the garbage bags prepared for collection.

Among the used coffee grounds, by miracle of narrative convenience, there it was, a moist stained piece of paper. He brought it out to the light and inspected it. It was still legible, the handwriting was familiar. He had even seen that hand write things in his notebook a few weeks prior. Ten digits, and next to it, in lieu of a first or last name, a signature:

Noir.