The four men sat around the table at a booth in an empty LeBlanc's, absorbed in deep thought. Their current number 1 enemy – LuckyLuciano17k – had them by the balls. Literally. 30 days of no masturbation for the young men least up to the challenge. They'd managed to scrape by so far and made it almost 2 days with their third legs intact, but not without a herculean effort from each to resist the urges that clawed at their crotches from within.

Ryuji had initially to hold off by forcing himself to pay attention in class the entire day. Unfortunately, all his teachers today just happened to have functional buttocks that he could stare at. When he, completely straight as far as he knew, caught himself feeling frisky looking at Mr. (Yes, Mister) Inui's flat old ass halfway through the day, he abandoned logic and decided to try and give himself brain damage by staring at a strobing phone screen till he couldn't think about anything anymore. When that didn't work and he woke up at the nurses office with a nosebleed, he decided to just draw angry doodles of Luciano in his notebook throughout the rest of the day in a desperate attempt to hype himself up for the eventual fight that would grant him freedom.

Yusuke's day was eventful in its own way. Thinking back on the horse-sex GIF Ryuji uploaded to the boys-only group chat (lovingly named 'Phantom Queefs: Big Beniz Boyzz resERECTion'), Chadusuke's role as the horse, and Yusuke's as the man underneath, the artist decided that perhaps a degree of respect must accompany his thoughts on bulbously-biceped man, who actually helped him achieve his goal of a date with Ayoto. Indeed at 4pm – but a few hours ago – Yusuke succeeded and spent a lovely couple of hours with the subject of his adoration. Unfortunately for him, his usual strategy of excusing himself to the bathroom every few minutes was rendered moot. Yusuke's balls were bluer than the navy shirt he wore to the date and more sore than an Olympic weightlifter's quadriceps. He had to nearly exhaust the group's supply of SP recovery medicine just to keep his sanity (and dick).

Morgana had accompanied Akira and Futaba to mementos earlier in the day to get some early scouting done. Their expedition was fruitful enough, but the agonizing 7 hours between the end of that and the beginning of this upcoming meeting were nothing short of torture for the little man. Normally, being a cat, Morgana barely ever had to worry about where he would 'charm the snake' so to speak, and the word 'when' never even crossed his mind on the matter. He would just get the deed done wherever and whenever he felt like, usually inside Akira's backpack much to its owner's disdain. But today, the bag which would normally be a haven for Morgana's degeneracy was a torture chamber. In despair he silently sat, praying he wouldn't spontaneously combust (or worse, ejaculate) in his desperate attempt to meditate through the afternoon, which was constantly interrupted by jolts from Akira's movements and noisy conversation from his classmates outside the bag.

Akira himself may have had it the easiest out of them all, but he wasn't exactly thriving either. He managed to avoid seeing Makoto the entire day, and by focusing all of his waking energy on his classwork and the mementos expedition this morning, he only got 12 random hard-ons today! Of course, Akira missed his frequent bathroom breaks and pilgrimages to the palace of pleasure, but he knew that the quicker they got rid of this Luciano guy, the quicker he and his men's lives would return to normal. That was able to carry him through the day.

LuckyLuciano17k. All they had to do was find a way to beat that guy within the 30 day time limit he'd set, and they would be released from this dry abstinent hell. They'd taken on odds that seemed insurmountable before, and the Phantom Thieves had always found a way to prevail. Surely with the 8 of them working together, this would go just like those times too, right? Except…

"The girls absolutely cannot know about No Nut November." Akira's voice echoed off the walls of the empty coffee shop. The three boys he shared the booth with nodded in unison.

It looked like their party could would be slashed in half. They were going to have to do this without help from the girls. Ironically quite fitting.

"It won't be long until our meeting is supposed to start." Akira checked his watch. 15 minutes. 10 knowing the girls' knack for punctuality. "Morgana and I will explain what we learned to everyone then. The thing you guys need to know right now is that at the end of that floor is a door that leads further into Luciano's domain. A barrier prevents entry for anyone who isn't participating in No Nut November."

"Wait, a door? Not like an escalator or anything?" Ryuji asked.

"That's right, a door."

"So Futaba wasn't able to go through that door, but you were." Morgana confirmed. Akira had not had time to tell him anything, either.

"Precisely." Akira lied.

"Wait, ain't that bad?" Ryuji asked.

"It is. Luckily for us, we can use our gender as an excuse and say that the barrier only allows MEN through."

"I see…" Yusuke thought out loud "as none of the women know of the challenge, this presents an opportunity to cover our bases. It is quite troubling to think that we will be without our most competent magic users and our navigator, but we are in little position to bargain… Very well, I will go along with this."

"Luciano's toying with us." Morgana snarled.

"And we are going to beat him at his own game." Akira leaned forward. "We are going to win. Even if the girls can't join us."

"Hell yeah!" Ryuji pumped his fist.

He didn't like to lie to his team. Akira believed that transparency with information was the best method to ensure good cooperation and communication between the Phantom Thieves. But between Futaba's explicit request not to be involved with any of the No Nut November nonsense, and the potential soul-crushing shame that would befall him and all the guys should the girls learn how desperate things truly were, Akira saw no better path forward than this.

Internally, he apologized to his brothers-in-hands and sisters-in-arms for withholding parts of the truth. Even if they didn't know the full story, holding up these lies were within everyone's best interest; Akira held on to that fact and pushed aside his doubts. If there's anything that his masturbatory habits had taught him, it's that you're never going to find the perfect video or image. But that doesn't have to stop you from achieving your goals…

"The girls in our group, namely Futaba and Makoto, are quite sharp. I am confident they will ask a litany of difficult questions." Yusuke said.

As if on queue, Akira saw four familiar silhouettes approaching the shop through the stained glass windows. The boys were out of time.

"Just leave that to me." Akira responded. "They're here. Put your game faces on and don't say anything stupid or suspicious."

Makoto always made it a point to arrive at least 5 minutes early to wherever she went. It was something an old middle school professor of hers made a point of ingraining into his students' heads, and while most of the others abandoned the practice soon after his lessons were over, it was a habit Makoto had grown fond of.

It was also something she asked of the other members of the Phantom Thieves when gathering for important meetings. With such a varied mix of extroverts and introverts in their group, she found that those extra 5 minutes between arrival and serious discussion helped everyone settle in and adjust to each other's wavelengths in a more relaxed environment, even if someone usually complained when she purposefully gave the regular slackers a meeting time that was just a bit ahead of schedule.

In the back of her mind, Makoto wondered if she was being too uptight about it. Thinking through it logically, it only made sense to enforce strict rules for the Phantom Thieves; they weren't exactly playing around in the Metaverse, they had responsibilities and duties to fulfill while they wore their masks and changed people's hearts.

But still, Makoto was human, and humans are not without their emotions. Every sigh that Ryuji let out when he realized he had come early 'for no reason', and every time Futaba complained about not being able to save her game in time? It chipped away at her, just the tiniest bit.

Today was not one of those days she'd need to worry about this, as Akira, their leader, had decided the meetup time for this yesterday, and given everyone plenty of time to arrive at their own pace. They knew the consequences of being late, and when Joker was serious, the penalty for carelessness was never forgiving.

It was completely coincidental that the girls had all bumped into one another on the way here, but it was a welcome surprise. As the four of them gossiped and chatted idly on their way to Café LeBlanc's, Makoto could feel all her stress from the school day's busy itinerary and obnoxious characters slowly melt away, giving way to a giddy excitement that would make a kid in a toy store look like a disciplined young man. In a few moments, she wouldn't be Makoto Niijima: the teacher's pet anymore, she'd be Makoto Niijima: the Phantom Thief, Queen, an exacter of justice and her true self.

She knew her role as second-in-command and status as eldest member meant she had to conduct herself with dignity when the Phantom Thieves were dealing with serious business, but Makoto couldn't help but let her face soften and lips curl into the faintest smile when she saw the boys already waiting for them at LeBlanc through the faded windows, huddled around one of the tables. Maybe Makoto was projecting, but when the girls walked through the door and into the soothing smell of the coffee shop, it felt like everyone's shoulders relaxed just a bit.

"Hey everyone!" Ann greeted them enthusiastically as the four girls piled in and joined the boys on the table.

"Ladies! Always an honor to have my day brightened by your radiant smiles" Morgana hopped up onto the table from the couch next to Akira and bowed at them. Cute.

"Hellooo Mona-chan~~!" Haru scratched behind his ears as she plopped herself down on the seat next to Akira. Ann sat next to her.

Truthfully, Makoto was still a bit angry at Haru for making up that ridiculous lie to hide her crush on Akira, but she supposed she was being petty. They'd already agreed that this topic wouldn't distract them anymore and Haru promised to clear things up with everyone soon; Makoto should just drop it and focus on the upcoming exploration. Besides, Haru can like whoever she wants, and its not like Makoto has a crush on Akira or anything that would warrant anything further.

So why did Makoto tense up a little when she saw Haru rush to Akira's side on the seat? Did she just want to pet Morgana, was that just an excuse to be near him? Questions she would never have asked herself threatened to come to the forefront of Makoto's mind. She didn't even realize she was asking herself these questions, her superego and subconscious doing all the heavy lifting before the girl would even become aware of anything brewing in her mind and heart.

"'Sup guys." Ryuji greeted them casually, sliding further down the couch so Yusuke could give Futaba room to sit next to him.

"G-good to see you, how are you all doing?" Makoto grabbed a stool from the bar and brought it over to the table.

"All good here." Akira nodded softly. "Thank you all for coming today."

"And thank YOU for not being late this time, guys!" Ann teased.

"I have already explained myself. When the muse calls for me, I as an artist have no choice but to listen!" Yusuke protested.

"More like the mule!" Futaba brought her knees up to her chest and squatted on the booth's sofa-chair "Inari, you and the other boys can be such slowpokes sometimes. You're never gonna get girlfriends like that!"

"Hahaha! Youre right, Futaba," Haru giggled "Sometimes it does feel like they're using donkeys to get around!"

"Okay, well we're here now, so take that! From where we're sitting, its you who are all late!" Ryuji crossed his arms and tilted his chin up to the ceiling in hyperbolic grandeur.

Then, as quickly as that strange feeling had welled up in Makoto's throat when Haru sat down next to Akira, it was gone. Replaced with pure glee and joy.

This.

It felt like a dream, one that Makoto could live in forever. They didn't judge her here. They didn't objectify her, they didn't insult her, demand anything of her, nothing. Here, her friends just accepted her for her, and their alter egos the Phantom Thieves did the same.

"Okay." Akira cleared his throat. "We have important matters to discuss today. Futaba?"

"Right!" the redhead hopped off her squat and sat normally to pull her laptop out of her bag. "Akira, Morgana and I went to that weird mementos floor this morning, and we got some good info about the place and what kind of enemies we can expect to find there."

"The main hostile entity in that floor is a being called 'LuckyLuciano17k'." Futaba continued.

"He is insanely strong. Like, 'OHKO'ed the reaper right in front of us' strong. But he's probably not a normal shadow, because none of our usual Metaverse attacks seem to work on him, which checks out, since there weren't any shadows on that floor this time either."

"He one-shotted the reaper? He did that and let you live!?" Ann's mouth gaped open.

"Not just one-shotted, killed." Akira sighed. "Cleaved him in half with the swing of an arm…"

"That's…" Makoto was speechless.

"Goodness…" Haru looked down at the table, eyes wide.

Everyone gulped, this was no ordinary opponent.

"We gotta take him down…" Ryuji said.

"He looks and behaves too much like a normal person and he seems intelligent and capable of speech." Futaba continued.

"And the weirdest part is, his real life counterpart…" Futaba rotated her screen to show to the others. "Is just an internet meme."

…

"A-a meme?" Ann raised an eyebrow "Like… the pictures you find on Twitter and stuff?"

Futaba nodded, responding to Ann's incredulity with an exasperated curl of the lips.

"This American guy is him?" Haru asked.

"They look the same, at least. Apparently this meme really took off in the west a few months ago. I tried reaching out to the guy in the original picture but he hasn't responded."

"You said he's capable of speech?" Makoto asked. "What did he say?"

"Uah-Umm." Futaba scratched her cheek, not ready for a question so straight-to-the-point. "He said that-"

"He said that he'll be waiting for us at the bottom of his dungeon." Akira spoke up. "We have until November 30th to defeat him."

"So is it like a palace?" Haru put morgana down on the table to ask. "With a treasure and everything?

"Possibly." Futaba typed away on the little keyboard. "But this guy isn't really relevant in any important circles or industries as far as my research says. As far as I gather, he's just some guy who happened to post a picture of himself that gained a bit of traction online. I also wasn't able to detect anything resembling a treasure anywhere in that whole area…"

"We were able to contact Jose, too." Morgana joined in. "Apparently, sometimes, events or people in the real world make such an impact to daily human collective thought that their manifestations appear in the Metaverse. Usually its harmless, like snow and Christmas trees showing up in mementos during the holidays, or it being hot in the dungeons during the summer. But sometimes it'll be dangerous, like shadows getting more aggressive during tragedies, or corrupted phantoms of deceased soldiers appearing during times of war."

"But Jose can always tell if this sort of stuff is happening in mementos, according to him his track record is flawless." Morgana paused. "What was weird is that he had no idea what we were talking about when we asked him, he didn't even believe me when I explained it all to him, thought I was playing a joke on him."

"If not even Jose knows what's up with him…" Ryuji scratched his head. "…Man."

"The floors are self contained. We tested it, and you can skip it entirely by just taking the right escalator down instead of the left one when on an adjacent floor." Akira said.

"Wait, did you say floors?" Makoto asked.

Akira nodded. "At the very end of that maze is a passageway to another level of 'Luciano's Domain,' if you want to call it that. Futaba and I were able to see it ourselves."

"How far down does it go?" Haru tilted her head.

"We don't know." The redhead closed her laptop. "There's a barrier that didn't let me pass. It doesn't let girls go any further."

"Wha-just girls?" Ann asked.

"If I had to guess, it's because internet culture and memes tend to be more male-biased. If this Luciano thing really is just a meme that got these insane powers, then that might explain it." Even Futaba herself was impressed at the soundness of that logic, false or not.

"Huh… Makes sense, I guess."

"If this Luciano is truly strong enough to slay the reaper and command entire sections of Mementos, there can be no guarantee that there exist upper limits to his power." Yusuke scratched his chin.

"We need to get rid of this guy somehow." Ryuji said.

"Agreed. It might only be a matter of time before he finds his way out of his little hole and starts wreaking havoc on the rest of mementos. Who knows how society will be affected if he manages to influence the hearts of the public through the shadows…" Morgana curled his tail around his legs nervously.

"Tomorrow after school, we will go to Luciano's Domain to explore the area behind that door. The girls can stay behind and stay on lookout in case Luciano himself appears. Any questions?"

"I don't want to bring the mood down for you guys, but this Luciano guy sounds kind of invincible…" Ann fidgeted with her hair restlessly. "How can we be so sure we're even gonna be able to put a scratch on him, let alone kill him? Our attacks literally won't work on him."

"There are other memes down there that can hurt him." Akira answered. "I can absorb them like personas and command them to take him out."

"That's relieving news, but are the rest of us supposed to just stay on the top floor? What if Luciano comes up and we can't fight back!? We can't use multiple personas or 'memes' to defend ourselves." Haru squeezed Morgana in worry.

"If our demise was Luciano's goal, he could easily have dispatched us all by now. This is all a sick game to him." Yusuke said.

"Yeah, remember how the reaper didn't go for us last time we all went down there? Luciano doesn't want to kill us." Ryuji joined in.

"He even saved us from the reaper today…" Futaba got back into her squat and buried her face in her knees with a shudder. Yusuke rubber her back to comfort her.

"Then what exactly does he want?" Ann leaned forwards. "He's driving a wedge through our group with all these rules and cutting our numbers in half, it's obviously a trap!"

Akira gulped, but didn't say anything.

"And what if you get hurt? We can't cross that barrier to heal or back you up if something bad happens!" Ann added.

"these are all just risks we have to take." Akira sighed.

"I don't like this, Akira." Ann crossed her arms. "It's too dangerous."

"Akira…" Makoto began.

Something wasn't right. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something felt wrong… The way Akira, Futaba, and Morgana seem to already know about this makes sense, they were there this morning after all. But then why were Yusuke and Ryuji so composed? And they were here early? They're never early!

The boys all seem so calm in the face of this almost cosmically powerful enemy. They're the only ones that can go past that barrier, and they met up at LeBlanc's early. The way they talk about it makes it seem like they already something know about Luciano and his powers, but according to Akira, Futaba, and Morgana, this morning should have been the first time they encountered Luciano. Call it a hunch, but Makoto just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Makoto looked into Akira's eyes for a long second, debating if she wanted to bring it up at all. His expression was that same stoic determination as always. Makoto wasn't able to read it.

"…?" Akira wordlessly waited for her question.

"Hmm…" she sat back down on the stool "It's nothing, sorry."

"Alright. Ann, you're not wrong, it's risky. But we have to do something, this is a type of threat we've never encountered before. Tomorrow let's go to that floor and see how dangerous it'll be. We'll split up at the door and keep in touch through Futaba."

"Well… Okay, fine…" Ann sighed, at the end of the day, it was Akira who made the calls on this sort of thing.

But Makoto couldn't peel her eyes off Akira as he answered the girls' questions, she didn't even care that Haru was giving her a filthy side-eye the entire time Makoto stared. Something was very wrong, crucial bits of information were being withheld.

The boys were hiding something.

A/N:

Hello again friends, chapter 8 is complete! Hope you enjoyed! I had a real rough time writing this one, I started over from scratch 3 times because I didn't like how it flowed. Truthfully, I'm still not 100% satisfied with this one, but it was my best go and I feel it gets across all the important stuff at least. The next chapter will mark day 3 of NNN, should lead to some fun times!

By the way, feel free to give feedback on how you like the writing so far! Like I said earlier, I've never written anything and don't really read all that many books, but I've been having fun cracking these chapters out so far. If you guys wanna tell me I suck or give suggestions, I'm happy to take them to heart! What should I add more of? More horny-boys moments? More character over-analysis? More absurdity? More love triangle shenanigans? I'm all ears. For now though, see you all next time!