Chapter 10: Your Fight's With Me

Now that the excitement that resulted from Kaneshiro's Palace had died out, it was back to business as usual for Ren and the rest of the Phantom Thieves. Namely, pretending to be normal students. With how much stronger the Meta-Nav said the enemies in Sae's Palace were, Ren decided to devote more time to physical training. Not only did he spend time training with Ryuji and Kasumi, but he also frequented the Protein Lovers gym at night. They offered Wing Chun classes in the evenings, and Ren decided to take advantage of the opportunity to expand his repertoire.

Also, having learned about Makoto's expertise with Akido, the idea of sparring with her and ending up in a compromising position -through no fault of his own, surely- was more than enough reason to pursue it.

Ren ended up being shocked out of the daily routine by being called to the Student Council room by Makoto. This invariably ended badly. He let out the breath he was perfectly aware that he was holding and walked in.

Makoto was sitting at the table looking at some notes. Ren noted that she had started to wear her leather jacket with her school uniform. Well, he wasn't going to complain about that. And if the teachers didn't care enough to bust Ryuji for playing fast and loose with the dress code, they certainly weren't going to bother Makoto. With her so engrossed in whatever she was doing he tried to sneak up on her to hug her from behind. He took a single step when disaster struck.

"You know I heard you come in, right, Ren?" Makoto said with a half-smile.

Ren slumped over in defeat before taking a seat next to her. "Woe is me, for I am but a man starved of affection, and have been denied my chance for a sneak attack hug."

"You dork." She shook her head. "I need your help. Again. It should be relatively minor, but it will require us to venture into some dangerous territory."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "What kind of dangerous territory?"

"We've gotten reports that a certain Shujin student has taken up a part time job... in Shinjuku."

Ren sat up straight. "We just can't stay away from sex trafficking, can we?" He grumbled. "What's that say about us?"

"That we care about rooting out injustice, no matter how heinous." Makoto said. "There's no proof of that yet, though. We do know that the student -whose name is Eiko Takao- is working at an establishment called the Afterschool salon." Makoto rolled her eyes. "I did some research on it, it's basically a glorified maid café with the caveat that flirting with the workers is encouraged."

"Sounds like the perfect place for those looking for girls to lure into... anything, really." Ren mused. "What's the play?"

"For a moment, I considered asking you to go in undercover. However, the thought of other girls flirting with you nearly sent me into a violent rage." Makoto said nonchalantly. "She should be here momentarily."

"How'd we get this info do begin with?" Ren asked.

"She was bragging about her job. The tip came from a worried friend." Makoto said.

Approximately three minutes later, Eiko came in. She rolled her eyes before sitting in a chair across the table from Ren and Makoto. She then made her annoyance clear by leaning back and putting her feet on the table. "This gonna take long, Prez? I have to get to work." She glanced at Ren, "And why is your pet delinquent here?"

"Wait, that's what you see me as?" Ren snarked, "Should I be expecting you to get me a leash?"

Makoto blushed fiercely but held her ground. "That depends, how invested are you in me calling you a good boy?" It was now Ren's turn to blush.

"Wait!" Eiko said, "Are you two dating?"

"Yes." Makoto said. She cleared her throat and attempted to redirect. "Takao-san, have you made any significant lifestyle changes recently?"

Eiko groaned, "Yeah, I got a part-time job. What of it?"

Ren leaned forward, "Last I checked, high school students getting jobs in Shinjuku was pretty irregular."

Eiko shrugged. "It's not like any of the creeps get a chance to try anything funny. There's security at the place I work. Besides, my boyfriend keeps the worst jerks away."

Ren and Makoto looked at each other. This stunk to high heaven. "Your boyfriend?" Makoto asked, "Tell me about him."

Eiko began to wax eloquent about her boyfriend, Tsukasa. How they'd gone on a date to Destinyland, how she was his princess. When she tried to be cagey about what he did for work, Makoto pressed her on the subject. As it turned out, he worked at a host club.

"Enough about that though." Eiko said, "What about your lifestyle changes, Miss Prez?"

Makoto blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"I mean, the jacket for one. You basically went from honor student drone to badass rebel overnight!"

"I wouldn't say it was overnight..." Ren muttered before Makoto silenced him with a jab of her elbow.

"It's nothing like that, I just decided to actually be myself instead of what everyone expects of me." Makoto said.

Eiko grinned. "Are you sure that Amamiya didn't make you worse?"

Makoto laughed. "Does it really count as worse if I'm happier?"

Eiko shook her head. "No, I guess not." She looked around before her eyes went wide. "Holy. Shit. Is that a Buchimaru pencil case?"

"Oh, yes." Makoto said looking a little self-conscious about her panda-styled pencil case, "You're actually the first person to say something. Are you a fan too?"

Ren was content to just sit back and listen to the conversation until his phone rang. He checked it to see that Kasumi was calling him. "I have to take this." He said before slipping out of the room. "Hello?"

"Oh, thank goodness! I wouldn't have known who else to call, if you hadn't picked up." Kasumi said, "I was doing some training over in Odaiba, near the stadium under construction. And... something weird is happening? There's this red eye app on my phone I never downloaded, and an odd... shimmer where the stadium will be when it's done? I... What is going on?"

Morgana popped out of Ren's bag. "That sounds an awful lot like a Palace, but how is it visible in reality? And the red eye app is definitely the Meta-Nav. Let's get out there as quickly as we can."

"Don't do anything." Ren said, "Just wait for me to get to you, I'm on the way." He shot off a text to Makoto apprising her of the situation, then immediately headed for Odaiba.

Really, it was cruel that Ren was so close to home with no time to waste. He shoved thoughts of riding the monorail and the other novelties of the city around Gekkoukan High to the side. Right now, he had to stay focused on making sure that Kasumi didn't end up trapped in a Palace.

As he and Morgana approached the stadium, they noticed that there was no sign of the Palace in reality. "This is highly irregular, Ren." Morgana said. "We need to proceed with caution."

Ren nodded. "Agreed." He continued walking until he caught sight of Kasumi. "Yoshizawa!"

She yelped, clearly not expecting him, and one of her fingers accidentally hit the button for the Meta-Nav. Beginning Navigation...

The sky went dark as the three of them were pulled into the Metaverse. Kasumi looked around in a panic. "What happened, where am I? Amamiya-senpai, are you..." She saw Morgana. "MONSTER CAT!"

Morgana sighed. "I AM NOT A CAT! I am Morgana!"

"It's true. He is Morgana." Ren said.

Kasumi looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "How are you so calm? We've just been sent goodness knows where, and you're dressed like some superhero!"

"Yeah, that happens here." Ren said.

Morgana walked up to her. "Now, this is going to be a lot to explain all at once. But..."

Kasumi looked at her phone again and at the Meta-Nav. "This design... is it related to the Phantom Thieves?"

There was no point in attempting to hide the truth from her at this point. "Yes. I'm the leader of the Phantom Thieves."

"I see." Kasumi said noncommittally. "Do you want to investigate this place, then?"

Ren and Morgana took a look at the exterior of the Palace for the first time. It almost defied classification. If Ren had to call it something, it looked like some unholy fusion of a Christian megachurch and laboratory. Ren glanced at the Meta-Nav to find that the Palace Ruler's name was blocked. "I suppose, since we're here."

Morgana nodded in agreement. "So, our first step is getting in."

They quickly circumvented the gate by jumping over it and proceeding inside. Kasumi was surprised by her ability to scale it until Ren explained more about how the cognitive world worked. Basically, if you thought you could do something, you could. Their only means of further ingress appeared to be an elevator. They got in and pressed the only other button. "Well, this isn't ominous at all." Ren quipped.

Kasumi rounded on him, "Is this really the time to be making jokes?"

"How do you think I keep my head on straight when dealing with all this nonsense?" Ren asked. "What I want to know is how you were able to see the Palace in the real world."

Kasumi scratched her arm. "I... I don't know. I didn't even see the whole thing; it was like a mirage."

The elevator reached its destination and opened to a giant reception area. "Oooookay." Ren muttered, "Anyone else getting creepy cult vibes here?"

"I can't detect any Shadows. Or a Ruler for that matter. It's like the Palace is under construction, or something." Morgana mused.

They progressed through the reception area cautiously, only to run into a girl in a blue gymnastics leotard. "No, that's impossible! Sumire?" She broke cover and ran over to the girl.

"Wait, Yoshizawa! That's not really her!" Ren said.

As she approached Sumire, Kasumi fell to her knees and cried out. "Stop it! GAHHH!"

"What's wrong?" Morgana asked.

Kasumi didn't even hear him. "No, I'm not a failure just because I didn't get first! I didn't even want special treatment! You threw all of those expectations and pressure on me!" She writhed on the floor, continuing to shout denials. "I didn't let her die! I DIDN'T!"

Sumire morphed into a giant Shadow. "You spurn our Lord's gifts by continuing down a path that only promises you unimaginable pain. Did you not come to him to escape it? Give up your foolish dreams. You will never achieve them. It would be better to save yourself the torment."

Kasumi came back to herself. "Shut up." Her eyes took on that dangerous, almost manic gleam that Ren had noticed while training with her. That was usually a product of her competitive spirit being ignited. "You can say whatever you want about me..." She shakily rose to her feet. "But don't you dare speak ill of my sister or our dream!"

"Foolishness." The Shadow said. "Our Lord is only trying to help you."

"By making me hear all those terrible things? Give me a break!" Kasumi said. "Filling my life with this pressure... demanding the results that you want... then branding me a failure when I shoot for the moon and only end up in the stars? Let me remind you who you're talking to! I am... I am... KASUMI YOSHIZAWA!"

"So adamant."

Kasumi clutched at her head. It felt like someone was trying to drill their way through her skull. Why? What was there that needed to be unearthed? She cried and whimpered in pain, unwilling to fall to her knees. What was happening to her?

"Rather than accept a life in cinders, you'd strive towards splendor? You know the risk."

Kasumi stared at her hands as her vision blurred. Or was it her cognition? Weren't those the same here?

"Well, if those really are the shoes you've chosen, then we'll dance to the end."

A mask nearly identical to Ren's appeared on her face, which she effortlessly took off with a flourish. "COME, CENDRILLION!" Blue fire engulfed her, heralding her Persona's awakening. When it dissipated, a woman made of glass floated behind her. She was wearing an outfit eerily similar to Ren's, except the reds and whites were reversed, and she had a cape.

"I am thou, thou art I. Accept this contract, the spell cast upon you."

"I'll show you!" Kasumi said, drawing a rapier from her hip. "I'll defend our dream to the bitter end!"

Ren and Morgana flanked her. "We've got your back." Ren said. "Let's take that thing down!"

The Shadow exploded with cognitive energy, becoming some kind of yellow bug monster with bat wings. Kasumi didn't even give it a chance to strike. "Dazzle me, Cendrillion! Tempest Slash!" She moved quicker than the eye could see, and slashed at the Shadow, scoring several hits.

Ren stepped forward. "Come, Hell Biker!" The demon biker appeared and blasted the Shadow with flame. The Shadow ignored the attack and launched forward, kicking Ren in the head. He was sent flying into a nearby pillar with a nasty crunch. He groaned in pain, clutching his side. Shit! I think that was a rib!

Kasumi looked back at Ren then nodded. "Morgana, take care of him! I'll end this!" After Morgana had moved to heal him, Kasumi threw her mask off once more. The azure fire turned scarlet, and she delivered judgement to the unholy forces arrayed against her. "Help me, Cendrillion! Help me bring beauty to this battle! Billow forth, SACRED TEMPEST!" Arrows of light magic descended from on high and pierced the Shadow, sending it tumbling to the ground. She drew her firearm, a lever action rifle and began unloading it into the Shadow, punctuating each shot by stylishly cycling the action by flipping the rifle around. She snapped her finger. "Perish!" The embedded holy arrows exploded, obliterating the Shadow.

Ren and Morgana ran back over to her. "That was great, Yoshizawa! You were amazing!" Ren said.

She smiled at him. "Couldn't take your eyes off me, Senpai?" She demonstrated a wink that could kill a man from twenty paces. "That's understandable." She began to hurry back towards the entrance.

Ren froze. "Oh no."

Morgana groaned. "Tell me you didn't just fall for her."

"No." Ren facepalmed, "Damn it, why didn't Yukari teach me how to turn the rizz off?"

Ren was distracted. Introducing Kasumi to the team had gone off without a hitch. However, the looks she had been sending him were not explainable within the bounds of friendship.

"What I'm most concerned about is how you- or I suppose we choose our targets." Kasumi said. "How do you make sure you're not going down a dark or greed motivated path?"

Ryuji stepped in. "It's gotta be unanimous! We'll vote on a target, and if we all don't agree, we don't go after them. That way we make sure we don't act rashly or from impure motives."

His phone buzzed. It was Makoto. Oh no. "Kasumi seems rather keen on looking in your direction, doesn't she?"

Somehow, he maintained a neutral expresssion. "Yeah, I noticed. I was meaning to warn you about it, but a good time never came up."

It hadn't helped matters that Makoto wanted to keep things semi-private. Their friends could know about their relationship, but she didn't want to broadcast it to the world unless they were actually on a date. As a result, they hadn't made it clear through actions that Ren was very much spoken for. "I see. When did it start?"

Ren raised an eyebrow. Why did that matter? "After she Awakened. It doesn't help that I'm probably her cognition of a rebel. Our Metaverse attire practically matches. Of course, that doesn't mean that she didn't develop feelings earlier, that's just when I noticed it."

"And that's why you can understand me outside of the Metaverse." Morgana explained. "And why model guns act like real guns."

"Is the answer to every question I have because cognition?"Kasumi asked.

"Probably!" Ryuji said.

"I trust you, Ren." Makoto texted. "But it would probably be better to tell her how things are sooner than later."

Ren looked up to see Kasumi looking at him again. He averted his eyes to make sure he didn't do anything she could misinterpret. "I'll be right back; I need the bathroom." He calmly walked downstairs, silently praying that Sojiro didn't have any customers.

He didn't. Oh, thank God. "Sojiro, I have a problem."

"Hmm? Trouble in paradise already?" He teased. Ren's stare answered that question instantly. "Oh. What happened?"

"Our new friend, Kasumi, we... think she's developing feelings for me."

A dark expression crossed Sojiro's face. "I am going to ask you a question. Answer it seriously, without protest, or I will not help you. Did you cheat on Makoto?"

"No." Ren's expression could be etched in stone. "I did not, and I will not."

Sojiro nodded. "Good, at least you're not thinking with your... well, you know." He cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, I have no good advice for you, unless Makoto wants to share you."

Ren proceeded to choke on air. "There's no way Makoto would be okay with that!"

Sojiro shrugged. "Then someone's going to get hurt. That's just part of life. One that Kasumi will have to learn to live with."

His phone buzzed again. Makoto again. "What did Boss say?"

Ren ducked into the bathroom, it would probably be good to be where everyone thought he was. Hoo boy, this was going to be a disaster. "He said unless you're willing to share, it's going to be a little rough for Kasumi when we break the news."

Makoto quickly texted him back, "What do you want to do?"

Ren shivered like someone had just walked over his grave. A weaker man would've stepped on a land mine. "I'm not attracted to her, if that's what you're asking. Plus the constant barrage of senpai this, senpai that is... not something I'm a fan of. We'll have to break the news to her. Soon."

He jumped at a knock on the door. "Senpai?"

Oh no. "Just a moment!" He said. He flushed the toilet and washed his hands before opening the door. Kasumi was standing there, but in a way that blocked him from leaving. "Uh... hi."

"I have to head to practice. I just wanted to say goodbye to you before I left." Kasumi said. She smiled. If Ren didn't have an iron will, he would have melted into a puddle right there. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me. The... trouble in Odaiba and that creep at the station.. makes a girl wonder if there's something more going on."

Ren shook his head. "Uh... no. I just... uh..." Arsene? Help!

Arsene laughed at him. "Don't look at me. I was known as a man of many lovers. My advice is the exact opposite of what you want."

Kasumi tilted her head and giggled. "Oh, I've got you flustered? I guess there's a first time for everything. Right, senpai?" She left. Ren returned upstairs.

This was going to be a nightmare, wasn't it?

Makoto had decided that the current situation with Kasumi was an incredibly convenient opportunity to train her self control. Every day she didn't strangle that... infuriatingly polite honor student was a victory.

Now, she didn't blame Kasumi for falling for Ren. Makoto knew exactly how easy it was. For a moment, she entertained ideas of what it would be like if Kasumi did become part of their relationship. If there was anyone who deserved to have multiple lovers, it was Ren. After everything he'd been through... Makoto smiled as she pictured it. Him walking down the hall at Shujin with both her and Kasumi on an arm, both of them giving him a kiss on the cheek at the same time, then kissing each other.

She was too caught up in her annoyance with the girl to realize that Kasumi had been her bisexual awakening.

But such thinking quickly gave way to lewder scenarios that distracted her from her studies. She could almost picture it, her and Ren making love for the first time, while Kasumi was sitting in a chair, all tied up and unable to do anything except moan, writhe in desperation, and watch...

She quickly shoved those thoughts away. Ren had made it clear where he stood on the matter of Kasumi joining their relationship. Also, that line of thinking belonged squarely in trashy harem anime and nowhere else.

Her anger spiked one morning as Kasumi approached them on the way to school. "Good morning, Ren-senpai!" Kasumi said, "Oh, and good morning to you as well, Niijima-senpai."

Calm thoughts, Makoto. Don't punch the kouhai. Don't do it. "You don't need to be so formal with me, Kasumi. We're friends and teammates."

Johanna picked that moment to be exceedingly unhelpful. "I didn't realize you let those you call friends steal your man."

Makoto's eye twitched. She was quickly finding out that Johanna was impulsive, and wished to nurture that same quality in her. It could jeopardize our operational security if I speak or act carelessly. She knows enough about the Phantom Thieves that she could expose me as a member, then... The rest of her reply was shrouded in a fog of anger. Academically she knew that Kasumi wouldn't do that. That didn't make the infinite possibilities that Makoto could cook up in her head any less infuriating.

"Don't let the world walk all over you, Priestess! You're doing exactly what you did before, you rationalize. You knuckle under. You worry so much about what others think that you smother your true feelings."

As Ren's second in command and advisor, it is my JOB to worry about these things, Johanna. Would I love to grab Ren by the collar, pin him to the wall and make it abundantly clear to Kasumi that he's mine? Yes. Yes, I would. I would enjoy every second of it. But... love to me is not something to make a spectacle out of. And if the situations were reversed... it would break my heart if that happened. Irreparably so. I do not want to inflict that on Kasumi.

Ren looked back at her. "Makoto? You alright?"

Kasumi had gone on ahead, thank goodness. She nodded at him. "Yes, I'm fine. My... Persona's rather chatty this morning."

"It's about Kasumi, yeah?" Ren asked. "Arsene wasn't any help. He basically said that he would tell me to do the opposite of what I want to do, and he promptly shut up about it."

Makoto grimaced. "Johanna wanted me to pin you against the wall and make out with you in front of her."

Ren stood up straighter. "While I... would enjoy that... a lot, I think we need to figure out how to be more tactful about it? I think I'll ask Ann."

"Your compassion is a weakness." Johanna needled.

Perhaps it is a weakness, Johanna. Makoto replied, But to act without compassion would be to act as my sister does. I refuse to follow her down that path.

"You had no issue standing up to her."

It's different! I can't punch Kasumi for being in the same general vicinity as Ren!

"You're considering it."

With no effective rebuttal, Makoto fell back to the old standby. Shut up.

"You know, I didn't think that the first time either of us said let's go on a double date would be for work." Ren said.

Makoto sighed and shook her head. It had been her idea to set up a double date between them, Eiko, and her boyfriend. Nothing crazy, just dinner at the diner in Shibuya. "Who would we have gone with for a normal one anyways?" She looked at him with curiosity glimmering in her eyes. Ren couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, probably Ryuji and the secret girlfriend he totally has." Ren snarked, invoking the conspiracy theory that he and Ann had come up with to explain why it seemed like he would disappear after school unless he had made plans with Ren for training or they decided to have a Phantom Thieves meeting. "Anyways, how sassy do you want me to be?"

"All in." Makoto said, "I'd like to trick this Tsukasa into making a mistake and saying something that betrays his true goals for Eiko. And I doubt my questioning will do that."

Ren saw Eiko and a man who had to be Tsukasa out of the corner of his eye. "You've got it, Mako-chan." He darted in and kissed her on the cheek.

Makoto noticed the approaching duo. She leaned in to whisper in Ren's ear but still spoke loud enough for the other couple to hear. "If you call me that again, I might have to punish you."

Ren grinned. "Promises, promises."

"Damn, sweetheart! You didn't say your friend was into that shit!" Tsukasa had crudely announced his arrival. Makoto had to keep herself from wrinkling her nose at the man. The closest approximation she could come up with was an ever greasier version of that Tanaka fellow who had ran that shopping channel but had gone to ground after accusations of insider trading.

"Well, aren't you a charmer?" Ren said.

Eiko hugged Tsukasa's arm. "He is!"

"Heheh, you know it, babe." He ignored Ren completely and focused on Makoto. "So, my princess tells me that you're the Student Council president, but you're also some kinda badass."

Eiko giggled. "I mean, yeah! Her boyfriend might not look it, but he's actually a hardened criminal!"

Tsukasa scoffed, "Sure. Okay. What did you do, Glasses-kun? Flip off a cop car and run away?"

Ren saw a golden opportunity to put Tsukasa on notice, and provided him with a modified version of his so-called crimes. "Assault. I beat the shit out of some asshole who was trying to force himself on a woman."

Tsukasa nearly choked on air. "Ha... ah ha. Good one. What's the real story?"

"I drive without a license." Ren deadpanned.

Tsukasa rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You're the type to make jokes cause you ain't got anything to back it up." Before Makoto could rise to his defense, he cut her off. "Hey, Mako-chan, can I get your number? Any friend of Eiko's is a friend of mine."

In any other situation, Ren would've been impressed. But with what he knew about Tsukasa, this didn't feel right. "Back off."

Tsukasa brushed him off. "Wasn't asking you, Glasses-kun."

Makoto shot him a look. Having access to Tsukasa without having to go through Eiko was going to be imperative going forward She squeezed his hand under the table to let him know that everything was fine. Soon enough, Eiko excused herself to go to the bathroom. This was likely the best chance for interrogation they were going to get. "What are your intentions with Eiko?" Makoto asked.

"Oh ho! There it is!" Tsukasa said. "Like, I get it. You're worried that the big bad host is gonna prey on the girl that just wants to be loved, am I right?"

Makoto nodded. "It's a tale as old as time in Shinjuku."

If Tsukasa was fazed by Makoto name-dropping the infamous red-light district, he didn't show it. "Damn shame that, but I really ain't that kinda guy."

"Sure." Ren said, "You just dress like a greasy used-car salesman for fun, then?"

Tsukasa rounded on Ren. "What is your damage, Glasses?"

"It's the trauma."

Makoto shook her head in mock anguish. "He's also been diagnosed with an acute case of Constant Sass Disorder. He literally can't turn it off."

"It's a serious problem." Ren said.

"What's going on?" Eiko was back, and had noticed her boyfriend's distress.

Tsukasa smiled, but both Ren and Makoto saw the truth behind it. He was panicking, "Oh nothing much, Princess. Your friend was just making sure everything's on the up-and-up with me, y'know?" He stood up, "Hey, you've got the check, right, Glasses-kun?"

Ren smiled, but it was all teeth. "Sure do, Tsukasa." After Eiko and her increasingly suspicious boyfriend had left he pulled out his Kirijo card. "We're lucky that Kirijo Corp has a very broad definition of operating expenses. Also, if he wasn't suspicious before..."

"Agreed. We don't exactly have any concrete evidence, but my father always followed his hunches, no matter what."

The waitress brought the bill, and Ren didn't even look before handing her the Kirijo card. "What was your father like? I don't really know much about him except that Kaneshiro had him killed."

Makoto did a double take. "Have I not told you about him?" After Ren confirmed that she hadn't, she continued. "Above all else, he was a noble man. My mother died giving birth to me, so he ended up raising me and Sae on his own. A single father police officer assigned to Shinjuku with two young daughters sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? He was never overprotective, simply... protective. He knew he could never be there all the time, so that's why he taught me and Sae Akido. And... even though he would've had every right to complain, he simply didn't. Justice for him was never about legal and illegal. It was always about right and wrong, and he made sure we knew the difference."

Ren swallowed thickly. "What would he have thought of me?"

Makoto hugged his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. "He would've loved you, Ren. At first he would've been skeptical of you because of your criminal record, but as soon as he found out the truth about it, he probably would've been demanding that your conviction be overturned." She smiled. "And he would be overjoyed that one of his daughters -the most precious parts of his life- is madly in love with a man like you."

As they made to leave the diner, one of the patrons complained of a freak rainstorm. "Oh no... I suppose we should go our separate ways here, then. I don't want you to catch a cold because you were stubborn about walking me home." Makoto said.

"No need to worry, I came prepared." Ren said. He opened his bag and produced a collapsable umbrella. He unfurled it and offered Makoto his arm. "Shall we, my dear detective?"

She took his arm and they walked out into the stormy night. "Of course, my darling thief. You really don't spare any expense when it comes to charming me, do you?"

Ren laughed, "Of course not! My sister would kick my butt if I didn't!"

Makoto tilted her head. "You have a sister?"

"Stepsister, to be precise. You might've heard of her, actually." Ren said.

"Really? Who is she?"

"Yukari Takeba."

Makoto bluescreened. Ren's stepsister... was the actress who played Pink Argus on Featherman? "She's my favorite character..." She said quietly.

Ren grinned. "Do you want an autograph? Oh, wait I bet i can get her to get you one of the actual helmets. Not the crappy ones they sell."

A signed Pink Argus helmet? The mere thought nearly made Makoto swoon. She fluttered her eyes at the best boyfriend she or any girl ever had. "I'll love you forever."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "So business as usual, then?"

Without warning, Makoto pulled him down into a kiss and unashamedly made out with her boyfriend in the middle of Central Street. With the rain pounding down on the umbrella, it felt like something out of a movie. When he returned her passion she moaned into the kiss. They broke away, and she looked up at him with adoration, "You know, Sae's not coming home tonight..."

"Not yet." Ren said. "I'm sorry, I just..."

"You want it to be special. I completely understand." She shook her head. "Sorry, I was just overcome for... a moment."

As they went on their way, Makoto began to contemplate something. When Tsukasa had walked in with Eiko hanging off his arm, she had seemed like an accessory or a trophy. When she did the same with Ren, she felt like an equal. He would be more than happy to show her off, of course. But it came from a place of love rather than a place of arrogance.

She really was lucky to have found him.

Over the next several days, Makoto's friendship with Eiko deepened, and she learned more about the wayward girl. Her parents both had good jobs, and wanted Eiko to go to college for the same opportunity. However, Eiko told her that they weren't giving her any choice about it. She didn't want any of that, she just wanted to have fun.

Makoto sympathized to an extent. Perhaps in another life, Eiko would've become a Phantom Thief. But instead, she was allowing herself to be swayed by Tsukasa.

The man had been texted Makoto constantly, but he never said anything that set off any alarms in her head, except for one. He never used her name. In fact, he had started calling her Princess, just like he did Eiko.

Makoto made a point to not tell Ren about that. The last thing she wanted to happen was for him to sass Tsukasa about it and end up dead in a ditch with a knife between the ribs. Or worse, framed for a crime .

However, things were rapidly approaching critical mass. Eiko had expressed her desire to drop out of school, and had said that Tsukasa was allegedly in trouble with his boss for breaking a sake bottle. If they were going to save Eiko from herself, they needed to act now.

Luckily, Makoto had a plan. Which is why her and Ren were disembarking the train at the Shinjuku station. They made their way towards the After School Salon, while Ren used Third Eye to pick out people out of the crowd to question about Tsukasa. They were still missing a couple key pieces of information.

Then, not even two minutes before Eiko got off work, they struck gold. A bouncer confirmed that Tsukasa was known for the game he was running on Eiko, and that it would end with her having to sell her body to work her way out of a debt that would never end.

Makoto took a deep breath after she fired off a text to Tsukasa to bait the trap. "Well, only one thing to do now."

Ren nodded. "It's showtime."

They quickly intercepted Eiko. "Huh? What are you guys doing here?"

Makoto dove right in. "Tsukasa is lying to you. There is no bottle of sake. He is trying to drag you into a never-ending debt and force you to sell your body in a vain attempt to pay it off."

"Did my parents put you up to this?" Eiko snapped, "To spread lies about my boyfriend so I'd go back to their perfect little path for me?"

"It's the truth." Ren said. "We talked to some of the promoters around here, and they confirmed that he's done this before. And is doing it to you."

"What are you talking about?" Tsukasa had arrived.

"Tsukasa! They were saying all kinds of mean things about you! About how you're going to allegedly trick me into debt and make me whore around to pay it back!"

He smiled. "It's a good thing you asked me to meet you here so I could defend myself. Thank you so much, Princess."

Eiko froze. "What are you talking about? I didn't call or text you."

"I did." Makoto said. "You're just one of many girls that he strings along. He calls all of them Princess so he doesn't have to remember their names."

"You're lying!" Eiko whirled around to face Tsukasa. "Tell me she's lying!"

"Of course she's lying." Tsukasa said, trying to keep his cool, "I'd never cheat on you, Makoto!"

Dead silence.

"Believe me now, Eiko?" Makoto asked,

"No!" She turned to face Makoto and advanced on her, "That was a dirty trick! You tricked him! You're just a greedy bitch who wants all the good men for herself!"

Ren broke out into uproarious laughter. "Please! Comparing me to Tsukasa is like comparing a gold nugget to a piece of shit!"

Makoto hesitated. What could she say that would convince Eiko? Johanna?

"She is past the point of no return. Her heart and mind have become too muddled by that con man's honeyed words. Your words will not reach her. You must take action. If you do not, she will be lost to darkness. And it will be your fault."

With no options left to her, Makoto acted. Her right hand whipped out and backhanded Eiko. The smack of skin on skin sounded more like the thundercrack of justice. "Wake up, Eiko! You already know the truth! Why lie to yourself?"

"Because Tsukasa is the only one who cares about me! The only one who..." She trailed off and slumped her shoulders. "No... you're right. And it pisses me off. Where do you get off, preaching to me about how to live my life? You're just gonna go back home to your perfect little life, and-"

"Perfect? Me?" Makoto said, "My parents are dead, my sister and I barely talk. Honestly, when I met Ren, I was just as vulnerable to men like Tsukasa as you are. And with how charming he is, he could've played me like a damned fiddle. But he didn't."

"You'll find someone someday, Eiko. Someone who actually treats you like a princess." Ren said, "But it certainly will not be some jackass like Tsukasa."

"You know, you're really starting to piss me off, bitch!" Tsukasa growled. He advanced on Makoto, pounding a fist into an open palm. "And I ain't about to hold back because you're a girl! I'm gonna make you regret this! Let's see how long Glasses sticks with you after I break that pretty little face!"

Makoto shifted to a fighting stance, and her anger at Tsukasa boiled over into profanity. "Make my day, shithead."

In the next moment, Ren dropped his bag and interposed himself between her and Tsukasa. "Your fight's with me." He dropped into a Wing Chun stance and waited.

Tsukasa laughed. "What the hell are you- Do you think you're the next Ip Man or something?"

Ren stared at him, stone-faced. He held his ground, waiting for his opponent to make the first move.

"You should know something before you make a foolish decision, Tsukasa. Two things, actually. Thing one is that I come from a long line of police officers." Makoto said.

"Thing two is that I am absolutely willing to risk breaking my probation to protect Makoto from the likes of you, you son of a bitch." Ren said, as calm as a summer day.

Tsukasa wordlessly turned tail and ran. Ren called out after him. "And lose my girlfriend's number!"

Makoto laughed. "I can't believe we pulled this off!"

Ren retrieved his bag. "We should probably get out of here." He offered her his hand. "Shall we?"

She took it without hesitation, "Always."

A/N: Yeah, it's Makoto's actual social link. We all know how that goes.

Kasumi actually joins the team, and way earlier too! There's just the little wrinkle of a splash of unrequited love.

"But Clem! How does she not know about Ren and Makoto?"

Well dear reader, out of universe, the answer is because I say so. In universe it's because she just doesn't have the mental capacity to notice it between balancing schoolwork, practice, and now Phantom Thievery.

Now, why do I have Makoto briefly entertain the poly ship? Because it's funny, that's why.

Sojiro has his reasons for acting like that and asking that question. You'll find out why.

Next chapter will be a bit different. The vast majority of it will be resolving the ensuing drama with both Kasumi and Ann. Please look forward to it.

Until next time.