Chapter 35: Operation Maidwatch

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

"Not only have we dealt with our second big target, we even have a new addition to the team!" Morgana yowled happily, preening on the bed next to him. "Goodness, things are going so well!"

Akira chuckled, unbuttoning his shirt. After they'd exited the Palace they'd, against his better judgment, returned to their hideout at Shibuya crossing with Yusuke simply holding the 'True Sayuri' out in front of him the entire time.

Surprisingly, no one stopped them.

In the end, Yusuke had agreed to join as a full member, he'd accidentally mentioned the team had too much testosterone a bit too loudly, and they'd all gone their separate ways, satisfied with how the heist had gone. Ryuji had been amped about his new psychic ability, but since they couldn't exactly test it out in the middle of Shibuya, they all agreed to experiment with it the next time they entered Mementos.

Now they were back in Leblanc, finally able to relax. "Seems like we're on a roll now," he commented with a smile.

"Hehe… Could the day our name becomes household knowledge be nigh?"

"Madarame was big. Once he confesses We'll be much better known. That, and I'm sure more people will believe in us. Hopefully, we can bring hope to more people that way."

"But I have to say, you sure are something special. Not only do you have special powers compared to other Persona-users, but you have special psychic powers too… Plus, we just got our fifth Persona-user, letting our battle strategies broaden as well."

"With what I've seen so far, Yusuke will be a great help," Akira nodded.

"Yup! And besides, a good Phantom Thief should have an eye for beauty! We're lucky to have him, an artist is a talent you rarely come across. I mean, he IS a bit strange, but still…" Morgana paused and looked down, his tail lashing slowly behind him. "What kind of person do you think I was? There's no way I'd turn out to be some bad guy in the end, right?"

"..." He looked at the not-cat solemnly, then reached over and began scratching him behind the ears.

"H-Hey, quit that! It feels good, but stop it, nya!"

"Morgana, it doesn't matter who you were. Whether you were a good or bad person, what matters is who you are now. When we get your memories back, if it turns out you were a good person, then that's great. If you were bad, then I'm sure the time we'll all spend together as Phantom Thieves will help you change. But I think the real you is revealed by how you act when you've got nothing. And you've helped us, even if it was just so we'd help you in return. I don't think you'll turn out evil in the end at all."

"W-Well, of course I won't! There's no way I would be evil! It's just… you know… I get so engrossed by Treasures and human desires, and I'm the only one who can transform into a car. In the end… who could I actually be?"

"I guess we'll find out eventually, won't we?" He asked with a grin, interlocking his fingers together.

"That's a really half-assed answer," Morgana groaned. "Well, in the end, there's no way an honorable, dashing rouge like myself could end up being evil. A man who saves those in trouble in the west, while punishing evildoers who may be lurking in the east! A man who chastises people that smoke inside in the south, while saving bullied cats in the north! A man who…!"

He felt himself zone out as Morgana continued monologuing.

"...I'm that kind of person! Or so I hope. So if I turn back into a human… surely she'll take notice of me, won't she?"

Akira didn't answer right away, even though he was sure that it was a rhetorical question. Morgana was smarmy and smug, but he still liked the not-cat. And as nauseating as his little rant about 'Lady Ann's' loveliness after she had first awakened had been, he was… well, if he was being honest, he didn't know if it was love or a crush, but both of them had fallen for Ann in the same way, even though he would never admit that out loud.

He'd fallen for her looks at first, stunned when she'd taken off her hood underneath that awning by Shujin. And when he spent more time with her and saw what she was like, he fell harder. But falling for a teammate, especially on a team where you were fighting for your lives, was a terrible idea. Relationship issues could spill over to inter-team drama, causing problems with the cohesion of their team, morale, and how well everyone worked together.

My god, Trickster, this is excellent! Thou hast admitted thy feelings to thyself!

'Oh shut up,' he shot back to his sarcastic other self.

Even worse, he was the leader of the Phantom Thieves. He could NOT favor one person on the team over another. Everyone was his responsibility to take care of and direct, and if in a moment of weakness, he forsook one to save another… He shook his head. No, love was off the table for him, at least for anyone on the team. But he wouldn't stop Morgana, Ann, Ryuji, or, as unlikely as it was, Yusuke, from dating any of the others.

"I suppose there's a chance Lady Ann might notice you eventually… So long as you tone it down a bit," he answered.

"Ooh, where should I go when I'm human? I wonder where she'd like to go… An amusement park, a movie theatre, a fancy café, shopping… What do you think?"

"Shopping first. You'll certainly need more of a wardrobe than your collar and bandanna," he laughed. At the same time, chains crashed in his head.

RANK UP!

Magician Arcana, Morgana: Rank 3

Morgana suddenly startled, his hair standing on end. "W-Wait, what do you mean by 'Lady Ann'?! How'd you know who— I mean, you don't know for sure who I'm interested in!" He just slowly raised an eyebrow at his not-cat, before getting ready for bed without bothering to answer. "Hey! Answer me! Akira!"

He didn't quite get the peaceful rest he had been expecting. His eyes snapped open to the ethereal music of the Velvet Room and he slowly sat up, the weight of his shackles pulling him down and his prison uniform uncomfortable against his skin.

He got off his cot and walked to the cell door, Caroline thankfully not shouting at him. Igor was patiently waiting, staring at him with those disturbing eyes. "You have expelled one who was stained in vanity. You are now one step closer to your rehabilitation. It's a delightful thing indeed."

Justine's expression didn't waver at all from her usual blankness. "Our master is pleased. You should feel honored, Inmate."

"However, that man's remarks are concerning. It seems another has made their way into the Metaverse."

Akira frowned and leaned against the cell door. "Do you know if he was being truthful?"

Igor's smile didn't waver. "That is beyond my knowledge. But your rehabilitation is progressing smoothly… That is for certain. May the devotion to your rehabilitation grow even deeper. I have high hopes for you."

RANK UP!

Fool Arcana, Prison Master: Rank 4

The Velvet Room began fading away, Igor's chuckles becoming drowned out by the music, and finally, everything went black. But not before he thought about how that was a boringly short visit.

Ω • Ω • Ω

5/31, Tuesday

DEADLINE: June 5th

DAYS UNTIL LEGAL ACTION: 5

Await the change of heart.

A slow day passed him by and before he knew it, the sun was set, and evening was upon the city. He walked down Central Street absently, before he spotted Mishima waving at him, so he waved back and approached the dark-haired boy. "Starr-san!" Mishima smiled excitedly, both hands going back to tapping away at his phone. "Looks like the PTs have finally made their big primetime debut! A lot of info's been pouring into the Phan-Site too, so I'm gonna be a pretty busy bee!"

"Make sure to take breaks every so often, you've already given me some good information."

"That's great to hear! But I'll be fine, I really want to help you guys out! As your strategic image management rep, I thought I should come up with more ways to help you. Do you have any time today?" Well, he wasn't doing anything else right now. He nodded, and Mishima smiled widely. "Great! How about we head to the diner? Come on!"

He followed along as they walked down Central Street but for some reason, they stopped outside the diner by some vending machines. Mishima tapped away at his phone, sending a text to someone, before smiling at him. "Oh, I forgot to mention… But we're meeting up with some Phangirls today."

Akira thought he could hear his neck audibly creaking as he slowly turned to look at Mishima.

"Mishima…"

"Don't worry! I didn't tell her anything about what you do… or I do! Basically, they just think we're a couple of Phanboys, part of the Phandom! I made up this whole story about how we stumbled onto the Phan-Site one day, so let's stick to that."

Akira narrowed his eyes before sighing and putting his hands in his pockets, leaning back against a vending machine. "Well, at least you're learning to get more subtle. But… why exactly are we meeting up with some Phangirls?"

"Every thief needs a special lady, right?" Mishima asked with a grin, a wink, and a thumbs up.

"Even though you're more of an auxiliary member and not on the main team?" He shot back with a raised eyebrow.

"Er… well…"

He snorted and waved his hand. Well, he was having that existential crisis about dating teammates just the other day. Maybe meeting some girls was a good idea. "Alright, Mishima, I'm just joking. I'm looking forward to meeting these girls."

Mishima's eyes practically lit up. "Really? Great! You've gotta steal a girl's heart if you really want to be a Phantom Thief! And interacting with your loyal supporters is pretty important."

"Knowing what our supporters think of us is pretty important, I suppose." Yes, that was true… but he was mostly entertaining Mishima's idea because the boy looked so excited at the prospect of an actual date.

Never mind thou art interested in the prospect as well.

'Fermez-la.'

Oi.

"To be honest I've never met up with someone online in real life before… I wonder if I'll be able to do it right?"

Akira paused and a smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth. "You've vetted them, right? We're not getting catfished by some forty-year-old dudes?"

"I've checked them! And I've done a ton of research on what to do when they get here, like footing the bill and buying desserts for the girl! Apparently if things go well, y-you might even t-take her home…"

"Alllright, slow down, cowboy. I think it's too early to be thinking of anything like that."

"Uh, right, that's like… third date?" He shook his head at Mishima's muttering and stayed silent. Several minutes passed and Mishima pulled out his phone with a worried look on his face. "Huh… It's past when they said they'd be here…" The dark-haired boy tapped at his phone and held it up to his ear. "Um… H-Hello? It's Msihi- It's the guy you met on the Phan-Site… About our meet up…"

They said something on the other end that he couldn't hear, and Mishima jerked. "You're still at home?! And… what about your friend? Oh, um, yeah. Uh-huh… No, we'll be waiting right here…" Akira raised an eyebrow at Mishima as the boy continued speaking. "Wait, was that a train announcement? I could swear I just heard someone say 'Shibuya' over a loudspeaker… Are you close by?"

Mishima continued to stumble over his words as the call continued, before eventually hanging up. They were both silent for several seconds before Mishima turned a shaky, embarrassed smile towards him. "S-So… both of them apparently got sick? They're just gonna stay home. Ahaha…"

Seeing Mishima's face fall, he replied with a shrug, "...Can't win them all, right?"

"Yeah, but… it really seemed like those two were really into the idea on the forum." Mishima sighed, before plastering a fake grin on his face. "O-Oh well! My bad! I was so busy with all the new forum posts that the vetting I did wasn't as good as I wanted…"

"It seems like they're the ones that missed out. A free dinner with the two most desired bachelors in Japan? That's a tough break for them." He solemnly patted Mishima's shoulder, and he visibly brightened at his words.

"Y-Yeah! I guess that's just too bad for them!" Mishima laughed, then shook his head. "Well, all this aside, at least now I can give you guys some really good info without having to be careful of them listening in!"

"Sounds good. Let's discuss these prospective targets over some food," he nodded towards the diner.

"Yeah! I won't let you down… I'll prove just how useful I can be to the Phantom Thieves!"

"Great. The first step is not blurting that out in public." He chuckled at Mishima's embarrassed stuttering that followed, all while sensing Mishima's enthusiasm and hearing the sound of chains crashing within his head.

RANK UP!

Moon Arcana, Yuuki Mishima: Rank 3

"Still… it wasn't supposed to turn out like this. I bet those girls would have never flaked on me if they knew I was friends with the real live PTs… Being a guardian of justice isn't so easy, huh?"

He just smiled and nodded, even as he sweatdropped at his words. Sitting down at a table, they spent the rest of the night discussing prospective targets and whether they were worthy of being targeted.

Ω • Ω • Ω

6/2, Thursday

DEADLINE: June 5th

DAYS UNTIL LEGAL ACTION: 3

Await the change of heart.

It really felt like time was flying by as they drew closer and closer to the end of the exhibit, and either the police coming down on their heads or Madarame confessing. The first of the month had passed by in a daze as he spent the entire day studying, first at the school library where he was spared Niijima's watchful eye as she tutored/interrogated Ryuji, and then at Leblanc during the evening.

He could only pray that the boy had managed to keep her focused on the tutoring part yet again… and for every other foreseeable Wednesday study session.

"Yo, Aki!" He peeked an eye open and snorted. Well, speak of the devil and all that. Ryuji was grinning widely as he walked over with something rolled up in his hand.

Akira sat up and raised an eyebrow. He had finished his lunch already and was just resting his eyes in the courtyard before class started again while Morgana slept in his desk, so with nothing better to do he just nodded back. "Ryu. What do you need?"

"Heheh… check this shit out! I found this flyer in my mailbox!" Ryuji unrolled it so he could read what was printed on the paper.

It was a bright garish pink, the lettering on the paper a mix of red and a lighter pink. It was, apparently, an advertisement for a maid service. Mainly housekeeping and other normal maid duties… Though going by the number of hearts and the descriptions of the outfits and 'extra activities' some maids could perform for larger payments, it didn't seem like the most… above-board business.

"Housekeeping service!" Ryuji squeaked in excitement.

"Yes. Housekeeping service," he responded with an amused grin at Ryuji's enthusiasm. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Come on, man! A cute maid that will do anything for you! A maid dude! Who'll do A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G for us! Right?! …RIGHT?!"

"Again— what does this have to do with me?"

"You're a guy, right? You know what I mean!" Ryuji began elbowing him over and over. "Let's give it a try! Yeah? Yeah!"

"Two guys and a maid. Well, can't say I haven't seen that online," he rolled his eyes.

"Luckily, some guy on my floor just moved out so there's a vacant apartment in my complex. Key's behind the mailbox, so we can get in anytime. The landlord seriously doesn't care. The place is all set, so…"

"Hey, I heard that!"

"The hell?!" Ryuji startled, and Akira leaned over slightly to see Mishima walking up.

"Um, can I, uh… get in on this?"

"Oh-ho! You mean you're into this kinda stuff? Wow! Okaaaay…" Akira had to hold back his laughter at Ryuji's tone, sounding more like a gossiping schoolgirl than a teenage boy. Though, he supposed a teenage boy getting excited about a maid was close enough to that.

Should I point out that the prospect is exciting to thou as well?

'Oh please. The idea of a maid sounds exciting, but at the very least I can realize that as soon as whoever we hire sees us and realizes we're teenagers, nothing like what Ryuji or Mishima is imagining is going to happen.'

Booo.

"I-I'm not into it! It's just for research!" Mishima clenched his fist dramatically. "What does it mean that they'll do 'anything'? And do the maids look exactly as they're advertised?"

"You mean the low-cut cleavage window?" Akira asked.

"Yes! We need to determine whether or not this company just pretends to offer housekeeping services!"

"Well. I guess that means we have to, doesn't it?"

Mishima nodded at him. "Right! We've got to make sure evil doesn't prevail! And in order to do that, I have to see it with my own eyes!"

Ryuji rolled his arms with a massive grin on his face. "Yeah, we gotta see it with our own eyes. Every little detail." All three boys nodded in solidarity, then Ryuji turned to him. "We'll hafta do this at night, so let us know when you're ready."

"So what's the code name for this operation…? Since we'll be watching them, it should be something like… 'Operation Maidwatch'."

"Nice! I like that!"

"Starr-san, you'd better remember to invite me!"

"Oh, trust me, I'm looking forward to this."

Ω • Ω • Ω

Even if he had tried to, it would have been impossible to forget as both boys continued to text him throughout the day. It was almost to the point that he was annoyed, but imagining how dejected Ryuji and Mishima would become when whatever it was they were expecting didn't come to pass kept his spirits up.

Thou art truly sadistic.

In the afternoon he stopped at the flower shop in the underground mall, partly to try and learn to be kinder, and partly to explain where all his money was coming from. Their 'war chest' from Palaces and Mementos wasn't endless after all, even if he did get a larger cut to purchase all their items and equipment.

Finally, evening came and he returned to Leblanc to change and let Morgana get a nap in, before traveling to meet with the other two boys. The three of them got out at the station closest to Ryuji's apartment. Mishima was still dressed in his uniform, so they had to enter Ryuji's home and see if they could find anything that fit the techie.

"Ma! I'm home!"

"Pardon our intrusion," he and Mishima spoke in unison, removing their shoes. Nobody answered, and Ryuji frowned.

"Guess she's at her other job. Damn, I wanted to introduce ya…"

Remembering what Ryuji had told him about his family situation and inferring what he could, he just smiled and patted his friend on the back. "We'll come over another time, and we'll bring Ann and Yusuke too. She's gotta be tough if she managed to raise your unruly ass by herself."

"Oh shut up…" Ryuji flushed in embarrassment and grinned. "But yeah, she's the best. She'd love to meet anyone that'd bother spending time around me."

They walked into Ryuji's room and the faux-blond threw open his closet, ignoring the absolute mess inside, as he looked through it for something that Mishima could temporarily wear. Akira looked around the room, noting how very… 'Ryuji' it was. Dumbbells were laid haphazardly by a small table with a couple of empty bags of chips, a stand in the corner had a tv with a game system and a bookshelf filled with a mix of manga and video game cases. Trophies stood on top of the shelf, and other shelves by the bed had a speed bag hanging near a couple of mech figurines and a pair of headphones.

"Here, got somethin' that should work." Ryuji tossed Mishima a pair of plain black sweatpants.

"Uh, I think these are a bit big for me…"

"Just roll 'em up at the waist or somethin'."

"Pull on the drawstrings really hard," he chimed in with a grin. Mishima just huffed in response, before they hurried over to the next apartment and looked around. As it was vacant of a tenant, it was pretty empty. Just the bare walls, basic utilities like a stove and a fridge, and a single lamp on the ceiling. Oh yeah, he was looking forward to witnessing how those two went about this.

"…"

"…"

Akira just grinned as the two stood there nervously.

"Sssssssooo… Operation Maidwatch!"

"Y-Yeah! Operation Maidwatch!"

"So, if it turns out sketchy, we can just bail! Apartment's empty, so it ain't like we're messing with anyone's home!"

With his most sarcastic voice possible, he responded with a nod. "You're a genius, Ryuji."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the faux-blond beamed.

"To think… Sakamoto-san has a brain… but if that's the case, then…"

"Then…"

"Yup!"

Mishima and Ryuji turned to him with grins, Ryuji thrusting the paper at him. "Well, give 'em a call!" He raised an eyebrow. "Come on, man, you know you're the best liar outta all of us! You can spin up some story if they ask, right?"

"I don't think they'll need a story when all they care about is our money, but sure." He took out his phone and began dialing.

"Thank you for calling Vicky's housekeeping service!"

Apparently, it was loud enough for his friends to overhear since Mishima gasped in excitement. "They answered."

He shot a bland look at Mishima as Ryuji shushed the boy. Obviously they answered, they're a business, Arsène snorted.

Young men can be so entertaining, Ame-No-Uzume giggled.

"I take it you're interested in our services, then?"

Another squeak from Mishima. "S-Services?"

Oh ssspare me, Tangoo sighed.

"Yes, I am," he answered.

"Is there anyone in particular you'd like to request?"

"A-Anyone we want to request!? What should we do, Akira?!"

He took a quick glance at the paper, which had a few recommendations of maids, but in the end, just shrugged. "I don't have a preference, no."

"Very well! Let's see here… we have a maid who is available in… twenty minutes. May I ask for your address?" He rattled off the building's address, as well as the apartment, and after a few more pleasantries hung up.

"Shit… This is really happening…"

"A maid's 'services'..." Mishima swallowed, before looking between the both of them. "Hey… What should we have her do? I was thinking we start with some cooking… Of course, I wouldn't mind some of the other services either… Should we hold a strategy meeting to discuss?"

"They said twenty minutes, right? Ugh, I gotta use the bathroom…"

Ryuji nervously walked out and back to his apartment Akira watched him go with raised eyebrows. 'He better not be doing what I think he's doing.'

Nasty, ho! Several Personas laughed in his head at Jack Frost's comment.

"S-So… what do you think? Cooking first?"

"Cook what, exactly?" He turned to Mishima and gestured around the room. "It's pretty barebones in here considering the, you know, vacancy." He walked over and opened the fridge, confirming it was empty.

"Maybe we can have her, I don't know, clean something?"

"Clean what, exactly?" He struggled to contain his smirk at the boy's fidgeting. "A fridge, an oven, a lamp, and the walls. Very exciting to watch, I'm sure."

"Um…"

"Five-thousand yen to watch a maid clean an empty room for an hour. Truly, our planning was brilliant."

Ryuji eventually returned to Mishima silently pacing while he sat on the stove, grinning. "Finally done?"

"..."

Mishima turned at his question and saw Ryuji. "I-It's almost time… You were in there for a while… Are you okay? Hey, did you wash your hands?"

"...Huh? What? Who? Me?"

Akira burst out laughing while Mishima tried to keep the conversation going. "Y-You're really nervous. Ahaha… haha… ha." Silence reigned for nearly five seconds before Mishima finally seemed to realize something. "Are high-schoolers even allowed to use this type of service?"

"…huh?"

"What do you mean, 'huh'?! You should've researched it! What if they find out who we are?"

"H-How should I know!? But why would how old you are matter when it comes to housekeeping?"

"We would've been screwed if your number had shown up on their caller ID…"

There was a knock on the door, causing Ryuji and Mishima to panic as a woman's voice began speaking. "Good evening… I'm from the housekeeping service."

"What!? Already!? She's five minutes early!"

"You know what they say," he shrugged, "on time means five minutes early."

"What do we do!? I'm not mentally prepared!" As Mishima panicked Ryuji just stood still, stunned by nerves.

"Oh, the door's unlocked…? Um, may I come in?"

That seemed to knock Ryuji out of his silence. "I-I can't do this! My stomach's actin' up! And my hands're all sweaty!"

"From excitement or nerves?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Okay, you handle the rest… and don't let her find out you're a high school student."

"Bailing alr— wait what?"

Ryuji clapped him on the shoulder with a solemn nod. "I've got your back! Just… from way back! Like, from the balcony!"

"Hold on, this whole operation was—"

"Wh-What!? I can't do this either! Starr-san, we'll leave it to you!"

"Now wait just a sec—!" Before he could jump down from his seat on the stove, both boys had rushed out through the sliding door onto the balcony and slammed it shut. He sprinted over and grabbed it, struggling to open it. It only rattled in place, Ryuji and Mishima holding it closed on the other side. "You little bastards!"

Well, this is not going quite how thou expected.

At least you got to see their reactions like you wanted, Apsaras giggled.

'Except now I've become their fall guy. Screw that.'

His hands began glowing with Psionic energy. "PSI Rebell—"

"Excuse me!" He shut down the glow and freaked out, looking around wildly, before just turning to stare at the corner. Goddamnit now he was panicking. Was it actually okay for a teenager to use this service? Ugh, what he wouldn't give for the ability to teleport out of there… "Oh, there you are!"

He swallowed and got ready to turn around to face her.

"Welcome home, Master. ❤️"

He heard several things crash in his head as Arsène, Izanagi-Picaro, Jack Frost, Makami, and Tangoo were struck by that physical blow of a sentence while he just stood staring at the wall with wide eyes. Leanan Sidhe just sighed. Men.

"I'm going to fill your tired heart full of lovely energy. Meow! ❤️ I'm Becky, and I have the pleasure of serving you today! ❤️" Her voice was high-pitched, and, admittedly, cute, but…

How is she doing that? I-I'm not the only one seeing the hearts, right? Oh god, it's Rise all over again…

What I want to know is how she's speaking the hearts.

Isss it Latin?

I really don't think that's Latin, Leanan Sidhe spoke.

…He should probably respond to Becky, now.

"Nice to… mee-ow-t you." Absolute silence reigned in his head at that. 'God, please just kill me…'

The maid just giggled. "We're going to get along sooo well! Meeeooowww! ❤️❤️"

'Ahhhhhhhhhh—'

As he internally screamed, Becky gasped. "Oh my… how thoughtless of me! I should explain our services to you, Master! What would you like me to do today? The basics include cooking, cleaning, laundry… but we provide other 'services' if you desire.❤️"

He could feel Becky walk closer, and she hummed to herself when she was barely a foot away. "Hmmm? You look young, Master…" She slowly leaned around his side, peering at his face and causing him to turn slightly so she couldn't see it. "Are you… perhaps… in high school?"

'—hhhHHHHHHHHHHHH—'

A thousand calculations ran through his head at that moment. A million different statements that could easily get him out of the situation he found himself in. He was Akira Starr, a great liar who had improved with Yoshida's speech lessons, and Joker, the Phantom Thief, a superhuman who could negotiate with the manifestations of the human psyche. It would be as simple as—

"I'm a dad."

Arsène slammed his head against something as his mouth spoke without consulting his brain.

'—HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'

"Wow, your skin's so healthy!"

There no way she fall for that, Makami spoke with clear shock.

"…you're not lying to me, are you?"

"Uh…"

"Hmm. I'll wait to provide those other 'services' until you've matured a bit, Master, ❤️" Becky giggled again and backed away. "Sooo… I'll be going now. ❤️"

As Becky curtsied, their onlookers finally spoke up. "Wh-What!? No!"

Mishima tried to quiet Ryuji, but it was too late. "I-Is someone there!?"

"No. You're hearing things," he spoke in a monotone, having completely given up on acting.

"O-Oh no!"

"Shit! Run, Mishima!"

"I'm kicking their asses later," he commented to himself. Becky, however, ignored him.

"Mishima? Sakamoto-kun…?" He furrowed his brow when her voice dropped the high-pitched cutesy tone, and she turned to look at him. "…And you!?"

His curiosity got the best of him and he faced her. She wore a maid uniform, obviously, but as the flyer had shown, it was more… perverse than a standard one. A very short skirt that ended above mid-thigh and a similarly low-cut top that showed off the top of her breasts very well, of course that's what you focus on, Leanan Sidhe commented, and a cute black ribbon attached to a choker around her neck.

She had her deep brown hair done up in large pigtails, with a white headdress atop her head. Her similarly colored eyes were peering at him with a mix of confusion and trepidation, and she was biting her lower lip, which had a touch of pink lipstick, nervously. "Did you request me specifically…?"

Her voice sounded much more familiar without the fake tone, and her face was too… but where…? "Wait a minute… are you—?"

"Oh, no, it's all right. How would you know me? This is our first meeting. Yes, the first time ever, Master. ❤️" She kept the facade up for all of half a second, before breaking when he slowly raised an eyebrow. "Ugh, this is unbelievable. Yes, it's me… your homeroom teacher."

…That's enough for one day, fuck this shit, I'm out. Izanagi-Picaro peaced out and vanished into the depths of his soul, but he wasn't lucky enough to be able to do the same thing.

Becky, now revealed to be Kawakami, groaned pitifully. "I'm so done… I can't believe I got caught by some of my own students… I should have taken a job outside of the city…"

"On a Thursday evening? Would you even be able to get enough sleep for the next school day?"

"I don't need to be lectured by my own student… but yes, I needed it to be close to school so I could go there after I finished work and get home…" she glared up at him, which was kind of cute considering the whole maid getup. "Who did you hear about this from? Oh! It was Chouno-sensei, wasn't it!? That harpy…!"

"Well, it definitely wasn't her."

"Really? She's been snooping on all the teachers even since the incident with Kamoshida-san… are… you going to tell Chouno-sensei about this?"

"I'm… not sure why I would?"

"Hey, if you're going to side with a teacher, side with me! I'm in charge of your class, after all. And if you promise not to tell Chouno-san, I'll do anything for you!"

Whatever he was about to say was caught in his throat at the word 'Anything', and he heard Arsène cheering in the back of his head.

"Gkblmmm— Er, anything?"

Kawakami paused and narrowed her eyes. "Hey… it won't be any better for you if people find out that you called a maid service."

"I'm a teenage boy, I think that's expected of me," he shot back.

She grumbled and looked around. "This isn't even your home address to begin with, is it? I guess you at least thought about that. Ugh… well, I'll promise to keep you calling our service a secret if you promise not to say anything about me… so why don't we both forget this ever happened?"

"Sure," he croaked.

She placed her hands on her hips and nodded, and he kept his eyes glued to her face to ignore what her movements and the outfit were doing to her chest. Thankfully it wasn't too difficult, thanks to Ann's body and Panther's outfit drawing his eye— aaaand he's cutting that train of thought off there. "I'll treat this as if you had canceled, so you won't have to pay anything, okay? On that note, I'll be leaving! Don't say anything about this at school, okay!? Just act as if nothing ever happened! Got it!? Okay! Goodbye!"

She walked out, and he was left standing alone in the empty apartment, mentally exhausted. He stared at nothing, before planting his face in his hands and groaning. Sooo… no maid roleplay sex with thy homeroom teacher?

He groaned louder.

Wanted to try and find a place to fit "that's the best part!" in naturally, but it felt forced every time. Oh well, at least I got "I'm a dad." in there.

Operation Maidwatch is one of the most essential parts of P5/R, core to the plot itself, so dedicating half a chapter to it was clearly important as well. Definitely. Yeah. I think writing Arsène and the other Personas' reactions was my favorite part of the chapter.

I wanted to put Mika's poster in Ryuji's room like how you can see it during Third Semester, but I figured Mika probably wasn't popular enough for her to have posters of herself yet. If I do have everyone go on a field trip to Ryuji's again it'll be fun writing Ann's reaction to that one haha. Akira has also acknowledged his crush on Ann, but at the same time has steadfastly decided that in the name of not letting the entire team collapse because of a literal catfight between him and Morgana over Lady Ann, he won't be dating any teammates.

Yeah, considering how Akira and Ann are paired together in the summary and the constant flirting in the Metaverse, I'm sure that'll last.

I've got 20 bucks on them dating by mid-summer. Alright, let me know what you think of the chapter, or just leave a 'nice,' both are always great to read. See y'all next time!