Chapter 48: Deadly Premonition

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

"Shadow spotted… How should we proceed?"

"Stay low," he replied, eyeing the approaching guard dog while he hid behind a statue. "Get ready…" Feeling a tingle in the back of his head that he was about to be discovered, he melted into shadow, traveling several meters through the use of his PSI instantly and appearing in cover behind the Shadow, then jumping onto its back. "Show me your true self!"

It violently erupted into a two-headed dog Shadow as well as two fairies. The animal growled and lunged forward so he jumped back, firing from his handgun as he did. The dog flinched in response while one of the fairies cast something, a circle of blue light and bubbles appearing beneath him— a Dormina spell.

Before it could affect him someone's grappling hook wrapped around his body and snatched him out of it. "Ha! Man, I'm good at this!"

He chuckled as he flipped over himself midair to land on his feet. "Don't get too cocky, Skull. I'm still more skilled with the grappling hook."

"Screw you!" Both boys grinned at each other, before charging forward together. Queen had begun slugging the dog when he'd been pulled back while Fox handled the fairies, and she quickly wrapped her arms around one head and suplexed the massive dog into the tiles, before turning and kicking it so hard that it flew through the air straight towards them.

Using his speed he dashed forward, slicing away with his dagger and freezing it in several spots before it reached Skull and he roared, bringing his weapon down and crushing it into dust. That only left the fairies, and they were mopped up quickly by Fox alone, slicing one in half, before smoothly pulling out his assault rifle and putting a hole in the other.

"No hostiles remaining," Queen reported.

"Great work." Continuing forward they came across a door that wouldn't budge, but just up some pipes was a vent. "Should we check what's through there?"

"The security room could be behind the locked doors," Fox nodded.

"I agree."

"Uh, sure." Seeing that everyone on the advance team was in agreement, he waved up Panther and Mona to join them, before they hopped up and began crawling into the open vent.

"Gross… I really hope there aren't any spiders in here."

"Let's push past our fears and continue on," Queen muttered back to Panther.

"Wish I had a better view than this," Skull sighed from behind him.

"I'll kick you," he warned. After reaching the end of the vent, he spotted a Shadow watching multiple security monitors, arms crossed. "Shadow ahead."

"It's a small room," Mona observed, crawling under him and peeking through the opening. "Definitely can't use the whole team. Panther and I will stick back like ordered."

"Alright. Queen, Skull, Fox, get ready…" He slid out the vent and braced himself against the wall, before jumping forward and landing on their back.

"W-What the hell?!"

"Reveal yourself to me!" Ripping off their mask he backflipped away as they shuddered and erupted into four Orobas'. "Huh. Alright then."

"Me kill you!" He chuckled and dodged to the side as one of the man-horse Shadows tried to punch him, the blow instead cracking the tile where he had been standing.

"Flauros!" He tore off his mask and the demonic tiger creature appeared with a roar, grappling the Orobas that had attacked him. The other three prepared to strike, but his fellow thieves quickly interrupted, Fox slashing through an arm, Queen slamming her fist into a stomach, and Skull smashing his weapon down onto another's head. He smirked and focused on the Orobas fighting him and Flauros, commanding the Persona to hit it with a Giant Slice.

The Orobas roared in pain, flinching back. Flauros took the opportunity and grabbed the Shadow, holding it in place for him. He unsheathed his Blizz Dagger and breathed in, before within the space of a few moments slashed away at the arm, collarbone, windpipe, temple, diaphragm, rib, groin, and thighs. He twirled the blade as ice grew along the Shadow while it screamed in pain, tossing it into the air and pulling out his gun, firing a single shot into its heart.

The Shadow's screech was cut off as it died, and he put away his gun before catching the dagger as it fell. His eyes drifted to the multiple Orobas his teammates were fighting. Skull was having a whale of a time as he and Captain Kidd whaled on an Orobas, who was striking back with heavy blows. Queen was meeting the Shadow blow for blow, fist meeting fist, before summoning Johanna under her and drifting into the Shadow's legs to topple it. Fox was running circles around his, ducking under every swing, while Goemon used his Axe-pipe to calmly block attacks.

His eyes narrowed as he saw red flames begin to leak from the mouth of the Orobas that Fox fought, which Fox wouldn't be able to see from behind the monster. "Flauros!"

"By your command!" Flauros sprinted forward like a freight train and barreled into the Orobas, taking the brunt of the Maragi it spat out so that Fox wouldn't be hit by any of the flames. Thanks to his nullification of fire Flauros was unharmed, and the Persona wound up before slamming his fist into the Shadow.

Fox spotted the leaking flames and nodded at him in thanks, before darting between Orabas' legs, slashing at its thighs as Flauros stepped back to give space before spinning and slicing up, cutting straight through the middle of its snout. Joker appeared behind Fox and vaulted over him, slamming his feet into the Shadow's chest to throw it back as the ice-user summoned Goemon. A simple Bufu later and the Orobas turned to ice before shattering and drifting into the wind.

Queen and Skull finished their opponents off at the same time, Skull grinning as he rolled his shoulders. "Ha! Losers!" Panther and Mona hopped down from the vent into the room with them, as Queen investigated the keyboards and screens littering the room while he looked at the shelves along the sides of the room, filled with binders.

"Well fought. Now, this appears to be some kind of monitoring room. We should be able to find some clues here."

"Hey, guys! Think I found somethin'!" Skull waved them over as he stood by another keyboard, a white card with black script on it lying next to it. "Ain't this some kinda keycard?"

"And over here is a map," Fox spoke, looking at the wall opposite the monitors. "As expected, there seems to be quite a large basement floor." He walked up to investigate it alongside the artist and sneered at the picture of Kaneshiro at the bottom right of the map.

"I'd bet that's where the Treasure is," Mona nodded.

"Not everything is on the map… As usual," he sighed. "We'll have to find the second half down there."

"At the very least, a cursory glance shows this building alone has one underground level. It would probably make sense to head there first."

"Shall we go on that elevator we found earlier then?"

Queen shook her head. "Let's check that last. First, let's see if there is anywhere to use this keycard."

"Oh! What if the keycard is for the elevator?" Panther suggested.

"Sound idea," he nodded. "Let's check it out." After using the keycard to unlock the door to the security room they explored some more, but only found a shortcut that led back down to their infiltration point. It was useful that they wouldn't have to cut through the entire bottom floor, but other than that not much of value was found. Sneaking back they found a locked door above where the elevator had been, and upon using the keycard, they found what looked like a maintenance room.

Sitting in the middle of the room was a large grate and a pulley system for the elevator. "What, this the control room for the thing or somethin'? What's the point in comin' here?"

"Skull. Please. I love you, brother, but come on. We're going to hop on the elevator's roof and ride it down." Skull flushed in embarrassment and punched his shoulder.

"Perceptive as usual, Joker."

"That plan should work to take us further down."

"Then let's go!" Panther cheered. He used his knife to pry open the hatch and hop onto the elevator as his thieves followed behind him.

"Now we simply wait for it to move," Fox spoke as he slid smoothly into a cross-legged sitting position, resting Yuibitachi against his shoulder. The rest of the Phantom Thieves stood there awkwardly, and eventually, they were all sitting down.

Then, they waited.

And waited some more.

And more.

…

"My turn again!"

"You're enjoying this," Fox muttered as Panther threw down an eight.

"Now then, here's a pair!" Ann placed a pair of tens, and Mona followed with a pair of queens. Fox used two kings to follow, and he cursed as he didn't have any pairs larger than that.

Fox, as Panther had no pair larger than kings, placed down a triple set of fives. "A fine showing," he smiled, automatically becoming the Tycoon. He, meanwhile, let his cards slip from his fingers, scattering to the floor as he was booted down from his position as the Tycoon of the previous round to a Beggar.

"Me…? A BEGGAR?!"

"Sucks to suck," Skull whistled from the sidelines.

"I'LL SHOW YOU SUCKING, YOU GOLDEN BITCH!" As he tackled and began wrestling with Skull, Mona and Panther finished the game up. Queen sighed as she looked around.

"This elevator hasn't moved in quite some time. Should we keep waiting?"

"I don't know," Mona muttered. "But not being able to control when the elevator rises and descends is annoying. We need to find a schedule for this thing. It's already been an hour… Alright, let's head back to the monitoring room, maybe we can find something there. If we want to continue investigating the Bank, we need a consistent way to and from the basement."

"I agree," Fox nodded as he arranged the cards in an aesthetically pleasing manner. "We do not wish to waste time coming hours before an elevator even descends. And knowing when it ascends will assist as well, so we aren't trapped within the basement for several hours… or even overnight should it come to that."

"That'd be pretty bad," Panther winced.

"Well, Joker? What do you think?"

"Huh?" He looked up from the hold he had Skull in, one foot planted on the faux-blond's back, and pulling the boy's arm back painfully. "Well, it sounds like a good idea. We just have to hope that the monitoring room does have the timetable… That or there's more past that reception area we were in previously."

"Ghkkk…" Skull added, squinting in pain. "Leggoleggoleggo!"

Queen closed her eyes and massaged her temple as Mona snickered. "Well, that's about as useful as the Numbskull usually is."

"E-Eff off, cat!"

"Alright, Joker, let him go."

He chuckled at Queen's stern tone, releasing Skull's arm and hopping up. "Come on, let's get off this thing before it suddenly goes down and we're trapped down there for the next few hours." Slipping up back into the maintenance room he peeked out the door to see if any Shadows were nearby, as his companions got off the elevator and followed behind.

A patrol passed and he waved the thieves forward, slipping down the hall and back into the monitoring room. Looking at either wall he saw shelves full of binders. He pulled one off and opened it, finding a several-year-old timetable documenting multiple things. When money had come in, left, loans… and one of the things listed was when the elevator was used.

"Alright, everyone, look through the shelves and grab a binder. Find the schedule for today and future dates."

"Ugh…"

"No complaining," he and Queen spoke in perfect synchronization as they began combing through the shelves.

"Honestly, Skull…" Mona shook his head and hopped up to grab as high of a binder as he could.

The pirate-themed thief huffed in amusement, filling his arms with the folders, dumping them on the ground, and falling next to them to begin searching through them. Panther sat next to him, already getting a headache seeing the tiny text inside each book. "Those two are in perfect sync, huh?"

Skull looked at her in confusion. "What? Joker and Queen?" He snickered and flipped a few pages over. "If Joker was already the playful dad of the team, now we've got the stern mom. Match made in heaven, huh?" Panther pouted at that, some odd feeling bubbling up that she couldn't describe at Skull's words. He noticed and grinned widely. "What's up, don't like the idea of those two bein' together?"

"N-No! Focus on the mission, Skull!"

"Thank you, Panther, keep the knucklehead focused!" Joker called from the other side of the room, giving a thumbs-up even as he kept his gaze focused on the binders.

"Anything for you, leader!"

"Now now, don't butter me up. If you'd rather be with me instead of Queen, just shoot your shot, My schedule's open whenever you want a date." She flinched and stammered, causing Skull to burst out laughing as Queen sighed. "Come on, it's not like Skull is capable of being subtle. I suggest leaving the room if you want to gossip about love lives without anyone hearing."

"Shut up and keep looking!"

He looked up from the binder and raised an eyebrow. "Keep looking through the papers or at you? Because one is much more interesting than the other and I'd love to keep loo—" he had to duck as a heavy booklet flew over his head, Panther flushing as red as her suit.

"Can we please focus?" He chuckled as Queen tried to get them back on track. Refocusing, he eventually found the latest timetables, but none for any future dates, the last note being of the elevator's descent a few hours beforehand.

"Anyone find any future dates?"

"No."

"Nothin'."

"None over here."

He huffed and removed his mask so he could rub his face, before narrowing his eyes. "Okay… let's look for a pattern in these."

"Jokeeeeerrr…"

"Only way forward," he shrugged without looking up. "Come on, just look." He flipped pages and began noting down times. Today was Thursday, and the times the elevator had gone down were… but it was best they have a schedule of every day of the week, as loose as it might be…

Soon enough he had a schedule, flimsy as it may be. The elevator descended and ascended at roughly the same times depending on the day, and he reasoned that it matched something in the real world. Perhaps when his thugs were scheduled to bring back money, or when their shifts changed? Did they have shifts? Even though they were criminals they had to have shifts, right?

Depends on the organization, Arsène hummed.

'You're me, dumbass, you know just as much as I do.'

Arsène made a rude gesture in his head that made Jack Frost gasp.

"Listen, can we go fight some Shadows now?" Skull groaned as they walked out of the monitoring room, of course carefully keeping eyes out for Shadows. "My brain's gonna explode from all those numbers."

"I'm surprised it hasn't already after Queen spent so many study sessions pounding those numbers into your head."

He snickered and elbowed his friend as he leaned over to whisper at Skull, "Bet you wish something else was getting pounded."

"Dude, she still scares the crap outta me, hell no," Skull shivered in fright. "…But she does have a damn nice—"

"Boys." They both jumped at Queen's icy tone. "I hope whatever you're talking about involves our work here?"

"Of course it does, Queen. Always stay focused, right?" He looked behind him and winked, even as he hopped onto a banister to peer down at a pair of Shadows patrolling near the bottom of the staircase, getting ready to jump down and ambush them. She just huffed, even as Skull leaned closer to him.

"Damn dude… how the hell d'you lie so naturally?" He questioned with a whisper.

"Simple," he whispered back, Queen rolling her eyes but not bothering to listen in, figuring she didn't even want to know. "We were talking about our work here… since that work involves our attire, and that attire covers, in your own words, a 'damn nice ass'." He grinned and jumped off the balcony, landing on a Shadow's back. "Now, let's see your true form!"

Ω • Ω • Ω

6/24, Friday

DEADLINE: July 9th

DAYS UNTIL PICS LEAKED: 15

Steal Kaneshiro's heart.

Akira found himself sitting in the courtyard as Maruki plopped down next to him for their session, rolling his shoulders as the previous day's Palace infiltration was still weighing on him. "Well, Starr-kun… I just found out how scary cats can be, despite their cuteness…"

"And where is this coming from?" He asked in amusement.

"Oh, it just happened on my way to school this morning… I spotted a kitten that had gotten itself stuck up in a tree." Maruki grinned as he recalled the event. "I tried rescuing it since I felt bad for it, but I ended up with the clawing of a lifetime for the effort. I had no idea a cat's claws were so sharp…"

"You're telling me," he chuckled. All those times Morgana had scratched him…

"Speaking from experience, eh? It really does hurt a lot. But I was able to rescue the kitten, so it was all still worthwhile. All I really have to do is make sure to put antibiotics on the scratches, anyway."

"Still, it can be annoying to be attacked for trying to help them… or just for trying to give them a bath because they refused to lick themselves clean like a normal cat." Morgana, sitting in his bag back in the nurse's office, felt vaguely insulted for a reason he couldn't understand.

"Haha… Well, let's move on and talk about a different kind of pain. We discussed this for a bit last time we talked, actually. The pain felt within one's heart. There are all sorts of ways to identify and diagnose physical injuries and illnesses. But when it comes to pains of the heart, we're working in unknown territory. There's so much we haven't learned yet."

"The heart is a mysterious thing," he smiled.

"It really is. Treating trauma sure is difficult when it's invisible… If only we could somehow directly reduce emotional pain in a healthy way, like putting antibiotics on a scratch."

"Heh. That'd certainly be a blessing."

"Right? Something like that would be wonderful! Unfortunate as it may be, we all know there's no topical medicine that can properly heal a heartache. Not only that, but the psychological issues are even more complex. Here, allow me to demonstrate."

"Uh…"

Maruki stood up and cleared his throat. "Oh, Starr-kun, woe is me! My heart is in such pain! It's like I'm being pierced through the chest!" He just watched silently as Maruki continued his… spiel, the doctor placing his hand dramatically on his head. "I have such a torturous burning deep inside me!"

"…You alright?"

"…Sorry, that was a poor attempt at acting. Please don't look at me like that…" Maruki sat back down, looking away in embarrassment. "But, uhhh… basically what I'm getting at is… our own emotional pain is the only kind we can fully comprehend."

"I suppose that people can empathize, but It'd be difficult to truly understand someone else's internal pain."

"That seems obvious, right? But it's absolutely vital to understand. A person's 'heart'— their pain— cannot be seen. Even if they spent their whole lives expressing it to others… there is no way for them to truly grasp it. It's not like we can directly look at their hearts and remove the root causes of their pain…"

He nodded, not letting any amusement appear on his face. Rather amusing considering who he's speaking to.

"But for me to do any good in that area, I need to conduct further research into the heart… more specifically, I need to learn how the heart reacts to the world around it. That's the first stepping stone to a breakthrough in the field. Once that's been figured out, we'll not only comprehend psychological pains that were once unknowable, but we'll even be able to perform more effective treatment for those people with wounded hearts."

"That's certainly a grand plan," he commented.

"Oh, it's not that grandiose. But hey, if we can get rid of people's pain that'd be for the best, right? I'm no fan of pain myself." Maruki paused to look away, the light shining off his glasses. "On the other hand, people have laughed off my idea as just a silly, pointless dream… and I can't say I blame them. But still, you take the time to listen to what I have to say, and you actually try to understand. Thanks to you, I can tell I'm actually getting somewhere with my theories."

"It certainly seems like a hard-to-achieve dream, but I'm not going to laugh at something so good-natured."

Maruki smiled, folding his hands together. "How can I phrase it… I guess I could say you're making this hazy, hard-to-grasp idea finally appear before me. You know, you could very well become a counselor yourself someday. Say, would you like to try being my assistant? Of course, I'm on a shoestring budget, so I wouldn't be able to pay you!"

"It sounds like fun," he laughed.

"Ooh, surprisingly eager! Maybe you really WILL become a skilled counselor in the future! Ah, joking aside, I truly am grateful for your assistance. Thank you, Starr-kun."

He felt Maruki's gratitude, all while chains shattered within his mind.

RANK UP!

Councillor Arcana, Takuto Maruki: Rank Four

"Let's put a pin in that for today, shall we? I hope you'll lend an ear again when you've got the time to spare. Now! I know you've been waiting for this, so let's get to the mental training."

Soon after he was given a lollipop, and they split for the day.

Ω • Ω • Ω

Shinjuku was lively as ever as he walked towards the Crossroads bar. Ohya had been useful in finding Kaneshiro, however, she could have further use. As a journalist, getting her to put out articles on them could affect public perception of them, and who knew how that could affect Mementos and Palaces?

As he closed in on Crossroads, he spotted someone. A blonde-haired woman sitting at a dark blue booth with a pack of tarot cards sitting atop it. If he remembered right, she had stopped him and Ryuji when they'd first come to Shinjuku, she had said something about Ryuji having girl troubles in the future before… Ah… Ryuji had some troubles.

"Isn't that the fortune teller we happened upon last time? I heard some people talking about her the last time we were here. And there was that weird fortune she told about the Numbskull, right?"

"Yeah… I'm going to check her stall out." He walked closer and saw the blonde humming to herself happily as she watched everyone walk by before her eyes caught his as he sat down.

"Oh! Hellooo! This is your first time here, yes? It's not often that I get young men stopping by my stand."

"Tarot has recently caught my interest," he matched her smile with one of his own as he answered.

"Really? That's great!" She cleared her throat and folded her hands on the table. "Anyway, my name is Chihaya Mifune. I will be reading your fortune today."

"Um, not to be rude, but before we begin, how much do I have to pay…?"

"Don't worry, the first session with someone is always free! You'd only pay if you wanted to come back for future fortunes! Now, you can begin by telling me your name."

"Shouldn't you already know that?" He asked with a chuckle. It was partially a joke. He was living proof that psychic abilities were real, but that didn't mean every street magician or fortune teller was also a Psionic. Hell, that didn't even prove whether fortune-telling was real, he couldn't tell the future with his abilities. Or, maybe he would be able to in the future, anyway.

"I suppose I could attempt to divinate your name, if you'd like. Let's start with the last name… Is it… Yamamoto? Or maybe Mishima? No, perhaps… Starr? Hmm… This may take longer than expected…"

"No need, you got it. Akira Starr." So, how much was that random chance from her just throwing names out? Plus, she had said 'Mishima' as well, though, again, it could have been a random coincidence. Starr wasn't exactly the most common of family names.

"Akira Starr… I see. Your name is quite lucky. That aside, what kind of consultation can I interest you in today?"

"How about the full package?"

Chihaya looked sad as she nodded. "Very well. I suppose the life of a high schooler is difficult, after all."

Especially one such as thou who moonlights as a Phantom Thief.

"Now then, let's start with an initial reading to test the waters of your fate. O divine power… bring forth this boy's fortune!" She spread the deck out, placing seven cards face down then closed her eyes, and finally flipped a card over. She picked it up as she did, so he couldn't see which card it was. "Your first card is… Hm, I see. As for the second… Oh! Finally…"

He sat there quietly as she looked them over, not sure how just seven cards would determine anything. He knew some tarot readings could be done with three cards, but why didn't she just shuffle the deck before picking three out of it?

Probably to make it ssseem fancier and more myssstical, right, partner?

Wouldn't be-hee surprised if that's why, ho.

He was about to respond to his Personas when Chihiya flipped the final tarot card, the one in the center of the table. He… well, he wasn't sure how to describe it exactly. But it almost felt like the world had bloomed for a moment, it didn't feel like the very subtle reality shift that was unnoticeable if you weren't paying attention when they entered a Palace, it was more like a click into place.

As subtle as it had been he'd still noticed it, but Chihiya was speaking before he could say anything about it. "Yes, I've seen everything. A stream of light obscuring the sun… like an arrow tearing through the sky… I see. There seems to be some new wealth in your future." Chihiya smiled and nodded. "Your financial fortune is looking good today. This wealth of which I speak will come… from your house. Head home without detour, and precisely five thousand yen will await you there!"

He pushed down his multitude of questions, instead nodding. "That's pretty specific. Well, I can use a boost to my finances right now, so I'll do just that."

"As you should. Fate is absolute!" Chihiya answered with a giggle. He smiled awkwardly at that, not sure if he agreed per se, but if it meant definite money he'd play along. "But… What is this? How strange, Starr-san, the general flow of your future seems to indicate… Ruin? And an inmate, locked away in a lonely cell…" He practically felt his heart stop at that, eyes widening.

My… Even if we hadn't felt that shudder run through the world, it seems this woman truly has a gift similar to ours…

Nigi Mitama's voice soothed his mind and heart, Calm yourself, young one, this is no cause for panic. Instead, see this as an opportunity.

Yes, my master, listen to the droplet, Ame-No-Uzume giggled.

"You seem to be a good person, Starr-san, but are you perhaps mixed up with the wrong crowd? Beyond that… my…" Chihaya's sentence drifted before she took a breath. "It seems… continuing on your current path will lead to your death."

'Flauros?' He turned inwards at that, consulting the demonic tiger. It was said that the sixty-fourth demon of the Ars Goetia and Great Duke of Hell could tell of the past, present, or future, and if bound by a magic triangle would answer truthfully… But he didn't know how to create said triangle, didn't know if it would work on the Persona, and wasn't sure if Flauros was even capable of said future sight in the first place. Hopefully, though…

He could feel the rumble of his Persona's laughter. Unfortunately, my Lord, I do not have the power to see through the annals of time as a mere Shadow, nor as a Persona. Even had I the ability, you must still create the magic triangle if you wish for the truth, that fact will not change even as your Mask.

'Shit.'

"I… I see." Well, no way in hell did he like the sound of that. He loved being a Phantom Thief and fighting Shadows, but he wasn't going to just run to his death even if he enjoyed the journey along the way! No sane person would do that! "How do I avoid that?"

"I cannot offer advice to that end… Hm. If the divination is coming to me this clearly, the truth of it is simply undeniable. Although… Now that I think about it, there may be a way you can attempt to counteract your destiny."

"Really?"

Chihaya pulled out a small, fancy box and placed it on the table. It was a deep purple with golden lining, though he was pretty sure it wasn't real gold. When she opened it up a nearly pure white sphere sat inside a cloth bundle. "All you need is… my special spiritual object: the Holy Stone! With its power in your control, you can avoid even the most unfortunate of futures… probably!"

"R-Right…"

She beamed happily. "I typically only recommend this to my more experienced customers, but your situation is too dire to ignore. You see, the stone itself is imbued with an aura of joy that will sap away all the horrible energy surrounding you. All you need to do is keep it wrapped in cloth and be sure to recharge its power in moonlight every three days. As for the cost, it's only one hundred thousand yen! Not bad for an item that can change your very future, yes?"

One hundred thousand?! Maybe it wasn't that bad for him! What about everyone else who wanted to buy one of these things?! This was looking more and more like a scam, even with that odd feeling he'd gotten and her apparent ability to see his imprisonment in the Velvet Room and the 'ruin' Igor was talking about.

"That… seems suspicious."

"I-It's legitimate, I promise!" He grimaced, and she looked downcast. "So… You really don't want it? What a shame it will be to see the flames of youth snuffed out so soon… Well, come see me again if you change your mind. I really can help you, if you'd like."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Chihaya-san, have a good night." He got out of his seat and she smiled sadly at him. He nodded at her and walked to the subway, narrowing his eyes as he thought to himself. As much as it did seem like a scam, she sounded genuine, and she clearly had some power…

"What do you think?" Morgana asked.

"I guess we'll see when we get back to Leblanc. If five thousand yen is waiting for me at the café, then I suppose I'll be throwing away a hell of a lot of money for a holy stone…"

He continued the discussion, both with Morgana and his Personas, drawing some odd looks on the train until he reached Yongen-Jaya. Once he walked through the door Sakura looked over to see who it was, then smirked. "Oh, you're home. I've been waiting for you."

"Kept you waiting, huh?"

Booooo.

"Chief seems oddly happy, is something going on?"

Ignoring the meowing as Morgana hopped onto his shoulder, Sakura crossed his arms. "Hey, Starr-san, how's your pocket money situation looking?"

"Well, if you really know my Old Man, you'd know how he acts like he has to take care of everyone around him," he laughed. "He sends me some, but I've been working on the side to earn my own money too."

"Oh, that's pretty responsible," Sakura chuckled. "Well, here. I think you deserve at least a little something for always helping out around Leblanc when I need a hand." Sakura pulled out five thousand yen and placed it down on the counter, and his eyes widened while Morgana's jaw dropped. "I won some money from the lotto, so I don't mind sharing some of my winnings."

"Well shit, thanks Sakura-san."

"Heh. See? I can be nice sometimes."

"When you're not threatening to throw me out every other sentence, yeah," he scoffed.

Sakura clicked his tongue in amusement and shook his head. "Anyway, make sure you close up the shop like always."

As Sakura left and he picked up the five thousand yen to look it over, Morgana finally exited his shell-shocked state. "So… Does that mean the fortune teller was right?"

"She was," he murmured.

"She even got the amount spot on! Maybe that Chihaya lady can seriously read into the future! Oh, wait, but she said you were going to die, right?! We've got to talk to her again and figure out what to do!"

"Yeah. Definitely don't want to die," he sighed as he put the money away.

"...And maybe I can have her read my compatibility fortune with—"

He whacked the not-cat lightly on the head. "No. Bad Monamona. No thinking about relationship troubles with Lady Ann while I was just told I'm going to die."

"I-I know! And who said anything about Lady Ann?! You're the one who brought her up!"

"Suuuure."

"Wha… What does that mean?! Hey! Akira!"

Fate fans easily spotting the easter egg lmao. Too bad I couldn't give Joker a ten-foot-long stone sword for the scene but no idea where he'd have gotten one of those. Anyway, coming up with a reason for the Bank infiltration to take multiple trips was a bit tricky, but I eventually came up with the elevator relying on an actual schedule, and the thieves not just being able to hop on it and immediately ride it up or down. But hey. At least they got to play some Tycoon while waiting.

So they can enter the Palace soon before it descends and use the few shortcuts they've made to get there, and once they're in the basement they have a time-limit before it doesn't descend and ascend again for the day, leaving them trapped in there. The Bank is definitely one of the smallest Palaces from the looks of it, even with the whole 'bigger on the inside' thing, so having to come up with that was a bit necessary lol. Of course, it let me write the monitoring room scene so that's a plus.

Also Joker and Skull talkin' bout ass, as the boys do or whatever.

Other than that some more Councillor Arcana and Akira planning on starting the Devil before starting the beginning of Fortune. Obviously, Chihaya's gonna have some powers considering she already does so in game and predicts Joker's death (which of course is where the chapter title comes in). Devil will probably still start before it though considering the multiple meetings you need to actually get Rank one of Fortune lol. Figured Flauros actually being able to see the future would be a bit much… Because even if there are already characters that can do so in the story, that opens up more overpowered abilities from Personas that I'd have to write around lmao.

So yeah, 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!