As the final bell rang, the students of Shujin Academy began to make their way to the school gates, but Ren had yet to get up from his seat. He had once again pulled up the request he and the others had received just the day before. Despite having read the words on the screen many times over at this point, he couldn't help but look though it once more.

"Dear Phantom Thieves,

My friend from work has been talking about you all a lot, she thinks you're super duper cool! To be honest, I don't really understand a whole lot about it, but she says that you change hearts to make bad people apologize and keep good people safe, right? Well, I was wondering if you can change hearts and stuff, can you help one that's hurting...? I just want to see Okarin smile again, he looks like he's in so much pain. It's like all the light just suddenly disappeared from his eyes, but whenever I ask him what's wrong, he just says he's sorry and looks like he's going to cry. It makes me so sad to see him like this... Please help my Okarin...

-Mayushii"

Having read the request once more, Ren still had no better understanding of the situation. To make matters more complicated, despite the unusual sign-off at the end, the request was submitted anonymously, making it more or less impossible to contact the poster. As it stood, this request was simply not actionable, and there was nothing the Phantom Thieves could do. However...

"Yo! You gonna stay here all day?"

Looking up from his phone, Ren saw a blonde haired boy looking at him with a teasing grin. Standing next to him was a girl with long twin tails. Ryuji [Codename: Skull] glanced down at the source of Ren's distraction and his face took on a more serious expression.

"I'm guessin' Futaba's still looking into that, yeah?" he asked, scratching his head.

"I mean, I can understand where she's coming from... And if there is something we can do, I want to help too." The girl, Ann [Codename: Panther] added.

Upon initially receiving this request, each member of the Phantom Thieves was moved by the earnest plea for help, but none more so than Futaba Sakura. After all, she herself was one of the Phantom Thieves "targets". She served as proof that not all Palace Rulers were born of corruption, greed or ambition, but instead things like trauma, pain and loss. To her, this "Okarin" seemed like he might be a kindred spirit, and she refused to do anything less than everything she could.

"I know how much this means to her, but..." With the classroom now otherwise empty, Morgana emerged from Ren's bag to join the conversation. "Like I keep saying, this can't be related to the Metaverse, it just doesn't make sense."

"It's true that as we understand it the formation of a Palace or a Shadows presence in Mementos doesn't cause a shift in cognition and behavior, but rather it's the other way around." Entering the classroom and giving a brief summary of Morgana's previously made point was another girl with brown, shoulder length hair and a serious expression. Makoto [Codename: Queen] continued. "That being said, if we give up on someone in need based on nothing more than an assumption, we can hardly call that justice, can we?"

She crossed her arms as she made her point, staring daggers directly at Morgana, who eventually gave a sigh and began to speak.

"Well, I can't exactly argue with that, can I? Fine... You win, and you know what? I won't even say I told you so when it turns out I'm right."

"Oh wow, that's real big of you..." Ryuji responded with a roll of his eyes.

As Ren watched the pair begin to bicker over increasingly irrelevant topics, he felt comforted by the familiar sight. Despite all his objections, he knew that Morgana wanted the same thing as everyone else, his pride simply made it difficult for him to back down. Eventually the pair's argument was cut off by a simultaneous buzzing of cell phones. Ren, as well as the others, opened the Phantom Thieves group chat to read the new message.

Akechi: "Good news, I think we may have found a lead."

Makoto: "Did Futaba manage to track down the one who made the post?"

Futaba: "Not exactly... Whoever they are, they have incredible security, like seriously wizard-tier stuff.

Ryuji: "Sooo, what's the big news?"

Futaba: "Right! Well I managed to narrow down the location to in or around Akihabara, more or less."

Ren: "Akihabara?"

Futaba: "Crazy coincidence, right? It's entirely possible we saw the one who posted the request without even knowing it!"

Ann: "Wait, does this mean that we have to search all of Akihabara!?"

Akechi: "Not quite. I have been looking into the information in the request itself, what little there is to work with that is, and thanks to Sakura's efforts I believe I have something."

Akechi's next message was a link to an online forum board. The topic seemed to be a "discussion" regarding servers at a certain maid cafe. The messages were... passionate, to say the very least.

Ryuji: "Uhh, you sure you sent the right link, man?"

Akechi: "Certain. I'll spare you the search and direct you to reply number 7."

As instructed, Ren scrolled down to the 7th post in the thread which read: "MAYUSHII NYANNYAN IS EASILY MY NUMBER 1 THANK YOU VERY MUCH!". Setting aside the rest of the message's contents, the mentioned name jumped out immediately. The conversation continued.

Haru: "Do you really think this Mayushii is the same person who made the request?"

Akechi: "I can't be certain of course, but considering the name as well as the location, it's the best lead I've found so far."

Makoto: "I think it's definitely worth checking out."

Akechi: "I'm glad you agree. The cafe in question is called MayQueenNyan."

Yusuke: "That's... quite a striking name."

Akechi: "Amamiya, can I leave this to you?"

Ren: "Sure, I'll go."

Makoto: "I would also like to go, if that's not a problem."

Ann: "Hey wait, I want to go too!"

Yusuke: "If possible, I would like to accompany you as well."

Akechi: "Hold on, too many of us going might complicate things so let's leave it at that for now."

Ryuji: "Whaaaat? No fair, I wanna go too!"

Ann: "Too bad. First come, first serve!"

Ann glanced over at Ryuji with a mischievous wink and smile as she sent her message, prompting a series of frustrated grumbles. With a clear objective now set, Ren stood and began to make his way to the station along with Ann, Makoto and of course, Morgana.

Shortly after arriving in Akihabara, the group from Shujin met up with Yusuke [Codename: Fox] and began making their way to the cafe known as MayQueenNyan.

"I'm gonna be honest, I didn't expect you to end up coming with us, Yusuke." Ann broke the silence as the group continued to walk. "Are you gonna be okay? Like, money-wise?"

"While I appreciate your admittedly well-founded concerns, worry not." Yusuke responded with a confident expression. "So long as I remain vigilant and frugal, I believe myself more than capable of recovering from today's expenditure."

"Uh, the fact that you'll need to "recover" in the first place is a bad sign..."

"Regardless!" Yusuke exclaimed, cutting off Ann's reply. "It was during our discussion that I felt it, the voice of inspiration called out to me! I knew if I allowed myself to miss this opportunity, I would ever regret it!"

"R-right, well in any case, I think this is the place." Makoto hesitantly interjected, gesturing ahead to the building sporting several "MayQueenNyan" signs. The others nodded, and together they entered the cafe.

"Welcome home, Masters!"

Upon their arrival, the group were met with an overwhelmingly cheerful greeting from a pair of girls, clad in cute maid uniforms and a pair of cat ear headbands. Most of the group was taken aback by the sudden change in atmosphere, Yusuke in particular seemed enamored with the establishments uniquely charming style. Ever focused however, Makoto stepped forward and spoke.

"Hello, we need to speak with, er... Mayushii? Would she happen to be here today?"

Her question prompted the girl on the left, whose bright pink hair emerged from her cat ears in spiraling twin tails, to inquisitively turn to the girl on the right, whose blonde hair was done in a long ponytail.

"Nya? Wait, are these friends of yours, Mayushii?"

Despite the four of them certainly having never met this girl before, she put her finger to her cheek with a tilt to her head and began to hum, seemingly attempting to remember. Worried about creating any further confusion, Makoto quickly attempted to clarify the situation.

"We aren't acquainted, no. We, um, help with the Phan-Site and wanted to ask you about a request you made there."

Naturally, the identities of the Phantom Thieves wasn't public knowledge, making the gathering of intel somewhat difficult to do directly. Fortunately, the existence of the "Phantom Aficionado Website" or "Phan-Site", created by classmate and confidant Yuuki Mishima, made for an extremely convenient cover.

"Mayushii's... request?" The girl once again began to think in her exaggerated manner before her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh, right! But wait, can the Phantom Thieves really, really help!?"

"We... can't say for sure yet. That's why we were hoping to talk with you and get more information." Makoto responded. Remaining silent themselves, Ren and Ann had decided to let her do the talking at this point, while Yusuke continued to gaze around the cafe with an occasional nod of satisfaction.

"I want to help, but Mayushii isn't done working yet..." The girl said dejectedly.

"That's okay, we can meet up once you finish your shift, if that's alright with you." Makoto asked, looking back at the others as they nodded in confirmation.

The girl quickly regained her energized tone. "Oh, really!? Well, I'm going to see a friend after work, so we can meet at the Yanabayashi Shrine!"

As they quickly established the meeting time, Ann used her phone to confirm the location of the shrine. With everything set up, the group began to head out when-

"WAIT! You aren't leaving already, are you, nya?" The exclamation was made by none other than the twin tailed maid. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for a bit? Faris would hate for you to come all this way without any service, nya." The maid, apparently named Faris, held her hands up in a paw-like position while making an adorably pleading face. This, coupled with the white hot intensity of the glares coming from the other patrons, was incredibly convincing.

In the end, the group stayed for a while and did their best to enjoy the atmosphere of the cafe. As it turned out, Faris was more than a bit interested in the Phantom Thieves and had many questions about Ren and the other's relationship to them. While everyone did their best to satisfy her curiosity without blowing their cover, Ren got the impression that she could tell they weren't being entirely truthful. While he thought perhaps he was just being paranoid, as she said nothing to indicate this, he still couldn't shake the feeling that this girl could somehow see right through them.

With their business at MayQueenNyan complete, everyone did a fair share of sightseeing in Akihabara, at Ann's suggestion, until it was time to meet with the client. Upon entering the grounds of the Yanabayashi Shrine, they were met with an unfamiliar greeting from a familiar voice.

"Tutturu! I'm glad you could make it!" Wearing a bright blue dress and matching hat on her black shoulder length hair, the girl's arm shot up in an enthusiastic wave. Although her appearance was noticeably different, it was clear from her reaction and voice that this was the same girl they had met at the cafe.

"Ah, a-are these the people you mentioned Mayuri?" The timid voice came from the person standing next to her who, based on the miko attire was likely a shrine maiden.

"Yup yup! They're, ummm..." She trailed off, seemingly only just now realizing she had yet to learn any of their names.

"Right, I guess we should probably start with introductions then. My name is Makoto Nijima, it's a pleasure to meet you both." Makoto began with a courteous introduction, then turned to the others to follow suit.

"I'm Ann Takamaki! Nice to meet you!"

"Ren Amamiya, good to meet you."

It seemed that Yusuke, however, wasn't following the conversation and instead looked as though he were deep in thought.

With a sigh, Ann decided to pick up his slack. "And this guy currently lost in another world is Yusuke Kitagawa."

"I'm Mayuri Shiina, but you can call me Mayushii! Tutturu!" Just as she had earlier, Mayuri threw her hand up excitedly as she repeated her strange greeting.

"I-I'm Luka Urushibara, a pleasure to meet you." Luka's incredibly nervous introduction was accompanied by a deep bow.

Just then, Yusuke stepped forward and he began to speak with his usual passion. "It seems I was right in my decision to join you, as this day has been a veritable font of inspiration! Miss Urushibara, forgive my sudden request, but I simply must ask! Would you allow me to capture your wonderfully graceful visage on canvas?"

"W-what!? Y-you want t-to... draw me!? B-but that's... I... I'm not..." Luka's cheeks quickly flushed a bright red, followed by a series of incoherent stammering.

"Oh wow! You're an artist?" Mayuri asked, seemingly very impressed. "I definitely think a Luka drawing would be amazing, but he's a bit shy you know. He still won't wear Mayushii's cosplay... But I won't give up! I know I'll get through someday!"

"Cosplay, you say? That certainly expands the aesthetic possibilities... Perhaps we could- wait a moment... did you say "he"?" Yusuke, along with the others, turned his attention to Luka, whose face was so red it seemed almost luminescent.

With all the strength he could muster, Luka managed to get the next words out. "It's true, I-I'm a... boy."

This revelation was certainly a surprise to everyone present, with the exception of Mayuri of course. Unsurprisingly, the first to respond was Yusuke. "To think such a possibility hadn't even entered my mind! It seems I still have much to learn..." He stepped forward and bowed apologetically. "Please, forgive me for my ignorance and inexperience!"

Luka once again began to mutter nervously, seemingly at a loss at how to respond to Yusuke's grandiose display. It was at this point that Ann stepped in and grabbed Yusuke by the back of his shirt collar, in an attempt to quite literally reign him in. "Aaalright, that's enough of that. Can't you see you're making him uncomfortable!?"

Makoto couldn't help but bury her face in her hand upon witnessing the scene unfolding in front of her. With an exasperated sigh, she turned back to Mayuri. "I think we should get to the reason we're here, do you mind?" She looked over to Ren as well, who responded with a simple nod.

"Oh, of course! Ummm, you said the Phantom Thieves might be able to help Okarin, right? Mayushii will do whatever she can to help out too!" Mayuri's face took on an especially serious look as she seemed to psych herself up.

"Well, any information you can give us would be wonderful. To start with, can you tell us more about this "Okarin" person? Is that a nickname?" If this was in fact something that could be solved via the Metaverse, information was the number one priority at this point.

"Well, his name is Rintaro Okabe but to me, Okarin will always be Okarin." Mayuri wore a gentle smile as she spoke, as if simply talking about this person filled her with an incredible amount of joy. "He says a lot of weird stuff about secret plans and um, "plunging the world into chaos"? But I know he's really super kind and thoughtful, even if he never wants to admit it, ehehe." She continued on with her description, beaming all the while until suddenly the smile began to fade from her face. "That's... how he used to be. But now, it's like he's just... empty. I just wish... I just wish I could do something to help him, or at least know why he's hurting!" Mayuri's voice rose as her emotions got the better of her, and tears began to fall down her cheeks.

Just then, Ren's cell phone began to ring. The name displayed was none other than Akechi. Ren looked over and showed the incoming call to Makoto, who was attempting to console the now crying Mayuri. Makoto nodded affirmingly, and while he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty leaving at such a time, he knew that a call from Akechi was most likely important. Stepping away, he pressed answer and put the phone to his ear.

"Ah, you answered. I apologize for interrupting, but Sakura insisted I call to inform you at once." Akechi's voice was as collected as ever, but Ren could sense the twinge of urgency.

"What happened?"

"Well, Sakura has been monitoring the conversation so far through your cell phone. Upon hearing the name Rintaro Okabe, she had me cross reference it in the MetaNav. It's a hit."

This was always a possibility, yet it still came as a bit of a shock. Oddly enough though, it was a welcome one, and Ren couldn't help but feel a bit relieved. After all, this meant that the Phantom Thieves could actually do something for this poor girl and her friend. "Got it. We can meet up tomorrow and locate the target in Mementos-"

Akechi quickly cut Ren off. "Not Mementos, Rintaro Okabe has a Palace."