Chapter 15: Much Needed Respite

"I was surprised to get your invitation. I thought you would be spending as much time with your friends as possible during your summer vacation." Akechi said.

"That's what I'm doing now, aren't I?" Ren asked.

Akechi hummed noncommittally. Right now, they were washing away the sweat from a particularly sweltering summer day at Yongen-Jaya's public bathhouse. "Are we friends? Truly?"

Ren shrugged. "I mean, I see you as a friend." He stopped himself. He needed to maintain some distance, due to knowing that Akechi was most certainly up to no good concerning the Metaverse and investigation into the Phantom Thieves. "Well, friendly rival." He flashed his cocky grin. "Almost had you today."

Earlier they had gone to play billiards but had been waylaid by a group of Akechi's fangirls. They'd managed to get a couple games in, but their hearts hadn't been in it. "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, Ren." He shook his head. "Mmh. I'm feeling nostalgic. I haven't said that in years."

Ren decided to poke at it. "Oh really? What was the Ace Detective's childhood like?"

Akechi smiled, but it was without mirth. "Terrible. My father was a no-good man who left my mother to raise me alone. With no education to speak of, she had to resort to selling her body to make ends meet. My early years were spent either roaming the streets or holed up in my room watching old Featherman reruns. Eventually, my mother committed suicide. I became incredibly particular about my grades and behavior. I do not want... to be like her."

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"I do not want to be a puppet on strings for those who think they're superior to me." He replied. "You can understand, I'm sure."

"Yeah." Ren said automatically. The parallels between him and Akechi were beginning to be clear. "As much as I would like the jerk that had me framed for assault brought to justice, I know that isn't likely. The best I can do is make it through my probation and then find some corner of the world to quietly live my life."

"The greatest insult a warrior can pay to an enemy is indifference." Akechi recited. "But will you truly be satisfied with that?"

Ren shrugged. "No, but it's the most likely end result." Unless it turns out that he's the ringleader of this whole mental shutdown thing. But the chances of that are astronomical.

"And until then... you're just a criminal living in an attic."

Ren noted the distaste in his voice. "That doesn't make me a bad person, Akechi."

"You're right, of course." Akechi said a little too quickly. "Forgive me, my mind was elsewhere. We should probably get out before we get overheated. Too much of a good thing and all."

They proceeded to get out of the bath. After every were dressed and were out in the night air, Akechi turned to Ren. "You said something earlier that I liked. You see me as a rival." He grinned. "I formally acknowledge you as my rival, Ren Amamiya. You'd better not bore me."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Goro." Ren said. "Game on."

After Ren had returned to Leblanc, Arsene contacted him. "You're playing a dangerous game, Ren. To place yourself not only in the lion's den, but to stick your head between its jaws..."

Necessary evil, unfortunately. With Sae's distrust and dislike of me, this is the only way to keep tabs on the investigation into the Phantom Thieves. Ren yawned and stretched. Besides, you said it yourself. He's the Holmes to my... well, you.

"Just be careful. I don't want Makoto to be subject to the same grief as your sister."

Ren's cockiness faded in an instant. Got it.

Ren did not take pleasure in what he had to do. He had barely gotten a request from his most recent bond, a kid with a controlling mother by the name of Shinya Oda, to change her heart when the other requests began to pour in. Iwai's former Yakuza brother was about to come down on him. Takemi was about to have her medical license stripped from her following the death of the patient she was developing her medicine for. Ohya's boss was about to fire her. Hifumi's mother was rigging her Shogi matches so she always won, all to increase her popularity.

Kawakami had confessed to Sojiro that she was being blackmailed by the parents of a student she had caused the death of due to their relationship that had most certainly eclipsed what was proper of a student and teacher. She had expected Sojiro to judge her for that, but he didn't.

After all, he had his own problems. Futaba's uncle was reporting him to Social Services for being abusive and neglectful towards Futaba.

With the Hawaii trip starting tomorrow, they had to knock all of these requests out now. Otherwise, the results could be catastrophic. To that end, Ren called the Thieves together.

"I'm sorry, we have how many requests that we need to get done before we leave for Hawaii?" Makoto asked. She and Haru had been asked to come as chaperones, due to the staff of Shujin Academy being stretched thin, what with Kamoshida's removal and Kobayakawa's recent self-isolation.

"Seven." Ren said. "And they're all for people who support us or have shown me things that can be done in the Metaverse."

"Wait, where's Boss?" Morgana asked.

"He's a bit preoccupied." Futaba said. "Kawakami's freaked out that she's about to get fired, so he's staying with her."

"Kasumi can't make it either." Ann said, "She's at a gymnastics training camp."

Ryuji cracked his knuckles. "Alright, let's get to it, then!"

"Okay!" Haru said. There was a beat of silence before she blushed. "Yes, I know I can't come with you yet. I just got carried away." She paused for a moment. "Oh, I can make some snacks for when you all get back! Will Boss mind if I use the kitchen here at Leblanc?"

Ren nodded. "Go ahead, just make sure to clean up and don't use any of the curry ingredients."

"Okay!" Haru smiled, and Ren was sure that at least seven flowers bloomed.

"Ack! Too pure..." Futaba snarked. "How did... Ryuji..."

"Oh, come on!" Ryuji groaned.

"It truly is a mystery for the ages." Yusuke mused.

"Can we please focus?" Makoto said. "Morgana, have the calling cards been sent?"

"Yep. We should be good to go."

Makoto eyed him warily. There wasn't any sign of how passive aggressive he had been towards Ryuji earlier, but she was still cautious. "Alright then. Give the order, Joker."

Ren grinned. "It's showtime!"

"She doesn't deserve to practice medicine! And now that I've broken her spirit with some falsified reports about Miwa-chan's death, I'll ruin her forever!" The medical director morphed into a bird-like Shadow and attacked. Thanks to a timely warning from Futaba, everyone scrambled out of harm's way.

"Nice work, Oracle!" Morgana shouted. "You're really getting the hang of navigating!"

Futaba laughed. "Mwhehe! Praise accepted! Now turn up the heat on that elitist snob!"

Ann darted to the front line. "Oh, you're playing my song! DANCE, HECATE!" A pillar of fire erupted underneath the Shadow causing it to roar. Other Shadows appeared and began to encroach on the Thieves.

"I'll take care of the little guys!" Ryuji ripped off his mask and crimson flame began to surge around him. "Let's go, Seiten Taisei! Surpass heaven!"

"Hmm. He's really leaning into his new Persona being a version of Sun Wukong, isn't he?" Yusuke noted.

Seiten Taisei caused a ball of focused lightning to appear over the battlefield. Ryuji leapt up and smashed it down with his mace. At the moment of impact, the Persona unleashed even more lightning, laying waste to the entire battlefield with a giant lightning blast. "HEAVENBREAKER'S WRATH!"

As the smoke cleared, it was clear that the enemy Shadow had been shocked. "He's wide open!" Makoto said, "Joker, go for it!"

Ren threw his mask off. "VALKYRIE! DEATHBOUND!" An armored woman on a horse appeared and ran at the Shadow. It flourished its dual swords before launching a wave of force that blew it away and knocked it to its knees.

"Looking cool, Joker! That was a crit!" Futaba said.

Ren extended his hand for a high five, "Fox, finish it!"

Yusuke smacked his friend's hand as he walked by. "Of course, it's time for the curtain call. SUSANO-O! Deadly Fury!"

Susano-o lashed out with its sword, and the Shadow finally fell. Its form melted away, leaving the medical director in its wake. "I'm sorry I lied..."

Joker stood before him and handed down his judgement with impunity. "Clear Takemi's name and admit your lies."

"Yes... okay... I'll do that..." He vanished without further delay.

"One down, six to go." Futaba said. "Come on, kitty car! Let's get the lead out!"

Morgana rolled his eyes. At least this was something that none of the others could do.

It had been an utter slog, but the end was in sight as the Phantom Thieves approached Mr. and Mrs. Takese. Kawakami's blackmailers were the final request for the day.

"Alright, let's get this over with." Ren said. He strode up to them without fear. He had lost his patience somewhere around thrashing Hifumi's mother for almost separating Yusuke's head from his shoulders. That had been three requests ago. "Hey, assholes! Stop blackmailing Kawakami!"

"Oh, subtlety's out the window, then." Makoto deadpanned.

"When have we ever been subtle?" Ryuji asked.

She opened her mouth to answer. Then she realized that there was no retort. "You may have a point."

"How dare you!" Mrs. Takese hissed. "Don't you know what we've been through? How we've suffered because of that harlot of a teacher?"

"She's nothing like that!" Ann shot back.

"Then why is our son dead? Hm?" She said. "You kids would never understand, now I finally have the money to buy everything I want, but there never seems to be enough! Maybe we should start charging her more to keep her dirty little secrets buried!"

"You rotten little-" Morgana cut himself off before he said something supremely ungentlemanly.

"What about you, asshat?" Ryuji said, "What are you spending your crap on?"

Mr. Takese spoke for the first time. "My share goes to a righteous cause, to save our souls!"

"Oh, fuck." Ren swore.

Makoto's eyes went wide behind her mask. "Oracle, get cracking on analysis! We're about to have a big one!"

"What are you blathering on about?" Mrs. Takese said. "Is that why I'm always coming up dry?"

Cognitive energy began to swirl around Mr. Takese. "You don't understand, dear! One day, Nyx will return to us and cloak the world in eternal slumber! The Great Seal is flawed, and soon the Messiah's sacrifice will be proven to be nothing but a sham!"

Mrs. Takese began to transform into her Shadow from as well. "You've been giving our money to that shady doomsday cult? I'll never forgive you for that!" She became a large fairy in queenly robes. "You! Phantom Thieves! Help me take this idiot down, and I'll do whatever you want!"

The energy around Mr. Takese exploded, and a Nyx avatar was standing in his place. Sword, wings, and shirtless. "You have no power over me." The fairy Shadow was suspended in midair, completely powerless. "Don't worry, my sweet Sakai. You will soon know the sweet embrace of death as well. I'll take you with me." He began to raise his sword. "The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed..."

"Oracle, we need-" Makoto said.

"It's Bless! Show him some real divine judgement!"

Ren acted immediately. "POWER!" A red armored angel appeared and blasted the Nyx avatar with holy energy. "Stay back!" He shouted at the other Shadow, who had been released from its invisible bonds.

The Nyx avatar turned its gaze on Ren. "You. You're just like him. The hated Messiah. You will not stop me!" He brought his sword down, intending to cut Ren in two. He sidestepped just in the nick of time. Messiah? Like one of the Personas Makoto Yuki gave me in that dream? Wait, when these Nyx avatars go on about how the Messiah's sacrifice will be in vain... are they talking about how he gave his life to seal away Nyx?

"Joker, MOVE!" Makoto snapped. She unloaded into their enemy with the Last Word and finished with a One-Shot Kill. Everyone else unloaded with their most powerful attacks.

"Pitiable fools! You cannot stand against Nyx's power!" A wave of pure power blasted them all back. "You will all learn! That the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed!"

"What?" Futaba said, "It scrambled its weaknesses? Hold on, guys! I'll get it back! In the meantime, Speed up!" She hit a button on Necronomicon's control panel, unleashing speed boosts for the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

Makoto dashed forward. They couldn't take any chances with this thing, especially since Mr. Takese seemed hellbent on doing a murder-suicide. "Charge, Johanna!" She leapt into the air and landed perfectly on her Persona. She revved the engine and spun in place, generating a nuclear reaction that went off in the Nyx avatar's face. "Chew on that!" It sent a blast of raw magical power at her, but thanks to the speed boosts from Futaba, she dodged with room to spare.

"Fire!" Futaba finally said, "Burn it to ash!"

"Then it's time for my new party trick!" Ann said before striding forward. She focused all of her attention on the Nyx Avatar, sending it a vicious glare that would cow even the unruliest of men. She ripped off her mask "Welcome our guest to hell, Hecate!" Ann's Persona appeared and began to fire off blasts of fire in just about every shape imaginable. Spheres that exploded on impact, a tornado of flame, gouts of fire breath. All the while, Ann was striking with a flaming whip, walking imperiously through the inferno like it was a fashion show runway. "Burn, burn, burn!"

"Oh, shit. I was wondering how long it would take for her pyro side to come out." Ryuji said.

Ann continued her attack, oblivious to her best friend's commentary. She raised her hand, and Hecate caused a raging fire to be kindled in her grasp. She contemplated it for a moment before turning her attention back to her victim. "Are you ready to be made beautiful?

"No, stop-"

Ann threw the fireball and a final explosion lit up the battlefield. "HELLFIRE PYRE!" She screamed.

"Uh... That did it, right?" Morgana asked.

"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed."

"I believe that is a no, Mona." Yusuke said.

Morgana rolled his eyes. "You know what? I'm going to take a shot in the dark. ZORRO, SHOW YOUR MIGHT!" A blast of wind slammed into the Nyx avatar, bowling it over.

"Nice!" Futaba said, "Got it in one, Mona!"

"End it!" Ren declared. "All-Out Attack!"

As they swarmed the Nyx avatar, Futaba started frantically hitting buttons on Necronomicon. "Fall back! I have an idea!"

She dropped a literal bomb on their foe. It blew up, sending shrapnel in all directions.

"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed."

"Oh, come on!" Ryuji groaned. "What's it gonna take?"

Makoto's gaze hardened. "Joker. Let's go."

With that, both Ren and Makoto subjected the Nyx avatar to their cognition. The surrounding area became a casino, specifically a giant roulette table. "Care to try your luck?" Ren asked.

"Cause we're going all in!" Makoto punched the Nyx avatar, making it fall into one of the pockets of the roulette. Both she and Ren snapped their fingers in sequence, causing a large number of chips to appear on the table and the roulette table to spin. The Nyx avatar began to tumble around as the table spun. The pair drew their guns and began to fire, each shot finding its mark.

"ARSENE!"

"JOHANNA!"

A dual explosion of nuclear and dark energy shot the Nyx avatar sky high, and it landed in the mountain of chips that Ren had summoned. He and Makoto pointed their guns at it, Makoto normally, and Ren horizontally.

"Well look at that?" Makoto said, "Looks like you've won the..."

"Jackpot." Ren finished. They fired, and the whole thing blew apart, returning them to Mementos. The Nyx avatar wasn't parroting that stupid line. Did they beat it? The smoke from their attack was still-

In the next moment, the Nyx avatar shot forward and buried its sword in Makoto's chest. She began to fall, not even making a sound after it removed the sword.

Panic took hold of Ren. It didn't matter that the Nyx avatar was right there about to kill him too, Makoto needed help NOW.

Morgana took over command duties, since he was more or less the next in the chain of command due to his knowledge of the Metaverse. "TEAR IT APART!"

Ren was oblivious to the rest of the Thieves throwing themselves into battle. All that mattered right now was Makoto. He checked her pulse. Nothing. Mentally, he kicked himself. Why would she survive a sword through the chest? He reached into his pocket -which in the Metaverse, functioned as a gateway to the assortment of medicine and food they used to heal- and pulled out a syringe of Revivadrin. In the real world, it functioned as Takemi's version of an EpiPen. In the Metaverse...

He plunged it into Makoto's thigh and prayed. One second passed. Two seconds.

Makoto shot upright and drew in a deep, shuddering breath. After she caught her breath, she turned to Ren. "What just happened?"

Ren couldn't look her in the eye. "You took a bad hit. I healed you." Any response from Makoto was cut off by a cry for help with Mrs. Takese's Shadow. The Nyx avatar had her by the neck and was holding its sword to its own throat. Ren and Makoto joined the others. "Let her go!"

"Why would I deny my divine mandate?" Mr. Takese said, now bereft of the power of the Nyx avatar. I promised that I would surrender all I hold precious to my God! My material possessions, my life, and the life of my wife!"

"NO!" Ren made an attempt to stop him, but was too late. Mr. Takese crushed his wife's neck and then disappeared in a burst of cognitive energy.

The Phantom Thieves stood there in silence. Eventually, Futaba spoke. "They're gone." She said quietly. Another awkward pause went on for far longer than was prudent. "Did we... just make another me?"

"No." Ren said robotically, "Their only son died last year." He forced himself to keep going. "Uh... let's get out of here."

"But what about..." Ann started to say.

"Probably a murder suicide with a deranged suicide note." Makoto said. "I doubt the police will look any further into it." She hated how detached she sounded, especially since she had just died and was revived.

She knew that Ren had lied to her. It was kind of obvious when she had started hearing her parents' voices telling her to come home before she had been dragged back to reality. She didn't blame him for the lie, it was the first time that any of them had died.

Morgana turned into his car form and they left without a word.

After the ordeal they had gone through, Haru's chocolate chip cookies were a godsend. Ren was pretty sure they could revive the dead.

Due to everyone except Futaba leaving for their school trips the next day, everyone headed home immediately. That is, everyone except Makoto. "You sure you can stay?" Ren asked. He was watching the news on the TV in Leblanc. Right now they were running a story on the candidates for the upcoming election for Prime Minister.

"Yes, I'm all packed and ready to go tomorrow." Makoto said, "Sae's staying at work tonight, but I still told her that I'm staying here."

"What did you tell her?" Ren said absentmindedly.

Makoto smiled. "That I'm eighteen, and can make my own decisions." She giggled, her facade cracking instantly. "Ha, as if! No, I told her that you had been accosted by a mugger and that you were unsettled. She hasn't called to chew me out for being reckless yet, so I think we're in the clear."

Ren hummed noncommittally. "I still need to apologize to her for being a total ass last time."

Makoto sighed. "Ren, you do know that it's blatantly obvious when you're trying to tiptoe around the elephant in the room, right?" She took his hand and rubbed her thumb along it. "I know you lied to me. I'm not mad. I just want to talk about it."

He made eye contact with her for the first time since the battle. "What gave it away?"

"I heard my parents."

"Oh."

Makoto expected this conversation to be like pulling teeth, so she wasn't surprised at Ren's reluctance to say more. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He finally relented and laid his head against her shoulder. "It's just... in that moment, when you died... nothing else mattered." Ren said. "It wouldn't have mattered if the world fell to ruin around me, I wouldn't have noticed. If the others hadn't jumped in, that Nyx avatar would've had me dead to rights."

"I think that's a perfectly normal reaction to seeing the person you love get brutally murdered by an avatar of the concept of death." Makoto said, attempting to inject some comedy into the conversation by highlighting the absurdity of the situation.

Ren snorted. "Well, when you put it that way..." His attention was drawn back to the TV. "Holy shit."

Makoto frowned. Right now the news program was talking about the current frontrunner for Prime Minister, a man by the name of Masayoshi Shido. "Do you know him?"

"You could say that. That's the guy that framed me."

Makoto grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. "As your second-in-command, advisor, and girlfriend, I am putting a ban on all things Phantom Thieves until we get back from Hawaii. You need to decompress."

Ren looked like he was about to argue. "If I argue, am I going to end up tied to a chair?"

Makoto smirked, "Please, you know there's no chair here that's sturdy enough to support us when we get going." She brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Besides, you need rest, Ren. There will be plenty of time for us to be reckless later."

"Oh, is that the euphemism we're going with?" Ren snarked. "Cuddle until we fall asleep, then?"

Makoto smiled. "That sounds perfect."

Ren fell asleep nearly instantly after his head hit the pillow. Morgana was at his usual place up by the window. "Hey, Morgana?" Makoto whispered,

"What's up?" He asked.

"While we're in Hawaii, have Futaba start looking into Masayoshi Shido. I want to know everything there is to know about him." Makoto said.

Morgana stretched. "Sure, we'll take care of that. Any reason why?"

"He's the bastard that framed Ren." Makoto said softly, her tone distinctly at odds with her intent. "If he's even a little distorted, I will take great joy in pounding him to mulch."

Makoto was not above using her influence as Student Council President when she could. Due to the school being so frazzled and disorganized when it came to the trip to Hawaii, they let her make the seating assignments for the plane. Ren just happened to be sitting next to her, and Ryuji and Haru happened to have the same arrangement.

Truly, a mystery.

"Okay, place your bets, ladies and gentlemen." Ann said, "How late is Ryuji going to be?"

"Not at all!" Haru said from behind her.

Ann whirled around and saw Ryuji and Haru standing there. "This is impossible! How is Ryuji on time? Early even?"

Makoto and Ren looked at each other. "I think you underestimate the power a pretty girl can have on a boy." She said to Ann.

"If I remember correctly, I seduced you." Ren said.

Makoto cocked her head. "Remind me, Ren. How much have your grades improved since we started dating?" She moved in and caressed his chin with a single finger. "And which of us have pinned the other to a wall?"

Ren bluescreened for a moment. "I plead the fifth."

"You're not in America, Ren."

"But I'm about to be."

Mishima awkwardly sidled up to them. "Uh, they want us to gather near the boarding gate."

Makoto turned to him. "Thank you, Mish... oh no." Everyone at the gate from Shujin was staring at them in various states of shock, surprise, and... was that jealousy? From the Newspaper Club President?

Someone finally worked up the courage to break the spell. "Why are you wasting your time with a delinquent like him, Niijima-senpai?"

Ryuji and Ann paled. "Uh oh." They said in unison.

For the most fleeting of moments, Makoto contemplated unleashing indignant fury upon the poor boy who had spoken up. In that moment, Johanna arose from her soul. "Are you going to just sit there and let the ignorant pass judgment on your lover?"

Makoto didn't answer, instead she walked towards the offending student, who had already begun to shake in his shoes. "Why do you think I'm wasting my time?"

The poor boy couldn't even meet her eyes. "Forget I said anything!"

"No. Tell me why you think Ren is a waste of my time." Makoto folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "We don't board the plane until you do. It would be a shame if the trip was canceled because of you, wouldn't it?"

Ann glanced over at Haru to ask if she could step in, but the words died in her throat when she saw her writing in a notebook. Was she taking notes?

"You're too good for him!" At the prospect of becoming a pariah if he stayed silent, the naysayer spoke. "He's a no-good criminal who will just drag you down with him!"

She had been presented with a golden opportunity. She could make it abundantly clear how she felt about Ren to this boy. But then the whole school would know. Somehow, they'd avoided that so far.

Makoto found that she no longer cared who knew, if it meant putting those that would talk down to Ren because of his circumstances in their place. "Amazing, all you've proven is that you know nothing about my boyfriend."

Phones were out and gossip was flying in a matter of seconds, but that wasn't important at the moment. "But-"

"Maybe I like bad boys. Did you ever think about that?" Makoto continued to throw fuel on the fire. "Now, I don't think you've ever seen me outside of school, so I forgive you for not knowing about the changes I've been making to my fashion sense. But I'll say it plain, so that no one present can misconstrue what is happening here. Yes, Ren is making me worse." She grinned. "But that would never be happening if I didn't let him."

The boy's eyes bugged out of his head. "What? But Niijima-senpai-"

"But nothing." She cut him off before he could foolishly continue. "Ren's helping me find the person I want to be as opposed to the mask of the perfect honor student you've all seen. If you have a problem with that, well..." She shrugged, "I don't care."

She turned around and offered Ren her hand. "Shall we?"

Ren took it without delay, "Of course, my Queen." He said with a wink.

Makoto blushed. The only time he ever called her that in the real world was when they were being... reckless.

Kawakami finally established order. "That's enough of sticking your foot in a bear trap, Tanaka! Everyone, it's time to go."

Everyone filed onto the plane. As they were doing so, they realized that there wasn't hurt one, but two gossip-worthy relationships afoot! How did Ryuji Sakamoto land Haru Okumura?

It only reinforced how much the male population of Shujin's second year students believed that women only liked bad boys.

Blissfully ignorant to the hurricane she had sent aloft through the simple action of holding Ryuji's hand as they boarded, Haru smiled at her boyfriend as he slept on her shoulder.

Before they had left, Futaba had told her and Makoto that she had hacked the school's hotel reservation and added an extra room in Makoto's name with instructions to leave the key to it in the nightstand of her other assigned room. Futaba then went on to explain the purpose. Stress relief.

While Makoto had been somber -that made sense, considering how she had died. Ren and her probably didn't want to act on impulse and ruin everything by accident- Haru was thrilled. Before she learned about the Phantom Thieves, she had been planning a last hurrah for her and Ryuji. However, now that she knew she could stop her arranged marriage, it wasn't... necessary.

That didn't matter. She was going to do it anyway. If Ryuji wasn't already wrapped around her finger, he would be by the time she was done with him.

Ann glanced at her phone while balancing a drink in her other hand. Kasumi had said she would check in after the gymnastics meet, but she was still worried. What would happen if she didn't get first? She knew that the staff of Shujin had been putting far too much pressure on her -Ren had mentioned that he had overheard Dr. Maruki saying so- and if she cracked...

"Hey, we said no phones unless our girlfriends are calling!" Ryuji said. "Otherwise, this'll just be like we're in Shibuya standing around staring at our phones!"

Ren took a dignified sip of his own drink as he and his friends basked in the sunshine. He looked more at peace than Ann had seen for a while

"Alright, Ryuji." Ann said, a mischievous smile blooming on her face, "Why don't you regale us with the tale of how you seduced the heiress to Okumura Foods?" Ren snickered. This was going to be a running joke for a while, wasn't it?

"It ain't like that!" Ryuji protested. "Back when our hideout was the school roof, I went up there thinking we were having a meeting one day. You guys weren't there, but she was. She was taking care of the planters up there, and she got me to help her. After we were done, when I tried to get up, my leg decided to screw with me." Ann winced; she knew exactly how that shook out most times. "And she stayed with me. She barely knew me, and she stayed and helped me stand. The very next time, she brought a knee brace for me. That's when I knew I was a goner."

Ren nodded sagely. "Something similar happened with me and Makoto. I was doing about ten rounds with my self-doubt, and it was kicking my ass. So, I called her, and we got to talking about our issues, and after we were done and I had hung up, I said I love you."

"Wait, when did that happen?" Ryuji asked.

"Same timeframe. After Kamoshida." Ren explained.

When the boys looked at Ann expectantly, she blushed and averted her eyes. "Uh... is it bad if the moment I realized Kasumi had me down bad was during sex?"

"Wait, did you guys do everything out of order, or something?" Ryuji asked.

"Yeah..." Ann said.

"Wait a second. Didn't you guys get together right around the time Kasumi started crushing on me?" Ren asked. "Did she figure out about me and Makoto before we could break the news? And you caught her on the rebound?"

"What happens in my bedroom stays in my bedroom, Amamiya." Ann deadpanned. "We... sort of caught each other on the rebound. It's complicated." She was distracted from elaborating further by a text. Despite risking breaking Ryuji's Golden Rule, she looked at it. "Yes! Kasumi won first place!" Her eyes widened as she saw the picture that her girlfriend had sent her. She was wearing her gold medal from the competition, sure. But her jacket was unzipped, and there was no shirt or bra underneath. Then she saw the caption.

Can't wait to celebrate with you when we get home!

Ann was shocked out of her reverie by Ryuji. "Yo, did Kasumi send a pic of her medal or something?"

Ann coughed. "Yes. For my eyes only."

"Wait, are we all making our girlfriends worse?" Ren laughed. "I mean, I certainly can't imagine Kasumi of all people sending a spicy selfie."

"Huh." Ann mused, "Makoto did say that she picked up some more clothes that went with a more biker look..."

Ren perked up, smiling ear to ear. "She did?" He gave a quick little fist pump. "Yes!"

"How is that making her worse?" Ryuji asked.

"Her sister hates it."

"Well, I haven't don't anything to make Haru worse. Trying to do that feels like a crime." Ryuji said.

Ren and Ann both raised an eyebrow at him. "Isn't she rebelling against her father because she'd rather be with you than the jackass he wants her to be with?" Ann asked.

"Yeah, but why does that..." Ryuji trailed off as he processed this. "Oh."

Ren laughed and raised his glass. "Well, my friends; here's to the lights of our lives, our better halves, and making them worse!"

"Hear, hear!" Ann said.

Ryuji took a swig of his drink, "Yeah, whatever. When did I become the normal one?"

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"My Persona may or may not be slowly turning me into her." Ann said nonchalantly, "Or my ideal self free of all the doubts and crap is her. But also me. It's..."

"Complicated." Ren said. "If we told any mental health professional anything about our Personas, they'd throw us in the looney bin yesterday."

"I rest my case." Ryuji declared.

Later that evening, Makoto fervently hoped that no one saw or heard her seemingly arguing with herself, lest she be thrown into the looney bin. Johanna, we are not doing this right now.

"No, we ARE doing this right now. The world will not burn to ash if you take the time to take care of yourself, Priestess."

"I like you better when you're encouraging me to just choose chaos." Makoto grumbled to herself.

"You died." Johanna stated bluntly. "And your first thought upon having your soul snatched from the jaws of oblivion was to worry about someone else."

Makoto gritted her teeth. She was certain that Ann didn't have to put up with this nonsense with her Persona. She eyed the group of Shujin students playing volleyball that she was supposed to be supervising. "Is there a point to this?"

"Yes. Despite the progress you have made, you still attach your self-worth to what you can do for others. It does not matter how many people depend on you, they can wait if you need to take care of yourself. Which you do."

Makoto sat on the bench for a moment, mulling that over. The facts were staring her in the face. She had died, and ever since being brought back to life, she hadn't taken a moment for herself. "I..." She froze. What did that even mean? "I don't know how."

Johanna sighed. "Go eat something incredibly greasy and fattening. Tie your beloved to a bed and use him until you're satisfied. Or something in-between. Whatever you do, do it for no one else but you."

Makoto licked her lips. That second option was mightily testing her willpower. In the end she texted Ann and Haru and said she needed some girl time. They gathered at a nearby café and Makoto shared her troubles with them.

"Well, it is kind of romantic that your first thought after coming back was thinking of Ren..." Haru said.

Ann rolled her eyes. "Sure. But uh... we have a big problem here that needs to be addressed." She turned to Makoto. "You need to learn how to be selfish."

Makoto's mouth hung open, a half-formed protest fizzling out before it passed her lips. The waiter came over with their order, and Ann placed one of the pastries that she had ordered in front of her friend. "Eat that."

"Ann, I'm getting diabetes just looking at this."

Haru giggled. "I think that's the point, Mako-chan."

Makoto did a double take as she took the first bite. "Pardon?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Haru quickly apologized, "I just watched a lot of Sailor Moon as a child and I always wanted a friend I could call... well, you know."

"Oh, that's fine then."

Ann pointed at her. "Hey, less talking, more stuffing your face!"

Makoto rolled her eyes. As she continued to eat the overly sweet diabetes inducing pastry, she smiled.

Haru cocked her head in confusion. "What is it, Mako-chan?"

"Oh, it's nothing." She spoke. In reality, it was something. She didn't remember anything she saw in the scant few seconds that she had died, but she did remember what she heard.

Her parents. They said that they were proud of her.

No one else needed to know. She knew. That was enough.

Makoto had been right; this vacation had been exactly what Ren had needed. The ban on talking about the Phantom Thieves meant that he had precious little to talk about with Mishima, who wanted to talk about the Phan-site seemingly twenty-four hours a day. Before he could get the guy to change the topic, he mentioned that the general public wanted the Phantom Thieves to go after Okumura too. That set off about five red flags to Ren. If Akechi was following the strategy that Ren had planted in his head, then Okumura was the bait target. Meaning that Akechi would likely attempt to kill Okumura as they were changing his heart. He'd have to plan for that, if he died and Haru found out that Ren had told Akechi what to do... It would not end well.

He pushed those thoughts from his mind as he hung out with his friends. Yusuke showed up out of nowhere, as Kosei High's class trip to San Fransisco had been aborted due to bad weather, which meant at least three times as many shenanigans. He also made sure to buy souvenirs for everyone back home so he wouldn't be rushing at the last minute and probably forget Morgana. However, all too quickly the trip was coming to an end. It was the final night, and he had received an invitation from Makoto to come take a walk on the beach with her. Technically it was after their school-imposed curfew, but according to Makoto that didn't matter since she was a chaperone.

Ren knew that she was full of crap on that front, but who would oppose her? Kawakami was the teacher in charge of the trip, and she was firmly on their side. Ren quickly found her on the beach in her swimsuit. He grinned; Ann had probably picked that out for her. "Hey, Makoto. You look amazing."

She turned to face him and blushed. "You're not too bad yourself, Ren." It was true, after all between their separate workout routines and the grueling pace they often set in the Metaverse, both of them were in the best shape of their lives. She extended a hand to him. "Shall we?"

He took her hand, and they began to walk along the beach, basking in the sunset and each other's company. Makoto was relieved to see that the weight that settled over Ren's shoulders over the past few months was long gone. They must have kept going for ten minutes before one of them spoke. "Ren, have you given any thought to what you'll do after high school?"

Yes, it was a very Makoto Niijima thing to ask. But she was curious, Ren had never really mentioned any sort of plans, while she had her whole future mapped out.

"Uh, not really? Maybe I'll open up a cafe or restaurant, be like Sojiro. Find my own little corner of the world to quietly live my life." He paused. By the way his brow furrowed, Makoto could tell he was pondering something else. "Although... I would have to be crazy to not think about what Yoshida said to me..."

"Toranosuke Yoshida? The former Diet member? How do you know him?" Makoto asked.

"He's been teaching me how to speak in public well, it's how I sometimes can instantly convince a Shadow to join me as a Persona or get money and items from them." Ren explained, "So, you know that scandal he got shot down by a long while ago? Turns out, he was framed and he's making a resurgence. All signs point to him being elected again."

Makoto's eyebrows shot up. That was an incredible comeback, almost unheard of in the world of Japanese politics, where one mistake could damn you for life. "That's amazing, but what does that have to do with you?"

"He said that after I get out of high school, if I want a job with him as an assistant, it's mine." Ren looked at Makoto with an amazed smile, as if he couldn't believe the words he was about to say. "It wouldn't just be as an employee. I would be his apprentice."

Makoto's jaw dropped. Yoshida wanted to prepare Ren to... at least attempt to take his place when he retired? "Ren, that's..." An easy, no strings attached way into the world of politics didn't just come by every day. "What are you going to do?"

Ren shrugged. "I don't know. I'll figure it out when I get there." He swallowed. "If all else fails I've got an in with acting thanks to Yukari. I might do a season of Featherman no matter what else happens. What about you, do you have any backup plans if becoming a police commissioner doesn't pan out?"

Makoto frowned. "I've never thought about it. This is what I want to do." She bit her lip as she thought. "I suppose maybe professional kickboxing, maybe even MMA. Sae branched out from the Akido that dad taught us to kickboxing, so once we change her heart I could learn that from her."

"If that ends up being something you want to do, I know a guy that could teach you a thing or ten." Ren said, "He's married to Mitsuru Kirijo, that's how I met him."

Makoto sensed that there was more to it than what Ren was telling her, but she decided to leave it alone. "I'll keep that in mind."

Time marched on, uncaring of how they wanted this evening to last forever. All too soon, they had to return to the hotel. "Hey... you can stay in my room tonight, if you'd like." Makoto said.

Ren raised an eyebrow. "What about your roommate?"

"Haru is making use of a spare room that Futaba set up for us in case of... recklessness. I believe she said something along the lines of Ryuji being in danger." Makoto said mischievously.

Ren laughed, "And am I in danger too?"

Makoto reached up and cupped his cheek. "Maybe. Depends on my needs. Most likely not, I just need to feel you next to me, hear your heartbeat." She placed a hand over his heart and melted into him.

"To remind you that you're alive?" Ren said, now unafraid to confront the grim reality of what had happened earlier that week.

Makoto looked up at him. "Is that silly?"

He shook his head and kissed her, just a brief kiss on her lips. Not a kiss of passion or lust, but one of devotion and adoration. "Of course not, my dear detective."

Makoto smirked. "Then come with me, my darling thief. I do believe that I once said that I was going to detain you..."

Ryuji walked into the hotel room that Haru said to meet him in. He had exactly no idea what was going on here. Haru had just sent him a cryptic text to come to this room in the middle of the night, so what...

"Oh, good. You're here." Haru was wearing a bathrobe and sitting at the foot of the single bed in the room.

This was just getting stranger and stranger. "Haru? What's going on?"

She stood and slowly walked towards him, like a predator stalking their prey. "It's quite simple, Ryuji. Upon our return to Japan, we will begin to delve into my father's heart in an attempt to excise the blight that has taken hold of him. As we all learned this week, our survival is not certain."

Ryuji knew that all too well. If it wasn't for Makoto and Morgana, they all would've been dead a hundred times over. "I get that, but why call me here?"

Haru smiled. Then she removed the bathrobe. It fell to the ground, pooling around her feet.

That bathrobe had been all she was wearing.

Ryuji's eyes went wide. "Uh..."

Haru giggled before beckoning him with a crooked finger. "It's alright, dear. I'm going to give you a night that you will never forget for as long as you live."

Without a second thought, Ryuji surrendered. He went to take his shirt off, but Haru stopped him. "Allow me." He gasped as he felt her hands slip under the hem of his shirt and begin to explore his chest. She purred. "Oh, you have been keeping to your diet and workout plan."

"You're really going to bring that up now? Ryuji asked as she worked his shirt off.

She kissed him as she snaked her arms around his neck. "Of course, dear. How else will I know what a good boy you've been?"

Ryuji shuddered. "God, how is that so hot?"

"You haven't seen anything yet." Haru swooped in and latched on to Ryuji's neck, kissing and biting and sucking. His moans were the only sound to be heard. "There, that should be just enough to make people see that you're mine."

"Yes, ma'am!" Ryuji said.

"Ma'am? Oh no, Ryuji. That's not correct." Haru grabbed him by the chin. "When we are alone, you will address me properly. You will call me Mistress. Am I understood?"

Ryuji realized what was happening here, while he was not a smart man, he also wasn't an idiot. "Yes, Mistress."

Haru grabbed him and pushed him onto the bed. "Good boy. Now..." She climbed on top of him and began to straddle him. "Make love to me, my dearest Ryuji."

He obeyed instantly.

A/N: Yes, I did have the gang bumrush all of the Confidant Mementos Requests. I regret nothing.

Yeah, that's another Nyx Avatar alright.

Okay, let's talk about how revival works. I see revival magic and items working similarly to the 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons spell Revivify. Basically, it can bring you back if you died in the last minute. Considering that in the game, dead party members are back to life with 1 hit point after battle, I'm assuming the time limit is similar.

I see Revivadrin as Takemi's version of an EpiPen. Ren even injects it into Makoto's thigh like a real EpiPen would be.

And true to form, the first thing Makoto does on being brought back to life is worry about Ren. Not without good reason mind you. The boy needs rest. Luckily he's got a vacation coming up.

F in the chat for the random that tried to badmouth Ren to Makoto's face.

The OG Shujin trio reminisces about when they fell in love with their girlfriends. It's adorable.

Makoto finally gets the beating from a metaphorical Take Care Of Yourself bat that she needs. Good for her.

Ren and Makoto talk about their future. There's no question on if they'll be together or not, that's a given. These are all just possible paths they could take. Any one of these could end up being the canon path for this fic.

"Haha, I'm in danger." -Ryuji Sakamoto, moments before getting mommy dommed by Haru Okumura all night long.

Next time, It'll be Okumura's Palace. And Haru will say the line that should've been hers from the start.

"We are the Phantom Thieves, here to take your bride!"