Ace In The Hole

by eiranerys

Shido has barred the Shadow Operatives from action for two years. But when the Phantom Thieves appear, Mitsuru decides that they have to take action. Luckily, there's a certain former member Shido doesn't seem to be aware of: Ken Amada. But when Ken meets the Phantom Thieves in person, he can't help but agree with their goals. He can't help but befriend them. Phantom Thief!Ken AU.

48. 47: Tipping The Scales

Chapter 47

Tipping The Scale

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Saturday, December 10th, 2016

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Minako slowly became aware of the sound of a baby's wail. Minako groaned, slowly blinking her eyes open.

Sometimes, she wondered how any parent survived the newborn phase with their sanity intact. But then she felt a hand on her arm.

"Mina, I've got this," Aki said.

"But what about—" Minako began.

"You fed her just an hour ago," Aki pointed out.

Minako dropped her head against Aki's shoulder.

"It's all a blur to me now," she mumbled out.

Aki laughed before pressing a kiss against her forehead. "I'll be back soon."

He then climbed out of bed. Minako laid back on the bed, exhaustion settling over her. She loved Kiyomi to bits and pieces, but people were not kidding when they said parenthood was exhausting. And it would be months before Kiyomi could crawl or even walk. She had even more respect for Yukari for choosing to keep the twins, especially given the timing.

Aki had quieted down Kiyomi and finally silence filled the air once more. But as time passed by, Minako couldn't help but wonder what was occupying Aki. Maybe he fell asleep in the rocking chair. She didn't want him to get a crick in his neck in the morning… she better go get him.

So she crawled out of bed herself. Minako shivered for a moment as the cold air cut right through her clothes. It really was getting colder. She fumbled for her fuzzy robe, which hung on a nearby chair. She slipped it on before tying the sash around her. She then headed for the nursery.

It turned out that she was wrong about Aki falling asleep in the rocking chair. He was sitting in the rocking chair, but he was wide awake. The little sounds coming from the bundle in his arms told her that Kiyomi was awake too.

Minako couldn't help but smile. There was something incredibly sweet about a grown man just cradling a baby to his chest so gently.

The rocking chair creaked slightly as Aki continued to rock Kiyomi. They had positioned the rocking chair so that it was close to the window. The moon was nearly full, illuminating her husband and daughter.

"Not tired, are you?" he asked softly.

Minako blinked, wondering if he had spotted her. But then she realized Aki was looking down at Kiyomi. Her heart warmed at the soft expression on Aki's face.

"It's okay. Sometimes I have to stay up for the late-night shift. It's sometimes a pain in the neck but it's worth it. I want to protect the people I care about… and that includes you now, Kiyo. I love you... and I want to protect from anyone who wants to hurt you."

Aki suddenly tensed before he slowly inhaled.

"You had an aunt, you know. No... not any of the sometimes-scary women you met already."

Minako had to bite her lip to stop herself from giggling. She always found how Aki was scared by most of the women of SEES pretty amusing. The only exception was Fuuka because she was well... sweet little Fuuka.

"She was my little sister. She meant the world to me after we lost our parents so suddenly…"

Minako's heart gave a squeeze. She understood the feeling, Minato had been the only one she had been able to cling to after her parents' deaths.

Aki's expression turned regretful, his lips forming a deep frown. "I... couldn't protect her. I was just a kid, but I couldn't help but feel that I could've done something. But I promise that I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I want you to grow up in a world that's better than the world I grew up in." Aki suddenly hugged Kiyomi close. "Mina would probably tease me for rambling on and on like this, but it's how I feel."

Minako couldn't help but feel offended.

"Why would I do that?" she asked, finally stepping into the room.

Aki flinched at that. "M-Mina?! I thought you were sleeping!"

"I thought I'd check up on you," Minako said before stepping closer to her husband and child.

She then held out her hands, letting out a dramatic sigh.

"And Mommy was getting lonely. So gimme."

Aki let out a soft chuckle before rising to his feet and handing over Kiyomi. Kiyomi gave a soft coo. Kiyomi had recently reached a healthier weight for her age; Minako was able to breathe more easily because of that. She was now adorably plump with the chubbiest cheeks. She had thought the twins were cute but no… Kiyomi definitely surpassed them in cuteness.

Kiyomi lifted her hands, waving them for a moment before latching onto Minako's hair and giving it a firm yank.

Minako winced before gently disentangling her hands from Minako's hair.

"Ow, please don't pull at Mommy's hair, Kiyo-chan." But then she cradled Kiyomi close with a smile. "But hi to you too, Kiyo-chan. Did you miss me?"

She got no response, but it wasn't like Minako was expecting one. She rocked Kiyomi gently, swaying to and fro. Every once in a while, Minako would look up to see Aki watching them with a smile playing at his lips.

Minako then began to hum a melody under her breath as she noticed Kiyomi's eyelids fluttering shut. It felt surreal sometimes, despite the sleepless nights and holding Kiyomi in her arms. She had a child now. She just… couldn't understand why anyone would forsake their child. She had loved Kiyomi ever since she had found out that she was pregnant, but that love had become even more fiercer ever since Kiyomi had come into the real world.

Kiyomi's soft breaths evened out, making Minako smile softly. She was just too adorable.

"I love you, baby girl," she whispered before planting a kiss against Kiyomi's forehead.

But Minako laid Kiyomi into her crib. She kissed her fingertip before brushing it against Kiyomi's cheek.

"Good night, Kiyo-chan," she whispered.

After Aki kissed Kiyomi goodnight as well, they headed for their bedroom.

"Aki… I feel the same as you," Minako said quietly.

Aki laughed softly before pulling her into his arms. Minako curled into his embrace before she rested her cheek against his chest.

"You heard everything, didn't you?" he asked.

"You know how nosy I am," Minako shot back.

Aki was quiet for a moment, idly playing with her hair.

He asked. "How close do you think they are to Shido?"

Minako closed her eyes. "They're over halfway, I think Ken-kun reported that they should be going back into the Palace soon."

Aki nodded before letting out a yawn.

"Hopefully they'll take care of him soon," he said drowsily.

Minako leaned up and pressed a brief kiss against his cheek.

"Let's get some rest. You know that Kiyo-chan will be waking us up in an hour or two."

"Mm-hm. Night, Mina."

"Night, Aki."

She then snuggled into Aki's arms and drifted all too easily back to sleep.

---

"Anne-chan! Over here!"

Mika let out a barely audible growl but Anne paid her no mind. Anne tossed her hair over her shoulder before flashing a smile at the camera.

"Oooh, you're just marvelous today, Anne-chan!" the cameraman said, hastily snapping several pictures.

It was weird, pretending that everything was normal. But Anne had to keep up the masquerade. She tried not to show it, but she was starting to feel anxious.

The election was eight days away. She knew better than to rush Ren but she was getting nervous… She just wanted Shido to pay for all the crap he's pulled for the past two years…

"None of that now!" Anne chided herself. "I have to focus!"

And she had something to look forward to. She'd be meeting up with Ryuji and Futaba after her photoshoot. They were shopping in Akihibara, where the shoot was located. She was dressed in an almost cyberpunk style outfit. The outfits she was modelling were nice, but punk wasn't really her thing. She felt that it'd look good on Makoto though.

But still, it made Anne immensely happy to think how far Futaba had come.

"Anne-chan, over here!" the photographer called out to her once more.

Anne quickly plastered on another smile. It was time for her to put her all into this.

The photoshoot went by faster than Anne had expected and before she knew it, she and Mika had ducked into the dressing area. Anne quickly dressed into her street clothes, feeling much comfortable in them. The clothes she was modeling were gorgeous, but nothing beat her own clothes.

She was about to head out when Mika suddenly stepped out, adjusting her sweater dress. It was simple but chic. Yet Anne couldn't help but tense up.

"Where's your precious boyfriend today?" Mika asked, her voice snide.

Anne huffed. Of course she'd bring up Ren...

"Ren had a family emergency, so he went back to his hometown," Anne recited the usual excuse.

She really wondered how long she would have to use that old excuse. It was starting to get really exhausting, hiding the truth about Ren.

Mika sniffed before flipping her hair.

"A likely excuse," she sneered. "I bet your boyfriend got sick of you and moved onto the next pretty thing."

Anne bit the inside of her cheek. Like Ren would ever do that to her.

"Think what you wanna think, Mika," she said curtly; she refused to rise to Mika's bait. "I know the truth. Ren loves me."

Anne then touched her necklace's pendant, smiling softly. She still couldn't believe how much thought Ren had put into her birthday present. She was really so lucky to have Ren.

Mika then started to stare at the necklace, her eyes filled with envy. Then she scowled darkly. But Anne ignored her, picking up her bag and walking out of the changing area.

"Usually you two are glued at the hip. What happened?" Mika continued to follow her.

Anne whirled around, narrowing her eyes at Mika.

"Nothing happened," she said slowly, struggling to keep a rein on her temper.

She couldn't help but feel touchy. She knew she had to mask the truth well to protect her boyfriend but it was starting to get to her. And Mika's usual snotty attitude was not helping.

"ANNE!" The sudden voice made Anne jump.

Anne staggered back a couple steps as Futaba threw her arms around Anne abruptly.

Anne let out a short laugh. "Hey, Futaba! Where's Ryuji?"

"His mom called. Apparently he forgot to help her with something so he had to run back home," Futaba said. "Pffft, what a total Ryuji move."

Anne giggled. Well, she couldn't argue against that.

Futaba then looked up at Anne. "But what dessert do ya have in mind? All the walking around has me starving! I need fuel!"

Mika narrowed her eyes at Anne. "You really aren't taking modeling seriously, aren't you?"

Anne bristled at the accusation. "That's not true! Just because I eat sweets on occasion doesn't mean I sit around stuffing my face!"

Futaba frowned at that, her brows furrowing together.

"Wait… you don't eat sweets? At all? I can't imagine doing that!" Futaba suddenly tapped her chin, letting out a thoughtful hum. "Anne's also experimenting with some skin regiments. She had me help her research them. I don't think it's worth it though. Wayyyy too much of a hassle."

Mika's eye was starting to twitch as she looked Futaba up and down. It took Anne a moment to realize that Mika was irritated that Futaba ate whatever she wanted and didn't care about a skin regiment, but Futaba was still as cute as a button.

Anne forced out a laugh. "But it's getting late. Let's head out, Futaba!"

Anne snatched Futaba's hand and dragged her away from Mika as fast as she could.

"Was what that about?" Futaba asked.

Anne let out a strained laugh. "Mika gets... competitive."

Futaba scrunched her face at that. "But I'm not even a model! I've got nothing to do with her!"

Anne sighed, shaking her head. "Never mind her. She's not important."

She was eager to get her mind off of things. The way Mika asked about Ren still had Anne a little jumpy if she was being honest. She really wanted things to go back to normal. She wanted to be comfortable being in public without looking over her shoulder again.

"What did you and Ryuji get, by the way?" Anne asked.

She had to get her mind off of all of this.

"Ryuji picked up Mafia 6. I got Super Nario Builder!" Futaba said, holding up her other hand—a shopping bag dangled from her wrist.

Anne nodded. "Ooh, I've heard that's a fun game! I hope you like it!"

Futaba grinned. "Just you wait—I'll build a level that'll blow everyone's socks off! Though Anne, where are we going?"

"A little jazz club. It's got some good drinks and all kinds of desserts! The music is pretty great too!" Anne said with a smile.

She and Ren even had a couple dates there. Their last date at the jazz club had been right before Okumura's death. Ren had really loved the ambience there. Maybe they could go there again after everything calmed down.

"Ooh, that sounds good!" Futaba said enthusiastically.

Anne giggled. "I'm glad you think so! Because we're almost there!"

Akihabara was bustling as always. Anne couldn't help but giggle as they passed by one girl advertising her workplace, a maid café. She was pretty but she was just so… gruff. Ren was acquainted with her, of course… It really felt like her boyfriend knew half of the city's population.

But at last they arrived. Anne hoped they would be able to catch the singer, Lyn. She was the daughter of the club owner, a university student. She didn't work all nights of the week, so it felt like a treat when you came in during a night when she was there.

"Hello!" Anne greeted the greeter with a smile. "A table for two, please."

The greeter nodded before motioning a waiter to come seat them. "Enjoy your stay."

They walked in, soft jazz music filling the air. Anne beamed as she saw Lyn on the stage.

"Oooh, awesome! The singer's here tonight!" she said as they sat down.

"Does she not work here every night?" Futaba asked.

Anne nodded. "Yep, it's because she's a university student. She's the daughter of the owner."

Futaba tilted her head. "She's got a pretty voice."

But then she picked up the menu. Anne eyed the picture of the chocolate coffee cake. The thought of the decadent dessert was making Anne's mouth water. It was the perfect balance of sweetness, with a hint of the rich taste of coffee.

Mika's snide voice suddenly popped up in her mind. Anne grimaced. Maybe she shouldn't.

"What's wrong, Anne?" Futaba suddenly asked.

Anne sighed. "I was thinking about getting the chocolate coffee cake but it's probably too much..."

"So let's share that, duh," Futaba said with a snort. "And maybe um… a couple mocktails?"

Anne nodded with a smile. "Sure, that sounds great!"

"The drink menu is making my brain blue screen though… got any recommendations?"

"Hmmm… Ren liked their nojito last time we came here," Anne said, tapping her chin. "It's sweet but not overly sweet. It's balanced out by the mint. Have you had passionfruit drinks before? You might like their Hurricane then."

She gave Futaba a couple more recommendations and Futaba decided to go with the ginger apple mocktail. Anne decided to go with their Bella Bellini, their non-alcoholic take on a Bellini, a peach-based drink.

They called over the waiter and placed their orders. He promised to have their order out soon.

"Do you and Ren come here a lot?" Futaba suddenly asked.

"Eh, not really. We go to all different places. Sometimes we stay in at Leblanc, sometimes we go to the movie... Seaside Park… Ren even took me back to Destinyland once. It's fun to go exploring with him."

Futaba smiled. "That sounds fun. Though the indoor dates sound better to me."

Anne giggled. "Of course you'd think that."

For a moment, she started to wonder just who Futaba would like to date. Whoever they were, they'd have to be a Featherman fan for sure, though.

The waiter then came out with a tray, their cake and drinks resting on top. Anne couldn't help but clap her hands together in excitement. They picked up their forks, breaking off a piece at the same time.

"What do you think?" she asked excitedly after Futaba took her first bite.

"It's good!" Futaba said before taking a sip of her drink. "The drink's good too."

Anne giggled. "I'm glad you like it!"

They chatted for a little longer, enjoying the cake and their drinks. Anne's eyes then drifted throughout the club as she idly sipped her drink. There were a few couples here tonight, though Anne noticed some groups of friends as well.

A sudden movement by the entrance caught Anne's eye as she took another sip.

"Wait… is that Akechi?!" Anne choked on her drink.

"Anne?" Futaba's alarmed voice yanked her back to reality.

Anne hastily put her glass down, still couging.

She then grabbed a napkin to cough into before rasping out, "Akechi."

Futaba moved to look but Anne grabbed for her wrist.

"Don't be so obvious about looking!" she hissed.

"You choked on your drink," Futaba hissed back.

"Ah, crap, crap! Akechi's looking at us now!" Anne thought with panic.

Akechi suddenly walked towards them, his usual fake smile on his face. It irritated Anne to see.

"Hello Anne-san, Futaba-san. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Hi, Akechi-kun," Anne said slowly.

The honorific felt weird on her tongue. Anne then licked her lips as her heart began to beat hard against her chest.

"Oh god… please let me fool him," she pleaded to herself.

Beside her, Futaba just grew stiff. It was understandable why Futaba held a grudge against him the most though. He killed her mother after all. Even though it was the car accident that had ultimately killed Wakaba-san, she never would've died if it hadn't been for Akechi.

Even now, she couldn't understand Akechi's motivation. Just… yeah, she had wanted Kamoshida to pay and suffer because of what he did to Shiho and everyone else… but at the cost of so many lives?

"What do you want, Akechi?" Futaba asked flatly.

Akechi winced. "I know… you're angry. All of you have been avoiding me."

"Our time together has ended, hasn't it?" Anne said dryly. "You kept saying that we'd only be working together for a little while."

Futaba just crossed her arms, silent but with a sour expression on her face. Anne couldn't blame her. Akechi was looking at them with that fake smile of his.

How could he pretend that everything was fine between them when he had planned to kill Ren? He probably shot Sae-san's cognition of Ren with a smile.

Anne suddenly realized that she was shaking.

Akechi pursed his lips. "This is about… what happened that night, wasn't it?"

"No duh," Futaba said flatly.

"You promised. You promised that you would save Ren…" Anne whispered.

"And… we never saw Ken again!" Futaba blurted out.

Oh that's right, they had to put up the façade that the Shadow Operatives had cut off contact. Anne needed that reminder.

Akechi sighed. "I'm sorry, Anne-san… I did try. Sometimes… your best isn't good enough."

"It doesn't mean that I can't be upset with you," Anne hissed at him, her hands clenching into fists.

Akechi sighed. "I know apologies can't bring back Ren-san but again—I am sorry. I know that he did it so everyone else could get to safety."

Anne's hand clenched around her glass. Akechi's fakeness about this… was really pissing her off. She wanted to call him out on it but she bit down on her tongue. No… she had to keep quiet. She couldn't tip Akechi off.

She had to protect Ren. That was her biggest priority.

"Is that supposed to make us feel better?" Futaba snapped. "Ren's dead. Your apologies won't bring him back."

Akechi sighed. "What do you want me to say then?"

"We've been avoiding you for a reason!" Anne snapped out. "I just—"

She squeezed her eyes for a moment. She couldn't do this. She was afraid of cracking and that would be disastrous.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the waiter nervously eye them.

She waved him over. "I-I'm sorry, sir, but could we have the check please?"

"Yes, miss, right away."

He hurried to get them their tab. Anne paid in cash before getting up.

"Come on, Futaba, let's go."

Futaba nodded before following Anne out of the club. Anne walked briskly before spotting an alley. She ducked into it. She just… couldn't deal with this.

"Anne! What's wrong?" Futaba asked anxiously, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I just… god." Anne shut her eyes before burying her face into her hands. "This is driving me nuts, Futaba… Having to pretend that everything's okay…"

Futaba just hugged Anne for a moment.

"Let's go to Leblanc," she said quietly. "I think… you need it."

Anne let out a heavy sigh. That sounded nice... she just hoped that Ren was at LeBlanc.

---

"You ran into Akechi?"

Anne just looked at her boyfriend before giving a miserable nod.

"I nearly lost it, Ren… I had to get out of there before I blurted out the truth."

"Hey, you did great, Anne," Ren reassured, reaching to touch her shoulder. "You've come a long way since trying to fool Yusuke."

Anne huffed before smacking Ren's arm.

"That's not funny!"

Despite herself, she couldn't help but feel a smile tugging at her lips.

Ren just laughed. "Why don't you stay the night, then? We can make it an us night. I'll cook you a nice dinner, we can pick a movie to watch, schedule in some snuggling—the works. I'll get Futaba to bring Morgana over to her house so, it'll be just you and me."

Anne smiled softly. "That sounds great."

She felt a little bad for making Morgana stay with Futaba, but she needed the comfort.

Ren smiled before cupping her face in his two hands, leaning down to give her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Then it's a plan," he declared before slipping his arms around her and giving her a hug.

Anne giggled softly before pressing her face against Ren's shoulder.

"I see how it is…" Morgana grumbled.

Ren snickered. "I'll buy you some sushi to make up for it. We got a lot of loot during our last Mementos trip. I can afford it."

"Really?!" Morgana's eyes went wide.

"Really," Ren confirmed with a wink.

"I'll see you tomorrow then. Have fun with Lady Anne!" Morgana said hastily.

He then darted down the stairs, all but a black blur. Anne couldn't help but giggle. Morgana was a little predictable.

"Knew it'd work," Ren said in between snickers.

"You really know how to target Morgana's weakness, huh?" Anne couldn't help but tease.

Ren pressed a hand against his check before giving a smirk.

"Hey, gotta utilize all the tools I have."

"If you say so, Ren."

Ren just laughed. "Come on, let's make a quick trip to the grocery store. I want to make you something a little fancier than Sojiro's curry."

"Aw, that's not necessary…"

Ren chuckled before kissing her forehead again. "I know. I want to, though."

Anne couldn't help but blush. Ren really liked to pamper her sometimes.

But they set off to the nearby supermarket in Yongen-jaya.

"What are you planning on cooking?" Anne asked.

Ren picked up a piece of beef to inspect it. "Beef tenderloin rubbed with garlic and herbs. Haru gave me some herbs she's been growing. Gonna top it off with mushroom cream sauce."

Anne giggled. "Sounds yummy. There are definitely benefits to dating someone who is interested in cooking."

"Why do you think I wanted you to taste test my curry when Sojiro was first teaching me?" Ren laughed.

He finally was satisfied with the cut of meat, so he put it in the shopping cart.

"I should've known that you were up to something," Anne giggled.

Ren just grumbled, "And I thought I was completely obvious…"

Anne huffed. "You always took on a joking tone when you flirted with me before. What was I supposed to think?"

Looking back on it, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed for having missed the hints Ren threw her way. And she had been kinda oblivious to her own feelings too…

"At least you know now," Ren said, flashing her a mischievous smile.

Anne just gave him a light push. "Oh shut up!"

The rest of the grocery trip was lighthearted. Anne couldn't help but suspect that Ren was acting silly on purpose to cheer her up. But it was pretty effective. Anne was feeling pretty cheerful now.

She was now perched at the bar, sipping at a cup of coffee that Ren had brewed her while Ren prepared their dinner.

She had offered to help but Ren had turned her down.

She loved watching Ren cook. His movements were confident and fluid. She couldn't help but admire the way he had chopped up the onions with such precision. Anne wasn't a bad cook, but her main weakness was chopping in equally sized pieces, so everything cooked evenly.

Ren then dropped the pieces of meat into the pan, making it sizzle. It made Anne's stomach rumble in response.

Ren snickered, flashing a knowing grin at her; he must've heard her. Anne puffed her cheeks out at him in response. Ren just flashed her a wink in response before turning back to the sauce; he was doing some final touches to it.

But suddenly Ren's phone rang.

"Anne, can you get that?" Ren said.

Anne picked up his phone, turning it over so that she could answer the call. But then the caller suddenly hung up.

That was weird…

Anne's eyes then bugged out when she noticed just who had called.

It had been Ren's mother.

There were some text messages too… it was from Ren's dad.

Ren answer our messages. PLEASE

Your mother is besides herself.

Ren's parents… had been trying to get into contact with him?

Anne couldn't help but think back to the hotpot party when it had been just her, Ren, Ryuji, Morgana, and Yusuke. They had all opened up about their pasts but the way Ren had talked about his parents' treatment of him… implied that they were ashamed and angry of him.

But… maybe they've realized that Ren was a victim?

Suddenly the phone rang again.

Anne's finger pressed against the green phone symbol.

"H—"

"You have ten seconds to explain yourself, Ren Amamiya!" Ren's mom all but snarled out. "I know that we didn't part well last spring but your father and I have been trying to reach out to you, Ren!"

She then sighed.

"I'm… sorry, Ren. We should've believed you. That you're not the type to act like this. You've always got an impish side to you but you're not a delinquent. Your dad and I just thought that with how busy we've been, you've changed enough to be a delinquent."

"I… uhhh…" Anne stuttered out, at a loss of what to say.

"Wait… do I have the wrong number? No… this is Ren's number. Who's this?"

"Your son's girlfriend," Anne grumbled to herself.

Ren must've caught sight of the look on Anne's face since he turned to face her, a frown on his face.

"Anne, who's calling?"

Anne licked her lips. She knew that Ren wasn't going to like this, based on how he talked about his parents in the past…

She mouthed at him, "Your mom."

Ren's expression hardened at that, his face turning stormy. He turned off the stove. He then marched over to Anne, plucking the device out of her hands.

"Goodbye, Mom," he snapped into the phone before hanging up.

"Ren…e" Anne began.

Ren cut in, "Anne, don't. Please."

The hurt in Ren's eyes broke Anne's heart. But still… Ren didn't know everything. That his mom seemed like that she wanted to make amends. Maybe it took her and Ren's dad way too long to come around but… they were sorry. They were trying to reach out to him.

She couldn't focus on that though. Not when Ren was obviously hurting.

Anne remained quiet before standing up. She then embraced him from behind, giving him a squeeze. She felt him take in a shuddering breath.

"Oh, Ren… how long have you been bottling up this hurt?" Anne thought with sorrow, feeling tears prickling at her eyes.

She just pressed closer to him, giving him another squeeze.

"I didn't mean to be so short, I just…" Ren cut himself with another sigh.

Anne released him. Ren removed his glasses for a moment to rub at his eyes.

"They took the police's words over mine, Anne. They thought they had done something wrong… that I just went astray. I'm not perfect but dammit... I never was a bad kid," he choked out. "Why… couldn't they just believe in me?"

"Ren… hear me out, please." Anne took one of his hands in both of hers. "Your mom—she feels bad about it now. It's like… it's like how I assumed that Makoto knew about Kamoshida's actions beforehand. It was something that she deeply regretted but still stubbornly maintained her stance when I pushed against her. It took them… too long. Way longer than they should've. But they wanted to try to make amends, Ren… won't you give them a chance?"

She couldn't help but think of how Futaba used to fight with her mom because of how hard she worked. And now Isshiki-san was gone.

And Haru… her regrets about her father always made Anne's heart ache. All Haru wanted was for her old father, the one who was kind and had a true passion for food, to come back.

She didn't want Ren to cut out his parents. He might regret it someday.

Ren squeezed her hands before slowly shaking his head. "It just hurts, Anne… that they would make such assumptions about me. And this whole crap with Shido is making me think about the incident more."

"I understand, Ren…" Anne said softly.

Ren let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry, I know that you had it rough earlier. I didn't mean to make it about me."

"Don't give me that nonsense," Anne scolded, wagging a finger at her boyfriend. "Your feelings are just as important as mine! And I know… things haven't been easy for you. It's okay, Ren... really."

Ren cracked a smile. "Thanks, Anne. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You finished dinner, didn't you? Maybe food will make you better," Anne suggested.

Ren's smile morphed into a smirk, though Anne noticed it was rather… half-hearted.

"Thinking with your stomach, huh?" he said lightly.

"O-Oh shut up!"

But as they ate, Anne couldn't help but think about Ren's situation with his parents. She understood that her boyfriend was deeply hurt by his parents' unwillingness to believe in his side of the story.

Maybe after they had taken care of Shido, Ren's wounds would start to heal… and he'd be more open to talking to his parents again.

She just hoped that it wasn't too late for them.

---

Sunday, December 11th, 2016

---

Goro straightened his tie before taking a deep breath. A part of him was a little irked that Shido was pushing him to do this, so to drum up the negative sentiment against the Phantom Thieves, even though the election was literally a week away.

With Goro striking down all of Shido's obstacles, there was really no need for this… but Shido had demanded it. It wouldn't be long now, though. He would have his revenge… soon. Goro could practically taste it.

"Akechi-kun, you're on in sixty seconds," one of the studio's employees suddenly said, snapping Goro out of his thoughts.

Goro nodded before looking towards where the two hosts sat.

"And now, we're thrilled to welcome our next guest!" the female host said before extending her hand towards where Goro was hiding. "Please welcome, Goro Akechi!"

Goro took a breath before stepping out. Immediately, the majority of the audience began to shriek.

"Akechi-kun! Over here!"

"I loooove you, Akechi-kun!"

Goro kept a smile plastered on his face, turning to give a wave.

"You have so many fans in the audience, Akechi-kun," the male host joked. "I must say—I'm a little jealous."

The female host just laughed.

"I don't need you to get an inflated head," she said lightly.

"You wound me!" The male host fake-gasped in response, clasping a hand to his chest.

Goro couldn't help but feel a little irked; it reminded him of Amamiya's dramatics.

The female host then chuckled before gesturing to the seat.

"Why don't you take a seat, Akechi-kun?" she prompted.

Goro nodded before sitting down, crossing his legs.

"So, Akechi-kun..." the male host said. "Are you surprised that the buzz about the Phantom Thieves hasn't died down?"

Goro shook his head. "Not at all. After all, they were a phenomenon that gripped the entire nation for months. And especially in Tokyo—we're not exactly lacking in news."

The male host nodded before his expression turned thoughtful. "Still, I can't believe that the leader of the Phantom Thieves committed suicide while in custody. Though, Akechi-kun… did you anticipate this curious turn of events?"

Goro let out a small hum, resting his fingers on his chin.

"Oh, certainly not to this extent," Goro said, allowing a thoughtful expression to come across his face. "But it is important to note that he was the mastermind behind the recent commotion."

Even so, the words felt bitter on Goro's tongue. Amamiya's victories were minimal in the big picture, but it still irritated him to acknowledge them.

Goro then added, "Getting captured must have wounded his pride irreparably. Such things happen to insurgent leaders."

He had to wonder just how Amamiya had felt when Shido's men had cornered him… He must've been in shock that he had been outwitted. Goro had to fight the urge to smile smugly.

The female host nodded at that before glancing to the audience.

"According to the police, the whereabouts of the other members are still currently unknown," she explained.

Goro suppressed the urge to smile. If only she knew the truth. Especially since Amamiya, Sakamoto, and Takamaki had all visited this TV studio five months ago.

"Considering that they no longer require testimony from the leader, the investigation will be hard to—"

Goro had to cut her off. That was part of what Shido demanded he do.

"Might I butt in for a moment?" Goro suddenly interjected.

The two hosts looked startled but the male host cleared his throat.

"Of course," he said, nodding.

"The Phantom Thieves may have laid low since the loss of their leader, but they must not be excused!" Goro proclaimed, pressing his hand right over his heart. "I don't care if they come after me! For the victims of their evil deeds, and their poor grieving families…"

Goro then stood to his feet, looking straight at the camera. Then he flashed a smile.

"I will capture the remaining Phantom Thieves, no matter what!"

It would be so easy to pick them off after the election, too. He knew exactly where each and every one of them lived. He'll need to be sure to message one of the Phantom Thieves, can't have them immediately suspecting that he did betray them and plot some half-baked revenge scheme… not that they have it in them. Without Amamiya they're nothing. But still… pays to be prepared. Perhaps he'll message Takamaki, as an act of "remorse" for not "saving" her precious boyfriend.

"I can tell her how everything they see on television is a ruse to gain Shido's trust and keep the law enforcement off their backs. Oh yes, 'even if none of you will never forgive me, I made a promise after Amamiya's death I would keep the police off all of your scents', oh yes, that should do the trick. They're all too distraught and emotional, they'll buy that easily," Akechi thought to himself.

The audience began to applaud at his declaration.

"Yeah, get them, Akechi-kun!"

"Only you can bring them to justice, Akechi-kun!"

"You're so cool, Akechi-kun!"

Goro glanced in their direction, as he flashed them another smile. Their expressions could only be described as adoring. He couldn't help but think of his peers treated him as a child.

---

An A+. He had gotten a perfect score for this test. Goro felt both excited and… sad.

He remembered when his mother was still alive, she had been so proud of him when he brought back excellent test scores. She'd kiss him on the cheek—ignoring Goro's protests that it was childish—before promising him that she'd get him something special. She'd stretch out her funds just to award Goro.

But now… he was a burden. His foster siblings often loved reminding him that he was lucky to have been taken in by his foster family. And his foster mother… she wasn't exactly cruel but also devoid of the warmth that Goro's mother was always happy to give him.

It had been a year and a half since his mother's death and Goro still missed her so terribly. Still, Goro felt a sense of satisfaction as he looked at his test score.

His test was suddenly snatched out of his hands.

"You got a 100?!"

The speaker was Asuka Tendou, and her exclamation grabbed the attention of everyone in the room.

"That test was so hard…"

"How did Goro get a perfect score?"

"Maybe he cheated…"

That last part angered Goro. He didn't cheat! He worked so hard to study! Goro opened his mouth to protest only for their teacher to snap at them to hush up. Goro immediately snapped his mouth shut.

Asuka let out a little huff before crumpling his test before throwing it into Goro's lap. Goro bit his lip. Why did people have to be so cruel?

The moment lingered in Goro's mind for hours. Well into lunch. He finished the lunch that his foster mother had prepared for him—though Goro couldn't help but compare her cooking to his mother's, even now—so he pulled his book to read for the rest of the lunch period.

He had stopped trying to make friends. Nobody wanted to be his friend. People barely tolerated his presence so why bother?

He sighed before looking back to the story. He was reading about an orphan becoming a detective. He solved all kinds of mysteries, even murders. He got to ensure that criminals got locked up and punished for their misdeeds.

He wished he could be like that…

His book was suddenly smacked out of his hands. Goro reluctantly looked up to see Asuka standing before him.

"You cheated, didn't you?" she accused, eyes narrowed at him.

Goro gritted his teeth. Not this again…

"I didn't. I just studied a lot," he said simply. "I want to get into a good school in the future, so I've been working hard."

And if he was lucky, he could score a scholarship with his grades. This irritated Asuka for some reason.

"I worked hard too!" she spat.

Apparently not hard enough based off of her reaction.

Goro shrugged. "I just found a method that works for me. Maybe you haven't found yours yet—"

"Why do you even work so hard?" she snapped out.

Goro froze at that and he frowned. "I told you the reason already—"

"You'll never amount to anything, Goro!" Asuka spat at him. "You're a bastard! You're good for nothing, just like your mom was!"

Goro's hands clenched into fists, anger flaring inside of him.

"Don't you dare bring her up!" he snapped.

"Why? Because it's true?" she taunted.

"Shut up!" Goro literally saw red.

Before he knew it, he had leapt to his feet and gave her a shove.

She staggered backwards with a loud shriek, landing on her bottom.

One of the teachers immediately swooped in.

"What's going on? Himura-kun, did you push Tendou-san?"

Asuka just nodded tearfully as the teacher helped her up. "He did it for no reason!"

"You were the one to come up to me!" Goro protested.

"I wanted to talk to you," she said sweetly. "But you told me to go away and pushed me to the ground."

"That's not true—!"

"Himura-kun, that's enough," the teacher snapped, shooting him a stern look. "Since this is your first offense, I will let you off with a warning. But I don't want to hear another protest out of you, am I clear?"

Goro bit his lip, ducking his head before whispering, "Yes."

It wasn't fair. Why did the teacher have to take Asuka's side?

"Tendou-san, are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," she said with the same fake sweetness; it just made Goro's blood boil to see how she was completely fooling the teacher.

The teacher nodded before giving Goro a dirty look.

"Honestly, why couldn't his mother teach him any manners?" the teacher muttered before stalking away.

Manners? He was plenty polite! But Goro had to literally bite down on his tongue. He didn't want to get into trouble.

"My mom and dad said that nothing good ever happens to bastards," Asuka said smugly. "Just wait and see."

Goro watched her flounce away. His hands balled into fists.

"I'll prove you wrong… all of you wrong," he swore under his breath. "I'll rise above all of you. And I will laugh when I watch you take back everything you said."

He'd make everyone eat their words. One day…

---

"Akechi-kun?"

Goro blinked before shaking his head. He had been so caught up with old memories that he had completely lost himself.

Goro smiled apologetically before sweeping into a bow.

"F-Forgive me. I was just so caught up with my emotions that I…"

The male host just chuckled. "No wonder they call you an ace detective of justice. What passion!"

Then he suddenly snapped his fingers.

"Oh, I know—how about we use this opportunity to poll the audience? Those who believe the detective of justice will annihilate the Phantom Thieves, press your button now."

The screen's numbers flashed for several moments before it finally settled on the number 50.

"My, everyone agrees." The male host then teasingly added, "Looks like you can't back down now!"

Goro scratched his cheek for a moment. "I will do the best I can."

Then he frowned, looking down.

"Oh, but I do have my college entrance exams to study for… maybe I jumped the gun when I promised this," he said with a contemplative frown, cupping his chin.

This earned some hooting and laughter from the audience. Goro had to suppress a smile. It was amazing how people could change their tune so quickly, once they had no idea that he was a bastard child.

You were scum in their eyes once they knew. It didn't matter how hard you worked, if you tried to be the kindest person in the world.

But it didn't matter. Despite everything, Goro managed to claw his way up. And thanks to the Nav… he could eliminate anyone who got in his way.

And finally… revenge was within his grasp. Oh, he couldn't wait for the look on Shido's face when he realized that the bastard child he had once shunned would be the one to destroy him.

---

Christmas was literally two weeks away. So Ren was scouring the underground mall for a present for Anne. He was on the lookout though; just in case Anne was hanging around the mall like she did on most of her days off.

He stepped into the jewelry store where he had bought Anne's birthday present.

"Welcome in!" the clerk called.

Ren gave a little wave before stepping further into the store. He gave a little sigh of relief as the warmth swept over him. His hometown was chilly, with it being right by the ocean, but Tokyo wasn't much warmer.

He slipped his hood off. He didn't want to look like a guy looking to shoplift, after all.

"Oh, you're the young man who came in about a month ago," the clerk said, looking taken aback. "How did your young lady like your gift?"

Ren smiled slightly. "She loved it. She wears it all the time now."

"I assume you're hunting for a Christmas gift. You must really like pampering her."

Ren couldn't help but smile goofily as he recalled the smile on Anne's face after he placed the necklace on her. There was something about Anne's smile that always gave him the warm fuzzies.

"Yeah… but she deserves it."

The clerk smiled. "Well, you're in the right place. What are you thinking? Couple rings?"

Ren's eyes widened at that before he started to wave his hands. "Whoa whoa whoa! We're only seventeen!"

He hadn't really thought of marriage, truth be told. It always seemed in the distance for obvious reasons. He'd like to be of age before even thinking about that kind of thing.

"Okay, not couple rings," the clerk chuckled. "How about a charm bracelet?"

That quickly got Ren's attention.

"It could make future Christmas gifts easier for her too," the clerk added. "You could buy her the charm bracelet and one charm. And you could give her another charm for each Christmas in the future."

Ren grinned. "What charm bracelets do you have in mind?"

The clerk showed him several pieces and Ren ended up picking out a rose gold chain. It took a little longer for Ren to pick the charm but in the end, he picked a key-shaped charm with a heart, also made out of rose gold.

After ringing up Ren's order, the clerk wrapped it up for him. After bidding the clerk goodbye, Ren stepped out of the jewelry store. He quickly pulled up his hood once more. He had to remain cautious.

"Lady Anne will love it!" Morgana practically purred out. "I'm glad that you're treating her the way she deserves."

Ren laughed. "Are you sure? It's not as flashy as what I gave her for her birthday…"

Morgana suddenly looked wistful. "It's sentimental. And it's a promise of building a future with her."

Ren couldn't help but smile. He didn't know what the future held but… with Anne by his side, he felt like he could take on anything.

But as he walked towards Shibuya Station, his phone suddenly buzzed with a text message notification. Ren pulled it out of his pocket to see that it was a text from Ken. He was asking Ren to come over for a talk.

Ren couldn't help but feel curious about that, so he texted Ken that he was coming over.

The walk to Ken's place was short. Though Ren was a little relieved to walk into another warm building. While he didn't have the same reaction to the cold as Anne did, he always disliked the cold more than the heat. His main issue was how his ears always got so cold in the chilly weather.

He hastened towards the elevator, only lowering his hood once he was safely inside. He let out a little sigh, running a hand through his hair. He really couldn't wait for it to be safe to be out in the open.

The elevator let out a ding, making Ren jump.

"Hey, are you okay, Ren?" Morgana asked.

"Just… thinking," Ren muttered out. "Feeling a little antsy about hiding."

"It'll be a little longer, Ren. Though, we do need to tackle getting the last two letters soon," Morgana reminded.

Ren nodded absently. "I know, I know. It'll be soon, I promise."

He then stepped forward, rapping on the door. Ken opened the door.

"Hey, Ren."

Ren cracked a grin. "Hey."

Ken then stepped back so Ren could come in. He pulled off his shoes, leaving them by the door before stepping inside.

Koromaru scampered up to them, letting out a series of barks. Morgana grumbled as Ren bent down to give the albino pooch a scratch behind his ear.

"Feeling jealous, Morgana?" Ren teased. "I could give you scratches too."

Morgana bristled at that, shooting Ren a dirty look. Out of the corner of Ren's eye, he could see Ken rolling his eyes.

"Haha, you're so funny," Morgana grumbled before jumping out of Ren's bag.

"Is Shinjiro-san working today?" Ren asked, turning to Ken.

Ken shook his head. "Nah, he went to buy groceries. It'll be for a while."

Ren raised an eyebrow at that. "It can't take that long to buy groceries."

"Oh, for Shinjiro-san… you'd be surprised," Ken said with a laugh. "Cooking is serious business for him."

He then walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge. He pulled out a carton and a shallow dish. He poured out the contents—cream, Ren realized after a moment.

"Here you go, Morgana," he said.

Morgana brightened up at that before jumping onto the counter and happily began to lap at it. He gave a little purr.

"Thanks, Ken!"

"No problem."

Ken then headed out of the kitchen.

"So… Ken, what did you want to talk to me about?" Ren couldn't help but feel curious.

Ken was quiet for a moment, folding his arms over his chest. "I found… an old letter. From Minato-san, right before he died. He wrote all of us a letter. I came across it among my things while trying to clean my room the other day. I reread it and… it reminded me of some of the things you've told me."

Ken then hesitated for a moment; his expression was now conflicted.

"Do you… remember when I told you that you remind me of someone I know?"

Ren had to think for a moment. But… it was coming back now. God, that had been while Ken had been still hiding the truth from them. That felt so long ago.

"I remind you of Minato-san?" Ren asked, feeling a little confused.

From what Ken had told him, Ren and Minato-san was almost nothing alike.

"Both him and Minako-san but for different reasons," Ken admitted. "It's true that you and Minako-san are very similar in both personality and leadership. But you and Minato-san… carried similar burdens. Minato-san didn't ask to get Death sealed into him. You didn't ask to get a criminal record."

Then Ken suddenly smiled.

"But both of you still push forward, no matter what," he stated.

Ren's mouth suddenly went dry. He didn't know… that's what Ken thought of him.

"Be careful, Ken, before you give me an inflated sense of self," Ren joked, trying to lighten up the situation.

"That's implying that you didn't have one before," Ken shot back before cracking a smile. "But I was wondering if you'd like to read the letter… no pressure if you don't though."

Ren said, "I'd like to see the letter."

"Okay." Ken nodded. "Let's go to my room, then."

Ren followed Ken to his room. It looked a little neater than what Ren remembered. Ken must be getting bored if he was cleaning. Ken then went to his desk, opening the top drawer. He took out an envelope, opening it and drawing out a yellowing piece of paper.

He then handed it to Ren.

The writing on the paper was wobbly so Ren had to squint a little in order to read. But if this was the time when Mianto-san was barely clinging to life for the sake of the promise he had made with his friends, then it made sense. He just couldn't fathom how Minato-san felt while writing this.

March 1st, 2010

Dear Ken,

If you're holding this, it must be past Graduation Day. It'll be your last year of elementary soon… if it hasn't started already.

I do want to apologize for not… helping you and Shinjiro-senpai make amends. I didn't know how deeply you were grieving. I lost my parents, but I had Mina to cling to. I should've tried to help you more.

But I'm not here to talk about this. I wish I could've hung out with you more. Maybe I should've listened to Mina when she tried to get me to hang out with you two. I have some regrets… And I don't want you to make the same mistake.

You have only one childhood, Ken. I know what you went through… shattered your innocence. But don't look to the past and your regrets. You have to look to the future. But still… take the time to enjoy your time as a kid.

And if Shinjiro-senpai somehow wakes up from his coma… talk to him. I know he can be a scary guy and all, but he took a bullet for you. Twice. You guys need to stop focusing on the past. You can't change what happens… but don't waste time overthinking things. I know you really regretted what happened on October 4th. You guys need to talk things out. I think you'll be able to become friends.

Minato

P.S.: Do me a favor and never show this letter to Mina. She'll probably gloat about how optimism always triumphs over pessimism or something like that…

Ren finally lowered the paper.

"Well… he was right about you and Shinjiro-san," he said finally.

Ken fidgeted for a moment. "After I read Minato-san's letter, I finally screwed up the courage to talk to Shinjiro-san. I was so afraid of what he had say to me. I put him through a lot of grief."

"Ken… he didn't blame you."

Sure Shinjiro-san liked to think that he was good at hiding how he felt. Maybe he had started looking after Ken out of guilt and obligation.

But things were different now.

Then Ken smiled. "But he's right… and so were you. My past shaped me into the person I am. But it doesn't define me. Thank you, Ren. When I came to Tokyo, I hadn't expected to make any friends, you know. I was expecting to keep my head low and get the information we needed. I never expected to become a Phantom Thief or… become your friend."

Ken's cheeks suddenly went pink before cracking a bashful smile.

"You've helped me too." Ren stared down at the floor. "You help keep my head screwed on and well… you've helped me realize that there are people in authority roles that do wanna help."

While he had met Yoshida before Ken had even moved to Tokyo, it was thanks to Ken that he got to meet Naoto-san, Akihiko-san, and Mitsuru-san. Meeting them had been such an eye opener.

"After my false accusation, I couldn't help but feel bitter towards people in authority," Ren said, looking back to Ken.

Ken winced. "It's understandable, Ren…"

"But it's an unhealthy mindset. It erases the efforts of people who want to do better."

Ken just nodded before speaking again. "And… I've been thinking. I became involved with all of this because I wasn't officially affiliated with the Shadow Operatives."

"So you're not gonna rejoin the Shadow Operatives?" Ren asked.

He was… surprised by that. He always figured that Ken would want to rejoin them.

Ken pursed his lips together.

"I was put on the auxiliary team back during the incident with Sho Minazuki," he said finally. "I do still want to help Mitsuru-san, but I don't think that I want to rejoin the Shadow Operatives full time. I want to go into criminal justice, I know that much. But I have some time to explore my options."

But then Ken suddenly gave him a sideway glance.

Ren frowned. "Okay, what do you want?"

Ken laughed. "Nothing. I was just wondering what you thought about joining the Shadow Operatives yourself."

Ren frowned to himself, folding his arms over his chest.

He personally couldn't see it. He knew from Ken that Minako-san was a Shadow Operative, and Rise-san had mentioned that Yu-san was a part-time but personally he couldn't see it for himself.

It wasn't what he wanted.

It was too… bureaucratic. He couldn't see him meshing well with it.

Besides that, Ren was already seeing that they needed allies outside of the organization. After all, that's part of why Ken came to Tokyo in the first place. He was grateful for that but he didn't want to be stuck in a corner because of how the Shadow Ops operated under the government.

"It's not for me," Ren said finally, keeping his voice light. "But… I'd be happy to back you up if you need me to."

Ken just smiled. "I'll be counting on you."

---

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast changed a vow into a blood oath,

Thy bonds shall become the wings of rebellion

and break the yoke of thy heart,

Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret

Of the Adjustment, granting thee infinite power…

---

Fuuka had to admit that it was starting to feel lonely, coming back to an empty apartment every day. Visiting with her friends helped but still...

Hoshi had taken to curling up with Fuuka in bed at least. She was feeling it more keenly ever since Shinji and Ken had left. She had forgot how nice it was to snuggle with Shinji.

She was finishing up washing the dishes when her phone suddenly rung. The ringtone was one she had sent to just Shinji's call. She hastily put the last dish on the dish rack before stripping off her gloves. She hurried to pick up the phone and answered the call.

"Shinji?" she asked.

"Hey, Fuuka. Did I call at a bad time?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I had just finished washing the dishes for dinner," Fuuka said. "How was your day, Shinji?"

"It was alright. Had the day off but I came back from shopping to see Amamiya came over."

Fuuka giggled. "Aw, Shinji, Ren-kun isn't that bad…"

"He doesn't try to annoy you," Shinji grumbled out.

"So… is he back to his full strength, then?" Fuuka asked.

Ken didn't really like talking about Ren's healing process. Fuuka suspected that the topic was a little painful for Ken to talk about.

"Yeah, pretty much," Shinji answered. "Morgana nagged at him about jumping back into the Palace earlier today."

"So… it's really happening," Fuuka said quietly.

In a way, she found it a little surreal. When they had first encountered Shido after Isshiki-san's death, he had been protected… all too well.

But the Phantom Thieves would be taking him down soon.

Shinji slowly exhaled before saying, "Yeah. Bastard had it coming."

He spat out the word bastard. She wouldn't be surprised if Shinji was currently squeezing his phone. Though a question suddenly popped in Fuuka's mind.

"Um… Shinji?" she asked hesitantly. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," Shinji said dryly.

Fuuka huffed. "You know what I mean!"

Shinji suddenly laughed, a sound that Fuuka always treasured. Even now, Shinji didn't laugh a whole lot. But Fuuka was okay with that. She found Shinji's laughs more special because of that.

"But seriously, Fuuka… what is it?"

Fuuka pursed her lips together for a moment. "Have you thought about accompanying the Phantom Thieves when they confront Shido?"

Shinji then was silent.

"Maybe I shouldn't have asked," Fuuka fretted to herself, fidgeting with her braid.

Maybe she made Shinji uncomfortable—

"I'm not," Shinji suddenly said, making Fuuka jump. "I've thought about it and yeah, Shido screwed with us in more than one way."

Fuuka's grip on her phone tightened, biting her lower lip. She had expected the night of the heist to be full of tension but none of them could've foreseen just how stressful it was…

"But it's not my fight. It's more… personal for them. He's the one responsible for Amamiya's probation. He ordered Isshiki to be killed and that's why Sakura sunk into a depression. He also ordered Okumura's dad's death. And he… kidnapped Ken. And besides that, Shido keeps spouting some bullshit about making Japan better for the 'children'. I think it's only right for the so-called children to take down the bastard for good."

Oh… she never thought about it. Shinji just reminded her time and time again that he was quite wise. It was a shame that people rarely noticed that side of him.

Fuuka said softly, "You're right, Shinji. I just was wondering because well… you were really furious over what Shido pulled with Ken-kun before."

"Oh, I still want that bastard to rot in hell," Shinji all but growled out. "Though I guess I'll have to settle for prison right now."

Fuuka couldn't help but giggle at that.

"Besides that, I got to see Shido actually lose his shit for a moment when we blackmailed him." Shinji's voice suddenly turned smug.

"It's a shame that you didn't get to take a picture," Fuuka said with another giggle.

"Maybe we should've asked Sakura if she could've nicked the footage," Shinji said with a snort. Then he cleared his throat. "But anyways… did anything happen today?"

"Oh, Minako-chan visited for a little bit before I made dinner. Kiyomi-chan is getting bigger and bigger every time I see her! Though uh… she did bring up wedding planning with me…"

Shinji grumbled, "Of course she did. Was she wrangling to be maid of honor or somethin'?"

Fuuka hesitated for a moment, biting her lip.

"Actually, I was thinking… I'd like to ask Rise-chan to be my maid of honor," she said carefully.

Shinji groaned. "Why Kujikawa?"

She couldn't put it to words, but Fuuka always had just clicked with Rise. While Minako, Yukari, Mitsuru-senpai, and Aigiswere dear friends to her, it was just different with Rise.

"She's been a very good friend to me, that's all. Do I need another reason?" Fuuka pointed out.

When Minako and Akihiko-senpai gotten married last year, Minako had picked Yukari as her maid of honor. It had come to the surprise of nobody. Yukari was her best friend after all. (Though Minako had joked making Junpei co-maid of honor, much to his chagrin.)

And Fuuka personally thought that if Yukari and Minato had been able to get married… Yukari would've picked Minako as well. She was somewhat of a matchmaker for them too.

Shinji let out a sigh. Fuuka had to stifle the urge to laugh. She was pretty sure that Rise played up her attitude around Shinji because she knew that it irritated him.

"That's true," he said reluctantly. Then he let out a sigh. "Just make sure that she doesn't take over with the wedding planning. It's our wedding, not hers and Narukami's."

Fuuka said, "I will. Although… I assume that Akihiko-senpai will be your best man?"

"Yeah. Though it would be funny to see Aki's face if I told him that I wanted Koromaru to be my best man instead."

"Shinji, that's just mean!" Fuuka couldn't help but giggle herself, though.

It made her feel warm, though. Talking about their wedding… Fuuka couldn't help but feel giddy at the thought of their future.

And with Shido's defeat in the soon future… things were finally looking up.

---

Tuesday, December 13th, 2016

---

Message Sent: Ren

[Futaba]: Rennnnnn we're getting real close to the deadline! We should think about heading back into the Palace…
[Ren]: Sorry about that Futaba. I've finished our preparations. We're going in today.

Futaba all but bounded out of the house after reading Ren's message.

Finally! She could understand Ren's caution, but she was really starting to feel antsy.

She all but burst into the café, making Sojiro jump.

"Jeez, Futaba, you're gonna give me a heart attack!" he chastised.

Futaba let out a nervous chuckle before giving him a sheepish look. Okay, maybe she shouldn't have slammed the door open like that…

"Hehe… sorry, Sojiro. But um… we're going inside the Palace. To deal with Shido."

Sojiro nodded before going to flip the sign.

"This is it, huh?" Sojiro looked to her with a grim smile.

Futaba climbed onto the bar stool, drawing her knees to her chest. She then looked to her adoptive father.

"Well… we still need to send the calling card after we finish."

"The calling card, huh…? Might be tricky to get to Shido," Sojiro remarked.

Futaba grinned. "Don't worry, Sojiro. I've already started to devise a plan."

Ohhh man… she couldn't wait to see the look on her friends' faces when she told them her plan! Futaba giggled to herself, unable to hold back her glee. They were totally gonna flip. Not to mention Shido's face. It was a shame that she wouldn't get to see his face, though.

Sojiro just shook his head but let her be while she waited for her friends to come trickling into Leblanc.

Once everyone made it, they went back up to the attic to discuss a couple things before heading back inside Shido's Palace.

"So… we have the IT president and the cleaner left." Morgana frowned. "I'm not sure how we're going to track down either, in all honesty."

Makoto stroked her chin. "We don't really have any clues too. Though… we'll have to proceed forward."

Ken nodded. "We have to head back to where we left off. There has to be parts of the ship we haven't explored yet."

Ren stood up, grabbing a bag tucked underneath his desk.

Morgana perked up at this. "Oh, right! Ren picked up new weapons for everyone."

Ren suddenly flashed Ken a sardonic smile.

"I had to ask Iwai to ship your spear to the café, though, since I have to be especially inconspicuous now. Wasn't cheap either.

Ken rolled his eyes in response before droning out, "Sorry, do you want me to make a check out to you?"

Ren snickered. "That would be nice."

"Eh, just ambush Shadows for money like usual," Ryuji said with a shrug.

Morgana suddenly swatted at Ren's face with his tail, making Ren sputter.

"Hey, focus, Ren!" he chided. "We need to head to the Palace now."

"Nag, nag, nag…" Ren playfully ribbed before letting out a dramatic sigh. "You see what I have to deal with?"

Anne elbowed Ren in the ribs. "Stop picking on people already."

Ren just pouted for a moment before standing up. "Is everyone ready, then?"

"Yeah!"

They slipped into the Metaverse relatively quickly after activating the app from within LeBlanc.

"Today… let's go with Noir, Queen, and Mona."

Ren's selected team members stepped forward. Ren then took the lead, guiding them back to the slots area. After consulting the map, he found the door leading to a new area.

"Ugh… another maze," Ryuji griped.

Haru tilted her head. "It really makes me wonder how close we are to finishing the Palace…"

Ren reached into his jacket, pulling out the map. He unfolded it, studying it closely for several moments.

"The map doesn't have much left, though…" Ren suddenly said, sounding confused.

Morgana just folded his arms over his chest. "It just means that we'll have to scour every centimeter of this ship."

Ren nodded before heading down the hallway. Of course, sneaking around slowed down their progress, but Ren, Morgana, Haru and Makoto didn't seem to have a problem mowing down the Shadows. Their exploration in Mementos last week seemed to give them a slight edge.

But it wasn't long before Futaba sensed that they hit an area where they'd be forced to turn into mice. So… Futaba just stood back to watch the show. Ken was gonna be "thrilled" by this.

And sure enough, there was a puff of smoke, and suddenly her friends were mice again.

Ren quickly scrambled back to the safe zone and everyone else followed suit.

"This is starting to get old," Ken grumbled out, his irritation practically radiating from him.

Makoto nudged him in the side. "It's just part of exploring the Palace, Ace."

"Doesn't mean I can't complain…" he continued to grouch.

"I thought you were fond of animals, given how you treat Koromaru…" Yusuke mused.

"Minako-san did mention that you managed to befriend a squirrel one time," Makoto mentioned.

Ken sputtered at that, his eyes widening behind his mask.

Futaba couldn't help but snort at that. A squirrel? Who was he—Ice White?

"How do you know about that?! And how are you even talking to Minako-san?"

Makoto let out a little laugh. "Oh… it was back when you and Shinjiro-san were in Port Island. I tried calling you but Fuuka-san picked up. She said that you couldn't pick up the phone and Minako-san wanted to talk to me."

"And you're telling me this now?!" Ken cried out, his eyes filling with horror. "Please tell me that Minako-san hasn't sent you anything…"

Futaba couldn't help but snort with laughter. This was Ken's worst nightmare, huh?

"She may have sent me a few pictures of you when you were younger…" Makoto said with a sheepish smile.

Ken just let out a groan, burying his face into his hands.

Makoto patted his shoulder, a bemused smile appearing on her face. "You don't have to be embarrassed. You were adorable as a child."

"Like every guy wants to hear that," Ren said under his breath.

Ryuji scratched the back of his head. "So what if she sent Queen some pictures of ya when you were a kid?"

Ken suddenly looked up, glowering at Ryuji.

"Like you can talk," he spat out, glaring daggers at Ryuji. "You were practically trying to yank the photo album out of your mother's hands when Shinjiro-san and I went to talk to the two of you about adopting Shoyu."

"That's baby pictures. That's totally different! Minako-san met you when you were eleven," Ryuji argued.

"It's the same!"

"Is not!"

"I want to see both," Ren announced, interrupting the spat.

That got Ken and Ryuji's attention in a flash.

"Hell no!" Ryuji yelped out, just as Ken blurted out, "No!"

Morgana coughed before flashing all three boys an annoyed stare. "If you children are done… I believe we have a maze to get out of."

The boys grumbled at that but nodded.

It took a while between the sneaking around as mice and fighting Shadows but they finally found their way to their next target.

Futaba got not wanting to leave your room but it was nuts getting to him…

Futaba let out a little grunt as she heaved herself up on the balcony.

"Finally got 'im!" Ryuji said in a loud whisper—prompting Morgana to quickly hush him.

Ken suddenly studied the room, his lips pursed together.

"Joker, it might be wiser to stick to your current team instead of everyone participating like usual," he stated. "There can't be much room to maneuver around."

Ren nodded. "Yeah, that's smart."

"Hopefully things don't go sour…" Makoto sighed.

Futaba huffed. Well, their track record was far from perfect. Futaba would be surprised if they'd be able to snag the letter without a fight. The closest had been when Anne had tricked the pervy noble, but he had to act all gross with her. He completely deserved that ass kicking.

Morgana turned to Ren. "Are you ready, Joker?"

Ren nodded, adjusting the hem of his glove for a second. He then clenched his hand into a fist.

"Let's do this."

They peered inside, seeing that there was a man in a suit, flanked by two women. That must be the IT president.

"Let me handle this," Futaba blurted out.

This immediately caught everyone else's attention. Futaba huffed. They didn't have to be so concerned…

Haru's eyes went wide with surprise. "By yourself?"

"Ah…" Futaba couldn't help but falter. "I was just thinking that he might get suspicious if it's all of us…"

But Haru was the one to deal with the TV studio president alone… it was also true that she might clam up. And that would mess things up for everyone…

"Have faith in her, guys," Ken suddenly spoke up.

"Good luck," Yusuke intoned.

"Just yell if you need us to jump in," Anne replied.

Futaba gave a quick salute before drawing a quick breath and stepping inside of the room. Futaba was able to get surprisingly close before the IT president snapped to attention.

"Who are you?!" he demanded.

"P-Pardon my entrance sudden!" Futaba stammered out.

Ah! No! That was not what she meant to say! Futaba wanted to facepalm at her stupid blunder.

"I can do this…" Futaba tried to psyche herself up.

"Why did you come in through the window?!" demanded the IT president. "And what's with your…? Ugh, never mind."

Futaba huffed. "W-Well, the door was locked, and you weren't answering! And I needed to talk to you!"

Futaba pulled out her laptop before sitting on one of the plush armchairs. She then booted it up.

"Check out this baby," Futaba said, unable to keep the pride out of her voice.

Futaba stroked the edge of her laptop. She had poured so much into this laptop. It was practically her baby. She had made it all by herself.

The IT president gasped.

"Wait… is this really your laptop?!"

Futaba couldn't help but smile smugly. Hehe… she got him.

He continued to marvel over Futaba's laptop. "This is incredible… to think that a mobile device is capable of this."

"Wanna see the benchmarks? It can pump out some impressive numbers," Futaba couldn't help but brag.

The more she talked, the more confident Futaba felt.

"Though normally I use this laptop as a sub-processor when I'm hacking into a tough system," Futaba added.

"Hacking… like cyber attacks?" the IT president asked.

"Yep, like Medjed!" Futaba then smiled. "Wanna know a secret?"

"Huh?"

Futaba pressed a hand against her chest. "I'm Medjed! I was the one who took down the fake!"

"You…? But Medjed appeared two years ago. You were just a kid!"

So he didn't believe her, huh? Well, seeing was believing. Futaba's fingers flew across the keyboard, pulling up the project server. This drew out a gasp from the IT president.

"If you want my skills, I need a letter of introduction to Shido-san."

"Man… to think that our website was crushed by a mere child…"

Wait a second…! He prepared the website?! That meant—!

The IT president just laughed. "That's right. It was us who masqueraded as Medjed. Though—why did you mess with our website."

"I-It's because I'm a—"

Futaba quickly shook her head. Wait a second, she couldn't go blurting out that she was a Phantom Thief! Who was she—Ryuji?!

Futaba coughed. "It's because I couldn't stand for people to drag Medjed's name in the mud. You were using the name without my permission!"

Though… they did figure out that Medjed was a trap but why Medjed? Maybe it was a good idea to go fishing for some info.

"Why did you send Medjed after the Phantom Thieves anyway?" Futaba asked, doing her best to keep her voice casual.

"Hmm…" He rubbed his chin. "There was no reason why we picked Medjed specifically over another group. Their popularity just made it easier for us. We knew that we needed an anonymous group though—so the Phantom Thieves couldn't target them. We were going to orchestrate their defeat already, so seeing that they truly did fall was a surprise to all of us—even Akechi-kun."

Futaba stared down at her laptop, gritting her teeth for a moment. Of course Akechi was in on it.

Though something started to nag at Futaba. Did Akechi know about the plan to kidnap Ken, then? If that was the case… how did he have this harebrained idea that Ken would happily drop everything just 'cause their moms were sisters?

Then Futaba realized the IT president was still talking.

"We were planning on shutting it down anyway, so it wouldn't conflict with our plans. The Phantom Thieves must've really been basking in their moment in the spotlight, not knowing that it'd be so short-lived," he continued, smugness dripping from every syllable.

Why did he have to rub it in? She really regretted not being able to figure out what their real plan was sooner. Maybe she could've saved everyone so much grief if she had.

"You see, you gotta abuse a tool like the internet."

Futaba couldn't help but tense at the last statement.

The internet wasn't there to abuse! She should've known that he had a messed up sentiment, though… he was in cahoots with Shido, after all.

"The real charm comes in using the internet in innovative ways that circumvent legal restrictions."

Futaba glared at him behind her goggles before uttering, "You…"

She had no words left. This man was truly despicable.

"It can even restrict your enemies," he said smugly before chuckling. "I'm sure you of all people understand, though. You're Medjed after all! Isn't it wonderful manipulating all of the information-illiterate idiots?"

Futaba snorted. This guy really thought that he was in the same league as her? Puh-lease.

The sentiment would've been hilarious if he wasn't such an awful person.

"What a third-rate fool," she growled out.

"Huh?"

"Not only are your skills third-rate, but you stink worse than a third-rate person," she said flatly.

To emphasize her point, Futaba wrinkled her nose.

She slammed a hand on the table. "Don't talk like we're equals! I'm gonna reform society. Not… whatever you do."

The IT president stared at her. "Did you destroy my website for this so-called social reform?"

"That's right! Because I'm a Phantom Thief!" Futaba cried out. "Picking on the weak and calling it innovative. You make me sick, just looking at you! And you're not the only one… I'll have to target the base—Shido! Now hand over that letter of recommendation!"

The IT president scoffed. "You and what army?"

"Uhh… guys!" Futaba shrieked out.

Her friends rushed in.

"We should've known that it'd end like this…" Haru said, shaking her head.

Morgana sighed. "It's the easiest way to get the letter. Let's do this, everyone!"

---

Ren was glad that he brought Haru and Makoto with him. It turned out that the IT president and his lackeys were weak to their Personas' attacks, so they had made quick work of him.

"Okie dokie! We got a letter of introduction!" Futaba cheered, triumphantly holding up the paper. But then she narrowed her eyes. "But pretending to be Medjed—that's not the only crime you've committed, right?"

"I… Shido-san requested that I gather intel on the Kirijo Group. He employed some people who used to work for the Kirijo Group when it was headed by the current CEO's grandfather. He knew then that the Kirijo Group had some dirty secrets. Since Kirijo refused to cooperate, Shido-san wanted to be sure that she wouldn't be able to interfere."

Ken's expression darkened at that. "What kind of intel?"

"Who is a Shadow Operative. We dug up the personal files of her associates, though… I will admit that I didn't completely understand what the files laid out. And we were able to block their attempts to find information through hacking as well."

Holy crap… that was pretty scary. They must even have the goods on part-timers like Yu-san.

"So that's how Akechi was able to find out…" Ken began to mutter to himself before shaking his head.

"Ace…?" Makoto questioned.

"Akechi knew about the incident with Shinjiro-san and Mom… I couldn't figure out how he discovered that," Ken explained before letting out a slow exhale. He then shook his head, pressing his lips together. "But it doesn't matter. We have bigger fish to fry, don't we?"

Ren could tell the thought was bugging Ken, though…

Futaba nodded, glaring at the IT president. "That's not all, is it?!"

The IT president winced. "The cognitive psience research…"

"What did you do?!" Futaba stalked forward, grabbing the front of his shirt. "Spill it already!"

Nobody moved to calm down Futaba. This was a big part of Futaba's motivation to join them after all. She deserved the closure.

"After extracting the details of the research, I deleted every last scrap of the original data. After that, I encrypted the data and put it on a domain inaccessible to normal people. I don't know everything about the mental shutdowns, though."

"He doesn't know everything?" Yusuke questioned.

Ken rubbed his chin. "I'm not surprised. Shido has been networking, using people for his own goals. He must've kept this guy in the dark."

"Just what has Shido been research though?" Morgana asked.

That's what Ren would like to know as well. He ran off with Futaba's mom's research but… for what? Though, if Akechi was working for Shido… could it be that he had helped Akechi tap into something that they were currently unaware of?

That thought… unsettled Ren.

"But no matter whatever Shido is researching… we can't let him abuse it!" Futaba exclaimed.

"We won't, Oracle," Makoto reassured her.

Anne twirled a strand of hair with her finger as they stepped out of the room.

"So… we have four letters," she stated.

"He might've been a third-rate guy, but hey—he still had one somehow!" Futaba said.

"Just the cleaner dude left, yeah?" Ryuji asked. "Let's go cause a scene and lure him out!"

Futaba pumped a fist. "Yeah, Skull—pick a fight with someone!"

Ren snorted at that. This was sounding familiar.

"Why do you want Skull to start a fight so bad?" Ren asked.

"It's 'cause it's so him!" Futaba shot back, flashing a grin.

Makoto sighed. "It would be unwise to start a fight."

Haru let out a thoughtful hum, touching her chin as she mulled things over.

"But… we've been looking all over. Is there even a part of the ship we've left unexplored?" she asked.

Ren pulled out the map, studying it. It really looked like they had explored everywhere but…

"The engine room," Ren stated. "That's what we're missing."

"Oh, that's right. I don't recall ever passing that," Yusuke remarked.

"Might need to check around for an entrance though," Ren mused. "Probably a vent."

"Oh joy," Anne grumbled.

"It's not like we can see," Ren couldn't help but point out.

"Have you been looking?" Anne asked tartly, placing her hands on her hips.

Ren grinned. "Do you want me to look?"

"Ugh, get a room," Ryuji grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, Panther, let's head back inside—" Ren started to joke.

"Not what I meant, dude!"

---

Goro texted Takamaki immediately after the filming ended hours ago. Even as he was speaking to Shido currently over his cell, he absently looked to check his messages, and unsurprisingly she hadn't responded. That was fine, he expected as much from her considering her and Sakura's reaction when they ran into him days ago.

All that mattered was informing one of the Phantom Thieves to keep them where he wanted them.

But he pushed that thought aside and focused his attention back onto Shido.

"Every media outlet is vouching for the inevitable Prime Minister Shido. The public loves you too," Goro stated.

Everywhere he went, Goro could hear people talking about how wonderful Shido would be as prime minister. It honestly made Goro sick to see people praising his bastard of a father but he just had to bear it for a little longer.

"We've only made it this far because of you." Goro could practically see the smirk on Shido's face.

Goro did his best to sound humble. "I'm honored to hear that."

Even though he was on the phone, he kept a pleasant smile all the while, but Goro really wished he could let Shido know how he really felt.

"Though… I do have a favor I must ask you," Shido said.

Huh. He actually put it nicely. It must be a big favor.

"What is it?" Goro asked.

"It's about the loyal customers of the mental shutdown business. How about you dispose all of the ones you think are suspicious?"

What? Why was Shido rushing this? Goro couldn't help but feel baffled.

"Right this moment? The election is only a matter of days away," Goro said.

"Yes, the sooner the better," Shido said flatly.

"Did something come up?"

He couldn't let Shido ruin Goro's plans just because he was being impatient.

"Nothing in particular," Shido was quick to dismiss. "But if something were to happen, it would already be too late."

Goro struggled to keep his voice even and calm. He didn't want people's attention to be drawn to this. He wanted everyone's eyes to be on Shido.

Goro kept his voice even and calm. "I can understand why you might be nervous, but why not stay calm and hold off until after the election."

He put a slight emphasis on after. Shido could do whatever he liked after he achieved becoming Prime Minister. Goro needed Shido to be on top before finally destroying everything right before Shido's eyes.

"I need to take out the trash before my inauguration as prime minister of this nation," Shido said.

If only he knew how soon Goro planned on ripping away everything from Shido after the inauguration.

But then Goro realized that Shido was still talking.

"For the sake of absolute victory, I need all of the roots of anxiety to be pulled out as soon as possible."

Goro couldn't help but question, "Anxiety…? You never mentioned these things before now… is something in particular bothering you?"

He heard a slow exhale.

"Stop questioning me!" Shido sharply rebuked. "There have been some people working against me. I won't have them destroy all that I've worked for. Just do as I ask—I'm counting on you."

Without another word, he hung up.

Goro stared blankly at his phone. Why was Shido acting so strangely? It was so abrupt too. He knew that Shido was planning on offing his so-called allies soon but now…? When they were so close to the election? Shido must be paranoid of someone digging up some skeletons in the closet or something.

Shido's paranoia was the very reason Goro always made certain to stay on his good side.

But still... why is he getting anxious now all of a sudden? The Phantom Thieves were demoralized and their leader was dead; not to mention the Shadow Operatives are in a current stalemate with Shido but they know it would be foolish to make a move now. Goro had taken care of any potential problematic targets recently for Shido just as he asked. Shido should be overconfident... and yet he seemed to have doubts.

So… why?

"Unless… is it possible…?" he mused to himself.

It was true that the Phantom Thieves would have a good opportunity to strike at Shido, right before the election.

But… it couldn't be. They were useless without Amamiya. Just a couple days ago, Takamaki was getting all teary-eyed at the mention of her precious boyfriend.

She and everyone else would be just moping about their loss.

They had men stationed at Kosei and Shujin, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, beyond the Thieves seeming more downcast and melancholic… but they attended school normally.

One of their men regularly stops by to get lunch at LeBlanc, and nothing seemed out of place. Sojiro Sakura was doing his daily routine but with an air of sorrow as the man noted in his report he sent to Goro.

Not to mention that their intel on the Shadow Operatives had shown that they were awfully quiet. Aragaki had only been spotted a couple times since Amamiya's death...

But the thought nagged at Goro. Maybe he should check Shido's Palace, just to be safe.

His mind made up, Goro headed to the train station. It was slower than taking a car, but he didn't want Shido to catch onto what he was planning.

It took him nearly half an hour to get to the Diet Building. But Goro slipped into an abandoned area before entering the Palace.

It was too easy to steal a card for the restaurant. But as Goro searched the area, he was horrified to discover that Shido's cognition of Ooe was gone.

No… that meant—! They really went into the Palace to defeat Shido!?

A pit began to form in Goro's stomach.

He began to rush through the Palace, though his progress was slowed by having to sneak through everywhere.

The noble, the TV studio president…

They were gone.

Just how much progress had they made?!

"Damn them… damn them!" Goro seethed, "Trying to avenge your pathetic leader after all!"

Like hell he was going to let them ruin his carefully laid out plans.

"I can't believe it, I actually underestimated those fools! No, I won't allow this!"

He was going to stop them. No matter what.

He had worked over two years for this… he refused to let it go down the drain!

---

They made a pit stop to the nearby safe room to take a break before they would search for the engine room. Ren passed out some medicine to Makoto, Haru, and Morgana so they'd be in tip top shape.

However, Ken couldn't stop thinking about what the IT president revealed. That man was responsible for a lot of their personal problems.

"Ace?"

Ken snapped to attention at Makoto's voice.

"Oh, Queen… sorry. I was just… thinking."

Makoto just placed a hand on his shoulder. Ken just turned to look at his girlfriend.

"You've been thinking about what the IT president said about the Shadow Operatives."

It was a statement, not a question.

Ken fidgeted for a moment, picking at a stray strand at his sleeve's cuff.

"He made things so much harder for us," he muttered. "Maybe he hadn't, then the Shadow Operatives could've stopped Shido so much sooner. All of those people's lives… they could've been saved."

Though granted, Akechi was the man behind the man—the reason why Shido became untouchable—but Ken couldn't help but wonder if things could've been different had the Shadow Operatives been able to interfere from the beginning.

Makoto's expression was unreadable for a moment. Then she reached down to grasp one of his hands.

"You wouldn't have come to Tokyo otherwise. So for that… I'm grateful."

"Queen…" Ken trailed off, at a loss of what else to say.

Someone suddenly cleared their throat. Ken felt himself blush as Yusuke shuffled his feet.

"Uh… sorry about that," Ken said awkwardly.

Haru giggled. "I found it was sweet."

"Besides, you could make a spectacle like Joker and Panther," Futaba said in between snickers.

Ren whirled to look at Futaba before letting out a little growl. "I'll show you a spectacle!"

He then lunged at Futaba, making the younger girl shriek. Futaba scrambled to hide behind Makoto's chair, crouching behind it.

"Don't let him hurt me, Queen!" Futaba gasped out.

Ken couldn't help but laugh at their antics. Makoto seemed to find it amusing too with how the corner of her mouth was twitching even as she gave Ren a stern look.

Haru was giggling as well. "Now, Joker, that's enough, wouldn't you say?"

Ren grumbled out, "Fiiiine…"

"If you have time to mess around, maybe we're ready to head back out?" Morgana asked.

"We're so close," Anne said, pumping her fist. "Let's get going!"

Ren nodded. "Yeah."

They headed off after that, searching for a way to access the engine room. They didn't have to search for long before finding a vent with smoke escaping from it.

"Do you sense anything, Oracle?" Yusuke asked.

Futaba frowned, pressing her hands against her temples as she concentrated.

"I sense… someone, but I can't confirm that it's the cleaner."

Ren nodded. "Only one way to find out then."

Ren kicked the vent in, allowing them to crawl through. They didn't do much crawling until they finally emerged into a new area.

"There he is!" Ryuji hissed out, pointing at the cleaner.

"I'd proceed with caution," Yusuke said, his eyes narrowed. "He has his men with him. There's no other place to land… save for in front of the cleaner and his men."

"Let's get this over with," Ren said.

He jumped down, leaving everyone to follow suit.

"Surprise!" Ren said with a flourish of his hands.

"Whaddya want?! You looking for trouble?" demanded the cleaner.

"That's right," Ren said in a sing-song voice.

Ken jabbed him in the side before hissing out, "You're not helping, Joker."

"Tch—you've got some nerve. Even after I left you off the hook before." Then the cleaner shrugged. "But I don't have time for punks like you. I'll leave that to my men here."

He then snapped his fingers and the Shadows stepped forward.

Ryuji groaned. "Again with this crap? Getting real tired of this."

"Mona, fall back! Ace, you're up!" Ren was quick to order.

Ken dashed forward, already tearing off his mask.

"Tyr!"

The flare of light nailed down three of the Shadows but the last one managed to dodge it. Ken gritted his teeth. Ugh, that was annoying. But then he looked towards Ren.

"Joker, take it!" he exclaimed, extending his hand.

Ren accepted the baton pass before summoning Janus. The light spell Janus summoned defeated the three prone Shadows, leaving just the lone Shadow sprawled on the ground.

"Go all in!" Ren barked.

They lunged forward, merciless in attacking the Shadow. The Shadow died and Ren whipped his head towards the cognition of the cleaner, who was just casually strolling away. That only worked to irritate Ken.

"Dammit, he's getting away!" Ryuji growled out.

"Let's hustle!" Ren said sharply.

Without another word, Ren broke into a run, leaving everyone else to scramble after him. They had to sneak into a vent to get into the room where the cleaner was, however. He decided to be smart and lock the door.

"Ugh, you guys really don't know how to quit." The cleaner scowled at them.

"At least you can say we're persistent," Ken quipped.

The cleaner narrowed his eyes at that. "Is the hit on me really so big?"

"Hit...?" Haru parroted.

The cleaner just chuckled before tearing off his shirt. Ken just stared blankly at the tattoo on his chest.

Oh no… that meant…

Futaba gasped. "Holy crap! He's almost as ripped as Akihiko-san!"

Ken's head whipped towards Futaba. "Uh... do I want to know how you know that?"

"Uh well... he kinda stripped in front of us while we were trying to rescue you," Makoto said sheepishly, a faint blush on her face.

Ken refrained from sighing, as tempting as it was. Akihiko-san would be oblivious to that kind of thing to the end of time, he supposed.

"He's seriously packing some muscle under that uniform!" Futaba said.

Ken groaned, shooting her a look. "Oracle! He's married with a child!"

"Doesn't mean I can't look!"

Not this again… It was so uncomfortable to hear about this kind of thing. He didn't want to hear this about any of his senpai.

"Shuddup, both of you!" the cleaner abruptly snapped; both he and Futaba took an instinctive step backwards. "Seriously—what clan are you from?"

"Oh shit—does he mean like a yakuza clan?" Ryuji said.

Futaba suddenly let out a squeak. "He must 'clean up' problems by making them disappear?!"

"Crap, we're screwed if he's really yakuza!" Anne whimpered out, wringing her hands.

"We did take on a yakuza member in our last Mementos run but this feels like an entirely different level..." Haru murmured.

Yusuke nodded before his lips formed a thin line. "And it seems that bastard Shido has ties to the underground."

"I'd rather not fight him for the letter of recommendation," Ken said with a wince.

But what else could they do?

"Maybe, we have to prove our worth?" Makoto said tentatively.

"Hey!"

They all took a collective step back as the cleaner took a step forward. He then crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm a busy man. I gotta deal with cleaning up problems and all them mental shutdowns, after all," he said flatly. "If you've got business with me—just spit it out already."

Ren cleared his throat. "How can we get a letter of introduction?"

Asking him straight out, maybe the cleaner would appreciate that straightforwardness.

"A letter of introduction?" He then scoffed, giving Ren a scornful stare. "Why the hell would I give you that?"

"Apparently not…" Ken thought sarcastically.

"We're here to suggest a tattoo design for you!" Anne blurted out, her voice slightly shaky.

They all couldn't help but stare at Anne like she was crazy. A tattoo design? Where were they supposed to come up with one right now?

"A tattoo?" The cleaner looked intrigued, however.

Anne nodded furiously before suddenly pushing Yusuke forward.

"This guy's great at drawing! He's an a-awesome artist!"

Yusuke hissed, "What is the meaning of this? I have no desire to design a simple tattoo! That is an insult to my—!"

Ken's hand jerked, smacking Yusuke in the shin with the butt of his spear.

"Play along!" Ken hissed under his breath. "Look at his face!"

"This is an insult to my abilities!" Yusuke hissed back.

"What are you squabbling about?" the cleaner demanded.

"Draw something, Fox!" Ryuji said. "Art's art, ain't it?"

Yusuke slowly exhaled before giving a small sigh.

He then looked to the cleaner. "Very well. Do I get to at least get to choose what I draw?"

Ken couldn't help but feel a little worried about that. What if Yusuke chose to draw something like a lobster?

The cleaner shook his head. "Uh-uh. I won't accept anything 'cept a godly phoenix fitting my godly personality."

"Somebody has an inflated sense of self," Ken internally snarked.

"A phoenix…" Yusuke said, looking thoughtful. "I rather draw something else…"

The cleaner then scoffed, looking scornful.

His voice turned mocking. "Making excuses now, are we? You're all talk. People like you are a dime a dozen."

Yusuke straightened his spine, glaring at the cleaner now.

He spat out, "I am not all talk. I can draw you anything you want."

Yusuke then demanded a brush and a piece of paper—which miraculously, the cleaner did give Yusuke. Yusuke was bent over the paper for several minutes, his frame blocking most of the paper.

Yusuke cleared his throat, holding up the paper.

"It's finished."

"It's uh… a little…" Ken said with a wince.

"Avant-garde?" Haru suggested.

Well… that was one way to describe it. Tattoos were supposed to have a simplistic design but he supposed simple and Yusuke didn't mesh well together.

"This is so not gonna work for a tattoo!" Ryuji chose to put it more bluntly.

"It looks like a monster with its crazy aura…" Anne said, eyes wide.

"It's… explosive," Haru said haltingly.

"This is my perception of a phoenix," Yusuke said coolly, rising to his feet.

Morgana grumbled out. "There's no way that this is gonna work."

"I ain't seen nothing like this before…" the cleaner said slowly.

Ken couldn't help but cringe. Was the cleaner gonna sic his goons on them now?

But then the cleaner's face suddenly broke into a wide grin.

"I like it!"

Yusuke gave a satisfied smile. "Thank you."

"That was… unexpected," Ren said after a moment.

"It went well at least…" Makoto said with a sigh.

Ken just rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He was going to need some Bylenol after this. He swore that this incident gave him some gray hairs.

"I request a letter of introduction now," Yusuke said bluntly.

"On one condition, kid—I want you to be my personal tattoo artist," the cleaner stated.

"He wants to recruit you?!" Morgana sputtered out.

Yusuke's answer came immediately. "I decline."

After all of this… they were still going to fight the cleaner, weren't they? Ken fought the urge to let out a sigh.

"No letter for you then," the cleaner said.

"I must decide my own path as an artist. I will not receive aid from others any longer," Yusuke stubbornly maintained.

Yusuke's hand then drifted to the hilt of his katana.

"Now… if you understand, hand over the letter. Otherwise, we'll have to take it by force." Yusuke then paused, narrowing his eyes. "By the way, you're more feral pigeon than a phoenix."

Futaba let out a loud snort.

"Good one, Inari!" she said in between snickers.

Ryuji cried out. "No, not good! We have to fight 'im now!"

"You cocky-ass bastard!" the cleaner growled out. "I'll rip you open and tear out your insides!"

Ken couldn't help but cringe at the threat. This was going to be a fun fight…

"We should've just picked a fight to begin with." Ren grumbled out.

"Well with our track record, maybe it shouldn't be surprising," Ken lamented.

The cleaner suddenly transformed into a Shadow—one that Ken had never seen before. Ken had a gut feeling that he wouldn't be packing a weakness like the others they had fought, though.

"Forseti!" Ren summoned a new Persona.

Forseti appeared, sitting on a golden throne. He carried a staff in one of his hands, silver runes swirling and flashing around the staff's orb.

Forseti lifted his staff, pointing at the cleaner. The runes flashed red, green, and purple before the cleaner let out a grunt.

Dark energy collected around the cleaner before exploding. Ken didn't even flinch since the Ring of Darkness protected him from curse magic. Ren thankfully managed to dodge but unfortunately everyone else weren't so fortunate. At least Makoto resisted curse magic now…

He then lumbered forward, swinging his weapon at Makoto. Makoto threw herself to the side but the weapon grazed her.

Ken darted forward; he had to give Makoto cover so she could heal herself.

"Tyr, come!" Ken said, tearing off his mask.

The light spell slammed into the cleaner just as Haru launched a psy spell, sending the Shadow skidding back.

"Any weaknesses, Oracle?" Ren asked, whipping towards Prometheus's direction.

"I'm not sensing any! Just keep hammering at him with everything you've got! I'll do my best to support you!" Futaba answered.

Makoto summoned Anat. A nuclear explosion bloomed to life but like with their other attacks, the cleaner was hardly flinching. Even with Ryuji charging their attack power.

This was going to be a long fight.

Ren then summoned a familiar Persona—Thor. Electricity crackled from his hammer before arcing towards the cleaner. The cleaner hunched over, sparks crackling from his form.

"Ohhh! You shocked him! Nice, Joker!" Futaba exclaimed.

"Noir, Ace—hit him with your best gun attack!" Ren ordered.

Ken and Haru nodded before summoning their Personas. Tyr and Astarte fired at the same time, knocking down the Shadow with ease. At Ren's command, they lunged forward. Unfortunately, the all-out attack wasn't as effective as Ken would've liked.

They threw everything they had at the cleaner but the cleaner hardly flinched at all of the attacks. Even when Ren charged up his attack.

Even when Ren crippled the cleaner's attack, he still inflicted heavy damage. Ken and Morgana had to keep swapping healing duty to ensure that everyone's health was high.

"Super move—ULTRA CHARGE!" Futaba exclaimed before power suddenly surged through them.

"Dance, Hecate!" Anne cried out.

Her flames burned the shadow good, he growled in pain as he glared at the team.

"Nice, Panther! That took a decent amount out of 'im!" Futaba complimented.

Zorro slashed with his sword, whipping up a fierce gale, only for Seiten Taisei to come crashing down. Kamu Susano-o cut in with an attack of his own.

Ken and Haru combined their gun attacks once more just as Ren summoned Siegfried to land another blow.

"Keep it up, guys! He's getting weaker!" Futaba said, her voice filled with excitement.

"This guy really doesn't want to go down, huh?" Ren joked weakly.

"Focus, Joker!" Morgana snapped.

Ren just nodded at this, suddenly all business. The cleaner suddenly lumbered towards Ken, swinging his weapon once more. Ken quickly intercepted the attack with his spear. Ken could feel sweat bead on his brow as the Shadow pressed forward.

He could feel Tyr at the back of his mind. Maybe he could try to summon without pulling at his mask?

"Zorro!"

Morgana quickly pushed the Shadow away from Ken with a well-placed Garudyne spell before following up with a somersault, swinging his sword.

The attack made the Shadow stagger back. Ken grabbed for his gun, firing at the Shadow just as Morgana fired his slingshot. The attacks landed with more force than Ken was expecting, falling backwards.

"Hell yeah!" Ryuji crowed, pumping his fist.

"Joker, let's do it!" Morgana said.

Ren nodded before brandishing his knife. "Show no mercy!"

They lunged forward as one. This time, their combined attacks finally downed the cleaner.

The cleaner returned to his human form... somehow wearing his pinstriped suit once again. Even as his breath came out in huffs, the cleaner suddenly broke into laughter.

"You punks are tough! I like that!"

"I don't feel tough..." Anne mumbled out.

"You've got some backbone." He suddenly reached into his jacket, producing a piece of paper. "All right, I'll give you my letter of recommendation."

Ren hesitantly took the letter from him. "Uh... thanks?"

"Normally I'd have to 'clean' you punks up for messing around on the ship but there's no point."

"No point?" Ken echoed.

What was that supposed to mean? Though… this was Shido's cognition of the cleaner. What did this mean for Shido's allies?

"You're letting us go?" Yusuke's voice was filled with bewilderment.

The cleaner just shrugged. "This place ain't gonna last much longer if powerful soldiers like you guys got in here."

Oh… His theory was incorrect then.

The cleaner then shook his head. "Time for me to jet. The captain was great n' all, but he's gonna have to go down on this ship alone. See ya later, kiddos."

Without another word, he walked away from them.

Haru pressed a hand to her chest, letting out a little sigh. "That was... way too close."

"The cognition of the cleaner is still here, the others disappeared when we defeated them," Ken couldn't help but muse.

He was a little troubled by the cleaner's words, though...

Anne tilted her head. "Maybe it's to show how strong Shido thinks the cleaner is…?"

"That was rather unexpected from him, though," Yusuke remarked.

"Politicians never get too close to their shady connections. Shido must've been only connected to him monetarily," Haru said, only for her expression to grow sad. "I can't help but wonder what kind of connections Father made, thanks to Shido."

"Noir…" Morgana replied sadly.

Haru shook her head, giving Morgana a warm smile. "I'm okay, really. It was just a thought."

"You don't have to brush it aside," Yusuke said. "We're here to support you regardless, Noir."

Haru gave Yusuke a small smile. "Thank you, Fox."

"Well, we have all five letters now!" Anne interjected. "We can access the assembly hall—finally."

"Feels like a long time coming," Makoto said.

"We'll finally be able to steal Shido's Treasure," Haru added.

"Mom... I'll finally be able to avenge you," Futaba said, her hands clenched.

"We're gonna take his Treasure—no matter what!" Ryuji declared, rolling his shoulders.

His friends were starting to get fired up but Ken couldn't help but feel troubled. Something nagged at him.

It was strange that they hadn't encountered a cognitive Akechi. Although, maybe they'd encounter him when they fought Shido, like how Okumura had a cognition of Haru or how Niijima-san had a cognition of her and Makoto's father.

Akechi had made his bed. He made the choice to work for Shido.

And yet… a small part of him still felt pity for Akechi. He couldn't help but compare their situations…

His thoughts were abruptly cut short as he felt a sharp rap on his head.

"Anyone home?" Morgana asked.

Ken sputtered before yanking Morgana off of him. His friends burst into laughter, making Ken glower at them.

"You were in lala land, so Mona decided to take matter in his own hands," Anne said in between giggles.

"I was just thinking. Is that suddenly a crime?" Ken grumbled out.

"What are you thinking, then?" Futaba asked.

Ken slowly exhaled. It was nothing.

He quickly averted his eyes. "Nothing important. Let's head back to the assembly room."

---

By the time Goro had finally reached the side deck, he was pissed, to put it simply.

He uttered a curse when he saw that the cognition of the IT president was gone as well. That meant they only had the cleaner left.

As he dropped back down to the deck, he heard a guttural growl. Goro couldn't help but scowl at that. He didn't have time for this! He called on his berserk powers. The Shadows then turned onto each other, so distracted that they didn't notice Goro slipping past them.

Goro then continued to the engine room. He couldn't allow for any more mistakes!

He looped around, climbing to the rafters. He would use this as an opportunity to ambush them. He'd make them pay!

Then he looked down, gaping at the sight. Ken and Sakura were in the engine room.

Ken… hadn't turned his backs on the Phantom Thieves after all. Sakura had pulled the wool over his eyes, claiming that they'd never gotten back into contact with Ken…

Sakura suddenly stiffened, turning to look around. Ken noticed this, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Oracle, what's the matter?" he asked. "We should catch up to the others. You know how impatient Skull can be."

"It's…" Sakura trailed off, confusion edging into her voice.

She wrapped her arms around herself before letting out a loud sigh.

"I dunno. A bad feeling. I just feel uneasy," she mumbled out.

Ken just rubbed her shoulder in response. Goro gritted his teeth at sight. What had Sakura done to earn Ken's affection?

Aragaki had killed Ken's mother but Ken still loved him. Amamiya and Sakura sometimes aggravated him, but Ken still loved them both.

So… why? Why did Ken not care about him?

"You're just tired, Oracle. The cleaner was not an easy fight and we've all been stressed about stopping Shido before the election."

"Yeah, I guess…" Sakura sighed, looking down on the floor. She rubbed her arm absently. "It's just weird, you know? After all of this, it's kinda weird knowing that it's gonna be over soon. And... we'll get revenge for everyone Shido's hurt. Mom, Noir's dad, Joker..."

Amamiya, Amamiya, Amamiya!

Why was it always about him?!

What was it about him that made his precious friends practically worship the ground he walked on? What the hell was his secret?

Even now, a dead man had more than Goro ever got.

His hand clenched into a fist. No more.

He was going to confront Ken about this. For pretending that he was cowed by Shido, for picking the Phantom Thieves over Goro—for everything.

So Goro took the leap. He landed behind Ken and Sakura. Their heads whipped towards Goro, and Ken let out a gasp.

"A-Akechi?!" Sakura squeaked out.

Ken stepped forward, pushing Sakura a step back.

He then narrowed his eyes before demanding, "What are you doing here?"

Goro pointed accusingly at him. "You... You were pretending all along! That you were too scared of Shido! And for what?! The memory of someone who's dead?! Why? Why the hell won't you help me?! I wanted to take down Shido!"

Ken's eyes hardened. He suddenly looked irritated for whatever reason.

"You're one to talk about doing something for a dead person," he spat out. "What about your mother?"

"Shut up! She was a victim!" Goro couldn't believe this.

Didn't he have a shred of pity for Goro's mother?

"And Joker isn't?! Shido ruined his life! He's always gonna have a mark on his record! It would've followed him for the rest of his life!" Ken snarled out, glaring daggers at Goro.

"He should've just gotten out of the way!" Goro yelled out.

Goro's attention was drawn by Sakura. Her hands were clenched into fists, her entire form rigid. She then suddenly shoved up her goggles to rest on her forehead, her purple eyes unusually hard.

"Answer this!" she demanded, "Did you know about Shido's plan to kidnap Ace?"

Ken went rigid. "O-Oracle…"

"Don't, Ace!" she snapped, holding up one hand; then she glared at Goro. "Well, did you?!"

"Why does it matter?" Goro quickly deflected.

"Why does it matter?" she echoed. "Why does it matter?!"

The last word came out as a shriek.

"How about the fact that you're so desperate to get Ken to join you for this crazy revenge plan against Shido? Do you not care about Shido torturing him?! Messing with his head? Threatening to kill Shinjiro-san out of spite?"

Sakura's voice rose with indignation. Goro just felt irritated, however. She didn't know the entire story. Not that he'd tell her. It was none of her business.

She demanded, "How can you claim to care about him when it's so conditional? You treated Ace as just one of us until you find out that he's your cousin. So suddenly he matters because he's your last chance of family loving you?"

"You're so naïve," Goro spat out. "Everything is conditional in this world. Money, property, inheritance, power, fame... everything comes with a string attached. The sooner you come to terms with that, the better off you are."

"That is not true!" Ken insisted.

How could his cousin be so innocent to how the real world worked?

"Do you think Kirijo helps you out of the pure goodness of her heart? No, it's because she uses you as a tool!" Goro sneered.

"SHUT UP!" Ken snarled out, his hands tightening around his spear. "You know worth crap of what Mitsuru-san has done for me! Yes, there are selfish, horrible people out there! But for every terrible person in the world, there are five good people! Your viewpoint is completely black and white!"

"Everyone didn't have to help me stop being scared of the outside. They helped me with no strings attached!" Sakura said.

"Good for you," Goro sneered.

Ken stared hard at him. "Oracle has a point. Did you know about Shido's plan?"

"It's not—" Goro swallowed hard as Ken glared fiercely at him. "I-I... I knew a few details."

"Oh my god," Sakura uttered, her eyes filled with horror.

Ken had gone stiff. Then a deep scowl formed on his face.

"You knew that he was gonna blackmail Mitsuru-san by threatening me." His voice had turned frigid yet his eyes were burning with anger. "Do you not care that Oracle got shot? Just a little higher and she could've been shot in the head!"

Ken's voice slowly rose until he was yelling.

Goro protested. "I didn't know the full extent of the plan! I didn't know that they were going to shoot her!"

Why did he care about Sakura so much? His priority was on her.

"That doesn't matter!" Ken snapped. "You still agreed to the plan! You don't care about me! You just wanted my help, to hell with what I want!"

Goro opened his mouth to protest but a yell suddenly interrupted him.

"AKECHI?!"

The Phantom Thieves had returned. It was the cat who yelled that.

"The hell's he doing here?!" Sakamoto spat out.

But Goro ignored him. Instead, his eyes were drawn to the male in black and gray, with a familiar white mask. Unbiddenly, laughter began to bubble out.

"This is too funny," he choked out, shaking his head. "You're dead! You're supposed to be dead!"

Amamiya's mouth formed a thin line. "I got better."

"Shut up, you piece of shit!" Goro snarled out.

He had no patience for Amamiya's sarcasm and quips today. His plan was falling apart. Dammit! And he was so close! The election was literally days away!

"I had prevailed over you… my plan was perfect!" Goro growled.

How the hell did he survive?

"Yeah, yeah…" Amamiya said carelessly, flapping a hand in Goro's direction.

That only served to piss off Goro even further.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Akechi. But next time... maybe you should check the pulse," Amamiya mocked.

He shot him in the head! How the hell did he survive that?!

Then Amamiya pulled out his knife, pointing it at Goro. But Goro wasn't scared.

"How?"

Amamiya smirked. "We never actually took her treasure. You only thought we did and lost it in the chase."

"You… let yourself get caught. That was a cognition? Sae-san's cognition no doubt. All that for a gamble?" Goro questioned.

"It worked on you and the cops, didn't it?" the cat said smugly, standing by Amamiya.

Goro clenched his teeth as he squeezed both his fists. These losers, these nobodies... they actually tricked him.

"You're outnumbered, Akechi. You won't win," Amamiya said simply.

Laughter began to bubble from Goro's lips once more. That nerve of him… it would've been almost impressive if it hadn't come from Amamiya.

He was so sure that he'd win, was he?

"Care to prove that?!" Goro snarled out.

He lunged toward Amamiya, intent on rubbing that smug smirk off his face.

"NO!"

Something slammed into Goro and they rolled for a moment. Goro's blood began to boil as he realized who had intervened.

"Fine…" Akechi growled to himself.

He had a bone to pick with his cousin anyways. He knew the area well. He knew of a safety mechanism that would work to his advantage.

Rage lent Goro strength, and he surged forward, pushing Ken off of him. He then grabbed Ken's arms, twisting them behind his back. Ken let out a pained hiss but Goro's goal wasn't to hurt him. Goro shoved him down to the floor, effectively pinning him down.

Ken's spear clattered to the ground, rolling away from them.

Ken tried to buck him off but Goro just twisted his arm. Ken broke off with a pained cry.

"ACE!" Sakura cried out.

"You asshole!" Takamaki screeched out.

Niijima surged forward, her expression burning with rage.

He quickly reached for his gun, and pressed the barrel against Ken's head. He had no intention to shoot him, but they would understand it for a threat and not a bluff. Niijima stopped short, her eyes widening. Ken's breath caught in his throat.

"Move a muscle and maybe my hand might slip," Goro threatened.

"Akechi… you bastard…" Sakamoto hissed out.

Goro smiled sardonically at that. He'd been called that all his life. That insult didn't bother him. His eyes darted to the floor. Good… they were in a good position.

He moved quickly, taking the gun off Ken's head and aiming at the emergency button that would pull up the partition door.

He wasn't gonna let anyone interfere. Not anymore.

"What are you—" Kitagawa started to ask.

Goro pulled the trigger. The sound of shattering glass was music to his ears.

Alarms began to blare.

"The watertight bulkhead door has closed. All personnel within the partition wall must evacuate at once."

"NO!" Niijima gasped out. "Anat—"

Goro then reached into his pocket, drawing out the smoke bomb that Ken had given him. Goro threw it at the ground, black smoke suddenly billowing through the air. A few of the Phantom Thieves let out startled cries at that before starting to cough. But it'd be too late for them to react; the partition door was coming down.

"Zorro, come!"

"Norn!"

They had reacted too slow. The partition had slammed down, separating him and Ken from the Phantom Thieves.

He was going to settle things, once and for all with his cousin.

There would be no more interference.

---

FORSETI

History: Forseti is the god of justice and reconciliation in Norse mythology, the son of the ill-fated Baldur and his wife, Nanna. His home is the palace Glitnir, its name meaning "shining," refers to its silver ceiling and golden pillars, which radiated light that could be seen from a great distance. His is the best of courts; all those who come before him leave reconciled. This suggests skill in mediation and is in contrast to his fellow god Týr, who "is not called a reconciler of men."

Level: 54

Affinity: Bless, Almighty, Support

Blocks: Bless

Resists: Physical, Fire

Weakness: None

Spells: Kougaon (innate), Makougaon (innate), Megidola (innate), God's Hand (level 56), Concentrate (level 58)

---

HAPPY EARLY ANNIVERSARY, ACE IN THE HOLE! Was planning to release it on the actual anniversary but decided not to wait hehe.

So we're finally at the Akechi confrontation! Goodness, I've been wanting to get to this for AGES. As this last section shows… this will have some canon deviance. Just how much? You'll have to wait and see ;)

Also not sorry for the cliffhanger hehe.

*rubs hands together* Oh boy, I can't wait to cover the Akechi confrontation.

Next chapter will be dedicated solely to the Akechi fight. And YES as people have been speculating there will be a Ken vs Akechi solo confrontation. Akechi is Ken's dark mirror in this story, so it's fitting that they hash things out.

As always, a big thank you to my amazing and talented beta, angelrin89! She made some great additions to this chapter! She also helped me figure out how to handle Anne and Futaba bumping into Akechi. Since this is vanilla timeline, it would be a little strange to include Jazz Jin, the jazz club you can take your teammates to in Royal.

Also regarding the Amamiyas, my interpretation is that they're flawed parents but when it comes down to it, they do care for and love Ren. However, Ren's wounds have been reopened with dealing with Shido, so Ren's wounds are raw all over again.

But I hope you guys liked the chapter! Would love to hear your thoughts on the chapter!