AN: Coincidentally, today is my birthday. But I guess I'm giving all of you a (non-refundable) gift. I hope you enjoy it.

AO3 – Thank you epikachu. I'd say Morgana's the real pro, though, seeing as how he gets Urano's book away from her every night despite being smaller than her and lacking opposable thumbs – all without earning her wrath by damaging the book. The not-cat is a phantom thief in the Metaverse and in reality.

April 27 – Wednesday

Eiko Takao's PoV

"You've been spending some time in the red-light district lately, haven't you? Both myself and Urano here saw you there. Based on where you were heading, we assume you're working at a store called the After School Salon. How is it, working there?"

Eiko played around on her phone as Miss Student Council President spoke, not understanding why she'd been called here.

"Whaddya mean?" asked Eiko, confused. She put her phone away. "It's just a normal café. They make me wear a costume and stuff, but that's it. Oh, and I don't hafta do anything weird, if you know what I mean. It's all totally legal."

"Hm," frowned Miss Prez. "So you're sure nothing strange is going on?"

"Yup, yup," confirmed Eiko. "The worst I get is some weird old guys gawking at me."

"I see…" replied Miss Prez, though she didn't stop questioning Eiko.

As the interrogation dragged on, Eiko felt bored. Thankfully, she was saved from her boredom when a juicy topic came along.

"…plus the guys who come in there like, mega pamper me," said Eiko. "It's nice having people treat you like you're special, y'know?"

"That sounds creepy," commented the witness (Urano, was it?) with a grimace. "I'd prefer to be pampered by someone I know instead of by strangers."

"Oh?" went Eiko, her interest piqued. "Do you have someone special in mind? A boyfriend, or maybe just a crush?"

Urano blinked in surprise, hesitated for a moment, and then made a coy smile.

"Actually, I do," she confirmed. "I only met him recently, but he's a really reliable guy. He's usually busy, but I've been about to find more time to be around him lately."

Excited, Eiko wanted to ask for more details. Miss Prez, on the other hand, just let out a 'huh?' while looking completely bewildered.

"Oh, but he barely even knows I exist," added Urano, almost like an afterthought. Honestly, it sounded bit fishy to Eiko. "Isn't that right, Makoto?"

"Huh!?" went Miss Prez, looking completely lost. "What are you– Ah! Yes, I-I have definitely met him before!"

Wow, Miss Prez was so bad at lying that it was actually kinda funny. But why were they lying about Urano not knowing the guy? And why'd Miss Prez say 'him' like that?

"Wait a sec…" started Eiko, her eyes widening as a possibility occurred to her. She looked at Urano. "Are you only pretending there's a guy you like… 'cause you're secretly dating Miss Prez?"

"Bwuh!?" exclaimed Urano, her cheeks reddened. However, she looked like the picture of composure compared to Class Prez, who was blushing and stammering out excuses.

"I'm right, aren't I?" asked Eiko, though there wasn't any point to it. After seeing the girls' reactions, she was certain. "And I bet you were like, in Shinjuku for a date!"

Oh wow! Miss Prez was nothing like the stick in the mud Eiko'd thought she was!

"W-we aren't dating!" denied Urano. "I mean, sure, Makoto's really pretty and smart and hard-working, and I bet she owns tons of books… but we aren't dating!"

Class Prez's face got redder with every compliment – even the book one, which Eiko didn't get – until Eiko half-expected her to pass out from embarrassment.

"I get it," replied Eiko, barely holding herself back from laughing at the girls' reactions. "You like, haven't told anyone yet. Don't worry… I'll protect your secret."

"That's not how it is!" cried Class Prez.

The two girls denied that they were dating for a little longer, but they eventually just gave up and promised to keep Eiko's secret too.

Eiko also learned that Makoto (not Class Prez, now that they were friends) was into Buchimaru-kun. She exchanged numbers with Makoto, then glanced at the clock and realized she had work soon.

Eiko gave the couple a quick goodbye and left.

Urano Motosu's PoV

Rank Up!

Confidant: Makoto Niijima. Arcana: High Priestess. Rank: 3.

.

The meeting with Eiko definitely could've gone better. Wow, did making up an imaginary crush based on Sojiro backfire. I haven't felt this worn-out since… actually, I guess the fight with Asmodeus wasn't that long ago.

Of course, the meeting could've also gone a lot worse. Makoto became friends with Eiko and found some value in the girl's unique perspective. Plus, her Confidant ranked up, which means that we're closer now. I guess the mutual embarrassment of being mistaken for a couple brought us closer together. Yay.

Luckily, Eiko's promise to keep our 'secret' seemed genuine. A school-wide rumor that Makoto and I were a couple would be completely mortifying. I'd also feel sorry for Makoto if the misunderstanding interfered with her love life down the line.

(I didn't have to worry about that myself. Even if I cared about romance, I wouldn't mind dating someone like Makoto.)

"Akihabara Wars: Revenge of the Futaba!" declared my sister as we entered the store. It was the same place where she'd gotten separated from me and freaked out last time we came to Akihabara.

We were currently tackling the first item on Futaba's promise list – 'go somewhere with lots of people.' She wanted to get an item done before we went to Mementos as a way of psyching herself up.

I think Futaba was also feeling uneasy about going behind the others' backs and risking a mental shutdown. She might've been hoping to distract herself from those emotions, sort of like how I've been doing something nice for the others as a preemptive apology for going behind their backs.

Incidentally, before coming here, we took a detour to a ramen shop so that I could buy a coupon for Ryuji. I figured that he'd like it, and I didn't want to… err… I couldn't have another exercise session with him just yet. He… um… still needed to find a new training spot. Yeah…

"Hey, did you see that tablet earlier?" asked Futaba excitedly. Apparently, our last visit hadn't been especially traumatizing for her. "Whoever drew the picture was a real pro."

"Yeah," I agreed, refraining from mentioning that the drawing was a bit pervy.

Suddenly, the shoppers around us began getting worked up over a super-limited sale at the PC section. A swarm of people began rushing past us to reach that area of the store before it ran out of stock. I tried to protect Futaba from the onslaught of bargain-obsessed customers, but they were too strong. The next thing I knew, my sister had been swept away by the crowd.

As I began frantically looking around for Futaba, I got a phone call from her.

"Mayday, mayday… I'm trapped in the Home Appliance Kingdom… The Three Terabyte War rages on outside… There are just… so many people… Hrgh… I don't know if I can last much longer…"

"I'm coming for you, sis!" I shouted into my phone, attracted some stares.

However, I didn't even get ten steps before I ran into Futaba.

"Ah!" exclaimed my sister as she saw me. "There you are! I… I, I, I…"

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned. "I was about to come find you."

"O-oh… thanks," said Futaba, blushing. "I didn't think I was gonna see you until the end of time… But then I thought about you while wandering the store, and bam, a wild Urano appeared!"

"It's good to see you again," I replied.

"So you're relieved? What a coincidence! Me too."

"Stop overreacting," grumbled Morgana from within my bag. "You two weren't even separated for half a minute."

We pointedly ignored his unnecessary comment.

"…Hm?" went Futaba. I could tell from her expression that she was thinking about something. "Wait a tick, I just finished a promise! 'Go somewhere with lots of people'! Well, am I awesome or what!?"

"Congratulations!" I said happily.

"Yeah, congrats," agreed Morgana, sincere this time. He poked his head out of my bag and gave the hacker a smile.

"It's all because of the Three Terabyte War though!" continued Futaba joyfully. "Oh, and because you brought me here! I, Futaba Sakura, hereby thank thee!"

.

Rank Up!

Confidant: Futaba Sakura. Arcana: Hermit. Rank: 4.

.

"I, Urano Motosu, hereby accept your thanks and give thou a 'you are welcome' in return!"

We chuckled a little at the bit, then Futaba grew somber.

"I dunno though… I panicked hard when I was soloing that dungeon… Not being with you is kinda scary… I'm definitely not ready for the last item on the promise list…"

'Be okay without Urano around.' Urgh, I didn't like the idea of leaving Futaba scared and alone somewhere.

"It might be a long questline, but I'll finish it someday!" declared Futaba, determined.

When the time came, I'd need to be strong for her.

"…Phew, I'm tired," said my sister, the determination she'd shown moments ago replaced by fatigue. "C'mon, let's go home!"

Futaba Sakura's PoV

As soon as the girls returned home from Akihibara, Futaba went to her room and collapsed on her bed unceremoniously.

"Uuuurgh," moaned the hacker. "HP down… Need… health potion… stat…"

Or better yet, a phoenix down. As satisfying as crossing the first item off her promise list had been, Futaba was exhausted!

After a minute of being limply splayed over her bed, the hacker recovered enough strength to turn over and shift into a sitting position.

"I really did it," whispered Futaba to herself, giddy at her progress. After a few moments, she noticed something. "…Huh, my room's messy again."

Indeed, the pristine state her room had been in after Urano cleaned it was nothing more than a memory now, as the hacker's sloppy lifestyle had reset the room to its prior state of disorder. Additionally, while such conditions were acceptable to Futaba during her shut-in period, she'd grown accustomed to the cleanliness that Urano had introduced her to.

Or, in simpler terms, Futaba was no longer as much of a slob and now found her pigsty of a room to be gross. She wanted it clean again, ASAP.

"But I'm so tiiiiired," groaned Futaba lazily. She'd already done so much today. Couldn't somebody else do it?

Unfortunately, the hacker had a pretty good idea of how Urano or Sojiro would respond if she asked either of them to clean her room for her. And it wasn't like she could ask anybody else to clean her room.

"Wait a second, yes I can!" exclaimed Futaba, a brilliant idea occurring to her. "I can use a maid service!"

All she had to do was contact the service, ask them to come by after Urano joined Sojiro at Leblanc for her shift, and stay in her sister's room while the maid worked. Sure, the hacker was too young to hire a maid service, but if she used voice modifying software and left the cash in her room, then nobody would know.

(And Futaba did have the money for a maid. Urano was holding onto the bulk of their spoils from Kamoshida's Palace as a 'phantom thieves' slush fund, but everyone got a cut for personal use.)

"Mwhehehe!" cackled Futaba as she opened up her computer and began searching for a maid service online – an actual one, not a fetishy one. Well, maybe when she was older…

Sadayo Kawakami's PoV

Sadayo (or Becky, since she was doing maid work) felt anxious as she cleaned her client's room. It felt like, at any moment, some sort of murderer or pervert or perverted murderer would pop out of nowhere and assault her.

After all, her current job had some glaring red flags. Not only did the client use a voice modifier when making the request, but Sadayo never actually met them since they left the money on a desk in the room. Only an idiot wouldn't find the setup to be extremely shady.

"Then again, I suppose I'm still an idiot for accepting the request despite how shady it is," admitted Sadayo. She didn't have a choice, though, if she wanted to keep making the payments.

The part-time maid cleaned the room as quickly as possible, then left immediately. Or at least she tried to, only to run into an unexpected but familiar in the hallway.

"Futaba, I'm home!" announced Motosu, entering the room. "There weren't many customers today, so Sojiro decided to close earl– Bwuh!?"

Sadayo froze, horror and confusion warring inside of her. One of her students was here! Why was one of her students here!?

"Futaba!" shouted Motosu, the girl's own confusion morphing into anger. "Why is there a maid here!?"

A younger girl with orange hair and a panicked expression popped out of one of the rooms.

"Big sis, I can explain!"

As it turned out, rather than a murderer, Sadayo's current request had been made by a lazy teenage girl. Although, given that Motosu muttered 'And of course you went with a maid' after hearing her sister's explanation, the jury was still out on the 'pervert' part.

"I'm sorry about my sister, Miss…" apologized Motosu, sounding exasperated.

"Becky," answered Sadayo, barely restraining herself from sighing in relief. Miraculously, her student hadn't recognized her. Probably because she was normally nose-deep in a book during homeroom. "And I don't mind. I do ask that you let me keep the 5,000 yen she paid for my services, though, so that my boss doesn't get angry. Meow!"

Hopefully, Motosu's sister hadn't stolen the money and just had a good allowance.

"Don't worry," responded Motosu. "Even if the money isn't all hers, I can cover it. I work part-time at a café."

"What a relief," said Sadayo, letting out the breath she'd been holding. "I guess it's a good thing Shujin students are allowed to work."

The part-time maid realized her mistake the moment she finished speak.

"…How do you know where I go to school?" asked Motosu, tensing up. "I'm not wearing her school uniform. Wait a second…" She squinted at the Sadayo's face. "…Ms. Kawakami!?"

…Aaand the jig was up.

"Ugh, this is unbelievable…" groaned the part-time maid. It was time to face the music. "Yes, it's me… your homeroom teacher…"

"Gasp!" interjected her so-called client, earning herself a 'I haven't forgotten about what you did' glare from Motosu.

"I'm so done…" muttered Sadayo to herself. "I can't believe I got caught by one of my own students… I should've taken a job outside of the city. But I needed it to be close to school so I could go there after work…"

"Umm, I'm not gonna tell anyone you're working as a maid," Motosu told her, snapping the part-time maid out of her rumination.

"Huh?" went Sadayo. "You aren't?"

"Why would I? As far as I can tell, you don't deserve to be fired. But I do have a lot of questions…"

Relieved, the part-time maid didn't argue with her student.

(Although she definitely disagreed with Motosu, given what happened to Takase).

"Still, I feel like I'm hitting a new low, relying on a student like this…" stated Sadayo. She should at least be offering something in return for Motosu keeping her secret. "Hmm, how about this… in exchange for you not telling anyone that I'm moonlighting as a maid, I'll let you skip class a few times. However, I reserve the right to change my mind if your grades drop."

"O…kay? If it makes you feel better, I guess. I'd always welcome more reading time."

"Then it's a deal!"

.

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

.

It shall become the wings of rebellion

That breaketh thy chains of captivity.

.

With the birth of the Temperance Persona,

I have obtained the winds of blessing that

Shall lead to freedom and new power…

.

Confidant: Sadayo Kawakami. Arcana: Temperance. Rank: 1.

.

"By the way," added Motosu. "You should probably get going. Our father could come back at any moment."

Sadayo heeded her student's advice and hightailed it out of there.

April 28 – Thursday

Ryuji Sakamoto's PoV

At lunchtime, Ryuji paid the student council room a visit, looking for Makoto. As luck would have it, she was the only person there.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" Ryuji asked Makoto. She looked up from some papers. "It's about Urano."

"What about her?" she responded, curious.

"Well, hasn't she been acting kinda weird lately?" he answered. "The other day, I saw her and Morgana exiting the airsoft gun shop, looking like she bought a bunch of things. Then, this morning, she gave me a coupon to a ramen shop outta nowhere, calling it a thank-you gift for 'everything.' I mean, I'm not complaining, but she seemed like she was hiding something…"

"That does sound strange," agreed Makoto. "And, to answer your question, yes. She even did me a favor, sort of like how she got you that coupon. I'd actually intended to question her about it yesterday, but I…" Makoto paused, blushing. "…got distracted."

"Distracted?" repeated Ryuji. "About what?"

"Nothing!" replied Makoto immediately, her face getting redder.

What was that about? Ryuji almost tried to pry into the matter, only for a memory of how scary Makoto could get when she was angry to flash through his mind. Resisting the urge to shiver, he decided to move on.

"So then, what do we do about Urano?" asked Ryuji. "Do we confront her about her weird behavior? Or should we just leave it alone and wait for her to explain?"

"Actually, I was thinking about speaking with Futaba," answered Makoto, having regained her composure. Seeing Ryuji's confusion, she continued. "Since they live together, Futaba may know why Urano is acting like this. Even if she doesn't, it would be useful to have her support should we decide to confront Urano."

"Got it," said Ryuji. Then, he had an idea. "What about Morgana? He was at the gun shop with her. D'ya think we should question him?"

"Unfortunately, I don't think that's feasible," responded Makoto.

"Huh?" went Ryuji, before he remembered something important. "Ah, right… he's basically always around Urano."

There wasn't much point in questioning the not-cat about Urano right in front of her.

The two spent a bit longer planning. Fortunately, Makoto didn't have much student council work today and (according to her) Urano was going to be hanging out with Ann after school, so they could go visit Futaba as soon as classes ended.

Ann Takamaki's PoV

"What about these?" suggested Urano, offering Ann yet another set of clothes.

The model entered the dressing space, tried them on, and liked what she saw.

"It looks great… just like your other suggestions," said Ann, pulling back the curtain to show Urano. "…Seriously, how are you so good at picking out clothes?"

"Eh? Is that something you have to learn?" asked the bookworm, confused. "Well, I have read a bunch of fashion books and magazines on color coordination."

"Of course you have," responded Ann, deadpan. "And should I assume that the reason you normally wear plain clothes despite having a good fashion sense is to save money for books?"

The model got her answer in the form of a sheepish grin.

"I thought so. Here, try this on."

Urano wasn't the only one with a good fashion sense. After half a minute, the bookworm pulled back the curtain to reveal herself wearing the blue sundress Ann had handed her.

"How do I look?" asked Urano.

In truth, Ann had always considered the bookworm to be pretty average-looking. Not especially cute or beautiful, but not unattractive either. However, the model was now realizing that Urano's plainness was because she didn't bother with her appearance beyond the bare minimum. The bookworm actually had the potential to become incredibly Charming.

Ann told Urano as much, then realized that she'd just insulted her friend's appearance.

"Err… no offense," added the model lamely.

"None taken. I mean, you're not wrong."

The shopping went on a little longer, and Ann even convinced Urano ('pressured,' claimed the bookworm) to purchase some cute clothes herself, including the blue sundress. The model felt pretty satisfied with herself, though she was already making plans to bring out more of the bookworm's beauty. Maybe convince her to start using makeup?

After leaving the store, Urano asked Ann to watch her things while she went to the bathroom. As the model waited for her friend to come back, she felt her phone buzz and pulled it out.

"Who could it be?" wondered Ann aloud, checking caller ID. "Makoto?"

As the model accepted the call and listened to what her friend had to say, her good mood quickly evaporated. By the time Urano returned, a burning fury had taken its place.

The bookworm mumbled out an excuse and tried to flee after realizing that Ann was angry at her, but the model didn't let her.

Ann hadn't been there for Shiho when her best friend needed her most, but she'd be there for Urano – whether the bookworm liked it or not.

.

Rank Up!

Confidant: Ann Takamaki. Arcana: Lovers. Rank: 2.

Urano Motosu's PoV

"Well?" asked Ann angrily. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

I was kneeling on the dusty floor of LeBlanc's attic. To my right was Futaba (also kneeling), whose will to resist had been eroded by Makoto and Ryuji's earlier interrogation. To my left was Morgana, who was trying to put on a brave front but was clearly also intimidated.

In front of the three of us were Makoto, Ann, and Ryuji, who were now fully aware of tomorrow's Mementos mission and furious at us for hiding it from them. After Makoto filled her in over the phone, Ann dragged me to LeBlanc for an interrogation. I acquiesced, too scared to resist.

(Futaba had been working at LeBlanc as punishment for the maid thing yesterday. Since the café area was busy when Makoto and Ryuji arrived, Sojiro gave the three of them permission to use the attic so they could talk in privacy. It was actually a pretty nice space.)

"I asked Urano and Morgana to keep it a secret," answered Futaba weakly. "I didn't wanna talk about… back then…"

After realizing it was a sensitive topic, Ryuji and Makoto hadn't pressed Futaba for details on what her uncle had done to her.

"You wouldn't've had to!" retorted Ryuji, fuming. "I told you that I'd help you out back when I joined the Phantom Thieves of Heart! All you had to do was let me know that your uncle was an asshole and I'd be in, no questions asked!"

"Yeah, and that goes for us, too!" added Ann, with Makoto nodding in agreement.

"But this isn't like with Kamoshida," I responded firmly. That sorry excuse for a gym teacher had been a serious threat to countless students. "Sojiro, Futaba, Morgana, and I are the only ones who are in any danger, and even then, we aren't at risk of dying or being raped."

"So what?" said Ann, unaffected by my argument. "I didn't fight Kamoshida's Shadow because I thought it'd magically heal Shiho. I wanted revenge. And it probably wasn't on the same scale as what Kamoshida was doing, but this guy used to hurt Futaba and is currently threatening to tear your family apart! For me, that's a good enough reason to punish him."

"Besides, none of you were in any danger with Kamoshida," added Makoto. "Urano wasn't at risk of expulsion, and Kamoshida didn't even know about Morgana or Futaba. Now, the roles are reversed; it's our turn to help you."

Ugh… I couldn't really argue with what they were saying. However, there was still one thing keeping me from letting them join.

"Even if he ends up dead?" challenged Morgana harshly, voicing my last reservation. "There's still a chance that stealing a Treasure is what triggers a mental shutdown. If you join us for this mission, then you could end up being responsible for the death of a man you've never even met. Are you prepared to kill Futaba's uncle?"

Ryuji, Makoto, and Ann faltered under the not-cat's question.

It was one thing to take that risk with Kamoshida, whose abuse they'd witnessed firsthand. With Futaba's uncle, however, they didn't even know what his misdeeds were.

Ryuji was the first to recover, and he countered Morgana's question with one of his own.

"Are you?"

Now, it was our turn to wince. Ryuji had pretty much hit the nail on the head.

I'd been uncomfortable about the Mementos mission, only resigning myself to it because I couldn't stand to do nothing. Honestly, if Futaba's uncle really ended up dying, I'd probably either die from guilt or confess to his murder.

And, while they hadn't said anything aloud, I could tell that Morgana and Futaba felt the same way. None of us were happy to be doing this.

"Then that settles it," concluded Ryuji. "We'll be taking the risk together."

I glanced around at the others. Makoto and Ann were in agreement with Ryuji, while Futaba was looking to me for guidance. As for Morgana, he seemed frustrated but unable to refute Ryuji's words, sighing and giving me a resigned 'go ahead' gesture.

"I guess so," I conceded.

Tomorrow would decide the future of the Phantom Thieves of Heart.

AN: I feel like the Eiko part was a bit awkward. I wasn't entirely sure how to bring up the topic of dating naturally.

On an unrelated note, I just wanted to make it clear that Makoto and Ryuji's conversation with Futaba started out as a regular conversation, only turning into an interrogation when they realized that she was in on Urano's secret and that said secret was a huge problem. Neither of them could simply turn a blind eye to Urano's troubles.

Anyway, next time the Phantom Thieves of Heart visit Mementos.

Confidants: Morgana (Magician, Rank 5), Igor (Fool, Rank 3), Sojiro Sakura (Hierophant, Rank 6), Ryuji Sakamoto (Chariot, Rank 4), Tae Takemi (Death, Rank 3), Futaba Sakura (Hermit, Rank 4), Makoto Niijima (High Priestess, Rank 3), Shinya Oda (Tower, Rank 1), Caroline and Justine (Strength, Rank 1), Toranosuke Yoshida (Sun, Rank 2), Ann Takamaki (Lovers, Rank 2), Haru Okumura (Empress, Rank 1), Sadayo Kawakami (Temperance, Rank 1).