Good Day Readers! Obviously, I do not own anything connected to the Persona series in general or Persona 5 specifically, I DO own Chiba Natsumi and Anais Ouvrard, along with Natsumi's immediate family members and the original Personas that will be showing up on occasion.

I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy

Chapter 57: - Moon and Emperor

I needed to plan where to go the next time I could meet up with the Velvet Siblings, they'd managed to find something at the Wild Duck Burger which brought us one step closer to uncovering the mystery of the dark presence. But, if only made me more certain that whoever this Black Mask was that Madarame's Shadow had spoken of, he or she was behind these incidents, that I had been made certain of.

"Hey, that calling card sent to the Madarame exhibit. Do you think…," A girl asked. Hearing the discussion was focused on the calling card, I couldn't help but perk up at hearing it, it would be nice to know what the rest of the student population happened to think of our newest heist; Ren had also focused his attention upon the girls ahead of us.

"Yeah, I think it's just like the one sent to Kamoshida," The girl beside her commented. She seemed unusually eager as she spoke about it, which was a good sign as it meant that more people believed in us ensuring the next level of Mementos would successfully open when we went down there. "People online are saying the Phantoms are behind this. There's already a Phan-Site with a bunch of requests posted on it," She added on. Good grief, Mishima's creation was really making itself useful for us, I couldn't help but smile at that.

"I can't believe there are real-life superheroes," The first girl claimed. That caused Ren and I to exchange glances, after all that was quite the compliment to be thrown at us so suddenly. "If it's happened twice, it's probably going to happen again. Can't wait to see who's next," She admitted. Look like we had some high expectations assigned to us now.

Hearing how those girls had spoken of us actually boosted my spirits as I took my seat ready for class, hopefully everything would go well with locating our next target. There wasn't a need to rush with finding one, but it did need to be one with a good reason for us to target. My phone went off and I pulled it out to see what was going on.

Ryūji: So, what kinda person would be a bigger target than Madarame?

Ann: Hmmm…

Ann: I wonder…

Ann: I guess it'd have to be someone who's the talk of the town?

Yusuke: That's quite a vague prerequisite…

Yusuke: Don't we have any more specific ideas?

Ren: Not really.

Ren: I mean maybe some famous celebrity.

Yusuke: True, but we'll need a lead before we can begin anything.

Natsumi: This is essentially the hardest part of our activities.

Ann: We'll just have to look for that as we go…

Ryūji: If only there was a big target just lying around for us…

Natsumi: There probably is.

Natsumi: We just aren't aware of who he or she is.

I closed my phone and slipped it away as my lips thinned at the discussion that had been had, a bigger target than Madarame; that was going to be quite the difficult obstacle to overcome.

*Persona 5 Royal*

Mishima was grateful that the school day was over, the social studies trip was tomorrow and he wasn't looking forward to it, he really wished he could have looked at an IT company or something that could help him to improve the Phan-site. Mishima walked towards the entrance of the school when he spotted a familiar figure, perhaps it was time for a follow up conversation that Mishima had been hoping for.

"Afternoon Chiba-san," Mishima greeted. He hadn't been expecting to run into her so suddenly, but given that he had this was the perfect time for him to talk to Chiba about something she had said the previous time they'd spoken; the most recent Calling Card and its' subsequent effect had sparked a few more comments to start popping up on the Phan-site had caused Mishima to think more about the conversation he'd had with the girl.

"Mishima, how are you?" Chiba asked. Mishima shifted his weight slightly, Chiba must have taken some meaning from his motions as she stepped back slightly and motioned for him to walk on; Mishima did and Chiba proceeded to follow him, easily keeping pace with his gait, not that this would be difficult for the girl given her stature.

"Well, I've been thinking about those requests you mentioned on the Phan-site," Mishima admitted. Chiba released a small hum, as if allowing the boy to decide how to proceed but at least letting him know that she'd heard the words. "I'm really trying to think about what to do regarding them, since they don't seem like things the Phantoms should be wasting their time solving," Mishima stated. A small sigh escaped Chiba and Mishima looked at her only to find Chiba giving the boy a hard look.

"Mishima, no one's problems are a waste of time, some people could have other issues that they're hiding by using something else. Don't be so dismissive," Chiba chastised. Mishima ducked his head and brought his shoulders up to his ears, feeling pretty pathetic for what he'd just said, plus – though she likely didn't mean it – Chiba's look brought back the feeling of being pinned by Kamoshida's glare.

"Oh, erm sorry," Mishima apologised. Mishima felt something gently rest upon his hair, the boy looked up to find that Chiba had set a hand upon his blue-black locks and she now possessed a soft smile as she looked at him; Mishima felt his shoulders dropping down as a bit of relaxation proceeded to come over him and his head raised up properly.

"It's fine. Regarding the other requests though, I think you need to individually evaluate each of the requests and decide how best to respond to them," Chiba suggested. Chiba's hand slipped down to rest back at her side once again, Mishima still felt a warm flutter dancing across his chest at the soft look that Chiba had given him… at least until her words actually sank into his brain.

"M-m-me! Are you sure I should be the one doing such a thing?!" Mishima exclaimed. Mishima didn't think he was capable of doing something like that and besides, even if he was Mishima didn't believe he was capable of giving any advice that would even be capable of actually helping the people who were in danger.

"Why not? You are the administrator after all, I can't think of a better person to manage those requests," Chiba stated. But there was someone better, someone who was kinder than most people would think and had a strong will despite outward appearance; Mishima wasn't thinking of Amamiya when he thought that; the boy was too busy leading the heroic Phantoms on their life changing missions after all.

"You could," Mishima commented. Chiba stopped abruptly and turned to look at him, but Mishima really believed that Chiba would be able to do it. "Well, you seem to understand how these issues should be resolved and it be great to have an extra hand," Mishima explained. He had really admired the girl, for longer than he'd openly admitted to anyone, plus he did need some aid in handling things since he kept pulling all-nighters and it was starting to affect his schoolwork which could cause people to get suspicious of him. As Mishima looked at Chiba, she shifted to the side and looked away from him which caused Mishima to frown.

"I don't know what view you have of me Mishima, but I'm not the type of person who can empathise with people. I can't comprehend their emotions despite how much I'm trying to relearn that," Chiba stated. Mishima could only blink in confusion, he really didn't understand what could cause Chiba to think that way, but it sounded crazy if he was honest. "Besides, I'm a little too busy outside of school to actually help," Chiba added on.

"Oh… okay, I'm sorry to be such a bother," Mishima commented. He hadn't even thought that the girl would be busy; back in middle school – before the tragedy of her parents which Mishima was sure had caused her personality to twist – Chiba had been involved in the Koto club and he'd even heard her singing a few times, plus her hands had always been calloused so he figured there was something else she had to be doing.

"Hey, you're not being a bother Mishima. I'm actually rather touched that you would trust me this much with something like that," Chiba reassured. This caused Mishima to brighten up, knowing that he wasn't being a nuisance. "You should probably try and do it before handing the job over to someone else," Chiba insisted. Right, the conversation they'd been having, Mishima snapped his attention back to it.

"What makes you think I'd be any better at it than you Chiba-san?" Mishima wondered. He really was confused as to why Chiba believed he would be better than someone as level-headed as she was for handling these conversations; Mishima was actually worried that he'd end up getting into an argument with the people who were making more ridiculous demands, arguments weren't Mishima's strong suit, in fact they actively terrified him.

"I think you'll understand, like I said I can't empathise with these people. But you can, the things you went through at Kamoshida's hands, plus how cruelly you were treated in middle school means you understand the pain other people who have been tormented have gone through. Try advising people on what they can do or even just talk to them, sometimes an open ear is the best thing anyone can do," Chiba advised. Mishima didn't like to think about middle school much, he had few decent memories of that time, but the mention of Kamoshida caused him to recall something, something he had questions about.

"There's something I've always wondered," Mishima admitted. Chiba nodded her head to show that she was listening to him. "Why did you step in that day, when you caught Kamoshida about to hit me?" Mishima wondered. Immediately, a dark look came onto Chiba's face, but not dark as in angry but dark as in pained; her eyes took on a look that immediately told Mishima she was sad and her lips thinned into a grimace while her head turned to the side, plus her entire body seemed to go rigid.

"I… it's complicated but I'd been through something recently at that time which caused me to open my eyes to things I'd previously ignored," Chiba explained. She seemed to compose herself as the look disappeared and she focused on Mishima once more. "I'm sorry that I didn't come to my senses sooner, maybe I could have done more, before you, Shiho, Ann and Ryūji along with all the rest were hurt like you were," Chiba apologised. Mishima's eyes widened in shock at her words and the words leapt from his mouth before he could think.

"Chiba-san, what could you have done?" Mishima asked. Chiba looked at him with those wide green eyes, Mishima decided to plough forward with what he needed to say. "You're a well respected student, never got into any kind of trouble. But you were still a student. If you had tried to do anything to Kamoshida then he would have either had you expelled… or worse," Mishima warned. He violently shivered, recalling what had happened to Suzui, he had sent her into that situation, Mishima knew he was partially responsible for what Kamoshida had done to her.

"But I could have been there for you and the others, a listening ear, someone you could have at least vented to about what happened," Chiba reminded. A saddened look appeared on Chiba's face as her hands curled into fists, for some reason Mishima knew exactly what the girl was thinking about before she even opened her mouth. "Maybe even stop Shiho from attempting suicide," Chiba added on. Yeah, Mishima was right, it had been but Chiba wasn't really to blame for what had happened.

"You might not have been there for everyone else, but you were there for me," Mishima admitted. This caused the sad look to vanish as she focused on him with surprise shining in her eyes. "When you stopped Kamoshida's attack that day, it actually gave me a bit of hope, that what we went through wasn't so invisible to everyone. And when I kept seeing you around school, how you stood up to Kamoshida as best you could, it was really what pushed me to keep getting through the day," Mishima explained. Mishima could feel a blush burning within his cheeks.

"I… I did that?" Chiba asked. Mishima looked at the girl and found that a faint blush was staining her own cheeks it was definitely a lighter shade than Mishima's cherry red blush but it still warmed his soul to see him having this kind of effect upon her; but his words weren't a lie, they were something that he had felt the need to say for a long along with something else that he finally worked up the courage to do.

"Yes, you did. It might have been the Phantoms who ended up saving everyone, but to be honest… you were the one who saved me Chiba-san," Mishima insisted. Mishima then proceeded to bow to her, he wanted to truly express how grateful he was without accidentally embarrassing the girl, so left it as a simple bow. "And for that, I'll always be grateful to you," Mishima added on.

"Thank you Mishima… truly thank you," Chiba stated. She was smiling, sweetly and softly at him, Mishima basked in the warm glow of her smile and made a decision; if Chiba really believed in him, then he would try and talk to some of the requesters to help them as best he could, perhaps this would help Amamiya in the long run.

*Persona 5 Royal*

Yusuke had come to a decision, one that he believed needed to be done, it might not make Natsumi happy, but he was grateful to the woman for what she had done for him and he wanted to repay her in some way that might be meaningful to her. There was another matter that helped encourage Yusuke to help this decision, it caused a slight itch to appear in right hand as the memory flittered across his mind.

"Good evening Yusuke," Natsumi greeted. Yusuke turned to face the girl; they had met up Shibuya since it was the best place for them to reach where Yusuke had hoped to go. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Natsumi wondered. No surprise that she would ask that as Yusuke had rather suddenly contacted her and asked for the girl to meet him here.

"I was thinking, we've been focusing on my sword skills and hoping to hone my skills. But I feel the need to look at other sources of art," Yusuke explained. It was a bit nerve wracking for him to talk about this, he'd done the best he could while at school to come up with another painting, but a complete blank was all that came over his mind and it caused his hand to start trembling slightly at the emptiness surrounding him.

"Are you okay?" Natsumi asked. Her expression held worry as she heard those words, Yusuke wondered what was going through her mind when she heard the words; though Yusuke suspected that she was likely thinking he would end up putting down the brush permanently. Yusuke wanted to avoid that desperately so he was searching for a way to avoid it, Natsumi had already lost her ability to pursue singing so she likely wanted to help prevent it happening to Yusuke

"Painting has been… difficult for me as of late, perhaps because of what happened with Sensei," Yusuke admitted. A strained expression appeared on Natsumi's face at those words, but Yusuke swallowed the lump in his mouth and pushed forward. "Perhaps looking at other arts might help me," Yusuke suggested. It was the best thing he could think of, weapon arts and the tea ceremony, both times with Natsumi had allowed him to see beautiful things that Yusuke wanted to frame so perhaps the luck would continue.

"Sure, what did you have in mind?" Natsumi wondered. Yusuke needed to control the smile that threatened to spread across his face, he was grateful that Natsumi was willing to go along with his plan, of course that could change the moment Yusuke told Natsumi where he wanted to go; this was the kind of situation that needed to be handled delicately… and that was not Yusuke's speciality unless painting.

"Well, I find music to be rather wonderful for inspiration, so I was thinking of visiting a music shop that was recommended by one of my classmates," Yusuke stated. He turned around and started to lead the way hoping that Natsumi would say nothing else about his chosen destination; unfortunately, his hopes were dashed with a single word from the girl who it appeared was not actually following him.

"Yusuke," Natsumi called. Her tone made him freeze, before proceeded to turn around and get an eyeful of a distinctly unimpressed expression on her face but it wasn't angry or anything that might have caused Yusuke to feel actually worried. "This isn't some convoluted scheme to get me back into singing, is it?" Natsumi asked. So, it would seem that she had seen through Yusuke's plan.

"Well… if that happened, I can't say it would be a bad thing," Yusuke answered. Natsumi simply raised an eyebrow in response, when his classmate had suggested to visit the music store, Yusuke had immediately thought of bringing Natsumi along though not because of her singing; more that he believed Natsumi would have decent taste in music that might be able to help him. "But the lack of inspiration to paint is true," Yusuke added on.

"Alright, let's get going then," Natsumi agreed. Her expression softened when she realised that Yusuke wasn't trying to force her into doing anything she was currently averse to participating in; Natsumi gestured for him to lead on and Yusuke proceeded to do so, guiding them through the pathways of Shibuya until they reached the store. "Which do you like more, Eastern or Western?" Natsumi asked.

"I have only listened to Eastern music, preferably of the classical variety, it was not exactly welcomed by Madarame to have other types in the shack. Beside I do not enjoy more modern music," Yusuke admitted. Madarame had been rather against allowing the students to listen to any Western music; the boy did not know why but the dark glare he had sent a few who dared to try was enough to warn them all away from doing so ever again.

"Alright then, I know this store sells a good selection of western music and as Ouvrard was an opera singer, I know a lot of classical music so I can show you some of the better ones," Natsumi insisted. She led the way in and Yusuke hurried to catch up to her as they moved through the aisle to the Western section of the store where Natsumi immediately started to hunt for the songs she believed where best and then have Yusuke listen to them.

Yusuke was right when he assumed Natsumi had good taste in music, she brought over many types of classical music that range from sorrowful to passionate, joyful to angry. Yusuke did not like them all, but each piece was certainly capable of inspiring the emotions it played; Natsumi even gave him some background on the stories connected to the songs. It was during that moment that Yusuke knew Natsumi still had a passion for singing and she did not begrudge the classical music world for what had happened to her.

Yusuke did not have a lot of money at the moment and he was saving a significant chunk for something that he needed to buy later for Ann and her parents. Which meant that Yusuke had to be discerning in what he selected, Natsumi however caught on and shoved some money into him; the painter tried to refuse but after being quietly told it was Shadow money, he decided there was no point arguing. Once Yusuke selected four songs, they proceeded to start leaving.

"Oh!" Natsumi exclaimed. Yusuke paused in his movements and turned back to look at the girl, finding that she had approached a specific CD rack, Yusuke trailed over and immediately frowned when he saw that it was one of these 'idols' that seemed so foolishly popular with his classmates; Yusuke could not wrap his head around why people liked scantily dressed people who liked bouncing and floundering with no dignity or poise

"What is it Natsumi?" Yusuke wondered. He was quite surprised to see that Natsumi had been drawn to this section and he'd taken Natsumi for someone who was much more mature and controlled than his peers; Yusuke saw that the actual CD that Natsumi was focused on happened to be by Kujikawa Rise or as she was most commonly called Risette, which caused Yusuke annoyance to rise even higher.

"It's the song Shiho, a friend from school, played for me once. I didn't realise it was Rise-san's song," Natsumi explained. Yusuke's eyes widened in surprised at not only the words, but the tone of respect that Natsumi had used to refer to the idol, it didn't seem like these two should even have been capable of meeting each other especially with Natsumi's aversion to anything connected to singing.

"You know this idol?" Yusuke asked. Feeling quite surprised, if they did indeed know each other, then that was quite the interesting story and it actually caused Yusuke to have to start revising his previous opinion of Natsumi; it wasn't about to be anything bad, but he had assumed her to be a refined lady of grace and ancient traditions with the steely core of an Onna-musha; it seems there was more to her than Yusuke previously assumed.

"Yes, we met and well, she has some understanding," Natsumi admitted. As she did, the girl tapped her throat, to indicate exact what she was referring to, Yusuke could understand why they might have connected if this Kujikawa woman did understand the pain that Natsumi had been through, perhaps that woman was better suited to allowing Natsumi to reclaim her love of singing.

"Is the song any good?" Yusuke wondered. He was not a fan of idols, due to his perception of how they were actually quite unsightly individuals to watch, which immediately prevented him from being able to enjoy any of the music that came out of these individuals or groups, but Natsumi seemed to have good taste in music so it might be safe to trust her suggestions.

"To me it is, but everyone is different, let's try it out," Natsumi suggested. Instead of heading for the check out, they diverted back to one of the playing machines, Yusuke set himself up as Natsumi inserted the CD into the player; Yusuke braced himself for a terrible performance from the woman… well terrible by his standards at least.

Which meant when the song started, Yusuke was pleasantly surprised by the sound that initially greeted his ears. A flute-y, high pitched but not painful sound played followed by others, but that sound remained before the singer took over. And the words! As Yusuke continued to listen, a thrum rushed through his soul for those words seemed to hit deeper than any of the other songs he'd ever listened to before. There was a gentleness to the melody that seemed to be missing from the other idol songs he'd heard, but a deep well of strength was present as well. Eventually the song ended and Yusuke removed the headphones.

"Magnificent… as strange as it might seem, I feel like I connected with that song on a deep level," Yusuke admitted. Goemon had stirred hearing those words, as though understanding that song contained a deeper message than most might have heard; when Yusuke looked over at Natsumi, there was a smile on her lips that seemed to have a mysterious quality to it. "Is there something you know about this song Natsumi?" Yusuke wondered.

"Yes. But that's private, between me and Rise-san, I'd have to ask for permission to explain to you," Natsumi admitted. Yusuke nodded his head, if it was something Natsumi did not feel deserved to be passed along to others freely then the artist could accept that; Natsumi had previously requested permission from him for such a reason while assuring the boy she would be discrete. Yusuke had agreed when he learned it was for his comrade's mental health.

"Ah, I understand," Yusuke commented. He would not push or prod, there seemed to be no danger present to his friend and Yusuke believed Natsumi was smart enough to warn him and the rest of the Phantoms if she was in real danger and unable to deal with it herself. "Do you have any other recommendations from this idol," Yusuke wondered. The song had unexpectedly connected to him and he wondered if any more of them would do the same.

"I can show you some, but I actually think her more recent stuff is better than the stuff from five years and before. Rise-san took a break and when she came back, her music was superior to anything she put out before," Natsumi admitted. With that they proceeded to look through a bit more of the woman's collection with Natsumi picking out a few and allowing Yusuke to choose which ones to take back. Soon enough they were able to leave the store with their purchased goods; suddenly both of their phones went off and Yusuke fished out his phone to check the Chat.

Ryūji: You know how we're going to that TV station tomorrow, yeah?

Ryūji: I'm thinking we might find out next target there.

Ann: Oh, that's right!

Ann: We're always hearing gossip about the dark sides of celebrities…

Ren: True, it seems like a reasonable place to start.

Ryūji: With that much money, they've prolly got their fingers in all sorts of dirty business.

Yusuke: Hm…

Yusuke: That phrasing has quite the immoral ring to it…

Ryūji: Dude, you always react to the weirdest stuff…

Natsumi: Still, there's a possibility.

Natsumi: Not just celebrities but those behind the camera can be equally as guilty.

Ann: Anyway, we get to observe a live recording of a show, right?

Ryūji: Ooh, maybe we're gonna be on TV!

Ann: We'll just be in the crowd, remember? Any TV appearance would be for like, two seconds.

Yusuke: Hm. Try not to pull any fanciful stunts to garner attention, okay?

"Seriously Yusuke?" Natsumi chuckled. The painter put his phone away as he looked over at the weapon's master and found her to be giggling away, seemingly quite enjoying the words he had typed. "I mean, Ryūji, I can see doing that but not the rest of us," Natsumi insisted. While it was true that Yusuke believed only Ryūji would actively do something to cause trouble, it still needed to be said.

"Yes, but I'm sure anything could happen at those places," Yusuke commented. It would do them all good to remain as anonymous as possible, that was why he had agreed to using the codewords that Natsumi, Ren and even a few from Ann had come up with to disguise their actions; Morgana had no need of them thanks to his cat form which meant they'd only really needed to get Ryūji to start being more consistent in their usage.

"Do you think the music will be able to help you?" Natsumi asked. They had started to walk back to the train station, strange things had been happening in Shibuya lately and Yusuke wanted to avoid any harm coming to Natsumi; capable as she was of defending herself, it was better to avoid a confrontation as much as possible.

"I don't know, all I can do is try," Yusuke admitted. He truly hoped that the music would be able to help him find something to paint, otherwise he was in a great deal of trouble and that trouble would only blow back on the Phantoms which was something they needed to avoid; complications in their personal lives should be mitigated as much as possible.

"Cruel as it might seem, to burden him with more, but if you don't find the music helping then perhaps you could try talking to Ren. He's very good at figuring things out," Natsumi suggested. Yusuke nodded his head, Ren had aided him in Mementos that day so he knew Ren could help but as Natsumi had said, it seemed cruel to burden him more, but if things kept going then Yusuke would have no choice but to ask.