~X~

~ May 20 - Kamurocho - Evening ~

So, let's recap how I got to this situation. I was leaving Yagami's place when I saw Takefumi-san harassing Megumi-san. I had to intervene and twist his arm to get him to let go of his wife. Now, he threatened to sue for assault. That's when Akechi made himself known.

"W-What the? Another brat!?" Takefumi-san demanded. "Stay out of this! This is none of your business!"

Takefumi-san wasn't nearly this aggressive earlier. Was he intimidated by Yagami's presence?

Akechi tilted his head. "None of my business? Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am Goro Akechi. I work as a Consulting Detective for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police."

Takefumi-san's face twitched at that. It seems Akechi working for the police worries him. But he soon rallied himself.

"Police? That's good! You can tell them how you saw this girl assault me!" Takefumi-san pointed at me when he said this.

I raised an eyebrow. First, he called Akechi a brat and told him to stay out of this, and now he's asking Akechi for a favor? Well, it's more like he demanded one.

"Sir, I witnessed the whole thing," Akechi shook his head and motioned to Megumi-san. "You were harassing this woman. You physically grabbed her," he then motioned to me. "This young lady here stepped in to defend the injured party."

Young lady? Akechi, I'm only three years younger than you.

"Ugh! Useless brats!" Takefumi-san cursed when he realized Akechi was not on his side.

"Alright, sir!" A new voice called from the crowd that formed. "I think that's enough."

Someone was coming through the crowd, and it turned out to be Date-san.

Perfect timing.

Takefumi-san took one look at Date-san and looked relieved when he saw the detective's badge Date-san showed, letting everyone know he was the police.

"Oh, officer! You have great timing!" Takefumi-san said, turning to point at me. "This-"

*CLICK*

Takefumi-san blinked as he noticed that the detective had grabbed his wrist and put a handcuff on it. It was after Date-san moved his hands behind his back and applied the other handcuff he snapped out of his confusion.

"W-Wait a minute! Why are you arresting me?" Takefumi-san struggled but was already restrained.

Date-san said nothing and handed Takefumi-san to a uniformed officer, who led him away.

"Alright! The show's over, people! Move along!" Date-san waved the crowd to move along. Afterward, he walked up to me.

"You have great timing, Date-san," I smiled at him.

"Yuki," Date-san nodded at me. "I got here as fast as I could when you sent me that text message. What exactly is going on, and why did I have to handcuff that guy?"

I gave him the short version of what happened that got us to this point, from the infidelity case with Yagami-san to now. I noticed Akechi was really paying attention when I brought that up.

"Oh. Also, I recorded the whole event on my cell phone, if you need it," I showed Date-san my phone.

"No, that won't be necessary," he shook his head. "We'll let him stew in a cell at the station for the night, then let him go after some sternly worded warnings."

I nodded, having expected as much. Despite the tense situation that happened, nothing truly criminal happened. There was no time for it to escalate to that point.

"My work here is done," Date-san said, then sighed. "Haah. I know there's no point in saying this, but I have to say it. Try to stay out of trouble."

"Hey, like I always say, trouble finds me," I smirked.

Date-san sighed again. "Until next time, Yuki," he bowed. He then bowed goodbye to Akechi and Megumi-san. "Akechi-san. Ma'am."

With that, he left.

I turned to Megumi-san. "Are you doing okay?" I asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Emiya-san. If you don't mind, I would like to leave right now," Megumi-san bowed and left.

I sighed and relaxed. I took a second to myself and looked at Akechi. "Thanks for speaking up. Most people are usually content to just watch."

"It's no problem," Akechi put on a friendly smile. "But it seems you had everything in hand. Your plan was to message a detective you know to come right away and stall until he got here. You even recorded the whole event in case you needed evidence to show what happened."

"If you knew that was my plan, why'd you speak up?" I asked. Something's bothering me.

"I didn't know it at the time. I only deduced it after the fact," Akechi clarified. "As for why I spoke up, it was the right thing to do."

I had to hold back from rolling my eyes. Akechi would not do that because 'it was the right thing to do'. He doesn't have that kind of integrity. He uses people for his own selfish reasons.

I must have gained his interest somehow.

"Ah, I apologize. I realized I haven't introduced myself," Akechi held out his left hand. "My name is Goro Akechi. Pleased to meet you."

"Yuki Emiya. Likewise," I shook his hand and made sure I showed no recognition of his name.

"I was hoping you could satiate my curiosity," Akechi smiled.

"What is it?" I raised an eyebrow.

"During that whole event, I heard it mentioned that you worked for a detective," Akechi brought up.

Was that what caused his interest in me? "Yes, I work for a private investigator," I confirmed.

"And yet you are only a teenager," he said. I could tell he didn't mean that as an insult. He's simply making an observation. "Despite that, you are working on cases that require you to tail a suspect. How did that come to be?"

Why's he curious about me working for a detective? He pointed out I was working cases, and bringing up that case I told Date-san. Is he curious about someone younger than him doing what he does?

I still have to answer his question. I guess I'll be truthful.

"Did you ever hear the news about a bomb going off here in Kamurocho?" I asked.

"Yes. It was ten days ago that happened," Akechi was wondering how this fit in.

"Well, it's like this."

And I told the whole story of what happened. Especially when Yagami offered me a job at his detective agency. The reason was that he saw potential in me and to keep an eye on me in case the bomber called again.

"I see…" Akechi rubbed his chin in thought. "I heard that someone else was involved. There was no mention of you in the report…" he mumbled to himself.

"Report?" I had to call him out on that comment. "How would you be able to see the police report?"

"Ah, I didn't mean to say that out loud…" Akechi winced. "I sometimes work as a consulting detective for the police. I happened to be in the station the day after the bombing and was curious," he explained. "My work as a detective is why I was interested in you when I heard you, someone who is younger than me, is also working as a detective Or, at the very least, as an apprentice to one."

So, that's why.

"You work for the police?" I said. "So, that's how Date-san knew your name. I was wondering about that. Do you also work in homicide?"

"No, Detective Date and I work in different departments. Though we have worked a few cases together," Akechi clarified. "I usually work with the Special Investigations Unit, and sometimes we have to work together with homicide."

"Hmm," I hummed in acknowledgment.

Before we could continue, Akechi's phone chimed.

"Ah, excuse me," he said, taking out his phone. He read the contents of the message and put it back in his pocket. "I apologize, but I have to get going. This was an interesting conversation. Perhaps I will see you again, Emiya-san."

"'Til next time," I nodded and watched him leave.

Well, that was something.

…Maybe I can use this to start making a connection with Akechi. I've been worried about how I would deal with Akechi since I came to this world. Maybe I can get through to him before Shido and his cohorts start making plans against the Phantom Thieves. However, I guess that's already too late

Not to mention…

I focused on Akechi in the distance. He went through a pretty bad start in life. Abandoned by his father, his mother committed suicide when he was young, passed around from household to household, and no one truly cared for him because he was a bastard child.

…What the hell do I do-

*RING*

That was my phone. It was a text from Ryuji asking if I wanted to hang out.

Yeah, I'll hang out with him.

…While I try to figure out what to do about Akechi.

~X~

~ May 21 -Café Leblanc - Evening ~

"Phew, I'm exhausted…" Futaba groaned into the counter while I prepared some curry.

A new day, a new time to restart our infiltration of the Palace.

After we explained the basics of the Metaverse to Yusuke and gave him a code name, we made our way in and arrived back at the once-sealed door. We moved forward, sneaking past and fighting shadows along the way.

We went through an area with many lasers, an area where we had to jump inside paintings to get through, and an area that looked like a golden version of M.C. Eschesr's painting Relativity.

We finally came to a final exhibit area, deep in the Palace, where Shadow Madarame was with the Treasure. After some probing around, we came up with a plan to steal the Treasure and left the Palace as we had secured our infiltration route. Next is to send the calling card.

"I'm a little surprised we managed to get through the rest of the Palace in one afternoon," Futaba said as she dug into her curry.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's because of Yuki's battle tactics," Morgana said as he took a bite of some sushi I made. "She's really good at directing a fight, so we get through them quickly and efficiently."

I smiled a bit at the praise from Morgana as I started to eat my own plate of curry.

"When do you want to send the calling card?" Morgana asked me.

"I'm thinking three days from now, on the 24th," I said. "That should give us enough time to restock on healing items and get some new weapons."

"Sounds good," Futaba said and took out her phone to inform the others. "Alright, everyone said they'll keep that day free."

"Okay then," I went back to my food. "We playing more DMC tonight?"

"You bet!"

~X~

~ May 22 - Kuoh Academy - After School ~

"Yo, Hyoudou! It's been a while," I greeted when I saw Issei's familiar face walking out of the school gates.

"Emiya?" Issei looked surprised and happy to see me.

While Issei and I have texted each other, it's been almost a month since we last saw each other.

"What are you doing here?" he said as he walked up to me.

"I wanted to check out your school," I motioned my head to the school building.

"How come?"

"Shujin's… not really working out for me. I'm not keen on staying after the whole thing with Kamoshida. He may be gone but the rumors he spread about me are still there," I said and he nodded.

He asked about Kamoshida and I told him all the things he did, including spreading those yakuza rumors about me. The only thing I didn't tell were things related to the Metaverse.

"Are you thinking of transferring here?" he said with a smile slowly spreading.

"Maybe. I heard good things about this school and its many programs. So, I thought I'd give it a look-see. Also, it's been a month since we last hung out. So, why not kill two birds with one stone?"

"Well, that sounds great," the smile on his face grew bigger. "I'll give you a tour."

"That's what I was hoping for." I smiled.

Issei walked back to the school and I followed.

"Hey, did you see that?" someone whispered.

I glanced in the direction of the voice and saw two girls staring at me and Issei. In fact, a lot of people were staring at us.

"Woah… I can't believe what I'm seeing."

"Is that Hyoudou with a girl?!"

There are whispers similar to that going around. I look at Issei. His smile was a little brittle and he was pointedly ignoring the people. I discreetly tossed some Killing Intent in their direction and they scattered off.

Kuoh Academy had several divisions when it came to schooling. There was a primary school, a high school, and even a college. You could go through most of your schooling here at the academy. They even had many programs for high school and college students to help prepare for their future.

This place used to be an all-girls school, but it became co-ed only this year. As such, there are much more girls here than boys.

Issei gave me a tour of the high school division which was basically the new school building. He was actually a pretty good tour guide, always knowing some little tidbits.

The final spot he took to me was the old school building. We didn't go inside but he did mention that some school clubs are based here, most importantly was the Occult Research Club.

"Pretty interesting school you go to, Hyoudou," I said as we walked back to the entrance.

"It's one of the best schools in the area. I really wanted to come here for high school," he said proudly.

"And I'm sure the fact that it went co-ed this year had nothing to do with that decision," I gave him a knowing look.

"Ahaha…" Issei scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Heh. Well, at least- Huh?" I looked around my surroundings

"What's up?" Issei said.

"I don't know. It felt like someone was watching me…"

"Huh… I don't see anything… Maybe it was just your imagination?"

"Maybe…"

I knew it wasn't my imagination. My Mind's Eye (False) was going off like crazy. I had a pretty good idea who was spying on me. I quickly turned my head in the direction I felt the instincts were telling me and looking out a window in the old school building was a familiar redhead.

…Was she staring at me or Issei?

…Or both of us?

[Star Confidant (Issei Hyoudou) has reached Rank 4.]

.

I parted ways with Issei after giving him some final tips about his workout routine.

~X~

~ Emiya Residence - Evening ~

Artoria and I focused as we raised our bokken against each other in the dojo in this mansion.

With the heist coming up, I wanted to get some quick sword training before it happened, and Artoria agreed to a spar.

I pushed off the ground and charged Artoria. I tried everything I could to get past her defense but she easily dodged and parried my attacks. After several seconds she started counter-attacking after a successful parry and dodge.

A couple of minutes later, she slowly started fighting back. Soon enough, her assault increased and I was now on the defensive. I tried to counter as much as I could, Artoria had purposefully left openings for me to exploit. She was trying to get me to recognize openings and counter-attack appropriately. However, she dodged and deflected whatever attacks I sent her way.

But, no matter how hard I tried, I could not land a single hit.

This went on for about two hours, with us taking breaks between each sparring session. When we finished, we headed to the living room to relax. It was just the two of us as Rei got some magic lessons from Merlin, and Sebas prepared dinner.

"That was a good sparring session," Artoria commented. "The rate at which your skill increases is extraordinary."

She's got that right. My Sword Mastery increased by two levels.

We made some small talk. Artoria managed to get a job at a café called Ahnenerbe.

"By the way," I said. "Rin contacted me about meeting the others on the team to deal with the portals."

"I see," Artoria said. "What did she say?"

"They set up a meeting for me on May 29th. So we'll meet them then."

Artoria nodded in response.

Soon enough, we all got ready for dinner.

~X~

~ May 23 - Shibuya Walkway - After School ~

The Phantom Thieves, minus Futaba, met up in our new hideout. She wasn't here because she said she had something to take care of.

We made some small talk before I discreetly set up a silencing barrier and we got down to business.

"A calling card, hm? Will he take it seriously?" Yusuke wondered. "He has often received slanderous letters."

"He'll know best whether the crime written on it is for real or not," Ryuji grinned.

"Wait… Are you going to write again, Ryuji?" Morgana's ears drooped in concern. "The last one you wrote was questionable at best."

"You should do it then, Yusuke!" Ann smiled at him. "Oh! Make it really artistic and stuff!"

"No, he'll figure out it was me," Yusuke shook his head. "He knows my drawing and writing styles all too well."

"How 'bout this? I write and you make it cooler," Ryuji said.

"...Agreeable," Yusuke nodded after he thought it over. Then he smiled. "Designing a calling card, hm… Interesting. It shall become proof that the Phantom Thieves do exist."

"Then it's decided," I said.

"Great!" All that's left is to make the Treasure ours!" Morgana declared. "You guys better come fully prepared!"

~X~

~ May 24 - Art Exhibition - After School ~

General POV

It was afternoon time at the Art Exhibition and Madarame was chatting it up with reporters, patrons, and the social elite. Yusuke was standing behind his teacher doing all he could to keep a neutral expression.

Soon, a staff member of the exhibit approached Madarame.

"Pardon me, sir. There's a matter we need to notify you about…" he whispered into the artist's ear.

Madarame nodded and turned to the people he was talking with. "Please excuse me for the moment," then he and the staff worker walked off to the side.

He had noticed the look of concern on the staff's face and he had a feeling he would not like what he was going to say.

"What is it?" Madarame asked.

"We found this outside…"

"A letter?" Madarame regarded the item with curiosity and a little wariness.

"It's… uh…"

Madarame snatched the card and looked it over.

One side had a red and black bullseye pattern. In the center was a logo made with a Victorian-style top hat with a domino mask underneath with white eyeholes. The left eye had flames flowing out of it. Below that were the words "TAKE YOUR HEART". Flipping the card over, Madarame saw the message that was made out in a cut-and-paste letter style.

Madarame read the message quietly as the staff member read it aloud.

"Sir Ichiryusai Madarame,

a great sinner of vanity whose talent has been exhausted.

You are an artist who uses his authority to shamelessly steal the ideas of his pupils.

We have decided to make you confess all of your crimes with your own mouth.

We will take your distorted desires without fail.

From, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts"

.

Yusuke had a hard time holding back his smirk watching Madarame angrily crumple the card as the worker read it.
"Whose doing is this?!" Madareme snarled at the worker.

"We don't know!" the worker took a nervous step back from the outburst. "The same letter has been posted everywhere…"

"What about the security cameras?!" Madarame's scowl deepened.

"There were no signs of a culprit…" the worker nervously said. "All we saw was a cat in the recordings…"

"Remove them at once!"

"O-Of course!" the worker said. "...Uh… But how will this affect the exhibit? We believe it's a prank but if the media picks up on this…"

Madarame's glare deepened at the worker as he folded his arms in his sleeves. "...Are you insinuating that this slander is true?"

"Of course not!" the worker quickly said.

Yusuke blinked as reality seemed to flicker. He found himself in a black void, and Shadow Madarame was standing right where Madarame was, facing away from Yusuke.

"It's those damn brats' doing, isn't it?" Shadow Madarame snarled to himself. Yusuke heard the sound of an alarm going off in the distance. "Well, it means nothing… They'll only be able to do as they please until this exhibit is over…"

In a flash of light, Yusuke was back in the exhibit.

Satisfied with the results, he walked back to the entrance where Yuki, Futaba, Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana were all waiting.

"Will that do?" Yusuke said.

"Yup! It was perfect!" Ann said with a smile. "The composition was way cooler too!"

"The treasure should appear right about now," Morgana said.

"You better enjoy the air of freedom while you still can, old man," Ryuji smirked as he looked past Yusuke to see Madarame talking with reporters again. His face then turned to a grin as he pulled out his phone to show the others something. "Anyways, d'you guys check online? People are already talkin' about that callin' card. We'll show 'em… We're gonna surprise 'em all!"

Yuki noticed from the corner of her eye that Futaba was slightly frowning at Ryuji when he said that.

"I'm sure you know, but we only get one shot to pull this off," Morgana said.

"It's showtime, everyone," Yuki declared

~X~

~ Madarame's Palace - After School ~

The Phantom Thieves quickly went to the treasure room to execute their plan. Skull and Panther were at the control room ready to cut the lights, Joker and Oracle were at the crane controls, and Fox and Mona were at the crane itself where Mona was waiting to be lowered to grab the treasure.

"You seem to be enjoying this," Fox observed as he helped Mona onto the crane.

"Only the best can appreciate these critical moments," Mona smiled. "Plus, this feels like we're really phantom thieves."

Fox nodded and gave the signal, Panther cut the lights, Joker lowered the crane, and Mona grabbed the treasure. The Phantom Thieves all soon regrouped and left.

Eventually, they made it back to the courtyard.

"Mrrrr… Meowww…" Mona purred.

"Dude, what's up with you?" Skull said.

"I just can't take it anymore!" Mona shouted excitedly. "Let's take a look at this Treasure!" he began to unstrap the covered painting from his back.

"Shouldn't we do that after we get out of here?" Oracle said.

"No, it's fine," Joker said. "It's been covered up this entire time. We should make sure we have the actual Treasure before we leave."

"Treasure!" Mona looked excited as he took off the cloth.

That excitement turned into confusion that was shared with the other Thieves when they saw that the painting was just a henohenomoheji, which was a drawing of a face usually done by schoolchildren using hiragana script.

"THIS is the treasure?!" Skull said in disbelief, unable to believe that something so plain could be the Treasure of someone as extravagant as Madarame.

Fox then noticed some of the towers for the electric fences raised from the ground.

"Get back!" he shouted.

Just in time too as everyone managed to jump away from the painting to avoid getting trapped in an electric barrier.

"Meddlesome vermin…"

The Phantom Thieves turned to see that Shadow Madarame was there with a couple of Shadows.

"Is this what you're looking for?" he motioned to a painting that was in the arms of one of the Shadows.

"Hrm. I guess we should've figured a plagiarizer would have a fake prepared," Oracle said.

"Counterfeits are accepted in the world of Japanese art," Madarame said nonchalantly as the electric barrier shut off and the towers went into the floor.

"What made you change like this?! Is it because you became famous?!" Fox protested. "Can't you understand how much it pains me to inquire about the crimes of my foster father?!"

"...Now that I think back, the only reason I took you in was due to my ties with your mother," Madarame scowled coldly.

"My mother?" Fox questioned, wondering why he was bringing her up.

"That woman never lost her passion for painting even after her husband died," Madarame continued. "Her skills and talents were quite astonishing… That's why I decided to look after her."

Madarame's scowl turned into a sneer. "Your mother and the artwork she created, they're all MY works of art!"

"How low can you sink?!" Panther said in disgust.

But Madarame continued as if he hadn't heard her. "I suppose I can grant you a gift before you die; a glimpse of the genuine 'Sayuri'!"

"Genuine…?" Fox questioned.

The Shadow guard holding the painting stepped forward and faced the painting toward the Phantom Thieves.

The painting shown was obviously from the one that was well known. The clouds surrounding the woman were all gone and, most startlingly, there was a baby held in the woman's arms.

"That's… the real 'Sayuri'..." Fox was shaken. An old memory surfaced and he suddenly knew. "That woman… Is that… Is that my mother?!"

"Indeed it is," Madarame declared. "This was painted by your mother. It's a portrait of herself. A woman who knew her death was coming painted her last wishes, for the son she would leave behind. That is the truth behind the mystery of 'Sayuri's' expression!"

"You stole something THAT personal?!" Skull shouted in anger.

"I knew at first glance…" Madarame began to explain. "I knew it'd be a huge success if I added a touch to the painting and announced it under my name!"

"But the baby in the picture… Why did you paint over it?" Fox questioned, his voice unusually steady.

"It was all to stage it. If the babe is erased, the reason for the woman's expression becomes a mystery," Madarame explained. "That is what the general public is drawn to! Each of those parasitic critics wrote the same thing!"

Panther shook her head. "I knew something was off about all of this… Now I know what it is. If you really treasured that painting, you wouldn't even think about replicating it for profit!" she then glared at the Shadow. "You don't love art at all!"

"That's right!" Mona nodded in agreement. "Though you have a real Treasure, your true skills are nothing more than those scribbles on that fake!"

"You're a fraud to the end Madarame," Joker said. "And the world is going to see it when we take that Treasure!"

"So you'll defy me no matter what…" Madarame's gaze turned to Fox. "Well then, since you're my work of art, Yusuke, I'm going to reap you for the sake of my future. …Along with those insolent friends of yours."

Fox simply looked at the floor.

"Fox?" Mona asked, concerned.

"...I've heard that you destroy your 'art' once they outlive their usefulness…" Fox slowly said. He soon faced Madarame with anger in his eyes. "...Did that include my mother as well?"

A cruel smile spread across Madarame's face. "Are you implying I murdered her? On the contrary, she just so happened to have a seizure in front of me. That's when a thought crossed my mind… If I don't call for help and leave her be, I could obtain the painting with no strings attached," he explained.

"You just let her die?!" Panther shouted, feeling absolutely disgusted and horrified by this admission; a feeling that was all shared by the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

"She was physically weak. No one would doubt if she just dropped dead because of a seizure," Madarame explained. "Above all, Yusuke, didn't you think it was odd that I discovered your talent when you were only three? The reason why I kept you around was to keep you from realizing the truth behind 'Sayuri.'"

"You killed her…" Fox gritted his teeth in seething rage.

"The artistic talents you inherited from your mother were a delightful miscalculation, though," Madarame continued. "If I'm to steal ideas, it's much easier robbing the future of the brats who won't talk back than adults. It's all thanks to you that I came up with the idea. You have my gratitude," Madarame taunted.

Fox was silent but he then let out a low bitter laugh.

"...I thank you, Madarame. Every reason for me to forgive you has disappeared without a trace at this very moment!" He started with a low neutral tone, and slowly ramped up, allowing his fury to enter his voice. "You aren't some rotten artist… You're a despicable fiend who wears the skin of one!"

Madarame clenched his fists as his scowl returned. "All you good-for-nothings! Barging into my museum and doing whatever the hell you want…"

The atmosphere suddenly became darker as the tension in the air climbed even higher.

"Those who have connections make the rules; those who don't, follow them," Madarame said. The Palace lightly shook to the increasing tension. "Not to mention, the value of art is all subjective! I make the rules in the art scene! I am the supreme being! I am the god of the art world!"

Madarame let out a deep distorted laugh. The Shadow guards to his sides melted into black ooze and Madarame himself soon expanded until he exploded in black ink. The ink soon reformed to reveal Shadow Madarame's true form.

There were four separate portraits. Two of them had an eye of Madarame's in each, one had his nose and one had his mouth. They all grouped to form some facsimile of his face.

"I'LL PAINT ALL OVER YOU!" that mouth portrait screamed in a corrupted voice.

Oracle entered her Persona as the rest of the Phantom Thieves summoned their weapons and prepared for battle.

"THE ART WORLD IS A WORLD THE MEDIOCRE CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND!" the mouth portrait cackled. "NOW… LET'S BEGIN, YOU VERMIN!"

"You use others for your own despicable desires, Madarame…" Fox condemned. "You aren't even worth the art you 'create'!"

"Be careful! There's no telling what he'll try!" Mona warned.

Mona and Panther started the fight by summoning their Personas and using Garu and Agi on each eye. That didn't work as the spells got sucked into the eyes instead. Madarame's mouth laughed before it flew forward and tried to bite them. Fortunately, they jumped out of the way in time.

"It's eyes absorb magic…" Joker observed. "Skull, let's use some physical attacks!"

"Got it! Let's go, Captain!" Skull pulled off his mask.

Captain Kidd was summoned and flew to one of the eye paintings, with Joker running behind. The Persona hit the painting with its ship, and Joker followed up by jumping in the air and slashing it a few times. As she retreated, she pulled out Ebony and Ivory and shot the eye painting down. She then switched to shooting the mouth but it just absorbed the bullets.

"Alright! One down!" Skull cheered.

"Yes, but the mouth ate the bullets," Mona said.

"Yeah. Each painting can absorb different things," Oracle said. "I think the eyes absorb the elemental spells while the mouth absorbs physical attacks. No clue about the nose painting yet."

"STUPID BRATS!" Madrame screamed.

The mouth painting went forward for another attack at Mona, the nose painting unleashed a wind spell at Skull, and the one eye painting unleashed a fire spell at Fox. Mona got hit but Joker and Fox were able to cut down the spells.

To make matters worse, the painting that Joker had down earlier released a lot of bubbling ink until it exploded and the eye painting was once more floating around.

"He can restore his paintings?!" Panther was shocked.

"That may be but it looks weak," Joker observed.

That was true. The revived painting wasn't moving as fast as the other and the eye looked around rather lazily.

"I'LL SLAUGHTER YOU WITH MY COLOR!" Madarame unleashed a bunch of black paint.

"Woah!" Skull tried to dodge but wasn't in time and he was covered in the paint.

"TAKE THIS!"

"Wha- AGGH!" Skull was blasted with Madarame fire attack.

"What?!" Mona was startled. "Skull isn't weak to fire! It shouldn't have done that much damage!"

Fox's eyes widened as he figured it out. "It's the paint! It's weakening him!"

"Tch! Panther, help get that paint off him. The rest of us, focus on Madarame," Joker ordered.

"Heads up! Support's on the way!" Oracle activated something in her Persona that healed the group.

As Fox, Joker, and Mona distracted Madarame, Panther worked with Skull to remove the paint. After a few minutes, Joker realized it was taking too long. Madarame's paintings kept returning, and Skull still had the paint on him.

So, after looking around a bit, Joker came up with a new plan.

"Panther, just toss him in that pond," Joker pointed to said pond, and then to the paint buckets next to it. "Fox, those paint buckets."

"Right!" Fox moved to the paint buckets, immediately understanding Joker's plan.

"Let's go, Mona," Joker said.

Joker and Mona moved to distract Madarame as Fox waited for the right time to use the paint.

"And… Now!" Fox grabbed the paint buckets, used an opening, and spattered it all over Madarame's paintings.

"NGAHHH! WH-WHAT THE…?!" Madarame screamed at the portraits flailed around. "MY POWERS… THEY'RE SUDDENLY DRAINING…"

"He's severely weakened!" Oracle called out. "Now's your chance!"

"Alright!" Skull climbed out of the pond, now rid of the paint. He charged toward Madarame. "Time for some payback! Let's go, Captain!"

Captain Kidd materialized high in the air and crashed his ship against one of the portraits, knocking it down.

"Hey, I'm passin' the baton to you!" Skull started running toward Panther.

"Roger!" Panther and Skull jumped high in the air for the Baton Pass, and now it was her turn.

Carmen appeared and blasted a second portrait with fire.

One more Baton Pass!

"Show him you might, Zorro!" Mona summoned Zorro to unleash Garu on the third portrait.

One More!

Taking the Baton from Mona, Fox summoned Goemon to hit the last portrait with Bufu.

With the last portrait down, Fox walked away from Madarame and to Joker as she walked forward Passing the Baton one final time. With the accumulated boosts from all the Baton Passes, Joker tore her mask off and unleashed its full power.

"Kaguya! Shining Arrows!"

The Princess of the Moon materialized and rained down arrows of light that completely destroyed the portraits.

The destroyed remains melted into a giant puddle of black paint until Shadow Madarame weakly stood up from it, looking exhausted. The Phantom Thieves took the opportunity to pull out their guns and surround him in a Hold Up.

"Damnit… I'm the great Madarame!" Madarame struggled to catch his breath. "The Madarame who gathers a full crowd every time he opens an exhibit! I'm not someone that worthless brats like you are allowed to defy!"

"Enough of your egotistic ranting!" Fox snapped back. "Taste the wrath of all those you preyed upon!"

The Phantom Thieves leapt in the air and stuck from all directions in a blur of movement. Madarame cried out in pain as he tried to keep himself upright. His rage was palpable as he glared at the Thieves that landed in front of him.

"I'm the great artist, Madarame!" he shouted. "If you brats can't fathom that… Then you'll witness it for yourselves! Behold! My master craft!"

Black puddles of paint started forming, two on each side of Madarame. Soon they exploded to reveal replicas of the original Madarame. However, each of them was different. One was in a red kimono, another was in a blue one, and the last two were in green and yellow. Each one also had a corresponding element to go with their color; fire, ice, wind, and lightning.

"Wha- He made copies of himself?!" Mona said. "...Ha, I see. Creating duplicates is his specialty, after all!"

"Those copies… Their elements could be like ours," Joker observed. "Skull, go for the yellow one; Panther, blue; Mona; yellow; Fox, the red-"

"I will go after Madarame," Fox interrupted.

"...Very well. Everyone, go!" Joker charged the red one instead. "Sui-Ki, Bufula!"

With her high level and powerful Persona, Joker took down the copy easily. She turned to see the other Thieves easily defeated the copies by exploiting their weaknesses.

Meanwhile, Fox charged Madarame.

"Stay back!" Madarame shouted as he summoned more copies.

"Goemon!" Fox summoned his Persona and together they quickly defeated the new copies.

"No!" Madarame quickly made some more, but these ones were noticeably weaker and suffering from status ailments. "What?! I made a mistake?!"

"So, this is the true limit of your skill… How infantile," Fox said. "To think you'd fail to produce even one of your counterfeits… Please, don't disappoint me further!"

Fox easily cut down the new copies and turned his blade toward Madarame. Goemon unleashed a Bufu which damaged and knocked Madarame off balance for Fox to slash him across his chest with Iaijutsu.

Madarame slid back from the strike and collapsed to the ground while the Treasure reformed by him.

This fight… is over.

Fox slowly walked toward Madarame, his blade unsheathed and at his side, as the other Thieves hung back and let him deal with this.

"Y-Yusuke! Please! You don't understand!" Madarame crawled backward with the Treasure still in his hands. "No one cares for true art… All they want are easily recognizable brands!"

Fox kept silent and continued to slowly walk forward.

"I-I'm a victim in this too! Wouldn't you agree," Madarame insisted but the Phantom Thieves were not moved by his attempts to play a victim. "The art world revolves around money after all. You can't rise up without any money…"

Madrame trailed in fear as Fox finally reached him and glared down at him.

"Yusuke, you understand, don't you?! Being a poor artist is truly miserable," Madarame tried to appeal once more. "I just didn't want to return to that life!"

Fox had enough and placed the tip of his katana right at Madarame's neck. "A fiend like you has no right to speak about the world of art! You're done for… Along with this whole wretched world!"

"Agh! No, please! Don't kill me!" Madarame pleaded as Fox pushed his katana a bit further but not enough to pierce skin.

"...Hmph," Fox pulled his blade away and sheathed it as Madarme lay on the ground breathing deep since Fox backed off. "Return to yourself in reality and confess your crimes! All of them!"

"All right… All right…" Madarame took some more breaths as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. "Wh-What about the other one though? The one with the black mask?"

"Black mask?" Panther said.

"There was another intruder besides us?!" Mona said, anxious at the thought of another Metaverse user.

Joker wanted to ask more questions but the Palace started rumbling.

"Tsk, looks like we're out of time," Joker said.

Mona quickly transformed into the Mona-Bus. "Get in!"

Joker, Skull, and Panther quickly got in, Oracle dismissed her Persona and did the same, and Fox picked up the Treasure and started making his way but stopped when Madarame spoke up.

"Yusuke… What should I do?" Madarame sounded completely lost.

Fox turned to look at his teacher who had lied to him almost all his life. …He didn't know what to say. For all his anger and hatred toward his former teacher, there was another emotion that he couldn't identify at this moment. Eventually, Fox spoke.

"...Put an end to all of this… and use your own artwork for once," he softly said.

Fox turned back around and made his way to the Mona-Bus, ignoring the cries and pleas of his former teacher as the Palace crumbled around him.

~X~

~Shibuya Walkway - Evening ~

The Phantom Thieves regrouped at the usual walkway in Shibuya Station. Ryuji was sitting on the floor by the railing drinking a soda he bought, Ann was leaning on said railing next to him, Yusuke was to the left and was observing the Sayuri painting they got from the Palace, Yuki was next to him deep in thought, Morgana was in her bag, and Futaba was sitting on the ground next to her doing something on her phone.

"To think that this painting was the source of Madarame's distorted desires," Yusuke broke the silence. "The only saving grace is that my mother won't know of what transpired."

"The genuine painting at his atelier has already been altered, after all," Morgana said. "Ironic as it may be, this one here is her true self-portrait now."

"It's a wonderful painting," Ann said, smiling as she looked at the painting. "And… although it took some time it's in your hands now, Yusuke."

"And I'm thankful for it," Yusuke smiled. "However, it's impossible for this painting to be acknowledged by society anymore…"

"It is," Yuki said. "But if it's any consolation, this painting is meant for you. It's easy to feel the love she had for you that she poured into it."

"Yes… That must be the rush of emotions I felt when I saw this painting," Yusuke said.

"So, what're you gonna do now?" Ryuji said. "We're gonna keep targetin' the big shots."

"Why do you do such things?" Yusuke said.

"It's to get back at scumbags and like… society in general," Ryuji explained. "We also wanna give courage to the people that're sufferin' 'cause of selfish adults."

"Courage, hm? What good does that do?" Yusuke said curiously. "You mean the courage to stand up for themselves correct? Will acquiring that make them happy?"

"...Honestly, there's no way of knowing for sure," Yuki answered. "But I think it's worth trying. Sometimes it's hard for people to know that there are choices out there. I like to think we're showing that it's possible to work toward hope."

"...In other words, it all depends on the person," Yusuke mused. "...Then the same can be said about myself right now. I also suffered because of an adult's selfish act. Moreover, if we investigate these Palaces, it may expand my artistic repertoire."

"You really only think about art, huh?" Ryuji had an amused grin. "You're impressive."

"Well, I won't take part in any inelegant plans, all right?" Yusuke said.

"No worries! I got us covered," Ann replied. "Plus, we have a rule that says we always have to decide on a target unanimously."

"How about it, Yuki?" Morgana said. "We can give our calling cards a lot more oomph if we have Yusuke on the team."

"Well, considering all the reasons, welcome aboard, Yusuke," Yuki smiled but then her expression grew serious. "Moving on, something's been on my mind for a while. Madarame's Shadow mentioned someone in a black mask. It means there's someone else that can infiltrate Palaces."

"The black mask is our only clue," Ann frowned. "It could be anyone…"

"And the Palace is gone," Ryuji said. "So it's not like we can ask anymore."

"I'll try questioning Madarame and see if I can glean some information," Yusuke said.

"Unless you managed to find something, Futaba," Yuki said. She had been paying attention to Futaba this whole time and knew she was searching the web for things.

"Nope," Futaba spoke for the first time since arriving here. The other Phantom Thieves were startled and then embarrassed. They forgot about her.

"Oh, shit. Sorry," Ryuji scratched his head. " I, uh… forgot you were here."

"It's all right," Futaba shrugged. "I needed to focus on my research anyway." she put away her phone and stretched as she stood up.

"Anyway, I'll contact you if anything turns up," Yusuke said, and then he smiled in amusement. "Hmm, an artist and a Phantom Thief… It seems I'll be engaging in two trades from now on…"

"I can relate," Futaba said. Her second trade was being a hacker. "I find it's easy to include one with the other."

"You may be right," Yusuke chuckled. "Well, as they say, you only live once."

~X~

~ Café Leblanc - Evening ~

"We dealt with our second big target and we added a new member to the team," Morgana cheered as he sat on my bed. "Things are going so well!"

"Hm," Yuki muttered, as she finished putting on her pajamas.

"But I have to say, you sure are something special, Yuki," Morgana praised. "This is our sixth Persona-user. It'll help broaden our battle strategies as well."

"Yeah…" she muttered again as she undid the hair tie and let her hair down.

"Besides having an eye for beauty is a must for phantom thieves. We're lucky to have Yusuke," Morgana continued. "An artist is a talent you rarely come across. I mean, he is a bit strange, but still…"

Yuki didn't answer this time. She just sat on her bed and stared off, lost in thought as she has been this whole time.

"Are you listening?" Morgana said, having picked up on her lack of attention.

"Yeah, I am," Yuki said. "It's just that my mind is somewhere else."

"...Are you thinking about what Madarame said? About the black-masked intruder?" Morgana asked.

"Yeah, this got me thinking…" she trailed as she tried to gather her thoughts. "You told us that we had to be careful with the Shadows, and how we do a Change of Heart because we don't want to accidentally cause a mental shutdown. Well, the Mental Shutdown cases have been going on for two years now, and now we have information about another person that can travel the Metaverse like we can and has most likely been doing this longer than the Phantom Thieves have been around."

Morgana now looked concerned. "You think these two facts are connected?"

"It's a possibility," she nodded. "What if this person or persons unknown have been going around the Metaverse and are targeting Shadows with the explicit purpose of causing Mental Shutdowns? If my theory is true then these incidents aren't incidents but assassinations."

"But who would do that… and why?" Morgana wondered. One could hear the horror in his voice at just the thought of this implication.

"That's the big mystery, isn't it? There are just so many questions," she sighed. "Is there a connection or pattern among the victims? Is the randomness a smokescreen to hide the real targets? Or could it be that multiple people are the ones selecting the victims and that's why there's no connection? Who benefits from all of this?

Yuki sighed once again. "And the biggest question of all… How did this person or persons learn of the Metaverse and how it works since they've apparently been active for two years…"

…Wait a minute…

Yuki blinked as she went over what she just said.

'Been active for two years.'

Two years…

"What is it?" Morgana asked, noticing Yuki's widening eyes.

"Morgana, do you remember when Futaba's mother was killed?" she asked.

"Yeah, about two years ago," Morgana said, wondering why Yuki brought that up.

"And do you remember what she was researching?"

"Basically, the Metaverse and how it works."

"And when did I say the mental shutdowns started?"

"Two-" Morgana's eyes widened as he caught on. "Two years ago…"

Yuki nodded with a grim expression. "Futaba mentioned to me about how her mother's research had mysteriously disappeared after her death. She also believes that her mother was killed because she might've been able to identify what was really causing the mental shutdowns. …And there were those mystery men in suits who showed up at the funeral with that fake suicide note."

"W-Wait… You think…"

"...I think we're dealing with a group of powerful people who are willing to assassinate to achieve their goals. What those goals are, I have no idea."

"Oh… Oh my God," Morgana whispered. "This is big… Like… like full-blown conspiracy level."

"Well… Let's not get too ahead," Yuki cautioned. "Unfortunately, almost all of this is speculation. Our only direct evidence is a witness account of someone in a black mask that can enter the Metaverse."

"But it's a place to start chasing down leads," Morgana countered.

"Yeah… I'll talk to Futaba tomorrow about this theory and see what she can find."

"Yeah… Just what kind of people could do something like this?" Morgana said. "...I wonder what kind of person I was. There's no way I'd turn out to be some bad guy like that, right? I get so engrossed with the embodiment of human desires… And that's not all. When it comes to the Metaverse, I'm the one who can turn into a car… I'm special… but it's still odd. Who could I actually be?"

"Who can say," Yuki shrugged a little helplessly, not knowing what to say to the cat's existential questions.

"...Not what I was hoping to hear but I guess I can't expect you to know," Morgana said as his ears fell. "Well, there's no way a dashing honorable rogue like me could be evil!

A man who saves those in trouble in the west, while punishing evildoers who may lurk in the east. A man who chastises people that smoke inside in the south, while saving bullied cats in the north. A man who has a sturdy body and vows to always do one good deed a day, be it rain or shine. I'm that kind of ideal person… Or so I hope.

So if I turn back to being human… surely she'll take notice of me, won't she?"

"You know, it's not hard to tell you're talking about Ann," Yuki smiled.

"I-I wasn't talking about anyone in particular!" Morgana stammered. "I mean, people chase after me when it comes to love! …Where should I go when I become human? I wonder where she'd like to go…" he sighed in yearning. "An amusement park, a movie theater, a fancy café, shopping… What do you think?"

Yuki simply huffed in amusement and laid down with Morgana next to her. Their bond was now a little bit closer.

[Magician Confidant (Morgana) has reached Rank 3.]

She went to sleep knowing the seeds had been planted to leading the Thieves to uncovering Shido's group, and hopefully the Phantom Thieves can avoid being framed in the future.

.

[Due to your base WIS reaching 100, you have gained a new Perk.]

Perk Acquired.

[Spirit Healing I]

- Increase MP rengeneration by 10%. Decrease cost of magic-based skills by 5%.

[Due to your base LUK reaching 100, you have gained a new Perk.]

Perk Acquired.

[Item Drop I]

- Increase item drop rate by 20%. Increase chance of rare item drops by 10%.

~X~

Social Links:

? - -̴̢̾̅̚͜͝ͅ-̶̨̙͉̗̈̈́͐͝͝-̴̖͎̯̦̝͔̔͠-̵̡̈͋̓̓͒̕͝ (Phantom Thieves of Hearts) - Rank 2

0 - F̵͎̓ơ̷̥o̴̥̐l̸̫̍ (Igor) – Rank 3

I - Magician (Morgana) – Rank 3

V - Hierophant (Sojiro Sakura) – Rank 3

VI - Lovers (Ann Takamaki) – Rank 2

VII - Chariot (Ryuji Sakamoto) – Rank 7

IX - Hermit (Futaba Sakura) - Rank 2

XIII - Death (Rei Emiya) - Rank 2

XIV - Temperance (Artoria Pendragon) - Rank 2

XVII - Star (Issei Hyoudou) - Rank 4

XX - Judgement (Takayuki Yagami) - Rank 2

~X~

Author's Note:

Phew, FINALLY this chapter came out. This one gave me so much trouble, but I decided to power through because this writer's block has been going on for too long.

I ended up skipping the second Palace infiltration where Yusuke joined the team as Fox. I had planned to write it all out but scrapped it since it was too similar to the game and too long. I just wanted to move past this chapter and to future stuff.

Still, this time we get the Palace Boss Fight unlike before where I skipped almost all of Kamoshida's Palace.

As always, constructive criticism is appreciated.