Phantom Files Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs

by sithlorde1988

The sequel to Persona 5-The Phantom Files. A few years after Ren returns home, the Phantom Thieves find themselves drawn back into the Metaverse once again out of nowhere after a mysterious app surfaces with the powers to access the Metaverse. Can the Phantom Thieves stop a mysterious new group of individuals called Monarchs? Better summary in chapter 1! BOTH STORY AND EDITS DONE!

9. Into Sendai Jail! Phony Overlord part 2

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files, Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs! Not really a lot to say at this point, I think, so let's go ahead and hit up the disclaimer, yeah?

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (excluding the OC Kusa/Draconis, and any other OCs that appear in this story, all of which are made and thus owned by me unless otherwise stated), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Sega, Atlus, and to a point Koei Tecmo (at least insofar as most of the spinoff games, such as Strikers, Phantom X, Tactica, the 'Q' games, the 'Dancing' games, and the 'Arena' games, are concerned), so all credit to them!

Normally, I would have at least a little bit to say, but not here. So I suppose let's get on with the chapter! Here's chapter 9!

Chapter 9: Regrouping, Strategizing, and Investigating! Phony Overlord part 2

(In Sendai, with Ren, Morgana and Sumire)

After taking a moment on a park bench to relax and take in the sights, Ren and Sumire got up and headed back to meet up with the others at the RV, Morgana riding along with them in Ren's bag, while Sophia was in Sumire's phone for the ride. Once they met up with the others in the RV, the group was seated, with Futaba laid out across the bunk up above the table typing on her laptop. her feet kicking up and down happily as she worked.

While she did that, Yusuke leaned on the ladder leading up to the bunk in question, while Makoto, Ann, and Haru sat on one side of the booth with Sumire, Ren, and Ryuji on the other, Morgana sat on the table in front of Sumire, and Sophia was in Sumire's phone as usual, which was on a stand that was on the table next to Morgana. Makoto then spoke up.

"All right, let's go over what we know so far. Sophia, you can confirm there's a Jail here, correct?" Makoto asked as Sophia nodded and spoke up with a look of certainty on her face, which was a bit odd to see on her usually outgoing and chipper face.

"The smell got a lot stronger once we entered the city, so, yes, I'm sure of it." Sophia said as Haru spoke up with a smile.

"Good. And the man we met earlier outside of that restaurant, he sure made an impression on that crowd. If I recall right, his name was Ango Natsume?" Haru said as Futaba nodded from up above the group and spoke up.

"Yup, that's right. I just did a quick search on him. Here's what came up. Ango Natsume, grandson to renowned writer Sogo Natsume. Currently a successful light novel author. Says the guy kicked off his career with his debut work, 'Prince of Nightmares', which won the grand prize in the Soukaisha Awards. This thing's selling stupidly well. It's sold a million copies alone!" Futaba said as Ann's eyes widened at this before she spoke up.

"A MILLION!? That's kinda nuts, right?" Ann asked as Sumire spoke up with a smile from next to Ren.

"That's correct. If nothing else, it's no small feat to sell a million copies of just one book. From what Kusa and Futaba both told me once, it's not that common for stories to hit one million copies sold, especially for a debut story." Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed, beautiful. Just from those numbers, I'd say that this story is more than likely headed towards bestseller status at this rate." Ren said wisely. Futaba nodded her agreement to Ren and Sumire's remarks and spoke up.

"Yeah, Kusa's right. And so are both of you, Ren and Sumire. For someone's debut to hit numbers like that is nothing short of a miracle." Futaba said as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"Good point. To be honest, I checked social media, and well, to put it bluntly? This whole thing is kind of bizarre." Makoto said as Futaba frowned and spoke up.

"I can imagine. Let me guess, Natsume's fans are probably going on some kinda rampage, right? There's a rumor that some people got beat within an inch of their lives just because they were sorta dressed like Natsume's characters." Futaba said as Makoto frowned and spoke up with a worried look on her face.

"Right, that's exactly it. But the worst part is that no one stepped in to stop them. In fact, the attackers were praised for what they did." Makoto said as Yusuke frowned at this and spoke up.

"Ugh, how disgusting. And to think, these are likely the same kinds of people who'd defile Masamune's statue with flyers. They clearly lack self-restraint." Yusuke said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"No kidding. This is starting to feel like something out of a horror movie somewhat. I'd have said this sounds like another outbreak of the sheeples, but this seems a tad more serious than that." Sumire said as Ren spoke up with a smile.

"Good observation, Sumire. But I don't even think Kusa would call this the sheeples, so much as he'd probably call it disgraceful as well as wholly unacceptable." Ren said as Haru spoke up.

"Yeah, that sounds like Kusa-kun, all right. Anyways, the fans at the station seemed really passionate too. It was almost like they were part of a cult or something." Haru said as Futaba spoke up.

"Good point, Haru. I'm checking some of the online forums, and it looks like there's about a hundred threads created about this dude almost every day. And they're all positive in nature, too. Not only that, but all of these IP addresses are from Sendai." Futaba said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"FOR REAL!? That's crazy suspicious. This is definitely our guy, then, right?" Ryuji asked as Ren spoke up.

"Sounds like it, but we can't be too sure until we have irrefutable proof he's the Monarch of the Sendai Jail. But all signs currently point to it being him." Ren said wisely. Yusuke nodded his agreement as he spoke up.

"That's true, Ren. Not only do we lack proof of him being a Monarch, but we haven't determined his abilities as a writer yet." Yusuke said as Ann spoke up uncertainly.

"Good point, Yusuke. If he really is just some freakishly talented writer, then the Jail here has nothing to do with him, and he earned all that praise, right?" Ann said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Perhaps, but there's still a chance he's our Monarch, too, ain't there?" Ryuji asked as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"There is. And that's what we're gonna find out. Tomorrow, we'll go into town and see what intel we can dig up. If he's the Monarch, there's a good chance we'll run into some victims who've had their hearts changed, just like in Shibuya." Morgana said as Futaba spoke up, wincing as she spoke up.

"Good point, Morgana. Oh, yeah, we should probably let Inspector Gramps know, too, huh?" Futaba asked as Sophia tilted her head to the side and spoke up.

"Inspector Gramps? I didn't know that was his title?" Sophia said in confusion as Sumire groaned and spoke up.

"That's because it's really not. That's just Futaba being a dork and poking fun at Inspector Hasegawa, again. And so you know, it's generally frowned upon to be rude to one's elders, so don't take Futaba's actions as a guide for what to do in that regard." Sumire said dryly. Haru spoke up to change the subject before it could devolve to back-and-forth banter between Futaba and Sumire, much to the relief of the others.

"Good idea, Futaba-chan. He might be able to give us some other clues, too." Haru said as Ann spoke up.

"Okay, well, I guess we should all probably hit the hay. We've got a busy day tomorrow." Ann said as the girls shooed the guys out of the trailer so they could start settling bunk arrangements and such. Outside of the trailer, Ryuji, Ren, and Yusuke stared up at the giant structure attached to the roof of the RV as Ryuji spoke up.

"So, is that supposed to be a tent? Also, why the hell are we sleepin' up top!?" Ryuji asked as Ren spoke up.

"Because we drew the short straw, I think? And probably also because there's only four of us versus there being five girls, or six if we count Sophia, so we kinda also got overruled by the majority in this instance." Ren said with a shrug as Ryuji spoke up.

"Fair, but even so, we might as well be sleepin' outside at this point. And ain't it gonna be cramped?" Ryuji asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"There's nothing we can do, anyways. As Sophia aptly pointed out before the girls ganged up on us to stake claim to the trailer, there isn't enough room in the car for all of us. And that's before we link back up with Kusa and whatever other reinforcements he's gathered. Besides, I'm sure it's not as bad as you say. After all, back when there were more students at the atelier, it was quite normal for us to sleep together due to lack of space." Yusuke said calmly with a closed eye smile as Ryuji spoke up while sighing and hanging his head.

"Ugh. Man, you always keep cool in the weirdest possible way, you know that?" Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"I'm with Ryuji on this. Also, if I wanted to have to huddle with a guy as a sleeping arrangement, I wouldn't have bothered to snap Morgana out of his ideal reality where he was given a human form. But, I think one time of waking up to a random blue-haired man spooning me is quite plenty. I literally woke up to his breath in my ears. That just about scared the crap out of me when he did that, to be honest. Umm, no offense to you, Morgana." Ren said as Morgana spoke up.

"No problem, I understand that I probably unnerved you doing that. But in my defense, I'd gotten used to curling up with you in my cat form, so I may have forgotten that me doing that as a human could be a bit more awkward. So yeah, my bad." Morgana said, sympathizing with Ren's plight, as he knew he'd likely crossed a line with trying to cuddle him as a human during the brief stint where he and the others had lived in actualized realities concocted by Maruki in an attempt to prevent the Phantom Thieves from interfering in his ambitions to change the world. In the end, however, Maruki's ambitions were foiled by the combined efforts of all eleven of the then-active Phantom Thieves coming together to reject Maruki's reality and change his heart for the better. Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Uhhh, yeeeeah, movin' on. C'mon guys, are we really just gonna call it a night? Shouldn't we like, all be playin' cards till super late, or stargazing, or somethin'? I mean, ain't that the kinda shit we're supposed to do on a big trip like this!?" Ryuji asked as Ren spoke up.

"That is true. But there's only three of us, four if we count Morgana. There are a handful of card games you can play with four people, but I don't see a table or anything to play them on. Also, I don't think any of us brought playing cards or a telescope. So unless your plan was to stargaze, nothing we can do about it at this point." Ren said sagely. Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"That's true. I mean, sure, whatever. But c'mon dude, somethin' ain't right here." Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up with a shake of his head.

"Forget it, Ryuji. We're up early tomorrow anyway, so you'd better get some rest." Morgana said as Ryuji sighed and pouted before speaking up.

"Ugh! Man, it's gonna be hot as hell with three of us AND Morgana, ain't it?" Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up with a frown.

"Very true, Ryuji. And Morgana is a very furry guy. So that fur of his certainly won't help things either." Yusuke said as Ren spoke up.

"Not in the summer at least. If this were winter, his fur would actually be a blessing, since it'd keep him quite toasty. But I can see how it'd be a problem in the summertime." Ren said sagely as Morgana spoke up.

"True. Ren has a point. Anyways, what do you two want from me, Yusuke and Ryuji!? I can't help that I'm a cat! Err, not that I'm actually a cat, though!" Morgana said as their discussion was interrupted by an angry sounding pound on the nearby window and Ann's voice speaking up angrily, revealing she'd gotten one of the bunk beds by the window.

As it turned out, she got the bottom bunk and after a drawing of straws, Haru got the top bunk, while Futaba wound up with the cubby bunk above the booth seats and behind the front seats, where Makoto wound up laying. As for Sumire, she'd gotten the shortest straw and had to make do with the suspiciously tiny sofa that was set up directly behind the booth seats. One advantage of Ann getting the bottom bunk was she could easily pound on the window to shut the guys up, like she had just done while she spoke.

"Guys, shut up! Some of us are trying to sleep!" Ann said as Ryuji winced and spoke up.

"Shit, forgot you might already be sleepin' in there. Sorry." Ryuji said as Ren and Yusuke shrugged before deciding to turn in for the night. As for the tent, the guys had lucked out in that there were at least a half-dozen sleeping bags inside the tent, which was slightly bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside, arranged in two rows of three. Ren got a bag in the left-hand row, while Ryuji and Yusuke took bags in the opposite row, leaving an empty bag to separate them.

As for Morgana, he settled for sprawling out on top of Ren, being used to curling up with him and/or Kusa while they all lived together in the attic of Leblanc. Unfortunately for Ren, the closed quarters meant having to listen to Ryuji and Yusuke all night, and neither of them were quiet sleepers by any means. Between Ryuji's snoring, and Yusuke's tendency to talk in his sleep, Ren found himself taking a while to fall asleep that night, especially when he heard Yusuke talking.

"Mmm, wrong! Not like that, like this! This!" Yusuke muttered as he slept, making Ren idly wonder what Yusuke could possibly be dreaming about to justify what he was presently saying in his sleep. Fortunately for Ren, he still had the background noise of Morgana meowing lightly in his sleep and cutely purring to somewhat help him doze off while he slowly fell asleep to the sound of Morgana's peaceful slumbering, which somehow managed to slightly drown out Ryuji and Yusuke's loud sleeping habits. As he fell asleep, Ren idly wondered if Kusa was having it as rough as he currently was...

(At the same time as Ren's group's discussion, at the Masamune statue, with Goro, Kusa, and Sojiro)

"So, to recap what we've figured out so far, Natsume is a flashy show-off who seems to have an obvious preference for women, given how much he went out of his way to get the ladies to the front of the line at that autograph session last night. Furthermore, we know he doesn't care if a girl is taken or not, he'll still hit on any woman he takes an interest in, presumably regardless of their age or relationship status. Also, we know that he has an unusual amount of fans in Sendai specifically. But we don't know why any of this is the case." Kusa said sagely as Sojiro spoke up with a wry smirk on his face.

"You mean you and Goro don't. While you two were busy talking about all the different ways you could 'accidentally' kill Natsume, I was out gathering info on him, and from what I've gathered, his grandfather is apparently a famous novelist in his own right that goes by the name of Sogo Natsume. Furthermore, his debut title, 'Prince of Nightmares', has sold almost a million copies already." Sojiro said sagely as a wide-eyed Kusa spoke up.

"His DEBUT title? Seriously!? What kind of insane friggin' luck does this guy have!? As someone who briefly considered being a writer, I can say for a fact that you NEVER hit even CLOSE to a million copies sold on a debut title, no matter how good you are. That sounds like a big-ass potential Monarch flag to me." Kusa said as Goro spoke up with a nod of agreement.

"Agreed. But we can't assume he's a Monarch without proof. Namely, without getting his EMMA keyword so we can try to see if he actually has a Jail here. From what Sojiro and I overheard Ren and the others saying, apparently their new ally, Sophia, can 'smell' Jails in an area based on their proximity or some such. Anyways, Sophia apparently smelled a Jail here, so the others are trying to get proof that Natsume is the Monarch of said Jail. So I think, therefore, our best bet is to try and find a way to get into one of Natsume's gatherings to try and get him to let slip info about his EMMA keyword if possible." Goro said as Sojiro spoke up.

"I think I remember hearing some women saying he's doing a book signing at the Sendai Station bookstore today, or did they say it was tomorrow? Now that I think more about it, I'm fairly sure it was actually tomorrow and not today." Sojiro said as Kusa blinked and spoke up with a look of surprise.

"Really? If that's true, that's very useful info, Sojiro. Well done. However, I'm sorry to say that neither of you would be able to get very close to that signing for various reasons. In Sojiro's case, he'd be far too easily recognized in a crowd, if only because I doubt that Ren and the others wouldn't be able to spot him in a crowd. That, and I have no way of knowing how many of the people at that signing have been to Leblanc and would recognize Sojiro as a result.

And if all these Monarchs really are on guard for the Phantom Thieves, all they'd have to do is go over the history of the Phantom Thieves to know that Sojiro is an ally of the Phantom Thieves, and therefore be instantly on guard with him.

As for Goro, as far as I'm aware, everyone believes him to be dead at this point, so it might cause just a wee bit of a panic if a man who's supposed to be deceased was spotted at a book signing, to say nothing of how much hot water both myself and Goro would be in if it was discovered that he's alive. So he's clearly not an option.

Therefore, it falls to me to be the one to gather this intel for our group. Fortunately, I've been doing a lot of practice at stealth tactics and also starting to try to self-train myself in the art of disguise. And I'd like to think I'm getting a lot better at both of them. Plus, with my hairstyle and build, if I slap a cap on my head and put on some shades, I could probably pass for a security guard and/or bouncer rather easily in a pinch.

Also, no one would have a reason to look twice at me being at a book signing, unless they happened to be a fan of mine, or a martial arts enthusiast. But I doubt very much that anyone that fits either of those descriptions would be at a book signing in the first place. So I'm pretty sure I have the best chance of safely infiltrating that signing without causing much of a commotion.

Meanwhile, the two of you get to start trying to set up Goro's laptop so that we can do some extra recon on this guy if necessary. Though, that might be mostly Goro's job, since I just recalled that Sojiro isn't that good with technology. No offense to you, Sojiro. Just telling the truth." Kusa said sagely as Sojiro spoke up with a smile.

"It's fine, Kusa. I understand perfectly. I'll probably just keep trying to gather what intel I can by discreetly asking around. I assume it goes without saying that we don't want to let Ren or the others see us just yet, then?" Sojiro said as Kusa nodded his agreement before he, Sojiro, and Goro prepared for their respective tasks...

(The next day, at the Sendai Station, with Ann, Makoto, Haru, Futaba, Yusuke, Ryuji, Sumire, Sophia, Ren, and Morgana)

"Awesome! All right, we made it to Sendai Station! Let's score us some leads on that smug bastard!" Ryuji said with a grin as the group gathered at the Sendai Station. Futaba winced at Ryuji's enthusiasm and spoke up.

"Aww, look at how eager Ryuji is. But for real? Sheesh, take it down a notch, dude. It's not that big of a deal. You're bouncier than a grade-schooler on summer vacation." Futaba said grumpily as Ann blinked at her and spoke up.

"Are you all right, Futaba? Are you not a morning person?" Ann asked as Futaba spoke up while shaking her head in the negative.

"Not really. I didn't sleep much last night, either. I can't really get comfy without my usual pillow." Futaba said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"And by 'usual pillow', I assume you mean an actual pillow, and not the fact you usually use Kusa's chest for a pillow a lot of the time?" Ren said teasingly as Sumire lightly swatted Ren on the arm in mock-rebuke as she spoke up.

"Be nice, Ren. It's not Futaba's fault that the trailer is taking some getting used to. Besides, even if Kusa-kun was here, he'd likely have been put up on top with you guys. And it sounded like it was a tight fit as is last night for you three. I can't imagine how much tighter it'll be once we get Kusa back with us, along with whatever reinforcements he's gathered. So try to be understanding while we adjust, please." Sumire rebuked Ren, who nodded and spoke up.

"Right, right. Sorry, Futaba." Ren said contritely as Makoto spoke up.

"Hmm. Well, it was our first night sleeping in the RV so I suppose it's no surprise that we're going to take a bit to get adjusted. You'll get used to it over time, Futaba-chan. I'm sure of it." Makoto said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Mako-chan. Also, I notice that the station is really busy for a weekday. Maybe it's because everyone's out from school?" Haru said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Hmm, that is unusual. I also noticed on doing a search of the area that the shopping arcade is only a short walk away. The Tanabata Festival decorations are apparently a popular attraction for sightseers." Sophia said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, I see. Sendai's Tanabata Festival is coming up soon!" Haru said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Good point. Also, it seems there's plenty of shops to draw a crowd. Perhaps we should try asking around over there." Yusuke suggested as Morgana spoke up.

"Yeah, we'll do the same thing we did with Alice. Let's meet up again once we've found something. But, this time? I want Sumire to actually partake of the fact-finding, rather than just staying by Ren's side the entire time like she did when we did this for Alice." Morgana said as Sumire pouted and spoke up.

"Aww, man. Do I have to? Eh, fine. Let's do it, I guess." Sumire said as the group dispersed to gather intel on Natsume, Ren noticing that the words 'Investigation Start!' popped up on his phone at that point as he decided to start going around gathering intel. As part of the intel gathering process, Ren looked into the local shops, finding some new things on sale, including recipes, such as the 'Gyutan Stew' recipe, which he purchased. After getting the recipe, Ren heard his name called and turned to see Yusuke approaching, smiling at Yusuke as he spoke up.

"Ah, what's up, Yusuke?" Ren asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"Wait, Ren. Are you planning on ordering gyutan stew? If so, then allow me to join you. I hear that beef tongue when softened in stew is simply divine. I must confirm this for myself." Yusuke said as Ren nodded, before proceeding to have an enjoyable time eating gyutan stew with Yusuke, after which Yusuke spoke up.

"What in heaven's name? Superb, I say! Truly superb, Ren!" Yusuke said as Ren nodded, feeling a flash of inspiration as he did so. After he and Yusuke parted ways again, Ren walked over to listen in on an entranced woman who was muttering to herself.

"I need to buy every last one of those copies of 'Prince of Nightmares'! Then maybe Ango will finally notice me! If I don't hurry, I'll miss his book signing that's today!" The entranced woman said as Morgana blinked and spoke up from inside Ren's bag.

"What did she say!? Natsume's doing a book signing?" Morgana asked as a 'BIP' from Sumire's phone, which she'd lent Ren so that Sophia could accompany him and Morgana on the fact-finding mission, preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Here we go. Search complete. Natsume will be holding a book signing nearby, and it's happening very soon." Sophia said as Morgana spoke up in surprise.

"Really!? Wait, hold up a second. Is that why they're all here!?" Morgana asked as Sophia nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. The bookstore's in a mall named Porto, and the event starts in one hour." Sophia said as Morgana spoke up.

"I see, very interesting. All right, Ren. Let's come back here when we're done collecting rumors." Morgana said as Ren nodded, blinking in surprise as his phone's progress meter jumped from 0% to 27% off of that one info grab. Ren then kept gathering info, stopping as he saw Makoto nearby, and approached her before speaking up.

"Ah, should've guessed you'd be gathering info in this part of the area, big sis. How's it going?" Ren asked as Makoto blinked and spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, hello, Ren. What a crowd, right? I wonder what's going on? It feels a bit, how to put it? A bit off, I guess." Makoto said as Ren nodded and kept moving. After ducking down a seemingly out of the way side section of the area he was in, Ren heard a hopeless romantic man speaking to himself, stopping to listen in.

"Why!? Why do this to me, my honey pie? We swore our love to each other here. You told me how special I was to you that day, so why? What did I do wrong to deserve this?" The man said, making Ren frown as he realized he had found nothing about Natsume in this area, before heading down to the shopping area below, where he checked each of the shops. In one of the shops, the manager spoke up.

"Can I help you?" The manager asked as Ren spoke up with a polite nod.

"As it happens, you might be able to. You see, my friends and I are here on a trip, and we heard a lot about some up-and-coming talent in the writing scene. Any chance you know anything about someone by the name of Ango Natsume?" Ren asked as the manager blinked at the name Ren had dropped before speaking up.

"Huh? Ango Natsume? Of course I know him. He seems to like our products. A lot of our fans give them to him as a gift. They sell like hotcakes, I tell ya. And it's all thanks to Natsume. Haha. But, just between you and me, I'm honestly kinda worried about how much money the fans are spending on all this stuff." The manager said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"Hmm. That's not unlike what was happening with Alice. She had fans pouring in abnormal amounts of money, too, as I recall." Morgana said as Ren nodded, blinking when his progress meter jumped from 27% all the way to 64% as a result of the intel Ren had just gathered. After taking a moment to exchange a confused glance with Morgana, Ren shrugged and kept moving.

After a bit, Ren finished examining the shops, and noticed he'd ended up nearest to Haru and Futaba, who were standing together. Ren walked over to Haru and spoke up.

"Huh, so you ended up working with Futaba this time, eh big sis? How's it going?" Ren said as Haru looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Oh, hello. I've been asking around the shops here, and apparently, Sendai's in the middle of Natsume fever. Apparently It's even affecting soe of the shops' staff. I overheard some complaints that it's getting bad for business. People no-call, no-showing, or even ditching their shifts partway through to go pick up more copies of Natsue's book out of nowhere. Could it be what we think it is, Ren? Could their hearts have been changed?" Haru asked Ren, who spoke up with an uncertain look.

"Not sure? But I wouldn't be surprised if it was that. After all, that's what it ended up being with Alice, wasn't it? Her being able to change hearts?" Ren pointed out as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"That is true, little bro. It did end up being that. Oh, that's right! I nearly forgot the most important part. When I told one of the local restaurant owners that I was on a trip with my friends, he gave me this. It's a hamburger from a local chain, using only local ingredients. They said it's very good. That said, I hope Okumura Foods can be a good representative of regional flavors as well one day." Haru said as Ren accepted a 'Gyutan Burger' from Haru before turning to Futaba and speaking up.

"How's it going, little sis? You holding up okay?" Ren asked Futaba, who blinked and spoke up on noticing Ren.

"Oh, it's you, big bro. Ooh, listen to this! The store owners were real surprised to learn who Haru's family is. At first they were all stiff and nervous, but Haru's too warm for anyone to keep that up long! She had 'em singin' in no time. It was crazy how people treat the upper crust, let alone Haru's ability to get 'em to stop! She is so amazing, it's unreal. I think I can see why Akechi used to be so into her." Futaba said as Ren spoke up.

"Ignoring you speaking of Akechi when he's not around, you're not wrong, little sis." Ren said gently as he kept moving, eventually stopping to speak to Yusuke.

"How's it going, Yusuke?" Ren asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"Ah, hello. Look, Ren. That general store over there is unusually packed with female customers. And perhaps it's my imagination, but their eyes seem, shall we say, hollow." Yusuke said as Ren spoke up.

"That could be true, but that doesn't mean it's related to Natsume. Still, keep an eye on that and keep me posted if anything comes of it." Ren said before he found a skeptical woman nearby and spoke up.

"You seem perturbed, ma'am. By chance, is that because of a certain Ango Natsume?" Ren asked warily as the woman frowned at him and spoke up.

"Oh, you want to know about Ango Natsume? Hmph, you and the rest of society. Everyone's talking about him lately, and it makes me sick. Pretentious pricks like that are always hiding something. I heard business has been good lately, thanks to all that Natsume gift merch. People need to wake up. There are plenty of other good authors out there." The skeptical woman said as Ren nodded, seeing that his phone's progress meter had went up from 62% to 66% before noticing Ann nearby and walking over to speak to her.

"Hey, you okay, sis? You seem upset." Ren said as Ann looked at Ren and spoke up, frustration plain to see on her face as she spoke up.

"What the heck? Ugh, this sucks!" Ann said as Ren spoke up warily.

"Um, is something wrong, Ann?" Ren asked, not sure if Ann's mood was related to their fact-finding or not. Ann blinked as she realized she was speaking to Ren, and spoke up sheepishly.

"Oh, Ren. I was wandering around the shopping area here to gather info, and now I've got sweets on the brain, with all these dessert shops and food stands around. The temptation's the worst! Ugh! I almost folded when I saw a place with gyutan ice cream that also sells chocolate bananas! Ugh!" Ann said with a sigh before speaking up after composing herself.

"All right, sorry about that. I should get back to asking around about Natsume. Speaking of whom, I have heard Natsume's name come up every so often while walking around. But it's never been about his book, so much as it's just about how much people idolize him. It's kinda weird." Ann said as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"That is weird, and also very similar to what Alice did." Ren said as he kept moving. After a bit, he found Ryuji near the entrance of the shopping district and spoke to him.

"Yo, what's bonkin', Ryuji? Find any leads?" Ren asked as Ryuji grinned at Ren and spoke up while high-fiving him.

"Yo, what's bonkin' with you, man? Also, Check out those things hangin' from the ceiling! They look like aliens!" Ryuji said in surprise as Sophia spoke up from Sumire's phone, an amused smile on her face at how easily Ryuji was misled about things as she spoke.

"They are apparently called 'streamers.' In Sendai, they're known for being topped with a large ball called a kusudama." Sophia said as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.

"Yeah? Actually, now that I think about it, isn't Tanabata celebrated in July?" Ryuji asked as Sophia spoke up.

"Normally, you'd be right. However, it looks like Tanabata is observed using the old lunar calendar, so the festival is held a month later, in August." Sophia said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Huh. I don't know if I follow you or not, Sophia. But whatever! August rules!" Ryuji said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Considering you and I are both born in July, I can't disagree with you. And given he has a birthday in August, I know for a fact Kusa agrees with you about August ruling." Ren said wisely as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Truth, RenRen! Oh, by the way. It's kinda crowded here, huh? Like, even more than Shibuya. Askin' around's gonna be a pain. Come to think of it, I think Sumire ended up elsewhere by herself while asking around." Ryuji said as Ren blinked but nodded as he decided to go look for more info as he kept moving. After a bit, Ren remembered the out of the way area he'd looked in originally, and doubled back that direction, eventually finding Sumire there by herself trying to gather info. After a brief pause, Ren walked over to her and spoke up.

"Hey there, beautiful. Kinda odd to see you over here by yourself info-hunting, don't you think?" Ren said slyly as Sumire turned and smiled at Ren as she spoke up.

"Oh, hey there, Ren. I know this is an odd place for me to be, but I was just asking around. Unfortunately, I didn't really get a lot of good info out of the locals here. But I did find out that the observational terminal here has a great view. I think one of the locals said you could see for miles from the upper deck." Sumire said as Sophia spoke up.

"Correction. You can see all the way up Mount Aoba from the upper deck. And probably get a good view of the park, too." Sophia said as Sumire nodded and spoke up.

"Right, that. Thank you for the clarification, sweetie." Sumire said kindly to Sophia, who cutely beamed and spoke up.

"No prob, Sumire. Praise accepted." Sophia said, doing her cute little habit of humming to herself. Ren spoke up at that point.

"Yes, well, as amusing as the dynamic between you two is, I still have intel to gather, so I guess I'll see you later." Ren said as Sumire nodded before Ren headed back to the mall where he found some girls talking to each other, stopping to listen in as he heard a bibliophile girl speak up.

"Look at this! Bookwyrm deleted her social media account recently." The bibliophile girl said as her friend, a short-haired girl, spoke up.

"Isn't Bookwyrm that author you really like? She's been putting out quite a lot of work lately. Maybe she got depressed. Her last post did mention how she's tired of, and I quote, 'trying to make her voice heard in a vacuum.' Whatever that means." The short-haired girl said as the bibliophile girl frowned and spoke up.

"Hmm. I wonder. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, Ango Natsume is the cause? I mean, have you read Ango's book? The story and the dialogue, it's so similar to what Bookwyrm would do for the most part. But there were even parts that seemed like stuff other others would do, as well." The bibliophile girl said as the short-haired girl frowned and spoke up.

"Hey! Be careful how loudly you say that, and where you say it! We're talking about Sogo Natsume's grandson here. You'll get flamed if you talk about him carelessly." The short-haired girl said as a wide-eyed Morgana spoke up from Ren's bag.

"Hey, Ren! Did you hear that?" Morgana said as Sophia spoke up from the phone Ren was borrowing from Sumire.

"She seemed suspicious of Ango Natsume stealing other people's work." Sophia said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Sophia. I wonder if it's true or just some rumor." Morgana said as Ren's phone blinked before the progress meter jumped from 66% to 100%. At that point, the words 'INVESTIGATION COMPLETE' flashed on his phone as Morgana spoke up.

"We've got plenty of intel now. I'd say it's safe to call it quits. Remember Natsume's autograph session we heard about? This is our chance to see him in person. Let's do some first-party reconnaissance." Morgana said as Ren spoke up with a shake of his head.

"We will soon, but not just yet. I'm not quite done seeing the sights." Ren said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"All right, I get that. Once you're ready, let's head over to the signing." Morgana said as Ren nodded and took a seat to think about what he'd just heard. After a bit, Ren met up with the others at the bookstore for Natsume's book signing...

(A short time later, at the Sendai Station bookstore, with Makoto, Ann, Ryuji, Ren, Morgana, Yusuke, Sumire, Sophia, Futaba, and Haru)

"Ugh, that smug bastard's bein' promoted all over the place. I feel like I'm goin' insane." Ryuji said as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, sweetie. That's quite a crowd for a book signing, isn't it?" Makoto said as Futaba winced and spoke up.

"Urrrgh, you're telling me! There's so many people, I think I'm going to throw up from looking at all of them." Futaba said as Sumire gave Futaba a sympathetic look and spoke up with a gentle smile on her face.

"Easy does it, Futaba. Don't focus on how many people there are. Just focus on the fact that you're not only safe, but that you're also here with your friends, who will never let anything happen to you." Sumire said kindly as Futaba smiled gratefully at Sumire before speaking up after she nodded.

"Good point. I can handle it since I'm with you guys." Futaba said as Morgana spoke up.

"Is he gonna give out his keyword for EMMA and change everyone's hearts just like Alice did? Either way, we should keep an eye on him for now." Morgana said as the group heard a passionate fan near the front of the line speak up to Natsume.

"Um, Natsume-san? I just wanted to say thank you for putting out such wonderful work all the time. I was so touched by your book, I ended up buying fifty copies!" The passionate fan said as the competitive fan behind her spoke up.

"Yeah? Well, I bought a hundred! Some to read, some to collect, some to give out, and some to do other stuff with." The competitive fan said as Natsume chuckled and gave both fans, who were also both women, a closed-eye smile as he spoke up.

"My goodness, ladies! Thank you, I'm flattered." Natsume said as the competitive fan spoke up.

"Reading your book somehow gives me hope, courage to keep going! That's why I won't rest until each and every one of my friends knows about your book!" The competitive fan said as Natsume frowned and spoke up.

"Well, I have said that I want my book to reach as many people as possible, this is true. However, even so, I can't help but feel guilty hearing what you say, though. Be sure you don't overdo it." Natsume said as the passionate fan spoke up.

"No, it's okay! I'm helping you because I want to!" The passionate fan said as Sumire frowned when she heard a gossipy woman speaking up near her.

"I heard the reason he started writing novels was for this poor girl who's bedridden in the hospital. Supposedly, he wanted her to keep fighting so she could one day see him finish his novel in its entirety." Sumire heard the gossipy person say as her bandwagoner friend spoke up.

"Oh my gosh, that's so beautiful. He's just so compassionate. It's like he's a saint." The bandwagoner said as a delusional fan spoke up from nearby, drawing attention away from the confused look on Sumire's face from the gossip she'd just overheard.

"I know, that story alone's enough to make me cry most of the time. I guess that even real life is like a novel sometimes. That's why we have to tell the whole world about Ango Natsume's great deeds!" The delusional fan said as the group frowned at this before waiting out the signing, which eventually ended with Natsume and his fans also leaving the bookstore. After the store had emptied quite a bit, the group gathered around in a circle as Haru spoke up.

"I'd expected as much, but to be honest? He's really popular." Haru said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"Right? But I have to wonder. Do you think that bit that Sumire said she had overheard earlier about the girl in the hospital is for real?" Ann asked as Suire spoke up.

"I find it hard to believe, to be honest. But maybe it is. Then again, I feel like this could be just a pander to get more people to sympathize with Natsume." Sumire said as Ryuji spoke up with a nod.

"Truth, Sumire! Dude didn't seem like the type, if you ask me." Ryuji said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"Whether it's true or not, we have another problem. From what we heard, I don't think Natsume said anything resembling a keyword during that signing." Morgana said as Haru frowned and spoke up.

"Could it be because he really isn't a Monarch? Or perhaps he's just being careful not to let us get his keyword." Haru said as Makoto spoke up.

"Good point, Haru. Also, if he is the Monarch, maybe everyone here's already had their hearts changed?" Makoto said as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"Meaning he wouldn't need to give out his keyword anymore. Good thinking, Makoto." Futaba said, before blinking as she noticed Yusuke poring over a book, drawing her attention to him as she kept speaking.

"Hm? Hey, Inari? What's that you've been reading?" Futaba said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, good question. It's Ango Natsume's novel, 'Prince of Nightmares'." Yusuke said as Futaba blinked in shock at Yusuke before she spoke up.

"For real? Inari, you actually bought that thing!?" Futaba asked as Ren spoke up.

"Probably for recon purposes, if I had to guess. Am I right about that being the reason why you bought it, Yusuke?" Ren asked. Yusuke spoke up.

"Yes, you're right that it's for recon. But it's also because I simply wanted to check whether the content of the book was truly deserving of the fervent praise it received." Yusuke said as Haru blinked and nodded slowly before she spoke up.

"Well, that's fair. But tell us, how is it? Is it any good?" Haru asked as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"Hmm, that's a good question. But, how should I put it? Ah, I know. For any creative work, one should be able to feel some sense of its creator's passion. No matter how crude and unrefined the work may be, there should always be some sort of spark present to those engaging with it. I'm not terribly well-versed in the literary arts, but to be honest? I feel nothing when reading this book. The sentences are formed well enough, but what's here is shockingly hollow. It's as if these words have been taken from someone else and given the most bare-minimum coat of paint possible while being presented for the reader's perusal." Yusuke said as Futaba blinked and spoke up.

"Really? Lemme see." Futaba said as she walked over to read over Yusuke's shoulder, her eyes widening as she kept speaking while looking the book over.

"Oh, wow. This line here's lifted from an anime from two years ago. The words got changed a bit, but that's definitely it. Sneaky. I think I've seen this one before, too. And this one! Sheesh, this one too. What happened to originality and creativity among authors? Wait, hold up. Is this whole book just a bunch of stuff he ripped-off and strung together? If the original writers or worse, their fans, ever saw this, there'd be a freaking riot online for sure." Futaba said as Yusuke spoke up.

"I can't possibly fathom how such a fraudulent piece of work garnered this much praise. Or rather, I don't think I can. Unless, that is, the fans had their Desires stolen." Yusuke said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"At this point, I think the only explanation is that like Alice did, Ango Natsume has the power to change hearts." Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"That's gotta be it, Sumire. I don't think there's any mistaking it at this point." Ren said as Futaba nodded her agreement and spoke up.

"Agreed. With all that we know now, I think it's safe to say there's definitely something going on here." Futaba said as Haru frowned and spoke up.

"True. If only we knew the keyword, we could investigate the Jail for ourselves and get to the bottom of this." Haru said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Good point. Think we should ask some of his fans? They've all had their Desires taken, right?" Ryuji suggested as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"Hmm, that's possible. But to be honest? If this is anything like the situation in Shibuya, I doubt they'll tell us anything." Makoto said as Futaba winced and spoke up.

"Well, guess we're kinda stuck, then. Have we heard anything from Gramps, yet?" Futaba asked as Ann spoke up.

"Last I heard, he said he'd be here by tonight. Maybe he learned something?" Ann asked as Makoto spoke up.

"Perhaps. All right, the. I guess we should go ahead and wait for Inspector Hasegawa, then." Makoto said as the others nodded and filed out of the bookstore, excluding Yusuke, who stopped Ren as he made to leave, speaking up as he did so.

"Wait, before you go. Hold on, Ren." Yusuke said as Ren stopped and turned to face Yusuke as he kept speaking.

"Why do you think Ango Natsume wrote this novel?" Yusuke asked as Ren spoke up.

"To be honest? I have no clue, Yusuke. You're definitely asking the wrong Amamiya sibling on this one. Kusa was always the one of us with the bigger interest in books. Or did I not mention that he planned to be a writer at one point?" Ren said honestly to Yusuke, who blinked at this and spoke up.

"Fair point, Ren. I apologize for forgetting that detail. As for me? In all honesty, I'm not sure why he wrote it either, myself. That said, no matter how much praise your work receives, to use a phrase Kusa once used in a calling card? If it was built on the backs of others, is it truly worthy of the praise it's received? Furthermore, if such is the case, then you cannot truly call that praise your own. Those compliments will surely ring empty. Anyone in the arts should know this. And that is why I don't understand. Just what was he thinking when he wrote this novel?" Yusuke asked Ren, who seemed to seriously consider the question before Makoto's voice called out to them.

"Ren! Yusuke! What are you two doing? Let's get going." Makoto said as Yusuke winced and spoke up.

"Err, my apologies. It wasn't my intention to be holding you up. Let's be off, Ren." Yusuke said as the two walked off, unaware of the short-haired male who'd lingered behind them to hear their entire conversation, his eyes widening at the implications of what he'd overheard before he found himself thinking out loud to himself once he was sure Ren and Yusuke were out of earshot.

"Is that so? Natsume's work might be plagiarized, then? Hmm. In that case, I suppose it's worth at least buying one copy, if only for the possibility that I can have Goro help me go over it with a fine-toothed comb to see exactly how far the alleged plagiarism goes. Plus, if what I heard just now is true, I think there might be something far more insidious at play than just Natsume not having enough talent to make his own stories." Kusa mused as he quickly purchased a copy of 'Prince of Nightmares' and headed back to meet Sojiro and Goro at the car...

(A short time later, in Sojiro's old car, with Kusa, Goro, and Sojiro)

"How's it going on your tasks, you two?" Kusa asked Goro and Sojiro as he got into the car and closed the door behind him while sitting in the driver's seat. Goro spoke up without looking up from his laptop.

"Surprisingly smoothly, all things considered. I was able to get an internet signal on my laptop, and do some research into Natsume. Apparently, he's having a party at a special venue later tonight. Not sure how any of us could be expected to rate an invite to that, but we can try, I guess?" Goro said as Sojiro spoke up.

"That's what I gathered as well by asking around. But supposedly, the venue it's going to be located in is going to be very light on security, so it might be easy to sneak into the party if we have to? Just a guess." Sojiro said as Kusa slowly nodded, before his eyes widened in realization as an idea occurred to him while he spoke up.

"Light on security, you say? Quite interesting, Sojiro. More importantly, what you just said actually gave me an idea. Goro, did you get that disguise I told you to purchase for our use?" Kusa asked as Goro nodded and spoke up.

"You mean the security guard disguise, right? Yeah, I got it, all right. But why do you ask?" Goro asked as Kusa slyly grinned and spoke up.

"Because, Goro, while you and Sojiro remain in the car here to keep an eye on both the car and the RV, since the latter so happens to be parked fairly close to the car, I'm going to disguise myself as one of Natsume's security detail and try to infiltrate the party that way, and see what I can glean from eavesdropping on the party. Now to get changed, if the disguise is here." Kusa said as Goro handed him a bag, which Kusa seized with a nod and ducked over behind the RV to get changed, being as quiet as possible while doing so, if only so as not to draw the attention of any of the RV's occupants as he got into disguise and went to go get himself a spot on Natsume's security detail for the sake of infiltrating the party...

(Later that evening, in the RV, with Hasegawa, Yusuke, Morgana, Makoto, Haru, Ann, Ryuji, Ren, Futaba, Sophia, and Sumire)

"Heh, gotta say. This is a pretty nice ride you've got there. Certainly nicer than the rather vintage-looking yellow convertible parked not too far from here, at any rate." Hasegawa said, not seeing the looks that Futaba and Ren exchanged at this, wondering if it was the car they thought it was. Before either could venture a speculative guess, Hasegawa kept speaking.

"And I gotta also say, I didn't expect Sendai to be on the agenda. How'd you know there'd be a Jail here?" Hasegawa asked as Ann winced and spoke up.

"Well, about that, Hasegawa-san." Ann said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Easy. I smelled it." Sophia said as Hasegawa blinked at this and spoke up.

"Hm? Wait, what? You smelled it?" Hasegawa asked as Makoto spoke up to derail the conversation from Hasegawa questioning Sophia.

"Aaanyways, have you learned anything new?" Makoto asked as Hasegawa spoke up.

"Ah, yes, you did ask about that. Ango Natsume, right? Yeah, he's suspicious, all right. His book's been selling like crazy, but only here in Sendai. Most of the other stuff I've heard lines up with what you guys told me. Anyhow, I did some asking around, and here's what I found so far. Apparently, everyone in Natsume's little fan club becomes friends with him through EMMA. And once that happens, they start buyin' his book any and every chance they get. Some even go into debt because of it. Any of this sound familiar?" Hasegawa said as Ann spoke up in shock.

"No way! It's just like what happened with Alice for the most part." Ann said as Hasegawa nodded and spoke up with a smile.

"That was my thinking, too. True, he might have different methods from Alice Hiiragi, but I'm almost certain Natsume's using the same power." Hasegawa said as Morgana spoke up.

"Oh? Well, in that case, we really need to get our hands on his keyword and fast, so we can start investigating the Jail." Morgana said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Can't we just nab the shithead and make him cough it up?" Ryuji asked as Hasegawa grunted and spoke up.

"Ugh, don't be stupid. Do that, and I would have to arrest you for assault. You can ramble on about the Jails all you want. The best-case scenario is you getting dragged off to a mental institution." Hasegawa pointed out with a smirk. Ryuji groaned and spoke.

"Gah, yeah, you're right, of course." Ryuji said as Haru winced and spoke up.

"Well, we're phantom thieves, so going at it directly's not preferred anyway." Haru said as Futaba smiled as she spoke up.

"Oh, there goes Beauty Thief. Always tryin' to be elegant and subtle, and stuff." Futaba said as Hasegawa's eyes widened while he spoke up.

"Beauty Thief? Wait, what?" Hasegawa asked as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"She's talking about Haru. Haru sometimes calls herself that for fun." Ren said conversationally. Haru blinked at Ren's explanation and spoke up in a flustered tone.

"M-My name is Beauty Thief!" Haru said nervously as Hasegawa winced before speaking up.

"I see, I see. She's really calling herself that?" Hasegawa asked as Morgana spoke up to change the topic.

"Getting back on track here, yeah? Anyways, we gotta think of a way to get that keyword." Morgana said as Hasegawa smiled and spoke up.

"And that's where I come in. You'd better thank me for this later." Hasegawa said as Makoto spoke up in confusion.

"For what, exactly?" Makoto asked as Hasegawa spoke up.

"Natsume's holding a party tonight in celebration of 'Prince of Nightmares' passing over a million in sales. And I just happen to have enough invitations for all of you. Which means, what?" Hasegawa asked as Ann spoke up uncertainly.

"We're crashing a party?" Ann asked as Ryuji spoke up.

"Hey, that sounds fun as hell! Don't ya think, Ren?" Ryuji asked as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"We're not crashing a party if we're invited, Ann. Also, are you seriously trying to get our leader to get into trouble, Ryuji!? That's not why Hasegawa-san got us those invites, you know." Sumire said as Ren spoke up.

"While I do agree that going to a party sounds fun, I know better than to gate-crash. If nothing else, Kusa would probably spend a rather lengthy amount of time reaming me and Ryuji both if we did that and got caught. And I don't know about Ryuji, but I have no interest in dealing with that if I can help it. Besides, this is our chance to get that keyword, if we play our cards right." Ren said sagely. Makoto nodded approvingly as she spoke up.

"Right. And if it's invite-only, there's a chance security will be light as well." Makoto said as Hasegawa smiled and spoke up.

"So, what do you think? Glad we struck a deal?" Hasegawa said as Futaba smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, you did pretty good, Gramps!" Futaba said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Yeah, nice one, Gramps!" Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up with a closed-eye smile on his face.

"I must admit, I'm seeing you in a whole new light, Gramps." Yusuke said as Ann spoke up.

"Yeah, you really came through, Gramps!" Ann said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"I knew we could count on you, Gramps-san." Haru said as Hasegawa winced and spoke up.

"C'mon, guys, I know I'm probably still earning your trust here, but at least call me by my name, even if you don't necessarily use my title most of the time." Hasegawa said in annoyance as Sophia spoke up cutely.

"Don't feel bad, Gramps." Sophia said as Sumire groaned and spoke up.

"Why do every single one of you insist on not showing Inspector Hasegawa at least some respect? Even if you don't call him by his name, you could at least not refer to him in such a rude way as to call him Gramps. At least call him Hasegawa, if nothing else." Sumire said huffily as Hasegawa smiled at Sumire defending him and spoke up.

"Thank you! At least one of you shows me some respect. Two, if we count Morgana, since he doesn't usually refer to me as Gramps. And probably three, if the guy I met at Leblanc the other day ends up catching up with you guys." Hasegawa said, confusing most of the others with his last remark. As the group filed out of the RV to go to the party, none of them noticed the short-haired male crouched down next to the rear end of the RV as he smirked to himself, having already managed to figure out a way to get himself into the party without an invite...

(A short time later, at the party venue, with Ryuji, Yusuke, Ren, Morgana, Sumire, Sophia, Ann, Haru, Futaba, and Makoto)

"Thank you all very much for coming today. This is just a small token of my appreciation. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy yourselves." Natsume said to the gathered crowd as the party kicked off. A while later, the group frowned as they heard Natsume holding court with a bunch of other people, one of which spoke up.

"Congratulations, Mister Natsume. Truly." A man standing near Natsume said as Natsume chuckled and spoke up.

"It's all thanks to everyone working so hard to push sales. All I did was write." Natsume said with a closed-eye smile as the man from before spoke up.

"Oh, you're too modest." The man said as another man spoke up.

"It really is impressive how well you've done, considering the amount of competition there is these days. I know we tried to promote you early on as the grandson of renowned writer, Sogo Natsume, but uh, now? I dunno. I never would've expected you to perform this well." The second man said as the first man spoke up.

"The praise you've received is entirely due to your talent, Mister Natsume. You're a shining star to readers and authors alike." The first man said as Natsume chuckled in amusement and spoke up.

"My talent, you say? Haha, well now, I wouldn't go as far as to say that, necessarily. After all, the words on the page matter little. If there's something worth talking about, the people will always flock to it. From there, all one needs to do is craft a little story into it, and voila. For example, take that origin story about how I started writing because of some poor girl in the hospital." Natsume said as the first man spoke up.

"Pardon my asking, but is that story true, Mister Natsume?" The first man asked as Natsume chuckled and spoke up.

"Ahahaha, I'm afraid that's my little secret. Truth, fiction, it's all the same when you think about it, no? Does anyone really care? You might recall Ichiryusai Madarame's confession on TV a few years ago. Surely, you remember. His signature piece that he confessed to altering, what was the name of it?" Natsume asked as the second man who'd spoken spoke up at that point.

"Oh, do you mean the 'Sayuri'?" The second man asked, not seeing Yusuke giving the group a confused look as he listened in on the conversation. At that point, Natsume nodded and spoke up.

"Ah, yes, that's it. The 'Sayuri'. That piece was certainly lauded as the pinnacle of beauty at the time, but if you ask me? The only place it belongs now is in the trash." Natsume said as Ryuji growled and spoke up under his breath so Natsume wouldn't hear.

"That dick! How dare he disrespect your mom's work like that, Yusuke?" Ryuji asked Yusuke, who was glaring at Natsume through narrowed eyes. Unbeknownst to the group, one of the security guards nearby was also frowning at how Natsume had described the 'Sayuri'. Haru then spoke up with a frown.

"Oh! The trash!? How rude!" Haru said as Ann scoffed and spoke up.

"Ugh! He has no idea what was put into that painting! Who does he think he is!?" Ann said as Yusuke growled in frustration. Morgana saw the look of anger on Yusuke's face and spoke up.

"Yusue, I know how you feel, but is it really worth making a scene over what he said?" Morgana said cautiously. Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"I dunno about that, Morgana. You heard what that jerk said about the 'Sayuri', right? That's just as bad as speaking ill of the dead, if you ask me. And that's pretty scrwed up in and of itself! But fortunately, Yusuke knows that we don't agree with what Natsume said." Sumire said cheerfully.

Yusuke spoke up with a nod after calming himself a bit.

"I'm all right." Yusuke said before he turned to Ren and kept speaking.

"Ren, I have a favor to ask. Would you mind if I handled this one? I promise I'll get the keyword from him." Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up.

"But can you keep your cool after what he said about the 'Sayuri'?" Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Yes. But more importantly, there's a good chance he remembers your faces from the other day. However, I was towards the back of the crowd, so there's a good chance he won't recognize me." Yusuke said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"After what he said about your mom's work? It's all you, Yusuke. Do us the honor of getting his keyword, bro." Ren said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Right, Yusuke might be our best bet here." Morgana said as Ann spoke up.

"Good luck!" Ann said as Yusuke spoke up with a nod.

"Thank you. I'll be off, then." Yusuke said as he walked over to the group and spoke up.

"Pardon me for interrupting. I happen to be a big fan of yours, Natsume-san." Yusuke said as the second man who had spoken to Natsume before, or a man in a black suit with a white dress shirt and black tie with matching black dress shoes, spoke up.

"Hm? Hm? Who are you?" The second man asked as Yusuke spoke up again while looking at Natsume.

"Forgive me. I was hoping I might trouble you for an autograph, Mister Natsume." Yusuke said as the first man who'd spoken to Natsume, a shorter-haired man with the same suit as the second man, spoke up.

"H-Hey! Mister Natsume is a busy man. You can trouble him later!" The first man said as Natsume chuckled and spoke up.

"Ahaha, come now. I'm sure one autograph won't hurt." Natsume said as Yusuke gave a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Ahh, you mean it? My thanks, Natsume-san! You're too kind!" Yusuke said as he pulled out a notebook, which Natsume signed the first page of with a flourish as a happy Yusuke spoke up.

"To receive an autograph from the great Ango Natsume himself like this is incredible. And also, this honor is truly more than I deserve." Yusuke said as Natsume smiled and spoke up.

"Nonsense, don't sell yourself short. It's readers like you that allow authors like me to keep writing." Natsume said as Yusuke spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"I see. That's a wonderful way to look at it. Oh, right. Do you by any chance use EMMA, Natsume-san?" Yusuke asked as Natsume nodded and spoke up.

"Of course. With how convenient it is, how could I not?" Natsume said as Yusuke spoke up with a smile.

"Truly? Then if you don't mind, could you please add me to your friends list? It would be a privilege to be closer to one I respect so greatly, Natsume-san." Yusuke said as Natsume chuckled and spoke up, neither Natsume, Yusuke, or either of the other assembled groups seeing the guard that was observing the conversation frowning at Natsume's words while Natsume spoke.

"Heh, not at all. My fans and readers mean the world to me. The keyword is 'Prince of Nightmares'. Don't forget it." Natsume said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up, neither Yusuke nor Natsume seing the almost-imperceptible widening of one of the security guards' eyes behind their shades on overhearing Natsume's keyword, memorizing it for later usage while Yusuke spoke.

"Thank you very much. Expect a request from me sometime soon. Now, there is one more thing, if I may. I overheard you and your entourage mention the 'Sayuri' earlier, and what you had said about it yourself. If I'm not mistaken, you said it should be thrown out with the trash, as though it were some cheap attempt." Yusuke said as Natsume chuckled and spoke up.

"Eheh, hm? Ah, so you heard that, did you? Is that what I said? Well, I take it that someone of your taste agrees with me? In the end, that painting only held value because of whose name was attached to it. Madarame had-" Natsume said as Yusuke's eyes narrowed while he spoke up.

"For your information, Natsume-san? The 'Sayuri' was painted by my mother." Yusuke said bluntly, making the rest of his group, along with the guard observing from nearby, all give him impressed looks as Natsume blanched at this reveal and spoke up.

"Eh!?" Natsume said in shock as Yusuke spoke up again, making the nearby guard smirk at what Yusuke said next.

"This may be unprofessional of me, but professionalism can be damned right now. My mother painted the 'Sayuri' at the cost of her own life. It is her final masterpiece. That painting was crafted with a love that simply cannot be found anywhere else. Don't you DARE lump it in with that soulless drivel you cobbled together from authors far more talented than you!" Yusuke snapped at Natsume, who winced at Yusuke's sharply-worded outburst and spoke up.

"Wh-What!?" Natsume said as the first man who'd spoken to him spoke up.

"H-Hey, you can't speak to Mister Natsume like that!" The first man said as at that moment, a security guard with sunglasses and a short goatee and mustache combo walked over and spoke up, his arms crossed intimidatingly over his chest as he spoke.

"Is there a problem here?" The guard asked as Natsume spoke up.

"N-No. I think I merely offended this young man here with my words. I apologize for doing so. I didn't realize you were the son of the actual artist of the 'Sayuri'." Natsume said as Yusuke glared and spoke up.

"That shouldn't matter! I would think that as an author, you would have more of a respect for the arts than that!" Yusuke snapped as the guard spoke up.

"Hey, hey! Calm down there. Now, I get that words have been exchanged here, but let's not let our tempers flare here, lest one of you say something that you'll end up regretting later." The guard said before he turned to Natsume and spoke up.

"Shall I escort this young man and his friends off the premises for you, Mister Natsume?" The guard asked as Natsume blinked and spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, ah, yes. Please do. Thank you for your diligence. But, if you don't mind my saying so, are you new? I don't remember seeing you before." Natsume said as the guard winced before he regained his composure and spoke up.

"Ah, I was a volunteer drafted to help with security for this event, and a fairly recent addition at that. So that's likely why you don't recognize my face." The guard said after briefly seeming to hesitate, getting a nod from Natsume as he spoke up.

"Ah, that makes sense. Well, please escort them out." Natsume said as the guard nodded and turned to Yusuke as he spoke up.

"You there, come with me! Let's get you out of here so you can calm down, yes?" The guard said to Yusuke, who nodded as he turned to Natsume and spoke up.

"I apologize for my outburst before. I was merely stating the truth. Now, if you'll excuse me, Natsume-san, I'll follow this guard out." Yusuke said before letting the guard escort him out, stopping over by the rest of the group Yusuke had come to the party with, looking at Ren and the others and merely saying 'come along quietly, if you please.' before escorting the group out of the party as Yusuke spoke up.

"Sorry, but we've got what we came for. Let's let this guard escort us outside, yes?" Yusuke said as the others nodded and followed the guard out of the party, not seeing Natsume seem to seethe in rage at what Yusuke had said to him. He then spoke up angrily.

"Soulless drivel? That little bastard has no right to say that to me. What the hell does he know!?" Natsume said as the first man who'd spoken up quickly spoke up to try and placate Natsume.

"I-It's all right, Mister Natsume. He's just looking to blame you for something because he's jealous of your genius. Don't let him get to you." The first man said as Natsume spoke up angrily.

"Shut up!" Natsume snapped as the first man winced and spoke up.

"Eep!" The first man said as Natsume scowled and spoke up.

"I can't believe he said that. Hmph. No matter. He'll come around just like the rest. But who was that guard that escorted him out? I don't remember seeing his face among my protection detail before tonight?" Natsume said in confusion as the rest of his group shrugged, not sure of the answer to that question...

(Outside of the party, with Yusuke, Ren, Morgana, Sumire, Sophia, Ann, Makoto, Ryuji, Futaba, Haru, and the guard from before)

"My apologies. I couldn't hold myself back. It seems I still have much to learn about keeping my cool. Speaking of, thank you for stepping in and escorting us out so that Natsume couldn't make a scene, Mister Security Guard." Yusuke said to the guard, who nodded once and spoke up.

"Think nothing of it. I was merely making sure that neither yourself nor Mister Natsume could do or say anything either of you would regret later. Also, for what it might be worth to you? I disagree with what he said about the 'Sayuri'. That painting is far more elegant and dignified than something that would be considered mere trash. I've seen it hanging at Cafe Leblanc for a while now, and unlike Natsume? I realize that it's far greater than Natsume gives it credit for. So don't let his lack of taste offend you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll take my leave, since hearing Natsume say such things about the 'Sayuri' may have turned my stomach." The guard said as he made to take his leave, before stopping to whisper into Yusuke's ear as he left.

"Hang in there, Yusuke. You and the others. The cavalry will be here soon, and in a form you might not expect it to take." The guard said ominously before continuing to take his leave without a further word, not seeing the widening of Yusuke's eyes at the security guard's rather ominous comment, having an idea of who the guard might actually be just from what he'd said. Ryuji spoke up at that point, not seeing the shocked look on Yusuke's face as he spoke.

"Dude, who was that guard, anyways?" Ryuji asked as Sumire and Ren exchanged a look, having suspicions of their own. But Yusuke spoke up before they could voice those suspicions, a content smile on his face.

"From what I can tell? I think it's safe to say he's an ally of ours, and if I'm right? He might be someone that some of us haven't seen in years." Yusuke said sagely, making Ren, Morgana, and Sumire's eyes widen, all three of them having an idea of who Yusuke meant. The others' eyes all widened as Ryuji spoke up.

"You mean-!? Eh, never mind. That's not important right now, I guess. Anyways, dude, don't sweat it. Everything worked out. We got the keyword, so we're all good." Ryuji said as Ann smiled at Yusuke before she spoke up.

"Yeah, you did great. I was actually pretty impressed with how you stood up to him." Ann said as Yusuke spoke up with a wince.

"Err, I may have overdone it a bit with how I lashed out near the end there. Well, even so, I can't say my assessment of his book was entirely correct. Whatever someone feels from a work of art, no matter what that work may be, ultimately comes down to the individual." Yusuke said as Futaba smiled at Yusuke and spoke up.

"Yeah, well, for whatever it might be worth? We all loved seeing you stick it to that creep Natsume, Inari." Futaba said as Morgana spoke up.

"In any case, we've got the keyword now. All that's left is to find our entry point." Morgana said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Sendai Station would be a good place to look." Sophia said confidently as Haru blinked and spoke up.

"Hm? How come?" Haru said as Sophia spoke up again.

"The smell's not as strong there. Therefore, the security's probably more lax. The station should be a safe point of entry, just like in Shibuya." Sophia said as Ann spoke up with a nod.

"I see. So, I guess we're doing it, then." Ann said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, we've got everything we need. Tomorrow, that Jail's getting a visit from the Phantom Thieves!" Morgana said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, yeah!" Futaba said as the group left to return to the camper, aside from Ren and Sumire, who were stopped by a 'BIP!' from the latter's phone as Sophia spoke up.

"Hey, Ren and Sumire? There's something I want to ask you." Sophia said as Sumire spoke up with a smile.

"Oh? What's up, Sophia?" Sumire asked as Sophia spoke up with a concerned look on her face.

"Yusuke might've been acting calm just now, but I could tell that deep down, he seemed rather sad. Why was that?" Sophia asked as Ren spoke up.

"Good question. If I had to guess, I'd say it was because he's an artist too." Ren said as Sumire spoke up.

"That, and he was probably insulted by what Natsume said about his mother's final work." Sumire added. Sophia blinked at this and spoke up.

"Oh, I see. That makes sense, I think. So when someone disrespects something important to you, it makes you more sad than angry?" Sophia said as Ren spoke up.

"It depends on the person as well, Sophia. Some people are more apt to get angry at things like what Natsume said, where others are more apt to get said." Ren said as Sumire spoke up with a smile.

"But at the same time, what you said is definitely possible." Sumire added kindly. Sophia nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. But at the very least, Yusuke seemed to feel that way. Hm, I think I'm starting to understand him a little better now. Thank you for explaining that to me, Ren and Sumire." Sophia said as Sumire nodded and spoke up.

"No problem, sweetie. That's what we're here for, after all. We're going to help you understand the human heart as much as possible. After all, that's part of the reason you joined our team, is it not?" Sumire said as Sophia nodded in the affirmative as Ren and Sumire headed back to the RV to get some rest...

(Later that evening, in the Velvet Room with Ren and Lavenza)

"I've been waiting for you." Lavenza said to Ren as she saw him approach his cell in the Velvet Room. Once Ren looked at Lavenza, she kept speaking.

"The Desires in this place have been stolen as well. The voices of countless hearts are fluttering about, Trickster. And at the same time, I can feel that the threat of the calamity is only growing stronger. Fortunately, not all is lost. For I can sense that the time is drawing near for your group to reunite with its two missing members, and possibly even pick up another new teammate in the process.

And that is why I have called you here to deliver important news. The bonds you have forged will now impart an even greater power to your Personas. This new power you've gained is unique. It seems it was born from a connection you've made during your travels. This will become the sustenance that will further nurture your potential. Cherish it dearly." Lavenza said as Ren spoke up.

"Not entirely sure what you mean, Lady Lavenza. But if you say I should cherish my newly gained power, then I'll do just that." Ren said sagely. Lavenza giggled as she spoke up.

"Hee hee, I'm sure you will. Still, I admit I'm somewhat jealous. There is no doubt that they will give you the strength needed to cut through fate." Lavenza said as Ren nodded his understanding as Lavenza spoke up once more.

"Well, until next time, Trickster. May luck be on your side." Lavenza said as Ren laid back on his cot and dozed again...

(The following afternoon, outside the RV with Futaba, Morgana, Makoto, Haru, Sumire, Ren, Ryuji, Yusuke, Ann, and Sophia)

"Ahhh, so tired." Ryuji said sleepily as he stretched to try and wake himself up more. Morgana frowned at this and spoke up.

"Snap out of it, Ryuji! We're about to head in!" Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up.

"I know, I know. I was so excited last night, I couldn't sleep." Ryuji said as Futaba huffed and spoke up.

"What, you think it's Christmas morning or something!?" Futaba scoffed as Makoto spoke up to change the subject.

"Any idea how big this place is? Can you tell, Sophia?" Makoto asked Sophia, who spoke up with a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone.

"Hmm. Based on the smell, I'd say it covers nearly all of Sendai." Sophia said as Haru blinked and spoke up.

"That's quite big, wouldn't you say?" Haru asked as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"True, but considering what's happening throughout the city, the scale makes sense. But, that's all coming to an end here pretty soon." Yusuke said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Time to get to work." Ren said as Sumire spoke up.

"What Ren said! Let's go! We'll save this city." Sumire said with a smile. Morgana nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Right! We're heading into what can only be the Sendai Jail!" Morgana said as the rest of the group nodded and left to go get supplies, leaving just Ren, Sumire, and Morgana behind. At that point, Morgana smirked at Ren and spoke up once more.

"Hey, Ren. So we've got ourselves a mobile hideout! Pretty convenient! And I've gotta say, it sure does make the Phantom Thieves even cooler! Nyeheheh, maybe we should call our hideout the Phantomobile?" Morgana suggested as Sumire and Ren winced at this, the former frowning at Morgana as she spoke up.

"That's not bad, but don't we usually vote on these sorts of things before making any big decisions, if only so as to adhere to the 'unanimous decision' rule we have in place?" Sumire said as Morgana spoke up.

"Good point. Well, let's consider that my suggestion for now then. Also, once you think everyone's good and ready, let's meet at the hideout and infiltrate the Jail. We're counting on you, Ren." Morgana said as Ren nodded and kept moving. Once he noticed Futaba standing by the RV, he walked over to her and spoke up.

"What's up, little sis?" Ren asked Futaba, who smiled at Ren and spoke up.

"Yo! Hey, good timing, big bro! I want some curry before we hit up the Jail. Good luck curry, let's call it." Futaba said as Ren spoke up.

"Good luck curry, you say?" Ren said as Sumire spoke up.

"Correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't katsu the lucky food?" Sumire asked uncertainly as Futaba spoke up.

"You know, like in ancient warrior times, they'd all sit around and eat curry together before marching into battle? Or something like that? Anyways, I know we just had some a little while ago, but my reserves are runnin' low! I just can't help it. And we're about to go into a Jail, after all so I need a curry power-up, and only yours will do in this case, Ren! Yummy! Buuuut this was the only ingredient I could scrounge up. Good luck finding the rest!" Futaba said as Morgana spoke up.

"Ugh. Well, I guess we've got an order up, Ren. If you don't have the ingredients, you'll need to pick some up first, and then you can cook at the hideout." Morgana said as Ren nodded before heading into the hideout, where he decided to brew some coffee after seeing what he had the ingredients for. When he did so, Morgana spoke up.

"Hey, hold on. Is that the chief's special coffee?" Morgana said as Futaba spoke up with a smile.

"Ooh, that smells super good! Our hideout suddenly turned into Leblanc!" Futaba said as Morgana spoke up.

"Mwehehehehe, meow. Ahh, that smell makes me feel so warm and cozy. Leblanc will always have a special place in my heart." Morgana said as Sumire spoke up.

"Good point, Morgana." Sumire said as Ren nodded before he then proceeded to try out the 'Gyutan Stew' recipe that he'd gotten with Yusuke the other day, making the group smile as the smell of the food filled the room and Yusuke spoke up.

"Such exquisite flavor, Ren! This stew is restaurant-quality and then some. Delicious! To think you'd succeed in recreating it so easily. No wonder you're our leader, Ren." Yusuke said as Futaba spoke up with a smile.

"He stole that special taste like a true phantom thief! Let's add even more recipes to our repertoire!" Futaba said as Makoto spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"True, but it's more for our nutrition than our reputation, though." Makoto said as Ren smiled, idly noting that he'd done well, deciding that he'd try to match the flavor of the restaurant he'd gotten the recipe from as much as possible going forward, and resolving to deal with the leftovers later. After thinking it over, Ren made the call to have the group infiltrate the Jail.

"Let's do it, guys. Time to get this Jail done." Ren said as the others nodded and headed into the Metaverse...

(Inside of the Sendai Jail, with Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Violet, and Seeker)

As the group entered the new Jail, they looked around at how surprisingly non-distorted the area seemed to be on first glance, or at least, so they thought. But on a closer inspection, they saw a giant looming cathedral complete with ominous looking gargoyle statues, along with new buildings peppered in the background, such as old-school clock towers and intimidating looking bramble bushes, and even a golden statue of Natsume holding a pen in one hand. As the group noticed the cathedral in the distance, Mona pointed towards it as he spoke up.

"So, that's it. Ango Natsume's castle." Mona said as Fox nodded and spoke up while stroking his chin contemplatively.

"Indeed. Once again, the domain reflects who's within." Fox said as the camera panned out to show the ominous looking birdcages in the background, complete with bird swarms for good measure. After the group finished looking around, Joker spoke up.

"We ready to start exploring this place?" Joker said as the group nodded before Queen spoke up with a frown.

"Well, we made it to the Jail. I'd say that settles it: Ango Natsume is our Monarch." Queen said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"So, him being popular's a total lie." Panther said irately. Noir frowned and spoke up, a look of mixed confusion and disappointment on her face as she spoke.

"Doesn't he feel any remorse for obtaining his success this way? His fans are only his fans because he forced them to be that way." Noir said as Skull spoke up with a frown.

"That's just how smug assholes like him think, Noir. Anyway, we can't just let it keep happenin'." Skull said as Seeker blinked and spoke up.

"Agreed. Oh! There's a large tower in the distance. Is that Natsume's castle?" Seeker asked as Mona spoke up with a nod.

"Probably. I'd agree with that guess, Lady Seeker. In any case, I smell Treasure nearby. Err, I mean Desires." Mona said as Oracle spoke up.

"Mount Aoba's over that way. The main road there should lead us right to it." Oracle said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Then, let's go. We'll steal those Desires and expose Natsume for the fraud he is!" Fox said as a voice reached the group's ears from nearby, seemingly from above.

"You seek to challenge the Overlord? Is that what I heard?" A voice said, making the group look around in confusion before Violet blinked and looked up above, pointing to a ledge nearby as she spoke.

"Oh! Look over there!" Violet said, pointing towards the nearby rooftop, on which a trio of cloaked figured could be seen, each wearing different colored cloaks.

Firstly, the figure on the left was sporting a black and blue cloak, along with a black mask in the shape of a raven, with a beak that extended down the face towards the figure's torso. The figure on the right, meanwhile, wore a black and gold cloak, with a facemask that was gold and covered most of their face, leaving a very distinct beard visible as the figure crossed its arms imposingly.

Finally, the figure who'd spoken, or the one in the middle, wore a dark green cloak with accents of mixed silver and dark grey, and a forest green mask over their face in the shape of a dragon, with the snout pointed downwards to cover the figure's face, moving towards the figure's chest, much like the first cloaked figure's mask had done. Joker turned to face the three cloaked figures and spoke up.

"That is correct. We're here to secure a route to the castle of this Jail's Ruler so we can steal their desires and change their warped heart. Do you know anything about where to find this castle?" Joker asked as the figure in a black and blue cloak spoke up.

"Best I can tell you is to trust the book, as it has the directions you need. Otherwise, trust in each other and never give up. Do these things, and you should find your way eventually, oh chosen ones." The figure in the black and blue cloak said as Seeker blinked and spoke up.

"Chosen ones?" Seeker asked as the figure in the black and gold cloak nodded and spoke up.

"Correct, little lady. There's a legend around this area that tells of a group of chosen warriors who arrive in a flash of ominous lights to challenge and eventually overthrow the Overlord. And we believe you to be those heroes." The figure in the black and gold cloak said as the figure in the dark green cloak spoke up.

"However, the legend also states you will not be able to do so alone. When the time comes to confront the Overlord, you will be joined by three others, two of whom you've worked with in the past. But for now, keep as you are, and you'll reach the appointed reunion soon enough. In any case, as my associate in the blue and black cloak said, trust in the book that the one you call Fox purchased from the Overlord in your world, as it will help guide your way. And if fate has it in store for us to do so, we will surely meet again soon enough." The figure in the dark green cloak said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Wait! What do we call you three?" Mona asked as the figure in the black and blue cloak spoke up after giving a dry chuckle to Mona's question, as if he found it amusing and yet trite.

"Call us? I don't think this is the time for such things. But if you must have something to refer to us as, then you may call us the Ordained Guides. Past that, there's no need for us to divulge our names at this time." The figure in the black and blue cloak said as the figure in the black and gold cloak spoke up.

"Exactly. When the time is right, you will likely run into us once more. But for now, we must take our leave, lest we slow you down from your destiny." The figure in the black and gold cloak said as the figure in the dark green cloak nodded and spoke up.

"Until we meet again...Farewell, Phantom Thieves." The figure in the dark green cloak said before tossing down a flash bomb to blind the group. When the group could see again, the trio of cloaked figures were nowhere to be seen. Violet blinked at this and spoke up.

"Uhh, am I the only one who's confused by what just happened? Also, is it me, or did all three of those voices sound vaguely familiar somehow?" Violet said as Seeker spoke up.

"The only voice I vaguely recognized of the three was the figure in the black and gold cloak. And even then, I couldn't get a good read on their identity thanks to those cloaks they had on." Seeker said with a frown as Mona spoke up.

"That's all right, Lady Seeker. They did say we might meet again eventually. Maybe when that happens, we can get more clues to ascertain at least one of their identities. Because, call me crazy? But I think the one in the dark green cloak vaguely reminded me a little of Draconis somehow, though it might just be the way he spoke." Mona said as Joker and Violet exchanged a look at this before the former spoke up.

"True. And come to think of it, didn't one of the figures have a black and blue cloak on? Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but wasn't that the same color scheme Crow's Phantom Thief attire had before he went missing almost three years ago? And I think Draconis had a lot of dark green and silver in his color scheme." Joker said as Oracle's eyes widened and she nodded slowly in understanding as she spoke up.

"Good point. And the guy in the gold cloak had a beard, and one that vaguely reminded me of Sojiro's somehow." Oracle said as Queen spoke up.

"That's likely just coincidence, I'm sure. I mean, what are the odds those cloaked figures were Draconis, Crow, and Boss? For starters, no one's seen Crow in close to three years, and many believe him to be dead, so there's no way he's among the three. As for the other two, I will concede that the one in the dark green cloak did seem to have vaguely similar mannerisms to Draconis, but I doubt it's him. After all, I don't see him keeping hidden from us this long if he was already in Sendai." Queen said as Fox slowly nodded, before his eyes widened as he recalled the words the guard had told him the night before after escorting the group out of the party.

"Hang in there, Yusuke. You and the others. The cavalry will be arriving in the near future, and in a form that you wouldn't expect it to take." Fox recalled the guard saying as he spoke up.

"You may be correct, Queen. But I recall that the guard who escorted us out of Natsume's party after the scene I caused mentioned something about cavalry showing up in the near future. And isn't it odd that he said that yesterday, and we see those cloaked figures just now, less than a day later? I don't think we can dismiss that as mere coincidence. I think those cloaked figures are the cavalry that the guard from yesterday spoke of." Fox said as Joker spoke up.

"Could be. Only way to know for sure is to explore this Jail. Shall we?" Joker said as the others nodded and kept moving. After taking out some Shadows, Skull hit level 16 and got the Elec skill 'Mazio', making Skull grin as he spoke up.

"Hell yeah! A new move!" Skull said as Queen spoke up.

"It's a good acquisition, but you've got a long ways to go to get back to your full potential, sweetie. But then again, we all do." Queen said sagely as Seiten Taisei acquired 'Mazio'. After fighting more Shadows, Fox hit level 16 and got the Physical skill 'Vicious Strike', making him chuckle as he spoke up.

"Heh! MWAHAHA! What a skill!" Fox said as Oracle and Mona both winced, the latter speaking up with a wince.

"Uhh, Fox? That was honestly kinda scary. But also impressive. Well done on the new skill!" Mona said as Kamu Susano-o acquired 'Vicious Strike'. After making their way through the area they were currently in, the group eventually found their progress halted by a man in a business suit, who laughed mockingly at them as he spoke up.

"Heheheh, at last! I've been waiting for you, oh chosen heroes." The man said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Uh, what? Who're you?" Skull asked as the man spoke up pompously.

"I? I am Doma, one of the Fearsome Four, and servant to the Prince of Nightmares!" The now-named Doma said as Noir gasped and spoke up.

"The Fearsome Four!?" Noir said as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, no, no, no, he did not just say that. There's no way someone would be THIS cliche." Oracle said as Panther winced and spoke up.

"Fearsome? Uhh, he kinda just looks like some old guy in a suit to me." Panther said as Doma huffed and spoke up.

"Old guy? How dare you! I am the guardian of this gate. If you wish to pass, you'll have to defeat me in combat! But be warned, I will not fall so easily to the likes of you. In the name of the Fearsome Four, I will slay you where you stand! Come, chosen heroes!" Doma said before shifting forms into a giant Jack-O-Lantern as a battle began! Joker and Mona looked at each other and nodded as they spoke up.

"COME! HIGH PIXIE!/DIEGO! SHOW YOUR MIGHT!" Joker and Mona said as they summoned their respective Personas, combining their strongest Wind moves to form a massive cyclone that lifted Doma off his feet and slammed him into the ground repeatedly before dropping him to the ground in a heap, at which point the group charged at him and swung at him with their weapons, quickly eliminating Doma and ending the fight. From the ensuing EXP gains, Violet hit level 16 and gained the Physical skill 'Dream Needle', making her smile as she spoke up.

"Nice! I gained a new ability! Looks like my training is starting to show results! Not bad, huh?" Violet said as Oracle slyly grinned and spoke up.

"Mwehehe, not bad at all, Violet. And I'm sure all of your senpai are noticing you right now." Oracle said with a smirk as Violet blushed and spoke up.

"Shut up, Oracle! Besides, that's not fair teasing me like that, since you know I've been trying to not call you all 'senpai' as much since we all graduated, in part at Ren's insistence. But thank you for the compliment. You might be a brat, but you're a nice brat." Violet said, making Joker and Oracle blink but smile as Ella acquired 'Dream Needle'. Afterwards, Doma groaned as he spoke up.

"Ngh, I lost? Urrrgh!" Doma said as Mona hopped up and down while speaking up.

"Oh, nice! Did we get him!?" Mona said as Doma groaned and spoke up.

"Ngh, well done. Heheheh. I'd expect nothing less from the chosen. Very well, since you've bested me in combat, you may pass as promised. To best us is to overcome the Overlord's most perilous trial. But will you be able to defeat the others? I pray you lose your way, chosen heroes! Ahahahaha!" Doma said as a flash of light obscured the group's vision as Panther spoke up.

"W-What!?" Panther said as the group shrugged. When they could see again, the group realized they were in another part of the Jail, as evidenced by the large castle looming in the distance. Panther blinked at this and kept speaking.

"Huh!?" Panther said as Skull spoke up.

"The hell? Where are we now!?" Skull said as another voice spoke up from nearby.

"You were detoured by Doma after beating him. While he did let you pass as he agreed, he warped you to another part of the Jail while doing so." The group heard as they looked up to see a figure in a black and blue cloak looming over them, sneering at the group behind his mask as he spoke up.

"What naive fools. You truly thought that Doma would let you past the gate he was tasked with guarding that easily, even after losing!? Of course he wouldn't. The bad guy always finds a way to stick it to you in defeat. That's Villainy 101, at its finest. But not all is lost. He did move you closer to your goal, so he indirectly helped you. Keep proceeding, if you wish to ascertain the truth of this place." The figure in a black and blue cloak said as he threw down a flash bomb and vanished as swiftly as he'd appeared. Queen blinked at the abrupt departure and spoke up.

"Was that one of the Ordained Guides just now? Also, what was that? We're in a completely different place than before, aren't we?" Queen said as Violet spoke up.

"I believe that Ordained Indigo, which I think we can refer to the guy who spoke to us just now as out of a lack of anything else to call him, said we were warped elsewhere by Doma, so maybe he inadvertently moved us closer to our goal?" Violet said as Seeker spoke up.

"I agree with Violet. It looks like we're in front of that castle we saw earlier." Seeker said as the group looked around as a wide-eyed Mona spoke up.

"Wait, WHAT!? D-Does that mean we were brought here by some kind of magic?" Mona said as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"Prolly. My guess is that Ordained Indigo was right, and it was that Fearsome Four guy's doing. You heard that 'I pray you lose your way' crap, right?" Oracle said as Joker spoke up.

"Yeah, I heard that too. Not sure why both Doma and those cloaked guys who called themselves the Ordained Guides referred to us as 'chosen heroes', but one thing's for sure. It really is an overlord's castle." Joker said wisely. Oracle nodded and spoke up dryly.

"Right? We've seen it a million times." Oracle said as Noir winced and spoke up.

"Um, what? I'm sorry, but I'm having trouble keeping up here." Noir said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Really, Noir? Think about it. Chosen heroes and demons and shit? That's classic video games and manga bidness right there. If he were here, I'm sure Draconis would agree with me on that." Skull said as Fox nodded slowly before his eyes widened in realization as he spoke up.

"Wait, did you say manga, Skull? That's right! Ordained Green said before that I bought a book from the Overlord himself that can guide our way. And looking around, I do believe this is the world from Natsume's novel, 'Prince of Nightmares'. So, it then tracks that Natsume is both the Monarch and this 'Overlord' we keep hearing about." Fox said as Queen blinked and spoke up in surprise.

"Wait, what? You mean we're in a freaking novel?" Queen asked as Mona spoke up.

"Prince of Nightmares, hm? Now that I think about it, you've read it, haven't you, Fox? What's it about?" Mona asked as Fox spoke up.

"From what I read of it, I think we can refer to it as what is known by most as an 'isekai'. Put simply, a man living a completely normal life in our world is reborn as a demon overlord in another. Making the most of his villainous new role, he then attempts to repel the heroes who come to slay him. To that end, he deploys a number of traps about his castle, along with a group known as the Fearsome Four." Fox said as Noir spoke up.

"I see. And that's why he called us 'heroes' earlier? But what do the Ordained Guides have to do with any of this?" Noir said. Violet spoke up.

"If I had to guess? I'd assume there's something in that book about the chosen heroes being sent guidance in the form of three cloaked figures who guide the heroes along their quest to slay the Overlord and help them overcome the traps in their path, or something like that." Violet said as Oracle sighed and spoke up.

"That makes sense, Violet. Ugh, let me guess. So, are the heroes the real bad guys of the story, then?" Oracle asked as Fox blinked at the question and nodded while speaking up.

"Yes, that's correct. Am I to assume you've read it too?" Fox said as Oracle shook her head and spoke up.

"No, I just skimmed it out of boredom while we were at the signing. But I've seen enough of that kinda thing to guess where it was going." Oracle said as Mona spoke up.

"I see, so it's our job to challenge the demon king, huh?" Mona said as Queen spoke up.

"If that's true, then I guess this all works out pretty nicely. And if this place is from Natsume's book, then it's safe to say he's somewhere in the castle. Which likely means that everyone's Desires are in there, too." Queen said as Mona spoke up.

"Right. Let's see if we can find a way inside." Mona said sagely as the group nodded their agreement before Oracle spoke up.

"Good point. Hm? There's a checkpoint nearby, but to be honest? It looks like the warp function isn't working. Is this the work of that Fearsome Four guy, too? Guess he really doesn't plan on letting us leave." Oracle said as Mona spoke up with a frown.

Seems like it. So, we're trapped here. Still, there's no need to panic. If he's the reason it's not working, then all we have to do is get him out of the picture." Mona said as Queen spoke up.

"Even so, we'll want to be ready in the event we're unable to return to the real world right away. Joker, make sure to switch out party members every so often, so that no one ends up overdoing it too much." Queen said as Joker nodded and Skull spoke up.

"Truth! But still, an overlord's castle? You gotta admit that this is kinda badass!" Skull said excitedly as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"Skull, keep it down! We're still on enemy turf, remember?" Oracle rebuked Skull, who winced and spoke up.

"Ohh, right. Sorry." Skull said as Queen spoke up.

"That's all right, sweetie. Anyways, the first thing we wanna do is try and ascertain our surroundings." Queen said as the group kept moving. As the group went to take the steps up to the gate, Oracle spoke up.

"Hold up! We got searchlights ahead. Security here's pretty tight." Oracle said as Fox frowned and spoke up on seeing the giant Natsume statue in the path of the gate and speaking up.

"It appears the gate is closed as well. We won't be getting in this way. In that case, let us play true to phantom thief form and sneak in through the back." Fox said as Violet spoke up.

"Makes sense to me, Fox. Let's get going." Violet said as the group kept moving. After going around the side path that the camera pointed out, the group was once again stopped from progressing by the enormous metal gate which had the visage of two sinister-looking dragons, each with one glowing red eye, and a very ominous looking pattern in the shape of waves and a semi-circle engraved in the door. A frowning Oracle spoke up.

"Get a load of that gate! It's ginormous!" Oracle said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Right. Well, we ain't bustin' that thing open any time soon. What now?" Skull asked as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"We don't have any other option, sweetie. We'll have to double back and find another way in to the castle." Queen said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Hold on. I believe I read something about this gate in his book before." Fox said as he pored through the book in his hand for the relevant passage as Violet spoke up.

"Hm. Could that have been what Ordained Gold meant before when they said 'trust in the one you call Fox to show you the way', I wonder?" Violet asked as Joker and Oracle blinked, having forgotten about that detail already. But before either could voice their responses to Violet's observation, Fox spoke up again.

"Aha! Here. Supposedly, it's the 'Gate of Trials' designed to deny the heroes entry. Essentially, it's a test to see whether the heroes are worthy to face the Overlord. To open it, they must overcome three trials and obtain 'proof' of entry." Fox said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"What!? Dude, this IS a video game. Now I'm even more bummed that Draconis ain't here right now. He'd be loving this, given how big he and Oracle are on gaming and shit." Skull said as Noir spoke up warily.

"Um, so if I have this right, this 'Overlord' wants to keep the heroes out, right? Why doesn't he just build a gate that doesn't open?" Noir asked as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"That's just how it goes, Noir. The story couldn't progress if the heroes didn't have a chance." Oracle said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"I see. So, where exactly are we supposed to find this proof?" Queen asked as Fox spoke up with a frown.

"Good question. It's being held in three different towers placed outside the castle. It says here that the towers are being guarded by the Fearsome Four themselves." Fox said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Um, wait, what? They're called the Fearsome Four, but there's only three trials to overcome?" Panther said as Violet spoke up.

"Odds are pretty good that overcoming Doma and activating the checkpoints is intended to be the fourth 'trial' to overcome alongside the three towers, if I had to guess." Violet said as Oracle spoke up with a frown and a sweatdrop.

"That seems as good a guess as any, Violet. Also, this guy's writing's all over the place. Draconis could write a better story than him, and he hasn't written anything since the calling card he and Joker wrote for Maruki almost three years ago." Oracle said as Joker spoke up.

"That's a good point, Oracle. But don't forget, he had to give up writing because of the debacle that happened involving us two and Shido that forced us to move to Yongen-Jaya for a year, which is how he and I met you all in the first place." Joker pointed out sagely as Oracle spoke up.

"Ah, that's a good point, Joker. My bad." Oracle said as the group nodded before Fox spoke up.

"Hm, this says that one of the towers apparently stands near something called the 'Great River'." Fox said as Skull spoke up with a frown.

"Great River, eh? Hm, hm, hm. Ah, I'm guessin' that's just a big river or something?" Skull said as Queen looked at Skull with an approving nod as she spoke up.

"That's actually not a bad guess, Skull. Well, the Hirose River runs right through Sendai in the real world, and that's pretty big." Queen said as Mona jumped up and down while speaking up.

"Oh! That's got to be it. Okay, let's see if we can find that river." Mona said as the group kept moving. After navigating back the way they came and heading onwards, Oracle spoke up as the group entered another area.

"Hmm. The Hirose River should be around here somewhere, if I recall correctly." Oracle said as the group looked around before Queen blinked and spoke up while looking at a tower in the distance.

"That's odd. Hey, doesn't this tower look a lot like the Prison Keeps we saw in Shibuya?" Queen said as Panther nodded and spoke up after the camera panned to show a tower with a birdcage on it in the distance.

"Hey, it does. It looks like a birdcage on top." Panther said as Violet spoke up with a frown after looking at the birdcage some more.

"Yeah, if birdcages had dragons with giant glowing red searchlight eyes on top." Violet said sagely, pointing up towards the top of the birdcage where a giant dragon was seen attached to the top of the birdcage, its eyes gazing elsewhere with beams of red light protruding from them. Mona nodded and spoke up.

"I see it too, Violet. Anyways, if these towers are the same as the Prison Keeps of Shibuya, then maybe that's where we'll find our 'proof'." Mona said as Oracle spoke up.

"Good point. So when they say 'proof', do you think they're actually talking about cores?" Oracle asked as Violet spoke up.

"Possibly. Though I get a feeling not all of the cores will be 'proof' necessarily in this Jail, so we should be prepared for that." Violet said as Joker nodded his agreement while Oracle spoke up.

"Good point, Violet. Either way, it looks like the entrance is right over there. C'mon, let's check it out!" Oracle said sagely as Joker nodded and signaled for the group to keep going while Oracle kept speaking.

"Dang, this place is humongous. Make sure to check your map every now and again." Oracle said as the group kept moving. After moving around the corner, the group stopped at the sight of another gate, where Fox spoke up.

"This is the entrance?" Fox asked skeptically as the group looked around before Oracle spoke up in surprise.

"Oh, there's something written here, I think." Oracle said as she looked at the tablet and spoke up.

"Hm. This says 'One must offer sun and rain before the gate to prove themselves.' Uh, what?" Oracle said as Noir spoke up.

"How confusing. What do you think that means?" Noir asked as Oracle spoke up with a slight smile

"Eh, you probably gotta bring it some specific items or something. Typical fetch quest." Oracle said as Fox blinked and spoke up.

"Oracle might be on to something with that! I've found something that supports that idea. Here's a line from the novel: 'Mine hallowed orbs sleep in a shrine of sun and a shrine of rain'." Fox read from the book as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Right, those orbs are probably what we're looking for." Oracle said sagely as Seeker blinked and spoke up.

"Oh? The sign should have just said so to begin with, shouldn't it?" Seeker asked with a frown as Violet spoke up.

"Normally, you'd be right, Seeker. But in the Metaverse, things are rarely that easy or that laid out for easy comprehension. So more often than not, we usually have to be able to read between the lines of things to get to the underlying meaning." Violet said wisely. Seeker spoke up with a nod.

"I see. That makes sense. Thank you for explaining it, Violet." Seeker said as Violet smiled and made to speak up, but Oracle beat her to it.

"Oh, don't be like that, Seeker. This is just the way the Metaverse is sometimes. Y'know, just one of those things." Oracle said as Violet spoke up.

"While you're right, I think your explanation would've confused Seeker had I not explained it to her already." Violet said as Fox spoke up.

"Let's not forget this is still Natsume's world, however. This is likely a trap to deter the heroes." Fox said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Fox. Well, I don't see any other way in, so I guess we should go look for these orbs." Queen said as the group kept moving. After a bit, the group was stopped by the presence of a bridge as Oracle spoke up.

"There's a bridge here, but we obviously can't cross it like this." Oracle said as Violet frowned and spoke up.

"Of course it's up. No doubt another attempt by the Fearsome Four to halt our progression." Violet said dryly as Mona spoke up.

"You're likely right, Violet. Still, nothing we can do for it now. Let's try a different path." Mona said as the group kept moving. After a bit, Fox spoke up once the group navigated past a maze, and over a set of stepping stones.

"Hm. This looks like the path to the other side of that bridge. Maybe we can find a way to lower it here?" Fox said as Oracle spoke up.

"Maybe, but let's be on our guard. That building over there looks a lot like our 'shrine of Sun'. Let's explore it, yeah?" Oracle said. Fox nodded as the group ran into the nearby building. Once inside, Fox seized a 'Shining Sun Orb' from a pedestal, killing the lights inside and making a Shadow spawn at the entrance, causing Panther to gasp as she spoke up.

"What the heck!? The lights went off! Wait, is that a Shadow!?" Panther said as Fox spoke up.

"Indeed. It's just as the novel said. The orb is a symbol of the sun. Remove it, and the light fades. Once that happens, warriors will appear to prevent its theft." Fox said as Noir spoke up in realization.

"Oh! Then that means we have to fight our way out?" Noir said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, this seems par for the course." Fox said as Oracle frowned and spoke up.

"INARI! Why didn't you tell us this earlier!?" Oracle said as Fox shrugged before Violet spoke up.

"You can ream him for his lack of foresight later, Oracle! We've got a fight to win right now!" Violet said as the group charged into battle! For the fact that a lot of enemies were summoned in, it wasn't that difficult of a fight overall. Skull and Queen nodded to each other as they had Seiten Taisei and Anat drop their strongest moves on the enemies to basically annihilate the enemy and end the fight. Afterwards, Queen sighed as she spoke up.

"Whew, that was close." Queen said as Violet spoke up.

"No kidding, Queen! Good thing you and Skull were able to muster up that combo move at the end to help speed things along." Violet said as Oracle nodded, glaring at Fox as she spoke up.

"Violet's right. Also? Next time, tell us about the gaggle of enemies BEFORE we get jumped, Inari!" Oracle angrily rebuked a sheepish-looking Fox, who nodded apologetically as he spoke up.

"Yes, my apologies. I knew I had forgotten something." Fox said as Oracle sighed and spoke up.

"Whatever. As long as you get what you did." Oracle said before blinking as she kept speaking.

"Wait, come to think of it, now that we have the sun, all that's left is the rain." Oracle said as Panther spoke up.

"Didn't the book say something about a 'land of rain'? Maybe we should start looking?" Panther said as Violet spoke up.

"We can, though I think we should do so carefully in case we run into another of those Fearsome Four." Violet said sagely as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. As they proceeded, Joker noticed a dragon statue by the raised bridge, getting flashbacks to a trap he and Mona had had to spring in Kamoshida's Palace. After that, Joker reached around in the statue's mouth, smirking as he felt a lever inside the mouth, pulling it to cause a jingle to play as the bridge lowered. Oracle smirked and spoke up as she saw the bridge lower on both sides.

"Ooh, you lowered the bridge. That'll help us get around easier." Oracle said as the group kept moving. After getting to the checkpoint from before, Joker decided to let the group take a breather to get their strength back before continuing, figuring the group would need the pick-me-up for the rest of the Jail, not knowing what lies ahead of the group...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! Also, yes, we're actually into the second Jail of Strikers already, and we even got a good ways into said Jail no less. The next chapter will more than likely be the rest of the run up to the roadblock for the Jail, as well as probably the second Lock Keeper fight. Odds are the chapter after next will have the second Monarch fight in it, along with one hell of a change-up to that fight, but not one that most people who read Phantom Files won't see coming, for the most part. Either way, hopefully everyone's enjoying the story so far.

Feel free to leave a review (or a PM if you're not comfortable with reviews) with your thoughts/constructive criticism/suggestions/feedback on the story so far, as I enjoy hearing from my readers on how they like the story, as well as what I can do to make my work better. Reader input is always very much accepted and appreciated. So yeah, feel free to keep doing that, and until the next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

LEVELS/MOVESETS FOR THE PHANTOM THIEVES AS OF CHAPTER 9

JOKER (Ren) Level: 19 Current Personas: Raoul, Berith, Succubus, Lamia, Archangel, High Pixie, Hua Po, Slime. Equipped Persona: Raoul

SKULL (Ryuji) Level: 17 Current/Partner Persona: Seiten Taisei

MONA (Morgana) Level: 17 Current/Partner Persona: Diego

PANTHER (Ann) Level: 17 Current/Partner Persona: Hecate

FOX (Yusuke) Level: 17 Current/Partner Persona: Kamu Susano-o

QUEEN (Makoto) Level: 17 Current/Partner Persona: Anat

NOIR (Haru) Level: 17 Current/Partner Persona: Astarte

ORACLE (Futaba) Level: 19 Current Personas: Al Azif and *REDACTED*. Equipped Persona: Al Azif

SEEKER (Sophia) Level: 17 Current/Partner 'Persona': Pithos

VIOLET (Sumire) Level: 19 Current/Partner Persona: Ella

ABSENT PHANTOM THIEVES AND/OR ALLIES

DRACONIS (Kusa) Level: 17 Current/Partner Persona: Malefor

CROW (Goro) Level: 17 Current/Partner Persona: Hereward

*REDACTED* (Sojiro) Level: 17 Current/Partner Persona: Kohryu

ALLIES: Zenkichi, Shiho