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!

14. On to Sapporo! Icy Redemption part 1

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files Book 2: Rise of The Monarchs! And at this point, we are now at the start of Arc 3. Hard to believe we're already through the first two arcs of the story, but here we are. That being said, I don't feel like I have a lot to say at this point, so let's hit up the disclaimer and get it done and over with.

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (Excluding the OCs Taichi, Momoe, Kusa/Draconis, and any other OCs that might crop up during the story, all of whom are made by, and thus belong to, me unless otherwise stated), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus, Sega, and to a point Koei Tecmo (at least insofar as the spinoffs, such as Strikers, Phantom X, Tactica, the 'Arena' games, the 'Dancing' games, and the 'Q' games are concerned), so all ownership credit belongs to them!

And with that disclaimer done and dusted, I don't think I have much else to say for now, but I might come up with some things to say as I type this chapter, so as always, keep an eye out after the chapter for the end-of-chapter A/N! And on that note, here's chapter 14!

Chapter 14: From Sendai to Sapporo! Exploring The Next City? Icy Redemption part 1

(In the RV, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, and Sojiro)

As he looked over the gathered group, Ren spoke up with a nod.

"Well, there's not much of anything left for us here in Sendai. So what say we get this show on the road and start heading to Sapporo?" Ren said as Morgana spoke up.

"Oh, are we heading out?" Morgana asked as Ren spoke up.

"Correct. I think we've done everything we need to and more here in Sendai, so at this point, our best move is to head on to a new city." Ren said sagely as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"All right, let's do this!" Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"If we're heading out, then that means Sojiro will need to lead Ann and Yusuke to the car with Goro so that those four can start the drive to Sapporo while the rest of us, excluding Makoto and whoever rides up front with her, get comfy back here for the trip." Kusa said as the four in mention nodded and left to go warm up the car for the trip...

(A short time later, on the road to Sapporo, in the RV, with Kusa, Makoto, Haru, Futaba, Morgana, Sophia, Ryuji, Sumire, and Ren)

"Soo, how long to Sapporo? I know we've been on the road for a little while already at this point." Sumire said conversationally as a 'BIP!' from her phone, which was inserted into a nearby stand, preceded Sophia speaking up to answer her question.

"Good question, Sumire. From here, it'll take approximately twelve hours under normal driving conditions, as well as a trip by ferry." Sophia said as a wide-eyed Kusa blanched from the front seat and spoke up.

"A trip by ferry? I wasn't aware we had to take a ferry to get to Sapporo? Also, for real!? I thought we were closer than that." Kusa said in surprise, either not hearing or ignoring the amused giggles from Futaba, who couldn't resist laughing at how on-brand Kusa's reaction was for him. Morgana sighed and spoke up.

"Doesn't seem like it. Guess we'll have to stop and snooze another night before we get there." Morgana said as Ren winced and spoke up.

"Oof. Good thing I had us leave fairly early on, then. If we're lucky, we can still get into Sapporo at SOME point on the 8th, so we're still somewhat on time for meeting up with Zenkichi." Ren said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Ren-kun. And even after landing in Hokkaido, we still have a long drive ahead of us. Will you be all right, Mako-chan?" Haru asked as Makoto replied with a closed-eye smile from the driver's seat.

"Don't worry. I'll be able to power the whole way through. And worst-case scenario, if I can't, then I'm sure Kusa is more than willing to tag out with me and take a shift driving while I retreat to the back and let one of you take over the shotgun seat." Makoto said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"No problem. Maybe if she's comfortable with it, we can have you move to the back with the others and have Taba move up to the shotgun seat with me if I have to tag in as driver. After all, unless I'm wrong, I don't think she's ever really gotten to ride shotgun in a vehicle before, unless we count her time riding around inside of Al Azif." Kusa said sagely as Futaba grinned and spoke up, clearly pleased with Kusa's idea.

"Ooh, me riding shotgun while Kusa drives? Yes, please! Also? You rock, Makoto! I like that energy!" Futaba said with an amused smile, not seeing the equally amused grin on Kusa's face as she was facing Ren, Ryuji, and Sumire while she spoke. After the others nodded, the drive continued...

(A few hours later, at a nearby restaurant in a certain parking area, with Ryuji, Makoto, Sumire, Sophia, Ann, Ren, Morgana, Goro, Sojiro, Yusuke, Kusa, Futaba, and Haru)

"Whew, what a long trip so far. Also, I have to admit, I'm kind of exhausted." Makoto said as Ren spoke up.

"You gonna be okay, big sis? Don't push yourself too much. And don't forget that between Goro, Kusa, and Sojiro, we have three other licensed drivers who easily can, and very likely will, take over for a time if you need a break." Ren said kindly to Makoto, getting agreeable nods from all three of the males in mention. Makoto looked up and gave Ren a closed-eye smile as she spoke up.

"Thanks. I should be fine after a little rest." Makoto said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Hopefully. But hey, if you ever need a shoulder rub or whatever, feel free to ask. I might not be good at it, but I'll do my best. After all, I am your boyfriend, so it is kind of my job to make sure you're happy and satisfied. Not to mention, it's also my job to make sure you don't overdo it." Ryuji said, making Kusa, Ren, Sumire, and Futaba all blink in shock at the surprisingly mature and considerate comment from Ryuji, along with an equally stunned Sophia and Morgana.

Makoto, for her part, smiled at Ryuji and spoke up while she leaned over to kiss Ryuji on the cheek gratefully, eventually continuing to speak after giggling at the adorably bashful expression on Ryuji's face after she kissed him.

"Heh, I'll keep that in mind, sweetie. But I appreciate that you were willing to offer. That's really sweet of you. Also, your face is SO red right now. I wonder if this is possibly why Ren-kun enjoys teasing Sumire-chan so much? If so, I think I can see the appeal of it now. Hee hee!" Makoto said as Morgana spoke up, stopping Ren and Sumire from doing more than sputtering at Makoto's remark.

"Ren and Ryuji both have a point. We were in the camper all day so far, other than Lady Ann, Sojiro, Goro, and Yusuke, who were in Kusa's car that used to be Sojiro's. So we definitely owe you a break." Morgana said as Haru winced and spoke up regretfully.

"Sorry if we're asking too much of you, Mako-chan. I wish I could drive in your stead, even for a bit." Haru said as Kusa spoke up.

"I respect the enthusiasm, Haru. However, as much as your offer is appreciated, I also feel like you should get a bit more experience behind the wheel in a less risky setting before we let you take a shift on a long road trip like this. And besides, between myself, Goro, and Sojiro, we have plenty of backup drivers, so don't feel like you have to help out at all." Kusa said as Makoto spoke up with a nod.

"Kusa-kun is right, Haru. And while I appreciate your concern, don't you worry about me. Driving is a responsibility that I enjoy. Plus, it's nice listening to everyone chattering away in the back. Keeps me alert and motivated." Makoto said with a resolved look as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. And that devotion of yours is truly admirable. And given how hard you intend to work, it follows that we then plan to find a way to repay your devotion, Makoto." Yusuke said as Futaba spoke up, not seeing Kusa have to stifle laughter next to her at what she said next.

"Ryuji, massage your girlfriend's shoulders at once! And procure the finest soft serve money can buy!" Futaba said as Kusa blinked and spoke up with a rare look of genuine confusion and befuddlement on his face.

"The finest? I know we're trying to show Makoto our gratitude for her efforts, but do we have the money in our budget to splurge on an expensive soft-serve for her?" Kusa asked in confusion as Ryuji spoke up with a nod.

"Truth, Kusa! Also, I'm on it! Wait, why's it hafta be me? I get that I'm the one who stated I was willing to give my girlfriend a shoulder rub, but can't one of you guys be the one to get Makoto a soft-serve ice cream?" Ryuji asked as Sumire giggled and spoke up with an amused smile on her face next to Ren.

"Well, you did state to Makoto just now that you are willing to do anything to make her happy, so I think it makes the most sense for you to not only give her a shoulder rub, but to also help refresh her after being exhausted from driving for so long." Sumire said teasingly, giving Ryuji a rare playful smile as Ren groaned and spoke up.

"Sumire? I get you're trying to tease Ryuji, but isn't that teasing getting a bit risque for Sophia's ears?" Ren pointed out with an amused smirk as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"Ah, right. I'd forgotten that you and Sumire totally unofficially took Sophia under your wing as a child of sorts. What was it Taba said you called each other the day you met Sophia? Wasn't it something along the lines of 'Mama Violet' and 'Papa Joker', or do I have that wrong?" Kusa joked as Ren and Sumire both blushed scarlet at Kusa's remark while both Futaba and Ryuji laughed at Kusa's usual not-so-subtle form of roasting before Morgana smirked and spoke up.

"No, that's correct. Granted, Sumire may or may not have tried to punch Ryuji later when he called the two on it, but that's both besides the point and coincidental to your questino." Morgana said slyly, making both Ren and Sumire blush in embarrassment while Ann spoke up.

"Mona's not wrong about that! They totally did too! Sumire even goes full-on 'mama bear' around anyone who even remotely tries to corrupt Sophia in her presence. Of course, I think we all learned our lesson about teasing them about it, especially after seeing how close Sumire came to throttling Ryuji on an occasion where he proceeded to ask Ren, and I quote, 'And you can't just take your girlfriend to bed and put a Sophia in her, why?', to which Ren and Sumire both got bright red while Sumire proceeded to respond with, and again I quote, 'Hey! No bringing up adult topics around Sophia until we're sure she's old enough for it, Ryuji. And as she cannot remember anything about herself, I'm going by Ren's estimation that she's between 10 and 13 years old, and thus much too young to be hearing about such things.'

I quite distinctly recall that Sumire told me she was so red that she was sure she was going to have a permanent blush on her face after Ryuji's remark about her and Ren when she told me that story. Or did I tell it wrong, Sumire?" Ann asked as Sumire pouted and spoke up.

"No, you told it correctly. But I stand by what I said that day. I don't think Sophia's old enough to hear such discussions." Sumire said with a pout as Ann spoke up.

"Fair enough. Back on the subject of how we're going to spoil Makoto as our way of showing gratitude for what she's done for us, then. I know this might be awkward for you, but if you like, I'll massage you too before bed. I know this technique that works wonders on sore muscles-us models use it all the time!" Ann said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Riiiight. As long as that's all you two are doing. I trust you two, but I also know that you're into women, Ann. So you'll forgive me if I'm a bit apprehensive of leaving you alone in a room with my girlfriend to give her a massage. I'm aware that you're dating Suzui, but still, I can't help but worry that you might tempt Makoto into bed with you." Ryuji said as Makoto laughed at Ryuji's comment before gently pulling him down on the bench next to her before proceeding to lay an emphatic kiss on his lips, making him blush rather profusely at the sudden, if very welcome, gesture of affection from his girlfriend as Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"Does that put your mind at ease, sweetie? I get that you're worried, but I'm not into women. No offense to you, Ann. But while I'm sure you'd do a good job giving me a massage, it would probably be disrespectful to Shiho if I were to take too much advantage of you giving massages. Therefore, out of respect for your relationship, I must state upfront that I very much prefer to be with Ryuji.

Besides, I'd much rather not want to have your girlfriend out to kill us both if she thinks we took that massage too far. But maybe you can teach the technique to Ryuji somehow, and he can use it on me? Either way, that'd be great. I could use a good massage." Makoto said with a smile as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which Ren had pulled gently out of Sumire's shorts pocket without her noticing, preceded Sophia speaking up with what appeared to be a contrite look on her face, much to Ren and Sumire's confusion.

"Ahh, about that? Makoto, I need to apologize." Sophia said as Makoto blinked at this and spoke up in a mix of shock, confusion, and surprise.

"What? Why?" Makoto asked as Sophia spoke up, surprising not only Makoto, but also both Ren and Sumire, with what she said next.

"Because I can't help you, even though I know how effective physical stimulation is at treating fatigue. But I'm all digital, and therefore incapable of massaging." Sophia said as Kusa spoke up with a wry smirk on his face.

"Maybe that's true in the real world, Sophia. But if I recall correctly, don't you take on a more solid form in the Metaverse? So wouldn't it then follow, at least in theory, that you could potentially give someone a massage in the Metaverse? Or at least, I would guess that it works that way? Also, how exactly do you know about physical stimulation and how effective it is at treating fatigue? Did Ren and Sumire forget to Sophia-proof the attic when they had it to themselves?" Kusa joked as Ren frowned and spoke up while a red-faced Sumire lightly bonked Kusa over the head, ignoring the chorus of laughter that her actions would get from Sojiro, Ryuji, Morgana, and even an amused Sophia as she did so.

"First of all, RUDE! Second of all, we did in fact Sophia-proof the attic before we did anything like that, Kusa. If anything, she probably looked it up on Futaba's computer when Futaba worked with her to investigate Alice digitally." Ren said as Sumire spoke up with a blush on her face after she went and retook her seat next to Ren, who smirked and pecked Sumire on the cheek impishly.

"Don't tease us like that, Kusa-kun! Also, you say that like your girlfriend isn't one of the most shameless girls I know." Sumire said as Futaba stuck her tongue out childishly at Sumire before she spoke up, not seeing the stunned look on Goro's face at what she said next.

"Hmph, I won't apologize for being who I am, Sumire. And besides, I'm not the one who couldn't avoid the urge to jump her boyfriend's bones the night before a big mission, now am I?" Futaba teased Sumire, who pouted and spoke up.

"That's besides the point, and you know it." Sumire said as Sojiro and Goro both turned to Ren and spoke up, the latter of the two being the first to speak.

"What is your girlfriend talking about, Ren?" Goro asked Ren as Sojiro spoke up.

"And do I have to be worried that you two might have scandalized my shop while doing whatever it was that you two were doing?" Sojiro added as Ren winced at the glares that both Goro and Sojiro were aiming at him as he spoke up.

"You don't have to worry, Sojiro. And Goro? Suffice it to say, Sumire wanted to love on me a lot the night before she and I had to pull off a very risky distraction ploy in Alice's Jail, so we ended up having a surprise booty call on the sofa in the attic. Futaba was referring to the fact that Sophia had to camp out in Futaba's phone that night because Sumire had shut off her phone and my own before that so Sophia couldn't spy on us doing the deed, or hear any of our cries of ecstacy that we may or may not have made while doing so." Ren said as Kusa groaned and spoke up.

"You two did WHAT!? Please tell me you two didn't do that on the bed, Ren. I know that it used to be yours, but still, I don't need Futaba thinking I invite other girls into that bed. It's bad enough Sumire almost got jealous of the fact you had, what was it? I think you had at least two or three other girls in that bed. Let's see here, there was Taba, then your teacher, then Lavenza, then I think you even had either Ann or Makoto sitting on it once while we gathered for meetings in the attic." Kusa said, ticking off all the girls he knew of that had sat on the bed that was in the attic of Leblanc while Sumire huffed and spoke up.

"Gee, thanks for bringing that up, Kusa. I was trying to forget about that." Sumire said as Sophia spoke up with a sad look.

"You have a point, Kusa. Also, Sumire is right that I watched videos on the subject on Futaba's phone, where she has a backup of me downloaded." Sophia said as Ren, Kusa, and Sumire all aimed disapproving looks at Futaba that were mirrored by Sojiro, making her wince as she spoke up.

"Uhhh, oops? Did I forget to turn on the parental controls on my phone? Silly me." Futaba said as Sophia spoke up again.

"Yes, you did. But never mind that now. Regardless of if I'm capable of massaging someone or not, I'm still an AI at the end of the day. And an AI that can't provide assistance cannot be humanity's companion. I'm as worthless as a bug." Sophia said gloomily as Futaba blanched and spoke up.

"Uh, Sophia? Are you going through mood swings or something?" Futaba asked as Kusa spoke up, his eyes suddenly widening slightly while he spoke as a realization occurred to him.

"I'd say 'or something', Taba. Um, Ren? Sumire? How old did you two say that Sophia looked to be to you again?" Kusa asked as Ren spoke up.

"Going off of her build in the Metaverse, I'd say around 12 or 13 at most. Why?" Ren asked as Kusa winced and spoke up.

"Because I think your estimate may have been right on the nose for her age. And if so, then I think we can chalk up Sophia's current behavior as a potential onset of puberty." Kusa remarked as Ren, Sumire, and Futaba all gave Kusa wide-eyed looks at his assessment while Goro smirked and spoke up, a grin slowly spreading over his face as he looked directly at a visibly stunned Ren and Sumire while he spoke.

"Honestly? I think I'm apt to agree with Kusa's assessment. Congratulations, Ren and Sumire. Your 'daughter' is taking her first steps on the path to becoming a virtual woman." Goro joked as Ren frowned at Goro and spoke up.

"Goro? Shut it. No one asked for your color commentary right now. But your opinion is taken into consideration. And Sophia? Look at me, little one. Do not call yourself worthless! That is such an odious and filthy lie, it's not funny! I bet I could ask anyone in this room, and they'd agree with me when I say this. Sophia? You are FAR from worthless! You just have a different way of contributing than the rest of us do.

But you're just as much a valued and cherished member of this group as the rest of us. If nothing else, I know for a fact that both Sumire and Morgana agree with me that you're easily the most precious and adorable of our team, with apologies to the likes of Haru and Ann. So do not beat yourself up around us, please. We might not have known you for long, Sophia, but you're one of us. And none of us will let you sit here and suffer alone like that. We might not say it, but we all care about you a great deal." Ren said kindly to Sophia, who smiled at Ren as Makoto spoke up.

"Yeah, no need to be so hard on yourself. You've been a great deal of help so far. We owe you a lot, Sophia." Makoto said as Kusa spoke up.

"They're right. I'll admit that I haven't really had a chance to really get to know you that much as yet, Sophia. But even so, despite only having known you for a short time, you're already massively challenging every one of my preconceptions about AIs, and in a good way. So don't sell yourself short. You're a definite asset to this group.

Besides, if you can find it in yourself to admire Sumire over there, I think that says you fit right in with this group, since we all admire and respect one another here, even if some of us are still acclimating to that idea a bit." Kusa said, giving Goro an apologetic look after the last part of his remark to indicate it had been aimed at him. Goro just shrugged in response, not able to refute Kusa's words, as Sophia smiled brightly at Ren, Kusa, and Makoto before she spoke up.

"Really? You mean it? That makes me happy." Sophia said happily as Kusa nodded before turning to look at the currently stunned Morgana in Ren's bag, making Kusa grin as he spoke up.

"Of course we mean it, Sophia. Also, Ren? Check your bag. I think Sophia might have unintentionally broken Morgana with her smile just now." Kusa joked as Ren and Sumire blinked before they looked, and sure enough, Morgana was gaping at Sophia, his jaw dropped slightly in surprise as he watched her smile. Ren chuckled as he waved a hand lightly in front of Morgana's face to snap him out of his stupor before he spoke up.

"Earth to Morgana? You still alive in there, bro?" Ren asked Morgana, who blushed slightly and spoke up.

"Huh? Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, was just stunned by the sight of Lady Sophia's smile." Morgana said as Kusa grinned and spoke up.

"Oh? Lookie there, Taba. I think we have another one to add to the long list of Morgana's adorable moments." Kusa joked as Futaba giggled and nodded while speaking up.

"Good point, Kusa. Morgana's face is rather priceless right now, isn't it? Mwehehe." Futaba said as Sojiro spoke up, ignoring the stunned looks on the faces of all of the others, aside from Goro and Kusa, once they realized Sojiro could somehow understand Morgana now, despite having had clear evidence of this fact shown to them shortly after they reunited with Sojiro, Goro, and Kusa in the real world following their successful defeat of Natsume's Shadow.

"Be nice, Futaba. Is it Morgana's fault that the only girl who seems to have any sort of interest in him is an AI? Besides, just because he was stunned by Sophia's smile doesn't mean that Morgana is suddenly into her or anything of that sort." Sojiro rebuked Futaba, who spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah. I get the gist, Sojiro. I'm just having a bit of fun with Morgana, that's all. After all, someone's gotta toughen the little guy up, after all." Futaba said as Morgana huffed and spoke up.

"H-Hey! I do not need to be toughened up! I'd like to think I proved my toughness rather handily when I tanked that hit for Lady Seeker against Alice's Shadow." Morgana said huffily as Sumire smiled and patted the cat on the head fondly while speaking up.

"Of course you did, Morgana. You're totally Sophia's furry knight in shining armor." Sumire said in amusement as Sophia's cheeks pinked slightly at Sumire's comment before she spoke up.

"H-Hey! Is it my fault that Morgana's much too adorably cute for his own good most of the time? And I know for a fact most of the other girls feel that way too, even if they don't necessarily find him as charming as I do." Sophia said as Morgana smiled and spoke up.

"Really? You find me charming, Lady Sophia? I'm not surprised that you would. After all, a discerning and refined, not to mention gorgeous, young lady like yourself is bound to have good taste, given you spend a lot of time with Ren and Sumire over there. But I appreciate the compliment just the same, Sophia." Morgana said happily as Sophia blushed at Morgana's praise before speaking up.

"You're welcome. But, um, changing the subject to something that was mentioned by Futaba before. I know not what it is, but I do want to try this 'soft serve' that Futaba spoke of to Ryuji before." Sophia said happily as Ryuji hung his head and spoke up.

"Man, her mood swung right back to normal, didn't it?" Ryuji said as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"That's the mystery of women for you, Ryuji. They can be quite unpredictable at times, but usually it's worth the unpredictability to be able to find a lucky and lovely woman to hold close to you and cherish like the precious gem she no doubt is. Not that I have to explain that to you, given how cozy you and Makoto seem to be." Goro joked as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"While you're not wrong Goro, I do think you could choose your words a bit more tactfully there, too. After all, and I apologize in advance to both Sophia and Sumire for the language I'm about to use, but it's needed in this case. That said, they say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And I would personally agree wholeheartedly with that statement, especially after how hard Sumire knocked me on my ass a few years ago while lashing out at me and Taba.

Not to mention, what Sumire told me once about how the girls took turns slapping poor Ryuji across the face after everyone who was on the team at the time escaped from Shido's Palace." Kusa said as Ryuji winced and spoke up while subconsciously rubbing the spot he'd been slapped in remembrance of the night in question, as it had been a rough one for Ryuji in particular.

"Yeah, true. I'm lucky I didn't have any scars or bruises from that. But I can't say it wasn't without its perks, too. After all, if I recall right, Makoto personally kissed it all better for me afterwards. And that was one of our better make-out sessions, as I recall." Ryuji said with a smug grin as Makoto blushed and spoke up.

"S-Sweetie, let's not bring that up around Sophia-chan, okay? I don't think Sumire appreciates such stuff being mentioned around her." Makoto said as Sumire merely gave Makoto an approving nod as Morgana spoke up from Ren's bag with a smile.

"Makoto, you look spent. I say we call it a day the moment we reach Hokkaido." Morgana said as Yusuke spoke up with a smile.

"Oh? In that case, we should treat ourselves to some local cuisine for dinner." Yusuke said as Sumire winced and spoke up.

"We could do that, but is it easy to do that on a budget?" Sumire asked as Sojiro spoke up.

"I'd say so, but it depends on the prices and where we go to eat, things like that." Sojiro said wisely as Haru spoke up, not seeing Goro and Kusa's eyes widen at what she said next since she was too busy smiling while she spoke.

"Ooh, I've always wanted to try wasabi soda!" Haru said as a wide-eyed Kusa spoke up with a visibly horrified wince.

"Wasabi soda!? Oof, that sounds rough. And also spicy as heck." Kusa said as Goro nodded and spoke up.

"True. But I suppose that's what makes Haru who she is, is her odd taste in food. Besides, who knows? It might be good. Maybe I'll try some too if Haru does. After all, it's not like I've never tried spicy food before, thanks to a certain someone not warning me that the takoyaki might be hot the day I came to survey Shujin before my scheduled appearance for the school culture festival." Goro said, getting winces from both Ann and Kusa, as they knew what Goro was alluding to. Ann spoke up while giving Goro an apologetic look.

"Eh-heh, you have a point there. Sorry about that, Goro. I didn't get to warn you before you ate it, but you usually don't eat spicy takoyaki in one bite like that. You spread it out so you don't get the full impact at once. Also, wasabi soda? Uhh, no thanks." Ann said as Kusa nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Probably smart. After all, what right-minded person puts wasabi in their soda!? I thought it was crazy that people put chocolate and cherry flavor in a soda at the same time, but wasabi is just mental." Kusa said as a visibly horrified Futaba looked at Kusa in shock before he nodded and kept speaking.

"I see that look, Taba. And yes, you heard right. Chocolate Cherry flavored soda is a thing. Unfortunately, it's a Doctor Pepper flavor. But I don't hold it against the brand as a whole, since every food item has at least one dud flavor now and again." Kusa said sagely as the others merely nodded and finished their meal before getting back on the road...

(A short time later, on the road, in the RV with Kusa, Makoto, Morgana, Futaba, Haru, Sophia, Ryuji, Sumire, and Ren)

"Hang in there, Makoto! Hokkaido's just a stone's throw away!" Futaba said as Kusa spoke up.

"Maybe if you're good at throwing stones, that's true. But unless it's a small stone, that's not as big of a distance as you'd think, Taba." Kusa said sagely as Makoto spoke up rebukingly.

"Give your girlfriend some slack, Kusa. She meant well, and I get what she meant. Also, I hear you, Futaba. Hokkaido sure is vast, isn't it?" Makoto said as Kusa spoke up.

"Fair enough. I was merely saying that Futaba should've said a couple of stone's throws away to be on the safe side. I apologize for coming off like I was criticizing her." Kusa said as Futaba spoke up.

"It's fine, Kusa. I know you were just trying to gently correct me, as you occasionally tend to do. And Makoto? You're not wrong. If anything, Hokkaido is vast enough to call it 'Huge-kaido' by my reckoning!" Futaba said as Morgana smiled and spoke up from where he was sitting next to Futaba.

"It's supposed to be a lot cooler up here, so hopefully that means no more stuffy, sleepless nights." Morgana said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Truth, Morgana! You said it, man! There's nothin' more hellish than sleepin' in a hot, sweaty tent crammed with dudes." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"Is it really cramped, though? I feel like we all fit easily enough into our sleeping bags up there. Sure, it's not fun having Morgana's fur sprawled out across me every night, but I learned to adapt for the most part. Besides, I feel like if anyone has reason to complain here, it'd be Kusa. That poor man has to sleep in the sleeping bag between you and Yusuke. Which means he gets your snoring and Yusuke's sleep-talking from both sides. And to be completely honest? I'm impressed he can tolerate it as much as he does." Ren said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Yes, well, it's made easier when I remind myself that I'm trying to set an example for Goro on why violence isn't always the answer. Besides, it could be worse." Kusa said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Oh, yeah? I'm scared to hear the answer to this, but my curiosity is going to make me ask anyways, so let's get it over with. How could this be worse?" Ryuji said, and when Kusa grinned, both Ren and Sumire winced, having a good guess of what Kusa was about to say.

"Glad you asked. Not only could we be in a hot, sweaty tent cramped with dudes, we could be doing that with those crazy guys following you. Y'know, the ones who tried to get you into a dress a few years ago?" Kusa said as Ryuji's eyes widened in horror while he spoke.

"Ohh, right, those guys. Almost forgot about them. Yeeeah, let's not have them involved and say we did, ok?" Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up with a shudder.

"Fair enough. And speaking of horrifying, be glad you sleep on the far left sleeping bag, Ryuji. I'm in the middle, so I had to see it right in front of me when Yusuke sat up and, with apologies to both Sumire and Sophia for this, but it's what he did, started stripping his clothes off. Technically, all of us guys had ditched our shirts aside from Morgana, but that's irrelevant, mostly since it's not as uncommon as most people believe it is for dudes to sleep shirtless. But Yusuke, he went and took it a step further. That man stripped down to just his boxers and then laid back down in his sleeping bag.

Granted, he had to fix his boxers after ditching his shorts, so his guy bits were hanging out, for a lack of a more PG-friendly description of what was hanging out. And unfortunately for me, I happened to look up to see why Yusuke was making so much noise, right in time to see him fixing his boxers. Probably the only time in my life, aside from Sumire's little brazen display of partial nudity during the King's Game party we threw Ann for her birthday a bit over three and a half years ago, where I wished I could safely bleach my eyes to get the image out of my mind. How the rest of you all slept through all of that I have no clue, but be glad that you did.

It was very nearly fuel for my nightmares afterwards, but I got over it by substituting in far more pleasant images in its place. I won't go into detail for Sophia's sake, but suffice it to say that they may or may not have heavily featured myself and Taba doing naughty stuff." Kusa said as Futaba blushed at Kusa's last remark. Haru winced at this and spoke up.

"Eww. What you guys do in that tent is your business, but um? Just make sure you keep any nudity INSIDE the tent, please." Haru said as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"No worries, Haru. If nothing else, I know for a fact that Yusuke knows better than to go around streaking while we're on a road trip together, if only because both Makoto and Goro would throttle him for causing an incident afterwards, to say nothing of what Sumire would do to him for exposing Sophia to that." Kusa said with a grin. Haru nodded her approval as the trip continued uneventfully from there...

(A short time later, in Sapporo, at a parking location, with Haru, Morgana, Ren, Sumire, Sophia, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Ryuji, Sojiro, Goro, Kusa, and Futaba)

"Helloooo Sapporo!" Futaba said as Goro looked around before speaking up after a moment.

"Well, well. Never thought I'd see this place again. But at least this time, I'm not here on Shido-san's orders, so that's nice. Still, it's been too long since I last stepped foot in Sapporo." Goro said as Ren spoke up with a frown.

"That's right. You did mention something once about Shido sending you out of town periodically to perform hits at his request, but you never said that one of them led you to Sapporo. Hopefully that hit wasn't related to whoever the Monarch of this city is." Ren said as Sojiro spoke up.

"I doubt it, Ren. If anything, Shido likely sent Goro here to scout the place or something similar. Still, I always forget how lovely Sapporo can be." Sojiro said as Yusuke smiled and nodded his agreement before he spoke up.

"Good point, Sojiro. So, this is Sapporo Central City. A bustling outpost of civilization, cradled by the untamed wilderness." Yusuke said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Truth! Hey, you think they're still doin' the Snow Festival?" Ryuji asked as both Kusa and Ann frowned at the question before the latter spoke up.

"Are you seriously that dumb?" Ann asked as Kusa spoke up with a chuckle, finding Ann's question both amusing and humorous.

"Was that a serious question, Ann? I thought we knew by now that Ryuji was what those in our line of work would refer to as 'a sweet summer child'. Also, I doubt they're going to hold a snow ANYTHING in the middle of freakin' August." Kusa said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Kusa-kun. Well, it certainly is cooler here than Tokyo. It should be a nice change of pace." Haru said as Makoto spoke up.

"That's true, Haru. Also, I know we just got here, but I want to check whether there's a Jail nearby. Sophia?" Makoto asked as Sumire pulled her phone out of her purse and held it up in time for a 'BIP!' to go off before Sophia spoke up with an unreadable look on her face.

"To be honest? I do smell a Jail. An intense one." Sophia said as the group's eyes widened and Kusa spoke up.

"No kidding? Well, if there's a Jail here, that means there's potentially another famous and/or influential person somewhere in this area that's our next Monarch." Kusa said as a wide-eyed Ryuji spoke up.

"For real? Just like Gramps said, then." Ryuji said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. And that means whoever Zenkichi's looking into is the Monarch of Sapporo." Morgana said as Makoto spoke up.

"Fair enough. Then may I suggest we comb the area for intel?" Makoto said as Ann spoke up with a wince.

"Uh, before that? I think we should hit the bath. Seriously, I've been feeling all gross since yesterday." Ann said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed! It would be nice to freshen up a little first." Haru said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Then let me help. I've already located a bathing facility only 500 meters from here." Sophia said as Futaba smiled and spoke up in an impressed tone.

"Already? Wow, Sophia. You work quick." Futaba said as Morgana spoke up.

"Well, guess it's bath time for you guys, then. In the meantime, I'll be on the prowl for that intel." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"Alone? I know you can handle yourself very capably, but what's to say that Hokkaido's populace doesn't have a very positive view of cats? I'd prefer if you stayed in the trailer until we're done so one of us can go with you to get the intel, just to be on the safe side, Morgana. Also, why do I get a chill down my spine when I hear the words 'bath time for you guys'?" Kusa said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Probably because unlike most of the other guys, you have enough common sense to know what NOT to do in a bath." Haru said before smiling at Morgana as she kept speaking.

"Also, don't worry, Mona-chan. I'll rinse you down as soon as we're done." Haru said as Kusa spoke up.

"I know you meant well with that offer Haru, but Morgana is kinda finicky about who he lets clean him. He prefers to clean himself, though I have gotten him to let me give him a bath once, a couple years ago while he and Ren still lived at Leblanc. Granted, that was only because Taba here kept shooting smoke rings in his face and making his fur sooty, but that's besides the point." Kusa said as Morgana blanched and spoke up.

"Wh-What!? No, no, that's okay, Haru. I can clean myself just fine." Morgana said as Sophia giggled and spoke up.

"Hee hee, so it's just as the data says, then. Cats hate getting wet." Sophia said as Kusa and Sumire looked at each other before they both burst out laughing at Sophia's remark, followed shortly after by Futaba and Ren. Morgana, for his part, glared at Sophia and spoke up.

"What!? HEY! Don't lump me in with those other furballs, Lady Sophia! I demand that you give your data a full rewrite!" Morgana said as Sophia spoke up, her next words making Ren and Sumire's eyes widen at what she said next.

"Noted. Also, I'd like to try a bath. Would someone mind bringing this phone in?" Sophia asked as Ryuji winced and spoke up.

"Uh, wouldn't the hot water, like, wreck Sumire's phone, though? Along with you inside?" Ryuji asked as Sumire spoke up.

"First of all, just to clarify, you want us to bring my phone into the bathhouse so you can experience a bath. Is that right, Sophia?" Sumire asked. When Sophia nodded, Sumire frowned and kept speaking.

"I see. Well, to be honest? I'm not sure my phone is waterproof. And I'd hate to have it short out with you inside it, since I have no clue what that would do to you. If we were able to waterproof it, that might be a different story. Plus I'm not sure how you'd react to seeing so much naked flesh at once, since to be blunt, a bath is the most common place to see a gathering of naked people, outside of maybe a bedroom. But the bathhouse is a more communal option for that, usually." Sumire said sagely. Makoto nodded her agreement as she spoke up.

"That is true, Sumire, but I'm sure we can work out the details. Now Sophia, will you guide us there?" Makoto asked politely as Sophia nodded from Sumire's phone as the group dispersed to get ready for the bathhouse. Once it was just Ren and Sumire, Sophia spoke up from the latter's phone.

"Mm-hm. This is Odori Park. It's famous for its fountain and TV tower. The bathhouse is in a place called Suzushino. It should only be a short walk away from here, so let's get going." Sophia said as Ren and Sumire nodded before the group headed on their way to the bathhouse, but as they made their way there, they stopped short on seeing a small girl, likely not older than 10 or so, standing by a green lamppost with her mother, after having presented flowers to it. The small girl then spoke up.

"Mommy, do you think Kaho-chan will like these?" The small girl asked as her mother, a maternal woman, spoke up.

"I do. She'll say, 'Thank you for the pretty flowers.', if I had to guess." The maternal woman said as the small girl nodded and spoke up, not seeing the shocked looks on most of the nearby group's faces at what she said next.

"If only heaven wasn't so far away, Mommy. If it wasn't, then maybe I could see her." The small girl said as Ann spoke up in a shocked tone.

"Did we miss something? Or did something happen over there?" Ann asked as Haru winced and spoke up.

"They're leaving flowers over there, presumably as a tribute of sorts? Maybe somebody passed away." Haru said as Makoto spoke up.

"Hm. Now that you mention it, I do recall there was an accident on the news recently. I think it was something about a snow sculpture collapsing in Odori Park? It ended up taking a young girl's life away from her tragically. Hmm, maybe that's where it happened." Makoto said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"Indeed. Such a thing is always horrible to hear about. I can only imagine the sorrow her family must be suffering." Yusuke said as Haru nodded with a sad look on her face as she spoke up.

"Yeah, for sure. Losing a family member out of nowhere is never an easy thing to live through. I would know that better than most of us here, with the probable exceptions of both Sumire-chan and Futaba-chan." Haru said, not seeing the guilty wince on Goro's face next to her at her indirect reference to her father's untimely demise almost four years prior.

That same time was around when the group's attempt to change his heart for the better failed dismally after a shadowy figure, later revealed to be Goro, stepped in after the group defeated the Shadow of Haru's father, ultimately proceeding to coldly and ruthlessly gun the Shadow of Kunikazu Okumura down while Kusa, who had elected to remain behind, could only watch, helpless to actually do much of anything to stop Goro from killing the Shadow of the then-President Okumura.

This failure of Kusa's to stop Goro from destroying President Okumura's shadow would ultimately end up leading to the death of the real Kunikazu Okumura a few days later when he abruptly had a mental shutdown during a press conference where he was attempting to take responsibility for his actions and blow the whistle on the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns that had been plaguing Tokyo for a time at that point, which as it turned out was also Goro, albeit on the orders of his and Kusa's father, Masayoshi Shido.

Kusa, who happened to be walking next to Goro, saw it quite clearly, and patted Goro on the shoulder comfortingly as he spoke up quietly so that only Goro could hear.

"Relax, Goro. She's not trying to make you feel bad about that. She's just empathizing with that poor girl who died and her family. But I commend you for at least having the decency to feel bad for that. That right there is a sure sign that you're on the right track to righting your wrongs. And if nothing else, it's a sign that you're not apt to go back to your old ways, which is quite reassuring." Kusa said as Goro nodded his gratitude before a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which was in Sumire's hands, preceded Sophia speaking up, a confused look on her face.

"What's wrong? Are we not taking a bath anymore?" Sophia said as Kusa sighed and spoke up.

"We still are. We just stopped on the way first to look at what we guess to be some poor girl's grave on the way first. After all, part of having a heart means you stop to acknowledge the more subtle things in life, such as when tragedy happens. Also, remind me to have Sumire and Ren teach you how to read a room sometime, since that's clearly a skill you need to learn, Sophia. But we can forgive you this time, since you didn't know any better." Kusa said sagely as Sophia nodded her understanding and Sojiro spoke up with a smirk.

"That's rich that you're the one lecturing Sophia on learning to read a room, Kusa. I seem to recall that you struggled with that a bit yourself when you and the others first started easing Futaba into hanging out with your group a bit under four years ago. So yeah, if anyone could teach Sophia that lesson, it's you, Ren, and Sumire." Sojiro said as the group kept moving to Suzushino. Once there, the group noticed a giant poster of a dark-haired man with a thick beard and mustache in a top hat with a wine glass in one hand that had most of the group stifling laughter at how comically absurd the man looked holding a wine glass while they started exploring the town.

As they headed through Suzushino, they did their best to tune out the loudspeakers blaring a campaign promotion for someone called 'Mariko Hyodo'. Once in Suzushino, Sophia spoke up.

"Now we're in Suzushino, which is apparently a haven for pedestrians around this time. I wonder why it's so crowded, though. Everybody's talking about voting for some reason. Well, no matter. Back to the bathhouse. Just go straight for a bit, then take a right and you'll be there." Sophia said as Ren nodded, taking time to check out all the shops along the way before eventually finding the bathhouse a little ways down the road after taking a right, at which point Sophia spoke up.

"Okay, we're here. Feast your eyes on the Suzushino bathhouse." Sophia said as Morgana smirked and spoke up.

"Ooh, what a fancy spot. Okay, go get yourself cleaned up." Morgana said with a taunting smirk as the group nodded and went inside, excluding Morgana, who went around on an intel search on his own as the rest of the group headed into the bathhouse to get cleaned up...

(A short time later, in the guy's side of the bathhouse, with Sojiro, Yusuke, Kusa, Ren, Goro, and Ryuji)

"Ahhhhh, that's amazing. Now this is paradise, am I right?" Ryuji said as Kusa nodded and spoke up from where he was leaning against a ledge and soaking in the warm waters of the guys' bath.

"Agreed, Ryuji. I'd forgotten how long it'd been since the last time I partook of one of these. So amazing." Kusa said as Sojiro nodded and spoke up.

"Seconded. It's been several years since I hit one of these. Kinda weird to do it with such a crowd, but it's not that big of a deal, since I know all of you." Sojiro said with a shrug as he relaxed on the ledge slightly to Yusuke's left, while Goro smirked and spoke up from the ledge between Ryuji and Ren, since Kusa had the ledge between Yusuke and Ren claimed.

"I concur. It's nice to soak in one of these once in a while. I think the last time I actually did this was also the time when Ren and I hit one of these up in Yongen-Jaya about four years ago, that night that Sojiro recommended the bathhouse next to Leblanc for us. I seem to recall that it was also the night that you and Morgana ribbed Ren over here about swinging both ways, while also taking a shot at me. Am I correct, Kusa?" Goro said teasingly as Kusa flushed in embarrassment as he recalled the incident in question and huffed as he spoke up.

"You're not wrong. But to be fair, that was also partially Morgana's fault for teasing Ren about spending quality time with you. Honestly, he got lucky that Sumire didn't flick him in the back of the head when Ren told her about that incident. Granted, I may or may not have gotten bitch-slapped in the face a few days later by Sumire, but that's besides the point." Kusa said as Ren grinned and spoke up.

"Oh, right. Wasn't that the day that Sumire seriously kicked your ass, Kusa? I remember Morgana and I spent what must have been several hours laughing our asses off as we watched Sumire hand you your ass multiple times and then finish by kneeing you in the family jewels for some reason." Ren said as Ryuji and Goro sympathetically winced, subconsciously covering the region in question with their hands. Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"That's correct. I won't deny that your girlfriend is a hell of a warrior, Ren. But do you HAVE to bring that up around Sojiro and the guys? I'm pretty sure some would consider the fact that I got beat up by your girlfriend emasculating." Kusa said dryly as Goro spoke up.

"Only if they're a sexist idiot, Kusa. There's no shame in losing a fight to a superior opponent. Also, if I recall correctly, you told me that Futaba avenged your honor a couple days later when she proceeded to beat Sumire in an epic catfight that turned into a tickle fight. Or am I remembering wrong?" Goro said as Sojiro's eyes widened and he spoke up.

"Futaba did WHAT?" Sojiro asked in shock as Kusa spoke up.

"That's true, Goro. However, you left out the part where Futaba then proceeded to basically assert her dominance by tackle hugging Sumire afterwards and straddle her teasingly before staring down smugly into Sumire's eyes and taunting her that she was better than her. I think Futaba may or may not have then proceeded to slyly fake-kiss Sumire, just to see how red Sumire's face got. Come to think of it, it did get red, but Sumire wasn't as bothered by it as she should've been. Maybe Futaba's bi-curious girl crush on Sumire wasn't as one-sided as we thought?" Kusa said with a shrug as Sojiro spoke up with a shrug of his own.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she was into both genders. As I recall, Wakaba was the same way at Futaba's age. However, by the time I met her, she'd mellowed down considerably." Sojiro said sagely as Ren spoke up.

"Kusa's also exaggerating slightly. Futaba did defeat Sumire, that's true. But afterwards, she merely tickled Sumire for a bit before making Sumire admit Futaba is better than her. Sumire may have then pinned Futaba down and tickled her a bit, but that was it. I'm pretty sure Sumire would've told me if she'd kissed another girl." Ren said as Goro smirked and spoke up with a sly grin.

"Not if she was embarrassed and/or guilty over it, she wouldn't." Goro said sagely before he kept speaking.

"But anyways, enough talk about Sumire and Futaba. We came here to relax and recharge, yes?" Goro said as Yusuke smiled and spoke up with a closed-eye smirk.

"I'll say, Goro. The heat has crept into my bones." Yusuke said as Ren spoke up.

"This really melts the stress away, though. Not to say the place near Leblanc isn't great, because it is, but sometimes it's nice to try something new for a change of pace." Ren said wisely as Kusa spoke up with a smirk.

"Not to mention, the temperature of this water is just about perfect. And I say that as a man with high heat tolerance." Kusa said wryly as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. Also, I've learned a valuable lesson on this journey, truth be told." Yusuke said as Goro and Sojiro winced before the former spoke up.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but you've raised my curiosity, so go on. What lesson did you learn, Yusuke?" Goro asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"Sometimes, you simply need to enjoy being naked." Yusuke said as Sojiro grinned and spoke up.

"That is true, Yusuke. However, my experience has taught me that usually, enjoying being naked is something that really only applies when it's just you and your lover in the bedroom. I'm pretty sure that doesn't strictly apply to someplace like a bathhouse." Sojiro said as Ren spoke up with a smirk.

"I think it might if you're Kusa and Futaba. After all, I lost count of how many times Futaba nearly got the two of them kicked out of the Yongen-Jaya bathhouse with her near-constant thirst for Kusa's manhood after I think it was like the 30th time or so." Ren said with a sly grin as Sojiro groaned and spoke up.

"Ohh, jeez. Stop right there, Ren. I might only see her as a daughter, even if she's not my biological daughter as far as I know, but that doesn't mean I want to know the particulars of Futaba and Kusa's intimate lives." Sojiro said as an embarrassed Kusa glared at Ren and spoke up.

"Don't instigate, Ren! And for your information, that only happened like five to ten times, tops! And if I recall, most of those times, the manager thought it was you and Sumire at first." Kusa said in embarrassment as Goro spoke up with a suspiciously sly smirk on his face that had both Ren and Kusa on edge, but once Goro spoke, the former relaxed a bit while the latter treated most of the others to the rare sight of his sulking pout.

"So that's why the manager looked at me funny when I introduced myself as Goro Amamiya the one time I broke down and went to the Yongen bathhouse for a soak. She thought I was going to do the same thing you and Futaba did." Goro said as Kusa pouted and spoke up.

"Goro? I hate you right now." Kusa said petulantly as Sojiro, Ren, and Goro all laughed at the rare sulky look on Kusa's face, as did Ryuji and Yusuke once they saw it. After a bit, Ryuji spoke up with wide eyes, having registered Yusuke's remark about enjoying being naked.

"Heh, it's not often we get to see Kusa being the one to pout. Anyways, so, Yusuke? In response to your earlier statement about being naked, uhh, what does that mean exactly?" Ryuji asked as Goro spoke up.

"Trust me on this, Ryuji. I speak from experience when I say that you do not want to know the answer to that. I made the mistake of asking Kusa that same question before, and suffice it to say it took me months to get the subsequent explanation out of my head after Kusa told me, so do not ask for the answer to that, if only for your own sanity, Ryuji." Goro said as Ryuji blanched and spoke up.

"Uhh, okay? If you say so? Anyways, it's quite nice havin' a bath like this all to ourselves. Can't get that at home." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"Not easily, at least. It can be done, but it requires a lot of planning and preparation." Kusa said sagely as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Well said, Kusa. And what's more, we're in the middle of a long journey. We must take proper measures to recover our strength and stamina accordingly." Yusuke said as Kusa nodded his agreement, but as he went to open his mouth to answer Yusuke, he and the others fell silent as they heard Futaba's voice through the wall separating the women from the men.

"Whoaaa! Ann, are those CGI!?" Futaba's voice could be heard, making all the guys exchange shocked looks as they realized they could hear voices coming from the women's side of the baths. Futaba's voice could then be heard once more.

"What cheat codes did you use to get those? Dieting lifehacks? You're so skinny, yet-" Futaba said as Ann's voice was heard next.

"HEY! Could you stop drawing attention to me? Go bother Haru instead-hers are no different than mine, aside from being a bit smaller. Or better yet, go bother Sumire, since she's your apparent girl crush." Ann teased Futaba, making the guys all blanch at this before Goro's eyes widened as Haru's voice was the next to be heard.

"Wha-! OH! Stop it!" Haru said as Futaba's voice was heard once more.

"Haru, not bad! These could knock someone flat! And Sumire, you're looking pretty sexy in your own right, too! Mwehehe, Ren's a very lucky man to have landed you as his girlfriend." Futaba's voice could be heard before Makoto's voice could be heard next, perfectly muting Sojiro's muttered complaint about Futaba being too damned bi-curious for her own good, as well as his muttered remarks about color commentary being unnecessary.

"Would you please keep it down, Futaba? Remember, it's not only us women that are soaking in here." Makoto's voice said as a wide-eyed Ryuji gulped as he realized Makoto was aware of the guys listening in. At that point, Sumire's voice spoke up.

"Yeah, Makoto-senpai's right! The guys are here too, on the other side of that wall. So they might be able to hear us right now. Also, Ann? Don't lie to Futaba like that. Haru's figure is similar to yours, but her bust is considerably less endowed than yours is. She's still probably a respectable third place among us girls, though.

With all apologies to her, Makoto-senpai is likely dead last, or second-last behind Futaba. But I'd like to believe that they tie for last. Meanwhile, I sit in a respectable second place behind you. Or are you going to seriously sit there and say that these are smaller than Haru's?" Sumire said, making it easy to imagine she was pointing at her own bust at the end of her response, making Ren go bright red in embarrassment at how bold his girlfriend was likely being. Ann's voice was then heard again.

"Good point, Sumire. I always forget about the fact that you had arguably the biggest growth spurt of all us girls in the past three years. Not that you probably hear Ren complaining about it, though." Ann said slyly, making both Ren and Yusuke gulp at that point as Kusa spoke up.

"Eheh, good old Taba, giving running commentary on things, am I right?" Kusa said nervously as Ren smirked at Goro and spoke up.

"Hot springs rule, am I right? Also, if what Ann says is true, you didn't do too bad for yourself in falling for Haru, did you Goro?" Ren said teasingly as Goro blushed and spoke up.

"Th-That's besides the-SHUT UP, REN! Also, I notice you're ignoring the fact that Ann basically dissed your girlfriend by saying Haru's bust is better than hers. Granted, I'm impressed at Ann's keen eye for detail. Because if you think about it, Haru is more endowed than Sumire is." Goro said slyly as Ren bristled at this and spoke up.

"Excuse you!? Are your eyes painted on, Goro? Sumire clearly has the better bustline of her and Haru. But then, every single person at that King's Game three years ago knows this first-hand. And that's BEFORE her growth spurt, mind you. So I'll thank you not to tell such slanderous lies about my girlfriend in my presence, lest I have to remind you of just why they're slanderous lies. Also, why isn't Kusa sticking up for Futaba?" Ren asked as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"That's because I know that Futaba's not the bustiest of the girls by any stretch of the imagination. But as I've already told her more than once, I think she's plenty beautiful, just as she is. So what if she's a bit on the petite and under-developed side? That's not a bad thing if you think about it. After all, the less she has on her, the faster it is to rub oil on her when the mood strikes. Not to mention, I believe I heard it said once that all breasts bounce the same way, no matter how big or small they are." Kusa said sagely as Goro spoke up with a nod.

"Good point, Kusa. Never mind about whose girl is sexier for now, I think. Can we all agree that these hot springs rule?" Goro asked sagely as Ryuji nodded quickly and spoke up.

"Y-Yeah, you're right, Goro! They do rule! A-And for sure that's got nothin' to do with what we just heard! Nothin' at all!" Ryuji said as he grinned and kept speaking.

"But man, this water feels great. Morgana really shoulda been here." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"Oh? And are you volunteering to be the one to get him in here? You saw how quickly his hackles were raised when Sophia suggested that cats hate getting wet before." Kusa pointed out wisely as Sojiro spoke up.

"That's true. Morgana was rather quick to anger back there. All Sophia did was point out something she'd observed." Sojiro said as Yusuke spoke up with a smirk.

"Speaking of Sophia, I think she might like it here as well. Although, being incorporeal may pose a challenge." Yusuke said as Ren and Kusa both glared at him while Ryuji spoke up.

"She really is a mystery, ain't she? What're your thoughts on her, RenRen?" Ryuji asked Ren.

"As she's said numerous times by now, she strives to be humanity's companion." Ren said as Kusa spoke up.

"Not only that, she's deceptively adorable and childlike for an AI. At the risk of sounding less masculine, I can see why Sumire was so quick to protect her. She is a bit naive and childish, but at the same time, Sophia has that rather alluring and radiant innocence to her that makes it easy to want to be protective of her. Which then begs the following question. Exactly why the hell is Yusuke so quick to bring Sophia up? From what Ren told me, he also once asked how age worked for an AI? Should we be worried Yusuke has an interest in Sophia?" Kusa asked. Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Kusa has a great point. But RenRen? That much is obvious. However, didn't she say somethin' about wanting to understand people's hearts?" Ryuji asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"Ah, the heart of mankind. How wondrously mysterious and enigmatic. However, try as I may, I have yet to depict its full essence in my paintings." Yusuke said as Ren grinned and spoke up.

"Have you tried doing a painting of yourself and Hifumi yet, Yusuke? I bet she'd pose for you if you asked her to, as long as the painting was tastefully done." Ren said slyly as Goro and Kusa both blinked at this while Ryuji high-fived Ren and spoke up.

"Truth, RenRen! But then again, maybe Yusuke's not comfortable making his girlfriend take it all off for him like that. After all, isn't that how he wanted to paint Ann that one time?" Ryuji asked as Yusuke winced at the reference to his short-lived obsession with wanting to do a nude painting of Ann. Yusuke then spoke up.

"If you must know, I'm trying to respect Hifumi's wishes. And she made it clear that she wants to wait until she makes it big in the Shogi leagues before she thinks about getting intimate with me. And I told her I would wait as long as needed for her to achieve her dream. For, as Kusa once said, that's what a real man does. He's willing to be as patient as is necessary to help the woman he loves achieve her dreams and ambitions." Yusuke said as Kusa winced and spoke up.

"While I DID say that, I think I was referring moreso to managing to make Taba happy and satisfied with me as her boyfriend, but if it helps you have success in your relationship with Hifumi? Then more power to you, Yusuke." Kusa said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Thank you, Kusa. Back on the topic of the heart, it hides both darkness and light, mingling beauty and atrocity in its depths. Try as you might to unravel it, its enigma grows deeper still." Yusuke said as Ryuji winced and spoke up.

"Hmmm, yeah, you lost me, Yusuke. Not sure I can comment on that." Ryuji said as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"You can't, but I can. Yusuke's saying that the heart is a complex thing that few could ever truly hope to understand, even with things like cognitive psience to help them. I mean, before he lost his way, Maruki was probably close to getting some form of an understanding of the heart. Yet despite that, even with Ren's help? Maruki still couldn't fully comprehend it in the end." Goro said sagely as Ryuji spoke up.

"Truth! You have a point, Goro. But also, I do know Sophia gets along with all of us. Gets me thinkin' she might not need to worry 'bout all that heart stuff." Ryuji said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Well said. I know she says she seeks to understand the human heart to become a better companion. And while I do believe that's part of it, I think she also does it so she can grow as a person, since AI or not, she's still just as much a person as any one of us as far as I'm concerned. Of course, I could be biased in saying that, given how much Sophia tends to stick close by myself and Sumire most of the time." Ren said sagely. Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Ren. That is indeed a logical conclusion, particularly for a sentient program. Understanding the heart would certainly prove helpful." Yusuke said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Uhh, not sure I understood any of that. But yeah, sure. What you said. She seems pretty dead-set on it, too." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"Wouldn't you be dead-set on it too, if you were given the prime directive to become a good companion for humanity? Also, let's add in the element of her potentially idolizing both Ren and Sumire, and you have the results before you inside of Sumire's phone: A precocious little digital angel of a girl who wants to not only be the best companion she can be, but also become as much like Sumire as possible." Kusa said sagely. Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"You have a point there, Kusa. And if that's what Sophia has decided, we should lend her our full support. She is our precious ally, after all." Yusuke said as Goro spoke up.

"Yeeeah, still not convinced that you're not somehow infatuated with her, Yusuke. I hope for your sake that's not the case, since I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be far off the mark in saying that Sumire wouldn't hesitate to throw you out of the RV while it's moving if you tried to flirt with Sophia around her." Goro said sagely as Ren and Kusa nodded their agreement while Sojiro spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Goro. I still recall how close Sumire came to throttling the cat the other day, just because he openly admired Ann around Sophia. And before both Ren and Kusa react, I know that Morgana doesn't like being called that, but he's not around right now, is he? So that means we can call him a cat as much as we want and get away with it, since what's said in the bathhouse stays in the bathhouse. Right?" Sojiro said as the other guys nodded their agreement. Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Truth, Sojiro! And Yusuke? Heh, true enough. She could use all the help she could get, if you ask me. Damn, but for real? The heat's startin' to get to me. Wanna ditch the bath and grab some milk coffee?" Ryuji asked as Goro and Kusa both looked revolted at the idea of milk coffee, a sentiment Sojiro clearly shared given the disgusted look on his face at the mention of milk coffee, and the revulsion on all three of their faces grew at what Ren said next.

"Considering the conversation that was had earlier, I'm curious about something. So I'll take strawberry milk instead." Ren said as Kusa gaped at Ren and spoke up.

"SERIOUSLY!? I'm not dissing strawberry milk or anything, but EVERYONE with any sense of taste knows that the only correct way to enjoy milk is on its own or as chocolate milk. I suppose one could argue that you could enjoy it with cake, but who does that nowadays?" Kusa said sagely as Goro spoke up.

"I concur with Kusa. I'm not a big sweets fan for the most part, but even so, I have to admit that chocolate milk is the best kind of milk flavor." Goro said as Kusa grinned and high-fived Goro while speaking up.

"Hell yeah, Goro! You get it! Then again, I might be slightly biased saying chocolate milk is the best flavor of milk given my not-so-secret weakness for most things chocolate." Kusa said sagely. Ryuji grinned at Ren's response and spoke up.

"Whoa, that sounds good too! Now I can't make up my mind what kind of milk I want." Ryuji said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"I protest. We are in Hokkaido, as you may recall. It would be a sin to forego its fresh dairy offerings for some artificial substitute. No, to appreciate it properly, we must partake right as it's squeezed from the udder, the way farmers have done for millenia!" Yusuke said as Goro and Sojiro exchanged horrified looks at what Yusuke had said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Uhhh, yeah, no. Knock yourself out, man." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"Pretty sure farmers at least bottle the milk before they partake of it, Yusuke. That said, I might be a bit of a purist with my food at times, but not even I would take it THAT far as to drink milk right from a cow's udder. If I was going to partake of milk that way, I'd have already been milking Futaba by now." Kusa joked as Sojiro frowned and spoke up.

"Kusa? I know that was a joke, but surely even you know that there's a difference between milk from the udder of a cow, which is what Yusuke was alluding to, and breast milk, which you were joking about. Besides, do I really need a mental image of you sucking on my daughter's breasts like some kind of filthy manwhore, Kusa?" Sojiro said, shuddering as he tried to get the mental image that his last remark had created out of his head. Kusa spoke up with a smirk, seeing the many horrified looks that his last remark had put on the faces of the other guys.

"I was only joking, Sojiro. We both know that Taba would sooner punt-kick me in the nuts than let me milk her breasts. She might be wild, but she's not that wild. If anything, I think Ren would be more apt to be able to milk Sumire than I would be to milk Futaba." Kusa said sagely as a red-faced Ren sputtered and spoke up.

"Yes, well, th-that's just-UGH! CAN IT, KUSA! Besides, Sumire's also pretty sensitive about me nuzzling her chest anyways. I doubt she'd let me leave my mouth on her nipple long enough to get any milk out of her anyways." Ren said sagely as the guys just nodded their agreement and started getting out to dry off.

However as he went to join the others in leaving the bathhouse, Kusa found his path blocked by a smirking Futaba, who looked into Kusa's eyes and spoke up.

"Well, well. It's been a while since we were alone in a bathhouse like this, and we've not really fooled around in a while, have we, Kusa?" Futaba said slyly as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"That is true, but won't the others notice if we don't follow them out of the bathhouse?" Kusa asked, as Futaba spoke up with a sexy smile.

"You're not wrong. But I didn't say that we were fooling around right this minute, necessarily. I managed to find out when this place would be empty, so we can come back here later on, just the two of us, and mess around. I feel like this place would be a good place to get reacquainted with one another's bodies." Futaba said slyly as she leaned up to kiss Kusa on the lips, making him return the kiss, blushing as he did so since he noticed that the way Futaba was standing on her tippy-toes to kiss him meant that her towel was falling open as a result, giving him a pretty generous view under it. Futaba slyly smirked and kept speaking.

"Mwehehe! I knew you were checking me out. We can continue this tonight, Kusa. But for now, let's catch up to the others." Futaba said as Kusa could only nod, not trusting himself to speak right now, in part because of how much he was blushing, and in part because of how much he was fighting the urge to just take Futaba right there. After a bit, the group left the bathhouse together, all fully dressed. Once they were outside, Ryuji spoke up.

"All right! Body and mind are refreshed!" Ryuji said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. That bath was just what we needed. Thanks for suggesting this place, Sophia!" Haru said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which Sumire had taken out of her shorts pocket, preceded a smiling Sophia speaking up.

"No prob. Glad I could be of service." Sophia said as Ann spoke up.

"I noticed that you guys were pretty quiet." Ann said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Oh! Uh, well, you know, sometimes it do be that way. You don't think that it be that way sometimes, but it do." Ryuji said as Kusa groaned and spoke up. *1*

"What Ryuji means is that sometimes, even us guys like to take time to relax and enjoy the moment while taking time to reflect on ourselves. Also, it doesn't help that the walls in that bathhouse seemed to be rather thin, that or sound just carries well in there. Either way, let's just say Futaba gave us guys a very good reason for most of us to keep quiet." Kusa said sagely, making Futaba, along with both Ann and Sumire, blush prettily at being caught out comparing bust sizes with one another while Makoto spoke up.

"Were they that quiet, though? I swear I heard Sojiro, Goro, and Kusa conversing pretty animatedly with Ren and Ryuji at least once through the wall. And I'm nearly positive I heard Yusuke's voice a few times." Makoto said as Sumire giggled spoke up.

"Oh, you mean when Yusuke voiced his odd opinions on how to partake of milk?" Sumire said as Kusa blanched and spoke up.

"You heard that? Aww, crap. Does that mean you heard the joke I made afterwards, too!?" Kusa said in mortification. Futaba giggled and spoke up.

"I did. Rather bold of you to be so open about our sex life in front of Sojiro, Kusa." Futaba said as Kusa blanched at this but nodded, not looking at what he was sure was a frowning Sojiro. Ann blinked at Ryuji's response and spoke up.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean, Ryuji?" Ann said, but before Ryuji could manage to dig himself into any deeper of a hole, he was saved by Ren's phone going off while Sophia spoke up from Sumire's phone.

"Ren, you have a phone call from Zenkichi." Sophia said as Ren nodded, taking the phone call and putting it on speaker. When he heard what Zenkichi said next, Ren was glad he'd put it on speaker.

"Hello, Ren Amamiya's phone. Ren speaking." Ren said as Zenkichi spoke up on speaker.

"Greetings, you are now speaking to the long arm of the law! So, you guys in Sapporo yet?" Zenkichi asked as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Long arm of the law, you say? Is that a joke, Zenkichi?" Ren asked as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"No, I'm pretty sure that was Zenkichi trying to be a smart-ass, Ren. Props on the bold move, by the way. Sounds a lot like a wise-guy remark I'd make, Zenkichi." Kusa said sagely. Zenkichi then spoke up with an amused tone in his voice, likely having heard Kusa's response to Ren.

"Was that Kusa speaking just now? If so, he's smart. And he's right. I was being facetious, which-wait. You DO know what that means, don't you? Anyway, I wanted to set up a meeting. How about I swing by the RV in the evening?" Zenkichi said as Ren spoke up.

"Sounds good to me. We'll see you then. Until later, this is farewell for now, Zenkichi." Ren said as he hung up the phone and Morgana spoke up.

"Zenkichi's gonna meet us? Then let's get ready for him." Morgana said as the group headed back to the RV...

(That evening, in the RV, with Goro, Sojiro, Futaba, Morgana, Ann, Haru, Makoto, Yusuke, Zenkichi, Kusa, Sophia, Ren, Ryuji, and Sumire)

"Hello. And now that we're all together, let's talk about the Monarch of Sapporo. Our suspect's name is Mariko Hyodo. Oh, and wait for it? She's the mayor of Sapporo Central." Zenkichi said as Goro and Kusa's eyes both widened at Zenkichi's reveal about the group's potential next target as they simultaneously spoke up.

"WHAAAAAAAT!?" Goro and Kusa both said in shock as Futaba spoke up with her own eyes widened slightly behind her glasses.

"Our target's a mayor!?" Futaba asked as Sojiro groaned and spoke up.

"Shit. Why is it, every time a new threat emerges, there ALWAYS seems to be at least one crooked ass politician tossed in the mix somewhere?" Sojiro deadpanned as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Preach, Sojiro! I couldn't agree with you more on that. Of course, Goro and I might be slightly biased in finding crooked politicians to be the worst sort of scum, for obvious reasons." Kusa said sagely as Goro nodded his agreement while a wide-eyed Ann spoke up.

"No way! Wouldn't that make her the most influential person in Sapporo?" Ann asked as Goro huffed and spoke up.

"Nooo, it'd totally make her the town jester. Yes, it'd make her the most influential person in Sapporo. I thought that was obvious, Ann. Or is there some truth to the old scientific theory about dumb blondes?" Goro said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Goro? I'm gonna stop you right there, for your own good. That theory is nothing but factually incorrect horse shit. Also, I wouldn't be insulting blondes like that if I were you, my dear foolish older brother. Or do I need to remind you that Haru is technically considered close to being a dark strawberry blonde?" Kusa said sagely. Goro winced and spoke up.

"Good point, Kusa. I apologize for what I said just now then. I was just stating what I heard. I meant no offense to anyone in this room by it." Goro said calmly. Yusuke spoke up with a frown.

"Anyways, moving back to the main topic here. How could someone like that be a Monarch!?" Yusuke said as Sumire spoke up with a frown.

"Why the tone of surprise, Yusuke? If I recall correctly, we had a Palace Ruler who was a piece-of-shit politician. Or am I wrong that Kusa and Goro's dad was a Palace ruler?" Sumire said as Goro and Kusa both winced at the reference to Shido. Goro then spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Sumire. But at the same time, I'm sure there's a difference between a politician being a Palace ruler and a politician being a Monarch." Goro said as Ren spoke up with a pensive look on his face.

"That's a good point, Goro. But at the same time, I feel I must agree with Sumire. Shido wasn't so different." Ren pointed out as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Fair point, Ren. This is true. Such things have happened before." Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up.

"How'd you find out she's the one?" Ryuji asked as Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"How? That's easy. Because everyone in town is suddenly in love with her. Mayor Hyodo's approval rating now sits at a lofty 88%. She gained fifty points in the last two months alone." Zenkichi said as a wide-eyed Makoto spoke up.

"Did you say fifty!?" Makoto said as Futaba spoke up, her eyes also slightly wide behind her glasses.

"So she got crazy popular outta nowhere?" Futaba asked as Makoto frowned before speaking up.

"That's an understatement, Futaba. Fifty points in two months isn't just crazy, it's unheard of." Makoto said as Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"There's more, too. Last month, three city councilmen who opposed her bill admitted to corruption and resigned. Any remaining councilmen who opposed her suddenly became her most fervent advocates. Not to mention, the election's coming up. It's all too convenient. And rumor has it, Hyodo wants to expand her political influence to the national level. PubSec's been investigating that as well, but alas. We haven't run across any solid leads just yet. So, what do you make of all this?" Zenkichi asked as Ren and Kusa exchanged a look before both nodded as Ren spoke up.

"When you present all the facts like that, it can really only mean one thing. Someone's changing hearts here in Sapporo." Ren said sagely as Kusa nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Indeed. We don't know for a fact that it's Mayor Hyodo, but at the same time, it would make sense if it was her. Unless she has someone on her payroll who is the Monarch, which I doubt. The last two Monarchs you took down weren't anyone's underlings to my knowledge, unless you count Natsume's editors as his bosses. So that lends a lot of credence to your idea of Hyodo being a Monarch, Zenkichi." Kusa said wisely. Zenkichi smiled at how perceptive Ren and Kusa were as he nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Bingo. And that's where you come in." Zenkichi said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"I see. It is suspicious, I will admit." Yusuke said as Morgana spoke up from next to Futaba, who was sitting up in the cubby bunk again.

"But we'd need a keyword to confirm whether she's a Monarch or not." Morgana said as Zenkichi smiled and spoke up.

"I understand that. But that won't be a problem. She's already referenced EMMA several times in her speeches. Meaning there's a good chance she's been announcing her keyword in public." Zenkichi said as Ann spoke up in understanding.

"So, if I understand you correctly, you're saying we can find out her keyword if we go see her speak?" Ann asked Zenkichi, who nodded and spoke up.

"Very likely, yes. In fact, Kyodo's going to be in Suzushino on the 10th making a speech. And since it's close to the election, the crowds may well be in the thousands." Zenkichi said as Ryuji's eyes widened and he spoke up.

"For real? That's a grip in terms of people, isn't it?" Ryuji asked as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. Also, if she is indeed changing people's hearts, then perhaps this is no surprise." Yusuke said as Haru sighed and spoke up.

"Hmm, why does that name sound familiar to me?" Haru mused to herself. At that time, both Goro and Makoto looked at her in concern as the latter spoke up.

"Is something wrong, Haru?" Makoto asked as Haru spoke up.

"No, it's just that, Mm. How do I put this? This is hard to explain. Mariko, err, Hyodo, was it? I can't put my finger on why, but the name feels familiar somehow." Haru said as Ann spoke up.

"That's not surprising. I mean, she is the mayor of this town. Maybe you've heard her name on TV?" Ann said as Haru spoke up with a nod.

"Possibly, but I'm not sure if that's it. Umm, sorry. Let's put that aside for now." Haru said as Zenkichi spoke up with a firm look on his face.

"Fair enough. One bit of advice, though? Whatever you do, don't try and contact her directly. I'm saying this to keep you safe. It'll be a downright pain in the ass if she finds out we're on to her. I suggest you enjoy your leisure time until the day of the speech." Zenkichi said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"That's more than fair, Zenkichi. And I can understand your position quite well in this. Nothing is a bigger pain in the ass than having your best-laid plans blow up in your face over one minor snafu or miscalculation. We'll do our best to avoid direct contact with the target until the day of the speech." Kusa said as Makoto turned to Ren and spoke up while Zenkichi nodded his understanding of Kusa's words.

"Umm, hey, Ren? Should we tell him what happened with Ichinose-san? She's an important part of our investigation now." Makoto said, making Goro, who heard the question, groan at the reference to Ichinose before he spoke up.

"Oh, lovely. And here I thought we'd get through at least one city without having her brought up." Goro deadpanned as Kusa spoke up.

"Now, now. I know you hate her, Goro. But you agreed with the others that we needed to keep her at arm's length for the time being. But if she tries anything against us, you and I will punish her for it together. I promise you that." Kusa said as Goro smiled slyly, agreeing with Kusa's remark while Ren spoke up.

"I suppose so. Yeah, he should probably know." Ren said decisively as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"All right." Makoto said as Zenkichi frowned at this exchange of words and spoke up.

"Umm, you two have somethin' you wanna share?" Zenkichi said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. It's a bit of a long story, though." Ren said as Goro scoffed and spoke up.

"A long story!? Hardly. I can sum it up for Zenkichi in three or four sentences. To start, we, or rather everyone in the group aside from myself, Kusa, and Sojiro, who were also there but keeping our distance from the others at the time on Kusa's insistence, got approached by a chick with a bad monologuing problem while having some beef bowls in Sendai. Next, she calls those guys out because Morgana got himself heard by her.

After that, Kuon Ichinose, which is the name of the aforementioned monologuing chick, approaches us at Konoe's lecture and tells us she heard us talking about Phantom Thief stuff and the Metaverse, and informs us shortly after that she was the one who made EMMA in the first place. In the end, to make a long story short, we cut a deal with her to keep her at arm's length since the others believe that she could be of use to us at some point. Does that answer your question, Zenkichi?" Goro said succinctly as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Damn, Goro. I forgot that you weren't one to mince words for a second there. But that reminded me of that fact in rather epic fashion." Kusa said as a wide-eyed Zenkichi spoke up.

"WHAT!? You made a deal with the inventor of EMMA!? Wait, hold on. That's Kuon Ichinose, you said? Where have I heard that before that I'd recognize it? Ohh, right I remember now. She was on my report. Ichinose's the one who wrote EMMA from scratch." Zenkichi said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Were you lookin' into her?" Ryuji asked as Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"I was looking into Madicce, actually. It wasn't long before her name popped up. 'The famous inventor who sold off EMMA to Madicce.' Tell me, how'd you get cozy with someone like that?" Zenkichi asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Goro already told you. She at first ran into Ren and the others at a beef bowl restaurant in Sendai, all while Sojiro, my brother, and I tried to maintain our distance from them until the time was right, where she called them out because Ryuji and Morgana were being loud and drawing attention. And then to cap things off, Ryuji tried to feed Ichinose some crock of shit story about how they were making cat impressions. At least to Ryuji's credit, he kept his head for the most part. Anyways, she left at that point.

We then re-encountered her during the lecture that Konoe gave over at Toho University. She stopped us afterwards and said she overheard us talking about EMMA and Jails, though she gave us some story about how she learned to pick up a cat meowing, meaning Morgana once again drew her attention to us." Kusa said, fixing the now-wincing cat in question with a disappointed look as he kept speaking.

"From there, it became easier to just go along with things, and then Ren had the idea of letting Ichinose into the loop on some things, which led to us cutting a deal with her where she helps us get dirt on who modified EMMA to be able to access Jails while we, in turn, provide her with any junk parts we come across, which she agreed to buy for a generous price from us. So really, it was Ryuji and Morgana's fault that we 'got cozy with her' as you put it, Zenkichi." Kusa said sagely, ignoring the twin shouts of 'MY FAULT!?' from Ryuji and Morgana behind him as Ann spoke up.

"So to answer your question Zenkichi, I guess it just sorta happened?" Ann said as Sojiro spoke up.

"No, we're going with Kusa's story. Not only is it true, but it's believable." Sojiro said as Sumire spoke up for the first time in a bit.

"Even if Kusa did leave out the part where Goro was joking around about killing Ichinose and hiding the body when Ren asked what we should do." Sumire said as Kusa and Goro blanched at what Sumire had just said before they both spoke up.

"SUMIRE! NOT IN FRONT OF ZENKICHI!" Goro and Kusa both rebuked Sumire in unison while Futaba giggled at the twin annoyed looks Goro and Kusa were aiming at Sumire. While Sumire was wincing at the simultaneous dressing-down she'd gotten from Kusa and Goro, Makoto spoke up.

"It doesn't matter how it happened. What matters is her familiarity with EMMA. If anyone abuses it, she could help us find out who and why." Makoto said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Exactly. Whatever we might think of her, and by we I mean Goro mostly, one thing is for sure. Only Ichinose knows EMMA's ins and outs, no matter what version it is." Futaba said as Kusa spoke up.

"That's true. But we still haven't ruled out the chance that it was Ichinose herself who is our mystery observer. After all, am I the only one who finds it very suspect that Ichinose found herself in financial trouble right when Madicce came to town looking to buy a new project? I feel like the timing of that fits together a bit too well to be mere coincidence. However, I lack any hard proof that the two are connected at this point." Kusa said as Zenkichi blinked but nodded as he spoke up.

"That's a fair point, Kusa. And that makes sense, Futaba. The report didn't make her out to be somebody dangerous. And while she does sound like a valuable source of info, I really want you guys to be more careful about this operation. At least Goro and Kusa are smart enough to be wary about things. Though I dunno how I feel about Goro joking around about murder." Zenkichi said as Kusa spoke up.

"Yes, well, in Goro's defense, he and I had a pretty screwed-up father who wasn't really there for either one of us while we were growing up. So Goro here had to basically grow up without much in the way of reliable male role models. So he might be just a teensy bit jaded and twisted as a result." Kusa said as Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"Very well. In that case, I suppose I'll overlook it, this time. Don't expect me to always be so lenient about that sort of thing, however. That said, I'm trusting you guys a lot by sharing all this classified intel. So I'd prefer you don't go creating liabilities behind my back." Zenkichi said as Kusa smirked before Makoto spoke up.

"I see. Understood. We'll take your advice to heart." Makoto said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Good. And besides, I don't mind you making deals with others, but shouldn't I be your go-to guy for help? To be honest, seeing you guys run off making confidants left and right makes me feel like a lonely old man!" Zenkichi said honestly as Futaba winced and spoke up.

"Yeesh, Zenkichi. Are you trying to gain our trust, or get attention?" Futaba asked as Kusa spoke up with a smirk.

"Why couldn't it be that he's doing both, Taba? I feel like he could be trying to get both our trust AND our attention at the same time." Kusa said sagely as Ryuji spoke up.

"Good point, Kusa. And I'm sorry, as much as I hate to say it, Gramps, but we do shit on our own 'cause your help only gets us so far." Ryuji said as Zenkichi frowned and spoke up.

"What? It's not my fault I'm not an expert on all this cognitive mumbo-jumbo. And would it kill you to ditch the 'Gramps'? I'm as fly as any one of you kids!" Zenkichi said as Kusa winced before speaking up.

"Free word of advice, Zenkichi? Nobody uses the word 'fly' anymore, except for Ryuji the one time he said it on the way to school." Kusa said as Ann spoke up.

"Uhhh...what?" Ann said as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"Mmhm, I agree with Kusa and Ann." Makoto said as Zenkichi frowned and spoke up.

"At least say something! Or is Kusa over there the only one of you with manners?" Zenkichi said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"You know as well as I do that's not true, Zenkichi. Or do I need to point out the time Sumire stood up for you before?" Ren pointed out, getting a grateful smile from Sumire for his efforts. Ren then got a mischievous smile on his face as he kept speaking.

"Also, I can't help but point out how much that goatee of yours is a real statement." Ren said with a mischievous smile. Zenkichi frowned at this and spoke up, though the sheer amount of near-crying in his tone had Goro and Kusa both stifling laughter as Zenkichi spoke.

"I don't need your pity!" Zenkichi said huffily as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.

"Dude, you're the one bringin' it up, Zenkichi." Ryuji said. Zenkichi got to his feet and spoke up with a huff.

"Never mind that! Point is, there's a speech on the 10th, and I'm counting on you to be there." Zenkichi said before turning on his heel and stalking off. After he was gone, the group changed seats so that Ryuji, Ren and Yusuke were on one side of the seats, Ann, Makoto, and Haru were on the other, both Sophia and Morgana were on the table, the former in Sumire's phone, and then Sumire was leaning on the ladder that Yusuke had vacated while Goro and Sojiro leaned in to listen from the front and driver's seats, while a contently smiling Futaba sat on Kusa's lap as the two sat on the chair that Zenkichi had previously sat in across from Yusuke. Makoto then frowned and spoke up.

"I wish there was something we could do until then, truth be told. I'm not a fan of waiting." Makoto said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"What else can we do but be prepared and keep ourselves in top condition?" Haru said as Kusa spoke up from his spot on the chair.

"That's one option. Another option is, if someone brought a sufficient deck of playing cards, we could play a few rounds of Tycoon for fun. Alternatively, if someone brought a means to do so, we could put some music on at one point before the 10th and do a bit of dancing to blow some steam off." Kusa suggested as Ryuji and Ren both cheered at the mention of Tycoon as the latter spoke up.

"Good idea, Kusa. I'd have said strip Tycoon, but not only would that be rather awkward for Sojiro, but I'm not sure how comfortable people are with that if they're not sightly tipsy like they were the last time we played the King's Game." Ren said as Sumire's eyes widened before she spoke up.

"Wait, King's Game? Do we have chopsticks and a means to mark them? We could do that too." Sumire suggested as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"We could, but isn't the King's Game sort of a drinking game?" Kusa asked warily. Goro nodded and spoke up.

"As far as I know, it is a drinking game. Granted, it's more nominally a party game than a drinking game, but the common convention is that it's played drunk. So I'm not sure that's an option unless we can create a non-alcoholic version of the game." Goro said as Kusa spoke up.

"But that was just a suggestion, anyways. I think Strip Tycoon is a way better idea anyways, though we'd have to have a singles' table that plays normal Tycoon for Sojiro, Morgana, and both Ann and Yusuke since their girlfriends aren't here. Though, come to think of it, excluding Sophia since she lives in Sumire's phone and cannot play with us unless we play the game in the Metaverse where Sophia has a solid form, we have just enough people for three tables of four. So if one table is Sojiro, Ann, Yusuke, and Morgana, then that would leave two tables that would be made up of Ren, Sumire, Ryuji, Makoto, Futaba, myself, Haru, and Goro, assuming the latter two want to partake this time." Kusa said as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"We could be persuaded into it, I think. But I dunno if Haru would be comfortable with it, mostly because I don't know how comfortable she is with such things as taking her clothes off and being indecent around others." Goro teased as Haru pouted and spoke up.

"Are you teasing me, Goro? While I appreciate you trying to see things my way, I can so strip around others if needed. I just choose not to since there's usually not a reason to. So if you need players for this 'Strip Tycoon' you speak of, then I'm in." Haru said defiantly as Goro silently pumped a fist happily before he spoke up.

"As you wish, Haru. But I'm not sure we're actually playing Strip Tycoon at this point or not. Regular Tycoon, probably, but not Strip Tycoon most likely, unless it's unanimous that we want to do that." Goro said sagely as Morgana spoke up.

"It's like Zenkichi said earlier, Goro. Let's enjoy our leisure time and make the most of our trip. If that means we explore the area, maybe do a bit of dancing and/or Tycoon type stuff, and maybe even a variant of the King's Game, then so be it. Though I have a pretty good guess as to why Kusa suggested what he did." Morgana said slyly as Kusa shrugged and spoke up.

"What? Excuse me for trying to think of enjoyable ways for us to make the most of our leisure time." Kusa said non-chalantly. Ryuji spoke up.

"Hey, since we're in Hokkaido, we should chow down on seafood!" Ryuji said as Goro frowned and spoke up.

"That's not a bad idea, Ryuji. But what about those of us who aren't fans of seafood?" Goro asked, subtly nodding his head towards Kusa. Ryuji spoke up.

"Eh, if I know Kusa, he'll find himself something to chow on. He usually does." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"He's not wrong. And I do eat seafood occasionally. Or did you forget that I partook of that takoyaki with you guys during the Shujin festival a few years ago?" Kusa pointed out as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. I forgot about that." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up.

"If we can't agree on seafood, I hear that Hokkaido soup curry is also not to be missed." Yusuke said as Kusa spoke up.

"Soup curry, you say? That does sound intriguing." Kusa said agreeably. Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Truthfully, I'd like to visit the former government office. Their flowers are supposed to be breathtaking." Haru said as Goro muttered what sounded suspiciously like 'but are they as breathtaking as you are?' under his breath as Sophia spoke up for the first time in a bit with a 'BIP!' of Sumire's phone.

"Okay. Then I'll set a route that takes us to each of those destinations." Sophia said as Ann spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Thanks, Sophia! The directions are all yours tomorrow!" Ann said as Futaba blanched at this and spoke up.

"What? B-But, isn't navigating supposed to be my job?" Futaba said in a whiny tone. Kusa chuckled and lightly wrapped his arms around Futaba's waist comfortingly from behind as he spoke up.

"Chill, Taba. It is your job. Sophia just so happens to be good at real-world directions, that's all. But she could never take your place as our guide in the Metaverse, and she knows it. So don't worry that pretty head of yours so much, yeah?" Kusa said comfortingly as he leaned in to sneak a kiss onto Futaba's cheek, making her blush but smile at Kusa as she spoke up.

"That's true. I am our go-to for navigating the Metaverse, aren't I? You're right. Thanks, Kusa." Futaba said before slyly smirking as she kept speaking.

"Actually, are we done here? If so, I believe I asked Kusa to take me on a little walk around Hokkaido at night, just the two of us." Futaba said as Ren spoke up.

"Yeah, we're good here. You two go on and have fun." Ren said as Sojiro glared at Kusa and spoke up.

"But not TOO MUCH fun. I know you two are already fooling around together, but at least try to use some self-restraint. And Futaba? If I hear about you two getting yourselves kicked out of another bathhouse, I'm going to be severely disappointed in you two." Sojiro said as Futaba giggled and spoke up.

"Chill out, Sojiro. Kusa and I will be good." Futaba said as she took Kusa by the hand and the two left the trailer. Once they were gone, Ren spoke up.

"Well, since they took off, maybe we should bring an end to our meeting for tonight? We can always reconvene tomorrow if we need to figure anything else out. I say for now, we take advantage of our free time and maybe hang out or something." Ren suggested as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"Ooh, why don't we go out and look at the sky together or something, Ren? We can always leave Sophia here, since she's sort of living inside my phone, and have Morgana remain behind to keep her company, sort of like a little mini-date of sorts?" Sumire suggested as Ren nodded his agreement as he and Sumire exited the RV hand-in-hand after Morgana nodded his agreement and Sumire set her phone down next to Morgana, who promised to keep Sophia company while Ren and Sumire were gone.

Once Ren and Sumire left, the next ones to leave the RV were Ryuji and Makoto, along with Goro and a shyly smiling Haru. At that point, Sojiro turned to Ann, Sophia, Morgana, and Yusuke, who were the only other ones left in the RV, and spoke up.

"Well, I guess it's just us for now. Do we want to go find things to do individually, or did we just want to hang out together?" Sojiro asked as Yusuke spoke up.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like it could be worth my time to do a bit of stargazing perhaps, on the off chance that it could give me artistic inspiration." Yusuke said as Ann spoke up.

"True. And then while you do that, the rest of us can walk around and explore the town at night or something." Ann suggested as the others nodded and dispersed to enjoy their separate activities, with the exceptions of Morgana and Sophia who had elected to remain behind in the RV and hang out while the former of the two decided to 'hold down the fort', so to speak...

(At the same time that everyone else was dispersing for their own activities, at the bathhouse in Suzushino with Kusa and Futaba)

"Okay, you got us here, Taba. But did you make sure no one else was in here? I'm quite sure you don't want us getting caught mid-way through our fun again like we did in the Yongen bathhouse, plus that one that I took you to in Okinawa the time we went there together about two years ago." Kusa said as Futaba spoke up.

"Relax, Kusa. I double-checked earlier. No one goes in here past like 9 or so, and I believe it should now be about a quarter past nine, meaning we have the place to ourselves, in theory. Luckily I got us some pre-paid tickets to go in ahead of time." Futaba said as the two walked over to the entrance and flashed their tickets, getting them into the bathhouse, where Futaba giggled and snuck an amused Kusa into the girls' side before she pushed him up against the wall while locking the door and looking into his eyes rather lustfully.

*M-RATED CONTENT STARTS HERE. IF YOU DON'T LIKE READING THIS SORT OF STUFF OR CAN'T HANDLE LEMONS, SKIP DOWN TO THE SECTION LABELED **END OF M-RATED CONTENT** TO CONTINUE READING THE STORY, OTHERWISE YOU KEEP READING PAST HERE AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! M-RATED CONTENT STARTS NOW!*

"Well, well, where have I seen this before? Ah, I remember now. This is just how you looked the last time I backed you up against a wall rather suggestively. Your face is so red right now, Kusa. But maybe it's just because it's me? Mwehehe." Futaba said as she pulled Kusa into a heated kiss, which he eagerly returned as he looked into Futaba's eyes and spoke up.

"I take it you're in the mood for that, then?" Kusa said as Futaba nodded once before she started boldly removing her clothes in front of Kusa, eventually stopping once she was bare naked, making a blushing Kusa smirk at Futaba's bold move before letting her watch as he removed his own clothes, smirking as he saw Futaba lick her lips in anticipation as she watched Kusa's naked body slowly be revealed. Once they were both naked, Futaba slyly sidled up to Kusa as she led him into the hot tub, setting him down on a ledge as she knelt down so she was looking right at Kusa's rather erect manhood, giggling as she spoke up.

"Yep, I'm not surprised you have that reaction to me still. I'm glad for it, truthfully. But I think for right now I want to take you in my mouth for a bit." Futaba said slyly as she leaned in to take Kusa's length into her mouth and eagerly suck on it, bobbing her head up and down as she did so for effect, making Kusa moan huskily as he felt Futaba licking his shaft inside of her mouth, smirking at her as he saw her head bobbing back and forth eagerly as she went to work.

This had the additional result of making Kusa smirk as he lightly pressed his hand to the top of Futaba's head, making her look up at Kusa in confusion before smiling as she felt Kusa gently yet sensually thrusting into her mouth, making her smile as she spoke up, her tongue rubbing on Kusa's length as she spoke up.

"Mwehehe, I see how it is. You're trying to give me better access to your shaft, aren't you? I like it. Keep going." Futaba said as she smiled and sucked on Kusa's shaft a bit as she wrapped her tongue around it suggestively to stroke his length while Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"You're lucky you look so damn sexy with my erect manhood in your mouth like that, Futaba. Otherwise this would just be silly and quirky. But it's you, so I'll allow it." Kusa said as Futaba smiled and kept going, smiling as she occasionally felt Kusa's tip poking the back of her throat as he thrusted, but he mostly thrusted into her tongue that was wrapped around his length, making him groan as he felt his shaft twitch inside of Futaba's tongue as she kept sucking on him, making Kusa smirk as he kept thrusting. After a while, Kusa gave off a very husky and throaty moan as he spoke up.

"Ooh, that's nice. You keep doing that much longer, and I might just be liable to explode in your mouth." Kusa said as Futaba slyly smiled and kept going. After a few more minutes, Kusa arched back as he spoke up, his eyes subconsciously closing in euphoria while he spoke up.

"YESSSS! OH, HELL YES! I'M COMIN', TABA!" Kusa said huskily as he felt himself release inside of Futaba's mouth, load after load shooting out down the back of Futaba's throat, which is where his tip had been aimed, making Futaba smile happily as she felt Kusa's seed slide down her throat, slowly heading towards her stomach. After a bit, Futaba slowly slid Kusa out of her mouth, smirking at the trail of white left in her mouth as she swallowed every bit of it before smirking as she spoke up.

"And now that I've gotten my fill, time for you to stick it in me, Kusa." Futaba said as Kusa nodded and used the fact that Futaba's entrance was still slick with her sweat to his advantage to easily slide his length into Futaba's entrance, burying himself inside of her up to the hilt as he started thrusting into her, making Futaba moan happily as she felt Kusa thrusting into her.

"Oooh, yesss! Keep going, Kusa! I want to feel you pounding me like a damn bongo drum! Make me scream your name when you drive me over that damn edge into sweet fucking release! I want everyone to know who I belong to!" Futaba said slyly as Kusa nodded, pulling Futaba into a heated kiss for a bit as his hands busied themselves caressing and massaging his girlfriend's pert and perky breasts, making her moan happily as she let Kusa lavish attention on her. After a while, Futaba moaned and spoke up, blushing as she felt Kusa take one of her breasts into his mouth to eagerly suck on it, making her moan happily as she spoke.

"Oh god, that feels so fucking nice! Keep going, Kusa! I'm startin' to get close!" Futaba said as Kusa obliged, thrusting into her as fast and furious as he could, enjoying the sight of Futaba's small C-cup breasts bouncing up and down enticingly as Futaba's chest heaved in time with her moans. After a few more minutes, Futaba moaned loudly and spoke up as she arched backwards.

"Kusa, I think I'm comin'!" Futaba said as she felt her walls clench down on Kusa, who had also been close to another release, driving them both over the edge simultaneously, making them yell out each others' names in a mix of ecstacy and euphoria while they both reached their climaxes, Futaba's walls clenching on Kusa's cock and coating it with her juices as she released.

Afterwards, Kusa felt himself release another half dozen loads into Futaba's walls, feeling her entire inner walls be covered in his release, Kusa's cock limply slid out of Futaba's entrance, leaving a few stray trails of white to linger in the water, which Futaba dutifully licked up to get them out of the water as she swallowed what she'd licked out of the water before pulling Kusa into one last lingering kiss before smiling as she looked into his eyes as the two cuddled together after their lovemaking bout. After smiiing down at Futaba, Kusa spoke up contentedly.

*M-RATED CONTENT ENDS HERE. THE STORY RESUMES FROM HERE IF YOU SKIPPED THE PRECEDING LEMON**

"Wow, that was an experience we just had, wasn't it?" Kusa said as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed it was. But it was a glorious experience, if only because I got to feel you shoot your seed down both of my main orifices tonight. And I know you enjoyed staring at my tits as they bounced up and down for you. I also enjoyed watching you caressing my tits, Kusa. You're always so gentle and considerate of them when you do that." Futaba said slyly as Kusa spoke up.

"Yes, well, excuse me for wanting to appreciate the fact that my girlfriend is the sexiest girl I've ever seen." Kusa said slyly as he pulled Futaba in close to him as he sat her in his lap, letting his tip tease her entrance a bit as she sat on his lap. Futaba smiled as she teasingly wiggled her ass on his crotch, enjoying the shocked look on Kusa's face from her bold actions as the two made out for a bit. Afterwards, the two got out and got dressed before continuing their walk...

(Time skip-the next day, outside of the former government office in Sapporo Central, with Futaba, Kusa, Yusuke, Makoto, Sojiro, Ann, Ryuji, Ren, Morgana, Sumire, Sophia, Goro, and Haru)

"Check it out! It's actually pretty hip for such an old place!" Ann said in surprise as the group looked around the rather well-kept building that was the site of the former location of the Sapporo Central government office. Makoto nodded as she spoke up.

"Of course. After all, it was once the main office for the Hokkaido government. Now it remains a symbol for the island, and an important cultural property." Makoto said as Goro spoke up with a nod.

"Very true, Makoto. However, what isn't mentioned is that this was also a popular gathering place for all manner of politicians at one time in the past. I would know, given I used to have to meet Shido-san here periodically for briefings while he was still in power. Apparently, Shido was pretty tight with the mayor of this town who was in office before Hyodo-san took over. Not sure why he was, but apparently he was." Goro said as Kusa spoke up.

"No doubt, Shido likely cooked up all manner of insidious schemes with the former mayor, whoever they were. But still, even with the fact that Mariko Hyodo might be scum, I will admit that she knows how to keep a very pristine and picturesque ship running during her tenure as mayor." Kusa said as a smiling Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, I quite agree. Simply marvelous. There's a stillness and symmetry here that ignites my artist's soul!" Yusuke said as Futaba winced and spoke up.

"Of course you'd find the garden artistically stimulating, Inari. Why am I not surprised?" Futaba asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Probably because you've gotten used to his quirks by now?" Kusa said with a shrug as Futaba nodded while Haru smiled and spoke up.

"That makes sense. Also, not only does Mariko-san keep a well-maintained city, but this place is pristine. And not only that, the garden is so lovely right now. How many kinds of flowers do you think there are?" Haru asked as Sojiro looked around and spoke up.

"No clue, Haru. But if I had to guess? I'd say a lot." Sojiro said before Haru nodded and saw a commotion nearby and spoke up.

"Oh? What's going on over there, I wonder?" Haru said as the group turned to see a frowning woman glaring at a glasses-wearing employee in a business suit that was black with a white undershirt as well as black dress shoes, giving the employee a disapproving glare as she spoke up.

"This flower is completely wilted! How could you overlook this!?" The angry woman rebuked the man, who spoke up pitifully.

"Ma'am, I'm so sorry! It's just, this summer's been much hotter than last year, so it's difficult to keep up with the watering at times." The rebuked employee said as the angry man glared and spoke up.

"Spare me your excuses. This flowerbed is one of the city's main points of attraction. Have you forgotten you work for the most powerful woman in Sapporo Central? Perhaps you won't forget for much longer, especially if this costs you your job." The angry woman said as the rebuked man winced and spoke up.

"Please, no! I'll do anything to fix this!" The rebuked man said as the angry woman huffed and spoke up.

"SILENCE! You can keep your eyes glued to these flowers around the clock for all I care! Just DO NOT let this happen again!" The angry woman said as the rebuked man gratefully bowed and spoke up.

"Understood! Then that's what I'll do, Mayor!" The rebuked man said as Goro and Kusa exchanged a look and both mouthed 'Mayor!?' under their breath as Ryuji spoke up.

"Geez, whoever she is? That's one scary lady." Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up from in Ren's bag with a shocked look.

"Hold on to that thought, Ryuji. Was I hearing things just now, or did he just call her 'mayor'?" Morgana said as the angry woman turned to face the group, her expression suddenly becoming much more pleasant as she spoke up.

"What the-? Oh. Are you all here for sightseeing? I'm sorry you had to witness such unprofessional behavior from our staff during your visit." The angry woman, who may or may not be a mayor, said as Makoto winced and spoke up.

"Oh, no, that's quite all right." Makoto said appraisingly. The angry woman nodded and made to leave when she blinked on seeing Haru and walked over for a closer look.

"Hmm? Do I know you from somewhere?" The angry woman said before her eyes widened in recognition after she looked Haru over, not seeing the skeptical look in Goro's eyes next to Haru as she spoke up.

"Oh, wait. Could it be? You're the girl I knew from many years ago, aren't you? You're Haru-chan, correct?" The angry woman asked as the entire group gaped at this before a shocked Haru spoke up.

"Huh? You know me?" Haru asked as the angry woman suddenly smiled at Haru while speaking up with a closed-eye smile, missing the wary looks that Ren, Goro, and Kusa exchanged with one another as a result.

"Of course you wouldn't recognize me. You were tiny the last time I saw you. It's me, Mariko Hyodo. Your father, President Okumura, was a very good friend of mine." The now-named Hyodo said as Ann gasped and spoke up.

"Hyodo-san, eh? Wait, hold up, WHAT!? She's the mayor!?" Ann said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"So it would seem, Ann. But at the same time, she doesn't really strike me as being a Monarch. She might have been a bit harsh to that worker, but she seems like a civilized person otherwise." Kusa said warily, knowing that Hyodo's performance could be a facade to mask her true nature. Goro winced, realizing that this woman was seemingly putting on a facade, something he himself had ample experience with. Futaba's eyes widened as she spoke up.

"O-O-Okay guys, don't panic!" Futaba said as Kusa leaned in to whisper into Futaba's ear so only she could hear.

"Calm yourself, Taba. You're the only one panicking here. You need to keep calm and not panic." Kusa said as Haru's eyes widened in recognition before she spoke up.

"You know my father? Wait, hang on. Oh, no way! Could it be? Am I right in guessing that you're Mari-san?" Haru asked in surprise as Hyodo smiled at Haru and spoke up.

"Yes, yes! That's right! Oh, that lifts my heart! It's been so long since I last saw you, Haru-chan." Hyodo said as Makoto spoke up in surprise.

"Oh? Haru, do you know this lady?" Makoto asked as Haru nodded with a smile and spoke up.

"Yes, of course I do! She used to come visit me back when I was little! Mari-san was one of my father's clients. They used to go golfing all the time. And she'd always keep me company whenever I was bored or lonely." Haru said as Goro blinked and spoke up.

"Huh, it sounds like she was a mix of a mother figure and possibly a big sister to you then, Haru." Goro said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Goro. Though I'd definitely say she was moreso a mother figure." Haru said as a wide-eyed Ryuji spoke up.

"For real!? Damn, that's some frickin' coincidence, isn't it?" Ryuji said in surprise as a wide-eyed Morgana nodded and spoke up from inside Ren's bag.

"Whew. You got that right." Morgana said as Hyodo spoke up with a sympathetic look at Haru.

"Haru-chan, for what its worth? I'm so sorry about what happened to your father." Hyodo said kindly as Haru spoke up in surprise, a slight frown on her face at the mention of her late father.

"Oh, no, I'm fine, Mari-san. Thank you for your concern, though." Haru said as Hyodo nodded and spoke up.

"Of course. Well, if there's anything that's been troubling you, you know that I'm here for you with open arms." Hyodo said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"I appreciate you saying that, but I'm okay. I have good people managing my company, and I'm working hard to finish my degree. And while I'm grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful people, I still have to walk on my own two feet." Haru said as Hyodo smiled proudly at Haru before speaking up.

"Haru-chan, how mature of you. My, how you've grown since I last saw you." Hyodo said before shocking not only Haru, but both Kusa and Goro, by walking forward to wrap a stunned Haru in a hug, making Haru's cheeks pink slightly in embarrassment as she spoke up.

"Mari-san! I'm not a little kid anymore, but I appreciate the gesture." Haru said as Hyodo nodded and pulled away before speaking up with a closed-eye smile aimed at Haru.

"Aha, please forgive me. It seems my emotions got the better of me." Mariko said as Goro spoke up.

"Not to worry, Hyodo-san. It happens to the best of us." Goro said from next to Haru as Hyodo nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, young man. Now then, are you here visiting with your friends, Haru-chan? I hope you're all enjoying Sapporo to the fullest." Hyodo said as the group nodded before Kusa spoke up.

"Naturally. We're here together to see all the sights that Sapporo has to offer since we're on a road trip together." Kusa said as Hyodo nodded and spoke up.

"Good, that's good. You should be making the most of your lives while you're young. And rest assured, my staff is working hard to make Sapporo a beautiful and worthwhile destination for all." Hyodo said before she turned to the still-bowing employee and spoke up with a frown.

"Don't just stare at the ground! Replace these hideous flowers at once!" Hyodo rebuked the employee, who yelped and spoke up.

"Y-Yes, ma'am! I'm on it!" The employee said as he scurried off, leaving Hyodo to scoff as she spoke up.

"Gah! Goodness, these people are useless. The moment I turn away, they all start slacking off." Hyodo said to herself before blinking as she recalled she wasn't alone and spoke up sheepishly.

"Ahh, I'm sorry you had to see that. Now, as much as I'd like to keep chatting, there are preparations to be done. After all, this election has kept me busy night and day. But do let me know if there's any way I can help you." Hyodo said before she turned on her heel and walked off abruptly, leaving Haru to sigh as she watched the back of the departing Hyodo. Makoto winced and spoke up.

"Sorry to be so blunt, Haru, but she seems really two-faced." Makoto said as Goro spoke up approvingly.

"Ah, so I wasn't the only one who got the 'creepy, self-serving' vibe off of Hyodo, then?" Goro asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Pretty sure we all did, other than maybe Sophia and Haru. Also, you forgot to include the bit about how she seems quite ruthless." Kusa said sagely as Sumire spoke up.

"Not to mention, she seemed to be quite harsh on her underlings. I hate to say this, particularly in light of how close Hyodo-san seems to be to Haru-senpai, but I think it's a pretty safe bet that Hyodo is a Monarch. Mind, we still have to get her keyword to confirm that for sure." Sumire said sagely as Haru spoke up with a sigh.

"It's okay, Mako-chan and Sumire-chan. I thought the same thing. Believe it or not, she used to be quite kind when she'd visit me and my father when I was younger. But this Mari-san we just met? She doesn't seem anything like the one I remember. Mari-san, what happened to you? You used to be so kind to everyone you met, but now you seem almost cold and ruthless. It's almost sad to think about how you've changed." Haru said as Ann winced and spoke up.

"I doubt it, but do you guys think maybe she's not the Monarch we're after?" Ann asked as Sojiro frowned and spoke up.

"After the way she all but tore that poor employee's head off over some flowers? I'd be shocked if she wasn't a Monarch, Ann." Sojiro said wisely as Goro and Kusa nodded their agreement. Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Right, Sojiro? And Ann, I dunno. As Sojiro pointed out, we just saw her go apeshit on that guy. Normal people don't get pissed over plants." Ryuji said as Ann saw the look on Haru's face and spoke up.

"Are you okay, Haru?" Ann asked as Haru spoke up with a nod.

"Yes, I'm fine, Ann. I'm just a little surprised, that's all." Haru said honestly as Goro frowned at that, but didn't challenge Haru on it, knowing it wouldn't be worth angering Haru, even if he disagreed with Haru saying she was fine. Goro could tell at a glance that Haru was clearly hurting after having seen someone she knew as a child being revealed to be not only a Monarch, but to possibly also be corrupt. Goro was able to empathize with the pain of having someone close to him turn out to be messed up, given who his father turned out to be. Haru blinked before her eyes widened in realization and she spoke up.

"Oh, shoot! We forgot about Mari-san's keyword, didn't we? Sorry I didn't get it, you guys. I was, shall we say, preoccupied with finding out that I knew her from when I was little." Haru said as Sumire smiled kindly and spoke up.

"That's okay, Haru. We understand that you had other things on your mind." Sumire said as Ren nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Sumire's right. You have no reason to be sorry, Haru. After all, if all goes to plan, we'll get it soon enough, so don't feel bad for not getting it for us just now." Ren said kindly. Makoto nodded her agreement as she spoke up.

"Yeah, it's like we discussed. We'll hear it when she gives her speech." Makoto said as Morgana nodded and spoke up from Ren's bag.

"Makoto's right. Our chance will come to get her keyword soon enough. For today, let's go around asking for rumors on Hyodo and make that our objective." Morgana said as Haru nodded with a soft smile and spoke up.

"Yes, I agree. I'd like to find out what changed her." Haru said as Goro looked at Haru and spoke up.

"And you'll find out soon enough, no doubt. Just be patient, Haru. I know this can't be easy for you, and I'm probably the last one you want to hear this from, but nothing good will come from being in a hurry to get answers. Besides, as much as I'm usually not one to say this, we're all here for you, Haru. So don't be afraid to lean on us if you need to. As much as I'm surprised by this, the truth is that I am also here for you, not that you probably want to be getting comfort or reassurance from me, of all people." Goro said as Kusa spoke up.

"Goro, are you still beating yourself up over that? None of us blame you for what you did anymore. You really need to learn to forgive yourself, bro. Or at least, you need to learn to let the past go, if you don't end up making peace with it. Dwelling on negatives is only going to consume you with darkness again, and I don't think you want to turn into the Black Mask again." Kusa said wisely as Goro nodded his agreement before Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Goro. I appreciate the kindness. I'll keep what you said in mind. And I agree with Kusa-kun, you can't keep beating yourself up. What's done is done." Haru said kindly as Goro nodded and the group dispersed to visit Suzushino to gather intel on Hyodo. Once it was just the two of them, Morgana looked at Ren and spoke up from inside of Ren's bag.

"Looks like there's all kinds of people here, Ren. Meaning there are all kinds of rumors, too. What we want is any kind of info that points to Mariko Hyodo being a Monarch. Let's go and get some info." Morgana said as the words 'BEGIN INVESTIGATION!' popped up on Ren's phone as he and Morgana nodded before preparing to start hunting for rumors on Hyodo. As the two prepared to start looking around, Ren's phone went off with a private chat from Yusuke that Ren opened up to view.

"Ren, there's been an emergency. Please come to the vending machine by the pharmacy immediately." Yusuke sent as Ren put his phone away in confusion while Morgana spoke up, having read the chat over Ren's shoulder.

"Did something happen to Yusuke? We might wanna go find him!" Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"Maybe after we finish checking the shops for leads." Ren said as he kept shopping. On stopping in to the seafood bowl shop, the chef spoke up.

"Huh? What do I think of the mayor? Sorry, but I couldn't tell ya. Politics ain't really my thing." The chef said as Ren nodded his understanding. After he finished his shopping, Ren and Morgana stopped to catch their breath while planning how best to continue seeking info on Hyodo...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! Hopefully I'm doing a good job of keeping most of the main plot of the arc interesting. I'll admit that I had a lot of different things happen during this chapter, but hopefully I did a good job with adapting them all. As anyone who's played canon Strikers at least once knows, this is the Jail where the Monarch has a past with Haru. And unlike the fifth Palace of Royal, this time Haru gets a generous portion of the spotlight in the arc focused on her. Hopefully I can do a good job pulling that off.

Also, as a heads-up? This arc is more than likely going to be when one of the new pairings I have in mind for Strikers actually happens, albeit probably close to the end. And before anyone asks about it, NO the lemon in this chapter probably wasn't necessary, but I felt like putting it in there. So yeah, it is what it is there.

Anyways, thanks as always to everyone who supports this story, whether it be through reviews, PMs, or just by following/favoriting the story (and me as an author), as it means a great deal to see so much interest in my work. And if you have any feedback/suggestions/input/constructive criticism, feel free to share it in the reviews, or if you're uncomfortable with that, feel free to shoot me a PM with said feedback/suggestions/input/constructive criticism. I enjoy hearing from my readers either way, as it gives me valuable insight into if I'm doing a good job writing this or not. So yeah, feel free to make your voice heard. And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - Not as important as some of my notes in other chapters, but I couldn't help but have Ryuji say this remark here, since it's a sort of homage to two of the funniest YouTubers I've ever watched in some time, in the forms of MasaeAnela and Chaosinthesky13 (Again, if you need new playthroughs to watch on Youtube and/or Twitch, give Chaos' content a chance! Not only is he hilarious for the most part, his content is great! And Masae's content is pretty great too, even if I've not seen as many of her videos as I have Chaos' videos.)

Granted, I'm pretty sure the line Ryuji said was one I heard from Masae in her videos long before I heard Chaos say it, but they both said it, so credit for the line that Ryuji said belongs to both of them. In any case, feel free to give both their channels some love!

PHANTOM THIEVES LISTING AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 14 AND THE START OF ARC 3

JOKER (Ren) - Level: 30 Current Personas: Raoul (Level 18), Jack Frost (Level 30), Orthrus (Level 26), Mothman (Level 30), Ame-No-Uzume (Level 29), Kaiwan (Level 30), Lilim (Level 27) Equipped Persona: Kaiwan Persona Moveset: Concentrate (Support/Buff), Mapsio (Psy), Garula (Wind), Diarama (Healing), Bufula (Ice)

SKULL (Ryuji) - Level: 26 Current/Partner Persona: Seiten Taisei Persona Moveset: Zio (Elec), Lunge (Physical), Tarukaja (Support), Headbutt (Physical), Mazio (Elec), Rebel Soul (Passive), Zionga (Elec)

MONA (Morgana) - Level: 26 Current/Partner Persona: Diego Persona Moveset: Garu (Wind), Dia (Healing), Media (Healing), Magaru (Wind), Technical Adept (Passive), Recarm (Healing), Diarama (Healing), Garula (Wind)

PANTHER (Ann) - Level: 27 Current/Partner Persona: Hecate Persona Moveset: Agilao (Fire), Agi (Fire), Tarunda (Support/Debuff), Soul Thief (Passive), Maragi (Fire), Dekaja (Support/Debuff), Marin Karin (Ailment), Diarama (Healing)

FOX (Yusuke) - Level: 27 Current/Partner Persona: Kamu Susano-o Persona Moveset: Bufula (Ice), Freeze Boost (Passive), Sukukaja (Support/Buff), Knockdown Style (Passive), Giant Slice (Physical), Vicious Strike (Physical), Mabufu (Ice), Dodge Fire (Passive)

QUEEN (Makoto) - Level: 27 Current/Partner Persona: Anat Persona Moveset: Frei (Nuclear), Dia (Healing), Rakukaja (Support/Buff), Mafrei (Nuclear), Media (Healing), Sledgehammer (Physical), Diarama (Healing), Freila (Nuclear)

NOIR (Haru) - Level: 28 Current/Partner Persona: Astarte Persona Moveset: Psio (Psy), Evil Touch (Ailment), Snap (Gun), Hysterical Slap (Physical), Technical Adept (Passive), Amrita Drop (Healing), Mapsi (Psy), Gun Boost (Physical)

ORACLE (Futaba) - Level: 30 Current Personas: Al Azif and *REDACTED* Equipped Persona: Al Azif Persona Moveset: Analysis (Passive), Moral Support (Passive), Active Support (Passive), Moral Boost (Passive)

SEEKER (Sophia) - Level 26 Current 'Persona': Pithos Persona Moveset: Kouga? (Bless), Rakunda? (Support/Debuff), Diarama? (Healing), Makouha? (Bless), Media? (Healing), Bless Boost? (Passive), Tetraja? (Support/Barrier), Recarm? (Healing)

VIOLET (Sumire) - Level: 27 Current/Partner Persona: Ella Persona Moveset: Kouha (Bless), Cleave (Physical), Rebellion (Support/Buff), Dream Needle (Physical), Dia (Healing), Makouha (Bless), Recarm (Healing), Kouga (Bless)

DRACONIS (Kusa) - Level: 26 Current/Partner Persona- Malefor Persona Moveset: Double Fangs (Physical), Agi (Fire), Garu (Wind), Media (Healing), Rising Slash (Physical), Megido (Almighty), Vicious Strike (Physical), Almighty Boost (Passive)

CROW (Goro) - Level: 26 Current/Partner Persona: Hereward Persona Moveset: Eiha (Curse), Triple Down (Gun), Maeiha (Curse), Giant Slice (Physical), Rakunda (Support/Debuff), Mudo (Curse/insta-kill), Megido (Almighty), Eiga (Curse)

PENDRAGON (Sojiro) - Level: 26 Current/Partner Persona: Kohryu Persona Moveset: Psio (Psy), Headbutt (Physical), Psy Boost (Passive), Spell Master (Passive), Psy Wall (Support/Wall), Snap (Gun), Dekunda (Support/Buff), Mapsi (Psy)

ALLIES: Zenkichi, Shiho, Ichinose