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!

27. Return to Yongen! Masked Memories part 1

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files, Book 2: Rise of the Monarchs! Don't really have much to say here, other than welcome to the start of Arc 6! This will be an interesting arc to be sure, since this is the first time I've written an entirely from-scratch arc rather than adapting content from the game I'm doing the story for (in this case Persona 5 Strikers), so hopefully I do a good job at making this arc interesting and enjoyable! That being said, let's do the disclaimer so it's out of the way.

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form ((excluding the OCs Kusa/Draconis, Sinocard, Momoe, Taichi, and the OC Personas Malefor and Albus, along with the Phantom Thief attire and concepts for Pendragon, Draconis, and the Thief who will awaken in this arc. You'll have to wait for the start of the Yongen Jail to see who I mean.

That being said, I do not, however, own the OC Persona Hester, nor do I own the design concepts for Flare's Phantom Thief attire. Both of these belong to thalassatides (at symbol) bsky on X (or Twitter as it used to be called), who does amazing work! Big time credit to them for making the designs that I'm using for this story!)) and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus and Sega (at least for Persona 3, 4, and 5. Supposedly other people made Persona 1 and 2, but as I've not played either of those games yet, I wouldn't know who has ownership for those games.

Credit to whoever does own them though), as well as to a minor extent Koei Tecmo (At least insofar as they helped out with Persona 5 Strikers), who at least partially helped with Persona 5 Strikers, and to the companies that helped make the other spinoffs (e.g. Tactica, Phantom X, the 'Arena' games, the 'Q' games, and the 'Dancing' games), and all credit goes to the named companies!

And there we go, one disclaimer done and dusted! With all that done, I don't have much else to say for now, so let's get into the sixth arc, yeah? I'll try to have a longer A/N after the chapter, so keep an eye out for that! But for now, here's chapter 27!

Chapter 27- Return to the Citadel? Blessed Awakenings and More! Masked Memories part 1

(In Zenkichi's secret hideaway in Kyoto, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, Sojiro, Shiho, and Zenkichi)

As the group finished ironing out the finer details of the plans to try and get into the Yongen Jail, Zenkichi remembered something he told Akane about earlier and spoke up.

"Wait a minute guys, I just remembered something that I want to bring up with you lot. This has been nagging in my mind ever since we changed Akane's heart." Zenkichi said as Makoto spoke up.

"What is it, Zenkichi?" Makoto asked with curiosity as Zenkichi spoke up.

"While we're doing all this, are we just going to leave Akane at the house by herself and risk her possibly being turned back into a Monarch while we're in Yongen sorting out this Jail? This also could apply as well for us if we're trying to stop Konoe once we get into his Jail, and he ends up using my daughter again?" Zenkichi said as Yusuke and Makoto exchanged frowns at this before Kusa spoke up with a smile.

"Zenkichi, I understand your concerns. But one thing you should know about changes of heart. Once they're made, they cannot be undone. So I'm pretty sure that our enemies would have a very hard time making Akane into a Monarch again. But I can see how you'd be worried about that. Is she still recovering at home from what she went through, though?" Kusa asked as Zenkichi spoke up with a shake of his head.

"No, she's already woken up. She seemed a bit hesitant and a bit gentler when I spoke to her recently, but I feel like her heart was in fact changed. So I don't think she's still recovering. Why?" Zenkichi said as Ren spoke up.

"I'd have to put it to a vote, but if everyone agrees, I see no reason we can't have Akane tag along with us so you don't have to worry about anything else happening to her." Ren said seriously, before getting a sly/mischievous smirk on his face as he kept speaking.

"And besides, Goro mentioned to me the other day that he came back to the Hasegawa house after an errand and found Nanako cuddled up to Akane, seemingly comforting her. Goro swears up and down that he also saw Nanako kissing Akane, but I feel like that's a bit of a fast 180 for anyone to do from liking men to liking women. I suppose it is possible that Nanako was always into both genders, and just never realized it.

But even so, I think it was probably just a platonic or non-intimate kiss if the two were kissing. That being said though, I feel that Akane and Nanako need to realize that if they do like each other that way, that's their choice to make, and not for any of us to judge them on. As I told Ann when she confided in me about her feelings for Shiho, we don't discriminate against people based on such shallow and frankly petty things as their preferences. We respect all people, no matter what." Ren said firmly as Zenkichi smiled and spoke up.

"I agree, Ren. And Nanako did admit that Akane kissed her when I confronted her about her admission to kissing Akane on the cheek the night we finished saving Akane from herself. So I honestly wouldn't be shocked if Akane might subconsciously be attracted to Nanako, and is just experimenting with her. At the same time, maybe she just genuinely has feelings for her? I'm supportive of her choice no matter what she chooses, though." Zenkichi said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"Good attitude, Zenkichi. It's like I told Sophia once, it's not a crime to like someone. And Sophia hopefully realizes that Ren and I, as well as everyone in this room, supports her, no matter what she does, or who she chooses to fall for. If she decides she doesn't want a relationship, that's her choice. If she decides to get together with Morgana, that's fine too. Speaking of whom, I saw that blush you had on your face the other day when Sophia kissed you on the cheek while we were going through Akane's Jail, Morgana. You don't have to be shy about it. I think that meant more to you than you want to admit to." Sumire said as Morgana blushed and spoke up.

"And what if it did? Sophia is really pretty, as you yourself have pointed out. And it's difficult not to admire her with how optimistic and perpetually happy she usually is. So of course I was shocked that she kissed me. But to tell you guys the honest truth? I was more stunned at how soft her lips felt on my cheek, and at how much more I seemed to enjoy it as a human than I did when she hugged me back when I was still in my cat form." Morgana said as Sojiro spoke up.

"Take your time figuring it out, Morgana. And don't be shy about coming to me if you need advice. Ren and Kusa might not say so, but I was at least partially the reason they have the girlfriends they have now. After all, when I was young? Hoo boy, I was one smooth operator." Sojiro said as Ren and Futaba blanched and spoke up.

"GAH! SOJIRO! ENOUGH!" Ren and Futaba said in simultaneous embarrassment as Kusa and Sumire chuckled, the former speaking up.

"Heh, I'd forgotten how amusing Sojiro's little self-flexes can be. Also, I don't know why that's so embarrassing to you, Taba. It's not like he was talking about any embarrassing stories of you when you were younger, right?" Kusa said as Sumire spoke up.

"I can understand Ren being embarrassed, though. After all, Sojiro used to spend a good bit of time asking Ren when he was going to finally stake claim to me before Ren finally managed to get Sojiro to quit asking Ren about it by bringing me to bed with him. I recall Ren was very satisfied when he finally got to tell Sojiro to back off when he and I hooked up about a month before he went back to Kukojima about three and a half years ago." Sumire said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Heh, truth! RenRen went from being a soft-spoken and unassuming outcast to being a respected and revered legend who has a reputation for being a stud with the ladies, as I'm sure you can attest to. Not to say that the rest of us guys don't have a way with the ladies, because we do. Just some of us took longer than others to get girlfriends. And we won't even count Sojiro or Zenkichi since neither of them has a girlfriend, but both of them have very good reasons for why they're not looking." Ryuji said as Sumire and Makoto both spoke up.

"RYUJI! BEHAVE!" Sumire and Makoto simultaneously rebuked Ryuji, before both blinked at their synchronicity and giggled in amusement as Yusuke spoke up with a smirk.

"Well, it seems that Ren's not the only one that Sumire is capable of having perfect synchronicity with." Yusuke said as Haru spoke up.

"I agree. Both Mako-chan and Sumire-chan are very strong and capable women." Haru said as Goro smiled and spoke up while gently taking Haru's hand in his own and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"You say that like you're not also a capable, smart, strong and sexy woman in your own right, Haru." Goro said smoothly as Haru blushed and spoke up.

"I wasn't trying to make that last remark about myself, though. But thank you for the compliment, Goro." Haru said as Ann spoke up.

"Looks like Haru's the one blushing now, eh Shiho?" Ann said as Shiho nodded and spoke up.

"I agree! But then again, she and Goro are really cute together, if you ask me. That being said, I assume all of us are present." Shiho said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which was on the table, preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Um, I don't think ALL of us are here, Shiho. After all, didn't Nanako leave a little bit ago to do something?" Sophia asked as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Yeah, she went back to check on Akane for me like I asked her to. I figure that since Nanako is the only one of us who does not have a Persona, it was the best choice to have her see if Akane is doing alright and then return to us after a little bit. All while the rest of us try to figure out what to do about Akane's situation of whether she should come with us or not." Zenkichi said as Morgana spoke up.

"True, but is it a good idea to leave those two alone together? After all, what's to stop them from getting distracted, for lack of a better word, by each other?" Morgana said as the rest of the group shrugged, not sure if there was an answer to that question...

(At the same time that the group's conversation was taking place, back at the Hasegawa house, with Akane and Nanako)

As Nanako reached the Hasegawa house, she fished the key that Zenkichi gave her out of her skirt pocket and unlocked the front door, going inside and closing the door while locking it behind her. As she went to look for Akane, Nanako looked around. While walking through the front room to see if Akane was in her room, Nanako blinked as she felt herself almost walk into something.

After getting over her confusion, Nanako found herself turning around in time for her face to go bright red in a mix of shock and embarrassment as she saw that the something she'd nearly walked into was in fact Akane, who she'd once again walked in on while she was mid-way through changing, this time while Akane was clad only in a pair of silky purple panties. Akane smiled as she felt Nanako lightly press a hand against her back in order to ensure she didn't walk into her before turning around to face Nanako and speaking up with a teasing grin as she watched Nanako have a hard time not staring at her exposed breasts, which she apparently seemed to find very enticing given how red Nanako's face presently was.

"Well, well. We keep running into each other like this, don't we?" Akane said as Nanako nodded, managing to find her voice after forcing herself not to stare at Akane's bare chest after having gotten distracted by the sudden view of Akane's breasts, making her blush profusely as she spoke up.

"So it would seem. After all, that's now twice I've walked in on you while you were at least half-naked and changing. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were doing it on purpose." Nanako said as Akane giggled and spoke up.

"Riiight, because I'm totally the one who keeps walking in on me. Oh, that's right, that would be you who's done that the last two times, Nanako. Also, you don't need to be so embarrassed about checking me out. It's not like I don't have anything that you haven't seen when checking yourself out in the mirror before, you know. Besides, I find it adorable how shy you get when you see my nearly naked body. Are you sure you're straight, Nanako?" Akane said as Nanako went to open her mouth to answer, only to find that she couldn't say what she wanted to say, and spoke up.

"Honestly? I'm not sure anymore. After all, if I was in fact straight, would I be this flustered by seeing you in so little? Yet I keep finding myself blushing like a schoolgirl when I see you like that. Maybe I'm not straight?" Nanako said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Akane asked slyly as Nanako blushed while nodding as she spoke up, feeling her heart oddly start to beat faster a bit as the implications of Akane's words registered for her.

"Y-Yes. There is only one way." Nanako said, most of her face turning bright red from realizing what Akane was alluding to. Akane giggled and spoke up.

"C'mon, no need to be shy. It's not like we haven't already kissed, you know." Akane said before walking over and wrapping her arms around Nanako before leaning in and looking into Nanako's eyes before she slyly yet gently pressed her lips to Nanako's, making Nanako's eyes widen in surprise before letting herself return the kiss, her own arms going around Akane's waist, making Akane smile as she looked into Nanako's eyes without breaking the kiss. After what seemed like an eternity, but was actually all of five rather long minutes, Nanako and Akane came up for air, both blushing profusely as the former spoke up.

"W-Well, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but that was really intense. I think I might be bisexual, given how much I enjoyed that." Nanako said as Akane giggled and spoke up.

"Good. I enjoyed it too. But, to be honest? Is it really fair that I'm standing here in just my panties and you're still fully dressed, Nanako?" Akane asked slyly, a sexy smirk on her face as a red-faced Nanako blushed prettily and spoke up, her heart seeming to beat faster as the implications of Akane's question sank in.

"W-Wait, what? Are you trying to get me to strip naked?" Nanako asked in surprise as Akane nodded while speaking up.

"If that's how you want to look at it, sure. But I think it's only fair that if I'm showing you my body, then you have to do the same to at least some extent, Nanako. If that means we end up getting naked and messing around, then so be it. And to be honest with you? It's not like I've never thought about having sex with a girl before." Akane said as a suddenly wide-eyed Nanako seemed to hesitate before shyly nodding as she let Akane lead her into her bedroom, where Nanako followed Akane inside. The last thing seen before the door closed as the camera panned away from the scene was the sight of a shirt and skirt hitting the ground after two bodies were heard collapsing onto a bed...

(Meanwhile, back in the hideaway, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, Sojiro, Shiho, and Zenkichi)

As the group planned out their next move in the hideaway, Ren spoke up.

"Well, since Zenkichi brought it up before, I think our next order of business is to decide what to do about Akane. Do we leave her here on her own for now and hope that she's not targeted a second time, or do we invite her to tag along with us?" Ren asked as Goro spoke up.

"This is just my opinion, but I think we should bring Akane here and let her give her opinion on whether she should accompany us to Yongen or not. After all, we're waiting for Nanako to get back from checking in on her." Goro said as Makoto spoke up.

"I agree with Goro. After everything that has happened to Akane-chan during the past few days. From believing the lie about us hacking EMMA and murdering the director, to her becoming a Monarch, I don't know what I would do if we just left her alone again to the point where Konoe could use her against us again. Even though it's little to impossible for Akane-chan to become a Monarch again, for all we know Konoe might have other means of using her against us. Thus, I'm more than ok to have her come with us back to Yongen if she decides to join us." Makoto said as Kusa spoke up.

"I believe we all feel the same way, Makoto." Kusa said as everyone nodded in agreement as Futaba spoke up.

"Come to think of it, Nanako's been gone a while, hasn't she? Maybe one of us should go check on her and make sure she didn't get distracted?" Futaba said, as several sets of eyes turned to look at a confused Shiho, who spoke up.

"Wait, why me? I get Ann and I are girlfriends, but why me?" Shiho asked as Sojiro spoke up.

"You mean besides the fact you're the one that Nanako's dad put in charge of looking after her?" Sojiro said as Haru giggled and spoke up.

"Not to mention the fact that you're probably the one that Nanako-chan would be least embarrassed to have catch her in the act with Akane, particularly since she may have told Mako-chan and I that she sees you as something like an older sister?" Haru said as Morgana spoke up.

"Wait, hold on. Are you guys suggesting that Lady Nanako and Lady Akane might like each other?" Morgana asked, making Kusa and Ren look at each other and laugh at how slow Morgana was on the uptake in this case. Kusa then spoke up.

"Noo, we totally think they're at the Hasegawa residence browsing for guys to invite over, Morgana. Of course we think they might have feelings for one another. After all, I could see Akane being a bit on the bi-curious side, especially after how much I basically threw her feelings back in her face by talking about Futaba being my girlfriend when we had dinner at her house the night before we went to Kukojima. I could see that driving Akane towards being bi-curious. And the fact that Nanako might also be bi-curious is grounds to be wary of the possibility that they might decide to experiment with one another to a point." Kusa pointed out as Sumire spoke up.

"Be that as it may Kusa, let's not get into TOO much detail in front of Sophia, please. I'm pretty sure that's not age-appropriate for her to hear." Sumire said as Morgana spoke up.

"Relax, Sumire. I think Sophia's mature enough to show discretion in what she hears and/or sees. And besides, I don't think she's going to be in a rush to try dating given the fact she's both an AI and a lot younger than the majority of us. But I think we all respect and appreciate her just the way she is." Morgana said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded a red-faced Sophia speaking up.

"R-Really? You respect me, Morgana? Thank you," Sophia said in embarrassment as Morgana nodded before Shiho huffed and spoke up, realizing she was gonna have to go and check on Nanako and Akane if they wanted to get the two over to the hideaway..

"Fine, I'll go check on Nanako. Kusa, will you give me a lift in the Ferrari and wait outside?" Shiho asked as Kusa nodded and the two left to go check on Nanako and Akane. After they left, Yusuke spoke up.

"While they're doing that, we should start figuring out where we should go to try and get into the Yongen Jail." Yusuke said as Goro spoke up.

"I can answer that. If you guys remember the story I told most of you shortly after Sojiro, Kusa and I all reunited with the rest of you, which was before both Zenkichi and Shiho awakened to their Personas and were part of the group, I mentioned an out of the way cabin a little ways out in the outskirts of Yongen-Jaya, in the woods a short drive from both Leblanc and the Sakura house. Kusa came to check on me and got sucked into the Metaverse with me when I inadvertently put in the keyword for the Yongen Jail. Once there, we found ourselves wandering through what was basically a new Jail to us.

After a bit, Kusa and I found a room towards the back of the citadel that was in the middle of the Jail, where a throne room was located, with my darker half sitting on the Monarch's throne. After some words were exchanged, my darker half hit a button on his throne that launched Kusa through the air. After that, he hit another button and opened a portal. And that's about when Kusa found Sojiro at the entrance of the Jail. Come to think of it, how DID you end up in that Jail, Sojiro? I don't think we ever thought to ask you about that?" Goro said as Sojiro spoke up.

"Glad you asked that question, Goro. Not too long after these guys left in the RV to start the trip to Sendai, I felt something open up beneath my feet. I barely had enough time to look down and see the portal under me before I was sucked in and found myself falling through the sky before finally landing on a pillow and rolling to the ground, where I was helped up by a masked figure who eventually revealed themselves to be Kusa. Not long after that, he played a recording of a certain someone's voice so I could understand them, since they were still a cat at the time." Sojiro said as he turned to smirk at an embarrassed Morgana, who spoke up in surprise.

"Oh, I see. Is that why you were suddenly able to understand me while I was a cat, Sojiro?" Morgana asked as Sojiro nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. Not sure why Kusa chose a recording where you helped him recreate a meme about cats and cheeseburgers of all things to let me hear you speak, but I assume he had his reasons?" Sojiro said as to his surprise, Futaba started laughing before she spoke up.

"Wait, seriously? Kusa played you the footage of Morgana recreating the 'I can has cheeseburgers?' meme? That's hilarious if true, since Morgana was so adorable recording that clip, even if it embarrassed and emasculated the crap out of him. Sorry about that by the way, Morgana. But you have to admit you were adorable recording that." Futaba said as Morgana pouted and crossed his arms over his chest while he spoke up.

"That doesn't mean I had to like it, Futaba. And I wonder why Kusa chose THAT specific recording!? He knows how embarrassed I was when I found out about that meme!" Morgana said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Honestly? It was probably just the first recording he could find of your voice. No, I take that back. Now that I think more about it, it could've actually been the second. But I'm guessing Kusa didn't want to play the first, since it may or may not have been a video clip of you simping for Ann in your sleep that I may have taken with Kusa's phone without either his knowledge or yours." Ren said with a sheepishly apologetic look on his face as Morgana blinked before glaring at Ren as he spoke up.

"Wait, WHAT!? You recorded me talking in my sleep!? What the heck!? Not cool, Ren!" Morgana said as he cutely crossed his arms and turned away from Ren, just as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded a giggling Sophia speaking up.

"Aww, cheer up, Morgana. I bet you looked so adorable when you were talking in your sleep. Don't be so embarrassed. I think it's cute that you, Kusa, and Ren get along so well." Sophia said kindly as Ryuji grinned and spoke up, ignoring the twin glares his next words would get him from Ren and Morgana.

"Don't they just get along amazingly, though? Like, no lie, I recall Futaba telling us about how she found Kusa breaking down like a baby the night before RenRen and Morgana had to move back to Kukojima around four years ago. And here I thought cats hated getting their fur wet?" Ryuji said with a smirk as Morgana huffed, but was cut off by a 'BIP' from Sumire's phone that preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Um, I'm pretty sure that's a common misconception, Ryuji. From what Morgana told me before, cats moreso hate having other people get their fur wet. They don't mind getting their own fur wet, since that's how they clean themselves. And besides, I bet it was totally adorable to see those two bonding like that." Sophia said as Ren spoke up.

"It totally was. Also, Ryuji left out the part where he also didn't want to see me or Morgana leave." Ren said as Ryuji pouted and spoke up.

"Aw, c'mon! No fair callin' me out like that, man! That's harsh." Ryuji said as Morgana smiled at both Ren and Sophia sticking up for him before looking at Sophia and speaking up.

"Lady Sophia? Thank you. That makes me feel a lot better now." Morgana said as he gave Sophia a grateful nod before aiming a smile at her that had her go bright red while speaking up.

"You're welcome." Sophia said before disappearing into Sumire's phone, prompting Sumire to smile and speak up after giggling mischievously.

"Look at that, Sophia's embarrassed that her senpai noticed her. How cute." Sumire said teasingly as Ren and Ann laughed, the latter speaking up.

"I have to admit, for all that Morgana can be creepy at times with his simping, he's usually also rather cute while doing it. I'm not ashamed to admit that if he'd been a she, and a human, I might have been tempted to give Morgana a chance with me if he'd confessed to me before I got together with Shiho. But not only is Morgana a he, I see him as a little brother. Besides, that would be unfair to Shiho if I threw her by the wayside to let Morgana have a shot with me. Sorry, Morgana." Ann said as Morgana smiled and spoke up while gently hugging Ann.

"It's all right, Lady Ann. I support you and Lady Shiho wholeheartedly. I'll always have a place in my heart for you, but I'm also happy for you two." Morgana said honestly as Ann smiled and patted Morgana gently on the head while speaking up.

"Thank you for being so understanding, Morgana." Ann said as she briefly returned Morgana's hug before letting him go sit next to Sumire's phone, where Sophia was currently hiding. At that point, Zenkichi spoke up.

"Hmm, I wonder if Shiho and Kusa got to the house yet?" Zenkichi asked as Makoto spoke up.

"Good question, Zenkichi. I'd say maybe?" Makoto said as the others got comfortable while waiting for the missing members of their group...

(Meanwhile, out in front of the Hasegawa residence, with Kusa and Shiho)

"Well, I guess I should go check in on Nanako and Akane. Stay here and hopefully I'll be back soon." Shiho said as Kusa nodded while Shiho got out and walked up to the front door, blinking when it easily opened when she tried the knob. Confused, Shiho went inside and locked the door quietly. As she walked through the house, she blinked as she heard the sounds of excited giggling coming from what she quickly identified as Akane's room, walking over and wasting little time opening the door to see if the girls were in the room.

As soon as Shiho opened the door to check on the girls after knocking and getting no response, Shiho found herself both very embarrassed and also wishing she'd waited longer for a response, as the sight she walked in on was that of two very naked females laying on top of each other while making out heatedly with one another on the bed in the middle of the room, unaware of Shiho's presence. Shiho gasped at the sight of what she perceived as Akane and Nanako getting intimate with each other and spoke up, making Nanako and Akane's eyes widen when they heard Shiho's voice, both of them blushing profusely as they sprang apart in shock on seeing Shiho in the room.

"Umm, am I interrupting something, you two?" Shiho asked as Nanako frantically searched for her clothes to get dressed, visibly embarrassed at being caught in the state of undress she'd been in. Akane, for her part, frowned at Shiho and spoke up.

"Not to be rude or anything, but who are you? I don't recall meeting you before? And also, why did you walk in on me and Nanako in what was supposed to be a private moment?" Akane said, her face very red in embarrassment as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"Calm down, Akane. Do you remember when I told you about how Big Bro and Big Sis left me behind to go do stuff and forgot to tell me about it, leading to a series of events that eventually led to me getting a temporary roommate in order to briefly save the hotel room that Big Bro and Big Sis had gotten me?" Nanako asked as Akane slowly nodded and Nanako kept speaking.

"Well, this is that roommate. Akane, meet my roommate, Shiho Suzui. Shiho, this is my, err, I guess we can go with friend? Yes, my friend. This is my friend Akane Hasegawa. Anyways, you can relax, Akane. Shiho's not going to bust us. I don't know this for sure, but if I had to guess? I'd say that she's done probably the same things with Ann that we were doing with each other." Nanako pointed out as Akane cutely blushed but eventually nodded her agreement as she calmly sat on the bed next to Nanako after pulling the blanket over her to cover herself, still embarrassed at her state of undress. Shiho giggled and spoke up.

"No need to be embarrassed, Akane. I'm sorry for not knocking louder to let you guys know I was here. But your dad sent Kusa and I to make sure everything was fine here and to bring both you and Nanako back to the hideaway with us, since there's a few things the group wants to run by you, Akane. But if you want, I can come back later so you two can finish doing whatever you were in the middle of doing. And don't be embarrassed that you two feel that way about each other. I support you two wholeheartedly." Shiho said as Akane shyly spoke up and let the blanket fall off, leaving her once more bare naked in front of Shiho.

"R-Really? You're not disappointed that I like both genders and that I am now attracted to Nanako?" Akane asked bashfully as Shiho smiled and nodded her understanding as she spoke up.

"Really. Besides, I'm pretty sure you instigated it anyways. From what I saw when I walked in, it looked like you two were pretty engrossed in each other. If I'm being honest, I half-expected to see you two start running your hands all over each other. Not that I'd have judged either of you if you had been full-on having sex when I walked in. The way you two were acting seems rather a lot like something I'd do to try and get Ann hot and bothered, but with less fondling and caressing than we'd have probably gotten into.

But in any case, if you two are serious about being sexually active with each other, maybe you two could try to do at least a little better about not being caught in the future if you two are going to bare it all to each other? Just because most of us are open-minded about such things doesn't mean everyone who sees you doing that will be." Shiho said as Akane blushed and spoke up.

"So what if I did entice Nanako to want to be with me? She's a beautiful woman and I feel like she's happy with me." Akane said as Nanako blushed before shyly speaking up, clearly embarrassed at being so exposed around Shiho.

"T-Technically, you seduced me into bed with you. But I didn't argue with it, since I think you're sexy too, Akane. At the same time though, I'm not sure if I want this to mean anything for us just yet or not, mostly since I'm still getting to know you. Maybe down the road when we've gotten to know one another more, I'll be more comfortable asking you to be my girlfriend, but for now, let's just keep this as a casual hookup between friends." Nanako said as Akane nodded her understanding as she pulled Nanako into a hug while speaking up, giggling at how easily she could make Nanako blush.

"That's fine. I can wait however long you need me to wait for you to figure things out. Truth be told, I also want to get to know you better before deciding if we'd make a good couple or not." Akane said kindly as Nanako smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Akane. I'm glad to hear that." Nanako said as she and Akane quickly got dressed before following Shiho out to the Ferrari, where she lifted the passenger seat so Akane and Nanako could get into the back seat together. Once they were securely belted in, Kusa started the drive back to the hideaway, aiming a knowing smirk at Shiho as he spoke.

"I know that shocked look, Shiho. Did you get more of an eyeful than you bargained for in there?" Kusa asked teasingly as Shiho, Akane, and Nanako all blushed in unison, making Kusa laugh as he kept speaking while giving Nanako and Akane a knowing wink, chuckling at the twin blushes he got from the two as he spoke.

"You caught them in bed together, didn't you Shiho?" Kusa asked as Shiho spoke up.

"I can't say, since they swore me to secrecy, Kusa." Shiho said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"That's fine." Kusa said before turning to look at Nanako and Akane in the rear-view mirror as he kept speaking.

"For the record? Don't be shy about being yourselves, you two. If that means you're both in love with one another, so be it. We embrace pairings of all types in our friend group. So I don't mind it one bit if you two are not only into women, but also crushing on each other. But I won't pry into your business either, out of respect for you." Kusa said kindly as Nanako and Akane quietly thanked him before the rest of the trip back to the hideaway passed in awkward silence...

(A short time later, at the secret hideaway, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, Sojiro, Shiho, Zenkichi, Nanako, and Akane)

Once the group got back to the hideaway, Kusa knocked on the door and spoke up.

"Hey, we're back. Shiho and I brought Nanako and Akane back with us." Kusa called to which Goro answered albeit not opening the door.

"The password. What pairs well with curry?" Goro asked as Kusa groaned and spoke up.

"Really, Goro? We are in the clear, aren't we? If so, then we don't need to use the password anymore." Kusa said while Shiho and Nanako giggled at the surprisingly annoyed and/or put-out tone in Kusa's voice. Akane, for her part, remained as confused as she'd been when Kusa and Shiho had convinced her to come back with them alongside Nanako. Goro spoke again, seemingly unfazed by Kusa's words of protest.

"This is just taking precautions, brother. You never know if those mindless fools are still looking for us." Goro said as Kusa sighed and spoke up.

"Fine...coffee." Kusa said as Goro spoke up.

"Accepted. Please come in." Goro said and soon Kusa, Shiho, Nanako, and Akane entered the hideaway and took a seat with the others as Ren spoke up.

"Thanks for bringing both Nanako and Akane back here, you two." Ren said while addressing Kusa and Shiho as Makoto looked over at the confused Akane and spoke up.

"How are you doing, Akane-chan? You feeling alright now?" Makoto asked as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Pretty good, all things considered. Thank you for asking, Makoto. And what about you guys? I know it's been a while since I last saw the majority of you? Not counting the time I heard you guys on the phone yesterday." Akane said as Ren spoke up.

"We're doing alright. Sorry that we haven't spoken to you that much since we got back to Kyoto. A lot of stuff has been happening with us as of late. That being said, your dad was telling us that he was leery of leaving you here alone by yourself while he goes around working. So we were thinking, if you don't object, we would like to invite you to tag along with us on our trip to Yongen?" Ren said as Akane spoke up in confusion.

"Uhh, sure. I don't mind coming with you guys. To be honest, even though my dad and I officially worked things out, a part of me was still upset that he would have to leave soon again. But if you guys are asking me to come with you guys on whatever you and my dad are currently doing, I'd be more than down for it. But why Yongen specifically?" Akane said as Ren and Kusa exchanged a wary look before the latter spoke up.

"Suffice it to say, we have our reasons for going there." Kusa said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"I dunno about that answer, Kusa. I might not be that high-ranking in this group for now, but I think we should tell her the truth." Zenkichi said as Ren and Goro exchanged a shocked look, the latter speaking up.

"The truth, Zenkichi!? Are you sure she can handle that after everything she's been through recently?" Goro asked as Ren spoke up.

"I think she can. And besides, it's partly because she ended up out of the loop that she's been hurting as much as she has. In fact, if no one is opposed, I propose we change our plans a bit and head over to Inari Taisha first so we can show Akane something." Ren said as Sumire and Kusa exchanged wide-eyed looks with Morgana after they realized what Ren was getting at. Sumire then spoke up.

"Are you sure about this, Ren?" Sumire asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"I am. If she's going to be able to accept the truth about us, she has to also be able to accept the truth of herself." Ren said sagely as Sojiro spoke up.

"I agree. It won't be easy for her, but if she can confront the truth, she'll be that much stronger because of it in the long run." Sojiro said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Hold on you guys. Are we seriously going to be doing the same thing to Akane as you guys did to me back in Shibuya and taking my daughter into the Jail?" Zenkichi asked frantically as Yusuke spoke up.

"Yes, we are Zenkichi. But if you were able to handle being shown the Metaverse, then I have no doubt that Akane can also handle it." Yusuke said as Akane blinked and spoke up.

"Jail? Metaverse? I don't understand. Dad, what are you guys talking about?" Akane asked as Nanako spoke up.

"Yeah. It's hard to explain, but the Metaverse is basically another dimension of sorts where a certain group that you're a big fan of does their work to change people's hearts." Nanako said as Akane gasped and spoke up.

"Wait a minute, are you saying that this Metaverse is where-?" Akane asked as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Yes. That's where the Phantom Thieves do most of their work Akane. That's the place where they go to change people's hearts." Makoto said as Akane spoke up in shock.

"Are you seriously saying I might get to meet the Phantom Thieves if I go with you to this Metaverse!?" Akane said in shock as Morgana spoke up.

"You never know, Lady Akane. You just might. Try to keep an open mind, yeah?" Morgana said as Akane nodded, quietly taking in Morgana's appearance before she spoke up.

"Hold on a second. Have we met before? I don't remember seeing you when Ren and the others had dinner at my house before." Akane said as Kusa and Ren winced before the latter spoke up.

"Umm, that's a long story Akane. Suffice it to say, when you last saw Morgana, he wasn't always like that. But you'll understand more when we get you into the Metaverse. Don't worry, all will be revealed to you shortly." Ren said as Akane could only nod, very clearly confused. At that point, Ren gathered the others together to head to Inari Taisha and infiltrate the Metaverse...

(A short time later, in Inari Taisha, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, Sojiro, Shiho, Zenkichi, Nanako, and Akane)

Once the group gathered in Inari Taisha, a confused Akane spoke up.

"Umm, not that I'm complaining about getting to see Inari Taisha, but why are we here? Aren't we supposed to be heading to this Metaverse place?" Akane asked as Kusa spoke up.

"We are. But when it comes to the Metaverse, we have to go to the place where we can access our destination from in the real world, in this case Inari Taisha, since that's where our most recent Jail was located. And we want that Jail in particular as our destination for reasons that will be made clear to you shortly, once we get into the Metaverse. At that point, we'll explain everything to you. Just be patient until then, okay?" Kusa asked as Akane spoke up.

"Uh, okay. Kinda confused still, but if you say so?" Akane said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"That's an understandable reaction for someone who's about to go into the Metaverse for their first time. And to your credit, at least you're keeping an open mind. Your dad, on the other hand? He was ready to have us drug tested because he thought we were selling him some sort of fantasy. I seem to recall his exact words on the subject were, and I quote, 'If you're going to try selling me some sort of fantasy, maybe try a little less spice next time?' As if anyone could pass the Metaverse off as some silly fantasy. After all, you've seen the proof of its existence already, even if you don't realize it yet." Ren said as Akane frowned before her eyes widened and she spoke up.

"You mean the calling cards, don't you?" Akane asked as Yusuke spoke up with a nod.

"Very observant, Akane. Yes, the calling cards are how the Phantom Thieves let their targets know that they're coming for their Treasure, or in their more recent targets' case, for their stolen Desires. Either way, it's a key component in the process of changing the hearts of bad people. Does that make sense?" Yusuke said as Akane nodded and Ren spoke up again.

"Good. Now, watch closely, and maybe you'll learn something new." Ren said as he held his phone up to his mouth.

"EMMA? Add the Phantom Thieves to my friend registry. The keyword is 'Phantom Thieves'." Ren said as Akane gaped in confusion at this, but before she could do more than gape at Ren, the voice of EMMA came from Ren's phone, making Akane wince as she heard EMMA speak.

"Keyword successfully entered. Beginning navigation." EMMA said as Akane spoke up in shock.

"Beginning navigation!? What the heck?" Akane asked, but before anyone could answer her, the group was pulled into the Metaverse...

(Inside the Kyoto Jail, with Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, Pendragon, Flare, Wolf, Nanako, and Akane)

Once the group was safely inside the Kyoto Jail, both Nanako and Akane's jaws dropped as they took in the view of the very feudal-inspired Jail with a lot of Japanese influence, along with the visibly collapsed birdcage in the background where the Monarch once resided. After a bit, Nanako spoke up.

"Whoa, so this is the Kyoto Jail? I didn't think it'd be so pretty." Nanako said before smiling at Akane as she kept speaking.

"What do you think? Isn't this the most picturesque location you've ever seen, Akane? Uhh, Akane?" Nanako said, blinking when Akane didn't speak up right away, before following her stupefied gaze to the changed attire most of the others had on. After a bit, Akane found her voice and spoke up.

"Wait, hold up. Why are all of you wearing different attire? And why do most of you look like you're dressed up like the Phantom Thieves?" Akane said as Wolf chuckled and spoke up.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised that our changed attire is the first thing you'd notice, Akane. And to give you an honest answer to your question about why we're dressed the way we are? As you probably figured out, it's because we are the Phantom Thieves. I know you might not believe that, but it's true." Wolf said as Akane gasped on hearing Wolf's voice, which she recognized almost immediately.

"I see. Wait, that voice! DAD!? Is that you?" Akane said as Wolf smiled, lifting up his mask to look down at Akane as he spoke up.

"Yeah, it's me." Wolf said as Akane blinked and spoke up.

"No freaking way! My own dad is a Phantom Thief!? That's news to me!" Akane said as Wolf hugged Akane to him and spoke up.

"I'm sorry if this is a shock to you. But it was honestly a rather recent development. I want you to know that I meant every word I said to you before the other night. I intend to start doing a lot better by you as your father. I'm sorry I've been such a terrible dad recently." Wolf said as Akane smiled and spoke up while shocking Wolf by walking forward and wrapping her arms around his waist as she hugged him.

"It's okay, Dad. I forgive you. After all, you're already making great strides in trying to make up for it now." Akane said, leaning her head onto Wolf's chest as she let herself shed a few tears on his coat, making Wolf blink as he spoke up.

"Uhh, are you okay, Akane?" Wolf asked as Fox spoke up.

"Not that I'm necessarily the expert on such things, but I do believe she's currently shedding tears of joy." Fox said as Oracle spoke up.

"Huh, who knew Fox could make such insightful observations? I'm impressed." Oracle said as Pendragon spoke up.

"You'd be surprised how wise and insightful Fox can be, Oracle." Pendragon said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Tell it like it is, Pendragon! Also, I think any of us could've realized Akane is crying tears of joy. After all, not only is she getting to meet her heroes, but she's also finding out that her own dad is not only one of said heroes, but that he's making honest efforts to mend their relationship and try to bring the villains who wronged their family to justice. Truly, this day is likely shaping up to be one of the most joyful days of Akane's life if I had to guess." Draconis said as Akane spoke up while still expressing shock.

"I can't believe this is really happening. You guys were the Phantom Thieves the whole time? This entire time when you guys were at the house for dinner, when you watched me do my stream. I...I really don't know what to say." Akane said as Queen spoke up.

"We're really sorry for keeping this from you Akane-chan. After everything you went through, you deserve to know the truth." Queen said as Draconis spoke up.

"Queen's right. Especially since we had such a close call that if it wasn't for your father, we probably would've been in a much different place right now." Draconis said as Akane turned towards him in surprise before speaking up.

"So then, you were really Draconis this whole time, Kusa? And is the guy over there in the trenchcoat next to the masked redhead really Joker?" Akane asked as Joker spoke up.

"Correct. To make a long story short, everyone you see here, other than Nanako who is still just an ally of ours like you, are Phantom Thieves. As you might have gathered from following our exploits, we all have code names that we are extremely thorough about using while we're in the Metaverse, for security reasons. Mine is Joker. The masked redhead, as you called her? She's my girlfriend, Violet.

The orange-haired girl with the visor you heard speaking before is Draconis' girlfriend, Oracle. The bearded guys are Wolf and Pendragon. And the short-haired guy with the dragon-shaped helmet who you were just speaking to is Draconis. The rest of us, in order of our Awakening, are Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Noir, Crow, Seeker, and Flare. And we are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts." Joker said as Akane gasped and spoke up.

"I still can't believe that you guys are the real deal! Umm, are all of you dating within the group, then?" Akane asked shyly as Draconis smiled and spoke up.

"Mostly. But some of us, such as Wolf, Fox, Pendragon, Seeker, and Mona? They're either single, or in Fox's case, they're dating someone who's not in the group. Fox is dating a well-known shogi player who most people refer to as the 'Venus of Shogi', as a magazine article once called her. As for Mona? There's a reason he wears a cat-boy costume, but I'll let him choose if he tells you about his past or not, out of respect for him." Joker said as Mona spoke up.

"It's fine. Lady Akane deserves to know the truth." Mona said as Akane gasped and spoke up.

"Wait, that voice. Morgana? Is that you?" Akane asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. And to be honest? I'm not sure if you'd believe me if I told you the truth of my past." Mona said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, yeah? Try me." Akane said slyly as Mona spoke up.

"As you wish. You see, I might have a human form now, but that wasn't always the case. Prior to our trip to Kukojima, I used to be stuck in the form of a cat with no memories. It was only in the past couple years that I started to decide I didn't care if I got my memories back since I was happy with my brothers and sisters in the Phantom Thieves." Mona said as Akane gasped and spoke up.

"OH! No way! Are you the same Morgana that Kusa once told me was really close with the rest of your group? You were that black cat that was with us when you guys were having dinner at our house." Akane said as Draconis spoke up.

"Yep, that's him. Though you left out the part where he was very touchy about being called a cat while he was in his other form. And another thing? While you're in the Metaverse, I'd appreciate it if you would please call me Draconis, since we go by code names in the Metaverse as a precaution. Morgana's code name is Mona, in case you were wondering. That being said, as Mona once said, there's no way of knowing what effect yelling our real names in the Metaverse might have on a target's cognition. And that's why it's as much a security precaution as a means of seeming more mysterious that we call each other by code names. With us so far?" Draconis asked as Akane spoke up.

"I think so. In a nutshell, you guys use this Metaverse to change the hearts of the bad guys after finding targets to go after. And you use code names to protect your identities from being discovered. Would I be correct in assuming that you only give those of you who awaken as Phantom Thieves code names, then?" Akane asked as Crow spoke up with a nod.

"Very well reasoned, Akane-san. You're absolutely right. With instincts like that, and an unflappable demeanor like you clearly have, I feel like you'll probably eventually come into your own potential quite nicely when the time comes." Crow said as Seeker spoke up.

"That's true, but at the same time, will Wolf want Akane coming into her own potential like the rest of us have?" Seeker pointed out as Akane blinked as she saw Seeker and spoke up.

"I'm sorry, have we met? I don't remember seeing you either." Akane said as Seeker smiled and spoke up.

"We have met once before, but you wouldn't remember since I was inside of Violet's phone at the time. Hi, Akane. I'm Seeker, humanity's companion." Seeker said as Akane's jaw dropped and she spoke up.

"Are you that AI that Makoto was talking about when she said she was talking to Morgana and Sophia before? To Draconis' credit, he spun a pretty good cover story for it, since I believed what he said." Akane said as Queen spoke up.

"Umm, Akane-chan? Just so you know, I go by Queen while in the Metaverse, since it's my code name." Queen said as Akane blushed and spoke up.

"Right, sorry. Still getting used to the whole 'code names' bit." Akane said as Queen smiled and spoke up.

"It's understandable." Queen said as Panther smiled and spoke up with a giggle.

"Come to think of it, I bet Akane-chan would look totally gorgeous if she were to get her own Phantom Thief attire. Nanako-chan would look really pretty, too." Panther said slyly as both Nanako and Akane blushed in embarrassment as the former spoke up.

"Panther, stop teasing us. You're gonna make us both blush." Nanako said as Flare giggled and spoke up.

"Can you blame her for teasing you, though? Your reaction to it is so precious, Nanako. Besides, I don't hear Akane complaining about Panther noticing her." Flare said as Akane spoke up while blushing.

"Can you blame me? Panther is totally hot! I'm not ashamed to admit that I had a bit of a girl-crush on her for a while." Akane said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me that Panther would be the one to turn you bisexual, Akane." Nanako said teasingly as Akane blushed and spoke up.

"NANAKO! Shush! I don't need you joining in on teasing me!" Akane said as Wolf spoke up.

"Really? I seem to recall you were teasing her an awful lot last night after she called you out for kissing her. I'm pretty sure I recall that she said something about you wanting her to ogle you?" Wolf said slyly as Akane's face turned crimson with how profusely she was blushing while she spoke up.

"DAAAAAAADDDDD! Not in front of the Phantom Thieves! Besides, I don't know if Nanako wanted them to know about that." Akane said as Oracle, Seeker, Panther, and Mona's jaws all dropped as Seeker spoke up.

"Wait, so Nanako and Akane kissed each other? Does that mean they're dating?" Seeker asked, her head tilted slightly to the side in confusion as Nanako blushed and spoke up.

"Not yet. We're taking things slow and getting to know each other more before we decide if we want to be more than friends with each other. And to be honest? I may or may not be slightly conflicted about what I want, especially since I may or may not have feelings for someone else along with Akane." Nanako said as Draconis and Joker looked at each other in confusion before both of their eyes widened in realization as they both turned to grin at a gaping and wide-eyed Mona, who eventually spoke up as he reached the same realization that Draconis and Joker had.

"Wait, what? You have feelings for me, Lady Nanako?" Mona asked as Nanako shyly nodded before Mona spoke up.

"I'm flattered. And to be honest, I think you're amazing too. But I'm not sure you and I would have worked out, mostly since we don't know each other that well. Besides, I might or might not already be committed to someone else. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about her right now." Mona said before making Seeker cutely squeak in surprise as he walked over and pulled her gently into a hug as he finished speaking. Seeker then spoke up.

"Ummm, what? Mona, you like me? Like LIKE me, like me?" Seeker asked shyly as Mona spoke up.

"I'm not sure, Lady Seeker. All I know for sure is that I really enjoyed it the last time you kissed me on the cheek. And when I hugged you before, I couldn't really put my finger on why it felt this way, but it somehow felt really amazing, and even right." Mona said as Seeker smiled and spoke up as she returned the hug.

"I see. Well, I'm willing to wait however long I have to for you to figure things out, Mona." Seeker said as she cutely laid her head on Mona's shoulder, making Draconis gently nudge Oracle to get her attention as he spoke up.

"Heh, don't they just remind you of how much Joker and Violet used to constantly beat around the bush before they finally wised up and confessed to each other?" Draconis asked Oracle, who smiled and spoke up.

"Very much so, Draconis. Mwehehe, it's like Joker and Violet 2.0 over there. Minus the fact that Joker is way smoother than Mona, and you're smoother than Joker." Oracle said as Joker and Violet blushed as the latter spoke up while frowning at Oracle with her arms crossed.

"HEY! That's not only lies, that's slander! Draconis could never be smoother than Joker! After all, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Joker kiss me like five times before Draconis even kissed you once, Oracle?" Violet asked as Draconis spoke up.

"No, he only kissed you twice, Violet. I asked him about it the day after you two kissed in Kichijoji. And he might have kissed you first, but I had Oracle sharing a bed with me WAY before you two were sharing a bed." Draconis said as Joker blushed and spoke up.

"Yes, well, in both mine and Violet's defense, I feel that I should probably remind you that Violet wasn't exactly in the best mind space back then, as you well know." Joker said as Violet smiled and spoke up while looking into Joker's eyes.

"It's okay. You can say it, Joker. I was out of my mind back then. After all, that was back when Doctor Maruki had actualized me into thinking I was my sister and was living as her. I still can't believe how cool everyone was about forgiving me for that after I confessed the truth and apologized." Violet said as Seeker smiled and spoke up.

"Y'know? I think there are worse things than being compared to you and Joker, Violet. I take it as a compliment, truthfully. After all, who doesn't want to be compared to the people they look up to?" Seeker said honestly, making Joker and Violet gape at Seeker as the latter spoke up in surprise.

"Really? You look up to us, Seeker?" Violet asked as Seeker nodded while making no move to leave Mona's arms, seemingly comfortable with her current position, much to the amusement of Draconis and Joker and the embarrassment of Mona, who eventually smiled as he sneakily pressed a kiss to Seeker's cheek, making her blush prettily and hold a hand to where Mona's lips had touched her cheek, not expecting such a bold action from him. Akane giggled and spoke up.

"Heh, you and Seeker are so cute together, Mona. I think you two would be an amazing couple." Akane said as Mona spoke up.

"You mean like how you and Lady Nanako could be an amazing couple in your own right? And before you protest, know that in the Phantom Thieves, we don't judge people on who they love, or anything like that. We get to know people on their own merits. And you and Nanako wouldn't be the first girl-girl couple that our group has seen, Akane. Do you believe me, or do I need to point out the fact that Panther and Flare have been dating for close to four years now?" Mona said as Nanako gasped and spoke up.

"Wait, what? Panther and Flare are lesbians?" Nanako asked as Flare spoke up.

"Technically, I'm a lesbian, while Ann is bisexual like you and I'm guessing Akane are." Flare said as Nanako nodded her understanding and spoke up.

"I see. Well that makes sense, Flare. That said, I notice that the guy in the skull mask and the girl in the musketeer suit haven't said much so far?" Nanako said as Skull spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, my bad. I was just distracted lookin' around. I couldn't really look much before given the circumstances, but this place really is amazing. Not only is it totally pretty, but the feudal vibe this place has goin' on is so badass!" Skull said as Noir giggled and spoke up.

"That seems just like you, Skuil. You would be the type to let yourself be distracted by the scenery. But I suppose that's why our Queen loves you so much, isn't it?" Noir said as Queen blushed and spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Noir. But I'd more-so say I love him for that heart of gold he has deep down under that crass and vulgar exterior of his." Queen said as Akane spoke up.

"So you brought me here to meet you and see this Metaverse, then?" Akane asked. Pendragon shook his head and spoke up.

"Not quite. We had one more purpose in bringing you here, Akane-chan." Pendragon said as Akane spoke up.

"Oh?" Akane asked as Draconis spoke up.

"Yep. If you recall, we never said exactly WHO the Monarch of this Jail was." Draconis said as Akane spoke up.

"That's true, you never did mention that. From what I can guess, when you guys were referring to a Jail, you were referring to this place? In addition, I'm assuming a Monarch is the name of the targets you go after for changes of heart?" Akane said as Joker spoke up.

"Correct. Monarchs are a term used for anyone who has a Jail and uses said Jail to steal the Desires of others. Basically, our targets this go around are Monarchs who need changes of heart. As hard as this might be for you to hear, you need to hear the truth. And the truth is that the Monarch of this Jail was your own Shadow, Akane." Joker said bluntly as Akane's eyes got comically wide from Joker's reveal before she gasped and spoke up.

"Wh-What!? I was a Monarch? Are you serious?" Akane asked as Nanako spoke up.

"If you were, you likely weren't aware of it. After all, Goro and I came back from shopping to see you hit the ground unconscious. I'm guessing you were knocked out and your consciousness was dragged to the Metaverse so that the bad guys could use a Jail to turn you into a Monarch." Nanako said while giving Akane a comforting hug as Akane spoke up while seemingly looking directly at Joker.

"I see. But, what did you mean by my Shadow?" Akane asked Joker as Wolf spoke up after getting a pair of encouraging nods from Draconis and Joker.

"Let me try and explain it for you, Akane. You see, a Shadow is basically the repressed other side of you that reflects your inner feelings and/or thoughts. In your case, it was a manifestation of all the frustration, anger, and resentment you felt at everyone who you felt let you down in your life, myself included. And while some of what the other you said hurt, it was also true. It was actually this same other you that helped me to realize I was being a bad father to you and that I needed to stop hiding from my failures and start doing what I'm supposed to do.

And my first action towards that is making amends to you, starting with doing my damnedest to bring everyone who wronged you to justice, as well as try to see things from your perspective more. Truly, you are a far more kind-hearted person than I gave you credit for, Akane. And I'm sorry I let you down so much recently." Wolf said as Akane smiled and walked forward before wrapping her arms around Wolf's waist as she hugged him again, smiling as she spoke up even as Wolf felt a few tears hit his coat.

"Dad? Thank you. I'm so happy you're trying to do the right thing. I'm sorry for being so insufferable to you recently. I've just been so frustrated with the lack of justice for Mom's death that I started taking it out on you, when you clearly didn't deserve it. That's all I really want, is for us to be able to find closure for Mom's death. And if we can manage to find closure for the family of the secretary that killed himself to take responsibility for what Owada did? All the better." Akane said as Wolf smiled and gently patted Akane on the head comfortingly as he spoke up.

"I promise you, I will hold Owada accountable for everything he's done, Akane. Truth be told, we think it was potentially both Owada and the CEO of Madicce who tried to have us framed, and nearly got the rest of the group arrested had I not given myself up to buy them time to escape from a trap that had been set for them. But I swear to you, we'll get through this together. And if that means I have to accept Nanako over there as your girlfriend at some point? So be it. All I care about is that you're happy, Akane." Wolf said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Dad. I appreciate that." Akane said, smirking as she saw the subtle blush on Nanako's face after Wolf had teased her about being Akane's girlfriend. At that point, Akane kept speaking.

"So, I'm guessing this other me tried trapping all of you because she believed that you did whatever you were framed for doing?" Akane said as Oracle spoke up.

"Pretty much. That body we're being framed over was that of a research director who killed himself to avoid losing his desires. We found out about it when we hit up Kukojima with your dad. As it turns out, both Draconis and Joker live near there, so we got to meet their parents while we were there. Too bad you weren't with us, since I bet you'd have gotten a kick out of seeing Nanako in a bikini. To be honest, I only saw her in it once, but it looked great on her. Mwehehe." Oracle said as Nanako blushed and spoke up.

"H-Hey! No fair flirting with me like that in front of your boyfriend, Oracle. Isn't that rather rude for you to do that around him?" Nanako asked as Draconis spoke up.

"You're not wrong about that, Nanako. However, what you fail to realize is that I'm used to Oracle shamelessly hitting on women. Oracle's been pretty bi-curious for a while now. Truthfully, she had a pretty pronounced girl-crush on Violet for the longest time before finally getting over her about a year and a half ago. But then again, I blame that on Violet being a naughty brat and deciding to flash all of us one night when we got drunk and played the King's Game during a party we'd thrown for Ann's birthday about three and a half years ago.

Honestly, even now, I still struggle to unsee what I saw of Violet's body that day. Not because it was tough to look at, which it wasn't tough to see at all, just for the record. No, I struggled because I see her as a sister, and it feels weird to think any part of her is attractive. And with apologies to both Joker and Oracle, I have to admit that Violet, for all that I think of her as a sister, is a very beautiful woman. But she's also Joker's very beautiful woman, and I'm not the type of man to take my brother's girlfriend from him." Draconis said as Violet giggled and spoke up with a triumphant smile on her face while Joker gave Draconis a nod of respect that he returned.

"Aha! You finally admit that you think I'm beautiful, Draconis." Violet said before turning to Joker and spoke up.

"Pay up, Joker! Told you Draconis thought I was beautiful after he saw me flashing everyone!" Violet said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Very well." Joker said as he stuffed some yen into Violet's pocket and pulled her into a deep kiss, making her blush but smile as she returned the kiss amid playful cat-calls from Panther, Flare, and Oracle. Oracle then mischievously giggled and spoke up.

"Very sexy, you two. But let's not forget there are impressionable eyes watching." Oracle said as Joker and Violet blushed before sheepishly turning to Seeker as Joker spoke up.

"Heh, right. Sorry about that, Seeker. We got a bit carried away." Joker said as Seeker giggled and spoke up, giving Joker and Violet a sly wink, smirking at how red Mona's face got when he saw her winking at Joker and Violet.

"I'm sorry, did I miss something? I was too busy relaxing in Mona's arms." Seeker said as Violet smiled and spoke up.

"Good answer, Seeker. And Mona? You better not take advantage of her!" Violet said as Mona spoke up.

"Relax, Lady Violet. I would never take advantage of Lady Seeker like that. I might not be sure how I feel about her, but I do know she's become quite precious to me, so I have no intentions of doing anything to hurt her. If anything, I intend to enjoy having her in my arms as long as I can." Mona said honestly as Joker spoke up.

"Good answer, Mona. Just keep it that way for now, yeah?" Joker said as Mona nodded before Crow spoke up with a frown.

"Yes, well, as nice as all of this sickeningly sweet fluff is, didn't we have a mission to get back to?" Crow asked dryly as the others nodded and headed back to the real world to reconvene at the hideaway...

(Back in the real world, at the hideaway, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, Sojiro, Shiho, Zenkichi, Nanako, and Akane)

Once the group was back at the hideaway, Akane spoke up.

"So, that was the Metaverse, as you called it? I wouldn't have guessed you guys were the Phantom Thieves. But I'm also not surprised. Oh, but don't worry. I won't tell anyone who you are. I happen to believe you're doing a lot of good for the world, so I want to see you keep making a difference." Akane said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"Look at you being all kind and considerate, Akane. Very cute." Nanako said as she smiled at Akane, who spoke up.

"That's rich, coming from the girl who I know for a fact snuck into my bed at least once while you were over at my house to try and cuddle me." Akane said as Nanako blushed and spoke up.

"You started it when you kissed me, you know. So I wouldn't be teasing me about cuddling you when you're the one who all but coaxed me into your bed earlier." Nanako said slyly, smirking at the blush on Akane's face as the others laughed while Akane sputtered and spoke up.

"Wh-What? Shut up! Besides, you were the one who agreed to make out with me. I didn't make you join me in bed." Akane pointed out as Futaba grinned and spoke up.

"Mwehehe, do I sense some sexual tension between you two? Bow-chicka-wow-OOF!" Futaba said, the 'OOF!' being in response to Sumire subtly elbowing her in the side, tipping her into Kusa's arms, where she was caught and cuddled as Kusa spoke up with a disapproving look on his face, though the subtle twitching of his lips as he spoke betrayed his inner struggle not to laugh at Futaba's remark.

"Taba, behave! And you know better than to mention adult stuff around Sophia. Honestly, you're lucky that all Sumire did was elbow you. She could've done a lot worse." Kusa pointed out as Futaba sheepishly nodded as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Yes, well, changing the subject from the apparent chemistry between Akane and Nanako, don't we have places to be?" Zenkichi said as Ren spoke up with a nod.

"Correct. Let's get going. But first, let's recap the seating arrangements since I think we might need to make some changes with Akane now joining us. In the Ferrari, we have Makoto driving, with Ann sitting up front while Shiho and Ryuji share the backseat. In Zenkichi's car, we have him driving, we can still have Morgana riding shotgun but instead of Goro and Haru, it will be Akane and Nanako since I'm pretty sure that they will probably spend most of the trip cuddling and/or teasing each other in the backseat.

This leaves the following to share the RV: Yusuke, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, Sojiro, and myself. Odds are we'll have Kusa driving the RV with Futaba riding shotgun with him. And from there, the rest of us can sort out who gets what seats among ourselves.

To be clear, we say Yongen, but our destination is actually the woods a little ways north of Leblanc, where Goro was hiding out for a while. Apparently, that's where he, Kusa, and Sojiro were sucked into a Jail. And that's our target this time. We're after the Jail of Yongen." Ren said as Akane spoke up.

"Wait. If I'm joining you guys on this trip, don't you guys think we should go back to my house so that I can pack some clothes and other things for myself? I have a feeling this is going to take more than just a day." Akane said as Ren spoke up.

"You have a good point Akane. Ok, we will quickly go back to you and your father's house so you can pack some things, and then we get going to Yongen." Ren said as everyone nodded their agreement before dispersing into the assigned groups. After driving back to the Hasegawa residence so that Akane could pack some clothes and other necessities, they then proceeded to start the trip to Yongen...

(A short time later, in the RV, with Futaba, Kusa, Yusuke, Sumire, Ren, Sophia, Goro, Haru, and Sojiro)

"So, this is it, huh? We finally get to see this cabin you hid out in, eh Goro?" Ren said teasingly to Goro, who huffed and spoke up.

"It wasn't all that impressive, Ren. But yes, you do get to see it. Hopefully I can fit all of us inside of it. There's a lot of us gathered now, after all." Goro said as Kusa laughed and spoke up from the driver's seat.

"True, but we could have most of the couples sit together, in that the girls can sit in the laps of their boyfriends, or girlfriends in Ann and Shiho's case. I'd have said Nanako and Akane, but I'm pretty sure we're having them wait for us in the RV since it'd be too dangerous to bring them into the Jail without Personas of their own. We got lucky Sojiro awakened to a Persona when he was dragged into this Jail, truth be told. Otherwise, who knows where he'd be right now?" Kusa said as Sojiro spoke up.

"Good point. But let's not forget that it was you who helped not only save me, but guide me into awakening to Kohryu's power in the face of that deformed Wakaba-Sphinx thing that we had to destroy. The fact we got to see the real Wakaba briefly afterwards was just the icing on the cake." Sojiro said as Futaba blinked and spoke up.

"You got to see Mom?" Futaba asked as Sojiro nodded and spoke up.

"I did. She said to tell you how proud she is of how far you've come lately, and that she approves wholeheartedly of you and Kusa. She may or may not have also had something to say to Kusa as well, but I'll let him decide if he tells you about that, Futaba." Sojiro said as Kusa spoke up.

"I could, but I dunno if I should, since part of what she said involved a potential surprise for Futaba. And I'd rather not ruin that particular surprise if I can help it." Kusa said as Futaba blinked but just nodded, knowing Kusa could be quite stubborn when he decides something. Sumire then giggled and spoke up, smirking at the shocked gasp she heard Kusa give in response to her next words.

"Futaba's mom gave you her permission to marry Futaba when the time comes, didn't she Kusa?" Sumire asked as Kusa blushed from the driver's seat and spoke up.

"I can neither confirm nor deny what you just said, Sumire. All I can say is that she asked me and Sojiro to keep taking good care of Taba, which I wholly plan on doing for as long as Taba will allow me to. If we end up deciding we're ready for marriage at some point in the future, then so be it." Kusa said as Futaba smiled and kissed Kusa on the cheek as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which was on a stand between Ren and Goro, preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Marriage? What is 'marriage'?" Sophia asked as Sumire spoke up.

"Simply put? Marriage is when a man and a woman, or two men and/or two women, decide they love each other a lot and become husband and wife, or wives/husbands in the case of same-sex pairings. For example, let's say that Ann decides to ask Shiho to marry her, she and Shiho would be each other's wives. Similarly, if Ren were to ask me to marry him, I would be his wife, and he would be my husband." Sumire said as Haru giggled and spoke up.

"Technically that'd also make Taichi and Momoe your in-laws, Sumire-chan. And to be honest, I think it's likelier that Shiho will be the one to ask Ann to marry her than the other way around. But to be fair, I think that out of all of us, we're probably likeliest to see Ann and Shiho get married first. But it's not out of the question you and Ren could be the first to the altar instead with how in love you two are." Haru said with a smile as Yusuke spoke up with a smirk.

"You say that like you and Goro couldn't shock us all and be the first ones married, Haru. I could see Goro being the type to make an impulsive decision like popping the question. And since Ryuji's not here, Goro and/or Kusa are the most impulsive people in this RV." Yusuke said as Goro and Kusa both huffed and spoke up.

"SHUT UP!" Kusa and Goro said simultaneously as the latter kept speaking with narrowed eyes.

"Yusuke, do you really want me to get angry at you? That last remark about me being impulsive was entirely uncalled for! Also, Kusa is way more impulsive than I am. Sorry to throw you under the bus like that Kusa, but you know it's true." Goro said as Kusa shrugged and spoke up.

"Can't argue with you when you're right, Goro. But anyways, getting back on task, we were talking about the Yongen Jail. This place is not to be taken lightly! Goro and I only went in there one time, and we got lucky that the two of us and Sojiro came back out in one piece. The Monarch there is one sick piece of work. He literally strung Goro up and tried spinning him around for his own sick entertainment. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he tried to kill Sojiro and I with that sphinx-based monster form of Taba's mom.

Luckily we were able to take her out easily enough, but it was still a very unpleasant experience. Furthermore, watch where you step! That place is probably riddled with all sorts of traps, as I can attest, having learned that the hard way when the Monarch used a spring-board trap to launch me through the roof of the Jail when Goro and I confronted him.

So we need to be ready for anything when we go in there. And one more thing? That place is too dangerous for people to try and go in without a means of self-defense, so that's why I'm going to have to insist that we keep Nanako and Akane away from there. Who knows what the Monarch would do to either one of them if they get in there?" Kusa said as Ren nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Very well. I agree with your recommendations. As such, I'm going to pre-emptively set up the groups for this Jail now before we get there and I'm going to inform everyone that's not in the RV about this in our group chat. In Group A, I want myself, Pendragon, Wolf, and Crow. Group B, which Draconis will lead, will be himself, Mona, Seeker, Panther, and Flare. As a result, this leaves Queen to lead Group C, which is herself, Fox, Skull, Noir, and Violet. Oracle, for her part, will resume her usual post as navigator and go-between for the groups. Any questions?" Ren said as the others nodded their understanding and as Ren proceeded to inform the rest of the Thieves on their group chat, a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"I have a question. How long do we estimate this Jail will take? Do we expect to be in Yongen for a couple days?" Sophia asked as Goro and Kusa exchanged a look before Goro spoke up.

"Honestly? I couldn't give you an estimate off the top of my head, Sophia. If I had to guess, I'd say it could potentially be up to a 2 to 3 day mission. Why do you ask?" Goro asked as Sophia spoke up.

"I was asking so we could be sure to sort out our sleeping arrangements for the duration of the mission." Sophia said as Sumire spoke up.

"I think Ren already figured that out for the most part. The two of us will probably share the attic of Leblanc with Ren. Meanwhile, Zenkichi will probably sleep on the hide-a-bed at the Sakura house while Sojiro sleeps in his own bed and Kusa and Futaba probably share Futaba's bed. Meanwhile, the rest will take the RV and/or rooftop tent. Goro, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Morgana can sleep in the rooftop tent while the girls, with the addition of Akane now being included, get the RV itself to share. I believe that was what Ren had decided on with the others last night?" Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Very astute, Sumire. That is what we agreed on." Ren said as Sophia nodded before the ride continued in silence...

(A short time later, outside of Goro's hideaway cabin, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, Sojiro, Shiho, Zenkichi, Nanako, and Akane)

Once the group was gathered in front of the cabin that Goro had once stayed in, Goro spoke up.

"Well, here we are, everyone. This cabin might not seem like much now. But once I put in the keywords, you will then see what this Jail really looks like. Speaking of, I think we decided earlier that both Nanako and Akane will need to go wait in the RV for us. Since of course, it'll be too dangerous for them to come along since they have no way of defending themselves." Goro said firmly as Nanako and Akane both gasped and Nanako spoke up.

"WHAT!? You're leaving us out!? RUDE! I mean it's one thing that I volunteered to stay behind last time due to you guys needing someone to take care of Akane. But it's quite another for having you guys leave us behind when in reality, Akane and I could also help. Besides, what's to stop us from following you anyway?" Nanako asked as Ren spoke up.

"Other than the fact that you have no way of entering the Metaverse by yourself? Not very much, truthfully." Ren said as Kusa spoke up while giving both Nanako and Akane a sympathetic look.

"Listen. I realize this seems incredibly unfair to the two of you, and it probably is. But we decided this because we didn't want to see either one of you get hurt. If you had a way to protect yourselves, we'd let you both come in a heartbeat. But you don't. Besides, I'm sure Zenkichi would prefer that we not leave Akane alone again." Kusa said as Zenkichi nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"You're right, Kusa. I would prefer that." Zenkichi said as Akane spoke up.

"I hate that you're basically leaving me out, but I understand why you're doing it, so I won't object. But you better come back safely, Dad." Akane said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"I promise you I'll return in one piece, Akane. Thank you for being so understanding. And I'm sorry that you feel left out Nanako, but do you think any of us wants to tell your Big Bro that you got killed because we didn't do all due diligence protecting you?" Zenkichi said as Nanako huffed and spoke up.

"You say that like I'd have died, Zenkichi. I'm not helpless." Nanako said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Of course not. You're just a spunky, sexy spitfire." Akane said teasingly as Nanako blushed and spoke up while cutely pouting.

"Hey! No fair flirting with me when I'm trying to make a point, Akane!" Nanako said as Akane spoke up.

"Sorry, couldn't resist. But let's listen to my dad and Ren this time, Nanako. Besides, if we're patient, I get the feeling that we'll get our chance to help out soon enough." Akane said as Nanako spoke up.

"Why am I always being sidelined!? First my Big Bro and his friends sidelined me when I tried to help them, now you guys are doing it! This sucks!" Nanako said, crossing her arms cutely over her chest and pouting as Akane giggled and spoke up while scooping Nanako into a pseudo-bridal style carry, making Nanako blush and frown at Akane, but not protest Akane's move.

"You guys go on ahead, and I'll carry this one back to the RV. I'm sure I can cheer her up soon enough." Akane said as she carried Nanako away into the RV, after which Goro spoke up once he made sure the RV door opened and closed with Nanako and Akane inside of it.

"Good, now that that's done, let's get going." Goro said as he pulled out his phone and spoke into it after making sure both Nanako and Akane couldn't hear what he said next.

"EMMA? Add 'Goro Akechi' to my Friend Registry. The keyword is 'Black Mask'." Goro said as a 'BIP!' from his phone preceded EMMA speaking up.

"The keyword has been successfully entered. Beginning navigation." EMMA said as the group was pulled into the Metaverse. Unbeknownst to them, right after they got sucked into the Metaverse, Nanako had slipped out of the RV, Akane on her heels, her hands on her hips as she spoke up.

"Nanako! Get back inside the RV! You heard what Ren and Kusa said! It's too dangerous to go after them!" Akane said as Nanako spoke up.

"I know that, but do you know how many times I've been fed that same line as a kid by Big Bro and Big Sis? I'm almost 16 now, so I think I'm old enough to start doing things for myself. If you want to stay behind, go back into the RV. Otherwise, stay close to me. I'm going in after them." Nanako said as she walked towards where the group had been standing, getting pulled into the still-open vortex that had pulled the group into the Metaverse, despite Akane's attempt to reach out and grab her arm to stop her from leaving, leaving Akane to frown as she watched Nanako vanish, yelling out in annoyance.

"DAMMIT! YOU BETTER NOT GET KILLED IN THERE, NANAKO! LOSING YOU WOULD BE SUCH A WASTE! Ugh, good luck. You better come back safely, you sexy brat." Akane said, sighing as she headed back into the RV to wait for the others to return with Nanako...

(Inside the Yongen Jail, at the entrance, with Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, Pendragon, Flare, Wolf, and Nanako)

As the group landed in the Yongen Jail's entrance, they looked around at the structure that appeared in front of them, taking in the many ominous looking towers and imposing walls. Joker and Violet both shuddered at the sight of the sinister-looking electric barbed-wire gating over the top of the walls of what appeared to be a prison, in the worst sense of the word. After a bit, Fox spoke up, his eyes having gone wide in horror at the sight in front of him.

"Good Lord! What sort of messed-up Jail is this!?" Fox asked as Crow frowned and spoke up.

"Honestly? Probably a prison camp of the worst sort. After all, do those flags on the towers look like they'd be in an ordinary prison?" Crow asked, pointing towards some of the towers where black and blue flags were seen flying, the closest ones being shown to have the words 'RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! GIVE UP AND SUFFER!" and/or 'VIVA LA BLACK MASK! GLORY TO OUR BENEVOLENT DICTATOR!' written on them in ominous dark red lettering. Violet shuddered and spoke up.

"Eww, gross! Is it just me, or does it look like those words were written in blood?" Violet asked as Joker spoke up.

"For all we know, they very well could have been, Violet. After all, as most of us here know full well, with apologies to Crow, the Black Mask is one ruthless and psychotic scumbag. Sure, a large part of that can be chalked up to how much Shido screwed him up by not being a proper dad to him, but an equal part of that is on the Black Mask himself for not choosing to rise above his pain and do the right thing with his power." Joker said sagely as at that point, the static-esque sounds of an intercom were heard before an eerily familiar voice could be heard speaking up over the intercom.

"Heh, very perceptive, Joker. But then again, you always were an idealistic fool with no backbone. That being said, allow me to welcome you to my Citadel of Anarchy, Phantom Thieves! Too bad you're likely never going to even get past the front gates, but if you can beat the guard I have posted there, feel free to come on in and look around. But if you do, don't be surprised if you end up in over your heads with some of the safeguards and obstacles I have waiting for you.

Furthermore, if by some miracle, you fools end up overcoming all of the obstacles I have placed and reach me in my inner sanctum, then you will be given the honor of facing me directly! And let me assure those of you who had a chance to battle me before, I've gotten a lot better since our last meeting. I can only hope the same is true for all of you, otherwise it might not be worth my time to personally fight you. But that's a ways off. For now, try and get past the guard at the front entrance. Good luck, Phantom Thieves. You're gonna need it! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The cackling voice of what the group recognized as Crow's darker half said as the intercom switched off. Flare blinked and spoke up.

"Umm, what did that voice mean by 'guard at the front entrance'? Does anyone have any idea what that was about?" Flare asked as Pendragon frowned and spoke up.

"I have a few, but none of them are good. Something tells me this could be our toughest Jail yet, so we should be prepared for anything." Pendragon said as Wolf spoke up.

"Agreed. But for now, let's get to that front entrance and see what we have to get past, so we can at least get an idea of what to expect, yeah?" Wolf suggested as the group nodded, making their way to the front gate, none of them aware of the stowaway who was tailing them from a distance. Once at the front gate, the group went to open the gate, but as they were told, it was sealed up tight. As the group prepared to give up, a cackling was heard as an unfamiliar voice spoke up.

"What have we here? Soooo, you're the so-called 'Phantom Thieves'? Strange. I was expecting more given your reputation thus far. But no matter, I could probably use the warm-up." The group heard as a figure slowly descended into view, wearing mostly teal clothes with a matching cap. As the figure looked the group over, their piercing yellow eyes looked the group over as they crossed their arms over their chest. Noir gasped and spoke up.

"Is that man dressed like a deliveryman!?" Noir asked as Queen spoke up with a frown.

"That does seem to be the case, Noir. But why would a deliveryman be our first obstacle?" Queen asked as the group had no answer. Wolf frowned and spoke up.

"Wait, did you say deliveryman? Why do I feel like I've heard about something related to that recently?" Wolf mused as Draconis spoke up.

"Maybe it has to do with that story that Nanako told us earlier before coming here? I seem to recall she said something about some old guy dressed as a deliveryman trying to snatch her away when she was left alone at her house after her dad dragged her 'Big Bro' to the station to grill him about some letter he'd gotten prior to that. Now what was that scumbag's name? Namaste? Nameko? I forget, but I know it started with an 'N'." Draconis said as the deliveryman spoke up with a chuckle.

"Are you thinking of Taro Namatame, by chance?" The deliveryman asked as Draconis' eyes widened as he spoke up.

"Yeah, that's it! That scum's name was Taro Namatame! But, how did you-?" Draconis said before trailing off as he looked the man over again and gasping as realization set in.

"Wait! Now that I look at you again, you do look rather similar to the guy Nanako warned us about recently. Are you Taro Namatame?" Draconis said as the figure smirked and nodded as he spoke up.

"Very perceptive, for a fool. That's right, I am Taro Namatame! And from the looks of it, I see that you Thieves are friends with the child that I tried to 'save'." The now-named Namatame said as he smirked as Skull spoke up.

"Hold on, this doesn't make effin sense. From what we were told, you apologized to Nanako for your kidnapping. How come you're now going back to being the bad guy." Skull said as Oracle after taking a good look at Namatame spoke up.

"Wait a minute Skull, look at his eyes. They're the normal gold that we've seen with Shadows from our previous targets." Oracle said as Seeker spoke up.

"She's right, I can safely confirm that this is not the real Taro Namatame." Seeker said as Namatame laughed and spoke up.

"The one in white is right. To give you the honest truth, I'm not the real Namatame, but rather his darker side. My original self was weak to the point where he was easily manipulated by a detective to 'save' people by kidnapping them and putting them into another world to keep them safe. Unbeknownst to him, his attempts at 'saving' would've caused those people to die instead. While he regrets everything he has done around eight years ago, I on the other hand enjoyed the power that was given me." Namatame or rather Namatame's Shadow said as Joker growled and spoke up.

"Well, it doesn't matter. If you really are Namatame's Shadow, then we won't let you get away with what you've done. If Nanako's Big Bro and his team were able to take you down, then we can do the same." Joker said as Mona spoke up.

"Well said Joker. Besides, he doesn't look so tough." Mona said before Namatame's Shadow grew a wicked grin and spoke up.

"Not as tough as you say? To think you fools have no idea who you are messing with. Allow me to bring forth my "Savoir of Mankind" and the being of your demise." Namatame's Shadow said as he snapped his fingers, causing a bright light to come from the sky that blinded the Phantom Thieves as they heard what seemed church bells before another figure slowly descended into view.

This one had what appeared to be suspiciously similar to a red halo over its head, having mostly dull dark grey skin and rather deadened looking red eyes, clad only in a white T-shirt with the words 'Love and Peace' written in a red heart and red peace sign along with having small red wings protruding from the figures back. After seeing the shocked looks on the group's faces, Namatame's Shadow spoke up.

"Surprised? Say hello to the instrument of your destruction! Meet the mighty Kunino-Sagiri! This will be the last foe you ever face, Phantom Thieves!" Namatame's Shadow boasted as the now-identified Kunino-Sagiri smirked and waved a hand forward, loosing a large burst of Bless energy that knocked the Phantom Thieves to their knees before a fight could even begin. As the group winced, Mona spoke up.

"Ugh, that thing's so powerful! How is it so strong? Also, how were Lady Seeker and Violet so heavily affected by a Bless move? Don't they normally block such moves?" Mona said as Kunino-Sagiri smirked and spoke up.

"Normally, you'd be correct. But my Bless moves are also part-Almighty and capable of ignoring resistances when they hit, so even those who would otherwise be unfazed will feel the hurt from my attacks." Kunino-Sagiri said tauntingly as Skull winced and spoke up.

"F-For real!? That's friggin' cheating! It should be illegal to be that effin' broken!" Skull said as Violet spoke up.

"No kidding! Moves that can bypass resistances!? I could see Joker, and maybe Crow due to his being implied to have similar powers to Joker, having those sorts of moves since they both have at least some degree of Wild Card powers, but this thing!? That seems a bit unfair." Violet said as Seeker spoke up.

"This looks bad, you guys. I'm actually a little scared." Seeker said before blinking as she felt Mona gently hug her to him from behind, smiling as she heard him speak up.

"No need to be afraid, Lady Seeker. I'll protect you." Mona said reassuringly as Seeker turned to smile at Mona as she spoke up.

"I know you will, Mona. I trust you." Seeker said as she hugged Mona gratefully, laying her head on his chest to show how much she trusted him, to the shock of Mona, Joker, and Violet. At that point, Namatame's Shadow spoke up with a laugh.

"Give it up, fools! You cannot defeat Kunino-Sagiri! The Sagiri are all-powerful!" Namatame's Shadow said as Crow spoke up.

"All-powerful? Ugh, just what we needed. Another god-like being. And at the start of my other half's Jail? What the heck?" Crow said as Oracle spoke up.

"I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that this Jail's Monarch is a dirty rotten cheater! Yet, I can't help but respect his commitment to the bit." Oracle said as Panther spoke up.

"Ugh, so now what? Are we screwed?" Panther said as Namatame's Shadow spoke up.

"That's the idea, yes. So make your peace with death now, since I don't think you can stop me or Kunino-Sagiri. Now, FINISH THEM OFF!" Namatame's Shadow ordered as the group exchanged defeated looks all while glaring at the human and god-like being. But just before Kunino-Sagiri launched another attack, something unexpected happened at that moment as a familiar voice rang out, drawing the attention of all present to the new arrival as a figure leapt down into view and stared down Namatame's Shadow as she spoke up.

"YOU! Somehow I'm not surprised you'd find a way to return! Leave these people alone, Namatame-san! Your grudge is mainly with me and my Big Bro! Let them go!" Nanako said as she leapt into view, making Flare, Joker, Crow, Draconis, and Mona all speak up in horror.

"WHAT!? NANAKO/LADY NANAKO!?" Flare, Joker, Crow, Draconis, and Mona all asked as Violet spoke up.

"How did you get here, though? I know we told you to wait in the RV with Akane-chan." Violet said with a frown as Nanako spoke up.

"Yes, well, I'm not really one to back down when it's something I want. I'll apologize as much as you want for disobeying your request later, but for now I need to deal with this man." Nanako said before turning back to Namatame's Shadow as she kept speaking.

"And as for YOU! What are you doing here, anyway!? Last I checked, you were reformed and trying to lead a better life as Inaba's mayor before soon going into retirement and leading your family's delivery business?" Nanako asked as Namatame's Shadow laughed and spoke up, his eyes suddenly glowing yellow as he spoke.

"Hm? Oh, you mean that weak, spineless other me. No, he's still doing his job. I am his Shadow! And I am his true self!" Namatame's Shadow said as he laughed mockingly and had Kunino-Sagiri prepare an attack before he spoke up while sneering at Nanako.

"And what would you know anyways, you brat? I tried to save you back then, and what did you do!? You told your cousin and his friends, and got them to defeat me and Kunino-Sagiri! Luckily, we got away before that other me could assimilate me into him. I might have failed at goading those fools that call themselves an 'Investigation Team' into finishing the other me off before, but I can deal with him later. First, I'll get rid of you for having the audacity to defy me back then! No one does that and gets away with it!" Namatame's Shadow said as Nanako huffed and spoke up.

"So what!? You have no room to talk about having audacity! You're the one who was sick and depraved enough to kidnap a seven-year-old girl from her own home and toss her into a TV! Who does that!? You're lucky you weren't arrested for that alone, to be honest." Nanako said as Namatame's Shadow spoke up.

"Yes, well, if I wasn't supposed to be able to get you into the TV world so easily, then why is it no one was around to watch over you back then? Face it, you're so pathetic and unwanted that your own father would rather do his job as a cop than look after his daughter. And even your own cousin would rather hang with his friends than protect you. You talk big, but I know you know that deep down that no one cares about you." Namatame's Shadow said as Nanako winced at the words and spoke up, wincing as she felt her nails cut into her palms slightly from where she'd clenched her hands into fists while she felt her anger build at hearing Namatame's Shadow taunt her.

"While you are right to say that is true that my Dad wasn't around a lot when I was younger, I know in my heart that he loves me, as does Big Bro. They both apologized to me for failing me later. But you're not wrong to say that I was a very lonely kid growing up. And maybe it's true that I had few people growing up that cared a lot about me. But SO WHAT!? I still had a family who would do anything for me! Between Dad, Big Bro, Big Sis, Yosuke-kun, Kanji-kun, Teddie-kun, Naoto-kun, Chie-san, and Yukiko-san, not to mention my new friends in the Phantom Thieves, I have plenty of people who would do anything for me! SO SHUT YOUR LYING MOUTH, YOU DISGUSTING CREEP!" Nanako said before wincing as she went to a knee after feeling an ache in her head as a voice echoed in her mind.

(Awakening Start-Nanako)

"Good. You finally seem to get it. But still, you've kept me waiting far too long, don't you think? After all, had things not played out how they did, we were supposed to meet when you were seven! But apparently, that's too young of an age to be at for making pacts with your other self. Either way, we're here now.

And I see you have a good idea of what's important. But for you, awakening to your power will take a lot of resolve. Tell me, my long-awaited partner. Do you possess the inner fortitude, as well as the resolve, to handle my strength and power?" Nanako heard the voice say as she let out a scream due to the pain in her head and after taking a few deep breaths she glared at Namatame's Shadow and Kunino-Sagiri who were both in a state of confusion as the rest of the Phantom Thieves watched on in awe as she spoke up.

"I've come this far, haven't I? And I'm currently staring down a power-crazed madman! And if I'm right, you're part of me! So I would think you'd know if I have the resolve to handle you or not. So are we doing this or not!?" Nanako asked, feeling a few drops of blood fall from her left hand and hit the ground from where she'd dug her nails into her palm hard enough to draw blood in her anger while yelling at Namatame's Shadow, staining the ground red where they fell as the voice chuckled and spoke up once more.

"You bring up a fair point. I can sense the resolve in your heart. Now let us seal our vow! I am thou, thou art I...Though thou hast been burdened with a lot of strife, pain, and suffering in your short life thus far, you've also found the fortitude, resolve, and strength of heart to face it all head-on with a smile on your face. Now, call my name and receive power like you've never known before! At last, the time for you to show that you can stand on your own two feet and be on the same level as those you look up to is at hand!" Nanako heard before blinking as a flash of blue light preceded a mask materializing on her face, making several of the onlookers gasp as they noticed that the edges of the mask vaguely seemed to resemble angel wings.

And truth be told, calling Nanako's mask angelic was probably quite appropriate, especially considering the fact that unlike most of the other masks, Nanako's was a mix of white and silver, similar to the color scheme of Joker's mask, but with silver lines where Joker's mask had black lines, and with a more angelic look compared to how his resembled a domino mask. It was then that Nanako spoke up again.

"I understand. Let's seal our vow!" Nanako said as she reached for the mask and tugged at it, she felt her mask proceeding to rip from her face as she screamed out one sentence.

"Come to me, mighty guardian of the innocent! RISE UP, SRAOSHA!" Nanako yelled out as she yanked her mask free, leaving a bloodstain on her face where the mask had been in the shape of the mask. At that point, a flash of blue flame blinded the group as Nanako was encased in a silvery white cocoon of energy as her transformation began! Once Nanako was absorbed into the cocoon, Oracle gave Draconis a horrified look and spoke up.

"This is way too similar to how your true awakening played out, Draconis. Is Nanako about to do the same thing with her Awakening as you did for your true Awakening? To which she's going to punch her way out of that cocoon?" Oracle asked as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"Perhaps. I think the real question right now is if that cocoon wrapped around Nanako the way it did to cover up the fact that her clothes were probably destroyed by the blue flame, thus shielding her likely naked body from view, or if Nanako's entire being was briefly consumed by the blue flames. If nothing else, I can say with certainty that the former of those two scenarios is why I was wrapped up in a cocoon during my true Awakening. And if that's also why she's wrapped in that cocoon right now, then that's probably a blessing in disguise, since I don't think she'd want all of us gawking over her naked figure like a bunch of dumbstruck idiots, which I can almost guarantee some of us would do." Draconis said as Crow grinned and spoke up, while aiming a sly smirk at a confused Skull and Mona as he spoke.

"I think I know exactly who you are referring to, Draconis. But that said, I could see what you said being proven correct. Hopefully, when she comes out of that cocoon, Nanako's Phantom Thief attire won't be as provocative and/or eye-catching as either Panther or Violet's Phantom Thief attire, or even Seeker's." Crow said as Panther, Violet, and Seeker all frowned at Crow before speaking up in unison.

"HEY!" Violet, Panther, and Seeker said as Violet spoke up.

"What's that supposed to mean, Crow?" Violet asked as Panther spoke up.

"Are you trying to say our outfits are indecent and/or slutty, Crow?" Panther asked as Crow spoke up.

"Maybe not so much yours Panther, but both Seeker and Violet's outfits make them look like they're practically naked from the waist down for the most part. At least with Violet's, hers makes it clear she has some form of covering below her waist. Seeker, on the other hand? If not for the fact that you can just see hints of her black shorts when she bends over, you'd think she was going commando under her dress. And in your case, your worst problem is the amount of cleavage that spandex shows. Good thing you're into women, or you'd probably have guys lining up for miles to date you, Panther." Crow said sagely as Violet huffed and spoke up.

"Shut up, Crow! I don't hear Joker complaining about my outfit! Granted, he might be too busy admiring how much my outfit accentuates my figure and emphasizes my curves. As for Seeker's outfit, I think her outfit is actually quite modest and cute for her age. If nothing else, I don't hear Mona complaining about it. And I know for a fact Flare is very much approving of Panther's attire, so you can keep those unwanted critiques of yours to yourself." Violet said as Seeker frowned and spoke up.

"Why is Crow complaining about my outfit? What's wrong with it?" Seeker asked as Joker spoke up.

"Other than the fact that your shorts are so short, they're almost invisible under your dress? Crow's just probably trying to find a way to justify his remark about indecently dressed females in this group, which he's wrong about. Besides, we don't hear Mona complaining about your attire, so if nothing else, he's a fan of it. That being said, I'm pretty sure that the only female who even comes CLOSE to being indecently dressed is my beautiful Violet.

And even then, that's only because her leotard almost crosses the line between decently and indecently covering the area between her legs. However, it does in fact keep her decently covered. But enough talk about the way you ladies dress. We're supposed to be watching Nanako's Awakening, are we not? And in any case, let's hope she comes out of that Awakening soon." Joker said, getting nods of agreement from the others as they settled in to wait.

After a bit, a crackling sound drew the group's attention in time for them to see a silver-gloved hand punch its way out of either side of the cocoon, which shattered to reveal Nanako in her new Phantom Thief attire, which comprised of a very form-fitting and figure-hugging silver leotard that was quite similar to the one Violet wore, but where Violet's had a rose brooch on one hip, Nanako's instead had a platinum angel-wings bangle.

Across the chest of the leotard was a white sash, on the back of which was a silky white quiver of arrows, which formed after a silvery jacket appeared to cover Nanako's arms and legs, which were otherwise only covered by a figure-hugging, skin-tight white body suit that went on under her unitard, which ended where she had a pair of white leather boots with silver buckles along the boots and silver lining and soles. On her hands were elbow-length silver silk gloves with wing-like frills on the wrists.

As for the silvery jacket that had appeared to cover Nanako's upper arms and legs, it was mostly a plain silver trenchcoat, not unlike the black trenchcoats that both Joker and Violet wore, albeit much closer in appearance to Violet's. However, what made Nanako's unique was that on the back of the coat, if you looked close enough, you could see a set of ten white streaks going down the back of the coat, which on closer inspection were in fact angel wings. *1*

Once Nanako's attire finished revealing itself, to finish the look, the mask from before reappeared on Nanako's face, which had been cleansed of the blood that had previously stained it where she'd ripped her mask off, while she felt her hair braid itself into twin ponytails that fell to her back where they laid on either of her shoulders, making her somehow look more mature than she already looked as she felt a bow materialize in one of her hands, and a long weapon that looked vaguely like a staff in the other.

As Nanako strapped the bow to her back, she looked at the weapon in her right hand and realized that though it looked similar, it was not a staff. Nanako blinked as she looked her weapon over, noticing that though it was like a staff, it had what appeared to be the heft of an axe on one end, making her blink as she realized that she had been given not a staff as she'd first thought, but instead a halberd, for her melee weapon.

At the same time, Nanako's Persona, or Sraosha as she'd called it, appeared behind her. Similar to Nanako's attire, Sraosha's skin was mostly a silvery-blue color, aside from the black belt and red loincloth covering it from the waist down, underneath which you could just see a blue tail poking out as two imposing silver-blue wings spread out from Sraosha's back.

However, for all that Sraosha seemed to struggle with his balance, he smirked as he leaned on the dark blue cane that he held in one hand, putting his free hand on the top to steady himself as he leered down at Kunino-Sagiri before slashing his staff out, knocking Kunino-Sagiri backwards and breaking the hold he had on the other Phantom Thieves, who got to their feet as Joker, Wolf, Pendragon, and Crow all joined her on the front lines as the rest of the Thieves took position while Namatame growled and spoke up.

(Awakening End-Nanako)

"What's this!? You had the potential too, you brat? Inconceivable! Well, no matter. So what if there's one more of you!? I'll crush you all just the same!" Namatame said as he snapped his fingers and a small army of Shadows spawned in alongside of Kunino-Sagiri, who spoke up.

"So, shall we settle this, Phantom Thieves!? Show me your power!" Kunino-Sagiri said as Joker turned to Nanako and spoke up.

"Well, looks like you've got your chance. Time to show what you can do, Nanako." Joker said as Nanako nodded resolutely as Oracle spoke up.

"Not to break up the moment, but here they come! Let's do this!" Oracle said as Joker and Nanako nodded, before a fight began! As the fight began, Kunino-Sagiri spoke up in a mocking voice.

"FOOLS! You think you can stand up to the lord of the fog!? You shall suffer for this folly greatly!" Kunino-Sagiri said as Joker and Crow both spoke up.

"SHUT UP!" Joker and Crow snapped as Nanako spoke up.

"If you're so tough, then how come my Big Bro and his friends were able to defeat you before? I don't think you're that tough! I'm not sure why my clothes changed, but I'll worry about that later. For now, I'm going to trust in these guys to help me take you down! So bring it on, Kunino-Sagiri!" Nanako said resolutely as she hefted her halberd in both hands, charging in to swing it forward, slashing through four minor Shadows at once while everyone except for Joker, Crow, Pendragon, and Wolf worked to push back the smaller Shadows. At that point, Wolf spoke up.

"Give it up, Namatame! We're going to defeat you!" Wolf said as Namatame's Shadow laughed and spoke up.

"You! Defeat me!? HA! Do you know how absurd you sound right now?" Namatame's Shadow said as Kunino-Sagiri spoke up.

"I agree. We cannot lose! But try your best, just the same. I welcome the attempt!" Kunino-Sagiri said as Mona winced and spoke up.

"Eww, is that what Yu was talking about before when he described Kunino-Sagiri to Nanako before as 'the creepy lovechild of an angel and a hippie'!?" Mona asked as Nanako spoke up with a wince.

"I think if anything, Big Bro probably understated that. Also, that thing is no angel! It's very clearly a demon." Nanako said bluntly as Kunino-Sagiri frowned at Nanako's remark before he shot forth another Bless blast, which Nanako nimbly deflected with her halberd before reaching behind her back to retrieve the silvery bow she'd placed there during her Awakening, reaching into the quiver behind her to retrieve a shimmering white arrow, which she nocked while taking aim at Kunino-Sagiri.

"Hmm, let's see what this does to you!" Nanako said while shooting her arrow at Kunino-Sagiri, who recoiled in shock as the arrow hit for effective damage, making Crow and Pendragon exchange shocked looks as Pendragon spoke up.

"Hold up. Did her arrows just do Gun damage to Kunino-Sagiri!?" Pendragon asked as Crow spoke up.

"Seems like it to me! More importantly, it seems as if Kunino-Sagiri is weak to Guns!" Crow said as Nanako spoke up.

"Guns, huh? Interesting. I wonder, though. SRAOSHA! SMITE THE ENEMY!" Nanako said as Sraosha nodded, brandishing his cane which he waved like a wand, making a good-sized bolt of lightning appear through his usage of the Elec skill 'Zionga', making Sraosha reel back from the effective hit. Skull grinned and spoke up.

"Oh, so he's weak to Elec attacks too, eh? Awesome! Might be a chance for Seiten Taisei to get in on the fun!" Skull said as Mona spoke up with a frown.

"SKULL! Focus! We're in charge of keeping the small fries off of Lady Nanako and the others! Once that's done, we can help the others! For now, get back here and help me and Violet protect Lady Seeker while Queen guides her group!" Mona rebuked Skull, who nodded and returned to helping Mona while Joker and Crow helped Nanako work on breaking Kunino-Sagiri's down gauge as Wolf and Draconis focused on buffing their side and debuffing the other side, which Crow contributed to as well periodically through his 'Debilitate' move. As the group did this, Namatame's Shadow spoke up with a frown.

"Really? That's the best you can do? Pathetic!" Kunino-Sagiri said as Panther spoke up.

"Don't count on us out yet, you creep!" Panther said as Queen spoke up.

"Heads up guys. More Shadows incoming!" Queen said as more Shadows started to appear as Flare spoke up.

"There's quite a lot of these guys! Is there any way to take them all out at once?" Flare asked as Nanako who was in the middle of fighting Kunino-Sagiri took notice of the other Thieves' situation and spoke up.

"SRAOSHA! GIVE OUR ENEMIES DIVINE PUNISHMENT!" Nanako said as Sraosha raised its cane which was then followed by the Shadows getting blinded by a harsh light before they were instantly vaporized by a 'Hama' spell as Noir spoke up.

"Wow. So looks like Nanako can use insta-kill skills like Crow and Joker." Noir said as Fox spoke up.

"Indeed, despite Nanako's Persona looking like a demon, it possesses the powers of an angelic being." Fox said in awe as Oracle spoke up.

"There will be plenty of time to gander at Nanako's Persona later, Fox. Right now we need to finish this thing." Oracle said and after a bit, Kunino-Sagiri winced and went to a knee as the last of his down gauge broke, making Joker turn to Nanako as he spoke up.

"Looks like we've broken his down gauge. This would be where we do what we call an "All-Out Attack", but since its your first battle, would you do the honors, Nanako?" Joker said as Nanako nodded and spoke up.

"I'd be honored, Joker! ALL OUT ATTACK, GO!" Nanako said as she, Joker, Wolf, Crow, and Pendragon charged in towards Kunino-Sagiri and slashed furiously at him, before Nanako swung her halberd at him, staggering him before pulling out her bow and nocking an arrow which was coated in holy lightning while taking aim at Kunino-Sagiri before speaking up.

"Time to pierce that ego of yours! FIRE!" Nanako said as she fired her arrow, grinning at the inherent irony of what happened next, as she saw the arrow embed itself in the spot where Kunino-Sagiri's heart would be if it weren't a Shadow, making him writhe in pain as he staggered back at the same time that Nanako was surrounded by a glow of light, which Crow noticed with a smirk.

"Well, well. Looks like your Showtime's ready too. Care to use it and put this trash out of its misery?" Crow asked as Nanako nodded and spoke up.

"Can do! HERE WE GO! SHOWTIME!" Nanako said as she front-flipped towards Kunino-Sagiri, halberd extended. As she heard the dull thud and squishing sound that indicated she'd pierced Kunino-Sagiri's chest with her halberd, Nanako removed her spear and spoke up.

"AND NOW TO END IT! SRAOSHA! LIGHT ME!" Nanako said as Sraosha nodded, snapping his fingers as the arrow Nanako had nocked was crackling with Elec energy just before she fired it.

"HAVE A TASTE OF THIS! DIVINE SHOT, FIRE!" Nanako said as she fired the electrified arrow, watching as it once again embedded itself into the chest of Kunino-Sagiri, who flew straight to the ground writhing in pain as it was slowly and painfully electrocuted, managing to weakly speak up once more.

"Wh-WHAT!? HOW? I, one of the Sagiri, lost to a bunch of rabble like you!? IMPOSSIBLE! NOOOOOOO!" Kunino-Sagiri said before its head hit the ground and led to it dissolving into black mist at the same time that Namatame's Shadow scowled and disappeared into thin air, something Draconis noticed as he turned to Crow and spoke up so only Crow could hear.

"Crow, am I the only one who noticed that Namatame's Shadow is trying to flee like a coward? I think we can trust the others to clean up here, but what say you and I go chase after Namatame's Shadow?" Draconis said as Crow nodded and spoke up.

"Good call. We can't let that worm get away again. After all, if he was able to goad Nanako's cousin and his friends despite his host changing his ways, then he could cause more problems for us later if we don't finish him off here." Crow said as Draconis nodded, at which point the two slipped off to chase after Namatame's Shadow, leaving the rest of the group to finish off the small fries, at which point Violet turned to Mona and Seeker and spoke up.

"Well, now that it's just the little guys, I think we can wrap this up. And to that end, I had an idea recently for a move that we could use, but I'm going to need Mona and Seeker to help me do this one. Will you both help me try it out?" Violet said as she glanced at the two Thieves in question as Mona spoke up.

"I'd be honored, Violet! Especially if it would be of help to Lady Seeker." Mona said as Seeker blushed and spoke up.

"I don't know why you always tend to call me 'Lady Seeker', but I honestly find it to be both oddly flattering and also somehow quite comforting, Mona. And with that being said, I'd be glad to help you, Violet!" Seeker said as Violet smiled and spoke up.

"Good, let's do it!" Violet said as she, Mona, and Seeker spoke up in unison.

"GO, TRIAD SPECIAL!" Violet, Mona, and Seeker said in unison as Violet spoke up.

"ELLA, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!" Violet said as Ella nodded and fired an orb of Bless energy as Mona spoke up.

"DIEGO, SHOW YOUR MIGHT!" Mona said as he summoned Diego to generate a torrent of Wind power as Seeker spoke up.

"PITHOS! FIRE AT MAXIMUM POWER!" Seeker said as Pithos nodded and fired a giant laser of Bless power, which joined the torrents created by Ella and Diego, causing an ominous looking cloud to spread over the Shadows at the same time that Violet spoke up.

"As for our enemies, it's time to bring judgment upon them." Violet said as Mona spoke up.

"Agreed! The divine powers have spoken, and it's time to hear their verdict!" Mona said as Seeker spoke up.

"And their verdict? They have sentenced our foes to divine execution!" Seeker said as Violet, Mona, and Seeker spoke up.

"AND NOW TO CARRY OUT YOUR SENTENCE! GO, STORM OF HEAVEN!" Violet, Mona, and Seeker all said as the cloud burst open and a rain-like torrent of energy cascaded down on the Shadows, pelting them with a mix of Bless, Wind, and even Elec damage, eventually culminating with a gigantic lightning bolt that crashed down and instantly reduced the Shadows to black mist, ending the battle. After the battle, Joker looked around and spoke up.

"Whew, that's the last of them. And best of all, I don't think Namatame's anywhere around." Joker said as Crow spoke up with a smirk.

"I can confirm he's been dealt with. Draconis and I caught him trying to flee and proceeded to put him down before banishing him to his real self. So he shouldn't be able to bother us anymore." Crow said as Draconis nodded his agreement. At that point, the intercom crackled to life as a familiar voice spoke up once more.

"Well, well. I am impressed, Phantom Thieves. I didn't think you had the power to defeat a Sagiri. But it seems I underestimated your allies in thinking that. At the same time though, did I underestimate them, or did I just not take into account the power your new ally now wields? Either way, you have overcome the guard of the front gate. However, I can't help but notice the toll this fight took on most of you. I might be a lot of things, but I'm not a cruel man, despite what most would say.

So I will allow you all to retreat and recover from this fight before proceeding. And to show my sincerity, I will leave the gates open so you can come in on your return. But for now, I insist you go back and recover from your ordeal. After all, where is the honor in finishing off a weakened/drained foe? But don't expect me to be so merciful every time you survive a trial. AHAHAHAHA!"The voice of the Monarch of Yongen Jail said as the intercoms switched off, allowing Joker, Crow, and Violet to turn towards Nanako, who'd dropped to a knee and showed signs of being drained as she spoke up.

"Whew, that was intense. What the heck happened just now, anyways? Why did my clothes change, and what was with the multiple-winged demon-angel thing behind me while we fought Kunino-Sagiri just now? I don't get it." Nanako said as Mona spoke up with a smile.

"Let me explain, Lady Nanako. That being behind you was your inner rebel awakened, or your Persona. Basically, it serves as proof that you are one of us now. But also, it serves as your proof of membership, so to speak, in the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. But I don't think you have the energy to listen to the full explanation just now. You used a lot of energy just now between awakening to your Persona and helping defeat Kunino-Sagiri and Namatame's Shadow, not to mention showing off your All-Out Attack AND your Showtime. So it's only natural that you're going to be rather drained from your efforts as a result." Mona said gently and kindly as Crow spoke up.

"I know you're probably raring to go and keep testing your new powers out, but that would be to your detriment to do that. I feel like it's in your best interest if we all return to the real world for now so you can recover your strength after what you just went through." Crow said as Nanako stubbornly shook her head and spoke up.

"Nuh-uh! I don't need to go back and rest! I'm okay! I can still fight. So let's keep going." Nanako said, only to stumble as she tried to get to her feet, being caught moments later by Panther and Flare, as the latter spoke up.

"Don't be stupid, Nanako! I can respect that you want to keep going, but you just went through quite the ordeal awakening to your powers. So there's no shame in needing to retreat and let you recover your energy. That being said, you don't need to worry about us leaving you behind anymore. After that display just now? You've more than proven yourself capable of being one of us.

But for now, you need to rest and get your strength back so you can fight at full strength. We're going to need all the strength we can get for this Jail. So let's all go back for now and recover while we can. Besides, I bet Akane's worried sick after you up and vanished on her." Flare said as Panther smirked and spoke up.

"And just think, they're still just friends for now. Imagine how much worse Akane's worrying would be if they'd decided to be girlfriends already." Panther said as Nanako blushed and spoke up.

"H-Hey! No fair bringing that up, Panther! You know Akane and I are still getting to know one another! Besides, is that really something to be bringing up around Seeker?" Nanako pointed out as Violet spoke up.

"I mean, it's not like Panther was saying you and Akane were doing anything super-naughty, right? Besides, I get a feeling Seeker's too preoccupied to care right now." Violet said with a smirk, pointing to where Seeker was standing with Mona having a discussion while Draconis, Wolf, and Pendragon watched. Joker then spoke up.

"Besides, I'm sure Seeker would prefer it if you and Akane were in love with each other, Nanako. Particularly since that would mean there's a lot less competition for her to worry about losing Mona to." Joker said as Violet spoke up with a smile, smirking at the subtle hints of a blush creeping onto Seeker's face as Violet and Joker teased her.

"Ah, so you agree with me that Seeker might be starting to truly nurse a genuine crush on Mona then?" Violet said as Joker nodded and Oracle spoke up.

"Mwehehe! Between Mona and Seeker and the possible couple of Nanako and Akane, I wonder which one is more beautiful together? Maybe we can wait for them to kiss and find out then?" Oracle suggested as Violet, Flare, and Joker all spoke up.

"ORACLE! BEHAVE!" Violet, Flare, and Joker all said as Draconis, who overheard the conversation, spoke up.

"Oracle, I understand you want both Mona and Seeker as well as Nanako and Akane to get together. But you shouldn't move things forward so quickly." Draconis stated as Crow spoke up.

"Draconis has a good point. And besides, am I the only one who recalls that Nanako-san has both a dad AND someone she calls 'Big Bro' to try and explain herself to if she does decide to go out with Akane-san? And I'm not sure how either of those two would feel about the idea of Nanako-san having a girlfriend, much less being into women. Granted, I have a feeling Nanako-san's 'Big Sis', as she calls her cousin's wife, would probably be thrilled for her. But that's just my opinion." Crow said as Queen spoke up.

"Well, if Nanako does decide to come out as being either bisexual or lesbian, that's her choice to make and for us to support as her teammates. But I think we were going back to the real world to rest, weren't we?" Queen asked as Noir nodded and spoke up while Nanako started wavering before almost keeling over, only for Flare to easily catch her and scoop her into her arms in a pseudo-bridal style of carry.

"That's correct. We need to go back and let Nanako rest." Noir said as the group nodded and took their leave of the Yongen Jail for the time being...

(Back in the real world, outside of the RV, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, Sojiro, Shiho, Zenkichi, Nanako, and Akane)

While the group was making their way out of the Jail, Akane was still in the RV in deep worry for Nanako. Since the Thieves left she planned out a big rant to Nanako for not staying behind as they were told along with running off after them with no protection, but also to the group about not going further from the RV to do their job. It wasn't long before she heard the voice of her father call out to her.

"Akane! We're back!" Zenkichi said as Akane rushed out of the RV to meet with the group. But just as she was about to start berating Nanako and the Thieves for their actions, Akane noticed Nanako partially slumped over in Shiho's arms, making her gasp as she spoke up.

"NANAKO!? What the heck happened to you after you went in there?" Akane asked as Sumire saw the worried look on Akane's face and spoke up to reassure her.

"Nanako's fine, Akane-chan. She just had one heck of a battle against some guy from her past, during which she may have gained the same powers that we have. What she's going through right now is the same post-battle draining most of us experienced after we awakened to our Personas. Granted, neither Goro nor Morgana had that problem, but Kusa and Ren both believed that Goro and Morgana had their draining before they joined us, which I'd believe." Sumire said as Akane spoke up.

"I see. So she's just worn out, then? She's not sick or something?" Akane asked as Nanako managed to lift her head up and speak up.

"I'm fine, Akane. I'm sorry for scaring you. I just used a lot of energy in the Metaverse, that's all. I told you I'd come back to you." Nanako said as Akane smiled, nodding as Ann giggled and spoke up.

"Aww, how cute. Akane's worried about Nanako. That's so sweet. But then again, I can't say I blame her. I'd probably be as worried as she is if it'd been Shiho in Nanako's shoes. To be honest, I was easily as worried as Akane is now when Shiho actually had her Awakening. So I think it's a safe bet that Akane at least has feelings for Nanako, if not outright loves her." Ann said honestly as Akane blushed and spoke up.

"W-Well, I don't know if I love Nanako per se, but I do know that she's become quite precious to me in the short time I've known her. Maybe it's the fact that it feels so nice to cuddle with her and tease her, but I just find myself happier when she's around than when she's not, if that makes sense. And I probably enjoy kissing her way more than I should." Akane said shyly as Zenkichi spoke up.

"I could be wrong since I'm no expert on girl-crushes, but I think it sounds to me like you have an honest crush on her. But Ann and/or Shiho can correct me if I'm mistaken to think that." Zenkichi said as Makoto spoke up.

"No, I think you're probably right." Makoto said as Shiho spoke up.

"Well, considering the fact that when I went to check on Akane and Nanako, I walked in on these two laying on each other. Moreover, both Nanako and Akane were stripped down naked, both bare as the day they were born, making out as if they were a pair of horny rabbits. Given that they were that eager to take each other to bed, I'd say they definitely have at least some level of chemistry between them, even if it's just a high level of sexual attraction. And if they are in fact in love with each other, they need to know that none of us here judge them for it. If anything, we accept their choice wholeheartedly and respect their preferences. So they just need to be honest with themselves about how they feel." Shiho said as Akane blushed and spoke up.

"R-Right. But that can wait until later, right? Nanako looks like she needs to be given a nice comfy spot to lay in so she can take a nap and get some of her energy back right now. If the chance presents itself after she's rested a bit, maybe she and I can discuss how we feel about each other then. But I have a feeling she'll have other things on her mind when she wakes up. And I am in no hurry to push her into anything she doesn't want." Akane said honestly as Ren and Kusa looked at each other before they nodded and Ren spoke up.

"Good point, Akane. If I have Shiho hand Nanako to you, can we trust you to carry her inside, tuck her in and make sure she rests, or can you do that without wanting to do stuff to her?" Ren asked as Akane's face turned bright red while she spoke up.

"R-Ren! I wouldn't take advantage of Nanako like that! I might have a crush on her, but I'm not going to try anything with her. If anything, I'll probably lay with her and let her rest on me, since I've noticed she seems to sleep better when she's snuggled up to me for some reason. I have no idea why she's like that, but she is." Akane said as Nanako spoke up in a slightly drowsy voice.

"Y-You have a crush on me, Akane? I had no idea. I'm flattered. I might feel the same about you, but I feel like I'm too tired to try and think about it right now. Maybe once I've rested some more, I can try and figure out how I feel about you. But for now, I think I want to take a bit of a nap to recover my energy from what I just went through. If you want to cuddle with me and possibly also take a nap, I won't turn you away. Either way, I'm tired." Nanako said as Shiho smiled and gently laid Nanako in Akane's arms, where she smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Shiho." Akane said before looking at Nanako as she kept speaking, ignoring the mix of amused and uncertain expressions on the faces of the others as she fixed Nanako with her best disapproving frown while she spoke.

"And as for you, you beautiful, foolish brat! How dare you scare me like that!? But I'll yell at you more later. For now, let's get you to bed." Akane said as Nanako sleepily nodded, laying her head on Akane's shoulder as she let Akane carry her into the RV bridal-style to lay down with her, both Nanako and Akane ignoring the wide, knowing grins on both Futaba and Ryuji's faces as they disappeared into the RV.

(Inside the RV, with Akane and Nanako)

After getting back into the RV with Nanako, Akane smiled as she gently laid Nanako on the bottom bunk before stripping out of everything but her bra and panties, carefully doing the same for Nanako as she gently scooped her back up so she could pull the blanket aside and lay down on the bottom bunk, gently setting Nanako down on her chest, positioning Nanako so she was able to lay her head on her shoulder, before pulling the blanket over them both and draping an arm gently over Nanako's waist as she spoke up.

"There we go, Nanako. Nice and comfy. Now sleep and get your strength back. I'll be here when you wake up. And we can discuss what you did in more detail then. For now, just focus on getting lots of rest." Akane said as Nanako nodded and smiled happily as she snuggled her head into Akane's chest and got comfy, but not before hearing Akane speak up once more, feeling her face go bright red and her heart flutter oddly at what Akane said next.

"Sleep well, Nanako. I'm glad you're safe, you stupid, sexy fool. I love you." Akane said as she laid her head on the pillow and tried to get comfortable, not seeing Nanako's eyes widen slightly at Akane's admission. Nanako's only reaction to the confession was to smile shyly and fall asleep with a peaceful look on her face, not seeing the genuine smile on Akane's face as she also dozed off while holding Nanako close...

(A short time later, inside the RV, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, Sojiro, Shiho, Zenkichi, Nanako, and Akane)

After the group got settled in the RV to relax a bit, Zenkichi spoke up with a smile on his face.

"Well, that was an intense battle we just had, wasn't it?" Zenkichi said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"True, but it was more intense for some of us than for others. Still, I have to say that I'm impressed with how fearlessly Nanako stood up for herself back there. Who knew she had such an indomitable will in her?" Kusa said as Shiho giggled and spoke up.

"Good point. But I think Nanako's pretty happy right now." Shiho said, pointing towards the bottom bunk, where Nanako was currently fast asleep and dozing peacefully, her head resting cutely on the chest of a shyly smiling Akane, who had one of the most peaceful looks on her face that Zenkichi could ever recall seeing there. Goro grinned knowingly at the sight of the shy smiles on both Nanako and Akane's faces and spoke up.

"Judging from her face, I'd say Akane-san's pretty happy too. Now I think the next question is how long will it take for her and Nanako to acknowledge their clear and apparent feelings for one another. I say it's gonna be another couple of weeks or so. Any takers?" Goro said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Are you crazy, Goro? Given what Shiho walked in on, I'd say it's gonna be way sooner than that. I got 5000 yen that says they hook up by the end of Konoe's Jail. Any takers?" Kusa said as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"Awfully bold bet for you to make, don't you think? But very well. I'll raise that bet to 10,000 yen that says they hook up by the end of this Jail." Goro said as Kusa thought about it and spoke up.

"Hmm, that's actually fair. Done. Anyone else want in?" Kusa asked as Zenkichi, Sojiro, Morgana, and even Makoto all took part in that bet, with both Morgana and Sojiro backing Kusa's bet of the couple getting together by the end of Konoe's Jail while Makoto and Zenkichi backed Goro's bet of by the end of the Yongen Jail. As the group started discussing trivialities, Akane smiled at Nanako as she spoke up while lazily draping an arm over the sleeping Nanako and running her fingers idly through her hair while she spoke.

"You're a very strong, very stubborn, very beautiful little brat, aren't you Nanako? Heh, you're lucky that you're so beautiful that I can't stay mad at you. Don't ever scare me like that again. Now, make sure you sleep well, my love." Akane said while blushing at the last two words she'd spoken before cutely leaning in to kiss Nanako on the cheek before gently getting comfortable as she laid down with Nanako, letting her get some much-needed rest as she also managed to fall asleep again, smiling at the almost dreamily-content looking smile on Nanako's face as she nuzzled herself into Akane's chest, using her cleavage as a pillow.

While the two dozed peacefully, unaware of the smug smirk on Goro's face, as he'd heard what Akane had said to Nanako, the rest of the group started debating potential code names for Nanako, knowing she was going to need one after the Awakening she'd just had. As all this happened, the group went about recovering from their trip to the Yongen Jail, knowing they'd need to be at full strength for the trials that lay in wait...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! Not as long as most other chapters I've done, but hopefully it's still long enough. Just like that, we've begun the Yongen Jail! And yeah, who saw Nanako's awakening coming, much less the return of Namatame!? I'll be honest and say that he was the most logical choice given what he does to Nanako near the end of Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden. As far as Nanako's Phantom Thief attire, I'd been planning on it for a while.

I spent the most time deciding on her melee weapon before eventually deciding on a halberd since it seemed like a good enough choice for Nanako while also maintaining the angelic/heaven-based theming I was going for with her Phantom Thief attire (which is in and of itself appropriate, given what the theme of her dungeon in Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden was, not to mention the name of the OST that plays for most of said dungeon), so yeah, that's why I chose that.

As for why Sraosha as Nanako/Seraphim's Persona? There are two reasons for that. Firstly, jdimock suggested it, and I thought it made a lot of sense, so I went with it. Secondly, and this was jdimock's reasoning for suggesting Sraosha, Sraosha is the ultimate Persona of the Justice Arcana in Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden, so it was essentially the Persona you get for maxing out Nanako's Social Link in Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden, thus it made sense, since it's similar to the reasoning behind giving Sojiro/Pendragon Kohryu as his partner Persona. Figured I'd mention that before I forget about it.

Also, before I forget, shoutout to jdimock for helping me figure out Nanako's ranged and melee weapons (moreso her melee weapon), since he's been really good about helping me fine-tune things for the story such as Phantom Thief attire and skillsets for most of the new Thieves. So if he's reading this, thanks for all your help!

That being said, let me just say that there's still a LOT more to come for the Yongen Jail! And in the next chapter, not only does the newest Phantom Thief's code name get revealed, but at the same time, the next trials of the Yongen Jail begin, and most of the group won't have it easy in them! Can the group pull through and reach the Monarch? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out!

And on that note, let me thank anyone who's read this far into both the story and this chapter, as your dedication and support of this story are not only much appreciated, but greatly welcomed, as it shows that people like this story! So if you want to weigh in on the story and/or make your opinions heard, feel free to leave a review in the reviews section (or shoot me a PM if you don't like reviewing) with your thoughts/feedback/constructive criticism/suggestions for the story!

Also, for anyone interested, I also have a Discord I use to discuss my stories, even though I haven't had a lot of people want to be invited to it. If you want to be part of it, feel free to let me know either in a review or via PM and I'll send you an invite link for that server. I enjoy hearing from my readers either way! And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - In case it's not already abundantly clear, Nanako's Phantom Thief attire is heavily angelic/heaven-based, as her eventual code name will prove. Also, kudos to anyone who can spot the subtle Digimon references in Nanako's Phantom Thief attire. Felt like being a bit more subtle with the references this time. Also, feel free to share your thoughts on Nanako's Phantom Thief attire in the reviews or via PM.

PHANTOM THIEF SKILL LISTINGS AND ALLY LIST AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 27

JOKER (Ren) - Level: 54 Current Personas: Raoul (Level 32), Jack-O'-Lantern (Level 42), Jack Frost (Level 42), Okuninushi (Level 48), Pixie (Level 35), Pisaca (Level 35), Norn (Level 54), Ganesha (Level 54), Queen Mab (Level 51), Fortuna (Level 54) Equipped Persona: Queen Mab Persona Moveset: Mazionga (Elec), Bufudyne (Ice), Makajamaon (Ailment), Concentrate (Support/Buff), Mapsio (Psy), Makouga (Bless), Garula (Wind), Agidyne (Fire)

SKULL (Ryuji) - Level: 49 Current/Partner Persona: Seiten Taisei Persona Moveset: Zionga (Elec), Megaton Raid (Physical), Matarukaja (Support/Buff), Attack Master (Passive), Mazionga (Elec), Rebel Soul (Passive), Swift Strike (Physical), Shock Boost (Passive)

MONA (Morgana) - Level: 49 Current/Partner Persona: Diego Persona Moveset: Garula (Wind), Diarahan (Healing), Mediarama (Healing), Magarula (Wind), Wind Boost (Passive), Samarecarm (Healing), Masukunda (Support/Debuff), Dodge Elec (Passive)

PANTHER (Ann) - Level: 50 Current/Partner Persona: Hecate Persona Moveset: Agidyne (Fire), Burn Boost (Passive), Fire Boost (Passive), Soul Thief (Passive), Maragion (Fire), Matarunda (Support/Debuff), Marin Karin (Ailment), Diarama (Healing)

FOX (Yusuke) - Level: 50 Current/Partner Persona: Kamu Susano-o Persona Moveset: Bufula (Ice), Speed Master (Passive), Masukukaja (Support/Buff), Knockdown Style (Passive), Vicious Strike (Physical), Tempest Slash (Physical), Mabufula (Ice), Dodge Fire (Passive)

QUEEN (Makoto) - Level: 49 Current/Partner Persona: Anat Persona Moveset: Freila (Nuclear), Dekunda (Support/Buff), Marakukaja (Support/Buff), Mafreila (Nuclear), Diarama (Healing), Flash Bomb (Physical), Mediarama (Healing), Nuke Boost (Passive)

NOIR (Haru) - Level: 49 Current/Partner Persona: Lucy Persona Moveset: Psio (Psy), Psy Boost (Passive), Heat Riser (Support/Buff), Triple Down (Gun), Evil Smile (Ailment), Amrita Shower (Healing), Mapsio (Psy), Gun Boost (Passive)

ORACLE (Futaba) - Level: 54 Current Personas: Al Azif and Albus Equipped Persona: Al Azif Persona Moveset: Analysis (Passive), Moral Support (Passive), Active Support (Passive), Moral Boost (Passive), Active Boost (Passive), Moral Boost EX (Passive), Active Boost EX (Passive), Final Guard (Passive)

SEEKER (Sophia) - Level: 49 Current/Partner 'Persona': Pithos Persona Moveset: Kougaon? (Bless), Bless Amp? (Passive), Diarama? (Healing), Makouga? (Bless), Mediarama? (Healing), Marakunda? (Support/Debuff), Divine Grace? (Passive), Recarm? (Healing)

WOLF (Zenkichi) - Level: 53 Current/Partner Persona: Valjean Persona Moveset: Megido (Almighty), Gun Boost (Passive), Dekaja (Support/Debuff), Technical High (Passive), Triple Down (Gun), Heat Riser (Support/Buff), Enduring Soul (Passive), Sukukaja (Support/Buff)

VIOLET (Sumire) - Level: 50 Current/Partner Persona: Ella Persona Moveset: Kouga (Bless), Dodge Curse (Passive), Diarama (Healing), Bless Boost (Passive), Heat Wave (Physical), Makouga (Bless), Tempest Slash (Physical), Samarecarm (Healing)

DRACONIS (Kusa) - Level: 49 Current/Partner Persona: Malefor Persona Moveset: Agilao (Fire), Garula (Wind), Mediarama (Healing), Rising Slash (Physical), Masukunda (Support/Debuff), Vicious Strike (Physical), Megido (Almighty), Almighty Boost (Passive)

CROW (Goro) - Level: 49 Current/Partner Persona: Hereward Persona Moveset: Eiga (Curse), One-Shot Kill (Gun), Maeiga (Curse), Deathbound (Physical), Debilitate (Support/Debuff), Mudo (Curse/insta-kill), Megidola (Almighty), Curse Boost (Passive)

PENDRAGON (Sojiro) - Level: 49 Current/Partner Persona: Kohryu Persona Moveset: Psiodyne (Psy), Assault Dive (Physical), Concentrate (Support/Buff), Mediarama (Healing), Mapsio (Psy), Evade Nuke (Passive), Spell Master (Passive), Psy Boost (Passive)

FLARE (Shiho) - Level: 49 Current/Partner Persona: Hester Persona Moveset: Bufula (Ice), Oni-Kagura (Physical), Mediarama (Healing), Divine Grace (Passive), Recarm (Healing), Freila (Nuclear), Ice Boost (Passive), Nuke Boost (Passive)

*REDACTED* (Nanako) - Level: 48 Current/Partner Persona: Sraosha Persona Moveset: Zionga (Elec), Heat Wave (Physical), Divine Grace (Passive), Mazionga (Elec), Recarm (Healing), Elec Boost (Passive), Hama (Bless/insta-kill), Dodge Curse (Passive)

Allies: Ichinose, Akane, Taichi, Momoe, Sae, Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Teddie, Naoto

LIST OF KNOWN TRIAD SPECIALS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 27

DIVINE BLIZZARD (Draconis, Fox, Violet)

PURGATORY ARROW (Crow, Noir, Panther)

REBELLIOUS VENGEANCE BURST (Joker, Skull, Seeker)

SNOW CAT-JUTSU (Mona, Flare, Wolf)

JUDGEMENT STRIKE (Oracle, Queen, Pendragon)

STORM OF HEAVEN (Violet, Mona, Seeker)