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!

33. Welcome to Osaka! CEO's Downfall part 1

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files, Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs! Well, here we are at the start of Arc 7. This Arc and the next should start to set up the climax of Strikers' plotline, while also building up for the reveal of the true mastermind near the end of Arc 8, though anyone who's played through canon Strikers at least once knows who it is already. But for those reading this that somehow haven't played through canon Strikers at least once (and if you haven't, GO PLAY IT! While not quite as good of a game as Persona 5 Royal, Persona 5 Strikers is still a damn good game for what it is, if you want my opinion. So if you haven't played it yet, go do so) I'll go ahead and not say who it is for spoiler prevention reasons.

Before anyone asks why this update was a day early, jdimock reached out to me and asked for me to upload this week's update a day early since he has an exam coming up that he wanted to focus on, so I decided to help him out with this since he's so good about helping me with improving this story. If he's reading this, good luck on your exam! Hope you ace it with flying colors!

Also, it should be up by the time I post this chapter, so if you haven't already done so, go vote on the poll on my profile page! As the title of the poll no doubt indicates, it'll help influence what story I do next once Rise of the Monarchs is done. You have plenty of time though, since that poll will stay open until I post the final chapter of Arc 9, so there's still quite a while left to vote on the poll if you haven't already done so.

That said, before I do anything else, let's move on to the disclaimer, yeah?

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in ANY way, shape, or form ((excluding the OCs Kusa/Draconis, Taichi, Momoe, the OC Personas Malefor and Albus, and the Phantom Thief attire for Draconis, Pendragon, and Seraphim, all of which I do own. I do not, however, own the OC Persona Hester, nor the Phantom Thief attire concepts for Shiho/Flare.

Both of these were created by, and thus belong to, thalassatides (at symbol) bsky on X (or Twitter as it used to be called). If you happen to be on X, feel free to look up thelassatides (at symbol) bsky's work, as they do some good work.)) and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus and Sega (where it comes to Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal, as well as Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Reload), as well as to a point Koei Tecmo (where it pertains to Strikers). The rest of the spinoffs belong to various other companies, all of whom know who they are.

As far as Persona 1, Persona 2-Eternal Punishment, and Persona 2-Innocent Sin? As far as I know, they were made by a different studio, who also knows who they are. Full ownership credit for the Persona spinoffs (Phantom X, Tactica, the 'Arena' games, the 'Dancing' games, and the 'Q' games) belong to the studios that helped make them, as well as Atlus and possibly Sega. And full ownership credits for Persona 1, Persona 2- Eternal Punishment, and Persona 2-Innocent Sin belong to the studios that made those games, so all credit to them.

And with that disclaimer out of the way, I don't think I have much else to say for now. So let's get on with the chapter! Keep reading after the chapter since I'll probably have an end-of-chapter A/N where I probably mention more stuff. For now, here's chapter 33!

Chapter 33: From Yongen to Osaka! Keywords, Exploration, and More! CEO's Downfall part 1

(In the RV, on the way to Osaka, with Ren, Makoto, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Sojiro, Nanako, and Akane)

While the group in the RV drove towards Osaka the following morning after a night of much celebrating of Ann and Shiho's engagement as well as a belated birthday party for Kusa, it was mostly quiet in the RV as most of the group rested in the bunks near the back of the RV, or in Ren and Sumire's case, the back room normally occupied by Makoto and Sumire. While most of the RV slept peacefully, Sojiro sat in the driver's seat, his eyes on the road in front of him. Next to him, Makoto quietly yawned and spoke up, careful to keep her voice down while she spoke so as not to disturb the rest of the RV.

"How are you holding up, Sojiro? You've been driving for a few hours now. You sure you don't need me to take over for a bit?" Makoto asked as Sojiro chuckled and spoke up with a smirk.

"Nah, that's okay, Makoto. I don't mind shouldering the drive on this occasion. You've been driving for us plenty. You deserve to be able to relax every so often. I can handle this. Besides, it's better this than having to sit and look at all the couples in this RV and be reminded of what I don't have." Sojiro said as Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"I see. I'm sorry that you feel left out, Sojiro. But the fact of the matter is that none of us are really your age. Besides, I'm pretty sure most of us are more apt to see you as a father figure than in any sort of romantic capacity. So don't take it so hard that you're still single. Maybe you'll find someone special for you someday?" Makoto said as Sojiro spoke up.

"True. But I'm used to it by now. You and the others are still young, so you've got plenty of time. Well, other than maybe Zenkichi. He looks pretty close to my age, truth be told." Sojiro said as Makoto nodded and the drive proceeded in silence for a while. After about an hour, a yawning from behind Sojiro and Makoto prompted the latter to turn around and see Sumire and Ren sleepily walk out of the room they'd been sharing.

Once the two of them had left the room, a half-awake looking Ren managed to claim a booth seat for himself as a slightly more awake looking Sumire blinked before smirking and stifling a giggle as she quietly and discreetly took a picture with her phone of Nanako and Akane cuddled together in each others' arms on the bottom bunk, twin looks of contentment on their face as they laid with each other. Afterwards, Sumire also snuck a picture or two of Haru and Goro snuggled up together on the top bunk, the former shyly smiling at the feeling of Goro laying close to her, which Sumire got photos of for good measure before joining Ren in the booth seats as Makoto spoke up.

"Finally up then, you two? Did you enjoy your nap?" Makoto asked as Sumire blushed and spoke up.

"Yep. I had a pretty comfy pillow to rest on in the form of Ren, which always helps me sleep better." Sumire said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Really? I thought the comfy pillow was your-" Ren said as a red-faced Sumire spoke up after slapping a hand gently over Ren's mouth to cut him off mid-sentence, eventually rebuking him in a low yell, making sure to keep her voice down as she spoke so as not to wake up either of the sleeping pairs, not seeing the amused smirk on Sojiro's face as she spoke.

"REN! Not helping! And I don't think it's necessary for both Sojiro and Makoto to hear the particulars of our sleeping arrangements." Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Right, sorry beautiful. I'll behave. Speaking of behaving, I wonder how much longer the others are going to sleep in for?" Ren asked as Makoto spoke up.

"I can't speak for Goro and Haru, but I have a feeling it'll be a couple hours before Nanako-chan and Akane-chan get up. I seem to recall that Akane-chan isn't necessarily a morning person for the most part." Makoto said as Sumire spoke up.

"Good point." Sumire said. After another hour or so passed, the rest of the RV was awake and slowly moving around. Eventually, everyone was situated, with Ren, Goro, and Haru on one side of the booth seats and Nanako, Akane, and Sumire on the other end sitting across from Haru, Goro, and Ren, respectively. Once everyone was settled in, Sojiro spoke up.

"So, we should be pretty close to Osaka by now, yeah?" Sojiro said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly. Apologies to everyone for having us get on the road so early, but I figured the sooner we get to Osaka, the sooner we can start preparing to bring Konoe down." Ren said as Goro nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. Luckily for you, I understand your reasoning for the early-morning wake-up call, or I might have had some choice words about where you can stick it." Goro said as Haru spoke up with a smile.

"At least we got to lay together while we got more rest, right Goro? So it's not all bad." Haru said as Goro spoke up.

"That is true. Somehow, it worked out so that all the couples in this RV got to share a bed while we got more rest. Or maybe I should say potential couple in the case of Akane and Nanako." Goro said as Akane pouted and spoke up.

"HEY! Are you going to start teasing us now, Goro? Rude! Also, can I help that Nanako's too irresistibly adorable for her own good most of the time?" Akane said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"I won't apologize for being beautiful, Akane. Besides, you're the one who chose to notice me. Not that I'm complaining." Nanako said as Akane nodded before Sumire giggled and spoke up.

"You two are so cute together, though. I think you'd make an adorable couple." Sumire said as Akane smiled softly and spoke up.

"Maybe. But that's up to how Nanako feels. I won't force her into anything she doesn't want." Akane said as Nanako nodded, but before she could verbally reply, her cell phone started ringing, making her frown before she saw it was Yu calling, making her smile as she spoke up.

"Oh, it's Big Bro. Would anyone get mad if I take this call on speaker?" Nanako asked as Ren nodded understandingly while he spoke up.

"That's fine. We can stay quiet if you need to talk to him, Nanako." Ren said getting a series of understanding nods from the others as Nanako nodded and answered her phone and put it on speaker.

"Hello? Nanako Dojima's phone, Nanako speaking." Nanako said, making Ren blink at how similar Nanako's way of answering her cell phone was to his own. Before he could remark on it, a familiar voice could be heard speaking from Nanako's phone.

"Hello, Nanako? It's Yu. I thought I'd call and check in with you. I didn't wake you, did I?" Yu asked as Nanako spoke up

"No, it's fine. I woke up about an hour or so ago, Big Bro." Nanako said as Yu spoke up.

"Good, glad to hear it. Oh, I should probably mention this now. I'm at Junes having breakfast with Rise, Chie, Teddie, and Yosuke while the latter two are on their break. Yukiko, Kanji, and Naoto had other things to do and couldn't join us. So, with that being said, how have things been going for you since we last spoke?" Yu said as Teddie spoke up before Nanako could answer him.

"Oh, sure. Just casually slide us into the conversation like it's nothing and expect Nana-chan to not be shocked to hear our voices. Real smooth, Sensei." Teddie said as Yosuke spoke up.

"Shut it, Teddie. This is hardly the first time that Nanako-chan has been in a chat with more than one of us at a time. I'm sure she's used to it by now." Yosuke said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"Hi, Teddie! Hi, Yosuke! Big Bro did say you two plus Chie and Big Sis were there, so I'm not that shocked. Speaking of, to answer your question, Big Bro? I've been doing rather well, all things considered. I mean, sure, there was the whole matter of me ending up in the Metaverse with the Phantom Thieves and getting my own Persona, not to mention fighting off Namatame-san's Shadow, as well as that creepy hippie thing that you guys fought to save me when I was younger. But I got through that just fine in the end, thanks to awakening to Sraosha's power." Nanako said as five different voices spoke up in shocked unison at the same time.

"WHAAAAAAT!?/WHAT THE HELL!?/HUUUUUUH!?" Yu, Rise, Yosuke, Teddie, and Chie all said, both Chie and Yosuke having yelled out 'WHAT THE HELL!?' while Teddie had yelled out 'HUUUUUUUH!?' with both Rise and Yu saying 'WHAAAAAT!?. Rise then kept speaking. *1*

"What do you mean you fought Namatame, Nanako!? He's supposed to be reformed!" Rise said as Yu spoke up.

"Never mind that, Rise. I'm sure I have a good guess what was up with that, anyways. The real question is why Nanako has a Persona now?" Yu said as Nanako spoke up.

"It was kind of unplanned, since I may have had to save most of the Phantom Thieves from a trap set by Namatame's Shadow along with the Monarch of the Yongen Jail. And as if that wasn't bad enough, I also had to go through some freaky maze called the 'Labyrinth of Memories' with the rest of the Phantom Thieves, where I had to fight your Shadow as an obstacle in said maze, Big Bro." Nanako said as once again, many voices spoke up in unison.

"WHAAAAAAAT!?" Yu, Rise, Chie, Yosuke, and Teddie said as Teddie kept speaking.

"What do you mean you fought Sensei's Shadow, Nana-chan? That shouldn't be possible! After all, Sensei has a Persona, and your Persona is usually your other self. So I don't know how you were able to fight Sensei's Shadow." Teddie said as Yosuke spoke up.

"Nanako-chan said the maze was the 'Labyrinth of Memories', right? Maybe part of the maze is having to fight recreations of people from your past, or family in the case of Yu's Shadow." Yosuke said as Goro spoke up.

"Very good deduction, Hanamura. That was the same conclusion that both myself and Ren reached as well after we cleared the maze. The fact that we ran into the Monarch of the Yongen Jail in the maze who personally confirmed that theory for us is just a coincidence." Goro said as Ren spoke up.

"True, but I don't think Yu called to hear us speak. He called to speak to Nanako, did he not?" Ren said as Akane spoke up.

"Good point, Ren. We should stay quiet so Nanako can check in with her Big Bro." Akane said as Rise spoke up.

"You have us on speaker-phone, don't you, Nanako-chan? If so, hi everyone! Hope all is well. Sorry again about the whole being manipulated into fighting all of you thing." Rise said as Ren spoke up.

"That's quite all right, Rise. None of us could have anticipated that Konoe would stoop to trying to recruit his own private squad of Persona-users to try and counter us. The fact he tried using Nanako as a bargaining chip to try and force you guys to fight us makes it even worse, though." Ren said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Speaking of that fight though, I was thinking about it. Most of that fight was under duress, so we were both trying to wrap the fight up quickly instead of giving it our all. I feel like we both could've given it more than we did. That's why I'm inclined to suggest that at some point down the line, maybe our groups could have a rematch of that fight, but this time EVERYONE on both sides gets involved.

And before I hear any complaints about putting my side at a numbers disadvantage, I'm well aware that your group outnumbers mine more than 2 to 1. However, I do want to remind you all that my group and I are also friends with a number of other Persona-users that I can call in to help offset the numbers difference." Yu said as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"Oh? There are other Persona-users out there besides our two groups, then?" Ren asked as Yu chuckled and nodded as he spoke up.

"Of course. Aside from our two groups, I know of at least one other sizable group of Persona-users that exists, but there could be others that even I am unaware of out there. But I digress. However, before we discuss much else, I should warn you that some of them are even more experienced at using Personas than my group is. So we can easily meet your group on equal terms if needed, even with Nanako becoming one of you. I will admit I didn't foresee it happening so soon, but I'm not surprised it did happen. But I feel like we could stand to have a rematch sometime, when we're on more equal terms." Yu said as Ren spoke up.

"I can see the merit in us possibly setting up a rematch at some point in the future. But I also agree that there's a lot to sort out before that happens. So I don't think we should be in a rush to pit our groups against one another again right away, just to be on the safe side." Ren said as Yu spoke up.

"I wholeheartedly agree with you on that, Ren. But just the same, if we do decide on having a rematch? Allow me to warn you about a few things. This time will be different from the last time we fought, especially considering the fact that my group won't be pulling any punches. We have even stronger versions of the Personas we were using before that we can use for this rematch. That is, everyone has an even stronger version of their Persona they can use aside from myself, since I only have my ultimate Persona for now. However, even with that being the case, this doesn't mean that I'm going to hold back.

But we don't have to decide on it just now. I just thought I'd put it out there for your group to consider. After all, I was surprised that you held your own against me enough to pull out a narrow victory over me. Granted, at least part of that was probably because of your little brother's quick thinking in fighting Almighty with Almighty, but I wouldn't expect that tactic to save you a second time." Yu said as Ren spoke up.

"Of course it won't. After all, you made an exception so I could help Kusa fight you, since it was supposed to be one-on-one bouts. So of course that tactic won't work a second time, if only because I doubt you'll end up being pitted against Kusa again if we did have a rematch." Ren said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"That's a good point, Ren. There's no way to know who would face who if we did do a rematch until the match is played out. However, with that being said, I'd like to think we could have a more definitive outcome this time around if we were to clash again. And as I alluded to earlier, if we were to meet again, I would be bringing in additional help for our rematch to offset the numbers difference between our groups. So don't expect it to play out the same as it did before if we end up having that rematch." Yu said as Goro spoke up.

"I'm guessing that you're alluding to the anti-Shadow unit that your group told us about back in the Kyoto Jail? The one that is being led by Mitsuru Kirijo to try and combat the threat of Shadows?" Goro said as Yu spoke up.

"I can neither confirm nor deny your suspicions at this time, Goro. But I'm impressed you knew as much as you did. Well done. No wonder most people consider you to be the next coming of the Detective Prince." Yu said as Teddie spoke up.

"HEY! Don't insult Nao-chan like that by comparing her to an annoying edgelord like Goro. Yosuke's probably a better detective than Goro is, really." Teddie said as Goro and Yosuke both spoke up at the same time.

"HEY!/HEY!" Goro and Yosuke both protested as Yosuke kept speaking.

"Don't be rude, Teddie! Besides, Goro's way more hardcore than I am. His brother rides a freakin' dragon and single-handedly led his group to an impressive turnaround victory over us in our last encounter. You, on the other hand, just hit on ladies and scarf Topsicles all day! I think it's not a crime to admit that Goro is better than I am, or at least that he has a better brother than I do." Yosuke said as Goro chuckled and spoke up.

"Yes, well, to be fair to you, Hanamura, it's quite easy to have a better brother than Teddie. And I must say, you have my sympathies for being burdened with someone like him as a brother. From the looks of it, he appears to be nothing more than a blonde piece of childish and immature trash who tends to womanize any girl he comes across." Goro joked as an incensed Teddie spoke up.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!? GRRRRR! I AM NOT TRASH, GORO! YOU'RE JUST STUPID!" Teddie said as Chie spoke up before Goro could do more than sputter at Teddie calling him stupid.

"Calm down, Teddie. Goro was just teasing. Though he's not wrong about the womanizing part." Chie said as Sumire spoke up.

"Don't remind me, Chie. I still can't believe he came on to me so shamelessly when we fought. He's insanely lucky that Ren has restraint, since I could tell he was ready to fight Teddie then and there." Sumire said as Makoto spoke up.

"Yes, well, tempers will flare up. Personally, I think it's way more pathetic that Nanako is more popular with the ladies than Teddie is. After all, if one believes what Yosuke-kun told me once, the only reason Teddie has a girlfriend is because Yu set him up with some mystical weather girl that his group knows and is friends with. Nanako-chan, for her part, just manages to make women love her by being herself. Or am I wrong about that being the main thing that drew Akane-chan to Nanako-chan in the first place?" Makoto said as Akane and Nanako both spoke up.

"QUIET, MAKOTO!" Akane and Nanako both said, blushing identical shades of red as Rise giggled and spoke up.

"Ooh, you two spoke at the same time. How cute. Does Nanako have herself a potential girlfriend, then?" Rise asked as both Yu and Yosuke spoke up at the same time.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT NANAKO, RISE!? DO NOT UTTER SUCH UNSPEAKABLE BLASPHEMY INTO THIS CALL!" Yu snapped as Yosuke spoke up.

"No kidding, partner! Also, WHAT THE HELL!? NANAKO-CHAN'S A FRICKIN' LESBIAN THEN!? IS THIS FOR REAL RIGHT NOW!?" Yosuke said as Yu spoke up.

"No, Yosuke. I'm pretty sure she's just bi-curious. Besides, the way I understood it, Nanako had a crush on Morgana, not on Akane. Not that I'd be that opposed to it if Nanako does like both men and women, since that's her choice to make. But even so, I wouldn't have expected Nanako to end up with a girlfriend when she joined the Phantom Thieves. So I hope she'll forgive me if that information comes as just a bit of a shock to me.

That being said, it doesn't matter in the long run. As long as Nanako's happy, then I'm happy for her. Unfortunately for Nanako, I can't guarantee that her father will be so tolerant of it, however." Yu said as Chie spoke up with a frown.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Yu. As his partner, I can say that Dojima-san is getting more open-minded than he used to be. Also, I think he just wants Nanako-chan to be happy. So if that means that this Akane girl is who she wants to be with, we should support her in that. And Yosuke, shut your homophobic trap! Just because you're leery of same-sex pairings thanks to that misunderstanding you and Kanji-kun had during the school camping trip a few years ago, that doesn't mean that same-sex pairings are bad." Chie said as Rise nodded and spoke up.

"I agree with Chie. Besides, it's not like it'd be the first time someone in our friend group found themselves bi-curious. I seem to recall Yukiko had that same thing happen to her briefly in the past. Same with Kanji-kun." Rise said as Nanako spoke up after hesitating briefly as if considering something.

"ANYWAYS! We were talking about a rematch of our groups, right? Not about my romantic preferences? But, to be honest? I might honestly be bisexual, given how much I've found myself enjoying being with Akane. I didn't think I'd ever feel this way about a woman, but here we are." Nanako said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"How cute. You like me, don't you?" Akane said as Ren spoke up.

"Focus, you two! We can discuss your potential relationship later. I have a feeling Yu doesn't have all the time in the world for idle chit-chat right now." Ren said as Yu spoke up with a nod.

"Correct. I just wanted to make sure all is well with Nanako. As for what you just admitted to? We support your decision wholeheartedly, Nanako. If you like women, more power to you. Just ignore Yosuke if he's a bit slow to adjust to that. And before I go, I have something to say to Nanako's potential crush. I think Nanako said your name was Akane, is that right? If you and my cousin get serious about dating one another, you better not ever hurt her or do anything to make her cry. Got it!?" Yu said as Akane spoke up.

"Understandable. I would never do anything to hurt Nanako, though. But I respect your concern for her, since you're trying to be a good 'Big Bro' to her." Akane said as Yu spoke up.

"Good. I think I can trust you not to break Nanako's heart. Sorry about the lack of introductions before Akane, since the last time we spoke to you was when we were with the Thieves back in Kyoto in their hideout. I'm Yu Narukami. Even though Nanako calls me 'Big Bro', I'm actually her cousin. With me on the phone are my wife Rise Kujikawa-Narukami, my friend/partner Yosuke Hanamura, his technical brother and my other friend Teddie Hanamura, and lastly, my uncle's partner as well as another of my friends Chie Satonaka. We also have three other members of our group in Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, and his wife Naoto Shirogane-Tatsumi, but they had other things to do and couldn't be part of this call today." Yu said as Akane spoke up.

"I understand. It's nice to meet you and your friends, Narukami-san. As you already figured out thanks to Nanako likely waxing poetic about me to you, I'm Akane Hasegawa. My father is Inspector Zenkichi Hasegawa with Public Security." Akane said as Teddie spoke up in wide eyed shock.

"Wait, seriously? Your dad is that detective guy that Nao-chan periodically works with? What a bear-y tiny world we live in." Teddie said as Yu and Yosuke both groaned at Teddie drooping yet another bear pun before the former spoke up.

"This is no time for bear puns! That said, I think you meant to say 'small world we live in', Teddie. But never mind that for now. I should probably let you go since I'm pretty sure Teddie and Yosuke's breaks are just about over and we need to finish our meal." Yu said as Nanako spoke up.

"Fair enough. We're on the road to Osaka right now and I'm not sure how long we have left before we arrive there, so we should probably get off the phone anyway. But thank you for checking in on me, Big Bro. It was nice hearing from you guys. It's also a relief to know that you don't think less of me for liking both genders. Oh, but before I go, I should probably also mention the fact that we ran into Adachi-san inside the Yongen Jail. Apparently, the Monarch there brought him into the Metaverse in an attempt to slow us down, albeit an unsuccessful one, as it turns out." Nanako said as Yosuke, Chie, and Rise all spoke up in surprise.

"WHAAAAT!?/WHAT THE HELL!? YOU GUYS FOUGHT ADACHI, TOO!?" Yosuke, Rise, and Chie all asked as Teddie frowned and spoke up.

"Does it matter if Nana-chan fought Adachy-baby? She probably kicked his pathetic butt easily!" Teddie said confidently as Yu frowned and spoke up.

"I'm not sure how to feel about the idea that Adachi once again got broken out of prison. You know, it's interesting that you mentioned Adachi, since earlier I was considering whether or not to visit him in prison just to check in on him. But since you said that you saw him in the Metaverse has now got me curious about what has happened and how he ended up in the Metaverse in the first place. So I think I might go and hear his side of the story, especially since I'm sure he found his way back already.

And to answer your worries about me thinking less of you for being bisexual and potentially having a girlfriend? Of course I'm not gonna think any less of you for something like that, Nanako. You're my cousin, and I love you, no matter what you choose or who you're attracted to. Not to mention the fact that we're family. And as you yourself once said, family always sticks together. Well, I'll talk to you all later. Oh, and Nanako? Now that I know you have a Persona of your own, just be careful out there and stay safe." Yu said as Nanako smiled and thanked Yu before she ended the call on her end before Ren frowned at Goro and spoke up.

"Really, Goro? Was that really necessary for you to call Teddie trash near the end of the call like that? Were you trying to start another fight?" Ren asked as Goro spoke up while crossing his arms with a frown.

"I was joking, Ren. Besides, would you rather I call him as useless as Miss Monologues?" Goro asked. Nanako smiled and spoke up.

"No, I don't think he would rather have you do that at all, Goro. Also, can you please try to avoid saying that nickname around Akane until we can explain it to her?" Nanako asked as Akane spoke up.

"I assume I'll get an explanation for it eventually. But I think there's a more important issue to discuss." Akane said as Sojiro spoke up.

"And what might that be, Akane?" Sojiro asked as Akane spoke up.

"Well, I figure I should ask this since we've been on the road for a while now. But once we get to Osaka, will you guys be going into Konoe's Jail right away?" Akane asked as Makoto spoke up.

"Unfortunately, we cannot access that Jail just yet. Even though we can now access Konoe's Jail since we cleared six Jails, we still can't be able to enter." Makoto said as Akane spoke up in confusion.

"Why is that?" Akane asked as Goro sighed and spoke up.

"It's because we still need Konoe's keyword and unless Miss Monologues can find the business card that contains said keyword, we won't be able to move forward." Goro said as Akane spoke up.

"Miss Monologues? That's at least the third time that Goro's used that term from what I can tell. Is this the part where I finally get an explanation for why he says that?" Akane asked as Ren spoke up after briefly hesitating to mull something over.

"Yes. This is as good a time as any to explain that to you, Akane-chan. 'Miss Monologues', as he often calls her, is Goro's nickname for Kuon Ichinose, who is the original creator of EMMA and another ally of ours. Before we left Kyoto, and before we had the discussion about asking you if you want to join us on our trip, we called Ichinose-san to see if she could help us find Konoe's keyword." Ren said as Sumire spoke up.

"Luckily for us, Ichinose-san was able to acquire a business card from Konoe that mentioned his keyword while she was attending a lecture from him in Sendai." Sumire said as Goro groaned and spoke up.

"But, when we last spoke to her, she seemed to have lost that business card and has been searching for it ever since. Miss Monologues did state that she would call us the moment she finds it, but it has been a few days since then." Goro said as Akane spoke up.

"I see then. So I guess until Ichinose-san calls you guys back with that keyword, you won't be able to stop Konoe, let alone Owada." Akane said as Ren spoke up.

"Yup. That's exactly right, Akane. Hopefully, she was able to find that card." Ren said as everyone nodded as the ride to Osaka continued in silence...

(Meanwhile, in the Ferrari, with Kusa, Futaba, Yusuke, and Ryuji)

As the Ferrari drove at a close distance behind the RV, Kusa smirked and spoke up from the driver's seat.

"Well, here we are on the road to Osaka." Kusa said as Futaba groaned and spoke up.

"True. Remind me again as to why we had to get such an early start out of Yongen, though?" Futaba asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Simple. Ren figured that the sooner we get on the road, the sooner we can be in Osaka and try to start exploring the area while we wait on Ichinose-san to make contact with us so we can get Konoe's keyword from her." Kusa said as Futaba nodded before a sleepy-sounding Ryuji spoke up.

"Right? Hopefully she'll find it soon. It's been around four days, I think, since she last made contact, right?" Ryuji asked as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. She called the night of the 23rd, and this is the morning of the 28th. So it's been about four and a half days since she called. She should be calling anytime now with that card." Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up with a nod and a grin.

"Hell yeah! The sooner she calls, the sooner we can stick it to that effin' shitbag Konoe!" Ryuji said as both Kusa and Futaba nodded their agreement. After that, the drive to Osaka continued in silence...

(Meanwhile, over in Zenkichi's car, with Zenkichi, Morgana, Sophia, Ann, and Shiho)

As he kept driving towards Osaka, Zenkichi yawned a bit but made himself stay focused on the road as he used his free hand to take another swig of coffee from the thermos full of coffee Sojiro had made for him before the groups split up to start the drive to Osaka. Next to him, Morgana smirked from the shotgun seat and spoke up.

"Tired, Zenkichi? I can't blame you for it if you are, since we've already been driving for around 3 hours or so, and the fact Ren saw fit to get us up at literally 5:30AM to get ready for the drive to Osaka after most of us didn't get to bed until around midnight or so didn't help matters any." Morgana said as Zenkichi spoke up, both Zenkichi and Morgana keeping their voices down so as not to wake Ann and Shiho, who had managed to doze off in the backseat together.

"True. But at the same time, I'm the only licensed driver in this car, so I have to soldier through this drive. I might try to catch another nap once we get to Osaka, but otherwise, I have to tough it out." Zenkichi said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. And as a detective with Public Security, I don't think you can exactly go making exceptions and letting unlicensed drivers take the wheel just to give yourself some rest. So I guess you'll just have to do your best. I respect that you're doing your best to shoulder your weight though, Zenkichi. Even if I don't always show it, I respect you." Morgana said as Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, thanks. Maybe you're not so bad after all, for a cat-turned-human." Zenkichi said before blinking as he looked in the rear-view mirror and spoke up.

"Hey, Morgana. Look back in the backseat and tell me if I'm seeing things, would you? Because judging from what I see in the rear-view mirror, it looks as if Ann and Shiho managed to find a way to fall asleep while cuddling one another." Zenkichi said as Morgana and Sophia, the latter having stayed quiet to that point inside of Sumire's phone, which she'd entrusted to Morgana so Sophia could join him in Zenkichi's car with Zenkichi, Ann, and Shiho, blinked and Morgana turned around to look.

Sure enough, Ann had managed to get into a comfortable laid-down position with a smiling Shiho having laid her head cutely on Ann's shoulder, cuddling into her fiance's chest as the two girls took a nap on and with each other. A semi-muted 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which was currently set in a holster on the dashboard of the car facing Morgana, preceded a smiling Sophia speaking up so only Zenkichi and Morgana could hear.

"It looks as if Ann and Shiho managed to get comfortable back there." Sophia said as Morgana smirked and spoke up while keeping his voice down.

"Indeed it does, Lady Sophia. Can you operate the camera on Sumire's phone? If so, I might need you to get a few pictures of Lady Ann and Lady Shiho cuddling, since they do look rather adorable together. And I feel like it would be a crime not to get photographic proof of how adorable those two look together." Morgana said with a smirk on his face as Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. It would be a shame not to get this on film." Zenkichi said as Sophia spoke up.

"I got it. Aim the phone at Ann and Shiho and leave the rest to me, you guys." Sophia said as Morgana lifted up Sumire's phone and pointed it at the sleeping Ann and Shiho, at which point Sophia quietly but carefully snapped a number of photos of Ann and Shiho cuddling together, identical contented smiles on their faces. Afterwards, Morgana put the phone back as Zenkichi spoke up.

"We'll check to see if those photos saved successfully or not when we get to Osaka. Don't let us forget about that, Sophia." Zenkichi said as Sophia nodded and spoke up.

"Got it. I will remind you to check the pictures later." Sophia said as Morgana spoke up to change the subject.

"Right. Hard to believe it's already down to confronting Konoe, isn't it? But here we are again, at the part where we confront the mastermind trying to frame us and attempt to change their heart, much as we did to Masayoshi Shido over three and a half years ago following his attempt to have Ren killed to break the Phantom Thieves' resolve. Too bad for him, Ren's too resilient and tenacious to be defeated by such low-tier scum like Shido and Goro." Morgana said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Good point, but let's not forget about Owada. Once we deal with Konoe, we'll still have to try and find evidence that we can use to bring Owada to justice as well." Zenkichi pointed out sagely as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Ahh, right. You did promise Lady Akane you'd do your best to bring her mother's killer to justice, didn't you? Don't worry, we'll do our best to help you fulfill that goal. After all, we stick together in the Phantom Thieves and do our best to have one another's backs when needed. Even if we don't always get along, we view each other as a family of sorts in this group. So don't worry about Owada. We'll do our best to find a way to bring him to justice, for both your sake and for Lady Akane's." Morgana said as Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"Right, got it. Sorry if it takes me a bit to get used to being part of such a large team. But I'll do my best to remember that I'm part of the team now." Zenkichi said, getting an approving nod from Morgana and a pleased smile from Sophia as the drive to Osaka continued...

(A few hours later, near Osaka, with Ren, Sophia, Sumire, Ryuji, Sojiro, Yusuke, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Nanako, Akane, Makoto, Ann, Shiho, Kusa, Morgana, and Zenkichi)

After everyone got to Osaka and the vehicles were parked, the group got out and gathered in front of the RV, standing together in a circle. At that point, Futaba spoke up.

"Waddup, Osaka!" Futaba said as Nanako stretched and spoke up.

"Took us long enough to get here. But at least we've finally reached our destination." Nanako said as Akane spoke up.

"Good point. I didn't think this would be how I got to make my first trip to Osaka, but I guess it is what it is?" Akane said as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"Yeeeah, sorry about that, Akane. I should be doing more for you as your father." Zenkichi said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, you didn't need to apologize, Dad. I wasn't saying that to make you feel bad. I was merely making an observation, Dad. I meant no offense to you." Akane said to Zenkichi, who nodded and affirmed that no offense had been taken as Goro spoke up.

"At least most of you can be cheerful about being woken up at such a God-awful hour to start that drive. Ren's lucky I'm trying to be more understanding and kind, or I'd have been tempted to tell him where to shove his early-morning wake-up calls." Goro said dryly as Haru smiled and spoke up while sliding her hand comfortingly into Goro's as she spoke up.

"Cheer up, Goro. At least we're here now, right? Now it's just a matter of waiting for the keyword so we can take Konoe down, and hopefully Owada as well." Haru said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"Good point, Haru. So we're finally at Konoe's home base, huh?" Ann asked as Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"That's right. Madicce's company HQ is in Osaka somewhere. I still can't believe Konoe basically brushed me off when I showed up for my appointment on Kusa's birthday, though. But I suppose it makes more sense if we factor in that broadcast he put out about us afterwards." Zenkichi said as he turned to look at Nanako as he kept speaking.

"And come to think of it, I think I saw your 'Big Bro' and 'Big Sis' in the crowd nearby watching while Konoe gave that broadcast about the Phantom Thieves being murderers and framing them for the death of that director from Kukojima." Zenkichi said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"You mean Ubukata-san, right? Dad was pretty close to him when he was alive if I recall correctly. But then they lost contact after Ubukata laid Dad off. Still, I can't imagine that Dad's holding up very well in light of hearing about Ubukata-san's passing." Kusa said as Ren spoke up.

"True, but I'm sure Mom's keeping him cheered up." Ren said as Kusa spoke up.

"Good point, Ren. I hadn't thought of it that way." Kusa said with a smile as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"I see. Anyways, back to being in Osaka, yeah? Man, too bad we had to come here for Phantom Thief biz instead of just exploring around as tourists. We coulda stuffed ourselves stupid." Ryuji said as Goro huffed and spoke up.

"And that's different from any other time we've stuffed ourselves, how?" Goro asked as Ryuji went to reply only for Yusuke to cut him off by speaking up.

"Well, Sophia? Is there a Jail nearby?" Yusuke asked as Morgana spoke up.

"Give Lady Sophia a chance to at least scan the area first before she answers that, Yusuke. After all, it's a safe bet she's not familiar with the layout of Osaka yet, so it'd be tricky at best for her to pinpoint where the Jail would be around here if there IS a Jail." Morgana pointed out as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which was in Ren's hand, preceded a serious-looking Sophia speaking up.

"I appreciate you sticking up for me, but I don't mind Yusuke asking for my help, Morgana. That said, there is a Jail. I can smell it." Sophia said as Morgana spoke up.

"No problem, Lady Sophia. You know I've got your back. You say there's a Jail here? I guess that settles it, then." Morgana said as Makoto spoke up with a smile.

"Agreed. Now if Ichinose-san could just find that business card, we'd be all set to infiltrate the Osaka Jail once we have the keyword." Makoto said as Zenkichi frowned and spoke up.

"Good point, Makoto. But no matter what happens out there? This is it, you guys. Do or die. We're gonna take that asshole Konoe down and settle this once and for all." Zenkichi said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"I respect the resolve, but don't forget we're also after Owada as well, Dad." Akane said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Him too. I didn't forget about Owada, Akane. I just was focused on Konoe to start with for now, since we at least know for a fact that he has a Jail, whereas we don't know that Owada has one." Zenkichi said as Futaba spoke up with an impressed smile.

"Whoa, look who decided to step their game up." Futaba said as Kusa spoke up.

"Cut Zenkichi a break, would you Taba? He's trying to step up and do right by Akane while also living up to his newfound status as a Phantom Thief." Kusa said. Ryuji chuckled and spoke up with a smile.

"Heh, I think Futaba has a point, though. Think maybe Zenkichi's new Persona ability's goin' to his head?" Ryuji said as Ann chuckled nervously and spoke up.

"Perhaps, but I'd be careful what you say, Ryuji. If this were a movie, you'd probably be taken out within the next 30 minutes." Ann said as Shiho giggled and spoke up.

"Yeah, probably by the tag-team of Goro and Zenkichi using their lethal detainment techniques on him." Shiho said teasingly as Sumire, Nanako, Akane, Ren, and Kusa all had to stifle laughter at the horrified look on Ryuji's face after Shiho's remark. Zenkichi, for his part, glared at Ryuji and spoke up.

"Hey! Shuddup! Also, gimme a friggin' break! I'm just sayin' we should be ready, all right!?" Zenkichi said as Morgana spoke up.

"Luckily for us, Makoto's sister saw to it that we won't have to worry about being caught by the police. Still, we'll want to be good and ready for what's ahead." Morgana said as Yusuke spoke up with a frown.

"Good point, Morgana. Well, Osaka is Japan's kitchen, or so I heard. As such, I can't imagine a better place to provide us with a pre-battle meal." Yusuke said as Kusa and Futaba both spoke up with identical glares on their faces.

"HEY!" Kusa and Futaba said as the latter kept speaking while she glared at Yusuke with a frown on her face while she spoke.

"Not only is that lies, that's slander! And we don't allow such things in this group, Inari!" Futaba said as Kusa nodded his agreement of Futaba's words as he spoke up.

"Taba's right, Yusuke. After all, I thought it was an unspoken fact that Leblanc is the best place for a pre-battle meal, if only because Sojiro is the one running it." Kusa said as Sojiro smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, I appreciate you two sticking up for Leblanc, but Yusuke's not wrong about Osaka having some of the largest array of meals to choose from in all of Japan." Sojiro said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Sojiro's right. And even if we're not here strictly for food, there's plenty else here for us, too." Haru said as Makoto looked at Zenkichi and spoke up.

"By the way, was Akane-chan all right earlier, Zenkichi? She seemed a bit testy and irate when she woke up this morning, and from what she told me, it was something to do with you trying to wake her up suddenly since we were in a rush to leave Yongen to get here." Makoto said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"She's fine, Makoto. Akane's just not a morning person, as it turns out. Also, we did get woken up at a pretty early hour, so of course she'd be cranky. I mean, we got around 4-5 hours of sleep before being woke up, but after getting another few hours on the ride here, she should be in a much better mood." Nanako said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Nanako. Also, I have a feeling she might also have been extra cranky because she didn't want to get up and leave your arms. But I could be wrong about that." Zenkichi said as an embarrassed Akane blushed and spoke up.

"DAAAAAD! That's besides the point, and you know it! Even if I did enjoy laying with Nanako, I'm just not a morning person. I'm sorry for snapping at you this morning, though. Morning person or not, that wasn't okay of me to yell at you like I did." Akane said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Good point. I suppose it could be worse. After all, you could be with your grandparents right now and not part of our trip." Zenkichi pointed out as Akane pouted and spoke up.

"That's true, but why would I want to be the only one left out of what you guys do? Seems unfair to me." Akane said as Nanako smiled and spoke up.

"Now you know how I felt before I had my Awakening, Akane. But don't worry, we're not leaving you behind." Nanako said as she gave Akane a reassuring hug, which Akane shyly returned, her face going slightly pink as she let herself hug Nanako. While they did that, Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"But real talk? I really owe you guys a debt of gratitude for helping me save Akane from herself. Thanks." Zenkichi said as Ryuji winced and spoke up while rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but Zenkichi? For some reason, I dunno why, I feel like it's weird hearin' you thank us like that, man." Ryuji said as Ann giggled and spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Hee hee! Ahaha. Well it's not like he made the best first impression." Ann said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Really? I disagree with that statement, Ann. With all due respect to both of them, I think Zenkichi made a much better first impression than either Yusuke or Makoto did. At least he didn't try to blackmail us or basically stalk one of us throughout the entire Underground Walkway." Kusa pointed out as Makoto and Yusuke frowned at Kusa referencing what they'd done when they first met Ren's group. Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"Are you serious, Kusa? They did that? Seems hard to picture Yusuke and Makoto being stalkers and/or extortionists, but I suppose there's a first time for everything. And to what you said, Ann? Yeah, yeah, can't trust the police and all that crap. Getting back to business, have there been any updates on Konoe's keyword?" Zenkichi asked as Kusa spoke up with a wince.

"Sorry, Zenkichi. But even after four and half days, we still have no info as to what Konoe's keyword could be." Kusa said as Futaba spoke up.

"Yup, what Kusa said. Ichinose is seriously taking her sweet time if she is trying to find just one business card that has his keyword on it. But then again, given the noises I heard from when we last spoke to her, it would seem that she is not that very well organized." Futaba said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot that you guys also managed to luck your way into working alongside the woman who designed EMMA." Zenkichi said as Ren spoke up with a sly grin.

"She's also the woman who Goro may or may not have dubbed 'Miss Monologues' as a nickname." Ren pointed out as Goro blushed in embarrassment of Ren calling him out on his nickname for Ichinose and spoke up.

"Shut up, Ren. At least I rescinded my suggestion of killing her and hiding the body, didn't I? I still think it would have been a lot less hassle to do it that way, but I suppose it's actually working out that we did it your way, assuming she comes through with Konoe's keyword." Goro said as Sumire dryly spoke up with an unimpressed frown on her face.

"Perhaps, but I'm pretty sure you were already told that murder and/or torture isn't always the answer, Goro." Sumire pointed out as Goro spoke up.

"I was. But that doesn't mean it won't still be my go-to solution in most cases, even if I do rule it out afterwards." Goro said as Kusa spoke up with a sigh and a fond shake of his head.

"Oh, Goro. What are we gonna do with that sadomasochistic streak of yours, bro?" Kusa asked as Ren's phone chose that moment to ring as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Ren, Ichinose is calling. I'll put it on speaker." Sophia said as Ren spoke up with a nod.

"Thank you, Sophia. Please do." Ren said as Goro groaned and spoke up.

"Ugh, speak of the devil, and she shall appear in all her creepy and potentially evil glory. Well, hopefully she's got the keyword for us." Goro said as Futaba pouted and spoke up.

"Dammit! I was gonna say that, Goro! Eh, I'll say it anyways! Speak of the devil, and she shall appear." Futaba said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"You're such a character, Taba." Kusa said as Futaba smiled and nodded as Ren answered the phone after Sophia put it on speaker.

"Hello? Ren Amamiya's phone, Ren speaking." Ren said as Ichinose's chipper voice was heard when she spoke up.

"Goood morning, Phantom Thieves! How's everyone been?" Ichinose asked as Ryuji spoke up with a frown.

"Upbeat as usual, I see. Guess some things don't change." Ryuji said as Akane frowned and spoke up.

"Is she always this upbeat? I don't remember anyone ever being this cheery and actually meaning it." Akane said as Goro smirked and spoke up while giving Akane an approving nod.

"Very perceptive, Akane-san. I do believe I like the way that you think, or perhaps I just agree with your sentiment. Could easily be either one." Goro said as Nanako pouted and spoke up, mistaking Goro's compliment for him hitting on Akane and getting slightly jealous.

"Back up, Goro. You've got Haru already. I call dibs on Akane." Nanako said as Akane giggled and patted Nanako gently on the head while speaking up.

"Relax, Nanako. You have no need to be jealous. With all apologies to him, I have absolutely zero romantic interest in Goro. But I find it adorable you're so quick to fight for me." Akane said as Makoto spoke up, getting fed up with the constant digressions from the main topic.

"Can we stay on topic, please?" Makoto asked as the others nodded, minus Sophia and Ichinose, who were in or on a phone and couldn't physically nod. Makoto then kept speaking.

"Thank you. Ichinose-san, did you have any luck getting the keyword?" Makoto asked as Ichinose chuckled and spoke up, not aware of the winces that Ren, Sumire, Goro, Kusa, and Futaba all exchanged at what she said next.

"Hahaha, did you forget who you're talking to? Of course I found it! No problem whatsoever!" Ichinose said cheerfully as the others all exchanged surprised looks as Ryuji pumped a fist and spoke up with a grin.

"Aw, hell yeah!" Ryuji said as Goro spoke up.

"Well, would you look at that? I'm surprised that she found it, given the fact that it's been four and a half days since we last spoke. Err, not that I'm trying to offend you or anything, Ichinose-san." Goro said as Ichinose spoke up.

"That's okay. No offense was taken, Amamiya the eldest. Also, allow me to offer you all my most sincere and heartfelt apologies for making you wait so long for me to find the card. I regret having to clean my room before my last call with you all, and due to this, it took me forever to find it. But now that I have the card, without further ado, Akira Konoe's keyword is, drum roll please?" Ichinose said as Morgana and Kusa both drummed gently on the hood of the RV to simulate a drum roll as Ichinose kept speaking.

"His keyword is 'Zephyrman'!" Ichinose said as Zenkichi and Sojiro exchanged confused looks as the former spoke up.

"'Zephyrman'? Wait, it's what now?" Zenkichi asked as Sojiro spoke up.

"You just said it, Zenkichi. It's 'Zephyrman'. And I also feel like I've heard that name somewhere before myself." Sojiro said as Futaba frowned and spoke up.

"Hmm. 'Zephyrman', you say? Is that what I think it is?" Futaba said as Ann spoke up.

"You've heard of it, Futaba?" Ann asked as Futaba spoke up with a nod.

"Yep. It's an old live-action superhero series. Y'know, the kind where they transform and fight evil and stuff." Futaba said as Kusa spoke up.

"Yeah, but if it's the series I think it is, it was a bit on the cheesy side, even if it was good for when it was released. But I mostly sat through it for the chance to cuddle Taba close to me while we watched it together. Heh, Taba's such a sexy little cuddle-bug when she wants to be." Kusa said as Futaba blushed and spoke up.

"Shuddup! They don't need to know that, Kusa!" Futaba said as she kept speaking.

"But back on the subject of Zephyrman, it's got somewhat of a cult following. But for the most part, it's pretty small time, like Kusa said. Konoe must be a big superhero buff." Futaba said as Nanako shuddered and spoke up.

"Oh great, is this the part where we fight another madman with a savior complex? And here I thought I was done with that after Big Bro and the others saved me from Namatame-san when I was a kid." Nanako said dryly as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"Don't worry, Nanako. We'll protect you from the bad guy if it comes to that. You're one of us now, after all." Goro said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Well, well. Get a load of Goro talking like a team player. I'm proud of you, bro." Kusa said as Goro spoke up.

"Shut up, Kusa. I'm allowed to try and be encouraging, you know." Goro said as Ren spoke up.

"I think Kusa was complimenting you, Goro. Don't take everything you hear as us teasing you." Ren said as Goro spoke up.

"Fair enough." Goro said as Makoto spoke up with a confused look on her face.

"So Zephyrman's a superhero TV show? Why would he have something like that as his keyword?" Makoto asked as Haru spoke up.

"Who knows, Mako-chan? But whatever his reason, we can enter the Jail now at least. Thank you for your help, Ichinose-san." Haru said as Ichinose spoke up happily.

"Nonsense, it was easy. Besides, hearing you guys go about your business brightens up my day." Ichinose said as Ren spoke up.

"Regardless, we knew you'd come through, Ichinose-san." Ren said as Goro spoke up.

"As much as I don't want to say this, you did us a great service with this information, Ichinose-san. So thank you." Goro said as Kusa spoke up.

"Heh, is this for real? Goro actually thanked Ichinose-san!? Did I miss hell freezing over or something?" Kusa joked as Ryuji, Nanako, and Akane laughed at the joke along with Morgana. Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"Behave, Kusa! And it's not that weird for Goro to thank someone. Sure, it is someone he might not have a high opinion of, but at least he's man enough to put his feelings aside and do what's right for the mission." Sumire rebuked Kusa, who nodded his understanding while Ichinose spoke up.

"I guess I am pretty amazing, but it's kind of embarrassing when someone else points it out. Anyhow, the real fight is only just beginning, right? Make sure you don't get yourselves killed out there." Ichinose said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"That didn't totally sound ominous or anything, Ichinose. Should we take that as a threat?" Morgana asked as Sojiro spoke up.

"No, I'm pretty sure we should take it as a warning." Sojiro said as Ichinose kept speaking as if Morgana and Sojiro hadn't interrupted.

"Alrighty, I can't wait to hear all the juicy details when you get back. Adios, Phantom Thieves!" Ichinose said as Ren ended the call on his end, at which point Akane spoke up with an uneasy look on her face as she spoke.

"So that was Ichinose-san, then? Ok, is it just me, or is there something in the way that woman speaks seem off to any of you? It's like she's masquerading as a villain or something." Akane said which then followed by Goro laughing as it became louder and louder as he spoke up.

"YES! FINALLY! Thank you, Akane-san! For once someone other than myself believes that there is something not right regarding Miss Monologues." Goro said as Kusa frowned and spoke up, the look on his face making it clear he was offended by Goro's remark about someone other than himself being leery of Ichinose.

"OI! I've been saying that same damn thing for as long as you have, Goro! So don't act like you're the only one who's leery of her." Kusa said, pouting as Futaba giggled and spoke up, ignoring the rare pair of glares her next remark would get her from both Goro and Ryuji as she spoke.

"Aww, cheer up, Kusa. It's not Goro's fault that he spent too much time with Ryuji and caught his 'foot-in-mouth' condition." Futaba joked as Ren and Sumire spoke up.

"BEHAVE, FUTABA!" Ren and Sumire rebuked Futaba as the former kept speaking.

"And I know you were told not to bash people! Sojiro and I have both told you more than once that it's rude." Ren rebuked Futaba, who winced and apologized before being forgiven as Morgana spoke up.

"Okay, we've got the keyword. Next stop: Konoe's Jail." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up

"Truth! And if things go accordin' to plan, this'll be the last one!" Ryuji said as Goro and Kusa both scoffed and the former spoke up.

"True, but since when does ANYTHING go to plan when it comes to us, Ryuji? I fully expect this to not be our last Jail, truth be told." Goro said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"I agree with Goro. Unless Konoe really is our mastermind, which I have my doubts about, we'll have at least one more Jail left where we confront the mastermind directly." Kusa said as Akane spoke up with a pensive look on her face, having thought of a possibility that she felt the need to voice.

"I doubt it, but could the mastermind that you're all looking for somehow be Owada? I could see him being the type to call the shots for something like this." Akane said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Perhaps, but I doubt it. Owada might be the type to call the shots, but I doubt he's man enough to make big moves like what the mastermind's been making." Zenkichi said as Makoto spoke up.

"Zenkichi's right, Akane-chan. And if Konoe really is the mastermind? We need to clear his Jail ASAP, since changing his heart should bring an end to the Change of Heart epidemic." Makoto said as Ryuji sighed and spoke up.

"Good point, babe. Man, this is turnin' out to be one hell of a summer vacation." Ryuji said as Kusa grinned and spoke up.

"You're not wrong about that, Ryuji. After all, we were able to meet Sophia, Akane, Zenkichi, and even Nanako, not to mention Nanako's 'Big Bro' and his friends, who are also Persona-users in case anyone here forgot, over the course of this summer vacation. Not to mention we added Sojiro and Shiho to the team as well. Truly, this has proven to be quite the memorable summer vacation for us thus far." Kusa said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"I'll say, Kusa-kun. We ended up travelling nearly the whole country." Haru said as Makoto spoke up.

"We're not done just yet. Not until we knock Konoe off his perch and make it safely back to Tokyo." Makoto said as Goro spoke up.

"Not to mention, bringing down the mastermind, whether it's Konoe or someone else. Also, if we can, we should see about bringing Owada to justice as well, if only for Akane's sake." Goro said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you. Glad someone agrees with me on that." Akane said happily as Nanako pouted and spoke up.

"I agree with you on that too, Akane." Nanako said as Akane spoke up.

"I know you do, Nanako. I wasn't excluding you. Stop being such an adorable brat already." Akane said as Nanako nodded while Futaba smirked and spoke up..

"Mwehehe, and that's more evidence that the chemistry is strong with Akane and Nanako. But in all seriousness? You know what they say! It ain't over till it's over!" Futaba said as Ann looked at Zenkichi and spoke up.

"Umm, hey. Are you sure it's okay for you to be hanging around us, Zenkichi? You're not gonna get fired or anything?" Ann asked as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Of course it's okay! I pretty much put everything on the line already to save you guys back in Kyoto, didn't I? So come on, you're not gonna make me sit out for the potential finale, are you? That bastard Konoe's gonna get what's coming to him. Plus, it's time you guys cleared your names. And let's not forget Owada's role in all this. I gave both Akane and Aoi my word, so I'm bringing him in, too." Zenkichi said as Akane smiled and hugged Zenkichi while speaking up.

"Good, you remembered. Thank you for remembering your promise, Dad." Akane said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Indeed, Zenkichi. We cannot return to our own lives until we expose his misdeeds." Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up while clicking his shoulder and rotating his right arm.

"All right, whaddya say we get goin'!" Ryuji said as Makoto turned towards Sumire's phone and spoke up.

"Can you find us the best entry point, Sophia?" Makoto asked as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up with a smile on her face.

"Okay! Leave it to me!" Sophia said as Morgana spoke up from next to Ren.

"Can do. We trust you to find us the best entry point, Lady Sophia." Morgana said smoothly as Sophia blushed while speaking up.

"U-Um, thank you for the kind words, Morgana. I'll do my best." Sophia said as the group dispersed to look around Osaka, though Morgana hung back to speak up once again with a closed-eye smile on his face.

"Heh. Wow, look at all these food vendors! This really is the kitchen of Japan!" Morgana said before looking at Sumire's phone, which Sumire had once again left with Ren so Sophia could look around Osaka with him, and speaking up.

"Well, Sophia? Did you find us a good entrance to the Jail?" Morgana asked as Sophia spoke up with a smile on her face, even though her cheeks were still slightly red from Morgana praising her before.

"Sure did! Leave it to me! The safest entrance is near Tenboto in Shinsekai." Sophia said as Morgana spoke up.

"And what about getting ourselves prepared before entering?" Morgana said as Sophia spoke up.

"No prob, Morgana. There are many businesses in the area that should be highly relevant to our needs." Sophia said as Ren spoke up.

"Also, to what you said about preparing, I did have plans for us to do one more grind session before hitting up Konoe's Jail, just to really make sure we're in peak shape before attempting this infiltration. After all, we should be at our best for this Jail." Ren said as Morgana spoke up.

"Great idea, Ren! Let's take in the sights and pick up what we need before we start that grind session, after which we can make our way to Shinsekai!" Morgana said as he walked off to look around at the same time that Ren's phone went off with a private chat from Zenkichi, which Ren opened up to read.

"Hey, it's me. You hungry? Come see me. I've got some good stuff for you." Zenkichi sent as Ren made a note to meet up with Zenkichi later to see what he wanted. For now, he pulled up his map to look around the area and see who was where. Ren eventually gave up on trying to find everyone after realizing his map of the area was incomplete. Shrugging, Ren eventually gathered everyone in the RV for more level-grinding in the Sapporo Jail...

(A short time later, in the Sapporo Jail, with Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, Pendragon, Flare, Wolf, and Seraphim)

"Since we're here strictly for level-grinding, let's settle on the groups for the run. In Group A, which I will personally lead, shall be myself, Violet, Panther, Mona, and Seeker. In Group B, which Draconis will lead, will be Draconis, Seraphim, Fox, Flare, and Pendragon. Finally, in Group C, which Queen shall lead, will be Queen, Noir, Crow, Wolf, and Skull. Oracle will act as our navigator and be a go-between for all three teams. Any objections or questions?" Joker said as no one raised an objection or question and headed out to do level-grinding.

After clearing out the first couple of areas of Sapporo Jail of Shadows, Panther hit level 54 and gained the high-tier Fire skill 'Maragidyne', making her grin and speak up.

"Oh, look! I got a new skill!" Panther said as Flare coyly spoke up.

"Nice one, Panther! And just like you, this new skill is oh-so-very hot." Flare said slyly as Panther blushed and spoke up.

"H-Hey! No flirting with me around the others, Flare! Besides, is that really appropriate for Seeker to hear?" Panther asked while trying to get her blush under control. Seeker giggled and spoke up.

"I don't mind if you and Flare flirt with each other around me if it's done in moderation, Panther. I think it's only if you try going all the way that Violet might take issue with what you're doing." Seeker said as Panther smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Seeker. I'll keep that in mind." Panther said in embarrassment as Celestine acquired 'Maragidyne'. Not long after, while clearing out another part of the Sapporo Jail, Mona, Seeker, and Skull all hit level 54, the level up giving Skull the Heavy-tier Elec move 'Ziodyne', making Skull grin as he spoke up.

"All right, a new move!" Skull said as Queen spoke up with an amused smile on her face after she pulled Skull into a kiss.

"Yep, you got another new move, sweetie. And if I may say so, it's a very high-voltage skill, making it perfect for you." Queen said as Skull grinned and spoke up.

"Truth, babe!" Skull said as he returned Queen's kiss. While they kissed, Seeker sighed to herself, idly wondering why it seemed like everyone in the group had someone special for them aside from seemingly herself, Fox and possibly Mona, Pendragon and Wolf. Seeker considered adding Seraphim to that list, but refrained after recalling how close she was to Akane. Violet saw the look on Seeker's face and spoke up.

"I don't mind you two loving on each other, but can you not do that in front of Seeker, please? I think you're making her uncomfortable, since she probably feels like she should have someone she can be affectionate with. Especially since she probably views it as all of us having someone like that, aside from Wolf and Pendragon. And she might think Fox doesn't have someone special either, since he never has anyone to kiss." Violet said as Seeker blushed and spoke up.

"H-How'd you know what I was thinking, Violet?" Seeker asked as Violet giggled and spoke up.

"It's written all over your face, Seeker." Violet said as Seeker tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"It is?" Seeker asked as Mona spoke up with a smile, looking into Seeker's eyes.

"It's just an expression, Lady Seeker. What Violet means is that it's easy to tell by looking at you. But just so you know, I'm here for you if you need someone to be close to." Mona said as Seeker smiled at Mona and spoke up.

"R-Really? Thank you, Mona. I'll remember that." Seeker said as she once again pulled Mona into a hug, blushing as she felt something peck her cheek before looking down to see Mona kissing her on the cheek, making her go bright red in surprise as she put a hand to the spot where he'd kissed her, making her blink in shock as Violet giggled and spoke up.

"Let's keep moving while Seeker tries to figure out what just happened. And Mona? You're lucky you were doing that to make Seeker feel better, or I'd have been mad at you for being so brazen about kissing her just now." Violet said as Mona sheepishly apologized and was forgiven while William acquired 'Ziodyne'.

While clearing out Shadows in another part of the Sapporo Jail, Pendragon, Crow, Draconis, Seraphim and Flare all hit level 54 while Wolf hit level 55. From the level-ups, both Crow and Wolf gained new skills in the form of the Dark insta-kill move 'Mudoon' and the support/barrier skill 'Tetraja' respectively. Wolf was the first to speak up.

"Heh, lookie there. I still got it." Wolf said as Pendragon spoke up.

"You say that like you lost it in the first place, Wolf. After all, you know what they say. 'Can't teach an old dog new tricks.' However, I think you and I disprove that quite handily, Wolf. Also, that's an interesting skill you got. Well done." Pendragon said as Wolf smirked and spoke up.

"Good point, Pendragon. Let's show them that we still have our touch even if we're getting up there a bit in age." Wolf said as Valjean acquired 'Tetraja'. Crow then smirked and spoke up.

"Ooh, looks like Hereward got himself a more powerful insta-kill skill. Finally, a new way to ki-err, I mean to end my foes?" Crow said as Noir giggled and spoke up.

"Yes, I agree with you, Crow. Also, I like the enthusiasm in your voice. Let's go find more enemies to run through with our weapons." Noir said slyly as Crow smirked while Hereward acquired 'Mudoon'. Shortly afterwards, Joker, Oracle, and Violet all hit level 59. After clearing out the last part of the Sappporo Jail, Joker called for a return to the real world...

(In the real world, in Osaka with Ren)

As Ren checked all the shops in Osaka, he found a shop that sold a 'Crab Hot Pot' recipe and decided to buy it since he was rich. As soon as he bought the recipe, he decided to try some pre-made crab hot pot. As if summoned by the smell of the hot pot, Yusuke walked over and spoke up.

"Ren? What a coincidence. Ah, I see you're interested in crab hot pot. Then please allow me to join. I simply cannot restrain myself after seeing such an elaborate display from outside. All I ask is a simple bite, nothing more." Yusuke said as Sumire smirked and spoke up, having chosen that point to walk over and see Ren and Yusuke checking out the crab hot pot.

"I see. So in other words, you're bumming off of Ren then, Yusuke-senpai? I'm guessing your wallet's as empty as your stomach then?" Sumire said as Yusuke winced and spoke up.

"Regrettably, you are correct on both counts, Sumire. I apologize for coming off like a beggar and/or mooch." Yusuke said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"No worries, bro. I got you. Heck, if she wants to join us, I'll treat you and Sumire both to crab hot pot. I've got a good bit of money saved up after all this level grinding we've been doing, after all." Ren said as Yusuke and Sumire both cheered before the three enjoyed some crab hot pot together. As they savored the meal, Yusuke spoke up in shock, his eyes closed in euphoric bliss as he spoke.

"What in heaven's name!? This is delicious beyond compare!" Yusuke said as Sumire spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Yusuke-senpai. This stuff is great. But don't take that as an invitation to constantly mooch off my boyfriend. That's my job!" Sumire said as Ren spoke up.

"Chill out, Sumi. I don't mind treating my bro here once in a while. You know I don't mind helping all of you out if needed." Ren said, smiling as he felt a flash of inspiration from the crab hot pot he'd eaten as he acquired the 'Crab Hot Pot' recipe. While continuing to browse all the stores, Ren eventually found another shop that literally only had one item in stock, which was an 'Osaka Sushi' recipe.

Knowing that Morgana likes sushi, Ren decided to buy the recipe since it was reasonably priced. Ren smirked as he noted that the slightly pungent, yet pleasant aroma of sushi rice was wafting out of the shop. Ren figured it couldn't hurt to try some of the food out since he was there. As if summoned by the smell of sushi, Morgana came walking over with Nanako in tow.

"Oh, what're you doing here, Ren? Ohh, this smell is so divine! Is that what I think it is!?" Morgana asked as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which she'd left with Ren so that he could show Sophia around Osaka, preceded a smiling Sophia speaking up.

"It's sushi, Osaka-style. Many kinds of ingredients are layered on top of each other, then pressed onto sushi rice to form box-shaped bites." Sophia said as Nanako spoke up.

"Wait, so it's sushi, but with more than mere fish on rice? Intriguing." Nanako said as Morgana spoke up with glinty eyes, either not seeing or ignoring the twin sets of red faces his next remark would elicit in Sophia and Nanako while he spoke.

"Right!? I can see you're a woman of culture and great taste if you can appreciate the allure of sushi, Lady Nanako. And so are you, Lady Sophia. Both of you are great ladies in your own right. Hey Ren, why don't you buy us all some of that sushi so we can split it?" Morgana said as Ren nodded and went to buy some of the Osaka Sushi, deciding to share it with Morgana and Nanako, while putting a portion aside to give Sophia the next time the group went into the Metaverse. While he ate his sushi, Morgana spoke up with a gleeful look on his face that had Sophia blushing inside of Sumire's phone as she looked at Morgana.

"Nyahahaha! I can't tell whether the rice is sweet or sour, to be honest. But it meshes so well with all the ingredients, regardless! My taste buds are in paradise right now!" Morgana said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"Hey, be careful not to gush too much about the sushi, Morgana. Wouldn't want to make poor Sophia jealous of the sushi, after all." Nanako said slyly as Morgana sputtered and spoke up.

"H-Hey! Don't tease me like that, Lady Nanako! Besides, Lady Sophia is special to me in a way that no sushi could ever hope to match. So she has nothing to worry about." Morgana said, not seeing the shocked look on Sophia's face nor hearing her gasp in awe at Morgana's admission as Ren felt a flash of inspiration from eating the Osaka Sushi with Morgana and Nanako. After leaving Morgana and Nanako to their wanderings and going down a side street he saw, Ren found himself in another part of the marketplace. As he walked into the new area, Sophia spoke up from Sumire's phone.

"Oh, I see. Looks like we've reached Shinsekai, Dad." Sophia said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"That we have, Sophia. That we have." Ren said as Sophia nodded before speaking up with wide eyes.

"Whoa! Look at the fish swimming through the air! And that big, gleaming statue! What purpose could they serve?" Sophia asked as Sumire spoke up, having walked into Shinsekai at the same time as Ren but waited for a chance to speak up.

"That's a good question, Sophia. That said, what an interesting place! Looks like there's a ton of stores to check out, too." Sumire said as Ren grinned and spoke up.

"Oh, yeah? Bring 'em on! I've got cash to burn right now." Ren said slyly as Sumire spoke up with a sly smile.

"Is that so, Senpai? Let's help relieve you of some of that cash. And then maybe if you're good, I'll reward you for being so generous afterwards." Sumire said as Sophia winced and spoke up.

"Oh, I know that tone of voice. Be honest with me, Mom. Is this 'reward' of which you speak something that I should make myself scarce for, then?" Sophia asked, reminding Sumire of Sophia's presence and making her speak up with an embarrassed look on her face at being caught out flirting with Ren by Sophia.

"N-No, that's not necessary. I can wait until later. I'm not trying to traumatize you after all, sweetie. I just can't help myself when it comes to Ren. He's so sexy that it's easy to forget there are others around when I feel the urge to flirt with him." Sumire said as Sophia spoke up.

"Fair enough. Oh! And speaking of things this place has a lot of, what's with that crowd? Are they trying to get at that statue?" Sophia asked as Ren and Sumire exchanged a perplexed look and decided to check it out, heading over to the statue, at which point they ran into Ryuji, who spoke up as he saw Ren and Sumire.

"Hey. Yo, is something up?" Ryuji asked as Sumire spoke up.

"Oh, hi, Ryuji. We saw a crowd gathering over here and got curious to see what was going on. Do you know anything about that statue?" Sumire asked. Before Ryuji could answer, a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"No need to ask Ryuji, Mom. I already completed a search for it online. That is the Billiken Statue. Supposedly, it is the god of good fortune and if you touch its feet, your wish will come true." Sophia said as Ren spoke up.

"If you touch its feet, eh? Oh, I see. It looks pretty popular though for some reason." Ren said as a dry laugh from nearby made Ren, Sumire, and Ryuji turn to their right in time to see Kusa walk over and speak up.

"Of course it's popular. It's the effin' god of good fortune, or so they say. Personally, I think it's just a bunch of crap made up to try and draw in people who have weird foot fetishes to touch the statue. But maybe there's some truth to it. Who knows?" Kusa said as the rest of the group slowly started flocking to the statue in time to hear several locals speak up.

"Please, Billiken Statue! Grant our wish!" One local said as another local spoke up.

"Please bring EMMA back online, Billiken Statue! We need EMMA!" Another local said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"Wait, hold up. What did that person just say? EMMA's still offline?" Morgana asked as several more locals were heard speaking up.

"I don't know what I'll do without EMMA." One local said as another spoke up.

"Please! Give me answers, Billiken Statue!" Another local said as a third local spoke up.

"Lend me your guidance!" The third local said as a fourth local spoke up.

"Please, I need EMMA back!" The fourth local said as Haru gasped and spoke up.

"Why is everyone like this? Is this huge crowd here because EMMA was shut down?" Haru asked as Ann spoke up in shock.

"They're seriously all here because of that, then?" Ann said in shock as Shiho spoke up.

"Seems like it to me, Ann. But maybe it's just a bunch of addicts trying to get their EMMA fix?" Shiho suggested. Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"Shiho has a good point. It is like they're having withdrawals or something. I get that it's convenient, but still, to think that they're this dependent on EMMA already." Makoto said as Kusa spoke up with a frown.

"I could be wrong, but I get a feeling we might need to be more wary of EMMA. Call me skeptical, but I feel like the way these locals are acting is awfully similar to some of these changes of hearts we've seen in places like Sapporo and even to a point Kukojima." Kusa said as the group moved off to the side as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Kusa has a point. But hang on a second. If EMMA's shut down, how come we were able to get into Akane's Jail before? Shouldn't that have been impossible without EMMA?" Ryuji said as Goro, Ren, and Kusa all exchanged stunned looks as Goro spoke up in a deadpan voice.

"No way. Did it finally happen?" Goro asked as Ryuji spoke up.

"Did what finally happen, Goro?" Ryuji asked as Kusa spoke up as if Ryuji hadn't interrupted.

"Did Ryuji figure something out before we did?" Kusa asked as Ren spoke up.

"If he did, good job Ryuji. First time for everything for the most part, after all." Ren said as Futaba spoke up.

"I thought about that too. And to be honest, it's prolly because Konoe set it up to capture us and try to put us against Nanako's 'Big Bro' and his friends, which that part did happen, but we managed to beat them, largely thanks to Kusa's skilled leadership in that bout. Sure, seeing him and Ren face down and defeat Yu 2 on 1 was very impressive, if entirely unexpected. But something tells me that won't work a second time if we were to face Yu's group again. That said, it seems as if EMMA's still online for us. When you think about it, we're actually kinda lucky." Futaba said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"I see your point, Futaba. So if we use this to our advantage, we'll be able to infiltrate Konoe's Jail." Yusuke said as Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"Okay, let's do this! If we're in agreement, then it's time to move. We'll break in and wipe that cocky little smirk clean off his face." Zenkichi said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Okay, let's go! The entrance is straight ahead near Tenboto. When you guys are ready, let's get into the Jail." Sophia said as Ren spoke up.

"If we do go into the Jail, one of us is going to have to escort Akane to a safe distance away so that she doesn't get pulled in with us by accident, or try to follow us in like Nanako did." Ren said as Akane spoke up.

"I get why you're trying to keep me away, but even now I have to admit that it's getting kind of old being constantly kept on the sidelines," Akane said as Nanako spoke up.

"Now you know how I felt for eight and a half years while I waited to get my turn to help save the world, Akane. I have faith that if you're meant to help us, you'll get your chance soon. So try and be patient for a while longer, yeah?" Nanako said as Akane sighed and spoke up, the tone of her voice conveying how irritated she felt as she spoke.

"Fiiiine, I'll be good and wait for a while longer. I hate that you're so good at convincing me of things, Nanako. Why don't you and I head back to the RV so the others can do their job?" Akane said as Nanako spoke up.

"Sure. I'll have to catch back up to them eventually when it's time to hit the Jail, but I think I can hang out with you for a while before that." Nanako said as Akane smiled and led Nanako back to the RV while holding her hand. Kusa smirked as he flung a parting shot at the two over his shoulder.

"Behave, you two! And if you're gonna fool around, clean up after yourselves when you're done! After all, we're only renting the Phantomobile from Sojiro's friend, and I doubt any of us can afford to pay to have the interior detailed and dry-cleaned if there's a mess made in it!" Kusa called after Akane and Nanako's departing backs, the only sign that they'd heard his words being an identical pair of blushes on their faces. Futaba frowned at Kusa and spoke up.

"HEY! It's the Feathermobile, Kusa! Not the Phantomobile!" Futaba said as Kusa spoke up, both Kusa and Futaba ignoring the indignant look on Morgana's face at Futaba's disagreement with Kusa's idea for a name for the RV while Kusa spoke.

"Let's agree to disagree on that one for now, Taba. We need to save our energy for dealing with that scumbag Konoe." Kusa said sagely as the group kept moving. While he was there, Ren decided to try his hand at rubbing the feet of the Billiken statue, frowning when nothing happened. However, Ren did note a vague sense of increased closeness to his friends after rubbing the feet of the Billiken statue, before shrugging and continuing to looking around Shinsekai. *2*

As Ren looked through the shops, he found another shop with a recipe, this one being an 'Okonomiyaki' recipe, which Ren bought for fun. As he purchased the recipe, Ren noted that something smelled delicious, deciding to sit down and try whatever he smelled. At that point, Makoto walked over as if summoned by the smell of the food and spoke up.

"Oh, hi, Ren. You're here too? Actually, I was feeling a bit hungry myself, truth be told. But since I can't finish an entire portion on my own, I was thinking I might not get it." Makoto said as Ren spoke up.

"No worries. If you want, I'll split a portion with you so you can try it out too, Makoto." Ren said as Makoto gave Ren a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Really? If it's all right with you, why don't we split a cheese-and-pork okonomiyaki between us? That way we both get just the right amount." Makoto said as Ren spoke up.

"Sure. Sounds fine to me." Ren said as he paid for a cheese-and-pork okonomiyaki meal for himself and Makoto, enjoying the meal with her. As he did so, Ren felt a flash of inspiration. After going through a few more shops, Ren's eyes widened as he saw a familiar blue door materialize into being in the area ahead, across from where he saw Yusuke and Sojiro doing some shopping together. As if she saw Ren's shocked look, Lavenza giggled and spoke up from next to the door.

"I'm surprised you're still shocked to see the door to the Velvet Room come into being, even after all this time. That being said, please come this way, Trickster. I must discuss a certain matter with you." Lavenza said as Ren nodded and followed Lavenza into the Velvet Room...

(Inside the Velvet Room, with Ren and Lavenza)

Once Ren came to inside of his cell, he walked over to the bars and waited for Lavenza to walk over, which she did as she spoke up.

"Greetings, my Trickster. It's been a long road, but it seems that your journey is finally entering its closing act. As for this man named Konoe's ambition, it is also close to fruition. All of the prices have been gathered in one place. His heart must be truly warped for him to sacrifice the wills of others without hesitation. And the other one whose warped intentions I can sense is also truly corrupted. Be wary of Konoe's partner. They may also be as dangerous as Konoe is, if not more so.

Furthermore, be on your guard. You may have amassed a great deal of allies, but you are by no means through with expanding the roster of the Phantom Thieves. I sense that the time is drawing ever nearer for the secondary 'Magician' in your midst to come into their power and formally join your cause. Not only that, but I can also sense a great turmoil ahead that can either bring about your group's undoing, or be the catalyst to finally herald the long-awaited rise of the true power slumbering within the 'Aeon' in your midst. To their credit, they are likely unaware of this true power, being without most of their memories at this point.

But if you can all rally around and encourage 'Aeon' to rise up against her struggles, you will truly open a great and devastating power. But be wary if you open that box, Trickster. Once you open it, there's no going back. However, once you open that box and help 'Aeon' to achieve their true power, your group will finally have reached its true potential at long last.

But back to the subject of the one you call Konoe and his partner. They are both very powerful individuals. At this rate, if things stay on their current course, even your futures may fall into their hands. But, provided you can keep the secondary 'Magician' in check and help her to not give in to the allure and temptation of revenge, you might have a chance of turning the tables in your favor." Lavenza said as Ren gave Lavenza a determined look and spoke up.

"We won't let that happen. No matter what, we will give it our all and do everything in our power to stop both Konoe and his partner." Ren said firmly as Lavenza smiled at him and spoke up.

"Indeed. I have no doubts you can do it. There is one more thing I must mention. I can only hope it will be of use to you, my Trickster. In all of the various Jails across the country, I can sense the energies of powerful Shadows. With no masters to serve, they have been left to wander the Metaverse. Defeating them may allow you to carry them within your heart. Know that facing them is not necessary, though they will surely prove a great source of strength.

The power of the wild card that you carry, along with the same power now being used by the one you call Goro, may very well be this world's trump card. I suggest you make full use of your Personas as you steel yourselves for the battle ahead." Lavenza said as Ren nodded and left the Velvet Room at that point, making a note to keep an eye out for these 'Powerful Shadow Requests' that Lavenza mentioned, feeling as if they could be beneficial to take on, if only so as to give the group immense strength...

(Back in the real world, with Ren and Sophia)

As Ren came out of the Velvet Room, a 'BIP!' on Sumire's phone, which Ren still had on him, preceded a worried-looking Sophia speaking up with a frown on her face.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Dad? Did you 'zone out', as they say?" Sophia asked as Ren spoke up.

"N-No. I take it you weren't paying attention before when Morgana and your Mom mentioned the 'Velvet Room'?" Ren asked as Sophia blinked and spoke up.

"Ah, yes. You did mention a 'Velvet Room' to me before, didn't you? That's where you go to maintain your Personas and hone your power of the 'Wild Card', is it not?" Sophia asked as Ren spoke up.

"Correct. I was summoned there by the keeper of the Velvet Room, who had an urgent matter to discuss. Suffice it to say, I may have been given a new way for us to strengthen up in preparation for Konoe's Jail." Ren said as Sophia spoke up.

"I see. Well, as a reminder, the safest entry point of the Jail is near Tenboto. Let's go." Sophia said as Ren shook his head and spoke up.

"We're not going into Konoe's Jail just yet. First, we're making a little detour to hit up the Sendai Jail. Let's just say that I have it on good authority that there's an enemy there that might be worth our time to fight." Ren said as Sophia nodded before gathering everyone in the RV to infiltrate the Sendai Jail...

(In the Sendai Jail, with Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, Pendragon, Flare, Wolf, and Seraphim)

As the group landed in the Sendai Jail, Joker spoke up with a serious look on his face.

"I know you all must be confused as to why we're here. But let me just say that I was given information that suggests that we can find a strong foe here to fight that will allow us to severely strengthen ourselves. As such, I want to set up our groups very carefully for this fight. So listen up! In Group A, which I will lead, will be myself, Violet, Seeker, Wolf, and Fox. In Group B, which Draconis will lead, will be Draconis, Pendragon, Seraphim, Mona, and Skull. In Group C, which Crow will lead, will be Crow, Noir, Panther, Flare, and Queen.

However, if I'm correct in my suspicions regarding the nature of the foe that we're about to face, both Mona and Panther are relegated to support/healing duties outside of light chip damage with their weapons and/or guns. As for Oracle, she will be our navigator and go-between for the groups as needed. Any objections?" Joker said as none were raised and the group split into the indicated groups.

After a bit, the group found a powerful enemy near the back entrance to what used to be Natsume's castle. After they got close enough, the enemy, which initially had the appearance of a helicopter, shifted forms into an enemy that could only be described as a massive jet-black dragon with large imposing wings and piercing yellow-green eyes. As the group looked at the enemy, Joker's eyes widened as he recognized the being in front of the group from having previously used one as the great dragon known as 'Seth'. As the group charged forward, a battle began! As the battle proceeded, Oracle spoke up.

"Hold up! Time for a quick status update! That's the 'Fratricidal Destroyer'. It's tough because it's able to block Fire and absorb Wind attacks, alongside the fact that it's also strong against Curse attacks. But it can't stand Bless attacks!" Oracle said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Then it's lucky for us that I stacked the teams the way I did then, isn't it? Violet! Seeker! With me! Let's riddle this dragon full of Bless damage!" Joker said as the others nodded and charged into battle. As the battle raged on, most of the group was pushed back by the strong Curse moves that the 'Fratricidal Destroyer' could use. Eventually, even Joker was pushed backwards slightly as Violet turned to Mona and Seeker and spoke up.

"I think there's only one way to finish this. Are you two ready to help me give this thing a taste of our Triad Special?" Violet asked as Mona spoke up.

"Of course, Violet! We need to bring this thing down!" Mona said as Seeker spoke up.

"We're right there with you, Mom! Let's bring this great big jerk back down to Earth!" Seeker said as Violet, Mona, and Seeker spoke up in unison.

"GO, TRIAD SPECIAL!" Violet, Mona and Seeker said as they started their Triad Special! As it started, Violet spoke up.

"ELLA, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO! LET'S DANCE!" 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! CHARGE UP YOUR WEAPONS AND THEN 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 'Fratricidal Destroyer' 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 foe 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 'Fratricidal Destroyer', pelting him with a mix of Bless, Wind, and even Elec damage, eventually culminating with a gigantic lightning bolt that crashed down and massively damaged the 'Fratricidal Destroyer', who let out an agonized roar before he keeled over backwards from the constant barrage of Bless damage and dissolved into black mist, ending both the Triad Special and the battle.

After the battle, the ensuing EXP gains lifted Panther, Flare, Seraphim, Draconis, Crow and Pendragon to Level 55, and lifted Wolf, Seeker, and Fox to level 56. This stream of level-ups gave several of the Thieves new moves, in that Seeker gained the passive skill 'Rebel Soul?', Draconis gained the Heavy-tier Physical skill 'Assault Dive', and Flare got the heavy-tier Ice skill 'Bufudyne'. Seeker spoke up in surprise.

"Oh! Another new skill? Interesting. And a pretty useful one, too." Seeker said as Mona spoke up with a smile.

"You deserve it, though, Lady Seeker. After all, you and Violet were totally the MVPs of that last fight, along with Joker! But Joker doesn't count since he's Joker." Mona said as Joker frowned and spoke up.

"RUDE! Just because I'm a Wild Card doesn't mean I don't count, Mona!" Joker said as Violet spoke up.

"Of course you count, Joker. Mona was just making a point to Seeker." Violet said as Seeker blushed and spoke up.

"R-Really? You think I was an MVP with Violet, Mona? That's so nice of you to say." Seeker said as Mona nodded, pulling Seeker into a hug as he spoke up.

"Of course I do. You were amazing out there! That dragon never stood a chance with you on the battlefield. Not only are you beautiful, but you're deadly too when you want to be. Truly a recipe for perfection if you ask me." Mona said as Seeker blushed prettily at what she perceived to be a compliment from Mona. Oddly enough, Seeker inexplicably felt something in her chest flutter at that moment as she processed Mona's words and the fact he was hugging her. Seeker shyly smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Mona. I don't know if you're just doing this to be nice, or if you truly want to praise me. But either way, I appreciate that you're being so nice to me. It means a lot to me." Seeker said as she returned Mona's hug while Pithos acquired 'Rebel Soul?'. Next, Draconis spoke up.

"How sweet, Mona and Seeker are havin' a moment. So adorable. But you know what else is totally sweet? Malefor's new power! Bow to his newfound might!" Draconis said as Oracle spoke up.

"Okay, wow. That was just terrible, Draconis. Tone the ego back." Oracle said as Crow smirked and spoke up.

"That's rich, especially when it's coming from the girl who has some of the braggiest skill gain lines of the entire group." Crow teased as Oracle huffed and stuck her tongue out at him childishly while Draconis spoke up.

"Fair enough. You got me there, Oracle. I do need to tone the ego back, probably. But even so, can we all agree that this new skill is great?" Draconis said as Malefor acquired 'Assault Dive'. Finally, Flare spoke up.

"Awesome, I got a new power! Now Hester's even stronger in a fight!" Flare said as Panther giggled and spoke up.

"Careful, Flare. Don't get too cocky. After all, I'd hate to have to use my heat to warm you up if you get too full of your new Ice power." Panther said slyly as Flare blushed but nodded her assent as Hester acquired 'Bufudyne'. After the fight, the group returned to the real world to plan their next move...

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

After the group returned to the real world, they scattered in various directions to look around the city. Shrugging, Ren decided to use his phone's GPS to find everyone. While consulting the map on his phone, he noted that the closest people to him were Makoto, Kusa, and Nanako, who were hanging out together for some reason. Seeing them by a nearby bridge, Ren walked over and spoke up.

"Taking in the view, you three?" Ren asked as Makoto nearly jumped on hearing Ren's voice before turning around and speaking up.

"Huh? O-Oh, hi there, Ren. You took me by surprise. And yes, this is a scenic view. Though I feel like I've seen this view on TV before. Hmm, I wonder. It can't be, can it? Oh! Isn't this the place where the hero from that one show gets shot?" Makoto asked as Nanako spoke up with a frown.

"HEY! Depending on which show you're alluding to, that's potentially spoilers! I do watch a few hero shows, and I missed several episodes after deciding to accompany Big Bro and Big Sis on their honeymoon. So I might not have seen the part you're referring to yet, Makoto." Nanako said as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"True, but that's why the Internet exists, Nanako. If you remind me about it later, I'll have Taba try and look up the episodes you missed on her laptop so you can binge what you missed and catch up on your shows, if you want." Kusa said as Nanako smiled and spoke up.

"Would you? That'd be nice." Nanako said as Makoto spoke up.

"Err, right. Sorry about that, Nanako-chan. I forget that you might not have seen that episode yet. But back to what I was saying, I suppose if you were cornered into a narrow alleyway like that, you wouldn't have many options, would you? Wait, I know that store! And that one! Wow, they all look exactly the same from here." Makoto said as Ren spoke up.

"True. But that tends to happen a lot in big cities like this, or so I hear." Ren said before turning to Kusa and speaking up.

"So you're hanging with Makoto this time, then?" Ren asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Yeah. I figured, why not? I felt like shaking things up, plus I haven't hung out with Makoto in quite a while." Kusa said as Ren spoke up.

"Fair. This bridge is pretty crazy, though." Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"You're not wrong. But the view is breathtaking, regardless. I bet this would be a really romantic spot to bring a girl at night for a date." Kusa mused as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"You sure you should be telling Ren that, Kusa? What if he uses that idea himself and brings Sumire here before you can bring Futaba here?" Nanako said as Kusa spoke up.

"I'm not worried about that, mostly because bridges aren't really Taba's thing for the most part. Plus, I know for a fact that Sumire might be a sucker for a scenic view. So I don't mind throwing Ren a bone in this instance." Kusa said as Ren nodded appreciatively before turning to Nanako as he spoke up.

"Why'd you choose to hang with Kusa and Makoto, if you don't mind me asking?" Ren asked Nanako, who spoke up.

"Basically, Makoto asked me to hang with her. I think she wanted to get to know me a bit or something. Kusa just so happened to walk over later and join us. So in his case, it was a coincidence we ended up hanging out together." Nanako said as Ren nodded his understanding and kept moving. After moving further up the town, Ren eventually found Ann and Shiho looking at shops together and walked over to them and spoke up.

"Having a date together, you two?" Ren asked as Ann turned to face Ren and spoke up.

"Nah, we're just looking around the town for info. We can have a date later. But good timing, Ren! Look what I got! Cute, huh?" Ann said as she held out an object that on closer inspection turned out to be a takoyaki pillow. Ren winced at this and spoke up.

"A takoyaki pillow? It's not made of real takoyaki, is it?" Ren asked as Ann giggled and spoke up.

"No, it's just a novelty prop. But it is a real pillow. It's got that regional flair to it, plus I thought it'd be nice for whenever we're hanging at the hideout. Besides, they said they'd gimme a good deal, so I kinda just bought it on the spot without thinking too much about it." Ann said as Shiho sweat dropped and spoke up.

"I'm pretty sure you got suckered, Ann. But I guess if it makes you happy, then we can chalk this up as a case of no harm, no foul?" Shiho said with a shrug. A 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which she'd left with Ren so he could show Sophia around, preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Oh? Interesting. People in Osaka must really know how to make a sale, then. Or do they?" Sophia asked as Ren spoke up.

"No, I don't think they do. I think Shiho's right, and Ann got potentially swindled." Ren said as Ann gave Ren the 'Takoyaki Cushion' key item. Ann then kept speaking.

"Perhaps you're both right. But in any case, let's change the subject. Did you hear what everyone's saying? Everyone's totally spreading rumors about us around Osaka. We're totally the bad guys here, if you believe what the locals are saying." Ann said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Hmm. Sounds like more changes of heart to me, Ann." Ren said as Shiho spoke up.

"I agree. I think we've found more proof that Konoe is this city's Monarch. I mean, we already suspected that, but I think we might be getting even further confirmation of it." Shiho said as Ann spoke up.

"Eh, whatever. If anything, it just makes me even more motivated to set things right! We'll expose Konoe for all he is and put an end to this!" Ann said as Ren spoke up.

"I see. Well, at least you're fired up about this, sis." Ren said to Ann before turning to Shiho and speaking up.

"And what's your take on all this, Shiho?" Ren asked as Shiho spoke up.

"My take is that Ann's too easily misled for her own good. Probably because people look at her and see a pretty face that's easy to mislead. Of course, I do my best to make sure that Ann doesn't get misled, but I'm only one person. There's only so much I can do by myself." Shiho said as Ren spoke up.

"Fair enough. I can see how that can get rather rough after a while, though." Ren said as Shiho spoke up.

"Yep. But I consider it worth it just to keep Ann safe and happy." Shiho said as Ren nodded and kept moving. After looking around, Ren blinked as he spotted Goro, Haru, and Ryuji together near what appeared to be a random part of town. Ren walked over to Haru and spoke up.

"Oh? So you and Goro decided to let Ryuji hang with you guys this time, then?" Ren asked as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Ah Ren, good day. Goro, Ryuji, and I decided to take a look around this area and we came across this comedy theater. I must say, Osaka's KNOWN for lots of things, but laughter is definitely one of them." Haru said as Ren spoke up.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised you would be looking for a laugh, big sis. I think I'm more surprised to see Goro at a comedy place." Ren said as Goro huffed and spoke up.

"Shut up, Ren. I also happen to enjoy a good laugh now and again." Goro said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. Although, what surprises me more is that you're willingly hanging out with Ryuji." Ren said as Goro spoke up.

"Yes, well, he is part of this group, so I do have to learn to at least tolerate him for the sake of group morale." Goro said as Haru spoke up.

"At least you're trying to better yourself, Goro. So that's steps in the right direction." Haru said as Goro spoke up.

"If you say so. I think it would've been way funnier to see Kusa roasting someone. His roasts are usually good for an easy chuckle or two." Goro said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"I don't think Kusa aims for comedic factor or timing with his roasts, Goro. But if you say so." Ren said as he turned to walk over to Ryuji and spoke up.

"Yo, what's bonkin', Ryuji? Didn't think you'd be hanging with Goro and Haru." Ren said as Ryuji spoke up with an unreadable look on his face.

"Hey, RenRen. I figured I'd tag along with Goro and Haru just for a change of pace. But man, so this whole place is one giant comedy theater. I guess Osaka is kinda Japanese comedy's home turf, though." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"That makes sense. If nothing else, it lines up with what Kusa read once about comedy." Ren said as Haru spoke up.

"That sounds like Kusa-kun to do research into comedy, of all things. That being said, I'm not too familiar of those traditional comedy shows, but there's usually a 'funny man' and a 'straight man,' isn't that right? Hey, what other kind of men are there?" Haru asked as both Goro and Ryuji's eyes widened at her question as the former spoke up.

"There are a lot of other kinds of men, Haru. But we'd be here for a while if I listed them all. So let's just agree to table that for now, okay?" Goro said as Ryuji spoke up with wide eyes.

"Wait, for real!? You're kidding, right Haru? Wait, is this a bit?" Ryuji asked as Goro sweatdropped and spoke up.

"No, Ryuji. This isn't a bit. This is Haru having a rare 'sweet summer child' moment. But I must admit that I find those moments of hers to be oh so adorable when she has them." Goro said as Haru smiled and kissed Goro on the cheek as Ren smirked and kept moving. After starting to head towards the next part of town, Ren blinked as he spotted what appeared to be Morgana looking around at a sushi restaurant. Intrigued, Ren walked over and spoke up.

"Checking out sushi, eh Morgana?" Ren said as Morgana jumped in surprise before he saw Ren and spoke up.

"Oh, uhh, hi Ren. Eheh, yeah, you caught me. I might not have a cat form anymore, but I think my liking for seafood still remains, since I found myself heading over here anyways. But still, this is sushi we're talking about, Ren. We should stock up on 'supplies' while we're here!" Morgana said with an excited look in his eyes. A 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up with a smile on her face.

"As adorable as your enthusiasm is, I don't think carrying around so much raw fish in this heat is such a good idea. It'd be one thing if we took a bunch of it and ran it back to the RV to have it refrigerated or stored in a cooler. But I don't think it would keep very well if we left it in the heat." Sophia said as Morgana sighed and spoke up.

"Aww, man. I forgot about that. But then again, I suppose this is why you're so helpful, Lady Sophia. Not only are you very resourceful, but you're smart, clever, and also quite beautiful, if I'm being honest." Morgana said as Sophia blushed and spoke up.

"R-Really? Praise accepted. But you know, it's not the end of the world if you wait until later to get your sushi, Morgana. Heck, maybe D-err, I mean Ren, can come back later and buy a bunch of this sushi, store it in a cooler, and he can bring a generous helping into the Metaverse so you and I can partake of it together." Sophia suggested as Morgana smiled and spoke up.

"Hmm. Y'know what? I like the way you think, Lady Sophia. And you have a point about the heat. It probably wouldn't be very cool for a Phantom Thief to wander around with an upset stomach. Hey, if I do a good job, would you mind treating me to a meal here, Ren? And then maybe we can get some to-go portions that I can share with Lady Sophia in the Metaverse later, if she is agreeable to that?" Morgana asked as Ren spoke up with a surprised look on his face while giving Morgana a skeptical glance.

"Are you asking Sophia to have a meal with you, Morgana? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were asking her on a date." Ren said with a mock-scowl. Morgana chuckled sheepishly and spoke up.

"Eheh, right. I guess I kinda am asking Lady Sophia on a sushi date, aren't I? Mind, this assumes that she wants to do that." Morgana said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded a smiling, if red-cheeked, Sophia speaking up.

"Morgana? I'd be delighted to share a meal with you at some point in the Metaverse, since that's the only place I currently have a physical form to enjoy such things." Sophia said with a smile on her face that made Morgana smile as he spoke up.

"Really!? Awesome! I look forward to it, then." Morgana said as Ren looked Morgana in the eyes and spoke up with his most stern tone.

"I know Sumire already gave you this lecture, but I'll do it again anyways. You'd better be serious about Sophia if you're going to start trying to take her on dates, Morgana! She might be an AI, but Sumire and I don't want to see her find out that she has a heart, only to have you break it with those ladies' man tendencies of yours. Can you look me in the eyes and guarantee that you won't hurt Sophia if you and her start spending time together?" Ren asked as Morgana spoke up.

"Honestly? I can't guarantee that, but I can do my best to keep her as happy and loved as possible. So don't worry, Ren." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"Fair enough. That's not really what I was hoping to hear, but at least you're being honest with me, so I'll cut you a bit of slack in this instance. However, I'm holding you to your word that you'll do your best to keep Sophia as happy and loved as humanly possible, though. I apologize for coming off slightly overprotective, but Sophia's become quite dear and precious to both myself and Sumire, and neither of us want to see her end up brokenhearted.

And Morgana? So help me, if you ever do hurt Sophia, and myself and Sumire ever find out about it? You'd better look out, since in addition to myself and Sumire, you'll have a lot of people waiting in line to hold you accountable if you ever do anything to hurt Sophia or make her cry." Ren said, leaving Morgana to fearfully nod while wincing as Ren nodded once and kept moving. After walking around through Tenboto, Ren found Yusuke and Sojiro looking at a skewer shop. After pondering it carefully, Ren walked over to speak to Yusuke.

"So, you're hanging out with Sojiro this time, eh Yusuke?" Ren said as Yusuke turned to Ren and nodded as he spoke up.

"Correct. Sojiro actually asked me to hang with him, so I decided to oblige him. That said, I feel as if my sixth sense is trying to tell me something, Ren. Ah, yes! I Understand now! It's telling me that the skewers here are marvelous! Sadly, I've already exhausted my traveling funds by this point. Good lord, is this truly the end?" Yusuke asked as Sojiro shook his head and spoke up.

"How are you so bad with money, Yusuke? I truly do not get that. I think we need to have Kusa sit you down and give you some intense budgeting lessons. After all, we saw how effective his tutelage was with Ren. When Ren first came to Yongen-Jaya with Kusa, he was almost as bad with money as you are. But look at him now. He's buying gratuitous amounts of stuff and still having tons of cash left over. I think you'd benefit from it, Yusuke." Sojiro said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Hmm, you do have a point, Sojiro. I'll consider it. But that's up to Kusa if he wants to help me out with that." Yusuke said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded a wide-eyed Sophia speaking up.

"Oh? Yusuke seems really sad right now, doesn't he? I want to be useful. Think you could help me out, Ren? I was able to look up the ingredients for skewers. All we need to do is gather them and cook some for him." Sophia said as she sent Ren a digital copy of a 'Kushikatsu Recipe'. At that point, Yusuke spoke up in a woeful tone.

"How could this be!? Alas, this is farewell, my sweet pork katsu, beef katsu, scallop, shrimp, and red ginger combo!" Yusuke said as Ren spoke up.

"Hang in there, Yusuke. I'll see what I can do about that later. I still have others to talk to for now." Ren said as he turned to Sojiro and spoke up.

"Sorry about you having to go around with Yusuke this time, Sojiro. I promise he's not usually like this." Ren said as Sojiro chuckled and spoke up.

"It's fine, Ren. I don't mind at all. Yusuke kind of reminds me of a more eccentric, male, and less frugal Futaba. She used to be dramatic like this too when she first came to live with me. Uhh, but maybe don't tell her I said that, yeah? I don't think she'd appreciate me putting her past on blast like that." Sojiro said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"No worries, Sojiro. Your secret's safe with me." Ren said as Sojiro nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Thanks, Ren. I appreciate that." Sojiro said as Ren nodded and kept moving. After a bit, he spotted Zenkichi looking into a souvenir shop with Akane. Ren tried to Resist, but found himself walking over to speak to Zenkichi and Akane anyways.

"Having some father-daughter time with Akane, eh Zenkichi? Sorry to interrupt, was just doing the rounds and speaking to everyone." Ren said as Zenkichi smiled and spoke up.

"Ah, Ren. There you are. Don't worry about it. You're not interrupting at all. Akane and I were just looking around Osaka together. How's it going? Here, take this. A strapping young lad like yourself can always use this." Zenkichi said as he handed Ren a to-go container of gyoza. Zenkichi saw the confused look on Ren's face and kept speaking.

"Confused? Let me explain. I bought myself an order and they threw in a whole second one on the house. I can't eat two whole things of gyoza, so you take those. They're pretty good, too. Or so I hear." Zenkichi said as Akane smirked and spoke up.

"You mean so you heard that one local tell me when I asked him about it, Dad. You're getting better, but you're still not as versed as you could be in speaking to the locals." Akane pointed out as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah. You have a good point. I still have a lot to learn. Speaking of which, I was thinking about something. You know, you guys sure do cook for yourselves an awful lot, considering how many restaurants we see all over the place. With all these places to check out, why're you always cookin'?" Zenkichi asked as a chuckle from nearby preceded Morgana walking over and speaking up.

"Let me answer this one, Ren. We love cooking and eating together, Zenkichi! It's one of the best parts of this trip." Morgana said as Akane smiled and spoke up, the look on her face making it plain to see she agreed with Morgana's point.

"That's a good point, Morgana. I have heard that cooking meals together can help people bond in a way most things can only hope to match." Akane said as Morgana spoke up.

"Mwehehe! As always, you're absolutely right, Akane!" Morgana said before turning to Zenkichi as he kept speaking.

"Hey, don't you ever cook, Zenkichi?" Morgana asked as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Hmm? Not really. I'm on the job so often, I usually just grab something quick, like soba or some bread." Zenkichi said as Morgana winced and spoke up.

"Really? Yeesh, that can't be great for your health, Zenkichi. After all, don't you know that you're only as good as your diet?" Morgana said a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded a smiling Sophia speaking up.

"Morgana has a point. Not having a balanced diet can be bad for your health, according to an article I read online recently." Sophia said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Yeah, I know, I know. Sheesh, can't believe an AI and a cat-turned-human are giving me a lecture about my diet. Anyways, Aoi used to do all the cooking. Sometimes I'll slap together a meal when I'm actually home. I mean, Akane's there, and all. Judging from her expression whenever I cook, I'd say that she doesn't seem to be the biggest fan of my cooking, though, oddly enough." Zenkichi said as Akane giggled and spoke up.

"It's not that I'm not a fan of your cooking, Dad. It's moreso that I'm not a fan of how limited your array of dishes tends to be. You're a decent enough cook, but you don't know how to cook very much." Akane said as Morgana sighed and spoke up.

"Really? I feel like I'm gonna regret asking this, but, what do you make, Zenkichi?" Morgana asked as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Good question. Let me think. Ah, right. I fill a pot with water, add salt, chopped vegetables, and whatever meat's on sale. Sometimes I'll add some sugar to balance out the salt if I added too much. That's all it takes for an easy, well-balanced dinner." Zenkichi said as Akane spoke up.

"I'll give you that it's probably easy, but I dunno if I'd say it's well-balanced, Dad." Akane said as Morgana winced and spoke up.

"Really!? Good grief, that's not a meal, Zenkichi! Why would you be proud of that? Man, do I feel worse than ever for Akane now." Morgana said as Akane spoke up with a frown.

"HEY! I appreciate the sentiment and all, but I AM right here, you know. Besides, I think it's enough that Dad at least tries, and I do appreciate that he cares enough to go out of his way to provide for the both of us." Akane said kindly as she smirked and kept speaking.

"Besides, from what Nanako was saying to me recently, she apparently cooks most of the meals at her house, so she has a good bit of experience in the kitchen. So I guess at the least, I don't have to worry about my diet if I do end up deciding to be with her. So that's at least something." Akane said as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"Hrgh, way to kick a man in his ego, you two. What else can I do, though? I've never learned to make a proper meal from scratch. Still, Akane is a growing young woman, though. To be honest? I wish I could make her something actually good." Zenkichi said as Morgana smiled and spoke up.

"Well, at least your heart's in the right place. That's a good sign for you and Akane's relationship." Morgana said as Akane spoke up.

"Again, I'm right here. But I agree that Dad's heart is in the right place." Akane said as Morgana spoke up.

"Right, right. Sorry, Akane. I keep forgetting that you're there even though you have spoken a bit in this conversation." Morgana said before turning to Ren and speaking up.

"Hey, Ren, let's teach Zenkichi a recipe. Not just for his sake, but for Akane's sake, too. The sooner the better, now that I think about it. Who knows the next time you might have the opportunity?" Morgana said as Ren thought about it and spoke up.

"You know, that's a great idea, Morgana. But we're not going to just assue anything before asking Zenkichi what he wants to do. That being said, if he wants me to teach him how to cook, I'm sure I can figure out something to teach him. Might need to round up some assistants, though. Cooking is rarely a one-man job, after all." Ren said wisely as Morgana smiled and looked at Zenkichi while speaking up.

"All right! You heard the man! You'd better keep up, Zenkichi!" Morgana said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded an amused Sophia speaking up.

"I get what you're trying to do Morgana, but shouldn't you at least ask Zenkichi if he wants us to help him before planning stuff out?" Sophia calmly yet wisely pointed out, getting an amused smile from Akane as she spoke up.

"Heh, for being so rarely heard, you're pretty smart, Sophia. Personally, I think it could be neat to see Dad learning to cook. But that's just my opinion." Akane said as Zenkichi spoke up with widened eyes.

"WHAT!? Did you seriously sign me up for this without my say-so, Morgana? At least Akane and Sophia are inclined to ask first, along with Ren." Zenkichi said as Ren spoke up.

"Do you want to do this? You can tell me no and I'll understand." Ren said as Morgana spoke up before Zenkichi could answer Ren.

"Let's see, Ren's a curry master if I recall right. But we already showed Akane how to make that. What else could we teach Zenkichi to make? Oh, I know! How about asking Haru and Futaba? And maybe Akane can ask Nanako for suggestions if she feels like it." Morgana said as Akane spoke up.

"I can ask her about it. No guarantees on if she has any or not, though." Akane said as Morgana spoke up.

"Good. Anyways, Haru's gotta know some healthy dishes, and we all know Futaba is picky about what she'll eat!" Morgana said before turning to face Zenkichi as he kept speaking.

"All right, Zenkichi, you'd better ask now before it's too late!" Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"Don't pressure him like that, Morgana. That should be up to him if he wants to learn. And you never did let him answer my question before when I asked him if he wanted to learn how to cook a meal. That's pretty rude, you know." Ren said as Zenkichi spoke up with widened eyes.

"Ren's right. That is rude, Morgana. And to what you asked, Ren? I dunno, now's not really the best time for-" Zenkichi said as Morgana spoke up before Zenkichi could'e finish his sentence.

"Let's go consult Haru first. I'm sure she'll have an easy beginner meal for Zenkichi to learn." Morgana said as Sophia spoke up with a frown.

"Do you always cut people off mid-sentence like that, Morgana? That's not nice, you know." Sophia rebuked Morgana, who winced and spoke up.

"Uhh, good point, Lady Sophia. Sorry, Zenkichi. I was just trying to help, that's all." Morgana said as Zenkichi sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, dammit! Yes, please, continue poking your nose into my business." Zenkichi deadpanned, making Ren smirk at the annoyance in Zenkichi's tone as he sighed and kept speaking.

"Ugh. All right, fine, fine-IF I feel like it later, okay? I'll think about it, and if I decide I want to learn, I'll ask you later." Zenkichi said as Ren spoke up.

"That's fair. I'm sorry Morgana's so tactless at times. He really does mean well, though. But he's gonna have to get that in check sooner than later, since I get the sense that Sophia won't put up with that sort of behavior from him. And if he's serious about how he feels about her, Morgana's gonna have to change his ways." Ren said as Morgana blushed at Ren's remark about his feelings for Sophia, while Akane giggled at the look on Morgana's face as Zenkichi spoke up.

"It's fine, Ren. I realize that he had good intentions. He just needs to learn to ask before he starts making plans, that's all. Truth be told, I don't mind what he was trying to do at all. I just don't know if now's the best time for it, that's all." Zenkichi said as Ren nodded his agreement as Zenkichi kept speaking.

"That said, is this supposed to be a Billiken keychain? Man, if this thing were actually lucky, we'd be living easy right now. How am I supposed to know what high-school second-years like to eat? Damn, I've got no clue. Ugh, maybe Sakura the younger will have some ideas of what Akane might like to eat." Zenkichi said as Ren spoke up.

"You could also just ask Akane directly, Zenkichi. But that's just my opinion." Ren said before turning to Akane as he kept speaking.

"Speaking of which, how are you, Akane? Sorry to interrupt your father-daughter time with your Dad with this little cooking quest." Ren said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"It's fine, Ren. And I'm doing okay. Dad was just showing me around Osaka, or at least around what he knows of Osaka. And to be honest, if not for the fact that Morgana doesn't know how to ask first before making plans, I think his idea has a lot of merit. And to be honest, it could be fun to see what you teach my dad." Akane said as Ren spoke up.

"I'm not sure what I'll teach him yet, but I'll do my best to figure something out. I promise you that." Ren said as Akane smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you. I'll look forward to seeing what you decide on." Akane said as Morgana spoke up.

"Mwehehe, is that gonna be before or after you look forward to seeing how good your potential girlfriend is in the kitchen, Akane?" Morgana said teasingly as Akane blushed bright red and spoke up.

"HEY! Don't be teasing me about Nanako like that, Morgana!" Akane said as she chased Morgana off-screen, leaving Ren and Zenkichi to exchange confused looks before shrugging as the former kept moving. Eventually, Ren found Futaba standing near a shop a little ways ahead, but what really made Ren smirk was seeing that Sumire was hanging with her. Ren smirked and walked over.

"Oh, what's this? Spending time with your girl-crush, little sis? Interesting." Ren said as both Futaba and Sumire blushed at this, the former speaking up.

"HEY! Don't tease me like that, big bro! Besides, Sumire's your girlfriend anyways. That being said, we've died and gone to Osaka eats heaven! I'm gonna have a field day stocking up for the road." Futaba said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Well, it's a good thing I had Kusa give you those budgeting lessons then, Futaba. I bet you're able to buy a lot more than you previously would've bought." Ren said as Futaba spoke up.

"True. Kusa really is a good teacher, too. Sure, part of that could be that our study method is really fun to get into, but still, his lessons really are useful. You know, now that I think about it, I've been walking around places I've never been all by myself for most of this trip, haven't I? I asked a lady for directions, AND I talked to a guy selling takoyaki!" Futaba said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Yep, you've really grown up, little sis. I think we can attribute part of that to your personal growth, and part of that to how much of a good influence Kusa is on you." Ren said sagely as Futaba smirked and spoke up.

"Heheh, that's true. Kusa is a good influence for the most part, isn't he? Mwehehe. But even then, I'm not the same ol' Futaba anymore, you know. Maybe I should try navigating in an Osaka dialect? Movin' and groovin', Ren! That's muh boy!" Futaba said as both Ren and Sumire spoke up at the same time.

"NO!" Ren and Sumire said as the former kept speaking.

"Absolutely not. If I wanted to hear that sort of navigating, I'd have asked Ryuji to navigate by now." Ren said as Futaba pouted and spoke up.

"RYUJI!? That blonde monkey wouldn't be able to navigate his way out of a wet paper bag!" Futaba said as Morgana walked over in time to hear Futaba's roast of Ryuji and laughed at it as he spoke up, having managed to give Akane the slip.

"HA! You called Ryuji a monkey! That's funny, Futaba! Granted, I wouldn't advise you to say that anywhere that Ryuji can overhear. But I agree that he'd be a terrible navigator. I'd sooner have Goro navigating, or even Kusa, than I would have Ryuji. But then again, you're the definitive navigator for us, Futaba." Morgana said as Futaba spoke up, both Morgana and Futaba ignoring the disapproving looks that Sumire and Ren were giving them as Futaba spoke.

"Mwehehe, I knew you liked me, Morgana." Futaba said as Ren huffed and turned to Sumire as he spoke up.

"Sorry you got stuck with Futaba this time, beautiful. But on the positive, this means I got to save the actual best for last this time. She hasn't given you too much trouble, has she?" Ren asked as Sumire spoke up.

"No, not at all. To be honest, Futaba's been quite well behaved, actually. I think she's trying to show Kusa how much she's grown up, if I had to guess." Sumire said as Ren spoke up with a smirk.

"Yeah, that sounds like her, all right. Who knew we'd end up coming to Osaka together though, beautiful? Pretty wild, yeah?" Ren said to Sumire who nodded and spoke up with a shy smile.

"You're not wrong, Ren. It is pretty wild. But you know, I hear the view from the bridge near the hideout is pretty breathtaking at night. Maybe we can take some time to check it out while we're here?" Sumire suggested as Ren spoke up.

"We could do that. I do believe I like the way you think, Sumi." Ren said coyly as he boldly stole a kiss from a blushing Sumire, who spoke up.

"R-Ren! Are you really kissing me in a public place?" Sumire asked as Futaba giggled and spoke up.

"I thought you knew Ren was all about the element of surprise by now, Sumire? Mwehehe." Futaba said as Ren huffed and kept moving. As he started to move on, Futaba stopped him and spoke up.

"Wait, Ren! I almost forgot. Take this." Futaba said as she slipped something into Ren's pants pocket, which he fished out to find a 'Ginger-Pork Bento' recipe, prompting Ren to give Futaba an inquisitive look, but she gestured for Ren to follow him a little ways away so that she and Ren were out of Sumire's earshot before she spoke up.

"I saw Sumire looking at that in a shop while we were touring Osaka together, and discreetly had the shopkeeper sell it to me. You can prepare that for her as a surprise or something. I'll leave that up to you." Futaba said as Ren nodded while pocketing the 'Ginger-Pork Bento' recipe as he kept moving. Eventually, Ren took the request that Sophia had sent, titled 'Cooking Papa'. After that, Ren headed to find Haru, finding her still at the theater with Goro and Ryuji. Once he found Haru, Ren spoke up.

"Hey there, big sis. Glad you're still here. As it turns out, I might need your help. Apparently, Zenkichi's never learned how to cook a meal from scratch, and somehow I got roped into teaching him. But I figure you might have some insight on where to start with that? Any chance you'd be willing to help me out?" Ren asked as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"Well, well. Would you look at that? Never thought I'd see the day where you're asking for help, Ren. I should probably savor this moment." Goro said teasingly as Ren spoke up.

"Shut up. I ask for help all the time, Goro." Ren said as a wide-eyed Haru spoke up.

"Huh!? You got a request to help Zenkichi-san out, and as part of that, you want me to teach him how to cook? I mean, I'd be happy to, but I'm still working on improving my own skills as they are, to be honest." Haru said as Ren spoke up.

"I realize that, but you're probably the best chance I have of pulling this off." Ren said as Morgana walked over and spoke up before Haru could answer Ren, ignoring the unimpressed glares Ren and Goro gave him for being rude to Haru by cutting her off as he focused on Ren while he spoke.

"If I may give you some encouragement Haru, you may not realize this, but you've got a sharp eye for ingredients and way more knowledge about food than he does! So, there's two points for you already. Zenkichi's gotta learn how to cook with love so he can really get through to Akane, and I know you can do that, so it sounds like you're perfect!" Morgana said as Goro glared at Morgana and spoke up.

"Hey! No buttering up my girlfriend, Morgana! That's my job! Besides, you've got your own crush to butter up. Or did your tendency to strike out with the ladies get so bad that you're even striking out with virtual ladies, Morgana?" Goro said as Ryuji grinned at the roast of Morgana before he frowned and spoke up.

"Ouch, that's harsh, Goro. But at the same time, I do have to agree that Morgana doesn't have the best track record with romance in recent memory. But maybe Sophia can change that?" Ryuji mused as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded a blushing Sophia speaking up.

"R-Ryuji, why are you using me as an example like that? Also, I was unaware that Goro considered me a virtual lady? As for Morgana, whether or not I give him a chance in a relationship with me at some point in the future is ultimately up to how he behaves." Sophia said bluntly but honestly as Haru giggled and spoke up.

"Aww, look. Sophia-chan is blushing! That's so sweet! I think she still has a crush on Mona-chan! And speaking of Mona-chan, thank you for your kind words." Haru said before turning to Ren as she spoke up.

"Well, if I can be of help to you, I'd be honored to lend a hand, little bro." Haru said as Ren spoke up gratefully.

"That's a relief, big sis. I wasn't looking forward to having to tell the others that I couldn't teach Zenkichi if you'd refused. Thank you so much." Ren said gratefully. Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, no need to thank me. I feel like we owe something to Zenkichi-san for what he's done for us. And to be honest, it'll be a learning experience for me as well." Haru said as Morgana spoke up.

"Great! I knew you'd do it! So, what do you think would make a good first lesson for Zenkichi?" Morgana asked as Haru spoke up with a frown.

"Hmm, that's a good question, Mona-chan. Well, how about Obanzai-style cuisine? It's a classic Kyoto approach, similar to farm-to-table experiences. It uses a variety of local vegetables and seafood, nothing overly fancy." Haru said as Morgana spoke up with a closed-eye grin.

"Ooh, sounds like a perfect fit. And plenty healthy for Akane, too! All right, what say we go and buy everything you'll need while you get ready for the lesson?" Morgana said as Haru spoke up.

"Mmhm, I'll get right on it! This may be my first time behind the lectern, but I still have my reputation in the food industry at stake! Ren-kun, I'll send you a request with a grocery list." Haru said as Ren nodded and pulled out his phone to check for a request, right as one came in from Haru. As luck would have it, Ren had already amassed a surplus of all the listed ingredients, so he was able to complete Haru's request with ease. After turning in the request, Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Ren-kun. I see you picked up the ingredients. I think we're ready for class now! Oh, I just had an excellent idea! Why don't you try preparing some obanzai dishes alongside Zenkichi-san, little bro? That way, you can make them whenever you'd like in the future. Also, you'll be able to jump in, just in case I get anything wrong while teaching Zenkichi-san. So, little bro? What do you say?" Haru asked as Ren spoke up.

"Eh, I've come this far. Might as well go all-in at this point. I've got your back, big sis." Ren said confidently. Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, little bro! I feel better already knowing you'll be there too." Haru said as Morgana spoke up.

"Don't you worry, Haru, both myself and Goro will also be right there with ya too!" Morgana said as Goro glared at Morgana and spoke up.

"Are you seriously volunteering me for stuff without asking me, Morgana? You do realize that Sumire's not the only one who knows how to punish meddlers, right?" Goro said bluntly as Morgana winced and spoke up.

"Y-yeah, I realize that. But you did say you wanted to do anything you could for Haru, right? After all, she is your girlfriend." Morgana said as Goro groaned and spoke up.

"Ugh, I can't believe you played that card on me, Morgana. Fiiiine, I'll also help oversee this. If nothing else, I could probably use the chuckle if Ren manages to mess up somehow." Goro said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Goro. By all means, watch and learn. Maybe I'll end up surprising you, oh ye of little faith." Ren said dryly as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"I believe in you, Ren. And even if he has a funny way of showing it, I think Morgana does too." Sophia said as Morgana nodded and Haru giggled and spoke up.

"Well, thank you both, Mona-chan and Goro. I can't wait for our first cooking lesson together! Here's the recipe we'll be working with." Haru said as Morgana spoke up.

"Great, we're all set on Haru's end. Next up: getting Futaba on board! And hopefully, Akane was able to rope Nanako into helping out too." Morgana said as Ren shrugged and spoke up.

"Hard to say if she did or not. I suppose the only way to know for sure is to wait and see. For now, let's just find Futaba and see if we get her in on this." Ren said as he was given a 'Obanzai Recipe' key item. After he and Morgana walked all the way back to where the both of them saw Akane, Zenkichi, Futaba, and Sumire, the two of them walked over to Futaba as Ren spoke up.

"Ah, there you are, little sis. Apparently, Zenkichi sent me a request to get you and Haru to help teach him how to cook. We've already got everything set on Haru's end, so all that's left is to try and enlist your assistance with this little endeavor, and maybe hope that Akane manages to enlist Nanako's help too. So what do you say? Will you help, little sis?" Ren asked as a wide-eyed Futaba and Sumire both spoke up.

"WHAT!?" Futaba and Sumire both asked in shock as the former kept speaking.

"Huhhh!? You want ME to get in on your cooking class for Zenkichi!? Well, I mean, it DOES sound like it could be fun, but I dunno. I'm not exactly what ya'd call a super-taster. I'm picky about instant yakisoba brands, and that's about the extent of my culinary knowledge." Futaba said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Perhaps, but don't you think Kusa might be surprised and impressed to see you helping others out?" Sophia asked as Morgana spoke up before Futaba could do more than blink at Sophia's question.

"I think what Lady Sophia means to say is that Kusa would be proud if you helped out. But enough about Kusa. Let's circle back to the important bit. And in regards to what you just said? That's just it, though: since you're picky about flavor, you'd be the best representative of how Akane might react to Zenkichi's cooking!" Morgana said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"And we can't just have Akane test it herself, why?" Sumire asked as Ren spoke up.

"I'm guessing Zenkichi wants to surprise her with his newfound culinary skills or something." Ren said as Sumire spoke up.

"Ah, I see. In that case, I must agree. Futaba-chan probably would be the best choice to represent a picky eater's reaction to what Zenkichi learns." Sumire said as Futaba chuckled and spoke up.

"Oh-ho, I see what you're getting at! Heh heh! So, you're puttin' Judge Futaba on the case, huh? Now, I don't mean to brag, but I have been evaluating Leblanc cooking every day for a long time! I vow to be firm, but impartial during this trial." Futaba said as Sumire laughed and spoke up.

"Firm, but impartial!? Riiiight. Remind me again, how much of that cooking that you evaluated was Kusa's, versus how much was Ren and/or Sojiro's?" Sumire asked as Futaba blushed and spoke up while cutely pouting.

"I hate you, Sumire. And that's besides the point. I was very firm and impartial judging that food, if you must know." Futaba said as Morgana smirked and spoke up.

"Mwehehe, that wasn't a denial though, was it?" Morgana said as Futaba went to yell at Morgana, only to be beaten to it as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Be nice to Futaba, Morgana! I'm sure she's a perfectly wonderful judge of how good a meal is. Besides, you'd be surprised how often girls are willing to taste-test a man's cooking if it's good enough and if they have a crush on the man in question." Sophia said firmly as Sumire nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"She's right, Morgana. I'd listen to her if I were you." Sumire said as Morgana nodded and spoke up with a smirk on his face.

"But of course. I'd be a fool not to heed the wisdom of a revered and wise, not to mention beautiful, lady like our dear Lady Sophia." Morgana said smoothly, smirking at how red Sophia's face got from Morgana praising her. Morgana then turned to Futaba as he kept speaking, having registered what Futaba had previously said.

"So you see, you ARE perfect for this! Don't stay your gavel during this, either, Judge Futaba! There's no need to hold back, since this is for the sake of helping Zenkichi impress Akane with his cooking!" Morgana said as Futaba smirked and spoke up.

"Oh, really? Mwehehe! In that case, you got it! So, what's first on the docket? A classic curry recipe?" Futaba asked as Morgana spoke up.

"No, Haru's going to teach us how to make Obanzai-style food." Morgana said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Ooh, I've heard of that before! Classic Kyoto cookin'! Buuut, it's kinda plain for a second-year in high school. You've got to teach him to make stuff teenagers like to eat. And you know what the teens like to eat? Curry and ramen! Accept no substitutes!" Futaba said as Ren and Sumire sweatdropped in unison as the former spoke up.

"And by 'the teens', I assume you really mean yourself, little sis?" Ren said knowingly, making Futaba chuckled nervously before Morgana winced and spoke up.

"Oh, really? I see. Well, I guess you should probably show Zenkichi how to make those some other time, Ren." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"He'll be in good hands between myself, Haru, Futaba, and possibly Nanako, assuming that Akane gets her to join in on all of this. Technically, if we want Zenkichi to really learn how to cook curry well, we should get Kusa to teach him. And for the ramen, we could probably get Ryuji to teach him that. He might not look like it, but Ryuji knows his way around a good bowl of ramen." Ren said as Futaba spoke up.

"I see. In that case, you must prove your worth as an instructor! Cookin' time! There shall be no Zenkichi-teaching until you prove your curry and ramen are truly up to snuff!" Futaba said as Morgana spoke up with wide eyes.

"Oh, really? Ooookay then?" Morgana said uncertainly as Sumire groaned and spoke up.

"Great job, Morgana-senpai. You've created a monster. Congratulations." Sumire deadpanned, making Futaba pout at being called a monster as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"Be nice, Sumi! You're not wrong that Futaba can be a demon when it comes to her evaluations, but she's still our friend." Ren said as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"Big Bro gets it! Anyways, this should be a good warm-up for my judging skills! Okay, here goes! 'Allez cuisine!' Mwehehe." Futaba said as Ren sweatdropped and spoke up.

"Oh, great. Morgana, please remind me to yell at Kusa for letting his girlfriend watch too many cooking movies later." Ren deadpanned as Morgana spoke up.

"Sure thing, Ren. But you know, I have a feeling Futaba just wants to eat some of your cooking more than anything. But, it'll still help out Akane in the end, so I suppose we should go along with it. That said, I guess you're gonna have to get Judge Futaba's seal of approval on your classic curry and new ramen recipes!" Morgana said as Ren nodded, hearing a request come in on his phone from Futaba. Sure enough, it was a request for his cooking. Fortunately for Ren, it was stuff he had a ton of, so he was easily able to provide the requested meals. Ren wasted little time in finishing the request and turning in the finished request. At that point, Futaba spoke up eagerly with a shocked look on her face.

"You finished already!? Ooh, looks delish! Yesssss! Curry AND ramen! I'm livin' the high life, now. What teen could resist such a perfect meal!? All shall fall in its wake!" Futaba said eagerly as Morgana spoke up.

"Hey, hey! We get that you're psyched, buuuut how does it taste? That's what matters here." Morgana said as Futaba spoke up.

"Yes, yes! I get it! The taste test!" Futaba said as she dug in to the offered meals and spoke up in shock.

"WHAT THE HECK!? Oh, wow! My goodness! IT'S INCREDIBLLLLLLE! This curry is great! Not only that, but this is a plate of curry that is just as epic as Sojiro's! Ooooh! And the Sapporo-style miso ramen is glorious as well. It's like I'm getting a vision of the vast Hokkaido skies! These both get an A plus! A plus-plus, even! My palate is ready and rarin' to judge!" Futaba said approvingly as Morgana spoke up.

"Nyahaha! It looks like your cooking's still on point, Ren. We're ready for Haru to start the lesson!" Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"True. Maybe we'll get lucky and Akane was able to recruit Nanako as well. But I suppose we've got a good setup as is." Ren said as Futaba spoke up.

"I guess you're going to go back to the RV to get things set up for the lesson? Well then, see ya later! When the time comes, summon me from my chambers, and I'll be right over. The Leblanc-trained Oracle is ready to analyze every last bite!" Futaba said as Ren nodded, before nothing that enlisting Futaba's help had caused 'Cooking Papa' to be marked as 'COMPLETE' as well.

Once Ren turned in the finished request. He and Morgana head back to the RV to get the cooking stuff set up for Haru's lesson. A little while later he contacted Haru, Futaba, and Zenkichi to let him know that everything was ready. Shortly after, the three Thieves arrive back at the RV alongside Goro, Akane, and Nanako, the latter having been enlisted by Akane to help Zenkichi learn how to cook. In addition, Kusa, who had heard about the lessons from Goro, also decided to sit in to see how it played out. Once all the Thieves arrived, Ren spoke up.

"Ok, thank you all for coming for this unexpected cooking lesson. I want to personally thank Haru and Futaba for taking part of their time to help assist Zenkichi with improving his cooking. Also, I appreciate you joining us as well, Nanako." Ren said as Nanako smiled and spoke up.

"No problem Ren. When I heard from Akane about her father's dilemma, I was more than happy to help out." Nanako said as Futaba spoke up.

"Ok, before we start I have one question, why are Kusa and Goro here? Not that I don't mind or anything, it's just that I'm just curious as to why they decided to join us since the rest of us here make sense in this context." Futaba said as Goro spoke up.

"That's because Morgana asked me earlier to help oversee this while he and Ren were asking for Haru's help. I objected to this at first, but he was able to convince me otherwise. At the very least, Morgana suggested that I might at least get some form of entertainment if Ren messes up." Goro said as Kusa spoke up.

"As for me being here Taba, Goro gave me the rundown of what's happening with Zenkichi, and when I heard that you were going to be a part of this cooking lesson, I figured I would sit in and watch the lesson, basically observing and seeing how the lesson ultimately plays out." Kusa said as Ren spoke up.

"Well, the more the merrier, brother. And to address your earlier statement of me messing up Goro, I doubt that would happen. But with that being said, I think now's a good time for Haru and Futaba to take the reigns on this session." Ren said as Haru and Futaba smirked as they stood up while Ren sat down in the booth as Haru spoke up.

"Thank you, Ren. Well then, shall we begin the lesson?" Haru said before frowning as she didn't get an immediate reply from Zenkichi, smacking her hands on the table to get Zenkichi's attention, making him jump back in surprise and causing Futaba, Akane, and Nanako to giggle. Haru then glared at Zenkichi as she kept speaking.

"Zenkichi-san? I said, shall we begin the lesson." Haru said sternly as a wide-eyed Zenkichi spoke up.

"Hold on now! Uhh, yes?" Zenkichi said warily as Futaba spoke up with a frown on her face as she glared at Zenkichi over the top of her glasses, making Kusa have to stifle a laugh at how adorable her stern look was as Futaba spoke.

"I am the judge presiding over this taste test. You shall address me as Your Honor!" Futaba said firmly as Zenkichi sighed and spoke up, ignoring the amused grins on Kusa and Goro's faces to focus on Futaba as he spoke.

"Fine, Sakur-, ugh, I mean, yes, Your Honor." Zenkichi said to Futaba as he turned to Ren and spoke up.

"Hey, these two are gettin' pretty into it, Ren. Are you still sure this is a good idea?" Zenkichi asked as Morgana spoke up before Ren could answer Zenkichi.

"Of course! They're two of the Phantom Thieves' best consultants for proper meal presentation. Just ignore how they're, uhh, how to put this? Oh, I know. Just ignore how they're so good at it!" Morgana said as Zenkichi spoke up with a sigh.

"Ugh. Yeah I guess it's fine, but it's just weird getting lessons from young adults like Haru and Your Honor. Oh, all right, all right. I'll go with the flow on this. At least for now, anyways." Zenkichi said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"I get you're trying to get better at cooking for Akane's sake, but you could've just asked me for help. You wouldn't think it by looking at me, but I used to cook basically all the meals for myself and my father for most of my life once my mom passed away. I've been cooking meals since I was five. Back then, I could only cook buttered toast and sunny-side up eggs, but I've gotten a lot better since then. I'm sure there are plenty of recipes I can teach you that Akane would probably enjoy. Then again, maybe she'd just prefer that I cook for her. It's hard to say what she's thinking most of the time, though." Nanako said as Akane spoke up.

"Of course I wouldn't mind you cooking for me, Nanako. I bet you'd look sexy in a cooking apron. But we're here so my dad can learn, so let's not disrupt the lesson." Akane said as Nanako nodded and fell silent as Haru frowned at Zenkichi and spoke up.

"Zenkichi-san! Have you washed your hands thoroughly!? Are your nails trimmed!? And why isn't your apron on!? Your lesson, no, not your lesson. Your battle has already begun!" Haru said as Goro, Ren and Zenkichi all spoke up in shock.

"BATTLE!?" Goro, Ren, and Zenkichi all simultaneously asked in surprise as Futaba frowned and spoke up before Haru could reply to the outbursts from Goro, Ren and Zenkichi.

"And another thing! I don't care if you are my elder, Zenkichi! If you're serious about learning to cook, you'd better tie back that long, studly hair of yours! Show some respect in my courtroom, dang it!" Futaba said as Kusa spoke up in shock, his eyes wide.

"Wait, hold on. STUDLY!? Since when do you think of Zenkichi as a stud, Taba!?" Kusa asked in shock as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"Aww, how cute. Is Kusa jealous of Zenkichi?" Goro said as Kusa glared at him and spoke up.

"Shut it, Goro! I think I'm allowed to be worried that Futaba called Zenkichi's hair 'studly' when he's old enough to be her father. Sorry, but it's true, Zenkichi." Kusa said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Relax, Kusa. I think your girlfriend was just teasing. Besides, I'd never take her from you. She's about the right age to be Akane's older sister." Zenkichi said as both Haru and Futaba spoke up.

"ZENKICHI!" Haru and Futaba both snapped as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"Oh, boy, that's not good. They sound pretty pissed. I have a feeling I'm about to get it even worse than I do from the commish. Ahh, but then again, I could probably use some tough learnin' every so often, to be fair. Especially if it's for Akane's sake. Sure, I could just let Nanako cook for Akane, but I want her to also be able to rely on me as well." Zenkichi said as Nanako smirked and spoke up.

"Hey, can I help it if Akane knows a pretty woman when she sees one?" Nanako said slyly as Akane blushed and spoke up.

"Not helping, Nanako. But you're not wrong to say that you're pretty." Akane said as Haru and Futaba both spoke up.

"QUIET IN THE CLASSROOM/COURTROOM!" Haru and Futaba rebuked Akane and Nanako as Goro spoke up.

"Might I suggest that you two get a room if you're going to flirt with each other? That way you're already in a good place for it if you two decide to fool around." Goro said slyly as both Akane and Nanako blushed but said nothing as Zenkichi spoke up with a determined look on his face.

"I can do this! Just you wait, Akane! Daddy's gonna make you your new favorite meal, real soon!" Zenkichi said as Kusa winced and spoke up.

"Yeeeeah, I respect your eagerness to learn, Zenkichi. But a bit of free advice? If I were you, I would probably make it a point to NOT go around referring to yourself as 'Daddy' around Akane-chan like that, but that's just me. Understand? It'd be one thing if she was around ten or so, since it might be somewhat amusing and even adorably wholesome in that scenario. However, the fact of the matter is that Akane's almost an adult, so I'd imagine she'd find it just a bit awkward to have you calling yourself Daddy in front of her like that." Kusa said wisely as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Kusa has a point, Zenkichi. I know you meant well with your last remark, but it's honestly kind of cringy to hear you calling yourself 'Daddy' like you're speaking to a little girl. Last time I checked, Akane is almost a full-grown woman who might be on the path to having a girlfriend. So I'm not sure if she wants you to call yourself 'Daddy' where she can hear. I'd guess she'd be okay with 'Papa' or 'Dad', but I'm not sure if she'll be comfortable with Daddy." Ren said as Akane spoke up.

"Ren's not wrong. I get you're trying to learn, but you could've just sad 'Dad' instead of 'Daddy', since they're the same thing." Akane said kindly before Zenkichi spoke up.

"Fair enough. I'm sorry for almost making you uncomfortable, Akane." Zenkichi said as Akane forgave him before she and Nanako praised Zenkichi for working hard in the cooking lesson as the rest of the class proceeded without incident, after which Ren decided to gather the rest of the Thieves in the RV.

After gathering everyone back at the RV, Ren decided to cook up some of the new recipes he'd amassed, starting with the 'Obanzai' recipe he'd gotten from Haru. After setting portions down for everyone, Makoto smiled as she spoke up after trying some of the Obanzai on her plate.

"Ooh, that's good! I'm amazed you were able to capture the essence of Kyoto home cooking in each of these small dishes. This is wonderful." Makoto said as Akane smirked and spoke up.

"If nothing else, this tastes better than most of Dad's attempts at perfecting this dish. Sure, he managed to master cooking it in the end, but the amount of tries it took him was honestly rather unbelievable. I was going to make a joke about it taking him 69 attempts, but Dad only took like 14 or so attempts, so I refrained, since the joke's not as funny if it's an exaggeration. But that said, he did work really hard during that lesson that Futaba and Haru gave him on cooking. Thank you both for that, by the way. That was very nice of you." Akane said as Haru and Futaba smiled at Akane's gratitude while the former spoke up.

"You're quite welcome, Akane-chan. I wasn't sure if I could do it at first, but I'm glad I decided to do it, since I actually had a lot of fun teaching your dad how to cook, even though I think Futaba-chan and I may have scared a few years off his lifespan in the process." Haru said with a sheepish look of embarrassment on her face as Futaba smirked and spoke up with a nod of agreement.

"Mwehehe! His face was so hilarious though, Haru. Also, don't worry about it, Akane. Haru is right that we had fun teaching him how to cook. After all, your dad has helped all of us out a lot this summer, so it was no big deal to be able to help him out when he needed it. Oh and Makoto, to answer your earlier comment, you are correct to say that we made this dish with Zenkichi earlier prior to the rest of you guys coming back. But wow, these flavors are unbelievable! Are you secretly a head chef somewhere?" Futaba asked as Kusa spoke up with a nod and a mildly disappointed look on his face while looking at Futaba as he spoke.

"Yeah, he is. It's this little cafe that serves exquisite curry and coffee. I'm sure you've heard of it-Leblanc Curry and Coffee?" Kusa deadpanned as Futaba chuckled sheepishly and spoke up.

"Eheh, good point. Ren did kinda take over most of the cooking duties for Sojiro after a while, didn't he? But to be fair, you're getting pretty good at it too, Kusa." Futaba said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"I should hope so. I cook for you often enough for it, if nothing else." Kusa said as Ryuji spoke up with wide eyes.

"Ren being head chef at Leblanc? FOR REAL!? If you're not actually a head chef anywhere RenRen, maybe you should be!" Ryuji said as Ren smirked, noting that the 'Obanzai' was a big hit with everyone, and decided that maybe he should eat the leftovers later. After a bit, Ren then decided to cook up the 'Okonomiyaki' recipe he'd picked up. After he wheeled it out and served it to everyone, Ryuji spoke up in a very euphoric-sounding tone of voice that had both Makoto and Kusa exchanging a wary glance.

"Mmm! Hoooly shit! IS THIS FOR REAL!? Damn, that's good! Okonomiyaki's the best!" Ryuji said as Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"Ryuji's not wrong. His phrasing aside, it really is tasty. Could it be because we made this ourselves?" Makoto asked as Ryuji grinned and spoke up happily.

"Dude! It's easy to make AND it tastes great? I seriously could eat this every day." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Indeed. The ingredients are cost-effective as well. It seems I've overlooked this dish, much to the detriment of my appetite." Yusuke said, making Kusa groan and make a mental note to sit Yusuke down and give him budgeting lessons when he had a chance as Ren grinned, seeing that it seems as if the 'Okonomiyaki' was a big hit with the others. Ren then decided to eat the leftovers later. After a bit, Ren then cooked up the 'Crab Hot Pot' that he got the recipe for. Once he set the portions out, Haru gave a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Wow! Gosh, this is incredible!" Haru said as Ryuji spoke up with a grin.

"No kiddin'! Isn't this from the place with the giant crab out front? Gotta say, it's a damn good recreation." Ryuji said as Haru spoke up with a nod.

"Yes, you're right. The soup really draws out the true flavor of the crab. It has an excellent taste." Haru said as Yusuke let out an unintelligible noise that was somewhere between a moan and a sob. Akane and Nanako exchanged a look before both of them giggled and Akane spoke up.

"Are you okay, Yusuke? I can't tell if you're crying, or if you're about to have an honest-to-God orgasm." Akane said as at least four different voices spoke up reprovingly.

"AKANE!/AKANE-CHAN!" Zenkichi, Sumire, Haru, and Makoto all simultaneously rebuked Akane as the former kept speaking with a frown on his face.

"Where did you even hear the word 'orgasm', Akane? I didn't think you had the chance to hear about, much less experience, something like that?" Zenkichi said as Nanako spoke up with a blush.

"You'd be wrong then, Zenkichi. Need I remind you that Shiho once mentioned that she caught myself and Akane going at it in Akane's room, both naked as the day we were born? You were there for that conversation, right Zenkichi?" Nanako asked, getting a nod from Zenkichi before she kept speaking, a slight look of embarrassment on her face as she continued to speak.

"Well, that's when Akane would've had a chance to both know about and experience an orgasm. Mind you, said experience was totally unplanned, if slightly instigated by Akane, but it was still unbelievably amazing for what it was." Nanako said, her face going pink in embarrassment as Sumire spoke up while aiming a disapproving glare at Nanako as she spoke.

"NOT HELPING, NANAKO-CHAN! What part of 'watch what you say around Sophia' do you and Akane not understand!?" Sumire rebuked Nanako firmly as they were spared an awkward conversation by Ryuji speaking up.

"Yeah, I figured Yusuke would lose it over this. It's like Futaba said one time a few years ago. Yusuke's a real leaky guy when he wants to be." Ryuji said as Futaba spoke up.

"Good point, Ryuji. Inari's a real leaky guy, isn't he? Mwehehe!" Futaba said as Sumire sighed and spoke up.

"Oh, forget it. Why do I even bother trying to shield Sophia from all this vulgarity? I swear, it feels like I'm fighting a losing battle over here." Sumire said with a sigh as Ren smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder encouragingly while noting that the 'Crab Hot Pot' was a big hit with the others. Ren figured he should eat the leftovers later. Eventually, Ren made up some 'Osaka Sushi' and wheeled it out. Once he served everyone their sushi, Yusuke spoke up in shock.

"What in heaven's name!? The pressed sushi they feature in Osaka is quite striking, each layer more beautiful than the last!" Yusuke said as Futaba spoke up.

"Right!? Mm, and the egg tastes great too! I don't even need soy sauce for this!" Futaba said as Morgana spoke up.

"Hey, Ren! Let me have some too. At least gimme a full piece of crab!" Morgana said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"Didn't Ren make you a full plate, you silly boy? But to be honest, I have to say, this is incredible! This is almost better than some of the 'brand-name' sushi Dad used to bring home when I was a kid while Big Bro stayed with us." Nanako said happily as Ren noted that it seemed as if the 'Osaka Sushi' was a big hit with the others. Ren figured he should eat the leftovers later. Next, Ren made up some 'Kushikatsu' and brought it out for everyone to eat. Once he set the food down, Yusuke's eyes widened in recognition as he recognized the smell of the food and he spoke up.

"IMPOSSIBLE! Could that smell be what I think it is!? Could it be the food I was staring at for so long earlier? Is this really the full course of kushikatsu that I had abandoned all hope of eating? And just when I'd given up hope, you made it just for me?" Yusuke asked as Ren winced and spoke up.

"Yeeeessss? Yeah, sure, let's go with that. I made it just for you, bro." Ren said as Sumire smiled and leaned up to whisper into Ren's ear so only he could hear, smirking at the subtle blush that crept across Ren's face at Sumire's close proximity to him while she spoke.

"You were just making all the new recipes you'd gotten so you could say you made each of them once, weren't you?" Sumire said as Ren nodded and whispered back.

"Pretty much. And I still have one more surprise left after this." Ren said ominously, ignoring the confused look on Sumire's face as Yusuke spoke up in happiness.

"Thank you, Ren. You are truly a saint among men. I will never forget your kindness." Yusuke said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which was on a stand in front of Ryuji and Makoto, preceded a smiling Sophia speaking up with a sly smirk on her face, not seeing the amused smirks Goro and Kusa exchanged as they saw the mixed awed/dumbstruck look on Morgana's face as he watched Sophia's smiling face as she spoke.

"What's up? Is Yusuke crying again? Well, at least they're happy tears this time." Sophia said as Goro and Kusa looked at each other, nodded, then both spoke up.

"SHUT UP! YUSUKE'S CRYIN'!" Kusa and Goro teased as Ren groaned and spoke up while glaring at Goro through narrowed eyes. *3*

"Really? I blame YOU for showing Kusa that movie, Goro. I swear you got him hooked on it. I don't care if it is a good movie, that doesn't mean you two can tease Yusuke for his emotions!" Ren rebuked Goro and Kusa as Sojiro smirked and spoke up for the first time in a while.

"Aww, lighten up, Ren. They're just having some fun with Yusuke, that's all. They don't mean any harm with their teasing." Sojiro said as Yusuke frowned at Goro and Kusa before he spoke up.

"Very funny. At least get it right if you're gonna tease me. I was crying tears of joy from Ren's kind gesture! At least he doesn't tease me like you two do." Yusuke said dryly, fixing Goro and Kusa with an unimpressed glare as both apologized while Ren noted that the 'Kushikatsu' was a huge hit. Ren decided that he'd eat the leftovers later. Eventually, Ren picked up the last recipe he'd gotten, or the 'Ginger-Pork Bento' recipe Futaba had passed him, cooking it up and wheeling it out for everyone to eat. Not surprisingly, Sumire's eyes widened as she smelled the dish Ren was serving to everyone.

"Wait, hold on. I know this smell. Don't tell me. Did you seriously go out and get the recipe for this just for me, Ren?" Sumire asked as Ren spoke up with a sly grin, choosing to not mention that Futaba had given him the recipe in question as he spoke.

"Are you asking if I went out and got the recipe for a certain bento you've had your eye on for a while? If so, then yes. Yes, I did. And it was just for you. You know I'd do most anything to make you smile, Sumi. That's my job as your boyfriend." Ren said as Sumire cheered and dug into the 'Ginger-Pork Bento' with gusto. After a bit, she spoke up.

"Oh, yeah! This is the best! I'm never letting you go, Ren. And Ryuji can get in line if he thinks you're gonna cook for him every day! If anyone has dibs on having you cook for them every day for the rest of their life, it's me! Maybe I should take a page out of Ann and Shiho's book and put a ring on your finger?" Sumire said as Shiho giggled and spoke up.

"Oh? Is that all it takes for Ren to make you his wife, Sumire? He just has to make you food all the time? And you're different from Ryuji, how?" Shiho said teasingly as Ryuji and Sumire both blushed in embarrassment and spoke up.

"SHUT UP, SHIHO!" Ryuji and Sumire rebuked Shiho as Makoto spoke up.

"Also, if anyone's got dibs on marrying Ryuji, it's me!" Makoto said firmly as Ryuji smirked and spoke up.

"Is that right? I'll have to remember that, babe." Ryuji said slyly as Ren spoke up while giving a confused look to Ryuji.

"Wait, are Makoto and Sumire seriously discussing proposing to us, Ryuji?" Ren asked as Ryuji spoke up with a straight face while grinning.

"I do believe so, RenRen. I think that Sumire tasted your cooking and decided she wanted to spend the rest of her life with you. Not that you're gonna hear most of us complain about that, though. As for Makoto, I always strive to make her happy. So if putting a ring on her finger and walking her down the aisle is the right way to go, then I'll do just that. Err, once she's ready for it, that is." Ryuji said as Goro and Kusa both made whipping sounds with their mouths, making Ren and Ryuji both pout as Ren spoke up with a frown.

"SHUT UP, YOU TWO!" Ren said with a frown as Sumire pulled Ren into a passionate, yet grateful kiss, which he eagerly returned while noting that it seems like the 'Ginger-Pork Bento' was a hit with the others and that he should probably eat the leftovers later. *4*

After helping clean up the meal, Ren got the attention of the others and spoke up.

"I know we're probably all stuffed from that feast I made for us, but we still have a bit of level-grinding to do in the Metaverse, so let's get back to it. Once we're done with that, we can rest a bit before tackling Konoe's Jail. Akane, I'm sorry we keep leaving you behind like this, but it's for your own good." Ren said as Akane pouted, but nodded her understanding as Ren and the others left the trailer to enter the Metaverse. When it was just her left, Akane pouted and spoke up.

"Ugh, I'm starting to get fed up with being left behind! I need to hurry up and get my own powers, dammit!" Akane said with a pout as the others headed into the Metaverse after getting a safe distance from the hideout...

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

While fighting Shadows in the Kyoto Jail, Violet, Joker, and Oracle hit level 60 while Skull and Panther level 56, and Mona, Queen, and Noir hit level 55. The level-ups gave Oracle's 'Albus' Persona a new move in the form of the high-tier Elec move 'Ziodyne' and gave Violet a new move in the form of the high-tier healing skill 'Diarahan', making Oracle smirk as she spoke up.

"BAM! Get a load of my new power! Whaddya think?" Oracle said as Draconis spoke up.

"Not bad. Pretty sure it's the same skill that both Skull and Seraphim got a while ago. But it's still a good skill, so well done." Draconis said as Oracle smiled while Albus acquired 'Ziodyne'. At that point, Violet giggled and spoke up.

"Oh, wow! A new skill! I think my training is still showing results! Pretty good, right Joker?" Violet asked as Joker spoke up.

"Definitely! That's a very useful skill you just got. Well done." Joker said as Violet smiled while Ella acquired 'Diarahan'. While clearing out the last few Shadows in the Kyoto Jail, Noir, Crow, Draconis, and Pendragon hit level 56 while Violet, Joker, and Oracle hit level 61. From the level-ups, both Noir and Pendragon gained access to the Heavy-tier Gun skill 'One-Shot Kill', making Noir smirk as she spoke up.

"Oh, look! A new move! Hee hee." Noir said as Crow spoke up.

"Not bad, Noir. From the looks of it, you were able to acquire the same Gun skill that is in both Hereward and Robin Hood's current arsenal. And if I'm not mistaken, I believe Pendragon also has gotten that same skill." Crow said as Pendragon spoke up with a smirk.

"Correct, Crow. Although I must admit, I didn't expect Kohryu to gain a Gun skill as opposed to a new Physical skill, but it's a nice change of pace regardless." Pendragon said confidently as Draconis spoke up.

"Alright then, we're starting to look like we're getting back into the form we were in prior to either Noir's father's Palace or Queen's sister's Palace. Very good, everyone. We're far from being at our peak, but it's a nice start." Draconis said wisely as Crow nodded his agreement while both Lucy and Kohryu acquired 'One-Shot Kill'. While hunting Treasure Demons to replenish his financial holdings a while later after buying all-new armor for everyone, Wolf hit level 57, and Mona, Queen, Flare, and Seraphim all hit level 56.

After bringing the group back to the real world and doing a bunch more cooking in the RV, Ren decided to let the group rest a bit and catch their breath before taking on the Osaka Jail...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! We're now into the start of Arc 7 at this point! Now we're getting to the nitty-gritty for this story! The next chapter will likely be the start of the Osaka Jail if I had to guess, and probably at least part of said Jail's infiltration, as well as possibly a certain something else as well that few people should hopefully see coming. Will there be changes to the Osaka Jail? Maybe. You'll have to wait and see. But there's your bit of previewing for this chapter.

Don't really have a lot else to say here, so let's just cut to the part where I thank everyone who's read this far, not just into the chapter, but the story as a whole, as your support is greatly appreciated. As a reminder, don't forget to vote on the poll that's up on my profile page! It will remain up until the end of Arc 9, so there's plenty of time to vote on it.

If you want to make your opinions known, feel free to leave a review down below (or PM if you prefer that over reviewing) with your thoughts/opinions/feedback/suggestions for the story. As always, I enjoy hearing from my readers, so don't be shy about speaking up. And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - Heh, couldn't resist throwing this reference in here. For those confused, the reaction of Rise, Yu, Chie, Yosuke, and Teddie to Nanako mentioning a run-in she and the Phantom Thieves had with Namatame's Shadow and Kunino-Sagiri is based off of an early scene in Persona 4 Arena where the group gets done watching a promotional trailer for a fighting tournament called the 'P-1 Grand Prix' that apparently is being aired on the Midnight Channel with the collective whole of the Investigation Team in it, minus Rise and Teddie, who are apparently the hosts.

Shortly after the trailer ended, Yu, Yukiko, Yosuke, and Chie had a simultaneous outburst just like the one that Yu, Rise, Teddie, Chie, and Yosuke had here. However, neither Rise or Teddie were present for it due to having inexplicably vanished right before the scene in mention, so I had to improvise a variant of said outburst that included them. For anyone curious, both Yosuke and Chie yelled out 'WHAT THE HELL!?', while both Yu and Rise yelled out 'WHAAAAAAT!?' and Teddie was the one to yell out 'HUUUUUUUUUUHHHH!?' in the outburst. Figured this was a good spot to reference Arena, because why not.

*2* - Believe it or not, it's kind of worth your time to do what Ren did here. As it turns out, you actually get a small bit of BOND points for rubbing the feet of the Billiken statue, much like how helping Sophia find a four-leaf clover at one point during the Sapporo section of Strikers nets you some extra BOND points. Figured I'd put that out there. I only did it once, but I wonder if you can get the BOND boost over and over by constantly rubbing the feet of the Billiken statue. I don't think you can, but if anyone wants to test it out and find out if this is potentially a BOND point farming method, feel free to do so and let me know in a review how it works out, or those who would rather not leave that info in a review can PM it to me instead. So there's your bit of random info for this chapter.

*3* - I couldn't resist throwing a reference to this particular movie here. Plus, if ever there was a point for this reference, it'd be during one of Yusuke's 'tears of joy' moments, to borrow part of Yusuke's description of them from this chapter. For those curious what Goro and Kusa were referencing, they were referencing a scene from the 2009 film 'The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day', which is in and of itself a sequel to the 1999 film 'The Boondock Saints'. Both of these are really good movies, if a bit graphic and violent in parts.

But the plot of the movie freaking rules. In a nutshell, 'The Boondock Saints' follows a pair of Irish brothers who go from having a job at a meat-processing facility and a cozy little apartment to being given a divine mission to go out and wipe out all of the corrupt people in the world. Both 'The Boondock Saints' and 'The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day' are really good movies for what they are, though.

As for the bit Goro and Kusa specifically referenced? It was a part in 'The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day' where the McManus brothers (or the protagonists of the Boondock Saints films) tease their ally Romeo, who happens to have a bit of a moment where he also cries tears of joy at one point in the film while thinking of a moment he'd had with his uncle earlier in the movie.

When they saw Romeo tearing up, Connor (the older McManus brother) interrupts what Murphy (the younger McManus brother) was saying to yell out 'Shut up! Romeo's crying!', to which both he and Murphy proceed to break out laughing, and Romeo's response is to wipe away his tears and say, and I quote, 'Shut up, you f**king assholes!' Even though it's technically a dick move on Connor and Murphy's parts, it's still incredibly funny for how it plays out. I personally enjoyed both of the 'Boondock Saints' movies myself, so if you've not seen them, I'd recommend watching them if you get a chance.

*4* - Much like both the 'Sapporo Takoyaki' and the 'Okinawan Homestyle Meat Balls' recipes before it, the 'Ginger-Pork Bento' recipe is one I added for this story. The description for it reads as follows: 'A flavor medley for bento lovers everywhere. Restores 70 SP to all allies and gives the 'Heat Riser' effect to all allies for a short time.' Might be a tad bit OP, but I'd like to think I kept it reasonably not OP for the most part.

PHANTOM THIEF LEVEL AND SKILL LISTINGS, ALLY LIST, AND LIST OF KNOWN TRIAD SPECIALS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 33

JOKER (Ren) - Level: 61 Current Personas: Raoul (Level 46), Jack Frost (Level 45), Okuninushi (Level 49), Norn (Level 61), Seth (Level 56), Forneus (Level 61), Thor (Level 61), Ganesha (Level 60), Fortuna (Level 60), Mot (Level 61) Equipped Persona: Seth Persona Moveset: One-Shot Kill (Gun), Eigaon (Curse), Resist Bless (Passive), Gun Boost (Passive), Knockdown Style (Passive), Concentrate (Support/Buff), Freidyne (Nuclear), Gun Amp (Passive)

SKULL (Ryuji) - Level: 56 Current/Partner Persona: William Persona Moveset: Ziodyne (Elec), Megaton Raid (Physical), Matarukaja (Support/Buff), Elec Boost (Passive), Mazionga (Elec), Rebel Soul (Passive), Deathbound (Physical), Shock Boost (Passive)

MONA (Morgana) - Level: 56 Current/Partner Persona: Diego Persona Moveset: Garudyne (Wind), Diarahan (Healing), Mediarama (Healing), Magarula (Wind), Wind Boost (Passive), Samarecarm (Healing), Masukunda (Support/Debuff), Dodge Elec (Passive)

PANTHER (Ann) - Level: 56 Current/Partner Persona: Celestine Persona Moveset: Agidyne (Fire), Burn Boost (Passive), Fire Boost (Passive), Soul Thief (Passive), Maragidyne (Fire), Matarunda (Support/Debuff), Marin Karin (Ailment), Diarama (Healing)

FOX (Yusuke) - Level: 56 Current/Partner Persona: Gorokichi Persona Moveset: Bufudyne (Ice), Speed Master (Passive), Masukukaja (Support/Buff), Knockdown Style (Passive), Vicious Strike (Physical), Tempest Slash (Physical), Mabufula (Ice), Evade Fire (Passive)

QUEEN (Makoto) - Level: 56 Current/Partner Persona: Agnes Persona Moveset: Freidyne (Nuclear), Dekunda (Support/Buff), Marakukaja (Support/Buff), Mafreila (Nuclear), Diarahan (Healing), Flash Bomb (Physical), Mediarama (Healing), Nuke Boost (Passive)

NOIR (Haru) - Level: 56 Current/Partner Persona: Lucy Persona Moveset: Psiodyne (Psy), Psy Boost (Passive), Heat Riser (Support/Buff), One-Shot Kill (Gun), Evil Smile (Ailment), Amrita Shower (Healing), Mapsio (Psy), Gun Boost (Passive)

ORACLE (Futaba) - Level: 61 Current Personas: Al Azif and Albus Equipped Persona: Albus Persona Moveset: Ziodyne (Elec), Matarukaja (Support/Buff), Megido (Almighty), Marakukaja (Support/Buff), Psio (Psy), Sukukaja (Support/Buff), Invigorate 2 (Passive), Spell Master (Passive)

SEEKER (Sophia) - Level: 56 Current/Partner 'Persona': Pithos Persona Moveset: Kougaon? (Bless), Bless Amp? (Passive), Diarahan? (Healing), Makouga? (Bless), Mediarama? (Healing), Marakunda? (Support/Debuff), Rebel Soul? (Passive), Recarm? (Healing)

WOLF (Zenkichi) - Level: 57 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), Tetraja (Support/Barrier)

VIOLET (Sumire) - Level: 61 Current/Partner Persona: Ella Persona Moveset: Kougaon (Bless), Dodge Curse (Passive), Diarahan (Healing), Bless Boost (Passive), Vorpal Blade (Physical), Makouga (Bless), Tempest Slash (Physical), Samarecarm (Healing)

DRACONIS (Kusa) - Level: 56 Current/Partner Persona: Malefor Persona Moveset: Agilao (Fire), Garula (Wind), Mediarama (Healing), Assault Dive (Physical), Masukunda (Support/Debuff), Vicious Strike (Physical), Megidola (Almighty), Almighty Boost (Passive)

CROW (Goro) - Level: 56 Current Personas: Robin Hood, Loki, and Hereward Equipped Persona: Hereward Persona Moveset: Eiga (Curse), One-Shot Kill (Gun), Maeiga (Curse), Deathbound (Physical), Debilitate (Support/Debuff), Mudoon (Curse/insta-kill), Megidola (Almighty), Curse Boost (Passive)

PENDRAGON (Sojiro) - Level: 56 Current/Partner Persona: Kohryu Persona Moveset: Psiodyne (Psy), One-Shot Kill (Gun), Concentrate (Support/Buff), Mediarahan (Healing), Mapsio (Psy), Evade Nuke (Passive), Spell Master (Passive), Psy Boost (Passive)

FLARE (Shiho) - Level: 56 Current/Partner Persona: Hester Persona Moveset: Bufudyne (Ice), Oni-Kagura (Physical), Mediarama (Healing), Soul Thief (Passive), Samarecarm (Healing), Freila (Nuclear), Ice Boost (Passive), Nuke Boost (Passive)

SERAPHIM (Nanako) - Level: 56 Current/Partner Persona: Sraosha Persona Moveset: Ziodyne (Elec), Heat Wave (Physical), Divine Grace (Passive), Mazionga (Elec), Samarecarm (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, Mishima, Minako, Shinichi

LIST OF KNOWN TRIAD SPECIALS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 33

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)

HELLISH ELEMENTAL TRINITY (Skull, Panther, Flare)

MIRROR OF THE ORDAINED (Pendragon, Mona, Draconis)

KARMA STINGERS (Seraphim, Fox, Noir)

WRATH OF THE CHOSEN ONES (Draconis, Crow, Joker)