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!

46. Epilogue part 2: Coping and Planning

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files, Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs! To be honest, we're getting pretty well near the end of this story. If it's not this chapter, then the odds are pretty high that the next chapter will be the final chapter of Rise of the Monarchs. So that's a thing to be ready for, to be sure.

And then, once Rise of the Monarchs finishes, I'll probably give myself about a month or so to work on other stories that I've had on back burner before starting in on whatever the next big project is (most likely Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Secret of the Creator, if I had to guess, but I might shock myself and my readers and do another Persona story instead, since I do recall that Persona 4-The Golden Apostle was a pretty unanimous 2nd place in the poll I pitched it in, so that could also be coming at some point).

And then, once we get near to finishing that story, I'll probably throw up another poll to determine what will be the next story after that. I MIGHT have a couple Persona options on that poll, but we'll see how I feel when we get nearer to the end of Secret of the Creator.

As a real quick aside, I know I have a lot of stories on the back-burner at the moment (e.g. Return To The Digital World, Shuffled Journeys, A Mine Is A Terrible Thing to Waste Redux Rewrite, Digimon Data Squad Redux Rewrite, and Pyrex Chronicles), but I do need to make a few things clear about those before proceeding.

First and foremost, Pyrex Chronicles is hereby discontinued since I plan to eventually give it a rewrite at some point when my schedule allows for it. Out of the others that I listed, I plan to finish AMIATTtWRR, and probably resume Return to the Digital World and maybe Digimon Data Squad Redux.

As for Shuffled Journeys, I might go back and overhaul the chapters I already posted, and see if I can salvage the plot I had in mind for that story. If not, I might scrap what I had and give that a rewrite as well. We'll see what happens. But for sure, I will finish AMIATTtWRR and Return To The Digital World at some point. But yeah, that's a quick breakdown of the status of my currently ongoing stories that I know of. I may have missed one or two, and if so, feel free to correct me in the reviews. But let's get back to the story, yeah? Time to do the disclaimer!

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, Albus, and Cthulhu, along with the Phantom Thief attire for Draconis, Pendragon, or Seraphim, all of which I do own. I do not, however, own the OC Personas Hester and Houdini, nor the Phantom Thief attire concepts for Shiho/Flare or Maruki/Messiah.

The OC Persona Hester and the Phantom Thief attire concepts for Shiho/flare 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. As for the OC Persona Houdini, that belongs to Flower Boy Jun over on Amino Apps. If you use that site, go look him up, since he has some very interesting OC Persona designs and also does amazing work.

As far as the Phantom Thief attire concept for Akane/Auburn, Atlus technically owns the attire that Akane/Auburn's Phantom Thief attire was based off of, aka her Monarch outfit, but I own the modifications made to the outfit to create her Phantom Thief attire, so I own Akane/Auburn's Phantom Thief attire, but not the outfit it's based on, if that makes sense at all. And with regards to Maruki/Messiah's Phantom Thief attire, it's basically Crow's 'Detective Prince'/'Light' outfit, but very slightly repurposed to fit Maruki, so everyone who developed and designed the Persona games basically owns Maruki/Messiah's Phantom Thief attire.

Also shout-out to jdimock for giving me the idea to make Akane/Auburn's Phantom Thief attire a color-swap of her Monarch outfit, even if I ended up making her Phantom Thief attire largely different from aforementioned Monarch outfit, it was still jdimock's idea, so shout-out and credit to him for having the idea)) 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.

And when it comes to 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.

There we are, one disclaimer expertly typed out. Before anything else, I know this chapter was supposed to probably be out by now, but I had an incident occur with my Internet Service Provider (or ISP for short), where my mom got a text that my brother and I had managed to hit 90% of our data usage cap for the month, and so we had to basically cut ourselves off of Internet pretty much 'cold turkey', so to speak, for a couple weeks after that, especially when we got a message that we exceeded our data cap by a fair bit.

Fortunately, that's now been rectified so that we now have an unlimited data plan to prevent that issue coming up in future. Not a fan of the fact that it increased our cable bill by a bit over $20 a month, but it is what it is. But that's why this chapter got that extra out-of-nowhere delay, coupled with how long it took to type this chapter out. So yeah, my apologies for anyone who ended up being kept waiting because of this.

In any case, all should be right with the world, so to speak, with this story and others going forward with any luck. But yeah, that's enough with that explanation for now, yeah? I might have other stuff to say, but I can save that for the end-of-chapter A/N. But for now, let's get on with the story. On with Chapter 46!

Chapter 46- Reunions, Gatherings, and Surprises! Rise of the Monarchs Epilogue part 2

(Outside of the Hasegawa residence, three days after the end of Chapter 44, with Goro and Akane)

After they reached the front door of the Hasegawa residence, Goro and Akane exchanged a look with one another as the latter spoke up.

"Well, here we are. Home sweet home. Good thing I have a key to the place with me, so I can just let us in." Akane said as Goro nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Agreed. Let's go in and set our stuff down, and then we can figure out our next move. Granted, I'm probably supposed to be at the PubSec building soon to start my internship, but I'm sure your father will take me there when it's time for that." Goro said as Akane nodded and spoke up.

"That's true, but this also assumes he's not already at work." Akane said as Goro nodded his agreement as Akane turned the key in the lock, opening the front door and letting herself and Goro into the house, at which point Goro set his stuff down by the couch in the living room as Akane went to set her stuff down in her room, frowning when she could hear what sounded vaguely like the sounds of mixed kissing and moaning near her room, making a horrified Akane waste little time in swiftly but quietly double-timing it to her room to put her stuff down, feeling glad to be home. After a bit, she headed back to the living room and got Goro's attention by speaking up.

"Okay, I THINK my dad might be home, MAYBE." Akane said as Goro frowned and spoke up.

"What makes you say that, Akane?" Goro asked as Akane spoke up.

"Probably the fact I heard what sounded like kissing and moaning coming from down the hall when I went to put my stuff away. And if I had to guess, that likely means Dad brought Sae-san back with him. So for the sake of not disturbing him, we should go out to eat." Akane said and as Goro nodded in agreement, the two discreetly left to have a meal on the town...

(At around that same time, back in Shibuya, at the diner on Central Street, with Haru)

While she was walking around Shibuya on a whim, Haru blinked as she spotted a familiar-looking pair of females walking past and called out to them.

"Oh! Is that you, Ann and Shiho!?" Haru asked, catching the attention of the couple she was walking past, prompting the blonde woman to turn towards Haru after hearing her name and smile as she spoke up.

"Hi, Haru! I didn't think we'd run into you so soon. We were just walking around town looking for a good place to get lunch. As it turns out, I was going to take Shiho to a diner that Ren showed me once during his year-long stay in Yongen-Jaya for his probation. You're welcome to come along, if you like." Ann said to Haru, who smiled and spoke up.

"I appreciate the proposal, but are you sure you want me to come along, Ann? I don't want to interrupt you and Shiho's plans?" Haru asked as Shiho smiled and spoke up.

"You're fine. We were just going to have lunch together, so I think the two of us can make time to hang out with you. If need be, I can always wait until later to have 'fun' with my fiancee." Shiho said as Haru giggled and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. Well, if you're sure, I think I will take you two up on your offer. I was just wandering around trying to keep myself busy since I didn't have much to do with the board of directors handling things with Okumura Foods, along with the fact that Goro is now going to be gone for a while. And I didn't feel like bothering the crew at Leblanc, since I imagine they're otherwise fairly preoccupied at the moment." Haru said as Ann nodded and led Haru and Shiho into the diner. Once inside, the three women got seats at a table as Shiho spoke up.

"So, how's things been with your company since we got back?" Shiho asked as a conversation starter. Haru smiled at the question and spoke up.

"Quite well, thank you for asking. As it turns out, Takakura-san did a wonderful job managing the shares in my absence. Granted, he had to stop at least two different people from trying to wrest the shares out from under him, but he defended them with great aplomb. And that excites me, since it means I can greet Goro with a smile when he returns, which I'm sure he'd appreciate a great deal." Haru said as Ann giggled and spoke up.

"Agreed, especially if what Akane-chan mentioned to me and Shiho on the phone recently about Goro's internship being supervised by Naoto is true. I doubt she'll make it particularly easy for Goro after he bested her twice in combat. Then again, she might manage to keep it professional and shock a lot of people. We'll have to wait and see." Ann said as Haru spoke up.

"True. I got the sense that Naoto-san was a fair person from her short stint with our team. So I doubt she'll let some silly grudge she might have with Goro get in the way of being a professional instructor to him. But I could also just be terribly naive to think that. Who knows?" Haru said with a shrug as Shiho spoke up.

"That's fair, Haru. I have to say, I respect the way you're not going to pieces with Goro not in town. However, I can't say the same for either Sumire or Morgana since Sophia left on her journey." Shiho said as Ann winced and spoke up.

"Good point. To be honest with you? I can't decide if I feel more sorry for Sumire or Morgana in that instance. However, given that Morgana doesn't really have a special someone to comfort him the way Sumire does, it's probably him that I feel more sorry for. After all, Sumire has Ren to cheer her up since he is her boyfriend, whereas Morgana is unable to do the same thing due to Sophia being absent." Ann said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"That is true, Ann. Mona-chan's the only one, aside from maybe Akane-chan, who doesn't get to keep his special someone close to him. I can tell that's probably not a fun thing for him to think about, but I'm sure he's managing somehow." Haru said as Shiho nodded and spoke up.

"Fair. I mean, sure, Morgana has Kusa and Futaba to hold him up in the short-term, not to mention Ren, Sojiro, and even the rest of us. But that's not really the same thing as having his girlfriend close and comforting him in his current state." Shiho said as Ann spoke up.

"Good point. Perhaps it's for the best that we should talk about something else. But while we're on the subject of couples, did you guys hear the rumor about Makoto's sister going on a date with Zenkichi?" Ann said as Shiho and Haru's eyes both widened at this and the latter spoke up.

"Wait, hold on, what!? I knew those two were interested in each other, but they actually went ON A DATE!? That's news to me." Haru said as Shiho smirked and spoke up.

"It's probably news to Akane as well, especially if she got home to her dad and Sae going at it in the bedroom, if you catch my drift." Shiho said while waggling her eyebrows suggestively as a red-faced Ann playfully swatted her on the arm and spoke up.

"SHIHO! Behave! Also, I was under the impression that Zenkichi was similar to Kusa in that he prefers to try and save intimacy until after getting married? Granted, Kusa didn't exactly make it to marriage before getting intimate with Futaba-chan, but that's besides the point. I think that's just a genetic trait of the Amamiya men that they have little to no restraint when it comes to loving on their girlfriends. Maybe that will be beneficial to you in the long run, Haru?" Ann suggested as Haru blushed and spoke up.

"I refuse to comment on that, Ann. Besides, Goro is technically moreso a Shido man than he is an Amamiya man, his adoption into the Amamiya family notwithstanding. He and Kusa-kun are half-brothers for a reason, after all. So I feel like he's going to be incredibly slow to move towards intimacy as a result." Haru said as Shiho got a sly smirk on his face.

"Perhaps, but what if you were to set the mood for it just right and catch him unaware, Haru? After all, the last time I checked, you had the third sexiest figure out of all the girls on our team. And I say third because Sumire has you beat for second best with her thicc ass, along with my sexy girlfriend having the most perfect figure out of all of us girls. But regardless, you've got a perfectly sexy figure that you can put to good use. All we have to do is pick you out some relatively sexy nightwear, maybe have you kiss him first thing when he gets home, and subtly rub his shoulders and stuff while you get him back to your house.

If you do it right, I'm quite confident you'll have Goro wanting you by the end of the night he returns for sure. Granted, he's not expected to be back until I think April of next year, if not early May based on what we were told. So we've got plenty of time to figure out a plan of attack since it's technically only the very start of September right now. This means we have around seven to possibly even seven and a half months to plan out how to shock Goro when he returns. Or are you too scared to try enthralling your man with your natural charms and beauty?" Shiho said as a red-faced Haru spoke up.

"W-What? I mean, I'm not necessarily against the idea of surprising Goro, but I know next to nothing about sexy nightwear, Shiho." Haru said as Ann smirked and spoke up.

"And that's where Shiho and I come in! We know all the sexy clothes to get, so we can help you pick an outfit that makes you look absolutely irresistible to Goro. So allow us to take you out shopping so that we can make you look absolutely sexy and desirable for Goro when he returns, Haru." Ann said as Haru seemed to hesitate for a bit longer before eventually nodding her agreement as she spoke up.

"Fair enough. We can try it your way, Ann and Shiho. I trust you two not to mess this up." Haru said as Shiho slyly grinned and spoke up.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Haru. Sure, Ann and I might be tempted to give you a massage while helping you pick out your nightwear, which may or may not have you being full-on nude for the sake of saving time as well as for ease of access. And before you try to object to it, we all know that Goro has no objections to you fooling around with girls on the side from time to time. If he did, he probably would've objected to you making out with Makoto that one time. As such, I doubt he'd be too mad if we did end up enticing you into a threesome with us while picking your nightwear out." Shiho said as both Ann and Haru blushed and spoke up.

"SHIHO!" Ann and Haru said as the latter spoke up with an embarrassed look on her face.

"First of all, I was incredibly drunk the day I kissed Mako-chan by accident, as you well know by now, Shiho! And second of all, I think we all know you and Ann would much rather try to entice Futaba-chan or even Akane-chan into a threesome with you." Haru said as Ann spoke up.

"Fair point, Haru. Also, I'm pretty sure Shiho was kidding about the massage bit, or at least I hope she was. I'm not against that, but I'm not the type to do something like that in a public place like a changing room, as I'm sure Shiho is well aware." Ann said as Shiho winced and apologized before being forgiven as Ann, Shiho, and Haru finished their meal, Haru eventually covering the bill for the three as a thank-you to Ann and Shiho for keeping her company. After that, the three finalized their agreement to meet up at a later date to handle shopping for sexy nightwear for Haru to surprise Goro with, after which the girls went about their business, Haru heading to check on things with Okumura Foods while Ann and Shiho made their way towards the nearby bath-house to have some fun together...

(A few days later, inside of PubSec HQ, with Goro and Naoto)

"...And that concludes your tour of PubSec HQ, Goro. You're a pretty quick study so far, which makes my job that much easier. After all, having a competent underling like you is a good thing. Any questions so far?" Naoto asked Goro, who smirked and spoke up.

"Just one. That being, why were you the one chosen to be my supervisor for this internship? Not that I mind, since you know what you're doing and you've been surprisingly professional about showing me the ropes, which I both appreciate and respect you for." Goro said as Naoto smirked and spoke up.

"That's easy. I asked to be your supervisor. I knew you needed a familiar face to ease you into your new position as a potential PubSec operative. The fact I ended up being that familiar face was both coincidental and immaterial to my point of you being good at what you do." Naoto said as Goro spoke up.

"True. I got pretty lucky that Zenkichi and Akane were willing to let me stay with them for the duration of this internship. Granted, I'm pretty sure Akane's spent most of the time trying to stay focused on living her best life, mostly so she doesn't have to think about how much she presumably misses Nanako." Goro said as Naoto nodded and spoke up.

"That's fair. I very much doubt any of us from the Investigation Team and/or Shadow Operatives saw Nanako and Akane's relationship coming for a moment. But I'm glad that all of us were able to give our approval as well as support them wholeheartedly." Naoto said as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"Understandable. Somehow I'm not surprised that you'd be the one most apt to endorse Akane-chan and Nanako-chan's relationship, Shirogane-san." Goro said as Naoto smiled and spoke up.

"I appreciate your attempt at being formal and respectful, but we're teammates. So I think you've earned the right to call me Naoto if you really want to, Goro." Naoto said as Goro spoke up.

"Fair enough. But given that we were on the subject of Akane and Nanako, it makes me wonder what those two are up to right now." Goro asked as Naoto shrugged, unsure of the answer to that herself...

(Around the same time as Goro and Naoto's conversation, in Inaba, at the Dojima residence with Nanako)

After getting home from school, Nanako set her bag down in the kitchen before grabbing a change of clothes and heading into the bathroom to take a shower after the long day she'd had at school. After quickly washing and drying herself and getting dressed in nothing more than a loose-fitting but comfortable button-up sleeveless pink dress with silver lining, Nanako wasted little time in finishing off her homework, figuring that as long as she kept up with her homework and chores, her dad wouldn't much care about what she gets up to, deciding to take advantage of having the house to herself due to her dad being gone on a week-long assignment with Chie and Yu being out of town for a few days with Rise at the request of Rise's manager shortly after the group had settled back in to life in Inaba.

After locking the front door and moving her bag to her bedroom and tossing it into the closet, Nanako smiled as she pulled out her laptop and booted up a video call to Akane on a whim, smiling as Akane answered the call and spoke up, clearly happy to see Nanako's face, even if it was on a video call.

"Hey there, Nanako. Long time, no chat, yeah?" Akane said as Nanako huffed and spoke up.

"It's only been about a week and a half at most, but you're not wrong that it has been a bit since we last saw one another face to face. And since I know for a fact you're home alone at your house while I have my house to myself, I figured this was a good time to touch base with you and spend time chatting and catching up between the two of us. So what's been up with you?" Nanako asked Akane, who smiled and spoke up.

"Just acclimating to being home again and having to go to school. Granted, I have Goro staying with me and my dad for a while so he can finish up an internship he apparently scored with PubSec, with Shirogane-san as his supervisor, or so Dad said once over dinner. Mind you, with his new girlfriend keeping him busy, that also gives me more time to have the house to myself." Akane said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"I see. So it seems like we're both home alone at the moment. I have to wonder, though. What's stopping us from taking advantage of that to tease each other a bit, if you catch my drift?" Nanako asked as a red-faced Akane spoke up in embarrassment.

"NANAKO! Even if I DID want to do that, which I will admit to being tempted by baring it all for you, what's to say that my dad and/or Goro couldn't come home at any point and catch us being naughty on a video call!?" Akane asked as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"That's why we have bedrooms, Akane. Besides, you said yourself that your room has a locking door that locks on your side of the door. So if you lock the door, no one can interrupt you without knocking to let you know they're outside the door. Furthermore, if we're both in our bedrooms, we're highly unlikely to be interrupted." Nanako pointed out as she moved the laptop so it was sitting on the table with the camera facing her as she sat down on the bed across from her laptop screen with a sly grin on her face. Akane, for her part, blushed profusely as the implications of Nanako's words fully sank in for her at that moment and she spoke up.

"I see. So you're suggesting that we take it all off for each other on camera, then? I had no idea you were so bold, Nanako. Yet, I also find myself oddly inclined to agree with your idea, but that might just be the part of me that misses being able to push you down onto the bed next to me and make out with you talking." Akane said as Nanako smiled and spoke up.

"Yes, well, for now we will have to do the long-distance thing. With any luck, we'll eventually get our fathers in contact with one another so we can start setting up in-person hangouts. So until then, we'll have to make do with what we've got." Nanako said as she giggled and shocked Akane with what she did next.

**M-RATED CONTENT STARTS HERE. ANYONE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH GIRL/GIRL SCENES AND/OR DEPICTIONS OF LEMON-ESQUE CONTENT CAN SKIP DOWN TO WHERE IT SAYS *END OF M-RATED CONTENT* BELOW TO CONTINUE READING THE STORY, OTHERWISE ANYONE STILL READING AFTER THIS WARNING DOES SO AT THEIR OWN RISK. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! M-RATED STUFF STARTS NOW!**

Nanako gave Akane a very sultry yet enticing smile as she slowly, yet teasingly, started undoing the buttons on the front of her dress, allowing Akane a very tantalizing glimpse of the fact that Nanako had seemingly opted to go completely naked under her dress as the first hints of Nanako's cleavage was revealed, making Akane blush as she subconsciously licked her lips approvingly and spoke up.

"W-Wow. You really did decide not to wear underwear under that dress, didn't you? You're lucky you can get away with that since you're home alone. I would never have managed that with both my dad and Goro staying here. Yet, I hate that I can't bring myself to yell at you for being such a shameless tease, since I find myself incredibly eager to see more." Akane said as she started subconsciously fanning herself, as if she felt the temperature go up slightly after Nanako's rather naughty move, making Nanako giggle as she spoke up.

"Ohh, what's this? Do you like it when I tease you by exposing myself to you, Akane? Interesting." Nanako said as she started unbuttoning a few more buttons on her dress, making it so the entire upper half of her dress was unbuttoned, basically exposing her bare chest and most of her bare breasts to a red-faced but visibly aroused Akane, who seemed to hesitate briefly before making a snap decision and pulling her shirt up and over her head and tossing it to the ground, exposing her bra-clad chest to a giggling Nanako, who smiled as she continued speaking in a decidedly husky yet approving tone.

"Hey, there you go. I knew I'd get you in the mood if I teased you enough. And since you took your shirt off, I should do the same." Nanako said impishly as she unbuttoned enough buttons so that her entire stomach and a very small bit of her thighs were exposed, allowing Nanako to slide her dress down to rest at her hips, leaving her entirely bare-chested before the eyes of a blushing Akane who smiled and spoke up while shamelessly ogling Nanako's bare breasts as they hung out for her to see, finding it surprisingly difficult to take her eyes off the sight of Nanako's perky nipples that were clearly perked up given the visible points on her nipples.

"Mmm, I always manage to forget just how endowed and beautiful you are, Nanako. But that's not fair if you're the only one who's bare-chested here." Akane said as she boldly yet shamelessly removed her bra, tossing it to the ground and letting her own bare breasts fall free for Nanako to ogle, making Nanako lick her lips eagerly as she spoke up.

"You're pretty sexy yourself, Akane. Almost makes me want to make you watch as I lick my own nipples to tease you. But that's too much work, and I don't think that's fair to make you have to watch that without being able to touch me yourself." Nanako said as she started undoing the last few buttons on her dress, which was now sliding towards her knees, her entire upper body being fully exposed along with giving a rather tantalizing glimpse of Nanako's thighs, hips, and womanhood, which Akane noticed with a blush as she spoke up.

"Why do you do this to me, Nanako!? You know I can't resist it when you tease me like that!" Akane said as she stood up and slid her skirt down to her ankles and kicked it off, leaving her clad only in a pair of slinky yet skintight black leather panties that almost looked more like a thong than panties, making Nanako smirk as she spoke up after admiring how much Akane's panties seemed to cling to her, doing a good job of framing Akane's thighs and ass.

"Ooh, looks like I got you horny faster than I thought I would. Impressive. But let's go ahead and put you out of your misery, so to speak." Nanako said as she undid the last few buttons and let her dress fall to her feet, kicking it aside as she leaned back on the wall and spread her legs to let Akane see for herself that Nanako was now completely and utterly naked, making Akane blush profusely as she found herself turned on by the sight of Nanako's slightly moist womanhood.

Once Akane saw Nanako's privates exposed on camera, she found herself quickly and eagerly peeling off her black leather panties, leaving both girls completely naked on camera for each other to see. Nanako giggled as she kept speaking while shamelessly ogling Akane's naked body, smirking as she saw the visible signs of Akane's desire for her in the form of Akane's pointed nipples and lightly damp womanhood.

"That didn't take as long as I thought it would. But I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised that I can still get you aroused that easily. The only thing that slightly sucks about this is that I have to settle for touching myself while pretending it's you touching me. But at least I know you have the same issue, so that slightly makes up for it." Nanako said slyly as Akane blushed and spoke up.

"Must you talk so dirty, Nanako!? It's bad enough you managed to coax me out of my clothes, isn't it? Besides, it's not like either of us is brazen or naughty enough to basically masturbate on camera for the other. Then again, you ARE pretty shameless, so you might be so inclined to try something like that." Akane said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"Who says I have any shame, Akane? Besides, with how red your face is, I could think of plenty of ways to get you embarrassed. But for now, how's this for a start?" Nanako said as she moved in close to the camera and started erotically rubbing her chest on the screen, giving Akane a very tantalizing, yet very enticing, view of Nanako's breasts up-close as her nipples brushed almost seductively and enticingly against the screen. Akane, for her part, blushed as she started subconsciously rubbing between her legs as she spoke up, trying not to be entirely aroused at the sight of Nanako's rather erotic display while she spoke.

"Of course you'd do that on camera, Nanako. As if I'm not already having a difficult time not thinking about how much I want to wrap my mouth around those perky, perfect, sexy breasts of yours and suck on them for a while. And that's not even mentioning my desire to finger that tight, sexy pussy of yours at the same time as I try to get you to moan my name while I drive you to an orgasm. Needless to say, I don't think it should surprise you that you've got me more than a bit aroused after your little naughty display just now." Akane said as she gave in to her temptations and spread her legs wide so Nanako could watch as she fingered herself, making Nanako giggle as she spoke up.

"Heh, just doing my job as your girlfriend by keeping you interested in me. Besides, it makes it more fun if we can tease one another like this, don't you think?" Nanako said slyly as she decided to tease Akane further by wiggling her bare ass on the camera for Akane to see, giggling at the sight of Akane licking her lips in a mix of desire, excitement, and approval before brazenly spanking herself hard enough to leave a visible handprint, making Akane blush as she started licking her own nipple to try and stifle the subconscious moans she was giving off from how naughty Nanako was acting.

For a while, the two girls went back and forth teasing one another with their bodies on camera before eventually just devolving into basically fingering themselves in front of one another, even going so far as to moan one another's names as they started feeling the highs of their oncoming orgasms, eventually reaching a simultaneous climax as they screamed out one another's names while simultaneously hitting messy orgasms at roughly the same time before eventually collapsing on their beds, panting but both wearing very sexy yet extremely satisfied smirks. After taking a few minutes to catch their breath, Akane and Nanako both got dressed and blushed shyly as the former of the two was the first to speak up.

**END OF M-RATED CONTENT. STORY RESUMES HERE FOR THOSE WHO SKIPPED THE PRECEDING PSEUDO-LEMON. CONTINUE READING FROM THIS POINT IF YOU SKIPPED THE M-RATED CONTENT SHOWN ABOVE**

"W-Well, that was certainly something, wasn't it? Granted, we're both probably going to have to clean our sheets and change our bedding after that display, but I'm somehow not that bothered by that detail. Maybe it's the fact I got to watch you drive yourself to an orgasm just now, but I'm surprisingly relaxed and at ease. The only slight regret I have is that we weren't able to do that to one another in-person. But then again, knowing the two of us, we'd probably STILL be going at it if we were together in the same bed, I think." Akane said as Nanako blushed and spoke up.

"Fair. But at the same time, I'm glad we were home alone for that since I feel like if we'd had anyone else in the house, it's very likely that they would have heard us. Especially since we practically screamed each other's names in what can only be described as absolutely orgasmic ecstasy at the end there. Granted, I enjoyed that part a lot, but that doesn't mean that we wouldn't have probably still gotten busted and ended up in a heap of trouble if anyone had heard us." Nanako said as Akane giggled and spoke up.

"True. Good thing we decided to do this in our bedrooms. Imagine if we'd been in our living rooms and one of Yu's friends had walked in on us. Between us, I know for a fact that both Yosuke and Teddie find you attractive, even if they're dating other people. Plus, I'm fairly sure Teddie's girlfriend swings both ways unless I was imagining the appraising glances I'd catch her giving Rise when she thought no one was looking. So I can just imagine how Marie would've reacted if she'd walked in on you laid out all naked and spread out on the living room sofa in your birthday suit teasing me." Akane said slyly, giggling at how much Nanako blushed as she spoke up.

"Wait, what!? You think Marie swings both ways? That's news to me. Besides, the last time I checked, she seemed pretty committed to Teddie. And I'm not sure that Teddie's the type to be comfortable with his girlfriend fooling around with women on the sly, unlike Kusa, or possibly even Ren. Not that I see Futaba or Sumire ever letting themselves actually fool around with women, despite the two girls themselves being able to swing both ways." Nanako said as she jumped in surprise on hearing a knock on the front door, making her blush as she kept speaking.

"Crap! I think someone's at the door. I gotta go see who that is. I'll be right back!" Nanako said as Akane nodded her understanding before Nanako quickly pulled on a skirt and some panties to cover her lower half before throwing a bra on under her dress as she ran to the front door, blinking as she tried to look through the peephole, only to pout when she remembered she was still a couple of inches too small to reach the doorbell. Nanako then spoke up.

"Yes? Who is it?" Nanako asked as she blinked at the voice that answered.

"Is this a bad time, Nanako? It's Marie. Sorry for coming on such short notice. I was in the neighborhood, and I was considering surprising you and your Big Bro with a visit. But if this isn't a good time, I can come back later." Marie said as Nanako blushed and spoke up.

"N-No, it's fine, Marie-chan. I was just in the middle of a video call with Akane, but I can always call her back if you're serious about wanting to visit. Yu's not home though, since he and Rise had to go out of town to do a few shoots at the request of Rise's manager. Given that they left me here, I can safely infer that it's probably more of those adult shoots that Teddie mentioned before. Not that I blame Rise's manager for wanting Big Bro and Big Sis as the models for those adult shoots, though.

After all, Inoue-san would be hard-pressed to find better models than Big Bro and Big Sis. Granted, that might be the part of me that had a small crush on both of them when I was younger talking. Even though I realized a few years later that it was kinda wrong to like Big Bro that way along with Big Sis. But it's irrelevant now, since I have Akane, who I'm very happy with." Nanako said as Marie smirked and spoke up.

"I see. Well, I'll come back later so you can finish your video chat with your girlfriend. And I'll keep what you said about Yu-kun and Rise-san to myself since I don't think you want me to tell the others about that. Give my regards to Akane-chan, and I hope we can hang out with each other soon. Oh, and if you need some relationship advice, let me know." Marie said as she turned and left, leaving a shocked Nanako to shake her head in disbelief before walking back to her room to finish her video chat with Akane, seeing the smirk on Akane's face as the latter spoke up.

"So who was at the door just now?" Akane asked as Nanako smiled and spoke up.

"Well, that was apparently Marie. She was hoping to stop by on a surprise visit to hang out with myself and Big Bro, but she left when I mentioned that we were on a video call and that my Big Bro was out of town with Big Sis to do those adult shoots." Nanako said as Akane giggled and spoke up.

"I had the feeling that was the case the moment you mentioned that it was Marie who dropped by. To be honest with you? I feel like Yu and Rise are pushing their luck with all the times they do those adult photo shoots with no protection. I half-expected Rise to end up pregnant by now with how much she and Yu likely have to make love for those shoots. Not that I hear you complaining about it since that would make you a second cousin to any child of Yu's. Or would that be 'aunt', given that you refer to Yu as your 'Big Bro'?" Akane said with a giggle. Nanako blushed at that and spoke up.

"Pretty sure it'd be my second cousin since Yu and I are cousins, even though I refer to him as 'Big Bro'. And as much as I think of Yu as a 'Big Bro', I'm actually an only child." Nanako said as Akane smirked and spoke up.

"Good point. You did mention that once, didn't you? Silly me for forgetting. Well, as much as I enjoy talking to you, I should probably let you go so we can go about the rest of our days. Maybe at some point down the line, we can get our dads in contact with one another so we can figure out some in-person hangouts. Besides, I get the sense that your father would prefer to be able to meet his daughter's girlfriend personally so he can get to know her more before being able to approve of her.

Not only that, but I get the sense that our dads would hit it off if they had a chance to meet and get to know one another. After all, they both lost their wives to hit-and-run incidents when we were both really young, even if you were a lot younger when you lost your mom compared to how old I was when mine passed." Akane said as Nanako nodded and spoke up in agreement.

"That's a fair point, Akane. Well, I suppose we will have to persuade our respective dads to try and see if this in-person hangout can happen, as it would be interesting to see those two getting to know each other." Nanako said as Akane nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Welp, I should probably get going before I lose my nerve and decide to stay on chat with you a while longer." Akane said as Nanako nodded before the two ended their video call, Nanako looking herself over in the mirror to make sure she still looked presentable after her 'chat' with Akane before deciding to start preparing dinner for herself...

(Time skip- The evening of October 4th, in a certain back alley in Tatsumi Port Island, with Yukari, Junpei, Akihiko, Fuuka, Mitsuru, Aigis, Koromaru, and Ken)

As the somber-looking group of former S.E.E.S members (many of whom were current members of the Shadow Operatives) gathered in a back alley in Tatsumi Port Island, they stood near a small little makeshift memorial to one of their own, as Mitsuru seemingly steeled herself before speaking up as she looked at the picture on the front of the memorial, which depicted a scowling young man with brown hair and piercing dark brown eyes that almost looked black, who wore a red trenchcoat that was almost crimson with how dark the red was in the coat along with black jeans, black boots, and a black beanie.

"Wow. It's hard to believe it's already been 11 years since you were taken away from us, Aragaki. Yet, here we all are, paying our respects to you as if not a day had passed. Granted, some of us are unable to be here for various reasons, but I'm sure they're paying their respects in spirit. I still can't believe how tragic your passing ultimately wound up being.

Sure, you went out like a hero, as you no doubt wanted, but I think you almost traumatized poor Amada-kun in the process by taking those bullets for him that fateful night. However, your actions were able to harden his resolve, since it's been largely in your honor that Amada has truly stepped up his game, both as a Shadow Operative and as a man.

Of course, having to take care of Koromaru single-handedly for the most part over the past few years also helped him to mature, no doubt. So thank you for your brave sacrifice. We will never forget what you did that day. Farewell again, Shinjiro Aragaki, and rest in peace." Mitsuru said as each of the Shadow Operatives said their piece to the makeshift memorial that had a picture of Shinjiro Aragaki attached to it, starting with Yukari, who spoke up.

"Long time no chat, Aragaki-senpai. To be honest, I'm not really sure what to say, so I'll just keep it simple and express my thanks to you for your sacrifice. After all, that self-same sacrifice was what helped several of us, most notably Sanada-senpai and Ken-kun, change our lives. So I appreciate what you did that night. I hope you're resting in peace right now. We all miss you." Yukari said before stepping back as Junpei came up and spoke up.

"Wassup, Senpai? I know it's been a while, but a lot has happened since the last time we saw you. For starters, we all graduated, even Ken. Well, other than Koromaru, but he's a dog and can't go to school like the rest of us were able to, Aigis included. So I don't think he would be counted as graduating regardless." Junpei said, laughing at the slightly offended sounding bark that he heard coming from Koromaru in response to his words, making him smirk as he spoke up.

"I'm just teasing you, Koromaru. You know we respect you." Junpei said as he gently petted Koromaru on the head by way of apology, getting a content sounding 'woof' from Koromaru, who turned to droop his head slightly while giving a low whine, almost as if trying to bow to the memorial of Shinji, making Yukari giggle as she spoke up with a smile while giving Koromaru a comforting head pat, to his amusement.

"Aww, what's this? Are you trying to show respects to Aragaki-senpai, Koromaru? Good boy." Yukari said as Junpei spoke up.

"I'm sure Senpai is amused right now if he can see this. That being said, I hope you're resting in peace. And don't worry, Akihiko and Mitsuru are doing a good job keeping things going in your absence. But why don't I let Akihiko come and speak for himself?" Junpei said as he led Koromaru away from the memorial as Akihiko walked over and spoke up with a wry smirk on his face.

"Heh, as you probably noticed, those three are still the same as ever, Shinji. But I can at least say I've been training like crazy in the years since your passing. And not only have I gotten leagues better as a fighter, but I've also even improved myself as a man. But then again, I would have had to get better as a man in order to manage to land Mitsuru as my girlfriend. I realize that you teased me a lot when I was alive about not letting the past go, and you were right to do so.

I hate that it took losing you for me to finally understand what you were getting at when you said that. But anyways, hopefully you and Arisato the elder are watching over us with pride up there. That way, when the time comes that we meet you two again, we can greet you with smiles on our faces. For now, rest easy, and trust us to handle things here." Akihiko said before walking over to stand with Mitsuru as Aigis walked over and spoke up.

"Greetings, Aragaki-san. I didn't get to know you as much as the others, but you seemed like a formidable fighter in your own right, if nothing else. And I have a lot of respect for you, given you were willing to lay down your own life to save the life of Ken all those years ago. So thank you for your brave sacrifice. I'd like to think we've all done our best to live up to your wishes in the years since that day, even if some of us have been relatively quiet since that fateful night.

However, I wouldn't be surprised if you were already aware of that. You always did seem to have an uncannily keen instinct for some things, after all. But that's all I had to say. I think that if I'm right, the only two people left to speak to you are Ken and Fuuka since Koromaru already paid his respects when Junpei spoke earlier." Aigis said as Ken steeled himself before walking up to the memorial and speaking up.

"Hello, Aragaki-san. I'm sorry it took so long to speak to you. But I do want to start off by thanking you for protecting me that night. It was because of you that I managed to survive and find the strength to stop running from my problems. I even returned to S.E.E.S after that and helped them finish what you started. Thanks to us, both Tartarus and the Dark Hour are no more. So you can rest easy knowing that we were able to fulfill your goal.

Sure, I'm not a fan of the sacrifices that were made in the process of doing so, but I realize now they were both unavoidable and necessary. Hopefully, Arisato-san is up there with you all while watching over us with a smile on his face. Also, I ended up taking in Koromaru and caring for him myself after the others left the dorm following their graduation. However, now that I've graduated from Gekkoukan and left the dorms, I took Koromaru with me so he wouldn't be lonely. So hopefully that makes you happy, Aragaki-san. And along with that, if you did end up seeing my mom again, I hope she forgave you for what you did.

I understand now that you had no control over what happened, so I've forgiven you since it would be unfair to hold that incident against you. Especially since you were willing to give up your own life to save mine, even after I summoned you to this alley that night with the intent of killing you to avenge my mom. But I'm glad I couldn't do it since I would've regretted it for the rest of my days if I had. And your final actions proved that you were genuinely remorseful for what you did.

So thank you, Ara-I mean, Shinjiro-san. And I hope you rest in peace. I'll do my best to live my best life going forward so that when we meet again, I'll have a lot more stories for you, and maybe we'll even be able to greet one another as both friends and equals. So thank you again for saving me." Ken said, walking back to stand with the others, blinking as he felt Mitsuru gently wrap an arm around him comfortingly as she smiled at him, clearly impressed by his words. Mitsuru then turned to Fuuka and spoke up while Akihiko gave Ken a gentle pat on the shoulder, the soft smile on his face as he looked at Ken conveying how proud he was of him while Mitsuru spoke to Fuuka.

"Well, this is it. You're the only one left to say something, Yamagishi. If you want, the rest of us can give you some privacy while you speak, but you should at least pay your respects to Aragaki while we're all here." Mitsuru said as Fuuka nodded understandingly and spoke up.

"Right. I think I will do just that, Mitsuru-san. If you and everyone else can wait for me elsewhere so I can speak to Aragaki-senpai alone, I would appreciate it." Fuuka said as the others nodded understandingly and went off elsewhere to leave Fuuka alone with the memorial, which she walked over to after taking a breath to prepare herself as she looked at the picture of Shinjiro and kept speaking.

"H-Hi, Aragaki-senpai. I know it's been too long since I came to pay my respects, and all I can say in my own defense is that I'm a coward who couldn't bring herself to face you after how little I've done with my life since you passed. Sure, I graduated high school and got through college before accepting a spot in the Shadow Operatives, but I basically stopped trying to have any sort of love life after you passed.

I'm well aware that you only truly had eyes for Arisato-san, but I know you also knew your time was limited, so you weren't trying to let yourself get too attached to her, even if it was fairly obvious you were in love with her. Granted, you still ended up getting together with her in the end, even if it was only for a short time. However, I never had the courage to admit the truth to you, that being that I secretly had strong romantic feelings for both you and Arisato-san, despite neither of you realizing it.

Granted, I think Arisato-san was very strictly straight, but that doesn't mean I can't have feelings for her, one-sided though they might be. But I vow to you, here and now, I'm going to do better about changing things." Fuuka said solemnly as she bowed apologetically to the monument. Because she was so focused on the monument as she spoke, she naturally jumped a foot in the air in shock when she heard a slow clapping behind her.

Once she got over her surprise, Fuuka found herself turning around and gasping at the brown-haired female standing before her, her hazel eyes seemingly sparkling slightly in amusement as she spoke up, seemingly unbothered by the shocked look on Fuuka's face as she took in the simple sleeveless black skintight leather dress that the female had on while she spoke, presumably to symbolize that she was there to pay her respects and mourn to a point, which went nicely with the black fishnet tights and ankle-high black boots she had on, as well as the simple black leather choker that had a star clasp on it which she had around her neck.

"Well, well. I didn't think I'd run into you here, Fuuka." The brown-haired female said as Fuuka, while still in shock spoke up.

"Arisato-senpai!? What are you doing here!?" Fuuka asked as the now-named Arisato smiled and spoke up.

"I think the answer as to why I'm here is pretty obvious. Although I thought everyone would be gone by now so I could pay my respects to Shinji in private, it seems I was mistaken to think that. But no matter. I don't mind you being here. Also, before you can take it back, I heard what you said just now about having feelings for both myself and Shinji.

And, to be perfectly honest with you, I had a feeling that was the case. That being said, I apologize if I hurt you before when I asked for time, as I was still going through the grieving process for Shinji. To tell you the truth, I'm still not entirely sure where my mind is in regard to the idea of pursuing relationships. But rather than turning you down, I'll do this instead." Arisato said as Fuuka spoke up.

"And...what exactly are you planning to do, Arisato-senpai?" Fuuka asked as Arisato chuckled as she spoke up after handing Fuuka a slip of paper that she unfolded to find the name and address of a certain hotel in Tatsumi Port Island written on it, prompting Fuuka to give Arisato a confused look as Arisato spoke up.

"Confused? Let me explain! You see, I'm going to be staying in Tatsumi Port Island for a while, both to pay respects to Shinji and to catch up with a few people. This is the hotel I'm staying at, and the room I'm staying in. So when you're ready, you can come find me at this location. And when you do, we can have a serious discussion about a lot of things, not least of which being the possibility of where things stand with us.

Furthermore, while you're there, we can speak about the possibility of our relationship evolving into something more than friendship. Because I won't lie to you, Fuuka. You are a beautiful woman. But at the same time, I'm not entirely certain how I feel about being with a woman. So I think I need a bit more time to think about if I can bring myself to be comfortable with possibly having a girlfriend." Arisato said as Fuuka nodded and spoke up.

"I understand, Koto-err, I mean Arisato-senpai. I can wait however long I have to for you to figure things out if you need time to think." Fuuka said to Arisato, who she'd almost referred to as Kotone, making Arisato chuckle and speak up.

"We've known each other for 11 years now, and you're still calling me by my last name, Fuuka? I know I've told you more than once that you can call me Kotone if you want." The properly-named Kotone said, smiling kindly at Fuuka, who blushed in embarrassment as she spoke up.

"Ehh, that's true. You did say that, didn't you? Sorry, it's kind of an ingrained habit to be on a formal basis with people I speak to. I'll try to start calling you Kotone from now on, if you want me to." Fuuka said as Kotone nodded and spoke up.

"Good. But for now, let me pay my respects to Shinji, and we can meet up again another time to discuss 'us'." Kotone said as Fuuka nodded before walking off to catch up to the others, but not before Kotone aimed one final remark at Fuuka's retreating back.

"Fuuka! Not a word to the others about seeing me here for now. I want to surprise the rest of our friends with my return some other time." Kotone said as Fuuka nodded and left to catch up with the others, leaving Kotone to look at Shinji's monument as she spoke up.

"I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come back to see you again, Shinji. I've been busy trying to find myself and make sure I could live my best life for you, as well as for Minato since both of you left us way too soon. But I know that fate can be unavoidable sometimes. At least we had a short time to express our love for one another before you died, and I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. I know you were understandably reluctant to let yourself be close to me, but I'm grateful you gave in and let me into your heart at the very end. Sure, it hurt like hell when you died, but I was just as glad to be your girlfriend, even if it was only for a short time.

So thank you for letting me be your likely one and only lover, Shinji. And don't worry. I'm not going to mourn you forever. If you heard my conversation with Fuuka just now, you'll have realized that I'm thinking about giving it a try with her. Even though I never thought I'd find myself being serious about having a girlfriend, my one-off hookup with that Velvet Room attendant Elizabeth notwithstanding. I will at least give her credit for one thing, though.

For being so inept about most things related to the real world, she made for a surprisingly incredible lover as well as an unexpectedly satisfying first experience with girl/girl stuff. And it's thanks to her that I think I'm as open to having a girlfriend as I am. So please, wherever you are now, watch over me, Shinji. I'll do my best to live a life that you can be proud of, so that when we meet again, I can face you with my head held high." Kotone said before bowing once in respect before leaning down to kiss her fingers and press said fingers to the forehead of the Shinji in the portrait before smiling as she turned and walked away, her heart feeling much lighter than before after having stated her resolve to her departed boyfriend. After Kotone left, Fuuka caught up to the rest of the Shadow Operatives in time to hear Ken speak up.

"Huh, what are the odds that the anniversary of both Mom and Shinji's deaths fell on the same day as Nanako's birthday, let alone Yu's as well? And while I feel bad that we missed Nanako's Sweet 16, I think she'll understand that we had other obligations to fulfill. Besides, I get the feeling she's too busy enjoying her day to notice that none of us Shadow Operatives made it to her party." Ken said as Akihiko chuckled and spoke up.

"Well said, Ken. But we can at least hope that she has a good birthday, since I doubt we can get to Inaba in time to make her party. Also, you'd be wrong when you say that none of us Shadow Operatives made it to the party. After all, I seem to recall that Mitsuru sent Labrys to attend Nanako's party on our behalf, even if she had to stop Koromaru from trying to follow Labrys to the party afterwards.

So at least one of us is there. And having said that, I would be remiss not to mention the fact that I think both your mother and Shinji would be proud of how much you've matured over the past 11 years, Ken." Akihiko said as Ken nodded his understanding before the Shadow Operatives gathered and left the back alley to return to their lives, none of them aside from Fuuka aware of the fact that one of their missing friends had also been there to pay her respects to the fallen Shinji...

(At the same time as the memorial to Shinjiro, over in Inaba, with Nanako, Akane, Ryotaro, Zenkichi, Yu, Rise, Yosuke, Labrys, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Naoto, Teddie, and Marie)

As the gathered group took seats at the reserved party venue, or the Junes food court, Yu raised a glass as he spoke up.

"Thank you all for agreeing to gather here today, even those of you who had to go out of your way a bit to drive here. I'm sure that Nanako appreciates the effort you all went to in the interest of helping celebrate her special day. After all, don't they say that a girl only has one Sweet 16 in her life?" Yu said as Rise giggled and spoke up.

"Mmhm, that's totally why we're here, Senpai. And the fact that you're also celebrating a birthday today is just coincidental to our gathering here." Rise said slyly as Yu blushed and spoke up.

"That's beside the point, Rise. While you're not wrong that it's also my birthday, we're here for Nanako." Yu said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"Don't be silly, Big Bro! You know full well that I don't mind sharing my special day with you. If anything, I think it's neat that we have the same birthday, even if you were born 10 years before me. Besides, it's enough for me that I have basically everyone I care about here." Nanako said as Ryotaro chose that moment to spoke up.

"Of course. I know I'm not around as much as I could be, and I'm sorry about that. But I have to do all that work just to keep a roof over our heads. If it were up to me, I'd be home more. But given it's just the two of us for the most part, I have to do the extra shifts to make ends meet so we have the lifestyle we do." Ryotaro said as Zenkichi chose that point to speak up.

"That sounds miserable, Dojima-san. If anyone here can relate to that struggle, it's me. I try to be around for Akane as much as I can, but like with you, I also have to work a lot to keep a roof over our heads, especially since it's just the two of us ever since Akane's mom passed away a few years ago in a hit-and-run accident." Zenkichi said as Ryotaro blinked at this and spoke up.

"Oh? I didn't realize we had that in common, Hasegawa-san? Maybe we should've gotten in contact sooner." Ryotaro said as Zenkichi nodded before Chie spoke up.

"I could probably stand to put a few more shifts in and take some of the work off of you, Dojima-san. That way you can be home with Nanako-chan more. After all, isn't that my job as your partner, to make your job easier?" Chie said as Ryotaro smiled and spoke up.

"While I appreciate the sentiment Satonaka, you don't have to do all that for me. I don't mind putting in the extra work. But I will keep it in mind if I need to delegate a few shifts from time to time. But anyways, we were here to celebrate Nanako's birthday, not listen to myself and Hasegawa-san commiserate over our mutual struggles in life." Ryotaro said as Nanako blushed at the attention being directed onto her. Akane giggled at this and spoke up.

"I always manage to forget how shy you are, Nanako. And yet, I also always find it oddly adorable somehow. Maybe it's because I know how bold you can be behind closed doors?" Akane said coyly as both Zenkichi and Ryotaro's eyes widened at Akane's reference to her and Nanako's relationship. Nanako, for her part, blushed and spoke up.

"Yes, well, just because I have a wild streak doesn't mean that I don't also have a considerate side as well. Besides, should we really be flaunting our relationship in our dads' faces like that, Akane?" Nanako said as Akane sheepishly chuckled and spoke up.

"N-No, I suppose we shouldn't." Akane said as Yosuke smirked and spoke up.

"I can't say that I blame you though, Akane. You're just showing your pride in having landed Nanako-chan as your girlfriend. I know that I often find myself feeling the same way when I think about my own relationship with Labrys. Sure, it's a bit unusual since I'm a human and she's an Anti-Shadow weapon, but I don't think either of us is bothered by those sorts of details. The important thing is that she and I both care for each other a great deal." Yosuke said with a wry smile, smirking at the subtle hints of red currently dusting Labrys' cheeks as she spoke up shyly.

"H-Hey! How did this shift from focusing on Nanako-chan and her girlfriend to focusing on you and me, Yosuke-kun? Not that I mind you saying such nice things about me, but don'tcha think that we're taking away the birthday girl's thunder a bit by making this about us? And that's not even sayin' much of anything about how much Yu and Rise are being pushed into the background despite it also being Yu-kun's birthday today as well." Labrys said as Yukiko smiled and spoke up.

"True, but that's just how Yu rolls. He doesn't care about things like attention and recognition as long as he can acknowledge those he's close to. And I think we can all agree that he has a pretty close bond with Nanako-chan, even if they're just cousins." Yukiko said as Teddie smirked and spoke up.

"Yes, well, with all apologies to Nana-chan, I can't say I blame Sensei for staking claim to Rise when he had the chance. I think we can all agree that Rise is quite the catch. Granted, I say that as I have Mar-I mean Emmy-chan on my arm and dating me, but the point is that Sensei's a smart man who knows a pretty lady when he sees one. However, in fairness, Emmy-chan is also very beautiful." Teddie said as Marie blushed and spoke up.

"Dang it, Teddie! You're making it tough to be mad at you when you compliment me like that, you know." Marie said as Kanji smirked and spoke up.

"Yeah, that's Teddie for you. He can be a pain most of the time, but he's usually good at knowing when to backpedal and get himself out of trouble for the most part. So we tend to tolerate him despite his flaws." Kanji said as Naoto smiled and spoke up.

"I agree with Kanji. Teddie can be difficult to deal with at times, but he's still part of our team despite that. How Marie manages to handle having him as her boyfriend, I have no clue. But she has my respect for not giving up on him." Naoto said as Marie blushed and spoke up.

"For all that he simps and is annoying, Teddie can be quite sensitive and adorable when he chooses to be. So I tend to overlook his flaws to some extent because of that." Marie said with a wry smile as Teddie spoke up.

"Yeah, I admit that I'm a fairly unapologetic simp. I realize that. But at the same time, I also try to be a good friend to everyone I know, even if I do fail at it a lot." Teddie said as Yu smirked and spoke up with an agreeable nod.

"You're not wrong, Teddie. But for all the flaws you have, you also are a useful asset for your navigational skills and combat prowess. Granted, Rise is a far better navigator, but she's still working to catch her combat skills up to the rest of us. So you're useful in at least that regard. However, I won't lie to you, either. There's no doubt that your tendency to try and flirt with Nanako over the years has proven to be rather annoying at times, but I put up with it for Nanako's sake since she seemed surprisingly okay with it for who knows why." Yu said as Nanako smiled and spoke up.

"I put up with it because I thought it was adorable that Teddie went out of his way to be nice to me so often. Sure, it eventually took a few creepy turns, but it was mostly harmless as far as I can recall. Besides, it worked out in the end, since Teddie's happy with Marie-san and I managed to find Akane." Nanako said as Ryotaro spoke up.

"That's true. You've come a long way from the shy little girl you were when Yu first came to stay with us back in 2011. Hard to believe you've changed that much in almost 10 years' time. But at the same time, it's to be expected to some extent that you've changed in such a long time. Sure, I wouldn't have guessed back then that you would end up growing up to be a beautiful young woman who would come out as bisexual and even wind up having a girlfriend. But as long as you're happy, I'm okay with whatever choices you make, Nanako." Ryotaro said as Nanako smiled and hugged her father before speaking up.

"Really? That's such a relief, Dad. I'm happy to hear that. I won't lie, I was scared of how you'd react to finding out that I not only like both genders, but have a girlfriend. But you seem surprisingly okay with that." Nanako said as Ryotaro spoke up.

"I think if this were me about six or seven years ago, I would have probably been more hard-pressed to accept the idea of you being into both genders. But nowadays, I've relaxed my stance on such things to some extent. That, and having Satonaka as my partner has helped me to have a more open-minded perspective on things. Not to mention the fact that unlike Adachi, Satonaka is a hard worker who rarely, if ever, is caught slacking off." Ryotaro said as Chie smiled and spoke up.

That's because I'm determined to be the best officer I can be since I feel like that's the best way I can protect those closest to me. And unlike your last partner, I didn't apply for a cop job just to carry a gun. But then again, I think Adachi-san had a lot of things wrong with him, especially considering the story Yu once told me about how Adachi teased Nanako about getting married. And if I recall correctly from that story, Nanako apparently said to Adachi that she didn't like guys with holes in their socks.

Of course, because Nanako-chan was only six and not able to pick up on subtle details yet, she unsurprisingly wound up completely missing the fact that Adachi apparently was implying that Nanako might have feelings for him. Although she probably only saw him as an older brother, not unlike how she sees Yu as her 'Big Bro'. And to be honest, I'm glad Nanako-chan didn't like Adachi that way, if only because of the glaring age gap between them." Chie said as Nanako blushed in embarrassment and spoke up.

"HEY! Don't bring that up, Chie! And I was only 6 and a half at the time, so of course I was young enough that I wouldn't have realized what was going on back then." Nanako said as Akane smirked and spoke up.

"True. Besides, from what I recall from both Nanako and my Dad during their encounter with Adachi-san last year with the other Phantom Thieves, he wasn't anything that special, and the fact that he was way out of Nanako's league. Granted, he DID get the jump on Goro to some extent, but then he got pummeled after that by him and the rest of the Thieves after they combined forces to take him down. And in the end, Nanako ended up exactly where she belongs, which is being in my arms and dating me. So that's Adachi's loss and my gain." Akane said as she leaned in to boldly kiss a blushing Nanako on the cheek as Zenkichi groaned and spoke up.

"Yep, no doubt about it. Nanako and Akane are meant for one another. Though I could definitely go my whole life without having to see them kiss." Zenkichi said as Ryotaro smirked and spoke up.

"Look at it this way, Hasegawa-san. At least we know they're serious about one another. And given she's your daughter, I'm sure Akane is a good girl. But at the same time, I think both you and her can understand why I have to be cautious about accepting her as Nanako's girlfriend, or at least I hope you can?" Ryotaro said as Rise giggled and spoke up.

"Oh, there's no doubt they're serious about each other, Dojima-san. If nothing else, the fact that most of their teammates caught them making out in the RV they were renting in just their underwear seems like a good indicator of how committed they are to one another. Granted, that was BEFORE they became girlfriends, but I still count it as evidence of how much they belong with one another. But I think that's enough teasing of the birthday girl. Let's all agree that Nanako's come quite a ways from how shy and soft-spoken she was when most of us in this party first met her." Rise said as Nanako smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Big Sis. I'm glad you have such a high opinion of me." Nanako said as she hugged Rise, who smiled and patted Nanako on the head while returning the hug as Yu spoke up.

"Of course she does, Nanako. You might be a handful at times, but you're still basically the de-facto 'little sister' of all of us Investigation Team members, even if you're also part of the team now. So of course we all care about and respect you." Yu said as Nanako just nodded shyly, hoping her face wasn't too red from all the praise heaped upon her. At that point, Labrys spoke up.

"I think we've talked enough for now, dont'cha think? What say we serve up the birthday cake for both Nanako and Yu and dig in?" Labrys said as her suggestion got a near-unanimous chorus of 'AYE!' from the others as Nanako and Yu's cake, which was a simple chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, was wheeled out with sixteen candles on it and everyone other than Nanako and Yu sang 'Happy Birthday' to them as both Nanako and Yu then blew out their candles in one go, much to Akane and Rise's amusement.

While everyone was singing 'Happy Birthday' to Nanako and Yu, Akane smiling slyly as she looked into a red-faced Nanako's eyes while singing to her, leaning in to brazenly steal a kiss from Nanako at the end of the song that Nanako let linger a bit before pulling away from it after returning the kiss before laying her head cutely yet gently on Akane's shoulder as Akane wrapped an arm around Nanako happily while everyone dug in to the cake eagerly.

After everyone finished their cake, the party dispersed at that point, with most of the group heading to their respective homes, excluding Akane and Zenkichi, who Ryotaro had invited to stay with him and Nanako for a few days while they were in town. After escorting Nanako and Akane home, Ryotaro and Zenkichi decided to go out for a drink and get to know one another, leaving Nanako and Akane home alone with no supervision...

(Time skip- the morning of November 20th, at a gym in Kichijoji with Sumire and Hiraguchi)

As Sumire stretched herself out while preparing to get back to training, Hiraguchi gave her an uncertain look and spoke up.

"While I can respect you wanting to get back into training early, why this day specifically? If I recall correctly, isn't this the day that you were led to believe that you'd lost Amamiya the middle to suicide four years ago? Or am I misremembering?" Hiraguchi asked as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"No, you remember correctly, Coach Hiraguchi. I just figure that throwing myself into my training was as good a way as any to not have to think about the particulars of this day. Besides, Ren already said he was going on a fishing trip with Kusa, Sojiro, and Morgana, and I didn't want to get in the way of his chance to have guy time with them since they so rarely get to do that nowadays. Furthermore, Ren told me that he'd prefer to see me focused on my training, largely because he wants me to be able to achieve my dreams." Sumire said as Hiraguchi nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. As long as this isn't you trying to escape your pain again, I can accept your decision. Besides, the earlier you start training, the better off you'll be when the off-season ends and gymnastics season resumes. So I approve of you wanting to train." Hiraguchi said as she put Sumire through her paces, much to Sumire's approval. After a while of training, Sumire and Hiraguchi both blinked in shock as they heard a slow clapping from nearby, both turning to see a familiar brown-haired man with glasses observing the training, prompting both women's jaws to drop as the man spoke up.

"Impressive display, Yoshizawa-san. You certainly have come a long way." Maruki said as both Sumire and Hiraguchi spoke up in unison.

"HUH!? DOCTOR MARUKI!?/TAKUTO-SAN!?" Sumire and Hiraguchi both said to the smirking Maruki, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, it's me. I apologize for surprising the two of you, but I heard that Relena-san was in the area training a student and decided to observe. Imagine my surprise when I realized that you were the student in question, Yoshizawa-san. I can only imagine that Amamiya the middle is very impressed with your diligence and work ethic." Maruki said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"Yes, well, it's better that I keep myself busy and productive than allow myself to just grieve, given what today is." Sumire said as Maruki frowned at this before gasping in realization as he spoke up.

"What are you-OH! My word, I'd forgotten about that! Isn't this the day that the reports of Amamiya the middle's apparent demise were broadcast all over the news four years ago?" Maruki asked as Sumire nodded before Hiraguchi spoke up with an unreadable look on her face even as she frowned slightly.

"That's right. However, I assume that you had a more productive reason for coming here, Takuto-san? I'm only asking considering what today was in Sumire's case." Hiraguchi asked Maruki, who winced and spoke up.

"As a matter of fact Relena-san, I was more or less coming here to check in with you and see how you were doing." Maruki said as Hiraguchi blushed in surprise but smiled as she spoke up.

"O-Oh. I didn't realize you were here for me. I'm doing quite well, as you can see. My apologies for assuming the worst. You can see how I'd assume that given your past track record, though." Hiraguchi said as Maruki nodded and spoke up.

"That's entirely understandable, Relena-san. If you want me to, I'll leave you and Yoshizawa-san to the latter's training. But I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go get a meal together sometime so we could talk a bit more and try to get to know one another better? I realize you probably still might not have a high opinion of me given what you've heard from Yoshizawa-san and even the younger two Amamiya brothers, but I was hoping we could try to get to know one another enough to look past what you heard. After all, I find you quite interesting." Maruki said as Hiraguchi blushed in surprise at what Maruki had said. In spite of herself, Sumire giggled and spoke up.

"I can't speak for Coach Hiraguchi, but I feel like she'd love to accept your offer, Doctor Maruki. But she can correct me if I'm wrong to say that. But I get the sense she likes you a lot, and would enjoy getting to know the real you." Sumire said slyly as a red-faced Hiraguchi spoke up.

"HEY! Who gave you permission to meddle in my affairs, Sumire? That being said, you're not wrong. I would love to get a meal with you, Takuto-san." Hiraguchi said as Maruki smiled and spoke up.

"Excellent. I was hoping you'd say yes. Sure, Yoshizawa-san basically said yes to my question for you, but that's besides the point." Maruki said as Sumire giggled and spoke up.

"Sorry. I just feel like you two would be really cute together, that's all." Sumire said as Hiraguchi smirked and spoke up.

"Fair enough. In that case, you can go home for today while I go to lunch with Takuto-san, Sumire. I'll let you off training early as a 'reward' for playing matchmaker for me and him." Hiraguchi said as Sumire giggled and nodded as she spoke up.

"Thanks, Coach. Just make sure that you and Doctor Maruki are smart about it if you two get serious." Sumire said slyly, leaving to go home before Hiraguchi and Maruki could do more than sputter at the surprisingly coy yet facetious remark from Sumire, smiling at the visible blushes on both adults' faces as she went to return home...

(Time skip- December 25th, in the lower level of Leblanc, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Sumire, Kusa, Sojiro, Shiho, Grace, Sae, Hiraguchi, Maruki, Shibusawa, Shibusawa's wife, Taichi, Momoe, Shinichi, Minako, and Hifumi)

As the unexpectedly large group squeezed into the lower level of Leblanc, the trio of Ren, Kusa, and Sojiro went about serving everyone coffee and curry while making sure everyone was comfortably seated, with one booth having Taichi, Momoe, Shinichi, and Minako in it, a second having Ryuji, Grace, Makoto, and Sae in it, a third having Maruki, Hiraguchi, Shibusawa, and Shibusawa's wife in it, and the fourth and final booth having Ann, Shiho, Ryuji, Futaba, and Morgana in it, leaving Ren, Sumire, Kusa, Yusuke, Hifumi, and Sojiro to take the seats at the counter with Kusa and Sojiro taking the end seats on either end of the counter with the four seats in-between being filled by Ren, Sumire, Yusuke, and Hifumi, in that order, with Kusa sitting on Ren's left and Sojiro sitting on Hifumi's right. After everyone was seated comfortably and served a plate, Sojiro spoke up.

"First of all, thank you all for coming to this special Christmas bash that I decided to put together with Ren and Kusa's help. I know it was kind of last-minute for some of you, but I appreciate that you all were able to show up." Sojiro said as Taichi smiled and spoke up.

"No problem at all, Sakura-san. I'm just pleased that both Ren and Kusa invited myself and Momoe." Taichi said as Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"You say that like we'd leave you and Mom out, Dad. Of course we're gonna include you two. After all, it would be pretty rude of us to not invite you after Ren went out of his way to invite his girlfriend's parents." Kusa said as Momoe smiled and spoke up.

"That's a fair point, Kusa. Also, I'm pleased that you still call Taichi 'Dad', even after you learned the truth of your paternity." Momoe said as Kusa spoke up.

"That's because even though Masayoshi Shido may be my biological father, he couldn't be bothered to act like it until it was way too late. And as far as I'm concerned, the three men who've most acted like fathers to me are Taichi, Sojiro, and even Zenkichi to a point. Still, it's too bad the latter, as well as Goro, couldn't make it due to those two and Zenkichi's daughter Akane being invited to a separate Christmas party in Inaba by Akane's girlfriend Nanako. Apparently, Zenkichi and Nanako's dad really hit it off when he and Akane went out to Inaba for Nanako's Sweet 16 party. I feel bad that the rest of us couldn't be there, but we had things to do that day, if I recall correctly." Kusa said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"True. Not to mention some of us were still slightly upset because people close to us were missing at the time. But I believe we've all at least somewhat made our peace with that." Sumire said as both Haru and Morgana merely nodded, with the former understanding Goro's circumstances due to being away in Kyoto for his internship, and the latter not wanting to think about Sophia's continued absence from his life knowing she was off on an important journey with Ichinose. As Ren noticed the depressed look on Morgana's face, he smiled and spoke up.

"It's okay, Morgana. You don't have to hide it. I can still tell that you miss Sophia just as much as myself and Sumire, which is perfectly understandable. After all, you and her were seriously in love with one another. So it's understandable that you're still upset by her decision to go on a journey with Ichinose." Ren said kindly to Morgana who smiled and spoke up.

"That's fair, Ren. I know Sumire was also upset by that, but she seems to have gotten over it. So I suppose I should try and do the same." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"Rome wasn't built in a day, little brother. So you don't need to rush it. Besides, you know we're all here for you if you need to talk about it." Kusa said as Morgana spoke up.

"That's fair, Kusa. Thank you." Morgana said as Sumire spoke up with a smile.

"I understand that you still miss her, Morgana. Truth be told, I still have my days that I find myself missing Sophia too. But I figure that's just because of the fact that Sophia basically managed to worm her way into mine and Ren's hearts as a daughter of sorts, if anything." Sumire said as Maruki spoke up.

"That's understandable, Yoshizawa-san. After all, outside of Morgana, you and Amamiya the middle were the closest to Sophia-chan while she was with you guys. So of course you miss her at times. But I think she'll return to you guys someday. So try to have faith in that." Maruki said as Grace chose that moment to speak up.

"Speaking of all that, didn't I hear that you guys were going to explain the story behind the Phantom Thieves? After all, that's what Sae and Makoto said when I asked about Ryuji's changes as a person back in September at a dinner I'd been invited to." Grace said as Ren spoke up.

"Relax, Grace. We're going to explain that soon enough. I feel bad that not all of us will be here to tell the story, but we had a chance to speak to our missing comrades in a video chat, and they agreed this was for the best that all of you be let fully into the loop on the story of the Phantom Thieves. I will warn you all now on one point, though. Not all of the story is pleasant to hear. So be advised that there will be rough parts of the story along with pleasant parts. So take that into account before being sure that you want to hear the story." Ren said as he looked at Grace, Taichi, Momoe, Shinichi, Minako, Maruki, Hiraguchi, Shibusawa, Shibusawa's wife, and Hifumi, all of whom weren't fully in the loop on the full story of the Phantom Thieves, before he kept speaking.

"You ten are missing at least part of the story, so I'll ask you all now. Are you absolutely sure you want to hear the story? I won't blame any of you who decide that you don't want to hear it. But this is your chance to be let into the loop on the full story. Technically, Sae also doesn't know some of the story, so this would also be for her benefit that we tell this story. That being said, tell me now. Are you all ready for the full story of how the Phantom Thieves ended up becoming what it is today?" Ren asked, getting a unanimous chorus of nods of agreement from the eleven people he'd addressed, making him smile as he kept speaking.

"Very well then. Buckle up you guys, because it's going to be a very long tale. It all started several years ago..." Ren said as he proceeded to give everyone present a breakdown of everything the Phantom Thieves had been up to to that point, starting with the formation of the group and ending with the final battle against the Demiurge. Once Ren finished his story, those people in the room who were unaware of the full story gasped as Grace spoke up.

"I see. So it wasn't strictly the Phantom Thieves that helped Ryuji grow as a person, so much as Ryuji's determination to better himself for his then-crush and now girlfriend that made him change. Impressive." Grace said as Shinichi frowned and spoke up.

"True, but I can't help but notice that you glossed over a lot of the finer details with that response, Grace." Shinichi said as Taichi nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed! For starters, how does Masayoshi Shido get to avoid punishment for what he's done? Sure, he did prison time, but was that REALLY a punishment!?" Taichi said as Maruki spoke up.

"It actually was. However, if you were paying attention, you'd have heard what was said about the Amamiya brothers, specifically Amamiya the eldest and youngest, with the two making peace with Shido's Shadow during the Yongen Jail. Also, everything worked out for the best in the end, all things considered." Maruki said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"Everything, you say? I dunno if I'd say Sophia going on a journey with Ichinose is 'working out for the best' for us, but maybe you're right." Morgana said huffily as Hifumi, who was the one sitting the closest to him, giggled and patted Morgana on the head while speaking up.

"Perhaps, but as a wise person once said, 'If you truly love someone or something, let them/it go. If it's meant to be, the thing you let go of will find their/its way back to you eventually.' I feel like those are some wise words to consider." Hifumi said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Considering I said those exact words to Morgana when Sophia left, I agree with your assessment, Togo-san." Kusa said as Futaba spoke up.

"You did say that, didn't you? Mwehehe, if I recall correctly, wasn't that the day that we traumatized poor Morgana with our passionate love making?" Futaba said as Kusa spoke up.

"No. If I recall right, Morgana drowned us out with the TV. You might be thinking of when we traumatized your dad, who came home to find us going at it like rabbits on the hide-a-bed once. But to be fair, that was our fault for not keeping better track of the time." Kusa said as Momoe sighed and spoke up.

"I blame Taichi for that, since I feel like he was a bit of a bad influence on both you and Ren in that regard." Momoe said as Minako spoke up.

"Perhaps, but wasn't he also the one who encouraged Ren and Kusa to be gentlemen, too?" Minako said as Taichi nodded to confirm Minako was right before speaking up.

"That's right. Also, I think we can blame Kusa's wild streak on being part-Shido, as well as Futaba-chan bringing out a more reckless side of him." Taichi said as Kusa and Futaba both pouted at Taichi's remark before Shibusawa spoke up.

"Is it really fair to blame Amamiya the youngest's wildness on the fact that he has the misfortune of having a dirtbag rapist for a biological father, though?" Shibusawa pointed out as his wife spoke up.

"It's really not, but sometimes that's just the way the cookie crumbles, dear. Besides, I'd like to think that both Amamiya the youngest and eldest turned out quite well overall despite who their father was." Shibusawa's wife said as Hiraguchi smirked and spoke up.

"You're not wrong. I've seen Amamiya the youngest in action, and he's a pretty stand-up guy, all things considered. Both Sumire and Futaba lucked out when they landed the younger two Amamiya brothers as their boyfriends, or fiancee in Futaba's case." Hiraguchi said as Sae spoke up.

"True. All of the Phantom Thieves have come a long way over the past three to four years, I would say." Sae said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"That we have. Sure, some of us haven't come as far as others, but we've all grown quite a bit over the time we've known one another." Ryuji said as Makoto nodded her agreement and spoke up.

"I agree. We've all come quite a long way from where we were when we first started up the Phantom Thieves." Makoto said as Yusuke spoke up.

"While you're not wrong, are we not also here to celebrate Christmas as well?" Yusuke asked as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"You raise a good point, Yusuke-kun. We are here for the holiday first and foremost." Haru said as Ann and Shiho giggled before the former spoke up.

"Haru's right. After all, Christmas is about giving and spending time with those we love." Ann said as Shiho spoke up.

"Well said, Ann. Though speaking of which, isn't that mistletoe hovering over Ren and Sumire?" Shiho said as Ren and Sumire blinked before looking up and seeing they were under some mistletoe, making Sumire smirk as she pulled an amused Ren into a brief yet passionate kiss, amid playful catcalls from Ann, Shiho, Futaba, and Haru. Shinichi cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Yes, well, if this is someone's idea of a prank, I don't find it funny when Sumire's caught in it." Shinichi said as Sojiro spoke up.

"In any case, let's enjoy ourselves, yeah?" Sojiro said as everyone else nodded agreement as the festivities continued on for a while...

(Time skip- The afternoon of January 14th, in a certain beef tongue restaurant in Sendai, with Sophia and Ichinose)

As Kuon Ichinose sat in a familiar restaurant and helped herself to some beef tongue, a 'BIP!' from her phone preceded a red-headed female speaking up from inside of her phone.

"Isn't this the same restaurant that you first ran into the Phantom Thieves at, Ichinose-san?" Sophia asked as Ichinose nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. I thought it would be neat to come here for a bit of nostalgia. After all, we've both come a long way from how we were that day, haven't we?" Ichinose said kindly as Sophia nodded and spoke up with a sigh.

"True. We've both accepted that we have hearts and managed to change who we are for the better since then. Granted, I'm still stuck in a phone for the most part in this world, so I've not changed all THAT much since you first ran into the Phantom Thieves. Well, aside from finding my own heart and managing to even have an unlikely relationship with Meo-I mean, Morgana. Then again, that doesn't mean much if I'm not able to leave whatever phone I'm in, especially now that the Metaverse is inaccessible again thanks to EMMA's destruction." Sophia said honestly as Ichinose smiled and spoke up.

"Fair. But the fact you agreed to come on this journey with me means a lot to me, Sophia. I realize you probably miss your friends and family, but the fact you're here with me means more to me than you could imagine." Ichinose said happily as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"Yes, well, you did create me, Ichinose-san. So that makes you just as much my mom as Sumire is, if not more so. Sure, what you did to me before wasn't fun, but I ultimately ended up better off because of it, so I can forgive you for it to some extent. Especially since the others forgave me for attacking them. That's probably going to remain one of my greatest regrets for the rest of my life." Sophia said as Ichinose smiled and spoke up.

"Understandable. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for you, not being able to physically embrace Morgana and cuddle him, especially since you two are dating and stuff." Ichinose said as Sophia spoke up.

"It really is. But I accepted long ago that it was a possibility that Morgana and I wouldn't be able to physically be with one another the day we put an end to EMMA. Besides, it's not like there's a way to give someone like me a physical body or anything, at least not that I'm aware of." Sophia said as Ichinose smiled and spoke up.

"Maybe not now, Sophia. But I'm sure that if I put my head together with a few people, we could potentially figure something out eventually for not only you to possibly gain a physical body, but also for both Aigis and Labrys as well. However, I'll have to get in contact with a few people and speak to them before I can commit to anything." Ichinose said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"That's fine. I can wait however long I have to for something like that. Besides, it's not like our journey's gonna end anytime soon, right? Sure, we've already been on it for about four and a half months at this point. But even so, I don't expect we're even close to being done with it." Sophia said as Ichinose spoke up with a smile.

"You never know, Sophia. I might have a plan to end the journey soonish for my own reasons." Ichinose said as Sophia blinked and spoke up.

"Really? May I ask why you say that, Ichinose-san?" Sophia asked as Ichinose giggled and spoke up.

"Sorry, but if I told you that, it'd ruin the surprise." Ichinose said as she and Sophia went back to their meal, Ichinose having one thought go through her mind at that point.

"Note to self: Arrange a meeting with Sakura the younger, Kirijo-san, and that Yamagishi girl that Kirijo-san knows and see if we can figure out a way to give Sophia, Aigis, and Labrys more humanesque bodies, and a physical body in Sophia's case." Ichinose thought to herself as she ate...

(Time skip- Afternoon of February 14th, in the lower level of Leblanc with Sojiro, Kusa, and Morgana)

As Sojiro, Kusa, and Morgana worked together to clean up the counter of Leblanc, Sojiro chuckled and spoke up.

"Valentine's Day again already, eh? Heh, I can't imagine what most of your group has planned for the occasion. After all, when I was young? Hoo boy, I had many fond memories of Valentine's Day." Sojiro said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"Yeah? I can imagine that. After all, you always used to tell myself and Ren all about how you were a smooth operator when you were the same age as us, Sojiro." Kusa said as Sojiro smirked and spoke up.

"And you're not wrong to say that. If I wasn't such a smooth operator, I wouldn't have met Wakaba and had Futaba. And I think we're both grateful for that, for various reasons." Sojiro said as Kusa nodded in amusement before he spoke up.

"True. I don't think either of our lives would be anywhere near as good as they are now if we didn't have Taba around." Kusa said sagely as Sojiro nodded before Morgana spoke up.

"You know, I'm surprised you didn't drag Ren into working with us today, Sojiro. I recall that you did that during the year Ren went back to Okinawa, after all." Morgana said as Kusa chuckled and spoke up in amusement.

"True, but that was also the day that Ren first got serious with Sumire as well, if I recall correctly. I distinctly recall that Ren won me quite a few bets that day. Also, Ren can't help that Sumire surprised him with reservations at a certain hotel for the occasion. No doubt she wanted alone time with him to really enjoy Valentine's Day. And the fact it's also the fourth anniversary of their first time making love is just a coincidence." Kusa said as Sojiro laughed and spoke up.

"HA! You think that was their first time fooling around? Did you forget about the time you and Futaba came over to secure Leblanc and almost caught Ren and Sumire getting naked together? If I recall correctly, you said Futaba recorded footage through her hidden cameras of Ren and Sumire getting intimate that day." Sojiro said as Kusa spoke up.

"Unfortunately, according to Ren, that was just a mix of oral and fingering that day. So it doesn't count as those two getting intimate. Besides, I seem to recall Ren and Sumire yelling at Futaba to delete that footage later." Kusa said as he and Sojiro laughed before Sojiro turned to Morgana and spoke up.

"Hey, Morgana? Kusa and I are going to go clean up in the back. Think you can handle the counter by yourself for a bit?" Sojiro asked Morgana, who nodded and spoke up.

"Sure thing, Sojiro. I'll do my best." Morgana said as Sojiro nodded before he and Kusa disappeared into the back. After that, Morgana busied himself with cleaning up the counters and even using the mops to clean up the floors since there were no customers. After he finished that and put the cleaning supplies away, Morgana busied himself with studying the coffee beans that were on display on the shelves next to the countertop, deciding to count them to pass the time. While he was doing that, he didn't initially hear the door open and close, nor did he register that there was a customer until he heard a voice speak up.

"Umm, hello? Is this place open?" Morgana heard, making him shake himself to focus as he looked around, eventually noticing a petite-looking redhead standing in the doorway and speaking up to get her attention while looking her over, taking note of the silky-looking white sleeveless dress the redhead had on that hugged her figure, even if it slightly accentuated and drew attention to the grey nylon fishnet leggings she had on under her dress, which fluttered a bit from the door closing behind her to show a pair of black short shorts under the dress that went to about three inches below her thighs. The fact that the redhead had the shorts on under her dress resulted in keeping her decently covered and framing her hips rather nicely while covering up the pair of slinky leather black panties underneath them.

Because of the fact the dress had spaghetti-straps for the shoulders, Morgana also got a tantalizingly teasing glimpse of the black strapless leather bra the redhead wore under her dress to cover her chest. Finally, Morgana took note of the black boots the redhead wore that had silver buckles on the ankles to distract from the white laces that were tied up to keep the boots on as he spoke.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You caught me taking inventory of the coffee beans for the manager. Hello there, and welcome to Leblanc Coffee and Curry. Can I take your order, ma'am?" Morgana asked as the redhead walked in closer to look at Morgana before giggling as she spoke up.

"Oh, wow. I didn't know you worked here, Meo-I mean, Morgana. Long time no see!" The redhead said as Morgana turned to the redhead and spoke up.

"Umm, do I know you? You do seem familiar to me. But at the same time, you seem a bit young to be who I think you are." Morgana said as the redhead smiled and spoke up.

"Don't be silly, Meowgana. I know we've not seen each other in a few months, and that this form might make me look a lot like Mom, but surely I've not changed so much that you don't recognize me?" The redhead said as Morgana spoke up, his eyes widening slightly as he started having a suspicion of who this redhead could be while he spoke, especially once he registered what the redhead in front of him had called him.

"Can I take your-wait, hold up. What did you just call me?" Morgana asked, blinking as the redhead smiled and spoke up.

"Err, sorry. I meant to say Morgana. I can't believe I still call you that, even now. I'm not a very good girlfriend if I can't stop referring to you by that nickname." The redhead said as Morgana gasped before he looked directly at the redhead, realizing why she looked familiar. Despite her petite yet model-worthy build, he immediately recognized the striking blue eyes looking at him, as well as the flowing red hair going straight down her back like a waterfall, with no trace of the hearts that once made up the twintails she once had her hair in. Once Morgana had the realization of who this redheaded woman could potentially be occur to him, he spoke up to voice what he'd realized.

"Did...Did you just call me Meowgana!? And that hairstyle! No wonder I thought you were Sumire at first! You look a lot like her now, but there's only one person that I know who calls me 'Meowgana'! But if that's the case, is that really you, Lady Sophia!?" Morgana said in shock...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And there we go, finally managed to sit down and finish this chapter up! I didn't think it'd take so long to finish this! All I can say in my defense is that things kept coming up to push this back further, between having to continuously stop this chapter to post and/or edit backlogged chapters (I had around a 4 to 5 chapter backlog when I started typing this, and that backlog has now since evaporated), having a two-week period where I was without internet for reasons I explained in the start-of-chapter A/N, and even having to plan out a timeline for this chapter and the next. So yeah, my apologies for how long this chapter took to finally be posted!

Before anything else, I said I'd go over the final results of the poll that ended in chapter 44! However, there were a couple of ties in that poll, so I had to use randomizers to break the 4-way tie for 3rd! But I was able to use an executive decision on the tie for 1st. So here are the final standings for that poll:

1st place- Fire Emblem: Secret Of The Creator (2 votes, won the tiebreaker for 1st by executive choice)

2nd place- Digimon: Shrine Of The Kemonogami (2 votes, lost the tiebreaker for 1st)

3rd place- Digimon: Battle For Floatia (1 vote, won the 4-way tiebreaker for 3rd)

4th place- Digimon: Sleuths of Kowloon (1 vote, got 2nd in the 4-way tiebreaker for 3rd)

5th place- Paper Mario: Flip-Flopped (1 vote, got 3rd place in the 4 way tiebreaker for 3rd)

6th place- Neo Marauders: Year 1 (1 vote, got last in the 4-way tiebreaker for 3rd)

7th place- Tales Of The Dragoon (No votes, came last overall)

And there are your standings for the poll. However, since that poll, I've been doing some thinking, and I've found myself torn on if I want to make Secret of the Creator the next story I work on, or if I want to keep working on Persona stuff despite what I said before about taking a brief break from Persona stories and start in on my adaptation of Persona 4 Golden, which would be titled Persona 4: The Golden Apostle.

So that's why I have a new poll up on my profile page that can be voted on for which story you want to see posted. I'll likely do those two stories next regardless of the outcome, but the poll might affect which one goes up after I finish Rise of the Monarchs. Meanwhile, whichever story doesn't win will probably be up next after the winning story. I'll likely have posted the poll on my profile by the time I post this chapter, so it should be votable on already by the time you're reading this end-of-chapter A/N.

For those curious, you can find my profile page by scrolling up to the top of the page you have this chapter open in and looking for where the word 'sithlorde1988' is written in blue lettering on the top left of the page (next to my profile picture, which is Rock from the Ridonculous Race), which you can click on to view my profile, where the poll should be up near the top of the page with the words 'Vote Now!' in blue writing that you can click on to open up the poll and vote on it.

However, as there are only two options on this poll, you can only vote one option. Note that I plan to end the poll once the next chapter (or chapter 47, which is targeted to go up the weekend of the 28th based on what jdimock and I decided on for a good posting date and to give extra time to vote on the poll, which at this point is live and has no votes on it) goes live, since the next chapter will more than likely be the final chapter of Rise Of The Monarchs. Yes, you read that right. We're finally drawing near to the end of this story at last.

As far as the question of if there'll be a sequel to Rise of the Monarchs, there will be one. However, I'm still deciding on if I want to make it an adaptation of Persona 5 Tactica or if I want to make it more unique and try my hand at a potential Persona 5 Arena story.

However, I'm not decided as of now on which one I'll do. If I haven't decided by the time I finish the next two stories I have planned (which I listed above), I might have a poll near the end of one of them to decide which of those options I pursue for the sequel to Rise of the Monarchs, since I like the idea of making the Phantom Files stories a proper trilogy if I can. So yeah, there's that to keep in mind. But for now, let's focus on finishing off Rise of the Monarchs, yeah? So I'll end the end-of-chapter A/N here for now and save the longer stuff for the next chapter's end-of-chapter A/N (which might also be an end-of-story A/N).

That being said, thanks to all who've read this far, both into this chapter and the story as a whole, as I appreciate everyone who's stuck with the story thus far. Your support is incredible, and I doubt I'd have gotten this far without it. So yeah, thank you, and until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!