Things settled back to a usual pace with the Phantom Thieves, though they had yet to determine just what happened in Mementos. The whole situation left them wary, though Morgana's belief that it was a complete anomaly was a little reassuring. All agreed to exercise even more caution with the other world, determined not to be cornered like that again.

With the exams coming closer, Namine and Makoto stayed after school to study. Though they naturally had different materials, Makoto offered to help the younger girl if need be. They made good progress with their work.

As they were about to leave, Makoto asked Namine to come with her to the red-light district, having heard a troubling report about a student being sighted there. Namine couldn't imagine why students would go after all what happened but she agreed to go and figure this out.

''There are so many people...I guess this really is the biggest red light district in Asia, huh?'' Makoto mused. ''Apparently, this place was a hotbed for criminals and illegal immigrants before they installed surveillance cameras. I heard there were quite a few brothels as well.''

Namine tilted her head ''That's some change for a criminal area...''

''True, I've never been here before but that's why I asked you to come today.'' Makoto admitted. ''I heard a great deal about this place from my father, but I wanted to see it for myself. Regardless, it's become far safer than it used to be. Of course, the surveillance cameras played a substantial role in that...But it was mainly thanks to the police efforts to clean up the area.''

''Including your dad?'' Namine guessed. ''I think you said something about him being an officer before.''

''Yes...''

''Oh...'' The girl's tone made Namine add ''...um, sorry. You don't have to explain if you don't want to.''

''No, it's all right.'' She assured. ''It's only natural to ask. At any rate, even with all the police work, there's no way to eradicate crime entirely.''

''We'd know that all too well, huh?''

''I can't argue with that.'' Makoto agreed. It was part of the reason they were thieves after all. ''It seems operations nowadays are only better hidden...Anyways, seeing is believing yes? Come on, let's have a look around.''

''Did we lose him?'' Makoto asked, having just gotten out of a club. ''That guy was so persistent.''

Namine looked around ''Yeah, we're good.''

Makoto let out a relieved sigh ''He must have been a scout for a hostess club. He mentioned how 'his girls' get paid a lot to wear cute dresses...All I wanted to ask if any Shujin students worked there...but he nearly dragged us inside with him. I'm sorry, Namine.''

''Don't worry, I didn't expect things to be so bad either.'' The girl stated. ''Actually, we didn't handle this well. Now that I think about it, we could have tried asking Ryuji or Yusuke to come.''

She winced ''Yes, that's a good point. I didn't think of it. I'm glad you were there at least. If you hadn't acted when you did...'' A sigh ''...I thought he seemed suspicious so it was a good chance to ask. Hm, I guess that's how they all do it...I've learned something new today...Oh and thanks again. It seems you have a knack for helping me out.''

''Oh I don't know about that but you're welcome.''

''I hope I can do the same for you someday...'' Makoto began to look around. ''...I can't help but find it strange. Though this is a shopping district, there are absolutely no students around here.''

Namine blinked ''Now that you mention it, that is weird...''

''I don't see any Shujin students, though I guess they wouldn't come in uniform either way. Well then...''

The girl arched an eye ''Makoto?''

''I know that girl...'' She was looking at a girl with black hair walking into a buidling. ''...I used to be in the same class as her!''

Namine bit her lip, this could really be a problem ''This doesn't seem good...''

''Yes but I hope we're both wrong. I'll have to ask her about this. Oh, and I'd like you to be there too, as my witness, would that be OK?''

''Sure. It'd be interesting to know why she's doing this. It's hard to imagine the students not knowing about the gangs now.'' Namine remarked.

''Exactly.'' Makoto crossed her arms. ''This is certainly troubling.''

''We'll figure it out.'' Namine stopped walking. ''I just remembered...I never did go see about the fortune-teller again, you know about that request...?''

''Oh, right...'' Makoto trailed off. ''...if I recall correctly, Morgana said she works in this area too. I'm curious about this woman myself. Shall we go for a visit then?''

It wasn't long before the girls found Chihaya in her usual working spot. She appeared pleased to see Namine and proceeded to greet her...

''It's nice to see you again. Did you think over my advice?''

''That's not really why we're here.'' Namine stated. ''Remember what I asked you about before? Well...''

Chihaya's widened at the new information ''G-goodness gracious! Her boyfriend stopped abusing her...? I don't believe it!''

''Well, I've made sure of it. Those girls are students in our school.'' Makoto stated. ''Personally, I'm happy for her. This is good news.''

''Well yes, but even if he did stop, her fate should be heading the path to misery, without changing!'' Chihaya shook her head. ''I mean...here, I'll do a reading!''

The reading turned out to be the furthest from Chihaya's expectations though.

''The sequence of the arcana has completely changed! Death has morved far off to the future...'' The woman's mouth fell.

''I'd say this just proves it, fate isn't absolute.'' Namine shrugged.

''No, no, no! This must be some sort trick.'' Chihaya frowned. ''What are you a scam artist? You made a deal with her boyfriend or something?''

The girl blinked ''Wait, what?''

Makoto raised an eye ''What're you even talking about?''

''Well, this has to be some sort of scheme! Something's obviously missing.'' Chihaya said firmly.

''This is the sort of thing you said after making that prediction about Namine.'' The brunette frowned.

After their last excursion to Mementos, that was getting to be a bit of touchy subject especially for the rest of the team. None of them wanted to think about anything bad happening to the girl. It was a surprise, they'd known for such a short while but she was quickly growing to be someone dear to them. Makoto wasn't about to complain though, she was very happy with her new friends.

She crossed her arms ''It just sounds like you refuse to admit that you were wrong.''

''The cards showed me the future and it has always been correct. Fate is absolute.'' Chihaya was unyielding.

So were the girls, neither were convinced. ''It doesn't have to be that way.'' Makoto stated.

Namine nodded ''You're good at what you do, Mifune-san but no one's infallible.''

But the blonde was adamant ''I can't believe it...'' She shook her head. ''...Fine. I'm just going to have to verify your power. The very power that reversed my tarot card prediction! This is quite a serious situation for a fortune teller like me. I need to get to the bottom of this! You won't have to do a thing just sit next to me while I read fortunes. And if another unstoppable fate happens to appear...then I'll test your power.''

''I...don't know about this...'' The girl didn't have any power so she wasn't seeing how this would do any good.

''I'll read your fortune!'' She offered. ''Please? I'll even prioritize your readings over my regulars. Besides, I'll be able to proved much more accurate predictions once I get to know you better! How does that sound? Is it a deal?'' Chihaya sighed. ''Otherwise, I won't be able to go on...''

''All right...'' Namine couldn't bring herself to refuse with how important this seemed to her. ''...if it's that much of a big deal...''

''Thank you! I look forward to verifying your skills! Please don't blow me off, OK?''

I am thou, thou art I...

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion

That breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Wheel of Fortune Arcana,

I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and a new power...

Once school was over, Namine headed towards the flower shop for a shift. She had just finished a round of the group chat with her friends and it eventually settled on when everyone would be free to see about the Phan-Site requests. Though there was still a feeling of unease over their group considering what happened last time in Mementos (which Namine completely understood and shared) they couldn't just ignore the requests either.

Trouble was, they weren't likely to get any concrete answers. Namine figured they should give it a little more time before tackling the matter. Still, thinking about the Metaverse in general had Namine remember Caroline and Justine's request. She couldn't help but wonder if she could fuse the Persona they asked for.

Well, there was one way to find out...

As it turned out, checking the compendium let Namine find out that she had one of the Personas required for the fusion due to their last visit. After some thought, she fused a couple of her own Personas. She went on to use the compendium to get the least Persona needed to complete the process to get a Flauros.

Like before, the twins were quick to note her success...

''The inmate has grown considerably since we met her.'' Justine remarked.

''True...I guess we're gotta at least admit that.'' Her twin added. ''That's the only reason she could've pulled through against the Reaper.''

''About that...'' The two looked at Namine. ''...we're still trying to make sense of what happened. All we're sure of is that whatever went down that day was completely unusual. Do you have any idea about it?''

''Not in the slightest, I'm afraid.'' Justine returned. ''Our master can't understand it either. He sensed something a potent imbalance about Mementos at the time. It was only temporary and it had faded right after that battle was over.''

''I doubt that could happen again.'' Caroline stated. ''At any rate, what's the point of worrying? It all worked out, just leave it at that.''

''Hmm...''

Justine was distracted as a thought occurred to her ''I wonder...is fostering Personas truly rehabilitation?''

''What're you saying that for?'' asked Caroline.

''It is...merely a thought. Will the inmate truly be rehabilitated if we help cultivate power within her...?''

Namine raised an eye. The usually stoic girl appeared rather confused and lost in thought, that was odd. ''Are you okay...?''

Justine blinked. ''Ah, yes...''

''Keep it together, Justine. This is the job our master ordered us to do.'' Caroline scolded. ''Or...are you gonna try and disobey your orders?''

''This is not what I meant.'' was the response.

''Don't worry yourself too much over one measly prisoner.'' Caroline went on. ''All we gotta do is get the most out of her wild card thing and make her work hard at her tasks.''

''The wild card...''

''What is it now?''

''The more I consider this list, the stranger it seems. Its writer must have known that the one carrying out these tasks would possess the powers of a Wild Card.''

''You've gotta be kidding me. How could somebody know that?'' Caroline wondered.

Namine on the other hand thought the girl may have been on to something. It really did add up after all...

Caroline quickly noticed her expression ''Oh, you too, Inmate? You're both overthinking this! I mean, even our master didn't know the Inmate had that wild card thing before we met her!''

Justine still seemed troubled but her sister went on ''Either way, this'll all get resolved if you just hurry up and finish your rehabiliation already! Justine, give her the next task!''

''...Very well. It seems that it is time for us to be serious. As previously mentioned, here is the second task you must complete before receiving your reward. The next persona we require is an Ame-no-Uzume with the Dodge Psy ability.'' Justine stated. ''You only need speak with us once you obtain it. We will be able to tell.''

''All right...'' Namine trailed off. They were more questions than answers once again. There truly was more to the Metaverse than she ever imagined.

As per their deal, Ohya requested another meeting with Namine for her work...

''...A fan site? Oh, you mean the Phantom Aficionado Website? I didn't know it was so popular with high school kids. I haven't been paying much attention to it.'' Ohya admitted. ''But if it's newsworthy. I guess I should keep tabs on it.'' She paused to take a drink. ''The Phantom Thieves must be really bored if they're going after small time criminals now. I have a theory that they're all minors and their leader is some simpleton dying from boredom.''

Namine wasn't impressed, where did she even come up with that from? ''You shouldn't make assumptions.''

''Hmm...well, it's nice to hear your honest opinions.''

The journalist's words made Namine remember something ''Say, Ohya-san?''

She blinked ''Yeah, kid?''

''I've been wondering, I kind of imagined reporters would be more invested in their work. From the way you talk, you...'' She paused, unsure of how to put her thoughts. ''...just don't seem to care.''

Ohya laughed a bit ''You hit the nail on the head. I'm not really interested in writing entertainment articles about whatever fad's caught on.''

''But they do really well, right? Some journalists who were in here seemed frustrated about it.'' Lala remarked.

''Journalists...?'' Ohya held back a wince. ''Oh, you mean Nakao and the others? You'd really lump me in with those hyenas? Don't insult me. People at work call them paparazzi behind their backs but me? I'm a real journalist! Entertainment articles are all about selling copies...the truth doesn't even matter. Nobody wants to read real news...''

''Um, if it bothers you so much did you consider changing careers?'' Namine wondered.

The journalist looked very serious then, it was a little odd for the girl who usually saw her as relaxed or jovial. ''...I've got my reasons for staying.''

''But at the same time, you...'' Lala started.

''If I quit now, it'd be the same as declaring my partner guilty.'' Ohya cut in. ''Jointly responsible...what a joke! She didn't do anything! That's why I can't quite and why I'll never give up.''

Namine was confused ''Does this have to do with whatever you were talking about the other day?''

''Yeah but it doesn't have to do with you. Anyway, thanks to you, I've had more time to focus on my investigation.'' Ohya smiled as she continued. ''I'm going to write an article that you'll really enjoy! Thnk of it as a sign of my appreciation!''

''All right...'' Both were distracted as her phone rang.

''...Mm-hm, yeah I'm off the clock...'' Ohya's eyes widened. ''...Wait, I can talk to him now? I'll be right there!'' She hung up. ''Sorry, kid, gotta go. Put this on my tab, Lala-chan!''

Namine could only wonder just what the woman was up to-that was quite a whiplash of moods. There seemed to be a very good reason Ohya still stuck to journalism...

Despite the previous attempts to help with finding a subject for his art not being too successful, Yusuke was still determined to look for inspiration. Today, he had settled on going to the art museum in Ueno and asked if his friends would join him. He was later joined by Namine, Morgana and Makoto, who met him not too far from the museum. The three having been at Leblanc while Makoto taught Namine a bit about cooking earlier.

''So what were you doing there anyway?'' Morgana asked. ''You were just staring ahead but I got the feeling that your mind was a million miles away.''

''You'd be correct to assume so, Morgana.'' The artist admitted. ''I simply found people watching to be fascinating. Just by observing the people as they go about the streets, you can discern quite the details about them if you know how to look. I learned that the same can applied to many things in life.''

The feline blinked ''That's true...''

''I remember my father saying something like that. Being observant really helped him in his work.'' Makoto mused, glancing at the museum. ''I never felt a need to come here but I'm curious about this place. Shall we?''

Namine looked around ''Heeeh, I know that there a bunch of art styles but seeing all those in the same place is really something.''

''It's interesting...'' Morgana cocked his head at a particular piece. ''...and this is supposed to be art how? It looks like a kid played around with colored papers and stuck the pieces together.''

The girl held back a laugh ''...The worst part is, I can actually see it...''

''Ah, I take it you're both not for the abstract style of art.'' Yusuke remarked.

Morgana blinked ''Is that what this is called? Well, if the shoe fits...''

''Well, different tastes aside, it seems fitting for us to visit this museum.'' Makoto remarked. ''Phantom Thieves and art seem to go hand in hand.''

''Quite.'' Yusuke agreed. ''This is certainly inspiring as well. There are twice as many people than usual. The white noise the crowd causes is actually relaxing in a sense, it helps hone my sense. If I close my eyes, it's almost as if I'm floating through space.''

''Glad you're enjoying this but I thought you'd want to stay away from noise when you're painting.'' Namine admitted.

''So did I.'' Makoto added.

''Not at all. You see, absolute silence is too straightforward. Don't you feel oddly stiff when confined to a soundless room and forced to face your true self?'' Yusuke inquired.

The three exchanged glances as they thought this over, realizing that it made a lot of sense.

''When you put it like that...'' Morgana started.

''Yeah, I can imagine how that would be uncomfortable.'' Namine nodded.

''I guess we do just get to noise in general accordingly.'' Makoto mused. ''It depends though...''

''Exactly. A moderate amount of noise helps me melt into the world around me.'' Yusuke continued. ''I sense something changing within me because of our visit. It seems my attitude towards art has shifted in some ways.''

''That's for the best, isn't it?'' The brunette tilted her head.

''If things didn't change after all what went down then I'd say that's worrying.'' Morgana stated.

''Yeah, I think we've been through plenty of life-changing stuff.'' Namine looked around. ''This just means your perspective is changing and expanding, that's what you wanted when you moved to the dorms, right?''

''That's certainly true.'' Yusuke began to smile. ''I want to show you three one of my favorite works. This piece made me see something new many times, I would like to see what you make of it...''

Later, while she had intended to head back to Leblanc, Namine received a text from Mishima, asking her to come meet him...

''I have some great new info for you! It's about the next target for the Phantom Thieves! This one's massive!'' Mishima exclaimed with a grin.

''You're sure fired up.'' Namine noted.

''You bet!'' He displayed a picture on the phone. ''This is the guy. He's a handsome actor who's been rapidly gaining popularity lately. He's great at acting, has solid conversational skills...he's even been in all sorts of commercials. If you manage to change his heart, everyone will HAVE to start paying attention to the Phantom Thieves. He's gotta be doing some shady stuff, I just know it.''

''Well, I'll talk about it with the others and we'll look into this...'' He was talking about fame so much again...she wasn't sure she liked that.

''Oh, the unanimous decision rule, right? Cool.'' The boy nodded. ''I bet you'll see that I'm right, it'll be worth it.''

''Let's not get carried away here. Not all rumors are true, remember? We can't just go targeting anybody.''

''I get that but I'm sure this is right. I'm not saying that out of jealousy. I heard a rumor that a famous idol fell into his clutches...you need to act on behalf of her fans!''

''You need to calm down.'' Namine stated, frowning.

''I am calm! And thinking about it from my calm standpoint, I believe you guys can benefit from changing his heart. I mean this would be the best publicity for you! Well? Pretty good tactic, huh? Aren't I an amazing producer? Just you wait...I'm gonna put the Phantom Thieves on the map!'' Mishima declared. ''You'll be practically swimming in requests!''

''Wait, I don't think you're...''

''It's fine, really! I'm the Producer of the Phantom Thieves...not boring and defintely not a zero...'' He shook his head. ''...Don't worry, it'll work, after all, I'm the reason you guys have gotten this far, right?'' He stood. ''The phantom thieves' success is thanks to me...and they are changing the world...that means I'm changing the world! That means I'm not a zero!''

''Are you back to that again? You shouldn't listen to those morons. They were wrong.'' Namine said firmly.

''But it's...'' He lowered his head for a moment but shook himself. ''...never mind, I guess you're right, Namine-san. I'll send you some more info to help you guys decide later. Bye!''

Morgana watched the boy walk for a few seconds before speaking ''...Do you really think he's on to something? I, for one, highly doubt it.''

''I don't know...either way, I figure it can't hurt to look into this further. Mishima-kun is trying to help the team after all.''

Thinking of what the boy did before had the feline conceding the point ''Fair enough, let's hope he really does mean well and I'm not being paranoid.''

After they got back to the attic, Morgana set about teaching Namine how to make better lockpicks for their next excursion to the Metaverse. It had been made easier with all the material they had been able to get and the results had been okay.

They went to have dinner shortly afterwards, spotting Sojiro leaving in a hurry. All he said was that he was having to take care of a hanging issue but since they knew they wouldn't get any answers, the two agreed not to question this. Namine prepared Morgana's share of food before getting her own and they sat down to eat.

Should the Phantom Thieves' track-record hold, Kaneshiro would come clean soon. All that was left for them was to wait and see what the days would bring...

And we're done!

I originally wanted to have things with Kaneshiro's change of heart end here but I figured it would better to have more light-hearted stuff considering what I did in the previous two chapters. Anyway, I hope you like it all so far. This arc has been kind of a pain so I really am hoping I did something right here...

Confidants:

Sakamoto Ryuji (Chariot Rank 7)

Morgana (Magician Rank 4)

Takamaki Ann (Lovers Rank 5)

Takemi Tae (Death Rank 4)

Okumura Haru (Empress Rank 3)

Igor (Aeon Rank 4)

Sakura Sojiro (Hierophant Rank 4)

Mishima Yuuki (Moon Rank 5)

Suzui Shiho (Temperance Rank 4)

Yoshida Toranosuke (Sun Rank 5)

Caroline and Justine (Strength Rank 3)

The Phantom Thieves (Fool Rank 3)

Kitagawa Yusuke (Emperor Rank 4)

Akechi Goro (Justice Rank 1)

Ohya Ichiko (Devil Rank 3)

Nijima Makoto (Priestess Rank 2)

Mifune Chihaya (Wheel of Fortune Rank 1)