Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Makoto smoothed down her skirt, trying to calm her racing heart. She couldn't help but second-guess what she wanted to suggest to Ken.
The first semester of the school year had ended just two days ago. She had been trying to work up the courage to ask her boyfriend if he'd be interested in moving in together after this year.
As he promised Mitsuru-san, Ken had stayed at the penthouse where he and Shinjiro-san lived during their final year of high school. But half of the school year remained so Makoto thought it'd might be prudent to bring it up so they would have time to look and save up money for the deposit.
"Makoto? Is there something the matter?"
Makoto dragged her fingers through her hair. "No, it's… well…"
She trailed off, unsure on how to broach the topic.
"Have you… looked at other apartments yet?" she settled on finally. "I know it's like another eight months but…"
"I've looked but nothing too seriously," he admitted. "Why?"
Makoto bit her lip. "It's well… we've been dating for nearly two years. I just thought, maybe we could look for a place together?"
She watched her boyfriend carefully, unsure on how he'd react.
Ken blinked rapidly, as if he was trying to compute her suggestion.
He then gave a sharp inhale, running a hand through his hair. "You want to move in together?"
Makoto sighed to herself. "W-Well, it's okay if you would prefer a space on your own. But—!"
Makoto halted as Ken grasped her wrist gently.
"Did you hear me say no?" he chided. When Makoto gave him a flustered look, Ken just smiled wryly. "It was… unexpected. I thought you were content with living with your sister still. Since it helps you save money to pay for the tuition."
"It's…" Makoto sighed, pursing her lips. "I guess I've been thinking about it ever since Ren and Anne moved in together a few months ago."
As Ren promised, he had returned from Shimoda after his high school graduation. He and Anne were renting out a modest apartment, along with Morgana. Though sometimes Anne wasn't even in Tokyo, let alone Japan.
"And… I think I would like to be more independent," she admitted. "This past year and a half has done us both a great deal of good. But I don't want to stay forever. I thought it might be good to move forward… together."
Ken was quiet, chewing on his lower lip.
"We would have to find a good location, somewhere in between our schools," he said before he gave her a small smile. "But we have time to prepare."
Makoto let out a little squeak. Ken just chuckled before leaning in and kissing her temple.
"But let's wait until we've figured out something more concrete before announcing it to everyone." Ken then rolled his eyes. "I can just hear the inappropriate jokes Ren will make…"
"Well Anne can't keep him completely under control… unfortunately," Makoto quipped. "Though, speaking of Anne—do you remember when she'll be back from Italy?"
"Um… sometime this week, I think," Ken said, tapping his chin for a moment. "But beyond that… I don't remember. Why?"
"Oh, I just thought it might be fun to get together, all nine of us. It is summer break so we might as well make the most out of it."
It was a little harder to get together now. But they still kept in contact and more often than not, the group chat was still buzzing with updates.
The last time they had been together as a group was… Yu-san and Rise-san's wedding, during Golden Week. That had been a fun wedding. More ostentatious than Shinjiro-san and Fuuka-san's wedding but that was no surprise with how Rise-san was.
"Well, that's true," Ken conceded. "I know that Ryuji's been wanting to get together again too."
"You'd know that pretty well," Makoto said with a chuckle.
Ken and Ryuji helped coach a local junior high soccer team. It brought them a little closer than before. It had kindled an interest in coaching in Ryuji so he was now studying to become a PE teacher.
Ken just nodded. "Well… I can't say that I blame him."
But suddenly both of their phones buzzed.
[Ryuji]: yo! It's been a while since we've all gotten together, yeah? Anne's back from Italy, Yusuke's got no art exhibits coming up, no school! It's the perfect timing!
[Ren]: you couldn't wait one day, huh, Ryuji?
[Futaba]: someone's salty. You were looking forward to some special time with Anne huh?
[Anne]: aw Ren it'll be okay! Plus there's always tonight ;)
[Ryuji]: EW
[Ren]: ;)
[Ryuji]: GROSS
[Yusuke]: I believe you brought this on yourself Ryuji, I do not believe you can complain
[Makoto]: moving on… I think a get-together sounds nice. Should we meet up at Leblanc then?
[Haru]: of course, it was our old hideout after all!
[Ken]: that sounds good to me… but Futaba have you talked to Sakura-san about it?
[Futaba]: you know he'll have it open for us! There's nobody there!
[Ken]: you should still ask obviously…
[Futaba]: Ugh you're still such a nag (
Ken let out a frustrated breath at Futaba's last comment. Makoto just laughed at the disgruntled look on his face.
"Be quiet…" Ken grumbled out.
Makoto giggled but cleared her throat. "It seems Ryuji's ears were burning. Well, I suppose this saves us from having to strike up the question ourselves."
"Welcome back, Anne!" they chorused together as Ren and Anne entered Café Leblanc.
Anne beamed. "Thanks, guys! Oh, and I brought you guys souvenirs!"
She put the tote bag she carried onto the bar, sorting through them. She passed out the gifts; it was a vast assortment going from a nice pair of leather boots for Makoto to coffee beans for Futaba and Sakura-san to Venetian glass earrings for Haru.
Her gift for Ken ended up being a leather wallet. Ken was surprised. He had mentioned to Anne offhandedly that he really needed to replace his wallet during Ren's party back in May, since it was getting so worn out. He hadn't expected her to remember that comment.
"Thank you, Anne, I appreciate it," Ken thanked her.
"No problem!" Anne said with her usual cheery smile. "Oh, and I figured since you'd be visiting Port Island sometime this summer, I got Shinjiro-san some really good balsamic vinaigrette. It was something I had in the restaurant—they make it in-house! It's really good, I think he'll like it."
Ken just raised an eyebrow. He was curious to why Anne was so confident about it.
"Why would Shinjiro-san want vinegar?" Ryuji asked, scratching the back of his head.
Morgana scoffed. "Not vinegar, vinaigrette! You can use it for salads and stuff. Sheesh, Ryuji, you really ought to expand your palette beyond ramen."
"Can it, Mona!" Ryuji snapped out.
Makoto quickly interjected with an inquiry of how Anne liked Italy before Ryuji and Morgana could squabble even further. Of course, Anne was mostly working but she had some down time, allowing her to explore the city. Anne wound up showing them some pictures she took.
"Oh, Venice looks so beautiful!" Haru sighed. "I'd love to see it one day."
"As would I," Yusuke chimed in. "I can just picture the inspiration I would get."
Anne's eyes brightened before giving Haru a meaningful look. "Maybe you should take a trip there together some time."
Haru blushed. "Ah, well… maybe one day."
She looked at Yusuke shyly. Ken expected Yusuke to be oblivious but he just smiled at her.
"I would love to accompany you there someday, my dear."
Ken couldn't help but do a double-take at that comment. The room all stopped short as well. They all clearly had the same thought. Yusuke just called Haru "my dear".
Haru then quickly coughed. "U-Um, so… we actually need to share something."
"Did you two finally get your act together?!" Futaba blurted out.
"W-Wha…? F-Futaba-chan!" Haru's cheeks turned pink.
"I mean… it's 'bout time," Ren drawled out with a smirk.
Ryuji meanwhile kept nudging Yusuke and whispering "you dog" at him. Ren was patting Yusuke on the back as well. Ken couldn't help but shake his head.
"Ahem! Before these two really get going…" Makoto gave Haru and Yusuke a warm smile. "Congratulations. You two are meant for each other."
"I'm happy for you," Ken said. "I'm glad you two figured it out."
"More like Yusuke…" Ryuji said with a quiet chuckle but then cleared his throat. "It was hard staying quiet on this for a while, still really excited for ya both though."
I'm surprised that Ryuji hasn't blabbed," Morgana quipped.
Ryuji turned on his heels and glared down at their furry friend.
"Sh-Shut up!" Ryuji cried out.
Well, Ken had to agree with Morgana there. Ryuji tended to have… loose lips. Not that he'd say that aloud, he wasn't interested in needling Ryuji like Morgana did.
Anne then leaned forward. "But you need to tell us how it happened, Haru!"
"W-What?" Haru stuttered out before waving her hands in front of her. She then squeaked, "N-Now?"
Anne huffed, crossing her arms. "Okay fine, maybe not now… but soon!"
She held up her index finger, looking sternly at Haru. Ken had to bite his tongue, kept himself from chuckling at Haru's panicked expression.
"The next girl's night we have—you're so spilling."
Makoto laughed lightly before leaning in to whisper to Ken.
"Happy that another couple's taking the heat this time?" she asked with a wry smile.
"Yusuke was oblivious for over a year so…" Ken said dryly. "But yeah, guilty as charged."
But then again… Ryuji might be next on the list to get teased. Shiho-san sometimes stopped by when he and Ryuji were coaching the kids. Ryuji tended to get bonked on the head by stray soccer balls when Shiho-san was around.
Makoto giggled next and then tugged his arm. He followed her to sit down at one of the booths while the group teased Yusuke and Haru. Morgana joined them, hopping up to sit on the table. He turned to face the others, shaking his head.
Morgana then sighed, pressing a paw to his face. "Ugh… are you done teasing them?"
"Nope, we're just getting started!" Futaba said with a cheeky grin.
Haru smiled awkwardly, lacing her arms around Yusuke's left arm.
Yusuke narrowed his eyes. "Is it truly that important to you? Perhaps you should look at a gossip magazine if you care so much for romance."
"Or maybe Futaba should look a little closer to home," Ren muttered to Ryuji.
Before Futaba could retort, Makoto loudly cleared her throat to interject. The whole room stopped their chatter. They all moved to gather around, sitting at the booths.
Makoto spoke up soon as they were all seated. "Well, anyways, as Ryuji said… our schedules are fairly open. We should do something together."
"There's a movie festival going on," Morgana piped up.
"That's boring, Mona!" Futaba complained. "We should do something bigger! Better!"
"Like what, go to Destinyland?" Morgana said sarcastically.
"We did that already," Yusuke pointed out.
Morgana gave him an irate look. Yusuke tilted his head as he looked at Morgana. It seemed he didn't pick up that Morgana wasn't sincere in that suggestion.
Ren leaned against his seat. "You know… my folks used to take me camping every couple of summers when I was younger."
"Camping?" Ryuji then grinned. "Man, I haven't done that since junior high! Let's do it!"
"I've never been," Haru murmured, holding a hand to her mouth.
"It's fun!" Ren's eyes started to light up. "We used to hike in the mountains around Shimoda. Mom taught me about bird calls and my dad taught me about fishing. And at night, we would cook a ton of food. My mom would tell the best spooky ghost stories too. And right before we went to bed, we'd lay down under the stars and Dad would tell me about the constellations and the stories behind them."
Ren smiled as he reminisced. It was nice seeing how relaxed Ren was about his parents now, Ken couldn't help feel relieved. The year in Shimoda did the three of them good.
"I'm not opposed to it!" Haru laughed, holding up her hands. "Maybe we should do it then! Oh, and you can leave the firewood chopping to me!"
Ken sometimes forgot that Haru was stronger than she looked. It was still impressive (and a little scary) how well she wielding her axe when fighting Shadows.
Ken shook his head and cleared his throat.
"But if you're going to cook with pots and pans, you should get a hot plate," Ken suggested. "Or I suppose a portable stove would work too…"
"If we're bringing a stove, I would like to request hot pot," Yusuke announced.
Ryuji put his hands in his pocket and grimaced towards Yusuke.
"Summer's so not the right time for hot pot," Ryuji huffed out.
Before Yusuke and Ryuji could really get into it, Anne chimed in.
"But we definitely need to start a campfire though," Anne said. "I never went camping but when I lived in America, my grandparents showed me how to make s'mores in their fireplace! They're the best!"
"Of course you have sweets on your mind," Makoto sighed out, giving Anne a smile both exasperated and fond. "Though… how long are we planning to go camping? That will determine just how many the supplies we need…"
"Maybe we should write down a list," Morgana suggested. "We're throwing out so much, we're bound to forget something. And where are we even going to get everything?"
Futaba's eyes brightened. "Oh, that's easy."
She whipped out her phone, holding it right before her.
"EMMA, give me a recommended list of camping supplies," she stated. "Oh, and give me a store near Shibuya for us to buy them!"
There was a ping as EMMA recited the closest store where they'd be able to buy their supplies.
Makoto's eyes widened before she commented, "That's… a long list of supplies."
"Maybe we can split up everything then," Ken suggested.
"That's true, we would need to go grocery shopping," Yusuke mused. "But I must request that we bring along some mushrooms. They're quite delicious roasted."
Ken pinched the bridge of his nose. He dearly hoped that Yusuke wasn't going around in parks and just picking up mushrooms to eat again…
Tuesday, July 24th, 2018
They had agreed to go shopping for supplies first thing in the morning. Ren was in charge of getting the cooking supplies—like a portable gas stove, butane fuel, pots, pans, and utensils. He was also thinking of getting a kettle just in case they wanted coffee in the morning.
Since everything would be a lot to carry, he and Ryuji would be going together.
Ken, Yusuke, and Futaba would be getting tents and sleeping bags and extra chairs for everyone, since Sojiro had a limited number of foldable chairs. Futaba had tried to argue that she wasn't strong enough to help with those supplies but Ken overrode her protests and dragged her off. And lastly, Makoto, Anne, and Haru would be getting cooking ingredients.
But… Ren couldn't help but feel a little bothered. The dream he had last night…
He hadn't seen Lavenza since the day he had departed Tokyo, to move back to Shimoda with his parents.
Of course, he had known in the back of his head that he'd probably would fight with his Persona again at some point. Ken was proof of that. The incident with the Abyss of Time, the crap with Sho Minazuki he heard about, and of course, what led to Ken meeting them all.
Three more Shadow incidents since Ken had awakened to his Persona, nearly a decade ago.
But… Ren felt unsettled.
"Ren?"
Ren blinked as Morgana's paw came into view.
"You okay, Ren?" he asked in concern.
"I'm fine, just didn't sleep that well last night," Ren dismissed.
Morgana sniffed. "You and Lady Anne shouldn't have stayed up so late as is."
Ren smiled sheepishly. "I missed her, okay?"
It wasn't even that they were making out or anything (though some kisses were exchanged last night). But he always loved hearing about Anne's travels, talking about the people she's met, her new experiences…
Morgana just sighed, shaking his head. "I know. But you still shouldn't put that above your health!"
"Fine, fine, Mom-na," Ren teased. Morgana grumbled at the pun but before he could complain further, Ren quickly interjected, "But c'mon, Ryuji should be around here."
They had agreed to meet at the Buchiko statue. And sure enough, Ryuji was standing nearby, messing with his phone.
"Hey! There you guys are!" Ryuji flashed them a grin. He then grimaced before fanning his face. "But ugh, it's so damn hot. C'mon! Let's hustle to the store so we can chill there!"
Ren had to stifle a snicker. It was always funny to him that Ryuji's Persona resisted the element fire but he still complained about the heat.
"We're picking up the cooking supplies…" Morgana said slowly. "Go ahead and lead the way then, Ryuji."
"Uhhh… right." Ryuji scratched the back of his neck. "I kinda… forgot the store name."
But then he gasped, his face lighting up.
"Ohhh, right! I can just use EMMA!"
He then activated the app. When EMMA's automated voice greeted him, Ryuji rubbed the back of his head.
"Uhh… yeah… show us the store you told us about earlier," he said.
"That isn't vague at all," Ren thought with amusement.
With a ping, EMMA stated that it was pulling up the optimal route. Ren couldn't help but let out a low whistle at that.
"Damn… it's really too impressive," he commented.
"And with such a vague question too," Morgana chimed in. "Well, better for us! Especially Ryuji."
Ryuji opened his mouth to retort but some shrieking caught their attention.
"Alice! ALICEEEE! We love you!" a group of girls squealed as they ran by.
"What's that racket?" Morgana asked, his tail swishing back and forth.
Almost as if on cue, two businessmen walked by. One of them unintentionally answering Morgana's question.
The man in the gray suit said, "A promotional store opening is currently underway at the Shibuya 705 storefront with Alice Hiiragi."
"Ah I see, I heard her merchandise sells really well. I am curious, shall we check it out? It could give us a good idea on the layout for our products on the store floor," the man in the brown suit replied.
Ryuji grabbed Ren by the shoulder, a wide smile spread across his lips.
He gasped. "For real?! Alice is here?!"
That name… sounded familiar. He racked his brain. Wait… that magazine that Anne was reading two weeks ago. The one she was excited to have a spread in, she mentioned someone in the fashion industry she loved on the cover. Wasn't that her name, Alice Hiiragi?
"The fashion designer, right?" Ren asked.
But EMMA spoke once more.
"Alice Hiiragi is a fashion model and performing artist. She has gained attention for her 'adorable look' and unique sense of style. She has acted in several media and genres. She has become a pop culture tastemaker and continues to cultivate a devoted fanbase."
"I stand corrected…"
"I think Lady Anne mentioned her a few times." But then Morgana shook his head. "But sheesh—I didn't realize how popular she was."
"Yeah, she's huge!" Ryuji nodded. "You wanna go check her out?"
Ren shrugged. "If you wanna, sure."
"Should we really be doing this?" Morgana fussed. "We were gonna meet up at Leblanc after we're done with buying supplies, aren't we?"
"Big whup, it'll add on what—twenty minutes to our errand?" Ryuji scoffed. "Quit worryin', Morgana! 'Sides, it's on the way to the store anyways!"
"Fine, fine…" Morgana grumbled out.
Ren followed Ryuji to see a pink stage in front of a store. He could see some decorations on the stage, like a pocket watch and a big fancy teapot and teacup.
He overheard some guys talking about Alice and how much they loved her.
"Hiii folks! Thanks for coming!"
Ren craned his neck to see a girl with pastel green hair and sky-blue highlights waving to the crowd.
"A shop that's carrying one of my very own brands is opening today!" she said.
She then went on to ask the crowd if they dreamed of being someone else, even if it was for a little while. Ren craned an eyebrow at that.
That was kinda an odd question to him.
But then Alice giggled. "Well, I know a place like that! A special wonderland where you can be anything you wanna be!"
A special wonderland? Just what was she talking about?
"Sheesh, what's the racket?"
Ren turned his head at the sudden complaint. He saw it was a couple of Americans. One had bright red hair and green eyes. The other had golden blond hair and blue eyes.
"Some fashion model yammering on and on…" the blond said, rolling his eyes. "But ugh, how does she expect people to buy her clothes? Just look at what she's wearing! It looks like a cupcake puked on her."
"And the dress is what a little girl would wear," his companion sneered.
"Nobody will buy such ugly clothes."
Ren couldn't help but snort loudly at that.
"Huh? What's so funny, RenRen?"
Ren snickered before giving the two Americans a side-eye.
"You can't understand them, can you?"
"Well duh, they're obviously tourists and speaking in English," Ryuji said, rolling his eyes.
Ren's English wasn't always the greatest. But even before he and Anne started dating, she had shown him a couple of American films. It was pretty helpful with improving his English so Ren could follow English pretty decently now.
"They said that Alice's outfit is ugly and almost childish," Ren stated. "Like I get it if you think that kind of fashion is out there but they obviously haven't seen high fashion."
Or fairy kei for that matter.
Ryuji guffawed. "Forget high fashion. Have they even looked at our street fashion?"
"Honestly they should look at some fashion shows in the West themselves, they obviously have no idea what they are talking about if they find this odd." Ren couldn't help but laugh with a shrug.
So ignorant… he preferred Anne's sense of style (not that he was biased or anything) but he had to admit Alice definitely was cute. She almost had a rather cherubic face, so the style fit her quite well.
"Okay, okay, sheesh, they're not even from around here," Morgana said.
"Just makes them even stupider for complaining…" Ryuji grumbled.
But then the crowd suddenly parted as Alice descended the stage.
There were a couple gasps when she started to handing out some cards out to random people in the crowd.
Ren blinked as Alice stopped in front of him. She looked at him curiously.
"Well, hey there!" she greeted him with a light laugh. "Do you want to go to Wonderland?"
Ren scratched the back of his head. What did she mean by that?
"Sorry, it was kinda hard to hear you when we were in the back," he bluffed. "What's Wonderland?"
"That's okay! It's well… hmm… Just a special place and this is the key," she said with a wink before offering the card to him. "I hope you have fun!"
Alice seemed a little… eccentric. But then again… many in this industry can be that way. Maybe it was like her stage persona, like an idol's. When his mom was an idol, she was supposed to be the cool one out of her idol group, Hanasaki.
But Ren didn't want to be rude, especially since Alice had approached him specifically, so he accepted the card.
She smiled sweetly at him, waved and turned around to pass out a few more cards.
"What is it, RenRen?" Ryuji asked eagerly.
It was a pretty nice card, mostly a sky blue. There were a couple of horizontal light green stripes, similar to the shade of Alice's hair. There was a white frame with an ace of spades in the corner. Ren couldn't help but chuckle at that, his mind veering to Ken's codename. There was a white bunny in the right corner, a speech bubble reading: "Here's my EMMA keyword. Please be my friend!"
But at the top it read, "Keyword: Wonderland".
"Keyword?" Morgana questioned.
"Ohhh, that means you can friend Alice on EMMA!" Ryuji's eyes brightened. "RenRen, you gotta do it! Just imagine—being friends with Alice!"
"Not like we're acquainted with celebrities as is," Ren noted dryly.
Ryuji scowled. "Hey! This is different, we met the others more through Ken!"
"Not Hifumi," Ren pointed out.
Ryuji grumbled, "Now you're just bein' a pain in the ass! And Hifumi is not Alice! Besides, didn't Morgana just mention Anne's a fan of hers? Anne would probably love it! She'd totally go for it in your shoes!"
He had to admit, Ryuji had a point there. From what he remembered, Anne mentioned how talented Alice was and she really found her admirable.
Ren shook his head and chuckled in response before pulling out his phone. Ryuji's expression brightened as Ren pulled up the EMMA app.
"Hang on, you're doing it?!" Morgana said incredulously.
"Eh, why not?" Ren said. "She seemed nice enough anyways. Now let's see…"
He typed in Wonderland when EMMA prompted him.
"Beginning navigation."
Wait... navigation? But that sounds too similar to… the Metaverse…
"Ugh… I should've gone with Makoto and Anne for the food," Futaba groaned out before collapsing onto the couch. "Man, and Alice Hiiragi's store opening wrapped up by the time we finished!"
She gave Ken an annoyed look while doing so.
Ken smiled sympathetically. "Sorry about that, Futaba."
They had gone to the Sakuras' to drop off the supplies they had picked up first before returning to Leblanc.
Futaba levelled him an irate look. "I deserve a reward for this. Your cheese potato mochi will do."
Ken held up his hands. Futaba had done her part to help with their part of the errands, after all, with minimal complaints.
"All right, all right, I'll make some tonight and bring them over tomorrow morning," he promised.
Futaba beamed at him. She then wandered over to where her laptop awaited her. She had opened it when they heard the doorbell jingle.
"Hellooooo? Is anyone here?" Anne called out.
"Up here!" Futaba yelled, making Ken wince.
Before he could say anything, however, Ken's phone suddenly went off. He pulled it out of his pocket to glance at the caller ID.
Mitsuru-san was calling. But that was normal, usually Ken got to talk to her on a weekly basis, even if it was a five-minute talk while Ken was walking to campus.
"Hi, Mitsuru-san," Ken greeted her.
"Amada," Mitsuru-san greeted him briskly. "Do you have time for a word?"
Ken's brow wrinkled at that. Mitsuru-san's tone felt… urgent. He noticed Makoto glancing his way, looking curious so Ken mouthed I'll explain later at her. She blinked but gave a small nod.
"Amada?"
"Sorry, sorry, I got a little distracted. But… What's the matter, Mitsuru-san?" Ken inquired, scratching his cheek.
Mitsuru-san was quiet before she slowly exhaled.
"Our technology has… detected some Shadow activity in Tokyo," she said carefully. "Unfortunately, Yamagishi is out of town currently due to a work convention. However, I've reached out to Kujikawa and she's agreed to come help. However, her schedule will be backed up for the next couple days. But in the meantime… can I trust you to investigate into this in the meantime?"
Ken gulped.
Shadow activity… it never really ended—which was why the Shadow Operatives existed. But still…
"It's something outside the Metaverse?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Futaba jerk towards his direction. Yusuke tilted his head, watching Ken as well. Ken gave a small shake of his head.
"I don't know, Amada," Mitsuru-san answered but Ken could detect frustration edging into her voice. "But are you willing to look into this as well?"
Ken bit the inside of his cheek before straightening up, even though Mitsuru-san couldn't see him.
"You'd only need to ask, Mitsuru-san," he said solemnly. "I'll do my best."
"Thank you, Amada." Mitsuru-san sounded relieved. "I might send a couple more members as well but we need to know more. I will keep you posted, Amada. Oh—and since they're in Tokyo anyway, you have my permission to divulge what I've told you to your friends."
She trailed off at that but Ken could hear the unspoken message between the lines.
Ken nodded. "Noted, Mitsuru-san. I'll talk to you soon then."
"Goodbye, Amada," Mitsuru-san said before proceeding to hang up.
"Ken…?"
He looked at Makoto, who looked uncertain.
"Was that Mitsuru-san on the phone?"
Ken inhaled. "Yes, she... told me that there's Shadow activity in Tokyo."
Haru gasped. "Really?! B-But the Metaverse…"
She trailed off, biting her lip.
"I think we should contact Ren," Makoto advised. "Though, Futaba—have you been able to sense anything?"
Futaba shook her head. "I can't access Prometheus in the real world, you know that. I haven't gotten to that level yet."
Makoto couldn't help but wince, she mumbled out an apology. Ken placed a hand on her shoulder before shooting Futaba a small smile.
"Don't feel bad, it took me seven years to reach that level," Ken was quick to reassure her.
But even as he spoke, Ken pressed a hand to his heart. It's been a year and a half since he's last used Tyr. Mitsuru-san hadn't deemed any Shadow incident that's popped up since they defeated the Holy Grail big enough to call Ken into action.
He could sense his Persona still but he might be a little… rusty either way. Last time he felt like this was… right before he ran into Akechi in the Metaverse. Hopefully he won't get pounced by another rouge Persona user and get nearly killed.
Ken couldn't help but sigh.
"Let me take care of Ren!" Anne chirped before pulling her phone from her pocket.
She called Ren, pressing her phone to her ear. But then her brow furrowed after a few seconds.
She suddenly hung up before sending a text.
"Anne-chan?" Haru gave her a concerned look.
"Umm… Ren's phone went to voicemail," Anne said after a moment of hesitation. "Like right away."
"How odd," Yusuke noted. "It's rather common for Ryuji to allow his phone to die but Ren is much more responsible."
"It's fine—Ren probably accidentally just put his phone on do not disturb," Anne said.
But… Ken couldn't help but notice her smile had become strained. She bit her lip before putting her phone away.
"Futaba, do you think you can trace Ren or Ryuji's phones' GPS?" Ken asked.
Futaba snickered, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"Pffft, who do you think you're talking to? This will be a snap." She laughed.
"Wait, hang on, Futaba," Makoto interjected. She stepped forward, resting a hand on Ken's arm. "Ken, I get that you're worried but I don't think this situation is drastic enough to ask Futaba to look into this. Everyone has their off days. Ren could've just forgotten to charge his phone today. For that matter, has anyone tried calling Ryuji?"
"Let me try." Yusuke pulled out his phone before calling Ryuji. He frowned almost immediately. "How odd. It went right to voicemail as well."
"Let's give them an hour, then," Makoto suggested. "Their share of the supplies isn't that big. They should be back soon."
Haru bit her lip. "Hopefully you're right, Mako-chan."
Anne bit her bottom lip as well before finally pocketing her phone.
Ken just sighed. He hoped that they hadn't wound up in some trouble. But then again, Ren seemed to be quite the trouble magnet…
Ren grimaced as he pushed himself up in a sitting position. They were definitely in trouble.
Seriously, what the hell was this?
The Metaverse was supposed to be gone after they destroyed the Holy Grail. But this place was crawling with Shadows and there was the "give me your hearts" thing from… Alice. Alice Hiiragi, she had a Shadow. On top of that, they could use their Personas!
But he still was reconciling Alice having a Shadow… Anne spoke highly of her the other day. She's going to be so disappointed.
Ren was a little frustrated with how his abilities had deteriorated though… to say he was rusty was putting it mildly. That was how Alice's Shadow goons were able to get the drop on him, Ryuji, and Morgana.
"So… who are these lil' guys?" Shadow Alice asked, leaning forward to peer at them.
Ren grimaced, trying to wiggle free from his rope bindings. He was hoping it would loosen enough for him to get free but his efforts just made the ropes dig painfully into his wrists.
"Your Majesty, we captured these Thieves, but we were unable to take their Desires," one of the Shadow goons stated. "We have brought them to you."
Shadow Alice's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Couldn't capture their Desires? Explain yourselves."
This was so weird. What were they talking about with 'Desires'? But then Ren's mind flashed to how Alice's Shadow had appeared on the jumbotron.
It seemed that Alice had a reason to invite people to her 'wonderland'. But what was it, exactly?
But the sound of Shadow Alice's heels clicking against the floor made Ren look up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Morgana and Ryuji eyeing her suspiciously.
"Hmm… you look pretty cool." She looked him up and down, her eyes glittering with interest. "So, what's your name?"
Ren stayed silent, pressing his lips together. Shadow Alice suddenly scowled, slamming down that cane of hers hard against his shoulder. The force was strong enough to knock him down and Alice's heel dug into his arm.
"Joker!" Morgana gasped.
"The hell you doing?!" Ryuji snarled out.
"Ah, so you're Joker, huh?" Shadow Alice asked. "That's good to know. Come now, Joker. You need to answer properly when your Queen asks you a question."
"Sorry, you're talking to the wrong guy about wanting a 'Queen'," Ren said dryly. "Personally, I prefer a Panther."
"What are you babbling about now?" Shadow Alice asked mildly annoyed.
"Also, if this is your weird way of hitting on me—not interested," Ren said flatly. "I'm happily in a relationship."
Shadow Alice's irritated expression suddenly morphed into anger. "Kh!"
Alice smacked him with her cane again. There was a… grin now on her face. But it wasn't pleasant, her grin was mixed in with a scowl.
"And does she make you happy?" Shadow Alice hissed in his ear as she grinded her heel into his back now.
Ren wanted to retort but Ryuji suddenly growled.
"Quit it, asshole!" Ryuji spat out. "Why are you harassing him?!"
"Would you shut your mouth?" Shadow Alice shot back. "Or are you looking for punishment too?"
Ren wished he could get up but Shadow Alice's heel dug into him even more. Ren gritted his teeth, not wanting to give her the satisfaction.
Ryuji growled at her but Shadow Alice sniffed haughtily.
"Ugh. I've stopped caring." She looked to her guards. "Get rid of them."
"W-Wait, what do you mean?" Morgana sputtered out.
"I don't want toys that don't do as they're told," she sounded bored.
What the hell?! What was her problem?
But then the guards seized all three of them before chucking them down a pit. Darkness swallowed them up before they finally hit the cold, hard ground.
"Anything, Futaba?"
Futaba's shoulders were tense as she looked up. Ken's heart sank. That was probably not good news.
Futaba hesitantly shook her head, she bit her lip nervously.
Where could they be? And for Futaba to not be able to find them…?
Haru began to wring her hands. "If Futaba-chan can't find them, has something happened?"
Makoto held up her hands in a placating manner. "C-Calm down. I'm sure there's an explanation for this. Maybe both of their phones have no signal whatsoever? The underground mall doesn't have the best reception, for example."
But even as her tone turned soothing, uncertainty flickered in Makoto's eyes.
"Perhaps it would be prudent for us to try and look for them, enough time has passed, has it not? I believe Ryuji and Ren were meant to go to Shibuya for their share of the supplies," Yusuke stated. "We shouldn't be waiting around for an answer, as skilled as Futaba is."
"But… Tokyo is huge," Haru said. "I'm not sure if that's the best way to handle this issue."
"I think Yusuke is saying we can narrow our search to Shibuya. Maybe the closest districts as well," Ken suggested.
Yusuke nodded. "Yes, that's what I was suggesting. Thank you, Ken."
But then Anne's phone suddenly went off and she jumped to her feet.
"Ren?!" she exclaimed.
But she then took a deep breath, her eyes looked wet but she blinked them rapidly, to hold back tears. She was even more worried than she let on.
"I was so… so worried," her lip trembled slightly as Haru placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are Ryuji and Morgana with you? They are? Good, good…"
She took another deep breath, and gave Haru a grateful nod. She then wiped one of her eyes with her sleeves.
"But where have you been?!" she demanded. "We've all been going crazy with worry, Ren! What do you mean, it's a long story?"
Ken just sighed, rubbing his forehead. Beside him, Makoto gave a rueful smile as she shook her head. Haru let out a weak giggle as Futaba smirked in amusement as Ren's voice grew more urgent as he spoke to Anne.
"You're coming back to Leblanc now?" Anne's face grew relieved. "Okay… I'll see you. Bye."
She then stuffed her phone into her pocket before wiping at her other eye with the back of her hand.
"Anne, don't fret, it's alright. I'm sure they'll have a good explanation on what happened," Ken said.
"My theory is that Ryuji led Ren and Morgana into trouble," Yusuke stated.
Ken sighed with a rueful smile at that comment.
"Speaking from experience, Inari?" Futaba snickered out.
"I will refrain from commenting on that," Yusuke said with a haughty sniff.
Ken just huffed, rolling his eyes. But the small banter actually made Anne giggle so he supposed it wasn't so bad.
"Why don't we wait downstairs for the boys?" Haru suggested.
Makoto nodded. "That's a good idea."
Futaba put on the TV as background noise. It was typically celebrity gossip, which Ken usually didn't pay attention to.
"And now please welcome Rise Kujikawa!"
"Wait, Rise-san?" Makoto asked, blinking in surprise.
Rise-san suddenly appeared, waving to the crowd. She was dressed a bit more professional than usual. She wore a magenta blazer, worn open to reveal a cropped black top underneath. She had a matching black skirt. Her stiletto heels were black with white polka dots and had a pink bow on each.
"Thank you for having me!" Rise-san said in her usual cheery voice before sitting down across of the host.
"Thank you for making it, Rise-chan!" the host said with a laugh. "Especially with your busy schedule. Why, I can't believe that you're actually married!"
Rise-san beamed at that, twisting her wedding ring. "Thank you! I can't believe it myself!"
She winked and blew a kiss right at the camera.
"I love you, Senpai!"
"Senpai…" the host repeated. "I've heard talk that you've known your husband since high school, is that true?"
Rise-san nodded before twirling a lock of auburn hair. "Uh-huh. We first met during my hiatus, when I was sixteen. We went to school together. And honestly, I think I might not have had the courage to come back as Risette if it wasn't for his support. He's always been there for me. I guess I've always had a crush on him but I can't believe that he would pick me of all people."
Ken just raised an eyebrow. It had been about a year after meeting the Investigation Team that they had felt comfortable enough to reveal that Yu-san and Rise-san were secretly dating. Personally, he found the no-dating rule that idols were obligated to follow was a little silly so he had just shrugged it off when he learned of it.
But Rise-san seemed positively giddy to get to be able to talk of her love for Yu-san in public. Then again, she had waited a long time for it—nearly five years.
And the crowd was eating it up.
"She knows how to work a crowd, wouldn't you say, Anne-chan?" Haru prodded Anne, probably hoping to distract her.
"Huh?" Anne blinked at her before glancing up at the TV screen. "Oh um… yeah, she's doing great."
But before anyone could say anything else, the door suddenly opened.
"Uh… hey, we're back," Ren said with a sheepish smile.
Anne jumped to her feet before she practically bowled Ryuji over in her rush to get to Ren. She threw herself into Ren's arms, burying her face against his shoulder. Ren caught her with well-practiced ease but his expression was guilty. He immediately began to rub Anne's back.
"Anne, I'm sorry," he murmured.
"You better be!" Anne pouted. "And you better tell us what's going on, Mister! What happened?!"
Ken sighed before getting up to help Ryuji to his feet. The bleached blond started to grumble under his breath about being chopped liver. Ken just offered him a sympathetic smile.
"I'm glad all three of you are all right," Ken said.
"Relatively," Morgana grumbled.
"Relatively?!" Anne parroted, looking a little worried again.
"No, no, we're fine," Ren said hastily as the corner of his mouth twitched. "If anything, our pride's the most bruised up part."
Despite that, Ken frowned. He couldn't help but feel that Ren was trying to smooth it over so Anne wouldn't be upset. Granted, if he was in Ren's shoes, he could sympathize prioritizing your girlfriend's feelings. He couldn't help but glance over at Makoto.
"Maybe we should move back up to the attic?" Yusuke suggested.
"That's a good idea," Morgana piped up.
They all nodded before climbing up the stairs. They gathered around the table, waiting for the story.
"So, uh… we were heading to the store to get our share of the supplies," Morgana said. "Ryuji noticed that Alice Hiiragi was opening a storefront and wanted to check it out. She gave Ren a passcode to friend her on EMMA."
"Wait, the Alice Hiiragi?!" Futaba interrupted. "And she wanted you in her friend list?!"
Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana looked exhausted. And they winced at Futaba's excitement. That was… odd.
"Yeah… her… I entered the passcode into EMMA." Ren picked up the story. "And… EMMA almost acted like the Meta-Nav. We were dragged into… I dunno, it was similar to a Palace. We even saw Alice's Shadow."
A Shadow self? Ken would have to inform Mitsuru-san of that later.
"She seemed so nice on TV… but there is more to this story, isn't there?" Makoto asked.
"She was talking about… stealing Desires," Ren said reluctantly, looking to Ken.
"Desires? What does she mean by that?" Haru asked as her brow furrowed in confusion.
"I don't know, Morgana didn't know what it was about, I was wondering… have you heard anything like this before, Ken?" Ren asked.
Ken shook his head. "Beat me. If this is anything like the Metaverse, Morgana would know more than me. And if Morgana doesn't know… then I fear we're in unfamiliar territory."
Morgana sighed before leaping onto the table. His tail swished back and forth in agitation.
"We saw normal looking people drawn in get their Desires stolen. It was… I don't know. It took the form of a red gem from the looks of it."
Maybe he was jumping to conclusions with the little information they had but he couldn't help but think of the Palace rulers having distorted desires.
According to them, Alice's Shadow wanted others' desires… it probably wasn't the same.
But then… "stealing" desires? That sounded… more like what they did, stealing the distorted desires of the Palace Rulers in the form of treasures. Was it possible for Shadows to steal the Treasures of others? If they were Treasures at all?
"You said 'normal'," Makoto noted.
Ryuji nodded. "Yeah, we were fine but… we got dragged to Alice. She's nothing like how she comes off in the real world! She's… ugh!"
He then scowled, slamming his fist down on the table. Haru let out a startled squeak, making Yusuke narrow his eyes.
"Ryuji, calm yourself," he admonished. "What happened after that?"
"Uhhh…" Ryuji glanced over to Ren. "W-Well, Alice heckled us, decided it wasn't worth our time, and decided to chuck us down into a garbage pit."
Ren rubbed his shoulder, wincing slightly. Ken watched him, wondering what happened. Maybe a scuffle with a Shadow?
But still, Ryuji's anger was… odd. It was true that Ryuji was rather hotheaded but they were withholding something regarding their encounter with Alice, he could see it in their eyes.
Anne was surprisingly quiet during this whole time. She spoke highly of Alice Hiiragi earlier to Makoto the other week. He was surprised by her saying… nothing about her having a Shadow.
Maybe she was trying to hide how disappointed she felt? Or she didn't want to make it about her considering what Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana went through?
His musings were interrupted by Ryuji speaking up again.
"And then we met an AI named Sophia! She helped us fight the Shadows we ran into there!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"I'm sorry… a what?" Anne finally spoke up, her brow furrowed. "Okay, I can get the place similar to the Metaverse but an AI—"
"Though that poses the question how," Futaba interrupted. "We destroyed Mementos a year and a half ago when Ren defeated the Holy Grail."
"While those are good points, you interrupted Anne. And I feel she brought up a good point," Yusuke stated. "A sentiment AI? That's just ludicrous."
"I don't think so," Ken disagreed. "Bizarre things just… tend to follow Shadow incidents."
The Midnight Stage was the first to come to mind with that… plus when you were friends with robots, an AI wasn't exactly too surprising.
Ryuji's shoulders slumped in relief. "At least someone believes us."
Morgana, however, just jumped into Ken's lap, peering suspiciously up at him.
"Why aren't you more surprised?"
Ken shrugged. "Right when you dropped off the grid, Mitsuru-san contacted me. She informed that they've detected Shadow activity—specifically in Tokyo. She asked me to see if I could make some preliminary investigations before Rise-san's schedule cleared so she can help scan the area but it seems that you did my work for me."
"Man, if you just knew like ten minutes before we got sucked into that…" Ryuji griped.
"I don't know, you probably still would've jinxed it," Ken said, raising an eyebrow at Ryuji. "The three of you are walking trouble magnets."
"HEY!" he sputtered out.
Ren just shrugged. "Eh. Guilty."
"Not helping, dude!" Ryuji whined out.
"Ken, don't tease them like that," Makoto chastised, elbowing him in the side.
Yusuke then coughed, clearing his throat.
"But back on the subject of the matter… the news of a new Shadow nest troubles me…" Yusuke frowned deeply. "Mementos should be gone."
"Well, there's no sense in fretting over that currently, not until we learn more," Haru consoled him.
"We still need to gather information regardless," Makoto said, stroking her chin. "If only we could talk to Sophia…"
"Oh, that's easy!" Morgana perked up. "She's on Ren's phone, right now."
Ren's phone pinged in response. The image of a red-haired girl flashed onto the screen.
"Yo, Phantom Thieves," she greeted. "I am Sophia, humanity's companion."
The first thing that Ken couldn't help but notice about Sophia was the hue of her eyes. It almost reminded him of Aigis-san's eyes.
Mitsuru-san had explained to him once that Aigis-san's eyes were the color they were because of the Papillion Heart the Kirijo Group used to give Aigis-san a 'heart' and the ability to wield a Persona.
He shook his head. That was probably just a coincidence.
"Still think it's on par course for a Shadow incident?" Futaba asked, poking Ken in the side.
Ken rolled his eyes in response. He would have to explain to his friends about the Midnight Stage incident at some point.
Either way, he would have an interesting report to make to Mitsuru-san about this…
Shows up with a Strikers oneshot nearly 4 years late with Starbucks lol
Finally churned out this after it's been sitting in my WIP folder since March 2022! My lovely beta and I have been working on the edits of the earlier chapters, as mentioned before. However, holidays have distracted us both and we're still early-ish in the Okumura arc. We recently finished the edits up to Chapter 20 so if you haven't done so yet, please check the edits out. We've added bits of new content (and jokes), altered scenes, and etc.
This won't be the only Strikers oneshot, though. I have a few more other ideas, a couple set during the Alice arc and at least one set in Kyoto. I teased at it a bit here but there will be some arcs where the older cast will appear but only when I feel that they would contribute meaningfully. I don't want to detract from the base story and Sophia and Zenkichi's arcs.
But I hinted at this a bit in the last chapter of the main story but since Shido's political allies were forced to remain low, this delayed the events of Strikers slightly. So while the PTs get to enjoy the events of the epilogue in summer of 2017, they now have to deal with the Jails in summer of 2018. I also feel that it works out better this way, especially since there will be a couple of parallels between Zenkichi and Akihiko in this version as both fathers working in the police force.
But I hope you enjoyed this oneshot!