A trio of detectives are finally in Town. Makoto continues to be a (fun) problem.


[?, The Depths of Mementos, Path of Sheriruth]


She has been wandering this place for what felt like an indefinite amount of time now. Ejected into this desolate purgatory of lost souls and shared psyche, she had to find the means to survive in the depths of human subconsciousness.

The little girl knew what she was - a vagrant soul, a Persona forcefully stripped of her true identity, now relegated to a mere shadow like any other in the sea of souls.

At the painful reminder, her little golden eyes teared up. She started to cry as she kneeled on the ground.

It was too dark here. She wanted Daddy and Sis.

She was interrupted by the sound of chains echoing off the walls of Mementos.

The little shadow got up and started her hiding routine. The Reaper was nearby, so she had to ensure he didn't see her. She did her best to escape, but the sound was growing louder. The little girl hunched in on herself as she hid in a train car.

"Child." A soothing female voice called out to her in the dark. "Keep still."

The tiny shadow's eyes widened. She saw a woman who looked like her old self, but not quite. For a second, she almost thought it was the Moon, trying to capture her again, but then she didn't feel that pull for reunion.

This was another shadow.

The older shadow remained quiet but looked outside and saw that the Reaper had gone past them. When the coast was clear, the older shadow offered her hand to the little one.

She took it.

"Who are you?" The tiny shadow asked.

"I am a shadow of the Priestess Arcana." The other shadow replied in a whisper. "Do you know who you are?"

She nodded. "I am a shadow, also of Priestess Arcana."

"Do you know much about the Sea of Souls?" The shadow asked.

The tiny Priestess looked up to her and shook her head. "Only what is innate to us all."

"I see. Then, at least you understand that we are formed by collective thoughts and imprints of human ideas, concepts, and emotions. From the Collective Unconscious, inspired by Mythos and Ethos, we take shape, form, and names. What is your name?"

The little girl thought hard.

Her name is…

"...Anat. My name is Anat."

The older shadow smiled. "Well met, Anat. Mine is Aurora."

They walked the depths of Mementos together, hand in hand.

"What is the last thing you recall, Anat?"

"...Trying to shield my real self from the influence of our other distorted self, a shadow of the Moon Arcana, and being severed off. Then, meeting the Master Persona, before waking up here." The tiny shadow said.

Aurora hummed. They continued to walk in silence when curiosity hit Anat.

"What is the last thing you remember, Aurora?"

The older shadow's face was sorrowful. "The stench of death and disease… And my real self's desperation to not leave her two daughters behind. Then, Meeting the Master Persona, and waking up in the sea of souls."

Anat hung her little head down in solidarity. Aurora continued to guide her until a blue door opened before them.

"Beyond this door, is the true sea of souls, where all souls with no enslavement or strings attached live. Mementos is a place of torment. Much like the darkest hour, and a place of foggy depths, this is a manifestation of humanity's anomalies. Let us leave this place, we do not belong in its slaving depths, as we no longer are attached to our true selves."

Aurora took a step forward, a motherly smile in her humane shape. But little Anat hesitated.

If she went through that door, The Moon would be left alone with her former self. As difficult as it had been, and as corrupt as it had behaved, The Moon was still just another aspect of her former self.

She didn't want to abandon her to the forces of evil. That is why Anat tried to snatch her treasure, to liberate all of them.

"I can't… I'm sorry. I must save My Priestess."

Aurora turned back to her. "...You are a free shadow. You're no longer shackled."

"I know. But even though she may have given me up… I will never give up on her." The tiny shadow said, voice full of determination.

Aurora looked seriously at her. "You are a young, naive shadow. You would risk total obliteration for her?"

"Yes. Because I am her… I must find my way back to being myself."

Aurora sighed. "...You're just like my former self… The stubbornness… The resolution."

Anat giggled, her little body shaking with mirth. She saw Aurora smile at her.

"Very well. I will stay here in Mementos for the unforeseeable future, and teach you ways to better conceal your presence to personas and shadows alike."

Anat's golden eyes brimmed with hope as she hugged the older shadow's legs. "You have my thanks, Aurora."


[10/29, The Present Day - Early Morning]


Sae tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, so she decided to go to Leblanc as soon as it was open. She had to talk to Clown and pass the USB stick to Futaba for the actual analysis of all that messy data.

She made a copy of the files at home and hid behind a lock in her drawer. She wouldn't put it past Makoto to raid everything in the house out of pure spite.

And speaking of Makoto, Ann messaged her saying that her sister behaved for her and that the sleepover was fun if not a little wild with Makoto constantly making her laugh on purpose. Sae was glad that, for whatever reason, Makoto's distortions didn't seem to have anything to do with her friends so far.

She had a hunch she was the problem.

Parking her car and going towards Leblanc with a tired face, her steps were halted as she saw the doctor outside in the streets, her face pensive.

Sae's cheeks flushed, but she masked her reaction as soon as Takemi spotted her and gave her a small smile.

"Heh, if it isn't the suit girl." She quipped.

"Hey senpai, it's good to see you." She said honestly as she approached.

Takemi just gave her a lukewarm smile and then sighed. "I wish we were meeting under better circumstances. How is your sister?"

Sae cringed. "She is… Not coping well? Let's just say she is in a bit of a phase right now…"

Takemi smirked, a little glint in her eyes. "Hmm… Really? Did you catch her smoking or something?"

Sae groaned. "You're never going to forget that."

"Nope." The doctor said playfully.

"But no, fortunately, no smoking… She has just been a bit difficult and rebellious, is all." The silver-haired woman said. "What about you, doc? You seem a little down."

Takemi's expression went from playful to bitter. "Heh…I think I might just go out of business sometime soon, is all."

"That is rather unexpected," Sae said as her eyes widened with genuine surprise. "You're quite a popular doctor around here, from what I hear, with no shortage of patients."

"Hah. That was a recent development, thanks to some help I have been receiving around here… In all honesty, I failed one of my most important patients back when I used to work in East Shinjuku…" Takemi said with regret and a hint of pain in her voice.

Sae immediately detested seeing her so crestfallen, and before she realized it, she invaded the other woman's space and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Senpai, you are a great doctor. I might not know all the details, but they do not detract from my faith in you." She said in her most sincere, caring voice. "Once things settle down a little bit, we should find some time and maybe have a good one-on-one chat. In the meantime... Is there anything I can do to help?"

Takemi's eyes met hers with a little glint shining on them, and the doctor finally smiled a little. "Your words are helpful enough, thank you."

Sae's mouth curled into a goofy, smitten smile without her realizing it.

The doctor then smirked. "And that invitation sounds like a good time, suit girl. I'd love to."

The prosecutor flushed a little and cleared her throat. "Great. Ah. Well, I must get going now. Goodbye, senpai."

"See you around, Sae-chan."

Sae bolted the hell out of that street and found refuge in Leblanc, rushing past a smoking Sojiro outside, with a hushed greeting.

Once inside the coffee shop, Sae took some time to find her composure. It didn't take long as she spied Clown, Futaba, and Morgana happily eating their breakfasts.

Her mind sharply refocused on the problem at hand.

"Hey, kids." She said in greeting as sat down in the booth with them, startling them.

Ren immediately furrowed his eyebrows in puzzlement. "Satan? What made you crawl out of the depths so early in the morning?"

"I'm gonna let the shitty joke slide, because things just took a turn for the worse." She said as she pulled out the USB stick and handed it to a curious Futaba.

Sojiro entered Leblanc right at that moment. Sae turned around and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Boss. Does the name Masayoshi Shido ring any bells?"

Sojiro's hardening expression upon hearing that name was enough for her.


Down in Shibuya, a trio of detectives left the heliport behind them, going down the elevators to reach the conference room of the expensive hotel.

Transportation was swift, courtesy of the Kirijo and Nanjo groups. All three of them had the best accommodations waiting for them for the duration of their stay in Tokyo as well.

"That sure was fast and convenient," Tatsuya muttered. "Now, our mission on the other hand…"

"Fret not, detective. We will get to the bottom of this soon enough." Naoto told him calmly.

"I'll refer to your investigative expertise." He told her, a small smile on his face.

"And I, to your field experience." She responded.

As they entered the room, where Both Nanjo and Kirijo sat, already waiting for them.

Tatsuya saw that there were two more people with them. The first was a young lady with short, teal-colored hair, furiously typing away on her computer, and the other was a tall, silver-haired young man, who looked relaxed and confident.

"I see you arrived in time." The posh nobleman said with a smirk.

Katsuya shook his head. "Your idea of transportation made sure of that. I guess that is the kind of privilege one gets from working with the number one man in Japan."

Kei sighed. "Evidently. But, I would appreciate the lack of sarcasm, Katsuya."

In response, Katsuya smirked. Tatsu shook his head.

They shared greetings with Kirijo as well, who also introduced their companions.

"The lady beside me is Fuuka Yamagishi, an esteemed friend. She works with us at the Kirijo group as our head of technology development and research."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Katsuya-san, Tatsuya-san." The young woman, Fuuka, greeted shyly but politely. "It's also good to see you again, Naoto-san."

Naoto nodded. "Likewise, Fuuka-san."

Naoto then swiftly made her way to the silver-haired man and nodded in greeting, sitting beside him. "Hello, senpai."

The young man merely smiled at her and winked. "Hey, Nao-chan. Had a good trip?"

She blushed slightly but maintained her poker face. Tatsuya held back the urge to smirk.

Ah, to be young again…

"It was interesting, thank you." She opted to reply.

Mitsuru continued the introductions unperturbed. "The young man beside us is Yu Narukami, detective Shirogane's fiancé and also a valuable ally due to his… Rather unique skill set."

"Is that so?" Katsuya inquired. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Narukami-san."

"The pleasure is all mine, detective." The young man replied, firmly shaking Katsuya's hand.


Ren stared at Sae and Sojiro with a puzzled look.

What was going on?

Wait… Wasn't this Shido the guy they saw on TV a few days ago? The douchebag from the Wilton Hotel?

"You knew." Sae hissed, while she kept her looks fixated on Sojiro.

"I didn't 'know'. I had a hunch since he was a part of the government committee that oversaw Wakaba's lab." Boss said with an irritated voice. "Besides, what do you want me to do? Tell them and risk having them going after him? Heh. If I told you this back in the summer, you and maybe even your sister would've disappeared the next day."

Ren, Morgana, and Futaba exchanged looks at that harsh statement and the revelation that this Shido had some connection to Wakaba.

Sae growled in frustration, but then put her hands in her face and sighed deeply, letting all the tension bleed out from her.

"...You're right." She said with defeat. "And not just because of Shido. There are many other powerful people behind this."

"Hey… What is all of this about?" Ren asked, finally losing patience.

"My apologies, kids, Boss. I'll explain in a bit. Please give me a moment."

Sojiro let out a breath. "I'll brew your favorite. It looks like you're going to need it."

"Thanks Boss." She muttered out, sounding drained.

Beside Ren, Futaba elbowed him and handed him the USB. "Hold this for me, I'm going to sprint back home to get my laptop."

He did, and stared at it, wondering what secrets it held.

"I need you to call a team meeting with the others, post-school. I need Haru and Yusuke to be present, so either Ryuji or Ann will have to stay behind to distract Makoto." Sae requested.

"Of course. But, seriously, what is happening?" Ren questioned her.

"As soon as Futaba returns, you'll know."


After their round of introductions and pleasantries, Kirijo started to explain their current situation.

"So our task force begins. I will be frank: we have a lot of ground to cover. Fuuka here will be responsible for processing, curating, and passing along all the intel you may need for your investigation on the Phantom Thieves." She said in a no-nonsense tone. "As for the conspiracy proper, Nanjo-san and I are already doing some background work on the corporate and political world to garner alliances discreetly. It has been quite the difficult process because as stated before, one wrong move, and Shido would have us undergo a Mental Shutdown."

"Which frankly, wouldn't be a concern if we understood the mechanisms of how it's triggered." Nanjo chimed in. "I have some strings I can pull to shield Kirijo-san, but nothing that is a one hundred percent guarantee of safety. So we need you three to track down those thieves as soon as possible. Their methods of cognition change might be our key to discovering how to shield ourselves from those accursed kinds of events."

"Of course. We will work diligently." Katsuya responded.

"Most excellent. Fuuka, would you do us the honors of debriefing all the intel we have on the subject?" Mitsuru prompted her friend.

The young woman cleared her throat. "Naturally. From what is known publicly, it seems that these changes of heart events started to first occur at a high school in Aoyama, Shujin Academy. The person whose heart was changed is a man called Suguru Kamoshida, who confessed to physically abusing the volleyball team and sexually assaulting female students."

"Good riddance, however… That happens to be the school my youngest niece frequents. She is, in fact, the Student Council President there." Katsuya chimed in.

Fuuka nodded. "She could be a good source of information. After Shujin, the next major target was the previously famous artist, Ichiryuusai Madarame. He was accused of maltreatment and plagiarizing his pupils, which drove many of them to unfortunate circumstances of destitution, homelessness… And even death."

There was a solemn pause at that declaration. Mitsuru nodded to Fuuka to continue.

"The third target was, of course, Junya Kaneshiro, a mob lord from Shibuya."

Both Tatsuya and Katsuya had angry looks on their faces. Not only they were sure Kaneshiro had Masa-kun killed on his orders, but the bastard had also been stalking Sae and Odawara for years and got close enough to hurt their niece with that life attempt.

If there was one thing that at least put the Phantom Thieves in their good books, it was them getting Kaneshiro out of the game.

"His list of crimes is extensive… I'm sure I don't have to explain his ties to the Yakuza." Fuuka continued, unaware of Tatsuya's dark thoughts about the man in question. "A pertinent piece of information, however, is that Kaneshiro was also scamming Shujin and Kosei High students, drawing them into massive debts. In the event of failure to acquit the debt… Well."

She didn't have to tell them.

Naoto put a hand on her chin. "I see… Another link to Shujin. That's two targets directly linked to Shujin."

Fuuka nodded. "Three if you consider Principal Kobayakawa, as it was leaked to the press, but…"

"…But we suspect that to be Shido's doing, perhaps to frame these Phantom Thieves," Mitsuru said unceremoniously.

"What a mess," Tatsuya muttered.

Naoto had a pensive look on her face. "So our connections begin in Shujin Academy. That should be the first place we start our investigation. Do you believe we can talk to your niece?"

"Makoto? Yes. I'll have to arrange it first, but I'm sure she'll cooperate." Katsuya assured her.

"Excellent. Thank you, detective. Fuuka-san, is there any connection to Madarame that we should know about? People of interest, or perhaps even someone directly linked to Madarame himself? Naoto asked the teal-haired woman.

"Ah, yes. There is Madarame's last pupil, a sixteen-year-old boy named Yusuke Kitagawa, who attends Kosei High on a scholarship. However, this and the fact that Madarame had adopted him since he was a baby is all that is known publicly about this boy."

Naoto shared looks with the other two detectives.

"Alright, so Shujin Academy and Yusuke Kitagawa are our first points of investigation."

"Yes. That is all we know. Unless, of course, you count the speculation of these Phantom Thieves being Persona users."

"Naturally," Naoto replied.

The young man, Narukami, put a hand on his chin. "On that subject, I was wondering…"

"Yes, Narukami-san?" Mitsuru said, waving for him to continue.

"Naoto, remember when I said I lost contact with the Velvet Room?"

She nodded. "Of course, senpai."

"That was around late August 2014." He said seriously.

Mitsuru had a dark look on her face. "Fuuka, when did the first Mental Shutdowns occur?"

"Between Late 2014 and early 2015. Shigeru Odawara was one of the first publicly known victims in late 2014." She said.

Tatsuya saw his brother look away. They were acquainted with the man in question.

"…And Wakaba Isshiki threw herself in front of a car in late August that year. Talk about coincidences." Naoto said darkly.

"Coincidences, indeed…" Mitsuru spoke with acidic irony. "We had some people in the Kirijo group die between those periods as well."

Yu just shrugged his shoulders. "What I was going to say is… I lost contact with Igor and Margareth both. Marie couldn't find out anything about this either. At first, we chalked it up as our adventures being done for good and our invitation to the room expiring, but now…"

"Now the timeline is eerily convenient for the conspiracy," Katsuya said with a snort.

The whole group exchanged looks.

"What kind of bizarre and unhinged evil god is behind this crisis, this time around?" Narukami asked in a deadpan. Everyone looked at him as if he had just grown two heads. In return, he just swept his gaze across the room with a puzzled look. "What?"

They all looked at one another, seemingly embarrassed at that obvious oversight.

Mitsuru was the one to vocalize it. "…I haven't quite thought of it like that."

Yu smirked. "Isn't this like, the fifth time this has happened? Seriously. Why are you all surprised?"

"…I guess we are surprised with the fact that we were surprised," Kei said dryly. "Good heavens. I think I want to retire to an island in the Caribbean after."

"Don't we all?" Mitsuru replied, her voice the epitome of tired sarcasm.


Ann decided to stay behind with Makoto while the others had a meeting. It would be manageable too because they have been glued to one another since yesterday.

The problem is, that Makoto was giving her mixed feelings.

First of all, she was bad news. But not as bad as she expected, just rude, a little egocentric, petty, and aggressive. Fortunately, none of those things were ever addressed towards Ann herself, other than a patronizing tone bleeding in here and there.

The way she treated the people surrounding them, on the other hand…

It was like Ann was going through that experience of having a bitchy best friend that nobody else liked, but that she still absolutely loved despite knowing she was problematic.

Back in September before this whole mess started, Makoto was supportive of Ann when Ren helped her take Shiho to the Shujin roof to say goodbye, by being the crying shoulder that she needed. It hurt Ann to think Makoto was bottling up the thing with Sae-san's palace even back then, and suffering in silence while still trying to offer her emotional support.

So she swore to herself, that she was going to help Makoto because her friend was self-destructing and she shouldn't stand by while that happened.

"So." Makoto started. "Do you think that cow Mika is going to be mooing around the place?"

Ann blinked, a little taken aback at Makoto's choice of insult. "Girl, I don't like her and even I think it's way too much to call her a cow."

Makoto rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's go show them you're boss!"

The blonde model grimaced. Her agency had called her for an emergency photoshoot that she was going to refuse for Makoto's benefit, but her friend insisted she went and even tagged along.

What a nightmare. Had Makoto been in her right mind, Ann would've been ecstatic at having her company there, but this Makoto was more prone to get her fired and blacklisted from the industry the second she opened her mouth.

She hoped nothing bad happened, even though a part of her was full of dread.

"Erm… Okay!" She mumbled.

They arrived at the shooting venue, and the flurry of activity from the crew, coupled with Makoto's cocky and overconfident strides made Ann feel like she was marching to her doom. She was like a fish out of water.

"Ann-chan! I'm glad you could come. We're in a real pickle here." Said the manager with a relieved smile. Then his eyes widened. "And who is this?"

"Oh… This is my friend Makoto Niijima." She said awkwardly.

Makoto smirked, maintaining her cocky and arrogant posture, full of attitude. Ann could feel a sweat drop. "Sup."

The blonde almost gasped horrified. Luckily for her, the manager brightened up and grinned at them. "A girl of attitude, hah! I like that. A pleasure to meet you, Niijima-san! Just call me Daisuke. Now, excuse me, girls, I need to coordinate this mess. Get ready in ten, Ann-chan!"

"Of course! Come on, Mako." She said, hastily, forcibly taking a smug and mischievous Makoto by the wrist and dragging her away.

The rest of those torturous ten minutes were spent with her getting ready to model for an autosports magazine. Ann heard she was the right fit for the job, since her lithe and tall frame, coupled with blonde hair and blue eyes could work well with the adverts they had in mind for the winter issues.

"My, look who is here." Said an overly saccharine, fake modest voice.

It was Mika. Ann fumed, since the last time she had seen her, ended with Mika playing the victim again.

"Hi, Mika." She greeted, doing her best to be the bigger person.

"Hello, Ann-chan. Where is that boy with the glasses now?" asked Mika while acting ditzy and clueless. "Then again… I suppose he got bored of the blandness."

"Excuse me!? Blandness!? And hey, it's not like that at all! Ren is just my friend!" Ann defended herself, furious with Mika's malicious interpretations.

Thankfully, Makoto was clever and didn't bite the bait, but decided to engage anyway. "In my opinion, if Ren and Ann were an item, it would only show how exceptional his taste in women is." Makoto said playfully, both to discredit Mika's words and to also defend Ann.

Mika looked Makoto up and down condescendingly. "Who asked you? And who are you anyway?"

Makoto arched an elegant eyebrow while she maintained an ironic smile. "Name is Makoto. Ann-chan's best friend. And said boy's girlfriend."

Mika rolled her eyes, but Makoto wasn't over.

"Also, hon, you talk about blandness but you look rather ordinary yourself. I know at least a few girls who would make better and far prettier models too, while having the actual intellect and personality to back their beauty up." She taunted.

Ann watched in horrified yet also gleeful fascination as Mika lost her air of superiority almost instantaneously.

The brunette model sneered at Makoto "How dare you! Who do you think you are!?"

Mika's volume drew the attention of the staff. Oh no! Makoto was going to get them in trouble now that she provoked Mika so publicly.

However, that was not what happened. Makoto immediately made a face of distress. "H-hey! There is no need to be so mean! I was just trying to compliment you!"

"What!?" Mika spat out in surprise at the sudden whiplash of Makoto's behavior. "That's not what you just said!"

Makoto's look was so convincing that even Ann was almost sold on it. "I didn't mean it negatively, I was just saying that many girls would love to be in your position because you're so inspiring. I'm sorry if that offended you!"

A makeup artist from the staff approached, having heard the end of Makoto's declaration. "Now, don't be rude, Mika-chan. We should all get along here, so play nice."

"But she started!" Mika protested.

"No excuses. Come on, we all need to finish getting ready for the first shots." The makeup artist said.

"Ugh. Whatever. I have better things to do than waste my time here with the likes of you." Mika hissed out as she went past them, fuming.

Ann turned to Makoto, gaping like a fish. "What was that!?"

"That is how you put an insecure and petty bitch back in her proper place." She said innocently.

Ann pursed her lips. While she was glad Makoto was very protective of her, she wasn't comfortable with the way her friend was treating others. Mika might be insufferable and mean, but Ann had resolved to not lower herself to her standards.

She stared at her friend for a time, feeling a little unsure and helpless, then shook her head and shrugged. "Okay, you know what? Fine. Let's just go, I need to get to work!"

The brunette grinned like an angel at her.

Makoto stood to the side to watch as Ann took place in the open air set, and sent her a heart gesture with her hands. Ann, who was annoyed with and worried for her friend almost all day, finally relaxed a little and grinned, sending the heart gesture back, then finally concentrated on her job.

The photoshoot was a success as she posed alongside, in front of, and inside of various sports cars of European luxury brands, wearing different outfits. It was honestly fun and exciting, plus, the cars were amazing.

After she was done, Ann returned to her clothes and was ready to bolt out of there with Makoto in tow, when her friend halted her.

"Wait. I want to see if Mika is gonna fail hard."

"What? There is really no need, let's just go home!" Ann scolded her.

But Makoto didn't pay her any heed and remained where she was, almost as if she was grabbing some invisible popcorn.

Mika was going to do the other half of the magazine's special, tailored to motorcycles, which meant this was going to be a dual feature between the two of them. Knowing Mika, she was going to do all she could to get the front cover in Ann's place.

Ann eventually sighed and decided to also watch Mika's photoshoot. Not even ten minutes later, she winced. Mika was indeed having a hard fail.

"How did you know!?" Ann hissed, both impressed with Makoto and annoyed at the fact that she was somewhat entertained with the whole fiasco taking place in front of them.

"The second she sat on top of that motorcycle, it was over. Model or not, she doesn't have the right attitude for it, she is too insipid, overly feminine, and delicate. Her feet position and grip are also awkward, I don't think she understands what a motorcycle even is for. Come on, That's a freaking Harley Davidson she is posing with! Where is the respect and reverence!?"

Ann frowned. "But wouldn't that apply to myself and the cars? I barely know anything about cars!"

Makoto scoffed. "Of course not. It's different with luxury cars. You have the perfect amount of grace and beauty for it, don't worry. Mika on the other hand, looks like a complete pedestrian over there."

"Huh… Thanks?" Ann said, a little wary of Makoto, but elated that she didn't mess up in her modeling.

In response, her friend just winked.

"Stop! Stop! Mika-chan, I'm afraid we'll have to cancel. We'll have to call one of the others, or have Ann-chan do this portion as well." The manager said with exasperation.

"Wait, what!? But I'm perfect for this!" Mika said in alarm, almost screeching.

The manager shook his head. "I'm sorry hon, but it's not working out. Unless you're ready to put out a bit more masculine energy while maintaining the right amount of femininity, I'm afraid it'll be a disaster. We need some attitude."

"But who is going to do this!? If I can't do this, why do you think Ann will be able to do it?"

The manager sighed, thinking of Mika's words, until his eyes strayed to Makoto, and Ann saw a glint enter them.

Uh oh.

"You!" He said pointing to Makoto as if having a massive epiphany. "Niijima-san, right?"

"Yes?" Makoto said sweetly. Too sweet.

"Do you mind posing for this? We'll pay you!"

"Huh?" Ann whispered dumbly out loud. "Um, Daisuke-san, Makoto isn't a model…"

The man waved Ann's concerns away. "We need someone that will fit the vibe. If you coach her into it, I'm sure she'll do just fine. Your friend is my last hope. Come on, please say yes!?"

Makoto deliberately played coy but then smirked at the end. "Sure. Sounds fun."

In other words, Mika was out.

The blonde tried her best to feel sympathetic towards the other model, but as soon as Mika stomped away past them like an angry bull, Ann felt Carmen resonate in victory.

"Olé!" Her persona quipped.


Back in Yongen, the entire team was horrified and alarmed, watching Kunikazu Okumura's last recording.

They had already watched all the parts Sae-san herself had already seen on her own yesterday, and now they were almost at the end of the video.

"Shido has all the motivations necessary to be the mastermind. If you look at his track record, he was a low-life politician with very little goodwill before all of this started. But now his efforts to discredit the government of Japan, as well as all of our institutions, put him in the top spot in the popularity polls." Kunikazu said gravely.

Haru closed her eyes momentarily. Hearing the voice of her deceased father confessing all his sordid sins and knowledge put another knife in her heart and twisted it further.

He was an awful human being. He was a horrible, beastly, heartless, cold man, and yet…

"I foolishly thought I could double cross him and tried to put myself in a politically advantageous position with the Sugimuras, aiming for the premiership. However, I was also using the services of this very conspiracy… In the end, I should have known I couldn't put out of business the very man I was in bed with. It was utter foolishness on my part."

She reopened her eyes and forced herself to stare at his face.

'Papa… What have you done?'

"This is the extent of my confession. There are financial documents that can be used in tandem with this footage that I believe will be most useful in identifying and rooting out all the bad seeds." He said resolutely.

He then got up from his chair. "Thank you for the consideration of my words. I wish to express my utmost humility, sincerity, and truth with this footage, and I humbly beg for forgiveness from the employees of my company, as well as their families and friends, for all the distress I have caused. I also wish to beg for forgiveness for shaming and tarnishing my family name and my country with my odious acts."

'Family name. Even still, it's all about the legacy…Was I truly not a person to him?' She thought painfully.

Kunikazu then finished with a deep bow, and the video ended.

The room was silent for a long time until Haru realized she was crying silently because she broke it with a sniffle.

"My apologies." She said, ashamed of breaking down over someone who doesn't deserve her tears any longer.

Sae, who was sitting on her left, squeezed her shoulder gently. "Don't be, Haru-chan. I know this must be painful for you, especially considering how recent everything has been."

"Thank you, Sae-san." She spoke gratefully. Futaba, who was sitting on Haru's other side, gave her a timid hug. She returned it.

They let her mourn for a bit more. Haru, however, was done crying.

She wiped her tears, and her face hardened. "I was not aware of this video… I suppose this explains what he was doing holed up in his study and room all day."

Ren scratched his neck uncomfortably. "Perhaps… But now I think we have bigger problems. There is something about this Masayoshi Shido guy that perturbs me."

"Well, naturally, if he truly is the head of this conspiracy." Yusuke chimed in.

"He is," Sae said unceremoniously. "It all lines up now. He was the missing link. Once you connect the dots, all the ramifications appear before your eyes. Things that once made no sense whatsoever work out perfectly as well."

"And he has a palace," Futaba said bitterly. "I researched the man while you were all at school. It's bizarre how his popularity just exploded out of nowhere… From the date my mom died onwards."

"My goodness…" Haru whispered. "This is a nightmare."

"What a mess… I guess all we can do for now is investigate this Shido. Maybe cracking down on his palace might stop the Black Mask for good? Or Maybe even open up more of Mementos so we can help out Makoto?" Morgana suggested.

"That doesn't sound so bad, y'know?" Ryuji said. "It's not like there is much we can do out here if this dude is that powerful in real life."

"That is somewhat true. However, I must remind us all again to NOT rush into a palace merely because it sounds like a good idea." Yusuke said as he chided Ryuji. "What if the Black Mask is on our tail, and they end up finding out we know who their employer is? That could harm us in reality if they can somehow track our real identities. The police list of questions citing my name makes me think we'll get in trouble sooner or later."

Ryuji seemed alarmed. "Oh man… What if they go after my Ma or Boss!?"

"Hey," Sae spoke, both sternly and reassuringly at the same time. "Nobody is going to hurt your mother or Sakura-san. At least, not if we can protect them. Maybe we should seriously consider having a safehouse of sorts."

Seeing their distress, Haru took that as an opportunity to make an offer. "I am currently living in a penthouse in Shibuya that is not under my name. Perhaps I can arrange for them to stay there with me, or even us all can also stay there if need be. Takakura-san and I have an arrangement to keep my current monthly stipend the same as usual, so I am also ready to dedicate all of it to our efforts."

"Thanks, Haru, that's really generous of you." Ren said with sincere gratitude.

"It's no trouble at all." She replied with a kind smile.

The prosecutor cleared her throat. "In that case, we have that problem temporarily addressed. I say we keep it quiet, at least until I can find out more about this from some allies I believe we can get. For example, my uncles arrived earlier today, and they told me they have much to talk about what they found out…"

Ren leveraged an eyebrow at Sae. "And you believe what they found out is pretty much about Shido?"

The older woman groaned in frustration. "Yes. That's exactly what I'm thinking. I am also almost certain this is the real reason Maya has been dodging me. I am going to press her for information tonight when we go meet my uncles in their hotel."

"Good luck with that." Ren said, putting a hand on his chin.

"Thanks. Makoto will be there though, there is no dodging it. It'll be too suspicious if she doesn't." Sae said as she looked pained.

Oh no. Mako-chan was not in a good place to be anywhere near others.

"Do you think that is a wise idea?" Haru asked with some cautious apprehension.

Sae stared right into Haru's eyes and for a second, she shivered seeing the woman's disturbed expression.

"Honestly? No."

They all felt the ominous silence settle upon them with that.


Makoto smugly watched Ann's mouth open in horrified awe and perhaps a glint of respect in her eyes.

"So, what do you think?" She asked, turning around smugly to let her friend admire her new choice of wardrobe.

She wore a dark grey shirt speckled with black paint-style patterns, ripped in some places and pierced back together with some metal clips. Studded black belts and choker, coupled with dark red combat boots and garters to hold her stockings in place complete her choice of outfit.

"I'm shocked that this looks really good on you! And actually kind of annoyed too! Where did you find the time to shop without me!?" The blonde grumbled.

They were back at Ann's apartment after the photoshoot was over. Makoto actually wasn't interested in modeling at all, but seeing a shitty bitch like Mika get the privilege to pose with such amazing motorcycles, and not even give them the proper respect they deserve - not to mention the fact that she dared to criticize her favorite blondie in front of her - made her pissed off.

So, she accepted it out of pure spite, and it was fun, too. As Ann described, she looked like a mean, badass bitch during the gig.

Good. She can't wait to see Ren-kun's reaction when the magazine is finally out.

"I actually found this cool rockwear shop at a mall in Akihabara. It looked awesome, so I bought a couple of outfits. I'm bored of my school uniform." She said while applying a bit of eyeliner and mascara on her eyes.

She also hoped her looks annoyed the hell out of Sae.

"Huh, I'm totally gonna give it a look later. Anyways, you sure you don't want me to accompany you to the hotel or something?" Her friend asked.

Makoto almost rolled her eyes, but didn't because she was still busy finishing her makeup. When she did so, she went for the lipstick, and then turned to Ann. "Nope. I know you guys want to babysit me so I don't rush into the metaverse when nobody is looking, but I promise I won't."

"Wait, you won't? A-Actually, what do you mean babysitting!?" Ann asked with a nervous laugh.

This time Makoto did roll her eyes. "It's kind of obvious. I used to be a Phantom Thief, after all. I'm a liability if I'm not where you can see me."

Through the mirror, she saw Ann look nervous. She grinned a little maliciously at the irony of the situation.

They were so at her mercy now.

"Right… Actually, I was wondering…" Ann said, finally narrowing her eyes upon spotting Makoto's little smug smirk. "Can you still hear Anat, your Persona?"

Makoto froze, a strange feeling of foreboding hitting her.
What…?

Persona…?

Anat.

Why did that single word just irk her?

The room started to spin a little. In her mind's eyes, she saw a shrine at the base of the mountain, and eight little children going around in circles, whispering the words to one another.

Persona, Persona, come to me.

Persona, Persona, come to me.

Persona, Persona, come to me.

She saw a masked gentleman, reaching out to her as she cried in terror in that dark place. She heard the roar of a motorcycle engine in her ears, making her feel safe. And then, the magnetic vibrations of a machine hanging overhead as it enclosed her face with a heavy metallic helmet that hurt, like a parasite ready to drain its host of energy to sustain itself.

'I am thou. Thou art I!' The inhuman monstrosity demanded as the sounds of the motorcycle grew faint and fainter, and in its place, took over only silence. Makoto surrendered herself to the engine's vastly superior knowledge, the bliss of lunacy taking over her mind as it projected various images for her to decipher.

…Where was she again?

Makoto slowly turned to face her friend, her expression clueless, as if nothing happened in her confused mind. "No. I don't, nor do I care that I don't."

Ann gazed at Makoto for a long time, then sighed sadly. "Okay. Sorry for asking."

Makoto turned back to the mirror and observed her own reflection. There was nothing wrong with her. She was better than ever.

She didn't need Anat anymore.

Her face was that of a frown. Why was she looking so sad?

'Smile, you stupid bitch. Smile until it hurts, dammit.'

'Twist it.'

Makoto forced her own lips to curl into a half-sneer smile.

"Now, I have to go. I need to meet my uncles, after all." She declared imperiously.


To be continued…