[May 31st, Station Square]

The wait for the end of Madarame's exhibition continued, the members of The Fools weren't expecting a sudden call for it. But a call to meet up with The Phantoms here.

A bit far away from the crowd, and hopefully not gaining any kind of attention with this big of a group.

"So wait, you guys already knows the existence of Mementos?!"

Thankfully, it was Morgana who was exclaiming, so no risk of being overheard by anyone right now. Not that it'd matter too much for the PT, they still heard the sound of Morgana.

"Yeah, we know," Rubbing his ear, Akira nodded and his gaze landed on Keigo. "Keigo, are you allowed to tell them…"

"It wouldn't hurt. You all know that I'm in SO anyway," Shrugging, Keigo stepped forward and pushed his glasses. "So before I got here, my… organization's Navigators had detected a shadow realm in Tokyo."

"With both of their power, we discovered the name of that realm," He continued, ignoring the surprise on The Phantom's members' faces. "That's how I know Mementos' name, and then I brought this married couple with me."

"Okay, it's getting annoying at this point," Complaining in unison, the now-couple rest their palms on their sides, also in unison. "Keigo, can't you just drop this?"

For twenty long seconds there, only silence remained between the group. As everyone's gaze just landed on them, just like a spotlight shining from above. Until Keigo's chuckle finally broke the said silence and was free from the awkward aura.

"Judging from uh… this," Quickly putting on a deadpanned look as if it's second nature to him, Keigo shrugged. "Not going to, not planning to either."

And just as the couple was about to reply, in unison again, Hifumi stepped in. "Anyway, shouldn't we turn our focus back to that… Mementos space? I've never been in there, so I'm quite curious…"

And Keigo complied, his deadpanned 'mask' changed subtly into a serious look. "Right, back on Mementos. Actually, we've only been there once, to take care of a request on the Phan-site."

"Wait, just once?!" Ryuji blinked, as his gaze scanned through everyone in The Fools. "I thought you guys would've been there a few times already…"

Meanwhile, Yusuke landed a soft gaze on Hifumi instead. "…It's because of your mother's palace, right?" He asked, and he received a nod for a response.

"Well, we can save it for later," Ren chimed in, pushing his glasses so it just happened to reflect the sunlight. "Anyway, I guess you still haven't met him anyway. And take it as some kind of practice too."

"Him?"

"I'm not going to spoil the reveal," Pulling out his phone, Ren smirked as he opened the Meta-Nav. "Anyway, ready?"

With a small nod from The Fools' member, Ren tapped the 'navigate' button on his Meta-Nav. And the same sense of uneasiness arrived, as the world around them distorted with waves of crimson and darkness. Until the familiar sight of the corrupted subway station arrived again.

"So this is Mementos…" Trailing off, Majesty examined her surrounding with widened eyes. "And this is everyone's palace? Like, every single person in Tokyo?"

"Yep, it's basically what you're saying," Joker agreed, as Mona hopped to a nearby fence so it's at head-level as everyone else. "Mona? Ready to show them?"

"Of course!" With a smirk, Morgana suddenly held his right arm up straight diagonally, crossing his body. Meanwhile, his left arm was held before its stomach. "Watch this! This is… my henshin!"

"That's a different pose…" Skull commented, as a deadpanned look clear, even under his mask.

"And a longer quote," Joker added, stroking his chin as if he's intrigued by this.

Meanwhile, Jester just sweatdropped. "…Why is he quoting Kamen Rider Kuuga for no reason?"

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Swan muttered, taking a step so she's partially covered by Jester.

"Morgana…" As its outstretched arm slowly turned from the left to the right, its other arm slowly moved next to his left waist. "Henshin!"

Putting its outstretched arms on top of its other arm, Morgana jumped and back-flipped into the air. And with a 'poof' alongside a big cloud of smoke, a… a black van with a yellow stripe landed on the ground.

And The Fools found their mouths dropped in shock and surprise. Of course, they had seen a lot before, more in Raven's case. But… this was something on a whole other level of 'how the hell does that even make sense'.

"…S-should we say something here?" Majesty sweatdropped.

"So Morgana just henshin itself into a van…" Jester murmured, staring at the sight before her with widened eyes.

Swan turned her gaze to Panther, who just returned with a shrug. "We have about the same reaction when Mona showed us this."

However, on the contrary, Raven took a few steps forward as he examined the cat-van. "Huh, that's interesting. Morgana-"

"Respect the codename! It's 'Mona'!"

"…Fine, Mona," Deadpanned, Raven continued. "How did you do that?"

"Well, it's basically the same as you guys with your rebel outfits, just a LOT more practice," Even though the static appearance, the pride was still clear within Mona's voice. "And for some reason, 'cat turning into a bus' is widely spread among the public… Still dunno why though."

Instead of the same confusion or just ignoring his explanation, Raven's eyes widened. Widened in realization, as if he knew why did this happen. "Wait… cat turning into bus…"

"You're a walking Totoro reference!"

And just like before, silence fell upon everyone once again. For a grand total of two seconds, before some of their eyes widened in realization, or in other words, Majesty and Panther recognized what he was saying.

"No wonder why…" Nodding to herself, Panther turned back and noticed the confused glance coming from everyone else. "…Wait, you've all never heard of My Neighbor Totoro?!"

"I know about it, just never actually watched it," Fox shrugged, as everyone else agreed with a nod.

Exchanging a knowing look with one another, Panther and Majesty nodded in unison. "…We're so gonna force all of you to watch it."

"Okay okay, that's enough for Totoro talk," Clapping his hand and gaining everyone's attention, Joker opened the backseat door of the not-catbus. "We don't have an entire day to be here."

Exchanging a glance of uncertainty, and watching everyone from The Phantoms follow without too much protest, the members of The Fools sighed and followed.

Until Raven suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, actually…" He trailed off, approaching Joker. "I wanna take the wheel this time."

"Huh?" Blinked in confusion, Joker and Raven exchanged a glance that spoke enough. And a small smirk crept up on his face. "…Well, if you insist, I'll gladly give you the wheel-"

"Wait, what the hell?" Interrupting, Jester walked up with widened eyes. "Raven, you can drive?!"

"Mostly from Mario Kart, and a bit of Euro Truck Simulator," Raven shrugged, giving them a smile with both reassurance… and something else in it. "Just don't worry, I bet you all won't regret it."

And they did.

They did regret the decision to let Raven drive the Mona-bus (he insisted everyone to call it by this name). Fifteen seconds after he stepped on the pedal.

"OH MY GOD! We're gonna effin' die!" Gripping to his seatbelt, Skull yelled at the top of his lung, which earned a yell from Panther (who was sitting behind him and next to the married couple).

"Stop yelling- AHHHH!"

"H-holy shit, Keigo!" Matching the volume of Skull, Jester exclaimed from the backseat as he held Swan like a lifeline (same for her). Forgetting the codename rule at that moment. "Can't you just turn the bus without drifting ONCE?!"

"I told you guys most of my driving experience comes from Mario Kart!" Drifting around another corner, Raven somehow kept his calm and managed to avoid every single shadow on the way. "And in Mario Kart, you never turn without drifting!"

"That doesn't mean you can- KITAGAWA YUSUKE!" Suddenly yelling at the top of her lung, Majesty's eyes were instantly filled with rage… as the said artist's hands were right… on her chest area. "You pervert!"

"I-I didn't mean to! It's just the car-" Before he could even finish his sentence, Majesty's leg sprung from nowhere and directly impacted his face, pushing him away.

Unfortunately, it meant squeezing Skull to the left side of the van (who happened to sit next to Fox) as collateral damage. "D-dude, I'm dyin' over here…"

Looking back from the front seat next to Raven, Joker turned back with a clear smirk. "Huh, wish my phone's camera worked here… This is some grade S photo material."

"Of course you are!" Swan and Jester exclaimed in unison, giving him the biggest death glare they could manage. "Try sitting in the backseat and see how it'd go!"

"Tog-Majesty!" Nearly called her by her actual name, Panther leaned forward and tried to push Fox off of Skull. "Skull's innocent here, just give him some space!"

"Y-yeah… I'm still dyin' over here…"

"Raven!" Mona chimed in, as the tire screeched with each turn. "Just stop drifting for ONCE SECOND! Slow down too!"

"It's kinda hard when there's a shadow every fifteen meters, Mona" Somehow STILL upholding his calmness, Raven asked Joker without breaking his focus on the crossroad ahead. "Joker, left or right?"

"Oh, let me check…" Checking the map appearing on his phone via the Meta-Nav, Joker smirked as he found out what was coming. "Right side, it's a U-Turn too."

At that exact moment, everyone's heart dropped. A horrified gaze instantly replaced whatever previous emotion they were having. "Wait NO NO NO NO-"

"Crystal clear, Joker!" With that said, Raven turned the steering wheel to a hard right.

[Meanwhile]

Waiting by his spot alongside his cyan toy-car, a young boy with gray egg-shell-like hair hummed along a familiar theme from a certain room. Just every day before, today was another day to learn about humans. And from the atmosphere of Mementos today, it seemed like the Phantom Thieves were here!

And he was right, as the black van's headlight illuminated the road.

Just that… unlike the clumsy and amateurish driving before, it was precise and… daring. To add to that, the car was literally drifting around the corner at high speed too.

Coming to a screeching halt and nearly toppled sideways, it was a miracle that it didn't just flip and crashed in the first place.

Before Jose thought could finish, the car doors immediately opened, as Skull and Panther scrambled out from the van like they were running for their life. And mere moments later, a few more people Jose didn't recognize came out too.

There's a pair of couple who came out with their arms around each other's shoulder, a guy with a fox mask being literally kicked out by a girl with a red oni-like mask. Did Joker get more teammates between his last visit and now?

Speaking of which, the driver's door opened and… it wasn't Joker who came out. Instead, it was a different guy with a crow-like mask and a suit, as Joker came out from the other side.

Everyone else immediately walked up to that guy with the crow-like mask and scolded him with a clear death glare, even Mona (who returned to his not-cat form) did the same. And this confused Jose, did that guy just do something bad to them?

But before his thought could reach a conclusion (again), Joker greeted him with a friendly wave. "Hello there Jose!" He said out loud, snapping everyone's attention from the poor guy with a crow-like mask. Or in other words, Raven.

Noticing the little boy, Panther and Skull exchanged a knowing gaze, same for Mona as well.

However, for the people Jose didn't recognize, they just stared at him with widened eyes. Shock and surprise were clear and lingered on their face, other than Raven who snapped out of it pretty quickly.

"…It's… a kid," Swan said as if trying to convince herself of the sight before her. "Jester? You're seeing this too, right?"

"Yeah… I'm seeing it…"

Caressing her mask, Majesty just murmured out loud. "His eyes… is it some kind of weird rouge shadow?"

"It didn't seem like it…" Raven shook his head, stroking his chin in deep thought. And ignoring the death glare everyone else was giving him.

"No, I'm just here to study humans!" Jose chimed in, upholding his friendly image. "So mister, I didn't know your group is THIS big!"

"Well, we only found out about each other after the last palace's fight," Joker shrugged, turning back and facing everyone. "Anyway, everyone, meet Jose."

Exchanging a gaze of confusion and awkwardness, everyone in The Fools just tried to find their way out of the said awkwardness. And they ended up with just dry laughs.

"Well… that's awkward," Rubbing the back of his neck out of habit, Jester sighed. "And I thought I'm bad at introducing someone…"

"Hey, some self-awareness, that's progress," Swan chuckled.

Deciding to switch up the focus back onto the mysterious boy himself, Majesty gave him a friendly smile. "Anyway, uh… nice to meet you, I'm Majesty."

Also giving him a friendly (even if slightly awkward) smile, Jester and Swan followed.

"I'm Jester."

"I'm Swan," Giving Raven a side glance of slight anger, Swan continued before he could speak. "And this guy here is Raven, he's the worst."

"Hey, I should be introducing myself, not being introduced-"

"You've lost your right the moment you chose to drive like it's Mario Kart," Jester interrupted, giving him a deadpanned glance. "…Just move on."

"Well, either way, I'm Raven," Shrugged, he turned back to Jose with a friendly, and also curious face.

"And I'm Fox," Fox added from behind, raising his hand as everyone else seemed to have forgotten about him. "I'm with Joker, but I'm still… a more recent member."

For another twenty seconds straight, silence filled the group again. Maybe it was turning into a running theme between them, but they hoped otherwise.

"…Well, moving on," Finally breaking the silence between everyone, Jose reached into his bag and pulled out… a star with a red glow. "Here, I picked up another star a while ago, weird."

"Really?" with a raised eye, Joker took the star from him. But gave it to Jester instead. "Well, you guys should have it, we already have one."

"Wait, huh?" Taking the said star, Jester looked up and saw another star was already in Joker's hand. It was a near-identical copy of his, but with a blue glow as its only difference.

"When we first met, I gave them this one," Jose spoke up, pointing at the blue star in Joker's hand. "It's a star, it will grant your wishes!"

"Yeah, but we still have no wish granted by it," Joker nodded, pocketing the stars as he approached Jose. "Actually, Jose. We've collected some stamps on the way here, and maybe we can do some Mementos altering…"

And what happened next… was still absurd for The Fools. Using stamps that they seemed to have collected from somewhere, nor did they even explain it at all, Jose pulled out… a toy hammer and slammed the ground.

For a moment there, the tunnel around them shook as if something deep inside was shifting. Thankfully, it ended as soon as it came, before anyone had done something too weird to keep their balance.

"…And yeah, see you later then, Jose," Turning back, Joker just paused as he met the gaze of The Fools. "I know, imagine it like changing a multiplier on money, things, and experience we learn from fighting shadows. It's like that in a nutshell."

"…You know we still need a better explanation about it, right?" Jester asked, recomposing himself from the shock of the shaking ground. And the rest of The Fools agreed with a nod.

"At least it'd do it for now," Shrugging, Joker gestured Mona to turn into his bus-form again. "Anyway, other than that, since we still have a lot of time before it's nighttime…"

"Wanna beat up some shadows?"

"…Sure…" Trailing off, everyone unanimously turned toward Raven, who just chose to try and ignored the gazes. "…As long as he doesn't take the wheel."

"Shame, I was intrigued to see how much more funny materials I can see from you guys," Giving out an over-dramatic sigh, Joker opened the Mona-bus's door and took the driver's seat.

And in response, the rest of the thieves gave out a breath of relief, and took their seats one-by-one, in the exact same seating as the trip here. Maybe after how bad the earlier trip was, it'd be a smoother ride. After all, Joker was a responsible leader-

"Attention, all passengers. This is your driver speaking," Interrupting the thought of The Fools' member, a smirk crept up on Joker's face. "I still haven't told you all about how we engaged with shadow in Mementos… and in here…"

As realization slowly dawned on Panther and Skull, their eyes slowly widened, and their face paled. Meanwhile, everyone else just gave him a confused glance, aside from Raven.

He was giving a gaze filled with interest.

"We don't rip off their mask, we ram this van straight into them."

Watching how the widened gaze and pale face spread among the passengers, Joker stepped hard on the gas pedal.

And for the rest of the day, screams of terror and agony filled the entirety of Mementos's tunnels.

[June 1st, Shujin's rooftop]

"So… in a nutshell, Nijima gave you special treatment?"

With a hint of an embarrassed blush on her cheeks, Haru nodded at Keigo's brief summary. Well, why should she feel like that? She always got special treatment from everyone, once they heard of her surname. But Keigo… just for his case, she felt like… she didn't want him to be disappointed at her or anything.

"Technically, it is the school who gave me the permission to use the rooftop for gardening," Haru said, brushing a few strands of hair aside. "But Mako-chan is mostly the reason I can use this place for gardening… especially after what happened with Suzui."

"…Yeah, I heard about it, and… it was really bad," At the mention of Shiho's name, Keigo grimaced. "But on the good side, Akira and Shiho have each other to rely on, figuratively and literally."

"Oh, you mean them being in a relationship?"

"Yeah, that one-" Stopping himself in mid-sentence, the half-Frenchman just stared at her with widened eyes, and genuine shock. "…Wait, what?!"

"Kamisaki-Kun, you're friends with them… are they… this good at hiding their relationship?" Surprised by his sudden reaction, it didn't take long for guilt to slip in for Haru. "…Oh no, you didn't know about them, right? I apologize if I spoil it…"

"No, I'm just shocked that everyone knows it now…" Trailing off, Keigo put on a reassuring smile. "I guess they're just that bad at keeping their uh… thing private…"

"Oh, that's… good to know," Breathing out a sigh of relief, the heiress took a sip of her apple juice. "I was scared that I might break the friendship between you and them…"

"No, it's actually my daily entertainment to tease them about it," Shaking his head, the half-Frenchman chuckled at the memories. "Especially the 'married couple' joke, I think they actually stopped refusing that claim since the cleanup."

"A married couple… huh," Albeit subtle and covered with a small smile, Haru's mood definitely shifted for the worst. "That's… good for them, I… I'm happy if they're truly happy… Actually, I think we should change our subjects."

However, the demeanor change didn't go unnoticed. "…Crap, I just stepped on some land mines, right?" Murmuring to himself, Keigo leaned forward and tried to brighten her mood. "Well, uh… Oh right, about your dancing… I think I can rent a dance studio."

This did snap Haru back to reality, but it was immediately replaced by shock. "W-wait, what?!"

"Yeah, I mean, you haven't danced for years by now," Nodding, Keigo pulled up a photo of the said studio. It looked like any other dance studio Haru had been to, with good lighting, a lot of space, and… it looked quite expensive.

"K-Kamisaki-Kun, it's a bit… too expensive…"

"I know, I can handle the cost," Shaking his head, the half-Frenchman just smiled in return. "Besides, I checked and there's no Big Bang Burger nearby too. So you won't be reminded of anything bad from your family."

"Huh? What?" Eyes widened, Haru just found herself too shocked to speak anything else.

"Back when we first met, you looked like you didn't want to introduce yourself," He explained. "I… my dad was a detective, so I'm kinda… good at reading people."

"But… you don't need to go that far… for me…"

"I wanted to," With a casual shrug, Keigo rubbed the back of his neck with a hint of embarrassment. "We're friends, after all."

Friends.

That's right, how long had it been since someone went this far for her? Of course, there was him, but… that was years ago. Ever since that, did anyone even do something for her? Haru knew the answer herself, but still… she didn't have the gut to admit it.

"I…" Trailing off, Haru stood up and reached forward, giving him the biggest and tightest embrace she could. "…Thank you… for doing that for me…"

"…Uh…" Eyes widened, Keigo found his entire body frozen in place. Not daring to move, even for a single millimeter. "…You're welcome…"

Thankfully, the heiress released the hold not long after, and the two exchanged a small smile. Even though on Keigo's side, he was very aware of how small the distance was between them.

"Now uh…" As his mind raced like how fast his driving was, an idea popped up in his mind. "Actually, what about your ballet shoes?"

"…Oh right, my ballet shoes…" Nodding, Haru sighed and looked down on her feet with a slight frown, slowly leaning back and maintaining a normal distance between the two. "I definitely to buy a new pair…"

"Then how about after school?" Mustering up his courage, Keigo suggested. "I did some research and found a few stores that sell those shoes, and we can maybe do a little shopping trip if you want to."

"But… we still have Gardening club's work to do…"

"We do… Unless we finish them now," As his courage increased with each moment, Keigo found his own smile widened. "Don't worry, I'll help."

With her smile slowly widened, Haru nodded.

[After school, Inokashira Park]

"…So, why the hell did you call me here?"

Confused, and a bit nervous, Ryuji stood before Ann with his hands inside his pants pockets. Just as Ann returned the same nervousness he was feeling right now, shifting around and not staying still at all.

"Well… I…" Trailing off, a faint shade of pink emerged on her cheek, as she tore her gaze aside. "I uh… I need someone to help me with something."

"…Something?" He blinked, slowly crossing his arms with the same faint shade of pink emerging from within. "Are… you gonna… are you gonna confess to someone?"

And once those words came out of Ryuji's mouth before it was too late, he immediately regretted his decision. Just as those words snapped her out from the blush, and replaced it with widened eyes.

"Wha- No! I'm just looking for help to strengthen my heart!"

For a long, long five seconds there, the silence was the only thing that existed between the two. And the awkwardness only grew bigger and bigger, as their gazes hadn't moved away from each other.

"…Dude, what?" Finally breaking the awkwardness, Ryuji deadpanned. "Strengthen your heart?"

"Yep! I've been working on this for a while now, and I want someone other than Ren to help me with this," Even though with a confident smile, Ryuji could still feel a bit of something else within her. "I can't just rely on one person, right?"

"Yeah, but…" Trailing off, the dots slowly connected within his head. "Renren ditched you today, right?"

Just as he thought, the confidence in Ann dropped. And to replace that, a look of slight guilt appeared instead. "Yeah… but that doesn't mean like I'm just seeing you like a rebound or anything!"

"Nah, you're way too airhead to do that," Reassuring her in the most 'Ryuji' way imaginable, the ex-runner shrugged. "Besides, Renren ditched me too. We're supposed to have a run around the entire school, but he just said 'I'll think about it' 'n ditched."

"…Oh, so we're in the same boat here," Ann sighed in relief, turning their attention back to the main topic. "Anyway, back on track! I think one of the signs of a strong heart is to not let anything get under the skin."

"…'Kay…?"

"Now, Ryuji, just says stuff to me and I'll try not to get fazed by it!"

Well, that's one way to strengthen your heart. At this point, seeing how much dedication Ann was giving out with her words, Ryuji decided to go along, for now. "…Fine, but y'know how much of a gold mine for embarrassing memories we had, right?"

"We've already started! I won't let it shake me!"

Sweatdropped, Ryuji nodded slowly. "…'Kay, I'll see it as you're fine with it then…"

"You're a giant airhead," Choosing to go easy for now, the ex-runner said. "And kinda stupid."

Albeit her eyes widened slightly, Ann recovered in an instant. "Yeah yeah yeah, and?"

"…Your acting sucks, and still haven't improved from Middle school," Wincing at the risk of going too far, Ryuji continued with his barrage of… he didn't how to describe it either. "Remember that time we were both in a stage drama for Cultural Festival? I had trouble looking at you without cringing like hell."

Following what Ryuji had in mind, this time it did create a bit more reaction from Ann. But to his surprise, she held up and nodded. "That's nothing, Ryuji! More!"

"…If you say so…" Feeling another drop of sweat from his forehead, the ex-runner chose another embarrassing memory about her from his head. "Uh… Back in middle school, you slept through class so much that I wonder how the hell did get through exams."

"Because I'm- Nope! I'm not responding!" Cutting herself short, the blonde model hastily upheld her uh… look of confidence.

"Uh… Do you know how the boys in middle school would stare at you during PE lessons?" Wincing at how weird his option here was, Ryuji expected something more from her.

However, it did not.

"Nope, I need something stronger!"

"Seriously? Even that?" Pinching his nose bridge, the ex-runner decided to go in a different direction. One that was more… personal. "Fine… I'm gonna regret this."

"So uh… remember when I first dyed my hair blonde?"

"Of course, it's the first big thing after I transferred back," Nodding, Ann cut him off before he could say that she had lost. "And no, this isn't me being fazed!"

"I wasn't goin' to say that, but whatever," Deadpanned, Ryuji shrugged and continued. "Anyway, back on track… Uh… you probably already know that anyway…"

"I'm still not fazed!"

"I know, just… I did that so everyone would get off your ass," Moving his gaze aside, Ryuji found the lake suddenly became a lot more interesting, or he just didn't want to know what her reaction would be.

"…Wait, you did that so everyone else would focus on you instead?" With genuine confusion clear on her face, Ann found her gaze… slowly widened as realization kicked in, and blushes too. "You… did that for me?! I-I don't know-"

"It's supposed to stay that way-"

"U-uh… Okay, you did get under my skin here!" As Ann suddenly had an urge to just run away and just hide, even she could feel her cheeks turn into a deep shade of crimson. "I-I uh… So the whole 'I just like it being blonde' thing is a lie, huh?"

"More like half," Ryuji shrugged, upholding the gaze away from her. "It's actually just both combined, but… Shit, now I'm just makin' it worse…"

"No, I just… Thank you, for doing that," Suppressing the urge to hide, Ann smiled.

"…Well, you don't need to, but whatever…" Trailing off, the ex-runner rubbed the back of his neck as blushes emerged. "It… it was nothin', man."

"Either way, now that it's out of the way… Time for Round 2 for this then!"

"Wait, what the hell?!"

[Meanwhile, also in Inokashira Park]

Speaking of Ren, what was he doing?

What was the thing so, so, SO important that he'd ditch Ryuji and Ann for?

"Wow! You're way better than I thought, Senpai!"

Right, the gymnastic training with Kasumi. Not that Ren was doing this specifically because it's Kasumi, just that he thought he did need some training on his gymnastic skill. But overall… it's kinda both.

"Really?" Panting heavily from how taxing the training really was, Ren asked with a raised eye. "At most, I only have a bit of dancing experience, that's really it."

'If I consider the fight in Metaverse to be dance experience too,' He added internally.

"Yes! It's almost like you're born for gymnastics!" Nodding with conviction, Kasumi tilted her head as she evaluated Ren's skill level. "Especially when you're just starting out, and you can already do things like a cartwheel and backflip perfectly!"

"Well, I'm still a beginner, and these things are just the fundamentals," Slowly but surely catching his breath, Ren returned with a small smile. "But I'm pretty sure my entire body would ache like hell tomorrow though."

"I know, that's how it was back when I first started training," In response, Kasumi giggled softly. "It'd be better after a while, I'm sure. My coach's training was like… ten times worse back then."

"Well, you're just impressing me more and more, Yoshizawa-san."

"No, YOU are impressing me more and more, Senpai," This time, both Ren and Kasumi chuckled, and she looked like she had something more to say too. "Well, I'll keep supporting you, so we'll keep at it together!"

With a nod from Ren, the two continued their training and stretches. And this time, even though it was genuinely harder than the ones he did just mere minutes ago, Ren could slowly feel the muscle of his relax.

And from the look of it, Kasumi also noticed it too. As her smile widened when she looked at him.

After a while, the two found themselves sitting by a bench where they left their schoolbags, drinking the first drop of water since the start of their training. And to say the least, the water tasted a lot more delicious now than before.

"…Nothing feels more liberating than a bottle of water after a full session of training," Kasumi said, turning to him. "It might be a bit redundant now, but good effort, Senpai!"

"Don't worry, and thank you for that too," Ren smiled.

"Good to know," Nodding, the gymnast's face slowly fell instead. "…Actually, I'd like to continue, but… I think I've been in a bit of a slump recently."

With his smile immediately changed into a worried look, Ren's body moved a bit closer to her. "You're okay?"

"Physically, I am," She said. "But mentally… It's like no matter how much I practice, nothing really gets any better. Like an invisible ceiling or a cap."

"I went to my coach about it, but… she told me to take some time off from gymnastics," Giving out a small sigh, the sinking feeling in her stomach only grew bigger. "According to her, I need to think about who I really am."

"Or in other words, she wants you to take a break," Summarizing for her, Ren nodded thoughtfully. "I see."

"Right, it's just… this is the first time I'm facing an issue that I can't solve with practice…" Trailing off, Kasumi paused for a moment. "I just have no idea what to do, and… this is why I'm asking for your help, Senpai."

"Even if we're not doing gymnastics, will you still keep going out with me?"

Well, that wasn't something Ren had expected her to ask, at least not in a way that it could be depicted as… something on the romance side. And as quick as those thoughts popped up, Ren tried his best and suppressed those same thoughts.

"Of course," He answered with conviction, but accompanied with a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, Senpai," Kasumi nodded, brushing her bangs aside. "My coach used to tell me that 'Kasumi's greatest weapon is her boldness'. And honestly, that used to be true."

"I was totally fearless, confident… For me, gymnastics was a fun challenge," Pausing, her face fell again, a bit worse this time. "But since I started high school, I've been in a slump. Of course, I did get taller, but… there are other complications."

"I don't know how to move anymore, it was like… This isn't my body," As the mood only worsened, Kasumi let her gaze fall on the lake. "I kind of fell into a depression. It got pretty bad."

"…Oh, I… I didn't know," Ren said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"But when you helped me back then in Shibuya, something occurred to me…" She continued, turning her gaze back to Ren. And the smile returned. "How fearless, confidant you are… I know you're the right one for the job!"

"So that's why you asked me why I did it?"

"Yep!" Kasumi nodded. "If I stick with you, Senpai, I think I can learn how to be confident again!"

For the first time in Amamiya Ren's life, (unintentionally) helping someone to be confident again was definitely not on his list of 'things probably would happen after he got to Tokyo'. But… it felt great, knowing that outside of being a Phantom Thief, he's also helping someone.

And this feeling might or might be amplified because it's Kasumi.

"I… Well, that's… a lot," Suppressing the incoming blush, Ren nodded. "But leave it to me, I'll be with you, every step of the way."

"Great! Thank you, Senpai!" Beaming, Kasumi found a small giggle leaked from her mouth. "Well, you definitely are a weird person, not in a bad way though. I kind of like it."

"Well, I'll try and return the favor through our deal!"

Sharing a beaming smile with one another, Ren could feel the appreciation from Kasumi. And their friendship deepened for a bit. It… was nice.

However (and unfortunately), yelling from a distance interrupted them.

"ROUND THREE, WHAT?!"

As both of their gazes turned to where the yell came from, they could clearly see that… Ann and Ryuji were in kind of an argument. And Ren's face paled.

"…W-wait, they're also here…"

Meanwhile, unaware of how pale Ren's face was at this moment, Kasumi tilted her head, eyes filled with familiarity. "…Oh, it was him!"

"Huh?!"

"Back during the cleanup, I was looking for Akira-Senpai and bumped into him," She explained, gesturing over to Ryuji. "He was looking for Suzui-Senpai, and… the rest is history."

Right now, instead of the paled face, Ren was filled with… surprise. "…Wait, you know Akira?"

However, the paleness returned not long after.

"Yes, we met in the canteen, and just became friends afterward," Finally noticing how pale Ren was, Kasumi raised an eye. "Uh… Senpai? What's wrong?"

Should Ren lie? Of course, he could just say something like 'he didn't want her to get involved in more rumors' or any other bullshit excuses. But… no, she was depending on him to be confident again, he couldn't just chicken out and lie!

In the end, he decided to be honest. "I… may or may not ditch them for you."

"Senpai…" As her eyes slowly widened, Kasumi… just quickly recovered and deadpanned instead. "You should go and apologize to them! If you need to, I can come with you and explain-"

"No! It's fine, I'll do it alone!" Cutting her short, Ren hastily took in a deep breath and steeled herself. "It's my fault, anyway. I am your Senpai, and I should take responsibility. Just… stay here."

With that said, he stood up from the bench and walked toward Ryuji and Ann, as Kasumi stayed with a bit of awkwardness. Internally hoped that it'd go well between them.

(Spoilers: It kinda did with Ryuji, but now… Ann was furious.)

[On the other end, over at Kosei]

Hajime was somewhat curious about Yusuke. At least for the last couple of days now.

So ever since the whole thing with someone coming to be his model or something, Yusuke had been… acting a bit different. Not the bad kind of different (like it's Weird), just out of his norm.

Of course, Yusuke had known Hifumi for a while now, mostly because they're in the same class, but… For no reason at all, they just suddenly became friends from nowhere.

Now that this question had been inside his head for days now, Hajime finally decided to ask Yusuke about it.

"So, when did you and Togo become friends?"

Looking up from the painting assignment he was working on, Yusuke only responded with a raised eye. "We just found a common interest between us, that's it. And it's a week ago."

"Hmm… That's good to know," Shrugging, Hajime pondered as a smile appeared. "Hey, you're expanding your social circle outside of just me! That's a giant step."

"Indeed, I apologize for leaving you alone though."

"Don't worry, I'm not the jealous type of person," Even though a chuckle or two left from his mouth, the drop in Hajime's mood was still clear. "…Besides, Hime-Sama has been… exhausted for the last few weeks anyway."

"What happened?"

"Ever since the whole thing with Izumo, she has been working extra hard… to a concerning level," Giving out a long sigh, Hajime let his gaze set upon nowhere, just blankly forward. "But now, it's even worse with the rumor of mafia threatening students like us out of money."

"Hmm… Mafia?"

"Yep, and now Hime-Sama is just… dealing with it full-time," Hajime said, his gaze lowered. "If only the Phantom Thieves can just deal with the mafia…"

Now, this caught Yusuke's attention.

"You know about the Phantom Thieves?"

"It's hard not to, Kamoshida's case is national news, after all," The chef shrugged, crossing his arms. "Speaking of the Phantom Thieves… I don't know how to bring this up, but…"

"You mean what's happening with Madarame?"

Nodding, Hajime awkwardly looked away. However, for a split second there, Yusuke felt like… Hajime knew more than he looked like. And he immediately cast that thought as far away as possible.

"Yeah, after all, Madarame just got a calling card not long ago…" Trailing off, Hajime's gaze landed on Yusuke. "How's he doing?"

And at that exact moment, he could see Yusuke's grip on his painting brush tighten. On top of that, a frown appeared on Yusuke's face, with a bit of rage inside his gaze.

"Locking himself inside his room, and not coming out," With a sense of coldness and anger clear within in his voice, Yusuke stopped his hand on the painting. "And honestly, I could care less about him."

"…Okay, let's just move on."

[Meanwhile, The Student Council Room]

"No, we're not moving on from this, Hinaki."

With clear worry and concern inside her eyes, Hifumi leaned forward, and toward Hinaki before her. As the pile of student requests laid on the table, to the point where they couldn't see the table's surface itself.

"But… I am fine, Hifumi," Even if Hinaki tried to reassure her with her words, the tired look said otherwise. "After all, there's only me left in the council, I can't just let everyone down-"

"That's the problem! The fact that you're dealing with all of this ALONE!" Slamming on the table, Hifumi took one of the request forms from the table. "This… this isn't something you can just solve by yourself, just… at least, let me help you."

"But you already have your stardom and family problem-"

"I know, but you're still my friend!" Cutting her short again, the Shogi player leaned a bit more forward. "Shouldn't friends be helping each other when they need them?"

Staying silent and keeping her gaze down, Hinaki only felt… guilt, intensifying guilt as Hifumi's words sunk in. "…But… I didn't do anything, I-I can't do anything…"

"Back when I was trying to help Izumo-Kun, it just backfired and end up as a giant disaster. When you had your problem with your mother, I can only stand by and do nothing..." She continued. "I wanted the best for our students, but ends up with everyone else resigning from the council. Now, seeing all these requests, those cries for help from them…"

"I… I don't know what to do…"

Watching how much stress and suffering, Hifumi's face softened. "Then come on, let me help, even if I can only help a little."

Hinaki didn't answer at first, but slowly pulled out one of the request forms. "…I didn't want it to feel like I'm discouraging you, but…"

As she trailed off, Hifumi slowly took the said request form and read it. And her eyes slowly widened with each word on the form.

"…No way, this… the mafia?!"

[Meanwhile, somewhere else in Kosei]

"What didn't you just tell me already!"

With his hands gripped on Naoko's shoulder, Shinji stared at her with a pang of surfacing guilt. And on top of that guilt, was rage.

"I… Because I know what kind of stupid shit you'd do!" Knocking off those arms on her shoulder, Naoko retorted, desperately trying to hold her tears. "And… I don't need another person to worry about the bakery…"

"Naoko, we are friends, shouldn't friends be looking out for each other-"

"That's why! Because we're friends!" Interrupting him, Naoko's exclamation definitely attracted a bit of attention from passersby. "You've been through too much, there's no need to add this shit on top of them!"

"Just… please… Don't put yourself into this…"

Trailing off, the emotions broke through the dam, Naoko buried her face in her palms. And by every second, the sobbing intensified.

And standing here and just… watching how Naoko broke down in front of him, the guilt of Shinji grew even bigger. How many times he had just stood and watched, as the people he cared about just… like this? Just watched like he was powerless?

He wasn't powerless, he just… stood aside, choosing not to do the right thing anymore. He stood aside when Kimiko was clearly abused, and look where it got him? She ended her own life, and Kamoshida blamed Akira for it. And… he just ran away.

He betrayed Kimiko.

He betrayed Akira.

He betrayed Naoko.

He even hurt Makoto's heart… and lied to his own.

And now, he's on that crossroad again. Choosing to stand aside, or not.

"…I'm sorry, but I can't," Shaking his head, Shinji placed a reassuring hold on her shoulder. "I can't just… stand aside and watch."

"…When are they coming back?"

Looking back up, and seeing the conviction in his eyes, Naoko slowly nodded. "…You're not backing down, right?" She asked, taking in a choked breath and trying to calm herself down.

"…They… they are coming back tomorrow."

"…Okay, don't worry about me," With a reassuring smile, he patted her on the shoulder.

However, even with his words of reassurance, the fear deep inside Naoko's heart remained.

(To be Continued)

Preview:

The confessions had been made.

One from a reformed mother, to take the responsibility for her fault.

And one from a failed teacher, to confess the sin he had made, the sin he covered with his status.

And the aftermath begins.

Next Chapter:

"Sparks of Hope and Despair"

Stay Tuned!

And with that, Chapter 36 is finally here!

A bit longer gap than I initially hoped for, also a lot longer than I planned in the first place XD.

Anyway, just like what this chapter's name 'Intermission', it's more just character *cough* Ships *cough* development instead.

However, as Madarame's arc ends, the next arc also slowly begins.

Even though it might be on the backburner for the next few chapters, we still have quite a lot of events to go over first. However, I think the focus for this arc would come clearer, both from this chapter and the next.

Besides, it's a fun experiment I have on the Kosei scenes, using matching dialogue to transition between scenes. It might be more common moving on.

Also, fun fact: In the game itself, when Morgana first changed into his cat-bus form, the pose he was doing is a direct reference to Kamen Rider Ichigo, the first Showa Rider. Even down to his quote too (in the show itself, it's 'Rider! Henshin!'. And for Morgana's quote, it's 'Morgana! Henshin!')

So in here, I'm referencing Kamen Rider Kuuga in his pose and quote (it's the same quote: "Please Watch! This is... my henshin!"), the first Heisei Rider as a double reference XD. Maybe next time he does this again, it'd be a Kamen Rider Zero-One (the first Reiwa rider) reference instead XD.

Probably not though, since Zero-One aired in 2019, three years after p5's setting in 2016 (Right now, it was Kamen Rider Ghost that's airing. And Ex-aid in October)

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the story so far, reviews and favorites are welcomed!