August 31st.
"A fleet of police vehicles have encircled the Diet Members' office building, which is reportedly being searched at this time. We now take you to the investigation team's press conference, live at their headquarters."
The camera shifted to the woman who was in charge of the investigation. "We have uncovered evidence that shows Mr. Owada illegally accepted funds from the company Madicce. Additional investigations to his numerous other charges are currently underway. Regarding the specific hit-and-run incident two years ago wherein Mr. Owada's secretary claimed to be the culprit, we have learned the true culprit was Mr. Owada himself, driving his own vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. The concealment of this fact involved multiple high ranking members of the police force, all arrested for attempting to conceal evidence. I cannot apologize deeply enough for the flagrant, abysmal disregard for truth and justice from this department. We intend to follow our investigation to the absolute end, not only for justice's sake, but for that of the people and their faith in the police."
On this day, the entirety of Japan knew about the crimes that Junya Owada committed. His role in the Change of Heart epidemic that plagued Japan for months, the woman he killed, and the secretary he allowed to take the fall. Just as Japan was starting to find some way to recover from the scandal of Masayoshi Shido, another promising political figure was revealed to be just as awful. An older man stared out the window, letting out an annoyed sigh. "Owada...that's what he gets for trying to stay in the limelight." The old man shook his head. "Now that he's screwed up, Japan's political standings are once again in turmoil."
"Ugh." A woman with light brown hair groaned, tapping her foot impatiently. "So what exactly do you intend to do about it?"
"This situation is actually to our benefit." The old man smiled in turn. Sitting down, silently within the room was a third one. A middle aged man in a suit, wearing only a singular glove on his left hand. "With Japan in such turmoil, we can finally enact our plan to get Toshiro in the Prime Minister seat. Masayoshi Shido and Junya Owada were too greedy. Their sense of ego and pride caused their fault. They couldn't simply accept sitting in the background and letting others do their work for them. While they were parading their egos to the world...we've been building up our own empire. And you will be at the head of it, Toshiro."
"..." The man known as Toshiro didn't say anything at first. But he did give a silent nod.
"You should speak when you're spoken too!" The woman huffed.
"Yes...I will." Toshiro gulped quietly.
"Of course you will! This is the moment I've been building you up to." The older man said with a wry smile. "We'll have to wait for the storm of this scandal to pass. But when the dust settles, you will be the man propped up as the next Prime Minister. You've got nothing to worry about either. Your opponent's have no chance of winning. With Marie-san's money and my connections, you will stand in the role for sure."
"Toshiro does make a good puppet, doesn't he, Yoshiki-san?" Marie gave Toshiro a mocking laugh, but he didn't respond to it. With the way Marie rolled her eyes, this was apparently pretty common. "Come on, you useless puppet. We have wedding plans to make. Should I become your wife before or after you become Prime Minister? Either way, I want as much public presence as possible, do you understand me?"
"Y-Yes. I understand." Toshiro nodded slowly. But this was the wrong response.
"You forgot to address me properly! Say it again, but do it right this time!" Marie snarled, demanding Toshiro revise his words.
Toshiro almost flinched, but quickly composed himself. "Yes, I understand, Marie-san! Whatever you want. It...doesn't matter to me."
"Of course it doesn't matter to you. But that's acceptable." Marie huffed.
"In our next story..." The news was shifting from the story about Owada, to something that was happening within Tokyo over the last month or so. The image displayed a government building that was graffitied, the images displayed being various mice. "The mysterious graffiti master known only as Guernica has made yet another huge splash in public. Many experts have heralded this pseudonymous street artist as one of the top talents in the field today. However, Guernica's radical subject matter - and selected sites for murals - continue to upset critics. Each massive work is completed overnight, including the latest piece spread across the Security department headquarters. Despite their first mural appearing in Tokyo only a month ago, the artist's true identity remains unknown. Local police have been grappling with the growing criticism at their inability to find the artist. While at the same time, public support for these murals only continues to rise."
"Someone playing with paint? Yawn." Marie had no interest in this whatsoever.
Toshiro, on the other hand...realized he was staring a bit too interested at the TV, so he quickly caught himself. "I should be off now..." He told the two of them, making a quick exit. The stress of life was piling up again. "I should visit that place again before going home..." It would at least provide him a sense of peace for a little while, before the reality of life set in again...
.
.
December 15th
It was snowing. Shujin was buzzing with activity, if only because the student body was anxious for the beginning of Winter Break. They also had to deal with finals, so that didn't help either. Just a few more days and they wouldn't have to worry about school for much longer. The final bell rang and class was over. "Uuuugh, finalllly..." Ann groaned, leaning on her desk with a heavy sigh. Classes felt like they were dragging on longer and longer each day.
"I know, right...?" Ryuji was in the same class as Ann.
"I just can't wait for Winter Break already." And there was Mishima, worming his way into the conversation quickly. But it was fine. "What are you guys gonna do?"
"Well, Ren should be coming again for the break." Ann said while packing her stuff. "So we're all gonna take that chance to hang out again!" Once she was ready, she began to leave the classroom, with Ryuji and Mishima beside her. "We haven't seen him since the summer."
"Oh, right, you guys were on a road trip." Mishima said.
"And it was great!" Ryuji grinned. As they walked down the stairs to the second floor, and then the first, where Futaba and Sumire were waiting. They could see and hear a number of second years chatting about something.
"Oh! Ann-Senpai! Ryuji-senpai!" Sumire rushed over to them with a smile, with Futaba following along.
"You know, you don't have to keep calling us that." Ann said with a smile. "We're friends!"
"See, I told you they'd say that." Futaba nudged Sumire with her elbow.
"Yeah, loosen up a little!" Ryuji grinned.
"W-Well..." Sumire bashfully looked to the side. She was simply used to referring to them as her senpais, because they were. It just felt natural. But Futaba was peer pressuring her into being a little less formal. It wasn't the first time either. "I can...make an effort...A-Ann...Ryuji..." Oh god, this felt so weird. She was blushing and turned away, while the others just laughed.
It was about this time that Ryuji could hear a few passing students talking about some art. It caught his attention since there were so many. "Eh? What're they so excited about?"
"Oh, you don't know?" Mishima spoke as if he already knew, which he did. "Everyone's been talking about that artist, Guernica, lately."
"Guernica?" Ann blinked. But the name did seem to click after a few seconds. "Ooooh! I've heard about them! That artist that's been painting on government buildings, right?"
"Graffiti to be more precise." Mishima pointed out. "It's no doubt a sign of rebellion! No doubt like what the Phantom Thieves do." He nodded firmly, while the others just shot nervous glances at each other.
"They've been blowing up online." Futaba was scrolling through her phone. "A lot of people actually support them! But, as you would expect, government officials are their biggest hater. I wonder what Inari thinks about all this...' She didn't really think to ask; she was too busy focusing on surviving daily school life.
Kawakami couldn't help but notice the group lingering in school. So she had to get their attention. "I understand you want to talk, but you should all really go home right about now. It's snowing after all." She had to make sure everyone got home as soon as possible. "We still have a few days left until Winter Break. You can save all of that fun for later, okay?"
"Ah, right!" Sumire bowed respectfully to Kawakami. "Thank you, Ms. Kawakami! We'll go home right away!
"A few more days..." Ann groaned. It felt like a lifetime away...
.
.
Kosei High was wrapping up for the day as well. Hifumi and Yusuke were making their way down the halls. "Just a bit longer until Winter Break." Hifumi said with a smile. "I cannot wait to actually have the time to spend with everyone again."
"Neither can I. It will be a nice refreshing moment to round out the year." Yusuke nodded in agreement. "To think, this time last year, we were in the depths of Mementos, facing off against a godly foe..."
"I try not to think about it too much these days. I can still feel the soreness..." Hifumi said with a nervous smile. As they made their way out, a few curious first years approached them.
"Excuse me, Kitagawa-senpai?" A first year boy asked.
"Hm?" Yusuke tilted his head. It wasn't so often he was approached. Most of his third year peers didn't really want to deal with him and his eccentric ways, but it didn't bother him. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"You're an artist, right?" The boy asked. "I was wondering what you thought of Guernica!"
"No, wait-!" Hifumi tried to stop them. She had experienced this one too many times.
"Ah, a fellow artist!" Yusuke said, closing his eyes, the air shifting as he just allowed his thoughts to roam free. "While many would frown upon the use of public buildings as a canvas, I cannot help but admire it! I believe there is a message to be told with their art. I believe it serves as a symbol of rebellion for the state of society. I envy their ability to create such wonderful masterpieces overnight, even! They inspire me to have a canvas as big as a building."
"And as I have told you numerous times before, it is a bad idea." Hifumi pointed out, but Yusuke probably couldn't hear her, as always.
"Unfortunately, I never have the time to see their works for myself. They already begin clean up shortly after it's discovered." This was what Yusuke lamented the most. Hifumi sighed, placing her hand on Yusuke's back. "I would love to meet them myself, but I fear that is a task nigh impossible. So I will appreciate their works."
"So you think Guernica is cool, too?" The first year looked excited. Perhaps it was Yusuke's appreciation for art that made them so excited as well.
"I'm not so well versed in the arts. But I wonder why they consistently choose mice..." Hifumi wondered aloud.
"Perhaps they are cheesed about the acts they are committing." Yusuke said with a smile. In response. Hifumi scrunched her nose.
"That pun didn't work before, and it most certainly will not work now." Hifumi stated with a deadpanned expression.
.
.
"Guernica...Gurenica..." While at a modeling shoot, Mika was scrolling through her phone. She was looking intently at the subject of Guernica. "Everyone's talking about them. Mice are a weird artistic choice, but...I kinda like it." She continued scrolling, just looking at the images of all the graffiti Guernica created. She was less interested in where Guernica was painting and more so the images themselves. It was strange, but for some reason, she felt like there was more to the images than meets the eye. Why was that? Was it the vague artistic sense within her that picked up on this? No...surely not. "I gave up on that stuff years ago..." She said this, yet she always had a sketchbook with her. She carried it around with her all summer, but only felt inspired to actually draw a handful of times.
"Mika-san! We're ready for you!" One of the crewmen called for her.
Time to shove these thoughts aside. Mika put on her best, cutest smile, and stood right up. "Coming!" And so, she waltzed off. But she couldn't shake this nagging feeling about Guernica's art. It was bothering her, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it...
.
.
December 26th!
Winter Break began, so there was no more school to worry about. The holiday just passed, giving people plenty of time to spend with their friends and families. Futaba and Sumire were up bright and early, excitedly sitting at Leblanc. It wasn't early enough for the store to be open, but Sojiro was doing some inventory in the process. "You two are sure excited, huh?"
"Of course we are!" Futaba grinned "I know you are too, Sojiro! Ren's going to be here later!"
"It's been a while since we've last seen each other." Sumire sat at the counter, hands in her lap. "I understand everyone is busy with their own lives, but...I'm very happy that we still make the time and effort to gather together when possible." It was the little things that mattered.
"I've kept the attic clean for him." Sojiro admitted. "You guys aren't planning on another road trip, are you?"
"Nope." Futaba shook her head. "That was enough EXP for the year! As fun as it was travelling, nothing beats home."
"I agree!" Sumire nodded. She checked her phone a few times. Ren left a message in the group chat, saying he and Morgana would be there around 10AM. It was currently...9. They had some time to kill. The next two people to walk into Leblanc were Makoto and Haru. "Makoto-senpai! Haru-senpai!"
"Hey, we just talked about this, remember?" Futaba teased. Sumire frantically shook her head. She could barely accept calling Ann and Ryuji by their names alone, but Haru and Makoto were true senpais!
"Hello!" Haru gave a sweet smile. "I suppose Mako-chan and I are a bit early, huh?" Haru giggled. "I guess we just couldn't wait!"
"How is everyone doing?" Makoto said with a smile of her own.
"Just great!" Futaba beamed, taking this chance to turn on the TV. More news about Guernica, but the news was then followed up by something more important.
"The man who was running for Prime Minister, Toshiro Kusakabe, has been missing for quite some time now. Some say it is due to illness, but there has yet to be any evidence substantiating these claims."
"A missing politician, on top of the artist? I guess it's been pretty hectic for the government lately..." Haru placed her hand on her cheek.
"Still, somehow better than the situation last year." Sojiro pointed out. Anything was better than having to deal with Shido in office as far as he was concerned. Time passed, and a few more people pooled into Leblanc; Hifumi, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Ann.
"Hello!" Ann waved. "I almost slept in!"
"I had to go over to her house to wake her up." Hifumi said with a fond smile. "But we made it on time."
"Wassup!" Ryuji said while stepping inside.
"It's been quite some time since we've gathered together. It is nice to see you all again." Yusuke smiled. "And once again, we appear to have made it before Ren and Morgana as well."
"I think it's only fitting." Futaba nodded.
As Sojiro was in the back, he realized he was missing something. "Ah, damn. I forgot to stock up on some vegetables for curry."
"You forgot!?" Futaba's eyes were wide, as if she were betrayed by Sojiro's forgetfulness.
Sumire hopped up from her seat. "Don't worry, Sojiro-san. I can make the trip for you. There's actually something at the nearby store I wanted to grab as well, so this works out! I'll be right back!" And before Sojiro could even say anything, Sumire was out the door in a flash.
"Thank...you...?" Sojiro said, but she was long gone.
As the group spent time together, catching up, the doors to Leblanc opened again. They thought it was Sumire, but it turned out to be Ren, with Morgana in his bag as always! "Yo!" Ren waved to the group, and they all happily greeted the pair.
"Missed me?" Morgana said with a confident meow. Of course, he did miss the others. It's been so long! Ren set his bag down and Morgana hopped onto a table.
"Welcome back!" They all exclaimed, with Sojiro watching in the corner. It was a moment of deja vu, but that was a good thing.
"Just remember to take the cat upstairs when customers come in." Sojiro said.
"Oh, come on, it's cold and snowy. There aren't going to be many customers yet." Futaba was teasing, but Sojiro just grumbled in response. She wans't wrong.
Eventually, Ren looked around and noticed that someone was missing. "Hey, where'd Sumire go?"
"Oh, she went shopping for Sojiro!" Futaba explained. "Although, she should've been back by now. The store's just around the corner."
They wouldn't have to worry about her whereabouts for long, because she ended up texting the group chat.
Sumire: Ren-senpai, are you there yet? There's something I think you should see here...it's artsy...?"
"Artsy...?" Yusuke read his phone, and without even wasting a second, he was the one to bolt out of the story.
"Yusuke! She did not invite you!" Hifumi groaned, hurrying after Yusuke to try and get him to calm down.
"Uh...Guess I'll be right back?" Ren blinked and shrugged, following behind Hifumi and Yusuke.
"She's told me this isn't the first time she's had to do something like this." Ann brought up.
.
.
Sumire was standing outside of an alleyway close to Leblanc. She had groceries in hand, and noticed...Yusuke approaching her first. "Erm, Yusuke-sen...Yusuke?"
"I heard there was something artsy calling to you, so I had to hurry and see if this was something I thought it was." Yusuke stated firmly. Hifumi followed up, along with Ren.
"I apologize...you know how he is." Hifumi sighed quietly.
"Nice to see you, Sumire!" Ren gave her a proper wave. "You look a little stressed though...what's wrong?"
"Hi, Ren-senpai!" Sumire was always happy to see him. She wasn't intending on such a crowd, but it was fine. "I saw something strange back here. It caught my eye and...I think you should see it." She turned around, walking into the alleyway with her friends behind her. "It was...right here!" She pointed to the image in question. It was not an imagine anyone could've prepared to see either; the sight of Raoul being consumed by a large mouse? A rat? It was hard to tell, but this felt very specific.
"What the...!?" Ren's eyes went wide. This felt directed towards him.
"Is that Raoul?" Hifumi blinked. "But...who would draw this?"
"So this...is Guernica's art!" Yusuke exclaimed suddenly.
"Guernica?" Ren blinked. It almost felt like this was the first time he heard this name, but after a few seconds, he realized he recognized it. "That artist everyone's talking about? I mean, I guess...but why this?"
"That...is something I wish I could figure out." Yusuke was carefully observing the graffti in question. "And yet, this is the first time I've been able to witness their works in person! How strange. They usally aim for higher end places where anyone could see them. I wonder what purpose they could have painting this sort of image in a back alley in Yongen of all places."
"Move, move...I wanna see this." This was another unexpected voice: Mika. Her arrival surprised everyone, especially because Hifumi was the only person who actually saw her recently compared to everyone else here.
"Mika?" Hifumi blinked. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to see Guernica's art!" Mika explained. "I follow everything concerning them on social media. Someone told me they saw their art in Yongen. I don't really have a reason to come here otherwise."
"You're interested in Guernica as well?" Yusuke glanced at Mika, intrigued by her artisitc sense.
"Duh." Mika waved her hand. "Oh, Ben's back."
"That's not..." Ren opened his mouth to speak, but he realized it was pointless to try and correct her. Clearly, Mika did not care about him enough at all to even try getting his name right. Attempting to change that at this point felt...pointless.
"...Huh." Mika leaned closer to the painting, not entirely sure what to think about it. "This is...different than the stuff they usually make."
"You believe so as well?" Yusuke stroked his chin. "I had a feeling there was something strange about this particular piece."
One more guest was to arrive. Akechi let out a small sigh as he approached the group. He wasn't expecting them... "I did not expect all of you to beat me here."
"Akechi?" Ren and Sumire called out to him at the same time.
"What brings you here, Akechi-san?" Sumire titled her head. Akechi was the last person she expected to see in Yongen right now!
"Did you hear I was coming back and wanted to see me?" Ren had to make the joke. But Akechi's cold glare told the opposite story. "Wow, okay. Tough crowd..."
"I'm not here for you." Akechi's tone was sharp. "I heard you were coming back today, but I had no intention of going out of my way to see you. I came here because the police have been, once again, floundering with something out of their control."
"Did they ask you to look into Guernica?" Hifumi asked.
To that, Akechi shook his head. "I wasn't formally asked. The days of the Detective Prince are practically over. But this is a matter I've decided to look into myself. The police have only asked me to come to them if I found something worth their time. My leads have led me to this back alley in Yongen, with all of you." When he would preferably like to be here alone. "I can only imagine a number of reasons as to why they would do something like this. Yet...they have been turning the entire city into their canvas for quite some time. They could be messages of the crimes they committed, or perhaps they are seeking to speak out against some social injustice...or even this is all just for fun. As long as they keep trying to communicate, I felt compelled to investigate."
"Hm..." Mika turned back to the painting in question. "Well, I'm no art major, but clearly, the artist is searching for help from the Phantom Thieves. This piece is a little too on the nose to think anything else."
"There isn't much the Phantom Thieves could do right now anyway." Yusuke crossed his arms. They had no means of entering the Metaverse anymore. "So then, why..."
"Although, I think this is the first piece that's had a mouth on it..." Mika went back to her phone, comparing this piece with the previous ones.
"You might actually be right." Akechi took note of that as well. It was a curious observation...
"Phantom Thieves! Phantom Thieves of Hearts...!" An unknown voice spoke. But it seemed as if Ren was the only one capable of hearing it.
"...!?" Ren's eyes widened and he turned to the wall. "What the...!?"
"Please...I...I need your help! I need your power...to change the heart!"
"Uhhhhhhhh..." Mika noticed it first. "Ben. Are you...good? You're staring at that wall pretty hard..."
"You...You guys didn't hear that voice from the wall?" Ren looked at the others, who looked at him like he was losing it.
"A voice...?" Yusuke shook his head. "I don't believe I heard anything of the sort."
"I didn't either." Hifumi said.
"Are you alright, Ren-senpai..?" Sumire took a careful step closer. "It came from the wall? Could someone be trapped inside?"
"No." Akechi sharply denied that. "He's likely just..." Before he could finish that train of thought, the mural on the wall began to shine brightly. "What?" And then, it started to suck them all in with an unwordly amount of force.
"Aaaaaahhhh!?" Mika screamed, clinging to Hifumi as they were all slowly being dragged in against their will. "Why do all these weird things start happening to me noooooow!?"
"Hang on to something...!" Hifumi shouted out of instinct, but unfortunately, there was nothing to grab onto.
"I'm losing my footing!" Sumire yelped. She dropped her bag of groceries in the process
"It's no use...! It's too strong!" Yusuke grunted.
"We're being dragged in!" Akechi growled. There was nothing they could do against the unwordly pull this mural had on them.
"Gaaaaaah!" Ren let out a cry of surprise, along with the others, as all six of them were pulled into the mural on the wall. A bright flash of light and multiple colors were the last things they saw. The mural on the wall closed its mouth as if nothing happened, leaving everything that happened in that back alley a complete mystery...