They continued to chase after the sisters as they headed south.
When the sisters began to split up, the group set their sights on the one dressed in white.
The shadow led them to the south, losing them before they could catch up.
"Where the hell did she go?" Ryuji snapped.
Their chase had led them to a garden villa.
Along the sides of the garden were patches of yellow flowers. Fruit trees and grapevines covered the walls.
To no one's surprise, there were statues of Kobayakawa in each flower patch.
What was perhaps the most impressive feature, however, was a large fountain in the center. Much larger than them, in fact.
"It's breathtaking…" Ann muttered.
Panther and Fox started looking all around the garden, admiring it.
"Be careful, everyone." Queen warned. "Shadows could be anywhere."
"That one shadow seemed more interested in runnin' away then fighting." Skull grumbled.
"Hey, everyone, over here!" Joker called.
Hidden underneath some grapevines and tree branches stood a door.
"This looks like one of those Will Seed doors." Makoto noted. "Well, I suppose we should check it out."
They entered the room, Makoto picking up the Will Seed as the room shifted around them…
A much younger looking Kobayakawa appeared on a stage, nervously clearing his throat in front of a podium.
Makoto glanced around, seeing that they were in the middle of an auditorium filled with students.
"H-Hello. Is this thing on?" the principal asked, before wincing at the volume. "Erm, yes, umm… hello! As of today, I will be serving as your new principal here at Shujin Academy!"
She carefully paid attention to the principal's demeanor. He seemed… different, that was for sure.
"Each and every one of you are here in pursuit, and I have made it my mission to bring out the hidden potential of each and every one of you." The principal continued.
She noticed that the principal seemed to grow in confidence as the speech continued. It seemed more… genuine.
"The future of our nation is in your hands!" The principal declared. "And I will do everything I can to help you all to be the best that you can!"
His speech was met with a round of applause, the principal having a bright smile on his face as the room began to shift back to normal.
"What was that…?" Panther wondered.
"It was a glimpse into his past." Makoto explained. "All of the Will Seeds so far have shown us these visions."
"Huh… I guess he did look a bit younger there." Ann noticed. "That must have been when he first became the principal."
"He seemed a lot more passionate as well." Makoto noted.
As they stepped out of the Will Seed room, she couldn't help but wonder why he had changed.
"You don't think that that shadow from before ran away while we were lookin' at that Will Seed, do you?" Ryuji asked.
"Well, earlier we knew it was here, but we still weren't able to find them." Ren pointed out. "There must be somewhere we haven't looked. Somewhere they could still be hiding."
"But we must have gone over this entire garden already!" Mona argued.
While she thought about whether they should stay or leave, she spied Fox glancing at the fountain suspiciously. At the top of the fountain was a statue of the sister in white.
Fox carefully applied a bit of force to the statue's arm, and to her surprise, it moved.
A loud rumbling boomed as soon as he did that, everyone holding on to something as it occurred.
"What the hell did you do?!" Panther exclaimed.
"I'm not sure!" Fox replied. "I simply thought that the arm didn't look aligned properly."
Finally, the rumbling stopped, as did the water running from the fountain.
As they all went to get a closer look, they saw that a hidden passage down had been revealed.
"I bet that's where that shadow ran off to." Makoto assumed.
They climbed down the entrance in the statue, making their way down a ladder to a dimly lit passageway. They carefully made their way through, finding a small shrine at the end of the passage.
"Ohohoho! I'm surprised you managed to find this place!"
The sister in white appeared in front of them, laughing to herself.
"How considerate of you to meet me down here underground!" the sister in white exclaimed. "This shrine will serve as your graves!"
"Everyone, let's go!" Makoto shouted, before gripping her mask. "Shiki-Ouji!"
The sister in white fired a storm of paper talismans at them.
"Watch out for those Hama spells!" Morgana warned. "One hit and you're down for the count!"
Makoto charged straight in while the others easily dodged the attack.
Shiki-Ouji allowed her to be unaffected by the Hama magic, allowing her to rush in.
"Double shot!" Makoto shouted.
Shiki-Ouji raised its arms, firing at the shadow.
The shadow cried out in pain, but quickly prepared another spell, surrounding Makoto with a blue circle for a moment before it disappeared.
Whatever that was, it didn't hurt me, Makoto thought. I'll just have to have Shiki-Ouji use… use…
She clutched her head in pain as she tried to remember how to command her Persona.
"That shadow's made Queen super forgetful!" Morgana gasped, rushing over to heal her.
"Ohohoho!" the shadow laughed. "And just how do you plan to fight me when you can't rememb-AHH!"
Queen punched the shadow in the face, sending it to the ground, Panther quickly shooting a fireball at it.
"Looks like you can fight a little…" the shadow muttered. "I hope you don't mind if I play with you a little longer!"
Joker took aim, but the shadow vanished before he could take the shot.
"The shadow ran away again…" Makoto grumbled as Morgana healed her.
"Looks like she dropped her orb, at least." Joker pointed out, grabbing the yellow sphere off of the ground.
"That shadow didn't seem to be all that powerful… more of a support type." Morgana pointed out. "Hopefully those other two are the same."
"We'll have to find them first." Makoto said. "Fox, can I have another look at the map?"
Fox nodded, handing it to her.
"The main temple was in the center, the coliseum in the east, the entrance to the west, the door to the northwest, and the gardens to the south." she muttered aloud. "That… leaves the northeast, the southeast, and the southwest…"
"They were all running to the south, weren't they?" Fox recalled. "We should try looking near the garden."
"Alright, let's go!" Ryuji encouraged. "Just gotta get those last two orbs!"
They left the garden, beginning their search for the other two sisters.
They decided to search the southeast first, and found themselves in front of a small building.
Unlike the rest of the citadel, however, the building gave a very dreary vibe. The building was entirely grey and showed signs of decay much like the buildings in the town.
As they approached the front doors, they could hear whispering from the other side.
"Quickly, bar the door!" a gladiator hissed. "I saw those intruders coming!"
"I hope that cat girl isn't with them…" another gladiator muttered. "She was scary…"
"I'll show them scary!" Panther snapped.
She sent a fireball at the door, blasting the door down, revealing several terrified looking gladiators on the other side.
"H-Haven't you heard of knocking?!" one of them exclaimed.
"Sure we have!" Ryuji grinned. "Once we're done knocking you out, we're going after those sisters and takin' their orbs!"
They quickly dispatched the gladiators before taking the time to explore the building.
"Looks like there are some more stairs here!" Panther discovered. "They're leading underground."
As they climbed down the stairs, it became immediately apparent what the building was for.
"This… is a dungeon." Makoto muttered.
Rats scurried along the floors, and a foul stench permeated through the air as they
walked the halls of the dimly lit dungeon.
They glanced around, looking inside of the dungeon cells, several of them having students inside of them.
"Shouldn't we help them?" Ann asked.
"Remember, they're just cognitions." Morgana explained. "Once we steal the treasure, this entire palace, them included, will disappear."
"Still… to keep them locked up like that…" Ann trailed off.
"The people in here… Kobayakawa probably views them as people that he can't benefit from."
Joker theorized.
"Benefit from?" Yusuke questioned.
"Well, the people outside this dungeon had to offer him tribute every day." Ren reminded him. "Those people are probably the ones that he views as exploitable or easily manipulated."
Ann balled her hands into fists. "Yeah. That sounds like him, alright."
They continued making their way through the dungeon, dispatching every shadow that they came across. While individually, the shadows inside the dungeon weren't terribly strong, it did begin to wear on them after a while.
"Joker, switch with Skull." Queen requested. "A lot of these shadows are weak to electricity."
Ren nodded, swapping out for Ryuji.
"Alright, finally!" Ryuji grinned. "Now hopefully we'll find those sisters soon!"
"I don't know about those sisters, but I do sense a Will Seed nearby!" Morgana told them.
"Then we should grab that first." Makoto said. "Lead the way, Mona."
Morgana led the group to the door, which she quickly opened, taking the Will Seed inside.
This time, the seed brought them to what looked like a very fancy buffet.
Several important looking men and women sat at dining tables, conversing with one another.
She saw Kobayakawa, nervously walking around, a plate filled with food.
"Who's that foul-looking man over there…"
"He can't afford to eat here, can he…?"
"How low this place must have fallen, if this is their clientele now…"
Kobayakawa grimaced, muttering under his breath. "They'll see. They'll all see one day. One day, I'll be standing far above them…"
One man sitting alone at his table got up and gestured the principal over.
Confused, Kobayakawa walked over to them. "Wait, you're not S-"
"How arrogant are you?" the man scoffed. "Do you earnestly believe that my boss has the time to be meeting with someone like you? A lowly principal of a high school."
Kobayakawa seemed to shrink under the man's harsh words.
"Now what's the problem you were talking about?" the man asked.
"It… It's the school, sir." the principal confessed. "It hasn't been doing well as of late. It hasn't been generating any fame or publicity for myself or the students… I had hoped that our sports teams would help in that regard, but…"
"It sounds like you need better coaches." the man scoffed. "Or maybe someone more recognizable to give the school some publicity."
"Is there anything you can do to help me?" the principal pleaded. "I'll do anything you ask!"
"Anything?" the other man repeated. "...Are you sure about that?"
"I understand the seriousness of what I'm saying." Kobayakawa answered. "But I mean it. I'm… willing to do anything."
"I see. We'll hold you to that." the man replied. "I… that is, my boss... does happen to know someone. A manager of a company that works with pro athletes. We might be able to work something out."
"Y-Yes! Yes! That would be perfect!" Kobayakawa expressed. "Thank you, thank you!"
"Just remember… you'll owe us quite a few favors for this…" the other man trailed off.
The vision cut off there, bringing them back to the Will Seed room.
"It looks like the principal has some friends in high places…" Ren muttered.
"I have to wonder what kind of favors that he owes to those people…" Makoto wondered.
"They were talking about a manager for pro athletes, right?" Ann asked. "You don't think that the person he hired then was…?"
"It's gotta be Kamoshida!" Ryuji exclaimed. "There's no doubt in my mind!"
"I'm pretty curious as well." Makoto admitted. "But for now, we should focus on those sisters."
Everyone agreed, following her out of the room.
Thankfully, they didn't have to go far for them to find something. Down the hallway from the Will Seed was another door.
Makoto carefully opened it… gasping at what was inside.
There were several students chained to the walls, groaning in pain.
They looked hungry, sick, and barely clinging to life.
"What the hell is this?!" Panther cried.
"This… is what happens when you go against our lord!"
The sister in red appeared before them, an arrogant smirk on her face.
"Ohohoho!" the shadow laughed. "You must have a death wish to continue to defy our lord!"
"We don't plan on dyin' here!" Skull exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter what your plan is!" the sister in red argued. "Everyone who goes against our lord is fated for a short life! Your time is about to run out!"
The sister in red fired a chunk of ice at her, which she narrowly evaded.
"Try this!" Ann yelled, throwing a Agi spell.
The shadow quickly created a barrier that reflected the fireball right back at Ann, starting her and knocking her to the ground.
"Panther!" Skull cried. "Alright, you're goin' down!"
"Skull, wait!" Makoto called.
Skull rushed towards the shadow, wielding his weapon.
The shadow smirked, creating another barrier that sent Skull flying backwards as soon as he struck it with his weapon.
"What the hell?!" Skull snapped. "Why can't we hit her?!"
"It's those barriers." Queen realized. "They're reflecting our attacks back at us. One reflects physical attacks, the other magic!"
"So how are we going to get through them?" Mona asked.
The shadow forced them onto the defensive, all of them too cautious to risk striking again.
If she reflects it back at us, then I might have an idea, Makoto mused.
After Mona healed their wounds, Makoto turned towards the others. "Skull, Panther, when I give the signal, attack!"
"Shiki-Ouji!" Makoto called. "Double Shot!"
"Whatever you're planning won't work!" the shadow snapped, creating another barrier.
"Panther, gun! Skull, magic!"
The Double Shot hit the barrier, reflecting back, but dealing no damage to her thanks to Shiki-Ouji's defenses.
Skull and Panther immediately went on the offensive, firing a Zio spell and several bullets.
Seeing both physical and magical attacks headed their way, the shadow hesitated long enough for both attacks to hit her, knocking her to the ground.
The shadow screamed as Makoto fired another Double Shot into her.
Before they could press their advantage, however, the shadow began to retreat.
"This doesn't matter!" the shadow snapped. "My sister will deal with you shortly!"
The shadow dropped the orb they were carrying as they ran off.
"Tch… looks like the only thing they're good at is runnin' away." Ryuji grumbled.
"Still, that's two orbs now." Ren brought up. "One more and we're set."
"I'll be glad to finally leave this dungeon…" Ann muttered.
"So, where to next?" Ren asked.
"They'll most likely be in the southwest." Makoto figured. "Although, I'd rather not leave any stone unturned. We should check the northeast first."
She didn't think that any of the sisters would be in the northeast, but it didn't hurt to check.
"Good point!" Morgana nodded. "Let's get a move on then."
Sure enough, they didn't find any of the sisters were in the northeast. Instead, there was another shrine, although much smaller than Kobayakawa's shrine.
They made their way inside, seeing an absurd number of grapes and jugs offered at the shrine.
Makoto immediately glanced at Ren.
"...I'm not going to make a grape pun." Ren promised, knowing what she was about to ask. "I know that they just make everyone wine."
"Thank you." she expressed. "Wait a minute…"
She lightly smacked Joker's arm when she saw the cheeky grin on his face.
"Oh! Over there! The last Will Seed door!" Morgana called.
Sure enough, underneath some other grapevines was another door.
"H-Hey come on, what's the *Hic* rush, yoose guys?"
They quickly got into fighting positions when they saw a gladiator approaching.
...Only to become very confused when they saw the gladiator stumbling around, a jug of wine in their hand.
"Is… that guard drunk?" Panther questioned.
"I think so…" Makoto answered.
"I-I'm not *Hic* drunk!" the shadow insisted. "I jusht h-had a… a couple of drinks… thash all. Say...youse want some?"
"We're underage!" Queen shouted.
"Ahh, don't be sussh a p-party pooper…" the shadow mumbled.
"Urgh… enough of this!" Ann snapped "Agi!"
The fireball slammed into the gladiator, knocking it to the ground.
"Huh." Mona shrugged. "That was easier than I thought it would b-"
"Hahahaha!"
The gladiator stood up before dissolving into black ooze.
It quickly reformed into a tall, garland-wearing man whose body was a variety of different bright colors. He also carried a staff.
"Thasshs how yoush *HIC* wanna play, huh?" the shadow laughed. "Then let's play!"
The shadow immediately blasted them all with thunder, dealing immense damage to them.
The shadow rushed towards Mona, who was busy trying to heal, but was intercepted by Ryuji.
Ryuji swung his weapon again and again, but the shadow dodged with wild movements.
"Eligor!" Makoto called. "Double Fangs!"
The combined power of her and Ryuji's Persona was enough to put the shadow on the defense, striking multiple blows against them.
It didn't last for long, however, as the shadow stumbled back and blasted them with lightning again.
"You'll hafta *HIC* try h-harderrrr!" the shadow taunted.
We can't beat it in a straight fight, Makoto mused. But maybe…
"Panther, can you confuse it?" she asked.
"On it!" Ann acknowledged.
Ann sent out a Tentarafoo spell, causing yellow trails of light to enter the shadow's head.
"W-Wha… where *HIC* the hell am I?" the shadow mumbled. "W-Why are there t-two of all of yoush…?"
"Mona, blow them away!" Makoto ordered.
Morgana let loose a wild Garu spell, making the already confused shadow's head spin.
"Oooh… this is one nasty hangover…" the shadow muttered as they fell to the ground.
"Now, let's finish them off!" Makoto shouted.
They struck the downed shadow with an All-Out Attack, causing it to dissolve into black ooze.
"Phew… thank goodness that's over. It looks like he ran out of juice." Makoto said, eyes widening at what she just said. "Wait…"
"I knew you secretly liked puns!" Joker grinned.
"N-No, that's not it at all!" she insisted, before shaking her head. "Never mind. Let's just grab the last Will Seed."
They went inside and wasted no time in taking the last Will Seed.
She saw Kobayakawa in his office, clutching his head.
"This can't be happening…" Kobayakawa muttered. "What do I do?"
A knock at his door startled him. "C-Come in!"
Kamoshida walked into the room, a serious expression on his face.
"You wanted to see me?" Kamoshida asked.
"Mr. Kamoshida... there have been some… very unsavory rumors spreading around." the principal muttered. "Rumors… about how you've been treating the athletes. Physically abusing the boys. And the girls… you…"
"Relax." Kamoshida told him. "None of those kids want to be the one to hurt the school's reputation. To ruin things for the sports teams and everyone else."
"You… you're not denying it." Kobayakawa whispered. "If the police get involved…"
"They won't get involved." Kamoshida insisted. "And if they do, you're going to tell them that there's nothing going on around here."
"B-But-"
"The reason why this school has the reputation that it does is because of me." Kamoshida claimed. "If I go down, we all go down."
The principal grimaced, before glancing at a cabinet next to his desk.
It was filled with numerous trophies, awards, and other types of honors, many of them having to do with the sports teams.
"Y-Yes… you're right." the principal confessed. "But what can I do…?"
"The rest of the staff will listen to you." Kamoshida told him. "Just tell them not to speak about it."
"I… yes, of course." the principal nodded. "I'll do just that. That… will be all. You're dismissed."
Kamoshida left the office, leaving Kobayakawa by himself.
Slowly, the principal picked up.
"I could end this right now…" he muttered. "I could call the police…"
He shook his head. "No… he's right. I can't let a controversy like this happen. I'm in far too deep. I owe too many favors to important people."
He put the phone down.
"I… I can't give in now." the principal stated. "I've given up far too much to fail now! I… I am destined for greatness. I… I can't let the school's reputation… my reputation… fall."
A small grin crossed his face.
"Yes… my reputation…!" the principal exclaimed. "I can't… let anyone stand in my way!"
When the vision ended, it took a moment for Makoto to realize that her fists were clenched.
Ryuji and Ann's faces were twisted into scowls, and even Ren's normal easygoing smile had been replaced with a glare.
"What a truly detestable coward…" Yusuke muttered, breaking the silence.
"Got one little taste of fame, and he let it consume him." Morgana scoffed.
"...I suppose that's all there is to it." Makoto whispered. "There's no doubt in my mind that his heart needs to be changed."
"Then what the hell are we waitin' for?" Ryuji asked. "Let's get that last orb!"
"Hold on." Makoto said. "Fox, Joker, are you two able to take over for Mona and Skull?"
"What?!" Ryuji snapped. "Why are you replacing me?!"
"We have no idea what's coming up ahead." Makoto explained. "I want the people on the front lines to be in the best condition possible."
"I'm fine with joining the front lines, but what about Panther?" Yusuke asked.
"...I'm not backing down now." Panther stated. "I… will never forgive Kobayakawa!"
Everyone glanced at Ann, and the determined expression on her face.
"I guess if anyone deserves a shot at that bastard, it's you." Skull acknowledged.
"Let's go to the southwest, then." Queen ordered.
After making their way to the southwesternmost part of the citadel, they came upon what looked to be an entrance to a theater built onto a hill.
"We've looked everywhere else." Yusuke mentioned. "So the last sister must be in here."
They walked into a circular stage on a cliff that overlooked the town, a chorus of cheers sounding as they did.
Up in the stands, there were tons of shadows shouting from the audience, sitting on stone steps built into the hillside.
"Ohohoho! It seems you've drawn quite the crowd!"
The sister in black appeared before them.
"They're all quite eager to witness your death!" the sister in black cried.
"What makes you think you can take us?!" Ren exclaimed. "We've already taken care of your sisters!"
The sister in black simply laughed, as her younger sisters suddenly appeared at her sides.
"Let's see how well you do against all three of us." The sister in white said.
Don't underestimate us!" the sister in red warned. "Our master put us in charge of eliminating you Thieves!"
"Our master is fated to stand above everyone else!" the sister in black declared. "But as for you… we shall…"
The three sisters got into fighting positions.
"Spin!"
"Measure!"
"And snip your fate!"
The three sisters immediately went on the offensive. The sister in red cast a Tarukaja spell on the sister in black, who proceeded to blast them all with fireballs.
The blast did intense damage to all of them except for Panther, who managed to resist the attack.
Panther pulled out her gun, managing to hit all three sisters with a few stray bullets.
The sister in white began to cast a Media spell on her and her sisters.
"The one in white is the healer!" Makoto called. "Take her out first!"
Fox rushed ahead with his sword, but not before the sister in red created a barrier in front of her sister, reflecting Fox's strike and knocking him to the ground.
The sister in black forced them onto the defensive, assaulting them with chunks of ice.
"What do we do, Queen?" Joker asked. "They're pretty good at covering each other's weaknesses."
Their teamwork is incredible, Makoto mused. Our teamwork will have to be even better if we hope to defeat them.
"I have a plan." Makoto answered. "Fox, with me! Joker, time for ailments!"
"Got it!" Joker called. "Stagnant Air!"
Arséne released a black mist throughout the entire stage, increasing everyone's susceptibility to ailments.
"Fox, speed me up!" Queen ordered.
Fox nodded, casting a Sukukaja spell on her.
She rushed towards the sister in white with her fist raised, Yusuke a bit behind her.
"You really think that'll work?!" the sister in red taunted.
Seeing that she was preparing a physical barrier, Queen quickly changed course.
"Fox, use magic on the healer!" she cried.
The sister in red was shocked at her feint, unable to create another barrier in time to shield herself.
"Eligor!" she called. "Memory Blow!"
Her persona slammed its weapon into the sister in red's head, dealing major damage.
Meanwhile, Yusuke fired a chunk of ice at the sister in white, knocking her to the ground.
"How dare you!" the sister in black snapped, flinging fireballs at both Fox and Queen.
"Intercept!" Queen ordered.
Joker and Panther rushed into action, firing an Eiha and Agi spell to intercept the fireballs, causing an explosion in the process.
The sisters in black and red jumped back to create some distance, but when the smoke cleared, they were surprised to see Fox finishing off the sister in white with another ice spell, dissolving her into ooze.
"Sister!" the sister in black exclaimed, before turning to her other sister. "Quick, form another barrier!"
"B-Barrier?" the sister in red stammered.
Queen smirked, seeing that her Memory Blow had worked.
"Yes, a barrier!" the sister in black snapped. "Hurry up!"
"B-But I can't remember how t-AHH!"
Joker fired an Eiha spell into the sister of red, causing her to cry out in pain before dissolving into black ooze.
"Ha! You three talked a lot about fate, but I bet you didn't see this coming!" Ren taunted.
"Y-You…!" the sister in black scowled. "You will die here! I have decided! It is fa-"
"Ooooh, I am sooo sick of all of your stupid games and talk about fate!" Panther snapped. "Just screw off already!"
Ann fired a Agi spell at the sister in black, causing her to fall to the ground screaming in pain.
"Now's our chance, everyone!" she called. "Attack!"
Everyone fired their strongest spells, downing the final sister for good.
Makoto walked up to where the sister had been and picked up the last orb as it fell to the ground.
"Good work, everyone." Makoto beamed. "We earned this victory together."
"Hell yeah!" Ryuji cheered. "That's all three of the orbs!"
"We should be able to open that door now." Morgana recalled.
"Then let's get moving." Makoto called.
They left the theater, making their way back to the door with the boar's head.
They placed the orbs in the boar's eye sockets and its mouth.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Before any of them could comment, however, they heard a soft rumbling sound.
Slowly, the door began to open, revealing the path to the treasure.
"Everyone, be careful." Queen cautioned. "Kobayakawa could be up ahead."
She led the group down a narrow hallway, hoping that there weren't any more shadows to ambush them.
Eventually, they reached the end of the hallway, and found a secret shrine.
There were several large statues in the shrine, but curiously, none of them were of the principal himself.
The statues were of a bunch of men in suits, the tallest statue depicting a bald man with a goatee and glasses.
She saw Ren approach the statue, a frown on his face.
"Is something wrong, Joker?" she asked.
Ren paused for a second, before shaking his head. "I just… got a strange feeling looking at this statue. It's probably nothing, though."
"Hey guys, look what I found!" Panther called.
Panther directed them to a very modern looking desk in the back of the room that stood out from the rest of the architecture.
It's right in there!" Morgana exclaimed. "The treasure is right in that desk!"
"Alright, I'll open it up." Makoto offered.
However, when she tried to open the drawers, she found that every single one of them was locked.
She tried to forcefully open the desk, even trying to break it open, but nothing worked.
"I can't open it." she muttered. "And for whatever reason, this desk is indestructible." Makoto frowned.
"Seriously, how many effin' locked things are in this place?!" Ryuji complained.
"Effin'?" Ann repeated.
"W-What? Is there a problem?" Ryuji mumbled.
"Nah, I was just surprised that that's where you draw the line." Ann grinned. "It's kinda cute, actually."
"P-Panther, I'm cute too!" Mona insisted.
"Focus, people!" Makoto ordered. "We need to find some way to open this desk."
"Hmm… it seems a little out of place with everything else in the Palace aesthetically." Yusuke observed.
Makoto nodded. "Now that you mention it, it does look odd. Actually, this desk… looks somewhat familiar."
"Oh! I remember!" Panther exclaimed. "It looks just like the desk in the principal's office."
"You're right!" Makoto realized. "In fact, I think that it's the exact same desk!"
"For real?" Ryuji asked. "So what's it doing here?"
"I wonder if it's like Madarame's Palace?" Ren wondered. "We had to open a door to get past his security system."
"It looks like we'll have to sneak into his office and check out that desk ourselves!" Mona declared.
"Looks like we can take out two birds with one stone." Ren realized. "We need to deliver the calling card too, so we open up his desk in the real world and leave the calling card. He'll see that his desk is open and see the calling card, which will make the treasure materialize!"
"But how are we going to sneak in?" Panther asked. "It'll be hard to get into the principal's office during school hours, and even if we did, Fox goes to a different school."
"That's why we'll enter a few hours before school starts." Makoto informed them. "It's not unusual for council members to arrive at school a few hours early. I'll sneak into the principal's office and open the drawers to his desk. If anything is locked, I'll have Morgana pick the lock."
"Then all we have to do is wait near the treasure until that giant egg sees his calling card!" Mona smirked.
"Hey, that's a pretty great plan!" Ann grinned. "I think it could work!"
"I'll get started on the calling card right away, then." Yusuke promised.
"Alright, so let's end the infiltration for now." Queen ordered. "The next time we come here… we're stealing his heart."
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 4
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 4
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 3
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 4
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 3
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 3
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 3
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 3
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 3
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 3
THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 1
THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 1
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 2
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 1
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 2
THE JUDGEMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 2
THE COUNCILLOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 3
Do you believe in the Phantom Thieves? Yes 15.9%