Senran Persona: Ninjas of Hearts

by UknownHero

With JGResidentEvil and VividMind17. Fate can be an interesting thing within life. It can bring unexpected changes that no one can truly see. For two girls, those that were destined to be rivals between good and evil, changed under the masks of rebellion to forge their own true paths. Now get up and stand your ground because these sexy ninjas are gonna steal your heart!

142. Brewing New Troubles

Hey! Happy Lunar New Years and welcome to Senran Persona! We are officially this chapter away from the ending of the Okumura arc! Hopefully we'll finish the next arc this year now that we have four people working on this.

Let's start this with no delay. Time to light some fires.

Load Game… Start!

---

Chapter 142: Brewing New Troubles

---

(10/10, Early Morning)

(Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)

It was just another morning for the stepsisters of the Phantom Thieves, going through their morning routine and getting ready to enjoy their day off school. It was particularly cold in the early hours, in a move that felt worryingly weird to them, they wore more clothes than usual as they did their chores around the apartment.

"That was such a fun movie night." Asuka breathed out.

"I know." Homura giggled. "Although, I wish senpai would have picked one without g-ghosts." She then murmured.

"You didn't seem that scared last night, Homu-neechan. Not like what happened in, um, Boss' house." Asuka soon reminded, both of them blushing at the memory.

"..." Meanwhile, Homura couldn't help but think back to last night.

---

(Rewind)

"ANDHERECOMESTHEGIANTFIST!" The man on the television declared in anger.

"PAT-SAN! NO!" The woman on the television yelled as well in fear.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Asuka let out a blood-curdling scream as she clutched onto the light grey haired girl, who looked similarly freaked out.

"SAVE ME, OJII-SAMA!" Yumi cried as she covered her face.

Meanwhile, the tan skinned girl was surprisingly stoic...for none of the reasons the other girls were thinking.

"Now is not the time...It is not the time for any of that. You aren't some weak-willed scaredy cat like Miyabi! Come on, Homura! Keep the flood gates closed!" Homura mentally encouraged herself, her face struggling to remain impassive while sneakily keeping her legs pressed together.

(Fast Forward)

---

"...I just don't like horror." Homura mumbled.

"Even though he was only helping his wife from the other side?" Asuka asked. "Haah. That's a kind of love I can really get behind." She then sighed out in a contented manner.

SPRONG! SPRONG!

The tan skinned girl soon felt her curled hair being played with. "Hehe, still admiring my hair, Sis?" Homura giggled out in amusement.

"Hehe! It's so bouncy." Asuka giggled and confessed. "You have a lot of choices for hairstyles now." She then noted.

"Yeah, Kochō-senpai thought it was concerning that it was almost touching the ground yesterday before we headed to get me a much needed trim." Homura confessed in amusement.

"Kochō-san really seems like a nice person. She even got you a nice uniform from her school for you to keep." Asuka noted with a smile.

"She is indeed. It's the reason her school's university is at the top of my list of universities to attend after high school." Homura confirmed and proudly revealed.

"That's great to hear, Homu-neechan." Asuka replied. "You better do well if you do attend there."

"You know I will Sis." Homura responded in reassurance.

To hearing that, Asuka's smile didn't leave her face, nodding in approval as she then headed for the kitchen. "Good. Do you mind turning the TV on while I make us some breakfast?" She soon requested.

"Sure." Homura responded as she grabbed the remote and did as requested.

"...with what is being called the Gasoline Row Riot, committed by a group of young female individuals obsessed with a man." The male news reporter's voice announced from the TV.

"We have withheld the name and face of the focus of this group of fanatics to protect his identity as Shibuya police took several hours to subdue this unruly group of sexually motivated girls that took place in Harajuku yesterday." His female co-host added. "Police casualties reportedly number in the hundreds while property damage is assumed to be in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Prominent politician and prime minister candidate Masayoshi Shido condemned the current government in a press conference aired last night." She then continued.

"It's a clear indication of the failure of the prime minister's ability to ensure the safety of the citizens for what happened in Harajuku." The sharp-dressed bald man declared. "Tokyo has only fallen further and further into depravity this past year. Street fights, gangs, public indecency, the Phantom Thieves and the ongoing Mental Shutdown Incidents. These are all symptoms of a society collapsing in on itself, of the rampant and malignant corruption in nearly every part of Japan that has been allowed to fester." He then continued in a no nonsense tone.

"We will be live when Yoshiki Kasukabe, also known as Buddha Kasukabe for his serenity and impeccable record, gives his press conference later today." The reporter soon informed. "Up next on Daiba Morning News: the ongoing debates on the talented, yet highly controversial, street artist known as Guernica as well as Akechi's..." The female anchor then continued on.

CLICK!

"...Perverted fangirls..." Homura bluntly yet maturely insulted with disgust and an expression of disapproval as she switched the TV off. "I am so going to have to inform Makoto-senpai and Kocho-senpai about this if they haven't heard about it yet." She then added.

"I wonder how Yumi-chan is dealing with her own rabid fan club?" Asuka wondered out loud. "I know she disguises herself, but she has to be dealing with it at school, right?" She then continued.

"I think we're getting too many fan clubs around here." Homura deadpanned. She shuddered when the thought of her own coming into fruition. "It will be a cold day in hell." She thought.

"Thank god!" Miyabi called out from her apartment in relief. "...Wait a fucking minute!" She then growled.

"Miyabi-chan?" Asuka got out, curious about what she was yelling about this time.

"Ugh, keep it quiet when you flick the bean!" Homura shouted in annoyance.

Suddenly, the apartment door slammed open. "It's not that! That was my damned Militia on the news..." Miyabi insisted with a huff, revealing her newly styled hair and lightly made up face to the sisters.

Who promptly raised an eyebrow each at how feminine the white-haired woman looked now.

"Seriously? How did you get in this time?" Homura deadpanned.

"I got my own key." Miyabi revealed.

"When did you get your own key!?" Homura yelled in frustration.

"Wait, you caused that riot!?" Asuka however exclaimed in shock.

"No! Well, not intentionally." Miyabi quickly corrected. "...Didn't stop it either." She then admitted.

"Why?" Asuka then questioned.

"If I touched one of them, they'd squirt or something." Miyabi answered with a grimace. "Yeah, I think I'm better off not staining myself with that shit." She then grumbled.

"How did you manage to kickstart that anyway?" Homura asked.

"All because I somehow managed to make myself unrecognizable to them..." Miyabi sighed out.

The sisters instantly looked confused. "...Is it because of the hair and make up? I mean, yeah, it looks nice but I can tell you're Miyabi." The tanned skinned girl muttered.

"My fan club is full of horny idiots. They literally ran right past me, saw my face, heard my voice and they still paid no attention to me..." Miyabi explained in a deadpan tone. "You think they're gonna give up after a while and head back to the remains of Hebijo?" She then asked.

"Not until they find another obsession. Some people don't change that easily." Homura stated as she shook her head.

"Or they'll think I went back to Hebijo since they can't find me here as well as its current state having given me a good enough reason in their eyes to have gone back there and restore order..." Miyabi grumbled with a groan.

"At this point, I think a mannequin with white hair would do the trick." Asuka soon assumed.

"Maybe for my dumbass Militia..." Miyabi sighed. "Some people would prefer the real deal to help them, but I can't. Not until I take care of absolutely everything here first." She then added.

"And by that, you mean when Futaba can go to school." Homura stated.

"...Well, it would be a good indicator. She needs to get a proper education and human interactions besides just us." Miyabi replied.

"God, you're a sis-con." Homura remarked.

"You have no room to say that, Miss I-Snuggle-And-Maybe-More-With-My-Stepsister-In-The-Nude-Because-You-Two-Stripped-Each-Other-In-Your-Sleep-Somehow." Miyabi however grumbled.

"That's a really long name." Asuka remarked with an amused giggle and a hint of a blush on her face.

"You're not denying it though." Miyabi, however, pointed out with a flat stare.

"Mainly because we've heard it enough times by now." Homura deadpanned.

BZZT! BZZT!

Miyabi's phone buzzed in her pocket. "That was my alarm. I've got shit to do." She plainly stated. "N-Not at Hebijo. Not yet. Imu, Suzune-sensei and my father would definitely not let it fall that easily." She then assured.

"If you ditch us now, I'll kick your butt into the middle of the next millennium." Homura soon warned.

Miyabi scoffed. "You can try." She countered.

"I nearly took your head off two days ago with a kick." Asuka however reminded her with crossed arms.

Miyabi winced at that reply while Homura gave the Vice Leader a concerned look.

"AnywayI'vegottagotoworkBYE!" The white-haried woman rapidly declared as she vanished.

WHOOSH!

The Vice Leader blinked for a second. "I have to head to the studio with Ann-chan! See you tonight, Homu-neechan." Asuka got out as she went to get her purse.

BZZT! BZZT!

"Huh?" Asuka got out as she pulled out her phone. "D-Daidōji-senpai?" She squeaked before answering.

"Good morning, Asuka. I need to speak with Shinkukage-san." Daidōji requested.

"Uh, sure." Asuka responded as she held out her phone to her sister. "It's for you." She then informed.

Homura looked confused before taking the phone. "Hello?" She soon got out.

"Shinkukage-san, good morning." Daidōji greeted. "Listen, I'm doing a special event for Sports and Health Day at the school, and we're understaffed. Do you mind getting your committee to help run a few events?" She then informed and requested.

Homura frowned. "That's on short notice, Ikki-sensei. I doubt everyone will be willing to sacrifice their free day. Heck, some of them might be participating." She soon pointed out.

"I only need a few of your members." Daidōji clarified. "I'll throw a pizza party for anyone who shows up today." She then offered.

"So much for promoting health..." Homura muttered under her breath. "Hmm...you'll need to sweeten the pot, Ikki-sensei." She soon got out, causing her sister's eyes to widen.

"Are you really negotiating with me?" Daidōji questioned in an unamused tone.

"Well, you sound pretty desperate." Homura pointed out. "...You didn't take into account the schedules of the staff, did you?" She then assumed.

"...Fine. What do you want?" Her PE teacher relented with a sigh.

"Hmm...well, first, I want a private room that me and my friends can use at any time, no questions asked. Second, I get a school assembly to do whatever I want." Homura then listed off her demands.

"I think I can do that." Daidōji replied to that. Not too sure about the assembly, but she could bend the acting principal's arm to allow it.

"...And finally, I want that pizza party. Five large pies. Meat lovers. Oh, and a vegetarian and a Hawaiian for variety." Homura concluded.

"So much for promoting health." Daidōji muttered under her breath. "Okay, deal. I will not go back on my word. Now, how soon can you and your committee members come in?" She then responded and asked ahead.

"I'll go text my committee members and see if they're available for the day. We'll be there as soon as we can." Homura responded.

"Thank you, Shinkukage-san." Daidōji replied, genuinely glad she was getting help with the event.

"No problem. I'll see you at school, sensei." Homura replied before hanging up. "Well, that actually ended up working out." She sighed out.

"What do you mean by that?" Asuka questioned. "...Wait, did you forget we had a day off again?" She then began laughing at her sister's forgetfulness.

"Y-Yeah." Homura admitted while pulling on her collar. "I was planning on doing committee stuff, and uh..." She then sheepishly mumbled.

"So silly." Asuka giggled. "But you really need to relax, Homu-neechan." She then advised.

"One of my members is in trouble with the yakuza. I think I'm not working hard enough." Homura informed in a tired tone.

"Again with the yakuza!? We have to help!" Asuka exclaimed in disbelief before declaring.

"I'll make sure they're safe until I bring it up in the next meeting. And I promise to call if I need help." Homura assured as she put on her shoes. "I'll see you tonight, okay?" She then added.

"Sure." Asuka replied before both girls disappeared into the city.

---

(Shinjuku, New Moon Apartment Complex)

Meanwhile, the light grey haired girl had taken a deep breath under the warm water of her shower as steam filled the air as she washed her body as music was playing in the background, causing her to swing and shaking her hips to the beat with a smile on her face.

"Just a glance at me, and your eyes will be glued to me~ With my pale skin and red lips~" Yumi sang passionately, using her bottle of shampoo as a makeshift mic. "Graceful princess~ The lolita who's lived a hundred years~ Turning my back on the people I've loved~!" She continued passionately.

As she closed her eyes to sing out the last note, she imagined herself back onstage, with her fans singing along as she poured everything into it. A finale to a long night of bringing joy to the world.

"Ruby eyes, wet eyelashes, Vampire girl, Ah~!" Yumi concluded, soon smiling as she ended her singing. "Yosh, that sounds good for the Halloween concert." She muttered to herself with a nod of approval and satisfaction.

The light grey haired girl then noticed her hands getting pruney. Blushing, she realized she practically sang an entire concert's worth of songs in the shower and she hadn't noticed. "That would be a hit to the water bill if Gessen wasn't covering it..." Yumi mumbled as she shut off the water and stepped out of her shower, the steam coming out of it along with her.

Once she dried off, she wrapped her warm fluffy light blue towel around her body before heading to the sink to brush her teeth and check for blemishes on her skin (other than the numerous faint scars from her training and fights) before nodding in approval.

"Yosh." Yumi whispered to herself before grabbing her clothes, which ended up being a loose shirt, a hoodie, and some sweatpants. Nothing fancy, but it was necessary.

She needed to head to the dance studio as soon as possible to get practice with her choreography for her upcoming music video. After that, more conditioning training, vocal lessons, song writing, cuteness training...and some meetings with her manager at the studio on brand deals.

Even on her free day, she was busy with no room for slacking. At least she got the afternoon off.

"Can't let myself relax for a moment...have to ensure cuteness infects the world..." Yumi told herself as she grabbed her shoes and headed out the door.

---

(Kosei Female Dormitories)

"Zzzzzzz..." Suiren was sleeping comfortably in her new bed without any worry while hugging her pillow.

…Unaware of the dark haze hovering over her as dark particles sprinkled onto her body before fading into every part of it.

Along inside the room was a small, young, dark-skinned girl wearing nothing but a pitch black skimpy nightgown. She was standing near the sleeping girl, staring at her sleep while oozing out a dark haze from her body that was seeping into the sleeping girl's body.

"Hm, impressive defenses in that head of yours, Sui-chan. Whoever did this to her made it so she's a tough nut to crack as well as sealing away more of her emotions. With a mind like this, it would most likely for me to fail in influencing and controlling her entire being completely for the time being." Nemesis thought to herself in an interested manner. "Hmm...it's only Mea, Yami and I for a long, long time now. This'll be fun and worth my time~" She then thought in a confident manner with a smirk as her eyes glowed for a moment.

"Zzzzz...mmm..." Suiren meanwhile kept snoring before her eyes slowly started struggling.

"That's enough for now. See you in the dining room, hehe." Nemesis soon thought, soon vanishing from the room in a dark haze.

At that moment, Suiren's eyes slowly opened as a yawn escaped her lips. "Uncle..." She mumbled as she sat up, dropping her pillow as a result as she stretched her limbs.

She felt...good. Like some of her stress was removed from her.

Even felt...devoted to her task her uncle set out for her before going to Tokyo. "I won't fail you, Uncle." She then muttered to herself.

With that in mind, she got out of her bed and exited the room. In response, she was greeted by three familiar girls lounging around the main room.

"Ah, morning Sui-chan~" Mea happily greeted, who was simply watching the television showing a Japanese show involving girls who are in bikinis wrestling in chocolate fudge before she noticed the girl.

"Morning." Suiren responded with a yawn.

"Slept well?" Nemesis assumed with a smirk, standing near the window as if she was simply gazing at the outside world.

"It was decent enough for me." Suiren replied as she took a clean cup from the rack and poured it with water from the sink.

"You sure? You were snoring pretty loudly." Mea asked and noted with a teasing giggle.

"I did?" Suiren asked as she faced them, earning some nods of confirmation from the three. "Then...I apologize for that." She then got out.

"It's alright." Mea replied with a smile.

"Morning." Nemesis greeted as she entered the main area.

"Morning as well." Suiren returned the greeting as she watched the tan skinned girl sit down on their dining table.

"You look satisfied." Nemesis noted with a smirk.

"My sleep feels better, for some reason, it was as good as it did when I slept with Kitagawa-san." Suiren confessed in a curious manner. "Above all else, it was better than my prior conditions before coming to Tokyo." She then added.

"I can imagine." Nemesis got out in a cheeky tone.

"How were your prior conditions back then, Sui-chan?" Mea curiously asked with a finger on her chin.

That moment, Suiran immediately thought about the time she was experiencing at Hebijo. Including her uncle. "...Different." She then managed to reply.

"Different?" Yami repeated.

"Hai." Suiren confirmed with a nod.

"Different in a good way...or a bad way?" Mea meanwhile asked in a curious manner.

"I'd...rather not tell." Suiren simply replied while shaking her head. "It is complicated." She then vaguely added.

"Different is always better than staying the same." Nemesis stated. "Difference brings opportunities and choice. There may be fear of the odd and new, but it will always be something exciting." She then explained.

"It's too early in the morning for philosophy." Yami deadpanned.

The tan skinned girl simply snickered in response. "The amount of kill switches in her makes me think she is really important to someone...and that makes her all the more interesting. Question is...who made her like this?" Nemesis soon thought to herself. "I may have to put some effort into removing them all..." She then thought with a smirk. "One in particular has me very concerned... It is very much the redefinition of scorched earth should it go off..." She soon stated in her head.

Nevertheless...she liked a challenge after all.

Meanwhile, Yami was eating her taiyaki as she professionally kept an eye on their new roommate. "What are you planning, Nemesis?" She thought to herself.

"Are you gonna take a bath now, Sui-chan?" Mea however asked as she saw the latter stripping off her top.

"Yes." Suiren replied with a nod. "I have to attend today's school schedule of Kosei High here." She then reminded.

"Oh right, about that. You'll start attending in a few days. Think you'll ace the exams Sui-chan?" Mea asked.

"Given how her notepads look, I think she'll do very well." Yami guessed.

"Oh, am I not attending school right now?" Suiren questioned.

"You'll be in before the exams hit, I promise you that." Nemesis reassured. "I can only make the paperwork process go so fast since I submitted them-" She then started.

"-shot at the Principal with a suction-cup arrow while he slept-" Yami corrected in a flat tone.

"-and you should be Teacher's Pet within the week." Nemesis finished without even acknowledging the interruption. "Your uniform will come in before your first day. In the meantime, you should spend today relaxing." She then added.

"I prefer to spend my time productively." Suiren claimed. After all, she had spent way too much time doing nothing (other than being experimented on). "Now if you'll excuse me..." She then started as she made her way to the bathroom.

"...You're still gonna take a bath right now, Sui-chan?" Mea asked her once more.

"Hai." Suiren confirmed with a nod.

Mea's eyes sparkled. "In that case...may I join you as well, Sui-chan?" She then eagerly offered.

"Hm? Are you sure?" Suiren questioned. "The bathroom does not have...quite enough room." She then pointed out.

"Ah, don't be a party-pooper!" Mea replied as she hopped out of the couch. "Let's go, Sui-chan!" She then added while taking the other girl's hand.

"H-Huh? W-Wait a moment, Mea-san." Suiren got out in a surprised manner as she was soon dragged off.

Nemesis meanwhile snickered to the scene. "Already warming up to her." She quipped in amusement.

"Are you going to join them, Nemesis?" Yami offhandedly asked.

Nemesis glanced at her for a moment...before walking towards the bathroom while black miasma oozed out of her body. When she finally reached the bathroom door, the miasma dissipated and she was now fully nude before opening the door and entering said bathroom.

"Room for one more?" Nemesis commented before the door closed.

Yami was now alone in the room as she ate her taiyaki.

Silence...

...

...

...

"Wow! Really impressive Sui-chan!" Mea's voice suddenly got out in awe from the bathroom.

SQUISH!

"EEP! M-Mea-san! T-That tickles!" Suiren's voice squeaked out from the bathroom.

"It is impressive to say the least. Let me use my hair next, Mea." Nemesis's voice stated from the bathroom as well.

"N-Nemesis-san! Not you too!" Suiren's voice soon got out.

From hearing the giggling and squeaking, Yami sighed as she stood up, finished her taiyaki, and swiftly stripped off her clothes as she went ahead for the bathroom while in her birthday suit.

From there, Yami opened the door and entered right away before closing the door. She'll explain what happened to Mikan later.

She had to make sure their new roommate stayed safe.

---

(Harajuku, Haruka's Apartment)

Haruka...was happy.

Now, this wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence. Actually, it happened with much more frequency this year than in her entire life.

However, this happiness felt...different. Like, not brimming with uncontrollably joy or a pleasant daze. Rather it was...contentment. A steady feeling of positivity that didn't overtake her entire being, but merely kept her above a line that would never lower for as long as she lived.

And all because of a boy she and her companions kidnapped on a whim.

"Ehehehe...this must be my romcom ending..." Haruka thought as she walked up the stairs. The doctor-in-training had arrived back at her apartment after a grocery run and breakfast at Leblanc with a spring in her step.

However, when she opened the door, she found her maid had finally awoken, begging for mercy.

"F-Finally...A doctor..." The brunette winced.

"Ah, you're finally awake, Tsumuji-chan. You were unconscious when I came back last night. What's the matter?" Haruka questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"On the job injuries..." Tsumuji deadpanned. "Colleagues carried me home yesterday..." She then revealed.

"When I gave you the order to act at your own discretion, that didn't carry the implication of crippling yourself from overwork." Haruka stated as she found one of the many sources of the maid's pain. "This may sting a little." She soon warned.

"I've dealt with male otaku obatarians trying to scam me and absurd lunch rushes within the last week. Pain is my constant companion." Tsumuji stated in a dead tone that could only come from a retail worker.

"Oddly specific, but here goes..." Haruka muttered before getting to work.

SNAP! CRACK! POP!

"All your muscles are knotted like the Gordian Knot's bigger, meaner brother, Tsumuji-chan. How did you not collapse sooner?" Haruka noted and then asked.

"Stubbornness. Stupidity. A little bit of inadequacy and virginity. Not letting my co-workers down." Tsumuji bluntly responded. "Especially around my...new co-manager." She then managed to add.

"Co-manager?" Haruka repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Who would cause you to work that hard?" She then asked.

"One of the other employees did so well that the manager decided to make her co-manager." Tsumuji explained. "...Miyabi-senpai was impressive, taking charge and everything." She then confessed.

"Pfft. Miyabi's working as a maid?" Haruka questioned in amusement.

"Was. Now she's one of the co-managers." Tsumuji corrected and stated.

"Really now..." Haruka got out in an interesting manner. "Ah, one sec. I need to hammer this back into place." She added as she grabbed a nearby sledgehammer.

THWACK!

"Ooh. That one felt good." The brunette admitted as soon as she felt the cold steel hit the small of her back. "Not a masochist." She then clarified.

"Good to know." The doctor-in-training sighed out in relief as she felt her boobs vibrate.

BZZT! BZZT!

"This better be important." Haruka grumbled as she produced her phone from her cleavage. "Don't move." She then instructed.

"Like I could...or will...oh yeah..." Tsumuji moaned as she put her face against the mattress and just made pleased, muffled noises. "Thank you, Haruka-sama~" She soon moaned out in a bliss-filled state.

BZZT! BZZT!

Haruka patted the maid's back and smiled before taking a look at her phone. "Suzune-sensei?" She muttered in a curious manner. The teacher had never texted her before.

[MyHawkSensei14: Code.]

[DrSeduce: Good accepts few, evil accepts blah blah blah...]

[MyHawkSensei14: It's one more word, Haruka.]

[DrSeduce: If you know it's me, then why go through this every time!?]

[MyHawkSensei14: It's protocol. Just text it.]

(...)

[DrSeduce: all.]

[MyHawkSensei14: Full code, if you may.]

[DrSeduce: Good accepts few, evil accepts all.]

[MyHawkSensei14: Thank you. Alright, let us get to business.]

[DrSeduce: Is something happening with the others?]

[MyHawkSensei14: Everything is happening all at once.

[MyHawkSensei14: Then again, as a Crimson Squad member, it is the least of your concerns.]

[DrSeduce: Just tell me.]

[MyHawkSensei14: The main investor of Hebijo, Dōgen, is coming to the remains tomorrow.]

[MyHawkSensei14: Most likely to coerce them into obeying his orders.]

[DrSeduce: He's planning something.]

[MyHawkSensei14: Definitely not anything good.]

[MyHawkSensei14: I want to assure you that Crimson Squad does have allies who are actively working on lightening the load and mitigating as much damage as they can, but do not expect Dōgen to be nice with your friends.]

[MyHawkSensei14: I already suspect he was involved with the self-destruct system being activated when they had tried to leave.]

[MyHawkSensei14: I wouldn't put it past him to be so petty.]

[DrSeduce: I guess clearing their name is pointless then.]

[MyHawkSensei14: Even if they are proven innocent, they still tried to desert the academy and abandon them to the flames. No matter what, they will be given the harshest punishment.]

[DrSeduce:...Unless Dōgen is giving them a way out.]

[MyHawkSensei14: It's a possibility, given the fact he may be giving them a mission, but what happens after could literally be anything at this point. From being sent across the world, to being publicly executed, to forever cleaning the outhouses of his dearest allies. With their mouths.]

[DrSeduce: Ew.]

[MyHawkSensei14: Yeah, well it could be worse. They could be turned into limbless onaholes.]

[DrSeduce: What?]

[MyHawkSensei14: Whatever the mission is, it will be their last chance to earn their freedom. They will need all the support they can get.]

[DrSeduce: Don't worry. I will ensure they are free.]

[DrSeduce: After all, I feel a little guilty that I was given this opportunity to begin with. If I wasn't sent on the mission as a roundabout form of exile, I wouldn't be where I am today.]

[DrSeduce: I owe it to them to help find their happiness outside of shinobi life as well.]

[DrSeduce: Hopefully, this mission will take place in Tokyo.]

[MyHawkSensei14: It's likely given the spike in shinobi activity there, as well as the shutdowns and the Phantom Thieves.]

[MyHawkSensei14: That being said, I will be coming to Tokyo, but I have my own arrangements prepared.]

[MyHawkSensei14: After the repeated incidents throughout the year, from general incompetence, death, Yomi's attempts at cooking, Murasaki's flowers, and rampant public indecency, I will be glad to get away from it.]

[DrSeduce: So I'll see you around.]

[MyHawkSensei14: Unlikely. Contact may be limited to ensure no suspicion is raised.]

[MyHawkSensei14: Whatever happens in these next few days will be important. I highly advise you to prepare yourself for anything.]

[DrSeduce: I will.]

[DrSeduce: Even if it costs me my life, I will protect my identity I've made here.]

(...)

[MyHawkSensei14: Spoken like a true renegade.]

[DrSeduce: Thank you.]

[DrSeduce: I hope we meet again.]

[MyHawkSensei14: It has been an honor to be your sensei. Goodbye for now.]

Haruka let out a breath as she put her phone back in her cleavage. "...Maybe I should stop doing that when it gets warm..." She mumbled to herself, grimacing at the thought of a sweaty, grimy phone.

Looks like she was going to be doing more than taking care of Tsumuji for the time being. It seems like she would need to start preparing for war.

"Darling, Takemi-sensei, Murasaki-chan, Tsumuji-chan, everyone...don't worry, I will protect you all." Haruka declared as she headed to her lab to start making some concoctions.

---

(10/10, Morning)

(Hanzō Academy, Elites Room)

The three Hanzō elites were spending their post-Breakfast R before lessons started playing blackjack.

"Damnit..." Yagyū swore when she busted. Again. For the seventh game in a row.

"How do you manage to do that?" Ikaruga wondered out loud.

"Ehehe..." Hibari nervously giggled.

"This damned King..." Yagyū muttered as she glared at the card. "Unforgivable..." She then grumbled to herself.

"Yagyū-san, please refrain from taking your frustrations out on the deck." Ikaruga requested as she took the card and started shuffling the deck once more.

"Katsu-nee should be back soon." Hibari stated in an effort to distract the white-haired girl.

SLAM!

"DRAGON DRAGON OPPAI DRAGON
GROPE-GROPE SUCK-SUCK PAFU-PAFU"

"Speak of the devil..." Ikaruga deadpanned as she set down her cards on the table she was playing at.

"Yo, I'm back!" Katsuragi greeted the three as she strutted towards them, her phone raised into the air to play her (stolen) theme song.

As soon as she slung her bag down on the coffee table, the perverted blonde immediately sat down on the lounge next to the pinkette, not even caring about her lack of panties or if others could see that.

"K-Katsuragi-san, where is your underwear!?" Ikaruga questioned with a blush.

"I lost 'em!" Katsuragi smoothly lied as she unbuttoned her uniform top. "Same goes for my bra..." She then added.

"How did you lose that?" Yagyū asked with narrowed eyes.

"I don't have to tell you!" The blonde happily responded.

"It's like she never left." Ikaruga groaned while pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What are you talking about? She was only gone for a week." Yagyū reminded.

"It's like she never left." Ikaruga however stated once more.

"Long live boobs!" The pervy blonde declared as she started groping the pinkette with both hands. "Finally getting back to the familiar dishes that I love! EEESHISHISHISHI!" She then added as she intensified her squeezes on the pinkette. "The innocence of Hibari, the stoicism of Yagyū and the regality of Ikaruga. Breasts are wonderful!" She meanwhile thought to herself.

Yagyū stared at the scene...before her visible eye twitched. "Katsuragi..." She then seethed under her breath.

"St-Stop it, Katsu-nee!" Hibari giggled.

"Katsuragi-san...You're deflecting the subject here..." Ikaruga had to sternly remind her. "I'll ask again...how did you lose your underwear?" She questioned once more.

Katsuragi ran a hand through her long blonde hair while thinking of a valid answer.

"You gave them to Ryuji-san, didn't you?" Ikaruga eventually sighed out.

Katsuragi immediately looked at her best friend in disbelief. "Wh-What makes you think that?" She soon asked.

"That reaction just proves it." Ikaruga answered. "You have a different air around you, similar to what you had at the beach but...enhanced. You aren't the only one who can read their best friend." She responded and explained.

"Urk!" Katsuragi winced out.

Ikaruga in turn sighed. "So...you are dating Ryuji-san now." She concluded.

"You don't know that. Why would you assume that?" Katsuragi argued and asked. "...Why did I leave in the first place again?" She then asked.

"Uugh..." Ikaruga groaned while shaking her head.

"I'm kidding! I know it was to protect Haru, but nothing even happened the entire time I was there." Katsuragi responded and revealed. "Her dad was just cooped up in his study all day. Didn't need to do much other than check on him occasionally. They're getting what they paid for." She then added.

"...We aren't getting paid at all anymore." Hibari pointed out, still looking guilty.

"Exactly." Katsuragi responded.

The others exchanged glances at that before turning to face the blonde.

"That still doesn't mean you shouldn't put 100%..." Ikaruga sighed.

"You coulda at least put some effort in so we'd get more work..." Hibari added.

"Hibari didn't risk her reputation just so you could act like that and just give away your underwear..." Yagyū firmly reminded the blonde while glaring at her.

"Wish Ryu-kun luck finding them, then." Katsuragi simply replied with a smile on her face. "My underwear, I mean." She then added.

"Katsuragi-san. Seriously?" Ikaruga had to reprimand her with hands on her hips. "You're supposed to be setting an example for the New Wave..." She then reminded.

"What the New Wave doesn't see, doesn't know." Katsuragi soon pointed out with a smirk.

"You're lucky that Ayame isn't around to see you right now..." Yagyū soon remarked.

That made the blonde freeze. "Uh...where is she right now?" She then asked.

"Training with Kiriya-sensei and the other New Wave girls." Ikaruga responded.

Immediately, Katsuragi gave out a breath of relief. "Okay, good. Don't wanna get naked when she's around..." She then stated.

"Seems like she's very fond of you." Yagyū couldn't help but comment. "Or probably obsessed." She then added.

"The latter, obviously." Katsuragi responded to her statement. "That girl has no chill when it comes to me." She then added as she stretched her neck.

"...Pot, meet kettle." Ikaruga and Yagyū however thought in deadpan tones.

"Hibari still doesn't know why you're so jumpy when it comes to Ayame-chan." The pinkette spoke up. "Especially when she gets all touchy-feely with you like you do with us..." She then added.

"I could say the same about you and Muramasa." Katsuragi countered.

"Katsuragi-san, the circumstances with that are a lot different and you know it." Ikaruga pointed out.

"That robot..." Yagyū muttered under her breath through clenched teeth.

"Moh...You've been acting weird ever since I fixed up Muramasa-chan..." Hibari pointed out. "Yagyū-chan... Are you jealous of her?" The pinkette then curiously asked.

"That's..." Yagyū began to answer while averting her eyes from the pinkette.

"Yagyū-chan, you're one of my best friends, but ..." Hibari started before pausing. "I see Muramasa-chan like a little sister." She soon confessed.

"Hibari's right. You really need to give her space to grow." The blonde added as she straightened up from her seat.

"Akira-san said a similar thing to me." Yagyū quietly admitted. She recalled the time that Hibari brushed her off when the pinkette got back from her shift at Okumura Foods.

"See? Akira-nii's smart like that." Hibari pointed out with a smile.

"..." Yagyū meanwhile was silent as she contemplated what was revealed.

"You have us to talk to if ya need it. Hell, even the New Wave would be willin' to bend an ear if you do the same for them if they ask." Katsuragi replied as she offered a nearby box of tissues to her junior.

"Mhm." Yagyū hummed out with a nod.

"So... what's next for us?" Katsuragi decided to ask.

"Waiting until Okumura-san has his change of heart?" Hibari guessed.

"That and our shinobi studies." Katsuragi answered.

"Also," Ikaruga started as she narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "Katsuragi-san...did you start a cult while in Tokyo?" She questioned in a dead serious and disapproving filled tone...and anyone could swear they could see a blue fiery aura surrounding her.

The blonde meanwhile sweatdropped to that, though smiling awkwardly. "I only groped a few girls, one of whom reminded me a fair bit of you and one of whom consented, and it snowballed from there." Katsuragi replied.

"Who would even consent to being groped by you?" Yagyū deadpanned.

"Either a pervert or someone who's in love with Katsu-nee..." Hibari guessed. "Or both." She then added.

"I'm just glad Ayame-san isn't around for this." Ikaruga sighed out.

Katsuragi paled at that. Ayame would definitely try and get involved in what she's trying to do with Ryuji and Hyōki. What's worse, she might sell her condoms.

And Katsuragi liked everything to be natural when it comes to first experiences.

"Don't...tell her that I'm here, guys. Okay?" The blonde told the others.

"Only if you control yourself." Ikaruga replied.

"You know, I'm curious what would happen if Ayame-san finds out about Ryuji." Yagyū soon wondered.

"NO!" Katsuragi suddenly yelled as she jumped in fear, surprising the others by how freaked out she sounded.

Silence.

"Aw, crap." Katsuragi swore in her head as she realized how desperate she sounded. "Screw it, might as well rip the bandage off..." She mentally added.

"Katsuragi-san?" Ikaruga got out.

"Ugh, fine. I'm dating Ryu-kun. Happy now?" The blonde decided to confess, just to get it out of her system.

"Congratulations!" Hibari happily declared with a starry look in her eyes.

"Huh." Yagyū got out. "Someone actually decided that you should reproduce." She then casually commented.

Katsuragi simply snorted at that. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." She then got out with a wave of her hand. "This is payback for all the teasing, I know. Come on, hit me with your best shot." She then added.

"...Actually, I'm quite proud of you." Ikaruga confessed with a smile.

At that, the blonde looked at her with widened eyes. "Huh?" Katsuragi got out.

"You're finally displaying that maturity you should have, and I'm happy that you found someone that you trust enough to enter a relationship with." Ikaruga stated. "I just hope he treats you well." She then got out, with a silent promise to cut off his testicles should he do something hurtful to her best friend. Standard procedure and all.

"...Weeeeell." Katsuragi started with a blush.

"Don't ruin it." Ikaruga deadpanned. "Because if you tell me any other detail that isn't wholesome, I'm going tie you to your bed for a month and make you wear a chastity belt." She then warned.

"Okay, okay. Fine. I won't kiss and tell." Katsuragi responded, causing a scandalous gasp from her ravenette best friend. "You know, you should find yourself an S/O too." She soon got out.

"I have no need for one at the moment." Ikaruga shook her head. "Also, I am in a similar situation to Haru-san after all. I cannot choose my husband without explicit approval from my father." She then revealed. "Not just me, every one of the Melon-Peaches. Even Ginrei-san, who would be in an inherently worse position than Haru-san alone due to her..." She concluded while trailing off at the end there.

Hibari tilted her head. "I don't get that last part." The pinkette asked.

"If you've met Ginrei-san, you'll know immediately." Ikaruga vaguely replied.

Both the white-haired girl's and the blonde's eyes widened immediately before taking on more sympathetic looks.

"Oof. That's rough..." The blonde replied with a wince. "BUT! You need to live a little. Life's too short, especially for a shinobi." She then insisted and explained.

"Why are you even bringing this up?" Ikaruga decided to ask.

"Hey, you're the one who brought it up. Come on, there has to be someone that caught your fancy." Katsuragi soon prodded.

"Katsuragi-san, I do not have a crush on Akira Kurusu or any young man in particular." Ikaruga sighed out.

"..."

"..."

Clearly, the only sound they heard was some imaginary crickets in the room right now.

"..."

"...What?" Ikaruga got out, confused.

"Wow, that was just a shot in the dark." The blonde spoke, clearly impressed with herself. "Way to go, Katsuragi! Self-five!" She then cheered.

CLAP!

"I just said a name. That does not mean anything." Ikaruga insisted in a defensive manner along with her hands on her hips.

"Sureeee..." Katsuragi teasingly replied as she then stretched her limbs. "Welp, I'm gonna go dump my stuff in my room and uh, clean. If you need me, make sure to knock. And don't tell Ayame I'm back yet." She quickly requested before dashing off a little too eagerly.

"What are you-" Ikaruga began. "I don't have any feelings for Akira Kurusu. That is all." She then grumbled with a huff.

She was actually grateful for him during her time in Tokyo, helping her with her brother. He even defended her when it wasn't necessary (both because of her own skill, and her brother's lack of any).

Crushing on him though? Not in the slightest...even though he was a little handsome for a young man.

"It's okay, Ikaruga-san, I actually see Akira-nii like a big brother, so you're not alone here." Hibari suddenly confessed with a smile.

"He's a good and decent acquaintance." Yagyū stated. "Don't let Katsuragi get to you like that." She then added.

"I know, I know." Ikaruga responded with a nod. "Now that I think about it...how is Onii-sama doing? His next training session should be in two days." She then wondered in a curious manner.

"Are you gonna contact your brother?" Yagyū decided to ask. "Also...are you still not on good terms with him?" She then also asked.

"As long as he desires Hien, there will always be distance between us." Ikaruga sighed out.

Yagyū simply sighed. "I sincerely hope you two will work it out one day." She soon confessed.

"It is quite a bother when he attempts to ambush me." Ikaruga admitted, running a hand through her hair. "...Even whenever I was in the baths or the shower." She then added with a sigh.

"Ehhh?" Hibari got out in slight shock.

"Pervert." Yagyū growled with a shake of her head.

"No, I wish he was." Ikaruga mumbled while covering her face, feeling secondhand embarrassment from the memories. "Despite the fact that he would ambush me in the nude, he was never, ahem, excited..." She then added.

"...I think your brother has problems." The eyepatch-wearing prodigy simply stated in a deadpan tone.

"He does. But then again...he doesn't care about my state of nudity at all. Or his own..." Ikaruga stated. "All about Hien, through and through." She then added.

"At least you don't have to worry about him doing those sorts of things..." Hibari quietly got out.

"...Did your sisters in the Melon Peaches ever meet him?" Yagyū suddenly asked in a curious manner.

"Thank God, no." Ikaruga stated with a sigh of relief. "Leo-san would probably kill him out of wanting to protect me with Ginrei-san assisting her, Murakumo-san then would wet her panties, maybe even soil them, while running away in terror while her wolves attack him and Haru-san would chase him around with her chainsaw cackling maniacally if they ever find out about him." She eventually assumed. "I think I would've been kicked out by being associated with him, too." She then concluded.

"How so?" Hibari asked.

"As I informed you, the five of us were on a secluded island together for the sole purpose of training to be a set of Shinobi Elites despite our factions." Ikaruga answered. "No one but us and our senseis at the time were allowed there." She then clarified.

"So if he arrived..." Yagyū began.

"He would have been trespassing." Ikaruga concluded. "That means that the secluded island has no visitors allowed. Ever." She then added in a firm manner.

Yagyū and Hibari simply looked at her in sympathy.

"Still, in the end, he is still my brother." Ikaruga sighed. "...And even with the previous rules rescinded, I still would've been kicked out because of that simple fact." She then deadpanned.

"Whoa..." Hibari simply got out, a bit shaken by that information...before thinking about her own family as well. Her situation with them was a complicated one.

"Well, at least you cared for him despite everything." Yagyū stated.

"Of course I do, even if he is a fool." Ikaruga stated. "I just wish he had other goals than Hien. I mean, what will happen after he gets it?" She then pointed out.

"What will you do if he gets it?" Hibari naively asked.

"...Srnk!" Ikaruga snorted before calming herself down. "That...I am not certain of yet." She then managed to reply to the pinkette's question.

"...Did you just downplay whatever abilities your brother might have?" Yagyū questioned with a raised eyebrow...and a rare smirk on her face.

"You have not seen him in a fight." Ikaruga pointed out.

"Well, whatever the future holds, Hibari just hopes everyone turns out okay." Hibari soon got out.

"I do too, but oftentimes your fate can be determined by chance." Yagyū stated.

"Seems like that's becoming a running theme this year." Ikaruga remarked with a sigh.

And she couldn't shake the feeling in her stomach that things were about to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

---

(Gessen Academy, Elites Room)

At around the same time, Shiki, Yozakura, and Murakumo were all hanging around the Elite room, although none of them looked all too relaxed. With their early morning training done and yet still nothing to do, they were starting to get sick of the whole routine.

"Something has to happen some time..." The three girls thought as they began to hear footsteps coming down the hall, probably from the only member not here.

They were proven correct when the childish kunoichi staggered out of her room. Evidently, she had overslept a little here.

"And here comes Minori-chii..." Shiki greeted as she flipped through a magazine.

"You're late, Minori..." Yozakura chastised from the kitchen area.

"I-I couldn't help it..." Minori whined. "I had a scary dream..." She then mumbled.

"Wh-What was it about?" A maskless Murakumo haltingly asked.

"Don't laugh, okay?" Minori requested. "I had a dream where there were no sweet yummies for me to eat anymore because a scary demon princess ate them all..." She then revealed with a pout.

Her three teammates managed to hide their steadily unstraightening faces in a frying pan, a magazine and an empty wastepaper bin, though some giggles managed to seep out.

"Hey! No laughing! You promised..." Minori whined with the cutest angry pout on her face.

"Sorry, Minori. It's just a very you sort of fear." Yozakura admitted. "I'll make it up ta ya. What do you want for breakfast?"

Minori instantly perked up. "Ooh! I want hot choccy, pancakes, tiramisu, cookies, wedding cakes, Baumkuchen, choccy cakes, milkshakes WITH LOOOOOOOOTS OF whipped cream, honey and choccy sauce!" She listed off in a rapid tone.

The blunette sweatdropped. "Well, I am a woman of my word." She sighed out as she grabbed the flour. "Mind giving me a hand, Shiki-san, Murakumo-san?" She asked.

"Sure thing~!" Shiki replied with an impish smirk as she set down her magazine.

"Hai..." Murakumo added as she removed the bin from her head.

Yep, just another usual morning for the four shinobi-in-training at Gessen.

Soon enough, everyone was enjoying their breakfast, making conversation at the table. If Yumi was here, it would've been a picture perfect moment.

Yozakura soon smiled as she took out her phone.

[RiceThrasher: Good morning, Akira.]

[TheWildJ0ker: hey]

[TheWildJ0ker: sorry in the middle of something texting with one hand and letting autocorrect guide me]

[RiceThrasher: You're awfully fast and articulate with one hand.]

[TheWildJ0ker: tons of practice]

[TheWildJ0ker: so what's up]

[RiceThrasher: Actually, I could text you another time if you really are busy.]

(...)

[TheWildJ0ker: you do realize that your phone can make calls or video chats right]

[TheWildJ0ker: wait why didn't I think of that earlier]

"Could you please not treat me kind and nicely? For it only hurts me more, oh can't you see~"

Yozakura glanced and saw a phone call ringing from her phone, the name Kurusu displayed on the screen. After making sure everyone else was engaged with their conversations, she answered it. "Hello?" She began, placing her phone on her ear.

"Yo yo yo, Yozakura." Akira greeted in a jovial tone, although he seemed strangely out of breath.

"You sound...tired." Yozakura noted.

"Heh, sorry. Just finished working out." Akira panted. "Ooooohhh yeah...~ that's nice." He then let out a pleased groan, likely stretching on his end (or, in a dark part of Yozakura's mind, getting fellated by his Tokyo girlfriend).

"Oh, that's good." Yozakura replied. "How is Yumi doing? How are things going over in Tokyo?" She then asked.

"Yumi's been doing amazing." Akira answered. "She's been pretty happy lately, even when bogged down with her work. As for Tokyo itself...well, it could be better." He then admitted.

"Better?" Yozakura repeated, unclear about it.

"Just a lot of Phantom Thieves talk. Around this time, their latest target should be confessing their crimes." Akira informed. "Seen on the Phan-site they've been busy, though. A couple of people got changed a few days ago." He then noted.

"Ah, right, right, the Phantom Thieves." Yozakura responded as she nodded. "The news is now full of them almost every moment every day." She then sighed.

"Yeah, it's becoming a drag." Akira replied with a sigh. "As much as I've supported them from the beginning, it's annoying seeing and hearing everyone talk about them everywhere I go." He then admitted.

"I bet the Phantom Thieves themselves like that everyone is saying their name." Yozakura remarked.

"Not when they're the prime suspect of a murder." Akira muttered under his breath. "They may have claimed that they have no involvement, but I doubt the police will take it face value. We'll just have to see what they'll do after their latest target confesses." He then pointed out and explained.

"It must be a little frustrating to be a Phan-atic these days." Yozakura then assumed.

"D-Don't refer to me with the fan name." Akira however told her.

"Well...I just hope both you and Yumi are safe and happy." Yozakura got out.

"We are. And don't worry about us too mu-aahhn~" Akira replied and reassured, only to moan for some reason.

"What was that?" Yozakura asked, hearing the sound.

"Muscle spasm." Akira replied almost immediately. "Gotta take care of it. Call you later. KITBFF." He quickly got out before hanging up.

"Hm? Akira-kun?" Yozakura got out as she only heard the call being finished. "Huh, it must've been a bad muscle spasm." She muttered with a sigh as she put her phone down, seeing that everyone was beginning to leave the table to do their own things.

Yozakura then bit the inside of her lip. "I need another excuse to head to Tokyo soon. If I don't confess to him soon...after a couple dates with him of course..." She then muttered to herself before leaving the room.

Meanwhile, the masked girl was on her phone as well, waiting for a certain frizzy haired boy to respond to her text.

"Come on, come on..." Murakumo impatiently muttered softly to herself while tapping her phone, waiting for a reply.

"Hey, Murakumo-chii, you know a watched stone gathers no moss, right?" Shiki pointed out while looking over her shoulder.

"Eep!" Murakumo jumped back from the sudden appearance. "W-What?" She began in her usual deep voice.

"Wait, I think I got the saying wrong." Shiki however tried to correct herself. "Hold on...um...ah, I remember now. A watched pot never boils. Yeah, that's it." She then continued.

BZZT! BZZT!

Murakumo perked up to that as she looked at her phone again.

[TheWildJ0ker: You contacted me?]

[MoeMask: Yes. Is everything alright on your end?]

[TheWildJ0ker: I'm fine, had just finished a bit of a work-out session.]

[TheWildJ0ker sends "Work-Out Progress".]

"E-Eep!" Murakumo squeaked, face scarlet as she saw the image of the shirtless and sweaty muscular boy with a towel in his hands and a smirk on his face.

"Wow, not bad." Shiki meanwhile remarked with a smirk and a whistle as she also looked at the image over the masked girl's shoulder. "You definitely picked a looker." She then confessed.

"Why do you keep doing that!?" Murakumo exclaimed. "Don't you have your own phone!?" She then asked.

"All my feeds are Phantom Thieves this, Phantom Thieves that." Shiki sighed out. "I need actual juicy gossip." She then confessed.

"GO AWAY!" Murakumo called out as she began throwing anything she could grab.

"Hey! Whoa! Come on, don't be like- OH CRAPBASKETS!" Shiki shouted out, dodging and ducking until nearly getting decapitated by one of the brunette's own masks. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving! Dear sweet Heart Sutra..." She then got out before running off. She wasn't going to stick around for when the brunette inevitably would sic her wolves on her.

Murakumo let out a breath as soon as the blonde left the room, returning her focus back to the text conversation.

[TheWildJ0ker: So what did you think? ;) ]

[MoeMask: I want to have fuck with you.]

(...)

[MoeMask: Uhhh, that was just my voice-to-text! I'm doing something right now. It totally got it wrong!]

[MoeMask: I mean, you look nice! Your sweat is so nice and glistening and lickable!]

[MoeMask: N-Not in a pervy way. I just mean your abs could grate cheese.]

(...)

[MoeMask: I'd motorboat your chest tiddies.]

(...)

[MoeMask: Squeeze my head between your thighs.]

(...)

[MoeMask: Give me a footjob.]

[TheWildJ0ker: Uh, I'm just gonna assume those texts were a lot more PG than what your crappy speech-to-text thing is writing out.]

[MoeMask: Wolfjob.]

[MoeMask: Yes. I was complimenting you hoping you'd pump my eureka with He-Man.]

[TheWildJ0ker: Aw, that's so sweet, Murakumo.]

[TheWildJ0ker: I put a lot of effort into my exercises. I'm glad to hear that my efforts are paying off.]

[MoeMask: Let me squeeze your ass.]

(...)

[MoeMask: Texting now. Sorry for the, uh, words.]

[TheWildJ0ker: Thank god.]

[MoeMask: I've been trying to get in touch with you all morning.]

[TheWildJ0ker: Sorry I didn't respond earlier. I was talking to Yozakura.]

Murakumo's eye twitched.

[MoeMask: What did you talk about?]

[TheWildJ0ker: Meh, nothing much. Mostly just checking out on me while everything is happening here in Tokyo.]

[MoeMask:...I see.]

[MoeMask: Something just came up. I need to go.]

[TheWildJ0ker: Yeah, I'm busy today too. Text you later.]

[MoeMask: Fuck my ass.]

Murakumo soon took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down.

It didn't work.

"YOOOOZAKURAAAAA!" The masked girl roared deeply as she stormed over to the bluette's location, dragging her giant cleaver across the floor.

Just another day at Gessen Academy...

---

(Hanzo Academy, Forest Training Ground)

It was another early morning, and despite most schools allowing students a day off today, for shinobi it was simply more time to train.

Kiriya observed the New Wave as they trained with their respective weapons and/or abilities in a sparring match against him.

The way they moved, how they worked together, the tactics they used...

CRASH!

...Needed work as the five managed to strip and KO themselves without even ruffling a single hair or getting a speck of dust on Kiriya.

"That's enough for this lesson." The Hanzō instructor plainly stated as he relaxed his stance. "Your teamwork was sloppy. You all fought as individuals, not as a group, which caused you all to trip up and hurt each other more than your stationary enemy. I want you to take some time to discuss how to improve it. That is your assignment." Kiriya informed the group of shinobi-in-training before promptly vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

POOF!

Immediately, everyone started coughing their lungs out and waving their hands just to get rid of the smoke.

"ACK!" Ayame choked, pounding her chest to get the smoke out of her lungs. "Why does it taste like blueberry?" She soon asked.

"Is this what Ikaruga-senpai has to deal with!?" Hijikata coughed out.

"Yeah, it's really annoying..." Muramasa added while also coughing.

"Wait, you don't have lungs...How and why are you coughing?" Fūma got out in between wheezes.

"Oh, uh..." Muramasa got out, looking unsure of the answer herself. "A-Anyway...Sensei said we needed to improve our teamwork...Any ideas?" She then asked.

"I would suggest we get to know each other. That would be the best way that I can see." Hijikata offered. "Maybe talk about why we're here, how we find our schoolwork and maybe our dreams and goals." She then explained.

"Ooh! That sounds good." Muramasa happily got out. "Who wants to go first?" She then asked in an innocent manner.

"I will." The orangette decided, getting the attention of the others. "I come from a fairly long line of good shinobi. I'm actually a descendant of Fūma Kotarō himself so I've got quite a name and legacy to live up to..." She soon revealed, causing a few gasps from the other girls. "But, it's a lot harder than it looks and I barely keep up with what Kiriya-sensei is teaching..." She then sheepishly confessed while rubbing the back of her head.

"Having such a famous name in shinobi in your family is rough." Hijikata replied in a sympathetic manner.

"Yeah...So, I have this worry that I won't live up to his name." Fūma mumbled. "Especially since I have to have supplemental lessons on a frequent basis..." She then sighed.

"Fūma-chan..." Muramasa got out in a saddened tone.

"I wish Asuka-senpai was here. She'd help me with school. But, she's on a very important mission according to Ikaruga-senpai..." Fūma confessed and explained with a sigh. "Ehehe... Sorry if I brought the mood down." She awkwardly apologized.

"Hey, we're learning about each other. Even if the topic is sad, it is necessary to know in order to work more effectively together." Hijikata stated.

"Then why don't you go next?" Fūma soon suggested.

"Hai." Hijikata responded with a nod. "Well...I guess I could say I lived a rather normal life until...until I was involved in something that changed how I viewed myself and what standards I should hold myself to."

"So vague." Ayame remarked.

"Well...I do not wish to talk about such a thing." Hijikata admitted, looking a little saddened. "My apologies, but it's not a very nice incident." She then informed.

"I see. Well, we won't make you tell us. We all have our secrets." Fūma soon assured.

"Secrets that we might not even know ourselves, nya." Muramasa mumbled while placing a hand on her chest.

"Well...I could tell you guys some bits about it." Hijikata decided with a sigh. "Hmm, how should I put it? Without the mentality I have now, those who were close to me would still be...around." She then revealed and admitted.

"I see." Fūma got out in understanding.

"You have a particular code with how you handle things now?" Ayame asked.

"Jōzai Senjō." Hijikata recited. "It means Always prepare yourself as if you are on a battlefield." She then explained.

"Is that why you fashion yourself like a knight?" Fūma assumed.

"Chivalry is a cornerstone of Jōzai Senjō." Hijikata confirmed with a nod. "I will always protect anyone in need of help, friend or foe, even if it kills me!" She then declared.

"That seems a bit extreme, nya..." Muramasa remarked.

"It's why I am a Good Shinobi." Hijikata proudly stated. "Well, that was my introduction. Shall we move onto the next one?" She then added.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me me me! I wanna go next!" Ayame eagerly replied, hopping up and down herself while waving a hand up.

"Go ahead." Hijikata responded.

"Since middle school, I've been looking up to Katsuragi-senpai." Ayame confessed with a starry look in her eyes. "She's like my kamioshi! Her attitude, her looks, her sexual harrassment ability! It's everything I wanna be. I've been following her everywhere since then to learn more about her. I even trained and got weapons based on her style. I had to stop to prepare for getting into Hanzō, but now that I'm here I promise that one day, I will get senpai to notice me!" She then added to the confession as she looked upward as if she was praying to a god.

"..." The others (save for the currently sleeping girl) meanwhile looked at the shop owner who was their teammate in disbelief.

"That's really freaky, nya." Muramasa eventually confessed.

"What do you mean?" Ayame got out in confusion. "I make sure to keep my distance by camping out right outside her window and looking in through binoculars." She then confessed.

Hijikata decided it would be best to change the subject. "...Um...so what about your store?" She then asked.

"Ah, my store! Yes!" Ayame got out in surprise. "It has the finest and best selection of clothes and other merchandise around for every girl and woman. Even underwear and swimsuits via a lottery!" She then proudly described.

"...Underwear gacha?" Fūma got out with a raised eyebrow after hearing that.

"It's super popular! People are especially looking out for the super rare worn variants." Ayame eagerly spoke with a grin. "...Do you want to try it?" She then asked.

"Later." Fūma replied, almost without hesitation.

"No." Hijikata sternly reminded with crossed arms.

"I wanna try it!" Muramasa exclaimed, hopping up and down a bit.

"Zzzzz..." Seimei snored, still sleeping in her place.

"Hey, wake up!" Ayame called her out.

Immediately, the sleepy kunoichi startled herself awake. "Huh? Wha...?" The light bluenette got out.

"Did you even listen to any of our introductions so far?" Fūma questioned with narrowed eyes.

"I see them in my dreams." Seimei mumbled tiredly.

"Well then. It's your turn, Seimei-san." Hijikata informed.

"Sorry, just...really tired...I only got 16 hours of sleep yesterday...and sparring really tires me out..." Seimei yawned out her apology and revealed.

"That would explain why you kept blasting us with rockets at the end..." Fūma recalled. That's not to say why such a sleepy girl would use one of the loudest carriable weapons as her main. "Luckily Hijikata-chan and Muramasa-chan swatted most of them away." She then noted with a sigh of relief.

"How do you have significantly better grades than Fūma-san when you sleep through a majority of classes?" Hijikata wondered before waiting for an answer. "...Seimei-san?" She called out.

"Zzzz..." Seimei snored in response.

The ponytailed brunette clicked her tongue as she raised her hammer up and...

BONK!

...Immediately and lightly brought it down on the sleeping girl's head.

"GAH!" Seimei yelped before rubbing the top of her head. "Th-Thank you. What was the question again?"

"Why are you here?" Hijikata asked once more.

"Well...a while ago, my entire family was murdered." Seimei revealed in a tired tone.

"Y-You're an orphan?" Muramasa got out.

"Yeah. I don't even have my dog anymore." Seimei informed, sniffling at the memory.

"They killed your dog too!?" Hijikata exclaimed with a horrified expression.

"Hai...~ He was a big sleepy softie that loved napping with me all the time." Seimei revealed with another yawn. "Though he was getting quite old by the time it happened." She then mumbled in a saddened tone.

"My God..." Fūma gasped. It was one thing to take a life, it was another to take an innocent animal's life as well. "You know who did it?" She got out, demanding more than asking with an attitude shared by her teammates.

"That's why I'm here." Seimei replied. "When I found out about Hanzō Academy through one of my dreams, I knew it was my chance to get my revenge. I won't...rest...until...Zzzzz..." She then started to declare before nodding off once more.

"Wait...You saw this school in one of your dreams?" Hijikata got out in confusion. "Muramasa-san, if you would?" She soon requested.

ZAP!

"I CAN SEE THE FUTURE IN MY DREAMS!" Seimei blurted out in shock while involuntarily twitching. "But, I won't rest...until they're brought to justice." She then finished her sentence.

"Visions in your dreams?" Hijikata repeated, looking rather skeptical. "How accurate are they?" She then pressed.

"Very, but I...only get the result and not the journey..." Seimei responded. "And it happens at...random. I don't get one...every time I...sleep..." She then started to explain as she nodded off once more.

"So, we have the descendant of Fūma Kotarō, a knight, a shopkeeper, and a psychic sleepyhead." Fūma got out before turning to the blonde. "So what are you?" She then asked.

"A catgirl robot!" Muramasa happily revealed. "A.S.S.W, 2.0. Model ID: Muramasa. 014-07042000!" She then continued.

Her teammates blinked. "...Eh?" Hijikata got out.

"I was found by Hibari-chan and she fixed me up real good! Now I'm following in her footsteps and becoming a shinobi, just like her, nya!" Muramasa revealed.

"I...I don't..." Hijikata tried to speak, but she was so stunned that she couldn't form a coherent sentence. "Huh?" She then got out.

"Who created you?" Ayame soon asked.

"I don't know." Muramasa replied.

"You don't know!?" Ayame exclaimed.

"I was pretty messed up when Hibari-chan found me. Like, if I was human, nya, my skeleton and torso organs would've been showing, nya." Muramasa informed as she rubbed her repaired chest, "I don't remember anything before she did." She then added.

"Have you found out what an Ass-W is yet?" Ayame pressed.

"Nope." Muramasa replied. "There's a lot of stuff I don't know about myself. Most of what I know about myself came from when Hibari-chan was fixing me up. She even added and tweaked some things to make me more able to be her bestest friend and bestest shinobi partner. She's currently working on modifying my energy conversion systems so I'll be able to enjoy the same food and drinks as she does!" She then revealed with a smile.

"Wow, Hibari-chan is so smart!" Ayame remarked in an impressed tone.

"Deceptiveness is a key factor in being a shinobi." Hijikata stated with a hand on her hip, a hint of proudness in her tone.

"I also helped Hibari-chan out by guiding her through my software and hardware dia-something..." Muramasa started before forgetting the right word.

"Diagnostics." Hijikata corrected.

"Mhm. Thanks." The blonde nodded in gratitude.

"So the fists and cat ears?" Ayame responded.

"I already had those! Ooh, and I can shock people with my weapons." Muramasa replied and revealed.

"Um, are you also...anatomically correct?" Fūma chimed in.

"Yep. You can see that I have the same nyaughty parts as you except for jiggly boobies, Fūma-chan." Muramasa responded. "I even can use the bathroom like you for getting rid of the used ethanol aqueous solutions I drink. Though solid output is a no-no for now." She then added.

"I'm guessing Hibari-chan is planning that for your energy conversion systems update." Ayame assumed.

"Hai!" The robot girl replied with a nod of confirmation.

"Let's recap here so we're all on the same page. So someone decided to make a realistic teenage flat-chested catgirl robot with giant fists." Hijikata stated with a frown. "The fact that you're a '2.0 Model' means that there must be a '1.0 Model' production line somewhere out there. And who knows what or where they are." She then added.

"I'm beginning to think I know what one of the 'S's and 'W' stands for..." Ayame muttered.

"Could you perhaps let us know what you think they stand for Ayame-chan?" Fūma asked.

"I know that I'm a big mystery. I have something that looks like a gun in my head that doesn't even work, nya." Muramasa mumbled. "Why would my creator do such a thing?" She wondered out loud. "Who even built me and why would they just ditch me like that, nya? I must've just been sitting there for who knows how long given how badly damaged I was when Hibari-chan found me. But, I can't remember anything before that day when I got jolted out of Sleep Mode, nya..." She then asked and revealed.

"Maybe that was your first time getting booted up?" Ayame suggested.

"Or maybe I had another life before that and I had my memory banks wiped, nya..." Muramasa suggested with a head tilt.

"That must be rough. Maybe whoever wiped your memories must've wanted to get you out of a situation they didn't want you in." Hijikata guessed. "After all, you wouldn't have met Hibari-san otherwise." She then pointed out.

"Yeah, but...at least I was found by someone so caring. I owe Hibari-chan my life, so I'm gonna do my best to repay her, nya~." Muramasa replied and revealed.

"She seems more like a sister to you honestly." Hijikata confessed with a smile.

"Like how Yagyū-senpai is to her!" Ayame stated.

"Yeah, she's always always watching over us!" Muramasa then got out. "She whispers some strange stuff, but I like to think it's encouragement in her own way!" She then revealed.

"What does she say?" Ayame soon asked, genuinely curious.

"Mine." The android answered.

"That's it?" Ayame got out in confusion.

"Nyo. Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine..." Muramasa then corrected before recalling more of what the white haired girl had said, which was beginning to freak the others out.

"Oh, that's-" Hijikata started.

"...mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine..." Muramasa continued as she counted on her fingers. "Mine, mine, uh...mine, nya." She concluded.

"...Is her Guardian Animal a seagull?" Fūma questioned.

"I don't think so." Muramasa responded with a shrug.

"So...that's everyone right?" Ayame soon asked.

"Zzzzz..." Seimei snored from the background.

"It is." Hijikata confirmed with a nod. "...Um...I guess we can just...talk about our hobbies, then?" She then awkwardly suggested.

"Well, you know what my hobby is." Fūma got out before pulling out a Vague magazine from out of nowhere.

"Are you reading Asuka-senpai's magazine again, Fūma-san?" Hijikakta asked.

"Yep. Asuka-senpai has a photoshoot later today. I wish I could be there in person to see her!" Fūma eagerly replied, showing her magazine to her. "She looks sooooo pretty now! Maybe even more so than Mochizuki." She then added.

"She really does." Ayame got out. "It is surprising to see that she became a fashion model." She then confessed in amazement.

"Did she get approval from the school to do so? I'm worried this may make her more of a target." Hijikata remarked.

"Well, she is already a target being the granddaughter of the legendary shinobi." Ayame guessed. "Maybe she's giving up on that." She soon assumed.

"I doubt that would be the case." Hijikata responded.

"I wonder if I could make it as a model? Would I be able to get closer to Asuka-senpai if I do?" Fūma soon wondered, a sparkle in her eyes at the thought.

"With your grades, you wouldn't even make it as a Biggles." Muramasa stated.

"Eh!?" Fūma exclaimed in an offended manner. "I can be a model! I'm actually pretty good cosplayer, if I do say so myself!" She then declared.

"Cosplay?" The android repeated.

"Yeah! I'm dressed up as a ton of characters before getting into Hanzo." Fuma claimed.. "Kasumi from DoA, a monster hunter, Shizuku-tan from Saint Slippery's, even Asuka-senpai herself!" She then revealed.

The brunettes blinked at that "...what?" Ayame and Hijikata got out.

"Check it out." The orangette declared proudly as she pulled out her phone to show a selfie of her dressed nearly identically to Asuka...in a room full of Asuka plushies and even a Asuka mask. There were even excerpts from Asuka's various fashion shoots pinned to the bulletin board behind her with notes, with the only legible one saying "Eat More BBB to Match".

Everyone stared at the photo. Even Seimei woke up to gawk at the dedication. "...I have to admit, that's a little impressive, but also massively creepy." The sleepy light blue haired girl mumbled.

"Asuka-senpai has plushies?" Ayame asked. "I should totally make some of Katsu-neesama!" She then declared.

"Made them myself. Whatddya think?" Fūma got out.

"...Can you make one for Katsu-neesama? I'll even pay you for it!" Ayame soon asked and offered.

"Only if you help me make more Asuka merchandise!" Fūma however noted. "We could even sell some of the Asuka plushies to her modeling fans for a tidy profit if we split it evenly." She then suggested.

"Ya got yourself a deal!" Ayame responded as the two girls shook on it with fires in their eyes.

"Oh great. We have two fangirls." Hijikata groaned. "I really hope they don't turn out like those crazies on the news this morning." She then added.

"You mean the girls that are as bad as the breast cult forming in Tokyo?" Seimei yawned out.

"Huh, there's been a lot of problems with insane groups lately..." Hijikata soon muttered.

Soon, the bluenette was fast asleep and snoring loudly while leaning against her rocket launcher for support.

"So...do we feel any closer to each other?" Ayame hesitantly asked.

"Uhhhh..." Hijikata and Fūma got out in unison.

"Zzzzzzz..." Seimei snored.

"At our current bond level, we have a 13.69420 percent chance of beating Kiriya-sensei." Muramasa revealed. "That is up by a factor of three compared to when we woke up today." She then added.

"So we still suck together." Ayame concluded in a disappointed tone.

"It's better than our negative percent chance of beating him individually." The android then claimed.

"Negative? What does that mean!?" Fūma got out in an incredulous manner.

"It means that I have a lot to do if I want to catch up to Katsu-neesama!" Ayame declared with a fist pump.

"Asuka-senpai too!" Fūma replied in agreement. "...I wonder if I could get into the modeling gig too?" She then suddenly asked.

Seimei suddenly jolted awake with a yelp. "Ah, I just had one of my visions... You'll find the truth of who you really are, Muramasa..." She revealed at an unusually rapid pace. "But, it didn't tell me any of the details as to how or what you need to do..."

"I'll just be the bestest friend to Hibari-chan, nya, and be the bestest teammate to you guys and rack up that good karma, nya!" Muramasa soon decided and declared.

"Yes. We will surpass our senpai one day, but right now, we shall strengthen our bonds!" Hijikata proudly stated.

"Zzzzz..." Seinei snored.

"I have to do everything I can to be with Katsuragi-senpai!" Ayame got out in determination.

"Alright, everyone! Let's keep training...as a team!" Fūma declared.

"Hai!" The rest of the New Wave responded, all of them with fires in their eyes.

Kiriya came back to see the New Wave all tangled up with each other, naked and unconscious with Muramasa's bare ass exposed right in front of his face.

"The path of the shinobi is long and arduous. But those who are able to walk it can become great." The teacher muttered. "You all have potential...but it will take more than training to become splendid." He then stated...despite all the nudity in the room.

POOF!

Seimei unconsciously sniffed. "...Petrol?" She mumbled, sensing the weirdly pleasant smell.

Don't worry, it's a non-flammable facsimile of the scent of petrol.

---

(Shujin Academy, Outside the Gym)

When Homura arrived at the school to help Daidōji run her events, she quickly got to work organising her committee and assigning roles. She had one half of them report to Daidōji while the rest patrolled the school in case some students wanted to cause trouble. Homura herself was switching between patrols and helping Ikki-sensei. It allowed her to keep an eye on everything and make sure it was all running smoothly.

Homura had been put in charge of the baseball event by the P.E. teacher, and despite having no clue about anything that was happening on the field, she quite enjoyed running and even playing the sport. She even managed to hit a home run!

Which resulted in losing the ball somewhere in Shibuya.

It was a little annoying needing to turn down the entire Shujin baseball team begging her to join, but she couldn't help but feel flattered (even though thanks to her shinobi training, she was the best at every sport).

"I didn't know Shujin had a baseball team." Homura got out as she hefted the bag of sports equipment over her shoulder. "But then again, there was barely any other sport than volleyball while that shithead was around." She then muttered under her breath.

Honestly, she was glad the new gym teacher was bringing back all the other sports clubs and even helping out.

...Though why they were slowly becoming like military soldiers was beyond her.

"This isn't that part of Korea..." Homura mumbled.

However, just as she was arriving at the gym to put back all the baseball-related equipment, her ears started to burn as she heard something was happening around the corner.

"AH!" A female voice got out.

A very familiar voice. "Emica?" Homura realized before rushing over to the source of the noise. Wasn't she supposed to be patrolling somewhere else?

When she saw the scene, her eyes widened. It was Emica, with some boys slowly making her back herself into a corner.

"Come on, Sato-san. Can't ya give us a pass just this once?" One of the guys soon asked.

"Yeah, we just need some quick cash." His friend got out, faking his plea for mercy.

"Not like the school needs this shit anyways." The last of the guys scoffed before holding up one of their pilfered items. "What the hell is this thing!?" He then exclaimed.

It was a shuttlecock.

Emica swallowed. She was shivering, looking like she wanted to run, but she stood her ground. "I...I...I won't! I won't let you steal from the school!" She nervously declared.

"!?" Homura's eyes immediately widened to that before narrowing them.

"You ain't a teacher and they aren't here to help you. No one is. Now get running before we really get mad." The first guy countered.

"Like you can with that shitty leg." Another guy remarked.

"Come on, don't burden 'em with that shit." The third guy concluded.

"..." The tan skinned girl soon noticed that something that the thief said incensed Emica, making her glare at him. "I...I am not a burden. I-I am part of the committee, and I won't let you‐" She soon started, however...

WHAM!

Emica hit the floor, her leg taken out right from under her.

"Shut it, bitch!" The apparent leader spat out before performing a quick stomp on her broken limb. "Wow, I always wanted to say that." He soon admitted with a chuckle.

Homura, meanwhile, saw red as she set down the bag of baseball equipment.

"We didn't wanna do that, you know." One of them continued in a cocky tone.

"Hey, maybe she has money on her..." The last boy suggested, causing his friends to nod as they slowly approached the injured girl, who just managed to get up.

"No...please..." Emica whimpered as she stumbled backwards.

CRACK!

Suddenly, Emica's leg buckled, causing her to fall backwards and hit her head against the wall behind her. The last thing she saw before blacking out was a shadowy figure behind the bullies, holding a bright red baseball bat and readying themselves for a home run.

"Hey, you! Batter up!" Homura shouted out as she cracked the thug's skull with a foam baseball bat, knocking him out. "Strike one!" She began counting.

"What the fuck!?" His bully friend exclaimed. It was just one of the practice bats for kids and yet he was completely out cold! "Oh shit! It's the freakin' Queef!" He swore.

"GET HER!" The third guy ordered.

Homura could only let out a devious grin as she disappeared in front of their eyes.

"Where'd she go!?" One of them exclaimed in disbelief.

"Here." Homura suddenly whispered in the boy's ear, causing his eyes to go wide.

WHAM!

Homura swung her bat into his gut, causing him to lose all air in his lungs.

"Strike!" Homura got out as she jabbed the guy in the nuts before winding up for another swing. "TWO!" She continued counting as she bent her bat on the criminal's face, sending him skipping across the floor.

Seeing his defeated friend get destroyed, he sized up the committee head and estimated his chances. "...I can take her." The last fool confidently stated.

Seeing that her weapon was useless, she tossed it over her shoulder and put up her fists.

"Heh. Easy out." The last bully grinned while going into an amateurish boxing stance. He was the tallest and strongest amongst his buddies. He could definitely deal with some big titty bitch.

And then Homura simply dislocated his jaw.

CRACK!

"BWAAAAAHHH!" The boy cried out as his jaw hung loosely from his face, a few teeth falling out as a result. "UGHA!? MUH MUTH! OWIEE!" He then gurgled.

"Having fun?" Homura coldly taunted as she shook off her hand after hitting the idiot with her palm.

"RRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGGGGG!" The final thug screamed, letting out the tears of a berserker as he charged straight at the girl.

He wasn't going to win, but he could at least make sure he left a lasting mark on her!

...Is what he thought before the tanned girl grabbed his head, crushing his face in a claw grip.

"Strike three." Homura growled out before slamming his head into the wall, knocking him out cold. "You're out." She soon declared as she watched as he crumpled to the floor.

Homura let out a breath as she stepped back, admiring her work (and the pained groans). "Three jerks, 15 seconds. Might need to lighten up a bit." She muttered as she resetted the one guy's jaw.

CRACK!

Yep, he was going to feel that for the next few weeks.

This...This was beyond the scope of her committee duties now. It was attempted theft and assault. However, she wasn't going to allow this to ruin Ikki-sensei's event. And so, after taking her phone from its hiding spot where it had been recording shortly before her own assault, she brought up the committee's group chat.

[FireGirl20: I need some people ASAP to head to the gym, carry some idiots to the curb, and call the police. Three students hurt Emica while trying to steal stuff from the school.]

[FireGirl20: Here is the evidence.]

[FireGirl20 has uploaded a video "20161010_104041"]

[FireGirl20: Do this discreetly.]

[AoiSora: What!?]

[YuukiYui: Are you hurt!?]

[FireGirl20: I'm fine. Taking care of Emica right now. Hurry, before they wake up.]

[TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsHikari: On our way!]

With that out the way, she could focus on Emica and her injuries. She hadn't taken a good look at her before she engaged those idiots.

Probably for the better. She would've killed them in a blind rage.

Emica's arm and leg were stuck in odd angles. They were broken and twisted, her casts shattered.

"Shit, it's worse than I thought..." Homura whispered, feeling herself nearly unleash Crimson Lotus on the bullies before she forced herself to calm down. "Have to...Have to get Emica somewhere safe. Get her medical attention." She told herself before she picked the injured girl up carefully.

She'll deal with the ones who hurt Emica later. They won't wake up for a good while anyway.

---

(Locker Room)

The infirmary was too far for Homura to take Emica to, so she had to use the gym's locker room for now. She laid Emica on a bench before heading out to find a first aid kit. Luckily, the school was still overstocked with them so she returned quickly to her injured friend, who was still unconscious.

"Okay, Homura, you may have aggravated her injuries by moving her, but it was better than letting those idiots try and get one over us, even if they manage to even touch me." The tan skinned girl mumbled to herself as she opened the kit.

First step: She'll need to cut off portions of Emica's uniform and clean off her cast to get to the problem areas.

"I'll pay for a replacement, I promise." Homura whispered and took out some scissors and began cutting.

However, the tan skinned girl ended up going a little too fast and ended up cutting some skin. "Ah! Sorry, E-" She began to apologize, only to notice that her committee member didn't react.

Looking down, she looked at the accidental wound she made. It wasn't bleeding at all. Actually, the skin looked...off. "Is that...fake skin?" Homura breathed out in shock.

"Wh-What the...?" It was at that moment Emica began to stir. "Where am I?" She muttered.

"You're in the girls' locker room." Homura answered for her as she comforted. "Emica, stay still. It'll be over before you know it." She then requested as she tended to the injury.

"H-Homura?" Emica suddenly seemed more alert as she sat up. "Wh-What are you doing!?" She exclaimed as she tried to pull her broken arm away.

"Hey, I said don't- WHOA!" Homura got out before she felt something loosened on her grip before...

THUD! CLANK!

"Emica!" Homura got out as the injured girl fell off the bench. "I told you to stay still! What were...you..." She then tried to scold her committee member, only to trail off as her eyes went wide at the sight.

"Ugh..." Emica groaned, attempting to sit up from the floor. However, then she felt something...missing.

Instinctively, her arm went to her stump.

"N-No." Emica whispered.

"P-Prosthetics!? What the hell..." Homura gasped as she stood up and looked at the girl. "Emica...you lost your arm and leg?" She soon asked.

"...You can't lose something you don't have." Emica sadly replied as the tan skinned girl helped her up onto the bench. "I...I'm a defect." She soon confessed.

"...What?" Homura soon questioned in a serious tone. "H-How? What happened?" She then asked in worry.

"I was born without those limbs alright..." Emica sighed out, staring shamefully at her stumps. "Everywhere I went I was either bullied or pitied. Eventually, I started wearing casts because that was easier to explain. I joined the committee to be the one to help people, for once in my life, and not be the helpless one. But that never happened. I am a burden to everyone." She then declared.

"N-No you're not." Homura got out.

"Don't lie." Emica growled. "Almost every time you've seen me, I ended up in the Nurse's Office. All I do is limp around the school..."

"Emica..." Homura whispered, gazing at the girl with pity.

"...Heh, I guess Mom was right..." Emica mumbled under her breath.

"Eh?" Homura got out in confusion.

"So, do you pity me like everyone else? Make fun of me and say my mother fucked her brother? My grandfather? Or maybe...am I useless now that you know?" Emica soon asked in an annoyed yet accusatory manner.

"Emica...I..." Homura began, however...

"Shut up, I know what you're going to say. I quit. Just...leave me alone..." Emica demanded as she grabbed her fake arm, reset her fake leg, and stormed off.

Homura was a little surprised how fast she went, but she was still hobbling out the door and towards the nearest exit. "Emica, wait!" The tan skinned girl called out.

"No, we're done right now, Homura." Emica responded in an irritated tone. "I'm going home." She then insisted.

Homura frowned before her eyes widened. She might not be able to help Emica now, but maybe she could do something about her mom. "I just wanna ask one last question." She soon requested.

"NO!" Emica snapped, stomping the floor with her organic foot. "Please...stop." She then pleaded.

"I...uh..." Homura let out, stunned by Emica's attitude. "...Okay. Okay, I'm sorry."

With a huff, Emica left the school without looking back.

"Emica..." Homura mumbled with a pained expression on her face.

It felt like, no, she did fail her friend. But all that did was make her more determined to redeem herself and help the disabled girl the best she can.

At that moment, her bond with Emica strengthened, showing how she would go this far to help a friend.

RANK UP! Hanged Man Rank 4!

"This doesn't feel like I got closer to her though." Homura thought with a frown. "More like...I pushed her away. So why did my bond strengthen?" She then wondered.

"So, what do you plan to do about it?" Musashi questioned.

"Well, I can't give her an arm and a leg unless I wanna subject her to Haruka's experiments." Homura mentally answered. "All I can do...is make it hurt less. And from the sounds of it, her mom is giving her grief about it." She then added in her head

"Emica herself could use some help too." Musashi pointed out.

"I know, but I can deal with her personally and get her back into the committee. But for her mom, I think the Phantom Thieves need to step in." Homura responded to her other self.

"One problem, she didn't give you her name." Musashi reminded.

"...Dammit." The tan skinned girl got out as she took out her phone, knowing there was only one option as she called a particular number. "Oracle...can you find someone for me?" Homura asked with a serious tone.

She was not going to leave this be.

"Already sent you Emica Sato's school file." Futaba informed, the tan skinned girl meanwhile was not surprised the little gremlin had been listening this entire time. "You know you could've just checked the file yourself. The security at the school is pretty light. Are you getting lazy, Yang?" She then pointed out before jokingly asked.

"It's just faster this way." Homura grumbled. "Alright, what's your mom's name, Emica?" She then got out while searching the file.

It didn't take too long to find the name she was looking for: A single name in the Parent/Guardian section.

"So Emica's mother's name is Miho, Miho Sato." Homura stated as she narrowed her eyes. "I don't know what your problem is, but you can't treat your daughter like a burden."

"It's not guaranteed that Emica will return." Her Persona pointed out.

"It would be ideal, but I can accept that. I just have to try. Don't worry, Emica. I will help you even if you think you don't need it." Homura thought in a determined manner while closing the file before heading back to the gym.

She still needed to put away the sports equipment and make sure those bozos from before had been hauled off.

---

(10/10, Afternoon)

(Classroom Building 3F)

After a long day, Homura was taking a break by the vending machine and having a drink to rehydrate herself.

"Whew, that's refreshing." Homura sighed out as she took in a deep breath after finishing the drinking and throwing out the can.

As she was about to continue on, she noticed something at the corner of her eye. A shadow heading up the stairs at the other side of the hallway.

"Hm?" Homura hummed out in a curious manner...before her eyes then widened to feeling a malevolent aura in the air. "!?" She said nothing more as she quickly walked down the hallway towards it.

As she reached the stairs, she saw a silhouette of someone walking up towards the roof. She couldn't see who it was, but she's got a really bad feeling about who it could be.

At that moment...

"Long time no see..." An unfamiliar female voice greeted. "Tsushima." She then added.

"H-Hai, since junior high, Toudou-san." A more familiar voice replied in stuttering happiness.

"Hitomi?" Homura thought in concern as she hid at the corner to see who her committee member was talking to.

"I see you've been doing well. Not only are you in a new school, but you've also got your life back." Toudou snorted. "I'm surprised no one really knows about you on a personal level like I do." She then added.

"Hm? Personal level?" Homura mentally repeated.

"Toudou-san?" Hitomi meanwhile got out in confusion.

"We need to talk, let's head to the roof." Toudou soon ordered.

Hitomi was still confused at what she meant, but nodded and followed her to the roof.

Homura was wondering why they would head for the roof and decided to follow them. Thanks to her Shinobi training, she was undetected by them. "Hitomi, what in the world are you doing?" She then whispered to herself.

---

(Rooftop)

"Nice day we're having, huh?" Toudou questioned. "The birds are singing, flowers are blooming. Makes you want to forget all your worries, doesn't it?" She then asked.

"H-Hai, t-they do." Hitomi stammered out with a nod of agreement.

"I'm glad you think so, Tsushima." Toudou smiled a little.

"S-Still, I'm surprised to see you again." Hitomi once more confessed. "H-Have you been well?" She then asked.

"Yeah, I've been doing well." Toudou nodded. "I just wanted to see how you've been doing. After all, we are friends, right?" She then informed and asked.

Hitomi in response simply nodded.

"That's a good girl. I'm glad you still consider me your friend." Toudou replied as she smiled and began petting her head.

"T-Toudou-san..." Hitomi got out in embarrassment.

"I thought you'd forgotten all about me, especially after everything we've been through." Toudou smiled and caressed her cheek.

"I-I would never. Y-You were my closest friend back in junior high." Hitomi responded.

"Aww...I'm glad you still remembered. You really are such a precious girl." Toudou got out as she smiled and cupped both her cheeks. "And I can see you still have this cute face. And just as soft as ever, just like when we first met." She then added.

"T-Toudou-san!" Hitomi meanwhile whined in embarrassment.

."However...This cute face of yours doesn't hide what you truly are on the inside..." Toudou stated as she moved in closer to her ear. "Because what you really are on the inside is...a demon..." She then whispered.

"!?" Hitomi's eyes meanwhile widened to that as she looked at the other girl. "E-Eh?" She got out, confused and shocked by the sudden change in atmosphere.

"That's right, you may have the appearance of an innocent girl, but you can't hide who you are on the inside..." Toudou soon began as she started to sound more menacing. "A demon...A monster...A murderer...You and those who were also with you since junior high..." She then added.

"W-What a-a-a-are you-" Hitomi started, however...

"You honestly didn't think I'd ever know? Especially after all that you've done to them?" Toudou accused. "I know what you did to them. And I also know how you didn't care if they lived or died." She then added.

"H-Huh!?" Hitomi got out in even more confusion.

At that moment, Toudou took out what appeared to be a playing card with the image of an armored man while under the image showed the word Bodyguard.

Immediately, the committee member paled as she recognized what it was. "H-How..." Hitomi whispered, eyes widened in shock. "H-How d-do know about that incident!?" She fearfully exclaimed.

"Who did you think brought you to that location? Who was the one who instigated the game?" Toudou glared and grabbed her by her blazer. "It was my cousin." She soon revealed. "He's the one who brought all of you together for the Jinrou game. To see which of you is the last one standing in a survival of the fittest." She then added to the reveal.

Hitomi's eyes widened even more in response to learning this. "W-What...y-you..." She stammered out as she began hyperventilating.

"That's right...So now I'm here to finish what he started." Toudou declared as she threw her to the floor. "And I'll start by taking back the prize money you were promised if you won the game." She then stated.

Hitomi however didn't respond with words as she continued hyperventilating even more.

"Don't you start hyperventilating on me Hitomi." Toudou however ordered. "If you don't want the world to know you were involved in one of those incidents back in junior high, victim or not, you better give me some of those winnings you got." She then ordered.

But Hitomi couldn't help it as she was hyperventilating even more to the point where she was about to throw up, but she managed not to.

"I'll be waiting for the money. Take all the time you want, but I don't like being kept waiting." Toudou soon informed as she made her way to leave.

Hitomi meanwhile instinctively touched her neck as her eyes dilated.

After the threatening girl left, Homura came out of her hiding spot and rushed over to her committee member to see how she was doing. "Hitomi!" She exclaimed in concern. "Dammit! What the hell did that girl say to her!?" She thought in a panic.

Hitomi didn't hear her as she was still hyperventilating from what she learned from her so-called friend and was just in shock.

Homura soon examined her committee member's condition and instantly recognized what was wrong. "N-No way...Hitomi was traumatized?" She thought in disbelief. Was this a reason the girl was so shy?

Hitomi's eyes started to roll back into her head and saliva was dripping from her mouth while she continued hyperventilating despite the tan skinned girl's attempts to calm her down.

"Crap!" Homura thought in a panic, thinking of what she could do when suddenly...

"H-Homura-sama...?" Hitomi mumbled as she managed to calm down and looked over to see the tan skinned girl right beside her.

Homura in turn embraced her committee member into a hug as her breasts pillowed the girl's head. "Shhhh, it's ok..." She muttered in a soothing tone.

Hitomi blushed at being in her breasts, but can also feel her warm embrace and felt safe and snuggled in her breasts.

Homura meanwhile smiled softly to this as the two just stayed there for a while as she rubbed her committee member's head.

A few minutes later...

"Have you calmed down?" Homura soon asked.

"Y-Yeah, I have. I'm still in shock, but I think I'm alright." Hitomi nodded and took a deep breath.

Homura nodded back to this statement as she looked at her committee member. "Are you willing to tell me what happened to you?" She soon asked.

Hitomi, however, wasn't sure if she wanted anyone else to find out what really happened to her during junior high. "I..." She hesitated to say anything.

"Hitomi, you know you can trust me." Homura however reminded while rubbing the girl's head. "That other girl's gonna be a target for sure..." She meanwhile thought in anger.

"Homura-sama..." Hitomi muttered as she looked at her, wondering if she's right and could trust her. "Alright...I'll tell you everything about what just happened..." She soon decided as she clutched her arm and took a deep breath.

Homura in turn nodded as she gave a serious expression. "Start from the beginning." She soon requested.

"Ok...It all started when I was in junior high..." Hitomi began as she started to explain who the girl was , what had happened to her and how they knew each other.

Homura meanwhile nodded as she listened to the beginning, however...

Hitomi then reveals to her about her being kidnapped and was sent to an isolated mansion with several other people and were all part of the Jinrou game.

"Hold up, you were kidnapped in junior high!?" Homura whispered in shock. "And...a Jinrou Game?" She soon repeated in confusion with a raised eyebrow. "You were kidnapped...to play a game of Werewolf..." She then slowly stated in an uneasy tone.

"Mmm-hmm..." Hitomi nodded and still clutched her arm. "It's a game where, depending on the votes the person received from the others, they'll...die..." She soon revealed, fear returning to her to just remembering what happened.

"Wait what!? People died in it!?" Homura exclaimed in shock and disbelief to the thought of her committee member going through an actual killing game. "And you survived that!?" She then questioned in shock.

"I-It was more like...I-I was saved at the time..." Hitomi stammered out as tears started to form at the edge of her eyes. "B-But even then, out of the thirteen of us that were forced to play, t-there were only three of us left, including me..." She soon revealed.

"Ten people died in the end..." Homura muttered in disgust at the mere idea.

"I...I could still see their scared faces when they're about to die..." Hitomi muttered in distraught. "All ten of those people...died...Just to see which of us is the last one standing..." She then added as she could still remember the other ten people's faces just before they're killed and she couldn't do anything to save them.

Homura meanwhile looked on in disbelief at her committee member with widened eyes. "Who the hell put her through something like that? More importantly, why her of all people?" She thought. She may have been a former Evil Shinobi, but these were regular civilians and even they knew never to get them involved.

"I...killed them...I killed them so that I could survive...I'm a murderer..." Hitomi looked at her hands and could see blood on her hands with the bodies of the other ten people flashing before her eyes.

"Hitomi, you had no choice, you were forced to vote to kill." Homura soon stated in a serious tone.

"But she's right...I am a demon on the inside..." Hitomi rebuttal. "I killed them so I could stay alive...All those people didn't deserve to die! I did this to them! I KILLED THEM ALL AND NOW I'M A MONSTER!" She then declared as she clutched her head and her pupils dilated as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

However at that moment, the tan skinned girl forced her committee member into a hug, muffling the girl's scream. "Hitomi! Calm down!" Homura soon ordered.

"I'M A MONSTER! I KILLED THEM ALL! I'M A DEMON! A DEVIL! I DESERVE TO DIE FOR WHAT I DID TO THEM!" Hitomi screamed even more, luckily she was muffled by the tan skinned girl's embrace.

Homura meanwhile narrowed her eyes as she allowed her committee member to cry her eyes out. "You are not..." She thought in a dead serious tone.

"Yes...I am...I'm a monster...Why did they have to die...? Just why...?!" Hitomi cried and held onto the tan skinned girl as even more tears fell down her eyes.

"No, the monsters were the ones who forced her into that situation in the first place..." Homura however thought to herself.

"Homura-sama...do you consider me...a-a murderer for what happened?' Hitomi soon whispered.

In response, the tan skinned girl shook her head. "No, I don't. You're not a murderer. You were just an innocent victim thrown into a sick game for someone else's amusement." Homura replied. "If anyone is the real murderer, it's the ones who pitted all of you against each other. You had no other choice, you were forced into this game and had to vote to kill the others." She then stated as she pressed her closer to her breasts where she could hear her heartbeat.

"R-Really?" Hitomi mumbled out, shocked and surprised to hear that as unconsciously touched her neck.

"Yes, really. I know you're not a killer. None of you are." Homura answered and rubs her head. "I'm sure it was hard for you to witness what just happened, but I know it's not your fault." She soon stated.

"H-Homura-sama..." Hitomi whimpered out.

"It's alright, you don't have to worry anymore. Everything will be alright." Homura spoke in a soothing voice and rocked her back and forth, like a mother would do for her baby.

Hitomi in response simply nodded as she allowed herself to be treated that way.

"Jeez, and I thought I had it bad...what Hitomi went through was just sick..." Homura thought to herself in disgust.

She looks up at the sky and planned to see the other Phantom Thieves about their next target in Mementos. But to do that, she'll need to receive the name of the target from her committee member before telling the others. But just as she did, she could see ten ghosts looking down at them.

"Have you calmed down again Hitomi?" Homura soon asked in a soothing tone.

"Yeah...I'm a little bit better now..." Hitomi responded with a nod. "I'm still feeling stressed, but I think I can manage..." She then confessed as she took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Well that's a relief..." Homura replied.

Hitomi however shook her head in response. "Still, I-I just can't believe Toudou-san found out..." She soon got out. "E-Even more, her cousin was involved in what happened..." She then muttered.

"That girl you were talking with earlier? The one you said was your friend, right?" Homura asked with a raised concern about her relationship with the other girl.

"H-Hai," Hitomi responded with a nod. "I thought that she was my friend, but I didn't think that she was just using me for that..." She then added. She felt stupid for being used by someone she considered to be her friend.

"From what I saw, it looked like there was a really intense hatred for you." Homura stated as she narrowed her eyes. "She didn't really see you as much of a friend, but as someone she can take her anger out on. She clearly didn't care about what happened to you or those other people." She then stated.

"H-Hai, it was a surprise to me to see her like that..." Hitomi confessed in a whimper. "S-She told me she wants the million yen I would have won from the game..." She then revealed.

"But you never got it." Homura deducted as she narrowed her eyes.

"H-Hai..." Hitomi mumbled as she nodded again. "M-Me and the other survivors were rescued before the last round of the game..." She then explained as she touched her neck. "A-At the time when the collar that could kill me like all the others was removed, i-it felt like a breath of fresh air..." She soon confessed.

"So that's why you were always clutching your neck. You had a collar strapped on to make sure none of you tried to escape or it'll kill you." Homura got out as her eyes widened in realization.

Hitomi in response just nodded to that.

This in turn caused the tan skinned girl to narrow her eyes. "These people are more sick than I thought...To think they'd go as far as to use a collar that would kill them if they try to escape. They're treating them like animals." Homura thought to herself in anger as she clenched her fist.

"Homura-sama?" Hitomi got out, concerned to seeing the serious expression on the tan skinned girl's face.

"Sorry, but I just can't stand people like that Toudou girl or the one who forced you and those other people in a killing game." Homura apologized in a serious manner.

"I-It's ok, I just wish I could get out of this situation..." Hitomi replied and admitted.

"Yeah..." Homura muttered as she balled her hands into fists. She had to help her junior...and she knew exactly how. "Hitomi, what's her full name?" She suddenly asked.

"It's Yukihiko Toudou. Why do you ask?" Hitomi asked her senior, not really knowing what she planned to do.

"Yukihiko Toudou..." Homura repeated in a mutter after hearing the name.

"Homura-sama? What are you planning to do?" Hitomi worryingly asked. "You're not going to do something dangerous, are you?" She then added in concern.

Homura in response shook her head and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "You don't need to worry about that Hitomi." She reassured with a smile.

"H-Homura-sama...?" Hitomi got out as she looked at the tan skinned girl with widened eyes.

"Trust me, ok?" Homura soon requested in a gentle tone.

The committee member meanwhile looked on in awe before eventually nodding. "Ok, I'll trust you." Hitomi eventually replied as she nodded.

Homura nodded back as she smiled, glad to feel her bond with her junior improving even more after learning about her past.

RANK UP! Priestess Rank 4!

Heavenly Recovery: Greatly recovers HP and SP after a fight.

"In any case, we better get home for the day." Homura soon suggested. "Try and avoid Toudou as much as possible." She then instructed.

"Ok, I'll do just as you say, Homura-sama." Hitomi nodded with enthusiasm.

"Good," Homura replied with a smile. "Have a good night Hitomi." She then concluded as she turned the other direction to leave.

"You too, Homura-sama. And be careful." Hitomi replied and prayed as she watched her leave.

Homura in turn smiled with a nod to that as she then looked away...before frowning. "I'm gonna make sure she counts up her sins in full." She soon thought as she narrowed her eyes while walking away.

Hitomi meanwhile watched as the tan skinned girl walked away, like a hero going to fight the villains.

"Please...come back, Homura-sama." Hitomi thought before running off, hope in her heart that the disciplinary committee head she respected would save her...somehow.

---

(Rooftops)

The sky was quite windy for the day, and for five certain girls lounging around a building's rooftop, they were still on the verge of figuring out what was going on in Tokyo, as well as finding the rest of their intended targets within the busy crowds of Tokyo.

"Are we sure we won't get spotted here?" Gekkō asked, standing near the edge of the rooftop while glancing at the others.

"We should've gone to an inn with a bathhouse to talk." Kafuru grumbled.

"Ooh, a hot bath sounds nice..." Hanabi responded in excitement.

"We'll go to one later tonight." Renka assured. "Hopefully, Sayuri-sama will not mind if we splurge on an extra fancy one." She then added.

"Yay! I'll bring my ducky!" Hanabi cheered.

"Can we just talk about what we all managed to do today?" Gekkō however requested. They had been running all day so all she wanted to do was sit down.

"Hai." Renka nodded. "Any developments we need to know?"

"We found more red orbs for Kagura-san." Senkō informed as she dumped the bag on the floor.

"They really are everywhere now." Gekkō remarked.

"Good." Renka breathed out. "If anything happens, we'll have Kagura-sama in her final form." She then added.

"...Which we'll have to fight eventually, with this being a temporary alliance and all." Senkō reminded.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" Hanabi gasped in surprise. "We would never do that!" She then reassured.

"Unless you do something lame, or stupid, or uncool, lol." Kafuru chimed in.

"Rest assured that we won't stab you in the back until we've gotten our answers and are satisfied with what we got, dammit." Renka assured.

"And so far the answers we have suck and are as unsatisfying as having sex with Eeyore." Kafuru stated.

"...You really don't have much of a filter, do you?" Gekkō deadpanned.

"You've been looking into finding who actually caused the event in the first place, correct?" Senkō soon got out.

"Yes?" Renka responded.

"Do you mind telling us your results then?" Gekkō soon asked.

"Sure. So, who have we investigated so far?" Renka questioned.

"Uh..." Hanabi got out as everyone could see the gears visibly turn in her skull.

"Don't hurt yourself, Hanabi." Kafuru quickly ordered.

"DOKAN!" Hanabi responded, glad that her brain got to power down.

"Well, we've investigated Akira Kurusu, and Sayuri-sama's granddaughters..." Kafuru answered before trailing off.

"...And?" Renka pressed.

"That's it." Kafuru bluntly replied.

"That's it!?" Renka exclaimed before palming her forehead. "They can't possibly be the only ones who are stained with this Yōma's blood, dammit!"

"Well, it's a million in one chance we'll find the others, if there are others left, even with Kagura's help." Kafuru pointed out. "And she's busy getting ready for school so she can't help us right now. All we know is that there are concentrations in these areas." She then informed and noted while looking at the map they got from a brochure, which had red circles put on it.

"...Hey, isn't there a pattern here?" Senkō suddenly began, noticing something from the map they were all using.

"Pattern?" Renka repeated in confusion.

"Look at all the spots marked down on the map." Senkō stated as she pointed to certain spots on the map. "Notice anything?" She soon questioned.

"Nope!" Hanabi happily spoke up.

"Ugh..." Senkō groaned before taking a marker and started writing on the map.

"What are you...?" Kafuru began before noticing that the more serious half-twin was quite literally connecting the dots. "Hey, that looks like..." She soon started.

"...The Ginza Line." Renka noted.

"Yes. These locations all correspond with that train line." Senkō stated.

"We already know that the scent is concentrated at Shujin." Gekkō reminded the others.

"With a more minor concentration around Kosei and Yongen-Jaya." Senkō added. "I think we can naturally assume that whoever they are, they attend Shujin Academy."

"But...Shujin isn't a shinobi school." Hanabi however pointed out.

"Making it the perfect location and cover school for hidden activities, shinobi or not." Gekkō soon pointed out.

"...And given that the Phantom Thieves debuted there..." Kafuru soon realized.

"Wait, are you saying...?" Renka questioned with a frown.

"The only shinobi we know attend that school are Sayuri-sama's granddaughter and her recently adopted granddaughter, but they alone can't face Shin with other shinobi help." Senkō summarized. "But what if they didn't get the help of shinobis?" She soon theorized.

"Not shinobi...?" Hanabi gasped.

"What if...they're something different?" Senkō got out. "Civilians that are not shinobi but outside of our frame or reference. Who have tactics and control outside of our understanding." She then described as she continued.

"Like...The Phantom Thieves?" Kafuru guessed.

"It could possibly be them." Senkō replied, leaving a margin for error just in case. "Shujin was the Phantom Thieves' origin location and possibly their main base of operations. It's highly likely that they are the ones who caused the near mass extinction of the Yōma." She then explained and stated.

"...But...they can't possibly be Kagura-level..." Gekkō got out.

"No." Senkō shook her head before giving everyone a serious look. "They've surpassed such a title." She then declared.

The Mikagura sisters shivered a little. Power like that could take over the world. "...Just what are these people...?" Renka whispered in awe.

"Ooh! I wanna meet 'em!" Hanabi soon requested with a raised hand.

"Hanabi, they could quite literally make you confess all your crimes. Interacting with them could be a bad idea." Kafuru reminded in a flat voice. "Especially if we don't know their methods of doing so."

Hanabi gasped. "You're right! They might find out that I stole Renka-chan's pudding last week!" She soon stated.

"YOU DID WHAT NOW!?" The aforementioned girl got out in anger as lightning started to spark around her.

"Baka..." Kafuru mumbled in a deadpan tone.

"Tone it down, you two." Senkō advised the two with stern eyes.

"But...that was my premium edition pudding I was saving for a special occasion!" Renka revealed before pouting.

"And the occasion being...?" Gekkō questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"..." Renka in response blushed.

"Well, either way, Kagura will need to be on her guard while there." Naraku reminded.

Suddenly, the girls yelped as they jumped back from the guardian's sudden appearance. "When did you get here!?" Gekkō exclaimed.

"I've always been here." Naraku simply replied as she blew her bubblegum.

"W-Why aren't you with Kagura-sama!?" Renka asked in a panic.

"She sent me out to get Creature energy drinks." Naraku answered. "She needs to study and her entrance into Shujin is coming up." She then explained as she then took the bag of red orbs.

"Ooh! Does that really work?" Hanabi asked.

"Unless you want to crash afterwards." Kafuru deadpanned. "I find it a little odd that she didn't get an entrance exam or anything." She then added.

"Shujin is currently desperate for new blood. They'll accept anyone." Senkō informed.

"Shouldn't Fubuki-san be studying as well?" Renka soon remembered. "She's entering the school, right?"

"She's with Sayuri-sama." Naraku informed. "She said that if she needs to pass a test, she'll just steal the answers." She then added.

"But what about...actually, no, that makes sense for her." Kafuru soon admitted.

"Well, no matter what, they can't let their guard down at the school." Renka stated.

"Kagura-chan also mentioned that there's the scent of an unfamiliar Yōma around Yongen-Jaya, so caution is advised." Gekkō concluded.

"They have to be a strong Yōma to have survived the extinction, like Fubuki-sama." Senkō assumed. "Who knows what type of power they possess to do such a thing." She then assumed.

Meanwhile, in Yongen-Jaya, a certain silverette sneezed while staring at the washing machine that was laundering her clothes.

"I can only imagine." Renka muttered. "Dammit, how are we going to deal with a group stronger than Kagura-level shinobi when none of us are Kagura ourselves? For all we know, they could destroy Kagura-sama!" She then ranted in a panic.

"I'm pretty sure Kagura isn't reckless enough to pull anything." Senkō pointed out.

"Well, they only target bad people. Maybe we can all be friends!" Hanabi suggested. "Like we are!" She then added.

"No we're not." Senkō and Gekkō deadpanned.

"Far from it." Kafuru meanwhile stated in her own deadpan tone.

"More like...reluctant acquaintances." Renka corrected.

"Aw..." Hanabi whined in disappointment.

Senkō then sighed as she looked out to the city. "...We need to make sure the Phantom Thieves don't do anything else but steal the hearts of criminals." She concluded as the other girls nodded in agreement.

---

(Hotel Kusatori)

Elsewhere, a certain, elegant young girl wearing a large turtleneck white sweater, black shorts, black sneakers and thigh high socks as she was simply sitting at the lobby of the hotel, reading books while ignoring those who were passing by.

"Heeeeh, so this is a manga." Kagura muttered in a fascinated manner. "These depictions are wondrous and the words are so heartfelt..." She then added in an impressed manner.

Who knew that My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness could have such a compelling story?

"Hmm...let me check on something else." The powerful shinobi uttered to herself as she checked her bag and pulled out another book and started reading it.

"Oh...there are these kinds of manga?" Kagura asked to herself, unconsciously blushing while reading a different kind of manga. "...Secret Finger Jutsu, Thousand Years of Death. Interesting." She then added in fascination.

She could learn that one easily.

"Um, young miss?" A male voice got out.

"Hm?" Kagura hummed out as she looked up and saw a young man in a yellow pineapple-themed workplace uniform.

"I ask you to put that book away. It's disturbing the guests." The concierge requested in a polite tone.

"But I like reading it." Kagura insisted.

The man glanced at the cover, which depicted two tastefully nude men about to kiss each other, and sighed. "You may read it when you are in a private space."

"Ah, my apologies." Kagura apologized as she bowed her head a bit. "I didn't know it was that much of a deal."

"It's alright." The concierge sighed. "Anyways, are you waiting for someone here, or do you wish to book a room?" He soon asked.

"I am waiting for someone." Kagura simply informed.

"Then...please take a seat in the lounge area or if you wish, by the heated pool area." The concierge instructed. "If you need a swimsuit, the boutique is also available as well." He then informed.

"I don't have any means of purchase on me, sorry." Kagura innocently pointed out and apologized.

The staff member simply sweatdropped. "...Well you can go to the lounge area for your waiting." He then decided.

"Thank you." Kagura responded with a bow before going back to reading before pausing. "...Ah, you mean going to the lounge area." She realized as she then stood up.

"May I carry your books, madam?" The staff member soon offered.

"Oh, please do." Kagura replied with a nod as she followed the man to the lounge to continue her reading.

...Wait, wasn't she supposed to be studying for something? Maybe she should have brought some informative books along with her...

Ah, whatever. She could always do it tomorrow with the others.

---

(Inokashira Park)

Elsewhere, the elderly shinobi was sitting at one of the pavilions with the pale half-Yōma known as Fubuki. They were scoping out Inokashira Park as a likely spot to try and find the individuals connected to the elimination of Shin. Fubuki had taken to wearing a heavy, face obscuring cloak to help endure the cooling days, while Sayuri had taken to wearing a few more layers under her clothes.

They had told their respective teams of sisters to keep watch at the entrances to make sure that any likely suspects wouldn't slip through.

BZZT! BZZT!

"Ah, Senkō-san just texted me. It says that she just saw two of them enter here. Even provided a picture and some notes." Fubuki informed all of a sudden as she took her phone out. "Here." She then added, showing the phone to her elderly companion as well.

"Hrm...A civilian and the leader of the current Gessen elites'." Sayuri read the note below the image on the bandaged woman's phone.

"And my cousin." Fubuki added as well. "I doubt she would recognize me unless I explicitly let that slip."

"Your cousin, you say?" Sayuri began as she glanced at her.

"Yes. My father and her mother were siblings." Fubuki reminded her. "Though Yumi doesn't know that fact." She then added.

"And Kurokage?" Sayuri questioned.

"I'm not sure. My parents' love was considered highly forbidden even by the standards of our society..." Fubuki explained with an uncertain look on her face.

TUG!

The two then watched as Yumi suddenly began tugging the boy's ear in what seemed to be where she was chastising him for something.

"Heh. That takes me back." Sayuri chuckled as she saw the sight.

"Yusuke-san, for the last time...You can't eat random fungi you find growing here. We have a study session for upcoming exams." Yumi sternly reminded her.

"M-My apologies, senpai." Yusuke replied as he was unwillingly dragged towards the pavilion by the light grey haired girl. "Ow, can you...let my ear go now, senpai? Please?" He then pleaded.

"Hmm..." Sayuri hummed in thought as she observed the two.

"Shall we approach them now, Sayuri-san?" The pale-skinned, bandaged woman asked, her eyes still on the two.

"No need. They're headed our way." The elderly shinobi replied, seeing the two walking right towards where they were seated.

"I understand, Senpai. Can we at least work outdoors?" Yusuke then suggested after his senior stopped tugging his ear.

"Fine, but only if you stay focused on the subject matter." Yumi replied with a sigh before noticing the two who were sitting on their supposed bench. "Ah, my apologies. We didn't realize that you were sitting here." She then got out with a bow.

"It's no concern. Feel free to sit with us and have your study session." Fubuki replied with a nod.

"Good day there, you two." Sayuri greeted, catching the attention of the two teenagers.

"Ah, good day, ma'am." Yumi responded. "And I agree. It's great that we have a day off to enjoy this weather. Isn't that right, Yusuke?" She then added as she looked at her friend.

Staaaaaaaaaaare...

Yusuke did not respond as he was too busy studying the cloaked girl, who was just dissuading herself from stabbing the boy in the eyes.

"You're staring at me awfully intently, young man..." Fubuki pointed out in a small voice.

"My apologies, but...I couldn't help but notice the bandages around your face." Yusuke got out. "There's a hauntingly beautiful quality to you."

Fubuki widened her eyes a bit at him for a moment before relaxing herself. "...My appearance is none of your concern."

"Oh, then my apologies once more." Yusuke responded with a bow. "I get a little overzealous when I see something that sparks my muse." He then admitted.

"Muse?" Fubuki repeated.

"He's an artist." His female friend explained with a long-suffering sigh. "He likes to do what he pleases, regardless of standards or risks to his body, as long as it interests him." She soon explained.

"I have not done such a thing in a while, senpai." Yusuke denied.

"You tried to buy live lobsters at the restaurant!" Yumi snipped. "Just like at the beach that time!" She then added.

"They simply caught my attention and I wish to paint them since I missed the opportunity to do so back then, senpai." Yusuke replied and explained. "That is all." He then added.

"You could sketch from while they were in the tank." Yumi however pointed out.

"And use that abhorrent lighting along with the unclear water they were swimming in?" Yusuke counter-questioned in disgust. "They deserve beautiful sunlight and foliage to capture its color, shape, and form properly." He soon stated.

Yumi sighed. "Maybe I should've bought the lobster instead for you..." She grumbled under her breath. "And...I admit, I have been wanting to try out this lobster recipe Ojii-sama taught me..." She then confessed.

"You should cook more often than eating out." Yusuke suggested with a hand on her back.

"My kitchen isn't exactly equipped for more than the simpler dishes." Yumi sighed.

"I'm sure it will be delicious regardless." Yusuke simply reassured her with a smile.

"Yusuke-san..." Yumi got out, her eyes showing a reassuring look as she looked at her junior.

"What a fine young man..." Sayuri meanwhile remarked with a smile. It reminded her of herself and her husband...when he wasn't trying to look down at her cleavage. "You got yourself a nice catch, young lady." She then added as well.

"Excuse me, what do you...?" Yumi began, looking confused before coughing. "W-Wait, no. No no no no! We are not a couple! We are simply friends." She then explained with red dusting her cheeks.

"Yes. Do not misunderstand. Yumi-senpai and I are in a platonic relationship." Yusuke casually agreed and explained. "I have no interest in her as a member of the opposite sex." He then added.

Sayuri and Fubuki gazed at him, as if he's not the usual kind of person around these parts in Tokyo.

"You are...quite direct and blunt for a young man." Sayuri simply commented. "I like you now already." She soon confessed in approval.

"Thank you." Yusuke replied with a nod. "...I admit, I don't often make good first impressions." He then admitted.

"A rarity among men, I must say." Sayuri responded with a nod of approval, tapping the head of her cane with a finger.

"I'll...take that as a compliment, I guess?" Yusuke assumed with a raised eyebrow, causing the elderly woman to simply nod.

"Rarity among men?" Fubuki simply repeated in her mind, facing her.

"Hm, I've never done an elderly person..." Yusuke hummed out and muttered, seeing the elderly woman closely.

"Yusuke-san, no!" Yumi hissed with hands on her hips while facing him with a glare.

"Wh-Wha-?" Yusuke got out as he heard his senior hissed at him all of a sudden. "S-Senpai..." He then tried to continue.

"Yusuke, you are not doing what you are thinking of doing. I know you well enough to know what you are thinking." Yumi sternly ordered while holding up a finger. "And I'm even surprised that you are willing to go there in particular." She then added.

"B-But-" Yusuke started.

"No buts, mister." Yumi interrupted in an authority-filled manner.

Sayuri meanwhile snickered in amusement at this display of the two young folk. "Ohoho, this reminds me of my younger years with my husband." She confessed.

Fubuki simply glanced at the old woman, curious at the statement before glancing at the light gray haired girl for a moment. "...She's grown." She thought to herself, the faint image of the same girl in front of her, but younger smiling happily at her.

"Nee-sama!"

"Nee-sama?" Yumi repeated in a confused manner.

"Eh?" Everyone but Fubuki got out. The half-Yoma herself froze.

"I swear I just heard someone say that just now." Yumi informed, looking around to find the source.

The half-Yoma bit her lip, which was thankfully hidden by her cloak. She must've said that unconsciously. "You must be hearing things." Fubuki dismissed, unconsciously fidgeting in her seat.

Yumi meanwhile looked at the bandaged girl. "Miss? Is something the matter?" She soon asked in concern.

Fubuki immediately snapped out of it as she shook her head. "It's...nothing." She slowly responded before standing up. "We...We should get going." She then decided.

"Oh?" Sayuri got out as she noticed. "What's wrong?" She soon asked.

"I...I just need to go..." Fubuki hesitantly confessed before leaving.

"Hm?" Yusuke and Yumi got out as they watched the cloaked girl leave, seemingly in a hurry.

"It was nice meeting you both. Have a lovely day, you two." Sayuri apologized before heading off to follow after the retreating girl.

"...Well, that was odd." Yumi confessed, though soon felt a shiver down her spine.

"Senpai?" Yusuke began, seeing her senior having a curious expression. "What is it?" He soon asked.

"That...woman with the cloak..." Yumi began, gazing at the back of the person in mention. "She felt...familiar." She hesitantly confessed in an uneasy manner.

"Hm? Is this another Haru-san situation?" Yusuke guessed.

"I don't have as many childhood friends as her." Yumi responded with a frown...before remembering something. "Well...maybe one but...she's gone now." She then admitted.

"Oh. I see." Yusuke got out with an understanding look. "I imagine she is still out there waiting for you. I hope you will meet her later down the line." He then assumed and reassured her.

"...I hope so too." Yumi confessed in agreement.

"..." Her other self meanwhile was silent, as if contemplating the situation.

"I-In any case, this Halloween, I am going to be in a joint idol concert with Milky Pop." Yumi soon revealed, wanting to change the subject.

"Milky Pop?" Yusuke repeated in a curious manner. "Hmm...I think I've heard of the name." He soon recalled.

"I mentioned them in Mementos the other day." Yumi replied and reminded. "They are an Elite group of Good Shinobi posing as an idol group." She then added.

"Ah, right, I remember." Yusuke responded with a nod. "You would apply in that category as well I believe." He then pointed out.

"I'm not part of an idol group." Yumi corrected. "They are treated much differently than if they were separate idols." She soon stated.

"I hope you can dissuade them from looking into the Phantom Thieves." Yusuke reminded. "We do not need more trouble than we are already attracting." He soon added.

"I will try my best." Yumi assured with a nod before looking down the path the cloaked girl had taken. "...No. I'm just being hopeful." She thought as she and her junior continued on their way.

As for Fubuki, she didn't go too far, merely hiding behind a tree to hide and calm her beating heart. "Dammit..." She cursed under her breath as she gripped the trunk's bark.

"Whew! Thank you for waiting for me!" Sayuri got out as she approached the girl. "A warning next time?" She remarked.

"If the situation allows for it." Fubuki responded in a cold manner.

The elderly woman soon placed a hand on the bandaged girl's shoulder. "Are you alright?" Sayuri questioned.

"I'm fine." Fubuki mumbled.

"I wasn't born yesterday." Sayuri remarked as she rolled her eyes. "You didn't want to face your cousin back there." She soon stated in an accusatory tone.

"...She was always kind to me back then, since the first day I arrived at Kurokage-ojisan's..." Fubuki revealed. "I was her big sister essentially..." She then added.

"So why did you run away?" Sayuri questioned.

"I did not run." Fubuki insisted with a huff. "...I walked." She then corrected.

"It looked more like a brisk jog." Sayuri however noted. "Now tell me." She soon ordered.

"It's unnecessary for me to tell you more than you should." Fubuki however stated, albeit a bit strained in her voice. "We are still enemies, do not forget about that, Sayuri-obaasan." She then added to the reminder.

"Not unless it affects the mission." Sayuri responded. "And from what I can see, this will affect you mentally." She soon stated.

"...Let's just go..." Fubuki soon requested in a more hasty manner.

Sayuri sighed. "This is why you cannot have personal feelings and emotions get in the way of being a shinobi." She thought with a frown. "Such things only hold you back from fulfilling your duty." She then added in her head as she watched the girl closely, restrained hatred in her eyes.

She did not need to be reminded that they were merely using each other to get to their goals, Sayuri was already planning to ensure Fubuki and her followers would die without struggle.

It was only a matter of when they became useless.

---

(Harajuku, Modeling Studio)

Asuka and Ann were having a nice day...sort of.

"Aaaaahh, why did it have to be today!?" Asuka exclaimed in a panic as she ran. "Come on, Ann-chan! Or Kokito-san will get mad at us!" She then added.

"If we show up sweaty...I'm blaming you!" Ann declared in between pants.

"Blame the trains!" Asuka reminded.

"At least we're not getting groped on the way here!" Ann retorted back, running as fast as her legs could give. "Asuka, watch out!" She called out.

"Eh?" Asuka let out before seeing two men in her way, and she was too fast to stop. "MAKE WAY!" She soon shouted.

"...So yeah, I quit my job and started pursuing ViewTube full-time. I can't believe I get paid to review lingerie and- WHOA!" One of the men yelped as two girls rushed past them.

"Wh- Hey! Watch where you're-" The other guy was about to complain...before noticing how bouncy the girls were. "A-Actually, keep running!" He then encouraged, almost without thinking.

"You go, girls!" His friend cheered while pulling out his phone. "...Damn, this could be made into a mobile game." He then remarked.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!" Asuka apologized before looking behind her. "Ann-chan! Hurry!" She called out.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Asuka!" Ann responded as the two continued on.

"Moh! Out of all the days for the trains to run late and get delayed!" Asuka complained as she and the ash blonde ran down the street to get to their modelling studio.

"The train line here was damaged due to the riot." Ann pointed out. "Did you not get the text from Kokito?" She then asked.

"Moh. I got sidetracked by Miyabi-chan and Ikki-sensei." The Vice Leader explained. Who knew only ten fangirls had the strength to derail an entire train?

"Ah..." Ann got out with a nod as she pushed herself to keep up with her fellow model...before noticing how the brunette was running: the infamous Naruto run. "Does running like that actually help!?" She then asked.

"It cuts down on wind resistance!" Asuka answered as she leaned forward to speed up.

"...Gah! Fine!" Ann groaned before copying her friend's stride, before feeling surprised as she did feel the difference in speed.

She felt like an otaku loser, but it worked.

WOOSH! WOOSH!

Finally, with only seconds to spare, the two high schoolers had arrived at the entrance, charged through the doors, and skidded to a stop at the lobby.

"Whew, made it..." Ann breathed out in relief. "And barely sweaty too." She then added in awe. All that training was paying off, with dividends!

"Hai..." Asuka replied as she took a quick breather to properly compose themselves. "Hm?" She then hummed out as a mature woman with graying hair in a sharp suit with glasses approached the duo.

The woman soon adjusted her glasses as she examined the two before looking at the brunette. "Asuka Shirokage?" She suddenly assumed.

In response, the brunette blinked. "Um...yes?" Asuka responded in a confused manner.

The woman then looked at the ash blonde. "Ann Takamaki?" She then assumed.

The ash blonde soon blinked at this as well. "That's me." Ann confirmed with a nod.

The older woman soon nodded as she gave a pleasant smile. "A pleasure to meet you two. I am the president and main manager for World Tree Star, Chiaki Fukawa." The woman politely greeted and introduced herself to the duo. "You two probably know our top model, one Miki Mochizuki." She assumed with a hint of pride in her voice.

"We do." Ann replied before blinking in realization. "Y-You're her manager!?" She gawked out in disbelief.

"And the president!?" Asuka added in awe.

"Indeed. I've earned this position due to my hard work making sure that my employees are held to the highest standards of talent, competency and behavior." Fukawa replied.

"And...do you need something from us?" Asuka hesitantly asked.

"You two are definitely very good candidates for my agency." Fukawa soon revealed. "Though, I do understand if you want to stay with Kokito-san. Not everyone feels comfortable going international." She then added in an accepting tone.

"Plus we're still in school." Ann added as the brunette nodded in agreement.

"Understandable." The veteran manager admitted before pulling out two business cards from her suit jacket. "My number and address for when you feel the time is right." She added.

"O-Oh." Ann got out in a surprised manner.

"Thank you for the gesture." Asuka meanwhile replied as the two took the offered business card. "Um, if I may ask," She soon started. "Where have you been exactly? I don't recall seeing you at the runway show." She then asked and pointed out.

"I was in the hospital for a checkup regarding an illness I had that had relapsed. There was a memo detailing that but it was only released to the other managers like Kokito-san as well as my own agency." Fukawa revealed and explained. "Nothing to be too concerned about." She then added, noticing the concerned expressions from the two.

"And...what are your thoughts on Ranze-san?" Asuka then asked in a curious manner.

"Her talent is through the roof, but her behavioral issues mean she wouldn't even get to look at my agency let alone work for it." Fukawa sighed out. "Miki's frustration was at a breaking point last time I spoke to her." She then recalled in concern.

Ann meanwhile winced at that. "Jeez..." She got out.

"Shirokage-san has my sympathy for being in her crosshairs this whole time." Fukawa added as her phone soon buzzed. "My apologies, I need to oversee a shoot for Tsukino-san and Tsukikage-san over at Asakusa in about 40 minutes." She then added. "I hope to see you two working hard in person next time." She soon concluded.

"Take care." Ann replied as she saw the manager get into her car before driving off leaving the two there.

"She seemed nice." Asuka noted in relief.

"Strict, but highly passionate for the job." The ash blonde replied.

In response, the brunette nodded in agreement. "So, you ready to go, Ann-chan?" Asuka happily asked as the two approached the studio.

"Sure!" Ann replied with a smile. "Remember, this time it's Autumn and Winter clothes, so it's going to be more covered up this time." She then reminded.

"Mhm!" Asuka hummed with a nod. "Honestly, I'm a bit relieved by this. I wonder if the clothes will be cute?" She then added as the two entered the studio...only to see a familiar face. "Geh." She got out when she saw a familiar auburn haired girl already there.

"Easy now Asuka-chan, you're better than her." Ann reminded and reassured.

However when Ranze saw the two, she gave them both a pleasant and kind smile. "Greetings Shirokage-san, Takamaki-san." She soon greeted in a polite manner.

"...Eh?" Asuka and Ann got out in surprised confusion.

"I wish to apologize to the two of you for my actions and words over the past few months..." Ranze continued on before prostrating herself before them.

However this only confused the duo more, however at that moment...

"Greetings Ann-chan, Asuka-chan!" A familiar voice soon greeted.

To that, the two jolted as they turned to see a familiar pinkette strutting over to them in a simple pink dress.

"Miki-senpai!?" The two exclaimed in a surprised manner, though the brunette seemed more excited.

"Hello there, you two..." Miki greeted once more with a wide smile. "I didn't expect to see both of you here." She then confessed.

"Really?" The ash blonde asked in a curious manner.

"Does that mean you're here for the Autumn and Winter photoshoot?" Asuka soon assumed with a smile. "Hehe, it's always good to see her." She thought to herself with a giggle.

"I am. All of my friends could make it here to support me as well. It's not often all five of us are in the same place..." The pinkette replied and revealed while the smile was still on her face.

"Your friends?" Ann repeated.

"Indeed." Miki responded while rubbing her neck before noticing her apprentice. "Ah, there you are Ranze-chan." She then got out.

"Greetings, Miki-senpai..." Ranze greeted with a bow.

Asuka and Ann meanwhile blinked at how...different the auburn haired girl was now as they watched her go to the pinkette's side.

"What did Miki-senpai do to her?" Asuka whispered to the ash blonde before looking at the auburnette. "Wow, Miki-chan really did fix her..." She thought to herself in immense relief.

"I have no idea..." Ann whispered back.

"It concerns me..." The brunette whispered to the ash blonde before focusing on the pinkette. "Umm...Miki-senpai, what exactly have you been doing to Ranze-san?" Asuka soon asked.

"Trade secret~!" Miki replied with a wink.

That however just made the brunette and ash blonde sweatdrop.

"I really hope trade secret is not code for special training that Kamoshida once did..." Ann thought with a worried expression.

"She may blow both of you away with her performance~!" Miki continued.

"Oh we'll see Miki-chan, we'll see." Asuka meanwhile thought to herself.

"You should take up her offer, Asuka-san. Don't worry, she didn't do anything to me that would result in her becoming a target for the Phantom Thieves." Ranze suggested and revealed.

Miki in turn smiled proudly at the auburn haired girl. "Well said Ranze-chan." She praised in approval. "It was nothing scandalous." The pinkette then added.

However the ash blonde was still unsure about this while the brunette sweatdropped, but at that moment...

"Sorry if I don't stay for dinner Kokito-san...My high school doesn't know I snuck out for this." A familiar voice is heard from the other side of the door.

SLAM!

At that moment, Sōji burst through the door, nearly taking it clean off its hinges before quickly heading into the changing room.

Soon after Kokito entered as well. "As hasty as ever." He chuckled out before noticing the other girls. "Ah, glad to see you all made it." He then added before looking towards the experience model there. "And how has Ranze-san's training been, Miki-san?" He eventually asked.

That immediately piqued the brunette and ash blonde's attention, them also being curious about this as well.

"It went well. The temple at Kichijoji is simply the best place. I even saw that kid that works at a cafe named Leblanc there a few times as well." Miki replied and revealed while resting her hands on the auburn haired girl's shoulders.

The brunette and ash blonde meanwhile blinked to that. "She's seen Akira-kun/Akira?" They both thought at the same time.

"The temple at Kichijoji? I have to say, I didn't think you would be someone to head to a place like that." Kokito replied.

"Was that really all she did?" Ann meanwhile thought.

"Are you open to me joining for one session, Miki-senpai?" Asuka soon asked.

That however got Ann's attention as she looked at her friend. "Hey, Asuka-chan..." She then started to ask.

"Of course, Asuka-chan." Miki replied with a smile.

"Getting back on track, remember that today's theme is more around the town." Kokito reminded the group before leaving the girls to get changed, who nodded and went off to do as such.

Elsewhere, at the visitor's pavilion...

"Man, Miki-chi is certainly enjoying this." Yuki noted in amusement.

"Waste of time..." Maki bluntly grumbled.

"Now, now...Miki-san is scoping them out..." Reki stated.

"The Thieves or the ones who killed him?" Hyōki asked.

"Could be both, could be neither..." Yuki quietly replied with a shrug.

"Your first show with her after your training, Ran-tan...I really hope you can play nice." Gabu whispered to herself. "But, are you pushing yourself too much..." She then mumbled in concern.

In the changing room, all the models were getting themselves ready.

"I might go with this..." Miki mused to herself while holding a dark purple jacket. "What do you think, Asuka-chan, Ann-chan?" She then asked.

"I say go for it." Asuka replies while buttoning up a vermillion shirt.

"Definitely." The ash blonde responded while browsing the boots.

Asuka then looked at the pinkette as she got the shirt on. "So, how has it been since the runway show Miki-senpai, Sōji-chan? It's been...a few weeks since then." She soon asked and recalled, feigning ignorance of her and the pinkette's hang-out and texting sessions.

"School's been shaken up recently due to most of the prior student council being forcibly vacated due to corruption. Though Miss President has likely been brought up to speed since she's on a special program that has her outside the school premises" Sōji recalled as she slid on a pair of white pants. "I've been promoted to being one of the new council members at a prestigious all-girls school now." She then got out in a more prideful tone.

"Is your school an all female one Sōji-chan?" Miki asked.

Sōji in response nodded. "Yup, though sometimes I wonder if it's actually a good thing at times." She replied and admitted.

"Eh?" Asuka got out in a curious manner.

"Well, Miss President, despite her very visible breasts, is frequently mistaken for a man and has a legion of rabid fangirls following her wherever she goes." Sōji noted.

"We have a friend who has a similar problem..." The ash blonde replies.

"Huh, small world. I wish them luck dealing with it." Sōji replied in amusement.

"I hope the same for your Miss President." Miki replied as she painted her nails.

"Is it me or does Sōji-chan seem more...?" Asuka whispered to Ann.

"Y-Yeah. I'll check the Nav, the first chance we get." Ann whispered back to the brunette.

"What are you two whispering about?" Miki asked.

"Just school stuff. Nothing important." Asuka replied. "How about you Miki-senpai? How have you been holding up?" She then asked.

"I have been quite well Asuka-chan." Miki replied with a smile. "Right Ranze-chan~?" She then asked.

"Indeed Miki-senpai." The auburn-haired girl replied with a bow.

The three others models meanwhile sweatdropped to the response. "Ok, what did you do to her?" Sōji immediately asked in a blunt tone.

"Rigorous meditation." The pinkette replied. "As well as a hint of discipline, right Ranze-chan~?" Miki then coyly added.

"Only to get rid of that destructive mindset." Ranze replied.

"That's...surprising..." Ann got out.

"And a bit concerning..." Asuka had to admit with a sweatdrop.

"It also helped my relationship with my girlfriend as well." Ranze sheepishly replied.

"Oh yes, Gabu-chan was extremely happy over this." Miki stated in approval.

"That's good to hear." The brunette replied in a more relieved manner.

"Though you're really missing out though Asuka-chan." Miki however confessed with a pout.

"I'm going to wait until my schedule lightens up a bit first Miki-senpai." Asuka replied. "I still don't feel as though I'm ready to go international yet though." She then admitted. "Hehe, same as always Miki-chan." She thought to herself in amusement.

"At the very least, you could attend my training sessions with me and Ranze-chan..." Miki suggested as she finished painting her nails.

"I might do that." The brunette replied with a nod.

And with that, the models continued to get themselves ready for the photoshoot.

SNAP! SNAP! CLICK! CLICK!

"That's it Miki! Just like that! The camera loves ya!" The cameraman declared in a passionate manner.

"Perfect as always, Sōji-kun!" A different cameraman complimented with gusto.

The photoshoot area was out in a barricaded pedestrian walkway with the visitor's pavilion not being too far away.

Ann was modeling in a red leather jacket with a white sweater underneath that covered her neck, a black scarf around her neck, white earmuffs covering her ears, skin tight black pants and white snow boots.

Miki is wearing a dark purple double breasted jacket with a white undershirt and a tucked-in black scarf, long black pants, black boots with dark purple zips and her hair is tied up and under a black wooden hat that her horn decs poke through.

Ranze's outfit was fluffier and heftier in appearance as it consisted of a heavy blue jacket that was zipped up, black earmuffs, white pants and boots.

Sōji's outfit consists of a heavy white coat with long black pants with black boots and black gloves, with a white hat and her hair done in a braid.

Lastly for Asuka, she was wearing a vermillion shirt with a forest green coat, her usual red scarf around her neck, black pants and black snow boots.

"Make sure you five make it count. You won't have any more opportunities until the New Year." Kokito soon instructed the girls.

With that, the five continued to give it their all.

CLICK! CLICK! SNAP! SNAP!

After the photoshoot...

"Great work like always ladies." Kokito praised in approval.

"No problem." Miki replied while rubbing the ash blonde's shoulders.

"It was fun this time." Asuka admitted with a smile. "Plus the winter clothes were really cute too!" She then added.

"Indeed. It was a pleasure to work with all of you again." Ranze responded with a smile.

"Um...Why are you rubbing my shoulders, Miki-senpai?" Ann asked with an unnerved expression on her face.

"Ah, force of habit." The pinkette responded. "I do that to one of my roommates when she comes back from her part-time job on occasion. You remind me of her in terms of your work ethic and how you behave yourself" She then explained.

Ann in turn raised an eyebrow. "Thanks, Miki-chan." She got out with a giggle.

"It's good to see you all getting along now." Kokito admitted.

"Yup!" Asuka replied with a nod.

"Sōji-san's already left to get back to her school before they notice she had an unscheduled trip." Ranze added.

"Ah, a shame." Kokito responded.

"Her school's punishments must be really strict...Moh..." The brunette solemnly assumed.

"Guess it's one of those schools that doesn't allow students to have part time jobs huh?" Ann soon guessed.

---

(Hebijo Academy Bathhouse Remains)

"Sōji had an unscheduled trip...Make sure she receives the discipline for that if she gets back after I depart." Suzune sighed out the order while reclining in the hot water.

"Of course, ma'am." One of the female senior students replied with a nod...while standing guard near the bath, though with a slight blush on her face.

"Oh, and someone has to take some candid pictures of the principal and send them to me." Suzune then ordered. "Make sure that he's naked 'cause I need the damn stress relief." She then noted while rubbing her head, clearly feeling the trouble she had to deal with for the school.

"...He was flirting with you again, sensei?" Another female student on guard asked.

"...That's classified." Suzune vaguely responded as she sunk into the water a bit. "And don't even deny your behavior whenever he's around." She then added.

"Ngh..." The first female student grunted out as the teacher fully sunk into the water. Looks like her obvious jealousy for her teacher put her in a disadvantageous position.

At least that isn't the worst thing to deal with recently although she really didn't need this at the moment...

---

(Harajuku, Modeling Studio)

"Well, her school duties are important in the end." Miki reminded.

"Some of you have visitors. I'll let you catch up." Kokito soon informed before leaving.

"Eh?" Asuka and Ann got out in curious manners. They knew they weren't expecting any guests.

"You were awesome Ran-tan." A ravenette praised while hugging the auburnette from behind.

"Uuu...You're embarrassing me Gabu-chan..." Ranze replied with a red face before trying to suppress a coughing and sneezing fit.

Asuka and Ann meanwhile blinked at the sight. "Is she actually okay?" The duo thought.

"You killed it, Miki-chi!" The cheery gal with her blonde hair in fluffy pigtails with her eyes firmly shut suddenly complimented.

"Would you expect anything less, Yuki-chan?" The pinkette responded.

At that moment, the brunette and the ash blonde noticed the newcomers coming towards them.

"What's with her eyes?!" Asuka thought when she saw the short ravenette. "They really do look like a Shadow self..." She mentally added.

Ann meanwhile noticed the busts on all the girls before looking at the pinkette for a moment. "Are...are these your friends Miki-senpai?" She soon guessed in a nervous manner. "Oh god, don't tell me..." She thought to herself in rising panic.

"Hai. I guess introductions are in order." Miki replied and decided before placing her hands on the creepy brunette's shoulders.

"Maki...Gasai." The languid brunette bluntly responded causing both Phantom Thieves members to mentally flinch.

That's a surname that both the Vice Leader and the ash blonde have heard far too frequently in recent weeks...

"My name is Yuki Ikusaba. Pleasure to meet'cha!" The gal soon introduced herself while flashing a peace sign over her (still shut) left eye "I get the feeling we're gonna get along great Ann-chan." She then added as she tucked her middle finger in while extending her thumb and pinky.

"I'm already familiar with Asuka-san. But, to Takamaki-san, I am Reki Zeroga. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." The silverette politely got out while bowing.

"I am Hyōki Saiga." The short girl with the Shadow-like eyes concluded.

"!?" Asuka and Ann's eyes briefly widened for a moment after hearing that, recognizing the name immediately.

"The girl that's in love with Ryuji-kun!?" Asuka thought in disbelief.

"So that wasn't Ryuji's secret little sister yesterday?" Ann mentally got out, looking a little embarrassed.

"She's...She's so cute!" Asuka mentally cooed.

"Hm? Is something wrong?" Hyōki soon asked with a head tilt.

"Nothing at all." Ann responded as she waved her hand in an effort to dodge the question.

"It's good to meet you all." Asuka replied while hiding her suspicions about the quintet.

"Likewise." Hyōki responded with a nod as she offered a hand.

Asuka reciprocated the handshake offer.

The brunette and ash blonde however were now nervous, but kept the brave face. "These five...they're shinobis aren't they?" They both thought.

"It would make sense given what Morgana told us about Hyōki-chan and Maki-chan..." Ann thought to herself.

"My instincts are telling me we shouldn't let them figure us out..." Asuka thought to herself before mentally pouting. "Oh come on! Miki-chan's a shinobi!? How did I not realize it!?" She then added in her head as the penny finally dropped.

"Miki talks about you a lot in high regards, Asuka-san." Hyōki soon revealed.

"Really?" Asuka responded in a curious manner. Inwardly though, she sweatdropped knowing the pinkette would probably talk about her since they were friends.

"Honestly...it seems like...an obsession to me..." Maki added.

"Eh?" Asuka instinctively got out. "She's got the wrong idea completely." She thought to herself with a sweatdrop

"Not another word Maki-chan! That kind of talk could be misconstrued!" Miki exclaimed with a red face.

"Not the only thing she's obsessed about..." Hyōki muttered under her breath, causing the pinkette to go even redder in the face.

The Phantom Thieves sweatdropped at that.

Reki meanwhile looked at the two in a curious manner. "Hm?" The silverette mused.

"Hm? Is something the matter, Reki-chan?" Asuka innocently asked.

"There's...something about you two..." Reki replied before shaking her head. "Apologies, consider it nothing of note." She then added.

"Ok?" Ann got out with a raised eyebrow.

"I had a busy day today like my fellow humans." Reki assured the ash blonde.

Ann in response just nodded.

"We're going to head out now." Ranze soon informed before leaving with her girlfriend.

"Mm!" Asuka hummed out and nodded as the happy couple left.

"Have fun, Ranze-chan~!" Miki added as they watched the auburn haired girl leave with her girlfriend.

"It was different seeing Ranze-san so...tame." Ann had to admit.

Although the fact that she looked a little...unwell concerned the trio.

"Mochizuki has a...passion for the business...Takamaki. She won't let anyone screw themselves over...due to ego." Maki bluntly noted.

"Noted." Ann responded with uneasiness.

"Ranze-chan was one more infraction away from getting black listed..." Miki commented. "It was that bad if she kept it up." She soon stated.

"Who knows how her girlfriend would've reacted to Ranze-chi getting the boot?" Yuki mused.

"Jeez..." Asuka breathed out in disbelief.

"Most of Ranze-chan's posse also got reprimands for their actions as well." Miki added with a sour expression on her face.

"So...all's well that ends well." Asuka concluded.

"Provided the Thieves don't cause a mental shutdown for anyone present here." Hyōki countered.

"Ah come on, we know the Thieves go after baddies Hyōki-chii." Yuki reminded.

"Though several...slip through the cracks..." Maki bitterly added with her eyes flashing red for a split-second.

"Eh?" Asuka and Ann got out in curious manners.

"Maki didn't exactly have the easiest set of parents to deal with growing up." The silverette clarified.

This in turn caused the Thieves to wince.

"That's an understatement..." The ravenette remarked.

"Your father was not a good man either, Hyōki-chan..." Miki added.

"Ah, sorry if we brought up some bad memories." Asuka soon apologized.

Hyōki however shook her head. "The past is the past, we just have to keep moving forward." She replied and stated.

That in turn made Asuka smile softly with a giggle. "Hehe, how mature of you." She playfully and jokingly pointed out as she then began to rub the ravenette's head.

"Don't." Hyōki mumbled as she brushed off the hand patting her. "Only Ryuji-kun can do that to me..." The ravenette thought as she started pouting.

"Huh?" Asuka got out in confusion as she looked at the blushing ravenette.

"I...usually don't like being touched. Neither does Maki and Reki." Hyōki responded.

"Ah, I'm sorry Hyōki-chan." Asuka apologized.

"It's fine..." Hyōki responded. "Though...why a head pat?" She soon asked in an innocent manner.

Asuka started tripping over her words. "S-Sorry, you looked like someone who needed a head pat Hyōki-chan." She sheepishly admitted.

"Because I'm shorter and younger than you?" Hyōki coldly responded.

"Well...that and you look completely adorable too." Asuka confessed.

"Geh..." Hyōki responded as she soon blushed scarlet to the compliment. "W-We're leaving!" She stammered out before storming out.

The others meanwhile blinked to that reaction.

"Ara~ I never seen her react that way~" Miki confessed in amusement.

"If Hyōki-chi says it's time to leave, then we're totally going to make like trees...I have an assignment I need to finish anyways." Yuki added.

"Yeah, we better get going." Maki decided with a nod.

"See you later." Reki concluded while bowing.

The brunette and the ash blonde nodded to that as they watched the group leave, the silverette giving one last look before leaving with the others.

"Those five..." The ash blonde mused.

"Hai..." The brunette responded with a nod.

"I think the others may need to know as well." Ann continued.

"Yeah...but I wonder why they're here? And who are they really?" Asuka replied and asked. "Moh...what am I gonna do now?" She thought to herself.

"I don't know...But I have a bad feeling about them if they figure us out." Ann followed up with.

The two Thieves knew now, they had to be more careful than before now regarding Miki.

"Before we forget." The Vice Leader quietly got out as pulled out her phone. "Sōji Hebikami." She soon got out

[No candidate found.]

"I guess we were worried about nothing about Sōji-chan. Come on, Asuka-chan. I'll buy you dinner." Ann decided with a smile as she dragged the Vice Leader off into the sunset...

With the five...

"Moh! How dare she call me...a-adorable!" Hyōki childishly got out...despite the smile on her face.

"Ara ara, Hyōki-chan~!" Miki responded while giving her headpats.

"What's the difference between her doing it and the boy you like doing it?" Maki however asked.

"S-Shut up..." Hyōki grumbled with a pout.

"Hai...~" Yuki responded.

The ravenette however felt as though the teasing wasn't going to stop though...

Meanwhile, the silverette was deep in thought while her friends teased the ravenette.

"Those two...they had the scent of Shin on them..." Reki thought to herself in a curious manner.

"Yeah, I got the feeling that those two are not civilians." Yuki eventually stated bluntly with her eyes open revealing her red eyes.

That in turn got the attention of the others.

"Huh?" Miki got out in confusion. "What are you talking about?" She soon asked.

"Think about it, Miki..." Maki pointed out. "Why would they reek of Shin according to Reki?" The brunette then inquired.

"It's clear they've got something going on. You felt it too, right Reki-chi~?" The wide-eyed, red-eyed gal continued.

"...I did, but I'm not sure what it was." Reki vaguely responded.

"Think we should...keep a closer eye on them?" Maki queried.

Reki however shook her head. "No, we need to stay under cover with the growing amount of shinobis in Tokyo." She responded.

"Information gathering is still on the table, right?" Yuki asked.

"Yeah. Just information gathering, but be subtle about it." Hyōki responded.

"I'll handle that easily." Yuki replied. "You'd be surprised at what I've got going on at my part-time job..." She then added with a mischievous smirk plastered across her face with her red eyes framed in shadow.

To that, the ravenette nodded.

The five soon arrived at Miki's car and they got into it to head back to their apartment in Yongen-Jaya.

Reki meanwhile looked out the window towards the sky, unsure of what to do next.

GROWL!

Five faces flush red in embarrassment.

"Moh...I hunger..." Hyōki got out in a childish tone as she sat in the middle backseat.

"I wonder how many places can handle our appetites..." Yuki sulked with her eyes shut as she tapped away at the game on her phone.

"We'll figure it out...when we get something to eat. Miki's choice." Maki responded. "You better not have forgotten, Yuki." She then reminded the blonde.

"An Ikusaba never goes back on her word." Yuki replied. "Not Big Bang Burger, Maki-chi doesn't like it." She then added as Senki Shu continued searching for their choice of eatery for dinner.

Hyōki meanwhile sighed as she subtly took out her phone and began typing.

[LeopardPrincess: Hey Ryuji-kun, can we hang out tonight? I need to relieve some stress.]

[Shut7heFUp: Sure. Can't stay out late though.]

[LeopardPrincess: Don't worry. I won't take up too much of your time.]

[LeopardPrincess: How about Penguin Sniper?]

[Shut7heFUp: Sounds cool. Meet ya there.]

"I'm heading out after we head back to Yongen." Hyōki announced.

"Eh?" Reki got out in surprise.

"Oh, I know what happened. Going to see Ryuji?" Maki assumed in a flat tone.

"Hey, I do actually do other things than hang out with Ryuji." Hyōki claimed in annoyance.

"Not anymore you do." Miki pointed out.

Hyōki groaned before relaxing herself for the drive back.

---

(10/10, Evening)

(Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)

Miyabi had headed back to her apartment after work, having endured the rights of being a co-manager. It was a little more difficult than what she was used to when she worked as part of the floor staff, but it was still manageable. If teaching didn't work out, she might end up opening up her own maid café.

She did hear some mutterings that it was like running a yakuza clan and that there may have been wars between competing cafes in the past, but that was nothing compared to what shinobi get up to.

And so, she relaxed and turned on the TV...after cleaning up the broken glass thanks to some punk kids deciding it would be fun to smash her window with a baseball. Well, jokes on them, she's keeping the ball.

"To confuse your assailant, try to say a random word or phrase. For example, 'I have diarrhea' or 'Everytime someone looks at me, I get hard'. Yes, even if you do not possess a penis. Now, repeat after me: 'My wife is a cheating son of a-' what? What do you mean this is not appropriate for TV!? Ah, screw it, everyone is streaming online these days..."

"...What has TV turned into while I was asleep?" Miyabi got out before turning it off. She had enough brain rot for today. She already got enough of it from (the loveable) orangette and her nerdy ramblings.

BZZT! BZZT!

"Huh?" Miyabi got out before seeing the date. "Oh shit, Haru's stupid arranged marriage to Suckmydick or whatever." She soon remembered as she sat up, focused fully on the conversation.

[Road2Queen: Tomorrow is the date of the arrangement with your fiancé...]

[B3lladonna: I'll be OK though. The state my father is in has put that on hold for the time being.]

[SushiRoll23: Yes!]

[Alibaba9: Woo! We accomplished one of our goals!]

[B3lladonna: That doesn't mean my marriage has been called off though. My father agreed to do so in that other world...but I'm not so sure now, given his current condition.]

[Negative8Degrees: Hm, so that too will be on hold until the next change of heart.]

[DarkEyeXI: And that's not taking into account the long term effects of getting shot by Black Mask.]

[TheWildJ0ker: We're not out of the woods yet. We need to react appropriately to the situation. If Okumura's condition turns bad...]

[FireGirl20: His Shadow didn't die, so he should be fine.]

(...)

[FireGirl20: We are SURE he didn't die, right?]

[Alibaba9: Don't make us doubt ourselves. You're gonna make us worry the entire night!]

[B3lladonna: Mona-chan, Akira-kun, Asu-chan, Homu-chan, and I were the ones to try and save him. I'm sure we did it.]

[TheWildJ0ker: "Be wary of shining beacons." He said that before he disappeared. What could that mean?]

[B3lladonna:...Maybe the Zodiacs that will be coming to be my new bodyguards?]

[Shut7heFUp: ARGH! Why couldn't he be less cryptic!?]

[Road2Queen: Getting angry over it won't solve it. We can work it out after the confession.]

[All4Painting: Let us hope that it will not be too late then.]

[Alibaba9: INARI!]

(...)

[Alibaba9: So, how was your shoot today Asuka? I see you met some pretty interesting people from what I could hear from your mic.]

[DarkEyeXI: Futaba...What did I tell you about peeking into our phones...?]

[SushiRoll23: No...We actually were wondering how to bring this up, Miyabi-chan...]

[Sweetkat06: It went great, but... well ...]

[SushiRoll23: We...likely met the rest of Hyōki-chan's team there as well.]

[Shut7heFUp: For real!?]

[TheWildJ0ker: Did you manage to find out who they were?]

[Sweetkat06: Yep. Hyōki Saiga, Maki Gasai, Miki Mochizuki, Reki Zeroga and Yuki Ikusaba.]

[DarkEyeXI: Seriously? Miki's a frickin' shinobi?]

Miyabi briefly cursed about her junior at work being a shinobi as well before rejoining the conversation.

[TheWildJ0ker: Maybe Mishima accidentally got something right about Miki before I made the call to go to Mementos to handle his Shadow despite his compromised mentality at the time.]

[FireGirl20: Explain.]

[TheWildJ0ker: Said she was part of some super evil organization that made robots and that she's secretly a robot...]

[SushiRoll23: I don't think that's the case. " ]

[FireGirl20: It would explain the horns... ;P]

[Alibaba9: Ooh. You gotta let me at her OS if she is!]

[Negative8Degrees: If anyone else is in frequent contact with them, please do not hesitate on informing us so we can plan accordingly.]

[Road2Queen: Regardless of this development, we need to be extra careful going forward just in case. Is that okay with everyone?]

[Negative8Degrees: Indeed. We shall focus on Okumura's confession first and those five afterwards if it all goes well.]

"Oh boy, tomorrow is make-it-or-break-it for us." Miyabi mumbled as she rubbed her forehead. "Either we get one over the Conspiracy or we're screwed. Ugh...only two Palaces under my belt, and this feels way too familiar already." She then groaned.

Then again, that is probably the usual circumstances of a shinobi.

Frowning, she flexed her fingers, feeling how they moved and responded to her thoughts before tightening her hand into a fist.

She could feel that she was much stronger than she was after waking up...but she still felt a little off...

Maybe it was high time to test her skills again, see how much she improved. Soon enough, she had already gone back to her phone to contact some fighters.

"Hey, do you mind coming to Shibuya tonight?" Miyabi texted the sisters before hitting send before privately messaging a few of her other friends.

Once she did, she grabbed her jacket and headed out.

---

(Kichijoji, Penguin Sniper)

Ryuji let out a sigh as he looked at the conversation on his phone. "We're gonna go after Hyō-chan and her friends next? Shit..." He mumbled.

Did they not remember how close he was to one of the members? How much of a friend she was to him? Shit, if anything, he was compromised because of it, and if he wasn't fully focused on that goal...

"Ngh, they say that but..." Ryuji muttered, though...

"Hm? What's up Ryuji-kun?" Hyōki innocently asked in an adorable manner as she held his arm affectionately.

"Ah, hehe, was just thinkin' about a text group with me and some of my other friends, Hyō-chan." Ryuji replied, not exactly a lie. "But enough of that, let's just keep going with this date." He offhandedly suggested.

"Hehe, sure." Hyōki replied with a giggle. "I'm still surprised you wanted to-" She began before blushing. "D-Date?" She meekly squeaked, mentally cheering like crazy as a result.

"I mean, that's what we're doing right now, right?" The dyed blond clarified with a slight blush on his face. "So...yeah." He then added.

"Yeah." Hyōki replied as she glanced around. "So...wanna play a game?" She soon suggested.

"Sure." Ryuji replied with a nod. "Darts or billiards?" He then asked.

"Ummmm..." Hyōki hummed as she looked at the options available to her.

Darts looked fun, but she'd need to hold back and not be too accurate with her throws. She couldn't get bullseyes all the time without raising suspicion.

As for the billiards tables...

She saw one of the players bending over to make a shot and she already made her decision. "Billiards." Hyōki soon decided with a smile.

"Alright." Ryuji nodded before going over to get cues for the both of them...not noticing the ravenette staring at his butt.

"Good choice, Hyōki." The Katsuragi in her head congratulated. "You've found an opportunity to stare at his butt and show your panties to him with a strategic upskirt! (sob) It's...It's so elegant I could cry!" She soon got out before rubbing her face into the ravenette's soft chest.

"Hehehehehe~" Hyōki giggled as a little drool leaked down her chin.

"Yo, here you go, Hyō-chan." Ryuji called out as he offered a pool cue.

"Ah, thank you." Hyōki responded as she took the cue before they headed for an empty table. "Okay, how do we choose who goes first?" She then asked.

"Ladies first." Ryuji replied as he stepped aside.

"Why thank you." Hyōki replied as she bowed, hiding a smirk as she bent over to aim her cue, while deliberately having her skirt ride up her legs. "Come on, Ryuji-kun. Look at my panties. LOOK IT AT IT! I chose this one for you and you only!" She thought to herself.

The dyed blond, however, was currently in his own head as he took the time to think. "Shit, I really gotta talk to Hyō-chan 'bout this, but I don't want to look like a jackass doing it." Ryuji thought, unconsciously swallowing as he looked at the blushing and innocently smiling ravenette...and glanced at her panties. "Come on, Ryuji, just say it out loud. Ya said shit without thinkin' before, so why is this so damn hard!?" He then added in his head.

CLACK CLACK CLACK!

"Hah! Did you see that, Ryu-kun!?" Hyōki cheered, jumping up and down in excitement for an excellent breaking shot.

However, while everyone in Penguin Sniper was staring at the ravenette, Ryuji was staring off into space.

It took a few seconds before Hyōki noticed that he was in his own little world. "Uh Ryuji-kun, it's your turn." She soon spoke up while tapping his shoulder, bringing the dyed blond out of his head.

"Huh? What?" Ryuji got out in a dim manner before remembering where he was. "O-Oh." He then let out before taking his turn.

However...something in the back of mind told him to put in a little more effort than usual.

"Alright, let's do this!" Ryuji thought before sitting on the table and got into position for a behind-the-back shot.

"Eh?" Hyōki gasped in surprise.

"Saw a friend of mine do this trick." Ryuji explained, sticking out his tongue as he focused on trying to nail the trick.

Hyōki's eyes sparkled as she watched the dyed blond move into a rather handsome-looking pose (in her mind). "So cool!" She thought to herself.

"How the shit did Akira pull this off again?" Ryuji thought as he struggled to aim his cue.

BONK!

"OW! Shit!" Ryuji cursed as the cue ball bounced off the table, hitting his forehead.

PLOP! BOING!

"Eep!" Hyōki yelped as the cue ball landed in between her bust.

Ryuji's cheeks immediately flared up to the sight. "S-Sorry!" He got out in a panic.

"And he sinks one into the Double Ds."

"Aren't they E's?"

"That's definitely going on ViewTube."

"Hehehe...Nice shot!" Hyōki giggled before taking out the ball from her cleavage. "But you're supposed to keep it on the table." She soon advised, placing the ball back on the table.

"R-Right." Ryuju awkwardly responded with a blush.

"S-She's teasing him for it!?"

"I can smell the UST coming from them."

"She probably calls him Onii-chan in bed."

It was at that moment the dyed blond noticed all the eyes on them. "Wh-Why the hell are you all staring, ya jerks!? We don't need running commentary on our shit." Ryuji called out, glaring at the nosy crowd. "Come on, why can't anyone leave us the eff alone..." He then growled.

"R-Ryuji-kun, it's ok." Hyōki however reassured as she took his hand. "Just relax, ok?" She then requested.

"How can I? People keep pervin' on ya everywhere we go, and I'm gettin' sick of it." Ryuji declared and confessed as tightly held her hands. "And don't say that you can take it. No one should endure that shit." He then requested and declared.

Ryuji then mentally grimaced. Kinda hypocritical coming from him given the amount of times he's stared at Ann...and Asuka...and Homura...and Yumi...and Miyabi...and even Makoto and Haru...

And that one pretty girl with the glasses he occasionally sees around town with a pink bow wearing blonde tagging along with her. She looked just like a teenage Bayonetta, and she was smokin'.

"Ryuji-kun..." Hyōki got out, still gently holding his hand. "Thank you for being protective of me." She gratefully stated.

"You're welcome, but that doesn't solve all the shitters starin' at us." Ryuji replied and then reminded her.

"Well, maybe we should go somewhere with less eyes. Like, um, a..." Hyōki soon began before time began to slow down for her.

Wait, what was somewhere private again!? Uh, crap, don't think! You'll probably make it worse! Just say something because that's better than nothing!

"...The girls bathroom." The ravenette deliriously suggested.

Actually, saying nothing would've been better.

"Uh, I...erm..." Ryuji stammered out, debating if saying yes would be a good idea.

"I...I should take my turn." Hyōki mumbled before heading to the table to take her shot, head scarlet red.

"...Goddammit, Ryuji." The dyed blond mentally groaned. Yet another missed opportunity to talk about her crush on him when he was already dating someone.

He didn't need his Persona to tell him this, because he could feel the disappointment coming from him. "Is it a good thing you're finally starting to understand all the protagonists that take 100 chapters to confess to their love interest?" He remarked.

"Don't need this right now, Seiten Taisen." Ryuji thought.

"Wouldn't it be easier to simply be with her too?" Seiten Taisen soon pointed out.

"WHA-!? No, it wouldn't!" Ryuji mentally exclaimed. "I don't like her...like that, first of all. Second, relationships are hard enough already. And third, I..." He continued mentally rambling, but trailed off at the end as his eyes glanced over to the ravenette.

"Hm, I wonder what this tastes like." Hyōki idly wondered before putting her tongue on the pool chalk cube. "Pfft! Ugh! For real!?" She whined in annoyance.

"..."

"...I'm just not the guy she deserves." Ryuji mumbled in his head. "I can't even bear makin' her hint at bein' sad, what makes me strong enough to support her?" He then got out.

"You're stronger than you think you are." Seiten Taisen reminded.

"No, don't try and convince me on that harem shit right now. That ain't how it works. All it's gonna do is leave someone hurt." Ryuji then mentally grumbled, a little pissed at his Persona for even pushing the subject. "Yo, nice shot. Need a drink, Hyō-chan?" He praised and eventually asked.

"Yeah. I'd like some water." The ravenette replied with a nod.

As soon as Ryuji's back was turned, he let out a groan. "Come on, you're ruining this! If this keeps up, I'll end up without either of them, so just...relax for a second, man. I bet Hyō-chan isn't thinkin' 'bout this shit. She probably just wants to have fun today, nothing more." He grumbled under his breath.

"COME ON, YOU COWARD! JUST TELL HIM AND BE DONE WITH IT! MOH! YOU DIDN'T ASK HIM OUT TO JUST PLAY POOL!" Hyōki silently yelled at herself as a chibi version of herself repeatedly slapped a copy of it in her head. The slapper had an alpha on her chest, while the one being slapped had an omega on her dress where her womb is.

"I DON'T WANNA...!" Omega Hyōki cried out as her face became redder and redder...before turning purple.

"Listen to me, me! You will find whatever courage you have in there, drag it out kicking and screaming and then you're gonna go up to him and EAT HIS FACE!" Alpha Hyōki then encouraged.

"He'll break up with me!" Omega Hyōki soon pointed out in worry.

"It's better than doing nothing!" Alpha Hyōki stated in frustration. "Come on, after he gives you your drink, just...say it. Casually. Don't make it a big deal." She then advised.

"But Father-" Omega Hyōki began.

"No, I don't want any more lip! The only lips I want is Ryuji-kun's as it slathers over our face and boobs!" Alpha Hyōki soon ordered. "Do it, you pussy!" She then yelled.

"You are what you eat." Omega Hyōki mumbled under her breath.

"What?"

"What?"

The ravenette soon snapped out her imagination and groaned. "...Fine." Hyōki whispered just as the dyed blond arrived with her cup of water.

"Here ya go." Ryuji got out as he leaned against the pool table.

"Thank you." Hyōki responded as she took a sip. "This is...This is some nice water." She soon muttered.

"Yep, it is." Ryuji got out, not being able to stop himself from watching, his throat now feeling dry.

"..."

"..."

Suddenly, Hyōki screamed on the inside, downed her water in one go, and faced the boy of her dreams. "...Ryuji-kun, I-" She soon started.

"!" The dyed blond's eyes widened instantly, knowing what was coming. "O-Oh, shit. I forgot! I have a study session with some friends in ten minutes!" Ryuji suddenly got out, already making his way out. "Shit, I'm so sorry. I, uh, gotta go." He then added.

"Huh?" Hyōki let out, clearly stunned (and a little hurt) that the boy had to leave all of a sudden. "O-Oh, okay. You go do that. Can we meet again, like...on Saturday after school?" She soon requested.

"Sure. I'll make it up to you." Ryuji responded, wanting to hurry this along. "See ya then!" He then called out.

"Yeah, I'll...see you." Hyōki got out, her sentence trailing off when the dyed blond left before she even finished.

Ryuji was speed walking through the streets, and the people around sensed that they should stay out of his way as he did.

"You knew what she was going to say." Seiten Taisen got out in an accusatory and disapproving tone.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Ryuji murmured.

"You don't even have a study session today." Seiten Taisen pointed out.

"I said I don't wanna talk about it." Ryuji growled, resisting the urge to punch his head to get his Persona to shut up. "I am not screwing this up. I don't wanna betray Katsu-chan like this. Stop putting that idea into my head, dammit!" He then got out.

"Then you should tell her that if you're that determined." Seiten Taisen advised.

"...Dammit." Ryuji cursed as he walked faster towards the station, the ache in his leg flaring.

He had a great girlfriend and an amazing friend, something that was out of his reach only a year ago. He wouldn't let himself give into his baser instincts again.

Besides, most of his smarts was based on running. It was all he knew.

And running away felt better than facing whatever Hyōki had in store for him.

Meanwhile, Hyōki stared longingly at the door, clutching onto her pool cue with a somewhat guilty look.

"He's scared." Hyōki mumbled in a sympathetic tone. "He doesn't want to screw things up with Kat. He doesn't want to screw things up with me." She soon stated. "Oh Ryuji-kun..." She mumbled in a sad and concerned tone.

"Cowards. The both of you."

"No..." Hyōki tried to deny. "It's natural he would react like this. P-Polygamy isn't acceptable in modern society and he just started dating Kat. Of course he wouldn't like it. Plus there's what Father was doing..." She then reminded herself.

At that moment, the chibi imaginary version of her appeared on her shoulder. "Fuck society and fuck your father (not in that way)! Your faction spits down on those kinds of rules! If he can't decide for himself, you should make it for him!" Alpha Hyōki declared.

Hyōki paused. "Eh?" She got out.

"You see it in his eyes. He wants to, but there's just so much bullshit and trauma holding him back that it's stopping him from being truly happy. It would be all too easy to just do it all for him. Make him yours." Alpha Hyōki pointed out.

"...And Kat's." Hyōki soon reminded.

"...If there's time." Alpha Hyōki dismissively responded. "The longer this keeps up, the longer everyone suffers. Don't keep him waiting~" She then sang out, causing the ravenette to sigh while someone approached her from behind.

"Hey, wanna play a round with me?" An opportunistic boy asked, already chalking up the tip of his personal pool cue.

"Get. Out." Hyōki responded in a threatening tone.

The opportunistic boy looked offended. "Whoa there! I only wanted-" He began.

"Grrr..." Hyōki let out a low, animalistic growl as a dark aura surrounded her. The poor boy could swear her eyes were glowing, even in the bright lights of the place.

"Oh, look at that. Need to shit my pants. I'm gonna go home and do that since I suddenly have a fear of public bathrooms in Kichijoji. You have fun now." The scared boy whimpered before scrambling out of the bar soon followed by a small group of others including a few women.

"You really are a horny girl."

Hyōki simply ignored the voice in her head before heading out of Penguin Sniper, intent on distracting herself with whatever she could find.

Better than wallowing over another failed attempt at confessing her feelings.

---

(Rise's Apartment)

Daidōji was relaxing after a long day holding various events at Shujin to promote health and get people interested in sports again. It put a smile on her face seeing and hearing all the joy she brought back into the school. The disciplinary committee did their jobs, so tomorrow, she was going to give them their promised pizza party.

But for now, she was simply resting her body...while also ensuring Rise did not destroy her own.

"Again, no." Daidōji began while lounging on their apartment room's couch. "We are not buying another bottle again." She then reminded.

"Come on, Dai-chan. A little alcohol in my system won't kill anyone." Rise pleaded while cooking their dinner.

"Kujikawa-san, you're a terrible drunk when you're sober. You are worse when you actually are." Daidōji pointed out.

"Okay, I recreate one thing my Shadow did and-" Rise tried to retort, however...

"You recreate a lot of things." Daidōji deadpanned. "Like that one time when Leader-" She then started.

"Okay, okay! No alcohol." Rise gave up with her hands raised. "...Yukiko-senpai is worse..." She then noted, remembering the last time she was at a bar with her.

"What would your apprentice think if she saw you drunk?" Daidōji soon pointed out.

"...That I can do whatever I want since I'm an adult and I'm not at work right now?" Rise responded in a flat tone.

"Dammit, Yu-kun." Daidōji grumbled. Their leader's snark was rubbing off on them.

"We're not kids anymore, Dai-chan." Rise giggled. "We're all vaguely responsible adults!" She then stated proudly.

"What do you mean by vaguely?" Daidōji had to ask. However, before Rise could answer...

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

That perked up the two as they both glanced at the door.

"..." Rise stayed silent. "Did any of us order anything or expect visitors today?" She then asked, still staring at the door.

"No." Daidōji replied as she got tensed.

Rise then flicked a kunai out of her sleeve while Daidōji cracked her knuckles.

Overly cautious? Maybe, but it could be a loony fan who tracked down Rise's address (again), a shinobi they've wronged in the past (again), or a door-to-door salesman (after they set the last one's crotch on fire). It was better to act now rather than regret later.

"Who's there?" Daidōji asked aloud for the visitor to hear.

"The breast fed baby eventually leaves the nest to grow and improve." A mature female voice got out from behind the door, sounding muffled.

Rise and Daidōji simply blushed a bit before relaxing their stances.

"She's here." Daidōji began with a smile. "About time." She then added.

"Yeah, finally." Rise added as she flicked away her kunai into disappearance before unlocking the door.

In front of them was a familiar purple-haired mature woman with her signature red spectacles.

"Hey there, you two." Rin greeted the two of them with a smile.

"Rin-sensei!" Rise greeted as she hugged the older woman.

"Hey there, Rise." Rin replied with a smile. "No matter how many times we meet each other, it's still amazing how much you and the others have grown since Izanami." She soon confessed...only to notice something different from the idol. "...You're wearing a compression bra." She then noted.

Rise in turn gave a sheepish smile to that. "I am." She confirmed with a nod. "You're one of the only people who know about my actual size here. Dai-chan here as well. All of the other girls in our group do the same thing with compression bras aside from you two." She then added while patting a hand on her decent-looking chest.

"Surprised you didn't notice it back at the wedding, senpai." Daidōji meanwhile remarked.

"I was too focused on the wedding to notice, okay? Sorry." Rin replied and apologized. "...Have you gotten even bigger since...what happened to me, Dai-chan? Rise-chan?" She then asked.

Rise and Daidōji made contemplating looks in response.

"Yeah...I got bigger." Rise managed to reply. "C-Cup to G-Cup." She then revealing, a hint of obvious pride in her voice.

"Me too. I got bigger as well." Daidōji replied as she rubbed a hand through her thick, long hair. "J-Cup to K-Cup for me here if you guys are wondering." She then added.

"Soon, they'll need to invent a new cup size, Dai-chan." Rise giggled as she joked.

"Don't worry. I talked with Kanji-san and he is developing L to S cups for us." Daidōji assured in a serious tone. After all, K-Cup was the biggest you could get in stores.

The two women gave Daidōji a flat look. "...At some point you're gonna be more boob than woman." Rin deadpanned.

"They're both a combination for a female individual." Daidōji stated with a snort. "Anyway, we've been here long enough." She then added as she stepped aside for the teacher to pass through.

"Alright, come in, sensei." Rise said as she gestured to the Hebijo teacher to come in.

As the two went ahead and the Hebijo teacher locked the door after entering the apartment, the latter then walked briskly towards the muscular Hanzō woman...and groped her breasts from behind with a grin on her face.

Daidōji in response startled a bit before snorting with a grin along with furrowed brows. "You perverted bitch...as usual." She then mocked her with a grin.

"Shut up, you muscle-brained wench." Rin retorted back with a grin. "It's been a hell of a long time." She then added, still groping the Hanzo non-graduate.

"Yeah, right." Daidōji remarked in a snarky manner. "How's your time with that hot principal from your school? Been taking baths together?" She then teased.

"Che, if only you could see how toned his body is." Rin scoffed and retorted. "Well, how about you with our beloved Kiriya-sensei back at Hanzo? Have you gone to bed with him?" She then teased back.

"Zip it, bitch." Daidōji retorted. "I'm not the one interested in men either older or younger than us." She then reminded her...before going after her groper's ass from behind her with her hands and groped it as well.

BOING!

"You're a terrible liar." Rin simply told her, feeling her derriere getting groped. "And that doesn't mean you don't like men at all, dumbass." She then retorted once more at her.

Daidōji scoffed. "I can get any man I want." She then retorted. "But only the ones who deserve to be near my presence." She then added, matter-of-factly.

"Except Yu Narukami." Rin got out with a smirk.

Rin and Daidōji laughed.

Rise simply shook her head at the two along with a smile on her face. "Just like old times." She began.

After a while, they both let go before readjusting themselves.

"Um, Dai-chan..." Rin began, suddenly feeling a bit down. "Did Kiriya-sensei...talk about me?" She soon asked.

"He's wondering how you've been holding up. He's worried about you, hoping you aren't too deep into your role as a mole." Daidōji replied for her with crossed arms and a slightly sympathetic look on her face.

"Oh." Rin responded, looking surprised...and a little upset, strangely enough. "I-Is that it? Not, um...anything else?" She then asked tentatively.

"...He still regrets what happened. Thinking it was his fault when he thought you died all that time." Daidōji revealed with a sigh.

"...Anything else?" Rin then repeated, sounding a little desperate.

"No." Daidōji deadpanned before sighing. "You better apologize to him." She then advised.

"..." Rin remained silent, blushing as she averted her gaze. "I'll try. Maybe I'll contact him and meet up in private." She then decided.

Daidōji smiled at her in return. "Just don't end up in bed with him." She then advised...with a snort.

Rin gulped. "I...can't promise that." She then managed to reply while adjusting her suddenly foggy glasses.

Daidōji simply laughed. "You man-loving bitch." She grumbled. "Well, you're lucky we're the only ones who know about you." She then noted.

Rin simply rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, there's nothing wrong with flaunting out your big tits for everyone to see." Daidōji then stated.

"Tell that to my job." Rise countered.

"Yukiko-senpai barely fits into her yukatas now without flaunting lots of cleavage and her boobs now." Rise added with a giggle. "Business for her is very good, much to her frustrations."

"While Chie, to her frustrations, is often assigned as the 'bait' to deal with predators in her police work..." Rin sighed out in a sympathetic tone. "Though she does like the constant kickfights just to compensate for it." She then added.

"She's been training under Akihiko in terms of her fist work. She can throw a mean hook that can send guys flying like her Galactic Punt." Rise then explained.

"And not to mention, Naoto would die before that happens." Daidōji added.

The detective really didn't like the size of her chest these days, even when using a compression bra. More so for being gawked at by others like a piece of meat.

"She's still wanting to look like a man?" Daidōji had to ask.

"No, it just makes everyone take her less seriously than they should." Rise pointed out. "She really can't win when it comes to police work, huh?" She then added.

"Not with those big breasts of hers." Rin pointed out. "I still just wish we could help her in some way." She then added with a hand on her hip.

"We could pay for breast reduction surgery." Rise pointed out. "I've said as much over the years, you know, but no one actually does it." She then huffed.

"Maybe deep down, they want to keep those breasts despite not liking them." Daidōji deducted, noticing the obvious blush on the brunette's face. "I think that's probably what Naoto-chan thinks." She then assumed.

"Also all of us here got cut up enough already." Rin added as she unconsciously rubbed the scar on her butt. Dammit, Teddie...why does he have to be handsome-looking and a (literal) pain-in-the-ass at the same time?

"I guess you're right." Rise admitted. "So, does Hebijo know you're rooming with a famous singer and a gym teacher?" She then asked.

"Given the state of the school right now, where I'm living and who I'm with is a low priority." Rin stated.

"Huh?" Rise got out in surprise.

"Someone framed the Crimson Squad during their attempted leave and destroyed the school using the self-destruct." Rin revealed to the two. "Though I'm betting it was Dōgen who did it." She then assumed with narrowed eyes.

"What about...her?" Daidōji asked as the brunette looked confused. "Surely Dōgen would've made his move with her if you're suggesting he's going to detonate the school." She then added as she thought about the problem.

"She's missing from Hebijo is all I can seem to find out and I'm guessing she's already up to her neck in whatever plans he has for her." Rin then got out, frowning all the while.

"That's not good for any of us, right?" Rise assumed. "Especially if she is as intelligent as what you've made her out to be..." She then muttered in worry. "Do you want me to try and track her down for you?" Rise offered.

"Don't go out of your way to find her, but if you insist I have a rough idea of what she looks like." Rin cautioned as she handed one of her notebooks to the idol.

"Well, she certainly can't be that hard to find..." Rise muttered under her breath as she saw the composition sketch of the girl in question. "Not with hair, a face and a body like that." She added.

"The entire world could suffer for what Dōgen plans." Rin explained. "Even without the power of the Yōma, he's still too dangerous to be kept alive." She then noted.

"I think Yosuke told me using that phrase is a bad idea." Rise soon pointed out, remembering that he said that when they had a movie night.

"But it is true. Sometimes, prison will not be enough." Daidōji agreed

"That is also something Yosuke told me." Rise then added, recalling a very violent (and ironic) death by ambulance.

"At the end of the day, we need to make sure Dōgen won't hurt anyone ever again." Rin soon stated. "And money and power matters not when the greatest equaliser is death." She then added.

"...Just..." Rise fidgeted uncomfortably, her mind going back to Inaba and the murders. "...Maybe...just don't make him suffer, okay? Evil as he may be, no one should die in so much pain." She then advised the two

"...Fine. But only if he doesn't force our hand." Rin soon assured.

"Good. Thank you." The singer breathed out. "Man, I could go for a bath right now..." She then got out as she stretched her arms out.

"...Then go." Daidōji got out, wondering why the singer wasn't doing it already.

"You don't wanna join me?" Rise asked, rubbing a hand through her hair.

"I showered at Shujin." Daidōji informed, earning a sulking look from the idol.

"I actually just ordered food which should be coming here in two minutes." Rin then confessed with a hand on her hip.

Rise simply pouted. "Aww, I was hoping we could bathe together like old times, but...alright." She then stated before taking off her top and then the rest of her clothes.

Daidōji and Rin simply looked at their idol friend stripping off her clothes...before they both looked at each other.

After a while, when the idol finally took off her panties, leaving her fully bare, she then casually approached the bathroom without a care.

"You know what, Rise-chan..." Daidōji began, prompting the bare idol to turn and glance. "Why not? A hot bath is always the good stuff." She then relented with a smile.

Rin giggled. "Well, the food's not here yet, so...room for two more?" She then stated as well before asking.

"There always is, sensei!" Rise declared with a fist pump as she dashed into the bathroom to prepare the shower.

"...We should have been arrested so many years ago..." Daidōji sighed with a shake of her head.

"For influencing Rise to be a naturist or bathing with minors?" Rin assumed as she faced her.

"More like both." Daidōji confirmed with a sigh before taking off her clothes in a swift fashion. "Now, shall we?" She then added as she went ahead...while fully bare as well.

Rin smirked...before taking off her clothes in a swift fashion as well. "We shall." She replied, now in her birthday suit as well. "Oh, we're so groping each other in there." She then added with a grin.

"Don't forget who taught you, you pervy bitch." Daidōji taunted with a grin as well, gesturing to her friend to follow her.

And the two eagerly entered the (holy) bathroom.

Finally, Rin slowly closed the bathroom door...before muffled moaning, giggling and laughing along with the shower running was heard from the door.

---

(Shibuya, Central Street)

Asuka, Yumi, Haru, Futaba, and Homura arrived at their planned location within the premises of Shibuya. Apparently, they had all been invited by Miyabi for a special little hang out to end their day off.

"No, you don't get it!" Futaba got out in a frustrated manner. "It's sushi! Being fed! Through a hole! In the wall!" She then explained.

"...You watch the weirdest shows, Futaba-san." Yumi sighed as she shook her head.

"Hey! Where're you going! Hear me out!" The orangette whined. "It's really good, I swear!" She then insisted just as they arrived in Miyabi's usual haunt.

"Miyabi-chan! Hey!" Asuka greeted.

"Hey." Miyabi casually replied while the Leader waved.

"Huh? Akira-kun?" Haru got out in surprise.

"You're here too, Leader?" Yumi began, seeing the man who led their team to multiple victories in the Metaverse.

"Wait, what is...?" Asuka began, until...

"FUCK!" Homura suddenly swore. "It's another stupid fucking beat down!" She then added in the same tone.

"Spar." Miyabi corrected.

"Go fuck yourself, Miyabi." Homura growled as she flipped the woman off.

"Language." Yumi sighed while shaking her head.

"Futaba-chan? You knew?" Asuka soon realized, as she saw the orangette smirk.

"Yep yep." Futaba confirmed with a nod.

"...Do you wanna die?" Homura then asked in disbelief.

"Nope nope." The hacker confirmed.

"Why do I keep accepting your requests?" Homura groaned. "You know we could do this somewhere a little more private. Maybe...next to a hospital or whatever." She then pointed out.

"I like this spot. It's comfortable and private." Miyabi stated. "So, are we doing this or what? I wanna test out my skills and see where we're at right now." She then informed.

"Sure! I'd be happy to get in another tussle." Haru happily replied.

"You are so disturbingly enthusiastic about so many disturbing things." Futaba remarked. "So, what are the team set ups, Big Sis?" She then got out.

"Okay, Joker, Haru will be your only teammate for this fight." Miyabi informed him.

"Wait, that means it's just going to be me and Akira-kun against all of you!?" Haru exclaimed.

"No. It's gonna be you and Akira against us and Futaba!" Miyabi corrected.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Yumi asked with a flat stare.

The orangette merely giggled. "Sorry, but Miyabi asked me to start helping whoever's fighting you from now on." Futaba apologized as the white haired woman began rubbing her head in an affectionate manner.

"You can't attack her though." Miyabi then stated in a slightly protective manner.

"Wouldn't think of it. That would be against the Geneva Convention." Akira replied. "Bring it on." He then got out.

"How did you convince her?" Yumi decided to ask.

"Oh, I'm doing this from the goodness of my own heart and to see the determination our Leader must have-" Futaba began, however...

"I'm letting her turn me into her personal mannequin for a day." Miyabi answered, looking really regretful about what she promised. "She bought a lot of costumes." She then added.

"H-Hey, don't out me- I mean...what are you talking about Big Sis!?" Futaba got out in a defensive tone.

"Futaba, this isn't exactly too much of a surprise coming from you." Miyabi deadpanned. "...You know our sizes thanks to your Persona. You get those costumes custom-made." She then pointed out.

"Duh. If I didn't, they'd just tear apart if you do so much as move your pinky toe. They are expensive too." Futaba scoffed. "...I mean, what." She then got out.

"See what I have to put up with?" Miyabi stated as she rubbed her hair.

"Miyabi, I live only 30 seconds away, if that." Akira reminded. "She spies on me whenever I'm home. She knows more about me than I know myself."

Miyabi sighed. "Of course she is. She has eyes everywhere." She then spoke.

"Also, she definitely has my internet search history." Akira then continued. "And yours. And everyone else's just in case." He then added.

Suddenly, the other Thieves started to sweat.

"I'm standing right here." Futaba deadpanned with hands on her hips. "You know what, just for that, I'm starting off an attack boost." She then added before nudging her glasses up.

"Oh come on, what?" Akira groaned.

"I suggest you avoid making the situation worse by angering Futaba, Joker." Miyabi advised.

"I guess we must work together to finish this fight quickly." Haru stated in a serious manner...before cracking her neck.

"Yeah, that's the idea." Akira agreed as they both turned to their opponents.

"Why do I hear boss music?" Futaba got out, suddenly looking a lot less confident as she began to hear the Advent Children version of One Winged Angel playing out of nowhere.

"What are you talking about?" Homura got out in confusion, ignoring the suddenly glowing red eyes of the Leader and their newest member possessed now, their shadows turning into their Personas and looming over them menacingly.

"It must be another one of Futaba-san's...Futaba-isms." Yumi assumed.

"You can hear it too!?" Asuka gasped.

"What?" Both Homura and Yumi said at the same time.

"Shinobi Kekkai!" Miyabi soon declared as the Thieves vanished from reality.

---

(Fast Forward)

"Skip the fight." Sae ordered him with crossed arms.

"Seriously, again? Like, I pulled off some pretty amazing-" Akira had to retort back, feeling a bit disappointed about it.

"It's the same concept. Your friend sets a handicap of sorts, you somehow overcome it and it ends with all of you smoking, naked and looking like you were playing in traffic, driving ATVs while on fire and carpooling with tigers like that leader of a purple-clad gang in America a few years back." Sae soon stated.

Akira couldn't help but sigh at that. She was clearly not having it with all these detailed stories of his literal life before he got caught. "Fine, fine. Have it your way." He then sighed out.

"Telling me everything does not necessarily mean literally everything that happens each and every second. Now, what were you discussing with this friend of yours? After the fight." Sae sternly reminded him and asked.

"...Can I least say what my one-liner was?" Akira pleaded, looking a little sad.

"Ugh...fine." Sae relented.

Akira pumped his fist. "Consequences. Bang." He soon recited before mimicking a finger gun firing. "Cool, right?" He then asked.

"Get on with it." Sae ordered, her patience running thin. With that, the leader continued.

(Rewind)

---

"Ahhhh...! What a good workout!" Haru pleasantly got out as she rolled her shoulders. "Dislocated a finger and a hip back there, but I popped it back in place." She then casually added.

"Urgh..." Everyone but Miyabi moaned in pain.

"Why do we do this to ourselves every single time?" Akira whined, barely managing to get his head up.

"You owe me new clothes and glasses. These ones are officially a biohazard now!" Futaba whined while face down on the pavement. "Stupid collateral damage." She then grumbled.

"More like Haru Okumura bloodlust..." Yumi mumbled under her breath.

"You knew the risks when you chose to be on Miyabi's side." Homura soon reminded. "Fucking...Why'd you headbutt me in the face again?" She then swore under her breath while rubbing her bleeding nose.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Haru claimed.

"Remind me never to teach her Riot Gun, no matter how good it might be..." Akira then spoke as he slowly managed to stand up.

"She learns Gun skills naturally..." Futaba couldn't help but point out, causing the Vice Leader to recoil.

"Urgh..." Yumi groaned before slumping against the nearest wall.

"Oooh, does that allow me to make Shadows beg for their lives?" Haru eagerly asked.

"Probably." Homura answered.

"Akira, your shoulder is broken, by the way." Miyabi suddenly reminded him in a casual manner. "And your left hand and fingers as well." She then added in the same tone.

"Hm?" Akira hummed before looking over to see his left arm stuck in an angle that it was never meant to reach. "...Oh." He then got out.

"...I feel like that's my fault." Asuka sheepishly spoke in an apologetic tone. She did bury him under several meteors.

Haru gasped as she covered her shocked open mouth with her hands. "Hold on, Akira-kun, let me pop it back in place." She soon offered. She had done this tons of times during her Melon-Peach days...mostly to herself. Fun fact: It's super easy to relocate your neck.

"That's okay, Haru." Akira quickly assured, raising his dislocated right arm. "Let me do it."

With that, Akira simply grabbed his fingers with his free, uninjured hand and pulled.

POP! CRACK!

"Oooh~" Akira somehow moaned as the slight jolt of pain reached him. "There we go." He winced out as he and the others noticed that his dislocated fingers are now straightened up and in their normal state.

...Causing them to stare at him in pure disbelief.

POP! CRACK!

"Mmmm~" Akira moaned as he felt the pain of popping his hand back. "Perfect." He then added as he rolled and twisted his left hand, no more odd movement and pain to be felt whatsoever. "Okay, last but not the least..."

POP! CRACK!

Lastly, Akira then popped his shoulder back in place as well.

"...Holy hell, Joker." Homura got out in awe.

"That...was quite idiotic of you to do that." Yumi stated in disapproval.

"A-A-Akira-kun!" Asuka called out.

"Futaba?" Homura began, feeling concerned for the hacker.

"Meh, I've seen worse." The orangette admitted with a shrug. "No, seriously. Like, one time, I saw this doujin where a girl was being served on a silver platter, but-" She then began.

"Don't put anything else into my head!" Asuka cried out as the tan skinned girl covered her ears.

"Okay, okay, jeez, sorry." Futaba sighed.

"Alright, you can go home everyone!" Miyabi announced. "You can all go home or whatever. Leave. Akira, you stay here 'cause I wanna talk to you." She then added in a dismissive tone.

"I'll take Futaba-chan home for you then." Asuka then informed.

"Thank you." Miyabi responded as the others vanished in a blink.

Akira soon sighed. "What else do you want me to do?" He then asked, already bracing himself for a solo session.

Miyabi only replied with a smirk.

---

(Shibuya, Underground Mall)

Akira was both confused and relieved that it wasn't another attempt to kill him, but simply another shopping trip...with him carrying the bags and waiting around while Miyabi tried out new outfits.

"Another new dress, Miyabi?" Akira got out in a curious manner.

The white haired woman nodded to that as he held the bag. "I've...been shopping with my friends when I can." She revealed. "They've been helping me update my wardrobe." She then added.

"Hmm," Akira hummed out with a nod. "And how has it been?" He then asked.

Miyabi in response crossed her arms over her chest as she gave off a thinking expression. "I think it's been fun? I never really did shopping like this with Imu since we were focused on training." She explained. "Honestly, I'm not sure what to think about shopping for clothes with them." She then admitted.

"Well...I'm gonna assume it's fun." Akira stated.

"Is it...alright for me to like shopping?" Miyabi then asked from within the stall while changing.

"Why are you asking me that?" Akira questioned. "I personally like shopping, but do you?" He then asked.

"I'm...not sure." Miyabi replied as she came out of the stall in the new dress. Like the last dress, it hugged her body that went down to her knees, but this time being white in color though it didn't cover her shoulders and lastly on her feet were open toe white heels to match.

"Whoa." Akira got out as he couldn't help but feel impressed by the woman's look.

"So, how does it look?" Miyabi soon asked, though obvious to the blushing men that were staring at her in amazement they passed them.

"Judging from the reactions by the one passing us by here, it would seem that you look well with that on." Akira commented, seeing the audience's reaction as well.

"Wow...!"

"So pretty!"

"...So this is how I find out I'm gay."

POP!

"AH! My ovaries!"

Ignoring the possible destruction of someone's reproductive organs, Miyabi let out a smirk. "You like it, don't you?" She then asked as she posed in her dress.

BOING!

"...It goes with your hair." Akira stated with a thumbs up of approval.

"Heh, thanks...it's actually pretty comfortable." Miyabi admitted.

"I'm glad." Akira responded with a nod. "Miyabi, this is a pretty minor thing to be so hung up on, you know?" He soon pointed out.

"It's big to me." Miyabi claimed.

"Yeah, but...this is what people do every day." Akira soon reminded. "This isn't something you should get so bothered over. It's just...being you, I guess. You need to get over yourself." He then continued.

"But...I'm not-" Miyabi began.

"Miyabi, I'm serious." Akira got out. "This isn't a big deal, you're just expanding your world a little, but you should enjoy it all the same." He then assured.

"...I already am." Miyabi responded with a smile, as the Leader felt his bond with the woman grew stronger.

RANK UP! Lust Rank 7!

Unlocked Reaper's Ruin!

Have a 5% chance to give your enemy a random weakness with every normal attack.

"Thanks, Akira." Miyabi got out. "Hehehe, I think I grew more shopping at a sex shop than shopping here." She then chuckled.

"Yep, that's definitely an- wait, you shopped where?" Akira began before realizing what the woman just said.

"A sex shop. Ask for details, and I will shove a sounding rod up your urethra." Miyabi replied and soon threatened with a simple glare. "Blab about it to the others and you'll feel the wrath of the Bonerattler in your ass... it's a dildo, by the way." She then added.

"..." Akira stared at her glare in silence. "...I heard nothing and I'm not saying a damn thing." He then decided to respond along with a sigh.

"Good boy." Miyabi got out with a smile as she patted the boy's head.

"Still, a sex shop?" Akira whispered. "Che, lucky woman..." He then added with the same tone.

"Hmph! Keep being a good boy and I might sneak you in. No promises though." Miyabi smirked and told him in a whisper as he rubbed the boy's head this time.

"Hey, don't mess up my hair. It takes a lot of time getting it this way." Akira grumbled as he pushed away the woman's arm from his naturally frizzy hair.

Miyabi snickered. "Heh, I bet you spend more time getting it done than I do." She then joked.

"You have superpowers, that is cheating." Akira stated.

"It's all just training, Akira." The white haired woman pointed out. "Although, I'm impressed. Resetting your limbs hurts like hell, especially how you did it earlier. You're taking it surprisingly great." Miyabi soon remarked.

"Yeah. Never did that before." Akira admitted as he swung his arm around. "I actually just copied what they did in MHS3 and...yep, here it goes." He then continued before-

CRACK!

"AAAAHHHH! Sonovabeeswax!" Akira yelled as his arm suddenly felt like it was set ablaze and crushed by rocks...again (Thank you, Asuka and Homura).

"Let me help, you dumbass..." Miyabi grumbled. "If you ever get injured again, go and see an actual doctor." She soon instructed.

"Haruka?" Akira guessed.

"Someone who will not have sex with you." Miyabi clarified as she rolled her eyes.

"..." The young man did not respond.

"...Why are you so quiet now?" Miyabi then asked as she glared at the boy.

However, Akira was in too much pain to speak. He thought he needed to read more about bone placements later.

Miyabi sighed. "Idiot." She got out before...

CRACK!

"Looks like I'm gonna have to drag your dumbass home..." She deadpanned as she slung him over her shoulder.

---

(Yongen-Jaya, Tokyo Mirage Apartment Complex)

Hyōki let out a sigh as she plopped herself down on the couch. Today has been...well, less than stellar. Her date ended like a wet fart, people kept leering at her to the point where she nearly killed someone, and she was still trapped in the friendzone with Ryuji.

So, when she finally made it home, all she wanted to do was relax, eat something comforting, and wait for the dawn of a new day.

Unfortunately, the rest of Senki Shu did not allow that.

"DAMMIT, MAKI! Urrrgghhhh...my beautiful ass!" Miki cried out from the bathroom as sounds of what seemed to be (similar to) diarrhea echoed from it.

"I told you not to eat those brownies." Maki reminded as she cleaned the dishes. "I was experimenting with adding chili peppers to them. Heard it pairs well with chocolate." She soon informed. Although, she was wondering why her brownies turned out orange instead of...well, brown.

"WHY GHOST PEPPERS!? WHHHYYYY!?" Miki continued to wail in pain.

"Yuki will be back with the milk soon. Just try and endure it." Maki advised as she patted the door between them.

"Do I have to be in here?" Reki asked from within the bathroom.

"Yes." Maki replied in a deadpan tone.

"Life is pain! Reality is poison! LAMBS TO THE COSMIC- SHIT!" Miki sobbed and yelled.

"It is indeed." Reki said.

Hyōki decided to stay out of this, deciding that the bedroom would offer more privacy (and a barrier from her teammates) as she awaited the text that should be coming right...

"I say ooh...what can I do...oh oh oh...I still love you~"

Now.

Hyōki quickly shut the door behind her, leapt into her bed, and opened up IM.

[GoddessOfMelons: So, how did your date go? You go to the ramen shop?]

[LeopardPrincess: No. We went to a darts club this time.]

[GoddessOfMelons: The fact that you're not sending me pics of you making out with my boyfriend indicates that nothing happened.]

[LeopardPrincess: He's scared, Kat! He really, really likes you! I can't break through that barrier in one day!]

[LeopardPrincess: You don't fall in love with your best friend...]

[GoddessOfMelons: Ah, should've guessed.]

[GoddessOfMelons: Did you at least tell him you like him?]

[LeopardPrincess: No...]

[LeopardPrincess: I really wanted to though...]

[GoddessOfMelons: So what's the problem?]

[LeopardPrincess: I mean, I did muster the courage before but...Ryuji-kun left before I could.]

[LeopardPrincess: Said he had a study session with his friends.]

[GoddessOfMelons: Yeesh.]

[LeopardPrincess: Then he just...ran away on me...]

[GoddessOfMelons: Hey, look on the bright side! That means that he obviously likes you!]

[LeopardPrincess: But that means he thinks he's cheating on you with me!]

[LeopardPrincess: If this keeps up, we could both lose him!]

[GoddessOfMelons: That is not happening!]

[GoddessOfMelons: I'll just have to bring up threesomes the next time we talk.]

[LeopardPrincess:...Kat, are you really sure this will work out?]

[GoddessOfMelons: I'm sure. I'll make sure this works out.]

[LeopardPrincess: But...what if he really doesn't want to date me? That he really does love you enough to ONLY be with you?]

[LeopardPrincess: Don't just say it won't happen. Humor me.]

(...)

[GoddessOfMelons: ...I...I don't know. I really don't have any idea what to do if he does.]

[LeopardPrincess: Really?]

[LeopardPrincess: Then why are you so...determined to do this?]

[GoddessOfMelons: Because I want you in this as well.]

[GoddessOfMelons: You deserve to be happy too.]

[LeopardPrincess: I was already happy as his friend...before I fell for him.]

[LeopardPrincess: And now it feels like we can't hang out with it getting in the way.]

[LeopardPrincess: Don't want to let go of my love...but it hurts to keep it...]

[GoddessOfMelons: It might hurt now, but it's better than hurting for the rest of your life.]

[GoddessOfMelons: And...if it comes down to it, I...I'll let you take him.]

[LeopardPrincess: Wait what!? What do you mean!?]

[GoddessOfMelons: I'll break up with him so you can be with him instead. You've gotten to spend more time with him than me, after all. If anything, I'm the homewrecker here.]

[GoddessOfMelons: There are advantages to being super duper bi.]

[LeopardPrincess: HUH!?]

[GoddessOfMelons: I'll be fine, don't worry about it.]

[LeopardPrincess: No way! After all this time saying I should be happy, you're willing to throw yours away for my sake!?]

[LeopardPrincess: Fuck. That. Shit!]

[LeopardPrincess: We're gonna make this work, even if it takes a really long time! I don't want you to ever break up with Ryuji-kun!]

[GoddessOfMelons: Atta girl! I knew saying that would get you to think differently!]

(...)

[LeopardPrincess: YOU SAID THAT TO GET MY CONFIDENCE BACK!?]

[GoddessOfMelons: You always had that confidence! You just need to be reminded that you have it.]

[LeopardPrincess:...Thanks Kat.]

[GoddessOfMelons: No problem.]

[LeopardPrincess: But I will kill you if you do that again.]

[GoddessOfMelons: I'll keep that in mind.]

[GoddessOfMelons: Oh, by the way, dibs.]

[LeopardPrincess: Dibs?]

[GooddessOfMelons: Dibs.]

(...)

[LeopardPrincess: I was gonna let you be the legal wife anyways...]

[GoddessOfMelons: Just confirming my position.]

[LeopardPrincess: Clever girl.]

[LeopardPrincess: Dibs.]

[GoddessOfMelons: What?]

[LeopardPrincess: Wedding. Also, dibs again. First child. :3 ]

[GoddessOfMelons:...I knew there was a reason I liked you. ;) ]

[LeopardPrincess: I...No, I need a little more time before I can properly put what I was about to say into words.]

(...)

[LeopardPrincess: Gonna have an early night.]

Hyōki let out a breath as she turned off her phone and placed it on her chest, relaxing after quite the conversation.

"Next time," Hyōki muttered with a fire in her eyes. "I'm confessing to Ryuji." She soon declared in a whisper.

BZZT! BZZT!

"Eh?" The ravenette got out in confusion as she looked at her phone again. "An image from Kat now?" She muttered in a curious manner as she tapped the icon.

And instantly blushed red.

[GoddessOfMelons: I may have spent all day inside.]

[GoddessOfMelons: Have a good night~]

[GoddessOfMelons sent "24HourSession"]

"I can see that. Eshishishi~" Hyōki mumbled with a giggle, unable to tear her eyes away from the sexy selfie photo of the pleasantly sweaty blonde as she was relaxing with only a white open shirt with no bra on and a pair of white and blue striped panties, unaware of the forming grin on her face.

Now she felt extra determined to ensure this threesome comes into fruition.

...Just had to make sure her friends didn't find out.

---

(Asakusa, Hanzo Academy Dormitories)

"Whew, had to make sure Hyōki kept her confidence." Katsuragi breathed out in relief as she relaxed on her bed.

Everything was going to be fine.

BZZT! BZZT!

Katsuragi soon smirked as she looked at her phone and saw an image was just sent.

[LeopardPrincess: Night Kat.]

[LeopardPrincess: Also, meow~]

[LeopardPrincess sent "Kitty4Kat"]

"Eshishishi~ Not bad, pipsqueak. Not bad at all." Katsuragi praised in approval as she looked at the image of the ravenette doing her own selfie, who was lying on her bed completely naked, covering her private parts with her long black hair with a cat-like grin on her face while the tops of her hair also looked like a cat.

Looks like she was gonna have to step up her game...and maybe even give her fellow cute girlfriend a few tips too.

---

(10/10, Late Night)

(Hebijo Academy Remains, Outer Forest)

In a nondescript part of the scorched forest surrounding Hebijo, a certain blonde was busy digging a hole for reasons known only to her.

In her preferred choice of outfit for Hebijo as usual.

"Ugh, this may be peasant food but at least it's better than the detritus they've been feeding me, the next Elite Leader and the future leader of the evil shinobi council, these past few days." Sōji muttered as she glanced at the contents of a cooler that she bought earlier today.

Instant Cup Noodles, Instant Cup Mac & Cheese and Instant Ramen among other stuff bought cheap and quick and easy to make.

"After all, I need to be at my best to make sure I defeat Homura and I will defeat her when we meet. That's not a prediction...it's a spoiler..." The blonde reminded herself as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

After checking the hole to make sure that it was big enough, she closed the lid on the cooler and gently set it down in the hole before quickly covering it up.

"Now to make sure I don't forget it." Sōji reminded herself as she summoned her chain-whip and hooked it around one of the largest trees before gently easing it down.

Creak...

The blonde immediately dashed to the side of the massive bit of wood to avoid getting crushed.

CRASH!

"Done. Now to wash up and get to sleep before anyone realizes I snuck out of bed. A perfect woman needs her perfect beauty sleep after all." Sōji declared as she strutted away into the dark forest...

---

(Tokyo Metropolitan Police, SIU Director's Office)

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Nearly two weeks since that calling card spree occurred and not a word about anything from Okumura.

Their associate had reported wounding the target, but the situation had gotten too hot for him to secure the kill without exposing his identity.

It was troublesome especially after all these hitches in the proceedings over this last month, but they could still work with this. Everything was still going well enough.

RING! RING!

"Hm." The SIU Director hummed out as he answered the ringing phone on his desk. "Speak." He soon ordered.

"Just got the message that Okumura is calling for a press conference tomorrow night. By the looks of the script provided to us, it looks like he will expose us like Kobayakawa was trying to do." Someone, he didn't exactly remember who, informed.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

He smirked at the news. "Very well. I'll make sure that all preparations and possibilities are accounted for." The Director coolly informed. "Make sure you handle things on your end sufficiently." He instructed as he ended the call before immediately dialing the next number.

"Sir, it's me. Okumura's called for a press conference tomorrow night." The SIU Director informed.

The mastermind of this entire plan, at least to the SIU director, smirked. "Perfect timing." He simply responded.

"Yes, we've had some snags here and there, but we should be able to make this situation work exactly as you originally intended it to." The SIU director stated in assurance. "After all, a great leader can adjust things on the fly." He then claimed.

The Director's phone started beeping.

"It seems that Dōgen has an update on his end." The SIU Director remarked.

"Put him through. He needs to be informed of the situation as well." The mastermind ordered.

Beep...

"Dōgen, it has been quite some time since you reported in. Is something the matter on your end?" The SIU director commented and then asked.

"There has been some unexpected developments and delays on my end. Just needed some time to take care of some annoying malefactors before they became too troublesome to manage." Dōgen answered. "I am upholding my end of the deal. I hope you are holding up the end of yours." He then reminded.

"I would never." The mastermind simply replied in an assuring tone. "You are a powerful man, Dōgen. It would be foolish of me if I did such a thing." He then stated.

"And you are the one who possesses the perfect assassin. I say you hold all the cards here." Dōgen then stated, sounding a little miffed by that little fact.

"But you have the numbers." The mastermind however reminded. "If we wish to take this country, we need bodies as much as we need influence and money." He soon added. "And regarding his mishap, the contingency plan in regards to Okumura?" The mastermind soon questioned.

"Already on its way. It will be there long before we need it." Dōgen assured. "Once I finish up on my end, I will join you. I want a front row seat for your inevitable success in the election." He then added.

"What about the situation regarding Amahiko Saiga?" The SIU Director questioned with narrowed eyes. "According to our informants within the boardroom of Okumura Foods, it seems his daughter has signed a contract with them and will be in Tokyo within the week."

"We can work around that. We still have quite a bit of the late Amahiko's payment left from when he offered his services and shinobi to us. His death, while unfortunate, is only a minor setback. At the very least his right-hand man tipped us off about a dangerous set of shinobi before we lost contact with him..." The man on the other end informed the Director. "I've already placated the arranged husband for the former Saiga heiress, now the head of the family, regarding that arrangement falling through." He then revealed.

"If anything, a 'cold war' suits us far better than outright open warfare between the two sisters and their factions provided we subtly stoke the paranoia between them..." The SIU Director confessed and stated. "They'll eventually destroy and take themselves off the gameboard." He then concluded.

"We need to guarantee that. We cannot rely on them destroying each other on their own." The mastermind soon stated.

"We just need to keep them away from us while we deal with these Thieves. After they're out of the picture, we can dispose of both the Zodiac Star Committee Elites and Senki Shu at our discretion and seize their assets and forces at our leisure before they even know what hit them." Dōgen got out.

"I have the perfect idea for dealing with a few troublesome pests that have started swarming in one fell swoop as well as setting up the noose for the fall of these Thieves." The other man vaguely revealed, vileness lacing his voice.

"Do you need my assistance in that regard?" Dōgen offered.

"When the time is right, I'll need a good deal of that Saiga down payment. I have a way to legally sow the seeds of distrust to one side of our 'cold war' as well as put pressure on a budding threat." The Director informed his benefactor.

"Yes, it is concerning what you've told me about that..." The other man confessed in annoyance. "Very well, you can have as much as you deem necessary when you feel like you need to tighten the noose around the neck of our problems. Make sure what you have planned is good. Dōgen?" He then acknowledged before asking.

"Then I will inform my niece of her new mission to provoke paranoia on the other side and raise their infamy." Dōgen replied. "Your idea had better work or there will be severe consequences for failure." He then warned.

"I am aware of the risks here." The SIU Director responded with narrowed eyes as he started checking the requisite paperwork needed to kickstart his end of things before zeroing in on a particular set of documents.

Bingo.

The Director's lips curled into a very smug smirk as he found exactly what he was looking for.

"And now...we let the pieces fall where they may." Dōgen replied with an obvious vile smirk.

"Then bring order to chaos." The other man concluded with his own (obvious) smirk.

---

Save Game… Quit!

---

Asuka/Yin's Social Stats:

Leadership- Paragon (Level 5)

Knowledge- Sage (Level 5)

Proficiency- Transcendent (Level 5)

Diligence- Rock Solid (Level 5)

Courage- Heroic (Level 5)

---

Homura/Yang's Development Stats:

Maturity- Sagacious (Level 5)

Knowledge- Sage (Level 5)

Femininity- Onnarashii (Level 5)

Elegance- Yamato Nadeshiko (Level 5)

Understanding- Saintly (Level 5)

---

Whew! Done! With that, we approach Okumura's confession. It's been a long time coming. I hope everything works out okay!

UknownHero signing off, my friends!