Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ren leaned back into the train seat as he pulled the shutter down over the window, finally allowing himself a chance to relax. Adrenaline had been flowing through his body ever since Maruki had been kind enough to take him to the train station via taxi while the rest of his friends had lured away the Government agents who had been sent to tail him. While the rush had given him a thrill that was the closest he would ever get to his many adventures as Joker in real life, right now all he wanted to do was lean back and relax into his chair as he got settled for the train ride home.

“Ha ha, we gave them the slip!” Morgana cackled as he poked his head out of Ren’s bag. “Those Government stooges are no match for the Phantom Thieves!”

“Damn right,” Ren returned his friend’s smirk, before sighing. “I was hoping Sae would’ve gotten the Government off of my back entirely, but I guess she either doesn’t have the authority to pull that off or just hasn’t had enough time to do it yet.”

“We’ll figure it out later, like we always do!” Morgana replied confidently as he glanced over at Ren’s phone. “I think the others are checking in on you right now.”

Ren looked down at his phone. Sure enough, the rest of the Phantom Thieves were sending messages, making sure that he was okay.

Ann: “Hey Ren, did you make it onto the train okay?”

Ryuji: “Yeah, we made sure those Government asshats stayed the hell away from you, Ren-Ren.”

Yusuke: “The fact that they’re continuing to harass you even after you earned your rightful freedom is a disgrace and a perversion of justice.”

Haru: “I would have hoped that the downfall of Shido would’ve removed this kind of harassment entirely. Perhaps I could use my influence to take some…additional precautions to ensure Ren-kun’s continued well-being.”

Makoto: “…I don’t think we need to go that far, Haru. But I really do hope you made it onto the train without any problems, Ren.”

Futaba: “I can always just troll those Government stooges by hacking their database to get rid of your address if we need to, wheh heh heh!”

Sumire: “As long as he made it out okay, that’s what really matters.”

Ren smiled to himself as he looked fondly over the messages of encouragement being sent to him by the friends he had made in Tokyo. “I’m all right, guys,” he texted back. “There’s no government agents around here, and I’ll be on my way back home to Inaba in a couple of hours.”

Ryuji: “Hell yeah, looks like our job is done then!”

Makoto: “I’m happy to hear that, Ren. Hopefully you can get some peace and quiet for a change back in Inaba.”

Haru: “Say hello to your parents for me, Ren-kun! I’m sure they’re quite delightful given that they've raised such a wonderful person!”

Ren chuckled, but Morgana could see that there was a bit of…bittersweetness in his facial expression. He quickly typed out a message thanking the Phantom Thieves for making sure he could get to the train station safely, before putting his phone away and leaning back into his chair with a sigh as he closed his eyes.

“Are you all right, Joker?” Morgana asked. Ren opened his eyes and tilted his head towards Morgana, who was glancing at him with concern in his eyes. “You looked a bit…off…when Haru mentioned your parents.”

Ren sighed. If this had been at the beginning of their adventure together, he would have likely just slipped a mask of casual nonchalance on his face and brushed off Morgana’s concern as no big deal. But they were fellow Phantom Thieves and brothers-in-arms, having fought multiple gods together and triumphed. Morgana had earned the right to know about the other aspects of his life, and he wasn’t going to hide it when the cat was directly tackling the topic and his heart was clearly in the right place.

Morgana, in the meanwhile, was starting to make some disturbing conclusions from Ren’s silence. “Ren, please tell me that your parents aren’t abusive,” he pleaded. “Please don’t tell me that you’ve been hiding the fact that we’re sending you back home to people who’re gonna make your life miserable!”

“What?” Ren spluttered, and Morgana was relieved to see that he seemed genuinely shocked and appalled by the allegation he had just made. “No! My parents are great!” He took a deep breath to calm himself down, before looking into Morgana’s eyes with a clear, intense gaze. “If my parents were pieces of shit, you can bet your ass I would’ve brought it up with Ryuji when he was talking to me about his asshole dad, or with Akechi during January when we were making our way through Maruki’s palace. I sure as hell wouldn’t have kept that from Sojiro either, at least not at Max confidant bond.”

“Then why’d you look kind of sad when Haru mentioned your parents?” Morgana wondered. He was thoroughly relieved that Ren wouldn’t be returning to an abusive household, but that only intensified his confusion over why Ren didn’t seem thrilled about returning to his parents.

Ren sighed as he took out his phone again, this time opening up his email and one message in particular. He shifted his phone for Morgana to see, and the feline embodiment of hope’s eyes widened as he read the message.

Ren,

How have you been doing, son? Your mother and I were very happy to learn that your probation was lifted and your criminal record overturned. You suffered a terrible injustice when the court condemned you for a crime you didn’t commit, all so they could kiss the ass of a powerful politician who used his power and influence to get off scot-free for his crimes. You did the right thing when you tried to stop him from assaulting that woman, no matter what anybody else tells you.

Unfortunately, the sad truth is that doing the right thing has negative consequences for good people in a society as corrupt as Japan’s. You learned this hard way when you confronted Masayoshi Shido, but things only got worse from there. It was bad enough that the courts ruled that we couldn't contact you in any way, shape, or form while you were in Tokyo without violating your probation, but none of us realized just how powerful and wide-reaching Shido’s influence truly was. A couple of months after you left for Tokyo, we received threatening letters in our mailboxes that if we or you continued to get in Shido’s way, then we would suffer “unpleasant consequences” for defying the next Prime Minister of Japan. The letters made it clear that we would suffer those same consequences if we reported them to the police, and it’s not like we were going to trust them anyway after how thoroughly they trampled on your rights and their own integrity.

As much as I hated the idea of abandoning you to be all alone in Tokyo, Ren, I couldn’t allow your mother’s life to remain at risk. The two of us have decided to flee the country entirely, as we would never be safe if a power-hungry tyrant like Shido rose to power. Your probationary officer, Sakura-san, warned us that Shido was an extremely dangerous individual to make an enemy of, and we had no reason to doubt his warning. We couldn’t reach out to you and inform you at the time, as it would have violated your probation and we didn’t know what would happen either to you or to us if that happened. It broke our heart to leave you in the dark, but with Shido functionally in power we couldn’t take any chances.

But we haven’t abandoned you, Ren. Though we might not have been able to talk to the police officially, we did reach out to Ryotaro Dojima informally. You know who he is already, and you know that he’s one of the few police officers we could trust. Before fleeing the country, we made arrangements so that our house is open for you to use and live in. You have a key already, and the only other ones who have a key to it are Ryotaro and the Amagis. We also left a healthy amount of money in your bank account before we left, and that should last you at least a few months although you will eventually need a job of some kind to maintain your income.

It feels almost surreal that we can finally contact you now that your probation has finally been lifted. While we’re always a message away whenever you need us, we unfortunately won’t be home to greet you when you’re finally released from Sakura-san’s care. We had to keep our departure from Japan as secret as possible in case Shido or someone associated with him tried to stop us, and while we were successful in this, the way we did so was haphazard and rushed, which means that for now we’re stuck in America. We’ll try to get back to Inaba as soon as possible, but I can’t say when that’s going to happen or how much progress we’ve made on that front.

One thing hasn’t changed, though. Inaba might have turned its back on you as a whole, but not everyone has. The close friends you’ve made before all of this happened, the ones just a couple of years older than you, still support you and believe that you were innocent from the very start. They miss you, Ren, and many of them will be around to support you if you need a hand to rely on.

I’ll be honest, Ren. I don’t know when we’ll get back to Japan. It could be anywhere from a few months to the end of the year. But regardless, we love you and we’re confident that you’ll be able to handle yourself without us around. You overcame the events that almost ruined your life a year ago, and you’ll overcome this as well.

Love,

Dad.

Morgana blinked at the screen, staring at the e-mail Ren’s father had sent him. “Wow,” he breathed once he fully processed everything. “So your parents fled the country because they were afraid of Shido?”

“Yeah,” Ren scowled at the name of his greatest enemy apart from Yaldabaoth Himself. “And honestly? I don’t blame them in the slightest. We all know Masayoshi Shido before his change of heart was a gigantic piece of shit and a sociopathic scumbag who isn’t above murdering people or ruining their lives for getting in his way, or being related to people who got in his way in some way or another.”

“Like poor Futaba,” Morgana mumbled. “Though I still don’t like how your parents just up and left Japan without telling you.”

Ren chuckled, but there was zero humor or mirth in the expression. “Did they really have a choice? Knowing Shido, he would’ve probably sent a Yakuza team to gun down my parents in their own house if he woke up in a bad mood and decided to blame them for it. Hell, he could’ve possibly sent Akechi to collapse their minds with a mental shutdown if the Meta-Nav worked in Inaba. And you and I both know that Shido would’ve gotten away with it scot-free with Yaldabaoth fucking with society in the background.”

“Yeah,” Morgana reluctantly admitted. “And I’m honestly impressed they were able to see through Shido’s lies and see the kind of person he really was.”

Ren rolled his eyes. “When you compare them to 99% of Tokyo, who was basically bending over backward to bow at Shido’s feet and sing his praises, my parents look like geniuses when it comes to all things Shido,” he deadpanned.

Morgana snickered, but it quickly gave way to a sigh. “I get your parents are trying to do the best they can for you, and I respect that. I just don’t like the idea of you going back to Inaba alone like this. I honestly think you should’ve just stayed with Sojiro and Futaba back in Tokyo.”

 “If my parents had been abusive assholes, or if they decided to believe Shido’s bullshit and kicked me out of the house before I headed off to Tokyo, you can bet that I would’ve stayed with Sojiro,” Ren declared. “After everything we’ve been through, including fixing society and taking down control-hungry gods, I wouldn’t take abuse from asshole parents who never gave a shit about me lying down.

“It’s a good thing that your parents aren’t like that, then,” Morgana remarked, clearly relieved.

“No, they aren’t,” Ren agreed with a content smile. “And that’s why I’m choosing to go back, even though it will be to an empty home and without any of my friends or the other Phantom Thieves around. Because there are people back home who care about me and believed in me, not just my parents but some others I’ve grown with too. None of them gave up on me, so it’d be wrong for me to give up on them.”

Morgana meowed approvingly. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the year, it’s that Phantom Thieves should always stay true to the people who’ve stayed true to them.”

Ren nodded in approval. “Damn right. And I know what you’re about to ask, Morgana. Why didn’t I tell anyone about the fact that I’d be going back home to an empty house? It’s because I didn’t want to have you guys all worry about me,” the leader of the Phantom Thieves answered his own question. “Sojiro knows about this since he was the one taking care of me as a favor to my parents to begin with, and Futaba knows since there’s no way I could’ve hidden this from her with her insane hacking skills. But I’ve kept everyone else in the dark…and I don’t want them to find out unless there really is nobody left in Inaba who cares about me.”

Before Morgana could say anything, Ren’s phone pinged. Both of them looked down to see that Futaba had sent Ren a private message.

Futaba: “There better be! If there isn’t, I’m going to build up all my STR and AGI points just so I can go over to Inaba and drag you on the train back home to your real family!”

Ren: “Assuming that Sojiro doesn’t drive over here so he can do that himself.”

Futaba: “All jokes aside, Ren, you know that you’ll always have a family back here waiting for you right? I can’t leave my big brother and my key item to just rot away in the middle of nowhere! You’re too good for Inaba, wherever the hell that is!”

Ren: “I know, and I’m already looking forward to coming back in the summer vacation.”

Futaba: “Wheh heh heh, we’re gonna have a blast when you get back!”

Futaba: “Let us know what Inaba’s like when you get there!”

Ren: “I will, don’t you worry.”

“What is Inaba like?” Morgana wondered as Ren finished his conversation with Futaba. “I don’t think you’ve talked about it much.”

“It’s a rural town a couple of hours away from Tokyo,” Ren explained as the train left the boundaries of the city far behind them. “It’s modernized a lot in the past couple of years, and it’s a lot livelier now compared to a couple of years ago. But at its core, it’s still a farming town. There’s actually quite a couple of things to see and do there, though, and I’ll show you around once we get settled.”

“I’m looking forward to that!” Morgana exclaimed as the train blazed past the countryside. After a few minutes of silence and rest, Ren suddenly tilted his head towards Morgana.

“You know…” the leader of the Phantom Thieves began thoughtfully, “…there’s this urban legend that was a lot more popular a couple of years back, the Midnight Channel. It’s said that on a rainy night, if you look into a TV that’s switched off by yourself exactly at midnight, the TV will turn on by itself and show another person on it. At first, the legend was that the person you see in the TV will be your soulmate.”

“Ooh, so maybe I’d see Lady Ann on the Midnight Channel!” Morgana eagerly commented.

Ren frowned, partly because Morgana’s clearly-unrequited crush on Ann did get irritating at times, but mainly because there was a darker aspect to the tale of the Midnight Channel that he hadn’t mentioned yet. “That might not be as much of a good thing as you think,” Ren warned. “Because there’s also a rumor that people who show up on the Midnight Channel die a few days later. Several years ago, two women showed up on the Midnight Channel and their dead bodies were found hanging from telephone wires a few days later. A third guy was also murdered, but from what I remember that was just a copycat killer who was trying to copy the guy who murdered the first two people.”

Morgana’s eyes widened. “Holy crap…” he breathed, suddenly finding the idea of Ann appearing on the Midnight Channel a lot less appealing.

Ren smirked. “They caught the killer though, so we don’t have to worry about that. And I’ve tried that Midnight Channel thing once or twice, but nothing ever happened. Though after everything we’ve been through, a spooky TV channel a lot less crazy than whatever the hell Mementos was."

"No kidding," Mona agreed. He suddenly snickered to himself. “Can you imagine if the Midnight Channel was somehow related to shadows and personas?”

Ren chuckled lightly. “It wouldn’t even be the craziest thing we’ve seen,” he commented dryly. “I wonder if big bro Yu ever saw anything like that.”

Mona raised an eyebrow. “Big bro Yu?” he repeated. “You never mentioned that you had a brother, before.”

“Well, I technically don’t,” Ren clarified. “But Yu Narukami’s someone I met back in my early teens. He and a close group of his friends practically raised me whenever my parents weren’t around, and I’m a little brother to all of them, Yu especially.” He spent the next few hours describing Yu Narukami to Morgana, how the silver-haired young man had come in from the city and stayed in the town for a year while his parents were out on business trips. Ren enthusiastically informed Morgana on how Yu had become something of a hero to the town of Inaba, going out of his way to help the citizens of the town whenever he could to the point that he had become a local legend in his own right both to his friends in school and to the town at large. “There’s even a rumor that he and his friends were the ones who solved the TV murders, and caught the criminal behind those murders I was talking about earlier. And if you think I’m suave and charming, Morgana, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Ren finished with a fond smirk. “When it comes to charisma, Yu Narukami is second to none. The guy’s popularity is honestly unreal.”

“I really hope I get to meet him,” Morgana meowed eagerly. “If he really is as legendary as you say he is.”

Ren frowned. “It’s a bit of a 50:50 with Yu, honestly,” he admitted. “He doesn’t actually live in Inaba, but he visits as much as possible so he can hang out with his friends and our second family. I can’t really say for sure whether he’ll be there or not this time, though.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Morgana nodded understandingly as the train continued to blitz through the country. By now, any traces of Tokyo had long been left behind, with nothing but countryside as far as the I could see.

By the time the train finally arrived at the Inaba station, night had already fallen, and there were only a few people around. That suited Ren and Morgana just fine, as right now the only thing that Ren cared about was getting to his parents’ (and now his) home as soon as possible so the two of them could finally get some rest. He quickly sent a message to the rest of the Phantom Thieves, confirming to them all that he had arrived at Inaba safely, before setting out into the town where he had grown up in before Shido and Yaldabaoth had decided to be massive assholes and ruin everything.

“So where exactly do you live?” Morgana asked as Ren navigated through the Central Shopping District and out into some of the residential areas. Ever since the year of the TV murders back in 2011, Inaba had really expanded and modernized, with many small apartment complexes in the streets where there had once been simple houses. The leader of the Phantom Thieves could have simply called a cab to drive him home, but despite his fatigue from the train ride, something inside Ren wanted to simply enjoy a nighttime walk in the home that he hadn’t been in for months.

“I live in a house that’s kinda at the border between the older and newer parts of town,” Ren explained as they finally arrived at the street in question. “We don’t live too far away from Dojima, that police officer that my parents mentioned in their email. He’s one of the only police officers I know who I trust and who actually gives a shit about doing their job right.” A dark expression crossed over Ren’s face for a brief moment. “Which is more than I can say about almost every single fucking cop in Tokyo.”

Morgana whistled. “Considering all the horrible things the police put you through, Ren, the fact that you’re willing to give him that much credit speaks volumes.”

“I’ll introduce you to him when I get the chance,” Ren promised as he approached the front door of his family’s house. The inside of the house was completely dark and not a single sign of life could be seen, and the reality that his parents were gone and that he was all alone truly sunk in for the first time.

Morgana caught the troubled expression on Ren’s face. “Hey, Ren, you know you’re not alone, right?” he gently reassured him. “You’ve got me, and you’ve got the other Phantom Thieves even if they’re far away back in Tokyo to keep you company.”

Ren smiled and gently stroked Morgana’s head. “You’re right, Morgana. With you guys, I’m never alone.”

He took out the key to his house, the one that he had brought back with him to Tokyo, and opened the door. The inside of the house was plunged in darkness, with only a faint light streaking into a window that was mostly blocked by a closed curtain.

Ren reached over to where he knew the light switch to be, turned on the light…

…and nearly jumped out of his skin as eight figures jumped out from various hiding spots, all of wearing expressions of joy as they greeted the young friend who had finally returned from his nearly year-long exile.

“SURPRISE!”

Chapter Text

“SURPRISE!”

“Holy crap!” Morgana yowled as eight people jumped out from various hiding spaces in the main room of the Amamiya household. Even Ren was completely taken aback, not having expected some of his closest and oldest friends to greet him back in Inaba so soon and so suddenly.

“Haha, we gotcha, didn’t we!” Yosuke grinned as he approached Ren and fondly rubbed the back of his hair with his hand. “You should’ve seen the look on your face, Ren.”

Rise giggled and wrapped him in an affectionate hug. “It’s great to finally have you back in Inaba after so many months. This town just wasn’t the same without our favorite fluffy little brother here!”

“You’re not even here all the time, Rise-chan!” Teddie complained loudly. “At least you got to go off and enjoy being an idol. I had to be stuck here in this town all day without Ren-ren to keep me company!”

Kanji sighed and shook his head, but he couldn’t resist a warm smile of his own. “All right guys, why don’t we back off and give Ren some space, eh? Guy looks like he can barely breathe under hug, Rise.”

Rise reluctantly let go and backed off as Ren gave them a surprised but happy chuckle. “How did you guys even figure out I was gonna be coming back here today?” he asked incredulously. “I wasn’t even expecting to meet up with any of you guys until a few days after coming back to Inaba!”

“Your parents informed Dojima-san that you would be coming back to Inaba on this date,” Naoto explained with a knowing smile.

“And once he passed that onto us, we figured it would be the perfect way for us to surprise you with a welcome home party!” Yukiko added as she held up a small key in her hand. “Your parents left us with a key before they departed.”

Chie laughed and lightly punched Ren on the shoulder, an action that felt so very reminiscent of Ryuji. “And here we are now!” she concluded enthusiastically.

Ren smiled warmly as he looked at each of his older friends, a group of young adults that were so very different from his parents or the Phantom Thieves, but still just as valuable and just as rightfully deserving of the title of family in their own right.

Yosuke Hanamura. Chie Satonaka. Yukiko Amagi. Kanji Tatsumi. Rise Kujikawa. Teddie Hanamura. Naoto Shirogane. And last, but most certainly not least, Yu Narukami.

The silver-haired man who had won the universal respect and adoration of Inaba slowly walked towards Ren. Yu Narukami had always been a stoic man who kept his emotions carefully hidden within himself, but in that moment, Ren and everyone else in the room could clearly see the kindness and joy in his face and eyes as he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes.

“Welcome home, Ren,” he quietly greeted him. “We missed you. Every single one of us here hated seeing the injustice forced upon you by the lies of that bastard politician. And even though some in Inaba might still be against you, we at least can give you the hero’s welcome that you deserve.” He let go of Ren’s shoulder and turned to face his friends. “Our brother in every way that matters has finally returned home. It’s time to celebrate!”

“WELCOME HOME!” Everyone cheered as they all came forward, wrapping Ren up in a group hug.

Ren closed his eyes as he allowed himself to fall into their embrace, allowing the warm feeling of relief and happiness to flow over him. It wasn’t quite like the feeling he made every time that he had formed a confidant bond with someone in Tokyo, but he didn’t need that kind of connection to feel the strength of his relationships with his friends from Inaba. Though he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, part of him had been afraid that he would have truly been alone in Inaba without his parents waiting for him back home.

It was comforting beyond words to have that worst-case scenario disproved so quickly and thoroughly.

Ren allowed a confident grin to stretch across his face. “Good to be back, guys.”

The Investigation Team (whose true identity he was unaware of) separated, and they quickly moved over to sit on the sofas and couches arranged throughout the living room. “So how was Tokyo, Ren?” Yukiko gently asked him once they had gotten themselves settled. “The city didn’t treat you too badly, right?”

Ren couldn’t help but chuckle at the question. The last year had truly been a wild ride, with the highs being some of the best moments in his entire life and the lows being nothing short of absolute hell. “It had its ups and downs,” he answered, being careful to keep his voice as casual as possible. “But I survived, and I’m no longer a criminal in the eyes of the law. That’s what we hoped for, right?”

“Hell yeah!” Chie eagerly agreed. “I was seriously considering going over there just to give Shido his own personal Galactic Punt. HWA-YAAAAAAH!” she shouted as she got up on her feet and dramatically kicked into the air like a true martial arts master.

Ren snickered at the image of Chie kicking Shido squarely in the ass. “I would’ve paid some good money to see that shit,” he commented with a smirk. “But I guess that particular problem took care of itself in the end.”

“Oh, right, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts!” Yukiko exclaimed. “They might’ve mainly operated in Tokyo, but we’ve heard all about them even out here in Inaba!”

“That’s actually been something I was planning on askin’ ya once you got back, Renren,” Kanji raised an eyebrow towards him. “Whaddaya think about the Phantom Thieves?”

Ren’s outward expression didn’t change, but inwardly he was instantly on alert. It wasn’t so much that he was bothered about whether his friends in Inaba had a positive or negative opinion of the Phantom Thieves. There were valid opinions on both sides of the argument, and he had fought and destroyed a God of control specifically so that the people of Japan could think for themselves.

He was more concerned about the possibility that, depending on how he reacted, his friends might figure out that he was a member of the Phantom Thieves, possibly even that he was their leader. That was a can of words he simply wasn’t ready to open right now, not when he was exhausted after a long journey and the secret of the Phantom Thieves wasn’t just his alone to share. No matter how much he trusted his surrogate family in Inaba, Ren would never betray the confidence that his fellow Phantom Thieves had placed in him. And that meant keeping his identity a secret as long as possible. “Is it okay if I ask you that same question first before I give you my answer?” he asked.

Yosuke shrugged. “I don’t see a problem with that,” he replied. “I always thought they were pretty cool, personally. Taking down corrupt members of society like that through mysterious ways nobody could figure out, getting them to confess crimes they kept hidden for years on end.” He sighed. “If only they were around to deal with the bastard who was killing people back in 2011.”

Naoto shook her head. “I do have some concerns about the ethical conundrums that come with changing one’s heart,” the First Detective Prince admitted. “The very concept enters both an ethical and legal gray area. That being said, considering how utterly corrupt and incompetent the Tokyo Police have largely become under Masayoshi Shido’s influence, in this case I do support the Phantom Thieves despite my background in law enforcement. If only because they were the far superior option prior to Shido’s downfall.”

One by one, Ren’s friends offered their own insights on the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Ren was secretly relieved to learn that all of his friends had an overall positive opinion of the Phantom Thieves, though how positive varied from person to person. Some, like Rise, enthusiastically gave their full support to the Phantom Thieves and how they had brought down the corrupt regime that had threatened to take over Tokyo and all of Japan. Others, like Kanji, were a bit more reserved in their perspective, but clearly saw the Phantom Thieves as a force for good. Chie was one of the more enthusiastic supporters of the Phantom Thieves, which was both fitting due to her energetic personality and ironic given her current status as a police officer and Dojima’s junior partner.

Yu was the last to provide his thoughts. “I support the Phantom Thieves for the plain and simple reason that, despite their secretive nature, they are agents of truth,” he declared solemnly. “You can agree or disagree with their methods all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that they confronted the extensive corruption that lurked underneath Japanese society and exposed it to the world. Men like Kamoshida, Madarame, Shido…they presented themselves as noble and glorious heroes, and that deception allowed them to commit vile atrocities unchecked, and the evils they committed would have only grown worse as time passed. By exposing the truth to the world, the Phantom Thieves brought those unspeakable evils to an end, and opened the path for society to better itself. And that alone has earned them my support and my respect.”

The silver-haired man turned his gray eyes upon Ren. “But what about you, Ren? Unlike most of us, you were actually there in Tokyo when the Phantom Thieves went about their business. What do you think about the Phantom Thieves?” he questioned with a piercing gaze.

The others leaned in expectantly, all eager to hear from the perspective of someone who had been there personally when the changes of heart happened. “I agree more with Naoto and Kanji,” Ren finally answered after several seconds of careful thought, though this was more to make sure he didn’t give anything away with his answer. “Even if it’s for a good cause, changing someone’s heart does take away their free will and individuality. Let’s face it, there’s no way assholes like Kamoshida or Shido would ever confess their crimes if they didn’t have their hearts forcibly changed. But in the Phantom Thieves’ case, it’s fully justified.”

“Oh?” Yukiko raised an eyebrow. “And why do you think that, Ren?”

“Because they were trampling on the lives and rights of their victims,” Ren explained. “The crimes they committed completely violated the free wills of their victims. I was there at Shujin when Kamoshida was still around. The bastard was outright torturing his volleyball team just to satisfy his superiority-complex, and he assaulted a girl on that team so badly that she tried to kill herself by jumping off the school’s roof.”

Everyone’s jaw dropped in horror. “No way…” Yosuke breathed.

“That poor girl…” Rise murmured softly.

“And did I mention that the piece of shit leaked my criminal record to the school just cause he didn’t like me?” Ren added dryly. “Within like, what, my first day of school?”

“WHAT THE FUCK???” The sadness turned to extreme anger in a single second. “The piece of shit actually did that?” Kanji snarled furiously.

“I’m pretty sure such an act is downright illegal,” Naoto growled, her cold fury contrasting sharply with her boyfriend’s hot-tempered rage.

Ren snorted. “Not that the school did jack shit about it, considering that the principal was too busy kissing his precious volleyball coach’s ass and trying to make himself and the school look good,” he sarcastically commented. “So yeah, when the Phantom Thieves changed Kamoshida’s heart and reduced him to a sobbing wreck confessing his crimes and begging to be arrested on the gym stage, I didn’t give a single fuck about his emotional state.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t either,” Yosuke freely admitted. “The guy got what he deserved.”

“But going back to the Phantom Thieves and their changes of heart, at best I’d call them the unofficial heroes that Japan needed, and at worst I’d call them a necessary evil to change society for the better,” Ren concluded. “Because like Yu said, monsters like Kamoshida were never going to be brought to justice for their crimes in any other way.” He couldn’t resist the urge to sneer. “I sure as fuck wouldn’t have trusted the Tokyo police with that.”

Chie and Naoto both winced. “I hate that you’re right, but I can’t argue with you,” Chie reluctantly admitted. “Hell, even in Inaba, the justice system was fucked enough to slam you with a criminal record based on a charge that was clearly bullshit. They didn’t even do a proper trial, they just slapped you with it and told you to fuck off. I just wish we could have helped you more…”

Ren shook his head and smiled at them both. “You guys are fine,” he reassured them. “I don’t have any problems with you or Dojima-san. Hell, if there were more guys like you three in the police force, then maybe Kamoshida and Shido wouldn’t have become such a big problem in the first place.”

The two of them both brightened at Ren’s praise, but Yu couldn’t help but narrow his eyes slightly. Having dedicated himself to the truth in more ways than one, he could tell that Ren had spoken the truth and nothing but the truth with regards to all of his statements. Yet he couldn’t help the feeling that Ren was hiding something, that there was more to his thoughts than what he was letting on. He decided not to press the issue any further, though, not wanting to pressure his young friend when he had just come back from what must certainly have been an exhausting voyage home.

“Why are we being all so bear-y serious!” Teddie suddenly complained, “Ren-ren is back! We should be partying!”

Yosuke groaned. “Ugh, not again with the stupid bear puns, Teddie!”

“Teddie is right, though,” Yukiko giggled. “We should be celebrating, not spending the whole night talking about serious topics that might bore Ren to death.”

As if to corroborate Yukiko’s point, Ren’s stomach started grumbling loudly. “Ugh, I haven’t eaten anything since noon,” he admitted.

“What the fuck are we just standing around here for, then?” Kanji exclaimed. “Let’s eat!”

His words were met with resounding approval from everyone else in the room, and Yu took out several large containers filled with warm sushi of countless different varieties. Morgana’s jaw dropped and he licked his lips hungrily as he took in the sushi, and Ren couldn’t help but snicker at the feline’s ravenous expression.

“Make sure we split the food up into portions,” Yu advised. “Otherwise Teddie might end up eating the whole thing.”

“Oh come on, Sensei, that’s so mean!” Teddie whined. “I don’t eat that much!”

Yu raised an eyebrow. “Who’s the one who ate 11 bowls of ramen on our trip to Iwatodai back in 2011?” he asked in a deadpan tone.

Yukiko scowled. “I still remember that,” she grumbled. “You never even paid me or Yu back for all that, you freeloader!”

“Eeek!” Teddie cringed as the others shared a chuckle at his expense. Once everyone had plates and chopsticks, Ren and his friends all picked up the pieces of sushi that most caught their interest, with Ren making sure to pick up a couple extra pieces for Morgana to enjoy. They spent the next couple of minutes eating their dinner, enjoying the fresh taste of country-style sushi which Ren had sorely missed back in Tokyo.

“Mmm mmm mmm!” Morgana purred as he ate every last bit of sushi on his plate. “This is the best sushi I’ve eaten since that one place in Tokyo!”

“So, Kamoshida being a giant piece of shit aside, did you have a good time in Tokyo?” Yosuke asked. “It must’ve been rough making friends with other people in Shujin if that bastard really did leak your record on day one,” he added sympathetically.

“Not as much as you might think,” Ren reassured him with a smirk. “Yeah, a couple of people avoided me like the plague, but I’ve still got a group of close friends back home, and if my Dad had been a piece of shit instead of a good guy I’d gladly call Sojiro Dad instead.”

“Can we see them?” Rise asked eagerly. Ren took out his cell phone and showed it to them. It was a picture that he had taken with the Phantom Thieves just a few days before he returned to Inaba, and it showed all of them together, smiling happily at the phone camera. “Aww, you guys look so happy together!” she gushed.

“My life in Tokyo would’ve been complete Hell if it wasn’t for these guys,” Ren asserted with complete sincerity.” He pointed out each one of his friends from Tokyo, identifying them and giving a brief summary of who they were to the group. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle when he pointed out Ann. “My friend Ann is a huge fan of yours, Rise. Like, she absolutely loves you and your music.”

“Wait, I think I recognize her!” Rise exclaimed. “She’s a foreign model, right?” When Ren nodded, she grinned. “I’ve been noticing her too, actually. I really like her sense of style, and she has a lot of natural beauty to go along with it! Why didn’t you tell her about me, Renren?”

Ren sighed. “Probation,” the one-word answer was curt and got the point across perfectly. “Couldn’t risk violating my probation restrictions, with how badly the court fucked me over.”

Naoto sighed. “There’s no way any righteous court of law would have inflicted such a harsh sentence upon a minor. As much as I hate to say it, you really did pick an incredibly dangerous enemy to go up against,” she muttered. “I’m frankly relieved that Shido didn’t order a hit on you or your parents sooner.”

Ren snorted. “I doubt an arrogant prick like him would’ve bothered to remember my face,” he retorted.

“Well, at least the son of a bitch got what he deserved,” Kanji declared.

“Are you going to reunite with your friends soon?” Yukiko wondered. “It sounds like you really miss them.”

“Oh, hell yeah, Yukiko!” Ren asserted. “We’ve already got plans for the summer, and we’ll see if we can’t find a way to meet up either in Inaba or in Tokyo before then.” He suddenly blinked, realizing that somebody very important to him was missing. “Wait a minute. Speaking of reunions, where’s Nanako? I missed my little sis!”

Yu smiled wistfully. “Nanako misses you too, Ren. Unfortunately, she got sick yesterday.” The silver-haired man sighed. “There was this new place that opened up and she tried some of the food, but she told me the food was off. I didn’t expect her to get food poisoning like this, though.”

Ren winced. “Oof, that sucks. I was gonna give her a big hug when I saw her.”

Teddie snickered. “At least whatever Nana-chan ate still probably tasted better than the girls’ food. You should’ve seen the disasters they made back in 2011!” His comment immediately earned the intense glares of three angry women. Kanji immediately winced, Yosuke sighed in exasperation, while Yu and Ren both facepalmed.

“Excuse you?” Chie practically yelled. “I’ll have you know that my cooking’s gotten a lot better!”

“You just don’t have the sense of taste to appreciate the meals I make!” Rise pouted.

“I’d like to see you try and make something,” Yukiko growled.

“Holy crap, and I thought Ryuji was bad with putting a foot in his mouth,” Ren mumbled as Teddie frantically gave out apologies to try and fend off the wrath of the ladies. “You know, Sojiro taught me how to make dinner while I stayed with him in Tokyo. Would any of you guys be down for a free dinner tomorrow?”

“Ooh, you learned how to cook?” Yukiko asked eagerly, her ire at Teddie immediately forgotten. “Are you as good as Yu? He used to make the best lunches back when we were still in school.”

Ren smiled. “I may not be as good of a chef as Sojiro, but when it comes to coffee and curry there is literally nobody in all of Japan who makes them better than he does. If you ever eat at Café LeBlanc, your standards on what counts as good food will change forever.”

“Damn,” Yosuke whistled. “Now I HAVE to go there the next time I head out to Tokyo.”

“Or we can all come back here tomorrow and enjoy Ren’s cooking instead!” Chie suggested. “After all, if it’s curry Ren’s talking about, it’s got to have meat!” she added, the very idea whetting her appetite again.

Naoto frowned. “Assuming, of course, that it isn’t too much trouble for you since you just got back.”

Ren shook his head and smiled. “Nah, I’m all for it. I offered, remember? I won’t be starting school for like another 2 days, just so that I have time to adjust and all that. I need to go to Junes tomorrow anyway to get some food for the fridge.” He was about to say something else, but suddenly let out a huge yawn. “Hrrrrrrrrrgggghhhhhh…I didn’t realize how tired I really was,” he commented as the exhaustion started to seep into his bones. “Riding on a train for a long time really takes a lot out of you.”

Yu chuckled. “Don’t I know it,” he agreed sympathetically. “Every time I take a train from Inaba to the city and back, the first thing I want to do is take a long nap.”

Yosuke nodded in understanding. “Don’t let us keep you up all night, Ren,” he advised. You need sleep just like everyone else.”

Ren rolled his eyes. “I already get enough of my cat telling me to go to sleep,” he commented dryly.

“Hey!” Morgana yowled in protest. “If I wasn’t there to wake you up and make you go to sleep properly, your sleep schedule would be worse than Futaba’s!”

It took every bit of Ren’s willpower not to retort with, “Nobody’s sleep schedule is that bad!” Instead, he turned his attention back to his friends. “Do you guys need anything before I hit the bed? You can stay around as long as you like.”

Rise grinned. “We’ll be here!” the idol promised with a wink.

“Have a good night’s sleep, Ren,” Yu added as a farewell. “And welcome home.”

Ren smiled back at him. “It’s good to be home, you guys. And the fact that you’re all here only makes it even better.” He turned around and climbed up the stairs, with Morgana following shortly behind.

The group of friends waited until Ren’s footsteps climbed up into the stairs of the second floor of the house and disappeared. Once they were gone, Yu turned to face the rest of his friends. The kind expression faded, replaced by a serious expression. The face of the leader of the Investigation Team.

“Okay guys,” Yu began without preamble, and the Investigation Team knew that their friend and leader meant business. “Ren’s gone up to bed, and I’m more comfortable discussing this here than out in the streets of Inaba. First things first…what the hell has been going on with the TV world?”

Chapter Text

The jubilant smiles and good feelings from Ren’s welcoming party faded away as the Investigation Team turned their attention towards a much more serious issue. “Right…” Chie mumbled. “The TV World…”

“Marie would honestly be the best one to ask about all this,” Yosuke admitted, “but we can fill you in on the details as much as we can.”

“You guys told me over the phone that the TV World had started to become distorted again,” Yu commented with a frown. “Considering all the work we’d done to clean it up and get rid of the fog of lies, the last thing I wanted to hear was that all our hard work had gone to shit.”

“The situation isn’t nearly as bad as it was in 2011,” Naoto quickly reassured the silver-haired man. “Marie, or rather Izanami if we’re calling her by her true name, is still the ultimate overseer of the TV World. And she remains just as dedicated to keeping the cognitive realm of Inaba pure and untainted as the rest of us, that part hasn’t changed.”

“Okay…that’s good news at least,” Yu acknowledged. “So what has changed?”

Yukiko sighed. “Based on what Marie told us, the distortion that we’re talking about came from an outside source,” she explained, “around the same time that Ren-kun was arrested. At first, the effect was minor, and Marie didn’t seem all too bothered about it. But then it came getting stronger and stronger, and after a while she realized what it was.”

“A new cognitive god,” Yosuke finished grimly. “His power was centered around Tokyo, and he was both more powerful and eviler than Izanami ever was back when she was still all-villainy.”

“Fuck,” Yu cursed under his breath. Out of all the possibilities, the rise of a new cognitive god was easily one of the worst situations possible. After all, he had seen the devastation that one so-called deity had nearly caused, and this new entity seemed to be even worse. “Did this new god try to attack and take control of the TV World?” he asked warily.

“Nah, Senpai, and thank fuck for that!” Kanji declared. “Otherwise, things would have really gone to shit.”

“Based on what Marie was saying, the cognitive god didn’t really give a shit about Inaba or the TV World,” Chie clarified. “He had most of his attention focused on Tokyo, so he wasn’t actually trying to take over yet. But especially towards the end of last year, the god had gotten so powerful that it took everything Marie had just to keep its influence from taking over the TV World anyway.” She frowned. “If this god had actually tried to take over the TV World directly at full power, Marie wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

That was some good news, Yu supposed. “How badly was the TV World affected by all this?” he wondered.

“Marie was still able to keep overall control over the TV World,” Yosuke answered, the relief clearly visible on his face, “but some things have started to slip through the cracks. Things that Marie couldn’t really pay attention to since she was too focused on keeping that evil god’s influence out of Inaba.”

“The Shadows have gotten scary again!” Teddie added with a scared look on his face. “They were so peaceful ever since we beat Izanami and made Emmy-chan whole, but ever since this year they’ve started attacking anything in sight, just like they did back when the fog was here!”

Yu frowned again as he considered this latest piece of information. He knew full well just how dangerous Shadows were, having spent the better part of an entire year battling both the “normal” Shadows that prowled around the dungeons of the TV World and the “personal” Shadows that represented the hidden darkness within an individual person. “Was Marie not able to control them?” he wondered.

Naoto shook her head. “Unfortunately, no,” she denied. “The Shadows reflect the human subconscious as a whole, and while Marie might not have any intention of corrupting the minds of humans anymore, the cognitive god that rose in Tokyo definitely did. Even though that god might not have been actively trying to subjugate the TV World, his very influence had enough of a negative impact to affect the Shadows here and cause them to become more aggressive. And as you can imagine, the more powerful the cognitive god became, the more powerful his effect on the Shadows and the more agitated they became,” she added with a sigh.

“It wasn’t just the Shadows, either,” Yukiko commented sadly. “The TV World itself was affected too. Marie has managed to keep everything together for the most part, like the beautiful garden we found ourselves in after we defeated Izanami. But places farther away from that garden have found themselves distorted again. Generally, the farther away you get from where we came in at Junes, the stronger the distortions get, and the more dangerous the Shadows become too.”

“There were a couple of times in the past few months Marie called us in to help kick some Shadows’ asses a couple of times,” Kanji added with a nostalgic smile. “Man, I almost forgot how fun it was to beat the shit out of those things.”

That rang a few alarm bells in Yu’s mind. “Wait, Marie actually needed you to come in and fight Shadows? Were they about to spill out into the real world and destroy everyone like how they almost did right before we took down Adachi?”

“Nah, things never got that bad,” Chie reassured him, the relief she showed on her face mirrored by everyone else in the room. “Marie was stressed and all, but she wasn’t panicking like the entire TV World was about to go to Hell.”

“We would’ve called you and asked you to come back to Inaba ASAP if it was,” Yosuke agreed. “It’s more like…Marie wanted to stop a problem from spiraling out of control. I think she was afraid of what would happen if she lost control of the TV World to that evil cognitive god…or if she was “taken out” by that god, one way or another.”

The Investigation Team shuddered at the idea of an evil god imprisoning or, worse, outright killing Marie. “Emmy-chan was really snappy these past few months,” Teddie mumbled. “She would yell at me so many times!”

“You sure that’s not just you being annoying like usual?” Kanji deadpanned.

“Kanji, that’s so mean!” Teddie whined as everyone else shared a couple of snickers, but the amusement didn’t last long.

“In all seriousness, Marie really did seem stressed out,” Yukiko admitted, “and it only got worse as we went into December of last year. By that point, whatever cognitive god Marie was trying to fight off had definitely gotten a lot stronger. She even admitted that if the cognitive god decided to focus his full attention on her and fight her full-on, there was no way that she would’ve been able to win.”

“But hey, we don’t have to worry about that god anymore!” Chie cheerfully added. “Cause right before Christmas, the influence of that god suddenly just vanished completely!”

“He…vanished?” Yu repeated incredulously. “Just like that? You were telling me that he was getting stronger over the past few months.”

Rise nodded. “The god was killed, Senpai,” the idol explained with uncharacteristic seriousnes. “That was how Marie explained it to us, and I could feel it too. The TV World…it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was back when we were solving the murders, but I could sense the god’s influence on the world with my Persona. Everything felt subtly…wrong…about the place. As if something bad was about to happen…but I couldn’t put my finger on it.”

Teddie shuddered. “The TV World felt really off,” he commented. “No wonder the other Shadows felt so riled up. I spent more time in this world than in the TV World for the past few months just cause I felt so uncomfortable over there.”

“Aww, Teddie…” Yukiko murmured as she gently pat his head. While there were times when Teddie’s complaining got annoying, in this case the Team was completely sympathetic to his concerns. Being a Shadow himself (or at least grown from one), it was easy to imagine how the forces distorting the TV World might have affected him more badly than the humans.

Teddie immediately brightened. “It’s all better now, though! Now that that evil god is dead!” he exclaimed.

“I didn’t think I’d hear about anything like this happening again so soon,” Yu muttered. It was far from impossible, of course; if he and his team had defeated a cognitive god, it was entirely possible for another one to rise up. He just hadn’t expected it to happen within the same decade. “Do we know who or what killed him?”

“Marie didn’t spill any details, but I can’t really tell if it’s because she genuinely doesn’t know or because she knows but she can’t tell us,” Yosuke admitted.

“Can you imagine if it was another group of Persona-users like us?” Chie asked with a laugh. The question was clearly meant to be a joke, but then everyone gave her shocked looks. “Wait…seriously? I was just saying random things in my mind, that wasn’t actually meant to be a serious theory!”

“If a cognitive god really was killed,” Naoto murmured, her thoughts racing, “then a group of Persona users accomplishing such a feat would be a very high possibility. And while I don’t have any concrete evidence to support this, there’s one particular group who it might be...”

“…the Phantom Thieves,” Yu concluded. “The way they change hearts, it could be done through interfering with cognition in some way. And as the Phantom Thieves primarily focused on evil or corrupted individuals for their changes of heart, it’s more likely that they would be enemies with an evil cognitive god rather than his allies.”

“Maybe we could ask Ren?” Rise suggested.

“You think Ren’s a Phantom Thief?” Kanji asked in disbelief.

“No, no, silly!” she chided. “Just asking him if he’s seen or noticed anything weird in Tokyo. Maybe he saw the Phantom Thieves in action up close and personal. He might be able to tell us something!”

Yu shrugged. “I guess it’s worth a shot,” he acknowledged. “And I think I’ve seen the effects the cognitive god had in Tokyo, too. People were acting really weird over the past month, they were singing Shido’s praises and almost unanimously claiming that he was going to be the next leader of Japan. And they were still acting like that even after Shido confessed all of his horrible crimes to the public. That kind of confession should’ve sparked a massive outcry, but instead they were still hedging all of their bets on Shido and the order that he would bring to Japan despite all the evidence that he was a massive criminal. In hindsight, that might’ve been the influence of the cognitive god, because by the end of December, everyone was acting back to normal. They had pretty much all universally rejected Shido, and the justice system was bringing the bastard up on charges like they should’ve been doing in the first place.”

Chie scowled. “I’m glad that that cognitive god wasn’t trying to take over Inaba like it was trying to take over Tokyo, then,” she grumbled. “There’s nothing any god could do to make me want to support someone as disgustingly evil as Shido turned out to be.”

“Yeah,” Yosuke muttered. “That guy was worse than fucking Adachi, which is something I’d never thought I’d say.”

“At least Adachi actually has a genuine, if twisted moral compass that didn’t require getting his heart changed from the outside,” Yu readily agreed, before deciding to redirect the conversation. “Going back to the TV World, did the death of the evil cognitive god remove the distortions?”

Yosuke snorted. “If only we were that lucky, partner,” he retorted. “Cause apparently, right after the first cognitive god died, a second one took its place!”

“The second one was…kind of unusual, though,” Yukiko commented. “Marie said their energy felt different from the first one. The first one was straight-up evil, but the second one actually felt more similar to Izanami with the whole “trying to do what’s right for humanity with a beautiful lie” kind of thing.”

“It was definitely different than Izanami, though,” Naoto pointed out. “Remember what Marie told us? Instead of trying to turn all of humanity into shadows, the second god wanted to try to make all of humanity by granting each human’s wishes to make them come true.”

“…I don’t really remember all that much about what happened, to be honest,” Kanji admitted, frustration seeping into his voice. “Like, my memories of January are really fuzzy for some reason.”

“You too, Kanji-kun?” Yukiko asked in surprise. “I thought it was just me!”

“I have foggy memories of things happening in January that I know shouldn’t have happened,” Yosuke agreed with a frown. “Like Saki being alive and my girlfriend, and Nanako’s mom being alive too.”

“What the fuck?” Yu spluttered. Now he really wished he had been in Inaba in January, because he was certain that he would have remembered something that weird. Or maybe he wouldn’t have noticed these fantastical impossible events, since the power of Izanagi-no-okami meant that he was all but immune to lies and illusions. He tried to think back to January, focusing his mind to see if he could recall anything unusual. “Actually,” he frowned, “now that I think about it…there wasn’t anything blatantly wrong, but people had these weird smiles on their faces. Everyone seemed bizarrely happy, but it felt…fake. Like it was forced on them. I wasn’t sure really what to make of it where to even begin finding answers, cause everything fixed itself by the end of the month.”

“Marie tried to fight it off, Senpai, but she was still exhausted from fending off the first cognitive god’s influence,” Rise replied with concern clearly on her face. She might have considered herself a rival to Marie, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to care about her when things got serious. “She wasn’t at 100%, and some of that second god’s influence slipped through the cracks.”

“How is Marie?” Yu asked worriedly. “Fighting off the influence of two gods at once must’ve been really hard on her.”

“It’s okay Sensei, Emmy-chan wasn’t hurt too bad!” Teddie tried to reassure him.

“Nah, she just needed to take about a week off from that weather job she likes doing,” Yosuke agreed. “We did have to step up the Shadow-killing for a bit, though. Gotta say, partner, I really missed having you around, and not just cause you made the job a lot easier by tearing Shadows apart with Yoshitsune’s Hassou Tobi.”

“The cognitive world itself has also changed too, Senpai, and not just because of the two gods,” Rise added. “There’s these new elements that weren’t there before…I guess the best way to describe them would be psychic, nuclear, and…gun attacks, I guess?” She scrunched her forehead in confusion. “And we’ve also started seeing Light and Dark attacks that just damage you, rather than trying to insta-kill you.”

“Hmm…” Yu scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I’m gonna have to check on the TV World myself as soon as I get the chance. And maybe try and see if Margaret or the Velvet Room is around. I haven’t gotten any contact with them for the past year.” He sighed. “I don’t know if that’s just because I’ve already done my quest as a Wild Card or if something else happened that I don’t know about,” he admitted.

“Unfortunately, the second cognitive god didn’t do anything to make the Shadows relax any, even if they were less evil than the first one,” Yukiko remarked. “I guess even if it was a quote-unquote benevolent distortion, it was still a distortion. At least it didn’t make anything any worse, I’m honestly not sure if that second god even knew there was a cognitive world here.”

“But whoever it was, that second god’s no longer a problem, right?” Yu pressed. “It doesn’t matter if they have good intentions, they’re still trying to deceive the world with a lie, and we dedicated ourselves to fighting for the truth no matter how painful it might be. Izanami-no-okami had similar good intentions, but she nearly turned all of humanity into Shadows because she thought that was what was best for humanity!”

Naoto smiled reassuringly. “Luckily for us all, Senpai, the second cognitive god’s influence disappeared in the early days of February,” she reported. “Marie wasn’t able to find out the details, but all she knows for sure is that the way the second god lost their power was different from the first. After the second god’s power was removed, the TV World and the Shadows within have more or less stabilized. There is still some lingering distortion, however,” she warned, “and the Shadows are still more aggressive than they were before the cognitive gods rose to power.”

“So at least we’re not in a state of emergency then,” Yu sighed with relief. The situation that his friends had described wasn’t a best-case scenario by any stretch of the imagination, but it was far from the worst way things could have turned out, especially if the situation had already stabilized without his intervention. “If you guys need my help fighting those Shadows, you can count on me while I’m here.”

Chie grinned. “Hell yeah!” she exclaimed. “With you at the head again, those Shadows are gonna regret the day they popped their heads back up and started causing shit!”

Yosuke scowled. “Lower your voice!” he scolded. “If you keep yelling like that, Ren might hear you, and he’s gonna think you’re completely crazy!”

“Oof,” Chie winced, but she couldn’t deny Yosuke’s point. There was no way Ren was gonna believe their story about how they solved the Foggy Day murders back in 2011 if he ever got around to hear it.

“There’s…one more thing we gotta tell you about, Senpai,” Kanji warned. “Marie told us that if someone without a Persona ended up in the TV World, it’s been distorted badly enough that their Personal Shadow might show up and confront them…just like ours did for us before we turned them into our Personas.” He scowled. “And we all know what happens next.”

Yu groaned. “The last thing I want is for more dead bodies to be hung on telephone poles,” he muttered. “But I thought only people who had Personas in the first place could go into the TV World, or bring someone into the TV World if they’re in direct contact with them?”

“We’ve got that covered,” Yukiko gently reassured him. “Marie-chan was very careful in making sure nobody without a Persona couldn’t access the TV World in the first place, and she was double- and triple-checking to make sure that was still true after the two cognitive gods lost their power.”

“And me and Emmy-chan are checking in on the TV World as much as possible!” Teddie piped in proudly. “We’ll be sure to keep a close eye to make sure nobody falls into the TV World that isn’t supposed to be there!”

“Then it sounds like the TV World, while it’s become more distorted and consequently more dangerous than it was before the influence of two so-called deities messed with human cognition, has more or less stabilized since those gods are now gone,” Yu summarized. “Does that sound about right?”

His question was answered by nods from every member of the Investigation Team. “All right,” Yu breathed a sigh of relief, finally allowing the exhaustion from both Ren’s welcome party and the debriefing about the TV World seep into his bones. “Thanks for keeping me up to date on everything that’s been happening, guys.”

Yosuke grinned. “No problem at all, partner!” he answered. “You were the guy who made the TV World and Inaba a safer place to begin with! The hell we weren’t gonna update you with all the important details every chance we get! If anybody deserves to know everything going on about the TV World, it’s you.”

Yu smiled. “Now that we’ve talked about the important stuff, we can spend some time catching up. I only just got here in time to set up Ren’s welcome home party, after all. Gotta say,” a wistful look entered his eyes, “it still feels so weird seeing all of the modern apartment buildings covering a part of the town. Makes me feel like a part of the city’s finally come into Inaba.”

“Well, if you’re looking for a traditional atmosphere, the Amagi Inn is still staying true to its roots!” Yukiko cheerfully replied. “The only difference being that we finally have Wi-Fi!”

“About time!” Naoto of all people exclaimed. “You have no idea how annoying it was to bring my laptop to the Amagi Inn to get some detective-related work done, only to realize that I couldn’t do anything because there wasn’t any Wi-Fi!”

The friends of the Investigation Team began to talk and banter animatedly amongst themselves, discussing what else had changed since Yu’s last visit to Inaba and how each of them was doing.

None of them noticed Morgana retreat back up the stairs towards Ren, his mind reeling at the implications of what he had just witnessed.

Chapter Text

Despite the enormous importance of the information that Morgana had just stumbled upon, the feline Phantom Thief didn’t actually share his discoveries until the next morning. By the time Morgana had climbed back up the stairs to Ren’s bedroom, the young man was already fast asleep, having more or less collapsed on the bed the moment that he had replaced the dusty and abandoned blankets and pillows with new ones. As important as Morgana’s news was, it wasn’t an emergency that demanded Ren’s immediate attention.

Morgana crept back down the stairs towards Ren’s group of older friends, wondering if there was anything he could discover about them. Unfortunately for him, by that point they had changed their conversation to more mundane topics, and after few minutes he decided to just abandon his mission to gather intel. It wasn’t until late into the night when Yu Narukami and his friends decided to depart from Ren’s house and return home, with Yukiko using her spare key to lock the door and make sure that the house was kept safe for Ren.

Ren woke up the next morning to Morgana shaking his shoulder with his paws. “Urrggghhhh…what the heck, Morgana?” he groggily complained. “It’s only been yesterday that I’ve come back home from Tokyo, you can’t let me sleep in for just ONE more day? I’m not even going to school yet!”

“Ren, normally I wouldn’t bother you like this, but we need to talk,” Morgana answered seriously. His tone immediately caught Ren’s attention, for his feline companion only adopted this tone whenever he was preparing to talk about Phantom Thief business. “I kept this bottled up inside me all night, I can’t hold off anymore.”

“What is it?” Ren grumbled, still not happy about being rudely awakened like this.

Morgana stared intensely into Ren’s eyes. “Ren…I overheard your friends from yesterday while they were hanging out in your living room. They’re Persona users, Ren. ALL of them. And if I understood them correctly, there’s a cognitive world in this town, too. A world that has its own Shadows that they called the TV World.”

It took a few moments for Ren to process Morgana’s revelation, but once he did fatigue made a very fast exit. “Are you sure about this?” he asked, matching Morgana’s gaze with his own.

Morgana nodded. “Completely.”

Ren climbed out of his bed. “I’m going to take a shower so that I can properly wake up,” he declared. “Then, we’re gonna talk about this.”

Morgana nodded as the teen proceeded to do exactly that. Once he had taken his hot shower and was fully awake, Ren sat at the work desk in his room, one that reminded him a little of the one Sojiro had let him use back in LeBlanc. Morgana leapt onto the desk, ready to start their conversation. “Part of me still feels bad about the fact that we know about Yu and our friends’ Persona-related secrets while they don’t know anything about us,” Ren admitted with a sigh, “but I guess it can’t be helped right now. What did you hear them talk about?”

“I didn’t understand everything they were saying, but it sounds like all of them are Persona users, and Yu Narukami was the leader,” Morgana explained. “Like I said before, their cognitive world is something they call the TV World, and from what I heard it sounds like they had their adventure back in…2011, I think?”

Ren’s eyes narrowed. “2011?” he repeated. “Are you certain?”

“Yeah,” Morgana nodded, more confidently. “I know I heard one of them mention that year specifically.”

“Holy shit…” Ren mumbled. “That was the year when those TV murders and kidnappings I talked to you about happened. With how those two murdered women were hung upon a TV antenna and a telephone pole, and the fact that they called their cognitive world the TV World…I think that Midnight Channel legend might be a lot more real than I thought…” he leaned back into his chair wearily, “…and I think the bad version of that legend that might be the real one.”

Morgana shuddered at the disturbing implications. Now he really didn’t want Ann to ever show up on the Midnight Channel. Ever. “I think Yu Narukami and those friends of yours might have gone on their own Fool’s Journey, just like you did with us, Ren,” the embodiment of hope theorized. I think they had their own adventure with the TV World as a cognitive world full of shadows, and I think they might’ve defeated a cognitive god just like we did.”

“There was a lot of weird things going on in 2011,” Ren admitted. “There was this really strange and intense fog that kept popping up at times, and it got especially bad towards December. But then, towards the end of December, the fog just…vanished from the town completely. I don’t know if Yu and the others had anything to do with that, but it’s definitely possible.” A thought suddenly just occurred to Ren. “Did you learn anything about that cognitive god they beat?”

Morgana snickered. “Heh heh heh, course I did!” he boasted, before going back to being serious. “They called that cognitive god they defeated Izanami. From what I heard, it sounded like Izanami was a bit like Maruki in that she wanted to make humanity happy with a great lie...” his brow furrowed in confusion, “but it sounded like she wanted to them happy by turning them into shadows?”

“The hell?” Ren bluntly replied. “That sounds like a fucking god-awful idea.”

His feline companion shrugged. “Don’t look at me, I’m just telling you what I heard,” he replied. “And another thing that’s kinda confusing about that cognitive god…apparently, she didn’t actually die after being beaten by Yu and his team. She gave up on her evil plans and turned into someone else, becoming the main protector of that cognitive world…someone named Marie?”

“Wait, seriously?” Ren interrupted in shock. “I know Marie!”

“You do?” Morgana exclaimed, clearly not expecting to hear that kind of answer from Ren.

“Yeah, she’s part of Yu’s close group of friends,” Ren explained. “I’m not quite as close to her as I am with Yu and the others, but we get along pretty well for the most part. She’s Inaba’s celebrity weatherwoman, famous for predicting the weather with 100% accuracy for 5 years. You’re telling me SHE’S been a cognitive goddess this whole time?”

Morgana shuddered. “I guess. Luckily, it sounds like Marie turned good or something, because after they beat her, she’s been serving more as a protector of the TV World instead of trying to use it for evil plans. And it sounds like they didn’t have any problems up until last year.”

Ren’s face darkened. “Yeah, when Yaldabaoth decided to be a giant piece of shit and fuck up everything,” he growled.

This time, when Morgana chuckled, there was absolutely zero humor in his voice. “You have no idea how true that is when you say Yaldabaoth fucked up everything,” he replied. “Apparently, Yaldabaoth’s influence had gotten so powerful that he was actually able to affect the cognitive world here. He was able to distort the TV World and make the previously peaceful Shadows more aggressive and dangerous, and he wasn’t even focusing on the TV World at the time. With how powerful Yaldabaoth had become, he could have easily defeated or even killed Marie and taken over the TV World by himself if he actually gave a shit about it.”

Ren sighed. “We’re lucky that whatever distortion caused by Yaldabaoth in the TV World didn’t spill out into the real world, as far as we know,” he commented with a frown. “It would’ve been really bad if people started ending up as corpses because of the TV World again.”

“Yeah,” Morgana agreed, “and even after you killed Yaldabaoth with Satanael, the TV World is still distorted both from Yaldabaoth and Maruki’s influence. I think it’s possible we might need to fight some Shadows at some point now that you’re back here.”

“And that brings us to the big question, doesn’t it?” Ren decided to get straight to the point. “Whether or not I should tell Yu and my friends that I’m not just a Persona user, but a Wild Card like Yu and a leader of the Phantom Thieves.”

“That’s up to you, Ren,” Morgana replied. “That’s your call to make as the leader. And besides, they’ve never heard me talk in the Metaverse or the TV World or whatever, so I couldn’t spill the beans even if I wanted to.”

Ren stayed silent for several moments as he pondered the possibility. “…if it was just my secret to share, I probably would share it with Yu and the others,” he admitted. “But that’s the thing, it isn’t just my secret to share. I showed them the photo of me and my closest friends. If I came out and revealed myself as a Phantom Thief, then they’ll likely put two and two together and realize that everyone in that photo is a Phantom Thief just like me. So it’s not just my secret to share, and I don’t want to expose my friends and do something that could be considered breaking their trust unless I have a very good reason for it.” The leader of the Phantom Thieves sighed. “But I also feel bad for keeping this a secret from them, especially when we know about their secret while they don’t know ours, and they’re some of the only few people left in Inaba who actually deserve my trust.”

Morgana didn’t answer, instead allowing Ren to collect and focus his thoughts. By now, the feline knew Ren well enough that he would come up with a good solution after a few seconds of thinking things out, and this time wouldn’t be any different.

“Right now, there isn’t really any practical reason for me to tell Yu and the others about me being a Persona user or me being the Phantom Thieves,” Ren decided. “If a situation comes up where I need to reveal that to them, or if they figure out on their own and ask me about it, then I’ll be completely honest with them. But I’m not gonna just tell them out of blue if there’s no point. I think that’s as fair of a compromise to myself as I can possibly come up with.”

Morgana nodded and grinned toothily. “I think that’s a pretty smart way to go about it. Hopefully, whatever that TV world thing is, it won’t be a problem and we won’t ever have to worry about it.”

Ren groaned. “Why did you have to jinx it?” he mumbled, but he couldn’t resist a small smile himself as he got up from the desk.

“There’s one last thing,” Morgana suddenly remembered. “There’s some thing really weird about that guy with the blond hair…Teddie, I think he was called?”

“Teddie’s always been weird like that,” Ren commented. “He kinda operates on his own wavelength.”

“No, it’s something different. I know it’s crazy, but…my nose doesn’t lie. It almost smells like Teddie is a Shadow of some kind, or related to Shadows in some way. I don’t know how there’s a Shadow wandering around in the real world like that, but I’m sure of it!” Morgana insisted.

Ren processed Morgana’s words for several seconds, then shrugged. “If Teddie is a Shadow, then he’s the goofiest, most un-Shadowy Shadow I’ve met in my entire life. Either way, I’ve known him for years now and the worst he’s ever done is be annoying. I’m not gonna make it my problem unless it becomes my problem.”

“All right…” Morgana was still clearly disconcerted by the possibility, but seeing Ren’s apparent lack of concern over the matter he dropped the subject.

“Anyways, I think it’s time we get out of this house for a change,” Ren declared. I need to go buy some groceries at Junes so that we don’t go hungry…and so that I can make curry for Yu and everyone else.”

Morgana looked down at his friend’s wallet in concern. “Are you sure you have enough money for that?” he asked worriedly. “Your wallet doesn’t look like it has all that much.”

Ren only smirked in response, an expression that Morgana had seen all too often on the face of Joker. “Oh, I have a lot more money than you think I do, Morgana.” He walked over to the duffel bag that he had been carrying on the train. “In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I have more money than anyone else in Inaba.” He opened the duffelbag, and the feline’s jaw dropped as Ren started taking out bills from the bag and piling them onto the floor. He could only stare in stupefied incomprehension as Ren took out more and more bills from his bag until the entire floor was positively covered in money. “What the FUCK, Ren?” Morgana spluttered as Ren snickered at his so very Ryuji-like reaction. “That’s like…ten million yen, at least!”

“Oh, it’s more than that,” Ren “reassured” him as he started putting the money away in one of the larger compartments of his desk. “You have no idea how much money we’ve gotten from killing Shadows in Mementos, especially once I gave those stamps to Jose and he smacked the walls of Mementos to give us even more money. I’d be set for a good several years even if I gave some of this away to the others and I decided not to work a single day once I start college. I can tell you right here and now that we won’t have to worry about going hungry for a good long while.”

“No kidding!” Mona spluttered. “I don’t think the others even know how much money you actually have from all the Shadows we’ve killed.”

“Hey, I repeatedly offered to share some of that money with them,” Ren pointed out as he tucked away a few bills in his wallet. “They refused each and every time. And I’m sure not gonna let this much money go to waste, especially if I have to take care of myself and you without my parents around to help out.” He got up and started taking out some clothes from his drawer. “You mind leaving the room for a bit? I need to go change my clothes.”

Morgana jumped off the desk and walked out of the room as Ren changed into a black and white shirt and pants, an outfit that ironically was very similar to the one that he had worn that fateful night when he had tried and failed to stop Shido from sexually assaulting that woman out in the streets of Inaba. With his wallet secure, Ren left the room, climbed down the stairs, and walked out of the house with Morgana following close behind.

“You’re gonna have to keep yourself hidden in some way,” Ren warned as they navigated through the streets. “Junes generally doesn’t allow pets inside, at least not in the food section. I didn’t care about that back in Shujin because I don’t give a fuck about that school’s rules, but I don’t want to get in trouble at Junes or get Yosuke or Teddie in trouble if they’re around.”

“No worries,” Morgana answered confidently. “I can wait outside.”

Despite a year having passed since he had last step foot in Inaba, Ren was able to remember the way to the Junes Department Store without any difficulty. As he stepped foot into the large department store that had been one of the first major steps towards Inaba’s modernization, Ren couldn’t help but smile wistfully. He had hung out several times here with his friends, Yosuke and Nanako in particular, and Junes still remained one of his favorite places to this day.

“Hey, Ren!”

Ren looked up to see Yosuke waving at him lazily and giving him an easygoing smile. “You’re stopping by Junes earlier than I expected,” the young man commented.

“Well, my parents emptied the fridge when they got the hell out of town,” Ren explained nonchalantly. “I’ve gotta get out and refill it if I don’t want to starve in a couple of days.”

Yosuke chuckled. “Yeah, I get that,” he replied as he accompanied Ren into the food section. “So how was being in the city like for ya? You’re kinda like the opposite of me and Yu, cause we were big city kids forced to go out into the country. I have to admit, I did kinda hate Inaba at first cause I thought it was so boring, but staying here for a couple of months made me really appreciate this place a lot more.”

“Does that have anything to do you with getting your Persona?” Ren couldn’t help but wonder, although he obviously didn’t say this question out loud. “It had its ups and downs. Things started out kinda shitty since that asshat Kamoshida leaked my record to the school on day 1, but once I started making some more friends things turned out a lot better.” He sighed. “I’m gonna miss it, honestly, and not just cause most of the friends I’ve made closer to my age are there. There’s a lot of things to do in the city that I won’t be able to do here, like this bathhouse that was practically right next to where I live.”

“Heh, a hot bath like that sounds pretty nice if there aren’t a bunch of old dudes hanging out there taking everyone’s place,” Yosuke commented as they made their way over to the food section of Junes. “Then again, I guess you could always head over to the Amagi Inn if you wanted to take a bath in their hot springs.”

“Nothing beats the hot springs over there,” Ren agreed as he started browsing through the department store’s many different food selections. Although he didn’t remember every single ingredient that Sojiro incorporated into his countless different curry varieties, he absolutely made sure to pay attention to the essentials and started picking them out from the shelves. He was honestly quite grateful for the “locally produced section” that Junes had incorporated back in 2012, as it had several of the key ingredients that Ren would need to really make curry worthy of Café Leblanc and Sojiro’s approval.

Yosuke breathed a sigh of relief as Ren picked out his ingredients. “Glad to see that everything you’re picking out makes sense so far,” he couldn’t help but comment. “Not seeing anything too ridiculous.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?” he wondered.

“Well, since the girls aren’t here…back in the day, their cooking straight-up sucked ass,” Yosuke cringed at the memories. “We had a school camping trip, and they made curry so atrociously bad it was straight-up inedible. Like, I seriously don’t think it’s possible for me to make curry that bad if I was actively trying to. We called it…Mystery Food X,” he finished dramatically.

“That bad?” Ren asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” Yosuke confirmed grimly. “I mean, nowadays, I’ll admit they’ve gotten better, but back in the day…do you think someone who puts foie gras in a freaking omelette would make good curry?”

Ren cringed at the very idea. He quickly added on his mental checklist to never have any of the girls (besides maybe Naoto) make curry for Sojiro. If they somehow managed to recreate this dreaded Mystery Food X in front of him…Ren had the distinct feeling Sojiro would either have a heart attack on the spot, or launch into an angry rant about how it was a blasphemy to all things curry. “Well, you don’t have to worry about me making Mystery Food X Take 2,” he commented as he finished gathering his groceries and made his way over to the cash register.

Despite Yosuke technically being on break, he had zero issue with taking a little extra time to help Ren sort out buying his groceries. “Are you gonna be all right with cash?” Yosuke couldn’t help but ask. “I don’t know how much cash you brought with you from Tokyo, and I don’t know how much money your parents left you with before they fled town. If you need help with money, I can ask Yu to give you some yen until you can get a decent cash flow in yourself,” he offered.

Ren smiled and shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, Yosuke, but I’m good. I can say with absolutely certainty that money won’t be a problem for me in the slightest.”

Yosuke shrugged. “Suit yourself,” he replied as he finished putting Ren’s groceries in bags. “Still got a little time left if you wanna hang out.”

“Actually, I do need your help with something,” Ren replied. “I need a new Wifi router for my house. I think my parents returned theirs or something before they fled Inaba, and if I don’t have Wifi then I’m gonna be stuck doing a whole bunch of nothing at home.”

Yosuke laughed. “I can see that,” he agreed. “Sure, I’ll take you over to the Electronics section. Maybe there’ll be something you can buy. You really must not have any issues with money at all, though, if you can just buy a wifi router on the spot without any problems.”

“You have no idea,” Ren thought with a chuckle as they made their way over to the Electronics section. As they approached that part of the department store, Teddie suddenly came barreling towards them in his mascot outfit.

“Yosuke! Renren!” the mascot of Junes cheerfully greeted them. “I didn’t think I’d see you over here today!”

“Hey, Teddie!” Ren greeted him with a lazy wave. “What’ve you been up to?”

“Oh, just checking on the TV…” Teddie began.

“Teddie!” Yosuke sharply interrupted him.

“…the TVs!” Teddie finished, the last two words notably more subdued than the rest. And Ren was relatively certain that this was not what Teddie was originally going to say.

“Nobody saw you do anything weird, right?” Yosuke asked carefully. “You know that we could get into a lot of trouble if you messed up.”

“Sheesh, Yosuke, I’ve been doing this for years! I’m fine!” Teddie reassured him with a flash of irritation.

Yosuke raised his arms up in surrender. “Okay, okay, just making sure!”

Ren raised an eyebrow. He had a pretty good idea at this point what Yosuke and Teddie were actually talking about, but he figured it was better to act clueless for now. “What are you guys talking about?” he asked.

Unsurprisingly, Yosuke brushed off his question. “Don’t worry about it,” he answered, his normally emotional tone giving nothing away. “Let’s help you look for that Wifi router you need for your house, Ren.”

The three men walked into the electronic devices section, and as they made their way through the wing, Ren couldn’t help but notice a large flat TV screen to his left, a TV screen that was mixed in with several other TV screens that were similar in size. It should’ve barely been worth more than a second or two of Ren’s time, and yet there was something about that specific TV that gave him a bizarre feeling. Almost as though he were being drawn to it…

“Renren?” Teddie’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “You okay?”

Ren shook his head. “What? Oh, sorry. Just couldn’t help but notice that TV there.”

Yosuke chuckled. “Well, if you’re looking to buy it, I hate to disappoint ya,” he replied. “That particular TV is for display only. I actually suggested that it be a mainstay of the electronic display several years ago, and it’s still part of our Junes display showcase to this day.” He gave Ren an odd look. “You’ve must’ve seen that TV before, but you’ve never talked about it like that.”

Ren put on a mask of casual indifference. “I don’t know,” he replied, making sure his tone matched his face. “I think it’s just the whole not-being-here-for-a-year thing that’s messing with my head a bit. Making me notice little things that I didn’t realize were there a year ago until they were gone.”

Yosuke shrugged. “Eh, I didn’t feel the same way about the city, but maybe it’s just you.” He pointed behind his shoulder. “The routers you’re looking for are right over there, by the way.”

“I can show you the one Yuki-chan got for the Amagi Inn!” Teddie cheerfully offered.

“Sure, that’s as good a place to start as any,” Ren agreed.

“By the way, we are good for curry at your place, tonight, right?” Yosuke asked with a wink. “You did say that it was some of the best in the business, and how can I turn down an offer like that? The others are just excited about that as I am. You know Chie loves her meat!”

Ren laughed. “I couldn’t possibly disappoint her. Let’s get that Wifi router, then. Sooner I get back home to set all this up, the better.”

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Teddie cheered.

Yosuke and Teddie began escorting Ren away from the TV. And while Ren didn’t spare the seemingly innocent TV a second glance, his thoughts were very much focused on it. He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew exactly what that TV was, and why Yosuke and Teddie were trying to secretly draw Ren’s attention away from it.

And while he didn’t have any reason to go looking for trouble…it was still good to know where a potential entry to the cognitive world could be, if he ever needed it.

Meanwhile…

Yu Narukami quietly walked down the streets, focused on his destination. Unlike Ren, who lived in the newer half of Inaba that had undergone some degree of modernization thanks to the efforts of leaders like Taro Namatame, the person who Yu was going to see this morning preferred to live in the older and more traditional part of Inaba. Marie had never been a fan of how Inaba was slowly transforming to be more like the city that Yu had grown up in, but she respected the will of humanity and humanity’s decisions, including what it thought was best for Inaba.

It was honestly both heartwarming and relieving to see Marie grow as a person and as an entity who actually respected the free will of the people rather than trying to force her own twisted vision on it. The changes were subtle, but Yu could see that Marie had genuinely become happier after accepting the role of guardian and protector of Inaba and its cognitive world, rather than its master. There had been a small part of Yu at first that had been afraid that Marie would one day revert back to the twisted goddess she had been as Izanami, but those fears had gradually diminished and vaporized into nothing as the years passed and Marie adopted the persona of Mariko Kusumi in full.

Of course, that wasn’t to say that there weren’t moments when Marie’s Izanami aspect showed up every once in a while. Every so often, Marie would make a frustrated comment about humans making poor decisions or being too blind to see the truth in front of them, comments that would have been perfectly in-character coming from Izanami-no-okami’s mouth. But then again, Yu wasn’t really sure if that was really aspects of Izanami’s personality coming out of Marie, or just general frustration with human stupidity, a trait that one didn’t need to be a cognitive deity to experience.

God knows how many times Yu had felt that very frustration when Ren had been arrested and everyone had blindly followed the false narrative that Shido had created.

Yu approached a seemingly unassuming house that kind of reminded him of the Dojimas’, just one many similar-looking buildings in this particular neighborhood. There was even a little garden to the side of the house itself, one that emulated the garden that he, his uncle, and Nanako had grown together. “I’ll have to share some gardening tips with her one day,” Yu thought idly as he approached her front door and knocked.

“What do you want?” a familiar voice sharply asked from the other side.

Yu winced. “Not one of Marie’s better days, then,” he mumbled. Generally, as the years had passed, Marie had become politer and friendlier when greeting others. Then again, considering what everyone had told him last night, he couldn’t blame Marie for being grumpier than usual.

“It’s me, Marie!” Yu shouted back. “It’s Yu!”

There was a moment of silence, and then Yu could hear footsteps running towards the door. The door swung open, revealing Marie. She was wearing an outfit very similar to what she had originally worn in 2011, back when her multiple aspects had still been split off from herself. “Stupidjerkfacecouldn’tcomehereanysooner?” Marie grumbled, before sighing and letting the tension ease off her face. “I’ve missed you,” she muttered.

“Yeah, I missed you too, Marie. I’m sorry I couldn’t get here any sooner,” Yu apologized with a charming smile. “From what the others have told me, things have gotten really weird both here and back in the city.”

Marie scoffed. “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it. Kinda hard to fight off against the influence of two cognitive gods more powerful than you.”

“Well, the good news is, I don’t need you to go into the full details about what’s going on with the TV World, the others filled me on that just fine,” Yu reassured her. “I’m here to see if you’re doing all right, and also if there’s anything else that I need to know about.” He shrugged. “Things like, I don’t know, the Velvet Room, I guess? If there were cognitive gods getting beaten by Persona users, odds are something must have been going on with it.”

“Well, I’m doing all right, just taking a break from my job,” Marie reassured him. Then, to Yu’s surprise, the goddess in the form of a young weather reporter scowled, “but I can’t say the same for the Velvet Room.” She moved aside from the doorway, allowing Yu to come in. “I don’t know the full details, but let’s just say that the Velvet Room has really, really gone to shit over the past year.”

Chapter Text

The inside of Marie’s house was rather minimalistic in style and decoration, looking not too different from the inside of the Dojimas’ own household. Yu couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia at the familiarity, thinking back to all the fond memories he had shared in 2011 and how they had changed his life for the better.

“So what do you already know?” Marie asked bluntly, clearly not interested in doing anything other than getting straight to the point. That was perfectly fine as far as Yu was concerned; he didn’t want to waste time with small talk either. Yu quickly updated Marie on everything he had learned from the Investigation Team, including the two cognitive gods who had risen and fallen, and how the TV World had become distorted because of the influence of those gods.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Marie confirmed when Yu had finished giving his report. “Everyone’s been chipping in and doing their part keeping the Shadows under control, but you definitely can’t just waltz in and expect everything to be fine and dandy like it was after you beat my Izanami-no-okami side. And with how distorted everything’s been, I can’t guarantee that some people’s personal shadows won’t try and get up-close-and-personal like they did back in 2011. We all know what happens then…stupidcognitivegodsmessingaroundwithmytown…” she finished with a grumble.

“But there’s something that concerns me,” Yu frowned. “What’s been going on with the Velvet Room during all this? You said that the Velvet Room had completely gone to shit…how bad could things have possibly gotten?”

Marie sighed, looking genuinely saddened, and immediately Yu could tell that he wasn’t going to like her answer. “I wasn’t able to find this out until a month or two ago, but you know how the Velvet Room is supposed to be the main way for Wild Cards like you to fight back against cognitive gods who want to enslave or destroy all of humanity?”

“Yeah…”

Marie scowled. “Well the Velvet Room itself was taken over by the first cognitive god. The really evil one. He managed to ambush Igor, imprison him, and take his place by pretending to be him.”

Yu’s jaw dropped in horror. “Please tell me you’re joking,” he begged.

Marie shook her head. “I wish I was, Yu. I really wish I was.”

Yu collapsed onto Marie’s sofa. “Holy fuck,” he mumbled. This was somehow even worse than his most pessimistic estimations of the situation, and he’d already had a bad feeling about all this before learning this latest bit of depressing and horrifying news. “And I’m guessing this fake Igor kicked out all the attendants, or stopped all of them from getting in?”

“You got it,” Marie answered dryly. “Kicked me out, kicked Margaret out, the only attendant that he kept was one that he split in two and gave both halves amnesia so that he could manipulate them into doing whatever he wanted.” She grimaced. “Really fucked up, if you asked me.”

Yu was equally as disturbed. “I didn’t even know splitting a Velvet Room in half like that was even possible,” he commented.

Marie snorted. “Neither did any of us, until it happened for the first time. The cognitive god that took over…some asshole with a weird name like Yabadabadoo or some shit I don’t care enough to remember, he was putting up a front about how the next Wild Card’s fate and all of humanity were fucked unless he underwent some “rehabilitation,” but really it was all just bullshit that he used to justify enslaving all of humanity.”

Yu felt a wave of sympathy for that Wild Card. “Honestly, if even the Velvet Room itself was corrupted and twisted away from its true purpose…I can only imagine just how rough that new Wild Card’s journey really was.”

Marie smiled for the first time since starting the conversation. “Well, he did it though,” she answered with visible relief. “Somehow, despite the frankly batshit insane odds he was up against, that Wild Card managed to fight back and kill that evil cognitive god who was distorting the hell out of Tokyo. Not just defeat like you guys did with my Izanami side. I’m saying straight-up kill.” Her smile turned vicious, and for a split-second Yu could see the same malicious satisfaction that had once been on Izanami’s face. “Bastard got what he was coming to him, if you ask me.”

“Do you know who this new Wild Card is?” Yu wondered. “I feel like I should find out where he is and go over to personally thank him for everything he’s done.”

Marie shook her head. “I don’t know,” she admitted, “and I don’t think I’d be able to tell you even if I did. When I asked the Nose about it, all he said was,” she turned her voice high-pitched in a goofy imitation of Igor’s, “it is not our place to arrange for Wild Cards to cross paths. If their destinies are intertwined, then their paths will cross in their own time.”

Yu failed to suppress a snicker as Marie turned her voice back to normal. “Personally, I feel like the Nose is just spouting shit to troll everyone half the time,” she commented dryly.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Yu agreed with a chuckle, before frowning. “Is everyone okay?” he asked, all humor gone from his voice. “It sounds like some serious shit went down in the Velvet Room, and I’d hate to hear that anybody got hurt.”

“Everyone’s doing okay as far as I know,” Marie reassured him. “I don’t think the second cognitive god knew about the Velvet Room, so they didn’t attack or imprison anyone there like the first one did. Margaret’s also come back now that the Room’s been freed, so you should be able to get to it in the Central Shopping District again. You might actually meet that new Wild Card’s attendant, although she wasn’t there last time I checked in on the Velvet Room.” She frowned. “Don’t be surprised if the Nose isn’t there right now, though. From what I’ve heard, it sounds like he’s gonna be taking a nice long vacation for the next couple of months while shit settles down.”

“I probably will once I’m done here,” Yu agreed.

“Margaret still has your old Compendium and I still have all those skill cards, so we can get you all prepped up to kick some Shadows’ asses if we need you around to do some clean-up duty,” Marie offered, though she was quick to add a warning. “Your Personas might be different from what they were before. A lot of shit has changed in the TV World, and it’s not just because of those cognitive gods fucking around.”

Yu smirked. “Marie, with all the farming and shadow killing I did and still do every so often, money is literally not a problem and hasn’t been for years. But yeah, I’ll definitely go check on the Velvet Room after we’re done here.” He got up from the sofa. “Anything else you wanted to talk about before I headed out?”

“Yeah, just one other thing? How’s Ren doing?” Marie asked, now looking more apologetic than anything. “Sorry I couldn’t come to that party last night, by the way. The stupid news station forced me to work late last night. I should summon a rainstorm over their stupid heads…” she grumbled.

“Ren’s doing all right, as far as I can tell,” Yu answered with a smile. “He looked pretty tired after a long train ride, and I could tell that he still misses Tokyo, but otherwise I didn’t notice anything off in particular. He’s actually offered to make curry for all of us at his house tonight. Do you want to come?”

Marie smiled. “You know, I think I’ll take you up on that offer,” she decided. “I did miss the little fluffy-haired guy.”

“Great,” Yu replied as Marie guided him over to the front door. “I’ll find out what time we’re gonna be having dinner then and let you know.”

“Hopefully it’ll be better than anything Red or Green makes,” the local goddess couldn’t help but comment sarcastically. “That Mystery Food X shit could probably kill a shadow.”

Yu couldn’t help but laugh at the snide remark as he left Marie’s house behind, though the humor quickly faded as he made his way over to the Central Shopping District. To his relief, the entrance to the Velvet Room was located right where it had always been back when he and his team had tried to solve the Foggy Day murders, located squarely between the bookstore and Daidara Metalworks.

His relief quickly faded, however, when he realized that the ornate and decorative Velvet Room door had been replaced by a menacing jail cell door with a glowing blue interior, creating a far less welcoming impression than the entrance that he was familiar with. “Fuck me, I’m not gonna like what I’m going to see inside the Velvet Room, am I?” he muttered to himself.

It was a pointless question, and he knew it. With a sigh, Yu approached the Velvet Room jail door, which swung open in response to his key. Yu felt his consciousness enter the Velvet Room as it had countless times before, only this time he could see several links of black chains criss-crossing across the endless expanse before he finally arrived at the Velvet Room itself.

The moment he saw what the Velvet Room had transformed into, Yu realized that he was right to be afraid for its current state. The Velvet Room had always been a warm and comforting presence to Yu in its form as the inside of a limousine, with Igor and Margaret always there to provide help to him whenever he needed it. Now, however, it had been transformed into a grim and menacing prison that really hammered home just how badly the Room’s purpose had been twisted and perverted by the evil cognitive god. The prison gave off an oppressive atmosphere just from being inside it, and Yu had little doubt that the feeling would have been even worse while the cognitive god was still in control.

The entrance to the Velvet Room had landed Yu in one of the cells, although the cell door in front of him was actually wide open. Yu hesitantly approached the open doorway and reached a hand out towards it. Feeling no resistance, Yu steeled himself and stepped into the center chamber that all the cell doors were connected to. He relaxed a little when nothing happened, although he couldn’t help but frown at the empty desk in front of him. Like Marie had warned, Igor wasn’t anywhere to be found, and he couldn’t see anyone else around him either…

“…a rather depressing sight, isn’t it?” a soft, mature female voice asked from behind him. Yu turned to see Margaret standing behind him a few steps to the right. The young woman-appearing attendant who had helped him countless times during his Fool’s Journey smiled warmly at him, but there was a heaviness and a sadness in her eyes that Yu was absolutely certain hadn’t been there before. “To see the Velvet Room twisted into such a grim appearance due to the usurpation of a false god…”

“Margaret,” Yu greeted her with a huge sense of relief, a weight that he hadn’t realized was present lifting from his soul. “I heard about what happened in Tokyo last year from my friends and from Marie. Is everyone okay?”

Margaret nodded. “Everyone is doing all right, now that the crisis has been averted,” she replied as she turned to face the empty desk. “As you can see, Master Igor will be taking an extended vacation so that he may recover from the ordeal that he has suffered at the Yaldabaoth’s hands. I myself was forced out of the Velvet Room when Yaldabaoth usurped it from my master and I had no way of returning to it, although I did not suffer any major harm to my own person.” She sighed. “As for my younger sister…”

“…Margaret? Is there someone else here? I wasn’t expecting us to have any visitors today,” the voice of a young girl interrupted.

Both Margaret and Yu turned to see a young girl standing a few feet away in front of another corridor that led out into darkness. Unlike Margaret, the girl had long golden hair flowing from the back of her head, and had the appearance of an adorable young child. But the golden eyes filled with wisdom and maturity, as well as the iconic blue Velvet Room dress, made the resemblance to Margaret unmistakable.

“Ah, Lavenza, you’re just in time!” Margaret greeted her with a smile, before gesturing towards Yu with a hand. “Lavenza, this is Yu Narukami. The Seeker of Truth who solved the mystery of the fog back in 2011, and my personal guest in the Velvet Room during that time. Yu, this is Lavenza, my younger sister and the personal attendant of our last guest.”

Yu gave her a charming smile. “A pleasure to meet you, Lady Lavenza,” he greeted her with a smooth and charming tone as he bowed his head in respect.

Lavenza giggled and gave him a small curtsy. “A pleasure to meet you as well, Yu Narukami.”

Margaret smiled at the warm interaction between the two. “As you can see, Lavenza, my guest’s charisma and charm are second to none,” she boasted.

“I have to respectfully disagree, sister,” Lavenza playfully challenged. “My own Trickster is no mere novice when it comes to those characteristics.”

“You’re making me blush, Margaret,” Yu joked, causing Margaret to smirk at him. Unfortunately, he had to turn the conversation to more serious matters. “I visited the Velvet Room today to check in on it and make sure that everyone was okay,” he explained to the new arrival. “Marie told me that it had been usurped by one of the cognitive gods.”

Lavenza scowled. “Yaldabaoth’s usurpation of this sacred place was unforgivable,” she growled fiercely, a glare in her eyes that made it clear to Yu that for all of Lavenza’s innocent and adorable appearance, she still had the same kind of power that Margaret had. “The abomination deserved nothing less than the death that my Trickster gave him.”

“You’re certainly not wrong,” Yu agreed. “I don’t know what it would be like to be split in half, but I can’t imagine it would be very pleasant.”

Lavenza gave him a reassuring smile. “Thank you for your concern, Seeker, but I am fine now that the false god has been defeated. The pain from that ordeal has long since faded away.” She sighed. “However, I do wish that I had gotten the opportunity to see the Trickster again. Now that he has returned to his home here, and there is a stable access point to the Velvet Room…

“Wait, WHAT?” Yu exclaimed. “The Trickster lives here in Inaba???”

Margaret gave Lavenza a sharp look. “Sister, you should be more careful about the information you let slip,” she scolded gently but firmly. “You know we are not allowed to reveal the identities of Wild Cards to each other.”

Lavenza flushed with embarrassment. “My apologies. As my sister has stated, we cannot expose the identity of the Trickster. Master Igor was particularly insistent on this rule before he departed for his vacation.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Yu reassured her gently, although inside his mind was reeling from the implications. If the Trickster lived in Inaba, then trying to figure out who he was had just become a realistic possibility.

Margaret smiled. “Thank you for your understanding, Yu. Now that the Velvet Room has been freed from Yaldabaoth’s usurpation and we are able to return, I can continue to offer you the same services that you used during your quest to solve the mystery of the fog in 2011. Marie can also come here as well, and we have your catalogue of skill cards for you to purchase any that you may need at your earliest convenience.” Her voice took on a sterner edge. “I should warn you, however, that some of the elemental affinities of your Personas have changed to reflect the ever-evolving state of the human conscious.”

“I’ve actually heard about that,” Yu commented. “Rise told me that there were new Psy, Nuke, and Gun attacks that weren’t there back in 2011.”

“Indeed,” Lavenza confirmed with a nod of her head. “There are also new types of attacks called Technical Attacks. Whenever one is afflicted with a status condition, certain elements may strike them with a particular effectiveness akin to hitting an elemental weakness, despite the victim not being weak to that element normally.”

“I see…” Yu mulled the information over in his head. The next time he went into the TV World, he would need to make sure he had Personas which had immunities to the new elements in question. And he was also going to need to reconsider the importance of status effects and pay close attention to how Technicals worked. The last thing he wanted was to be knocked down by a weakness or a technical attack because he hadn’t been paying attention enough to recognize his vulnerabilities. “Is there anything else I need to know?” he asked.

Margaret sighed. “Unfortunately, you will not be able to fuse Personas at this time,” she regretfully informed him. “Master Igor had been in charge of fusing your Personas during your quest, and without him that particular service is unavailable.”

“The Trickster did have his own tools for fusing Personas,” Lavenza added solemnly. “However, the current state of the Velvet Room and its tools are a reflection of the Trickster’s own heart, twisted as they might have been by Yaldabaoth’s usurpation. So unfortunately, you cannot use them unless the Trickster offers to extend those services to you as a gesture of trust between Wild Cards.” She sighed. “It is a shame, but since the Trickster is currently not here, I suppose I will not need to bring out the mystical guillotines after all.”

“Wait wait wait,” Yu spluttered, making sure he had heard right. “Did you just say guillotines?”

“Indeed,” Lavenza answered without a single change in her inflection or tone, as though it were the most natural topic in the world. “Executing Personas with the guillotines is the traditional method through which the Trickster conducted fusions, although whenever an accident occurred, I would finish the job with my reliable chainsaw instead!”

“I…uh…uh…wha…” was all Yu could get out, as his mind suffered the equivalent of a violent train wreck at what Lavenza was saying.

“But I’m currently working on developing an alternate method to conduct fusions without Master Igor’s presence!” the young girl attendant brightly continued, either oblivious or indifferent to the mental blue-screen that Yu was going through. “I’ve made great progress in developing mystical Iron Maiden Sarcophagi to conduct fusions instead. The hardest part, of course, is making sure that there are enough spikes within the coffins to properly skewer the Persona to conduct the execution…”

“What the fuck. What the actual fuck,” Yu mumbled, thoroughly disturbed at what he was hearing. Either the false god had corrupted the nature of the Velvet Room even worse than he had thought, or this seemingly innocent and childlike Velvet Room attendant was secretly a violent sadist. And he had no idea which possibility was worse.

Margaret finally seemed to notice Yu’s discomfort. “Sister, perhaps now would not be the proper time to discuss the intricacies of the Trickster’s fusion methods,” she interrupted. Yu felt incredibly thankful for the rescue attempt. “If you can find the Trickster, and if he agrees to share those tools with you as a gesture of trust, then you will be able to utilize those tools to their fullest extent,” Margaret declared. “I can assure you that these tools would assist the growth of your own Personas greatly, were you to use them.”

“Indeed, and the opposite is also true,” Lavenza added with a smile. “If you were to offer your own resources, namely the collection of skill cards that you had acquired for Marie, my Trickster would also be able to fully utilize them as well.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Yu replied, and he meant it. Despite the rather disturbing nature of his Velvet Room, this mysterious Trickster had not only saved Tokyo, humanity, and the TV World from the distorting influence of two cognitive gods, but he had also fought for and protected the truth in his own way. That alone had secured him Yu’s respect and admiration, and he had the strong feeling in his gut that he and the Trickster would be great friends if they were to ever meet.

“I can sense that you will be departing from this place soon,” Margaret remarked. “I can offer to show you your compendium, so that you can see some examples of how your personas may have changed.”

Yu shook his head. “Thank you, Margaret, but I’ll pass for now. I need to think about what I’ve learned today, and trying to make sense of all the changes to my Personas on top of that would just muddle my thoughts further. I will come back before I enter the TV World, though.”

Margaret smiled at him. “As always, I am here at your service if you need my aid, Yu Narukami,” she offered kindly. “Marie will also provide any assistance that she can whenever she is here.”

Yu smiled back at her. “I really appreciate it, from both of you.” He turned to Lavenza and gave her another small bow. “And it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lavenza.”

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance as well, Seeker of Truth,” Lavenza returned with another polite curtsy. “I hope our paths cross again soon.”

“I’m sure we’ll see other again,” Yu replied, before turning around and walking back into the cell he had come in. He felt himself depart from the Velvet Room, travel through a seemingly infinite blue void past the links of chains, and return back to the Central Shopping District.

Coming to the Velvet Room had absolutely been worth it, there was no doubt about that. He had gotten a lot of information from Margaret and Lavenza, not the least of which was the revelation that the Trickster lived in Inaba. With that knowledge, trying to discover the identity of the Trickster in question had just become a realistic possibility, one that he was definitely going to share with his friends when he got the chance.

His phone buzzed, and Yu flipped it open to see a message from Yosuke.

Yosuke: Hey partner, you still down for dinner at Ren’s tonight? I helped the guy get some ingredients for curry earlier, and it already looks like he knows what he’s doing a hell of a lot more than the girls do.

Yu chuckled at the message. Potential investigations and reflections on what he had learned could come later. He had to admit, he was really looking forward to seeing how Ren’s cooking skills had developed during his stay in Tokyo. Especially when it was clear that he held his mentor in very high regard.

And hopefully, it would be enough to stave off the existential crisis that had started to grow in his mind from his encounter with Lavenza. “I mean seriously, guillotines and chainsaws and iron maidens?” he mumbled under his breath. “What’s next, electric chairs and hangings?”

Chapter Text

While Yu was busy trying to fight off an existential crisis from his meeting with Lavenza, Ren was making his way back home with Morgana and his groceries in tow, completely oblivious to the presence of the Velvet Room entrance in the Central Shopping District since the path leading back home from Junes didn’t include the District as part of it.

“So how was Junes?” Morgana asked as they made their way through the streets.

“Went pretty well,” Ren replied nonchalantly. “I ran into Yosuke and Teddie in Junes, they helped me get some groceries and we talked for a while.”

“You mean like kinda how you hung out with our friends and all those people out in Tokyo?” Morgana tilted his head curiously.

Ren thought for a moment. “Ehhh…kind of,” he answered after a few seconds of thought. “It wasn’t as long as a full confidant bond, those tend to last for most of the afternoon or night depending on when I do them. It was more like a miniature version of that, but I didn’t feel any bond form with either Yosuke or Teddie like they did with someone like Hifumi or Iwai.”

“Do you think you could form that kind of bond with any of your old friends?” Morgana wondered. “Those bonds always did come with a ton of cool perks that really helped us out with Phantom Thieving.”

Ren shook his head. “I honestly don’t think so. Like, maybe I could form one with Yosuke or Teddie over time, but something in my guts tells me I straight up can’t form bonds with any of them. And I think it’s because they’ve already formed that kind of bond with someone else.”

It didn’t take Morgana very long to think about who that could be. “Yu, right?” he guessed. He’d seen the way that Yu had more or less taken charge of the meeting with his and Ren’s friends last night, how they had all taken turns giving reports to Yu to update him on the status of the Velvet Room. Not to mention that Yosuke had explicitly namedropped Yoshitsune and Hassou Tobi, which by itself was almost enough to give away the fact that Yu was a Wild Card on its own. Ren had also wiped out both shadows and his enemies with Yoshitsune and Hassou Tobi without mercy, and the only way Yu could have access to that exact same persona and power was if he was a Wild Card too. “I guess Wild Cards can only form that kind of bond with one person per arcana at a time?”

Ren shrugged. “I don’t know that for sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised. But I don’t really mind that at all. Yu has his own group of close friends he formed confidant bonds with, and I’ve got mine back in Tokyo.” He smirked. “And speaking of Tokyo, I can’t wait to show them just how good Sojiro’s curry is.”

Morgana licked his lips with delight. “Ooh, I’m looking forward to this!” he declared joyfully. “I mean, your curry might not be quite at Sojiro’s level yet, but it’s gotten soooooo good. It’s the best thing ever to have whenever we were in the Metaverse and needed to fill up our SP. You gonna make any of Sojiro’s special recipes for this?”

Ren shook his head. “I was tempted to,” he admitted, “but I’m just gonna start with the classic LeBlanc curry. The more complicated you make something, the more likely you are to fuck it up. And I absolutely refuse to do anything that would even run the risk of disgracing the good names of Sojiro and Café LeBlanc.”

“That would be unforgivable,” Morgana readily agreed as they approached Ren’s house. He took out his key, slipped into the house, and locked the door behind him once Morgana had slipped in behind him. Ren put the bags of groceries on the table, getting to work taking them down and putting them in the fridge.

“You gonna do anything else for the day?” Morgana asked. “Like, I dunno, studying or something?”

Ren stared at Morgana as if he had grown a second head, while Morgana stared back at Ren. Then, the two thieves started laughing uproariously. “Oh, yeah, study,” Ren drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  “When I haven’t even started school at Yasogami High yet, and I don’t even know the slightest thing about the curriculum.”

“No tests, no homework, no nothing,” Morgana snickered. “Yeah, you’ve got better things to do. Like, literally anything else.”

Ren snorted. “Besides, I was always top in the class back at Shujin. Not so much cause I particularly gave a shit about the education itself, but it was mainly so I could help out Ryuji and Ann when they started struggling. That, and it always gave me shits and giggles to piss off all the students who thought they were better than me cause of my bullshit criminal record,” he added with a hint of smug satisfaction. “Not so high and mighty when the criminal delinquent is shitting on them in grades, are you?”

“I don’t feel bad for them, that’s for sure,” his feline companion agreed. “But in all seriousness, Ren, what are you gonna do until the evening? You’ve got a lot of time to kill until all your friends get here.”

Ren grinned, the expression perfectly matching the face of the Phantom Thieves. “First,” he declared with absolutely no hesitation, “I’m going to get this wifi router set up. And then, I’m gonna catch up with everyone I met in Tokyo.”

“That’s gonna take up the whole day?” Morgana asked incredulously.

Ren smirked. “You’d be surprised,” was all he said as he picked up the box containing the wifi router. “Keep in mind, even after we changed her heart and freed her from her depression, there’s still days where Futaba does nothing but spends time on her computer all day.”

“Touché,” Morgana conceded, deciding to lie down on the sofa and take a nap as Ren carried the wifi router up to his room. Having already worked with an old broken laptop that he had personally repaired during his time in Tokyo. Ren spent the next few minutes contacting the internet provider that his parents had used, and to his pleasant surprise and relief his parents had actually included him as an authorized user to make purchases related to things like cellular and Wifi. With some of the work already done for him, it didn’t take him very long to properly set up the wifi in his room, and once he was done Ren sat down on the table and took out his phone, eager to chat with his friends.

Ren: “So how are all you fine people today?”

Sumire: “Senpai! It’s so good to hear from you!”

Futaba: “Wheh heh heh, our fearless leader already returning to where he belongs!”

Ryuji: “Oh hey, it’s Ren! How’re ya doin, bro?”

Ann: “Oh my God, Ren! Did you get back home safely?”

Ren: “Heh, yeah, got back late last night. My friends back here threw me a welcome home party in my house.”

Haru: “Oh, how delightful! And your must’ve been so happy to see you back home too!”

Ren: “Actually, about that…”

Makoto: “What’s wrong, Ren? Is there something you haven’t been telling us?”

Leave it to Makoto to figure out when something was off pretty much instantly. Ren sighed. In hindsight, he should’ve just admitted up front that his parents weren’t with him in Inaba. Maybe it was because he didn’t want them to needlessly worry about him, or maybe he was afraid they would get the wrong idea about his parents. Either way, he should’ve just admitted this up front. “Oh well, no turning back now,” he muttered.

Ren: “My parents aren’t here in my house. Or in my town. They’ve left Inaba entirely.”

Yusuke: “Did they…abandon you? Are these the same type of filth who see the children under their care as nothing more than tools to be discarded or playthings to be crushed, like Madarame or Shido?”

Ann: “Ryuji, get us some fucking bats. One for each of us.”

Ryuji: “Got it. Nobody treats my best friend like a piece of shit!”

Haru: “You won’t need to supply me with a bat, Ryuji. I think the Fleur du Mal R will suit my needs just fine for this occasion!”

Shit. In the few seconds he had been thinking, his friends had already gotten the wrong impression.

Ren: “Woah, woah, WOAH! Let me stop you guys right there. My parents are NOT assholes. In fact, I’d go so far as to say they’re actually pretty great. They gave me a whole essay welcoming me home that I read on the train here.”

Futaba: “Can confirm, read the whole thing myself.”

Makoto: “Futaba, what we have told you about respecting people’s privacy?”

Futaba: “Normally I’d say I’ve never heard of her…but this is one time I actually feel kinda bad snooping in on it since I don’t want to disrespect parents who actually know how to do their goddamn jobs.”

Makoto: “Regardless, it is relieving to hear that your parents do actually care for you properly, Ren.”

Ren: “Well, as best as they could, anyway. Only so much you can do to protect your kid when you have to flee the country or risk getting killed. I do have the entire house to myself though, which is pretty awesome!”

Sumire: “Wait, your parents had to flee the country? Why? What could make them do something so drastic?’

Ren: “A certain bald, decrepit fucker who’s spending the rest of his life rotting in jail. Take a wild guess who it is.”

Ann: “Fucking Shido. Perverted, corrupt asshole always tries to ruin everything.”

Haru: “I could blame Akechi for many things, but seeing that miserable mongrel suffer is most certainly not one of them.”

Ryuji: “Well, good to hear that you parents aren’t complete dipshits like my dad was.”

Yusuke: “It is a shame. I would’ve been absolutely delighted to meet your parents if I ever had the opportunity to visit Inaba. Perhaps when they return, I could paint a picture of the three of you together.”

Ren: “Yeah, that might not be for a while, Yusuke. They’re stuck in America for now, I have no clue when they’ll be back.”

Futaba: “Sojiro knew about this, but Ren showed him the message from his parents and talked to him about it already. He’s not happy about Ren going home alone, but he respects why.”

Ann: “Hold on, Ren. You aren’t alone, are you?”

Makoto: “That is a good point. I can’t imagine that being falsely condemned with a criminal record would help your reputation, even if that record has already been overturned.”

Ren: “Pretty much everyone at my old school ditched me when the criminal record thing happened, which is fine because I stopped giving a shit about their opinions a long time ago. Nah, those friends I talked about earlier are a couple of older friends who I grew up with since I was a kid. I’m basically they’re little brother, and I’ve invited them to dinner at my house tonight so I can make them some of the famous LeBlanc curry.”

Futaba: “Ooh, you’re making Sojiro’s curry for them?

Ren: “Damn right.”

Futaba: “Dad’s gonna be so proud to hear that you’re following in his footsteps!”

Sumire: “If your curry is anything like what you’ve made for us on our Metaverse adventures, then your friends are going to eat every last bite! I know I did!”

Yusuke: “Indeed. Just thinking about Sakura-san’s curry invites feelings of wonder and inspiration within me like no other food I’ve ever eaten before!”

Haru: “Don’t forget to make them some of your precious coffee too, Ren-kun!”

Ren: “That’s definitely in the plan. Nobody should ever have the curry without the coffee for their first curry!”

Except for Caroline, Justine, or Lavenza. Especially Lavenza, if only because Ren was pretty sure giving her coffee would subsequently result in Café Leblanc or all of Yongen-Jaya getting blown up by a Megidolaon. He really would deserve to go to prison if he somehow fucked up that badly.

Makoto: “Who are your friends, exactly? You haven’t given us any picture or description or anything that would allow us to identify them.”

Ren smirked. Oh, he was going to show them all right...when the time was right. He knew full well that the identity of at least 1 or 2 of his older friends would cause certain hilarious reactions in people like Ann or Ryuji, and that kind of reveal needed to be saved for when he was ready to enjoy those reactions to the fullest.

Ren: “When I get a good picture of them, I’ll show them to you. Promise.”

Futaba: “I’ll hold off on hacking into your phone and trying to scout out some pictures, to make up for snooping in on your message from your parents.”

Ann: “I’m holding you to that, Ren!”

Ren: “A promise it is. Oh, and Morgana says hi to all of you.”

Haru: “Ooh, so hi to Mona-chan from us too!”

Ryuji: “As annoying as the guy can be, I do miss having him around. It just seems too damn quiet around here nowadays.”

Makoto: “We do miss you both, Ren. Hopefully we’ll get the chance to reunite soon enough.”

Sumire: “I’m looking forward to it! If I’m really lucky, I might be able to see you at a gymnastics meet or something similar!”

Ren smiled as he exchanged his good-byes to everyone. He had briefly considered revealing the fact that his older friends in Inaba were all Persona users too, but he had ultimately decided against it. Just as he had a responsibility to his friends to keep their identities as the Phantom Thieves and Persona users secret, so too did he have a responsibility to keep his older friends’ secrets hidden as well. Especially when it wasn’t a secret he was supposed to know in the first place. Instead, he changed the chat to the private messages between him and Sojiro.

Ren: “Hey, Sojiro. I’m gonna be making curry for some of my friends from Inaba tonight.”

Sojiro: “Oh? Already? I didn’t expect you to get settled in so soon.”

Ren: “Nah, the house was surprisingly well-kept considering the fact that my parents haven’t been in it for who knows how long. It looks better than LeBlanc’s attic did when I first got there. All I needed to do is fill the fridge with some groceries and freshen up the place a bit, and it’ll be good to go.”

Sojiro: “Well, I’m glad to see that you’ve got a roof over your head. And with how well you’ve handled yourself while living in LeBlanc, I’m not worried about how you’ll manage living in a home by yourself. You do know that if you have anywhere you need to stay, my house is always open to you. I think you’ve more than earned that right, after what you’ve done for Futaba.”

Ren felt the edge of his eyes tear up. “Thanks, Sojiro. If I ever need to take you up on that offer, I will,” he typed back.

He could see Sojiro smiling through the screen. “You’re welcome, Ren. With that being said, you said you were going to be making some curry tonight?”

Ren: “Yeah. I know there’s a lot of different kinds you’ve taught me how to make, but I figured I was going to start with the basic, by-the-book LeBlanc curry. No need to try anything crazy for my friends’ first time.”

Sojiro: “I think you’ve got the right idea. Let them enjoy the basics first, and then in the future add stuff to it to make them love it even more. It’s the strategy I use with customers who’re trying my curry out for the first time.”

Ren: “Perfect. I’ll be thinking of you when I make it, Sojiro. Hope you and Futaba are enjoying yourselves over there.”

Ren smiled as he ended the chat. For the next hour or two, he proceeded to reach out to all of his confidants who weren’t Phantom Thieves individually, letting them know that he had arrived safely back to his hometown in Inaba and that he was doing all right. Afterwards, he started getting to work cleaning the house properly.

Despite his claims to Sojiro that freshening up the house wouldn’t be very difficult, it actually did take longer than he expected. The house wasn’t nearly as dusty, dilapidated, or in a clear state of unuse as LeBlanc’s attic had been when he had first arrived, but it still took a while to clean by virtue of the fact that Ren had an entire house to clean rather than just one room.

Still, Ren had nothing else to do while he waited for his friends to come back for the evening, so it didn’t take too long for him to freshen up the house like he had planned. Though it still took him well into the afternoon, after which he took a shower and then a nap for a few hours until about 4:30 PM.

“Oh, that felt nice,” Ren mumbled when he woke up from his nap. He genuinely couldn’t remember the last time he had been able to simply put his head down and sleep during the day. Pretty much every day in Tokyo had required him to stay awake from dawn to dusk, whether it be a palace or Mementos infiltration, building up his confidant relationships, or other important tasks that demanded his attention as part of his Wild Card’s journey. Part of him missed the never-ending bustle of Tokyo life, but that didn’t mean he appreciated the opportunity to finally just lie down and chill for a couple of hours.

With the evening approaching, Ren wasted no time in getting out of bed, going down to the kitchen, and getting ready to make the curry he had promised his friends. He had gotten out all of the ingredients and was just about to turn the stove on when the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Guess they’re starting to arrive,” Ren thought as he put his cooking pot down on the stove and went over to open the door. When he opened it, Yu and Rise were waiting outside, the former with a tranquil smile on his face and the latter with a bubbly, eager expression.

“Heya, Renren!” Rise cheerfully greeted him. “We’re down for curry tonight, right?”

Ren grinned back at her. “You know it,” he replied as he invited Yu and Rise in. “It’s honestly pretty lucky that you guys were both in Inaba. You guys doing anything special here?”

“You mean besides being here to welcome you home?” Yu replied. “I actually had some other important business to take care of while I was here, and the best way to take care of that was to keep myself updated on what’s going around town. There were a few places I used to visit a lot way back when that I really needed to check in on.”

Ren had to admire Yu’s expert wordplay in his answer. It was completely true, while giving away absolutely nothing about Personas, cognitive worlds, or the Velvet Room. As tempting as it was to ask for more details, Ren didn’t want to pointlessly harass or antagonize Yu for no good reason. “What about you, Rise?” he asked instead.

“Oh, taking a break from working as an idol, you know the usual,” Rise answered cheerfully. “I can FINALLY let the public at large know that I have a boyfriend!” she winked at Yu, who smirked back in response as she started ranting. “Was getting real sick of creeps leering at me like I was a piece of meat. Hopefully this’ll finally sink the message in their heads that they should back the fuck off, or I’m REALLY going to get mad!”

“I’m sure some of them will still try to perv on my loving girlfriend,” Yu retorted with a dangerous cheerfulness that was laden with menace, “but anybody who tries will now have to deal with me.”

Ren snorted. It would take a truly fascinating brand of idiot to piss off both one of Japan’s most beloved idols, someone who Ren knew for a fact could have a fiery temper is sufficiently provoked, and her loving and loyal boyfriend who also happened to be a fully powered Wild Card. “Good luck to any dumb fuck stupid enough to try,” he drawled.

Rise giggled and Yu smirked at his response. “By the way,” Ren asked, “can I tell my friends that I’m friends with you, Rise? I know at least two of them who would completely flip their shit if I were to give them THAT particular news.”

This time, Rise laughed before giving her answer. “Go right ahead, Ren! Especially since one of your friends is Ann Takamaki. Try and take a picture of their reactions when you spill the beans!”

Ren snickered. “Will do,” he promised as the doorbell rang again. Over the next couple of minutes, the rest of his friends arrived at his house. First were Yosuke and Teddie, then Chie and Yukiko, and then finally Naoto and Kanji. The last to arrive was Marie, and it took both Ren and Morgana a considerable amount of discipline and self-control to not visibly react abnormally to her presence, knowing what he did about Marie secretly being a god. Once they were all here, Ren started cooking LeBlanc’s classic curry just as Sojiro had taught him how to.

It was funny, really. Ren hadn’t known how to cook anything, or had been particularly interested in cooking anything, prior to his trip to Tokyo. But after being treated to the wonders of Sojiro’s curry, learning just how delicious it was and how useful it had been in the Metaverse to replenish the Phantom Thieves’ SP, LeBlanc curry had easily skyrocketed to Ren’s most favorite food and something that he had fully dedicated to replicating as frequently and as expertly as possible.

And as he started cooking and preparing the curry, it was clear from his friends’ reactions that they were rapidly gaining the same appreciation that he had.

“Holy shit…” Kanji breathed. “Whatever curry Ren’s making in that kitchen, it smells really damn good!”

“I know…” Chie groaned, “my mouth is watering and my stomach is screaming for me to eat just from smelling it!”

“After a long day of work at the news station, I’m definitely ready for a delicious homemade dinner to make everything better,” Marie remarked.

Naoto smiled. “Clearly, some good has come out of Ren’s exile to Tokyo if he has learned how to make such a delicious-smelling meal from a culinary master.”

“And this is just the basic curry,” Ren called out from the kitchen where was hard at work making the curry. “My guardian knows how to make so many different kinds of curry, it’s not even funny. It’s honestly crazy just how different a curry can taste with just a few changes in ingredients, while still tasting just as amazing as ever!”

“Next time I go to Tokyo, I’m making it a point to stop by Café LeBlanc,” Yu declared. “I really need to meet this Sojiro guy, would love to learn a tip or two from him.”

Yosuke raised his eyebrows slightly. “Damn, and that’s coming from the best chef we have in our entire group.”

Teddie snickered. “I mean, the competition for that title isn’t very large…”

“Oh, shut it, you dumb bear!” Rise pouted. “You just don’t have the proper taste buds for our cooking!”

Yu merely glanced at her, unimpressed. “Who helped Nanako that ended up looking and tasting like a Black Slime? And got me sick for several days?” he deadpanned.

“…Dammit,” his girlfriend was forced to concede.

“I’m just lucky that my parents had a huge cooking pot so that I can actually make stuff like this,” Ren commented. “That’s not the kind of thing that every kitchen has inside it.”

Naoto shrugged. “It never hurts to have something on hand in case you can make use of it,” she replied.

Ren nodded. He certainly agreed with his older friend, having learned that lesson several times over while he had been infiltrating Mementos and Palaces as a Phantom Thief. It really was incredible how just one properly used item could dramatically change the tide of a battle. A sudden thought occurred to him and he smirked. “By the way, Naoto, you go out on any dates with Kanji lately?”

Both Kanji and Naoto immediately blushed, to the amusement of the others who didn’t even bother trying to hide their reactions. “We have,” Naoto finally managed to force out, unusually terse.

“Uh, y-yeah!” Kanji, also uncharacteristically nervous. “We, uh…we went to a movie together a few days ago!”

Marie smirked. “You two have been dating for this long now, and you’re still this embarrassed about it?”

“Oh come on, man, you don’t need to be nervous,” Yosuke groaned and lightly slapped Kanji on the back with his hand. “You’ve got a steady girlfriend and a great thing going, own it like everything else you do!”

Yukiko giggled. “I think the two of you are adorable together, personally,” she commented serenely.

Rise rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how bad it was back in the day, Ren. These two would dance around each other for literal years!” she complained. “Literally everyone could see just how hard they were crushing on each other, but they just would! Not! Get together! You have no idea how painful it is to see a perfect couple just refuse to get together despite knowing just how much they were made for each other, especially when everyone else knows it too!”

Chie snickered. “We eventually solved the problem for them by locking them in a room and refusing to let them out until they confessed. Sometimes, if you want to get results, you gotta do it yourself!”

“That was not funny!” Kanji shouted, and then a blush crept into his cheeks. “Although…it did work…” he was forced to admit through much grumbling.

Naoto lowered the cap over head in embarrassment. “I still don’t know how you managed to pull the wool over our eyes like that in the first place…” she muttered.

Their friends started laughing while Ren chuckled over in the kitchen. “Oh, man, now I wish I’d been there,” he lamented. Still, he figured he should come to their rescue and save them from being embarrassed any further. “Food’s almost ready, guys!”

“Hell yeah!” Yosuke eagerly answered, the others making similar exclamations of anticipation and approval as their teasing of Kanji and Naoto was quickly forgotten. Yu made his way over to the kitchen, helping his little brother figure out a bit by taking out the dishes from the cupboards and distributing them over the kitchen counter for him. He also started getting out glasses and pouring water into all of them. Ren gave him a grateful smile and a nod of thanks in response, before starting to scoop out heaps of rice onto the plates and using a ladle to douse the rice with curry, just like Sojiro had done countless times.

“Looking as good as ever!” Morgana praised as he sniffed in the aromas of the curry from a safe distance so as not to get food on the fur of Ren’s friends.

“Come get your food!” Ren called out. Immediately, the members of the Investigation Team got up, with some of the more excitable ones all but racing towards the counter while the calmer members approached more slowly. Teddie was unsurprisingly the first to arrive at the counter, eagerly grabbing a plate of curry and rushing back to the table where the Investigation Team had been sitting. Even before the others could get some food of their own, Teddie had taken a large scoop of curry covered in rice and taken a big bite of it. His eyes started glowing with delight and he let out a groan of pleasure as his taste buds made contact with the curry.

“Oh my God, you guys…” he exclaimed. “This curry is sooooooo good! It’s even better than Yu’s food! I think this is the best thing I’ve eaten in my entire life!”

“Whoa, really?” Yosuke asked. Having lived with Teddie ever since 2012 and their victory over Izanami, he knew full well that the Shadow turned human was a big eater who would happily eat anything that tasted good. So for Teddie to give Ren’s curry that much of an ovation…

Chie was the next to take a bite out of Ren’s curry, and just like Teddie she was overcome with wonder at the incredible taste that Yu could swear that there were stars in her eyes. “I think I’m in Heaven,” she moaned. “The meat, the potatoes, the sauce, it’s all just so sooooo good!”

Yukiko was similarly impressed. “I think the Amagi Inn’s ratings would go from 9/10 to 15/10 if we started serving this over there at a regular basis,” she praised. “Chie was right, this is incredible!”

One by one, the members of the Investigation Team and Marie took a bite out of the curry Ren had provided. And every single one of them, without exception, could do nothing but marvel at the wonderful taste of the meal that Ren had graciously provided for all of them.

“Dude, whoever taught you how to make this, needs to work in a five-star hotel,” Yosuke commented, even as he was busy ravenously devouring his meal. “This curry is freaking god tier, man!”

“Hell yeah, I need to take some over for my mom after we’re done here,” Kanji declared. “She’s gonna love this!”

“And you were saying that there were different variations of this curry made by your guardian over in Tokyo?” Naoto murmured in disbelief. “Now I’m even more fascinated to see just how much he can improve upon something that already seems so perfect.”

“Oh God, I hope don’t become addicted to this curry,” Rise groaned. “If I kept eating this every day, it’d really mess with my body and it’d be all your fault, Ren!”

“I’m glad I didn’t take a snack before I came here,” Marie remarked. “I didn’t know what I was expecting when I heard you were making curry for us, Ren, but you’ve definitely exceeded my expectations.”

“I think we can all agree,” Yu called out, his soft but commanding voice drawing the attention of everyone in the room, “that Ren has outdone himself with this absolutely wonderful curry. I’m going to make it my personal mission to find this Sojiro Sakura on my next trip to Tokyo and personally thank him not just for the curry, but also for treating out fluffy-haired little brother right during his stay there.”

“Yeah, it sounds Renren here hit the jackpot when it came to people who could’ve taken care of him,” Yosuke commented, with resounding approval from everyone else in the room.

“And speaking of Renren,” Yu continued with a smirk, causing Ren to roll his eyes at the nickname. Ryuji might have thought that he was the one who had coined that particular way of greeting him, but his best friend back in Tokyo had no clue that others had been calling him that for years, “I propose that we have a toast. A toast to the best little brother anyone here could ask for, and to the delicious curry that he was kind enough to make for us.”

“Here, here!” everyone cheered, clinking their glasses together. Once they had finished their toast, the Investigation Team didn’t waste any time eating Ren’s curry and rice, reverently commenting about how delicious it was whenever they could bring themselves to take a break. It didn’t surprise Ren in the slightest that every single one of his friends, from Teddie to Marie, eagerly asked for seconds.

It was a good thing that he had prepared for this possibility by preparing enough curry for everyone to actually get seconds to begin with.

“Heh heh heh,” Morgana chuckled as he watched Ren’s friends devour their curry. “Mission accomplished, Ren. Sojiro would be so proud.”

Ren obviously couldn’t verbally respond to Morgana’s praise, but he let his appreciation known by affectionately rubbing the top of the feline’s head. “Sojiro, Futaba,” he thought with a smile, “I hope I’ve made you proud today.”

Chapter Text

When Ren woke up the next morning, most of the good feelings that he had enjoyed while sharing his own version of LeBlanc Curry with his older friends had all but evaporated. “Oh boy, was I not looking forward to this,” he grumbled as he got out his school uniform out of the closet, a black corduroy jacket with a white shirt underneath. It honestly wasn’t a bad uniform by any means, though after spending almost the whole year in Shujin’s uniform it almost felt foreign to him.

Morgana could immediately tell that Ren wasn’t happy. “Uh, Ren?” he called out apprehensively. “You don’t look like you’re in a good mood right now.”

“That’s cause I’m not,” Ren replied curtly as he put the uniform on.

“Is it cause you don’t like studying?” Morgana asked. “You usually don’t look like you have a problem with it when you’re getting together with Makoto, Ryuji, Ann, or whoever.”

Ren chuckled, but there was no humor in his voice whatsoever. “Oh, the studying isn’t the problem. I was top of the class in Shujin consistently, and I’m pretty sure I could do the same at Yasogami without breaking a sweat.” He suddenly scowled. “No, it’s actually the people there who I have a problem with.”

“You mean…like the other students?” Morgana sighed. “I thought getting your criminal record striked out would’ve fixed all of that.”

“Officially? My record is spotless,” Ren confirmed. “It got cleaned out after every single one of the friends and confidants I made in Tokyo worked their absolute hardest to get me out of that jail, and then right afterwards Sae got official testimonies from Shido and that woman he assaulted back here in Inaba that he was the true criminal, and that they pinned the blame on me. That’s all on record, so in theory I have a spotless record.”

 “I don’t like how you’re saying officially,” Morgana muttered as he climbed into Ren’s backpack, which the young man promptly picked up and set on his backpack.

Ren scoffed. “That’s cause I’m not stupid,” he retorted. “My record might be wiped clean, but my reputation’s still going to be in complete shit. To many of the students back at school, I’m always going to be the criminal and the delinquent who’s bringing everyone down around him just by existing. It was the case in Shujin, and it’s going to be the case in Yasogami too.”

Morgana winced. “I still hate how everyone keeps branding you like that without even bothering to get to know you first.”

Ren snorted. “Yaldabaoth was an egomaniacal control freak who ruined and destroyed people’s lives through his pawns just to justify his own so-called superiority, but he wasn’t wrong when he claimed that people are brainless lemmings. And the students at Yasogami High aren’t any different.”

“There’s gotta be somebody there who’s still your friend,” Morgana suggested plaintively.

“I wish I could say there was, but that would be a lie,” Ren retorted. “You know why I respect my parents, my older friends, and very few others like the Dojimas so much? It’s because they were the only ones who believed me, stood by me, and tried to argue my innocence when this entire mess got started to begin with. I only had a few friends even back before shit hit the fan, and pretty much all of them ditched me when it came out that I had gotten myself arrested.” His dark mood faded a little and he smiled. “Honestly, coming to Tokyo was probably the best thing that ever happened to me despite the fucked-up conditions. The Phantom Thieves taught me what true friendship and loyalty really are, even more than Yu and my other older friends here. Nothing against them whatsoever, they did take my side, but it just isn’t the same as being friends with people the same age as you are.”

Morgana nodded as Ren started to make his way down the stairs and out of his house. “I can see that,” he acknowledged. “So how do you feel about them now? The students at Yasogami?”

Ren shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t really give a shit about them anymore. They showed their true colors and how valuable my friendship to them was when I got arrested, and I don’t need friends who’ll drop me in 5 seconds the moment things go to shit. They burned those bridges, and I don’t give enough of a shit to try and repair them.”

“Is that why you’re not wearing those glasses that you wore back in Shujin?” Morgana realized. “Cause I gotta admit, you have this look in your eyes that’s pretty intimidating when you’re not wearing them.”

Ren snickered. “Those glasses were fake as hell to begin with, Morgana. I only wore them at first because I didn’t want to scare the shit out of the other students at Shujin due to my criminal record, not that that ever worked to begin with. After that, I only wore them because I wanted to keep up the disguise of being an ordinary high school student while I was secretly leader of the Phantom Thieves.” He shrugged. “I don’t give a fuck about what random strangers think about me anymore, and the Phantom Thieves never operated in Inaba, so who gives a shit?”

“You’re not wrong,” Morgana acknowledged as Ren proceeded to navigate his way through the streets of Inaba. It wasn’t along until he found himself on a road where other Yasogami students were walking towards the same direction wearing uniforms similar to his, indicating that Ren had correctly remembered the way to his old school.

Most of the students were too preoccupied with their conversations with each other or failed to recognize Ren, but a few gave him some noticeably surprised looks once they saw him. And it wasn’t long before whispers began to form about it.

“Hey…isn’t that Amamiya?”

“Didn’t he get arrested last year? He has a criminal record, right?”

“I heard that criminal record got cleaned out, though. I saw the news, Shido confessed to framing him for everything!”

“Damn, I don’t know what to believe. Even if he isn’t a criminal, he’s still kinda scary.”

“Wow,” Ren deadpanned to Morgana. “Rumors spreading about the student who got banished to Tokyo and only just came back? Who would’ve seen that coming?”

“I’m already getting flashbacks to Shujin, and not the good ones,” Morgana commented as Ren continued to walk. Before long, they had arrived at the gates of Yasogami High School. The sight of the school itself sent some conflicting emotions in Ren, reminding him of how different it had been from Shujin. Shujin Academy might have had a ton of problems, Kobayakawa and Kamoshida chief among them, but despite that it had enough good points like his fellow Phantom Thieves, Mishima, and Kawakami. None of those were here now, which meant that Ren would truly be alone while he was at school.

Still, unlike Shujin, he had no reason to believe the faculty had corrupt or ulterior motives. Ren didn’t remember much about the faculty, but from what he could remember they had all been fairly solid teachers who genuinely loved their jobs, if a bit eccentric.

“Ren-san?” a voice called out to him.

Ren looked up to see a young man with dark blue hair calling out to him. He quickly corrected his initial impression; he did recognize this particular teacher, even though he could have sworn the man hadn’t been a teacher at Yasogami High. “Ichijo-sensei?” he asked. “Is that you?”

Ichijo-sensei smiled. “Oh, so you do remember me, Ren. I don’t think we’ve ever met personally, but I’ve seen you a few times hanging out with Yu. I’m gonna be your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year.” He made a face. “And please don’t call me sensei, that crap makes me feel old.”

Ren chuckled. He didn’t remember Ichijo all that much either, but he was liking the guy already. “Well, nice to meet you then. Are you here to take me to my new homeroom?”

“Yeah, but not quite yet,” Ichijo-sensei answered. “We’re gonna have a meeting with the principal first so he can give you the orientation before you start class.”

Ren inwardly rolled his eyes, remembering just how well his orientation meeting with Kobayakawa had gone back at Shujin. Granted, the principal of Yasogami wasn’t an incompetent and corrupt fat fuck, so this could only be an improvement. Outwardly, he smiled at the teacher. “Lead the way, Ichijo-san.”

Ichijo nodded and guided Ren into the school. The hallways were filled with students who were getting ready for class, and more than a few of them couldn’t help but stare at Ren and Ichijo as he passed.

Ichijo frowned at them. “Is there a problem?” he asked sternly, his voice soft but with an undercurrent of steel. The students quickly looked away and went back to their business. He looked over at Ren and sighed. “Yu told me about what happened to you,” he said quietly as they climbed the stairs to the upper floors of the school. “It really was some complete bullshit, the way they slapped a criminal charge on you like that. If anybody gives you crap about it, let me know.”

Ren smiled back at him, glad to know that there would be somebody at Yasogami who had his back. “Thanks, Ichijo-san,” he replied gratefully.

Ichijo chuckled. “Call me Kou out of school, Ren. Anybody who’s a friend of Yu’s or Chie’s is a friend of mine.” He guided Ren over to the principal’s office, where the principal awaited him. He was an elderly man with a distinct white beard that reminded Ren a bit of Albus Dumbledore, a man who had retained his position ever since the days when Yu had been in high school despite his advanced age.

True to Ren’s prediction, the welcoming orientation meeting between him and the principal went way better than the one between him and Kobayakawa, as low of a bar as that was to meet. Although the principal didn’t offer his sympathies or wholeheartedly support Ren the way that Kou had, he didn’t treat him with hostility the way Kobayakawa had either. It was mostly a formal, straightforward affair, after which Kou guided Ren over to his homeroom and his first class of the day.

The room was filled with students, none of whom Ren particularly recognized. However, Ren couldn’t tell if this was because he had genuinely never met any of them before, or if they had been “friends” who abandoned him and he couldn’t be bothered to remember their names or faces now. Kou stepped in front of the blackboard, his presence immediately silencing everyone in the room. “Everyone?” he called out. “I have an announcement to make. This is Ren Amamiya. He left Inaba around this time last year due to…unfortunate circumstances, but he is now back with us and will be completing his third year at Yasogami High.”

Nobody greeted Ren in a friendly manner, to Ren’s disappointment but not surprise. Instead, there was a lot of muttering among the students, who clearly weren’t happy about being stuck with someone who had previously been branded a criminal. “Isn’t he a criminal?” one student dared to ask aloud. “What the heck is he doing here?”

“Hey! HEY!” Kou shouted back, the unexpectedly fierce response from the normally calm and reserved teacher immediately silencing everyone again. “Ren’s record was cleared of all charges in the past few months. He was framed for that crime by Masayoshi Shido, the man who right now is Japan’s greatest criminal and most hated man. Ren Amamiya is no more of a criminal than you or me, and I will NOT tolerate any slander or gossip falsely labeling him as such. Am I clear?” he finished harshly, a scowl on his normal serene face.

The students could only nod mutely, clearly cowed into submission by Kou’s speech. Kou let the anger evaporate from his face and gestured towards one of the desks in the back. “There’s an empty seat or two for you to take in the back, Ren.”

“Thanks, Ichijo-san,” he replied gratefully. Ren took his backpack over to the empty desk and took his seat as the lecture began. In an ironic twist, Kou ended up being the Social Sciences teacher, the same subject as Ushimaru…only his personality was pretty much the complete opposite of Ushimaru’s in pretty much every way. Unlike Ushimaru, who had been harsh and bitter towards the student, Kou was much more laidback and it was clear from his teaching style that he genuinely enjoyed teaching the subject. He reminded Ren a bit of Kawakami after he had maxed her confidant bond and dealt with those assholes who had been trying to extort money from her in Mementos, although clearly Kou hadn’t suffered through those kinds of harsh circumstances.

Again, Ren couldn’t help but note that he didn’t form a confidant bond at all with Kou, just like he hadn’t formed one with Yosuke or Teddie. “Is it because they’ve already formed that kind of bond with Yu?” he couldn’t help but wonder. He would need to see if he could find an entrance to Velvet Room at some point later today, as he was pretty certain that one either existed or had existed at some point in Inaba if Yu had completed his Fool’s Journey here.

The rest of the classes were, for the most part, largely uneventful. The rest of the teachers besides Kou only minimally acknowledged his presence, although thankfully none of them gave him the same hostile behavior that Kamoshida had on his first day at Shujin. None of them called on Ren to answer any questions, although Ren had a feeling this was only because it was his first day back at Yasogami, and it would be unrealistic to expect him to know anything about the curriculum right now.

It was an uneventful first day back at Yasogami High, which Ren would gladly take. He had barely spent a day or two in Shujin before being thrown into the whole mess with Kamoshida thanks to the pervert gym teacher putting him on his shit list for no reason. Ren had no desire to get forced into another insane adventure so soon after his first one had just ended, for all the good that adventure had done for him in the end.

Unfortunately, one thing that hadn’t changed from Shujin was the gossip and the whispers. Ren hadn’t been stupid enough to believe that those would stop outside of Kou’s class, and he was very quickly proven right when he left the final class of the day.

“That’s Amamiya, right? The guy with the criminal record?”

“If that’s true, then we’re pretty much fucked for our college admissions.”

“I heard that criminal record got cancelled, but that guy still looks scary as hell.”

“Don’t be too loud. I heard that Ichijo-sensei yelled at his class for giving Amamiya shit earlier.”

“Whoa, really? But Ichijo-sensei’s so laid-back! And hot, too!”

Ren snickered. “Well, I can’t say that last one is wrong,” he thought. As a heterosexual guy, Ren would be the first to admit that Kou Ichijo was a solid 10/10 in the looks department.

“Seriously, though. Where are these new students even coming from? We had that other girl come in a while back. I think she’s from the city.”

“A new transfer student?” Ren wondered. This was the first time that he had heard something like this, and it briefly reminded him of Sumire. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness at the memory of yet another friend who he was forced to leave behind in Tokyo, but he forced himself to redirect his attention back to the present. He didn’t give a shit about the rumors themselves, but it was always possible that he might learn something valuable from them if he paid attention.

What he got, though, was something very different.

“Is it just me, or is Amamiya-san kinda…hot?”

“You know, now that you mention it…he really is hot as hell, isn’t he?”

“I mean, I don’t remember him looking all that good before he left, but now…holy shit. He could give Ichijo-sensei a run for his money.”

“Damn, he really has that bad boy locked down. Those eyes are so intense…”

“Do you think he’s single? I mean, he doesn’t have a criminal record anymore, so he should technically be up for grabs, right”

“What the hell?” Morgana mumbled in his backpack. Ren couldn’t blame him at all, he was sharing pretty much the exact same sentiments as his cat. The unwelcoming whispers, the hostile and suspicious glares he was receiving from several of the other students…those were certainly irritating, but they were both expected and things he could easily deal with. Several other students crushing on him and considering him attractive, on the other hand…Ren hadn’t been expecting that at all, and he honestly had no clue how to deal with that whatsoever.

“Uhm…hello?” a new, female voice called out, louder than the others. This one immediately gained Ren’s attention since, unlike all the other ones, it was addressing him directly. Ren looked towards the girl who had called out to him…and his eyes widened in shock.

Ren recognized the girl. He had seen her before, hanging out with Ann back in Shujin. And he had also seen her at the absolute lowest point in her life, when she had thrown herself off the roof in despair because of the depravities of arguably the evilest target the Phantom Thieves had ever attacked outside of Shido himself.

The girl looked nervously at him. “H-hi,” she greeted him hesitantly. “My name is Shiho Suzui. I heard your name being thrown around a few times…I’ve seen you before, haven’t I?”

Ren smiled at her, the first time he had smiled to anyone in this school since Kou. “Yeah, I recognize you, Suzui-san. You were Ann’s best friend back in Shujin.”

Suzui returned the smile with one of her own. “Ann’s talked about you a few times. Every time, she always called you a great guy. Thanks for being a good friend to her while…” her mood visibly dampened as she struggled to find the right words, “…I was out.”

By now, the conversation between the two had attracted the attention of many of the students surrounding them, and the whispers had started up again. “Holy shit, do the two transfer students know each other?”

“I think they might’ve gone to the same school.”

“Holy crap, the new basketball player and the delinquent punk know each other, who would’ve guessed.”

“How much do you wanna bet that they’ll end up dating?”

“I bet she’ll be blowing him by the end of the year.”

Ren felt a flare of rage at that last one. He didn’t give a single shit what the students might’ve thought about him, but when it was someone else who was being insulted like that, it was a whole different story. “Hey!” he growled, whirling around and glaring at the students (especially the one who had made the last comment). “In what universe do you think it’s okay to talk shit about someone like that behind their back?” he demanded furiously.

The students, especially the one who had made the inappropriate comment, immediately cowered away under his wrath. “Uhm…” he stammered, “…uh…”

“Let me answer that for you, it isn’t,” Ren snarled as he glared at him. “So do us both a favor, and mind your own fucking business!”

The students immediately turned away from him in fear, with some of the more nervous ones outright fleeing from him in terror. Ren forced himself to calm down before he turned back to Shiho. “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “Just hearing them talk about you like that pisses me off.”

Shiho shook her head. “Don’t worry about it,” she brushed away the apology. “Thanks for defending me like that, Amamiya-san.”

“Call me Ren,” he replied. “It’s what my friends call me, and anyone who’s a friend of Ann’s is a friend of mine.”

Shiho giggled. “Then I guess you can call me Shiho, then.”

“Do you want to head over to the Samegawa River Bank to catch up?” Ren suggested. “It’s a much better place for us to have a private conversation than school, and more relaxing too.”

Shiho shrugged. “Sure, I guess. But do you not have any friends here that you want to say good-bye to first?”

Ren scoffed. “No,” he retorted. “They all abandoned me back when I first got arrested because of that asshole Shido. Good riddance, I say. It’s not like there’s anyone here worth talking to anyway, at least as far as the other students are concerned.”

“Fair enough, I guess.” The two students walked downstairs and out of the school, with Ren stopping at his shoe locker to pick up his things.

“By the way,” Shiho commented right as they were about to leave. “Do you remember what I said to you, all the way back in Shujin?”

“I do,” Ren answered without hesitation. “Don’t let the rumors get to me.”

“Yeah,” Shiho smiled. “I meant what I said back in Shujin, and I still mean it now. Don’t let the others get to you, I know you’re better than that.”

Ren laughed, this time with genuine amusement. “Don’t worry, Shiho,” he assured her. “I stopped caring about the opinions of unimportant dipshits a long, long time ago.”

Shiho snickered, and the two students left the building together. Neither of them noticed Kou Ichijo looking towards them both, a conflicted look on his face.

On the one hand, he was impressed with Ren for defending Shiho Suzui’s honor the way he had so fearlessly. Kou had heard about what had happened to Shiho at the hands of Kamoshida, and it was the first time in several years that he had been genuinely angry at learning about the horrible abuse. In fact, he would’ve called the students out on their inappropriate behavior, if Ren hadn’t gotten to him first. Yu had called Ren a young man of principle back when he had first gotten arrested and his best friend besides Daisuke had needed someone to rant to about the injustice of it all, and it was clear from how Ren had immediately defended Shiho that Ren lived up to that praise.

On the other hand, there was something about Ren’s behavior that concerned him. It wasn’t the fact that he was dismissive or contemptuous towards the other students at Yasogami, at least not by itself. From what Kou could tell, Ren had been pretty much abandoned by the other students at the school when his wrongful arrest had first happened, and none of the other students had been particularly welcoming towards someone who they perceived as a criminal and a delinquent. He hadn’t even heard a single apology from anyone so far, so he could completely understand why Ren would still be bitter towards the other students and wouldn’t give a shit reforming friendships with most of them.

No, that wasn’t the part that bothered Kou. What bothered Kou was the fact that Ren behaved completely differently from what he had expected. When Kou had learned that he was going to be Ren’s homeroom teacher, he had talked to Yu over the phone about him, asking about the kind of person Ren was like. And the Ren he had seen today in Yasogami High…acted completely differently from how Yu had described him, almost to the point of being a complete 180. Unless Kou drastically misremembered Yu’s description of Ren, Yu’s younger friend had undergone a dramatic personality change before and after his banishment to Tokyo. And nobody went through that kind of personality shift unless something major had happened.

“I’ll ask Yu about Ren if I run into him later, or I’ll call him to talk if I don’t see him by tonight,” Kou decided. As much as he wanted to ask Yu right away, he knew that his city friend was probably super busy, and Kou had his own errands he needed to take care of first.

But he was fairly certain of one thing, though. Something major had happened to Ren while he had been in Tokyo, and he had a feeling it hadn’t been something good.

Chapter Text

It didn’t surprise Shiho that Ren’s mood improved significantly once they had left Yasogami High School behind them, and the two of them exchanged insignificant small talk as they walked over to the Samegawa River Bank, not wanting to talk about deeper and more important topics while strangers were around. To both of their reliefs, the River Bank was entirely devoid of people for the day, leaving the two of them with plenty of privacy.

“So how’s it been going with you?” Ren asked once the two of them had sat down. “I saw you once with Ann last summer, but other than that I barely heard anything about you once…that happened.” He scowled visibly as he said the word “that,” not needing to say anything more.

Shiho’s smile faded visibly and she sighed. “I spent a couple of months in the hospital and in therapy recovering,” she answered. “I was also seeing a psychiatrist for a while. It took some time, especially with both the physical and mental trauma, but I did get better eventually. My parents tried the best they could, but there was really only so much they could do especially in the first couple of days.” The girl clearly didn’t want to elaborate any further, which Ren completely understood and respected.

“And were your parents the ones who decided to move here?” Ren asked, seeing the opportunity to change the subject.

Shiho nodded. “After the whole Kamoshida thing, my parents decided that it would be best for me to get out of Tokyo for a while once I recovered enough,” she explained. “And honestly? I was fully down for that. I was honestly sick of the city after what happened, and I think a change in atmosphere would’ve done me some good.” She smiled. “Inaba’s pretty much the opposite of the city in every way. I know there might not be a lot to do, but I like it here. A lot more peace and quiet, and a lot less stress on my life.”

“There’s pros and cons to city and country life,” Ren remarked. “I can appreciate living in both.”

“Yeah,” Shiho agreed, “and I’ve also dropped volleyball completely. I’m actually playing in the basketball team now. Ichijo-sensei sometimes coaches whenever we’re not just playing by ourselves. I like him a lot, he’s everything Kamoshida wasn’t. He respects boundaries, for starters. And thinking more about it, you could always tell that there was something…off about Kamoshida. Something really wrong.” She shook her head. “I don’t get that vibe from Ichijo-sensei at all.”

“Ichijo-sensei’s been a pretty good teacher from what I’ve seen of him so far,” Ren agreed, referring to him in that way out of respect. “Ann will be happy to hear that you’re doing all right. She was so worried about you.”

Shiho giggled. “I’ll be sure to let her know I met up with you, if you don’t tell her about it first.”

Ren snickered along with her for a few moments. After they got over their amusement, Shiho suddenly frowned. “I saw the way you act around the other students at Yasogami…you really don’t give a shit about any of them, do you?”

Ren’s own smile faded. “I didn’t have very many friends to begin with, and what few friends I did have pretty much abandoned me completely the moment I got arrested.” He snorted. “I don’t forget insults like that, and when I don’t even get a basic apology I don’t intend to forgive them either. Until proven otherwise, everyone there can fuck right off.”

Shiho winced at the venom that seeped into Ren’s voice at the last 3 words. “You’re not alone here, are you?” she asked, now clearly worried. “I don’t know what your parents are like, but nobody should be alone.”

The vitriol vanished from Ren’s face and he smiled gently. “Nah, I’m not alone here,” he reassured her. “I’ve got the friends I’ve made in Tokyo, and I’ve got a group of older friends who all live in Inaba. And if you’re worried about my parents, they had to flee the country cause of Masayoshi Shido but they’re good people and they’re trying their best for me.” He suddenly grinned. “And heck, it looks like I do have a friend at Yasogami after all.”

Shiho giggled again, and the two of them sat in silence on the riverbank for a few seconds. “You know, seeing as you’re close friends with Ann, I feel like I can tell you this,” she began with a wistful look on her face. “I was her best friend for years, but there was a time when I thought that…maybe…the friendship between us was something more than that. I always wondered whether or not I should try and take that next step…but then…”

“…let me guess,” Ren finished, “…Kamoshida happened?”

Shiho sighed. “Yeah,” she confirmed. “And after what happened to me…and all the time it took for me to recover from that…I just don’t think I’m in the right mindset for any kind of romance for now. I’m not saying it won’t ever happen in the future…but if I try to jump into that world without being ready for it, I know for certain that it’s all gonna fall apart.”

Ren nodded. “I get that,” he answered kindly. “I know firsthand that romance is something you gotta commit too. No way in hell I’d fault you for staying away from it for now, especially given everything that happened. And I won’t bring this up with Ann, either.”

Shiho smiled gratefully at him. “Thanks, Ren…I can see why Ann calls you one of her best friends.” Suddenly, her smile took on a teasing and playful tone. “Wait a minute…did you just say you know about romance firsthand? Does Ren Amamiya have someone he’s gotten together with?”

Ren laughed. “Sure don’t miss a thing, do you? Yep, I’ve got a girlfriend all right. Her name’s Haru Okumura. I didn’t really meet her until later in last year, but as we got to know each other better we fell in love with each other and have been going steady ever since. She’s a real sweetheart, but probably one of the worst people in the world to piss off.” He took out his phone and showed Shiho a picture of a fluffy, auburn-haired colored girl in a pink sweater standing next to Ren himself, both of them smiling widely at the camera.

Shiho’s eyes positively glowed with excitement. “Aww…” she cooed, “the two of you look so cute together!” Her eyes suddenly widened as er mind fully processed the name of Ren’s girlfriend. “Wait a minute…did you say Haru Okumura? Like, the heiress of Okumura Foods? THAT Okumura?”

Ren grinned. “The one and the same, Shiho. I can’t wait to bring her here to Inaba once I get the chance.”

Shiho frowned as a thought suddenly occurred to her. “I hope she doesn’t get jealous of the fact that I’m hanging out with you,” she muttered.

Ren brushed off her concern. “Oh, nah, don’t worry about that,” he reassured her. “I’ll make it clear to Haru that you’re just a friend in Inaba who happens to be a girl, and nothing else. Besides, you’ve already made it clear that you’re not interested in romance right now, so you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Shiho smiled. “In that case, here’s to hoping I get to meet Haru-senpai soon. I didn’t see her a lot back at Shujin, but she seemed pretty nice.”

Ren nodded, before deciding to change the subject once again. “While we’re here, let me ask you a question, Shiho. What do you think about the Phantom Thieves?”

Meanwhile, at Junes Department Store…

Kou sighed, rubbing his hand through his blue hair in exasperation as he walked through the streets of Inaba. He had finally gotten done grading the papers for his last exam, a chore and a duty as a teacher that never failed to be frustrating and irritating.

To be clear, he didn’t regret becoming a teacher. He had promised to himself that he would help his little sister become a worthy heir and successor to his adoptive family, and becoming a social sciences teacher had ended up being the path he had chosen to accomplish that goal. The best way to learn something was to teach it effectively to someone else, after all, and after years of education (both giving and receiving it) Kou was relatively confident in his ability to help his sister navigate the ins and outs of society once she started her education to become the head of the Ichijo family in earnest.

That didn’t make the more tedious tasks like grading papers any less annoying, though the surprised and grateful expressions of his adoptive family once he had announced his plans and why he was doing them had made everything worth it by itself.

“Thank God I still have some free time left,” Kou thought. “Might as well use it to get some groceries at Junes before I head home.”

Once he arrived at the department store that had by now become a welcome mainstay of Inaba despite its initially rocky reputation, Kou went straight to the foods section. He had been here enough times to memorize where everything was, and today he didn’t have any reason to be anywhere else.

As he started looking through the groceries, a familiar female voice suddenly called out to him.

“Hey, Kou!”

Kou looked up in shock to see Chie waving energetically at him. “How’s it going?”

Getting over his shock, Kou smiled and gave her a friendly wave of his own. “Doing good, Chie. Didn’t expect to see you here.”

Kou couldn’t help but think that it was frankly a minor miracle that he was even on speaking terms with Chie to begin with, let alone actual friends with her. Back in 2011, he had made a disastrous first impression on his crush when he had been a stuttering mess in front of her, causing Chie to immediately dismiss him as “just another Yukiko simp.” It had taken years for him to correct that massive blunder, and he had Yu Narukami to thank for that.

On one of his trips to Inaba, Yu had taken it upon himself to try and set up him and Chie together, formally introducing the two of them at the Junes Food Court, creating conversations for the three of them to share in and then “conveniently” excusing himself and leaving the two of them alone. Kou still remembered that day vividly. Yu starting the conversations had helped him overcome some of his anxiety over talking to Chie, but he had still been pretty nervous and it had taken all of his willpower not to embarrass himself in front of her.

Ultimately, Yu’s plan had been…modestly successful. The two of them weren’t in a romantic relationship by any stretch of the imagination, but they had become good friends and over time Kou had overcome his anxiety enough to the point that he could hold a conversation with her without showing any overt signs of nervousness. He especially admired her determination to be a good police officer dedicated to protecting Inaba, and she in turn deeply respected his goal to become a teacher so he could help his adoptive sister.

“How’s it going?” Chie had walked over to him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Oh, uh, going all right, I guess,” Kou answered after he brought himself back to the present. He made a face. “Grading tests sucks ass, though.”

“Ugh, tell me about it,” Chie commiserated. “Doing paperwork at the police office probably sucks just as much.”

Kou made a face. “Sounds like it. Changing the subject to something that sucks a little less, you here for groceries?”

“Yeah,” Chie confirmed. “Need to pick up a couple of things before I go home for the day. Same with you?”

“Pretty much. With all the tests I graded today, it’s honestly a miracle I remembered,” Kou admitted.

“Well, I hope you have a good time with your shopping, then,” Chie answered, before smiling fondly. “I know Nanako loves to come here every time she gets the chance.”

Kou was about to say a similar farewell, but a thought suddenly occurred to him. He knew that Chie was close friends with Yu Narukami (probably the closest you could get without actually being in a romantic relationships), and Yu was a close friend of Ren… “Say, Chie…do you, by any chance, know a Ren Amamiya?”

Chie’s eyes lit up at the mention of Ren. “Yeah, I do!” She grinned, and immediately Kou could tell that Ren was someone very close to Chie. “I hang out with a couple of friends along with Yu, and Ren is like the little brother we all wish we had. We celebrated a lot when he finally came back to Inaba a few days ago, it was great!”

Well, that was a certainly an answer. And it also meant that Kou suddenly had an opportunity to find out answers to the questions he had about Ren. It didn’t really matter to him whether he talked to Chie or talked to Yu, like he had originally planned. “Hey…do you mind if we talk for a couple of minutes? I actually had a few questions I wanted to ask you about Ren.”

Chie’s happy expression morphed into one of mixed curiosity and concern. As far as she was aware, Kou didn’t have any real reason to even know Ren Amamiya, let alone be asking questions about him. But she knew that Kou was a good guy, and that he wouldn’t be asking about Ren unless he had a good reason for it. “Sure, I’ve got a couple of minutes I can spare. Go to the food court?”

Kou chuckled. “Yeah, that’s always the place I like to hang out when I want to talk to a couple of people without anyone else overhearing.”

The two of them made their way out of the groceries section, leaving their initial missions to get groceries behind them, and took the elevator up to the Food Court. Once they had secured a table for themselves, Kou immediately got straight to the point, not wanting to take up any more of Chie’s time than necessary. “So,” he began, “I dunno if you heard about this from Yu or anything, but I’m actually Ren’s homeroom teacher at Yasogami.”

“Wait, really?” Chie exclaimed, before a sudden suspicion entered her mind. “Wait…don’t tell me Ren got in trouble with you already?”

“Oh, no, no, not at all!” Kou hastily corrected her assumption. “But…” he frowned, “…there was something about him I do have to wonder about…”

Chie tilted her head curiously. “What do you mean, Kou?” she asked.

Kou sighed. “Let me ask you a question first, Chie. Before Ren got arrested and was forced to leave Tokyo, what was he like? What was his personality in a nutshell.”

Chie thought silently for several seconds, trying to find the right words for Kou’s question. “Ren was…a bit of a loner, to be honest,” she finally answered. “Like…he was the kind of guy that I could tell really wanted to have friends, but just didn’t know how to do it. There were a lot of times where he was looking over at our table whenever we were all gathered here, but was just too nervous or afraid to actually join in. Yu was the one who made the call to invite him over one of those times, and that’s how we actually became his friends.” She grinned. “It took a while for Ren to open up, but now he’s one of us and he always will be.”

Kou smiled at her enthusiasm, though the expression was short-lived. “That was how Yu pretty much described Ren to me as well when he found out I was gonna be Ren’s homeroom teacher…” he agreed, before frowning, “…which is why he took me completely off-guard when he actually showed up at Yasogami today.”

Chie could already tell something was off. “What do you mean?” she immediately asked.

“Well, how do I put this…” now it was Kou’s turn to take a few seconds to think, “…Ren’s still kind of a loner at Yasogami, that part hasn’t changed. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone less interested in making friends with other students at school in my entire life.”

Chie stared at him as though he had grown a second head. “Wait, what?” she spluttered.

“Yeah, the reason he keeps to himself at school is a complete 180 from what Yu and you told me,” Kou continued. “Ren only has one friend at school right now, a student who transferred over here a couple of days back named Shiho Suzui. I overheard him talking to her about how all of his school friends abandoned him the moment he got arrested.” He frowned, and the concern was clear in his face. “I don’t know if it would be too extreme for me to say that Ren hates everyone else at Yasogami, but at the very least he clearly doesn’t give a shit about them in the slightest.”

Kou chuckled, but this time there was zero humor or mirth in it. “Completely threw me for a loop, if you couldn’t tell,” he finished.

“That’s…wow…” Chie mumbled, unable to come up with a coherent response. She knew that Ren had changed, it would’ve been really weird for him not to have changed in some way after the arrest and spending an entire year in Tokyo away from Inaba. But she had no idea Ren’s personality had been affected that drastically. “He didn’t seem that all different to us when we threw a welcome home party for him a few days ago…” she finally commented once she had spent a few moments to gather her thoughts.

Kou raised his hands in surrender. “Look, it’s not really my business to get into Ren’s personal life,” he answered solemnly. “I’m not the kind of guy to invade a student’s privacy like that. But after seeing Ren act completely differently from how Yu described him to me, that wasn’t really something I could just ignore.”

“No, I’m glad you brought this up,” Chie thanked him with a smile that warmed Kou’s heart. “I definitely wouldn’t have caught something like that if you hadn’t told me about it.”

“Anytime,” Kou replied easily as he got up from the bench. He was about to leave and go back to get his groceries like he had originally planned, but he had one last thought to share with Chie first. “Chie…I dunno what happened back when the arrest happened or what happened in Tokyo, and I don’t really need to know the details. But something really big must’ve happened to Ren over there. Major personality changes like that don’t just pop up out of nowhere.”

And having said what he needed to say, Kou left the food court behind, leaving Chie wrapped up in her own thoughts. What Kou had told her had completely blindsided her, but for some reason it was the last thing he had said in particular that had truly grabbed her attention. “Major personality changes like that don’t just pop out of nowhere,” Chie repeated to herself. A thought suddenly occurred to her. “Wait…” she mumbled. “That sounds like…what we went through back when we were in high school. Major personality change…”

She shook her head, trying to clear out the one thought that wouldn’t leave her mind, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. “There’s no way Ren got a Persona somehow…is there?”

Chapter Text

It was late in the afternoon when Ren finally said good-bye to Shiho. He had offered to escort the girl home, but she was surprisingly comfortable with making her way back to her own house without someone familiar around her. “I appreciate it, Ren, but I can’t just keep being scared of being myself forever. If I do that, then I’m pretty much letting him win, and I can’t let that happen,” she had offered as an explanation.

Ren had found this determination absolutely admirable, and had agreed without any further argument. One of the definite plus sides to Inaba over Tokyo was that there wasn’t any one authority figure who stood far above everyone else the same way Kamoshida had over Shujin or Shido had over all of Tokyo, and anybody who dared to assault someone the way Kamoshida had on Shiho would immediately be the talk of the town in the worst way possible.

Granted, this had backfired massively on Ren when Shido had assaulted that woman and gotten him arrested, but given Shido’s massive power and Yaldabaoth’s manipulations at the time, that was more of the exception rather than the norm.

“Glad to see Shiho’s doing well,” Morgana commented as Ren set his backpack down in his room and the feline hopped out. “Lady Ann won’t have to worry about a thing with you here!”

“Yeah, she left a great first impression when she was the only person besides Ryuji to actually go out of their way to be friendly,” Ren agreed. “Heck, even Kawakami didn’t like me back when we first met.”

“Still don’t know how I feel about her coming over to give you massages every night after a trip to the Metaverse,” Morgana muttered. “Something about that just feels really weird.”

Ren nodded. “I get where you’re coming from, but I’m only doing it so that I can actually get some shit done at night after a Metaverse trip.” He made a face. “Honestly, with all the Kamoshida shit that just happened, dating a teacher just seems all sorts of wrong.”

“Fuck Kamoshida,” Morgana growled, his feline face taking on a look of disgust. He hadn’t fully understood the ramifications of the volleyball teacher’s depravities back when he had first met the teens who would become the Phantom Thieves, but now that he did he had nothing but hatred and contempt for him.

“Fuck Kamoshida,” Ren intoned as he took out some papers from his backpack. “I’m not gonna do anything but homework and study for the next hour or two, just as a warning.”

Morgana did the equivalent of a shrug. “I’ll scout out the neighborhood for a bit then, see you in a few hours.”

He hopped down the stairs and out of sight as Ren started studying. Having Makoto as a friend meant that he ended up taking his studies more seriously than he had before his arrest, even if from a grades-standpoint he was already a star student who was consistently top of the class after every exam. It wasn’t that he was particularly enthusiastic about school and education by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, he just wanted to get the dedicated studying and schoolwork time out of the way as soon as possible so that he could do whatever the hell he wanted later in the evening without consequences.

By the time Ren finished his studying, it was already well into the 6 PM hour. Morgana had returned from his trip around the surrounding Inaba neighborhood and was watching TV, having gotten skilled enough with his paws that he could do basic tasks that humans could do. “Anything up on the news?” he asked as he went over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. Despite most of his older friends voraciously and enthusiastically gobbling up the curry and rice he had made for them yesterday, he still had about 3 plates’ worth of curry and rice left to eat over the next few days.

He was about to take out a plate and heat up in the microwave, when the doorbell suddenly rang. “The heck?” Ren poked his head up and gave the front door a confused glance. “I don’t remember anybody saying they were going to come in today.” He closed the refrigerator door and walked over to the front door, pulling it open…

…and was immediately greeted with the grinning, enthusiastic face of Nanako Dojima.

“Ren!” Nanako exclaimed, clearly excited to see him. “Big Bro told me you came back a few days ago, I’m so happy to see you!” She wrapped Ren in a warm and tight embrace, the young man being too surprised to do anything but wordlessly accept it.

“Heh,” an older voice chuckled. Ren looked up to see Nanako’s father, Ryotaro Dojima, standing a few steps behind Nanako with an amused look on his face and carrying a Junes bag in his hand. “Nanako really missed you, Ren. It’s good to have you back.”

“I was hoping to see you back when Yu and the others threw their welcome party,” Ren commented as Nanako slowly let go of her hug. “But then I heard you got sick.”

Nanako’s father groaned. “I knew something tasted off about that new restaurant’s food. My body was able to handle it just fine, but yeah, Nanako couldn’t come to your party because of that.”

Ren shrugged. “We can always make up for lost time now,” he suggested, extending the door fully open. “Wanna come in?”

Nanako grinned and eagerly stepped into the Amamiyas’ house, with Ryotaro coming in a few steps behind. The elder Dojima looked around the house and let out a sad sigh. “You really are living here at home alone, aren’t you, Ren?” he mumbled. “I know it’s been a long while since your parents fled the country, but it still doesn’t make the place any less depressing to look at.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “Not that I’m complaining, but you’ve been in the house too?” he asked a bit cautiously.

“In order for your parents to make the whole you-living-at-home-thing legal, they needed to assign someone as your guardian,” Dojima explained. “Your parents asked me to take on that responsibility, since I’m one of the highest-ranking police officers in the station right now and I was someone they knew they could trust.”

Ren winced, having been reminded of Sojiro’s less-than-friendly greeting when he had first stepped foot in Café LeBlanc. “Sorry about the trouble…” he mumbled.

Dojima smiled gently at him. “Nah, don’t worry about it Ren, I know you’re a good kid,” he reassured him. “And in practice, it doesn’t really mean that much anyway. All I’ve gotta do is pop my head in once in a while and just make sure you’re doing okay. Heck, I could just follow Nanako here whenever she wants to visit you and that’s all I’d need to do apart from write a quick report.” He chuckled. “And besides, I took care of my nephew in my house for an entire year, I’m sure I can handle a quick check-in every few days.”

“Fine by me,” Ren replied, completely unbothered by the prospect. “You don’t have to worry about me taking care of myself, I’ve got more than enough money to keep myself going for a while.” Millions of yen from the Metaverse, to be precise, but there was no way he was going to let Dojima know that. Ryotaro Dojima might be one of the very few policemen he liked and trusted after everything that had happened back in Tokyo, but even he would be forced to ask a few very uncomfortable questions if Ren showed him the money that he was hiding in his room upstairs.

Dojima shrugged. “If you’re sure. Just let me know if you need anything.”

Ren smiled at him. “Thanks, I’ll be sure to.”

“Sorry I couldn’t see you before,” Nanako apologized a bit sadly. “Yu and the others told me they threw a huge party for you, and that you made some great curry for them yesterday!”

“Don’t worry about it!” Ren immediately reassured her. It was an unspoken rule within the circle of Yu’s friends that making Nanako sad was a cardinal sin that needed to be corrected and/or avoided at all costs, and Ren certainly wasn’t an exception to that rule. “And you’re in luck, I have some curry left over in the fridge just for you!”

Nanako’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Really? Can I have some?” she asked eagerly.

“Of course!” Ren replied, before turning to Dojima. “You want some too?”

Dojima shook his head. “Nah, I ate something at Aiya’s after I got off work today. Nanako can have whatever you’ve saved up.”

Ren nodded in acknowledgment and went over to the kitchen, where inside there were 2 plates of Ren’s version of LeBlanc curry and rice covered in clear plastic wrap. He took both plates out and put them one at a time in the microwave. As the appliance heated the plates up, the familiar smell of LeBlanc curry began to permeate through the room, and Nanako’s face took on a blissful look as she smelled the food that Ren was preparing for her. “That smells so good!” she praised.

“Yu and the others said pretty much the same thing,” Ren commented with a smirk as he brought the now-heated plates of curry and rice over to the table, where he, Nanako, and Dojima sat down. Nanako was the first to lift a scoop of curry and rice into her mouth, and the moment she did so her jaw dropped in pure astonishment.

“H…how?” Nanako spluttered. “H-how did you make something that tastes this amazing? Not even Yu is this good of a cook, and he made one of the best omelettes I’ve ever made in my life!”

Ren smiled. “I had a really good teacher, is all I’ll say.”

“Dad, you’ve gotta try this!” Nanako insisted as she offered a spoon full of it to her father. “This is the best curry I’ve ever had!”

Dojima took the spoon and ate the curry. He didn’t have the same extreme reaction that Nanako did, but it was clear that he was very impressed with the quality of the curry. “Well, I guess I don’t need to worry about you starving to death, if you can make meals as good as this,” he commented with an approving smile. “This is some top-tier stuff.”

“I’d be happy to make you some later if you’d like,” Ren offered.

Dojima chuckled. “With how busy it can be at the station sometimes, I just might take you up on that offer, Ren.”

Nanako turned to her father and gave her a pleading look. “Can I hang out with Ren for a while, dad? Please? I already did my homework and I don’t have any tests for a while!”

Dojima frowned. “I’m okay with it from your end, Nanako, but Ren might still have some homework he needs to do for school.”

“Nah,” Ren nonchalantly replied, “I did it all earlier cause I was too bored to do anything else.”

Dojima chuckled. “Oh, in that case, knock yourself out.”

“YES!” Nanako cheered. She immediately turned to Ren and started bombarding him with questions. “What was Tokyo like? Did you make some new friends there? Is there anything fun to do? How are the police like, are they as good as Dad?”

Ren raised his hands in a defensive gesture to fend off the numerous questions that Nanako was practically bombarding him with. “Whoa, whoa, calm down, Nanako. To answer your second question first, I’ve made a whole bunch of new friends over in Tokyo. Friends that I trust as much as Big Bro and his friends.”

“That’s good,” Nanako commented as she let out a sigh. “I really hated seeing how everyone talked about you behind your back. And none of your old friends seemed to care.”

“That’s cause they didn’t, and I don’t give a crap about any of them now either,” Ren retorted. Dojima frowned silently at the sudden vitriol that entered Ren’s voice at that last statement, but since it was clear that he wasn’t directing any of the negativity towards Nanako herself he didn’t comment on it.

“Anyways, going back to your question, my new friends are great,” Ren easily switched the conversation back, smoothly dropping the momentary fury in exchange for warm geniality. “I’m just as close to them as I am to Yu and his friends, and in some ways I think we’re even closer than that.”

“Wow,” Nanako breathed, clearly haven’t expected Ren to have formed those kinds of deep friendships in a strange and unfamiliar environment. She was happy for Ren though; though she was only 12, even she could see just how miserable and furious Ren had been at being ditched by all of his friends except for herself, her Big Bro and his friends, and his parents. “I hope I get to meet them soon!”

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to get all of them here in Inaba, but the moment I do I’ll make sure you get to meet them all,” Ren promised.

“Good enough for me!” Nanako happily answered. “So what about Tokyo? Did you like it there?”

This time, Ren needed a few more seconds to come up with a proper answer to her question. “It…has its ups and downs,” he finally decided. “There’s so much more to do in Tokyo and so many different places to see. As much as I love Inaba, some days here are so boring that the only thing I feel like doing is going home and either studying or taking a nap cause I don’t feel like doing anything else the entire day.” He chuckled. “I never had that problem in Tokyo. There’s a bathhouse and a batting cage in Yongen-Jaya alone, and it’d take me all day to talk about all the things I could do in Shibuya, Kichijoji, Shinjuku, the list goes on and on. You’ll never get bored in Tokyo, that’s for sure.”

“That sounds like so much fun!” Nanako exclaimed. She turned to her dad excitedly. “Can we go to Tokyo too some day? Maybe Big Bro could take us!”

Dojima chuckled. “Maybe once I get some free time for a couple of days,” he suggested, before his face briefly morphed into a frown. “Probably not to Shinjuku though, I’ve heard some…questionable…things about that part of Tokyo.”

“I avoided the seedier parts of Shinjuku whenever I went there,” Ren reassured him. Granted, there were some who would argue that Lala’s Bar would count as a “seedier” part of Shinjuku, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Dojima. He remembered the other part of Nanako’s question, and his face morphed into a frown. “That being said…I do have to admit that Tokyo is really busy. It’s really hard to get a moment of peace with so many people around all the damn time. If you really like living the quiet life in Inaba, Nanako, you’ll probably have a hard time getting used to or even liking Tokyo. I know it took me a while to get to used to Tokyo, even in a quieter part of it like Yongen-Jaya.”

Nanako thought about Ren’s answer for a moment, then shrugged. “Only way for me to find out for sure, right?” she remarked.

Ren snickered. “You’ll fit right in, then. As for fun things to do, I think my favorite place has to be Kichijoji. There’s a Darts and Billiards place that’s really fun, and a Jazz Club that opens up at night that plays some really nice music and serves some amazing drinks. And it’s not seedy at all.”

Not to mention the fact that the Jazz Jin Bar had been a great place for powering up Personas. Ren had tried to bring his friends over whenever he had the time, but the one thing he made sure to bring them over for were whenever they were serving special, one-in-a-kind drinks that offered unique skills to Personas. Sure, it might have cost a night, but it was absolutely worth having Morgana learn Debilitate, or Haru learn Concentrate. Yusuke in particular had benefitted tremendously; giving him Ali Dance, Arms Master, and Charge had transformed him from an admittedly weaker and frailer physical attacker than Ryuji into a more graceful Shadow-killing machine with power comparable to his best friend’s.

“Ooh, I haven’t been to a jazz club before! That sounds like a lot of fun!” Nanako exclaimed.

“Guess we have a place to visit if we ever get a chance to go to the city,” Dojima commented with a light chuckle.

“And what about the police?” Nanako asked eagerly. “Are they as good as Dad?”

The smile immediately faded from Ren’s face, replaced by a masklike expression of neutrality even as he forcibly buried the feelings of resentment and contempt that he had towards the Tokyo Police. “Your Dad and Chie are a lot better than they are,” he answered brusquely, refusing to say anything more.

Dojima could immediately tell that Ren had not had a good experience with the Tokyo Police, and even Nanako could detect the abrupt change in his behavior. The two of them glanced at each other, clearly concerned, but ultimately neither of them openly commented on it. Having known Ren for several years now, Nanako could tell that she wasn’t going to get any more details out of Ren on this particular topic, and the only thing she’d accomplish if she tried was ruin the mood of their reunion.

Instead, Nanako tried to change the topic…and suddenly an idea popped in her head. “You didn’t happen to get a girlfriend while you were in Tokyo, did you?”

Ren was so caught-off guard by the sudden change in topic that he was reduced to a spluttering mess for a few seconds. “Uh…uh…wha…?”

Nanako smirked slyly at him. “I’m not hearing you say no…” she pressed in a sing-song voice.

Ren groaned. “All right, all right, you got me, I did get a girlfriend while I was in Tokyo,” he admitted. “You’re the second person in Inaba to figure it out, Nanako.”

“A-ha!” she cheered. “It’s about time! So who is she?”

“I kinda want to hear this too,” Dojima added, more subdued but no less interested.

Ren took out his phone and showed the same picture of himself and Haru that he had showed Shiho earlier to them. “Her name is Haru, and she’s an adorable sweetheart. I couldn’t ask for a better girlfriend. Just make sure you don’t ever make her mad.”

“Aww…” Nanako gushed, “…she’s so cute!”

Dojima, on the other hand, had picked up on something else about Ren’s girlfriend. “Wait a minute,” he realized, “isn’t this Haru Okumura? Like…the daughter of the CEO of Okumura Foods?”

“Yep, the one and the same,” Ren confirmed.

“Huh. I’m honestly shocked you managed to make this relationship work out so well, especially with that bogus criminal record,” Dojima remarked. “Especially since, from what I’ve heard about Okumura, he definitely didn’t seem like the type of guy to let his daughter date some random guy from the countryside.”

“Oh, we didn’t start dating until after his death,” Ren explained. “Obviously I gave her plenty of time to mourn her father, I didn’t want to seem like some kind of creep. Heck, she was more interested in being in a relationship with me than I was with her at first, and I didn’t realize my own feelings until much later.”

Nanako giggled. “Such a gentleman, Ren. Sounds like you two are perfect for each other.” She gave him her version of a fierce glare. “You better treat her right, Ren, you hear me?”

 “You don’t have to worry about a thing, Nanako,” Ren quickly reassured her. “If I didn’t treat Haru with anything except my best, she’d kick my ass first long before you did.”

“I’m just surprised that she wasn’t already in an arranged marriage,” Dojima commented. “Those rich elites from Tokyo tend to force their kids into those all the time.”

“Oh, she was,” Ren thought, “but we’ve already dealt with that very thoroughly.”

After Haru had discovered that Sugimura had lied to her to try and keep her chained to their arranged marriage and unsurprisingly dumped him immediately, Ren had taken several steps of his own to make sure that Sugimura wouldn’t continue to be a problem after Yaldabaoth’s defeat and Shido’s defeat. He had ordered Futaba to hack into all of the Sugimura family’s electronic records to find potential blackmail material, and his little sister had discovered all sorts of evidence incriminating Sugimura and his family of corruption and many illegal activities. More than enough to see Sugimura thrown into jail for years or at the very least see his reputation destroyed beyond repair in the wake of Shido’s own fall from grace.

As much as Ren had wanted to confront Sugimura instead, he knew that doing so was far too risky. So instead, he had forwarded the incriminating evidence all to Haru, who wasted no time in threatening Sugimura that she would release all of it to the public and to the police if he continued to harass either her or any of her friends. From what Haru had told him later, she had demonstrated a level of cutthroat ruthlessness towards Sugimura that she would normally have reserved for the Shadows of Mementos, despite her initial lack of business acumen and experience. A test to measure up her willingness to stand up for herself and fight back against a corrupt society without the powers of the Persona and the Metaverse, which Haru was pleased to report that she had passed with flying colors.

Sugimura had ended up fleeing the meeting with his tail between his legs, although he had tried to save face by calling Haru a “worthless excuse for a woman who would never be a good wife” and “a complete waste of time.” When he had heard about this, it had taken an extreme amount of self-control and Haru’s own comforting words for Ren to not immediately chase down Sugimura to beat the shit out of him or command Futaba to release the incriminating evidence on Sugimura to the public purely out of spite.

Either way, the biggest obstacle between his and Haru’s romance had been dealt with swiftly, decisively, and brutally. And neither he nor Haru wanted to waste a single thought on the waste of space that had been Haru’s ex-fiancé now that he had been removed from the picture.

“Uh, Ren?” Nanako’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “You there?”

“Oh, sorry,” Ren shook his head. “Just thinking about my girlfriend.” Not technically a lie, though not entirely true either.

Dojima chuckled. “Heh, take it from me, Ren. Once you get married, you won’t ever stop thinking about your wife. For better or worse, she’s a huge part of your life for all of what’s left.”

Ren had a feeling Dojima was talking about more than what he had said through his words, though he didn’t press the topic either. He and the Dojimas proceeded to exchange small talk on less significant topics, with Ren asking about how much Inaba had changed while he had been away and the Dojimas asking about more details on what Ren’s life had been like while he had been in Tokyo.

It was already well into the night by the time Dojimas decided it was time to go back home. The two of them got up from the table and Nanako gave Ren another hug. “I’ll come by again soon!” she promised. “Maybe we can play some video games together!”

“I’ll be ready,” Ren replied with a grin. “Maybe we can get the others over to one of our houses for a mass video game night.”

“I’ll talk to Big Bro about that!” Nanako happily agreed, and with that the Dojimas departed from the house, leaving Ren alone with Morgana.

“Those two seem really nice,” Morgana commented once Ren had locked the door to his home again. “Kinda reminded me of Sojiro and Futaba, actually.”

“In some ways, yeah,” Ren agreed. “But they’re plenty different in other ways, too.” He smiled. “Still love them both in my own way, though.”

And while he didn’t feel a confidant bond form between himself and Nanako or Ryotaro Dojima, this time he wasn’t surprised by that in the slightest.

If Yu Narukami didn’t already have his own bond with either of them, Ren would eat Satanael’s gun.

Chapter Text

Ren smiled as he opened up his phone, Morgana sitting on the bed a few steps behind him. It was already late into the night, with the Dojimas having long since departed from his house. Since he had already done his homework earlier, he figured that now was as good a time as any to connect with his friends.

“God, I hope they’re all on right now,” he thought as he typed his message out onto the phone screen. “Sup guys, you all here?”

Ryuji: “Hell yeah, man! Was wondering when we were gonna hear from ya!”

Ann: “Oh, hey Ren! Good timing, I just got back from a shoot a few minutes ago. How’s it going?”

Yusuke: “Delightful to hear from you again so soon, Ren.”

Futaba: “Hey, there’s my favorite key item! How’s it going, Ren?”

Makoto: “Tokyo just hasn’t been the same without you, Ren. I’m glad it sounds like you’re doing okay.”

Haru: “How are you doing, my love? A day hasn’t gone by where I don’t think of you and when I can see you again.”

Sumire: “Great to hear from you, senpai! How are you doing in Inaba?”

Ren: “Doing pretty good, just had some family friends drop by and say Hi. Morgana’s also around, he says Hi too. How’s it going with you guys?”

Ryuji: “Got this stupid homework assignment from Ushimaru. God, that guy is such a massive pain in the ass!”

Makoto: “I have to admit, it’s a relief to not have to worry about Shujin Academy anymore.”

Haru: “It’s been very busy lately. I’ve had to manage Okumura Foods and prepare myself for college. But I’ve never backed down from a challenge ever since I started becoming a Phantom Thief, and I don’t plan on starting now!”

Ren grinned at Haru’s enthusiasm, one of the many traits that he loved about her. “That’s the spirit, Haru! I know you’re gonna ace whatever you do!”

Haru: “Thank you very much, Ren-kun! I’m doing this for you, more than anyone else!”

Ryuji: “Heh, you two are so in love with each other, it’s not even funny.”

Ann: “Such a cute couple though, definitely my OTP for sure!”

Yusuke: “If only I had the chance to paint the two of you, Ren and Haru. Such a portrait of pure and true romance would be an absolute masterpiece!”

Futaba: “Ugh, there Inari goes again, talking about art like always. Can’t say he’s completely wrong, though, that picture would absolutely be worth putting up in a museum though, wheh-heh-heh!”

Ren: “Maybe one day when we have the time, Yusuke.”

Makoto: “Anyways, how are you doing at school over there, Ren? Do you have any friends back over there.”

Ren: “Pfft, at this school? Hell no, they all abandoned me when I got arrested. And they’re still treating me like a delinquent even though my record’s been cleared!”

Ryuji: “Are you fucking kidding me? Those fucking assholes!”

Ann: “Ugh, people are the worst. Even after we killed Yaldabaoth’s ass, he’s still fucking up Ren’s life with his bullshit.”

Haru: “I can always visit your school with the Fleur de Mals R. I’m sure that my trusty axe will be more than enough for me to teach those scoundrels a proper lesson in manners!

Ren: “Yeah, and I don’t really give enough of a shit to reconnect with people who’ve stabbed me in the back once already. Luckily though, the teachers have been all right. My homeroom teacher’s actually pretty nice.”

Makoto: “He certainly can’t be any worse than the teachers at Shujin, at the very least.”

Yusuke: “Well, it’s a relief that you have at least one person supporting you over in your town.”

Ren: “Oh, I’ve got plenty of those, they’re just not in school.”

Ren smirked as an idea suddenly popped into his head. He had been planning on making this announcement eventually, but now was as good of a time as any. As the Phantom Thieves continued to chat, Ren shifted the chat over to Private Messaging. To one person in particular.

Ren: “Hey, Shiho?”

Shiho: “Oh hey Ren! What’s up?”

Ren: “Did you actually get around to telling Ann that you’re in Inaba with me?”

Shiho: “No, I haven’t. Heck, it actually took a while for my parents to decide on Inaba for where we were gonna move.”

Ren: “Perfect. How do you feel about me dropping you in our chat and blowing everyone’s minds, especially Ann’s?”

Shiho: “That sounds hilarious, I’m down.”

Ren: “All right, Imma invite you into the chat. I’m in the mood to drop some bombshells on my friends tonight, heh heh heh.”

Shiho: “Can’t wait to see the look on Ann’s face.”

Ren snickered as he shifted the chat back to the Phantom Thieves. He might not be able to see Ann’s expression of surprise when he revealed his secret, but his imagination would have to be good enough.

Ren: “Sorry about that, needed to talk to someone for a sec.”

Ryuji: “Nah, you’re good, bro.”

Ren: “Say, I actually DID make a friend over at Yasogami. Probably the only student I’m friendly with over there. She’s actually really nice.”

Makoto: “I’m glad to hear that, at least. Nobody should be alone.”

Ren: “Do you mind if I introduce her to this chat? We’ve already had Futaba clear out all the stuff in the chats about the Phantom Thieves so it should be safe.”

Futaba: “Well, I’m gonna have to clear this out too, but I don’t see a problem with that.”

Yusuke: “It would be a pleasure to meet her.”

Haru: “Anyone who is a friend of Ren is a friend of ours!”

Ann: “Who is she, Ren?”

Ren grinned. Showtime.

Ren: “Got her right here, ready to go, Ann.”

<Ren has invited Shiho Suzui into the chat>

Shiho: “Hi everyone, remember me?”

Ann: “AHUISDFHDOSFIODSJFOIDSPUFSSDFHPDSIFJIDOSFHJDIOFIOPDSJFDIOPFH”

Ann: “MIOWQEURTMPWYTPOIEWYTRGVIWOURGMPWVGYPKSADHYPAIDMSFU”

Ann: “IODSMFGPIDSUMJFIVDUKGIFPOUGVKIFPGUVSPDIVUMGOIUDMKPFGIOV”

Ann: “HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH?????????”

Shiho: “Hehe, I knew I was gonna blow your mind.”

Ann: “But HOW? The two of you barely talked to each other before you left!”

Ren: “Shiho lives in Inaba now and goes to the same school that I do.”

Ryuji: “Dude, that’s so cool! What are the odds?”

Makoto: “I’m sorry about the horrible atrocities you suffered at Shujin, Shiho. I should have done more to stop them as the Student Council President…”

Shiho: “Don’t be, Makoto. I’ve known the truth for a while now. Kamoshida had absolute power over there, and Kobayakawa knew and didn’t do a single thing about it. No way a single student was gonna be able to do anything about either of them…at least not until the Phantom Thieves happened.”

Makoto: “Suzui-chan…”

Shiho: “Call me Shiho, Makoto. Anyone who’s a friend of Ann is a friend of mine. Though I’m honestly shocked that you’re friends with everyone here. From what I remember before I left Shujin…you were kind of a teacher’s pet, and Ren was a delinquent back then…”

Makoto: “I can’t deny that, but let’s just say I’ve changed a lot in the past year.”

Ann: “We all have, for better or for worse.”

Haru: “That whole business with Kamoshida was horrible, Shiho-chan. Even though we may not have met with each other before, I’m glad to hear that you’re doing all right and that my beloved Ren has someone about our age to look out for him.”

Shiho: “Oh, that’s right! Ren told me you’re his girlfriend. Nice to meet you!”

Futaba: “Bruh, those two were so obviously in love but they kept dancing around it forever! Took them long enough to finally get together at Christmas!”

Ryuji: “Seriously, even I could tell you two were made for each other, and I’m a dumbass!”

Haru: “Oh, we had declared our love for each other quite a while before that, Ryuji. We just never had time to act on it until after we took care of some important business first.”

Yusuke: “I still have deep regret that I was never able to create a portrait of the two of you together before Ren departed for Inaba.”

Ryuji: “There goes Yusuke, talking about art again.”

/

As his friends continued to banter, Ren suddenly realized something. He changed back to his DMs again, only this time he opened a DM to Haru instead of Shiho.

Ren: “Hey, Haru?”

Haru: “Oh, Ren-kun! Is something the matter?”

Ren: “I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay with Shiho hanging out with me here in Inaba. Since she’s another girl and all. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

Haru: “You don’t have to worry, Ren-kun. I’m not someone to let petty jealousy get the better of me. If Suzui-chan is the only friend over at your high school that’s around the same age as us, I have no issue with her being your friend. After all, Mako-chan, Ann-chan, and Futaba-chan are our friends too.”

Ren: “Oh, that’s a relief to hear. Thanks, Haru.”

Haru: “No problem, Ren-kun! The only way I’d have a problem with your friendship with Shiho is if I suspected you were dating her or sleeping with her behind my back, which I know you wouldn’t do such a despicable thing.”

Ren: “Hell no, Haru. I know full well that if I ever cheated on you, that would be a one-way trip to getting an axe shoved deep into my ass.”

Haru: “I’m so glad that you understand me so well Ren, hehe!”

Ren: “Wouldn’t have it any other way. Besides, Shiho’s kinda sworn off the whole romance and dating thing completely for now, given…what happened.”

Haru: “A completely understandable decision. I wouldn’t fault her for that in the slightest.”

Ren: “Me neither. Anyways, glad to hear that you’re cool with me hanging out with her then. Love you so much, Haru.”

Haru: “I love you too, Ren! The next time I get a break from my various duties, I’ll be sure to come and see you!”

Having secured his girlfriend’s permission to hang out with Shiho, Ren shifted back over to the main chat where all the Phantom Thieves were hanging out.

Shiho: “Anyways, I feel so much happier playing basketball than I ever did playing volleyball. Never realized just how much fun sports can be without a creepy perv teacher breathing down your neck and beating the shit out of you pretending that it’s training.”

Ann: “How’s the coach, Shiho? Is it anyone we need to worry about?”

Shiho: “Nope. We practice by ourselves more often than not, and the coach who comes by every so often to train us is really nice. Ichijo-sensei is everything Kamoshida wasn’t. He’s really nice, respects boundaries, and doesn’t do anything creepy at all. And after everything that happened to me, Ann, you KNOW I would be hitting the alarm real fast if he set off any red flags.”

Ren: “Sorry, got held up for a sec. Anyways, can vouch for Ichijo-sensei. He’s my homeroom teacher, and he defended me in front of the other students when they started calling me a criminal.”

Ryuji: “Damn, I like him already. Not even Kawakami had your back that quickly. And I’m getting even more pissed at the fact that the other students at Yasogami are treating you like trash. It’s fucking Shujin Academy all over again, isn’t it?”

Haru: “Unacceptable. I’m now more convinced than ever that visiting Yasogami High School and teaching the other students a proper lesson in manners with my Fleur del Mals R is the only just and proper course of action.”

Futaba: “Welp, rip to everyone in Ren’s school I guess.”

Makoto: “No, Haru-chan, how many times do I have to tell you mass murder isn’t the answer in the real world!”

Haru: “I wouldn’t kill them, Mako-chan! Then my lesson on not disrespecting my boyfriend wouldn’t be painful enough!”

Shiho: “Holy shit, you’re actually kinda terrifying.”

Ryuji: “Dude, you have no idea.”

Ren: “That’s what I love about her. Adorable and scary as hell at the same time.”

The Phantom Thieves and Shiho continued to chat amongst themselves for the next hour. Despite Shiho only being formally introduced to most of the Phantom Thieves tonight, she quickly fit with the others like a glove, having zero problems bantering with his friends. Ren couldn’t help but wonder just how she’d react if she learned that all of her friends were secretly the Phantom Thieves of Hearts who had dealt justice to the monster who had ruined her life.

Ren was about to comment on a joke Ryuji made at Kamoshida’s expense, when suddenly his phone started to ring. His eyes widened as he saw the Caller ID: it was his parents.

Ren: “Guys, I gotta go. My parents are calling me. TTYL if I don’t get back later.”

Haru: “Oh, by all means, Ren-kun! Good-bye for now!”

His friends all gave him their good-byes as Ren allowed the call from his parents to go through. Morgana, sensing that this was a private moment, quickly departed from the bedroom and climbed downstairs into the living room. After a few seconds, the phone finally connected. “Hello?” Ren asked.

“Hey, there he is!” a warm, jovial male voice greeted him. “Finally, after almost a full year, it’s great to hear your voice again. Fuyuko, Ren’s on the phone!”

Ren smiled. He had missed his parents, Shimazu and Fuyuko Amamiya, ever since he had been unceremoniously booted off to Tokyo. Sojiro might have done his absolute best to be his guardian in Tokyo, and had passed with flying colors once he had gotten over his initial (and understandable) distrust of him. But nobody could beat his birth parents who actually cared about him and his well-being.

“Ren!” his mother’s voice eagerly called over the phone. “How’s my beloved little boy doing?”

Ren groaned. “C’mon, mom, I’m almost a legal adult by now.”

Shimazu chuckled. “Don’t mind her, Ren. How’s it going over there?”

“Honestly, better than expected,” Ren commented. “Having the whole house to myself feels weird in both a good and a bad way, but I found this cat over in Tokyo I brought home to keep me company.”

“If you’re gonna bring a cat into our house, Ren, you better make sure you take good care of it,” Fuyuko warned gently but firmly. “After all, you’ve never taken care of a pet before.”

“I’ve had plenty of experience over the past couple of months, Mom, Morgana will be fine,” Ren reassured her.

“Huh, already named it and everything,” Shimazu commented. “Was it a stray you picked up somewhere and Sakura-san let you keep?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Ren answered in the affirmative. Of course, the actual answer was a lot more complex than that, but his parents didn’t need to know the details.

“As long as we don’t come home and find all the furniture scratched up and covered in hair, that’s good enough for me,” Shimazu laughed.

“Has the town been treating you okay, Ren?” Fuyuko asked worriedly. “I know everyone treated you like a pariah because of what Masayoshi Shido did. We tried to defend you as best we could, but then we had to flee the country cause Shido was getting more and more powerful…”

“I’m not gonna pretend that they’ve welcomed me back as a conquering hero or anything like that, but for the most part people have left me alone,” Ren answered. “But those older friends I used to hang out with all the time through me a welcome party back home, so I’ve still got plenty of people I can rely on over here. The Dojimas also came by a few hours ago.”

Shimazu breathed an audible sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear,” he replied. Ryotaro Dojima’s a good guy, and Yu Narukami’s stellar reputation in this town speaks for itself.”

“Hopefully they might be able to help you get a job,” Fuyuko suggested. “We’ve left behind some money for you, but it won’t last more than a few months.”

Ren smirked, his eyes shifting over to the desk and closet where his millions of yen from the Metaverse were carefully concealed. “Don’t worry about me and money, mom. I’ll be able to take care of myself just fine.”

“That confident in yourself?” Shimazu commented, clearly impressed. “Tokyo must’ve done some good for you after all.”

“I can hear it too,” Fuyuko agreed. “Ren seems…different, somehow. More sure of himself. More mature. He’s definitely changed in a good way, it’s just hard for me to figure out more than that since we’re currently half way across the world.”

“Getting your own Persona and going through your own Wild Card journey tends to do that to you,” Ren thought with another smirk. As much as he loved his parents, he couldn’t help but find amusement in just how clueless they were to everything that had happened to him in the past year. Granted, it wasn’t their fault due to the court’s silence order, but still.

And he wasn’t even going to begin to talk to them about the bad stuff that had happened. That would open up a Mementos-sized can of worms that he simply wasn’t ready to deal with, and probably wouldn’t ever be.

“Well, I’m more confident now that Ren can take care of himself at least for another year,” Shimazu remarked, and Ren could hear the smile in his voice. “He’s got his older friends and the Dojimas around, and assuming he kept a good relationship with Sakura-san, he can always fall back to him if things well and truly become intolerable before we find a way to get back home.”

“Sojiro and I get along great,” Ren reassured him. “He taught me how to make his café’s trademark LeBlanc curry and coffee.”

Fuyuko giggled. “Maybe you’ll be able to make us dinner and coffee someday instead of the other way around,” Fuyuko jokingly commented, before adding, “You’ll be a legal adult in about a year, anyway. Once you graduate from high school, you can choose whatever path you want for your future.” She paused for a moment, and in her next words Ren could hear the frown in her voice. “Even though your options might be limited.”

“You did the right thing trying to rescue that woman from Shido,” Shimazu’s voice was now noticeably sterner and more serious, “but there’s no changing the unfortunate truth that doing the right thing still has negative consequences for yourself. There are plenty of businesses out there who’ll refuse to hire you just because of the stigma of a criminal record, even if it’s officially been cleared and wiped out. Especially in Inaba, where everyone knows everyone.”

Ren smiled. He knew that his father was speaking out of concern, and he appreciated his candor. After so many months of dealing with corrupt adults who did nothing but spew lies out of their mouths, it was incredibly refreshing to hear his dad be straightforward and honest. “You don’t have to worry about a thing, dad,” he reassured his parents. “I spent some time making some connections with a couple of people back in Tokyo. I already have some plans if what I want to do doesn’t work out.”

“Our son learned how to network by himself,” Fuyuko commented approvingly. “You really did grow up so fast, Ren.”

“I’m more convinced than ever that you can take care of yourself,” Shimazu praised, before letting out a tired sigh, “which is a relief, given the problems we’ve been running into.”

“What do you mean by problems?” Now it was Ren’s turn to be worried.

“We’ve been trying to get back to Japan, but we’ve been running into a lot of roadblocks,” Shimazu explained grimly. “Since we left the country in such a rushed, secretive, and haphazard way, trying to get back into Japan has been nothing but a massive pain.”

“I don’t blame you for leaving,” Ren reassured him and his mom. “Shido confessed all of his crimes to the public, and everything you just said about Shido being a power-hungry and evil monster? He’s somehow even worse. I’d have done the same thing if I were in your shoes.”

“Thank you, Ren,” Fuyuko murmured softly. “There were so many days when we wondered whether you’d hate us for leaving you alone in Inaba.”

“Mom, if you thought Shido was coming after you, I’d think you and Dad were idiots if you didn’t flee Japan,” Ren replied bluntly.

Shimazu chuckled again, but this time there was almost no humor in his voice. “You’re not wrong,” he commented dryly. “But anyways, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were still stuck in America for another couple of months. And honestly, Ren? If you graduate from high school before we get back, don’t wait for us. Go and follow whatever dreams or plans you have for the future.”

Ren felt a wave of relief wash over him. He had returned to Inaba partly out of respect for his parents. And while he didn’t mind waiting for months for them to return, he knew himself well enough that eventually it would become a shackle that he would grow to resent if he couldn’t move on at some point. But that wouldn’t be a problem with his parents’ blessing. “Thanks, Dad. And thanks, mom. For believing me back when all the bullshit with Shido happened.”

“You’re our son, Ren,” Fuyuko answered softly. “If anyone should believe you, it’s us.”

“Absolutely, we would be a disgrace to the idea of parents otherwise,” Shimazu agreed.

“And you don’t have to worry about me, Mom, Dad,” Ren reassured them. “I’m in good hands over here, whether it’s in Inaba or Tokyo.”

“That’s good to hear,” Fuyuko commented, her tone significantly lighter than it was a few moments earlier. “Say hi to the Dojimas and Yu Narukami for us.”

“I will, mom,” Ren promised. “Sounds like you need to end the call, though.”

“Yeah, right about now, actually,” Shimazu confirmed. “Hope you’re having a good time over there in Inaba. If you plan on going anywhere for vacation, I don’t mind so long as you have enough money to pay for it or someone else like Yu is covering for it.”

“Like I said before, Dad,” Ren smirked. “You don’t have to worry about me. I got this.”

Shimazu chuckled. “Spoken like a true Amamiya, Ren. All right, have a good night.”

“We love you, Ren,” Fuyuko added warmly. “Good night.”

“Love you too, mom and dad. Good night,” Ren replied as he finished the call. He put his phone to the side and leaned back onto his bed with a contented sigh.

It was like he’d told the others. This house might be empty except for himself and Morgana. But even if none of his friends were physically present with him at this very moment, Ren was not alone and he never would be.

“Life is good,” were his last thoughts before he allowed sleep to overcome him.

Chapter Text

Ren breathed out a sigh of relief as the school day finally ended. Shujin Academy might have been very different from Yasogami High School, but one constant between the two schools (and pretty much all others) was that it was always pleasant for the school week to finally end.

“That’s all for today,” Kou declared as he put down the chalk that he had been holding up. “Enjoy your weekend, everyone.”

“Time to get outta here,” Ren thought as he got up from his chair and walked towards the entrance to the classroom, ignoring the wary and fearful looks many of the other students gave him.

Ever since the first day that he had returned to Yasogami High School, the other students had given him a wide berth. Many of them looked on him with fear after his furious condemnation of that one student who had spoken about Shiho behind her back, and it was pretty much unanimously agreed by the student body that Ren Amamiya was the one student you did not want to piss off. Which suited Ren just fine, as it meant that both he and Shiho would be left alone by people that neither of them wanted to interact with.

He still didn’t know how to respond to the fact that a noticeable minority of students were still crushing on him, despite (or ironically even because) how they had witnessed his fury. “Too bad for them, though,” he thought dryly. “I already have a girlfriend, and I’m not trading her for an entire army of students here.”

“Hey, Ren!” Shiho’s voice broke him out of his thoughts, and he smiled at her as she approached. “What’re you gonna be doing today?”

“I’m gonna be doing some of my homework at the Junes Food Court and then do a quick run of the place before I go home,” Ren answered. “I went there a couple of days ago, but a lot of that went into making a mass curry dinner for my older friends and I wanna make sure that I’m not missing anything before I head home again.”

“Mind if I come with?” Shiho asked. Ren could already tell from a few days just how much more lively, healthy, and happy she seemed as a person now that she was freed from Kamoshida and Shujin’s pernicious influence. “I don’t have anything else I need to do today.”

“Sure!” Ren grinned. “The more the merrier.”

Once they were far from the school grounds, Morgana popped his head out of his bag. “You know, Ren,” he commented a bit slyly, “if I didn’t already know that you were a loyal girlfriend to Haru, I would’ve thought that this would be a great opportunity to get a girlfriend in Shiho.”

“Not another word out of you,” Ren scolded. “It’s not like she can hear you anyway,” she added more quietly.

 “That cat sure is lively,” Shiho remarked. “I don’t think I’ve seen a cat that energetic before.”

“Not a cat…” Morgana grumbled, though even he recognized the futility of insisting more aggressively.

“I’m gonna be bringing him into Junes this time around, even if I’m not allowed to. Look at that, I’m actually gonna be doing something criminal and living up to my reputation,” Ren deadpanned.

Shiho giggled. “What an absolute disaster for society you are,” she commented, equally dryly.

“You have no idea,” Ren thought in his head in an ironic tone as they approached the Junes Department Store.

To his relief, there weren’t any employees who were immediately trying to approach him, demanding that he take Morgana and leave him outside of Junes. “Stay inside my bag,” he ordered. “Otherwise we could get in trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Morgana replied grouchily. “I’m not a Phantom Thief for no reason, you know.”

“You really like to talk with that cat a lot,” Shiho commented. Her tone wasn’t really suspicious, but more curious than she had been earlier.

Fortunately, Ren had a good explanation to justify his conversations with Morgana. “Hey, if you lived at home alone and Morgana was the only person you could have any kind of conversation with, you’d talk a lot with him too,” he pointed out.

“Fair enough,” Shiho conceded.

The two of them ascended up the elevator to the Food Court, which mercifully was mostly devoid of other shoppers. They found a table for themselves and quickly got their books out of their bags to start doing homework. Fortunately, their classwork happened to overlap in some cases, giving the two of them opportunities to help each other out whenever they needed help with something. It quickly became apparent as the minutes passed that Ren was helping Shiho out much more than the other way around. Shiho might not have been a bad student per se, but she certainly wasn’t academically on the level of someone like Makoto or Ren himself.

“Holy crap,” she breathed. “You’re really good at studying and school stuff, Ren.”

“Top of the class. That’s what happens when you’re friends with the class president and one of the star students of Shujin,” Ren joked, before his expression darkened slightly. “Although…I did have another reason on top of that.”

Shiho tilted her head curiously. “What’s that?”

“Revenge,” he answered. This time, his smile had zero warmth behind it, and Shiho could see something vicious inside it. “All the students at Shujin besides my friends looked down on me like trash, seeing me as nothing more than a criminal no matter how well I did while actual monsters like Kamoshida and corrupt fucks like Kobayakawa trampled over their rights with nobody doing anything to stop them. Getting the top scores and becoming the star student of Shujin was the perfect way for me to get my revenge on them.” Ren couldn’t hold back the urge to smirk at the thought. “Every time I answered a question in class correctly, every time we had an exam and I got the top of the class, the whole student body of Shujin would know that they were being beaten by someone they thought as worthless criminal trash. Imagine just how much of a blow that would be to their egos,” he finished with vindictive satisfaction.

“They really didn’t treat you well at all, did they?” she asked sympathetically.

“Nope, which made the looks on their faces whenever I got a top score on an exam again and again satisfying as all hell,” Ren replied smugly.

“Do you feel that way about the students at Yasogami?” Shiho wondered. “Are you gonna do your best to get top scores just to piss everyone off?”

Ren shook his head. “A little bit, maybe, but not as much as with Shujin. Mainly because I don’t have any reason to give a shit about the students at Yasogami. They obviously fear me, but I haven’t heard as many stupid rumors about me as I did back in Shujin. I think it’s because the teachers here are actually competent at keeping bullshit like that down, and unlike in Shujin I don’t actually have a criminal record anymore.”

“Also, you’re representing the Phantom Thieves as their leader here!” Morgana piped in. “You can’t get bad scores and embarrass the Phantom Thieves like that!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ren rolled his eyes. As he went back to his studies, Shiho couldn’t help but dwell on the interactions between Ren and Morgana. It was crazy to think about, but the way Ren casually responded to Morgana’s meows and yowls…it was almost as though Ren somehow understood what his cat was saying, and was responding to him as though he were another human rather than just an animal.

That errant thought didn’t quite go away even as the two of them worked on their homework. Ren continued to offer her help whenever she came across a topic that she was stumped by, which she was always grateful for.

After about an hour and a half, Ren dramatically closed his book with a loud THUMP. “All right, fuck this,” he declared. “I’m sick of looking at these homework problems, I’ll deal with this shit later. Wanna just do a Junes run and then go home?”

“Yeah,” Shiho agreed. “Honestly, I was getting tired of doing homework too. If I did one more problem, I was gonna go crazy.”

“Great, let’s get this done then.”

The two teens left the food court and made their way into Junes proper. To Shiho’s surprise, Ren didn’t take the elevator down to the grocery section, but instead made his way to the electronics part of the store.

“Huh, didn’t expect you to go all the way over here,” Shiho remarked.

Ren shrugged. “I actually got a good chunk of money over in Tokyo,” he explained. “Enough that I can consider buying a couple of electronics like game consoles to spice up the house.” He knew that he could buy a lot more than just “a couple” with the money he had picked up from Mementos, although obviously that wasn’t a secret he could tell to even someone he trusted like Shiho.

His eyes fell onto the same large wide-screen TV that had remained prominently on display in the electronics section at Junes for as long as he could remember. Again, Ren felt something he couldn’t really fathom or explain draw him closer to that specific TV. The last time he had been here, he had avoided approaching it any further since Yosuke and Teddie had been around, and he hadn’t wanted to get them either in trouble or angry at him for messing around with merchandise. But since neither of them were here, right now.

“Uh, Ren?” Shiho prompted, looking a bit concerned. “You’ve been staring at that TV for a while now.”

“Nothing…just thinking about a legend I heard,” Ren answered vaguely.

“That Midnight Channel thing?” Shiho tilted her head curiously. “I’ve heard of it, and I’ve even tried it a few times to see if it’s actually a thing.” She shook her head. “It never was, though. I’ve never seen the TV come alive by itself.”

Ren snickered. “Maybe it’s cause you have to touch the TV to activate it or something,” he mock-theorized. “Like this.”

He reached his hand to touch the TV screen, expecting to feel the smooth glassy surface of the screen like he would for any normal TV. To both his and Shiho’s shock, glowing white concentric circles began to emanate across the TV screen from where Ren’s hand had touched it…and then Ren’s hand fell through the TV screen.

“Wh-wh-wh-what?” Shiho spluttered, staring at Ren’s hand in complete and utter disbelief. “Wh-what the heck?”

Morgana was equally shocked, though he was able to keep a bit more of his composure than Shiho. “Your hand fell into the TV screen, Ren!” He took a quick look at their surroundings, worried that somebody might see Ren’s hand through the TV. Fortunately, there wasn’t anybody around to witness this bizarre and supernatural event...even if that meant there wasn’t anyone around to help them either.

“Don’t look at me!” Ren exclaimed. “I don’t know what’s going on.” He tried to retract his hand through the TV screen, but to his shock he found that there was something resisting him. “Urrrggghhhh…” he grunted as he tried to pull his hand out again. “I can’t pull it out.”

“Here, let me help!” Shiho offered. She grabbed onto Ren’s shoulder and tried to pull to help her friend out, while Morgana kept an eye out for any potential outsiders who might stumble onto the scene.

“This…thing is…not…letting go!” Ren grunted in frustration as he tried to pull his arm out harder.

The two of them pulled with all of their strength…but the force pulling Ren’s hand resisted their efforts, matching their strength with its own. Ren felt himself be yanked forward…straight through the TV, with Shiho and Morgana being dragged in with him.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” the three of them screamed as they fell into the TV. Ren felt as though he were being pulled from one dimension into another, a bizarre sensation that was still somehow familiar to him. It wasn’t quite the same as the transition from the real world to Mementos, but there was no mistaking the sensation of being transported into a cognitive world.

Meanwhile, at the Inaba TV Station…

“…and you don’t have to worry about a thing, because it’s gonna be sunny for the next few days!” Marie declared as she wrapped up her weather report. “This has been Mariko Kusumi, and don’t forget! The more you put in, the more you get out!”

“And that’s a wrap, Mariko!” her cameraman gave her a thumbs-up as he finished rolling. “Great job as always!”

Marie nodded. “Nothing but my very best,” she replied. She turned and left the studio, going back to her room to take a break for a few minutes. She was only able to make it down the hallway a few steps when she suddenly stumbled forward as her mind was blasted by sensations only a cognitive goddess like her could experience. “Guh!” she exclaimed as she barely managed to avoid tripping over her feet. “Wh-what?”

Marie focused on the sensations flooding into her mind…and her eyes widened in shock as she slowly made sense of what they were telling him. “No way...this can’t be possible,” she murmured in horrified disbelief. “Someone’s found their way into the TV World…no, multiple someone’s have found their way into the TV World.”

This shouldn’t have been possible. She had altered the entryways into the TV World so that nobody could enter through them without a Persona. Yet somehow, there were now 3 entities who had crossed into the TV World. And none of them were anyone she was familiar with.

Marie grimaced as she processed the incredibly bad news and what she should do about it. Her first choice was to immediately contact Yu Narukami to warn him, as he was the greatest and most powerful guardian of the TV World. But something stopped her. “I don’t know where Yu is,” she realized grimly. It was possible that Yu might have already been at Junes through sheer coincidence, in which case it would be easy for him to investigate and rescue whoever had fallen into the TV World. But it was also possible that Yu might be out in the streets of Inaba, far away from Junes or any TV World Portal that she had designated as relatively safe to access. If the latter case was true, then it might take several minutes or even longer for Yu to even get into the TV World…more than enough time for someone’s Personal Shadow or even some particularly aggressive normal Shadows to attack and kill whoever was inside.

But there was someone else she could call, someone who she knew for a fact would be working at Junes. Granted, they weren’t nearly as powerful or dependable as Yu was, but they weren’t incompetent either and they would take this seriously.

She picked up her phone and dialed Yosuke’s number. “Hello?” the Prince of Junes answered.

“Yosuke? It’s me, Marie,” Marie answered in a tone that made it clear that she meant business and would tolerate no bullshit. “I’m gonna make this quick since you and Teddie are the only ones I know are at Junes. Someone fell into the TV World through the portal there.”

Back in the TV World…

“Argh!”

“Oof!”

“Gah!”

Ren, Shiho, and Morgana all landed on the ground with a heavy thump. To their surprise, the landing wasn’t as heavy or as harsh as they had expected…although it quickly became apparent that the only reason why that was the case was because they had landed on soft grass.

“Ugh…” Ren was the first to get to his feet. Once he had steadied himself, he reached down and helped Shiho up on her feet.

“Thanks,” Shiho thanked him gratefully as she too got up. “But…where are we?”

It was a very good question, and one that Ren didn’t have a full answer to. At the very least, he was relatively confident that they had entered a cognitive world, though he didn’t have the slightest idea how this particular cognitive world and how similar or different it would be from Mementos.

At the very least, the surrounding landscape couldn’t have looked more different from Mementos if it had tried. Instead of the dreary, red and black visceral subway that had looked increasingly hellish the further you went down, this cognitive world couldn’t be described as anything other than beautiful. They were in the middle of a vast plain covered in vibrant green grass, with a lake filled with crystal blue sparkling water a short distance away from them. There were also several trees surrounding the plain, with one a few feet away that held a child’s swing from its branches, and more densely clustered together to create woods farther away.

“This must be the TV World that Yu and his friends were talking about,” Morgana answered.

Shiho’s eyes widened and she whirled around to where Morgana was standing. “Wait…did you just…” she spluttered.

“Yep,” Morgana answered with a catlike grin. “Since we’re in a cognitive world, you must be able to hear me talk now. I’m Morgana, humanity’s embodiment of hope. And most certainly not a cat!” he added a bit more aggressively.

Ren sighed. “The sooner you get that fact stuck into your head, Shiho, the better,” he muttered. “He still gets all pissy whenever he gets called a cat by someone who can hear him.”

“Hey!” Morgana yowled in protest, but Shiho was still too stunned to laugh at Ren’s quip.

“What the hell is going on?” Shiho exclaimed, too overwhelmed to have properly processed everything yet. “Why is there a talking cat here? Why did we get pulled into the TV? What is this place?” She threw her hands up in frustration. “I don’t understand anything!”

“We’ll try to explain it as best as I can, but it might not be easy to understand,” Ren offered. When Shiho mutely nodded in acceptance of Ren’s offer, he continued. “This world we’re in is a cognitive world. It’s a world formed from the collective human subconscious. A world shaped by the collective minds of humanity, if that makes it easier to understand.”

“Kinda but not really,” Shiho replied, still clearly confused. “Go on.”

“The state of these cognitive worlds reflects the humans who live in the surrounding area,” Morgana picked up where Ren had left off. “When people are happy and content, or otherwise experiencing mostly positive emotions, a cognitive world looks peaceful and beautiful like this one. But when people are suffering from negative emotions, obsessions, distorted thoughts, or other bad mental states, the cognitive world can become darker and more distorted too.”

“I guess that kinda makes sense, but how do you even know all this? Have you been in a world like this before?” Shiho asked incredulously.

“We have, but that’s not something we should be focusing on right now,” Ren answered, before adding sharply, “what matters right now is getting out of here and getting back to the real world.”

“Which we don’t know how to do,” Morgana muttered. “This isn’t like the Metaverse. We don’t have something like the Meta-Nav that can just take us out of here.”

Ren scowled. “This is my fault,” he muttered. “I knew something was off about that TV. I should’ve been more careful, instead of just brainlessly putting my hand on that TV screen like a goddamn idiot.”

“I don’t think anybody would’ve expected the TV to just suck us into a cognitive world like that,” Morgana reassured him.

“I sure as hell wasn’t,” Shiho muttered.

“And another thing is bothering me,” Ren was running the events leading to their fall into the TV world through his head. “Something definitely grabbed my arm before pulling us through here. I don’t know what it was, but it yanked us through the TV World. We didn’t just fall in by ourselves. But I don’t know what that something could be.”

“Oh, don’t worry. You won’t have to wonder about that much longer,” a new, distorted feminine voice interrupted, dripping with mockery. “After all, I was the one who pulled you in here.”

Ren, Morgana, and Shiho all whirled around towards the direction of the voice, and they all gasped once they realized its source.

Standing a few feet away from them was an identical copy of Shiho Suzui, down to the clothes she was wearing…and yet, there were several things that were distinctly wrong about this copy of Shiho. Such as the faint shadowy blue aura emanating from her body, the psychotic smirk that would never have found a place on the true Shiho Suzui’s face…

…or the menacing golden eyes that could only ever be found on the face of a Shadow.

Chapter Text

Shiho gasped in shock, staring at her Shadow self with complete incomprehension, while Ren and Morgana tensed and glared warily at her. Even though they had fought the Personal Shadows of humans several times in the depths of Mementos, there had never been a single case where a human had confronted their own Shadow directly. The sole exception to this rule had been Futaba, but that had been in her own Palace and in an entirely different cognitive world. And even though Futaba’s thoughts might have been distorted, Shadow Futaba had never been truly hostile and had only wanted what was best for Futaba in the end.

The malicious expression on Shadow Shiho’s face made it abundantly clear that there were no such guarantees this time around.

“Wh-who are you?” Shiho mumbled in stunned incomprehension. She had only just managed to process Morgana’s ability to talk and the fact that they were in a cognitive world, but this latest revelation had sent her mind straight back into overdrive again.

“You don’t recognize me? I’m disappointed,” the Shadow tilted her head just like the real Shiho did, only here it was clearly an expression of mockery. Her voice was only just barely recognizable as Shiho’s own, but twisted and distorted with an unearthly echo that made it all sound subtly yet fundamentally wrong. “After all, I would have thought that you’d recognize your own face, Suzui.” She let out a theatric sigh. “Let me spell it out for you then, since you’re too stupid to figure it out yourself. I am you, Shiho Suzui. The you that you refuse to acknowledge. The you who hides your deepest darkest secrets.”

Ren grimaced. It was clear that Shadow Shiho was fully aware of Shiho’s incredibly private thoughts and feelings, and wouldn’t hesitate to spill all that out into the open in front of them without any remorse or concern for her discomfort. Part of him wanted to take Morgana and give Shiho some space out of respect for her privacy…but the much larger part of him knew that leaving someone without a Persona alone in front of a potentially hostile Shadow would be a monumentally stupid idea.

Shadow Shiho sneered. “So many things you’re hiding from yourself, other me,” she hissed. “So many things I could force you to hear in front of your new friends. How do you think they would react if they learned just how much we hated our dear friend Ann?”

Shiho’s eyes widened in shock. “What?” she blurted out. “I don’t hate her. I don’t hate her at all!”

Her Shadow only laughed mockingly in response. “Who are you trying to fool, other me?” she retorted. “That stupid blonde bitch is the reason that everything bad happened to us in that school to begin with! It’s because of Ann that we got caught in Kamoshida’s crosshairs to begin with! It’s because of her that the perverted dipshit used that fucking idiot Mishima to lure us into his office! It’s because of her that he literally fucked us so badly that we threw ourselves off the roof of that fucking school!”

“Holy shit,” Ren muttered under his breath. He’d always known that what Kamoshida had done to Shiho was an unspeakable atrocity, but the way Shadow Shiho described it was an entirely new level of unpleasant. The expression of utter anguish on Shiho’s face didn’t help matters in the slightest.

“We should never have been friends with Ann to begin with,” Shadow Shiho finished with a malevolent hiss. “Maybe then Kamoshitbag wouldn’t have used us as a tool to get revenge on her for not sleeping with him like all the rumors said.”

Shiho’s eyes widened in horror. “That’s not true!” she insisted. “I don’t hate Ann! She’s my best friend!”

“Best friend, huh?” Shadow Shiho repeated mockingly. “Such a good friend, so good she was worth getting raped for,” she spat the word out like it was poison, though Ren couldn’t blame her in this case. “We were better off without her. We should have let Kamoshida do whatever the hell he wanted to do with Ann, and kept our head to ourselves. Maybe then we wouldn’t have wasted so many months in a fucking hospital!”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Shiho demanded, her face contorted by a mixed expression of horror and disgust at what was coming out of her mouth. “I would never want anything like that to happen to Ann. I would never want anything like that to happen to anyone! Everything you’re saying is just a bunch of lies!”

Shadow Shiho sneered. “Who are you trying to fool, other me?” she asked, her voice dripping with contempt and malicious amusement. “I’m just voicing the thoughts you had. You’ve hated that so-called best friend of yours ever since you threw yourself off the roof, you just tried not to show it. At the end of the day, you and I are the same person.” The cruel smile returned. “Isn’t that right, me?”

“No,” Shiho whimpered fearfully, before her voice grew stronger as she put more force into her denial. “No! That’s not true! None of what you’ve said is true!”

“Don’t say it!” a new voice suddenly called out. Ren, Morgana, and even Shiho’s Shadow all looked up to see Yosuke and Teddie racing towards them, looks of sheer panic on their faces. The only one who didn’t seem to acknowledge them was Shiho, who was too consumed by her own anguish to notice the new arrivals.

When Yosuke got a closer look at who had fallen into the TV World, his eyes widened in shock. “Wait…Ren? You’re the one who fell in the TV World??? How is that even possible?”

“I got pulled into the TV!” Ren protested. “I wasn’t gonna climb into it by myself!”

Teddie, in the meantime, was focused more on the confrontation between the two Shihos, and though he might not have been the brightest member of the Investigation Team, he could recognize what was about to happen just as much as any of his friends. “Yosuke, this is bad!” he exclaimed. “This girl is facing her Shadow, and…”

“YOU’RE NOT ME!” Shiho cut off Teddie with a scream of denial, loud enough for everyone there to hear.

Yosuke’s face fell as he heard those accursed words. “Oh, fuck me…” he groaned. “We’re too late.”

As if to corroborate his words, Shadow Shiho began to laugh maniacally. “Heh heh heh heh heh…heh HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!” she cackled. “Yessssss…I don’t have to stay tied to this weak, pathetic little bitch anymore! I can be exactly whatever the hell I want to be! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

“What is going on?” Morgana asked frantically, his eyes widened in shock. He could do nothing but stare as black and red energies began to flow into Shadow Shiho, consuming her in a pillar of unholy darkness. “I’ve never seen anything like this before!”

“The poor girl rejected her Shadow!” Teddie explained, looking equally as panicked as Morgana. “It’s going berserk and turning into a monster!”

The darkness exploded outward, revealing Shadow Shiho’s new monstrous and distorted form. Shadow Shiho had transformed into a towering and grotesque puppet creature. Her body had transformed into a lanky, doll-like frame, with her head and face looking disconcertingly normal compared to the rest of her body save for her mouth, which had been stretched into a grin filled with razor-sharp fangs.  The shadow’s monster form had also grown four long spindly arms each ending in hands that carried a set of weapons. The upper pair of hands wielded two jagged cutlasses similar to those used by pirates in the past, while the lower pair of hands more disturbingly ended had its fingers replaced by a series of razor-sharp claws that gave them a feral and animalistic appearance. She was wearing a blood red qipao over her body that would have been ornate and beautiful were it not for the slashes and tears that had been ripped into the dress. And to top off the unholy transformation, a large greatsword had been forcibly tied to the shadow’s back by a series of tight ropes wrapped around her upper body.

“That can’t be good,” Ren thought grimly as Shiho was knocked off her feet and onto the ground by the force unleashed by the transformation, instantly knocked unconscious. The only time he had seen a person’s Shadow transform into a monster like this had been whenever he and the other Phantom Thieves had confronted a Palace Ruler directly, right before trying to steal their treasure after sending the calling card. He had never seen a monstrous transformation like this occur because of a person rejecting their Shadow. Hell, he hadn’t even seen a person confront their Shadow period apart from Futaba, who had ultimately accepted what her Shadow had been trying to tell her.

Which raised some really disturbing implications about what could have happened if Futaba hadn’t accepted her Shadow back in her Palace…

“Ren!” Yosuke shouted at him, snapping him out of his thoughts. “You’ve gotta get outta here, bro! Take your cat and get out of her while you can, and once you’re back in Junes, call Yu and let him know what happened! Teddie and I will hold her off as long as we can!”

To his utter incomprehension, Ren’s only response was to smile. A soft “No” was his only reply, the word barely above a whisper.

“Dude, this isn’t funny!” Yosuke shouted, his voice filled with a mixture of anger, disbelief, and worry. “You’re gonna die if you stay here!”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Ren replied, his voice the very essence of calm and collected confidence. “I’m not going to run, I’m not going to hide, and I sure as hell am not going to die.”

Ren’s lips stretched into a grin as he felt some of his most powerful Personas call at him from deep within his soul, the same Personas that he had brought with him to fight Dr. Maruki. Ever since the Phantom Thieves had brought an end to the threat of the Metaverse and Dr. Maruki’s well-meaning but misguided actualization of reality, his Personas had fallen dormant within him, his connection with them dulled as he was cut off from the cognitive world. They had remained silent and asleep within his soul up until he had fallen into the TV World, and he had felt them start to slowly stir and awakened from their slumber as he had entered this unknown land.

But now his Personas were fully roused, ready to fight the darkness and Shadows of humanity once again on his behalf. And Ren answered that call with open arms and zero hesitation.

Brilliant blue flames erupted from Ren’s body, surrounding his body with a blazing inferno. Yosuke’s jaw dropped in astonishment and Teddie yelped in shock and disbelief as Ren’s grin only widened, even as his body was almost completely covered by the pillar of fire. “I always had a feeling I’d call on the power of a Persona again some day…” he commented nonchalantly, completely unconcerned with the flares that blazed from his soul. “I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”

Ren laughed as the power of a reawakened Wild Card flowed through him, manifesting through the formation of his Phantom Thief costumed. The black ankle-length tailcoat, his familiar waist coat with the gold accents, his smooth black pants, even the smaller details such as his brown-black boots and his blood red gloves, and of course, the white domino mask that he used to summon his Personas…all crucial aspects of his costume, of his very being, that he had sorely missed until now.

The flames exploded outward, forcing Yosuke and Teddie to flinch backward and cover their eyes. When the glare finally died down and they could look again, Ren Amamiya was gone. Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves, had taken his place.

“No way…” Yosuke breathed. His mind still struggling to fully understand what was happening, but he had seen this figure before. All of the Investigation Team had, for the news of the Phantom Thieves and their impact on society had reached even a distant town like Inaba. “You’re telling me that the leader of the Phantom Thieves was Ren the whole time?”

Teddie was similar stunned, rendered completely speechless for the first time in living memory. So great was their astonishment that they barely registered Morgana the cat undergoing a transformation that was similar to Ren’s but much smaller-scale, turning into a weird bipedal feline creature with a large head. The feline Phantom Thief had heard Diego’s call just as Joker had with his Personas, and he had answered that call just as eagerly.

Joker smirked as he stared down Shadow Shiho’s monstrous form without a trace of fear. “You aren’t the first monstrous Shadow I’ve faced, and you won’t be the last. Ready, Mona?”

Mona matched Joker’s confident expression with one of his own. “Ready, Joker.”

The two of them readied themselves in battle positions as Yosuke and Teddie scrambled to join them. Even though they were still extremely confused, they could pierce together that Ren and Mona not only knew about Personas, but very likely wielded one as well. “Get ready, you guys,” Yosuke warned as he took out his two mystical Malakh daggers. “This could get ugly.”

“We have to defend that girl from her Shadow!” Teddie exclaimed, his Spirit Fang in hand.

Joker grinned. “It’s Showtime!”

Shadow Shiho hissed at the sight of her four enemies arrayed in front of her, ready to fight her. “I am a Shadow,” she snarled as she brandished her weapons menacingly. “I am the true self. And if you won’t get out of my way, then I’ll break you all like he broke me!”

“Fucking Kamoshida,” Joker snarled viciously in his mind. “Even after all this time, you’re still fucking things up for everyone.”

Despite the initial display of confidence and bravado he had just presented in front of everyone, the leader of the Phantom Thieves was not eager to unleash an all-out onslaught against Shiho’s Shadow with guns blazing. If this had been the Shadow of a hated enemy, like Kamoshida or Masayoshi Shido, Joker would’ve immediately started wreaking havoc against them without any hesitation or mercy. But this was the Shadow of a friend, and if he was too overzealous in his offense, there was always the risk that he could unintentionally inflict severe harm on Shiho’s psyche…or even kill her outright if he accidentally destroyed her Shadow.

Ann would never forgive him if he accidentally caused Shiho to have a mental shutdown…and he wouldn’t forgive himself any more than she would.

So instead, Joker would do this slowly and methodically, a coordinated and continual beatdown without going overboard. Neither he nor Mona had their weapons, unfortunately, but he did have the Tantric Oath R that had materialized on his body along with his Phantom Thief costume. Combining that with the power of his Personas, and Joker was confident he could easily win this fight. He reached up to his white domino mask, ripped off his face, and called out his first Persona in the TV World. “ATTIS!” he shouted. “THERMOPYLAE!”

A humanoid figure wrapped in bandages and carrying a razor-sharp dagger materialized behind Joker. The figure raised the hand carrying the dagger and pointed it towards Shadow Shiho in a taunting gesture. Immediately, pillars of red, green, and purple light all erupted from the ground around each of the four Persona users, granting them the simultaneous powers of Matarukaja, Marakukaja, and Masukukaja all at once.

“What the hell?” Yosuke breathed in stunned disbelief. He was obviously familiar with the three team-buffing spells, but a single spell that gifted all three of them at the same time was a whole ‘nother level of power. The last time he had seen such a massive power boost, it had been Chie’s Dragon Hustle…and that had been granted to her at the final evolution of her Persona, and the peak of her power.

Which meant that not only was Ren a Persona user, but he was a powerful and skilled one as well.

“Joker!” Mona called out to him. “What do you want me to do?”

“Cast a Debilitate on Shiho’s Shadow,” he ordered. “I’m not worried about myself, but we don’t know what she could do to you guys.”

Mona nodded. “Debilitate, Diego!” he shouted.

A muscular warrior carrying a razor-sharp rapier manifested behind Mona and he swished his sword threateningly towards Shiho’s Shadow. Instantly, a cascade of red, green, and purple orbs with cores of pure darkness manifested around Shiho’s Shadow and spiraled into her body, crippling her in the exact opposite way that Joker’s Thermopylae had empowered their team.

As Shadow Shiho growled in frustration at her new weakness, Joker turned to face Yosuke. “What can you guys do?” He asked without any preamble, his tone carrying the authority and charisma of a battle-hardened leader. In the back of his mind, Yosuke couldn’t help but marvel at just how similar Ren was to Yu in his role as the leader of the Investigation Team.

“Uh, I got a couple of pretty strong Wind spells, a solid Physical attack in Brave Blade, and some supporting skills,” Yosuke answered. “Teddie hits hard with Ice attacks, has some buffs and debuffs, and can heal the team.”

“Are they -dyne level?” Joker prompted.

“Yep! They’re bear-y powerful!” Teddie affirmed.

Yosuke groaned. “For fuck’s sake, Teddie, now is NOT the time for your stupid bear puns!”

“Just hit Shiho’s Shadow with a Bufudyne and either a Garudyne or a Brave Blade then,” Joker ordered.

Yosuke and Teddie nodded at Joker and turned to face the Shadow.

“Takehaya Susano-o, Brave Blade!” Yosuke shouted as a shining blue card materialized in front of him, and he shattered it with a swing of his daggers.

“Kamui-Moshiri, Bufudyne!” Teddie cried out as he slashed a card of his own with his bear claw.

The solar afro-haired slayer of the Orochi manifested behind Yosuke, and a rainbow-colored bear-like automaton wearing a red cape with white stars and a large silver rocket extending from its back manifested behind Teddie. The two of them unleashed their attacks upon their target, blasting Shadow Shiho with a spinning wheel tipped with razor-sharp spikes and a tree-like spear of ice that pierced it from the ground. “Arrgghhh….” The Shadow growled in pain and frustration. She had clearly been noticeably damaged by the attacks, but the wounds weren’t anywhere near serious, and she hadn’t been knocked down by them either.

“Brace yourselves,” Joker warned.

Shadow Shiho cackled as her eyes flashed with malevolent dark energy and her fanged smile somehow turned even more grotesque than it had already been. Vortexes of black and purple magic swirled into every single one of them, and Joker grimaced as he recognized the malignant essence of an Evil Smile trying to throw his mind into a haze of fear. He was able to fight it off easily, but one glance at his teammates revealed that while Teddie and Mona had been able to similarly fight off the effects of the Evil Smile, Yosuke had been afflicted by it and was not clutching his head in fear.

Joker was ready to give Mona an order to heal Yosuke of the affliction, but Shadow Shiho wasn’t done. She swung her clawed hands frenziedly and laughed as she attacked all four of them with a blast of unnatural, multicolored psychedelic energy that Joker was able to recognize as a Mapsiodyne attack. He dodged it without too much difficulty, while Mona and Teddie were both hit by the psychic attack but didn’t suffer too much damage from it. Yosuke was impacted by it the worst out of all of them, as thanks to the Fear effect on his mind, the Mapsiodyne was able to blast his mind with the extra force of a Technical attack and knock him onto the ground.

“Yosuke!” Teddie cried out in horror at seeing his friend’s state, but Shadow Shiho still wasn’t done. Raising her jagged cutlasses, Shadow Shiho began to strike frenziedly at all of them with the cruel blades, and only Teddie was able to avoid getting viciously slashed three times each. However, the attack wouldn’t come without its own cost, for Joker had imbued his Attis with the Repel Physical trait as one of his skills, and when the Shadow’s cutlasses struck at Joker, a mystical barrier materialized in front of him to rebound the creatuer’s attack back onto herself.

Joker gritted his teeth. He might not have been damaged at all, but one of his teammates and someone he considered family had just been badly and viciously attacked by this Shadow. He might not want to accidentally destroy Shiho’s Shadow with overaggression, but he was done playing nice. “Mona, heal us all with a Salvation next turn,” he commanded, his eyes burning with fury. “I’m going to teach this Shadow a lesson on why you shouldn’t fuck with my friends.”

He grabbed his mask and ripped it off of his face, but this time instead of Attis, a towering sapphire colossus with four arms, a mouth twisted eternally into a sneer, a crystal wheel behind its back, and flames billowing out of its head and the entirety of its upper body manifested behind Joker. “Mada, BLAZING HELL!” the leader of the Phantom Thieves roared.

Mada raised all four of its arms and threw them towards Shadow Shiho, tilting its head forward so that its flames were facing her as it did so. The entire half of the battlefield underneath the Shadow was suddenly bathed in a molten crater of boiling lava and hellish flames. This time, Shadow Shiho outright screamed in agony as she was devoured by the roaring inferno, a conflagration so intense and powerful that even Teddie couldn’t help but stumble back a few steps in fear. “S-so scary,” he mumbled under his breath. He had only ever seen a Fire attack as devastating as Joker’s Blazing Hell come from Yukiko’s Burning Petals…and Joker’s attack had somehow been even more powerful than Yukiko’s.

Yosuke was similarly stunned by the display of incredible power from Joker, even though he was still disoriented from being knocked down on the ground and repeatedly attacked by Shadow Shiho, but for a completely different reason. “He has more than one Persona,” Yosuke thought dimly as Mona cast a Salvation to fix everyone up. “He has more than one Persona, and both of them are insanely powerful. Just what the hell has Ren become over the past year?”

As Joker hadn’t given him any different commands, Yosuke fired a Garudyne at Shiho’s Shadow this time around, blasting her with a powerful green whirlwind summoned by Takehaya Susanoo-o, while Teddie did the same thing that he did last time and attacked with a second Bufudyne. The attacks collided with their target once more, and this time the unearthly doll-like monster visibly stumbled back, the damage from the many different attacks starting to add up.

“Arrggghhhh…” Shadow Shiho growled in frustration as she righted herself in front of them. “You think you can beat me down, just like he did? I’ll show you! I’ll show you ALL!”

Shadow Shiho frenziedly swung her claws in the air again, but instead of another Mapsiodyne, she attacked them with pillars of brilliant golden light that descended from the sky and erupted once they made contact with the ground. Joker merely smirked as the Makougaon harmlessly brushed off his body, with Teddie effortlessly dodging the pillar and subsequent eruption as well. Yosuke was able to dodge out of the way in time, leaving only Mona to be damaged by the attack, though not to any major degree. Shadow Shiho then trained her eyes on Joker, recognizing him as the greatest threat out of her four enemies. With a howl of rage, she flew towards him, lifting her cutlasses high into the air, and swung them both down onto Joker’s head at the same time.

Joker only smirked in response as the same mystical barrier that had repelled the last physical attack manifested once again, and Shadow Shiho shrieked in impotent fury as her attack rebounded onto herself once again.

“Dude, you have two Personas that can Repel Physical attacks?” Yosuke exclaimed in disbelief as the Shadow retreated back to her original battle position.

“That’s Joker for you!” Mona boasted proudly. “Always has a plan for everything!”

“More like I asked Fox to make a bunch of Repel Physical skill cards for all my Personas,” Joker replied flippantly, ignoring the stunned look on Yosuke’s face as he took in the implication that possibly all of Joker’s Personas could deflect physical attacks completely. “But sure, that also works, I guess.”

The leader of the Phantom Thieves grabbed his mask and ripped it off his face, summoning yet another new Persona. “Black Frost!” he shouted. Yet another entity manifested behind Joker, a black snow demon wearing purple “clothes” that contrasted sharply with the white skin and blue clothes that typical Jack Frost demons wore. The Black Frost’s eyes were also blood red and its facial expression was both much crueler and much more menacing than anything a “normal” Jack Frost could ever hope to match. Yosuke was actually somewhat surprised to realize that he actually recognized this Persona, as it had been one that Yu had used for a while back when they had been exploring the TV Dungeons and solving the mystery of the Foggy Day Murders. But from what Yosuke could recall, while Black Frost had certainly been very respectable thanks to its impressive resistances and lack of weaknesses, it had only been a middle-level Persona that his partner had ultimately traded away to make something stronger.

Something told Yosuke that Ren’s Black Frost was far beyond “middle-level” in power, which Joker was all too happy to confirm only seconds later. “ICE AGE!” he bellowed.

The Black Frost let out a mischievous laugh as it spun around, doing its own little dance before spreading out its arms towards Shadow Shiho. Several massive pulse-like pillars of ice fell from the sky and skewered the ground in front of them, the pillars exploding into shards and spear-like crystals of freezing ice that erupted outwards and skewered Shadow Shiho from every possible angle. The shadow screamed in pain again as it was hit by another extremely powerful attack that was just as devastating as Mada’s Blazing Hell had been.

“Debilitate or attack, Joker?” Mona asked. The earlier Makougaon hadn’t harmed him all that badly, and the feline was confident he could go on the offensive instead of wasting a turn healing a minor injury.

“Attack,” Joker answered curtly. Mona nodded and summoned Diego again, who theatrically slashed his sword and attacked Shadow Shiho with a green whirlwind practically identical to the one Yosuke had attacked with. The two members of the Investigation Team present at the fight also attacked her with another Garudyne and another Bufudyne. The Shadow howled with pain and rage as she was bombarded by one powerful attack and another, and by the time the cascade of spells finally stopped she was slumped forward and struggling to stay upright. It was clear to everyone that the Shadow by now was seriously wounded, and was only a few more attacks away from total defeat.

But that didn’t mean that the Shadow wasn’t any less dangerous. On the contrary, Joker’s experience with fighting powerful Shadows over the past year had taught him that if a Shadow was on the verge of defeat, there was a more than likely possibility that they would start unleashing all sorts of dangerous tricks that they didn’t have previously.

“No! NO!” Shadow Shiho shouted furiously, though now they could all hear a hint of fear and desperation amidst her rage and frustration. “I’m stronger and better than my other weakling self could ever be! I won’t let myself get broken down the way she did!”

“You said it yourself,” Joker replied calmly. “She is you, and you are her. Isn’t that what you wanted to prove to begin with?”

“Shut up!” the Shadow of his new friend snarled. “SHUT UP!”

Her eyes started glowing again, but this time her eyes flashed bright pink instead of the dark purple associated with an Evil Smile. Shadow Shiho assaulted their minds with a vortex of the same bright pink energies that Joker vaguely recognized as a Brain Jack. To his horror, all 3 of his allies were unable to resist the effects of the attack, leaving every member of his team except for himself Brainwashed and helpless. Shadow Shiho laughed maniacally as she sliced her claws at all of them again, unleashing another Mapsiodyne. This time, however, the effect was much more devastating since everyone besides Joker had been afflicted with a mental status condition, and the psychedelic onslaught hit everyone besides Joker with the extra impact of a Technical attack, knocking all of them off their feet and onto the ground.

“Oh fuck, this is going south real fast,” Joker thought grimly. He might not have been affected by Shadow Shiho’s different variety of mental attacks, but that wasn’t comforting in the slightest when all 3 of his teammates were badly injured and helpless on the ground from those same attacks. His dread only increased when Shadow Shiho swung her claws at them yet again, but instead of a psychic attack, she unleashed a freaking Megidolaon on them all instead.

Joker was barely able to dodge out of the way to safety, but Morgana, Yosuke, and Teddie weren’t as fortunate. All three of them were caught in the explosion of Almighty power, the three of them yelling in pain as it tore at their bodies the way Shadow Shiho’s psychic attacks had torn at their minds. When the Megidolaon finally cleared, all of them were at critically low health, with both Mona and Teddie at 1 HP. Only the strength of Teddie’s bond with Yu and Morgana’s bond with himself had saved them from being knocked out completely.

Joker gritted his teeth as Shadow Shiho retreated back to her original position, still wounded from the many attacks she had suffered over the course of the fight. Discounting his own healthy status, the battle against Shiho’s Shadow had gone downhill horribly quickly. If this kept up, his friends would be knocked out of the fight completely. He knew he was powerful enough to finish this battle by himself, but allowing his friends and teammates to fall unconscious always made him feel as though he had fundamentally failed in his responsibilities as a leader.

He briefly pondered using Maria to heal them all with Salvation, but there was no guarantee that his friends would be able to do enough damage to finally bring down Shiho’s Shadow once and for all before her next series of attacks. The Shadow could easily retaliate with another wave of attacks similar to the ones she had just unleashed to bring all of his teammates back down to critical condition again. And that was assuming that she wasn’t capable of something even worse.

No, there were too many risks involved if he used this turn to heal everyone back up. He had to end this fight now, while the Heat Riser effect was still on him and the Debilitate was still on Shadow Shiho. Fortunately for him, he had a Persona that was perfect for wiping out any enemy he came across. One that could defeat even the most dangerous enemies that didn’t resist physical attacks in just one move.

Joker grabbed his mask, and summoned forth one of his most powerful Personas. “Yoshitsune!” he bellowed. “Finish this now! HASSOU TOBI!”

One final Persona manifested next to Joker’s side, a dignified Japanese general and swordmaster wielding two swords and wearing resplendent scarlet armor from the days of feudal Japan. Yoshitsune smirked, readied his blades, and then lunged at Shadow Shiho with a speed so quick that it was downright inhuman. Shadow Shiho could only watch in dread as Yoshitsune sped across the battlefield, striking her with graceful yet brutal slashes over and over again. The power behind the Hassou Tobi attack was so great that it seemed to tear apart the very air and ground itself, leaving behind a blood red wheel of death and destruction with reality-tearing slash marks from all directions.

Individually, each strike wasn’t all that powerful compared to the Blazing Hell and Ice Age attacks that Joker had unleashed before. But what made Hassou Tobi so powerful was the fact that Yoshitsune was attacking eight times each, a sustained and prolonged assault that was more overwhelming than any single attack could ever hope to be.

The attack hadn’t been at its most powerful, as Joker hadn’t charged it prior to attacking with Yoshitsune. But even without the extra power from a charge, it was still incredibly strong thanks to his attack buff and Shadow Shiho’s weakened defense, and with all the damage that the Shadow had already sustained from the many attacks that had been unleashed against it beforehand, the Hassou Tobi on top of them proved too much for her to handle.

Black and red energies exploded out of the Shadow’s body as she let out a hideous shriek of agony and denial. Joker warily watched the Shadow, wondering if she was going to let loose one more attack. But instead, Shiho’s Shadow slumped forward and then collapsed onto the ground, remaining motionless as the last of the dark energies emanated from her body and faded away to nothingness.

Only then did Joker finally let out a sigh of relief as Yoshitsune nodded respectfully at him, a triumphant smile on his face at the sight of another glorious victory, before dissipating back into the depths of his soul. He would need to summon Maria to heal all of his allies with a Salvation, but there would be no further danger to them for now.

The Phantom Thieves had won their first victory in the TV World.

Chapter Text

“Urrrggghhhh…” Shiho groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. She sat up onto the lush plain, rubbed her forehead with her hand, and blinked. “Wh…what happened?”

Her eyes widened as the memories came rushing back to her. “Wait...I remember now. There was this…evil version of me with golden eyes, saying all kinds of horrible things about me and Ann. Was that a dream, or…”

“It wasn’t a dream,” a familiar voice interrupted him. Shiho looked up and her eyes widened as she saw a young man wearing a white domino mask on his face and a black coat holding a red gloved hand out towards her. Shiho accepted the hand and allowed the man to pull her up on her feet, and as she did so her eyes fell on the shadowy copy of herself that had caused her so much pain and anguish.

Only now, the sinister light was gone from her golden eyes and the cruel smirk had vanished. Shadow Shiho was carefully watching her, her face completely expressionless, as though she were waiting for her real-world self to make the next move.

“When you denied your Shadow, she turned into a monster,” a young man with light brown hair approached her with a sympathetic expression on his face. Shiho barely had time to register the ornate pair of daggers he was carrying his hands before Yosuke continued. “The four of us had to fight it, and we managed to win.” He chuckled. “It was really all thanks to Ren here, he hard-carried us through that fight.”

“Ren…” Shiho repeated the name, understanding filling her eyes as she took in Ren’s appearance in his new attire. “I’ve seen that costume before. You…you really are the leader of the Phantom Thieves, aren’t you?”

“I am,” Joker solemnly nodded in confirmation, “but that’s a conversation for another time. Right now, we need to figure out what to do about your Shadow self.” He tilted his head over towards the other Shadow, before turning over to Yosuke and Teddie. “Honestly, I’ve never come across a situation before. But it sounds like you guys have.”

“The Shadows here are the worst parts of yourselves that you try to keep hidden away, revealed fully for everyone to see!” Teddie explained. “Every feeling you try to keep buried in your mind, every flaw made so much worse than it actually is! This makes them all bear-y mean!”

“You and your goddamn bear puns,” Yosuke groaned, before adopting a more serious demeanor. “But Teddie’s right. The Shadows are the sides of yourselves that you never want anyone else to see, and they only show off all the bad stuff in each person without any of the good.” He grimaced. “I had to face my Shadow a long time ago. Let’s just say that my Shadow was a complete asshole when I first met him, and it was pretty much the same thing for everyone else.”

“You have to accept it, uh…I don’t know your name,” Teddie mumbled.

“Shiho Suzui,” the girl helpfully supplied, though her face looked heavily conflicted.

“You have to accept your Shadow, Suzui-chan,” Teddie continued gently. “If you don’t, it’ll go berserk again and we’ll have to fight it a second time.”

“Just because you’ve had some shitty thoughts in your head a few times in your life, that doesn’t make or break who you are as a person,” Yosuke helpfully supplied. “Accepting that side of you is what helps you grow. It’s a rough lesson that my friends and I all had to learn, but it was one that really helped us in the end.”

Joker nodded his head. “I never faced my Shadow like that, but I agree with Yosuke and Teddie. Lying to yourself, trying to pretend that everything’s okay when it’s really not, doesn’t do anything but hurt you even more in the end.”

Morgana grinned encouragingly at her. “You can do it, Shiho!”

Shiho sighed. “I know. I didn’t want to admit it, but…you guys are right. And I knew you were right the whole time.” She walked up until she was only a few feet away from her Shadow, and looked her other self in the eye with as much courage as she could muster. “The days after I threw myself off Shujin’s roof…were easily the most miserable days of my entire life. I spent days, weeks, and months in the hospital filled with nothing but pain. Physical and mental pain that almost drove me insane with how much I suffered.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “And with that pain, there were days where I hated and blamed everyone and everything for what happened to me. I blamed Yuuki for being the one to call me over to Kamoshida’s office. I blamed myself for being too weak and too stupid to refuse Kamoshida despite knowing deep down how much of a monster he really was.” She hung her head in shame. “And on my absolute worst days I even hated Ann, who was nothing but supportive to me. There were even times when I wished Ann had been the one to suffer instead of me…and I was sickened and disgusted with myself for even thinking something like that every single time. I buried those thoughts deep within me, I didn’t want anyone to see that I could even think of something that ugly…” she let out a bitter laugh. “But look how well that ended up.”

“Everybody has messed up thoughts that they don’t want other people to hear,” Yosuke answered gently. “That’s just a part of the human psyche…and if your life was bad enough that you felt like you needed to throw yourself off of a roof, it sounds like you had much better reasons for thinking messed-up thoughts than most people I know.”

Shiho smiled tiredly. “I know,” she answered. “As I got better, I had those thoughts less and less, to the point I thought I’d gotten rid of them once and for all. But I was wrong. All those evil thoughts, all that darkness, all that pain…it never went away completely.” Her eyes hardened with resolve. “I can’t ignore those terrible parts of myself…but they don’t have to define me either. If I give in, then that means I let him win…and Ann would never forgive me if I let that happen.”

“We are stronger than that,” Shadow Shiho agreed, and for the first time, her voice was gentle and encouraging, rather than cruel and mocking.

Shiho nodded as she steeled herself. “You are me,” she declared, displaying none of the fear that had nearly consumed her when she had first rejected her Shadow. “The darkest parts of myself that I tried to hide away…but I can’t run from the truth forever. If I ever want to truly move on from everything Kamoshida forced me through, I have to face that pain and use it to better myself…and accepting you is the first step I need to take.”

Shadow Shiho smiled and nodded back at her, and floated into the air surrounded by a column of blue light. The four spectators watched as the Shadow transformed into an imposing figure who looked somewhat similar to the monster they had faced. But where the monster had been twisted, incomplete, and grotesque, this new entity was noble, untainted, and whole. She was a feminine, lithe warrior wearing a blood red qipao over her body just like the monster had been, only now the qipao was clean, polished, and undamaged. The puppet-like spindly arms had been replaced by two muscular, humanoid arms covered in light metal pauldrons and vambraces. In one hand the female warrior carried a razor-sharp cutlass, and in the other she wielded a gauntlet with five razor-sharp claws extending out from it. The weapons were both similar to the ones that the Shadow had wielded as a monster, though again they appeared cleaner, more polished, and more wholesome than before. The head had gone through the greatest transformation, however. Instead of being a grotesque wooden puppet version of Shadow Shiho’s head, the warrior’s head was much more human with her hair wrapped in a tight bun around her head and her face covered with a golden mask, through which only darkness could be seen through the eye-slits.

The nimble female warrior entity faded away, transforming into a card that sank into Shiho’s body, vanishing as it did so. “Zheng Yi Sao…” Shiho murmured the name as she felt the entity unite with her, instinctively recognizing who she was and her historical importance just as intimately as though she knew herself.

“Zheng Yi Sao?” Teddie repeated curiously. “Who is that?”

Yosuke shook his head. “I don’t know who that is…but I do know what that is.”

Joker smiled proudly at Shiho. “Congratulations, Shiho. You’ve awoken your Persona.”

“Persona?” the new Persona user asked curiously, before she suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion crash into her. “Uggghhhh…” Shiho groaned as she fell to one knee. “I feel so goddamn tired all of a sudden.”

“That’s normal for people who awaken their Personas,” Morgana reassured her. “You’ll be fine once you get some rest.”

“That being said, we should get out of here,” Joker warned. “I don’t know if there are other Shadows around here, but Shiho’s in no state to fight them off right now.”

“How do we get out of here, though?” Morgana asked with a tinge of panic. “We fell down here from the sky and I don’t know how to get back from here!”

“We got this,” Yosuke reassured them. “There’s a stack of TVs not too far from here that we use to travel from the TV World back into the real world.”

“Hee hee, I made them!” Teddie declared proudly.

Shiho blinked. “You…made…them?” she repeated, not comprehending. Joker and Mona both looked just as confused as she did.

“We’ll explain later once you’ve gotten better,” Yosuke assured them. “For now, let’s just get out of here.”

Yosuke and Teddie guided Ren, Shiho, and Morgana a short distance down the open grassy field, the beautiful atmosphere remaining unperturbed by the battle they had all faced just a few moments before. After a few seconds of walking, they found the stack of TVs that Yosuke had talked about, each of them smaller than the one they had entered but large enough to fit a person. Yosuke and Teddie crawled into the TVs, with Ren, Shiho, and Morgana following their example a few seconds later.

They felt the sensation of travelling through a barrier between two worlds once again, and a few seconds later they found themselves sprawled in front of the large flat-screen TV that had first taken them into the other world. Yosuke and Teddie were already standing there, and they bent down to help the others up. “You’ll get used to it,” Yosuke reassured him. “It was disorienting as hell for us the first few times too.”

“I really need a nap,” Shiho mumbled as she got to her feet. “I have so many questions, but right now I feel like whatever you say is gonna go in one ear and right out the other.”

“I’ll walk you home and you can spend the rest of the evening taking a nice nap,” Ren offered. “Then, when you’re ready, we can actually talk about everything.”

Shiho snickered despite her exhaustion. “I’m gonna hold you to that promise, Ren.”

Ren smiled back and helped Shiho steady herself. He then turned to Yosuke and Teddie. “I guess you guys are gonna wanna know all about how I got a bunch of Personas, huh?”

“Yeah, no kidding!” Yosuke exclaimed. “You’re like the next version of Partner!”

“I’ll tell you guys everything once I’ve had a few days to get ready,” Ren promised, before frowning. “There’s no real point in telling only a few of you if I have to repeat myself a couple of days later anyway.”

“Aww, come on, Ren-Ren!” Teddie whined.

Yosuke, however, was on Ren’s side. “Dude, don’t push him,” he scolded his friend. “Besides, Ren hard carried the fuck out of that fight with Shiho’s Shadow. Least we can do is let him catch a break…and take this poor girl home.” He gave Shiho a friendly smile. “I don’t think we introduced ourselves yet. My name’s Yosuke…and this annoying guy with the spiky yellow hair is Teddie.”

Teddie pouted. “You’re so mean, Yosuke!” he complained, before turning to Shiho with a grin. “Nice to meet you, Suzui-chan!”

“Nice to meet you too,” Shiho returned the greeting. “Thanks for saving me from that monster before it turned into my…Persona, was it?” she asked.

“Least we could do, even if Ren here did most of the work,” Yosuke replied. “And yeah, Ren or one of us can explain what Personas are to you once you’ve gotten some rest.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God Marie tweaked the TV World so that it doesn’t take so long for people to recover from staying in there or awakening their Personas…” he mumbled under his breath.

Shiho missed what Yosuke had said, but Ren and Morgana didn’t. Though they didn’t comment on it openly, they were both relieved to hear that they wouldn’t end up too exhausted to do anything by the time they got home. “Let’s get you home, Shiho,” Ren offered. “The last thing we want you to do is pass out in the middle of Junes or out in the street.”

“I think that’s probably a good idea,” Yosuke advised. Shiho nodded and allowed Ren to wrap an arm around her shoulder to support her as she, Ren, and Morgana began making the walk through the town back home.

The three of them stayed largely silent throughout the whole trip home. Not only were they all exhausted from their unplanned excursion into the TV World (although Ren and Morgana noticed that they weren’t quite as tired as they would have been after a Metaverse trip, which they speculated they both owed to Marie somehow), but all of them were lost in thought about the events that had just transpired. Shiho in particular couldn’t help but reflect on her Shadow self and the unpleasant aspects and thoughts that it had so ruthlessly blurted out in front of everyone…though that unpleasantness was blunted by the calm and soothing presence of her Persona, Zheng Yi Sao. Although Shiho had never heard of the name before today, she somehow knew every aspect of the history of the world’s most successful female pirate and one of the most powerful pirates in all of existence. Zheng Yi Sao completed her spirit in a way that she had never known she had missed. Even through her exhaustion, Shiho felt complete, powerful, and whole.

She kinda wished she’d gotten a cool outfit like Ren, though. Shiho might not have been the slightest bit interested in romance at the moment, but she would freely admit that Ren was an easy 10/10 in both badassery and hotness.

It wasn’t until Shiho’s house was within sight that Shiho finally broke the silence. “Ren…you guys were the one who dealt with Kamoshida, weren’t you?” she asked. “And it was with the power of a Persona, right?”

“That’s a question that would take a hell of a long time to answer,” Ren replied calmly. “But the short answer is yes. Yes and yes.”

“One of the things that terrified me more than anything else was the idea that Kamoshida could do what he did to me to everyone else,” Shiho confessed. “I was afraid that he’d get away with everything, and that he could keep ruining people’s lives without anyone giving a shit. So seeing a video of him breaking down into tears and confessing his crimes before getting arrested…it was one of the things that really helped get me going and gave me the hope to get my life back on track.” She gave Ren and Morgana a beautiful smile. “So thank you to both of you. I don’t know how you did it, but you guys did what nobody else ever could, and I’m grateful to you both for that.”

“It needed to be done,” Ren answered simply, Morgana nodding fiercely. “Corrupt bastards like Kamoshida needed to be brought to justice for their crimes, in one way or another.”

Shiho nodded. “I couldn’t agree more. And I’ve got one last question for now.” An inquisitive look appeared on her face. “Is Ann one of the Phantom Thieves?”

Ren nodded. “She is,” he affirmed. “And she did it for you.”

Shiho giggled. “That sounds like Ann all right. I have so much to talk to her about once I take a huge nap.”

A mischievous glint entered Ren’s eyes. “Hang on a second,” he interrupted her with a smirk. “I’ve got a better idea. How would you like to reveal that you’re a Persona user now in a way that will completely blow everyone’s minds?”

Shiho matched Ren’s grin with one of her own. “I’m listening…”

Meanwhile, back at Junes…

“We gotta tell Sensei, right, Yosuke?” Teddie pressed. “We gotta tell him Renren’s a Persona user!”

“Not just any Persona user,” Yosuke added. “He’s just like Yu. Someone who can use multiple Personas and switch around them, and can kick a hell of a lot more ass with those Personas than any of us ever could. Yu’s gonna wanna hear about this for sure.”

He looked up at the sky and frowned. It was getting dark, and Junes was about to close soon. Ideally, he and his friends would be able to meet up in the food court to talk about what had just happened in the TV World…but he would have to settle for some place more private like the Dojimas’ house.

He picked up his phone, ready to type the big news into the chat of the Investigation Team. But at the last moment, he stopped. A message this important deserved nothing less than a direct voice communication to their leader and his partner.

So instead, Yosuke dialed Yu’s phone number and brought it up to his head. “Yosuke!” Yu’s voice was breathless and noticeably emotional, the concern clear in his tone. “I heard about what happened from Marie, did you find out what’s going on in the TV World?”

“Yeah, Yu…the short version is that the situation’s sorted itself out,” Yosuke answered. “Everyone’s safe.”

Yu breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I know Marie’s made the TV World safer, but you guys were telling me that it was still dangerous thanks to all of the distortions going on.”

“Everything’s fine,” Yosuke reassured him as he prepared to drop the bombshell, “because I’ve got something way more important to tell you. Big enough that I think we all need to meet up at the Dojimas’ house to talk about it.”

He couldn’t see Yu on the other end, but he could picture his best friend raising an eyebrow. “That important?”

No point in putting it off any further. “You know that Trickster guy you were looking for lately?” Yosuke asked. “The one you were telling us earlier beat two false gods and pretty much saved Tokyo and the world?”

“Yeah…”

Yosuke laughed humorlessly. “Well, he just saved us the trouble of trying to figure out who the hell he is. The Trickster you’re looking for? It’s Ren.”

Chapter Text

Though it had been years since their last adventure in a cognitive world, not a single member of the Investigation Team would ever forget that Yu Narukami was, is, and would always be their leader. A leader who had always treated their battles against Shadows and the rescues from the TV World with utmost seriousness, even as he acted chill and easy-going outside of it.

So when Yu sent a message to every single member of the Investigation Team stating that they needed to meet at the Dojimas’ House, tonight, for a crucial meeting that was not optional…all of them knew that something major had come up, and not a single one of them would have dared to miss it.

To Yu’s relief, Ryotaro Dojima had been understanding of the sudden change in plans that would require him to accommodate all of his closest friends in his house. “I still don’t know to this day what the heck is going on with that TV World thing you guys keep talking about, but I know it’s important,” he commented. “I’m guessing you guys are gonna need some privacy?”

Yu nodded. “I’d really appreciate it, Uncle.”

“No fair!” Nanako pouted. “Your Personas sound so cool whenever you talk about them. I want to get a Persona too!”

“Out of the question!” Ryotaro shut down that line of thought immediately and without hesitation. “Considering what happened the last time you were forced into the TV World, there’s no way I’m just going to let you waltz in there!”

Yu sighed. “I’m gonna have to agree with Uncle on this one, Nanako. You nearly died. Heck, you technically did die for a short time. And with all the crazy stuff that’s been happening since I’ve been gone, I have to make sure it’s safe even for us before I even think about bringing someone without a Persona in there.”

Nanako groaned in disappointment. “Awww…”

“Anyways, I’m going to be taking Nanako over to Junes for a night run,” Dojima informed Yu. “You know how much she loves the place, and it should give you plenty of time to talk things over with your friends.”

Yu gave his uncle a thumbs-up. “Thanks for understanding, uncle.” He turned to gaze down at Nanako. “Next time I go to Junes, I’ll take you there, Nanako. Does that work for you?”

Her eyes lit up at the idea of going to Junes with her brother figure like she had so many times in the past. “Yeah, I’d love that!” she exclaimed.

The two Dojimas got up and walked towards the front door of their house, waving good-bye to Yu before leaving the house to their cousin. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, for only a few minutes later, there was suddenly a loud knock on the front door. Yu got up and pulled it open, revealing Kanji and Naoto as the first two to arrive. “You sounded pretty worked up on your text, Yu,” Kanji commented without preamble. “So what’s the big news you’ve got to share with us?”

“I must admit, I’m rather curious about your upcoming reveal as well,” Naoto added with a pensive frown. “You’ve almost never demanded us to meet together on such short notice before, even in the days when we adventured in the TV World.”

“We’ll wait until everyone gets here,” Yu replied calmly. “There’s no point in parroting the same message over and over again.”

Neither Kanji nor Naoto had any reason to disagree with their friend and senpai. The two of them waited patiently as more members of the Investigation Team trickled in. Yukiko was the next to arrive, then Rise, then Chie. Ironically, Yosuke and Teddie were the last to arrive, although Yu didn’t blame them for their somewhat late arrival. Given that they had fought a major battle against a personal Shadow in the TV World, he could understand if the two of them had opted to take a nap or otherwise relax in some way before coming.

“All right, Senpai, we’re finally all here!” Rise declared, using her pet name for her loving boyfriend as she looked over at him eagerly. “So what’s the big news you wanted to share with us?”

“Yeah,” Chie immediately agreed. “You got us all hyped up a ton in your text!”

Yu chuckled at his friends’ enthusiasm, but there was a troubled shadow over his eyes that all of them could see. “All right. You guys remember how we talked a couple of days ago about those two false gods, and how they were beaten before they could fully distort the TV World?” he asked.

“There’s no way we’d be able to forget something that important,” Yukiko commented a bit dryly.

“If this was back in 2011, we’d need to launch into a full investigation,” Yu replied, his voice utterly stoic and betraying no emotion whatsoever. “We’d need to search the entire town for any sign of clues, look closely for any possible hint as to what defeated the false gods that nearly took over the TV World. With so little information, such an investigation could take days, even weeks…” His face suddenly broke into a smirk, “…is what I would say, except things happened today that shoved the answer right in our face and made everything a thousand times easier for us.”

“Wait, you know what happened?” Chie nearly shouted excitedly.

Naoto, in the meantime, had kept an eye on Yosuke and Teddie. For some reason, neither of them seemed particularly shocked or excited about this latest development, which was out of character especially for Teddie. Teddie especially was acting smug instead of surprised, which led the first Detective Prince to believe that the two of them already knew at least something about what Yu was about to announce.

“I do,” Yu affirmed. “Chie was on the right track the whole time. There was at least one Persona user, more likely an entire group of Persona users with a particularly powerful one as the leader, who defeated the false gods that nearly took over the TV World.”

There were gasps of shock from everyone besides, notably, Teddie and Yosuke. “The hell?” Kanji exclaimed. “Is that what’s been going on the whole time?”

“Another group of Persona users…” Yukiko murmured. “Are they like us? Or are they completely different?”

“And one of them is more powerful than the others?” Rise questioned. “Are they someone who can use more than one Persona like you?”

Yu nodded, smiling as he did so. For all that Rise might give off the appearance of a bubbly and ditzy idol, she was actually a lot more intelligent than she might seem at first glance. One of the many traits that he loved about her. “That’s right, Rise. I was able to confirm that there was another Wild Card just like me out there. Somebody who can change their Personas at will and adapt to any situation, just like I can. Somebody powerful enough to fight and defeat two false gods to save humanity. And thanks to some recent events that happened today, I know who the Wild Card is.”

“Really?” Chie exploded, almost jumping off the seat. “Tell us who it is!” she demanded.

“How did you figure this information out so quickly?” Naoto asked incredulously. “I tried doing my own investigations whenever I had the time, and I couldn’t find anything even closely resembling a useful hint!”

“I only found out because Yosuke and Teddie saw him fight in the TV World,” Yu explained. All eyes turned to Yosuke and Teddie, but before the rest of the Investigation Team could begin interrogating them, Yu continued speaking and drew everyone’s attention back to him. “That powerful Wild Card we were looking for? It’s Ren. Ren’s the Trickster who saved the world, and I think he even revealed to Yosuke and Teddie that he’s the leader of the Phantom Thieves as well.”

There was complete and utter silence as the revelation slowly sunk into everyone’s heads. Yu had expected there to be either stunned silence or an explosion of frenzied questions, and it seemed like his first guess had proven to be the most accurate one.

“Let me make sure I’m hearing this shit correctly,” Kanji was the first to finally break the silence, standing up from the sofa he had been sitting on. “You’re saying that Ren, our little fluffy brother Ren, is secretly this supreme badass on the same level as you who went on his own journey with Personas and kicked the asses of not one, but two false gods trying to take over the world? Is that what you’re telling us?”

“Yosuke and Teddie confirmed it,” Yu replied calmly as he nodded his head in affirmation.

“Holy shit,” Kanji mumbled as he fell heavily back onto the sofa. “I knew Ren seemed kinda different somehow when we met up a couple days ago, but I sure as hell wasn’t expecting this!”

Chie, in the meantime, looked utterly shellshocked. “I ran into Kou in Junes the other day,” she added in, “and he was telling me that Ren’s behavior in school changed completely from what Yu described. Instead of being lonely and trying to reach out to make friends, Ren absolutely didn’t give a shit about the students at Yasogami or what they thought of him at all.”

Yukiko frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Ren at all.”

“Yeah, I know!” Chie agreed. “With how much his personality changed, I was wondering if Ren had gotten a Persona while he was in Tokyo…I didn’t think he’d be a freaking full-blown Wild Card like Yu!”

“There’s something else I’d like to know,” Rise interjected, before turning around to gaze intensely at Yosuke and Teddie. “How the heck did you two even figure all of this out?”

Yosuke whistled. “It’s one heck of a crazy story,” he answered. “Basically, it all started when I got a call from Marie that three people had gone into the TV World. Three people who weren’t us.”

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock and concern. “That shouldn’t be possible,” Naoto murmured. “Marie specifically reshaped the entrances to the TV World so that only someone with a Persona could enter it. A random civilian shouldn’t be able to even put their hand into the TV screen, let alone fall into the TV World entirely!”

“Well, two of the guys who fell in ended up being Persona users, so that’s probably why!” Teddie pointed out.

“Yeah,” Yosuke confirmed. “Ren and his freaking cat both ended up being Persona users. And, get this, the cat could straight-up talk.”

“A talking cat as a Persona user?” Yukiko asked incredulously. “You found another animal with a Persona? And how is it even possible for the cat to talk in the first place?”

Yosuke shrugged. “No idea, you'll have to ask Ren. And anyway, them being Persona users is how they probably ended up in the TV World.” He shrugged. “I dunno what happened exactly, but they had a girl with them who I guess was one of Ren’s friends, and she must’ve gotten pulled in along with them by accident.” He frowned. “I can’t imagine Ren being the kind of guy to knowingly drag her into a place like the TV World if he knows how dangerous those kinds of places can be…which I’m sure he does.”

Yu frowned slightly. “We’ll have to ask him about that later,” he decided. “Anyways, what happened next?”

“We didn’t see everything, but when we got into the TV World Ren and his cat were facing off against this girl named Shiho Suzui’s Shadow!” Teddie exclaimed. “And we couldn’t stop her from denying it and turning into a monster!”

“Shiho Suzui?” Chie repeated. “Who is that?”

“Some friend that Ren made back in Yasogami,” Yosuke answered with a shrug. “She was the one that got dragged into the TV World with Ren and Morgana somehow. I don’t really know much more than that. But anyways, Shiho’s Shadow turned into a monster and we got there just in time to help Ren and his cat fight it!”

“That’s when you found out that Ren and his cat had Personas, I assume?” Naoto questioned.

“Yeah, Ren had this really cool transformation where he got a black coat and a white mask over his face, and then we fought Shiho’s Shadow!” Teddie answered.

“How was the fight?” Rise asked, her gaze hyper-focused on them. As the navigator for the Investigation Team, she was naturally the most fascinated and curious about enemy Shadows, their affinities and powers. “What kind of attacks did Shiho’s Shadow have?”

“You know those new Psychic attacks some Shadows have that look like an acid trip just from looking at them?” Yosuke asked. When everyone else besides Yu nodded, he continued. “Shiho’s Shadow used those. And she wasn’t just brainlessly spamming them either. She’d often hit us with a spell that made us Brainwashed or Afraid first…and then she’d hit us with a Psychic attack right after.”

“What?” Chie looked confused. “Why would she do that?”

“Because that way, those Psy attacks hit us sooooo much harder!” Teddie whined. “They knocked us down even though we don’t have Psy weaknesses!”

“Holy shit!” Kanji exclaimed, the others looking just as shocked as he was. “Really? That’s actually a thing that can happen now? I didn’t ever see anything like that in the TV World!”

“Most of the Shadows in the TV World must not be intelligent enough to use that kind of strategy, as we didn’t see it from them so far,” Naoto mused. “Clearly, though, a Personal Shadow like this Shiho girl’s could.”

“Yeah, we really weren’t ready for that kind of thing,” Yosuke admitted. “But you know the real crazy part is?”

“What is it?” Yukiko wondered.

“Just how fucking amazing Ren is at actually fighting with his Personas,” the Prince of Junes answered, the smile gone from his face to drive home just how dead serious he was actually being with his statement. “Shiho’s Shadow wasn’t the hardest enemy we’ve ever fought, but with all the tricks she was throwing at us she was still pretty damn tough. All of us were actually having a hard time dealing with her and her attacks. But not Ren. He dodged so many of the attacks that the Shadow threw his way, and barely gave a shit at all about the ones that did hit him. Hell, he freaking repelled every physical hit that the Shadow struck him with right back at her!”

Rise gaped at him. “Repel?” she repeated the word in disbelief. “Like, not just resist, not block. Straight up repel?”

Chie was similarly stunned. “That’s insane,” she mumbled numbly. Being primarily a physical attacker herself, she knew from firsthand experience that physical attacks easily had the potential to be some of the most dangerous to go up against thanks to their ability to crit. The fact that Ren could repel those attacks without even trying made her feel a lot more relieved for his safety, but also blew her mind with just how much he was on another level when it came to fighting against Shadows.

Teddie giggled. “It was so cool!” he crowed. “Watching Shiho’s Shadow try to attack Renren with her swords, only to smack herself in the face instead!”

Yosuke shook his head. “That’s not even the craziest part, though,” he commented. “It’s how much freaking damage Ren did to the Shadow in that fight. I think out of the four of us combined, he did like 80 percent of the work. And that guess might even be too low.”

Kanji had joined his friends in the “looking utterly flabbergasted” department, and Yosuke might have snickered at the expression if he didn’t complete understand the sentiment. “Wait, what the fuck?” he spluttered. “That’s literally just like Yu-senpai when he broke out the big guns like Yoshitsune in the TV World!”

“Which only further supports the idea that Ren isn’t just the other Wild Card, but an incredibly experienced and powerful one who had the strength to kill false gods,” Yu commented calmly, nodding his head as he did so. “I imagine that his power level at this point would be very similar to mine when we faced off against Izanami-no-okami in the final dungeon of the TV World.” He lifted his head and turned his attention to Yosuke again. “Partner, what kind of attacks did Ren use against Shiho’s Shadow?”

Yosuke was silent for several seconds as he considered his answer. “You know how Yukiko has her Blazing Petals skill?” he asked once he had collected his thoughts. “This super powerful, severe damage Fire skill that hits the entire enemy side? The most powerful skill on our entire team that can hit every Shadow at once besides Partner’s Hassou Tobi or instakills, and something that even Yu doesn’t have on his Surtr?”

“Yes, it truly feels like I’m unleashing my Persona’s fullest potential whenever I unleash Blazing Petals upon the enemy,” Yukiko remarked with a faint smile…and then her eyes widened as she realized what Yosuke was getting at. “Wait, are you saying…?”

“He had a Persona with a skill exactly like yours,” Yosuke confirmed. “He summoned this weird blue giant thing with fire burning from its upper body, and he sent out a spell that turned the entire ground around Shiho’s Shadow into a giant molten crater that looked like it came straight out of Hell. There might’ve only been one enemy there, but if there’d been more than one, I’m pretty sure it was big enough hit all of them at the same time.” He couldn’t help but whistle appreciatively. “I could feel the heat from that attack, and I don’t even take damage from Fire attacks!”

“It was so scary!” Teddie whimpered. “It was so hot, it felt like my face was gonna melt right off!”

Yukiko was just as gobsmacked as Teddie was. “Ren-kun is able to wield that kind of power?” she asked incredulously. “How is that possible?”

“It’s certainly impressive to think about,” Yu agreed. His face and tone were as composed as ever, but there were subtle changes to his facial expression and voice to reveal that even he was taken aback by just what Ren was capable of.

“And that wasn’t even his only Persona that could do something like that!” Teddie added, further adding to everyone’s shock.

“He had more than one Persona like that?” Naoto asked incredulously.

“Yeah, he had a Black Frost kinda like the one Yu had way back when we were in the middle of solving the murders,” Yosuke answered. “But Ren’s was a lot more powerful for some reason. And it had this Ice attack where it called down a bunch of huge ice spears a lot bigger than anything Teddie’s ever created that skewered Shiho’s Shadow like a shish-ka-bob.”

“It was beary powerful!” Teddie agreed immediately. “So much stronger than anything I’ve ever done! It was so beary cool!”

Kanji groaned. “You and your goddamn bear puns, Teddie…”

“I was already fascinated by the idea that Ren had a Persona that powerful,” Naoto murmured. “Now you’re telling me he has more than one. And given what we know about Yu’s own devastating arsenal, I think it’s reasonable to assume that all of Ren’s Personas might be just as powerful, either in direct combat or in some other way.”

“Did Ren have any other Personas he showed you in that fight?” Rise asked, her voice brimming with curiosity.

Yosuke snorted. “Yeah. He had fucking Yoshitsune.”

That got jaw drops and stunned silence from everyone, and even Yu couldn’t mask his surprise through his stoic features anymore. “Uh, just to make sure I heard you’re right…you said Yoshitsune, right?” Rise was the one to finally break the silence.

“Yep.”

“Yoshitsune, the Japanese General that Yu always brings to every fight against a really tough Shadow, right?” Rise pressed.

“Uh-huh.”

“Yoshitsune, that completely insane Persona Yu has that’s immune to everything other than the new elements that completely destroys the crap out of everything with that disgustingly overpowered Hassou Tobi attack, right?” Rise clarified.

“Got it in one,” Yosuke confirmed. “And before you ask, yes. Ren’s Yoshitsune had Hassou Tobi, and yes, it’s just as nuts as Yu’s.”

“Okay,” Rise replied, before the famous idol fell back into the sofa heavily. Yu wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer to him. “Wow,” she breathed. “When Ren left Tokyo, I had a feeling it was gonna change his life forever. I didn’t think it was going to be something like this!”

“From what I saw today, I think Ren might be just as powerful as Yu is at the height of his power,” Yosuke concluded solemnly. “And considering that he has these really powerful skills hitting a wide area that even Yu doesn’t have, I think it’s possible he might be even stronger.”

And given how highly Yosuke regarded Yu, the fact that he was the one making this statement spoke volumes. Everyone fell silent for several moments as they pondered the implications.

“We really need to talk to Ren as soon as possible,” Naoto was the one to finally break it. “Both about him, and that cat of his that’s apparently a Persona user too.”

“Oh crap, you’re right! Ren’s cat is a Persona user too!” Kanji suddenly remembered. “Cause you said earlier that there were 2 Persona users.”

“Ooh, I forgot about that until now!” Teddie exclaimed. “Ren’s cat can use a Persona! It can also talk and act like a human too! It’s beary strange!”

“I think it really says something about everything you’re telling us that Ren’s cat being able to talk and use a Persona is one of the least interesting parts,” Yukiko commented, shaking her head. “I’m still wrapping my head around all this.”

“Do you think Ren knows about us being Persona users?” Chie wondered.

“Well duh, he obviously does now,” Yosuke drawled. “We showed our Personas to him when we fought against Shiho’s Shadow. If two of us had Personas, Ren’s gonna quickly figure out that the rest of you guys do too.”

“I think Chie meant did Ren know about us having Personas before what happened in the TV World today,” Naoto corrected.

“I was gonna say there’s no way he could’ve known since Ren went to bed early and we would’ve heard him come down,” Yu mused. “But if what you’re saying about Ren’s cat is true, that he has a human-like level of intelligence, it’s very possible the cat might’ve overheard what we were talking about while we were in his house and reported it to Ren afterwards.”

“If that’s the case, then why didn’t Ren talk to us?” Yukiko asked. “Is it because he doesn’t trust us?” she wondered, her voice sounding a little hurt by the prospect.

“No,” Yu answered firmly, his voice carrying the iron conviction of who believed completely in his words. “I don’t think it’s a question of trust. We stood by Ren when he was being accused of assaulting Masayoshi Shido when almost nobody else in Inaba did. If Ren can’t trust us, then he can’t trust anyone in this town.” He shook his head. “I can’t claim to know what’s going on in Ren’s mind, but I think it’s more the fact that he didn’t expect Personas and cognitive world to come up in his life again, at least not so soon. He might not have seen the point in bringing up Personas to us if he wasn’t ever going to deal with them ever again. And besides, it sounds like Ren just finished a Wild Card’s journey. He might have just wanted some time to relax and not deal with the craziness that comes with fighting Shadows and using Personas for a little while.”

In his mind’s eye, Yosuke saw the confident and excited grin that had spread on Ren’s face when he had transformed into Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves. He personally doubted the last part of his best friend’s statement, though he kept silent since he didn’t want to throw doubt on their leader’s attempts to cheer their friends up.

“Makes sense,” Chie acknowledged, before perking up again. “So when are we gonna talk to Ren about all the Persona stuff he did in Tokyo? If he is the leader of the Phantom Thieves and he did end up beating two false gods, there’s gotta be all sorts of wild and exciting stories he’s gonna tell us!”

“Hold up,” Yu cautioned. “We absolutely do need to talk to Ren about his Persona adventures in Tokyo, but if we’re too hasty with how we approach this then we might end up overwhelming him. Especially since Ren will still be exhausted today and probably tomorrow from going into the TV World. Let me reach out to Ren, and we’ll arrange a time together when we can all talk. Until then, I’d like to ask you guys to avoid pushing Ren for answers until he’s ready,” he instructed politely but firmly. “We can wait a few days to give him the time he needs.”

“I think that’s for the best,” Naoto immediately agreed. “I will admit that I’m extremely curious about the nature of Ren’s adventure, but I can be patient for the answers.”

Kanji nodded in agreement with his girlfriend. “Sound good to me.”

The others similarly gave their assent to Yu’s suggestion, some more willingly than others. Teddie in particular looked disappointed that he couldn’t get the answers to satisfy his curiosity as soon as possible, but by now he had enough maturity not to outright disagree with Yu. “Okay…” he reluctantly conceded.

“Since we’re done talking about Ren for now, the only thing I have left to say is that Shiho accepted her Shadow and it turned into a Persona,” Yosuke decided now was as good a time as any to wrap things up with the last bit of news he had. “I don’t know what her Persona does or how powerful it is or anything, though.”

Yu shrugged. “We can help Ren guide his friend on how to fight with her Persona and reach her full potential, or we can leave Ren to it. I’d be fine either way. As long as she doesn’t try to go into the TV World alone, and I’m sure Ren’s sensible enough that he wouldn’t let that happen anyway.”

“Fair enough,” Yosuke nodded. He suddenly let out a large yawn and fell back onto the chair with a groan. He had been trying his hardest to keep himself alert and mentally awake after the fight with Shiho, but it seemed the exhaustion from fighting a dangerous Personal Shadow had finally caught up to him. “Ugh…I’m freaking burned out as hell after today, man. I really need to go home and get some sleep.”

“I forgot how fighting in the TV World can really tire you out,” Chie sympathized. “You want me to drive you and Teddie home in my car?”

Yosuke smiled at her. “I’d like that a lot, actually. Thanks.”

Chie helped him up and the three of them started leaving the Dojimas’ house together. At the same time, Kanji’s phone buzzed. He took it out, looked at it, and frowned. “Ah crap, I gotta go too. My mom just sent me a text asking me to help her out with something at the store.” He gave Yu and apologetic look. “Sorry, Yu, but I gotta head out now.”

Yu brushed off the apology without any concern. “No problem, Kanji, we were pretty much done with everything we needed to talk about here anyway.”

Kanji nodded and got up. “I’ll see you later, Naoto.” He gave his girlfriend a quick kiss and followed his three friends out of the building.

Rise winked at Yu. “We still down for our date tomorrow?” she asked coquettishly.

Yu chuckled. “You know it, Rise.”

Rise grinned. “Great! I’ll see you tomorrow, then! When you talk to Ren, let him know I said hi!”

The two of them embraced in a quick but passionate hug, and then Rise left the Dojimas’ household as well. By now, only Naoto was still there besides Yu himself, and unlike the others she had made no move to even leave the couch. She had a troubled expression on her face, something that instantly attracted Yu’s attention. “What’s up, Naoto?” he asked. “Something wrong?”

Naoto sighed. “It’s just…you said that Ren was the leader of the Phantom Thieves, right?”

Yu nodded. “At this point it’s more or less confirmed.”

The troubled expression on Naoto’s face intensified. “Then there’s something that I’m rather concerned about, Yu-senpai. I only remembered just now that there was a TV announcement several months ago that the leader of the Phantom Thieves committed suicide while in police custody. Obviously, that turned out to be false, but it does have some disturbing implications. I have a feeling that Ren faced his own set of challenges in Tokyo…and that those challenges were harsher and more dangerous than anything we faced in the TV World.”

“That’s very possible,” Yu admitted. “Especially with how the first false god Marie described was actively evil and malicious, much more so than Izanami ever was.”

“Yes, and there’s something else that worries me,” the first Detective Prince confessed to her friend and mentor. “It goes back to the comment Chie made earlier. About how Kou found that Ren behaved completely differently in school than how he expected. How he didn’t seem to care about the other students of Yasogami High School at all, when before one of his most defining characteristics was his loneliness and his desire to make friends.”

“Do you have any specific concerns about Ren?” Yu wondered. “Or is this more of a bad feeling in your gut instinct kind of situation?”

Naoto sighed. “I’m just worried that Ren’s Wild Card journey might have affected Ren’s personality in several ways…and that not all of those changes are for the better.”

Chapter Text

Ren yawned as he woke up on his bed, for once waking up before Morgana and actually startling the feline out of his slumber. When he had gotten home last night after escorting Shiho safely back home, Ren had decided to pack it in early for the night and go to bed early so that he would be ready to take on the next day.

He had wrestled for two hours over the decision of whether or not to inform the Phantom Thieves about them entering the TV World and Shiho’s awakening, but in the end ultimately decided to wait one more day. His friends and team absolutely deserved to know about Shiho, but Ren knew just how explosively some of the Thieves like Ryuji and Ann would react to such a revelation. Ren barely had the energy to handle that kind of conversation last night, and he knew for sure that Shiho wouldn’t be able to deal with it on the same day thanks to the mental exhaustion she would undoubtedly be experiencing after just awakening a Persona.

So instead, he had decided to put it off until later this evening. Ren honestly hadn’t made any plans for the day after school, having initially planned to just chill out and relax at home, but a phone call he got shortly after school had completely upended that (admittedly bare-bones) plan.

“Heya, Ren!” Rise’s cheerful voice greeted him through the phone. “How’s it going?”

Ren shrugged. “Was just gonna spend the day chilling at home, Rise. Didn’t have much planned.”

If Rise suspected that the main reason why he was taking a break was because he had spent yesterday fighting a major battle in the TV World, she didn’t show it. “Aww, that doesn’t sound very fun, Ren! I’ve got a much better idea on how you can spend your afternoon!”

“Go on,” he invited. He had honestly missed his outings with Yu and their friends before shit had hit the fan with Shido, and despite the lingering fatigue from yesterday he wouldn’t say no to an outing with them today.

“Yu and I are spending the day over at Okina City. Wanna come with us?” the famous idol singer invited.

Ren smirked and couldn’t resist a small chuckle. “Wouldn’t that mean the two of you are going on a date?” he asked innocently. “I wouldn’t want to be the dreaded third wheel.”

Rise laughed. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, Ren,” she reassured him. “Our actual date is gonna be later in the week. This is just an outing as friends. We tried to invite everyone else, but Yosuke and Teddie are busy at Junes, Kanji and Naoto are on their own date, Yukiko has to help out at the inn today, and Chie’s working at the police station today.”

Ren shrugged. “Well in that case, I’m down,” he answered.

“Great!” Rise cheerfully replied. “By any chance, do you know how to drive a scooter yet?”

“No, sorry,” Ren answered apologetically. “I didn’t really get a chance in Tokyo…and honestly, with all the subways that take you everywhere, there wasn’t really ever a need for me to actually get a scooter.”

“I get that,” Rise answered sympathetically. “No problem! We’ll just meet you over at the Okina Train Station then! Do you still remember how to get there?”

Now it was Ren’s turn to chuckle. “As if I could ever forget. I’ll head over there right now, see you in a couple of minutes.”

“Can’t wait!” Rise declared happily. “It’ll be just like old times!”

The two friends hung up the phone, and then Ren immediately got up from his bed. “Well, so much for chilling in the house doing nothing but homework,” he drawled as he started putting on his clothes to get out of the house for the day.

“Where are you headed off to?” Morgana asked, having climbed up the stairs to Ren’s room right as soon as he had finished putting his clothes on.

“Rise invited me to an outing in a nearby city with her and Yu,” Ren explained, before following up with a question. “Do you want to come with us?” he asked.

“Sure!” Morgana eagerly agreed. “It’s always fun to explore new places!”

“Then let’s not keep Rise and Yu waiting,” Ren replied. Picking up a tiny fraction of the millions of yen he had carefully hidden away in his house, he and Morgana left the building together and walked over to the Central Shopping District that was an iconic part of Inaba. As they made their way down the road, Morgana gasped and pointed at a spot between Daidara Metalworks and the Inaba Bookstore.

“Look over there, Ren!” Morgana exclaimed. “It’s an entrance to the Velvet Room!”

Ren’s eyes followed Morgana’s finger. Sure enough, right where Morgana was pointing, the familiar blue Velvet Room door in the shape of a jail cell had materialized. A door that he swore hadn’t been there back when he had first arrived in Inaba.

Morgana gave him a worried look. “You don’t think there’s another god out there trying to take over humanity, do you?” he nervously wondered.

Ren shook his head. “I feel like if there was, someone from the Velvet Room would’ve told either me or Yu about it in a dream by now,” he answered. “That’s how these things typically go.”

“We should at least go check it out and make sure everything’s okay,” Morgana suggested. Ren had no reason to disagree, and right as he approached the Velvet Room entrance, the door suddenly swung open and Lavenza walked out. The child-like Velvet Room attendant’s golden eyes widened in surprise as they fell upon Ren, and once she got over the initial shock, a wide smile grew over her face.

“My dear Trickster!” she greeted him joyfully. “It’s wonderful to see you again so soon after your journey has been completed.” Her eyes shifted over to Morgana and she gave him a kind smile. “And I’m pleased to see you again as well, Morgana.”

She reached out and scratched Morgana’s head, causing the feline to purr contentedly. She turned her gaze back to Ren, a thoughtful look entering her face. “My Trickster, I can sense that the power of the Wild Card and the Personas you carry within your soul already blaze brightly once again. I can only conclude that you have entered the cognitive world that is native to Inaba.”

Ren nodded. “I have,” he confirmed. “I got pulled into it by accident, and helped a friend awaken a Persona of her own.”

Lavenza smiled. “Perhaps you will be able to form your own Confidant bond with her, just as you did with your friends in Tokyo.” The smile turned into a frown. “But as you have not actually solidified that bond with her yet, I unfortunately cannot tell you what that bond is at this time.”

Ren shrugged. “That’s fine,” he reassured her. “I’m not in any real hurry to find those answers.”

Morgana, meanwhile, had another question to ask. “So Ren’s got access to the Velvet Room here. Can he access all of his Personas from back when we fought Yaldabaoth in Tokyo?” he questioned.

The Velvet Room attendant nodded. “I do have your Compendium in the Velvet Room,” she answered, “and it does have all of the many powerful Personas you collected during your journey.” Her mouth twitched into a frown. “However, I unfortunately will not be able to help you for a few days. My sister and I have been working together to prepare the Velvet Room into an environment that will potentially be able to serve both you and the other Wild Card who completed his journey five years ago in equal measure. We’ve also been hard at work trying to purge the remnants of Yaldabaoth’s foul influence from this sanctuary. Because of this, I’m afraid I must inform you that the Velvet Room won’t be available for a few days.” She sighed and gave Ren a regretful look. “I truly apologize if this causes you any inconvenience, Trickster.”

Ren gave the girl a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about it,” he waved away the apology. “I wasn’t planning on going into the TV World for a few days anyway, at least not until I can talk with Yu.” He raised an eyebrow. “Yu IS the other Wild Card from Inaba, isn’t he?”

Lavenza giggled. “Nothing truly gets by you, Trickster. Yes, Yu Narukami is indeed the other Wild Card.” The mirth in her face faded slightly. “However, as my older sister Margaret is his attendant, it would be more appropriate for either her or Narukami himself to provide you with the story behind his journey.”

“That’s definitely something I plan on asking him eventually,” Ren acknowledged. “I just have one last question before I head off.”

“By all means,” Lavenza invited. “If I can answer your question, I will do so.”

“I know Marie’s another cognitive deity. Do I have to worry about her?” the leader of the Phantom Thieves questioned.

Lavenza smiled and shook her head. “No. While it may be true that aspects of Izanami-no-Mikoto were once twisted and corrupted enough to seek dominion over humanity, it has been many years since the Seeker of Truth defeated them and made her whole once more. Marie is no threat to you. She is the master of the TV World, but as its protector and not its tyrant.” The smile faded a bit once again. “However, that does not mean that she has absolute control over the TV World. I would not venture into there foolishly thinking that you are safe from any threat or Shadow just because the world itself is stewarded by her.”

Ren snorted. “Oh trust me, that’s a lesson I learned very quickly,” he deadpanned.

Lavenza giggled. “I’m sure you have, Trickster.” She straightened, her voice taking on a slightly more formal tone. “And on that note, Trickster, I must return to the Velvet Room to properly prepare it for your use. I will let you know once it is ready.”

Ren nodded. “Sounds good, Lavenza. See you in a few days, then.”

Lavenza smiled and retreated back into the Velvet Room cell, slamming the jail door shut behind her. A second later, the door disappeared in a flash, leaving behind an empty corner as thought there had never been a mystical portal to begin with.

“Good to see that the Velvet Room’s still doing fine, even if you’re gonna need some time to get into it,” Morgana commented. “And after thinking about it a little more, I think I’m gonna pass on Okina City.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? What changed your mind?”

“Well, we’re gonna probably end up back in that TV World eventually,” Morgana explained. “And I want to go scout around the Shopping District, see if there’s anything that we can useful we can use for our infiltrations. There’s no way that other Wild Card and his team made it through a cognitive world without proper preparations, and if it’s anything like infiltrating Palaces they needed to get weapons and items from the real world somewhere.”

“I don’t have a problem with that, but are you sure you know your way around Inaba well enough?” Ren asked, clearly concerned that his friend might get lost.

“I know my way around just fine!” Morgana declared, puffing up his chest like he always did whenever he wanted to show off. “I know how to get from here to your house, and even to Junes if I need to!”

“All right, all right, I’ll let you be, then,” Ren relented. “There are stray animals like cats and dogs that wander around the Shipping District every so often so it’s not like you’ll raise any eyebrows. I’ll see you back at my house, then.”

“Got it!” Morgana agreed, before walking away towards the Northern end of the Shopping District. Ren, meanwhile, went the opposite direction, walking further South until he arrived at the Inaba Train Station. He bought the next ticket to Okina City and enjoyed a brief ride to the nearby city. By the time he had descended the escalator down to the city proper, Yu and Rise were both waiting for him already, and the famous idol singer waved enthusiastically at him the moment she saw him.

“Reeeeeeeeennnnn!” she called out. “Over here!”

Yu smiled as his younger brother figure approached. “Glad you could make it, Ren. Been a while since we could hang out like this, huh?”

Ren smirked back at him. “I missed these days, that’s for sure. And it’s about time the two of you can finally date in public, it’s honestly really stupid that they made you keep this a secret for this long.”

“I know, right?” Rise pouted, before she grinned. “So what do you wanna do here, Ren?”

“I kinda want to see that café that sells coffee around here,” Ren answered for a few seconds of contemplation. “After living with Sojiro for so long, I want to see how his coffee compares to other high-quality coffee places.” He made a face. “I can’t drink the crap known as Starvicks anymore.”

Yu nodded approvingly. “Good choice. Café Chagall is one of the best coffee places around Inaba.” He tilted his head thoughtfully. “You were never really much of a coffee drinker before, Ren. I guess that’s something about you that changed in Tokyo, hmm?”

“One of many things,” Ren answered noncommittally.

“Almost you’ve adopted a totally new Persona, eh?” Rise asked with a knowing wink, putting a special emphasis on that specific word.

“Har har,” Ren drawled, before his expression turned a bit serious. “I’d rather not talk about that right now,” he requested politely but firmly. “I’d rather wait until everyone gets together before I finally spill the beans of what really happened back in Tokyo.” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m guessing everyone in our friend group is a Persona user, aren’t they?”

“You’re right,” Yu confirmed. “Me, Rise, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Teddie, Naoto…we’re all Persona users.”

“And you’re the other Wild Card, right?” Ren asked. He was certain he already knew the answer, but there was nothing like hearing the man himself confirm it.

“I am.”

Ren smirked. “Knew it.”

The three of them made their way over to Café Chagall, where Mumon was standing stoically outside the door with his shades covering his eyes and his arms crossed. The man gave Yu a nod as he saw him approach. “Welcome. Are you here for the usual?” he asked.

“Yes,” Yu answered smoothly. “And the same for my girlfriend and my young friend here. No better way to start than with the classics, right?”

Mumon nodded. “Not a bad way to start here at all. Coming right up.”

As Mumon went behind the counter to prepare the coffee cups, Yu turned his attention back to Ren. “How have things been going now that you’re back in Inaba?” he asked. “It must be really different from the city that you’re used to.”

“You have no idea,” Ren answered dryly. “Okina City’s the closest thing I’ve seen so far to an environment like Tokyo’s, and even then it just isn’t the same.” He sighed. “I know the circumstances that brought me to Tokyo in the first place were god awful, but it’s honestly just as much home to me now as Inaba is.”

Rise gave him a concerned look. “Are you lonely, Ren?” she asked seriously. “I know it must’ve been tough, learning that your parents had to flee the country because of that piece of garbage who almost became our next Prime Minister.” She scowled. “I knew he was too good to be true!”

“His entire personality reeked of lies,” Yu agreed solemnly, “but even I didn’t realize just how bad he really was. The Phantom Thieves did Japan a service exposing him for the monster that he truly was.”

Ren snorted. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Rise suddenly brightened. “But hey, at least it brought you into a whole new world over at Tokyo!” she declared, in an effort to brighten the mood by changing the conversation to something more wholesome. “There are so many places to visit over there, right? Which one was your favorite?” she pressed, eager for answers.

Ren chuckled at his older friend’s enthusiasm. “Well, apart from Shibuya itself? There were a couple of places that I liked to visit a lot,” he answered. “Kichijoji had this really nice Darts and Billiards place that I like to hang out with my friends at, and a Jazz Club that plays some really beautiful songs at night.”

“Ooh, I’ve never sung Jazz before!” Rise exclaimed. She tilted her head towards Yu. “Do you think I’d be good at it if I tried it?”

Yu kissed his girlfriend on the cheek. “I think you’d be good at anything you try to sing, sweetie,” he answered lovingly.

“You guys should just skip the girlfriend phase and go straight to marriage already,” he commented dryly. “I mean, you two were dating for years already, why wait any longer to seal the deal?”

“When you’ve dated someone, you’ll know when the time is right,” Rise answered a bit enigmatically.

“While we’re on that topic, do you even have a girlfriend?” Yu asked curiously. The slight widening of Ren’s eyes was all Yu and Rise needed to know that Ren had indeed found himself a significant other while in Tokyo. “Wait, you actually do!”

“Tell us!” Rise eagerly demanded. “Tell us who the special lady who won our little brother’s heart is!”

Ren raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, I’ll show her to you. But you can’t tell anyone else until we all meet up to talk about our Persona adventures and everything.”

“Deal,” Yu immediately agreed. “Is there anybody else who knows about her?”

“Just Nanako,” Ren admitted. “She figured it out pretty early, and I couldn’t lie to her if she already knew what was going on.”

Yu smirked. “That sounds like Nanako, all right. She’s as sharp as a needle, despite being so young. Anyways, let’s see who your girlfriend is.”

Ren took out his phone and opened up a picture of him and Haru visiting the shrine together, with Haru wearing a yukata and himself wearing a jinbei, the two of them smiling at a camera that had been held by Yusuke. He held out the phone to Yu and Rise, who leaned in to take a look.

“Oh my God, she’s so adorable!” Rise gushed, her eyes shining brightly. “That floofy auburn hair, that smile…she’s just so cute! I want to wrap her up in a tight hug and never let go!”

Yu was similarly impressed. “Just from looking at her, I can sense her kindness and gentleness. Congratulations on finding someone who’s a good match for you.”

“Thanks, guys,” Ren murmured, trying not to blush.

“By the way, what’s her name?” Rise asked curiously. “We gotta know so that we can give her a proper welcome when you get her to visit Inaba, after all.”

“Haru Okumura,” Ren answered.

Yu’s eyes widened. “Wait…did you just say Okumura?” he asked. “Like…the daughter of the late Kunikazu Okumura, CEO of Okumura Foods? THAT Haru Okumura?”

“The one and the same,” Ren confirmed. “I didn’t start dating her until the end of the last year, cause I didn’t want to come off as someone who was trying to take advantage of her while she was grieving from her father’s death.” He chuckled. “Turned out, Haru was a lot more enthusiastic about getting into a romantic relationship with me than I thought…though there were some other issues she needed to deal with first.”

“Such the gentleman you are, Ren,” Rise commented affectionately. “I hope you helped her deal with her problems as best as you could, Ren.” The words were still soft, but carried with them an undercurrent of steely conviction. “That’s part of what it means to be a good boyfriend, after all.”

Ren grinned again, although this time it was a savage expression that unnerved both Yu and Rise. “Oh, don’t you worry,” he reassured them with a tone that carried an undercurrent of malicious satisfaction. “Those problems won’t be bothering Haru ever again.”

Yu and Rise both glanced at each other, unable to conceal a hint of worry in their eyes and expressions. Yu couldn’t help but recall what Naoto had said last night, how it was possible that Ren’s Wild Card Journey might have harsher than theirs, and potentially affected his personality in negative ways as well as positive ones.

The young boy who had hung around with them for the past few years was an innocent soul who would never hurt a fly. Even without knowing the full details, it was safe to say that this new Ren was a very different story.

Ren himself seemed to realize he might have gone too far in exposing the more sadistic side to himself that had developed ever since he had first awakened Arsene. Thankfully, Mumon had chosen this moment to arrive with 3 cups of coffee, one for each of them.

“Oh!” Rise exclaimed, the arrival of the coffee serving as a welcome distraction. “Thanks, Mumon!”

“Enjoy your drink,” Mumon answered stoically as he went back to his counter.

“This is some of the best coffee I’ve ever had,” Yu commented with a content smile as he took a drink. He looked around and lowered his voice before continuing. “Did you know that whenever I drank a coffee, I would always get a Skill Card from it?”

Ren’s eyes widened. “Wait, really?” his voice was just as quiet as Yu’s, but the surprise could still be heard clearly in his voice.

“Yeah. Depending on what Persona I had equipped at the forefront of my mind at the time, I would get a specific skill card for that Persona,” Yu explained. “For example, the Persona Futsunushi got me an Arms Master Skill Card that was really useful in helping me prep my Yoshitsune.”

“Oh wow,” Ren whistled. “Sojiro’s coffee, as amazing as it was, never gave me a skill card like that. Usually we just used it to replenish our SP.” He eyed the cup of coffee curiously, lifted the mug to his mouse, and took a drink.

Right away, Ren could tell that Mumon was truly an expert in his craft when it came to coffee. While Sojiro’s Café LeBlanc coffee was and would always be his undisputed favorite, the coffee that he was drinking right now had an impeccable taste that he wouldn’t soon forget. But what shocked Ren the most was how deeply the essence of the coffee seemed to fill his very being, as though it were trying to bury itself deep into his very soul.

Ren felt Yoshitsune, the Persona that he had used last and therefore the Persona he technically had currently “equipped”, stir in response to the coffee. For a few moments, he could feel his Persona commune with the mystical sensation somehow, the two of them reacting in some way that Ren had never felt before. But then the moment had passed, and the coffee settled into his stomach just like Sojiro’s coffee would, leaving a pleasant taste in his mouth and a confused sensation in his brain as he tried to process what had just happened.

“What did I just experience?” Ren wondered blankly. He had never experienced anything like this before in Tokyo.

“I’m assuming that you felt one of your Personas react to Mumon’s coffee in some way?” Yu surmised. When Ren nodded, he continued, “That must have been the coffee trying to draw out a skill card to whatever Persona you had equipped. Which one did you have on so far?”

“Uh…Yoshitsune.”

Yu nodded. “When I brought Yoshitsune over here, it was so that I could get a Power Charge Skill Card from him,” he explained. His eyes fell onto Ren’s empty hands, and a small frown appeared on his face. “You don’t seem to have gotten any Skill Card from your Yoshitsune, though. I’m assuming you don’t have Power Charge on him?”

Ren shook his head. “No. I have that on a separate Persona. And in my cognitive world, it was just called Charge, not Power Charge.”

“Really?” Rise looked confused. “Then how you distinguish your Power Charge from Mind Charge?”

“Mind Charge?” Ren repeated, equally bewildered. “Our team always called that Concentrate.”

“I didn’t realize different cognitive worlds had different names for the same moves,” Yu commented mildly. “I think that’s something I’ll have to look into later when I have the time.”

The three of them contentedly drank their coffees, with Ren making a mental note to introduce Sojiro to Mumon later. The two would definitely be worthy peers in the art of making coffee, and if Mumon somehow managed to teach Sojiro how to make coffees that could generate Skill Cards, that kind of ability could be incredibly useful down the road.

Once they were done, Yu took out some yen and gave it to Mumon, making sure to give him a little extra as a tip. He then looked at his watch and chuckled. “At least it didn’t take us the whole afternoon,” he commented dryly as they got up to leave. “Back in the days when I came here to get Skill Cards, I would literally spend the entire afternoon at the Café. I don’t know how or why, but I’d drink the coffee, get the Skill Card, and then before I know it it’s almost nighttime outside.”

“I’ve had that kind of thing happen to me before, too,” Ren commiserated as they walked out into Okina City. “Things that shouldn’t take all that long in theory end up taking the entire day. Really weird how that keeps happening over and over again.”

“I guess even the impeccable time management of a Wild Card has its failings sometimes,” Yu acknowledged, earning a giggle from Rise and a snicker from Ren.

“I think we have time to do one more thing. Why don’t we go into Croco Fur and get your new girlfriend Haru a dress?” Rise suggested excitedly. “I’ll pay for it.”

Ren’s eyes widened. “No, Rise, you don’t have to do that!” he protested. He was about to remind Rise that as a Wild Card he had literally millions of yen stashed at home, but Rise cut him off.

“I insist,” she insisted, with a sweetness in his tone that held the same undercurrent of steel that would brook no argument.

Ren gave in, knowing that any further argument was pointless, while Yu snickered in the background. The three of them entered the store, where they spent the next few moments browsing the store trying to find the best gift for Haru. Ren had quickly decided that he wanted to give Haru a dress that would be a good fit for the summer since that season was coming up, an idea that Rise enthusiastically supported.

After a couple of minutes of searching, Ren’s eyes fell upon a turquoise sundress with clouds sprinkled on it that reminded him of a sunny sky. Instinctively, Ren knew that he had found the gift that he wanted to give to Haru.

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Rise gushed when Ren showed her the sundress. “It reminds me of a clear summer sky over a beach. You’ve got good taste, Ren, this is perfect!”

“Haru is lucky to have you as a boyfriend, Ren,” Yu added approvingly. Rise beckoned towards the sundress, and Ren reluctantly handed it over to her. The famous idol singer wasted no time in practically shoving the yen payment into the surprised girl’s hand, so eager was she to buy the first gift from Inaba that her younger brother figure would give to his new girlfriend.

“I can’t wait to meet Haru and see you give this to her when she finally visits here!” Rise gushed as they left the store behind. “You have to invite her here soon!” she insisted.

“All I can promise is that I’ll do the best I can,” Ren conceded. “She’s really busy right now, handling both Okumura Foods and schoolwork right now. It probably won’t be for a little while.”

Rise shrugged. “I can wait. But when she gets here, we’ll make sure to give Haru a true Inaba welcome!”

Ren smiled. “I’m sure she’ll look forward to it,” he replied, accepting the shopping bag containing the sundress from Rise. He looked at his watch and frowned. “Ah crap, it’s getting late. I should probably take a train back home to…”

“No way,” Yu interrupted. “We’ll drive you back home. Wouldn’t be right to force you to pay for a train ticket when we can give you a lift and we were going back to Inaba anyway.”

Ren gratefully accepted the offered ride, which turned out to be a well-maintained but somewhat modest Toyota that Yu explained was for whenever he and Rise wanted to keep a lower profile when traveling somewhere. Having been a Phantom Thief for the better part of a year now, Ren could certainly understand that kind of desire.

After a couple minutes of driving and small talk, Yu arrived and pulled up at the roadway right outside Ren’s house. Ren got out of the car and thanked his older brother figure for the ride. “By the way,” Yu suddenly remembered the question he was going to ask. “When do you think you’ll be ready to talk with all of us about your Persona adventures? I know we’re all dying to learn what happened over in Tokyo.”

Ren thought for a moment. “How about next weekend?” he asked.

Yu nodded. “That works for me. I’ll let everyone know, and I’ll see you around, Ren.”

“Bye, Ren!” Rise waved at him cheerfully.

 As Yu’s car drove away, the leader of the Phantom Thieves opened up his phone and turned it on, having left it off for most of the day while he hung out with Yu and Rise. There were a couple messages from his friends and confidants, but one in particular that mattered to him the most right now.

Shiho: “Hey, Ren? I’m ready to talk to Ann and the other Phantom Thieves about my new Persona now. Whenever you’re ready, let’s go for it.”

“No time like the present,” Ren thought as he unlocked the door to his house and opened it. Morgana had returned from his own investigations and was sitting on the table, waiting to talk with him. He couldn’t resist letting a grin spread across his face. “It’s Showtime.”

Chapter Text

“Wait, you’re actually going to tell everyone about the cognitive world now?” Morgana asked incredulously once Ren revealed his plan for the night. “Like, is Shiho ready for this?”

Ren shrugged. “She sent me a text just a few moments ago saying she wanted to do it tonight. I trust her when she says she’s ready.” A mischievous grin spread across his face. “But we’re gonna do it in a way that trolls the rest of the Phantom Thieves a little bit.”

“Oh?” Morgana raised an eyebrow. Even though there was nobody around the house, Ren bent down and whispered in the feline’s ear. As he finished whispering his plan, Morgana started snickering loudly. “Oh, that is too good. You really are dead set on blowing their minds, aren’t you, Ren?”

“Wouldn’t be me otherwise, would it?” Ren blithely replied. Morgana shrugged, knowing that he had no retort to his leader’s comment, and the two made their way up to Ren’s room. Once he had gotten himself seated on his desk, he opened up the Phantom Thieves group chat and started typing.

Ren: “How’s it going, people?”

Haru: “Oh, Ren-kun, good to hear from you!”

Ann: “Hi, Ren!”

Sumire: “Good evening, senpai!”

Ren waited for every member of the Phantom Thieves and Shiho to check in and exchange greetings. Fortunately, he had apparently chosen a good time, because every single one of the Phantom Thieves had enough free time to join the chat tonight.

Makoto: “Has Inaba been treating you well, Ren? Even though you have your older friends, Morgana, and Shiho-chan around, I can’t help but worry about you living by yourself.”

Ren: “Thanks for the thoughts, Makoto, but I’m doing just fine. I was able to operate my schedule and take care of business just fine as the leader of the Phantom Thieves after all, right?”

Yusuke: “That is very true. Ren’s time management skills are nothing short of impeccable.”

Haru: “His capabilities in that regard would place several high-level employees of Okumura Foods to shame.”

Futaba: “Ooh, are you gonna make Ren your second-in-command of Okumura Foods, Haru?”

Sumire: “They would be such an amazing power couple if they teamed up like that!”

Morgana looked up at Ren from reading the group chat over his shoulder. “You know, that’s actually a really good point,” he commented. “ARE you gonna be the second-in-command of Okumura Foods once you marry Haru, Ren? Cause I’m sure you’d be great at it, and Haru would absolutely trust you with it.”

Ren nodded thoughtfully. To be honest, he had been considering going into a business-focused education and career path once he got into college. Whether it was to help Haru open up her own café, or to serve as a wise and educated advisor to her as the CEO of Okumura Foods, a business path would help ensure that he would be a loyal partner to Haru not just in the world of romance, but in business as well.

Of course, this was assuming that being arrested and thrown into juvie cause of Masayoshi Shido’s bullshit didn’t destroy his future prospects where higher education was concerned. Officially, his record had been wiped completely clean following his exoneration, but Ren wasn’t stupidity enough to assume that an ideal world would match reality. The whole mess with Maruki’s reality had reinforced that lesson very clearly.

The sound of his phone processing texts forced Ren out of his thoughts and back to the conversation.

Ryuji: “So, uh, what were you doing yesterday, Ren? You didn’t respond to any of my messages at all.”

Ann: “Yeah, were you hanging out with Shiho yesterday? She didn’t answer any of my messages either.”

Ren, ever the skilled improviser, was able to quickly come up with a response that wouldn’t immediately tip any of his friends that something was off. “Yeah, we were just hanging out together, doing homework and whatnot. Sorry I didn’t answer any of your messages yesterday, we REALLY wanted to get that crap out of the way as soon as possible.”

Makoto: “I’m glad your work ethic remains as strong as ever on that front, at least.”

Futaba: “Boo…homework is so boring!”

Yusuke: “An unfortunate yet necessary evil to be sure.”

As his friends continued to talk, Ren briefly shifted over to a private DM with Shiho.

Ren: “You ready to drop the bomb?”

Shiho: “Hell yeah I am. I can’t wait to see Ann’s brain explode on seeing what I’m about to type.”

Ren grinned. “Fire away,” he typed back. “It’s showtime.” He shifted back to the main conversation, waiting for Shiho to unleash havoc.

Shiho: “Hey, so…I had a question, guys.”

Ann: “Sure thing, Shiho! What’s up?”

Shiho: “What the heck do my Persona’s skill names even mean? Psiodyne, Mapsio, Matarunda, Marakunda, Brain Jack. Was whatever god who made up these names drunk or something, or did I just go crazy from waking up my Persona yesterday?”

Ann: “SHDIOFGDSIUOFDSOIFUODISUOMAYUDNAYUFTNEUOSIBYNDSIMU”

Ann: “ISOUDPMFGSUFGOIDSYGFNMDSIOYGDSFDLJKMFHSUKELFEYNIU”

Ann: “QYEIOEWMUYJPEFTKIDUMFKDSFGHDXCNFVXULYSADAASYHNIO”

Ann: “HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH????????

Makoto: “I’m sorry, WHAT?”

Futaba: “Hold up, hold up, what the hell?”

Sumire: “Hold on, you guys never told me Shiho had a Persona!”

Ann: “THAT’S CAUSE SHE NEVER HAD ONE, SUMIRE!”

Yusuke: “I’m under the distinct impression that we’re missing some rather crucial details here.”

Ryuji: “No shit we are, Yusuke! When the fuck, and more importantly, HOW the fuck did Shiho even get a Persona to begin with?”

Makoto: “Those are some excellent questions that I feel like we really need answers to. Right now.”

Sumire: “I have this strange feeling that senpai was busier with a lot more than just homework yesterday…”

Ren: “Heh heh, told you they’d go batshit crazy when they learned you got a Persona, Shiho. Got’em.”

Futaba: “REN????”

Ann: “Wait, you were in on this???”

Morgana chuckled as he read the message, able to sense everyone’s shock and disbelief even through the naturally restrictive media of a phone screen. “I really wish I could see the look on everyone’s faces, right now.”

Ren: “Of course I knew. You think I was gonna let Shiho wander off into Inaba’s cognitive world by herself?”

Futaba: “Wait, there’s a cognitive world in Inaba? What the hell, how come you didn’t tell us any of this?”

Haru: “Ren-kun…I would like to politely request that you give us all the information on Shiho’s awakening and Inaba’s cognitive world. I would strongly recommend that you tell us everything we need to know. Right now.” Ren gulped, able to perfectly picture his girlfriend’s saccharine yet menacing tone through her words.

Morgana shuddered. “Think you better stop playing around if you don’t want to see Haru in your nightmares tonight, Ren,” he commented.

“Oh, I’m very aware of that, Morgana,” Ren replied dryly before continuing.

Ren: “All right, Shiho, we should probably stop trolling around if we don’t want Haru to come after us.”

Shiho: “Aww, but I was having fun driving Ann into a mental breakdown. Is Haru really THAT scary?”

Ren: “Yes.”

Futaba: “Yep.”

Yusuke: “Most certainly.”

Ryuji: “Yes.”

Ann: “Yes.”

Sumire: “Some days I have a harder time deciding who’s scarier, Makoto-senpai or Haru-senpai.”

Makoto: “I’m not THAT scary…but I do have to admit Haru can be quite terrifying when she wants to be.”

Shiho: “…I’ll take your word for it.”

Haru: “Anyways, Ren-kun…the story, please.”

Ren: “Yes, ma’am…” He stopped for a few seconds, thought about how to best communicate the events of yesterday, and then continued. “I found out a few days ago that there’s actually a cognitive world in Inaba. It’s similar to the Metaverse, but different in some ways as well. I still don’t know whether the two places are different parts of the same world, but they both draw their existence from the human subconscious.”

Ryuji: “Holy shit…another world like the Metaverse.”

Yusuke: “Do you know anything about this cognitive world, Ren?”

Ren: “Not really, to be honest. I only just saw a small glimpse of it yesterday.”

Makoto: “I hope you didn’t go diving into it the first chance you got, Ren. You should know anyone else that those worlds can be incredibly dangerous, especially to someone who doesn’t even have a Persona herself!”

Ren: “Makoto, I’m a daredevil, but I’m not stupid. I’m not gonna pretend that I wasn’t interested in a second cognitive world like the Metaverse, but I wasn’t gonna go rush into it when I didn’t know have any intel about it or how it worked whatsoever. As long as the cognitive world didn’t cause major problems like another god trying to take over the world, I was planning on taking things slowly and methodically. And then that plan completely went to shit yesterday.”

Haru: “Ren-kun, were you genuinely working on homework with Shiho yesterday or was that all part of your prank on us?”

Ren: “No, that part of the story was completely true. Morgana was with us, he can confirm.”

Morgana nodded at his statement. “You bet I can. I’d never joke about anything as serious as the Metaverse, or something close enough to it.”

Shiho: “We decided to do some homework together at the Junes Department Store for a few hours. We were gonna go back home, but we decided to check out the Electronics section before we left.”

Haru: “Oh! Well, Ren-kun, if there was anything that caught your interest, let me know and I’ll buy it for you!”

Ren: “Thanks for the thoughts, Haru, but I have so much money from farming the Metaverse that it’s not even funny. Dropping a couple ten to hundred thousand yen would barely be a blip on the cash reserves.”

Makoto: “Let’s get back on track, please.”

Ren: “Right. Anyways, when I was looking at one of the particularly large TVs, I felt this strange urge, almost like something was calling out to me, to reach out and touch the screen of the TV. I know, doing it was stupid in hindsight, but it wasn’t something I could resist. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but I sure as hell didn’t think my arm would literally go into the TV screen!”

Futaba: “Wait, what? Your arm went INTO the TV screen?”

Sumire: “How is that even possible, senpai?”

Ren: “Don’t know about the full details, but the short answer is that the TVs in Inaba, or at least some of them, are gateways into this other cognitive world that I’m gonna call the TV World from here on out. Anyways, I was gonna pull my arm back out, but then suddenly something grabbed me and pulled me into the TV!”

Yusuke: “Oh my!”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around that,” Morgana commented. “It’s not like the Meta-Nav where you could type in wherever Palace or Mementos place you wanted to go into from anywhere…and you can usually control where and when you want to go in the Metaverse, for the most part.”

“That TV was a specific entry point,” Ren agreed, before frowning. “And it’s very likely there’s more than one of them. I’m glad that Marie made it so that only someone with a Persona or somebody with one can enter the TV World now. As bad as Shiho getting dragged into the TV World was, it’d be a lot worse if some random person could fall in at any time and get killed by Shadows.”

He focused his attention back on the chat, where Shiho had picked up while he had been distracted.

Shiho: “We fell into this magical world through this really trippy portal that made me feel like I was on drugs. And then we fell onto this meadow with a forest nearby and a small pond. It honestly looked really pretty…but then my Shadow showed up and had to ruin everything.”

Ryuji: “Wait, your Shadow? The fuck?”

Ren: “We never really saw our Shadows, Shiho. The only one here who did was Futaba. Everyone else kinda…had our Shadows in us when we awoke our Personas. They pretty much just…called out to us when we were about to reach our breaking point, and turned into our Personas when we agreed to rebel against all the shitty adults who were ruining our lives.”

Makoto: “Ren pretty much summed it up. And when we accepted our Personas, we’d have this mask form over our faces and we’d rip that mask off. That was the final step in awakening our Personas.”

Ann: “Ripping those masks off the first time was painful as hell, and it spurts out blood everywhere. Like, oh my God, I swear Yaldabaoth’s attacks hurt less than ripping that mask off.”

Ryuji: “But everything else about our awakenings is so cool! We get this huge pillar of blue fire that explodes around us, and we get these badass costumes that we get to kick ass in. And it feels so good, deciding that you’re not gonna let some shitty adults fuck you over anymore, and you finally get to fight back by changing their hearts. It’s really the best!”

Shiho: “Really? That’s not how my awakening went at all. I didn’t see anything like that happen to me.”

Haru: “Hmm? Then what was your awakening like, Shiho-chan?”

Ren: “I’ll answer this question, since Shiho was knocked out for part of it. Shiho basically encountered her Shadow in the TV World. You know how most Shadows we fought represented a person’s distorted desires?”

Sumire: “I don’t think I could ever forget something like that.”

Ren: “Well, Shiho’s Shadow was still distorted, but in a different way. Her Shadow was basically all her negative aspects combined into one person and dialed all the way to eleven. The moment Shiho and her Shadow met, the Shadow started blurting out all the dark thoughts that Shiho was hiding in herself for everyone to hear, all the while saying that they were the same person deep down. It was…really messed up, honestly.”

Yusuke: “That certainly sounds like a harrowing experience. May I ask what exactly did Shiho’s Shadow say that was so horrible?”

Shiho: “I’d…REALLY rather not say, please.”

Morgana and Ren glanced at each other and winced. Neither of them would deny that Shiho’s Shadow had spouted some positively nasty stuff, and neither of them blamed Shiho in the slightest for wanting to keep it a secret.

Ren: “I’m gonna warn you guys right now, do NOT try to push Shiho into revealing what her Shadow said. Executive order from your leader.”

Futaba: “Don’t worry, Ren. I know it might be hard for you guys to believe, but even I have my limits when it comes to privacy and touchy stuff.”

Haru: “I completely agree. What Shiho’s Shadow said to her is her business and no one else’s.”

Ren: “Anyways, to change the subject, Shiho rejected her Shadow, which caused her to go batshit crazy and turn into a monster. It knocked Shiho out and then tried to attack her afterwards. Which is where me, Morgana, and two of my friends stepped in to beat the crap out of the monster.”

Morgana snickered. “More like you kicked the Shadow’s ass while me, Yosuke, and Teddie chipped in to help every once in a while,” he commented dryly.

Ann: “Thank God you were there, Ren. I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if Shiho’s Shadow killed her in that other world.”

Makoto: “Wait, hold on a second, you said you had two friends who helped you fight Shiho’s Shadow? That implies that there were two other Persona users who aren’t us.”

Ren: “You really don’t miss a thing, do you, Makoto? Yeah, there were some other Persona users there to help us, but I’ll get to that later. We fought and beat Shiho’s Shadow, who turned back into the standard Shadow of a person except for the golden eyes, the usual.”

Shiho: “When I woke up, the guys were telling me to accept my Shadow. It was painful, but I admitted that I did have some of those dark thoughts that the Shadow was blurting out, and that she was a part of me. Then, the Shadow turned into my Persona. There wasn’t any outfit, ripping a mask off my face, or giant pillar of blue flames. The Persona just stood there in front of me, turned into a card, and I guess it floated into my soul or something.”

Sumire: “That’s a lot less dramatic than any of our awakenings.”

Ryuji: “You don’t get a cool new outfit though, that kinda sucks.”

Ann: “That might not be a bad thing, I still don’t know how I feel about mine.”

Makoto: “Or mine.”

Shiho: “Really? What does your outfit look like?”

Ann: “I’d rather not…”

Ren: “She’s in this red latex catsuit, complete with a tail and a whip. Like, think of teenage Catwoman except she’s in a red suit and also a dominatrix.”

Ann: “GOD DAMMIT REN, I DIDN’T WANT HER TO FIND OUT!”

Shiho: “Oh my God, I absolutely HAVE to see this now!”

Ann: “Welp, guess I’m staying away from Inaba for…basically ever.”

Shiho: “Oh no, you’re not getting out of this that easily!”

Ren snickered as he watched Ann and Shiho banter over the chat over Ann’s Phantom Thief outfit. Eventually, though, Makoto steered the conversation back on topic just as she tended to do.

Makoto: “Who exactly is your Persona, Shiho? And what sort of capabilities do they have?”

Shiho: “My Persona is…Zheng Yi Sao. I did a little research on her today, apparently she was this extremely badass and successful pirate queen from China who was one of the most badass female pirates in all of history.”

Futaba: “Ooh, I’ve heard of her! She basically had a fleet so strong it was bigger than the Chinese army’s!”

Yusuke: “Oh my, quite an intimidating and powerful figure!”

Ryuji: “Aww hell yeah, Shiho! Pirate persona buddies, what’s up?”

Shiho: “Giving you a fistbump through my phone, Ryuji, woo!”

Ann: “I can’t wait to join you in the TV World whenever I get the chance to visit Inaba, Shiho! Our combined girl power is gonna crush those Shadows, they’re not gonna know what hit’em!”

Ryuji: “Don’t forget me! We gotta fight next to each other too, plundering the Shadows as a team of badass pirates!”

Shiho: “Ren, you gotta put us all together as a team in the TV World! Please?”

Ren: “You know, I’d say that I’d need to be careful about making my team comps and making sure you guys actually synergize well as a team…but who am I kidding, I’m OP as fuck with all my maxed out Personas and I’d just carry you all if things went to shit anyway. Sure, if you guys every visit Inaba, let’s go for it.”

Ryuji: “Hell yeah!”

Ann: “Whooooooo!”

Shiho: “This is gonna be so much fun!”

Haru: “I’m happy to see that you’re all enjoying yourselves, I’ve been thinking about something that Ren-kun mentioned earlier.”

Ren: “What’s up, Haru?”

Haru: “You mentioned that there were two other Persona users. Would you mind explaining that part to me, please?”

Sumire: “Oh, that’s right! I completely forgot about them!”

Yusuke: “Ah yes, we should probably familiarize ourselves with these individuals so that we can at least recognize them whenever we visit Inaba.”

Ren: “That’s a good point. Okay, so, the reason why the cognitive world in Inaba isn’t a major threat to humanity is because there was another team of Persona users about 5 years ago who beat the goddess who ruled over the TV World. The goddess tried to take over humanity by turning them into Shadows or something, which was back when the Foggy Day Murders were happening.”

Futaba: “Turning people into Shadows? That sounds REALLY fucked up.”

Shiho: “I don’t see how anybody could think that is a good idea.”

Ren: “Yeah, apparently she was trying to do it for the good of humanity or something, I don’t know. Anyways, a group of Persona users, who awakened their Personas very similarly to how Shiho did, managed to defeat the goddess and stop her messed-up plans. The goddess technically still exists, but she’s good now and she doesn’t really do much nowadays except for controlling the weather around the town and trying to keep the TV World under control.”

Makoto: “Wait, an actual goddess lives in your town? How does that even work?”

Futaba: “Wait, is this that Mariko Kusumi lady? There’s this weather forecaster who always predicts the weather with 100% accuracy. Nobody knows how she does it, but she’s never been wrong about the weather ever!”

Ren: “Yeah, that’s her. My older friend group calls her Marie, and I’m casually friendly with her but I don’t know her as well as the rest of my older friends.”

Haru: “Wait…this older friend group of yours, Ren. Are you saying that…?”

Ren: “Yep. That older group of friends I always hung out with for most of my childhood in Inaba? All of them are Persona users. And their leader, who’s been a big brother to me even more than the rest of them, was another Wild Card.”

Ryuji: “Holy shit, dude! That’s unreal!”

Yusuke: “A fascinating coincidence, that you would grow up under the care of the last Wild Card.”

Ann: “That’s so cool, Ren! It’s almost like you were meant to be a Persona user from the very beginning!”

Ren: “I know, right? Funnily enough, I only figured this out cause Morgana overheard them talking about how the TV World got affected by Yaldabaoth’s bullshit, and Maruki messing around with things he shouldn’t have didn’t help matters either. From what Morgana could figure out, the TV World isn’t nearly as dangerous as it was back when the goddess in charge was still evil and trying to take over the world, but it’s not exactly safe either thanks to all of the distortions.”

Makoto: “I’d recommend that you touch base with that other group of Persona users before going in again, especially if you plan on bringing Shiho along in there. She’ll definitely need some good weapons and armor, that’s for sure.”

Ryuji: “Wow, I’m actually kinda surprised you’re not demanding that Ren stay the hell away from there completely.”

Makoto: “I’m not going to pretend that I wasn’t considering it, but I know full well that once you awaken a Persona, you feel this urge in your soul to go out there and crush some Shadows. I can’t deny that from either you or Shiho, as long as you’re careful about it.”

Ren: “Don’t worry, Makoto. I may act like a carefree daredevil, but I know when to take things seriously.

Haru: “I’m sure Ren-kun will be careful, Mako-chan. But back to your older Persona-wielding friends, who are they exactly? I noticed that you never actually described any of them to us yet. We simply don’t know who they are.”

Ren: “Good point, Haru. Let me post a picture that I took with them and me together.”

Ren quickly scrolled through his phone, finding a picture of him and the Investigation Team smiling together that had been taken on the large hill overlooking Inaba, and uploaded it to the chat.

Ren: “Here, this is probably the best picture I have of us.”

Sumire: “Aww, senpai, you looked so adorable when you were younger!”

Ann: “I know, right?”

Ann: “WAIT HOLD ON A FUCKING MINUTE!”

Shiho: “What’s up, Ann?”

Ann: “That’s Rise Kujikawa over on the left!”

Ryuji: “Holy shit Ann, you’re right!”

Ann: “Ren, are you telling me you grew up with Risette? THE Risette?”

Ren: “Yeah, she’s basically my big sister. What about it?”

Ann: “Ren, you know how much I love Risette! She was biggest inspiration to be a model in the first place. And you didn’t think to tell me that you grew up with her?”

Ren: “Uh…Imma be honest, I kinda just forgot to bring that up.”

Ann: “WHAT THE HELL, REN?”

Shiho: “Oh boy, Ann mental breakdown part 2 coming in strong.”

Ann: “AND YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT RISETTE HAS BEEN A PERSONA USER THE WHOLE TIME?”

Ann: “AISYMPSDRSDOUPSIEUTRMPEITUYREOPMJKS”

Ann: “PIOUYMTPUWPOITMKOISFDOIPSKOISUDMFP”

Ann: “ASUJHDFDSIFMDJSKFGHDSUIFHYDSIOFUHDI”

Haru: “I’m both incredibly amused and also concerned at the same time.”

Ryuji: “I’m not gonna go quite as crazy as Ann over there, but holy shit, Ren, you really gotta let us know when you’re gonna drop your mindbombs on us.”

Ann: “More like mind nukes, holy shit, Ren.”

Ren: “Ha ha, got’em.”

Ann: “Ugh, Ren. I love you and all, but you’re such a giant shit sometimes.”’

Makoto: “Rise’s not the only person I recognize. Isn’t that Naoto Shirogane over there?”

Yusuke: “I’m sorry, who exactly is Naoto Shirogane?”

Ren: “Naoto Shirogane was the first Detective Prince. She was also this really young detective who got famous for solving cases that gave even the police a hard time. And unlike Goro, she was the real deal with no secret evil plans.”

Sumire: “I wonder how Goro-senpai would have regarded Naoto Shirogane.”

Ren: “He actually admired her a lot. He talked about her quite a bit during our confidant hangouts, and he saw her as the ideal detective that he wished he could’ve been if his life wasn’t so fucked up. I haven’t asked Naoto about Akechi, but I highly doubt she’s gonna give him the same level of respect when she learns that he’s the one who was causing the mental shutdowns.”

Haru: “I should hope not. Regardless of Akechi-kun’s tragic circumstances, he was still a villain. Although I will admit that I respect him more than I ever expected to for his commitment to the truth during our confrontation with Maruki.”

Futaba: “Yeah, I gotta agree with Haru. I probably won’t ever forgive him, though.”

Shiho: “Wait…are you talking about Goro Akechi, the second Detective Prince? Are you guys saying that he was secretly evil or something?”

Ann: “I’ll talk to you later about him, Shiho. Akechi was a…very complicated guy.”

Morgana snorted. “That’s the understatement of the century.”

Ren: “Anyways, going back to Naoto…she’s actually been in a steady relationship with another one of my older friends, a guy named Kanji. He’s kind of a hothead at times, but otherwise he’s a surprisingly chill guy who runs the local textile store.”

Makoto: “I do hope you’ll introduce me to her someday, Ren. I think it would be fascinating to see how different Naoto is from Akechi, and I would love to learn from her if I ever got the chance.”

Ren: “I’m gonna be meeting up with them soon to talk about both of our adventures. I’m keeping everyone’s identity a secret out of respect for you guys’ privacy, but if you want me to give your names to someone in particular then let me know and I’ll pass it onto them. But keep in mind that you’ll pretty much be outing yourself as a Phantom Thief to them if you do this.”

Ann: “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind Risette knowing I was a Phantom Thief. If it means I get to meet her in person, then it’s totally worth it.”

Haru: “Isn’t that Yukiko Amagi, the current head of the Amagi Inn over on the left? I certainly wouldn’t mind introducing myself to her, the Amagi Inn is a well-renowned family-owned business over in Inaba and I certainly wouldn’t mind exchanging tips and advice about how to run a business with her.”

Ren: “We can stay in the Amagi Inn the next time you guys visit, it’s really a great place to relax and hang out when you’re vacationing here. Heck, sometimes my parents and I would stay over there just to take a break from life even though we already live here.”

Sumire: “That sounds like a great idea, Ren-senpai!”

As the Phantom Thieves continued to talk amongst themselves about the members of Ren’s older friend group who they recognized (with Ann letting out another shocked exclamation at the discovery that the handsome silver-haired Yu Narukami was actually Rise’s boyfriend, a thought suddenly occurred to Ren and he switched over to a private DM with Haru.

Ren: “Hey, Haru?”

Haru: “Yes, my love?”

Ren: “I just realized that Shiho’s Persona seems to be based on Psy attacks, just like you. And you’re obviously a lot more experienced in how to battle Shadows, since you’ve been a Phantom Thief for a couple of months now. I was wondering…would you be willing to reach out to Shiho over a DM and give her some advice on how to fight properly with her Persona? Obviously I’ll do some teaching myself, but…”

Haru: “Oh, of course, Ren! I’ll reach out to her once we’re done talking on the group message chat. And in fact, I’ll do something even better.”

Ren: “Huh?”

Haru: “I informed the Okumura Foods board of executives this morning that I’ll be taking several days of paid leave in a few weeks. I’m planning on taking that time to visit you in Inaba. Not only would I get the chance to finally reunite with you, my love, but this is the perfect opportunity for me to investigate this TV World that you mentioned.”

Morgana’s eyes widened. “Oh wow!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t expect her to come visit you this soon!”

“Me neither,” Ren admitted, before his face broke into a grin. “But I sure as hell am not complaining!”

Ren: “That’s amazing news, Haru! I missed everyone back in Tokyo, but you most of all. I can’t wait to see you again! I gotta warn you, though, Inaba’s a very different environment than what you’re used to in Tokyo.”

Haru: “I’m quite happy to hear that to be honest, Ren-kun. After everything we’ve been through together in Tokyo, a change in environment is exactly what I was looking for.”

Ren: “Perfect. I’ll compile a list of places that we can visit and we can enjoy our time together.”

Haru: “That sounds absolutely wonderful, Ren-kun! And I’ll have my trusty axe and grenade launcher at your service!”

Ren: “Wouldn’t have it any other way, Haru.”

Morgana smiled as he watched Ren and Haru exchanging messages. Though Haru had joined the Phantom Thieves relatively late, the two of them had gravitated towards each other in a special way that Ren hadn’t with any of his other female friends. Having met and befriended Haru first before any of the other Phantom Thieves, Morgana had secretly started hoping that Ren would get together with Haru when he realized that the young heiress had feelings for Ren, and the feline was overjoyed when the two of them confessed their feelings and started dating. They really were perfect for each other.

Ren was about to send another message to Haru, when a new private message suddenly popped up in his phone chat. The moment he realized that it was from Yu Narukami, he realized that it was time to shift things to business.

Ren: “Sorry, Haru, but I’m gonna have to stop DM’ing you for a bit. I just got a message from Yu. The big brother figure I mentioned earlier who was the Wild Card before me.”

Haru: “Oh, you don’t need to apologize, Ren-kun! I’ll meet you back in the group chat!”

Ren sent one quick message of thanks and shifted the conversation over to Yu’s.

Yu: “Hey, Ren. I talked with our friends about when we can meet. Does Saturday evening work out for you?”

Ren: “Yeah, that works out just fine. Do you guys want me to cook for you?”

Yu: “Nah, we’re already inconveniencing you by asking you to take time out of your evening. You don’t have to worry about preparing anything.”

Ren: “Sounds good, Yu. And don’t worry, I have just as many questions to ask you guys as I’m sure you have for me.”

Yu: “Heh, I guess you have a point there.”

Ren glanced up at Morgana, who was staring back at him. “Well, I was wondering if and when we would be able to find out more about the TV World and those older Persona users. Guess that problem kinda solved itself, then, didn’t it?” he remarked.

“You’re not wrong,” the leader of the Phantom Thieves dryly replied. Things had been moving far faster than he had expected in a town that theoretically was supposed to be far quieter and mellower than the bustling and busy city of Tokyo.

But Ren couldn’t exactly complain, either. Whatever else he could say, at least he could say that his life in Inaba wasn’t going to be boring.

Chapter Text

The week seemed to pass by in a blur for Ren as the day of his upcoming conversation with Yu and their friends drew closer and closer. The leader of the Phantom Thieves honestly couldn’t remember (or care to remember) any of the events of the next few days. He didn’t care enough about the other students at Yasogami High School to stick around once school was over, and by some unfortunate coincidence all of his older friends were either hammered particularly hard with busy schedules (or going on a romantic outing in the case of Yu and Rise). The only person he hung around with was Shiho, and even that that was only on Friday as she needed a few days after their excursion into the TV World to recover from awakening her Persona.

Still, that didn’t mean that Ren remained idle. The main thing he did was to get paperwork filed so that he could get Morgana registered as a “therapy cat,” which he was able to easily arrange thanks to his confidant bond with Tae. This would let Morgana hang around him in school without being stuck in his bag all day, something he knew that the feline found incredibly cramped and uncomfortable when he was forced into it for hours on end. This wasn’t a ploy he would have dared to attempt while he had been at Shujin with Kobayakawa in charge, but the principal of Yasogami was much more mellow and kinder than the obese and corrupt fatass had ever been, and he knew Kou wouldn’t have any issues with it.

“Man, this feels great!” Morgana commented as school finally ended on Saturday. “You have no idea just how annoying it was to cram myself in your backpack all day.” He looked around noticed that some of the students were giving bemused and askance glances at them. “I don’t think some of the other students like the fact that I’m here, though.”

“That’s too bad for them, because I don’t give a shit what they think,” Ren answered nonchalantly once he was sure nobody was hearing them. “Unless someone has an allergy to cats, they’ll just have to shut up and deal with it.”

Morgana gave Ren a sympathetic glance. “You really don’t like the other Yasogami students, don’t you?” he murmured. “I guess them abandoning you back when you first got arrested really hit you hard, huh?”

“All I have to say that if they’re not even going to so much as reach out to try and talk to me, I’m perfectly happy to return the favor,” Ren dryly retorted. “Especially if they’re still gonna treat me like a delinquent. I know who my real friends are, and they aren’t them.”

“Fair enough,” Morgana conceded.

As the two of them left the school and into the rainy outdoors, his phone suddenly buzzed with a text message. One look at it revealed that Yu had sent him a message.

Yu: “Hey Ren, you done with school for the day?”

Ren: “Yeah, I got the hell out of there as soon as it ended. What’s up?”

Yu: “Since we’re basically forcing you to spend your evening talking to us about your Persona adventures, I figured that we should treat you to dinner this afternoon first to make up for it. Think of it as a repayment for making us dinner a few days back.”

Ren: “That’d be great. What’re you thinking?”

Yu: “Thinking Aiya’s Diner. Since you’re a Wild Card, how do you feel about trying out the Mega Beef Bowl challenge?”

“Ohhhh…that thing,” Ren muttered. Even though it had been a year, he could still vividly remember the positively gigantic beef bowl that was overflowing with beef and rice. Before he had left Inaba, it would have been unthinkable for him to complete even a small portion of such a massive meal.

But now? After he had conquered every tier of the Big Bang Burger challenge? Suddenly, the idea of conquering the Mega Beef Bowl sounded much more plausible.

Ren: “Fuck it, I’m in. Glad I ate a light lunch today. Meet up at around 4, then?”

Yu: “Yep, works great. Everyone made sure to get out of work early today so we could have our talk later. See you then!”

“What’s the Mega Beef Bowl Challenge?” Morgana asked curiously as Ren flicked his phone off.

“You know how the Big Bang Burger Challenge made me eat this humongous burger that was much bigger than any burger had any right to be? Picture a bowl filled with beef and rice that’s about the same size as the biggest Big Bang Burger Challenge out there.”

Morgana gaped at him. “The hell? How do you make a meat bowl that big?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure Ryuji would love to try it out if he ever comes to visit here,” Ren commented with a smirk as they navigated through the streets of Inaba and back to his house. Once they had arrived, Ren quickly dropped off his backpack, got his umbrella, and picked up a few pieces of yen from his uncountable reserves of money for his wallet.

“You may not be allowed in, Morgana,” Ren warned as they left the house and made their way over to Aiya’s Chinese Diner. “I don’t remember for sure, but there’s probably a rule against pets inside the restaurant. I might’ve gotten away with it for school, but I don’t want to end up causing a health hazard at Aiya’s.”

“That’s fine,” Morgana reassured him. “Just as long as you get a beef bowl for me! Not that huge one though, that sounds like a nightmare to eat,” he cringed.

“I don’t think a single one of my friends except Yu has ever been able to complete the Mega Beef Bowl,” Ren reassured him. “It’s so rare that you completely get the Beef Bowl refunded if you actually succeed in eating it all in one go.”

Morgana grinned. “Well, you’re about to show your friends how a real Phantom Thief eats a giant dinner!” he boasted. “If you can handle the Big Bang Burger Challenge, you can handle a beef bowl any day!”

“Weird flex,” Ren commented dryly, “but I’ll give it my best shot.”

Before long, they soon arrived at Aiya’s Chinese Diner. Unfortunately, just as Ren had predicted, the restaurant had a sign next to the sliding door that read “NO PETS ALLOWED!”

“Ah, shit,” he groaned. “Sorry, Morgana, I was afraid this was gonna happen.”

“No problem,” the feline reassured him. “I’ll find my way back to your house. Are you gonna be bringing your friends over there for that big talk you’re gonna be having?”

“Yeah,” Ren confirmed. “I’ll make sure that’s where we go.”

“Good enough for me!” Morgana declared. “I’ll see you later, then.”

“See ya,” Ren replied, turning to enter the restaurant and Morgana disappeared out into the rainy street. Thankfully, the rain wasn’t too violent, so Ren wasn’t worried about his friend being swept away into a storm.

As Ren entered the diner, he saw Mr. Nakamura working hard behind the counter, with Kanji, Teddie, and Yosuke already waiting for him at one of the tables. Teddie saw him first and waved at him. “Renren!” he called out cheerfully. “Over here!”

Ren made his way over to him, with Kanji clapping him lightly on the back as he sat down. “Sup, Ren. How’s it been going so far? Getting used to life in Inaba again?”

“It’s taking a bit, but I’m getting there,” Ren laughed. “It’s so different to what I’m used to in Tokyo. Everything seems a little too quiet here now.”

Yosuke smirked. “Eh, that’s easy to fix. Just hang around Teddie for several hours, and you won’t be complaining about things being too quiet ever again.”

“Yosuke, you’re so mean!” Teddie whined while Kanji and Ren both snickered. At that moment, the door slid open and Naoto, Chie, and Yukiko shuffled into the restaurant, all of them wearing raincoats. “Ugh…” Chie grumbled. “I wasn’t expecting it to rain today.”

“I think Yu talked to Marie and made it rain today on purpose so he could try out the Beef Bowl,” Yukiko commented, before noticing the group of guys sitting at the table. “Oh, hello everyone! Especially you, Ren!”

“How’s it going, Naoto, Chie, and Yukiko?” Ren greeted them as the three women joined their friends at the table. “You guys were really hit rough this week, weren’t you?”

“Ugh, you have no idea,” Chie grumbled. “The police station called me and Dojima out to a nearby city to help solve a case there. It ended up being such a massive headache that we only finally managed to figure everything out yesterday.”

“They even called me in as a consultant,” Naoto commented as her boyfriend quickly gave her a kiss on the cheek as a greeting while she sat down. “And given how misogynistic the high ranks of the police force can be, you know how badly the situation has spiraled out of control when they willingly call on me for help.”

“I didn’t have quite as rough of a week as you all,” Yukiko acknowledged, “but I did have quite the busy week over at the Amagi Inn. I’m just glad that I can finally enjoy an afternoon with you all, even if we do have to talk about important business later.”

“Oh, right!” Chie exclaimed, before leaning in conspiratorially towards Ren. “So how’d you get your Persona anyway, Ren?” she whispered.

“Not now!” Kanji interrupted with a scowl. “Can’t have this kind of conversation out in public.”

“Yes,” Naoto agreed with a nod. “We don’t want to give people the wrong ideas.”

“Oh, everyone’s here already!” a light and carefree voice called out. Everyone looked up to see Yu and Rise making their way through the entrance to the restaurant, the latter grinning happily at them. “Perfect!”

Yosuke smirked at the two of them. “So how was your date together?”

“Oh, we spent plenty of time catching up with each other,” Yu returned the smirk with one of his own. “Think we went to like three different places outside of Inaba over the past few days.”

“Ooooh…” Teddie whistled.

Rise scowled at him. “Don’t get any dirty ideas, Teddie!” she warned him with a pout.

Yu ignored them and instead turned his gaze towards Ren. “How’ve you been doing, Ren?” he asked. “You doing all right? Ever since…you know. And how’s that girl doing?”

“I’m doing just fine, and she’s doing all right,” Ren answered, knowing exactly what Yu was asking about even though he wasn’t mentioning it by name. “She was a little tired after getting into that mess, but otherwise she’s doing fine. She’s able to go to school and everything.”

“That’s good to hear,” Yu breathed an audible sigh of relief. “When one of us got wrapped up in that mess back in 2011, it took some of us several days to recover and we often got so tired we couldn’t even go to school. I’m glad to hear that things are definitely a lot better now than they were before.”

“Yeah, dealing with that crap was rough,” Kanji agreed. “But hey, we’re doing just fine now, right?”

“Enough talking about the past!” Rise interrupted them. “Let’s eat!”

“Hell yeah!” Chie eagerly agreed. “I always love a good beef bowl from Aiya’s!”

“Is anybody here gonna try the Mega Beef Bowl today?” Yukiko wondered. “As far as I’m aware, so far the only person to successfully complete the Mega Beef Bowl among us is Yu. And Teddie, but with how much he eats sometimes that’s still not a surprise.”

“Yuki-chan!” Teddie protested. “That’s not fair!”

Yukiko gave him a dirty look. “I still remember you stealing my ramen bowl back when we went to Gekkoukan for our field trip, Teddie,” she commented icily. Teddie wisely took the hint and shut himself up.

“Nah, I’m not gonna try it,” Yosuke denied, ignoring the shivers running down his spine at the idea of dealing with a pissed Yukiko. “I don’t have the stomach size for it, and I’m gonna explode if I do eat it.”

“Yeah, I can’t eat that either,” Rise immediately agreed. “A Beef Bowl that big would ruin my figure and send me straight out of a job!” Naoto, Kanji, and surprisingly even Teddie all similarly declined the idea of trying the Mega Beef Bowl.

Chie, on the other hand, was much more receptive to the idea. “I’m gonna go for it!” she declared. “I know I can finish that Mega Beef Bowl if I just keep trying! It would be the ultimate testament to my love for meat!”

“I’m gonna go for it as well,” Yu agreed placidly. “You all know that I’ve been able to successfully complete the Mega Beef Bowl multiple times by now.” He glanced down at Ren. “What about you, Ren? Are you gonna go for it or not?”

“I’m going for the Mega Beef Bowl,” Ren confirmed, his declaration drawing expressions of surprise and disbelief from his friends.

“Whoa, really?” Yosuke exclaimed.

“Damn, Ren!” Kanji whistled. “Last time we were here, you didn’t even wanna touch that thing cause it was just way too big!”

“You’re going for the Mega Beef Bowl Challenge?” Chie asked excitedly. “Hell yeah, always great to see another meat lover in our group!”

Naoto was a bit more cautious. “Are you sure you can handle that, Ren?” she asked, the concern clear in her voice. “That’s a lot to eat, especially when you’re a lot younger than us and most of us haven’t even completed it yet.”

Ren smirked at her. “I think you’re about to be surprised, Naoto,” he answered, allowing some of the confidence of Joker to shine through for a brief moment.

Yu kept his face carefully neutral, but inwardly he had the sneaking suspicion that Ren would be able to succeed where everyone else except himself and Teddie had failed. “Then let’s order our meals,” he declared.

The group of friends all placed their orders in, with Ren, Yu, and Chie ordering Rainy Mega Beef Bowls. Mr. Nakamura raised his eyebrow slightly at seeing Ren order the bowl, but didn’t make any comment and instead got to work preparing their meals.

Ren could tell from the curious and anxious looks that his friends were giving him that they were dying to talk about his Wild Card Journey and his Personas, but unfortunately there were still too many people around. Instead, the group of friends exchanged small talk about how their week had gone. Ren didn’t have much to report on his end, so instead he listened to Chie and Naoto talk about the complicated police case they had gotten wrapped up in, as well as Kanji’s thoughts on whether or not he should start taking custom orders for his family’s textile shop ever since he had more or less taken over the shop from his mother.

By the time Chie and Naoto finished talking about the case, Mr. Nakamura had brought the food out. Ren’s eyes fell on the Mega Beef Bowl that was laid out in front of him. A humongous bowl that had seemed nigh impossible to even comprehending eating even just a year ago. But Ren had grown tremendously in more ways than one, and this previously insurmountable challenge suddenly seemed so much less daunting than it had before. He glanced over at Yu and Chie, who similarly had gigantic bowls in front of them. Yu in particular was regarding the bowl no differently than he would any other meal.

“Let’s see if you can handle Inaba’s greatest culinary challenge,” Yu remarked. The words were spoken softly and serenely, but Ren could hear the challenge behind them.

“You’re on,” Ren replied confidently, as he took his first helping of beef and rice and stuffed it into his mouth. Immediately, he could feel a wonderful taste explode in his mouth that he hadn’t been able to experience for over a year. The combination of beef, rice, egg, onion, garlic, and who-knows-what-else drowned his brain with a flavor that felt positively divine. Aiya’s Mega Beef Bowl had always been one of Ren’s favorite meals to eat even when he had no hope of finishing it, and he was happy to learn that the quality of the bowl was just as incredible as ever.

But unlike previous Mega Beef Bowls, where Ren had been happy to just eat as much as possible and then bring the rest home, Ren couldn’t just sit there and enjoy the taste. He had a mission to accomplish, and he needed to focus if he was going to finish the Mega Beed Bowl for the first time. Ren hardened his gaze, steeled his resolve, and began scooping more beef and rice into his mouth. He had learned how to eat an ungodly large meal from the Big Bang Burger Challenge, and applied those lessons to pace himself appropriately. Not eating too much or too little with every bite.

“Ooh, I should take a picture of this!” Yukiko exclaimed. She took out her phone and took a picture of Ren, Yu, and Chie eating their Beef Bowls together. Yu predictably was eating at a noticeably faster rate than Ren, but that was to be expected given how he had eaten multiple full Mega Beef Bowls over the years whenever he had visited Inaba. But Ren was doing quite well with a steady pace of his own, with neither of the Wild Cards showing any sign of stopping.

Ren continued to chip away at the Mega Beef Bowl, refusing to allow himself to be overwhelmed by the sensation of beef and rice settling into his stomach. The beef bowl was more filling than the Big Bang Burger had been, but it was overall smaller to compensate. And either way, Ren wasn’t the type of person to easily admit defeat in matters either big or small.

Ren was so fixated on eating the Mega Beef Bowl that he didn’t notice that the others watching intently, having eaten part of their own bowls before diverting their attention over to him. “Holy crap, you guys!” Rise exclaimed. “Ren’s actually doing it! I don’t remember him ever eating NEARLY as much of the Mega Beef Bowl in the past!”

“Damn, I don’t know what happened in Tokyo to boost up Ren’s appetite like that, but holy shit!” Kanji whistled appreciatively. “This is insane!”

“I was worried about whether Ren would be able to handle such a large intake of food, but clearly I was overly cautious,” Naoto remarked, unable to hide her surprise behind her stoic façade at what she was witnessing. “Ren is handling the Mega Beef Bowl just as expertly as Yu did 5 years ago.”

“Go, go, go, Ren!” Teddie cheered him on. “Eat it all!”

Ren barely spent a few seconds to give his friends a thumbs-up as he relentlessly pushed forward. By now, the amount of food he was eating truly was staggering, giving him the sensation of falling into the Meat Dimension as Yu had described. But still, Ren refused to give up, knowing that victory was very possibly within his grasp.

“Yu’s more than halfway done already,” Naoto observed. “As always, the speed with which he can consume that bowl is nothing less than impressive.”

“Just as I expected of Sensei!” Teddie exclaimed.

“Urrrggghhh, I forgot just how much is in this bowl,” Chie groaned. She had made respectable progress in her beef bowl, but it was noticeably less than either Yu or Ren, and the young police officer had visibly started to slow down. “At this rate, I don’t think I can make it.”

“You can do it, Chie!” Yukiko encouraged her. “I can already tell you’ve gotten farther than ever before!”

“Dude, look at Ren, though!” Yosuke pointed out. “I can’t believe it, but he’s actually keeping up with Yu!”

“Dude somehow became a beef bowl eating champ,” Kanji commented appreciatively. “How the hell did he get a stomach big enough to handle this bowl?”

“Go Ren!” Rise cheered.

Ren stopped just a few seconds to say, “I’ll tell you later,” before continuing with the Mega Beef Bowl.

The group of friends started cheering Ren and Yu on as they plowed through the Mega Beef Bowl, ignoring the strain on their bodies as their stomachs begged for them to give up and stop. After several minutes, Yu finished his last spoonful of beef and rice, gently laying his spoon onto the table next to an empty bowl. “Done,” he declared.

“Great going, Partner!” Yosuke clapped Yu on the back approvingly. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat the Mega Beef Bowl that fast!”

Yu shrugged. “At this point, it is what it is. What I’m really interested in is how Ren and Chie are doing.”

Chie groaned, reluctantly putting her chopsticks and spoon down. She had managed to successfully eat over three-quarters of her Mega Beef Bowl, but she had finally reached her limit. “Dang it…” she grumbled. “I’ve reached my limit. I was so close. This is the farthest I’ve ever gotten to beating the Mega Beef Bowl Challenge. I knew I should’ve skipped lunch today.”

Yosuke shrugged. “Honestly, that’s a hell of a lot more than I would’ve ever been able to pull off. And not everyone can have a bottomless stomach like Yu.”

“Ren’s almost done, you guys,” Kanji pointed at their young friend’s bowl. There were only a few chunks of meat and rice left in Ren’s bowl, and while Ren looked visibly uncomfortable after how much he had been eating, there was no sign that he was about to fumble at the finish line.

“You can do it, Ren!” Rise encouraged him again. “You’re so closed!”

“Almost…there…” Ren thought. His gaze fell upon the last chunk of beef and rice in his bowl. He scooped up the piece of food with his spoon, brought it to his mouth, and forced it down his throat after a few seconds of chewing. The leader of the Phantom Thieves felt bloated in a way that he hadn’t been ever since he had completed the highest tier of the Big Bang Burger Challenge…but it was nothing compared to the sensation of victory. Ren triumphantly dropped his spoon onto the table like a DJ dropping his mic after dropping a particularly fiery performance. “Done!” he declared.

His friends stared silently for a few seconds as they processed his accomplishment, before immediately bursting into cheers and congratulating Ren on his success.

“Woo hoo!” Rise applauded enthusiastically before wrapping him in a hug. “I knew you could do it!”

“Wow,” Yosuke whistled appreciatively as he ruffled Ren’s hair. “Haven’t seen anything like that since Yu finished his first Mega Beef Bowl in front of all of us.”

Naoto smiled. “You clearly take after Yu in more ways than one, Ren. Well done.”

Even Mr. Nakamura looked visibly surprised at seeing Ren’s empty bowl. “Oh, my! I definitely don’t remember you finishing even half of the Mega Beef Bowl the last time you were here, Ren. Let alone the whole thing! Congratulations on finishing the challenge. As per the rules, your bowl is free!”

“Appreciate it,” Ren answered with a nod, before letting out a tired sigh as he fell back on his chair. “Gah, eating a giant meal like this that could send me straight into a food coma was a bad idea when we’re supposed to be having a big talk later.”

“Yeah, this might not have been such a good idea in hindsight,” Yu admitted. “But as a mutual friend of ours might agree, we have to live with the consequences of our actions.”

“I’ll deal with it,” Ren reassured him. “If I really need to I’ll take a nap for about an hour so I can get my energy back, if you don’t mind waiting.”

Yu shook his head. “We cleared our schedules for the entire afternoon and night tonight so that we could have our talk, and 1 hour isn’t gonna make much of a difference if you need it.” His expression took on a curious look. “But I do have to ask…how were you able to suddenly go from not even being able to finish half of the Mega Beef Bowl, to successfully completing it all in one go? That’s quite the massive change, and I don’t know anything that could explain it.”

“Yeah, I’m curious too,” Chie admitted. “And I’ve been trying to eat the Mega Beef Bowl for years!”

Ren smirked. “Glad you asked. As it turns out, there was a food challenge over in Tokyo that was pretty similar to the Aiya Mega Beef Bowl Challenge. It’s called the Big Bang Burger Challenge, and it requires you to eat multiple large burgers of increasing sizes within a set amount of time.”

“Burgers, huh?” Kanji raised an eyebrow. “Just how big are these burgers that they make you eat?”

In response, Ren took out his phone and scrolled through some pictures. He flipped the phone around, showing his friends the largest burger of the challenge, the Cosmo Town Burger.

Everyone’s eyes bulged and some jaws even dropped as his friends beheld the sheer size of the Cosmo Town Burger. “What in the actual fuck?” Yosuke spluttered. “That thing looks like a freaking skyscraper!”

Naoto was similarly stunned. “I can see at least six meat patties in that burger,” she mumbled. “And it looks like you can barely hold that burger in your hand. How can anyone possibly eat a burger that humongous?”

If she hadn’t eaten such a huge meal herself, Chie’s mouth would’ve been watering at the sight of the burger. “That looks like meat Heaven. I need to try that burger the next time I go to Tokyo!”

“No way would I be able to eat even half of that,” Rise shook her head in bemusement. “If I ate that whole thing, I’d get so fat that I’d be out of a job instantly!”

“Well,” Yu commented a bit dryly, “that certainly explains how you were suddenly able to succeed in besting the Mega Beef Bowl Challenge, if you were able to successfully eat a burger that huge.”

Yosuke winked at him and grinned. “You should try that burger out yourself, Yu. I bet you could beat that Big Bang Burger Challenge on the first try!”

“I just might,” Yu acknowledged. He smirked at Ren. “If we ever go to Tokyo together, do you want to try and do a race of the Big Bang Burger Challenge?”

Ren nodded and smirked back. “You’re on, Yu.”

They didn’t have time to say anything more, as Mr. Nakamura came around to collect payments for everyone’s meals except for Yu and Ren. The group of friends who hadn’t finished their meals asked the owner of Aiya’s for packages to take their food home, which he helpfully supplied.

As Ren and the Investigation Team left the diner, they could feel the good feelings fade away slightly. Ren knew that he wouldn’t be able to savor his victory over the Mega Beef Bowl Challenge for very long.

The time for leisure and relaxation was over. The time for business was rapidly approaching, and everyone knew that they were going to be in for a long conversation tonight.

Chapter Text

It was extremely lucky that his friends could all drive, because Ren highly doubted that he would have been able to walk all the way home with all the beef and rice he had eaten settling in his stomach.

Yosuke volunteered to drive Ren home so he could recover from their heavy meals, an offer that he graciously accepted. Ren dozed off during the car ride, and by the time he awakened Yosuke’s car was already in front of his house, with the cars of his other friends parked nearby. “You doing good over there, Ren?” the older man asked, giving him a concerned look. “You looked like you were passed out.”

“Yeah, I’m doing fine, Yosuke,” Ren reassured him. To prove his point, he got out of the car and walked over to the door of his house, unlocking it and pulling it open so that they could all enter. The first thing he did when he entered the house was call out to Morgana, who thankfully had made it safely home and eagerly greeted him on the kitchen table, ignoring the whispers of the Investigation Team behind him.

“That’s the cat with a Persona who can talk, right?” Yukiko whispered to Yosuke.

“Yeah,” Yosuke murmured back, “but you might not be able to hear him talk right now. I don’t remember hearing him say anything until we were in the TV World.”

Meanwhile, Ren and Morgana were in a quick conversation of their own. It would have seemed rather odd before they had learned about Ren being a Wild Card, but with what they knew in hindsight the scene made a lot more sense, even if everyone besides Yosuke and Teddie couldn’t actually hear what Morgana was saying.

“So you’re finally gonna be telling them about our adventures in Tokyo?” Morgana asked.

“Yeah,” Ren affirmed. “But I’ll be doing most of the talking, since everyone here besides Yosuke and Teddie can’t hear what you’re saying.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. But we gotta bring everyone into the TV World at some point so they can hear me speak,” Morgana pointed out.

“That’s definitely part of the plan down the road,” Ren agreed.

As the two of them finished, everyone else settled themselves on the sofa or some other available piece of furniture, with Ren taking a small cushion for himself on the floor. It was almost like a reflection of the Investigation Team’s welcome party, though the circumstances were now very different.

“Okay, so…I’ll leave it up to you, Ren. Do you want to go over your adventures first, or do you want us to talk about ours?” Yu asked.

Ren thought for a moment. “I think I’ll let you guys go first,” he decided, “only because the TV World is your cognitive world and the one you guys had your adventures in. If we only end up covering one of us tonight, it’s probably important that I figure out how the TV World works first in case shit goes sideways again.”

“That’s fair,” Yosuke acknowledged, before turning to Yu. “You wanna handle most of the explanations since you’re the leader, Partner?”

“I will,” Yu confirmed, before turning his piercing silver eyes over to Ren. “I think the best way to start is to ask you two questions. The first being, how familiar are you with the Foggy Day Murders of 2011?”

“I know about them,” Ren answered, “but nothing really firsthand. My parents were keeping a very close eye on me that whole year. They kept me inside our house as much as possible, and whenever I did go outside, either one of them would escort me to school or they made me promise to always stick with a group of friends if one of them wasn’t around.” He sighed. “I followed their advice that whole year so I didn’t really see much. I might’ve been a little rebellious even back then, but I wasn’t stupid. Even I could tell that something was really messed up about that year, so I just kept my head down and did what my parents told me to do.”

“That was probably for the best,” Yukiko commented approvingly. “It really was quite dangerous that year.”

“Yukiko is correct,” Yu agreed. “As for my second question, Ren, how familiar are you with the rumors surrounding the Midnight Channel?”

“I haven’t seen the Midnight Channel ever since 2011, but I know two different ones,” Ren replied. “The first one I heard is that if you see someone on the Midnight Channel at midnight, that person is actually your soulmate. The second one I heard is that you if you see someone on the Midnight Channel at midnight, that person will end up dead in a few days. And from what little I remember, that person will be a dead corpse hanging from the telephone poles around town.” His face contorted into a grimace. “Judging from what I’ve seen so far and based on your first question, I have a feeling that the bad rumor is the one that’s closer to the mark.”

Yu sighed. “That’s unfortunately correct. As you figured out a few days ago, Ren, there is a cognitive world that is parallel to and intertwined with Inaba’s existence in reality,” he explained. “A world that can be accessed through TVs, hence why we call it the TV World. It used to be the case that anyone could access the TV World in this way, but after we defeated and restored the goddess who oversees the TV World, she made it so that only someone with a Persona could access it.” The silver-haired young man let out a humorless chuckle. “Or someone in direct contact with someone who has a persona, it seems.”

“Yeah, that gave me a big scare when I ended up accidentally dragging Shiho in there,” Ren commented in a dry tone that did nothing to hide his underlying concern.

“Marie is inspecting the connection between the TV World and reality tonight, it’s the reason why she’s here.” Yu gave Ren an apologetic glance. “This flew over all our heads and we didn’t think it was even possible to drag a non-Persona user into the TV World, so sorry about that. That’s on us.”

Ren waved the apology off. “Don’t worry about it, cognitive worlds are complicated as hell.”

Kanji snorted. “Ain’t that the truth. Even when they aren’t trying to fuck with reality they’re still causing problems.”

“Speaking of which, tell Ren about the Midnight Channel, Yu!” Rise suggested.

“Right,” Yu nodded. “The Midnight Channel was a channel that turned on at midnight for a few seconds, and it actually served as both a portal and a window into the TV World where you could kind of see what was going on in there for a brief time. Usually, there’s nothing really there, but every so often you could see a figure that gets clearer with more days that pass. Eventually, you’d end up with a full scene and background, with the person acting really weirdly. And then, if the person isn’t rescued from the TV World, they’ll end up dead hanging from a telephone pole a couple of days later.”

“Yeesh,” Ren mumbled, and then his mind focused on a few of the words that Yu had spoken. “Wait a minute, rescued from the TV World? Are you saying that those people somehow ended up in the TV World?”

“Not just ended up in,” Yosuke scowled. “They were pushed into the TV by a real sick bastard.”

“Some of them were pushed in directly,” Naoto remarked, “but other people were pushed in by someone who the real murderer tricked into thinking he was saving instead.”

“The exact details don’t really matter right now, although it was very important to us back then,” Yu remarked. “You see, Ren…how the Foggy Day Murders worked was that whenever someone was pushed into the TV World, they’d always end up facing their Shadow. The Shadows represent the worst aspects of a person that are distorted and exaggerated, showing all of their repressed feelings and worst flaws with all their good qualities taking a backseat. I’ve never seen it myself, but the Shadow kidnaps or otherwise steals a person away to a unique dungeon and keep them hidden away at the deepest part of it.”

“So it’s almost like a Palace,” Morgana muttered. “Only with the Shadow kidnapping and trapping who they’re based off of inside.”

“And the Shadows themselves seemed to be based off distortions in personalities and ways of thinking instead of distorted desires,” Ren replied back quietly.

Most of the Investigation Team couldn’t hear Morgana’s half of the conversation, but Yosuke and Teddie could. “Wait, what?” Teddie cried out. “What are the Palaces the little kitty talking about!”

“Hey!” Morgana yowled. “I’m not a cat!”

“Calm down, Morgana,” Ren ordered before things could get out of hand. “As for Palaces,” he turned his attention towards his friends, “I’ll get to that when I talk about my adventures.”

“Fair enough,” Yu acknowledged. “What makes the Shadows here so dangerous is that after a short period of time, which for us was typically immediately after a rainy day when the fog started to roll in, the Shadow will attack the person they are based off of, killing both of them in the process and leading to a dead corpse hanging from a telephone pole.” His lips suddenly stretched into a small but noticeable. “And that’s where we come in, Ren. Our duties as a team of Persona users, and especially my role as their leader and the Wild Card of our team, was to stop the murders from happening and to discover who was responsible for the murders in the first place.”

“Hell yeah!” Chie cheered. “Once we figured out what was going on, we made sure nobody else was going to get murdered in the TV World ever again!”

Ren grinned. “You guys sure as hell did a good job, considering that there weren’t any more than 2 murders. And I guess there was technically a third one, but that was a copycat murder so I don’t know if it counts,” he added as an afterthought.

“I don’t think it does,” Kanji gruffly replied. “There was literally nothing we could’ve done about that.”

“Does what Yu said so far make sense?” Yukiko asked Ren. “I know there’s a lot that he covered just now.”

“It does,” Ren affirmed, “and I think I’m starting to put the pieces together. You went into the TV World with your Personas, going into the dungeons to rescue the people thrown into there by…gonna call him the murderer just to keep things simple…and you used your Personas to fight the Shadows and get through the dungeons.” His eyes widened in disturbed realization. “Wait a minute. Shiho’s Shadow turned into a Persona in the TV World once she accepted it. If you guys got your Personas from the TV World...does that mean YOU GUYS were the ones who…?”

“Your intuition is excellent as always, Ren,” Naoto complimented as she nodded solemnly. “And you are correct. Most of us were the ones who were kidnapped and thrown into the TV by the murderer.”

“Oh, God…” Ren blinked in disbelief, before shaking his head in sympathy and dismay. “That must’ve been really terrifying.”

“It was, kind of…but I know for at least some of us, it was more embarrassing than anything else,” Rise admitted with a sigh. “Having our hidden thoughts and negative feelings blurted out in front of a bunch of strangers, and just the way our dungeons looked sometimes…you have no idea just how cringey things could get.”

“Urrghh…don’t even get me started on mine…” Naoto muttered under her breath.

“I was the one who got kidnapped first,” Yukiko volunteered, taking the conversation from Yu for the time being. “Then it was Kanji, then Rise, then Naoto. Nanako was actually kidnapped too, and you can bet that Yu dropped everything and made sure that he got her out of there as soon as possible.”

“I’d be extremely disappointed in him if he didn’t,” Ren commented.

“You forgot that fish-eyed guy,” Yosuke helpfully pointed out, only to get a confused look from Yukiko.

“Who?” she asked, clearly not comprehending.

The Prince of Junes only shook his head in bemusement. “Still don’t remember him, huh. Some things never change, I guess.”

“Anyways, not everyone here got kidnapped, though,” Chie interrupted. “Yosuke and I ended up in the TV World and got our Personas without being kidnapped and thrown into the TV World, and Yu straight-up got his first Persona without ever going into the TV World in the first place!”

“Huh,” Ren raised an eyebrow slightly. “Is that just cause you’re a Wild Card, or…?”

Yu frowned. “Maybe, but part of the reason was because of the goddess who was ruling over the TV World at the time. We’ll get to that more towards the end.”

“Fair enough,” Ren acknowledged, before turning towards Yosuke and Chie. “So if you didn’t get thrown into the TV World, how’d you get your Personas? I have to assume that you had to face your Shadows just like the others did.”

“Yeah,” Yosuke confirmed with a grimace. “We did. I was actually the first. The second person who the murderer killed was someone I…had a crush on. I ended up in the place where she died in the TV World…and that was where I faced my Shadow. He was a real nasty piece of work, just like Shiho’s Shadow was. And just like she did, I rejected my Shadow, and he turned into a monster.” His grimace turned into a smile. “Luckily, he wasn’t all that powerful, and Yu’s Persona was strong enough to fight and beat him one-on-one.”

“What is that Persona?” Ren asked.

“Izanagi.”

Ren blinked. “Izanagi?” he repeated the name with a hint of surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Yu answered with a confident smile of his own, speaking the name of the first form of his other self. “Izanagi represents who I am in a way nobody else does.”

“I see…” Ren murmured. His eyes fell onto Morgana, who had caught onto the importance of the name just as much as he had.

“That was when I got my own Persona, Jiraiya,” Yosuke finished his explanation. “But by the time we got through with our adventure, he had turned into Takehaya-Susanoo, like you saw.”

“I was there, too!” Teddie exclaimed, interrupting Yosuke. “I met these guys first in the TV World, and I guided them over to those dungeons before Rise-chan took over!”

“Really?” Ren raised an eyebrow. “How does that even work?”

“Because I was a Shadow!” Teddie exclaimed proudly. “A Shadow who was able to turn into a human and get my own Persona!”

Before he could say anything else, Morgana suddenly yowled in disbelief. “Wait, WHAT?” he nearly screamed, forgetting that the rest of the Investigation Team besides Yosuke and Teddie could hear him. “How are you a Shadow in the real world? How did you get a Persona despite being a Shadow? AND HOW DID YOU TURN INTO A HUMAN?”

“Eeeek!” Teddie flinched and scrambled back from the barrage of questions. “Your cat is so noisy!”

“I’M NOT A CAT!” Morgana howled. “AND I NEED TO KNOW!”

“Enough!” Ren’s commanding voice cut through his yells, carrying with it the authority and power of Joker. “Give them some time to answer your questions before yelling your head off.”

“Fine,” Morgana grumpily muttered.

“Thanks, Renren,” Teddie gratefully thanked him before turning to answer Morgana’s questions. “I was a Shadow born in the TV World, but I was always…different from the others. I didn’t want to hurt anybody, and more than anything I wanted to stop my fellow Shadows from getting so riled up. And I didn’t want people to keep getting thrown into the TV World and dying. I found Yu, Yosuke, and Chie when they fell into the TV World, and I made them promise that they would do everything they could to stop people from getting thrown in and killed. And so I helped them explore the dungeons to rescue the people thrown in.” He smiled and spread his arms so that they spanned the length of the room. “All of my friends.”

“Okay…” Morgana muttered, Ren translating for the benefit of the rest of the Investigation Team. “…but how were you able to turn into a human, though? And how did you get a Persona if you’re already a Shadow?”

“Teddie’s an odd case, because he actually ended up having his own Shadow despite already being one,” Yu interjected on his friend’s behalf. “Don’t ask me how that works, because I don’t have any clue either, although I think the goddess behind the Foggy Day Murders might’ve had a part in it. Anyways, him actually getting a Persona actually worked out in the same way the rest of our friends did. We fought his Shadow, we beat him, and he turned into Teddie’s Persona.”

“And as for me turning into a human…I dunno,” Teddie shrugged. “I just kept exercising and working out in the TV World, and eventually I was able to get my own human body!”

“Wh-WHAT?” Morgana spluttered. “That doesn’t make any sense at all! It can’t be that simple, it can’t!”

“I’m telling you the truth, little kitty!” Teddie insisted. “That’s all I did, and once I did it enough, I could turn into a human!”

“…I need to try this out once I get into the TV World next time,” Morgana muttered.

“If this is so you can try to get a date with Ann, Morgana, I’m taking you to the vet to get neutered,” he warned.

“You wouldn’t!” Morgana gave him a horrified look, all while Teddie and Yosuke resisted the urge to snicker.

Rise groaned. “I feel like we’re missing a really funny joke, but I can’t tell because I can’t hear what Morgana is saying!” she complained.

“We’ll fix that as soon as possible,” Ren promised her.

“Can we get back to the fucking point?” Kanji asked impatiently. “I feel like we got a little sidetracked here!”

“Good point, Kanji,” Yu agreed. “Going back to our adventures, the next person to awaken her Persona was Chie. She followed us into Yukiko’s castle without a Persona because she wanted to do everything she could to save Yukiko as soon as possible.” His voice took on a slightly wry tone. “Granted, she ended up running straight into her Shadow, but you gotta admire her dedication.”

Yosuke grinned. “That was the first time me and Partner fought someone’s Shadow side by side, and won. And once Chie got her Persona, combined with Teddie taking care of the navigation stuff, we were the first four members of the Investigation Team!”

“Investigation Team...” Ren repeated the name thoughtfully. Even thought it didn’t seem like a name that stood out at first glance, the emphasis that his older friend placed on it made it clear that this was THE name that their team had chosen, in the same way that he and his friends in Tokyo had chosen the Phantom Thieves of Hearts as their name.

“That’s how it went for several months,” Yu continued. “Every time someone was thrown into the TV World and they showed up in the Midnight Channel, we would find clues to help locate them in the TV World and then go into their dungeons to rescue them and fight their Shadows. Every time we did, except for Nanako and one guy who was trying to take the blame for the murders when he was really just sick in the head, the person we rescued would gain a Persona and would join our team.”

“I’m not gonna ask you guys what your Shadows were like or what your dungeons looked like,” Ren reassured them, causing some visible relief and gratitude to show on the faces of his older friends, “but I do have a question. What were those dungeons like? Were they complicated buildings filled with a bunch of puzzles that you had to navigate through by using your smarts?”

Chie blinked. “What? No, not really,” she denied. “The dungeons were pretty cut-and-dry. They had a number of floors, and while each floor was different and random, all we had to do was go through the hallways, find the stairs leading to the next floor, and kill any Shadows that got in our way. Pretty simple stuff, really.”

“I will say that some dungeons had 1 or 2 puzzle elements to them,” Naoto amended her statement slightly, “but for the most part, yes, the dungeons were indeed very straightforward. And once those puzzle elements were solved, they would remain solved if we were to ever return to the dungeon in the future.”

“Another difference between the TV World dungeons and Palaces,” Ren thought. “They seem to be far simpler overall than Palaces were. Actually, those dungeons sound more like how Mementos operated than anything.”

“Any other questions before I continue?” Yu asked, wanting to make sure Ren could catch up. When the teen shook his head, Yu interpreted that as a sign to continue. “We were able to successfully save everyone who was thrown into the TV World after Saki Konishi, the second victim, but we didn’t really make any headway until after we had saved Nanako from the TV World later in November. It was at that time that we learned that Taro Namatame had dragged Nanako into the TV World, because he had been tricked by the real culprit into thinking that he was saving people by bringing them to the TV World instead of killing them. His mistake nearly cost Nanako her life, because even after the TV World she became deathly sick from the fog and almost died because of it.” He shook his head, a look of pain and regret appearing on his face. “We honestly thought that Namatame was the murderer at first, but we didn’t realize our mistake until it was almost too late.”

Ren frowned. There was something in Yu’s face and voice that made Ren suspect that his words had much more meaning than he was actually saying, and the uneasy feeling that was emanating from some of his other friends only strengthened that suspicion. However, Ren had no desire to ask for details despite his curiosity. He was likely going to hide some details when it was his turn to talk, and the least he could do was allow Yu and his team to keep a few secrets of their own.

Yu seemingly had expected Ren to push the topic, and was more than a little surprised and relieved when Ren chose to focus on something different. “Wait…Taro Namatame?” he repeated. “The State Secretary of Inaba? THAT Taro Namatame?”

“That’s right,” Yu affirmed. “It’s amazing just how far he’s risen above being a criminal wanted for kidnapping, isn’t it?”

“To be fair, part of that is because none of us went after him in court for what he did,” Rise pointed out. “It just didn’t feel right, you know? I know he nearly got most of us killed, but he honestly did think he was doing the right thing.” She scowled. “Still leagues better than the guy who ACTUALLY was behind all the murders, anyway.”

“Not going to argue with you there,” Yu acknowledged. “It was after we realized the truth that we figured out the guy who was the true culprit. And it turned out to be my uncle’s detective partner, Tohru Adachi.”

“Guy was a fucking creep,” Yosuke spat. “He threw two women, one of whom was a high-schooler, into the TV because they rejected him when he tried to hit on them. And then, as if things couldn’t get any worse, he kicked off most of the Foggy Day Murder attempts because he tricked Taro Namatame into killing people by throwing them into the TV World just because he was bored and wanted to have some fun. What a piece of SHIT!” he shouted the last word in disgust.

“It’s really scary to think that someone on the police, someone who was supposed to keep people safe and someone who both Yu and the Dojimas trusted, ended up being the murderer the entire time,” Chie mumbled sadly. “It’s just so wrong on so many levels.”

“You’re not wrong,” Yu agreed. “I might have a much better relationship with Adachi than any of you guys, especially since he was one of my Social Links. But I’ll be the first to admit that he was an egocentric asshole, and when he figured him out, he decided to go into the TV World and try to unleash the Shadows onto the world and turn everyone into Shadows themselves by merging the TV World and the real world together.” He made a face. “It really says a lot about how much of an asshole Adachi was that even Adachi himself thought he was a piece of shit one year later.”

Ren and Morgana both visibly flinched. The Investigation Team interpreted it as them being horrified by the implications of such a thing coming to pass, and while that might certainly have been true, they were also experiencing flashbacks to when Yaldabaoth tried to merge Mementos and Tokyo together as well. “We had to stop Adachi, and we did. We cornered him, fought him and his evil Persona, and we defeated him.” Yu frowned. “It turned, however, that Adachi had at least been partially controlled by a deity known as Ameno-Sagiri, and the idea of merging the TV World and the real world had been HIS idea all along. You know that yellowish fog that had showed up in Inaba back in 2011, Ren? The fog was from the TV World the entire time, and it has a bad effect on normal people who don’t have Personas.”

“That would explain why Nanako got so sick back then,” Ren thought as the pieces fell into place. “And I really don’t want to imagine what would’ve happened if Ameno-Sagiri and Adachi succeeded.”

“Ameno-Sagiri looked like this giant colorful eyeball, as weird as it is to imagine it,” Yu explained with a slight chuckle. “And right after we beat Adachi, we had to fight Ameno-Sagiri right afterwards. But we were strong now. Our bonds were unbreakable, and all of our Personas by this point had become incredibly powerful. We beat Ameno-Sagiri, and it lifted the fog from our world.”

Ren grinned. “Happy endings are great, aren’t they? It must’ve felt like the best victory ever, right?”

“Well, it turned out things hadn’t wrapped up quite just yet,” Yukiko corrected, before she broke into a smile. “But yeah, beating Ameno-Sagiri and lifting the fog up at the time really did feel amazing like nothing else we’d ever done before.”

“Hell yeah!” Chie pumped her fist in the air in triumph. “We’d just saved Inaba and possibly even the world! You bet we were riding high off that huge win!”

“We honestly thought our journey had ended, but it turned out that wasn’t the case,” Yu continued after he allowed his friends to briefly reminisce on the victory they had shared after beating Ameno-Sagiri. “You know Marie more as a friend of a friend, Ren, and the weather reporter for Inaba who always get the weather correct 100% of the time. But she was actually once someone who lived in the Velvet Room. Back then, she didn’t know anything about who she was or how she came into existence. She was someone who helped the Velvet Room. Not someone directly under it like one of the Velvet Room Attendance. More like an associate who was helping out.” He smiled at the memories. “My social link with her was basically me helping her try and regain her memories and showing her around Inaba at the same time.”

Rise made a face. “You didn’t need to spend so much time in December with her!” she pouted.

“Hey, Margaret asked me to spend more time with her in December before we went off to fight Adachi!” Yu protested. “I was just doing what my Velvet Room Attendant asked me to!”

Ren smirked. “Could someone be feeling a little…jealous?” he asked in a teasing voice.

“Shush, you!” Rise scolded, triggering some snickers from the others. Yu, however, clasped her hand reassuringly, earning a grateful look from his girlfriend.

Yosuke decided to continue the story to give Rise a break. “As it turned out, Marie was part of a goddess, just like Ameno-Sagiri was. That was the truth that she found out, and she thought that the only way to keep everyone safe was to lock herself in a tomb deep in the TV World so that she could keep the fog trapped inside. Basically sacrificing herself.” He scowled. “No way in hell we were gonna let that happen to a friend, though!”

“Indeed,” Yu agreed firmly. “By happy coincidence, we found a TV leading into the part of the cognitive world where she was going to seal herself away, and Margaret explained what happened. We immediately went into the dungeon, and actually managed to save Marie from that fate without dooming the world to the fog again.” He winced. “That was a close break, but we managed to get it done in the end.”

“Seeing how Marie’s been doing so far, seems like she’s doing pretty well for herself,” Ren commented with a smile, getting some nods of agreement from his friends. “But based on what you said before about Marie being part of a goddess, I’m guessing there was an evil goddess secretly manipulating everything from behind the strings?”

“You got it, Ren, but we didn’t figure this out until the very end,” Yu confirmed, before sighing. “Honestly, I was very close to missing it. It was the second to last day before I was going to leave Inaba. I had packed my things, said good-bye to my friends and family, but I decided to go to Junes one last time to reminisce and reflect on everything that had happened in that year. By happy chance, my friends were all there, and we hung out together for one last time. And then I read a letter from Adachi that Nanako had given me that morning. Adachi had sent me one last farewell. He started off by gracefully admitting defeat, but then he told me that something didn’t add up. He hadn’t gotten the power to enter the TV World until after he had come to Inaba, and someone had told him about the rumor about the Midnight Channel when he had first appeared in this town. And when Adachi had read the reports, Namatame had also been told about it too. Adachi had a feeling that this person was important to solving the whole mystery behind the TV World, and after reading his letter, I had the same feeling too.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “You don’t sound like you hate the guy all that much, despite everything,” he pointed out. “If anything…it almost sounds like you’re kinda…fond of him?”

Yu shook his head. “Fondness really isn’t the right word for it,” he explained. “Everyone else here dislikes to outright hates the guy, and they have good reasons for it. But there’s this weird connection and understanding I have of Adachi. Whenever I look at Adachi, I see who I could’ve been if I didn’t have my friends and family to back me up and be the emotional support I needed. Adachi was empty more than anything, with nothing and nobody to save him from the thoughts of crushing boredom and hating existence for being sent to Inaba in the first place. And if I’m being completely honest? I had thoughts like that too. Not about murdering people obviously, but I also hated existence and thought life in Inaba was going to be the most boring thing possible.” He chuckled dryly. “It didn’t even take a week for me to be proven wrong, both in the best way and the worst way possible.”

“Yeah…I kinda see where Yu’s going with this,” Yosuke reluctantly admitted. “I’ll never forgive him from murdering Saki and almost killing our friends…but I’m kinda in a similar boat with Yu and Adachi, since I was forced to move here because my Dad was the manager of Junes. I don’t want to think about the kind of person I’d have been if Izanami had picked ME instead of Adachi for her sick game.”

“And that’s why I still reach out to Adachi despite everything,” Yu concluded. “He’s an asshole and a murderer, but he’s still human. And I’ve seen pieces of light and goodness in him, buried under all that emotional garbage. So long as they’re there, I’m not gonna let them get snuffed out.” He smiled. “And honestly, from the very few times I’ve visited him in prison, and from what Uncle Dojima tells me? I think it’s working.”

Ren couldn’t think help but think about Akechi as Yu finished talking about his relationship with Adachi. He’d had a similar relationship with Akechi, seeing in him the kind of person he could’ve become if he hadn’t befriended the Phantom Thieves so soon. There were some differences, obviously; Akechi had had much more understandable reason for becoming a murderer, but had also had a much higher body count than Adachi could’ve ever accomplished. But the fundamentals were there, and it was almost disturbing how similar their thoughts on their respective opponents in the Metaverse had been.

“Look, can we just get back to talking about our journey?” Kanji impatiently asked. “I’ll admit that Adachi’s not as bad of a guy as I thought he was at first, but talking about the guy still pisses me off!”

“Fair enough,” Yu agreed, “and we’re almost towards the end anyway. Once I put the pieces together, I confronted a seemingly innocent gas station attendant who had secretly been the goddess in disguise the entire time. She called herself Izanami, and She made it clear that even though we had beaten Ameno-Sagiri, She was going to drown the world in fog anyway and turn everyone in the Shadows. She operated on the philosophy that it was better to live a lie in blissful ignorance rather than confront the truth, something that we were and had always been fundamentally opposed to from the very start. There was only one way this was ever going to end, and we chased Izanami down to the very top of the final dungeon.”

“Sounds like Maruki,” Morgana muttered. “He had the same idea…even if he went about it in a completely differently way.”

“And honestly, his way made more sense than turning everyone into Shadows,” Ren muttered back.

“Who’s Maruki?” Teddie asked with innocent curiosity.

“I’ll get to that when it’s my turn to talk about my adventure,” Ren promised.

“I can’t help but wonder how exactly this Maruki tried to accomplish Izanami’s goal, but I’m glad you stopped him,” Yu applauded, before continuing. “There’s not really much left to say here. We fought Izanami, and unsurprisingly it was easily one of the hardest fights we’ve ever had in our entire adventure.”

“Yeah, it was really rough,” Chie agreed with a frown. “She attacked us in all sorts of different ways, including some kind of spell that instantly wiped us out if we had any kind of status infliction. We’re lucky Rise was on point with her navigating and that we had plenty of healing and revival skills around, cause otherwise we could’ve been goners.”

“Even then, we almost lost,” Yosuke pointed out. “Izanami cast this really evil curse at the end where She dragged us down into these weird pits that I honestly thought were going to kill us. Yu was the last one to get dragged down…but he got back up.”

“I could feel myself on the brink of death,” Yu agreed, “but I couldn’t and wouldn’t give up. I could hear all of my friends, family, social links…I could hear them all calling out to me, telling me to get back up and keep fighting, even Adachi. That was the key to unlocking my true potential as a Wild Card, and powering up Izanagi to his ultimate form, Izanagi-no-Okami. With this new power, I was able to fight and destroy Izanami with the power of the Myriad Truths, finally defeating her once and for all.”

Ren grinned. “That must’ve been epic as hell. I wish I could’ve been there to see it.”

Yu smiled and rubbed Ren’s hair affectionately. “I’ll show him to you the next time we go into the TV World together. And I promise you, Izanagi-no-Okami kicks some serious ass like nothing else I’ve ever used before.”

“Can’t wait to see it.”

“After we beat Izanami, She promised for real that She would let humanity live its life without any further interference,” Yu concluded. “And She later merged with Marie, becoming whole again as Izanami-no-Mikoto with Marie’s personality in charge. The TV World was free from the fog and the corruption, and you saw how beautiful it is when it isn’t being distorted. And as you’ve seen for yourself, Inaba has been prospering to this very day. Granted, there was another mishap related to Personas that we had to deal with afterwards, but in terms of our main journey, that’s the end of our tale. We solved the mystery, defeated the goddess behind the fog, and saved both the TV World and the real world. Nowadays, all we do with the TV World is check on it to make sure everything’s okay, and occasionally pick up some money from killing Shadows every now and again. There wasn’t anything wrong with it until last year, shortly after you left.”

“And I’m guessing this is where you come in, right, Ren?” Yukiko asked, speaking for all of them. “You had your own adventure with Personas, and from what Yosuke and Teddie told us, it sounds like you’re an expert when it comes to fighting with them.”

Ren nodded. “You guys explained things really well,” he complimented. “I knew something was off about 2011, but I never thought it would be something this crazy. And I’m not gonna make you wait another day or two to hear my story, I’ve got plenty of energy left.”

Kanji grinned. “Glad to hear it, Renren. It was gonna drive me nuts if we had to wait another few days to hear what you’ve been up to in Tokyo!”

“Let’s take a break for a few minutes,” Rise suggested. “I think we’ll all be more alert and better able to process things, and Ren could use a bit of a break too before he starts sharing his story.”

“That sounds good to me,” Yu agreed, as did Ren and the rest of the Investigation Team.

“I will say this right now, though,” the leader of the Phantom Thieves declared. “I had to fight a cognitive god of my own, and I promise you that He was far worse than Izanami ever could’ve been.”

Chapter Text

After a short break, everyone had returned to the couches and sofas in Ren’s house. Now that the Investigation Team had shared the story of their Persona-related adventures and solved the Foggy Day Murders, it was Ren’s turn to explain how he had become the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and defeated the so-called “godly” entities who had threatened the TV World.

“All right! Let’s hear it, Ren!” Rise eagerly declared. “We want to hear all about what you did in Tokyo!”

Ren smiled at her enthusiasm, but the smile was tempered and didn’t fully reach his eyes. “I’m gonna say straight up, I definitely had it tougher than you guys did. I’m not for one second saying that you had your own hardships, or that you didn’t face a lot of challenges in freeing Inaba from the fog. But the first god I ended up overthrowing was much, MUCH worse than Izanami ever was, and some of our targets make Adachi look like a fucking saint.”

“Oh, shit…” Kanji muttered. “I’m really not gonna like some of what I’m gonna hear, aren’t I?”

“Thanks for warning us in advance,” Yu acknowledged with a slight grimace.

 “You’re welcome,” Ren replied, before taking a deep breath to begin his story. “After I got arrested, I was transferred to Shujin Academy as part of my probation, as that was the only school that would’ve been willing to accept a student with a criminal record like mine. My probation officer was Sojiro, who I told you about the last time we were here.”

“Ah, right,” Naoto nodded. “You gave him credit for teaching you how to make the incredible curry you made for us a few days ago.”

“Yep,” Ren confirmed. “Sojiro and I get along amazingly now, to the point that I’d consider him my father figure if my actual father wasn’t a good guy, but back when we first met…I’m not going to call him hostile, but he wasn’t exactly fond of me yet, and he didn’t have any reason to trust me. He gave me a room in the attic of his restaurant to live in for the year, as he didn’t want a criminal living in his house next to his daughter.”

“That’s…damn,” Yosuke sighed. “As much as I hate to admit it, I can see why he did that,” he admitted. “Can you imagine if Yu had a criminal record? I bet Dojima would’ve acted the same way with you and Nanako, especially since he’s a cop.”

“That would certainly have been rather…problematic,” Yu agreed. “The Dojimas already had enough issues without a boarder with a criminal record being thrown into the mix.”

“I don’t blame Sojiro for that,” Ren commented, “and our relationship got a lot better over the months anyway. He was at least kind enough to drive me over to school on Sunday so that we could get my orientation stuff sorted out. Shujin Academy might’ve been willing to accept me, but that didn’t make it a flawless or even good school.” He scowled. “Actually, it had a fuckton of problems, which made any downsides of Yasogami look like tiny insignificant issues.”

Yukiko’s eyes widened. “I just remembered…I saw something on TV a few months back about a volleyball teacher from Shujin who confessed to abusing and sexually assaulting his students. Was he from…?”

Ren grimaced. “Kamoshida? Yeah, that was easily the biggest problem in Shujin, though it was far from the only one. But the guy was a complete asshole, no doubt about it. My criminal record was supposed to be kept a complete secret, but the student body had somehow learned about it on my first day and had already started spreading rumors about it. I didn’t learn until later that Kamoshida was the one who had leaked my record to the public.”

“Fucking jackass,” Chie snarled, her voice rather uncharacteristically filled with venom.

“Definitely another piece of shit who somehow makes Adachi look good,” Yosuke growled.

Kanji had already leapt off his chair. “Come on, let’s go find out where he’s being jailed!” he declared. “I have a giant metal shield I want to introduce his face to!”

Naoto placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “Now now, Kanji, we mustn’t be reckless.” Then, her eyes glinted coldly. “There are other, more subtle ways for us to get revenge.”

“Guys, guys!” Ren waved his hands, catching everyone’s attention and calming them down. “You guys don’t have to worry about a thing.” The young man’s face broke into a grin, and for the first time for most of them, there were faint hints of malice and cruel satisfaction that none of them had ever seen on Ren’s face before he left Tokyo. “He got what he deserved. We saw to that.”

Yu couldn’t help but be a bit unnerved by the expression on Ren’s face. In a way, it almost reminded him a bit of Adachi, though he firmly believed that Ren would never fall to evil the way Adachi had. “I’m assuming that as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, you and your team were responsible for changing Kamoshida’s heart and forcing him to confess his disgusting crimes,” he posited. When Ren nodded, he continued with his question. “How did you pull something like this off?” he wondered. “I never saw anything in the TV World that suggested forcibly changing someone else’s heart was possible. Our experiences revolved more around people facing their own Shadows and confronting their own darkness.”

“To be honest, my first trip into the Metaverse was a complete accident,” Ren admitted. At the confused looks on his friends’ faces, he quickly explained. “The Metaverse is the cognitive world centered on Tokyo. In some ways it’s similar to the TV World, but in other ways it’s different. For starters, the Metaverse disappeared completely once we defeated the two gods who had taken control of it. So in theory, we shouldn’t have to worry about people or entities abusing it to do evil things anymore.”

“That’s good to hear,” Chie muttered.

“Another big difference is that we could access the Metaverse through this supernatural app on our phones called the MetaNav,” Ren explained. “And I accidentally activated the MetaNav by accident on the first day of school, getting dragged into the Metaverse Navigator along with a student who had gotten abused by Kamoshida. Not gonna name names in the interest of privacy, but he would end up being one of my closest friends and one of the founding members of the Phantom Thieves.”

“It’s great that you found a friend so early, Ren,” Rise commented. And while she was smiling, Ren could see the sadness behind her eyes. “I can’t imagine it’d have been easy when your criminal record was already spread around the school.”

“You have no idea how right you are,” Ren fervently agreed. “I don’t know where I’d be, or even who I’d be, without the friends I made over there.”

“You should probably explain to them what Palaces and Mementos are,” Morgana suggested, even though only Yosuke and Teddie could hear him at that moment. “Otherwise, what you said isn’t going to make any sense!”

“Good point,” Ren acknowledged. “Before I do anything else, I should probably explain to you how the Metaverse and how people’s Shadows worked. In the Metaverse, personal Shadows are similar to but not entirely the same as how they were in the TV World. Personal Shadows reflect the distorted and corrupted desires of the people they represent in the real world. Those desires manifest in the form of a Treasure which the Shadow obsessively holds onto, almost always needing to be fought to force them to let go of the Treasure and their twisted desires. Most of these Shadows exist in a place called Mementos that I’ll get into more detail in a little bit, but Shadows that are severely distorted and corrupted have their own separate, personalized Palaces. These Palaces are completely separate from the Metaverse, unlike the dungeons in the TV World that you mentioned. And unlike the TV World’s dungeons, Palaces are their own unique buildings with unique layouts and designs. You actually have to navigate through the building to find the Treasure, and these buildings always had their own puzzles and challenges.” He made a face. “I WISH it was a simple as just climbing up or down a bunch of floors to get to the top or bottom. Would’ve made things a lot easier.”

“Could you imagine if every single TV Dungeon we had to find was in its own separate part of the TV World, and we’d have to find a different entrance for every single one?” Yosuke asked, visibly cringing at the idea. “Sheesh.”

“It was hard enough trying to find everyone as it was!” Teddie complained. “Trying to find them all would be so bear-y hard if not impossible!”

“You also needed to know the person’s name, the building associated with the Palace, and what form their distortion took in order to access the Palace,” Ren continued his explanation. “But once you have those pieces of information, you can use the MetaNav to get to a Palace at any time. The rest of the Shadows who weren’t distorted enough to get a Palace would be somewhere in Mementos, which took the form of a massive subway system that got more twisted and fucked up the deeper you went into it. Mementos is the Palace of the public, the people of Tokyo itself, and it was much more straightforward in how it operated. You’d end up on a floor, exploring it to try and find the next flight of escalators down or beating any Shadows that came across your way. We didn’t realize just how important Mementos truly was until the end of our adventure, which I’ll explain more towards the end.”

“Okay, so we now have an understanding of how Mementos and Palaces work, at least a basic one,” Yu acknowledged. “And you’re saying that you stumbled upon such a Palace on the very first day of school?”

“Yeah,” Ren confirmed, “and that Palace just happened to be Kamoshida’s. His Palace was a castle located over Shujin Academy, and his desires were based on lust. Lust for his students, lust for power, and his desire to rule over the school as though it were his own personal castle and everyone in it were his slaves.”

“Euggggghhhhh…” Chie gagged in disgust. “And that was your FIRST Palace?”

“Unfortunately,” Ren scowled. “The Phantom Thieves and I stole the hearts and distorted desires of a lot of corrupt assholes in Tokyo. And Kamoshida was literally the third most evil person we’ve ever targeted in the entire year. The second and first were a megalomaniacal tyrant who was about to seize control of all of Tokyo and the evil god who was behind all of this shit to begin with.”

“Disgusting,” Naoto spat. “I can’t believe you found someone as evil as Adachi was on your first day of the school year. And given how Adachi didn’t need to be forced to find his own brand of atonement, I can very well believe that Kamoshida was somehow even worse than him.”

“But at least he ended up being good for something, because his Palace was where I awakened my Persona,” Ren grinned. “Right when Kamoshida’s Shadow was about to kill my first friend, I found the will to rebel against the corrupt assholes who ruined not just my life, but the lives of innocent people around me. I ripped off the mask that formed on my face, and unleashed the power of my Persona for the very first time. That Persona was Arsene.”

“Arsene,” Yu repeated the name, mulling it over thoughtfully. He had read the Arsene Lupin books as a casual curiosity, and he had at least a basic understanding of who that character was. “You mean the French Gentleman Thief, Arsene?”

“That’s the one,” Ren confirmed. “Although my version of Arsene looks like a shadowy demon in a red gentleman’s outfit, with black feathery wings sprouting out of his back. He specialized in Curse magic.”

Kanji whistled. “Damn, that sounds really cool! Wish I could’ve seen it.”

Ren shrugged. “I might show him to you in the TV World the next time we go there,” he offered, earning some eager nods from his friends. “Anyways, I had awoken my Persona, but I didn’t have a team or even a real mission in the Metaverse yet. I did meet Morgana in that first trip in the Metaverse, though, and he already had a Persona to help me fight Shadows with,” Ren stroked Morgana’s head affectionately with his hand, earning some loud purrs of appreciation from the feline.

“What is Morgana’s Persona, and what can he do?” Yukiko asked, clearly interested.

“His starting Persona was Zorro, but it’s Diego now,” Ren answered. “He specializes in Wind attacks and healing skills.”

“Interesting,” Naoto murmured. “So a bit of a mix of Yosuke and Teddie, then.”

“I can do a lot more after you brought me over to that Jazz Club to teach me Debilitate!” Morgana added proudly.

“True, true,” Ren acknowledged with a smirk, before continuing. “Anyways, after I finally arrived at Shujin, it didn’t take very long for me to realize that something was seriously wrong with the school. And most of those problems revolved around Kamoshida. Through the Metaverse, we saw Kamoshida’s Shadow putting his cognitions of Shujin’s Volleyball Team through volleyball and gym-themed tortures, and that was reflected in the abuse he inflicted on the volleyball team in the real world, even if everyone was too afraid to speak up. During our investigations, the friend I made and who had followed me the first time ended up awakening a Persona, meaning that he could fight alongside me and Morgana. It was then that Morgana here,” he stroked the feline’s head again, “came up with the idea of stealing Kamoshida’s heart. By taking his Treasure, the embodiment of his distorted desires, we could remove the man’s corruption and force him to regain his conscience, causing him to feel overwhelming guilt and regret for his sins.”

Rise gasped. “THAT explains all the confessions people like Kamoshida and Madarame made! It really WAS you guys!”

“Yeah, but we weren’t sure whether we wanted to actually go for it at first,” Ren admitted, “because if we did it improperly, we could end up killing the Shadow instead. Killing a person’s Shadow causes them to go into a mental shutdown, killing them in real life or at the very least making them so mentally braindead that there’s no real difference.” He scowled. “And then shit escalated so quickly that we really didn’t have any choice.”

The Investigation Team gasped in horror. “Killing a Shadow can kill someone in real life?” Yukiko asked, horrified. “Something like that is possible?”

“We never came across that situation in the TV World, and in hindsight, we were lucky that we never went too overboard in attacking Shadows,” Yu muttered grimly. “Otherwise, we could have very well accidentally killed the people we were trying to save. And we’re also really lucky that Adachi never came up with the idea to kill people by killing their Shadows, either.”

“Well, at least we know what is responsible for causing the mental shutdowns in the first place, and I'm pretty sure I know who was the one behind them too,” Naoto pointed out. “I'm just wondering how they were able to pull something like this off in the first place.”

“I’ll get to that later,” Ren promised. “Going back to April, what forced our hand with regards to Kamoshida was him assaulting a student so violently that she threw herself off the roof of the school in an attempt to kill herself.”

Loud exclamations of anger and horror erupted from his audience. “That son of a BITCH! “Fuck proper procedure, I’m going to find where he’s being held so I can Galactic Punt him straight in the balls!” Chie furiously ranted.

“A crime this evil cannot go unpunished,” Yukiko agreed, her voice soft but filled with menace.

A horrified look suddenly appeared on Yosuke’s face. “Wait a minute…that girl whose Shadow we fought earlier…the one friend you’ve made so far at Yasogami…was she?”

“Yeah…she was the one,” Ren confirmed grimly. “She’s doing a lot better now, but I don’t want to even think about everything she had to suffer to get to that point.”

“Shiho’s Shadow said something really bad happened to her,” Teddie questioned innocently. For all the knowledge about humans he had gained from living with them for 5 years, there were some things that he was still completely ignorant of. “I…think the word start with R?”

The horror, shock, and revulsion on everyone’s face somehow increased even more than it already was. Yu gave Teddie an uncharacteristically fierce expression, causing him to take a few steps back in fear. “Teddie…” his voice was low and threatening, “never repeat that word in front of anyone. Ever. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes! YES!” Teddie quailed in front of his Sensei. “You’re clear!”

“I think you might be right,” Rise hissed, her eyes burning with hateful fire for the first time that Ren could remember. “Kamoshida might somehow actually be worse than Adachi.”

“Please tell me you dealt with that fucker as soon as possible!” Kanji growled.

“Oh, we did, although part of that was because my friend and fellow Phantom Thief tried to confront Kamoshida, and Kamoshida took that as an opportunity to plan to expel both of us in a few weeks. So we were on a time limit to steal Kamoshida’s heart as soon as possible, for our own sakes as well as to get justice for Shiho and every single student Kamoshida assaulted.” A faint smile appeared on Ren’s face. “Luckily for us, Shiho’s best friend ended up waking up a Persona, which meant that we now had a full team of 4 to infiltrate Kamoshida’s Palace and steal his heart with. After everything that happened, we knew that Kamoshida had to be stopped, no matter what. And if that meant stealing his Treasure would send him straight into a mental shutdown?” He scowled. “None of us gave a shit anymore.”

“I don’t blame you,” Yu reassured him gently. “It was do-or-die, and you were back into a corner. I very likely would’ve done the same thing.”

Rise frowned. “I’m not exactly happy to hear that you were so willing to basically murder someone…but with how much of a piece of shit Kamoshida turned out to be, and without any other options, I have to admit you made the right call.”

“The alternative was allowing evil to win,” Naoto agreed, “and that is no alternative at all.”

“Right, and that gave us the drive we needed to steal Kamoshida’s heart as soon as possible,” Ren agreed. “We infiltrated our way through all of Kamoshida’s Palace and reached his Treasure without getting spotted by his Shadow. The Treasure itself was a formless blob of light, and to make it appear physically so that we can steal it, we would need to send a Calling Card letting the person, and the Shadow, know that we were about to steal it.”

“THAT’S why you sent those calling cards out!” Yosuke exclaimed. “I always wondered why the hell you were bothering to let people know you were coming to steal their hearts. Now it makes sense, you literally couldn’t do it without that step!”

“It’s counter-intuitive,” Ren acknowledged, “but there’s no way we could steal our targets’ Treasures without letting them know first. And as you can guess, we ended up needing to fight Kamoshida’s Shadow and beating it in battle before we could take the Treasure away. I have to admit that one member of my team, the member whose best friend almost committed suicide, did think about trying to kill Kamoshida anyway even after we stole his Treasure, and I wouldn’t have stopped her if she did. But at the last minute, she decided that leaving him alive to feel the crushing guilt and remorse for his actions would be a harsher punishment than killing him.” He smiled with relief. “And in hindsight, that was absolutely the right choice to make for multiple reasons.”

“And since you stole that bastard’s heart, that led to that confession we heard about on the news, right?” Kanji asked with a vicious smirk, satisfied at the idea of Kamoshida finally getting what was coming to him.

“What did Kamoshida’s treasure look like?” Yukiko wondered.

“In the Palace, it took the form of a large crown,” Ren answered. “But after we left the Palace, it turned into a copy of his Olympic Gold Medal.” He shrugged. “We sold it off, it’s not like we gave a shit about it.”

“Can’t blame you for that,” Rise acknowledged, before eagerly asking, “and then Kamoshida confessed his crimes, right?”

Ren laughed. “You have no idea how satisfying it was to watch Kamoshitbag shuffle onto that stage, wailing and crying as he confessed to all the crimes that he committed. All the abuse that people were too afraid to call him out on, aired out into the open for the entire world to see. He exposed himself for the monster that he truly was and turned himself over to the police, crying and begging for forgiveness during every second of it. And it was glorious.” Ren grinned as he recalled the fond memory of Kamoshida’s confession. “Had we simply killed his Shadow, he would’ve died without his crimes coming to light, and might’ve died beloved in the eyes of the public. Instead, he has to live with the guilt gnawing away at his soul for the rest of his life, while the entire world recognizes him for the monster that he truly was.” The grin turned softer and gentler. “Besides, Kamoshida’s confession brought some good into the world, giving his victims the vindication and the closure that they needed. That wouldn’t have happened if we’d killed him instead.”

“I’m glad you chose that path, too,” Yu agreed with a smile. “It sounds like this was the better way to achieve justice for yourself and for others.”

“Yeah,” Ren agreed. “Kamoshida might have been the first target whose heart we stole, but he was far from the only one. Tokyo was a cesspit full of corrupt, greedy, and flat-out evil individuals in places of power. Scum who looked down on the common man for being less fortunate than they were and considered them less than human. The police in Tokyo were helpless at best, and outright complicit with the corruption at worst. They were never going to do a thing to help clean up the corruption in society…”

“…but you could,” Naoto finished, understanding dawning in her eyes as she finally realized how the Phantom Thieves had started their mission. “You could steal their hearts, force them to repent and confess their crimes.”

“And that’s what we did, using both the Palaces and Mementos,” Ren confirmed. “Like I said before, not every person was so hopelessly twisted by their own desires that they had their own palace. And not everybody with a Palace was evil. But they were all negatively affecting the lives of themselves or others around them to such a serious degree that something had to be done. We stole their hearts and took the treasures causing their distorted desires, and as we went through more and more Palaces our reputations grew throughout the city, for better or for worse.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” Chie suddenly exclaimed. “A couple of really high-profile people made public confessions, suddenly exposing their own crimes and apologizing for all the horrible things they did! Was that all because of you guys?”

Ren nodded. “Yeah, those changes of heart were all the work of the Phantom Thieves. I won’t go over every single target we found in Mementos cause that would take forever and I don’t even remember them all. But if we wanted to fulfill our goal of overthrowing people in power who were abusing their authority, we needed to take down high-profile targets. Our first biggest target after Kamoshida was Ichiryusai Madarame, a man who presented himself to the world as a humble, passionate artist with many distinguished works of art to his name.” Ren’s eyes bristled with fury. “But the truth? He was a greedy and manipulative con man who extorted his students, stole their artwork, and treated them as unpaid labor. He abused their talents to prop up his own image before tossing them out of his home and leaving them poor and helpless once they weren’t useful to him anymore. He had a bloated sense of self-importance that was the foundation of his Palace, turning his shack into a gaudy museum in the Metaverse.”

Kanji scowled. “What a piece of shit,” he growled. “And the scary thing is, he was a really good actor. I’ve seen him a few times on TV, and there’s no way I would’ve suspected anything if he didn’t confess his crimes himself.”

“Yeah, he was a lot more subtle about it than Kamoshida was,” Ren agreed. “Heck, even Madarame’s own pupil at the time couldn’t see the past the lies and thought that Madarame was a genuinely good person. But just like with Kamoshida, we stole Madarame’s Treasure and took away his distorted desires. Madarame confessed his crimes to the public a few days later.”

“That was some good work,” Rise praised. “And I’m glad you never thought about killing him, either.” She frowned. “Still not sure how I feel about the fact that you genuinely considered committing murder, even if you had a good reason for it.”

Ren shrugged. “Well, we knew that the change of heart method worked already, and we didn’t need to kill anyone to make it happen,” he commented. “There was absolutely no reason for us to think about killing people’s Shadows and causing mental shutdowns anymore.”

“Did you get anybody to join while you were clearing Madarame’s Palace?” Teddie asked eagerly.

“I did,” Ren affirmed, “but in the interests of keeping their privacy I’m not going to give their name.”

“Fair enough to both your points,” Yu acknowledged.

“Our next target was a feared Yakuza boss, Junya Kaneshiro,” Ren continued. “Kaneshiro was a real nasty piece of work. He saw all of Shibuya as his own personal bank, seeing the people in the town as nothing more than personalized ATMs whose money he could take whenever he desired. He especially liked to prey on teens, including teens from Shujin Academy, manipulating them by scamming them into doing errands that were really major crimes and then blackmailing them afterwards.”

“I heard about that, actually,” Naoto commented with a grim expression. “It was a particularly vile operation that could only come from a mind as cruel and as greedy as his.”

Yu scowled. “I knew that greed and corruption were more common in the city than in a countryside place like Inaba,” he muttered. “But I had no idea that it was this bad.”

Ren snorted. “I haven’t even gotten started,” he retorted. “We were actually blackmailed into investigating Junya Kaneshiro to stop the scamming operation that was trying to destroy the lives of Shujin’s students. But honestly? After learning what I did about Kaneshiro? I would’ve changed his heart anyway on principle. Nobody deserves to live in fear like that.”

“Absolutely,” Yu didn’t hesitate to give his opinion. “In your shoes, I would’ve been very disappointed in myself if I had the capability to stop an evil this great and did nothing instead.”

“Yeah!” Chie fiercely agreed. “If I’d been there, I would’ve tried to kick that guy’s ass in the Metaverse first thing!”

“Did you get another team member to join you during this time?” Yukiko wondered.

“I did,” Ren nodded, before letting out a dry chuckle. “Hilariously enough, it was the person who tried to blackmail us into going after Kaneshiro in the first place. I’ll admit that I didn’t have a very high opinion of them before they awakened their Persona, but after? They were a hell of a lot cooler, and a hell of a lot more valuable than I first gave them credit for.”

Rise pouted. “I really wanna know who these people are!” she whined. “They seem like they’re so cool!”

Ren shook his head. “No can do, Rise. Unless they give me explicit permission, I’m keeping their identities a complete secret.”

Yosuke shrugged. “I’m curious, but I’m not bothered by it. Gotta pay back loyalty with loyalty, right?”

“No backstabbers in this friend group, that’s for sure!” Kanji agreed.

“I’m guessing that the order of events for Kaneshiro was similar to that of Kamoshida and Madarame?” Naoto inquired. “You navigated through his Palace, found his Treasure representing his distorted desires, sent the Calling Card, fought his Shadow, and stole the Treasure afterwards?”

“Yeah,” Ren snickered. “Gotta admit though, as much as Kaneshiro was a piece of shit…his Shadow was actually pretty funny for how evil he was. He was acting like one of those American gangsters I’ve seen at the movies.”

“Now I’m kind of curious to know what fighting him was like,” Rise admitted.

Yu, however, had thought of something else. “Ren, you said before that not everybody with a Palace was evil. Yet so far, every single one of the Palace Rulers you mentioned was unambiguously evil. Whose Palaces didn’t fall into that category?” he asked.

Ren smiled. “I’m glad you asked, Yu,” he replied. “Because the next Palace we came across belonged to someone who wasn’t evil at all.” A sadness entered his eyes and he sighed. “Someone who was severely depressed because they believed that their mother had killed herself because of them, all because of a suicide note blaming them for her death. The note had affected her mental state so badly that she had locked herself in her room for years.”

Everyone gasped in horror, and even Yu looked noticeably disturbed. “That’s awful!” Chie gasped. “Who’d write something so messed up?”

“That poor person…” Naoto murmured sympathetically. “No wonder they became so distorted. I can only imagine the kind of sadness that they were forced into because of it.”

“It’s even worse than that,” Ren commented grimly, “but thankfully, the Shadow was actually different than the others we’ve faced so far. It actually represented their positive thoughts and desire instead of their negative ones, and while there were times that it tried to kill us in the Palace, it also wanted us to help them overcome the real-life person’s depression and self-hatred. We fought a cognition that represented everything keeping them chained to their despair, and they actually came into their Palace and confronted the truth behind their mother’s death all by themselves. Once they realized this, they joined forces with their Shadow and it turned into their Persona, kinda like how Shiho accepted her Shadow in the TV World except minus the violence and the battle before that. We helped them steal their own heart and free them from their own desires, and after we cleared their Palace they became essential to the team as our Navigator.”

“And what happened with that whole suicide note thing?” Kanji questioned. “The whole thing sounds really fishy.”

“That’s cause it was,” Ren explained with a scowl. “The note had been faked. It turned out, their mother had been murdered by the people behind the Mental Shutdowns, and they had faked a suicide note blaming her for it. I don’t even think there was a practical reason for it, they just kicked them while they were already down just to be a bunch of assholes.”

More angry and disgusted exclamations erupted from the group. “Who?” Yukiko hissed, her voice laden with venom. “Who’s the sick bastard who forged a note blaming an innocent person for their mother’s death?”

“I want to know too, so I can kick their teeth in with a Galactic Punt!” Chie added furiously.

“You’ll know the answer to that question by the end of my story,” Ren promised. His face was composed and his voice calm, but everyone could see the flashes of fury in his eyes as he remembered the gross injustice that had been senselessly inflicted upon Futaba. “The person whose heart we changed turned out to be a legendary hacker named Alibaba. I didn’t mention it yet since I got caught up with answering your question, Yu, but we were also under threat from a hacker organization called Medjed who threatened to cause widespread chaos and havoc on Tokyo unless the Phantom Thieves exposed themselves and turned themselves in. Alibaba was actually the one who created Medjed in the first place, and they were far more of a skilled hacker than Medjed ever was. They hacked into Medjed’s website, stopping them from carrying out their Cleanse. It was another victory for the Phantom Thieves, and one that really boosted our popularity up from what it was before. Everything seemed to be going perfectly.” His face immediately darkened. “And in hindsight, I should’ve realized that things were going too perfectly.”

“I remember the Phantom Thieves at one point had a major boost in popularity, only for that popularity to plummet sharply after the death of Kunikazu Okumura,” Naoto recalled. “Is that the point where things started to go wrong for the Phantom Thieves?”

Ren chuckled, but there was zero humor in either the laugh or in his eyes. “You have no idea,” he commented dryly. “We didn’t know it yet, but we were up against extremely powerful and dangerous enemies. Enemies who wanted to abuse the Metaverse to take over Tokyo or even the entire world. The very fact that we were Metaverse users who could change hearts made us a challenge and a threat to their rule.”

His eyes glistened darkly. “And we’d soon be in for the fight of our lives. They wanted us beaten, broken, and dead…and as much as I despise everything my enemies stand for, I’ll be the first to admit that they came very close to succeeding.”

Chapter Text

Ren frowned. “Actually, now that I think about it…it’s kind of hard talking about this next step of my Wild Card journey without exposing one of my Phantom Thieves,” he admitted. “Before we go on, I’m gonna have to give her a quick call to make sure that she’s okay with me telling you about all this.”

Yu shrugged. “Fair enough. Why don’t you go outside or up to your room and give her a quick call, and then you can continue once you’ve gotten that settled?” he suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Ren nodded in agreement. He got up from the couch and walked towards the stairs leading up to his room. “I’ll be back.”

As Ren vanished up the stairs, Rise suddenly got a calculating look on her face. “Wait a minute…the Phantom Thief Ren was talking about…could it be…?”

Yu silenced her with a raised hand. “It could very well be,” he acknowledged with a frown, “but in the interests of respecting her privacy let’s not say her identity out loud here.”

“Aww, come on!” Teddie whined. “I wanna know who Renren’s talking about!”

“Can it, bear!” Kanji growled. “All these years and you still don’t have any sense of privacy!”

“You have no idea,” Yosuke rolled his eyes.

As the others snickered at Teddie’s expense, Ren climbed up the stairs until he was at his bedroom. He opened up his phone and dialed in Haru’s number. To his relief, his girlfriend picked up the line almost immediately. “Ren-kun!” Her soft and sweet voice greeted him through the phone. “I didn’t expect to hear a call from you today! How have you been, my love!”

“Been doing great, Haru!” Ren answered warmly. “You know how I told you about my group of older friends from my hometown that I used to always hang around with?”

“Oh, yes, the ones you mentioned the other day that were also Persona users,” Haru remembered. “Is there anything special about them that you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yeah,” Ren answered. “We finally got around to talking about our different Persona adventures. They already told me about theirs, and I’ve started telling them about ours.” He turned his tone a bit more serious. “Obviously, I’ve been keeping the identities of our friends a complete secret. The only ones who they know are Phantom Thieves right now are myself and Morgana.”

“Well, I certainly appreciate your thoughtfulness, Ren-kun,” Haru gratefully replied.

Ren frowned. “The only issue is that…we’re at the point of my story where it’s very difficult for me to talk about the events without exposing you as a Phantom Thief. I can definitely do it if you don’t want me to reveal your identity to the Investigation Team…but it’s going to make describing the events that happened really awkward.”

“Ah, I see…” Ren could hear Haru’s voice becoming a little less enthusiastic. “I assume you’re talking about my father’s Palace.”

“Yeaaaaahhhhh…” Ren sighed. “Look, I can absolutely word things to keep your identity hidden, if you don’t want me to say anything.”

“Do you believe your friends at Inaba are worthy of your trust, Ren-kun?” Haru asked.

“I trust them,” Ren answered without any hesitation. “When everyone turned their back on me last year after Shido framed me for assault, they were the only ones apart from my family who believed that I was innocent and stood by me.”

“Then that’s all the endorsement that I needed to hear,” Haru answered with finality. “Ren-kun, you have my permission to reveal my identity and my status as a Phantom Thief to your friends. I would just ask that they keep this a secret, just like you have.”

“Absolutely,” Ren affirmed resolutely. “I wouldn’t even think about revealing you if I wasn’t confident that they could keep things silent.” He smiled in relief. “Thanks for making everything so much easier, Haru.”

Haru giggled. “No problem, Ren-kun! I hope you enjoy the time spent with your friends.” She sighed. “I wish I could meet them now, but I’m dealing with a mountain of paperwork from Okumura Foods today and I just simply do not have the time…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ren reassured her. “I promise you’ll have plenty of time to meet them whenever you come over.”

“It’s a promise, then!” Haru answered cheerfully, and then the two hung up their phones after sharing a quick final good-bye. Ren smiled and rushed down the stairs, where the Investigation Team was waiting for him.

“She gave me her approval,” the leader of the Phantom Thieves reported, “so long as you guys keep it a secret too.”

“That’s not a problem at all!” Yukiko exclaimed, clearly pleased at Ren’s success even if she didn’t fully understand the behind-the-scenes details.

Yosuke snickered. “So long as Teddie can keep his mouth shut,” he deadpanned.

“Hey!” Teddie protested. “I can keep a secret! Nobody outside of us knows I’m a Shadow, I’ve kept that secret for over 5 years!”

“Shockingly enough Teddie does have a valid point,” Naoto acknowledged, “though it’s honestly a surprise given how much of a loudmouth he tends to be sometimes.”

“Seriously though, we will all keep your friend’s identity a secret,” Yu promised. “She and you can trust us.”

Ren nodded and smiled. “Thanks, Yu. It’ll make explaining what happened next a lot easier.”

“So, uh…what DID happen next?” Chie wondered. “From what you said earlier, it sounded like things took a turn for the worse.”

“They did,” he confirmed, “although at first things looked like they were really looking up for the Phantom Thieves. Between the changing the heart of Kaneshiro, who was a notorious mob boss who got away with his crimes for years until the change of heart caused him to turn himself in out of guilt, and defeating Medjed, the popularity of the Phantom Thieves had skyrocketed to its highest point ever.” He shrugged. “I never gave a shit about popularity personally, but a few of my friends got caught up in the craze. It got to the point that even people outside of Japan had heard of the Phantom Thieves, and we were pretty much universally praised as heroes.”

“I remember that,” Naoto remarked. “News of the Phantom Thieves reached as far as Inaba. And while I didn’t wholeheartedly support them in the same way some others certainly did, I didn’t have any reason to oppose them yet either as long as their actions were focused on changing the hearts of the wicked.”

“Yeah, I never really got into all the craze, honestly,” Kanji agreed with his girlfriend. “Like, I respected them for what they did, but I wasn’t gonna just start singing their praises or shit like that just cause everyone else was.”

“Then you’re smarter than most of Tokyo,” Ren deadpanned. “Requests for changes of heart flooded into the Phansite that we were using, but by far the most common one was Kunikazu Okumura. A corrupt CEO of Okumura Foods who was abusing his workers and silencing anyone who tried to criticize or protest against him. Even though everyone wanted us to change his heart, I didn’t want to do it just because quote-unquote everyone else wanted us to.” He scowled. “But when we did a little more digging, it turned out that Okumura’s crimes were worse than we imagined.”

“I know about Okumura,” Yukiko remarked with a frown. “From what I could tell on the news, he really did seem like a terrible person. But what did you discover that made you proceed with his change of heart, Ren-kun?”

“It really boiled down to 2 things,” Ren answered. “The first was that we had reason to believe that Okumura might’ve been the one behind the mental shutdowns, or at the very least been ordering them in some way. The second…was that we learned that he was planning on selling his daughter, Haru, to a forced marriage with a misogynistic, asinine piece of shit who only valued Haru as a tool to get his hands on Okumura Foods and saw her as little more than a sex slave otherwise.”

Everyone made repulsed, disgusted faces at his statement. “Oh, you’ve got to be FUCKING kidding me!” Chie shouted furiously. “First Kamoshida, now this asshat? Is every adult in power in Tokyo a fucking pig?”

“Maybe we should find him and…teach him a lesson after we get our hands on Kamoshida,” Naoto suggested coldly.

“Ugh, thank God my agency protected me from creeps who wanted to hit on me,” Rise scowled. “Really makes me realize just how lucky I was that I didn’t get creeped on all that much in Tokyo…and that my agents weren’t creeps either. Cause it sounds a hell of a lot like that’s the exception and not the rule over there!”

Ren grimaced as he recalled Sugimura’s smug, pretentions face. “That was enough for me to go ahead with the change of heart,” he continued, his voice noticeably frostier than it had been seconds before. “Saving Haru from being forced into a marriage with that piece of shit was a matter of principle now, and changing Okumura’s heart was pretty much the best way for us to do it.”

As Ren described the infiltration into Okumura’s space-themed Palace, Morgana had remained silent and lost in his own thoughts. He had noticed that Ren never mentioned the spat between Ryuji and himself, something which had spiraled out of control to the point that he had abandoned his team at one point. Looking back at those events, Morgana couldn’t help but feel guilty about how badly both of them had handled that whole sorry mess, and he was grateful that Ren didn’t bring up the event that brought him great shame whenever he thought about it.

Granted, that might be because the argument between Ryuji and himself wasn’t really all that important in the grand scheme of things, but Morgana was glad that he wouldn’t be making a bad impression on this new group of Persona users before he even got the chance to properly work with them.

“Haru actually joined us during the infiltration, and she awoke her Persona in her father’s palace,” Ren finished explaining. A mischievous smirk suddenly appeared on his face as he suddenly realized that now was the perfect time to drop a bombshell on the Investigation Team instead of the Phantom Thieves for once. “And that’s how I met my girlfriend,” he finished, keeping his tone as casual as possible.

“Oh, okay…” Yosuke nodded his head in understanding…and then the last part of Ren’s statement caught up too his brain. “Wait, WHAT?”

“Back up, back up,” Chie exclaimed. “You have a GIRLFRIEND?”

“Not just that,” Naoto looked similarly stunned, “you’re claiming that Haru Okumura, heiress to CEO Foods, is your girlfriend AND a Persona user to boot?”

Rise burst out laughing. “Oh my God, you guys, you should see the looks on your faces!” she giggled. “I haven’t seen you guys look this goofy since the King’s Game!”

“Wait, you KNEW, Rise?” Kanji spluttered in disbelief.

“Ren had actually told us that Haru Okumura was his girlfriend back when Rise and I took him out on a little trip to Okina City,” Yu explained placidly, though he wasn’t bothering to hide his amusement in his eyes. “We knew about that part…but we didn’t know that she was a Persona user too.”

“Ooh, ooh! What kind of powers does she have?” Teddie asked eagerly.

That was a surprisingly insightful question from the biggest goofball in the team, Yu had to acknowledge. Ren seemed to recognize this too, as he answered without hesitation. “She focuses mainly on Psychic and Gun attacks, though a little more on Psychic,” Ren answered. “She has this really fancy thief attire that’s kind of like what you’d expect a European noble to wear…and she carries a huge axe and a grenade launcher in cognitive worlds.”

Yosuke’s brain seemed to short-circuit at the last part. “Wh-wh-what?” he spluttered. “Did you just say a giant axe and a grenade launcher. What the hell?”

“Wow,” Rise whistled as Ren showed a picture of himself and Haru together and shared it with the Investigation Team. “Looking at her, those are NOT the kinds of weapons I’d expect someone like her to use as a Persona user.”

“Oh yeah,” Ren nodded. “She’s actually the scariest person on my entire team if you piss her off…and she’s kinda sadistic when she’s out killing shadows.”

Yukiko narrowed her eyes at Ren. “You enjoy that part, don’t you?” she asked.

Ren shrugged. “What can I say?” he asked with a smirk. “I like a girl who can kick my ass.”

“Wow,” Yu shook his head, looking genuinely and openly taken aback. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“Why don’t we just get back on topic?” Naoto asked, who clearly looked as though she had no idea what to think of Haru Okumura in light of these recent revelations and now just seemed 100% done with the conversation more than anything else.

“Yeah…I don’t think I want to think about Ren’s masochistic tendencies anymore,” Yosuke mumbled.

Ren shrugged. “Suit yourself. She really is a sweetheart to anybody who don’t piss her off, though. Anyway, we changed Okumura’s heart after fighting his Shadow, just like we did for everyone else.” His face darkened. “But what we didn’t know, and what we didn’t find out until much later, was that somebody had murdered his Shadow after we left. We didn’t realize this until the day that Okumura was supposed to confess. We were celebrating our victory at Destinyland on the same evening that Okumura had scheduled a press conference to confess his crimes and reveal the person behind the mental shutdowns…”

“…but he underwent one himself right at that moment,” Yu finished for him, looking openly disturbed. He had seen the broadcast of Okumura’s death, and it was easily one of the most horrifying things he had ever seen. Worse even than seeing Mayumi Yamano’s body hanging fom the telephone pole.

“I saw it too,” Yukiko sighed sadly. “His face contorted in horrible pain, black goo pouring out of his eyes…I hadn’t seen anything that disturbing since seeing people’s Shadows turn into monsters.”

“It was just as horrible for us too,” Ren shook his head at the memory of one of the Phantom Thieves’ few failures. “We’d repeated the same steps that we’d done for the last few changes of hearts, and we couldn’t figure out why this particular change of heart ended so badly. It didn’t help that our public reputation plummeted down to the shithole as the public all believed that we had been the ones to kill Okumura, turning us from famed heroes to hated pariahs in a manner of days. What was even worse was that, despite Okumura’s Shadow promising to release Haru from her marriage contract to her asshole fiancé, he never had the time to do it before dying to his mental shutdown.” He scowled. “It wasn’t until the later that the two of us working by ourselves learned that said contract was completely fake to begin with.”

“Ugh, what a creep,” Kanji grumbled. “I wish I could find his Shadow so I could smack him in the face with a chair!”

“I’m with you there, Kanji,” Rise scowled. “Good thing you were there to stop all that from happening, Ren.” Her scowl morphed into an approving smile. “She’s lucky to have a boyfriend like you.”

Ren chuckled. “Heh…thanks, Rise, but I’m just as lucky to have her as a girlfriend too,” he replied gratefully.

“You know, I never really got why people suddenly hated you guys,” Chie remarked, drawing their attention back to the main topic at hand. “Like…yeah, the Phantom Thieves might’ve messed up one time and accidentally killed someone. Did the public just not give a crap that you’d changed all those other hearts and made lives better for other people before that? I mean, yeah, your rep might’ve fallen after that, but all the way down to the bottom? Seriously, what the heck?”

“You hit the nail on the head more than you realize, Chie,” Ren commented with a dry smile, “but I’ll get to that in a bit. After Okumura’s death, we had to lay low for a while and not draw attention to ourselves. With the public hating us and the police hunting for our heads, we’d pretty much be dead for sure if we were caught. That didn’t stop us from doing a few minor changes of heart in Mementos, but we had to keep a low profile for the next few months. It was then that we discovered that the Medjed who threatened to throw society into case and the votes for Kunikazu Okumura’s change of heart were completely fake.”

Yu’s face darkened as he came to the same conclusion Ren and his friends had made all those months ago. “Meaning that someone had set you up to succeed…only to set you up for a harder fall down the line with Okumura’s death.”

“The same person who was behind the mental shutdowns,” Ren agreed. “We couldn’t give up, not after everything we’d been through, but things were looking bleak for us. It didn’t help that the Second Detective Prince, Goro Akechi, decided to approach us and blackmail us into helping him carry out a change of heart.”

“Goro Akechi…” Naoto frowned as she recalled the name of the Second Detective Prince who had often showed up many times on TV. Every time he had made an appearance, Akechi had been polite, well-spoken, charismatic. The picture-perfect young detective…almost too perfect.

There had been something that had always bothered her about Akechi, and it wasn’t just the fact that the public had acclaimed him as her successor to the title of Detective Prince. Something about him had always seemed…off. Fake. As though he were hiding something that lurked underneath a false veneer, though Naoto could never truly figure out exactly what it was.

“Akechi approached us and revealed that he was a Persona user,” Ren explained, “and he had revealed to us that he knew who was causing the mental shutdowns. An evil Persona user in the Metaverse known as the Black Mask who was killing people in the cognitive world and causing the mental shutdowns, who he only barely escaped from with his life. But what he actually wanted us for was to change the heart of a prosecutor who was planning on falsifying evidence to wrongfully convict someone of being the Phantom Thieves.”

Everyone gasped. “That’s horrible…” Yukiko murmured. “They’d actually throw an innocent person under the bus just so that they could claim they’d caught the Phantom Thieves?”

“That’s just so wrong on every single level!” Chie exclaimed, the very idea offending her sensibilities as a police officer.

“How could they even live with themselves, doing something that horrible?” Rise demanded.

Ren sighed. “They’d gotten so distorted that they actually formed their own Palace. Akechi essentially blackmailed us by saying that he wouldn’t reveal our identities to the police as long as we helped him change their heart, but knowing what we did, we would’ve likely changed their heart anyway even if he hadn’t.”

Yu frowned slightly. He had noticed that, unlike all the other Palace Ruler, Ren hadn’t mentioned the name or even the gender of the prosecutor who’s heart he and the other Phantom Thieves had changed. Ren had had no qualms whatsoever about dropping the names of the other Palace Rulers like Kamoshida, and he’d even been willing to give up Okumura’s name after getting his girlfriend’s permission (although granted, it would’ve been very difficult for Ren to tell that part of his story if he’d had to go through a whole bunch of loops to try and hide his identity). But the fact that Ren was going through the same lengths to hide this random prosecutor’s name like the other Phantom Thieves suggested that either they became an ally later on, they were related to one of the Phantom Thieves in some way, or both.

Still, he wasn’t going to pry for answers. He knew Ren well enough that if he wasn’t volunteering information of his own volition, it was unlikely that he was going to at all. “Did you manage to change their heart?” he asked instead.

“We did, and even better, we managed to do it by convincing their Shadow to do the right thing by themselves rather than forcing them into it by stealing their heart,” Ren affirmed. His face twisted into a frown. “Unfortunately, right when we had managed to pull off the change of heart, we were suddenly ambushed by the police.”

“Wait, WHAT?” Chie spluttered. “Police? Like…real-life Police?”

“Yeah,” Ren nodded grimly. “Somebody, most likely the person behind the mental shutdowns, had set up an ambush for us in the Palace by bringing the Police into the Metaverse. It was almost certainly the same person who was behind the mental shutdowns, and I let myself get captured so that everyone else had time to escape.”

“If whoever arranged the mental shutdowns could command the entire police force, or even just had significant influence over them to pull off something like this, then they’re almost certainly a powerful government entity of some kind,” Naoto mused.

“Oh, for crying out loud!” Kanji suddenly complained with an irritated tone. “Can we stop beating around the bush already? It was clearly that fucking Shido asshole! He literally confessed to it on national television!”

Yukiko sighed. “I remember seeing that too, but I wanted to give Ren the chance to address it in his story to see if there was something else going on.”

Ren chuckled. “Nah,” he replied with a shrug, “you guys are right, it was Masayoshi Shido the whole time. I was just holding back on saying his name for the purposes of storytelling.” The smile faded away. “But you’re right, Kanji. This is around the time when we realized that Shido was the jackass responsible for the mental shutdowns. He was a power-hungry maniac who committed every single one of the seven deadly sins and was dangerously close to seizing total power over Japan. He didn’t give a single shit about anyone except himself, and used the mental shutdowns as just another way for him to get absolute power.”

“Why do I feel like this guy is somehow a bigger asshole than both Kamoshida AND Adachi combined?” Chie asked with a groan.

“Because he was,” Ren answered simply with a grimace. “He was the guy who got me falsely accused and arrested, for starters.”

“Son of a bitch!” Kanji snarled furiously. “So that bald fucker was behind everything to begin with!”

Naoto’s eyes glistened with cold fury. “I see we have another person to add on our list of people to visit later on down the road,” she growled.

“Don’t forget to invite me, I want to join you guys in kicking his ass!” Rise insisted.

Ren raised a hand to calm them down. “Don’t worry about that. We got our own justice on Masayoshi Shido,” he smiled coldly, “and he’s suffering far more than he ever would have from us simply beating him up the old-fashioned way.”

“Good for you, Ren!” Teddie cheered.

Yu wasn’t quite as enthusiastic after seeing the menacing look on Ren’s face. It seemed that, for all the growth that Ren had experienced through his Wild Card’s Journey, it had also unleashed part of his inner darkness as well to some degree as well. Though he certainly didn’t believe Ren was in danger of becoming evil, he had no choice but to accept that the childlike innocence that Ren had used to display when he had first them was well and truly gone. He decided to change the topic, as he didn’t want to dwell on those dark thoughts for too long. “You said before that you got arrested by the Police in the Metaverse so that you could buy time for your friends to escape. Clearly, you managed to escape by yourself, otherwise you wouldn’t be sitting here in front of us. How did you manage to pull that off?”

“Well, we never really trusted Akechi to begin with,” Ren explained with a smirk, “and it turns out, we were right not to. There was something wrong about him and his statements, and it didn’t take long for us to realize that he was lying to us. The first lie we picked up on was that Akechi claimed that he had only recently started using the Metaverse, but he was able to hear Morgana speak all the way back in July. Only people who can enter the Metaverse can listen to Morgana speak, so we knew he was lying about that.”

“And if he was lying about that, then there’s no shortage of other lies he could be feeding you,” Naoto realized.

“It only takes one mistake for a liar’s entire web of lies to be shredded apart,” Yu commented sagely. “Adachi made a similar mistake by sending me a warning letter, which ended up unraveling his entire deception.”

“Good on you guys for picking up on that so quickly!” Rise praised.

“Thanks, Rise,” Ren replied, before suddenly snickering. “Akechi screwed up over Morgana talking about freaking pancakes of all things, if you can believe it. And we used that to our advantage. We purposefully never stole the prosecutor’s Treasure, which was actually the Courtroom in the real world, so we could use their Palace to outmaneuver Akechi. There was a certain interrogation room that looked exactly the same both in the real world and in the Metaverse, so we could trick Akechi into going into the Metaverse where a cognitive double of myself would be waiting for him.”

Chie frowned. “Wait a minute…what exactly was Akechi going to do to you in that room?” she asked with a worried tone.

“He was going to assassinate me and make it look like I had committed suicide,” Ren explained.

“Oh, shit…” Yosuke gasped. “I remember seeing an announcement back in November that the leader of the Phantom Thieves had committed suicide. That was you the whole time?”

“Yes and no,” Ren clarified. “Akechi was supposed to kill me, but thanks to our plan, he only killed the fake cognitive version of me. The real me was safe and sound…but I had to convince the prosecutor that I was telling them the truth, and get them on my side. They were actually the very same prosecutor whose Palace we were using, and if I hadn’t managed to convince them, I very likely would’ve been killed in real life.”

Rise walked over and hugged her younger brother figure. “Thank God you managed to get away from all that safely,” she murmured.

“It was a close thing, but we pulled it off,” Ren reassured her as he returned the hug.

Yu smiled as he watched his girlfriend and younger brother figure embrace, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Throughout Ren’s story, his instincts had periodically triggered whenever he sensed that Ren was hiding something from him. This wasn’t inherently problematic in and of itself; after all, Yu hadn’t told Ren about how he had very nearly murdered Namatame in a fit of rage, and he was never going to disrespect Ren’s privacy by asking intrusive questions after Ren had been courteous enough to respect his. But now, more than ever, Yu’s instincts were shouting at him that Ren was hiding something about this particular event. And it was taking all of his self-control not to press for more answers on what exactly had happened in the interrogation room that Ren had mentioned.

“Shido and his government stooges bought it,” Ren continued with a smirk. “For the end of November and a good chunk of December, the world thought the leader of the Phantom Thieves was dead, and Ren Amamiya the transfer student had left town to go back home for a bit. Nobody knew that I was still there, biding my time and waiting for the right time to strike. Once we figured out the keywords for Shido’s Palace, we got started on infiltrating it right away.” He grimaced. “Every day we delayed that infiltration was a day that Shido got closer to gaining absolute power over Japan, and there was no way in Hell we were going to let that happen.”

“No way,” Yosuke shook his head. “Japan would be completely and utterly screwed if Shido got into power.”

“People were really putting all their eggs in Shido’s basket,” Rise commented as she recalled the waves of support the public had been giving him with a frown. “It was almost cultlike, the way they thought of him as this savior figure who couldn’t do anything wrong. It kinda freaked me out.”

“You’re not the only one,” Yu agreed as he stroked his chin in thought. “It’s honestly disturbing to think about how willing, no, how eager the public fell for his empty platitudes and scrambled to vote for such a monster. All of it just felt wrong somehow, in more ways than one.”

“There’s a good reason for that, and I’ll get to it in a second,” Ren promised. “We infiltrated Shido’s Palace, and it was honestly one of the most disgusting ones I’ve ever seen.” He scowled. “It took the form of a luxury cruise ship sailing over the rest of Tokyo, which was completely drowned in the ocean. It pretty much confirmed that Shido never gave a shit about bringing the country to greatness, only rising himself and those few he considers worthy above the masses.”

“He really is an arrogant piece of shit, isn’t he?” Yosuke asked rhetorically.

“That sounds so beary terrible!” Teddie mumbled. “How can someone be so evil?”

“At least Adachi was honest about being evil once we exposed him,” Yukiko muttered. “I can’t believe I’m finding people who I like even less than the guy who tried to kill me.”

“Shido’s Palace was a major pain in the ass to navigate,” Ren admitted. “This was a guy who’d stolen cognitive research and abused it not just to cause the mental shutdowns but also to fortify his own Palace. The big obstacle that we needed to deal with was getting five letters of introduction from cognitions that represent high-ranking members of Shido’s party. Each of these cognitions had been altered so that they could transform into monsters just like Shadows could, although we beat them all without any major issues. We were just about to head back to the heart of Shido’s Palace right after we had gotten the fifth and final letter…when Akechi showed up to fight us.”

“Oh, no…” Chie groaned. “I don’t like where this is going.”

“Akechi had figured out that I had survived, and wanted to confront us one final time before we could get to Shido,” Ren explained with a grimace. “During our fight, he revealed that he had the power to turn Shadows berserk, causing an effect similar to the psychotic breakdowns that had been in the news.”

Rise’s eyes widened. “Wait, are you saying…?”

Ren nodded. “Yeah. Akechi was the Black Mask the whole time. He had two different Personas and two different costumes, with the Detective Prince being the first one we had seen when he had pretended to join us and the Black Mask being the second. He transformed into the Black Mask and attacked us with a different, more powerful Persona. He was definitely a lot more powerful and dangerous than what we had expected, but we ultimately managed to beat him down.”

“So he’s basically another Adachi,” Yosuke grumbled.

Ren shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a fair way to describe him,” he disagreed. “Akechi and Adachi might be similar in some ways, but they were a lot different in others too. Akechi told us a lot about his past, both in my personal hangouts with him and when we confronted him in Shido’s Palace. Shido was his father, and the jackass abandoned his mother shortly after she gave birth to him out of wedlock. The stigma was so bad that his mother eventually committed suicide, and Akechi himself had to deal with that stigma for all of his life. He was thrown from abusive foster home to abusive foster home, and he had absolutely nobody he could all a friend or depend on for his entire life.”

Yukiko gasped. “That’s horrible…” she murmured sympathetically.

“Our society has an absolutely atrocious track record for taking care of illegitimate children,” Naoto commented with a scowl. “I dread to think about what kind of childhood Goro Akechi had if that’s the case.”

“You have no idea,” Ren commented with a bitter, humorless chuckle. “He became filled with rage and hatred, both against the society that had treated him like trash, and against his father for destroying his mother’s life and leaving him with the scraps. I don’t know how long he took or how he did it, but he eventually found out that Masayoshi Shido was his father.”

“I can’t condone Akechi’s actions, but I can certainly understand how he could have been filled with rage and hatred given the life that he lived,” Yu acknowledged.

“More than anything, Akechi wanted revenge against Shido. But he couldn’t do anything about him since Shido was already a powerful politician…up until he discovered he could enter the cognitive world,” Ren continued telling Akechi’s tale. “Akechi came up with a plan where he would ingratiate himself to Shido, offering him his services as a killer in the Metaverse without revealing that he was his son. He would help Shido rise to power, and then right when Shido was about to become the absolute ruler of Japan, Akechi planned to tear it all away from him at the last possible moment. He was going to expose both his and Shido’s crimes to the public right when he was about to be elected, hoping to destroy the reputation and livelihood of the man who had ruined his and his mother’s lives.”

“That…that doesn’t make any sense at all!” Teddie exclaimed.

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Teddie here, but he’s right,” Yosuke agreed, shaking his head in disbelief. “That plan sounds really stupid.”

“Couldn’t Akechi have just murdered Shido in the Metaverse once he got his powers?” Yukiko remarked with a frown. “Or he could have helped you change Shido’s heart. Both of those would have helped him get the revenge on the man like he always wanted, and probably would’ve been a lot less convoluted.”

“He probably could have,” Ren agreed, “but he was blinded by his hatred and desire for revenge against his father. And I think part of it was pride, pride that he didn’t want to admit that he was second-best and had murdered a bunch of innocent people all for nothing, caused him to attack us anyway in a last-ditch desperation attempt.”

“Which obviously failed,” Yu concluded.

“Yeah,” Ren sighed. “Akechi was always doomed to fail. And not just because we managed to beat him down. Akechi was always doomed to fail because Shido knew who he was the whole time. A cognitive version of Akechi showed up soon after we beat him, revealing that Shido had always known who Akechi was and had plans to get rid of him the moment after he won election. In that moment, Akechi realized that everything he had done, his entire plot for revenge had been doomed from the very beginning. And he decided to sacrifice his life to keep us safe from the cognitive version of himself and the Shadows that he had summoned. He gave us one last request to change Shido’s heart for him, and I was going to do everything in my power to fulfill that promise.”

“So Shido was always going to murder off his own son?” Kanji growled. “Holy shit, just when I think the guy can’t sink any lower…”

“He might be a mass murderer and I cannot condone his actions in any sense, but I can certainly understand with and sympathize with his motives far more than I did with Adachi’s,” Naoto acknowledged with a grimace.

Rise tried to look on the bright side. “Well…at least he tried to do the right thing, right? At the very end. That’s better than nothing, right?”

“Believe it or not, Akechi’s story doesn’t end there,” Ren remarked, drawing glances of surprise from his friends. “But that’s something I’ll talk about a little later. All I’ll say for now is that Akechi might have killed far more people than Adachi ever did, but his reasons for becoming a murderer were a lot more understandable, even if they weren’t justifiable.”

“That’s a fair assessment,” Yu acknowledged. “I certainly have more sympathy for him than I’ll ever have for Masayoshi Shido, that’s for sure.”

“What happened to Shido? PLEASE tell me you kicked his Shadow’s ass!” Chie pleaded.

“Oh, we did,” Ren reassured her with a smirk. “We absolutely did. He put up a harder fight than any other Shadow Self before him, but you have no idea how satisfying it was for us to finally kick his sorry ass and leave him a pathetic, blubbering wreck of his former self. Even then, Shido tried to stop his change of heart by temporarily killing himself, hoping to collapse his own Palace and kill us inside it…but we all got out in time, and the change of heart happened anyway.”

“So he’s a coward too, on top of everything else,” Yosuke grumbled.

“The change of heart clearly worked,” Naoto pointed out. “On his victory speech for his election, Shido broke down crying in regret for his many crimes. He confessed his crimes on air, including being the one behind the mental shutdowns.”

“That should have been the end of it, but it wasn’t,” Ren growled, his face darkening once again. “Shido’s support should’ve plummeted with the public after his confession, but he didn’t. In fact, society started being positively bizarre in how it was behaving. Not only did they start frantically worrying about who would rule the country without Shido in power, with his support somehow staying strong and even rising despite us changing his heart, but the people of Tokyo also started behaving as though the Phantom Thieves just straight up didn’t exist. It wasn’t just weird, it was unnatural.”

Unsurprisingly, Yu was the one who figured it out first. “Almost as though the perception of the public was distorted,” he realized. “Distorted just like the hearts of the Palace Rulers had been distorted.”

“Exactly,” Ren agreed without hesitation. “Remember when I was talking about Mementos? It wasn’t something we really thought about back when we first started changing hearts, but Mementos nothing less than the Palace of the public itself.”

Now the others were starting to get it. “So if Mementos is a Palace…” Rise realized, “then that means that it should have a Treasure too. A Treasure that could be stolen…and also return the public to normal!”

“And hopefully help the people of Tokyo get their heads out of their asses,” Yosuke added, clearly disgusted with the idea of them still supporting Shido even after he had confessed his crimes, “cause there’s no way people who think clearly would ever let an asshole like him stay in power.”

“It was the best shot we had, and honestly we didn’t have any choice,” Ren admitted. “With the public still supporting Shido, his conspirators still had power despite his change of heart, and would be sending the police after us soon. Going into the depths of Mementos was our only option.”

Yu frowned. It sounded like stealing the Treasure and changing the heart of an individual Palace Ruler was already quite the challenge. But to steal the heart of the entire public of Tokyo? “I’m guessing,” he posited grimly, “that this was harder than anything you’d done up until this point.”

Ren let out a humorless laugh. “You have no idea, Yu. We didn’t know what we were going to find in the Depths of Mementos, but it was nothing like anything we had seen before.”

The laughter stopped, and Yu had to force himself not to flinch at what he had just seen. It didn’t look like any of his friends had noticed it, and if he was honest with himself even he wasn’t sure if that had actually been there. But for the briefest moments, Yu could have sworn that Ren’s eyes had flashed with something that he had never seen on his young friend’s face before.

A flash of pure, unadulterated hatred.

“You wanted to know about the cognitive gods who threatened the TV World?” Ren asked with a bitter smile. “You’re about to learn about one of them.”

Chapter Text

The Investigation Team all straightened up in their seats, knowing that the climax of Ren’s journey was about to be revealed. “From what I remember Marie telling me, the first cognitive god was the truly evil one, correct?” Yu asked for the purposes of clarification.

Ren nodded as his face twisted into a scowl. “Yeah. He was a cognitive deity born from the masses of Tokyo, born out the people’s desire for social order.” The scowl turned into a sneer that marred Ren’s normally handsome face. “They valued their sense of societal normalcy so much that they willingly turned a blind eye to every single atrocity committed by monsters like Kamoshida and Shido. Instead of trying to change society and improve it, they were either too scared to go against social norms that allowed or encouraged corruption, or straight-up didn’t give a shit about trying to change the incompetence and injustice plaguing society. They valued their idea of social order so much they created a cognitive god out of that distorted desire and literally gave up their free will to that god to make all their decisions for them. A god that very nearly enslaved all of humanity.” The leader of the Phantom Thieves let out a bitter, humorless laugh. “Masayoshi Shido was a monstrous, inhuman piece of shit who represented everything wrong with humanity, but he was right about one thing. The masses of Tokyo really were useless and ignorant, and they would’ve happily walked right into their destruction or enslavement if we hadn’t been there to save the day.”

His older friends all visibly flinched at the sarcastic, contemptuous tone in Ren’s voice. Naoto in particularly looked very troubled, since Ren’s speech had essentially confirmed her suspicion that not all the changes brought about by his journey had been positive ones. Ren himself seemed to realize just how disturbed his friends looked, because his voice softened with his next few words. “Sorry, guys…” he apologized. “I just needed a few seconds to rant about all the shit that happened.”

Rise tried to give him an encouraging grin, but for once the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “It’s okay, Ren,” she reassured him. “We all need to vent every once in a while. It’s healthy!”

“Yeah, I have those moments too,” Kanji agreed, before frowning. “But geez man, what made you think that the public of Tokyo is full of brainless dumbasses?”

“Mementos,” Ren answered without hesitation. “Or more specifically, the Depths of Mementos. What we found at the bottom, once all of the doors blocking our path were finally opened.”

Morgana shuddered. “I still have nightmares about that place,” he muttered. “Probably the closest thing that exists in the Metaverse to Hell.”

“…Why do I have a feeling you’re about to describe something out of a horror story?” Chie asked nervously.

“Ooh, a horror story?” Yukiko chimed in excitedly. “I want to hear more!”

Ren chuckled. With how distinct their personalities were, one would think that Chie would have been the horror movie lover while Yukiko would have been the afraid of them, and yet the reality was the complete opposite. The irony was still funny even after years of knowing them…and Chie in particular reminded him of Makoto in that moment.

With the topic at hand, though, the humor didn’t last for long. “The Depths of Mementos is a strong contender for the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Ren declared, his tone dark and haunted with memory. “Imagine a vast abyss that seems to go on forever, surrounded by walls of ugly gray stone. Imagine those walls showing giant jail cell windows with glowing red light behind them, all above a bottomless pit glowing with a blood red light that looks like it leads straight into the depths of Hell. Now imagine the most fucked-up tree imaginable with its branches made of twisted and gnarled veins that branch into the jail cells, sucking the life out of every person trapped in them.”

“Oh no…” Chie whimpered, “I didn’t expect this to ACTUALLY turn into a horror story!”

Rise wasn’t scared, but she did look disturbed. “What the hell?” she mumbled. “This isn’t anything like our final dungeon in the TV World. Ours was just cloudy and kinda simple, almost peaceful if you ignore the Shadows and Izanami.”

“I wish ours was boring,” Ren replied snarkily. “But what I just described wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part was that the Shadows of almost everyone in Tokyo was trapped in Mementos by the cognitive god.”

“Wait, WHAT?” Everyone exclaimed. “You’re telling me almost the ENTIRETY of Tokyo was enslaved to the cognitive god?” Yosuke demanded, fury mixed with disbelief and horror.

Now even Yukiko frowned, no longer able to enjoy the horror story aspects in light of the terrifying implications. “That sounds even worse than what Izanami did with the fog,” she murmured, “especially if the cognitive god was actively evil.”

“What was really terrible about the Shadows in the prison was that they actively wanted to be there,” Ren explained darkly. “They were practically gathering right outside the entrance of the prison, begging to be let in so that they could trap themselves for all eternity and wouldn’t have to think for themselves anymore. While we were exploring the depths of that pit, we saw several people’s Shadows in isolated cells, with the branches of that messed-up tree draining the life force out of them. And they didn’t give a shit at all. Instead, they were telling us that we should just give up and join them, since we wouldn’t have to think for ourselves anymore and we could be happy being as brainless as they were.”

“This sounds so scary!” Teddie whimpered.

“For once I don’t blame you, bear,” Kanji agreed with a scowl. “This sounds all sorts of fucked up.”

“We even found some of the Shadows whose hearts we had changed,” Ren admitted with a sigh. “Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro, Shido…it turned out that when we stole their hearts and distorted desires, doing it threw their Shadows straight back into the depths of Mementos, where they could join up with the rest of the masses as apathetic, uncaring prisoners. To be clear, I DON’T regret stealing their hearts, it was the only way to stop them and their evil. But even though we might have stopped the Palace Rulers themselves, doing so did nothing to stop or even inconvenience the evil cognitive god that was waiting for us in the Depths of Mementos.”

“It almost sounds like the Palace Rulers were the most human of the Shadows you faced,” Yu remarked with a frown. “Human in the worst possible way, of course…but still more human than the faceless masses you saw in the Depths of Mementos, freely throwing away their free will in the name of social order.”

“I don’t think anybody could argue at this point that whoever this cognitive god was, he was definitely more malevolent than Izanami,” Naoto acknowledged. “What did you find down in the lowest part of the Depths, Ren?”

“A huge prison tower,” Ren answered grimly. "One filled with cells just like the ones I described earlier, all surrounding a single platform. And in the tower itself was a huge mechanical metal Grail, which was the source of all the branches and veins draining the Prisoners of their life force and emotions.” Ren made a face of pure disgust. “The Prisoners called it the Holy Grail, but it was the most unholy thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. And let me tell you, I’ve seen some really fucked up shit in some of the Palaces.”

“I’m guessing that Grail was the Treasure of Mementos, right?” Yosuke asked. “And it was also the cognitive god that you had to fight?”

“Huh, you figured that out pretty quickly, Yosuke,” Ren remarked, before confirming. “Yeah, that Grail was both the Treasure and the cognitive god, though we didn’t realize it at the time. We tried to fight it when we got there, but we weren’t able to beat it the first time.” He sighed. “Because the people worshipped and supported the Grail with their desire for social order and their willingness to give up their own free will, the Grail was able to use that to drain the Prisoners and heal itself. There was just no way that we could meaningfully damage the Grail, even with all of our strength, when it could just heal back all that damage and make it as though we had done nothing to begin with.”

“…you lost, didn’t you?” Rise asked quietly.

“We lost,” Ren admitted. “We didn’t have a game plan or any real strategy yet, so we lost. The Holy Grail teleported us out of the prison and back onto Shibuya, where it was about to unleash the final stages of its plan. It had gotten powerful enough to the point that it could merge reality and Mementos together. The skies turned red, it started to rain blood, and several bony structures that looked like giant spines and ribs that we had seen in Mementos started bursting out of the ground and covering the buildings. Most of the people of Tokyo who had given themselves over to the false god’s control didn’t even realize what was going on, that’s how far gone they were. The only people who realized just how fucked up the world was becoming were my Confidants, who were able to see through everything.”

“I…actually remember something like that happening,” Yu acknowledged. “Back towards the end of December, which I presume is when you fought the false god.”

Everyone, including Ren and Morgana, turned to him in shock. “Wait, REALLY?” Rise exclaimed. “You actually saw this going on?’

“The hell? Why didn’t you tell us about this?” Chie demanded.

“To be honest, I don’t have a clear memory of what happened back then,” Yu reluctantly admitted. “Just vague flashes of what happened. I do remember a blood red sky, bones covering buildings, people screaming…but that’s about it.” He frowned. “It really bothers me that I can’t properly remember any of this, even though I know I saw it. By the time I could start to properly process what was going on, the situation had more or less fixed itself, probably with Ren and his team killing the false god. So I didn’t see the point in alarming you guys over nothing.”

“I don’t blame you for that,” Ren reassured his older brother figure. “Things flew by really quickly that day.” The smile faded from his eyes. “We really did lose at first,” he admitted. “The cognitive god wanted to get rid of us, who he saw as the greatest threat to his plans. He merged reality and Mementos, and then eliminated the very idea of the PhantomThieves from the minds of the public. By deleting us from the public consciousness, he tried to delete us from existence in reality. And he almost succeeded.”

Yukiko gasped in horror. “Oh my God, Ren…you almost got deleted from existence?” she exclaimed.

“Damn, dude…” Kanji shook his head. “I wouldn’t want that to happen to anyone, not even Adachi. And I sure as hell wouldn’t want that to happen to you, kid.”

“Are you all right?” Rise asked worriedly. “You sound like you’ve been through a whole lot.”

Ren smiled back at her. “I’m fine, Rise,” he reassured her. “We weren’t gonna go down just yet. After I got quote-unquote deleted from existence, I found myself in the Velvet Room instead.”

Yu frowned. “Marie told me earlier that the Velvet Room had been straight-up taken over by the evil cognitive god threatening humanity. Which implies that he was the one who was overseeing you and how you developed your Personas, instead of Igor.”

“You’re right,” Ren confirmed with a grimace. “There was an Igor who was in the Velvet Room for most of the year, but he was a fake. He had taken over the Velvet Room before I ever arrived in Tokyo, imprisoning Igor in some kind of pocket dimension, and split my true Velvet Room attendant Lavenza into two separate attendants called Caroline and Justine, who didn’t have their full memories because they were two incomplete halves of the same person. Whenever I showed up at the Velvet Room, I was actually facing the false god the entire time, even though I didn’t realize it at first.” He scowled. “In hindsight, though, I realize that something was very wrong about the fake Igor long before he revealed who he was to me.”

“So all this time, you were in the presence of your enemy,” Naoto remarked, her eyes filled with concern. “An enemy who could monitor your progress the entire time, and stifle you from reaching your full potential.”

Whatever Naoto or the others was expecting, it wasn’t for Ren to suddenly burst out into laughter. Genuine amused laughter, not the bitter and humorless sounds that he had periodically made. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Ren apologized once his laughter subsided. “I’m just laughing because the false god did such a shitty-ass job at restricting my power that it’s not even funny. Yeah, he forced me to fuse my Personas, empower them, or turn them into items with torture devices, but it didn’t actually stop me from maximizing their power. Hell, if anything, it made powering up my Personas even easier! By the time I fought Shido, I had a level 80 Black Frost with every stat at 99, max power Ice Ages that could delete pretty much any enemy that wasn’t a boss or resistant to Ice, and immunities to 7 out of the 10 elements. And that wasn’t my only one either, I had like 5 Personas that were just as powerful! Not to mention that thanks to the false god giving me the ability to zap my Personas and turn them into items with the electric chair, I had high quality equipment and weapons for every single member of my team.” Ren snorted in contempt. “For someone who had complete control over the Velvet Room, the false god was so fucking incompetent at keeping my power as a Wild Card under control that it a complete fucking joke.”

“You were beary powerful when you fought that Shiho girl’s Shadow, that’s for sure!” Teddie commented.

“Who exactly was this cognitive god?” Yukiko wondered. “Our cognitive god was Izanami, who is named after a figure from Japanese mythology. Did your god have a name from a mythology too, or did he come up with a completely made-up name?”

“Ah, right, I should probably say who the false god is,” Ren acknowledged. “The name of the false god was Yaldabaoth.”

“I recognize that name,” Yu declared. “Yaldabaoth is the name of a malevolent fake god in Gnosticism. An evil pretender who believed himself to be the true supreme ruler of the universe and tries to rule over humanity by torturing them and enslaving their hearts and minds.”

“I don’t think you could’ve described Yaldabaoth any better than I could, Yu,” Ren agreed wholeheartedly. “He was hiding behind the disguise of a fake Igor, but once I freed myself from my jail cell in the Velvet Room and reunited Caroline and Justine into becoming Lavenza once again, he revealed who he truly was. Lavenza explained to me that Yaldabaoth had set up a rigged game between me and Akechi to decide humanity’s face. If Akechi won the game, then the world would be destroyed and rebuilt according to Yaldabaoth’s designs. But if I won the game, Yaldabaoth would leave the world and humanity alone. Obviously, it was all bullshit,” the leader of the Phantom Thieves spat in disgust, this time not even bothering to hide his hatred towards the false god who had tried to ruin his life. “Yaldabaoth didn’t give a shit about either the game or honoring his terms. He was always going to enslave humanity and try to rule over it regardless of whether Akechi or I won, it’s in his very nature. And I wasn’t going to take that shit lying down.”

“Damn right!” Yosuke agreed, looking just as furious as Ren was. “That bastard didn’t deserve to rule over a broken toenail, let alone all of humanity!”

“Yaldabaoth even tried to offer me a deal,” Ren revealed. “If I allowed him to control and rule over humanity, then he would return the world to normal. The people would be trapped in their desires and completely robbed of all free will, but me and the rest of the Phantom Thieves would be able to have all the fame and fortune that we could ever want, and I would be Yaldabaoth’s greatest enforcer and servant.” He sneered in contempt. “Obviously, I refused. The fucker had already proved time and time again that he was nothing but an enemy, and I wasn’t stupid enough to trust him after all the shit he put me through.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Naoto agreed, clearly furious at the idea of her younger brother figure being manipulated by a truly malevolent cognitive deity.

“I’d have told that fucker to shove his offer straight up his own ass!” Kanji declared.

The other members of the Investigation Team loudly vocalized their agreement, although Yu couldn’t help but think about Ren’s words. Even though he was proud of Ren for refusing the temptations of a false god, and Ren’s reasoning for rejecting the offer of the false god was completely valid…he couldn’t help but notice and be just a tad concerned by the fact that Ren had not stated that he rejected Yaldabaoth’s offer because it was the right thing to do, or to protect humanity.

Yu forced himself to clear his thoughts, as more than likely he was probably just overthinking things. The very fact that Ren chosen to fight the false god anyway indicated that he did genuinely want to fight on behalf of humanity, at least to some degree.

“I refused Yaldabaoth’s offer, and he disappeared to become the Holy Grail again,” Ren continued his tail, oblivious to Yu’s brief moment of inner turmoil. “After he disappeared, we were able to free Igor, and I was able to free my friends from the prison that the Velvet Room had become. We regained our will to rebel against the false god, and when we escaped the prison back into the real world we were able to do it this time without disappearing from reality. The false god had lifted his tower prison straight from the Depths of Mementos into Tokyo itself like a skyscraper, and we climbed the new dungeon that he had created all the way to the very top. Every so often, we came across a Shadow that took the form of one of the Archangels from Christianity, and every time we defeated an Archangel, the people down in Tokyo started to wake up and realize what was really happening and what kind of danger they were in.”

“Part of me kinda wishes I could’ve seen that,” Chie commented with a combination of curiosity and fear, “but the other part knows that it would’ve been as scary as hell, and I REALLY don’t like that at all.”

“I still remember how scared and confused I was when I visited a cognitive world for the first time,” Yukiko added as she shook her head sadly. “It must’ve been even worse for a regular person who doesn’t have any knowledge of the cognitive world whatsoever to suddenly find themselves in a terrifying hellscape with no way out.”

“That’s actually a good thing, though,” Ren countered. “Breaking the people out of their delusions and forcing them to face the reality of the situation meant that they were actually thinking of themselves for a change, and it meant weakening the false god’s power at least to a small degree. We climbed all the way back to the prison tower and faced off against the Holy Grail once again.” His face spread into a grin. “But this time, we had a plan.”

“What kind of plan?” Rise asked eagerly.

Ren smiled and turned to Morgana, petting him on the head with his hand. “What I didn’t mention before was that next to the Grail were two large metal hands. Morgana here climbed up one of those hands while the Grail was distracted fighting us, and he cut the veins that allowed the Grail to drain the essence and will of the masses. Without those veins, Yaldabaoth was vulnerable, and we were able to actually deal meaningful damage to him that actually stuck. We must’ve really gotten to him, because Yaldabaoth changed to his true form about halfway into the battle while we were fighting. He transformed into a gigantic, mechanical angel that towered over even the tallest buildings in Tokyo, with us fighting him from atop a single platform that was all that was left of the prison keep after the transformation. And that was when the final battle truly began,” Ren declared.

“What kind of attacks did Yaldabaoth throw at you, Ren?” Yu wondered. “Izanami also had 2 forms, although both of them looked humanoid and her final form was an evolution of her first form. She certainly didn’t undergo a transformation as extreme as what you’re describing, and in her final form she threw a whole bunch of dirty tricks at us, including a spell that could wipe out our health in one blow if we had any status conditions on us.”

“Yaldabaoth did a lot of the same thing, although his special attacks were based around the Seven Deadly Sins,” Ren replied. “Pride, Lust, Greed, that sort of thing. For example, Lust basically made filled one of my party members with lust and had a chance of making them useless for a turn, Envy made it so that whoever was affected by it would attack anyone who helped someone else, Vanity made it so that whoever was affected by it would be weak to every element for a single turn, things like that. He also had four arms that each held a different weapon, and these weapons had both different attacks and different elemental resistances. I didn’t take any chances for that fight. I brought all of my most powerful Personas, all of them at full power with not a single weakness and a fuckton of immunities. My friends and I fought him with everything we had, and we hit him with so much force and power that there was a moment when I honestly thought we were going to win right then and there…” the leader of the Phantom Thieves’ face darkened, “but then he unleashed his ultimate attack, the Rays of Control. He summoned a massive pillar of unholy Almighty energy that transformed into a massive explosion, knocking us down and wiping away almost all of our strength.”

“Oh, no!” Teddie exclaimed. “You guys lost again?”

“Obviously not, bear,” Kanji grumbled in annoyance to hide the fact that he was just as concerned as his friend, “otherwise Ren wouldn’t be standing here right now!”

“We didn’t, but I’ll admit that it was a close thing,” Ren acknowledged. “Yaldabaoth had knocked us down, and he was bragging some bullshit about how he was the true chosen lord of humanity. Morgana was the one who challenged him while we were recovering, refusing to accept that. He insisted that humanity was capable of making their own choices, and that we the Phantom Thieves shouldn’t give up no matter what.” He smiled over at Morgana, who smiled back. “Morgana is a creation of the Velvet Room, an embodiment of hope that was created by Igor as his final act before Yaldabaoth sealed him away. And in that last moment, he really lived up to that title.”

“Morgana’s an embodiment of hope?” Yosuke asked incredulously. “Wait, what? I thought he was just a talking cat that could use a Persona!”

“I am NOT a cat!” Morgana yowled, with Ren only sighing at the outburst.

“I think you’re gonna have to wait until everyone can understand you to be able to properly talk about that,” he advised. Morgana sulked but nodded, knowing that trying to explain who he was to most of the Investigation Team was fruitless when none of them could understand him.

“In all seriousness though, I really do think Morgana’s final speech and his refusal to give in to Yaldabaoth might’ve saved us all,” Ren acknowledged. “Because right after he made his speech, the public started to support us instead of the Yaldabaoth. I don’t know the exact details myself, but a few people started to cheer the Phantom Thieves on in our fight, and more and more people joined in over time. Eventually, the entire public started to cheer us on…weakening Yaldabaoth more and more, while giving us the strength to fight him at the same time.”

Yu smiled. “And that was what you needed to win, wasn’t it?” The words were phrased as a question, but everyone knew what the answer was.

“It was,” Ren confirmed. “I felt the support and power of the masses flow through me, just like I could feel Yaldabaoth getting weaker. And that was all I needed to break the chains keeping me and my Persona from reaching our full potential. With the power of the masses behind me, I was able to transform Arsene into his ultimate true form, Satanael.”

“Satanael?” Naoto repeated incredulously. “You mean the Gnostic version of the Devil?”

“That’s right,” Ren grinned. “I have to show you Satanael in the TV World sometime soon, I still have a limited but still extremely powerful version of Satanael active in my list of Personas. But for now, just imagine a demon lord with a golden mask and full military regalia, holding a massive gun in his right hand, with 6 black wings from his back, being just as big as Yaldabaoth and even more powerful. Even with every attempt he made to cheat, the game had swung back in my favor,” his eyes hardened with vicious satisfaction, “and I was going to end it once and for all. Satanael healed all of us just with his mere presence, and Yaldabaoth couldn’t do a single thing about it. Even when he tried to fire off a Rays of Control, it did absolutely nothing. He was doomed, and I took great satisfaction in raising Satanael’s gun and shooting a giant bullet made out of the Seven Deadly Sins straight through that fucker’s face.”

“Wait, WHAT?” Everyone exclaimed in disbelief.

“Unbelievable…” Yukiko breathed. “You actually shot a god in the face?”

“Wow!” Chie grinned. “That is so cool!”

“Our little Renren has become such a badass!” Rise cheered. “He’s really taking after Senpai in all the right ways!”

“Well done, Ren,” Yu declared, an approving smile on his face as he clapped his hands in applause. “Well done indeed.”

Ren smirked as he took in all the congratulations his friends were giving him. “Yaldabaoth’s face looked a lot better with a giant bullet hole in it, that’s for sure. After Satanael shot and destroyed him, Yaldabaoth died and transformed back into a smaller, purified golden grail that a human being could pick up. Morgana, as the embodiment of hope, was the one to pick up and claim the grail to make sure that the desires of humanity would be properly returned to them. This was the only way we could make sure people’s free will could be restored. After Morgana claimed the grail, Mementos and reality separated again, and everything returned to normal.” He smiled. “We knew we had won when people started claiming that there was no way Shido would ever be elected after all the crimes he had committed. Even better, the same prosecutor whose heart we changed earlier confirmed to us a few moments later that the case against Shido was going smoothly, compared to how it had stalled completely back when Yaldabaoth still had control over the masses. That was the final, great victory of the Phantom Thieves,” he sighed, “or at least, it should’ve been.”

“I’m guessing this is where the second cognitive deity came into play,” Yu surmised.

“Yeah, and the first time I noticed something was off was when Akechi seemingly came back to life out of nowhere,” Ren remarked.

“Akechi came back?” Yukiko asked, horrified. “Did he want revenge against you for beating him in Shido’s Palace?”

Ren shook his head. “Not at all. Quite the opposite, actually. Originally, the prosecutor needed me to turn myself in as the leader of the Phantom Thieves so I could testify against Shido and make sure he got the punishment that he deserved. But Akechi volunteered to take my place, so that he could testify against Shido instead and I could go free. He described it as paying back his debts, so I think he truly was grateful to us for successfully changing Shido’s heart and bringing him down. I didn’t think about it too much back then, but things kept getting weirder and weirder.”

“How weird?” Rise wondered. “Yosuke mentioned about seeing Saki Konishi alive again even though she was Adachi’s second murder victim.”

“Yeah, and I could’ve sworn I saw Nanako’s mom alive again at some point too,” Yosuke agreed. “But the memories are so fuzzy, I honestly question whether I saw them at all.”

“You probably didn’t simply imagine it,” Ren assured him. “When I woke up on January, I woke up to a world where many people lived in what they would consider their ideal reality. I won’t go into details for the sake of privacy, but Haru had her father back alive as a kindhearted and loving father, and Morgana had turned into a human. Two things that were fundamentally impossible, as far as I was aware.”

“This must’ve been the cognitive deity’s doing,” Naoto deduced.

“The funny thing is, it wasn’t actually a cognitive deity at all,” Ren declared, shocking everyone in the room, “at least not physically. You see, one of the confidants I had made while at Shujin Academy was a counselor named Dr. Maruki, who had a background of research in the cognitive world. He was one of the few adults I trusted at that godforsaken school, and we talked about a lot of different things. Dr. Maruki also found opportunities to talk to other Phantom Thieves about their greatest wishes and regrets, like how Haru wanted her father back from the dead as a kind man. He believed that he could use the cognitive world to grant what people desired most to them, but he didn’t have the capability to pull it off on a larger scale…until Yaldabaoth died.”

“I think I can guess what happened,” Yu pieced the picture together in his head. “When Yaldabaoth died, he probably released a lot of power like Izanami did. And that power…instead of ending up with humanity at large like you intended, probably fell into Maruki’s hands somehow. And judging by how you never talked about Maruki before now, it doesn’t sound like Maruki was actively involved in claiming that power for himself. If anything, it doesn’t sound like he knew about it in the first place.”

“That’s basically what happened,” Ren confirmed, once again impressed with his older brother figure’s investigative skills. “The power of the masses released by Yaldabaoth’s death ended up with Maruki, effectively making him the new god of the masses’ desires at least in functionality. Maruki believed that with the power of the cognitive world at his command, he could grant people their deepest desires and make them happy. In fact, he believed that he had the moral obligation to do so, and created a new reality with his powers where everyone could be happy. At least, that’s what it seemed like at first.”

“Am I the only one who’s getting Izanami vibes from all this?” Chie asked uncertainly. “I feel like all this is too good to be true.”

“And it was,” Ren agreed. “I want to start off by saying that out of all the Palace Rulers that we faced, Maruki was the only one besides Alibaba that I would genuinely consider good, or at least well-intentioned. He wasn’t a corrupt, inhuman piece of shit who ruined other people’s lives for his own gain like Kamoshida or Shido. He genuinely wanted to help other people, which by itself elevates him above most of Tokyo right then and there. And because of that genuine desire to help, the reality that he wanted to create really did seem like a perfect one at first glance.” Ren’s lips twisted into a frown. “But the more I thought about it, the more problems I found.”

“I can already imagine a few problems based on my own experiences with Izanami, but go ahead, Ren,” Yu requested. “I want to hear your reasoning too.”

“Well, the first and biggest problem I had with Maruki’s reality was that, even if Maruki himself didn’t intend it to be that way, he was ultimately stripping away free will from the people just like Yaldabaoth had done,” Ren explained. “In both cases, a ruling entity would steal away all the desires of humanity, creating a world where humans don’t need to worry about anything, because someone else is controlling every aspect of their lives now without them even knowing. Living in Maruki’s reality means that you’re rejecting pain, and rejecting a fundamental part of yourself. Pain sucks. I know it sucks, but that pain is what allowed me and my friends to grow, improve as people, and ultimately succeed in taking down Yaldabaoth and returning free will to humanity. Accepting Maruki’s reality means that all the struggles and accomplishments I achieved in my life would become completely meaningless, and the same would be true for everyone else in the world. It would mean all of humanity lost what makes it human. And that’s something I just couldn’t allow.”

“There’s a lot of people who’d disagree with you and want to live in Maruki’s reality,” Yosuke pointed out, “people who’ve lost people they loved or suffered some horrible tragedy. Not that I’m saying you should’ve taken that deal, mind you. But if I’m being honest with myself, the old me would’ve dropped everything, including his free will, to get Saki Konishi back to life and have her love him back.”

“I could easily imagine a world where the Dojimas would’ve fallen into that trap if it meant they could’ve had my aunt back from the dead,” Yu agreed with a frown. “The idea of giving up all free will to live a lie is absolutely horrible to me now, of course, but I can understand why others would willingly make that bargain.”

“I can see some logical problems with Maruki’s reality as well,” Naoto interjected. When everyone’s eyes had turned to her, she continued. “There are cases where two people’s ideal realities are fundamentally incompatible with one another. Take, for example, an idol singer with several adoring fans. I’m sure that several of those fans have a deep desire to have the idol singer as a girlfriend. But there’s only one of them, and several of the fans. How would Maruki’s reality even come into effect in this kind of situation? Would only one person be able to have the idol singer as a girlfriend while everyone else is unable to have their desires filled? Or would the idol singer end up in a polyamorous relationship, something that she might not even want unless her character is fundamentally changed to accept the arrangement. Which would itself be a fundamental violation of her free will.”

“This all sounds a little too real,” Rise muttered, knowing that she could have ended up in that kind of situation in Maruki’s reality if she had been unlucky. And she knew with absolute certainty that she wouldn’t want to be in a relationship with anyone other than her beloved Yu Narukami.

“That’s not even the worst case scenario,” Yu added grimly. “Imagine someone whose deepest desire was to hurt other people, either cause they’re a sadistic bastard or because they’re selfish and want something like power or money to themselves. In this case, fulfilling their desire would actively mean the complete destruction of someone else’s happiness just by its very nature. Either you’d have to brainwash the victim into thinking they were happy about being exploited or abused, or you’d have to refuse to grant the desire of the evil person in question. And while the second option would obviously be preferable and simple enough for obvious cases, in situations where two people have a conflict that is very gray in nature with no inherent moral superiority on one side or the other, you’d have to arbitrarily decide who gets their desire satisfied. I get the impression that Maruki didn’t really think about all this when he imposed his reality on Japan.”

“And there were other reasons why I refused Maruki in the end, namely the two teammates who joined up with the Phantom Thieves,” Ren interjected. “I won’t go into detail about one of them out of respect for their privacy…but the other was Akechi. Akechi found himself in a world where the many crimes he committed, years of psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns as a pawn for Shido, were simply erased and he got off scot-free because of it. And he hated it. He hated it more than anything else, because Maruki’s reality stripped him of the responsibility and consequences of his actions. Akechi made it very clear that he would rather face punishment and death for his crimes rather than give up free will and live as a slave under Maruki’s reality. If I accepted Maruki’s reality, it would mean that I would be forcing Akechi to live as a puppet under Maruki’s terms without his consent, which for him would mean that I would be forcing Akechi into a fate worse than death. It wasn’t the biggest reason why I rejected Maruki’s reality, but it was certainly a major one.”

“He kind of reminds me of Adachi in that case,” Yu commented, “and this time in a good way. Both of them had the chance to be scot-free from their crimes, but they refused and accepted the punishments they were given for their sins.”

Ren gave Yu an odd look. “You didn’t mention something like that happening to Adachi,” he pointed out in confusion.

Yu waved his hand. “It was a different adventure after we beat Izanami, not really relevant to our current conversation,” he brushed aside the comment.

“Akechi might’ve been pretending to be our teammate back when he joined us the first time,” Ren commented, “but when he joined us in invading Maruki’s Palace he was a genuine ally dedicated to restoring the true reality just like we were, with no knife waiting for us in the back and no strings attached. He didn’t pretend to hide who he truly was, fighting Maruki’s Shadows like a savage beast in his Black Mask Outfit and not even bothering to hide his bloodlust and ruthlessness. And even though many of my friends might’ve disliked or even hated him, all of us unanimously agreed that we like Akechi far more as the Black Mask than as the Second Detective Prince. Because for all his flaws, Akechi in January was someone who was genuinely dedicated to truth and making sure that Maruki couldn’t strip away his humanity and the weight of his sins by forcing a world where his flaws and crimes vanished like they never existed. And honestly? I respected the hell out of him for his commitment to the truth in that month.”

“I’m still horrified by the idea that my successor Detective Prince turned out to be a mass murder and criminal, but I can at least respect his willingness to take responsibility for his actions,” Naoto acknowledged.

“Yeah, I can call that guy a lot of shitty things, but coward isn’t one of them,” Kanji agreed with his girlfriend.

“It must not have been easy to refuse the ideal reality that Maruki was offering,” Yukiko murmured sympathetically, “I can tell that you were thinking about accepting, and I can definitely understand why.”

“I was tempted,” Ren admitted freely, “unlike with Yaldabaoth’s deal. Seeing the other Phantom Thieves living out what seemed like their ideal, happy lifestyles…it honestly did make me wonder if accepting Maruki’s reality would be the best thing for everyone. But the more I thought about it, the more I realize that I couldn’t. The spirit of rebellion in me wouldn’t allow it…just because Maruki wasn’t a fundamentally evil person, doesn’t mean that what he was doing wasn’t wrong.” He smiled. “Luckily, right when we were about to face off against Maruki the first time, my friends broke out of his reality and joined me in that battle when I needed them the most. Maruki broke off the fight himself, saying that he’d give us until the beginning of February to make a decision on whether or not to accept his reality.”

“And you fought Maruki,” Chie concluded.

“We fought Maruki,” Ren confirmed, “after we found his Treasure. His Palace was actually more convoluted than most of the others. We actually had to visit Mementos again, which Maruki had taken over, to open up part of the Palace that was blocking us from making our way to the treasure. Maruki’s Palace was a laboratory that represented what the doctor was doing in the real world. He was “processing” cognitions of people and changing them to fit what he defined as happiness, and some of the stuff we saw was almost mad science-y in how it looked. Along the way, we found small rooms with video tapes that showed Maruki’s past, how he developed his powers, and how he came to believe that stopping people from suffering was the absolute right thing to do. I can understand and sympathize with how he developed that mindset, even if I can’t agree with it. The final part of the Palace was a garden where people were flying up to what Maruki interpreted as Heaven,” he suddenly scowled, “and it also had the most annoying, pain-in-the-ass puzzle I’ve ever had to face in my entire history as a Phantom Thief. Like, holy shit, it makes me want to kill a whole bunch of Shadows in the TV World Akechi-style just thinking about it.”

“Damn,” Yosuke whistled, “I can’t even imagine what kind of puzzle it was.”

“I don’t even want to think about it, it took me fucking forever to figure out how to get through,” Ren grumbled. “We got to the top of the Palace, but we didn’t actually face off Maruki until February 3^rd. On the second, Maruki visited Café LeBlanc to try and convince me to accept his reality. He genuinely wanted to resolve things peacefully, but unfortunately, the only way that was ever going to happen was if I accepted his reality, something that I absolutely wasn’t going to do by that point. I told Maruki as much, and on the next day we fought Maruki at the top of his Palace.”

“What was the fight like?” Rise wondered curiously. “Did Maruki transform into a monster or something?”

“Actually, no,” Ren shook his head. “Maruki had a Persona, which made him the only Palace Ruler we ever fought who also had a Persona at the same time. His Persona was Azathoth, and it looked like a giant golden sarcophagus with a whole bunch of tentacles coming out of it.” He made a face. “Like, seriously, there were a LOT of tentacles, each of which had different strengths, weaknesses, and powers. Getting through that fight was somehow even more convoluted than fighting Yaldabaoth, which is really saying something.”

“Wait, Azathoth?” Rise asked, clearly confused. “Like…Azathoth from the Cthulhu Mythos, THAT Azathoth?”

“Yeah, and Azathoth wasn’t the only thing from the Cthulhu Mythos I found there,” Ren replied. “Hastur and the Byakhee were monsters I could actually claim as a Persona, funnily enough. Hastur in particular was actually really good, and I ended up using it as my main Wind Persona towards the end. Going back to Maruki, though, we actually did beat Maruki and Azathoth, and we were able to take his Treasure and escape from his collapsing Palace. But Maruki wasn’t about to give up yet. He actually managed to steal back his Treasure by psychically yanking it out of my hand, and his Persona transformed into a giant golden man called Adam Kadmon who was as big as a building. Not as big as Yaldabaoth, but still absolutely gigantic for a Persona.”

“How did you beat THAT?” Chie asked, eager to know the answer. “I mean, you didn’t have Satanael shoot that Persona in the head again, did you?”

“Nah,” Ren denied, before suddenly smirking. “I climbed up its body and shot it in the head myself.”

Everyone stared blankly at Ren as his smirk evolved into a full-blown shit-eating grin. “Dude,” Kanji shook his head in bemusement, “what is with you and shooting gods in the head, man?”

Ren laughed. “It’s pretty much my signature calling card as a Wild Card at this point,” he acknowledged, before turning a bit serious. “I want to make it clear that I didn’t kill Maruki, though. Shooting Adam Kadmon in the head broke his connection with Maruki, and it completely destroyed his Persona while leaving Maruki a normal human. I made sure to save Maruki from falling to his death as his Persona dissolved into nothing and his palace crumbled around him, and as we left the Palace behind, the original reality reasserted itself as though Maruki’s fake reality had never existed to begin with.” He sighed. “And that meant Akechi disappeared too. I don’t know what happened to him, but more than likely he’s dead again, as that was his most likely original fate in Shido’s Palace. It really is a shame. Akechi wasn’t a good person by any means, but I really saw his positive qualities during that last month where he worked together. I wouldn’t really call him redeemed, but I could see that he was capable of changing himself for the better. And he won’t ever be able to fulfill that potential now. It really says a lot that even the people in our team who thought they hated him, people whose family members he killed, took his death harder than they expected.”

“At least he died free, and he died doing the right thing. Although that does raise a rather concerning question,” Yu frowned. “If Maruki’s reality never existed, then that would mean Akechi never took the fall for you back in December. Which would imply that you were the one who turned yourself into the police to testify against Shido, Ren.” His eyes widened ever so slightly as the implication hit. “So does that mean you were locked up in a correctional facility that entire time?”

Everyone stared at him in shock and horror as Yosuke could only palm his face in frustration. “Oh for fuck’s sake, you didn’t deserve to get arrested and locked away the first time, Ren, let alone TWICE!” he exclaimed, clearly disgusted with just how corrupt the legal system in Tokyo truly was.

Ren shrugged. “Honestly? It really wasn’t all that bad. I wasn’t mistreated in the juvie facility, and because of Maruki’s nonsense I skipped through two months of just waiting around in a cell doing nothing. All of my confidants, including the Phantom Thieves, rallied together and got the people to protest my imprisonment, and I was out and free in about a week.”

Naoto raised an eyebrow. “They managed to mobilize and get you freed that quickly?” She asked, clearly impressed.

“Yeah, and I’m really grateful they managed to pull it off so fast,” Ren replied, his gratitude towards his friends clear in his voice. “The police still know who I am and still know that I’m the leader of the Phantom Thieves, but they had no choice but to let me go after so many people defended me and protested on my behalf. With Shido’s trial underway and much of the corruption in the police exposed, they couldn’t afford another scandal.”

Rise turned towards Yu and frowned. “We can’t let that keep going on, right?” she asked in a tone that made it clear that she wouldn’t accept any answer other than no. “We can’t let the police keep harassing Ren!”

Yu nodded. “I’ll reach out to some of our contacts,” he promised. “They should be able to put enough pressure to leave Ren alone, at least for the time being.”

Ren raised an eyebrow at that. Clearly, Yu had some kind of connection with some unknown entity, connections that were apparently powerful enough to force the police of all people to leave him alone. He made a mental note to ask Yu what kind of connections he had later, as he was just about to wrap up his story.

“And that’s pretty much how things ended,” Ren concluded, leaning back into his couch with a tired but content sigh. “I killed one cognitive god, stopped a second person who more or less became a god with benevolent but flawed ideas, and restored reality to normal. I did really like exploring the Metaverse and I wouldn’t mind exploring more cognitive world in the future, but after everything I did, I just wanted to take a long break and go back to a sense of normalcy for once in my life.”

“And you absolutely deserved it, Ren,” Yu complimented fervently. “You fought with everything you had against people far eviler and challenges much more dangerous than what we ever faced, and you and the rest of the Phantom Thieves came out on top. From one Wild Card to another, I’m proud of you, Ren.”

“Thanks, Yu,” Ren gratefully replied as the rest of the Investigation Team all gave the leader of the Phantom Thieves cheers, hugs, or other expressions of approval and congratulations. “Coming from you all, that really means a lot to me.”

“We absolutely do need to fight Shadows together in the TV World,” Yu remarked, his stoic expression contrasted by the glitters of interest and excitement in his eyes. “From what Yosuke and Teddie told me earlier, it sounds you’re quite the powerhouse when it comes to your Personas. And as a fellow Wild Card, I want to see what kind of power you have for myself.”

“Yeah!” Rise eagerly added. “I want to learn all about your Personas, Ren! They sound really cool!”

“Definitely,” Ren agreed. “And I want to know what kind of Shadows exist in the TV World. Back in Mementos, most of the Shadows I saw took the form of my Personas, and I could often recruit them after beating them to have them join in with my Sea of Souls.”

“That’s different from my experience,” Yu commented. “The Shadows I fought were completely separate monsters from my Personas, and I usually got most of mine through this phenomenon called Shuffle Time that I’ll explain to you once we’re in there.”

Ren smiled as he and his friends made arrangements to enter the TV World together as soon as their schedules would allow. In many ways, it reminded him of his friends back in Tokyo. Even though nothing would ever compare to the Phantom Thieves, his true brothers and sisters-in-arm alongside whom he had fought against unspeakable oppression and tyranny to the death, it was comforting to know that there were other friends and fellow Persona users in his hometown who he could relate to and fight alongside.

Even if society rejected him for a criminal record that had been wrongfully forced upon him, Ren couldn’t care less about what it thought of him. He had people who cared about him and who he cared about in turn, both in Tokyo and Inaba. And that was what truly mattered to him in the end.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Ren felt utterly exhausted. The conversation between himself and the Investigation Team had taken up a lot more energy than he expected, and the Mega Beef Bowl he had eaten beforehand didn’t yet.

Ren had made sure to give Shiho the courtesy of updating her on the important details regarding the Investigation Team’s history and his own Phantom Thief adventures, but after that he was so worn out that he didn’t feel like doing anything productive, for either the TV World or his schoolwork.

Which was how he found himself walking aimlessly around Inaba’s streets after school, more to get a breath of fresh air and clear his head up than anything else. He’d left Morgana alone at the house for the time being, wanting some alone time for himself.

“This place really hasn’t changed much,” he thought as he wandered around, not really having a specific location destination in mind. There were a couple of other people on the streets. A few of them gave him looks of hostility and distrust, while others gave him apologetic and sympathetic glances. Most of them largely ignored him though, which Ren was perfectly fine with. The only people’s opinions he cared about nowadays were the people he cared about and who cared about him in return anyway.

“Ren!” A voice called out to him excitedly.

Ren snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head to the right to see Nanako waving excitedly at him. He’d been so wrapped up in his own head that he’d completely failed to notice that he had been passing right in front of the Dojimas’ house. “Over here!”

The leader of the Phantom Thieves gave her a friendly grin in response. “Oh, hey, Nanako!” He called back as he walked over to her. As he did so, he noticed that she was holding a gardening shovel and a bucket in her hand. “Oh, are you about to go out to do some gardening?” he asked.

“Yep!” Nanako cheerfully replied. “Big Bro brought some seeds he bought from Junes the other day. Wanna help out?”

Ren shrugged. He didn’t have anything better that he cared enough to do, and he’d missed hanging out with Nanako anyway. “Sure!” he affirmed, earning a cheer from Nanako. “I hope you don’t mind if I don’t have any gardening clothes though,” he pointed out.

“That’s okay!” Nanako reassured him. “Can you go inside and get the bucket for the veggies?”

Ren nodded and went into the Dojimas’ house. He’d been inside the house enough times to know his way around, and he saw the bucket that Nanako was talking about next to the dining table. He grabbed it, and by the time he was out Nanako was already kneeling at the garden, about to dig out the first set of vegetables.

“So what have you got growing here?” He wondered.

“We have a lot of things!” Nanako answered enthusiastically. “We used to only be able to make one thing at a time, but now Big Bro and I’ve gotten good enough that we can grow a lot of things at once!” She dug into one plot of soil and took out what looked like a cabbage. “Like this! This is a Hiranya Cabbage!” she explained. “I know how to make a good salad with this and the Tiny Soul Tomatoes!”

“Ooh, those delicious! You look like you’ve done a really good job!” Ren complimented. Inwardly, however, his mind was whirring at the names of the vegetables. “Hiranya Cabbage? Tiny Soul Tomato?” he thought. He’d recognized both of those names immediately and their relevance to the Metaverse. Hiranyas, of course, being items that could cure any status ailment, and many Soul items being able to restore SP. “Did Yu plant vegetables so he could bring them to the TV World?” Ren couldn’t help but wonder. Given how intelligent Yu was, Ren had little doubt that the older Wild Card would’ve picked up on the possibility of bringing additional tools to the Metaverse in the form of the vegetables and taken full advantage of it.

“Uh, hello?” Nanako’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Earth to Ren? Are you okay?”

Ren shook his head. “Sorry, Nanako, just kinda spaced out a bit. Digging up veggies like this kinda reminds me of my girlfriend back at Tokyo.”

Nanako’s eyes lit up at the mention of Ren’s girlfriend. “Ooh, you mean Haru? She gardens too?” She asked excitedly.

“Oh yeah, Haru was the best gardener in our entire school!” Ren assured her, conveniently leaving out the fact that Haru had been the only student in Shujin’s Gardening Club. “She planted these really cool plants that I don’t remember ever seeing in Inaba!”

“I can’t wait to meet her, she sounds really cool!” Nanako gushed. A sudden thought occurred to her. “Hey, Ren…do you have some of those seeds with you?”

“I do,” Ren affirmed. “I have a few of them I left back at home. Want me to go get them?”

“Let’s pick up these veggies first, and then sure!” Nanako affirmed.

Ren had absolutely no problem with that, and together, he and Nanako dug up the veggies that she had planted a few days back. Among the vegetables that they gathered together, the ones that most caught Ren’s attention were the Hiranya Cabbage, the Scapegoat Eggplant, and especially the Bead Melon. Obviously, he would never steal any of the vegetables from the Dojimas, but he was already making plans to go out and purchase some of those seedlings once he had finished gardening with Nanako.

In the meantime, Ren and Nanako exchanged small talk. “So how’s school going for you?” Ren asked her. “You doing all right?”

“I wanna be the best in the class, just like Big Bro was!” Nanako exclaimed. “I’m not quite there yet, but I got Top 10 on the last test!”

Ren whistled appreciatively. “Nice going!” He praised. “That’s definitely a good start!”

“What about you?” Nanako asked in return. “Are you good at studying too?”

Ren grinned. “I got Top in the class every single time,” he declared.

Nanako’s eyes widened. “Wow,” she gasped. “How did you get so good at school?”

“Determination. I tried really hard and studied whenever I could.” the teen answered honestly. He wasn’t going to mention the fact that one of the biggest reasons why he had gotten so much determination was out of spite. He couldn’t think of a sweeter revenge than to outscore every student who sneered at him for his criminal record, pissing them off and forcing them to confront the fact that they were all dumber than a so-called delinquent. Granted, there were more altruistic reasons for it as well. “Besides, I could help out some of my friends who weren’t as good as school as I was,” he quickly added.

“Aww, that’s so nice of you, Ren!” Nanako gushed as she picked up the last of the veggies. “I think we have all of the veggies now, do you want to get those seeds Haru gave you?”

“Sure thing, I’ll be right back!” Ren promised. He left the Dojimas’ house behind him, walking down the streets of Inaba with a renewed sense of purpose. He arrived at his own home in just a few minutes, where Morgana was waiting for him once he opened the door.

“You’re back already?” the feline asked as Ren walked into the house.

“Not for long,” Ren replied, his voice a bit hurried. “I’m doing some gardening with Nanako. She learned how to grow vegetables with Yu, and they can actually be used as items in the Metaverse!”

Morgana was immediately interested. “Ooh, so it’s kinda like the vegetables Haru grew!”

“Yeah, but they’re completely different. Probably not as good as the ones that Haru grew, but they can still be really useful,” Ren assessed. “I’m going to grab some seeds from my backpack and then I’m going to plant them in the Dojimas’ garden.”

“That’s a good idea!” Morgana agreed. “Haru’s vegetables are really useful, and Yu’s team might be able to get some good use out of them too! Which ones are you going to get?”

“The Earth Beans and the Star Onions,” Ren answered after a few seconds of thought. “I think those were easily the most useful veggies out of the ones that Haru gave us. A free Concentrate or Charge that anyone can use? Yes please.”

“Good choices,” his friend approved. “I can definitely see Yu and his team loving those.”

Ren nodded and climbed up the stairs to his room. He searched into his desk and dug out one packet each of Earth Beans and Star Onions, before changing into clothes more suited for a gardener. He climbed back down the stairs and, after giving one quick farewell to Morgana, left the house and rushed down the street back towards the Dojimas’ house. Nanako was still there when he arrived, waiting for him with a patient smile. “You got the seeds!” She declared as Ren got closer, her eyes falling on the packets that Ren was carrying in his hands.

“I sure did!” Ren confirmed. “Earth Beans and Star Onions, two of my favorites. Wanna start digging?”

“Yeah, you bet!” Nanako eagerly answered. The two of them immediately got to work, with Ren digging up holes in the soil where the previous vegetables used to be and Nanako putting the seeds in those holes. Once the entire garden was filled and the holes were covered with soil, Nanako started sprinkling water over the garden with her watering can. “Do you think Yu will like these new veggies?” She asked Ren curiously.

Ren grinned back at her with the confidence of Joker. “I’m sure he’ll love them,” he answered earnestly.

Once they were both satisfied with how the garden looked, Ren followed Nanako into the Dojimas’ house. “Looks like we got a good haul of vegetables today,” he commented as Nanako opened the refrigerator door, revealing the many vegetables that the two of them had collected together.

“Do you want one?” Nanako offered. “Yu doesn’t mind if we eat whatever we grow in the garden.” She frowned. “Except for the Bead Melons. He doesn’t want us eating the Bead Melons for some reason.”

Ren could certainly understand why. Beads were both incredibly valuable and rare in the Metaverse, and anything that could serve as a substitute for those very powerful healing items was something to be cherished just as highly. “Don’t take a Bead Melon, got it.” He studied the different options available to him, and eventually decided to take a Scapegoat Eggplant. “Anything that stops Instant Death from happening is good in my books.”

Nanako made a face. “I don’t really like Eggplants that much,” she admitted. “They don’t taste as good.”

“All the more reason to take it off your hands then,” Ren commented as he took one of the used grocery bags from Junes and put it in. “Solves the problem for both of us then.”

“Yep!” Nanako cheerfully replied, before a thoughtful look appeared on her face. “Say, Ren…have you heard of something called a Persona?”

Ren nearly dropped the bag carrying the Scapegoat Eggplant. “How did you…?” he spluttered.

Nanako giggled. “Good to know I can still get one over you!” She teased, before her expression became a little more serious. “Still, you’ve clearly heard of Personas before…”

“How did you even learn about those?” Ren was still reeling from the fact that Nanako knew about Personas. Clearly, it was his turn to get flatfooted by a mindblowing revelation…and he had to admit, from the other side it was a lot less entertaining.

“Yu told me about them,” Nanako explained. “He told me and Dad about the TV World and Personas after his adventure got done.” She gave Ren an inquisitive look. “You have one, don’t you?”

“…I do,” Ren reluctantly admitted. “I had my own set of adventures in Tokyo this past year, which I’m too tired to go into since I spent all of last night explaining what I did to Yu and the rest of our friends.”

“…You’re one of the Phantom Thieves, aren’t you?” Nanako got straight to the point. “That’s the craziest thing that happened in Tokyo, and Persona adventures are crazy.”

Ren chuckled dryly at her comment. “You’re not wrong, and yeah. I’m one of the Phantom Thieves. Don’t tell anybody though, I could get in a lot of trouble if that becomes common knowledge.”

Nanako looked like she wanted to press for more questions, but she relented at the last moment. Now that she could get a closer look at his face, she could tell that Ren looked exhausted. And if it was because he had finished sharing his story with her Big Bro, it’d be incredibly rude to demand Ren repeat the same ordeal all over again. “…do you think I could get a Persona someday?” she asked instead, clearly hoping the answer would be yes.

Ren frowned. “I…don’t think that’s a good idea,” he answered after several seconds of thought. “The Shadows in the TV World are very dangerous to people without a Persona. And there’s no way I’m going to drag you into the TV World when you can very easily get killed, Nanako. Your family would never forgive me, and they’d absolutely have every right to be angry if I did something so irresponsible and stupid. Plus, I don’t really know much about the TV World compared to Yu. If you want someone to bring you into the TV World to get a Persona, it’d have to be him.” He shook his head. “I’m not going to change my mind on this, Nanako. It’d be both the wrong thing to do, and very stupid too.”

Nanako sighed. “I had a feeling you were going to say that,” she muttered. She couldn’t blame Ren for it, though, not when everything he said was completely correct. “Thanks for not treating me like an idiot and pretending you didn’t have a Persona, though.”

“No problem at all…even though I’m still surprised you even know about them to begin with,” Ren mumbled. Inwardly, he felt a bit bad about not giving Nanako the full truth about him being the leader of the Phantom Thieves with multiple hilariously overpowered Personas, but he hadn’t said a single lie to her either.

Before Nanako could say anything else, the door suddenly slid open and Yu walked into the house. “Nanako, I’m home…oh!” he blinked when he saw Ren was in the house with them. “Hey Ren, didn’t expect to see you in here.”

“I was out gardening with Nanako,” Ren explained. “We picked up a few of the vegetables and planted new ones.”

Yu opened the refrigerator, glancing over the results of their harvest and giving them an approving nod after a few seconds. “Very nice, you two. These’ll be very helpful the next time we get together.” He glanced back over at Ren. “You want to hang out for dinner?”

“Nah,” Ren shook his head. “I’ve got some leftover curry at home, and I’ve probably slacked off long enough anyway.”

“Ren told me he had a Persona!” Nanako announced. “And that he’s a Phantom Thief!” She gave them both a pleased grin. “I figured that out all by myself!”

Yu raised an eyebrow at that, clearly surprised even though his face largely remained stoic. “Just like your Dad, Nanako…nothing gets by you, does it?” He rubbed her hair affectionately, before giving her a stern glance. “You didn’t ask Ren to try and bring you into the TV World, did you? Because unless we have a full team and things stabilize, the TV World is just far too dangerous to bring you into it right now.”

“I know, Big Bro,” Nanako grumbled. “You don’t have to tell me, I’m not stupid.”

“I wouldn’t bring Nanako into the TV World even if she asked me,” Ren hastily assured him.

“Good answer,” Yu curtly replied before the tension disappeared from his face and his placid smile returned. “Anyways, thanks for helping out with the vegetables, Ren. Feel free to take anything that isn’t a Bead Melon.”

Nanako giggled. “Didn’t I call it, Ren?”

Ren chuckled. “You sure did.” He started walking towards the front door of the Dojimas’ house. “Anyways, Yu. I brought some Earth Beans and Star Onion seeds from Tokyo and planted them in the garden,” he called back out as he opened the door. “I hope you enjoy veggies that give free Charge and Concentrate boosts!”

“That sounds good, Ren, thanks!” Yu called back as Ren shut the door and left the house in its entirety. Yu chuckled fondly at his younger brother figure…and then his eyes bulged as he finally registered what Ren had actually said before he left.

“Wait, those give WHAT?”

Chapter Text

It wasn’t until about a week after Ren and the Investigation Team had finished talking to each other about their Persona-related adventures that the leader of the Phantom Thieves got a call from Yu about going into the TV World.

“Hey, Ren,” Yu didn’t waste any time once his call had connected. “I’m thinking about bringing the rest of the guys into the TV World in about two days. Does that work for you?”

“Yeah, it does,” Ren confirmed. “I’ve been very productive with my homework for the past few days specifically so that I could have the spare time to go into the TV World. I don’t have anything going on right now.”

“Good man,” Yu commented approvingly, “because I actually wanted to go into the TV World, just the two of us and Rise.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “Wait, really?” He asked, confused. “I thought you just said we were all going in together in two days.”

“I did,” Yu affirmed, “but I wanted the two of us Wild Cards to help each other reach our maximum potentials now that we’ll be fighting together in the TV World. Yosuke and Teddie told me that you were able to do things with your Personas that even I couldn’t do back when we solved the Foggy Day Murders, and I’m willing to bet that a lot of that has to do with the new changes to the Velvet Room.”

“Oh, you’ve visited the Velvet Room?” Ren asked curiously. “Did you meet Lavenza?”

“I did. Damn near gave me a heart attack when I learned about the guillotines and the chainsaw,” he added with a snort.

Ren chuckled. “Yeah, Lavenza does have a knack for causing existential crises,” he commiserated. “But yeah, the Velvet Room got a lot of upgrades that the false god put in, which ironically actually helped me a lot in building up the Personas I used to defeat him. Fucking imbecile literally gave me the tools I needed to kick his ass.”

If Yu was surprised by the fact that the formerly mild-mannered and polite boy was cursing out the false god, he didn’t show it. “He got what he deserved. And while you help me get used to the new Velvet Room, I can show you how the TV World and its Shadows work.”

“That sounds like a great idea, Yu. I’ll spend the rest of the day prepping and meet you in the TV World later this afternoon,” Ren declared.

“Sounds good, Ren. I’ll see you then,” Yu agreed, before hanging up.

Ren quickly informed Morgana what his plan was for the afternoon, and together they gathered many of the items that had proved so incredibly useful for Phantom Thief infiltrations in the past inside Ren’s backpack. Ren also made sure to hide his and Morgana’s weapons inside the backpack; although the weapons were models and not the real thing, he knew the story about how Yu and Yosuke had almost gotten arrested for carrying around real weapons in Junes and didn’t want to carry on that particular part of his friends’ legacy.

Once he was confident that he was well-prepared, Ren set out towards Junes with Morgana in tow. His feline companion had adamantly refused to allow Ren to go into the TV World alone, and Ren didn’t really feel the need to argue the point either. Going into the Metaverse alone was a stupid idea no matter how powerful you were, and the last thing Ren wanted was to be blasted with a Despair status from a random Shadow without Morgana (or literally any other teammate, for that matter) to clear that status up and save him.

Yu and Rise were already waiting for the two of them at the TV by the time that Ren and Morgana got there, but they noticed that the TV itself that brought them into the other world was gone. “Where’s the TV?” Ren asked, since Morgana still couldn’t talk with either of them yet.

“Yosuke moved it to his private office so that people won’t see us going into or coming out of the TV World,” Yu explained, before suddenly making a face. “Frankly, it’s amazing that nobody’s noticed us even after all the times we went into and out of the TV in public view.”

“We can go into that TV without being afraid of people spotting us,” Rise added. “It still drops us to roughly the same area in the TV World, so we don’t have to worry about falling into some random place filled with Shadows.”

“Good enough for me, let’s get going!” Ren declared. The four of them made their way to Yosuke’s office, with Yu opening it through a spare key that Yosuke had entrusted to his partner. Yosuke wasn’t inside the office itself, since he was still working in the department store itself.

“You sure you’ve got everything you need?” Yu asked.

“Yeah,” Ren nodded. “All the items and our weapons are in my backpack.”

“Good,” Yu replied, and they entered the TV one at a time. Ren felt the same weird sensation from before as his body traveled from one world to another, but this time he was more prepared for the transition and was able to neatly land on his feet when they finally fell into the same beautiful field that he had ended in last time. Just like Yu had promised, the exact area where they had come in was a tad bit different from before, but not enough of a difference for it to actually matter.

“Man, it feels so good to be able to change to my true form here!” Morgana exclaimed, having transformed from the standard cat into his cartoonish bipedal feline form. “Ren, you got my weapons and stuff?”

Without even saying a word, Ren took out Morgana’s Claiomh Solais R and Sudarshana R from his backpack and handed them over to Morgana. Yu immediately noted the extremely detailed and immaculate craft of the weapons that was comparable to his team’s own, already knowing instinctively that both of these weapons would be very powerful tools in dealing with even high-leveled shadows.

“We generally leave our weapons and stuff here,” Rise offered, pointing to a spot a few feet away. She was gesturing towards a large tree that seemed to glow ever so faintly with energy, emanating a unique aura that none of the other local flora did. “Marie enchanted this tree so that we can safely leave things here and not have to carry them back into the real world. Otherwise we’d risk getting caught with them, and nobody wants to get arrested like Senpai and Yosuke almost did.”

“That’s a relief,” Ren admitted. “I don’t mind carrying the items around, but I don’t know how long I’d be able to hide the extremely-realistic looking model dagger and pistol in my backpack. Especially with the criminal record that I only JUST now managed to get rid of.”

He emptied his backpack of all the things he had hidden inside it, including his equally immaculately crafted Paradise Lost R and Tyrant Pistol R, as Yu and Rise turned to face Morgana. “Yosuke really wasn’t kidding, was he?” Yu remarked, the fascination in his eyes betraying his stoic and placid face. “You really are a cat who can talk.”

Morgana scowled. “I’m not a cat!” he yowled. “I’m the embodiment of hope, created by Master Igor himself!” he declared proudly. “I’m also the Phantom Thieves’ primary healer and secondary navigator when Oracle isn’t here!”

Rise seemed to completely miss Morgana’s introduction, instead rushing over and messing with Morgana’s face just like Futaba always did. “Ohmygod!” she squealed. “You’re so cute! I can just pet you over and over and over again!” she gushed.

Morgana could only stare blankly at her even as Rise kept petting him. “…you’re just like Oracle, aren’t you?” he finally groaned. Even so, he couldn’t find it in his heart to tear himself away from the woman who reminded him so much of Futaba, until Yu finally gently pulled Rise away to calm her down and rescue him. “Wait a minute, you ARE the navigator for the Investigation Team, aren’t you?”

Rise grinned. “That’s right! I’m guessing Oracle is your nav, right?” she asked.

Morgana chuckled. “Yep, and she’s amazing at her job! I’m guessing you two have a lot in common since you’re both navigators. I can do it in a pinch too, though not as good as someone with a proper navigating persona.”

As Rise and Morgana continued to talk with each other, the four of them made their way over to the area that had once been the main hub that the Investigation Team would meet in every time they had entered the TV World back in 2011. To Yu’s relief, the door to the Velvet Room had rematerialized in the TV World, although he would always feel somewhat uneasy at the jail cell that had replaced the ornate door the entrance had once been. “Ready to go in, Ren?” he asked.

“Let’s go,” Ren agreed. The two of them approached the Velvet Room door, which swung open to allow the two Wild Cards in. As Yu entered, he felt himself falling through time and space, surrounded a dark blue void with chains extending all around him in infinite directions. When he arrived at the Velvet Room, he found himself in a cell (although thankfully the door and he could freely leave), with Ren appearing in a similarly open cell next to him.

Both Lavenza and Margaret were waiting for them in the center of the room, with Margaret standing in front of Yu’s cell and Lavenza in front of Ren’s. “Welcome to the Velvet Room,” the two of them declared together.

Ren grinned. “Good to see you again, Lavenza. I honestly didn’t expect to see you again so soon after we left Tokyo.”

Lavenza curtsied in front of the leader of the Phantom Thieves and gave him a warm smile. “It is wonderful to see you again, Trickster. I too did not expect to see you again this quickly, but I’m certainly grateful for this opportunity.”

Yu, meanwhile was exchanging greetings with his Velvet Room attendant as well. “It’s always a pleasure to see you, Margaret,” he greeted her with all of his natural charisma.

Margaret chuckled gently. “Charming as ever, Yu Narukami. It’s good to see that some things never change.”

“How may the two of us assist you?” Lavenza asked.

“We’re here so we can get me up to speed on how much the Velvet Room’s changed,” Yu explained. “Ren and I talked about our Persona adventures a couple of days ago. He told me that the Velvet Room’s changed a lot, and a lot of that is because of that false god taking over the Velvet Room and abusing it while he tried to take over the world.”

Margaret scowled. “Disgusting, is it not? The Velvet Room is meant to be a haven for Wild Cards meant to aid them in fulfilling their ultimate potential through their Personas, yet the abomination of the Holy Grail perverted it for its own selfish designs. And he split apart my dear sister, turning her into his pawns. I cannot remember the last time I felt such genuine hatred for any other being in my existence.” She commented fiercely.

Lavenza didn’t look any happier. “My Trickster deserved better than what Yaldabaoth gave him,” she added, before a smug smirk appeared on her face, “but he was a fool. He handed my Wild Card the tools he needed to grow and develop his Personas faster and better than any Wild Card before him, cruel and vicious as those tools might have been.”

Yu nodded thoughtfully. “I read somewhere that sometimes, the reason why good beats evil is because evil helps it beat itself. Certainly sounds like what happened in this case.”

Margaret nodded. “An astute observation as always. And as you may have presumed, we have kept Yaldabaoth’s tools and will be repurposing them for the benefit of the Velvet Room and all future Wild Cards who grace our doors. Yaldabaoth’s machines may be hateful in design, but even hateful things have their purposes.”

“Can Yu use them too?” Ren asked. “If he’s behind the curve thanks to everything that’s happened, I want us both to be able on the same page when it comes to what we can do in the Velvet Room.”

Lavenza nodded. “We can indeed make it so that the two of you can utilize the same services,” she answered with a smile. “However, there is something that the two of you must do first.”

“What is it?” Yu asked.

“You must perform an action for each other that represents a bond of unbreakable trust,” Margaret explained. “For only when two Wild Cards trust each other completely can they share in each other’s potential.”

“To be honest, we have never come across a situation like this before,” Lavenza admitted. “Master Igor would be able to explain it better were he here, but he is currently recuperating elsewhere to recover from the ordeal forced upon him by Yaldabaoth.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “…you’re not expecting us to kiss, are you?” He asked in a deadpan tone. “Because I’m pretty sure my girlfriend would kick my ass for kissing anyone except her.”

“Same with me,” Yu added with a frown. “It’d be like kissing a younger brother. Which is messed up in all sorts of ways. Plus, Rise wouldn’t like that either. I’m honestly really lucky that she couldn’t see you make out with me in front of her back when I left Inaba at the end of my adventure.”

“No, no…” Margaret reassured them. “A handshake will suffice.”

“Oh,” Ren and Yu looked at each other and shrugged. “Yeah, that’s no problem then.”

Ren extended his hand out. “You guys were some of the only ones who stood by me when Shido landed me with that bullshit charge,” the leader of the Phantom Thieves addressed Yu with a grateful smile. “And I never really got to tell you how thankful I am for that. If I can’t trust you, then I couldn’t trust anybody in this entire town.”

Yu smiled and extended his own hand as well. “I might’ve joked about it just now, Ren, but in all seriousness, you’ve always been like a younger brother. Not just to me, but to everyone in our group. Some of us are still trying to process the fact that you’re the leader of the Phantom Thieves and had your own Persona adventure in Tokyo, but we’re all very proud of you for what you accomplished. I’m looking forward to learning the ins and outs of the new Velvet Room from you, Ren.”

The two of them shook hands, and both of them felt a sensation of warmth pass between their hands and settle into their spirits. It wasn’t the formation of a new confidant or social link bond, for neither Margaret nor Lavenza said a single word to herald the establishment of a new bond, but the sensation itself was very similar. Ren himself didn’t feel particularly different after the handshake was complete, but Yu had the strangest feeling as though multiple doors of opportunity that had been shut in his life had suddenly been opened.

Once they had separated the handshake, the two Wild Cards turned to face their Velvet Room attendants. “Was that all we needed to do?” Ren asked.

“That did indeed suffice,” Margaret reassured her. “Seeker of Truth, you are now capable of utilizing the same Velvet Room services that the Trickster utilized during his journey.”

“Allow us to bring out those tools now,” Lavenza added. Together the two Velvet Rooms began taking out the tools that Ren had used in his journey and placing them in the center of the Velvet Room. Yu’s eyes bulged and his jaw dropped to the floor as they began taking out the mystical guillotines, the electric chair, and the gallows.

Ren couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Yu’s stunned expression. “Holy crap, I think this is the most expression I’ve ever seen on your face at once, Yu. If only the others could see the look on your face right now!”

“What the shit,” Yu spluttered when he finally found his voice. “Is this the Velvet Room or a freaking torture chamber? Why are your tools so completely messed up, Ren?”

“Yaldabaoth was an asshole,” Ren replied in a deadpan tone. “Do I really need to say anything else?”

Yu sighed. “No, I guess not. But I’m looking forward to this less than I was a second ago.”

“That’s completely fair, to be honest,” Ren acknowledged. “But let me show you how these new tools work.”

He turned his attention towards the mystical guillotines first, with Yu following his gaze. “The guillotines are what I used to fuse Personas together,” Ren explained. “Two or more Personas get executed, and then the magical energies they release get fused together to make a new Persona. Every so often a fusion accident happens when the guillotines get stuck, and Lavenza has to use a chainsaw instead.”

“It does get rather annoying whenever the guillotines fail to function properly,” Lavenza acknowledged, before her eyes lit up excitedly. “But I do enjoy bringing out the chainsaw to do my own work so very much!”

“What the fuck,” Yu thought as he watched Lavenza giggle at the thought of beloved chainsaw. “Is this girl secretly a psychopath or something?”

Margaret didn’t seem at all perturbed by Lavenza’s behavior. “This function is essentially identical to when Master Igor fused your Personas for all intents and purposes, Yu. Thus, it should be the easiest for you to understand.”

“No, I get it,” Yu hastily answered. “I’m just still trying to get over the fact that Ren had to guillotine his Personas French Revolution-style when all I needed to do was mix a few cards together.”

“I got used to it after a while,” Ren reassured him.

“While the guillotines serve the same basic function that they always have, the other functions of the Velvet Room are new,” Lavenza explained. She walked over to the electric chair that she had brought out. “The electric chair, for example. This device allows my Trickster to transform his Personas into items and weapons which can be used to maximize his combat potential. Some of his and his team’s most powerful weapons and armors came from itemizing his Personas during a Fusion Alarm.”

Yu raised an eyebrow. “Fusion alarm? What’s that?” he asked.

“A phenomenon that occurs randomly during the Trickster’s explorations in the cognitive world,” Margaret explained. “We will explain in more detail once you have triggered one.”

“Doesn’t turning your Persona into an item cause problems?” Yu asked Ren warily. “What if you need that Persona again in the future?”

Ren shrugged. “It’s really not much of a problem,” he replied. “I can always just buy the Persona again from my compendium afterwards. And yeah, those Personas are expensive, but I literally have millions of yen from killing all those Shadows in Mementos. I have more money than I know what to do with!”

“It would be worth experimenting with your own Personas to see what items you may get from them, Seeker of Truth,” Lavenza advised. “Who knows? You may very well obtain weapons and armor more powerful than anything you used during your own journey.”

“I have a list of items that your Personas can transform into if itemized, so you will know in advance what your Personas will become should you utilize the electric chair,” Margaret added reassuringly, clearly aware that her Wild Card was uncomfortable with the idea of electrocuting his Personas.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Yu promised. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go that far right now, but he wouldn’t flat-out ignore the potential benefits either. “So what are the gallows for?”

Ren grinned. “The gallows? That thing is the biggest reason why I was able to get so many powerful, maxed out Personas. And maxing one ends up taking less than an hour.”

“The gallows are indeed incredibly useful, if rather morbid,” Lavenza commented. “They allow the Trickster to execute one of his Personas to strengthen another one, giving it a power boost and one of the skills that the sacrificed Persona had. During a Fusion Alarm, the sacrifice will give its receiver even more powerful and more of its skills. And should a Fusion Accident occur during a Gallows sacrifice, the receiving Persona will instead have its fundamental statistics increased to a maximum of 99.”

Yu nodded slowly, as he finally started to understand just how Ren was able to achieve such potential in so many of his Persona. “Okay, I think I’m starting to get what’s going on. And I can use these torture devi-I mean, tools, just like Ren can, right?”

“Indeed,” Margaret confirmed with a nod.

“All right,” Yu acknowledged. He didn’t really feel the need to fuse any of his Personas right now, and he wasn’t ready to itemize one of them either. His main interest was in the gallows, because from what he could tell, it was the main tool that Ren had utilized the most to maximize the power of his Personas.

Granted, Yu had his fair share of Personas at maximum stats and power too, but that had been through finding Stat boosting Shuffle Time cards in the TV World and maximizing even a single Persona had taken several hours of work at a time.

“There is something else that we need to discuss,” Margaret addressed him, interrupting his thoughts. “Thanks to the fluctuating nature of the human cognition and by extension the cognitive world, in no small part thanks to Yaldabaoth’s influence and interference, the characteristics of several of your Personas have changed. In all honesty, I am quite relieved that you chose to speak with me prior to re-entering the TV World, as this will give you the awareness and time you need to adjust to the changes forced upon your Personas.”

Yu barely managed to suppress a groan. As much as he enjoyed wielding his Personas and fusing them to make even more powerful ones, he wasn’t going to pretend that the process hadn’t annoyed him at times. “Might as well deal with this now,” he grumbled. “Show me my compendium, please.”

Margaret obliged, and this time Yu couldn’t resist letting out the groan. Just like Margaret had warned, his Persona’s affinities, elemental weaknesses and resists, and even some of their moves had changed. In some cases, like Thor, the changes were relatively minor and ultimately didn’t significantly affect the overall function of the Persona. But for others, the Persona had changed so drastically that it might as well be a different Persona now. Kohryu, for example, had been a fairly straightforward Persona with an affinity towards Electricity. Now, however, it was a mon clearly oriented more towards the new Psychic attacks that he had only recently learned about. Kohryu had also had its elemental affinities expanded, with a new Null to Psy and a new Weakness to Nuclear attacks. Its trait was listed as “Universal Law,” which by itself was unusual to Yu as he had never had to deal with traits on his Personas before.

All of his Personas had changed in one way or another and had gotten new Traits, which Yu was struggling to wrap his head around. By far one of the weirdest changes was to Metatron. Instead of having affinities of Nulling Fire, Repelling Light, and being Weak to Dark, elemental resists that made sense for one of the most powerful angels in existence. Now, Metatron’s resistances were frankly bizarre, having a new weakness to Electric no resistance to Light whatsoever, and several immunities to Wind, Psychic, and Nuclear that honestly struck Yu as very weird. “What the hell happened to Metatron?” he spluttered.

“Yeah, Metatron’s elemental resists always felt weird as fuck to me too,” Ren admitted. “Don’t get me wrong, they’re unique for an angel and very useful, but still really weird.”

“And what are these Trait things?” Yu asked. “I saw a couple of names like Universal Law, Mighty Gaze, Immunity…but I don’t know what any of those mean!”

“Allow me to explain,” Lavenza offered. “Traits are inherent characteristics that your Personas have. Every Persona has one specific Trait, and when you fuse your Personas, you may pass that Trait from Persona to another.”

“A lot of them are confusing, but honestly, there’s only a few Traits that I ever used,” Ren added. “My Yoshitsune has the Undying Fury trait that increases his Physical attack by 30% on attacks that hit multiple enemies, and pretty much every single one of my attacking magical Personas has the Mighty Gaze trait that increases their Magic damage by 20% on attacks that hit multiple enemies. Those are pretty much the only two Traits that you’re ever going to use for your attacking Personas if you want to max out their damage. There’s a couple of exceptions to that, but you don’t need to worry about those for now.”

Yu was still trying to wrap his head around all of this new information, but he trusted Ren. He had little doubt that Ren had extensive experience with all the new changes that had come to the Velvet Room, and he would gladly defer to Ren’s expertise on this particular matter. “Let me just check on my Yoshitsune,” he decided. “He’s my most important Persona and I need to make sure that he’s still the invincible beast I need him to be.”

He opened up his Yoshitsune…and immediately groaned when he realized that it didn’t have Undying Fury automatically. Instead, it had something called Avenger, which Yu particularly didn’t care for after the advice that Ren had given him. Yu was even less amused to discover that, while his skills had more or less remained the same, his Yoshitsune now had new neutral affinities to Gun, Psy, and Nuke attacks. “Mine doesn’t have Undying Fury,” the older Wild Card informed the leader of the Phantom Thieves with a sigh. “I need to look up the requirements for the Yoshitsune fusion again…and find something that DOES have Undying Fury.”

Thankfully, Ren didn’t look at all bothered by this task. “I’ll make this easy for you. I actually remember what I did, and I’ll never forget it because it was such a pain in the ass to figure out that that shit is burned into my memory,” he deadpanned, before continuing. “Zaou-Gongen has Undying Fury. Fuse it with a Principality to make Yatagarasu, and you can pass Undying Fury onto Yoshitsune from there.”

Yu gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you so much for making this so much easier for me,” he profusely thanked Ren, before proceeding with following his advice. Yu bought Principality and Zaou-Gongen, before asking Margaret to fuse the two Personas, making sure to pass on Undying Fury as the trait. He was then treated with the rather unpleasant sight of watching Margaret cover up the two Personas with a sapphire blue cloth…and then ensnaring the two Personas in black chains. Margaret forced the two Personas under the guillotines, and when the blades connected with their necks they dissolved into wisps of brilliant blue energy that coalesced together to form Yatagarasu.

“All right, now I can pass on Undying Fury to Yoshitsune, right?” Yu asked the two Velvet Room attendants.

“Indeed,” Lavenza affirmed.

“Great, let’s get this done,” Yu declared. He proceeded to buy all of the Personas that would be required to form Yoshitsune, before selecting them to be fused. This time, there were so many Personas that Margaret and Lavenza needed to work together to bring out all the guillotines needed to perform the fusion. Working as one, they bound the many Personas and forced them all under no less than five guillotines, before executing them and combining their energies to create the legendary Japanese warrior who had served both Yu and Ren so well in their adventures.

“I am Yoshitsune,” he introduced himself to Yu. “I see you know of my ingenious feats. Rejoice, for I shall graciously become one with you once again…”

Yoshitsune faded away, transforming into a card that fell neatly into the palm of Yu’s hand. “I guess that’s how Yu summons his Personas,” Ren thought as the card vanished.

“It worked,” Yu breathed a sigh of relief. “I lost all of the skills I had on him before, but that’s okay. I can get all the ones I need again by using Skill Cards.” Through both his trips to Café Chagall and his training in Yomotsu-Hiraska, Yu had found Drain cards for Fire, Ice, Wind, and Electricity. He had also found cards to Repel Light and Dark as well, as well as an Arms Master card. All of which he had given to Marie to store in her catalogue of Skill Cards so that he could buy them as much as he wanted. The price was sure to be hefty…but Yu had collected millions of yen in the TV World just like Ren had in his own cognitive universe. He had no problems whatsoever with spending that kind of money to make his Yoshitsune the ultimate powerhouse once again.

The only problem was that Yu didn’t have any skill cards that could Drain Psy or Drain Nuke…two of the elements that he was currently unfamiliar with. He turned to Ren. “Hey, Ren? Do you know where I can get skill cards that Drain Psy and Nuke attacks?”

Ren grinned back at him. “I can do you one better.” He reached into his pocket and took out 2 Skill Cards, tossing them over to Yu. When Yu caught them, he turned them over to see what they were.

The words “Drain Psy” and “Drain Nuke” were written on the fronts, one on each card.

The leader of the Investigation Team glanced back at Ren and gave him a thumbs-up. “Perfect. Thanks a lot.”

He was about to put the Skill Cards on Yoshitsune…when a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Hey, Margaret? Do you still have Marie’s catalog that has all the Skill Cards I ever collected?”

Margaret smiled at him. “I do indeed, Yu. Now that Marie has taken on her duties as the protector goddess of Inaba, she has passed on the responsibility over the catalog to me. I presume that you wish to catalog the 2 Skill Cards that the Trickster has just given you?”

Yu nodded. “Couldn’t have said it better myself. And while we’re on the topic, is it possible for Ren to buy Skill Cards from my catalog too? It’s the least I can do after he just saved me the trouble of searching for Drain Nuke and Drain Psy cards by myself.”

Margaret nodded. “Of course. The sharing of potential and tools is completely mutual.”

Yu turned back to Ren. “Well, you heard Margaret. Any Skill Cards I’ve collected during my adventure are Skill Cards you can buy whenever you’d like, Ren. Just make sure that you don’t want to use the card yourself, because once you give it to Margaret, you’ll have to buy it again if you want it back.”

“No problem at all,” Ren reassured him. He began to look through the catalog, and was impressed with the sheer diversity of skill cards that Yu had collected. He saw many different Amp and Boost cards, a wide variety of different attacks (although his current Personas had outgrown pretty much all of them by this point), and most notably multiple Drain and Repel cards for different elements. “I was looking for Repel Curse for the longest time,” he muttered, “I could never find that one.” Granted, he wasn’t exactly thrilled to discover that the Drain cards cost 300,000 yen a piece, but with how money he’d collected from Mementos even that steep price was barely a bother for him anymore.

He glanced up at Yu and started giving him some more Drain cards. “I don’t need these extras, you can use them for your Yoshitsune if you want.” He handed Yu a Drain Fire, Drain Ice, and Drain Wind card before going back to the catalog. Yu quickly equipped the three cards onto Yoshitsune, replacing the useless skills on it (because seriously, who the hell would ever use freaking Ziodyne on a Yoshitsune) with the much more valuable Drain skills. He then bought a Drain Psy, Drain Nuke, Arms Master, and Repel Dark from Margaret before equipping those skills on Yoshitsune as well. Soon, one of his most powerful Personas had immunities to every single element in the game outside of Gun, and the only thing left to do was to replace Brave Blade with the legendary Hassou Tobi once his new Yoshitsune was powerful enough.

Not wanting to lose all of his hard work, Yu immediately registered his new Yoshitsune in the catalog. “All right, Ren. I have my new Yoshitsune,” Yu informed him once he was done. “You said you were able to max your Personas’ stats super-quickly. Please show me how you pulled that off.”

The grin Ren gave him was worthy of Joker. “Once you see how I do it, you’ll never look at powering up your Personas the same way ever again,” he promised.

Chapter Text

“In the interest of making this as easy as possible, let’s just pick the weakest dungeon here so we can get started,” Ren decided as he and Yu returned to the real world, where Rise and Morgana were waiting for them. “Which dungeon’s the easiest one around here?”

“That would be Yukiko’s Castle,” Yu answered without hesitation. “That was our first TV dungeon. It was where Chie and Yukiko first awakened their Personas, and it has by far the weakest Shadows out of all of them.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ren answered. “Lead the way.”

The four of them made their way over to Yukiko’s Castle. The medieval structure hadn’t changed much since Yu had rescued Yukiko from it five years ago, still presenting as an imposing structure with multiple statues of horses lining the road leading into the castle on either side. “This brings back memories,” Yu commented nostalgically as he, Ren, and Morgana approached the entrance of the castle while Rise stayed behind to take care of navigation duties. “This is where our adventure really started.”

“I don’t think Yukiko would agree with you, from what you guys told me,” Ren commented dryly.

“Yeah, all of the TV Dungeons are really embarrassing to whoever they were built for, for one reason or another,” Yu acknowledged as they entered the castle. Ren immediately noted how seemingly straightforward the hallways were, leading mostly in a straight line apart from the occasional turn or branching pathway leading to the side. The decorations were also surprisingly bare-bones, with only the occasional window flanked by red curtains breaking the monotony of the gray walls. It really did remind Ren of Mementos, although thankfully much less creepy. “We’re here, Ren. How do we get started?”

“Let’s find a Shadow first,” Ren answered. The three of them advanced down the hallway, where they found a small Shadow after a few feet of walking. The Shadow was a formless blob with only a blank white mask with a small hole in its mouth, a much more degraded creature compared to the humanoid Shadows of the Palaces or even the bipedal many-masked monstrosities that lurked in Mementos. “Perfect.”

“All right,” Yu began to offer instructions. “As soon as the creature’s looking away from us, run towards it as fast as you can sneak up behind it so that you can whack its head and ambush…wait, what are you doing?”

The last part was asked in complete bafflement because Ren had suddenly rushed towards the Shadow, blade in hand. Yu could only watch as Ren cleanly sliced through the Shadow’s body with his dagger, destroying it instantly in one single blow. No focused strike on the creature’s back, no transformation into multiple monsters. Ren’s rush attack obliterated the Shadow in its entirely without even needing to get into a proper fight.

“…what the fuck just happened?” Yu asked blankly.

Ren smirked. “A perk I got from one of my Confidants,” he explained as he twirled the dagger in his hand. “If a Shadow is 10 or more levels below me, I can instantly kill any Shadow I come across if I attack them in a specific way. Saves me a lot of time in dealing with the cannon-fodder, that’s for sure.”

“…Damn, that would’ve made going through explorations so much faster,” Yu acknowledged with a sigh. It would’ve indeed been very convenient…but on the other hand, it was also entirely possible that Ren’s Insta-Kill attack would’ve stopped him from getting Shuffle Time…which was the only way for him to maximize the power of his Personas at the time.

“Maybe you should try it yourself!” Ren suggested. “Just run up to the next Shadow with your katana and try to kill it.”

“Might as well go for it,” Yu agreed, making sure that Yoshitsune was equipped. In case he somehow fumbled the attack, he wanted to make sure he’d at least wouldn’t be cutting himself open with his own weapon. When he found the next Shadow, he prepared his sword in a battle position and rushed towards it like Ren had, cleanly slicing through the Shadow’s head with a wide swing of his sword. To his surprise and delight, he instantly killed the Shadow just like Ren had, with no transformation or proper battle necessary. “Holy crap, that actually worked?” He asked incredulously.

“That was so cool, senpai!” Rise gushed through her navigator link. “I’ve never seen you do that before!”

Yu was about to respond, when he was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange sensation that set his entire body on edge. In his mind, the image of the Velvet Room jail door suddenly manifested, glowing a bloody red and shaking uncontrollably, before vanishing. “Urgh…what the hell was that?” he asked.

Ren grinned. “That is what I was waiting for,” he answered. “Now we go back to the Velvet Room.”

“Already?” Yu asked. He was clearly confused, but he didn’t argue with Ren as the younger Wild Card lead his older brother figure back to the Velvet Room. The entrance to the Velvet Room was still present, but now there was an ominous red glow emanating from the jail cell door instead of the familiar blue.

“It looks scary, but don’t worry,” Ren reassured him. “This is very much a good thing. Let’s go in.”

Ren fearlessly walked into the Velvet Room, with Yu reluctantly following in a second later. The void he traveled through was red instead of blue, although the chains remained the same. When he materialized in the Velvet Room cell, the entire room was bathed in the same ominous red glow as the entrance, with the alarm lights of the prison-like room blaring loudly and frenziedly casting bright red light around the room.

“Welcome once more to the Velvet Room,” Lavenza greeted both of them. “Seeker of Truth, what you are witnessing is a Fusion Alarm, during which an element of chaos is imbued into the tools of the Velvet Room. During the alarm, there is potential for you to unlock even greater power for your Personas…if you are wise enough to utilize the chaos to your advantage.”

“As my sister has stated, you can unlock far more potential and power for yourself and your Personas during a Fusion Alarm, but the chances of an accident occurring are much higher as well,” Margaret added. “You must tread carefully, for the alarm will end once an accident with any of the devices occurs.”

“My Trickster has gained plenty of experience with navigating through the Fusion Alarms to utilize them to his advantage,” Lavenza declared proudly. “I am sure he would be more than willing to offer you his assistance.”

“That’s right,” Ren affirmed. “I can show you how to make the most out of the Fusion Alarms and quickly power up my Personas to the max. First, you need to take one of your other powerful Personas, preferably something that’s level 99, and then use the Gallows to feed it to Yoshitsune.”

Yu did as he was instructed, purchasing a level 99 Surtr from his compendium and asking Margaret to sacrifice it to Yoshitsune. Margaret bound the Surtr in the same blue cloth and black chains that she had for the guillotine, but instead of dragging him over to the guillotine, she forced the Persona onto the top of the gallows and wrapped a noose around his heck. Then, she pulled the lever and allowed the bound Persona to fall. The moment the noose caught the Persona around the neck, it immediately dissolved into blue, red, and gold energies that flowed into Yoshitsune, granting him its power. Yoshitsune’s EXP level suddenly jumped up, boosting him all the way to level 93, with only one level left until the ultimate power of Yoshitsune was his. He then repurchased Surtr from the compendium to replace the Persona he had just sacrificed.

“I’m liking what I’m seeing already, gruesome hanging aside,” Yu remarked. “What’s next, Ren?”

“Now, we fuse two Personas from your compendium, any two,” Ren answered. “Fuse a Pixie and a Slime together, for all I care.”

Yu shrugged and bought the two Personas for a price in yen that for someone like him was basically chump change. He then asked Margaret to fuse the two Personas, yielding the turtle-like Genbu.

But there was something different about this Genbu. Unlike the Pixie, the Slime, or even Yoshitsune himself for that matter, this seemingly insignificant Genbu was glowing with a faint golden aura that Yu had never seen in any of his Personas before.

“That Genbu has a lot of powerful energy since it was fused with a Fusion Alarm,” Ren explained. “And you need to sacrifice that Genbu to Yoshitsune to boost its stats.”

Yu did as Ren advised, sacrificing the Genbu to Yoshitsune just like he had sacrificed Surtr. Once again, Margaret brought the Persona to the top of the Gallows. And once again, the sacrifice dissolved into golden and red light that flowed into Yoshitsune. But this time, the power given to the legendary warrior was different than what he had given previously. This time, Yu felt the stats of his Persona increase. The distribution itself was completely random, but there was no mistaking the fact that the special alarm-created Genbu had increased Yoshitsune’s stats by a total of 10.

The Seeker of Truth smiled as the pieces fell into place. “I get it now,” he declared. “You go out and kill Shadows, triggering an alarm, and then you use the Gallows and the Guillotines to pump up your Personas full of experience points and stats.” He shook his head and sighed. “Man, maxing out my Personas’ stats would’ve been SO much easier if I did this instead of trying to find a completely random Shuffle Card.”

Ren nodded and smiled. “Well, now you know what to do,” he answered. “Ready to max out this new Yoshitsune of yours?”

Yu chuckled. “Don’t need to ask me twice,” he replied, his excitement showing even through his stoic face.

Margaret hemmed with her throat, catching their attention. “While I am pleased to see that you have discovered how to utilize the new services of the Velvet Room to their fullest potential, I regret to inform you that since a Fusion Accident has occurred, we must now eject you from the Velvet Room so that we can restore order.”

“I am sure we will see you again soon,” Lavenza added with a small smile, and before either Ren or Yu could react, they found themselves forced out of the Velvet Room and back into reality.

“…does that happen every time an accident happens during a Fusion alarm?” Yu asked blankly.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Ren confirmed with a frown. “It does get kind of annoying how we have to keep triggering Fusion alarms after every time, but you get used to it after a while.”

“So now we just go back to the TV Dungeons and keep killing Shadows until we trigger alarms, right?” Yu was pretty confident he knew what to do now, but he wanted to make absolutely sure.

“That’s pretty much the entire plan,” Ren confirmed.

“Cool, let’s go back to Yukiko’s Dungeon again and go kill some more Shadows until we trigger another Fusion Alarm,” Yu suggested, which Ren had no problem agreeing to. They asked Rise to guide the two of them back to Yukiko’s Castle, which she was somewhat confused about but had no problems agreeing to, and before long they were back in the hallways looking for more Shadows to kill.

“Before we do anything, do you have any of those items that do set amounts of elemental damage to a Shadow?” Yu suddenly asked as they spotted another one crawling around in the distance. “Like one of those Pinwheels or something?”

“Yeah, I picked up a few from the Shiroku Store,” Ren replied. “Why do you ask?”

“I want to show you something that happens in the TV World,” Yu explained. “When you attack that Shadow, can you attack it in a way that triggers a normal battle and doesn’t kill it instantly?”

Ren shrugged. “Sure, that shouldn’t be a problem.” He ran towards the Shadow (though not with the same blistering speed required for his insta-kill ability), which immediately perked its head up and raised its hands in alarm as it realized it was about to be attacking. Ren was about to swing his dagger down on the creature’s head, but to his surprise the Shadow slithered out of the way far more quickly than he was expecting, and it was only thanks to his quick reflexes that he able to turn around and avoid getting hit from behind. As the Shadow rushed towards him, he raised his hands in front of him in a defensive stance, and he was just fast enough to prevent an enemy ambush in turn.

“Wait, what?” Ren muttered as the Shadow suddenly split apart and transformed into a grotesque black-and-white striped sphere with a giant mouth that had a black tongue sticking out of it. “What the hell are those things? I don’t remember ever seeing any Shadow looking like that before!”

“The Shadows here are…weird, to put it mildly,” Yu acknowledged. “There are Shadows that look like fish, crosses, giant hands, castles, knights, towers, even rain clouds. All of them have masks on them with a roman numeral on them, though.”

“Weird is right,” Ren agreed with a frown. “The Shadows in the Metaverse and Mementos didn’t look anything like this. Most of them looked like humans of some kind, and once I ripped their masks off they transformed into my Personas. I could recruit them after I beat them if I didn’t kill them. I’m guessing you can’t do that with these guys?” he asked.

Yu shook his head. “Nope, I got my Personas strictly through either fusing them or finding them in a specific way that I want to show you. Do you have any Ball Lightnings? They’re the ones that do 50 Electric damage.”

Ren took one out and tossed it at one of the spheres with the giant tongue. There was a flash of lightning and the creature was blasted out of the sky, forced unceremoniously onto the ground. “Do the same for the other one?” he asked, looking at Yu. Yu nodded and Ren threw the other Ball Lightning onto the other creature. With both Shadows down, they were now exposed to an All-Out Attack.

“Ready to go?” Yu asked with a grin. Ren returned the expression with one of his own, but when he ran towards the helpless monsters he found to his surprise that he wasn’t moving with the blistering and breakneck superhuman speed that he and his fellow Phantom Thieves had always demonstrated whenever they attacked helpless Shadows. Instead, he was moving at the same speed as Yu was; certainly quick on his feet and above average compared to a normal human, but definitely not moving as fast as a blur like he used to.

He didn’t let the surprise stop him from unleashing havoc on the Shadows, with how powerful he and Yu were, the Shadows were completely obliterated from existence, leaving no trace remaining. Right as they vanished, a series of 4 golden cards suddenly manifested in front of them, swirling around before stopping in front of Ren.

Yu smiled, clearly expecting the sight before him. “Ah, just as I hoped. What you’re seeing here is a phenomenon called Shuffle Time. Judging by the clueless look on your face, you’ve clearly not seen a Shuffle Time in your cognitive world. These Shuffle Time events can happen completely randomly, but they always occur if we finish off Shadows using All-Out Attacks. Each of the 4 cards in front of you can show one of countless different options, a lot of them based on the Arcanas associated with our Personas. The goal is to try and find a way so you can pick all the cards in front of you. This gives you a Sweep Bonus that guarantees a Shuffle Time with your next battle, gives you a bonus +2 cards, and changes bad cards into better ones.”

The leader of the Investigation Team looked over the different cards. “Unfortunately, you only have 2 cards to pick, so we won’t be able to do a Sweep Bonus this time. But that’s okay, you can just pick two cards and…hang on, what’s this? I’ve never seen this card before.”

He reached out and pointed at the card on the far right. “Is that…the Velvet Room door? And it’s colored red, just like the Fusion Alarm!”

Ren looked at the card, and his eyes widened as he realized what he was looking at. “I think if we pick this card, it’ll automatically trigger a Fusion Alarm.” He reached out and grabbed the card, picking it out of the air, before turning and choosing a card with 2 coins on it. He barely paid any attention to the coin card, instead watching as the red jail door card floated in the air for a second, flashed red, and vanished. Instantly, he felt his senses go on high alert and as the image of the Velvet Room jail door flashing red forced itself into his mind, and one look at Yu’s grimacing face told him that the older Wild Card had experienced the same thing.

“I guess we can manually trigger those Fusion Alarms now by picking that card in Shuffle Time,” Yu surmised. “That’ll certainly make things quicker if we happen to trigger Shuffle Times in the future.”

“That’s good to know,” Ren acknowledged. If Chihaya were here, he could’ve easily paid her enough yen to set Fusion Alarms off with practically every Shadow battle, but since she wasn’t here and he didn’t have access to her services, he would gladly take anything that would speed up the process. With the Fusion Alarm active once more, he and Yu retreated back to the Velvet Room to power up Yu’s Yoshitsune and increase its stats once more.

And so the two Wild Cards fell into a pattern for the next hour or so. They would trigger a Fusion Alarm in Yukiko’s Castle (either by picking that card in Shuffle Time or by complete random), retreat back to the Velvet Room, and feed Yoshitsune power through executing and fusing other Personas. Yu couldn’t help but marvel at just how fast the process was compared to the painstakingly slow and extremely luck-based process of triggering Shuffle Times and hoping he randomly found the right cards that would boost a single stat. In what seemed like no time at all, he had finished the last Fusion Alarm that he would need to maximize Yoshitsune’s stats completely.

Once more, he had a Yoshitsune with 99 in every single stat. Only this time, his Yoshitsune had a powerful Trait that would strengthen his Hassou Tobi even further and immunities to every single element except Gun and Almighty. Yu didn’t necessarily want to just copy every single Persona that Ren had at his disposal, but when it came to Yoshitsune he completely agreed with the younger Wild Card’s build rationale. He wasted no time in registering his new Yoshitsune, securing all the progress that he had just made once and for all.

“Took us a while, but this was totally worth it,” Yu declared with a grin. “I can feel the power of Yoshitsune flowing through my soul. He’s just as powerful as he was before we fixed him up, if not more so.”

“That’s the idea,” Ren answered with a smile. “So who do you want to fix up next?”

Yu smiled. There was really only one answer that he had to that question. “I want to fix up my Ultimate Persona next. The Persona that I used to beat my own cognitive entity. Izanagi-no-okami.”

Before Ren could ask what he looked like, Margaret suddenly raised a hand to interrupt them. “Hold, Yu. Invoking the power of Izanagi-no-okami may not be as straightforward as you may believe.”

“What do you mean?” Yu asked.

“The nature of the cognitive world has changed in many ways, and one of those changes is the power of Almighty attacks,” Margaret explained. “They are now significantly more inherently powerful than they were when you defeated Izanami. Not only that, but there are new skills called Magic Ability, Almighty Boost, and Almighty Amp, which I can only assume that you are going to add Izanagi-no-okami now that you have heard about them. These will provide an extreme level of power to Myriad Truths.”

Yu’s jaw dropped. “I can boost Almighty attacks now?” He asked in disbelief. That option had simply not been available to him back when he had explored the TV Dungeons, and as a result he had only really used Almighty attacks to kill the Golden Hands and not much else.

“Yes, and Izanagi-no-okami comes with the ability Country Maker,” Margaret added. "This increases his power, and decreases the damage that he takes, based on how thoroughly you have filled out your Compendium. Barring a few new Personas that are still missing from its pages thanks to the interference of Dr. Maruki, your Compendium is nearly complete. At maximum completion, Country Maker will double the damage you deal and halve the damage you take.”

“What is Myriad Truths?” Ren asked. He had understood most of what the Velvet Room attendants had been talking about except that one specific detail.

“The signature move of Izanagi-no-okami,” Lavenza explained to her Trickster. “Three Heavy damage Almighty attacks in quick succession against every single enemy at the same time.”

This time, Ren’s jaw dropped. Satanael’s Megidolaon was able to do frankly extreme levels of damage to anything it came across, and that was from just one attack. Being able to hit enemies with three attacks at the same time sounded downright insane.

“This sounds too good to be true,” Yu mumbled, already thinking about the extreme levels of destruction that he could unleash upon enemy Shadows. “There has to be some kind of catch.”

“There is indeed, as you say, a catch,” Margaret agreed. “For no mortal was ever meant to wield that kind of extreme power, even by proxy. Fortunately for you, Yu, as Izanagi-no-okami represents your truest self and is attuned to you in a way that no other Persona is, there is no danger to your health or your well-being just for using him. However, you will still not be able to cast Myriad Truths and other attacks in quick succession without risking severe damage to your body, mind, and soul. To safeguard you from this danger, we will be imposing a limitation, a cooldown on your ability to utilize Myriad Truths. Independent of SP cost, you will not be able to use any attacking skills from Izanagi-no-okami for a few battles after you have cast Myriad Truths once. You will still have access to all of Izanagi-no-okami’s non-attacking skills and defensive potential, but after casting Myriad Truths once, you will have to wait for several moments before you can safely use any attack again.”

“I understand,” Yu acknowledged with a slight frown. He was slightly annoyed that he wouldn’t be able to simply go out and destroy Shadows in a massive killing spree by spamming Myriad Truths over and over again, but he knew full well that power came at a price. And a cooldown was far from the worst price that he could think of, especially when he had other Personas that he could use to attack while Izanagi-no-okami’s cooldown was in place.

“The cooldown will only be a minor inconvenience for you at most, if you are able to utilize Myriad Truths wisely,” Lavenza commented, before she sighed. “There is another matter to discuss regarding the dangers of using Myriad Truths, and this is a rather more serious discussion.”

“My sister is correct,” Margaret added, before giving a stern look to Yu. “While we cannot stop you from doing so, we strongly advise against utilizing Myriad Truths against personal Shadows. Izanagi-no-okami is very powerful, indeed perhaps too powerful. It is very possible that Myriad Truths may end up destroying a personal Shadow thanks to the extreme level of power that the ability possesses.

A chill crawled down Yu’s spine, and Ren visibly grimaced. “I’d be causing a mental shutdown if I killed someone’s Shadow by accident, wouldn’t I?”

“That is what we fear,” Lavenza confirmed grimly. “Back when you were fighting and exploring in the TV World, your Personas never had such an extreme level of power that you would be at risk of killing the Shadows of your friends that would eventually become their Personas. Indeed, neither you nor Tohru Adachi were even aware that this ghastly crime was possible. Even the finishing blows you dealt to their monstrous forms simply were not capable of such a grisly feat. But now? With how powerful Myriad Truths is, such a disaster is unfortunately very possible.”

“I understand,” Yu acknowledged. “I will not be using Myriad Truths against any Personal Shadows that I come across.” Neither his team nor Ren’s would ever forgive him if he killed someone by destroying their Shadow and sending them into an irreversible mental shutdown…any more than he would’ve been able to forgive himself.

Margaret suddenly smiled. “There are other very powerful Shadows lurking in the TV World that have no connection to any individual person’s life or soul, though,” she reassured him. “Against those, you can feel free to…how do the humans say it? Go crazy.”

Yu chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind. But I still want to maximize my Izanagi-no-okami. He is me more than any other Persona, and it feels only right.”

“Then let us proceed,” Margaret agreed. “I should also note that, thanks to the changes in the compendium, you are now able to register Izanagi-no-okami when you could not do so before.”

“Oh, thank God for that,” Yu muttered. He opened his compendium and began taking out the different Personas that he would need to fuse Izanagi-no-okami. Thankfully, he didn’t need to clean out his entire cache of Personas this time around, only needing 6 other Personas to fuse his Ultimate Persona instead of 9. He made sure to pick Country Maker as the Trait, and together Lavenza and Margaret performed the Fusion through no less than 6 guillotines.

“Well met, Seeker of Truth,” Izanagi-no-okami greeted him once he had fully formed. “Once again, we have become one. Let us dispel the lies that cloud humanity’s sight, and bring truth upon the world once more.” The Persona once again faded away, transforming into a card that settled in Yu’s hand before vanishing.

“In order to obtain the skills needed to maximize the power of Myriad Truths, the Trickster will need to sacrifice some of his own Personas to pass on the correct abilities onto Izanagi-no-okami,” Lavenza explained, turning to Ren. “Is that acceptable to you, my Trickster?”

“I’m fine with it,” Ren agreed. “Let me get out Lucifer so I can feed it to Yu.”

As he got his other Almighty Persona out, Yu in the meantime was going over Izanagi-no-okami’s skillset. Myriad Truths was already present, as was Victory Cry, two abilities that he was absolutely going to keep on Izanagi-no-okami. After a significant deliberation, he decided to add Repel Bless, Repel Curse, and Enduring Soul as his last three abilities. Repel Bless and Repel Curse were fairly intuitive choices as all the power in the world didn’t matter if he ended up getting instantly killed by a random Hamaon or Mudoon. And Enduring Soul would ensure that even if a Shadow somehow managed to kill him, he’d be able to get right back up to continue bringing on the pain.

That left Ren to feed his Lucifer to Izanagi-no-okami through the Gallows. One at a time, Lucifer’s skills and some additional EXP were passed on to Izanagi-no-okami. First Magic Ability, then Almighty Amp, and finally Almighty Boost. Although it wasn’t at full power yet, Izanagi-no-okami was once more ready for battle.

“Time to do the whole song and dance again?” Ren asked.

“You know it,” Yu confirmed, his eyes gleaming with excitement. The two of them retreated from the Velvet Room and once again made their way over to Yukiko’s Castle. “I hope you don’t mind if I don’t use Myriad Truths today. I want to save it for when my Izanagi-no-okami’s at max power and everyone is there to see just how OP it is. I haven’t even used it yet and I can tell it’s going to be insane.”

“That’s no problem,” Ren reassured him. He was admittedly very curious to see just how overpowered Myriad Truths truly was, but he recognized that the impact of witnessing its power would be at its peak if Yu optimized Izanagi-no-okami first. The two of them went through the same cycle that they had with Yoshitsune, killing laughably weak Shadows either of them could probably destroy just by poking them with their pinkies, triggering Fusion Alarms either accidentally or manually, and using the tools provided by those alarms to slowly increase Izanagi-no-okami’s stats 10 points at a time. To make things even better, Izanagi-no-okami already came with 80 points in every stat right out of the gate, so it took much less time for Yu and Ren to work together to boost all of those stats up to 99. Faster than Yu had expected, his Izanagi-no-okami was fully optimized and maximized in potential, and the powerful aura that emanated from him within his soul somehow felt even greater than Yoshitsune’s, something that Yu straight-up hadn’t thought possible.

“All right, I have two maximized Personas now,” Yu commented as he registered his fully powered Izanagi-no-okami into the Compendium. “This feels really fulfilling and a lot more satisfying with how quickly I can do this now, thanks to you, Ren.”

Ren shrugged and gave him a thumbs-up. “No problem at all, Yu,” he replied. “With that being said…we should probably get you at least one more optimized Persona. You have two of them, but one of them is limited-use and the other only has Physical attacks. Let’s get you an optimized Persona that can attack with one of the elements. The good news with them is that the same Trait that’s the best for one Magic attacker is the best for all of them, so trying to pass that Trait on to your other Magic attacking Personas is a lot less of a pain in the ass. Which element did you want to get first?”

Yu thought for a moment. “I think I’m going to need a new Wind Persona,” he finally answered with a slight frown. “I looked through my Compendium, and it looks like Odin got completely transformed from a Wind Persona into an Electric Persona. That’s fine, I can replace the Wind-powering skills with Electric ones, but I straight-up don’t have a Wind Persona right now.”

“That’s a good point,” Ren agreed. “Luckily there’s a couple of good Personas that can work as Wind ones. Any one you have in mind?”

Yu looked through the Compendium. “I think I’ll go with Vishnu,” he decided after a few seconds of thought. “It looks like it has a pretty solid resistance profile and I can just patch up a few things with some skill cards. How do you build your elemental attacking Personas anyway, Ren?”

“My philosophy is really straight-forward,” Ren explained. “I always use the Mighty Gaze trait, cause it boosts all my attacks that deal elemental damage to multiple enemies. My only attacking skill on all of my elemental Personas is an attack that does Severe damage to all enemies. Skills like Blazing Hell, Wild Thunder, Vacuum Wave…I don’t need anything else besides those.”

“Wait, what?” Yu interrupted with a raised eyebrow. “I’ve never even HEARD of those spells before. The most I ever had were spells that could deal Severe damage to one enemy at a time, and those were only ever restricted to one Persona.”

Ren shrugged. “I guess things have changed in the cognitive worlds then, because there’s quite a few Personas that can use Severe attacks that can hit one or all enemies now. Afterwards, I always give my Personas Magic Ability, a Boost, and an Amp to maximize their damage as much as possible. I sometimes run Spell Master if I can get away with it, but I don’t really need it. Lastly, I always use the last few slots for Repel and Drain abilities to turn my weaknesses into strengths and make sure that I’ll never get hit by a weakness. I always cover Bless and Curse to make sure I don’t get instakilled, and I cover Phys if possible so I can’t get crit by something. That’s my philosophy for building my Personas, Yu. Do you have a different way in mind?”

Yu mulled over Ren’s words, trying to see if there was a better way to build his Personas. After several seconds, he concluded that no, there wasn’t really a better way to build them. The whole point of those Personas after all was to deal as much damage as possible, and he would absolutely agree that negating weaknesses and vulnerabilities should take priority after that. The only alteration he would’ve considered was something like Spell Master or Enduring Soul, but he couldn’t remember the last time he was in grave enough danger to require Enduring Soul from someone that wasn’t exactly Margaret, and Rise’s navigational skills and his own supplies ensured that he was never starved from SP. “No,” he replied slowly, “I think your way is the right way to build those particular Personas. I might use some different Personas than you do, though.”

Ren shrugged. “Hey, it’d be really boring if the two of us had the exact same roster list for Personas,” he commented. “I think Mara has Mighty Gaze, if that helps at all. I don’t know how to get it on Vishnu, though, I never used that particular Persona,” he added with a frown.

“I’ll figure it out,” Yu confidently replied. Unfortunately, however, it turned out that getting Mighty Gaze on Vishnu was a lot more complicated than he expected. Mara did indeed have Mighty Gaze as Ren had stated, but no matter how many Personas he bought, he just could not find one that fused with Mara to form Vishnu. He ended up wasting over 1.5 million yen before he got the idea to try and fuse a different Persona with Mighty Gaze before trying to pass it onto Vishnu. After going through another 500,000 yen, he was able to fuse Belial and Mara to fuse Surtr, since he had plans on using the legendary Fire giant of Norse mythology as his ultimate Fire persona later on down the line. He quickly registered Surt in his compendium before trying to see what he could fuse with Surt to form Vishnu. This time, he was much more successful. After registering Surtr in his compendium, it only took him 3 tries to discover that he could fuse Surtr with Zaou-Gongen to form a Vishnu with Mighty Gaze.

“FINALLY!” Yu exclaimed, visibly irritated as the Hindu deity formed and transformed into a card, “that took forever to figure out! Thank God that time doesn’t move in the real world while we’re here.”

“If it is of any consolation, I can confirm that Vishnu does indeed learn Vacuum Wave," Margaret reassured him. “You will not need the Trickster to sacrifice one of his Personas to yours to obtain it.”

“Great, I’ll take what I can get,” Yu grumbled. He ended up almost completely rebuilding the Persona’s skillset from scratch, replacing everything with Vacuum Wave, Wind Amp, Wind Boost, Magic Ability, Spell Master, Repel Phys, Absorb Fire, and Absorb Wind. Another hour-long Fusion Alarm run later, and Yu had yet another maximized all-99 stat Persona under his belt.

Yu had just enough patience and energy to optimize one more Persona (this one being the Mighty Gaze Surt he had created while trying to make his Vishnu), but after the two of them finished maximizing his Surt’s stats he threw in the towel. “Okay, I’m done for today,” he declared as he registered his Surt. “I can only do this so many times without getting sick of it for the day. If I have to go through this whole process one more time I’m going to go crazy!”

“I know that feel,” Ren sympathized. “I could only ever optimize up to maybe 3 to 4 Personas a day before wrapping it up and saving the rest for another day. It’s satisfying as hell to wipe armies of Shadows with disgustingly overpowered attacks, but holy shit it can be a pain in the ass to get to that point.”

“Seeing the looks on everyone’s faces when I obliterate things with my new Personas will be worth it though,” Yu replied with a smirk as they left the Velvet Room for the last time that day. By now, both Morgana and Rise had gotten bored with watching the two Wild Cards do what looked like to be the same thing over and over again, and both of them very relieved when both Ren and Yu announced that they were done for the day.

“I don’t like complaining to you, senpai, but this was honestly kinda boring,” Rise pouted once they were back in Yosuke’s office. Yu’s partner was still not inside it, and thankfully there was nobody else around. “You literally just went to Yukiko’s Castle and killed really weak Shadows for 4 hours!”

“I know this might’ve looked really boring, but it was all needed so that I could give you two a huge surprise,” Yu replied with a wink. “Trust me, it’s going to all be worth it when we all come into the TV World together,” he promised.

“I’m going to hold you to that, senpai!” Rise answered with mock fierceness.

As they were about to leave Junes, Ren suddenly turned to Yu. “Oh, before I go,” he suddenly opened his backpack and positively dumped a million yen in front of Yu and Rise. “Here’s some money to help make up for all the yen you spent in the Velvet Room today.”

“Wh-what? Ren, I can’t accept this!” Yu spluttered once he finished picking his jaw up the floor. He knew that Ren was rich from his excursions into the cognitive world, but he didn’t realize that Ren was secretly so obscenely wealthy he could throw around literal millions of yen as though it were spare change.

“Sure I can,” Ren answered easily. “Consider it repayment for the gift you got me for Haru a few days back if you want.”

“Ren…”

“Take the money, Yu,” the leader of the Phantom Thieves would brook no argument. “Take the money, or as God is my witness, if you don’t accept it I’m going to walk up to the Samegawa tonight and throw all of it in the river.”

This last statement pretty much silenced any and all opposition that Yu could have possibly mustered. He reluctantly accepted the 1 million yen from Ren’s hand, shoving it in his pockets. “Thanks,” was all he could say as his mind still tried to process what had just happened.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” a smirk suddenly grew on Ren’s face, “are you ready to blow the minds of our friends in 2 days?”

Despite the fact that he still wasn’t completely over the shock of Ren’s unexpected generosity, Yu had enough mental facilities in place to return the smirk with one of his own. “I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces,” he smugly replied, pointedly ignoring the curious expression on Rise’s and Morgana’s faces. “The Seeker of Truth is back, and better than ever!”

Chapter Text

The next 2 days seemed to pass by in a blur, and before Ren knew it the long-awaited day had arrived. He, Morgana, and Shiho had arrived at Junes’ Food Court to wait for the Investigation Team, and a few moments later all of them had arrived.

It was Rise who saw the two of them first. “Oh, you’re here already!” She cheerfully greeted them. “Great, we don’t have to wait long at all, then!”

Yosuke glanced at Shiho’s seemingly empty hands. “You don’t have a weapon?” he asked with a frown. “I mean, I know you don’t technically need one to fight Shadows, but you probably want something in your hands in case you can’t use your Persona for whatever reason.”

“I…never really thought about it,” Shiho replied, looking confused. “I don’t even know what kind of weapon I’d want, to be honest.”

Ren frowned. “That’s probably my fault,” he admitted. “I should’ve brought you to Daidara’s or try and itemize a few of my older Personas to see what kind of weapon you’d do well with.”

Kanji shrugged. “It probably isn’t a big deal today since we can cover for you, though you’ll want to get that sorted out in the future,” he commented.

“Are you guys ready to get started?” Yu asked.

Ren grinned back at him. “I’ve been ready for days,” he declared.

“I want to go back too,” Shiho agreed. “Ever since I awoke Zheng Yi Sao, I’ve been itching to go back to the TV World and fight with her power. It’s like there’s a fire that lit up inside me that I can’t ignore anymore. I want to fight Shadows with her by my side.”

“Then you won’t have to wait much longer,” Yu promised. “Let’s go.”

The group of friends left the Food Court and made their way over to Yosuke’s office. One by one, they entered the TV World through Yosuke’s TV. Shiho was the only one who had a somewhat ungraceful landing thanks to not entering a cognitive world enough times, but everyone else including Ren and Morgana were able to land neatly on their feet. “You’ll get used to it soon enough,” Naoto promised as she extended her hand and helped Shiho get on her feet.

“Going through the TV feels like a drug trip,” Shiho commented dryly as she looked around. “This place actually looks really nice now that there isn’t an evil version of me spouting out all my dirty laundry for everyone to hear.”

“Marie spent a full week working on the part of the TV World that’s centered around Junes,” Yu explained. “This area is mostly safe, the only thing that can get in here are Personal Shadows. Things get more dangerous once you leave this area and its protection, though. I think the Shadows in each of the TV Dungeons are about the same strength as they were back in 2011. At least the ones in Yukiko’s Castle were, I could probably kill them just by punching them in the face.”

“Let’s not go there again, please,” Yukiko pleaded.

“Nah, I don’t think that’s the right place to train for Shiho,” Ren reassured her. “I want her to train in a place where the Shadows are reasonably challenging, but nothing that’s beyond what she could handle if we were about the same level as her instead of all being level 99 and ridiculously overpowered for anything that isn’t maybe the last 2 dungeons in the entirety of the TV World.”

“What level is she, anyway?” Chie asked. “I don’t think we ever actually figured that out yet.”

“Level 58,” Shiho replied instinctively, blinking as she realized what she had just said. “I…don’t know how I know that,” she added uncertainly. “I feel like there’s no way I should know that…and yet I do.”

Chie’s eyes widened and she grinned at her. “Level 58? Damn, that’s really high! Higher than any of us started with, that’s for sure!”

“Shiho-chan’s Shadow was very strong when we fought her!” Teddie remarked. “I’m not surprised that her Persona starts out so very strong too!”

“Well, we definitely don’t need to bring her to a dungeon like Yukiko’s Castle or Kanji’s Bathhouse then,” Yu commented, clearly impressed. “I think we should go to Naoto’s Laboratory to train Shiho up, then,” he eventually decided after a few seconds of thought. “The Shadows there are weaker than Shiho but not to a ridiculous degree, and Heaven I think might be too close to her power level for me to be comfortable training a complete novice in.”

“That makes sense,” Yukiko agreed. “We should give her some degree of leeway to make up for the fact that she’s new to fighting in the TV World.”

Naoto was noticeably less pleased about the idea of returning to her TV dungeon. “I can’t say I’m pleased to hear that we’re going back there…but I can’t argue with your logic either,” she reluctantly admitted.

“Still not as bad as my strip club though,” Rise muttered under her breath.

Ren gave her a baffled look. “Your what?”

“Nothing!” She quickly replied. “Let’s just get over to Naoto’s dungeon now.”

The group of Persona users made their way through the TV World until they were outside the secret laboratory. Unlike the incredibly extravagant Yukiko’s Castle, the Secret Lab was (somewhat unsurprisingly) more low-key. It was simply a metal bunker the color of rusted gold with two large satellites on top of it, with its standout feature being a large metal hexagonal door that was wide-open as always.

“This is so cool!” Shiho exclaimed. “It’s like we’re going into a sci-fi villain’s lair!”

Naoto sighed. “I don’t particularly agree with your assessment, but thank you for the compliment. I suppose it’s less embarrassing than some other TV Dungeons I’ve seen before.”

Kanji reassuringly rubbed her shoulder. “You don’t have to go in if you don’t want to.”

Naoto shrugged. “I’m over it by now. Whoever Yu sends in to the lab is fine by me, either way.”

“Actually, Yu…how are we going to work with Ren and Morgana?” Yukiko asked, frowning slightly as a thought suddenly occurred to her. “Ren isn’t just another Persona user. He’s a Wild Card who’s had his own adventure, killed his own deity, and made his own team of Persona users. I don’t think we can simply just order Ren or even Morgana around to do something, it wouldn’t be respectful.”

“That is a good point,” Yu acknowledged, turning to Ren. “How do you want to do this? Do you want to just act on your own initiative, or do you want me to give you commands like I did to my team?”

Ren frowned. “I think for now I’ll just act on my own, while getting information from Rise,” he replied after thinking for a few seconds. “It’s not that I don’t respect your authority and your experience in the TV World, Yu. But you don’t know anything about the Personas I have or what they’re capable of, which is probably something we should’ve talked about earlier with hindsight. We can catch up over what I can do for sure, but until you have a complete picture of what I can do it’s probably better that I fight independently from your command for now. Oh, and speaking of which…”

Several members of the Investigation Team yelped as Ren’s body suddenly erupted into blue flames, covering him in a pillar of fire. The familiar black overcoat and attire of a phantom thief manifested over his body while his white domino mask appeared over his face. When the flames faded away, it was once again Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves and slayer of Yaldabaoth, who stood before the Investigation Team. Morgana had undergone a similar transformation, transforming into the bipedal form that he always used while in the Metaverse.

Everyone’s jaws dropped as they beheld Joker’s transformation, except for Yosuke and Teddie who had already seen it once before. “Oh my God!” Chie gushed, her eyes positively glowing with stars. “That was soooooo cool!”

“Damn!” Kanji whistled. “I thought I saw your outfit on the TV once, but seeing you turn into Joker in front of me is really something else. You look like a real badass!”

“Can I have your costume stylist’s number please?” Rise begged. “If they could make something this badass for you, I bet they could make something absolutely amazing for my next concert!”

Joker grinned a little sheepishly. “Sorry, Rise, I don’t have a costume stylist. This outfit just manifested around me as my will of rebellion when I first awoke my Persona.”

Morgana pouted as everyone offered some kind of compliment or awed exclamation at Joker’s Phantom Thief attired. “Nobody even noticed me transform,” he grumbled.

“Oh, and your cat transformed to!” Yukiko gasped. Before anyone could stop her, she reached down and picked Morgana up, giving him a tight hug. “He’s so adorable!”

“Ack! Gah! Let…go of me!” Morgana yelped, struggling in Yukiko’s arms but also making sure to not actually harm her with his arm movements. Fortunately, hearing Morgana talk was such a shock to the young woman that she instinctively let go, allowing Morgana to land neatly on his feet. “Yeesh, I already get enough of that from Oracle…”

Yosuke snickered. “Told you Ren’s cat could talk,” he commented. “And wait til you see his Persona, I had no clue a tiny thing like him could have a Persona that buff.”

Morgana bristled. “Hey, who are you calling a tiny thing?” he protested.

“All right, all right, settle down,” Joker interrupted, his voice brimming with authority that was enough to silence both Morgana and Yosuke. “Anyways, Yu, want to tell everyone what we’re here to do today?”

“Of course, Ren,” Yu nodded before turning to face the rest of his friends and Persona users. “We’re here for a few reasons, guys. First, we want to teach Shiho Suzui the basics of how to use and fight with a Persona. We don’t need to go into advanced strategies for her, we just need to show her the ropes. The second,” his mouth suddenly opened into a grin, “is because Ren and I want to show you just how overpowered our Personas can be now. The two of us went into the TV World with just Ren and Morgana a few days ago, and while I haven’t buffed up all of my Personas yet, I think we’ll both be able to blow you guys way with just how powerful we are now.”

“You mean you’re somehow even more powerful than you already were, Yu?” Chie exclaimed excitedly. “This I HAVE to see!”

“If it’s anything like what Renren’s capable of, the two of you are going to be so beary powerful!” Teddie added eagerly.

Yosuke groaned. “You and your bear puns, Teddie…”

“And lastly, Ren’s learned a few new battle strategies in his cognitive world that straight-up didn’t exist back when we went exploring in the TV World,” Yu finished. “He’s kindly volunteered to demonstrate and teach them to us. Using them will make us even powerful and effective in combat than we already were, which is fortunate because it seems like some of the Shadows in the TV World have already started picking up a few tricks of their own.”

Kanji grinned at Ren. “Hey, anything that helps us out in the TV World is something I’ll gladly take!” he declared.

“Indeed, your help would be much appreciated,” Naoto added approvingly.

“Let’s teach Shiho the ropes first and then have some fun,” Yu suggested. “Taking care of business first and all that. I’ll let you handle the actual teaching since she’s your friend more than she is ours.”

“I don’t have a problem with that,” Joker agreed. “Since we’re just gonna be focusing on strictly teaching her first, let’s have me, Yu, Shiho, and Morgana in the front lines. And then everyone else can stay in the backline in case we need them to swap in.”

“Excuse me, that was a possibility?” Yukiko asked, confused. “Back when we explored these dungeons, we only had 4 people go in at a time while the rest of us either stayed back or took shelter in various safe areas within the dungeons. I didn’t know it was possible for all of us to go in at once…or for us to switch our teammates around in the dungeon itself.”

Joker frowned. “You mean you always had to teleport back to the entrance every time you wanted to just switch your team up?” He asked incredulously. “Holy crap, that sounds absolutely terrible. I mean, switching teammates around in the middle of a battle was something I had to learn from a Confidant bond, but we always brought our full team in and swapped them around as needed even before then.”

The Investigation Team glanced at each other. “Why…didn’t we do that?” Naoto asked the question on everyone’s minds.

“…How about we just blame TV World fuckery and leave it at that?” Kanji suggested.

“I’ll take any excuse,” Yosuke muttered.

“Okay, well, from now everyone who’s not actively fighting Shadows in the front should just stick around in the back so we can switch around as needed,” Yu declared. “Anyways, let’s get moving.”

The team of Persona users advanced through the door leading into Naoto’s lab. The inside of the lab was pretty much exactly what Joker had expected, a series of metal hallways with pipes running through them, although the metallic décor was occasionally broken by large red banners depicting a golden eagle of some kind on them. However, the overall layout was very similar to what Joker had seen in Yukiko’s Castle, a simplistic straightforward network of hallways.

“Is that a Shadow over there?” Shiho asked, pointing at a black blob with a white mask in the distance crawling on the floor.

“That is,” Yu affirmed. “Let me get a battle started.” He rushed towards the Shadow, although not fast enough to risk insta-killing it. The Shadow raised its head and started shuddering, but before it could do anything Yu whacked it squarely on its head with his katana. The Shadow immediately dissolved and transformed into two tall woman-like statues, both wearing copper-colored masks with III marked on their faces. “Constancy Relics, huh? Okay, we can work with this.”

“Hey guys, these Shadows have some new strengths and weaknesses,” Rise called out to them. “They still resist Physical attacks and are weak to Electric attacks, but they also resist Gun attacks and are weak to Psychic attacks now too!”

Joker grinned. “Weak to Psychic attacks, you say? Perfect.” Normally this would’ve been the time when he would’ve started unleashing hell upon any Shadow stupid enough to stand in his way, but he wasn’t here to show off. Instead, he turned to Shiho, ready to begin their training. “All right, Shiho, welcome to Persona Combat 101. One of the basics of Persona Combat is that every Shadow has elemental resistances. They are weak to certain elements, while others don’t always work on them. This can range from simply resisting them, to straight up repelling their attacks or healing them when they get hit by that attack. As you can imagine, you don’t want to hit a Shadow with an element they resist if you can help it.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” Shiho acknowledged. “You said these Shadows are weak to Psychic, right? I have Psiodyne and Mapsio…will either of those work?”

Joker grinned. “Both of them’ll do just fine. One of them’s a single-target Psychic attack that will hit things pretty hard, the other’s a multi-target attack that isn’t quite as powerful but can hit both of those Constancy Relics as the same time. Since we know they’re both weak to Psychic, go ahead and hit them both with Mapsio.”

“Got it,” Shiho concentrated and manifested the card made of blue light that she had seen Zheng Yi Sao transform into. “Mapsio!” she shouted. As she didn’t have a physical weapon to break the card with, she instead simply crushed it in her hand.

Her Persona, Zheng Yi Sao, manifested behind her. Glaring at the Shadows, she sliced at them twice in the air, once with her claws and once with her cutlass. Psychedelic multicolored light burst into existence and struck at the two Shadows, causing them to shriek in pain and topple over helplessly onto the ground. “Great job, Shiho-chan!” Rise cheered.

“Excellent,” Joker’s praise was more down-to-earth, but Shiho could still clearly feel his approval. “Now that we’ve knocked both of those Shadows down, we can unleash one of my favorite parts of Shadow combat. Ready everyone?”

“You bet,” Yu agreed with a grin. “All-Out Attack!” he shouted.

The three of them raced towards the downed Shadows, with Shiho quickly joining in once she realized what they were doing. The four Persona users proceeded to beat the everloving shit out of the Shadows, with Shiho using her fists and feet to punch and kick them since she didn’t have an actual weapon yet. While she wasn’t able to contribute as much, her fellow Persona users were all vastly more powerful than she was, and when the dust finally settled, the Shadows immediately dissolved into nothingness from all the damage that they had received.

“Beating the shit out of Shadows who can’t fight back sure is fun, isn’t it?” Joker asked with a snicker as the cards of Shuffle Time manifested around him and Yu. There weren’t any Fusion Alarm cards this time, so Joker just nonchalantly picked a few cards that would increase money and EXP.

Shiho laughed. “That was a blast! I can’t believe THIS is what you guys were doing when you were trying to steal people’s hearts.”

Joker shrugged. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but this is one of the fundamental basics of what we were doing.” His expression turned a bit more serious. “Of course, fighting Shadows isn’t always as easy as what we just did. Not every Shadow will be weak to your attacks and give you easy kills, at least if you’re not a Wild Card.”

They continued down the hallway and soon found another Shadow crawling around the corner. Unfortunately, the Shadow was facing them when they saw it, so when Joker attacked it this time around he wasn’t able to get another Ambush off. But he was okay with that, as there were lessons to be learned when things didn’t strictly go your way anyway.

This time, when the Shadows transformed, they turned into two bizarre-looking tree like creatures wearing red and white robes. “What the hell am I even looking at?” Shiho asked, clearly baffled by their very existence.

“Inviting Nyogos,” Rise answered with a frown. “As far as I can tell, the only thing about their elemental resists that’s changed is that they Null Nuclear attacks now. Otherwise they’re still weak to Fire. And I think they have Freila too now.”

Shiho felt a sense of unease as she heard the word “Nuclear” spoken by Rise. She briefly focused on her Persona and quickly confirmed what she unfortunately suspected: she was weak to Nuclear attacks.

“Shiho, if it’s okay with you, I’m going to let you get hit once by these Shadows just so that I can teach you an importance lesson,” Joker warned. “I might look like a bit of an asshole for doing this, but I firmly believe it’s worth some pain now just to really drive home a lesson that’ll avoid a massive disaster in the future.”

“I’m not really looking forward to this, but I trust you,” Shiho replied, giving him permission. Joker took out a Spotlight and tossed it onto her. Immediately, a target sign manifested over her body, and both of the tree-like Shadows immediately trained their attention onto her. Shiho and everyone else realized that Joker had used some kind of item to make her the target of the next attacks.

Realizing what was about to happen, Yu used a Diamond Shield to buff everyone’s defense, while Morgana threw a Weakener Spray to reduce the attack of the two Shadows. The Ngoyo Shadow threw a Freila at Shiho, hitting her with the Nuclear attack that her Persona was weak too.

“Ack!” Shiho exclaimed as the force of the attack slammed into her, knocking her off her feet and onto the ground. It wasn’t the damage itself that was so concerning; she was still a much higher level than both of these Shadows, and the items that both Yu and Morgana used had dampened the effect further. But there was something about the Nuclear attack that had seemed to strike at her very soul, affecting her in a way that caused a unique kind of pain.

Having successfully managed to knock her down, the Inviting Nyogo followed through on its attack with a Twin Shot straight into Shiho’s face. Thankfully, she was so much higher level compared to the Shadows that the attack only caused some minor injury, but she was still disoriented from the pain. Unfortunately, the second Inviting Nyogo blasted her with a second Freila, taking advantage of her vulnerability to hit her hard and send her straight into confused daze.

Thankfully, that was all the time that the Shadows had before it was the Persona user’s turns again. Joker wasted no time in grabbing the white mask on his face and ripping it away. “Maria!” he shouted out. “Salvation!”

A heavenly maternal being wrapped in a snowy white globe with golden highlights representing the Divine Mother of Christianity manifested behind Joker. An aura of awesome power emanated from Maria, but unlike the vast majority of Joker’s other Personas, its power was subtler and directed more towards healing and recovery rather than battle and destruction. A wave of powerful soothing energy flowed through all of them. Three of them were barely affected, for they were already fully healthy, but Shiho felt all of the pain and confusion that the Shadows’ attacks had caused dissipate from her body and mind. She was still lying on the ground, but her health was now back to full, and she was no longer confused. “What…what just happened?”

“You were attacked by Shadows who targeted your weakness,” Joker explained. “In your case, it’s Nuclear attacks. As you just discovered, being attacked by your weakness sucks. It does more damage, knocks you down, and I guess in the TV World getting hit while you’re down can make you dizzy, I guess. You can guard instead of attacking to take less damage and negate your weaknesses, but that will only work against one attack. Try it out, though. Block your upper body with your hands, or something.”

Shiho did as she was instructed, blocking her upper body with her arms and partially covering her face. She had the distinct feeling that she wasn’t quite doing it the way she wanted, as though something were missing, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it. She just hoped that doing what Ren had told her to would be enough. The other Persona users did the same, and the Nyogos leapt into action once again. This time, one of them targeted Yu, earning nothing but a dismissive smirk as its Torrent Shot bounced harmlessly and uselessly off his body thanks to the Yoshitsune he currently had equipped. The other one targeted Shiho, attacking her with a Freila just like it had before. Shiho winced as the attack hit her body, but this time it didn’t hurt nearly as much, nor did it strike at her soul like the first Freila had. In fact, without the effect of hitting her weakness, the attack barely felt like it did much at all, to be honest.

Joker smiled at her. “All right, seems like you’re getting the basics down. As you can imagine, these are the types of enemies that can be a big problem for you. If they can hit you with your weakness, and you don’t have a Persona skill that can hit theirs, things can turn out real bad for you real fast. Luckily, there’s other ways to hit Shadows with their weaknesses that anyone can use.” He took out a San-zun Tama and handed it over to Shiho. “This is an item that you can toss at Shadows to hit them in their weaknesses. The weaker ones always do 50 damage, but it’ll knock them down if you hit them in their weak spot. Go ahead and give it a shot,” he invited.

“Okay,” Shiho replied as she stared at the item in her hand, and then hurled it at the two Shadows. The orb exploded into two bursts of fire that blasted the two Shadows right in their faces, dealing with 50 damage each and causing them to slump forward, vulnerable and exposed.

“You know the drill, people!” Yu called out. “All-Out Attack!”

The four Persona users charged at the Shadows, this time Shiho joining right alongside them now that she had knew what an All-Out Attack was. They proceeded to beat the everloving crap out of them in a barrage of weapons and fists, only stopping once the two Shadows had exploded into oblivion.

More Shuffle Cards appeared in front of Yu and Joker, and this time one of them was the Fusion Alarm card. Yu picked it without hesitation, while Joker picked a Cup card to heal the SP he had spent to cast Salvation. They felt the phenomena of the Fusion Alarm blare through their minds, and mentally made a note to visit the Velvet Room as soon as they were done.

“That was…a lot less fun than the first time,” Shiho admitted once things had settled down. “I didn’t realize Shadows could put up that much of a fight.”

“And this is why Persona users should NEVER go into a cognitive world like the TV World or the Metaverse alone,” Joker replied, his voice firm and brimming with authority as the leader of the Phantom Thieves. “The only ones who can get away with that are Wild Cards like me or Yu who have multiple Personas that don’t have any weaknesses, and even then we can potentially get fucked if we’re unlucky or careless. Fighting Shadows can be fun as hell when you know what you’re doing and have a ton of firepower to bring to the table, but it isn’t and will never be just a game. If you fuck up or if you’re unlucky enough to run into Shadows that can hit your weaknesses and you can’t fight back against, you’re dead. End of story. With a team, that’s not a problem in the slightest. I can heal and revive you all goddamn day with Maria, Yu probably has a Persona that can do the same, some of our friends waiting in the backline probably have skills that can revive you if you go down, and we have a ton of items that can do the same. But you don’t have ANY of those if you’re alone. You go down in the TV World and you’re alone, that’s it. At best, nobody will ever see you again and we’ll only have a sinking feeling that we know what happened to you. At worst, your lifeless, broken corpse will be hanging from the telephone poles on display for the entire town.”

Shiho shuddered as the image of her dead body hanging from a telephone pole forced itself into her mind. She’d already brushed with death once before when she’d jumped off the roof of Shujin Academy. She had absolutely NO desire to come anywhere near that close to death a second time.

“I let those Shadows attack you with your weakness to really drive that point home,” Joker explained in a grim tone. “Those Shadows are way below you in power level, but they were still able to give you a hard time because they hit you with your Weakness. If that happens but the Shadows are equal in power, or God forbid even greater in power than you, it’s not going to end well for you. If there’s anything that you take away from what I’ve taught you today, it’s the Golden Rule of never going into the TV World alone.” He glanced over at Yu. “You got anything else to add, Yu?”

Yu shook his head. “No, I completely agree with you, Ren. A normal Persona user going into the TV World alone without any backup is an absolute disaster waiting to happen. In fact, I probably wouldn’t even consider teams of 2 to be enough if at least one of those members wasn’t a Wild Card.”

“I understand,” Shiho acknowledged. “I won’t go into the TV World alone.” She chuckled, but there was little humor in it this time. “Besides, Ann would probably kick my ass if she found out I went into this world by myself.”

“And she’d have every right to,” Joker agreed. Then, he suddenly grinned, and the atmosphere seemed to lighten up significantly. “Anyways, there’s more that I have to teach you about your skills, but the most important part of your Psychic skills is something that I need to teach everyone in the Investigation Team about, anyway. Now it’s time for the fun part.”

“The hell do you mean by that?” Kanji asked, as the rest of their party had joined up with them after the Shadows had disappeared.

It was Yu who grinned this time as he gave his answer. “Time to show you just how ridiculously overpowered the two of us have become.”

Chapter Text

The Investigation Team waited with bated breath as Joker and Yu ambushed another Shadow, transforming it into two more Inviting Nyogos. Thankfully, Shiho had already been rotated out with Chie taking her place, so there was no risk of her getting whacked by another Freila this time around. Yu smirked as he saw the two tree-like Shadows, as they happened to have a weakness to one of the new optimized Personas that he had created together with Ren the other day.

“So what’re you gonna do, partner?” Yosuke asked eagerly. “You gonna kick their asses with Yoshitsune or something?”

Yu shook his head. “No, I don’t think that’s the best showcase of my new power. I added this thing called a Trait to Yoshitsune that upped his power a little, but really all I did other than that was make it so that he’s now immune to everything that isn’t Gun or Almighty. Which is great and all, but it’s not really something that makes for a good show.”

“I dunno,” Kanji muttered, “walking in front of almost every attack in existence and not giving the slightest shit sounds like a pretty good way to show off.”

Yu shrugged. “Maybe, but I think this is a better way. Surtr!” He suddenly shouted, summoning a blue card in his hand and crushing it, “BLAZING HELL!”

Yosuke’s and Teddie’s eyes widened as they looked at each other. That was the exact same spell that Ren had unleashed upon Shiho’s Shadow when they had battled her, and even now they still clearly remembered just how devastating and powerful that spell had been.

The fiery red giant from Norse mythology manifested behind Yu, raising his flaming sword into the air with a triumphant roar. Immediately, the same molten crater of boiling lava and hellish flames that Ren’s Mada had summoned manifested underneath the Shadows. One second there was nothing, the next second the entire battlefield underneath the two Nyogos was devoured in a mighty inferno far greater than anything Yu had ever been capable of summoning before. Chie felt like her face was about to melt off just from being near it, giving out a shriek of fear and surprise as she stumbled backward to keep as much distance between herself and the molten crater as possible. The rest of the Investigation Team let out various exclamations of awe and fear as Yu demonstrated the new heights of his power, a show of strength that made Yukiko’s Burning Petals look like a tiny matchflame by comparison.

The Shadows didn’t stand a chance. They were instantly obliterated, devoured by the flames and scattered to ashes with a speed and efficiency that could only be described as brutal.

“I think I can safely say those were some of the easiest Shadow kills in my entire life,” Yu commented with a smirk.

“That was SO COOL!” Chie gushed with starry eyes once she’d finally gotten over her shock. “That was even more badass than Yukiko’s Burning Petals!”

“I can’t even disagree with that honestly,” Yukiko admitted with a shake of her head and a small but impressed smile. “Even when Yu only had Maragidyne on his Surtr he was pretty close to keeping up with me in terms of raw damage potential. Now I’m pretty sure he just completely blows me out of the water.”

“How’d you even GET that skill?” Yosuke demanded. “That skill just straight-up didn’t exist back when we were fighting Izanami in the TV World. Did you find a skill card with it or something?”

“Nope,” Yu replied, as he placed a hand on Joker’s shoulder. “It’s all thanks to Ren, here. He helped me get a whole new bunch of skills that can make my Personas more powerful than ever, and helped me arranged things so that getting them on my Personas wouldn’t be a massive pain.”

Everyone looked over at Joker, who shrugged. “Wild Cards gotta stick together, right?”

“Man, I really wish you were fighting with us back in 2011, Ren,” Kanji muttered. “Between the two of you and the rest of us, we would’ve kicked so much ass it wouldn’t even be funny.”

Naoto chuckled lightly. “Well, we should certainly be grateful that Ren is here now to give his assistance. If the Shadows here already failed to pose much of a threat to Yu before, and he has even a few of these extremely powerful Personas under his command, then the threat level of even the most powerful Shadows in the TV World has essentially become borderline nonexistent.”

“Do you have even MORE powerful Personas?” Teddie asked eagerly.

Yu nodded. “I got a few. Not enough to complete a full set like Ren has, but I have enough to make do for a bit. Like I said before, I buffed up my Yoshitsune a bit with a new trait…” his lips suddenly stretched into a grin, “and I finally got Izanagi-no-okami again.”

THAT immediately got everyone’s attention. “Izanagi-no-okami?” Yosuke repeated, his eyes widened. “You mean your Ultimate Persona?”

“The one and the same,” Yu confirmed. “I didn’t have the tools back then to make the most of Izanagi-no-okami’s power, but I do now. And let me tell you, I am REALLY excited to try him out on the battlefield for the first time.”

“Ooh, this sounds like so much fun!” Rise exclaimed. “Show us, senpai!”

“You got it Rise,” Yu agreed, his eyes burning with genuine excitement even as he allowed a small smile to form on his lips. “I’ve been waiting to do this ever since I prepped Izanagi-no-okami up. Let’s go find a Shadow to destroy.”

They advanced further into the dungeon, approaching a hexagonal metal door at the end of the hallway. The door opened to reveal a cubical room filled with various different pieces of machinery that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a supervillain lair. “Damn, really laying into the whole secret lab theme here, aren’t we?” Joker commented dryly.

Naoto pulled her cap lower over her face and groaned. “I didn’t ask for my TV dungeon to be this…this…juvenile,” she grumbled.

“It could be worse,” Rise commented with a shudder. “It could’ve been mine.”

“Or mine,” Kanji added.

Naoto sighed. “I…can’t even argue with that to be honest. After seeing your TV dungeons, I can’t help but wonder how Izanami could have such a sick and twisted sense of humor to allow those abominations to come into existence.”

“Now I really want to see them,” Shiho admitted. Before anyone else could refuse, Yu had already charged towards and whacked the sole Shadow in the room on the head, transforming it into a group of no less than five Insolent Basalts.

“What the heck,” Joker mumbled. “They’re literally just giant rocks.”

“Yeah, sometimes the Shadows in the TV World are just kinda meh,” Yosuke acknowledged. “Still don’t want to get hit by them though, getting smacked by a giant rock is never fun.”

Joker smirked. “Speak for yourself, I’ve got 12 Personas and most of them don’t give a shit about Physical attacks,” he retorted.

“They ALL block or repel physical attacks?” Chie exclaimed. At Joker’s confident nod and smirk, she could only gape in disbelief. “What the hell…”

“As funny as it would be to have these Basalts kill themselves trying to whack either Joker or myself,” Yu interrupted, “that’s not what I want to show you. I want to show you just what Izanagi-no-okami is truly capable of.” He reached into his pocket, took out a Star Melon that he had picked up Nanako’s Garden, and cast it on himself. His entire body started to glow with brilliant blue light as his magical energy massively intensified.

“What was that?” Rise exclaimed. “Did you just use an item to Mind Charge yourself, senpai?”

Yu nodded. “Courtesy of some new seeds that I grew in Nanako’s garden thanks to Ren,” he confirmed. “Some of which give Power Charge and Mind Charge to whoever they’re used on.”

“That’s actually incredible!” Yukiko remarked appreciatively. As the primary magic attacker of the Investigation Team, she understood the value of being able to charge her attacks more than most. And the idea of giving those buffs to anyone at any time thanks to Ren’s new seeds would give their team an incredible new level of versatility.

“It’s only going to get better from here,” Yu promised. “Ren, do you have ways to cast Matarukaja on us and Marakunda on them?”

“I’ve got you covered,” Joker answered. He took out a Cleaning Spray from his pocket and tossed it onto the cluster of basalts, afflicting them all with a DEF down. A few seconds later, Chie took out an Assault Signal and threw it into the air, fueling all of them with the power of a Matarukaja. “Show us what you can do, Yu!” she cheered.

Yu grinned, his shining moment finally come. “Izanagi-no-okami!” he shouted. “Show them your unstoppable power! MYRIAD TRUTHS!”

The ultimate form of the creator god of Japan manifested behind Yu, wielding his powerful and unique dual-blade in his hand. He emitted an aura of sheer power even greater than Surtr, yet even this seemed to be a mere fraction of his true might, might strong enough to single-handedly destroy a goddess. Izanagi-no-okami held the weapon out in front of him, spinning its two blades like a wheel as they glowed with brilliant light. Immediately afterwards, an astral manifestation of Izanagi-no-okami’s weapon appeared above the Shadows’ heads, spinning just like the actual weapon itself had done. As the blades completed their spinning cycle, a mighty barrage of multicolored, prismatic lightning bolts suddenly blasted down from the sky like a storm called down from Heaven itself. The divine lightning relentlessly blasted the Shadows with power and force so extreme that it made Yu’s earlier Blazing Hell look positive pathetic in comparison. Even a single one of the lightning bolts was enough to vaporize the rocklike monsters to oblivion with not even ashes remaining, with the rest of the lightning bolts tearing apart the very ground where the Shadows had stood seconds earlier. It took a few more seconds for the power of Myriad Truths to run its course, and by the time the attack was finally completed every single one of his friends was staring at where the Shadows had been with mouths gaping and jaws dropped. Even Joker was utterly stunned, as the only attack that he had ever seen with a comparable power level was Satanael and his Sinful Shell. Even Yu was visibly surprised by the power that he had just unleashed, clearly not having expected Myriad Truths to have been THAT powerful.

Rise was the first to finally break the silence. “Oh my God, senpai…” she breathed. “That attack did over 9000 damage…”

“Nine…nine…NINE THOUSAND?” Yosuke spluttered in disbelief. “Wh-what the actual FUCK?”

“H-how is that even possible?” Chie nearly screamed, her mind completely overwhelmed as she tried to process what she had just heard. “I don’t think even our most powerful attacks came even CLOSE to that level of insane!”

“Sensei is so cool…” Teddie breathed, wonder and adoration positively vibrating from every part of his trembling body.

Even the calmer members of the Investigation were visibly shaken by what they had just witnessed. “So this is the power that defeated Izanami all those years ago,” Naoto murmured, her eyes and voice filled with awe. “I can certainly believe it, after witnessing such an incredible display of power.”

“No wonder Margaret and Lavenza didn’t want you to use Myriad Truths against anybody’s Personal Shadows,” Joker commented with a frown. “With that kind of overwhelming power, I find it disturbingly easy to imagine how you might accidentally destroy someone’s Shadow with it and send them straight into a mental shutdown.”

Everyone else shuddered at the image that forced itself into their heads. None of them had ever realized that straight-up killing someone’s Shadow was even possible, and in retrospect they were all incredibly thankful that they had never overdone it in their fights and killed someone’s Shadow by mistake.

After all, saving someone from the TV World was completely meaningless if they ended up as a braindead corpse with black ooze flowing out of their eyes days later.

Yu grimaced as he felt a sudden surge of weariness strike his body, jarring everyone out of their disturbing thoughts. “Urgh…” he grunted.

“Are you all right, senpai?” Rise immediately asked, ever the caring girlfriend.

Yu nodded. “I’m fine. Margaret and Lavenza warned me that after I attack with Myriad Truths, I need to hold off on attacking again with Izanagi-no-okami for a few battles if I want to use it safely,” he explained. “I just feel tired after using it now, and not in the same way when I get low on SP. Based on what they told me, I should be fine after a few minutes.”

“Easy there, Yu,” Yosuke cautioned, putting a hand on Yu’s shoulder to steady him. “We don’t want you getting hurt just cause you wanted to flex a bit.”

“That was honestly amazing though,” Yukiko commented appreciatively. “I only wish I could’ve seen you use that spell against Izanami when you beat her once and for all. It must’ve been such an incredible sight that I’m sorry I missed.”

Kanji snickered. “With a skill like that? I can imagine the look on her face when you beat her ass into the ground.” He quickly became a bit more serious. “In all seriousness, Yu, you should probably take a break for a bit. At least til you get used to using Myriad Truths like that.”

Yu smiled dryly. “Don’t worry, Kanji, I’m done flexing for now,” he reassured him, before turning his head over to Joker. “Hey Ren, why don’t you show off some of your power now? You’re arguably even stronger than I am right now, if only because you’ve got more Personas that are maxed out than I do.”

All eyes turned to Joker, who smirked at the attention he was getting. “Sure, I’m more than happy to show you guys what I can do. Let’s go find another Shadow to kill.”

They searched through the lab until they found another Shadow, with Joker being the one to smack it on the back of the head this time. This time, the Shadows transformed into three flying spheres with gaping mouths and tongues sticking out of them. Joker had seen creatures like these before in Yukiko’s Castle. Only this time, the creatures were red in color with a green stripe going through the center of their faces, their mouths were bright blue, and their tongues were completely black. “Okay, seriously, what the hell is wrong with these Shadows?” Morgana exclaimed. “They all look so weird!”

Joker was similarly baffled. “Yeah…I think I miss when the Shadows looked like human guards,” he admitted. “At least those made sense in their Palaces, even if they were a pain to deal with. Hey, Rise? What are these things weak too?”

“Those Flattering Hableries?” Rise responded after a second. “They’re weak to Ice!”

Joker smirked. “Good enough for me.” He grabbed his mask and pulled it from his face. “Black Frost!”

The malevolent, black-skinned snow demon manifested behind Joker, laughing menacingly as it did so. Yosuke and Teddie felt a thrill run through their bodies as they both immediately recognized one of the Personas Joker had used in his fight against Shadow Shiho, while the others were taken aback by the flaring aura of power that the Black Frost emanated. A power that was equal in intensity to the Surtr that Yu had just summoned in their last battle.

“ICE AGE!” Joker bellowed.

Black Frost twirled around and giggled maniacally as it reached an outstretched hand towards the Shadows. And just like last time, several pulse-like pillars of ice fell from the sky and pierced the battlefield in front of them like spears, exploding into massive, razor-sharp crystals that burst out of the ground and skewered the three Hableries all sides. Unlike last time, though, the Shadows weren’t nearly as powerful or as durable as Shadow Shiho had been, and the Ice Age attack was more than enough to obliterate them from existence with the same brutal and ruthless efficiency that Yu had unleashed from his Surtr’s new Blazing Hell. And even though the Investigation Team had never seen either attack before, they could tell that Black Frost’s Ice Age was just as powerful as Surtr’s Blazing Hell had been.

“Yep, that sounds about right,” Yosuke remarked nonchalantly as Black Frost vanished back into Joker’s mask and the rest of the Investigation Team besides Teddie finished recovering from having their minds blown by yet another display of extreme power. “If that attack could do some serious pain to Shiho’s Shadow, those stupid tongue balls didn’t stand a chance.”

“I’m so jealous!” Chie pouted. “I couldn’t do any better than Bufudyne, and I don’t even have enough room in my Persona’s moves for Ice Boost!”

Yukiko shuddered, her Persona recoiling from the raw display of Ice-based power that Joker had just demonstrated in front of them. “I hope I never get hit by an Ice attack that strong,” she mumbled.

“Thank God Adachi didn’t have this kind of power, cause otherwise we’d have been so screwed if he did,” Kanji muttered.

“That would never happen,” Yu reassured him as they continued through the dungeon. The next door they opened actually contained the stairs leading down to the next floor, and they wasted no time in advancing down them. “Adachi might have improved himself compared to when we faced off against him, but he doesn’t have the kind of genuine bonds with friends and family needed to unlock the full potential of a Wild Card.”

“He wouldn’t have been the murderer to begin with if he was capable of forming those kinds of connections all the way back then,” Naoto agreed, giving their final thoughts on the manner as they came across another Shadow that Joker promptly attacked with his knife.

“I’m still recovering from using Myriad Truths Ren, go crazy and do whatever you want,” Yu offered.

Joker smirked. “Don’t mind if I do,” he replied as the Shadows transformed into five more Insolent Basalts. The leader of the Phantom Thieves felt a distinct sense of underwhelming as he stared at the Basalts. “Really? More of these giant rocks?” he asked, thoroughly unimpressed.

Shiho rolled her eyes. “Does it even matter, Ren?” she pointed out. “You’re just gonna completely destroy them either way.”

Joker shrugged, ignoring Morgana’s snickering at the blatantly obvious statement. “True,” he acknowledged, before his mouth stretched into a grin. “It’s fine by me either way, because now I get to show you one of the two Personas who represents who I am more than any other.”

Everybody immediately gave him their complete and undivided attention. “Are you gonna show us Satanael now?” Teddie asked excitedly. He’d been wanting to see Ren’s Ultimate Persona ever since he had described how Satanael had destroyed Yaldabaoth in their climactic battle, and he was far from the only one.

“Not yet,” Joker shook his head. “I will soon, I promise, but there’s one other Persona I wanna show off to you guys first. You see, Satanael might be my Ultimate Persona and the truest representation of who I am at the height of my power, but I still have a fragment of his power that he left behind after he ascended, Arsene. And while I was fighting in Maruki’s Palace, that fragment went through its own transformation. He would never become as powerful as Satanael, but he’s still just as much a powerhouse in his own right. Allow me to introduce, Raoul!” he suddenly shouted the last word.

Blue flames blazed around Joker’s body, and from those flames rose the figure of a demonic gentleman thief dressed in a stylish red coat and wearing a dapper red hat that partially covered his face, a blood-red set of eyes and mouth surrounded by the blackest shadows. The demonic Persona was wearing a fancy suit that would’ve made any Diet member, and was holding a cigarette his mouth. From out of his torso extended two gigantic metal bat-like wings, the top of which were black as midnight while the bottom was covered in golden plate. Just from looking at this Persona, the Investigation Team and Shiho could tell that this particular Persona represented Joker in a way that no other Persona ever could, an exact embodiment of his truest self.”

And just like Black Frost, Raoul emanated the same aura of intense power, all but confirming that Joker had optimized and maximized his power through the tools in the Velvet Room.

“Raoul!” Joker called out to his Persona. “Ravage them with VACUUM WAVE!”

Raoul let out a silent roar of savage glee as he flew up into the air, spun around twice, and threw out an outstretched claw towards the Basalts with a dramatic swing of his arm. The moment he finished his gesture, a gigantic tornado crackling with energy suddenly tore itself into existence on top of the Basalts. The magical vortex of raw, undiluted Wind energy shredded the Shadows with what felt like was enough force to destroy entire buildings, a savage and violent tempest equally as powerful and equally as dangerous as Blazing Hell or Ice Age. Even from a safe distance, everyone in the party of Personas besides Yosuke and Morgana felt the need to shield their faces from the mighty winds that were emanating from the tornado, so great was its destructive power. And just like the other Severe damaging spells that Joker and Yu had unleashed beforehand, Raoul’s Vacuum Wave was more than enough to obliterate the helpless and weak Shadows in front of them, tearing them to pieces with no trace remaining.

“Whoa…” Yosuke breathed once he finished picking his jaw off the floor. He’d known that Ren was obscenely powerful after their fight with Shadow Shiho, but he hadn’t seen this particular spell from Ren yet…and he’d had no idea that Wind spells could even get this strong to begin with. “And here I thought I was good with Wind magic, Ren. That Vacuum Wave you just sent out makes me look like a scrub!”

“Damn, that Vacuum Wave was painful for me to just look at,” Kanji admitted sheepishly. “My ass would be screwed beyond all belief if I’m ever unlucky enough to get hit with a Wind attack that strong!”

“If that’s the kind of power that I have at my disposal now that I have Vishnu fully prepared, I’m very much looking forward to attacking enemies Weak to Wind in the future,” Yu commented placidly, but his eyes were glittering with excitement once again.

“Wait, you have a Persona that can attack with Vacuum Wave too?” Yukiko asked.

Yu nodded. “Yep, thanks to the work I did with Ren 2 days ago. His Persona might be completely different from mine, but the power level of our Vacuum Waves should be pretty much the exact same.”

“That’s so cool!” Chie exclaimed. “You’re going to get more Personas that are just as powerful as Ren’s, right?”

“That’s the idea,” Yu confirmed. “It might take a few days of training, but it’ll be well worth it.”

“Uhm…Ren?” Rise suddenly interrupted. In contrast to the awe and excitement everyone else was feeling, her voice almost sounded…uncertain. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead, Rise,” Joker invited.

“Why does your Persona feel like it’s supposed to do something different than what it actually does?” the idol wondered. “Like…looking at Raoul for the first time, I would’ve thought for sure that it was gonna use Dark or Curse magic. But using Wind magic instead…it feels kinda off, like you’re using it for something different than what it was supposed to be, you know?”

To everyone’s surprise, Joker nodded. “That’s because I did change Raoul’s fundamental purpose. Originally, Raoul’s powers focused more on Curse attacks, like you said. He also had a signature move called Phantom Show that had a high chance of inflicting Sleep to every enemy.” He shrugged. “But I changed it. I changed what Raoul was meant to do because there aren’t any severe Curse skills or skills better than Maeigaon that Raoul can use, and I thought that would be wasted potential. And I didn’t keep Phantom Show because I have another Persona that I use to make the most out of status effects.”

Joker’s face suddenly broke into a grin. “So I teched out Raoul to be my ultimate Wind magic attacker with Vacuum Wave. And thanks to some careful planning, he’s able to unleash the most powerful Vacuum Waves possible at half SP cost thanks to Spell Master while still having immunities to Physical, Ice, Wind, Bless, and Curse. And hey, being immune to 5 out of 10 elements without being weak to anything else is good enough for me.”

“Wait, hold on…” Yu frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense. If you used 5 skills on Vacuum Wave, Wind Amp, Wind Boost, Spell Master, Magic Ability, and 3 skills on immunities…you should still only be immune to 4 elements, not 5. How’re you able to defend yourself against 5 elements, then?”

Joker smiled. “And that’s the beauty of how I build my Personas,” he replied as he reached into his Phantom Thief outfit’s pocket and took out what looked like a school badge. He showed it to his friends, who could barely make out the image of a white otter on a blue background. At the bottom of the badge was a green school with the words “St. Hermelin” on it. “This was a gift from my mother before I was forced off to Tokyo. Something to remember my mom and dad by, something to remind me that I wasn’t alone. They couldn’t contact me directly because Shido’s a massive shitbag, so this was the best they could do.” He smiled fondly at the badge in his hand, before his smile suddenly turned into a victorious smirk. “But imagine my surprise when I discovered, completely by accident, that having this badge on me as my main accessory gives me complete immunity to all Bless and Curse attacks. I didn’t realize it at first, but once I started building and optimizing my Personas, I quickly realized just how insane being completely immune to Bless and Curse without needing to use a single skill slot truly is. Keeping myself immune from Bless and Curse attacks means that’s one or maybe even two slots that I can use for something else, another Drain immunity or another skill.” He chuckled appreciatively as he put the badge back into his pocket. “I don’t think my mom could ever realize just how much she’s helped me in the Metaverse with this one gift.”

“Your parents really are amazing people,” Yu readily agreed, before he sighed. “Shame that they were forced out of the country thanks to Shido’s disgusting schemes.”

“We should find what jail he’s in and kick his ass just for that!” Chie declared with a scowl. “He deserves it!”

Joker chuckled again, but this time it was dark and devoid of warmth. “Don’t worry, Chie. I got my justice from him. He’ll regret everything he’s ever done for the rest of his days.” His voice dripped with malice and vindictive satisfaction, causing the team to shudder at the dark tone in his voice. “I made sure of it myself.”

“A-anyway,” Yosuke stammered, trying desperately to change the subject. “Can you show us Satanael now? I really wanna see just how strong your Ultimate Persona is!”

Joker thought for a moment, then shrugged. “You know what? Fuck it. Now’s as good a time as any. Let me show you my ultimate and most powerful Persona.”

Eagerly, the Investigation Team hunted out the next Shadow and Yu whacked it in the head with his katana. The Shadows transformed into three pairs of dancers, each consisting of a male and in black dresses and suits. The female figure carried a sharp rapier in her hand, while a black heart with a red mask on it floated over the dancer’s headless necks.

“It’s time!” Joker declared. “Come forth, Satanael!”

The blue flames that erupted around his body blazed even more intensely this time around, and out from the depths of his soul emerged the ultimate demon lord. A mighty creature dressed in black and golden armor adorned neatly with skulls, military badges, and other symbols that represented his awesome might. Six wings spread out from his back that were as black as midnight, starting out as black feathery angel wings but ending in more traditional bat-like wings that were equally befitting the lord of the fallen angels. Satanael wore a gold mask over his face from which two massive horns spread out, and above the mask was a crown of black wings that circled around his head in a neverending cycle. In the demon lord’s hand was a sleek, silver gun that had been masterfully crafted with skill that no human blacksmith could ever be capable of.

Immediately, the Investigation Team could tell that this Persona was far more than even the other mighty Personas that Ren had shown them. Even as it represented Ren Amamiya at the height of his power, with his ultimate potential fulfilled, his friends could somehow tell that unlike every other Persona he had summoned, the manifestation of Satanael that Ren had summoned was merely a fraction of its full potential. A fragment of an entity powerful enough to kill a god even more malevolent and even more powerful than Izanami had ever been.

And deep within Yu Narukami, Izanagi-no-okami felt a sense of kinship resonate through his being as he sensed the presence of an equal in power, and a fellow protector of humanity.

Joker laughed as he felt the thrill of Satanael’s power course through him. Thanks to the Will of the Sword trait that he had given Satanael, his body flowed with the power of Concentrate, and he summoned Attis to cast Thermopylae on everyone. “Don’t attack them,” he interrupted his friends before they could do anything. “Just weaken them with a Marakunda and let me do the rest of the work.”

“I can’t wait to see this!” Rise excitedly shouted as Yu threw a Cleaning Spray at the dancers, lowering their defenses. The others guarded, willingly sacrificing opportunities to attack as Joker took charge again. He cast off his restraints and pointed his knife at the closest Royal Dancer. “SINFUL SHELL!” he bellowed.

Satanael raised his gun and pointed it towards the Shadow Joker had commanded to attack. The moment he fired, the heavens seemed to split open as a bullet made of pure light fell from the sky, ironically as though it had been fired straight by God Himself. The bullet flew with breakneck speed towards them, and as it got closer the Investigation Team’s eyes widened as they realized just how large the divine bullet actually was. Faster than their minds could process, the bullet collided with the Royal Dancer. The moment the Sinful Shell hit the Shadow, it exploded into a pillar of raw, unchecked Almighty energy that seemed to erupt out of the ground straight back into the sky from where the bullet had come. Even though the blast was concentrated into a single pillar of light instead of exploding outward like a Megidolaon or Morning Star, the energy emitting from the pillar was so intense that the Investigation Team felt as though doing so much as laying a finger upon the blazing column of light would disintegrate them to ashes. The Shadow let out an inhuman screech as it was completely vaporized out of existence as the pillar of light faded away, a sight no less impressive than Izanagi-no-okami’s Myriad Truths in its own way.

“First senpai, and now Ren too?” Rise breathed in stunned disbelief. “That attack did over 6000 damage!”

“How is that even possible?” Yosuke exclaimed. “Doing damage that high with Almighty attacks should be illegal!”

“So basically both Yu and Ren can destroy whatever the hell they want with Izanagi-no-okami and Satanael,” Kanji commented appreciatively. “Damn, those two bring a whole new meaning to the term powerhouse.”

Naoto, however, seemed to have a different opinion. “I’m not so sure about that,” she interrupted. “Don’t misunderstand me, Sinful Shell is an incredibly powerful Almighty attack and I have no doubt its strength is comparable to that of Myriad Truths…but it can only affects one enemy. While this may not be an issue for dealing with a singular powerful Shadow, it seems rather…inefficient. Even taking into account the fact that Sinful Shell has given him a free 1 More, I still feel as though Myriad Truths is strictly the better option. Especially if Ren cannot use Sinful Shell multiple times in quick succession.”

“You bring up some good points,” Joker acknowledged, “but there’s one thing you’re not aware of, Naoto.”

“Oh?” Naoto raised an eyebrow. “And what would that be.”

Joker grinned. “I can still attack with Satanael even after Sinful Shell. MEGIDOLAON!”

Satanael raised his fist and pumped it once the air, immediately dropping a massive Almighty explosion of energy onto the two remaining Shadows. The Megidolaon was far weaker than Sinful Shell or Izanagi-no-okami’s Myriad Truths…but it was still an Almighty spell cast by a legendary being of ultimate power. Even without a Concentrate boost, it was far more powerful than any other Megidolaon anybody in the Investigation Team had ever seen before.

The two other Shadows never stood a chance.

“Ah…” Naoto blinked. “Yes, that would certainly make a difference.”

“Wait, so Satanael can still attack even after using Sinful Shell?” Rise exclaimed in disbelief.

“You got it. I have both Sinful Shell and Megidolaon on Satanael for this reason,” Joker explained. “Sinful Shell does Colossal Almighty damage to 1 enemy. It never misses, and it will always knock down the enemy I use it on if it somehow doesn’t kill it. And it automatically gives me a 1 More even if I kill my target, although I can’t use Sinful Shell again for 3 battles afterwards. Which is why I have Megidolaon on Satanael as a backup plan.” He snickered. “I might not be able to blow things up with Sinful Shell multiple times in a row, but there aren’t many things that’ll enjoy taking a full power Megidolaon to the face.”

“What Trait do you have on Satanael?” Yu asked curiously. “Mighty Gaze only works on multi-hit attacks and Sinful Shell isn’t one of those, so I don’t think it’d be that.”

“Will of the Sword,” Joker answered. “It increases the power of my charged attacks so that they do 3x damage instead of 2.5x damage. It’s actually not as big of a boost as Undying Fury or Mighty Gaze separately, but it’s the only trait that lets me power up both single and multihit moves at the same time.” The leader of the Phantom Thieves suddenly smirked. “Plus, it gives me an Auto-Concentrate if I have Satanael equipped when a fight starts.”

Yukiko’s jaw dropped. “Auto-Concentrate? That’s actually a thing?” she asked incredulously. The best she’d ever had access to was simultaneous Auto-Mataru/Maraku/Masuku thanks to some of Yu’s Personas…she could only imagine just how powerful an Auto-Concentrate would be on someone like her.

“Damn, I’m really jealous of you and Yu right now,” Yosuke admitted. “You guys get all these broken overpowered skills and traits with your Personas. Hell, I’m pretty sure the two of you could solo Izanami by yourselves!”

Naoto, meanwhile, was still analyzing the differences between Izanagi-no-okami and Satanael. “I’m beginning to see the differences between your Ultimate Personas now,” she declared. “When it comes to raw power, Izanagi-no-okami is clearly stronger. He can attack all enemies at the same time, and if I’m remembering correctly his damage was higher too. However, Satanael is a bit more versatile. Yu cannot do anything with Izanagi-no-okami after casting Myriad Truths, but Ren can still have Satanael cast Megidolaons as a follow-up attack. Megidolaons that are still dangerous in their own right, despite their lack of power compared to either Myriad Truths or Sinful Shell.”

Yu shrugged. “I see your point, Naoto, but it doesn’t matter all that much to me. There’s nothing stopping me from simply switching to another Persona after I use Myriad Truths…and that’s making the very questionable assumption that whoever I used Myriad Truths on survived it to begin with.” He made a dramatic pose, lifting his hand to his forehead. “Oh no, something somehow survived Myriad Truths and I can’t use Izanagi-no-okami anymore, whatever shall I do?” He dropped the hand and his voice turned dry. “Oh wait, I still have Yoshitsune and a bunch more Personas that can kick plenty of ass by themselves. If Myriad Truths didn’t kick a Shadow’s ass, Hassou Tobi will finish the job.”

Joker smirked. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. One way or another, we’re gonna blow those Shadows to pieces. It’s more of a “I feel like blowing up this Shadow in this specific way cause I feel like it” thing more than anything else.”

Yosuke grinned. “With the two of you with us, we’re basically unstoppable!”

Kanji was just as happy as his friend was. “Yeah, you guys are both supreme badasses!”

“I don’t think it could get any cooler than this!” Chie added with a laugh.

The leader of the Phantom Thieves grinned. “Oh, I disagree.”

“Wait, what?” Rise exclaimed. “You have more cool things to show us, Ren?”

“You bet,” Joker confirmed, “but it’s not super-overpowered Personas this time. Instead, I want to show you guys a few tricks I picked up in the Metaverse that made our teamwork and fighting skills even better.”

Morgana immediately perked up at Joker’s declaration. “Wait a minute, Joker! Are you saying…?”

Joker nodded. “That’s right, Morgana. I think it’s time we teach our friends about Baton Passes and Technical Attacks, wouldn’t you agree?”

Chapter Text

“So tell us about these new techniques, Ren!” Chie excitedly exclaimed as they climbed the stairs down to the next floor. They had switched their team up a bit, with Yosuke and Naoto joining Joker and Yu in the frontlines now so as many of them could get as much exposure as possible. “Do they really make fighting Shadows even easier?”

Joker smirked. “You better believe it, Chie. But let’s find a Shadow that turns into a large number of them, that’s the best way for me to properly show off what I want to.”

Yu whacked the head of a Shadow with his katana, and they transformed into a group of 4 Shadows. Two towers that looked like three heads wearing golden crowns stacked on top of each other, and two humanoid walking hourglasses with a golden spiked wheel spinning around their bodies.

Morgana shook his head in bemusement. “Man, these Shadows keep looking weirder and weirder.”

“Whatever,” Joker threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “I’ve given up thinking about how much weirder these Shadows can look. As long as they die easily, I really don’t give a shit about what they look like anymore.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Yu acknowledged. “With that being said, Rise, remind me again what these Shadows’ weaknesses are?”

“The Towers are weak to Wind,” Rise reported without hesitation, “and those hourglass Shadows are weak to Ice!”

Joker smirked. “So they all have weaknesses. Perfect. That’ll make what I want to show you guys a lot easier. The first thing that I want to show you guys is what we call the Baton Pass.”

“Baton Pass?” Yukiko repeated the term curiously. “What does that mean?”

“It’s a teamwork maneuver that helps Persona users gather power and pass it onto their allies,” Joker explained. “Let me demonstrate for you.”

He had no doubt whatsoever that he could completely annihilate all of these Shadows with no effort whatsoever, but that wasn’t the point of this exercise. So instead, Joker took out a Freeze Spray and threw it at one of the walking hourglasses. The Shadow let out a shriek as the Ice item hit it, causing it to stumble backward and fall to the ground. It didn’t freeze it this time, but Joker didn’t particularly care about that.

“The Baton Pass triggers when you hit a Shadow and knock it down,” Joker explained. “Either with a Weakness or a Technical attack, which I’ll get to explaining in a little bit. Naoto, I’m going to pass the baton to you next. Hold out your hand in front of you.”

“Okay…” Naoto clearly didn’t understand what was going on, but did as she was instructed and held out an open hand in front of her. Joker walked up and clapped Naoto’s hand in a high-five…and the First Detective Prince gasped as a surge of energy flowed through her. “What’s this? I felt some kind of power flow through me just now!”

Joker grinned. “THAT was me passing the baton,” he explained. “When you pass the baton to someone else, your next attack will do more damage than it would have normally.” He gestured towards the remaining Shadows. “Anyways, fire off an attack at one of the remaining Shadows that ISN’T already knocked down.”

Naoto manifested her Persona card in front of her and pointed her gun at it. “Garudyne, Yamato-Sumeragi!” She called out.

She shot the card, and a mystical figure wearing the red robes of a decorated soldier, cape-like extensions flowing out of their arms, and a beak-like helmet appeared in front of her carrying a razor-sharp sword. Yamato Sumeragi lifted their hand and pointed it towards the Shadow, and a gust of powerful Wind magic blasted the Dogmatic Tower, causing it to slump forward helplessly. It hadn’t been quite enough to kill since the team hadn’t boosted themselves or weakened the enemy in any other way, but it was clear that the Shadow was heavily wounded and on the verge of death. “I felt the power flow through me as I attacked with my Persona,” she remarked in awe. “And that energy I built up…it somehow feels even greater than before, even though there’s something blocking me from accessing it myself.”

“That’s the energy of Baton Pass!” Morgana chimed in with a catlike grin on his face. “It only gets stronger the more you build up the chain. But you can’t use it yourself. You have to pass it onto someone else!”

“Morgana’s right,” Joker agreed. “The energy of Baton Pass can’t be used by the same person twice. Not only that, but it can’t be used by anybody who’s already attacked as part of the same chain. That includes both me and you, even if I only used an item instead of outright attacking. Instead, give that energy to either Yosuke or Yu, as they’re the only two people left.”

Naoto thought for a moment, before turning to Yosuke. “Yosuke, I’m giving this energy to you next. Hold out your hand, please.”

Yosuke shrugged and held out his hand as Naoto walked over to him and slapped it with her own. Immediately, Yosuke’s eyes widened as Naoto transferred her collected power to him, feeling a rush of strength unlike anything he’d ever seen before. “Holy crap, I feel so much stronger!” he exclaimed.

“Hit one of the towers with a Garudyne,” Yu suggested.

Yosuke gladly took his partner’s advice and summoned Takehaya Susano-o, firing off the Wind attack. The moment his Persona unleashed the attack, Yosuke could tell that it was a lot stronger than it would normally have been, and with his Wind attacks already inherently stronger than Naoto’s thanks to his Wind Amp and Boost, his Garudyne was able to cleanly destroy the other tower in one-shot despite not being otherwise empowered in anyway.

“Damn, that was so cool!” Yosuke laughed. “I feel like I could kick all sorts of ass with that power boost. Imagine if I’d been charged up on top of that!” He frowned suddenly as a troubling thought occurred to him. “Hey, uh…I ended up killing that Shadow. That didn’t mess up the chain, did it?”

Joker shook his head. “Nah, you’re fine. As long as you hit something with a type advantage, technical attack, or crit, you’ll still keep the Baton Pass going even if you killed the Shadow you attacked. You can still feel the power within you, right?”

Yosuke concentrated for a few seconds. Sure enough, he could feel the energy that had been accumulating from the Baton Pass deep within his soul, but just like Naoto had pointed out, he couldn’t access it directly. That left only one other person to pass the energy on and complete the chain with.

“Yu!” he called out. “Ready to complete the chain?”

Yu smirked as he held out his hand to Yosuke, the two of them high-fiving. “You know I am. Time to finish these Shadows off.” As soon as he accepted the handshake and the power that came with it, Yu immediately manifested his spiritual card and crushed it. “Yoshitsune, HASSOU TOBI!”

The legendary Japanese general materialized and immediately lunged at the two remaining Shadows, tearing them to pieces with devastating speed and power with the eight lightning-fast slashes that had made Yoshitsune such a mighty weapon for any seasoned Wild Card. Yu immediately noted the massive power boost that the Baton Pass had given him, which by now had accumulated to the point that even the Tower Shadows’ inherent resistance to Physical attacks had done essentially nothing to protect them. But there was something else he had noticed, about the Baton Pass-boosted attack, something that Joker hadn’t yet mentioned…

Rise was the one to point out it. “Oh my God, senpai!” She gasped. “Your Hassou Tobi attack…it didn’t cost you any health at all!”

“Wait, WHAT?” Kanji demanded, the others looking just as surprised. “Doesn’t that attack normally eat a good chunk of your health, Yu?”

“It does,” Yu confirmed, “but not this time. I didn’t use any health when Yoshitsune summoned his Hassou Tobi at all. The attack was completely free.”

“And that’s the big payoff for completing a Baton Pass chain,” Joker declared. “If you can successfully finish off a chain with all four members of the team, whoever gets the Baton Pass last not only gets the biggest power boost out of every single person involved in the chain, but their next attack will not cost any HP or SP cost. They basically get to fire off a powered-up attack completely for free. And yes,” he added with a smirk, “all of this does stack with the power-ups from Matarukaja, charging moves, and whatnot.”

“That’s SO COOL!” Chie gushed with stars in her eyes. “I want to try this awesome new strat, Yu!”

Yu chuckled and nodded. “Yes, I think we should spend a couple of minutes training and getting everyone up to speed on how the Baton Pass works. Ren, would you mind stepping out of the main lines for a bit so that we can get everyone as much practice as possible?”

“No problem at all,” Joker replied. “Go right ahead.” He stepped away from the main lines, allowing Kanji to take his place. For the next several minutes, the members of the Investigation Team practiced using the Baton Pass technique on groups of large Shadows, with Yu making sure that everybody was given an evenly distributed amount of experience with learning how to utilized the new teamwork-based maneuver Ren and Morgana had taught them. He also made sure to include Shiho in their Baton Pass exercises, as she was just as new to the technique as they were and she would need all the experience she could get so that she could learn how to fight Shadows with her Persona properly. Although there were a few mistakes made here and there, everyone caught on relatively quickly, and after a couple of battles everybody understood the basic fundamentals without a problem.

As it soon turned out, the best recipients of a Baton Pass turned out to be Yu, Yukiko, and Chie. Yu and Yukiko were no surprise to anyone whatsoever, as they were the most powerful heavy-hitting attackers out of everyone in the Investigation Team. And while Chie could certainly appreciate not spending lots of health to hit enemy Shadows with her Physical attacks, the greatest value that she got out of a max Baton Pass was the ability to cast the normally SP-devouring Dragon Hustle without any cost whatsoever.

“Hell yeah, this kicks so much ass!” Kanji laughed as Yu killed off one last group of Shadows with a max Baton Pass-boosted Myriad Truths from Izanagi-no-okami. “I mean, I almost feel bad for the Shadows now, what the hell can they even do against this?”

“This isn’t even the most powerful version of Baton Pass,” Joker chuckled. It’s possible to make Baton Pass even stronger.”

“Ooh, really?” Teddie asked enthusiastically.

“There’s 3 possible ranks for Baton Pass, you’re on Rank 1 right now,” the leader of the Phantom Thieves explained. “Rank 2 gives you a bigger damage boost and some HP recovery, while Rank 3 gives you an even bigger damage boost as well as some HP and SP recovery with every pass. The HP and SP recovery are whatever, but the damage boost is definitely something you’ll want to go after.”

“How do we increase the rank of the Baton Pass?” Yukiko questioned.

Joker frowned. “I’m…not sure how you guys are going to do it, to be honest,” he admitted. “The rest of the Phantom Thieves and I increased our baton pass ranks by playing a dart game called Penguin Sniper at a bar in Kichijoji…but I don’t know if there’s anything similar enough to increase baton pass ranks in Inaba.”

“We’ll have to do some scouting around Inaba for a similar group activity,” Yu mused. “There isn’t really anything I can think of right now…but Inaba’s gotten a lot bigger than it used to be.” He shrugged. “We can probably find something.”

“Didn’t you mention something else that you wanted to show us?” Yukiko wondered. “I think you called it…Technical attacks, or something?”

Joker nodded. “That’s right. Technical attacks are attacks that you can use on Shadows affected by certain statuses. If you hit a statused mon with the right kind of attack, you can do extra damage and knock them down as though you hit them with a weakness, even if they don’t have that weakness normally, as long as they aren’t flat-out immune to it.” He glanced over at Shiho. “Shiho, would you mind subbing in for someone? Psy is one of the best elements to hit enemies with Technical attacks.”

“Uh, okay…” she replied, stepping up to replace Chie, who gladly backed out to let the younger Persona user take her place. “What do I need to do?”

“First, let’s find some Shadows that aren’t weak to Psy attacks,” Joker answered. He spotted a Shadow in the distance and hit it in the head with his knife. The Shadow shuddered and transformed into three golden scales.

“Just a reminder, those Shadows are weak to Light and Dark,” Rise announced, “but they resist everything else.”

“Resist, not block or anything worse?” Joker clarified.

“Yep, resist,” she confirmed.

Joker smirked. “Good enough for me. Kohryu, Brain Jack!”

He ripped his mask off of his face, and the mighty mythological golden dragon of China manifested around him. The dragon glared at the Shadows and his eyes flashed with a brilliant pink light. Unnatural pink energies swirled into the three Shadows, afflicting them with Brainwash and leaving them completely helpless to any Psychic attack.

Joker knew that if he wanted to, he could attack now with Psycho Blast and obliterate the Shadows in front of him with even greater force than what most of his Severe skills like Blazing Hell and Vacuum Wave were normally capable of…but he’d already played the showoff with his Personas several times, and education was main point of this exercise.

So instead, he turned to Shiho. “A lot of statuses affect the mind,” he explained. “Things like Brainwash, Fear, Forgetfulness, Confusion. All of these statuses allow us to hit them with Psy moves for a Technical attack. These Shadows don’t have weaknesses to Psy normally,” he smirked, “but they sure do now. Go ahead and cast Mapsio on them.”

Shiho did as she was instructed, summoning Zheng Yi Sao to attack the afflicted Shadows with a Mapsio. The psychedelic attack struck the Shadows, and just like Joker had predicted, the attack struck them with extra force and knocked them all down thanks to the Brainwash affliction that Joker had put on them earlier.

“Damn, there’s actually a way to knock them down after all!” Kanji exclaimed. “Those scale Shadows were always such a massive pain in the ass whenever we fought them.”

“You know what to do, everyone!” Yu called out. “All-Out Attack!”

The four Persona users rushed in and completely destroyed the helpless scales, with even Shiho familiar enough with All-Out Attacks by now to join in without hesitation despite not having a proper weapon. The Shadows were obliterated without putting up any resistance whatsoever, and Yu picked a few cards to give them extra EXP and money since there wasn’t a Fusion alarm card available.

“As you can see, Technical attacks are very good for knocking down enemies and making them vulnerable without needing to depend on weaknesses,” Joker explained. “Especially for Shadows that normally don’t HAVE any weaknesses to begin with. And status conditions are extremely important for making Technical attacks work properly.”

“Are Psy attacks the only ones that work with Technical attacks?” Yu questioned.

“Nope!” Morgana replied cheekily. “There’s a lot of ways to use Technical attacks on enemies!”

“I once read an entire book that gave me all sorts of clever and different ways to use Technical attacks, but to keep things simple I’ll start with the basics,” Joker added. “Dizziness and sleep allow you to hit enemies with ANY element for a Technical attack, as long as they aren’t immune to it. Burning enemies with Fire attacks lets you hit them with either Wind or Nuclear attacks for Technical damage, while Shocking or Freezing enemies with Electric or Ice attacks allows you to hit them for Technical damage with Nuclear attacks, Physical attacks, or Gun attacks. Freezing is particularly powerful because it actually removes immunities to Phys and Gun attacks from someone while they’re frozen, which is the only way to remove an immunity without relying on those stupid and useless Break spells.”

“There was one time we had to use Break items to get rid of immunities on an enemy who repelled everything,” Yosuke commented, before sighing. “But yeah, outside of that those skills kinda suck ass. Didn’t know there was a way to remove immunity to Phys attacks, though.”

“Yeah, it’s why I prioritize Drain Ice whenever I have a spare slot for it on most of my Personas,” Joker freely admitted. “I do NOT want to get hit by a Technical God’s Hand to the face when I could’ve reflected it otherwise.”

Everyone there, even Yu, winced at the idea of getting whacked with a Technical God’s Hand. “I’m guessing your Kohryu is your primary Psy attacker?” Rise guessed. “Seems like a massive waste to only have it cast Brain Jack and do literally nothing else.”

“Yep, Kohryu’s my Psy attacker,” Joker confirmed. “He actually has a unique trait called Universal Law that adds 50% bonus damage to any Technical attacks. For context, all my elemental Personas boost their damage by 20% with their Traits. And this is on top of the increased damage that I’m already doing with a Technical attack.”

He smirked as everyone’s eyes bulged once they realized the implications. “That’s a horrifying level of power,” Yukiko gasped, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Suddenly Shiho’s Shadow looks really, really weak by comparison,” Yosuke commented dryly. He knew full well that if it the Shadow in question had possessed Kohryu’s level of power, everyone besides Ren would’ve been completely obliterated without mercy instead of “merely” struggling to fight her.

“Can you show us more examples of Technical attacks, Ren?” Teddie asked eagerly. “Please?”

Joker nodded. “I’ll show you another example right now. Let’s find a Shadow.”

Yu identified one crawling on the ground a few feet away, ran towards it, and smashed it on the head with his Katana. This time, the Shadow in question transformed into two black lions with menacing red eyes, their legs and head bound by chains attached to a large black iron ball with a disturbingly humanlike blue mask on it.

Rise didn’t even need to be asked to give a report on them. “They’re weak to Ice and Light, they resist Elec, Wind, and Nuke, and they repel Dark!” She reported.

“Fine by me,” Joker replied. He glanced over at his teammates. “I haven’t shown you my Electric or Nuke Personas yet, have I? Which one do you want me to show off?”

“You’re not gonna attack those lions with a Bless attack?” Naoto asked with a raised eyebrow.

Joker shook his head. “They’re already to weak to Bless, so no point. Besides, Bless is probably the least impressive element for me to attack with for Technicals in general since the best I have is a Heavy damaging spell instead of a Severe one.”

The Investigation Team members and Shiho looked at each other and shrugged, not really having a personal preference for one element or another. Eventually, Yu decided to make the decision for them. “Show us your Electric persona,” he decided. “It’s the only one of the four quote-unquote standard elements that we haven’t seen yet, and I’m kind of curious to see what the Severe Electric attack is.”

“Works for me,” Joker agreed readily. “Can you throw a Sleep Vial L at these Shadows to get them statused?”

Yu nodded and tossed the Sleep Vial at the two lion Shadows. The Shadows slumped forward and fell to their knees, all but completely neutralized by the Sleep effect. “Take it from here, Ren.”

Joker grinned and took his mask off. “Odin, WILD THUNDER!” he bellowed.

The chief god of the Norse Pantheon manifested into existence, catching the Investigation Team by surprise. They had actually seen Odin before, as he had been Yu’s primary Wind Persona thanks to being the only one at the time who could learn Panta Rhei. Ren’s Odin looked more or less the same as what they were used to from a visual perspective…but now it would be attacking with the exact opposite element.

Odin slammed the ground with his spear, and the very air suddenly seemed to crackle with energy. The energy seemed to build up in intensity for several seconds…and then suddenly, a massive and unstoppable cascade of mighty blue thunderbolts suddenly tore into existence, positively drowning the entire battlefield in front of them with a deluge of raw electric energy. Just like with the other Severe skills, none of the Investigation Team members had ever seen an Electric attack this powerful before, and the already devastating Electric attack hit the Shadows even harder thanks to their Sleep-induced vulnerability. The beasts could’ve survived the attack on their own thanks to their inherent resistance to Electricity under normal circumstances, but with their newfound weakness, they didn’t stand a chance. The Technical Wild Thunder vaporized the lions to oblivion, leaving the Investigation Team and Shiho awestruck at the extreme level of power that Joker had in his fingertips.

And the moment he saw that attack, Yu knew what he wanted his new Electric Persona to be. He knew that the smart thing to do would be to use Odin as his Electric Persona just like Ren…but he wanted more than anything else in that moment to raise Izanagi up be his most powerful Electric Persona. He knew that Izanagi’s resistance profile was far from ideal, and that there were other Personas who could probably fill in that position much better…but Yu didn’t care. Izanagi represented who he was in a way that no other Persona except Izanagi-no-okami ever could. He would find a way to make this work, just as he had for any challenge that he had come across.

“Yikes,” Yosuke mumbled as the Wild Thunder attack finally faded away. He could feel Takehaya Susano-o recoiling inside of him just from being in its presence, and he didn’t need to be a genius to know that he’d be all sorts of fucked if he was ever hit with an Electric attack that strong. One look at the cowering and whimpering Teddie and Yosuke knew full well that his fellow Electric-weak Persona user had come to the same conclusion.

“Wow,” Kanji, on the other hand, could only whistle at the demonstration of sheer power. “I know I’m meant to be a Physical attacker and all that, but hot damn do I wish that I could hit Shadows with Electric attacks that hard.”

“I can definitely understand the importance of Technical attacks thanks to Ren’s demonstration,” Naoto remarked appreciatively. “Those lions normally resisted Electric attacks, but thanks to their sleep status Ren-kun could tear them apart with his Wild Thunder like they were nothing.”

“We should get some practice in with Technical attacks too,” Yu suggested, before adding with a frown. “Although we’ll probably need to rely more on items since most of us don’t have status-inflicting moves on our Personas.” He gave Joker an apologetic glance. “I hope you don’t mind us using them.”

Joker shrugged. “No problem, I can always find more,” he reassured them. He stepped back and allowed Chie to take his place so that the Investigation Team could get more practice with Technicals.

The Technical practice didn’t go quite as smoothly as the Baton Pass practice. Shiho might have had inherent access to Brain Jack in her Persona’s skillset, but the rest of the Investigation Team were forced to rely on items. Yu could land a status on the Shadows by tossing a vial at them relatively reliably thanks to having Personas that had 99 luck, but it was a bit hit or miss with the other members of the Investigation Team. And there were a few times in the beginning when a member of the Investigation Team would forget what statuses could trigger what Technical attack, prompting further instruction from Yu or Joker.

Fortunately, just like with the Baton Pass training, the Investigation Team were fast learners and it didn’t take long for them to memorize the Technical attack triggers that Joker had taught them. They would need to find more vials (or the TV World equivalent) for most of them to be able to cast statuses without relying on Yu or Shiho, but all of them had made satisfying progress after a few battles. “Just like with Baton Passes, Technical attacks have ranks that increase their power and effectiveness. Higher ranks increase the damage, and increase the chance you have of knocking down an enemy.”

The leader of the Phantom Thieves frowned. “I forgot to mention that not every Technical attack has a guaranteed chance to knock down an enemy. Only the highest rank Technical attacks do. We were probably able to pull them off without a problem since I’m here, but if you guys go into the TV World without me you’ll need to find some way to increase their ranks to get the same level of effectiveness.”

“Another thing we need to look into in the real world,” Naoto noted. “Hopefully if we find a place, it’ll be one where we can raise both our Technical and our Baton Pass ranks at the same time.”

“I think this is as good of a time as any to wrap things up for the day,” Yu declared. “We’ve learned a lot, and had plenty of time to show off just how powerful both Ren and I have become. Obviously I’ll need to spend a couple of hours in the TV World to bring the rest of my Personas up to the same level as Ren’s, but that’s not something that needs every single person here for me to accomplish.”

“Yeah, I think we should head back,” Chie agreed. “It’s gonna get dark soon.”

“I need to get back too, I took a break from work this afternoon but I need to tend to the Amagi Inn again this evening,” Yukiko voiced her own support.

“Hold on a sec,” Joker interrupted. “I agree that we should head back soon…but I want to show you one last Persona I have. One that I picked up while I was going on my Persona adventures.” His lips stretched into a grin. “This guy shows the power of Technical attacks and statuses in a way that none of my other Personas can. Not even Kohryu.”

Yosuke whistled at this declaration. “More than 50% damage on Technical attacks?” he replied in disbelief. “This, I HAVE to see.”

“Let’s really set this one up properly, though,” Joker suggested. “Concentrate, Attack Up on me, Defense Down on the enemy, a max power Baton Pass, the whole nine yards. Trust me, it’ll be worth the setup time.”

“We should probably go back and find some Basalts then if we want quantity for the Shadows,” Yu advised. They followed his suggestion and retreated back to the second floor, where they scouted around hunting Shadows until they found one that transformed into 5 Insolent Basalts.”

Joker threw a Despair Vial L at the Basalts, rendering them all crippled and consumed with their own dark thoughts. Shiho fired a Marakunda at the Basalts to weaken their defenses, Yu activated an Assault Signal to increase everyone’s attack, and Yukiko gave Joker a Star Onion to power him up with a Concentrate.

“Is that it?” she asked. “Have we set everything up?”

“Not quite yet,” Joker replied. “Now we need to set up the Baton Pass. Only hit one Shadow at a time with a Bolt Lightning, make sure you don’t hit the same Shadow twice, and pass the Baton Pass power to me.”

His teammates did as he instructed. Yu was the one to fire a Ball Lightning first, before passing the Baton Pass power to Shiho and Chie, who each did the same, before finally passing on the full accumulated power of the Baton Pass to Joker.

“So who exactly is this Persona that you’re about to use?” Naoto questioned.

Joker grinned. “You know…it’s funny that Yu has Izanagi as his Persona. And kind of fitting. Because even though I didn’t mention it before now…I have an Izanagi for a Persona too.”

Before his friends could even begin to process the implications of that statement, Joker grabbed his mask and ripped it off his face.

“Let’s show’em how it’s done…Magatsu-Izanagi!”

Chapter Text

Yu’s mind crashed to a screeching halt as he heard Ren say the name of his Persona. It took all of his inherent self-control for his jaw not to drop, and even then his mind was all but screaming, “WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?”

The stunned and disbelieving looks on all of his friends’ faces made it abundantly clear that he was not the only one asking the same questions.

But before anybody could say anything, Ren’s body began to glow with blue flames and the figure of a dark humanoid warrior manifested behind him. Yu had expected Ren to summon the same blood-stained red-and-black counterpart to his own Izanagi that Adachi had wielded in their battles, but this was not the case.

Unlike Adachi’s Magatsu-Izanagi, Ren’s was primarily dressed in a black-and-white ensemble. The armor of Ren’s Magatsu-Izanagi was almost entirely black, and instead of a bloody red coat he wore a white and black striped jacket. The same was true for his weapon, as the blade of Magatsu-Izanagi’s spear was now pitch-black instead of crimson red.

But the biggest difference between Ren’s Magatsu-Izanagi and Adachi’s was the face. The original Magatsu-Izanagi had worn an armored mask over his face just like Izanagi’s, albeit blood-red instead of silver. Ren’s, by contrast, either wasn’t wearing a mask or was wearing a pitch-black one that made it impossible to distinguish between mask or true face…which barely mattered, when all of them could clearly see the monstrous face on it. Two glowing eyes and a ghoulish grin that glowed with an ominous fiery light, showcasing Magatsu-Izanagi’s demonic nature in a way that the Adachi’s incarnation ironically never had.

“You need proper punishment...” Joker hissed, before bellowing out the name of his attack. “MAGATSU MANDALA!”

Magatsu-Izanagi leaned down and swung his blade from left to right as he cast his spell. A blood-red runic circle large enough to cover the entire battlefield manifested underneath the feet of the weakened Shadows, and several Japanese kanji words made of the same blood-red energy manifested in the air around the rune circle and the Shadows. Everyone could only watch as the Japanese kanji words began to swirl around the circle, moving slowly at first but going faster and faster until all they could see were frenzied blurs. And with every second that passed, malevolent Curse energy collected in the center of the rune circle and grew in strength, a display of dark and dreadful majesty that only Magatsu-Izanagi could ever be capable of.

After a few seconds which simultaneously seemed like both an eternity and no time at all, the gathered Curse energy violently exploded in a pillar of dark energy that erupted from the rune circle like a volcano and shot into the sky. The Shadows in the rune circle were completely obliterated, destroyed with such violent force that it made the previous deadly attacks from both Ren and Yu look like wet firecrackers by comparison. As soon as Magatsu-Izanagi completed unleashing the sheer destruction of his spell, the rune circle and kanji words vanished as quickly as they had come, leaving nothing, not even wisps of ash or darkness remaining.

The Investigation Team stared in stunned silence as their minds processed what they had just witnessed. Rise was the first to break the silence, and for the first time she stuttered her first few words, so great was her shock. “Th-that did almost twenty thousand damage…” she reported, her voice barely above a whisper. “Each.”

Chie’s eyes bulged out of their sockets. “T-twenty...twenty THOUSAND?” she nearly screamed in disbelief. “HOW? H-how is that possible…?”

“I can’t believe it…” Yosuke mumbled. “We thought Myriad Truths was the ultimate display of power, and that did only seven thousand damage. How the hell was Ren’s Magatsu-Izanagi able to do twenty thousand???”

Joker smirked. “It’s all thanks to Magatsu-Izanagi’s special trait, Hollow Jester,” he explained. “Hollow Jester increases his damage by 40% for every foe that’s afflicted with some kind of status ailment. Fear, confuse, dizzy, sleep, doesn’t matter. If they’re affected, Magatsu-Izanagi’s power goes up.”

Naoto nodded as the pieces began to click into place. “I’m beginning to understand,” she realized. “There were five Shadows that were all afflicted by a status, which gave Ren’s Magatsu-Izanagi an obscene 200% damage bonus. This by itself would’ve been unbelievable by itself, but Ren had the power of a full-chain baton pass behind him, which bolstered his power to even more unfathomable heights. He also appeared to hit the Shadows with a Technical attack at the same time. Combine that with the fact that Ren charged his attack when Yu hadn’t with Myriad Truths, as well as the fact that his attack was increased and the Shadows’ defenses were all decreased…”

Suddenly, it made a disturbing amount of sense how Magatsu-Izanagi was capable of doing twenty thousand damage to enemy Shadows. And understanding the “how” didn’t make the display any less horrifying or awe-inspiring in the slightest.

By now, Joker had noticed that his older friends weren’t cheering him on the way they had when he had unleashed some of his other powerful attacks. If anything, they seemed…horrified and disturbed by Magatsu-Izanagi and his Magatsu Mandala attack. “Guys?” he called out to them, concern clear in his tone. “Is something wrong?”

“This isn’t a conversation we should be having in of a dungeon crawling with Shadows,” Yu replied solemnly after a few seconds of thought. “Let’s just get back to Marie’s safe garden first.”

Nobody had any reason to disagree, and Yu threw a Goho-M at his feet to take them all back to the entrance. “That’s a Goho-M,” he explained to Shiho as they made their way back to the pure garden of the TV World. “Whenever someone throws it at their feet, they instantly and automatically teleport back to the entrance. It’s always a good idea to have a few around in case you dive too deep into a dungeon and don’t think you can fight you way back out safely.”

“Got it,” Shiho nodded in affirmation as they finally made their way back to the garden. “By the way…why did you guys look so…creeped out at Ren’s last Persona? It’s almost like you guys were scared of him.”

“That’s because we kind of were,” Kanji admitted. “Magatsu-Izanagi brings back a lot of bad memories for all of us.”

“Why is that?” Joker asked, clearly concerned by his friends’ reactions. It clearly wasn’t a matter of him being maxed out in power, as they hadn’t reacted to either his or Yu’s maxed out Personas in such a negative manner.

“Magatsu-Izanagi was Adachi’s Persona,” Yosuke answered, with an undercurrent of anger in his voice. It wasn’t directed at Joker, but it still unnerved him regardless. “When we fought that bastard in the TV World, that was the Persona he used against us.”

“The hell?” Joker exclaimed. “You never mentioned this back when we were talking about our adventures.”

“We…didn’t?” Yukiko questioned, clearly confused. The Investigation Team glanced at each other, and then all groaned as the realization set in. “Oh my God,” she mumbled as more than one of them smacked their faces in exasperation, “we actually didn’t.”

Kanji was similarly annoyed with himself. “You’d think we’d remember to actually tell you important shit like this,” he muttered.

“How exactly did you get that Persona, Ren?” Yu asked, his tone completely serious. “This is something we need to know.”

“It was one of the Personas that was in my Compendium,” Joker answered with a frown. “Most of the Personas I had to either fuse or find in Palaces or Mementos, but there were a few that were already listed and written in gold letters. When I asked Caroline and Justine about it, they said that these Personas were listed in the Compendium as a way to commemorate different Personas used by Persona users in the past. I think I even remember seeing Izanagi or Izanagi-no-okami. When I tried to actually buy the Personas to use them, I couldn’t actually do it. I couldn’t use any of those special Personas written in the book…”

“…except for Magatsu-Izanagi,” Naoto finished for him.

“Yeah, Naoto,” Joker confirmed. “For whatever reason, Magatsu-Izanagi was the only one of those Personas I could buy and summon. Once I realized what he was capable of, I specced him to be both my primary Curse attacker and also my main status effect Persona. Magatsu Mandala is his main attacking move, and only he can use it.” A faint smile appeared on his face, although it wasn’t nearly as big this time. “It hits all enemies for Heavy Curse damage and can inflict Fear, Despair, or Confuse even if the attack doesn’t kill.”

“So even if your Magatsu Mandala attack doesn’t kill enemy Shadows, it still messes with their brains afterwards,” Chie breathed. “Wow…thank God Adachi didn’t have that kind of power back when he had Magatsu-Izanagi. Otherwise we’d have all been screwed except for Yu.”

“I really don’t like that you have Magatsu-Izanagi, Ren,” Yosuke admitted, his words coming out a bit more forcefully than he intended. “I honestly think you should just get rid of him. Adachi was an evil asshole, and I doubt that his Persona’s much better.”

Joker shook his head. “I get why you’re concerned, Yosuke, but I’m not getting rid of Magatsu-Izanagi, and this is not up for debate. Magatsu-Izanagi’s been an incredibly valuable part of my Persona roster, and I’ve never felt him try to corrupt or make me into a worse person than who I am. I won’t pretend that he isn’t naturally a darker Persona, but even dark or straight-up evil things can be used for good. Didn’t you also tell me that Adachi was also trying to be a better person in prison?”

“He is,” Yu confirmed. “It’s a…work in progress, but I can tell he’s genuinely trying. At the very least, I can tell you with absolute certainty that he has zero interest in causing anyone any trouble if he ever gets released.”

“Then even someone like him isn’t all that bad, and neither should his Persona. Besides,” he added with a twitch of his lips, “you do realize that Ultimate Persona’s the literal devil, right? If I can have Satanael as a Persona without turning into an asshole, I can handle Magatsu-Izanagi just fine.”

Yu couldn’t help but chuckle. “Fair enough, Ren,” he conceded. Yosuke still looked disapproving, but he just sighed in reluctant acceptance, knowing that this wasn’t an argument that he was gonna win.

“What if we changed Ren-kun’s Persona to have a different name?” Teddie asked innocently. “Maybe that’ll make things better.”

“That…” Rise stopped as she processed Teddie’s words again. “That’s actually not a bad idea,” she acknowledged. “It’d be a good way to show that Ren’s Magatsu-Izanagi isn’t the same as Adachi’s.”

“Yeah,” Yosuke quickly agreed. “Anything that separates the two can only be a good thing as far as I’m concerned.”

“Can we see your Magatsu-Izanagi again, Ren?” Yu requested. Joker obliged, taking off his mask and summoning Magatsu-Izanagi behind him for a second time. The Persona hovered behind the younger Wild Card, leering at them with his demonic smile.

But now that they had another look at Ren’s Magatsu-Izanagi, Yu could tell that there were more differences between his and Adachi’s that went just beyond physical appearance. Even though it had been many years ago, Yu could clearly remembered facing off against Adachi’s incarnation as though it had been yesterday. Adachi’s Magatsu-Izanagi had emanated practically all of Adachi’s negative qualities at the time. His hatred, his wrath, his cruelty and sadism…it had been truly been an evil, twisted version of his own Izanagi in every sense.

Yu didn’t feel that aura of overwhelming negativity and hatred from Ren’s version of Magatsu-Izanagi. He could still sense it to some degree, but the aura of malice was dramatically toned down compared to Adachi’s. Instead, Yu could feel dark amusement and a sense of mischief emanating from Magatsu-Izanagi, as well as a bloodthirsty eagerness to slaughter any Shadow that dared to cross him (not that Yu could condemn him for that without being a hypocrite, as even he could admit to some degree of battle-hungry euphoria when it came to fighting and destroying Shadows). Yet underneath that external layer was a grim determination to do what needed to be done and fight to the bitter end, no matter where that end yet might lead.

With all that in mind, Yu could still sense an aura of hatred and malice from Ren’s Magatsu-Izanagi, faint and drastically diminished as it might have been compared to Adachi’s. The older Wild Card could only hope that those traits were a fundamental aspect of Magatsu-Izanagi’s essence and Ren’s influence was toning them down…because he didn’t want to think about the implications if Magatsu-Izanagi’s lingering malevolent aspects were a reflection of Ren’s personality instead.

“Ooh, ooh, I know! I know what to call him!” Teddie called out, hopping excitedly on the ground. Yu barely resisted the urge to groan but waved at Teddie to allow him to continue. “We should add Picaro to the end of his name! It means rogue in Spanish!”

“Where the hell did you learn that?” Kanji spluttered.

“I was reading a book on other languages the other day in Junes’ bookstore!” Teddie replied, before shrugging. “I had no clue what I was reading most of the time, but I just thought the word Picaro was kinda funny and cool!”

“So we’d be calling Ren’s version of Adachi’s Persona Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro?” Yukiko clarified.

“I…actually really like that name,” Rise commented with a smile. “I dunno why, but it just kinda fits. Especially since I think Yu said Margaret called Ren a Trickster earlier.”

“Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro,” Joker repeated the name, letting it roll off of his tongue. “You know what?” he grinned. “I think I like that name. I think I like it a lot.” Within his soul, he could feel Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro emanate a sense of amusement and approval at his name change. “That settles it, then. From now on, my Magatsu-Izanagi will be Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro.”

“Damn, Teddie actually had two good ideas in a row today,” Yosuke commented, clearly impressed. “That almost never happens!”

“Yosuke, you’re so mean!” Teddie whined at the light jab from his friend, earning a few snickers and laughs from the others.

“Hang on, I’ve still got another question,” Chie blurted out once everyone’s laughter had subsided. “How the heck is Ren even able to use Magatsu-Izanagi in the first place? Why that guy in particular? Hell, if anything I’d expect Ren to be able to use Izanagi instead, since Yu’s basically his big brother!”

“That is a good point, actually,” Rise agreed, clearly troubled. “Adachi’s Persona would honestly be the LAST Persona I’d expect Ren to have.”

A troubling thought suddenly crossed Naoto’s mind. “Ren…you wouldn’t happen to be…related to Adachi, would you?” she asked with hesitation in her voice, clearly not sure she wanted to hear the answer.

Joker frowned as he tried to think. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted after several seconds of careful thought. “As far as I can remember, I don’t think so. But I have to ask my parents. If I have this Adachi guy as an uncle or something, they’ll know the answer.”

“The sooner you can figure that out, Ren, the better,” the request from Yu was gentle or firm. “This is one particularly mystery that I don’t think we should sleep on for too long. I can understand why I can technically summon Magatsu-Izanagi since I maxed out my bond with Adachi, but I don’t have a good answer yet for why you can too.”

“You can use Magatsu-Izanagi?” Morgana asked with wide-eyed curiously.

“I technically can, even though I don’t use him nowadays. He was the Persona I unlocked as a result of maxing my bond with Adachi,” Yu explained. “I actually did try to use Magatsu-Izanagi once, but it never felt right.” The dark counterpart of Izanagi had never outright resisted him…but there was always a sort of tension between him and Adachi’s persona. As though Magatsu-Izanagi was lending his power to him out of a sense of grudging respect more than anything else.

In the end, Yu had decided to release Magatsu-Izanagi from his Sea of Souls, as he didn’t want to risk that tension exploding into a more open and violent conflict at the worst possible moment. He didn’t sense any type of conflict or tension between Ren and Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro, though. They seemed to be fully attuned and aligned with each other from what he had seen, and Yu honestly didn’t know what to think about that.

“The moment I can get in touch with my parents again, I’ll ask them if I have any uncles they never told me about,” Joker promised.

Yu nodded in acknowledgment, knowing that this was the best he could realistically get for now. As they approached the pile of stacked TVs that created the exit portal back to the real world, they suddenly heard the sound of wheels and a bell. The Investigation Team looked around at their surroundings and at each other, clearly confused, but Joker and Morgana both recognized the sound immediately.

“Wait…” Morgana’s eyes widened. “Could it be?”

His question was answered seconds later as a miniature blue car suddenly raced towards them from the horizon. Shiho yelped in shock and Yosuke barely had enough time to leap out of the way to avoid being run over by the car as it stopped in front of them. Sitting at the driver’s seat of the car was a young boy with supernatural golden eyes wearing a white-grayish raincoat with hair in the shape of an eggshell. A being that Joker and Morgana recognized immediately.

“Jose???” Joker exclaimed in disbelief. “Is that really you?”

“How are you even here?” Morgana was similarly stunned. “How did you get here all the way from Mementos?”

“Oh, hey misters!” Jose cheerfully waved at them. “My old home disappeared so I left and drove all the way here!”

“You…drove here,” Yu repeated, for once completely flat-footed and unable to properly process what the little boy entity was saying. “You…drove…from Mementos…to the TV World?”

Shiho looked similarly stumped, not that anyone could blame her. “Uhh…how does that even work?” she mumbled. One look at everyone around her told her that nobody had a good answer to that question.

Jose appeared completely oblivious to the mild existential crisis he was causing to the Investigation Team, looking around the garden with awe. “Whoa…this place looks really pretty. It looks a lot different from where we used to hang out, doesn’t it, mister?” he asked, directing his question to Joker.

To his credit, the leader of the Phantom Thieves recovered from his surprise with admirable speed. “It sure does, Jose. Did you find any new flowers or stickers around?”

“I didn’t see any stickers,” Jose replied, “but I did find a couple of flowers! I went exploring in some other places around here. The creatures in there didn’t seem to like me very much, but that’s okay, because I found a lot of flowers, mister!” As if to emphasize his point, he took out a juice made up of said flowers and proceeded to drink it right in front of them.

Joker swore he could physically see the confused sweatdrops forming next to every single one of his friends’ heads. “Don’t worry about it,” he advised them. “This is just typical Jose. He’s the kind of guy who needs a category all by himself.”

“That is…certainly not inaccurate,” Naoto mumbled, utterly baffled by what she was witnessing.

“Wait…” a disturbing thought suddenly occurred to Rise. “Didn’t he just say that he went into some other places around here. Like…TV Dungeons filled with Shadows? He could get into a lot of danger!”

To her surprise, Joker flat-out burst out laughing at her statement. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about Jose,” he reassured her with a grin.  “He might not look like it, but Jose kicks all sorts of ass. I don’t think there’s a single Shadow in the cognitive world who can beat him in a straight-up fight except for the Reaper.”

Ignoring the jaws dropping from every single member of the Investigation Team (including Yu) at that revelation, the leader of the Phantom Thieves turned back to Jose. “Great to see you again, Jose. We’re about to wrap up our trip to this world, for today. Is there anything we can help you with?”

Jose smiled at him. “Just keep finding those flowers, mister!” he replied. He was about to drive off, but a thought suddenly occurred to him and he turned off the car entirely. He climbed out of the car and took out his mallet. “Oh, and I need to pay you back here for all the stickers you found in the other world! I can change this place up just like I did back over there!”

Joker and Morgana both visibly brightened at his offer. “That would be great if you can pull it off!”

“Hold up, hold up!” Yosuke shook his head and swung his arms in front of him in a “time-out” gesture. “What do you mean by changing this place up?”

“Jose had this unique power back in Mementos where he could change the very structure of Mementos itself,” Joker explained. “He could change Mementos so that Shadows gave more experience and money than they otherwise would, and also increase the number of items found in Mementos although I don’t know how useful that’s going to be here. After I gave him enough stamps he straight-up doubled experience and money gain at max.”

“Jose can do something that powerful?” Shiho asked in amazement. “How does he even pull that off?”

“It’s simple, miss!” Jose cheerfully replied. “I whack the ground with my mallet!”

His declaration earned nothing but blank stares openly from the Investigation Team and Shiho, but the unspoken “what the fuck” and “you’re shitting me” were clear to see on everyone’s faces.

Joker and Morgana, in the meanwhile, were both enjoying Jose casually explode everyone’s minds with his very existence. After a few seconds, though, the former decided to take pity on his friends. He was originally going to accept Jose’s offer, but a last-second thought stayed his hand. “Hey, Jose, we have a friend who owns this place, or at least watches over it. We need her to ask her if it’s okay for you to change this place up.”

“That’s okay, mister, no problem!” Jose answered, not even minimally fazed by the refusal of his offer. “I can do it the next time we meet. Don’t forget to keep finding more flowers for me though so I can give you other cool things!”

“We will,” Joker affirmed with fond smile. “I missed having you around, Jose.”

“Me too, mister. I’ll see you later, then. Good job!” Jose gave his own farewell, and with that he got back into his car and drove off into the distance.

“…what the fuck just happened?” Yukiko was the first to break the silence that followed Jose’s departure, for once completely abandoning the prim and proper speech that defined her persona as head of the Amagi Inn.

“I have no idea,” Rise answered plaintively. “He looked adorable, but he was just so…so…weird!”

Naoto sighed. “While pleasant enough, meeting Jose was truly the most bizarre part of the day,” she muttered. “And considering that Ren possessing his own version of Magatsu-Izanagi is part of the competition, that is truly saying a lot.”

Yosuke groaned. “I’ve had enough of big crazy revelations for the day. At this point, I just want to go home and take a big nap.”

“I think we all deserve a rest after everything that’s happened today,” Yu agreed. “I need to talk to Marie about letting Jose change the TV World the way he wanted to. If she gives us permission there’s no real point in training Shiho today when we can do it in half the time a few days later.”

“Thanks for taking the time to teach me how to fight with Personas,” Shiho gratefully thanked them all. “There’s no way I would’ve figured all this stuff out by myself. You guys really showed me what I can and can’t do with Zheng Yi Sao at my side.”

Chie grinned at her. “Hey, no problem! If you ever want to fight alongside us again, just let us know and we’ll be happy to have you!”

The other Investigation Team members agreed with Chie’s words without hesitation, and Shiho gave them one last smile as Yosuke climbed into the TV to make sure that the coast was clear (which it always was, since he always made sure to lock the door to his office before going into the TV World). One by one, the other Persona users climbed into the TV until only Joker, Morgana, and Yu were left.

“Great to fight alongside you again, Ren. I’ll be in touch soon,” Yu promised as he climbed into the TV, leaving behind Joker and Morgana.

“I know we had a pretty long and exhausting day of training,” Morgana commented, “but it sounds like your day isn’t over just yet, Joker.”

Joker shook his head. “Not quite yet, no. It looks like I’ve got a call with my parents ahead of me tonight.”

And he had the distinct feeling that if he really did have a serial murderer as an uncle, it wouldn’t be quite as pleasant of a call as usual.

Chapter Text

Marie wasn’t expecting to find Yu back at her home again quite so soon. “You’re back here already?” she asked, not even bothering to hide her surprise. “I mean, I’m not complaining or anything. Come on in, I guess…”

Yu nodded gratefully at her as he stepped into the house and she closed the door behind them. “Thanks for giving me your time, Marie. I spent most of the afternoon hanging out with my Investigation Team friends, Ren, and Shiho Suzui in the TV World training.”

Marie raised an eyebrow. “Shiho Suzui…that’s the girl who fell into the TV World and faced her Shadow, right?”

“Yeah,” Yu confirmed. “And some weird things happened there, even by our standards.”

Marie snorted. “This is gonna be good, then. So what did you want to ask me about?”

“Two things,” the leader of the Investigation Team answered. “The first one is that when I was about to leave the TV World, I ran across this strange little guy. He was nice and friendly, and he looked like a little boy…but he definitely wasn’t human.”

Marie smirked. “Did his head look like an eggshell, did he have golden eyes, and did he drive a blue buggy around.”

Yu’s eyes bulged. “How did you…?”

His friend laughed at his baffled expression. “I visited the Velvet Room a few days back,” she explained. “The Nose wasn’t there, but Margaret and her sister were. They gave me an update on what’s changed, and also introduced me to Jose. Cute little kid, though I’m with you when you say that he’s just a tad bit weird.” She shrugged. “I’m not worried about him driving around the TV World. He ain’t no Margaret or Lavenza, but he can take care of himself.”

“I guess you knowing about him makes things easier,” Yu commented. “He offered to change the nature of the TV World for Ren as a favor to him, whatever that means. Apparently he could increase the money and experience Shadows give out by…whacking the ground with a toy hammer, or something?” He shrugged, clearly not understanding. “I dunno. Even by cognitive world standards, that was just bizarre.”

“Why am I not surprised that he can pull something like that off,” Marie muttered. “And I guess you’re asking me to get my permission for him to do that?” she guessed.

Yu nodded. “We’ve been training Shiho as a Persona user and it would help speed things along nicely.”

Marie rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Yeah, screw it, why not?” She declared. “Jose’s a good kid from what I’ve seen. And while I feel like him being able to change the very nature of the TV World by whacking the ground with a mallet seems like it’s violating several laws of reality, it’s not like cognitive worlds give a damn about reality to begin with. And honestly, I get the feeling that even if Jose does screw something up, at least it’ll be funny,” she added with a snicker.

Yu chuckled. “It’s always surprising to see just how surreal your life can be if a cognitive world is involved,” he agreed. “Anyways, the next time I see Jose, I’ll make sure to let him know you’ve given him the okay.”

Marie waved away his thanks. “No problem. So what was the other thing you wanted to talk about?”

The smile vanished from Yu’s face. “I wanted to talk about Magatsu-Izanagi,” he continued, his tone noticeably more serious than before. “Marie, did the Izanami part of you ever give Magatsu-Izanagi’s power to anyone else?”

“No,” Marie answered immediately. Her voice had become noticeably sharper, and her eyes burned with an unshakable conviction in her words. At times like this, Yu had to admit it was easy to remember that the defeated goddess who had nearly covered in Inaba in fog was still an aspect of his friend. “As Izanami, I never gave the power of Magatsu-Izanagi to anyone else except Tohru Adachi. He was given that power so he could fulfill his role in your conflict as a representation of emptiness. Magatsu-Izanagi’s power was never meant for anyone else except Adachi, and you once you maximized the power of your bond with him.”

“That’s what I thought,” Yu answered with a frown. “So how does Ren have Magatsu-Izanagi as one of his Personas?”

The Izanami-esque expression of authority completely vanished from Marie’s face, leaving a look of complete and utter shock. “Wait, what?” she spluttered.

“Ren can use Magatsu-Izanagi,” Yu repeated. “Or at least, he has his own version of him.” He briefly described Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro’s physical appearance and the rationale behind the name change. “It even had a powerful Curse move called Magatsu Mandala that Adachi’s Magatsu-Izanagi didn’t have.”

Marie didn’t speak for several moments. When she did finally speak, she had a troubled expression on her face. “I can really only think of two ways to explain this,” she answered after carefully thinking about the problem. “The first is that Ren met Adachi at some point, and established a meaningful enough connection with him to be able to use his Persona.”

Yu thought about the possibility for a moment, before shaking his head. “I suppose it is possible that Ren met Adachi at some point if they were held in the facility before Ren had his sham trial and got shipped off to Tokyo,” he mused, “but I don’t think that makes much sense. Ren didn’t seem to recognize Adachi’s name, and he wouldn’t forget meeting a guy like Adachi. He’s…very memorable.” For all the wrong reasons, granted, but still.

“I didn’t think that was very likely either,” Marie agreed. “Especially since I don’t even know if Ren and Adachi were even in the same facility to begin with.” She sighed. “Which leads me to my other possible theory. Ren and Adachi might be related in some way. I can’t think of any other reason why Ren would be able to access Magatsu-Izanagi as a Persona if I never gave it to anyone else as Izanami.”

Yu groaned. “I had a feeling that might be it too. Ren’s gonna be speaking with his parents about it tonight. And I really don’t envy him for the conversation he’s about to have…”

Meanwhile, at Ren’s House…

Ren sighed as he sat down heavily on his bed. “You mind leaving the room for a bit, Morgana?” he requested politely. “I want to talk with my parents privately, if that’s all right with you.”

“Sure thing,” Morgana agreed, before tilting his head a bit warily. “You are going to tell me if you find anything important, right?”

“I will,” Ren promised. “If I am somehow related to Adachi in some way, the Investigation Team’s gonna need to know about that too.”

Morgana nodded, satisfied with Ren’s promise, and climbed down the stairs leading back down to the first floor. Ren shut the door behind him and picked up his phone, dialing his parents’ phone number. He had no guarantee whether his parents would even pick up this early, thanks to the dramatically different time zones they lived in.

He didn’t know whether to be relieved or nervous when the call connected after only 3 rings. “Hello?” his father’s voice called out from the phone.

“Hey Dad,” Ren greeted him, trying not to express any nervousness too openly. “It’s me, Ren.”

“Oh!” Shimazu’s voice noticeably brightened at hearing his son’s voice. “I wasn’t expecting to get a call from you this early, but I’m not complaining. How’ve you been doing, Ren?”

“I’m doing all right,” Ren answered. “Can’t really complain with how things have been going.”

“How’s your monetary situation?” Shimazu asked. “I know it must be hard living by yourself and having to earn your own income while going to school at the same time. Your mother and I are trying the best we can, but there’s only so much we can give you at a time.”

Ren chuckled. “Don’t worry, Dad, I’ve got that all sorted out,” he reassured him. “I’ve learned how to make money on the side while in Tokyo. Money won’t be an issue for a very long time.” He couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly at his own words, which were the complete truth yet at the same time revealed nothing about exactly how he was making that money.

Shimazu sounded audibly relieved. “Your mother will be happy to hear that. She’s still getting ready for the day, but she’ll be down here soon. Was there any specific you wanted to talk about, Ren? Or did you just want to call in and see if you could say hi?”

“Actually, Dad…I did have something I wanted to ask you,” Ren replied. He thought for a few seconds about how to phrase the question before continuing. “I was hanging out with my friends. You know, the older ones I always hung around with before I got booted off to Tokyo?”

“I do,” Shimazu acknowledged, sounding puzzled. “What about them, Ren?”

“We were talking earlier today, and we found out something a little odd,” Ren explained, again not lying but not giving the complete truth either. “Dad…do you know someone named…Tohru Adachi? Am I related to him in some way?”

There was silence on the other end, which by itself was strengthening the suspicions in Ren’s mind. “Excuse me for a moment, Ren, I need to speak with your mother for a moment,” Shimazu finally replied. Before Ren could respond, he hung up the call.

Shimazu checked that the phone call had been disconnecting, making sure Ren couldn’t hear him. “FUCK!” he suddenly shouted.

“Shimazu!” Fuyuko scolded, having finished dressing and preparing for the day. She had been on her way out of the apartment she and her husband had been renting before she had heard her husband swear loudly. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Fuyuko, we’ve got a problem,” Shimazu answered grimly. “Ren somehow found out.”

“About what?” His wife was clearly confused, having missed out on the call between father and son.

“About Tohru,” Shimazu scowled. “Tohru Adachi. You know, my estranged cousin who committed those murders in Inaba about 6 years ago?”

Fuyuko gasped. “How, though?” she asked incredulously. “You never mentioned Tohru at any point while Ren was growing up, and you went out of your way to hide the fact that he was related to you after he was convicted of those murders!”

“I don’t have an answer for you,” Shimazu answered helplessly. “I didn’t want to burden Ren with the knowledge that one of his family members was a serial murderer who nearly killed multiple people, including some of his friends!”

Fuyuko frowned. “Well, one way or another, Ren knows now,” she pointed out. “And you can’t hide this from him anymore. Now that he found it, he deserves the truth.”

“I know,” Shimazu sighed. “I know. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Fuyuko gave her husband a light kiss on the cheek. “Ren doesn’t have a lot of people he can trust back in Inaba anymore. We have to make sure we stay on that important list.”

Shimazu nodded and steeled himself, before re-calling Ren’s number. “Uhh…are you guys okay?” Their son asked, clearly disconcerted.

“Hi Ren,” his mother greeted him through the phone. “Shimazu and I were just talking about how to break the news to you about Adachi.”

“I am related to him, aren’t I,” Ren replied. It wasn’t a question.

“You are,” Shimazu confirmed. “Tohru Adachi is my estranged cousin, Ren. Which I guess makes him your uncle, technically first cousin once-removed. I’m sure you’re wondering why you haven’t heard about this before now.”

Ren chuckled, though this time there was no humor in it whatsoever. “Yeah, I’d like to know why.”

“There’s a couple of reasons why,” his dad explained. “The first is that I didn’t really bond with Tohru all that much, or even get to know him particularly well. He was rather estranged from us even back when we were young, and we pretty much lost all contact with him after our college years. I didn’t even know that Tohru was back in Inaba until about a month since he arrived, and the one time I did reach out to him he didn’t seem particularly interested in reconnecting or even meeting either you or your mother. At the time, I thought that this was just because he was too wrapped up in the murder case to pay much attention to anything else.” His tone darkened noticeably. “Of course, there was no way I could’ve known that Tohru was behind the murders to begin with.”

“So you didn’t really see the point in introducing me to him or telling me about his existence if he wasn’t going to reach out to us to begin with,” Ren summarized with a frown. “I’m not sure if I completely agree with that, but I can understand where you’re coming from at least.”

“And that was all before Tohru was arrested and convicted of the kidnappings and murders in Inaba,” Fuyuko added. “If your father had any desire to introduce you to Tohru before that, it completely died for good once we learned about the horrible things he had been doing. We never got the chance to talk to him ourselves, but we did talk to Ryotaro and even to Yu about him. Ryotaro just seemed sad about the whole thing, and from what we heard from Yu, Tohru had become a truly nasty piece of work. After hearing that, we decided that nothing good could come out of a meeting between you and him, and pretty much resolved never to talk about him ever again.”

“I actually did talk to Yu about Adachi earlier today,” Ren replied, as he had told this to his father but not his mother. “He actually mentioned that Adachi was actually a much better person now than he was 5 years ago. Heck, he outright stated that Adachi hates the person he used to be and considers him pathetic. That’s an improvement, right?”

“Ren,” a suspicion suddenly formed in Shimazu’s mind, “are you planning on visiting Tohru in his prison?”

Ren briefly considered denying it, but decided that since his parents had been honest with their answer they deserved honesty in turn. “I was thinking about it,” he admitted. “Maybe not now, but down the line when I’m ready.”

“I’m really not sure that that’s a good idea, Ren,” Shimazu warned. “I don’t know the type of person Tohru Adachi is now. He’s a convicted murderer, and it’s entirely possible that just being around him could be dangerous to you in some way.”

“I get that you’re concerned, but I’ll be fine,” Ren reassured them. “Adachi can’t be any worse than the guy who got me arrested on fake charges and sent me off to Tokyo in the first place. I’ve learned to deal with all kinds of people over in Tokyo, including some less pleasant ones.”

“I can’t deny that,” Shimazu admitted. “Look, Ren, I know full well that I can’t stop you from visiting Tohru if you really wanted to. But just be very careful and very intelligent with how you go about it.”

“I’d feel much better about it if you brought Ryotaro or Yu or somebody who knows Adachi well with you,” Fuyuko added. “Adachi might also behave more if one of them is around to keep an eye on things.”

Not the most unreasonable request, Ren acknowledged, all things considered. “I’ll try and arrange that with Dojima-san whenever I get the chance,” he promised. “I’ll let him know about what we talked about and tell him that you’re okay with me visiting Adachi as long as he’s around.”

Fuyuko and Shimazu both breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Thank you, Ren,” his mother gratefully answered. “It’s good to see that you’re keeping a level head about all this.”

Ren snorted. “I’ve been through a lot in Tokyo, mom. Learning about Adachi being a distant uncle or something wasn’t even the craziest thing that’s happened to me over the past year.”

Shimazu and Fuyuko exchanged a look. The way Ren had said that had triggered their parental instincts in some way, but they couldn’t quite understand how. After a few seconds, they nonverbally agreed to just let it go for now. “By the way, Ren…” Shimazu began, changing the subject, “how long do you think it would be before it would be safe for us to come home? Assuming that we could get all the paperwork and process done as quickly as possible, of course.”

Ren frowned. Shido might have been ousted from power once and for all, but his Conspiracy still had seats in the government that they would be desperately clinging onto to keep their power by any means necessary. From what it sounded like, his parents had been paranoid enough to flee the country to avoid Shido’s wrath, and it was entirely possible that one of his allies could still be trying to hunt them down. Either for the sake of revenge, or just because ruining people’s lives for no good reason was the kind of thing Shido’s Conspiracy would do. “I’d give at least six months,” Ren reluctantly answered. “No earlier than January of next year. Hopefully things will have stabilized enough that you can come home safely. If you’re really worried you might want to wait 9 months or an entire year.”

Shimazu sighed. “I had a feeling that was the answer, even though I was really hoping to hear otherwise. Oh well, I trust your judgment. If there’s anything good that came out of your arrest and forced exile to Tokyo, you’ve really learned independence and how to take care of yourself. It’ll serve you well in the future.”

Ren smiled. “There’s a lot of good things that came out of my trip to Tokyo, Dad.”

“Sorry to interrupt, Ren, but I have to go,” Fuyuko apologized. “I’ll be late for work if I don’t head out soon.”

“I’m not far behind you either, to be honest, Fuyuko,” Shimazu added. “And I’ve got a farther drive than you do. Take care, Ren. We’ll be here whenever you need us.”

“We love you, Ren,” Fuyuko added. “Good bye for now.”

And with that, the call disconnected. Ren sighed as he let his phone fall onto the bed alongside him. He felt…conflicted, more than anything else. His call with his parents had been pleasant enough, and he had been pleasantly surprised by how his parents had been straight, to the point, and honest with the truth. Yu would’ve most certainly approved.

On the other hand, he now had confirmation that he was related to Tohru Adachi, and he was all but certain that this was the main reason why he could use Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro. “God, this is just my life, isn’t it?” he grumbled. “Now there’s a second serial murderer that I’m connected to somehow.”

“Hey, Ren!” Morgana’s voice called out from behind the door. “You done calling your parents yet?”

“I am,” Ren called back. “You can come in now.” He got up from his bed and opened the door, where Morgana was waiting for him at the top of the stairs.

“So what’d your parents say?” his feline friend asked. “Are you really related to Adachi?”

“I am,” Ren confirmed with a frown. “Uncle once removed, or something like that. From what Dad told me, it sounds like Adachi never really connected with my family even before he became a serial murderer.”

Morgana winced. “Yeesh, first Akechi and now this Adachi guy,” he muttered sympathetically. “I guess it could be worse, though. At least Adachi didn’t turn out be your dad somehow.”

“I’d just give up on existence completely if that happened,” Ren agreed.

“So what are you gonna do about it?” Morgana asked. “This doesn’t sound like the kind of info you can just sit on and do nothing.”

“Well, I’ll give the Investigation Team and the other Phantom Thieves an update about what I learned,” Ren answered. “And maybe not now, but sometime in the future, I’m gonna try and meet with this Adachi guy wherever he’s being held.”

Morgana frowned. “You sure that’s a good idea?” he questioned. “This guy’s a serial murderer.

Ren chuckled. “You and my parents pretty much said the exact same thing,” he commented. “Don’t worry, Morgana. I’ll make sure to meet with Adachi with either Dojima or Yu around.”

The feline looked visibly relieved that Ren was going about this rationally and not jumping to meet with another serial murderer on impulse. “Good enough for me.”

Ren smiled and stroked the top of Morgana’s head. “Honestly, how do you feel about going to bed early tonight? After everything that’s happened, I don’t feel like doing anything except taking a nice long snooze.”

Morgana snickered. “Heh. That works for me.”

Ren started preparing for bed, taking a few seconds to take out his share of the money he had gotten from his expedition with Yu and stowing it away next to his already massive reserves of cash, before taking a shower and changing into his pajamas. Even though it was only 9 PM, he could already feel the excitement of the day’s events, on top of the inherent exhaustion that came with going into a cognitive world, starting to catch up with him.

He was asleep before he even hit the bed.

Chapter Text

For once, Yu was wandering through Inaba by himself, without any of his friends by his side.

Granted, part of this was due to necessity. All of his friends were adults with full-time jobs, whether it be Chie maintaining law and order as a police officer, Yukiko running the Amagi Inn, and so on and so forth. Even Rise was busy today, as she had volunteered to help her grandmother run the Marukyu Tofu Shop while she was in Inaba.

Not even Ren was around, having decided to take Morgana and Shiho with him to the TV World so that the latter could practice Persona combat and so that he could replace his current Attis support Persona with a better one. Or as Ren himself put it, “I like Attis and all, but his elemental resistance profile honestly sucks ass and I already know another Persona that can do the same thing except so much better.”

Which was why Yu decided today that he would try and find a place in Inaba where he and the rest of the Investigation Team would be able to boost the power of their Baton Pass and Technical attack techniques. They had been lucky that Ren’s expertise had passed on to their team while the leader of the Phantom Thieves had been a part of their party, but Yu knew full well that he couldn’t rely on that forever. The search would also let him take his mind away from the revelation last night that Adachi was indeed Ren’s uncle, as well as all the troubling implications that came with the fact that Ren could wield Magatsu-Izanagi.

Plus, if he was being completely honest with himself, no matter how much he loved his friends, there were some days where he just wanted to spend time by himself without having to deal with any of their problems. “My friends are amazing, and I love my girlfriend, but if I had to spend time around any of them 24-7 for weeks on end without a single break I’d go completely insane,” he thought as he passed through the Shopping District.

He had hoped that there would be an easy solution to the question of what could replace the Darts and Billiards place that Ren had used in Inaba’s Shopping District, but he had no such luck. “I guess that even with how much Inaba’s developed over the past couple of years, we’re still not anywhere near the level of a big city,” he thought as he took a few seconds to wave at Rise as he passed by the Marukyu Tofu Shop.

As there were no activities around the Shopping District that could be considered suitable for developing teamwork and technical skills, Yu tried looking around other neighborhoods of Inaba to see if there was anything that hosted such activities. Unfortunately, his search continued to prove fruitless. By the time noon rolled around, he decided to take a break in Aika’s Chinese Diner.

As he ordered a standard beef bowl, the entrance to the diner opened and Rise strolled in. “Hey, senpai!” she cheerfully called out to him. “I saw you coming in here for lunch, and I figured I’d join you!”

Yu smiled back at her, grateful for the company. “How’s the Tofu shop going?” he asked.

Rise looked through the menu and ordered a beef bowl before answering her boyfriend’s question. “Not really busy this morning,” she replied with a shrug. “I think it’s cause it’s a school day. My grandma even offered to let me have the afternoon off, but I refused. Feels like I gotta commit since I already promised her the day, y’know?”

“Absolutely,” Yu agreed without hesitation. “It’s always important to keep promises as much as possible. And if you have to break them, there should always be a very good reason for it.”

Mr. Nakamura came over and dropped off two freshly made beef bowls, which Yu and Rise gratefully accepted. “So what’s been going on with you this morning, Senpai?” Rise asked. “You look like you’ve been running around the town a lot.”

“That’s because I sort of was,” Yu admitted, lowering his voice so that only Rise could hear. “After Ren showcased Baton Passes and Technical attacks to us yesterday, I was trying to find a place where we could practice those kinds of skills and power them up so that we can use them to their full potential without Ren’s help. The problem is, there isn’t anything in Inaba that looks like it would help.” He made a face. “Pretty much wasted an entire morning, but without any of you guys around I didn’t really have anything better to do with my time.”

“Aww…” Rise sympathetically gave her boyfriend a small hug. “I’m sorry. Maybe I should’ve waited for another day to help my grandma and helped you instead.”

Yu shook his head. “No. I’m pretty sure that helping your grandma would’ve been a far better way to spend your time than what I did this morning.” He smiled tiredly. “Let’s just enjoy our lunches for now, I’m starving.”

The two of them enjoyed their beef bowls for the next several minutes. Having already completed the Mega Beef Bowl challenge consistently for several years now, Yu had absolutely no trouble finishing a regular Beef Bowl. Rise’s stomach and appetite were significantly smaller than Yu’s, but she’d eaten at Aika’s enough times to be able to finish a Beef Bowl comfortably while only taking a few minutes more than her boyfriend.

“Where is Ren, by the way?” Rise asked once she had finished eating.

“Training in the TV World with Morgana and Shiho,” Yu answered. “He wanted to fix one of his Personas and give more training time for Shiho. I don’t really see a problem with it as long as they stick to a dungeon Shiho can handle like Naoto’s Dungeon. I’m not really worried about them.”

Ren might have acted like a brash and flamboyant showman sometimes with his mannerisms as Joker, but he was no fool and he didn’t believe in taking stupid and unnecessary risks.

“Fair enough,” Rise acknowledged. “Remind me again, what was the activity that he and the other Phantom Thieves used to boost their Baton Pass and Technical attack skills?”

“Darts and Billiards,” Yu replied promptly.

Rise thought for a moment. “Have you checked Okina City yet?” She asked. “It’s probably the closest thing to a Tokyo neighborhood we have around Inaba. And I vaguely remember something about a new club being opened there…maybe you’ll find something there?”

Yu blinked for several seconds as he processed Rise’s advice…before he groaned loudly. “Oh, you’re kidding me,” he groaned. “I can’t believe I didn’t think about that earlier.”

Rise giggled. “Well, that’s why I’m your Navigator and your girlfriend, right?” she asked cheekily. “Here to support you when you need a helping hand.”

Yu chuckled. “You’re so right, Rise. I’ll drive over to Okina City once we’re done here. You sure you don’t want to come with?”

Rise shook her head. “Maybe next time, Yu. I’ll be free this evening if you find a place you want to check out, though!”

“If I find a place, you’ll be the first to know,” Yu promised. The couple finished the last of their meal (with each of them paying for their own meal), embraced briefly, and parted ways once had left Aika’s behind them. With a renewed sense of purpose, Yu made his way straight back to Dojima’s house, got into his car, and immediately set off for Okina City.

Having driven to the city bordering Inaba plenty of times on his scooter as a teen, Yu knew the way to Okina City like the back of his hand. Unlike Inaba, Okina City really hadn’t changed much over the past few years. A few buildings had been constructed and removed, but the overall layout of the city had largely remained the same. As Yu investigated the street next to Okina’s Train Station where he had frequently visited Okina City as a teen, his eyes fell on a building a short distance away from Café Chagall. It looked like an arcade that hadn’t been there 5 years ago…

…and if it was an arcade, then it could very well be exactly what he needed.

Yu approached the arcade, its glass door sliding open automatically to let him in. The inside of the arcade was high-tech and quite impressive, with many different electronic games and activities. It would definitely be a place that he could consider bringing Nanako to, the next time the two of them had some free time.

But what really caught his attention was the bar attached to the arcade, an area no doubt reserved more for teens and adults than for kids. Inside the bar were pool tables and machines with dartboards on them…exactly like the darts and billiards that Ren had described.

Yu allowed a satisfied smirk to appear on his face. It had taken almost half the day, but he had finally found the key to boosting his team’s Baton Pass and Technical Ranks. His eyes fell upon a pair of teens who were throwing darts at the board. Playing darts right now was obviously off the table since he didn’t have a partner, and while he was tempted to try playing billiards by himself, he wasn’t sure if the benefits would pass on to his team without them around.

“I’ll come back later, once I’ve had a chance to talk to Ren,” Yu decided. “No point in trying to use these games to boost up my ranks when I don’t even know what the hell I’m doing to begin with.”

Later That Evening…

“So you actually did manage to find a place for boosting Baton Passes and Technicals, huh?” Yosuke remarked as Yu guided he and Rise over to the arcade and bar that he had found earlier. “It even had the same kind of games Ren played over in Tokyo?”

“From what I could tell, yeah,” Yu affirmed. “Ren explained the rules to me after he got back from the TV World, and they seem to play the same here. I was gonna suggest that we boost up Technicals first with the Billiards, but Ren told me he needed to read a book on expert billiard playing first to actually get that started. He gave me the book and I plan to read it later, but right now the best we can do is get our Baton Pass ranks up with the Darts instead. I invited you since you’re my main partner and first teammate, and I also invited Rise since I promised I’d bring her to this place once I found it.” He frowned. “I don’t think she can actually boost Baton Pass though, since she’s the Nav.”

“I figured as much,” Rise admitted, “but I still thought it’d be worth coming here.”

Yosuke shrugged and glanced at the dartboard machine. “So, uh…how does this work, exactly?” he wondered.

“We pick a specific point goal,” Yu explained, “either 301, 501, or 701. There’s 5 rounds, and each round we have three darts to throw. We throw the dart at a section with point values listed, and whatever points we earn are subtracted from the number score that we picked at the start. So let’s say I threw a dart at the 20 section and we picked the 501 game mode. Our score would lower from 501 to 481. There’s small areas in the slices that are worth double or triple points if we can land in those specific areas, and the bulls-eye itself is always worth 50 points. The goal is to lower your score to 0, but not go over. If you go over, that’s a game over and you lose.”

Rise whistled. “Wow, that sounds pretty complicated. I’m pretty impressed you managed to figure all that out, Senpai!”

Yu blushed and shook his head. “Don’t be. Ren was the one who explained all this to me, and all I did was confirm that these dart games worked the same way as the ones Ren played in Tokyo.”

Yosuke grinned. “And you wanted me to be your first partner for these darts, right? Well, I’m definitely down!”

“I bet you guys could do it on your first try!” Rise cheered them on.

“Let’s pick 301 first just to make sure that we understand the basics. I’ll go first,” Yu suggested, which Yosuke had absolutely no issue agreeing with.

Yu picked up a dart and, after carefully studying the dartboard and steadying his aim, through his first dart straight at the bullseye. To his and his friends’ surprise and delight, he managed to hit the bulls-eye on his very first try. “All right, Senpai!” Rise cheered. “Your first try and you already hit a bullseye!”

Yu only smiled in response and threw another dart at the board. This time, however, his aim was a little off, and he hit the 15 slice instead of another bullseye. He wasn’t too worried, however, and decided to experiment a little. He aimed for the small 3x space in the 17, trying to see if he could hit it in the first try. Once again, however, his aim was a little off, and his dart landed in the 17 slice instead.

“Your turn, Yosuke,” Yu called out, and the two of them briefly clapped hands together as his partner took his place in front of the dartboard.

“I’ll do my best, but I probably won’t get it right the first time,” Yosuke warned.

Yu shrugged. “That’s fine, we’ve got time and I’m honestly not expecting us to get it right the first time anyway.”

Yosuke grinned. “Well then, no pressure, right?” he replied. He picked up his set of three darts and threw them at the dartboard. Unfortunately, the Prince of Junes was not as adept with the dartboard as Yu was, and ended up throwing his darts at a 7, a 12, and a 14. “Sorry, Yu,” he sheepishly apologized to Yu as his friend swapped places with him. “That was not a great one.”

“I’ll make up the difference,” Yu promised. He threw his darts at the board. Two of them only landed in an 18 and a 14, but on the third dart he was able to once again land on a Bullseye.

“Great going!” Yosuke cheered as they swapped again with another high five. “We’re down to 104. I think we got this!”

“Just make sure you don’t go over,” Rise warned. “You go over and you lose!”

“I’ll be careful,” Yosuke promised. He threw his darts at the board again. This time, he was able to do a little better, as he was able to land on 2 20s back-to-back. On his third dart, however, his hand slipped and his dart missed the board completely. “Oh, come on!” he groaned. “How’d I miss the entire freaking dartboard!”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Yu reassured him. “You still did better than the last time with those 2 20s. I think I can secure the win for us.”

Yosuke grinned back and gave him a high-five. “Take it home, partner.”

“You can do it!” Rise cheered.

Yu concentrated on the dartboard in front of him, eyes narrowed as he lifted up a dart and spent several seconds steadying his aim. He knew what targets he had to hit, and what he needed to do to hit them. His first dart flew through the air, hitting right in the middle of the bullseye, and his second dart flew cleanly and hit the 14 space. The score went down to 0, signaling his and Yosuke’s victory over the game.

“Oh my God!” Rise gushed. “You did it! You made it to 0 without going over!”

Yosuke breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God you managed to pull it off with that last one. Would’ve sucked really bad if all our hard work went to nothing.”

The moment he finished speaking, Yu felt a strange power surge within him, as though an innate ability tied to his very soul had somehow gotten stronger. Yosuke immediately glanced over at him, and one look told him that he had felt the same feeling as well. “Hey, did you feel something just now…?”

“I did,” Yu confirmed. “I’m not 100% sure, but I think that feeling means that our Baton Pass Ranks went up by 1. So now we’re both Baton Pass Rank 2, I think.”

“How many Baton Pass ranks are there?” Rise asked.

“Three, based on what Ren told me,” Yu replied.

“You wanna have a shot at it yourself, Rise?” Yosuke asked, offering a set of darts to her.

The idol singer shook her head. “No, I think I’m good,” she declined. “This kind of sport really isn’t my thing…and since I don’t get any Baton Pass ranks from it, doing it would be a waste of everyone’s time. I think you and Yu should try again instead, maybe you’ll be able to get your Baton Pass rank all the way up to 3 tonight!”

“We can give it a try,” Yu agreed, “but we’re gonna have to up the score to 501. Ren told me that outside of some very specific circumstances that we kinda missed the boat on for that other game, we have to beat the game at 501 to get the Rank 3 pass.”

Yosuke grimaced. “Yeesh, there’s a lot less room for error then, isn’t there. I just hope I don’t screw it up for us.”

“No stress, Yosuke,” Yu reassured him. “We don’t need to beat this tonight if we’re just not ready for it. Hell, even I’ve missed a couple of shots in places I wanted to hit earlier.”

Yosuke snorted. “Yeah, but at least you hit a couple of bullseyes, partner! Still think you should go first, though, you do NOT want to rely on me for 3 rounds out of 5.”

“I think Ren always went first too, so I’ll follow his example,” Yu agreed. “Don’t worry, Yosuke. We got this.”

Unfortunately, it turned out that Yu and Yosuke, in fact, did not have this. At least not on their first attempt. It quickly became apparent that getting multiple bullseyes was practically mandatory, or at the very least extremely valuable, for 501 mode. Despite their best efforts, including Yosuke’s first bullseye on his fourth round, it just wasn’t enough. By the time the game was over, Yu and Yosuke had still been behind the goal by 102 points.

“Dammit,” Yosuke grumbled. “We missed it by like 100 points.”

“No worries,” Yu reassured him. “We can give it another go. I already feel like my aim’s been getting better, and I can tell that you’re getting better too. We can pull it off this time, I can feel it.”

“Heh,” Yosuke chuckled. “Always know how to motivate me, don’t you. Let’s go for round two, partner.”

He handed the darts over to Yu, who took them in his hand. They reset the game for a second 501-point game, and Yu threw his darts after carefully aiming.

Yu’s reassurance to Yosuke would prove prophetic, for he managed to score two bullseyes in the same round, the first time that he had pulled that feat off. His last dart scored a 10, bringing the score down to 391 in their first round.

“Nice going, senpai!” Rise praised him. “That was your best round yet!”

“Thanks, Rise,” Yu gratefully replied before handing the next set of darts to Yosuke. “You’re up, partner.”

Yosuke threw his darts at the board, and to his surprise he was able to land a bullseye on his very first try. “Holy crap, I actually did it!” he exclaimed.

“Great start!” Rise cheered. “Go for another one!”

“I’ll do my best,” Yosuke answered as he threw another dart. Unfortunately, his other two darts only landed on a 13 and a 15, bringing the total score down to 313. Even so, this was already a better start than what he had been doing when he had first started playing the game. “Take it away, Yu!” he called out as he high-fived him.

“Just gotta keep doing what works,” Yu thought as he took aim at the dartboard. He could already tell that his aim was getting better, his arm less shaky and his throws more precise. He threw the darts once again with excellent accuracy, hitting two more bullseyes and an 18, bringing the score all the way down to 195.

“You’re really getting good at this,” Rise declared, sounding thoroughly impressed. “That’s two rounds in a row you were able to hit 2 bullseyes, senpai!”

“Yeah, we’re already more than halfway there. I think we got this, Yu!” Yosuke added, just as impressed as Rise was.

Determined not to fumble the lead that Yu had gotten them, Yosuke took his next set of darts and thought about his next move. As tempted as he was to try and hit multiple bullseyes, he knew that he wasn’t skilled enough to pull something like that off consistently. He decided to try for only one bullseye with his first dart, and to his surprise and delight he was able to squarely the land the bullseye when he threw at it. He then decided to play it safe and throw two darts at the 20 space, since it was a much bigger target and one that he thought he could hit twice much more easily. His seconded dart landed on the 20 space like he had expected, but the third dart landed on the small space in the middle of the slice to his surprise. “Wait…did I just score 40 points with that one dart?” he asked incredulously.

Yu smiled. “I think you did, Yosuke. Great work. That was easily your best showing yet.” As if to prove his words, the score went down from 195 all the way to 85. “You definitely pulled your weight there for sure.”

Yosuke grinned back at him. “We are getting pretty good at this, aren’t we, partner?”

“Only 85 points left,” Rise declared encouragingly. “You can do this, senpai!”

“I’ll certainly try,” Yu agreed. He studied the dartboard and frowned slightly. Since there were only 85 points left, he couldn’t just keep throwing bullseyes at the dartboard; otherwise, they’d go over the point limit and bust. He had to be very specific with how he threw his last few darts; fortunately, there was a fairly straightforward solution to what slices he needed to it. He threw his first dart at the bullseye, his second dart at the 17 slice, and the third dart at the 18 slice. Bringing the score right down to exactly 0 cleanly and flawlessly.

“Hell yeah!” Yosuke cheered as he pumped his fist in the air. “You did it, Yu! We won again!”

Yu chuckled. “Not me. We. We did it.”

“Great going, you two!” Rise praised. “That was an even harder level this time around, and you both managed to pull it off!”

“Are we about to get another Baton Pass power boost?” Yosuke asked.

Right as Yu was about to answer, he felt the same surge of power from before course through his body, this time even stronger than before. The look of surprise on Yosuke’s face made it clear that he was feeling the same sensation as well, and his partner nodded knowingly at him once the surge of energy passed. “I felt it again,” Yosuke affirmed before Yu even needed to ask anything. “I think our Baton Pass boost is even stronger than before.”

“I think Ren mentioned earlier that a max level Baton Pass boost really increases the damage of our next attack, as well as giving both HP and SP recovery,” Yu informed his friends. “I’m not 100% sure if I’m remembering correctly, though. And either way, there’s no way for us to really test this out until the next time we go into the TV World.”

“Count me in,” Yosuke smirked. “Can’t wait to see the looks on everyone’s faces when they find out what we’ve been up to today.”

“Now that we know what to do, it won’t take us very long to get everyone up to speed on boosting Baton Passes and Technical Ranks,” Yu asserted. “But first, I need to do something that I haven’t done for a very long time outside of mandatory assignments.”

“What’s that?” Rise wondered curiously.

“Read a book,” Yu deadpanned. “I’m just glad it isn’t one of those 4-chapter books, because spending multiple nights just to get through one book is NOT my idea of fun…”

Chapter Text

Private DMs (Floofy Girlfriend):

Ren: “Hey Haru!”

Haru: “Oh hello, Ren-kun! How are you doing today?”

Ren: “Pretty good. I built up a new Persona today.”

Haru: “Oh, how fascinating! What new power did you unlock, I’d be delighted to know!”

Ren: “Actually, it isn’t so much unlocking a new power as it is perfecting an old one. You know Attis, my Persona with Thermopylae?”

Haru: “The one that allows you to cast Heat Riser on the entire party at the same time, correct? I’ve also appreciated just how powerful such an ability is.”

Ren: “Yeah, so it’s too bad that Attis’ elemental profile sucks hard. Only Null Fire and Repel Wind, are you kidding me? Completely atrocious for a max level Persona, and I just couldn’t accept that.”

Haru: “And I presume you found a new Persona with a…more acceptable resistance profile?”

Ren: “You bet I did. Complete elemental immunities all across the board, baby. Including Gun.”

Haru: “Oh my! Improvement doesn’t even begin to describe this new Persona! What else can it do?”

Ren: “The same things Attis did functionally. Charge and Concentrate, Thermopylae, Debilitate. Also made sure to pass on Vitality of the Tree. The elemental immunities are the only thing that really changed…but now I don’t have to worry about getting hit by anything outside of an Almighty attack when I’m buffing someone.”

Haru: “That’s wonderful! I noticed you never actually mentioned the name of the Persona in question, however.”

Ren: “Her name is Alilat. She’s an Arabian goddess and she looks like a floating obelisk. And the best part is that she’s an Empress arcana Persona.”

Haru: “Oh! A Persona that shares the same Arcana as my own!”

Ren: “It only makes sense, right? This is the ultimate support Persona, just like you support and build me up in a way that nobody else can as my girlfriend.”

Haru: “Aww, how sweet, Ren-kun! I can see the romantic gesture, and I truly do appreciate it! I hope you think of me every time you use Alilat’s power, whether it be to empower yourself or someone else!”

Ren: “I always do, Haru. Speaking of which, I think you mentioned something about visiting me sometime soon? How’re those plans working out?”

Haru: “It’s still taking me effort and time to stabilize my father’s company after his passing, but I think things have stabilized enough so far that I should be able to proceed with my planned visit as scheduled.”

Ren: “Take as much time as you need, Haru. I miss you, but I don’t need you to drop everything just to come and visit me.”

Haru: “Thank you, Ren-kun. I truly do appreciate the consideration. I have to go now, but I’ll be here later if you want to talk to me some more!”

Ren: “Bye for now, Haru. I love you.”

Haru: “I love you too, Ren-kun!”

Ren smiled as he lowered the phone. He’d been caught up with all the adventures in the TV World lately. And while he always appreciated the thrill of battling Shadows in the TV World, it was also nice to sometimes step back and enjoy the calmer and more peaceful things in life. Like texting his girlfriend and reminding himself just how much he missed having her around.

“Definitely gonna go back to Tokyo once I graduate high school,” he thought. “Before I met Haru, I would’ve been on the fence on whether to go to Tokyo, stay here, or do something else. But now that she’s a huge part of my life, the answer’s so obvious. I just hope my parents manage to get back here before I go off to college.”

His thoughts were interrupted as his phone buzzed again. He wondered at first if it was Haru messaging him again, but instead it was Shiho.

Shiho: “Do you wanna hang out this afternoon?”

Ren had spent the entire afternoon yesterday training in the TV World, but a big part of that had been mainly so that he could prepare his Alilat and max its stats up to 99. He’d more or less dragged Shiho along for that tedious grindfest even if he’d trained her up in the process, so it was only fair that he spent today on her terms instead.

Ren: “Sure. See you at Junes?”

Shiho: “I’ll be there in a couple of minutes. See you then!”

Ren put his phone away and walked towards the front of his house. “Hey, Morgana? I’m hanging out with Shiho this afternoon!”

“Okay!” Morgana called back from his room as he left the house, making sure to lock the door behind him. It only took him a few minutes to get from his house to Junes, and when he arrived at the food court Shiho showed up a few minutes after.

“Hey!” Shiho greeted him a bit breathlessly. “Had to go home and shower after practice today before I came here.”

Ren shrugged. “No worries, I only just got here like a minute or two ago.”

Shiho joined him at the table. “That’s a relief.”

“How do you feel like you’re doing with your Persona training?” Ren asked. “It’s hard for me to really relate to people with only one Persona nowadays, since I have 12+ and they’re all overpowered as hell.”

Shiho smiled. “It’s exhilarating,” she replied excitedly. “I feel like I’m really at one with myself in a way that I never was before. And killing Shadows in the TV World is REALLY fun.” She giggled. “It’s funny, because I never really thought I’d be much of a Psychic gal if you showed me that list of elements. If anything, I would’ve guessed that I’d have been Wind.”

Ren chuckled. “Cognitive worlds can take you by surprise in more ways than one,” he commented. “I know either Yu or I’ve been giving you commands in battle, but do you think you have a fundamental idea of what you’re doing even without my help?”

Shiho nodded. “Yeah. I know what my Persona and I are capable of, and what my limits are. If I ever got cut off from you or the rest of the team for whatever reason, I wouldn’t be completely helpless.” She frowned. “Definitely not stupid enough to go in alone, though.”

“Good,” Ren answered, saying the one word more forcefully than usual. “There’s no reason to go in the TV World alone. Ever.”

“No argument from me there,” Shiho agreed, before changing the subject. “Anyways, I called you out here today because I wanted to try and find out what weapon I should use in the TV World. I know Zheng Yi Sao uses a sword and a claw…but that doesn’t really mean anything, does it?”

Ren shook his head. “Nah. The weapons your Persona uses doesn’t mean you’d actually use the same weapons yourself. Kanji’s Persona has a giant sword that looks like a flame, but he whacks Shadows in battle with a shield. And Chie’s Persona has a double-bladed sword but she kicks Shadows. I honestly have no idea what kind of weapon you’d use.”

Shiho got up from her chair. “Then let’s go find out!” she declared. The two of them made their way down the elevator and out of Junes, before walking over to the Shopping District. It wasn’t until they’d already reached the Shopping District that she realized she’d forgotten to ask something important. “So, uh…where exactly do we get weapons, again?”

Ren snickered good-naturedly. “Yu’s team got them from Daidara Metalworks. The guy’s a real expert when it comes to crafting metal weapons. A lot of them are classic swords like katanas and nagitanas, but he’s also made some things that are a lot more unique like guns, handheld metal claws, and even metal-bladed fans. He also makes a lot of excellent armor, although I don’t think anything’s better than the spare Godly Robe that Yu gave you earlier. There’s definitely gotta be at least one weapon that you can use in the TV World.”

The two of them entered the metalworks shop, where Daidara was hard at work crafting one of his latest weapons. “Ah, young Amamiya!” The forgemaster gruffly but cordially greeted him. “Good to see you. Who might your young friend over here be?”

“I’m Shiho,” she introduced herself. “Shiho Suzui. I go to school with Ren at Yasogami High.”

“Ah, a pleasure to meet you,” Daidara replied. “How may I help you two?”

“Shiho’s interested in trying to see what kind of weapon would be best suited for her,” Ren explained smoothly. “It’s a bit of an experiment in curiosity.”

Daidara chuckled. “You two remind me quite a bit of Yu Narukami and his friends. They were always here several years ago, buying my weapons. I never quite figured out what happened to them after they bought them, only that they kept supplying me with unique materials that continued to give me inspiration for new and greater weapons.” A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. “I wonder what kind of adventures you’ll embark in, and if they are any similar to what Yu and his friends had.”

Ren blinked. There was something in Daidara’s voice, a vague sense that the metalworker knew more than he was letting on. But before he could think about it any further, Daidara’s thoughtful expression immediately vanished and he shook his head. “Anyways, not my business. You wished to see my weapons, and they are here for you to see. Feel free to test them, but I must ask that you be careful. No fanciful or careless movements. Especially with the guns, as they can be particularly volatile in ways that traditional weapons are not.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Shiho reassured him. “I don’t want to use guns anyway. I can already tell they wouldn’t be the right thing for me.”

Ren took down one of the katanas and offered it to her. Shiho accepted the blade carefully and weighed how it felt in her hand. She gave the weapon two small, experimental swings after making sure nobody was in danger of getting sliced, then shook her head. “This doesn’t feel right either,” she commented.

Ren didn’t look too worried. “There’s a lot of different weapons around here, I’m sure we’ll find something.”

For the next few moments, the two teens experimented with several different weapons. They tried out the katanas and naginatas that Yu and Yosuke used, a much larger broadsword, shruikens, daggers, Teddie’s bear claws, and even a great axe like Haru used. Each of them was rejected by Shiho in short order, as none of them felt right in her hands or felt like the right fit for her in general.

“Is there anything else we can try?” Shiho asked. By now, she was starting to get a little worried that none of the weapons in the metalworks shop would be a good fit, as unlikely as that might’ve been.

“Let’s try something that’s different,” Ren suggested. He reached out and grabbed a glaive, before turning around and offering it to Shiho. “Try this out.”

Shiho accepted the glaive in both hands, and immediately noticed how different it felt compared to the other weapons she had tried and failed. Making sure that nobody was in her immediate vicinity (and that nobody from outside was watching her wield a freaking spear in her hands, she experimentally stabbed the air in front of her with the glaive, and then swung the blade down in a diagonal swing.

Instantly, Shiho knew instinctively that the glaive was a perfect fit. Everything about the spear felt right in her hands, in a way that no other weapon in Daidara’s Metalworks had. The newly awakened Persona user felt instinctively that if she was able to bring this glaive to the TV World, she would be able to properly fight the Shadows inside it for the first time.

“I think this is it, Ren!” she declared excitedly. “I think this is the weapon for me!”

Ren grinned. “I can see it, too,” he agreed. “But the only we can test that for sure is if you bring that glaive into the TV World and try it out for yourself.”

“Hrm,” Daidara made a gruff sound in his throat that attracted their attention. “I think I agree with you, young Amamiya. But I strongly advise against bringing that spear out into the open. The police may very well arrest you if they see you with a weapon.”

Both Ren and Shiho cringed at the idea, Ren more so. “Oh, right…” he muttered. “Carrying a spear around like that would be a really bad look, and this isn’t even counting the fact that I had a criminal record for most of last year.”

Shiho looked at the glaive in her hands a lot more uncertainly. “There’s no way I can hide this,” she mumbled. “Something like the fans or the guns, I probably could. But not this thing.”

Ren thought for a moment, and then snapped his fingers. “I’ll ask Yu to buy the glaive for us and bring it into the TV World later,” he declared. “Yu’s a legal adult; people might look at him funny for carrying a spear, but they’re not gonna jump to arrest him like they are for us. Plus, everybody in Inaba loves Yu anyway, so they won’t ask as many questions.”

Shiho nodded. “That works,” she agreed. “And I can wait for Yu to bring it in there, it’s not like I’m in any real hurry. I’m not gonna go in there without a team backing me up anyway.”

Ren turned to Daidara. “How much for this glaive?”

“40,000 yen,” the man answered immediately.

Ren took out the yen from his wallet and gave it to the man. “Would you mind keeping this glaive in your store until Yu can pick it up?” he requested.

Daidara nodded. “That is no trouble for me at all, young Amamiya.”

“Great!” Ren answered appreciatively, handing the spear to Old Man Daidara. “And thanks again.”

Daidara took the spear and nodded at him. “No problem at all, young Amamiya.”

“Are you going to get any weapon for yourself, Ren?” Shiho wondered. “I know you have that dagger but I thought it was just a very realistic model.”

Ren shook his head. “My Paradise Lost R and Tyrant Pistol R are all I need for fighting Shadows. I don’t need to get anything here.”

“Then I guess we’re good to go,” Shiho declared. The two teens left the metal workshop and wandered the Central Shopping District for a few minutes. Along the way, Ren pointed out the Shiroku store, which was where they could buy collectibles like healing equipment and “elemental items” that could deal a set amount of 50 damage to one or more Shadows of a specific element. “That’s how I can attack Shadows even if they’re immune to Psy attacks, right?” Shiho asked. “And do they still knock the Shadows down if they’re hit with a weakness?”

“That’s right,” Ren confirmed. “The damage itself will never change from 50 unless they’re immune to it, but you’ll still knock them down so you can help set up All-Out Attacks and stuff. You don’t have to worry about getting any, by the way, usually Yu and I handle buying things like items for the team. I just wanted to point this place out to you in case I was busy with something and wanted to ask you to get some things for me.”

“No problem,” Shiho replied easily. “It’s better to know than not know, right?”

The two of them chuckled lightly for a few seconds. Ren was about to take Shiho back to Junes, when the girl’s phone suddenly rang. Shiho opened up her phone and spoke with someone that Ren couldn’t hear for about a minute or two.

When she finally hung up, she gave Ren an apologetic look. “Sorry, Ren. My mom just called, she wanted me to come home and help her out with something. I’m gonna have to go.”

Ren wasn’t bothered in the slightest. “That’s okay, Shiho. We’ve pretty much done what we needed to do and gotten what we came for anyway. We need to wait at least a day or two before Yu can bring your new glaive to the TV World anyway.”

Shiho smiled and nodded in agreement with him. She was about to head off back to her home, but stopped at the last minute. “You know…” she frowned, “I’ve seen you at school. You don’t really seem to hang out with anybody else over there besides me. Heck, I’ve seen you hang out with Ichijo-sensei more than anyone else. Are you okay being alone like that?”

Ren shrugged, looking completely unbothered by the question. “Why would I bother making friends with people who already stabbed me in the back once and who I don’t even trust or care enough about to begin with?” he asked with brutal honesty. “I know what true friendship and bonds are. I have my older friends in Yu’s Investigation Team, and I have the Phantom Thieves and my other confidants back in Tokyo. The relationships I used to have with old so-called school friends? Even before I got arrested and shipped off to Tokyo, they didn’t come anywhere close.”

There wasn’t any resentment or bitterness in his voice. Just brutal honesty, indifference, and a complete lack of concern. “I could lie, if I really wanted to. I can pretend that I care about making friends with other students at Yasogami. I could put a huge smile on my face and act like I want to reconnect and patch things up, when in reality I couldn’t give any less of a shit when they haven’t even bothered to apologize first. But what would be the point? A friendship based on lies isn’t worth jack shit. It wouldn’t be good for me or for them in the long run, and it’s not worth the effort to begin with. At least this way, I’m being honest with how little I care. A lot better than faking friendships for no good reason.”

Shiho grimaced. She’d be lying if she claimed that she liked what Ren was saying…but she couldn’t come up with any arguments against him. A large part of her actually agreed with what Ren was saying on a fundamental level. A friendship based on lies and pretending was worth absolutely nothing. At the end of the day, it really boiled down to the fact that she didn’t like Ren being so…alone, all the time.

“Hey, Ren? I know you have a girlfriend, I know you have friends both here and back over at Tokyo…but if you need anything from me, if you need a friend to rely on…I’ll be here,” Shiho promised. “You don’t have to worry about me ever stabbing you in the back.”

Ren smiled back at her, and she could clearly see the genuine appreciation in his face. “I know I can,” he answered, his voice filled with gratitude and warmth. “And you can expect the same from me. I know you’ve dealt with a lot of horrible shit this past year, and if you need anyone to talk about it, or if you need anything from me in general, I’ll be here for you too.” He allowed himself a small smirk. “Ann would kill me if I did anything different.”

The two friends shook hands…and as they did so, Ren felt a warm and strange sensation that he hadn’t felt since the days in Tokyo. Lavenza’s voice echoed words in his head, heralding the beginning of the formation of a bond:

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall strengthen the wings of rebellion

With which thou hast broken the chains of captivity.

With the birth of the CHARITY Arcana,

I have obtained the winds of blessing that

Shall lead to greater freedom and new power…

“Charity, huh?” Ren repeated the name of the Arcana. “I haven’t heard that one before. But it fits Shiho pretty well, from what I can tell so far…”

“Uh, Ren?” Shiho’s voice interrupted his thoughts. His friend was giving him a confused and slightly concerned look. “Are you all right? You kinda spaced out there for a sec.”

Ren shook his head. “I’m fine,” he reassured her. “Just kinda tired from all the trips we did to the TV World lately.”

“Was the new Persona worth it, though?” Shiho asked. She hadn’t actually seen Ren’s new Persona, as the leader of the Phantom Thieves had immediately called it a day once he had finished creating it.”

Ren’s only response was a satisfied smirk. “Let’s just say that a Persona that’s immune to everything that isn’t an Almighty attack and can cast every important support buff and debuff skill in the cognitive world is exactly as broken as it sounds.”

Chapter Text

Yu was the first to notice that Ren was in a particularly good mood when they met up with him at Junes the next day. “You’re looking pretty happy,” he remarked. “Something good happen at school or something?”

Ren shrugged. “Nah, school’s the same as always. Ichijo-sensei’s cool as usual, but I usually ignore all the other students except Shiho and they usually ignore me. It’s probably best for everyone that way.”

Chie and Rise glanced at each other and frowned slightly, both of them clearly concerned about Ren’s social health at school. Neither of them chose to comment on it, however, as they knew Ren enough that trying to force the issue would be a pointless endeavor at best. Something that Yu recognized as well. “So why have you got that big smile on that face?” he asked, choosing to file away the question of Ren’s school life for later.

Ren grinned. “Haru’s coming to visit me later this evening. She had to do a work meeting this morning which is why she wasn’t gonna come until late. But she’s gonna be here tonight, and I’ve been looking forward to this for an entire month.”

“Oh, that’s your girlfriend, right?” Yukiko perked up excitedly. “Oh, we should throw her a huge welcome party! Given her status as a wealthy heiress, it would only be appropriate for us to give her a reception worthy of royalty!”

Ren scoffed. “Couldn’t give less of a shit about her fame, and I somehow care even less about how much money she has than that,” he commented dryly. “I chose her as my girlfriend because she’s adorable, an absolute sweetheart…andkindabitofasadistandforsomereasonIfindthatreallyhot,” he rapidly motor-mouthed the last part.

Naoto asked with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t catch that last part,” she remarked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Ren curtly replied.

“We should throw a welcoming party for her!” Teddie declared. “Maybe something like what we did for Ren! We can give her a huge surprise!”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Rise agreed. “Maybe not something quite as big as what we did for Ren when he came back, but his girlfriend definitely deserves a special welcome!”

Ren thought for a moment, before deciding. “I do think that’s a good idea, but let me spend tonight with her by myself. I think it’s only right that we spend our first night together with nobody else around to interrupt, since it’s been 2 months since the last time I’ve seen her. I was thinking about bringing her over to the Amagi Inn and the two of us spending the night there together.”

Yukiko gigged. “I think this is a splendid idea. It would be an excellent way for us to introduce Miss Okumura to true Inaba hospitality.”

“Just be aware that word spreads around here quickly,” Yu warned. “If a high-profile visitor like Haru Okumura makes an appearance, everyone in town’s gonna hear about it pretty quickly.”

Ren shrugged. “That’s a bridge we’ll cross when we get to it. I doubt Haru honestly cares about what most people think about her, and honestly I don’t care either.”

“When did you say Haru was coming again?” Yosuke asked.

“This evening,” Ren confirmed. “She’ll be coming by the train.”

Rise grinned. “Then enjoy your night with her, love-bird!” she declared in a sing-song voice.

A Few Hours Later…

Ren glanced at his watch as he waited outside the train station, reading the time as “6:58 PM”, before glancing back up at the empty railroad tracks. He was wearing a backpack on his back that was filled with clothes and supplies he’d need for a night at the Amagi Inn. Haru had stated that her train would be arriving at 7 PM, and she hadn’t reported any delays in the arrival as far as she knew.

His thoughts were interrupted as the sound of a train reached his ears, still distant but getting louder and louder with each second that passed. Ren smiled as the train finally came into view and stopped at the station, the doors opening to allow its passengers out. It didn’t take long for Ren to see his beloved girlfriend, or for Haru to see him.

“Ren-kun!” Haru greeted him with a delighted tone and brilliant smile. The two of them embraced in the station, completely uncaring for anybody who might see their display of affection. After a seeming eternity, the two of them reluctantly gave separated from each other. The Okumura heiress was wearing her simple yet iconic purple turtleneck sweater and dragging a wheeled suitcase behind her.

Ren grinned back. “It’s great to see you too, Haru,” he answered warmly. “How was the trip?”

“It was quite pleasant, actually,” Haru remarked. “The view as we got closer to Inaba was fantastic, and quite different from what I’m used to in Tokyo. The sunset glow made the entire surroundings positively divine in appearance.”

“That reminds me, we should probably get going,” Ren remarked, acknowledging the darkening sky around them. “There’s a really special place in Inaba that I wanted to show you where we’re going to be spending the night. I can order us a cab if you’d like,” he offered.

Haru giggled. “Thank you for the kind offer, Ren-kun, but I don’t mind walking to your home. It would give me an opportunity to see Inaba…and also give me more time to spend talking with you.”

Ren shrugged. “Works for me. I can show you the Shopping District to start with.” The two of them proceeded to walk out of the station, before making their way to the Central Shopping District. Along the way, Ren offered to take Haru’s suitcase for her, but the Okumura heiress politely refused, insisting that she could handle herself and that Ren shouldn’t inconvenience himself on her behalf.

“Oh, my!” Haru’s eyes widened as they finally arrived at the Shopping District. “Is this the Shopping District that you mentioned earlier?”

“It is,” Ren confirmed. “There’s a lot of different stores here that each sell different things. Quite a few of them are actually useful for fighting Shadows in the TV World.”

“Ah yes, the cognitive world you mentioned that is similar to but not quite the same as the Metaverse,” Haru replied thoughtfully. “I’m quite fascinated by the idea of visiting this other world.” Her eyes flashed with excitement. “And I’m quite delighted by the prospect of fighting with my Persona once again. I wonder if the Shadows in this TV World scream as loudly as the ones in the Metaverse did,” she finished with a giggle.”

Ren chuckled. “I’d probably keep those sadistic tendencies to yourself, at least out in the open,” he advised, though his tone was more amused than actually warning. “Don’t want to give the people of Inaba or my friends in the Investigation Team the idea that you’re a psychopath before they’ve even got a chance to know you first.”

“A fair point,” Haru acknowledged good-naturedly, “though you can be sure that I’ll be just as merciless against the Shadows of the TV World as I was in the Metaverse.”

Ren smiled. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

As they made their way down the Shopping District, Ren pointed out the many different buildings and points of interest that made up one of the defining streets of Inaba. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Haru showed the most interest in Daidara Metalworks and the many lethal weapons that it held. “Oh, it’s such a shame that the shop is closed for the evening, Ren-kun,” Haru lamented. “I would’ve loved to secure a genuine battle-axe for myself!”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think that’d be something you could get away with Haru,” Ren replied frankly. “A battle-axe isn’t exactly something you can hide.”

Haru frowned. “I don’t have my model battle axe or grenade launcher either,” she realized. “I suppose that means my ability to fight Shadows in the TV World will be limited to my Persona.”

“I’ll see if I can get a replicate of the Fleur del Mal R and Yagrush EX,” Ren offered, “but if not, you might need to use their weaker versions in the TV World for now.”

Haru brightened. “That’s quite all right!” she reassured her. “Even inferior versions of my greatest weapons is still better than nothing.”

They continued walking down the Shopping District, crossing from the South to the North side. As they did so, Ren pointed out both Aiya’s Chinese Dinner and Inaba’s Shrine, two of the main highlights of the North side. “There’s a Fox that lives in the Shrine and takes care of it,” Ren explained. “He’s a bit of a local legend.”

“Intriguing!” Haru remarked. “Does this fox have some kind of magical power?”

“Maybe. Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing either of us has seen by a long shot,” Ren replied. He then shrugged. “I haven’t seen it myself yet, though.”

“I do think it’ll be worth coming back here later, Ren-kun,” Haru mused, “but what you said earlier made it sound like you had a specific plan in mind for this evening.”

“I did,” Ren confirmed with a smile. “Let’s go back to the bus stop at the front of the Central Shopping District.

The two of them made their way back to the bus stop at the front of the Central Shopping District, and by good fortune there happened to be a bus ready to take them to the Amagi Inn. “The Amagi Inn’s a good distance away from the main town,” Ren commented. “Going by bus is probably safer at night.”

“I see,” Haru murmured, before a thought suddenly occurred. “Wait a moment, Ren-kun. You don’t have your own night clothes for the Amagi Inn. Are you okay sleeping in your T-Shirts and jeans?”

Ren smirked and tapped his backpack. “Everything I need is right here,” he reassured her.

Haru giggled. “Prepared as always. Anyways, I’ve been wondering…how are you doing with that new friend of yours, Ren-kun?” She wondered. “Shiho Suzui, if my memory is correct?”

“She’re doing pretty well,” Ren answered, before lowering his voice. “We’ve been training her in the TV World every so often. She’s a bit more like my older Persona-using friends that I told you about, the Investigation Team. She doesn’t have an outfit of rebellion, and she summons her Persona by making a magic card appear in her hand and breaking it. We also found out some time last month that she fights best when using spears.”

“Oh my!” Haru gasped, before lowering her voice like Ren had done. “Spears, you say? That is quite fascinating. None of our friends wielded such a weapon in the past.”

“Her fighting style’s certainly a lot different from any of us,” Ren agreed, “but she’s actually better as a magic user rather than a straight fighter. Kinda like Ann, actually.”

Haru smiled. “I suppose it shouldn’t come across as much of a surprise that the two of them are so similar.”

The two of them proceeded to share small talk, catching up with each other over everything that had changed over the past 2 months. “I almost forgot,” Haru suddenly remembered. “Starting tomorrow, a security detail will be coming to Inaba tomorrow as a protective escort on my behalf.” She frowned and sighed. “I can’t say I’m enthusiastic about the idea, but I made a compromise with the board that I would be able to spend the first night with you without any escort or interruptions.”

Ren shrugged, seemingly unbothered with Haru’s warning. “Then I guess we make the most out of tonight as much as we can!”

Haru giggled. “I completely agree with you!” she declared, as she gave her boyfriend a light kiss on the cheek.

The bus rolled to a stop in front of the Amagi Inn, and Haru gasped as she got her first view of one of the defining landmarks of Inaba. The Amagi Inn was a traditional Japanese Inn that truly resembled an ancient Japanese palace, mixed with modern lights and technology that enhanced the quaint and comforting appearance of the Inn rather than clashing with it. The Inn itself was also much larger than many other Ryokans, which was part of the reason why Haru had been so surprised by it. “Oh my!” Haru exclaimed. “How lovely!”

“It’s great, isn’t it?” Ren readily agreed. “The Inn is run by the family of one of my older friends that I mentioned. They’ve modernized it enough so that people can do thinks like using WiFi in the rooms, but not enough to ruin the whole traditional atmosphere. There’s also a Hot Springs here that’s a huge reason why the Inn is so famous.”

Haru smiled. “I’m already looking forward to it.”

They entered the Amagi Inn, whose interior had remained largely the same in appearance since 2011. It looked like it was a quieter day with not many people around, but as luck would have it, Yukiko Amagi herself was manning the receptionist desk this evening. She looked up and smiled brightly upon seeing Ren and Haru at the entrance. “Good evening, Ren.” She greeted him in a friendly and polite tone, before her eyes turned to his girlfriend. “And if I’m not mistaken, would you happen to be Haru Okumura?”

Haru’s brow furrowed in confusion. “You’ve heard of me?” she asked.

Yukiko giggled. “Oh yes. You’re Ren’s girlfriend, are you not? Ren has told us all about you.” She composed herself, realizing that it would probably be best to introduce herself before the poor girl got even more lost. “I’m Yukiko Amagi, main proprietor of the Amagi Inn.”

“Oh!” Haru recognized the name. “You’re one of Ren’s older friends. He spoke quite fondly about all of you as well.” She held out a hand and smiled gently. “Pleasure to finally meet you!”

The two women shook hands. “Ren already made all the proper arrangements for the two of you to enjoy your stay here together,” Yukiko explained. “I already have a room set up and prepared for the two of you. We also set up a special offer where couples can schedule up to 30 minutes in the Hot Spring by themselves for a high fee, bypassing the standard rule we have separating men and women under normal circumstances.” She gave the two of them a stern look. “Of course, this is under the condition that you do not engage in any…inappropriate actions while in the hot spring.”

Haru blushed furiously as she realized what Yukiko was implying. “Oh, no!” she immediately spluttered. “We would never engage in activities like that right now! Certainly not in a public place!”

Ren, on the other hand, looked completely unimpressed. “Do you really think I’d be the kind of guy to do something like that?” he deadpanned. “In here of all places?”

Yukiko giggled. “No, of course not. Part of that was just me messing with you.” She handed the two of them keys to their room. “Your room number is listed on the key. And it just so happens that Ren has already covered the expenses for your Couples hot spring session. Your allotted time begins in about 15 minutes.”

Haru glanced up at Ren in surprise. “You didn’t have to spend your money on my behalf, Ren,” she protested.

“I literally have more money than I know what to do with after all our trips to Mementos,” Ren deadpanned, “and with the TV World around that isn’t changing anytime soon. If I don’t spend this money somewhere soon, I might as well start throwing it into the Samegawa River so I can make more space in my closet.”

Haru sighed and then gave a little giggle. “Well, if you insist, Ren-kun. I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to a relaxing hot spring after a long train ride.”

Yukiko smiled at the two of them. “Then don’t let me keep you from your relaxation. I truly hope you enjoy your stay at the Amagi Inn.”

“Thanks, Yukiko, we definitely will,” Ren promised. “Say hi to everyone else for me.”

“I will!” the proprietor of the Amagi Inn promised, before disappearing into her office.

Ren and Haru made their way to the room listed on the key, where they found a fancy traditional Japanese room with a finely crafted table and chairs in the center, multiple futons and blankets of the highest quality in the accompanying bedroom, and most impressively, a breathtaking view overlooking the rest of Inaba. “Oh, how lovely!” Haru gushed. “I can truly see how the Amagi Inn has obtained its wonderful reputation.

“Let’s put our things down and get ready for our time in the hot springs,” Ren suggested. “There’s separate changing rooms, but we should both be able to meet at the entrance no problem.”

“Certainly!” Haru agreed. “I’ll meet you there!”

The two teens placed their belongings aside and departed for the changing rooms next to the Amagi Inn. One of the stipulations that the Amagi Inn had placed on the Couples sessions was that the couples in question had to wear bathing suits, which obviously neither Ren nor Haru had a problem complying with. The two of them met up again right in front of the Amagi Inn’s entrance, where sure enough, the timetable had been updated to reflect that Ren had the next 30 minutes in the Hot Springs to himself and Haru.

“Shall we?” Ren asked, extending his hand towards his girlfriend in a gentlemanly way.

Haru graciously accepted the offered hand. “Together,” she agreed. The two of them walked step-by-step into the hot spring, neither allowing themselves to fall behind the other. They slowly stepped into the pool created by the hot spring, and Haru immediately let out a moan of pleasure as the natural hot water covered her body. “Oh my!” she gasped. “This truly does feel heavenly!”

“There’s a reason people like the Amagi Inn so much,” Ren commented with a chuckle as he leaned into the wall of the springs and closed his eyes. “The waters were so relaxing back when I was a kid, and they still are relaxing today.”

Haru mirrored her boyfriend’s reaction, letting out a contented sigh. “I never realized just how much stress I was going through until I just now, Ren-kun,” she admitted. “Being here with you in this hot spring just washed away all of that burden on my shoulders.”

“My older friends used to bring me here to relax at the springs sometimes for that reason. Here, let me help you with that some more,” he offered. He maneuvered himself so that he was behind Haru and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing and sending an electric thrill through Haru’s body.

“Oh, you’re offering me a massage?” Haru asked with a giggle. “Graciously accepted!” For the next few minutes, Ren gave Haru an impromptu massage, placing his hands over various (but never inappropriate) parts of her body and squeezing her muscles to release the tension over them. With every gesture and action, Haru felt more and more comfortable as Ren’s massage got rid of whatever tension still remained after going into the hot spring in the first place.

“Thank you so much for that massage, Ren-kun,” Haru murmured once Ren had finished. “That was so very relaxing. Allow me to return the favor, as it’s only right for me to do so.”

Ren shrugged. “If you’d like,” he agreed, switching places with Haru so that she was behind him now. Haru got to work on Ren’s shoulders in the exact same way that he had on hers, and the leader of the Phantom Thieves winced as he felt Haru’s surprisingly hard grip. Even though he’d seen her tear Shadows apart with her axe as Noir, he’d still forgotten just how strong Haru was underneath that sweet and demure appearance.

Haru noticed her boyfriend’s sudden jolt. “Oh, was that too hard?” she asked, clearly concerned. “My apologies.”

“No, no, I was just caught off-guard, is all,” Ren quickly reassured her. “You’re doing fine.”

“If you’re certain, Ren-kun,” Haru replied. She continued her massage, although she ever so slightly loosened her grip just in case Ren was merely being polite. Despite his initial surprise, Ren was soon in a state of complete relaxation, enjoying the feeling of his muscles loosening their tension in the same way that Haru had under his massage. After a seeming eternity, Haru finally finished her work, and the two of them sat quietly and contentedly in the hot spring pool in a state of complete bliss. “Perhaps we should consider alternate professions as masseurs,” Haru joked after several moments of peaceful silence. “We certainly seem to have the capability for it.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve picked up a gig on the side,” Ren replied good-humoredly.

Haru giggled. “You know you’d never have to worry about your future with me at your side,” she promised. “Say the word, and I’d promote you to a high-ranking position in Okumura Foods in a heartbeat. I don’t care what any of the board members would say, I already know what you’re capable of.”

Ren smiled gratefully at her. “Thanks, Haru…but I’m still thinking about what I want to do for my future. I want to get where I get because of my own accomplishments, not because somebody handed it to me for free.”

Haru returned the smile with one of her own. “And I’d be there to help you every step of the way.” She promised.

The two clasped their hands and held onto each other, signifying the strength and unyielding nature of their bond. They spent the next few moments in silence once again, only this time they were thinking about how they met, the many vegetables they had planted in their garden in preparation for their journeys into the Metaverse, and how their bond had grown over the months of Ren’s stay in Tokyo. It seemed like both an eternity and almost no time at all passed by before Yukiko opened the door leading to the hot spring.

“I’m sorry to inform you that your time is up,” the current owner of the Amagi Inn apologized. “I’d love to give you an extra few minutes, but since the couples sessions affects the rules and schedules of the Hot Springs as a whole I’m afraid that I have to be rather stringent in how the rules are enforced.” She frowned, and the faintest hint of shame appeared on her face for a split second. “There was a time long ago that I didn’t take those rules so seriously...and I’m not exactly happy with how I behaved back then.”

“Oh, no trouble at all!” Haru reassured her. “We were just about finished here anyway.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, Yukiko,” Ren agreed as the two of them started to climb out of the hot spring. “We’ve pretty much wrapped up what we wanted to do. We’re gonna head back to our room now.”

“Thank you for understanding,” Yukiko answered with a slight bow. “No need to rush yourselves.”

The two teens nodded and gave their thanks to Yukiko for coming personally, before walking out of the hot spring the same way they had come in with their hands clasped tightly with each other. She let out a giggle as she watched them disappear into the depths of the Amagi Inn.

Rise had been thoroughly convinced that Ren and Haru would make an adorable couple. She had no idea just how right she was.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Ren woke up to the best sleep he’d had in years.

Maybe it was because the Amagi Inn consistently had high quality furniture that was extremely comfortable to sleep on despite “merely” using futons instead of full-sized beds. More likely, it was the fact that his beloved girlfriend was right next to him, sleeping soundly on the futon to his left.

Haru yawned and opened her eyes. She was still blinking away some remnants of sleep, but she brightened upon seeing Ren. “Oh, good morning, Ren-kun!” she greeted him with a yawn. “That was truly a marvelous sleep, I cannot remember the last time I felt so well-rested!”

Ren gave his girlfriend a quick kiss on her cheek. “Morning, Haru,” he replied. “These futons are really some of the best quality in existence, aren’t they? One of the many reasons why the Amagi Inn is so famous.”

Haru sat up on her bed and smiled. “I’ll have to ask Amagi-san where she gets her inn’s futons from, I must obtain one or two for myself once I return to Tokyo.”

Ren chuckled. “That’s probably not a bad idea, I certainly have the money to afford one.” The smile faded a bit. “Actually, Haru…quick question. When are those bodyguards you mentioned coming to Inaba?”

Haru frowned. “A, that’s right…I had briefly forgotten about them.” She opened her cell phone and looked through her messages briefly. “According to this last communication, they will likely be here around 5 in the afternoon, a little earlier than when I showed up yesterday. Which is actually rather problematic, as it’ll be incredibly difficult for me to explore the TV World once they arrive. Telling them about a supernatural universe is clearly not an option, and trying to sneak off once they arrive would look incredibly suspicious.”

“Which means that the best time for you to try and see the TV World is pretty much today,” Ren concluded. “Obviously, I can get Morgana to come with us, but I’m not sure if there’ll be anyone else. If we’re lucky, we might get one of my older friends to accompany us…either that or Shiho.” He chuckled. “Lucky for us, today’s a holiday, so we don’t have to worry about school.”

“I see,” Haru nodded her head thoughtfully. “I certainly want to get at least one opportunity to witness the TV World before I have an escort for the rest of my vacation. I think it would be wise to go in as a full team of 4, if possible…”

Ren took out his phone. “Let me reach out to some of my friends and see who’s free to join us today,” he suggested. “There’s no way there isn’t at least one person available.”

An Hour Later…

It turned out that out of all the people who Ren called out to, only Naoto of all people ended up with enough free time earlier in the day. Everyone else was either doing their jobs, spending time with family, or were otherwise preoccupied in one way or another. Ren explained the situation regarding Haru to her, and she agreed to meet with them at the Junes Food Court to prepare for a trip into the TV World.

Naoto greeted Haru with a polite smile and an offered hand. “Pleased to meet you, Haru,” she greeted her. “Ren’s told us all about you. I’m Naoto Shirogane.”

“Oh my!” Haru gasped. “I’ve heard about you from Mako-chan! You’re the First and true Detective Prince, are you not? A pleasure to meet you!”

Naoto smiled as she shook Haru’s hand. “I’m still not quite sure what to think of that particular moniker nowadays,” she remarked dryly. “Especially with the Second Detective Prince…and what Ren told me about his true nature.”

“I’d…prefer not to speak about Akechi,” she asked, her voice still polite with a bit of tension that hadn’t been there seconds earlier. “If that’s all right with you, of course.”

“No, that’s quite all right. We didn’t meet up here to speak about Akechi anyway,” Naoto replied agreeably. “Ren asked me to serve as a fourth team member so that he could show you the TV World. While I can’t exactly say I approve of you sneaking into the TV World before your bodyguard escort shows up, given the dangers inherent within any cognitive universe, I do at least appreciate the fact that he’s going about it in a somewhat responsible manner instead of just diving straight into the TV World without bothering to inform any of us.”

Haru smiled appreciatively at her. “Thank you very much for taking the time to accompany us,” she thanked the older woman. “May I ask what your Persona is capable of in battle?”

“Yamato-Sumeragi is capable of using every Heavy single-attack elemental skill,” Naoto answered, “except for the new elements and variations that have appeared since earlier this year. They can also cast Mahamaon and Mamudoon, and they also have access to Mind Charge and Megidolaon.”

“Naoto is incredibly versatile,” Ren summarized, “although she can’t hit with a specific element as hard as someone who specializes in a specific element. She’s also really solid defensively, being completely immune to Fire, repelling Bless and Curse, and she’s one of the very few people I know outside of Wild Cards who don’t have any weaknesses.”

“Fascinating!” Haru remarked. “So she isn’t in as much danger of being knocked to the ground like most others.”

“I’m aware that you’re a seasoned Persona user, Okumura-san, but in the interest of keeping you safe, I would like to politely request that we do not enter a TV Dungeon that has highly powerful Shadows,” Naoto’s words were phrased like a request, but there was an undercurrent of steel in them that made it clear she wouldn’t budge on the subject. “It would be incredibly shameful for both Ren and myself if you were to get seriously hurt or even killed during our adventure.”

Haru giggled. “That’s perfectly fine. To be quite honest, I was planning on focusing on a lower level dungeon regardless. If the Shadows are less powerful, then it’ll be all the easier for me to tear them to pieces, after all!”

Naoto blinked, and Ren could swear that he could physically see a sweat drop from the side of her head at Haru’s comment. “I…I see…” she briefly struggled to find her words, although to be fair she recovered remarkably quickly. “If that is the case, then let us enter the TV World together.”

The First Detective Prince guided Haru, Ren, and Morgana over to Yosuke’s office. The Prince of Junes was currently out of the office taking care of business, but Naoto was able to easily open the door with her key. After making sure that nobody was looking, she let them in and closed the door behind them.

“I should take the time to warn you, Okumura-san, that entering the TV World can be quite disorienting,” Naoto cautioned. “You will fall directly into the TV World from above, so it would be best for you to prepare yourself so that you can properly land on your feet.”

Haru smiled. “Thank you for the advice, Shirogane-san,” she replied.

Naoto chuckled. “Please, call me Naoto,” she replied. “Shirogane is far too formal for someone who’s claimed such a special place in Ren’s heart.”

“Then I insist that you call me Haru as well,” the auburn-haired heiress replied.

The four of them climbed into the TV together, and thanks to Naoto’s warning, Noir was able to land squarely on her feet instead of crashing haplessly onto the ground. When she got back up, she quickly realized that she was wearing her French-themed Phantom Thief attire instead of her normal clothes. “Oh, wonderful!” she marveled. “This truly is like the Metaverse!” She suddenly frowned. “I don’t appear to have either my axe or my grenade launcher though, what a pity.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Joker realized. “Here, let me go to the Velvet Room and get those for you. They won’t be as good as your best ones, but they should work just fine.”

“I’ll happily accept any weapon you can give me!” Noir cheerfully replied as Joker approached the Velvet Room entrance and sent his mind through it. While they waited, she looked around to take in her surroundings. “My, this place is quite beautiful!” she commented with undisguised delight as she studied the garden and the nearby lake. “The Metaverse was always so dreary or gaudy in appearance. It’s such a welcome change of pace to see a cognitive world that is filled with natural beauty.”

“It’s cause of the local goddess in charge of this place,” Mona explained. “There’s a cognitive goddess around here who actually protects the TV World instead of trying to take it over like Yaldabaoth did…although that was only after she was beaten by Ren’s older friends five years ago. She specifically made this area a safe space for anybody who comes into the TV World…but once you leave and go to places like the TV dungeons, the TV World starts getting more distorted and that’s when Shadows come out.”

“I see,” Noir murmured. “So the farther we depart from this area, the greater the danger grows.”

“To some degree, yes,” Naoto affirmed. “Fortunately, the actual power of the Shadows in the TV Dungeons doesn’t seem to have changed. Certain dungeons have Shadows that are so pathetically weak that at our level we could probably destroy them with a single punch, while others contain dangerously powerful Shadows that remain a challenge for anyone besides a fully powered Wild Card to defeat even at the heights of our strength.”

It was at that moment that Joker returned from the Velvet Room, inexplicably holding a large battle axe and a grenade launcher that hadn’t been in his hands seconds before. “A Fleurs du Mal and a Yagrush at your disposal, Lady Noir,” Joker declared as he handed the weapons to Noir, giving her a theatric bow as he did so.

Noir giggled. “Graciously accepted, my noble Joker,” she answered, accepting the weapons from Joker’s hands…and giving him a kiss on the mouth as she did so.

Naoto couldn’t help but smile at the sight. “If only Rise was here,” she thought. “Her excitement at seeing a sight like this would reach unfathomable levels.”

“So what kind of fights are you looking for, Noir?” Joker asked once they had finished their romantic exchange. “Are you looking for tough battles or easy fights?”

“Something nice and easy to start off with,” Noir answered immediately. “A dungeon where the Shadows pose no threat whatsoever and the danger is minimal.”

“Then we should go to Yukiko’s Castle,” Naoto suggested. “That was the very first dungeon that we entered and it has the weakest Shadows.” Inwardly, a part of her was honestly surprised that Haru had opted to go for the easy prey first, as the girl didn’t strike her as someone who was satisfied with effortlessly, overly easy battles.

Joker, on the other hand, had a feeling that he knew what Noir was thinking, and smirked. “Do you know where Yukiko’s Castle is, Naoto?” he asked.

“I actually do, although I don’t have a navigator’s capabilities or anything like that,” Naoto warned.

“I can navigate!” Morgana volunteered. “I’m not great at it like Rise or Oracle, but if I see a place in the TV World I’ll remember how to get there!”

That was good enough for Naoto, and the four Persona users made their way to the weakest of the TV World’s dungeons. Noir blinked as she beheld the medieval castle in all of its dubious glory. “Oh, my!” she gasped. “This doesn’t seem to fit Amagi-san at all!”

“Distortions can take many different shapes and forms,” Naoto replied sagely. “I wasn’t personally there to witness Yukiko-senpai’s, but even now she doesn’t really feel comfortable talking about it.”

Joker shrugged. “Meh. Compared to the horrid shit I’ve seen in the Metaverse, this castle is far from the worst thing I’ve seen in my life.” He glanced at Noir. “I have a feeling I know why you wanted to come to the easiest dungeon first, but would you mind explaining why so that Naoto doesn’t look so confused?”

Noir giggled. “All in good time, my love. But before we begin, are there any Shadows that are immune to, drain, or repel physical attacks, Psychic attacks, or Gun attacks?”

Naoto shook her head. “These are all incredibly weak Shadows. Most of them only null attacks at most, and I certainly do not remember any of them repelling or draining anything.”

The grin that Noir gave her was downright unnerving. “Just as I had hoped.”

The four of them entered the Castle, where they immediately came across a small blob-like Shadow crawling about. Joker was about to approach it and hit it with his knife, but Noir beat him to it. With a delighted giggle, the heiress leaped forward and swung her axe down upon the Shadow’s head, triggering its transformation into 3 Lying Hableries.

Noir wrinkled her nose. “How utterly revolting!” she exclaimed. “I don’t remember any of the Shadows in the Metaverse being this disgusting to look at.”

“The Shadows we fought were basically my Personas but corrupted,” Joker explained. “The Shadows here…they tend to look a little weird.”

“Well then,” Noir’s lips suddenly stretched into a wide grin that, to both Phantom Thieves and Naoto alike, suddenly appeared utterly terrifying, “I think it’s about time that I put these Shadows out of my misery.”

“What do you mean by…” Naoto tried to say, but Noir had already lifted her axe and charged at one of the Lying Hableries. The heiress let out a thrilled laugh as she cleanly sliced her axe through the Shadow, obliterating it in one strike. The Hableries desperately tried to strike back, but their attacks were so pathetically weak that Noir barely noticed them as she tore the remaining Shadows to pieces.

“I’ve missed this so much, Joker!” she called out to him with a delighted giggle, to which Joker only grinned in response. “The thrill of slaughtering Shadows, seeing them tremble before me as I tear them to pieces and blow them to kingdom come. There is no feeling on Earth quite like it!”

“The Shadows here all weak shitters,” Joker laughed in response. “Kill them as much as you want, Noir!”

Naoto stared in stunned shock as Noir proceeded to do exactly that, engaging in what could only be described as a berserk onslaught against every Shadow unfortunate enough to cross her path. Joker’s girlfriend had a wide arrange of attacks that she unleashed against the Shadows, and she freely used all of them in a path of violent destruction. A cascade of psychic attacks, vicious One-Shot Kills, her brutal axe strikes, even a freaking grenade launcher…no matter what type of attack Noir used, every single Shadow she came across met the same fate of a violent death, doomed the moment they made the mistake of crossing her path.

And all throughout the slaughter of Shadows, Naoto could only watch in complete silence, her mouth hanging open and looking more than a little disturbed. “…what am I even witnessing?” she mumbled, feeling a bead of sweat drop down her side as Noir obliterated an Avenger Knight with a single shell from her grenade launcher, leading to a violent explosion that dissolved the knight to wisps of ash.

“You get used to it,” Mona answered reassuringly as he gave Naoto a sympathetic look, knowing full well that Noir’s bloodlust could be quite disconcerting to people who weren’t familiar with her. “Haru’s genuinely one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, and I couldn’t think of a more loving girlfriend for Ren than her. She’s an absolute sweetheart both to people she cares about and even to the regular person walking on the street.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Naoto murmured as she watched Noir blast apart a Magical Magus with a Mapsiodyne. “The kind of person Ren has become after returning from Tokyo would never give his love to anyone who didn’t completely deserve it. It’s just that…”

“…that she seems kinda sadistic and loves killing Shadows a little too much?” Mona finished for her. Naoto didn’t say anything in response, as Mona had verbalized what she had been thinking better than she could describe it herself. “Yeah, she really loves fighting and destroying enemy Shadows more than anyone else in our team. It does kinda freak us out a bit too, I’m not gonna lie. Except for Joker, I think he just gets turned on by Haru’s violent tendencies more than anything else.”

Naoto’s face turned bright red. “I…absolutely did not need to hear that last part,” she mumbled under her breath.

Mona had the grace to look sheepish. “Sorry, that was probably too far,” he admitted. “But once you get to know Haru, you won’t find a more loyal ally. It just takes some time to get used to her, is all.”

Despite everything, Naoto couldn’t help but smile. “She certainly has an enthusiasm unmatched by any of us, that is one thing I cannot deny,” she remarked. “I’m certain that Chie and Kanji would certainly enjoy seeing her in action.”

Up head, Noir had finally finished her rampage and was panting as though she had finished a vigorous workout (which, to be fair, she more or less had). Her SP reserves had been significantly depleted and she had also used up a lot of her health through her One-Shot Kills. Joker’s girlfriend didn’t seem particularly bothered by her exhausted state, however, and it quickly became apparent why as Joker nonchalantly tossed her a Bead and a Soul Food to completely restore both of her reserves in the span of a few seconds.

“That was truly wonderful!” Noir gushed, as though she were looking at a beautiful garden and not as though she had completed a violent rampage that would strike the fear of death itself into even the most powerful Shadows. “I’d almost forgotten how exhilarating the battles within the cognitive world can truly be.” She walked up to Joker and kissed him passionately. “Thank you so much for this opportunity, Ren-kun. This was a truly wonderful gift.”

Joker grinned and returned the kiss. “Of course, Noir. I couldn’t let you miss an opportunity like this.”

“Rise would be so disappointed to miss this,” Naoto thought. She wouldn’t ever claim to be an expert in the field of romance despite being in a romantic relationship herself with Kanji, but she could see just as much as anyone else that Ren and Haru Okumura were deeply and truly in love.

“Well, I certainly feel much more rejuvenated thanks to your items, Ren-kun!” Noir cheerfully declared. “Do you think there are any other TV dungeons that I would enjoy? Something more challenging, perhaps?”

Naoto thought for a moment. “You’re a veteran Persona user, certainly much more experienced and more powerful than Suzui-chan…whose power level is already building up quite nicely. I think I know an appropriate dungeon for you once we leave this dungeon…especially given what Ren has told us about your hobbies.”

“Lead the way!” Noir brightly replied. Without needing to be prompted, Joker threw a Goho-M at their feet, taking them back to the entrance of Yukiko’s Castle. Morgana was able to easily lead them back to the beautiful meadow that served as the Safe Point of the TV World, and from there Naoto was able to lead them to the Heaven dungeon.

Noir gasped as she beheld the beautifully crafted stone gate that served as the entrance to Heaven, as well as the ornately arranged flowers and plants that surrounded it as well as the rainbows that coursed from the sky. “Oh my! This is almost as beautiful as the garden where we first entered the TV World!”

“Yeah, this is easily the most beautiful dungeon we’ve seen so far,” Mona readily agreed. “Usually most of the dungeons are either super ugly or really gaudy and tacky.”

“It is certainly a wonderful sight, isn’t it?” Naoto agreed, and then lips turned downward into a frown. “But be warned. Unlike the garden, the beauty of the Heaven dungeon hides dangers within. There are still plenty of Shadows that lurk within the dungeon, and they are some of the stronger ones in the TV World. Going on a rampage like you did in Yukiko’s Castle is asking for trouble.”

“I completely understand,” Noir reassured her. “I’ll be much more careful and strategic than I was in the other dungeon.”

“Then let us proceed,” Naoto replied as she gestured towards the gate of Heaven, and the four Persona users made their way inside.

The First Detective Prince was relieved to see that Noir took her warnings seriously. Instead of blindly and recklessly charging at the Shadows like she had last time, she allowed Joker to strike at the Shadows and force them into their true forms. When the battle started properly, Haru was very methodical and careful with her attacks. She listened carefully to Joker’s advice on how to attack their enemies, utilizing her Psychic and Gun attacks wisely and with careful precision to strike enemies in their weaknesses as much as possible while avoiding accidentally hitting a Shadow that could repel One-Shot Kill. Joker also occasionally threw out skills that would inflict status conditions on enemies (including Nocturnal Flashes from Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro, a Persona that Naoto still wasn’t and would likely never be truly comfortable with Ren wielding), giving Haru the opportunity to strike down her enemies with Technical-boosted attacks. Noir might have been demonstrating a remarkable degree of restraint and self-control that contrasted sharply with her frenzied onslaught earlier, but she was no less deadly for it. Haru’s combat style when she fought seriously combined deadly grace with brute force, and it possessed its own unique sense of beauty that Naoto could appreciate.

Joker summoned Alilat from the depths of his soul, ordering the monolith to cast a Debilitate to cripple the last remaining Raindrop Castle. “Told you my new support Persona was amazing!” he laughed. “It can do everything Attis could while being immune to everything! Go ahead and finish that Shadow off!”

“Way ahead of you, Ren-kun!” Noir called back just as eagerly. She summoned Lucy and blasted the Shadow with one last Psiodyne, assaulting it with a multicolor psychedelic barrage that tore it apart and reduced it to wisps of ash.

“Quite an impressive display of power and finesse, Haru,” Naoto complimented. “I certainly appreciate your demonstration of just how powerful Psychic, Gun, and Technical attacks can be. Shiho is progressing quite well, but she isn’t capable of some of the feats that you are capable of.”

Noir giggled. “Thank you, Naoto-san. Your Persona is also quite fascinating as well, whenever you summoned it to attack an enemy Shadow. Most Personas I’ve seen tend to focus on only one element and strengthening that element to its maximum potential. Being able to attack with multiple different elements gives you a great deal of versatility indeed.”

Naoto nodded. “Thank you for your compliments, Haru. I may not be as effective against single powerful Shadows, but I can certainly pull my weight and then some against the hordes of Shadows that dwell within these dungeons.”

“I do have a question though,” Noir continued with a frown. “I’ve been observing this Heaven dungeon while battling the Shadows, and while I acknowledge the dangers that the Shadows pose, this dungeon is still one of the most beautiful that I’ve ever seen. And yet I’ve seen you look around this dungeon, Naoto-san. I get the impression that you almost…hate this place. You look at it with a disdain that I certainly don’t remember seeing in Yukiko’s Castle. May I ask why?”

Naoto didn’t answer for several seconds. When she finally spoke, it was in a low and surprisingly heavy voice. “This particular dungeon is tied to a particularly tense and emotional moment for our team,” she admitted. “One that very nearly ended in tragedy. I won’t go into any more detail, simply because it is not solely my story to tell. We triumphed over this hardship in the end, but I have no love of this Heaven dungeon and I never will.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Noir murmured sympathetically. “I should never have asked you to bring me here.”

Naoto shrugged. “I was the one who suggested this dungeon in the first place, so it would hardly be fair to blame you for it.” She glanced at her watch and frowned. “That being said, I think it would be wise for us to leave here soon. My friends will soon be finishing their obligations, and they’ve all been very excited to meet you.”

Noir giggled. “And I’m just as excited to meet them! Ren-kun had nothing but praise when he described you all to us a few days ago!”

Mona guided them back to the protective meadow, where the stack of TVs was waiting to take them back to the real world. As they prepared to enter into the portal back to reality, Naoto had one last comment to make.

“If our meeting is any indication,” she declared in a calm and even tone that belied the excitement in her eyes, “I’m certain that we’ll all get along quite wonderfully indeed.”

Chapter Text

As they re-entered the real world, Haru felt the familiar wave of exhaustion that always came after fighting in a cognitive world hit her entire body. “Oh, my…” she groaned. “In hindsight, I may have been a little too overzealous in my killing spree…”

“You think?” Ren asked dryly. He had also felt some fatigue, but not nearly as much as Haru. Whether it was because he had already had plenty of experience fighting in the TV World or because he hadn’t engaged in the same level of extreme violence as his girlfriend, it was impossible for him to say.

“I regret nothing!” Haru cheerfully replied. “That was the most fun I’ve had in months!”

“Of course you’d say that,” Morgana commented with a chuckle. “Not that you’re wrong…there’s really nothing quite like fighting in a cognitive world.”

“I do agree with your statement on a fundamental level,” Naoto acknowledged. “I can’t say I’ve seen anyone fight in the TV World with your sheer level of…enthusiasm…” she chose the last word carefully, trying not to sound unnerved.

“As exciting as all this was, I’m far more eager to meet the friends that Ren-kun spoke so highly about,” Haru replied excitedly. “Are we going to be meeting them back at the Amagi Inn?”

“That was indeed the plan,” Naoto confirmed. “While we make our way back, it would probably be best if you informed those bodyguards of yours of our planned location. We wouldn’t want them to drive aimlessly around Inaba looking for you for several hours without any idea where you are.”

“I can understand that,” Haru agreed. “And the bodyguards I’ve chosen are people I actually do respect and trust, so I wouldn’t want to inconvenience them so grievously without cause.”

Naoto was about to voice her approval, when her phone suddenly buzzed. She glanced at it and smiled. “Ah, I see that some of us have already gathered at the Amagi Inn. I’ll drive us there, it’ll be faster and more convenient.”

Ren smiled. “Thanks, Naoto,” he replied gratefully. “You really went out your way to help us out today.”

The First Detective Prince chuckled. “I’ve learned firsthand from my own adventures that when unique opportunities come forward, you have to seize them with all the strength you can,” she replied as they made their way to her car. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t.”

Ren could completely agree with her on that. Naoto might’ve been forced into the TV World and forced to face her worst aspects to gain her Persona, but she and all the others had only grown since then to be the best versions of themselves.

Naoto drove them all the way back to the Amagi Inn, the four of them exchanging small talk all the way to the famous tourist attraction. When they got to the front desk, Yukiko was already waiting for them with an excited smile on her face.

“Some of the others are already here,” she informed them. “They’re waiting for you in the room we reserve for large gatherings.”

“Would you mind if I take a shower and change clothes before I meet with everyone?” Haru requested. “I did some…rather intense exercise prior to coming here, and it would be rather unsightly if I didn’t clean myself and put on a fresh change of clothes.”

“That’s quite all right,” Yukiko reassured her. “A few of us haven’t yet arrived anyway.”

“Excellent!” she turned to Ren. “We have to look our absolute best when we finally meet your friends, after all!”

Ren chuckled. “I’m with you there, Haru,” he readily agreed. “It wouldn’t look good for my girlfriend to look absolutely stunning on her first meeting with my friends…and for me to look like complete shit next to her.”

Haru giggled. “You look handsome no matter what you’re wearing, Ren-kun. But I do agree, we should get ready to meet them together.”

The two teens made their way to their room, with Yukiko and Naoto watching them go. Yukiko giggled at the sight while Naoto smiled knowingly. “Those two really are so cute together,” the owner of the Amagi Inn remarked. “You can tell just how much Ren adores her.”

“There’s certainly a lot more to Haru Okumura than meets the eye,” Naoto added. “She has…quite the personality to her. If you saw her fight in the TV World like I did a few moments ago, you’d never look at her the same way again.”

Yukiko only giggled harder. “Oh, now I’m even more curious. You must tell me more as we go to our room.”

As the two women conversed, Ren and Haru took their showers and changed their clothes so that they were ready to meet with the Investigation Team. “I’m all ready to your friends now!” Haru declared brightly. “Shall we go?”

Ren gave a bow and extended a hand to her. “But of course,” he declared both theatrically and affectionately, “my Empress.”

Haru graciously accepted the hand with a giggle, and the two walked together to the large room that Yukiko had told them about. When they opened the doors, they found that the entire Investigation Team had already gathered in the room and were eagerly waiting for them.

“Hey!” Chie cheered once she noticed them. “There they are!”

Yosuke grinned at them. “Come on in, we’ve been waiting for ya!”

Ren smirked and Haru giggled as the two entered the large room, letting the door close behind them. Yu’s eyes fell on Haru and he smiled. “So you must be the fabled Haru Okumura who stole our younger brother’s heart,” he commented, earning a chuckle from the two teens at the words he had used. “It’s great to finally meet you, Okumura-san. My name is Yu Narukami. I was the leader of the Investigation Team, all of whom sit here before you and have been looking forward to meeting you for a very long time.”

“Pleasure to meet you too!” Haru replied in a tone that was both demure and excited. “And please, I insist that you call me Haru, Narukami-san.”

Yu’s smile grew ever so slightly. “Only if you call me Yu,” he replied. He gestured towards the rest of his friends, who each introduced themselves to her (with the exception of Naoto and Yukiko, whom Haru had already met).

Rise was the last to introduce herself, and unsurprisingly her greeting was the most enthusiastic out of all of them. “I’m so happy to meet you!” she practically squealed, and Yu could tell it was taking every ounce of self-control in her not to immediately wrap her in a bone-crushing hug. “I knew our little Ren could find a special someone, and you’re just so adorable! I can’t wait to hear about all the dates you’ve been on already!”

Haru blushed and looked visibly flustered. “Umm…” she stammered, “…we, uh…went on an Aquarium date at Shinagawa with a romantic dinner at the top of a tower afterwards?”

“Aww…” Rise cooed, before she clapped her hands excitedly. “You HAVE to tell me more!”

Thankfully Kanji seemed to notice Haru’s discomfort and came to her rescue. “Hey, Rise…you might want to dial it down a notch,” he pointed out a bit gruffly. “Think you’re overwhelming her a bit.”

Rise had the decency to look embarrassed. “Oh, sorry about that…” she apologized, retreating back to her spot on the couch. “I was just super excited to finally meet Ren’s girlfriend after hearing so much about her.”

“No, it’s perfectly all right,” Haru reassured her. “Our date together was truly wonderful. I enjoyed walking together with Ren-kun in the aquarium, seeing all the diverse forms of aquatic life that were swimming in the many tanks.” Her eyes seemed to glow with happiness. “And then Ren brought me to a restaurant up in one of the tallest towers in all of Tokyo. Everything about that date was just…perfect. The dinner was delicious, the flowers he gave me were some of the most beautiful I’d ever seen…and the view of the city skyline from high up in that tower was nothing short of heavenly.” She giggled with clear adoration and fondness of the memory. “It was easily one of the happiest memories of my entire life.”

“Aww…” Rise cooed again, and this time Yukiko and Chie joined her.

Yu, meanwhile, was smiling approvingly. “That’s my boy, Ren!” he declared proudly. “Taking after your honorary big bro, knowing how exactly to treat a girl right!”

Ren smirked and wrapped his arm around Haru’s shoulder, drawing her closer to him. “Nothing but the best for my girlfriend, right?”

“Dude, you’re pretty much exactly like Yu was back when he was your age,” Yosuke commented, sounding both happy for him and also a tad bit jealous. “He was the freaking heartthrob of Yasogami. I’m pretty sure 90% of the girls would’ve thrown themselves at his feet if he asked any of them out on a date. Including every girl here…except maybe Naoto.”

Chie lightly whacked Yosuke on the shoulder, which was still enough to cause him to wince given her upper body strength. “Hey!” she protested. “We wouldn’t have thrown ourselves at his feet!”

“Yeah!” Yukiko agreed, looking just as peeved as her best friend. “It’s kind of insulting that you would even make that kind of suggestion!”

Yosuke looked at the two of them thoroughly unimpressed. “So you’re telling me that if Yu had asked you to be his girlfriend instead of Rise, you would’ve said no?” he challenged.

Now it was both Chie’s and Yukiko’s turn to blush. “Umm…maybe…I would’ve said yes,” Chie reluctantly admitted. “I mean, he’s pretty much the closest thing to a perfect guy there is out there.”

Yosuke folded his arms. “I rest my case,” he declared.

Haru giggled as she listened to Ren’s older friends banter amongst themselves. She wasn’t exactly sure what she had expected, although part of her had wondered if this would be a formal affair given Yukiko’s and Naoto’s reputable statuses. But seeing them all together like this…the way they interacted with each other wasn’t so different from the way the Phantom Thieves did.

It made her like them even more because of it. She could tell just from this singular meeting that Ren would never be alone while they were around, and that was enough for them to win her wholehearted approval.

Yu decided to steer the conversation back towards Haru. “Ahem,” he cleared his throat, causing the rest of them to fall silent. “I think we’re getting a bit off-topic. This night is about Haru, after all.” He spoke the words with a sense of authority that reminded her so very much of Ren whenever he adopted the persona of Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves. It didn’t take her very long to realize that Yu had been their leader in the TV World, just as Ren had been to them.

“Ooh, ooh!” Teddie eagerly jumped in. “Hey Renren, what’s it like dating a super-rich girl?” he abruptly asked.

His friends all turned to immediately glare at him. “Are you fucking serious?” Kanji demanded. “The hell kind of question is that?”

“That’s one of the worst questions you could have possibly asked,” Naoto muttered, just as disapproving.

“No wonder you can’t find any girls yourself, Teddie,” Yosuke grumbled. “Nobody in their right mind asks that kind of question!”

Haru giggled. “No, it’s okay,” she reassured them. “It’s…quite a lot more complicated than it might seem.” She sighed. “People seem to think that being rich means an easy life free of any problems whatsoever, but I can assure you all that this is far from the truth.”

“It’s because of what happened with your dad, isn’t it?” Yosuke asked understandingly. “I still remember seeing it on TV…that straight-up gave me nightmares for days.”

“Yes, that is part of it…” Haru acknowledged, and everyone could see the lingering sadness and pain in her eyes. “My father destroyed himself with his greed and his desire for power, in more ways than one. As much as I can’t forgive the assassin who killed his shadow and sent him into a mental shutdown, that shutdown was ultimately the consequence of his own sins leading him to deal with Masayoshi Shido. And even outside of that, I was forced into an arranged marriage with a repulsive, self-obsessed pig of a man who didn’t care about me in the slightest, only valuing me as a tool to increase his social status. It was only thanks to Ren that I was able to avoid his attempts to trick me into staying into that accursed marriage even after my father’s passing.”

Yu frowned. “Complicated doesn’t even begin to describe it,” he muttered, before glancing over at Ren and giving him a nod of approval. “Great work helping Haru get over that,” he complimented. “Sounds like you saved her from a complete and utter mess.”

“Who the hell is this bastard?” Chie shouted angrily. “I’m gonna kick his ass!”

“Me too!” Rise added with a furious scowl. “I’m not gonna let some scumbag treat my little brother’s girlfriend like shit and let him get away with it.”

Ren chuckled darkly. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” he answered in a tone that was downright menacing. “Haru cut off her marriage to him completely, and I already have plan in place to make sure that stops being a problem for good. Long story short, if that bastard comes anywhere near either of us ever again, or tries to fuck with us in any way…I’m going to ruin him, I’m going to ruin his entire family, and I’m going to make him curse the day he so much looked at Haru the wrong way,” he finished in a hate-filled snarl.

Everyone stared at Ren, dumbfounded at the sheer amount of venom dripping in his voice. “Holy shit,” Yosuke thought numbly. He’d never seen Ren display that kind of vitriol before, and it was straight-up terrifying to see someone he thought of as family demonstrate that kind of malice even if it was directed to someone who very much deserved it. Suddenly, Yosuke could see the resemblance between Ren and Adachi more clearly than ever before…and it unnerved him in a way he hadn’t thought possible.

Not a single person in the room doubted that Ren was fully capable and willing of carrying out his vengeance against whoever Haru’s old fiancé was, if he was suicidal enough to show his face around them ever again.

Only Haru seemed completely unbothered by the malice that Ren was suddenly displaying. She only giggled in response and leaned into her boyfriend’s arms, a sight that in any other instance would have been positively heartwarming. Except for the fact that Haru’s giggle was downright sadistic for the first time, and she seemed fully on-board with whatever plans for vengeance Ren had crafted. “I do so love watching you destroy our enemies, Ren-kun,” she commented with a dark grin. “Especially when you do it so thoroughly and efficiently. After all, when fighting a sworn enemy with irreconcilable differences…it’s always best to make sure that they stop being a problem and stay that way once and for all.”

Everyone stared at them, trying to fight the rising sensations of fear and dread that were now surfacing through their bodies. “What the hell…” Yosuke only barely managed to avoid mumbling out loud. Out of all the things Ren and Haru could have shared in common, being sadistic, vengeful and borderline psychopathic in dealing with their enemies had not been anywhere near his list.

Then, as quickly as the malice in their faces and voices had appeared, it vanished completely, leaving behind a normal and loving couple. “I just want to make sure that my girlfriend is safe, happy, and free from dealing with problems as much as possible,” Ren commented as he gave embraced his girlfriend. “And I’ll protect her from anything that threatens us.”

Haru affectionately leaned into the embrace and leaned her head on Ren’s shoulder. “And I’m just as committed to protecting Ren-kun as he is to protecting me,” she added. “We’re true partners in love, and share the responsibilities of maintaining and defending that love.”

“Wow…” Rise blinked. “You guys are both absolutely adorable and utterly terrifying with each other,” she commented. “I can see why you guys love each other so much.”

“I almost feel pity for anybody who’s foolish enough to antagonize the two of you,” Naoto added. “With how strong your love is, they will almost certainly be violently and mercilessly destroyed.”

“Have you thought about going to the police about this former fiancé of yours?” Yukiko asked, sounding somewhat concerned (although for what reason nobody could tell). “If you’re concerned that he might harass you, perhaps you should get them to help you.”

She wasn’t expecting Haru to burst into laughter that had more than a little disdain mixed into it. “The police?” she repeated. “I’m sorry…it’s just that after everything we’ve been through, we just despise the police, is all. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the only institution I trust even less than the police is the government.”

Ren swore he could physically see the sweatdrops fall down everyone’s faces at that comment, especially from Chie’s and Naoto’s. The fact that Haru had maintained her prim and proper noblewoman’s behavior while making that statement only amplified the awkwardness. “Uh, Haru…lemme correct you real quick,” he immediately interrupted, before quickly explaining. “It’s only the Tokyo police that we despise. The Inaba police force is all right. I won’t pretend that it doesn’t have its own fair share of problems, but it isn’t corrupt as fuck like the Tokyo Police are. I’ve got a family friend who’s a pretty good cop, Chie here’s a police officer, and Naoto works with the police every so often as a consultant. Sorry for not explaining that earlier, that one’s on me,” he apologized.

Haru had the grace to look embarrassed. “Oh, my…I’m very sorry about that,” she immediately apologized. “As Phantom Thieves, our relationship with the Tokyo Police is…rather sour, to put it mildly. I didn’t meant to insult the entirety of the Inaba Police force in the process. I’m sure that the two of you are excellent public servants who truly serve and protect the community the way the police are intended to.”

“Uh…no problem!” Chie answered with a smile, deciding that quickly forgiving Haru and moving on was the best course of action. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

“I heard some rather disturbing rumors that some of the Tokyo Police force were corrupt and under the influence of political parties instead of serving the community,” Naoto added, smiling to show that she held no ill will for Haru’s earlier comments. “Given that those rumors have been or more less confirmed with Shido’s arrest and downfall, I don’t blame you in the slightest for your disdain against the Tokyo police force. I’m rather disgusted with them myself, all things considered.”

Haru brightened. “Then I’m glad we’re all on the same page!” she declared.

Yu chuckled. “The longer I talk with you, the more I see just how well you and Ren mesh together,” he commented with an appreciative smile. “The two of you really are perfect for each other, and I wish you both nothing but the best in your relationship.”

“Yeah!” Rise agreed eagerly. “The two of you really need to go on more dates with each other while you’re here! You’ve only got so much time you can spend with each other while you’re both in Inaba, after all!”

“Oh, I was just about to ask about that!” Haru asked excitedly. “I’m not really all that familiar with Inaba myself, and I was wondering what sort of activities I could do with Ren around here.”

“Well, good luck with that,” Yosuke commented with a dry snicker. “This place might’ve gotten bigger since we dealt with that fog 5 years ago, but it ain’t anything close to a big city, that’s for sure. You’re not gonna find much to do here compared to Tokyo.”

“C’mon, Yosuke, don’t be such a stick in the mud!” Chie protested. “Yeah, Inaba might be kinda small, but there’s still things to do!” She was about to go into a full explanation of what there was to do around Inaba, when Haru’s phone suddenly rang.

“Excuse me, those are probably the bodyguards that my company sent to protect me while I was in Inaba,” Haru apologized, before picking up the phone and walking outside the room. “Hello? Ah yes, you’ll be in Inaba shortly? I happen to be staying at the Amagi Inn alongside my boyfriend. Here, let me tell you the address.”

As Haru closed the door behind her to give directions to her bodyguards, Ren turned to his friends. “Well, what do you guys think of my girlfriend?”

“Well, uh…she sure is something,” Kanji answered, not fully able to come up with the proper words.

Teddie, by contrast, had no such reservations. “She’s pretty scary sometimes!” he whimpered. “She’s scarier than the girls when I tried to spook them back at our ski trip!”

“And whose fault was that, Teddie?” Naoto deadpanned.

“All jokes aside, though, your girlfriend is simultaneously one of the most adorable and one of the most terrifying women I’ve ever met in my entire life,” Yosuke admitted. “You sure you’re okay dating someone with a hidden dark side like that?”

Ren only laughed in response. “Yosuke, that hidden dark side is one of the biggest reasons why I love Haru so much to begin with.”

Yu shrugged. “As long as you’re willing to accept it, then I don’t have any problems with her. On the contrary, I think she’s a kindhearted and loving young woman who can also kick a lot of ass when the chips are down, just like my girlfriend.”

Rise giggled. “You just can’t resist being a charmer, can you, Yu?” she commented even as she felt her heart warm at the compliment.

“I do strongly recommend that you avoid breaking her heart by any and all means possible, though,” Yu warned. “Something tells me that if you do make that critical mistake, we won’t be able to find enough pieces of you left to bury.”

Ren snorted. “Please, Yu, I’m not an idiot. I’m fully aware that out of all the girls in the Phantom Thieves, she’s the one who can kick my ass the most.”

Yu nodded and leaned back in his chair. “Just so you’re aware,” he breathed out as Haru came back.

“My bodyguards will be arriving shortly,” she announced. “Yukiko-san, I’m sorry to interrupt this, but would you be kind enough to direct them to their rooms once they arrive?”

“Of course!” Yukiko immediately agreed, adopting the Persona of a gracious and welcoming innkeeper. “I’ll make sure they know exactly where to go and where you are.”

“Wonderful!” Haru replied with delight. “And I do hope we get the opportunity to talk more in the future. I can see you’re a skilled businesswoman and would really appreciate any tips you could give me for running a business of my own!”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” the owner of the Amagi Inn replied with a smile as she got up and left the room to greet Haru’s bodyguards. “I’ll be around here if you ever want to have a chat.”

“I do hope this doesn’t mean that our time together has come to a close,” Naoto commented with a frown once she was gone. “We’ll almost certainly have to limit the scope of our conversation from here on out, depending on how much you trust your bodyguards. We certainly can’t talk about Personas and the TV World, at the very least.”

“While we have the time, why don’t you tell us about what your Persona can do?” Yu invited. “If for whatever reason we ever end up fighting alongside each other in the TV World, it would be good for me to know what your Persona is capable of and what its limitations are.”

“Of course!” Haru readily agreed. “Lucy has been my dearest companion, and she’s quite the formidable fighter, if I do say so myself!”

As Haru went into detail about Lucy’s characteristics as a Persona, Ren smiled as he watched the others listen to her description with rapt attention. He knew that the first impression hadn’t been completely perfect, what with the momentary showing of sadism from both himself and Haru at one point. But it was clear to him that every single one of his friends had already taken a liking to his girlfriend, and that she approved of them just as much.

And as far as the first meeting between his old friends and his girlfriend, that was good enough for Ren.

Chapter Text

The next day, Haru had to face the rather unfortunate reality that visiting Inaba outside of the holiday months was that Ren still had to go to school for the majority of the day. Haru’s boyfriend had offered to skip the school day entirely just to spend the whole day with her, but Haru had refused.

“Mako-chan would kill me if she learned that I encouraged you to skip school, Ren-kun,” she had told her boyfriend. “There’s more than enough time for you to spend time with me in the afternoon. And besides, this gives me plenty of opportunity to spend time with your friends!” she added brightly.

Ren couldn’t argue that point, and so he had agreed to continue going to school as usual, although he fervently promised that he would be right back by her side the moment school ended, homework be damned.

Which was how Haru had ended up spending the morning with Chie Satonaka, hanging out with her at a local dojo. “So cool to finally hang out with you in person!” Chie was saying enthusiastically. The older woman wasn’t wearing her police officer uniform today and was wearing a green sweater instead, having taken the day off from work today just to spend time with Haru. A few feet away were the two bodyguards that Okumura Foods had sent to accompany them, both of whom were keeping an eye on their surroundings to make sure that nothing untoward happened to either of them.

Haru giggled, choosing to ignore the fact that Chie was one of the police officers that she normally would have despised. Ren had vouched for her good character, and that was enough for her to overlook any negative associations with the police. “I really am glad to have the opportunity to spend time with Ren-kun’s friends from his hometown,” she replied. “I do wonder why you chose this dojo for our meeting spot.”

Chie grinned. “It’s because I wanna see how strong you are!” she exclaimed. “Ren told me you were a really good fighter and that you’re actually really strong! I’m a bit of a martial arts enthusiast myself, and this dojo is probably one of the best places we can spar without risking either of us seriously getting hurt.”

“I’m not really familiar with martial arts training myself,” Haru admitted with a frown. “While I can certainly punch and fight back if need be, that’s quite different from dedicated forms of martial combat.”

Chie brushed off her concern. “Oh, don’t worry about it, we’re only gonna do some super basic stuff,” she reassured her. “Basic punches and kicks, nothing too fancy.”

Haru brightened. “Oh, well I can certainly do that!” she replied. The two women went into the locker room to change and get into their equipment. A few minutes later, they were back out, with Haru in red sparring gear and Chie in blue. “Lemme just see how strong you are to start with,” Chie requested, holding her arms up in a defensive stance. “Hit me as hard as you can!”

Haru did so, sending a roundhouse punch straight into Chie’s own arms. Chie could actually feel the force of the blow through her gear, although the punch didn’t actually hurt. Haru followed through with a kick straight into Chie’s arms, and this time the policewoman was shocked by just how strong the girl actually was. Although the kick hadn’t physically hurt any more than the punch had, the force behind the attack had actually been strong enough to cause her to stumble back a bit. “Oof,” she breathed out. “Wasn’t expecting a hit that hard!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Haru gasped. “Did I hurt you?”

“Nah,” Chie reassured her, “just a little surprised by how strong you are. Like…you have SOME really good upper body strength, a lot more than I expected.”

Haru giggled. “Well, it certainly helps that as the head and sole member of Shujin Academy’s gardening club, I regularly carried heavy bags of fertilizer up the stairs to the top of the roof. And of course, there were some other things I did in my spare time with my friends.”

The last words were innocuous, but the meaningful way Haru spoke them made it clear to Chie that she was talking about her adventures in the Metaverse as a Phantom Thief.

“Well, you’re definitely off to a very good start,” Chie commented with a laugh. “Let me show you a few ways to refine your technique a bit. That way, if you ever get jumped in the street by some creep like Shido, you can beat the shit out of him as long as he doesn’t have a gun or something.”

“I’d very much appreciate that, thank you!” Haru replied. For the next few seconds, Chie proceeded to take on the role of martial arts instructor, teaching Haru specific techniques in martial arts and showing her how to unleash punches and kicks in a more precise, organized, and coordinated manner. Chie turned out to be a pretty good teacher, as her enthusiasm for martial arts had motivated her to become a black belt once the dojo had opened a few years ago, and she was more than eager to teach any young student how to perform martial arts. Especially if that student happened to be Ren’s girlfriend.

“Martial arts isn’t just about beating the crap out of your opponent,” Chie explained. “You gotta be tactical about how you fight, cause there’s so many layers that go into it! You have to know a lot of different techniques so you have more tools to attack with. You gotta know where to attack someone at their weak point. You’ve gotta know when’s the best time to attack, and when’s the best time to defend. You gotta know how to combo your kicks and punches together. Strength is important and all, but skill and agility matter just as much. I’ve seen plenty of people with more bulk and strength get the crap beaten out of them by smaller and faster fighters who knew what they were doing a lot more.”

“I see,” Haru murmured as she swung her foot down in axe kick on a board, neatly cutting it in half. “In a way, it’s a bit like Persona combat, isn’t it?” she asked, speaking the last words softly so that only Chie could hear. “The basic fundamentals are the same, but instead of Personas and physical weapons, the only weapons we have are our own bodies and how to use it.”

“Yeah, that’s a really good way of putting it, actually!” Chie replied brightly as she put away the kickboard. “There’s so many different things to keep track of, but once you’ve gotten all of them down, there’s very few people who can beat you in a straight fight. Speaking of, wanna have one last spar before we wrap up?”

“Of course!” Haru replied eagerly. The two women took positions with their gear, and began throwing punches and kicks at each other. Chie could have easily overwhelmed Haru with all sorts of advanced techniques and attack combos that the girl would’ve had no chance of anticipating or defending against, but in the interest of keeping things fair and making sure her lessons throughout their training session actually had any value, she restricted her movements solely to techniques and attacks that she had taught Haru how to recognize and defend against.

Chie could definitely say that she was pleased with Haru’s performance during this last spar. Obviously, some of her movements were rough around the edges, as would be expected. But Haru picked up on her lessons very well for a first-timer, being able to successfully protect herself against the majority of Chie’s attacks and landing a few good solid blows on the policewoman in return. She had little doubt that if Haru had been fighting another martial arts novice instead of herself, the girl would’ve won the fight handily.

Still, there was one more lesson that Chie had yet to teach Haru. One inspired by her work in the field as a police officer, funnily enough. “You’re doing pretty well, Haru!” she praised. “There’s just one last thing I’ve gotta teach you today before we wrap this up.”

“Oh?” Haru asked, tilting her head curiously. “And what might that be, Chie-san?”

Without warning, Chie suddenly swung a punch straight at the helmet protecting Haru’s head. Haru yelped as Chie’s fist collided cleanly with her head, and although the helmet saved her from any actual pain or injury, Haru had been taken completely off-guard and stumbled backward. Chie took advantage of the cheap shot to land a kick straight into the pads protecting Haru’s stomach, then tripped her with a leg sweep and sent her sprawling onto the ground.

“When you’re fighting an actual enemy or someone who’s actually trying to attack you, they might not fight fair,” Chie finished, her voice decidedly more serious than it had been a few seconds earlier. “Martial arts is great for protecting yourself and other people, but it only gets you so far. There are some real pieces of garbage out there who don’t give a single damn about honor and decency. And if you don’t know how to recognize someone who’s fighting dirty, all the training in the world isn’t gonna help you.”

The policewoman extended a hand towards Haru, who accepted it and used it to climb back on her feet. “Thank you for that lesson,” the Okumura heiress gratefully replied with a small bow. If there’s one thing this past year in Tokyo has taught me, it’s that not everyone believes in or cares about honor. And I certainly agree that if an enemy does not treat me with any respect or decency, then they should not and will not receive any such respect or decency from me.”

Chie gave her a sympathetic glance. “You’re talking about that old fiancé of yours, aren’t you?” she asked. When Haru nodded, she scowled. “What a sleazebag. Treating women like you as their own personal property instead of actual human beings. I’ve known assholes like him before.”

“I really do owe Ren so very much for freeing me from that piece of filth’s influence,” Haru agreed. “One of the many reasons why I fell in love with him.”

“Well, I think that’s a good place to wrap up. Let’s go take a shower, change, and then I’ll drive you anywhere you like,” Chie offered. “Think of it as an apology for me getting a cheap shot on your head like that.”

“That’s a good idea,” Haru agreed. “I’ll give me time to think about where I want to go next.”

The two women cleaned themselves up, and after a few minutes they were back in their normal clothes. As they made their way outside the dojo, Haru’s bodyguards joined in step, standing right next to the two women. “That was quite the spar, Miss Okumura,” one of them remarked.

Haru giggled. “Thank you!” she replied. “I do feel a little tired after that martial arts session, but I quite enjoyed it as well!”

The four of them got into Chie’s police car, and the woman started driving (with the sirens off since she was off-duty). “So where’d you wanna head to next?” Chie asked. “Any place in particular you’ve got in mind?”

Haru thought for a few seconds. “I’ve heard that there’s a textile store that’s quite famous around Inaba,” she finally answered. “Isn’t that place owned and run by another one of Ren-kun’s friends?”

“Oh yeah, Tatsumi’s Textiles!” Chie cheerfully explained. “Yeah, Kanji makes some really high-quality stuff. He’s that big guy you met at the Amagi Inn yesterday. Want me to drop you off in front of there?”

“That would be much appreciated, Chie-san,” Haru gratefully confirmed. Chie nodded and drove her car through the streets until they arrived at the Shopping District, stopping right in front of the Tatsumi’s Textiles shop that stood, unassuming, next to the Shrine.

“Well, here you go!” Chie declared. “When you’re done talking with Kanji, I’ll be around! There’s two really good meat places around that I wanna show you, they’re some of the best food in all of Inaba!”

Haru giggled. “Thank you, Chie-san! I’ll see you then!” she promised.

The girl got out of the police car, her bodyguards accompanying her. As they approached the entrance to Tatsumi Textiles, a few townsfolk that had been walking around on the street caught sight of her and started whispering to each other.

“You know, I think they might’ve recognized you,” one of her bodyguards pointed out.

Haru shrugged, completely uncaring. “I anticipated that I would get recognized at some point, Morito-san,” she replied. “That’s why the company sent bodyguards to protect me, is it not?”

“Just please don’t take any unnecessary risks,” Morito requested with a frown. “Inaba is a fairly safe town as far as I’m aware, but there was still that incident with Shido that got your boyfriend locked up to begin with.”

The smile never left Haru’s face, but her eyes grew cold. “If anyone tries to assault me like Shido assaulted that woman, I’m going to send them straight to the hospital,” she promised with a voice as cold as ice. “And I can’t guarantee that they’ll be in one piece.”

“Holy shit this girl is terrifying,” Morito thought with a bead of sweat dropping down his forehead as they entered Tatsumi Textiles.

Kanji was working on some kind of sweater, and he looked up as the bell rang. “Oh!” he let out as he saw Haru walk in with his guards. “Didn’t expect to see you here just now.”

“Good day, Kanji-san,” Haru greeted him, taking a little gamble that he wouldn’t mind being called by his first name just like Chie. The gamble apparently paid off because Kanji didn’t seem even slightly bothered that Haru had started off greeting him by his first name. “How are you doing today?”

“Eh,” Kanji shrugged. “Just been working on a few things on the side,” he replied as he put away the sweater that he had been working on. “Those can wait though. What can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to browse your wares,” Haru replied with a giggle. “Ren-kun told me all about Tatsumi Textiles and its legendary clothing. I just had to see it for myself!”

Kanji chuckled. “I don’t know if I’d call any of this stuff legendary, but I appreciate the thought. Come on in and take as much time to look around as you want. It’s been a pretty slow day today anyway.”

Haru gladly accepted the invitation and started wandering around the store, her bodyguards also doing so but always making sure to keep an eye on Haru and their surroundings and staying close to her. Haru picked up a blanket colored in green and blue stripes, and couldn’t help but marvel at the softness of the fabric and the beauty of the blanket itself. She had been to many fancy and high-maintenance locations when her father had forced her to accompany him to various business parties, and the quality of the blanket was easily on par with some of the fabrics that she had seen in those fancy parties.

“These blankets and clothes are simply marvelous!” the Okumura heiress warmly complimented Kanji. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen fabrics and clothes of such high quality!”

The older (but still young) man rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Uhh…thanks, miss,” he replied, taken aback by the compliment. “Guess you really like that blanket, huh?”

“Not even just the blanket!” Haru replied eagerly. “Everything you make here is some of the highest quality I have ever seen! Do you happen to have pink or purple clothes, by any chance?”

Kanji smiled. “Sure, right over here,” he gestured towards a shelf behind him. “Got T-shirts, sweaters, whatever you need!”

Haru happily rushed over to the shelf that Kanji had pointed at, and when she took out a turtleneck sweater that looked quite similar to the ones she loved to wear, only somehow superior in every way. The fabric was smoother and softer, yet the sweater itself seemed more durable and the color of the sweater somehow seemed even more vibrant than her normal clothes. What really caught her attention, however, were the two pockets towards the waist. “Are these…actual pockets?” she asked incredulously.

This time, Kanji outright chuckled. “Yeah, it’s something I picked up too a few years ago,” he commented. “Most women’s clothing nowadays only have decorative pockets, or at the very least the pockets are a lot smaller than what men have in their clothes. Once I figured that out, I decided fuck it, I might as well put real functional pockets in the clothes I made for women and see how that turned out. Next thing I know, I’m getting tons of orders for clothes by women just because of those pockets. My ma was so proud of me for coming up with that idea, and Naoto was the first person to buy a customized jacket specifically with those new pockets.”

Haru’s ears immediately picked up on a particular phrase that he had used. “Wait a minute…you take customized orders?” she asked, clearly interested.

Kanji shrugged. “Not always, and I don’t do it for just anyone,” he explained. “But in certain times of the year, and for people who I’m friends with, I don’t mind making a special outfit for someone.” He smiled at Haru. “I don’t mind making one for you, since you’re Ren’s girlfriend and all, but you got something special in mind?”

“Uhm…one second, please,” Haru replied. She turned to her bodyguards. “Would you mind vacating the building for just a few moments?” she requested. “I’d like to discuss something with Kanji-san in private.”

The two bodyguards glanced at each other, shrugged, then left the room as Haru requested, taking positions outside the door. Haru walked over to Kanji and whispered conspiratorially into his ear. “I would like you to design a replica of my Phantom Thief costume,” she requested. “You clearly craft clothes of the finest quality, and I would be honored for a friend of Ren-kun and a fellow Persona user to create such a costume for me.”

The owner of Tatsumi Textiles blinked, clearly shocked by the gravity and nature of Haru’s request. “Uhh…are you that lady with the fancy cavalier hat with the feather who looks like a French noblewoman?” he clarified. “The one who always carries a giant axe?”

“That’s right!” Haru answered entirely too cheerfully.

“I really have to ask Ren when he started getting the hots for psychopathic chicks,” Kanji thought, before shaking his head. “Well, I think I could make it if I had a template for the outfit I could use. Problem is, I don’t have one on me. Just looking at the silhouette of a Phantom Thief on a TV screen just isn’t enough for me to go off of.”

“Oh…” Haru looked a bit downcast for a few seconds, before she suddenly brightened. “I know just the person to solve this problem! An aspiring artist and a fellow Phantom Thief! I’ll ask him to draw my Phantom Thief attire and send it to you! Does that work for you, Kanji-san?”

Kanji grinned. “If you can actually get that set up and have him send it to me, I can get started on it right away!” he promised. “With fully functional pockets and everything.”

“Excellent!” Haru cheerfully replied. “So there’s just the matter of how much I need to pay you to settle, then.”

Kanji waved away Haru’s statement. “You don’t have to pay for shit, Haru,” he declared. “You’re Ren’s girlfriend. Consider it my blessing for the two of you to get together.”

“Oh, but I can’t…”

“Haru, if you try to pay me money for this, first thing I’m gonna do is pull a Ren and throw all that yen straight into the goddamn Samegawa,” Kanji declared, making it clear he would accept no argument from her. “Ren needed all the friends he could get because of all that bullshit that happened with Masayoshi Fucking Shitbag, and I’m just glad that he had people who could take care of him over there. Especially you.”

Haru was visibly touched by his praise. “Thank you, Kanji-san. I promise that I’ll remain loyal and loving to Ren-kun up until the very end,” she swore.

Kanji chuckled. “I don’t have any worries about that in the slightest. Now, got anything else you wanna buy around here? The custom stuff might be on the house, but I still gotta take payment for the standard stuff or people’ll complain that I’m not treating them fairly.”

“Oh, yes, but let me recall my guards first,” Haru requested. She went outside and called them back in, and once they had returned she proceeded to pick out various clothes and fabrics that she wanted to purchase and bring back to her home in Tokyo. She even picked a few clothes for her bodyguards as an apology for inconveniencing them out of their duties, however briefly.

By the time she had finished paying for everything, Kanji had gotten more cash from Haru in a single hour than he had gotten out of entire days when the business was particularly slow. “I can mail all this stuff to your address in Tokyo so you don’t have to carry a bunch of shit around while you’re visiting Inaba,” Kanji offered once they had finished their transactions.

Haru smiled gratefully at the man. “That would be much appreciated, Kanji-san. Thank you.”

“Sounds good. It’s been great to meet ya again, Haru,” Kanji gave her a small wave. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Haru thanked the man one more time and left Tatsumi Textiles, with her bodyguards following close behind. She made her way over to the part of the Shopping District where Chie had pointed out the Souzai Daigaku and Aiya Chinese Diner, two well-known eating places that were actually incredibly close to each other. Chie had parked her car near the restaurants, and when she caught sight of Haru she waved at her.

“Heya!” she called out excitedly. “How was hanging out with Kanji, Haru?”

“It was incredible,” Haru answered with equal enthusiasm as she approached the car. “Kanji-san’s craftsmanship is truly a one-of-a-kind. And even beyond his incredible skill with creating clothes and fabrics, I simply can’t believe I finally found someone who actually puts in usable pockets for women’s clothing!”

Chie laughed. “Yeah, Kanji’s the best at what he does. I think he’s made clothes for all of us at one point.”

“He even agreed to make a special, custom clothing set for me,” Haru added. “Completely for free, too! I just need to have one of my friends send him the design for it.”

Chie’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow,” she whistled. “He must really like you. He made Teddie pay for his, probably cause the bear ticked him off one too many times.”

Haru giggled. “I can’t say I’m surprised. I believe we were going to be having lunch together now?”

Chie nodded. “Yeah, we got too great places that sell food full of meat right here! Souzai Daigaku and Aiya’s Chinese Diner, take your pick.”

“Ren gave quite the positive review of Aiya’s Diner, so I believe I would like to go there first,” Haru requested.

Chie grinned. “Good choice, we all love eating there when we get the chance.” The two women started walking towards the restaurant, and as they got closer to it Chie turned to Haru. “By the way, how’s your first real day in Inaba been so far?”

Haru’s eyes lit up brightly with happiness. “It’s been absolutely fantastic,” she gushed. “And I can’t wait to spend it together with Ren once he’s finally done with school!”

Chapter Text

As kind and as fun as Ren’s older friends were, Haru was more than a little relieved when Ren finally showed up back in their room at the Amagi Inn in the afternoon. “Sorry it took so long,” he apologized. “Yasogami’s a hell of a lot better than Shujin when Kamoshida and Kobayakawa were around, but waiting for it to end is annoying no matter what school you go to.”

 “Oh, it’s quite all right, Ren-kun,” Haru reassured him “I knew full well what to expect when I made the decision to visit you during a school week. Do you need some time to do any homework or anything of that nature?”

Ren smirked and shook his head. “Nope, I took care of all that stuff during lunch. Went straight to the library and did it all in one go.” He snickered. “Like I told Makoto, I do all my homework as quickly as possible so I can laze around and do whatever the hell I want afterwards with no consequences whatsoever.”

“I have no idea whether Mako-chan would be proud of you for getting your work done, or annoyed at you for the less-than-noble reasoning behind it,” she replied dryly.

“Who cares? Either way, it’s done, and my grades are still as good as ever,” Ren retorted as he tossed his backpack to the side. “Either way, forget about school. The rest of my time and my day is yours, my Empress,” he declared with a theatric bow.

Haru giggled. “Graciously accepted, my love. What do you have planned for us today?”

“A few ways to spend our time together and enjoy each other’s presence,” Ren replied. “But first, I need to ask if Rise is available.”

He took out a phone and dialed Rise’s number. “Hiiiiiii, Ren!” the idol cheerfully called out to him through the phone. “You finally ready to take that lovely girl out for a date?”

“More or less,” Ren confirmed. “Do you think you could have some spare time? I want to take Haru over to Shichiri Beach and show it to her.”

“Oooooh, that sounds like a great idea!” Rise gushed. “Sure thing, I’ve got some time! I’ll be over there in about 30 minutes!”

“That sounds great, Rise! Thanks!” Ren gratefully replied. The two of them quickly exchanged brief farewells before Ren hung up the phone. “Rise should be here in about half an hour,” Ren informed Haru.

“Oh, that’s wonderful of her!” Haru gushed. “You really do have such incredible friends, Ren-kun!”

They couple waited in their room for Rise to arrive, with Haru’s bodyguards occasionally peeking in to make sure that the two were doing okay. It actually took about 15 minutes longer than they expected before Rise finally arrived. “Sorry about that,” the idol apologized, looking a little frazzled as she finally knocked on their room. “Yu heard that you guys were going to Shichiri Beach, he wanted me to come pick up a few fishing supplies over at his house before coming over.”

“Fishing supplies?” Haru asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Rise replied. “If you have some casual clothes, you might want to change into those for now. I’ll explain more while I’m driving.”

The two teens looked at each other and shrugged. Haru quickly changed into more casual clothes and, along with Haru’s bodyguards, the two teens followed Rise to her car. As they drove off, Rise explained what she had meant earlier by fishing supplies. “So, I don’t know if Yu ever told you about this, Ren, but he used to be really big on catching fish as a hobby. He would spend days trying to catch fish, and he got so good at it he managed to catch both the Inaba River Guardian AND the Shichiri Sea Guardian!”

Ren’s eyes widened. “No way!” he exclaimed. “He managed to get BOTH of them???”

“I know, right?” Rise giggled. “I couldn’t believe the size of those fish when Yu brought them in to the TV World for the first time.” Her giggle faded and her grin turned into a rather embarrassed smile. “He tried to teach me how to fish a few years back. Let’s just say it didn’t go well.”

“Oh?” Haru gave her a concerned glance. “What happened?”

“I, uh…I fell into the river,” Rise admittedly sheepishly.

“Oh, no!” Haru gasped, even as Ren valiantly tried and failed to suppress a snicker at the image of Rise falling into the waters of Shichiri Beach. “Did everything turn out okay?”

“Oh, yeah, don’t worry about it,” Rise reassured her as Haru gently but firmly elbowed her boyfriend to stop his snickering, which he immediately did. “It was in the summer time, I was in my bathing suit, it was all good. The only reason why I fell in was because I accidentally snagged the Sea Guardian of all things. The rest of the fish aren’t nearly as big, and the Sea Guardian doesn’t come out unless it’s raining. You shouldn’t have any problems, Haru. Especially since if what Chie told me is right, your upper body strength is a hell of a lot better than mine is.”

Rise parked her car in front of the stairs leading down to the shores of Shichiri Beach. “Here we are!” she cheerfully declared. “And just like I thought, the beach is completely empty! So you guys can have it all to yourselves!” She pointed over at a pile of rocks to the side. “I think Yu said he fished on that pile of rocks every time he came here.”

Ren grinned. “Perfect. Thanks, Rise!” He turned over to Haru. “Want to try your hand at some fishing now?”

“Of course!” Haru answered brightly. “I’m always ready to try new things. Learning martial arts with Chie-san was lots of fun!”

The two got out of the car, and Ren picked up the fishing rod and bottles of bait that Yu had so kindly loaned to them. There were three of them, with the labels on each bottle reading “Daimyo Grasshopper”, “Heike Stag Beetle”, and “Genji Beetle” respectively.

“You know, I saw these things around a tree near Inaba’s Shrine a few times when I was a kid,” Ren remarked as he guided Haru onto the pile of rocks that Rise had pointed out to them. Thankfully, the top of the rocks was completely dry and their surface relatively flat, so Haru had no trouble at all climbing onto the rocks and maintaining her footing. “I didn’t realize they were actually kinda important.”

“Have you ever gone fishing before, Ren-kun?” Haru asked her boyfriend.

“A few times,” Ren replied with a nonchalant shrug. “Usually at night. There’s this fishing pond in Ichigaya where you can catch fish for points, and they give you prizes based on how many points you have. I actually ran into Kawakami-sensei once a twice on one of her breaks. But I have a feeling that catching fish in a natural environment like Inaba is very different from catching fish in a controlled setting in the city.”

Haru grabbed ahold of the fishing pole. “Only way to find out, right?” she asked with a giggle.

Ren smirked back and opened one of the bottles, this one containing the Daimyo Grasshopper. He attached it to the hook of the fishing pole and pointed out into the sea. “Now, throw the hook far into the water,” he instructed. “If you did it right, you should see some ripples form around the bob.

“Like this?” Haru asked as she swung the fishing pole into the water, the hook with the beetle landing into it with a neat splash.

Ren grinned. “Yeah, you got it!” he confirmed. Barely a second later, the bob started to dip into the water. “Reel it in now.”

Haru did as her boyfriend instructed, but was surprised when the hook came back with nothing but the beetle attached to it. “Why did you ask me to reel the line in?” she asked, confused. “It seems like I did this far too early.”

“I just wanted to make sure you got the basic motions down,” Ren explained. “It looks like you got throwing out the line and reeling it in right, so that’s good. There’s no way you could know how to fish if you don’t even have the basic motions down, right?”

Haru nodded. “Yes, I see. Always important to get the basics of a skill sorted out first.” She smiled. “Thank you, Ren. I think I’m ready now.”

“Great!” Ren replied with a grin. “Don’t pull up the line until you see the bob actually dip into the water and make a visible splash. That’s how you know something’s on the line.”

Haru did as Ren had instructed, throwing the line out into the sea just as she had before. Like the last time she’d done it, the bob started to form ripples around the water as something became attracted to the bug stuck on the hook. After several seconds, the bob finally dipped into the water, and Haru immediately felt an opposing force pulling against her as she tried to reel the line in.

“Oh my!” she gasped. “I think I got something!” She grimaced as she felt whatever she had snagged struggle against her. “It’s…certainly…fighting back!” she ground out.

“Pull it in, but don’t do it too fast or too slow!” Ren instructed as Haru struggled against her quarry. “You don’t want to be too aggressive or too gentle with it. Doing it too quickly snaps the line, do it too slowly and it’ll get away!”

Haru reeled the bob in, trying her best to follow Ren’s instructions. The splash made by the bob drew closer and closer, but she could feel that the line was starting to strain more and more. With a final groan, she managed to pull the bob out of the water just as she felt that the line was about to snap in her hands.

“Is that…an octopus?” Haru asked incredulously as she stared at the “fish” that she had just snagged. Ren was just as surprised as his girlfriend was, the two of them staring in incomprehension at the octopus that was dangling over the hook where the beetle had been. “Is this…a normal fishing experience for you, Ren-kun?”

“Uh…nope,” Ren shook his head after re-collecting his thoughts. “All the fish I caught in that pond were your standard, run-of-the-mill fish. Definitely don’t remember ever catching an octopus before. Hell, I didn’t even know they existed out here!”

“Oh, you caught one, good job!” Rise cheered, having snuck up on the rock behind them to join them. “And it was your first time too, Haru. Yu would be so proud!”

“I…thank you…I think,” Haru replied, clearly flustered. “I just wasn’t expecting to catch an octopus, instead of a fish like I was expecting.”

Rise glanced over at the octopus dangling on Haru’s fishing pole. “Oh, I’ve seen one of those!” she exclaimed. “That’s a Hachiro Octopus. Yu caught a few of those whenever he went fishing out here.” She leaned over to Ren and Haru and whispered. “They can actually restore your SP a little in the TV World.”

Both of their eyes widened. “Wait, what?” Now it was Ren’s turn to be shocked. “That’s a thing that can happen?”

Rise giggled. “Yep!” she happily confirmed, still keeping her voice quiet just to make sure Haru’s bodyguards couldn’t overhear. “A lot of different fish have properties in the TV World. The Sea Guardian actually refills all of your SP if you eat it. Yosuke gave Yu such a weird look when he ordered him to eat the Guardian that one time, but it filled up all of his SP after he’d run out, so…” The idol shrugged. “If it works, it works, right?”

“The world really is full of surprises,” Haru commented as she glanced down at the octopus still stuck on the line. “I don’t think we can bring this one with us, though. We don’t have the storage materials to carry around fish…and I don’t fancy carrying a fish in my bare hands all the way back to the Amagi Inn,” she added, making a face.

“You’re right,” Rise agreed. “Here, toss it back into the water after you put on these gloves so you don’t have to touch that octopus.” The idol handed over a pair of gloves that she had brought with her to Haru, who gratefully accepted. Haru gently dislodged the octopus from her hook, making sure that she didn’t accidentally injure it while doing so, before throwing it back into the water for it to swim away freely.

“Thank you, Rise-san!” Haru thanked her, before turning to Ren. “That was a lot of fun! Can we try again?”

“Sure, but let’s try a different bug this time,” Ren suggested. Haru reached over to the bottle labeled “Genji Beetles” and attached the beetle to the hook. Once she was ready, Haru tossed the line out into the water, letting it land neatly into the water. And just like last time, it didn’t take very long for the bob to start making ripples in the water as another aquatic creature approached the bait.

The moment the bob dipped into the water with a splash, Haru immediately started reeling it in like last time. To her surprise, her target was providing even more of a fight than the previous one, suggesting that it was either bigger or more aggressive than the Hachiro Octopus. Haru grimaced as she tried to reel in the fish, her target struggling every step of the way even as the line grew tenser and tenser. Right as she was about to drag the fish to the shore, the line suddenly snapped, causing Haru to let out a gasp of surprise as she suddenly stumbled backward, the tension from the fish she was trying to catch suddenly gone in an instant.

“Ack!” she exclaimed as she tried to keep her footing.

“I got you!” Ren reassured her as he caught her from behind, steadying her until she could safely regain her footing. “I was standing behind you the whole time in case the line snapped.”

Haru smiled at him. “Thank you for watching my back, Ren-kun,” she gratefully replied, before suddenly frowning and looking at the pole in her hands. “But I’m afraid that not only did the fish get away, it appears I snapped the fishing line as well. I do hope that Yu-san won’t get angry at me for breaking his things.”

Rise brushed off her concern without a second thought. “Oh, don’t worry,” she reassured Haru. “Yu used to screw up like that all the time when he first started out, and he still does every so often when he tries to go for the Sea Guardian. I’ve got one extra line here, so you can give it at least one more shot!”

“Thank you so very much, Rise-san!” Haru thanked her. She handed over the fishing rod to Rise, who managed to fix the line up with surprising deftness that could only come with experience. Rise handed the line back to Haru after fixing the line, and Haru placed another Genji Beetle on the hook. “I’m not going to fail this time!” she vowed as she tossed the line into the sea.

Haru trained her eyes on the water as she waited for the bob to splash into the sea again, and the moment it did, she immediately started reeling it in. To her satisfaction, the fish she was trying to catch was just as aggressive and resistant as the previous one, giving her a fight of roughly equal intensity to the one that she had just failed. “Not too aggressive, not too gentle,” she thought. She had been too aggressive with the other fish, so this time she was more restrained and less forceful than she had been before. The fish struggled against the line like last time, and although Haru made slower progress than before with pulling it in, she also felt like there was less tension in the line compared to last time. Keeping her pace steady and refusing to panic, Haru was able to slowly but cleanly pull the line until a large fish suddenly popped out of the water. Unlike the Hachiro Octopus, it was certainly a more conventional fish…if a rather large one.

“Oh, great work, Haru!” Rise complimented with delight. “That’s a Meguro Tuna! It’s one of the bigger fishes out here in the sea, and you caught it on your second try!”

“Man, you really are a natural!” Ren praised with a huge grin. “It took me longer than that to figure out how fishing works in that pond over in Tokyo.”

Haru giggled. “This is a lot more fun than I imagined!” she acknowledged. “I do so love a good challenge every now and then, and these fish certainly provide exactly that!”

“Hey, can I take a picture of the two of you together?” Rise requested. “I can’t wait to show Yu this!”

“Take a picture with our phones, too!” Ren replied with a request of his own. Rise happily accepted the two teens’ phones. Ren and Haru got into position, next to each other, Haru holding up the Meguro Tuna between them with happy grins on their faces as Rise held her camera up. She proceeded to take multiple pictures of the couple holding their fish, first on her phone, then on the two teens’.

“You guys gonna fish anymore?” Rise asked once they were done.

Ren glanced at Haru, letting his girlfriend make the judgment call on that question. “I believe so,” Haru decided. “I think I just want to spend a few moments on the beach with Ren-kun now, if that’s okay with you.”

“Oh, of course!” Rise happily agreed. “Yu took me out on to the beach the year we started dating. It’s a great place to sit down and just enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.” She giggled. “I’ll leave you two alone, then!”

She skipped off back towards her car, telling Haru’s guards that Ren and Haru wanted to spend some time alone on the beach. “I know your whole job is to keep an eye on her, but just do it from up here,” she advised. “You don’t really need to be in their faces to make sure Haru’s safe.”

Hariyama and Morito looked at each other and shrugged. “I don’t even think there’s a single other person on this beach besides us too,” Hariyama pointed out. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t listen to Kujikawa-san.”

“Yeah,” Morito agreed. “It’s not like we have to be worried about Haru’s well-being, unlike with that asshole Sugimura.”

The guards took positions at the top of the stairs leading down to the beach, distributing their attention between the road leading to the beach and the beach itself as Haru and Ren sat down at the very last stair, just on top of the sands.

“For as simple a place as this beach might seem, it really is quite beautiful in its own way,” Haru remarked as they leaned their bodies against each other, not quite cuddling but not far from it. “I know you mentioned before that Inaba’s been developed quite a bit over the years, but this place still seems so much more entuned with nature than most of Tokyo ever was. I really do like the change in atmosphere.”

“I get that,” Ren agreed. “As great as Tokyo was minus all the bullshit we had to deal with, I never really felt like I could get a breath of fresh air. It’s a lot easier for me to find some time to myself in Inaba, and not just cause my parents are out of the country.”

Haru gave her boyfriend a concerned glance. “Are you sure you’re all right with that situation, Ren-kun?” she asked worriedly. “I’m still not sure how much I like the idea of you spending your days in your house alone.”

Ren nodded. “I honestly am okay with this situation, Haru, I really am. I think my mental state would’ve been a lot worse if my parents had been assholes and/or if they believed Shido’s story over mine. But they believed me and tried their best to deal with all this. The only reason why they couldn’t contact me over the past year was because the courts straight-up told them they couldn’t, and the only reason why they fled the country was because they were afraid Masayoshi Shitbag was gonna have them assassinated,” he added with a furious growl. “Cause of course that sociopathic piece of shit couldn’t help but be a petty fuck to us.”

Haru scowled. “The more I hear about the crimes of Masayoshi Shido, the more I understand why Akechi-kun despised him so much,” she commented, a cloud of fury over her face. “I may not condone the murder of innocents or forgive him for driving my father into a mental shutdown, but wanting to destroy that degenerate of a man? That part of his motivation, I can completely understand.”

Ren smirked. “Well, Shido’s probably crying his eyes out in a cell somewhere for the rest of his life, so that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about.” The smirk faded as he remembered Haru’s original question. “But yeah, my parents are stranded in America for now. We try to reach out to each other every now and again, but communication’s inconsistent sometimes. On the plus side,” he added with a noticeably happier tone, “they’re thrilled that I got a girlfriend and they’d love to see you whenever we get the chance. I was thinking about trying to call them tonight and introduce you to them.”

Haru beamed. “Oh, that sounds lovely! I’d love to meet them as well!” she immediately agreed.

“They don’t know you’re Haru Okumura, though,” Ren replied with a wink. “I was thinking I’d keep that as a surprise.”

Haru giggled. “You always did have such a wonderful sense of humor, Ren-kun,” she complimented.

The two settled into silence for a few seconds, leaning closer to each other to the point that they now really could be considered cuddling. “I was wondering, Haru,” Ren finally broke the silence, “what plans did you have for the future? I know you’re next-in-line for Okumura Foods, but you also talked about wanting to open up a café of your own at some point. Did you decide what you wanted to do yet?”

Haru shook her head. “Not really, to be honest,” she admitted. “I spent pretty much all of the last few months focusing on stabilizing my father’s company and dealing with the chaos caused by both the controversy surrounding my father’s corruption and his death. I only just managed to stabilize my company’s situation, which is why it took me so long to visit you, Ren-kun.”

Ren winced. “Sorry to hear that, Haru,” he muttered sympathetically. “I’d help you if I could, but I don’t know the first thing about running a big business.”

Haru smiled gently at him. “Don’t worry, Ren-kun,” she reassured him. “It would have been completely unrealistic of me to expect you to help me with something like that, and like I said earlier, everything’s more or less stable for now.” Her gaze turned thoughtful. “As for what I’d like to do in the future…that, I’m still not quite sure,” she admitted. “But I do have a plan for the immediate future, at least.”

“What’s that?” Ren asked.

“No matter what path I choose for the future, I most certainly will be going to university and getting a degree in business,” Haru declared. “Whether I replace my father as leader of Okumura Foods or open up a new café for my own, pursuing either goal is meaningless unless I have the knowledge and wisdom to do it properly. What happens after that,” she shrugged. “Time will tell, I guess.”

“Keeping your options open is always a good idea,” Ren commented agreeably, “and it’s good to know that you have a path forward at least for the short-term.”

“What about you, Ren-kun?” Haru turned Ren’s original question back on its head. “What do you think you want to do?”

“I’m not sure yet,” he admitted. “A lot of my future prospects were screwed once Shido fucked everything up, but in theory now that my slate’s been wiped clean I should be able to apply to a university and get accepted there like anybody else. Part of me wants to go into business like you so that I can help you run whatever you want to, whether it’s Okumura Foods or that new café. Part of me wants to go into politics just like Yoshida-sensei, another part of me just wants to take over Café LeBlanc whenever Sojiro retires.” He shrugged. “All I can do is apply for university like everyone else and see what happens.”

“It sounds like your future is even more uncertain than mine,” Haru remarked a bit unhappily.

Ren shrugged. “It is what it is, Haru. At least I actually HAVE options now. I know Yoshida-sensei would love to hire me if I ever wanted to go into politics under him, and I know you’d gladly hire me too no matter what you wanted to do. That’s a hell of a lot better than what I started with last year.”

“Whatever you go into, Ren, know that I’ll be there to support you every step of the way, just like you are for me,” Haru promised. She leaned in and kissed Ren gently on the cheek. “I love you, Ren. I know I’ve said that to you plenty of times over the phone, but saying it to you in person is so much more special.”

Ren smiled gently at her, seeing the love shining in her eyes that reflected his own personal feelings towards his girlfriend. “I love you too, Haru,” he murmured. The two of them leaned forward and kissed, a sensation that both of them had dearly missed ever since Ren had departed from Tokyo. It was a gentle expression this time around, as while both Ren and Haru had the potential to be far more passionate about their love if they wanted to be, they understood that this was a gentle and tender moment for them both, rather than a wild and passionate one.

A gentle and tender moment that was swiftly interrupted by the high-pitched squeal of delight coming from above them. Both teens abruptly broke their kiss off and swiveled their heads around to see Rise squealing and clapping with delight at the adorable sight of Ren and Haru kissing each other. “Oh my God!” she nearly screamed. “So adorable! And I got the perfect picture of it too!”

She held up her phone and showed the picture of Ren and Haru kissing on the beach to them, causing both of them to blush furiously. To her left and right, Hariyama and Morito were looking on with barely concealed amusement at the whole situation. “Ummm…ummm…uh…” Haru was too flustered to form a coherent response.

“Shit,” Ren cursed under his breath. “I forgot that we had an audience.”

Rise laughed at their expressions. “Oh, don’t worry you guys,” she teased. “This is just a precious little picture of my Ren-ren and his adorable girlfriend kissing on the beach. I won’t share this with a bunch of people or anything, this is just my private treasure. That being said, I do have an actual picture request once we get to the town, if you’re okay with it.”

Haru and Ren looked at each other and shrugged. “I don’t have a problem with that,” Haru answered. “To be honest, Ren-kun and I haven’t had enough pictures of us together ever since we started dating. There was just too much going on, too much to deal with.”

“As long as that picture of us kissing doesn’t go to Teddie’s phone,” Ren deadpanned. “I don’t feel like getting harassed by a screaming bear in the middle of public.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about that,” Rise reassured them. “I’m not letting that bear get his grubby little paws on MY precious picture.”

The three of them got back into Rise’s car, joined by Hariyama and Morito right after. On the drive back, Rise revealed what her request actually was. “I bought this really cute sundress for you as a gift from one girl to another,” she explained with a wink. “And I was thinking maybe the two of you might visit Inaba’s Shrine and I could take a picture of Haru wearing it. The weather’s good today so being cold shouldn’t be a problem.”

“You bought a gift for me, Rise-san?” Haru gasped. “You shouldn’t have!”

“Oh, nonsense!” Rise brushed off her protest. “Least I could do for Ren-ren’s new girlfriend!”

“Well, if you insist,” Haru clearly wasn’t entirely sure whether to accept such a gift, but she could tell that Rise wasn’t going to back down, and she was admittedly curious to see what the dress Rise had bought her was. “If I remember correctly, Inaba’s Shrine is next to Tatsumi Textiles? I passed it by on the way to visiting Kanji-san earlier today, and while I didn’t fully investigate, it certainly looked beautiful from what I could see.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Ren agreed without hesitation. “I can’t wait to show you one of the most beautiful sites in all of Inaba, Haru. Once you get a good long look at what it looks like now, you won’t believe what it looked like 6 years ago!”

Chapter Text

When Ren and Haru arrived back at the Amagi Inn, the first thing both of them did was take a shower. Neither of them wanted to go out on an evening date in Inaba after having just handled fish straight out of the sea, and even if they hadn’t, the casual clothes they had worn to the beach simply weren’t going to cut it.

Haru was thankful that the weather outside was relatively warm, because she was very eager to try out the turquoise sundress that Ren and Rise had gotten for her as a gift. “It’s so beautiful,” she thought happily as she studied the dress in her hands. Just like they had promised, it had clouds sprinkled across its surface to make it look like a clear and bright blue sky. “I have so many pink and purple pieces of clothing. A bright blue one really would make for such a welcome change of pace!”

She finished putting on the sundress and looked in the mirror, her smile growing wider as Ren joined her in the main section of their hotel room. “Wow!” he exclaimed. “That sundress really does look amazing on you, Haru!”

“Thank you, Ren-kun. You look quite dashing yourself!” Haru returned the compliment with one of her own.

Ren chuckled dryly. “I’m literally just wearing my black T-shirt and jeans, Haru. You’ve seen me wear this literally all the time back in Tokyo.”

Haru giggled. “I was trying to say that you look incredible no matter what you wear, Ren-kun. I presume that you have plans for us this evening, as well?”

Ren nodded. “I do. Nothing particularly crazy. I wanted to take you over to Inaba’s Shrine, and then maybe show you Junes since you haven’t really seen either yet outside of the gateway to the TV World. If we’re lucky, we might see the Fox there.”

Haru tilted her head curiously. “The…fox?” she repeated, confused.

“There’s a fox that lives in the shrine and takes care of it, as weird as it might sound,” Ren explained. “Yu told me that it actually thinks and behaves like a human, and it’s as smart as one too. It used to only show up during the day, but ever since they renovated and upgraded the shrine it shows up at night sometimes too.”

“I see,” Haru replied, before frowning. “Now I’m regretting not bringing my yukata. I was thinking about it, but I didn’t think there was any real reason to. It would’ve been a perfect dress for a date at a shrine.”

Ren shrugged. “Eh, I don’t really care,” he reassured her. “It’s not like it’s Valentine’s Day, or White Day, or anything like that. It’s just a night out with the two of us, and we can ask the guards to stay at the entrance while we actually go into the shrine itself. Bring a little money for an offering, though.”

Haru brightened. “I can certainly do that!” she replied. She grabbed her purse and clasped her hand in Ren’s. “Ready to go out for the evening?” she asked.

“Have fun, you two!” Morgana called out to them. The feline wasn’t even bothering trying to hide his smirk, teasing them but also clearly happy that the two of them were enjoying their time together. And as their friend and a gentleman, he knew full well that the two lovebirds were best left alone by anyone who wasn’t serving a practical purpose for being with them.

Ren smirked. “Let’s go, Haru.” The two opened the doors to see Rise and Yu waiting for them. “Oh, hey Yu,” he called out to the man, “didn’ t expect to see you here.”

“Rise called me,” Yu explained. “She thinks that you guys might have better luck seeing the Fox at the shrine if I’m there. Plus, I figured it’s my turn to drive you to the Central Shopping District this time since Rise already took the time to take you over to Shichiri Beach.”

“We’ll try not to barge our way too much into your evening, though,” Rise added. “This is supposed to be your special night, after all!”

“It’s not a problem,” Haru reassured them both as they made their way to Yu’s car, followed closely by Haru’s guards. “We’re both grateful that you’re taking the time to drive us around.”

Yu drove them expertly through the streets of Inaba, allowing Haru to get a glimpse of the town in general. She couldn’t help but marvel at the juxtaposition between the modern apartment buildings and the more traditional homes that had existed before Inaba had taken the leap forward into modernization. A charming blend of old and new that stayed away from being aggressively urban like Tokyo had been. Even with the more modern buildings, Haru felt that she could still easily find a place in Inaba where she could rest peacefully and take a breath of fresh air, which was something she couldn’t really say was true about Tokyo outside of a few specific natural areas.

After a couple of minutes, Yu arrived and stopped his car a few feet away from the entrance to Inaba’s Shrine. It wasn’t quite nighttime yet, but the sky had noticeably darkened and everyone could tell night would be arriving soon. Haru could see the outline of Tatsumi’s Textiles next to the shrine, although the building itself seemed completely dark and lifeless since Kanji-san had already closed up shop.

“Here we are,” Yu declared in his familiar stoic tone. “Let me go in first to see if I can get the Fox to come out.” He got out of the car alone and walked into the shrine for a few minutes. Unfortunately, the angle of vision made it impossible for anyone to see what exactly he was doing in the shrine itself, but after a few minutes he came back with a gleam of triumph in his eyes. “I managed to get the Fox to come out, Ren,” he reported. “You should be able to see him and his kids now.”

Ren grinned. “Thanks a lot, Yu,” he thanked him.

“I’m quite curious to learn about these foxes,” Haru added gratefully. “This is much appreciated, Yu-san.”

Yu nodded and opened the passenger door, allowing Ren, Haru, and her bodyguards to climb out. Her bodyguards took positions at the entrance to the Shrine as Ren and Haru entered alone. A warm breeze tickled them as they passed underneath the entryway. “Oh, my!” Haru gasped. “Is that Yashiro made of solid gold?”

Ren glanced over at the golden Yashiro and grinned. “Looks really glamorous, doesn’t it?” he asked. “It’s not actually solid gold, I don’t think Inaba had enough money to pay for a solid gold Yashiro. It’s made of metal with gold paint, but it’s still really convincing otherwise. It used to be made of wood just like everything else, but about 5 years ago they renovated and upgraded the shrine to make it look a lot newer.” He swiveled around and gestured towards the main shrine building itself, which had remained the same for the past several years…except for the golden offering box at its feet. “That was around the time they replaced the offering box too.”

“It does look beautiful,” Haru remarked with a contented sigh, “but why did they did suddenly decide to renovate the shrine?”

“Because people started using it more and more,” Ren explained. “When we were talking about our Wild Card bonds, Yu told me how he helped fulfill shrine wishes for the Fox that lives here and takes care of the shrine. Barely anyone ever used the shrine before then, but after Yu started doing those errands for the Shrine, more and more people started to take it seriously and started giving their wishes and offering donations to the Shrine.” He shifted his gaze back to the Yashiro. “Funnily enough, the time they changed the Yashiro to have a golden look was right around the time that the Fox link got upgraded to max.”

“Fascinating,” Haru murmured. “But what did Yu get out of this? Generosity is very important, but partnerships can only truly be equal if both members benefit from it.”

“He got SP heals,” Ren answered. “The Fox is actually at least partly magical and can enter the TV World by itself. He has this mystic leaf that can provide free SP heals but he would only give heals to the party if Yu paid for them first.” To Haru’s surprise, Ren grimaced. “His price got cheaper the higher Yu’s bond with him grew, but those prices when they started out…holy shit those were expensive as hell.”

“What do you mean?” Haru wondered. “How bad could they be?” Ren stated a number and his girlfriend’s jaw dropped. “THAT high?” She spluttered. “Even my father would be hesitant to let me spend that much money all at once. How is a normal high school student expected to pay that much just for a heal?”

Ren winced. “Yeeaaaaahhhhh…let’s just say Yu only started using those heals after he got more money from the higher dungeons of the TV World and his bond with the Fox was high.”

“YIP! YIP!” a high-pitched cry interrupted their conversation.

Ren and Haru turned to see the Fox in question standing proudly atop the Shrine, holding the mystical leaf they had been talking about in his mouth. Before either of them could react, the Fox jumped off the building and landed neatly on its feet in front of them, running around them twice in a circle before stopping in front of them.

“Oh, hello!” Haru greeted the Fox happily, already forgetting about her shock at the Fox’s incredibly high price rates as she realized just how adorable he was. “You must be the Fox that Yu-san told me about! Pleased to meet you!”

“Yip! Yip!” the Fox cried back as he gazed up at Haru. Even without knowing his true nature, Haru could immediately tell that the Fox had a certain unique kind of intelligence to it that most animals simply lacked. An intelligence that was special like Morgana’s (although he would still vehemently deny being “just” a cat), but at the same time different in its own way. The Fox studied her intently for several seconds, before slowly approaching Haru and lowering his head.

“I think he likes you,” Ren commented with a knowing grin. “I think he’s letting you pet him once. That’s a really good sign, actually. Usually the Fox doesn’t let anybody pet him unless he really likes them.”

“Oh!” Haru exclaimed. “I didn’t realize that was what he was offering." Gingerly, she knelt down and slowly reached her hand out towards the Fox. The Fox warily sniffed her hand for a second or two, before allowing Haru to proceed. The heiress lightly stroked the Fox’s head, marveling at how soft and comfortable his fur was. She pet the Fox’s head twice, and then the Fox immediately retreated from her hand. The message was clear: his tolerance for being pet had its limits.

“Thank you!” Haru thanked the Fox gratefully, knowing that she had been given a rare opportunity. The Fox nodded, then picked up the leaf and ran back towards the Shrine. Instead of climbing up the walls to the top of the Shrine, though, he stopped in front of the offering box. He lowered the leaf again and then turned back towards the couple, waiting expectantly for them.

“I’m pretty sure it wants us to make an offering,” Ren pointed out. “We throw an offering in and make a wish. You can tell me what it is afterwards, but don’t actually say the wish out loud while you’re making it. Legend has it that doing that might make the wish lose its power.”

“I see,” Haru murmured. “Before this year I would’ve brushed away that kind of thought, but after everything we’ve been through, we’d be fools to dismiss the power of the supernatural.”

She took out a handful of yen and offered it to Ren, only to realize that he had brought his own handful for this offering. “Shall we?” he asked.

Haru smiled and the two of them approached the shrine’s offering box together. Together, they gently and reverently lowered their piles of yen into the offering box, bowed their heads, clasped their hands together in a prayer-like manner, and closed their eyes as they silently made their wishes. After a few seconds of silent thought, the two of them raised their heads and opened their eyes. “So what did you wish for?” Ren asked, breaking the silence first.

“I wished for our love and romance to continue to blossom and only grow stronger,” Haru explained with a slight blush in her cheeks. “The arranged marriage with Sugimura had no love in it whatsoever, just exploitation from both my father and that filth.” She smiled lovingly at Ren. “Now that I know what true love looks like, I want to grab it and hold onto it forever without ever letting go.”

Ren grinned and lightly hugged Haru with one arm. “I don’t plan on letting you go either, Haru. Not now and not ever.” His comment earned a contented giggle from his girlfriend. “As for what I wished for, I wished that we would be able to figure out our plans for the future with complete certainty and without any hesitation or regrets. Both of us don’t really know exactly what we want to do in the future, and while I can’t say what’s the right or wrong thing to do for either of us, I have hope that we’ll get everything sorted out one way or another.”

 “That was a good wish, Ren-kun,” Haru complimented. “When the time comes, we’ll need to be decisive in paving our way to the future. I never agreed with my father on a lot of things, but on this at least he isn’t wrong.”

Ren nodded, before suddenly smirking. “Maybe there might be a way to boost the odds in our favor just a little more,” he commented with a sly wink.

“Oh?” Haru blinked. “What do you mean by that, Ren-kun?”

Ren directed Haru over to the golden Yashiro, the Fox choosing this time to climb up to the roof of the Shrine and hide out of sight. “This Yashiro has a box filled with papers that have fortunes written on them,” he explained. “For a small fee of 200 yen, you can pick up a different fortune. Depending on your luck, you could get a small, mild, or great blessing.”

“Only blessings? Has anyone ever gotten cursed from this Yashiro?” Haru wondered.

Ren shook his head. “Not normally,” he answered. “There was one guy a few years ago who claimed that he got cursed when he drew a blessing with his girlfriend on a shrine date.” He scoffed. “Turned out a few months later the guy was cheating on his girlfriend with someone else, though, so no wonder he ended up getting cursed.”

Haru let out a distinctly unladylike snort. “How rightfully deserved,” she commented without an ounce of sympathy. “I can only imagine Sugimura would have gotten that same result if he ever deigned to draw a fortune from this shrine.”

Ren chuckled dryly. “No kidding. Funnily enough, Yu and Rise actually drew fortunes together on their first Shrine date and both of them got Great Blessing. Yu told me once that he was thinking impure thoughts about Rise when he drew his blessing, but I’m not sure if he was joking.” Ren shook his head. “Even after all these years, sometimes it’s really hard to tell when Yu is joking or being serious about something.”

Haru gave her boyfriend a no-nonsense look. “I do hope that you won’t be thinking impure thoughts about me, Ren-kun,” she warned. “Having children is something I don’t plan on doing for quite some time.”

Ren suppressed the urge to gulp. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he promised. Haru brightened, satisfied that her message had gotten through, and the two of them paid 200 yen each before drawing a fortune out from the box. They opened the papers up and read them.

“Oh, my!” Haru exclaimed. “I got Great Blessing, Ren! What did you get?”

Ren grinned. “I got Great Blessing too, and without a single impure thought to boot. Guess our relationship really is just that unbreakable.”

Haru giggled and the two kissed, this time with significant more passion than they had on the beach. And compared to their kiss on the beach, it was much longer before the two finally separated. “All right, I think we’ve gotten everything we need here,” Ren declared. “Let’s go back and see what else we can do for the night.”

Haru nodded in agreement and the two made their way back to the entrance of the Shrine. They quickly realized that there had been an audience to their kiss, as Rise was practically hopping and clapping with giddy delight, Yu was smirking openly at the two of them, and even Haru’s bodyguards were looking at them with unhidden amusement. “Looked like you two were having a lot of fun over there,” Morito commented, his expression making it clear he was trying not to laugh.

“You’re so cute together, oh my God!” Rise squealed. “If Ren hadn’t told me you were the Empress, I could’ve sworn that you were the Lovers arcana like I am!”

Yu decided to be a bit more merciful since everyone else was already teasing the two. “How was the Fox?” he asked Haru. “He really is something, isn’t he?”

“Oh, he was absolutely adorable!” Haru gushed. “He seems like such an intelligent animal, and he even let me pet him!” She frowned slightly. “Although, I’m not quite certain how I feel about the fact that this mystical animal understands and utilizes the very modern and rather cutthroat business practice of extortion.”

Yu let out a snort at that while her bodyguards gave each other confused looks. “Probably not the time to talk about that here, but yeah, it really was that bad at one point,” he commented dryly.

“Can we take a picture of you two in front of the shrine? Please?” Rise practically begged. “This is the perfect opportunity for it!”

“Oh, I almost forgot about that,” Ren admitted. “Yeah, some pictures would be great.”

Rise cheered and together, she and Yu took pictures of Ren and Haru standing slightly in front of the shrine and the Yashiro. First, they used Ren’s and Haru’s phones, before taking pictures with their own as well. “Oh, this is so precious!” Rise gushed. “Our little Renren, all grown up and with a girlfriend of his own!”

“The others are gonna love to see this,” Yu commented with a knowing smile. “They all think you two are so cute together, Ren and Haru.”

“As long as Teddie doesn’t get his hands on that picture where the two of us were kissing on the beach,” Ren replied dryly. “That bear’s gonna go absolutely crazy if he sees that.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Yu winced slightly, knowing full well what Teddie was like. “So, what were the two of you going to do next?” he asked. “We can take you two anywhere you’d like, although it’s probably not the best idea to leave the town at night even if you do have bodyguards.”

“Hmm…” Haru thought for a moment. “Originally, I was thinking about asking Ren to take me to Junes for a more thorough look since it seemed like quite a special place in Inaba. But now I’m thinking that, if it’s at all possible, I’d like to take the opportunity to introduce myself to Ren-kun’s parents while I have the chance. Ren spoke very highly of them, and from my understanding he can only really contact them at night due to the time zone difference between Japan and America.” She frowned slightly. “Although I’m not sure I want to have this phone conversation at Junes where other people can hear.”

“You’re probably right,” Yu agreed. “A first meeting with the parents isn’t exactly the kind of conversation that should be held in a public department store. I’d honestly recommend Ren’s house if you wanted to do something that private.”

“Oh, that’s actually a wonderful idea!” Haru exclaimed. “I just realized I haven’t actually seen Ren-kun’s house yet, and I’ve been quite curious to know what it looks like!”

“Visiting Ren’s house is probably a better idea than Junes, to be honest,” Rise commented. “I’ve been to a few of them around Japan out of curiosity, and outside of Teddie and the TV World entrance there isn’t THAT much of a difference between Inaba’s Junes and the rest of them.”

“I’m guessing you’ll want complete privacy while you talk to Ren’s parents?” Yu guessed, earning a nod from Haru.

“We can do that then, this is your vacation after all,” Ren agreed easily. “Just be aware that they aren’t always available, so there’s a chance that you might not get to talk to them.”

“That’s okay, Ren-kun,” Haru reassured him. “Even seeing where you live is good enough.”

They got back into Yu’s car, and he proceeded to drive through the streets again until they arrived outside of Ren’s house. “Here we go,” the older Wild Card declared. “Ren’s house. It used to be livelier when his parents were around, but right now he’s got the whole place to himself…for better or for worse.”

“Wait, you live here alone, kid?” Hariyama asked with a raised eyebrow and a bit of concern in his voice. “You sure that’s safe?”

Ren shrugged. “Yeah, I’m doing just fine. I know how to cool and take care of myself and everything.”

“Thank you for your concern, Hariyama-san, but Ren-kun is one of the most independent teenagers I know,” Haru backed her boyfriend. “It’s frankly astonishing how capable he is of independent living.”

“If you say so,” Morito replied, clearly uncertain about the whole thing like his partner but not willing to argue with his charge and technical boss over it.

“Haru, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to ask your bodyguards to stay out of the house and guard the front door,” Ren requested. “If we’re gonna be talking with my parents, it should be a private conversation with just us two in the house.”

“You’re quite right,” Haru agreed. “Hariyama, Morito, if you would be so kind?”

“You sure you’re all right being alone with him, Haru?” Morito asked, just to be cautious.

“Oh absolutely, I trust Ren-kun more than almost anyone else,” Haru reassured him, before adding a bit sinisterly. “Besides, if he were stupid enough to lay his hands on me inappropriately without my consent…he would sorely regret it.”

Everyone, including Ren, Yu, and Haru’s guards, all felt a bead of sweat trickle down their foreheads. “I keep forgetting how terrifying this girl is,” Yu thought blankly.

“Moving on,” Ren mumbled, looking for a few seconds like the timid boy he had been when Yu had first met him, though he quickly recovered his composure. “Ready to try and meet my parents, Haru?”

“Yes, let’s!” Haru replied happily. The two got out of the car and Ren got his keys out, unlocking the door. Behind them, Hariyama and Morito took up bodyguard positions on either side of the front door as Ren closed (but not locked) the door behind him.

“Well, here we are,” Ren declared, gesturing towards the inside of his house. “My home. Well, technically my family’s home, but while they’re out in America this is basically just my home for all intents and purposes.”

Haru studied the interior of the house. It was fairly simplistic in design, with enough furniture to make sure that Ren’s family could live comfortably but not extravagantly. A far cry from the almost obnoxiously high-class and luxurious lifestyle that her father had insisted on for their apartment. “It looks quite…cozy…” she remarked with a light smile. “Rather simplistic compared to my apartment, but in a good way. It really shows that your family is quite happy to live with the necessities with the occasional luxury here and there, rather than drowning themselves in luxury and class like my father and the upper classes of society in general. It feels rather relaxing, all things considered.”

“My family friend, Dojima-san, has a house that’s very similar to this one,” Ren commented. “Ours is bigger since it was built in a newer section of Inaba, but otherwise a lot of the furniture and everything is basically the same. Want me to show you to my room?”

Haru nodded, and Ren guided her up the stairs to his bedroom. Haru was surprised by how similar it was to the room that Sojiro had given to Ren in Café LeBlanc’s attic. There was a sofa directed towards a TV, a bedroom, a work desk with a computer, and two wardrobes…the actual furniture itself might have been different, but it was clear that Ren had taken at least some level of inspiration from his living quarters in Tokyo. Haru couldn’t help but feel nostalgic at all the adventures she had shared with Ren as a Phantom Thief and the rest of their friends, though she was grateful that she had found a realm where she could unleash the powers of a Persona once again, even if it wasn’t the exact same time of dimension as Mementos.

“It almost feels like Café LeBlanc’s attic all over again,” Haru commented wistfully.

“That’s the idea,” Ren confirmed. “If I wasn’t going to be staying over at Café LeBlanc, then the best I could do was bring a bit of Café LeBlanc over to Inaba.”

“I can definitely see the resemblance,” Haru nodded appreciatively, before a thought suddenly occurred to her. “But wait a minute, Ren-kun. If you’re currently living in this house all by yourself, why did you instead have us stay at the Amagi Inn for multiple days? This house certainly seems spacious enough for both the two of us and my guards. And I wouldn’t have minded sleeping in this cozy and comfortable house instead of a high-class inn.”

“Ehhh…mainly cause I didn’t want to risk your guards finding the piles and piles of yen that I have stashed away in my closet and my desk,” he admitted sheepishly. “The money we got from farming Mementos all the time, that is. If they stumbled upon that somehow, then they’d have a LOT of uncomfortable questions that I really wouldn’t have any good answers to.

“Oh, I see…yes, that would be rather awkward to explain, wouldn’t it?” Haru agreed with an embarrassed giggle. “Of course, I could maybe have lied and pretended that I gave all that money to you as a gift?”

Ren snorted. “Maybe if it’d been just a few yen, but enough of it to fill multiple backpacks at once? Yeaaaaaahhhh, they’d call bullshit on that one, or at the very least do some background checking to see how the fuck I have so much money on me when I’m supposed to just be some kid out in the country who only recently got his life back after his criminal record was cleared.” He snorted. “No thanks, just forking over the money to Yukiko to pay for a few days at the Amagi Inn’s a lot easier to deal with, even if you somehow didn’t deserve only the most luxurious and comfortable hotel that Inaba had to offer.”

“Perhaps next time, if I’m able to come to Inaba without an escort, I will be able to enjoy your hospitality in this home properly,” Haru suggested. “But for now, I really would like to meet with your parents, if we can manage it.” She smiled. “I know quite a few of us were concerned that they would be negligent or abusive, but I always had faith that they weren’t. You wouldn’t have turned out so kind if they were.”

Ren chuckled. “Very true. Let’s go downstairs and see if I can get a call to them.”

The couple climbed back down the stairs and sat down at the table which would’ve been the Amamiya family’s dining table. Ren took out his phone, typed his parents’ phone number, and dialed.

After a few tense seconds where the phone kept ringing, the call finally connected to both Ren’s and Haru’s delights. “Hello?” Shimazu’s voice called out through the phone. “Ren, is that you?”

“Hey dad, what’s up?” Ren answered immediately. “Is mom there too?”

“I’m here, Ren. I have to say, I wasn’t expecting you to call us today,” Fuyuko replied, her tone pleasantly surprised. “It’s only been two weeks since our last call.”

“We’ve set up a plan where we sit call each other once a month based on a scheduled time we all agree on,” Ren explained to Haru. “That way, we can get at least one guaranteed check-in with each other per month, at the very least.”

“Ren?” Shimazu interrupted, clearly puzzled. “Who are you talking to?”

“The reason why I called you out of nowhere today,” Ren explained. “Mom, Dad…I’d like you to meet my new girlfriend.”

“Hello!” Haru cheerfully added through the phone.

There was silence on the other end for several seconds as his parents processed his words. “Wow…” Shimazu was the first one to speak. “Out of all the things I could’ve expected to hear today, that was not even close to what I was thinking.”

“A new girlfriend?” Fuyuko asked, clearly interested and more than a little excited. “I heard her talk just now. Please, tell us more about yourself!”

“Of course, Amamiya-san!” Haru readily agreed. “My name is Haru Okumura. I’m a third year at Shujin Academy, one year above Ren-kun. We met during Ren’s probation year of Shujin Academy.”

“Haru Okumura…what a lovely name!” Fuyuko commented kindly. “It’s great to meet you!”

“How did you get acquainted with Ren?” Shimazu asked curiously. “He was always somewhat shy and withdrawn...and that was before that bastard volleyball teacher leaked his criminal record to the school.” There was an undercurrent of fury in his voice at these last words, not that Haru could even slightly blame him. After all, she had been just as furious as her friends when she had learned about this one of Kamoshida’s many injustices. “I’m realistic enough to know that Ren would’ve been even more socially isolated because of it.”

Haru thought about how to respond without giving away her identity as a Phantom Thief. “Ren-kun showed interest in Shujin’s gardening club, which I was the only member of before he joined,” she explained. “He showed an interest in gardening and helped me take care of some of the plants we grew there. I was also dealing with a…rather difficult home life at the time, and Ren offered to listen to my troubles and offer me some comfort whenever I needed it.” She giggled, though there was the faintest hint of sadness in her tone. “He really was a valuable friend to me when I needed one the most.”

Next to her, Ren nodded in silent approval of her answer. Haru’s words were filled with the truth and nothing but the truth, without giving away any major details regarding the Phantom Thief aspect of their lives.

“Sorry to hear that you had it rough last year,” Fuyuko answered sympathetically. “But it’s wonderful to hear that Ren’s been treating you so well. We always taught him that if he ever found himself a girlfriend, he should do his very best to treat her with nothing but the love and care she deserves.”

Haru giggled. “Whatever lessons you taught him, Ren-kun has been an excellent student in that regard, Amamiya-san!” she commented appreciatively.

“Did your home life issues ever get resolved, Haru?” Shimazu asked. “It sounds like you really had it quite rough for a while.”

“Oh, yes, those issues have been resolved one way or another,” Haru answered, understandably choosing not to elaborate that one of those “resolutions” had been her father’s suffering a mental shutdown on-screen and dying on TV in front of her very eyes. She quickly steered the conversation back to Shimazu’s earlier question. “Anyways, Ren-kun and I started spending time with each other outside of our school life, enjoying Tokyo together first as friends, and then as a loving couple.” She sighed happily. “Amamiya-san, I can say with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever that if it weren’t for Ren-kun, my life would be a thousand times worse than it is today. I cannot imagine sharing my life and love with anyone apart from him, and I am forever grateful for everything that he’s done for me.”

“Wow…you really do have some very high praise for our son,” Fuyuko commented, clearly impressed. “I can tell that you’re completely serious about everything you just said, and he really must’ve had a huge impact in your life for you to give him that much praise. But what about you, Ren? What do you have to say about Haru? Has she been returning the favor?”

The words were asked pleasantly, but Ren could hear the underlying question. His parents understood better than most that romance was a two-way street, and both partners needed to give and take. A relationship where one kept giving and one kept taking wasn’t love, it was exploitation.

One only needed to look at the fucked-up relationship between Masayoshi Shido and Goro Akechi’s mother for an extreme example of this, if there was even any love there to begin with.

Happily for everyone involved, Ren had no such reservations about his romance with Haru. Hell, he knew that she would gladly share some of her vast amount of wealth with him if he didn’t already have a free money-generating machine in the form of killing shadows in the cognitive world, not that he would ever ask her for it except in absolute emergencies. “She’s an absolute sweetheart, mom,” he answered with absolute confidence. “I was dealing with some tough crap over the past year because of everything that happened, and Haru was such a big help in dealing with all of that bullshit in so many ways.” He knew his parents would think he was talking about dealing with the fallout of his criminal record, although he was actually talking about fighting in the Metaverse as a Phantom Thief. “She’s kind, compassionate, adorable, and just as ready to support me as I’m ready to support her. You have no idea just how helpful her lessons on gardening turned out.” A completely true statement, as planting vegetables that could give free Charges and Concentrates on demand was, as Futaba would say, broken OP. “She’s such a kind and loving person, and someone I can say with absolute certainty that I’d happily share the rest of my life with her. I know you’re worried about imbalances in relationships and all that, mom, but you don’t have to worry about that at all. I wouldn’t be dating Haru if I was worried about that kind of thing going on,” he finished, making his thoughts on their relationship abundantly clear.

“In that case, I’m happy for you both, Ren and Haru,” Shimazu declared. “I can tell that the two of you are completely in love with each other.”

“It’s amazing that you’re dating such a wonderful girl, Ren,” Fuyuko added. “While I would ideally need to meet Haru face-to-face before I could truly give my final thoughts, for now the two of you have our blessing to continue your romance.”

“Thank you, Amamiya-san and Amamiya-san!” Haru joyfully replied. “I promise that neither of you will be disappointed. Your son is a truly wonderful man, and deserves nothing but the best.”

Shimazu chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that we’re on the same page. Enjoy your time together, you two. Just make sure that you keep things safe if you’re going to go the full distance.”

“Have a good night, you two!” Fuyuko declared as her farewell. As Ren hung up the connection, she and Haru could hear her scold her husband. “Was that last part REALLY necessary, Shimazu?”

Once the call had been disconnected, Haru turned to gaze at Ren. “I really like your parents, Ren-kun,” she voiced her thoughts on them with a happy (and relieved) smile. “They really do seem quite wonderful. Although I’m not sure what your father meant with that last…oh,” she suddenly blushed furiously. “OH.”

Ren rolled his eyes. “Like I’d actually do that,” he deadpanned. “We already set that particular boundary up a long time ago.”

Haru giggled. “Very true. But regardless, I’m glad I made the choice to speak to your parents, Ren-kun. Although,” she frowned slightly, “are they aware that I am the Heiress of the Okumura family and next-in-line to lead Okumura Foods?”

Ren blinked silently for several seconds. “Uh…you know…” he admitted sheepishly. “I’m actually not 100% sure…”

Meanwhile, in America…

“Oh my God…” Fuyuko suddenly exclaimed. “I just realized where the name Okumura comes from!”

“What do you mean, Fuyuko?” Shimazu asked, a bit concerned.

“Okumura…that’s the name of the really rich family who runs Okumura Foods,” Fuyuko explained animatedly. “It used to be run by Kunikazu Okumura, a CEO who turned out to be connected to that corrupt bastard Masayoshi Shido. He confessed to corruption charges and ended up dying from a mental shutdown on live television several months ago. Haru Okumura is his daughter and, if I remember correctly, she’s sharing leadership with the Vice President, Takakura, until she can inherit the company properly.”

Shimazu’s eyes widened. “So you’re saying that…”

“…our son, despite having a false criminal record slapped on him, somehow managed to win the heart of a young woman belonging to one of the most powerful families in all of Japan,” Fuyuko concluded. “And that young woman is somehow a wonderful girlfriend despite having a corrupt jerk for a father.”

The two Amamiya parents stared at each other for several seconds as they processed this latest revelation.

It was Shimazu who finally broke the silence. “Damn, our son is good.”

Chapter Text

It was already well into the night by the time Ren and Haru got back to the Amagi Inn. “Your parents are absolutely wonderful, Ren-kun,” Haru praised as they entered their room. “It’s no wonder that you turned out to be such a fantastic person with such positive influences around you.”

“It really is a shame that they had to flee Japan because of Shido being a gigantic asshat,” Ren commented with a sigh. “As much as I enjoy having the entire house to myself, I really do miss them. It just isn’t the same without having a caring, non-shitty adult like my parents or Sojiro around.”

“You’ll get used to it, Ren,” Haru reassured him gently. “My apartment was so lonely too the first few days after my father died, but I learned to adjust to the emptiness and it’s not quite so lonely anymore. Granted, I think most of that has to do with the fact that if I ever needed to talk to you or any one of our friends, they’re just a single text message away,” she admitted.

“Yeah, that certainly does help, doesn’t it?” Ren replied with a chuckle, before he let out a yawn. “Anyways, I’m going to go check on Morgana and take another shower. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

“That sounds fine, Ren-kun,” Haru affirmed. “I was actually going to go and see if I could find Yukiko-san. There was something I wanted to ask her.”

“Try the front desk,” Ren advised, as he walked into their bedroom. “She’s usually around there.”

“Thank you,” Haru thanked him as she and her bodyguards left their hotel room. The halls of the Amagi Inn were quiet and empty, save for the occasional guest wandering around. By now, Haru was familiar enough with the Amagi Inn that she knew where she was going, and she managed to get to the front desk without getting lost once.

Yukiko actually wasn’t at the front desk, but there was a younger girl and an older man who were walking into the Amagi Inn right as she arrived, and the young girl with brown hair wrapped in twin pigtails waved at Haru the moment she saw her. “Hello!” she cheerfully called out to her. “Are you Haru Okumura?”

Haru blinked in surprise, and the two bodyguards next to her tensed slightly. “Perhaps,” the Okumura heiress replied carefully. “May I ask who you are?”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” the girl apologized sheepishly. “I didn’t say who I was. I’m Nanako Dojima. I’m a really close friend of Ren’s, and this is my dad! He works with the police and he’s looking after Ren while his parents are away.”

“Nice to meet you,” Ryotaro Dojima greeted Haru with a warm smile. “I’m Ryotaro Dojima. Ren mentioned a while back that you were a new girlfriend, and when Nanako heard from Yu that you were visiting Inaba and were staying at the Amagi Inn she insisted that we drive up here to meet you.” He caught Haru’s wary gaze. “You can ask Ren, he knows who we are.”

“I think I’ll do that,” Haru agreed as she took out her phone and sent a quick text to Ren.

Haru: Ren-kun, there’s two people named Nanako and Ryotaro Dojima who wanted to see me. They claim to be two friends of yours. Is that true?”

It took only a few seconds for Ren to respond.

Ren: “Oh yeah, they’ve been friends of the family for years. Nanako’s an absolute sweetheart, and Dojima-san’s one of the few police officers I know who DOESN’T suck ass. You can trust them.”

Haru immediately relaxed upon reading the message, and when she looked back up at the two Dojimas here expression was much more relaxed and apologetic.

“I apologize for my rather brusque demeanor earlier,” Haru apologized in a much friendlier tone than before. “I’m generally rather wary of complete strangers who know who I am.”

Dojima chuckled good-naturedly. “It’s fine, Okumura-san,” he reassured her. “I’d probably feel the same way in your shoes.” He placed a gentle hand on Nanako’s shoulder. “Anyways, I’m mainly here cause Nanako really wanted to meet you and she wasn’t sure if she’d get another chance later. I’m not the kind of guy to butt my nose in Ren’s private life or relationships, even if I am looking over him while his parents are gone.”

Haru smiled. “I talked to Ren-kun’s parents over the phone for the very first time today,” she replied brightly. “They seemed like such wonderful people. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to have this meeting in person.”

Dojima nodded. “Sounds about right for the Amamiyas,” he commented. “As tragic as it is that they had to leave Ren alone in Japan, I really do think they made the right call leaving the country.” His expression darkened. “Even if Shido wasn’t planning to put a hit on them eventually, they really had it rough in the months after Ren’s trial. I think some time away from it all would do them some good, and I know Ren would feel the same.”

“I hope they’ll be able to come back soon, now that the issues regarding Shido have been resolved,” Haru murmured.

“Hopefully, although I know for a fact that they won’t be back til January at the absolute earliest,” Dojima muttered, before letting out a sigh. “Anyway, I shouldn’t be dampening the mood. I’ll leave you and Nanako by yourselves. I need to go talk to Ren for a bit anyway, is he in your hotel room?”

“Yes,” Haru affirmed. “Morito, would you mind escorting Dojima-san to our room?”

“Of course, Haru-san,” Morito replied. “Hariyama, you good?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a handle on things. Just make sure you come back when you’re done,” Hariyama replied.

“Got it,” Morito replied. “Right this way, Doijma-san.” He gestured towards the hallway that they had come from, and Dojima mumbled a thanks as he followed the man down the hall. As they turned a corner and out of sight, Haru turned her attention back to Nanako. “So how long have you known Ren-kun?” she asked, figuring that this was as good of a conversation starting topic as any.”

“Since we were both kids,” Nanako answered without missing a beat. “After my big brother Yu invited him to be part of his friends, one of the first things he did was introduce us to each other.” She giggled. “We got along great right from the start. He might’ve been a bit awkward at first, but you could tell he was a really nice guy. He helped me a lot with things like gardening and learning how to play the piano. And every time I wanted to play a new video game or try something new, Ren would always be there to try it out with me if Yu or one of the others weren’t around. We always had so much fun together.”

“I didn’t know Ren-kun was a gardener even back then!” Haru exclaimed. Suddenly, it made perfect sense why Ren was so willing to help her with Shujin’s Garden, and why he seemed to understand the advice and guidance that Haru had been giving him whenever they had planted vegetables in preparation for Metaverse heists together. “Was he always an expert at it?”

“Expert might be a bit too much,” Nanako acknowledged. “It was more of a hobby that Ren liked to do in his spare time depending on how he felt. His parents didn’t have a garden so he helped work on mine and Yu’s.”

“I see,” Haru nodded in understanding, before giving Nanako a gentle smile. “It sounds like the two of you are wonderful friends.”

“Yeah!” Nanako eagerly agreed, although her enthusiasm dampened a little. “I wish he had more friends around here, though,” she admitted, lowering her voice so that only she and Haru could hear. “I mean, it’s not like he has nobody around. He has me, Yu, all of our older friends, his parents before they fled the country…but with all of us, he’s still a bit of a loner sometimes. You could tell he’s the kind of guy who really wanted to reach out to people, but didn’t really know how to.” She sighed. “I think he cared a little too much about what other people thought about him.”

“Really?” Haru asked incredulously. “I might not have known Ren-kun for as long as some of our other friends in Tokyo, but caring too much about what other people think about him is one of the LEAST accurate descriptions of him. I can tell you with absolute certainty, Nanako-chan, than Ren-kun could not care less about what people think about him in the slightest if they haven’t proved that their opinions are worth hearing.”

Nanako’s eyes widened. “Wow…that’s almost a complete 180 from the Ren I know,” she mumbled. “And it’s not the first time I’ve heard his personality changed either. I heard Big Bro tell someone that Ren’s changed a lot since last year.” She shrugged. “I didn’t really notice any big differences the few times I’ve been around him though. Maybe I’m just not paying enough attention?”

“I think it’s a good thing he hasn’t changed much for you,” Haru offered encouragingly. “It means he still considers you a friend and a year in Tokyo hasn’t affected that at all.”

Nanako smiled, considerably more cheerful at Haru’s suggestion. “I think you’re right, Haru-san. Thanks.”

“My pleasure, Nanako-chan. And you can just call me Haru,” Haru replied with a smile of her own. “Would you like to hear how I met Ren-kun now?”

“Yeah!” Nanako eagerly replied. “Ever since I learned he was dating THE Haru Okumura, I’ve been dying to know how you started dating!”

“Well, we didn’t actually meet until around September,” Haru explained. “At the time, I was dealing with some…rather stressful situations…in my life,” her voice was still friendly, but there was a tension in it that hadn’t been there seconds before. “My father was about to sell me away to a heartless mongrel as part of an arranged marriage, and I reached out to the Phantom Thieves to ask them to change his heart. The Phantom Thieves attempted to do so…only for that monster Masayoshi Shido to send him straight into a mental shutdown and frame the Phantom Thieves.”

Nanako gasped. “Oh, that’s right…I’m so sorry to hear that,” she murmured sympathetically. “I didn’t actually see what happened…but my Dad did. He straight-up refused to let me see that broadcast…and so did Yu the one time I asked him about it. I heard it was…” she shuddered, “really scary.”

“It was,” Haru solemnly confirmed. “As you can imagine, I was dealing with a lot of turmoil with my life after my father’s death, but my friends were there to help me get through it.” Her sad expression turned into a warm smile. “None more so than Ren-kun. He comforted me as best as he could over my father’s passing, and once I managed to push through my grief, he offered to listen to my hopes and aspirations and promised to help me find some sort of stability over my life. I was still struggling to decide who I could trust outside of Ren-kun, and I was…suspicious of the currently acting President of Okumura Foods, Takakura. It turned out that Takakura himself was a noble and righteous man who genuinely cared about my well-being, but there was some malicious slander surrounding him from some of the other board members so I didn’t know if I could trust him. Ren-kun helped me gain the courage to speak honestly with him, and it was thanks to him that I learned that I could, indeed, trust Takakura. Once I was able to overcome that roadblock, we were able to finally properly communicate and cooperate with each other for the better of the company, and Takakura officially and permanently cancelled the marriage contract with the mongrel I mentioned earlier.” She giggled. “I was finally free from that pig once and for all, and I could finally pursue a romantic relationship however I wished.”

Nanako smiled knowingly. “And you wanted one with Ren, didn’t you?”

Haru nodded. “I did, Nanako-chan. To be completely honest, I’d started developing feelings for Ren-kun long before officially cut my ties with Sugimura for good. But I didn’t want to say anything until after I was free from Sugimura. Takakura insinuated the possibility of romance with Ren-kun, so I dared to raise the topic to him.”

“And he said yes,” Nanako guessed with a teasing smile.

Haru joyfully grinned back at her. “He confessed his feelings back. That was the day we officially entered a romantic relationship, and to this day it remains the best day in my entire life. The day I was fully released from an arranged marriage to a disgusting pig, and replaced it with a relationship with a loving and kindhearted young man who made my life a thousand times better in so many different ways.”

“Congratulations, Haru! I’m so happy for the both of you,” Nanako declared happily. “It really does sound like the two of you are perfect for each other. I think my Big Bro’s older friends like you too, I heard them talk a lot about you and I’ve heard a lot of good things.”

“Thank you, Nanako-chan. Coming from a longtime friend of Ren-kun’s, that really does mean a lot to me,” Haru humbly thanked the younger girl.

“You’re welcome!” Nanako cheerfully replied. “Oh, and I brought you something!” She held up a bag that Haru hadn’t realized she’d been holding until just now. “Ren gave me some seed packets that he brought with him from Tokyo. He said that these veggies reminded him of you and that they were really helpful! I don’t really know what exactly he meant by that second part, but I wanted to grow some and give them back to you as a gift for Ren’s new girlfriend!”

“Oh, my!” Haru gasped. “She looked into the bag and immediately realized that the vegetables Nanako had grown were some of the ones she had planted together with Ren, most notably the Earth Beans and Star Onions that had proven so incredibly useful in their adventures in the Metaverse. She looked over at Nanako and smiled gratefully at her. “Thank you so much for this gift, Nanako-chan! I’ll be sure to take these home with me and put them to good use!”

“Maybe you and Ren could make a nice meal out of them,” Nanako suggested. It wasn’t a bad suggestion by any means, although Haru had been thinking more in line of using them for free Charges and Concentrates in the TV World if she ever got the opportunity to fight alongside Ren in there again.

Before Haru could say anything, Yukiko Amagi walked into the main hotel lobby from a door behind the main desk. “Oh, Nanako-chan!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t expect to see you here. You didn’t come here alone, did you?”

Nanako shook her head. “I didn’t, Yukiko,” she reassured her. “My dad brought me here. I was getting to know Haru while Dad went off to talk to Ren about something.”

“Good evening, Yukiko-san,” Haru cordially greeted the Inn proprietor. “Once I was finished with speaking with Nanako, I was wondering if you could spare a few minutes of time for a conversation.”

“Yes, I think I can make some time,” Yukiko agreed. “Sorry for not being here earlier, I was dealing with some inconveniences that are no longer an issue.”

“Oh, don’t worry!” Haru reassured her. “I was just talking with Nanako-chan.”

“I think I can see my dad down the hall, so we’re probably gonna go soon anyway,” Nanako added. She turned to gaze at Haru, who was suddenly struck by how piercing and intense her gaze was. “Hey, Haru…I just have one thing to say to you.”

“Yes?” she asked, a bit unnerved but also more than a little curious at the sudden shift in personality.

“I still remember the day Ren was arrested,” Nanako continued, her tone suddenly and uncharacteristically grim. “And almost the entire town turned on him overnight. I stood by him. My dad stood by him. So did my Big Bro and all of his friends, and so did Ren’s parents. But almost everyone else treated him like complete shit.” The curse word was particularly jarring and fundamentally wrong coming from Nanako’s mouth, which only emphasized to Haru how serious she was being. “All of those so-called friends he used to hang around with pretty much all abandoned him and talked garbage about him when he wasn’t around to hear it. As much as I hate the fact that he was forced to go to Tokyo for a year, it honestly sounds like it was the best thing for him to happen in hindsight. If only cause he was able to make new friends who actually care about him and didn’t fall for the same stupid lies.”

“Ren-kun has been absolutely wonderful to us, and we’ve done our best to return the favor and support him whenever he needs us,” Haru asserted.

“Good,” Nanako replied tersely, keeping her intense gaze on Haru. “He might be your boyfriend, and it’s his job to treat you like the most precious thing in the entire world. But you and your friends better return the favor. Especially you, since you’re his girlfriend. Ren’s had enough people backstabbing him for his entire life. And if I ever find out that you or one of your friends did that to him…I don’t know how, but I’m going to find a way to make you pay for it. And if I can’t, my Big Bro definitely will.”

“I understand, Nanako-chan,” Haru replied, not even remotely bothered by her hidden threat. After all, it was a sentiment borne from concern over Ren’s well-being, and one she completely agreed with her on. “I will swear to you right now that I will never intentionally harm Ren-kun in any way, and if I ever do so, I will lend you my axe so you can hit me with it as hard as you can as punishment.”

“Good,” Nanako nodded, satisfied that Haru had gotten her message. Then she blinked. “Wait, what do you mean by…”

“Hey, Nanako,” Ryotaro arrived at the main lobby, interrupting the two of them. “I’m done talking with Ren. You ready to head home now?”

“Yep!” Nanako replied, getting up from the chair that she had been sitting on. The intense seriousness was gone as though it had never been there to begin with, being replaced by the cheerful girl she usually was. “It was great to meet you Haru! I hope you enjoy the veggies!”

“It was wonderful to meet you too!” Haru replied with her own farewell as the two Dojimas left the Amagi Inn.

“Nanako must’ve been really worried about Ren-kun,” Yukiko commented with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard her actually threaten someone before.”

Haru shook her head. “I don’t hold it against her,” she replied mildly. “Nanako-chan’s absolutely right when she says that Ren’s suffered enough in his life.”

There was something in her words that set Yukiko on edge, giving her a sneaking suspicion that Haru wasn’t talking about just his arrest and banishment from Inaba. Haru didn’t look like she was going to elaborate any further, however, and the last thing Yukiko wanted to do was be an ungracious and discourteous host by forcing her guest to talk about an uncomfortable topic. “What did you want to talk to me about?” She asked instead.

“I was wondering if I could talk to you about how you made the decision to follow in your family’s footsteps as the proprietor of the Amagi Inn,” Haru explained. “Ren-kun mentioned that it took a while to make that decision, and originally you were seriously considering departing from the business entirely. I’m facing some uncertainty on my own over what path I want to take in the far future, and I wanted to ask the advice of someone who went through a similar situation that I did.”

“Oh, certainly!” Yukiko agreed immediately. She would gladly take the opportunity to help out Ren’s girlfriend in a way that nobody else could. “Would you mind coming into my office so we could have this discussion in private?”

“Of course,” Haru assented. She followed Yukiko behind the front desk to her private office, with Hariyama and Morito following closely behind. Yukiko pointed out a seat for Haru to sit in, and she closed the office door and locked it as Haru sat down on a comfortable guest chair.

“Now then, how can I help you, Haru-san?” Yukiko asked.

“Just Haru is perfectly fine, Yukiko-san,” Haru replied. “Any friend of Ren-kun’s is a friend of mine. And with regards to how you can help me, I was wondering how you found the confidence to choose your own path,” she explained. “Especially since you figured out what you wanted to do with your life so early. After Ren confessed his love to me, I thought I had my future all figured out. But in the past several weeks, I’ve started to become more conflicted over what I want to do for my future again.” She sighed. “Even now, after I’ve made plans to open my first coffee shop, not directly tied to Okumura Foods, I’m still uncertain as to whether I can truly balance my responsibilities as the future leader of Okumura Foods and my dream of running a café as my grandfather once did. With all the turmoil affecting the company following my father’s death, I’ve had to put that dream on hold until everything could be stabilized. Ren-kun told me that you figured everything out even before you graduated high school, and I’m curious to know how you found that confidence so early.”

Yukiko gave Haru a sympathetic glance. In a way, Haru reminded her of herself before she had met Yu, so full of uncertainty and resentment at being shackled to her past. “I know Ren made it sound like I had everything all figured out, but the truth was, it didn’t start that way,” she admitted. “Those uncertainties were so bad at one point, it felt like my mind was threatening to tear me to pieces. Like a Shadow about to destroy my life.” She sighed. “I genuinely think that those uncertainties would’ve ended my life if Yu, Yosuke, and Chie hadn’t rescued me for them.”

Haru gasped. Yukiko’s words had been unusual, and gotten some odd and confused looks from her guards, but she had understood the implications after learning about the TV World and how the Investigation Team had gotten their Personas from Ren. “Oh, my! That sounds absolutely horrifying…” And it truly was. The idea of Milady manifesting as a hostile Shadow, keeping her trapped within a cognitive dungeon, with the threat of death at the hands of her own Shadow growing closer with every single day…it was one of the few things left that truly scared her, now that Yaldabaoth, Shido, and Sugimura had all been dealt with one way or another.

“It was,” Yukiko admitted quietly. “And even after I accepted those doubts and flaws,” which Haru knew was her way of saying she had accepted her Shadow and it had turned into a Persona, “that didn’t mean those issues went away. There was a time when I genuinely thought I was going to leave Inaba and the Inn behind. As weird as it is to think about looking back at it, I actually thought about going into interior design.”

“Really?” Haru asked, amazed. “What convinced you to change your mind?”

Yukiko scowled. “A really obnoxious TV Crew is what happened,” she replied, her tone noticeably less pleasant than it had been seconds earlier. “They were going to try and broadcast a TV program that would destroy the reputation of the Inn by making it look like something out of a horror show, since this was the place where the very first kidnapping of the Foggy Day murders happened.”

“What a horrible thing to do!” Haru exclaimed with a scowl of her own. “This establishment has been nothing but wonderful to me and Ren-kun. Why would anyone want to do something so irresponsible?”

“I was so, so angry when I learned about it,” Yukiko commented with a stormy expression, before it immediately softened and she smiled. “But that was also the moment when I realized that, deep down inside, I did care about the Amagi Inn and how other people perceived it. I might not have realized it at the time, but both the Amagi Inn and Inaba were my home.” She giggled. “And let me tell you, yelling at that TV Crew was one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done in my entire life.”

Haru grinned. “It sounds like that was the moment you truly found your conviction and your path, Yukiko-san,” she commented.

Yukiko nodded. “It was, Haru. I don’t want you to have to deal with a violent threat to either your company or your café before you figure out what you truly want like I did, so here’s the advice I want to give you.” She looked Haru squarely in the eyes. “Look deep inside yourself and carefully reflect on what matters the most to you. Don’t think about what you think your supposed responsibilities to the world are, or what you think people want you to do. Focus on your values and your beliefs without factoring in other people’s expectations. Not even Ren’s.” She smiled. “I think that once you’ve really figured what you truly want, it’ll be much easier to figure out your path for the future. And if your loved ones really do care about you, they’ll support your chosen path no matter what it is.”

Haru silently and carefully processed Yukiko’s words for several seconds, making sure that she fully understood and internalized them. Then, she smiled gratefully and bowed her head towards the Amagi Inn’s proprietor. “Thank you very much for that advice, Yukiko-san,” she appreciatively thanked her. “Your words have really granted me a new perspective on the question of my future. I will certainly take your advice seriously once I have returned to Tokyo.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Haru,” Yukiko replied with an encouraging smile. “By any chance, have you already made any steps towards achieving either goal?”

“As a matter of fact, I have,” Haru answered without hesitation. “Whether I follow in my father’s footsteps as head of Okumura Foods, or shift my attention away from its leadership in favor of a small café, I will need to learn the skills and intelligence necessary to actually run any kind of business to begin with. I’m going to be attending Tokyo University and pursuing a business degree, which will help me achieve my goal no matter what I choose.”

Yukiko smiled brightly. “That’s already a good start, Haru. And since that’ll take a few years, you at least have a few years to really figure out what you want to do. Don’t rush this. Don’t make the mistake of committing too quickly because you thought you had less time than you actually do.”

“I’ll make sure to follow your advice,” Haru replied seriously. She got up from her chair and bowed politely towards Yukiko. “Thank you very much for your advice, Yukiko-san. Just hearing it has already helped me a lot.”

Yukiko smiled warmly at her. “No problem, Haru. Here’s my phone number if you need anything else.” She offered her number to Haru, who immediately added it to her contacts list. “And when you find out what you really want to commit too, be sure to let me know!”

“I most certainly will, Yukiko-san,” Haru promised. “Thank you so much for taking the time to give me this advice.”

Yukiko giggled. “Anything for Ren’s girlfriend. And please, just Yukiko is fine for the future.”

“Thank you again, Yukiko,” Haru replied as she got up from the chair. Yukiko guided her back out to the main lobby, where Ren was sitting one of the lounge chairs.

He got up as soon as he saw Haru and Yukiko. “You all right, Haru?” Ren asked. “You were taking a little longer than I expected, so I came out to make sure everything was okay.”

Haru giggled at the sight of her boyfriend. “Oh, I’m doing perfectly all right, Ren-kun,” she gently reassured him. “I’ve had the distinct pleasure of meeting both Nanako-chan and Yukiko-san personally. Both wonderful people in their own ways.”

And indeed, she meant it. For thanks to Nanako, she would remember the injustice inflicted on her beloved Ren-kun and make it her eternal promise to give him nothing less than the love and loyalty that he deserved. And thanks to Yukiko, the path to charting out and committing to her future was clearer than it had ever been before.

Chapter Text

Haru sighed as she waited in the Amagi Inn for Ren’s school day to end. She had been sorely tempted to just march up straight to Yasoinaba High School and give Ren a warm and public affectionate greeting so that everyone at the high school knew exactly who Ren was dating, but that idea had been shot down by both Hariyama and Morito.

“Maybe next time, Okumura-san,” Hariyama had explained sympathetically. “I know, it must be annoying as hell to have us old guys walking around with you everywhere, but remember that President Takakura asked you to keep a bit of a lower profile this time. I know you’re here mainly to visit your boyfriend, but we also want to see just what kind of neighborhood Inaba really is so that we’ll know if it’s safe for you to come back here in the future with less protection.”

“I also imagine you don’t want to be hounded by the press, either here or back at Tokyo,” Morito added with a humorless chuckle.

“No, you’re right,” Haru reluctantly agreed. Privately, she thought that the very concept of having bodyguards went against having a low profile, but she didn’t want to insult her bodyguards since they had taken the time out of their schedules to accompany her to Inaba in the first place. “President Takakura was already kind enough to grant me this vacation in addition to everything else he’s done, and I wouldn’t want to abuse that generosity. And the last thing I would want to do is to accidentally do something that could be mistaken for an official statement by Okumura Foods.”

“Was there anything you really needed to do in particular before we go?” Hariyama asked. “If I remember correctly, today is your last day here. I know that some of your boyfriend’s older friends were here earlier, but there’s no way you’re gonna leave without saying good-bye to Ren first, right?”

“Of course not!” Haru exclaimed. “I would be a terrible romantic partner if I just up and left without saying a word!”

“And I’d be a terrible romantic partner if I forced my girlfriend to wait for me a second longer than she absolutely had to,” a wonderfully familiar voice interrupted as Ren slid neatly into the hotel room to Haru’s delight, Morgana popping his head out of his bag. “Sorry I made you wait so long, Haru. Was busy making arrangements with Shiho to meet like we talked about earlier.”

“That’s right!” Haru remembered. “I never actually managed to see her personally so far, despite the times we talked to each other on text.”

Ren nodded and smirked. “Well, she’s currently available now at Junes,” he reported. “The plan was for me to come get you and take you over to Junes’ Food Court, where she’s doing homework until you get there. Unless, of course, my lady disapproves of this particular course of action?” He added in a tone that was both somehow theatrically amusing and clearly affectionate.

Haru giggled. “Not at all. To be quite honest, I’ve been wanting to meet Suzui-chan for quite a long time.”

“Then let us be off,” Ren declared, sliding open the door for Haru as Morgana snickered at the fanciful language that Ren was using.

“Man, kid, you’re really leaning into the whole dating-nobility shtick thing with the way you’re talking right now, aren’t you?” Hariyama deadpanned as they left the room. “Still, at least you’re a hell of a lot politer than that asshat her father tried to force her to marry.

“I think we can all agree that 90% of the human population would be a massive improvement over Sugimura,” Haru commented in an equally dry tone as they got into the car that her guards had driven her to Inaba in. It was the first time that Ren had gotten a good look at the car that she had actually come to his hometown in, a shiny black Lexus LS sedan that even someone with a fairly limited background in automobile knowledge like him could easily tell was a luxurious and high-quality car. It was the perfect car for someone who wanted to demonstrate their high status in society without being too overly conspicuous in something like a limousine, which made it perfect for Haru. “I just realized this is actually the first time that you’ve been in this car, Ren-kun,” Haru realized. “What do you think about it?”

“It looks amazing, Haru!” Ren praised. “I don’t know much about cars, but it’s really comfortable and the tech inside here looks state-of-the-art.”

“Yeah, this car looks so cool!” Morgana agreed as he meowed contentedly while looking around, demonstrating to the guards that he appreciated the car even if they couldn’t understand him.

Haru giggled. “I’m glad you like it so much, Ren-kun and Mona-chan.” There was something in the way she said that statement that almost made Ren feel like she was hiding something, but he dismissed the thought. It likely wasn’t anything important, and he was no stranger to keeping some secrets to himself, even from his closest friends. He wasn’t going to be a massive hypocrite and demand his girlfriend spill her every hidden thought to him.

They arrived at Junes after a few minutes, parking the car in a lot next to the store. Ren guided Haru and her guards through the front door to the elevators, which would take her straight up to the food court where Shiho was studying at one of the many food court tables.

As they got closer, the black-haired girl looked up from her schoolbooks and waved at both Ren and Haru. “Hey!” she called out to them. “Over here!”

“Hey, Shiho,” Ren replied as he, Morgana, Haru, and her two bodyguards approached the black-haired girl. “Like we arranged before, I brought my girlfriend here. This is Haru Okumura.”

“Good to meet you,” Shiho greeted the older girl cordially as Ren and Haru sat at the table. “Ann’s mentioned you a few times before, she said you were an adorable sweetheart. Her words, not mine.”

Haru giggled. “That does sound like Ann-chan,” she commented. “And you must be Suzui-chan.”

“Just Shiho is fine,” she replied, before glancing over at the two men standing closely behind Haru. “Uhh…who are they?”

“They’re my bodyguards, Hariyama and Morito. They were sent by Okumura Foods to accompany me to Inaba,” Haru explained. She frowned as Shiho suddenly looked visibly intimidated at the sight of the bodyguards. “Hariyama-san, Morito-san, would you be so kind as to take up positions much farther away from here and keep watch from a distance?” She politely requested. “I think Shiho-chan is a bit nervous by your presence.”

“Of course,” Morito replied. “We’ll be waiting over there,” he pointed towards one of the walls that wasn’t lined with food shops. “Let us know if you need anything, Okumura-san.”

 “Thank you,” Haru replied sweetly as Hariyama and Morito separated themselves from the main group. Then, she turned back to Ren and Shiho. “Now then…it really is a pleasure to meet you, Shiho-chan. How have you been doing in Inaba?”

“A lot better than I was doing at Shujin,” Shiho admitted. “Maybe because there isn’t someone like Kamoshida or Kobayakawa around, but the atmosphere’s a lot more…wholesome. Some of the teachers have their own little quirks but nothing that sets off any alarm bells, and I’m friendly enough with a couple of the students even though there isn’t anybody I’m really close to like Ann.”

“That’s good to hear,” Haru replied with a gentle smile. “I really do wish I got the chance to know you before…everything happened.”

Shiho returned her smile with a faint one of her own. “Same here. Ren gushes about you so much. With how sappy he is when he talks about you, you’d never think he’s this hardcore badass as the leader of the Phantom Thieves.”

Haru giggled. “That really does encapsulate Ren perfectly, doesn’t it?” she asked, knowing full well it was a rhetorical question.

“It does,” Shiho agreed with a giggle. “I know we talked about the basics of Personas briefly, but we never got a chance to do more than that. That’s really the biggest thing I wanted to talk to you about. Is that okay?”

“Oh, absolutely!” Haru reassured her, while Ren and Morgana scanned the room to make sure nobody could possibly overhear them. “I’ve been wanting to ask you about your Persona too. I’m quite curious to learn about it!”

Shiho nodded, relieved that Haru was not just willing but eager to talk about Personas. “Ren told me that you’re pretty strong with both physical and magic attacks with high strength and magic, solid but not amazing endurance and agility, and lower luck. He also told me you can use both Psychic and Gun attacks.” She made a face. “God, saying it like that out loud makes you sound like you’re a video game character. But…does that sound about right?”

Haru beamed. “You’re absolutely correct, Shiho-chan,” she affirmed. “That more or less summarizes Lucy’s characteristics quite well. And because my Persona has evolved into Lucy, I have a complete immunity to Psychic attacks and a resistance to Ice.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, even with evolution I’m still weak to Nuclear attacks. The best I can do regarding those is evade them more effectively thanks to a certain skill I gained.”

“Ugh, guess we’re both weak to Nuclear then. Share the pain, I guess,” Shiho replied in a deadpan tone, earning a wry giggle from Haru. “Anyways, from what I can tell, my Persona has high magic and agility, decent luck and strength, but lower endurance. I don’t have any Gun or even Physical attacks either, which is kinda weird considering that my Persona’s supposed to be this badass pirate queen. I do have a lot of status ailments and debuffs, though.”

“Perhaps your Persona is more dedicated to casting magic and status conditions then,” Haru suggested. “Whereas mine divides its capabilities between unleashing both physical and magic attacks. What Trait does your Persona have, Shiho-chan?”

“Yeah, I just realized we never talked about Traits with you in detail, Shiho,” Morgana realized. “They’re unique abilities each Persona has outside of their skills that powers up a Persona out in some way. Some of them help just the one who’s using it, while others can power up an entire team. Come to think of it, you never mentioned your Trait at all.”

Shiho gave them a sheepish glance. “That’s cause mine doesn’t have one,” she admitted, surprising Haru.

Morgana frowned. “No Trait? That doesn’t seem right,” he commented. “All of the Phantom Thieves had Traits for their Personas when they awoke them, even at the lowest levels. Maybe the other members of the Investigation Team have their own Traits?”

Shiho shook her head. “No, they don’t,” she answered more firmly. “In fact, none of them have Traits. The only one who does is Yu Narukami, and I’m 99% sure that’s cause he’s the Wild Card.” She shrugged. “I don’t really have an answer for why, to be honest.”

“I honestly think it’s more related to how Personas work in the TV World in general than anything else,” Ren suggested, speaking up for the first time. “All of the Investigation Team members who aren’t Yu had a Third Tier Awakening, just like how the Phantom Thieves did. Your Third Tier Awakenings seemed to increase the power of your Traits, Haru, since it didn’t do anything to your stats or your resistances. But for the IT, it looks like Third Tier Awakenings improved their resistances even more instead. You know Chie Satonaka, right?”

“Indeed,” Haru confirmed happily. “She was kind enough to teach me martial arts the other day, it was quite an exhilarating experience!”

“I’ll have to thank her for that later,” Ren commented, before shifting the topic back to Personas. “Anyways, Chie’s Third Tier Persona is Haraedo-no-okami, and once she got it, she’s now able to Drain Ice and Null Bless, instead of just Nulling Ice and Resisting Bless.”

“Wait, really?” Shiho asked, her eyes wide. “So she has 2 immunities instead of just 1?”

“Yeah, and 1 of those immunities straight-up heals her if she gets hit by it,” Morgana confirmed, before doing the cat equivalent of a shrug. “I guess it’s up to you whether or not an extra immunity is better than having a cool Trait, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens once your Persona evolves when we get there.”

“I will say, I did appreciate my Trait quite a lot in the battle against Lavenza,” Haru commented with a grin. “I would honestly say that the battle with her challenged us even more than Yaldabaoth or Maruki!”

Shiho blinked. “Were those the false god and that therapist that Ren and Ann talked about when they updated me on what they did as the Phantom Thieves?” she asked.

“Indeed,” Haru confirmed with a pleased smile. “Now that you have knowledge and experience with Personas, I’m sure either Ren-kun or Ann-chan would be more than willing to provide you with specific details. It’s a little too much to go into right now, though.”

“I’ll do that,” Shiho agreed. “Moving on, then, do you have any suggestions on how I can fight with my Persona in the best way?” she asked. “Ren already told me about Technical damage already so I know that part, but we never got the chance to sit down and talk about my Persona’s moveset.”

Haru nodded. “I vaguely remember you mentioning your Persona’s moveset in our chat after you first awoke your Persona. As part of the prank you schemed together with Ren-kun.”

“Yeah, but a lot’s changed since then,” Shiho remarked. “I’ve been training for a while in the TV World, so now I’m in the high 60s. Right now I have Psiodyne, Mapsiodyne, Matarunda, Marakunda, Psy Boost, Brain Jack, Brainwash Boost, Ailment Boost. There were a couple of Fear skills I had beforehand, but Ren said Brainwash was better.”

“I see,” Haru mused as she considered Shiho’s current skillset. It was clear that Zheng Yi Sao was more purely offense-oriented compared to her own, having more debuffs and focus on status ailments in exchange for having practically no defensive capabilities whatsoever, at least as far she could tell. “Well, Shiho-chan, I would suggest that you replace the kunda skills at some point,” she advised. “Ren-kun has items that can work as debuffs, as well as a powerful skill called Debilitate that simultaneously weakens all attack, defense, and agility at the same time. You really don’t need them on your Persona when there are other options, although I would keep Debilitate if your Persona does obtain it at one point.”

“Should I even keep Debilitate if I get it? Wouldn’t it be better to leave Ren to cast Debilitate instead of me if I do get it at one point?” Shiho wondered.

“Oh, not at all!” Haru immediately denied. “Having Debilitate on someone else besides Ren-kun is extremely valuable, Shiho-chan. It would mean Ren-kun could Charge, Concentrate, or launch an attack immediately instead of being forced to waste a turn casting it. And I can assure you with absolute certainty, Shiho-chan, that any damage you could potentially do is absolutely nothing compared to the sheer overwhelming power that Ren-kun is capable of.”

Shiho thought about how Ren had effortlessly obliterated Shadows off the face of the Earth with powerhouses like Satanael and Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro. “That makes sense,” she acknowledged.

“This discussion may be moot as it’s not certain that you’ll even get Debilitate to begin with,” Haru commented. “However, as you’re a more Magic-oriented Persona user, you will almost certainly be learning the Psy Amp passive at one point. That skill is mandatory for you, as it dramatically increases the power of your Psychic moves.”

“Honestly, I’d even go so far as to say that NOT using any Amp skill if you can learn one is a violent misplay,” Ren added. “It’d be on the level of getting the basketball, running to the other side of the court, and shooting a hoop in your team’s own goal. THAT kind of stupid.”

Everyone snickered at Ren’s analogy. “Well, when you put it that way…” Shiho replied dryly, before becoming more serious, “but yeah, Psy Amp’s a pretty obvious one for me when I get to it eventually.”

“I’m glad to see that you understand the importance of it. Another fairly obvious skill to add to your skillset is Evade Nuke once your Persona evolves,” Haru advised. “It significantly increases your chance of dodging nuclear attacks, which is incredibly helpful for both of us for reasons that should be fairly obvious.”

Shiho winced as she remembered how the Freila attacks had seemed to strike deep at her soul, inflicting a unique pain that she didn’t want to go through again if she could help it. “Yeah, that’s one I’m definitely getting for sure.”

“There was one particularly powerful enemy in Maruki’s Palace, a giant metal dragon called Fafnir,” Haru shuddered. “It was a powerful monstrosity with a frankly ridiculous defensive profile and it could unleash powerful Physical and Nuclear attacks. Ren-kun didn’t allow me to participate in any battles against Fafnirs for excellent reason, as I would’ve been in serious danger from its Cosmic Flares.” Her frown suddenly turned into a smirk. “But when Ren-kun secured the allegiance of Fafnir himself, I was quite pleased to learn that it was just as powerful in his hands as it was as an enemy.”

Morgana smirked. “Ren hasn’t shown you his Fafnir yet, Shiho, but your jaw’s gonna drop when you see just how much of an overpowered monstrosity it is.”

“Great, now I’m gonna be wondering about it all day,” Shiho mumbled, rolling her eyes.

“Be nice to Shiho, Mona-chan,” Haru jokingly scolded. “At any rate, those are the two skills that I am almost certain that you are going to learn at one point, Shiho-chan. But there’s a few skills that you MIGHT learn that would be incredibly helpful if you were to obtain them.”

“Like what?” Shiho wondered.

“As your Persona is Magic-oriented, there is a chance that you will be able to learn a Severe-damaging Psychic skill,” Haru explained. “If memory serves me correctly, they’re called Psycho Force and Psycho Blast respectively…” She frowned and her brow furrowed, “unless I’m mixing them up and it’s the other way around?”

Ren sighed. “Honestly, I can’t ever remember the two of them properly either,” he admitted. “I think Psycho Force hits one target and Psycho Blast hits all of them, though.”

“Regardless, if you are capable of learning either one, be sure to replace Psiodyne or Mapsiodyne as appropriate,” Haru advised. “Mako-chan learned Atomic Flare to replace Freidyne, and Ann-chan learned the incredibly powerful Blazing Hell to replace Maragidyne.”

Shiho thought back to the massive molten crater of roaring flames that Yu had been able to unleash with Surtr. “Damn,” she thought, “Ann must be even more powerful than I thought if she can do something like that.”

“I actually think there’s a very decent chance that you might be able to learn such a skill, Shiho-chan, but I’m less certain about it than I am about Psy Amp,” Haru acknowledged. “And there is one last skill that, while I’m not sure at all if you will be able to learn or not, you should absolutely use if you do get the opportunity. It’s called Concentrate. It takes a turn to cast, but it more than doubles the power of your next magical attack. As you can imagine, any type of magical attack, including your Psychic ones, would be absolutely devastating against your opponent if powered up in such a way.”

“Yeah, I already know about Concentrate,” Shiho affirmed. “I’ve seen what Ren and Yu Narukami can do with concentrated attacks. I swear it’s like seeing those Shadows blown up by the wrath of God Himself.”

Haru giggled, and this time the giggle had just a hint of bloodthirsty excitement trickled in. “That’s certainly not an inaccurate way of describing it,” she agreed. “And you’ll be able to unleash incredible power yourself if you are able to utilize Concentrate to your own advantage. There are also certain items that can give you the effect of Concentrate without needing to cast it yourself, however, so even if you aren’t able to learn it, it isn’t the end of the world,” she reassured her friend.

“I can also possibly find a way to get it on you even if you don’t learn it normally,” Ren ventured, “although admittedly that’s a bit of a long shot.”

“I’ll take what I can get,” Shiho replied.

“That’s all the advice I have to you for now, Shiho-chan,” Haru concluded. “I think any further advice would require me to enter the TV World and witness you battle personally, and sadly that simply is not an option at the moment.”

Ren’s phone beeped, and when he looked at it, he frowned. “I don’t think we have much time anyway. My friends wanted to meet up at my house for one last good-bye before Haru leaves, and we need to go and pick up our stuff from the Amagi Inn first.” He glanced over at Haru. “If that’s all right with you.”

“Oh, that would be just wonderful!” Haru reassured him. “In fact, I rather think I would prefer if we said our final farewells at your house rather than the Inn, Ren-kun.”

Once again, there was something odd in the way she said that, but Ren couldn’t figure out for the life of him what it was.

“Would you like to come with us, Shiho?” Morgana asked, knowing that Ren would be on the same page. “We’d be happy to have you join us.”

Shiho frowned. “If it’s just to say good-bye, I should be able to be there. But if it’s like a full-blown party, then probably not. I promised my parents I’d be doing something with them later this evening.”

Ren typed something into his phone and waited for a response. “Yu says that it’s just to say good-bye,” he reported. “Our friends wanted to throw a full party but they couldn’t since they came up with the idea of gathering at my house and saying good-bye at the last minute.” HE gave an apologetic glance to Haru. “Sadly, this also means I won’t be making you dinner.”

Haru didn’t look at all bothered. “It’s no trouble at all, Ren-kun,” she reassured him. “I’m not particularly hungry anyway, and I was going to wait until later for dinner.”

Shiho perked up. “I can come, then!” she declared. “After helping me out like this, the least I could do is send Haru off properly with one last good-bye.”

“We should probably go now then,” Ren recommended. “I don’t want to force you to be late to whatever you’re doing with your parents, Shiho.”

The three got up from the table and Haru beckoned towards Hariyama and Morito, signaling that their conversation was over. “Where’re we headed, miss?”

“To the Amagi Inn first to pick up our things, and then to Ren-kun’s house,” Haru replied. They descended down the escalator back to the front of Junes, got into their car, and drove to the Amagi Inn to do exactly what Haru had said. Everyone except Shiho got out of the car to get their things. As they passed by the receptionist, they noticed that Yukiko wasn’t there, suggesting that she was either busy in her office or had already left the Inn to meet up with the others at Ren’s house. Ren, Haru, and her bodyguards picked their things up from her room and returned to the car, making sure to check out with the receptionist who had taken Yukiko’s place as they did so. They returned to the car, and finally made the drive to Ren’s house with Ren giving Hariyama directions on how to get there from the Inn.

When they finally arrived at Ren’s house, the entire Investigation Team was already waiting for them outside the house. “Right on time,” Yu commented with a placid smile. “I was just about to call to ask where you were.”

“Oh, my!” Haru gasped. “You all really did come to give your farewells!”

“Course we did!” Kanji chuckled. “We weren’t just gonna let Ren’s girlfriend go without a proper send-off!”

Chie grinned. “I hope you had a lot of fun here in Inaba!” she declared. “I know this place isn’t a huge city like Tokyo, but there’s still plenty of things to do around here!”

“I did indeed have a lot of fun!” Haru assured them with a delighted smile. “Thank you all very much for the time you spent with me for the past few days. It really gave me the reassurance I needed that Ren-kun will be well-looked after despite his parents not being around.”

Yosuke nodded and smiled at her. “Yeah, we’ll be taking care of our little brother here for sure,” he promised.

“I will hold you all to that promise,” Haru answered solemnly, before turning to Yu. “Rise-san, would you be kind enough to help me move my and my bodyguards’ belongings from this car to yours? I believe you said you’ll be driving me to the train station, correct?”

“Of course, Haru!” Rise immediately agreed with a brilliant smile. “Let’s get to work on that right away!”

Yukiko looked at her, clearly confused. “Wait a minute, what?” she interrupted. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

Naoto nodded in agreement. “Indeed, your statement doesn’t add up. If I remember correctly, Haru’s bodyguards originally drove all the way from Tokyo to Inaba in this very car. Why would they need to move their belongings from this car to Yu’s, or go to the train station for that matter? Were you not planning on simply driving Haru back to Tokyo, like how you came here the first time?”

“I mean, I can understand why you’d want to go back to Tokyo by train,” Ren commented. “It’s definitely a lot faster than going to Tokyo by car. But then you’re gonna be leaving your fancy luxury car behind, Haru.”

“Oh, Ren-kun, I am fully aware of all of these details,” Haru reassured them. Then, she started to giggle, and it wasn’t her normal giggle either. It was full of mischief, and it immediately reminded Shiho and Morgana of Ren himself whenever he was trolling the other Thieves. “But there is one single critical piece of information that all of you are lacking.”

“And what’s that, Haru-chan?” Teddie asked, clearly dying to know.

“This isn’t MY luxury sports car,” Haru announced, before turning to face Ren. “This is now YOUR luxury sports car, Ren-kun.”

Ren could only blink as everyone gasped in shock at Haru’s revelation, completely blindsided by her announcement for the first time in months. “Wait, what?” Was all he could think to say, his charisma and chill abandoning him in that moment as his mind tried to process what had just happened.

“You’ve done so much for me over the past few months, Ren-kun,” Haru declared as she gazed at her boyfriend affectionately, “both in terms of improving my life and giving me gifts. And I would be a horrible girlfriend if I didn’t return the favor. So I am hereby gifting you this Lexus LS sedan as a way to repay you for the love and kindness you’ve shown me.”

“Hot damn…” Kanji mumbled under his breath. Ren still couldn’t think of a coherent answer.

“You don’t have to worry a thing about pricing or leases,” Haru continued, clearly enjoying the stunned look on her boyfriend’s face. “The entire car has already been paid in full by myself, including automobile insurance, and I’ve already assigned the car’s ownership to your name. It belongs to you, Ren-kun, first and foremost.”

“Holy shit,” Yosuke muttered. “I knew this girl was rich, I didn’t know she had enough money to drop a multimillion yen-worth car as a gift like it was chump change.”

Haru giggled. “For once, it looks like I took you by surprise, Ren-kun,” she commented, not even bothering to hide her amusement. “I would go so far as to say that seeing the expression on your face is worth the price of the car alone.” Her smile faded slightly. “Unless, of course…you don’t like the gift that I’m giving you.”

“Oh, that’s not it at all,” Ren immediately denied, finally returning to coherency. “I was just shocked by your gift.” He grinned at her. “Of course I’m going to accept it, Haru. Even if it wasn’t this super luxurious sports car, just the fact that it’s a gift from you is what really matters to me. I’m not gonna waste time trying to reject your gift when I’m just gonna end up accepting it anyway a few seconds later.”

Haru breathed a sigh of relief and smiled back. “Your words never fail to warm my heart, Ren-kun. I just couldn’t resist the urge to play a little prank on you. I did learn from the best after all.”

“Yu and I were in on it too!” Rise declared proudly. “When Haru told us secretly that she wanted to give you this cool car and that she wanted to troll you a bit while doing it, it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up on!”

Ren snickered. “My girlfriend is learning the art of trolling. I’m so proud.”

Shiho rolled her eyes. “Oh, great…” she groaned, not even bothering to lower her voice. “Now’s there gonna be 2 trolls in our chat.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Shiho-chan,” Haru reassured her. “I’ll leave most of the trolling to Ren-kun.”

“Not to interrupt such a heartwarming moment,” Yu interrupted placidly, “but what time is your train ride home, Haru?”

Haru looked at her watch and frowned. “A little less than 30 minutes,” she answered.

“Then we should head out soon,” he advised. “It does take a little time to get to the train station from here, and I’d hate for you to miss your train and end your trip to Inaba on a poor note.”

“Not before one final good-bye, though!” Chie quickly added.

“Of course!” Haru easily agreed. “Thank you again for such a wonderful visit, everyone.”

Everyone gave Haru one final good-bye, or some variation or a final farewell thereof, as Rise and Haru carried out the process of transferring everyone’s bags over to Rise’s car. After Rise took one last picture of Ren and Haru smiling together in front of Ren’s new car, Haru and her bodyguards got into Rise’s car while Ren and Morgana got into Yu’s. Together, they drove over to the train station, making it to the station with just about 5 minutes left. Rise gave Haru and her bodyguards their tickets, and Ren helped them drag their bags onto the station right as the sounds of the train arriving at the station started to reach their ears.

“I can hear the train coming,” Ren remarked, turning to Haru. “You ready to go back to Tokyo?”

“I am,” Haru answered, before letting out a sad sigh. “I’m going to miss you, though, Ren-kun. Especially since I’m not sure I’ll have the opportunity to see you again for a while.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ren reassured her. “I’m definitely gonna be hanging out with you guys for summer vacation in August anyway, so you’ll be seeing me again in a few months no matter what.”

Haru visibly brightened. “Right, I’d forgotten about that. It won’t be too long before we see each other again, then! One way or another.”

Ren nodded. “Damn right, Haru. And if I get the opportunity to travel to Tokyo anytime sooner than that, I’ll be sure to let you know!”

The train was now in sight and starting to slow down as it approached the station. Haru turned to look at Ren, a visible blush on her face. “Umm…perhaps we could share one last kiss before I go, Ren-kun?” she asked timidly.

Ren smiled gently at Haru. “Of course, my Empress,” he realized. The two leaned forward and exchanged a gentle kiss, this time not even caring that Yu, Rise, Morgana, and her bodyguards were witnessing it in full. It was a tender expression of love instead of a passionate one once again, and they broke it apart only when the train stopped in front of them. “Have a safe trip, Haru,” Ren called out to her as she and her bodyguards climbed onto the train, pulling their luggage behind them onto the steps.

“Good-bye, Ren-kun!” Haru waved back at her boyfriend one final time. “I’ll be sure to text you as soon as I get home!”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Ren replied with a contented smile.

“And you better take good care of Ren-kun too, Mona-chan!” Haru glanced down sternly at the feline. “With his parents not around, I’m leaving that primary responsibility to you first and foremost!”

“Don’t worry, Haru, I’ll be keeping an eye on him at all times!” Morgana promised.

Ren, Morgana, and Haru all waved at each other one final time as she and her bodyguards disappeared into the depths of the train. As the train started moving again, he didn’t keep his eyes off of it until it drove away into the distance and disappeared out of sight.

When the train was finally gone, Ren turned to Yu and Rise. “You’ve got one hell of a girlfriend there, Ren,” Yu commented mildly.

“I know, right?” Rise eagerly added. “Our little Renren has excellent taste!”

“We all did our part to make Haru’s vacation the best it could possibly be,” Ren concluded, as he gave them a grateful smile. “Thanks for helping me out with that.”

Yu brushed away the thanks with a wave of his hand. “Oh, it was our pleasure,” he replied warmly. “It’s not every day that your younger brother gets a girlfriend from the city and said girlfriend actually bothers to travel all the way out here to visit. Especially when they drop a free luxury car on him,” he added with a snicker.

“Still trying to process that one,” Ren mumbled. “Part of me is wondering if Haru dropped that on me like that just to get back for all the mindbombs I’ve been dropping in the Phantom Thief phone chat lately.”

“There’s just one issue, though…” Rise realized as she gave Ren a questioning glance. “How are you going to be able to drive that car when you’re not gonna be able to get a driver’s license until you’re 18?”

Ren blinked for a second, and then groaned. “God dammit, I knew I was forgetting something…”

Chapter Text

Haru: “And that’s the story of how I took Ren-kun completely by surprise with the Lexus LS sedan that I gifted him at the end of our vacation.”

Futaba: “Holy crap! You dropped that kind of gift on him at the end of your trip, just like that? How’d you even get a car like that over there in the first place?”

Haru: “It was the same car that my bodyguards used to get to Inaba in the first place. Of course, it is a completely new model and it had never been used at all prior to that particular drive.”

Sumire: “I’ve seen quite a few of those around the studio where my Dad works. I don’t know anything about cars but they all look cool and fancy when I see one.”

Haru: “It was also the perfect opportunity to drop a surprise on Ren-kun for a change, after all the surprises he saw fit to drop on us. It only took a multimillion-yen car gifted to him out of nowhere to catch him off-guard.”

Haru: “As a future business manager and CEO, I would consider such an investment completely worth it just for the look on his face.”

Morgana snickered. “You gotta admit, Ren, Haru did get you good there. The way she set up the surprise was completely worth of our legendary Beauty Thief!”

“Does she even like the name Beauty Thief anymore?” Ren wondered. “We’ve pretty much stopped using that nickname after she joined our team.”

Morgana opened his mouth, then closed it. “You know…” he slowly replied, “I honestly have no idea.”

Ren: “Yeah, I had absolutely no idea that was coming.”

Makoto: “To be fair, I don’t think anybody here would’ve seen a sudden gift like that coming.”

Yusuke: “Certainly an amusing proposition. I believe this is what Futaba would call…”

Yusuke: “…playing an UNO Reverse card, I believe it was?”

Futaba: “He’s learning modern gaming lingo, I’m so proud!”

Ann: “I love it, Haru! You’re my hero for giving Ren a taste of his own medicine after all the mind nukes he dropped on us over the past couple of months.”

Ryuji: “I really wanna see what the car looks like. Hell, I wanna see the pictures of the two of you in Inaba, period!”

Ren: “Oh, right, we forgot to post those. Haru, would you like to do the honors or should I?”

Haru: “Allow me, Ren-kun!”

Ren and Morgana smiled as his girlfriend posted several of the pictures that the two of them had taken together in Inaba. The phone chat exploded with the rest of the Phantom Thieves expressing their adoration of the pictures and their envy at how the two of them seemed to be having so much fun together.

Futaba: “Just looking at these pictures makes ME wanna go to Inaba now!”

Futaba: “And this is coming from someone who absolutely hates the idea of going anywhere that isn’t Café LeBlanc or my room!”

Shiho: “You’ll like it here, Futaba, I promise!”

Ryuji: “You got a picture of that sweet new car, you guys?”

Haru: “Of course, Ryuji-kun! That was the very last picture we took of the car before we left.”

She posted the picture of her and Ren standing proudly together in front of the car. Haru had made sure to take a picture of the new sundress that Ren, Rise, and Yu had gifted her during her trip. It wasn’t a dress that fit every situation, but she could absolutely see herself wearing it the next time she went to the beach together with Ren.

Morgana snickered at the sight. “If only all the people who gave you shit about your arrest could see you now.”

“You’d think looking at this picture that I was the fiancé of some major celebrity rather than a kid with a false criminal record,” Ren commented. “Then again, Yu’s already got that particular slot covered.”

Ann: “Do you guys have pictures of you and the rest of Ren’s older friends? You know, the other group of Persona users?”

Ren: “We actually didn’t take many of those.”

Ren: “Mainly cause I forgot.”

Ryuji: “Who the hell forgets to take pictures with RISE KUJIKAWA and NAOTO SHIROGANE?”

Ren: “The novelty doesn’t really exist all that much when you grow up with them for most of your life.”

Shiho: “I mean, that’s a fair point, but still…”

Haru: “We do have one, though! This was taken in front of the Amagi Inn.”

She posted the picture, which was actually quite similar to the one Ren had shown them when he had first revealed his surrogate family to the Phantom Thieves the first time. The only difference was the environment…and the fact that Ren and Haru were both standing in front of the rest of their friends with Morgana situated nicely in Ren’s hands, rather than Ren just being there by himself.

“10/10 picture, absolutely perfect, would not change a thing,” Morgana commented approvingly, with Ren nodding his head in agreement.

Ann: “Thank God, Ren. If you’d completely forgotten to take any pictures at all with them, I would’ve traveled all the way to Inaba just so I could slap you!”

Shiho: “I’d be down with that just so I could see the sexy red latex catsuit Ren talked about earlier.”

Ann: “I immediately take back everything I just said.”

Futaba: “LOL”

Ren and Morgana both snickered. They knew that the day Shiho beheld Ann’s Phantom Thief suit in person would be a truly glorious day indeed, at least as far as comedy levels were concerned.

Makoto: “I apologize if I’m ruining the mood, but I can’t help but be concerned about the car.”

Makoto: “Wouldn’t the locals be suspicious about Ren having a new luxury car out of nowhere?

Makoto: “Especially given his criminal record and the fact that he shouldn’t have the kind of income to even think about buying a car like that?”

Ren: “I mean, I technically could if I did a few TV World runs now that Jose’s here and he did the thing where he doubled the money from killing Shadows.”

Makoto: “Nobody knows that though. And besides, Ren isn’t even old enough to drive. His parents aren’t there either, so he’s just having this fancy car sitting in his house’s parking lot doing nothing.”

Makoto: “I can’t help but be concerned that something bad’s going to happen to it, like it gets vandalized or stolen by someone.”

Ryuji: “Or confiscated by the fucking police.”

Morgana winced. “All of those ARE good reasons to be worried,” he admitted. “A fancy car in the middle of a smaller town like this isn’t exactly inconspicuous.”

Ren, however, wasn’t bothered. “Don’t worry, Morgana,” he reassured him. “I already took care of that problem.”

Morgana’s eyes widened. “Really? Already?” Ren only smirked as he shifted his attention back to the chat.

Ren: “No worries, Makoto, those questions are completely valid. And yeah, I did think about those problems, too.”

Ren: “Which is why I’ve decided to give Yu temporary ownership of the Lexus Haru gave me until I get my driver’s license.”

Haru: “We’ve already made and finalized those plans. When we explained our concerns to Yu-san, he was kind enough to accept ownership and help us get all of the arrangements done in a timely and organized manner.”

Ann: “That’s a pretty solid idea, honestly. Yu’s dating Rise Kujikawa, and since she revealed in public that she’s been dating Yu for years, it makes sense that he’d have a fancy car since he has a super-famous girlfriend who probably makes a lot of money.”

Ren: “There’s a lot more to it than that, Ann. Yu is a literal legend around here. You know how my reputation after I got arrested by that piece of shit Shido was complete and utter dogshit?”

Yusuke: “Quite, and it still boils my blood to think about that injustice.”

Ren: “Take the intensity of my reputation’s shittiness. That’s how GOOD Yu’s reputation is around here. I’ve heard more than one person call him the Legend of Inaba. I think him defending me and speaking out for me is a big reason why more and more people are starting to believe I’m innocent after Shido confessed.”

Sumire: “It’s honestly a major relief to hear that someone so beloved and influential in your hometown has your back, senpai.”

Ren: “Don’t I know it. And even if you ignore Yu’s amazing reputation, his uncle’s one of the leading cops in Inaba, one of his (our) friends is a cop, and the other’s a famous detective.”

Haru: “I have absolutely no doubts whatsoever that Yu Narukami would be an excellent steward for Ren-kun’s car until he is able to claim it for himself.”

Ren: “Trying to steal a fancy car from HIM would go about as well as trying to hit me with a Charged, Amped and Boosted One-Shot Kill.”

Ren: “While I have Fafnir up.”

Morgana winced. “God, I hated those things. And I’m someone who’s actually better at fighting them than most of the team.”

Ryuji: “Ugh, don’t even joke about those fucking Fafnirs, man. Those things are such a major pain in the ass.”

Sumire: “I do have to admit those metal dragons were very annoying to deal with in Dr. Maruki’s Palace, and this is coming from someone who actually had a way to hit them.”

Haru: “Are there any Shadows in the TV World that are as dangerous as those Fafnirs, Ren-kun?”

Ren: “Not that I’ve seen so far, but I haven’t been to the top dungeons yet. Even with how OP I am, there’s no way I’d go there alone. All it takes is one lucky Shadow to hit me with Despair and I’m fucked.”

Makoto: “Just be careful, Ren. We don’t know what kind of nasty surprises wait in the TV World at the places where the Shadows are most powerful.”

Ren: “I know. I do want to go into the TV World again soon, though. It’s been boring as hell around here ever since Haru left.”

As though a god had overheard him and decided to answer his prayers unmaliciously (which would be a first as far as he was concerned), a different chat message opened up on his phone.

Yu: “Hey Ren, I want to go into the TV World and fix up a couple of my Personas. Want to come with?”

Ren smiled. Right on time.

Ren: “Oh my God, PLEASE. I’ve been bored as hell here since Haru left. Already finished all of the homework from Yasogami that got piled up while I was taking care of Haru because I literally had nothing better to do.”

Yu: “Cool, heading over to Junes now. Meet you there?”

Ren: “Yeah, I’ll bring Morgana too. Maybe Shiho too if she’s available. See you in a bit.”

Morgana grinned. “Another TV World run with Yu and the Investigation Team? I’ve been wanting to do one for a long while now!”

“Same here,” Ren agreed as he shifted his chat back to the Phantom Thieves.

Ren: “Hey guys, I’m gonna head out. Yu wants to do a TV World run to fix some of his Personas. You wanna come with, Shiho?”

Shiho: “Sorry Ren, we have a basketball game later this evening. I don’t think I can go without either missing the game entirely or playing like garbage.”

Ren: “No worries, Shiho. Your progress is already pretty solid so far.”

Ren: “And honestly, this is probably gonna be super boring for Persona users who AREN’T Wild Cards anyway, so if there was ever a TV World run to miss out on, this kind of run would probably be it.”

Shiho: “Thanks Ren. Good luck fighting those Shadows!”

Ryuji: “Man, I still can’t wrap my head around some of those Shadows you described in that world. Those things just sound really, REALLY weird.”

Yusuke: “Those descriptions are certainly fascinating. I would like to venture into the TV World just so I can personally witness the bizarre aesthetics of the Shadows that lurk within that world.”

Ann: “Have fun, Ren!”

Ren smiled and got up from his chair as his friends said good-bye. “All right, Morgana, let’s go see Yu at Junes. I really want to know what he wants to work on today.”

Thirty Minutes Later…

When Ren arrived at the Food Court in Junes, there was already a small group waiting for them. Yu and Rise were unsurprisingly there, as inseparable a couple as ever. Kanji was there too, as was Teddie. “Sup, Ren?” Kanji cordially greeted him as he arrived at the table.

“Renren!” Teddie called out to him with a cheerful wave. “I’m so happy to see you! Haru-chan is so cool!”

“Teddie’s not even wrong about that honestly,” Rise freely agreed. “Your girlfriend is awesome. I don’t remember ever meeting someone so absolutely adorable and absolutely terrifying at the same time.”

“Thanks for coming here on such short notice,” Yu graciously thanked Ren. “I can see Morgana’s there. Is Shiho not with you?”

Ren shook his head. “She had a basketball game today, couldn’t really ask her to just drop everything and run over here to do a TV World run. Especially if it’s gonna be a run where we’re just working on fixing up your Personas and not actually doing a high-level dungeon run. Making optimal Personas might be a cool exercise for Wild Cards, but it’s probably boring as fuck for our teammates.” He glanced over at Kanji and Teddie. “I hope you guys brought something else to do while we do all this.”

“Way ahead of you,” Kanji reassured him as he took out some unfinished clothes. “Yu told me about that, so I’ll probably just work on this while you guys get to work.”

“Yosuke gave me a Nintendo 3DS to keep me busy!” Teddie cheerfully added. “I’m gonna play Pokémon: Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon until you guys are done! I just wanna see Sensei make some super-cool OP Personas just like you, Renren!”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “You guys can play video games in the TV World? Doesn’t it mess up with electronics?”

“Marie made a few slight adjustments,” Yu explained. “Cameras and recording still fail, but things like video games can work just fine as long as we don’t try to use Wi-Fi or things like that.”

“Huh,” Ren shrugged. “Good to know, I guess. Why don’t we actually go into the TV World first before we start talking about details?”

“Good idea,” Yu agreed. “Is Yosuke gonna be joining us, Teddie?”

Teddie shook his head. “Sorry, Sensei. He’s in a meeting with his Dad today.”

Yu sighed. “I figured as much. I hope that meeting isn’t in his office or this is gonna be really awkward.”

They made their way through the department store to Yosuke’s office, which thankfully was empty. They climbed into the TV and into Inaba’s cognitive world, which looked as serene and as beautiful as ever in the natural garden space that Marie had stabilized into a permanent safe space.

“Before we begin, did you optimize and maximize any Personas while I haven’t been here?” Joker asked Yu.

Yu nodded. “Only one,” he replied. “I got myself a new Ice attacking Persona. It’s Black Frost, pretty much the exact same as yours,” he admitted.

Kanji raised an eyebrow at that. “Didn’t you say you were gonna try and use different Personas then what Renren has?” he asked.

“Yeah, but in this case I just had to go with what Ren was doing,” Yu admitted without any shame. “I mean, look at Black Frost’s resistances! Repel Fire, Drain Ice, Null Nuke, and Repel Curse? This thing already had overpowered resistances when it was a midlevel Persona back in 2011, and it’s just as overpowered now!”

Joker raised a hand. “No need to explain, Yu, I completely agree with you,” he reassured him. “There was literally no reason for me to use any other Persona for attacking with Ice besides Black Frost, the rest of them were just straight downgrades. Were you able to figure out how to get Mighty Gaze on yours?”

Yu made a face. “I did, but it took me a while. I wasted a good chunk of yen trying to find something that fused with Mara to form King Frost so I could pass on Mighty Gaze to it.”

“That thing is sooooo ugly!” Teddie wailed. “It just feels so WRONG to look at it!”

“Completely on the same page as Teddie on that one,” Rise agreed with a grimace. “I don’t know where that thing came from, and I don’t want to know.”

“Anyways, in the interest of moving on to talking about literally any topic that isn’t Mara, I optimized and maximized Black Frost by myself,” Yu continued. “I pretty much copied your skillset for it, Ren. Ice Age, Ice Amp, Ice Boost, Magic Ability, Spell Master, Repel Phys, Drain Elec, Repel Bless. I might replace Spell Master with something like Drain Psy if I need to, but otherwise it’s pretty much an exact copy of yours.”

Joker chuckled. “I should be honored that my big brother and Wild Card senior thought my Persona build was worth copying,” he commented. “That’s the only one you made by yourself?”

Yu nodded. “I was spending the rest of the past couple of days taking the Investigation Team to that new darts and billiards bar in Okina City to boost up Baton Pass ranks and Technicals. I didn’t have the time to do another TV World run, and even if I did, I wanted to wait until you had some time to do another TV World run so I could ask for your advice on a couple of things,” Yu explained. “I sure wasn’t gonna bother you while you were showing your girlfriend around Inaba. I’m pretty sure Rise would’ve kicked my ass for barging into your romantic moment…assuming Haru didn’t do it first.”

“Understandable,” Joker acknowledged. “Which Persona did your new Black Frost replace?”

“Loki.”

Joker did a double-take. “Wait, did you say LOKI?” he demanded.

“Yeah…why?” Yu asked, noticing the surprise and concern on Ren’s face.

Joker looked over uneasily at Yu. “Loki was Goro Akechi’s Persona.”

Yu’s eyes widened. “Really?” he asked incredulously. “He never mentioned anything about that to me when I had him!”

“Can I take a look when we get into the Velvet Room?” Joker asked.

Yu nodded. “Yeah, I’ll show him to you. As to what I want to work on today, I think I need to redo my support Persona first. I’m pretty sure the one I currently have is outdated as hell.” He sighed. “I had this really amazing skillset for it back in 2011, but with all the new elements I’m pretty sure gonna have to start from scratch.”

“Why don’t we go into the Velvet Room so we can figure out what to do for your new Support Persona?” Joker suggested. “It’d be easier for me to give advice if I actually knew what I was talking about. Plus, I really want to see your version of Loki.”

“Good idea,” Yu agreed. The two Wild Cards approached the entrance to the Velvet Room, which swung open as they got closer. Lavenza stepped out and smiled as she saw the two Wild Cards. “Welcome,” she greeted them as she bowed and stepped aside. “Please, right this way.”

The two Wild Cards entered the door to the Velvet Room, finding themselves in the familiar jail cell. Margaret was also there, and she smiled gently at Yu. “Welcome, Seeker of Truth and Trickster. How may we be of service?”

“First things first, can you please show Ren the Loki in my Compendium?” he asked.

“Of course,” Margaret replied with a nod as she opened up Yu’s Compendium and showed it to Joker.

Joker saw the entry on Loki’s page and immediately frowned. “That’s not the Loki I remember,” he muttered. “I definitely don’t remember him looking like a blue humanoid figure with yellow hair and bat wings wearing a straightjacket. He definitely didn’t specialize in Ice attacks either.”

“What did Akechi’s Loki look like?” Yu wondered.

“He was this horned, almost demonic figure completely covered in black and white stripes,” Joker explained. “He sat on a bunch of red flames and he had this floating fiery red-orange sword next to him at all times. Loki was more aligned with Curse element but he could do a lot of different things like physical and gun damage too. Definitely nothing like the Loki I’m seeing here.”

“I’m…not sure how to interpret the fact that Goro Akechi has a completely different version of Loki than I did,” Yu commented with a frown.

“Me neither,” Joker muttered. He really didn’t know how to process the implications any more than Yu did, and he doubted he was going to come to a pleasant conclusion once he finally did. “Let’s just move on for now. You said you used to have a Trumpeter, right?”

“Oh yeah, we were talking about making a new Support Persona. Margaret, can you please show Ren here the Trumpeter in my Compendium?” Yu asked.

“Of course,” Margaret replied as she took out Yu’s Compendium and showed it to Joker. “Here is the Trumpeter that Yu wielded in 2011. As a side note to guide you further, this Persona’s base resistances have not changed at all between your two adventures.”

Joker looked at Yu’s Trumpeter build for a few seconds, and then glanced up at Yu. “Honestly, Yu? Trumpeter still isn’t a bad choice for a Support Persona. Hell, I’d go so far as to say that it’s still one of the best options out there. Natural immunities to Bless and Curse, which is really important for you since you don’t have the St. Hermelin Badge that I do. And immunities to Ice and Electric are REALLY good, since it means you can’t get shocked or frozen. I think the big issue with Trumpeter, and the only reason you’d need to rebuild it from scratch, is because you need the Vitality of the Tree Trait if you want to use Thermopylae.”

“Thermopylae…that’s the party-wide Heat Riser skill, right?” Yu asked. When Joker nodded, he continued, “and why do I need that specific Trait for Trumpeter?”

“Because Thermopylae has a downside where you can only use it if you’re being ambushed,” Joker answered. “And Vitality of the Tree lets you use skills that normally can only be used when ambushed, under any circumstance.”

“I see,” Yu nodded, understanding where Joker was going with this. If he wanted to be able to freely cast those party-wide Heat Risers that Yosuke had talked about, there was a price that needed to be paid. “So we just need to find a way to get Vitality of the Tree onto Trumpeter.” He rolled his eyes and groaned. “Can’t wait to go through that annoying process and burn through a bunch of yen trying to figure that out.”

Joker smirked. “Don’t worry, bro, I got us covered,” he reapplied as he slung his backpack over his shoulder (which had somehow been transported into the Velvet Room), turned it upside-down, and emptied the contents. Yu’s eyes bulged as 3 million yen fell onto the ground. “Should be more than enough to do what we need to do.”

“Ren…I can’t just take 3 million yen from you like this!” Yu feebly tried to protest.

Joker snorted. “It literally doesn’t matter. If by some bizarre circumstance we run out of yen, we can just do a run of one of the higher-level dungeons that I haven’t even seen yet,” he replied. “That’s why we brought a full team with us, right?”

Yu didn’t have an answer to that, and instead bought his Attis and started going through random Personas trying to find one that could fuse with it to form one of the Rider components of Trumpeter. He started at the very bottom, and to his surprise and relief, it only took a few minutes (and barely any yen at all) to discover that Silky could fuse with Attis to form the Pale Rider. With Vitality of the Tree on Pale Rider secured, Yu had an easy time fusing all four of the Riders together to form the Trumpeter.

“I am Trumpeter!” the skeletal angel declared. “The ring of my trumpet sings calamity and death…I shall become one with you, so let us harmonize…” With his words spoken, the Trumpeter transformed into a brilliant blue card that fell into Yu’s hand.

“Huh,” Yu commented placidly. “A lot more articulate than he was the last time I created him.”

“Also kinda ironic that he says his trumpet sings calamity and death when he’s your SUPPORT Persona,” Joker pointed out. “Unless he’s Charging or Concentrating, then I guess he’s heralding the fact that you’re gonna obliterate something next turn, I guess?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Yu replied with a shrug as he waited for his Trumpeter to finish powering up from his maximized Judgment social link before continuing. “So looking at skillset now…Charge, Concentrate, and Debilitate are still good, right?”

“Yeah, I’d still use those,” Joker commented. “Ideally you’d have someone else on your team casting the Debilitates, but it’s always good to have it on board just in case.”

“Do I still need Dekaja though?” Yu wondered. “There weren’t any better options back in 2011, but a lot’s changed since then.”

Joker snorted. “Hell no, Dekaja’s obsolete as hell at this point. One of my friends can use it, and even if they couldn’t, I have a friend who’s a doctor in Tokyo who sells these things called Kajaclears and Kundaclears that basically do Dekaja and Dekunda for us. I can just buy those in bulk, there is literally no reason for me to ever run Dekaja or Dekunda on one of my Personas ever again. Hell, Thermopylae is literally just better Dekunda at this point.”

Yu’s eyes widened. “Consumable Dekajas and Dekundas available in mass?” he asked in amazement. “Damn, I would’ve loved to have some of those back in 2011. We only had these things called Purifying Waters and Salts, and they were really rare. Out of curiosity, was that Doctor one of your confidants?”

“Yeah. She was my Death arcana,” Joker replied in a deadpan tone. “And yes, I’m aware of the irony in that statement.”

“…no comment.”

“Anyways, in the interest of moving things along, I have an extra Thermopylae card I’ll log in your skill card book so we can have access to it in the future,” Joker changed the subject. “What do you want to do for the other 4 skills?”

“Probably fill the rest with 3 immunities and Enduring Soul,” Yu decided after a few seconds of careful thought. “I know I won’t have room for Enduring Soul on most of my Personas, but I think it’d be good to have on at least 1 or 2.”

“Respectable,” Joker nodded in agreement. “So what immunities?”

“I know I want Repel Physical,” Yu replied, “since I don’t want to risk getting hit with a crit Physical attack. Is there anything that gives immunity to Gun?”

“Sadly, nope,” Joker shook his head. “Gun attacks aren’t super common anyway. Enduring Soul is probably your best option against it on a Persona who doesn’t have a Gun immunity like Trumpeter.”

“Fair enough,” Yu acknowledged. “Now I just gotta think about the last two immunities. Does Fire cause Burn or something like that?”

“It does,” Joker affirmed. “And if you get Burned, you’re exposed to getting hit with Technical damage from Wind and Nuke attacks.”

“Okay, definitely want to put Drain Fire on Trumpeter then,” Yu decided. “What about the other immunity?”

“Honestly? I’d go Drain Psy if I were you,” Joker advised. “If you’re immune to fire, shock, and freeze through your immunities, you really don’t have to worry about getting hit by Technical damage from Wind and Nuke outside of statuses that make you vulnerable to every element you’re not already immune to. But there’s a LOT of statuses that can trigger a Technical Psychic attack.”

“Yosuke and Teddie told us about Shadow Shiho comboed mental status conditions and Technical Psychic attacks,” Yu murmured. “I think you’re right, Ren.” He smiled at the younger Wild Card. “Thanks to helping me think through this. This was the reason why I waited until you were available before doing this next TV World run.”

Joker smiled back. “No problem, Yu, always happy to help.” His lips twitched into a smirk. “Isn’t it supposed to be the older brother giving advice to the younger brother, not the other way around?”

Yu chuckled. “Experience is the greatest teacher out of all of them.” His smile faded and he sighed. “Well, time for the boring part. Ready to do the hour-long max stat grind?” Joker sighed. “Yep. Let’s just get this over with. Might as well just manually feed EXP into the Trumpeter this time to max its level since we didn’t need to spend any yen for it.”

They left the Velvet Room and made their way over to Naoto’s Laboratory, a dungeon with Shadows noticeably weaker than even Yu’s un-empowered Trumpeter but strong enough to not be a COMPLETE waste of time, where they spent the next hour and a half going through the grind of maximizing the power of Yu’s new Trumpeter. Kanji and Teddie followed Yu into the Lab, and though they faithfully followed the two Wild Cards, both Yu and Joker could tell that the two were starting to get bored after a few minutes. Still, the two were glad for their presence, even if at one point Teddie was unlucky enough to get hit by an Ominous Words from a Shadow that would’ve killed him with Despair if Joker hadn’t cured the status afterwards.

“This is why you never go into mid to high level dungeons alone,” Joker commented as they left the dungeon to go back to the Velvet Room after triggering an alarm. “Cause of shit like that.”

“What was that status?” Teddie asked with a shudder. “It was so very horrible! I felt like I’d never be happy ever again!”

“It’s called Despair,” Joker answered grimly. “Really nasty status condition. You’re completely unable to do anything for three turns, you lose a little bit of SP each turn…and then after third turn, you just die. The end. Enduring Soul doesn’t even save you from it, the kill from Despair bypasses it. I know this, cause I tested it on a Shadow with Enduring Soul once.”

“Oh my God…” Rise murmured in a hushed tone. “That sounds absolutely horrifying.”

Kanji shuddered. “Sheesh, and I thought enervate was bad.”

“On the plus side, Despair pretty much screws enemy Shadows just as hard as it can to us,” Joker reassured him, before his gaze hardened. “But yeah, I’m never going into the TV World alone cause stuff like Despair and Fear plus Ghastly Wail can still kill me, even as OP as I am.”

“You’re not gonna hear any argument from me there,” Kanji commented.

“Wise words indeed,” Yu agreed as they entered the Velvet Room. After another 30 minutes worth of fusion alarm triggers, Yu finally had his max level, max stats Trumpeter.

“Not exactly the showiest Persona to maximize stats on,” Yu commented as he registered his fifth maximized Persona into Margaret’s Compendium. “But getting a new, full-powered Support Persona is probably something I need to do sooner rather than later cause it’ll be useful in every situation we fight powerful enemies in.”

“So what do you want to do next?” Joker asked. “Hopefully something a little more exciting than your Support Persona.”

“Yeah,” Yu smiled. “Something a LOT more exciting. I was just looking through some of my Personas to see what I wanted to do next, and I found Kaguya.”

“I remember seeing that one,” Joker commented. “She looked like a very beautiful and exotic Persona. It was one of the ones that already existed in the compendium that I couldn’t select, though.”

“She does look awesome,” Yu agreed. “Has a pretty unique Trait that triples reflecting and counter damage too.” His smile widened. “But I think I want to use it for something a bit different. Let me show you.”

He showed Joker his entry on Kaguya in the Compendium and pointed at a move in her skillset. Joker leaned forward and read the entry. “Shining Arrows – Light Bless damage to all enemies 4x to 8x.” His eyes widened. “Wait, what the fuck? That’s literally a Bless version of Hassou Tobi at max hits! That sounds overpowered as hell!”

Yu grinned. “My thoughts exactly. It only costs 22 SP too, I don’t even need to waste a slot on Spell Master for it! I just need to find a way to get Mighty Gaze on Kaguya somehow.” He glanced down at the compendium. “It’s a fairly low-level Persona. Do you know any low-level Personas with Mighty Gaze?”

Joker gave one of his own with all of Joker’s confidence. “Way ahead of you, bro. Orobas and Nue.”

“Perfect.” He purchased Nue from Margaret and started searching through his Personas to find a compatible one. Once again, starting from the bottom-up proved to be the right call, as he discovered fairly quickly that Nue and Hua Po could be fused together to form Kaguya.

Margaret and Lavenza executed the two Personas with the guillotines, and the mystical blue energies coalesced together to create the beautiful rainbow-colored celestial maiden, who materialized in front of Yu. “Who dareth call me?” Kaguya asked, tilting her head to fix Yu with an imposing stare. “O radiant heart that shineth into the night…I shall become thy strength, Seeker of Truth.” She transformed into a brilliant blue card like Trumpeter did, which fell onto Yu’s palm and disappeared.

“Did it work?” Joker asked.

“It did,” Yu confirmed. “She’s at a low level right now, but she’ll get stronger once we feed her experience.” He frowned. “It’s really a good thing that we’re finding out these Fusion recipes so easily, because I think we’re gonna be spending most of your yen on feeding Kaguya EXP through the gallows.”

“If we need to, we can do a money run to make up the lost funds,” Joker replied. They proceeded to fill out Kaguya’s skillset with Bless Amp, Bless Boost, and Magic Ability. Yu added Repel Phys and Drain Fire, and then threw in Enduring Soul and Insta-Heal.

“She doesn’t have enough good immunities for me to go all-in on that particular strategy, and I want a Persona that lets me survive any situation, including Despair,” Yu explained.

“I think that’s a completely valid way of approaching her build,” Joker remarked, nodding approvingly. “Those two skills together give you a good shield to make up for the lack of immunities.”

Yu registered his new Kaguya in his Compendium and the two Wild Cards left the Velvet Room, where they could see Kanji, Rise, Mona, and Teddie playing cards on the grass. “I win!” Teddie cried triumphantly as he threw down a 3 and a 7 of spades, completing a flush.

“Yeah, yeah,” Kanji rolled his eyes as he threw down 2 useless cards on the ground. “You win this round, bear.”

“Oh!” Mona looked up and pointed towards Yu and Ren. “They’re back!”

The Poker game was quickly abandoned as they met up with the Wild Cards. “You got one of your Personas all powered up, right Sensei?” Teddie asked eagerly.

Yu shook his head. “You might want to rein in the enthusiasm a bit, Teddie. I did optimize and maximize one of my new Personas…but it’s the Support one. I’m not gonna be doing any flashy plays with this one.”

“Aww…” Teddie groaned.

Yu gave him a sympathetic pat on the head. “Yeah, I know, Teddie. But this is one of those things that you have to do, even if you don’t necessarily want to do it. Kinda like doing the laundry.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Kanji sympathized. “Can’t procrastinate on doing the important chores. Thanks for warning us about this, by the way, cause even I have to admit waiting for you to do all this shit gets pretty boring. Is there anything we should know about this new Trumpeter?”

Joker grinned. “How does a party-wide Heat Riser for 30 SP sound?” he asked.

Everyone except the Wild Cards’ jaw dropped. “Okay, that’s pretty good,” Mona admitted. “What else have you got on it?”

“Usual support stuff,” Yu replied. “Charge, Concentrate, Debilitate. Apparently Ren can just order massive Dekaja and Dekunda items in bulk so I didn’t need Dekaja anymore, and it’s not like Dekunda was really any good to begin with. The rest of my skill slots went to filling in Immunities and putting on Enduring Soul, figured I should have at least 1 or 2 Persona with it just in case.”

“Don’t really know much about Wild Card stuff, but all this makes sense,” Kanji replied. “If you’re gonna have us stick around here, I hope you’re gonna make something a little cooler than a Support Persona this time around.”

“We deserve to see something cool before everyone else for coming here!” Teddie chimed in.

“I’m actually on Teddie’s side here,” Mona agreed. “It’s the least we deserve for taking hours of our time here for all this.”

“I feel your pain, guys,” Yu reassured him, his inherent charisma calming his friends down immediately. “And once I maximize this new Persona, I’m going to give you all a sneak peek of what she’s capable of. I think I’m going to do this every time I do Persona-optimizing runs in the TV World like this.”

“Persona-optimizing runs,” Joker chuckled. “I think that’s a great way of putting it, honestly.”

“Let’s go with the Heaven Dungeon this time,” Yu suggested. “The Shadows are stronger there and I can boost Kaguya’s level faster with the experience.”

Joker raised an eyebrow. “How’s she gonna do that?” he asked.

In response, Yu took out a Growth 3 skill card and replaced Enduring Soul with it. “Just to speed things along, I’ll put Enduring Soul back once I’ve maxed her out to level 99.

“Sounds like a plan, senpai!” Rise declared. “Let’s go!”

Kanji and Mona joined Joker in the active squad and they made their way to the Heaven dungeon. Yu’s decision quickly proved to be the right one, as the Shadows were inherently a much higher level than Kaguya and she shot up through the early levels ridiculously quickly with just a few battles. The grinding process itself didn’t feel particularly faster or slower, but everyone agreed that it felt like they were doing things more, and there were still potential threats to watch out for. The Angry Tables were dangerous as ever thanks to their Rage-casting skills and the ability to Repel Physical attacks, although this was a complete nonissue to either Joker or Yu thanks to all of their optimized Personas having immunity to Physical attacks. And the Phantom Lords, which previously only had the Mind Charge + Megido combo, now had Abysmal Surge as a nasty Despair-inducing surprise.

Still, they faced no true threats even in the Heaven Dungeon, a statement further supported by Yu casting Thermopylae with his new Trumpeter and demonstrating that he could now cast party-wide Heat Risers for the team on-demand, just like Joker could. And after another hour and a half of work, Yu finally had his fully powered, optimized Kaguya. “I have a good feeling about this one,” Yu commented as he replaced Growth 3 with Enduring Soul again and registered Kaguya in his compendium.

“I want to see Bless Hassou Tobi,” Joker agreed with a smirk.

Yu called over his friends, and they went to the Heaven Dungeon one final time. “All right, guys, it’s time to show you all what this new Persona can do.” He ran up to the nearest Shadow and whacked it with his katana, triggering a transformation into 2 Mythical Gigas and 2 Finicky Papillion. “Ren, can you cast a Thermopylae on us?”

“Gotcha covered,” Joker replied as he summoned Alilat and cast the skill, infusing all of them with the power of Heat Riser. Yu switched his Persona over to Kaguya and crushed the card with his head. “Kaguya!” he called out. “SHINING ARROWS!”

The celestial rainbow moon maiden manifested behind Yu, and summoned numerous sword-like arrows made of pure light around her body. Everyone watched in amazement as Kaguya hurled the volley of light arrows towards all the Shadows, obliterating all of them instantly. What was truly shocking was the fact that she only needed 1 or 2 arrows to obliterate each Shadow, rather than 8 or even the minimum 4.

“Holy shit,” Kanji whistled appreciatively. “That move wasn’t even charged up!”

“It really is like a Bless version of Hassou Tobi!” Rise agreed, excitement clear in her voice. “That’s so cool, Senpai!”

“That wasn’t even its greatest potential, either,” Mona commented with a grin. “Honestly, I’m kinda disappointed there isn’t even a major threat to deal with right now, because your Kaguya sounds like it would honestly be insane against even the most powerful enemies in the TV World or the Metaverse.”

Ren rolled his eyes. “You’re gonna jinx our luck saying things like that, Mona.” He grinned. “But you’re right, Shining Arrows is one of the most overpowered things I’ve ever seen. Just seeing that move and thinking about how powerful it can be honestly made all the time and money we spent on Kaguya worth it.”

“I can’t wait to see the looks on everyone else’s face when we show them your new Kaguya, Sensei!” Teddie chimed in eagerly.

“Me too, Teddie,” Yu agreed with a contented smile, and despite his placid demeanor everyone could see the satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. “It’s always a huge investment in time and money to get these Personas up to their highest level of power, but I’m sure Ren would agree with me when I say that the end result is absolutely worth it."

Chapter Text

“All right, everyone, that should wrap it up for the day!” Kou called out as he watched the members of the basketball team throw their last few basketballs into their hoops. “Shiho, good work with the layups. Your foul shots could use a bit more work, but overall I’m happy with where you are right now.”

“Thanks, coach!” Shiho called back with a smile.

Kou spent a few minutes addressing each of the basketball team members, pointing out at least one respective strength and weakness for each of them. “You guys can keep practicing if you want,” he finished once he was done, “but nobody’s obligated to stay here. I know how busy you guys are. Have a good afternoon and stay safe.”

“Bye, Ichijo-sensei!” the basketball team members all replied. They all dispersed to the locker rooms, changing out of their basketball uniforms and into their standard school clothes. As Shiho changed and picked up her backpack, she thought about how she was going to spend the afternoon. Her obvious first choice would’ve been hanging out with Ren, who she easily considered her best friend in Inaba given everything that had happened. But Ren was usually the one to offer to hang out with her, and she’d soon learned that whenever he didn’t extend an invitation to hang out, it usually meant he was busy with something else and couldn’t hang out for the day.

“Hey, Shiho!” a female voice broke her out of her thoughts. Shiho looked up to see two of her basketball friends in the same class, Kaito and Hana Matsumoto, calling out to her. The two of them were brother and sister, and both of them loved playing basketball even if they were better at different aspects of the game. They were also some of the first friends that Shiho had ever made in Inaba, and probably some of her best ones after Ren. “What’re you planning on doing today?” Hana asked.

Shiho shrugged. “Probably just go home and study for a bit,” she admitted. “Kinda worn out after practice today.”

Kaito chuckled. “Your grades are a hell of a lot better than ours, Shiho,” he commented dryly. “You’re not struggling like crazy to pass math.”

“I’ve got the same problem except with history,” Hana admitted, shaking her head and waving around her long, black hair in the process. “I still have no clue how you jumped your grades up so high!”

“Honestly, it’s because Ren’s been helping me a lot with studying over the past couple of weeks,” Shiho explained a bit sheepishly. “He’s ridiculously smart, knows the answers to practically everything and even how to explain it in a way that makes sense. I don’t think I’d be half as good at school as I am right now if it weren’t for him.”

“Ren?” Kaito repeated with a raised eyebrow. “Like…Ren Amamiya?”

“That’s him,” Shiho confirmed.

“He’s the transfer student who was out for a year, right?” Hana asked. “Wasn’t he sent to Tokyo cause he got a criminal record for assaulting someone?”

“No,” Shiho replied with a harsh tone that caught the two siblings off guard. “Ren might’ve gotten a criminal record on him, but he’s innocent. He was framed by that asshole politician Shido and he’s already been cleared of all charges. That bullshit record’s gone now, and I’m not gonna sit back and listen to someone badmouth my best friend in Inaba.”

The two Matsumotos blinked in stunned silence, and even Shiho herself seemed surprised at how assertively she’d just spoken out in defense of her friend. “Hey,” Kaito raised his hands defensively. “I didn’t say anything about him!”

“I’m not gonna pretend I didn’t think Amamiya was a criminal back when he got arrested,” Hana admitted, “but I know reality when I see it. I saw the interview where Shido confessed to framing Amamiya. And there’s this guy with silver hair that everybody in this town seems to love for some reason who keeps defending him. Was enough to convince Mom he was innocent even though she’s never even met the guy.” She shrugged. “Hey, I believe Amamiya’s innocent. The evidence is all there.”

“Plus, I gotta admit the way he stood up for you all those weeks ago was pretty badass,” Kaito commented. He blinked. “Wait, what were we talking about again before we started talking about Amamiya again?”

Shiho rolled her eyes. She liked Kaito as a friend, but she could tell that he had a short attention span sometimes. Probably one of the reasons why he was struggling, if she was being completely honest with herself. “Studying?” she asked in a deadpan tone.

Kaito made a face. “Thanks for reminding me,” he replied, equally dryly.

“In all seriousness, though, do you have any way to help us out, Shiho?” Hana requested. “We need all the help we can get.”

“I’m…really not the best person to ask,” Shiho admitted. “Like I said before, a lot of the reason why I’m doing so well is because Ren takes the time to help me out. And I haven’t had time to study the stuff coming up on the next test anyway. My advice? Ask Ren if he’s willing to spend some time to tutor you guys for a bit.”

The Matsumotos’ eyes widened at the suggestion. “Wait…you’re suggesting that we ask Amamiya for help?” Hana asked incredulously.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Shiho?” Kaito mumbled, sounding just as skeptical as his sister.

Shiho gave them a confused look. “Why do you guys ask?” she wondered.

“Because Amamiya hates all of us,” Hana replied bluntly. “Have you seen the way he glares at everyone in school? Somebody told me a long time ago that Amamiya used to be this meek guy who tried way too hard to make friends with everyone. I don’t know what the hell they’re talking about, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone who gives less of a shit about making friends in their entire life.”

“You remember that one girl who tried to fake-accuse Amamiya of cheating on our first test after he came back?” Kaito asked with a hint of fear. “I don’t know exactly what Amamiya said to the teachers to defend himself, but he must’ve been really convincing, cause afterwards she got yelled at by Ichijo-sensei in front of our entire class and then got suspended and sent home to school for a few days.” He shuddered. “I had no idea Ichijo-sensei could be that terrifying.”

“There’s no way Amamiya’s gonna help us after everything that’s happened to him,” Hana sighed. “He’ll probably just tell us to go to hell.”

“He’s not like that,” Shiho reassured them. “I know he can hold a grudge, I’m not gonna pretend he doesn’t. But as long as you haven’t actually done anything wrong to him, he’ll at the very least hear you out.” She squinted at them. “You guys didn’t abandon him like most of his old friends from Inaba did when he got arrested, did you?”

Kaito shook his head. “I’ve never really talked to the guy before. Never really noticed him, to be honest.”

“Me neither,” Hana agreed, on the same wavelength as her brother.

“Then it can’t hurt to ask,” Shiho replied encouragingly. “The worst he can do is say no. I promise, if Ren ends up needlessly being a dick about it, I’ll talk to him about toning it down.”

Kaito and Hana still looked more than a little skeptical, but the two of them could still recognize that they really needed help for their studies, and the student who was consistently at the top of the class was probably their best bet of getting it. “All right, we’ll talk to him tomorrow,” Kaito reluctantly agreed. “I hope he’s not as pissed at the rest of us as he looks like he is.”

“Trust me, guys,” Shiho declared with the confidence of someone who absolutely believed in her own words, “he’s a lot better of a guy than you think he is.”

The Next Day, at Lunchtime…

Ren barely spared a glance at the students around him who glanced at him with traces of fear in their eyes as he sat down at a table in the library and started studying.

When it came to the people he cared about, people who trusted him and had thus earned his trust in return, Ren absolutely didn’t want his relationships with them to be defined by fear. He cared deeply about his friends and confidants (especially his fellow Phantom Thieves and the friends he shared with Yu), and he adamantly believed that those relationships should be defined by mutual love, respect, and loyalty. The bonds he had formed with his closest friends were unbreakable, and he despised the very idea of influencing them through fear and coercion, tools that bastards like Shido and Yaldabaoth had abused without remorse.

But when it came to the people Ren didn’t particularly care about, especially people who had wronged him in some way, it was a very different story. Ren remembered the faces of every single of his old “friends” who had abandoned him when he had first been arrested, who would have left him all alone as his life fell apart in Inaba if it weren’t for his parents and the Investigation Team. And while he wasn’t so consumed by hate and spite that he would go out of his way to ruin the lives of the people who abandoned him or even permanently refuse to forgive them no matter what, he certainly didn’t want to deal with the other students of Yasogami High School either if he didn’t have to.

Ren still remembered with cynical amusement the girl who had seen his top-of-the-class test scores and tried to accuse him of cheating, a girl who actually had been one of his friends before his arrest but who now mattered so little to him that he couldn’t even be bothered to remember her name. She had clearly been jealous of his top scores, and had accused him in the hopes of ruining what little reputation he had left and trying to get him in trouble with the teachers.

“Too bad for her she fell right into their trap,” Ren thought with an inward chuckle. What none of the other students had known was that the Yasogami teachers had kept a very close scrutiny on him for his first sets of tests, both to make sure that he wasn’t cheating but also to protect him from potential false cheating accusations by jealous students who still saw him as nothing more than a criminal despite his cleared record. Even Ren had been surprised by how little this had bothered him, although he suspected that the reason the teachers had protected him was mainly due to Ichijo-sensei’s influence. The clueless girl had been caught lying about her cheating accusation red-handed, publicly humiliated by the teachers in front of the entire class (Ren still couldn’t believe Kou could be that furious, considering how chill he was normally), and then suspended from school for a few days.

After that, nobody had been brave or stupid enough to accuse him of cheating again.

Ren hadn’t bothered to hide the cold, satisfied smile on his face as he watched the girl receive her just punishment, an expression of vindictiveness that others had certainly seen. Many of the other students were even more scared of him now than they had already been, which suited Ren just fine. While he would never actively abuse their fear or terrorize others, their fear was a useful tool in keeping them in line and making sure they left him alone. Ren didn’t want to be bothered by most of the other students and the problems they would bring, which was a lot easier to accomplish when they were too terrified to try and fuck around with him.

“It really is shocking to think about just how empty my old bonds to the so-called friends I once had here truly were,” Ren mused as he opened a book and started studying. All those bonds, all those friendships he once had…the only relationships that had truly possessed any real substance were the relationships he had with his parents, Yu, and his older friends. Everything else had been so, utterly empty. An emptiness that he hadn’t realized existed until his old friends had all abandoned him, and the Phantom Thieves had replaced them and shown him what true love, loyalty, and trust actually meant. Unbreakable bonds forged in the fires of hardship and unity, stronger even than the bonds he already shared with Yu and the Investigation Team.

Compared to that, whatever bonds he’d once shared with the other students of Yasogami were so weak and meaningless that Ren now couldn’t care less that they’d been severed entirely. Hell, even the more transactional bonds he’d shared with some of the adults like Iwai and Ohya were infinitely more important to him. At least with those, the adults had been honest and upfront about what they expected, what they’d offered him was worth the time he’d given them, and they’d ultimately grown to genuinely care about each other regardless.

Ren would be the last person to dismiss the inherent power of bonds; he’d be a massive hypocrite to do that. But the bonds he cared about after his year in Tokyo were ones that were genuine and meaningful. Empty and fleeting ones weren’t worth wasting his time on to begin with.

A sentiment that Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro seemed to agree with, if the sinister and amused chuckle of agreement in his head was worth anything to go by.

Which was why he was completely blindsided when a male student’s voice broke him out of thoughts. “E-excuse me, Amamiya-kun, may we talk to you for a second?”

Ren blinked away his thoughts and glanced at who had spoken to him. A black-haired boy and girl who looked roughly around the same age as he was, and looked close enough that Ren could guess that they were siblings. Neither of them was familiar to him, which meant that they weren’t one of the “friends” he’d had who’d backstabbed him last year. Both of them clearly looked nervous, no doubt aware of his reputation, yet had taken the step to overcome their fear to speak to him.

A trait Ren could respect, and for that he would hear them out, if nothing else. “Can I help you?” he asked, keeping his voice polite but neutral.

“May we sit here?” the girl asked.

Ren shrugged and gestured towards the table. Just because he didn’t want to be around the other students of Yasogami, didn’t mean that he was going to needlessly be dick to them if he didn’t have a valid reason for it. Recognizing they had been given permission, the two students sat at the table.

“Can I ask who’s joining me here?” Ren asked.

“I’m Kaito Matsumoto,” the boy answered, “and this is my sister, Hana.”

“I’m Ren Amamiya, although judging from the looks on your faces I can tell you already know that,” Ren replied with a hint of amusement in his voice. “Which makes me curious as to why you want to sit with me at this table, if you know about my reputation.”

“We wanted to ask if you’d be willing to help us with something,” Hana explained. The expression on her face made it clear that she expected to be refused, although it didn’t stop her from proceeding with the request. “We were talking to Shiho-chan after basketball practice, mainly about how we were having issues with our studying and our grades. She recommended that we ask you for help.” A smile appeared on her face. “She called you the smartest person she knows, someone who knows how to help explain things to her in a way nobody else can.”

Ren decided to test their honesty. “So if I were to theoretically call Shiho on the phone right now and ask her if she said that to you, she’d back your story?”

Neither Kaito nor Hana flinched. “Go ahead. She’ll tell you exactly the same thing we did,” Kaito replied without missing a beat.

“We’ve got nothing to hide,” Hana added.

Ren chuckled. “Relax, I’m not going to interrupt Shiho’s lunch with this,” he replied. “I wanted to see if I could catch you out in a lie.” The smile faded and his eyes grew noticeably colder. “Can’t be too careful, considering how little I trust a single student in this school outside of Shiho after they stabbed me in the back last year.”

It probably wasn’t the best question to ask Ren if they wanted to earn his help, but Kaito couldn’t resist asking it. “Is that why you hate everyone in this school so much?” he asked nervously.

“Kaito!” Hana hissed, but to both of their surprises (and to the surprise of the students who were eavesdropping), Ren burst into laughter. And it was genuinely amused laughter, not a bitter, sarcastic one.

“That’s what everyone thinks?” he asked, still snickering. “That I hate everyone in this school. No, no, no…that’s not true at all. It’s not that I hate everyone in school.”

Ren looked straight at the two students, his eyes filled with such conviction and intensity that the two Matsumotos didn’t doubt his words in the slightest. “It’s that I don’t give the single slightest shit about anyone in this school. Well, aside from Shiho, that is,” he quickly added.

“There’s a difference?” Hana asked incredulously.

“A huge difference,” Ren explained, enjoying the opportunity to elaborate his thought process. “There was a time, back when I first got arrested, when I genuinely thought I DID hate everyone in this school. It makes sense, right? All of the friends I used to have outside of a few turned their back on me, believed all the bullshit Shido said about me, and abandoned me to my fate. It sounds like a good reason to hate everyone, right?”

“Uh…I guess?” Kaito replied uncertainly, not really sure what to say.

“I thought so too, but no,” Ren replied. “Hating people just because they follow the crowd and believe what anybody tells them too? I’ll freely admit that I consider the old friends I used to have idiots and cowards who can’t think for themselves, but that’s a pathetic reason to actually waste my time and energy hating them. In my year in Tokyo, I learned about how to properly hate someone. You have to really know them. Know and understand them, their thoughts, their actions. And after knowing them, realize that you utterly despise every single part of their existence,” he suddenly snarled, his voice dripping with venom that caused everyone hearing his words to flinch. Everyone, including Kaito and Hana, visibly flinched at the menace in his tone. “Scum like Masayoshi Shido, that fucker of a politician who framed me for assault and killed countless people through the mental shutdowns just for the sake of his own political career. And Kamoshida, the Olympic gym coach at my school in Tokyo who blabbed my fake criminal record to the school body, sexually assaulted the girls there, and abused every sports team that wasn’t his own volleyball team. People who could rightly be considered monsters by anybody with a basic sense of decency, and people I truly hate with every fiber of my being.”

By now, more and more people were listening in on Ren’s speech. None of them remembered Amamiya ever being this eloquent and charismatic in his words, but there was a huge difference between the Ren Amamiya of 2015 and the Ren Amamiya of 2017.

It truly was fascinating, the difference that Max Charm could make.

Ren’s tone shifted back to indifference and nonchalance. “Compared to complete assholes like Shido and Kamoshida, what do I care about some random students from this school? Hating them would be a complete waste of my time and emotional energy, now that I know how to properly hate people who absolutely deserve it, both out of principle and because they made it personal. Although,” he added with a derisive scoff, “they shouldn’t waste their breath asking me for help anytime soon. Ever since I got arrested for trying to do the right thing…let’s just say that my generosity has its limits now, to put it mildly.”

“I…I see,” Hana sighed. She wasn’t surprised that their plea for help was being thoroughly rejected, and after hearing Amamiya’s thoughts on his arrest and his old friends, she couldn’t blame him in the slightest. Kaito similarly looked dejected. “My apologies for wasting your time, Amamiya-kun. We’ll be going our way then.”

“Hold on,” Ren smirked, clearly able to read their thoughts. “I said my generosity has its limits compared. I didn’t say it didn’t exist. I don’t remember you from before I left, which is good for you because it means I don’t have a reason to have a grudge against. You’re friends with Shiho, which assuming you’re telling the truth about that, is another plus for you. And the fact that you were actually brave enough to sit down and talk with me, despite the entire school being scared shitless of me…that takes guts. And I respect that.”

“…thank you, Amamiya-kun?” Kaito replied. He clearly sounded uncertain, but for the first time he felt a ray of hope in their conversation. Hope that Amamiya might actually give them some help after all.

“So here’s what I’m offering the two of you,” Ren decided after a few seconds of thought. “I’m willing to give each of you two free hours of tutoring. One out of principle for basic decency, and one because you’re friends with Shiho. You can pick whatever subject you want for me to tutor you in, but you have to let me know in advance so I can actually prepare. Two free hours each.” Whatever warmth in his tone immediately vanished and suddenly he became much more businesslike. “After that, if you want more help from me, then we start talking payment. And I’m talking 5250 yen per hour.”

Kaito and Hana blanched at the price. “Doesn’t that sound like…a bit much, Amamiya-kun?” Hana asked carefully, trying not to sound outraged.

“Oh, I think it’s very fair,” Ren replied coolly. “One of my older friends, Yu Narukami, got 10000 yen for 2 hours back when he was in high school. And given that this was 5 years ago, 5250 yen for an hour isn’t too much to ask. And more than that,” his face hardened, “I am done bending over backwards for people who don’t even know me and will happily ditch me the moment things go south. From now on, if people who I don’t deeply trust want something out of me, then they’re going to have to pay me for my time and effort. Otherwise, they can just fuck off.”

“No, no, we’re more than happy with what you’re offering us!” Kaito quickly reassured him. “Thank you very much for taking the time to help us!”

“Yeah!” Hana immediately agreed with her brother. “Your generosity is very appreciated!”

Ren smirked. “I’m glad you agree.”

“Oh, I guess I should add this, shouldn’t I…” Hana mumbled. When Ren gave her a questioning eyebrow, she took a deep breath and began. “I’m sorry about everything that happened to you last year, Amamiya-kun. And I’m sorry for believing those false accusations about you being a criminal back then. I didn’t really have any reason to doubt them back then, but after seeing Shido’s confession I know you’re innocent now.”

“Yeah, all that shit that happened to you last year was really horrible,” Kaito agreed. “And I’m sorry for believing all those lies about you too. You’re not really that bad of a guy, if you’re actually willing to help us out. Honestly, I thought you were gonna tell us to go to hell or something.”

For the first time, Ren looked surprised. “Oh, wow,” he chuckled once he recovered. “I wasn’t expecting the two of you to actually apologize. I think that’s the first time anybody in this school’s actually apologized to me.” He smiled, and for the first time there was some actual warmth in his smile. “Congratulations, the both of you just earned another free hour of tutoring.”

The two siblings’ eyes widened. “Thank you very much, Amamiya-kun!” Hana gratefully replied.

“Hold up, though,” Ren raised a hand. “Some conditions. First of all, I make the final decision on when we do the tutoring. You can reach out to me on what times you’d like to meet for the tutoring, but I make the final call. Which means that if you try to schedule a time at, say, 5 PM the day before exams, and I’m busy that day, then that’s just too bad for you.”

“That’s no problem,” Kaito agreed, speaking for both himself and his sister. It was far from unreasonable, especially since Ren was even bothering to help them to begin with.

“And the other thing is more advice than an actual condition,” Ren finished. “Don’t just run in and ask me for help. Go home, figure out what subjects you actually have problems with, and then contact me. That way you can actually find out what you’re having the most trouble with, and you’ll get the most out of those tutoring hours. Because if you waste those hours on subjects you already had a good grasp on, that’s your problem, not mine.”

“We understand, Amamiya-kun,” Hana replied gratefully. “Thank you for the advice. We’ll be sure to follow it.”

“Glad to hear it,” Ren nodded, and they exchanged phone numbers so that they could get in contact in the future. After they put their phones away, Ren’s face and tone hardened again. “Now I’d appreciate it if you left me alone right now.”

The words were chosen to be polite, but both Kaito and Hana could tell that what Amamiya was really saying was, “Get out of my sight.”

Not that either of them had any reason to complain. They’d come in fully expecting Ren to reject their request for help and tell them to fuck off, and instead he’d offered them each three free hours of tutoring. They’d gladly accept what they were given while they were still ahead. “Thank you very much for your help, Amamiya-kun,” Kaito and Hana said as one last expression of thanks, and then they left the library.

Ren glanced around at all the students in the library staring at them. “What the hell are all of you staring at?” he growled, and they quickly looked away and back at whatever they were studying.

A couple of minutes later, the lunch bell rang, and as Ren made his way back to class. He could sense that both Kaito and Hana had been telling the truth when they’d claimed that Shiho had directed them to him for help, and he had a sneaking suspicion he knew why Shiho had done so in the first place. A suspicion that he wasn’t able to confirm until after school ended and he met up with her in the Junes Food Court.

“So I met some of your teammates from the basketball team earlier today,” he commented casually as he sat down at the table and the two of them took out their study books. “Kaito and Hana Matsumoto, I think they were called? They said they were friends of yours and that you told them to come to me for help with their studying.”

“I did say that,” Shiho confirmed, immediately validating their claims. “You really are the smartest guy in the school, Ren. I figured that if anybody could help them with their grades, it’s you.”

Ren chuckled. “I’m flattered to hear you think that. I was honestly surprised to hear them actually apologize to me for all the bad shit that happened last year and for thinking that I was a criminal. I think that’s the first time someone’s actually publicly apologized to me about that in school.” He shrugged. “I gave them an extra free hour of tutoring just for that.”

“That’s good,” Shiho replied approvingly. “It’ll show that you aren’t that bad of a guy underneath your scary, edgy appearance.”

“Edgy?” Ren snorted. “Really?”

“Excuse you, but I’ve seen Satanael and Raoul,” Shiho retorted. “They’re literally some of the most edgy things I’ve ever seen.”

“Touché,” Ren acknowledged. The two of them sat silently at the table and studied silently for a few minutes. “So why DID you send Kaito and Hana to me?” Ren finally asked the question he’d been wanting to know the answer to for a while. “I told you before that I don’t really care about the students at Yasogami.”

He didn’t sound angry or annoyed, more curious than anything else.

Shiho sighed and put her pencil down. “I know you don’t give a crap about the other students at Yasogami,” she answered after a few seconds of thought. “And I get that, I really do. But at the same time, it doesn’t feel right that you have literally NO friends or anyone that you’re even on speaking terms with over at school.” She looked straight into Ren’s eyes. “I remember being alone for months when I woke up after what Kamoshida did to me and I jumped off Shujin’s roof. And being alone, outside of very few people visiting me every so often, is one of the worst feelings that I’ve ever experienced.”

“I can only imagine,” Ren mumbled sympathetically. Shiho’s fate at Shujin had been nothing short of atrocious, and it was a miracle that she’d been able to recover from it as well as she did.

“I’m not going to ask that you be friends with everyone, or even with Kaito and Hana,” Shiho continued. “You don’t trust anyone besides me and Ichijo-sensei at school, and I get that. But I do think that having somebody you can talk to in person besides myself can help keep you ground in reality. Yu and his friends are amazing, but they’re all adults who are busy with their lives. And I’ve hung around with Kaito and Hana long enough that I can tell that they’re good people.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “You do realize that the relationship I have with Kaito and Hana is more based on business than anything else?” he pointed out. “I’m only going to be tutoring them for 3 hours, and I made it clear that they’re going to have to pay me for anything beyond that. Hardly the best way to get a friendship started.”

“True, but you’re still helping them when you didn’t have to,” Shiho replied. “That’s still better than nothing.” She sighed. “At the end of the day, I just don’t like the idea of you being alone without anyone to talk to on a regular basis besides me and Morgana. I care about you a lot and I don’t want you to go on a downward mental spiral like I did. And I think hanging out with Kaito and Hana can help with that.”

“I’m not entirely sure I 100% agree with the idea that hanging out with them will help me with my mental stability all that much,” Ren replied dryly, but then he smiled gently at Shiho. “But thank you, Shiho. If nothing else, it shows me that you really do care in a way that few people outside the Phantom Thieves do. And if boosting Kaito’s and Hana’s grades up will mean you’re happier, then that’s good enough for me.”

Shiho returned Ren’s smile with a grateful one of her own, and Ren felt a feeling of warmth in his chest.

RANK UP: CHARITY Arcana - Rank 6!

Shiho blinked as the arcana ranked up. “What the heck…I just felt myself change in some way.”

“Oh, right…” Ren realized what was going on. “My bond with you just hit Rank 6. For most of the other Phantom Thieves, that unlocks Harisen Recovery. It’s a special move that gives you a chance to remove a friend’s status condition at the start of your turn if they have one.”

“Oh, that’s pretty cool!” Shiho exclaimed, before blinking. “Wait, I have a chance to do it at the start of my turn? Why wouldn’t I just do it every time if I had the chance?

Ren shrugged, for once looking just as baffled as Shiho. “Who the hell knows? It just happens like that. Cognitive worlds are weird as hell.”

Shiho snorted. “If the TV World is any indication, that’s the understatement of the goddamn century.”

Chapter Text

“Hey, Ren!” Shiho met up with him after classes were done for the day.

Ren smiled at her as she approached. “Sup, Shiho? Wanna go for a run later?” The words were innocent enough, but the phrase was secretly their code for a TV World run. Shiho had been making steady progress, and Yu thought that she might very well be ready for a run in Magatsu Mandala soon.

Ren hadn’t visited Magatsu Mandala yet himself, but he had heard about it from Yu and the others. A twisted, ruined, and chaotic version of Inaba that was swarming with Shadows, only accessible from the room of the very first victim that Tohru Adachi had thrown into the TV. A world where Adachi had reigned supreme, and where the Investigation Team had battled both him and Ameno-Sagiri back-to-back to restore peace and clear the fog shrouding Inaba (up until Izanami had revealed herself anyway).

The very idea of Magatsu Mandala should have repulsed him, and from a moral standpoint, it absolutely did. But Ren couldn’t deny that Magatsu Mandala fascinated him as well. The idea of venturing into one of the TV World’s greatest dungeons with the Investigation Team and Shiho by his side, fighting and triumphing against some of the most powerful and dangerous Shadows the TV World had to offer in a world that represented a dark and corrupted Inaba…it was honestly thrilling to think about.

Or maybe that was just Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro talking to him from within his soul. Huh, maybe Yosuke had a point about that particular Persona being a bad influence. Not that he was ever going to get rid of him – like he had told his friends before, even hateful things had their purposes.

“Uh, earth to Ren? You’re kinda spacing out,” Shiho’s voice broke through his thoughts.

Ren shook his head to bring himself back to reality. “Sorry,” he apologized, “kinda spaced out for a bit. What were you saying?”

“Did you see the assignments we had for the camping trip next week?” Shiho asked.

“Oh, right,” Ren slapped his head lightly. “The assignments.” He shrugged. “I didn’t really care about them, since you’re my only real friend around here and the Matsumotos are the only students that I could even consider friends in the loosest possible definition.”

Shiho suddenly smirked. “Funny you should mention that, Ren. Because it’s all four of us who’ve been grouped together for the camping trip. You, me, Kaito, and Hana!”

Ren’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Oh shit, really? They actually grouped the four of us together?”

Shiho laughed. “Yeah, that’s great for all of us, isn’t it? I’m not sure if this is just happy coincidence or if the teachers know that you get along decently well with Kaito and Hana, but I’m definitely not complaining!”

Ren chuckled. “Huh, maybe this might actually be a little fun, then. Or at the very least, not a complete waste of my time.”

The two friends got up and started leaving the school. By now, there were still occasional whispers from other students whenever they hung out together, but by now they had largely died down. There had been widespread speculation at first that Ren and Shiho were dating, but after a few months of them behaving like friends but with no romantic overtones whatsoever, that particular rumor had largely died off.

Not to mention the fact that there were other rumors whispered in the background that Ren secretly had another girlfriend he was already seeing, though nobody knew any details right now apart from, at most, that it was a girl who nobody had ever seen around town before.

Shiho shrugged. “You’d be surprised how much you might enjoy things that you didn’t think you’d ever care about. I didn’t really ever give a crap about basketball back when I was in Shujin, but now it’s by far my favorite sport. You won’t know until you try.”

“That’s a fair point,” Ren conceded. There were plenty of hobbies he’d never thought about before going to Tokyo that he ended up thoroughly enjoying, even if some of them were more exercises to strengthen his and his friends’ capabilities in the Metaverse rather than leisure activities.

Before he could formulate an actual response, Shiho had already started talking again. “By the way, Ren, I heard that since we’re in the same group, we have to cook our own meal together.” She leaned in conspiratorially so that nobody could hear her next words. “And I heard from Ann that you make a mean curry.”

Ren gave her a smirk in response. “Well, you’ll just have to see, won’t you?”

The Next Day, at Dinner…

“Thanks again for taking care of all the cooking ingredients, Amamiya-kun,” Hana gratefully thanked him as she, her brother, Shiho, and Ren all got to work unloading and setting up the curry ingredients on their assigned table and cooking spot. “I really didn’t expect you to straight-up volunteer to take care of everything.”

“No problem,” Ren replied casually.

“But seriously, dude, you must’ve spent so much money getting all this,” Kaito added, looking down at the pile of ingredients gathered on the table. “And you volunteered to cook the whole meal for us too? Are you sure there isn’t some way we can help you out with this?”

“No,” Ren answered politely but firmly. “To be honest, I don’t trust anyone in this entire school to cook curry for me.” Before anybody could say anything or possibly take offense, he added, “and this isn’t me being a dick because I don’t trust people in this school. The guy who was my probation officer this past year ran a café, and he made THE best curry I’ve ever made in my entire life. He taught me how to make curry throughout the year, and I treat that particular meal so seriously that I completely refuse to let anyone but myself make it. I will NOT allow the good name of curry to be slandered or another version of Mystery Food X to be made on my watch!” he finished dramatically.

Shiho, Kaito, and Hana all glanced at each other in confusion. “Mystery Food X?” Hana repeated the name, clearly baffled. “What the heck is that?”

Ren blinked. “Oh, right, you guys never heard of it,” he muttered. “I’ll tell you the story while I’m making dinner.” He lit the fire underneath the cookpot and got to work making the curry. Despite his earlier claims, he did allow Shiho and the Matsumotos to help tangentially, asking them to hand him one thing or another every few seconds. The bulk of the work, however, was done almost entirely by Ren himself, in sharp contrast to every other group at the camping trip who had 2 or more people working closely on the meals at a time.

“So what’s this whole Mystery Food X thing you mentioned earlier?” Shiho asked, curious to hear about a story that she had a feeling involved the Investigation Team in some way or another.

“The best way to describe it would be a culinary disaster the likes of which the world has never seen,” Ren replied dryly. “It happened 5 years ago on a Yasogami Camping Trip almost exactly like this one. Four of my friends who are older now were in a group together. Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, Yukiko Amagi, and Yu Narukami.

“Wait, what?” Kaito interrupted with shock and disbelief in his voice. “You know the Prince of Junes and the owner of the Amagi Inn? Like, personally?”

“Yep,” Ren confirmed with a nod and a smirk. “That’s who I hang out with if I’m not hanging out with Shiho or taking care of my own shit at home.”

“Wow,” Hana whistled. “Man, you’ve really got some high-profile friends, don’t you, Amamiya-kun?”

“You don’t even know the half of it, Matsumoto-chan,” Ren replied with an amused chuckle. “Anyways, they were in a camping group together just like the one we were in now. I don’t know the exact details of the story, but Chie and Yukiko were the ones to volunteer to get all the ingredients together and make the curry.”

“So?” Shiho tilted her head curiously. “What’s so bad about that? I’ve had food at the Amagi Inn before. I’m not gonna pretend that it’s the most delicious food I’ve ever tasted in my entire life, but Yukiko-san’s meals tasted pretty good the last time I stayed there.”

“That’s because she had over 5 years to improve her craft,” Ren answered. “Yukiko Amagi might be a fine enough chef in her own right now, but back then?” He smirked. “Does kimchi and mint chocolate sound like it should belong in curry?”

“What the hell? No!” Kaito immediately exclaimed, and then his eyes widened. “Waaaaait, are you saying…?”

This time, Ren didn’t even bother to suppress his laughter. “You heard me right,” he declared. “Chie and Yukiko put all sorts of random shit in their curry when they made it. Corn starch, mint chocolate, kimchi, coffee beans, the list goes on and on. They created a food so foul and disgusting that it has its own name within our friend group. They called it…” he paused dramatically for effect. “Mystery Food X.”

“So that’s what Mystery Food X is?” Shiho asked. She and the Matsumotos looked at each other. “This is starting to sound like something straight out of a horror movie,” she commented.

“Mystery Food X is a concoction so abominable to nature that it would make Godzilla scream in fear and run all the way back into the ocean,” Ren asserted, allowing a hint of menace to enter his facial expression for the sake of telling his story. “Imagine a curry that tasted grimy, squishy, and slimy all at the same time. A curry so horrible, so foul-tasting, that it exuded an aura of menace just from looking at it. A curry that you couldn’t even take a single bite out of without violently spitting it out and vomiting your insides out just to get rid of the slightest trace of it from your body.”

The Matsumotos outright shuddered at the description, and even Shiho couldn’t help but feel decidedly uneasy at the description. Unbeknownst to them, Ren was borrowing the description of Mystery Food X straight from Yosuke Hanamura himself. Even though several years had passed and the Prince of Junes respected Yukiko’s current-day cooking, Yosuke had made it abundantly clear in no uncertain terms that Mystery Food X had been so nasty that he couldn’t even swallow it. And if Yu was to be believed (and Ren had no reason to doubt him, given that his ultimate Persona was literally an embodiment of uncompromising truth), there was apparently an even WORSE version of Mystery Food X that had been created at one point, known only to him.

Ren suddenly grinned, allowing the tension to dissipate. “But don’t you worry, you three. There’s nothing for you to worry about. You’re going to get some of the finest quality curry, not that culinary horror show. The curry chef who watched over me at Tokyo would never forgive me if I didn’t properly represent him through my work.”

And by that, he meant that Sojiro would personally drive to Inaba just so he could crucify Ren on the spot if he ever learned that Ren disrespected his craft so blasphemously by creating his own Mystery Food X.

Ren proceeded to work on the curry more in silence, although his classmates soon realized that he was putting in some rather…unconventional…ingredients into the curry. Nothing blatantly wrong like mint chocolate or anything like that, but rather ingredients that one wouldn’t typically expect.

“Uhm…Amamiya-kun?” Hana interrupted timidly. “Did you just put…apples and honey in your curry?”

“I did indeed,” Ren affirmed. “It might seem weird, but apples are actually a really good ingredient to add to curry if you mix them in correctly, especially if you’re going for a milder flavor. They add some sweetness and balances out the spiciness that often comes with curry in general. I didn’t think apples would make for a good curry ingredient either when I first heard the idea, but once my guardian in Tokyo added them, it completely changed the way I look at curry.”

If it had been any random person who had made this argument, his teammates wouldn’t have believed him. But Ren spoke so passionately, so decisively, and so eloquently about the benefits of apples in curry, that not a single person doubted a word that he said.

It really was amazing how much a Max Charm stat and an entirely maxed Confidant bond dedicated to improving public speaking could bolster one’s charisma.

By now, Ren was a master in his craft when it came to cooking curry, and in a few moments that seemed to pass by so quickly it seemed no time had passed at all, the curry that he had cooked had reached its completion. Shiho and the Matsumotos could smell dinner from the park bench where they were sitting at, and their mouths were watering as the delectable aroma hit their noses from the pot.

“Oh my God…” Hana breathed. “What is that smell? It’s so heavenly!”

“I know…” Kaito agreed. “I can’t remember the last time I smelled something this delicious!”

“Come on and give us some curry already!” Shiho demanded impatiently.

“All right, all right,” Ren replied, clearly anticipating how his friend and classmates would react to their first taste of LeBlanc Curry. “I’m just about done now.”

He started picking up plates and putting down piles of rice on them, followed immediately by drenching the rice in a full scoop of curry. “Here you go, guys,” he called out to them. “Dinner’s ready.”

Kaito, Hana, and Shiho eagerly approached Ren and took a plate of curry each, while Ren did the same for himself. He didn’t have any doubts in the slightest about the end product, as he had been trained well by Sojiro Sakura, and his instincts told him that everything had gone just about as perfectly as it could have.

A feeling that was immediately validated as Kaito took his first scoop of rice and curry and gasped once it entered his mouth. “Oh my God!” he exclaimed. He desperately began scooping more and more curry into his mouth, eager to consume as much of it as possible. “Holy shit, this is soooooooo good!”

“I know, right!” Hana gushed. She generally considered herself more dignified than her brother, but with how delicious Ren’s curry was her dignity made a fast exit as she imitated Kaito’s mannerisms. “This curry is amazing! Shiho, you have to try this!”

“Way ahead of you,” Shiho reassured them as she quickly took a bite of her curry. The moment it touched her tongue, it felt like a blessing straight from Heaven itself had fallen from the skies to grace her taste buds. “…how?” she mumbled, utterly stunned at the overwhelming, divine sensation that she found herself bombarded with. “How did you make something this…this…perfect?”

Ren smiled. “A lot of training, and a lot of practice.” He took a bite out of his curry, smiling with satisfaction at the taste of a job well done. “There’s plenty left in the pot. You guys want more?”

“Yes!” Hana almost screamed with joy. “Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!!!!!”

Ren gestured to the pot and smirked. “All yours.”

Hana and Kaito eagerly scooped up as much curry and rice on their plates as possible, devouring their meals as soon as they returned to the table. Shiho showed slightly more composure in taking her seconds…but not by much. “Seriously, Ren, what’s your secret?” she demanded. “I swear, some of the food at the Wilton Hotel buffet wasn’t as good as this curry!”

Ren smiled confidently. “Certain ingredients and sauces,” he explained, “used in the right way and in the right amounts, can make curry with flavors beyond anything you could’ve possibly imagined. I joked earlier about how Chie and Yukiko made Mystery Food X out of mint chocolate and coffee beans. But did you know that if you use them in just the right way, and with just the right amounts, chocolate and coffee are actually completely viable ingredients to use in a curry?”

Hana’s and Kaito’s jaws both dropped. “Wait, WHAT?” Hana exclaimed. “That’s actually a thing that works?”

Ren chuckled. “Surprising, isn’t it?” he replied, clearly amused by their shocked expressions. “It takes a lot of practice, and the window for error is ridiculously small. Put just a little too much coffee or chocolate, and you get a fuck-up of a meal that’s just as bad as putting chocolate or coffee in curry sounds.” His smile turned fond as he thought of his mentor and the man who was the closest thing he had to a father besides his actual father. “But my guardian in Tokyo taught me that if you add just the right amount, you truly get a flavor that’s out of this world.”

The Matsumotos and Shiho were enraptured by every word. “Do you think you could actually make coffee or chocolate in curry work?” Shiho wondered.

Ren shrugged. “If I was at home, with all the time in the world and no people that I needed to serve? I’m sure I could figure it out with enough experimentation.” He shook his head. “But I was never gonna do that here. Too risky…and I don’t believe in unnecessary risks.”

He gave another serving of curry and rice to his group and himself, and all of them spent the next few moments contentedly eating their dinners. “I think you might’ve made too much,” Kaito commented, pointing at the pot that was still more than half full of curry. “This curry is super amazing, but I really can’t eat another bite. I feel like I’ll burst.”

“Me too,” Hana groaned. “There goes all the work I put into losing weight over the past week.”

“You’re not just gonna throw it all out, are you?” Shiho asked, slightly concerned. “Seems like a waste to get rid of food this good.”

Ren was about to reply, when he was interrupted by a rather timid voice. “Uhm…excuse me, Amamiya-san?”

He turned, finding himself in front of a group of four other Yasogami students. Ren immediately noticed that all of them looked both hungry and miserable, eyeing the pot full of curry with longing.

The girl closest to him quickly confirmed his suspicions. “I’m sorry to bother you, but…we failed to make our curry. We burned it and it’s completely inedible. We were wondering, since you had so much left…would you…would you be willing to share some with us?”

Ren looked at the group of four hungry students. He thought he recognized one of the boys as one of his former friends, although he wasn’t 100% sure. It was clear that the group of students in front of him were desperately in need of help, and weren’t expecting it given his fearful reputation. He hadn’t exactly been speaking quietly when he had declared without a shadow of a doubt that he wouldn’t bother to help anybody who’d wronged him in the past.

But refusing to help untrustworthy friends get better test scores was one thing. Refusing to give basic necessities like food to people who clearly needed them was another. And while Ren could freely admit that he harbored some lingering spite and bitterness towards his former friends, he wasn’t going to be a massive asshole for no reason.

“You can have the rest of the curry if you volunteer to clean up our station afterwards,” Ren offered.

The other students’ faces lit up. “Thank you, thank you, Amamiya-san!” the girl gushed. “We’ll be sure to clean up everything once we’re done!”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Ren warned, allowing a hint of threat to enter his voice. “I don’t take kindly to people who break a promise.”

The other group gulped and hastily promised that they would clean up the pot after they were done. Ren smiled and let the menace disappear from his face, before handing the ladle to the girl in front of her. “All yours,” he declared, before turning to face Shiho and the Matsumotos. “Since we don’t have to clean up anymore, do you guys want to set up our tents?”

“Sure,” Hana replied. “Sooner we get that taken care of, means we don’t have to spend time doing it at night.”

“And I need to get moving cause I feel like there’s a giant weight in my stomach after eating all this curry,” Kaito agreed.

Ren and his group got up and left the pavilion, leaving the pot half-full of curry and rice behind for the other group. The girl who had asked Ren for his leftover curry scooped some curry and rice into each of her classmates’ bowls and took a mouthful.

“Oh my God, this is the best curry I’ve ever had in my entire life!”

The Next Day…

“Ooh, a soccer tournament?” Kaito asked with interest. “I wasn’t expecting one of those.”

“Me neither,” Shiho admitted. “You’d think that Ichijo-sensei would’ve organized a basketball tournament or something, since that IS his favorite sport.”

“He’s not even running this whole thing,” Ren pointed out. Indeed, it wasn’t technically Kou who had organized the tournament, but a friend of his. A young adult about the same age as Kou with light brown hair who introduced himself as Daisuke Nagase, a former alumni of Yasogami who had volunteered to be one of the chaperones for the school trip. Ren didn’t know all that much about Nagase-san, although he was clearly a close friend of Kou and was apparently friends with Yu Narukami, which was already enough to make a good impression.

“I know you guys are in groups of 4, so we’ll just combine two of them together to make groups of eight,” Daisuke announced. “I know it’s not exactly the 9 people who usually make up a soccer team, but you gotta make do with what you have, right?”

He let out a good-natured chuckle, which most of the students were happy to imitate. It certainly didn’t hurt that Daisuke Nagase was also a fairly handsome guy look Kou or Yu, so he already had the admiration of at least a few of the girls just from that alone. Daisuke, Kou, and the other teachers got to work grouping the students together in teams of 8 for their friendly soccer tournament. Ren, Shiho, and the Matsumotos found themselves standing next to another group of 4 students. Ren didn’t personally know any of the other students in their new group, but judging by the friendly conversation that one of them shared with Shiho, it seemed they were all from Kou’s basketball team.

It didn’t pass Ren’s notice that he hadn’t been explicitly grouped together with any of the friends he’d used to have at Yasogami, before they’d all abandoned him after his arrest. He wasn’t sure if that was just coincidence or luck, or if someone like Kou was silently pulling the strings to make sure that he wasn’t grouped with one of those former friends during this camping trip. Either way, he wasn’t complaining.

The new soccer teams were organized into a standard tournament bracket, where they would play against each other in traditional soccer games. Single-elimination, with the winner being whoever remained undefeated until the very end.

“I’m kinda nervous about this,” Shiho admitted as their team’s first match was announced. “I’ve never really played soccer before.”

“I play a little casually, but I don’t care enough to play it in a full team,” Hana replied over at Ren. “Have you, Amamiya-kun?” she asked.

Ren shrugged. “I’ll play any sport casually if I like it,” he replied nonchalantly. “I know the basic rules of soccer, obviously, but I don’t play it all that much.”

It was roughly the same level of experience that the other students also had, except for one who had never played the game in his life and had to be briefly taught the rules by the others. All two soon, Daisuke was calling out his team to face their opponents on the soccer field.

Ren positioned himself in front of the soccer ball. He had never been weak or unskilled at sports even before his year in Tokyo, but he had trained his body thoroughly both in the gym and in the Metaverse since he had first become Joker. He’d never actually tried to see how well that training applied to basic sports, though. “Maybe it’s time I experiment a little bit,” he thought with a smirk as he intently studied the other student facing him.

“Begin!” Daisuke called out, before blowing his whistle to signify the start of the match.

Ren immediately moved faster than anybody, on his or the opposing team, expected. He deftly swept the ball with his feet, leaving the other student in front of his stumbling, before driving forward towards the enemy goal with the ball kept protectively in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Shiho and Kaito moving up to support him while the other team tried to interceptive. But Ren’s movements were so swift, and the surprise so total, that nobody could react and reach him in time before he reached the goal. The goalie was the only one who actually had any time to react to Ren’s sudden advance, but Ren expertly faked a kick to the left before suddenly aiming the ball to the right. His kick sent the ball cleanly into the right corner of the goal as the goalie tried to block in completely the wrong direction, securing the first point of the game in just a few seconds.

Everyone stared in blank shock at Ren’s sudden and completely unexpected display of skill. “What the fuck?” Kaito spluttered, his jaw dropping in astonishment. “I thought Amamiya said he only played soccer casually!”

“He has to be lying,” Hana mumbled. “I’ve NEVER seen anyone score a goal that fast!” She turned to Shiho. “Did you know anything about this?”

The equally shocked expression on Shiho’s face made it clear that she’d been just in the dark at Ren’s unexpected soccer skills as her friends. “No,” she shook her head. “Ren never showed any interest in sports before.”

Before they could say anything, Daisuke blew his whistle and instructed them to get back into position to continue the game. It was clear from the man’s face that he was impressed by Ren’s sudden display of skill, especially since Kou hadn’t mentioned anything like this to him about Ren. The other students were just as surprised and impressed, clearly regarding Ren in a new light.

Ren knew that he probably wouldn’t be able to blitz straight to the goal a second time, now that everyone knew just what he was capable of. If he was being honest with himself, even he had been surprised by the level of skill he had just displayed. He knew that his training for the Metaverse could carry over to the real world…he just hadn’t known how much.

But he could still surprise everyone in other ways. When the opposing student charged forward with the ball (having been allowed to start with it since Ren had just scored), Ren easily swiped it. Instead of just charging forward with the ball like last time, though, he instead turned to his left, called, “Heads Up!” to Shiho, and passed the ball over to her. Once again, his opponents were blindsided, having expected Ren to just charge forward with the ball like last time.

Shiho, to her credit, quickly recovered from the surprise of getting the ball passed to her. She started kicking it forwards towards the enemy goal, though she wasn’t as nimble or as adept in controlling the ball, and she soon found herself surrounded by two opponents.

“Behind you!” Ren called out, his voice sharp and commanding with the essence of Joker. Without even thinking, Shiho obeyed the voice of her leader and kicked the ball behind her, where one of her friendly teammates was waiting to help her out. He accepted the ball and tossed it back to Ren, who passed it over to a waiting Kaito ahead of him and to the right. Kaito tried to intercept the ball, but he tripped over itself and went sailing past his feet. One of the opposing students tried to steal the ball away, but she was too zealous in going for it and ended up accidentally kicking the ball out of bounds, shifting control of the soccer ball back to Ren’s team.

“Shit…” Kaito mumbled a curse, before giving Ren an apologetic expression. His team had gotten an excellent lead thanks to Ren and he’d completely blown it. “Sorry about that, Amamiya-kun.”

Ren shrugged. “Hey, it’s no big deal,” he reassured him. “Mistakes happen, and it’s not like you’re some pro athlete or anything. Just keep trying your best.”

Kaito smiled gratefully at Ren and thanked him, the other students staring at them with surprise as Ren returned the thanks with a reassuring smile and jogged over to where the ball was waiting for him to be kicked. He kicked the ball over to Shiho, who continued on with the charge that Kaito had tried the first time. This time, more opponents tried to cut him off, as Ren no longer had the element of surprise on his side. But that was perfectly fine by him, as Hana had taken advantage of the distraction he provided to sneak past the three students and get close to the goal. With a grin that very much channeled Joker, Ren kicked the ball neatly passed them and to Hana, who now had a clear shot at the goal.

“Go for it, Hana!” Ren called out. The girl caught the ball with her feet and kicked it straight to the side. This time, the goalie did predict where the ball would come flying, but he had been too far away and was just a little too slow. He only barely made it in time for the ball to bounce off his fingertips and fly neatly into the goal.

“YES!” Kaito and Shiho both cheered as Daisuke blew the whistle, signaling yet another successful point for their team. “That’s two for us now!”

By now, even the other students on both teams were beginning to regard Ren with open respect. “I don’t believe you when you say you’ve never played soccer seriously before, Amamiya,” one of the other students on Ren’s team commented. “You’re literally the best soccer player I’ve seen in this school!”

“Yeah, why don’t you join the soccer team?” another one asked. “Or hell, any of the sports teams period? I’m pretty sure they’d love to have you!”

Ren was about to answer, when he suddenly felt a drop of liquid fall upon his head. “What the shit?” he muttered.

He and the other students barely had time to look up before the heavens suddenly burst forward, unleashing a barrage of rain into the ground. “Are you KIDDING me?” Shiho nearly yelled in frustration.

“Really?” Hana sounded just as annoyed. “We get pouring rain NOW of all times?”

“What the hell?” Kaito exclaimed. “Why didn’t that weather reporter that’s always on the news tell us about this?”

“She hasn’t been on the air for a past few days,” Shiho replied with a scowl. “So there’s no way we would’ve known about this anyways.”

Ren knew it was irrational to blame Marie for this when he hadn’t told her about the camping trip, but it didn’t make him any less annoyed. “What the hell is she even doing today to cause a downpour like this anyway?” he asked mentally.

Meanwhile, in Downtown Inaba…

Marie smirked as she walked into Aiya’s Chinese Dinner and sat down at a table. “One Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl Challenge, please,” she replied.

Mr. Nakamura nodded and got to work preparing the Mega Beef Bowl for her. Marie couldn’t help but smile in anticipation at the upcoming meal. She had been watching over Inaba for years after she had become whole, but had never once actually tried to eat the Mega Beef Bowl in all that time. Marie had figured that now was as good a time as any to finally try Inaba’s legendary meal, and so she had commanded the weather to become rainy over Inaba so that Aiya’s would be offering its special beef bowl challenge.

“Here you go, Kusumi-san!” Mr. Nakamura declared as she presented the gigantic beef bowl in front of Marie. “One Mega Beef Bowl for Inaba’s legendary weather reporter!”

“Thank you, Nakamura-san,” Marie replied politely as she lifted her spoon to give herself a large scooping of beef and rice…when suddenly, she halted. For some reason, she felt as though she had forgotten something. As though she had forgotten something rather important…and was accidentally ruining other people’s day because of it.

She shrugged and went back to focusing on her meal. “Meh,” she thought dismissively. “If I can’t remember it when I have the memory of a goddess, it couldn’t have been that important to begin with.”

Back at the Campground…

“Well this sucks,” Ren thought as he waited for the rain to stop with visible annoyance on his face. He had actually been enjoying playing soccer with Shiho and the Matsumotos…and then the rain had completely ruined it. Now he and the other students were forced under the roof of the pavilion, waiting for the rain to finally stop.

He had enjoyed the school camping trip more than he had anticipated, given the fact that he had no true friends in the school outside of Shiho. Even the Matsumotos, who he actually felt positively towards, were still more friendly acquaintances than anything else.

As he gazed out towards the rain falling down upon the outside campground, he saw out of the corner of his eye Kou and Daisuke approaching and sitting down next to him.

“Hey kid,” Daisuke greeted him first with a friendly tone. “You’re Ren Amamiya, right?”

“I am,” Ren replied, nodding politely but otherwise giving nothing away. “Is there something I can help you with, Daisuke-sensei?”

Daisuke gave a friendly and amused laugh at that. “Just call me Daisuke, kid, adding sensei makes me feel old.” He chuckled a bit before continuing. “Anyways, I saw you out there playing soccer. And holy shit, kid, you were really damn good at it. Did you ever play soccer on the school team before?”

“No,” Ren shook his head in denial. “I’ve played soccer casually before, but I never played it seriously or anything.”

If anything, Daisuke looked more impressed. “You only play that casually and you’re still that good?” He whistled. “Damn.”

“You were really impressive out there,” Kou agreed. “You’re both a really skilled player and a good leader too. I saw how you guided your other teammates and cheered up Kaito out there.”

“Have you ever considered joining one of the school’s sports teams?” Daisuke asked. “From what I saw out there, I’m pretty sure any one of them would love to have you.”

Ren shook his head. “With all due respect, Daisuke-san, I would not be a good fit for any of the teams,” he argued. “My reputation in the school is pretty terrible. It would be a complete disaster.”

Kou chuckled. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Amamiya-kun,” he countered. “I know you’re close friends with Shiho, and you seem to be getting along fairly well with the Matsumotos from what I’ve seen so far. We’d be glad to have you join, if you’re even as bit as good at basketball as you are at soccer.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve played basketball, Ichijo-sensei,” Ren answered, though he was less certain of his refusal than he had been with Daisuke. “There’s no guarantee that just because I’m good at one sport, I’d be good with another.”

“True,” Daisuke freely acknowledged. “But I can tell you’ve got an athlete’s build, Amamiya. I have a feeling that you’d be at least decent at any sport you tried, once you understand the basic rules.”

“You showed some real skill out there, both as a player and as a leader. Call it a gut instinct, but I think you’d be a real good fit on our team,” Kou added with an encouraging smile. He got up from the table, and Daisuke followed a few seconds later. “Just think about it, okay? No pressure. Up to you if you want to join the team. Nobody’s forced to do anything here.”

The two adults departed from the table, leaving Ren alone to ponder Kou’s and Daisuke’s words. Even though he wasn’t convinced yet that he should join the basketball team, or any team for that matter, he couldn’t help but just a little happier at the idea that somebody else had his back and was willing to openly compliment him for it.

Ren was completely oblivious to the fact that multiple students had watched Kou and Daisuke approach and compliment Ren on his skills…and that the glances they gave him showed just a little more respect than they had ever given to him in the past.

Chapter Text

Ren was honestly thrilled to be back in the TV World, after being out of it for so long. The camping trip had been more fun than he had expected given his overall lack of friends at Yasogami, though it had also forced him to take a few days of rest and be out of the TV World for even longer than he’d already wanted.

Thankfully, the day after he’d come back from the trip, he’d been able to reach out to Yu and confirm that pretty much all of them would be available for a TV World run. To make things even better, Shiho was also able to come as well, which pleased Ren given how much progress she’d already made with her Persona in such a short time. She was already strong enough that, with backup and support from him and the Investigation Team, she was able to clear the Heaven dungeon without any major damage or mistakes the last time she went in there.

Yu and Ren had discussed Shiho’s progress, and had decided that they would make her go through Heaven one more time before they decided to test her skills to the next level in Magatsu-Mandala. It wouldn’t be a particularly difficult expedition for Ren himself, but that was fine. Slaughtering Shadows en masse without a care in the world was a fun exercise in its own right, and Yu had made it sound like he was going to work on maximizing another Persona while they were training Shiho in Heaven.

Hiding Morgana carefully in his bag, he left his house and made his way over to the Junes Food Court. By the time he got there, everyone except Naoto and Kanji were already there, and the couple themselves showed up a few seconds later after he did.

“All right, great to see that everyone’s here,” Yu greeted them once they were all present. He turned to glance at Shiho. “Ready, Shiho? You’re at a high enough level now that if you get through Heaven without too many issues, the next time you come here we’re gonna really test your strength in Magatsu-Inaba.”

“I’m ready!” Shiho asserted. “Let’s go!”

The group got up from the tables and made their way over to the TV in Yosuke’s office, climbing into the TV World once the door was closed behind them and they made sure nobody was looking. Once they were in the garden that marked the TV World’s main safe zone, they picked up their weapons and Ren and Morgana activated their Phantom Thief transformations, turning into Joker and Mona once more.

“You want to take the lead this time, or should I?” Joker asked his fellow Wild Card. The last time they had all gotten together, Yu had officially declared that he would allow Joker to command the Investigation Team as a backup leader. As far as Yu was concerned, Joker had proven both his leadership capabilities and his raw overwhelming power many times over, and there was no other person he could trust to lead the Investigation Team more than Joker when it came to the actual art of Persona combat. Having already experienced the value of Joker’s training and witnessed him unleash incredible, devastating power firsthand, there was not a single member of the Investigation Team who didn’t support Yu’s endorsement of Joker as the Investigation Team’s backup leader.

For his part, Joker had accepted the nomination humbly, and made it abundantly clear that he would treat the Investigation Team with the same respect that he gave the Phantom Thieves (not a difficult task at all, given how close they were already) whenever Yu temporarily passed the mantle onto him. Joker would’ve done the same for Yu and the Phantom Thieves, but it wouldn’t be right to hoist a backup leader onto them when none of them besides Morgana or Haru had even met the man yet.

“I got this,” Yu reassured him, and Joker needed no further encouraging to step back and allow his older brother figure to take the reigns of command. “Let’s have me, Ren, Shiho, and…oh, I don’t know, Chie in the front to start with.”

“Hell yeah!” Chie cheered. “Let’s go kick some ass!”

The party of four made their way to the Heaven dungeon, which greeted them with a majestically crafted stone gate and a pathway that led up to it made of pure gold. Pink flowers and green ivy covered both the top of the gate itself as well as the small statues flanking the road, and rainbows cascaded from the sky in all directions. It really did give off a magnificent impression of being the Pearly Gates itself…but all the Persona users there knew the truth. The divine and blissful appearance was a façade, and the Shadows there were just as dangerous as they were in any other dungeon, even more so for the unprepared.

But unprepared was the last word that could be used to possibly describe Heaven’s latest visitors. All of them were powerful and veteran Persona users who had empowered their Personas to the greatest potential, with Joker and Yu in particular being powerful enough to obliterate entire waves of Shadows by themselves even if Yu’s Persona roster was still incomplete. Even Shiho, for how new she was compared to everyone else, had adapted really well to the art of fighting Shadows.

The team breezed through the first few floors of Heaven, easily destroying every Shadow that came across their way. Usually, the other Persona users would defer the majority of the combat to Shiho, allowing her to utilize Zheng Yi Sao’s status conditions to her advantage to inflict powerful Technical damage with her Mapsiodyne attacks to either kill Shadows outright or knock them down. Whenever, she couldn’t hit a Shadow with a Mapsiodyne attack (usually because they were immune to Psy in some way), Shiho would use the Magatama items to hit them in their appropriate weakness and pass the baton to someone else to finish the job. This usually meant the extreme and violent obliteration of the unfortunate Shadow in question, as neither Joker nor Yu hesitated to unleash their extreme, ridiculously powerful Severe-level skills whenever they got a Baton Pass from Shiho. The last Persona user in the team was more of a “filler” than anything else just to keep the rest of the team from being bored, and he or she would swap out for someone else every few battles just to give everyone a chance to get involved in some Persona combat.

They were able to make it through the first fifth floors of Heaven with absolutely no difficulty whatsoever, the brilliant blue sky transforming into a soothing golden hue as they advanced onto the fourth floor. This time around the Investigation Team decided to go out of their way to open up the chests in the TV World to show Shiho what kind of goodies and valuables they could get out of them. Joker opened up a golden chest with a key on the fifth floor, finding a Soul Food in it to his and the other’s pleasant surprise.

And then, the atmosphere of the dungeon abruptly changed…with the rattling of chains and the sound of a demonic, unholy roar.

“Ummm…guys?” Shiho asked nervously. “What the hell was that?”

“That…” Joker answered grimly, his confident smile completely gone from his face, “was the Reaper.”

“Shoot,” Rise muttered under her breath. “I completely forgot about that monstrosity.”

“The Reaper?” Shiho repeated the name, feeling a shiver run down her spine just from saying it. “What’s the Reaper?”

“The Reaper is one of the most powerful Shadows in the entire cognitive world, if not THE most powerful Shadow outside of anything that isn’t a cognitive deity,” Yu explained, his tone noticeably colder and harsher than usual. “It’s a grim-reaper like Shadow with two long barrel-like revolvers. It wears a blood-stained cloth sack on its head so nobody has ever seen its face, and it carries two chains on his shoulders that wrap around its body. It is one of the greatest dangers that could possibly exist for a Persona user, even powerful and experienced ones.”

“I don’t like the sound of this thing already,” Shiho mumbled. “What makes it so dangerous?”

“The Reaper has access to every single Heavy elemental skill,” Naoto explained, the dark look in her eyes betraying her seemingly tranquil voice, “both for hitting single Persona users and attacking an entire team. Not only that, but it’s intelligent enough to identify and specifically target those weaknesses, so the only people who can approach the Reaper with consistent safety are Yu, Joker, and myself. Even in the hypothetical situation where nobody has any weaknesses to attack, the Reaper has access to skills that can negate immunities. It also has access to Vorpal Blade, One-Shot Kill, and Riot Gun, all of which deal Severe Physical and Gun damage respectively. And it has complete immunity to status conditions, so there’s no way to stop it from attacking.”

Shiho’s jaw dropped in horrified disbelief. “You’re shitting me!” she exclaimed. “The Reaper is able to do all of that?”

“All of that?” Yosuke repeated with a mirthless laugh. “Shiho, we’re not even finished talking about what it can do yet. If you thought all that was bad enough, it can Concentrate to really power up its magical attacks…and it also knows how to cast Megidolaon. You know, that same severe Almighty damage spell that Ren’s Satanael throws around to nuke the everloving crap out of any Shadow that gets in his way?”

“You also forgot to mention that the Reaper moves twice per turn,” Yukiko helpfully added. “So if one is particularly unlucky, it may choose to empower itself with Concentrate…and then follow it with a Megidolaon immediately afterwards.”

By now, Shiho was unconsciously doing a magnificent impression of a goldfish, as her mind struggled to comprehend the sheer levels of bullshit that the Reaper was capable of.

“And to top it all off, the Reaper knows both types of insta-kill spells,” Morgana warned, “and it uses them all the time. In fact, that’s probably the most dangerous ability the Reaper has to anybody who isn’t Joker, Yu, or Naoto. Even if you survive everything else, even if you think you have it on the ropes, one stray Mudoon or Hamaon and suddenly we’re down a party member.”

“So how the hell is anybody supposed to beat that monster?” Shiho asked incredulously. “It sounds like the most overpowered thing ever!”

“Oh, it’s not nearly as unbeatable as you think it is,” Joker reassured her, the confidence already returning to his voice. “My team has beaten it several times, actually.”

“So has mine,” Yu supplied. “The Reaper might be dangerous to most Persona users, but to someone like me or Ren who has a ton of insanely powerful Personas with no weaknesses and complete immunities to Bless and Curse? The Reaper can’t really do all that much damage to either of us unless it uses something along the lines of a charged Megidolaon, which I’ve personally survived before.”

“It also has a tendency to waste turns on Break skills,” Joker added. “Which sounds dangerous in theory, but in practice gives us free time to either get in extra attacks or support each other depending on what we need to do.”

“That’s all well and good, but the Reaper can be a major threat to even experienced Persona users,” Morgana interrupted, “and while Shiho might have made a lot of progress, she’s still way too weak to fight the Reaper.”

“Good point,” Joker acknowledged, turning to Yu. “How long do we have until the Reaper shows up?”

Yu gave Joker a puzzled look. “What do you mean by how long, Ren?” he asked.

“In the Metaverse, the Reaper always showed up roaming Mementos if we spent too long on a single floor,” Joker explained. “It would start hunting us down, and whenever we heard its chains we knew that that meant it was time to get the hell out of that floor as soon as possible…” he suddenly smirked, “at least until we were all in the level 80-90 range. Then it was time to gear up and kick its ass for a ton of free EXP and money.”

Yu shook his head. “That’s not how the Reaper works in the TV World,” he replied, before shuddering. “Thank God, because I’m sure it would’ve hunted us down several times over if it did.”

“Huh?” Now it was Joker’s turn to be puzzled. “Does the Reaper work differently in the TV World?”

“Yeah,” Kanji answered for his leader. “It hides in one of the chests, waiting to attack anybody who opens it. The bastard never comes to us, we’re the ones who have to go to it.”

“It took us a while to figure out how the Reaper operated, but we’ve figured it out,” Naoto added. “After we open 21 chests in the TV World, in any order and in any dungeon, the Reaper will manifest and hide itself in one of the chests. It will only ever be a normal chest, it cannot be a locked Golden one. If anyone is unfortunate to open the chest containing the Reaper, they will be forced to battle it.” She smiled thinly. “Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on whether you’re trying to avoid the Reaper or fight it on purpose, the Reaper will disappear if another harmless chest is open, or the person leaves the floor that it is currently in.”

“So all we need to do to avoid the Reaper is not open the chest it’s in and get the hell out of here?” Joker asked for clarification. When everyone else nodded, he shrugged. “Oh, okay. That doesn’t sound too bad then.”

“We should go on to the next floor then, right?” Teddie asked.

To everyone’s surprise, Joker shook his head. “No. No, I don’t think so.” He suddenly smirked. “I think I want to fight the Reaper right now.”

Everyone stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “Wait, WHAT?” Yosuke exclaimed. “Didn’t you literally JUST say that Shiho was too weak to fight the Reaper? I mean yeah, we have Revival Beads and shit, but she’s just going to get her ass kicked over and over again!”

“Oh, I’m not saying Shiho should actually fight the Reaper this time,” Joker clarified. “I’m saying she should watch a Reaper fight from the sidelines so that she can get see firsthand what peak Persona combat truly looks like.”

The Investigation Team looked at each other as they pondered Joker’s words. “You know what?” Chie suddenly grinned. “I’m down! It’s been such a long time since I kicked the Reaper’s ass!”

“Ooh, ooh, can I fight him this time?” Teddie begged. “Pleeeeeeeeease?”

“That works for me,” Yu agreed with a smile. “Let’s have Shiho move to the back so she doesn’t get targeted by the Reaper, and we can have Chie and Teddie up in the front with me and Ren.” He glanced over at Joker. “That sound good to you?”

“Sounds perfect,” the leader of the Phantom Thieves replied.

“Then let’s show Shiho what it means to fight Death itself,” Yu declared. They searched the floor of the Dungeon until they found a seemingly innocuous chest in an isolated room that looked no different from the countless others they had seen. But the moment Shiho laid eyes upon it, she felt a cold shiver of dread crawl down her spine. There was something about the chest that horrified her all the way down to her very soul, not helped by the sounds of rattling chains and demonic roars that echoed around them like the judgment of death itself. There wasn’t a single Shadow to be seen in the room, yet the sense of danger around them was heightened in a way that Shiho had never felt before.

If there was any possible doubt, Rise’s words completely destroyed it a few seconds later. “He’s here,” she confirmed grimly. “The Reaper’s in this chest.”

“Stay back,” Joker warned Shiho. “If you’re too close to the fighting, then the Reaper might decide to target you.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” she muttered, edging away to the entrance of the little chamber they were in while still being close enough to get a good view.

Yu pulled the lid of the chest open, and immediately they felt the room they were in transform into an arena as the Reaper emerged with the clanging of chains and an unholy roar. Shiho gasped in horror at the sight of the Reaper, who looked even more grotesque and terrifying than she had imagined from Yu’s description. Joker, Yu, Teddie, and Chie approached it, surrounding it from all sides as they prepared to battle it. Joker and Yu were thankfully both faster than it, and they wasted not time casting a Thermopylae from Alilat and a Debilitate from Trumpeter respectively.

Shiho was half-expecting Chie and Teddie to go next since they had outsped every Shadow they had fought so far, but the Reaper went before either of them. It raised one of its guns and fired into the air, empowering itself with a Concentrate. Then, just as Yukiko had warned, it immediately followed with another attack, casting a Maragidyne to target Chie’s weakness to Fire.

Columns of roaring flame immediately erupted from the ground, far stronger than any attack Shiho had seen from any Shadow so far. Joker and Yu didn’t even bother to dodge as their current Personas both drained Fire, but Teddie ended up getting scorched by the flames although he didn’t get burned. Chie was able to neatly dodge the pillar of flame the Reaper sent her way thanks to her innate Evade Fire ability, but Shiho had little doubt that even with the buff on Chie and the debuff on the Reaper, the Maragidyne would have done major damage to her if she had been hit by it. It had been enough to do noticeable damage to Teddie even without a Fire weakness, although thankfully he hadn’t been seriously wounded either.

“I’ve got your back, Yu!” Chie called out as she tossed an Earth Beans towards him, giving him a free Charge.

“Don’t forget me!” Teddie cheerfully added throwing a Star Onion at Joker to give him a free Concentrate.

“Wonderful,” Joker thanked him with a grin. “I think I’ll show this thing what firepower really means.” He grabbed his mask and ripped it off his face. “Mada, BLAZING HELL!”

The monstrous sapphire colossus manifested behind Joker and extended its arms out towards the Reaper, transforming the ground underneath the Shadow into the now-familiar molten crater of boiling lava and hellish flames. Even from a distance, Shiho could easily tell the difference between the two different Fire spells…just as she could tell that as powerful as the Reaper’s Concentrated Maragidyne had been, it didn’t hold a candle in power when compared to Joker’s Blazing Hell.

Shiho was hoping that the Reaper would’ve been utterly incinerated by Joker’s Blazing Hell, but to her surprise and disbelief, the Reaper seemed to be only mildly affected by the overwhelmingly powerful attack that Joker had unleashed. It was still a respectable amount of damage and certainly more than anything Shiho could ever dream of accomplishing by herself, but the fact that the attack only mildly damaged the Reaper when it could effortlessly destroy any other Shadow with ease spoke volumes as to how powerful the Reaper really was.

Yet none of the other Persona users fighting the Reaper right now seemed remotely bothered by the relative lack of damage Joker inflicted upon it. It was now Yu’s turn to attack, and what he unleashed was arguably even more impressive than Mada’s Blazing Hell. “Yoshitsune!” he shouted, summoning his mystical blue card in his hand and crushing it, “HASSOU TOBI!”

The legendary Japanese general materialized behind Yu and lunged at the Reaper, slashing at the mighty Shadow with slashes that were so powerful and devastating that they briefly tore apart reality itself, leaving behind a blood red wheel of death and destruction that covered the entire arena as he sliced at the Reaper 8 times. The attack was somehow even more powerful than Joker’s already devastating Blazing Hell, and it certainly did some noticeable damage to the Reaper. Yet even the might of a Hassou Tobi wasn’t enough to fell the monster, doing somewhere between a fifth and a fourth of its health when combined with Joker’s Blazing Hell from earlier.

It was the Reaper’s turn to attack again, and he fired his guns into the air once more. Brilliant blue circles that Shiho recognized as Nuclear energy materialized around each of the Persona users, focusing around them for a few seconds before dissolving with the sound of shattering glass. The Persona users grimaced as the spell struck them. It hadn’t done any direct damage to them, but Yu and Joker both felt their inherent immunities to Nuke dissolve on both of their Personas thanks to the Reaper’s Nuke Break attack. The Reaper then followed up by facing Teddie and casting Mudoon upon him. Joker was honestly expecting the cursed straw-doll surrounded by bloody hands to appear in front of Teddie, but instead what materialized was a circular sigil made of dark purple magic, surrounded by unholy purple flames. Teddie snickered with amusement as the Mudoon washed harmlessly over him, not affecting him in the slightest thanks to Kamui-Moshiri’s inherent immunity to Curse.

“Bit of a nothing turn there,” Yosuke commented, feeling much less worried now that they were a safe distance away from the Reaper. “It just turned off a resist and failed a Mudoon on Teddie.”

“Sometimes the Reaper does random useless shit like this,” Kanji added, before scowling. “But other times it lets off enough firepower to seriously fuck up anyone that isn’t Ren or Yu.”

“I can imagine,” Shiho replied with a shudder.

Before anybody could say anything there, Rise suddenly descended from the heavens, her Persona following a few seconds later. “Persona!” she called out, as Kouzeon manifested behind her and lifted her hand to the sky, letting out a pulse of light that washed over her teammates. Immediately, all of them felt the power of both Charge and Concentrate flow through them at once, since Rise had no need to empower them in other ways with Ren’s Thermopylae already active.

“Oh, hell yeah!” Chie whooped. “Thanks, Rise. Haraedo-no-okami, GOD’S HAND!” She called out, materializing a mystical blue card in front of her and kicking it. Haraedo-no-okami materialized behind her, spinning her double-bladed sword and summoning a giant golden hand to fly around her and smash into the Reaper. Teddie followed through by summoning Kamui-Moshiri and unleashing a Concentrated Bufudyne on the Reaper.

Both attacks might have been devastating to most Shadows, but once again the Reaper demonstrated his durability. The God’s Hand and Bufudyne certainly damaged it to a degree, but it was less than what Joker or Yu had accomplished, and the Reaper seemed to treat the attacks as minor annoyances more than anything. “Geez, no wonder you guys are so worried about this thing,” Shiho murmured. “Like, I’m pretty sure Ren and Yu can kick its ass without a problem, but the Reaper looks like it takes forever for the rest of us to kill with how little damage Chie and Teddie are doing to it.”

“Yu was always the one doing the heavy lifting against the Reaper whenever we fought it,” Yukiko acknowledged. “I was probably the most powerful Persona user in our team after him because of Burning Petals and Mind Charge, but even I know that if I get hit by even one Ice attack from the Reaper, I’d be in big trouble. What makes the Reaper so dangerous to regular Persona users is that we have to not only damage it with heavy attacks repeatedly, but also avoid somehow getting hit by weaknesses a single time while doing it.” She shook her head. “Without a Wild Card to lead us, a fight against the Reaper would be a lot more perilous for us even at the heights of our power.”

“Speaking of height of power,” Naoto interrupted. “I believe Ren and Yu are about to attack again. Let’s see what they choose to attack with this time.”

Everyone’s eyes turned back to the battle, where this time Joker was the one who summoned a Yoshitsune and unleashed a devastating Hassou Tobi on the Reaper. Given that both Yu and Ren’s Yoshitsunes had the exact same (maximized) stats, it was of little surprise to anyone that Ren’s Hassou Tobi proved just as destructive to the Reaper’s health as Yu’s. Yu smirked as he watched Yoshitsune slice at the Reaper with his blades, for he had already decided what Persona he was going to attack next with.

“Come forth, Kaguya!” he called out. “SHINING ARROWS!”

Everyone gasped as the graceful rainbow-colored celestial maiden of moonlight manifested behind Yu, a truly beautiful Persona that only Joker, Rise, Kanji, and Teddie had seen before. Kaguya pointed her hand towards the Reaper and summoned multiple arrows made of brilliant yellow light, which she fired at the Reaper in a relentless volley. The Persona users who hadn’t seen Kaguya already watched, stunned, as she attacked the Reaper with no less than seven arrows. Even though she hadn’t managed to get the full 8 attacks, it was still an awe-inspiring and wondrous sight to witness such a beautiful and otherworldly Persona attack the Reaper with a Bless skill powerful enough to rival Hassou Tobi itself. The last brilliant yellow arrow struck the Reaper, now causing it to become visibly infuriated at the damage that it had received. One look at the Reaper’s health with a helpful scan from Rise confirmed that after Yu’s attack, the Reaper had lost just over half of its total health.

The Reaper seemed to recognize that it was losing the fight, too, for he started to become more aggressive with its attacks. It fired its gun into the air, unleashing a Mahamaon onto the entire team. Immediately the entire ground was covered a holy symbol made of brilliant yellow-light, with mystical Japanese kanjis written within its boundaries and floating into the air along with holy rectangular symbols on each corner of the square. The symbol exploded in a flash of Bless energy, and while three of the Persona users were completely immune to the Bless damage, Teddie was unable to avoid it in time. Fortunately for him, Joker and Yu had a few Homunculus dolls in their inventory, and a Homunculus destroyed itself taking the insta-kill damage for Teddie instead.

“So THAT’S why you had those creepy doll things with you!” Shiho exclaimed. “To keep yourself safe from instakills like that!”

“Indeed, you are quite correct,” Naoto confirmed. “Instakill spells are one of the few things that are ALWAYS dangerous in the Metaverse no matter how powerful you are or how high your level is. Ren and Yu don’t have to worry about them because they placed immunities to Bless and Curse on all of their Personas, and my Persona inherently reflects both. But everyone else can get hit by one or both, and if you don’t have backup or the right tools to protect yourself, you are always at risk for instant death.”

“I’ve been hit by them before, and I can tell you right now, getting hit by them SUCKS,” Yosuke complained.

“Rise actually used to protect all of us whenever we got hit by instakills like Mahamaon even before we could use the Homunculi,” Yukiko remarked. “Her desire to protect all of us at the first opportunity truly is admirable, but it didn’t really make sense from a strategic perspective. Yu convinced her to only come down to protect us only after we’ve used up all the Homunculi and Scapegoat Eggplants we already have.”

Shiho didn’t have time to respond, for the Reaper launched another attack and fired off multiple explosions of pure Nuke energy that struck the entire team. Joker and Yu were no longer immune to Nuke attacks because of the Reaper’s earlier Nuke Break, but they still managed to dodge effortlessly out of the way. However, both Chie and Teddie were hit by the Mafreidyne, and while neither of them suffered severe damage from the attack, just looking at the nuclear explosions made Zheng Yi Sao recoil inside her. Shiho’s weakness to Nuclear meant that no matter how weak a Nuclear attack might be, just getting hit by one would cause her a unique type of pain. And one look at the Reaper’s powerful Mafreidyne was all Shiho needed to know that if she ever got hit by one of those from the Reaper, she’d get all of her health wiped out in just one attack. “Seeing that Mafreidyne really puts it into perspective just how dangerous the Reaper is to me,” she muttered. “And you said the Reaper targets weaknesses, right?”

“Yeah, he does,” Yosuke confirmed.

Shiho rolled her eyes. “Great, just what I want to hear.”

“Don’t be too discouraged, though,” Yukiko replied reassuringly. “Because no matter how dangerous the Reaper might be for us, Ren and Yu can more than pick up the slack.”

Chie kicked her card again, summoning another Haraedo-no-okami to fire a Bufudyne at the Reaper. The attack seemed much weaker than Teddie’s, and both the Reaper and its health barely seemed to notice the damage, leading to Shiho to assume she’d used it more to not waste Rise’s Concentrate blessing than anything else. Teddie summoned Kamui-Moshiri to heal the team with a Mediarahan, as everyone had suffered some degree of damage from either the Reaper’s attacks or their own HP costs.

Joker took off his mask and summoned a new Persona behind him that Shiho hadn’t seen before. An androgynous Hindu deity with one half of their body being tan and the other half being brown. The being also had four arms, one of which carried a small metal scepter while another one carried a flower. “Ardha!” Joker bellowed. “COSMIC FLARE!”

Ardha kissed the flower briefly before extending it towards the Reaper. Suddenly, an incredibly powerful pulse of Nuclear energy blasted through the entire battlefield. As it passed through the Reaper, it erupted into a devastating explosion far larger than any Freidyne Shiho had ever seen, radiating destructive energy like it was a miniature star. Zheng Yi Sao recoiled from the very presence of the Cosmic Flare as she sensed the power of a Nuclear attack that put the Reaper’s already impressive Freidyne to deep and everlasting shame. The Cosmic Flare proved to be just as damaging to the Reaper’s health as Mada’s Blazing Hell had been, and Shiho didn’t need to be told that if she ever got hit by one of Joker’s Cosmic Flares then she might as well kiss her ass goodbye.

“I don’t remember seeing THAT one before!” Yosuke exclaimed.

“It must be a Persona Ren hasn’t shown us yet,” Yukiko remarked. “They looked like a Hindu deity based on what I saw. I can’t tell if they’re male or female, though.”

Kanji shrugged. “Probably both,” he replied nonchalantly, stating the simple solution as Yu fired another charged Hassou Tobi at the Reaper, reducing its health to under a quarter with the Japanese general’s eight slash combo of death. By now the Reaper was looking significantly worn down, sagging in the air as it struggled to keep itself afloat.

But that didn’t mean the Reaper was any less dangerous, far from it. The Reaper raised its guns and fired them into the air. Immediately, a vicious storm of raw kinetic energy fell from the sky and crashed onto the battlefield, an attack that seemed noticeably more powerful than the elemental attacks the Reaper had been firing earlier. And for the first time, everyone was hit by the attack, and while Joker and Yu seemed to merely shrug it off, it noticeably (though thankfully not seriously) wounded Chie and Teddie.

But that wasn’t the only trick the Reaper had left to play. For the powerful Shadow fired off another attack, this time unleashing a fucking Megidolaon onto the entire battlefield. Everyone was caught in the wake of the Almighty explosion, but it was much more unpleasant to see her teammates on the receiving end of a powerful Almighty attack. Thankfully, it wasn’t a Concentrated attack, so neither Joker nor Yu was seriously injured by the blast. Chie and Teddie were a bit worse off, with their health being somewhere between a third and a half, although thankfully neither of them seemed like they were in immediate danger of being wiped out, instakill attacks notwithstanding.

Thankfully, help came in the form of Rise again, who descended from the sky a second time to grant her teammates another Charge/Concentrate buff. “Chie!” Yu called out to her. “Can you give us a Dragon Hustle?”

“Got it, Yu!” Chie replied, kicking her card and summoning Haraedo-no-okami to do exactly that. Unlike Joker’s Thermopylae, Chie’s Dragon Hustle buff manifested as a majestic mystical golden dragon flying around each Persona member, imbuing them with the power and aura of a dragon. The overall effect was exactly the same as Thermopylae, though, which left Teddie free to fire a Concentrated Bufudyne at the Reaper to get some more damage in.

“Joker, if you don’t mind, would you mind doing the Hassou Tobi this time?” Yu politely requested. “I want to show off a new Persona, just like you did.”

“Got it,” Joker nodded and fired off a charged Hassou Tobi with Yoshitsune, slicing the Reaper apart yet again. By now, the Shadow representing Death had only a small amount of health remaining, enough that Shiho could guess that one more powerful Severe attack or Hassou Tobi could finally destroy the monster.

Yu smiled as the mystical blue card appeared in his hand. “I’ve wanted to show this Persona off to you guys ever since I finally made him,” he declared, his voice somehow sounding both soft yet loud enough that everyone could hear him. “He’s the latest Persona I made, and yet also one that should be very familiar to all of you who fought with me when we solved the Foggy Day Murders. A Persona who is the same as he has always been, yet slightly different thanks to the unique friendship I have with Ren. I have a Persona who represents my growth into the man I’ve become, but this one represents the man I’ve always been.” He crushed the card in his hand. “Allow me to introduce, IZANAGI PICARO!” he shouted the name to the sky.

Everyone gasped as the original form of the Japanese creator god manifested behind Yu. “Whoa…” Yosuke breathed.

“Incredible,” Naoto murmured. “Yu’s very first Persona, its power and potential finally maximized. We all knew just how powerful Izanagi-no-okami was, but I didn’t think Yu would ever make regular Izanagi just as strong!”

“Wait a sec…” Kanji squinted at the Persona. “Doesn’t Izanagi look a little…different to you guys? I could’ve sworn it just wore a gray jacket back when Yu first had it.”

“Yeah…” Shiho’s eyes widened as she inexplicably recognized the outfit that Izanagi was wearing. It was still a gray jacket, but the gray had been overshadowed by the red and black checkerboard pattern spread all over the uniform…a pattern that Shiho was all too familiar with. “Why the hell is a Japanese creator god Persona wearing a freaking SHUJIN uniform of all things?”

All eyes turned to her. “Wait…” Yukiko blinked. “Isn’t Shujin the school you used to go to…and where Ren went for the past year?”

“Yeah,” Shiho answered, shaking her head. “I never thought I’d see a Persona wearing a school uniform. That just seems surreal.”

“That must be what Yu was talking about when he said his Persona was slightly different thanks to Ren,” Yosuke guessed.

“Guys, shut up!” Kanji hissed. “Yu’s about to attack with Izanagi!”

“It’s time to end this!” Yu declared. “Izanagi Picaro, WILD THUNDER!”

Izanagi spread his arms wide, sweeping his glaive from side to side. Immediately, the same cascade of mighty blue thunderbolts that Joker’s Odin could summon tore into existence, shredding and drowning the battlefield with raw and overwhelming electrical energy. The attack was just as powerful as anything Joker’s Odin was capable of…and it was enough to obliterate what was left of the Reaper’s health. The Reaper dissolved silently into wisps of black ash, having finally been defeated after all of the brutal punishment that it had endured at the hands of the Persona users. The only evidence it had left of its existence was a mystical and divine golden robe that seemed to emanate both power and soothing comfort in equal measure. A complete contradiction to the hideous and ghastly monster that had left it behind.

“Oh my God!” Chie gushed. “Yu, you made Izanagi again! That is SO COOL!”

“Sensei is the best!” Teddie cheered.

Joker grinned at his fellow Wild Card. “I think it’s only fitting that you finish off the Reaper with your very first Persona, juiced up to be at its most powerful. Great to see him finally in action after all the work we put in!”

“I was there when you guys made him!” Rise’s voice chimed in from around them. “I think it’s so cool that Yu’s Izanagi has a bit of influence from Ren. It really gives off the sense that the two of you are fighting together!”

“Is that why Izanagi’s wearing a Shujin uniform?” Shiho asked.

Joker nodded. “That’s the only reason I can think of, cause it doesn’t make sense otherwise.”

“There’s another reason why Izanagi Picaro’s better than what he used to be,” Yu added. “Take a look at my elemental resistances.”

Everyone took a look at them (courtesy of a helpful info send from Rise), and their eyes widened. “He blocks Electric attacks now!” Yosuke exclaimed. “Didn’t he used to only resist them?”

“Exactly,” Yu affirmed. “For some reason, Izanagi with the Picaro influence straight-up blocks Electric attacks rather than only resist them. It’s especially helpful since I don’t need to waste a skill slot on Draining Electric attacks so that I don’t get hit with my own attacks.”

“Figuring out the way to get Mighty Gaze on Izanagi Picaro was a pain in the ass,” Joker admitted. “But once we figured it out, the rest was easy. Maximize Wild Thunder’s power and toss in the rest with immunities, you guys should know the drill by now.”

“Very impressive,” Naoto complimented. “Certainly a worthy addition to your roster of Persona’s, Yu.”

“Thank you,” Yu replied gratefully, before turning to Shiho. “And this was the first time you witnessed a battle against the Reaper. Any thoughts you’d like to share?”

“It was…intense,” Shiho admitted after a few seconds of silent thought. “Even from back here, I could see and feel just how powerful the Reaper’s attacks were. That Mafreidyne in particular…if I’d gotten hit by that the way I am right now, I’d be completely screwed. Even besides that, the Reaper’s got so many dangerous attacks I have to worry about. Those instakill skills, Megidolaon, even that one weird attack before the Megidolaon that I don’t know the name of.” She tilted her head. “What’s that attack again?”

“It’s Riot Gun,” Joker explained. “A Severe Gun attack that hits every enemy at once. A really nasty attack to get hit by, and probably one of the Reaper’s most dangerous attacks outside of Megidolaon since very few things are immune to Gun naturally.”

Shiho winced. “Yeah, it looked like it hurt for even you guys.”

Joker shrugged. “Not all that badly, but I did definitely feel it,” he replied nonchalantly.

“In all seriousness, Shiho,” Yu continued in a solemn tone, “the Reaper is one of the biggest reasons why Persona users should never fight in the TV World alone. You saw how much of a threat it posed to Chie and Teddie, and they’re seasoned veterans who had natural immunities to one of the instakill elements. Not to mention that the Reaper was still a serious threat despite us being buffed and the Reaper being crippled in all stats. If you stumble across the Reaper alone and get drawn into a fight with it, I guarantee that you won’t live to tell the tale.”

Shiho shuddered. “I completely believe you,” she assured them. “If I ever had the slightest idea of going into the TV World alone, seeing that Reaper fight completely killed that urge.”

Yu nodded, then smiled. “But don’t be too discouraged, Shiho. Once you’re strong enough, you too will be at a level where you can fight the Reaper and stand your ground, just like Chie and Teddie did.”

“Hell yeah!” Kanji agreed with a smirk. “We’ve all helped to kick the Reaper’s ass at one point. And with both Ren AND Yu here, shit’s easier than ever!”

“Fighting the Reaper gives you such a rush!” Chie exclaimed enthusiastically. “It might be scary, but it’s also super exciting too!”

“All of the Phantom Thieves have helped fight and beat the Reaper at different points too,” Joker added. “If you’re at the right power level, it’s not nearly as bad as you might think.”

“Then I’ll keep training then,” Shiho declared, determination burning in her soul as Zheng Yi Sao nodded approvingly within her, not willing to back down from a challenge. “I’ll get to a point where I can help beat the Reaper without being dead weight, just like everyone else!”

“That’s the spirit!” Yu replied encouragingly. “Now let’s climb through the rest of Heaven. Because if you can clear Heaven this time without too many issues, your next dungeon is going to be Magatsu-Inaba.” His eyes darkened ever so slightly. “And I can tell you with absolute certainty that THAT dungeon isn’t one for the unprepared.”

Shiho nodded, and they proceeded to traverse through the rest of the celestial dungeon. Yet whenever she didn’t have to focus all of her concentration on fighting the Shadows of Heaven, her mind kept going back to the Reaper and the fight her friends had with it. The Reaper had been a terrifying monstrosity that horrified her in a way that no other Shadow had, and even now she felt fear just at the mere memory of it. But there was also a strange sense of anticipation mixed with that fear. She was scared of the Reaper, yes, but she wanted to conquer that fear too.

One day, she would have the power to fight the Reaper on equal footing with the rest of the Investigation Team. The Wild Cards would forever and always blow her out of the water in terms of both power and versatility (and Shiho had no delusions that this would ever change), but as long as she could hold her own like Chie and Teddie had, that was good enough for her.

“One day, it’ll happen,” Shiho promised, both to herself and to Zheng Yi Sao. “One day.”

Chapter Text

“Did you guys understand what I was trying to say?” Ren asked Hana and Kaito as he pointed to the answer to the equation that he had just solved for them.

“You have no idea,” Hana replied with a huge sigh of relief. “This never made sense to me until you explained it just now.”

“I know!” Kaito eagerly agreed. “It’s like the way you explained it clicked a switch in my head and suddenly the whole concept makes a lot more sense now! Thank you, Amamiya-kun!”

Ren smiled indulgently. “No problem,” he replied. “There was a time when I didn’t understand this crap either. I had a senior at my high school Tokyo, a really smart girl, who helped me figure it out too.” He was of course talking about Makoto, but although he was actually starting to like the Matsumotos, he wasn’t going to just hand away information that could potentially give away the identities of the Phantom Thieves for free.

“I still can’t believe you’re giving this tutoring hour to us completely for free,” Hana gratefully added. “I honestly thought you were going to make this count towards one of the 3 hours you were going to give us.”

Ren smirked. “Here’s the thing, though,” he pointed out. “This isn’t a study session meant for you, it was intended for Shiho. It’s still technically her time, it just so happens that she wanted me to focus on topics that you guys needed help with instead.”

Next to him, Shiho smiled knowingly as Ren explained the loophole. She knew all about Ren’s complete lack of concern towards Yasogami’s student body and his public declaration that he would only provide a limited amount of free help to the Matsumotos before demanding payment for any future tutoring. Yet clearly, Ren liked the Matsumotos enough that he was willing to bend his normally rigid adherence to his word to provide them extra help for free, even if he had only done it at her request.

Ren looked at his watch. “Okay, it’s getting late,” he realized, before closing his books. “I was just about to call it quits for today anyway.” He glanced over at the Matsumotos. “You two are good to go home by yourselves?”

“Yeah, our parents are waiting for us,” Kaito answered as he stuffed his books into his backpack and picked it up. “We can get home no problem.”

“Thanks again for the help!” Hana added cheerfully.

Ren waved them off as the two Matsumotos left his house, leaving just him and Shiho there. “Do you need a lift home?” he asked her. “I can call someone like Chie or Yu to give you a ride if you need it.”

Shiho shook her head. “No, I’ve got a ride. But I did want to ask you something.”

“Sure,” Ren invited. “What about?”

“You know how I’m on Yasogami’s basketball team, right?” Shiho asked.

“Yeah,” Ren affirmed. “That’s how you’re friends with Kaito and Hana.”

Shiho nodded, before sighing. “The thing is…one of the members of our basketball team got into an accident a few days ago. He’s been stuck in the hospital for the past few days.”

Ren winced. Just because he might not have cared about the other students of Yasogami High School on a personal level, didn’t mean he actively wished or enjoyed hearing about harm on anyone who wasn’t a hated and personal enemy like Kamoshida or Shido. “Sorry to hear about that,” he replied sympathetically. “Is he all right?”

“He’s gonna make a complete recovery,” Shiho reassured him. “So that’s not what I’m worried about. The problem is that we have a basketball game against another school in three days, and we don’t have anybody who can take his spot right now. The other two sub players are going to be out of town and can’t fill in either. If we can’t find someone to sub in for him, we’re gonna have to forfeit the game.”

By now, Ren could already see where this was going. “You’re asking me if I’d be willing to sub in for that one player in the hospital,” he guessed.

Shiho smiled sheepishly. “It’d really help the team out if you could, Ren. I was paying attention to how you played soccer at that camping trip, Ren. You were really, REALLY good at it, even though you pretty much admitted that you don’t play the sport at all. Like, I honestly think you’re better than most of the ACTUAL soccer players in the school.”

“You know there’s a couple of practical problems with what you’re suggesting?” Ren pointed out. “For one, even though I’m familiar with the rules, I’ve only ever played basketball casually at most. And second, I’m only friends with you, the Matsumotos, and I guess Ichijo-sensei if we’re counting adults. I have no idea who the rest of the basketball team is, and if they do know about me in the first place they’re probably scared as shit of me.”

Shiho wasn’t deterred. “When you played soccer casually you blew everyone else out of the water,” she countered. “And I know you don’t pay attention to what people say about you at school because you don’t care about their opinions in the slightest, but people were actually really impressed with how you played soccer at the camping trip. Especially when both Ichijo-sensei AND Nagase-san complimented you on your skills. There are quite a few people who want to see you join one of Yasogami’s sports teams just because of how good you are. The basketball team VERY much included.”

Ren raised an eyebrow at that. Like Shiho had said, he had pretty much completely ignored all of the rumors and opinions of the Yasogami student body. So, he had no idea that there were positive whispers about him now among the negative ones. An admittedly interesting development, although not big enough to meaningfully change his perspective.

“We would REALLY appreciate you helping us out, Ren,” Shiho pleaded on behalf of her team. “Just for this one time, at the very least.”

Ren sighed. “Fine, Shiho.” Her face immediately brightened, but Ren wasn’t quite finished. “But I want to make it clear that this is ONLY for that upcoming game specifically,” he added sternly, “and that I don’t have any obligation to the basketball team beyond that. I’m also only going to work with the other team members solely in the interest of winning the game, and I’m not going there to make friends with anybody that I’m not interested in making friends with.”

Shiho grinned. “That’s all I can ask for, Ren.” She gave him a quick hug. “Thank you so much for helping us out when we needed it. Ichijo-sensei will be thrilled when I tell him the good news!”

Ren couldn’t help himself. He smiled too. “When’s the next practice?”

“Tomorrow, after school,” Shiho replied immediately. “In the gym.”

Ren chuckled. “Then I guess I’ll see you then.” Shiho smiled back and immediately reached for her phone to send a group text to the rest of her team. As she sent them the message, Ren couldn’t help but laugh wryly to himself.

It really was amazing just how much he followed in Yu’s footsteps, and it looked like he was going to add yet another way to the list.

The Next Day, After School…

The moment the last classes, Ren beelined straight to the gym and changed into the school’s basketball clothes. When he got to the gym, Kou and a few other basketball players (including Shiho and both Matsumotos) were already there. Shiho brightened noticeably at seeing Ren arrive, and both Kaito and Hana smiled once they saw him. Kou was also pleased to see him. As for the rest of the team, their reactions were more varied. Some were smiling in appreciation, while others were giving more neutral, careful, or measured gazes towards him.

Still, Ren was a little surprised to see that basically all of the basketball team was giving him at least some measure of respect for stepping up on their behalf…even if that respect was given through nothing more than a single nod.

“Thank you for helping us out, Ren,” Kou began once the rest of the team had arrived. “Your volunteering here really helps us out.”

Ren nodded. “So I’ve heard,” he replied politely.

Kou turned to the rest of the team. “Everyone, this is Ren Amamiya. He has generously volunteered to substitute for Osuke while he recovers in the hospital. Please give him a warm welcome.”

The basketball team did as they were instructed with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Although, one girl who looked like a second year was a bit more hesitant. “Is something the matter, Akari?” Kou asked.

“Umm…does Amamiya-kun actually know how to play basketball?” she asked. “It doesn’t really help us out much for him to volunteer if he doesn’t actually know how to play the game.”

It was a valid concern, and one that deserved to be acknowledged. “I’m familiar with the rules,” Ren explained, “and I have played the game before. That’s as far as my experience goes, though.”

Akari shrugged. “For subbing a single game, that’s good enough, honestly,” she replied. “Heck, if nothing else, we could just have you stand in the same spot and just try to catch any balls the other team tries to pass you. We’ve had people who’ve never actually made a single shot in their life but still helped the team out in other ways before.”

“Let’s take a few moments to see where Ren’s skill level actually is,” Kou suggested. “And then we can figure out how he fits best in the team.”

Nobody had any reason to disagree, and the team separated to practice different skills based on Kou’s instructions. Ren found himself with Shiho, the Matsumotos, and Akari among others. “So are you the team captain or something, Akari?” he asked.

To his surprise, Akari and his friends laughed a little. “Heh, I did give off that impression a bit, didn’t I?” she asked, before shaking her head. “The answer is kinda but not really. We don’t really have a set-in-stone team captain. A couple of us rotate who the team captain is after every few games, since Ichijo-sensei wants all of us to have some experience with leading the team in case things go to hell…like they did with Osuke.” She sighed. “Poor guy, that accident roughed him up something bad.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Ren sympathized.

“At least he’s getting better now,” was her only reply, before deciding to move on. “Anyways, if you ARE familiar with the game, then you know that the fundamental of moving around the court is dribbling the basketball, right?”

“Yeah,” Ren nodded.

“Then we’ll start with that,” Akari declared, as she picked up a basketball and tossed it to Ren, who caught it without missing a beat. “Show me how well you can dribble.”

As it turned out, Ren was able to catch onto how to properly dribble the ball surprisingly quickly. Moving around was certainly more complicated than simply kicking a ball like he had done in the soccer match at the camping trip, but after only a few minutes he was dribbling the ball and moving around with it at a similar skill level to everyone else.

“Oh, wow,” Kaito whistled. “You caught onto dribbling pretty quickly.”

“That’s a good start,” Akari acknowledged. “But let’s see how good you are with passing and shooting the ball. We don’t need you to score big for us, but if you don’t know how to hand the ball off to someone else who can then there’s only so much you can do to help.”

“Got it,” Ren replied. Shiho passed him a ball this time, which Ren caught deftly with his hands. For the next several minutes, Ren and the other players passed the basketball between themselves, although unsurprisingly more of the attention was directed towards Ren. The other team players found themselves quickly impressed with how skillfully Ren was handling the ball. He successfully caught the ball practically every time without fail, and when Akari started sending someone like Hana or Kaito to impede him by acting as a member of the enemy team, Ren proved surprisingly adept at maneuvering with the ball in his hands without taking any errant missteps with his feet that would cause him to accidentally travel and give the ball away to the opponent. Ren was even able to keep this up when they started to combine the two skills together. He didn’t dominate in the sport like he had with the soccer game, but given that he had literally never played basketball for years, the fact that he was able to perform on a level similar to the other members of the team was impressive just by itself.

“Are you sure you haven’t played this game before, Ren?” Shiho asked, clearly impressed with her friend’s skills. “Because you could’ve fooled me.”

“I seriously have not played basketball for years,” Ren replied with complete honesty. But it seemed that once again, his combat skills in the Metaverse and the many hours he had spent in the gym seemed to have improved his physical capabilities to the point that he could play any sport competently at the very least.

“I’m definitely impressed by everything I’ve seen so far,” Akari acknowledged. “I know I said I didn’t expect you to actually take basketball shots, but with how well you’ve been playing so far, Ren, I’m starting to wonder.”

“I think you should go for it!” Shiho encouraged. “You being able to make shots and score would be huge for our team for the next game!”

Ren chuckled. He hadn’t actually expected to have fun joining the basketball team today, but this wouldn’t be the first time he’d been wrong about something. “Well, at this point, I might as well go all the way. I’m kind of curious to see just how good I am at getting the ball through the hoop,” he admitted.

Akari passed the ball to Ren, who caught it deftly in his hands. “Well, there’s only one way to find out,” she replied with a smirk. She spent the next few minutes explaining the different kinds of shots in basketball, including layups and foul shots.

Little did she or anyone else know, that Ren had something quite different in mind when he had made his comment. Having partaken in many different hobbies in Tokyo during his spare time, Ren had noticed that several of them allowed him to utilize the Third Eye to give him a unique advantage in some way. It had allowed him to steady his aim to near-perfect precision in Darts, and had allowed him to track the exact trajectory of baseballs in Yongen-jaya’s baseball fields to the point that he could hit the equivalent of Home Runs with decent consistency. Ren tried the layups first and attempted to use the Third Eye at the same time, but he quickly found that the Third Eye wasn’t helpful for layups. Ren needed to be standing relatively still to utilize the Third Eye properly in the real world for anything beyond cursory inspections of interesting people and places, and he couldn’t do that if he was running towards a hoop to score a layup.

But when it came to shots that were stationary, that was a different matter. Because Ren found that when it came to scoring goals just by throwing the ball towards the hoop, he COULD use the Third Eye to his advantage. Whenever he utilized the Third Eye, it was almost as though time slowed down, and he could see almost exactly where and how the ball would fly through the air towards the hoop whenever he prepared to make the shot. It wasn’t entirely foolproof when it came to regular shots, as he still had to deal with one or more people blocking his way and trying to stop him from taking the shot. But it still helped, and the Third Eye REALLY shined when it came to foul shots. A time in the game when everything was comparatively calm and he could focus on just making the shot without anything or anyone getting in his way, and he could take at least a few seconds to concentrate and line everything up perfectly.

Of course, Ren didn’t make EVERY shot he fired towards that basketball hoop. It took a few shots to actually figure out how to score with the Third Eye consistently, and he deliberately missed a few of them even once he got the hang of it. It was one thing to establish himself as competent at making basketball shots at least a few times. But if he started scoring hoops continuously and consistently, then the rest of the basketball team would either press harder for him to join as a permanent member…or start asking uncomfortable questions that would be incredibly annoying to come up with good answers to.

Still, even with Ren deliberately sabotaging himself, Akari, Shiho, and the Matsumotos were all clearly impressed. And they weren’t the only ones. While he had been busy, the rest of the team had come to watch him score, and they were all clearly surprised and pleased by how well he was doing. Kou especially looked proud, and satisfied that his instincts with how naturally good Ren was at sports at the camping ground were validated.

“There’s no way you’ve never played basketball before,” one of other guys on the team who Ren didn’t know the name of commented. “I swear, you play basketball better than a lot of other people I’ve seen play this game.”

“Yeah, some people struggle to even get through the basics, but you’ve got those down pretty good,” another girl agreed.

“Is Ren the best player I’ve ever seen in my life?” Akari asked rhetorically, before answering her own question. “No, but he doesn’t need to be. He just needs to know how to handle himself on the court as a member of our team for one game, and looking at how he’s been doing so far, I’m pretty sure he can do that just fine.”

“I’ve been watching you guys, and I agree with that,” Kou nodded his head with a knowing smile. “Since Ren clearly has the basics of basketball down for the most part, I think we can try to incorporate him in some of our strategies for the upcoming game.” He tilted his head toward Ren. “Would you be okay with that, Ren?”

Ren shrugged. “Might as well give it a shot, Ichijo-sensei.”

His coach nodded approvingly. “That’s initiative that I like to see.” He called everyone over and began explaining some of the strategies and more complex basketball-related plays to Ren. While this was primarily for Ren’s benefit, it also served as a useful recap to the rest of the team in general. After they were done, he gave out assignments and instructions to the other team members so that they could practice those plays.

Ren couldn’t help but notice just how different Kou was to Kamoshida. Obviously, he wasn’t privy to the depths of the abuse or depravity that Kamoshida had committed to the students of Shujin, but even as a completely new student to Shujin he could easily sense the fear, despair, and the hopelessness of the students who were crushed under Kamoshida’s tyrannical boot.

The atmosphere couldn’t have been any more different with Kou and the basketball team. It was clear that every single member of the team wanted to be there, and that they had nothing but trust and respect for Kou. Kou, in turn, repaid that trust and respect by being a kind and wise coach who always offered words of encouragement to others, took the time to explain things whenever someone stumbled or expressed confusion, and didn’t hesitate to give constructive criticism whenever it was needed. And this very much included Ren, who had been able to grasp the basics of basketball fairly effortlessly but need a bit more help to understand the complexities of working as a member of the team.

Still, Ren caught on very quickly with what Kou was trying to teach him, and by the time practice was finally over, the basketball coach/homeroom teacher looked very happy with his performance. “I know you’ve never played basketball as part of a sports team, before, Ren,” Kou commented encouragingly. “But I’m more than happy with where you are right now. For someone we’ve pretty much just picked out randomly from the school body to help us out, you’ve pretty much blown all of our expectations out of the water.”

Akari grinned at him. “No pressure for the upcoming game, okay?” she reassured him. “The bare minimum we needed is someone to fill out the team so we can actually play the game coming up, and you’re basically doing that just by showing up. As long as you’re not going out of our way to screw us over at every possible moment, you don’t need to do much.”

“That being said, I think you can do a lot more than just the bare minimum, Ren,” Shiho suggested. “I think you can straight-up help us win.”

Ren shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. There’s only one way to find out, and that’s when we actually play that game.”

Kou smiled at him. “I’m actually really excited to see how well you do, Ren. Because my gut feeling’s telling me Shiho is right, Ren. I think you’ll help us win.”

Three Days Later…

Both Kou’s and Shiho’s words proved prophetic, because they absolutely crushed the other team. Ren didn’t just show up and stand to the side and let the other members of the team do most of the work, like he had initially thought he was going to do. Even Ren was surprised by just how much his competitive spirit ended up being flared up by the game, because he was an active and helpful member of the team throughout the entire game. He received and passed the basketball appropriately, he blocked the enemy players from successfully passing the ball to others, and he even scored a few points whenever he got the chance. By the time the four rounds of the game had finally ended, they won the game with a final score of 26-8, dominating the game from beginning to end.

“Hell yeah!” Akari cheered as she high-fived everyone on the team, Ren very much included. “Great work everyone!”

“I can’t believe how badly we steamrolled them,” Kaito commented with a smirk. “And just think, a few days ago we were thinking we were gonna have to forfeit the game because we didn’t have enough people on the team.”

“Osuke’s gonna be so happy to hear about this,” Hana remarked. “He was feeling really bad about not showing up at the game.”

“I think we all need to give some thanks to the guy who made this all possible,” Kou interrupted, directing everyone’s attention to Ren. “Thanks again for stepping up for us, Ren. You not only made this win possible just by showing up, but you really went above and beyond and gave a really solid performance on the court today.”

“You’re welcome, Ichijo-sensei,” Ren replied graciously. “You’ve actually helped me a lot at school over the past couple of months, so it’s only fair that I repay the favor.”

“I know you said you weren’t interested in joining the basketball team for more than just this game,” Akari remarked as she stepped forward, “and I know you don’t really give a crap about most people at school. And you know what, fair’s fair. People treated you like shit before, Ren, and I get that. But I really do think you’d be a great fit for the basketball team, Ren. You’re a natural, and I wouldn’t be doing my job as temp captain of the team if I didn’t at least throw the invitation out there.

“We’d love to have you!” Shiho immediately agreed, and practically everyone on the team made some expression of approval or agreement. Even the ones who had initially shown some fear or reluctance about him being a part of the team now had their doubts removed by Ren’s performance on the court.

Ren thought about how to reply. On the one hand, his fundamental apathy towards Yasogami hadn’t changed in the slightest. He hadn’t cared about the vast majority of the student body when he had come back, and he still didn’t to this day. But unlike the rest of the students, the members of the basketball team genuinely seemed to be pretty decent people. Akari was friendly enough even if she had a bit of a rough edge around her (which actually reminded him a bit of Ryuji, funnily enough), and pretty much everyone he had a favorable relationship with in Yasogami was a member of the team. And he actually had enjoyed himself, as much as he didn’t want to admit it out loud. “I’ll give it some thought,” he decided. “If I have a little too much time to work with then I might start showing up to basketball practice, but I’m not gonna commit to anything right now.”

Kou nodded in understanding. As long as Ren hadn’t given the team a flat-out refusal, that was enough for him. “No rush, Ren,” he reassured him. “Our schedule and our expectations are pretty relaxed. Even more so for you since you’re not technically an official member of the team yet. If you want to show up, we’ll be happy to have you around. If you don’t want to, then you don’t have to. Just know that if you do want to be a part of the team, we do expect you to show up at least somewhat consistently.”

“Fair enough,” Ren acknowledged. The members of the team began to disperse home, some of them being picked up by their parents while others were close enough to school that they could simply walk home. Ren and Shiho found themselves walking home together, as they lived close enough to the school that neither of them needed a drive home. “You killed it on the court,” Shiho commented with a grin. “For someone who doesn’t even play basketball regularly, you kicked all sorts of ass.”

Ren smirked. “I guess being a seasoned fighter in the Metaverse helped my physical skill in sports in more ways than one,” he commented. “I did use the Third Eye to help me out with some of the shots, though.”

Shiho blinked. “That’s a thing?”

“You would not believe just how helpful the Third Eye is with doing basic activities,” he commented with a grin. “One of the few things Yaldabaoth gave me that DIDN’T fuck with my life in some way.”

“May that false god rot in hell where he belongs,” Shiho replied as they walked through the streets of Inaba. After a few seconds of silence, she turned to Ren. “I know everyone else already said it, but thank you so much for stepping and helping the basketball team out.” She smiled gratefully. “It really means a lot to me.”

Ren smiled back at her. “You really seem a lot happier with the basketball team than you ever did back at Shujin,” he commented.

“You have no idea,” Shiho asserted. “I was in such a shitty state mentally for the longest time, Ren. Even after I got discharged from the hospital and got myself through therapy, I was severely depressed. I just didn’t have the motivation to do anything fun or even remotely interesting, and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to participate in any kind of sport ever again.”

Ren cringed. Even now, he clearly remembered the bitter and nasty words that Shiho’s Shadow had spouted in the TV World. He had zero doubt whatsoever that Shiho’s mental state had been a complete trainwreck, to put it generously.

“The basketball team were the ones who really pulled me out of the pit my mind was in,” Shiho explained. “Ichijo-sensei, Hana, Kaito, Akari…each and every one of them took the time to help me when they saw how miserable I was. They didn’t even care about recruiting me in the basketball team at all when we first met, they just wanted to help me function as a person. I didn’t learn that they were all on the same basketball team until much later. And when I figured that out, I realized that for the first time, I could actually participate in a sports team that wasn’t crushed under some egotistical bastard’s thumb.”

“I could tell just from that one practice I went to,” Ren agreed. “The atmosphere was completely different from what I saw at Shujin’s volleyball team.”

Shiho grinned. “It’s really amazing just how much a difference a good coach can make for a team. I’ve been in the basketball team for months now, and I’ve even been the temp captain a few times. I could really see myself as a professional basketball player in the future, just like I used to dream of being a volleyball player. And I couldn’t have done it without them…just like I couldn’t have done it without Ann encouraging me every step of the way.”

Ren smiled. “I’m glad you had such good friends in Inaba, Shiho,” he remarked. “I didn’t really know you all that well back then, but that one time you visited Shujin’s rooftop with me and Ann, I could already see you were doing a lot better. Now, I can see why.”

Shiho smiled back. “Yeah. And that’s why I’m so happy you chose to help us out for this game, Ren. Even if it was just this one time, you chose to help out the guys who helped me out here in Inaba when I needed it the most.”

“Well, now that I know all of that, I definitely don’t have any regrets about joining you guys for this game,” Ren declared.

“With how good of a player you are for someone who hasn’t ever played this game seriously, we definitely didn’t have any regrets either,” Shiho replied. “But seriously, Ren. I really do think you should join the basketball team for real. I can tell the other guys on the team definitely like and respect you now, if they didn’t before. And you’ll have more than just three people at school that you can hang out with and who’ll have your back.”

“Like I told them before, I’ll think about it,” Ren replied. “I’m not ignoring the possibility entirely, Shiho, but I’ve got my own plans for how I want to spend my time too.”

“That’s entirely fair, Ren,” Shiho acknowledged. “Just know that the team will always be open if you want to join.”

Ren nodded in acknowledgment, and felt a warmth in his chest just like before.

RANK UP: CHARITY Arcana - Rank 7!

“Did our confidant bond just rank up again?” Shiho asked.

“I think it did,” Ren confirmed. “Did anything change from that bond growing this time?”

“Yeah…I feel a little stronger now. Like I can stand up to anything that threatens me,” Shiho replied. “I’m not sure how to describe it.”

Ren thought for a moment. “If I had to guess, I think it means you just unlocked Endure now. Pretty much all of the Phantom Thieves had this ability at Rank 8 where if they would’ve taken a serious hit that would’ve knocked them out, like a Mamudoon, they’d instead survive and stay fighting at 1 HP.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure why you got the ability at Rank 7, though, pretty much all of the Thieves got it at Rank 8 instead.”

Shiho shrugged. “Maybe it’s because we’re in the TV World instead of the Metaverse? Who knows?”

“Still, I’m not complaining that you have Endure now,” Ren commented. “It’s an incredibly useful skill for pretty much every Persona user to have, and it’s good that you’re getting it when we’re gonna be going to Magatsu-Inaba soon.”

“Is it really as bad as Yu says it is?” Shiho wondered. “The others really don’t like talking about it.”

“Well, let’s put it this way. It’s a twisted, ruined Inaba made by an asshole serial killer and it’s based on a dark version of Izanagi who currently lives in my head,” Ren replied dryly. “I think not taking it seriously would be a fantastic way to fuck yourself over.”

Chapter Text

Ren smiled as he sat down at his desk and got his phone out. He’d gotten all of his homework done earlier specifically so that he could dedicate the night to talking to the Phantom Thieves without needing to worry about anything else.

“You ready to catch up with everyone?” Morgana asked as he climbed onto the desk.

“Yep,” Ren confirmed. “We all specifically chose today cause everyone was free. So everyone should be there.” He typed a quick greeting into the chat to let everyone know he was there.

Ren: “What’s up, everyone? You guys all here?”

It didn’t take very long for some of his friends to reply back.

Haru: “Good evening, Ren-kun!”

Ryuji: “I’m here, bro!”

Makoto: “Good to hear from you, Ren!”

Ren gave a few seconds for all of his friends to send a greeting. Just as he had arranged, all of them were around and ready to go. The only exception was unfortunately Sumire, who was currently out of Tokyo for an important gymnastics competition and had already given her apologies in advance for not being there.

Ren: “All right, excellent. How’re you guys all doing right now?”

Yusuke: “I am doing quite well, Ren. I must thank you again for providing me with such a detailed description of the TV World the other day. I am trying to recreate the TV World based on the information you gave me for my latest painting.”

Ann: “Oh wow, that sounds fascinating, Yusuke!”

Ren: “I’m curious to see just how closely your picture matches with reality.”

Makoto: “Speaking of the TV World, how similar is it compared to the Metaverse? Is it more or less dangerous?”

Ren: “I haven’t gone into any of the endgame, max-level dungeons yet, but so far it isn’t any worse than the Metaverse as far as I can tell. The TV Dungeons here are the closest things there are to Palaces, but from a design standpoint they work like mini versions of Mementos than anything else. You just climb up or down the stairs until you get to the top and the bottom, and that’s pretty much it.”

Ann: “Do you have to worry about any puzzles? Cause some of those puzzles in the Palaces were a real pain!”

Futaba: “Ugh, don’t even get me started on the last part of Maruki’s with all those colored bridges and tree roots and everything!”

Ren: “There aren’t really any Puzzles to deal with. There used to be some small ones, but those already got solved by my older friends when they traveled through those dungeons.”

Shiho: “The Shadows also look really weird. Most of them look like living versions of things like tanks, statues, wheels, dice, rocks, you name it.”

Ryuji: “For real? They didn’t look like Ren-ren’s Personas?”

Ren: “Nope. I don’t think I could recruit them even if I tried.”

Haru: “How very unusual. There is so much more to learn about cognitive worlds beyond just the Metaverse.”

Morgana shook his head. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the TV World,” he admitted. “Master Igor only gave me knowledge on how the Metaverse specifically worked. I didn’t even know the TV World existed until we came back here.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Ren replied knowingly. “Even if we did know about the TV World back then, it would’ve been completely irrelevant. Cramming knowledge into your head about a completely different and unrelated cognitive world would’ve probably just confused you more than anything else.”

Morgana nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Having extra knowledge in your head doesn’t make it actually useful,” he acknowledged as Ren turned back to the phone.

Ren: “I will say though that for the most part, the cognitive world’s combat rules follow pretty closely with the ones in the Metaverse. There’s Psy, Nuke, and Gun attacks in the TV World now, as well as damaging attacks for Bless and Curse. Based on my talks with the others, none of those existed back in 2011.”

Haru: “I can indeed confirm this to be the case. From my brief venture into the TV World when I visited Ren-kun, I can say that the art of battling is the largely the same as our battles in the Metaverse, even if the Shadows themselves look completely different.”

Futaba: “Oh, cool! So if we ever need to fight in the TV World for whatsoever reason, we won’t waste time wondering what the hell is going on!”

Ryuji: “Not gonna lie, been hoping to get another chance to scrap in something like the Metaverse for a while now!”

Ann: “Ooh, we should try and figure out a way to all visit the TV World together! We can fight Shadows just like the good old days!”

Makoto: “Assuming we can find a way to do so without attracting unwanted attention, that is…”

Ren: “She does have a point. There’s only one known safe entrance to the TV World that I know of right now, and that’s in the office of one of my older friends who’s a part of the Investigation Team. Gonna be kinda weird if a bunch of teens just barge into his office and then randomly disappear for a couple of hours.”

Morgana tilted his head to look at Ren. “IS there a way we could create another portal into the TV World?” he asked. “A safe portal that our friends could get into without attracting unwanted attention.”

Ren shrugged. “Might be worth talking to Marie or Yu about. But it might be hard to pinpoint an exact location. We don’t want to go through a new portal only to find ourselves in the middle of a dungeon infested by Shadows. Or be completely lost.”

Morgana nodded. “You’re right. I’d honestly be more worried about us getting lost, cause at least you can beat the hell out of most Shadows because of how brokenly overpowered you are.”

Ren only snorted at that before going back to the phone.

Yusuke: “Moving on from the topic of the TV World, how are you faring at Yasogami, Ren? Your previous description of your status there was…less than ideal, to put it generously.”

Makoto: “Are people still giving you problems over there, Ren?”

Haru: “I could come over for a second time and teach them a lesson in being courteous to others with my axe!”

Futaba: “LMAO rip the Yasogami student body if that happened.”

Ren: “Nah, no need to go that far. There’s actually people there besides Shiho now that I can call very loosely call friends.”

Shiho: “And pretty much all of those guys are on my basketball team! Ren volunteered to sub for a guy who got in a car accident, and he was actually REALLY good at basketball for someone who’s never played it seriously on a team before! He won the entire team’s respect after that.”

Ryuji: “Hell, yeah!”

Ann: “Way to step up, Ren! Just like you always did as the leader of the Phantom Thieves!”

Futaba: “So does that mean that being a badass Persona fighter in a cognitive world mean you’re magically amazing at every single sport too?”

Shiho: “Maybe! He was pretty good in our soccer games during the camping trip, too!”

Ren: “Meh. I’m not really interested in going into sports for my future all that much. Besides, I do use the Third Eye for some of them, so I think that’s technically cheating.”

Makoto: “Moving back on topic, I am glad to hear that you have other students who you can at least partially consider as friends, Ren. I know you don’t care about most of them, but isolating yourself with only Shiho for consistent company doesn’t strike me as healthy.”

Shiho: “I know, right? I literally told Ren the exact same thing!”

Ryuji: “Are you actually gonna join that basketball team, Renren? I think you’d be pretty good at it!”

Ren: “I’m not ruling it out completely, but I’m not sure I want to commit to the team either. If I do join, it might be as a backup player kinda like what I did a few days ago. And I might show up to the basketball practices if I’m bored and don’t have anything better to do.”

Shiho: “Ichijo-sensei’s pretty chill about that.”

Ann: “Oh, Shiho, I’ve been meaning to ask. How is your basketball coach? Is he a lot better than Kamoshida?”

Shiho: “A lot better? Ann, Ichijo-sensei couldn’t be any more different from Kamoshitbag if he tried.”

Ryuji: “Ha! Kamoshitbag! Fucker deserves that name and then some!”

Ann: “That is the greatest way to say his name in all of history and I refuse to use anything else.”

Shiho: “All jokes aside, though, Ichijo-sensei is great, Ann. I haven’t gotten even a single creepy vibe from him, ever. You don’t have to worry about me at all.”

Ren: “He’s also a friend of Yu’s, which by itself is a point in his favor.”

Haru: “As someone who met Yu Narukami myself, I have nothing but the highest of praise for this man. And I am far more inclined to trust a friend of Narukami-san than most other adults, especially since Ren-kun and Shiho-chan both vouch for his character.”

Makoto: “After our harrowing experiences with adults who blatantly abused their authority, it is good to hear that there are still some out there who can be trusted.”

Ann: “Keep an eye out for each other, okay, Ren and Shiho?”

Shiho: “You got it, Ann!”

Ren: “Don’t you worry. We’ve literally been doing that from the moment we met.”

Morgana chuckled. “That’s even more true ever since we first stumbled into the TV World,” he commented, before shuddering. “I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if Shiho had faced her Shadow and we hadn’t been there to sort things out before they got messy.”

Ren grimaced. “Not worth thinking about,” he agreed. He refused to allow his mind to develop the gruesome image of Shiho’s lifeless corpse hanging from the telephone poles…like Adachi’s two victims.

Ryuji: “So anyways, Renren. I’ve got a question for ya. When’re you coming to visit us?”

Futaba: “Ooh, yeah! I wanna see you again soon, Ren!”

Haru: “I would love to have another date in Tokyo after the one we shared in Inaba, Ren-kun!”

Ren: “I’m definitely coming over for the summer break, that’s for sure. That’s not even a question. I can’t really say if I can come at all before that, though. Cause of school and all that. Maybe if I get lucky and there’s a holiday I might be able to drop by.”

Yusuke: “Rather frustrating, but understandable. Given how far away Inaba is from Tokyo, I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you to make that journey.”

Futaba: “I barely have enough END to make trips to places in Tokyo, trying to travel all the way to Inaba sounds absolutely crazy!”

Makoto: “Whenever you can make a trip to Tokyo, Ren, just let us know. We’ll always be happy to have you around.”

Haru: “If you need me for any reason, Ren-kun, I’ll drop everything just to be with you. Okumura Foods or schoolwork be damned!”

Ren smiled at the words typed out by his friends. No matter how much he might love the members of the Investigation Team, no matter how friendly he might become with certain students from Yasogami, none of them would ever truly match the closeness and strength of the bonds he had formed with the Phantom Thieves. Unbreakable bonds that could only be forged by fire, hardship, and war against the corruption of society and the false god that had sought to enslave humanity from behind the scenes.

Before becoming the leader of the Phantom Thieves, Ren hadn’t fully comprehended how Yu could be so close to the members of the Investigation Team despite their motley and widely differing backgrounds. Now, he finally understood. And that alone was enough for him to not even remotely regret going to Tokyo and fighting Yaldabaoth alongside the other Phantom Thieves, despite all the pain they had suffered to get to that point.

Shiho: “Are you okay, Ren? You kinda went quiet for a bit.”

Ren: “Yeah, sorry. Got lost in thought for a bit.”

Ren: “I will say that it’s possible that I might visit Tokyo for a short time with someone from the Investigation Team. Depending on the reason, I may or may not let you guys know ahead of time. Cause if I’m there for something private, it should stay private.”

Futaba: “Pffftttt, privacy? What the hell is that?”

Makoto: “Futaba.”

Haru: “If I’m on a private date with Ren-kun and you intrude upon that date, Futaba, I would be most displeased.”

Futaba: “…yes, ma’ams.”

Yusuke: “If you are in Tokyo for a private reason, Ren, I certainly do not begrudge you the need to keep it yourself. That being said, if you are simply visiting Tokyo, we would be very delighted to meet up with you again.”

Ren: “Don’t you worry, guys. If I can meet up with you, I’ll sure as hell let you all know in advance.”

Ann: “Great! That’s good enough for me!”

Shiho: “I hope to meet you guys in person, too! I’ve already met Haru and Morgana, but I wanna meet you all!”

Ryuji: “Hell yeah, Shiho!”

Ren was about to comment, when he suddenly saw an incoming text message from Yu.

Ren: “Hold on, guys, I got a message from Yu.”

Haru: “Not a problem at all, Ren-kun!”

“Huh, I wonder what Yu wants to talk to you about,” Morgana commented as Ren switched the chat to Yu.

Ren: “Hey Yu, what’s up?”

Yu: “Hi Ren, I had a quick question I wanted to ask you.”

Ren: “Sure, Yu, fire away.”

Yu: “How the hell are your HP and SP stats so insanely overpowered in the TV World? Like, seriously, 999 HP and over 700 SP? Like holy shit, the highest my HP ever got was 585 and the highest I ever got was 372.”

Yu: “Like, I love having all these Personas with hilariously OP stats, but if it wasn’t for Rise filling up our SP after every fight and the fox that shows up in the TV World every now and then, my SP would be drained out because most of my moves cost almost 50 SP!”

Ren: “Oh, it’s actually pretty simple. I work out.”

Yu: “Wut.”

Ren: “I’m not even kidding. I worked out at this one gym in Shibuya a lot, especially after I maxed out most if not all of my confidant bonds. I did specific workouts, and after I did them my HP and SP went up. It was only a little bit at first, but as I worked out more and more the gains got greater and greater. I could also take some protein during a workout to boost the numbers up a little more on top of that.”

Yu: “So the solution to getting cracked HP and SP stats is literally just working out a lot? Holy shit, if I’d known that I’d have exercised a hell of a lot more in 2011. Having 999 HP and SP would’ve made shit a hell of a lot easier back then. Hell, maybe ALL of us could’ve gotten stats that OP if we’d all just dedicated ourselves to working out a lot.”

Ren: “…I think it might just be a Wild Card thing, sadly. Cause two of the other Phantom Thieves worked out at that gym a couple of times and they never got any stat boosts from it.”

Yu: “Oh, that kinda sucks. And with how different the cognitive worlds were back then, exercising a lot might not have even worked.”

Ren: “Well, you could still try it out, though. Just because something might not have worked 5 years ago, doesn’t mean it won’t work now. Hell, with all the changes already happening to the TV World, who knows what else has changed?”

Yu: “Very true. Was there anything special you had to do to get all those insane stats?”

Ren: “Uhhhh…I remember running on a treadmill, lifting a barbell, and punching this wooden pole with a bunch of sticks poking out of it a bunch of times. Hell, even just doing pull-ups at LeBlanc worked, but it didn’t give me as much of a boost and I don’t think it affected my SP at all.”

Yu: “Good to know. Thanks for the help, Ren. I can’t wait to see the looks on my friends’ faces when we go to the TV World and they see that my HP jumped to 750 or something like that out of nowhere.”

Ren: “No problem. And heh, that would be hilarious to see.”

Yu disconnected the chat and Ren shifted it back to the Phantom Thieves.

Ren: “All right, I’m back.”

Haru: “What did Yu-san need from you?”

Ren: “He just wanted to know how I got jacked HP and SP stats. From all the exercising I did.”

Ryuji: “Man, I wish I could get HP and SP buffs from working out.”

Makoto: “Well, if anyone here deserves to get stat improvements from exercising, it is certainly Ren. So long as he stands his ground and fights on, the Phantom Thieves can keep fighting on.”

Yusuke: “What would happen if Ren were to fall in the midst of battle? It was a situation that thankfully never came to pass.”

Haru: “And it will never come to pass under any circumstance, while I draw breath.”

Ren: “I’m not worried about myself or anybody else right now. We have TWO Wild Cards in Inaba now, and Yu is working on getting a bunch of overpowered max stat Personas like I have. Honestly, I think we’d have to actively TRY to get ourselves killed at this point if we wanted to lose. Which I’m obviously not going to do.”

Shiho: “I can confirm that Ren is just as overpowered as Ann said he was. And he’s honestly really smart about setting up ground rules to make sure we can go into the TV Dungeons safely and everything.”

Ann: “That’s great to hear, Shiho! I trust him to keep you safe. And I’m soooo jealous that you get to actually hang out with freaking RISETTE of all people on a semi-regular basis!”

Ren: “Oh, that reminds me. If you want me to arrange meetings between you and anyone from the Investigation Team, let me know. Just be aware that you are forfeiting your own secrecy and exposing your identity as a member of the Phantom Thieves to them if you decide to go through with it. Obviously this doesn’t apply to Haru since she’s met everyone already.”

Ann: “I’d like to talk to Risette please!”

Futaba: “Me too!”

Makoto: “I would really like to speak with Naoto Shirogane, if that’s a possibility.”

Ren: “All right, but for you Futaba, I want to make sure Sojiro’s okay with it first.”

Futaba: “Pssssshhh, it’ll be super easy to convince him.”

Ryuji: “Hey guys, I’m gonna have to go now. My mom’s asking me to do a late-night grocery run now.”

Yusuke: “I must depart as well. I have to apply the finishing touches to an art project that will be due in 2 days.”

Haru: “I’m nearing the end of my time as well. President Takakura would like to discuss certain matters related to Okumura Foods, and I promised him I would give him my full attention after a certain time passed.”

Ren: “Sounds like we’re wrapping up for the night, then. That suits me just fine, as I was about to head off soon too.

Ren: “See you later, everyone!”

All: “Bye, Ren!”

Ren smiled as he put his phone away and Morgana hopped off the desk and onto the bed. “You good for the night?” his feline friend asked.

“Yep,” Ren confirmed as he climbed onto his bed. “There aren’t many ways I could wrap up a night any better than a chat with the Thieves.”

“You said it,” Morgana agreed with a nod of approval. “Good night, Ren.”

“Night, Morgana.”

Chapter Text

When one asked about top places to hang out in Inaba after school ended, Tatsumi’s Textiles wasn’t typically anywhere near the top of anybody’s list. Kanji was both fully aware of and perfectly accepting of this fact, as even back when his mom had been running the shop, the only reason why he and his friends had hung out together there more often than not had something to do with Investigation Team business.

Which was why he was surprised when Ren Amamiya popped in on a Thursday afternoon, a little less than an hour after he guessed school had ended. “Oh hey, Ren,” Kanji greeted him pleasantly. “What’s up?”

“Just got out of school,” Ren answered. “Didn’t feel like sticking around today so I just got the heck out of there as soon as it ended.” He smiled slightly. “I was gonna just head straight home today, but I got an idea at the last minute so I wanted to drop by here instead.”

“Sure, no problem for me,” Kanji replied. He’d just finished his latest sweater shortly before Ren had arrived, so he didn’t have any projects to work on currently. Although his time today was rather limited for a very different reason. “I got some time, but not a huge amount. My evening’s gonna been pretty busy tonight.”

Ren smirked. “Cause you’ve got a date with Naoto?” he asked knowingly.

“Damn,” Kanji muttered. “I thought we were better at hiding it than that.”

“Bruh, the two of you aren’t subtle about this shit in the slightest,” Ren deadpanned. “We were placing bets on when you and Naoto would go out on a date either this week or next week. And I also just realized I now owe Rise 2000 yen, damn.”

“Yeah, you guys got us,” Kanji admitted. “I’ve got a date with Naoto soon. Been looking forward to having one ever since Rise and Yu had theirs.” His expression turned stormy. “I don’t want the rest of you guys following us around, though. This is meant to be a private moment between the two of us.”

Ren raised his hands defensively. “Hey, following the couple around and spying on them is what happens on the first date,” he countered. “No real point in doing it when the people have already been dating for years and have been on who-knows-how many dates by now.”

Kanji grunted. “Fair point, that,” he replied. “So…uh, not that I don’t mind having you around Ren, but what was the reason you came here, again? You said you had some last-minute idea you wanted to bring up with me, or something like that.”

“Oh yeah,” Ren grinned. “You know my Phantom Thief outfit?”

Kanji snorted. “As if I could ever forget just how freaking extra that getup is,” he retorted. Seriously, part of him was super envious that he and his friends had never gotten cool and badass outfits like Ren and the other Phantom Thieves did whenever they fought in the TV World.

Then again, with his luck, Kanji might’ve gotten something completely embarrassing for a cognitive world outfit instead. He’d heard Shiho making jokes about how one of her Phantom Thief friends had a red latex catsuit for an outfit. That was decidedly NOT the kind of thing he wanted to parade around the TV World in…unless he wanted to beat Shadows by making them die laughing instead of fighting them the normal way.

Ren’s smirk. “Well,” he explained in an entirely too casual tone, “I was just wondering if you could actually make a real-life version of my Joker outfit. Black tail and waistcoat, the boots, red gloves, the works. I always wanted to have a real-life version of my Joker outfit that I could have stored around, and if there’s anybody in all of Inaba who could recreate it to perfection, it’d be you.”

“Oh, so THAT’S why you stopped by here on the way home,” Kanji realized. “You, uh, sure that’s a good idea, though? You know the police from Tokyo have been snooping around here trying to spy on you more than once cause you’re the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Yu had to pull some strings to get them the hell away from Inaba.”

Ren filed that bit of information away in his brain with some interest. Come to think of it, the police from Tokyo pretty much HAD stopped showing up in Inaba, at least after the first few weeks since he had come back. He had always assumed that this was because of Dojima’s influence given that the man was the head of the police department…although now that he thought about it some more, he highly doubted that Dojima alone would’ve truly been enough to stop Tokyo’s police department if they really wanted to keep spying on him.

Which meant that Yu more than likely had another major connection he didn’t know up, possibly high up in the government…and if that was the case, Ren was perfectly willing to let that particular secret lie. After all the bullshit he’d gone through with Shido, Ren didn’t trust anyone from the government who wasn’t exactly Toranosuke Yoshida…and the less he had to interact with them, the better.

“Uh, dude?” Kanji’s voice brought Ren back to reality.

Ren shook his head. “Sorry, just got lost in my own thoughts for a sec. Anyways,” the smirk came back to his face, “so yeah, I’d like my own personal Phantom Thief Joker costume, please.”

“Uh, if you really insist on it, sure I guess,” Kanji replied, still sounding uncertain but knowing Ren well enough to know he would not be dissuaded. “I’m gonna need to study that getup in the TV World so that I know what kind of textiles to use…and I’m gonna need a visual that I can look at while I’m working.”

Ren nodded in understanding. “I’ll ask one of my friends to provide you a picture of my Phantom Thief outfit,” he promised, knowing that Yusuke would be more than happy to draw a rendition of Joker for him.

“And I actually am gonna have to charge a fee for you, Ren, since this is a special project that will likely take at least a month, if not two, to finish,” Kanji warned. “If this was something simple like a sweater or a jacket, I’d be happy to do it for free. But something this complicated with a big time investment…that’s not the kind of thing I can just wave away the fee for, even for a close friend like you. Got my own livelihood I need to look out for, and all that.”

Ren didn’t look at all concerned. “I was gonna pay you anyway,” he reassured him. “Keep in mind that I have a huge pile of yen stashed in my room from all the Shadows I killed in the TV World. Money is literally not a problem for me and probably won’t be a problem for me for the rest of my life.”

After all, when you had over 9 million yen just stored in your house, money tended to not be a problem for you whatsoever as long as you had even a modest income to make sure that money didn’t dry up.

Kanji chuckled. “I guess that’s true,” he conceded. “Then in that case, let me know when you’re free to go into the TV World so I can take a good long look at your outfit.”

Ren was about to agree, when the door to Tatsumi Textiles suddenly opened. “Oh, Ren!” their new visitor exclaimed. “I didn’t expect to see you here!”

Recognizing the voice’s owner, Ren turned to face her…and his eyes widened in shock.

He had been completely right in guessing that Naoto had been the one to enter the shop…but this was the first time in living memory Ren had seen her wearing a dress.

Even after revealing herself publicly as a woman, Naoto still tended to wear masculine or at the very least gender-neutral clothing. It wasn’t at all uncommon for people to see her wearing a coat similar to what she had worn when she had first come to Inaba, although nowadays it was more to maintain a professional detective appearance more than anything else.

The dress Naoto was wearing now couldn’t be described as anything other than blatantly feminine. It was a dark blue dress with white lines stretching across it horizontally that extended all the way down to her legs, showing off the outline of her body in a way that none of her typical clothes did. It actually reminded Ren of the sundress he had gotten for Haru, except the color complimented Naoto’s dark blue hair and eyes even more perfectly. “I didn’t realize you’d be around,” Naoto continued in surprise.

“Yeah, I just dropped by here for a few minutes,” Ren answered. “Was just discussing a special commission for him.” He waved his hand. “I’m pretty much done here, though.”

Naoto looked visibly relieved. “Ah, I’m glad to hear that you’ve already finished discussing, then. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of Kanji’s business.”

“You’re fine, Naoto,” Kanji reassured her, trying not to stare too hard at her body. Gone were the days where he’d get a nosebleed just from looking at Naoto whenever she wore more revealing clothing, but he still blushed something fierce whenever he saw her in something like a dress.

“All right, well, I can clearly see what you two’ve got planned,” Ren didn’t even bother hiding his smirk anymore. “And since nobody likes a third wheel, I’m outta here. Enjoy your night out, lovebirds.”

“Hey!” Kanji protested, but the leader of the Phantom Thieves was already out the door, snickering to himself. “Was he always such a little shit before he left for Tokyo?” he asked his girlfriend.

“I think the elements were always there in his character before he left,” Naoto acknowledged, “but they’ve certainly become a lot more prominent since his return. The most fortunate explanation is that this is part of the major confidence boost he received ever since he went to Tokyo and became the leader of the Phantom Thieves.”

“…I’m guessing the less fortunate explanation is him just being a bit of a dick?” Kanji asked in a deadpan tone.

“…pretty much,” Naoto admitted.

Kanji shrugged. “Eh, who cares either way. This night is about just the two of us.” He grinned at his girlfriend, for it was the first time in a while that he had been able to get a date night with just the two of them. “You ready?”

Naoto smiled back at him. “Let us head off together, Kanji,” she affirmed.

The two of them left Tatsumi Textiles together, Kanji taking a few moments to make sure the shop was locked up and secured behind him. The two of them got a few curious looks from the other townsfolk of Inaba, but neither of them paid any mind. They had been dating long enough that the sight of the two of them together wasn’t especially uncommon or big gossip news anymore, but it was still enough of a novel sight to earn a few head turns every so often.

They got into Naoto’s car, a sleek black limousine that belonged to the Shirogane family. “So where are we headed off to, Naoto?” Kanji asked. They tried to take turns organizing their dates, but for this particular one Naoto had insisted on being the one to take the reins.

“There’s a new restaurant that opened that’s opened up on Shichiri Beach,” Naoto explained as they drove through Inaba. “I was thinking that perhaps we could go there and try out the food there. I heard it’s a seafood restaurant, which is quite fitting given its close location to the beach.”

“Whatever works for you, Naoto, works for me,” Kanji reassured her with a gentle smile as they left the town behind them. The Beach was quite a distance away from the main part of Inaba, but the drive seemed to barely last a few minutes before they arrived at the restaurant Naoto had been talking about. It was a rather unique structure in that it had been built directly over the waters of the ocean itself, with a dock and framework having been constructed underneath it specifically to support the restaurant itself. It was also a fairly high-class restaurant for fine dining with quite a few fancy cars parked outside of it, and Kanji was glad that he had decided to wear more professional clothes in the shop today. It was one thing to not care about his appearance when he was the only one around, but it was a whole different story if he was with Naoto, and he refused to do anything that would embarrass his girlfriend.

They stepped into the restaurant, which was even fancier on the inside than it was on the outside. The entire interior of the restaurant was lit with a golden glow from the crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, and the tables were all covered in white and sea blue tablecloths with fancy silverware arranged neatly on top of them. There was no question that this restaurant’s quality was a cut above and beyond the typical dining establishment in Inaba.

A waiter greeted them at the entrance. “Ah, Shirogane-san! Your grandfather had dined here a few days ago, it is a pleasure to serve another member of such a distinguished family.” He glanced over at Kanji and nodded at him. “As well as such a distinguished member of our community.”

“A pleasure to be here,” Naoto replied. “We have a reservation for a table for two.”

“Of course, of course,” the waiter beckoned for them to follow. “Right this way.”

The couple followed the waiter to a table seated right next to a window that gave them a clear view to the waters of the ocean, its waves serenely brushing up against the shoreline.

“What would you like to drink?” the waiter asked as they sat down and he provided them with menus.

“Just some water for now, thanks,” Kanji answered for both of them.

“Of course,” the waiter nodded pleasantly before departing, leaving the two of them at the table to enjoy the ambience of the restaurant, the waters of the ocean outside, and each other’s company.

“How have you been, Kanji?” Naoto asked once he was gone. “Are you working on any special projects?”

Kanji chuckled. “Funny you should ask that, Nao. The reason why Ren was hanging around the shop was cause he wanted me to make a real-life version of his, ahem…Joker getup.” It didn’t seem like anybody was listening in on their conversation, but he didn’t want to say the words “Phantom Thieves” out loud for obvious reasons.

Naoto stared at him for a second, and then groaned with a mixture of fondness and exasperation. “Of course he’d ask that. I don’t know what else I’d expect from him at this point.”

Kanji shrugged. “What he wants it for is his business. Although to be fair, I’d want a copy of that badass outfit too if I were him.”

“He does realize that he would look like the splitting image of the leader of the Phantom Thieves if he wore that outfit out in public, correct?” Naoto asked with a tone of warning in her voice. “That kind of sight would certainly set off a lot of alarm bells with the Tokyo Police, even if Yu was able to get them off his back.”

Kanji shook his head. “I don’t think Ren’s stupid enough to just flaunt that thing in public,” he reassured her. “I know he acts like he doesn’t give a shit more often than not nowadays, but he knows how to be subtle when he needs to be.”

“I know,” Naoto acknowledged with a sigh. “I might need to check in with Mitsuru though, just in case.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Kanji agreed. The waiter returned to give them their glasses of water and take their orders. Naoto ordered a smoked Meguro Tuna for herself, while Kanji got himself a deep-fried Sea Guardian with both of them getting sides of bread and salad.

 “Speaking of Mitsuru…” Kanji continued the conversation once the waiter had left again. “How’s the whole investigation into the Tokyo Police going? I know you told me you had to dip out to Tokyo for a bit cause Mitsuru called you in to help deal with all that. Heard it was a giant shitshow.”

Naoto didn’t bother to hide her scoff of disgust. “The depth of corruption in Tokyo’s police force and how deep they were in Shido’s pockets is nothing less than a complete travesty,” she growled, contempt dripping from every word coming out of her mouth. “They should all be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. With every new piece of information that comes to light, the more disgraceful the picture becomes.”

“At least Mitsuru and the Shadow Operatives can finally deal with the issue now,” Kanji comforted his girlfriend. “Shido’s party can’t block them anymore.”

The smile that Naoto gave him was utterly cold and vindictive. And more than a little hot, if Kanji was honest with himself. “Mitsuru has been utterly ruthless in dealing with Shido’s Conspiracy and all those who ever supported him,” she was pleased to report. “Her influence might have been severely limited while Shido was in power, and this makes even more sense in hindsight given what we now know about Yaldabaoth’s influence. But with Shido’s heart changed and the masses of Tokyo freed from Yaldabaoth’s chains, his Antisocial Force has lost most if not all of its power and influence. Shido’s direct supporters and government members are already being rounded up, while those who we suspect supported him indirectly are either laying low or even going out of their way to cooperate and give information so they could point the fingers of blame at someone else rather than themselves.”

Kanji snorted disdainfully. “Spineless cowards.”

“It’s certainly deplorable behavior, I can’t deny that,” Naoto agreed. “But Mitsuru’s pragmatic enough to recognize that as long as they provide us with meaningful evidence that help us take down Shido’s direct associates, letting a few of the minor supporters slip through the cracks is a worthy price to pay.”

“I get that,” Kanji acknowledged, before smirking at his girlfriend. “Just make sure to take down as many of those bastards as physically possible.”

Naoto returned the expression with one of her own. “Oh, don’t you worry, Kanji-kun,” she reassured him. “After everything Shido did to Ren, dealing with his Conspiracy has become a personal matter for me.”

Kanji barely managed to hide a wince and a shiver of fear. For all that Naoto was a dutiful and solemn detective, he never forgot that his girlfriend arguably had one of the most vindictive streaks out of everyone in the Investigation Team. Even after all these years, he had never forgotten the fact that she had been one of the ones who had advocated for pushing Namatame into the TV World. And he highly doubted that she would be any more merciful towards the Conspiracy, with all the crimes they had committed.

He decided to change the subject. “Does Mitsuru want to meet Ren at all?” he asked. It had been a question he’d been keeping in the back of his mind for a while but had never gotten the chance to answer.

Naoto thought for a moment. “She does want to meet him at some point,” she answered after a few seconds of gathering her thoughts in her head, “but it’s not high on her list of priorities right now. Dealing with Shido’s Conspiracy is taking up most of her time and energy, and Yu strongly recommended to her that she leave him alone at least for the first few months.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Kanji agreed. “After all the shit Ren’s been through, I really don’t think he’d want to talk to anyone from the government right now. Maybe if he knew they were Persona users it’d be a different story, but from what I remember you telling me, Mitsuru really didn’t want anyone spilling the beans.”

“Yes, it’s best to leave that particular topic alone for the time being,” Naoto agreed. “Ren deserves some semblance of normalcy in his life for once…although there’s only so much normal your life can truly be as a Wild Card,” she added dryly.

Kanji nodded in agreement, and the two of them spent the next few minutes exchanging small talk about how their lives were going. After having gone on multiple dates with each other over the years, both Kanji and Naoto had quickly realized that they preferred their dates to be laid-back and casual, feeling closer to two best friends hanging out with each other rather than two lovebirds expressing their love towards each other in extravagant ways. They’d actually tried the “extreme romance” type of date before, out of curiosity, and both of them had ended up feeling more embarrassed by the whole thing than anything else (and Rise’s excited squeals certainly hadn’t helped matters in the slightest).

No, Kanji and Naoto preferred to have their dates in ways that allowed them to be comfortable with each other’s presence, and they didn’t need grand or fancy displays of affection to prove their love for each other.

“Did you hear about that new water park that they opened up next to the ski resort?” Kanji asked his girlfriend. “That might be a good place to hang out with the summer coming up, right?”

“I’m certainly interested in going there,” Naoto answered, “but I think it’d be better if we all went together as a group. All of us in the Investigation Team, along with Ren. It’s been a while since we all went somewhere as a group just for fun, and Ren certainly deserves the break after all the hardship he went through in the past year.”

Kanji smiled and nodded. “Yeah, that’s a great idea, Nao,” he agreed. “You should definitely bring it up to Yu when we get back.” Before he could say anything else, the waiter returned, carrying a large tray with their meals on top.

“One smoked Meguro Tuna for Shirogane-san, one deep-fried Sea Guardian for Tatsumi-san, and two sides of bread and salad for the young couple,” the waiter announced as he placed the meals in front of them, before quickly departing and leaving them alone to enjoy their meals.

“My grandfather spoke quite highly of the food here,” Naoto remarked as she cut and prepared a piece of her Meguro Tuna. “Let’s see if this tuna lives up to his praise.”

Kanji chuckled. “Only one way to find out, right?” he asked as he prepared to take a bite of his deep-fried Sea Guardian. The moment the piece of fish passed through his lips and entered his mouth, his eyes widened in shock. “Holy shit…” he breathed. “This is really good! I can’t remember the last time I’ve had seafood this good!”

Naoto was similarly in agreement after taking her first bite of tuna. “My grandfather has always been a very wise man,” she agreed, “and his wisdom proves true once again. This is impeccable!”

“Definitely need to come back here at some point,” Kanji declared as he ate more of his Sea Guardian. He’d never actually had this fish before as he simply didn’t have the skill to fish like Yu did. But while he didn’t know the first thing about cooking, the restaurant they were in clearly knew what they were doing to make a deep-fried Sea Guardian this delicious.

The two of them fell into contented silence as they ate their dinners together. The couple was pleased to discover that the salad and toasted bread were both just as delicious as the fish itself, despite their simplicity. In what seemed like no time at all, both Kanji and Naoto had finished their meals, leaving no trace of the finely-prepared fish that had been served to them.

“I might take Ma out here for a family dinner one day,” Kanji declared as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I’m sure she’d love this place too.”

“I have to thank my grandfather later,” Naoto agreed as the waiter returned to collect their payment. She and Kanji took turns paying the bills as equal partners in their relationship, and this time it was her turn. “I wouldn’t have ever heard about this place if it wasn’t for him.”

She gave her credit card to the waiter, who disappeared and reappeared a few seconds later after processing her payment. “Shall we head out?”

“Why don’t we spend a few moments at the beach first?” Kanji suggested as they got up to leave. “Just to enjoy the view of the ocean?”

Naoto smiled. “I wouldn’t mind that,” she agreed.

She drove the car down the road for a few minutes until they were in front of the stairs leading down to Shichiri Beach. The couple got out of the car and climbed down the first few steps, choosing to stop once they were about halfway down and sit on the steps together. Their vantage point had a perfect view of the beach sands and the serene ocean beyond, complimented perfectly with a beautiful sunset in the sky above them.

Kanji and Naoto both sat down on the stone steps, with Naoto gently leaning her head against Kanji’s shoulder. “Every time I come here, I’m struck by just how beautiful the beach truly is,” Naoto remarked. “It’s such a stark contrast to the city that I never truly get used to it.”

“No wonder Yu and Rise always come out here for Valentine’s Day,” Kanji agreed. “It’s such a relaxing place when there’s not a bunch of people around here.”

The two spent a few moments in comfortable silence, content to just bask in the natural beauty of the beach and in each other’s presence. “Hey, Nao?” Kanji was the one to finally break the silence.

“Yes, Kanji?” Naoto replied.

“I can tell something’s been bothering you for a while,” Kanji finally decided to break the ice. “You haven’t really been talking about it at all, but I can tell. What’s been on your mind? You know you can trust me to keep things secret.”

Naoto sighed. Her boyfriend had become very perceptive over the years, and now knew her far too well for her to try and brush it off. “It’s about Ren,” she admitted. “I brought up my concern briefly with Yu, but I never really talked about it in detail with him or anyone.”

“What about Ren are you worried about?” Kanji asked.

“I know Ren told us about his adventures in detail,” Naoto explained with a growing frown, “but I can’t help that there are some details that he hid from us. I don’t have any concrete evidence to support it, but I feel as though some dramatic events during his Tokyo that…darkened…his personality, for lack of a better word. His complete lack of caring towards his fellow classmates whose opinions he once valued highly, the ruthlessness he displays towards enemies like his Shadows, the rather terrifying level of contempt towards monsters like Shido and Yaldabaoth, deserved though it might be…those kind of changes in one’s personality don’t just manifest out of nowhere. I can’t help but wonder if Ren went through some kind of trauma while in Tokyo that transformed him into what he is today…he certainly isn’t the innocent boy we once knew, not anymore.”

Kanji wrapped an arm around Naoto’s shoulder. “I get what you’re coming from, Naoto,” he replied sympathetically, “and you’re probably right. Ren probably is keeping some secrets from us. But what exactly can you do about it? He already gave us a pretty detailed story of what he did as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, so he’s probably not gonna give us any more beyond that. And do you really want to be the type of jerk who sneaks around behind Ren’s back and goes digging for the few secrets he doesn’t wanna share? We’re technically keeping some secrets from him too, what with the existence of the Shadow Operatives and all that.”

Naoto sighed. “You’re right, Kanji. It wouldn’t be right for me to go intruding in or otherwise violating Ren’s privacy like that. I just can’t help but feel worried about him, after how he was so blatantly mistreated by the justice system.”

“Well, whatever he went through in Tokyo, it didn’t ruin Ren completely,” Kanji reassured her. “He’s still a good guy deep down, even if he only shows it to people he cares about now. And even though he might hate the Police more than he used to…which, you know, fair enough…it’s not like he hates everyone and everything associated with the police like you, Chie, and Dojima. Maybe one day he’ll open up to you about whatever he went through if he DID go through some serious shit in Tokyo. But even if he doesn’t, at least it didn’t mentally fuck him up enough to really send his personality going downhill.”

Naoto nodded in agreement, feeling noticeably better now that she had listened to Kanji’s advice. “You’re right, Kanji,” she acknowledged. “Ren’s secrets are his own, and it’s not my place to demand that he reveal them unless I have reason to believe that they are dangerous to himself or to others around him. And I simply don’t have that justification. Ren has already proven several times over that he can take care of himself, and I’ll trust him in this like I do for many other things.”

Kanji grinned at her. “That’s the spirit, Nao.”

Naoto smiled back at him. “I think I might be worrying a little too much about Ren, Kanji,” she acknowledged, before apologizing, “and I’m sorry for taking so much of our date time tonight talking about Ren. This was a night meant to be about us, not him.”

Kanji merely shrugged. “Not a problem, Nao,” he reassured her. “Half our dates end up with us talking about random shit to begin with. And I think it’s really sweet that you care that much about Ren, to be honest.”

Naoto chuckled. “He’s certainly grown up a lot in the past year, that’s for certain. It’s a shame his parents aren’t here because they were essentially driven out of the country by Shido, but we’ll certainly do our best to take care of him in their stead,” she declared.

Kanji drew her in closer with his arm. “All of us will, Naoto. You can count on that.”

The two leaned into each other, once again falling in contented silence as they watched the ocean waves lap gently on the beach and the sunset in the sky overhead. Even if their date had ended up focusing more on Ren and Naoto’s work rather than themselves, both Kanji and Naoto were happy and content with the conversation they had shared and how it had ended.

They might not have been the most flamboyant couple who shared public displays of affection every chance they got, but they didn’t need to be. As long as they were together and happy, that was all that Kanji and Naoto needed.

Chapter Text

Yu Narukami studied the lineup of motorcycle helmets at Junes, frowning slightly as he contemplated each one. Perhaps unsurprisingly given his hair color and his usual color scheme, he had always favored white or silver motorcycle helmets, and he needed a new one since his last helmet had finally broken beyond repair. Unfortunately, there was only one helmet with his preferred color available today, and it was just a bland, unicolor gray one that he wasn’t a huge fan of color-wise.

“You should get a pink one,” a very familiar voice joked. “Rise would love that.”

Yu chuckled as he turned to face Ren, who was standing a few feet away. “As amusing as I’m sure Rise would find that, I’m not super thrilled about the idea of wearing a pink helmet for the next several months. I do have my reputation to consider, you know.”

Ren snorted. “Please, you’re fucking Yu Narukami. This whole town would literally bend over backwards for you unless you did something really fucked up like randomly murdering a bunch of people out of nowhere.”

“So basically becoming Adachi,” Yu joked, and the two Wild Cards spent a few moments snickering.

“All jokes aside,” the Seeker of Truth continued speaking once the humor had subsided, “did you need me for anything specific, Ren?”

Ren shook his head. “Nah, I wasn’t going out of my way to look for you or anything, Yu.” He took another glance at the array of helmets on the display. “Although…now that I’m here, I can’t help but wonder something.”

Yu tilted his head over to the exit of the particular department they were in. “Wanna just take this over to the food court, then?”

Ren’s stomach grumbled and he chuckled sheepishly. “Sure, I guess I’m a little hungry.”

A Few Minutes Later…

The two Wild Cards sat down at one of the tables at the food court, both of them with hot meals in front of them. “So what did you want to ask me about?” Yu wondered once they had eaten a decent portion of their meals.

“When did you learn how to ride a motorcycle?” Ren asked. “I always though riding a motorcycle was really cool, and one of my friends literally had a motorcycle as her special thing. Or rather, she did…it’s a lot bigger than “just” a motorcycle now,” he added with a chuckle.

Yu nodded, understanding Ren’s deliberately vague descriptors. Even if the Phantom Thieves might’ve been willing to consider revealing their identities to the Investigation Team and opening up to them, they were in far too public a place at the moment to talk about them in any major detail. “I actually learned how to ride a motorbike in my second year of high school.” He chuckled. “Believe it or not, it was actually pretty easy. I just needed to take a test to get a scooter license, and then my uncle gifted me one soon after. Then I rode around a couple of times until I was comfortable enough to drive all the way to Okina City by myself, and then after that I got a bit more adventurous and rode around a bit farther out until I could drive as far away as Shichiri Beach.” He smiled wistfully. “Our team actually rode our scooters to the beach together the first time we went there as a group. Good times.”

Ren blinked. “So it’s that easy?” he asked incredulously. “Just take a test, get some practice, and that’s it? You didn’t even need to get permission from Dojima or anything?”

Yu chuckled. “Uncle didn’t even know I was getting a license until I’d already gotten it,” he replied. “And the test itself was pretty easy. Hell, Yosuke was able to get the license on his first try, and while I honestly think the guy’s smarter than he gives himself credit for even back then, he wasn’t exactly a top ranking student of our class. If he could do it on first shot, I’m sure you could do it with no problem.”

Ren grinned. “Damn, had no clue I could just take a test and get a license like that. I honestly thought you guys looked really cool on your scooters and always wanted to get one secretly.”

Yu smiled back. “Well, now you know now.”

Ren laughed. “You know what? Fuck it. I’m gonna start studying for that test right now and take it at the end of the weekend. Not like I’ve got anything better to do with my time.”

Yu raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got plenty of options, you know,” he pointed out in a deadpan tone. “Playing on Kou’s basketball team, going into the TV World to fight Shadows, hanging out with us, studying for school.”

Ren snorted and raised one finger at a time as he gave Yu his counterpoints. “First one only happens on two days out of the week,” he retorted, “second one needs a full team to do it safely, for the third one you guys all have jobs during the day so all of you being available at the same time isn’t super common, and who the fuck cares about the fourth when we don’t have an exam and I’m already top of the class?”

Yu opened his mouth and closed it again. “Those are some very good points,” he admitted. “And I can’t argue against any of them.”

Ren smirked. “Thought so. I’ll probably just study over the next few days and get my license over the weekend.”

Yu chuckled. “Well, Ren, we already know that when you set your mind on something, there’s nothing that can stop you from accomplishing your goal. Given how easy the licensing exam was for me, I can’t imagine you’ll have too much difficulty with it. Do you want me to share with everyone what you’re planning?”

Ren shook his head. “Nah, keep it a secret for now. I realize I haven’t really been able to blow people’s minds lately, and I think it’s about time I fix that.”

“You and your mindbombing troll moments,” Yu sighed, but he couldn’t keep the smile on his face. “I’ll keep your secret, though. Good luck on the exam.”

“We’ve both got 99 Luck on all our maxed Personas, Yu,” Ren replied confidently. “We make our own luck.”

A Few Days Later….

Ren grinned as he walked out of the testing center, the license in his hand. “That was the easiest shit ever,” he commented. “Easier than most of tests I took at Shujin.”

“Ren!” he looked over as Morgana walked up to him. “Did you pass the exam?”

“Sure did!” Ren confirmed, not even bothering to hide his satisfaction. “Got my scooter license right here.”

Morgana grinned with delight. “That’s our Joker,” he crowed, “excelling once again at everything he does! Wait til the others hear about this!”

To his surprise, Ren shook his head. “Not yet, Morgana. Like I told Yu, I want to keep this a secret for a bit until I’ve gotten familiar with riding around. So far, Yu and you are the only ones who know about this.”

Morgana resisted the urge to roll his eyes at what he hoped was an unintentional name joke. “Are you gonna tell anyone?” he asked himself.

Ren thought for a moment, then nodded. “I think I should probably at the very least tell Dojima about this,” he decided. “I know Yu’s technically an adult, but Dojima’s the closest thing to a parental figure I have in this town right now since my parents aren’t here. I think I’ll tell him as a show of trust.”

Morgana nodded. “To be honest, I think you’ve got the right idea,” he admitted. “I know I haven’t seen Dojima a whole lot, but for some reason he gives me Sojiro vibes.”

“How much do you wanna bet Dojima is Yu’s Hierophant social link?” Ren asked.

“No deal, I don’t take sucker’s bets,” Morgana replied dryly. Suddenly, his eyes widened. “Hey, isn’t that Dojima over there?”

He pointed towards a street corner, and Ren was surprised to discover that Dojima was indeed standing at the corner. He didn’t seem to be doing anything in particular or looking for anyone, instead just looking around the street as a general part of his duties. Ren walked up to the police chief, who gave a little start as he realized who was in front of him.

“Oh, Ren!” Dojima greeted him cordially once he had gotten over his surprise. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here. You doing all right?”

“Yeah, Dojima-san, I was actually looking for you,” Ren answered as he approached Yu’s uncle. “I wanted to let you know that I just got a scooter license today.” He took out the license from his wallet and showed to Dojima.

Dojima blinked, visibly surprised by the revelation. “Huh…I wasn’t expecting to hear that, out of all things.” He squinted at Ren. “Did you tell anybody about this? Like your parents or anyone?”

“Just Yu,” Ren admitted. “I…might’ve forgotten to tell my parents I was going through with this.”

Dojima sighed. “It probably would’ve been best if you let either your parents or myself know about this before you went through with this, Ren. I know you’re really independent and self-sufficient for someone your age, but riding scooters like this could be pretty dangerous if you don’t do it properly.”

“…you’re probably right,” Ren sheepishly acknowledged. “I just thought that Yu riding scooters around was really cool back then, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”

Dojima chuckled. “Well, you’re certainly doing that, at least. It’s been a long while, but I think Yu and Yosuke got their scooter licenses during this exact month 5 years ago. And they pretty much rushed right ahead to get scooter licenses too.” His eyes glazed over briefly as he wistfully recalled that distant memory, but they quickly focused again after a few seconds. “Well, Ren, I’m not going to forbid you from riding a scooter since Yu was able to handle himself just fine at your age, but I am going to insist that you be careful with how you ride it. Don’t just ride out of Inaba on a scooter for your first ride if you don’t even know what you’re doing.”

“I won’t,” Ren promised, and he meant it. He hadn’t survived a year as the leader of the Phantom Thieves and won his battles against Yaldabaoth and Maruki by taking stupid, pointless, and dangerous risks.

“I also don’t have any scooters to give you, if you’re going to ask me for one,” Dojima warned. “I don’t know if Yu told you or not that I gave him his first scooter as a gift, but the only reason why I gave one to him was because I had a spare one available. Unfortunately, I don’t have a second one to give you, so if you want a scooter you’re gonna have to pay for one yourself. And the better quality ones can be quite expensive…”

Ren smirked. “Don’t you worry about that, Dojima-san. I’ve got more than enough money to cover for a scooter.”

Dojima blinked in surprise, before realization hit his face. “Oh, that’s right. Your little…adventures…that you had just like Yu did several years ago.” Ren couldn’t help but feel a bit of appreciation at how Dojima was canny enough not to drop the words Persona, Shadow, or cognitive world out loud. “Well, if you can afford it, then I don’t have any further objections. I think Junes was selling a few scooters, but I can’t be sure.”

“I’ll take a look,” Ren replied, before smiling. “Thanks again.”

Dojima chuckled again. “You know, you really are a lot like Yu back when he was your age. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to hear you passed your test and got your license. Good luck finding a scooter that you like.”

Ren waved at Dojima and said his farewells, before making his way over to Junes with Morgana waiting for him outside. He made his way over to the Automotive section, miraculously somehow not running into Yosuke and blowing his surprise too early. There weren’t all that many options for scooters available, but there was one scooter in particular that caught his attention. A black and red scooter with the colors mixing as though they were flames, a color scheme that reminded him so very much of Arsene and Raoul. The perfect scooter for the leader of the Phantom Thieves, and to make things even better, it was a higher quality scooter that could pass for a genuine motorcycle at a glance.

Of course, that also meant the price was higher, but with the ludicrous amounts of yen he had available to him, Ren couldn’t care less about that.

He walked over to the checkout area, where an employee was working at the desk. “Ah, Amamiya-kun,” she greeted him cordially. “How can I help you?”

“I’d like to purchase a scooter,” Ren guided to the employee and pointed at the scooter in question. “That one, to be precise.”

The employee glanced at it skeptically. “I hope you’re aware that this scooter is one of the higher quality ones we have, and therefore is one of the more expensive ones. Are you sure you’re able to afford it? If you’d like, we can have you pay off the cost of the scooter over the next few months.”

“I can pay for the entire thing right here and now,” Ren declared confidently as they walked back to the cash register. The employee gave him another skeptical look…which quickly turned into utter shock and disbelief as Ren produced stacks of yen bills on the cash register from his backpack, more than enough to cover the scooter. “How did you…?”

“I saved up money from part-time jobs in Tokyo,” Ren answered without missing a beat. The answer was technically true…although it wasn’t even remotely close to the full truth.

The employee stared at him for a few seconds before blinking and shaking her head. “Well, you certainly saved up quite well, Amamiya-kun. That’ll be 80000 yen for the scooter you’re interested in.”

Ren handed her most of the stacks of bills, before returning the few that were left back into his backpack. “Do I have to take the scooter with me or can I have it delivered to my home?” he asked.

“I can have it delivered to you later in the afternoon,” the employee reassured him. “Also, you may want to purchase a few additional locks or other assorted security devices so that your scooter doesn’t get stolen. With how much yen you have, I doubt it would be much trouble for you to purchase them too.”

“Good idea,” Ren replied appreciatively. “And I might as well get a helmet now too.”

He picked out a black helmet with a red face visor and the security devices that the employee had recommended, happily parting with a few additional bills of yen in the process. Once he was done, he left the Junes store feeling immensely satisfied with himself.

“Did you get the scooter?” Morgana asked eagerly.

“I did,” Ren affirmed. “It’ll be delivered to us later today.”

“Awesome!” Morgana cheered. “I really wanna see what you picked out.” A sudden thought occurred to him and he squinted at Ren suspiciously. “You didn’t get a hot pink one just to troll, did you?”

Ren made a face. “As much as it would match Haru’s color theme perfectly, no, I didn’t get a pink scooter. I got one with a color that I really think represents me more than anything else. You’ll like it, I promise.”

“Well, I can already say I like the look of that helmet you have in your hands,” Morgana replied, pointing at the black and red helmet that Ren was holding in his hands. With Ren being too tired to do anything else after taking the scooter exam, the two friends elected to just go straight home. Ren was a bit nervous that one of his friends (especially the ones from the Investigation Team) would stumble across him and blow the secret early, but thankfully he didn’t encounter anyone familiar before reaching home. About two hours later, Ren got a knock on the door and when he slid it open, a delivery man was waiting for him with his new scooter right on his doorstep.

“I’ll just need you to sign here,” the man held a clipboard out to him. Once Ren did so, the man gave him the key to the scooter and drove away.

Morgana finally got his first good look at Ren’s new scooter, and his eyes widened. “Wow,” he breathed. “That color scheme reminds me so much of Arsene!”

Ren grinned. “That’s the whole point, Morgana,” he declared. “Didn’t I say that my new scooter would represent who I am more than anything else? Although I will say that it sounds a lot cooler if I call it a motorcycle, even though I know it technically isn’t a full-blown motorcycle.”

“Man, Makoto’s gonna love this,” Morgana commented gleefully. “Especially since she’s the one who has the motorbike for a Persona. Are you gonna ride it around today?”

Ren nodded. “Yeah, I’ll do a ride around town,” he answered. “I’m gonna do what Yu did 5 years ago - ride around town until I can drive to Okina City comfortably, and then ride a little farther outside of town until I can drive to Shichiri Beach by myself.”

“That sounds like a safe way to do it,” Morgana approved, before sighing. “I guess that means I can’t climb on and join you for this first scooter ride, right?”

Ren shook his head sympathetically. “If it was around the fourth or even the third big ride on a scooter, I’d bring you along,” he replied. “But the very first? It’s probably not a good idea to carry you around when I’m not actually sure I know what I’m doing yet.”

“Yeah, that’s for the best,” Morgana reluctantly agreed. “Hopefully your scooter driving skills are a lot better than how you drive me around in Mementos,” he added with a snicker.

Ren rolled his eyes. “You enjoy me smashing you into Shadows and instantly killing them on the spot just as much as I do, don’t deny it!” he retorted.

“Touche,” Morgana acknowledged. “You gonna drive around that scooter now?” he asked.

Ren nodded. “No point in getting a new scooter and license if I’m not gonna ride it around, and it’s not like I had anything better to do today.”

“Don’t forget to wear your helmet!” Morgana cautioned. “It’d be super embarrassing if you smashed your head open from a simple scooter accident after fighting two gods and beating them!”

“I know, I know,” Ren reassured him as he approached the front door to his house. “I got this new helmet for a reason.”

The two of them exchanged farewells, and then Ren got on his new scooter and turned it on. The engine hummed into life, and immediately Ren felt a thrill of excitement as he grasped the handlebars. He knew that the scooter he was now riding wasn’t quite the same as a full-blown motorcycle, but it was similar enough that he didn’t care about the differences.

Remembering what he had learned from studying for the license exam, Ren immediately drove off on his scooter. He took care not to drive too quickly and put him and others around him at risk, for if he accidentally ran someone over and killed them, he’d very quickly have a new criminal record and this time for entirely legitimate reasons. Remembering the lessons Yu had given him about what he’d done back when he was a teen, Ren took things slow, driving around the streets of Inaba at a measured pace. He’d obviously seen plenty of Inaba, having grown up for most of his life in its streets, but seeing the world rush past by him while on his scooter was another experience entirely. Ren grinned as he felt the wind rush past him as he drove down the Central Shopping district, and it took quite a bit of willpower to not let the rush overwhelm him and just go straight to charging down district full-speed ahead.

“Man,” he thought, “if only Makoto could see me now. She’s not the only Phantom Thief who can ride around on a bike anymore.”

Ren took one more drive around his home block before bringing the motorcycle to stop in front of his home. He was obviously familiar with places like the immediate area around his house and the Central Shopping District, but he wasn’t all that familiar with the outskirts of Inaba since his parents or someone from the Investigation Team had typically been the one doing the actual driving whenever he did end up going there. He would probably need to do a few more rides before he could feel confident enough to drive to Okina City…but that was fine by him. He might not have had a lot of free time in Tokyo, but in Inaba? Time was something that he absolutely had in abundance.

“Hey, Ren!” Morgana greeted him as he parked the scooter in front of his house. “How was riding around in the scooter?”

“It was a great time!” Ren declared once they were inside his house. “I think I finally get how Makoto feels every time she rode around on Johanna every time she fought a Shadow. It’ll take me a few runs on the scooter to really get the hang of it, but we might be able to drive to Okina City by ourselves without anyone’s help once we get there.”

Morgana grinned. “That’s great to hear!” He took a closer look at Ren, who did seem a little worn down after everything that’s happened. “You seem kinda tired, though. Maybe you should take it easy for the rest of the night. I definitely don’t think it’d be a good idea for you to take another drive out this late, that’s for sure.”

“You’re probably right,” Ren acknowledged. “But there’s one thing I wanna do first. You know all those clothes I bought over the past few days before I took the scooter license?”

Morgana tilted his head. “Yeah…what about them?”

Ren grinned and handed Morgana his smartphone. “Go ahead and get the camera ready. I’m gonna go get changed.”

Later That Evening…

Yu stared at the picture that Ren had sent him on his phone. It was definitely Ren in the picture, although in a dramatically different style than what he was used to.

Ren was dressed in a black leather jacket and wearing a crimson red T-shirt, along with a pair of blue jeans. Under his right shoulder was a similarly colored helmet, black with a red visor meant to cover the upper part of the face. Ren himself wasn’t wearing the fake glasses that he typically wore when he wanted to “blend in” with his surroundings, instead allowing the intensity in his eyes to blaze forward in full glory with a confident and frankly intimidating grin on his face. Behind him was the new scooter that he had chosen, one with a red and black flame-like design that reminded Yu very much of Ren’s Persona Raoul. An aesthetic choice that Yu had no doubt was entirely intentional.

Underneath the picture was a message.

Ren: “Just did my first drive around Inaba today. And I wanted to dress up and look the part of a hardcore badass outside of the TV World for a change.”

Yu chuckled as he read the message. “I can’t really say much about how Ren was affected by his battles against Yaldabaoth and a corrupt society, for better or for worse,” he mused with a smile. “But what I can say for sure is that they did wonders for his style.”

Chapter Text

Ren hummed as he got off the elevator at the Food Court of Junes, with Morgana safely hidden in his backpack. Today was a rather unique day in which everyone from the Investigation Team, as well as Shiho, had a free afternoon…and with no previous plans already established, they all decided that today was as good a day as any to have an adventure in the TV World…as well as step up Shiho’s growth and training as a Persona user to the next level.

“Huh…” he blinked as he realized that everyone else was already waiting for them at the food court. “For once everyone’s here before us already.”

“Hey, Ren!” Yosuke called out, waving him over. “Yu told us you passed the driving test for the scooter and bought one a couple days back. Congrats!”

“Oh!” Yukiko blinked. “I didn’t realize you were planning on learning how to ride a scooter yourself, Ren.”

“Yeah, I pretty much kept that to myself,” Ren admitted. “Wanted to surprise you all once I was ready.”

Kanji chuckled. “Yu kinda blew the surprise already. He showed us that picture you took of yourself on your scooter. Gotta say,” he added with an approving grin, “you look pretty cool on that bike of yours. Really leaning into the whole badass biker theme, I could tell.”

“Anyways, congrats on getting your license!” Chie cheered.

“Really taking after your big brother in more ways than one,” Rise added teasingly.

Ren smiled back at her. “Thanks, everyone,” he replied gratefully.

“Just don’t be too reckless when you’re out driving,” Naoto cautioned. “It’d be heartbreaking to hear that you got into an accident of some kind.”

“I won’t go too crazy,” Ren promised. “I’m basically training myself the same way Yu did back in 2011.”

Naoto nodded as Shiho asked Yu to send her a copy of the picture of Ren on the scooter. “I gotta show this to Ann,” she declared with a grin. “She’s gonna go crazy when she sees this.”

“Anyways, going back to business, today we’re all agreed that we’ll be venturing into Magatsu Inaba today,” Yu decided to bring the conversation back on track. “And this will be Shiho’s first venture into the second most dangerous dungeon in all of the TV World.” He gave Shiho a serious look. “This isn’t a place where you can screw around, Shiho,” he warned. “The Shadows are powerful and dangerous enough that they can be a serious threat to you if you’re not careful.”

“I know,” Shiho replied, letting the humor drop from her voice. “I’m not gonna mess around in there.”

“Shiho-chan will be fine!” Teddie reassured her. “We’ve got plenty of ways to bring you back if you get knocked out!”

“Yeah, we do,” Yosuke interrupted curtly. “Doesn’t mean it’s fun to get knocked out by a powerful Shadow attack. Unless you consider getting blown up by the Reaper’s charged Megidolaon to be a fun time.”

Nobody had any answer to that, simply because there really wasn’t one. “Everyone ready?” Ren asked as he got up from the seat.

“Let’s go,” Rise declared, speaking on all of their behalfs. They made their way into Yosuke’s office and through the TV into the soothing garden that made up the safe point in the TV World.

“Enjoy the scenery while you can,” Kanji warned the younger Persona users. “It ain’t gonna last for long.”

Joker, Shiho, and Mona grimaced but said nothing as Rise guided them away from the garden. As they left its boundaries behind them, the lush and natural scenery fell away, and a strange, unnatural fog began to creep in around them. A yellow, sickly mist that…while it didn’t obscure their vision that much or mess with their health in any meaningful way…set them on edge with a sense of inherent wrongness that none of them could properly explain.

“You see and feel that, don’t you?” Naoto asked grimly. “That yellow fog surrounding this area?”

“Yeah,” Joker confirmed with a frown. “There’s no way this fog is natural.”

“That’s because it isn’t,” Yosuke scowled.

“This fog is the very fog that once threatened to consume all of Inaba,” Yukiko explained. “The one that the Foggy Day Murders were named after, thanks to Adachi and Izanami. We cleared up most of the fog after we beat them, but the area surrounding the entry point to Magatsu Inaba still has some fog around it to this day we’ve never been able to clear up. It’s not getting worse or anything, it’s just always there.”

“It likely has to do with the fact that Adachi’s very first murder occurred there,” Naoto hypothesized. “The place where it all began.”

“Is there anything dangerous around the entry point?” Joker asked warily. “Obviously Magatsu Inaba itself is going to be dangerous, but how about the area around it?”

Yu shook his head. “The entry point itself is as safe as any other, but it is…uniquely unsettling. Be prepared for a rather disturbing sight.”

“Great…” Mona muttered as Rise guided them deeper into the fog. Eventually, they found themselves inside what looked like an apartment building, with a singular path leading straight to a doorway with the same red and black vortex they had seen so many times in the entrances to the TV World dungeons.

“Is this it?” Shiho asked nervously. “Is this the entrance?”

“Not quite,” Yu shook his head. “The actual entrance is inside one of the apartments. And like I said earlier, it’s quite the disturbing sight. Brace yourselves.”

Joker, Shiho, and Mona all nodded and prepared themselves for some unknown horror as they crossed the threshold into the apartment that they were talking about. Once they were inside, their jaws dropped in horror and disbelief as they beheld the antechamber to Magatsu Inaba.

“What the fuck…” Joker breathed, with Shiho and Morgana too stunned to even make a comment.

 They were in one of the apartments, as Yu had stated. But the entire apartment was a complete mess in the worst way possible. The walls were covered with posters of a woman in a pink kimono…except every single one of the posters had the head/face completely ripped out. The walls were also splattered with splotches of red, yellow, and white paint…with the rest being most prominent and looking disturbingly like blood.

“Holy…” Shiho gaped as she took a closer look at one of the pictures. “Someone really hated this woman.”

“That’s not even the worst part,” Rise muttered.

“How could that not be the…oh…” Mona’s voice trailed off as Joker and Shiho looked at where the feline was pointing. Right in the middle of the bedroom was a chair…with a noose hanging from the ceiling right above it.

Shiho felt a wave of fear and revulsion pulse through her, the noose reminding her of her own suicide attempt 1 year ago. Zheng Yi Sao immediately sent soothing pulses of reassurance and calm to help ease her nerves…but it wasn’t enough to completely set her mind at ease. “What happened here?” she whispered. “Did somebody actually…?”

“No,” Chie quickly reassured her. “Nobody actually did anything like that here.”

“But the reality unfortunately isn’t all that much better,” Naoto admitted with a frown. “Are you sure you can hear this?”

“I can,” Shiho answered firmly.

“Okay,” Rise stepped forward, having decided to take on the responsibility of telling the story. “This is the place where Adachi’s first murder happened. The place where Mayumi Yamano died. We never actually got to see what happened personally since this happened before we all got our Personas, but we know for sure that she got killed by her own Shadow.”

Shiho shuddered as she remembered the cruel, malicious personality her own Shadow had demonstrated when she had encountered in the TV World…as well as how it had turned into a monster when she had rejected it. She had little doubt that the same thing happened to Mayumi Yamano…

…only that time, nobody had been around to save her.

“Adachi, the sick bastard, decided that this would be a great place to set up his own personal TV Dungeon,” Rise continued with a stormy expression. “A twisted, ruined version of Inaba where he could rule supreme. And let me tell you guys, beating him in his own home turf wasn’t easy.”

“We can imagine,” Morgana muttered. “Fighting those Palace Rulers in their own territories was just as difficult. Especially the more powerful ones like Shido.”

“After we beat Adachi, Magatsu Inaba became a part of the TV World like any other, and we can enter it at any time,” Yu added, continuing where his girlfriend left off. “The entrance is right over there.” He pointed towards where the apartment’s window should have been…except it had been replaced with a huge portal surrounded by what looked like a mangled pile of signposts and yellow police tape forced together to create some semblance of a structure. “You ready to go?” he asked.

“We’re ready,” Joker answered, “and the sooner the better. Whatever the hell’s in there, I think I’d rather deal with powerful Shadows than stay in this messed up place for a second longer.”

“For now, let’s just have me, Joker, Shiho, and Yukiko on the front lines,” Yu suggested. “That way we have both extreme firepower and as many support options as possible to back Shiho up.”

Nobody had any reason to disagree, and they all entered Magatsu Inaba together.

As its name had implied, Magatsu Inaba was a twisted, corrupted version of Inaba. An Inaba that had been thoroughly drowned in darkness and chaos with absolutely no hope of recovery. The entire sky was covered in the same blood red and dark vortex that marked the entrances to the TV Dungeons, with the pathways of the dungeon itself taking the form of dirt-covered roads surrounded by mangled conglomerations of disordered and filthy signposts and yellow police tape. The entire dungeon itself was situated in the middle of a giant sinkhole filled with dirt and grime, with the shadowy silhouettes of Inaba’s buildings looming ominously in the distance. It was a perfect representation of Adachi’s malevolent personality and the hatred he had felt for the town that he had been forced into…as well as a horrific depiction of Inaba could have become if his demented plans had succeeded, and Inaba had been consumed by the fog.

Joker understood all of this, and while he certainly felt some degree of horror and revulsion…he also paradoxically felt a thrill of excitement in his soul as he took in his surroundings. A thrill that specifically emerged from one particular Persona in his Sea of Souls. It was clear to him that Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro recognized that he was back in Magatsu Inaba at long last…and was nothing short of delighted to be back in what could arguably be the closest thing he had to a “home.”

“Look over there!” Yukiko pointed down the road, where they could see a Shadow crawling about. “There’s a Shadow!”

Yu charged forward and whacked the back of the Shadow with his katana, although he deliberately held back his speed to prevent himself from accidentally triggering an insta-kill. The Shadow transformed into 4 shadows as the area around them transformed into a small arena, the which were Agitating Hableries and 2 of which were Vehement Idols.

Right away, Shiho could tell that these Shadows were stronger even than even the strongest Shadows that they had fought in Heaven. “Remind us again, Rise, what are these Shadows weak to?” Yukiko requested politely as they surrounded the Shadows.

“The Hableries are weak to Fire,” Rise reported. “And the Vehement Idols are weak to Curse.”

Joker grinned at the last few words. “Weak to Curse, you say?” he repeated. “Say no more. Hit me up with a Thermopylae, Yu? I’ve got this.”

Yu winced internally a bit, knowing full well exactly which Persona Joker was about to unleash, but he did as the Younger Wild Card asked and powered them all up with a Thermopylae.

Joker grinned as he felt the triple buff empower his soul, and didn’t waste any time stepping up and ripping off his mask. “Time to play, Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro! MAGATSU MANDALA!”

The black-armored dark counterpart of Izanagi manifested behind him, his demonic face grinning malevolently as he swung his wicked glaive from side to side. The same blood-red runic circle that they had seen when Joker had first revealed Magatsu-Izanagi manifested underneath the entire battlefield, with similarly colored Kanji words created by Curse energy surrounded the Shadows. Just like last time, the Kanji letters swirled around the battlefield faster and faster as Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro’s wicked spell gathered more and more unholy power.

And just like last time, the spell culminated with a pillar of dark energy that exploded out of the ground and soared towards the equally tainted sky. The Vehement Idols were obliterated out of existence as the Magatsu Mandala spell tore them to shreds with not even the barest pieces of their essence remaining…but surprisingly enough, the Agitating Hableries actually survived the attack. True, Joker’s attack hadn’t been charged at all apart from the Heat Riser effect, but it was a testament to how strong the Shadows had become that they could survive some of the most powerful attacks they had to offer.

Of course, just because the Hableries were strong enough to survive Joker’s Magatsu Mandala, didn’t mean that they were any closer to actually beating him and his friends than the thoroughly destroyed Vehement Idols. Especially when one of them was completely consumed by an aura of Fear, and the other an aura of Despair.

“Two down, Ren!” Rise called out, trying to mask her nervousness with a mask of cheerfulness. “Great job!”

Joker grinned as he felt the momentum of a “1 More” surge through him. He knew he could easily destroy the Shadows with a second Magatsu Mandala, especially when both of them were statused…but he couldn’t get ahead of himself. They were there to train Shiho, after all. “Shiho, I’m handing you a Baton Pass,” he called out, walking over and giving her a high-five.

Shiho accepted the high-five with her hand, feeling a boost of power as she did so. “Anything you want me to do in particular?” she asked.

Yu shook his head. “As long as the Hableries aren’t immune to Psy, just wipe them out with a Mapsiodyne,” he suggested.

“You’re good to go!” Rise corroborated.

“All right, Zheng Yi Sao!” Shiho called out, crushing the mystical blue card that appeared in front of her with a swing of her spear. “MAPSIODYNE!”

The graceful feminine pirate queen manifested behind her and swung her sword at the Shadows, unleashing a powerful blast of multicolored, psychedelic energy at them both. With their minds utterly thrown into chaos by the aftereffects of Joker’s Magatsu Mandala, the Psychic attack triggered a Technical attack on them both, and this was enough to wipe out the rest of the Shadows’ HP and then some.

“Excellently done, Shiho-chan!” Yukiko complimented as several cards manifested in front of Yu and Joker, signaling a Shuffle Time. The two Wild Cards eagerly looked through the cards to see which ones to pick…only for their happy expressions to fade away as their eyes fell on one card in particular.

“Ren…” Yu began with a forced calm that did nothing to hide his wariness. “Do you see that card?”

“That black and gray card over at the end?” Joker answered with a grimace. “The one with the Reaper’s head and his revolvers crossed in a Skull-and-Crossbones formation?”

“Oh, good,” Yu replied with a tone dry enough to match the Sahara. “So I’m not just imaging it.”

“If I saw that card in Mementos, I’d bet it would make the Reaper show up immediately and start chasing after us,” Joker hypothesized. “But given how the TV World works differently and the Reaper usually hides in chests instead, I’m gonna go ahead and take a guess that picking this card will make the Reaper spawn immediately in one of the chests instead.”

“Which is rather problematic given how we have Shiho here,” Yu muttered, “and I don’t think she’s at the point where she can safely fight the Reaper without getting knocked out multiple times in a row. Luckily, we’re not forced to pick that card here, so we can just ignore it for now.”

“Definitely something to keep in mind in the future, though,” Joker acknowledged as Yu picked cards that would give them extra Money and EXP. “There are times when I do try to fight the Reaper on purpose…but this isn’t one of them.”

The arena shifted back into the layout of Magatsu Inaba, allowing the Investigation Team to continue on. Despite the ominous and foreboding nature of the TV Dungeon, the actual exploration wasn’t all that much different than any other Dungeon that they had traveled through. After a few minutes of exploring and battling Shadows, they were able to find the Stairs leading to the next floor…although Stairs perhaps wasn’t the right word, given that the “Stairs” in question was instead another portal with the same red-and-black vortex that filled the skies of Magatsu Inaba.

“Uhh…” Mona looked at the portal uneasily. “Is that thing safe to go through?”

“It is,” Yu reassured them. “We’ve gone through those portals many times, and they always lead to the next floor like any other stairway.”

“If you say so,” Shiho muttered, but she followed them through the portal after only a few seconds of hesitation. To her immense relief, the portal led them to the next floor just like Yu had promised, without setting off any kind of trap or attack.

There was another Shadow a few feet away, and Yu wasted no time in rushing towards it and triggering a battle by whacking it on the head with his katana. This time, the Shadow transformed into 2 Great Kings and 2 Jupiter Eagles, all of which were about as powerful as the Hableries and Idols that they had just faced.

“Bad news, Ren,” Rise called out with a warning. “They’re all immune to Curse in some way.”

Joker rolled his eyes. “Well, isn’t that just fucking fantastic?” he muttered. “No fun at all. What are they weak to, then?”

“The Jupiter Eagles are weak to Electric and Psy attacks now,” Rise reported. “And the Great Kings are weak to Bless.”

“Hey Shiho, why don’t you try using those Segaki Rice packs on the Great Kings?” Yu suggested. “You haven’t really had much of a chance to try items that replicate Instakill effects on enemies.”

Joker blinked. “Wait, Instakill?” he asked. “Whenever I used those, Segaki Rice packs did 50 Bless damage to all enemies in the Metaverse.”

Yu shook his head. “It must be different interactions based on the cognitive world, then,” he mused, before explaining. “In the TV World, Segaki Rice basically acts as a Hamaon on an enemy. Potentially really useful against enemies weak to Bless, but my friends had to be careful when using them since they could end up hitting themselves with that Hamaon effect if they threw those rice packs at the wrong person.”

“Interesting…” Joker mulled over that information, before shrugging. “Yeah, in that case, Shiho, go right ahead. We can set things up so that you can single-handedly kill every single enemy if we play our cards right, or at the very least let you be the major player here. Can you figure out how?”

Shiho thought for a moment, then smiled. “You power me up with one of those Star Onions for a Concentrate, give me a Heat Riser boost, weaken the Defenses of those Shadows, and then I throw 2 Segaki Rice packs at the Great Kings and hit the two Jupiter Eagles with a Mapsiodyne,” she deduced.

Yu grinned. “You’re getting our strategies down now, Shiho. Great work,” he complimented. He tossed a Star Onion at Shiho to power her up with a Concentrate, while Joker summoned Alilat to boost them with a Thermopylae of his own. Yukiko threw a Cleaning Spray on the Shadows to hit them with the equivalent of a Marakunda, leaving Shiho to carry out her own plan.

Taking a deep breath, Shiho grabbed 2 packs of Segaki Rice and threw 1 each at the Great Kings. Holy symbols and scripture papers flew around them in a miniature storm, and to her relief and satisfaction, both rice packs did their job as the Great Kings were instantly destroyed thanks to their weakness to Bless. “Let’s finish them off!” The newest Persona wielder called out with a grin. “MAPSIODYNE!”

Zheng Yi Sao manifested behind her again and fired another blast of psychedelic energy. With the power of both Concentrate and Heat Riser backing her up, the attack was more than enough to obliterate the Jupiter Eagles, reducing them to ashes.

“Ooh, well done, Shiho!” Rise praised. “You killed all those Shadows by yourself!”

Shiho giggled as the arena turned back into the paths of Magatsu Inaba. “I’ve really come a long way, haven’t I?” she asked, her question directed towards all of them but especially Joker.

Joker merely nodded and smiled proudly. “You certainly have, Shiho,” he complimented. “So long as you don’t ever let your guard down, I have no trouble believing you’d be a natural fit to either the Investigation Team or the Phantom Thieves once you reach the same level of power as the rest of us.”

“Hell yeah!” Chie cheered. “You’re doing great!”

“Indeed, you’ve grown quite marveously,” Naoto agreed, before adding a warn, “but as Ren also stated, do not let your guard down. The Shadows in Magatsu Mandala are even stronger than the ones in Magatsu Inaba, and they can punish carelessness quite brutally if you’re not careful.”

“Wait, Magatsu Mandala?” Shiho repeated, confused. “Isn’t that the name of Magatsu Izanagi’s special attack?”

“It is kinda confusing,” Kanji acknowledged. “Magatsu Inaba’s a bit of a weird place even by the standards of the TV World. Basically, it’s split into 2 places. You’ve got Magatsu Inaba, and then there’s a second part called Magatsu Mandala,” he explained. “That second part is actually larger than Magatsu Inaba itself, and it’s where most of the Shadows are.”

“Adachi was a real asshole,” Yosuke grumbled. “He forced us to go through all of Magatsu Mandala first before he let us actually fight him in Magatsu Inaba, taunting us throughout the whole damn thing. Luckily for us, though, we don’t have to deal with him mocking us anymore ever since we beat him!” he added brightly.

“How do we get there?” Shiho asked. “Do we just need to find another portal like the one we went through earlier?”

Yu shook his head and smiled knowingly. “It’s a little more complicated than that. Let’s see if you can figure it out.”

The team of Persona users advanced until they found a small pit in the middle of a crossroads. Shiho immediately noticed that something was off about the pit. In all of the TV Dungeons that she had ventured through so far, she had never seen a dungeon layout with a pit like this even once.

“Is this where the entrance to Magatsu Mandala is?” Shiho guessed.

“You go it!” Rise confirmed happily. “Good eye!”

“Yu figured it out pretty quickly too, back when we first came here,” Yukiko commented with a smile. “The moment we realized that Adachi had blocked the path to where he was hiding, Yu immediately suspected that there was a hidden pathway and came right back here to lead us to Magatsu Mandala. There’s a reason why he’s our leader, after all.”

“Ready to hop in?” Joker asked. Shiho nodded, and they all entered the pit to enter Magatsu Mandala proper. She wasn’t sure what to expect in this subsection of Magatsu Mandala, but visually it didn’t appear all that different from the part of the TV Dungeon that they had just left. Of course, given that this was still a corrupt, ruined version of the town that she had grown to appreciate, that wasn’t a good thing by any stretch of the imagination. If the last TV Dungeon was meant to represent Heaven, Magatsu Inaba and Magatsu Mandala were undoubtedly the closest thing the TV World had to a Hell.

But while the overall aesthetic of Magatsu Mandala hadn’t really changed, the Shadows most certainly had. For whatever reason, most of them were completely different from the ones that they had fought in Magatsu Inaba, and they felt even stronger too.

“We got the advantage!” Rise called out as the Shadow transformed into 3 Amorous Snakes and 2 King Castles. “Those Amorous Snakes are weak to Curse and Ice, and the King Castles are weak to Fire and Nuke!”

“Weak to Curse, you say?” Joker asked with a malevolent grin. “Say no more.” Before anyone could say or do anything, he ripped off his mask and summoned Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro from his soul again. “You know what to do, Magatsu-Izanagi! MAGATSU MANDALA!”

Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro was already swinging his glaive before Joker even finished his sentence, the glowing eyes and mouth on his mask gleaming with unholy delight as he summoned yet another malevolent rune circle underneath the hapless Shadows and channeled his power. One colossal explosion and another pillar of dark magic later, and the Amorous Snakes were obliterated completely, and the King Castles were both heavily wounded with their minds thrown into complete confusion.

Joker glanced over at Shiho. “You good to wrap things up here?” he asked.

“Yeah, I got this,” Shiho replied.

“Hang on a sec!” Rise cautioned. “Before you do anything, just be aware that those King Castles block Psychic attacks now too!”

“Aww, come on!” Shiho complained. “I was gonna blast them with a Mapsiodyne!” She sighed. “I dunno…I guess I could just toss a Nuke Magatama at them or something…”

“Actually…” Yu stepped in, “while we’re here, I think now is as good a time as any to reveal one of the new Personas I’ve finished working on with Ren.”

“Whoa, hold up!” Yosuke interrupted eagerly. “You made a new Persona with Ren?”

By now, the Investigation Team had seen enough Personas created through the two Wild Cards’ cooperation that they were always eager to see any new maxed Personas that Yu brought out to battle. “Ooh, senpai, what did you make?” Rise asked excitedly.

“Come on, come on! Show us!” Chie begged.

Yu smiled and summoned a mystical blue card in his hand, before breaking it. “Come forth! FAFNIR!” Everyone gasped as a giant, serpentine mechanical dragon covered in stainless metal armor materialized behind Yu. The metal dragon radiated the same overwhelming power that all of his other maximized Personas did, demonstrating that Yu had spent time maximizing and optimizing this particular Persona just like all of his other ones.

“COSMIC FLARE!” the Seeker of Truth shouted.

In response, the dragon reared his head back and let out a mighty roar. An overwhelming pulse of sheer Nuclear energy, equally as powerful as the one Joker’s Ardha was capable of unleashing, blasted through the entire battlefield. The two King Castles were already crippled by Joker’s Magatsu Mandala from earlier, and the Cosmic Flare was more than enough to utterly wipe them out completely.

“That was so cool!” Teddie gushed. “Senpai is the best!”

“Damn, that freaking metal dragon thing you summoned was really badass!” Kanji complimented with a grin. “I don’t remember you summoning a thing like THAT back when we were fighting Adachi!”

“That’s because that Persona didn’t exist back then,” Joker commented. “Fafnir came into existence around the same time when Maruki gained the power to actualize reality. The Fafnirs in his Palace were easily the strongest Shadows there, and also the most dangerous. “Take a look at the one Yu made, and you’ll see why.”

Rise scanned Yu’s Fafnir…and her eyes bulged as she processed him. “What the hell is this resistance profile?” She exclaimed. “This is one of the most overpowered things I’ve ever seen in my life!”

She channeled Kouzeon’s power to broadcast the information to the rest of her teammates…and all of them (except Joker and Mona) were just as stunned. “What in the…?” Naoto spluttered. “Repel Physical, Repel Gun, Drain Fire, Drain Nuke, and Resist Elec? At BASE?”

Yosuke’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “There’s even more immunities than that!” He pointed out. “Yu added Drain Ice, Drain Psy, Repel Bless, and Repel Curse. There’s literally only TWO elements besides Almighty that he doesn’t have an immunity to, and one of those is already a resistance!”

“And Yu managed to add all those immunities AND maximize his Nuclear damage too!” Yukiko exclaimed. “I think this might honestly be one of the most powerful Personas he’s ever created that isn’t his Yoshitsune or Izanagi-no-okami!”

Joker snickered. “I’m particularly proud of that one,” he commented. “Honestly, we weren’t even sure at first whether Yu would be able to make Fafnir at all. Glad to see that I was wrong.”

“You’ve got to have a Fafnir, too!” Shiho declared, pointing a finger at him. “I REFUSE to believe that you don’t have your own Fafnir when he has a resistance profile that good!”

Joker smirked. “Oh, I’ve got a Fafnir, all right. But let’s just say, it’s a little different from Yu’s. And before you ask, no, I’m not going to show you my version yet. I’m gonna keep that one close to my chest for now.”

“You’re just teasing us, Ren!” Chie pouted, but with Joker showing no signs of relenting they had no choice but to stifle their curiosity for now.

They proceeded through Magatsu Mandala, fighting and killing any Shadow that crossed their path. Half the time, Joker would act very much like the team player and mentor for Shiho that he had been in the other TV Dungeons, sometimes giving instructions to Shiho and other times allowing her to form her own plan for fighting the Shadows in question. Yu and Yukiko would serve in a supporting role more often than not, and both of them were perfectly fine with this as letting Shiho do more of the work would give her more opportunities to learn and grow.

But the other half of the time…

After his initial concern and worry over the ominous and foreboding environment of Magatsu Inaba and his environment, Joker had quickly gotten over these feelings. Ever since their first Shadow battle here, Joker had not only adjusted to Magatsu Inaba and Mandala incredibly quickly, but he was now arguably thriving in this cursed and corrupted place to the point of outright having more fun than he had in any other TV Dungeon. Every single time Joker attacked a Shadow, it was always by summoning Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro. And while sometimes he utilized Nocturnal Flash to set up Technical attacks for Shiho, whenever he attacked directly it was always with Magatsu Mandala.

“You need proper punishment,” Joker hissed as he summoned Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro behind him for what had to be the tenth time in a row. “MAGATSU MANDALA!”

Another unholy rune circle was summoned, and another pillar of darkness tore apart the Shadows in front of them with incredible violence and ruthlessness. This time, the attack was even more devastating than it would’ve already been normally, as Shiho had cast Evil Smile to cripple their minds with Fear, and Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro’s Hollow Jester had fed off their fear to fuel his own strength even further.

“Is it just me?” Yosuke muttered under his breath as the arena shifted back into the network of ruined pathways that made up Magatsu Mandala. “Or is Ren getting a little TOO into killing Shadows with Magatsu-Izanagi?”

“No, it’s not just you,” Yu replied back quietly. “He really enjoys killing Shadows with Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro specifically, in a way that he hasn’t been so far with other Shadows in other dungeons. Either that,” he added with a humorless smile, “or he’s enjoying the novelty of casting Magatsu Mandala in Magatsu Mandala a little too much.”

Yu knew that Ren was a far better person than Adachi had ever been, but even he had to admit that he was just a tad uncomfortable with how freely Ren wielded the power of his original Persona’s evil counterpart without any concern or restraint. Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro’s malevolence had greatly diminished while he was under Ren’s command when compared to Adachi’s, but it hadn’t disappeared entirely.

It didn’t help that, for whatever reason, the Shadows themselves seemed to be affected by Magatsu Mandala more than usual. Maybe it was just because of Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro’s Ailment Boost, or just because Ren was incredibly lucky (which wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest, given that all the Personas they used regularly had max 99 luck). But it almost seemed to him that whenever Magatsu Mandala hit an enemy and that enemy was lucky enough to survive, it would always inflict a status condition without fail. Every single time. In fact, Yu couldn’t think of a single time so far where Magatsu Mandala hadn’t inflicted a status condition on a Shadow it hadn’t outright destroyed.

“Could Ren have some kind of influence on the Shadows here as the new wielder of Magatsu-Izanagi?” Yu wondered to himself. “Not enough to stop the Shadows from attacking him or us, but enough that his attacks are even more effective against them than usual?”

“Think we should tell him to take it down a notch?” Kanji asked, having come to roughly the same conclusions as the rest of them.

Yu shook his head. “No real point,” he answered reluctantly. “Ren hasn’t done anything inherently wrong with Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro, just killing Shadows in the specific way he wants to. And if he was corrupted by Magatsu-Izanagi’s influence, we would’ve seen that a LONG time ago. He’s had that Persona since he’s been in Tokyo, and he still did the right thing even with Magatsu-Izanagi in his Sea of Souls.”

No, the older Wild Card wasn’t concerned about Ren turning evil because of Magatsu-Izanagi. Rather, Yu had the sneaking suspicion that Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro represented and drew power from whatever of Ren’s negative qualities already existed within him.

It wasn’t Emptiness, like Adachi’s had been. That was a flaw that Yu could rule out almost immediately. Ren might seem relatively isolated from everyone else at a surface glance, but that was clearly untrue once you actually knew him. He maintained regular connections with the Phantom Thieves with Tokyo, he had his cat Morgana, he hung out with him and the rest of the Investigation Team and Shiho pretty regularly, and from what Kou told him, Ren was even starting to gradually open up to certain classmates at Yasogami High.

No, whatever negative characteristic Ren had that was fueling Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro (if his theory was even correct to begin with), it was something else. Yu didn’t have enough information about Ren’s life in Tokyo to go off of, and if he tried to force Ren to talk about it, he could potentially damage the trust they had in each other if he didn’t have a VERY good reason to bring it up. Which, as a Seeker of Truth who firmly believed in being honest with oneself, he simply didn’t have.

No, the best he could do for now was keep an eye on Ren and make sure his personality didn’t drastically turn for the worse, for whatever reason. And if that worst-case scenario ever happened, Yu would be there to support his little brother figure like he had always done.

The Investigation Team and Phantom Thieves journeyed deeper into the depths of Magatsu-Mandala, destroying Shadows and training Shiho as they did so. Yu was relieved to see that Shiho was handling herself quite admirably even against the toughest Shadows that she had ever faced. Despite the remarkably short timeframe of her training, she was fighting like a seasoned Persona user, with the only difference between her and the rest of the team being a difference in levels and a lack of evolutions.

“What the heck was that last level we were in?” Shiho asked as they proceeded through World 3 to World 4. “It was so big for some reason!”

Yosuke scowled. “Oh, that. Yeah, that was Adachi being an asshole like usual. He put up this challenge where if we fought or got hit by a single Shadow in that level, he would send us ALL the way back to the very beginning of Magatsu Mandala. Just to slow us down and piss us off, because he was a massive dick like that.”

“Wow, really?” Shiho rolled her eyes. “So he’s a troll on top of being a psychopathic murderer?”

“As someone who actually has a bond with Adachi even now, I’ll be the first to admit that he was a real dick back then,” Yu commented without hesitation. “Even Adachi in the present day doesn’t think particularly highly of the kind of person he used to be.”

“We got through it in one go, though!” Chie added cheerfully. “Yu led us through that whole floor without us hitting a single Shadow. There’s a reason he’s our leader, after all!”

“Are there any other major challenges in Magatsu Mandala?” Shiho asked.

Naoto shook her head. “Fortunately, no. The last floor’s layout is always fixed and rather interesting, but there isn’t any unique challenge to it. There was previously a major enemy that Adachi created to block our path and that we needed to destroy in order to gain access to Adachi himself in Magatsu Inaba. But since we’ve already defeated that particular Shadow, nothing has manifested to replace it.”

“It’s a good thing you already took care of most of the challenges here the first time you went through,” Mona commented. “Otherwise I feel like this place would be a lot more annoying to deal with.”

“You have no idea,” Yosuke commented dryly. “Especially when Adachi was mocking you throughout the whole thing with that annoying voice of his.”

They proceeded through Magatsu Mandala, through the fourth and then the fifth floor. After the rather large and unique grid-like layout of the third floor, the fourth and fifth were more of a return to form to the randomized natures of the TV Dungeon floors that they were all used to. None of the Shadows posed any serious threat to them as a group, although there was one rather scary moment when they were ambushed by a Shadow that transformed into a group of Earnest Calocys. While most of them failed utterly in their attacks, wasting their Arm Choppers on Joker or Yu, one of the Calocys managed to hit Shiho with an Atom Smasher that actually managed to inflict Fear on her. While this wouldn’t have been a serious problem by itself, the only other Calocy then let out a Ghastly Wail to combo with its partner, an attack that almost certainly would’ve knocked Shiho out of the fight if it weren’t for the Homunculus that sacrificed itself to protect her from immediate defeat.

Joker’s eyes flashed hatefully as he realized what had just happened. “You’re going to pay for that,” he snarled, summoning Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro behind him. “MAGATSU MANDALA!”

The evil counterpart to Izanagi’s eyes flashed with a similarly baleful light, and he wasted no time in summoning a Magatsu Mandala attack to slaughter all five of the Calocys at once. Which he had no trouble doing whatsoever, given their inherent weakness to Curse.

“Are you all right?” Joker asked in concern once the pillar of cursed magic had annihilated the Shadows with no mercy whatsoever.

“Yeah, I’m fine…” Shiho muttered. “That attack was really scary, though.”

“Ghastly Wail,” Joker explained grimly. “I don’t know if we ever explained that one to you, but it kills anyone who’s been inflicted by the Fear status. And that includes us Wild Cards. It’s honestly one of the few things that has any real chance of killing even a highly powerful Wild Card like me or you. Anyone can get unlucky enough to be fit with Fear, and one Ghastly Wail in the wrong place and the wrong time. And if you don’t have a Homunculus or a fully-powered Navigator like Rise to bail you out, you lose.”

“It’s yet another lesson that reinforces why no Persona user should ever venture into the TV World alone,” Yu added with a serious look on his face. “With the rest of us here? The risk of death is minimal to borderline nonexistent. Alone? The risk of death is very, VERY real.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Shiho reassured them all. “I wasn’t gonna do anything stupid like that even before getting hit by that thing.”

Everyone else nodded in acknowledgment and approval, before proceeding to the final level of Magatsu Mandala. Shiho soon realized that once again, it had a unique layout compared to other TV Dungeon floors, only this time it was a square-like layout that seemed to spiral inward, with the “corners” of the square occasionally holding treasure chests. The Shadows were the strongest here out of all the ones they had fought in Magatsu Mandala, but their training and battles proceeded without any major differences…although at one point, they encountered a group of Minotaurs that were VERY annoying to deal with thanks to their huge amounts of health and their annoying ability to dodge attacks.

All of this changed when they were attacked by a Shadow that hit them too quickly for them to ambush. The Shadow transformed into 3 Noble Seekers, a group of five eyeballs with blue irises circling around a bronze emblem that resembled a skull.

“Uh, oh…” Rise groaned. “It’s these guys again.”

“Why?” Joker blinked. “What’s so bad about them?”

“You’ll see,” Yu replied, sounding equally as annoyed as his girlfriend. “Would you mind just doing setup moves instead of attacking, Joker? I think it’s best to show you guys why these Noble Seekers are so dangerous.”

Joker didn’t really understand, but he shrugged and cast a Thermopylae on everyone while Shiho tossed a Cleaning Spray at the Noble Seekers to weaken them with a Marakunda effect. Yukiko, in the meantime, powered herself up with a Concentrate while Yu…guarded, for some reason.

The Noble Seeker closest to Joker suddenly attacked, manifesting a human-like head behind its eyes and shouting wordlessly towards him. Suddenly, a gigantic eye made of Almighty energy manifested above him, gazing mercilessly down towards him. Just looking at it gave Joker very bad vibes in a way almost no other attack did, and he only barely managed to dodge the attack in time.

The second Noble Seeker merely let out a blast of Foul Breath towards Shiho, causing her to grimace in disgust, but the third Noble Seeker unleashed the same eye attack that the first one had utilized towards Shiho. Weakened as she was by the Foul Breath attack, she wasn’t able to resist the attack, and Joker watched in horror as her health was instantly and immediately reduced to 1. Not only that, the girl was clutching her head in mental agony and sorrow, the kind that could only be caused by the Despair element. “What the FUCK?” he exclaimed, still not fully processing what had just happened.

“Galgalim Eyes,” Yu explained grimly. “Easily one of the most dangerous attacks in the entirety of the TV World, and one that I’ve only ever seen enemy Shadows use. If you get hit by it, your health is immediately reduced to 1 regardless of how much health you had before. That would be bad enough, but it’s an Almighty attack so you can’t resist it no matter what…and you get inflicted by Enervate too.” He frowned as he studied Shiho more closely. “But this isn’t what I remember from Galgalim Eyes. It just made you really feeble and physically debilitated like you were an old person…it never caused mental suffering like this before.”

“I think I know what’s going on,” Mona murmured as the pieces started to fall. “With all the changes made to the human cognition, Galgalim Eyes must have changed so that it causes Despair when it hits someone instead of whatever this Enervate is, because we’ve never seen Enervate even once while we were in the Metaverse.”

“HP to 1 AND Despair? From an Almighty attack?” Joker mumbled, looking visibly shaken for once. “Holy shit, I think I’m actually scared of something in the TV World for the first time in…God knows how long.”

He summoned Maria and healed Shiho with a Salvation, completely restoring her HP and removing the Despair from her. “Thanks,” she replied gratefully as she steadied herself on her feet, before grimacing. “That was somehow even worse than the Ghastly Wail.”

“Galgalim Eyes is a horrible attack to be afflicted with, that’s for sure,” Yukiko agreed. “To this day, it is one of the few attacks we genuinely fear, and it might honestly be even worse now that it inflicts Despair instead of Enervate. We don’t have any way to use it ourselves, unfortunately.”

“We should get rid of these Noble Seekers now!” Rise urged. “Before they hit you with Galgalim Eyes again! They repel physical attacks and don’t have any weaknesses, so just hit them with all the magic attacks you can!”

“You got it!” Yu replied. He summoned forth Izanagi and blasted all three of the Noble Seekers with a Wild Thunder attack. A storm of brilliant blue lightning cascaded throughout the entire battlefield, blasting all three Noble Seekers with devastating electricity. The Wild Thunder certainly did massive damage, but since it hadn’t been charged he didn’t outright kill any of them.

“I’ll finish them off!” Yukiko volunteered.

“WAIT!” Joker suddenly interrupted, taking all of them off-guard. “Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro’s speaking to me…he’s telling me I shouldn’t kill the Shadows right away.”

“WHAT?” Yu spluttered, genuinely confused. Given Magatsu-Izanagi’s behavior and personality under Adachi and even under Ren, the evil counterpart of Izanagi advocating for restraint from bloodshed and slaughter was the LAST thing he expected.

“He’s telling me to knock them down instead,” Joker continued. “I know Rise said they don’t have any weaknesses, but we can still do that with Technical attacks instead!”

“But how are we going to knock them down without killing them?” Shiho asked incredulously, before the answer suddenly presented itself to her. “The Magatamas!” she declared, snapping her fingers. “They only do 50 damage, so the Noble Seekers might survive!”

Joker grinned at his teammate. “Exactly.” He summoned Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro, but not to destroy the Shadows with a Magatsu Mandala. “NOCTURNAL FLASH!” he shouted. Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro swung his blade from side to side, summoning a brilliant flash of moon-based light that inflicted dizziness on all of the Noble Seekers. Yukiko picked up a Happy Bomb and tossed it at the weakened Noble Seekers, and thanks to the effects of the dizziness, it inflicted Technical attacks on all of them despite not actually changing their damage. For two of the Noble Seekers, this was too much and even the paltry damage was enough to kill them. But one of them barely survived, and more importantly, was knocked down.

“What now, Ren?” Yu asked.

“I’ve got this,” Joker replied confidently, stepping up to the downed Noble Seeker and pointing his gun towards its head.

The Noble Seeker’s eyes fell upon him, and for the first time, it did something that was thought to be impossible for every single member of the Investigation Team. It spoke.

“You…” it rasped with an inhuman voice. “You have his power. The power of Magatsu…it blazes within your soul.”

“That’s right,” Joker answered coldly. “I have Magatsu-Izanagi’s power now.”

“What do you want, Trickster?” the defeated Shadow half-growled, half-asked. “I do not have much I can give you.”

Joker decided to keep the conversation straight and to the point. “I want an item,” he declared. “Give it to me and I’ll spare your life.”

“Fine,” the Noble Seeker conceded. It telekinetically passed what looked like a valuable accessory of some kind to Joker. “My treasure is yours.”

“Good,” Joker acknowledged with a nod of thanks, picking up the accessory. He was tempted to ask for more, but he decided not to risk it. “Now get out of my sight if you want to live,” he ordered coldly.

The Noble Seeker nodded in acceptance of Joker’s terms, righted itself, and fled from the battlefield, ending the fight without any further violence.

“Dude…” Kanji breathed as he raced up to Joker. “What was THAT?”

“You actually got that Shadow to TALK?” Naoto exclaimed, just as stunned as her significant other. “Those Shadows have NEVER talked to us! Not once!”

“Joker had this ability in the Metaverse where if he knocked down all the Shadows that we were fighting, he could negotiate with them and force them to give him money, items, or join him in his Sea of Souls,” Mona explained, but even he looked visibly surprised. “But those were with Shadows that looked like Personas. I didn’t think he could pull that off with those weird Shadows from here!”

“Honestly, I didn’t even think that was possible either,” Joker admitted. “The only reason why I bothered was because Magatsu-Izanagi wanted me to do that for this fight specifically. I think it was all so I could get this thing,” he looked down at the accessory. Now that he got a closer look at it, it looked like a golden amulet with a diamond eye in its centerpiece, with a sapphire making up its iris. He held the amulet out. “Anybody wanna try this?”

“I can!” Yukiko volunteered. She took off the God’s Love that she was wearing and put the amulet around her neck. The Amagi Inn proprietor focused for a few seconds…and then her eyes widened in shock. “No way!” she gasped. “I can use Galgalim Eyes now!”

“Wait, WHAT?” Everyone exclaimed. “How?” Chie demanded. “How is that possible? Not even Yu could use that skill!”

“It’s the amulet,” Yukiko explained. “When I put it on, the knowledge of how to use Galgalim Eyes just…poured into my brain. I could use it just like any other skill from my Persona.” She took the amulet off and frowned. “But I can only use it while I have this amulet on. If I take it off, the knowledge just…disappears.”

“A lot of the accessories I had during my adventures in the Metaverse had that,” Joker chimed in. “They let me and my friends use a skill that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to normally, as long as they were wearing the accessory. Most of the time there were better options, but they came in handy a few times.”

“Why don’t we try it out?” Yu suggested. “Let’s give the amulet to Shiho, since I honestly don’t think Yukiko would get that much benefit from it when she’s already so powerful with just her Fire attacks. I guess we can call it the Galgalim Amulet, since it lets you use Galgalim Eyes and all that.”

Yukiko handed the amulet to Shiho, who accepted it and wore it around her neck. Immediately, she felt the knowledge of how to use Galgalim Eyes flow into her mind, just like Yukiko had described. “40 SP?” She muttered as she realized just how much that spell would cost. “That’s the most expensive skill I’ve ever learned.”

“You are literally reducing any enemy’s HP to 1, no matter how strong it is, AND you’re inflicting Despair on it on top of that,” Joker deadpanned. “Can’t really complain about the price when you’re using a skill THAT overpowered.”

“I guess you’re right,” Shiho acknowledged, before she broke into a grin. “Still, I can’t wait to use this skill in a fight!”

“There’s a Shadow right up there,” Yu pointed a few feet ahead. “Right next to the final room in this floor.”

“Perfect,” Shiho replied. Joker charged towards the Shadow and struck it in the back with his knife, forcing it to transform into 2 Spastic Turrets and a Conceited Panzer. Joker summoned Alilat to boost up everyone with a Thermopylae, while Yu cast a Debilitate on the Conceited Panzer and Yukiko passed a Star Onion to her leader.

Shiho took a deep breath and channeled the power of the Galgalim Amulet into her Persona. “All right, Zheng Yi Sao!” she called out. “GALGALIM EYES!”

Zheng Yi Sao manifested and slashed her sword towards one of the Spastic Turrets. Everyone watched in anticipated as the same mystical eye that had crippled Shiho minutes earlier manifested right on top of the Turret. The eye flashed, bathing the Shadow in heavenly Almighty energy…and then all of its HP except for 1 instantly evaporated, with the Turret’s gun sagging downward as its mind was consumed by Despair. “It worked!” Shiho exclaimed. “That amulet actually worked!”

Joker grinned. “Well, that’s yet another tool you’ve got to add to your arsenal, Shiho,” he remarked.

Reveling in the feeling of victory, they cleaned up the rest of the Shadows easily, and then Yu showed her the room where they had once fought the Envious Giant. To her disappointment, it looked just an ordinary room in the very center of the map, with nothing special about it. “Aww, that’s it?” Shiho groaned. “There’s literally nothing in here!”

“Remember, the entirety of Magatsu Mandala was merely a diversion that Adachi forced upon us for his own amusement,” Naoto reminded her. “The ACTUAL end of Magatsu Inaba is rather more interesting…albeit in a rather morbid way.”

“Getting there is actually pretty easy,” Yu remarked. “We just need to fire this Goho-M, and then it’s just the two floors of Magatsu Inaba before we go straight to the end. Let’s wrap up this exploration by heading there now. Sound like a plan?”

“I’m down,” Shiho replied, with everyone else making various expressions of agreement. Yu threw the Goho-M down, leading back to the ominous bedroom at the entrance of Magatsu Inaba, and then they all entered through the portal to Magatsu Inaba itself. They blitzed through Magatsu Inaba, and compared to the later Shadows that they had battled in Magatsu Mandala, even the initially powerful-seeming ones in Magatsu Inaba itself were a breeze by comparison. When they entered the second floor of Magatsu Inaba, this time around, they skipped over the small crater that had led to Magatsu Mandala, instead heading straight for a small room blocked by yellow caution tape that led to a portal.

They crossed through the portal, and instead of another serious of maze-like pathways, there was only a single rocky pathway leading to the edge of a cliff with no other entrances or exits. “Here it is,” Yu gestured towards the end of the path. “The place where we fought both Adachi…and one of Izanami’s aspects, Ameno-Sagiri, the first time. Adachi was the murderer, as you already know, and Ameno-Sagiri was the aspect of Izanami that was directly responsible for the Fog. It looked like a giant multicolored eyeball for…reasons I can’t even begin to guess, to be honest.”

Mona was the first to reach the edge of the cliff face, and he peered over the edge. “Wow…” he breathed. “I dunno if it’s just because of the black vortex kinda blocking my view, but…is that all of Inaba down there?”

“Yeah, it is,” Yosuke confirmed as a thoughtful look appeared on his face. “Kinda symbolic, really…we were fighting Adachi and that Ameno-Sagiri thing up here high above Inaba, while the fate of the town and possibly even the whole world hung in the balance.”

“I wouldn’t fall down there though,” Naoto cautioned. “For all we know, falling off this cliff might cause you to fall into an empty void.”

“And was this whole town really covered in that yellow fog once?” Shiho asked. She knew the answer already, but she had to ask regardless. “That supernatural fog that made me feel all wrong inside?”

“You got that right,” Kanji replied grimly. “December was really bad in particular. If we hadn’t fought Adachi before the month ended, this whole town would’ve been drowned in the fog forever and all the Shadows would’ve come crawling out of the TV World and killed everyone in the real world.”

Mona and Shiho both cringed visibly at the rather gruesome mental image, and even Joker was visibly disconcerted by what Kanji was describing. “Remind me again why Izanami thought this was something that humanity would want?” he muttered.

Chie shrugged. “Who even knows? We beat them, got the town back to normal, and in the end that’s what matters!”

“Chie’s right,” Yu agreed, “but there is a lesson to be had here for you guys, even long after the battles to save Inaba from the fog. Cherish what you have and the good things that you have in your life every day.” His eyes darkened as he recalled the battles he and his friends had fought years ago. “Because sometimes, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.”

And with his words of wisdom spoken, Yu silently turned his gaze back towards the vast recreation of Inaba sprawled around far underneath them. A representation of the town that he had grown to cherish, and the town that had very nearly fallen to chaos and destruction if he and his friends hadn’t found the truth all those years ago.

Chapter Text

“I’ve been thinking,” Ren broke the silence as he put his pen down on his desk. He had decided to spend this particular afternoon just studying at home, keeping to himself and Morgana and giving himself some much-needed quiet time.

“About what?” Morgana asked as he hopped onto the bed. He could tell that Ren was pretty much done with studying for the day, given how he was already putting his homework away.

“I think I want to visit Adachi,” he declared. “You know who I’m talking about, right?”

“Yeah,” Morgana replied dryly. “The Foggy Day Murderer and the guy who wielded Magatsu-Izanagi before you did. And let me tell you, Ren, I’m really not sure that this is a good idea.”

“I mean, what exactly is the danger, really?” Ren pointed out. “It’s not like the guy is running around free with near-absolute power in Magatsu Inaba, like he was back when Yu fought him. For all intents and purposes, he’s just a normal guy, and he’s locked in jail. There’s not really much he can do to me, and it’s not like I’m gonna just suddenly turn evil out of nowhere if the guy tries to corrupt me.”

Morgana had to admit that Ren’s points were completely valid, and that realistically the danger was basically nonexistent. Of course, that didn’t mean he had to like the idea of meeting a known murderer, especially when they’d already had their own serial murderer to deal with during their Persona adventures. Granted, from what he could tell, Akechi was a very different person from Adachi, but still…

“I guess this had to happen at some point,” Morgana acknowledged with a sigh. “But please tell me you’re gonna at least tell Dojima, Yu, and your parents about this, right? I feel like they at the very least deserve to know.”

“I know,” Ren agreed. He had already picked up his cell phone while Morgana had been talking. He dialed in Dojima’s number, knowing that it was about a 50:50 shot whether or not the man would be done with his work earlier or not.

Thankfully, today he had been lucky. “Hello?” Dojima’s voice called out to him. “Is that you, Ren?”

“Yeah,” Ren confirmed. “Dojima-san, I wanted to ask you a huge favor.”

“Sure,” Dojima replied. “What do you need?”

“I want to visit Tohru Adachi in prison,” Ren declared, figuring that it was best to just rip the band-aid off immediately.

There was silence on the other line for several seconds. “And may I ask WHY you want to meet Adachi?” Dojima finally asked, his voice carefully.

“My parents told me that he’s my uncle once-removed,” Ren explained. “Which technically makes him the only biological family member I have around here.”

“I see,” Dojima replied, and Ren could envision the frown on his face. “And just to make sure you know who you’re dealing with, you do understand who Tohru Adachi is and why he’s in prison, correct?”

“Yeah,” Ren confirmed. “And I also know he’s the murderer from those Foggy Day Murders in 2011.”

“Right.” Dojima took a deep breath and sighed. “Look, Ren, you’re clearly old enough to make your own decisions, and I respect that. I can talk to Adachi, but it’s up to him whether he actually wants to see you or not. And before I do that, I want you to let your parents and Yu know that you’re planning this before let you go ahead with it.”

“Deal,” Ren immediately agreed. “I was planning on doing that anyway.” Morgana would’ve been yowling after him all day if he didn’t.

“Good,” Dojima sounded audibly relieved. “Just as long as you’re being responsible about it.”

He ended the call, and Ren immediately began dialing Yu’s number instead. The older Wild Card didn’t seem at all surprised to hear that Ren wanted to meet his serial killer uncle. “I had a feeling this was going to be coming up sooner or later,” he commented placidly once Ren had relayed his request. “And I don’t have any objections. For all that our friends rightfully loathe Adachi for his crimes, he does have his positive qualities too, and he has bettered himself from the man he used to be. Do you want me to come with you?” he asked.

Ren thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Not when I see him,” he answered. “I think our first conversation should be just between the two of us, although I don’t mind Dojima being there either since he’s the one who’s gonna arrange all this.”

“Understandable,” Yu agreed easily. “And knowing Adachi, he’s not likely to talk as much if there’s more people around. He might be willing to open up to Dojima, Nanako, and me…but I doubt he’d say a single word if the rest of the Investigation Team was around.”

“Thanks for understanding,” Ren thanked him gratefully. “Is there anything you wanted to talk to me about before I hung up?”

“Nothing major,” Yu replied, and Ren could imagine him shaking his head through the phone. “I just wanted to let you know that I maximized another two Personas a few days ago.”

“Oh?” Ren raised an eyebrow. “What did you make?”

“A Curse Persona,” Yu explained. “An Abaddon with Mighty Gaze Trait and Maeigaon as its only move. I pretty much just maxed out its damage with Curse Amp, Curse Boost, and Magic Ability. Then I gave it Drain Fire, Drain Ice, Repel Bless, and Enduring Soul. Maeigaon’s such a cheap move SP wise that I honestly didn’t think Spell Master was even worth putting on it, and having Enduring Soul on another Persona is probably a good idea. Especially with a resistance profile that’s as good as Abaddon’s.”

“Oh, I know all about Abaddon’s resistance profile,” Ren reassured him. Inherent Absorb Physical, Absorb Gun, and Absorb Dark were all very valuable on Abaddon without a St. Hermelin’s Badge to nullify Bless and Curse, and with the defensive skills Yu had given his Abaddon, Yu now had a Curse user that had six immunities and Enduring Soul. Abaddon’s offensive capabilities might not have been as strong as Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro’s, but his defensive profile certainly made up for it.

“Also, do you know Alice?” Yu asked. When Ren answered in the affirmative, Yu continued, “I have an idea on how I think we can build Alice to make her a really useful generic instakill Persona. I wanna talk to you about it when we have the time, probably after you’ve seen Adachi.”

Ren grinned. “I’m looking forward to it,” he replied, and then he hung up the phone. With Dojima and Yu notified, he dialed his parents’ phone number.

“Ren!” Fuyuko’s voice called out to him cheerfully. “I wasn’t expecting you to call right now!”

“How are you doing, son?” Shimazu asked, pleasantly surprised to hear his son reaching out to him.

“I’m doing all right,” Ren replied in a relaxed tone. “I passed a driving license exam for riding a scooter and got one for myself the other day.”

“Oh!” Shimazu blinked at the news, clearly not expecting that particular bit of news. “Well, congratulations, son. It’s probably for the best that you have a way to drive yourself around, since we’re not around to help you and you’re not old enough for a car license yet.”

“Do you have a scooter?” Fuyuko asked curiously.

“Yeah, I bought one the other day,” Ren confirmed. “I had enough money to afford one without needing to mooch off Dojima or Yu or anyone else.”

He suppressed a smirk as he said those words. After all, they were the truth and nothing but the truth. They just happened to completely leave out the fact that he had enough money to probably buy a good chunk of Inaba between the yen he had brought home from the Metaverse and the money he was still making in the TV World.

“Send us a picture, if you can!” Shimazu requested.

“I will,” Ren promised. “And before you ask, I’m being careful with how I ride the scooter. Only riding as much as I can handle, wearing a good helmet, and all that.”

“Good,” Fuyuko replied approvingly. “You shouldn’t be reckless with those things. I know they’re not as dangerous as actual motorcycles, but you could still get into a horrible accident if you’re not careful with them.”

“We don’t have any objections as long as you’re careful,” Shimazu agreed. “Was there anything else you wanted to tell us about?”

Ren took a deep breath before declaring his next few words. “I’ve decided to visit Adachi in prison.”

There was silence for a few seconds, just like there had been with Dojima. “…I wish I could say that I was surprised,” Shimazu finally admitted, “but that would be a lie. I had a feeling you would try and visit him eventually. He is technically the closest thing you have to a family member around Inaba, after all. And I’ll admit that if I were in your shoes, I’d have some kind of…morbid curiosity about him, if nothing else.”

“There’s no point in us trying to stop you, it’s not like we can realistically do anything,” Fuyuko acknowledged with a sigh. “And you’ve clearly proven that you’re old enough to make your own decisions, since Dojima’s told us that you’ve handled living by yourself in Inaba quite nicely.”

“Just…be careful, Ren,” Shimazu cautioned. “I don’t know what kind of person Adachi is like, now. We haven’t really been in contact for several years. But given that he’s a convicted murderer…I doubt it’ll be anything pleasant.”

“I know, and I will,” Ren promised. After all, this wasn’t the first time he’d associated with a murderer…not that his parents needed to know that. There wasn’t any point in frightening his parents with THAT particular bit of information now that Goro Akechi was gone from this world. “Hope things are going over well in America.”

“They’re going about as well as we can expect,” Shimazu replied, “but unfortunately, you kind of called us at a bit of an awkward time. We actually need to leave in just a few minutes, so I think we’ll have to end the call here.”

“Good luck, Ren,” Fuyuko gave him one last farewell, and then they ended the call.

With his parents notified, there was nothing else that could really do except wait for Dojima to establish contact with Adachi on his behalf. It was about a week later when Dojima finally returned with news, knocking on the door to Ren’s house on a Friday afternoon.

“Adachi has agreed to meet with you,” Dojima declared once Ren had invited him inside his house. “I was thinking of bringing you in to meet him tomorrow after school.”

“That works for me,” Ren agreed easily. “I didn’t have anything special planned for the weekend.”

“I do think it’s fair for me to warn you, though,” Dojima cautioned. “Tohru Adachi has…quite the personality. He’s certainly rough around the edges, and he doesn’t have any patience for people he thinks are idiots. Don’t expect your familial relation to him to change that for you, Ren. He never outright said it, but I don’t think he particularly cared for your father all that much, considering that he barely mentioned his relatives back when I was working with him in 2011.”

Ren shrugged. “That sounds about right, Dojima-san,” he agreed. “I pretty much expected all of this to begin with. You’re not telling me anything I didn’t already know or at the very least suspect.”

Dojima nodded. “Then it sounds like you’re as ready as you can be to see him, Ren. By the way,” he added as a warning, “you can’t take that cat with you into the prison.”

“Not a cat,” Morgana mumbled, not that Dojima could hear him. “And I wasn’t going to intrude in something this private anyway.”

“That’s fine by me,” Ren promised. Dojima nodded and left the house.

Ren spent the rest of the day trying to imagine what Tohru Adachi was like. Even though he hadn’t ever met the man in person, he couldn’t help but compare him to Goro Akechi, the enemy Persona user and rival that he had battled against for the last year.

Goro Akechi had been driven by a deep-seated hatred and resentment for a worthless excuse of a father and a society that had treated orphans like him like complete trash, as well as a love for his mother that had driven him to take revenge for how Shido had treated her and ultimately driven her to suicide. Tohru Adachi, on the other hand, had killed his victims primarily for his own amusement, and because the emptiness in his life had led him to believe that everything around him was just as worthless.

One motivation was unquestionable more sympathetic and, while not justifiable, at least more understandable when compared to the other. But although Goro might’ve been more sympathetic than Adachi had ever been, he also had a much higher body count with all the mental shutdowns he had caused.

“Which is worse?” Ren couldn’t help but think to himself. “To have a better reason for killing but end up killing much more people because of it? Or to kill less people but to have no good reason for killing them besides a petty need for entertainment?”

It wasn’t a question that Ren could easily answer, and he still didn’t have an answer by the next morning when Dojima came to pick him up after school. “Ready to go?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Ren affirmed. He got into the car, and they drove off to the prison where Adachi was being held. Neither of the two talked much while they were driving, as Ren was lost in his own thoughts and Dojima couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when the two of them finally met. The minutes seemed to pass by in a blur as Dojima escorted Ren into the prison and to the visitation room, where he gestured for Ren to sit down at a single chair in front of a glass partition with a single circle in the middle that would allow him to speak to Adachi. As luck would have it, there was nobody around visiting other prisoners aside him, which Ren knew full well was not a guarantee by any stretch of the imagination.

A few moments later, there was a buzzer alarm and a door on the other side of the room opened, revealing a young man with short, unkempt black hair wearing a business suit and a red tie. A prison guard entered the room behind him and guided Adachi over to an identical chair right behind the partition, before turning to leave the room. Of course, Ren didn’t doubt for a second that the guard was waiting right outside the room, waiting to intervene if things got out of hand.

Adachi sat down on the chair, an expression of innocent confusion on his face as he trained his eyes on Ren. “So, uh…” he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “You’re my cousin’s kid, huh? Gotta say, I wasn’t really expecting to hear I had a nephew-once-removed and that he wanted to visit me.” He gave Ren a friendly smile. “As you probably know already, I’m Tohru Adachi. I gotta say, it’s nice to meet ya, uh…I think your name was Ren Amamiya, right? Sorry if I got it wrong.”

Ren shook his head. “No, you got it right. My name is Ren Amamiya. It’s nice to meet you too, Adachi-san.” He suddenly smirked. “Now if it’s all right with you, let’s cut through the bullshit, please. I don’t know what your actual personality is like, but I could tell that mask of yours was fake from miles away.”

Adachi blinked and stared at him for a few seconds. Then, his face suddenly broke into a grin. A decidedly colder and less friendly expression than he had been wearing seconds earlier…but not a hostile one either. “Damn, kid,” he whistled, clearly impressed. “Not bad. Not bad at all. It took the better part of the year for Yu and his gaggle of morons to figure out I was bullshitting them back when I was trying to kill people in Inaba. But you? You figured that shit out almost immediately.”

Ren chuckled humorlessly. “Even if we completely ignore what the Investigation Team told me about you, Adachi-san…let’s just say I have experience in dealing with people with masks.”

“Eh, just call me Tohru or Adachi,” Adachi replied with a dismissive wave. “I couldn’t give less of a shit about the honorific bullcrap.” He gazed over at Ren inquisitively with a much sharper gaze than before. “But in all seriousness, kid…why did you come over to this shithole to visit me? I wasn’t lying to Dojima when I told him I was curious about all this...although part of that is mainly just because this prison is boring as fuck and I have nothing better to do.”

“Well, part of it was morbid curiosity for me too,” Ren acknowledged. “I mean, I have this family member in Inaba who turns out to be a serial killer, how could I not be curious about that? Did you really try to kill all of my friends, and those two other women, mainly for what was basically shits and giggles?” he asked.

“Pretty much,” Adachi admitted without missing a beat. “I got reassigned to a backwater shithole of a town with pretty much nothing to do, so I figured I might as well liven things up a bit. Found a stooge who honestly did most of the heavy lifting for me, too.” Adachi suddenly scowled. “That being said, even I’ve realized just how fucking stupid the whole thing was. Trying to entertain myself is a really dumbass motivation for killing people and destroying their lives, even I’m self-aware enough to realize that. Every time I think about that year nowadays, I get pissed off more than anything else.”

“Yu told me about how you’ve changed your mind on how you think about your crimes,” Ren mused. “He thinks it’s a sign you’re becoming a better person.”

Adachi scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Of fucking course he does,” he muttered. “That idealistic moron believes the best in everyone, myself included. It’s so damn annoying whenever he talks about that.” The words were coated in a layer of disdain and dismissive contempt…and yet underneath, Ren could hear a hint of legitimate fondness that Adachi was trying his best to disguise. Certainly, there was a subtle but significant difference between the way he described his past motivations for murder and the way he talked about Yu, even if he described both as annoying.

Still, Ren decided not to call Adachi out on him, since it risked putting him on the defensive. “You know…” he spoke instead in a casual tone, “I grew up with Yu as an older brother figure for quite a while. We’re really close, and I’ve ended up following in his footsteps in more ways than one. Specifically, I’ve had my own set of adventures in Tokyo with my own special group of friends…just like he did in Inaba.”

Adachi gave him a look that mixed confusion and annoyance. “What the hell are you blathering abou…” the gears suddenly clicked in his head, and his eyes widened in genuine surprise. “Wait a minute…are you saying…?”

“Yeah,” Ren nodded, lowering his voice to make sure that they couldn’t be overheard. “I have the same kind of power that you and Yu do.”

Adachi stared at him for a moment…then he grinned. “Well, now…isn’t that interesting?” he asked. “I sure as hell wasn’t expecting to hear THAT coming out of your mouth today.” He lowered your voice to make sure he couldn’t be heard. “And let me guess…you’re one of those Phantom Thieves that have been all over the news last year, huh? The ones behind those changes of heart?”

Ren didn’t verbally reply, but the smile he gave in response was all the answer Adachi needed. “Heh…always wondered how they pulled off that shit,” Adachi tilted his heat thoughtfully. “Not every day that a so-called upstanding member of society who turns out to be a real piece of shit inside suddenly decides to start spewing out all their dirty laundry to the public, bawling like a baby. That Shido guy in particular…I mean, damn,” he whistled, sounding both impressed and disgusted at the same time, “that guy was a real sick fuck, and that’s coming from ME.”

“He’s in jail where he belongs,” Ren replied neutrally. “Just like the rest of them.”

Adachi scowled. “If you ask me, that’s just more proof that the world and society are full of shit,” he commented darkly. “Honestly, I think they should’ve had the same fate as all those mental shutdowns Shido caused. Let them rot in hell with all that black sludge pouring out of their eyes. Instead of giving them the mercy of confessing their crimes and just leaving them in jail.”

“Mercy?” Ren repeated, and Adachi was honestly surprised at the sheer amount of contempt dripping from his voice. “I don’t see it as mercy at all. To me, the change of heart means that they have to live with the weight of their crimes for the rest of their life. They didn’t have any conscience before the change of heart, but after? Can you imagine the sheer, overwhelming guilt crushing on their minds every single day for the rest of their lives? The mental pain and anguish they’d suffer constantly while rotting away in jail? The change of heart isn’t a mercy. It’s a punishment, and one that means they don’t get the easy way out.”

Ren’s gaze softened. “Besides, the change of heart means that their victims get actual justice,” he added. “If all those criminals died from mental shutdowns, then they’d take their dark secrets with them to the grave. But since they confessed their crimes instead, their victims will get some actual closure while everyone sees the criminal for the monster they truly are.”

Adachi rolled his eyes. “And there you go, blathering about justice and righteousness and all that shit. I was wondering when that shit was gonna pop up, with Yu Narukami as your big bro and all that.” His mouth spread into a sickening grin. “Still…that first part of what you said…I have to hand it to you, kid, I never thought of it that way. And I kinda get it now. You might be cut from the same cloth as Narukami, but you’re not nearly as blind and deluded in ideals as he is. You actually know how the world works, kid. I like that.”

“Thanks,” Ren replied neutrally. He honestly couldn’t give less of a shit about what Tohru Adachi thought of him, even he was surprised by how well they were getting along so far. “I had a question for you myself, actually.”

“Shoot,” Adachi spread his arms around and gestured towards the room they were in. “Not like I’ve got anything better to do today.”

“If you went back in time to 2011, knowing what you did now, would you’ve done the same thing?” Ren asked with nonfeigned curiosity. “Try to kill people by throwing them in the TV World like you did back then? Or would you have done something else?”

Adachi scowled, although Ren could tell that the anger he was expressing wasn’t directed at him. “Honestly, kid? I would’ve cut straight through the bullshit and tried to beat the shit out of the puppetmaster playing the strings,” he answered frankly. “When Narukami told me that the whole year had been a giant setup by some uppity bitch of a goddess who played us all for fools for some grand experiment that nobody gives a shit about?” His expression darkened and his voice was now dripping with hatred. “I was pissed. My actions and the consequences that come with them are my own, and I’m not gonna stand there and let some bitch take that away from me.” He grinned sinisterly. “Let me tell you, I was really happy when I learned that Narukami took her down. No way he was gonna let me suffer the consequences of my actions while letting some stupid bitch roll over him.”

It was a sentiment that Ren could fundamentally agree with, even though he wouldn’t have phrased it quite like that.

Adachi’s gaze sharpened and his tone became noticeably more businesslike. “All right, kid,” he suddenly declared. “Like you said before, let’s cut through the bullshit. I can tell there’s a specific reason why you wanted to talk to me today. And so far, I can tell you haven’t brought it up yet. And yeah, talking with you so far hasn’t turned out to be the massive waste of time I half-expected it to be, but I think it’s time we just get straight to the point now.”

Ren nodded in acknowledged. “You’re right,” he confirmed. “There is a specific reason why I’m here, and why I wanted to talk to you.”

“Then what it is?” Adachi asked with a hint of impatience.

Ren glared straight at Adachi’s face. “Look into my eyes, Adachi,” he replied coolly. “You tell me.”

“What the fuck are you…” Adachi muttered, but then his voice trailed off as he met Ren’s gaze with his own. Tohru Adachi stared into Ren’s eyes…

…and Magatsu-Izanagi stared back.

This should have been completely impossible. Magatsu-Izanagi was his unique Persona and power. Only he should’ve been able to access it. He and Yu Narukami, the one who had earned the right to wield Magatsu-Izanagi’s power through their bond and right of conquest…and if he remembered correctly, Yu had chosen to give up Magatsu-Izanagi since that Persona’s nature was fundamentally incompatible with his own.

It shouldn’t have been possible for someone else to have Magatsu-Izanagi, and yet here this kid was, his apparent nephew once-removed or some shit like that, wielding his very own Persona and his power without any issues whatsoever. Granted, it wasn’t quite the exact same thing. Ren’s Magatsu-Izanagi was very slightly different from his own, probably influenced by his own personality. But there were enough similarities that Adachi could comfortably and easily recognize Magatsu-Izanagi in the person sitting in front of him.

And the weirdest thing was, his own Magatsu-Izanagi didn’t object in the slightest. Adachi knew himself well enough to acknowledge that he and Magatsu-Izanagi would both normally be all sorts of pissed off if some unworthy fuck tried to copy his power…and yet his own Magatsu-Izanagi wasn’t snarling and lashing out at Ren from within his mind. Quite the opposite, actually…Adachi could feel his own Magatsu-Izanagi emanating a feeling of respect and approval towards Ren, which by itself spoke volumes.

Adachi threw back his head and laughed openly. “HA HA HA HA HA!” he bellowed, prompting the guard from outside to come back in and check to make sure everything was okay. Once he was sure that there was nothing going on beyond a fit of unexpected hilarity, he gave both Adachi and Ren a wary glance before returning to his post.

“You have three minutes left,” the guard warned before leaving.

Adachi ignored the guard, taking a few seconds to calm his laughter down. “Damn, kid…if you didn’t have my attention before, you sure as hell do now,” he commented appreciatively. “How’d you end up with our mutual friend, huh?”

“I picked him up a couple of months towards the end of my little adventure,” Ren replied nonchalantly. “He was really helpful in dealing with some assholes that were causing me and my friends some problems. We’ve been good friends ever since.” He shrugged. “I never did figure out why I could use just him, but nobody else, until I learned you were my uncle once-removed. Heck, I would’ve expected to be able to Yu’s personal friend since he’s my big brother figure and all, but nope.”

“That whole family relationship probably has something to do with it,” Adachi acknowledged. “But there’s more to it than that, kid.” He leaned towards the glass and lowered his voice so only Ren could hear. “You see, kid, Magatsu-Izanagi is powered by chaos and negative emotions. It was true for me, and there’s no way in hell that’s not true for you. For me, that negative emotion was Emptiness. I didn’t give a shit about anyone and anything back then, just turning the shithole town of Inaba into my own personal playground.”

“I see,” Ren replied noncommittally.

“You asked me a personal question before, so I think it’s only fair I get my own,” Adachi continued. “What’s the big negative emotion driving you and your Magatsu-Izanagi, Amamiya? And don’t tell me it’s Emptiness, I won’t believe that shit for a second. You’ve got the whole fucking Investigation Team, the Dojimas, AND your friends over in Tokyo. If you’re still empty after that much of a support system, you’re even more of a fucking hopeless case than I ever was.”