MAY 7TH (SATURDAY 5/07) (AFTER SCHOOL)

"Mementos, huh...? I still don't really get that place. Oh, and what was that wall thing we saw at the end?", Ryuji asked. We were standing next to the entrance to the underground walkway, a bit worn after our Mementos escapade.

"I'm not entirely sure, but it blocked us from going in past a certain depth. If Mementos is the public's Palace though... it might be affected by the general public's belief in us.", Morgana mused.

"Why do you know so much about it, Morgana?", Ann questioned.

She has a point. He knows quite a bit about Mementos and what we should expect from it.

"My memories are a little foggy in that regard... However, I need to know what lies in the depths of Mementos, no matter what.", Morgana sighed.

"No matter what, you say?", I echoed.

"Mementos is not just everyone's Palace, it's the source of all Palaces. It used to be that Palaces like Kamoshida's with one ruler simply didn't exist. So, if we can do something about the greatest cause of distortions, I'm certain my appearance will...!", Morgana trailed off.

"You wanted someone to save you too...", Ann smiled at Morgana, causing him to go rigid in embarrassment.

"I-I just needed pawns.", Morgana retorted.

"I see... So that's why you came pokin' your nose around with us.", Ryuji realized with a nod.

"... I'll help you. I hope you can regain what you've lost.", Ann voiced her hopes to Morgana.

"I'll... be relying on you guys.", Morgana accepted the offer.

"By the way Morgana... are you a boy? Or might you be a girl?", Ann asked while crossing her arms.

"He's definitely a boy.", Akira mused.

"Yeah, I agree... I wanted to make sure though, just in case.", Ann smiled.

"I'd go with boy too. A younger boy, in fact, given that his voice is a little higher pitch.", I reasoned.

"He could turn out to be pretty ancient. What if he smells like an old person?", Ryuji gasped. I held in my snort, opting to cough a bit.

"You're the only one who would think a human-turned-cat would smell of an old fart.", I smirked with an eye roll.

"Stop that...In any case, of course I'm male! I mean, I...", Morgana turned to Ann, who cocked her head to the side.

"... What is it?", Ann muttered.

"No... It's nothing. We're done talking about that! Anyway, we now know that we can preform minor changes of heart in Mementos. If we come across any eye-catching leads, it may be worth dealing with them for a bit of combat practice.", Morgana advised.

"There weren't any other outstanding ones though...", Ann sighed.

"I bet we'll get tons of 'em if we can change someone famous and make the Phantom Thieves well-known. The big fish are our main targets after all.", Ryuji grinned.

"First you need to find a way to get through your exams.", Morgana chirped.

"I gotta study...", Ryuji groaned. On that note, we all decided to separate. But before that, I felt something... intense. Like someone's steel gaze on me. I shuddered a bit and turned to check, but with everyone walking around, I couldn't pinpoint someone.

Am I just imagining things...? Or maybe I'm just on edge... Yeah, that must be it.

I shook my head and left with Akira back to the cafe.

MAY 7TH (SATURDAY 5/07) (EVENING)

====================

Troublemaker Blondie💀: Man, that Nakanohara guy was a piece of cake!

Troublemaker Blondie💀: If we can take down some kinda big target next, we're totally gonna get famous.

Red Kitty🐱💃💋: Hey! We're trying to help people, not get famous!

Troublemaker Blondie💀: But if people don't know who we are, how're we gonna give them any courage?

🤓The Ultimate Bro🤓: He's right.

Troublemaker Blondie💀: See?

You: Just don't let it get to your head.

Red Kitty🐱💃💋: I don't think that you're necessarily wrong...

Red Kitty🐱💃💋: But should we really be doing this at all if we don't have a reason like with Kamoshida?

Troublemaker Blondie💀: You mean we shouldn't be sticking our noses into other people's business?

Troublemaker Blondie💀: I dunno, man. If someone's in trouble it's only natural to wanna help 'em out!

Red Kitty🐱💃💋: I mean, I agree with that.

Red Kitty🐱💃💋: And I guess I was glad we were able to solve the stalker case.

Troublemaker Blondie💀: Plus, what good are our Personas if we don't use 'em for good?

Troublemaker Blondie💀: Don't you agree, Akira?

🤓The Ultimate Bro🤓: I want to help people.

You: Our leader, determined as always. Just don't get reckless.

Red Kitty🐱💃💋: The same goes for me.

Troublemaker Blondie💀: We don't got much time to be arguing over this either. That Madarame(?) guy bothers me.

Red Kitty🐱💃💋: Yeah. But no getting carried away, you understand?

Red Kitty🐱💃💋: And don't do anything to stand out like fail all your exams.

Troublemaker Blondie💀: Oh crap! Speaking of that, I haven't studied at all...

====================

I went upstairs and opened my laptop and notepad.

Now, Madarame... Let's look for some famous Madarame around here...

I sifted the internet for some lead on this Madarame. I found a few people, including a politician, a teacher on the other side of Japan, a friendly looking bar owner, and a well-known artist. I wrote all of their names down in my notebook and sighed.

The only lead I have is a last name. If I find any links, I have to check it out... But now, I'm sleepy...

I flopped onto my bed and dozed off.

MAY 8TH (SUNDAY 5/08) (DAYTIME)

I woke up to the annoying sound of my phone notifications. I grabbed my phone with a groan and saw it Mishima. Akira gave me his number after our little encounter before.

====================

📱Phan-boy: Hey, I saw on the forum! Nice job sticking it to that stalker!

📱Phan-boy: My Phantom Aficionado Website came in handy, didn't it?

You: What are you talking about?

📱Phan-boy: It's OK, you don't have to say it. I know deep down in my heart that it was useful.

📱Phan-boy: Anyway, I'm in Shibuya right now.

📱Phan-boy: I'd love it if you could come hear me out about your future actions!

📱Phan-boy: I'll be waiting at the diner in Shibuya. You gotta swing by!

====================

He didn't even give me a chance to say no... damn it.

You must go.

Must? What's so important about a meet up?

Your bonds, young assassin...

Ugh... fine.

I rolled my eyes at Ezio, really hoping he saw how annoyed I was. I got ready and left to meet up with Mishima.

(OUTFIT)

-LATER-

I sat in front of Mishima, who looked dead-tired.

He woke me up and this is what I see... He could be sleeping, but no, he had to invite me without a choice...

"How have things been? You know, with the... special activities? *yawn* Oops, sorry about that. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately. I've been staying up managing the Phan-Site all night, every night. I think it's called... PR?", Mishima mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Now you know how I feel, waking me up on a weekend...

"Phan-Site? Is that the Aficionado website...?", I questioned.

"Hehehe, you wanna know more? Basically, there's no point to taking down bad guys if nobody's gonna know about it. That's why I've started a blog for posts from people you guys saved, while filtering out the haters. We need the Phantom Thieves and the Phantom Spy to be seen in the proper light if we want to make the name popular, right?", Mishima grinned.

"Sounds tough, a lot of work on you.", I sighed.

"You're not wrong, but it's nothing compared to what you guys do. I'm just supporting from the shadows. Though actually, I really wanna know how you punish people... Don't worry, I'm not gonna ask. It wouldn't be any fun if you just up and told me. After all, the Phantom Thieves and Spy have reputations for being secretive!", Mishima said with a proud smile, making me sigh. Mishima looked down at the mahogany table with knitted eyebrows. "I... I wish I could be more like you guys somehow. But I'll still be here to draw attention to the stuff you do! You can leave that part to me! I'm gonna use my Phan-Site to promote the Phantom Thieves and Spy, and weed out any negative comments. Your popularity is gonna be at my mercy... or uh, my fingertips. It's like I'll be your strategic image management representative, so to speak."

"I suppose that's good...", I nodded. "Just... focus more on the Phantom Thieves. The Phantom Spy doesn't need as much attention as the others. Besides, the Phantom Spy works with the Thieves, so they are considered with them."

"Hm, I'll keep that in mind! Anyway, I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure that title's more than just for show... *yaaawn* I've gotta say though, managing the Phantom Thieves' reputation is tiring work... The forum gets all sorts of weird posts, including tons of things unrelated to reforming society... It'd defeat the purpose of the site of the truth of the Phantom Thieves was buried among all that garbage. Oh, but you don't need to worry. I'll sort through all the trash. Speaking of which, I've actually already found some worthwhile info about our very own school. Our quest to boost your popularity can start close to home! I'll give it my all!", Mishima made me sigh.

Well, at least he's motivated.

.'¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯'.

|~ CONFIDANT RANK UP! ~ |

| | CONFIDENT: YUUKI MISHIMA | |

| | MOON ARCANA: RANK UP (RANK 2) | |

| | NEW ABILITY: N/A | | | '.____________________________________________________________________.'

"I might be overworking myself though... *yaaawn* Man, I'm exhausted... I think I'd fall asleep on the spot if I weren't talking to you. I should head home...", Mishima mumbled. We both left the diner with an awkward farewell.