5/3

Ren couldn't make it to the pawn shop as the owner of Leblanc made him do dishes that day. I decided to spend my day just watching some movies.

5/4

Ren got the medal sold and got 30,000 yen for it, but he told me he got something else when he left the pawn shop. It was a model gun that looked incredibly similar to a real one. Down to the minute details. I spent my afternoon doing workouts. In the evening, I got a call from Ann.

"Yo!"

Ann:"Hey (Y/n). I saw the news. You know, about Kamoshida. It's been getting a lot of coverage..."

"How do you feel?"

Ann:"I'm not exactly sure... The reaction's been bigger than what I was expecting... I guess I'm just... surprised. I don't think we did anything wrong, though. I wonder if we helped those people speak up about it..."

"We definitely did. Some students were interviewed, and they were vocal about all that happened. Now, they have no reason to be afraid to hide what happened."

Ann:"That's amazing! I didn't think we'd actually be able to do it! And yet, look at us now! This calls for a celebration! Let's meet in front of Shibuya Station at noon tomorrow. Don't be late!"

"I won't. See you, Ann."

Ann:"Goodnight, (Y/n)!"

5/5

Ryuji:"Mmmm... So good..."

Morgana:"No wonder Lady Ann chose this place!"

Ann:"Of course it's good. This is a famous hotel after all. Oh yeah, I heard the police are coming to interview some people at school."

Morgana:"That's troublesome."

Ryuji:"Our names are gonna come up for sure. People are soreadin' all sorts of rumors about us and Kamoshida... But we got 'em pumped up! I keep hearin' stuff like, "The Phantom Thieves really stole his heart!" I think most people don't believe it, but some of 'em actually seem grateful. Look at this."

Ryuji showed us his phone and he was seemingly on a Phantom Thieves fan site.

"The Phantom Aficionado Website?"

Ann began to ready some of the messages that were posted on the main feed. They were mainly thank yous and people saying we gave them hope to continue moving on.

Ryuji:"Pretty cool, huh?"

Ann:"I was just desperate to deal with my own problems, but seeing people saying all this feels... strange."

Ryuji:"Yeah....What about you, (Y/n)?"

"It's definitely a weird feeling. Like a sense of worth and accomplishment. I don't know how to wrap my head around it, really."

Ryuji:"That's fair. What do we do now?"

Ren:"You planning on eating?"

Ryuji:"Well of course I'm gonna eat, but..."

Ann immediately stood up as she just realized this place had a time limit.

Ryuji:"Oh crap, we only got an hour to eat!"

Ann:"Just fifty minutes left!"

Ryuji:"I'm not gonna finish all the beef dishes at this pace!"

Ann:"I need to eat my way through the entire dessert menu!"

Ryuji:"Look after our stuff! We'll snag somethin' for you guys too, don't worry!"

"Is it really that serious?"

Ren:"Who knows?"

They came back soon after as Ann brought only sweets, and Ryuji brought only different types of meat. Ann was happily indulging herself in some cake before Ryuji decided to poke fun at her.

Ryuji:"Hey. Calories."

Ann:"Shuddup! How much do you think one of these costs?! I'll never get the chance to do this again! Mmm, the Wilton Hotel cake buffet... I'd heard rumors, but I never thought it'd be so amazing!"

Morgana:"And... where's our share?"

Ryuji:"I didn't really know what you'd want... So I just grabbed you some beans."

Morgana:"B-Beans?"

*snort*

Morgana:"H-Hey! He didn't get you anything! So stop laughing!"

"How can I not? Bro literally just gave you a plate of beans."

Ren:"Is that really all you got us?"

Ann:"Don't be silly! There were a bunch of other weird things, too! So we got you some of those. Fried bananas, preserved eggs, and... some kind of beans."

Morgana:"M-More beans?"

I started to laugh and point at poor old Ren and Morgana.

Ann:"We put so much on through plate that it got all mixed up, but it should probably still taste good."

Morgana:"This is just plain grotesque..."

I stopped laughing and cleared my throat.

Ren:"You finished?"

"Yeah, man. Now I feel kinda bad for you guys. But you know what they say, if you want something done right then you gotta do it yourself."

Morgana:"I second that. These two just don't know what fine dining means! We'll show them!"

"We'll show them all!"

Ren:"Sounds simple enough."

Morgana:"You guys watch our things while we're gone! Wait patiently for our return!"

Ryuji:"Ahhh, it's like a meaty explosion in my mouth..."

"And that's my cue to leave."

Seeing as how Ann and Ryuji weren't even listening, we just got up and began to go around the tables to see what was good. As I walked around putting things on my plate, I overheard the adults dining here discussing the Kamoshida incident. However, none of them really cared all too much about it. They acted like they were above such discussions. And a lot of them were being huge assholes for no reason.

I sat back down and began eating when Ren got back with what was a mountain full of stuff.

Ryuji:"Can you even eat all of that?"

Ren:"Only one way to find out..."

Several minutes later and I could tell Ren and Morgana were getting full. And it looked like no matter how much they ate, the amount of food they had stayed the same.

"Ren, you wanna tag out?"

Ren:"Yes... please..."

He and I gave each other a quick high five before I slid his plate over to my side. I took in a deep breath before guzzling down the food.

"American powers... ACTIVATE!"

Ryuji:"Th-This power...!"

Morgana:"It's unreal...!"

I finished the last of the food and wiped my mouth elegantly with a napkin and let out a sigh of relief.

"GG EZ."

Ren:"Is this a game to you?"

"Anytime I get a dub, then yes. Otherwise, it's just the universe challenging me."

Ryuji:"What does that even mean?"

"Don't think too much on it."

Ann:"Good job, (Y/n)! How about one last dish to cleanse your palate? I recommend the seasonal tart! The grapefruit has both alluring sweetness and a tangy sourness!"

"I'm good."

Ryuji burped and felt nature calling as did Morgana. A pair of adults walked by our table and started to chastise us.

Woman:"My, look at that table..."

Man:"Come now, pay them no attention. I'm sure they must not normally have the chance to eat such exquisite food."

Woman:"I can only imagine what their parents must be like."

They walked off as they suddenly pissed off Ryiji.

Ryuji:"What was that?!"

But his rage was short-lived as his need to use the restroom came back full force. We all went and did what we needed to before heading back to the elevators.

Morgana:"You were talking big about eating until you puked, but you really did puke... Are you some kind of moron?"

Ryuji:"Hey, same goes for you!"

"I didn't even know cats could puke like that..."

Ren:"It was horrendous..."

Morgana:"Shut up! Let's just go back!"

Ryuji:"Yeah, yeah. What floor was the restaurant on?"

Morgana:"We came up to get here, so it has to be on a lower floor, right?"

Ryuji hit the down button as we waited for the elevator before he got pushed aside by several men in business suits. Alongside them was a bald man with orange tinted glasses.

?:"There's still no update on the case?"

Man:"N-Not yet... Excuse me, but what are you so involved? It's not something you should be concerned with..."

?:"I don't care about your opinion, you incompetent buffoon! When I say pick up the pace, you do it!"

Ryuji:"Hey, you're cuttin' in line!"

Man:"What do you want?"

"Apologize to Ryuji."

Ren:"Yeah. We were here first."

Man:"We're in a hurry."

Ryuji:"Oh, I'm sorry. So you can butt in front of people if you're in a hurry?"

?:"It seems the customer base has changed since I was here last. Have they started a daycare?"

"What'd you just say?"

Man:"Sir, we don't have time for this."

?:"I know."

The elevator dinged as the doors opened. Ryuji tried to squeeze on through, but one of the suited men pushed him back.

?:"Don't bother with them!"

When he yelled, Ren suddenly held his head in hand.

Ryuji:"The hell was with that bossy guy?"

Morgana:"Shouldn't we head back down?"

Ryuji hit the elevator button again as he scowled.

Ryuji:"That dick really pissed me off. He wasn't even hidin' the fact that he looks down on everyone!"

Morgana:"Don't lose your temper over this."

Ryuji:"I just can't forgive shitty adults like that!"

"Ren, you good, bro?"

Ren:"Just a bit lightheaded..."

"I think I still have a glass of water sitting on the table. You can have that if you want."

Ren:"Thanks."

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped in. When we got back, Ann yelled at us.

Ann:"What took you so long?!"

Ryuji:"Why're you all pissy?"

Ann:"Sorry... I had a run-in with some woman a second ago. She bumped into me but then said it was all my fault when she dropped her plate..."

Ryuji:"Sounds like a real bitch..."

Ann:"Yeah... Thanks though. But... the restaurant workers all looked at me with this disapproving expression..."

We all sat down as Ann slumped in her chair.

Ann:"I wonder if we're out of place here..."

Ren:"It's always like this..."

Ryuji:"Hey, Morgana."

Morgana:"What is it?"

Ryuji:"...Anyone can have a Palace, yeah?"

Morgana:"Anyone with a strong, distorted desire."

Ryuji:"Same for them havin' a change of heart if their Treasure gets stolen?"

Morgana:"That would be the case."

Ann:"Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?"

Ryuji:"We had trouble earlier, too. These selfish shitheads who just looked down on everyone else... ...I was just wonderin' if we'd be able to change those kindsa people too."

This statement had us most definitely surprised.

Ann:"You mean... you wanna continue as the Phantom Thieves?"

Ryuji:"...I've been thinkin'. We put a lot of work into changin' Kamoshida's heart, but nobody believes in the Phantom Thieves. Plus... those guys who had no other choice but to just deal with it are thankin' us. Us, of all people."

Ren:"It's pretty unexpected."

Ann:"I... I agree. If we ignore people who are in trouble, I'd go back to being the same as I was before..."

Morgana:"Well... that's true. You're under my tutelage. There's nothing we can't accomplish as phantom thieves!"

Ryuji:"Should we be able to help 'em out?"

Ren: I didn't even think of such a possibility...

But it's true that with this power, we may be able to help people...

Ann:"But... That means we'll have to fight Shadows again, doesn't it...?"

Morgana:"Indeed. That can't be avoided."

Ryuji:"Eh, I'm sure we'll manage. Hehehe... Right?"

Ren:"I want to help people."

"I'm all for it."

Morgana:"Heh... Even if you guys are still just fledglings, this means we're an actual organization now."

Ann:"Fledglings? Haha, that's actually pretty fitting for us."

Ryuji:"Alright, it's settled! We're gonna catch all these shitty adults by surprise and make ourselves known to the world!"

Ann:"Ren... are you okay being our leader?"

Ren:"Of course."

Ryuji:"No objections here! I can't handle all that responsibility stuff."

Morgana:"Where's my say in this? But Lady Amm made the recommendation, so I'll allow it."

"He's got my vote. Congrats, Ren!"

Ann:"I think you should be our vice leader!"

"Huh?"

Ryuji:"Hey, not a bad idea!"

"Wait, hang on."

Morgana:"I guess it makes sense. You have some pretty powerful Personas and had our back when we fought Kamoshida."

"I don't know what to say..."

Ren smirked at me and raised a glass of water at me.

Ren:"He's got my vote. Congrats, (Y/n)!"

"Tch... Copycat."

Ryuji:"Sweet! With our leaders decided, should we decide on a name for our group? I just went with Phantom Thieves of Hearts last time, but don't you think a real name would be cooler?"

Ann:"Ooh, I've got it! I want it to be something both cute and luxurious sounding... Let me see... How about "The Diamonds"?"

Ryuji:"...I'm gettin' a real little league baseball feel from it."

Morgana:"Well, then here's my suggestion. How about "Tilefish Poele"?"

"What now?"

Morgana:"That's what I ate earlier. It's commemorative, no?"

"...Moving on! Ryuji, any suggestions?"

Ryuji:"Nope. You?"

"We should be... The Five Persona."

They all looked at me with weird expressions.

Morgana:"Are you serious?"

"You're right... The Persona Royal Five!"

Ren:"Yeah... no."

"Look, man, those were all I had."

Ryuji:"Wait. Have you thought about using The Persona Five Ro-"

"So, Mr. Leader, what're you thinking?"

Ren:"How about... The Phantoms?"

Ann:"No complaints here!"

Ryuji:"Me neither!"

"Sounds good to me."

Ann:"Well, now that the name's set, who's our next target?"

Ryuji:"There are tons of rotten adults and all... ...Why not just stick to targeting big names?"

"What, like a a celebrity?"

Ryuji:"Yeah, something along those lines. If we go after some bigwig, it's gotta get on the news, right? Don't you think more people would believe in us if we did that?"

"I'm picking up what you're putting down."

Ryuji:"Putting what down?"

"It's an expression."

Ryuji:"Oh! My fault."

"You're good. And if we become better known, we might be able to give courage to a lot more people."

Ann:"My thoughts exactly. I don't really like the idea of just picking someone out of the blue, though."

Ryuji:"Let's narrow it down to someone we can all agree on then."

Morgana:"Hm, so we need a bigwig we decide on unanimously."

Ann:"I like that unanimous decision part! It's like we're making some kind of pact!"

Morgana:"Now then, this is the official formation of the Phantom Thieves organization!"

Ann:"Oh no! Our time for the buffet ran out..."

Ryuji:"I guess we'll just have to talk more tomorrow."

Evening

I got home as Ryuji brought up the website he showed us earlier. It also had this poll system, and only 6% of people on the site believed we were real. Ryuji then also shared a picture he took of us while we were at the buffet. I was holding up my glass like a cheer, and Ren had a mug and smiled at the camera. Morgana was just looking at a plate of food in front of him as Ann was stuffing her face with cake. While I was home I decided to burn off the calories I had ate by working out.

5/6

Kawakami:"Like you heard last week, gym class is canceled today. Instead, I'm supposed to give you some guidance. The gist is, don't go around talking about the incident. That's all. The police are still investigating Mr. Kamoshida, so I can't say anything myself. As a teacher though, I'm ashamed for not having noticed a student was suffering like that... I'm not defending him, but as a colleague, he just seemed like... well, a normal person. Honestly, it still doesn't feel real. I guess people can have multiple sides to them..."

Morgana:"The teachers have it rough, huh...?"

Kawakami:"Oh yeah, I just remembered something I learned about psychology. They say that humans have several different personalities hidden in their subconscious."

Morgana:"Different personalities?"

Kawakami:"Oh, to be clear, I'm not talking about multiple personality disorder. These different personalities can be a different gender or a different age from you. I mean, if you think about how gods and monsters in myth were first based on the human image... If you actually saw one of those personalities with your own eyes, it might look like a monster."

Morgana:"Mm-hmm..."

Kawakami:"Hm? You all seem more alert than usual. Did I finally talk about something that interests you? Well, I'm just saying what I've heard. It feels like I just now understood what I learned long ago."

Lunchtime

Ryuji:"It ain't much, but we've been gettin' more postings on the Phantom Aficionado Website... "I wanna make my friend apologize for not returning the stuff I lent him." Ugh, deal with that yourself!"

A pair of girls stepped out of a classroom and began discussing whether or not the Phantom Thieves existed. They came to the conclusion that Kamoshida's heart was stolen and that he couldn't bear the weight of his guilt after Shiho attempted suicide.

Ryuji:"If we can take care of two or three famous guys, people will have to believe we exist."

Ann:"So about those big shots... We don't have any leads yet, right? Plus, there's that rumor about you three threatening Kamoshida, too..."

Morgana:"Looks like you'll have to live a normal, honest school life for the time being. Still, make sure you stay prepared just in case anything comes up, alright?"

Ryuji:"I'll keep an eye out for info on any big shots that might be comin' around."

Ann:"And I'll try to dig up some dirt online."

Ryuji:"We went and formed the Phantom Thieves group, but we can't even find a target..."

Ann:"There, there..."

Ryuji:"I guess sometimes things just don't go the way we want 'em to..."

Afternoon

Ryuji began texting the group, saying how he saw some police officers hanging around the school. Ann and Ryuji were worried, but I let them know everything would turn out smoothly. Mr. Ushimaru saw that I wasn't paying attention and threw chalk at me again. I easily dodged again, and he just scoffed and went right back to his lesson.

After school

Ren and I got up out of our seats when Mishima walked over to us.

Mishima:"...Hey. Have you seen that Phantom Aficionado Website?"

Ren:"We've definitely heard of it."

Mishima:"I'm the one who started it."

"Oh?"

Mishima then got close to our faces and narrowed his eyes.

Mishima:"...You guys are the Phantom Thieves, aren't you?"

"Dude, personal space."

Mishima:"Sorry."

He backed up and kept talking to us.

Mishima:"Although... if things really are as I think, I should keep it a secret. Kamoshida used me, and I did some horrible things to you guys. This isn't much of a way for me to apologize for it... But if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know!"

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, Mishima. But you've got the wrong guys."

Mishima:"Listen, it's not just Kamoshida... There are tons of evil adults out there. But I'm sure the Phantom Thieves will do something... They can't let this end after just one target. That's why I wanted to make a forum where people could post their problems. There are probably a lot of people who have high hopes for the Phantom Thieves' next move. So, I've also implemented an anonymous poll on the site."

He showed us his phone to show us the poll. The prompt was, "Do you believe the Phantom Thieves or not?" And the number of people who said yes was only 6.7%

Mishima:"I wanna work on this forum so eventually it'll be packed with tons of supportive posts. I'd really like to help out in Phantom Thieves' acts of justice! Can I, please?"

Ren and I glanced at each other before I shrugged.

"It's your website, Mishima. Do what you want. But like I said, you've got the wrong guys."

Mishima:"You're right. Sorry." *wink*

This kid... Well, at least we got someone wanting to spread our name out there.

Mishima then ran off as Ryuji and Ann walked over to us. They overheard us talking, but thought it was fine if Mishima knew our identities. He was chill about it for the most part. We chatted for a bit before Ryuji began freaking out.

Ryuji:"Oh shit!"

"What?"

Ryuji:"Don't we have an exam comin' up?!"

Ann:"Judging by that reaction, I'd assume you're going to struggle this time too?"

Ryuji:"It's not like you're any better! All you're good at is... English!"

Ann:"I'd rather that than be bad at every subject!"

"Alright, children, let's not fight."

Ryuji:"What?! She started it!"

Ren began chuckling as Ryuji just growled at me. Once we all got done messing around, it was truly time to go home. I looked over and saw Ann still sitting at her desk.

"Hey Ann, you okay?"

Ann:"O-Oh (Y/n)! It's nothing...!"

"Are you sure? Because you were just kinda staring out the window."

Ann:"I'm fine, seriously! Besides, I wouldn't wanna trouble you."

"I want you to rely on me."

Ann:"Huh? Oh... right. I guess it wouldn't be so bad talking to you about this stuff. ...The truth is, there's something I want to tell you."

"That's great to hear. I'm always down for a chat."

Ann:"Thanks! Alright, let's go to the diner."

She and I left school and went to a local diner together.

Ann:"Hey, um... There's something I want to talk to you about, (Y/n)."

"What is it?"

Ann:"...It's Shiho."

"Okay."

I rested my arms on the table and began to listen intently to Ann.

Ann:"Well... I went to visit her in the hospital. She... She said she was sorry. Sorry for not telling me about Kamoshida... about all the things he was doing to her... But it was my fault too. I didn't realize how much trouble she was in... I wasn't there for her... So, I apologized as well."

"Are you feeling better now?"

Ann:"Mm-hm! I finally got to tell her everything I couldn't bring myself to say before. And, um... remember how Kamoshida threatened to take Shiho off the team if I didn't sleep with him? I had only agreed to it so that I wouldn't ruin Shiho's dreams... But now that I think about it, he never would have put her on the bench and cost his team games... I seriously should have dared him to try and take her starting spot. ...But in the end, maybe I just didn't believe in her ability."

"You might be right."

Ann:"I knew it... I'm so stupid... All of this happened because of how weak I am... That's why I believed Kamoshida's authority outweighed Shiho's own ability to earn her starting spot. (Y/n), do you remember the last time I talked to you like this? When I got that phone call from Kamoshida... and cried."

"I do."

Ann:"I felt so alone... scared, even... But because you were there for me, I decided not to go. I was a little surprised at how pushy you were about it... but I see now you just wanted to help. ...Thanks."

"I couldn't just ignore you. That just isn't me. Not anymore."

Ann:"You're so kind, (Y/n)."

"Thank you, Ann."

Ann:"Back then, people used to call me all sorts of names... "Prissy bitch," "Kamoshida's girl"... I got tired of it pretty quickly. But to tell you the truth, someday I want to be able to take labels like that in stride. Hey, um... Personas are the power of the heart, right? That means if my heart gets stronger, my Persona will too."

"That sounds like fair logic to me."

Ann:"Glad you think so. Because... I want to strengthen my heart. And I want to help the people around me. I hope we can save people from trouble, just like we did when we changed Kamoshida's heart. Though honestly... I don't even know what "strong" is. But I'm going to find the answer, I promise."

"Then let's find it together."

Ann:"Huh? Really...?! Thanks! I feel like I'm a little stronger already! *giggle* I guess that doesn't really count though, huh?"

"I wouldn't say it doesn't count. More like, a small step."

Ann:"Well... I'll be relying on you. Let's train together and make our hearts super strong!"

"You can count on me!"

Ann:"A strong heart... Hmm... How about this: I won't get any refills on fountain drinks! I mean, they're free, so not getting any would mean you have a strong heart!"

"I don't think that's how that works."

Ann:"What? Seriously?"

I just laughed, and we talked for a bit longer before we split up to head home.

Evening

I got home and Ann called me.

"Yo."

Ann:"Oh hey, it's me! Thanks for listening to what I had to say earlier. Now I feel like I have a better idea of who I want to be. Also, I'm going to thunk of how I can strengthen my heart. If I think of anything, I'll let you know. I hope you'll join me again next time!"

"Leave it to me."

Ann:"Yeah, I'm counting on you! You're such a nice guy!"

"Always happy to help."

Ann:"Oh! How about you help me come up with ways to train my heart! Just lemme know when a really good idea hits you, okay? Byeee!"

"See ya."

She hung up and I smiled to myself before watching a movie before bed.

To Be Continued...