A/n: This chapter has TONS of dialogue and I didn't want to end the hot pot scene abruptly to start a new chapter hence why it is 5,300+. You could skip half of this chapter if you wanted to (if you've played the game) because I've only added a few things here and there during the conversation. I hope you all enjoy! Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
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Mikono couldn't believe her eyes when her mother and father met her and the others in the lobby of the museum. They both wore smiles as they introduced themselves. Once she introduced them to Ann and Yusuke, she was flabbergasted when Isaac and Ichika escorted the two away from everyone else. She sighed, hanging her head. "What're they planning?"

"Your parents are kinda weird, Mikky," Ryuji said. "But I ain't complainin'. They're freakin' awesome!"

"Have you told them about you and Akira?" Morgana asked.

"Not yet, but I will soon. I promise! In the meantime..." Mikono grabbed Akira's hand and tugged him toward her. "There's something I want to give you. Could we go somewhere private?"

"Yeah, let's go," Akira replied.

"You just gonna leave me here by myself?!" Ryuji shrieked.

"No." The obsidian-haired boy handed his bag to the blonde. "You'll have Morgana."

Ryuji reluctantly took the bag with a scowl. He grumbled incoherently to himself as the couple scurried off to the second floor.

Mikono dragged Akira all the way to the employee lounge. She released his hand once the door closed behind them. She peeked through the blinds into the hallway before closing each and every one of them so no one could see them. A sigh slipped from her lips as she tossed her bag onto the table. "I've been meaning to give this to you for a few days now." She shoved her hand into her bag and searched for the scarab bracelet. When she found it, she pulled it out and showed Akira.

"It's nothing fancy, but I hope you like it." She handed the bracelet over to a wide-eyed Akira. "I found the scarab stone in Siwa Oasis when I was eleven. I forgot I had it until a few days ago and decided to make a bracelet for you. After all, you did give me this beautiful necklace." She placed a hand over the locket resting against her collarbone under her shirt.

Akira carefully pulled the bracelet on to his wrist and was bewildered at how well it was made. The bracelet wasn't too loose nor too tight. It was a perfect fit. "This is..."

"Scarabs were used in all forms of jewelry. The scarab beetle itself was personified by Khepri, a sun god associated with resurrection. Over the ages, they have been used to symbolize wealth, used as currency, fashion accessories, and also to serve as a form of artistic expression. In ancient Egyptian religion, the scarab was also a symbol of immortality, resurrection, transformation, and protection much used in funerary art." She smacked her cheeks. "Gah! I'm rambling again!"

She slapped her cheeks a few more times until Akira grabbed her hands and lowered them. He gazed lovingly into her cerulean eyes, leaning down and placing his forehead against hers. "Thank you, Mikono. I'll treasure it, always."

Her eyes glistened with endearment. When she felt his warmth breath graze against her lips, she leant forward to kiss him. Before she could press her lips against his, the door opened. Ichika and Isaac stood in the doorway, staring at the two teens with wide eyes. Akira and Mikono promptly backed away from one another, their cheeks blazing with a crimson hue.

Ichika squealed in delight as she walked over to her daughter with something in her hands. "Oh, sweetie! Why didn't you tell me?! I'm so happy for you!"

Isaac, on the other hand, wasn't pleased. His perplexed expression was replaced with one of anger. He stomped over to Akira, but he was promptly stopped when Mikono placed herself in front of her boyfriend. "Dad, don't you dare."

The blonde man jabbed a finger at the boy she was protecting. "But he—!"

Mikono grabbed her father's hand and lowered it, gazing deeply into his azure eyes. "Akira has done nothing to betray you. He's done so much for me, more than you'll ever know. I... I love him, Dad."

Isaac was taken aback at her proclamation. Like many fathers, he was protective of his daughter. He would do anything to make her happy. What shocked him the most was he felt only happiness for her. His threatening stance relaxed as he smiled faintly at her, placing his hand on top of her head. "I never thought I'd say this, but...I'm happy for you, sweetheart."

"W-Wait, you're really okay with this? I don't have to give an entire speech to convince you to let me date Akira?"

"No," Isaac chuckled. "Besides, Akira's already proved himself to me. I trust him to take good care of you."

Mikono placed a hand over her thundering heart. "You've no idea how happy and relieving it is to hear you say that."

"Your dad has been in quite a happy mood all day," Ichika said. "He really enjoyed Ann's and Yusuke's company."

"By the way..." The inky-haired girl looked toward her mother and at the box in her arms. "What're you carrying, Mom?"

"Oh, this?" Ichika lifted the box and revealed what was inside. "Yusuke gave it to us. It's a box of sweets! He's such a kind-hearted boy. I feel terrible for what happened to him."

Mikono couldn't believe Yusuke gave her parents the box of sweets even after spending the last of his money on it. "He should've just returned it and got his money back..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" She grabbed her bag before winding her arm around Akira's. "We're heading to Leblanc with the others to have a party."

Isaac nodded. "All right. Have fun, you two. Just make sure to be home before 9, young lady."

She smiled at him. "I will, Dad. Bye!" She dragged a stunned Akira out of the lounge and back to the lobby. When the others saw the state their leader was in, they wondered what happened. Mikono explained everything as she and her friends left the museum to head to the train station.

As they sat on the train that carried them to Yongen-Jaya, Akira still had yet to say a word. Ryuji and Yusuke tried to snap him out of his trance, but failed. Ann and Mikono were chatting while watching their friends try to get a reaction from their leader. An idea came to mind and the sable-haired girl decided to try it. She pushed herself to her feet and moved to stand in front of Akira. The first thing she noticed was how his eyes didn't even follow her moment. What she said to her dad earlier must've caused such a petrified trance.

Mikono placed her hands on Akira's cheeks, cupping them gently and tilting his head upward so she could gaze into his eyes. When she saw he was staring back into her own eyes, she smiled warmly before leaning down. She abruptly stopped when their lips were only a couple inches apart. "What I said earlier is the truth, but I don't want our first kiss to be on the train with our friends around. Do you think you could wait a little longer?"

Akira snapped out of his trance and blinked a few times. "I'll try to be patient."

"Good," she whispered just as the train arrived at Yongen-Jaya Station.

Akira and Mikono followed their friends off the train. They headed down the street and to Leblanc. The small bell above the door announces their presence as they walked into the small café. Ann smiled as the scent of coffee greeted them. "Ah, what a nice smell."

Ryuji looked around at the decor. "This place looks so outdated. I can't say I hate it though."

"People refer to that as "retro"," Yusuke said.

"Hm?" Sojiro turned around at the sound of voices and saw the group. He was puzzled to see the teens and asked Akira, "Who're they?"

Mikono poked her head out from behind Akira and smiled at the man. "Hi, Sakura-san."

He smiled at the young girl. "It's nice to see you again Tsutsui-san. I see your injuries have healed. I'm glad."

"Yep! I feel better than ever!" Mikono giggled. "I hope you don't mind, but Akira and I brought a few friends over."

"Hello!" Ann chirped with a smile. She then gestured to the bespectacled boy. "Akira has really helped us a lot lately."

"Heh," Sojiro directed his smile to the pigtailed girl. "I bet you're the ones doing all the helping."

"Boss..." Akira sighed dejectedly.

"No, really, he's been great," Ann defended the boy.

"Sit down. This round'll be on the house." Sojiro looked over at Akira. "You're helping though."

"Understood." Akira places his bag down at one of the booths besides Mikono's and Ann's. He walks around the counter as his companions sit down and begins helping Sojiro brew coffee. The only one who didn't want coffee was Ryuji, who was served soda.

Once the coffee was done and everyone had their drinks, Ann was the first to take a sip. A smile blossomed on her face when she tasted it. "Wow, it's delicious."

A gentle smile appeared on Yusuke's face as he agreed with her once tasting the warm beverage "Indeed, there's great depth to its acidity."

"This is my parents' favorite place to get coffee," Mikono explained. "Leblanc has the best coffee in all of Tokyo."

The corners of Sojiro's lips quirked up into a small smile at the teens' compliments. "I wouldn't say the best in all of Tokyo, but I appreciate the sentiment."

Ann suddenly gasped, placing her cup down. "Oh yeah, I remember now! I think I've seen Leblanc mentioned in a magazine before."

"That was a long time ago."

"For real?" Ryuji's eyes bulged out of his skull. "Gimme a taste." He snatched up Ann's cup of coffee and took a sip.

"I don't think you'll like it, Ryuji," Mikono commented. "You've never liked anything bitter."

When the flavor of the coffee settled on the blonde's tongue, he puckered his lips and shook his head with a disgusted sound. "It's so bitter! This has gotta be cruel and unusual punishment!" He places the cup down and quickly grabbed his soda, downing the beverage in a desperate attempt to rid his tastebuds of the bitterness.

Sojiro chuckled at the boy's reaction. "Eh, I didn't drink coffee when I was a kid either." He looked over at Akira. "These're your friends, yeah? Go on and take them up to your room. No need to stay down here."

"Ooh, I wanna see!" Ann announced excitedly.

"It's only an attic."

Ryuji continued to shake his head, fighting against the coffee's bitterness. "Man, that bitter taste just won't leave my mouth..."

Yusuke finished his coffee and stood up with a smile. "Thank you very much for the drink."

Mikono followed suit. "You're gonna let me pay you for a cup one of these days, right, Sakura-san?"

Sojiro nodded with a chortle. "Of course, Tsutsui-san."

"Please, call me Mikono," she smiled.

"Mikono-chan, huh?" He chuckled, trying out her name.

"Yep!"

Ryuji pushes himself off the stool and glanced at the stairwell located at the back of the café. "Up these stairs?" Before he followed Akira, he promptly expressed his gratitude. "Oh, and thanks for the soda!"

Akira, Ryuji, and Yusuke shuffled up the stairwell, leaving Ann and Mikono behind. The two girls stood from their seats, but Sojiro stopped them as he gazed at Ann. "So, you're uh..."

"Ann," she smiled. "Ann Takamaki."

"Ann-chan, huh..." He crosses his arms with a gentle smile. "That's a nice name. You got a boyfriend?"

The girl was taken aback at the sudden question. "Nope. Never have, either."

"What about you, Mikono-chan?" Sojiro inquired, looking toward the sable-haired girl.

"M-Me?" Mikono stuttered, her cheeks dusted a light crimson. "W-Well, um..."

That's when it clicked in Sojiro's mind. He smiled, promptly apologizing to her. "Sorry for putting you on the spot."

She shook her head. "N-No, it's okay."

"Hey, you two gotta get up here!" Ryuji shouted from the attic. "This place's freakin' insane!"

Ann and Mikono looked toward Sojiro. When he realized they were waiting for his permission, he chuckled. "Go on, you two."

"Oh, right. Thank you for the coffee!" Ann cheerfully said.

"It was delicious as always, Sakura-san," Mikono added.

The two girls grabbed their bags. Seeing Morgana was still trapped inside Akira's bag, they both groaned. "Poor Morgana," Mikono muttered.

"Seriously!" Ann shouted just above a whisper. "They left him down here and didn't even bother to take him upstairs!"

Sojiro watched as the two girls grabbed the bag before heading upstairs. A huff of laughter escaped his throat. "Huh, sweet girls."

In the attic, Ann and Mikono regrouped with the others. Ryuji looked toward them as Morgana hopped out of Akira's bag. "See? Ain't this crazy?"

"It's cleaner than I thought it would be," Ann commented as she looked around the attic.

"What?!" Ryuji gasped in shock at her response. "What 'bout you, Mikky?"

"Have you already forgotten this is where I stayed after I was discharged from the hospital?" Mikono retorts.

"Oh, right..."

"Well, sit wherever you'd like," Morgana said.

Ann and Mikono placed their bags down before sitting on the sofa. Akira sat on his bed while Ryuji and Yusuke remained standing. Morgana sat on the floor, licking himself repeatedly.

Yusuke grabbed his phone out of his pocket and surfed the internet. As he did, he came across many stories and noticed what they all had in common. "We're all over the news. Even those who previously believed in us have been influenced by the comments made on TV."

"This is all that effin' Akechi's fault!" Ryuji bellowed angrily.

Yusuke glared at the blonde. "Keep it down. We don't want anyone hearing us."

"As this rate we're just going to worry everyone instead of giving them courage," Ann sighed melancholically.

"We need to find a way to make our rightfulness known to society," Morgana stated. "It's time we think about our next move. You were planning on discussing that today, right?"

"Yes," Yusuke nodded. "First, we need to search for a candidate."

"It's not like we're just gonna stumble upon some important target though," Ryuji groaned. "Hey, Mikky, you know any rich asshole who could be a good target?"

"Unfortunately, no," Mikono replied. "The only ones I can think about need an attitude adjustment, not a change of heart."

Ryuji looked around at the others. "You guys don't know anyone, do you?"

"I don't," Ann confesses with a forlorn tone.

"Me neither," Yusuke said.

Ryuji sunk down to the floor and sat cross-legged. He glanced across the room at Akira. "Whaddya think, leader?"

"What about Mishima's site?" The frizzy-haired boy asked. "That's been the best place to find our targets."

"I've been lookin'. There hasn't been anything good out there lately though."

"Plus, it's not like anyone ever talks about the big targets on there," Ann added.

"Dammit..." The blonde stared angrily at the floorboards. "We're never gonna prove Akechi wrong at this rate!"

"Maybe I should use the Eye," Mikono proposed. "It can detect human desires in this world, remember? If I use it, I could possibly find our next big target."

"That does sound like a good idea, but..." Akira's voice trailed off.

"It would prove to be difficult," Yusuke finished. "A random face within a crowd would require us to learn information about them we would be unable to access."

Mikono hung her head with a sigh. "I didn't think about that..."

Suddenly, a deep grumbling came from Yusuke's stomach. The obnoxious sound caught the others by surprise. Morgana, with wide eyes, looked up at the navy-haired boy. "What the..."

"Sorry," Yusuke apologizes. "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday."

"And you spent all your money on that box of sweets?!" Ann gasped.

"Which my parents loved, by the way," Mikono added.

"Dude, how much did you have?" Ryuji questioned.

"Anyway, we'll just have to sit tight until we can find another target. So..." Ann expresses her joy with a closed-eye smile. "How about that welcome party?"

"Someone's excited," the blonde boy commented.

She giggled and pointed over to the corner of the attic. "I think I found something. Isn't that a portable stove? Can't we make hot pot on it?"

"That sounds great!" Morgana chanted. "I've heard that eating hot pot together brings people closer!"

Ryuji flew to his feet with a grin plastered to his face. "Anything with meat's fine by me!"

"I only ask that we finish it off with porridge. Extra parsley, of course," Yusuke requested with a small smile.

"How about it, Akira?" Mikono asked. "Is hot pot okay with you?"

He nodded. "Fine by me. Anything sounds good right now."

"Okay! Hot pot it is!" Ann cheered.

"C'mon, let's go buy ingredients," Ryuji excitedly said.

"I'll need ginkgo nuts, wonton wrappers, and..." Yusuke began listing off ingredients.

Mikono stood up alongside Ann, her cerulean gaze focused on her boyfriend. "We'll handle the shopping. Could you ask Sakura-san if we could borrow a pot while we're gone?"

Akira nodded as he pushed himself to his feet. "Yeah. I'll see if he has one."

"We can split the cost later," Ann explained.

Yusuke, Ryuji, and Ann walked downstairs. Before Mikono followed them, she turned to Akira with a gentle smile. "Any special requests before we leave?"

"How about udon?" Akira asked.

"I'll add it to the list." She then looked toward the cat. "How about you, Morgana? Want anything specific?"

He shook his head. "I'll leave the rest to you and the others, Lady Mikono."

"We'll be back shortly!" Mikono cheered as she walked down the stairs to reconvene with Yusuke, Ryuji, and Ann.

Once she was gone, Morgana turned around and smiled up at Akira. "Looks like this welcome party is going to turn out quite lively. We should grab that pot and set up the portable stove too."

"I'll ask Boss for the pot." Akira walked downstairs and approached Sojiro.

Before he could ask about the pot, the man said, "I heard you're all having hot pot for dinner."

"Wanna join us?" He offered.

"Don't you know how busy I am? You guys go have fun." Sojiro fell silent before inquiring about the pigtailed girl. "Her name was Ann, right? She's a nice girl. So is Mikono-chan."

"Yeah, they are," Akira responded.

"They said your friend doesn't have anywhere to go. Asked if I could take him in for a bit. I guess they thought it'd be too pitiful for you to ask, since you're already freeloading. Anyway, I should have a big pot somewhere around here."

Akira walked around the counter and headed into the small kitchen. He searched around for a large pot and stumbled upon one inside one of the cabinets. Grabbing the earthenware vessel, he carried it with both hands and exited the kitchen. Sojiro turned around and saw the boy carrying the pot. "Ah, you found it. It's almost time for the others to get back from their shopping trip, so I'll leave you be. I'll be down here for a while though. Just be careful with the fire, okay?"

"We will. Thanks, Boss," Akira said.

Before he could take another step forward, Sojiro said something that caused his eyes to widen in shock. "So you're dating Mikono-chan, huh?"

Akira almost dropped the pot, but he fortified his grasp on it before it could fall. "W-Who told you that?"

He chuckled. "I figured it out earlier. Treat her well, got it?"

The boy nodded. "Of course. I'll take care of her, Boss." With that, he headed back upstairs and rearranged the furniture to create an area where he and his friends could enjoy the hot pot together. Once he finished moving the furniture, he placed the portable stove in the center of the table and placed the pot on top. Now that everything was in place, Akira sat down at one of the places around the table. He was soon joined by Morgana as they waited for the others to return.

|| 6/11 Saturday ||
|| Evening ||

After enjoying the hot pot, the group was full and couldn't eat another bite. They still had ingredients to spare and Mikono, who sat beside Ann, stared down at the packs of unopened meat. "I think we bought too much."

"I can't eat another bite..." Ryuji mumbled.

"That was delicious, Lady Ann, Lady Mikono," Morgana smiled as he sat beside Akira. "I'm sure you both will make wonderful brides some—"

Ann suddenly yawns, interrupting the cat. "Sorry, I'm gonna have to borrow the sofa." She laid down on the sofa, combing down her skirt. Morgana hopped on to the table and tried to get a peak at the girl's thighs. Ryuji tried to do the same, but both froze when they saw Mikono was glaring at them. They tore their eyes away from Ann, who was slowly falling asleep.

Morgana went to hop off the table but stopped when he saw Yusuke's dejected expression. "What's wrong, Yusuke?"

"We haven't finished our meal," Yusuke replied with a sorrowful undertone. "What about the porridge, or even udon?"

"Just leave it for next time, man..." Ryuji grumbled.

All of a sudden, they heard snoring. All eyes fell on Ann, who had finally fallen asleep. Morgana was baffled at the sight of the sleeping girl. "She's asleep already?!"

"It'd be weird if she wasn't tired. We should let her sleep."

"By the way, Ryuji," Yusuke looked toward the blonde. "How do you know Ann?"

"Huh?" Ryuji was taken aback at the sudden question before he answered. "Oh, we went to middle school together."

"What was Lady Ann like back then?" Morgana inquired.

"Not so different from now. Once we got to high school, we ended up in different classes and stopped talkin'... I don't think she had many friends. I mean she grew up overseas, plus there's her looks. The popular kids hate her: the quiet ones stay away. The same goes for Mikky."

"I see..." Yusuke muttered. "What about Mikono?"

Mikono and Ryuji exchanged glances before the boy shared the story of the time they first met. "I met Mikky during our first year at Shujin. I kinda almost knocked her down the stairs."

"You didn't "almost" knock me down the stairs, you did," Mikono retorts. "I fell down a flight of stairs..."

"H-Hey, I made sure I took you to the nurse's office! I carried you all the way there!"

"And that's when our friendship began," she giggled. "Ryuji became my first friend."

Yusuke's eyes widen in shock. "Did you have any friends in Egypt?"

"None. I spent all my time with my parents. I tried to make friends at Shujin, but...everyone avoided me. I was completely alone until I met Ryuji. I had my parents, but I wanted friends. And now, I have all of you and I couldn't ask for any other people to call my friends." She then gestured to Akira. "And boyfriend, of course. That's something I never expected to happen."

Yusuke, Ryuji, Akira, and Morgana couldn't help but smile. After a few seconds of silence, Mikono said, "Since we're sharing our pasts with one another, Akira and Ryuji are next. This is the perfect opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level."

"Us?" The blonde's eyes widen.

"Mikono is correct," Yusuke said. "This is a great opportunity to get to know each other better. You know every detail of my past at this point. It's only fair you tell me every detail of yours."

"So you got nothin' to lose, huh?" A sigh of defeat came from the chocolate-eyed boy. "All right, I'll tell you. It's just a normal story about a rotten kid though." He leaned forward in his seat, staring at the tabletop. "My dad left when I was young. Ever since then it's just been me and my mom. I was actually tryin' to get a track scholarship so I could make things easier for her. In the end, I just screwed it all up. Turns out I'm a pretty bad son, huh?"

"Ryuji..." Mikono sighed melancholically.

"Back when I was a first-year, my mom got called out to school for me raisin' my hand at Kamoshida. All the teachers kept houndin' her for what I did, but she just stayed quiet through it all... I'll never forget the look she had on her face though. On the way home, she...she apologized to me. For bein' a single mom and all..." Ryuji combed his fingers through his bleached locks. "And then I ended up draggin' Mikky into my issues..."

"You didn't drag me into anything, Ryuji," Mikono rebuttals. "I did everything of my own volition."

"I'm still tryna wrap my head around the reason why you made a deal with Kamoshida. What was goin' through your head, Mikky?"

Mikono placed her hands in her lap, staring down at the floor. "All I was thinking about at the time when I made that deal was I couldn't lose my best friend."

Yusuke replayed their words in his head, a desolate frown on his face beginning to form. "So that's what happened..." He lifted his gaze and looked across the table at Ryuji. "They say at school that everyone is equal, but in reality that's a gross oversimplification. I understand how you feel."

"Well when it comes to gettin' labeled, nobody's got it worse than Akira," the blonde said, looking at the frizzy-haired boy.

"I'll say," Mikono agreed.

"Is this about his past?" Yusuke asked.

"Now that I think about it, we never have heard the details," Morgana stated.

"Not even Principal Kobayakawa would tell me the details," Mikono said. "What happened, Akira?"

"Well..." Akira leaned forward, staring into the empty pot on the table. He gave his friends every detail of the night he was arrested. From the moment he stepped in to save the woman to the moment she lied to the police all because of how the man who assaulted her threatened her. He didn't skip any details and told them everything up until the moment he arrived in Tokyo.

Ryuji's brows knitted together as his anger showed. "Just listenin' to it pisses me off... Goddammit! You got an assault on your record just for that?"

"The woman sounds quite horrible as well. She's stayed quiet this whole time," Yusuke said.

"That man is just the kind of person whose heart we should steal!" Morgana growled. "Who is he, and where can we find him?!"

Akira shook his head with a sigh. "I don't know..."

"You can't remember, huh? Well it was at night, and I'm sure you were in shock after getting arrested. I understand all too well the pain of not being able to remember important details of your life."

"The victim's personal information is always kept secret. Identifying that man will prove difficult. Besides, the courts already made their ruling, didn't they?" Yusuke inquired. "Even if we manage to get revenge, Akira's past record won't go away."

"I can't believe someone would do that to you, Akira..." Mikono mumbled. "And that woman... The man who assaulted her must have friends in high places or is in a high position in society."

"I can't stand it..." Ryuji hissed. "This world is so messed up! The weak're left to fight for themselves, while rotten adults get away with whatever they want!"

"And those in power don't do anything to help the situation," Morgana added.

"Can't we fix this though?" Yusuke asked. "Nobody would even know. We just need to show the world what true justice is. We'll make them come to their senses."

Ryuji flew to his feet with a determined expression plastered on his face. "You're right, Yusuke! That's gotta be what our powers're for!"

Morgana grinned. "Sounds good to me. The flashier our missions are, the cooler we end up looking!"

"You've all taught me so much," Yusuke smiled.

"What're you guys getting all excited about?" Ann asked as she woke up, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

Ryuji sat back down. "Oh, sorry... Did we wake you up?"

"Nah, not really. I've been up for a while now. Still, this weird feeling came over me while I was listening to you guys. It almost feels like I've known you all forever. Do you think it's because our backgrounds are so similar?"

The blonde boy grinned. "Well, it sure ain't 'cause of anything good."

"Birds of a feather flock together," Mikono smiled.

"Similar, huh..." Morgana muttered. "I'm the only one who doesn't fit in. I don't have any past to look back on. No memories..."

Mikono casted her smile toward the animal. "Trust me, you do fit in, Morgana."

"Yeah," Ryuji smirked. "We could search the whole world and we wouldn't find a bigger misfit than you. And the reason we're goin' to Mementos is to get your memories back, right?"

"I'm sure your past will be just as troubled as ours," Yusuke chuckled lightly.

"No doubt."

The grin returned to Morgana's face as his joyful mood returned. "Hmph, we'll see about that!"

"I actually feel like I've known Morgana for a really long time too," Ann confessed. "It's so strange... I can't really put it into words."

"Look, I'm helping you guys out for my own sake. Don't get me wrong! If you don't get stronger, investigating Mementos won't be anything but a pipe dream! We have to get my memories back and the other fragments for Lady Mikono's sake!"

"That sure was a quick turnaround. One second you're depressed, the next you're actin' all tough..." Ryuji said.

"All joking aside..." Ann crossed her legs. "Let's take this seriously. We should go as far with it as we can. I want to punish those corrupt adults and give courage to people in trouble. Only we can do that!"

"Ha! You can say that again!" Ryuji cheered.

"Being a member of the Phantom Thieves will surely help me grow, both as an artist and as a person," Yusuke claimed.

"There's no way I'm backing down," Mikono stated. "I know we can achieve our goal as long as we stick together."

"Yeah," Akira nodded in agreement. "We'll do it, together."

Morgana grinned jubilantly at their responses. "Of course. You're under my tutelage, after all. There's nothing we can't accomplish!"

A smile manifested on Ann's face. "Well, I hope we can keep this up. We should be all right with you as our leader, Akira."

"Leave it to me," the bespectacled boy grinned.

The pigtailed girl checked the time and gasped. "Whoa, it's this late?"

"I guess now's a good time to call it for the night!" Ryuji proclaimed.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Ann looked over at the navy-haired boy. "The owner said you're free to crash here, Yusuke. Mikono and I were able to talk to him before we left to get ingredients."

"That's...very kind of him," Yusuke smiled in relief and gratitude.

Ryuji grinned at the two girls. "You both convinced him, didn't you? You go, Misses—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Ryuji," Mikono glared.

"Hm, I won't be able to sleep unless I take a bath..." Yusuke murmured.

"There's a bathhouse nearby, so you can go there," Morgana informed the artist. "I won't be able to join you though."

"Ooh, that sounds great! I wanna come too!" Ryuji hollered excitedly. "How 'bout you guys?" He asked the two girls.

"I need to get home." Mikono grabbed her bag and stood up.

"Same here," Ann said, doing the same as her. "You guys go on ahead. Well, good night, Morgana!"

"Bye, guys," Mikono waved at the boys before leaving Leblanc alongside Ann.

*****
Confidant: Mikono Tsutsui
Arcana: The Puppeteer
Rank: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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