#when akira introduces him to the thieves they all lose their shit

[dogs-with-lightsabers]

i’ve got a sketch page and a more effort dilf yosuke coming your way folks!

i wanna do more but i’m almost out of sketchbook rn and won’t be getting another for a week sadge

but anyway:

some notes below:

(this bitch has lived in my mind for fucking years and i’ve finally decided to whack y’all with my brain worms!)

he had a 3rd growth spurt at 20-ish? (his 2nd one was when he was 16 just before p4 which is why he’s clumsy) This bitch is tall as fuck!

he has a mullet because a queen ‘spirited him away and said his hair looked nice long’ but he does shave the lower bits off to give himself an undercut a couple times a year

the ear thing is my head canon where personas do this based on usage or ‘frequency of summoning’ (there is a max length and Yosuke reached it like a decade ago lol)

Amatsu Susano-o is based off of monster hunter’s Amatsumagatsuchi! If you follow the timeline that i have though, amatsu evolved before that game was released

HE IS A ROCKSTAR. THAT IS HIS CAREER PATH. (he used to pull people up on stage and bite them hard enough to make them bleed. this was obviously very popular for a lot of reasons. he also dragged people backstage to have sex so he’s referred to as a home wrecker and a whore on occasion so dw)

@verysexyseagull sketchbook pic for my beloved mutual 🩵

[twilightknight17]

Today on P5T, we finish the DLC, get cranky at logistics, mentally subtract one from Akira’s assumed god-murder total, and I start gathering up everyone for a roadtrip to go lay on the floor of the Atlus Headquarters until they think about their writing choices.

Before we head off to the finale, we chat a little more about Luca and Guernica, as well as why Goro was investigating the graffiti in the first place. Apparently the police asked for his help to look into it because they were getting frustrated at their own lack of progress. It must suck for them, to not be able to find Guernica or the Phantom Thieves. XD Doesn’t explain how he knew about the Arsène mural in a back alley, tho. People in Yongen seem too chill to call the cops over that sort of thing.

I don’t actually remember what it was that he said, but I was given a dialogue option to agree with him, and when I took it…

Careful, Goro. You almost sound like your real self, there. ^_^

He also makes a comment about how, even if he didn’t want to help Luca, Akira would have made him anyway.

I wanted to be a little shit, but I opted for asking him to show off instead.

Now that the mural is complete, it’s actually really beautiful. The three pieces recombined, and dissolved into light, which was absorbed into Luca. We also learn Guernica’s real name, and Luca prepares to open a hole directly into the villains’ lair.

Meanwhile, in the lair itself, Jerri is still being a huge bitch, and also apparently hates art.

She’s trying her best to delete every memory of Luca from Guernica’s heart, so by the time we get there, things are very dire. The world took the thing Guernica loved most, and now she’s been fully warped into wanting to destroy the whole world as retribution.

We fight Guernica to a standstill, and Luca finally, finally gets through to her. Jerri tries to throw a fit, but Sumi is not letting anyone interrupt this moment between sisters.

Luca returns the light of Guernica’s first mural and restores her to normal, and then fades out, her task accomplished. That just leaves Guernica herself, who is pissed at Jerri.

And Jerri is doing herself no favors in response.

Goro… really shouldn’t know that the gods are real at this point, but he’s excused because it’s pretty badass to just flat-out say it to her face like that. XDDD

Jerri is not a god, Jerri is a minion at best, but she still transforms for one last final boss battle that makes it pretty obvious who her master is.

...I’m losing it a little over the fact that she’s still just named “Jerri”, though.

The paint mechanics shift again, this time introducing black paint that we’re not allowed to walk on at all. The whole battlefield is covered at the start, but as Jerri summons enemies, and Guernica backs us up with her paint gun to create a path, the boss is eventually within reach. After a certain amount of her health is depleted, she resets the battlefield to a new configuration and new black paint, and we go again.

Third battlefield is the charm, and despite Jerri’s claims that she’s in control, Guernica understands now that this is her world, and she’s the one with the power.

I’m not sure what I was expecting. Maybe something a little more dramatic, considering the full capabilities of imagination, but this works too! One last rainbow-painted battlefield where no one has any cover at all. Shoutout to Goro and World’s End for chewing through a ton of her hp. And so Jerri falls, and her giant mock-god form dissolves back to the bird.

Jerri vanishes, and dear god, are we really not getting any more than that regarding her identity?

...thanks for confirming, Sumi.

Guernica talks a little more about how she’s can feel Luca in her heart, and that she’ll always be with her. It makes Sumi tear up, but she’s not sure why it’s affecting her so much. How close was she to breaking through Maruki’s bullshit? Man, if we’d just kept this conversation going for a couple more minutes, we might have done it.

Akira gets a dialogue option to tell Guernica that he’s a fan of hers now, and she’s thrilled. Everyone promises to see each other again one day, and Guernica sends them back to the real world.

...she’s so pretty.

I have to wonder if this is a similar situation to Toshiro. Her eyes aren’t shadow-gold, so I’m assuming this is the real deal. In which case, she’s very chill about being in another world. I’m thinking this place is closest to a Stronghold. Something to protect the core of her heart. And Luca was part of that protection, when she couldn’t protect herself.

We get a brief confirmation that Jerri was in fact working for Salmael, and he’s sending her back to the void because no, Jerri, killing all of humanity is not the kind of tranquility he’s going for. We never actually see him or any of his dialogue, but this is definitely his weird clockwork kingdom.

So what you’re telling me, Atlus, is that there were two active gods in Tokyo in November. Plus Azathoth already actively screwing with Maruki’s head. PLUS Enlil’s cinema and all that nonsense that the Thieves don’t remember. November was an absolute fucking mess. It’s a wonder the whole city didn’t just poof out of existence from the strain.

My actual point here is that I’m trying to wrap my brain around how Salmael and Yaldabaoth are going to coexist ruling over humanity. I guess absolute control can mesh with self-preservation instincts, but it’s funnier to imagine God Wars. XD

Anyway, I wonder how long we’ve been gone this ti–

I want you all to understand that I blurted “NO” out loud.

This is CHEATING, Atlus, you damn cowards, you set this story in November and refuse to commit to the consequences of that. I loved this DLC, I loved the story and the music and the character interactions, but this last two minutes was just… complete disappointment. At least the games that involve the Abyss of Time are justified in no one remembering anything.

The graffiti Goro came to investigate is gone, so he decides to just leave. You came all the way here to Yongen and aren’t going to stick around for longer than two minutes (from your perspective)?

And what time is it? It was afternoon before, as far as I could tell, but Guernica’s done a whole new piece, and the news claims it appeared “overnight”. Is this a weird memory retcon thing on a massive scale, or have we been gone all night and just don’t notice that we’re missing like 12 hours? Morgana’s watching the news report when Akira gets back to Leblanc, but he doesn’t comment on Akira being gone, just implies that they’re running late need to leave, before Sojiro gets upset. So like… late for school? Is it the next morning???? Atlus I’m begging for just a crumb of a sense of time anywhere in this game.

It’s cool art, though. :)

The credits are cool, with little floating paint blobs, and afterwards, we get a brief scene of Toshiro watching the news. His father notes that he seems too interested in the graffiti, and he brushes it off as ‘petty vandalism’… before immediately going back to watching the news intently.

And that is the ending of the DLC! Now I can go get those last few personas for my compendium, and run NG+ merciless mode–

……….are you KIDDING ME, ATLUS.

Fine. Time to call down World’s End to just murder everything. Goro’s gonna be my strongest teammate forever.

It also unlocked challenge maps, with specific character and skill presets for each one. I tried the first one, and not only is it difficult, but all of a sudden, friendly fire is active for AOE spells, so that is bizarre. We’ll see if I can figure those out another day.

For now, time to go not think about how I’d change that ending. :P

[lowkeyclueless5137]

Intermission 1-2

:3

No big spoilers for the 2nd Palace this time... Like let's have sum time to process everything and see what this change of hearts did to the public itself.

What we will follow:

-The public's reaction

-Meeting new people

-Ren's wife :3

3 points! Sure... This will be short... But because we will jump from one to another until we hit the palace...

Now onto the lil break!

Did the public know about the change of heart? Not really... The students really passed it off as a prank and the public was private from it due to Neige's agents along media.

And boy some were salty. Ace and Ortho were the saltiest. But since Neige confessed and got karma, they didn't have any real motive to be mad about it still...

So what now? Well Riddle thought that they will leave the thief thing aside.

He was wrong.

Because The adults did explain to them that since the metaverse was back, it meant mementos had to be returned as well. While Vil and Riddle voiced their confusion about it, it was explained that the mementos were the mass public's 'desires'. Ortho did do the thinking and notes that the palaces must have been desires so rotten and powerful that couldn't be contained in mementos.

When it was asked about the importance of mementos, Joker told them that if they don't want for the humanity to end up caged under desires forever, they will have to get to the bottom of mementos.

But to get to the bottom of mementos, they will have to find more palaces and change more hearts.

That means more thief fuckery! :D

Riddle wanted to have a say in this, but Ortho nudges him, whispering to him that maybe this is how they can find out about the velvet room and metaverse connections.

Unfortunately he had a point. :'3

So Akira visits again in a long time the Phan-site, which was brimming with life now that 'the Phanthom thieves of hearts returned'. So Futaba tells the kids to choose a target first, someone they can know it has rotten desires, but not that bad to make a palace.

One picked their interst: A teacher who was extremely harsh on the students in one class. It was the teach in charge of their class on top of that.

It wasn't something too harsh, but it did get into the 'abuse of power' category from the message's intel.

So off they were to mementos.

Except that this time, Panther accompanies them along a cat-thing... The kids surely lose their shit when they see it, making the cat to compare this with Ryuji's and Akira's first time in the metaverse. Panther mentions how Noir got Mona free today so it could help them go through mementos more easily.

Introducing the Mona-bus! Flame pinched Spade to assure that they weren't high on something.

To their success, this shadow self wasn't like a palace boss. It was far more easy to deal with.

But at the same time, after dealing with it, the group noticed a wierd pattern.

More teachers were recommended. And students too. It seemed like all of them had something in Common. Ryuji pointed out that he knew a few of them as Kosei high teachers.

And with a bit of Futaba and Ortho looking for Intel, indeed all of them seemed to be Kosei high teachers and students.

Their big stop to all of this hunt for shadows in the mementos gets harshly revealed when a request has as the target a 'bully' who seemed to always be sorrounded by girls with wounds as well as being known to beat up boys. It turns out he was a student of their first mementos teach target, so Kosei high student as well.

But apparently the Metanav didn't recognize 'Floyd Leech' as a name in mementos. So Wut to do now? Futaba did tell them that they need the real name of the target for it to work.

Vil said that he knows someone from Kosei high, so he ponders over the possibility of them knowing their target. Ortho, Ace and Deuce unfortunately have no friends or aquitances in there, nor does Riddle.

Ortho tho, mentions that there is someone from Shujin who visits Kosei quite often. Rumors talk about Shujin's Dream boy, Jade Kurusu. He was every girl's fantasy, yet from how the rumor tell, it seems like he might be seeing someone from Kosei, as every day after classes, he is spotted on his way towards there, or in the aera of the school, waiting for someone.

And Jade just so happened to be Riddle's classmate.

So with a nice little 'notebook mishap', Riddle has to return Jade's notebook as they got swapped. 'Unfortunately' already classes were over, so Riddle had to catch Jade so they can swap back the notebooks.

Unfortunately for real now, Riddle swaps the way and ends up at Kosei high, losing Jade's trail.

Until he spots 'him'. Riddle approaches Jade and apologises for the mishap.

Only to be met with a confused 'do I know you?'. It turns into an extremely wierd back and forth of 'you're my classmate' and 'You're not even from my school'.

Fortunately, Jade turns up. Riddle finally realises that he was dealing with a case of 'almost identical twins', as Jade explained how to tell them apart, while also swapping back the notebooks.

The other boy was named Floyd! And he oh so happened to be Jade's twin. Riddle did get mad at the 'goldfish' assignment from Floyd, but he let it slide as Jade mentioned his brother still had a class to attend.

And to confirm it, a girl, with an arm bandaged, silently got to Floyd, making him to excuse himself and go to class before he will be late.

Riddle pieced the 2 and 2 together. The name they were actually targeting was Floyd Kurusu!

But unfortunately, when the group of boys meet up behind the school and tried the name, it didn't give any hit. Not even as a palace or Mementos shadow, which rose suspicions. If Floyd was told to be such an aggressive and bad person, then why didn't he have a place for his rotten desires in the metaverse?

They needed to take a more in depth look in this one.

Unfortunately, Jade busted them, asking, in a way too polite tone, what did they plan to do to his brother. Of course the 'nothing' response didn't waver Jade, as he insisted that he cannot let them proceed forward if it might bring harm to his brother.

No... They aren't squaring up yet. :'3

Vil explained that he had a few friends in Kosei who mentioned about Floyd having a quite delinquent like behaviour. Jade didn't deny this, so it meant he was aware of his brother's behavior.

In the end, Jade proved to be the obstacle the group had before investigating more.

At LeBlanc, Ortho asked Futaba if she could help him get some Intel on Floyd, which resulted with the woman telling that Floyd was Akira's Kid. She did say that coincidentally, today Mrs Kurusu would visit. She was out of Japan for a while and only a few weeks ago did she return.

And a bit later, a woman with big floofy hair came in. She was dressed nicely, showing an air of high class, but at the same time, she looked so soft and delicate. Add to that the speech pattern and the gentle tone she had when greeting.

She introduced as Haru Okumura Kurusu. It seems she kept her maiden name as she is the owner of the Okumura foods, a flourishing big name in the industry.

And Riddle with Ortho leaned in to hear. Futaba did ask how it was in Europe, gaining just a bit about it, but more about her return. Haru mentioned that her 'little Floyd' grew up a bit more and that he immediately slammed her into a hug the second he saw her at the airport. It was denotes a few facts about Floyd from that convo:

1. He seems to act quite childishly

2. He loves his family a lot

3. He seems to show quite the physical affection

4. Floyd was apart of the swimming team before stepping out of it for some personal reason that not even his mother knows

It also denotes that Mrs Kurusu was ripped if she wasn't put at all to the ground from Floyd slamming into her, but the 2 boys decided to slide that piece of information under the rug for the meantime.

In the end, Riddle and Ortho were nudged by Futaba to go up and make their homework as now the adults will talk about adult things.

But did that stop the 2 from snooping onto the conversation? Well... Riddle maybe, but not Ortho. That gremlin was surely eavesdropping onto it. Riddle tried to stop him, but he also picked a few words and listened in.

Ortho's gremlin energy is rubbing onto Riddle. :'3

Apparently Haru had Floyd use the fake name of' Leech' at Kosei high, because he entered in some trouble with the principal. She did not know what was going on, but the principal always seemed to tell her to urgently come and discuss about the 'problematic behavior' of her son. His grades were above average, making him a very important student for the school, so getting him out of Kosei high couldn't be made without a grave enough motive. But the thing was, Haru made the extra effort to have her son under supervision, which showed that the only problem Floyd was causing was that he often forgot his wallet at home, therefore most times he would have to not eat lunch. Or another problem would be, as some would label it, his way of dressing.

So if even the close supervision showed no actual problematic behaviour, then what exactly was going on with that request?

But the 2 hear Futaba telling Haru about her son being requested on the Phan-site, to which Haru immediately switches to a more terrific demandour. Even Futaba was a bit scared as Haru inquired to know who was naive enough to try and target her small helpless boy.

Although Riddle and Ortho would argue that Floyd was the least thing from 'small and helpless'. Futaba offered to find out who sent that request, but Haru stopped her, insisting that the sender better not be found out for their safety.

Another thing to note about Floyd: 5. His mother was scary af.

So Wut to do? Since Haru seemed to be dead set on proving that her 'little boy' (Riddle and Ortho still would be down on arguing with that one), wasn't up to bad.

And since she was taking a bit of a free time from all intense business work, she would have Floyd go around with her.

So with the conversation shifting to another things like 'Did you get a new blend of coffee?' or shit like that, Ortho and Riddle pondered over this thing in the attic.

Riddle suggested that maybe the principal of Kosei high might have something to target Floyd. It was clear that he was having some secret beef with him. So Ortho searched up his name: Fune Suguru

So surprise surprise! It was a hit! It meant they got a hold of a palace!

So what to do now? They knew next to nothing about the principal. So what does ortho think? Tell all kind of made up shit until he hits something. Riddle tells him that it doesn't work like that because there are millions of possibilities and it could take them actual days of searching up every possible traits to associate to a person.

Ortho hits it on the 10th try: Pervy Perfectionist.

And now for the place: it had to be Kosei high.

But what was the distorsion? If the metanav picked perfectionist, there had to be something akin to a museum or maybe a bank, where everything had to be in place. The metanav didn't seem to pick any of those up.

So the next day, the group made a small assembly. Ortho and Riddle filled them up on what they found out. Since it was weekend, it might be a tiny bit suspicious if they gather right in the front of the school, so Vil showed them a small place, a bit private from the public, but close enough to the school.

So now it was the guessing game. From castle to Laboratory. They would even put out random shit like 'dog' or 'caffe'. Something, anything to hit close to it.

Until Ace puts 'Big boat'. That's when the metanav picks it up, seems to correct it and begins the navigation.

And now our group found themselves on the deck of a boat. A gigantic boat. It was made out of sturdy metal as it housed a gigantic night club like place, in a colored glass dome. A few advertising panels said 'SS. Unsinkable desire' on it, along with a very through program from hour to hour.

It was clear as that that the Pervy side was more proeminent in the cognitive world. :'3

So now we stumbled into a new palace!

Or more like on purpose because damn is it hard to guess. :'3

But how would this palace be named? Or do we keep the name of the ship?

Until next time! Buh bye!

[illuma-can-you-not-i]

Every time Sojiro Sakura was the entire Phantom Thieves' Dad: Morgana

God, Sojiro thought as he watched the little boy with round blue eyes in front of him scarf down the rice and curry with a pleased grin on his face. Why did Akira's little brother have to be so damn cute?

Almost as soon as he started, the boy finished the meal and set his chopsticks down. "Thank you for the food, Mr. Sir!", 'Mona' called out, giving a quick little bow. By then there were a couple of other customers in the store, and they seemed to be doing Sojiro's cooing for him. Was Akira ever this adorable? For some reason, Sakura found himself doubting the image of Akira like this as a little boy.

Speaking of, said raven-haired teen was sitting next to his brother at the counter, eating up his own breakfast much slower. "Did you even taste it?", he remarked to the boy after finishing up a bite. "I did! And it tasted good! Now hurry up!", the younger demanded, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him violently. He seemed riled up, full of energy. It was like two sides of a coin. "What's the hurry?", the man asked, finding amusement in the young boy's energy. Reminded him of Futaba when she was young.

"I've never even left town before!! I wanna see the city!", he demanded, kicking at his chair in excitement. "In a bit. Let me eat, first.", the teen responded, trying to get him to stop kicking the seat. "But--" "Mona. Patience.", Akira warned, glaring down his sibling as he slowly took another bite.

"Hey, we're...", Makoto called out as she pushed open the door, letting Ann, Ryuji, and Akechi walk in. All eyes locked on the young guest, each giving a surprised expression. "Hello.", she greeted slowly with a soft smile. "Well, holy shit.", Ryuji muttered with wide eyes. "Ah! Cute!", Ann squealed. "...How the fu--", Akechi started, getting cut off by Akira. "Hey guys, just in time! This is my little brother, Mona.", the teen introduced, and wow if that tone of voice didn't give off the implication that something else was going on, then he didn't know what would. This was definitely a cover story for something, but the man was almost too afraid to find out what.

"Mona, these are the friends I was talking about. Say hello.", Akira instructed before taking another bite, still keeping the 'play along' tone in his voice. "Hi, there! Whatever Big Bro told you about me, it isn't true!", the boy almost shouted, making almost everyone in the group chuckle. "Hello there, Mona. It's a pleasure to meet you.", Makoto greeted, the formality in her tone making the child beam in pride. Oh jeez, this kid had an ego, didn't he.

"Hi, Mona!", Ann greeted, running up and giving the young boy a hug from behind. Mona froze in his spot, a red creeping from the tips of his ears. "You good?", Akira asked, clearly smirking as if he knew the answer. "Mhmm.", the boy quietly answered with a nod.

"Anyway, what's up?", "Oh, we were about to go check out this new movie that someone won't shut up about.", Ann explained while giving Ryuji a pointed glare. He just shrugged and gave a guilty smile. "And we were in the neighborhood, so we figured we'd invite you along.", Makoto finished with a slight smile. Akira echoed the expression, but shook his head. "Sorry, guys. Not this time. Someone wanted to go sightseeing today.", Akira explained, playfully nudging the young boy. "Is that so?", Akechi asked, speaking with a hint of amusement in his tone. "Maybe we could join you later. Show your little bro all the good spots.", Ryuji suggested, ruffling up the boy's hair, despite his very vocal protests. "Meet up for lunch?", Ann proposed, getting a nod in return. "Sounds great. See you guys later.", Akira called with a wave as his friends left. The sound of Ann squealing about how cute Mona looked could be heard from inside the cafe not a second later.

"So, how long are you going to be in town?", Sojiro asked, trying to make light conversation. The young boy froze in his seat, surprised expression on his face. Like he got caught in a lie. "Uh...", Mona trailed off, glancing in between Akira, who had stopped eating, and Sojiro, who was watching with far more attentiveness than before. "You do have a return ticket, right?", Sakura inquired, curious about this reaction.

"The train ride here...cost more than I thought it would.", Mona whimpered, playing with his two index fingers. Something didn't add up about this. Crossing his arms, Sojiro slowly asked, "And how did you get the money in the first place?" "I saved up my allowance.", Mona replied, far more quiet and shy than mere moments before. He spoke slower, too, like he was carefully choosing his words.

The man stood with crossed arms, looking the kid up and down, trying to analyze whether to believe him or not. It was plain as day that something amiss was going on, and Mona was in the center of it, but whether or not that thing should be something Sojiro would wanna get roped into was the biggest point of the debate. He was a man who knew when to pick his battles, and the panicked look in both Mona's and Akira's--ok, he could see the resemblance. Kind of.--eyes was the move that tipped the scale into surrendering this time. "OK, I'll tell your parents that you need a ticket back.", he decided, pulling out his phone to start dialing.

"Already done.", Akira spoke up, too quick to not be suspicious. "Your parents know where he is, right?", he asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "If they didn't before, they did this morning.", the teen remarked in a deadpan, eyes still on the plate. "And let me tell you, Mom isn't happy.", he slipped in the detail, making the child shrink up in fear. A fear that was well-earned, if the few times he's ever actually met the kid's parents has anything to indicate. The Kurusu matriarch was a powerful authority if he's ever met one.

"You like cats, kid?", Sojiro asked in an attempt to change the tone, not catching the snicker that Akira tried to cover by stuffing his mouth with food. Mona seemed to look up in pondering, before giving a shrug. "Eh."

"Well, your brother's been taking care of a cat while he's staying here, and I was hoping you two would meet.", Sojiro explained, picturing the image in his head. They would either be best friends or sworn enemies, knowing the feline's attitude. Speaking of which... "Now that I think about it, I wonder where he is.", he muttered under his breath while collecting Mona's plate.

"Oh! I'll help!", the little boy volunteered, jumping out of the chair and running to the other side of the counter, quickly grabbing the dish and taking it to the sink. "Thank you, Mona.", Sakura was quick to respond, watching the probably-grade-schooler beam with pride.

Sakura turned to the elder brother and gave a long sigh. "Kid, you're lucky that your brother's cute. One convict's enough for me.", he grumbled, already acknowledging that standing his ground about the boy going home was a losing battle. "He says as if he hasn't adopted every member of the Phantom Thieves.", Akira remarked with a snicker, earning a dish towel to the face.

[sweetbunpura]

I’m Your Sword and I’m Your Shield Ch. 14

After the kiss, Ryuji had promptly fled into the guest room with a red face and locked it. You didn't chases after him, you were still stunned after that surprise kiss. You cleaned up everything after you got unstunned and went to bed, yelling a goodnight to Ryuji, who didn't say anything in return. The next day wielded the same results as last night, you got ready for school and texted Ryuji that you were leaving, he didn't text back.It was only until the school was nearly over that you got a response from him.

R: About....about the kiss.... Yes? R: It was a.... A what? R: Spur of the moment thing...

You felt everything freeze as you read his message. Your heart's crushed as he continues texting. R: You were my clutch and you listened to my problems... R: Seein' you so calmly looking at the rain and all... R: Caused me to move without thinking, y'know?

'Like usual...' You think and glance up to make sure the teacher wasn't watching before responding.

...So you don't like me in that way?

It takes a full five minutes before he responds and you can tell from how long it took that he's contemplating his words. R: ....I...I don't know.... R: Maybe.....I just... R: I don't want to ruin this..... R: If I lose you then I have no one left.... R: I'll go back to being a lonely delinquent with no future ahead of him... R: Heh.... R: Maybe I deserved all those words after all....

You clench your phone upon reading that. Ryuji's spoken on this kinda thing before, back when you both were in middle school. It took you a full week to get him to stop thinking like that. Ryuji. You, in no way, deserved any of that, understand? You always put others first and neglect your own safety in tow. The others... they don't TRULY know you like I do. So, of course they have no idea what words NOT to say to you. R: But....I never told them to stop.... Cause you didn't want to appear as weak? R: Yeah... R: ..... Ryuji? R: Thanks, (Y/N) R: You're always there when I need it

You give a soft smile as the bell rings overhead, the students start packing up their bags as you continue texting the blond teen. You're welcome Now go gorge yourself on those terrible chips you love so much. R: Dude, you have no taste R: They're amazin'~ They taste of cardboard R: : P

You laugh to yourself as you pack up your things and leave the classroom. You're halfway down until you hear your name being called. Your hand grips the railing as you turn to face who called you. Akira and Ann are standing at the top of the stairs with Morgana peeking his head over the side of the shaggy haired teen's shoulder. Ann looks off to the side, almost as if she's embarrassed to make eye contact while Akira's meeting your gaze head on. For once, you can see his eyes without the glare of his glasses keeping them hidden, his steely gray eyes have a serious look to them. Any student that's still loitering around stop to watch the confrontation between the boy with the criminal record and the best friend of the school's blond delinquent. You brace yourself for whatever Akira has to say. "Yeah?" "Can we talk to you?" You gesture down to the floor and he shakes his head. "At Leblanc. You know where that is?" "Nothing I can't look up." You turn to leave, "I'll go there a bit later." You descend the stairs. "Now." The new tone in Akira's voice causes you to freeze and the sound of quickly moving footsteps fills the vacant air. 'He's definitely the leader of the Phantom Thieves.' You look back at the teen and cross your arms. "Then I might as well follow you there." You step aside as he descends the stairs with Ann following, the curly pig-tailed blonde has yet to say anything or even look at you. You travel along with them to the train station, the three of you don't say a word as you get off in Yongen-Jaya. You take in the appearance of Leblanc as you approach, it's got a rustic and homey feel to it, but it does nothing to calm your nerves. Akira opens the door and allows you and Ann to go ahead of him, you walk in and are greeted by Yusuke, Makoto, and Futaba. "What's up?" You already have a feeling about how well this talk is going to go. None of them say anything and you can feel a bit of your temper start to flare up. You cross your arms and glare at them. "If no one's going to say anything, then I'm leaving." "We would like to know where Ryuji is." Makoto speaks. "We can't get a hold of him." "That's not my problem." You snap slightly. "Why should I tell you? After everything he's told me about how you guys treat him, I'm surprised you even want him back." Your nails dig into your arms. The team flinch upon hearing your harsh words, but you can't bring yourself to care. "We want to apologize." Ann says. "Did you guys decide this overnight or did Akira say that you have to say your apologies?" "What's the difference?" Futaba asks. "Between a heartfelt apology and one where you're being told to?" Your temper flares up again. "One where you know you were in the wrong and the one where you want to get it done so that person who told you would stop nagging you?" You glare at the red-haired teen. "I don't know Futaba, but I'm pretty sure you're smart enough to tell the difference." Futaba steps back and Makoto comes to her difference. "We didn't know and we apologize." "Why the hell are you apologizing to me for?" You growl slightly. "I'm not the one who took all that shit from you guys for six months." You take a deep breath. "Look, Ryuji's been taking shit his whole life: from his father, from Kamoshida, and now from you guys. Giving him time might not cut it..." The team stares at you with wide eyes and you have to fight down the bitter laugh that threatens to emerge. "Yes, I saw the messages you were sending him...." "...So, what do you suppose we do?" Akira asks. "You said giving him time might not work." "Are you suggesting that we avoid Ryuji?" Yusuke speaks. You shake your head, "No, I'd never say that. He talked a lot about you guys before all this happened." You rub the back of your neck. "Maybe...don't pressure him into accepting whatever your apology is... or whatever it is that you guys have planned." You walk towards the door. "If he accepts and you guys rekindle your lost friendship.... Please think before you say anything that might be harmful to him. Underneath the tough guy exterior, he's someone trying to find his place in the world." With that, you leave and make fast tracks towards the train station. When you get off in Shibuya, your phone goes off. R: Do you know Haru Okumura? No Why? R: She's a third year at our school and we're stopping by your house real fast to say hi. I'm on my way back right now Please don't jump the fence R: On your way back? R: From where?

You contemplate telling him the truth, but decides that it's best to hear it from you before the others. Akira asked me to come to Leblanc The others were there as well R: .... R: What did they say? They asked where you were, but I didn't tell them Then I told them off about how they treated you and left R: ...Oh R: You still had my back even when I wasn't there. Hell yeah I've always got your back

You fish your keys out of your pocket as you hear Ryuji's voice around the corner. You turn to look at him and a girl, you assume is Okumura-senpai, approach. Ryuji loops an arm around you and introduces you to the fluffy haired senior. You invite them both inside and try to push down the bad feeling you have for the future.