In this chapter, Ann will unlock her Persona. You're looking forward to that, right?

I figured I would continue this fanfic because of Royal. Given that Persona 3 and Persona 4 both have a remake it's not too much of a surprise that Persona 5 would get one. As for why it's called Royal...well, the Phantom Thieves are venturing into palaces! What else would they call it?

I think I'll probably include Persona Royal characters in this fanfic somehow.

Fun fact, in the manga, the protagonist is known as Akira Kurusu. But in the games themselves and the anime, he's known as Ren. I figure gender flipping Akira would be easier.

Chapter 5: Love Hurts

"I have to wonder why Humpty Dumpty lets Kamoshida be the gym teacher..." questioned Akiko. Surely he could figure out that the gym teacher wasn't to be trusted. Wasn't the smell of alcohol on his breath suspicious?

"Humpty Dumpty...why didn't I think of that?" asked Ryuji.

To be honest, he didn't really like the school principal. Sure, he treated the students fairly, but at the same time, he kept allowing Kamoshida to be the figurative king of the school. Perhaps he didn't realize that he was basically a figurehead. But either way, he was allowing Kamoshida's bad behavior.

Although strangely enough, despite his alcoholism, Kamoshida never seemed to be sleepy during their gym class. He always seemed so eager to play sports.

"Your guess is as good as mine." noted Ryuji.

Although...he was a star athlete before he met the vicious gym teacher.

"Would you say cats have nine lives, Morgana?" asked Akiko.

"I'm not a cat." answered Morgana.

"Maybe you were human in a previous life...of course, if that's the case, I'm not sure how many lives you have left." said Akiko.

"Never thought of it that way." spoke the black cat.

Unfortunately, they still didn't know where his treasure was.

They needed to find it before they were expelled, so time was of the essence.

Perhaps it was in the castle's treasury? It seemed like the most likely spot.

As they explored the castle, they noticed a statue of a demon.

It had a long tongue, and was holding silverware. The demon also had four arms.

"What's that doing in his castle?" asked Ryuji.

"I don't know..." answered Akiko. Perhaps if she had four arms, she could hug Morgana twice as much.

Suddenly, they noticed something alarming.

For some strange reason, Ann was being escorted by two guards.

"Ann?!" exclaimed Akiko.

"Akiko?!" questioned Ann.

At that very moment, Kamoshida showed up.

He facepalmed upon seeing the intruders once more.

"How many times are you going to trespass in my castle? I should hire more guards..." noted Kamoshida. He was starting to question his castle's security.

"Why is Kamoshida half-naked?" asked Ann. Was his booze causing him to go streaking? She sure hoped Shiho wasn't around to see it. She was already embarrassed about the photos of her on the internet.

Suddenly, he noticed Ann.

"Well, at least something can go right in my day for a change. But why are there two of you?" asked the man. Did Ann secretly have a twin sister?

Cognitive Ann scratched her head. Sometimes she looked in the mirror so she could admire her sexy body, but this girl was wearing a lot more clothing than she was.

Last time he checked, there was only one Ann in his castle. And in his opinion, one Ann was enough for him.

Oh well. The more, the merrier.

He decided to approach her.

"Come here, sexy lady!" exclaimed Kamoshida.

Unfortunately for him, the "sexy lady" wasn't a doormat like Kamoshida's cognition of her.

"Aah! Get away from me, you perv!"

Ann kicked the king of the castle between the legs.

"Ow..." murmured Kamoshida, who collapsed on the floor.

"Thank goodness for my self-defense classes." remarked Ann. She figured that they would come in handy some day...and it turned out, they did.

Cognitive Ann dashed to his side.

Unfortunately, the guards did not take it well.

"You're going to the dungeon!" exclaimed the guards.

Ann gasped.

Immediately, they went to take her away.

It occurred to the Phantom Thieves that perhaps Ann needed their help.

But at that very moment, Ann's cognition transformed into a succubus. It seemed she was angry at what happened to Kamoshida, who was still lying in the ground, rather than lying in bed with her as usual.

She had decided that the three Phantom Thieves had been in Kamoshida's castle long enough.

She began to seduce Ryuji and Morgana.

Swirls appeared in their eyes.

Unfortunately for Akiko, when she went to fight the succubus, she ended up sitting on her.

"I've heard of getting your butt handed to you, but this is ridiculous!" exclaimed Akiko.

That had actually happened to Ryuji sometimes at sports...unfortunately.

Ann wasn't happy at what was going on.

But it seemed that there was nothing she could do...was there?

"You're all going to the dungeon!" exclaimed a Belphegor.

Immediately, some Angels came to take the three of them away.

"Don't tell me we're going back there..." noted Akiko. There were rats living there.

But at that very moment, Ann panicked.

It seemed that the fear caused her Persona to awaken.

"This is the third time this has happened." remarked Akiko. To be honest, it was starting to no longer surprise her.

Morgana figured the more, the merrier. Though he wondered how many people it would take for him to be human again.

"Not again!" exclaimed Kamoshida. Those thieves just getting stronger and stronger.

He wondered how he was going to deal with all four of them.

If only they were playing on a higher difficulty mode...

Immediately, Ann set fire to the succubus.

"Man, this girl might be even hotter than me...literally!" exclaimed the succubus.

She felt envious.

"I'll say!" shouted Morgana.

Fortunately, he seemed to have snapped out of his trance.

The succubus was reduced to ash.

He began to cut down the angels.

"You're not making an angel out of me!" exclaimed Akiko as she shot them down with her gun.

"They're dressed awfully skinny for God's messengers..." noted Ryuji.

"I heard a rumor that they're being led by a giant floating yellow head..." said Ann. It was a strange rumor.

If there was a giant floating head, where was the rest of it?

The angels bombarded Ryuji with light.

"Why can't that be the light at the end of the tunnel?" asked Ryuji.

"Wait, aren't you a demon of sloth?" asked Mona to Belphegor as he fought him.

"I dream about pretty girls when I nap, OK?" asked the sloth demon.

The sloth demon breathed ice on Mona.

"That's c-c-cold..." said Mona.

Luckily, he had fur covering his body. Maybe being a human was overrated.

Akiko finished off the last of the angels.

"I sure hope that I don't go to Hell for this." noted Akiko.

Ann set the sloth demon on fire.

Despite being a demon, he did not appreciate the heat.

"Aah!" exclaimed the demon.

In retaliation, he clawed at Ann, scratching her uniform.

"Darn it! I like my new suit..." complained the demon.

Mona attempted to strike him, but Belphegor swatted him away.

"It's a good thing that cats always land on their feet." said Mona.

However, he failed to notice Ryuji approaching him.

He screamed as Ryuji went for the killing blow.

Skull knocked off Belphegor's head.

"And Kamoshida thought I was a wimp." remarked Ryuji.

"Why did he use the toilet in the middle of a fight?" asked Akiko. Admittedly, it was convenient since Ryuji likely made him soil himself in that last attack.

The four of them decided to go back outside before Kamoshida received reinforcements.

"There...wouldn't happen to be a doctor in this palace, now would there?" asked Kamoshida.

Then again, the school doctor didn't seem to like him that much.

"So let me get this straight...when I went to the other world, I went inside Kamoshida's head?" questioned the girl.

"Basically." answered Morgana.

That would explain why it was creepy.

"What were you doing inside his head? Surely it's not a pretty sight..." questioned the blonde girl. He seemed to think of himself as a ladies' man even though in reality he was a violent man.

"Well, we were hoping to steal his treasure. We destroy his treasure, we make him regret everything." noted Ryuji.

"So, if you steal the treasure, he'll confess to what he's done?" asked Ann.

Akiko nodded.

"Well then, do you need any help?" asked Ann.

To be honest, that sounded spectacular. Perhaps she would get retribution for Shiho's humiliation.

"It'd be easier with the four of us, so sure." answered Akiko. She was a big help in dealing with that thick succubus.

"Although...isn't what we're doing considered illegal?" asked Ann.

Perhaps the authorities would frown upon it.

"Well, maybe if we do nothing, we'll get expelled. And besides, it seems like people are suffering simply because people don't take action."

For now, they decided to head back.

They saw the real Kamoshida.

The four of them flinched.

For some strange reason, Kamoshida no longer seemed interested in Ann.

In fact, he seemed scared of her.

She didn't know why.

But Ann then remembered that she had destroyed Kamoshida's alternate version of her back in his palace.

Perhaps it had changed his perspective of her.

It also helped that she kicked him in the favorite part of his body.

"Good news! Kamoshida's stopped looking at me to the point it makes me uncomfortable!" exclaimed Ann.

Personally, Kamoshida wondered why he kept having bad dreams as of late. After his latest dream regarding his groin, he decided he would not mess with Ann anytime soon. He dreamed about her kicking him in the groin...perhaps that would happen in real life if he got too close to her.

Besides, Kawakami was much closer to his age.

He had stopped having lewd thoughts about her anyway.

"I guess dealing with your cognition changed his perception of you." noted Morgana.

Ann nodded. That was the most plausible explanation.

Still, it seemed that they still had a long ways to go before they could get Kamoshida to clean up his act.

"I'm glad you're happy, but we're still in danger of being expelled. Don't forget, your friend Shiho is in danger of losing her scholarship." said Ryuji.

"Yeah...that's a big problem." noted Ann. She'd probably still get to hang out with her, but being expelled wouldn't give Shiho a bright future.

Well, they might as well start searching for his treasure.

Maybe instead of calling themselves the Phantom Thieves they could start calling themselves the Phantom Pirates. It was alliterative, after all.

Then again, they hadn't visited the ocean in some time.

Meanwhile, Sojiro decided to call a maid.

For some strange reason, Akiko had been spending long periods of time away from his shop. She seemed to hang out with Ryuji...ehich troubled him considering Ryuji too was a delinquent.

She had also been hanging out with Ann, however. They said she was sweet.

He sure hoped that she wasn't getting into trouble. She was already on probation. If she got in trouble again she could end up in juvenile hall. And there were all sorts of unsavory people at juvie...and in this case it included the guards. Especially the guards.

Sojiro was starting to wonder if something should be done about the authorities.

Because of Akiko's absence, he needed a helping hand around the shop.

He decided to call a maid.

Not because he thought the maid service was sexy...but he liked having a woman to talk to. He was a ladies' man in his youth, but nowadays he decided to be more chaste.

Besides, he heard a rumor that Kamoshida was into echii anime. That wasn't inherently bad, but he seemed to want to make the cheerleaders' outfits more revealing. It wasn't very practical.

Eventually, the maid arrived.

However, he was very surprised to find out who it is.

"Hi there! I'm Becky! So where should I be-"

"Ms. Kawakami?" asked Sojiro Sakura.

"Sojiro Sakura? Aren't you Akiko's legal guardian?" questioned Kawakami.

Sakura nodded. Though part of him wished that he wasn't assigned to the job.

Despite her criminal record, Akiko seemed rather even-tempered. It was kind of unusual.

On a note that was incidental, was there a reason she attacked a politician of all people?

Perhaps she was an anarchist.

Although, when the police came to investigate, they noticed the smell of alcohol on Shido's lips.

But they didn't seem to pay attention to it. They assumed a man who was running in an election would never hurt anyone.

He was snapped back into reality when Kawakami let out a chuckle. (Luckily, this never seemed to happen to the Phantom Thieves without their consent.)

"It's...funny seeing you like this." said Becky.

Sojiro Sakura nodded as well.

"Would you like some coffee?" asked Sojiro.

Kawakami nodded.

She began to gulp it down.

To be honest, she needed that after all the hard work she did, both at school and outside of it.

"So, how did you become a maid?" inquired Sakura.

"Well, I feel like I can never have too much money!" exclaimed Becky.

To be honest with himself, Sojiro wondered if Kawakami was hiding something. He never showed interest in having a second job, for one.

"Has...Akiko been doing well at school?" asked Sojiro.

If she was cutting classes again, he would like to know.

"She has...though I heard a rumor that Kamoshida wished to have her expelled. I don't know why." answered Kakakami. She seemed to behave herself while in gym class. What had she done to cross him?

For some strange reason, people seemed frightened whenever they left the gymnasium.

To be honest, she wondered if it was some sort of attempt to silence her.

"You won't tell Kamoshida, will you? He'd never let me hear the end of it if he saw me in a sexy maid costume." noted Kawakami. To be honest, she wondered why the principal hired him. Ever since he was hired she kept seeing volleyball players with fresh bruises every school week.

Sojiro nodded. There was something a bit unsettling about him.

"Thanks..." answered the brunette teacher.

She wondered how she was going to repay him.

Though to be honest, he thought it was weird that people were letting Kamoshida of all people be the gym teacher when the principal was reluctant to have two juvenile delinquents at his school.

Perhaps he was hypocritical that way.

"Well, I'm going back home." noted Sojiro.

Sojiro left.

As he did, Kawakami noticed he was carrying a textbook.

It seemed to be a language textbook.

At first, she figured that maybe he was holding onto a book for Akiko.

But upon closer inspection, it wasn't a textbook assigned for her class.

What was going on?

Elsewhere...

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" asked Ann.

"Your cat costume is so sexy!" exclaimed Morgana.

"Hmm, you're starting to remind me of Kamoshida himself." noted the teenage girl.

Morgana chuckled nervously.

Ann wondered why her costume resembled a cat.

Well, maybe it was because she was basically a cat burglar now.

Meanwhile, Shiho suddenly felt surprisingly cheerful.

For some strange reason she felt that Kamoshida at some level had gotten what was coming to him following the incident where she had pictures of her on the internet in skimpy attire.

It made her happy.

"For some strange reason people keep comparing me to a teddy bear who became a stud..." said Morgana.

"I happen to own a teddy bear." said Ann.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" answered Akiko.

"I find it ironic that you hang out with a black cat considering your misfortune." said the blonde girl.

Suddenly, a dodgeball hit Ryuji's head.

"Ow!" exclaimed Ryuji.

"Sorry!" apologized Yuuki.

"I won't be a black cat once I obtain enough treasure! At least I think so..." answered Morgana.

"Speaking of which, we should get back to the palace soon." said Ryuji.

Akiko nodded and used the app to send the four of them back to the castle.

Well, it looks as if Ann has joined the group. We can bring the total up to four now. Maybe the four of them can take on Kamoshida. I personally doubt that Morgana could do it alone. His nine lives just wouldn't be enough. And since he's a black cat he's unlucky...much like Ryuji.

Of course, even if they do defeat Kamoshida, the Phantom Thieves probably aren't going to stop with just one criminal.

And yes, Kamoshida summons a version of Shiho wearing a sexy outfit in Royal. I guess I predicted the future, huh?