Disclaimer: Persona 5 Characters except Fujin Katsuo belongs to Atlus, this fanfic has no commercial purpose.

"Where do you think are you going? You have no way to run now." I moved towards Kaneshiro as he fell to the floor after coming out of his robot alongside his large gold bars. "What's the matter? Are you afraid of me now?"

"Please! Have mercy!" Kaneshiro sound agitated from an expected reaction as he knew what kind of person I was.

"Begging for forgiveness? What happened to the other people you blackmailed while they begged the same thing to you? Karma is a bitch, isn't it?" I stomped in his torso, pressing him against the gold bars that so much he treasured. Slowly squeezing him, hoping he would pop like a balloon by applying forceful pressure on him. I finally had him under my heel. It would be so easy to kill him right there.

But would it be worth it?

Killing him wouldn't take away my years of suffering. What was done was done. But I shouldn't doubt. I already got blood on my hands before, killing another person couldn't be that hard.

However, the blood I spilled from a long time ago was innocent, an accident that haunted me and gave me nightmares every night.

I began getting headaches, and the anticipation was killing me. Everyone was looking at me from behind, waiting for me to act. In the end, I learned from watching them that there were worse things in this life than death. Seeing him lose everything he built up and stored over the years would bring me a much more satisfying feeling than his demise.

"I won't kill you, Kaneshiro," I stared closely at his frightened eyes. He hoped to be free from my grip. "But listen carefully, I don't want to see your face ever again in Tokyo. Try to go after my family, or us, and tragedy will fall upon you. You will wish to be in Hell instead of here." I released him, but not without kicking him away before walking and shifting my eyes towards the group. "Do whatever you want with him, I had enough with my vengeance."

"Alright, and thanks for not killing him," Joker patted my left shoulder while the rest smiled at me.

"I'm not gonna let anyone have it… This is my money…" Kaneshiro hugged his gold bars, cuddling like a scared cat.

"You stole it all from innocent people!" Queen yelled.

"Fine, I'll call off the debt…" He didn't sound so sincere.

"Fine? You're still soundin' pretty condescendin'," Skull scoffed.

"You're right…I'm a poor, ugly… idiot… How am I supposed to live a normal life like this…? It's all because of our society! Weak people can't lead a happy life, no matter what they do! I'm a victim too, you know!? Yeah, none of this is my fault!" I had to admit that despite everything he said was wrong; I couldn't deny he was right about society. However, unlike him, I didn't blame others for my actions, and I didn't want others to suffer if I got hurt. He tried to act as the victim, but that brought me nothing but shame at him.

"The more you talk, the more pathetic you sound," Fox commented with disdain.

"I just wanted a place where I could belong! I don't want to be forgotten! You get that, don't you, Fujin-sama?" He was on edge.

"Sorry, but that's on you, and you alone. Don't you ever speak a word to me." I said while avoiding eye contact with him.

"What about can Ill!?"

"Bullshit! All you did was surround yourself with people you could use, solely for some easy money!" Panther's words couldn't be more than true.

"And you think you're the only one who's gotta deal with bein' labeled?" Skull spoke too. "Me... and all these other guys... We're all fightin' against that!"

"Then what can I do to change myself as a better person? Where do I belong in this life?"

"Don't worry about that. You'll finally have a place you belong. Somewhere you can make amends, for the rest of your life." Queen said her fair share.

"We're gonna do somethin' about that distorted heart of yours… Free of charge." Skull's words were enough to make Kaneshiro turn around and face at us with dignity. He looked at the ground without saying anything.

"I'm glad you understand. Now hurry up and return to the real Kaneshiro," Fox said.

"Seriously? You don't have any tact. Especially with that incredible power… " Kaneshiro broke the silence. "These Palaces could net you loads of cash! You could do whatever you wanted to people's hearts!"

"We're not like you!" Skull refuted.

"Where do you find meaning in that naïve of justice…? You know, there's already someone out there taking full advantage of what Palaces have to offer…"Kaneshiro shared a little of the information that never crossed my mind. We were shocked enough of hearing that forced me to turn around and pay attention to what he said.

"What…?" Queen asked.

"I'll let you in on a little something…There's a criminal using other people's Palaces to accomplish whatever they damn well please." Kaneshiro smirked. "They don't care about the consequences. Psychotic breakdowns, mental shutdowns… Anything goes."

"Is that… the same person Madarame's Shadow spoke of…?" Fox muttered.

"What? Is it true of what you are saying?" I said with surprise in my voice. There was always someone besides us, and no one told me. Things couldn't get more confusing than that.

"Spill it! Who're you talkin' about!?" Skull tried to pursue more info, but Kaneshiro shook his head.

"Don't even bother. You are nothing compared to them… Better be careful… A chance encounter with them could prove fatal…" After giving us the warning, he disappeared like air.

"Comeback… Dammit! What in the world was he talking about?" I said without being upset about what he told us. Of course, while waiting for anyone to answer me, the entire place started to crumble.

"We can think about that later! Grab the Treasure; there's no time!" Fox told everyone to hurry before things could be worse.

"In that case, we should take that large one…Wait, what!?" Just before Queen could make a suggestion, we looked at the Treasure.

"Mrrrrrooooooow!" Mona acted a little weird around the giant gold bars. "T-Treasure…" He seemed way too overjoyed by that.

"What's gotten into him…!?" Queen asked the team.

"This is soooooo cooool! Wowwwweee, being a human is great!" Mona kept getting excited, forgetting that the Palace was about to fall. "It's…It's… It's… shiny, shiny gold!" The cat's levels of euphoria went too high that started to annoy me. All that strange behavior made him jump into Panther's face; she wasn't too happy either.

"Hrgh!? L-Leff ho off mee!" With Mona on her face, Panther took off him angrily and launched that cat into the air, what happened next threw me off guard.

"You shouldn't throw animals, dammit!" He transformed into a car!

"How did he do that!?" I just experienced weirder things the more I stood around.

"Enough, already! Let's get it in, everyone! Hurry!" Panther ordered us to carry the gold bars.

I helped Fox to carry two gold bars while Skull and Joker took another two. "Okay, all set!" Skull spoke after we sat in the van.

"We got the Treasure, we punched Kaneshiro in the face, and the Palace is going kaput at any moment. Let's get out of here, pronto!" Time was short; I sat on the back seat from the car while waiting to flee from the Palace.

"Grrr…Fine!" Mona wasn't so happy. He started to accelerate with Queen on the driver's seat. We went to full speed despite the gold's weight, but there was one little problem. "Wait, there's no road!" We were falling from a vast height, and everyone started screaming.

"YOU IDIOTS!" We fell from a massive height while returning to the real world. And it was painful.

Once we were back. Everyone landed on the sidewalk among the crowd.

"Owww..." Takamaki said in pain.

"I think I cracked my ass…" Sakamoto was the second person to speak. His reaction was just the same.

"Ann, are you all right!? Is yours cracked as well…?" Kitagawa wasn't subtle, but he sounded honestly concerned.

"Of course not!" Takamaki replied with embarrassment.

"Isn't it supposed to be, though?" Makoto missed the point.

"Urgh, that's not what I mean! More importantly, it's dangerous for us to just charge like that!" Finally, somebody spoke with more logic after a wacky experience. Takamaki noticed the people around them. "Ack! Everyone's staring at us!" The others saw around too. They felt awkward.

"Thank goodness nobody was hurt," Makoto spoke with relief, Sakamoto not so much.

"Uhhh, I wouldn't say nobody…" Sakamoto was looking to the street; everyone turned their sight as well.

You might ask what happened to Morgana and. Well, that was quite simple. If I could put it in simple words, Morgana in his cat form was on top of my face while lying in the middle of the street. Both of us got hit with a golden briefcase on the head. One thing to say about it: Ouch.

"That briefcase…" Sakamoto looked surprised at what the Treasure became into.

"It appears to have been the cause of Morgana and Katsuo's demise…" Kitagawa couldn't be more of a ditz than he was then.

"That's not what I meant! Isn't that Kaneshiro's…" Sakamoto called him out.

"You mean his Treasure…!?" Kitigawa finally realized.

"Hey, the light's red!" Makoto was the first to call the others in the middle of the stupid road. Everyone helped us to get off the road. "Katsuo, are you alright?"

"The real enemy… was within us… but… we did it." I was dizzy. Kurusu and Kitagawa were carrying me from their shoulder.

"I think he should be fine. Now, where should we open it?" Makoto wasn't even worried about Morgana or me; I guess that didn't matter. She asked everyone a place where we could look inside the briefcase.

"How about at karaoke?" Takamaki was the first one to come up with a suggestion. Everyone wasn't sure about it.

"We'd have security cameras to worry about there," Makoto refused.

"Oh, I got the perfect place," Sakamoto suggested another place while looking at Kurusu. He seemed confused.

"That's right!" That blond girl replied, knowing what Sakamoto was exactly he referring.

"I was just in the mood for some coffee too." Kitagawa deduced pretty quickly as well.

"And we need to fix Morgana up!" Takamaki kneeled to carry that black cat with her.

"Maybe I should find an ice bag for Katsuo," Kurusu commented on the way to help with the bump on my head.

"So… warm." Morgana regained his senses.

Everyone moved while carrying Morgana and me to a train station. We traveled for twenty minutes until we stopped at another station at Yongen-Jaya. After leaving the station, we walked around some alleyways until we went to a coffee shop named Leblanc. They told me that Kurusu lived in the attic of that place. I wouldn't ask questions of why and how, but the attic looked kind of cozy, probably much better than my apartment.

Once inside, they slowly put me on top of Kurusu's bed while everyone moved some chairs and a table in the center of the room.

"I will bring some medicine for Katsuo and Morgana," Kurusu told everyone else while going downstairs.

"Right, and I will bring some ice for him too." Makoto accompanied Kurusu on the first floor to find a bag for some ice.

I lied on the leader's bed, looking at the roof and around the room. I couldn't move; so far, I could only listen to everyone. Me and my thoughts for a couple of minutes until they finished arranging the place.

Kurusu and Makoto returned with the medicine and the ice bag.

They didn't take so long. Makoto gave me the ice. I put it on my head and held it with my right hand while sitting on the bed.

"This place is oddly calming." The advisor commented as she looked around.

"Yeah, I have to admit. It is peaceful… Owww." My head kept hurting.

"How are you feeling, Katsuo?" She asked me about the current state.

"I feel like I fell from a six-story building, and a cat landed on my face with a briefcase, oh wait… that happened, and it hurts." I muttered.

"Now, now…no need to be sarcastic. I know it wasn't a pleasant experience, but we finally got the Treasure."

"Yeah, I guess that is something. That's one weird briefcase, though."

"Speaking of the briefcase, have you learned anything new?" Makoto asked Kitagawa, which he was trying to open that briefcase. No luck.

"It's sealed by a rotary lock. We'll need the combination to open it." He looked disappointed.

"Maybe we can use a hammer and screwdriver… Nah, I'm sure that would ruin the mechanism if we do that." I suggested another way to force it, but that wouldn't work.

"Meoooowgh!" Morgana yelled after Takamaki put some ointment on his head.

"A rotary lock, hm?" Makoto sounded curious. She moved towards the briefcase like she found a way to open it.

"Unless you know the right combination, there is no way you can open that damn…."

Makoto opened the briefcase without issue, much to everyone's surprise. "…I knew it."

"Well… I'll be damned." I was out of words while I kept the ice bag over my head.

"How did you get that?" The artist said with amaze at how she solved it.

"I simply memorized the combination. I saw him open and close it so many times, after all." She said with pride.

"W-Well that's…scary. But amazin' too!" Sakamoto was also amazed by that.

"Urghh, that burn…Hey, hurry up and open it." While still in pain, Morgana was anxious about what was inside of that.

Everyone, including myself, was getting closer while Makoto was slowly opening it. My eyes couldn't believe what I saw. That briefcase was full of money, lots and lots of money.

"H-How much is this!?" That punk was almost out of words because of the fortune we got.

"I believe one stack is one million yen… hm?" Kitagawa fell silent after counting the money.

"One, two, three… Uhhh, there's thirty of them in here!?" Takamaki couldn't express how much money was.

"Thirty million yen… Even after splitting it, we still each get more than four million!" Makoto's eyes were wide open of the exuberant quantity.

"That's a lot of bills..." I was out of words. Not bad for my first heist.

"Holy shit… It's gonna be deluxe pork soul combo for from here on out!" Sakamoto's ambitions were too mundane.

"You have to think bigger than that…" Morgana was unamused of his response.

"You are not going to see me in a long time. I should start packing now!" I couldn't hold myself with all this money. Dreams can come true.

"Not to bring down the excited mood… but does this money look real to you?" Kitagawa made an odd observation.

"What!?" Takamaki replied. I didn't like that tone coming from her. "Children's Bank!?"

After looking closer, all bills had Kaneshiro's face. Oh, the irony.

"F-For real…!?" Sakamoto's smile turned into a grimace.

"I guess this represents… how everything he did was an act to make himself seem tough?" Makoto got a sad expression of how ugly the truth behind the briefcase was.

"Noooooooooo..!" Sakamoto looked down.

"Welp... what a letdown." I sighed.

"Well, hey, at least it feels like we totes busted this case, right?" The blond girl smiled. Couldn't tell why.

"What do you mean? Is busting a case good or bad…?" Makoto got confused about what Takamaki said.

"Both!"

Makoto was silent for a moment until she snickered and then into a laugh. "Ahahahaha!"

"What's so funny?" I gave a side glance.

"Sorry, it is just… To think the reward for the Phantom Thieves is feeling they 'totes busted' the case…" She kept laughing. "Ahhh… How funny!"

Everyone, except me, smiled. I began to think that most fictional stories about thieves got the same results as us.

"Hold on second. Even though the contents were nothing more than trash, the case itself is quite nice." Said Kitagawa, who at least thought a better alternative than leaving with the empty hands.

"All right then, let's sell it! Glad we got that sorted!" Sakamoto was quickly on high spirits again.

"I wonder what we can use with those bills. Probably to throw it on the fire or something." I tore in half one of those bills.

"By the way Morgana, have any of your memories returned?" Kitagawa asked the little cat.

"No, not at all..." Morgana sighed.

"C' mon, did that hit to your head make you forget even more?" Sakamoto was insensitive.

"It's easy for you to talk. You're not the one who lost your memories." Morgana scoffed.

"You have amnesia?" Makoto asked out of concern.

"That's messed up. Sorry to hear that." I said.

"Something like that. He does remember searching for Treasures, though." Takamaki added about Morgana's amnesia problem.

"Hm. I hope your memories return soon then." Makoto sounded apologetic. "So… what happens next?"

"First, we wait for Kaneshiro to have his change of heart." Morgana summarized.

"Wait… That's it? Huh, then I guess I can go back to work and relax in the meantime." I felt happy about being able to continue with my life.

"It's gonna be big this time. People're gonna make huge deal oh it, for sure." Sakamoto smiled.

"Hey, you know what Kaneshiro said at the end there…? About that 'criminal' using the Metaverse…" Takamaki was worried.

"Yes, I was bothered by that as well," Kitagawa added.

"Why everything has to be so complicated?" I did nothing but thinking. Everyone fell silent for a moment.

"No point mullin' over it now. Let's and see how Kaneshiro's change of heart goes first. We should prolyl just lay low for a while." Sakamoto said something smart for once.

"I never thought I'd hear those words coming from you." Makoto was surprised as well.

After a long day of disappointment, laughs, and questions, everyone left the attic one by one. I was still lying on the bed.

"Are you not leaving yet?" Makoto asked.

"I will stay here for a bit longer. My head still hurts." I put the ice bag next to me. "Don't worry about me. Go ahead without me. Be careful on your way home, though."

"Alright, take care," said Makoto while she walked downstairs. Alone with at Leblanc's attic with Kurusu and Morgana around. His room felt empty without more people around. Weird, never thought to feel lonely again. I wanted to return home and forget everything. Deep down, I couldn't help myself from feeling indebted to Kurusu. Should I keep working as a thief? Makoto told me that she wanted to join them, but me? I wasn't interested in helping others.

However, after hearing about the other Metaverse user, I couldn't leave things like that. Even if I wanted to stay, what use could I give to them? Faust had no magic. No versatile enough for any fight. I was lucky with Kaneshiro, but how sure could I be if the next time I wouldn't end up killing the other?

Dangling on those ideas were pointless. The only thing left for me was to ask Kurusu.

"Hey, can I have a word with you?" It was hard for me to strike a conversation first. I thought that doing tutoring back when I was in Shujin would give me experience. Guess not.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I… Do you see me as a bad person?"

"I don't think so. You looked like a good guy. Why?"

"To be honest, I think the opposite." I sighed. "If I'm honest, what would you say if I refused to join the team?"

"Well, I wouldn't force you to stay with us, but I prefer you to stay."

"Are you sure? What's good of me if you want to keep going and acting as a thief?"

"You helped us defeating Kaneshiro and get the Treasure. I want to thank you for that. "

"No, I should be the one to be thankful." I felt ashamed of myself. "I want to repay you for what you did for helping me get my revenge with that fat bastard."

"You don't need to repay us. Only being our friend is more than enough." Was Kurusu a saint or something? Why he had to say those things? He was indeed a selfless person.

"Sorry, but I must. I can't stand here doing anything. If only I can make myself useful…" I shut, slowly realizing what could be an excellent tool for him. "I know a way to compensate for your help," I smirked.

"What do you have in mind?" Kurusu got curious.

"Do you know the term quid pro quo?"

"No?"

"Well, to put it in simple words, it just means a favor for another. I decided to work for the Phantom Thieves, not out of altruism, but as my way to repay you for everything you have done for me." I chuckled. "Of course, since that's not enough, I think of something that might help you in the Metaverse."

"And what is it?"

"Glad you asked. But first, do you have any book?" Kurusu wasn't sure what I meant, but he readily complied by bringing all the books and magazines he owned on the table. Glad he didn't read Light Novels, that stuff wasn't much of my taste. His collection wasn't extensive, but I could see how dedicated he was to literature. "Not bad. How long it takes you to finish one?"

"Two nights, or whenever I can read on the train to school or the library."

"Wait, can you read that fast? I never met someone who could do that, not even myself, since I like to take my time." I was amazed by Kurusu's reading skills. However, reading shouldn't be a race. "Alright, you may finish a book in no time, but can you feel it?"

"I don't understand," the leader gave me a strange look.

"I know how weird that sounds, but to give you an example, I always carry a book in my pocket. Whether if it is sunny, rainy, crowded, lonely, or even working, books can give you more than just words." I sat on the couch, pulling my copy of The Metamorphosis. "As you can see, I brought this for the heist because I needed an extra boost. Of course, I'm not saying of hitting someone with a book, but because it helps me get that confidence from what it taught me. Can you get my meaning?"

Of course, that took Kurusu a few minutes since he examined his books. "Yeah, I think I have an idea."

"Good, because that's the most I can offer you while working together at the moment. You help me, I help you, and we all get a win-win out of this. What do you say? We have a deal?" I extended my hand towards the leader.

"Sure, I can always count on someone like you." Kurusu and I did shake hands as a sign of partnership. My days of stagnation were gone.

I am thou, thou art I

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion

That breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Hunger Persona,

I have obtained the winds of blessing that

shall lead to freedom and new power…

I don't know what was all that about, but no complaints.

After a little talk, I decided to give my farewells and return home.

I felt like is if I'm always welcome to him. No matter where I went, at least I knew there was another person watching my back. Those kids are weird, but in the right way. I picked up my corresponding line to get my way back home. With all the pain in the world, it was far from good, but I didn't care about it. I promised myself never to fear about my luck ever again as long as Kurusu was there.

Within my heart, Faust was satisfied with my desire for change.

Katsuo Rank 1

Confidant Ability: Bookworm

- It allows Joker to equip books he already read for bonus combat stats. Bonuses include Strength, Magic, Endurance, Agility, Luck, HP, or SP.