Fox of Many Masks

Chapter 8

"Wilton Hotel, 4th floor Elevator, Bald man with a goatee...This can help if you are right" Jiraiya said, listing off what Naruto had told him about where he ran into the man he thought was the same one from that night.

"I'm sorry I don't completely remember him…" Naruto apologized only to get a sigh on the other end.

"And I've told you many times not to worry about it. Considering the utter weirdness of the situation, from the man seemingly commanding the police to his name not appearing anywhere on the lawsuit, I don't blame you not quite remembering...Plus, it being late at night didn't help" Jiraiya reassured him as he could only imagine how jarring it was to be suddenly arrested for nothing. "The fact that you believe this is the same man is a great place to start, I'll look into it and see what I can find. Just keep your head down like I told you" he warned only to yell at him to wait just before he was about to hang up.

"One last thing! Call Tsunade, she's probably worrying about you" he suggested as Naruto had to nod in agreement.

"I know I need to call her. Settling in has just been a bit hectic" Naruto muttered only to get a chuckle from Jiraiya.

"I can imagine given you leaped out of a two story building and the gym teacher of your school just turned himself in for a mess of stuff" Jiraiya said, revealing he had learned about his rescue of Shiho and heard about Kamoshida.

"So you learned about that, eh?" Naruto asked, awkwardly chuckling since he somewhat expected to be recognized by him but silently hoped he wouldn't….seems like his luck wasn't on his side this time.

"I know that mess of red hair anywhere kid and only you'd be stupid enough to jump out to save someone like that….I'm glad you and that girl are okay but for god's sake, don't do that again!" Jiraiya warned, his tone showing he was serious about it.

"I promise I won't jump out of any more second story buildings and that I'll call Tsunade" he promised which got a tired sigh from Jiraiya on the other end.

"Fine, I'll take your word...feel free to call if you need anything, okay?" Jiraiya offered as Naruto smiled.

"I know, thanks" Naruto said before hanging up and sitting on the edge of his bed.

It felt nice to talk to Jiraiya again, even if it was brief since the man was his family. He definitely knew he needed to call Tsunade but, given how late it was and that he had school tomorrow, he figured he could fit it in tomorrow.

For now he just got ready for bed and laid down, tired after the busy day and just wanting some rest.

Though, as he drifted off to sleep, it seemed someone else wanted to talk to him.

-Velvet Room-

Waking up here was something he hadn't done in quite a while but, as he made his way to the bars, he wasn't nearly as annoyed as he thought he'd be.

"First off...I'd like to begin by congratulating you" Igor started off, his permanent smile still on his face as he started things off.

"To think our master would give words of praise…" Justine said, a bit of surprise in her tone despite the calmness of it that was always there.

"You better treasure this moment, Inmate!" Caroline barked out while Naruto just nodded along with a sigh.

"You have encountered allies who share your ideals and you have found your place in reality. The time has come...Your rehabilitation will soon begin" Igor announced as Naruto raised an eyebrow at him.

"Does that mean you are finally going to tell me what you mean by rehabilitation or are you going to continue being as vague as a fortune cookie?" Naruto asked with a flat tone, hoping that the vagueness was finally over with.

"Yes, I shall explain it to you now" Igor announced with a nod. "You have a special potential. However, that must be refined into a useful power. It is weak now but refining it shall grant you the strength to stand against the coming ruin. That is the rehabilitation cast upon you" Igor revealed only to drop a massive bombshell on him like it was nothing.

"Wait, rewind the tape a bit there. 'Coming ruin'? What do you mean by that!?" Naruto asked, definitely wanting clarification on that.

"There are various means by which you may gain the power to resist ruin. Fighting Shadows and gaining experience is one way. And this shall be another" Igor announced, glossing over his actual question entirely - which Naruto basically expected - as he snapped his fingers which caused two massive blue guillotines to appear behind him.

"I shall grant you the ability of fusion. By extracting energy from your Personas we may create copies of them and through that fuse them to create new and more powerful Persona from them so long that you can handle the power of the Persona formed from the supposed fusion. Your twin wardens will carry out the fusions under your guidance" Igor revealed with a smile and, while it did sound interesting it still didn't answer his worries about the whole 'ruin' debacle.(*1)

"This is all possible because of our master's guidance, Inmate!" Caroline yelled out again before Justine also turned back towards him.

"Though it may be presumptuous of us, we have words of wisdom as well" Justine told him with Caroline nodding along.

"When you're out in reality, you'd better hone your relationships with those you have contracts with!" Caroline instructed before it was apparently Justine's turn to talk again.

The back and forth between the two twins felt like something he should just expect given everything.

"Spending time with those people will lead to the cultivation of your relationships with them" Justine explained, Naruto realizing she meant the 'ranking up' of his bonds.

"If you've got time to waste then you'd better visit your contractors, Inmate!" Caroline ordered him with a serious look in her eye.

"That is another source of power to evade the ruin that our master has mentioned" Justine explained, Igor nodding along throughout it all before he raised his head to look at him again.

"Thanks to the contracts you've formed, your heart is steadily gaining the power of opposition. It seems the rehabilitation is going well. This is a truly joyous occasion..." Igor said with his smile curling upwards a tiny bit more, something Naruto didn't know was possible. "I shall grant you an ability befitting of your newfound growth. Consider it a gift. May the devotion to your rehabilitation grow even deeper, I have high hopes for you" he added before Naruto felt another pulse inside him, showing him and Igor's bond had grown stronger.

"You are able to bear more masks now. I do wonder how you will fill your new spaces" Arséne told him, Naruto getting the answer to the odd feeling he had in his chest that felt like he had more room to breathe or something along those lines only for him to hear the familiar alarm that alerted him that he'd be going back to sleep soon.

"The time has come. Return to your brief moments of rest" Justine told him before Carolineswung down her baton to get his attention.

"And don't forget to go talk to your contractors, Inmate!" she reminded him as Naruto nodded before remembering the important thing that had been completely glossed over.

"Wait! You never answered my question about what you meant by ruin!" Naruto yelled out as his vision started to fade away.

"I will explain in time. For now, rest while you can" Igor told him just as his vision went completely black and he fell back asleep.

-4/30 - Saturday-

-Unknown House-

A hum started to sound out as a figure at the head of a large wooden dining table read the paper for the day while what seemed to be case folders were strewn in front of them.

"Something got your interest?" a male voice asked out, getting the attention of the figure reading the newspaper despite not looking away from it or putting it down.

"Sorry if my humming was annoying you grandfather and I promise I'll clean up it's just...this Kamoshida case and the sudden change in heart along with a so called 'calling card' from a group of Phantom Thieves feels like there is more to it" the figure muttered, their grandfather chuckling as he sat across from them on the table.

"Don't apologize, I encourage your curiosity but I've got to ask: do you think they're actions are dangerous? Changing someone's heart can be seen as forcing a confession after all" he suggested, clearing getting a pause from his grandchild behind the paper as it lowered a bit before raising back up.

"I'm not sure but my gut isn't screaming no. It feels more as if they reignited his conscience by some means...I'm not sure if it was by force or blackmail" they said, getting a chuckle from their grandfather.

"What is your gut telling you on the matter?" he asked, getting another hum in thought from them.

"It doesn't seem like it as nowhere in Kamoshida's interview by the police did he mention being blackmailed or threatened. If someone is already arrested you'd expect them to reveal such info since doing so might get them lighter sentencing. Instead he repeatedly declared that he just couldn't handle his actions anymore" they said which got another smile from their grandfather.

"Phantom Thieves, while not painted the best throughout history, are not truly evil. Think of ones like Robin Hood or Goemon, both stole to help the poor. They have their own sense of justice and in most cases, the only thing that makes them 'criminals' is their refusal to do things by the lay of the land" their grandfather said before he watched as the newspaper was finally folded close and set down.

"I'd like to enroll in Shujin Academy" they said, once again getting a smile from him accompanied by a bout of laughter as they stood up.

"I figured you'd say that. You start first thing the week after next due to Golden Week taking up most of next week, it'll be rough given midterms but I doubt you'll have a problem with those given your grades. Also, you don't have to worry, I'll respect your wishes in regards to your usual matter as always" the man said, getting a nod and smile from his grandchild before he walked out of the room to begin setting it up.

'Phantom Thieves...let's see if you truly are on the side of justice with your actions from here on out' they thought, adjusting their hat before getting up as well to get things ready for the day.

-Shujin-

As he sat in class he resisted a sigh as the day began and Kawakami had finished the morning start to things.

"It shouldn't be much of a surprise but gym is cancelled today and will be for a while until we find someone to fill in for him. Instead, I'm supposed to give you some guidance" Kawakami started off, clearly annoyed that she had to do this which Naruto had to admit was understandable. "The gist is, don't go around talking about the incident. Enough eyes are on the school due to it and the Principal's actions, the last thing we need is more eyes on the school" she said with a sigh as she looked around the class.

"The police are still investigating Mr. Kamoshida so I can't say anything really about it. As a teacher though, I'm ashamed for not having noticed that student was suffering like that but I have been dedicating myself to help so I hope you all believe in me" she said, the sincerity in her voice making the students nod along a bit while Naruto smiled to her, knowing she meant it and was truly on their side.

School after that continued on as usual until lunch time when Ryuji texted them to come out into the hallway to talk about the Aficionado site.

"It ain't much but we've been gettin' more postings on the Phantom Aficionado Website" Ryuji told them as they walked out of the classroom, Naruto carrying around his bag so Morgana could be there only for Naruto to watch as Ryuji's face deflated a bit.

"'I wanna make my friend apologize for not returning the stuff I lent him'. Ugh, deal with that yourself!" Ryuji grumbled, this so not being what he wanted or was expecting before Ann motioned behind them, half to warn them people were nearby and half to point them out as at least one of them used to be a fan of Kamoshida.

"You know that Phantom Thieves rumor about stealing Kamoshida's heart? I wonder if it's true" the girl with the longer hair asked before the other girl scoffed a bit.

"It's got to be made up. Do you seriously believe they exist?" the short haired girl asked as the longer haired one frowned at her tone, it being as if she was annoyed and bothered by it.

"But look at what happened to Kamoshida" she said, trying to convince her as the short haired girl scoffed again.

"He probably couldn't keep hiding it after that girl tried to kill herself" she said, Naruto instantly wanting to speak out only for Ann to grab his arm and give him a 'wait for it' look.

"Yeah, you might be right...I guess there's no way they really exist" the long haired girl said, her friend rattling her belief in them before the short haired one nodded.

"Most importantly, it seriously sucks that our school is gonna be known for stuff like this! Who knows if it'll affect our college entrance" the short haired one said before Ann let him go, showing he was free to go.

"I'd worry more about the pit where your heart should be" Naruto told them, getting the short haired girl to jump in surprise before they turned his way. "Watch how you talk about Shiho like that and maybe care just a bit more about others over yourself. Selfishness isn't a pretty look" he added with an overly fake sweet smile, watching as the girls quickly turned bright red from the embarrassment of talking like that in front of him of all people before they quickly - and smartly - hurried off.

"Besides their nastiness that's probably a normal reaction towards the idea of the Phantom Thieves for now" Ann said with a bit of a sigh before Ryuji nodded with a sigh of his own before he pulled himself up a bit.

"They'll see soon enough though! If we take care of two or three famous guys people'll have to believe we exist" he said, trying to keep spirits alive.

"Two or three evil famous guys" Naruto clarified, getting nods from the both of them since they could only go after corrupt people who had Palaces.

"We don't have any leads yet though…" Ann muttered, showing the big hole in the plan at the moment.

"We'll just have to be prepared and keep an ear and an eye out for anything" Morgana advised, getting nods from everyone before Ryuji put away his phone.

"I'll keep an eye out for info on any big shots that might be comin' around" Ryuji said with Ann smiling and giving them a confident nod of her own.

"And I'll try and dig up some dirt online" Ann suggested before Ryuji scratched his head and let out a sigh.

"We went and formed the Phantom Thieves group but we can't even find a target…" he complained before Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Things are never instant, we formed the group officially only yesterday. We just have to be patient and keep looking around. We'll find one in time so don't worry so much" Naruto said as he tried to reassure them as being impatient definitely wasn't going to help anyone in the long run.

"You're right, we can't be rushing into things" Ann agreed with Ryuji sighing and reluctantly nodding as well before they went off to eat.

-Principal's Office-

"Excuse me" a female student said as she walked into the Principal's office.

The student in question was Makoto Niijima and she only came here due to Kobayakawa being the Principal and her the student council president. She, like all of the other students, lost all trust in him when Kamoshida announced what the Principal had done.

Though, even with all of that, he still held the power and sway that came with being the Principal so, as much as she didn't want to be here she knew she had to.

"You wished to see me Principal Kobayakawa?" she asked, keeping a neutral tone with him since he was still the Principal.

"You saw the state that Kamoshida was in, didn't you?" Kobayakawa asked, the student with a frown. "It was as if his personality had completely changed. Something is definitely wrong" he added which merely got confusion from her due to the sudden topic.

"I'm not sure I follow…" Makoto said, not sure where he was going with this at all.

"From what I've heard, it appears as though some students were meddling in his business" Kobayakawa said before she shook her head with a frown.

"I'm confident the rumor, which was later verified by Kamoshida's own confession, was that he was targeting the student that had saved Suzui-san, the same one that some teachers tried to stand up against Kamoshida to protect" Makoto said, flatly putting things how they actually were which made Kobayakawa flinch and grimace a bit.

"Until I get solid proof of the validity of Kamoshida's claims I am working under the assumption that the rumor of a group of students getting involved in Kamoshida's business is factual" Kobayakawa said, Makoto feeling his use of big words didn't make his point any less unfounded.

"I want you to look into the matters, there are many rumors and I want answers. Even if it means probing into student matters" he quickly added which made the student frown a bit at.

"Are you talking about the whole 'Phantom Thieves' rumor?" Makoto asked, the mere idea of someone stealing another's heart to make someone confess was an odd but curious idea although the mere thought of the 'how' wasn't something she could even remotely imagine.

"It is undeniable that Kamoshida has changed in some way, I'd just like to have a grasp of the cause. This should also ensure that I can handle the mass media and police in the correct fashion" Kobayakawa said, Makoto sensing a 'so I can try and save my skin' implied at the end of that sentence.

"You have been at the top of your class since day one. Your conduct is good and teachers favor you. I could write you a recommendation for any college of your choosing" he offered despite Makoto - and deep down himself as well - knowing that offer was flimsy at best.

"Your lineage must certainly play a part in this excellence. Your sister is still young yet she holds an admirable position at the Public Prosecutor's Office, no?" he asked, getting Makoto to resist the urge to narrow her eyes at the Principal as she knew where this was going. "If something disappointing were to happen here, that wouldn't reflect very well on your sister…Do you understand?" he asked, Makoto seriously having to use every bit of self restraint to keep herself from showing any signs of anger.

'This is probably exactly what he did with Suzui-san and he has the gall to do it again despite Kamoshida telling everyone about it' Makoto thought before she simply nodded.

"How wise. It's no wonder you're our student council president" Kobayakawa said in a thinly veiled mocking tone. "I'd appreciate it if you'd look into this as soon as possible. I ask that you begin at once" he told her, basically commanding her before she nodded again.

"Yes, if you'll excuse me then" she said before turning and leaving.

Once gone Kobayakawa wasted no time before he dialed a number on his phone.

"It's me sir. My apologies for troubling you at such a busy time...Yes, it's about the matter we discussed earlier…" he told the person on the other line before smiling at their response.

"I have all bases covered. The investigation will begin immediately. I would also like to thank you for giving me the chance to clean this up myself. Last thing I'd want is to trouble you with the task" he said, trying to tell the person on the other end just how thankful he was for this chance.

"Yes, I swear I will get results and will update you as soon as possible" he said before the other line quickly hung up, making him a bit worried but remained hopeful it was all okay.

-Naruto-

Classes went on fine, boring as usual with him being called on from time to time, before his phone vibrated with Ryuji once against starting a group message.

Ryuji: The police are really here...I saw 'em at the entrance

Ann: I saw them too! They were talking to the teachers!

Shiho: You guys will be okay. They might talk to you guys due to Kamoshida but given everything it's clear he went after you all

Ryuji: It's just crazy that the change of heart thing is serious enough to get the cops here

Ann: I hope they don't find out we're responsible…

Naruto: There's no way they'd be able to do that given the way we went about actually changing his heart

Shiho: Naruto's right, there is no way to show we were the ones who did it

Ann: Right...still makes me nervous a bit

Ryuji: Yeah, don't worry so much! We'll be fine

Ryuji: Though we seriously need to find our next target

As class ended Naruto got up and stretched a bit as his body definitely didn't like being cramped in a desk all day long like that. He raised an eyebrow a bit as he noticed Mishima walking over towards him.

"Hey, have you seen that Phantom Aficionado Website?" Mishima asked as Naruto nodded a bit.

"Yeah, I've heard of it" he said as Mishima smiled a bit, as if proud that he heard of it.

"I'm the one who started it" Mishima confessed, which explained the pride previously. Naruto though somewhat leaned back as Mishima quickly - and suddenly - leaned in towards him. "You guys are the Phantom Thieves, aren't you?" Mishima asked, inwardly surprising Naruto but thankfully able to keep it hidden.

"Um dude, first things first - personal space. Next I have no idea what you mean by us being the Phantom Thieves" Naruto told him before Mishima thankfully moved back a bit.

"Sorry...although, if things really are as I think, I should probably keep it a secret" Mishima said before gaining a downcast look in his eyes. "Kamoshida used me and I did some horrible things to you guys. This isn't much of a way for me to apologize for it but if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know!" Mishima declared as Naruto nodded.

"I mean, I still have no idea what you are talking about but you do you" Naruto said with a shrug of his shoulders as he leaned back against a nearby desk.

"Though it's not just Kamoshida...there are tons of evil adults out there. I'm sure the Phantom Thieves will do something, they can't let this end after just one target" Mishima said before he brightened up a bit. "That's why I wanted to make a forum where people could post their problems. There are probably a lot of people who have high hopes for the Phantom Thieves' next move so I've also implemented an anonymous poll on the site" Mishima said, quickly pulling out his phone to show the poll that they had talked about at the buffet yesterday.

"I wanna work on this forum so eventually it'll be packed with tons of supportive posts. I'd really like to help out in the Phantom Thieves' acts of justice! Can I? Please?" Mishima asked, Naruto inwardly sighing as he had to keep up the act.

"It's up to you" Naruto said with another shrug which got a chuckle out of Mishima.

"In that case I'll just do what I want, see ya" Mishima said before walking off before Ryuji and Ann walked over moments after.(*2)

"We heard all that" Ryuji told him which Naruto expected as they were both staying near one of the doors into the class to keep watch and ensure no one else walked in. "It was a little awkward tryin' to figure out when to walk over here" he added with a sigh, getting a chuckle from Naruto.

"So that forum is Mishima's" Ann said as she had remembered Naruto telling them it had to be someone at school and given Mishima's involvement in the Kamoshida incident it only made sense now that she thought about it.

"Has he figured out our identities?" Morgana asked, getting a 'sorta' gesture from Naruto.

"He thinks it's us, I acted like I had no idea what he was talking about but he isn't going to really change his mind any time soon I feel" Naruto explained with a shrug of his shoulders as he doubted Mishima would blab about it given he made a site for them.

"For now, let's just keep our head down and look out for our next target" Ann said with a smile as Naruto couldn't agree more.

As everyone was starting to get ready to go home Naruto pulled out his phone, noticing a message from Shiho.

Shiho: With everything with Kamoshida being over with I'd like to hang out with you more

Shiho: If that's okay!

Shiho: I'll be waiting near Big Bang Burger on Central Street...I figured Central Street would be a place I wouldn't have to worry about too many people from Shujin bothering me…

Naruto: Sure thing, hanging out after all this sounds really nice. I'll be right over

Shiho: Okay! Thanks!

"You hanging out with Shiho today?" Ann asked with a smirk, having peeked over his shoulder to spy on their conversation a bit.

"Yeah, we haven't really been able to hang out at all with everything going on" he told her, not really minding her spying on the conversation given it involved Shiho.

"It'll be good to have you two spend some time together. You better treat her right though or you'll have to answer to me" she teased, bringing her fists up in an old-timey boxing pose which only got him to chuckle a bit before he put a hand on one of her fists to gently lower it.

"Don't worry, I'll be on my best behavior as I always am" he assured her, getting a smile and nod from her before he made his way to Central Street.

Shiho was easy to spot, wearing another 'sporty' set of casual clothes while she casually looked around only to perk up and wave at him once she noticed him heading her way.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long" Naruto said, getting a quick shake of her head with a smile.

"You're fine, you don't need to apologize" she assured him which made him let out a bit of a sigh of relief which in turn got a giggle from her.

"So, what do you want to do?" Naruto asked since she was the one who asked to hang out.

"Well, actually, I kind of need to bring you to my house. My mothers want to talk to you for some help with something...sorry" she apologized before he waved her off.

"It's fine, honestly. If they think I'm able to help them then I'm more than happy to" Naruto told her, putting a hand on her shoulder to assure her that it was fine before she nodded with a slight smile and they made their way to her home.

He couldn't help but chuckle a bit as Shiho kept apologizing to him the entire way there, unsure if it was about her parents or whatever they needed his help for. Just as he went inside he made sure to let Morgana out, not wanting the 'not-cat' to be stuffed in the bag for however long the visit ended up being.

"Please, come on in" Shiho invited, Naruto following in behind her after taking his shoes off.

"Oh is Naruto here already!? You should have told us before you guys showed up so I could have greeted him at the door" Yukiko said with a whine as she came out into the entryway from what he figured to be the living room with Chie a bit behind her.

"Welcome home" Yukiko quickly said with a smile, the intense blush on Shiho's face causing her to break out in an intense fit of laughter which in turn caused Chie to let out a tired sigh.

"Please excuse her, she is weak to any kind of joke...even her own" Chie explained with a sigh before motioning him to come in. "It's nice to see you again, sorry we had Shiho bring you here since I'm sure she would have preferred hanging out with you somewhere else" she said, smirking to Shiho who only seemed to grow darker red.

"B-Both of you stop it! Y-You know what, no, we can do this later" Shiho stuttered out, trying to lead him back out of her house only for Chie to chuckle and put her hand on her shoulder to stop her a bit.

"I'm kidding! Seriously Shiho, no need to get so flustered. Plus this is important so, as much as your embarrassed by us, we need to talk to him and you know it" Chie told her softly, a bit of a frown on her face before Shiho pouted and nodded, letting him so that they could walk in with the serious moment snapping Yukiko out of her laughter.

"We are sorry for calling you here suddenly like this but, as Chie said, it is important" Yukiko said as she poured them some tea after they sat down in the living room. Chie and Yukiko on the couch with Shiho while he sat on a nearby sofa chair.

"No need to apologize, if I can help with anything I'm more than happy to. I heard you guys have been busy with your lawsuit against the Principal and the school, how is that going if I may ask?" Naruto asked, hopeful that he wasn't overstepping his bounds with his curiosity only to get a smile from Chie.

"We have that bastard pinned so don't worry about us there, he'll pay for what he did" Chie assured him before she looked over to Yukiko who gave a somewhat solemn nod.

"The reason we called you here is because-" Yukiko started to explain before Shiho interrupted her by putting a hand on her leg and took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Because my therapist said you could help me get over my intense discomfort, and sometimes fear, around men" Shiho said as while she made her voice seem confident he could still pick up the nervousness mixed in. "Ever since I tried to jump I've had a hard time around men….other than you. My therapist suggests it is due to Kamoshida's actions and my mind imposing his image subconsciously on other men, she suggested using you as a way to move past this...if you want" she explained, muttering a bit embarrassedly since talking about this kind of stuff wasn't too easy.

Naruto didn't need to think for even a full second before he nodded and set down his cup of tea. "Of course I'll help you Shiho, I'm more than happy to help" he told her, getting a sigh of relief from her before she started to wipe some tears that started to build up in the corners of her eyes.

"See kiddo, I told you he wouldn't mind" Chie told her as she rubbed her daughter's back consolingly, getting a nod from Shiho as she was still trying to stop her tears that were threatening to spill out.

"Shiho, look, I'm sorry for not noticing your discomfort earlier but I promise I'll do my best to help you here on out" Naruto told her, getting her to look at him and smile softly with a nod.

"With that settled, how about you stay for dinner?" Yukiko asked, Naruto a bit surprised as he tried to shake his head to respectfully decline.

"We insist, this is the least we can do after everything you've done for this family" Chie insisted, giving him a look that made it clear she wouldn't take no for an answer which left him only to sigh in defeat and nod.

"Sure, let me call my guardian first" Naruto told them, getting cheers from both mothers as Shiho just looked embarrassed at their antics.

Thankfully Sojiro was as understanding as ever while Naruto promised he'd get home as soon as he could after he ate. Sojiro only told him not to worry as he apparently didn't mind waiting if it was a lady holding him up - truly a 'Jiraiya-esque' line if he ever heard one.

Dinner with Shiho and her family was fun and interesting to say the least with the bouts of laughter from Yukiko and Chie nudging Shiho throughout the night which repeatedly just made her grow a dark blush due to whatever she whispered to her daughter.

By the time it was done Shiho was kind enough to walk with him to the door although he swore he could see her mothers peeking out from around the living room doorway which in turn got her to urge Naruto out of the house so they could say goodbye without prying eyes.

"Sorry about them…" Shiho muttered with a blush, Naruto chuckling as he waved her off.

"Honestly, don't worry about it. They're interesting parents that clearly care about you and love you" he told her, getting a smile from her. "And look, about me helping you. Just know that I'll do my best to help, I'm not sure how to go about it but I'm willing to figure it out with you" he added which got an even warmer smile from her.

"My therapist gave me some suggestions so we can work off those. You don't have to worry too much…just be around me to help my anxiety" she muttered, only to sigh as she was a bit embarrassed. To her, talking like this made her feel like she was weak or helpless.

"Hey, don't feel defeated already" Naruto said, putting a finger under her chin to get her to look up at him. "The fact that you are wanting to recover and work through this shows your strength, otherwise you'd just hide away and refuse to grow. Keep your head up and keep striving to recover as best as you can from this" he encouraged, seemingly wiping the downcast from her expression.

"Right...I refuse to be weak anymore and this is one step towards that goal. Thank you again, for doing this and everything" Shiho thanked him before surprising him with a hug, this one lasting a bit longer than the last surprise hug as he felt a pulse inside him showing that his bond with Shiho had grown.

"I'll talk to you later...hope you get home safe" Shiho said with a smile before she walked back inside, giving him one last wave as she turned around once she got to the door.

He did his best to hurry to the train station, thankfully catching the train in time and arriving back home before it got too late...although he did feel bad for making Sojiro wait so long.

"Sorry...tried to get here as fast as I could" Naruto panted out, having ran a good deal from the train station only to have catch a sudden object as Sojiro threw a key to him.

"That's the key to this place. I know you're responsible enough to handle it so you'll be locking up from now on and using that to get in if I head home before you get back. I'm grateful you always seem to call ahead to warn me when you are coming home late but I really can't be waiting for you to come home constantly" Sojiro told him as Naruto looked over the key in his hand. "This also means you are free to go about how you want at night but I shouldn't have to tell you not to stay out too late if you have school tomorrow" he said with a raised eyebrow before Naruto nodded.

"Don't worry, I'm not a fool" Naruto assured him, getting a nod from Sojiro as he waved his hand.

"Whatever you say kid, I'm out of here so don't start any fires" he said, making Naruto roll his eyes at the man as he headed up to his room.

"Hey! Now that you can go out at night we should go talk to that Iwai character about the model gun in the bag" Morgana suggested as the bag had been transferred over to the Meta-Verse storage since they first got it given the danger if they were caught with it.

"We can go tomorrow since it's Sunday. For now I need to call someone" Naruto told him with a bit of a sigh, already expecting an earful before he even hit 'dial'.

"Bout time you called you little brat! Don't even try and weasel out of explaining why I saw a video of you leaping out of a building!" the booming female voice quickly caused him to hold his phone away from ear in an attempt to save his eardrum.

The booming voice belonged to Tsunade Senju, a name that was beyond massive in the medical world - especially so in Japan due to the life saving medicine and treatments she had made throughout her life. She was also the closest thing he had to a mother although at times she seemed more like a belligerent older sister who yelled and him for doing stupid stuff.

In the end though he knew she loved and cared for him so her smacks upside the head were smacks of love as she put it.

"Look, I wasn't going to make any excuses or anything. I promise I'll explain everything" Naruto assured her, getting silence from her before she sighed and he could hear her plop down on a chair.

"Fine, I want to hear everything" Tsunade 'ordered', Naruto shivering as he could almost feel her cold glare through the telephone.

He did his best to fill everything in in terms of his relationship with Shiho, why he felt the need to leap out after her, and how he had turned down going to a hospital which she definitely wasn't happy with. Thankfully she lightened up when he mentioned he quickly visited a nearby doctor who had helped him recover.

"Tae Takemi...I've heard that name before though I'm certain it was due to some asshole forcing the blame of something on her, I can't be too certain right now. I do know she is a good doctor from what I do remember. I'll be sure to send over your medical records to her and warn her to feel free to smack you if you hurt yourself in stupid ways like you always do" she told him, Naruto again feeling the flat 'so done with you' look through the phone.

"She is a good doctor, harassed by assholes but I'm helping stop that a bit while I kind of help her with a clinical trial…" he muttered, unsure about how she'd take it only for her to hum in thought on the other end.

"Oh really? Then I should really send her your files right away to help her along as well as tell her some info about you to help her along" Tsunade said with a chuckle while Naruto hoped it helped Tae with her medicine.

"Honestly, I'm just glad you are doing okay and that you seem to have people around you as Jiraiya tells me you went to a buffet with some friends?" she asked, a smirk in her inquisitive tone that made him rub the back of his head a bit in embarrassment.

"Yeah, four friends of mine right now including the girl I saved" he told her, not telling her that one of them was a talking cat since that'd get him a one way trip to a psych-ward.

"Jiraiya is still working to help clear your name so don't lose hope yet, you're only there for a year…although you should probably call your aunts to let them know how you're doing since one of them already bugged Jiraiya for your address so she could send you things like she always does...the other one obviously knows where you are. Last thing you need is for her to suddenly show up due to not hearing from you" Tsunade advised, Naruto sighing as he had to agree given one of his aunts were rather...free willed to put it lightly.(**)

Both of his aunt were busy women with their jobs that took up most of their time, both being a bit more time consuming than Tsunade's. Hence why neither were able to raise him when his parents died since his grandparents - on his mother's side - and godparents agreed it would be best for him to be raised by Tsunade and Jiraiya.(*3)

That didn't mean they didn't make time for him whenever they possibly could but when both of them couldn't they stuck to phone calls and constantly sending him stuff from her job which cluttered his room back home a lot.

"I'll give them a call since if you know who showed up I'm pretty sure my two female friends would pass out...but knowing her she's probably busy or sleeping while the other is busy" Naruto told her which she knew was probably the case.

"Call them both anyways, they'll call you back the second they can and probably talk your ear off" Tsunade told him, teasing him a bit with a chuckle. "After that go to bed, it's getting late over there" she chided which got an eye roll from him.

"Yes Mom~"he groaned out despite the smile on his face.

"Good boy" she said, a smirk in her tone before she sighed a bit. "But in all seriousness I'm glad you are doing okay and that you're okay...you had me worried for a bit after I saw the video despite knowing I'd be notified if you were admitted" she told him, her voice thick with worry which gave him a pang of guilt in his stomach.

"Sorry...I know I should have called sooner…" he apologized, knowing she worried a lot about him since she had lost too many people close to her in her life from her brother, to her fiance, and even his mom who she saw like a daughter due to them being relatively close cousins.

"You should have but hearing you are okay is all that matters in the end. Now go to bed" she said, getting a chuckle from him.

"Will do. Love you Mom" Naruto said, genuinely meaning both the 'love you' and calling her his mom.

"Love you too" she said back, Naruto hearing a smile in her voice that carried over before she hung up.

"Was that your godmother?" Morgana asked, only knowing bits and pieces about Naruto's parent situation from pieces he's blurted out.

"Yeah, she's a respected doctor and the nagging mother I never actually knew" Naruto said with a smirk as he dialed his aunt's number and - expectedly - got her answering machine after a few rings.

He made sure to leave a short and sweet message for her, knowing anything longer than that might not get fully heard due to her being possibly pulled away partway through. He knew she'd get back to him once she could, he just hoped she remembered to look up the time difference for them since last time she forgot he got a call at three o'clock in the morning.

Despite his love for her that still wasn't fun.

The second one was the same, also going to voicemail where he did the same as the last. He did a bit extra, assuring her that he was fine and healthy despite the video she saw given his older aunt of the two was a touch more protective and also had a strong ability to always know what he was up to...he just hoped she wasn't too mad at him.

She got really scary when she was mad...

After all that he decided to take his godmother's order to heart he got ready for bed since even with tomorrow being Sunday it was still late.

-5/1 - Sunday-

As he started to wake up he was thankful, as always, for Sojiro giving him breakfast first thing in the morning. Though, as his phone chimed, he made sure not to look at it just yet which got a nod and approving smirk from the man.

Only after he had headed upstairs to get his stuff after he finished eating and washed the plates did he finally look at his phone to see it was Ann who had messaged him.

Ann: Hey, I'm hanging out at the Underground Mall that's under Central Street if you want to hang out

Ann: I kinda wanna talk but totally don't feel like you have to rush over if you're busy

Naruto: I'm not busy, we can definitely talk. I'll be right over

Ann: Okay, cool! I'll see you soon then

He hadn't really visited the Underground Mall but was definitely impressed once he arrived, seeing a variety of stores that he'd definitely have to check out later as he could see Ann and he didn't want to keep her waiting.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, clearly seeing a worried look on her face as she looked around a bit.

"I don't know...yesterday morning and on my way here it felt like someone was watching me…" Ann muttered as she still couldn't help but look around a bit with a frown.(*4)

"Seriously? Why didn't you bring this up yesterday?" he asked since this was a very serious worry, not something held back like this.

"I don't know, I just didn't want to trouble you…" Ann grumbled a bit before he put his hands on her shoulders to get her to look at him.

"Worrying about my friends is the furthest thing from a trouble. If you want I totally can go to school with you for the next few days, before and after Golden Week, I really don't mind" he told her, looking her dead in the eyes to show how serious it was.

"I-If you don't mind…" Ann muttered, clearly showing some worry in her eyes before he let go of her shoulders.

"You just tell me when you normally go to school and I'll meet you at the line that leads to school. Hell I'll take the train leading to your house and then head to school from there if that means you feel safe"he told her which got her to look at him in shock.

"You'd really do that?" she asked, a bit floored by the lengths he'd go for her like this.

"Of course, you just message me the info and I'll wake up earlier so I can do it for as long as it takes until it stops or I catch the potential stalker in the act" he told her only for her to still look at him as if she was stunned he was offering such a thing. It somewhat worried him, thinking he might be pushing too hard before she nodded with a soft smile.

"Honestly, if you really don't mind, I'd really like that" Ann said, still unsure if she was bothering him with her worries before he patted himself on the chest as if to say 'leave it to me'.

"I don't mind one bit. Message me the info tonight and I'll be there" Naruto assured her which got a chuckle from her and a nod.

"Okay but enough about all of this. I messaged you because I wanted to hang out. I have this one diner I like going to. We could go there for lunch and talk after a bit of window shopping around here, if that sounds good" Ann suggested as Naruto nodded.

"Sounds like a plan as I've never really been down here before" Naruto said, somewhat regretting his words as the look Ann gave him made it seem like he had just spoken blasphemy.

"You've been here for nearly a month and you haven't even checked this place out? Oh we have a lot to do with you country boy" she teased as she quickly got behind him and started to gently push him along through the mall.

"Don't call me country boy, I am not from the country. I'm just not from a big city like this" he said with a groan, somewhat expecting to be called that a bit by people here.

"Fine but I still have a lot to show you so for now we will start here and eventually go elsewhere" Ann told him with a smile as they begun their little tour, visiting a few shops and while they didn't buy anything he definitely saw a good number of things that he could see working as gifts to people.

Eventually lunch rolled around and Ann took him to the diner that she had mentioned while Morgana roamed around outside so he wasn't cooped up in the bag the entire time. It was a nice place that gave off a homey feel to it like LeBlanc only with a much bigger menu…

Once they had finished eating he could see Ann struggling to speak out, Naruto staying silent so that she could get the courage on her own without feeling rushed.

"Hey, um….There's something else I want to talk to you about Naruto...it kind of involves Shiho" Ann told him, her tone nervous as she fiddled with her thumbs under the table and stared down at the table. "Recently we were really able to talk and she said she was sorry for not telling me about the things Kamoshida was doing to her despite basically telling you about it…But I also apologized as it was my fault as well. I didn't realize how much trouble she was in...I wasn't there for her" she continued, her voice a bit shaky as she talked to show just how emotional that talk had been for the two of them.

"You both feel better now that you got that off your chests?" he asked, turning Ann's nervousness to a smile.

"Yeah! We were finally able to tell each other everything we couldn't bring ourselves to say before" Ann said, her smile showing how cathartic that talk must have been before she grew a bit serious again.

"Though...you remember how Kamoshida threatened to take Shiho off the team if I didn't sleep with him?" she asked, the mere recalling of that making him - and definitely Ann - sick to their stomachs. "I had only agreed to it so that I wouldn't ruin Shiho's dreams but now that I think about it, he never would have put her on the bench and cost his team games…I seriously should have dared him to try and take her starting spot" Ann said as before she looked back down at the table. "In the end, maybe I just didn't believe in her ability…" she muttered, a bit disappointed and upset that she potentially believed that way.

"Kamoshida had the upper hand, that is why you thought that way. He had the power which made both of you worried about the other one over yourselves. He essentially muted your rational thought towards some things because of it" Naruto tried to explain to her, hoping he was wording it well enough before she nodded, her downcast expression lessening up a bit.

"That is probably true, the power he had over us only made me think how weak and powerless I was...That's why I believed Kamoshida's authority outweighed Shiho's own ability to earn her starting spot" she said, it making sense to her and upsetting her at the same time before she looked up at him.

"Do you remember the last time I talked to you like this? When I got that phone call from Kamoshida...and cried?" she asked, Naruto nodding since that wasn't really something he could forget all that easily. "I felt so alone...scared, even…" she admitted before smiling a bit as she looked him in the eyes "but because you were there for me I was able to decide not to go" she told him with a bit of a chuckle.

"I was a little surprised at how pushy you were about it...but I see now you just wanted to help so, thanks" she said with a smile, making him rub the back of his head in embarrassment a bit.

"Yeah, last thing I wanted was for you to be forced into doing anything. By that point I had already talked with Shiho and heard the rumors so I felt I needed to look out for stuff Kamoshida might try and pull. I really couldn't ignore you" Naruto said as he still could remember that look on Ann's face back then and how it just screamed that she needed help.

"You really are so kind Naruto" Ann said with a warm smile towards him as she leaned forward on the table, resting her elbows on it before she started to get back to what she had to say - evident by her expression turning a bit downcast again.

"Back then, people used to call me all sorts of names, from 'prissy bitch' to things like 'Kamoshida's girl'...I got tired of it pretty quickly" she complained with a sigh, Naruto not blaming her in the slightest as people were really rude to her not that long ago. "But to tell you the truth, someday I want to be able to take labels like that in stride" she admitted with Naruto seeing that as an admirable goal, to grow strong and confident in one's self to not let names bother anymore.

"Hey, um...Personas are the power of the heart, right? That means if my heart gets stronger then my Persona will too?" Ann asked before Naruto nodded a bit.

"From what Morgana has told us and that I've retained I'm pretty sure that is the case" Naruto told her, getting a determined look on her face.

"Then I want to strengthen my heart and I want to use that strength to help the people around me and save them from trouble, just like we did when we changed Kamoshida's heart" Ann declared, a serious look in her eyes before it faltered a bit.

"Though honestly I don't even know what 'strong' is...But I'm going to find the answer, I promise" she said, her conviction quickly returning as Naruto nodded.

"We can find it together if you want. I'm always happy to help a friend" Naruto told her with a smile, getting another surprised look from Ann before it grew to a large smile.

"Thanks! I feel like I'm a little stronger already! Though I guess that doesn't really count though" Ann said with a bit of a giggle, a smile still stuck on her face showing how thankful she was feeling towards it all.

"Well, I'll be relying on you! Let's train together and make our hearts super strong!" she said excitedly as he nodded along with a smile, feeling another pulse inside him to show his bond with Ann had grown stronger.

"How interesting~ Your strengthened bond with her is going to make it easier for you to obtain female Shadows, even if they are a level or two stronger than you. That'll be fun~" Succubus teased out in his head with a giggle alongside Pixie, Naruto mentally rolling his eyes at the two of them. (*5)

"A strong heart…." Ann muttered as she hummed in thought over where to start. "How about this: I won't get any refills on fountain drinks!" she declared, her confidence only making Naruto sigh as he wasn't sure how she thought that was connected to 'strengthening one's heart'...

"I mean, they're free so not getting any would mean you have a strong heart!" she tried to convince him only for him to shake his head.

"Ann, that really doesn't work or make sense…" he muttered, glad that she was gung-ho about it but hoped she'd think it through a bit more.

"Really? Well then, I'll just have to think it over even more" Ann said as she paid the bill despite Naruto trying to tell her he could do it. "I'll see you later! Thanks again!" she said cheerfully after he walked her to the train station, Morgana having been picked up after they left the diner.

As Naruto stayed around Central Street, not going back home since he had business to do in a bit up at Untouchable, he mainly just looked around the Underground Mall, noticing a few things he could buy as gifts to give people later.

The way he saw it being nice and giving gifts might help his confidant bonds, plus it was just something nice to do in general.

He paused though as his phone started to ring, showing Ann was calling him.

"Hey, it's me! I got home safe, just wanted to let you know. I also wanted to say thanks for listening to what I had to say earlier" Ann said, a smile in her tone that made him smile as well.

"I'm glad you got home safe and don't worry about it, I'm always happy to lend an ear" he told her as it was the truth, especially with friends.

"Thanks to you I feel like I now have a better idea of who I want to be. Also, I'm going to think of how I can strengthen my heart. If I think of anything I'll let you know. I hope you'll join me again next time!" Ann said, getting a chuckle from him as he nodded.

"Of course, you're my friend and teammate after all" he assured her with a smile.

"Thanks! You are seriously such a nice guy! How about you help me come up with ways to train my heart?" she suggested, Naruto a bit unsure where or how to start but nodded nonetheless.

"Sure thing, sounds like it could be interesting" he said, getting a giggle on the other end.

"Just let me know when a really good idea hits you, okay? Bye~!" she sang off before hanging up with Naruto chuckling at what an odd and interesting girl she was.

With a bit more walking around and buying a few things here and there he decided it was about time to go up and talk to Iwai about the model gun in the paper bag.

"Watch out, I'm moving the bag back over" Naruto told Morgana as he pulled up the 'Meta-Transfer' part of the Meta-Nav, warning him since it might be a bit cramped in there.

"I'll be fine, let's talk to him about it as I just know this gun will be a lot stronger than what you have" Morgana said as they made their way to Untouchable, Naruto seeing Iwai in the same position as always.

"Hey, you came at just the right time" Iwai said as he noticed him walk up, actually looking up from his newspaper without having to be bothered. "Slight change of plans, that paper bag from the other day is all yours now. You picked it up somewhere. Nothin' to do with me, understand? I didn't see it, I didn't touch it, I don't know anything about it other than its a 'Riot Police LB'. Are we clear?" he asked, Naruto nodding along as he didn't quite mind since he got a stronger model gun for free.

"If you have anything else you wanna buy or sell then fine but if not, go home. You can go window-shop somewhere else" Iwai bluntly stated before Morgana popped out of his bag with his front paws on his shoulder.

"Let's ask him about what was inside the bag! If we can get stronger model guns it'll help out in future Palaces" Morgana urged him as Naruto nodded.

"I know you don't want to talk but I'm really interested in what was in the bag. Think we can talk about how I can potentially buy models like that?" Naruto asked, Iwai looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"S'that right?" he asked before sighing a bit. "That was a custom gun that I modified to make it look as real as possible….I had a customer who was interested in it. You helped me out by smugglin' it outta here so that I didn't get caught by those detectives. You're an accomplice now so don't go snitchin'. I got everything on my security camera" Iwai warned him, Naruto feeling that being why he even bought the medal from him. He didn't quite mind the slight blackmail as Iwai didn't scream as the kind to use it unless pressured.

"I don't mind but I want to see more" he told him, watching as Iwai grew silent and looked around as if to make sure they were alone.

"Fine, let's talk in the back" Iwai said as Naruto walked around behind the counter and back into the little area at the back of the store. "Who the hell are you?" he asked, getting a shrug from Naruto as he leaned back against some metal shelving.

"I'm just a gun enthusiast" Naruto told him, playing it simple and vague as best as he could.

"At your age?" Iwai asked but he rubbed his chin a bit in thought. "Well I guess you got the heart of an enthusiast. You definitely are a strange one kid" he said with a smirk, it being a bit odd to see on the stoic man's face before Naruto watched as he gained a look in his eyes as if he had figured something out which made the man chuckle.

"Yeah, this could work" Iwai said, somewhat confusing Naruto a bit before the man looked up at him. "I can grant that wish of yours but you better have the money. These things are worth hundreds of thousands of yen per unit. Sometimes they even reach the millions depending on how I feel" he said as Naruto quickly caught on to this just being a way for Iwai to give him a quick test.

"Just let me buy them already" Naruto told him as Iwai's smirk grew a bit at his response.

"You're no bluffin', are you kid? Though it may actually make you more useful if you are" Iwai said before he stood up and looked him in the eyes. "Look, I ain't a bad dude. I've been known to compromise from time to time. For example," he started before walking closer to him "you help me out with my 'business' - smugglin' good, destroyin' evidence...and as a reward I'll introduce you to the special menu with good prices for a punk like you. Whaddya say? Not bad, right? " Iwai explained to him with a smirk although Naruto felt he was exaggerating again.

"What exactly is your goal here? Me being an errand boy doesn't feel like it's the full picture" Naruto asked before iwai shot him a serious look.

"That's on a need-to-know basis and you don't need to know. Gotta fight evil with evil...I need a pawn of my own" Iwai muttered, Naruto getting more of the picture that made it a bit more clear that he wasn't actually dangerous.

"Don't talk to no one about this. Got it? Just follow my orders" Iwai told him as Naruto nodded.

"Fine, I'll do what I can to help" Naruto said, holding out a hand to him before the man nodded and shook his hand.

"That's fine" the man assured him, shaking his hand before fixing his hat a bit. "I'll work on that special menu for you now. You should be grateful" Iwai told him as Naruto nodded before the world turned grey.

"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 Hanged Man Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…" the familiar female voice spoke as Naruto saw an orb of blue light appear in front of him before it transformed into the Persona that represented the Hanged Man Arcana.

The Persona reminded him a bit of Pixie in terms of also being a small winged woman only that was where the similarities ended. Unlike Pixie her wings were much more like a butterfly's and a stunning mix of yellow, pink and purple. She also had red skin with black hair and what seemed to be golden orange colored hair decorations with a white Chinese styled top and orange slippers to finish off her outfit.

"I am Hua Po! For the sake of you who still lives! I shall become a mask and serve you to my most" Hua Po said with a bow before she turned back into light and went into his chest just as the world turned back to normal.

"When I don't have any business goin' on I'll have you do some miscellaneous chores. Clean...run errands...there's plenty for you to do around here. Must be pretty excitin' for an enthusiast like you, huh?" Iwai asked as Naruto sighed and nodded.

"I got it, I'm your errand boy" Naruto said with an eye roll which got a chuckle from Iwai before, with a wave of his hand telling Naruto he could leave while Iwai followed behind.

"Here, take out your phone so I can send you my contact info" Iwai told him once they came outside, Naruto nodding along as he pulled it out and turned on number sharing to allow Iwai to send over his number with a ding alerting him. "When I text you from that ID it'll be cause I need help around the shop" Iwai said before he crossed his arms and gave him a stern look.

"Just so you know, if you get caught or anything I never met ya. Nothin' to do with me. We clear? If you want somethin' then you're gonna have to work for it" Iwai told him as Naruto nodded.

"I understand, never expected or asked for you to give me free stuff. The model gun is more than enough. You just let me know when you need me and I'll do my best to be there" Naruto said, getting a smirk and nod from Iwai.

"Smart kid, consider that the only free gift you'll get. I'll send you a message when everything's ready. Hope I can count on you kid but that's all for tady. Head on home part-time" Iwai said, Naruto nodding as he finally headed home.

-5/2 - Monday-

Naruto made sure to wake up extra early which surprised Sojiro as he hurried downstairs.

"Whoa, what's the rush first thing in the morning?" Sojiro asked with a smirk as Naruto frowned a bit as he sat down at the bar while Sojiro got his food ready for him.

"Ann, you know the blonde haired girl you met a while ago? She thinks she's being followed so I promised her I'd meet her at the station close to her house and go to school with her. To do that I have to wake up a bit early" Naruto told him, still not liking the potential of her actually having a stalker since that never spelled good news.

"That definitely doesn't sound good just, please don't take stuff into your own hands. If things happen subtly call for a railway attendee or a nearby cop to take care of it" Sojiro advised, Naruto nodding along since with his probation he really couldn't risk it in ways like that.

Phantom Thievery was an entirely different matter.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid" Naruto assured him before he ate his breakfast and made his over to Ann's station while still on time. Ann was always easy to spot - just like how he was easy to spot - as their hair color wasn't at all common in Japan.

He waved at her as he made his way over, seeing she was on the phone.

"Yeah he just showed up...I know! He's seriously super kind to do this for me...Yeah I'll tell him" Ann said to the person on the other line before she pulled away from her phone a bit and smiled at him.

"Shiho says good morning and thank you" Ann said with a smile as he moved closer to Ann's phone.

"Morning Shiho and, as I've told Ann, it really isn't a problem. I'd rather her feel safe so I'm more than happy to do this" Naruto said, Ann giggling as she heard Shiho's response.

"She called you a real gentleman" Ann said before giggling more at Shiho as she yelled at her embarrassed for telling him that. "Look Shiho I have to go, I'll message you during school a bit. Bye~!" she quickly said before hanging up and smiling at him.

"Shall we?" Naruto asked, motioning on ahead with a playful bow like a butler would do due to the 'gentleman' comment which only got a laugh from her as they made their way to the train.

As usual, they were packed in like sardines but - just like the last time he rode the train with Ann - he made sure to keep her from being squished.

"Do you feel like anyone is following you so far?" Naruto asked as Ann shook her head.

"It only happens when I get to the Shibuya station but I'll warn you if I feel it when we get there" Ann told him before some people started moving around, shoving Naruto into her who still did his best to not squish her...although her face couldn't stop from heating up with a blush as his face was mere inches from hers with him having inadvertently 'kabedon-ing' her.

"S-Sorry...people are very pushy today" Naruto apologized, also blushing a good deal since any hot-blooded male would with his face inches from a beautiful girl like Ann.

He was just thankful no extra shove happened like in some animes he's watched to make them kiss or anything as he could only imagine the headache brought upon by it.

Once finally free and walking through the Shibuya they acted normal before Ann stopped a bit with a frown.

"You feel it now?" he asked, Ann nodding as she wanted to look around but knew she couldn't without possibly making them leave. "Keep walking, I'm gonna try and look around with my phone" Naruto told her before they kept going. Naruto using the front facing camera of his phone to peek over his shoulder and look around a bit.

"You see anyone?" Ann asked, trying to peek at his phone as best that she could only for him to shake his head as they arrived at the platform.

"No idea, I'll have to wait for a few days of this to see if anyone jumps out over the course of it. If I see anyone that always seems to be there throughout the days I'll let you know" Naruto said as it'd be impossible to tell the first day which Ann's nod showed she understood.

The train ride to school was a bit less packed than the last, which was good given how it made things for them last time.

"Hey, hold me up a bit more. I can't see the TV screen" Morgana said as he was just now seemingly waking up and wanting to see what was being shown on the monitors.

"Anything good?" Naruto asked as he looked up to the monitor as well. Overall it was just talking about Kamoshida and the Principal, pollen warnings, and something about an art exhibit of an artist named Madarame starting next week.

"Kamoshida is still being talked about which is nice" Morgana said with a yawn. "More importantly are we getting to Lady Ann yet?" he asked before looking around to see Ann smiling at him with a wave.

"Hello sleepy-head, you must have slept through everything as we are on our way to school" Ann told him with a chuckle before she watched him slump over only to glare at Naruto.

"You should have woken me up!" Morgana hissed out in a whisper, Naruto shrugging his shoulders with a poorly held back smirk.

"You were tired! Plus this isn't going to be the only time we head to school with her" Naruto assured him, getting some grumbling from the 'not-cat' before giving him a short 'fine' as he turned to try to talk to Ann only for them to arrive at the station which meant getting caught in the sea of people trying to leave.

It was especially bad at the stop for school as they had even more students leaving which made the 'sea' only stronger.

"Ugh, I so hate that part of the train ride" Naruto groaned out as they were making their way towards school, Ann nodding as she definitely agreed.

"Sorry to make you experience it so much…" Ann apologized with a frown before he quickly waved it off.

"I'm complaining in general, not towards any one person so don't feel like you need to apologize" he told her, getting her frown to turn to a soft smile as they continued to talk on the way to school.

School was simple, especially since they only had school for one day due to Golden Week. As school ended they all decided to head up to the roof, Ryuji pointing to his phone which was on the Phantom Thief Aficionado website to show what he wanted to talk to them about while Shiho was on call on Ann's phone so she could be included.

"None of these posts are any good!" Ryuji groaned out as he leaned back in one of the chairs around the group of desks on the roof. "Everyone's just bitchin' about their parents or their boyfriends. There ain't even a hint about a new Palace" he continued, still groaning as this wasn't how he had hoped things would go.

"I don't know if Palaces would be obvious though. They seem more the type to be hidden, you know?" Naruto said as he worked on his flower beds. "Though, we won't really know until we find the next one I guess" he said as with only one Palace under their belt they really couldn't guess one way or the other.

"We can't get everything online...Finding a post with a name and location is asking a lot..." Ann brought up since they could barely get a post with a full name.

"Guess we just gotta find one ourselves then!" Ryuji said, getting Morgana to shake his head at him a bit.

"Are you seriously suggesting we look for a target that even the police have overlooked?" Morgana asked as that seemed a bit far fetched.

"Well maybe not overlooked but maybe can't get to?" Shiho suggested since there wasn't only one way to look at things, at least not when it came to this kind of stuff.

"Still...maybe we should just hold off 'til Golden Week is over and the exams after that are done with. We can wait and see for a little longer, then worry about comin' up empty handed if it happens..." Ryuji grumbled a bit, not really seeing any other way to go about things before the door to the roof opening alerted everyone and got Morgana to shoot off like a rocket.

"This place is off limits you know" the girl who walked up said as Naruto turned around to look at her.

The student in question had brown hair styled in a bob cut with blunt bangs and a French-braid styled hairband of the same color. Her eyes were sharp, the abnormal reddish brown color of them making them come off as a dark red at times. Her uniform was a bit different from other student's as it lacked the standard blazer and instead had a black halter vest over a long-sleeve white shirt with a turtleneck that was different than other female students, finishing it off with the standard skirt, black pantyhose, and black-brown ankle boots.

All in all she gave off an aura of importance for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Sorry, I'm helping a third year named Haru take care of the planters and my friends decided to keep me company" Naruto said, using it as an excuse to hopefully allow his friends to be here.

"Yeah, we're just keeping him company. He has a habit of being reckless so we have to make sure he doesn't overwork himself" Ann teased, smirking as she could see his eye roll from across the roof.

"More importantly, what does Miss Council President Makoto Niijima want with us?" Ryuji asked, alerting Naruto of just who the mystery student was in terms of both role and name.

"I came here because I wished to speak to you all" Makoto said, surprising them a bit as she looked over them all. "You three are the troublemaker, the center of gossip, and the infamous transfer student turned hero of the school - all three who were targeted by Kamoshida" she listed off before Naruto stood up and dusted off his pants.

"We aren't the only ones targeted by him but I see what you are trying to say" he told her as he walked over towards the others. "What is it you need to talk to us about though since I doubt you came up here to list our labels" Naruto asked as Makoto took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes.

"Kobayakawa has threatened me using my sister's career to investigate you three. I wanted to warn you all" Makoto announced, shocking them all as Ann frowned and clenched her fist as this hit hard for her given her friendship with Shiho.(*6)

"Like Shiho…" she muttered, shocked and disgusted the Principal was doing this again before Makoto nodded with a frown of her own.

"Exactly like Suzui...seems like not even the fact it's known to the public will keep him from doing it to others" Makoto said as she clenched her fists in barely restrained anger at the situation. "I will try my best to hold him off but I can't do much" she told them only for Naruto to snap his fingers with a smile as he sat down on top of one of the desks.

"Then how about you make it seem like you really are investigating us? Follow us around at school and the whole shebang. That way he thinks you are trying and your sister stays safe" Naruto suggested, surprising everyone as he picked up Ann's phone. "Shiho, how long do you think it'll be before the lawsuit between your parents and him begins?" Naruto asked Shiho, getting a hum in thought from her as Makoto didn't realize or suspect that they were on a call with someone.

"My mother says a few weeks so if you can hold out until then Niijima-senpai then he hopefully will be removed from his position before anything happens" Shiho told her, Makoto still worried but nodding nonetheless.

"Thank you Suzui and...if you are serious about acting then I'll try…" Makoto said before she frowned a bit. "Though I also need to close off this place due to the...incident" she added, unsure how to state it given the one behind the incident was listening in. "Uzumaki-san may come here but even that isn't too okay given it was Okumura-san that was given permission...but I'll look the other way with him...you two I sadly can't" she said as she looked over to Ann and Ryuji.

"I have to go now...sorry to have interrupted you but thank you for your help and advice" Makoto said before walking off and exiting the roof, allowing Morgana to hop down from his hiding place.

"That Principal of yours seems like a real jerk...he actually could be useful in introducing you to something interesting even if we don't use him as you guys did originally promise to help me out with my mission after all" Morgana said before hopping over to Ann's phone that was still in Naruto's hand.

"Shiho, can you meet us at Shibuya?" he asked, confusing everyone as no one had any idea what he was planning.

"Um, sure? I'll be over as quick as I can. Where do you want to meet up?" she asked as Morgana smiled.

"We'll be at the entrance to the Underground Walkway but there's no need to rush, what I plan to show you all isn't going anywhere" Morgana told her before Naruto handed the phone back to Ann as Shiho hung up.

"Well, let's get going I guess" Naruto told them with a shrug as all three of them - plus one 'not-cat' - made their way to Shibuya and waited for Shiho to show up.

"So what're you bringin' us here for?" Ryuji asked once Shiho showed up, all of them confused why they were here and wondered what he had in mind to show them.

"Bring up the Phantom Aficionado Website and look for a post with a full name in it" Morgana explained before Ryuji sighed.

"I already said there's no info on any big shots. Don't you remember?" Ryuji asked as he still looked through the posts for a name nonetheless. "But man, people actually go and put someone's real name on here. That's some scary shit…" he added while they all started looking through posts.

"Ignore any posts that are frivolous, look for any posts about more serious trouble" Morgana instructed them as they kept looking.

";I don't know what to do about my ex who's stalking me. His name is Natsuhiko Nakanohara'. It says he's a teller at City Hall" Ann read out as she had finally found a post that she felt was decent.

"That should be a suitable target. Now get the Meta-Nav ready" Morgana told them with a smile, getting a raised eyebrow from Naruto.

"Target? But he doesn't quite seem 'Palace material'" Naruto said as he pulled up the Nav but was still on the fence. "Also what about the unanimous decision? What do you three think?" he asked, looking to the others.

"If we are going straight into a Palace I'm all for it!" Ryuji said excitedly while Shiho rubbed her arm with a bit of a frown.

"I mean, he does seem pretty bad if he really is stalking his ex" she said before looking to Ann who nodded along, only needing to give him a look to make it clear - given her recent worries - she was ready to go.

"Then let's go...though we still need a place since all we have is a name" Naruto pointed out before Morgana shook his head.

"We don't need a location this time. Just put in 'Mementos' for the location" he explained, Naruto a bit unsure but trusting the 'not-cat' as he put in what he said along with the man's name.

"Location Found" the Meta-Nav said, surprising everyone around.

"We got a hit!?" Ryuji said in shock as he wasn't expecting that at all before they all entered the Meta-verse with the usual pulse of purple through the air.

-Mementos-

"Everyone disappeared!" Ann yelled in shock as she looked around with a confused look on her face. "It also kind of feels like I'm...walking on air?" she said, not sure what this odd sensation was.

"Is this that Nakanohara guy's Palace?' Ryuji asked, confused what this place was supposed to be,

"That's half right but also half wrong" Morgana answered as he sat up. "This is a type of Palace but it's different from the normal ones. We need to head down as that is the only place where the Shadows lurk. I'm not sure why but it's almost like they are drawn to something" he explained as he hurried off down the steps, Naruto giving one look to the others before he followed Morgana by sliding down the railing as the others hurried down the steps.

The appearance of the subway station was creepy as hell as not only was it much darker but there were red and black veins splattered throughout.

"The hell is this place?" Ryuji asked as he looked around only to notice something surprising already. "Wait! Our clothes changed?!" he said in shock, the others realizing it moments after he notified them.

"The Shadows know we're here!?" Ann asked as Morgana nodded.

"Since the moment we stepped in but we are still safe right here. I've come to investigate a number of times and Shadows never come up to this floor" he explained, getting them to relax a bit as they knew they were safe here. "It's a different story once you go down though as this place is simply teeming with them" he further explained to warn them of how potentially dangerous this place was.

"More importantly, what is this Mementos place?" Ann asked as they had come here without Morgana telling them a single thing about it.

"Mementos is...everyone's Palace. A Palace as grand as Kamoshida's only forms when a person's wishes are extremely distorted so instead of many individual Palaces the general public has one gigantic shared Palace" Morgana explained to them a bit before Shiho nodded as a bit of that made sense.

"Now that you mention it, this place feels a bit different from Kamoshida's Palace" Shiho said as this place felt so much different than Kamoshida's castle. It felt sort of surreal or dream-like if she had to put her finger on it despite looking more nightmare-ish.

"Though, when you say shared do you mean they're all put together? Even though they're just strangers?" Ryuji asked, not quite getting that part of things while Morgana rubbed his chin a bit as he thought over how to word it.

"Think of it as the collective unconscious….wait, nevermind. You really wouldn't understand that…" Morgana muttered, realizing it might have been something too complex for someone like him.

"Putting explanations aside, are you saying we can use this place to change the hearts of people who don't have a Palace?" Ann asked as Morgana smiled at how she seemed to realize it.

"Correct! The steps to do so are slightly different though" he explained before Shiho raised her hand a bit.

"I have to ask, how are we going to get around? If this place is based off the subways I can only imagine how big it is. Kamoshida's castle was exhausting enough so I don't think we're going to be able to get around here just on foot…" Shiho said, bringing up a very good point as they were so not about to run through this place on foot.

"Don't worry, my time has finally come!" Morgana announced as he hopped off the turnstile and walked ahead a bit and onto the tracks. "Morgana...transform!" he declared, doing some arm movements that reminded him of a Super Sentai before he leapt into the air and transformed into a large black van.

"Come now Panther, ladies first" Morgana said, still seemingly able to talk while in van form.

"Oh my god...you're Totoro..." Naruto said in a mixture of shock and acceptance since with everything else in this weird Metaverse it didn't surprise him that much.

"This comes from the way cognition materializes in the Metaverse, plus a bit of extra training. For some reason 'cats turning into buses' is an extremely widespread cognition among the general public" Morgana explained as he referenced Naruto's 'Totoro' comment since that was most likely where it spawned.

"Wait a second! Why didn't you do this at the castle!?" Ryuji asked with a bit of annoyance that he waited this long to do it.

"I would if I could! That castle was just way too cramped, there were tons of stairs, and no way this fits on top of a chandelier!" he said in his defense while Ryuji snuck in first.

"Hey! Skull! Ladies first!" Ann yelled out as she chased after him.

"Stop pullin' me! That's dangerous!" Ryuji yelled back as the two of them fought to get in first.

"Panther! Please, be gentle!" Morgana cried out while Naruto and Shiho watched with smirks and eye rolls at the three of them.

"I guess I'll drive?" Naruto offered, unsure if anyone else was going to claim it before Shiho moved over to the passenger side

"Then I'll take shotgun" she said with a smile as they also made their way into the new Mona-van.

Starting up the car was a bit tricky but once he found the switch to start it the engine was running as expected in a car...despite it technically being a cat.

At least a purring engine was normal in both.

"Man, this place totally does feel like a Palace…" Ryuji said in shock as he looked ahead of them from behind Naruto to see just how creepy it was.

"Nakanohara's somewhere in here, right?" Ann asked, peering over Shiho's shoulder a bit to get a look out there on her own.

"Most likely in a segment of his own creation. Don't worry though, it won't be the size of a Palace. Our next step is to find an entrance to that segment" Morgana explained as Naruto nodded.

"And that entrance, like everything here, is going to be super creepy so keep an eye out" Naruto said before he started off, unable to keep from hesitating a bit since this was his first time driving in anything other than one of those arcade games.

Driving around, after a bit, was easy and not nearly as nerve wracking as he expected it to be. The whole place was really weird, the Shadows taking the form of massive black sludge-like creatures that stood on two feet with several white mask faces coming out from all over their upper body with a larger one where one's face would normally be.

"Just run into them! They'll dissolve the second we touch them, disorienting them and then we can rush out to fight!" Morgana advised him, Naruto looking to Shiho who merely shrugged as, while unsure, Morgana kind of knew best when it came to how things worked here.

"Okay...I'll give it a try" Naruto muttered as he floored it towards a Shadow and, just as Morgana said, they didn't actually 'crash' despite Naruto having to press on the brakes so they could run out.

The Shadows weren't anything difficult, just a group of four piles of green sludge with faces that ended up being weak to wind and fire.

The few other Shadows they encountered afterwards weren't anything new either, all being ones they encountered in Kamoshida's Palace. His new model gun was definitely a whole lot stronger than his last which made things a decent bit easier.

Things weren't all that bad though as they did find some chests along the way to get some loot, which reminded Naruto to sell.

It didn't take too long before they found what Naruto felt like was the entrance to where Nakanohara was. It definitely screamed something as it was a swirling mass of red and black where even the train tracks were lifting off the ground and swirling into it.

"If that isn't the place I'll eat my left shoe" Naruto said with a deadpan, getting some laughs from the others.

"It definitely is, I can sense his Shadow inside. You ready?" Morgana asked as Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, lets go!" Naruto said as they drove into it.

The inside was much more calm and eerie, a stark and unsettling contrast to the outside. Everything was smooth with several red veins going from the walls at the sides and continuing on to the backless wall that seemed to go on forever - the weird pulsing they did which to him seemed like something flowing through them just felt really odd to him.

Naruto also noticed what seemed to be a person in the back with blackmist around them, most likely being Nakanohara's Shadow.

"Is that his Shadow?" Shiho asked before Morgana nodded.

"Yeah, we better go talk to him and get this over with" he suggested, Naruto agreeing as he started walking towards the figure who - as they got closer - was muttering to himself about something they couldn't quite make out.

"Who are you!?" the Shadow Nakanohara yelled out, as if startled and upset by their presence.

The man himself seemed like a semi-average adult, wearing a suit and glasses though Naruot had to admit his bowl cut hairstyle just seemed odd.

"Are you that stalker!? Haven't you ever stopped to consider how your ex feels?" Ann asked, starting things off as Nakanohara glared at her.

"She's my property! I can do whatever I want with her! It's not like she didn't treat me like a plaything! What's wrong with me doing the same!?" Nakanohara barked out, his Shadow showing just how twisted his view on things was.

"You can't treat someone like shit just cause they did it to you! That's a load of crap and you know it!" Ryuji yelled out next as he stomped his foot. "We're gonna change the hearts of all the bastards like you!" he declared, getting an intense glare from the Shadow.

"There are millions of people far worse than me! What about Madarame!? He stole everything from me but you're letting him off the hook!?" Nakanohara yelled out as Naruto raised an eyebrow at the familiar name.

"Look, we don't know anything about whoever you are talking about when you say Madarame but we're starting with those we find and we just happened to learn about you. If he's twisted we'll go after him next" Naruto told the Shadow before it yelled out in anger and dispelled, turning into an Obariyon.

"Get ready! Here he comes!" Morgana warned as the Shadow pounced at them.

"Now that I finally have what's rightfully mine I'm not going to let you take it away!" the Shadow yelled out as Naruto summoned Silky behind him.

"Everyone try out your elements to see if we have something it's weak to!" Naruto instructed as Silky's hands started to gain frost around them. "Silky, Bufu!" he commanded before a large crystal of ice appeared on Nakanohara before shattering and hurting him.

Nakanohara refused to sit still as he put its hands together and tried to bash Shiho with a haymaker only for Chilonis to once again protect her.

He was then blindsided as Morgana used Zorro to blast him with a gust of wind that sent him flying back as Ryuji was aiming with Captain Kidd.

"Have a taste of this! Zio!" Ryuji yelled as he fired off and knocked Nakanohara down in a daze, revealing his weakness to electricity. "Come on, let's waste this chump!" he said with a smirk as he led the All-Out Attack on Nakanohara despite it not being enough to take him down.

Carmen! Chilonis! Agi!" Ann and Shiho yelled out in unison as their Persona combined their fire to hit him for twice the damage.

"We're almost there! Pixie! Let's knock them down! Zio!" Naruto commanded as his small fairy blasted Nakanohara with another jolt of lightning which knocked him down and let them start another All-Out Attack. This time, it being enough to end him.

As the battle ended Naruto felt a pulse inside him as the Chariot card appeared in front of him, Naruto thankful he was starting to memorize all the card designs, before it turned into the same blob that they had fought a bit ago.

"Me Slime...Me next form of Chariot. Y-You have me mask! N-Nice meet you" it nervously said, Naruto finding it to be much different than he expected, deciding to add it to his roster for now until he got a better look at it and Hua Po.

Once Nakanohara was defeated he seemed to return to his human form, instantly looking apologetic with a much calmer look in his eyes. "I'm sorry...Please forgive me" he apologized, showing that he indeed had calmed down.

"I-I just couldn't stop obsessing...N-Not after this person that I trusted used me and then disposed of me" Nakanohara said, Naruto a bit thankful he had brought it up again as he had some questions about it.

"Are you talking about this Madarame you mentioned earlier?" Naruto asked before Nakanohara nodded with a downcast look in his eyes.

"I...was afraid of being thrown away again like some worthless thing" he told them, showing he hadn't just one day became the obsessed person he was.

"So some selfish bastard was making you suffer too...Still, you shouldn't have dragged an unrelated woman into your mess" Shiho told him, her tone strong but still soft to show support and discipline.

"Yes, i know that now...I'll put an end to my love for her" he assured them before a look of recognition entered his eyes. "You guys can change people's hearts, right?" he asked as Naruto nodded.

"Of those who are corrupt and whatnot but yeah, we change hearts" Naruto told him, noticing the hopeful look in his eyes growing stronger as the black mist around him grew stronger and stronger.

"In that case won't you change Madarame's heart!? Before more people fall victim to him?" Nakanohara asked one last time before he faded away into bright light, leaving a glowing blue and white orb in his place.

"Change Madarame's heart?" Ann asked, unsure who that was or why Nakanohara would ask them to do it.

"What's that shinin' thing?" Ryuji asked as Morgana walked up to it to inspect it a bit.

"It's the bud of a Treasure. Had we left it be it very well may have blossomed into a Palace. In the end it'll be a great reward for a task completed, right Joker?" Morgana suggested as Naruto walked up to it and grabbed it before it quickly changed into a medium sized pearl held by two metal clawed hands attached to a black metal cord.

For now he just pocketed it, deciding to look into what it was later.

"So Nakanohara had a change of heart, right?" Shiho asked, figuring to be the case since the same thing happened with Kamoshida.

"Most likely" he said which only confused Ann as one question had been on her mind the whole time they went about this.

"But how are we supposed to know if we succeeded? It's not like we can find him in the real world and watch and see" Ann pointed out as Ryuji crossed his arms and nodded.

"Well the lady posted the dude's name online. If he really does change she'll probably comment again" Ryuji suggested, him seeing it as her possibly wanting to tell them and others how the change of heart worked to show that they had helped her. "Either way trainin' against Shadows down here's the best! It's great prep for our next target!" Ryuji continued as he clearly was hyped for getting stronger and the next target.

"It's also nice to be able to give courage to the people who post their problems online" Ann chimed in with a smile as she particularly liked that aspect of things, Shiho nodding along as she also liked it.

"On top of all of that we can also sell whatever treasure we get for some cold, hard cash!" Morgana said with a smile before gaining a bit of a serious expression. "Before we leave I want to show you guys somewhere. It won't take long, it's just one floor down" he told them as Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Sure, let's get going then. Do you know the way?" Naruto asked as they started to walk their way towards the way out of this room.

"We just have to look for a platform that has an escalator heading down. As for me knowing the way, it's kind of impossible here as the layout changes every time you enter" Morgana explained, surprising them a bit.

"Well, this place is a place formed from like countless people so stuff is bound to get a bit crazy after all. At least there is a little map thing on the dashboard in the van to show us what the floor we are on looks like as we make our way through it" Naruto told them as he noticed it a bit while driving.

"It shouldn't be too far so let's get going and start looking for it" Morgana said as he transformed back into the van for everyone to pile back into.

And Morgana was right as only after a bit of driving, which consisted of one Shadow fight consisting of more Slimes and driving into a metal shutter wall with chains that Morgana assured was safe, they found the platform heading down.

"Hang on a sec...You guys hearin' something'?" Ryuji asked as they got out of Morgana, pausing for a moment as he swore he heard a familiar sound and rumble.

All of them were a bit surprised to see a train on the opposite set of tracks from them pull up, it being pitch black with bright red glowing insides that made it feel insanely ominous.

"The trains are totally runnin'!" Ryuji said in shock, not expecting one to show up.

"Of course they are, we are in a subway after all. Though you don't have to worry, the tracks we travel on never cross over with the tracks the actual trains are on" Morgana assured them as Ann frowned a bit.

"But I thought this was a Palace?" she asked, getting a shrug from Morgana as he transformed back into his normal form.

"Then maybe this is how the public views this place? I don't know, this place is still very mysterious as I've never been able to make it that far into here" Morgana told her, not really sure himself.

"Well, let's just head down since there isn't much else to do here" Naruto suggested, making his way towards the escalator with the others following behind him with a nod.

As they arrived it seemed this 'floor' was just a normal train platform where passengers would wait to get on the train with a big wall at the end of it. Only, unlike normal platforms where trains would stop to let people on, the trains here just kept speeding by on both sides while the ones on the tracks perpendicular to them were a bit slower.

All in all he doubted they'd be able to get on the trains and personally, he didn't want to in the first place.

"All right, there it is! That wall! That's what I want to show you guys" Morgana urged them along as they walked up to it, Naruto noticing that it had the same red designs that were back in the room that they fought Nakanohara in.

"What is this place? It's kind of creepy" Shiho muttered with a frown, looking around as the ominous wall was a bit unsettling.

"And a dead end at that. Why's it even exist?" Ryuji asked as Naruto shook his head.

"I don't know, the trains heading past here make me feel like it's not a dead end" Naruto muttered while Morgana stayed staring up at the door.

"Correct, it's not a dead end if my hunch is correct" Morgana said before he looked around and, after a bit of feeling around, the wall collapsed into itself in a very 'mechanical' way to reveal another escalator leading down.

"A new area has been confirmed in the depths. Updating guidance information" the Meta-Nav's voice announced to them.

"That wall didn't budge when I came here by myself before but it'd be weird for the deepest part of Mementos to be some normal place like this, wouldn't it?" Morgana asked as Naruto nodded.

"Two floors does not a 'deepest depths' make. It's pretty obvious that there is more to this place, probably much much more" Naruto pointed out, getting a nod from the 'not-cat' who was glad someone else understood.

"Now that Kamoshida's Palace is gone and people are actually starting to talk about us I knew something had to have changed down here" Morgana explained as Ann frowned and looked down the escalator a bit.

"How deep is it? Should we try going further down?" she asked, wondering how far they were going to go today if that was the plan.

"Let's not, that's not why we're here today, remember? We accomplished our goal and should head back. I'll explain more once we're home" Morgana told them as they headed up with him using the same trick in the Palace to make them arrive back at the top floor as they reached the top of the escalator.

As they made their way towards the turnstile to leave they were a bit surprised to see what looked like a small boy with a blue dune buggy that had countless stuff tied to it standing in front of the entrance.

The boy was young and small, dressed in a large grey jacket that had sun and moon patterns on it with driving goggles hanging around his neck, black pants, and grey shoes while his hairstyle reminded Naruto of an egg shell.

The oddest part of it all - other than a kid somehow being in Mementos - was the fact there were three flowers floating in a translucent orange sphere with several other smaller bubbles floating around it.

"Who is that?" Shiho asked, not expecting to see someone here and especially not a cute little kid like him.

"A person!? In Mementos!?" Morgana asked out as well, him figuring this to be impossible since he knew of no one else who was able to travel into the Metaverse.

"Hmmm…." the kid hummed in thought as he held out his hand only for the flowers to suddenly transform into a glass of juice in his hand. "Maybe it's this one…" he wondered before they watched him drink the juice and let pleased sound. "Tasty!" he said with a smile as they walked up to him.

"Oh? Hmm, I thought I felt something strange for a second...so who're you guys?' the kid asked as he noticed them.

"WE should be asking YOU that!" Morgana pointed out although Naruto could see why the kid was wondering about them given their odd outfits.

"Good point. Sorry about that. It's customary for a human to introduce itself before asking another human for its name. Thanks for reminding me Mister...um, Tanuki? No, um...Cat?" the kid said as the way he spoke about humans made Naruto have the strongest feeling the odd kid might not be a human.

It might be crazy to imagine but given he was standing next to a talking cat and had the power to summon something like a Persona made Naruto feel like it wasn't that crazy in the end.

"What took so long to come up with 'Cat'!? And I'm not either of those!" Morgana yelled out before Ryuji sighed and shook his head.

"Actually him getting confused about that seems pretty normal to me" Ryuji brought up as Naruto nodded along.

"A kid is bound to get confused when he sees you Morgana, you aren't exactly an 'everyday' sight so cut the kid some slack" Naruto told him with a sigh, making Morgana frown and grumble a bit.

"My name is Jose, I'm looking for flowers" the kid, now known as Jose, said in a cheerful tone. "I'm pretty surprised to see some normal humans running around. I didn't know people could just come here" Jose admitted which got a bashful chuckle from Morgana as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, we are pretty special…" Morgana said as if embarrassed by being praised before he snapped out of it after a bit. "Wait! That's not important! Who YOU are is what matters right now!" Morgana declared, Naruto and Ryuji rolling their eyes at Morgana a bit for the odd way he was acting.

Sure Jose was odd but it didn't excuse how brash Morgana was acting towards him.

"When you said you were looking for flowers, did you mean that floating thing?" Shiho asked as she had never seen flowers floating like that or in that weird sphere they were in.

"Yeah, cause those are the first ones we've seen in here" Ann pointed out before Jose nodded at the both of them.

"That's right pretty ladies. Flowers have started to pop up around Mementos and they are the ones I've been looking for. I'm collecting as many as I can cause I'm studying humans" Jose explained, once again adding further proof to Naruto's suspicions of him not being human.

He though couldn't help but chuckle a bit as both Ann and Shiho blushed with smiles at being called 'pretty ladies' by Jose.

"Studying humans? That's why you turned a flower into a drink?" Ryuji asked as Jose gave a nod which made Ryuji's eyes go wide. "Drinking flower juice counts as studying?" he asked, his tone making it as if he had just discovered something utterly mind blowing.

"I really don't think it is, Jose is a special case" Naruto told him, sadly crushing Ryuji's hopes and dreams to quick and easy studying.

"Hey, could you guys help me with my research?" Jose asked them, getting a raised eyebrow from Naruto.

"How exactly would we do that?" Naruto wondered as - while he wanted to help - wasn't sure how they'd be able to do it.

"By collecting flowers for me" Jose explained before shaking his head. "I wouldn't ask you to do it for free though. I find all kinds of stuff you can use while you're exploring and I'll trade you some of that stuff for more flowers" he offered to them as they all looked to Naruto.

"What do you think? Should we try and get him some flowers whenever we're in here?" Ryuji asked as Naruto rubbed his chin in thought.

"Seems like it could do us some good but we don't know this kid...We gotta be careful" Morgana chimed in as Ann shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh I'm sure he's fine, let's give him a hand. He seems like he could use it and it shouldn't be too hard to pick flowers while we're exploring, right?" Ann pointed out with Shiho nodding along with a smile before Naruto smirked and looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Any other reasons?" he asked as Ann giggled a bit and looked to Shiho before turning back to him.

"He called us 'pretty ladies'" she said with a smile, Shiho blushing a bit but smiling as well.

He couldn't quite blame them as genuine innocent compliments went a long way.

"No! Lady Ann…" Morgana cried out, almost devastated at the fact despite Naruto not seeing how it was devastating for him even with Morgana's crush on Ann.

Fighting against a kid for the attention of a girl just felt beyond ridiculous as kids were innocent. Only in stuff like animes were there those perverted type kids who use their innocence to go into baths with pretty girls while flashing smug grins to the guys as they walked off.

Those kinds of kids were the ones he seriously hated in anime and honestly, if it were him, he'd smack those kinds of kids upside the head and explain things.

But then again that was anime and he was getting off topic in his own head.

"It's probably fine. I mean he said he'd give us useful stuff and all. What do you think?" Ryuji said before once again asking Naruto his thoughts on it.

"Sure, I don't mind helping a kid. Especially since he's offering to trade us stuff in return" Naruto said as it was a textboon win-win for both parties.

"Thanks!" Jose said with a smile before Morgana shook his head.

"Wait! Wait! Hang on a second! We still have no idea who this kid is!" Morgana yelled out before turning to glare at Jose. "Don't go thankin' us just yet, bud!" he said, almost challenging Jose as Naruto leaned down to flick his ear to try and stop him.

"Aw, are you tired kitty? You seem grumpy" Jose said, his tone making it clear he wasn't mocking but genuinely asking and almost worried for the 'not-cat'.

"I am NOT a cat! And I'm NOT grumpy!" Morgana yelled out as Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Could've fooled me" Naruto grumbled, getting some chuckles from the others as Morgana was still glaring at Jose.

"O-Oh, okay. Then are you hungry? I learned hunger can make a person turn grumpy" Jose asked, showing he genuinely was just wanting to help Morgana who he thought needed help. "Here, you can have this" Jose told him as he pulled out a package of cookies and held it out towards Morgana.

"Thanks, but I'll pass…" Morgana groaned out as he realized his attempts at intimidation weren't working on the kid.

"You're makin' the kid worry about you even more..." Ryuji said with a sigh before Morgana collapsed with a groan showing he was giving up.

"Don't worry about him, we'll make sure he eats later" Naruto assured Jose, getting the kid to nod before putting away the cookies.

"I'll be looking for flowers around here so just stop by and say hi if you see me but first, here's this. It's a gift, for you" Jose said as he started fishing through his pockets. "I picked up something strange while I was exploring earlier and I feel it'll work best with you" he told them before he pulled out what seemed to be a star.

The star itself was just a bit smaller than his flattened hand with what seemed to be a landscape on it while it glowed blue.

"What the heck is that?" Ryuji asked as he leaned forward a bit to try and get a better look at it.

"It's a star. At least that's what shape it is" Jose said while Naruto looked down at it, definitely feeling that the star was unique if it was found in Mementos.

"Humans make wishes on stars, right? That's so interesting, stars granting wishes. So I figured if I give it to you it'll grant your wishes...or it would be nice to think that" Jose said with a smile as he held it out towards Naruto. "I want to give it to you. It's so sparkly and beautiful. You want it too, don't you? It's a 'sign of our friendship'. I know what that is" Jose said as Naruto accepted the star from him.

"Also I remembered something humans like to say to each other: Good job!" Jose said with a smile, that painting the 'not human' picture clearer and clearer the more he talked.

Though oddly that didn't make him like the kid any less.

"Well...that was odd, both him and the supposed star that will grant our wishes..." Ryuji muttered as he looked over at the star.

"I highly doubt something like that would or could actually happen, even in Mementos" Morgana said while Naruto hummed as he looked it over.

"Could be a case of only working with certain things. For let's just hold onto the gift from the odd little kid" Naruto said with a chuckle before he pocketed it.

"About Jose, he said he's studying humans so does that mean he isn't one?" Shiho asked, showing she had noticed the way Jose talked just like Naruto did.

"I mean, even if he isn't human he seems just like some nice kid" Ann said as either way she liked the kid and how odd yet sweet he was.

"Well he didn't feel like a Shadow" Morgana admitted with a bit of a grumble which got an eye roll from Naruto

"Of course he didn't, he's just an odd and peculiar kid" Naruto told him which only made Morgana grumble a bit more

"Well, if we see any of those flowers that he wants I guess we can grab them for him" Ryuji said with a shrug before everyone else nodded.

"With that done let's head out, we did what we came here to do" Morgana advised before, with silent agreement they headed back out to the real world.

-Real World-

"Mementos, huh? I still don't really get that place" Ryuji admitted as they appeared back in the real world back where they initially came in. "Also what was up with that wall thing at the end? You mentioned you couldn't get past it before now and all" he said, getting a nod from Morgana.

"I don't really know either but if Mementos is the public's Palace then it might be affected by the public's belief in us" Morgana explained a bit though, going off his tone, he wasn't entirely sure about his explanation.

"Why do you know so much about it Morgana?" Ann asked, watching as the 'not-cat' drooped his head with a frown.

'My memories are a little foggy in that regard...however I need to know what lies in the depths of Mementos, no matter what. Mementos isn't just the public's Palace but it's the source of all Palaces" Morgana told them, getting a serious look in his eyes as he looked back up at them. "It used to be that Palaces like Kamoshida's with one ruler simply didn't exist. If we can do something about the greatest cause of distortions I'm certain my appearance will…" he continued before trailing off a bit with his ears lowering a bit.

"You wanted someone to save you too…" Shiho said with a soft smile, looking to Naruto before looking over to Morgana.

"I-I just needed pawns!" Morgana tried to deny, getting a chuckle from Ann as he looked like he was frantic to 'make things clear'.

"I see….so that's why you came pokin' your nose around with us" Ryuji said as he had always found it odd that Morgana had been so gung-ho about them helping him from the start.

"Don't worry, we'll all help you. I hope you can regain what you've lost in time" Ann said with a smile as everyone nodded along with her statement.

"I'll….be relying on you guys" Morgana finally relented, a bit embarrassed but got the words out before he sat up and shook off his embarrassment. "Moving on, we now know that we can perform minor changes of hearts in Mementos. If we come across any eye-catching leads it may be worth dealing with them for a bit of combat practice" Morgana told them as Naruto snapped his fingers, having just remembered something he wanted to bring up.

"On the topic of targets! You mentioned Kobayakawa to lead into bringing us here, does that mean you think he can be someone we can target?" Naruto asked, getting eyes back on Morgana as everyone basically agreed that, with everything he has done, Kobayakawa was a prime target.

"While yes he is a valid target I believe going after him right after we took down Kamoshida, hence why I made you look up a different target to help explain how Mementos works" Morgana told them which everyone agreed with.

"Kobayakawa isn't the kind to go through with his threats right away. He likes to pose the threat and make it clear he'll only enact it if you go against him….If anything does seem like it's about to happen I'm sure Niijima-senpai will tell us if she's worried about something actually happening" Shiho told them as Kobayakawa always made it clear with her that he could ruin her mother's careers whenever she was thinking about speaking out about anything.

"And if he does seem like he's about to, that's when we take the bastard down!" Ryuji declared as he punched his fist into his open palm with a smirk that showed he'd be ready to fight when that day came.

"Though, in terms of other targets, no one else really stood out besides Nakanohara" Ann brought up with a bit of a frown despite being glad they were able to have another target so soon after Kamoshida, even if it was a minor one.

"I bet we'll get tons of 'em if we can change someone famous and make the Phantom Thieves well-known. The big fish are our main target after all" Ryuji said, an excited grin on his face while Naruto nodded with a bit of a smirk.

"True but helping some everyday people out is also a good way to get the public to like us. In the end, just have to remember we are doing this to help the powerless" Naruto reminded them as he didn't want that getting lost along the way.

"Right, we'll keep that in mind" Ann said with a smile as they chatted a bit amongst themselves as they had a bit of time before they had to split up to go home.

Naruto frowned though as he looked around a bit, swearing he felt an intense directed gaze at them. While he didn't find anything one thing caught his eye, a head of blue hair seemingly walking away from them that he found rather odd.

As they split up he checked in with Ann to tell her to message him if she needed him in regards to the stalker situation which made Ann smile and assure him she would if she felt she needed it.

Once he made it home the soreness that came with summoning a Persona finally kicked in. He seriously just wanted to go to bed but his phone chimed as Ryuji had started a group message, stopping him just after he had gotten changed.

Ryuji: Man, that Nakanohara guy was a piece of cake!

Ryuji: If we can take down some kinda big target next we're totally gonna get famous

Ann: Hey! We're trying to help people, not get famous!

Naruto: I'm with Ann on this, remember? We help the powerless

Naruto: I literally said that not that long ago…

Ryuji: But if people don't know who we are then how're we gonna give them any courage

Shiho: One whisper, added to a thousand others, becomes a roar. While the quote continues to say 'of discontent' it still fits

Shiho: Even if we just help a bunch of everyday people the whispers about us will become louder

Naruto: Exactly! Big targets of course are our main thing it doesn't mean fame is our goal

Ann: Yeah, though I will admit being more well known will help things along

Ann: My only worry is if we really should be doing all of this if we don't have a reason like Kamoshida…

Ryuji: You mean we shouldn't be sticking our noses into other people's business?

Shiho: I see your worry Ann but if someone's in trouble it's only natural to help, especially when we can in a way no one else can

Ann: Yeah, I definitely agree with you Shiho. Plus I was glad we were able to solve the stalker case

Ryuji: Plus what good are our Personas if we don't use 'em for good?

Naruto: Yeah, seems like wasted potential

Naruto: For now let's just keep our feelers out for bigger or small targets. Right now though I am going to bed. I don't know about you all but I'm sore

Ann: Same here, night everyone

Shiho: Night

Ryuji: See ya!

As Naruto put his phone away one thing lingered on his mind: Madarame.

That name wasn't an everyday name by any stretch and he also swore he remembered it from somewhere.

"Sleep for now Master, you can try and figure it out in the morning" Hua Po told him, her voice surprising him but just showing that he had gained another vocal Persona - not that he minded.

In fact he sort of liked that some of them talked to him.

'You're right Hua Po, I have three days off to think it over. For now, bed is where I belong' he told them, him almost able to feel their relieved smiles inside him before he finally laid down for bed.

They had gotten a lot done today so some nice sleep was definitely needed and appreciated, especially when they had to be ready for when the next big target showed up...whenever that was.

-Chapter End-

Pairing: Naruto x Futaba, Ann, Shiho, Makoto, Haru, Kasumi, Kawakami, Tae, Caroline, Justine, Lavensa, Sae, and one more TBA (due to it being a massive spoiler to a change I have in mind)

Maybe: Hifumi, and Chihaya

*1 = I mean to reveal this back when it was supposed to be shown on Kamoshida's palace but there was a lot going on and on one hand I needed to polish it and on the other I felt adding it in would make things feel really cluttered.

Honestly, I feel waiting was the right choice. Though keep in mind, it still won't be the confidant route for the twins, I still like the idea of the outings being that instead

*2 = As I said before, Mishima isn't going to be a confidant in this fic. A bit of his stuff (the whole getting power hungry) will more just be something that happens throughout the fic as a story thing, not a confidant route

*3 = No hints towards who his aunt is other than it is NOT someone from Naruto so Mei - the guess I can see a lot of you making - goes out the window. This person - and the person who was reading the newspaper - will be revealed in time. That's all I will say on the matter (and the people who do know! Don't you dare spoil it in the reviews even slightly! No hints!)

** = IMPORTANT - as of 7/16 I editted things, giving Naruto TWO Aunts after some thought. One is older than the other and, just like before, neither are from the Naruto series

*4 = I know in game this is a bit of a hint towards Yusuke showing up but if Ann were to say that to Naruto, who worries and looks out for his friends, there is absolutely no way he'd just let her brush it off. He'd do what he can to help look out for her and make her feel safer

*5 = Since there are no negotiations when getting Shadows (as boy would that be boring and annoying to read/write) I figured I could tweak 'Girl Talk' into a form that would be usable to him. I'll be doing things like this for the other 'negotiation skills' gained through confidant bonds

*6 = I feel, given all the changes - from Kobayakawa doing the same thing to Shiho and it being out in the open with it - Makoto would come clean to them from the start. I'm not going to explain how this shifts up the Kaneshiro stuff so you'll have to wait and see.

Before I get to the story notes I would like to remind everyone I do have a pat reon which includes rewards like seeing progress updates, notifications to new stories I plan to do, voting polls, and early access to chapters before I post them on FF.

Simple go to pat reon and paste:

/user?u=4783680

At the end of pat reon's url and you'll find my page.

You don't get anything that everyone here won't get aka there will be no "pat reon exclusive stories" or things where I have to get a certain amount of money before I work on something as both of those are shitty practices.

It is solely "hey, you want to support me, a disabled unemployed writer who survives off my disability checks? Thanks, I appreciate it" and nothing more

I'm currently doing a bit where Tier 4 people can watch me write on google docs and tier 3 and 4 get early access to the chapter two days before I post it here (originally only tier 4 got early access)

So yeah, check it out if you want, now onto chapter notes!

I want to bring this up before I forget about it. One guest reviewer asked if I have a name in mind for Shiho's 3rd tier Persona and right now I don't but, given its just a rename/alternate name of the base Persona I'd have to go with 'Chelidonis' since that is the alternate name of Chilonis

Also regarding the Ann Kabedon scene, trust me, if I was able to make that accidental kiss actually work I would have but I couldn't...sadly lol. Be happy I made the scene fit in like that as a bit of a Kabedon with faces super close is powerful in its own way lol

Also in regards to the whole 'perverted type kids' that was a bit of personal opinion leaking into things as I utterly hate those kinds of kids in anime. Momonosuke in One Piece doing that instantly made me hate the little brat. I also hate it when girls in anime trust the kid more than their friends when their friends get angry at the kid - that bit came from how Akane was with Ryoga/P-chan from Ranma 1/2.

That's a little bit of insight towards my annoyances in anime for whatever reason. Enjoy lol

Also, another thing I wanna point out, with all the dropped 'g's it's not me misspelling things, that is how it's spelled out in the game as Ryuji and Iwai drop a lot of them. There are some words or sentences I refuse to copy like 'prolly' or other words that are just stupid so keep that in mind - please and thank you

Other than that I'm not sure what else to really say or add. If you got questions leave them alongside your review

I hope you all liked it

Until Next Time

Rate and Review

Buh-Bye!