2026-10-17: Prodigal Children

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<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.

    Back in reality, Kasumi (and whoever wanted to hover), return to Leblanc from a short trip to Dr. Takemi's around the corner. They climb the stairs to Ren's attic bedroom, and she takes a seat nearby. "Thank you for introducing me, Amamiya-senpai." Kasumi says. "Dr. Takemi was very helpful. Thankfully, it's a shallow cut, so it'll heal, but..." She raises a hand, tracing it with her fingertip. It's another reminder of her failures, up to now.

    Kasumi trails off, as she shuffles a little in her seat. "Thank you for saving us..." She says. "I... wasn't expecting that shadow to be so strong. I'm really not cut out for this..." She lets out a big sigh, as she looks towards Morgana. "Maybe... we should just forfeit?

    Despite Kasumi's focus on sore feelings, there's a lot to talk about. Just what was that strange, sterile Palace? What is it, and who's it supposed to belong to? And what was that cognitive shadow? Now's a good a time to discuss as any.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    Dr. Takemi continues to be a reliable and trustworthy ally of The Phantoms, for all that she doesn't know that's what they are. Aside from raised eyebrows and some snarky comments, she didn't make any comments on how worn out Ren, Kasumi, and their friends looked, and cleaned and bandaged Kasumi's cheek cut up quickly and efficiently. Honestly, she's seen Ren in worse condition.
    
    As they all return to Leblanc, wave off Sojiro's own raised eyebrows, and head upstairs, Morgana looks back at Kasumi. He makes a low noise, but doesn't agree or disagree about forfeiting. "..."
    
    "Fighting Shadows can be really tough, especially if there's only two of you," Ren remarks, noting this long with Kasumi's self-depreciation. "That's why I'm glad we've got such a big team. Between all of us, we can always make sure we're fighting fit and no one has to overextend themselves for the team."
    
    Ren picks the desk chair to sit on; Morgana leaps up onto the desk itself for his spot, as he's usually done in the past. Ren glances at him, and he glances back, and both look out at everyone else who's gathered. Some are those who helped explore the mystery Palace; some are those who joined up with them on the way back.
    
    There are a lot of mysteries around that mystery Palace, too. Ren hasn't forgotten them, either. However, right now, their focus is on Kasumi and Morgana.
    
    "So don't think you have to forfeit because of one bad encounter," they continue, looking between them. "There's benefits to having a small, light team. You just have to lean into them more."
    
    "...Nah," Morgana says. "I had my own troubles when I was a solo agent. Yoshizawa's right; that's not a Palace that can get conquered with just two people. And... a-and anyway..." He quivers for a moment; if he had a human form, a blush would be stealing over his face right now. "I-I wanna come back!" he bursts out. Then he hangs his head in embarrassment and shame of admitting this. "I've really missed you guys..."
    
    Ren's dark eyes soften. "...We've really missed you too. Especially me."
    
    Morgana looks back at them, startled, but then happy. "Ren..." He looks down, but this time there's a dignity to it. "I... really got attached to you guys. But we started all this as a deal--a bargain. I thought, what happens to me if it ends? And then we got more and more members, and I started feeling like... I wasn't really needed anymore. I kept worrying about that on and on, but I--I didn't know how to say it. I thought I'd look pathetic if I said it. So when everything exploded with Ryuji about Lady Ann, I ended up lashing out, all because I was too much of a coward to say how I really felt. I'm sorry..."
    
    "I'm sorry too, Morgana," Ren murmurs. "I'd noticed something was weighing on you, but I didn't check in with you as much as I should've. I figured..." They glance away, rubbing the side of their neck. "Well, that you wouldn't want to talk about it. So I didn't ask. But sometimes that's exactly when you need someone to ask."
    
    They glance over at the others. If there's anything anyone else wants to say, now's a good time to weigh in--either for Morgana or for Kasumi. 

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Dr. Takemi is great! Ichika is pretty cool with her, actually. For Tsubasa reasons, mostly. But she doesn't bring those up, other than to generally be hype to be there.

She's a little worried about Kasumi, frankly. But Ichika can keep that to herself for the intermediate period. She's dressed in green today, a layered green top over a gray shirt for the cold and a short black skirt with thigh-highs and boots.

"Glad it'll heal," Ichika says to Kasumi of the cut.

Then.... Hmm... Small teams, and benefits, and--

"Morgana," Ichika says more softly when he says he missed them. "We missed you, too."

He got attached. Ichika smiles faintly, her dark-painted lips gleaming in the low light. "I like having you around" she says.

"It's not just your experience or your expertise we want, Morgana. You, as a teammate, are improtant to us. ...besides, without you, I've gotta do all the healing..."

She grins. Then, she grows a lot more serious, folding her hands on the table. "But you and Ryuji-kun are gonna have to get a lot cooler with each other if we're going to all be a team together. Don't worry about who started it, whose fault it is--just... try to be cool with each other. OK?"

"I won't hesitate to grab both your ears if you slip up. ...But..."

"I really did miss you too, Morgana. It wasn't the same without you."

"And hey, Yoshizawa... this stuff is hard. Especially when they get at your emotions like that. Don't beat yourself up, OK?"

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.

Ryuji received the call from the others at the end of his shift. He booked it to Leblanc, using some creative train hopping to get to the district quickly. Upon arriving Ryuji is dressed in a dark grey hoodie with a skull over the chest, some distressed pants, and beat up sneakers. He is probably dressing better than he used to admittedly. He walks in with his iconic slouch, looking around the cafe for everyone. "Yo! Whats going on, dudes. Sorry, I had a last minute shift I had to cover so I didn't make it. Is Morgana back on the team?"

 He spots the...furred individual in question and smiles as much as he can in the circumstances. It wasn't smug or distainful just maybe a little hopeful. "Hey dude...Welcome back." He leaves it at that, knowing it is better to keep a little distance while they felt out how this would go.

 He immediately finds his way to Ichika, grinning. "You guys wreck some havoc or something?" He was honestly kinda jealous since he could've used the exercise. 

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
Futaba Sakura was not there, despite her vows to support everyone. What's up with that?

FLASHBACK: WEDNESDAY - JAN 23 - PHANTOMS GROUP CHAT

> I got a cold.
> If I die, I need Panther to do something.
> You can share my treasure among you once she's completed the task.

THURSDAY - JAN 24 - DIRECT MESSAGE TO PANTHER AKA ANN TAKAMAKI

> I'm not going to die I just feel like butt.
> But if I did end up really sick
> Delete all my hard drives. There's instructions on a sticky note inside the cabinet.

A sacred duty for Ann... but why her?

NOW

A little while after others come through Leblanc, Futaba arrives as well. She seems to be as normally healthy as a nerd with chronic slouching and other such issues can be. She is wearing a disposable face mask - even if she feels better enough to make the incredibly arduous and burdensome 'two block walk from the house' to Leblanc, you don't want to spread germs.

(Also, irrespective of their other benefits, wearing face masks in the winter is actually baller. You get to kind of pre-moisturize your air *and* it stays warmer, so it's basically a win all around!)

Sojiro looks at Futaba skeptically, and Futaba manages to return his look. (He is, after all, one of the few people whom she can look at without anxiety in the first place. Or least only with like background level anxiety.)

"I suppose you're going upstairs, too, huh?"

Futaba nods vigorously.

"... I have to ask. What's the occasion?"

Futaba stares at Sojiro. Fortunately, the face mask hides her slack jawed 'uhhhh' expression. Fortunately further, she has an answer to hand: "Video games."

"Oh," says Sojiro, in the same tone that you might expect if Futaba had said 'knitting circle' or 'car stereo discussion.' He grunts and turns back to one of the customers at the bar.

Up she goes.

"Sup," Futaba says, leaning to the side to peek out from behind Skull. She freezes when she gets her eyes on the relatively-unfamiliar form of Kasumi, though, and straightens back up, breaking line of sight.

(Until Ryuji moves.) 

<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.

    Kasumi is still filled with a feeling of 'I should be better'... Like Drake Adventure 1, where the main hero has no party members. Like she needs to be special, that leaning on others is a weakness. That breaks when Ren says that it's why they team up with others, and Ichika's agreement. "Huh? You seem so strong though Kawase-san... And even Senpai...?" Everyone else struggles alone too...?

    Kasumi listens as well to Morgana's confession, and agreeing to rejoin the Theives... "Morgana... I'm glad to hear that...!" She was able to help save one relationship, at least! Not just that, but coming clean with his weakness up to this point! Morgana's growing stronger, by admitting his insecurities?

    "I'm... I'm joining too!" Kasumi stands suddenly, clutching her hands into fists. "I'm sick of feeling alone! I want to grow stronger and fight with everyone too!" There's been a lot of reasons holding her back, but, "I'm not going to hold you guys, or myself back anymore!" Kasumi lets out a sigh as she finally lets everything out, as a wave of shyness suddenly comes over her. "If you'll... have me, I mean." She sits back down, cringing at herself a little. Just a little, with a smile coming over.

    During this pow-wow, Ryuji and Futaba surely arrive midway through! "Ah! We're, uh..." Kasumi stammers a little. "W-well, the comptition is over, Morgana and I are joining..." Then, she notices Futaba, and clamps her hand over her mouth. Crud! Someone she doesn't know-

    "Oh, uh! Joining a, uh... knitting club, I mean...!" A beat, as she tries desperately to figure out a subject change. "You look around my age... I'm Yoshizawa, Kasumi!" She stands for a offer a bow. "What, uh, school are you from...?" She asks, gently?

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    Morgana beams at Ichika as she reiterates that they missed him and it hasn't been the same without him. However, when she adds that he's got to start getting along better with Ryuji--it doesn't matter who started what--his ears slink back. Still, he does murmur, "Yeah..."
    
    Of course, that's the exact moment that Ryuji arrives, asking if Morgana's back on the team. His ears perk up at his welcoming attitude. Even if he did agree with Ann the other day, he didn't really expect that. "Hey... Thanks," he replies, subdued but... actually sincere.
    
    He accused Ryuji of hating him, but maybe that was all in his head. He has been kind of a jerk to him up 'til now, huh?
    
    When Futaba peeks out from behind Ryuji, then hides back behind him at the sight of Kasumi, Morgana and Ren both smile. She's come a long way, but it's still a long journey, huh? That's okay, though. That means you're still alive and growing.
    
    "Hey, Futaba. Feeling better?" Ren asks. A cold is especially tough when you have Futaba's lack of resilience. As Kasumi likewise stammers around her, though, it clicks, and they add, "It's cool. Futaba's one of us." They gesture to each in turn. "Futaba, this is Kasumi Yoshizawa, an underclassman of mine at Shujin. Yoshizawa, this is Futaba Sakura, the Boss's daughter. Yoshizawa was on the team temporarily for a while, and Futaba's on the team now."
    
    When Kasumi expresses her surprise about individual vs. group strength, they nod to her. "We wouldn't be nearly so strong if we didn't have each other." Their times attempting to take Ruin on have made that clear. There are some enemies you just need a team to beat. When Kasumi jumps to her feet and says she's joining, their eyes widen a little--but it's more at the vehemence than the declaration itself. They smile slowly and nod again. "You were on the team before. If you've made up your mind that you want to join for real, you're welcome." They look around to Ichika, Ryuji, and Futaba. "Any objections?"
    
    That's more a joke than anything else; they really don't expect any problems. They do look back at Kasumi a moment later, though. "About Goro--that is, Akechi... You won't need to worry about lying to him. Don't explicitly confirm you're on the team now, but he basically figured us all out a while ago."
    
    They lean an elbow on the desk and their cheek on their hand. "But that's fine because he and I are dating anyway." 

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Ichika when she's called strong grins. "My Persona works best in a team," she says simply. "It's how I fight outside Palaces, too. I can do OK on my own, for a while... but without someone to watch your back, everybody gets got sooner or later."

She smiles when Ryuji welcomes Morgana. "Tht's better," she says to both of them encourgingly.

But theree's... Futaba! Ichika nudges Ryuji and gets him to sit down with her, and Ren and Morgana can explain.

"That's right," Ichika agrees on strength. "No objections from me," Ichika says. "You were pretty handy back there, even when it was rough on you. I'd trust you to watch my back."

Then, kechi... Well, Ichika knew this part.

But Ren has a certain style delivering it. 

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.

Not expecting the sudden Futaba, Ryuji jolts from the sudden voice behind him. He whirls around to see the girl, looking as gremlin as ever. He sighs with relief and nods to the recluse, moving deeper inside of the cafe.

 As the explanation is given, Ryuji grins. "Sorry I missed it but hell yeah." When the mention of membership comes up, Ryuji smiles. "Nah. I kinda figured it was gonna happen."

 He finds his seat, predictably next to Ichika. He leans forward, looking over the room. "Man we're quite the gang of interesting faces now...If your boyfriend has this all figured out, I'm gonna call shenanigans cuz there is no way he's that smart, RenRen."

 "Anyway, welcome to the group!" Ryuji smiles at Kasumi. 

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
Concealed behind Ryuji and immune to detection, Futaba wonders where this is going to go. She heard them talking, but... did she read the room wrong? Did she - wait. Futaba's brow furrows as she compares pieces. Complex mathematics happen in her head. Then she figures it out. Which is shortly confirmed: it is, indeed, 'the woman called Belle.'

"Mmhm," Futaba tells Ren, with a nod. She points at the mask: "This is to suppress the enemy." So suddenly relaxed! (Ren can probably kinda-see-her, just by the distribution of viewing angles.) After that...

She takes a step to the right. This breaks concealment, allowing Kasumi to target Futaba with a ranged weapon. However, Futaba is then being asked for her objections. Her hands have folded behind her back; she looks back to Ren, then to Morgana, then back to Kasumi. "Nice to meet you," she states. "I'm pretty new. Please take care of me."

Am I about to sneeze...?

No, Futaba decides, her eyes resting on Kasumi for a few moments. "None. Did you guys find the Treasure that fast...?"

Since Ryuji is moving in, Futaba must do the same. She just barrels towards the bed and turns around fast enough for her hair to bounce a bit as she plunks down. Her ankles cross, and for about three seconds it might seem like she's going to sit normally.

Then she removes her shoes (which is a little awkward - is this not Ren's residence? but it's also an attic? whatever) and brings them up to curl into the familiar shrimp pose.

"It's a credible possibility," Futaba answers Ryuji. "He's not just marketing. I've been keeping an eye on him, but I didn't expect..."

                the dating, she means the dating. 

<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.

    With Kasumi's joining official, Kasumi's beams happily. She stands for another bow. "Thank you all so much! I'll do my best out there!"

    Then, she meets Futaba properly. As she breaks concealment, Kasumi uses her reaction to smile. "The Boss's daughter?" She repeats aloud. "Ah! Sakura-san, then. It's a pleasure to meet you. My codename's Belle." She matches Futaba's bow with one of her own.

    'I'm pretty new. Please take care of me.'

    Wait... Does that mean...? "I-I've been doing this for since last summer..." Kasumi says, trying to put on a bashful facade... Then, after bouncing on her feet for a few beats. "I guess what sort of makes you my Kouhai, then, huh...?~ I'll do my best!" She's so happy about the prospect.

    More to the point... "No, we weren't able to make the treasure just yet." Kasumi says, with a shake of her head. "We ran into a tough boss and had to get saved."

    Wait. Akechi-san and Amamiya-senpai. Are dating?!

    "Ehhhhhh?!" Kasumi lets out a loud noise, using a hand to cover her mouth. "You two are?!" Part of her wants all of the gossip, but there's something much more important at hand...

    "How, uh... Does that work?" Kasumi asks, tilting her head. It's fine in fiction, but... "Akechi-san's working with the police. Is it really okay for a Phantom Thief and a detective to...? Especially when the detective knows the other's...?"

    It hasn't quite occured to Kasumi yet that Akechi's realized that Kasumi's a phantom thief before she did...

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    "He doesn't have 'this all' figured out. Still no idea how we change hearts. He's figured out most of the members, though," Ren replies mildly to Ryuji. They've already told everyone about that much, but it's important Kasumi know that too. To whit: "That includes you. You're on his 'maybe' list."
    
    They smile at Kasumi's shock about the news of them and Goro dating. "We have an understanding. He isn't just caving to our Justice, but he's willing to be open-minded about it now that he knows me better." (In other words, that they're not the kind of person who would brainwash others into being good.) "He's going to keep up the act on TV for now, though."
    
    They shake their head at Futaba, though. "The contest is off. We decided to skip the song and dance this time. Morgana and Yoshizawa are just back." To say nothing of the difficulties with the Palace itself. They let Kasumi cover that, though.
    
    It really does help that Ichika's here, too. Certainly Morgana feels better about everything with her encouraging him and Ryuji to get along, and that shows even on his kitty face. 

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Ichika takes the couch with Ryuji; she reaches down to take his hand after a moment, and leans on him a little. It's PDA, but it's among friends, so it's a little more OK.

"He could be that smart," Ichika says. "...But yeah, I think if he had it all figured out he'd have done... something," she says. The way Ren puts it... hmm. "That's just as well. Phantom Thieves shouldn't be loved by the authorities. Right, Morgana? It's not in style."

"Yeah... that Palace is gonna take all of us at our best," she agrees with the explanation to Futaba. "it was rough. And apparently it can draw on pieces of what's improtant to you? Like..." She glances at Kasumi. "It made a copy of her sister," Ichika explains. "it was really mesed up." 

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.

Ryuji takes Ichika's hand an squeezes it, leaning back against her. PDA wasn't something he was concerned with at the moment. He just relaxes and looks around, noting Morgana's content expression.

 Seems everything was getting better.

 "Look, I don't know what he knows but we gotta be careful or we're gonna end up on TV for all the wrong reasons."

 He blinks when Kasumi reacts to his statement and laughs a little nervously. "Yeah. My bad for letting that out so casually...But yeah." 

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
("Oracle," Futaba tells Kasumi. Who she's really taking quite well... maybe it's because of the earlier cognitive encounter, or the indirect vouching of both Ren and Morgana, that this isn't someone she has to worry about.)

Her fingers steeple together as Kasumi pops shock at the news of DATING. Is Futaba smiling? Her mouth is kind of hidden by her fingers. It's more of a smirk kind of thing. She is not helping. The rest of her questions, though, are pretty logical.

Then Ren speaks... and Futaba hugs her legs a little. Her face colors. She doesn't seek out Morgana. Maybe she's still embarrassed. "... I guess it's good... people were honest about it," Futaba concludes, more quietly. Though back to Ichika. "... So it's able to respond dynamically to people's cognition? I wonder if you could manipulate the diff by..."

Trailing off. A copy of her sister. That sounds Heavy, and Futaba says no more.

... Until she bugs Ryuji. "What's the right reasons?" 

<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.

    ("Oracle!" Kasumi nods. "The cute girl from before! It's good to properly meet you, hehe.")

    Ren explains the situation with Akechi, as Kasumi nods. "I see... Not wanting to relent in public does sound like Akechi-san, alright." She giggles, remembering a conversation she's had with him before. "I'm not surprised he's figured you guys out, but I really am glad he's willing to hear you out..." Maybe falling in love will be good for Akechi? Then it's really like a romance subplot! "I also noticed he has a Will of Rebellion too. Maybe he can see eye to eye with all of us..." It's sort of nice actually, to be included in that now.

    

    Kasumi nods in agreement with Ichika. "It was really freaky... I couldn't stand it, taking her face like that." She pauses, and decides that now's a good time to start talking about it. "The Palace is so strange... It's overtop the stadium construction site, out in Odaiba. I go there when I'm sad, sometimes..." Not the point! Kasumi shakes her head. "I think it's meant to be a laboratory, but I don't know who it could belong to..."

    "The palace itself is pure white and sterile. I noticed some posters talking about health and happiness... Ah, and we also grabbed a keycard for the elevator!" Kasumi explains. "I ended up feeling a call further into the Palace, so I started running in... And ran into a cognitive version of my younger sister. She pleaded me to leave, and my head started to hurt with voices talking to me..." She crosses her arms. "I don't really remember what they were saying though... Then, my sister turned into that Shadow, as Morgana caught back up."

    What else should she mention...? "Yeah, it's an anomaly of a Palace, that's for sure." She thinks to check her phone to bring up the entry on the Metanav. Though... There's an issue actually. She furrows her brow, taps on it some more. Only... "Uh... The entry, it's gone now. Is... Is that normal...?" After stealing the treasure? Maybe. After leaving in defeat? Definitely not.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    "Exactly right," Morgana tells Ichika. "The back-and-forth between a detective and a thief is one thing, but we should always be a thorn in authority's side!"
    
    "Fortunately, the cops don't like Goro either. He keeps making them look back, so they resent him," Ren adds. "That's why he says he's not a cop." They nod to Ryuji all the same. "Yeah. I didn't confirm or deny anything, mind you. I just asked him who he thought was on the team, and he told me."
    
    A copy of Kasumi's sister... and responding dynamically to people's cognitions. Ren touches their chin as they consider this combined suggestion from Ichika and Futaba. "I'd assumed the Ruler must've known Yoshizawa and her sister, but that's a possibility. If that Shadow had an ability to pick up on someone's memories of a loved one and take on their form, then the Ruler wouldn't have to know anything about either of them."
    
    Morgana utters a low, grim hum and looks over at Kasumi. "Good thing we defeated it before it could report back to its 'Master.'"
    
    He smiles as she and Futaba murmur between themselves. They're already getting along! That's great to see. Both of them could use more friends.
    
    Ren glances at Futaba, meanwhile. They can guess what she must be thinking. If it'd been her mom... They're sure she wouldn't want a repeat of that wrathful sphinx from her Palace.
    
    What are the right reasons, though? "Winning a competition," Ren suggests. They're no longer an ice skater and Ryuji's no longer a runner, but that's still where their mind goes first.
    
    They smile as Kasumi looks optimistically on Goro seeing eye to eye with The Phantoms. "Yeah. I hope so."
    
    Ren's smile fades into a serious look as she starts talking about the Palace itself--as well as the cognition/Shadow they all fought. The elevator keycard will be handy later, but... huh. That sounds intense... The last bit surprises them the most, though.
    
    "It's gone?" They take out their own phone to check their Meta-Nav. Sure enough, the listing has vanished. "What in the world...?"
    
    "That's not normal at all," Morgana says. "Did the Ruler notice us after all? But even that shouldn't stop us from being able to get in again!" 

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Ichika nods in satisfaction to Morgana's answer. But Ren does point out that akechi's not a cop, either... Hmm.

Oracle! ichika sees Futaba hugging her legs. She also notices the way that she just quiets down.

"Hey..." But she's bugging Ryuji now, and Ichika... leans on him a little more.

"Oh," Ichika says. "I guess that would make sense too, if he knew them. But it just seemed... Like, it seemed tailor made to get under Yoshizawa-chan's skin. Even more than a usual Cognition, it felt like."

"...But maybe that's because i find that kind of personal, too. My brother, and all."

The right reasons, though... winning a competition. "That sounds nice,' she says.

"...?"

"I don't think that's normal," Ichika says, checking her own phone. "I don't think that's normal at all."

"Do you think we'll be able to get back in? ...I mean, I guess we don't know who the Ruler is so we don't know if we want to change their Heart anyway, but..."

She's uneasy. </poem> 

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.

Ryuji blinks at Futaba's question. "Uh. I guess not being arrested is a good start. I dunno. Finishing 12 bowls of Ramen in a single go?" He isn't really sure how to answer the question.

 "Yeah...I mean I guess if he has you figured out it would be easy to see us all together. Pretty sure he might think Mishima is on the team...But like the guy is scary smart."

 He smiles as Ichika leans into him. "Hmm? Something wrong."

 When Ren mentions winning a competition, Ryuji's smile shrinks a little. If his damn legs would work, stuff would be so much easier. 

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
"He's brutal like that," Futaba says as the Egyptian chorus when Kasumi comments about Akechi not letting up in public. She rests her chin on her knees then, letting her eyes finally search for Morgana... but what Ren says makes her head turn towards them instead.

"Did they think about getting good? If they're getting showed up by some teenager with good hair, they need to put in some effort. Lucky for us it sounds like they're too lazy."

Back to Kasumi. "You're sure it didn't have any way to communicate? If it's a modern hospital... I guess the only way is to find out. And..." Futaba adjusts her glasses. "... It might not be a hospital at all. That's just how it sounds."

"You saved it on the app, right?" Futaba tells Ichika, looking towards her. "... And it deleted your shortcut too?? What kind of Ruler is that?"

AND AS FOR RYUJI, he has some pretty credible ideas. Twelve bowls of ramen. Futaba's head tilts down in a meditative way.

        Yup.
        That's a lot of ramen.

Back up. "...Mishima? Is that somebody's Persona?" 

<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.

    "I dunno if not being arrested is worthy of being famous..." Kasumi repeats aloud. Competition though! "That's more like it." She nods approvingly towards Ren. "Though, I don't really know if there's detective competitions for Akechi-san..."

    Twelve bowels of Raman, huh? Sounds like Tuesday for Kasumi, if it wasn't so high in sodium.

    Kasumi nods in agreement with Ichika. So, there's something about her brother... She'll have to ask about it sometime. "It was freaky, right? And the way it was so mean...

    Which rolls into Futaba's question. "Communicate?" Kasumi shakes her head. "No, the Shadow was definitely talking..." She hesitates for a moment. "It was very direct. Either, trying to get us to leave, or degrading me, specifically... Acting like it knew me. But that was not my sister! She wouldn't be like that...!"

    It's gone. "So, it's not normal..." Kasumi murmurs. "I guess it really is a one of a kind Palace, huh...? I'll try to get back into it occasionally." Kasumi vows. "Maybe this time, I'll figure out who's it is this time!"

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    "That could've been the point of the Shadow. It was trying real hard to get us to leave," Morgana points out to Ichika. "If it latched onto Yoshizawa's memories, that could be why it was so focused on her. ..............possibly."
    
    There it is!! Still, he might be on to something. Kasumi was the only one in the room when she encountered it. Without being able to go back and without any other similar incidents to compare against, though, there's no way to know for sure.
    
    Ryuji suggests Goro thinks Mishima's on the team. "I don't think so," Ren replies. "At least, he didn't mention suspecting him, and I asked him to name everyone. Not impossible he forgot him, though; I didn't ask him about who he thought might help us out on the side, either."
    
    Futaba asks if Mishima is someone's Persona. Ren chokes back a laugh. "No--no, no. He's a classmate of mine and Ann's." As for the police: "Hey, Goro works hard! It's legit a high bar." Beat. "But yeah, the cops suck. Seems like a lot of them are corrupt, too."
    
    Ichika thinks it's nice to end up on TV due to winning a competition. Noticing the dimming of Ryuji's smile, though, Ren replies, "There's other, cooler things to end up on TV over, too. Getting on a game show for couples, for example." (He is sitting next to his girlfriend.)
    
    Morgana frowns as Ichika asks if they can get back in. "I don't know. Like you said, we still don't know whose Palace it is. It could be that the entry's hidden instead of gone... but we can figure that out later, especially if Yoshizawa's going to keep an eye on it. For now, we ought to focus on someone whose heart we know we want to change."
    
    "Like Furudate," Ren says, to which Morgana nods. "We should take a long break for now--it's been one thing after another lately. Yoshizawa needs to join the group chat and introduce herself to everyone too. You're right, though. He's gotten delayed more than long enough."
    
    "We'll explain the deal with him to you later, Yoshizawa," Morgana adds. "In short, he's a crooked land and property owner. Of course, you'll get a chance to weigh in on if you think we ought to change his heart or not, but once you hear the full story, I doubt you'll be against it." 

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

"It's fine," Ichika says to Ryuji. But that's a lot of ramen...

"Yeah, I did," Ichika says then to Futaba. "i saved it and eerything. It's just... gone."

Ichika doesn't know Mishima either. She might've met him once... but he wasn't very memorable. "I guess it was," ichika allows of the Shadow's purpose. "But hey, hey," she says to Kasumi. "I believe you." About her sister.

"Oh, yeah!" Ichika says, picking up on what Ren is doing. "One of those couples' competitions would be super fun," she agrees. But... Morgana gets it. And they should focus on the others...

"Yeah," Ichika agrees eventually. "Like Furudate."

"Well, cool. Guess that's that, for now." 

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
"You can definitely be famous for crime," Futaba assures Kasumi.

She frowns, though. It's a very authentic, brow-wrinkling, lower-lip-creasing frown, as if this new wrinkle, the degradation, has angered Futaba. So she has a little more energy when she says, "Those are cognitive reflections. They're not the real person. It was using your memory. It might have been doing that to hurt you..."

"... which is totally unforgivable!"

BUT NEWS. No, nobody has Yukio Mishima as a Persona. (Futaba saw the literary trend. If it wasn't for her VPN there would probably be an easy to fingerprint web search for everyone's Persona's name at a certain time and date...)

"I got into his office computers and everything, so we can pull the fresh data whenever you want," Futaba continues, to Ren. "It wasn't my best work, but it'll do. Though..."

She turns herself a little. Towards Morgana. "Um..."

Futaba squirms.

"... ... You can infiltrate and drop things off right??" An unusual burst of awkwardness, but it may be nothing more than residual *shame*. "Like, on a work site or something... there's stuff I can do with a wireless access point that I can't over the Internet. Especially if you can get it into some panels." 

<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.

    "I don't think I'd want to be famous for crime..." Kasumi replies to Futaba... Then, a realization is clicked into place. "Oh! Yeah, I guess you can. But I don't think 'famous for not getting arrested' criminals are getting on television shows anytime soon..." She says with a laugh.

    Not quite picking up on Ryuji's thinning smile, Kasumi giggles with Ren. "Like a variety show. There's definitely people famous for stuff like that!" Idols for one, comedians, or detectives.

    "To get under my skin...?" Kasumi wonders. "Well, they clearly miscalculated, considering how angry it made me. What a strange defense mechanism..." She supposes that might be why the entry disappeared.

    Furudate? "You'll have to fill me in later, Senpai." She says with a smile. Ah! Then Morgana gives her the gist. "I see... That sounds awful. I'd be happy to help!"

    "That's that." Kasumi nods. "I'll make sure to let everyone know if I can figure something out. I'm looking forward to fighting with all of you!"

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    "That's called infamy," Ren points out with regards to getting famous for crimes.
    
    Mona perks as Futaba makes a certain suggestion. For all her squirming, he picks up what she's putting down. "Yeah! If you need someone to make a move in the real world for you, you can leave it to me!"
    
    Pause.
    
    "But don't you dare call me your cats-paw!!"
    
    Ren smiles, eyes squinting briefly shut at the exchange. "Do you want to stay here again then, Morgana? Or d'you like it at Yoshizawa's place?"
    
    He pauses at that. Morgana looks between him and Futaba and Kasumi. "Weeeelll... You two have school for most of the day, but Futaba might need me any day, any time... I guess I can stay here again, for her sake!"
    
    "Good to have you back," Ren replies with quiet affection. They look over at Kasumi. "Feel free to come by to visit whenever you like." 

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Infamy! It's probably for the best that Kasumi didn't ask what Ichika meant by fighting 'outside Palaces', incidentally.

"Oh, yeah?" Ichika says. "Good work!" she tells Futaba. Morana might have a job, meanwhile, and...

"Angry's a way of getting under your skin," Ichika cautions Kasumi. "it means you're not thinking straight, either way. You might miss things you'd otherwise recognize--or you might make mistakes."

When they establish where Morgana will stay though... Ichika smiles. "Cool," she says. All is well.

"I could use the break anyway," Ichika says. "I got into the school I was going for: PIC. So..."

"I need to focus on getting ready for that." 

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
"No way," Futaba agrees with haste, about not calling Morgana a cats paw. "You're a special agent. That's obvious." See? Way more flattering. And then...

Morgana gets a look from Futaba which is *almost entirely* hidden by her face mask. But there is a little widening of the cheeks, as if a :I face happened underneath it. "I'm gonna put you through training, if you're gonna be like that."

* Minigame unlocked ??

After that, though, Futaba exhales into her knees. It feels like a cloud was lifted. And the cold seemed to have gone away completely after she'd caught up on sleep. Really, it had just been two really violent sneezes. Maybe she aspirated a dust mote or something and it --

"Is that the one with the observatory??" Futaba asks Ichika, with vigor. "Congratulations! ... Are you seriously going to college though??" Somehow she sounds dismayed by the news, with time to think of it. But... well... 

<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.

    Kasumi giggles. "Infamy it is."

    Kasumi smiles, happy that Morgana is being put to work. "On that note, I've discovered I'm pretty sneaky... If there's ever a time to trail someone, I'd be happy to help.~"

    Ichika comments on how anger can make you sloppy, causing a little "!" to pop over Kasumi's head. "Ah! I was thinking mainly of them trying to get me to leave... You're right, Kawase-san. I'll try to keep my emotions in check in the future."

    Kasumi smiles as Morgana debates the two. (She also does a little "Oh!" once she realizes that Futaba isn't in school either.) "That's fine by me. I'll make sure to come by plenty, Senpai, Morgana.~"

    It takes a second for Kasumi to remember. PIC... "Ah! Congratulations, Kawase-san! That's so exciting!" She beams! It'll be a couple of years still until Kasumi needs to worry about her own university days, but she's intending on Tokyo U so she can stay in the area.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    Special agent Morgana...! It really does sound much cooler! (Futaba learned from Ren choosing "essential party member" over "key item," it seems.) "Accepted!" Morgana declares.
    
    But then Futaba declares anti-tsundere training. "Wh-what? What??? What kind of training?!"
    
    He and she might be play-bickering for a while... But Ichika's got some good advice for Kasumi, so at least the other half of the room is keeping their cool. Similarly, when Kasumi accepts the invite, Ren nods to her, and Morgana looks pleased as well.
    
    "Oh? Congratulations," Ren tells Ichika with a growing smile, meanwhile. "I'm proud of you." Goro got into UTokyo, of course, but that's his news to share--assuming it doesn't end up on the news in a talk show or a magazine article, anyway.
    
    "Then it sounds like a lot of us could use some time focusing on the real world," they add. Makoto, Haru, Tsubasa, Hibari: they've got a lot of third-years in the group. Whatever they're doing in the new school year, they'll also need time to prepare.
    
    The new school year, though, huh... Ren's eyes flick down. Sojiro hasn't gotten back to them yet about what their parents might've said about what's happening with them in the spring. It's still only January, but February's short. March will be here in no time...
    
    They can only hope he smooths things out with them soon. If not, though--they've got money saved up. They can figure something out if they have to. The only way they're going back to Inaba now is if they're chained up and dragged back there. 

The Phantoms / Message: 12/21
Author: Ren Amamiya
(IC) New Members, Next Palace

 Morgana's back on the team. Kasumi Yoshizawa, codename Belle from her probationary period with us just before Kamiya's Palace, has joined us with him. Make sure to welcome them both.

 We're going after Furudate's Palace next; we've gotten delayed on that for too long. We're going to take a break first, though. We're nearing the end of the school year, and I know a lot of you have college and other stuff to get ready for. Tsubasa, since this guy's been your White Whale all this time, we'll start making our move on your signal. When you're ready, let us know.

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