The Grand Escape.

In the face of imminent danger, the guards momentarily swelled, their forms grotesquely transforming into towering crimson oni, each brandishing a fearsome glaive. As they readied themselves for an assault, a silent glance was exchanged between Ren and Makoto. With a determined rev, Makoto launched her motorcycle towards the closed door of the meeting room.

"Johanna!" she called out. 

The eyes on the front of her motorcycle briefly flared to life, unleashing a torrent of brilliant blue energy. The blast tore through the door, scattering debris across the room. Makoto maneuvered past the debris, striking the lone guard outside with such force that he was sent sprawling to the ground.

Kansehiro's command to capture her echoed futilely in the chaos. 

"Catch her!" he bellowed, but the roar of Johanna's engine drowned out his orders.

"Yes, sir!" Ren answered, a smirk playing on his lips as he darted past the scene, deliberately stepping over the downed guard in his path.

Amidst the chaos inside the bank, Makoto revved Johanna's engine, her determination as clear as the roaring sound echoing through the air. With precision, she weaved through the sea of panicked ATM patrons, skillfully dodging guards who had transformed into menacing figures determined to stop her escape.

As Makoto's intentions became clear, the transformed guards swiftly converged, creating an intimidating barrier. However, before they could secure their formation, a sudden, roaring fireball surged behind them, exploding amidst the guards. Flames enveloped them, their organized ranks dissolving into chaos. 

Even though the exit remained blocked, Makoto seized the opportunity, pushing Johanna to her limits as she charged toward them.

As Ren observed Makoto's actions, his eyes became sharp and focused, realizing she would not be able to cross the blockade even in their disorganized state. Without hesitation, he summoned Jack Frost, one of the personas he had crafted for Caroline and Justine.

As the snowman-looking persona appeared behind him, Ren's eyes glowed a bright yellow as he continued running behind the speeding motorcycle.

"Hee-ho!" the persona's voice chimed, its cheerfulness cutting through the tension. With a grand, sweeping gesture, it summoned forth a path of ice. The path crystallized rapidly, spiraling into a ramp that shimmered with an ethereal blue light in front of Makoto.

Johanna's wheels spun out under the frost-covered floor, yet the momentum was enough to carry her up the makeshift ramp and send her flying over the barricade, just as the ice ramp exploded into shards of ice.

As Makoto hurtled through the air, time itself appeared to pause. Panic and exhilaration mixed in her chest, a silent scream caught in her throat. Then, out of nowhere, a black cat sprang into view, transforming mid-leap into a bus around her. She landed against the cushions with a thud that echoed through her bones, the shock of the transition from free-fall to safety leaving her breathless and disoriented but alive.

"You are all useless!" Ren shouted, feigning anger at the guards blocking the door, all the while suppressing a mischievous grin.

The sudden mayhem had given the rest of the Phantom Thieves just enough time to hop onto Morgana before he quickly began driving away in an escape. Leaving Ren chasing behind them, running right past the confused barricade of guards who didn't try to stop him. 

"I'll take it from here. Inform the boss that I am going to capture the people who escaped. I swear, I even made her fall off her bike, and all you could do was stand there looking like idiots." Ren shouted, making sure to be heard by everyone and, more specifically, by the cameras that Kaneshiro had placed all throughout the entrance of the bank.

He knew from their short interaction in the meeting room that the cameras were also able to record sound, so before he left for the day, he wanted to increase the level of trust that shadow Kaneshiro had in him.

Grabbing onto Jack Frost, the gleeful persona shouted once again before creating a path of ice for both of them to slide down, leaving behind the absolute chaos that had been caused in the bank.

— — —

Once they had safely returned to the real world, Makoto collapsed into Ren, relying on him for support as laughter bubbled up from her. Her body trembled with the lingering rush of adrenaline, yet she was simultaneously overwhelmed by a tide of exhaustion, unlike anything she'd ever experienced.

"It's like you read my mind," Makoto said as she took deep breaths, struggling to regain her composure. The events had unfolded so rapidly that she had instinctively trusted Ren to create a path for her escape.

"I told you, I've got your back," Ren replied, his smile warm as he steadied her. However, she continued to lean slightly on Ren for support.

Ann and Shiho exchanged a curious glance with each other as they noticed their exchange, while Ryuji couldn't contain his amazement.

"Holy shit, dude, that was effin' awesome! Your persona is a freaking bike." Ryuji said with some excitement. "That was something straight out of a movie scene."

Catching her breath, Makoto's smile widened.

"It felt incredible," she admitted. "You all described what awakening feels like to me before, but it's beyond words."

Glancing at his watch, Ren noted the time and suggested.

"How about we regroup at Leblanc? It'll close soon, so we'll have the place to ourselves. Plus, it would be suspicious if anyone saw us here."

With agreement from the group, they boarded the train to Leblanc, settling into the comfort of their routine. Cooking had become a familiar role for Ren during their meetings, so he swiftly prepared a meal for everyone, the aroma filling the cozy space.

As they gathered around the table, Makoto eagerly savored the food, her energy revitalized by the meal and the coffee's warm embrace. A content sigh escaped her lips as she finished the food on her plate.

After settling into the quiet ambiance of the hideout, Makoto broke the silence, her voice carrying a mix of reflection and resolve.

"Honestly, I didn't expect him to bring up my sister. But I guess that was the final push I needed." she confessed, her words laden with newfound determination.

Ann leaned in, her curiosity piqued by the mention of Makoto's sister.

"You don't talk much about her. You guys are close, aren't you?"

Makoto shifted uncomfortably at the question before answering.

"Kind of… Though I have been more of a burden to her lately. But after awakening Johanna, I realized something. I have always been trying to get her approval by following her orders, but now I'm entirely sure this is the best way for me to make a difference." Makoto said, earning a few smiles from the group.

Ryuji, scratching his head, interjected with a mix of concern and curiosity.

"And... what about her Palace? It's kinda awkward, I get it, 'cause she's your sis and all. But, don't you think we also gotta keep it in mind?"

Ren stepped in, his voice calm and reassuring.

"We can focus on that after we complete our current mission," he said, earning a nod from Makoto. "If I am being honest, I'd like to get closer to her to try to change her distortion without diving into her Palace. Even if that doesn't fully work, it should make the infiltration easier since her distortion would be weaker."

It was something similar to what he was trying to do with Futaba. Thanks to what he had heard from Sojiro and from the time he had spent talking to her, he had a pretty clear idea as to what her distortion was. 

Right now, he was trying to gently nudge her in the right direction. Since he could tell that her mind was a bit unstable, he was trying to pace it so that she wouldn't become overwhelmed. He wasn't entirely sure if it would work, but he felt it was worth trying.

He felt a connection with her from the time he had spent with her, and she also reminded him of someone important to him, so he wanted to protect her. Diving into her mind and seeing all of her deepest secrets would feel wrong unless it was entirely necessary.

Hearing Ren's concern, Makoto smiled as she said.

"Yeah… getting closer to my sister is probably going to be pretty hard. The only people she really spends time with are the SIU director and Goro Akechi, the detective prince." Her smile faded slightly as she added. 

"Even I don't get to spend that much time actually talking to her. The longest time we have talked lately was when she caught you in our house."

Her words raised a few eyebrows, but Ren's attention was brought to the mention of the detective prince.

"I've heard about him in the news. But how did he end up getting to work with your sister?" Ren asked with some curiosity.

 "About a year ago, he single-handedly untangled several high-profile scandals, capturing the attention of the top brass in the detective world. Eventually, the director of SIU himself asked him to take a part-time position working directly under him… Huh…" she explained, her voice trailing off as an idea sparked. Retrieving her phone, she quickly navigated to the MetaNav app, searching for Akechi.

Seeing her actions, the group realized what she was thinking before looking at the results with expectation.

[No results found]

 "Nothing," she sighed, setting her phone aside. "Anyways, I think the only real way to catch my sister's attention would be to work with her. And since you have a criminal record, that will be pretty hard to do. However, I will try to talk to her whenever she stops by the house."

Hearing their conversation, Shiho asked.

"Wait, wasn't there another detective prince? I remember hearing in the news that they were coming to Tokyo. There was a whole scandal about which detective prince was better."

Ann perked up as she added.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I remember hearing that. The legendary return of the detective prince who hasn't been seen for a long time. Weren't they coming to Tokyo to investigate the mental shutdown case? I remember because they made a whole deal about the Kirijo group supporting them in their investigation."

Noticing that the group was starting to get off track, Morgana cleared his throat before speaking up.

"We should probably focus on the mission again. We are running out of time before everyone has to head home for the day." he said, earning a round of nods from the group.

"Today's mission was a success. We finally have a way into the Palace, but that only marks the very beginning of our mission. Now that we have the bare minimum, we can start the actual infiltration. But best of all, Ren here can walk in there without drawing attention…"