The New Thief.

With the newest member on board, the Phantom Thieves decided it was time to dive into Mementos for some 'real-world' practice with her Persona. They had accumulated a backlog of requests on their website, and with school out for the day, it presented the perfect opportunity to change as many hearts as possible, boosting their notoriety across Japan ahead of their next big announcement.

However, since Futaba hadn't formally met the rest of the Thieves, Ren arranged a meeting at Leblanc for proper introductions. Despite her excitement, Futaba felt a twinge of nervousness; she hadn't interacted much with anyone other than Sojiro and Ren since her mother's death.

"Don't worry about it. Just be yourself, and everything will be fine. Trust me, you might even end up liking some of them more than you like me," Ren reassured her with an encouraging smile, to which she responded with a skeptical look.

Not long after their conversation, Ann climbed the stairs to Ren's room, her face lighting up with a bright smile.

"Hey! It's nice to finally meet you in person!" Ann exclaimed, stepping forward to greet Futaba, who instinctively took a step back to maintain some distance.

"The first member of the royal harem, huh? Nice to meet ya," Futaba remarked with a slight bow, quickly diverting her attention to the crafting tools in Ren's room to avoid eye contact.

Hearing her, Ann froze. She turned to Ren, but seeing he, too, had a baffled expression, she decided to just laugh it off.

"Eh—sure, but I prefer Ann, okay?" Ann replied with a chuckle, to which Futaba nodded in acknowledgment.

After sitting next to Ren, Ann attempted to engage Futaba in conversation, receiving only brief replies as Futaba began fidgeting with some of Ren's crafting tools.

Ryuji was the next to arrive, greeting Futaba with an enthusiastic wave and a friendly smile. However, he was also met with an unusual title.

"Nice to meet ya, for real guy."

As the rest of the group filed in one by one, each was bestowed with their own unique title by Futaba. It became apparent to everyone that Futaba was far more reserved in person than she was over text, leading them to give her space and time to adjust.

The last to make an entrance was Mona, who leaped through the window with a smug grin. 

"I have successfully scouted both of the Palaces. And you won't believe what I—" he started, only to be interrupted as Futaba scooped him up, clearly delighted by the cat's sudden appearance.

"Speak to me, cat." 

"Meow?" Mona responded, puzzled. Just as Futaba was about to probe further, Makoto interjected.

"Futaba, to understand him in the real world, you need to hear him in Mementos first. We're planning to go there shortly, so you'll just have to be a little patient."

"'Kay," Futaba muttered, setting Mona down with a hint of disappointment before walking over to Ren's bed and sitting down, facing the wall.

"Uh- ya ok?" Ryuji asked with some concern.

"She's just adjusting to all the new faces," Ren explained. "Give her some time to warm up to everyone."

Inspired by the situation, Makoto suggested.

"Maybe we should plan some activities for Futaba to get to know us better. We could each spend a few hours with her, individually."

"No need. I already know all that I need from you guys," Futaba said, turning slightly to look at the group. As she saw Ren's encouraging expression, she let out a sigh. "I—okay... but I need my emotional support human."

The group's gaze shifted to Ren, who simply shrugged in response.

"Sounds like a plan," Makoto said, smiling slightly as she tried to refocus the group. "Ren mentioned your Persona works differently than ours. Would you mind explaining it?"

Futaba continued to stare at the wall as she spoke. 

"With Necronomicon, I can view the cognitive world as if it's a program or a game. It's strange because the collective unconscious almost acts like a firewall. It can be hacked, but it's not easy."

"That's fascinating... and your awakening? Ren didn't mention how it happened," Makoto asked further.

"Secret," Futaba replied curtly.

Makoto's curiosity piqued further, but before she could ask another question, Shiho jumped in.

"What about your hacking skills? The billboard hack you pulled off was incredible."

"Nunya business." 

The group exchanged a series of curious and somewhat amused glances before Ann chimed in.

"So, how did you meet Ren?"

"Snowman," Futaba answered cryptically, prompting everyone except Ren to let out a collective sigh of resignation.

"Alright, maybe we save the questions for later," Ren chuckled as he stood up. "Let's head to Mementos and see what she can really do."

— — —

As the Phantom Thieves entered the collective unconscious, they were greeted not by the usual somber ambiance but by an entrance lavishly adorned with ethereal flowers. Each petal emitted a soft glow, distinguishing them starkly from ordinary blooms.

"Woah, what happened here?" Ann exclaimed, her voice tinged with surprise.

"We gave some flower seeds to Jose, but it wasn't quite this full when we last left." Ren remarked, his curiosity piqued as he walked towards the flowers alongside Mona and Makoto.

"For real, I have no idea how that little kid made so many grow. I don't even think we gave him that many seeds," Ryuji added, his voice filled with astonishment."

As the group began to wander, Shiho noticed something and spoke up.

"Hey, Ren, there are a bunch of that flower you like around." she noted, gesturing towards scattered clusters of the glowing blooms.

Ren knelt beside a cluster, reaching out tentatively. The flowers reacted as if sentient, swaying toward his hand as though seeking his touch.

Looking closer at the flowers, he could briefly catch a glance at some faint images passing by each of the petals.

"The collective unconscious…" he murmured in awe, observing the flowers' behavior.

As he plucked one of the flowers, it lost some of its ethereal glow and the constant flicker of images, yet holding it gave him an inexplicable sense of connection.

"They feel…" Ren began, his voice trailing off.

"Familiar," Mona completed his thought, the two exchanging puzzled looks.

Ren turned to Makoto, who appeared even more confused. 

"I don't feel anything, though they definitely don't look like normal flowers. That's about all I can say," Makoto admitted.

"Can you not see the images?" Mona asked, a hint of confusion in his voice. Makoto simply shook her head in response.

Ren continued to study the flower in his hand, his thoughts drifting to the enigmatic Jose who had planted them. In a moment of curiosity, he tentatively tried to eat the flower.

"Dude?" Ryuji couldn't hide his bemusement, laughing as Ren quickly spat out the petals with a grimace.

"I'll have to ask Jose how he does it next time we see him," Ren concluded, standing up and turning his attention to Futaba, who was also examining the flowers closely.

After being unable to see much out of the ordinary with her own eyes, she summoned her persona. After being brought to the ship, some of the tentacles also reached down to carefully pluck a few flowers.

[It's incredible. These flowers are technically a part of Mementos now. Unless they are plucked, these flowers feed themselves off the collective unconscious. But it doesn't seem to be hurting it at all. If anything, it is making Mementos stronger.] she explained, her voice tinged with fascination.

Futaba began to ramble on for a few moments, causing Makoto to chuckle slightly as she turned to Ren.

"She sure is talkative when she finds something interesting, huh?" She said in a whisper with a smile.

After a few more minutes of fruitless analysis, the group decided to shift their focus back to the primary reason for their visit, which was to complete requests and discuss what Mona had discovered.

"Alright, both of the palaces have quite high-security measures," Mona began confidently. "Okumura's palace, however, is the more secure of the two. Since it requires both passwords and security cards to navigate, I wasn't able to get far at all without drawing attention."

"It makes sense. Since he is so familiar with the black mask, that must also mean that he is subconsciously trying to protect his palace from intruders." Makoto said with a nod.

"That's right!" Mona said with a smile. "I think that Madarame must not be too familiar with what is happening in the background because his security system is quite flawed. It resembles the ones a museum would have, but it has a lot of openings. It's even less secure than Kaneshiro's Bank."

As Mona's smile widened further, he added.

"Plus, that's not the only thing I found out." Jumping into the air, he transformed into a helicopter. "I can also do this now, which means our plan worked. I do need a pilot to fly, but that means we will be able to take flight in the metaverse if we need to in the future."

Nodding his head along, Ren added.

"That also means that chests have also appeared in the Metaverse, which brings us to our mission for today. We can make our way down the floors and fight as many targets as we can. I think we should split into teams of two at random, and after every few floors, we should swap teammates. This way, we will be better at working together if we ever get separated. As we get down to the more dangerous floors, we can regroup and go down together."

"Also, don't forget not to linger too long on one floor. As long as we keep moving, we should be safe from the Reaper. If you hear chains and get a bad vibe, effin' run," Ryuji added, the memory of their previous encounter still vivid in his mind.

"Wait, if we split into groups of two, then that leaves an extra person, right? I'm assuming Futaba would go with already made groups so that she can get some expirience, no?" Ann said.

[I'm going with Ren.] Futaba stated firmly, prompting a light-hearted chuckle from the group.

[Actually, I think I can offer all of you support as long as we stay on the same floor. When I use my persona, it's like I'm playing a game. I have a radar I can use to track enemies and allies. Give me some time to get used to it, and I bet I can take on the role of a navigator for the group.]

Ren smiled slightly, nodding in agreement but with a condition

"You can come with me for the first few floors, but after that, you need to get along with the rest of the team. Do you remember what I told you?"

Futaba paused, her enthusiasm tempering slightly with hesitation.

[.... Fine.] she agreed, albeit reluctantly.

— — —

Futaba proved to be an exceptionally adept navigator. Not only could she pinpoint the location of their targets, but she also managed to keep track of the entire team simultaneously, even if one group moved to another floor or someone got left behind. However, one floor apart was as far as she could keep watch for now.

She could also help to analyze the affinities of their enemies, which was quite helpful since it was hard to keep track of what shadow was weak to what when facing hundreds of different ones.

With her help, they quickly found their way to their targets, one after the other, and began to take them down. Most of the distortions in the targets near the top were relatively weak, but even though they wouldn't do much in terms of training, they would gain influence.

As they began to make their way down, Ren also noticed a strange thing. The shadows that roamed mementos were looking at him differently than before. Where once they would either flee or attack the moment they saw him, they would now hesitate slightly. It wasn't a significant change, but it was enough to catch his attention.

The top layer of mementos was also, just like the entrance, covered in flowers. However, other than the change in ambiance, it didn't seem to have much effect, as far as they could tell.

Progressing floor by floor, the group delved deeper, even passing several doors adorned with strange engravings. Where their initial journeys into the depths of Mementos once felt oppressive, the pressure now felt almost negligible. Although the deeper they went, the more the pressure increased, it was far more manageable than before and did little to hinder their combat capabilities.

After several rotations among the team members, Futaba eventually left Ren's side to oversee Makoto and Mona, pairing Shiho with Ren.

As the two of them continued to descend into the depths, Ren couldn't help but smile.

"Damn, what would I do without you," he remarked with a light chuckle, catching Shiho by surprise.

"Huh?"

"I've noticed it every time we fight in the Metaverse, but when you're watching our backs, everything seems easier. You heal us the moment we take a hit, confuse our enemies, and manage our buffs and debuffs. You're like our guardian angel," Ren expressed, his words drawing a gentle smile from Shiho.

Shiho, not missing a beat, added with pride.

"Don't forget those sniper shots. I've gotten quite good at it, and sometimes one of you will leave your back open." she said with a chuckle.

As they began talking, the two of them slowed down to give themselves more time to talk, only stopping to fight the occasional shadow or target along the way. The conversation flowed easily between them, interspersed with laughter, until a mischievous smile spread across Ren's face.

"You know, there's something I've been curious about… About that conversation you had with Circe," he teased.

At his words, a blush tinted Shiho's cheeks, and she let out a few awkward coughs.

"Conversation? What conversation?" she asked, acting aloof before giggling slightly and acting dramatically. "Alright, alright, you caught me. I was wondering when you were going to bring it up. But there is no better place for a romantic conversation than the physical manifestation of human consciousness. Gloomy, creepy, and slightly dangerous."

Ren couldn't help but laugh at her dramatic tone, though he had to acknowledge her words. Reaching down, he plucked one of the flowers, and handed it to Shiho.

"Gloomy? Have you seen the scenery? It's a lovely place." Ren commented, causing Shiho to roll her eyes with a smile as she accepted the flower. "Though you are right, even with our lovely scenery, there is another place I have been meaning to go. That is, if you'll join me."

"Hm… I don't know… I'll have to check my schedule," Shiho teased back in a playful tone. "But since you insist, I guess I'll have to accept."

Then, as if remembering something, a smile appeared on Shiho's face when she asked.

"What kind of painting do you think Kitagawa wants to make of you? My bets are on a nude painting," she joked, nudging Ren with her elbow.

Rolling his eyes, Ren said.

"Yeah, right. I'm assuming it's probably going to be abstract art or something like that. I'd honestly be surprised if he actually ended up painting me. But I guess we will find out soon enough."

[God, can the two of you stop flirting and get down to the next floor? We are waiting for you. We found a chest.] Ren heard Futaba's voice echo in his head with some annoyance.

"Ah, we are in trouble. We better go." Ren said with a chuckle as the two of them picked up their pace.

Not long afterward, they rejoined the group, who were gathered around a golden chest adorned with strange engravings that no one could decipher.

Approaching the chest, Ren tried to open it, and after a bit of effort, it burst open, revealing a strange assortment of items: a dagger, a pair of brass knuckles, a shotgun, some bundles of cash, some strange cards, and lastly, a unique-looking grappling hook.

The weapons all looked slightly different than normal ones, but they each had a strange air around them that made them feel strong. 

The cards had strange engravings that Ren could somehow understand as skills the shadows and personas used. So he could only assume they were either a one-time use weapon or a way to teach his personas other skills without using fusion.

The grappling hook, designed like a wrist bracer with slots for tools such as smoke bombs, was particularly intriguing. Although Ren could manage short flights using his personas, the hook would enhance his mobility, allowing for greater agility and the ability to retrieve distant items.

Upon attaching the grappling hook to his arm, Ren experienced an unexpected transformation. The device burst into ethereal flames and seamlessly integrated with his outfit. Even as he tried to pull it off, it looked as if it was permanently stuck to him.

"Damn, dude, this thing looks effin' cool! We gotta keep looking for chests so I can score a new weapon or another grappling hook like that," Ryuji exclaimed, eyeing the shotgun with interest. He aimed it at a wall and pulled the trigger.

A thunderous roar echoed as electricity surged along with the bullets, slamming into the wall with a resounding crash.

"Indeed, these brass knuckles are extraordinary," Makoto added, testing the feel of her new weapon with a few swift punches. "I can't fully explain it, but it feels like there's an additional force behind my punches."

Intrigued by the unexpected properties of their new equipment, the group spent some time examining the other items. Each piece seemed to be unique. So, with a renewed sense of curiosity, the group continued venturing down into Mementos to try to find some more chests.