#((another backdated entry technically))

[shapeshifting-wildcard]

The atmosphere of Leblanc was tense. Ryuji, Makoto, Ann, and Haru all occupied one booth, with Futaba draping herself over the back of the seat behind the former two from the next booth over. Jou and Yusuke leaned against the seats, Jou with his hands in his pockets, Yusuke with his hands held in front of him. They had commandeered a seat from the counter and pulled up next to Jou, where Morgana sat. Kotone commandeered another seat at the counter, turning it around to face the star of today's show: one Goro Akechi, leaning against the counter in the now freed up space. Akechi was the only one who seemed even remotely relaxed, maybe even amused by the wary stares he was getting from the assembled Thieves.

"The police are more than willing to turn a blind eye to fabricated evidence, as long as it leads to an arrest. They're more concerned with bringing things to a conclusion than they are in uncovering the truth."

"The entire police force can't be that corrupt, right?" Kotone piped up. "I mean... I know where I live there was that one officer who helped us out by selling us weapons to fight Shadows."

Silence fell, all eyes turned to Kotone. There was a lot to unpack there.

"That's—" Akechi and Makoto exchanged a glance before Akechi gestured for Makoto to go ahead.

"That's blatantly illegal, though," Makoto pointed out.

"Well, what was he supposed to do? Let us just use random weapons off the street?" Kotone retorted, folding her arms over her chest defensively.

"That's beside the point—wait, do you mean to say this person knew about the Shadows?" Akechi frowned towards her.

"He knew about them," Kotone admitted, "but he didn't have access to a Persona, so this was the best he could do."

"I'm... not sure that makes his actions better." Makoto sighed and shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"Kotone's weirdness aside," Futaba said, drawing a pointed glare from the girl in question, "do you really think this is going to change anything about the investigation?"

"Sae is the one spearheading it," Akechi noted. "Even if we can't get her to call it off entirely, we might slow the investigation down, or redirect its course towards the true culprit."

"Is that your true objective?" Makoto asked pointedly. Akechi either didn't pick up on her tone or chose not to acknowledge it.

"Of course. I assume that's the case for all of you too."

"Makoto, what's your take on all this?" Ryuji asked.

"Yeah," Kotone said, giving Makoto a worried frown, "this is your sister we're talking about."

Makoto sat back in her seat, folding her arms over her chest and glaring at the table in front of her. "I'll be honest, I've known about my sister's Palace for a while. And I'd been meaning to bring her up again as a potential future target, but I never expected..."

"Are you in, then?" Akechi asked.

Makoto hesitated, her grimace deepening. Jou wouldn't be surprised if she resented the fact that Akechi was the one finally helping her realize her original goal.

"Why are you willing to do all this, Akechi-kun?" Haru chimed in. "Why do you seek justice?"

Akechi grimaced as he averted his gaze.

"Because of sickening human beings. Yes, my contempt for such people drives my sense of justice." He waved a hand dismissively as he spoke. "It isn't some grand reason like society's sake or some lofty ideal. It's simply an absurd grudge... and extremely personal."

Silence fell over the group again as his words sank in. Jou's gaze wandered towards Ann, who looked contemplative. When she noticed him looking at her, she spoke up.

"You know, doesn't he remind you of us? Like how some disgusting adult pissed him off."

Jou nodded. Akechi blinked, looking surprised.

"We're similar, hm? Maybe that's why I thought I could ask this of you all." Akechi stood up, turning his attention to Jou. "Won't you cooperate with me on the mission to change Sae-san's heart?"

Jou looked over his Thieves, who each showed their (somewhat begrudging) approval with a nod. When he turned his attention to Kotone, though, he realized her focus was elsewhere. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, and she had that same... contemplative expression on her face. Jou frowned and slipped out his phone, typing a quick message before holding it in front of her.

"Something on your mind?"

Kotone jumped and blinked at the phone as she processed the message. She lifted her head, fixing him with a sheepish grin and a self-conscious chuckle.

"Oh, uh, it's... it's nothing, don't mind me."

"Are you sure?" Ann asked. Jou glanced towards her, picking up on her doubtful tone. She and Haru wore similar expressions of doubt and concern for their friend.

"If you have any reservations about this plan, best to voice them now while we can still address them," Yusuke said.

"It has nothing to do with the plan." Kotone absentmindedly brushed some hair behind her ear as her gaze wandered towards the floor again. "There's... something else on my mind."

"Is it related to the situation at hand?" Akechi asked.

"No, not really. It's fine, really! The plan sounds solid enough to me."

"What, no insights from your own vast experience?" Futaba chimed in.

Akechi raised an eyebrow, glancing from Futaba to Kotone as Makoto joined in. "Yes, that's a good point. You've been handling Shadows for longer than any of the rest of us have. Can you think of any potential complications?"

The color drained from Kotone's face at those words. Softly, barely loud enough for Jou to hear, she murmured, "Oh shit, I'm the senpai here."

She regained her composure quickly, sitting back and folding her arms over her chest. She shut her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, her entire demeanor seemed to change instantly. Her gaze was sharper, more focused. Her posture was straighter. She looked like a leader addressing her comrades.

"I'm not as experienced in dealing with the Metaverse as all of you are," she explained. "So in that respect, I'm afraid I can't provide much more insight."

"Aw man, really?" Ryuji groaned. "What use are you, then?"

She crossed her legs, tapping one arm with her finger as she thought. "Let's go over what we know so far. First, there is a third party active in the Metaverse, whose exact goals we do not know for sure at this point in time. But we know that they run counter to our own goals, enough to cause a conflict. Second, there is a police investigation intent on securing our arrest, spearheaded by Akechi's proposed target, Niijima Sae. We have reason to believe the police are corrupt enough to accept even blatantly doctored evidence, and that Niijima-san is willing to go that far. In the long term, if we don't change her heart, the potential repercussions are... not good."

"Huh?" Ann looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"If she's willing to doctor evidence to secure an arrest, even a conviction," Kotone explained, "then she'll do it again. And she'll undoubtedly keep doing it."

"Are you implying my sister's corrupt?" Makoto snapped, sounding defensive.

"That Palace had to come from somewhere," Kotone replied, calmly meeting Makoto's gaze. It was chilling how composed Kotone was. "If she isn't now, then she's well on her way."

"So you're interested in making sure that future justice is served," Akechi commented, glancing at her as he leaned against the counter.

Kotone waved a hand dismissively. "I'm interested in reducing the amount of harm she can cause to others. Whether that's 'justice' is besides the point."

"Geez," Ann said, leaning back in her seat with a wince, "you make it sound like she's some sort of monster."

"You make it sound like she's the same as the other adults we've faced," Makoto said, tone sharp and glaring daggers at Kotone.

Kotone paused and blinked as if something just occurred to her. She glanced away again. "Ah... Sorry. I guess for a moment I started thinking of her like the Shadows I used to face."

"What kinda Shadows were you tanglin' with?" Ryuji quipped.

Futaba sat up and raised a hand. "Are you talking about those 'big Shadows' you mentioned a while back?"

Kotone nodded.

"Big... Shadows? How're those different from normal Shadows?"

"They were fragments of a larger Shadow. They didn't really have any goal other than getting back together. But they could do a lot of damage if left alone, so we dealt with them."

"So, you're thinking of her in terms of a Shadow that's threatening people, rather than a person who's threatening people," Morgana chimed in. Kotone nodded.

"At the moment, I'd say there isn't a functional difference between the two," Yusuke noted. "Just like those large Shadows, if we don't do something she will cause untold damage to our lives as well as the lives of countless others."

"So we're agreed, then?" Jou spoke up, gaze sweeping over all of his Thieves. There were murmurs and nods of agreement. Turning his attention back to Akechi, he gave the boy a nod. "Then it's settled. We'll cooperate with you for now, detective."

"I'm happy to hear that," Akechi replied, smiling back. Jou was almost certain Futaba was rolling her eyes behind him. "I do have one more question, however." Akechi turned his attention to Kotone. "You have experience fighting Shadows, but not with the Metaverse. Would I be correct in assuming there was a different catalyst for your awakening than ours?"

Kotone's eyes widened before she averted her gaze. Her hands moved to rest on her lap. "You would be."

"Mind if I ask what that was?"

A few Thieves shot glares in Akechi's direction. It was maybe a bit too prying a question, Jou had to admit. But he was also a little curious about Kotone's history as well.

She made a little noise, picking at her skirt absentmindedly for a moment. "...It wasn't like any of yours. I wasn't pushed to my breaking point by a terrible adult. It was just... me, the first big Shadow, and a girl I'd only met a couple days before. And an object that looked for all the world like a gun."

"Did you shoot a Shadow?" Futaba blurted out. Kotone laughed.

"No, but that probably would have been the smarter thing to try!" That got a few strange looks from the Thieves. "Just know that that 'gun'—which I later found out was an Evoker—was what allowed me to summon my Persona. Back then, my friends and I didn't use masks. Hell, we didn't even know that Personas and Shadows were the same thing."

"Wait, you didn't?"

"I wasn't really concerned with stuff like 'justice' or 'doing the right thing.' There was a girl in danger, and I didn't want her to die. That's all I thought about."

In the back of Jou's mind, he could feel Isis shifting awkwardly. I'm the girl she was protecting. It was my job to protect her, but...

"It doesn't sound too drastically different from the rest of ours, at least," Makoto commented. "Even if you weren't rebelling against a terrible adult, it still sounds like you were backed into a corner and forced to fight back."

"I guess that's true, huh," Kotone said.

"Actually, she sounds like Akechi," Ryuji pointed out. "That whole 'I don't wanna die here' thing, I mean."

That's not what she said, Isis pointed out. A chill went down Jou's spine at the implication, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Survival rather than seeking justice or vengeance, huh?" Akechi mused.

"Someone else on my team was in it for vengeance," Kotone said, before getting a look on her face that said she did not mean to blurt that out. "Th-That's another story, though! And not mine to tell, anyway, so let's just forget it."

"Man, you sure have a hard time keeping your mouth shut sometimes, huh?" Futaba quipped. Kotone huffed and folded her arms.

"I-It's been a long day!"

"Uh-huh, right."