Phantom Show

Trickster

Joker and Haru were busying themselves behind the Leblanc counter, giving Sojiro a well-earned break. Business had been heavy today, and Boss was busting his back trying to give all his customers the best experience they'll ever have. It was almost closing time, and the café had long since emptied, leaving the three workers to clean up for the day. "So, now that you've got Raoul, we all have our true Persona's now, right?" Haru asked as she dried dishes.

"From what I could understand from Morgana's rambling, they're not exactly our true Personas, but at the same time...they, are? I don't know, you'll have to hear the spiel from Morgana himself." Ren said from the back, checking on their stock of beans. "He said that they're awakened by truly accepting who you are and what you've done, but all of our Personas were our true Persona... Again, I don't know, you'll have to ask Morgana."

"Hmm." was Haru's reply, before bringing up another subject. "Hey, you have a lot of friends, right?"

"Yeah, I know some people." Ren said, giving Haru a curious look. "Why?"

"I was wondering..." Haru put a finger up to her chin. "Do you think any of them could've been Phantom Thieves like us, Ren-kun?"

Ren paused, and thought about it hard. "Honestly, I can think of one who could have possibly become one."

"Really? Who?" Haru asked, fully invested in hearing what Ren had to say.

"You know Hifumi Togo? The shogi champ who goes to Kosei High with Yusuke?" Ren asked the girl, both of their jobs completely forgotten about.

"Yes, I've actually been to some of her tournaments! Togo-san is really good." Haru said. "I could never stand a chance against her."

"No kidding." Joker chuckled, remembering the crushing sweeps Hifumi would constantly hammer him with at the church. At least his friend was teaching him, and not just humiliating him with his clear incompetence at shogi. "Anyways, her mother was bribing her competitors to lose so Hifumi would gather popularity, and she could live through Hifumi's fame." Haru sighed looking downcast.

"That's awful... and I understand how it feels. Before my father coerced me into engaging Sugimura, a bunch of suitors were just people hoping to live off Okumura Foods. I want be in love with someone, don't get me wrong, but I don't want my husband to be someone who just... leeches off my father's company."

"Yeah, I can understand that." Joker said. "Maybe try talking with Ann. She does love playing matchmaker."

"I'll do that, thank you Ren-kun. Anyways, back to Togo-san." Haru said. "Sorry for making this about me."

"Relax, no problem. Anyways, this was before you and Futaba joined, but we had changed Hifumi's mom's heart. After it happened, Hifumi somewhat fixed her relationship with her mom. There's still some tension between them, but they're on better terms now." Joker said. Haru nodding along.

"So, you think Hifumi could've become a Phantom Thief then?"

"If she somehow wound up in the Metaverse with us, then, yeah. I think she could've awakened a Persona." Joker speculated, an image of Hifumi ripping a mask off her face floated around his head.

"Anyways, I'm just got a few more dishes to dry before I need to get to the train station." Haru said, picking up the dish towel again. Ren finished taking stock, and called Sojiro back in. The elder man, not realizing how late it was, got Ren to close up shop, and offered to walk Haru home. The two left, and Ren flipped the sign to "Closed" and walked upstairs. Morgana was napping on the edge of his makeshift bed, his tail daintily swaying back and forth. Plopping down on the couch, he gave a relaxed sigh. Suddenly, his phone buzzed. It was Tae.