𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕖𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕕𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕖𝕦𝕣.

“No way.”

“Only because I was preforming the similar detective feats as him while I was younger. However, I’m relieved that someone else has the title now. Having the media follow you around while trying to gather information and the constant television appearances was rather bothersome.”

Naoto explained her distaste for the title, realizing that she let some of her feelings from Inaba slip into her voice. While her true disgust with the title came from what Izanami did to it, that was a story she couldn’t share with just about anyone. Only those in the Shadow Operatives really knew what happened in Inaba and the rest of Japan just assumes that Naoto was away on some incredibly high profile case. She noticed the trepidation in the other’s voice but made no moves to call the other out on it. She needed the students of Shujin on her side if she has the slimmest chance of finding out who the Phantom Thieves really are. She didn’t look into any of the students files due to knowing how versatile Persona User teams can be.  So far, Naoto couldn’t piece together and common factor that might tie the Phantom Thieves together. The Investigation Team was much easier to figure out, due to the repeated kidnappings and consequently joining of the group. 

Naoto felt her Persona stir in the back of her mind and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She was trying to keep a low profile just in case the Phantom Thieves already had a true navigator in their ranks. She wished that she could ask Rise to help her find them. However, to Naoto’s displeasure Rise revealed that she would have to meet someone from the Phantom Thieves to be able to track them. Rise mentioned something about different groups of Persona Users having different base signals.

“Not bad for being five years rusty Nao.”

‘This is not the time for jokes Yamato. Now settle down until we get home.’

“Pleasure to meet you Amanari-san. Any information you could provide me is essential to my investigation.”

Naoto respected Amanari’s privacy and made no attempts to see what was on the other’s phone. Trust and respect were two sides of the same coin in Naoto’s opinion. She wants the other to be comfortable in these conversations.  

She couldn’t help but let out not a full laugh, but more of a breathy chuckle at Naoto’s comments about the media. There was so much attention being focused on the Phantom Thieves right now, it wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen if they were in the same position as Naoto, or any other publicly known figure. “I suppose it’s easier to focus on your job now that the paparazzi is focused elsewhere,” she agreed, wondering if that was actually helping in the thieves’ favor. Surely with so many television appearances, their ‘greatest rival’ didn’t have as much time to track them down as he would hope.

“Like I said before, if I find anything out, I’ll be sure to let you know before anyone else.” While she was still intent on holding back information - detectives were still detectives in the end, after all - she didn’t see any harm in confiding in her just a bit; she had the same relationship with another journalist, after all, and it didn’t matter if the information being leaked went to her before Ohya. “Was there anything else you wanted to know? Even if it’s not about the Phantom Thieves, if I can do anything to help......”

Futaba vc: surprise that was me! mwhehehe!

Mishima was glad to tell her everything about what he was going to do. It could be quite helpful if things went right. He hadn’t run a site before, so he was still learning but he was excited about it. Hopefully, he could get it all set up and looking like a professional site. 

He pulled out his phone and brought up the site before showing it to her. “I started a fan site for the Phantom Thieves. I’m still trying to get it all set up and there aren’t really that many people that’ve joined, but I know in due time there will be more!” 

People always made fan sites for things they liked and he didn’t see this as any different. In his eyes, the thieves were heroes that needed to be praised. They’d done a lot for him and the volleyball team. It was his way ot trying to return the favor. Support them in any way he could. 

Hikari’s mind came to a screeching halt at the words fan site, and continued to stall as she processed his words. A website? For the phantom thieves? They hadn’t even done- barring Kamoshida, they hadn’t even done anything yet.

“That’s......great.” Her words were measured again, watching her words so as to neither encourage or dissuade him. “But nobody knows who they are, right? It’s just a Shujin thing. Do you really think people are going to be on board with this?”

She wasn’t going to mention their plans- of course, since she wasn’t a Phantom Thief, she wouldn’t have known any plans they may have had to begin with, but hypothetically, if she were, then she wasn’t going to say them. 

Futaba-san, because Soujiro is already Sakura-san, and that would be awkward to refer to them the same in a conversation with them both.

Makoto-san, for the same reasons (referring to Sae as Nijima-san); this one probably happens later, since she doesn’t meet Sae until after Makoto.

Morgana, because he’s Weird (tm)

Anybody who insists multiple times on her calling them by their first name, but she will still use [first name]-san and most likely refuse to use -kun, -chan or any nicknames.

reason 2: art is hard.

Bold what applies to your muse ; Hikari / Joker

Absent-minded | abusive | addict | aggressive | aimless | alcoholic | anxious | arrogant | audacious | bad liar | bigmouth | bigot | blindly obedient | blunt | callous | childish | chronic heroism | clingy | clumsy | cocky | competitive | corrupt | cowardly | cruel | cynical | delinquent | delusional | dependent | depressed | deranged | disloyal | ditzy | egotistical | envious | erratic | fickle | finicky | flaky | frail | fraudulent | guilt complex | gloomy | gluttonous | gossiper | gruff | gullible | hedonistic | humorless | hypochondriac | hypocritical | idealist | idiotic | ignorant | immature | impatient | incompetent | indecisive | insecure | insensitive | lazy | lewd | liar | lustful | manipulative | masochistic | meddlesome | melodramatic | money-loving | moody | naive | nervous | nosy | ornery |  overprotective | overly sensitive | paranoid | passive-aggressive | perfectionist | pessimist | petty | power-hungry | proud | pushover | reckless | reclusive | remorseless | rigorous | sadistic | sarcastic | senile | selfish | self-martyr | shallow | sociopath | sore loser | spineless | spiteful | spoiled | stubborn | tactless | temperamental | timid | tone-deaf | traitorous | nonathletic | ungracious | unlucky | unsophisticated | untrustworthy | vain | withdrawn | workaholic

It was definitely a different and strange situation knowing that there’s the potential that civilians knew of a team of Persona Users. Both S.E.E.S and the Investigation Team flew under the radar of the general student body. Well… the Investigation Team mostly flew under the radar since she ended up drawing suspicious conclusions with their involvement. However, she was a special case as she was actively looking for new leads rather than just as a general thought. To Naoto’s relief it appeared that some of her words eased the other’s tension, even by the smallest of margins.

“Really? Then I’ll continue asking around the next few days. I’d like a variety of opinions on the matter before forming my own opinion.”

The Fortune pulled out a small notebook and pen and wrote down some preliminary notes. She didn’t trust the media as a reliable source of information due to how easy it is to twist the information that’s coming out of it. Now with physical interviews, information that was much harder to twist unless there was bribery or blackmail involved. Though she doubt that would happen at the high school level, especially not this early on in the Phantom Thieves debut. If Naoto’s theories are correct and this is another Shadow related incident then these Phantom Thieves probably don’t have the yen to support any bribery or blackmail to keep people quiet yet. So until proven otherwise, Naoto was going to assume that all the students she talks to are speaking their honest opinions on the matter. 

“Shirogane Naoto, though others might know me as the Original Detective Prince. Here’s my cellphone number, feel free to call or text me if any new information comes up.”

Naoto formally introduced herself with a gentle smile. Though she couldn’t stop herself from letting a bit of irritation slip into her voice when she mentioned the Detective Prince title. Even to this day, that tittle still irritated her and she was more than glad to have someone else with that title. She flipped to a new page and wrote down her cellphone number for the other and handed it over.

“Ah-”

The noise that escaped her mouth was quiet enough, but she was sure that Naoto would have been able to hear it regardless. Detective Prince- the words didn’t have a great connotation to them, and now she was forced to compare Naoto to the title’s current owner. “Like....Akechi Goro-san,” she muttered softly in return, her voice holding just a hint of trepidation that she had failed to hide. It was hard not to see his face plastered on every television in Tokyo, if not the entirety of Japan, and he had already made his stance on the thieves clear. While she hoped that Naoto wasn’t the same, she mistook the irritation in her voice for desire to have the title back, and suspected faintly that Naoto was of the same clean-cut justice that Akechi was. It wasn’t a good thought to have.

It was hard to think about what could have happened if the abuse had never stopped. There had been a moment of time where he had started to think if he would have tried what Shiho did. Watching everyone try to get an ambulance, see how far she had been pushed to her limit. For a second it had seemed like a big possibility and it had scared him. 

But now. Now he was free of that worry. he couldn’t be happier. Things would be going smoothly. He hoped. He didn’t think things would get that bad again. The school would have to be extra careful now. Especially with the media getting wind of the whole thing. It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. 

“Now?” He went quiet a moment as he thought the question over. Nothing much would be going on, right? “Well, with Shiho still recovering, and everyone pretty relieved, I think we’re all going to just take a break. We could keep going and everything and act like we’re getting over it. But I think everyone just wants to put it behind them and focus on other things. I know I do.” 

The joy of playing was pretty much gone. He had lost it while training with Kamoshida. It hadn’t been fun for quite some time now. “I heard about some other teams being brought back so everyone might go to those if anything. I think I’m done with sports teams for the time being.” He then grinned, “I got something better to do!” 

It was relieving, in a sense, to know that they were moving on; after all, it was for the best. Time marches on and all that, and while volleyball might not have been a choice anymore, at least they were able to make choices again. Perhaps that was part of the reason why volleyball was at the back of everybody’s minds; there was freedom in being able to decide for oneself, and nobody would be crazy enough to go back to something they didn’t choose in the first place.

However, his next words caught her attention the most. “Something better?” Rebounding so quickly after everything had happened.....it was as if something had taken a hold of him. While she was sincerely glad that he was no longer the downtrodden person that he had been before, and she had in no way expected him to go back to the court after everything that had happened, she was also a bit subdued by his excitement, directed at some mysterious venture. “What is it? Are you talking about art, or your studies?”