11 Shin's disappointment is immeasurable and his day is ruined

"I have to say, this shop is pretty amazing." said Morgana.

"I know right? All these guns look so real... I don't know what I like best." said Ryuji.

"Do you have any recommendations?" Shin asked the man sitting behind the counter.

The gray-haired man just shrugged his shoulders and said.

"I don't know, just buy whatever looks interesting to you."

"Ugh, some customer service..." complained Ryuji.

"Fine, what do you want? An automatic? A revolver?" he asked, without bothering to look up from his magazine.

"Uh, automatic...? Dude, why are you talking about cars now!?" asked the blond.

The man clicked his tongue.

"Listen, this is an enthusiast shop. My regulars would be mad if I let a casual like you hang around."

"I'm not a freaking casual! I bought shit from here like, last week."

"Huh, can't remember you."

"You bastard." cursed the blond

"And you? Looking for something?" the man said, looking at S]

"A fancy model gun." replied the teen.

"Oh? You a collector? Heh, you're way more interesting than blondie over there."

"Sh-Shut it!" stuttered Ryuji.

"Anyways... You should've said earlier you two are enthusiasts. I'm always up for helping new faces."

The man placed his magazine on the counter, suddenly looking more serious than before.

"Some precautions first though. Don't go around pointing them at other people. Keep them in a bag or something when you're outside. Oh, and don't let the fuzz catch wind of you having them. I don't need them coming around here." he said.

"We'll be careful." said Shin.

"You damn well better be. Now, if you look close, you'll be able to tell these are models. Real guns feel... different. Maybe someday I'll show you the real good stuff though... if you have the guts for it, of course."

The man stood up.

"But for now, you get the beginner selection. Just sit tight, I'll bring them out." he said, going towards the back.

"We did it dude. We totally gotta go for some fancy shit, right? I want them to shine! Oh, and here's the cash for mine. Pick me something good!"

Shin got a shotgun for Ryuji, and the blond was content with his choice.

With the matter of the weapon solved, the two headed their ways. Back at LeBlanc, Shin could see Sojiro was in a sour mood.

"Did something happen?" he asked.

"Nothing concerning you. Anyway, I'm leaving now. Don't cause any trouble." the man said.

Shin just nodded in response and went to his room.

"I think we're just about ready to go to the Palace. We just need to make some infiltration tools. That desk might be useful." said Morgana.

The desk he was talking about was full of books and other stuff and covered with a plastic foil.

"Alright, now what?" asked Shin.

"Well, you'll need to..."

Time passed as Shin kept making lockpicks. With the few ingredients he obtained from defeating Shadows, he managed to make 10 lockpicks.

As it was late when he finished working, Shin did his daily exercises before going to bed.

-INTERMISSION-

On his way to school, Shin saw Kamoshida greeting students at the gate. He just passed by him without saying anything. Kamoshida was annoyed because he was ignored, but he kept on greeting the rest of the students.

During the first class of the day, Ryuji sent a message complaining about that.

Ryuji: So I saw Kamoshida at the gate earlier.

Ryuji: He was just standing there with this shit-eating grin on his face.

Ann: Ugh, that's annoying... He was probably mocking you.

Ryuji: Honestly, seeing that got me even more fired up about this.

Ann: Yeah.

Ann: Honestly, I'm worried about Shiho.

Ann: Since she doesn't have a Persona...

Shin: Don't worry. Since there's 4 of us, the fights are gonna be easier.

Ann: I guess...

Ryuji: The board meeting is on 2nd of May, right?

Ryuji: We just gotta take care of it before then.

Ann: No going in without me, OK?

Ryuji: Yeah, you better let us know if you're going into the Palace.

Shin thought that the earlier they explored the Palace, the more stress-free time he'd get, so he decided to call a meeting.

"But daaamn..." exclaimed Ryuji.

The group was in front of the castle, and Shin, Ryuji and Ann already changed into their Metaverse outfits.

"Hm? What's up?" asked Ann.

"N-Nothing. I was just thinking we should choose a code name for you too." said Ryuji.

"A code name?"

"I'm Skull, he's Joker, and that's Fay." he said, pointing at each as he talked.

"Judging by your costume..." muttered Morgana.

"I mean she's got a tail and stuff, so... What do you think, Shin?" said Ryuji.

"Kitty."

"No!"

"Dominatrix."

"Never!"

"Cat Queen."

"Fay... you're a cat..."

"You know what? I'll just think of a name myself." said Ann.

The girl thought hard for a few seconds.

"Maybe... "Panther"? That sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?" she said.

"Huh? Why?" asked Ryuji.

"Because it sounds more... ferocious?"

"She's a cougar...!" muttered Morgana.

"Don't call me that!" shouted Ann.

"Um, shouldn't we go in the Palace already? We've been standing here for some time..." said Shiho.

"Oh right. Let's go!"

Just when they were about to sneak in the Palace, a blue flash of light illuminated Shin's surroundings. To his right, a blue glowing prison door appeared, and Justine was standing next to it.

"My master would like a word with you."

Shin nodded as he stepped through the blue door. His vision changed as he appeared in his prison cell in the Velvet Room.

"The prisoner Shin Yuuta has returned." said Caroline.

"Well done. It seems you have remembered my words... You truly make it worth rehabilitating you." said Igor.

Shin didn't say anything.

"Are you not curious about you rehabilitation? Well, I'll explain it all in due time. Once you encounter friends who share your aesthetics and discover your place in reality... Only then, will I explain it all. Such a day shouldn't be far off. This time, though, I wish to introduce you to the aid we are providing."

"I see."

"Due to your potential in wielding the power of the wild card, you can handle more than one Persona. That power holds infinite possibilities. We will assist you in nurturing that potential... To that end, we must execute your Persona."

'But I don't want to fuse Arsene...' thought Shin with a frown on his face.

"Do not be alarmed. Personas are personalities that exist within you... Thus, you will only be discarding old personalities to have them reborn as new ones. Think of it as a fusion of your Personas."

Shin nodded in understanding.

"Now, before we begin, allow me to tell you something greatly important. Do you remember how I mentioned forming bonds with others? Personas are the power of the heart... The stronger those bonds, the stronger your Persona will be. In other words, the effect of your bonds on execution... or fusion, if you will, are quite substantial. When you fuse a Persona that shares its Arcana with one of your bonds, it will gain great power." continued the long-nosed man.

"I understand, however, I don't have many Personas, so I'd rather not fuse them." said Shin.

"Very well. Gather Personas and bring them here. Gather a great many, execute them, and continue to give birth to even stronger Personas. Developing your powers in such a way will play an integral role in the stand against ruin."

"So that your rehabilitation goes well, we have a variety of rituals to choose in regards to executions." said Justine.

"And depending on the effort you put in, our master might consider further development of new rituals. Cry your tears of joy, Inmate!" said Caroline.

"Your heart is steadily gaining the strength of rebellion. It seems your rehabilitation is proceeding smoothly, a joyous fact indeed... In anticipation of this, I have prepared a gift for you. I hope that you shall accept it."

'I can feel my bond with Igor get stronger!' thought Shin with amazement.

"That is a thief's skill, allowing one to tap into their sixth sense and see what is hidden in the dark. I believe you can handle it now. May you continue to devote yourself to further rehabilitation."

"Now then, if you have any requests, we will heed them." said Justine.

"So, do I need to go out and obtain Personas every time I want to fuse some? Sounds tedious..." asked Shin.

"If you desire a Persona you had obtained previously, you can summon it from here, for a price."

"I see. Can I see a list with the Personas I can summon now?"

Justine unclipped a page from her clipboard and gave it to Shin. He could see a lot of names with small boxes next to them, all written in several columns. Almost all of the boxes were unticked, except for Arsene and Pixie. He searched closely for the DLC Personas, but he couldn't find them anywhere. When he was about to give up and return the paper to Justine, he noticed a few names written on the other side.

'Considering Kasumi exists here, 'that' Persona should also appear.' he thought, hopefully.

And it was there, indeed! Barely controlling himself from jumping up out of happiness, he pointed the page to Justine and asked.

"Hey, can I summon this one?"

Justine took a quick glance at the Persona he was pointing at and replied.

"You don't meet the requirements for that one."

Shin's smile broke.

"T-Then, what about this one?" and pointed at the Persona just below the one he chose previously.

"No."

"This one?"

"No."

"..."

Each time Justine said "no", Shin could feel his heart ache. Finally reaching the end of the list, he didn't even have to ask, as Justine could understand his intentions.

"You meet the requirements for that one."

Shin's eyes shone with a glimmer of hope.

"So?"

"You don't have enough money." said the warden, bluntly.

Shin silently returned the paper to Justine, who clipped it back in place. He sat one the bed and looked at the ceiling, his eyes unfocused.

"Why do I still exist...? Just to suffer...?" he muttered.

"What was that, Inmate? Heading back already?" asked Caroline.

"Yeah..."

Back in the real world, the rest of the group came up to him, concerned.

"Something wrong? You were just standing around all of a sudden." said Morgana.

To his teammates, he looked like he wasn't moving.

"Why're you spacing out like that? It's kinda hard to tell what you're thinking sometimes." said Ryuji.

"Let's just say he's a man of high caliber. We're counting on you, Joker!" said Morgana.

"So where are we headed now?" asked the blond boy.

"We should head to that safe room we found last time. It's in the first floor of the west building, which is pretty close to our usual entrance. It should be a pretty decent starting point."

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Confidants:

Igor (The Fool) - Rank 2

Morgana (The Magician) - Rank 1

Ann Takamaki (The Lovers) - Rank 1

Ryuji Sakamoto (The Chariot) - Rank 1