24 The Shadows in Shibuya.

The following day, once classes were dismissed, the Phantom Thieves trailed behind Ryuji, navigating the bustling streets of Shibuya. Their destination was the Protein Lovers Gym, a cozy establishment that, despite its modest size, seemed tailor-made for their group's needs.

Ryuji had clearly dedicated a good chunk of time to crafting a training regimen, meticulously planning each exercise and timing everything down to the last detail. His preparation even included distributing protein drinks to everyone before diving into the workout routine.

Shiho turned out to be the most resilient of the group. She had been used to tortuous training sessions with Kamoshida, so now that she was following a proper routine for her level, she could outpace everyone. 

Between sets, Shiho would take some time to motivate Ann, who was next to her. Maybe it was only thanks to Shiho's encouragement that Ann could push through her limits because, since the moment they had started, she had been the least enthusiastic member. After all, this was Ann's first visit to the gym.

Ryuji, on the other hand, was lagging behind slightly. Every so often, he'd pause to massage his leg, his face filled with discomfort.

"Are you ok?" Ren asked as he saw the pained expression on his face.

Yeah, I'm good. Just dealing with some leftovers from when I broke my leg. Haven't really pushed it this hard since the cast came off, so it's acting up," Ryuji admitted, trying to brush off the pain.

Ren, puzzled, questioned. 

"Doesn't healing with Personas help? It healed the beating I took from Kamoshida. I thought it might work for injuries like yours, too."

"Huh…I hadn't even thought about that. But I guess it didn't." Ryuji looked taken aback by the suggestion as he answered. 

Thinking momentarily, Ren placed an idea in the back of his head before saying.

"In that case, you should ease back into it. If you push it too hard, then you're going to end up making it worse."

Ryuji exhaled a mix of frustration and acceptance, nodding in agreement. 

"Yeah, I know…" He admitted, his voice tinged with disappointment.

As Ryuji stood and stretched, trying to shake off the discomfort, he couldn't help but say.

"You know, I used to be one of the best people on the track team until Kamoshida showed up. Now, struggling to keep up just makes me feel... useless."

After tossing a towel to Ryuji so that he could wipe off the sweat, Ren answered with a nostalgic smile.

"I know how that feels, though I don't have it as bad as you. Believe it or not, I actually used to be pretty athletic. Now, Shiho is kicking my ass on stuff I used to be pretty good at." Ren said as he looked at Shiho with a smile, who was spotting Ann as she finished one of her exercises

Ryuji only let out a chuckle as he saw Shiho immediately run over to her next exercise as Ann rested.

"Dude, she's kicking all of our asses. If we wanna catch up with her, we are going to have to step it up. Come on, no more slacking. I'll take it easy on the leg for now, but that doesn't mean I can't push the rest of my body." Ryuji said as the two of them walked back to continue working out.

As their workout session finally came to a close, all of them were drenched in sweat. They took some time to freshen up in the gym's bathroom, before leaving the gym and taking in a breath of fresh air. 

Ann stretched out before letting out a satisfied sigh.

"You know, I'm pretty beat, but I actually feel pretty good."

Shiho, with a light giggle, added.

"Just wait till tomorrow," as she mirrored Ann's stretches

Ryuji let out a knowing grin as he heard Shiho before he said.

"Well, since we are already here, we might as well pick up some food. We are gonna need the fuel if we want to build some muscle. I know a pretty good ramen place nearby. Come on, this round is on me." Ryuji suggested as he began walking with a wide smile on his face.

As they walked through the streets of Shibuya, Ren couldn't help but notice a familiar man approaching a kid wearing a Shujin uniform. It was the guy he had met in Shinjuku when he went to learn about the Tarot.

"In broad daylight?" Ren asked out loud, earning a few curious looks from the group. Who turned to stare at the guy who was talking to a nervous-looking boy.

"What's going on over there?" Ann asked, her curiosity piqued by the odd interaction.

"He is trying to use that kid as a drug mule," Ren's eyes narrowed as he observed the scene. "But to be doing this here in Shibuya, and during the day too… They wouldn't do that unless they controlled this entire place."

The rest of the group exchanged a few worried looks before Ryuji started walking toward the guy with an angry expression on his face. As he saw him, Ren let out a sigh before walking behind Ryuji, his expression becoming serious.

Before Ryuji could open his mouth to shout at the guy, he felt a firm grip pull him back before Ren walked in front of him.

"Yo." Ren said with a disarmingly friendly tone, catching the man off guard. This caused the student to scramble away as he thought he was in trouble.

Turning around, the guy had a slightly annoyed expression before his eyes landed on Ren.

"Ah, I remember you. Did you change your mind? The offer still stands." he said as he looked behind Ren to Ryuji. "You even brought your friend with you. I knew I wasnt wrong when I approached you. You have the face of a criminal." A small smirk appeared on his face as he looked down on him.

Ren's smile widened, but the warmth had left it, replaced by a thinly veiled threat. 

"Is that so?" he retorted, his voice carrying an edge that seemed to amuse the man further.

"Kid, you really think you can threaten me? This is our turf," the man taunted, leaning in to intimidate Ren. However, Ren met his gaze unflinchingly, his eyes daring the man to push further. The standoff was brief, but the man's laughter broke the tension as he stepped back, evidently entertained by Ren's boldness yet undeterred.

"I like you, kid. What do you want?" he asked, casually lighting a cigarette. With a deep inhale, he exhaled a cloud of smoke directly into Ren's face, taunting him.

Ren, unfazed by the provocation, turned his gaze briefly toward Ryuji and the rest of the group. Exhaling a sigh that spoke volumes of his irritation.

"From one friend to another, how about you stop bothering the kids from Shujin? We all know most of them are broke, so it isn't worth the hassle." Ren said, earning a small chuckle from the man.

"We both know it ain't about the money." The man said before shaking his head and smiling. "But alright, from one friend to another, I'll ease off them for a couple of weeks. That's all I can do without catching heat from the boss. You get how it is."

Hearing his answer, Ren let out a nod before turning and walking away, dragging Ryuji behind him with a firm grasp to stop him from doing anything rash.

"Hey, kid, if you're ever looking for work, you know where to find me. Bet the boss would get a kick out of meeting you," he called out, laughter trailing his departure as he, too, turned to walk away.

Reintegrating with their friends, Ren and Ryuji were met with a barrage of curious and concerned looks from the group. 

"Ryuji, don't be a dumbass." Ren said, the annoyance palpable in his voice. However, after a moment, he sighed deeply, the tension slightly easing from his shoulders as he added. "Sorry, just... be more careful, okay? If those guys are bold enough to pull this stuff in broad daylight, then they have ways of getting rid of anyone who looks too deeply into them."

Ryuji's response was a mixture of awe and a hint of adrenaline-fueled excitement. 

"Man, that was awesome! Felt like something straight out of a movie," he exclaimed, momentarily caught up in the thrill of the moment. However, as he caught the serious look in Ren's eyes, his enthusiasm dimmed, replaced by a more sober understanding.

"I mean- yeah, sorry about that. It's just that with the whole Phantom Thieves thing, I thought we were supposed to help people, right? And when I saw that kid from Shujin, I figured we had to do something." Ryuji said as he rubbed the back of his head with a bit of nervousness.

His words hung in the air. After all, he wasn't entirely wrong. The main reason they had created the phantom thieves was to deal with the principal and, in turn, continue to help people who needed help.

Raising one of his fingers to the air Ren said.

"Remember, Phantom is in the name for a reason. We don't attack directly; we strike from the shadows." He said before raising another finger. "Secondly, we are a team. We don't act without discussing it first. We don't know who we are facing, so you could have put the whole team in danger. Understood?" Ren asked with a serious expression, earning a slightly ashamed nod from Ryuji.

Noticing the tension in the air, Ren casually slung an arm around Ryuji's shoulders before saying reassuringly.

"Now, how about we get to that ramen? We can talk about it over a warm meal." He said in a joking tone that brought some smiles from the group.

— — —

Huddled in the cozy corner of the ramen shop, the Phantom Thieves found solace in the steam rising from their bowls. The buzz of the shop faded into the background as they leaned in, ready to tackle the next big question.

"So, what are we gonna do next?" Ann whispered, her eyes darting around to make sure their conversation stayed just between them.

"Well…" Ren, with his chopsticks paused mid-air, set the tone."First things first, what do we put our focus on? I, for one, would like to deal with Kobayakawa first. He's suspicious, and he is also in our school, so that means he will always be the closest 'enemy' we have."

The table fell silent; each member lost in thought until Shiho leaned in, her voice hushed but clear. 

"You said you knew how to find the principal, no? Right now, we have no clue who 'the boss' is. And Ren is right. If we start snooping ourselves, then we are going to bring attention to ourselves. But, hey, we've got our own secret weapon for snooping..."She hinted, leaning in towards the group.

"Morgana!" Ryuji couldn't help but interject, a bit louder than intended, earning him a round of shushing glances.

Shaking his head at Ryuji for what felt like the hundredth time, Ren continued.

"Yes, right now, Morgana is out getting familiar with this world. But I can ask him to focus on Shibuya to start gathering info. Worst case scenario, I can take that man's offer and meet with his boss." Ren suggested, earning a few concerned looks from the group.

"Dude, you would be like a super spy. Marching right in as if you were one of them." Ryuji said with excitement before getting elbowed by Shiho.

"Yeah, or it could be incredibly dangerous. He'd be surrounded, alone." Shiho pointed out, her worry palpable.

"No, I know how to deal with these people." Ren said with confidence. "It's all about appearances. You just gotta know how not to fall for their bait." He explained, his voice steady.

The group exchanged glances, each with their own mix of admiration and concern, until Ryuji broke the silence, voicing the question on everyone's minds.

"Dude, how do you even know all this stuff?"

A soft, reminiscent smile spread across Ren's face as he answered.

"I have some family that used to be part of the crime world. I picked up a thing or two from them. At least enough to know what to look out for." He explained, his laughter soft and tinged with a hint of irony.

Shiho, seeing Ren's soft smile, couldn't help but mirror him with a gentle smile of her own as she reminded him.

"Just make sure you stay safe, alright?"

"Always." Ren answered with a playful wink and a joking tone. But Shiho wasn't entirely amused, her smile giving way to a slight reprimanding frown. 

With their two new targets now in sight, the Phantom thieves huddled closer as they continued working on their plans. They scheduled their next trip into the Metaverse to dive into Mementos, planning on dealing with the principal while gathering as much information as possible. Once the group had finished their meal and plans, they all disbanded for the night.

Once he got home, Ren met with Morgana and filled him in with what had happened during the day. Morgana couldn't help but be slightly annoyed with himself for rejecting the offer to follow along to the gym in order to continue wandering around Yongen-Jaya. However, after hearing his mission, he nodded his head with determination as a mischievous grin appeared on his face.

~Confidants~

Ryuji Sakamoto (The Chariot) Rank 2