ONLYPHANS

Haru silently picked Morgana up, patting the cat idly while maintaining eye contact with the strange group of investigators. “Mona-Chan can be quite talkative. But not many people can hear what he has to say.”

The blue haired boy…no, Kasumi corrected herself…blue haired girl sighed while adjusting her navy blue cap. “As I suspected.”

“Only two sorts of people that I know of, in fact.” Haru continued pointedly. “One sort that can steal hearts. And another that can shut down minds. So…which sort of person would you happen to be?”

“Neither, actually. None of us possess the means to interact with the cognitive realities where those changes take place.” The blue haired girl said.

“In other words you can use Personas but you can’t access the Metaverse phone app?”

“Phone app? Seriously? First televisions now smart phones?” The girl they called Chie muttered.

“I’m not familiar with those terms. But yes. If the phantom thieves enter their cognitive world via..a phone app…then they have tools we do not.”

“And I’m meant to take your word for this just because-“ Haru began.

“I believe them.” Morgana said matter of factly.

“Mona-Chan?”

“There’s cognitive worlds beyond the metaverse. The sea of human souls has as many realities as there are stars in the sky. Each one plays by different rules. I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t known to look for it. But they don’t smell like the metaverse.”

“They don’t what?”

“None of you would understand. Cognitive worlds don’t smell like the real world. There are things there that are only concepts here. The metaverse smells like distorted desires and suppressed will. Those three smell like fog and truth and lies. They’ve been somewhere beyond the human world. But they’ve never been to the Metaverse.”

“….All right. Mona-Chan. I’ll trust your instincts. But that’s not enough. I think my father had enemies in the police department. And just because these people haven’t traveled to the metaverse doesn’t mean they aren’t working with those who can travel there.”

“That is true. You have only our word. Just as we only have your word that the Phantom Thieves are not the culprits behind your father’s ****.”

“Are you planning to make an arrest then?”

“Not at all. We hsve no evidence of their guilt either. And we’ve been barred from the Phantom Thief investigation by the Tokyo police. We are only concerned with the **** investigation and presently are operating under the assumption that the two are not the same group.”

“…..Then what are you…” Haru began

“E-excuse me?” Kasumi squeeked. “C-can we please continue this conversation after I put some clothes on??”

Haru glanced at the towel clad a moment and hid a smile behind her hand. “Goodness. I completely forgot. We’ve left Sae-San and Mrs. Kirijo completely exposed!”

Morgana scratched behind his left ear, producing one of his innumerable lock picks. “Here. Take care of their cuffs with this. You remember how I showed you, Haru?”

“Of course, Mona-Chan.”

Kasumi shifted uncomfortably in her skimpy towel as her senpai carefully unlocked the shackles on the other naked women. Her mind was reeling from the implications of the meeting.

……..

“I see.” Haru said, sipping her tea some time later. “That is quite a story, Mrs. Kirijo.”

“Yes, I’m sure it does. But is it any more fantastic than anything else you’ve experienced this past month?” Mitsuru Kirijo asked.

“No. I suppose not.” Haru said.

“I…I don’t remember as much as I should about the human ****. But there are realms beyond the Metaverse. Nothing they are saying is impossible.” Morgana said, flicking his tale as he sat atop the metallic garden table the women were clustered around, sporting bath robes curtesy of the Okumura staff.

“Say for the moment I accept what you’re saying. What are your intentions here Kirijo-San?”

“Well, I had hoped to investigate a little further. But my associates have made that quite impossible.” Mitsuru glared pointedly at the sheepish trio across from her. “I’m afraid we are playing all of this by ear. Until recently we were deliberately keeping our distance.”

“This changed.” Yukiko said stonily.

“We’ve watched this scenario play out twice before. There is evidence fate or some **** connected to it CHOOSES the wild card to be the one to counter threats like these. We all agreed to leave this to the Phantom Thieves.” Mitsuru said patiently.

“Well, the situation changed. You haven’t exactly tried to stop us from getting involved here either.” Chie snapped.

“Yes. Well. I think all of our judgment has been clouded by personal sentiments.”

“Don’t think, feel. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“And yet you know how our own investigation went. We came close to accusing the wrong perpetrator several times before we found the true culprit. What if Mitsuru-san’s group had intervened during that incident. The truth might have been lost forever. Like it or not, the Phantom Thieves are clearly the one’s intended to take the lead here. We’re risking disaster by intervening even this much.” Naoto said.

“We promised each other a long time ago to work together to protect people from that world, Naoto-kun. You can’t expect us to see a man die on live television in that way and do nothing about it.” Yukiko said.

“I don’t Yukiko-San. We just need to tread lightly.”

“Excuse me.” Haru interrupted. “However we’ve gotten to this point you haven’t really answered the question. What are you intending here?”

“….Help. Advice. Protection if it comes to it.” Mitsuru said.

“I don’t want to be unkind, Mrs Kirijo. But if what you say is true your efforts have failed to protect anyone from these mental shutdowns for three years. Including my father.” Haru saud coldly.

“….I can’t deny that. Even our resources have been strained. We suspect your enemies have as much power and influence as we have to muster. Likely more than us. And they have the advantage of being aware of our organization while hiding in the dark.” Mitsuru hung her head. “I realize you have no reason to trust anything we say at present. But please. If you can accept anything from me, please know I would have done everything in my power to save your father if we’d known what they intended to do under the smokescreen of that change of heart. I never wanted to see another girl your age lose a father this way.”

“…Thank you Kirijo-San. I do want to believe that. But I have no idea who to trust right now. Especially the police.”

“I understand that as well. Giving too much trust to the wrong ally can cost you everything. But if nothing else put your trust in your wild card. He…or she….will be the last pillar you can lean on when everything else is collapsing around you.”

“All right. But Joker doesn’t trust the cops either.”

“Heh. We’re looking for a murderer in the end. As Naoto said we want to stay out of your way as much as we can stand. I hope you’ll at least consider accepting our intel if not our resources if we find any leads.”

“That will need to be discussed with the rest of the group.” Haru said simply.

“Ahem.” Sae Niijiima interrupted, stepping into the room, her silver hair invaded in a towel while a pink bathrobe cling snugly to her slender body. “Thank you for the use of the shower Okumura-San. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Not at all. Mrs. Kirijo was just giving me some business advice. It seems she has been in a similar situation as I’m finding myself in now. I’m still deciding what to tell my company regarding my father’s shares.”

“I see.” Sae said. “In any case I’ll take my leave.”

“You’re welcome to stay the night.” Haru said.

“I’m afraid I’ve wasted too much time here as it is. But…a change of clothes would be appreciated.” Sae blushed.,

“Of course.”

“We’ll take our leave as well.” Mitsuru said. “My people can see to my wardrobe. I’ll let you consider my advice. We can continue this another time once you’ve made a decision.”

Haru nodded.

“Yoshizawa, if you’d like a ride home as well we can-“

Haru meaningfully grasped the edge of Kasumi’s towel.

“That won’t be necessarily.”

Sae gave a dubious glance between the girls but held her tongue. Mitsuru and her entourage exchanged meaningful glances before offering a few quick farewells and making their escape.

“Haru-senpai, shouldn’t we let the others-eep!” Kasumi shrieked as her towel was ripped away.

“I go back to school tomorrow. I’ll be paying a visit to Maruki-San early in the day, and another with Joker that evening, and another with the others that night. I’ve been discussing feelings, and funerals, and business decisions all week, and I’m certain tomorrow will be taken up with more discussions! So talking is the last thing I need from you, Sumi-Chan!”

Kasumi gulped as her long absent girlfriend pressed her against the parlor wall. As it happened, they found plenty of uses for her mouth besides speaking, and in any case the only sounds they shared for the rest of that night were too feral to be called a language.

…..

Sae was asleep almost as soon as she hit the bed that night. The day had been beyond humiliating. For once in her life being naked in public had convinced her to surrender to her exhaustion and ignore her relentless pursuit of criminals and case work.

But as Sae drifted off she had strange dreams…

“YOU!” Sae screamed. Crow chuckled insanely as the black masked killer dodged a deadly attack, the slot machine behind him burst apart in a shower of sparks, gears and poker chips.

“I know it was you, Black Mask! That little striptease you subjected the other me to along with the Phantom slut and Kirijo! I hope it was amusing! Now get ready to die!!”

“Oh you have no idea, Sae-San! My associates have plans for the other you, of course. So a complete mental shutdown has been off the table. I’ve had to play the simpering little toadie to you for months on end, watching you floundering about with your pitiful deductions and petty obsessions! I’m far from stable at the best of times but if you subject me to one more pointless theory about the phantom thieves and their associates I will lose my mind!!”

“Stand still and die!!” Sae screamed, transforming her arm briefly into the jagged cutting instrument of her alternate transformation.

“I don’t think so! You see, I’ve done a little experimenting. Long before the Phantom Queens I discovered my own method of a ‘mental stripdown’. I used it on the executive of Wild Duck Burger not long ago! Allow me to show you!”

Crow charged at the shadow of his former partner, who lashed out only for the boy to vanish before her eyes. She heard his sword slash through the air twice before he appeared behind her, rising out of a battle stance with a smirk.

“What are you….” Shadow Sae began, before screaming as the straps on her slinky black dress belatedly snipped off where the blade had cut them. She found herself standing in her vast casino in just her black hat, spiked choker, long black gloves, high heels and fishnet stockings and satin thong while her dress lay at her feet along with her dignity. The golden eyed creature covered her exposed chest, blushing intensely.

“How dare you!!” She screamed.

“How dare I? Let me give you another demonstration how I dare!” Crow said, zipping forward. Sae flinched, hiding her breasts and face behind her hands. Realization hit her as she felt her panties ripped off her naked crotch as crow passed.

“You bastard!” Sae screamed, removing her hat and placing it in front of her shaven pussy while awkwardly covering her chest with her other hand.

“Yes, yes. But we aren’t done!” Crow said, reaching out a clawed hand grasp the silver haired woman’s forehead. Dark purple energy flowed from his palm and suffused the shadow. Saw turned glassy eyed and rigid, her hand falling to the ground and her nudity on full display.

“There we are. A perfect recipe for my brand of mental stripdowns. Now listen carefully. Your subconscious is under my command. As far as your other self will be concerned everything that happens to her tomorrow is entirely the fault of the phantom queens of sluts. All the humiliation and anger you are going to face in the future will be directed entirely towards them. They are going to be the target of your wrath in equal measure along with the phantom thieves. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now listen carefully. Take careful note of the instructions I give you. When you experience a certain trigger you’ll feel compelled to execute my orders without fail even though you won’t know why. This is what you are going to do…”

Sae awoke with a start. She had a head ache and the vague notion something terrible was going to happen.

…………

The evening ticked on, the clock slipping just past midnight. On a certain message board a certain survey about the phantom thieves incrementally lower as public opinion fell in real time. But as the first minutes of October 20th began, an odd change came over the website. First a strange series of links appeared. Names such as Panther, Queen, Oracle and Noir appeared. Kasumi’s link appeared as Unknown. Each led to a short bio of the Phantom girls, along with a gallery filled with obscene pictures from the Metaverse of the naked bodies! Strangely their faces were inexplicably unrecognizable to those in the real world, even though the rest of them was fully on display. The survey counter shifted as well, now asking “Should the Phantom Queens get naked?”

Finally the Phan Affictionados Logo shifted to say in bright neon letters WELCOME TO ONLYPHANS.

A moment later, the survey ticker began to climb higher.