"Hall Three, straight ahead then left." The ticket checker lazily punched a hole in Kazawa's movie ticket after a quick glance, and pointed him in the right direction.
Kazawa looked at the man with black curly hair and glasses perched on his nose. He accepted the returned stub and asked, "Where's the restroom?"
"Just walk to the end on the right." The man—recognizable as Jinpei Matsuda—saw Kazawa still standing there and reminded him, "The show's about to start, sir. There are people waiting behind you."
Kazawa inhaled, kept his smile in place, and nodded as he walked forward.
A Palace is the clearest manifestation of its owner's desires and wishes—so direct that even the owner themselves cannot alter the Palace's appearance. It is the undeniable reflection of their true heart.
—From that perspective, a Phantom Thief of Hearts might just be the ultimate intelligence agent.
Just like now.
Palaces aren't exclusive to people whose desires have warped into extremes. Individuals with strong wills or those whose hearts have been distorted by trauma can also develop Palaces—like Sae Niijima and Futaba Sakura in Persona 5.
Rei Furuya clearly fell into the strong-willed category. His Palace held no trace of material greed—only regret and memory. It was like a beautiful dream he left behind for himself.
You could say Rei Furuya never wallowed in the irretrievable past, but he missed them every single moment.
Kazawa followed the corridor, ticket in hand, trailing behind a crowd of faceless shadow figures. He entered the theater and took his seat.
There were no noisy crowds here, no pre-show chatter or whispers. Only one silent gray shadow after another sat in place, quietly waiting for the film to begin.
The rows of theater seats stood like gravestones. The entire hall was dead silent.
Kazawa sat just as silently, scanning the layout of the room.
Suddenly, a figure unlike the surrounding shadows entered the theater. Blond-haired, clearly distinct from the rest, he checked the number on his ticket stub and sat one row ahead of Kazawa, a bit to the right.
That was Amuro Tooru—or rather, Rei Furuya.
Of course, the real person wasn't here. Those golden eyes gave away his identity—this was Shadow Rei Furuya, the Palace ruler.
His shadow form had shed the mask of "Amuro Tooru." Gone was the smooth-talking facade, replaced by a calm, sharp, composed aura. This was the true self forged by years undercover.
Shadow Rei Furuya didn't look at Kazawa—perhaps he didn't notice, or perhaps he just didn't care. He wore casual clothes and held a bucket of popcorn, looking nothing like a Palace ruler—just another visitor watching a movie.
As Kazawa watched him, the theater lights gradually dimmed. The blank screen before them began to flicker with imagery—the movie had started.
Kazawa shifted his gaze to the screen.
What played wasn't a real movie. It was Rei Furuya's past, "filmed" from a god's perspective.
And this part, Kazawa hadn't seen before—it covered Rei's early days after infiltrating the Organization, when he had just started working undercover.
Graduating top of his class at the police academy, Rei Furuya was a skilled all-rounder. But to avoid revealing his elite background and raising suspicion, Amuro Tooru entered the Organization as an ordinary recruit, slowly demonstrating his talents bit by bit.
During this time, as a member of a criminal—no, terrorist—organization, he had to carry out many morally repulsive tasks: fencing goods, smuggling, deliberate harm. He was a textbook undercover agent—strong-willed and perfectly disguised—but that also meant enduring constant internal struggle and moral questioning.
The more Kazawa watched, the more dazed he became.
This world, as full of "Conan-logic" as it was, had no place for realism. Rei's entire undercover backstory was practically theatrical. For example, what kind of insane organization sends childhood friends into the same undercover operation?
And yet, despite the absurdity, Kazawa couldn't help but think of himself.
In his past life, Kazawa retired after completing a successful undercover operation.
He never thought of himself as an exceptional police officer. Okay, maybe he was exceptional—but not as a cop. He was chosen for the mission because he had no attachments, was good at controlling his expressions, and hadn't undergone formal military or police training—he didn't carry the typical "systemic" imprint.
That mission was codenamed "Sleeping Sand." He buried himself in the damp dunes, waiting for the tide to rise and destroy the trench built from mud and sand. That operation lasted a full six years.
Roughly the same amount of time as Amuro Tooru's mission now.
It was an incredibly dangerous job, with little hope of return. But Kazawa still went—his father, an overseas engineer, had died in a terrorist attack launched by the same extremist group.
What kept Kazawa going—what allowed him to come back—was hatred.
His operation eventually succeeded.
Though he endured unspeakable torture—most of it not even for extracting information but simply to vent frustration—Kazawa came out alive, albeit barely. He was left nearly disabled, unable to take care of himself. But in his heart, the goal had been achieved. That was enough.
If there was one regret… it would be that his psyche had become too twisted during his years undercover. He could no longer live a normal life—let alone a peaceful, uneventful one. He had lost the ability to choose that kind of future.
So seeing someone like Rei Furuya walk this path with unwavering conviction stirred a lot of emotion in Kazawa. He guessed that even if Rei ended up just like him, he'd still live proudly—while Kazawa had just devolved into a washed-up slacker, spending his days gaming aimlessly.
Kazawa looked at Rei Furuya, eyes fixed, but his mind was elsewhere—trapped in the past. In what felt like a blink, the film came to an end.
The shadows silently rose and began leaving one by one. The lights came back on, illuminating Shadow Rei Furuya's faint smile—and the tear tracks on Kazawa's cheeks.
"Sir," Shadow Rei turned to the only remaining person in the theater and asked kindly, "Are you all right?"
Kazawa wiped his tears and chuckled bitterly.
This part of Rei Furuya's life had been edited into a dramatic, edge-of-your-seat thriller. At the end, the undercover agent narrowly escaped danger and succeeded in obtaining the Organization's codename—a proper happy ending. That made it all the more awkward for Kazawa to be the one crying his eyes out over it.
"I'm fine." Kazawa picked up his untouched bucket of popcorn. Instead of heading for the exit, he turned and began walking toward the back of the theater.
"Sir…?" Shadow Rei looked confused at the direction Kazawa was heading. "That's the projection room, not the exit…"
"I know." Kazawa grabbed the handle of a small door, not looking back. "See you next time."
Before Rei could say anything else, he turned the knob and stepped inside.
Though Palaces form from distortions, their connection to reality isn't absolute. Not every part of a Palace is under the ruler's full control. In areas where the distortion is weaker, reality seeps through—those places resemble the real world exactly.
In P5, these places are often used as rest areas. But they also have special uses.
This theater was no exception—like this place here.
Kazawa stepped through what should've been the projection room—only to find…
"The café's attic," Kazawa leaned against the door, smiling at the familiar scene.
He liked this feeling—a puzzle piece sliding perfectly into place.