Chapter 7
Medjed's Declaration
Saturday, July 16th, 2016
It was rather sad that exams was a break for him. Fortunately, Gekkoukan prided itself on its excellent curriculum, so Ken found the exams not being so bad. But still, Ken's hand had cramped a bit because he was rushing to write during the essay portion of the exam.
And summer vacation was on the horizon. They would have one more week, and then that one assembly on the twenty-fifth, but after that… he would be free for a month.
…Well, sorta. He still had to keep tabs on the Phantom Thieves, after all.
Though checking their website, it seemed that they were focusing on targeting smaller criminals right now. Of course, Makoto might tell him if he asked, but he didn't want to broadcast that he was still following them around.
A buzzing sound broke through Ken's thoughts, and he retrieved his phone from his bag. Shinjiro-san was probably asking him to pick up something that he missed during the last grocery store trip…
Message from: Unknown User
Ken made a face. Ugh. Spam. But then he read the messages. A pit began to form in his stomach.
[Unknown User]: Ken Amada, correct?
[Unknown User]: Tell me… just what is your connection to the Shadow Operatives?
Wait. What?! Ken's hands began to tremble. How did they get that information…?
No… he had to calm down. He had to handle this rationally… Pursing his lips, Ken began to tap out a response.
[Ken]: Who is this? I don't know what you're talking about.
[Unknown User]: Heh… don't play stupid. I have my sources, you know.
[Unknown User]: I also know about that group… SEES. You're some kind of spy, huh?
[Unknown User]: And… you may call me Alibaba.
Crap… this was bad. No, that was an understatement. A major understatement. This was a disaster. Just how did they get information about SEES?
"Ken?" He felt a hand on his shoulder. "What's the matter? You suddenly got all pale…"
Ken snapped to attention, turning to see that Makoto was looking at him in concern.
"I-I'm fine…" he lied. "I guess I've been pushing myself too hard with studying and I kinda… crashed." He somehow managed to muster a weak smile that wasn't completely faked. He had to cram a bit for exams, after all. "I probably should get home… I'll see you at school next week."
"Um, okay…" Makoto still looked puzzled, but she waved goodbye at him. "See you."
Ken ran all the way back to Shibuya. He fell onto his bed with a groan. Great. Once he cleared up one thing, this had to happen.
The question was… how did this happen? There was a reason why he never corresponded with Mitsuru-san outside of the penthouse…
There was… Black Mask, but… How would he know about the Shadow Operatives? He would have to working for Shido—which Aigis-san did speculate—but Shido probably kept that information to himself…
Ken pressed his hand to his now aching temple. This was just… a pain…
He sighed, before forcing himself to sit up. He then reached for his laptop. Well, time to get this over with…
"Lady Mitsuru?" There was a light knock on the door, before it opened. Kikuno stuck her head out and she was holding Mitsuru's laptop. "Lady Mitsuru, Ken-san video called. He claims it's rather urgent that you speak to him right away."
…Well. Anything to take a break from this headache inducing paperwork. Mitsuru rose to her feet, smiling at her maid in thanks before taking the laptop from her.
Kikuno closed the door just as Mitsuru seated herself again. "Hello, Amada."
"Mitsuru-san, I…" He looked nervous. "I received a message."
"From?"
She didn't know why exactly this was relevant or why this was making Amada look so anxious.
"That's it, I just don't know!" Amada burst out, his eyes wide with panic.
Mitsuru blinked. This kind of outburst would have fit Yukari or Akihiko, but not Amada. He was quite… distraught over… something.
"I… I received a message shortly after school ended," Amada got out. "And the message asked me how I was involved with the Shadow Operatives."
…Oh. Now she understood.
"Are you sure?" Mitsuru asked with a frown. "Perhaps you misinterpreted things."
Amada shook his head firmly. "Mitsuru-san, I'm positive that's not the case," he said. He pulled out his phone. "I don't know clearly you can see this but…"
Mitsuru squinted at the screen, her eyes then widening as she read the few messages. This… This was not good.
"I didn't say anything about the Shadow Operatives!" Amada continued. "I don't know how this happened!"
"Calm down, Amada," Mitsuru said, trying not to frown at how distressed he was. Amada would probably take it as her being displeased with him. "I believe you, I promise. And… I know you're not the vocal type." She tapped her fingers against her desk, as she thought to phrase her next words. "There have been several attempts to hack into our archive," she mused. "Luckily, Yamagishi is very skilled in what she does and is able to protect our data. However, they must have slipped through the firewall and retrieved something regarding you."
"You've… You've been hacked?" Amada looked horrified.
"Mm." Mitsuru nodded. "But don't worry, Amada, I'll arrange for someone to look into this. We'll figure this out." Then she looked at him sternly. "And you are to take some leisure time today. I know from Shinjiro that today was your last exam today. You shouldn't stress yourself so much, Amada."
"I know, I know…" he grumbled, but then his expression softened. "Um… thanks, Mitsuru-san."
Mitsuru smiled at him. "Anytime, Amada. Farewell."
After Amada said his own goodbye, he cut off the connection. Mitsuru lounged against her seat, glancing at the clock for a moment. It was past 4:30… Maybe if she headed out now, she would be able to catch Yamagishi before she left for work.
After quickly organizing her paperwork, she set off. Since she needed to get there faster, Mitsuru was able to ride her motorcycle. She had an image to preserve, after all, so she couldn't ride her motorcycle as much.
The ride was shorter than Mitsuru would've liked, but she caught Yamagishi at the right time. Yamagishi looked rather tired, but she perked up as Mitsuru approached her.
"Mitsuru-senpai? What are you doing here?"
"Hello, Yamagishi." Mitsuru smiled at her in greeting. "Do you have time to talk?"
Yamagishi just blinked. "Um… sure? I was going to meet up with Junpei-kun, Akihiko-senpai, and Minako-chan for dinner, but I have some time…"
"Wonderful. But do you think we could talk at your apartment? I rather have some privacy."
"Oh, sure." She nodded.
Mitsuru took Yamagishi back to the apartment, where she was greeted by Koromaru. He then whined, rubbing against Yamagishi's leg, blinking up at her imploringly.
"You're so spoiled," Yamagishi sighed, shaking her head. "Shinji really pampered you."
Mitsuru just laughed. "He's always had a soft spot for Koromaru."
Yamagishi put on a pot of tea, feeding Koromaru and his mate while waiting for the kettle to finish boiling water. She poured two cups and they settled on the couch.
"What's this about, Mitsuru-senpai?" Yamagishi broke the silence.
Mitsuru blew on her tea, before taking a careful sip so not to scald her tongue. "I need you to go to Tokyo." Confusion clouded Yamagishi's face, so Mitsuru continued. "Amada's phone was hacked or something similar. Someone by the name of Alibaba questioned him on his involvement with the Shadow Operatives. I was hoping that you would be able to discern something."
"Are… Are you sure that's a good idea?" Yamagishi asked.
"I highly doubt that we need to worry about this being connected to Shido," Mitsuru stated. "However… I am still concerned. Not to mention, it'll set Amada's mind to order. He was rather… distressed when he called me. And besides," Mitsuru added, arching an eyebrow at her, "I thought you would have been pleased with the excuse to see Shinjiro and Amada."
"Well…" Yamagishi just gave her an embarrassed smile. "…It is nice," she admitted shyly. "So… when should I go?"
"I'll book you the next train ride available," Mitsuru said. "So… probably tomorrow… or Monday."
"Oh, but…" Yamagishi frowned, as if something occurred to her. "My work…"
Mitsuru waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it. I will clear it with your superiors." Mitsuru let out a thoughtful hum. "You should probably stay for about… half a week."
"T-Three days?!" Yamagishi sputtered out, her eyes wide with shock. "What—but…"
"You deserve it, Yamagishi," Mitsuru insisted. "You should get a chance to enjoy some time with Shinjiro as well. I'll handle it, I promise."
For more reasons than one… Even though she understood Shinjiro's reasonings, she couldn't help but feel guilty. They had spent most of their relationship in a long distance relationship, after all.
Yamagishi just sighed, shaking her head. "Sometimes your influence is just scary, Senpai…" Then a soft smile formed on her face. "…But thank you. I'll do my best to figure out who had hacked Ken-kun's phone."
"Any time, Yamagishi."
Monday, July 18th, 2016
Tokyo was packed as always. Fuuka had honestly not missed how crowded Tokyo was. She personally found it… stifling.
Though as she passed, she saw several posters plastered on the walls, advertising some kind of firework festival. Maybe she could talk the boys into coming out to see it. It sounded like it could be fun.
Fuuka compared the building to the address that Mitsuru-senpai had given her. And then again.
…Okay, she could understand Shinji's misgivings about this.
But it wasn't like they could really do anything about it… Fuuka rode the elevator to the top floor, showing a deceitfully plain door in a small hallway. She knocked on the door.
"Who's at the door?" she heard Shinji say.
"I didn't invite anyone over if that's what you're asking," Ken responded.
"Probably some salesman," Shinji groused, and Fuuka couldn't help but giggle at the memory of Shinji scaring away a particularly persistent salesman. She heard his footsteps approach, and the door opened. "Look, we're not—" Then Shinji's eyes bugged out, gaping at her. "Fuuka?"
"Shinji!" Fuuka exclaimed, throwing her arms around him before standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. Shinji moved his hands to rest on her shoulders, all while leaning down so Fuuka didn't stand on her tiptoes so much.
It felt so nice… to be in his arms again…
Then Shinji suddenly pulled away, confusion swimming in his eyes. "Fuuka, it's great to see you, but why are you here?"
"Mitsuru-senpai arranged it, so that I could see if I could trace the identity of whoever hacked Ken-kun's phone," Fuuka explained, before peeking behind her boyfriend, completely expecting Ken to be sitting at the table or the couch. "Um… speaking of that, where is Ken-kun? I heard him talking to you before…"
"What are you talking about?" Shinji turned around, only to groan. "Where the hell did he run off to?"
"Cleaning up the magazines you left all over the living room." Ken entered her field of vision, giving Shinji a dry look. "Wouldn't want Fuuka-san to see how many you have around the house, right?" He gave Shinji a pointed look, before shrugging. "Besides, I figured it'd give you a little alone time."
"Why do you always have to be a smartass?" Shinji grumbled, before stepping aside to let Fuuka come inside.
Well… honestly, Shinji had himself to blame for that.
Fuuka just put a hand on Shinji's arm, before looking to Ken. "Ken-kun, I need to see your phone. Let's see if I can figure out just who hacked your phone."
Ken dug it out of his pocket, holding it out to Fuuka, but Shinji snatched it out of his hand. "Not so fast," he said briskly. "First things first…" He looked at her. "…Did you even eat anything yet?"
"Um…"
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Shinji rolled his eyes. "Come on, I'll whip you up something first."
"Can we cook together, then?" Fuuka asked. "I… I missed that."
"Just don't let the food burn," Ken muttered.
"What was that?" Shinji narrowed his eyes dangerously at Ken, but Ken was unfazed after four years of being raised by him.
"Oh, nothing," he said lightly, waving a hand. "Have fun, you two."
After Fuuka had eaten her fill, she set to work. It took a few hours, but Fuuka was able to get a vague idea of who exactly hacked Ken's phone.
She entered Ken's bedroom. He was sprawled on his bed, reading some book, but he looked up when Fuuka stepped inside. He marked his place before setting the book on top of his nightstand.
"Well… I think it isn't Shido," Fuuka began, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I… actually recognize the signature."
Ken frowned. "Signature?"
"All hackers have little quirks…" Fuuka explained, "if you know what to look for, you'll be able to pick up the hints to just who hacked it. But I recognize this hacker's signature… and it is the same as Medjed."
"Medjed…?" Ken repeated with a small frown. "But… I thought Medjed was that group of hackers."
Fuuka shook her head. "You weren't really in the know, with that. But Medjed was originally one person. He or she had made their appearance about… two years ago? They pulled off Robin Hood stunts, so others took on the mantle when they followed suit. They... actually helped us out once. Shido's men tried to hack into our accounts right around Mitsuru-senpai had came into contact with Shido. But... someone had counterhacked them, identifying themselves as Medjed."
"Wow…" Ken breathed, before he frowned. "What would this Alibaba want with me? Wouldn't it make more sense to go after Mitsuru-san or Minako-san? And why ask these questions if they had helped us before?"
"I don't know," Fuuka admitted. "But I really don't think that this is connected to Shido or his network, so you don't have to worry about that."
"I see…" Ken murmured, before exhaling deeply. "I guess I freaked out about nothing after all."
Fuuka placed a hand over Ken's, gently rubbing her thumb over the top of Ken's hand. "It's nothing. You had good reasons to be worried. And besides, it gives me a good excuse to see you."
"Are you going to come up for Shinjiro-san's birthday then?"
"I… I don't know," Fuuka admitted. "I'd like to, but I don't know how much we should push things. Though Shinji was talking about coming back to Port Island last time we video called… We'll have to see, Ken-kun." Then she squeezed his hand. "Now… how about we have some fun tonight, hmm?"
"Huh?"
"I saw some advertising about a firework festival," Fuuka explained. "I thought it'd be fun. What do you say?"
Ken looked at her blankly. "I guess… but good luck convincing Shinjiro-san."
"Oh, that shouldn't be too hard to do." Fuuka shrugged. "Shinji's been dragged to festivals before by Minako-chan."
"That and you have him whipped," Ken mumbled.
"I-I do not!"
"Just a little more… and done!" Anne showed Makoto the mirror with a flourish. "What do you think?"
Makoto just smiled, admiring her reflection—showing her wearing a yukata. "You did a great job. I don't think I could have dressed up without your help, Anne."
"It's no prob!" she said cheerfully. "But come on, we've gotta get a move on. The boys are probably getting impatient."
"You mean Ryuji," Makoto quipped.
"You know him so well already," Anne laughed as they stepped out of her apartment. "Ryuji said he wanted to eat some food and play some games before the actual fireworks too."
It really was a good thing she lived in Shibuya…
While it was hard to hurry with their yukatas, they did their best. And then she tripped over a crack.
"Anne!"
"Ow…" Anne moaned, before she pushed herself up. Nothing seemed to be torn at least.
"Takamaki-san?"
Makoto helped her up, and Anne turned to see it was Amada-senpai who had called out to her. He wasn't alone either. They looked like a couple who were in their mid-twenties.
Amada-senpai frowned in concern. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine!" Anne waved a hand, before smiling sheepishly. "Guess that wasn't the most graceful move…"
"Yeah, it was kinda hard to miss that," the older man said dryly.
"Shinji, don't be rude," the older woman scolded, before digging out a handkerchief and holding it out to Anne. "You should wipe your face," she said kindly. "You have quite a bit dirt on your face."
"Is my yukata okay still?" Anne asked anxiously.
This was a gift from her parents… and she would hate for it to get ruined…
"Miraculously," Makoto reassured, before she looked curiously at the older man and woman.
"This is my guardian, Shinjiro Aragaki," Amada-senpai introduced, catching onto Makoto's silent question. "And this is his girlfriend, Fuuka Yamagishi."
"It's nice to meet you," Fuuka-san said with a warm smile. "You must be Ken-kun's classmates, right?"
She was pretty in a delicate kind of way. Her light turquoise hair was smoothed back into a single long braid. But despite her almost fragile appearance, there was an intelligence in her teal eyes that reminded her of Makoto, for some reason. She was dressed modestly, wearing a white blouse paired with a long skirt and a pair of sandals.
"We are," Makoto confirmed with a smile. "I'm in Ken's class, but Anne is a year younger than us."
"But Niijima, huh…?" Shinjiro-san turned his gaze on Makoto.
Shinjiro-san was basically the anti-thesis of his girlfriend. Fuuka-san was fair-skinned, but Shinjiro-san was pretty tan. His thick, dark brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and honestly… there was something intimidating about his gaze. He was dressed rather casually, only wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. For some reason, he was carrying an umbrella.
Though… was he really Amada-senpai's guardian? He was so… young, in his mid twenties. With the way Amada-senpai had talked, it seemed like his mom died a while ago.
"Yes…?" Makoto looked taken aback by his question.
"It's nothing," he said quickly, glancing away. "Ken just mentioned that you were the student council president."
"…Oh."
Hmm… Anne couldn't help but get the feeling there was something more to that.
"Is it just the two of you?" Fuuka-san asked.
"Oh no, we were going to meet up with a couple friends before… Anne tripped," Makoto said with a wince.
"Sorry about that…" Anne said sheepishly. "Oh, but would you like to come with us, Senpai? I'm sure the boys won't mind."
"Er… well…" Ken turned to look at the older couple.
"That's a good idea actually!" Fuuka-san interjected. "You really should spend more time with people your age, Ken-kun."
"Fuuka-san!" he complained, a whine ever so slightly present in his voice, as his cheeks reddened.
Anne couldn't help but giggle. He was just… so composed most of the time. So it was kinda funny to see him get embarrassed like this.
"She's not wrong," Shinjiro-san deadpanned.
"Like you can talk, Shinjiro-san," Amada-senpai fired back. "Sometimes I wonder how you and Mitsuru-san didn't kill each other when you started to live at the dorm."
"Now, now, that's enough," Fuuka-san scolded, even though her voice remained mild. "Come on, Shinji, I think I saw a takoyaki stand. Let's get one and share!"
Without warning, she pulled on her boyfriend's arm and dragged him away—quite a feat, seeing that he towered over her.
"Well, I guess she… took the choice out of your hands…" Makoto said slowly.
"That's… fairly tame actually," Amada-senpai said with a sigh, before offering them a sheepish smile. "Uh… should we get going then?"
Anne nodded. "Yeah!"
They led him to the agreed meeting spot and Ryuji was the first to see them.
"Finally!" he grumbled. "What took you so long?!"
"Why do you have to be so impatient?!" Anne shot back.
"Hey, it was worth it, in my opinion." Ren approached them, and as per their suggestion… he wasn't wearing his glasses. He looked… really handsome without them. "You girls look beautiful," he added, but he was looking straight at Anne.
Anne quickly looked away, managing a laugh. "Haha! You're such a charmer, Ren."
"Why is Amada-san with you?" Yusuke asked.
"Oh, well…" Makoto shifted nervously. "We ran into him earlier and invited him to spend some time with us. That, and his guardian kinda left him to his own devices, so…"
…Whups. She never gave back Fuuka-san her handkerchief…
"That's not a problem to me," Ren said with a smile. "So… what do you wanna do first?"
"FOOD!" Ryuji exclaimed. "Come on, man, I'm starving!"
Nobody objected, so they went to hunt for the food stalls. Anne wasn't super hungry but… festival food. It was just the best.
"There's so much food!" Morgana gasped, only for his ears to press against his skull. "And… And I can't eat any of it," he grumbled out.
Yusuke looked mournfully at the okonomiyaki stand. "Alas, if only I had more than a hundred yen…"
"You… what?" Amada-senpai looked startled. "You only have a hundred yen on you?!"
"Well, I did have to pay for the train ticket…"
"Uh… never mind…" Amada-senpai grabbed his arm. "Come on, I'll pay."
"Oh, that's not necessary, Amada-san…" Yusuke began.
"I'm making it necessary," came the retort. "Seriously, you have to take care of yourself…" He then suddenly blinked. "…Good grief, I'm really turning into Shinjiro-san…" he muttered.
Anne just giggled before happily taking a bite of her cotton candy. Mmm… it was so good.
"God, how can you eat that crap?" Ryuji asked. "It's literally just sugar on a stick."
Anne stuck her tongue at him. "So? It tastes good." She pointedly took another bite.
"Ryuji does have a point, Anne," Makoto said. "Every time I see you eating, you're eating some kind of sweet. It can't be healthy."
Anne pouted. "I'm at a healthy weight! I should know—I'm weighed a lot at my job."
"Some people just have a lot of metabolism," Ren said. "I guess Anne is just one of them. Though…" he nudged her in the side, "maybe I could help by eating some of it?"
Anne rolled her eyes at him. "Sheesh, you don't have to ask me like that." She held out the stick to him and Ren gratefully took a bite. His tongue darted out to lick the stray strands on his lips. "Mm… it's really sweet."
"What's really sweet?" Amada-senpai and Yusuke had returned, Yusuke happily eating an okonomiyaki.
"That sugar on a stick Anne's been chomping on," Ryuji snorted.
"Just how many calories is in that?" Makoto wondered, her eyes on the cotton candy. "Maybe the vendor will have a nutrition menu…"
"Makoto, not again!" Anne laughed.
"What do you mean, again?" Amada-senpai asked, looking confused.
"I took her to get crepes once," Anne explained. "She kept pestering the crepe shop for the nutrition menu and got all offended when they couldn't offer her one."
"It's protocol to have one!" Makoto protested, as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment.
Amada-senpai shot her an amused glance. "I never thought you'd be someone like that."
"Is it so wrong to be concerned about my health?" Makoto grumbled. "Besides, you were the one pestering me to not skip lunch the day we met."
"There's a difference from telling you to eat when you're obviously drained to you demanding the nutrition values of a crepe."
"You… You…" Makoto huffed. "…Shut up."
"Amada-san does have a good point, though," Yusuke said.
"Guess it's pick on Makoto day," Ryuji snickered.
"We have to give you a break every now and then, Ryuji," Morgana quipped.
"Aw, shuddup!"
After they finished eating, they went to scope out the games. They were missing some of the typical games, like the water balloons and the goldfish scooping game, but they had most of them.
"Hey, check out the masks!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"Hmm… the quality is horrible," Yusuke decided. "Mine is far superior."
"Kitagawa-san, that's rude," Amada-senpai whispered to him, before shooting an apologetic glance at the vendor.
"They have so many different ones though," Ren noted. "Guess that fits us in a way, huh?"
Morgana then stuck his head out of Ren's bag. "…Hey, where did Makoto go?"
Anne looked around, scanning for Makoto's yukata. "Oh, I see her!" She pointed at the shooting game booth.
And she was looking at…
"Got your eye on the Bunchimaru plushie?" Ren teased as they approached.
"Dude, you like Bunchimaru?" Ryuji asked incredulously.
"S-So, what if I do?!" Makoto stammered out, her face turning red. "Maybe I was just testing my shooting skills a-and this is a notoriously difficult game-"
"I'll give it a shot."
Anne stared at Amada-senpai calmly sliding a five hundred yen coin across the table.
"You sure you just want one try?" the vendor asked. "Another five hundred and you'll get two more."
"I'll be fine," Amada-senpai dismissed, picking up the rifle. He then narrowed his eyes, before firing. The bullet shot out, knocking down the huge Bunchimaru plushie with no effort.
"Damn, he's a good shot," Ryuji muttered to Ren. "I never would've pegged him for that."
"My idea isn't so bad, huh?" Ren whispered back.
"You shouldn't discuss this when he's right there," Morgana scolded, though he looked rather uneasy.
The vendor grumbled to himself, before fetching the toy and handing Amada-senpai his prize.
"Marvelous!" Yusuke crowed, somehow having whipped out his sketchpad from… somewhere. He held it up, showing a quick sketch of Amada-senpai firing the rifle. "That determination… that focus! It'll be a wonderful drawing!"
"Uh…" Amada-senpai blinked at him, looking rather bewildered even as he handed the plushie to Makoto. "…Thanks?"
"You get used to Yusuke after a while," Ren chuckled, patting the older boy's shoulder.
"Though I'm surprised you're such a good marksman," Morgana said.
"Well… I was taught by a friend. She likes shooting games and she gave me a few tips."
"T-Thank you, Ken," Makoto said, before squeezing the toy tightly to her chest. "It's so soft…"
Ren glanced up at the darkening sky. "…Hey, we probably should try and get good spots. I think it's almost time for it to start."
So they headed off, but they had barely got to see any fireworks before the downpour ruined it. They quickly scrambled to find a place to find a shelter, but of course, everyone else had the same idea. Anne was wringing out her yukata, when she suddenly felt eyes on her.
Ren, Ryuji, and Yusuke were all playing the innocent, but she wasn't fooled.
"Jeez…" Anne sighed, rolling her eyes. "I guess I should be glad that someone wasn't trying to get a look."
"Honestly…" Makoto sighed as well, shaking her head.
Amada-senpai opened his mouth to say something, only to do a double take. "Haru-san?"
A petite girl—though not as small as Fuuka-san—turned at his voice. "Oh, Amada-kun!" She waved at him, before stepping closer to them and shutting her umbrella. "I didn't know you were going to the festival."
"It was… a last minute thing," he admitted. "Are you with your family?"
"Well, my father couldn't make it, so I just went on my own…" the girl admitted. "But um… who are your friends?"
"Oh, well, most of them go to Shujin actually…"
They quickly introduced themselves, and she, in turn, introduced herself as Haru. She was rather polite, but in the demure kind of way? Though the fact that she wouldn't give her surname struck Anne as rather odd. But hey, it took all kinds of people, right?
But then her phone rang. She pulled it out from the small bag she carried. "Hello, Father."
Though she couldn't quite make out what he was saying… the voice sounded angry for some reason.
"F-Father, I was just speaking to some schoolmates…" she protested weakly. Then she paused to hear what he had to say, and then she sighed. "Yes, Father…" Her voice was barely audible. "Thank Sugimura-san for me…"
…What? Either her father was extremely strict or…
No… she was jumping to conclusions. Besides, Haru was essentially a stranger, even if they did go to school together…
"I… I have to go," Haru said quietly. "My father thinks it's best I get out of the rain."
"Hold on a minute!" Ryuji burst out. "Just what the hell did your old man say to you!?"
"Ryuji," Yusuke said quietly, "you shouldn't-"
"Like hell I don't!" he retorted. "Listen, if your dad is being a shitty asshole to you, you should really report him to the Phan-site. Maybe they could change his heart."
"Ryuji-" Makoto began sternly, but Haru interrupted.
"It's okay. I know that he means well, Niijima-san." Haru bowed at Ryuji. "I appreciate your concern, Sakamoto-kun. Thank you."
She then walked off, entering the black car that pulled up to the curb for several minutes.
"Seriously, what the hell?!" Ryuji snapped. "Her old man seemed awful from that one conversation! Oi, Senpai, you know her last name? Maybe we can find something!"
Amada-senpai just shrugged. "Your guess is just good as mine," he said. "She only gave me her first name."
"Holy shit what if her dad is mafia too-"
"Ryuji, don't jump conclusions," Yusuke said sternly. "You have such a hyperactive imagination…"
"Well, I have to admit that Ryuji's right," Morgana piped up. "It's a bit worrying…"
"Ken!" Shinjiro-san and Fuuka-san came into view, both protected by the rain with the umbrella Shinjiro-san carried.
"Oh, you're soaked!" Fuuka-san immediately began to fuss over Amada-senpai, standing on her toes to run her fingers through his dripping hair.
"Fuuka-san, stop fussing," Amada-senpai sighed. "It's just a little water."
"Yeah, but that 'little water' can get you sick," Shinjiro-san deadpanned. "Here, you and Fuuka share the umbrella. Good thing our place isn't that far."
"Actually…" Amada-senpai began, before he glanced at everyone else, "I was thinking… maybe we could let them take shelter for a little bit? Until the rain dies down."
"Well, in that case, you should share the umbrella with someone else," Fuuka-san said. "You are all so soaked…"
"Mm… in that case…" Amada-senpai looked at Makoto. "Do you want to share the umbrella with me, Makoto?"
Shinjiro-san glanced at Amada-senpai, eyebrow raised. "…Is there something you're not telling me?"
"W-What's that supposed to mean?!" Amada-senpai demanded. "Her yukata is white. She shouldn't be getting wetter than she is already."
He just smirked, looking away. "Nothing."
"Ugh, forget it," Amada-senpai huffed, before handing the umbrella to Makoto. "You share with Takamaki-san. I'm going on ahead."
"H-Hey, wait up, Ken-kun!"
"This is seriously where you live?!" Ryuji was unabashedly gaping at well—everything.
"Ryuji, don't stare," Makoto whispered, nudging him. "It's rude."
"But have you seen-"
"Ryuji, I have eyes too."
They went up in the elevator, riding up to the top. Shinjiro-san then unlocked the lone door, revealing an airy room, that seemed to blend a living room, dining room, and a kitchen all in one.
"Ken, go change out of your clothes," Shinjiro-san said absently. "You'll get sick."
Ugh… lucky. Makoto rubbed her arms, shivering a little, watching Ken disappear down the hallway. Her yukata was sticking to her skin rather uncomfortably. Fuuka-san pursed her lips together when she looked at them. "Shinji, where do you keep the towels?" she inquired.
"Cabinet right by the bathroom."
After thanking him, she went down the hallway. A few moments later, she returned, carrying a pile of neatly folded towels. "Here. We can't really offer a change of clothes, but… You should at least be able to dry yourself a little."
"We'll just have to withstand it for a while," Anne said, accepting a towel, rubbing it through her hair. "Thank you."
The others gave her their own thanks, before gratefully taking a towel. Fuuka-san smiled at Makoto when she took a towel, and unwittingly, Makoto smiled back. She couldn't explain it but… she felt a draw to the woman. Like they had some kind of connection.
"So… what do you two do as a living?" Yusuke asked.
"Hm?" Fuuka-san turned to look at Yusuke. "Oh, well…" She paused, before letting out an embarrassed laugh. "…I just realized that I never got your names."
"Oh, my name is Yusuke Kitagawa," Yusuke introduced himself with a low bow.
The boys introduced themselves as Ken returned to the living room. For some reason, he was carrying a pile of clothes. "I noticed that you guys were really soaked, so I figured that I'd lend you a change of clothes while you're here."
Though… what he was wearing… was a bit of a surprise. He was wearing a simple tee shirt and a pair of sweats. A hand towel was draped around his shoulders to catch the water droplets that occasionally dripped from his hair. They were very normal pajamas but… Ken seemed so… put together.
"Sweet!" Ryuji cheered. "Thanks, Senpai!"
"It's still so weird to hear people call Ken that," she heard Shinjiro-san murmur to his girlfriend.
"Oh, wait, not that one. That's for Kitagawa-san, since he's a bit taller than me."
"Dude, enough with the formalities!" Ryuji complained.
Shinjiro-san snorted. "You're barking up the wrong tree. One of our friends has been after Ken to drop the honorifics for ages, but he always refuses."
"Well, excuse me for wanting to be polite," Ken said dryly.
"He still uses your first name though!" Ryuji continued to complain.
"Well, not entirely," Anne commented, glancing at her. "He calls Makoto by her first name."
Fuuka-san just giggled, reaching to ruffle Ken's hair. "He's always been a polite boy. Even when he was only eleven years old."
"Fuuka-san, you know I hate that!" Ken complained, quickly darting out of her reach.
He was… pouting. It was rather adorable, with that moody frown of his. It was just… endearing.
"Aw, but you have such soft hair…"
"You do?" Anne asked. "Let me feel!"
"What did I just say?" Ken huffed, even as his cheeks turned pink. "I'm not a dog!"
"My fur is velvety soft, Lady Anne!" Morgana chimed in.
"Jeez, you brought your cat?" Shinjiro-san demanded. "Did you even feed him yet?"
"I was planning on it?" Ren offered.
"Tsk… excuses," Shinjiro-san grumbled with a click of his tongue. "Give me a sec."
He then moved to the kitchen, grumbling to himself.
"You should really get changed though," Fuuka-san said to the boys. "The bathroom is the second room down the hallways."
"Oh yeah…"
"My thanks again, Amada-san," Yusuke added.
Then Fuuka-san frowned. "Hey, Ken-kun, why did you grab so many?"
"Oh, well… I was thinking…" For some reason, Ken's face reddened a bit. "I think the girls have to be more uncomfortable since their… yukatas have to be sticking to their skin, and since you're a lot shorter than both of them, I thought…" He looked away, unable to finish the sentence.
When Makoto picked up one set of clothes, a pleasant scent drifted from it. Now that she thought about it, Ken did wear cologne. "Thank you, Ken," she said. "It was very thoughtful of you."
"Thanks, Senpai!" Anne chirped, happily picking up the other set of clothes. She saw Fuuka-san pick up a towel and begin to rub down Morgana, earning some happy purrs from the feline.
They waited for the boys to return from changing before heading for the bathroom. It was a relief to strip out of her soaked yukata and to properly dry herself. The tee shirt hung on her frame loosely, so Makoto ended up tying it at the end to fit her a little better. The sweats had a elastic band, so she just pulled on the drawstrings to fit her. The clothes were very comfortable, though.
By the time they got back, the table was covered with food.
"Uh… what is this?" Anne blinked owlishly at the table.
"It's called food," Shinjiro-san deadpanned. "You eat it."
"Shinji, don't be rude!" Fuuka-san admonished. "Honestly, and you complain when Ken-kun sasses you." She folded her arms over her chest. "You only have yourself to blame."
"Tch," was all he had to offer as a comeback.
Ryuji leaned over to Ren, whispering, "Wow, she's got him whipped."
"Yamagishi-san uses a whip on Aragaki-san?" Yusuke frowned, looking puzzled. "Why would she do that?"
"Dude, it's an expression."
"What is it referring to, then?"
"That's enough, you three!" Anne scolded in a whisper. "Jeez, don't talk about that kind of stuff when they're in earshot!"
"Um… but we did eat a bit at the festival," Makoto said slowly, as a way to distract herself.
"Yeah, and since when do festivals offer you healthy food?" he scoffed. "…Besides, I'm guessing the fireworks festival was a way to celebrate the end of exams, yeah? But the storm ruined it."
"You're a good person, huh?" Anne noted.
Shinjiro-san looked rather taken aback. "I-It's nothing," he mumbled out. "Just… Just eat as much as you want, a'right?"
"Hey, why do you have this tiny plate?" Ryuji asked.
"It's for the cat. Morgana, right?"
Morgana bristled at being called a cat, but then he perked up as he jumped onto the table, getting a good eyeball of what exactly Shinjiro-san had prepared. "Is that shrimp tempura?!"
"Uh… he likes to eat at the table," Ren said sheepishly. "That won't be a problem, right?"
"Well, considering that our dog always gets Shinji to give him the best cuts…" Ken gave his guardian a dry look. "…Not really."
"You try and say no to that face," Shinjiro-san retorted.
"Did you all not move out here?" Makoto inquired.
Their various comments made it seem that Fuuka-san didn't normally live here…
"Oh no, I live on Port Island," Fuuka-san explained. "I'm just visiting for a few days. Shinji and Ken-kun living here is… temporary. Shouldn't be more than a year."
"So… you'll be moving back eventually?" Makoto asked hesitantly, feeling her heart sink for some reason.
"No, we'll probably stick it out here until Ken graduates," Shinjiro-san answered. "There's no reason to go through another transfer. It's just a pain in the ass."
"A long distance relationship, huh?" Anne winced. "That must suck."
"It's not so bad," Fuuka-san laughed. "We video call a lot, at least twice a week. And we did this before, actually. I studied at Tokyo U after I graduated from Gekkoukan. My major was computer science."
"Is that so?" Yusuke blinked at her. "Forgive me, Yamagishi-san, but you don't seem like the type…"
Fuuka-san giggled. "No, it's okay. I get that a lot."
"You must be really smart if you got into Tokyo U though," Makoto said in awe.
That was her first choice in university, actually. Probably for most people, but…
"What do you like to do, though?" she asked.
"Oh, a lot of just about everything," Ren said with a shrug. "And hanging out with my friends."
"Reminds me of a certain someone I know," Shinjiro-san muttered.
Hm? Someone like Ren…?
"I model," Anne piped up. "It started as a casual thing, but I realized recently that it's something I really should take more seriously!"
"One of our friends is a model, actually," Fuuka-san said. "Though you'll probably recognize her more from her acting career."
"Who is it?" Ren asked.
"Yukari Takeba." Ken casually dropped the bomb.
"Dude…" Ryuji gaped at Ken. "You know Yukari Takeba?!"
"Yes…?"
"She's so hot."
Ken wrinkled his nose. "…Can you not talk about her like that?"
"Dude, do you have eyes?!"
"She's also like an older sister to me," he deadpanned.
"Any other famous senpai you have?" Makoto raised an eyebrow at him.
He hesitated for a moment. "…No."
"Not unless you count the time Aki bodyguarded for Mitsuru for an event and he sarcastically said his credentials included him wrestling a bear," Shinjiro-san said dryly. "The media really had fun with that…"
"I don't think Minako-san is ever going to let that go…" Ken said with a sigh.
Fuuka-san began to laugh, until her eyes drifted to the living room. Then her eyes turned as wide as saucers and she hastily stood up.
"Fuuka?" Shinjiro-san looked confused as she rushed into the living room. "What's wrong?"
The TV had been playing, though the volume had been turned down so they could talk.
"To the Phantom Thieves causing an uproar in Japan: do not talk about your false justice."
W-What?
"That's… Medjed's symbol…" Makoto said slowly.
"Was that… Was that what Mishima was talking about?" Morgana breathed.
"What about Mishima?" Ryuji asked.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Shinjiro-san demanded.
"I… n-never mind, it's nothing." Ryuji ducked his head.
They watched the rest of the report with horror, as Medjed essentially challenged the Phantom Thieves, demanding that they stop.
"…It's getting late though," Yusuke said slowly. "I believe we should go now, before the trains stop running."
"Are you sure?" Fuuka-san looked bewildered.
"Yeah, I agree with Yusuke," Ren spoke up. "We should head back. My guardian will give me hell if I'm late…"
"Anne and I live in Shibuya, so we'll just head home together," Makoto spoke up. "But thank you for the meal, Shinjiro-san. It was delicious."
"And thank you for opening your home to us," Anne said politely. "We really appreciate it."
Makoto reluctantly changed back into her still wet yukata and after Anne had finished dressing, they headed back to Anne's apartment first. It was quiet on the way back, as they couldn't find it in themselves to make small talk, and Makoto barely registered Anne's goodbye.
Medjed had… declared war on them.
Just how were they supposed to tackle this?
Thursday, July 21st, 2016
Despite Fuuka-san's reassurances that Alibaba had nothing to do with Shido, Ken couldn't help but be worried.… The messages would still occasionally trickle in.
What do you know about Wakaba Isshiki? The Shadow Operatives knew about her research about cognitive psience… I need to know!
You know how the Phantom Thieves steal hearts, right? I need someone to be targeted. Can you do it? They don't seem willing to fulfill my little request.
Ken sighed to himself, staring at the most recent messages. Just what was Alibaba after? Wakaba Isshiki… pricked at his memory for some reason. He couldn't help but feel it was important. And cognitive psience… that sounded familiar too.
Wouldn't that be connected to the Metaverse? They talked about cognition during their jaunts in Kaneshiro's Palace…
Maybe he needed to talk to Makoto about this… Besides that, it was a bit… worrisome, with the statement Medjed had released a couple days ago…
And as if his thoughts had summoned her, Makoto had appeared in his sight… talking to some boy in a tan peacoat. She didn't look very happy to see him though.
Then he came closer… and saw just who he was. Chin length, almost shaggy brown hair, bangs curling down near his right eye… reddish brown eyes…
…Oh. Ugh. Ken tried not to grimace.
He had nothing against Goro Akechi, even though he couldn't help but wonder why exactly he was so happy to give frequent interviews instead of actually looking into the mental shutdowns, like he was supposedly doing. But it was annoying when people told you repeatedly that you look like Goro Akechi or asked if you're related to him in some way.
"I hear your sister has been going around, investigating into cognitive psience," Akechi was saying.
…What? Makoto's sister was a prodigy prosecutor… why would she be looking into that?
Makoto narrowed her eyes, noticeably stiffening. "Sis doesn't really like discussing cases with me."
"Hmm, I suppose that makes sense." He cupped his chin in his hand, in deep thought. "She probably should consulting experts, after all."
Ken pointedly cleared his throat, before smiling slightly at Makoto. "Good morning, Makoto."
"Oh, Ken!" Makoto's eyes lit up, her lips curving into a smile. "Good morning."
"Oh?" Akechi turned to look at him. "Who is this, Niijima-san? A friend?"
"Yes," Makoto said coolly, her voice clipped when she looked at Akechi. "This is Ken Amada. He's recently moved to Tokyo."
"Really…" For some reason… Ken felt uncomfortable with Akechi's eyes on him.
Why did they look familiar…?
"I could have sworn we've met before!" he laughed. "Have you been to Tokyo before you moved out here?"
"Not that I know of," Ken said with a frown. "I think you're mistaking me for someone else."
What kind of question was that?
"I must be, if you're have no recollection of me." He then pressed a hand to his mouth, stifling a chuckle. "Aside from seeing me on television, I suppose. More and more people have been asking me for interviews, after all."
…Okay, he was a bit aggravating. And a bit of a braggart. Ugh. And this was the guy they were comparing Naoto-san to?
"Are you done, Akechi-kun?" Makoto looked rather annoyed herself, with her lips pursed together as if she was stopping herself from making a comment. "Don't you have an interview to catch?"
"As a matter of fact, Niijima-san," he laughed, "I do. People are curious what I have to say about the whole Medjed incident, with the challenge they made to the Phantom Thieves." He then shrugged, before spreading his hands. "Though, I suppose Medjed does have a point… The Phantom Thieves are making a mockery of justice, after all."
Ken narrowed his eyes. "You've made it perfectly clearly that you think that the Phantom Thieves are nothing more than criminals themselves on your various interviews," he said dryly. "You don't have to repeat it."
"Oh?" He tilted his head at Ken. "And I suppose you believe that the Phantom Thieves are better than law enforcers?"
"They get things done at least," Ken retorted. "While you've been running off giving who knows how many interviews."
Makoto's jaw dropped, and he swore he saw her eyes bug out.
"My, you're a blunt one, aren't you?" Akechi laughed again. "The Phantom Thieves are vigilantes at best. Arrogant ones, at that." Makoto noticeably stiffened at his statement.
Ken had to fight to not roll his eyes. Did he really say that? Really? He could not talk about arrogance, not with how he acted like he was the high authority. Though the public's opinions of him didn't exactly help.
"For what? Stating that they'll make their targets confess—something that they do end up doing." Ken shrugged. "They're just fulfilling their promises."
"And we're really late for school now!" Makoto suddenly interjected, grabbing his arm. "Come on, Ken, we don't wanna be late."
Without waiting for either him or Akechi to respond, Makoto proceeded to drag him away and into the train that would take them to Shujin. Once they arrived, she pulled him aside, before she smacked his shoulder.
"What were you thinking?" she scolded. "Do you want people to talk about you? You have to be socially inept to not know how popular Akechi-kun is, right now!"
"He rubbed me the wrong way," Ken muttered.
Makoto just let out an exasperated sigh, before pressing a hand to her forehead. "Honestly…" she muttered. "L-Look, I appreciate you defending the Phantom Thieves, but… you didn't have to."
"I did it because I wanted to. Besides, he was being rude to you, wasn't he?"
Makoto sighed. "It's just… in his nature," she muttered. "For as long as I've known him."
"Have you known him for long?"
Makoto's forehead wrinkled as she thought. "Not as long as you think," she said. "Akechi-kun only started becoming really popular in this last year and he was paired with my older sister for investigations. I became acquainted with him when I would bring lunch to my sister. She…" Makoto winced, "has a tendency to forget lunch when she's deep into a case."
Ah, right… Since Makoto's older sister was a prosecutor, she would need a detective partner. Though he had to wonder just how old Makoto's sister was…
But still… this was a good chance to talk to Makoto, right? It was early in the morning, so they didn't have to worry about the annoying gossips rampant in Shujin. (Seriously, why were they so obsessed with gossiping…)
"Makoto?"
"Hm?"
"There's something I want to talk to you about," Ken mumbled out before he could get cold feet. When she looked at him, questions in her eyes, he spoke again. "I… I think I have a clue for the target you've been looking into. The one Alibaba has offered you."
Makoto's eyes turned as wide as saucers. "Wait… how do you know that?"
"For some reason… Alibaba reached out to me," Ken said. "Last Saturday, to be exact, but they have been sending messages to me every now and then…"
Makoto pursed her lips together. "…What kind of messages?"
"Well… the most recent one asked me if I… I knew how to steal desires," he said softly. "They seem unsure if you'll fulfill the request."
"It's just so… vague," Makoto confessed. "So we don't know if we should." Makoto sighed. "I'll talk to Ren during school and organize a meeting with everyone… We should talk about this in private."
"Are you for real?!" Sakamoto-san was gaping at Ken. "You can't be serious, man!"
"The question is…" Kitagawa-san tapped his index finger against the table. "How did Alibaba discover all of our identities? Why would go to Amada-san first? It came as a shock when Ren received the first message, but it makes sense as he's our leader."
"Maybe Alibaba had a reason to go to Amada-senpai first…" Takamaki-san gazed at Ken, her eyes filled with curiosity. "Maybe Alibaba didn't want to reach out to us at first. Look at how they seem to be holding their cards tightly to their chest."
"I guess that makes sense," Amamiya-san mused. "People are always speculating about what we do is right or wrong…"
"What troubles me is how Alibaba was able to contact you both…" Morgana said, before sitting down, curling his tail around himself. "They must be a master hacker."
"Dude, did you not see the stunt that Alibaba pulled?" Sakamoto-san grumbled. "Alibaba hit the entire school while trying to show off to Ren his abilities."
"Though, it seems like Alibaba thinks of you an honorary Phantom Thief." Makoto looked thoughtful, before looking over to Amamiya-san. "You did bring up the idea before…"
…Wait, what? What idea?
"I did…" Amamiya-san said with a laugh, before his eyes swept over to his friends. "Well? What do you guys think?"
"Well, Amada-senpai seems like he's being dragged into things no matter what…" Takamaki-san shrugged. "I think you were right, Ren."
"I agree," Kitagawa-san pronounced.
What was going on?
"You know what I think," Makoto said with a smile.
Think about what?! Will someone tell him what exactly was going on?
Morgana sighed. "He's capable," he said grudgingly.
…Wait a minute.
"Well, he did save our asses with Kaneshiro…" Sakamoto-san grinned. "I say yeah!"
"Amada-senpai," Ren began, "will you join the Phantom Thieves?"
I know that the fireworks festival didn't include food and games, but after researching a bit, food and game stalls are usually set up during these kind of events. So I changed it, because I really did wish that the Phantom Thieves got to actually have some fun, instead of the rain ruining the show.
So… Akechi. I know there are a lot of headcanons floating around that Ken and Akechi will become good friends in PQ2, but they won't be in this. Why? Because while their backgrounds and motivations to become a Persona-user are very similar… their actual personalities are very different. Akechi gives off a front of being a people's person, even though he has a tendency to rub some people the wrong way sometimes with his attitude. Ken is more serious and tends to be drawn towards down to earth characters as friends (Akihiko, Shinji in the movies, Naoto and Kanji in PQ/Ultimax, and etc.) So it's really a personality clash (in the beginning). However, their relationship is rather complicated and I'm looking forward to delving into it.
But thank you again to everyone else who has been showing support for this story! It sometimes really blows my mind to see that people really like this.
