A/N: I know some of you are impatient to see everyone together. Don't worry, this story will be fairly long and I promise that both teams will be involved. At the moment though, both teams seem to be focused more on each other than on the mystery. Oh well, we'll see how that turns out~
20XY/07/26 (Wed)
Morning
Ryuji was in the shop when Akira came downstairs, sitting at the counter with a soda and a thick volume of manga.
"Yo," he said as Akira approached, giving him a tired look. "Is it okay if I hang out here till we meet?"
"Sure," Akira said. "You wanna come upstairs?"
"Yeah," said Ryuji, getting up.
Akira paused to greet Sojiro, taking his coffee and curry up into the attic room.
An hour later, Ryuji was lying on the couch staring up at his phone, one hand pillowed behind his head as he scrolled through his messages. "Ugh, the chat is so dead," he said. "I know Ann's got work right now and Haru said something about some business meeting or whatever, but where the hell is Makoto? Or Yusuke? Or Futaba?"
Akira looked up from his book, shrugging. "No clue," he said. "I guess we'll find out later."
"Man, I hope Makoto isn't doing anything crazy," said Ryuji. "You remember that thing she said last night, don't you, Akira? About having a plan to deal with Shirogane?"
Akira frowned, tugging at his hair. "I remember," he said.
Morgana perked up from where he was draped across Akira's knee, reading alongside him.
"What's this about a plan?" he asked.
Ryuji let out a sigh, flopping back against the couch. "You're gonna have to ask Makoto," he said. "If you can even get a hold of her."
"Pardon the intrusion," a voice called, coming from the foot of the stairs. "I am coming up." Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and then Yusuke appeared, poking his head into the attic room. "Ah, Ryuji," he said. "You're here too."
Ryuji sat up. Akira set his book aside.
"What's up, Yusuke?" he asked.
"I was in the area," Yusuke said, turning to Akira. "I hope you don't mind if I stay here until our meeting? I find myself suddenly without plans."
"Suddenly?" Ryuji asked, frowning at him. "Why the hell else would you be in Yongen-jaya?"
Yusuke dropped the bag he was carrying to the ground, taking a seat at Akira's desk chair. "Futaba invited me to watch an animated movie with her, however, when I arrived at her house, the door was locked. I rang the doorbell and sent her a text, but she hasn't responded. Don't worry, I asked Boss and he said that she was perfectly healthy when he left the house this morning. I can only assume that she has gotten absorbed in some project and is not checking her phone."
"Dude, wait, slow down," said Ryuji, his brow creasing. "You were going to watch anime with Futaba?"
"Yes," said Yusuke, blinking at Ryuji. "I fail to see why that is surprising."
"I—just—never mind." Ryuji let out a sigh, running a hand through his blond hair.
"What anime?" Akira asked, interested.
"I believe it was a movie called Sen and Chihiro's Kamikakushi," said Yusuke. "Futaba said that it had great artistic merit."
"You've never seen Kamikakushi?" Ryuji asked. "For real? Even when you were a kid?"
"No," said Yusuke. "Is that…surprising? Madarame did not take me to see films often."
"Huh," said Akira. "It's a good movie."
"Yeah, but that's not the point," said Ryuji, slumping back against the couch. "What the hell, man? Makoto's out of touch and Futaba's working on a project. I'm kind of worried. You don't think she's gonna do what she did with Kaneshiro, do you?"
Akira stopped to think for a moment. The memory of Makoto charging into a meeting with Kaneshiro did make him a little uneasy. But the Phantom Thieves had been in this business on and off for more than a year now. And the most important thing about how they operated was that they did not act alone.
"Makoto's not stupid," Akira said. "She'll be fine."
"I agree," Morgana said, stretching out. "We can trust her."
"Yes," said Yusuke, opening his bag. "In the meantime, I've brought an art book if anyone would like to look through it with me."
Daytime
"Our studio is on the fifth floor," Rise said, as she and Kanji walked through the automatic doors into the air-conditioned cool of the building lobby. "We usually have security watching the elevator, but if you use the pass I gave you, they should let you through."
"Uh-huh," Kanji said, trying not to gawk at everything as he followed Rise into the building.
He knew he was drawing attention to himself, but he couldn't help it. Tokyo was just…big, and there were so many people everywhere he looked, so many different things happening. They had taken the train to get here. In Inaba, taking the train like that would have put him in Okina or some other city. In Tokyo, it just meant seeing more Tokyo. He was aware that he was acting like a country bumpkin though, so he did his best to shake the fascination, rubbing at the back of his neck as he looked around the studio lobby.
"So—what?" he asked. "Am I just gonna sit around all day?"
"Pretty much," said Rise, smiling from beneath the hooded jacket and sunglasses she had worn during their trip to the building. "You can come and go as you please, and if you get bored, I'm sure we can find something for you to do. I thought this would be better than sitting around a hotel room, though."
"Yeah, s'alright," said Kanji, tugging at the strap of the bag he was carrying. "I've got some knitting and some orders to fill, so I can keep myself busy."
"Great," said Rise. "Thank you again for doing this, Kanji-kun."
They crossed the lobby. Kanji paused, noticing the crowd of people that had gathered around the doors leading out of the room. He didn't know what was happening, but everyone seemed really busy with something.
"What's goin' on over there?" he asked.
"Hmm?" Rise asked, looking. "Oh, that's a modeling studio. I think they're doing a photoshoot for the new issue of Vague today."
"Models, huh," said Kanji, watching as people wheeled a brightly-clad mannequin through the lobby towards the cluster of people, supervised by a stern-looking woman carrying a clipboard. "Whoa, who designed that piece of shit?"
The woman stopped walking, turning towards him. "Excuse me?" she asked. "Are you talking about this dress?"
"Yeah, 'course I'm talking about it," said Kanji. "I mean, you've got like, what, five different fabrics going on here, none of them match, and that's not going to be comfortable to wear. Who's gonna want to buy that?"
"It's not for sale," the woman said, resting a hand on her hip. "It's a concept."
"Okay, then why the hell even make it?" Kanji asked. "What's the point of makin' clothes no one's ever gonna get to wear?" He looked past her at the group of young women standing in a group behind her. The models, he guessed. "Plus, you're not even usin' your models correctly. You've got one chick in a blue jacket that's just not the right color for her, and you've got the hafugirl wearin' brown."
"I—." The woman opened her mouth to argue, then paused, looking back at the models. "That's not—who are you anyway?"
"Who, me?" Kanji asked. "I'm just a guy who knows clothes. Uh—name's Kanji Tatsumi."
The woman took a step back, giving him an appraising look. "I see. Are you free today, Tatsumi-san?"
Kanji looked back at Rise, startled. "Uh—," he said. "I've actually kind of got a thing—."
"Oh, go ahead," said Rise, giggling. "I'll be upstairs, Kanji-kun. I'll call you if anything happens, okay?"
"Um—yeah, sure," said Kanji. He looked back at the woman. "What didya want me to do, uh—."
"Nakata," she said. "Kyoko Nakata. I'm a representative for this clothing line. As you've surmised, I'm not a designer. I work in marketing. The designer had a family emergency this morning and won't be available until at least noon. If you have an opinion on which clothes are suited to which models, I would appreciate the help."
"Well, uh, I guess I could do that," said Kanji. "For starters, you gotta get that one girl out of the brown. Give her something brighter to wear, like—uh—." He walked up to the group, picking up a brightly colored blouse that had been set aside on a chair. "This! This'll do."
The next few hours passed in a whirlwind of costume changes and photographs. The designer never showed. He kept his phone within reach in case Rise or any of the others needed him, but none of them called, and Nakata kept him busy enough that he didn't have time to think about Naoto, Rise, or Yu until it was time to take a break. There were food and drinks set aside in a corner of the studio for the models and staff. No one protested when Kanji went to get himself a bottle of water, so he guessed it was fine.
He took a sip, walking up to the bench where the blond model from earlier was seated, going through her phone. He thought her name was Ann something—Ann Takamaki. She seemed nicer than the other models, more down to earth. She smiled as he approached, sliding over to free up the bench, and Kanji took the offered seat next to her.
"It always this crazy around here?" he asked.
"Mm, sometimes," she said. "Especially when there's a deadline coming up."
"Huh…" Kanji said, looking around.
"You aren't from around here, are you, Kanji-san?" she asked.
"Yeah, you got me," said Kanji. "I'm in town visiting a friend. That obvious?"
"Just a little," said Ann, smiling. "Thank you for helping out today."
"Oh, yeah, no problem," said Kanji. "It's not like I had anything better to do."
Her phone buzzed. Ann glanced down at it, her expression thoughtful. As she raised it up, Kanji caught sight of her background picture. It was her standing in what looked like a park, a black-haired boy's arm slung over her shoulder. Her arm rested around his waist. They were both smiling at the camera.
"Cute picture," Kanji said, offhandedly. "Your boyfriend?"
Ann flushed, blinking in surprise before an embarrassed smile spread over her face. "Um—yeah," she said. "He's the one that's texting me, actually. He lives in a different town, but he's in Tokyo right now for the summer."
"Long distance," said Kanji, wincing in sympathy. "That sucks."
"It's a little hard, but it's worth it," said Ann. She looked down at her phone, a faint smile on her face as she tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. "Sometimes I feel like he's one of the few people that really…gets me, you know? A lot of people can't see past the way I look."
"I hear ya," said Kanji, thinking about when he used to dress like a punk. "Sounds like you two got a good thing going."
"Do you have a b—uh…someone like that, Kanji-san?" Ann asked.
"Huh?" Kanji asked, his face flushing. "Oh—uh, yeah, I got a partner. We end up bein' long distance every now and then too because of work and shit. S'tough."
"But things are still working out for you two?" asked Ann.
"Yeah, well, listen. If they're the right person for you, you just gotta deal with it, you know. Man up and find something that works. But don't let go of something good just 'cause it gets tough every now and then. You guys know how long you'll have to keep this up for?"
"Hopefully not too long," said Ann, smiling. "We're both third years, so we're graduating soon. He's planning to go to college in Tokyo, so it's probably only going to be a few months more."
"Hey, that's great," said Kanji. "Hang in there. I'm rootin' for you."
"Thank you, Kanji-san, that's really sweet," said Ann. A call from the photographer made her look over, and she smiled, putting her cellphone away as she got to her feet. "It looks like my break's over. I'll see you around."
Rise came to get him a couple of hours after lunch, just after the photoshoot had wrapped up and Ann and the others had left. She came up to him while he was talking to Nakata, staying a few feet away and raising her hand in a wave. Kanji glanced at her, then back at Nakata.
"Well," he said, "Looks like that's my cue to leave. Nice working with you, Nakata-san."
"Thank you again for your help," said Nakata. "Have you ever considered a career in fashion, Tatsumi-san?"
Kanji shook his head. "Nah, I've got a textile shop to run back home. Can give you our card though." He dug a business card for Tatsumi Textiles out of his pocket, handing it to her. "Give us a call if you need anything. See you around."
He gave her a nod, walking over to join Rise. Nakata smiled, shaking her head faintly. As he walked away, he thought he saw her give the card a long look, before tucking it into the front pocket of her blazer.
Rise threaded her arm through his, making him jump. "Did you have fun, Kanji-kun?" she asked, giggling.
Kanji rolled his eyes, an embarrassed flush on his face. "Don't even start," he said, following her away.
The Phantom Thieves were seated around the table in the Okumura mansion's parlor that afternoon, snack wrappers littering the tabletop between them. Futaba had her feet on her chair, knees pressed up close to her chest and headphones on as her fingers danced across her laptop keys. Across from her, Ann and Akira read manga over Ryuji's shoulder while Haru sipped tea. Yusuke paced the room, studying the paintings again. The atmosphere in the room was tense, charged.
Makoto still hadn't arrived.
"Should we look for her?" Yusuke asked, after completing another circuit of the room.
"She's fine, Inari!" Futaba said, tugging one headphone off of her ear. "Just fine."
"Then why won't you tell us where she is?" Ryuji asked, looking up at Futaba. "What are you two plotting?"
Futaba let out a laugh that sounded suspiciously like a cackle, grinning. "You're just going to have to wait and see, Ryuji," she said, putting her headphones back on. "I'm not going to spoil the surprise."
Ryuji let out a frustrated groan. "I'm sick of this shit!" he said. "Can someone please just tell me what the hell's going on already?"
The door to the parlor opened, one of Haru's maids bowing Makoto in. She was dressed not in her usual summer clothes, but in a white blouse, sheer stockings, black skirt, and professional-looking blazer. Ryuji stared at her, jaw dropping. Akira looked over her outfit, brows raising.
"You're late," he said.
"I apologize," said Makoto, giving him a secretive smile. "I had some things to do."
"What's with the business suit?" Ryuji asked. "Where have you been?"
"It's not where I've been," said Makoto, pulling out an empty chair and sitting down. "It's where I'm going to be. Do you have what I asked you for, Futaba?"
"Of course," said Futaba, "Finished it last night. All that's left to do is attach it to Naoto Shirogane. Her computer, if you can. You know the drill."
"Wait—you're going to do what to Naoto Shirogane?" Ann asked, staring at Makoto with wide eyes.
"How do you propose to get near her?" asked Yusuke, frowning as he walked up to the table.
"I'll explain later," said Makoto. "In the meantime, let's talk about what happened with Masaru-kun. Did we find anything about where he and those delinquents might have overlapped?"
"Not yet," said Futaba. "Still looking. So far, though, it doesn't seem like they had anything in common."
"Well, duh, I could've told you that," said Ryuji.
"At least we've proven that cutting the thread works," said Morgana. "Even if Akira is still the only person who can see them."
"What do we do now?" Haru asked. "Do we go after those delinquents again?"
"Four of them," said Ann, frowning in thought. "They're going to be ready for us too."
"If that thing knows that we rescued Masaru, the security level's probably going to be pretty high," said Morgana. "I don't know if it's such a good idea to fight them all at once."
"Then why don't we fight them one at a time?" asked Akira. Conversation paused, the others turning to look at him. Akira held their attention for a few moments before letting his gaze shift to Futaba. "You can get Iwakura's home address, can't you?"
"Already gotten," said Futaba. "Should we go see if he's home?"
"Tonight," said Akira. "First." He looked back at Makoto. "What were you planning to do about Shirogane?"
Makoto smiled.
"This is insane!"
"Calm down, Ryuji," said Makoto, her voice coming out of Futaba's laptop speakers. She sounded like she was smiling. The Phantom Thieves, sans Makoto, were seated inside the van, parked a couple of blocks away from the police station that Yu Narukami was assigned to.
"No, this is legit crazy," said Ryuji. "Isn't she like, some super detective? Didn't Sae tell you not to get close to her?"
"Well, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere if we weren't willing to take risks," said Makoto. Her voice grew serious. "I'm approaching the police station. Make sure the van is ready. If things go badly, I might need it."
"Yeah, yeah," said Ryuji, sighing as he clambered into the driver's seat. "One getaway car, good to go."
Akira glanced at him, then leaned closer to Futaba's laptop. "Keep us posted, Makoto," he said.
"Will do," said Makoto. There was a pause, and then Akira heard the sound of automatic doors sliding open from the other end of the line. "Excuse me. I heard Naoto Shirogane was here? Do you mind if I speak with her?"
"Yuichi Iwakura," said Naoto, reading off the name at the top of the list she had compiled last night. "Second-year at Shujin Academy. Shujin Academy was Kurusu's school, and was at the center of the events of last year. If the Phantom Thieves are responding to online requests pertaining to this phenomenon, it's likely that they'll target him next."
Yu nodded, taking her notebook to glance at the name. The two of them were sitting in an unused conference room at the police station, notes and papers spread out on the table between them.
They had just come back from visiting Masaru. The boy was in bed with a fever after his ordeal, but he seemed normal now, and was even apologetic about what happened to Sayo. The strangest part was that he didn't remember speaking to Yu at all, or any of the events after attacking her. From the sound of it, he didn't even remember the attack clearly, only in fragments. So far, his testimony lined up with Hitani's, who they had also gone to speak with today. Frustratingly, neither of them could say anything about what had caused their psychotic breakdowns in the first place.
"We could stake out Iwakura's house tonight," said Naoto. "If they are involved, it's likely that that's where we'll find them. I'd be interested in learning about their methods. I—."
A knock at the door cut her off. The two of them glanced at it as the door opened, admitting the receptionist who usually sat at the front desk.
"Excuse me, Shirogane-san, there's a young lady outside who would like to speak with you," the receptionist said. "She says you worked with her father once."
"Did you get her name?" Naoto asked.
The woman nodded. "Makoto Niijima."
"Niijima…" Naoto frowned, thinking. Her eyes widened. "Ah, yes! I remember." She stood up. "I'll go speak to her. You don't mind, do you, Yu?"
Yu shook his head, smiling. "Duty calls," he said, checking his watch. He stood up as well, picking up his cellphone. "I'm going for a walk. Rise should be out of work by now. I'll check in with them."
"Thank you," said Naoto, following the receptionist out. "I'll be right back."
Kanji and Naoto's Messages – 07/26
Kanji: (U・x・U)
Kanji: ʕ/ ·ᴥ·ʔ/
Kanji: (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄
Kanji: (๑•̀ㅁ•́๑)✧
Kanji: (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Naoto: Kanji, what are you doing?
Kanji: ┬──┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)
Kanji: Practicing.
Naoto: OK.
Kanji: (⌒_⌒;)
