"Ok… I think I'm good now." he said.

"If you ever start having those strange memories again, tell me, ok?" she asked. "We can take another small break."

"I knew you cared about me." he smirked.

"It would be inconvenient for me if you passed out." she scoffed.

A part of her still desperately wanted to be the one to take down the Phantom Thieves, which was why she was willing to put up with the boy's antics.

Still… it would be best for both of them if he took a moment to relax.

It had been uncomfortable, listening to him recall a false memory, and realizing that it was something that could have easily happened to Makoto.

"Oh… well, thanks anyway." he said. "Actually, since I told you something about myself, I was wondering if you could tell me something about yourself. Like, do you have any hobbies?"

She sighed, figuring that I'd just be quicker to answer any questions he had at this point.

"I like motorcycling and kickboxing in my rare moments of free time." Sae said.

"For real?!" Ren exclaimed, genuinely surprised. "That's crazy! My girlfriend loves motorcycles too! She really wants to get her motorcycle license. I even got her this little motorcycle figurine! She loved it!"

"A… motorcycle figurine, you said?"

"Yeah, we went to Destinyland on a date, and I gave that to her afterwards. I bought it some time ago with money from my part time job." he said. "She wanted to check the cute hats that they had there too. She got me a black one with goggles, and I got her a blue one with cards and a little pocket watch on it."

"A… blue hat as well?" she hesitantly asked.

"Yeah, why?" he smiled.

"I… I'm just overthinking this." she thought to herself. "It's true Makoto brought home a motorcycle figurine and a small blue hat recently, but I'm sure plenty of other people own things like that! And I certainly would have noticed if she had a boyfriend!"

"No reason."

"Well, ok. Now, back to her hobbies… well, she doesn't do kickboxing that much, but we're both super into martial arts."

He remembered the time she tried to teach him Aikido. She easily managed to overpower him every single time… until he distracted her by taking his shirt off, that is.

Nowadays, thanks to practice and his frequent gym visits, he could actually hold his own against her, even if she still won the majority of their spars.

Still, having her pin him down to the ground, completely dominating him was… exciting, in a way.

"Badass motorcyclists must run in the family." Ren thought.

"Are you going anywhere with this?" Sae asked.

"Sorry, sorry, I got carried away talking about her." Ren gushed. "It's just that she's a total badass, is all."

"'Badass' is generally not a term I hear people frequently describe their girlfriends." Sae said.

"What can I say?" Ren asked. "I guess I just love the kind of woman that can kick my ass."

"..."

"Niijima-san?"

She resisted the urge to slam the table again.

"He's talking about her to keep calm, Sae." Sae thought, taking a deep breath. "Now you calm down as well."

"That must cover a pretty wide range of women." Sae deadpanned. "...Now, your next confidant. Please."

"Right, my bad." Ren said. "Anyway, I bring up hobbies because one of mine is Shogi, and one of my confidants is my Shogi Master! Oh, but don't tell her I called her that, because she gets embarrassed whenever I do."

"Which I'm sure means that you take every opportunity you can to tease her by calling her that, right?" Sae asked.

His face sported a huge grin. "You know me so well, Niijima-san."

"Just hurry up and tell me about her." Sae demanded.

"Ok. When I first met her, she was just sitting in the Church, playing Shogi with herself. She was pretty shy, but thankfully, my overflowing charm was able to win her over." Ren explained.

Sae rolled her eyes.

He saw a girl, sitting alone in the church with a Shogi board.

"That must be her…" he thought.

Hifumi Togo, the Venus of Shogi.

Hopefully, learning from her would help improve his tactics in the Metaverse.

"Well, I should probably be formal, but where's the fun in that?" he thought.

"Hey Hifumi-chaaaaaaaan!"

"H-Huh? W-Who are you?" she stammered.

"Just a fan." he explained. "You are Hifumi Togo, right?"

"Um, yes, that's right."

"Ok, Joker." he thought to himself. "Now it's time to turn the charm on."

"Actually, Hifumi-chan." he smoothly said. "I was wondering if you could do a little favor for me."

"W-What kind of favor?" she asked.

He bowed his head to her.

"I would be very thankful if you… taught me your ways, oh Honorable Shogi Master!"

"W-What?!" she stammered. "P-please, there's no need to bow! A-And please don't call me Shogi Master!

"Hifumi-chan it is, then! Oh, but about my request…?"

"I… suppose I could give you some pointers." she muttered, fiddling with her hair. "We could play a quick match, um…"

"Ren Amamiya. But you can call me Ren."

"N-No, I couldn't. That's far too informal!"

"Ren-kun, then?"

She sighed, fiddling with her hair again.

"I suppose…"

He decided to make small talk as they started their game.

"Do you play other games like Shogi?"

"I also play Go and Chess, but Shogi is my favorite." she said.

"Hey, same here." he said.

Well, he supposed it would have to be his favorite by default, considering it was the only one of the three he has actually played.

But even then, he didn't play it often.

"Any pieces in particular that you like?" she asked.

"I like the ones that can move large distances or in any direction." he said

"So, you must really like the queen." she observed.

"W-What?!" he stammered, losing his cool.

"The Chess piece." she said, head tilted in confusion. "It can do both of the things you mentioned."

Again, he had never played Chess.

"O-Oh, right." he stuttered. "Yeah, it's great at everything, really. Offense, defense, and supporting the others … the Queen truly is amazing on the battlefield, and yet… elegant at the same time."

"It truly is." Hifumi agreed. "But in Shogi, the only two pieces that come close to matching such destructive power are the dragon horse and the dragon king."

Hifumi preceded to demonstrate said destructive power as she captured his golden general with her dragon king."

"Check."

"Wait, seriously?!"

Looking around the board, he saw that the entire time, she had been arranging her pieces in such a way as to prevent any sort of escape from his king.

"Impressive." he admitted. "But that was the warm up round! Let's get serious."

"Very well." she agreed.

After losing the next twelve games, he was no longer so enthusiastic.

"Um… are you still warming up?" the Venus of Shogi asked.

"I think I'm all burnt out, actually." he mumbled.

"There's no shame in retreating." Hifumi stated seriously. "To concede now would be to accept your loss with grace. You would do well to remember that if you plan to continue to study Shogi."

"Afraid I'll beat you, oh Honorable Shogi Master?"

"You know… this is kind of nice." he thought. "A lot of the girls I know are really intense, and that's fine and all, but it's a nice change of pace to meet someone so calm and collecte-"

"IGNORANT NAIVE!"

"H-Huh?"

She glared at him, the ferocity of a thousand fires burning in her eyes.

Venus of Shogi suddenly felt like a much more fitting title.

"You stand before General Togo, the queen of the strongest nation in the land! The fact that you, a mere peasant, dares to challenge one such as I makes me shiver with mirth!"

"Um…"

"Why do so many of the girls I know scare the shit out of me?" he thought.

Hifumi's right arm was wildly shaking, and she attempted to stop it by grabbing her wrist with her other hand.

"My Shogi hand twitches!" she yelled. "It twitches in anticipation of your demise! I had given you ample warning, but seeing as you did not heed it, then you leave me no choice but to unleash my true power!"

She picked up her Dragon Horse and slammed it down with such force that he thought it would shatter.

"Luminary Uppercut!" she yelled, striking the finishing blow.

He must have sat there for at least five minutes, mouth agape, dumbfounded by her sudden personality change.

"Sorry… sometimes I get a little intense." she muttered.

"Its fine." he assured her, regaining his composure. "My friends and I… are sort of the same way at times."

"Yes… I saw you and Kitagawa-kun making those strange poses here."

He paled. "Oh God, you saw that?"

He was actually talking about how the others acted in the Metaverse compared to their actual selves…

"I didn't want to interrupt you, so I just left." she excused. "But are you really fine with my… outbursts? The other players that I compete against find me… annoying, because of it."

"Really, it's fine." he assured her. "And if you don't mind, I love to come and practice some more with you."

"Yes, that sounds agreeable." she said. "I'd love to practice some new moves on you. And… I sense a gambler's spirit in you, despite your playstyle being that of a novice."

"Um… thanks?"

"I'm saying you have lots of potential." she said. "I think I might have even thought up a new move during our matches."

"Another 'Luminary Uppercut' type of move, Shogi Master?" he smirked.

"T-That's not-" she trailed off. "P-Please don't call me that!"

To this day, he still had never beaten her at Shogi, no matter how hard he tried.

Still, he had to admit, although he had originally talked to her only for the purpose of improving his tactics, he actually found himself playing Shogi just for fun now.

Unfortunately, being dominated in Shogi wasn't nearly as exciting as being dominated in aikido.

"She's a little shy, as I said, but she's a nice person." he said. "Very smart and tactically minded, too, but..."

"But…?"

"When she's playing Shogi, she gets really focused and super serious." he continued. "And if she gets really into it, it's like she turns into a completely different person."

"A different person?" she asked.

"She sometimes thinks of herself as a queen ruling over a kingdom, and I guess the Shogi pieces are her subjects." he explained. "And she comes up with these crazy attack names when she captures one of my pieces."

"Is everyone you know so… unique?" she asked.

"Being normal is no fun." he replied.

"Ok then. What unique talents did this person have?" she asked. "Why are they a confidant?"

"My Shogi Master taught me all about making great plans and tactics, which inspired the tactics and plans we used in palaces, like yours."

"Was getting caught part of your plan?" Sae deadpanned.

He was tempted to quote The Cake Knight Rises and say 'Of Course!', but thought better of it.

"Well… no." he lied. "But I'm sure my team will think of something. My second-in-command in particular is quite intelligent."

"Right, you mentioned a second-in-command before." she remembered. "The one who used brass knuckles and revolvers."

"That's right." he confirmed.

"Now, is there anything you can tell me about them?"

"I don't really feel comfortable talking about them right now. My memories are still...

"Just give me something." she asked. "Anything at all. You must remember something about then."

"Anything at all, huh?" he repeated.

He figured that if he wanted to get her to drop the issue, he'd have to give her something irrelevant, but also true, or at least, something he thought was true.

"Ok, I got something." he said.

"He might make another slip-up." she thought. "This could be the turning point of the entire investigation!"

"Alright, tell me." she said, listening intensely.

"Well…"

"Yes…?"

"She's got a really cute butt!" he said excitedly.

"..."

"...Um, are you ok, Niijim-"

*SLAM*

"So, she was wooed by your charm… and then the two of you started dating, right?"

"No… not her either. But I do like smart girls." he admitted. "And you know, to be honest, I'm not really this crazy womanizer. There are only two women that have actually had feelings for me, but… I only had feelings for one of them."

The one of them he actually had feelings for, of course, was Makoto, and the other…

"Still, how did you get this…'overflowing charm'?" she asked.

"Baths, burgers, and plenty of juice!"

"...Juice?" she questioned.

"Yeah, there's this juice stand I visit on Sunday. Sometimes it sells this juice that makes me more charming. Tastes horrible, though."

"A juice stand…" Sae murmured to herself. "Really?"

"And as for the burgers, well, I'm sure you know."

"How in God's name does the Big Bang Burger make you more charming?!" she exclaimed.

"I honestly have no idea. But reading books and watching movies also helped my charm too."

He decided that it would be best if he didn't say that it was his talking cat's idea.

"With all these ways to raise your charm, it's no wonder that you have quite the… silver tongue."

"Actually, that was mostly Old Man Tora." he thought fondly.

"Well, according to me girlfriend, my silver tongue makes me quite… cunning." he said.

"...Just cunning? Not a cunning… you know…"

"Nope, just cunning."

"Oh..."

"...Niijima-san, you thought I was gonna say a dirty joke, didn't you? You thought I'd say my girlfriend thought I was quite the cunning linguist, didn't you?" he accused.

"I… yes, I did. I figured a joke like that would be sound funny to a teenager."

"I would never joke about something like that." he assured.

"Sorry for assuming, then."

"..."

"..."

"...Not a joke if it's true." he whispered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"She told me that she had a magazine photoshoot and an interview, but I could tell that she didn't want to do either."

"Then why did she?" the prosecutor asked.

"Her mother was pressuring her." he answered. "She was like, one of those stage mom types that wanted to live through their own child's fame. Another part of it was that my confidant's father was very ill from devoting himself to Shogi, so my confidant wanted to bring in extra income."

"Was your confidant famous, then?" she said.

"She was quite the rising star." he said, amused with how fitting that was for her arcana. "The media was all over her, and she was called the 'Beautiful Shogi Player'... but they also focused on her father's deteriorating health, and how her mother had to work at a nightclub to support them."

"Sounds like there was more of a focus on her looks and private life than her skills as a Shogi player." Sae observed.

"Yeah, it was like her mom was trying to make her out to be some sort of Shogi idol." he said. "I even saw some… really weird fans of hers making her uncomfortable. Her mother actually assumed that I was one of them, and immediately assumed I had feelings for her daughter."

"Was your confidant not allowed to date?" she asked.

"No, she wasn't, which I assume is because she wanted to make her into an idol, and well, I don't think idols are supposed to have boyfriends."

"Her mother does sound controlling." she admitted. "Although that reminds me… do your girlfriend's parents know she's dating you?"

"Told you, it's a secret." he said. "Her caretaker doesn't know about us."

"They must be pretty neglectful then, if they don't even know that the person that they're supposed to be taking care of is dating a criminal." she judged.

"I love it when we agree on things, Niijima-san." he smirked.

"I understand that her mother was very controlling, but why does it matter?" she asked. "If it helped her daughter succeed, than I don't see the issue."

"I think it's good to have a little freedom in life, you know? Like, I study hard, but that doesn't mean I can't make time to have fun while still getting good grades."

"But if you devoted more time to studying, your grades would be even better." she countered.

He sighed.

"She's such a stick in the mud." he thought.

"Listen… the point I'm trying to make is that you shouldn't let others dictate your entire life." he explained. "You should do things because you want to do them, not because someone told you too."

"I don't see your point." she said. "In our competitive society, it's incredibly difficult, especially for a woman, to get ahead in life. You need to be willing to do whatever it takes to succeed."

"But what then?" he asked. "What happens after you succeed in getting to the top? What else is there?"

She mulled over his words, remembering what Makoto had said to her a few months ago.

"What's the point of studying?"

"I was just wondering what will be waiting for me at the end."

She shook her head.

"Perhaps a naive child such as yourself wouldn't understand." she said. "What else is there besides success?"

"Happiness, for one thing." he said. "Let's say you finally made a name for yourself, and got a great position, or you study really hard and get into a great university. Would that be enough to make you happy?"

"That's irreverent." she muttered. "As I said, success is all there is. I had plans for a promotion when investigating Kaneshiro, but-"

"It was more important that he be taken down as soon as possible." he said. "So that no one else would have to suffer, right?"

The police were struggling with Kaneshiro, so while they probably would have caught him eventually… it wouldn't be before other victims… including her sister… would suffer by his hand.

"...I guess you're right." she muttered.

He smiled. "See, Niijima-san? There are things in life more important than success."

She blinked.

And she saw him, continuing to look at her with that stupid, smug grin on his face.

"You're simply incorrigible." she sighed.

"Anyone can change, Niijima-san." he said. "Us Phantom Thieves know that better than anyone."

Unfortunately, because of her popularity, more and more people began to shun her, including those in the Shogi community. They said that she was all looks and no talent, or that she would do anything to become popular. But she didn't want all this idol crap. All she wanted was to make her mother happy, and to support her." he said.

"I see." the prosecutor mumbled, eyes downcast. "But how good were her Shogi skills, actually?"

"She's really good, but she's no match for a real pro, or even some of the other players in her league." he said. "Still, I wouldn't want to learn from anyone else."

"Then how did she become so popular, then?" she asked.

"Her mother had, unbeknownst to her, been fixing her matches with her fellow Shogi players." he answered.

"She had?" she asked, surprised. "I see… that would explain some of the hostility between her and her fellow Shogi players. But did she truly never notice?"

"Other Shogi players refused to play with her because of the fixed matches." he said. "So, she didn't really have a way of accurately gauging her skill. Only three people would practice with her."

"Three people?" she repeated.

"Me, the priest at the church she goes to, and my girlfriend." he said.

"So they know each other?"

"My girlfriend and my Shogi Master are friends." he nodded. "They met at Jinbocho, and really hit it off."

"Hmm… now that I think about it, I wonder what would happen if I combined their hobbies." he mused. "Shogi on motorcycles?"

"Jinbocho, you said?"

"Yeah, you know? The book town. We were looking into books on cognitive psience."

"Cognitive psience, huh…" she mused.

"We're both really into literature. I might have gotten her addicted to the Arsene Lupin series. She always gets so excited whenever she finishes one of the books, because we always get into deep discussions about them. It's like a two person book club."

Currently, they were both reading Arsene Lupin vs Sherlock Holmes. He had just finished reading it before the interrogation.

The Gentleman Thief vs. the Ace Detective.

In the end, Arsene had managed to outwit Sherlock, and make his escape.

Perhaps it was because of the connection he felt towards Arsene, but the ending comforted him.

Hopefully, reality would mirror fiction here.

"..."

"Niijima-san?"

"It's nothing." she muttered.

"Damn it..." she thought. "A two person book club between lovers. That's just… that's disgustingly adorable."

"We all play Shogi together sometimes too. The two of us are evenly matched, but neither of us have been able to beat our Shogi Master, even when we work together. Still, seeing my Shogi Master and my girlfriend play a match is always exciting. It's a battle of wits. A battle between queens. The Ultimate Excalibur Slash vs. the Fist of Justice." he said.

"Fist of Justice?" she repeated.

"My girlfriend says that whenever she gets excited. It's really cute… oh, but don't tell her I said that… actually, yeah, do tell her that, because she's cute when she gets embarrassed."

"You're such a tease, you know that?" she sighed. "And another thing, why did you say that it was a battle between queens? I know that you said your Shogi Master thought of herself of a queen when she was fired up, but…"

"Well, I can't exactly tell her that it's Makoto's codename." he mused.

"I, um… my girlfriend… I call her my Queen. And I guess you could say I'm her Prince Charming!"

"Seriously?" she said, rolling her eyes. "That's the kind of pet name I'd expect from a club host."

"No, if I were a club host, I'd call her my princess."

She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Sorry, another inside joke." he chuckled.

Although, if he ever had a daughter, he'd probably call her his little princess, but he figured that that was a bit different.

"The final straw was when her mother wanted her to throw a match with a male pro, hoping that she would gain sympathy with other women, and thus, gain more female fans. Then she would make a comeback, and explode in popularity."

"And what happened then?"

"We changed her heart, and my Shogi Master decided that she would go through with the match." he said.

"Considering most of her matches beforehand were fixed, I assume she lost."

"She put up a hell of a fight, but yeah, she did." he said. "But she actually wasn't that upset about it."

"Really? Why not?"

"I'll tell you…"

"Ravage them, Gold General!" he yelled.

"Fool! You've fallen right into my trap!" she yelled, capturing his now undefended bishop. "Don't underestimate the power of the evil eye!"

"Dream Needle!"

"Ultimate Excalibur Attack!"

"Eiho!"

"Abysmal Body Blow!"

"Such is a samurai's skill!"

"I'll end it thus!"

The two were locked into a heated Shogi match.

Unfortunately, it seemed like this attempt would also end in failure.

Although he had managed to gracefully recover from her dreaded Dark Inferno Rock attack, and had even managed to surprise her once or twice, Hifumi had once again demonstrated why she was the Master, and he was the student.

He scoured the board for any way to get out of his current predicament, but only found ways of delaying the inevitable.

And just like when facing shadows, he knew that in Shogi, there were times when one must retreat.

"A mere samurai such as myself is helpless before the might of the Togo Kingdom." he admitted. "I coincide."

"A wise decision." she nodded approvingly. "You fought bravely, and though you may have lost, you did so with grace."

The two of them sat down at their usual bench at the church.

"I quit the Ladies Professional Shogi Players' Association." she said. "I need to start over as an amateur."

"Well, if there was one thing your mom was right about, it's that you'll have an amazing comeback." he responded.

"Thank you." she beamed. "And I will make a comeback. But it'll be on my own terms."

She sighed.

"I should have noticed something was wrong. If I weren't so overconfident, I would have realized my actual skill level, and that my matches were being fixed."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." he said. "I mean, for the longest time, I was the only one you practiced against… and I suck!

She giggled. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself either. You've improved immensely from when we first started. You even managed to hold on after my Ultimate Excalibur Attack."

"All thanks to my Shogi Master!" he beamed. "By the way, how's Makoto doing in her matches?""

"She's never beaten me, but she's made me work for my victories. Although… she also gets really intense." she recalled. "She shouted 'Fist of justice!' when she took one of my pieces. It seems that all of your friends really do get… very enthusiastic."

"Yeah, we sure do." he chuckled.

She sighed once again.

"Something wrong, Shogi Master?"

"Thanks to you, she calls me Honorable Shogi Master, too." she groaned. "I tried to explain to her that she doesn't need to call me that, but she says she wouldn't want to be disrespectful."

He smirked. "Well, hey, look at it this way; one day, the entire world will be calling you Honorable Shogi Master."

She let a smile grace her face once more. "Thank you for believing in me, even after I told you about the fixed matches."

"No problem." he smiled. "I know that this whole arrangement started out as a deal, but I've really been enjoying Shogi more than I thought, and I think to two of us have become pretty good friends."

"Yes… I feel the same way." she said.

She took a deep breath, and gave him a determined look.

"I'll continue to work hard, even if people criticize me, and earn their praise with my skills alone." she promised. "I suppose, in that regard, I'm a bit like the Phantom Thieves."

"I… suppose so." he hesitantly agreed.

"Have my tactics been helpful then?" she smiled. "To the Phantom Thieves, I mean?"

"Great…" he muttered. "Now she knows too."

"We do." he answered honestly.

"It means a lot to hear that from one of Thieves." she confessed. "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"It's what we do."

"From now on, I will be happy to help you with any of your endeavors." she offered. "However, I do have one question…"

"What's that?"

"Do you use codenames?!" she asked excitedly. "M-May I have one?! I could be General! Or Ronin! Or even Queen!"

"Sorry, Queen is already taken." he chuckled.

"Really? In that case… you must really like the Queen, then." she observed.

"H-Huh?" he stammered, losing his cool.

"The Phantom Thief." she clarified, smiling. "Great at offence, defense, and supporting the others… they also are amazing on the battlefield, but elegant at the same time. That is what you said, correct?"

"Yeah…" he muttered, a blush creeping onto his face. "She really is…"

"I just wish I could tell her and the others how thankful I am for everything the Phantom Thieves have done, just like I told you." Hifumi said.

"I'll let the others know… but for Queen, well, you don't need to worry about that." he smiled. "I'm sure she already knows…"

"She quit the Shogi league she was in to start over as an amateur."

"And she was… happy about the situation?"

He nodded.

"You see, Niijima-san, even if she didn't succeed, and her reputation had suffered, she was still much happier than she was before, because she was finally being true to herself. She would finally be able to earn people's praise on her own terms, using only her skills." he explained. "That's why I don't think you necessarily need tons of success to be happy, and also that success doesn't guarantee happiness. You just need to be true to yourself, and carve your own path in life."

"...Is that so?" she murmured.

"This whole obsession that people have with getting ahead, and using dishonest means to do so… that shouldn't be tolerated in any career." he said. "Do you agree, Niijima-san?"

"...Let's move on." she said, ignoring what he had just said.

He sighed, but didn't press the issue.

"Man, the media, and I guess the people by extension, can be very fickle." he said. "As soon as she lost, they started calling her the 'Phony Princess' instead of the 'Beautiful Shogi Player', although she didn't mind."

"I suppose." she said. "The consensus on the Phantom Thieves has changed quite a bit. And the same applies for Goro Akechi."

"Goro Akechi…" he repeated.

"I still suspect that he was with the Phantom Thieves." she said.

He wanted to believe that Akechi really was one of them.

Or even if he was their enemy, he wanted to believe that he was at least acting in good faith. That he truly believed in the justice that he frequently spoke about.

But he wasn't one of them.

And he didn't believe in the justice he preached at all.

"He's not one of us. And he was never one of us." he muttered darkly.

He couldn't help some bitterness from seeping into his voice.

"I… see then." she said, surprised by his tone.

Not wanting to come across as too hostile, he quickly muttered an apology.

"Sorry… It's just you already asked me that, and I'm still a little on edge."

"Oh, of course." she answered. "Except, I have one more question."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I've been noticing a pattern." she said. "For all of your confidants that aren't Phantom Thieves, you needed to change someone's heart. Is this where you got all of your requests?"

"Not all of them." he answered. "We… had an informant. They weren't an actual member of the team, but they gave us information on requests that people made, and on the potential targets themselves. They were also another confidant."

"Interesting." she said. "Then why don't you tell me about your informant."