A thump, and Jessikah's eyes shoot open. " Youve activated my trap card! Huh?." She sits up, and Morgana, draped across her chest, topples onto the floor, and wakes with a yowl.
Jessikah turns and finds Yusuke at her desk, standing, gloved hands raised in the air, fingers splayed. "They are complete," he states.
Jessikah shakes the fog from her mind. "Oh man, I'm sorry. I must've fallen asleep."
"Yes, I noted your snoring some time ago," Yusuke says, and folds his arms across his chest.
"I don't snore," Jessikah protests. She glances down at Morgana. "Do I?"
"Oh yeah," the cat replies, licking his paw and wiping it over his face. "Like, all the time. I usually just hit you a few times until you stop. Seriously though, you might want to get that checked out. Sleep apnea is no joke, from what I've heard."
Jessikah's eyes narrow. "You've heard of sleep apnea?"
"Hey, I hear things. I keep my ears peeled."
"It's eyes, and-"
"Pardon me," Yusuke interrupts. "But as I stated earlier, I have finished my assigned task."
Jessikah pushes herself off the couch, and rubs her shoulder. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but watching Yusuke work had been so... exhausting.
Jessikah walks over and looks down at the desk. "Whoa," she says.
It is covered with calling cards, dozens and dozens of them. Stylized in red and black, each card holds a single image of a crimson top hat, beneath which fire burns. In blocky English letters, she reads, "'Take Your Heart.'" Jessikah smiles at Yusuke, and pats him on the back. "They're perfect."
Yusuke nods. "Excellent. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to descend into the void." He walks past Jessikah, and plops down on the couch. In a moment, his eyes are shut, and his breathing becomes slow and regular.
"Whoa," Morgana says, staring at him. "Is he asleep, already?"
Jessikah pulls her phone from her pocket and checks the time. "Damn. It's no wonder. He was up the whole night making these." Carefully, Jessikah reaches into her desk and pulls out another pair of gloves. She begins to collect each calling card, and stacks them atop one another, making sure to keep her hair away from them. "So," she says. "Are you ready for your mission?"
Morgana beams up at him. "After the storage unit yesterday, this'll be easy!"
"Sure about that?" Jessikah asks.
"Do you doubt my skills?"
Jessikah shakes her head. "No. It's not that. It's just..." Jessikah sighs. "Yesterday was risky. It worked, but it was risky. I don't want to see you hurt."
"Risky?" Morgana asks, and hops up onto first the chair, and then the desk. "It was your plan."
"I know, I know," Jessikah replies. "Just, be careful today, okay?"
Morgana rolls his eyes. "You know, for a daring Phantom Thief, you worry way too much."
"Right," Jessikah grumbles, and starts to place the cards in a pouch. "Because we've never had anything we've needed to worry about."
Madarame paces the office. "No, no. You're not listening to me. Put your boss on!"
"I told you," comes the voice on the other end. "He's not here. I will relay your message if-"
"Do you understand what this all means? Do you? Someone knows about the storage unit. Someone is talking to someone and that someone needs to be held accountable."
"Would that be the first someone? Or the second someone?" There's an amused lilt to the voice on the phone.
"Is this funny?" Madarame shouts. "This concerns your business as well as mine. Don't you care? Don't you care that someone in your organization is sharing information about the storage units?"
"Listen, man. You need to calm down. When my boss gets back, he's going to talk to you, and you're going to have to be a lot calmer than you are right now. Hysterics aren't going to get us anywhere."
"This isn't hysteria," Madarame squeals. "This is figuring out where your leak is."
There's a knock on the office door.
"Not now," Madarame shouts at it. He turns his attention back to the phone. "I need to speak with him. I need to make him understand. If I have to move things out of-"
"Whoa, whoa," the voice says. "Move things? That's a big no-go there, buddy. You move things when we tell you it's okay to move things, not before. Never before."
"But if its location has been leaked and-" He's cut off by another knock at the door. "Goddammit! I said, 'Not now!'"
"M-Madarame-sama?" Comes a voice on the other side of the door. "It's urgent, I'm afraid."
He growls and shouts into the phone. "Hold on." Then he marches to the door, yanks it open and glares at the young gallery attendant on the other side. "What?"
The young woman pales, and with trembling hands, holds out a small, red and black card towards him. "Th-this was found outside. There's more of them. A lot more, actually."
"The hell?" Madarame asks, and snatches it out of his hands.
He reads it, and his eyes widen. He shuts the door on the young attendant without saying a word, and lifts the phone back up to his ear. "I need to talk to him. Please. There's been a... um, complication."
When Makoto walks into the diner and spies Haru sitting at their usual table, she feels as if she's released a long breath held too long. She storms across the diner's floor, and when Haru sees her coming, the girl stands up and says, "I'm sorry Mako-chan, I-" but she can't finish because Makoto hugs her.
"Are you okay?" Makoto asks, without breaking the hug. "Are you okay?"
"Um," Haru replies, a light quiver in her voice. "Yes, Mako-chan. I am." Makoto holds on. "Um," Haru continues. "Not that I don't appreciate this, but people are staring."
"Oh," Makoto says, and releases her. Haru's face is beet red, and her own cheeks feel hot as well. "You weren't in school yesterday or today," she blurts. "I didn't know what had happened."
Haru gestures the seat across from her and Makoto sits. Haru joins her. "I'm sorry," Haru replies, with a soft shake of her head. "Things just got out of control, and I didn't know what to do, and I never meant to make you worry. After what you saw, I just felt like I couldn't face you and-"
Makoto leans over the table towards her. "Haru," she says. Haru lifts her eyes to stare into hers. "Who was that man?"
Haru sighs, and is silent for a few moments. Then, "His name is Sugimura. Rin Sugimura. And, well, he's my fiancé."
Makoto isn't sure what keeps her eyes locked in her head. "Fiancé?" She spits. "That... that asshole?"
Haru winces a bit, but nods. "Yes. It's all been arranged by our respective families. It makes sense, in a way. My family has pull in the business world. The Sugimura's are influential in the political world. So..." instead of continuing on, Haru just slowly brings her hands together until they clasp one another.
Makoto has of course heard of this kind of thing before. It isn't uncommon. Sae had tossed around the idea of finding a match for Makoto a year or so back, but nothing had ever come of it. She's heard the wealthy and influential play these kind of games with one another, but to actually see it in reality, writ across the face of her friend?
Makoto shakes her head. "I... Haru, I'm sorry. I'm at a loss."
Haru smiles. "I know. It's not ideal. But it's the hand I've been dealt." And she shrugs her shoulders, and Makoto's heart breaks a bit more.
So, she shakes her head again. With more force this time. "No. We've got to do something. You can't marry that jerk. We're getting you out of it."
Haru's eyes widen in surprise. "I can't, Mako-chan. It's pretty much official at this point. It won't be finalized for another few months, but this is how it's going to be."
"Unacceptable," Makoto says, frowning. She thinks. "My sister knows a really good lawyer" Maybe we can-"
"Makoto," Haru says, cutting through her train of thought. "Please. Enough." Makoto watches her friend as her eyes get all misty. "I appreciate this. I do. But can we just drop it? Can we just pretend that it didn't happen? I don't want to think about this anymore than I have to, and I don't want the last few months I've got left before I have to marry him to be spent trying to get out of the whole thing!" Haru's voice rises as she speaks, and at the last word it nearly reaches a shout. She casts a nervous glance around to the other patrons, and whispers, "I'm sorry, but can we please just go back to the way things were? I convinced him to let that thing that happened with you go. I just don't want to think about this anymore. Please?"
And Makoto almost caves. Almost relents. She almost lies and tells Haru that she'll drop it. That things can return to the way they were. She opens her mouth to do so, and then she shuts it again.
When she opens it next, she says, "No." Haru blinks. "No, I'm not going to lie. I'm not okay with this. I'm not going to accept this. I'm not going to let you marry that jerk. You're my best friend, and I'm not going to just watch this happen to you." It doesn't take long to realize what she's said. When she tries to find her way out the hole, all she manages is, "Um... you see, I, uh-"
And then Haru, eyes wide, a big smile on her face, asks, "I'm your best friend?" Her voice is small, but delighted.
Makoto's mind works overtime. She had not intended to admit that. She tries to figure out a way of rephrasing, but eventually just stops, blushes and says, "Well, of course. Who else am I going to investigate magical thieves with?"
Haru beams. "So you admit they must be magic!"
Makoto rolls her eyes. "I will admit to the remote possibility of it. Nothing more."
The two girls look at each other, and both start to laugh. It grows and grows, and before long the two can't stop.
"Thank you, Mako-chan," Haru replies, once she can.
Makoto nods. "I'm serious, you know. We're going to find a way to get you out of this." When Haru opens her mouth to protest, Makoto states, "We will."
Haru doesn't say anything for a time, then she whispers, "Alright. But what about-"
"The Phantom Thieves?" Comes a voice.
Both girls blink, and look over at the table next to them. Two older girls sit there, staring at their phones. One looks up at the other and says, "Is this for real? This is like, really close by!"
The other girl shakes her head. "It's gotta be, right? They've struck again."
Around the diner, the people, be they older or younger, take their phones out, and begin little whispered conversations amongst themselves. Makoto hears the words, "Phantom Thieves," and "Calling Card," again and again. Then, people start to leave. First, it's the two girls. Then, an older couple near the back.
"What's going on?" Haru asks.
"I don't know," Makoto replies. She looks out the diner's window. The typically crowded Tokyo streets are just that, crowded. But there's an energy to their movement, and they all seem to be heading in one direction, looks of wonder and excitement mixed across their faces.
"Come on," Makoto says, and stands. Haru follows suit and the two girls dash out of the diner and join the throng of people as they slide forward, down the road.
They wind their way through the street, and find themselves in a huge crowd outside an art exhibit. Makoto and Haru try to peek over the heads of the people in front of them, but to no avail. "Excuse me," Makoto says, tapping the man in front of her on the shoulder. "What's going on?"
He flashes her a smile. "It's those Phantom Thieves. They just left a calling card for Madarame!"
Makoto blinks and searches her memory. "The painter?" The man nods.
Haru straightens. "My father has a piece of Madarame's in our study. He's famous worldwide!"
The man turns his attention away, and Makoto frowns. "Come on," she says, and grabs Haru's hand. Together, they start to cut their way through the crowd.
It takes a few minutes before they're able to reach the front, and they spy a large line of police tape, and scattered across the front of the exhibit, are many black and red cards. Makoto squints, trying to read them from a distance.
"Look, Mako-chan," Haru says, and points at a second story window. It's a small ledge, and on it, sits another batch of the cards. The window next to it, contains a batch as well. Makoto lets her eyes travel across the entire building's façade. Every ledge, every sill, contains a small pile of the Calling Cards. With every breeze of the wind, more scatter into the air and blow out into the crowd. People laugh and reach and jump for them when they get close.
Makoto's eyes narrow. "You know, that's a pretty narrow ledge. I don't think a person could get up there."
Haru nods. "But a cat?"
The two girls look at each other. "That's a different story."
