Chapter 14
Alibaba
-Leblanc Cafe Morning-
"YAWN! Good Morning Morgana."
"Morning Akira, ready for another day?"
"Ready as I'll ever be. Today is the day we get our midterm grades right? Let's see who got the highest among us."
"If anyone would get the top grade for your class, I'd say Amaya. You would be top 5 or so."
"I'd say I'm hurt if I didn't believe that myself. What do you think of 3rd year?"
"I don't know who would be on top honestly. Makoto and Akechi are both super smart so for all I know they might have tied."
"That I can actually see happening."
Bing!
"Hmm? A text this early? Is it Kasumi asking you if you want to walk to school together again?"
"Morgana please can it on that. HUH?!"
"What is it?" Morgana quickly jumped onto Akira's bed and looked at the message on his phone.
?- Hello Mr. Kurusu, or should I call you by the name you seem to prefer, Joker?
"W-Who is this?" Akira asked shakingly. Surprisingly the person responded as if they could hear what he was saying.
?- I am called Alibaba. I am a hacker, and I can hear you through your microphone so you don't have to type responses.
"I assume you want something from me?"
Alibaba- You are correct, I do. Have you seen the recent attack by the group Medjed?
"Medjed, the cybercriminal group? What of them?"
Alibaba- They have threatened you and your group. I have a proposition for you if you want Medjed done with.
"Alright, what is this deal?"
"I want you to take the heart of a particular person and in exchange, I will deal with Medjed and force them into the open. Sound like a deal to you?"
"That sounds like a deal but just so I know what would happen if I was to refuse?"
Alibaba- I wouldn't have taken no for an answer. I have a copy of the picture that your friends Fox and Luster had and I have irrefutable evidence of you being the Phantom Thieves and would have threatened to reveal this to your Girlfriend, Kasumi Yoshizawa.
"Why does everyone think that the two of us are dating?!"
Alibaba- Because of what I have listened to. I have been watching you for a long time. I even was listening to your initial meeting with Mrs. Yoshizawa and was almost crying when you all accepted Luster into the team. This has become a hobby of mine you could say.
"Alright...who is this person you would like us to cause a change of heart in? Because that is about a third of what we need."
Alibaba- Yeah, you need a location and distortion as well don't you? I heard you all talking when you were trying to figure out Kaneshiro's keywords. I will be listening and give you the name if you manage to convince your fellow members. For now then Farewell.
-Chat Ended-
"I need to tell everyone about this at lunch. Better head to school before I'm late."
"Agreed."
-Shibuya, Shirogane Residence-
Naoto woke up that morning and expecting the day to be normal she checked her clock and saw it was 7:30, Amaya and Haru should be getting up so Amaya can help her get to school. She walked out of her room and saw Haru's room door was open and everything inside was the same as they had left it yesterday. Naoto was confused at this and went to Amaya's room and opened the door to notice that he wasn't there and his bed was neat like he had made it up. Naoto was a little worried now and went into the living room and saw a sight that made her smile and had her take her phone out of her pocket and take a picture of the scene before her. Haru and Amaya were asleep on the couch with Haru's head on Amaya's shoulder and Amaya's head was leaned on hers. They both looked peaceful and she didn't want to disturb them but she knew she had too and cleared her throat.
"Morning, sleepyheads. It's 7:30 so up and at them."
Amaya and Haru slowly stirred and they noticed pretty quickly the situation they were in with Amaya and Haru quickly pulling away and they both blushed while Haru blushed a lot worse than Amaya did.
"Oh Amaya-Kun, I'm so sorry!"
"No worries Haru-Senpai. I was just surprised for Naoto to wake us up."
"Hehe, Ami and Haru-San, I wouldn't be opposed to it."
"NAOTO!" Amaya yelped blushing even worse and Naoto burst out laughing at the teen's embarrassment.
"Come on Ami, why don't you help me make breakfast? It may make someone's day just that tad bit better." Naoto finished this with a wink that when Amaya understood what it meant was basically as red as a cherry.
"Nao, let me do it because then you don't make a mess of my kitchen again."
"HAHAHA ok then. You know what I still will think of this as."
"Ugh, now I know how Akira feels." Amaya went to work making a small yet simple feast for Himself, Haru, and Naoto including an omelet each and a small stack of homemade pancakes with strawberries on them. They began to eat while not really talking. Haru spoke up eventually.
"Thank you for the food Amaya-Kun. It was really good. Where did you learn to cook?"
"Thanks for liking the food." Amaya said, "I actually taught myself to cook when my grandfather noticed I was good at it."
"That is very impressive. I wish I could cook like that."
"If you wouldn't mind I could always teach you how to cook every now and then. I am usually busy during the week but I should have time to show you at least my basics."
"I would greatly appreciate that."
Naoto was watching this transaction and could only guess they were getting closer. She could also only think about what she said earlier. She really wouldn't mind Amaya and Haru if they ever would get together she didn't know why they just seemed to really compliment each other but what did Naoto know? She as his sister barely knew him and was just throwing darts in the dark regardless. She could at least tell that Haru and Amaya were already getting close and that she could appreciate how they both lived under the same roof at least for the time being.
(Empress Rank 2)
-Shujin Academy-
"So what did you all get for your scores?" Makoto asked looking at the second year's accusingly.
"67th for me which is much better than I expected," Ann said looking pretty happy with herself.
"100th for me which is way better than last time." Ryuji said, "I heard the teachers thought I was cheating."
"I actually got 2nd place which is not really surprising for me knowing who is above me," Akira said looking at Amaya.
"Yeah, why am I not surprised Amaya got first for the second years?" Makoto asked.
"What did you get Makoto?" Amaya asked.
"Actually I got a record here, I got first tied with Akechi which nobody expected."
"Heheheh," Morgana subtly chuckled, "I win Akira you better pay up for my reward."
"I got 47th for third years," Haru said.
"This is all very impressive," Akira said he then turned to the other PT's and whispered, "I have something very important to talk to you about."
The Phantom Thieves nodded hearing that then they all heard a voice behind them.
"Well, Akira, second place in the second year students? That is surprising. I got third place. Thanks for letting me study again."
Akira and the others turn around to see a girl with red hair with a sort of clipped cloak there.
"Oh, no problem Kasumi. I'm glad I could help since you asked for my help and all."
Amaya knew to immediately take a mental image at this. He knew this was the girl Akira was with during the pictures and that Akira had a crush on her judging by the conversation he had with him yesterday. Kasumi seemed nice enough and introductions began between her and everyone else there, Ryuji, Makoto, Ann, Haru, and himself. She seemed very sweet which would make sense as to why Akira liked her but also she was susceptible to charm and didn't resist it which must have made her even better in Akira's eyes. Eventually, though, the bell rang and everyone split up to go to their respective classes. At lunch, the Thieves got lunch then headed up to the roof to discuss what Akira wanted to earlier.
"The Hell!? Someone has been monitoring us!?" Ryuji exclaimed flabbergasted.
"Alibaba hmm," Amaya said the name and closed his eyes and seemed to really think about the name.
"Akira, what do you think we should do?" Ann asked.
"I think we should accept Alibaba's offer. If they know so much about us they could have no doubt they could have turned us in if they wanted. This makes me think we really should."
"As much as I hate to say it I agree with that logic," Makoto said.
The vote was unanimous and almost as soon as it was there was a ping from Alibaba.
Alibaba- I am pleased to hear that you all agree with this. I thank you, I shall give you the keywords I have come up with that you may need. Futaba Sakura-Yongen Jaya-Tomb. Is that all you need?
"Futaba Sakura."
-Match Found-
"Yongen Jaya"
-No Match Detected-
"Tomb"
-Distortion Accepted Location is Required.-
"Did you hear that Alibaba?"
Alibaba- ...I did. I guess that means I have to give you the house of this person I want you to target then. The location should be… the home of this target's guardian. The home of ...Sojiro Sakura.
"...WHAT!?"
-Shujin Academy-
Kasumi walked into the nice room, it was bigger than the older one but it also was a lot less nostalgic for her as a result. She walked in to see the man she was hoping to see, Takuto Maruki, her therapist, and the one she has seen whenever she had needed someone to talk to before she met Akira. She had actually seen him last the day she met Akira to be exact and she had only recently seen at the school assembly that he was going to work here at the Shujin Academy. This seemed like too good of a coincidence but Kasumi didn't really care enough to ask that. Maruki who was filing some papers turned around to see her and smiled.
"Ah, Kasumi. Nice to see you. How is it going? I haven't seen you since after you met that boy. Have you been getting along with him?"
"Yes Sensei, he has been really kind to me and has been there whenever I have needed him. He is very smart, charming, and resourceful. We have been seeing each other every now and then and I've recently met his friends and their dynamic reminds me of a functional family. I wish I remembered how that still felt."
"Kasumi, if you are sad that they have a family dynamic you could just ask if you could join it. I know if Akira cares about you as much as I have been able to detail and how much you have just said he would definitely let you be with them. I just hope that you would enjoy yourself and not reside yourself to just your training. I know how important it is too you but it doesn't have to be your entire life. You are as much of your own person as your sister was."
"...You mean that?"
"If I didn't mean it I wouldn't have said it. You deserve happiness in your life so you should seek to find it wherever you can. An old friend of mine once told that to me and I've been following that advice since forever ago."
"By any chance who was this friend of yours?"
"The current mayor of my home town, Taro Namatame. I haven't seen the guy in a while but I feel that I should go visit Inaba again sometime soon. Maybe when Principal Kobayakawa has me take my vacation days."
"That would be fun for you and I hope that you enjoy yourself when you get the chance. I believe I have to go and get ready for training but I will ask Akira tomorrow if I can hang out with him and his friends more often."
"I believe you will have this chance and I hope you enjoy Kasumi."
"Thank you sensei."
"Please, just call me Maruki-Sensei or just my first name of Takuto. With working here in this school hearing someone yell sensei I will assume it is someone else, not me."
"Alright, I shall do that. Have a good rest of your day Maruki-Sensei."
"Likewise Kasumi."
-End of Chapter-
Alright, another chapter in the works and the seeds for the next palace have been sowed. This is the quickest I've written a chapter this long so far. I do not believe chapter 15 will be out as soon as this was but it will be out soon since this is going to be a small chapter like this was but I really hope you all enjoyed it. I am going to keep this brief because this doesn't really have much substance I need to abbreviate but I believe 2 of the main 3 pairings of the story have shown themselves. The third is not going to be as obvious as this was but I wouldn't mind if you would leave reviews with a guess and I'll be sure to see if anyone guesses it and make note of it and mention who got it right next chapter. I hope you all have a good time and see you all next update.