A New Route

by rebelturtle9-1-3

Something strange happens after Sayori is deleted. Now she's fallen into a new environment with no clue how she's gotten there. Luckily, a seemingly harmless detective has her back. Soon a new mystery arises, connections are made, and Sayori has to decide. Who should she trust? Unfortunately, not everything is as it seems.

50. Chapter 49

I own nothing. Monika does.

The next day, Akira led a small search for Haru in Shujin. They had hoped she would be easy to find, since they knew exactly who to look for. Yet somehow, Haru managed to completely avoid them for most of the day. Clearly, Haru was looking out for them just as much as they were for her. Makoto could only guess that the elusive "Beauty Thief" was good at avoiding people after years of constantly being surrounded by them.

It was probably great luck on Akira's part that he managed to find Haru near the end of the day. Or perhaps it was because Haru's commitment to her garden was greater than her concern of being found. Whatever the reason, Akira sent a quick message in the group chat to let everyone know he had found the elusive girl. They had all agreed earlier to not set her on alert, so they decided to arrive two people at a time. Making Haru feel cornered would probably not help the situation at all, especially if they wanted to reach a point where they could cooperate.

"Sayori is coming first with Makoto… Hopefully that won't completely backfire…" Akira thought to himself nervously as he walked to stand behind her and a cart full of heavy looking sacks that she was trying to push forward. The boy cleared his throat politely, and Haru immediately took notice, whipping around to face him.

The only sign Haru gave that she recognized him were her eyes widening. It was over in a blink, as she quickly offered him a polite, oblivious smile. "I'm sorry. I'll be out of your way soon enough, so you can run along…" The girl pulled on a strand of poofy hair, letting it spring back up, and then bent down to attempt to push her cart once again, releasing a few grunts as she did so. Akira watched for a few moments, knowing it would be a good idea to help or not. Of course, it would be the right thing, and would give him a chance to improve her opinion of him… But what if she tried to leave?

Akira deliberated over this for a couple seconds before Haru suddenly stood up straight once again. She gave the cart a resigned look, before turning to Akira once again. "I do not mean to be rude, but could you leave? I'm not going to be able to wheel this away quickly enough…" Haru looked down sheepishly, before beginning to turn and return to her work.

"I could help you push it?" Akira suggested. "I bet I could help you move these bags a lot more quickly."

"Why…" Haru seemed to be struggling with what to say. However, she knew that Akira was waiting for an answer, so she looked up at his forehead earnestly, not able to meet his eyes as she said the first words that came to mind. "Why would I ask a stranger for help?"

"Stranger?" Akira asked, confused, when a shout suddenly interrupted them.

"Haru! Haruuu!" A familiar energetic voice said, which caused both of them to whip their heads in the direction of the school entrance. There they could see Sayori, who was shouting the girl's name and waving one of her arms in the air. She would have waved both, if her other hand hadn't been dragging along a deeply embarrassed Makoto, who was holding her free hand up to her face in a clear face palm.

Haru felt herself begin to tense, as she looked over and realized Akira had pieced together what she had meant earlier. Even more distressing was that she noticed in the corner of her eye that Sayori was advancing quickly, marching through the soft, damp ground in bright pink and yellow polka dotted rain boots. As the beginnings of panic set in, Haru wondered if Sayori wore such childish, cute things ironically. Shaking off the thought, she began to politely excuse herself until Akira gave her an unimpressed look. Haru quickly put together why. They all knew that even if she miraculously developed the strength to push her cart and escape the situation, Sayori would chase after her.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I forgot… You don't like it when I shout…" Sayori face-palmed as well, giving Makoto a break from being embarrassed at her friend's behavior. Haru idly took note of a red splotch on Makoto's forehead, where her palm had no doubt made contact many times. She was about to comment on it, when Sayori bounded up to her with a huge, expectant smile. "Can we talk about yesterday, if you don't mind?"

Haru didn't say anything, looking at the ground nervously, and Sayori began to worry if she had really messed up this time. She really needed to remember that her outside voice wasn't always best used outside. As she opened her mouth to apologize, Akira pulled her aside and whispered to both her and Makoto.

"She's pretending that she doesn't know us… I found her here, trying to move that cart." He nodded his head at said cart, before ending the whispered conversation. He watched as their eyes widened in understanding of the situation. Soon after, Makoto pursed her lips, clearly not happy with the charade that Haru was playing. Sayori, meanwhile, now had a much smaller, mischievous look as she began to scheme. Akira smirked.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sayori asked him gleefully, to which Akira nodded. Makoto looked confused, but shrugged. She was too used to Sayori's antics to do anything else than just go along with it and hope for the best. Besides, she knew the bubbly girl was much better suited for situations like this than she was, herself.

Sayori walked up to stand beside Haru, who was attempting to tiptoe away from the group. "So my friend says you need help moving that?" Sayori asked curiously. Haru jumped to attention, looking back at the three warily. The enthusiastic girl continued to smile, pretending to be as oblivious as she could be. "Have we met before? It could be my imagination… But either way I would like to help you." As if to prove her intentions, she walked over and nudged the cart, surprising Haru as the cart rolled across the ground as if it hadn't previously been stuck in a mud patch.

"Where do you want this moved?" Akira asked casually, and Haru decided to chance pointing towards the middle of the garden. Perhaps if they were playing along with her charade, they would eventually stop bothering her.

Makoto watched the situation unfold, wondering how Haru had complied so easily. Her only guess was that Haru had mistakenly believed that if she went with the flow, she could turn the situation in her favor. Makoto knew better though. Akira and Sayori tag teaming would be an almost boastful display of charm. As the brunette watched, she quickly sent a text in the group chat to make sure Ann and Ryuji would be there soon. Only seconds later her phone chimed to let her know they were almost there. Makoto sighed in relief, before looking up to see how the situation had progressed.

Akira and Sayori were currently volleying the conversation between the two of them, telling Haru things about themselves that she clearly already knew from their trip to Hawaii. As such, she had realized it was a good opportunity to stop paying attention to the good natured conversation. The two began to receive answers from Haru without her even stopping to think about it.

Suddenly, Makoto received a new text on her phone, and looked up from it just in time for Akira to wink at her and pretend that he definitely wasn't the one who had sent it. The girl shrugged and rolled her eyes before opening the new message.

"Ask Haru about Morgana… But don't be too obvious," it said. Makoto thought about it for a moment before taking a few steps closer to the group.

"My friend's cat went missing recently," Makoto said, giving Haru a calm smile. "Do you think you've seen him?"

Just as Haru gave a slight nod, and as her brain was beginning to catch up with her body, Ann and Ryuji came walking through the doors. They looked around for a few moments, unsure of where to go, until Sayori eagerly waved them over.

"Huh?" Haru noticed them arriving and immediately realized that she had been tricked. "How dastardly! You lead me into a false sense of security… Like a bunch of swindlers!"

"Well, we aren't strangers anymore," Sayori said cheerily. "Sooo… Can you tell us where you've seen Morgana?"

Haru released a groan that almost sounded like a whine. "He said to just pretend like I don't know you guys! I'm so ashamed! I messed up our operation again…"

"We've all messed up at some point or another," Ann commented, walking up to the group with a confident stride. "Isn't that right, Ryuji?"

"... Guess so…" Ryuji mumbled, looking down at the ground with his hands buried in his pockets.

"Yeah, I messed up really badly when I first joined," Makoto said with an embarrassed smile.

"And that just made me think…" Sayori piped up, "That you could be an even better Beauty Thief if you learned from our mistakes."

Haru suddenly looked up at the group in suspicion. "What are you trying to say?"

"We should team up," Akira said simply. Haru looked at him, mouth agape. How could he be so blunt as if she would agree to it so easily?

"I don't believe that would be wise. It's clear from what I saw yesterday that all of you don't get along with Morgana. And if I want to learn from your mistakes, I can just have Morgana tell me," Haru gave a huff in annoyance, as she crossed her arms.

"Fine. We don't hafta team up," Ryuji begrudgingly agreed. The others looked ready to argue, until Ryuji shook his head. "Can we at least meet him. I gotta say something important to him…"

"No," Haru said firmly. She left no room for further discussion as she stormed away, leaving the Phantom Thieves in the dust.

"Wait! Haru!" Sayori cried out, looking ready to chase after her. Before she could, Ann grabbed her hand to keep her in place, and shook her head sadly.

"What should we try next?" Ryuji asked as he sent an update to Futaba and Yusuke that talking to Haru had been a failure.

"We'll have to wait for another opportunity," Makoto said with a shrug. "We need a situation where both of them are already there… I'd say the Palace, but that seems too dangerous."

"We'll figure it out," Akira said, trying his best to sound nonchalant about the whole situation.

"Yeah… Next time we'll find out more too," Sayori said. They had been so busy pretending not to know each other that they hadn't been able to find the opportunity to ask her an important question.

Why did Haru become a Phantom Thief in the first place?

---

Haru entered her home with her head knelt down, clenching her fists in frustration. Only recently had she stopped becoming numb to her misery, but now it only caused her trouble. It was so hard to keep a calm face as she looked at her father, who never seemed to look at her. Even now, he was so busy with his phone call to greet her…

"If it is such a problem, then tell him not to come near my office anymore. I can always call him if I need something, so I don't see why this is such an issue… What do you mean he has to come near my building? I didn't schedule anything!" The man rubbed the bridge of his nose as he listened to whatever the person on the other end of the phone had to say. After a few seconds of silence, he nodded calmly. "Yes, that should work. I'm done, so you can do what you want."

"I'm home, Father," Haru said after the silence had stretched on.

"Drive them away… That's right. Make it a priority," the man said, before hanging up the phone. "I finally get a foothold into politics and this happens. Phantom Thieves?" He huffed in annoyance, before turning to Haru. "Did the media ask you anything?" he asked her.

Haru reached into her skirt pocket and grasped an envelope tucked safely away. Technically, the media hadn't given it to her… "No, not from the media, but I got a message!" She hadn't read it yet, but it seemed to burn her hand with the urgency she felt that it had.

Okumura stepped over and snatched it out of her hand, looking at the fancy signature on the back of it quickly before releasing a frustrated growl. "Ignorant… This isn't a game!" He crushed the message into a ball and chucked it into a trash bin near the entrance of the living room.

Haru watched it sail over her shoulder, cringing as it landed effortlessly in. "I apologize, Father. I was told that it was urgent that I get it to you."

"Don't pay any attention. He may pretend not to be, but he's the worst of the crowd he comes from!" Okumura seemed vehement about this fact, and Haru gave him a small nod.

"Anyway, what's this about Phantom Thieves?" Haru asked.

Her father sighed, looking incredibly frustrated as he put his head in his hands. "It seems I'm ranked first on the forum of these so-called Phantom Thieves."

Haru pretended to be surprised as she straightened her back and widened her eyes. "Is it because of the news coverage?"

"It's jealousy of the successful," Okumura corrected, a stern frown staining his features. "Nothing but the barks of the masses who lack the resolve to sacrifice what's needed for their well-being. Both the young and the old are overjoyed with some foolish idols. This country has no future."

Haru felt frustrated, herself. Her father was so dismissive, despite the fact that the Phantom Thieves had not failed to deliver their promise to steal corrupt hearts. She had no plans to either. "What if they do exist? What if these Phantom Thieves really can steal hearts?"

"Are you still having doubts about me?" Okumura asked, the stern expression on his face now showing in his voice.

Haru took a breath to calm herself, knowing very well that she had to resist any urge she had to talk to him about her own vows to change him. So instead she looked down and shook her head. "No…"

Okumura nodded, before delving into the subject Haru dreaded most. "More importantly, I hope things are going well with that young man."

"Yes, Father," Haru responded, wanting to return to her room as fast as her legs could carry her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father gave her a smile, though it barely held any warmth.

"Very well then… He may not seem like it, but he's still the son of an influential politician. Be cordial with him. He'll eventually become a necessary connection for this company-or rather, for me."

Haru put her hands behind her back, able to feel her nails digging into her palms, and mumbled, "I understand. I will do the best I can."

Okumura, her father, stood up, smiling once again. Haru couldn't bear to look at it. That smile had tricked her into agreeing to this, just because she wanted to see it more. "Good," the man said. "That's how a daughter of Okumura should be."

All of a sudden, the conversation was over. Okumura turned away from his daughter and got his phone back out. Haru silently looked up to make sure he was sufficiently distracted, before turning to leave the room. On her way out, she kneeled by the trash can and grabbed the crushed letter, before swiftly walking up to her room where Morgana would be waiting.

"How was school?" Morgana asked, before noticing the paper in Haru's hand. "What's that?"

Haru put the ball of paper on her desk and began to try to delicately smooth it out. "School was… alright, and I'm not sure what this is yet."

Morgana nodded, hopping up to her desk and flicking on the table top lamp with his front paw. He used his head to nudge the lamp over the partially unwrinkled paper. "Did you run into them?"

"Yes, and pretending not to know them didn't work. Or maybe I'm just bad at it…" Haru replied, feeling ashamed. "I feel bad… They didn't deserve that treatment." She had finally managed to get the letter out of it's crumbled state, though it was still wrinkled. Running a hand over it, the girl began to think thoughts she'd rather not have.

Sayori had been so nice to her during the trip, when Haru had thought that having a roommate would be an uncomfortable experience. She had thought any roommate she might have would only want to treat that as an opportunity to use her, but Sayori had been kind. The girl probably hadn't even been aware of who Haru was, but even when she found out in the Palace, Sayori hadn't treated her as anything else than a friend. That was true of the rest of her teammates too. They had played along today, even though they probably hadn't gotten anything useful out of it.

"Morgana, they wanted to team up… Maybe it would be helpful if we worked something out?" Haru asked.

The cat shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, just from looking at you, I can tell that you don't want to team up with them either."

Haru paused in the middle of opening the letter, knowing the cat was right. Though she liked Sayori and her friends, Haru couldn't avoid the harsh feelings she'd had ever since that trip to Hawaii. She squeezed her eyes shut as she gripped the letter tightly in her hands, envy burning her up inside just from the memory of seeing them all. Listening to Sayori talk to Goro Akechi, and watching all of her friends as they enjoyed each other's company… How would she ever be focused enough to change her father's heart if she worked with them? Also…

I don't want to be stuck with him… Haru thought, her mouth settling into a thin, determined line. Sayori had her detective prince, and the Phantom Thieves all had each other. Even though Morgana was a good friend to have, it didn't fix the fact that she was stuck with an absolute terror of a man to call her partner.

"You're right, Morgana," Haru finally said. The cat smiled sympathetically and walked closer, settling down by the forgotten letter and nudging it. Haru smiled and put a hand on Morgana's head. He resisted at first, but after a few seconds he did allow himself to be pet.

"Let's see what's in that letter," Morgana said, and Haru couldn't agree more. She carefully sliced open the top and pulled out an intricately folded piece of paper. With a bit of delicate handling, the two had it unfolded and began to examine what it says.

"This was intended for my father…" Haru said after a moment, as tension crawled out from her spine and into her entire body. "This sounds… serious."

"It's almost threatening," Morgana added, his eyes squinting as he read the words.

Haru shook her head quickly. "No… No, it couldn't be a threat. It's… a warning."

Morgana looked doubtful for a moment, before shaking his head and smiling. "That's probably it. I mean… Why would Goro Akechi threaten your father?" Still, he couldn't help but feel worried as he thought of Sayori.

"He asked me to meet with him the other day. This was probably why…" Haru reasoned. "Afterall, my father is at the top of the list for people to watch for changes of heart." She read the words aloud, becoming more certain in her thoughts. "Listen when I say that you aren't safe in this position. You need to come up with a new course of action to avoid an incident…"

"That must be what he wanted to discuss with you," Morgana agreed. "He wanted to come up with something to stop the Phantom Thieves."

"Or catch them," Haru added, sighing and shaking her head. "Well, if that is the case then I can't go see him. Then we could get caught!" She took the letter and put it back into the envelope. She debated for a few moments, before throwing it into her trash bin.

"Unless you're feeling particularly daring, that's for the best," Morgana agreed. "Let's try to forget about it for now and focus on our objective."

"Yeah," Haru stretched, letting out a loud yawn. "And get some rest for our Mementos mission tomorrow."

Morgana laughed, walking onto the bed and settling down on the side of it. "Right!"

The two settled in for bed, though Haru found it hard to get comfortable. The letter was sitting in her trash, and Haru stared at it from across the room. The possibility of it being both a threat and a warning echoed in her mind, and she couldn't help but think to herself, "If it is a warning, why was Father so determined to ignore it?"

---

Goro walked into the police station on high alert, scanning every face for Sae. Quite a while had passed since they had been able to sit down and talk, and with the recent encounter with Yaguchi, the detective knew he had to check on her. Sae and Yaguchi had a close friendship, and Goro knew that Sae trusted Yaguchi more than most people. If the man said that it would be a good idea to get involved with Shido's campaign, then the detective knew he would have no chance to convince the woman otherwise.

That's not even taking into account how dangerously close she is to losing herself all on her own… Goro thought. Most conversations they had been having lately had been about work. Specifically, they were always talking about catching the Phantom Thieves, and Sae had become more and more obsessed with it… And the supposed "promotion" Yaguchi could offer her could be too much to pass up.

Do you really have so little faith in her? She's supposed to be a friend, isn't she? He asked himself, before shaking his head. Sae was a coworker, and possibly his only hope if he ever wanted to back out. He had been having so many doubts lately…

"Akechi-kun, you took your time…" Sae suddenly called out to him, and Goro couldn't help but perk up. He snapped his head in her direction and rushed over. The woman seemed to find this amusing and chuckled, earning a confused look from the detective.

"What's so funny?" He asked, tilting his head.

Sae looked taken aback, as if she had just been caught, before looking down and shaking her head. "Not much, really. You've seemed distracted from your work recently, so it's good to see you so eager… Even if you were late…" She added as an afterthought.

"Oh… It's nothing really," Goro said with a shrug, finding himself disappointed. "Let's find somewhere to discuss our recent findings on our case."

"Somewhere?" Sae asked. "We always go to the office area, so let's go there." The woman turned to leave, and the detective hesitantly cut in front of her.

"I was thinking that we could make use of a change of scenery," he replied as casually as possible. If he was going to get results, they shouldn't be in a place where they could get interrupted. "I was thinking… We could go outside? The roof is lovely this time of year, I'm sure!"

Sae frowned. "At this time of year, it's sure to be windy and cold. Any evidence could be blown away."

Goro felt himself growing irritated, and released a heavy sigh. "Sae-san, to put it frankly… What evidence do we have that could be blown away? We've already looked at the calling cards, and…" He lowered his voice, "What we have of Wakaba Isshiki's research, and any other lightweight evidence I can think of… So can we please go?"

Sae glowered at him, but the detective only raised a single eyebrow. He knew he was right. At this point, any evidence that he hadn't told Sae, he was keeping to himself. It was selfish, but any incriminating evidence he did have also incriminated Sayori, and himself to an extent, so he was keeping it to himself. As for Sae, there were very few pieces of evidence she could even obtain at this point.

"Fine. But we're making it quick," Sae answered. "And we're not going on the roof."

"Ah, I'm glad," Goro replied with a smile, thankful for the meeting. "I figured if I was going to convince you to go somewhere else, it would have to be close to the station. The roof was the only thing that came to mind."

"We'll meet in the alley beside it," Sae stated, gesturing her head to the right. "Since you're so stubborn about it being private." Without another work, the woman took harsh steps towards the front door of the station.

Goro breathed a sigh of relief, before quickly following. He calculated in his mind what he should say. But that was a hard decision, even after he had thought about it for so many sleepless days and nights. How much should he give away? He was in the alleyway too soon, though, and the only thought that came to mind was to ease the subject of Yaguchi into a normal conversation.

"How is your investigation going, Sae-san?" Goro began.

Sae raised her eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, before going into a detailed report about something that was actually not important to the case. But Sae was talking about it animatedly, as if this clue could actually lead them somewhere, so Goro nodded along and pretended to be intrigued. It could be seen as an important clue, if he didn't already know it that it wasn't, afterall.

"How is your investigation into Matsu going?" Sae asked after she finished.

Goro was surprised at that. Sae hadn't been interested in anything to do with Sayori for a long time. Perhaps she just felt as if it was a courtesy at this point. He was starting to think so himself, as he shook his head and a heavy frown fell on his face. "It isn't."

Sae nodded, having expected that. "I've been thinking for a while now that it's pointless to try, Akechi-kun. You should have found her family in the first month, if it were possible."

Goro gritted his teeth and shook his head. He thought that at times, too. However, his only lead was a bunch of letters from someone who clearly knew more about Sayori than him. It was possibly the best lead he could hope to have, and it was telling him to be patient. So he wasn't worrying about finding her home right now. He was more worried about keeping her safe while she was staying with him.

And right now he was worried about Sae. He looked up at her and said, very harshly, "I am not giving up yet, Sae. It's just that right now, I believe that there's a bigger threat…"

Sae nodded, as if she understood, thinking that he was referring to the Phantom Thieves. "Yes, that makes sense. I have confidence that we can catch them soon, though. If they end up actually going after Okumura."

"That's not what I'm talking about, Sae." He felt himself choking on the rest of his words as Sae looked at him. What he was going to say next was something she wouldn't want to hear.

"What are you talking about? Catching the Phantom Thieves is what matters right now," Sae began, a stern expression suggesting she was about to begin a lecture.

"We can't develop tunnel vision! While we've been working on this Phantom Thief business, I have noticed a lot of problems surrounding us. And I'm not talking about the 'society is corrupted' message these criminals are trying to send us!"

The words escaped him in a massive, unstoppable wave. Goro didn't even realize his mistake until he heard a throat clear behind him. Sae looked up as he turned around, coming to meet Yaguchi's cold eyes.

"You guys should be inside," the man said, and Goro felt himself sink. Was this when the thin ice he's skating on finally breaks?

"In a second," Sae replied. "Akechi-kun and I just want to finish our conversation." She turned her attention back to the boy, an impatient look on her face. "What do you mean when you talk about these problems that aren't connected to the Phantom Thieves' message?"

"I mean…" Goro began, acutely aware of the spy that was practically breathing down his neck. "I mean that there are problems in how the police are approaching things. There are a lot of crimes that the Phantom Thieves have brought to light…" He didn't know how to continue. Already, he was contradicting what he said earlier. "There are dangerous people causing problems around us, specifically, is what he wished he could say, along with many other things, but he couldn't in this situation.

Sae, however, seemed to take the message he did send the wrong way. "What are you saying?" She asked, an angry scowl forming on her face.

Goro felt himself descend into panicked confusion as he reviewed what he just said. However, before he could save the situation, Yaguchi stepped forward with his own opinion.

"I think it's clear that the boy just revealed who he is actually supporting in this conflict," the man explained, walking over to Sae's side, who seemed even more furious than before.

"What? No! That's not it at all!" Goro shouted, his mind in a frenzy as his words were twisted. That wasn't how he had thought his words would be taken, and Sae already looked angry enough that she wouldn't listen to any explanation he could give.

"These criminals do one thing that benefits you, and suddenly you're on their side!" Sae raged. "You're as weak-minded as everyone else!" She stomped past both of them and went back into the station. They heard grumbled of wasted time and useless detectives, before the door was slammed shut.

"That was quite an event," Yaguchi commented, a smug smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I hope my performance was believable enough for you," Goro said, trying to keep himself calm as he came up with a lie on the spot.

"Oh? What's this now?" the man in front of him said with a raised eyebrow.

"Now that Sae is angry with me, you can convert her to your cause more easily."

Yaguchi didn't seem to believe it, but one look at the calm, unreadable face the young detective now had on made the man shake his head. "I'm saving that for after Okumura is dead, of course."

"Of course," Goro Akechi said, beginning to talk in monotone. Yaguchi left, and the boy sat down, leaning his head against the wall. He almost wished that it would rain, just so that he could find a reason to go back inside.

---

The next day, in the evening, the Phantom Thieves were all waiting in Mementos in hopes of encountering Mona and Beauty Thief. They set up base at the entrance, and began the long process of waiting for the cat and his new companion to arrive. Oracle had brought the snacks she had said she would bring, opening a bag of chips and handing one to Valiant. The black clad thief had been ambitious to bring a neck pillow for everyone. Sadly, her cheerful demeanor didn't do anything to lighten the atmosphere.

"You're going to apologize when Mona comes, all right?" Panther asked sternly, looking pointedly at Skull.

"I know already!" Skull snapped, banging his fist on the wall he was leaning against. He had already agreed to it, so he didn't get why they had to keep reminding him. He already felt guilty enough.

"I have to apologize too…" Valiant pointed out, before looking down sadly. "I have to make up for it too. So there's no reason to get on Skull's case right now, because I think it's going to be a lot harder for me to make it up."

"For real? You really think that?" Skull asked, looking at the girl in shock. "Listen, Mona and I were the ones getting into fights. I was a jerk, but him yellin' at you was definitely not right for him to do!"

"Yeah," Panther insisted. "You have nothing to make up for!"

Valiant smiled at them, before looking down and shaking her head sadly. "Thanks, guys. But Oracle can testify when I say that I definitely have stuff to make up for." And much more than that…

"Yup," Oracle nodded, causing the two blondes to look at her in confusion. "It's going to take a few days before we can even do that, though. There's a timer on it, right?"

Valiant nodded. "Before we worry about that, let's focus on our stakeout."

Queen took that as an opportunity to get back on topic. "We need to be careful around Beauty Thief, too."

"Yes. Judging by what you told me about the other day, she will definitely not want to talk to us," Fox remarked, before looking around at the area they were staying in. "It truly is a shame that we have to do our stakeout here. There's nothing here of interest."

"We've got snacks," Valiant pointed to Oracle, but the orange haired girl snapped her chip bag back.

"He still hasn't learned his lesson that food takes value over art stuff. No handouts for Inari!" Oracle shouted.

Fox scoffed. "The labelling is atrocious anyway."

Joker looked at his team and sighed. "This is a stakeout… Which means we need to be here because if they do come to Mementos, they'll have to come through here."

"Exactly," Queen said, before sending a stern glare at Valiant, Oracle, and Fox. "So we should be quiet, and not fight over snacks."

The three separated, each resuming their previous vigilant looks from before. Everyone else did the same, trying to keep a sharp eye out for Mona. However, after a while, the stakeout began to devolve, with the Phantom Thieves forming groups of three that rotated every ten minutes. While Joker, Queen, and Oracle kept watch, the others would let their attention drift slightly. Valiant wrote in her notebook, Fox would try to find anything interesting to observe, and Panther and Skull would engage themselves in rock-paper-scissors, thumb wars, and things of that nature. They would then switch, with Futaba taking a nap, Queen planning strategies and doing complicated math problems, and Joker going through what personas he had on hand. They repeated this cycle for nearly two hours, with no sign of Mona and Beauty Thief.

"Ain't he gonna show up today? I mean, what time is it now?" Skull asked with a groan, leaning his head back.

Fox noticed movement in the corner of his eye and whipped his head around. "Hold that thought." Everyone looked up to see the Mona and Beauty Thief just entering through the gates, turning to look at the group in alarm.

"You guys are seriously slacking off way too much!" The cat snapped with a frustrated tone. Everyone looked at their relaxed state, with the empty snack containers and soda cans, and a few littered magazines, and especially the neck pillows, and began to feel incredibly embarrassed.

"Do you have business with us?" Beauty Thief asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Aren't you fulfilling the requests on the Phantom Aficionado Website? Even leaving comments?" Queen asked, cutting straight to the chase. "It'd be best if you don't accept them so recklessly."

"The police will track you down in no time. If that were to happen, we'd be caught up in it as well," Fox explained.

"And we needed to come to an agreement!" Valiant exclaimed. "We can't just get in some stupid race over who gets Okumura's heart first, so we need to decide what we all want to do!"

"I did not intend for there to be any problems with the police!" Beauty Thief exclaimed, before grimacing. "But… That would be my fault… I'm actually not that great with machines… I'm truly sorry." The girl bowed, and Mona looked at her in alarm.

"Why're you apologizing?" The cat asked, becoming agitated.

"Yeah, you don't need to apologize. We were just warning you about that!" Valiant clarified, before clasping her hands together and bowing herself. "Besides, we're the ones who need to apologize."

"Won't you please put what happened behind us?" Queen asked sincerely.

Mona averted his gaze from the group and crossed his arms. "So I'm the one you're here for?" He seemed to brighten up as he looked at them. "You guys need me after all? Is that it?"

"Please come back," Joker said, his face serious as he took a step forward.

"Eh… I guess we could still use you," Skull said as he stood up.

"Ryuji!" Panther hissed, looking at him angrily.

Valiant looked at Mona in fear, glad to see that he didn't seem to hear what Skull had said, or was pretending not to. "I'm really sorry, Mona. Please believe us when we say that we never meant to hurt you!" She begged, falling to her knees in sorrow.

"We are sorry, Morgana. We weren't taking your feelings into consideration at all," Panther said, putting a hand on Valiant's shoulder and getting her to stand up.

"Lady Ann…" Morgana looked touched by the apology, and gave the blonde a smile.

"E-Everyone, shouldn't you be using codenames?" Beauty Thief asked, looking around nervously for any Shadows.

"Ryuji didn't mean what he said, you know? He wants to apologize…" Panther said, giving Skull a look to convey that it was his turn to take over.

"Well, it's like… It was my bad too," he began, wishing he could crawl into a hole and die. This apology sucks! He groaned, trying to put into words what he probably needed to say. In the corner of his vision, he could see everyone giving him an expectant look, and Valiant giving him a reassuring smile. "And… I mean… I don't mind if you're not a-"

"Skull…" Valiant cleared her throat and stood beside him, giving him a gentle push. "That's not really a good way to start an apology."

"Well, what should I-" He began to shout, until he noticed Panther glaring at him. He quickly realized that this was not at all what he wanted to do. Still, this is embarrassing!

"What he means to say," Valiant began, "Is that he is sorry for what he did wrong." She gave Ryuji a calm smile, but she could tell the blond was still holding onto his pride. But that was expected. Morgana was holding onto his too. This feels so familiar… I'm back in the club room all over again!

"Yeah… What she said. I'm sorry I called you useless," Skull said, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact with the cat. "Actually, scratch that. I'm sorry I made you feel useless. I thought you could take me sayin' those things… But I guess that kind of stuff can wear anyone down after awhile."

Morgana crossed his arms and looked at the floor, frowning in thought. "That's better than I expected it to be…" Everyone seemed to relax at that. "But still… I doubt things are going to change."

Everyone looked at each other in panic, until Sayori stepped forward. "Things are going to change… Starting with me! I'm going to tell them, Morgana! I swear I am. I don't want to lie to you guys about that anymore...:"

Morgana looked at the girl in shock, before turning to Futaba and raising a suspicious eyebrow. The ginger haired girl gave him a wide grin and a thumbs up. He turned back to Sayori again, who was nervously clasping her hands together. But he could tell it wasn't just nerves. She looked terrified. A wave of guilt crashed into Morgana, and he suddenly felt the need to apologize too. He had been a brat to not take into consideration what Sayori had been feeling.

"Mona?" Haru asked shyly, wondering if their plans were going to change. She still had her fears about working together with everyone, but Morgana was her friend, and something needed to be done to help him.

"Maybe… We can meet up somewhere tomorrow to talk more about this?" Morgana said begrudgingly.

"Yes!" Akira instantly agreed. "Just name the place and time and we're there!"

"Good… I think I still need some distance from you guys," the cat said. "No offense."

"None taken," Yusuke replied, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"I hope we can arrive at a fair compromise!" Haru exclaimed happily, kneeling down to hug Morgana. Even though doubts and fears still permeated her mind, there was a positive energy in the room that she hadn't expected.

By chance, she looked at the Phantom Thieves and noticed something… rather odd. There was a green patch of… something that peeked out from the collar of Sayori's black coat. Haru blinked, and the colorful patch was gone.

"So we'll see both of you tomorrow at Leblanc?" Akira asked for confirmation, and Haru snapped back to the conversation.

"Yes… That should be good," Haru agreed.

With that settled, everyone began their goodbyes. They had decided to exit separately to give Morgana the room he needed. Haru noticed on their way out that Morgana looked much happier than she had ever seen him. It made her smile as they headed towards their exit point.

---

Of course, like always, Haru's happiness was short lived. She and Morgana had been talking about what they would want to say when they met with the Phantom Thieves, when he had to come and interrupt. Sugimura shattered her calm and peace once again, and Haru couldn't help but feel terrified.

What did I do to deserve this? She thought to herself hopelessly as her fiancée

grabbed her by the arm and made those same leering comments at her that he always did.

"Can't you do that for me?" Sugimura asked, squeezing her arm harder than before.

"Ow!" Haru yelped, drawing the attention of Morgana, who came rushing back.

"Haru!" The cat yelled in concern, before glaring at Sugimura with all the rage of a cat forced into water. "You little- Let go of Haru!" Morgana leapt and clung onto the leg of the man's pants, digging his claws in as deep as they would go, forcing past layers of fabric and directly into skin. The reaction was immediate, as Sugimura let go of Haru's arm and began shaking his leg harshly.

"Goddamn cat!" Sugimura yelled, giving one final kick and sending Morgana flying into the wall of a building. Morgana moaned as his head felt incredibly fuzzy, pain drowning out Haru's concerned cry for him.

"Dammit… I really am… useless at this rate," Morgana whimpered, his pain filled mind coming to a conclusion on what he would tell everyone when they met at Leblanc tomorrow… if he would even be able to go to that meeting. He heard Sugimura come closer, annoyed by the continued meowing a small-brained bastard like him would hear. With no other hope to save Haru and himself, Morgana began to cry out for help.

Haru felt tears trail down her face as her body trembled in place. Her brain was telling her to stand in between Sugimura and her friend, but her legs remained locked in place, too afraid for her own wellbeing. But she didn't have long to worry about her friend's safety, as Sugimura came and grabbed her arm and began tugging her out of the alley. Thankfully, she was still rooted in her spot, and tugged back. I can't abandon Morgana!

"Okumura-san!" A familiar voice suddenly shouted. Haru turned her head slightly and saw the Phantom Thieves, in their plain clothes, run up to them.

Sayori and Futaba looked over and saw Morgana slumped by the alley walls. Futaba ran over and knelt beside him, checking to see if he was alright.

"What the hell are you doing to our friend?" Ryuji yelled, his form tensed, looking ready to leap forward and tackle the fancily dressed man.

Sayori wrinkled her nose as if she smelled something foul. "Please leave, sir… Before this gets ugly."

Sugimura let go of Haru's arm, letting a smirk slide onto his face. "Sorry about the disturbance. It's just a… lover's quarrel with my fiancée."

"Fian- What? But she's clearly fighting you!" Ann shouted, looking over to Haru. The girl looked away, with a shame on her face that broke everyone's heart.

"Leave," Sayori said, her expression neutral as she stepped forward slightly. "We need to take care of our friends, and you're only being a nuisance."

"Brave words," Sugimura said with a leer. "I thought that somebody like you would have a lot more situational awareness. After all, a piece of arm candy for a hated, useless waste of a detective should be more aware of what's going on around them, for their own safety."

"What the hell?!" Ryuji shouted, beginning to run forward, only to be held back by a stern looking Akira. "A piece of shit like you needs to learn when to shut up, for the sake of their own effin' teeth!"

Sugimura paid no attention to Ryuji's threat, turning to Haru and scowling. "How dare you make a fool of me. I'll be telling your father about this too." He turned to face the rest of the group, only to jump back slightly when he saw Sayori right in front of him, flashing him a toothy grin.

"Hey, I had a thought when you said that to me, earlier. If I'm a piece of arm candy, what kind would I be?" Sayori asked, before her hand reached out and gripped Sugimura's wrist in a vice-like grip. "I'm thinking, that right now… I really feel like a jawbreaker…" She said, her voice turning very cold as her smile disappeared. Everyone looked at her in alarm, her friends shivering as they could practically feel the ice in her stare.

"Hey… don't touch my friends… Don't speak to them… Don't even look at them," Sayori whispered, before releasing Sugimura's wrist. The man pulled it back and rubbed it carefully, feeling as though he had been stung. "And I implore you… Don't speak about me like that again. He may seem useless to you, but believe me when I say that he'd make you regret it if he heard the trash that just came out of your mouth."

Sugimura growled and straightened his suit, pretending to brush some dust off of his shoulder as he avoided looking at the group. "I won't forget your faces," He said, turning around and storming off.

"Are you OK?" Ann asked Haru. She looked over at Akira, who went over to Sayori, who was still looking in Sugimura's direction with an eerily calm face. He lightly tapped her on the shoulder, which snapped her back to reality as she whipped her head around to look at him. Akira jumped back slightly, watching as Sayori's eyes went from him, to Haru, and finally to Morgana.

"I'm fine," Haru managed to say with a shake of her head. "But Mona-chan-"

Morgana managed to stand up. "This is nothing…"

"That was not nothing!" Sayori cried. Futaba nodded her head in agreement, reaching over and patting Morgana on the back supportingly.

"Was that person really your fiancée?" Makoto asked Haru. Haru nodded, causing everyone to look at her in horrified shock.

"Whoa, so you're engaged then?" Futaba asked.

When Haru nodded again, Sayori suddenly looked down, her expression pained. "How long have you been engaged with that horrible man?"

"Awhile," Haru replied, unable to say anymore.

"That definitely didn't seem like an ordinary fight," Ann commented, looking away in thought. After a few moments, her head tilted back in a silent anger. "Shouldn't you talk to your parents about it?"

Haru and Morgana both looked at the ground in sorrow. "I think it'd be useless," Haru began, shaking her head. "I'll just be told to beg for his forgiveness, even if it means grovelling on the ground…" She wiped at her face, feeling the beginnings of tears streaming down her face.

"Haru… I'm so sorry," Sayori whispered. Haru must have been in pain for so long… How was Okumura only getting put on the Phantom Thieves' radar now? It could be a trap… I'm almost sure it is. Would Haru only have continued to suffer in silence if it hadn't been lain?

"It seems she has her reasons." Yusuke commented, looking away from Haru's tears in an effort to be polite. In his head, it made sense that Haru might not want to be seen crying.

Morgana suddenly got everyone's attention. "Would you let Haru rest for a while?" He asked Akira. The boy nodded.

"Of course. We'll take her to your place, yeah?" Ryuji asked, looking at Akira.

Akira nodded once again. "On the bright side… Maybe we can have that meeting a little early?"

Morgana felt himself relax, even though the thought of what he knew he should do entered his mind. "Yeah… Thanks."

---

By the time Haru woke up, Morgana had already explained what he felt he needed to say to everyone. He had to admit, it felt nice to talk to them, even though he knew he didn't belong with team. Still, by the way everyone seemed happy to have him back, he hoped that they could all remain friends.

"I'm sorry… I fell asleep…" Haru said with a yawn and a stretch.

Makoto ignored the apology, only concerned for the girl's wellbeing. "Did you get enough rest?"

Haru gave a small nod, before looking over at Morgana. "Mona-chan?" She asked, noticing how sad he now looked.

Morgana let out a sad sigh. "Anyway, it's just as I told you a moment ago. I can't have you guys risk your lives anymore for someone useless like me. To be frank, there's no assurance that I'll turn back into a human either…" He shook his head, feeling as if he had made a fool of himself. "This can't be called a fair deal. That's why I think we should split up."

"Morgana… None of us care about that, more than we care about you," Sayori pointed out, frowning at him in worry. Morgana shook his head again, knowing she was only saying that to make him feel better.

"Besides," Yusuke cut in, thinking of another method of getting a response from the cat. "Who said we're acting as Phantom Thieves for your sake? I'm doing it to expand my horizons."

Morgana looked at the blue haired artist irritably. "No need to tiptoe around the situation," he said sarcastically yet sternly. "We're splitting up," he stated, looking at the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

Haru looked at him for a moment before shaking her head with a fond smile. She picked him up and hugged him against her. "You should stop lying. Do you remember what you said to me when I found you collapsed in the Metaverse?" Morgana looked up at her but gave no response. "That you're a Phantom Thief. That you're going to get stronger and have the others acknowledge you." She hugged him even tighter and the cat struggled a bit in shock. "You love being here, don't you? This is where you belong, not in my big fancy home where my father would never approve of me taking care of you."

Morgana hopped out of Haru's tight hug quickly, feeling embarrassed and prideful. "O-of course not…"

Haru gazed at him somberly. "I was lying to myself too, but when I formed a contract with my Persona… I understood it all. Doing this because my father is doing something horrible… was nothing but a superficial reason."

Haru looked down, feeling ashamed, yet somehow not sorry at all. "The truth is, I-"

"Don't want to get married, right?" Ann asked, not at all surprised. None of them would want to be married to such a creep either.

"You don't have to have any reason other than that for wanting to change your father's heart, Haru," Sayori said. "The other things that he's doing are horrid, but you don't have to use that as a reason, because it's you who wants to change him, not one of his abused coworkers or something like that."

Haru smiled at the two girls, before nodding her head. "I thought that since an adult with responsibilities was making the decision to marry me off, it couldn't be wrong. I was such a fool, tied down by vague notions and stayed quiet as my marriage partner was chosen…" She shook her head, a determined line forming on her mouth. "But I won't tolerate this anymore." She looked up and yelled with all of her might.

"I can't stand that creep!" She was surprised by the power of her own voice and took a deep breath. "That's how I truly feel." She looked down at Morgana, waiting for him to do the same.

"Wh-Why're you looking at me all of a sudden?" Morgana asked, a stunned smile on his face.

"Mona-chan, why is it that you always talked about becoming human again?" Haru asked. Everyone turned to look at him as he looked down and considered his answer.

"That's…" Morgana frowned, deciding that he was going to be truthful about his feelings too. If Haru could do it, then so could he. "At first, I only thought of this team as a temporary team until I regained my memories. But I wasn't making any progress on finding out what I am or why I was born…"

"Morgana…" Ann sighed.

Sayori smiled sadly at him. Though she couldn't say it out loud without raising questions from everyone else and making the conversation about her, she could definitely relate to that frustration of not making any progress on something like that.

"I wanted a reason of my own-a reason to stay with the Phantom Thieves. I don't have anyone I want to save or get revenge on. Someone like me has no reason to stay here…"

"Then make your own reason," Sayori said, causing Morgana to look up at her curiously. "I might also be here because I feel like it's a responsibility, but the main reason I stay is become I'm really happy to be with all of you. There are other ways to help people, after all… That are a lot less risky for me. But you guys make the risks worth it. So there doesn't have to be any reason other than that you want to, Morgana. You should be with people that make you happy…"

Morgana suddenly felt shy and looked away. "To me… This team is…"

"Come on, say it! You can do it!" Ann encouraged. Everyone nodded in agreement, watching as Morgana looked ready to burst.

He finally couldn't seem to hold it in any longer. "It's the only place I can belong! I want to stay here forever!" Morgana yelled, smiling at all of them.

Sayori smiled at the admission, before the word forever registered in her own head, sticking fast to her brain like a bug on a windshield.

"That was refreshingly honest," Yusuke commented.

"You shoulda just said so from the start! Geez!" Ryuji shouted with a huge grin. Most of the girls gave him a dirty look, to which he waved his hands defensively. "Sorry, sorry…"

"If you stick with me, there's no telling what kind of trouble will come up!" Morgana warned, even though he was smiling. "You better be sure about this!"

"I'm in all the way!" Sayori shouted happily, raising her arm as though she were in the middle of class.

"It's a little late for all of that, don't you think?" Ann asked Morgana. "Of course we're all in! We want to stay with you too!"

Morgana blushed in embarrassment. "Uhh, so… well… I'm sorry I worried you guys. This is where I belong! My mind's all set! I'll make sure to work hard to pay my dues. It's too late to cancel our deal, got it?"

"Let's do it together," Akira agreed.

"We're re-forming our give-and-take deal," Morgana declared.

After a few moments of silence, Morgana suddenly became serious once again. "Speaking of…" He looked at Sayori. "I meant what I said, earlier. I don't want any of you risking your lives for me. So you don't have to say anything, Sayori…"

Everyone else but Sayori and Futaba looked confused at his statement. "What does that mean?" Makoto asked in concern, before looking over at her friend. "Sayori?"

"Like you said earlier, Morgana. I have to work hard to pay my dues, too," Sayori said with a shake of her head. "I would just tell them right now, but they would never believe me unless I showed all of them first."

"You don't have to! It's your secret!" Morgana shouted.

Sayori frowned and gave him a stern look. "Well, from now on it's the Phantom Thieves' secret!"

"What are you talking about, Sayori?" Akira asked, clearly concerned as well.

"You'll see soon enough," Sayori promised, before looking at everyone in earnest. "Has everyone agreed that we're stealing Okumura's heart?"

Everyone looked at each other and considered. After a few seconds, everyone gave her nods and said "Yes" or some other form of confirmation.

Sayori smiled, though the thought of it being a trap lingered in the back of her mind. "That's… good. But I'd like to request that we not go into the Palace or Mementos at all for the next few days. Let's just leave the Metaverse alone, for now."

"Why?" Akira asked, before Sayori shook her head. He groaned. "Fine… Then for how long?"

"I'll let you know…" Sayori mumbled, before looking at her phone and noticing the time. "We should all get going. The trains are about to close."

"Shit! You're right!" Ryuji exclaimed, before dashing down the stairs. "See ya later, guys!"

Everyone else also departed. Haru was too worried about going home, so Futaba offered to make arrangements for her to stay the night at Sojiro's house. Haru happily agreed and followed the ginger-haired girl out of Akira's room.

Sayori was one of the last to go, smiling as Akira and Morgana both looked at each other. When she was at the bottom of the stairs, she heard the faint voice of Morgana telling Akira to go to bed and chuckled. She stepped out the door and began running to the subway. Her phone began to vibrate and ring, a piano tune letting her know that Goro was calling her. Sayori quickly took her phone out and was about to answer, before she hesitantly stopped her finger from stabbing the green answer button. Instead, she pressed the "answer with text" button, and sent a quick message to let Goro know she was on her way.

She sighed sadly to herself as her phone vibrated some more, probably with confused messages from the detective, wondering why she hadn't just answered. Sayori ignored them and caught the last train right before it closed. In the midst of the crowded train car, she tuned out the voices of all the faceless figures around her, as confusion swirled in her mind. Words like trap… traitor… black mask… and finally forever… clouded her as she waited for the subway to stop. What am I going to do? She wondered, though another answer soon came to her in the motherly voice of Psyche, though now she sounded just as tired as she was.

Observe, learn, and react.

---

Things moved fast in the next few days. The same day Haru went home after spending the night, she came back, bringing awful news. If they didn't change her father's heart by the tenth of October, she would be going to live with her fiance. Upon learning that, everyone had turned to Sayori in concern, but she assured them that they wouldn't need to stay out of the Metaverse for more than a week. With that settled, everyone did their best to relax, though the uneasy feeling of what would happen to Haru if they failed to help Haru with in their new allotted time limit kept them all on edge.

For Sayori, it was even more difficult to tolerate. Every day when she woke up, she was reminded that this was most likely a trap. Backing out wasn't an option anymore, for Haru's sake. All Sayori could do was back up her team, and be careful around her roommate. That was another worry she had. Goro was involved in the trap somehow. At the very least he must know about it, and at the most, he was going to do something terrible, as a result of the Phantom Thieves stepping into that trap. What that something was, Sayori was terrified to find out.

He's been so distant… and sad… Sayori thought to herself as she walked to Leblanc. Goro seemed to be having trouble talking with her, and he walked around as if he was worried about being ambushed. Though that should be expected of someone that the public hated more and more, Sayori couldn't help but think he was scared of something else.

Maybe I should talk to someone about what I should do? Sayori wondered, pushing open the doors to Leblanc. She was going to keep Goro's secret, because she had her own secrets to worry about anyway. Not to mention, no matter how much the evidence kept piling up, Sayori wanted it to all be speculation. So maybe she would talk to someone about what she should do in response to the actions he actually allowed her to see? And there's also the idea of confronting him…

"What's gotten you so worked up, Sayori?" Morgana asked, flicking his tail and hopping off of the bar table at the front of the cafe.

Sayori opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, Sojiro entered the store with an armload of groceries from his house. "You here to pet sit?" He asked, and Sayori nodded, mouthing "later" to Morgana/

"Well, go ahead and do it upstairs. Morgana ran off, probably because Akira keeps carrying him around in his bag. The cat probably thinks he's free to go wherever he wants because of that…" Sojiro complained with a shake of his head.

"That's not going to stop Akira, though," Sayori pointed out, causing Sojiro to sigh. The girl smiled over at Mona and ran up the stairs to Akira's room, shouting "come on!" to which the cat obliged.

Sayori took a seat on the floor and got out her notebook, scribbling down the first few words of her newest poem. Morgana watched in silence for a few seconds before walking up and leaning his head against her leg.

"So… Go ahead and spill," Morgana said casually, causing Sayori to glance at him in confusion. "What were you thinking so hard about when you came in?"

Sayori frowned and shook her head, though Morgana looking up at her sadly caused her to give in almost immediately. "I guess… I'm just worried."

"Yeah, I'd be worried too if I were about to risk my life and glitch out of existence for a few seconds, just to provide evidence to a bunch of teens," Morgana muttered, releasing a sigh. "I still don't think you should have to go through with it. Why did Futaba have to make you promise?" He whined, causing Sayori to chuckle.

"I'm more afraid of that then worried," Sayori admitted. "It's happened to me enough times that I know showing it to you guys will only carry the same amount of risk as going to a dependable dentist. It's probably going to be painful, but I'm not going to get hurt," she explained.

Morgana nodded, accepting the answer, before his eyes widened in realization. "If you're not worried about that, then what are you worried about?"

Sayori thought about the best way to explain it, shutting her eyes tightly as she processed what words she could possibly say. After a few moments, she looked down at the cat and smiled. "I guess I'm worried about what's going to happen when we steal Okumura's heart. We might be going up against the culprit behind the mental shutdowns, after all. I think it's actually a trap, to be honest…" Sayori sighed and let her head fall into her knees.

"Yeah, but we still have to do it," Morgana replied. "I think everyone's worried about it." The cat looked at Sayori, who was so far unassured by his words. He thought for a moment about what else he could say, before his eyes brightened a bit as he remembered a way to distract Sayori. "Hey, did you know that Akechi wanted to have a meeting with Okumura the other day?"

"He what?!" Sayori yelled, barely avoiding being loud enough to alert Sojiro, who was still sorting new cafe supplies downstairs. "How do you know?"

"He gave Haru a letter that he wanted her to deliver to Okumura, but the letter was rejected and thrown away. Haru fished it out and we read it together," Morgana's ears flattened against his head as he remembered what it said. "I think Akechi has the same idea as you… That this is a trap. The letter said, 'Listen when I say that you aren't safe in this position. You need to come up with a new course of action to avoid an incident…'"

Sayori's eyes widened as she heard what Morgana said. As always, she wanted to avoid jumping to conclusions, so she managed to whisper, "What do you think he means?" to Morgana.

"I honestly don't know. At first, Haru and I were afraid that Akechi was threatening Okumura, and then we realized it sounded a lot more like a warning. We originally thought it was a warning about the Phantom Thieves, since he's always so obsessed with finding us when he has live interviews, but now I'm starting to think differently," The cat explained. "After all, he lives with you. Maybe you got the idea from him…"

Sayori snorted, remembering the phone call she had overheard that had given her the idea. That's one way of putting it… She frantically shook her head when she saw that Morgana was looking at her weirdly. "I think that's definitely possible…" But that means that he could be warning Okumura about what he's about to do, himself. Could that mean…? Sayori suddenly felt her heart pick up speed as a giddiness erupted inside her. She let out a small giggle, and Morgana's fuzzy face began to smile at her,

"That's more like it! Let's do something with that energy!" Morgana shouted, and Sayori eagerly stood up with a nod. The cat hopped into the girl's bag. "Let's go out to eat and have some fun!"

"Yeah!" Sayori cheered, running down the stairs. "If Akira comes back let him know I'm out with Morgana!" She shouted quickly to Sojiro, who could barely blink before Sayori was across the room and out the door.

Sojiro shook his head with a fond smile. Hyper as always… She'll miss when Akechi stops by.

---

Sayori took Morgana to a good sushi bar that day. They had a lot of fun together, and Sayori felt much better going home that evening. She was giddy with the thought that maybe she could actually convince Goro to stop whatever it was that he was doing. Still, that didn't stop a pit from growing in her stomach when she remembered how little time she actually had to do that. Not to mention, he had definitely seen her and her friends go into the Metaverse, so whenever she was home too early, he seemed to get even more nervous. After all, in the days leading up to a change of heart, Sayori was always home late. The obvious change was obviously rattling the detective, and Sayori worried that he wouldn't listen if she tried to say anything to him.

For the rest of the week, after school, Sayori would spend almost the entire evening with her friends. She went shopping with Ann, the blonde more eager than ever to find cute outfits for Sayori. They also found a few items to send to Shiho for her birthday, much to Ann's delight. The day after that, Sayori was with Futaba, marathoning through the ginger-haired girl's favorite horror/romance/adventure/true-crime visual novel.

"Why is the blood blue?" Sayori had asked.

"Artistic choice," Futaba had replied, finding the word for a clue in a crossword puzzle.

The next day, Sayori spent time with Makoto, studying in the park. Makoto didn't really feel like studying at home with her sister around, so Sayori got a bunch of snacks and the two studied for their upcoming tests until the sun was too low in the sky for them to read. After that, Sayori spent an afternoon with Yusuke, looking at random graffiti in the city and stopping occasionally to people-watch. That experience left Sayori with the subjective knowledge of the difference between graffiti and plain vandalism.

The next evening, which Sayori would later consider the most difficult, she spent exercising with Ryuji. They were back at the park again, and by the end, Sayori decided to stand on the side and shout encouraging words as Ryuji ran circles around her. If it weren't for the much worse alternative, Sayori would have regretted dropping gym class. Still, Ryuji did claim that gym class "meant jack" in comparison to his training sessions that he had with Akira, along with the book Sayori had gifted to him.

On the day afterwards, Sayori finally had the opportunity to spend some time with Haru again, brightening her up quite a bit. Sayori wished she had found the time earlier, but Haru had been looking for a good opportunity as well. Finally, she had found one, and let Sayori know to meet her at one of the Big Bang Burgers closest to Shujin.

Sayori sat down and didn't order anything, while Haru simply got an iced sweet tea. The two sat for a while, not saying anything, until Haru finally decided to start a conversation by asking about something she had been curious about ever since Sayori had announced it.

"I only just joined… Are you sure you want to tell your secret, whatever it is, to me?" The girl asked, her tone of voice shy.

"Definitely. It would make things a lot easier if everyone on the team knew it anyway. I need to get one secret off of my chest, at least," Sayori replied, looking down with a sigh. This caught Haru's interest.

"What do you mean by 'at least?'" Haru inquired, taking a sip of her tea.

Sayori raised her eyebrow and then winked. "The others wouldn't be a secret if I told you, Haru. A girl has got to have some…" Haru seemed disappointed, so Sayori hesitantly added, "Besides, they are very personal. I think you can understand not wanting to tell anyone those kinds of secrets."

Haru nodded with a frown. "Yes, I know that… Probably better than anyone else. Sugimura is…"

"Trash?" Sayori asked innocently, to which Haru nodded.

"Exactly. To be honest, I kind of regret not being able to see you beat him up the other night. Though, even more so, I regret not doing it myself," Haru put down her drink and pushed it away, suddenly feeling even more sad than she had felt in a while.

Sayori noticed and reached over to pat Haru lightly on the shoulder. "Chin up, Haru. After we change your father's heart, you'll have the opportunity to dump him, and humiliate him for being such an awful person to you!"

Haru cracked a smile at that, unable to stop herself from looking very enthusiastic at the thought. "Do you really think so?"

"Yup!" Sayori chirped, before Haru giggled to herself, as if she was laughing at a funny memory. "What is it? Do I have something on my face?" Sayori rubbed at her cheek, before quickly putting her hand back down as Haru shook her head.

"No… I actually thought of a secret of my own to tell you, Sayori," Haru replied cheerfully. The girl's looked at each other for a moment, before Sayori tilted her head and Haru leaned over to her ear. Very softly, she said, "I was jealous of you… because I admired your relationship…"

"You were jealous of me?" Sayori asked quietly, her eyes widening in shock. Haru nodded sheepishly, and Sayori giggled in response. "I would normally say there's nothing to be jealous of, because I have my own relationship issues. But considering what you've been put through, I can see where you're coming from."

Haru nodded once again, before laughing. "I think that's an issue of the past now, or at least I'm hoping it will be. One thing you can be jealous of Sayori, is that if you ever break up with Akechi, you're probably going to be very sad." Haru's grin then turned almost wicked. " But not me. I'm definitely going to enjoy the day I get to break up with Sugimaru. In fact, I'll host a party, with cake and balloons, and streamers. You're all invited."

Sayori laughed loudly at that, causing several people in the restaurant to stare at her. Sayori calmed down quickly and grinned. "I accept the invitation. And in exchange for telling me your secret, I'll tell you one of mine."

Haru leaned in eagerly, and Sayori whispered in her ear a very quick, "I'm depressed," before quickly sitting back down. Haru looked over at the girl in shock and concern, until she noticed that Sayori didn't seem too bothered by the fact, and was even smiling a little.

Haru smiled back. "That wasn't really a secret, to be honest, Sayori. You may not act like it, but I did put that together at some point after we met." Haru shook her head and scoffed. "What's more of a shock to me is that you don't go to therapy for it…"

Sayori rubbed the back of her hair sheepishly. "Well, it's not really my secret to tell, but…" Sayori let her voice drop down to a whisper once again, and Haru leaned in slightly to hear better. "Goro has a lot of his own issues, and I get the feeling that he would already have been going to therapy himself if the idea could even cross his mind."

"Well…" Haru trailed off, looking away in slight discomfort. After a few seconds, she looked back up again with a slightly forced smile. "That definitely is a lot, so I won't pry. Still, I'm amazed you're doing so well, Sayori."

Sayori averted her eyes and smiled guiltily. "Well, that's also a lot to unpack, because it's a strange thing for me. I don't really know how to describe it, but right before I… moved in with Goro, I was… messed with. I was suddenly more depressed than I had ever been, and I had a lot of dangerous thoughts. Before that, I had learned to cope with the depression I did have, because I had been dealing with it…" Sayori wanted to say "since I was a kid" but instead had to say, "for as long as I could remember."

"That's very strange…" Haru pondered, before looking up at Sayori skeptically. "It sounds almost unbelievable."

"Well, believe it," Sayori replied with a smile. "Anyway, the Phantom Thieves stole my heart, and that sudden, high amount of depression, if you will, with it. That's how I ended up joining them."

"I see," Haru said, looking down in guilt. "It still sounds unbelievable, but you are with the Phantom Thieves now. So, I guess I have no choice but to believe it."

Sayori shrugged. "Honestly, I don't really know what to think about it. If it were anyone else, though, I would definitely tell them to get therapy." The girl looked off into the distance. The knowledge that this was a game that she was in made her feel wary of who could be listening.

The two finished their evening together. After leaving the restaurant, Haru gave Sayori a light hug, and Sayori suddenly felt very jealous. Haru's sweater was so soft. Sayori hugged the girl back, and the two departed.

Finally, on the next day, Sayori went to the planetarium with Akira. It was relatively normal, and Sayori spent what little money she had left of her allowance that week on a plastic cup for Akira, which came from the gift shop. Akira gave her a long bookmark that had all of the planets and their details printed on it.

"I've noticed something these past few days," Akira remarked as he walked her to the subways. Sayori glanced at him before looking away as the ebony-haired boy drilled holes into her head with her eyes. "I figured it out when I noticed everyone was too busy to hang out with me because 'I'm busy hanging out with Sayori.'"

Sayori cringed, before replying, in the calmest voice she could manage, "So, what of it? I… I'm not trying to keep our friends to myself. You know that, right?"

"I know," Akira confirmed. "I also know that you're avoiding your apartment."

Sayori cringed at the accusation, only confirming Akira's suspicions. He paused and turned around to face her, pinning her down with his stare so she couldn't avoid looking at him. "Why?"

Sayori grimaced and closed her eyes, not wanting to be confronted now of all times. After a few seconds to calm herself down, she opened her eyes and stared firmly into Akira's eyes, her mouth set in a determined line. "Let me clear a few things up first. I'm not avoiding the apartment because of me being abused or mistreated, or anything like that. Goro has never touched me in such a way and I trust him enough to know that he wouldn't do that to me."

Akira nodded, accepting that statement as fact. "So, why are you avoiding it, then?"

"Because I'm always out late before we change someone's heart," Sayori spoke softly, so only Akira could hear. "I don't want him to get suspicious if that suddenly seems to change. Also… he's seemed stressed lately. It felt right to give him space, because I don't want to smother him."

Akira smirked at that. "He loves it when you give him attention, though. He comes to Leblanc a lot Sayori. Sometimes he speaks to Sojiro, sometimes to me, and a few times to Futaba. But it's obvious to everyone that he adores you."

Sayori couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face. "Yeah… I know," she said with a small giggle.

"Well then you should spend time with him, then," Akira said, a lecturing tone in his voice. "As your leader, this is an order. Invite him to hang out with all of us tomorrow. Soon enough, you're going to tell all of us that super important secret. Then after that, we're going to be busting our backs to steal Okumura's heart. So let's all spend time together."

Sayori smiled, nodding her head happily. "That sounds good. I have an idea for what we could do, actually. Could we all go to the garden that Haru takes care of tomorrow?"

Akira nodded, and Sayori grinned. "Perfect! I'll text all of you guys the details on my ride home." With that, the girl turned around just as a subway rolled into the station and came to a stop. A set of doors opened right in front of her. Sayori stepped inside and waved goodbye to Akira. He gave a small, two-fingered salute back. The girl stuck her tongue out at him just as the subway doors closed, and the leader only laughed and waited for his stop to come.

---

The next day, Goro was being practically dragged to Shujin, with Sayori tugging him along. She gave him a giddy smile, and he managed to form a small smile on his face that looked natural. He knew where they were going, but he still couldn't process it, even as he was dragged to a large green patch of vegetation, with the rest of the members of the Phantom Thieves all waiting.

Sayori released him when they were skirting around the edge of the garden, and Goro took that moment to compose himself. After a few moments, he gave each of the Thieves a once over before smiling at Sayori. "So these are the members of the gardening club you've been going to?"

"Yes!" Sayori said excitedly. She thought for a second, before pointing to Yusuke. "He comes to watch, and sometimes sketch. And she…" Sayori pointed to Futaba, "is here because Boss said she needs to get more fresh air."

The detective easily ignored the cringes that several of the Phantom Thieves made at such a bad excuse. Sayori was a much better liar than before, and the fact that she was even putting this scheme into motion was proof! After all, the hardest thing about telling a lie is remembering all of the details. I feel an odd sense of pride. Good job, Sayori…

"Well, I hope we can all get along just as well as we did at the beach," Goro said, before leaning down to take a closer look at the plants in the garden. "These are beautiful. You all are doing a very good job!"

"No need to be a kiss-up," Ryuji replied with a cocky grin, just as Haru smiled at the compliment.

"So what exactly did Sayori tell you we would be doing?" Makoto asked, looking nervous. She had never done any kind of gardening before, and she didn't want the detective to catch them in a lie.

"None of us are dressed for gardening," Haru claimed, even though most of them had come out wearing their red jacket and pants. She soon realized this and blushed in embarrassment. "I mean, you definitely aren't, Akechi-san."

"I suppose you are right," the detective replied, looking down at his most casual of casual wear, his blue sweater. He noticed out of his eye that Makoto seemed to relax. "But please, don't let me impede your work." The girl tensed up again and Goro resisted the strong urge to laugh.

"Yes," Yusuke agreed, sitting on a patch of soft grass. "Don't let us interrupt." He got out a sketch pad and looked at the scene before him, frowning. The biggest error in Sayori's fib was the part about Yusuke coming here regularly to sketch, because there was almost no inspiration to be found from what he had seen so far. Everyone was just standing around awkwardly!

"Let's get started everyone!" Sayori encouraged, and Haru nodded in agreement. Makoto looked at the garden patch in worry, hoping that she wouldn't ruin all of Haru's hard work. Before she could question things too deeply, a small trowel and a pair of gloves.

Before long, the Shujin students were each put into their own small areas of the garden to work. They were the relatively untouched parts, in order to relieve some of the concern over ruining Haru's space. While everyone began to work on planting things that probably wouldn't bloom in time before winter, Haru began to pluck out all of the weeds that had grown since she had last checked on her garden.

Will I be able to come here if I get sold off? Haru wondered to herself, before casting a sideways glance at Goro Akechi. The detective was currently keeping a light hold on a package of seeds that Sayori had nearly spilled earlier. Every few moments, Sayori would reach out behind her and make a grabbing motion, and the detective somehow managed to pour exactly one seed into her waiting hand. Haru watched the two working in tandem for a bit, before trailing over everyone else. Makoto was digging small holes in a neat row, which Ann would then fill with previously potted plants. Ryuji was the one taking them out of the small plastic containers, managing to be careful enough not to break them.

In the corner, Yusuke had finally managed to find something to sketch, now that everyone was working so hard. Futaba was looking up random plant facts, and telling them to anyone who was interested enough to listen. The girl seemed to enjoy the various reactions she would get, especially when Makoto or Ann looked nearly sick due to a particularly gross one.

"You seem to be appreciating the help," Akira commented, sitting beside Haru and observing which plants she was yanking out, before copying the motions she was using. "Thanks for going along with this idea, by the way. Sayori gave Akechi the 'gardening club' excuse a long time ago."

"Sooner or later, he would have wanted to see proof. And we're a team now," Haru replied. Morgana poked his head out of Akira's bag and smiled, and Haru managed to grin slightly, patting the cat affectionately on the head.

"I'm… surprised, honestly," Akira said with a grimace. Haru looked at him in concern, waiting for him to continue. "I've been wondering for a while now why he's never asked to come to this gardening club Sayori made up. She already volunteers at the school library, and she had to get a permission slip for that…"

"But there wouldn't be a slip for a gardening club she was never a part of," Haru finished. Akira nodded, looking down in frustration at these odd contradictions.

"There's something odd about that detective," Morgana agreed, before looking at Haru. "Now would probably be the best time to ask him about that note."

"Note?" Akira asked, only for Haru to shake her head at him.

"I'll tell you later. Could you finish up with these? Don't pick out any of the purple plants, or the ones with two round leaves," Haru instructed, before rising to her feet and walking over to the detective.

"Hi, Haru," Sayori said, causing Goro to look up at her as well. Haru gave a small wave, before sitting next to the two.

"You'll want to put two of these seeds together," Haru pointed out as she noticed they were starting on a new packet of flowers. Sayori nodded, beginning to dig up the holes she had previously made and adding the other seed.

"Is there anything else to add?" Goro asked politely.

"Yes… I was wondering if you could tell me why you wanted me to meet with you the other night… And also, about that note. My father threw it away as soon as he saw it was from you. He didn't even read it. I wanted to apologize for that," Haru said, taking note of the pained grimace on the detective's face.

"I figured that out a few nights ago," he said, sounding incredibly weary. On top of Yaguchi reporting his conversation with Sae, which took a lot of slick words and excuses to escape discovery itself, Okumura had also reported that Goro had been trying to contact him beyond what was necessary for a hitman.

Haru did her best to hide her concern over the detective's tone, though Sayori noticeably froze and turned her attention to him. "I am sorry that you did not get the meeting you were seeking. Though, can you tell me why you wanted to meet with me? Did it have anything to do with the message in that letter?"

"So I'm assuming you read it?" Haru nodded, causing the detective to sigh tiredly. "Well, after investigating some of the things Okumura has been doing, after he had been voted to the top of the Phantom Thieves' poll, I found out about those disturbing connections between cases of mental shutdowns and Okumura himself… Sooner or later, I believe he is going to be targeted by one group. I wanted to find out any information I could about him. So I decided to ask you for an interview, and also resorted to the unprofessional message in that letter."

"I see," Haru replied, absorbing all of the confusing information.

"Goro. I… I need another one," Sayori mumbled hesitantly, facing the detective. The detective blushed in embarrassment, before going back to helping her.

Haru went back to her spot next to Akira, unable to come up with any words as she tried to process the explanation she had been given. It didn't make sense, yet she knew it was believable enough to be true.

Everyone spent the next two hours working diligently in the garden. There were a few points when everyone switched what they were doing, and Yusuke managed to make three colorless sketches in that time. It was mainly composition practice, so he wasn't really worried about color. Futaba had downloaded a few gardening games on her phone, and played with them until she got bored. She then pulled on her jacket's hood and took a nap in the grass, enjoying the warm sun.

Unfortunately, evening closed in very fast, and everyone knew they would need to leave for their homes. It was during the time they spent putting away all the gardening tools that everyone seemed to pick up on what would have been obvious if they had seen it earlier. Goro had decided to go back to the apartment ahead of all of them, and Sayori was in the middle of saying goodbye.

"I'm glad you had fun," Sayori said with a happy smile. The detective smiled back before pulling the girl into a hug.

"Yes… It makes me relieved that the club seems safe. I assume those scrapes and bumps you keep getting are simply due to your own clumsiness," Goro teased, causing Sayori to frown and begin whining.

"I'm not that clumsy! It's just really easy to trip in the middle of a bunch of loose dirt, and the tools are really slippery…" Sayori trailed off as the detective chuckled.

"Of course that's what you'd say. Let me guess… It's easier to work when the sun is setting, which is why you're always home late. Also, you're always so worn out because gardening is so hard?"

"Exactly!" Sayori said with a pout, before kissing the detective on the cheek. Everyone glanced at each other as they continued to flirt and tease. Finally, the detective stretched his arms and turned around, waving goodbye to the group behind him.

When they were all sure the detective could no longer hear any of them, Makoto was the first to bring it up. "Do you think he knows?"

"Yeah. It's pretty obvious," Akira replied nonchalantly, causing Sayori to turn around and stare at them in shock.

"Huh?" Sayori squeaked, causing everyone to look at her in shock.

"Sayori, you haven't noticed?" Makoto asked, a look of surprise and concern on her face. "I think it's safe to say that he's suspicious that we're the Phantom Thieves." The brunette looked very worried, misinterpreting Sayori's shock as not knowing that Goro knew, when it was really shock that they knew that he knew. But they didn't seem to know that Sayori knew that he knew.

"His teasing was too on the nose, Sayori," Ann pointed out, causing Sayori to suddenly feel very stupid. Why had he decided to do that in front of everyone else? "He pointed out every flaw in your excuse," Ann suddenly looked panicked.

"If Sayori hasn't caught onto the fact that he's suspicious, how much does he know already?" Morgana asked, looking at the group seriously.

"Um… About that…" Sayori began, wanting to clear up the situation a bit more. However, Ryuji was suddenly giving his two-cents.

"Guys, there was something really weird about it!" Ryuji exclaimed. "It's like he wasn't even worried about all of that stuff he said…" Ryuji rubbed his chin in thought. "Is that good or bad?"

"I don't think we can be too certain… But I didn't feel any malicious intent when he said that," Yusuke pondered. "We can't base our conclusions off of a feeling, though."

"Sayori, what do you think?" Akira suddenly asked.

Sayori felt her heart skip a beat as everyone looked at her expectantly. "I don't know for certain… But if he does know that we are the Phantom Thieves, I don't think he's letting the rest of the police in on this secret."

"That's true," Futaba murmured. "The police aren't any closer to catching us than they were when the Phantom Thieves first appeared. At least according to what they've released to the public."

"But there is the fact that Sayori never caught onto his suspicions," Makoto murmured, causing Sayori to tremble slightly, overwhelmed with a sudden burst of shame.

"But we did," Akira pointed out. "That deliberate teasing… Even if it wasn't meant for us, he wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was onto Sayori."

"Yeah. He may as well have stamped a big sign on his head that said 'I know you're the Phantom Thieves,'" Ann agreed, looking in the direction the detective had left in, her frowning was one of confusion.

"If he wanted to keep it a secret that we're the Thieves so that he could catch us, he wouldn't have said all of those things now," Futaba said, her eyes slowly widening. "Wait… Does this mean…?"

"We can't be certain," Haru murmured, remembering the possible warning that was sitting in her desk drawer. "But this, combined with the warning he was trying to give to my father, makes it possible…"

Sayori felt herself growing stunned. Were they really figuring all of this out from some light teasing? She couldn't believe her ears as they all seemed to be drawing the conclusion she truly wanted to believe in herself.

"He's not telling the police that he knows, but he's giving these hints to us," Makoto concluded. "The best case scenario is that he is on our side…"

"And the worst is that he's scheming to catch us and take all of the credit himself," Yusuke finished. He then glanced at Sayori and cringed. "But I sincerely hope that is not the case for your sake."

"Or he might just be teasing Sayori about something else," Futaba added, more as a joke than anything else. She looked at Sayori with a playful, stern expression. "You don't have any other late night activities that his 'Royal Detective-ness' would disapprove of, right?"

"Wh-What?" Sayori asked with a blush. "Of course not! How would I even have the energy for that sort of thing?'

"You say that now…" Futaba said with a mysterious tone of voice. Sayori looked away from the girl, her face heating up at the accusations.

"I want to believe that if he does know, he's on our side…" Haru began. "I want to believe that he wouldn't betray Sayori, because if not, then my friend might be hurt like I have…" The girl looked down in sorrow, the very thought troubling her. For the short time she had known Sayori, she knew that the girl was friendly and caring, but also seemed very naive. Was Goro Akechi taking advantage of those traits? Haru clenched her fists lightly at the thought, an unfamiliar buzz in the back of her head as she processed that possibility.

"We have to take into account what he has and hasn't said," Akira said suddenly, causing everyone to nod distractedly.

"In interviews, he remains firmly against the Phantom Thieves," Morgana said seriously. "And the things he said just now certainly sounded like he was on our side. But…"

"The only way to be certain is if he said that he was on our side," Sayori whispered, realization lighting up her eyes.

Akira nodded, thinking over this new information. "We'll still let him hang out with us, but we need to walk on eggshells for the time being."

"Yeah!" Ryuji agreed. "Even if he is a prick on TV about us, he is fun to hang out with."

"This benefits us, too," Makoto pointed out. "Cutting off all contact with him would make him suspicious, and he might go back to antagonizing us, if he isn't still doing so. If he is on our side, he'll hopefully come forward, and we can maybe gain an ally."

"But we can't be sure until that happens," Ann said sadly, before looking at Sayori sternly. "Be careful around him at home, Sayori."

Sayori nodded. "I will," she croaked, suddenly feeling very tired. I really am bad at keeping secrets… Though it wasn't me that said those things… I wonder if he did that on purpose?

Sayori shook her head, as if she were a wet dog, before looking at everyone. "We should all go home, guys. I'll see you tomorrow." Everyone else said their goodbyes, and Sayori left the school. She probably had the opportunity to catch up with Goro, but she honestly wanted to have some alone time to process everything.

Everything is just too much right now… And unfortunately, things would not be better in the morning.

---

Sayori felt the familiar sensation as she was drinking a small mug of tea. As the sun shone through the window, she barely had time to slam her mug on the coffee table before she glitched. She came back not even a second later, gasping for air and having to support herself using one of the arm chairs. She felt goosebumps rise on her skin as she suddenly couldn't keep tears from spilling from her eyes. The only thing she could be thankful for at the moment was that Goro had left for work long before she had even woken up.

But it was no longer a secret, and the group of people that knew about it was about to get larger. Sayori choked back a sob as she thought of how everyone would react. Was she really still so much of a burden? The thought was large and ugly, and Sayori tried to ease it out of her mind as she grabbed her phone and sent a quick text to Futaba.

"Tell everyone to meet up in Leblanc's attic."

Only a few moments later her phone gave a short ring, bringing a response on a wave of anxiety. Sayori stabbed it open and cried harder.

"Is it time to tell everyone? Are you sure you want to do this?"

Sayori took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. "Yes. Tell Akira I'm heading out now." A second message a few minutes later confirmed that Futaba had delivered the message. Sayori chugged the rest of her tea, before going to the coat closet in the living room where she kept her clothes. She slipped on a thin jacket over her nightgown, and wore long socks. It looked odd, but the girl wasn't concerned with looking presentable. She slipped on her uniform shoes and left the apartment.

---

Everyone gathered in Akira's room, each highly aware of the suddenly foreboding atmosphere in the room. Futaba and Morgana didn't talk with anyone, simply concerned with making sure Sayori was ready. On her request, Morgana stood at the top of the stairs to make sure Sojiro didn't come upstairs if there was a commotion, and Futaba shut and locked the door.

When that was done, Futaba joined almost everyone on the bed, squishing to sit between Ryuji and Ann. Sayori stood in the middle of the room, waiting for everyone to get settled. When they were, and each had a good view of Sayori, the girl looked at all of them and gave a carefully composed smile. "It's probably going to happen soon, so I'm requesting right now that you guys all stay calm. I don't want Boss to come up here after you all start screaming."

"What's gonna happen soon?" Ryuji asked, gritting his teeth in panic. Aside from him, Futaba looked equally frightened, wondering if this one time would be when Sayori vanished and didn't come back. Makoto, Ann, and Haru were all sitting together, a cluster of concern, but did their best to remain calm for their friend's sake. Yusuke did his best to look calm and composed, but he had his hands clasped rather tightly, doing his best to contain the worry and fear where Sayori wouldn't see it. Akira was the only one who managed to calm himself down completely, looking at Sayori expectantly.

The girl sighed, rubbing her hands together nervously. "It's hard to explain without seeing it, and I don't think you guys would believe me without seeing it first hand. So just wait, and you'll see." This was the only option. While they all trusted each other, Sayori had seen Futaba's video evidence, and the glitching she had done on camera could easily be passed off as video editing.

Everyone seemed to accept the explanation, and each began to sit quietly, waiting for whatever it was that Sayori wanted to show them. They each did their best to concentrate, not knowing how long whatever it was would last. Sayori felt herself growing increasingly anxious under their intense gazes, feeling as if she was being interrogated. It was ridiculous to be feeling this way when she had asked for this, but that didn't stop her heart from beating rapidly, and her instincts telling her to run. She supposed it was a good thing that Futaba had locked the door.

After what felt like an eternity, but was actually only around ten minutes, Sayori felt the tight, hiccuping sensation in her throat. She let out a hoarse gasp as a warning, and everyone whose attention had begun to wander immediately went back to watching Sayori. One the outside, the girl was trembling as the breathless sensation spread to her entire body. Goosebumps crawled up her body at an alarming rate. Ann, Makoto, and Haru almost yelled out in concern, thinking the girl was having an allergic reaction or something. Futaba put a calming arm in front of them, and they each held their breath.

Sayori stood there, shivering for a second, and what happened next made everyone jump back in shock. It was hard for them to describe what exactly happened afterwards. The closest anyone came to was Yusuke, shakily whispering, "It was like I blinked, but I was looking right at you."

Sayori gasped and nearly fell to the floor, but Futaba was surprisingly quick. She darted from her spot and let Sayori lean on her, before guiding her to one of the chairs that Akira had in his room. Everyone stared at them in shock, unable to say something in response to what they had just seen. A second later, they heard a scratching on the door, and Morgana yelling to let him in. Nobody reacted for a few long seconds as they watched Futaba hand Sayori a bottle of water, looking at the girl in worry. Finally, Akira stood up and walked slowly towards the door, looking almost as if he were in a trance.

"Sayori," Makoto finally said, her voice coming out as a fearful whimper, "What just happened?" The girl in question looked at Makoto for a few seconds, before turning away and shaking her head, looking just as scared.

"She glitched," Morgana stated, padding into the room and hopping onto Sayori's lap. He looked up in concern at the shaking girl, before turning back to explain what was happening to the group. "That's the best way to describe it, but we aren't really sure what it actually is. Under certain conditions, Sayori just goes… poof!" The cat cringed at his explanation, so Futaba took over.

"Morgana and I are the only ones that knew before you, and that was honestly an accident… But guys, this is seriously bad!" The girl felt herself tear up as she wrapped an arm around Sayori's shoulders, who froze at the sudden affection she was being given. "There's this weird time limit thing with the Metaverse, and we don't know why! I asked the doctor down the street- who was surprisingly chill about it- and… and Sayori might die!" Futaba started to cry, and Sayori felt herself tear up as well, hating herself for letting this happen.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She yelped, beginning to sob and cry.

The rest of the group looked at the group, trying to come to grips with this unbelievable situation. After a few seconds, they slowly stood up and made their way over to her, yet also keeping their distance, wanting to calm the two girls down before they started asking questions.

Eventually, the two girls were only sniffling, and Yusuke offered them a paper towel from the roll on the nearby table. When the two were looking relatively calm, Makoto began to ask about what she remembered from the past week.

"You didn't want us to go into the Metaverse so that you could show us this, so the time limit that Futaba means is that… it resets every time you go in there?" Sayori nodded slightly, causing Makoto to grow concerned. "There were times where we would go weeks without entering the Metaverse once! Do you just wait those times out?"

"It only started a little before we dealt with Futaba's Palace," Sayori explained. "The longer I spend in the Metaverse, the more time I have before I start glitching again. At least, that's what I've figured out so far. After we finished Futaba's Palace, I thought they had stopped, actually… But then…"

"She glitched at the end of our trip to the beach," Futaba continued. "That was when Morgana and I saw it for the first time."

Everyone took that information in, managing to find some relief in that. For now, they knew of a way to treat the symptoms for whatever was happening to Sayori.

"Wait…" Ann began, suddenly reaching out and grabbing onto Sayori's shoulder. "What did you mean when you said that Sayori might die?"

Futaba cringed, beginning to shiver as well when she thought of what Takemi said. When this happened, Morgana took over.

"Well, that is just a theory from Dr. Takemi. But it's based on the fact that the longer Sayori is glitching, the shorter the time is that she's not. The glitching only ever seems to last a second or two at a time, but if she gets to the point where she is here for a really short time…"

"She disappears, and doesn't come back," Akira finished, before glancing at Sayori. The girl looked as if she would rather do that then be faced with this confrontation, but there were still a lot of things she needed to answer to. "How come we never noticed this before?"

Sayori looked down in thought for a few seconds, before smiling up at him nervously. "Well, I don't know if you've ever noticed, Akira, but I was always really good at hiding when I was hurting, right?"

Everyone cringed at the girl's attempt to lighten the mood, causing her to shrink down. "First of all," Akira began, "Don't joke about that ever again, Sayori. And second, you're telling me you've managed to hide this from us ever since it started?"

Sayori nodded. "Remember that time I stayed home from school a little while before we got involved with Futaba?"

"And after that, when you came back to school, you went to the bathroom whenever class ended, and you were always late," Ann said, her eyes widening. "Were you just hiding?"

"Not only then, but also when we went out for sushi that day. You kept excusing yourself," Yusuke said, looking down at the ground. How were they only learning about this now?

"So… we're the only ones that know about this?" Haru asked, watching as Sayori gave a calm nod.

"You haven't told Akechi?" Ann asked, incredulous.

"What could I have told him?!" Sayori cried, hugging her knees to her chest. "If he found out, he would know for sure that I'm a Phantom Thief, and all of you would get in trouble. And… and he's already giving me a safe place to stay, and he protects me, and probably ignores the fact that I'm part of a band of criminals for my sake… And how can I just tell him I could die… I don't want to die anymore! I don't want… him to go through that… To see me like my friend did!" Just the thought of it, her limp, lifeless body… and Goro there, looking at her, when he already lost his mother to that same damn thing!

"Calm down," Haru said calmly, rubbing light circles in the girl's back, trying to quiet her sobs. How Sojiro hadn't come up yet was beyond Haru's comprehension, because her friends desperate and broken cries were the only thing she could hear at all. "Hey, you've told us. While I'm not sure I approve, you don't need to tell Goro, because we're here to help with that. He can help you however he already is, and we can all leave it at that."

"You guys… are going to help?" Sayori asked with a sniffle.

"Hell yeah!" Ryuji said. "You just say you need to go to the Metaverse, and boom! We're goin' and stayin' however long you need!"

"If you need to go hide and disappear for a second, then we'll cover for you however we can," Ann added, a reassuring smile on her face.

"Yeah. I'll hold, and Ann will shove the teacher, while you run towards the bathroom," Akira offered, earning himself a light smack on the shoulder from Makoto.

"We won't let anyone know that you don't want to know," Makoto said.

"All the while, we'll look for a more permanent solution to this glitching," Yusuke mused. "We're already looking for Morgana's lost memories by going to the depths of Mementos. If the Metaverse is tied to whatever is happening here, then it must hold the solution as well."

"Yeah!" Futaba shouted. "I'm not letting you die, Sayori! Even if I have to do something crazy, like hack into the Metaverse and and reboot it or who knows what, then I'll do it!"

"You're a Phantom Thief, Sayori," Morgana stated. "And from now on, we're all sticking together!"

Sayori wiped her eyes and smiled tiredly at everyone. They truly were the best of friends, and she was lucky to have them. The weight of one secret lifted off of her chest, and she suddenly felt so much closer with all of them. It was… refreshing, and the girl felt like she could breathe easier.

"In that case, let's go to Okumura's Palace, or Mementos, as soon as we can," Sayori decided. Everyone nodded in agreement before dispersing from their group hug. Akira went to his work table and began to check that they had everything they needed, and everyone checked to make sure they each had the right model weapons. Sayori had sadly forgotten her own backpack, which was full of her own supplies, so they decided to break for lunch and then come back.

I really am so thankful for all of them… Now, there's just one more confrontation I know I need to have, Sayori thought to herself as she checked her bag. That same hiccupping feeling rose in her chest came again, stealing her away once again. When she came to, she didn't feel nearly as scared as she had in the past.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know this is a fanfic, and this probably isn't super needed, but I want to definitely disclaim that you guys shouldn't deal with depression the way Sayori does in this story. Please take care of yourselves! I'm not a professional on any of this stuff, and I don't try to be, so this story definitely isn't an accurate representation of how to deal with depression at all. I decided to write it this way, and I'm sticking with it!

On a much more fun note, how many of you have noticed that we have new cover art? My partner paid to have it commissioned by megat0nraid. Check out their stuff on Twitter! I am really thankful for the work they and my partner did to make this cover art a reality, and it's probably one of the best Christmas presents I've ever gotten! I hope all of you like it too.

Lastly, next chapter is going to be the 50th! I don't have anything special planned for it, but I'm honestly surprised. I'm going to stick through this story to the end, because I love writing it. How many chapters do you guys think the entire fanfic will be? Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you guys next time!