Ren was now sitting in the dark room, bruises and cuts all over his face, in fronr of him, there she was, Sae Nijjima, who was utterly shocked

-¨Makoto and you…. Entered a relationship?!¨

-¨Yeah…¨ Ren said weakly ¨Surprise?¨

-¨This… This is beyond ridiculous, Makoto has bigger things to worry about, plus someone as intelligent and diligent as herself would never date someone, much less a shameless criminal like you¨

-¨Now that just plain hurts¨

-¨You are unbelievable, first you told me about my sister being part of this group, now this? You really are a scumbag¨

-¨Makoto is not a little girl, you know? It´s so sad to hear that you don´t trust her¨

-¨I do trust her!¨

-¨Yeah, sure, and you certainly prove so¨

-¨What´s that supposed to mean?¨

-¨Figure out yourself, although¨ his expression turned into a sad one ¨After what happened, I wouldn't surprised if she hates me now¨

Now that got Sae´s attention, she looked at the probationer with a look filled with rage

-¨What did you do to her?¨

-¨I´ll get to that eventually, for now, let me continue with my story¨

Despite feeling unsatisfied with that answer, Sae allowed him to continue, though she was wondering, what did Ren do?


9/28 Wednesday

After taking a shower, Makoto decided to begin her homework

-¨Let´s see, there is the history report, math, after all of this, I have to sweep the floor, do the laundry, after that, I can finally call my boyfriend¨

And that where it hit her

-¨Boyfriend… Ren is my boyfriend now¨

That was one word she never expected to use, at least for now

-¨My sister always said that it was a waste, and up until recently, I thought the same, but now¨

She thought about all her time with the thieves, with Ren especially, and, it made her happy

-¨I want to talk to him, nothing special, but should I?¨

Ever since she and Ren started fake dating, Makoto made sure to investigate about relationships as much as possible, and while she did find many things (some which were phrased in ways that made her turn red), there was one that caught her attention

-¨No boy likes a pesky girl, respect your man´s space… That is what it said¨ she let out a sigh ¨What should I do? I want to talk to Ren, but we just saw each other a few minutes ago, would I sound too clingy, or possessive?¨ she felt tired ¨This is harder than I thought¨


Meanwhile, Ren arrived to Leblanc

-¨Oh, you´re back¨ Sojiro greeted him

-¨Hi¨

-¨How did it went with Makoto?¨

-¨Well¨ Ren actually wanted to brag the fact that he now has a girlfriend, but he is not sure if he should yet, after all, Makoto did ask him to not say anything to her sister, for obvious reasons, so maybe he should wait a bit?

But before anything else could be said, Futaba entered the café

-¨Hi Ren¨ the hacker said

-¨Hey¨

-¨Futaba¨ Sojiro said slightly surprised ¨What´s wrong? It´s not like you to come here this late¨

The hacker showed him her phone

-¨Look, Sojiro! Uncle´s bank info, transaction history, credit details… I´ve got tons of dirt on him!¨

Sojiro was shocked at this

-¨How´d you get your hands on this stuff?¨

-¨Hacking, of course! Uncle´s in loads of debt! He´ll never win a suit against us now that we have all this data!¨

-¨This is a criminal offense, you idiot!¨ Sojiro said with his voice raised ¨There´s no way we´d be able to use this stuff in court!¨

-¨But!¨ Futaba said, somewhat shaken, that was not the expected reaction

Sojiro sighed ¨I´ve known all along how badly in debt he is, so he´s not gonna try and take custody back, so don´t go doing stupid crap like this, OK?¨

-¨But Sojiro! I-I only did it ´cause of all that stuff he said to you!¨

Sojiro let out another sigh ¨About that… I´ve been thinking. When push came to shove, I wasn´t there to help you… So… you know… maybe there´s somewhere better for you out there¨

-¨S-Somewhere better?¨ Futaba asked in disbelief ¨Am I not supposed to be here?¨ she got sad ¨Am I just in the way?¨

-¨No, that´s not it¨ he tried to clarify

-¨You don´t want me either, Sojiro!?¨

-¨That´s not what I meant! I just think it might be better, for your own sake¨

The hacker just stumped the floor ¨Fine! I still have Ren, Makoto, and all of the others! You can just stay here and play with your stupid coffee beans!¨

And she stormed out, heading to Ren´s room

-¨She likes you guys way more than she likes me¨ the café owner said troubled ¨Makes sense though… You´re the ones who helped her, after all¨ he looked at Ren ¨Where did I go wrong? I really did try to care for Futaba… Look where that got me though¨

-¨I think you are being hard on yourself¨

-¨What do you mean?¨

-¨He hacked into her uncle´s account, got all that data, just to stop him from taking back the custody, I think she really wants to stay with you¨

Sojiro went quiet, was that the true?

-¨I´m gonna go out for a smoke, try to cool off a bit¨

-¨I am going to check on Futaba then¨

And with that, the probationer went to his room, upon entering, there she was, crouched near the corner

-¨Ren¨ she said sad

-¨Are you all right?¨

-¨Yeah, I´m OK… Not…¨ she stood up ¨Y´know, mom used to talk about Sojiro tons when I was little. How good he was at making curry, how interesting he was to talk to… I remember everything. I even remember how she smiled when she talked about him… Mom really liked Sojiro… I said some real mean stuff tonight. It´s not his fault that mom´s incident happened… it´s not his fault I shut myself away from the world. And because of me… Sojiro lost a crapton of money¨

-¨And that´s why you hacked into your uncle´s account¨

-¨I just thought I´d be able to stay here with him if my hacking worked¨

-¨You should tell him that¨

-¨Yeah… Yeah, you´re right¨

-¨Futaba¨ they heard Sojiro´s voice from downstairs ¨Um… can I come in?¨

-¨Mm-hm¨

Sojiro entered the room

There was an awkward silence

-¨Sojiro¨ Futaba quietly said ¨I…¨

-¨Look, I´m sorry about what I said just now… and well… if it´s OK with you… I want you to stay here forever¨

-¨Forever¨

-¨I know it might be more fun living with people your age like Ren… But I´ll do my damnedest to see things from your perspective, so… will you stay with me?¨

There was silence

Until

-¨Ahahahahaha! Was that supposed to be some kinda proposal? Ahaha!¨

-¨H-Hey¨ Sojiro said confused ¨Quit your laughing!¨ he sighed ¨You´re exhausting as ever¨

Ren shook his head in amusement

-¨Hey, Sojiro!¨ Futaba said ¨I know I´ve caused you a lot of trouble… But I really do wanna be here, so, let´s keep living together¨

-¨Futaba¨

-¨Sorry for not saying that sooner. Oh, and… thanks for taking in someone as horrible as me¨

-¨Are you sure I´m good enough¨

-¨I wouldn´t want anyone else¨

-¨Heh¨ he smiled ¨No hesitation… Don´t come complaining to me if you regret it…. Actually, I´m not gonna let you regret it. If you ever need help, just tell me. I might not be graceful… but I´ll be there to protect you. And you can stay with me for as long as you´d like. Forever if you want¨

-¨I will. Forever¨ she looked at Ren ¨I can´t wait to keep sorta living with you, Ren!¨

-¨I like that idea¨

-¨Anyway¨ Sojiro said and looked at Ren ¨How were things with Makoto?¨

-¨Oooh¨ Futaba said excited ¨Were you with her? Did you finally confessed?¨

-¨Please, he probably didn´t¨

Ren just smirked, he wasn't sure if he should tell them that, but given the mood until recently, he decided to make an exception

-¨Actually¨ he blushed a bit

The duo´s eyes went wide

-¨No way!¨ Futaba exclaimed

-¨You are kidding?¨ Sojiro said surprised

-¨Nop, we are officially a couple now¨

-¨Hell yeah!¨ Futaba exclaimed proud

-¨I underestimated you kid, congratulations¨

-¨Thanks¨

-¨Did you also tell her about her father and yours?¨

-¨No¨ he grabbed his neck ¨I didn't¨

Sojiro shook his head

-¨Who cares about that?¨ Futaba said ¨They are together now¨

-¨Yeah, you are right¨ Sojiro said ¨Anyway, I´m gonna cook some curry, you two want some?¨

-¨You bet we do, I´m gonna press this guy for details while we eat¨

-¨So much for respecting my privacy¨ Ren said as Futaba pushed him downstairs


After a lovely meal, and answering all of the hacker´s question, it was time to sleep

He headed to his room, and began to wonder, should he call Makoto? After all, they just saw each other, would he look too possessive if he was calling her every single second? He certainly didn't want that, Makoto is pretty independent and strong, one of the many reasons he fell in love with her

-¨What to do?¨ he said to himself

But before anything else could happen, his phone rang, it was her

-¨Hi there¨ he said with a smile

-¨Oh, hey…¨ she said, somewhat nervous ¨Are you good to talk right now?¨

-¨Of course¨

-¨I know we just saw each other, it's just¨

-¨I don´t mind, I was about to call you myself¨

-¨Really? I am glad… Anyway, I think that, between us, we managed to help Eiko see the truth¨

-¨Have you heard anything from her?¨

-¨Not yet, but I´m thinking of calling her once things calm down a bit¨

-¨Sounds like a good idea¨

-¨I want to thank you again Ren, I´d probably never have pulled this off alone. Thank you so much¨

-¨I´d do anything for you¨

-¨C-Come on, stop that¨ she said slightly embarrassed ¨But hearing that does make me happy, I want to keep talking, but maybe he had enough for now ¨Well, guess that´s it, see you tomorrow¨

-¨W-wait¨

-¨What?¨

-¨I…¨ the probationer was now red as a tomato ¨I want to keep talking¨

Makoto was surprised, yet happy ¨Really?¨

-¨Yeah, if you want to¨

-¨….Yes, I want to¨

They kept talking about school, their activities as Phantom Thieves, and all sorts of topics

-¨A school graduation dance?¨ Ren asked

-¨Yes, one of the members of the Student Council suggested that idea, it is a common tradition in American high schools, it is the night after the graduation ceremony, to say goodbye to all graduates¨

-¨Sounds fun, is it official yet?¨

-¨Not for now, we are gonna start asking the 3rd years their opinions on it¨

-¨What do you think?¨

-¨I´m not sure, I never dance, much less in something so formal, but we still have 4 months before the graduation, so there´s still time¨

-¨4 months¨ Ren said, somewhat sad

-¨Ren?¨

-¨Nothing, I just realized that in 4 months you´ll be already a graduated, and my probation would have finished, so I´ll be back in Yokohama as well¨

-¨Oh¨ Makoto said, realization hitting her, Ren won´t be here for that much time ¨I´m sorry, it wasn´t my intention to bring down the mood¨

-¨Don´t say that, you didn´t, and as you said, there´s still time before that, so no worries¨

-¨Yes, you are right¨

Suddenly, the door of her apartment opened

-¨Oh no¨ Makoto said worry, that is her sister who just came back from work, she cant´t see her being awake at this hour, much less talking to someone on the phone

She quickly hung up and covered with her sheets

-¨Makoto?¨ Ren said confused, until he got a message

Makoto: My sister just came back from work so I have to hung up, sorry

Ren let out a sigh of relief

After a few seconds of silence

Makoto: She already went to her room, guess we are safe now

Ren: that´s good, are you ok?

Makoto: Yes, sorry to cut the call so suddenly, but I didn´t want her to caught us

Ren: I understand, and it´s getting late, I think we should both head to sleep for now

Makoto: Yes, I agree…

Ren: Makoto?

Makoto: Thank you again for everything Ren, I had a wonderful time

That made him smile

Ren: Thank you as well Makoto, see you tomorrow, good night

And they both headed to sleep, feeling so happy that they are together


10/11 Tuesday

The days went on, and between their dates and such, the deadline for Okumura´s change of heart finally arrived

Ren was on his room, until his phone rang, it was Haru on the group´s chat

Haru: Sorry for messaging you all this early in the morning. It seems my father will be holding an urgent press conference

Ryuji: For real?

Ann: Congrats!

Makoto: When is that going to be?

Haru: 8 pm tonight

Makoto: I wonder if he´ll talk about the mental shutdowns

Futaba: Where should we watch it?

Makoto: Why don´t we get together beforehand?

Ren: Sounds good

Haru: How does the Shujin Academy rooftop sound? I actually happen to have some business up there

Ann: Sounds good to me. It's been ages since I was last there

Futaba: Wait… The school?

Makoto: Futaba, make sure you come in through the front entrance. See you all there after school


The school day went fast, and now they were all in the school ´s rooftop, not only to see what will happen with Okurmura, but to also help Haru with her gardening

-¨So you´re the one who grew these, senpai¨ Ann said

-¨You can just call me Haru. The seasons are changing soon, so I thought it´d be nice for the plants to change as well¨ she looked at Yusuke ¨This time, it´s a Yusuke Kitagawa production¨

-¨All I did was add some… how do I put it… aesthetic simplicity by balancing the color placement. Furthermore, Haru chose the flowers herself. It will surely be a great bed no matter the arrangement¨

-¨Hm, I´m looking forward to it¨ Makoto said

-¨Why don´t we plant you, Mona?¨ Futaba asked with a grin

Just what I would need, a plant of cats that are telling me to go to sleep)

-¨Weren´t you a shut-in until just recently?¨ the cat fired back ¨You´d better photosynthesize while you´re here¨

The group let out some laughs

-¨Well, let´s get started!¨


Yusuke was framing the entire scenery

-¨Perhaps the snapdragon should go two more millimeters to the left¨

-¨That´s not gonna make a difference!¨ Ann said

-¨I beg to differ¨

Meanwhile, Ren and Haru were working together

-¨How did you manage to get all of these seeds?¨ Ren asked in amazement

-¨It´s not so hard if you have the right contact, though I don´t really have that much hope, a school rooftop is not the best environment, you know?¨

-¨Why don´t take them to my lot at Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome?¨

-¨Oh no, that was a gift meant to you, it wouldn't fell right to take advantage of it¨

-¨I don´t mind, I bet these plants would grow really well there¨

Haru´s a bit surprised by Ren´s kind nature, but she smiled happily ¨Ok then, thanks Ren¨

Meanwhile, Makoto manage to see them working and laughing, and there it was again, that strange feeling

Why I get this mad feeling just seeing Ren helping Haru? It´s just who he is¨

-¨You ok there Makoto?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Huh? Yes, why wouldn't I be?¨

-¨Because a bit harder and you are gonna break that garden trowel in two¨

-¨Huh?¨ Makoto looked at her hand, and realized she was squeezing the trowel so hard that cracks were beginning to form

-¨Anyway¨ Ryuji said, getting the group´s attention ¨ Y´know how we´re thinking of the school festival as our celebration party. Anyone else think we should have a real celebration on top of that?¨

-¨I must agree¨ Yusuke said ¨It would be not only a celebration, but a welcoming as well. I´d like to do something among ourselves¨

-¨Let´s do it then!¨ Ann said with excitement ¨A joint party to celebrate and to welcome Haru!¨

-¨Oh, you don´t have to do that¨ Haru said ¨The school festival is more than enough¨

-¨How is everyone supposed to get excited if the star of the party´s not into it?¨ Morgana said

After some consideration, Haru agreed ¨Well then… how about a night party? At Destinyland¨

Every were confused

-¨By Destinyland¨ Makoto said ¨Do you mean that kingdom of dreams?¨

-¨It would be a bit late, but there are some plans that allow us to rent out the park for the night¨

-¨The entire park!?¨ Ann said surprised ¨You´re talking about THE Destinyland, right?¨

-¨Hold on. I´ll go check¨ and she walked away

-¨She really thinks like a celebrity¨

-¨The heck´s she gonna check?¨ Ryuji asked

After a few minutes, Haru came back, a smile on her face ¨Guys, it looks like it will work!¨

-¨We´re really gonna have it at Destinyland?¨ Ann asked shocked ¨Not like, one of the restaurants, but… the entire park?¨

Futaba was investigating on her laptop, and what she saw shocked her

-¨Even just for one night… the price is insane¨

-¨Oh, that won´t be a problem¨ Haru said ¨We had originally booked it for a company party, then had to call it off because of the scandal. We´d barely get anything back if we canceled the reservation, so why not take advantage of it?¨

-¨Wouldn´t that be oddly conspicuous though?¨ Yusuke asked concerned

-¨It´s still officially under the company´s name. We needn´t worry¨

-¨In that case, let´s do this¨ Ryuji said excited ¨We´ll just celebrate twice as hard today!¨ he then looked at Futaba´s laptop ¨So seriously. How much does it cost?¨

And what he saw made his jaw dropped


The gang arrived at destinyland, and after being welcomed by the park´s staff, they went to their first destination, rollercoaster

-¨WOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOO!¨ Haru screamed while having lots of fun

Meanwhile, Ryuji ,Ann were also screaming, while Makoto and Futaba had terrified faces, and finally, Ren and Yusuke just kept a normal expression

After a while, they were done

-¨That rocked!¨ Ryuji yelled with excitement

-¨Speak for yourself¨ Futaba said while breathing heavily

-¨You OK there Futaba?¨ Ann asked

-¨I just… *gulp*…Need some time¨

-¨Are you gonna throw up?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Let me be, like I´m the only one¨

Right next to her, Makoto was being tended by Ren

-¨Stopstopstopstop, sismakeitstop¨ she said shaken

-¨There, there, the worst have passed¨ Ren said

-¨I must say¨ Yusuke said ¨I thought you will be more used to travelling fast Makoto, considering your Persona is a bike¨

-¨It´s different¨ she said

-¨How?¨

-¨I have the control there¨

-¨Anybody up for another round?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨I want to¨ Ann said

-¨Can I join?¨ Haru asked

-¨Sure thing¨

-¨I´ll pass¨ Futaba said

-¨Second it¨ Makoto joined

-¨You guys go on ahead¨ Ren said

And with that, the trio left

-¨What do you want to do now?¨ Ren asked

-¨Why not hit the stands?¨ Futaba suggested ¨let´s see if there are any good prizes¨

-¨Sounds good to me¨ Yusuke said

-¨Yes, that does sound quieter¨ Makoto said after recovering


Their first stop was the darts stand, and Yusuke was the first to go

Or so he should

-¨Inari¨ Futaba said annoyed ¨You´ve been aiming at the balloons for 10 minutes, what is taking you so long? Throw the dart already¨

-¨Calm down, this is not an easy situation¨

-¨What do you mean?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Well, all the balloons are perfectly aligned, and their colors are correct as well, if I pop off anyone of them, the image just gets ruined¨

Futaba just facepalmed, and decided to snatch the dart, this began an argument between her and

Meanwhile, Ren just popped off another balloon, getting a prize, a panda stuffed doll

-¨Here you go¨ he said as he handed the panda to Makoto

-¨Huh?!¨ Makoto was blushing ¨Really?¨

-¨Yeah, I can tell you clearly love pandas, so I figure you will like it¨

-¨Ren¨ she was happy ¨Thank you so much. I´ll get you a prize as well, is there anything you want?¨

-¨Let me take a look, by the way, I´ve been thinking about something¨

-¨What is it?¨

-¨Shouldn´t we tell the others? You know, that we are officially a couple? It feels bad to hide that from them¨

-¨True, they are our friends after all, let´s do it, but after Okumura finishes his press conference¨

-¨Good idea¨

Both began to wonder just how their friends will react, they will probably will began with congratulations before asking embarrassing questions

Oh well, they already made it this far


After a while, they met at the food court in order to eat, while the fireworks show was on display

-¨The food was arranged on my plate as though it were paint on a canvas¨ Yusuke said happy

-¨The staff brought out this table and food just for us, huh?¨ Ann asked surprised

-¨I thought if we were going to dine together, it would be better to do it somewhere with a view¨ Haru said

-¨The VIP life is incredible! Not that I´d expect anything else from a private rental!¨

-¨There really is no one else here¨ Makoto said

-¨We are the rulers if the kingdom of dreams!¨ Futaba exclaimed

-¨Is this lighting just for our sake as well?¨

-¨That´s right¨

-¨It´s beautiful¨ Yusuke said

-¨It´s not as beautiful as you¨ Futaba said ¨That´s the kinda stuff couples said, right?¨

-¨Almost anyone would fall for that line in front of a sight like this!¨ Ann said

Then Morgana had an idea

-¨Lady Ann, this view is not as beautiful as¨

Unfortunately, Ryuji cut him by saying ¨C´mon, you guys´re getting way too excited about this stuff¨

-¨You say that like you´re not tapping into your inner child too, Ryuji¨ Ann said, referring to the blondie´s bear ears

-¨This is just cause Futaba kept nagging me to put themm on!¨

-¨I did not!¨ the hacker yelled

Ren decided to take this chance to got closer to Makoto´s ear and whispered ¨This view is not as beautiful as you¨

That comment made her turned red ¨Ren, please¨

Yusuke took another look at the view

-¨My, this is so heartwarming!¨

-¨This party´s totally the best one so far! It´s freaking amazing!¨ Ryuji exclaimed

-¨I´m glad to see you´re enjoying it¨ Haru said

-¨Be careful Haru¨ Morgana said ¨You´ve shown these guys what luxury means. This´ll really raise the bar for our next celebration party¨

-¨Still, how do I put this?¨ she asked, somewhat worry ¨I met Mona-chan and all of you… Isn´t everything going a little too perfectly? It´s actually a bit frightening¨

-¨You worry too much¨ the cat said

Ann checked her phone ¨Hey, isn´t almost time? You know, for the press conference¨

They all took out their phones and entered the live press conference site


There he was, Kunizaku Okumura, the journalists taken pictures of him

-¨Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to gather here. Today, I´d like to elaborate upon the whole truth behind my company´s labor situation. How my employees were forced to work under severe conditions, how lax we were with sanitation, and how my corporation acted as a whole to… cover up every facet of this scandal. For all of this, I wholeheartedly apologize¨ he gave a bow

The journalists and all news staff went crazy with photos and questions

-¨So are you saying all of this was done under your orders?¨ a journalist asked

-¨Yes. I… am solely responsible¨

-¨We heard that dozens of your employees were forced to resign due to a mysterious illness¨ another journalist said ¨Furthermore, these happened to be officials who stood against your proposal for overseas expansion. The same thing also happened to executives who were looking to expand abroad. Is all of this true?¨

-¨Yes¨

-¨Was it all coincidence?¨

He remained quiet

-¨About that… I have a critical piece of information to announce here today¨


Meanwhile, back with the thieves

-¨Here it comes¨ Morgana said ¨Okumura´s going to say who´s behind the mental shutdowns¨

But what happened next was something that no one, not even the thieves were expecting

-¨I¨ Okumura said, until ¨Ngh¨

His face began to go dark, he grabbed his cheast, a massive pain coming form it

-¨A-AGH… AH¨ his head wen down, but one could see, blood emanating from it, once he looked back at the camera, there was blood over his face, and his eyes looked like those of a zombie

The whole public screamed with terror

A message appeared signalizing that the transmission was cut


Back with the gang, to say there were shock would be little

-¨Huh?¨ Ann said shocked

-¨F-Father!?¨ Haru asked confused

-¨W-Why did he collapse!?¨

-¨That didn´t look right at all¨ Makoto said, until something terrifying hit her ¨Don´t tell me!¨

-¨Mona-chan¨ Haru asked, a slight hint of desperation on her voice ¨What´s going on?¨

-¨No¨ the cat said shocked ¨That´s impossible¨

-¨We did everything the same¨ Ren said, not believing any of this

-¨You´re right. We followed the same steps! We made sure we just took the Treasure too¨

Haru was having a hard time processing this, though tears were beginning to form, she began to head towards the exit

-¨I need to call home¨

-¨This¨ Ann asked with fear ¨This isn´t our fault… is it? It´s been OK all four times so far, ever since Kamoshida¨

-¨If we let the Shadow live, the real person won´t undergo mental shutdown… right?¨ Makoto asked

-¨That´s how it should work¨ Morgana said

-¨Yeah… It´s gotta be¨ Ryuji said, trying to sound calm

But then

-¨A-Ah!¨ Futaba said

-¨What´s wrong?¨ Yusuke asked

-¨TH-is is¨ she began to shake ¨the same… I remember now… It´s just like… what happened to my mom¨

-¨So this is the moment when mental shutdowns occurs¨

-¨But why did they target Okumura-san?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Dammnit!¨ Ryuji yelled ¨The hell´s going on here!?¨

-¨Um¨ Haru weakly said

They all looked at her, tears were forming in her eyes ¨I-I have to go¨ and she was gone

-¨This ain´t our fault, right?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨I´d like to think so¨ Yusuke said, not feeling entirely confident

-¨I´ll get in contact with Haru later¨ Makoto said, feeling bad as well ¨For today, I think we should all return home¨

And they all took their separate ways, for obvious reasons, Ren and Makoto decided to postpone telling the others about their relationship


Meanwhile, Sae Niijima was watching the conference on her computer, she didn´t notice that Akechi approached her

-¨It´s been a while¨ he said

Sae did not pay him any attention

-¨What are you watching?¨ and that when he saw it, what happened to Okumura

-¨That´s¨ he felt like he was about to throw up

-¨This is just a hypothesis¨ Sae said ¨But perhaps Okumura was bitten by his lapdog

-¨Are you implying that the Phantom Thieves triggered a sudden mental shutdown on Okumura?¨

-¨There might have been a falling out of sorts, so the Phantom Thieves abandoned a useless employer. And to cover their tracks, they dealt with Okumura¨

-¨I hate to bring this up, but I´m actually here about that¨

-¨Did you find any evidence?¨

-¨No. Actually, there´s a chance that the party behind these aren´t the Phantom Thieves, but someone else¨

-¨How do you mean? You were suspecting the Phantom Thieves as well¨

-¨It is still hypothetical at this point… but I don´t want to rule it out¨

-¨We´re searching the Okumura residence tomorrow. Same with Shujin and its principal. We will find evidence on this… no matter what it takes… By the way, I wanted to ask you something¨

-¨Yes?¨

-¨You haven´t looked at my laptop or taken files from it without my permission have you?¨

Akechi was offended by this

-That´s quite out of the blue¨

-¨There were traces that someone transferred data from it. It was only a small error pop-up, but I noticed it immediately after I had that argument with you last month¨

-¨And that´s why you suspect me? Oh please, give me a break¨

-¨Are you saying you didn´t?¨

-¨As a detective myself, I honor the value of information, as well as the effort invested in it. I take pride in what I do, and I thought you of all people would understand such values, Sae-san¨

-¨I apologize¨

With that, the detective left

-¨But then… who stole my data?¨ she shook her head ¨I let my guard down, but they´re mine… I´m the one who will catch them!¨


Ren arrived home, and suddenly, his phone rang

Ryuji: So about Haru´s dad… Uh…

Ann: The news said it was cardiac arrest

Ryuji: There´s a chance he´ll pull through, right?

Makoto: I hate to say this, but usually after such a report, the only thing that follows is a confirmation of death

Ann: No!

Futaba: Haru

Yusuke: Why is this happening!? Can someone die from simply having a mental shutdown!?

Makoto: I don´t know! I suppose it´s possible that the shock could kill a person, Haru did mention how her father wasn´t in the best of health

Ryuji: But for him to just up and die? This has gotta be some kinda joke

Futaba: Haru!

Yusuke: Are we responsible for his death?

Ryuji: But I thought it was supposed to be fine as long as we didn´t kill their Shadow! Ain´t that what you said, Morgana!?

-It should´ve been OK¨ the cat said, but ¨It… should´ve been¨

Ren: He says it should´ve been OK, that is enough for me

Ann: Yeah, there´s no point getting mad at Mona for this! I heard the same thing you know

Makoto: In any case, let´s compose ourselves for now. We need to act normally in public. But keep Haru in our minds


10/12 Wednesday

The following day, during classes

Makoto: Hm, it seems police have shown up at our school

Ryuji: The police? What for?

Ann: Your sister hasn´t told you about any of this?

Makoto: Nothing at all

Yusuke: Could this be related to Okumura´s death in some way?

Makoto: But there´s no connection between our school and Okumura Foods

Futaba: Think they came to talk to Haru?

Makoto: She´s… absent today

Ryuji: Then seriously, what´re they here for?

Makoto: I can´t even begin to fathom a reason. Anyhow, let´s be particularly careful not to stand out, and head straight home once school ends


Meanwhile, at Haru´s house

-¨We haven´t found anything useful as evidence¨ said an investigator to Sae

-¨I see¨

-¨We were hoping to find something more than the calling card too¨

-¨We´ve confirmed the victim´s connection to the Phantom Thieves, at least. Thank you for your cooperation¨

The investigator´s phone rang

-¨Speaking…. Huh!? They found a calling card in the principal´s office too!¨

-¨Yes!¨ then Sae looked at Haru ¨I´m sorry to ask again, but your father hadn´t said anything about the Phantom Thieves, correct?¨

-¨That´s right¨

-¨Please contact me if something catches your attention. It doesn´t matter how trivial it seems. You don´t have to force yourself though, just anything that comes to mind¨

And with that, they were gone

-¨The principal?¨ Haru whispered to herself ¨No one told me about that¨


Time began to move fast, once more, Ren was in the dark room

-¨So basically, your group didn´t go after Okumura´s life¨ Sae said ¨And even the death of Shujin´s principal, who we found a calling card, was the work of another?¨

Ren nod

-¨You don´t sound like you´re lying. If you wanted to deceive me, you could´ve easily woven up a much simpler lie than this ¨Metaverse¨. Moreover, you account coincides with my own investigation. Is that even possible if it were made up? And I hate to admit it, but… with my line of work, I know a false testimony when I hear one. Still, if you set your sights on Okumura based on my intel, it´d be before his name was even ranked. You could´ve ignored him and targeted some other famous person. Why would you go so far as to further investigate and pursue this criminal?¨

-¨My teammate was in danger¨

-¨Heh… simple enough, but there´s still no proof that another suspect exists, and with the subsequent deaths of Okumura and Shujin´s principal, the public´s opinion changed. Pressed to prove your innocence, your next objective was¨

-¨This is gonna be fun¨ Ren whispered sarcastically

-¨At last, we arrive at your most recent crime¨ she took a calling card out of her jacket ¨You know what I mean, don´t you? This calling card was delivered to your latest target, the one you had decided would prove your innocence. It was addressed to Sae Niijima. Myself. Now, explain everything to me¨


10/13 Thursday

The following day, after classes were over, the gang met at their hideout, at Haru´s request

-¨Where´s Haru?¨ Futaba asked as she entered the room

-¨She´s the one that called us¨ Ryuji said ¨So she´ll show up eventually¨

-¨Wait, WHAT!?¨ Ann said as she read something on her phone

-¨W-What´s up?¨ Futaba asked

-¨People are posting that we killed President Okumura!¨

The gang was shocked upon hearing this

-¨So it´s begun already¨ Yusuke said

-¨What!?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Think about it. The CEO collapsed the way he did, during an apology conference that our group caused¨

-¨Still!¨ Ann complained ¨They were raving about us so much… now they just treat us like murderers?¨

-¨What a lighting-fast change of attitude¨ Futaba said with sarcasm

-¨They don´t know a damn thing about our situation!¨ Ryuji exclaimed

Eventually, Haru arrived

-¨I´m sorry I´m late, but I´ll get to the point, did you all target the principal?¨

-¨The principal?¨ Ann asked ¨You mean ours?¨

-¨Yes¨

-¨What makes you say that?¨ Morgana asked

-¨Yesterday, a public prosecutor came to my home. It was a woman named… Niijima-san¨

That name caught Makoto´s attention ¨That´s¨

-¨I overheard her saying a calling card was found in the principal´s office. Considering that this was right after what happened… It´s got to be Shujin´s¨

-¨That´s the first I´ve heard of it!¨ Ryuji said

-¨Doesn´t this all seem weird to you?¨ Makoto asked ¨It may be just my imagination, but I feel as if… things are escalating far too quickly after President´s Okumura´s incident¨

-¨Whaddya mean?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Perhaps… we may have been set up by the real culprit¨

Everybody was alarmed

-¨For real!?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨That could be¨ Futaba said

-¨Then we need to catch them as soon as possible¨ Ann said

-¨Hold a moment¨ Yusuke said ¨Can we assume we´ve been set up though? We don´t even know their objective¨

-¨What else are we supposed to do then!?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Let´s all calm down for a moment¨ Makoto said ¨From what Haru said, even the police are suspecting that the Phantom Thieves are murderers. It wouldn't be wise to carelessly make a move at the moment. We need to act as normal students for now. In addition, we have midterms next week¨

-¨Exams?¨ Ryuji asked in disbelief ¨At a time like this? Rgh, I envy you Futaba¨

No response

-¨Futaba?¨

-¨Hm?¨ the hacker came back to reality ¨Got something on my mind. Gonna go home and look into it¨ and she was gone

-¨I wonder what that could be?¨ Makoto asked ¨At any rate, we need to behave and not draw attention to ourselves. Understood?¨

And so, they all headed home


10/14 Friday

The following day, after classes were over, Ren and Ryuji decided to head to the gym

-¨Well, here we are¨ Ryuji said

-¨I still think we should be studying¨ Ren said

-¨Lay off man, plus, you are the one who said that we should go to the gym¨

-¨Fair enough, let us began¨

The boys began to run on the treadmill

-¨Are you ok?¨ Ren asked

-¨Huh? *pant* what do you mean?¨

-¨I could tell yesterday that you were pissed, want to talk about it?¨

-¨It´s just, how could all go south so fast? I bet the true culprit is laughing his/her ass off as the whole country is turning against us¨

-¨It is a true pain in the ass¨

-¨No kidding, and I feel bad for Haru, I mean, she saw her dad dying in national tv, how messed up is that?¨

-¨A lot, I tried to contact her, but no look, she must want to be alone for now¨

-¨RenRen, what can we do?¨

-¨….. Stop the true culprit is our only choice, we have to¨

-¨How, though? Btw, have you heard from Futaba at all? She is doing who knows what¨

-¨Beat me, we´ll find out soon enough, anyway, let´s move onto the next exercise¨ Ren turned off his treadmill ¨If we are gonna stop the culprit, we need to train¨

-¨Hell yeah, we can´t keep losing to that psycho¨


At her house, there she was Makoto, trying to study, until she heard a knock on her door

-¨Who is it?¨

-¨It´s me¨

Makoto was surprised, she opened the door, and there he was, Ren

-¨Ren, what a pleasant surprise, can I help you with something?¨

-¨Not really, I just wanted to see how are you doing, I brought some ingredients, feel like having some curry?¨

-¨Sure, but shouldn´t you be studying? I appreciate the thought, but I don´t want you to fail¨

-¨I am ahead of my studies, so I can slack off, plus, I want to see my girlfriend¨

That comment made her smile ¨I suppose I can´t say no to that, come on in¨

After a while, the curry was done

-¨Smells delicious as always¨ she said

-¨Glad to hear it, let´s dig it¨

They began to eat

-¨How are you doing?¨ Ren asked

-¨Hm?¨

-¨With all that is been going on, Haru losing her father, it must have reminded you of yours¨

Makoto let out a small sigh

-¨It did, to be honest, I wish he was here, I could use his advice¨

-¨For what is worth, I am sure he would had believed in our innocence¨

-¨He would have, I don´t deny it, but aside from that, I am doing OK, just trying to figure out what to do¨

-¨We´ll get out of this, somehow, we will¨

-¨You really are optimistic Ren; I wish I was like that¨

Ren then remembered Makoto´s dad, the reason as to why he was death

-¨Makoto¨

-¨Yes?¨

-¨I…..¨

-¨Huh?¨

-¨I want you to know that I will stop the true culprit, I won´t let him/her hurt you¨

Makoto was taken back by Ren´s sudden word

-¨R-Ren… It is reassuring to hear you say that, same for you, we will stop the culprit, together¨

After eating, and some studying, Ren was on the train on his way home

Damn it¨ he buried his hand on his face ¨With what is happening, I can´t tell her what happened to her dad… I have to stop the true culprit, and find a way to stop Daizo, for her sake, and the others¨

Ren remembered Haru´s father, how he looked during his conference once the mental shutdown was triggered

The blood falling down his face, those white, it was a reminder, a constant reminder that, as a leader, he failed


10/20 Thursday

The exam week went by, Ren got a message from Futaba saying that she wanted the gang to meet up, but before that, he decided to check on Haru first

Upon entering, there she

She let out a sigh ¨How troubling¨

-¨Hi there Haru¨ the probationer said

She looked up and saw him

-¨Oh, Ren… Have you come up here to assist me?¨

-¨Yeah, if you don't mind¨

Her expression turned into a sad one ¨Well, to be honest, I´m not worried about the garden, in case you were wondering. It´s just… so much has happened to me lately¨

-¨You can tell me¨

-¨Well, perhaps I could share this it with you. It would be nice to have someone who is aware of my current situation in life¨

-¨Go ahead then¨

-¨Well, the source of my worries is my father´s company. Dealing with the aftermath has been difficult. Given how unexpected the accident was, my father didn´t have a will. All of his tocks transferred to me. Which means suddenly, I´m the biggest shareholder in a company of over one thousand employees. And, I don´t know the first thing about business direction or fund management¨

-¨Sounds though¨

-¨It is. I may be the president´s daughter, but I never expected I would end up involved with company matters. Because of that, I´ve been meeting with all the various officers and lawyers my father employed lately. They´ve been giving me advice on all the things I´m not entirely sure about. Assets, stocks¨

-¨That´s good¨

-¨It should, but it´s clear some people only want to get on my good side though. I don´t know I can trust. They try to sound comforting by saying things like ¨don´t worry, or ¨leave it to me, but it feels like they´re really only being nice so they can get their hands on my bank account. I never realized I could be this distrustful of other people¨ then realization hit her ¨Ah, I´m sorry for ranting on about this matter¨

-¨Don´t apologize, I always lend an ear when necessary¨

-¨Well, I feel as though doing so has helped me calm down a bit though. The only people I have consulted up to this point have been my employees. But I think what I really needed was someone closer to my age… closer to my viewpoint¨

-¨Anytime, I might not know lots about finances, but I´ll do what I can¨

-¨Well¨ she got nervous ¨If it isn´t too much trouble, could we speak about this again some other time?¨

-¨Sure¨

-¨In return, I´ll… Hmm… What can I do to help you?¨

-¨You don´t have to give me anything in exchange¨

She looked at her plants

-¨I got it, gardening, I´m actually quite skilled ai it¨

-¨So I have seen¨

-¨A few years ago I even managed to grow a tropical fruit on the balcony at my house¨

-¨At a balcony? That is amazing¨

-¨… Oh, that´s right. I stored some vegetables in the refrigerator down in the home economics room. Would you mind waiting here a moment?¨

-¨Ok¨

After a few seconds, she came back with a bag

-¨I grew these right here in these very planters, and harvested them myself not too along. There´s not so much consistency to their colors or shapes, but¨

-¨I want to try them, I bet I can make something good with them¨

-¨I hope so, I´d like to get Sakura-san´s opinion on my vegetables. Do you think I could bring my next harvest over to your cafe?¨

-¨That´s a great idea, I´ll ask him and let you know what he says¨

-¨Thank you. I´m sure Sakura-san will give me his honest opinion¨

After deciding that, they headed to the hideout


-¨Congrats on surviving midterms¨ Futaba said once the whole gang was there

-¨I think I´m screwed for real this time¨ Ryuji said sad ¨I couldn´t concentrate at all¨

-¨More importantly¨ Ann said ¨What´s this you want to talk about?¨

-¨The Medjed that I banned… wasn´t the real one¨

Everybody was confused

-¨Huh? Aren´t you the real one though?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Oh, uhhh… The guy who called himself Medjed after me isn´t the one from the other day!¨

-¨What do you mean?¨ Yusuke asked

-¨The code written by that guy the other day is different from any of the past Medjed¨

-¨And that means¨ Ryuji said

-¨A code is like your fingerprints. No matter how you try to disguise it, your own quirks appear on it. The one from the other day was all cut and pasted with no consistency. No skill at all¨

-¨But aren´t there multiple people across the world that are part of Medjed?¨ Makoto asked ¨Couldn´t it have been done by someone that joined recently?¨

-¨How do I put it? That code was so not by anyone interested in cracking. At all. At the very least, there´s no way it was an official Medjed member¨

-¨So someone used the Medjed name to provoke the Phantom Thieves?¨ Yusuke asked ¨For what purpose?¨

-¨Could they have been doing it for fun?¨ Ann asked ¨It was around the time our group started getting popular, so maybe they wanted in on the hype¨

-¨Wait a moment¨ said Makoto as she realized of something ¨What if it´s the other way around? Perhaps they used the name Medjed to make the Phantom Thieves known¨

-¨What?¨ Ryuji asked ¨That makes no sense¨

-¨I actually thought the same as Makoto¨ Futaba added ¨Know how I just said that code is like fingerprints? I found those same somewhere completely different¨

-¨Where´s that?¨ Yusuke asked

-¨The Phantom Aficionado Website. There were traces of it being illegally tampered with from the outside¨

Everybody was stunned

-¨For real?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Before summer vacation, the access counter was made to be much higher than the actual number. Same with the rankings, particularly the time when President Okumura ranked first¨

-¨So then, the one who provoked the group and the one who tampered with the site are the same person?¨ Haru asked

-¨I think I´m starting to see the bigger picture¨ Makoto said ¨Both Medjed´s provocation and the tampering of the website brought attention to us as a result. On top of that, our reason for targeting Okumura was influenced by the public and the rankings. The perfect timing and target. If both of those had been set up¨

-¨It would all make sense¨ Yusuke said

-¨So the culprit was planning to put the blame on us from the start!?¨ Ann asked in disbelief ¨No way¨

-¨This is all hypothetical¨ Makoto said ¨We lack any hard evidence¨

-¨But if all your deductions happen to be correct¨ Morgana said ¨That would men we´ve been playing into their hand for the past two months or so¨

-¨W-We gotta be overthinkin things¨ Ryuji said nervously ¨I mean, we´re talkin both the rankings AND Medjed! Everyone made a big deal about it! If this was all set up, then… What kind of guy did we make an enemy of?¨

Everybody were greatly worried

-¨There´s no point in getting anxious over speculation¨ Yusuke said ¨Regardless, we´ll be falsely charged at this rate, and with murder. We must overcome this¨

-¨But¨ Haru said ¨we don´t even know who we´re up against¨

-¨Hey¨ Ryuji said ¨You think we´re fallin´ into another trap, even at this very moment?¨

-¨Calm down, we don´t know that yet¨ Ren said

-¨Yeah¨ Morgana agreed ¨This doesn´t mean that we´ve lost yet¨

-¨Even if this is the actions of a meticulous enemy, we´ll just have to get back at them¨ Makoto said ¨We need to find clues, no matter what¨

Everybody nodded in agreement


Meanwhile, Sae was with her boss, the SIU director

-¨Me?¨ she asked in disbelief ¨I was told you recommended this reassignment yourself, sir. Why would you choose someone as inexperienced as myself?¨

-¨When the case of the Shujin principal was ruled a suicide, you thought to reopen it… And you proved its connection to the Phantom Thieves. This is based primarily on that achievement¨

-¨I´m honored sir¨

-¨The Phantom Thieves issue is now a national crisis. Expectations are exceedingly high for us public prosecutors, as we are executors of justice. Personnel and planning will be up to you on this case. You will also have the police under your command. I´d like you to oversee this operation¨

Sae was shocked, was this her great opportunity?

-¨You´ve yet to give me an answer. Will you accept the task of eradicating the Phantom Thieves?¨

-¨I will give it everything I have¨

-¨We´ll have to prepare a higher position for you as well in the event that you succeed, of course I don´t wish to apply extra pressure on you, but I assume your odds of success are high. Naturally, failure to accomplish this task is unacceptable… Do you understand?¨

-¨Of course! I will live up to your expectations, no matter what it takes!¨


Later at night

-¨I´m home¨ Sae said as she entered her apartment, she was exhausted

-¨Hi, sis¨ Makoto said, she was eating dinner ¨Should I warn up dinner for you?¨

-¨No, it´s OK¨

-¨How about a bath?¨

-¨No need. I just came home to get a change of clothes¨

-¨Are you going to stay at work then?¨

-¨I´ve been entrusted with a very important task¨

-¨You look awful though¨ her sister said worried ¨Aren´t you tired?¨

-¨As an adult, there will be times when you will accept an assignment for which failure is not tolerated. It´s all over for me if I can´t with this¨

-¨Still, if you were to collapse from exhaustion¨

-¨This is my one chance to get a promotion!¨ Sae said, desperation on her voice

The room went quiet

Deciding to change the subject, Sae tried to be a good sister ¨I heard detectives have been coming to your school. That must make it hard to focus on your studies. Don´t worry though. It will all be over soon¨

-¨What do you mean?¨

-¨I´m going to catch the Phantom Thieves myself¨

Makoto was surprised, but she managed to stay cool

-¨Is that the important task you mentioned?¨

-¨It´s none of your concern¨ and she went to get change

-¨Oh my god¨ Makoto said worried ¨Sis has her sights set on the Phantom Thieves… and on Shujin Academy in particular. This is bad, I need to let everyone know¨


Ren was on his room, until his phone rang

Makoto: Things have become somewhat troublesome, everyone. Just try to stay calm

Haru: What´s wrong?

Makoto: Sis told me she´s been entrusted with an important task regarding the Phantom Thieves

Futaba: That means

Makoto. Yes, the SIU must surely be on the move at this point

Ren: That´s bad

Ann: Wait, weren´t they already investigating us though?

Makoto: The police were doing so in secret. This operation is on a much different scale

Ryuji: Hold on a sec. What´s this SIU thing anyways?

Makoto: The Special Investigation Unit. An elite team that deals with huge cases like government scandals

Yusuke: I have heard that name on the news. They make headlines often

Futaba: The real insane part is, they haven´t lost a case against a suspect in fifty years. If they come after you, you´re screwed. They´re the best investigation force in Japan

Haru: Are we going to be arrested?

Yusuke: Hm, doesn´t this countermeasure seem somewhat extreme?

Makoto: Right or wrong, I think we´re just way too famous at this point. As this is a country governed by law, they can´t afford to ignore us for any longer

Haru: We may be the Phantom Thieves… but this is miserable

Futaba: They probably have a pretty narrow suspect profile by now too

Ryuji: Hey, don´t scare us like that!

Futaba: It´s OK though. They don´t have any evidence

Makoto: Yes, I expect they´re frantically searching for some as we speak

Futaba: No way they´re gonna find anything though

Makoto: It´s only a matter of time, we have to hurry and do something about this


10/21 Friday

The following day, the police was sent to Shujin in order to interrogate some students, now it was Ren´s turn, he headed to the Student Council Room

-¨Take a seat¨ a detective said

He did as he was told

-¨We´re sorry to take your time¨ another detective said ¨This will be over quick¨ he began to look through Ren´s profile ¨Let´s see, Ren Amamiya, ah yes, you´re the one currently under probation, it also says you are the son of Daizo Amamiya¨

Ren clenched his teeth at the mentioned of his father´s name

-¨Anyway, it says here that you had a dispute with Mr. Kamoshida?

-¨Yeah, that happened¨ Ren decided that honesty was his best choice

-¨You´re more hot-blooded than you look. You spent time with quite an interesting group. Yusuke Kitagawa and Haru Okumura? Well, the more friends the better, right?¨

-¨Yeah¨

-¨Well, I´m sorry to have taken your time. You´re free to go¨

He stood up, but

-¨Oh, I almost forgot. There´s just one more thing I have to ask you. Do you think the Phantom Thieves are associated with this school?¨

-¨I hope not¨

-¨Don´t worry, we´re here to keep all of you safe, OK?¨


After the school day was done, the gang met at their hideout

-¨I got so nervous I almost stuttered a few times¨ Haru said ¨I thought I was used to police questioning by now too¨

-¨It seems we were all asked the same questions¨ Makoto said

-¨That´s how they get you¨ Ryuji said ¨They do that on purpose, then wait for someone to slip up¨

-¨I hope you dint¨ Ryuji said

-¨It was prolly fine. I woulda been done for if they saw how sweaty my hands were though¨

-¨To think my name would come up as well¨ Yusuke said

-¨Sounds like we can´t take the police lightly either¨ Morgana said

-¨Hey¨ Ann said, getting Ren´s attention ¨Didn´t you think that detective guy was scary?¨

-¨Yeah, he was¨

-¨Especially those eyes… It was like they were smiling, but not¨

-¨I´m sorry for all of this¨ Makoto said feeling ashamed ¨It´s because of my sister¨

-¨That´s not true, Mako-chan¨ Haru said

-¨It´s not as though I hadn´t predicted this would happen. But now that it´s become reality, I´m unsure of what to do¨

-¨Don´t beat yourself up over this¨ Ren said

-¨Yeah, it ain´t your fault Makoto¨ Ryuji said

-¨All we need to do is to make sure we don´t draw suspicion, and work to clear out or names, right?¨ Morgana said

-¨Right¨ she said

-¨I´m gonna try to see how far along this investigation really is¨ Futaba said

-¨Haru¨ Makoto said ¨Can I ask you to search your father´s belongings for clues about a possible culprit? I… I know it may be tough on you¨

-¨No, it´s OK¨ she said with determination ¨Now isn´t the time for me to look away¨

-¨As for everyone else, you need to be cautious of how you spend your time at school. So, I´ve decided to have you three second-years join me on the school festival executive committee¨

-¨Why!?¨ Ryuji complained

-¨It will allow us to gather without drawing suspicion. Plus, trying to blend in will only do the opposite¨

-¨Ugh, fine¨

-¨I agree¨ Ann said ¨The more time I have to kill, the more time I´ll spend worrying about all this stuff¨

-¨Let´s do it then¨ Ren said

-¨It would be no surprise if they came directly to our homes for questioning¨ Yusuke said ¨They showed up at your school, after all… I should remain cautious¨


10/22 Saturday

The following day, after classes, Ren alongside Ryuji, Morgana, Ann, Makoto and Haru met at the Student Council Room in order to work

-¨Dammnit¨ Ryuji said as he began to check his phone ¨We don´t have time to be doing crap like this¨

-¨You don´t need to keep mentioning it¨ Makoto said ¨We´re doing this to keep suspicious off of us, remember?¨

-¨Goro Akechi¨ Ann read in one of the votes ¨This one too. Akechi¨

-¨They´re mostly the same over here as well¨ Haru said

-¨Everyone´s so eloquent when they can be anonymous¨ Morgana said ¨It´s like they never accepted us to begin with¨

-¨It would be nice if you did some work too, Ryuji-kun¨ Haru complained ¨You came to help us count these, right?¨ she then looked at Ren ¨Come on Leader, can you tell him too?¨

-¨She is right, please take this seriously Ryuji¨

-¨We´re gathering information too. Y´know like, online and stuff¨

After a while, the counting of votes was done

-¨First place is Goro Akechi¨ Makoto said

-¨What!?¨ Ryuji asked in disbelief ¨Akechi!? Seriously? Not some singer or an idol?¨

-¨It´s because of us that his popularity has skyrocketed¨ Morgana said

-¨We´re the ones countin the results! Can´t we just make them up? We don´t hafta get him¨

-¨People will figure that out¨ Makoto said ¨He won by a landslide, although, it would be best for us to avoid inviting such a clear danger upon ourselves. I´d like a little more time to think about who to ask¨


After finishing, Ren went home, upon entering Leblanc, there was a news report, Akechi being there

-¨In response to the police identifying the Phantom Thieves as primary suspects, Goro Akechi had this to say¨ the newscaster said

-¨Even though my opinion has been met with criticism, I´ve held fast that the Phantom Thieves are not just. However… I believe the recent series of suspicious deaths is unrelated to their actions¨

Ren was surprised to hear that

-¨This doesn´t change the fact that they are indeed a dangerous group. That said, I would like to express that immediately linking them to this case is far too hasty. There are still many questions to be answered here… It feels as though there is more to this¨

-¨After this conference¨ the newscaster said ¨Akechi-san announced that he will be limiting his media appearances and¨

After that, Ren went to his room


10/23 Sunday

The following day, the gang met again

-¨Makoto¨ Yusuke said ¨Has Niijima-san told you anything about the investigation?¨

-¨Well, sis actually stopped mentioning anything about work in front of me. It´s possible I made some sort of mistake. Regardless, I thought over of who we´re going to invite for our school festival. I´m considering asking Akechi-kun¨

Everybody were surprised

-¨For real!?¨ Ryuji asked ¨Weren´t you talking about how you didn´t wanna draw danger to us or whatever?¨

-¨I understand this is dangerous, but without a powerful source of intel, we won´t be able to win against the police network, and I can no longer rely on my sister for information¨

-¨Wait¨ Haru said ¨Is this because of Akechi-kun´s police connections? You´re going to use him as your powerful source of intel?¨

-¨Bold move¨ Morgana said

-¨Did you see his press conference yesterday? One of his comments defending the Phantom Thieves stood out to me. ¨There is more to this¨. I think he said that knowing for certain that the Phantom Thieves would be watching¨

-¨Still, there will be so many other students at the school festival¨ Yusuke said ¨What are the odds of success?¨

-¨It´s a gamble, and the odds are less than favorable, but we can no longer afford to hesitate¨ she looked at Ren ¨What are your thoughts, Ren?¨

Despite how risky it was, Ren trusted her ¨Should be fine¨

-¨Ok then, is everyone else OK with that¨

They all nodded in agreement


10/24 Monday

The following day at school, Ren´s phone rang

Yusuke: Any word from Akechi

Makoto: Nothing

Haru: But tomorrow is the start of the school festival, will this be OK? If Akechi-kun declines our offer, we won´t have a guest

Makoto: I appreciate the concern, but it will be fine, I just need to get Akechi-kun to agree to this somehow

Futaba: Yup

Ryuji: What´s that bastard up to anyways?

Futaba: He hasn´t done anything since he said he was gonna go into hiding

Makoto: I'm not sure. I´ll try explaining the circumstances surrounding the school festival to him again. Hopefully he can give me an answer by the end of the day

-¨Hey, Amamiya!¨ Mr. Ushimaru said

-¨Huh?¨ Ren looked up form his phone

-¨Pay attention! Is that how you listen when someone´s talking to you!?¨

I feel a murderous intent¨

The teacher proceeded to throw chalk to him, but the trickster expertly dodged it, leaving the other students stunned, while Ann just giggled

Show off¨ she thought

-¨Tch, well, whatever. Moving on¨


Later that day, Ren got back home, though upon entering, there was an unexpected face

-¨Welcome home¨ the ace detective said with a smile

-¨Hi, why´re you here?¨

-¨Well, I came to enjoy some coffee of course¨ he then looked at Sojiro ¨How has business been for you lately?¨

-¨Take a look around¨ the boss answered in a bitter tone ¨Is the Niijima lady doing well?¨

-¨Unfortunately, we haven´t seen each other lately. We had a… difference of opinion¨

They were interrupted by a voice from the TV

-¨What are your thoughts, Representative Shido?¨ the host said

That name caught Sojiro´s attention

-¨It doesn´t surprise me that people say our country is lethargic. We´ve let these Phantom Thieves run amok¨

Suddenly, Ren grabbed his head in pain, that voice triggered something, he then had a flashback of that time they went to eat at the fancy restaurant after their first heist, that bold person was there as well

-¨What´re you standing there staring off into space for?¨ Asked Sojiro ¨You´re creeping me out¨

-¨It´s nothing¨

-¨Well, it´s not like I´m worried or anything. You´re just blocking the store entrance¨

-¨Criminals, hm?¨ wondered Akechi ¨Well, that must be how he sees it. However, that is ignorant of their nature¨

-¨You on the thieves side now? That´s surprising¨

-¨It may be somewhat of a stretch to say I´m on their side. Having said that, I won´t deny that I empathize with them on some level. If this Okumura incident was not the Phantom Thieves… If they only change the hearts of criminals, then even though they can´t be considered innocent, perhaps my goals are not so different from theirs¨

-¨Well, look who turned himself into a Phanboy¨

Akechi laughed at the probationer joke ¨I knew there was something special about you, ever since we first met. By the way, I couldn´t help but notice that chess board over there, do you play?¨

-¨Used to¨

-¨Oh?¨

-¨I used to play it with a friend of mine, or rather, ex-friend¨

-¨What do you mean?¨

-¨Turns out that I trusted the wrong person, she abandoned me when I needed her the most¨ Ren then remembered Asumi, the one person he thought was his friend

-¨Oh, I´m sorry to hear that¨

-¨It´s fine, you share some of your past so it´s only fair I return the favor¨

-¨Well, I appreciate your sense of honor in that regard, but too bad that you don´t play anymore, I was actually wondering if you mind playing?¨

-¨You play chess too?¨

-¨I am confident in my skills¨

-¨Let´s play then¨

-¨Thank you. Ah, that reminds me. I´ve been invited to a panel at Shujin Academy, and considering it´s such a good opportunity, I´ve decided to accept the offer¨

-¨Is that so?¨ Ren said, hiding his surprise

-¨Yes, but enough of that, let´s get down to business¨

-¨Go easy on me, detective prince¨


10/25 tuesday

The following day, it was finally time for the school festival, the gang meet up at the entrance

-¨The festival seems to be a success¨ Yusuke said

-¨There´s definitely a lot more people than last year¨ Ann said surprised

-¨Well yeah¨ Ryuji said ¨This place got ¨famous¨ and all. The phantom Thieves, Kamoshida, Principal Kobayakawa. On top of that, we got Akechi as a guest¨

Makoto took a look at her surroundings ¨There may be police officers in plain clothes too. Actually, they probably are here. We better be careful about what we discuss¨

-¨Acting like normal students is going to be important¨ Morgana said

-¨What do you normally do at a school festival?¨ Futaba asked

-¨Well¨ Ann said ¨Look around at the exhibits… and eat stuff?¨

-¨Just enjoy yourself Futaba¨ Ren said, he was hoping to have some fun as well, especially just with Makoto

-¨I think I can do it if I´ve everyone with me!¨

-¨You´re so laid-back¨ Makoto said concerned ¨There´s a possibility that your name and Ryuji´s have come up¨

-¨A number of teachers had been questioned before¨ Ann said ¨And even we were interviewed the other day too¨

-¨Don´t let your guard down too much¨

-¨Now, now¨ Haru said ¨Let´s leave it at that. We just need to be mindful about what we´re saying, correct?¨

-¨You seem to be having quite a lot of fun, Haru¨ Yusuke said ¨You did mention that you were looking forward to this¨

-¨I want to go around with everyone and eat at the refreshment stands¨

-¨Shall we head off then?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Everybody¨ Ren said ¨Let´s have fun!¨


So they decided to split up, Ann alongside Makoto and Haru decided to check the fashion segment, courtesy of the Home Economics club, meanwhile Yusuke decided to check the art club, Futaba and Morgana decided to explore VR system

This left to Ren and Ryuji walking down the hallway, but suddenly, Ren stopped on his tracks, this is because he noticed a haunted house

-¨Hmm¨

Inside the haunted house, there was a student dressed with a cloak and a mask, ready to scare anyone who dare to enter

But

This student felt a hand on his mask, and somebody behind him

-¨I´ll reveal your true form¨ Ren said with his classic Joker smile

-¨Arghhh!¨ the student yelled

-¨The hell are you doing?¨ Ryuji asked, and proceed to smack his friend in the back of the head

The student ran away scared

-¨Sorry, it´s a habit¨ Ren said a bit ashamed

-¨Just be glad it wasn´t Makoto the one who caught you, after all her warnings¨

Speaking of Makoto, Ren feel that he should tell Ryuji about his relationship, he is his best friend, plus he could use someone to talk about this sort of thing, Makoto would understand

-¨Actually Ryuji¨ he blushed a bit ¨There´s something I have to tell you regarding her¨

-¨What is it?¨

-¨Makoto and I…. are a couple now, a real one, that is¨

It took Ryuji a few seconds to process it

-¨Wait, For real!?¨

-¨Yeap¨

-¨Dude¨ Ryuji smiled ¨Congratulaions! You finally did it!¨

-¨Thanks, we actually wanted to tell you back during that day at Destinyland, but well, you know¨

-¨Oh, right….. Still, I´m happy for you guys, so you´ve been dating for almost a most, how is that going?¨

-¨We are progressing, no mouth to mouth kiss yes, but we have hugged each other and such¨

-¨Eh, that´s fine, no need to rush it¨

-¨Thanks man, we haven´t told the others yet, except for Futaba¨

-¨Futaba knows!?¨

-¨Long story, I´ll tell you later¨

The blondie just shrugged ¨If you say so¨

-¨I was actually hoping we could spend some time the two of us alone, but I´m having fun anyways¨

-¨I´m sure you will¨

-¨I hope so¨

The two friends decided to keep exploring


After a while, the whole gang met at the Takoyaki stand

-¨This is the place!¨ Ann said excited

-¨Maid Takoyaki?¨ Haru wondered

-¨So it´s your class stand¨ Ryuji said disappointed

They took their seats, Ren and Makoto next to each other, deciding to take the chance that no one could see them, the held hands

-¨We heard a lot of rumors even on our way here¨ Haru said somewhat worried

-¨And it was all bullshit¨ Ryuji said

The waitress arrived

-¨Welcome home! May I take your order?¨

-¨Take my order!?¨ Ryuji asked ¨What happened to the maid atmosphere?¨

-¨There are a lot of odd flavors¨ Yusuke said as he looked at the menu

-¨Stick to a normal one. I bet they¨

-¨I´m so sorry¨ the maid said ¨We sold our last normal one to the previous customer¨

-¨The hell¨

-¨Well then¨ Yusuke said ¨I´ll have the mentai cheese takoyaki¨

-¨I´m sorry. We´re out of cod roe¨

-¨Then¨ Haru said ¨How about the squid¨

-¨We´re currently out catching squid. It´ll probably take another five or six hours¨

-¨That doesn´t even sound remotely possible!¨ Ryuji complained ¨Ain´t this whole menu just a sham!?¨

-¨Actually¨ Ann said ¨We spent most of our budget on making the maid costumes look nice. We didn´t put much effort into the octopus¨

-¨I can see that!¨

-¨Hey, I said we should make pizza, but nobody wanted that¨ Ren said

-¨Then¨ Haru said ¨What would you recommend with what you have now?¨

-¨That would be the Russian takoyaki¨

-¨We´ll have that, please¨

After a while

-¨Thank you for the wait¨

There was a dish with Takoyaki pieces, one of them was red

-¨Ooh, it´s fresh made¨ Ann said

-¨Lies!¨ Futaba said ¨I heard a microwave go off!¨

-¨Well, it´s not like I was expecting crispy Takoyaki at a school festival or anything¨ Ryuji said ¨So, what makes this a ¨Russian¨ takoyaki?¨

-¨Could there be jam in it as a secret ingredient?¨ Haru asked ¨That sounds quite delicious¨

-¨Well¨ the maid said ¨One of these is ¨special¨ and she left

-¨Uh¨ Morgana said ¨One of them´s obviously red. That´s gotta be the one¨

-¨Dude¨ Ryuji said as realization hit him ¨Don´t tell me the ¨Russian¨ part means¨

-¨It´s like, going for the obvious one is manly?¨ Ann asked

-¨I-Is that so?¨ Morgana asked

-¨I´d prefer the most beautifully shaped one¨ Yusuke said ¨But all of them are misshapen¨

-¨Oh¨ Haru said ¨Aren´t you all going to eat? I think I´ll go for the ¨special¨ one¨

-¨I´ll pass, don´t like spicy stuff¨ Makoto said ¨But are you really going for that, Haru?¨

Ryuji looked at Ren ¨Do YOU wanna go for the red one?¨

-¨Sure, let´s see what we have¨

-¨Oh, I like that attitude¨ Ann said

-¨Good luck¨ Makoto said

Suddenly

-¨Oh, everyone is here¨ said Akechi as he approached them

-¨Akechi!¨ Ryuji said

-¨T-The panel isn´t until tomorrow though¨ Makoto said

-¨I came to check the venue. I can´t make any mistakes since a lot of people will be present¨

-¨Someone´s eager¨ Futaba said

-¨But, people ended up recognizing me. Everyone bombarded me with questions¨

-¨That´s cause you were sloppy¨ Ryuji whispered

The detective noticed the takoyaki

-¨I´m going to have one of these¨ he grabbed the red one

Haru gasped ¨The ¨special¨ one¨

-¨Let´s just call this my performance fee¨

And he swallowed it hall

-¨But¨ Ann said

-¨It´s fine¨ Ryuji said, containing his laugh

-¨Mmm¨ Akechi said ¨It´s quite delici¨

And that´s when hell began

-¨HNNNNNGH!?¨ he felt that his mouth was on fire

-¨Eating it in one bite is a bad idea¨

-¨Ngh… My throat! Urgh! This is! Oh, my stomach… It burns!¨

-¨Are you OK? Do you need water?¨

Eventually, he finished his struggle ¨I-I-I´m… I´m fine! I just love… uh… spicy… spicy stuff…. Haha… hah¨ his body didn´t stop shaking

-¨Hey, does he sound broken to you?¨ Futaba asked

-¨W-Well then… I´ll… I´ll see you… uh… t-t-t-tomorrow¨ and he walked away, most likely to find the nearest bathroom

-¨Wow¨ Ann said ¨He´s really trying to hold it together. He´s waddling around like some comedian¨

-¨It´s like he wants to get pick up for some commercial or something¨ Ryuji said

-¨But¨ Yusuke said ¨Did he truly come to simply check the venue?¨

Everybody were worried

-¨This isn´t good. I keep suspecting every little thing¨

-¨I know what you mean¨ Makoto agreed ¨I´m doing the same too. I need to do my best tomorrow. We need to somehow get him to be our source of intel¨

-¨It´ll be all right¨ Ren said, and began to caress her hand

-¨Yes, I´m going to pull this off no matter what!¨

After a bit more exploring, they decided to call it a day and go home, tomorrow, the real event begins


10/26 Wednesday

The following day

-¨Well then¨ Makoto said through the microphone ¨We will now begin today´s panel. Our guest of honor is Goro Akechi¨

-¨I feel kind of bad, considering how many people have gathered¨ he said ¨I´m sure you all would´ve been happier to have a singer or a mascot appear, wouldn´t you say?¨

There were cheers and laughs among the audience

-¨We´d appreciate it if you could tell us about your experiences with the notorious Phantom Thieves. It would be wonderful if you could let us hear more about your actual investigation process¨

-¨Well, I´m not used to being the one interrogated, so please go easy on me¨

This caused more laughs

Meanwhile, upstairs

-¨How much do you think he knows¨ Ann wondered

-¨He talks of how the Phantom Thieves are dangerous¨ Yusuke said ¨yet he says they haven´t committed any murders. Either he has an idea who the true culprit is, or he has uncovered the identities of the Phantom Thieves¨

-¨C´mon, Makoto¨ Ryuji said ¨You gotta get it outta him!¨

-¨As much as you´re allowed to say¨ Makoto continued ¨Would you tell us how far along your investigation is on them?¨

-¨Getting right to the point, I see. Well, if it´s as much as I´m allowed to say, then everything on TV and the internet is all of it. We don´t have any leads yet, and the methods behind their crimes are still unclear¨

-¨I see, even with this country´s power, arresting them is proving to be difficult, is that the case?¨

-¨I wouldn´t phrase it that way, but well, something like that¨

-¨Thank you for answering that question. By the way, it seems you´ve denied a correlation between the Phantom Thieves and the murders. Why the sudden change? Until now, haven´t your upheld your stance that the Phantom Thieves are dangerous? How are you that positive that they haven´t committed the murder?¨

-¨Aren´t you a little too comfortable interrogating people?¨ he said with a grin ¨Why, it´s as if you´re a prosecutor¨

-¨Ah, excuse me. This is something I´ve personally been interested in, so I couldn´t help it. But won´t you tell us? What reason is there that you´d claim their innocence when you previously stated they were unjust?¨

-¨Mako-chan´s really pressing for an answer¨ Haru said

-¨She´s pelting him with questions¨ Futaba said

-¨Every person whose heart they have changed have truly been criminals, including Okumura¨ He said ¨Why, then, was the only one who needed to be killed?¨

-¨Why is that?¨ Makoto asked

-¨I must admit¨ he got sad ¨I couldn´t deduce a reason. That´s why I believe that case should be thought of as if a different party is responsible. And if, this is all hypothetical, mind you. If the Phantom Thieves are the ones I know of, I can´t possibly imagine they would kill anyone¨

That part got everyone´s attention

-¨Your comment just now¨ Makoto said ¨Does this mean the police have already identified who they are?¨

-¨Oh no. The police haven´t gotten that far yet. But I have my own conclusions about the true identities of the Phantom Thieves¨

The audience began to murmur

-¨He´s gotta be bluffin!¨ Ryuji said

-¨Pipe down!¨ Ann said

-¨He´s lying, right?¨ Haru asked worried

-¨But if it´s the truth¨ Futaba said

-¨You´re not going to ask me who they are?¨ Akechi asked Makoto

-¨It may have repercussions on the investigation. Are you sure you can share that with us?¨

-¨It´s only my personal opinion, so announcing that here wouldn´t pose a problem. However, there is a possibility that everyone present will hear the truth before the police or media¨

-¨The truth?¨ Ann asked

-¨What´s he planning on saying¨ Futaba asked

-¨That´s quite the confidence you have¨ Makoto said ¨If you´re so certain¨ this was a gamble ¨Then very well. I´d like to ask you then: Who do you think the Phantom Thieves are, Akechi-san?¨

-¨That idiot!¨ Ryuji cursed

-¨No¨ Yusuke said ¨There´s no way he could have any evidence¨

-¨They´re people you all know quite well¨ he continued ¨The identity of the Phantom Thieves are¨

But before anything could be said, his phone rang

-¨Oh, it´s mine. I apologize for the interruption, but I can´t turn off my phone due to my job. Would you mind if I step away for about… ten minutes or so?¨

-¨I´m terribly sorry everyone, but we´ll be taking a break¨ Makoto said

-¨Please don´t troll me online for this interruption, OK?¨

And he began to head won the stage, but he stopped next to Makoto

-¨Is there room I may use?¨

-¨There´s the PE faculty office¨

-¨I want you to come too. There´s a matter I want to discuss. Your friends from yesterday are here, aren´t they? Can you bring them too, if that´s all right?¨

-¨Did you set this up?¨

-¨We only have ten minutes, you know¨


And so, the gang met with Akechi

-¨What do you want to talk about?¨ Makoto asked

He placed a couple of photos on the table, it showed the Thieves entering the metaverse

-¨No¨ Haru said

-¨That´s gotta be shopped!¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨I have video footage too. Please, let´s not feign ignorance. All of you can go to that other world too, yes?¨

-¨What´re you talking about?¨ Ren asked

-¨As I just said, I know everything. I also know that when you traverse there over there, your appearance changes as well. It´s because of those mysterious power, isn´t it? I found out about that world about a month ago¨ he took out his phone and showed them the Nav app ¨This has been installed onto my phone without my knowledge¨

Everybody were shocked

-¨When the app activated on its own, the scenery around me suddenly changed. Quite frankly, I still can´t believe it myself, but from the looks of these photos, all of you seem quite used to it¨

-¨We´ve been listening to you blab on for a while now¨ Ryuji said ¨But cut the delusional¨

-¨All of you are acting as Phantom Thieves in the Metaverse. I can say so with conviction because I have the same power as you. In all honesty, I've been curious about you since the time of the Madarame case, but to think it would end up like this¨

-¨We didn´t kill anyone!¨ Haru said

-¨I believe that as well¨

-¨How can you be so sure?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Because I saw another, the real culprit¨

They were stunned upon that revelation

-¨For real!?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Who was it!?¨ Ann asked

-¨I couldn´t identify his face… he had a mask on, after all. Actually, when I took these photos, I entered that world too¨

He remembered the one with the black mask

-¨That´s when I saw someone else moving about, besides all of you. He shot at me the moment he noticed me¨

-¨That´s who killed President Okumura?¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Most likely. At the very least, I was almost killed by him. My thoughts were: I can´t die here… I need to determine the truth. When those thoughts overcame me, I awakened to that power, a most fortunate accident¨

-¨This guy has a Persona too?¨ Morgana asked in disbelief

Akechi looked at him shocked ¨This cat… I swear it just talked¨

-¨Morgana¨ Ann said ¨Our teammate who taught us about the Metaverse¨

-¨Really? This is unbelievable… But it IS true that you know things that I don´t. Say, Morgana. Were you also the who instructed them on how to change people´s hearts? I experienced that world too, but I still haven´t solved that mystery yet¨

-¨We go in the Metaverse, we call them Palaces, to steal the core of their desires: their Treasure. And those whose Treasure has been stolen have a change of heart¨

-¨Hahaha¨ he laughed in disbelief ¨There´s certainly no way anyone could figure out such an MO¨

-¨Anyways!¨ Ryuji said ¨Back to what you were talking about! Are we in this mess cause of that guy!?¨

-¨Although I don´t completely understand the method, all you do is simply reform people. Someone else is behind the murders. However, the police have decided that the Phantom Thieves did it… They´ll arrest you at this rate¨

-¨T-They are going to treat me as my father´s murderer?¨ Haru asked in disbelief

-¨I can´t overlook such a grave mistake. Which is why I want us to strike a deal. I may be able to save you from this situation¨

-¨A deal?¨ Futaba asked

-¨I would like you to cooperate with me on investigating the truth¨

-¨And if we decline?¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Then I think I´ll have to inform the police about all of you, along with that video I mentioned¨

-¨This ain´t no deal!¨ Ryuji yelled ¨It´s blackmail!¨

-¨Say what you will. This is the method that I believe is correct. The justice I uphold will not tolerate criminals who kill people at their leisure¨

-¨Justice¨ Haru said

-¨You´ve heard that Sae-san is the one spearheading the investigation about the Phantom Thieves, correct? The higher-ups are concerned only with settling the case. They want to capture the culprits behind the psychotic breakdown incidents and end the commotion. Those are the ones who are putting pressure on Sae-san. I can only imagine her impatience¨

-¨What of evidence that we did it?¨ Yusuke asked ¨How do they intend on proving it?¨

-¨Even if there is no objective explanation to the method, it´s over once causality is established. Sae-san can´t make rational judgements at the moment. If she were to be cornered, well… she may even make up a confession¨

-¨Make it up?¨ Makoto asked in disbelief

-¨So, they´re gonna make it our fault!? Just cause they feel like it!?¨

-¨We haven´t killed anyone though!¨ Ann yelled ¨And we´re still going to be arrested?¨

-¨You´ll be found guilty if you´re caught, and it will be treated as a very serious crime¨

-¨Bullshit!¨ Ryuji yelled ¨None of that makes any sense!¨

-¨Unfortunately, there´s nothing I can do alone anymore to stop the flow of things¨

-¨And that´s why you want out cooperation?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Yes. In return, I´ll turn a blind eye to what you´ve done. Those are my conditions. That said, I ask that you disband the Phantom Thieves after this¨

Everybody were stunned, what will they do

Yusuke looked at Ren ¨What should we do about Akechi-san´s proposal?¨

-¨….Let me think it over¨

-¨I see… I don´t think it´s a bad deal though. Well, you don´t have to decide at the moment. Considering this is you we´re talking about, I believe you´ll come to a favorable reply. I look forward to your answer. It was definitely worth coming today, for various reasons¨ he checked his phone ¨We should be getting back. About that, I´m sorry, but would it be acceptable if we ended the panel here? The reason you why you called for me in the first place was because you wanted intel, correct? My business is concluded as well¨

-¨I´ll deal with it somehow¨ Makoto said

And he left the room

-¨Dammit!¨ Ryuji said ¨He had complete control over us!¨

One by one, they left the room, except for Ren and Morgana, they remained behind to talk about something


Back at the auditorium

-¨I´m sorry about the sudden break¨ Akechi said ¨An urgent task came in, so I truly apologize about this, but I´ll have to end things here today, I can´t say anything in detail regarding the Phantom Thieves investigation, but I feel another great stride will occur again soon. I hope you all continue to pay attention to what happens¨

-¨Let´s have a big round of applause for today´s guest, Goro Akechi¨

And the room was filled with tremendous applause

Meanwhile, with the others

-¨Was that really our best course of action?¨ Haru asked

-¨He totally used Makoto´s suggestion against us¨

-¨Indeed¨ Yusuke said ¨We intended to get intel out of him, but to think it would play out like this¨

-¨So what?¨ Ryuji asked ¨We´ll just accept his deal?¨

-¨He´s got evidence on us¨ Ann said ¨We really don´t have a choice¨

-¨Dammit, what´re we gonna do!?¨

-¨Calm down, Ryuji¨ Morgana said

-¨How am I supposed to calm down!? What are we gonna do!?¨

-¨What´s done is done¨ Yusuke said ¨We´ll have to cool our heads and think more on this. We must make up our minds by the time he contacts us again¨


And so, they split up, most of them went home for the day, Morgana decided to go with Haru for the night, while Ren got a message from Makoto to join her in the post-festival party

-¨They did well¨ Ren said, referring to the performance by the dance club

-¨Phew¨ Makoto sighed in relief ¨My apologies for being so distracted. I can´t stop thinking about Akechi-kun¨

-¨It´s fine, it is a lot to think¨

-¨Are we really no match for him?¨

-¨Don´t worry Makoto¨ he gave her a small smile

-¨Thank you¨

-¨And now¨ the host said ¨It´s time for your favorite Shujin tradition: the Student Sharing Special!¨

-¨This event is never very popular. The older teachers seem to enjoy it for some reason though¨

-¨All right, who has something to say? Anyone, anyone!?¨ the host said ¨No? I´ll just have to pick someone then!¨

-¨Oh, he´s choosing someone from the crowd? The MC this year is actually somewhat capable¨

-¨Oooh, is that our lovely student council president over there!?¨

All eyes were on her

-¨Huh!?¨

-¨Come up here, Miss Prez!¨

She looked at Ren ¨Do I have to go?¨

-¨You can always just ignore¨

-¨No, that would be too unpolite¨

-¨Everybody´s waiting for you, Miss President!¨

With a great sigh, she got on the stage

-¨Here she is¨ the host ¨Everyone´s favorite student council president: Makoto Niijima-san!¨

-¨Hello¨

There was chatter among the public

-¨So¨ the host said ¨With Kamoshida scandal, Principal Kobayakawa´s passing, and even that Hawaii trip, I´d be surprised if you´ve had any time to study for your entrance exams! Now then, on with the show! What would you like to share with us, Miss President?¨

No answer

-¨Miss President?¨

-¨Ummm… I… don´t really have anything to say… I´m sorry¨

-¨Well, I´ll give you a question. Do you think the Phantom Thieves are really Shujin Students?¨

-¨What!?¨

-¨We´re all dying to know what Akechi-kun was going to say about their true identities. Some people theorize that they go to our very school, so, are they from Shujin? What do you think, Miss President?¨

-¨What… do I think?¨ she was nervous

Makoto is in trouble¨ Ren thought ¨I need to change the subject¨

Suddenly, Ren stood up, all eyes were on him, and said the words that will change everything between him and Makoto

-¨I love you!¨

The whole room gasped in shock

-¨What!?¨ Makoto was red, did he truly?

Wait, what did I just say?¨ realization hit him

-¨Now this is drama!¨ the host said ¨A boy caught in the throes of bittersweet youth! A stunning confession of love¨ he looked for Ren ¨I think it was him!¨

Makoto glared at him ¨Urgh!¨

Now it was Ren´s turn to be red

-¨Sooo, Miss President! What´s your relation to this guy?¨

-¨R-Relation!?¨

-¨My, she´s read as a beet!¨

The whole room laughed

-¨I´m sorry Makoto¨ Ren whispered

-¨A rare glimpse into the girly side of our stunning Miss President! But I´m a gentleman, it hurts my heart to bully such a sweet girl!¨

Doesn´t look like it¨ Ren thought with sarcasm

-¨Well, did you all enjoy our blushing beauty? Thank you very much, Miss President!¨


After all was done, Ren and Makoto managed to sneak to the rooftop

-¨I made a fool of myself¨ Makoto said ¨The post-festival party has never felt that long before¨

-¨It sure did¨

-¨By the way, I´m surprised you were able to say what you did back there¨

-¨Well, you were in trouble¨ he said, slightly red

-¨Huh?¨ Makoto was confused ¨I mean, I was at a complete loss of words, but you really helped me, thank you¨

-¨No problem¨

-¨This may be a little rude to say, but you´re surprisingly reliable in a pinch¨

And then, Makoto also said the words that will change things between her and Ren

-¨My sister always says if I get married, my husband should be someone dependable like that¨

-¨Huh?¨ Ren was shocked

Makoto realized of what she just said

-¨Oh, um… uh… forget what I just said!¨

-¨H-Husband?¨ Ren was at a loss, first a love confession, and now marriage plans? He hasn´t thought that far

-¨Urgh!¨ Makoto was annoyed ¨Despite everything that happened with Akechi-hun… My final post-festival party has turned out to be quite the unforgettable one¨

-¨I am glad then¨

-¨Oh right¨ she gave him a bag ¨Here¨

It was a bag that had a box filled with donuts

-¨If you´d accept this, I made them for you¨

-¨It looks delicious¨

-¨I hope you enjoy it…¨

There was silence

-¨What´s wrong?¨ Ren asked concerned

-¨Um… about what you said¨ she whispered, red in her cheeks

-¨Sorry, but I can´t hear you¨

She took a deep breath ¨Did… Did you¨

But before anything else could happen, someone opened the door

-¨Oh, there you are!¨ someone said

-¨Futaba!?¨ Makoto asked

-¨What are you doing here?¨ Ren asked

-¨I´ve been looking for you, Sojiro want us home right now, he says he has something very important to talk about¨

-¨What is it?¨

-¨Beats me, but we better move¨

-¨Ok, by the way, where were you this whole time?¨

-¨I was going to leave, but then the post-festival started, I tried to found you, but no luck, so I just listened to the whole thing¨

Both Ren and Makoto were worried, did she also saw what happened?

-¨You better go Ren, seems like it is urgent¨ Makoto said

-¨Right, see you tomorrow¨


And they all took their ways, Ren and Futaba were on the ride back home

-¨So….¨ Futaba said ¨You really love Makoto, huh?¨

The probationer just facepalmed ¨Of course you listened to it¨

-¨Hey, I thought it was cute¨

-¨I just hope I didn´t scare her or anything, we've only been together for a month¨

-¨Can´t say, you could have said something else¨

-¨I know, but the words just flew out, and besides, I…¨

-¨Ren?¨

-¨Nevermind¨


They finally arrived at Leblanc

-¨We´re home¨ Futaba said

Sojiro was quiet

-¨Sojiro?¨

And he showed them the calling card Futaba got

-¨I was cleaning up… and I found this¨

Futaba was alarmed

-¨This is a calling card, right? I´ve read about it online too¨

-¨Y-You went into my room without my permission!?¨

-¨I´ll apologize as much as you want later. So, what is this?¨

-¨That´s¨

-¨It is something to get flustered over? I knew it. This isn´t just some ¨game¨ you´re playing¨

There was silence

-¨Why aren´t you saying anything?¨

-¨Why did you keep it?¨ Ren whispered

-¨I mean… it was memorable¨

Sojiro slammed the bar ¨Explain¨

-¨Explain¨ Futaba repeated

-¨Is it something you can´t explain¨

-¨Ex…plains she was about to collapse

-¨I´ll explain everything¨ Ren said

-¨You will, huh?¨

-¨Ren, no¨ Futaba begged

-¨It´s fine¨

-¨I´ll get right to the point… Is this a real one? Was a… well… change of heart triggered in you?¨

Futaba just sobbed

-¨How about it?¨

-¨Ever since… Mom died… there as… no exit… I was trapped…. In a labyrinth of… my heart… I knew I… had to leave it… but I… I couldn´t do it… by myself¨

-¨Futaba¨

They all sit

-¨The Phantom Thieves… saved me… They stole… my messed up heart… It´s the same as Mom´s research… The changed… my cognition¨

-¨Seriously?¨ Sojiro asked in disbelief ¨Wakaba´s research about altering one´s cognition… I wondered about it too myself, but still…¨

-¨When did you noticed?¨ Ren asked

-¨When she said she was gonna go to the beach out of nowhere. Even the doctors had thrown in the towel. At first, I just chalked it up as other kids being a better support for your than any adult. But as I kept watching the tabloid shows here day in and day out, a thought crossed my mind. I thought… your case kind of seemed similar to what these Phantom Thieves were doing¨

-¨Wow¨

-¨I´m still your guardian, you know. I´d never overlook such a drastic change in your behavior, but to think that Wakaba´s research and the Phantom Thieves changing hearts were about the same thing¨

-¨Sojiro¨

-¨Back in the day… I used to be a government official. My job was to be the bridge between the country and the lab that Wakaba worked at. It´s around that time that I got to know her. She said something odd when we were out drinking. That… she might soon die in an odd way, but who wouldn't take that as a joke? I just laughed it off… But… It happened exactly as she said. If anything were to happen to you, I´d feel like I let her down¨ he looked at Ren ¨There´s something I want to ask you, Ren. Judging from your attitude, you knew about this calling card, didn´t you? You should´ve known that Futaba had a change of heart through the Phantom Thieves as well, is there a connection? The first incident of a change of heart was a teacher at your school. The kid who brought that painting here was a pupil of that artist who had a change of heart, wasn´t he? And then there´s Futaba. These scandals always seem to find their way around you… What do you have to say?¨

Ren just grinned ¨You´re sharp¨

-¨You think this is a game?¨

-¨For god´s sake kid, these people are called criminals by the general public, why did you introduce such dangerous people to Futaba!?¨

-¨That´s not true!¨ Futaba yelled ¨I asked them! That´s why Ren saved me! He stole my heart!¨

-¨Asked? Stole?¨

-¨Oh… Ummmm¨

-¨Wait, are you saying that he´s the one who changed your heart? So he´s not connected to the Phantom Thieves, but is one himself?¨

-¨Mom and Hiro already know¨

-¨Wait, what!?¨ Futaba asked surprised

-¨You´re pulling my leg, aren´t you?¨

-¨I am a Phantom Thief¨

-¨You… really are? For crying out loud, so basically, I´ve been sheltering a Phantom Thief for the last six months, and on top of that, Futaba´s involved too… what the hell¨

-¨I… I want to find the culprit who killed my mom!¨

-¨Wait, killed?¨

-¨She was killed! I… remember it now¨

-¨Stop this nonsense!¨

-¨Why won´t you believe me!? Are you the same as everyone else? Didn´t you know already!? The way mom died wasn´t normal! Didn´t you notice that her research was stolen by someone!?¨

-¨….. when she passed away, I did think it was odd. It was awfully fishy. But what could I do? All I was able to do was run from it all. And the outcome of that… was spending my retirement here. Also, the reason I took custody of you was… me trying to selfishly atone for what happened to Wakaba. It´s basically my fault that you got burdened with all this crap¨

-¨It´s not your fault, Sojiro¨

He laughed ¨I acted all big, lectured, even yelled at you kids, and in the end, I´m the one being consoled. I´m a hopeless and a laughingstock, aren´t I?¨

-That´s not true¨ Ren said

-¨I mean, the one who killed mom is the one at fault!¨

-¨…. I see¨ he smiled ¨Don´t worry. Even if you are the real Phantom Thieves, I have no intention of reporting you of kicking you out, but let me just say one thing though…. Immediately back out of a fight that you can´t win¨

-¨What do you mean?¨ Ren asked

-¨Don´t you get it? If by chance you pissed off the same guys that killed Wakaba… Then they´re not someone that kids like you can deal with. Listen to reason, all right?¨

-¨Ok¨

-¨Anyway, enough about this¨

-¨I´m tired¨ Futaba said

-¨How was the school festival?¨

-¨Ren told Makoto that he loves her¨

Sojiro´s eyes went wide

-¨Futaba!?¨ Ren was betrayed

-¨Well, we needed a change of subject¨

-¨Is that true kid¨

Ren was red ¨It is¨

-¨Heh… didn´t know you have it in you¨

-¨Knock it off, what if I scare her? We´ve only been officially together for a month¨

-¨Then why did you said it?¨

-¨Because….. I think I really do¨

Both Sojiro and Futaba were shocked

-¨Ren¨ Futaba said

-¨God, when did this got so crazy?¨

-¨Welcome to the world of love kid¨ Sojiro said

-¨What do you think I should do?¨

-¨That´s one hard topic. All girls react differently, specially if it is their first time being told something like that, for now wait, and don´t pressure her¨

-¨Yeah, I won´t. Anyway, I´m going upstairs¨

-¨Off to enjoy your lover´s donuts?¨ Futaba mocked ¨I love you Ren, *smooch*¨

Ren simply got out of there, while the others laughed


Meanwhile, Makoto was at her home, not being able to get those words out of her mind

-¨I love you…. That´s what he said, but… did he truly mean it…. And what do I feel?¨

A part of her was embarrassed when he said that, but another part of her was… happy

Her train of thought was interrupted by a message

Asumi: Good evening Niijima-san, I am Akari Asumi, I believe you will remember me from the Hawaii trip

Makoto was filled with rage

Makoto: What do you want? How did you get my number?

Asumi: Well, you did tell me who you were and where you study, all it took was some digging

Makoto cursed under her breath, but she didn´t forget what Asumi did to Ren, using him like that, she was about to block her until

Asumi: Before you block me, listen, or rather, read what do I have to say

Makoto: You´re kidding, right? I don´t have anything to talk you about

Asumi: Not even if it has to do with your father?

Makoto´s eyes went wide with surprised

Makoto: What are you talking about?

Asumi: So, Ren hasn´t told you yet, is that right?

Now Makoto was shocked, what did Ren have to do with her father

Makoto: Don´t dragged Ren into this!

Asumi: Trust me, I am not bluffing or anything, I already told you, he is not the person you think he is, he has his secrets, and he has been lying to you

Makoto was getting worried

-¨No… Ren wouldn't do that, we promised to each other, no secrets and be always honest¨

Makoto: You´re lying

Asumi: Believe that if you want, when you are ready to know the truth, contact me again

Makoto: Hey, answer me!

But there was no reply

-¨Ren…¨ Makoto whispered ¨No, Ren is not hiding anything from me, much less if it was something related to my father¨

She then remembered when Ren asked her for her father´s name, why he wanted to know that? If what Asumi said was true, then

-¨No, I´m being paranoid¨

That what she told herself, but she was gonna be proven wrong


I am back, baby! Did you all miss me? Gonna take more than a virus to stop me

For real, sorry for taking so long, one thing after the other, and i wanted to enjoy my summer a bit off writing, but now with the quarantine, im ight be able to pull out chapters faster

So, a lot has happened in this chapter, that phone conversation Ren and Makoto had at the beginning is actually of one of the new features of Persona 5 Royal, i felt it fit here

Anyway, things are getting darker by the minute, Akechi´s deal, Ren and Makoto´s love confessions, will this sabotage their realionship?

And the most important, Asumi contacting Makoto, will her seeds of doubt work on Makoto? Will she trust Asumi or Ren? We will find out on...

Next chapter, not only the beggining of Sae´s Palace, but, everything will begin to fall apart here

As usual, thank you all for reading, stay safe out there with taht damn virus, dont take it lightly, protect your loved ones, leave any reviees or send PM and i will gladly anser them

Till next time

Peace