June 14th, 20XX (Tuesday)

After School - Shujin Academy

With a confusing day put behind him, Toya found himself at the end of another long school day. Though, regardless of how hard he tried, there was no way for him to possibly focus on his classes. There were too many things on his mind-with the main thing being nobody other than the student council president herself, Makoto Niijima. His mind has been tense ever since the confrontation yesterday. His mind wanted to overthink what could possibly happen in this kind of situation, but he had no way of actually knowing what would happen, which meant the situation was in a state of limbo. Knowing this, he only really had one option, which was listening to what she said, and planning after that.

"Here goes something…" Toya started walking through the school, slipping past everyone and making his way up towards the top floor.

"You know you don't actually have to listen to anything she says, right? You don't even need to go to the rooftop."

"Well, my other option is getting reported to the cops. I think I know what my choice is…"

"...You… actually never even considered what I'm about to say, did you?"

"What?"

"...You do realize that your own brother works with the police, right? Couldn't he easily get you out of any kind of trouble without any effort?"

"..."

"...You actually never thought of that."

"W-Well, it's your fault for not bringing it up until JUST now!"

"He's your brother. You should know this better than I do."

"Well yeah, but… ugh, forget it!" Toya shook his head and stopped at the double doors that led to the school rooftop. "I already told her I'd be here, so I might as well just go along with it. Besides… I doubt she realizes who my brother is. If anything, I can just get information out of her and figure out someone else to take down."

"Sigh… Fine. Just don't get all nervous about it. Not like she can do anything to you in your situation."

"I know, I know…" Toya sighed and put his hands to the doors. "Oh, and… Thanks for bringing it up. It helped calm me down a little bit, at the very least."

"I still can't believe you never thought of it yourself… You amaze me in the worst ways sometimes, Jester."

"Oh, be quiet! I swear, you're impossible!" He dismissed his banter with Osiris and pushed the doors open. Sure enough, as soon as he set foot onto the rooftop, he saw Makoto waiting for him.

"I was thinking you might not show. Whatever happened to you accepting the challenge to 'ignore my requests'?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can we skip to the part where you tell me who you want me to go after?"

"...A mafia boss."

"...A mafia boss? Really? You want me to go after the damn mafia?" Toya rolled his eyes, but in the back of his mind, he wasn't just dismissing what Makoto was saying. He had something else on his mind when he heard Makoto bring up a mafia boss.

"That's what they call themselves. This group seems to be the cause of the rise in phishing scams. What's worse, once you're in their sights, they won't stop threatening you until they get what they want. They'll force you to take part in their scams, threaten your family, and ultimately destroy your life."

"Textbook gang leader activity. Why do you want me to do this, of all things?"

"Because it appears that their victims include some of our students."

"Of course… Well, what do you have? I need a name before I can do anything."

"Nobody knows their name. The victims are all being threatened not to testify, so even the police can't get a grasp of the situation."

"So, what, you want me to play detective and vigilante?"

"You should be able to pull it off… if you're really the righteous Phantom Thief. Or is Akechi correct when he says you act without justice?"

"If you thought that was that was the case, you would have already tried and failed to report me to the cops."

"Failed…?"

"Maybe I'll tell you some other time." He closed his eyes and turned around, walking towards the exit. "I'm outta here. If you don't have anything else for me, then I'll figure it out myself. Wait for me tomorrow, same time. I'll have everything I need by then."

"T-Tomorrow? How are you going to-" He didn't bother listening to what she had to say. He walked through the door and went back into the school, walking downstairs and pretending as if he was never up there to begin with, seeing as how it was off limits ever since what happened to Shiho Suzui. He started making his way to the exit while starting a conversation with Osiris in his mind.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"About how this mafia boss and Kaneshiro may be one in the same?"

"Yeah. It's possible… But now that I think about it, we don't even know exactly what Kaneshiro does, do we?"

"Not entirely. We had no reason to question Kai, and he had no reason to lie to us."

"Yeah. Still… If we figure out what Kaneshiro's specifically guilty of, then we might be able to connect the dots tomorrow when we figure out what the mafia boss has been doing to the students."

"How do you plan on doing that, anyways?"

"I don't know. Ask around, see if I can get a response out of someone. Might not be easy to do though…"

"Do you think she would help you?"

"Even if she would, I don't want her help on this. Maybe Mishima will… but I'll figure that out later. For now…" Toya pulled out his phone while walking outside, calling Kai and putting his phone to his ear.

"Toya?"

"Kai, hey. I needed to ask you something about…" Toya looked around to make sure nobody was listening in on the conversation. "About Kaneshiro."

"Now…? Okay, hang on." He heard the sound of movement, and the sound of Kai talking to someone else. It was hard to make out, but it sounded like he was trying to make an excuse to get away-presumably to avoid anyone listening in on the conversation. A few moments later, he heard the sound of a door closing. "Okay, I don't have much time, so hurry. What do you need to know?"

"What exactly is it that he's doing? I know he's a mob boss and all, but what exactly does that entail?"

"Huh…? Why do you wanna know that, of all things?"

"O-Oh, you know. Maybe doing something like that will help me get… up there. You know what I mean?"

"Oh! Good call. As far as I've been able to find, his biggest thing is blackmail. He convinces people-usually students around your age-to do an easy job for him for some quick money. Teenagers get caught up in the moment and don't question things… and then smuggle drugs to someone without even realizing what they're doing. He gets evidence of it and then uses it as blackmail to extort money out of them. He doesn't relent until there's no money left to gain… and then, it's straight to the next. And the next. And the next."

"...Jeez… That's… I knew it'd be bad, but…"

"I know. Someone like him… He can't be left to do this for as long as he wants. He just can't. Speaking of, I think I figured out a way to get in."

"You did!?"

"Yeah. It's a bit of a stretch, though. That world… it's made of his cognition, right? So maybe… Maybe if he thinks you can get in, then you'll be able to get in? That might wor—" He suddenly stopped. "Damn it, I gotta go. Take care, alright?" He abruptly hung up the phone without giving Toya a chance to say bye.

"I feel like he does that a lot. Does he do that a lot?"

"Yes. Onto more important things, though… If he's targeting people your age, then the chances of him being the one that Niijima mentioned are even higher."

"Yeah… We'll figure this out."

"And what about that last part? Being able to get in if Kaneshiro thinks you can get in?"

"I honestly have no idea. I'm just gonna hope I can get in without doing whatever it is Kai is suggesting…" Toya started walking on, before spotting someone walking ahead.

"Hey, wait up, Mishima!" He called out to him, running ahead. Mishima slowly turned around, a sad look on his face.

"Oh… Hey…" Mishima muttered. "Listen, I-I'm sorry, okay!? I-I didn't mean to screw it up, and…"

"Dude." He raised up one arm and placed it on Mishima's shoulder. "Breathe. It's fine."

"But…"

"But nothing. Besides, turns out that this whole situation might be a waste of time… in a weirdly coincidental way. So don't worry about it! Actually, I kinda need your help on something related to it."

"You… need my help? What can I do?"

"Have you heard any rumors recently, or heard anything? Anything about a guy who's been either getting or spending way more money than a usual student would?"

"Uhh… Actually, yeah! There's one guy in our class who's been spending money like crazy! His name is… Iida, I think."

"Seriously!? Perfect! Alright, I need your help with him tomorrow. Just try asking him about it once class ends and follow my lead!"

"U-Uh, yeah! Got it!" Mishima's mood was lifted pretty quickly by that exchange. He was afraid that he had screwed things up, but… He wasn't used to the reassurance. It was a nice feeling for him. The bond between the two of them was getting closer than it was before-which both of them were fans of.

June 15th, 20XX (Wednesday)

After School - Shujin Academy

"P-Please, man! I-I really need the money for my family!" Mishima was practically causing a scene at the front of the room as he pleaded with Iida. Meanwhile, Toya stayed still at his seat, watching it happen.

"You think this'll work?"

"Yeah. It has to." Toya got up and started walking towards the two of them, his eyes locked onto Iida.

"Seriously, you don't wanna do what I do. Just trust me. You… You wouldn't be good at it."

"Can't be too hard to smuggle drugs, can it?" Toya whispered into Iida's ear. Iida reflexively jumped and turned around in a cold sweat, being met with a cold stare from Toya.

"H-How do you…?"

"Come on. Let's have a talk." Toya put a hand on Iida's shoulder and started slowly walking ahead, ever so slightly turning his head to look back. "You'll come, right?"

"...Fine…" Iida followed Toya out of the room, with Mishima walking by his side. Toya led the two of them up to the top floor, onto the rooftop. Just as Toya asked, Makoto was up there as well, waiting for him. "She's…!" Iida's eyes instantly locked onto Makoto once he stepped foot onto the rooftop. "H-Hey, what gives!? Why'd you bring the student council president here!?"

"Who's this?" Makoto asked, looking towards Toya and Mishima. Mishima looked towards Toya for an answer, but Toya simply raised one finger up, signaling Makoto to keep quiet.

"Don't worry about her. Let's talk about something else." Toya walked towards the doorway back into the school and stood in front of it, making sure that Iida couldn't get away.

"...Listen, like I said… Y-You don't wanna get into this."

"Before you say that, let me make sure I'm on the same page as you. You got tempted into taking an easy part-time job for good money. Without thinking or asking questions, you did exactly as you were told. Then they told you that you were actually smuggling drugs for them, and now you're being blackmailed and extorted for money. That about sums it up, right?" Iida froze up. Even Mishima and Makoto were both surprised by how upfront it is. "...I just need a yes or a no. I'm not trying to get in on your 'job'. I'm trying to shut it down."

"...Even if you know all of that, it doesn't matter… There's nothing you can do to stop it."

"There's a guy who's in charge of this entire thing., Do you know his name? I imagine you do, considering you're the one filling his pockets."

"I-I can't tell you! If I tell you his name, then my family will-"

"Junya Kaneshiro." He froze up again. "That's his name, right? You can leave if you answer honestly."

"...Y-Yes…" Toya closed his eyes and smirked. He opened the door behind him and stepped to the side. Iida looked at him, then at Makoto and Mishima. Before processing anything, he ran through the door and down the stairs, trying to avoid conversation with any of them after what was ju8st exposed to the public.

"There you have it. 'Junya Kaneshiro'. Happy now?" Toya said, staring at Makoto.

"...H-How did you do that? How did you know all of that?"

"I was already looking into Kaneshiro. It just so happened that his crimes lined up with what you told me yesterday."

"You… You were looking into him? B-But people can't even testify against him-the police can't even get his name down! So how did…"

"Let's call it magic. Either way... I'm already in the process of dealing with Kaneshiro. Things have been slow, but I just need to figure out one more thing before I can change his heart."

"And… What is that?" Makoto asked, a curious and dumbfounded look on her face.

"With all due disrespect… You're going to be useless when it comes to that. Just sit back and let me handle things. You can just… I don't know. Do anything else—preferably something that doesn't involve me."

That hurt.

Makoto couldn't explain it, but hearing that… It hurt her. It made her feel horrible. She did everything she could to hide how she felt, but that wasn't exactly easy for her.

"Come on, Mishima. Let's get going."

"R-Right!" Mishima felt like he didn't actually need to be there for that. Not only that, but… He felt bad for Makoto. Toya was a lot different around her. A lot meaner. But regardless of that, he followed Toya off of the rooftop and back into the school.

"Useless…?" Makoto held her hands out. "No… There's no way I can just be useless… R-Right…?"

Toya: "Things have been slow, but I just need to figure out one more thing before I can change his heart."

Toya: "With all due disrespect… You're going to be useless when it comes to that."

"...I'll figure something out… I can do something…I know it."

Wanted this chapter to be longer, but I wanted to post something today, and my sleep schedule is really bad, sooo... Here you go. I'm gonna try to get next chapter out sooner, though. I feel like I could have skipped this one and nothing would have really changed... Oh well.

Also it's been a really long time since I've posted Toya's Confidants. This is mostly because... Well to be honest, mostly because I'm really lazy. Here you go. And-remember, people aren't supposed to match what they are in the original game. Toya and Ren are different people, so them having the same confidants/arcanas as each other wouldn't really make sense in my eyes. These corresponding Arcanas, to me, match up much better to how Toya sees these people.

Osiris [The JESTER] - Rank 3
Ren Amamiya [The FOOL] - Rank 1
Takuto Maruki [The EMPEROR] - Rank 2
Yuuki Mishima [WHEEL OF FORTUNE] - Rank 3
Ryuji Sakamoto [STRENGTH] - Rank 1
Eishi Kazero [DEATH] - Rank 5
Goro Akechi [The SUN] - Rank 1
Kai Kazero [JUDGEMENT] - Rank 4