Evening
`Hopefully it's worked…` Ren hopped out of the train car at Ginza station headed towards the sushi restaurant.
Morgana popped out of Ren's bag. "Looks like we're the first ones he-" he froze, staring in a certain direction.
Ren turned to where Morgana was staring. A girl with platinum blonde hair with two bushy pigtails stood there while on her phone.
"Ann!" He called out to her, causing her to lift her head up.
"Hey Ren!" She walked over to him.
"L-Lady Ann…?" Morgana cautiously questioned her.
"Hey Morgana." Ann went to pet him on the head for a few seconds. "How've you been?"
"LADY ANN!" Morgana jumped off of Ren's shoulders and into Ann's arms.
"Hey now! Don't do that!" She tried to scold him but her face had a bright smile on her face while she was holding the cat.
"Welcome back." Ren put out his hand, prompting Ann to adjust and free up one of her hands.
"Good to be back!" She said as they high fived.
I am Thou, Thou art I…
Thou hast re-established a Blood oath.
Thy wings of rebellion hast been reborn
And break the yoke of thy heart
Thou hast regained the ultimate secret
Of the Lovers, granting thee infinite power…
"Oh Lady Ann! How I've missed you!" Morgana rubbed his face against Ann.
"The others should be here soon." Ren told Ann as he leaned against a wall. "I'm sure you have loads of questions but I can answer them after we've got some food in our stomachs."
"Right! I wasn't able to come for the sushi last time! I want my fatty tuna! Salmon! Yellowtail!" Morgana started listing off all the fish he wanted.
"Yo RenRen, Mona... Ann!?" Ryuji was the first to turn up and was immediately taken aback by Ann's presence. "W-What a surprise to see you here!" he tried to feign ignorance.
"Ryuji, it's fine." Ren put a hand on his shoulder. "She's back."
"For real!?" Ryuji exclaimed with a surprised look on his face before he regained his normal composure.
"Ann? Is that you?" Makoto was the last to arrive.
"Yep!" Ann nodded.
"Alright, let's head in." Ren opened the door to the restaurant and they all walked in.
"Wait, where's Yusuke?" Ann asked.
"I'll explain while we eat." Ren answered her as they walked over to the middle table and sat down, prompting everyone else to do the same.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
"That's…" Ann didn't know what to say. "So we all died that day…" she looked around at everyone present. "And the reason Yusuke isn't here?"
"I didn't want to involve you guys after what happened the first time…" Ren looked down. "So I infiltrated with only myself and Morgana…"
"Then some stuff happened with the wishing star and Ryuji regained his memories." Morgana glossed over the talk he and Ren had the night before that happened.
"Star?" Ann enquired. "What star?"
Ren took out the star from his bag and presented it to Ann. "I'm not too sure what kinds of powers it has but it's been able to bring back the memories of everyone present, excluding me and Morgana of course."
"Then why can't we just wish back Futaba and get that over with?" Ann asked him.
Ren shook his head. "We can't, not yet. There seems to be some requirements we need to fulfil for it to work."
"Then why haven't you brought back Yusuke…" She asked another question.
"It won't let me bring too many people back at once. If my calculations are correct, everyone will be back by the time we start infiltration for Okumura's palace." Ren replied before ordering sushi to go. "Let's head over to Sojiro's place now."
Everyone nodded and stood up, exiting the shop after Ren paid for everything.
"That was delicious!" Ann exclaimed as she stretched.
"I agree. It's been a while since I've had sushi like that." Makoto added.
"C'mon, let's head to Futaba's!" Ryuji led the charge to the station.
"Hey Ren, shouldn't you tell them about her?" Morgana started. "She is joining us next week afterall."
"I forgot about that, thanks." Ren pet Morgana, causing him to purr softly before calling out to everyone.
"What's up man?" Ryuji was the first one to ask while everyone else also wanted to know what he wanted to say.
"We're doing a Mementos trip next wednesday and we're going to be joined by someone. Just thought I'd let you know ahead of time." Ren declared.
"Wait, is it with Akechi?" Ryuji asked.
"Akechi!?" Ann let out a shocked gasp. "Why are you talking about Akechi joining us now!?"
"Oh right, you weren't there." Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck. "Ren here recruited Akechi much earlier than when he joined us last time. We beat Kaneshiro with his help."
"Are you sure we can trust him?" Ann turned to Ren.
"I'm sure. But no, It's not Akechi that will be joining us next wednesday. They awakened recently and me and Morgana went ahead and asked if she wanted to join. She said yes but sometimes she won't be able to join us due to her gymnastics stuff." Ren explained. "That being said, she won't officially join us until after summer. The Mementos run we're doing will serve as a sort of training for her."
"Gymnastics?" Makoto muttered to herself before speaking up. "Are you talking about the first year honours student? Sumire Yoshizawa?"
"For real!?" Ryuji raised his voice as he let out his surprise. "How did she even get into the Metaverse!?"
"Ryuji, shut up!" Ann quickly went to chastise him.
"Crap, sorry…" Ryuji instantly shrunk back, now aware of what he did.
"It's a long story... " Ren looked back at how Sumire entered Madarame's palace the first time. "I was careless…"
"Careless is an understatement." Morgana chimed in. "By the way, why did you decide to do training now? We've never done that sort of stuff before. I swear you're a completely different person when it comes to her."
"Yoshizawa is the red haired girl you protected from Kamoshida, right?" Ann began to question him.
Ren nodded, causing a smile to creep up on Ann's face.
"I see! So, are you dating?" she asked as she leaned in, her face full of curiosity.
"N-No." Ren's cheeks flushed a faint pink as he answered. "We're just friends."
"Are you sure man?" Ryuji added. "It seemed to me you two were close as hell."
"You seem oddly protective of her as well." Makoto voiced her thoughts after Ryuji.
"Oh? Oh?" Ann's smile was getting bigger by the second.
"Can we head to the station now, we're going to be late." Ren tried to change the subject.
"He's right, we really need to get going." Morgana nodded in agreement.
"Alright… but I'm not done with you Ren! I'll be asking you questions about her next time!" Ann gave up for the day.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
"Yongen-Jaya. This is, Yongen-Jaya."
The PA called out as the group exited the train car, left the station and into the streets of Yongen.
"Alright, it's a different day than before so Sojiro is probably home." Ren started to tell everyone the plan as they walked towards his house. "I checked the weather earlier and it said it was going to be stormy so there's a high chance the power will go out. You guys ready?"
"Got it" Everyone replied in agreement.
"Alright." Ren nodded. "Let's go."
Ren pressed the doorbell, no one answered.
"Is he still at Leblanc?" Ren said to himself before noticing the slightly open door to his house. "The door's open, let's head in."
Everyone nodded in agreement as Ren slowly opened the door, leading the way inside.
"Please excuse us…" Makoto muttered as she walked through the door.
They could see and hear the TV coming from the living room.
"Ya' think Futaba's over there?" Ryuji asked, trying to keep his voice down.
"Probably." Ren replied, right before they heard thunder causing the power to go out. Which prompted a scream from further within the house.
"T-That's Futaba… right…?" Makoto shakily asked as she started to slowly back away.
"It is." Ren tried to calm her down. "There's no ghost, don't worry." he pulled on her arm to bring her back to the entrance.
All of a sudden, Ren felt a presence from right behind him. He turned around to see the small orange haired girl. A flash of lightning appeared, quickly followed by the roar of the thunder, causing the girl to run away, screaming. Makoto screamed as well, falling to the floor, trying to cling to the person closest to her, this time Ryuji was up on the chopping block.
"GAH!?" Ryuji felt his bones cracking as Makoto's arms around him tightened
"Rest in peace Ryuji." Ren clapped his hands together.
"I'm not dead you asshole!"
"Futaba!" Ann called out to her but it was no use, she had already ran upstairs and slammed her door shut.
"Are you okay, Futaba!?" Sojiro shouted from outside.
"Crap, he's home!" Ryuji exclaimed while Makoto was still clinging onto him.
"Ann, explain to him what happened like you did last time. Ryuji, stay quiet. Makoto… just try not to be scared." Ren quickly gave out orders.
The door flung open and Sojiro stumbled in. "Who the hell are you!? Don't move!" he slowly moved to grab a flashlight while keeping his eyes locked onto the dark figures. "You hear me!" After flicking the flashlight on, the sight of Ren, Ann, Ryuji and Makoto, who was still clinging onto Ryuji for dear life came into view. "You kids? What're you doing in my house?"
"Um, we brought you some sushi, but nobody answered when we rang the bell… the door was unlocked too." Ann quickly explained. "We could hear the TV though, so we got worried you might have passed out or something…"
"The door was unlocked?" he asked.
"Yes." Ann nodded.
Sojiro gave a small sigh. "...I do that sometimes. Guess I'm getting old."
"Um, excuse me..." Makoto had more or less just recovered. "There's something we'd like to ask."
"Hm? You wanna ask me?"
"There's someone else living here… isn't there?"
Sojiro paused for a moment before answering. "Yeah. My daughter."
"I see… is there a chance we can meet with her? I think we might have frightened her earlier, so we'd like to apologise if at all possible." she got out, hoping to meet Futaba as early as possible.
"Well… that's…" Sojiro was hesitant.
"Is she sick?" Ren chimed in with his own question to back up Makoto.
"No, it's not like that." He looked at the curious group before sighing again. "I don't want you all getting the wrong idea…" he then turned to Ren. "I shouldn't have kept this a secret from you. Let's talk at my shop. She'll hear us if we stay here."
`I don't think that matters boss…` Ren nodded as they all followed Sojiro to Leblanc.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
"Well… a lot happened after that, but I ended up taking custody of Futaba..." Sojiro finished explaining what had happened and how he ended up with her. "First she was so depressed she… wouldn't even talk to me. I kept talking to her though, and she started opening up to me little by little. That's when I found out. Futaba blames herself for her mother's death."
`This story will always be depressing no matter how many times I hear it…` Ren thought to himself as he listened to Sojiro.
There was silence before Ann spoke up. "Do you know why?"
Sojiro shook his head. "She's never told me. I wanted to know what led to believing that, but I decided not to rub salt in the wound. Then, a few months ago… she started getting real scared, even when nothing was happening. She'd say things like `I hear voices…` and, `Mum is looking at me…` "
"Have you taken Futaba to a doctor?" Ren asked.
"I wanted to, but she refused. Even when I had a doctor come she would lock herself away in her room. Since then, she's become what you call a shut-in. She won't take a single step outside the house, or even try to see other people. So yeah…" he turned to Ren. "her situation is why I couldn't let you in my house."
Don't worry about it. It's fine.
"Thanks." A small smile appeared on Sojiro's face before he started talking again. "What Futaba needs is a safe place where nobody will threaten her. Somewhere she can be at ease. That's why I won't do anything she doesn't want. I don't make her do anything she's unwilling to either." he stood up. "Then again, I know that's no way for her to live. It's all I can do though…"
"What does Futaba want?" Ren asked another question.
"I don't know. She just asks me for things that she wants, like food or these complicated books. Well, that's that. So can you just... leave her be?"
Ren nodded in response to Sojiro's plea. `I'm sorry boss, but we need her back.`
"I'm gonna head back then. You all had better head home soon too." Sojiro turned to the rest of the group before leaving Leblanc.
"I feel awful listening to that story again…" Ann covered her mouth.
"I get what you mean…" Makoto added. "Hearing about her past after knowing what she's like leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
"Yeah…" Ryuji managed to get out.
"I think it's time for you all to head home. I'll try the thing tonight and we'll meet up again tomorrow."
Everyone agreed and left Leblanc, only leaving Ren and Morgana in the shop.
"Futaba, I know you can hear me." Ren said out loud. "Don't worry, we'll free you from your tomb soon." he put away the chairs everyone used and headed upstairs.
"Please work…" He held the star out. "Futaba."
Nothing.
"Damn it… is it because she has a palace? Looks like we have to bring her back the old fashioned way." he sighed as he stood up to put the star away.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
7/22
After School
"Alright, we're all here." Ren looked around to see everyone there. "I want to get this done as quickly as possible so I want to finish this up today, is that all good with you?"
"Sounds like a plan!" Ann was the first to speak up.
"Yes, that sounds like the best course of action." Makoto seconded.
"Didja make sure to bring water?" Ryuji asked.
"Shit… Be right back." Ren quickly left the attic, appearing 10 minutes later with a bunch of water bottles.
"Alright. It's time." Ren took out his phone.
"Futaba Sakura."
Candidate found
"Sojiro Sakura's house.
Candidate found
"Tomb"
Candidate found. Navigating
"It's showtime." The world around them distorted, bringing the thieves into the Metaverse.
The heat of the desert instantly hit them, they were all in their school uniforms.
"Looks like she doesn't see us as threats yet." Ren felt his clothes starting to stick to his body due to the sweat. "Mona, transform."
"Already on it!" Morgana jumped into the air, transforming into the Mona-bus. "Get in!"
Everyone loaded the water bottles into the bus before everyone got in. Not long into the drive, Ren fell asleep due to the heat.
"Guys! We're here!" Ren was woken up by Makoto's voice. He opened his eyes to see the pyramid right in front of him.
"It's so frickin' hot…" Ryuji complained. "C'mon, let's get inside already…"
As soon as they entered the palace they were greeted by cool air flowing all throughout the pyramid, causing their bodies to relax.
"I forgot how much of a contrast the temperatures are by just a door…" Ann reminisced about the first time they infiltrated.
"Let's go." Ren called out to them as he jumped on the pillars above the sand, then proceeded to run up the long stairway.
"She'll show up soon." he warned them. "Be prepared for anything."
Soon enough, the group came across Futaba's shadow standing in their way.
"Here we go." Ren walked up to her. "Hey Futaba, mind showing us the way to the treasure?"
"..." She stood there for a moment before speaking up. "Those who plunder my tomb. Why have you come?"
"We're here to steal your treasure and change your heart." he replied to her.
"If you believe you can steal it, then try as you might."
"Same lines as before huh." he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I had to try."
"Considering the state that my palace is in… there is no way that you can steal it."
All of a sudden voices could be heard from above.
"Creepy child!"
"You killed her!"
"You're a plague!"
Futaba's shadow dropped to the ground, covering up her ears as the voices continued to berate her.
"Murderer!"
"Why don't you say something!"
"You're the one who killed her!"
"It's all your fault!"
`Futaba...` Ren walked up to the shadow and kneeled down.
"I am the one who killed my mother…"
"No you didn't." Ren brought Futaba's shadow into a hug. "If you're to blame anyone, blame Shido who ordered for her assassination."
Ren's words seemed to have an effect as the shadow jolted for a moment. "No…"
Ren tried to soothe her by patting her head. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you earlier… Your big brother is here to save you now."
"H-Huh?" she was taken aback.
`Hopefully this affects her back in the real world…`
A blue glow appeared in his pocket.
"This is!?"
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
"This… again…" Futaba started hearing voices as she curled up in her seat, hugging her knees.
"Creepy child!"
"You killed her!"
"You're a plague!"
"Murderer!"
"Why don't you say something!"
"You're the one who killed her!"
"It's all your fault!"
"That's right… I'm the one who killed my mother…" Futaba began to sob.
"No you didn't."
"W-Who!?" all of a sudden the voices berating her were cut off, replaced by a boy's voice. "Wait… this voice… is this?"
"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you earlier… Your big brother is here to save you now."
"H-Huh? Big brother?" she looked up, the tears gone, the sounds of glass cracking could be heard in her mind. "R-Ren…?"
"Ah… that's right… I need to pay him back for killing my mother… That's why I joined them…. The Phantom Thieves!"
Glass shattering could be heard as her memories from the other world flowed into her mind.
She quickly checked her phone. "The Meta-nav isn't here… I guess I need the others to bring me in first." she sighed as she threw her phone on her bed.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
"What the eff was that?" Everyone was shocked at the now died down glow that came from Ren's pocket.
"That's what happens whenever someone gets their memories restored." Ren replied as he took out the star from his pocket. "This thing glows right before someone remembers what happened."
"I remember now…" Futaba's shadow started to slowly disappear into light. "Before I go back to my other self. I will give you these…" she handed over the will seeds to Ren.
"I'll see you on the other side." Ren smiled as he let go of her.
"Yeah…" as soon as she disappeared the whole palace shook as it started to crumble.
"SHIT!" Ryuji shouted. "We gotta run!" Everyone instantly got up and started sprinting down the stairs.
Ren took out his phone as soon as they cleared the entrance, opening the Meta-nav and exiting the palace.
The destination has been deleted
Ren's phone called out while everyone was sprawled out on the floor in Ren's room.
"Did we do it?" Ryuji asked while breathing heavily.
"I think so…" Ren grabbed a nearby water bottle and took a swig. "The palace has been deleted from the Meta-nav so it's gone. We should get an answer from her soon. Let's split for today and meet back here tomorrow."
"Good idea…" Makoto agreed. "Even if we went in for only a bit, I feel tired."
Everyone slowly got up and left Leblanc, leaving only Ren and Morgana in the attic.
"What's the plan now?" Morgana asked.
"We see if Futaba's fine." Ren stood up and stretched. "I'm tired from going into the metaverse but I'm worried about her."
The cat nodded as he jumped onto the table and climbed into Ren's bag. "Let's go!"
Ren grabbed the bag, slung it on his shoulder and headed downstairs.
"Hey kid, I just saw everyone leave with tired faces. What did you guys do up there?" Sojiro questioned him with a puzzled expression.
"We were planning out our summer vacation and it got a bit heated. Which tired us all out, especially with this heat." Ren replied to him with a weak smile.
"I see… so are you going out now?"
"Yeah. I need to do something, I'll be back soon."
"Well, I'll need you to help at the shop once you're back."
"Gotcha boss." Ren quickly left the store and headed towards where Futaba was.
As he turned the corner, he saw Futaba standing outside looking at the ground.
"Futaba?" Ren called out to her.
She looked up at him. "Hey Ren, it's been a while since you've last seen your navigator huh?"
"Do you remember?" he asked her.
"Yeah."
"Then do you remember what happened in that battle?"
"Yeah…"
"I see… Well I'm just glad you're back with us." Ren flashed a smile.
"I'm glad to be back!" Futaba cheered. "Wanna deal with Medjed now or later?"
"Now sounds good." Ren said as he followed her inside.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
After Ren cleaned up Futaba's room, he took out his phone and opened up the messaging app.
Ren: Check the Medjed site.
Akechi: Why should I?
Ren: Just do it.
Akechi: Fine…
"You ready Futaba?" Ren asked her with a smirk.
"Whenever you are!" she called out.
"Do it!"
Futaba pressed the enter key, bringing down the website. "Easy peasy."
Ren checked his phone to see Akechi instantly messaging him
Akechi: What the hell!?
Akechi: How did you do that!?
Ren: A thief has his secrets.
Akechi: …
Ren: I'll message you whenever the next infiltration is. See ya 3
Akechi: Fuck off.
Ren turned his phone screen off as he chuckled to himself.
"What's so funny?" Futaba asked him.
"Don't worry about it." he put his phone away. "I should probably catch you up on what happened since then though. It's a lot to take in so be warned."
Ren brought Futaba up to speed on what's happened since then.
"You're such an idiot…" Futaba said after Ren finished explaining.
"Huh?"
"Kneel!" Futaba ordered him.
Ren complied, kneeling on the ground.
"I know you do a lot for us but we're your friends! Your family! You don't have to shoulder everything by yourself!"
"Futaba- I-"
"Remember that everyone is here for you Ren." Futaba finished up the scolding. "...Hey Ren."
"What's up?"
"I'm back..."
"Welcome back." Ren smiled as he stood up, brushing the dust off of his legs.
I am Thou, Thou art I…
Thou hast re-established a Blood oath.
Thy wings of rebellion hast been reborn
And break the yoke of thy heart
Thou hast regained the ultimate secret
Of the Hermit, granting thee infinite power…
"Now that that's over with, Mona!" Futaba called out to Morgana who was quiet the whole time.
"W-What?" Morgana jumped out of Ren's bag and tried to back away.
"Hehehe…" Futaba showed a creepy grin while she made weird hand movements "C'mere!"
"NOOOOO!" Morgana tried to escape but to no avail.
Ren watched as Futaba menacingly squished Morgana's cheeks
"Ren! Help me!" he called out to Ren, holding out his paw.
"Sorry, Morgana. You're on your own." Ren shook his head as he shrugged.
"Traitor!"
"Mona, how I missed you!"
"NOT THE CHEEKS!"
After playing with Morgana for a good while, she fell asleep with a bright smile on her face.
Ren went ahead and picked her up, placing her on her bed before leaving.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
7/23
After School
"F-Futaba!?" Sojiro was surprised to see Futaba inside Leblanc. "H-How did you get here?"
"I walked. Duh." she said as she sat down.
"You're okay!?"
"Of course I am."
"Th-That's not it. I'm just shocked to see you out of the house…"
"Ah… I'm sorry I worried you. But thanks to Ren I'm all good now!"
"The kid?" He turned to Ren who was at the stove.
"Anyway, now that's out of the way. Sojirooo, I hunger!" Futaba flopped her arms onto the counter.
"Haha… one plate of curry coming right up." he turned around as he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye before grabbing a plate, filling it with rice before heading over to the curry pot
"Thanks kid..." he whispered to Ren. "I don't know what you did but it seems to have worked wonders… sorry for telling you to stay out of it."
"Don't worry about it." Ren replied as he ladled curry on the plate.
"Thanks…" Sojiro said once more before he went over to Futaba and placed the plate in front of her. "Dig in."
"Hey Ren, when are the others coming?" Futaba asked, they were now sitting upstairs in Ren's room.
"They'll be here soon." He answered right before Sojiro called out to him.
"Hey kid! You're friends are here! I'll send them up!"
One by one, everyone made their way up the stairs and into the attic.
"Hey guys." Futaba waved.
"Futaba!" Ann instantly went in for a hug. "I'm glad you're back with us."
"Good to be back." She returned the hug. "Where's Inari?" she looked around to see Yusuke was not there.
"He's next on the list." Ren answered her. "I'll make sure he comes back to us."
"Yeah! And Haru is after that!" Morgana chimed in.
"Of course." Ren agreed. "Now that we have our navigator back. Infiltrating will become much easier."
"I wanna hear more stories about what you were doing without us!" Futaba demanded.
"Ohh! I wanna hear as well!" Ann seconded.
"Same here!" Ryuji added.
"I'm quite interested as well." Makoto also said.
"Sure. It'll probably take a while though." Ren urged everyone to sit down