Nothing.
Nothing happened. Or at least, nothing from what Chat Noir could tell from staking out Mme. Bustier's apartment.
He was sure that the card that Bustier got at school was legit. Otherwise, why would the police get involved?
From what he heard from Marinette, Nino, and the other kids, they thought so too.
Once school had let out, Mme. Bustier had been police escorted home, and then had a couple officers stationed outside her apartment complex's entrance. He was fairly sure one was staying in her home overnight as well. The only other place to get in was through the window, hence why Chat thought it would be best to keep an eye on it from the outside.
"M'Lady…" Chat Noir groaned as he attempted to call Ladybug for the umpteenth time. He had called the other heroes too, but not one had answered! He knew Ladybug and their other allies weren't in uniform all the time - after all, they all had lives to live - but he was at least sure his partner had heard about the incident at the school by now!
Maybe she just couldn't get out of the house? He had noticed along his route that a lot of people covered their blinds and shut their doors if their child went to Francoise-Dupont. Heck, he had to be absolutely sure that his father, Nathalie, and Gorilla were preoccupied before he finally snuck out.
Nothing, though! Neither on the stakeout front, nor any messages from his team!
...Maybe he should go look for them? Maybe something happened-?
Chat Noir shook his head. While he was sure the police were capable, the Phantom Thieves couldn't have evaded them up to this point by pure luck alone. They had to make sure all their bases were covered! Plus, there was no way Ladybug would have gotten into trouble; she was too good for that!
Still, the total lack of activity was making him want to pull his hair out! Come on, Phantom Thieves! Show yourselves already!
He noticed one of the officers at the bottom steps listen to something on his radio. The officer's face contorted in concern as he glanced at his coworker.
Wait, what was going on now?
Faintly, his ears picked up Mme. Bustier's voice. Was… was she crying?
Wait… no… there was no way! Everyone that entered the apartment building was escorted in by an officer by the entrance! No unknown visitors entered! There had been no signs of someone trying to enter through the window either, nor did he hear any signs of struggling or trouble!
Sighing, he began making his way back home. It seemed there was nothing that could be done…
He really needed to discuss this with Ladybug.
Still reeling from the misplaced exit, Akira plopped down onto his mattress at Leblanc, Morgana curling up next to him.
"Well, I guess we should count ourselves lucky that you had a way to get back so quickly…" Morgana said, "Otherwise, you could have said goodbye to your parole and hello to juvie!"
"Don't remind me…" Akira groaned, hand on his forehead.
Suddenly his phone buzzed from the group message.
Skull: Alright! Another heist under the belt! That one felt GREAT!
Fox: This one did seem fairly cathartic didn't it?
Panther: Hey, Red, are you sure you're feeling okay?
Red: Yeah, I'm fine. So… do you know what's going to happen to Bustier now?
Ryuko: Most likely, she will receive some form of criminal charges. If her history fully comes out, she could be put away for child endangerment and neglect at the least.
Viper: Good… how are you feeling, Chance?
Chance: Good… I think?
Beat: You think?
Chance: Argh! My emotions are all jacked up! I feel happy and relieved, but also angry and sad!
Jack: Do one of us have to be on akuma watch?
Chance: No, I'll be fine! Thanks though.
Queen: Chance, there's nothing wrong with feeling that way. You've known Bustier most of your school life. She should have been someone you could trust.
Fox: Indeed. It will likely take a while for you to accept the reality of it all.
Chance: I know that. It's just frustrating!
King: Well, maybe you just need to take your mind off of it for a while. It's the weekend! We can go out and do something fun! Maybe get some ice cream or go to the arcade! You can kick everyone's butt at Ultimate Mecha Strike 3!
Oracle: Ultimate Mecha Strike 3?! I love that game! Why didn't you tell me you played that?
Chance: You never asked…?
Oracle: Awww… I should have asked earlier… I'll have to hunt you down online sometime and challenge you!
Fox: That does raise an interesting idea for our post-victory celebration, however. We came to Paris last time - why not take the Parisians to Tokyo?
Panther: Is that a good idea? I mean, some of them may still stand out a little.
Joker: Not if we're careful about what places we go to. Most parts of Tokyo are packed on the weekend. I doubt anyone would pick out a group like ours in the crowd.
Skull: Unless you're someone like that Akechi guy…
King: Akechi?
Queen: He's a high school detective that's helping the police try to catch the Phantom Thieves. He works with my sister quite a bit.
Red: Do you think we'll run into him?
Joker: Fate has a funny way of making us run into each other… it's possible, but unlikely.
Panther: If we DO run into him though, what then?
Viper: Well, hopefully with the heightened police presence at the school, the media might have a harder time learning that the Phantom Thieves were involved. So, maybe even if we run into him, I doubt he'll think there's anything fishy? After all, the scandal with Lila happened over a month ago.
Jack: Why not just make the same excuse we made when you guys came here? You know, "We're friends from abroad that decided to visit"? It's not really THAT hard to believe, is it?
Red: Nice one, Al!
Beat: Worst case scenario, we pull the tourist card instead.
Skull: I think we got all our bases covered. Anyone against this plan?
…
Queen: ...I guess we're all in agreement. What time works best?
Panther: It's gonna be tough… we're 8 hours apart, so either you guys gotta get up super early or we won't get a lot of time to hang out.
Queen: How does 7 AM for the Parisians sound? That's 3 PM for us.
King: I'm in!
Chance: Great! We'll be ready!
Turning off his phone, Akira decided to go to bed. Noting this, Mona curled up next to him. It wasn't long before the two fell asleep.
As he had before, the warmth of Akira's bed in Leblanc was soon replaced with the cold steel of the Velvet Room's bed. Almost instinctively, his feet touched on the hard stone of the cell and he glanced out through the bars.
"You have ameliorated the situation of a woman swamped with Apathy…" Igor lauded, "It was nothing less of superb - well done, young Trickster."
"You should feel proud of yourself, Inmate," Justine praised, "though it should not be allowed to go to your head."
"I still have a ways to go, don't I?" Akira questioned in a resigned tone.
"Damn right you do!" Caroline sneered. "So don't go taking any missteps backward now!"
"It also seems the Miraculous you have used has been recalled…" Igor noted. "Despite promises of changes in the future, it hurts to be left apart from your kwami, does it not?"
"I won't deny that I miss Roaar…" Akira admitted, "but I'm a man of my word. I respect Ladybug's decision."
"Not bad, Trickster…" Akira heard as he began to black out and return to the real world, "not bad at all."
The next day...
"Phew! Saturday!" Marinette chirped as she leaped out of bed, "Successful heist and no homework! Not even from Mme. Mendeleiev!"
"It is rare for her to not hand homework out, isn't it?" Tikki observed, "You don't think it's because of the calling card, do you?"
"Maybe… I'll admit, I wasn't expecting the police to be called, but it makes sense too," Marinette noted.
"Well, you were planning to go hang out with the others, right?" Tikki reminded her. "You should freshen up and get ready!"
"Yeah, totally! Thanks for the reminder, Tik!" Marinette cheered before skipping off to the bathroom to prepare for the fun day ahead.
Not unlike the picnic after Lila's confession, the Phantom Thieves had planned a home tour; this time, however, the Tokies were planning to take the Parisians to Tokyo instead of the other way around.
"Kagami mentioned she lived in Tokyo for a while, but it's a pretty big city," Marinette wondered as she dashed out the door with Tikki hidden in her pockets, waving goodbye to her mom and dad on her way out. "I wonder if she's been to some of the places they're taking us…"
It wasn't long before she met up with the other Parisians, who were waiting for her around an alley near the park. Smiles lit up on their faces at the sight of her.
"I can't believe the Tokies are willing to do this for us!" Alix exclaimed, "This is going to be awesome!"
"Curb your enthusiasm, please," Kagami sighed, "you'll attract attention."
"What places are they taking us again?" Kim asked, scratching his head.
"It shouldn't matter too much," Luka shrugged as he got off the bench to exchange kisses with Marinette, "we'll be in good company."
"True, not to mention there should be a ton of people around," Nino pointed out, Kaalki peeking out from his pocket to wave hello, "we shouldn't stick out too much."
Checking his phone, Nathaniel noted, "Well, it's about time to get going. Shall we?"
"You know the words, Nino!" Marinette grinned as they walked into the alley.
"Kaalki, Full Gallop!" he exclaimed, transforming into Shadow Barb. Extending his hand out into the alley, he declared, "Voyage!"
The portal was created, and the Parisians walked through.
"Should we call them?" Ryuji asked, checking his phone. He then jumped as the Voyage portal opened right behind him.
"Hey, guys!" Marinette greeted cheerfully as she appeared from the Voyage portal. The rest of the Parisians made their greetings as they too stepped through the Horse Miraculous' vortex.
"Kaalki, Dismount!" Nino smiled, said smile growing slightly more as the little kwami re-emerged from the glasses.
"Nice aim!" Ann commented, impressed that Nino got the location right; it had taken her a few tries to find the teacher's lounge at Francoise-Dupont.
"Is that everyone?" Akira asked as the Voyage closed up. "No one gets left behind."
"Or forgotten?" Nathaniel quipped. Everyone eyed him strangely. "What? You don't remember Lilo & Stitch?"
"I recall it being a very American movie, even if Disney does have a few theme-parks in Japan…" Yusuke recalled. "Alas, there is only so much time to waste - shall we get going?"
"I think Laurence Peter once said 'The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.'" Kagami teased.
"Lead the way!" Alix said excitedly.
With that, the gang began touring the city. It wasn't long before a familiar face noticed Akira.
"Oh, Kurusu! Heya!" Yuuki called out.
"Oh, hey! I remember you!" Marinette exclaimed in English.
"Huh? Oh!" Yuuki said confusedly before he gasped in recognition. "It's you, uh… Marinette, right?"
"That's me!" she nodded, "You remember Nino, Alix, Kim, and Nathaniel too?"
Yuuki glanced over at the other Parisians from Marinette's class. His eyes narrowed a little. "Yeah, I remember them…"
"Down, Yuuki," Akira chastised, "they're chill now. In fact, Kagami here didn't believe Lila from the start, and Luka's Marinette's boyfriend."
"Oh! Wait! Weren't you the one that nearly got into a fist-fight with Alya on the plane to Hawaii?" Alix asked, eyes sparkling a little.
Yuuki immediately blushed in embarrassment, "Um… fist-fight would be an exaggeration."
"You got into a fist-fight with someone?" Futaba exclaimed eagerly. Yusuke also looked rather shocked.
"It wasn't a fist-fight!" Yuuki defended adamantly, crossing his arms and pouting. "I-I was just having a… a heated conversation with her!"
"Right…" Ann giggled.
"Anyway, how have you been?" Akira asked, "We haven't talked in a while."
"Good! Both Phan-Sites are doing amazingly!"
"Wait, you run the Phan-Site?!" Nino gawked. "Huh… a person like you makes sense if you can stand up to… to my ex."
Yuuki's eyes widened, "Oh… um, sorry to hear about that."
"It's fine," Nino shook his head, "Now that I look back on it, it became pretty much inevitable the second Lila came around. The Phantom Thieves changed Lila's heart, though, and things are… better now."
"That's good to hear!" the Phan-Site's manager nodded. "I did hear that the Phantom Thieves changed the hearts of a few people in Paris. Kudos to y- er, them."
"I'll admit - when they started all of this, I didn't think that they would end up getting this big," Makoto commented.
"Well, duh! W-They're changing society for the better!" Ryuji exclaimed. "They're doing everyone a favor, if you ask me!"
"We're showing Marinette and company around Tokyo for the weekend," Futaba explained, "You can join us for a bit, if you want."
"Sorry, guys, but I'm running an errand for my dads," Yuuki apologized, "Thanks for the invitation, though."
"Good luck, Yuuki!" Akira waved as they all walked off. As they exited the boy's earsight, Akira asked Ryuji, "He has two dads?"
"Yeah," Ryuji answered. "It's part of why Kamoshida had such a hold over him, and why he used to be bullied all the time…"
Meanwhile, Marinette's eyes lingered on the admin's form right as they turned a corner.
"Hmm…"
The Parisians had a blast in their visit to the many places in Tokyo. Shibuya had so many cool shops and Nino geeked out over some of the tech in Akihabara - Kim commenting that Max would have likely fainted from excitement at one point. They had to literally drag Nathaniel out of several manga stores, too. Alix even had to hoist him over her shoulder at one point.
One of the major surprises came when Ann bumped into another familiar face.
"Ann?" Shiho gasped.
"Shiho?" Ryuji and Ann said in unison, faces lighting up.
"Hey!" she greeted, said greeting being somewhat shy as she'd noticed Akira and the group of unfamiliar faces they were with, "H-how have you two been?"
"We've been great!" Ann said cheerfully. "Just hanging out right now!"
"That's good," Shiho observed, "I recognize you, Ryuji and Akira, but who are the rest of you guys?"
"Most of us are friends from Paris," Yusuke answered, "but Makoto, Futaba and I are from Tokyo. I am Kitagawa Yusuke; I go to Kosei."
"Oh, I remember Makoto," Shiho said, "but you and Futaba are new."
"We don't go to Shujin," Futaba shrugged.
No one failed to notice the slight flinch Shiho gave at the mention of the school. "...I see. When'd you meet the Paris guys?"
"The Hawaii trip," Ryuji answered. "It stinks that you weren't able to go…"
As the group talked, Makoto's gaze fell on a black limousine pulling up to one of the buildings.
She watched as a cute young girl with floofy auburn hair got in. Makoto definitely didn't miss the sad look on her face. To herself, Makoto thought I want to protect her, before the thought made her blush.
"What's up, Makoto?" Alix asked, noticing her gaze.
"Huh?" the student council president blinked. "Oh, nothing. I just… I feel like I've seen that girl before."
"That girl in the limo?" Kim questioned. Shiho had made her way off to get home - she and her mother lived on the other side of Tokyo now - so she couldn't have questioned how Makoto knew French.
"Oh, she was in Hawaii with us, wasn't she?" Ryuji recalled. "She's probably a student at Shujin!"
"...OH!" Marinette gasped, "I remember her too! Lila lied about knowing her father or something like that, remember?"
"Oh, yeah," Nino nodded along. "Whoever she is, she's a smart cookie…"
"Wasn't her last name Okumara or something?" Kim asked.
"You mean Okumura?" Kagami gasped, eyes wide.
"Do you know them, Kagami?" Luka asked.
"Not personally, but my mother has done business with what I presume to be her family in the past," she answered.
"Okumura… wait, ain't that the group who owns Big Bang Burger?!" Ryuji remembered, raising an eyebrow.
"I believe so…" Kagami responded.
"Huh, that's interesting," Nathaniel noted quietly.
"Yusuke?" another voice called out. "Oh, and Akira too! Hello!"
A young woman around the Tokies' age made their way towards them. Upon seeing her, Futaba took on an awestruck blush.
"Greetings, Hifumi," Yusuke said politely.
"Man, we're just running into everyone today, huh?" Akira chuckled.
"Who's this, Akira?" Ryuji asked.
"Oh, this is Togo Hifumi," Akira introduced. "She's been teaching me shogi for the last couple months."
"It is nice to meet you all," Hifumi nodded. "I would love to stay and chat, but unfortunately, I need to get groceries for Father right now. Have a good day, everyone!"
As she hurried off, Futaba whispered, "She's so cool…"
"Yeah, she's interesting," Akira agreed, before stopping and squinting as he examined Futaba's unusually red face. "You like her, don't you?" he grinned.
"I will hack every piece of tech you own except for your phone," Futaba grumbled. Akira wisely shut up.
"Holy guacamole, you weren't kidding when you said you were good at Ultimate Mecha Strike 3!" Ryuji gasped as they walked out of the giant SEGA building.
"I've never seen that many zeros in a final score before!" Futaba gasped, staring at the Parisian like she was a goddess.
"I'm not really that into video games, but I must say - that was impressive," Makoto nodded.
"That's Marinette for you!" Kim cheered as they rounded a corner, only to have Makoto suddenly stop them and drag the jock back.
"What gives?" Nathaniel asked. Makoto put a finger to her lips and peeked back around. Akira did too.
"Oh…" he groaned when he spotted not only Akechi but Sae Niijima having a conversation down the street. "Oh, no."
"Nino…" Makoto said, her tone steely and serious, "you guys need to go home."
"What? Why?" Kim whined.
"No, Makoto's right, just go!" Morgana exclaimed, peeking out of Akira's bag. All three were alarmed to see Sae walking in their direction, though it didn't look like she'd seen them yet. "Now!"
"Waugh! Okay!" Nino scrambled, "Kaalki, Full Gallop!"
Five seconds later, the Parisians scrambled into the portal; it closed just as Sae turned the corner.
"Makoto?" the prosecutor asked, "What are you doing out here this late?"
"Hi, Sis!" Makoto greeted, wiping a small bead of sweat from her face.
"I'm just out with friends! See?" she gestured to her group, mentally breathing a sigh of relief at the lack of Parisians in sight.
Sae raised an eyebrow just as Akechi rounded the corner.
"Oh, what a nice surprise to run into you here!" he greeted, pleasantly.
"Hey, Akechi," Akira said, hoping he didn't sound too anxious or unhappy at the sight of the Detective Prince.
"I hope none of you are causing any trouble," Sae said sternly.
"Oh, don't mind us!" Ann said, smiling widely, throwing her arms over Makoto and Ryuji's shoulders, "Just a group of friends hanging out on a weekend night!"
"Mhm," Sae nodded neutrally.
"Didn't take you as the gaming types," Akechi observed as they were still fairly close to the SEGA building.
"Oh, well, there was a new video game that we've been wanting to try out," Ryuji said quickly, "And Futaba and I are pretty good gamers, in my opinion!"
"Ah…" Sae said, "Well, I'll see you at home, Makoto… hopefully."
"See you around, Sis!"
As the two detectives walked back down the street, the team let out a collective sigh of relief. That had been way too close.
The simultaneous sounds of their group chat snapped them out of it. Glancing down they saw they had several messages. They had been so focused on acting cool around Akechi and Sae that they hadn't even noticed them.
Chance: Hey, is everything okay?
Jack: What was that all about?!
Red: What happened?!
Ryuko: Were you in trouble?
Viper: You looked like you saw a ghost, Queen.
Joker: We're fine. Sorry for scaring you.
Queen: My sister and Akechi were coming our way. We didn't want to risk either of them seeing you and getting the wrong idea.
Beat: Your sister? Oh, wait, didn't you say she was a prosecutor?
Panther: Yep. A brutal one too.
Fox: With the addition that Japan has a 99% conviction rate, it'll be tough going up against her in a court of law.
King: Wait, you're serious? About the conviction thing, I mean?
Fox: Unfortunately, it is so.
Jack: Whoa… that's intense!
Viper: Either your system is REALLY good at figuring out the perpetrator, or they get a lot of false or coaxed confessions…
Joker: It's likely you can take a wild guess… :(
Red: Oy vey…
Chance: Um… I don't really know how it works, but wouldn't the Phantom Thieves case go into more international law enforcement if they prove that the 'changes of heart' in both places were done by the same group?
Skull: What are you saying? Wouldn't that be bad?
Chance: It would! But I'm sure it would also force the police in both France & Japan to jump over several hurdles to prosecute us directly if we're ever caught.
Queen: I'm sure Sis would find a way to do it. She's scarily good at finding those loopholes.
Oracle: Yeah, but your sister is also looking into the mental shutdown cases, isn't she? That's why she's so driven to catch us.
Fox: Even so, let us not focus on that for now. We had a rather fun time, did we not?
Beat: Oh, yeah! Totally! Thanks for the day out!
Ryuko: I didn't get to visit the city much when I was still living in Japan, so it was nice to actually explore a bit.
Jack: Nath looked about ready to move into that one manga store!
Red: Oy!
Jack: What? It's true! :D
Red: You're not sorry in the slightest, are you?
Jack: Why would I ever be? ;D
Skull: Oh, shit, that reminds me! We pawned off that Treasure a while ago. It was worth way more than we expected!
Viper: How much was it?
Oracle: 15,000 yen!
King: I looked that up, and it's a little bit over 123 Euros.
Joker: Not bad, everyone.
Chance: Thanks, guys. I think after the Palace that we all needed this.
Joker: No problem, Mari. It's no problem at all.
AN: There we go, the celebration for Bustier's Palace! Hope you enjoyed!
