August 15th.
The beach was packed. That was to be expected since it was summer, but it was also hotter than they expected as well. The boys sat at a table with an umbrella to keep them cool. Ren had a soda can pressed against his neck to keep cool; Yusuke wore a light hoodie, while Ryuji was finishing off a popsicle, the stick hanging from his mouth. "Man, it's packed…" Ryuji grumbled. The boys had been waiting a while for the girls to change.
"Hot, too…" Ren let out a weighted exhale. That cool soda can felt amazing, but its coldness would only last so long. "I wonder where the girls are…"
Yusuke remained silent, simply taking his usual artistic approach to things. Once more, he used his hands for a landscape perspective, focusing on the bored Ryuji who just frowned and sighed quietly.
"Sorry for the wait." Ann said as she and Makoto approached. Ann wore a multitcolored two piece with floral patterns, adjusting the lower half a bit after walking. In her left hand was a pink inner tube; Makoto wore an all-white three piece and carried a light blue bag.
"Whoa…." Ryuji was staring directly at Ann. The low hanging popsicle stick in his mouth flicked upwards and a perverse expression appeared on his face, grinning as he stared at the fellow blonde.
"Huh?" Ann blinked, taking a moment to notice Ryuji's expression. Instead of getting mad, she just pointed and laughed at his predictable reaction. He was always taking jabs at her, but that expression he wore was refreshing. "Got a better opinion of me now!?" She said playfully, walking over to sling her arm around his shoulders, playfully jabbing his stomach with her free hand. "What, cat got your tongue? C'mon!"
"Ahah…" Makoto just had a comical sweat drop on the back of her head.
"I think we're still missing some?" Ren asked. Everyone's attention turned to the changing area, where Futaba very slowly stepped out. The door creaked open and everyone waited with bated breath, waiting to see Futaba in her swimsuit. It was a two piece orange swimsuit, but somehow, that wasn't the thing that grabbed everyone's attention immediately. It was the wrapping Futaba had around her head to hide her face.
"Wh…" Ryuji felt disappointed somehow.
"Thish ish perfect!" Futaba held her arms in front of her, wandering forward with absolutely no sense of direction. She started drifting the wrong way.
Makoto had to step in, gently taking Futaba by the shoulders. "There's nothing perfect about that. Come on, you'll be just fine…" She said, carefully unwrapping Futaba's face so she could see.
"Ehehehe…" Futaba let out a sheepish laugh.
"I believe we are still missing one…" Yusuke pointed out. This was not everyone.
"Yeah, we're down one." Morgana said.
"Oh, Hifumi…!" Ann realized Hifumi had yet to step out from the changing booth. They could see her feet and how she had yet to move. "You can come out now."
"R-Right…" Hifumi took a deep breath. She was more nervous about this than Futaba. So Hifumi slowly pushed the door opened and stepped into view. She wore a black and white two piece, the added black skirt being the third. Hifumi held her arm sheepishly, green gaze averting due to shyness. This was the first time she wore a swimsuit in a long time and she was pretty sheepish about it. "H-How does it look…?"
Once again, the popsicle stick in Ryuji's mouth flicked upwards immediately. "Whoa…."
"You look great, Hifumi!" Ann said excitedly. Ann was speaking for everyone here.
"Y-You think so…?" Hifumi brushed her hair behind her ear. Somehow, the red ribbon in her hair tied her appearance together nicely. "Thank you…" She flashed a bashful smile towards Ann. "Y-You look nice too, Ann…"
.
.
The group settled down, barely managing to find a place that wasn't taken. The beach had a ton of people so finding somewhere to sit was a challenge and a half. "It's soooooo hot…." Ryuji whined.
Hifumi brought a hand up to fan herself. The heat was bit more than she expected. "It is. But it beats driving around in the dry desert."
Makoto glanced around, concerned for Futaba due to the amount of people around. "There's a lot people here. Are you going to be okay, Futaba?"
It was a pretty intimidating, Futaba had to admit. "I-I'll be fine…you guys are here with me."
"Hey, it's almost lunchtime." Ann said.
"Eeek, the squid's staring at me!" A woman nearby squealed.
"Oh relax. It's cooked. Would you even eat squid if I wasn't around?" A man that was presumably the woman's boyfriend said.
That was certainly an exchange they just overheard. "…I feel like I lost my appetite already." Hifumi said with a sigh.
"I'll go grab something for us." Ryuji stood up.
"I'll go too." Ren decided to join Ryuji.
Futaba, however, came prepared. She dug in her back and pulled out some curry she had Sojiro make for her. "I am ready to eat."
"You're eating that even here!?" Yusuke's eyes widened.
"My staple food." Futaba nodded sharply.
After a short while, lunch was served. Everyone was fueling up for the long day ahead of them. They were going to be at the beach for a while after all. "So, what should we do now?" Ryuji asked. They had a lot of options. "We gonna play some volleyball?"
"Actually, us girls already made plans to ride a banana boat." Ann said.
"We could only rent a four person one, sorry." Makoto added.
"What!?" Ryuji couldn't believe this. The girls were going to ditch them. "What about us!?"
"Keep an eye on our stuff!" Ann smiled and stood up.
"That cold shoulder took the heat off of me." Ren remarked.
"Hell no!" Ryuji also stood up, pretty irritated that they were being relegated to watching over things. "Why you gotta treat us like that!? We're celebrities makin' headlines! You should treat us better!"
"I do think they're not bad in the Metaverse, but in reality…strange, isn't it?" Makoto remarked.
"Mhm. Their duality is quite intriguing." Hifumi said, taking a sip from her soda can. "It doesn't seem as though they possess the correct moves for a check."
"They can steal treasures, but they don't seem like they can steal a girl's heart." Ann snickered.
This wounded Morgana deeply. "B-But…Lady Ann….!" He couldn't steal her heart!?
"Lady…?" Hifumi was still confused as to why Morgana kept referring to Ann as Lady. He was a cat…though he kept insisting he was human, so…
Futaba tired of this conversation. She wanted to ride the banana boat. She got up from her chair and rolled her eyes. "Can we get to the banana boat already?"
"Oh, sorry! We'll go now." Makoto stood up and started to walk with Futaba.
"Come on, Hifumi!" Ann reached out for Hifumi's wrist to help her up and walk off with her. "Keep an eye on our stuff for ussss!" Ann told the boys.
"See you in a bit!" Hifumi used her free hand to wave to the boys. Off up ahead, Futaba was so excited about the banana boat she ran off ahead and Makoto had to hurry off and catch up to her.
Ryuji couldn't believe this. "Dammit…They don't get how amazin' we are. We risk our lives bein' Phantom Thieves! There's no WAY we're the same as other guys around here! Shouldn't we havin' a little fun too!?"
"You know what?" Ren stood up. "You're right, Ryuji."
"Exactly!" Ryuji said. "Don't you agree, Yusuke!?"
"Well…if you put it that way, you may be right." Yusuke did nod.
"Ann and the others don't get it 'cause they're always around us. They don't see how amazin' we are." Ryuji was successfully convincing the boys that they were better than how the girls saw them!
"Hey, how do we get Lady Ann to notice how amazing we are as Phantom Thieves?" Morgana asked. This was important to him.
"Well, we gotta steal…you-know-what." Ryuji said.
"Hearts…..?" Ren wasn't so confident in his answer, because Ryuji didn't outright say it.
"That's right, man! Let's steal all the hearts with the skills we've honed as Phantom Thieves!" Ryuji said confidently.
"Very well, let's do it." Yusuke stood up, now actually willing to follow through with this idea. "Pulling off our work in reality doesn't sound too bad."
"So then it's settled! Mona, you look after our stuff." Ryuji dumped the responsibility onto Morgana and walked off with Ren and Yusuke.
"What the hell!? Hey! Come back here!" Morgana exclaimed. "Don't leave me behind!" He yelled. But they were already gone, much to his annoyance. "I can't believe this…" His current feline muscles would not allow him to frown, but he was incredibly upset at this situation he was placed upon. "Is this all I'm good for now? Just watching as a background character…?"
.
.
"Those boys are really hopeless." Ann said while shaking her head. She, Hifumi, Futaba, and Makoto were out on the banana boat, while the boys were going off hitting on girls to steal hearts. The ride had yet to start, but they were still holding on just in case. "I don't think they understand or appreciate our viewpoint."
"Well, we are around them a lot." Hifumi tilted her head, placing her hand against her cheek. "But I don't suppose it changes much."
"I don't see it." Futaba shook her head, enjoying how the banana boat rocked gently against the waves. It was awesome!
"Let's go off of Makoto's earlier statement then!" Ann had an idea. "This stays between us, it is girl talk after all."
"W-Wait, what are we doing?" Makoto blinked. She was staring out at the water, so hearing her name so suddenly snapped her to attention.
"I'm sure the boys have already talked about us, but that doesn't matter. Let's hear it, what kind of guys are you girls into?" Ann just wore a smile. "Do you really think the Ryuji and the others aren't bad?" This was directed to Makoto first, since she was the one who brought it up.
"Me…?" Makoto was put in the hot seat. All eyes were on her as she was the first one to answer. "And this stays between us?"
"Absolutely!" Ann nodded.
"You can trust me with a secret." Hifumi said.
"I won't say a word!" Futaba added.
"Well…like I said, I do think they aren't bad." Makoto said, a bit sheepishly. She wasn't one to talk about boys like this, so it was a bit embarrassing for her. "I suppose I just haven't really thought about it too much, though.
"I see, I see…" Ann then turned to Hifumi. "And you?"
"Ah?" Hifumi blinked, not expecting to be next. "W-well…I dunno. I wasn't really thinking about…I guess they're not bad? If I'm working under the hypothetical that I am allowed to date, er…I mean…Ryuji is a bit too vulgar at times and excitable. I almost swore because of him…" What a haunting memory! Although she had yet to see that she and Ryuji were a very agreeable duo. "Yusuke is…um."
"I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole either." Futaba nodded a few times.
"I wouldn't phrase it like that!" Hifumi shook her head. "I would just say he's not my type! I wouldn't be able to keep up with his eccentricity. Ren would probably be the most likely one. But how do I put this? Sometimes he's…"
"We know." Makoto, Ann, and Futaba nodded all at once. Hifumi didn't even have to say it.
"Also, don't ask me!" Futaba was opting out of this conversation. "I have no interest in dating anyone! At least not yet. Sojiro would go crazy if I said I liked a boy."
"Aww!" Ann frowned. She was so looking forward to hearing what Futaba had to say.
"Well, now it's only natural to hear what you think of them." Makoto brushed her hair back.
"Yes, it is only fair you share your part." Hifumi agreed.
"That's easy!" Ann crossed her arms with a confident smile. But when it was actually time to speak, she was drawing a blank. "Well…!"
"Hey, I think we're forgetting someone." Futaba said with a giggle. "What about Morgana?"
"Morgana?" Hifumi, Ann, and Makoto all said in the same time, surprised Futaba brought him up.
"That's…well, I guess he does count? But…he's a cat?" Hifumi crossed her arms. "I…um. I cannot say I've considered Morgana because he is a cat."
"Well, he keeps insisting he's human, right?" Futaba adjusted her glasses. "So…what if he really is human? Can you imagine a Human Morgana?"
The girls couldn't discount the idea. Morgana did keep saying he was human, so they had to trust that this was a correct assumption. And if that was the case…Morgana could technically be in the running. "I can only see him as a cat, but if he's a human…I'm not sure." Ann admitted.
"I honestly haven't a clue." Hifumi was in the same boat.
"I think this is one topic we can put away later." Makoto suggested. The other girls seemed to agree with this. Before their fun conversation could continue, the banana boat really started to pick up speed. It was such a sudden jolt, they all let out yelps of surprise before laughing.
.
.
How were the boys doing during their attempts to woo the ladies? Terribly. They struck out on every girl they tried to speak to wasn't interested, or already had boyfriends. So they just stood at the edge of the water, staring out into the distance. "I dunno. The ocean just looks kinda bland to me…"
"It's not looking good for us, man." Ren said. He was on the verge of throwing in the towel.
"C'mon, I'm not throwing in the towel yet! I'm goin' for a miracle comeback!" Ryuji was certain he could still pull through.
"Hm…" Yusuke was looking around for something. That's when he spotted it. Something that caught his attention and he had to go for it. Without a word, Yusuke just wandered off.
"Uh, Yusuke?" Ryuji only noticed Yusuke wandering off when it was too late.
"…I wonder where he's going." Ren tilted his head.
Yusuke soon returned a few moments later, holding two lobsters in hand. "I have found them." The lobsters were also alive and moving in his hand.
Ryuji just stared in bewilderment. "Uh. W-What are you doin' with those lobsters?" He had to ask. This made no sense, and even if Yusuke explained, it probably wouldn't change much.
"I found these beautiful specimens on sale." Yusuke said. "And so I decided to spend the last of my money on them."
"You have no monetary responsibility…" Ren just sighed. "…Wait, does that mean you don't have money for the trip back?"
"Ah. It would appear that is the case." Yusuke did not think about that. "Apologies for having to ask for some money, but I was entranced. The moment I set eyes on this distinct shape, I was in love. I haven't had my core shaken as vigorously as this since the first time Ann entered my gaze."
"Wow, that was kind of poetic?" Ren was not expecting that kind of verbal response from Yusuke.
Ryuji just lowered his head, defeated. Yusuke was unbelievable sometimes. "Good for you…actually where are those girls now that I think about it? They shoulda been done with their boat ride by now…"
.
.
Ann, Hifumi, and Makoto were unfortunately caught in a conversation with, you guessed it, overzealous men. They were clearly older and their eyes saw three beautiful girls in swimsuits, so of course they were going to act on it. "Yo. I've seen you two before." The tanned, rich looking blond male said, pointing to Hifumi and Ann.
"Er…excuse me?" Hifumi tilted her head.
"Yeah, you were on magazine covers, weren't you? You're Hifumi Togo and Ann Takamaki, right?" The man's friend asked. "How would you two and your friend like to come with us?"
"Oh…" Hifumi immediately realized where this was going. Her mother was actually right about something for once.
"Eh…" Ann just rolled her eyes. She didn't really want to deal with this, and neither did Hifumi or Makoto.
"We're here with friends." Makoto took it into her own hands to tell these guys to go away.
"C'mon, don't lie to us, baby." The pretentious man brushed that statement aside. "How about you come for a nice cruise on our boat?"
"There's going to be a party, too. Tons of celeberties and industry people will be there?" The man's friend said. The girls just rolled their eyes in response.
"I don't get seasick, but if I were to accept that invitation I probably would be." For a brief moment, Hifumi's shogi mode came out. The situation was extremely irritating and she was not in the mood.
"Oh, now that's a tongue on you!" The rich man wasn't even fazed.
Seriously? Ann couldn't believe this. "Are you even listening to us!?" The answer was no. They weren't hearing anything other than a yes.
Luckily for the girls, the boys found them. "Oh, there you guys are." Ryuji said.
"Oh…so you were serious about being here with friends." The rich man said, a bit disappointed.
"That's what we've been saying from the start!" Ann huffed.
"Don't you find it boring spending time with kids like them?" The other man asked.
"It's certainly better than anything involving you…" Makoto muttered, but she did make sure her voice was loud enough to carry.
"What'd you say!?" The man took offense to Makoto's words.
"Oh? So your ears do work, because you heard that." Hifumi placed her hands on her hips. Her green, venomous gaze glared into the overzealous men who were attempting to get lucky. "We do not need any lie to avoid spending time with you. We simply do not want to."
"…Hmph. Let's just let the children have fun with fellow children." With their attempts snubbed, the two men walked off.
"What creeps…!" Ann sucked her teeth. That did dampen the mood of the beach trip a little bit. "But I wasn't expecting Hifumi to speak up like that! That was cool."
"Huh?" Hifumi blinked. For a moment it felt like she blanked out when she told those two dudes off. "Oh, well…they were annoying me. Unlike fans or others who at least try to be nice, I wasn't going to entertain their notions. My mother warned me about men like that."
"Wow, she said that? I guess she does care!" Ann realized that second part probably sounded rude. "Er…"
"It's fine, it wasn't as nice a warning as you think." Hifumi sighed.
"Anyway…thanks for stepping in for us." Makoto thanked the boys.
"Eh, they got lucky." Ren said.
"What do you mean…?" Makoto asked.
"If things went bad, you would've just sent them to the hos…" Ryuji realized it was probably best he didn't say anything. "Er…never mind."
"Um. Say, where are Morgana and Futaba?" Hifumi asked. Then her attention turned to the lobsters. "Are those…?"
Futaba and Morgana then sped up to catch up to everyone. Futaba's eyes wandered to the lobsters. "Oooh! Are those lobsters? One in each hand!?"
"Yeah, I was wondering about that myself." Ann said.
"Are you going make them into sashimi!? Or perhaps roast them whole?" Morgana's eyes were gleaming.
As Futaba reached out for the lobsters, Yusuke had to use his superior height to keep them out of her reach. "Enough of your vile postulations! These are purely for the sake of visual appreciation."
"Do you have money to get back?" That was Hifumi's main concern.
"I do not." Yusuke replied. Everyone just sighed. Well, they'd deal with it later. For now, they still had plenty of time at the beach to spend together.
.
.
The group still had plenty of time at the beach and they were going to use it. The first activity they did together was volleyball. The boys vs the girls! Morgana had to stand on the side since he was physically incapable of playing. Since the numbers were a bit uneven, Hifumi was going to stand to the side as well and switch with Futaba later. "I got it!" Ryuji struck the incoming volleyball with his open palm, sending it over the net to the girls' side.
"Whoa…!" Futaba hurriedly rushed over, practically diving to make sure the ball was received into the air.
That's when Makoto struck. She leapt high into the air, slamming her palm down onto the ball with all her might for a vicious spike. "HYAH!" For a moment, everyone firmly believed Makoto surpassed the limits of human strength as the ball hit the ground before the boys and sand practically exploded outwards from the impact.
The boys had no idea what just happened. They didn't even see the ball. "…We're not in the Metaverse right now, are we?" Ryuji slowly turned to look behind him.
"…No. We're not…" Ren swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. This was a subtle reminder to not get on Makoto's
"Holy cow…" Futaba had no words.
"That's frightening." Hifumi said with a sweat drop. "But the girls score…!"
.
.
Between playing in the water, making a sand figure out of Yusuke, and a ton of other activities, Hifumi was starting to feel pretty tired. But it was a good tired. She needed a moment to take a breather, sitting down while using her towel to dry her face off from being splashed so much. "Whew."
"Getting tired already?" Futaba asked, only coming back briefly to grab an inner tube. "Aren't we just starting to have fun?"
"Only just starting?" Hifumi said with a slight laugh. "I haven't had the chance to relax like this at all in a long time. I envy you for having so much energy…"
"Oh, I'm definitely overclocking myself." Futaba was not afraid to admit it either. "When we get home, I'm gonna sleep for another week."
"Please don't." Hifumi shook her head. "I know now that you mean that literally. But still, it is nice to see you have so much fun. It's nice to get out every once and a while, isn't it?"
"Only once and a while." Futaba said quickly. She had completely forgotten about the fact the number of people worried her. "You looked just as wary as I did when we got here!"
"Eheh…" Hifumi let out a sheepish laugh, placing her hands in her lap. "Well, I'm not too dissimilar from you, Futaba. Prior to meeting everyone else, I didn't go out much or talk to people. I only played shogi at church and competitively when I needed to. Other than that, the only times I talked were to be nice to fans, at school, or during matches."
"You really like shogi, huh?" Futaba asked.
"Mhm." Hifumi nodded. "It means the world to me. It was the only thing I did at the time as well. But it somehow led to me being right here with everyone else. I suppose I have Ann to thank for dragging me along with her that day, and Ren and Ryuji for backing her up. I wouldn't be here now if not for them. Ah, but that's enough about that. You should go into the water! It's quite nice."
"I guess we are pretty similar then. I was a bit worried, everyone's so outgoing, it's a little exhausting at times! But I'm glad there's someone else here who knows how to take it easy." Futaba nodded quickly. "You better not sit down for too long! We're burying you in sand next." Futaba poked her tongue out and scurried off.
Hifumi blinked, not really having the time to reply to Futaba's words before she ran off. "W-Wait, huh…!?" Well, that was going to be a lot of sand to deal with later, again…but that was fine. Hifumi watched with a smile as Futaba went off to enjoy herself. She ended the conversation quickly since it was hard to talk about herself without mentioning her mother, and she didn't want to do that for her own sake, and it would feel a bit unfair to talk about her mom to Futaba. Hifumi began staring off into space for a few moments, interrupted only by a soda can being held in front of her face. "Huh?"
"Taking a break?" Ann asked, sitting next to Hifumi.
"Yeah," Hifumi nodded, taking the soda can. It was refreshing. "Everyone's having so much fun; it's nice to see them all like this." Her gaze then went towards Yusuke, who built a rather intricate sand castle that was catching a lot of attention. "…" She wasn't going to say anything about how odd it looked and just left it alone.
"I'm glad to see you having fun too!" Ann playfully nudged Hifumi with her elbow. "I'm glad your mom actually let you come with us today."
"Me too." Hifumi puffed her chest out. "I stared her in the face and demanded I be allowed to come! And then I realized it was a bit rude, so I asked politely. She was perfectly fine with it, surprisingly."
"Do you think things are improving with her…?" Ann did have to ask.
"It is hard to say. But I was able to convince her all on my own, without my father's aid." Hifumi's gaze turned upwards into the clear sky. "So perhaps she is starting to listen to me. It is a long road yet, however if things proceed at this pace…"
"You think she'll like me at some point?" Ann teased.
"I wish." Hifumi managed a small smile. "She still seems to think you all are a bad influence on me, since she does not like my slight attitude changes since I became friends with you all. But she did say she trusted all of you with my wellbeing. So after today, I'm certain she will not be able to help the shift in approval!"
Ann giggled in response. "Then I guess we have nothing to worry about."
Hifumi's gaze returned to Ann, softening slightly with a nod. "Mhm. I know this may be sudden, but I am very grateful for what you did all that time ago. I've said this before, I know…but I believe it bears repeating. I have been having a grand time being your friend, and a member of…" She glanced around, just to make sure nobody was listening. She just decided to play it safe, just in case. "You know."
Ann twirled one of her twintails, just giving Hifumi a smile brighter than the sun. "I'm glad I pulled you along too!"
Hifumi paused. At this moment she wasn't sure at all what to say. The way Ann smiled totally got to her. It was an infectious smile and all Hifumi could do was return it. "Mhm!"
"Oh! Before I forget…" Ann reached out into her nearby bag to pull out her phone. She had been taking pictures all day and got a few good ones. "Come on, let's take a picture!"
"R-Right now?" Hifumi fumbled with the soda can in her hands. She took one quick sip of her drink before setting it down. "Should I make a pose?" The part of her that was somewhat of a model came out. That blame lied with what her Mother and Mika.
Ann shook her head and laughed a bit, scooting closer while lifting her phone up for a better angle to capture the two of them. "You don't have to, just relax!"
"O-Okay." Hifumi nodded slowly and stared up at Ann's phone. She wasn't really sure what to do, so she just gave a soft smile to the camera, while Ann used her free hand to give a peace sign.
"Annd…." Click! Ann snapped the picture and it came out perfectly. "It looks great!"
Hifumi looked at the picture, a pink tint dusting her cheeks. "Can you send that to me later?"
"Of course!" Ann nodded and set her phone down in her bag again. "I'll do it when we get back. But I think your break has lasted long enough. Back into the water with you!"
Before Hifumi could reply, Ann had already taken her by the hand and started pulling her to the water. It was very reminiscent of how they first met, but it was clearly more insistent than before, since they were friends. "W-Wait, my soda…!" Hifumi pleaded for Ann to slow down, but it was too late. Before she knew it, she was back in the water, splashing it up with Ann and Makoto, laughing all the while.
.
.
The day at the beach was slowly coming to an end. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky a nice orange. Many other people already cleared out for the day as well. Futaba stood out by the water's edge, staring into the sunset while the others sat around. "We should probably start heading home." Makoto said.
"Agreed. Let's pack up." Yusuke nodded.
"Futaba seemed fine in the crowd too. It looks like all the exercise helped." Ann smiled.
"Yo, Futaba. We're about to head home." Ryuji told Futaba. In response, Futaba just crouched down into her usual sitting position, which caught the others by surprise. So they went and approached her.
"Is everything alright?" Ren asked.
Futaba was silent at first, before replying. "You know…all this time, I thought it was my fault that my mom died. It's because everyone said I killed her and they were looking at me like a murderer. I started hating this world and shut my ears…"
"Mm…" That was the only response Hifumi could muster. Those people put Futaba through such a terrible ordeal.
"I wished…I wished my mom would come back to life." Futaba continued. "Sometimes, I'd wake up and think it was all a dream. But then nothing had changed in the world, so that's why I went back to sleep. It'd just be a repeat of that." Nobody could really say anything to this, so they just let her talk. "I loved my mom. I wanted to become like her. How she'd work late into the night, how'd she wake up early and make boxed lunch every day. How she'd do her best to further her research. How she'd scold me for peeking at her notes."
"It was cognitive psience, wasn't it?" Makoto asked.
"The cognitive world can become distorted through desire." Futaba said while turning around, facing the others. "If it becomes distorted, a person begins exhibiting problematic behavior in reality. The cognitive world disappears when you remove its core, and further problematic actions stop."
"Problematic behavior…" Hifumi thought to herself.
"Isn't that about Palaces?" Ann's eyes were wide.
"That's the Metaverse!" Morgana said. "She knew about that!?"
"It made no sense to me back then," Futaba admitted. "But I understand now since it happened to me. All I thought about my mom. I was trapped in a cognitive labyrinth. I couldn't get out of it, there was nothing I could do myself."
"And that's why you asked us to steal your heart? That's a huge jump in logic in so many ways!" Ryuji pointed out and he was right. It was a drastic leap.
"At first I didn't believe in the Phantom Thieves, that they steal hearts. But then I overheard you guys and learned that you were near me. I was so happy I jumped up and down in joy…" Futaba said.
"…Why were you listening in at Leblanc anyway?" Yusuke asked.
"I had to make sure Sojiro was actually working." Futaba explained. "I also had two reasons for reaching out to the Phantom Thieves. First was Medjed, they Phantom Thieves were so pathetic and I couldn't stand by and watch it."
"Indeed, you were our only hope." Yusuke nodded.
"The second was Sojiro. He was being threatened to spill the beans about my mom. They were going to make up lies like abuse and neglect…" Futaba frowned at the thought. Sojiro was nothing but good to her. "It made me sad…"
"….." Makoto sighed silently. She had a strong idea of who the one responsible was, but again, she couldn't exactly prove it.
"I didn't think you guys would be taking such risks for me. I didn't think you'd worry about me so much. I'm sorry I doubted you guys." Futaba smiled.
"Do you believe in us now?" Ann asked.
"Yeah, I can tell you guys aren't half bad." Futaba joked. "That's why I have a request. Let me join your team."
"You're already a part of the team." Ren said with a slight smile.
That was good news. "I'll be honest, changing hearts isn't my goal. I want to find out who killed my mom."
"Killed?" Hifumi placed her hand over her mouth.
"It was written in her notes." Futaba began. "If the self in the cognitive world is killed, then the self in reality will lose consciousness."
"I…Is that about the Mental Shutdowns?" Ryuji asked.
"Then the criminal that Kaneshiro mentioned…" Yusuke started.
"Is it as I thought?" Hifumi crossed her arms. "It's looking highly likely that the person Kaneshiro mentioned and the one responsible for the death of Futaba's mother are the same person…"
"I don't like pursuing that line of thought, but perhaps your mother's shadow was…" Makoto trailed off.
"I don't know for sure. That's why I had to look into it." Futaba responded. "Right before my mother died, she didn't seem right. She wouldn't answer when I tried to talk to her, and she didn't jump into the road, it was more like she fell in. That's when I started wondering if her research was real. I read books, checked theses that were released online. I even snuck into the networks of various research labs."
"No you're good at hacking." Ren rubbed the back of his neck.
"She was killed by someone and they acted like her research never existed." Futaba was certain about this. I bet it's them, the adults in black suits who read the fake suicide note. I'll never forgive them! It's a super personal reason why I wanna join you. Is that okay? Or would I just be dead weight?"
"If anything you're dependable. Way more than Mona over there." Ryuji said causally.
"Hey, what are you trying to say!?" Morgana turned to Ryuji. "Are you trying to say I'm inadequate!?"
"Well, she was way more useful than you, as a matter of fact." Ryuji said smugly.
"WHAT!?" Morgana took instant offense and turned, back arching as he nearly hissed at Ryuji. That's inexcusable!"
"Oh cut that crap out!" Ryuji scoffed. "You've been raggin' on me since day 1! Don't throw a hissy fit since I'm returnin' the favor!"
"You don't have the right to call me useless!" Morgana hissed.
"Oh yeah, so where do you get off yellin' that at me the whole time!?" Ryuji shot back. "You couldn't even help us when we needed it! Plus how can you call me useless when my Persona got super powered up and yours hasn't? I think it's only fair I get to give you some shit too! Or maybe you just can't take what you dish out!"
"It's called dumb luck and you're the stupidest of them all!" Morgana continued to hiss.
Hifumi had to step between the two before this argument escalated anymore. "Alright, that's enough you two." They were annoying her and Shogi mode came out, so the clear demand in her tone diffused the situation for the time being. But Ryuji and Morgana were giving each other the evil eye; clearly Hifumi stopped them before they could say anything even worse to each other.
Makoto pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is what our Phantom Thieves are like. But I hope we can get along, Futaba."
"Setting aside those two for now…" Ann gestured to the grumpy Ryuji and Morgana. "We should decide on Futaba's code name!"
"Code name?" Futaba blinked.
"It's not cool to call each other by our real names in the Metaverse." Ann said.
"Joker, Skull, Mona, Panther, Queen, Dragon…" Yusuke went down the line. "And I'm Fox. As for yours…PC?"
"No." Futaba shook her head. Strike one.
"How about we go literal and call her Goggles?" Morgana snickered.
"Terrible. You have no taste, kitty." Strike two. Futaba wasn't going for it.
"…Pharaoh?" Ren thought that was fitting enough.
Strike three, they're out. "I'll curse you." Futaba shook her head. Nothing they suggested worked for her.
"Okay, so what do you want to be then?" Makoto asked.
Futaba pondered for a moment. "Hmmm…Oracle. With my vision, I'll guide you to victory."
"Then that's settled! Welcome to the team, Oracle." Ryuji grinned.
With that settled… "But man, I never thought the rumored Phantom Thieves were so close!" Futaba was beaming.
"Same goes to you. To think you'd be the daughter of a Metaverse researcher. Talk about a mysterious fate…" Morgana really couldn't believe it. What a strange twist of fate that came their way…
"I believe we can talk more about this later. We should be heading home now." Hifumi said.
"Yes. Let's head home for now. We can resume our work later." Makoto agreed. It was time to go back home. Today was a resounding success and the best day of summer yet.
.
.
The SIU Director was standing in front of his window, on the phone with a pleased grin. "Yes…the incident with Medjed has been more effective than predicted. This should spur the Phantom Thieves support even more now. …I agree. There are effective ways to use the Phantom Thieves. Now would be the best time to dispose of unnecessary trash, whether they're connected to us or not…"
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Date: ?
"Ngh…" Ren shook his head. Recalling this story to Sae was difficult, if only because he was still feeling the effects of what the police had done to him. But he remained focused.
"So the Phantom Thieves only stole the hart of Futaba Sakura," Sae surmised from what she was told. "And Medjed in turn was defeated by her real life hacking abilities? This does correlate to the facts as we know it…if he's telling the truth that means Wakaba Isshiki didn't commit suicide…did a third party target her life with the goal of destroying her research?" Sae was going on a quiet tangent, but Ren was listening to her. "Wakba's death was two years ago…that also coincides with when the incidents started occurring…"
"…" Ren said nothing. He was telling the truth. The truth was his only way to convince Sae.
Sae turned back to Ren. "Earlier, I briefly mentioned about those psychotic breakdown incidents that have alarmed the public. All of a sudden, people will lose consciousness or become violent. A situation as incomprehensible as that cannot be explained away as 'troubled social conditions". The method involved always muddled the explication, but your story has virtually confirmed its viability. Although I wouldn't have expected a new criminal to come to light from your testimony. What did your group think of this other Metaverse user?"
"We thought he was the true culprit." Ren said.
"How self-centered of you." Sae had to hold back from scoffing. "The Phantom Thieves tamper with people's hearts without asking consent. How is that different?"
"…" Ren said nothing. Not because he didn't have a response, but because he didn't have the time to try and explain. As of right now, the Phantom Thieves were the villains. He was already making his case right now and he felt it was slowly working. He just had to keep this pace…
"Are those incidents because of you or someone else? Either way, I will get to the bottom of this." Sae was determined of this. "Now, let's move onto your next target…" Sae opened her case file again, showing a picture of the man who was targeted by the Phantom Thieves after Medjed's defeat. "Kunikazi Okumura. You should know who he is, considering what happened. Your testimony regarding this incident will be serious. I'm sure you understand why. Answer my next question carefully. What did you do to Okumura?"
Right. This incident. The incident that started all of this…Ren stared at the image of Okumura and let out a quiet sigh. "This is what happened…"