6/11
Ann keeps her eyes shut.
She can almost feel the fist cut the air, and the dull smack of contact forces her to wince. The victim's pleas become more jagged. Wetter.
"I-I'll pay, Sakoda-san."
A pause, and into that silence rushes panicked breath.
"I know," Yoshimori Sakoda replies.
Ann senses the blow, and then there's the sound.
"Ann," Morgana whispers.
She inches her eyes open. There's the concrete, still dark from the early afternoon's rain. A warm wind races down the alley, and shoots a stench up her nose. Morgana has one paw balanced against her leg.
"We can go," he says. He doesn't need to say more. What more is there to confirm? Yoshimori Sakoda, Daisuke Takanashi's request, is what he is.
Ann nods, but her feet don't move. She forces herself to peer around the alley's corner, careful to keep only a sliver of herself exposed.
Sakoda's back greets her, the white shirt of the Shujin uniform stained with a 'V' of sweat. At his feet is another boy. A second year, but like Maehara, Ann doesn't recognize him either.
Ryuji would, she thinks. Ryuji would know who that is.
Ryuji would also do something. Ryuji would sprint down the alley, stealth be damned. He would put himself between Yoshimora Sakoda and his victim. If he had to, he would match Sakoda's fists with his own.
Ann wonders then, if that is why Akira asked her to do this.
She knows that doing something, doing anything, would make things much more difficult. The Phantom Thieves needed to ensure none of their targets had any idea they were targets, until the last moment.
But they needed confirmation. Daisuke's word wasn't enough.
They had their proof.
"Okay," the boy on the ground shouts. "Okay! I get it! I fucked up! Please, just stop!"
Sakoda's response is to lift his foot, and stomp down on the outside of the boy's kneecap.
His victim takes in a gulp of air, eyes wide, mouth ajar, and there is a split-second of quiet that Ann waits in, knowing with sick certainty what's coming.
The boy shoots his hands to his knee, and lets out a scream of pain. It develops into words, "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"
Ann can only see so much, but it is enough.
She ducks back behind the corner, and pulls out her burner.
"What're you doing?" Morgana hisses. "We can't-" Ann isn't sure what looks she gives the cat, but whatever it is, it shuts him right up.
She dials, and brings the phone to her ear. "Hello?" She whispers. "Police?"
#
Kazuya Makigami rotates the torsion wrench. Slowly, slowly, and-
"Wow," the blonde boy exclaims. His grip slips, which unbalances the torque. The pins slide back home. He can hear them, as clear as rocks skittering across pavement. "It's pretty cool you know how to do this."
"It's my job," Kaz mutters. Then, as much as it irks him, he adds, "Sir."
Company logic dictates 'The Customer is Always Right!' In Kaz's experience, 'The Customer is Always a Fucking Moron.'
He removes his wrench and rolls his shoulder. It's begun to cramp. This is the third time the kid has interrupted.
"If you don't mind," Kaz says, and tries to make his voice sound bright and cheery. "Silence will get me to work faster, and I can be out of your hair in a jiff."
In a jiff?
He wants to take the torsion and jab it into his eye. Better yet, he'd rather stick it into the cornea of the blonde kid. Some four-eyed asshole stands behind them both, dicking around on his phone. That one hasn't said a thing, but Kaz would like to stab his jugular just the same.
He knows they think he's a loser. Eighteen, nineteen years old. Dressed in this stupid uniform. Picking the locks of houses and apartments because people were dumb enough to lose their keys.
"Oh, right," the kid replies. He pats the air, as if to placate him. "Sorry, sorry."
Kaz turns back to the lock. He re-inserts the wrench. Click. Click. Click. Click. One by one, the pins latch into place, and then he's turning the wrench.
Slowly, slowly, and slowly, and-
There.
The lock clicks open.
"Alright!" The boy says, and pumps his hand in the air.
Kaz slides the wrench back into his kit, clicks the box closed, and stands.
"The company will send you an in-voice," he tells them, and bows. He doesn't bother meeting their eyes. "Thank you for using Rokku Locksmiths."
On his walk to the street, a loose piece of concrete catches the tip of his toe, and he lurches forward, unbalanced. He doesn't trip or fall, he merely staggers, then makes himself straighter than before, and continues on.
He hears nothing behind him, but that doesn't mean they aren't laughing.
He takes his phone from his pocket, pauses long enough to compose a text, and sends it out.
KAZ: Meet up tonight at the usual place!
He needs to blow off some steam. Naoya has been talking about moving into the Kosei dorms. He says it's to 'be closer to his studies.'
Bullshit.
Still, if his brother were to fuck off to the dorms, it'd be one less thing to piss Kaz off. The idiots he kept company with did a good enough job of that.
One of his crew had heard about a good target a bit outside of Shibuya. That was probably for the best. That arm of the Dragon Syndicate, led by Kaneshiro was getting bolder and crazier by the day. They hadn't come for Kaz or any of his people yet, but a friendly little notification had been spread through the underground not too long ago.
No one screws around in Shibuya without Kaneshiro's say so.
Kaz wasn't looking to wind up part of some skyscraper's foundation. Branching out was a good move.
He keeps walking, oblivious to the two sets of eyes that watch his back, until he disappears around a corner.
#
Haru sits and listens.
"Haru, darling, I know things got heated between us the other night. But I'm sorry. You have to know that. I was never going to hurt you, but I got so worked up and worried over not knowing where you were, that I sort of lost it. Heh, sorry. I don't mean to make light of what I did. Please, just come back, okay? I miss you. Everyone's worried about you. Call me and tell me where you are, okay? Call me. Tell me where you are."
Beep.
"Next Message."
"This is getting old, Haru. It's been long enough. Maybe your family doesn't care how this will look, but mine certainly will. If you don't come out of whatever hole you're hiding in, this is going to go very, very badly, got it? Call me. Enough games. Act like an adult. Be a big girl. Call me the second you get this."
Beep.
"Next Message."
"Do you think this is a joke? Do you think this is the kind of thing you can just do? I warned you that night. I told you what would happen if you pulled this kind of shit. Stop being a fucking baby, and tell me where you are."
Beep.
"Next Message."
"Hey, Haru. Listen, I want you to ignore that last message. I didn't mean to blow up like that. But if you don't tell me where you are, things are going to get bad. So just call me, yeah? Call me and tell me where you are, and I'll come pick you up and we can pretend this whole thing never happened. We're going to be married, remember? Ha. How's it going to look if I don't know where my bride-to-be is? Right? Right? Call me."
Beep.
"Next Message."
"Cunt. Cunt. Cunt. Cunt. Cunt. Cunt. Cunt! Cunt! CUNT! CUNT! CUNT! CUNT! CUNT! CUNT!"
Beep.
"Next Message."
"Haru, seriously. Call me and-"
Haru lowers the phone. She doesn't need to listen to the next message. Or the one after it. Or the one after that. She gets the gist.
Makoto had a few errands to run in her capacity as President, so she'd left Haru in the Student Council room.
Saturday afternoon was a time students typically hung out, fresh to the weekend.
Haru was spending it hidden away from her fiancé.
Once her hands stop shaking, she opens the Nav app.
She flips through the appropriate buttons.
She recalls what Akira told them about how it worked.
A place. His Palace would be a place special to him.
For Kamoshida, it was the school.
For Madarame, it was his atelier.
For Sugimura, it would be...
"Apartment."
Nothing.
"Summer home."
Nothing.
She rattles off the name of a few brothels she knows he frequents.
Nothing.
She speaks the name of the private school he attended.
Nothing.
She goes for broader. His home district. The island on which the summer home sits. She tries for vacation spots he never shuts up about.
Nothing. Nothing. And nothing.
Haru claws through her mind. What else was there? She knows all these things about Sugimura. How could she expect the Phantom Thieves to change his heart? If she couldn't think of the keywords, how were they supposed to?
Was there any other place he liked to go? It seemed all he ever did was drive around in that stupid, oversized car of his and-
"Car," Haru says, as the door opens.
"Match Found."
Haru looks into the eyes of Makoto, who stares back at her.
"It's his car," Haru tells her. "That's his Palace."
Makoto shuts the door, and takes a seat across from her. "You used the app?"
Haru nods. "I know we promised we wouldn't. But I couldn't help it. I haven't let you listen to the messages he's left me. They're just... crazy, Mako-chan."
Her friend folds her hands together, face smooth. "You want to ask Akira and the others for help?"
She wets her lips with her tongue, and tastes a faint hint of sweat. "I don't know what else to do."
"I think I might," Makoto replies. "I finally got in contact with my father's old partner. He's still on the force. You said Sugimura left you messages? That's evidence." She allows a faint smile onto her face, one Haru doesn't share. "Sugimura may be rich, but he's very dumb. If we let my father's friend hear those messages, I'm sure he'll help."
"But-"
"This is my fault, Haru," Makoto says, smile gone. "I got too wrapped up in the hunt for the Phantom Thieves. I didn't dedicate enough time to helping you."
"Mako-chan, you're letting me live with you, and-"
"But we both know that's only a temporary solution. I think our best course of action is taking this evidence against Sugimura to my father's friend."
Haru looks down at her phone. She suspects Makoto is right.
What would happen if she asked the Phantom Thieves for help now? She knows they would help, but how long would it take?
They would still have to figure out the last keyword.
Then, they would have to figure out a way to get into the Palace. Which was a car.
Then, they'd have to fight their way through the Palace to reach the Treasure.
Then, they'd have to send a Calling Card.
Then, they'd have to get back into the Palace - which, again, was a car - and steal the Treasure.
On the phone, Sugimura sounded borderline psychotic. How long could she reasonably wait for the Phantom Thieves to complete their mission? How long could she stay holed up at Makoto's? How long before Sugimura found her again?
"Okay," she says. "Let's meet with this officer."
#
There are so many, 'That's the thing about Tokyo's,' that the phrase is little more than a cliché.
But clichés only become clichés because they're so used.
And really, that is the thing about Tokyo. It's so big and so congested and so packed with people and cars and neon and noise that you can hide just about anywhere.
Sugimura watches the two girls step onto the block. He watches walk down the sidewalk, oblivious, lost in whatever pleasant conversation they're having. He watches them enter Niijima's building.
His car is parked in an alley across the street. The black behemoth would stick out to anyone who bothered to think about it.
But hey, that's the thing about Tokyo.
At the sight of Haru, Sugimura keeps his cool.
Relatively speaking.
He doesn't bolt out of the car. He doesn't charge her. Doesn't lambast her in front of the whole world.
The Niijimas would make too much noise if he did something like that.
He has his plan.
The little bitch thinks she can just wander off and disrespect him?
He'll show her.
He'll show everyone.
Soon enough, Haru Okumura will be the pliable, obedient little wife he was promised.
#
Akira spins the lock pick between his fingers.
One, two, three, he thinks, as it weaves. One, two-
On the last bit, it slips and clatters to the floor. He leans forward and snatches it back up.
"So yeah," Ann continues. "After I called the police, we took off. I hope that kid was okay."
"I dunno," Morgana mutters, from where he sits in Ann's lap. "I think Sakoda really messed up his leg."
Ryuji rubs a hand over his own leg, a sour look on his face. "That sack of shit, Sakoda. If I'd been there, I would've done something."
Which is why, Akira thinks, I didn't ask you to do it.
"But we've our proof now, yes?" Yusuke asks, from where he sits on the couch. "Yoshimori Sakoda, Nozomi Odo, and Kazuya Makigami." He counts each on his fingers. "All three are guilty of the crimes accused against them."
Ryuji crosses his arms and nods. "Which means it's time for the Phantom Thieves to take 'em down!"
While they'd been in school during the day, Morgana had snuck back into Oda's office and discovered the blackmail material. Unprotected. On his desktop. In a file marked 'Blackmail.'
The cat grins. "Easiest infiltration I've ever done."
Ryuji reaches over and pats Akira on the shoulder. "And thanks to our mirroring Makigami's GPS, we can trace him to the site of every robbery his little gang of crooks committed."
Akira smiles back at his friend. In truth, he'd been hesitant to use Ryuji's address to lure Kazuya Makigami out. Pretending to have lost his keys, Ryuji had called Rokku Locksmiths and requested the thief personally, per a recommendation.
It wasn't perfect, but they had all their evidence.
Ann strokes Morgana's head. "Okay, but so what? Yeah, we got the evidence, but now we've got to get the Calling Cards and get them into their hands. Plus, weren't we going to be doing this all at once?"
He sets to spinning the lock pick through his fingers once more. "It's the best way," he says. "To ensure no one traces us to Shujin. Makigami and Odo have no connection to the school. We'll publicize those two, and help Daisuke by changing Sakoda's heart."
Which means I've got to call Ohya soon and get her the news.
Yusuke stands. "Then, I shall set about making the Cards."
"And we'll have to brainstorm how to get them to our targets," Morgana says, sticking out a paw in Akira's direction.
Ryuji shrugs. "Odo shouldn't be a problem, yeah? I mean, you can just sneak back into his office and leave it on his desk."
"Piece of cake," the cat replies.
Akira frowns. "Makigami might be harder."
Yusuke stares at the ceiling, and frowns. "Might Naoya be able to help? He could easily bring the card into his home and leave it where his brother will discover it."
Akira shakes his head. "Too risky. That would mean we'd have to send him a message, get him to come to some place with no connection to us, pick up the card, bring it back to his house, and leave it somewhere without losing it or getting caught." He shrugs. "Plus, how would it look if the Phantom Thieves asked a teenager to help plant a Calling Card?"
Ryuji and Ann glance at one another. "Uh, bro?" Ryuji asks. "We're teenagers."
Akira laughs. "Well, duh. But the rest of the world doesn't know that." The lock pick slips his grip once more. "Damn." He takes it back up. "Honestly, though? Sakoda will probably be the biggest problem."
"Why?" Ann asks. "Couldn't we just leave it somewhere for him at school?"
Akira shakes his head. "We don't want to draw any attention to Shujin, remember? We'd need to do it in a way that as few people as possible would find out. Another Calling Card showing up at Shujin would be enough, at this point, to make the news."
"His house, then?" Yusuke asks. "That's what was done with Daisuke."
"Maybe," Akira says. He starts to spin the lock pick once more. "Maybe."
He lets his thoughts drift. How are we going to do this?
##
A/N:
Hey everyone!
Happy Labor Day!
A slow chapter, but things are still trucking along!
Thanks for reading!