"We should head over there," Makoto declares.

"Over where?" Akira asks.

"Sugimura's," she replies, and whips out her phone. "It can't be that hard to figure out where he lives."

Akira tries to find a nicer way to say what he wants, but can't. "That's not a good idea."

She shoots him a glare. "We go over there, and we tell him to give her back!"

Akira shakes his head. "Think, Makoto. You know that won't work. What if he has her stashed somewhere else? Plus, if he knows we're onto him, he might do something worse."

Makoto deflates at this, but perks up a moment later. "Then we go to her father. The Okumuras would be very interested to know that their daughter has been kidnapped."

"But we don't have any evidence of that. Plus, hasn't she been away from home, for like, days now?"

Makoto spits out a, "What'd you-"

Akira stops her by taking her by the shoulders. "You're freaking out, Makoto. I get it. I'm scared too. But we need to think. Haru said her father didn't care about her. Going to him could backfire in ten different ways."

Makoto shrinks once more. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

Akira feels a pang in his chest. He doesn't know.

He has no idea how to find Haru, or Sugimura. He has no idea how to get Haru out of the situation. No idea how to get into the guy's Palace. Nothing.

If Sugimura really took Haru, and Akira has no reason to believe otherwise, he doesn't know what he can do.

Makoto scowls. "We should get out there. Get looking! Try to find-"

"Ann's at Rafflesia," Akira reminds her. "And we sent Ryuji and Morgana to Shujin, even though it's Sunday, and Yusuke is making the rounds at the little cafes and restaurants you mentioned she might head to." He frowns. "I think, for now, waiting here might be the best idea."

They stand outside Makoto's apartment. Officer Kagawa is just inside the turnstile, speaking on his phone.

Despite the man's outward calm, Akira can see he looks worried.

The question, he thinks, is if he'll actually help us.

If the Sugimuras are really that influential, this cop might decide it's in his best interests not to get involved.

As if summoned, Officer Kagawa hangs up his phone, and steps out of the building, a halting smile on his face. "Alright, here's the deal," he says. "I put in a call to the station. It's nothing official, as it can't be, yet. But I've got a few plainclothes heading over to the Sugimura household, just to do a pass by." He nods at Makoto. "And, I've spread the word to keep an eye out for his car. We've got his plates and a description. Shouldn't be too hard to find, given you told me the car is a giant black limousine."

Makoto bobs her head. "Haru said he hardly leaves his house without it."

"Then it's a safe bet that if we find the car, we'll find him. The second someone sees it, I'll be the first to know. Then, I'll head over and scope it out."

"'Scope it out?'" Akira asks.

Kagawa nods. "We need to be careful with this. I know you're worried about your friend, but this isn't the time to go making wild accusations without any proof. First things first. Find Sugimura and determined in Okumura is with him."

Akira's mind races. Makoto opens her mouth to say more, but Akira takes ahold of her arm. "I think we should leave him to this, Makoto."

Makoto's head turns so fast, Akira thinks he heard a muffled crack. "You do?"

Akira glances towards the cop and gives him a small, 'Give us a second, please,' look. Then, he turns Makoto away from him, and walks her a few steps back. "Turn off your phone," he whispers.

"Huh?" She asks. "Why?"

Akira lets go of her arm, and slides his hand into the pocket of his bag, withdrawing a small item as nonchalantly as he can. "Just do it," he replies. "Trust me."

Makoto doesn't move for a moment, then holds her phone's power button down until the screen goes black.

Akira turns and walks back to Officer Kagawa. As he gets closer, he extends a hand, and makes sure to keep his other in his pocket. "Thank you for helping us, Officer Kagawa," he says. "All we want is to make sure our friend is safe."

The cop gives him a skeptical look, then extends his own hand. "Sure. No problem." They shake.

Akira lets him go and steps back.

Kagawa looks past him to Makoto. "I'll keep you up to date, alright?" He pulls his phone from his own pocket and wiggles it in the air. "You know my number, yeah?"

"I do," Makoto replies.

"Wait for my call." He looks at Akira. "Good to meet you, Kurusu. Watch her back."

Akira nods. "I will."

The big man turns and heads off down the street at a steady pace.

Makoto walks up to Akira's side. "Want to tell me what that was all about?"

Akira pulls out his own phone, and from his other pocket, removes the smaller device.

"What is that?" Makoto asks.

"Morgana calls it a hack-track," Akira says. "It's come in handy a few times. My friend gave it to me. It captures and mirrors the GPS of the closest phone when I press this little button here," and he shows her. "It's how we were able to track Yusuke's phone when you guys kidnapped Morgana."

"That wasn't a... never mind," Makoto replies. Her eyes widen. "Wait, did you just illegally hack a police officer's phone?"

Akira frowns at her. "I'm a criminal, remember? Besides, he's looking for Sugimura. If we follow him, we'll find that bastard." Akira hesitates before saying the last part. "And hopefully, Haru too."

#

The toes of her shoes drag and skip along the blacktop. The shadows hold her aloft, their thick, heavy hands gripping one arm each.

I can't get out, she thinks. I can't get out.

Dimly, she is aware of her surroundings. The hodgepodge of buildings has given way to a large, flat area marked with various symbols in white paint. Supply trucks and tanks are lined up just a short distance to her right, and she can hear the rhythmic beat of helicopter blades from somewhere, though she hasn't the strength to look up.

There are more shadows here. They stand at attention, rigid, rifles in hand, black spaces staring out of the holes within their blue masks.

In the back of her mind, Haru begins to hear music. It is the faint, upbeat, anonymous marching music one always equates with the military. A few moments pass, and Haru realizes the noise isn't in her head.

She grinds her mind back reality. There is a single, tall tower in the center of the wide-open space. Behind it, she can see an imposing building stretching four stories into the sky, rimmed by dozens of searchlights and manned by what she assumes are snipers.

The tower, however, is what draws her attention.

That is where the music comes from. A set of black speakers are attached to the roof, pointed upward, blaring the music into the sky. She can see them vibrate, ever so slightly, as the entire Palace continues its ceaseless progression through the mist outside.

The shadows halt, and drop her to the ground. She lands in a heap, and raises her gaze with enough time to see a solitary figure making its way down the steps.

This one wears a military dress of forest green. Medals are pinned on its chest, but they appear to sway and flux as the light hits them. A pistol belt is strapped along its waist. Black boots stomp down the metallic steps, and echo out onto the blacktop.

The music stops.

The figure approaches her and comes to a halt right before her.

Haru stares up into the grinning, golden eyed face of Sugimura.

"Hello, Haru," he says.

#

Sugimura stares down at the ivory tablecloth. His face aches from where Kaneshiro struck him. He tries to think, but his mind is thick with fog.

Where did she go?

He'd taken Haru. She'd been unconscious in his car. His driver knew better than to ask questions, isolated as he was before the partition. They'd driven to Kaneshiro's compound. He'd gotten out of the car. Had his little exchange with the man.

And then...

Where did she go?

Kaneshiro's man had opened the door, and found his car empty.

Maybe he'd left the door open?

But there's no way she could've snuck away. Not with all those people in the garage.

There was no explanation. There was really no explanation.

"Sir?" Asks the waiter. "May I take your order now?"

Sugimura waves him away, without bothering to look up.

"Very good, sir," the man says, and Sugimura hears him walk away.

He's a regular here, but it's not a place he generally uses to think. He has no idea where else to go.

If Father finds out about this, it'll be bad.

How could he explain this?

He frowns.

Did he need to explain this?

If Haru wasn't in his car, then there was no problem, right?

"May I take your order, sir?"

Sugimura looks up, ready to shout down the man, but sees that the waiter isn't speaking to him, but a portly man at the table next to him.

"Not right now," the big man replies. "In a few minutes, maybe."

"Very good, sir." The waiter moves away.

Sugimura notes how poorly dressed the man is, and spares a thought for the decreasing standards of the place, then turns his mind back to the problem at hand.

He lowers his gaze back to the table, then feels eyes on him. He glances up, and sees the big man at the table staring at him.

"Something wrong?" Sugimura asks.

The big man chuckles, and shrugs, then points at his own face. "Your eye," he mouths, without saying anything aloud.

Sugimura scowls. He knows he must look a sight, his face newly bruised. "Mind your business," he spits.

The man lifts his hands and pats the air, placating, and returns to his menu.

#

"That's him."

Akira follows her gaze, past the beefy shoulders of Kagawa, to the slim, sharp dressed man at the table next to him. "That's Rin Sugimura?"

Makoto nods. "I don't see Haru."

The two crouch outside the restaurant's front window, having followed Officer Kagawa at a good distance. When he had gone inside, Akira's stomach had dropped, and he feared the cop had decided now was a good time to have lunch.

"We should go in there," Makoto says, and starts to stand.

Akira puts a hand on her shoulder and lowers her back into position. "Again, bad idea. You trust Officer Kagawa, right? Let him do what he needs to do." He doesn't say, Whatever that is. He narrows his eyes, squinting through the dark glass. "Hey, doesn't he look injured?"

"Officer Kagawa?" Makoto asks.

"No, Sugimura. Look at his face." He taps his own cheek to demonstrate. "Looks like he's got a bruise or something."

A baleful smile cuts across Makoto's mouth. "I bet Haru gave that to him."

"Then where is she?"

They back away from the window, and head around the corner to the parking lot where Sugimura's car is parked. Makoto had spotted it when they arrived. The driver, a tall man with a cap and suit on, stands smoking a cigarette against the hood, oblivious to what looks like everything.

"Do you think she's in there?" He asks.

Makoto shakes her head. "If she was, that driver wouldn't just casually be sitting there. And Sugimura probably wouldn't be hanging out at a restaurant." She frowns. "But I honestly don't know."

They duck back around the corner, and hear a, "Yo!"

Ryuji, Yusuke, Ann and Morgana jog up to them. Ann doubles over and groans out, "Got your... message... did you find...Haru?"

After hacking Kagawa's phone, Akira had called everyone on the burner and instructed them to gather. He was starting to think he'd need the entire group for this.

"We don't know," Akira says. He nods back towards the restaurant. "Officer Kagawa is in there, scoping him out." He sticks his thumb towards the parking lot. "His car is over there though."

Yusuke and Morgana peer around the corner. "That's the Palace?" Morgana asks. "A car?" He looks up at Makoto, when she doesn't reply, and groans. "Can someone translate, please?"

"Mona would like to know if that is, indeed, the Palace?" Yusuke asks for him.

Makoto nods. "Haru's keyword hit."

Ryuji pulls out his phone and says, "Sugimura."

"Match Found."

"Car."

"Match Found."

He nods. "Guess that settles it."

"We can worry about the Palace later," Ann says. "Right now, we should try and find Haru."

"Yeah," Morgana says. "But how are we supposed to do that? We've got no idea where she is."

"True," Yusuke says. "Seeing as how it was only a short distance between Niijima's apartment and the cafe, it is as if Okumura just disappeared."

Akira feels his eyes widen. Oh no. He hears Ryuji groan.

The two turn to one another, both sharing the same look. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, bro?" Ryuji asks.

Akira nods. "I think I am."

"What?" Makoto asks.

Akira steals another glance around the corner. "If Haru was kidnapped by Sugimura, then she'd need to get out his car as fast as possible." It makes sense. We told her how all this worked. And Makoto hasn't been able to reach her. "So, if she had her phone, and knew two of Sugimura's three keywords, then-"

Ryuji finishes. "Then she might've guessed the third. Which means she's in that bastard's Palace. Right now."

Akira knows that might not be the case. Perhaps Haru just got cold feet about her meeting with Kagawa and ran off somewhere. Perhaps she was at her actual home, or someplace they didn't know about.

But Akira can't help shake the feeling in his gut. The more he thinks about it, the more sure he becomes.

The Thieves and Makoto are silent. Then, Ann speaks. "If that's true, if that's even close to true, we need to check it out."

Ryuji nods and says into his phone. "Garage."

"No Match Found."

"What're you doing?" Makoto asks.

"Guessing his keyword," Ryuji says. "If it works, it'll say 'Match Found' again. Uh, racetrack."

"No Match Found."

"What happens after that?" She asks. "You all can just go in?"

"We'll have to get a little closer," Akira tells her. "But yeah, that's the gist."

"Don't you have weapons?" She asks. "Supplies?"

"Yeah, the Metaverse kind of takes care of weapons," Ann replies.

"As to supplies," Akira says, and pats his bag. "I always keep some handy."

"So you're all ready to go, right now?" Makoto asks.

Akira nods.

"Then I'm coming too."

Ryuji pauses, mid-guess.

Everyone turns and stares at her.

"No you are not," Akira tells her. "No way."

"You don't have a Persona," Yusuke tells her.

"I don't care," Makoto says. "Haru's my friend, and this is my fault. I have to help make it right."

Akira glances at his friends and then takes Makoto by the arm and leads her away from them.

Ryuji goes back to guessing.

"You can't convince me otherwise."

"Makoto, like I said before, you don't know what it's like in there."

"I'm trained in self-defense. Aikido, Karate, a bunch of other things too. I can handle myself."

"Makoto, that's not-"

"Akira, please. I know it's asking a lot. But Haru needs me. She needs all of us. So, I'm coming."

Akira stares at her. He thinks about it.

He almost gives in.

Then, he says, "No fucking way."

Makoto's eyes widen. "Are you-"

"Makoto, stop," Akira states. Makoto's mouth snaps shut. "I know you want to save Haru. I know you care. We all do. But they're right. You don't have a Persona. You don't know how things work over there. We're not even sure what the Palace is. Over there, you're a liability. We can't search for and save Haru if we're too busy making sure you're safe. I won't do it, Makoto. I'm sorry, but you're not coming."

Makoto's hands ball into fists. She shuts her eyes and her face scrunches up.

Oh crap, Akira thinks. She's either gonna hit me or start crying. Oh God, what if it's both?

Makoto sucks in a deep breath and lets it out. "Damn it. You're right." Slowly, she releases her fists. "You're absolutely right. If I don't... if I'm not like you all, I can't do much over there."

Akira thinks about putting a hand on her shoulder, then decides that might be too much. "It's not like you can't help us from over here."

"What'd you mean?" She asks.

He jerks his head back towards the parking lot. "It's a car, Makoto. If that thing starts driving while we're still inside, we might pop out in the middle of a street or something. If it comes to that, you may have to find a way to distract Sugimura until we can come back out."

Makoto crosses her arms, and looks past Akira's shoulder. "That's if you manage to even get inside." Akira follows her gaze. The other Phantom Thieves are still guessing keywords, and judging by their faces, aren't having much luck.

We really need a better system for this.

"Is this seriously," Makoto asks, "how you figured out the previous keywords?"

Akira clears his throat. "Well, when I guessed Madarame's, I thought I was being pretty clever."

"What was his?"

"A factory," Akira tells her. He doesn't go into more detail. Instead, he pulls up the app on his own phone and begins to sound off as well.

"He's egotistical," Makoto says, after a time. Akira turns his gaze back to her. "He thinks he's insulated from the world. That he has protections. If he truly believes that, then maybe he thinks his Palace is the kind of place that can't be assaulted." She reaches down, takes Akira's phone from his hand and says, "Fortress."

"Match Found."

#

"You're not hurt, are you?" Sugimura asks. Haru can only stare. His eyes snap to the two Shadows that brought her. "What did you do?"

"N-Nothing," the first one bellows, as the other one points an accusing finger and shouts, "He shot at her! I told him not to, but he did it anyway!"

Sugimura sighs and shakes his head, then looks back at Haru. "You're alright, aren't you, darling?"

Haru finds herself swallowing. Sugimura stares down at her with something in his gaze, something she doesn't recognize.

Kindness?

Shadow Sugimura tuts and kneels next to her, his eyes scanning her summer clothes. "They're not ripped. You don't look like you've been hurt." He stands and regards the two soldiers. "Get out of here."

They snap their heels together and salute. "Yes, sir!" Both turn and bolt away. The remaining platoon of Shadows stays at attention.

Sugimura folds his hands behind his back and watches them scurry away. "I suppose it's better this way. You gave me quite the scare, Haru. But now you're here. Everything is better now." He smiles at her and holds out his hand.

Haru does not take it. "Wh-why are you acting this way?" She manages. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" Sugimura blinks, as if confused. "Because I love you, Haru."

Haru considers herself a grounded person, despite her wealth, but even she has had the fantasies about hearing those words.

This is not how she pictured it.

"You love me?" She asks.

"Of course I do," he replies, and chuckles a bit. "Shouldn't that be obvious? We're destined to be together after all."

Haru knows her mouth hangs open, but she can't bring herself to close it.

Sugimura shrugs. "Your father. My father. They put it all together. But so what? I still feel love for you."

The world comes crashing back into Haru. "You... you took me to a yakuza gang! You wanted to drug me up! To turn me obedient! You call that love?"

Sugimura purses his lips. "Well... yeah, of course it is."

Haru feels like she's been slapped.

"I don't want to do those things to you, Haru. But I have to. Because you won't listen. You won't obey. You're willful." He shrugs, again. The gesture feels very out of place with his military uniform. "You need to learn to respect me. To be the right kind of wife. That's why I took you to Kaneshiro. If you had just done what I'd told you to do, that wouldn't have been necessary."

"You were hurting me," she spits back at him. "You were threatening me!"

"Sometimes I find it difficult to articulate my feelings," Sugimura replies. "You can't blame me for that. Besides, you're the one who keeps making things difficult. Your father wants this. My father wants this. I want this. I think you want this too. If you'd just do what I tell you to do, life could be very easy for you. You'll be the wife of a powerful man."

"I don't..." Haru starts, then swallows. "I don't want that."

Sugimura spreads his hands, then drops them back to his sides. "That's not really your decision, is it? Your father made this call. If you disobey me, it's like you're betraying him. Would you really do that to him? Would you really be so selfish?"

Selfish?

He turns his back to her. "Maybe you don't know any better. Maybe you weren't properly raised." He adjusts his uniform. "I supposed that will be my burden to correct."

Maybe he's right, Haru thinks. Against the combined weight of her father's wishes, and those of the Sugimura family, what hope did she have? For so long she tried to keep herself away from this, to hide in the shadows, among her friends. But to what end? Here she was, back in Sugimura's clutches. The whole thing rank of inevitability. To go against father, against Sugimura, against everything? Wasn't that a true betrayal?

Who was she, after all, to defy fate?

It would be easier to just give in. To just accept it.

Besides, Sugimura liked them young. After a few years, he'd probably tire of her and have a string of affairs with younger women. He'd leave her alone.

It would be easier to just smile and accept it all.

It really would.

But a voice in her head asks, So what?

Something in her chest, shifts.

Sugimura continues to speak, his voice a hollow drone.

Haru isn't listening anymore. She isn't even looking at him. Instead, she is focused on the doppelganger of herself that kneels alongside her, wreathed in blue fire. Haru's eyes meet her double's golden copies.

This other Haru opens her mouth. "Shall we begin?"

##

A/N: Y'all know what's coming!

That being said, there might be a slight delay on Monday's chapter. The reason being that I wrapped up my finalized edits for it yesterday, and then accidentally deleted the whole thing. Sucks, right?

So, I'll have to reconstruct everything and re-edit it. I can probably get it done by Monday, I hope I can, but if I can't, then it'll be delayed until Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.

Sorry, folks.

Also, another aside. I had something planned for Makoto Niijima Week, but then that situation with my family happened and I had to put it on the back burner. So, I don't know if I'll actually get to it. I'd like to, but with this delay, it's looking less and less likely. Maybe someday, because I do like the idea.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Thank you for commenting and talking and leaving Kudos or reviews or Favs. I always appreciate them!

See you soon!