There is no coherent thought that enters Akira's mind, just the sharp trill of panic.
He opens his mouth to scream and feels the rush of dirty water flow into him. Air bubbles burst from him, and he thrashes his limbs, desperate, and starts to ascend.
His glasses stick to his face, held by the water's pressure. Dark shapes swivel past him. Ahead, he can see faint, wavering lights. He throws his hands, pushes and pulls against the prison he's found himself in. Another box, but this one so much worse.
Then, he breaks the surface. He stretches his mouth back, but his limbs give out and his head drops below the surface once more. Adrenaline pumps, and he thrusts his head clear once more. He spits out a mouthful of water, then gulps some air. The lights overhead resolve into the Tokyo skyline, reflected across the Bay.
The Bay.
The Bay.
The Bay.
The words blink through his mind, as if waiting for some additional input.
Then, he remembers.
Everyone.
He spins around, rolls around in the water, eyes wide. "Guys!" He screams, throat raw from the water and desperate breaths. "Guys!" His chest feels like it's been stabbed. "Ryuji," he calls. "Morgana!" His voice cracks.
A blonde head bursts from the water. It tilts back and sucks in air. "What the fuck!" Ann screams. "What the fuck!" Her head whips from side to side, hair sticking to it, eyes wide. "Akira," She sobs when she sees him.
He treads water towards her, reaching. Her hand finds his and they pull themselves together. "What's-" She starts.
"Sssshhiiiiittttt," comes a loud cry, and they turn to find Ryuji emerging a few feet away. He takes a large breath of air and heaves himself backwards. Then they see the shape in his arms.
"Yusuke," Ann screams, and breaks away from Akira to swim over. Akira follows.
"Saw him," Ryuji gasps, from his position, practically floating on his back. Water trails across his face. "Sinking. Grabbed and kicked. Would've missed him."
Akira and Ann both grab ahold of Yusuke and help lift him. Akira's hands flop their way to his face, and he holds them over his nose and mouth. "He's breathing," Akira says. He grabs his shoulders and gives him a faint shake. "Yusuke? Yusuke, you okay?"
The boy's eyes flutter. "Wha-"
"Yusuke?" Ann asks.
"What happened?" Yusuke moans. His lids pull back and he stares out. Akira can almost see the panic seize him as he starts to thrash. "What happened?"
"Relax, dude," Ryuji shouts. "Don't freak out!"
Ann's hand grabs Akira's shoulder. "Where's Haru?"
"Where's Morgana?" Akira asks, and spins around in place.
The chemicals race through him. We're in water. We were in the Palace. The car. He looks out across the water. They're still below. Akira swims a bit away from the others and takes a few deep breaths.
"What're you doing?" Ann asks.
"They're still down there," Akira replies, and takes a few more.
"You can't-" She starts, but then a hand breaks through the water.
It holds a small, shivering Morgana aloft. A moment later, Haru's head pops up, eyes squeezed tight, lips sealed together. In the air, her mouth opens and she takes another gasp before falling back under.
"Guys," Akira cries, swimming towards them. He reaches out and grabs Morgana, who continues to tremble, but doesn't go back under. Then Haru is able to break free again.
"What's going on?" She asks, miserably.
"I don't know," Akira replies, even though a part of him is relatively sure he does know. He looks around.
Everyone's here.
"What'd we do?" Ryuji calls, head full above water now, having let Yusuke tread water on his own.
Akira takes in their surroundings. They're not far from a dock that extends out into the water, but it's too high off the surface to climb onto. "Swim to shore," he replies. "Everyone stay together."
His limbs scream at him, and part of him wants to shut his eyes and go to sleep, but he knows if he gives in, he'll drown, so he keeps going. It's slow going, as he's barely got any energy left and he's clutching Morgana to his side, careful to keep the cat's face above water.
There's a spot further up the shore that's absent any buildings. He aims for it, and directs the others towards it as well. It's a small wall that looks easily scalable enough, and he doesn't see any sign of people around.
He hefts Morgana up onto the surface first, and the cat rolls onto his side with a low groan. The wall only comes up to his shoulders, so it's easy enough to leverage himself up onto the solid surface. He wants to drop back and sprawl out, but he can't. He spins himself around and reaches out. Haru is the first to reach him, and he helps pull her up, and the both of them work to get the last three Thieves safely ashore.
The six of them lay there for a short while, trembling, coughing, and groaning.
Finally, Ryuji pushes himself up until he's sitting and asks, "What the hell happened?"
Akira shuts his eyes and squeezes them together as tight as he can.
"Did anyone see anything?" He asks. "Anything at all?"
"When?" Yusuke asks.
"When we were leaving the Palace."
Ann shakes her head and rolls onto her side. "No. We were running, and then I pulled out my phone and-"
Akira's hand shoots to his pocket. He feels the hard outline of his phone. He pulls it free and stares at it. He can tell, just from a glance alone, that it's broken. He pats himself until he finds the burner, and sees that it's the same.
"Is anyone's phone working?" He asks.
One by one, the Thieves report back negative. They've all managed to hang onto their phones, but all of them are soaked to the point that they're broken.
"This doesn't make sense," Ryuji says. "The car was at the warehouse. How'd we end up here?"
Haru hacks out a few coughs. Ann pats her back and says, "We couldn't have come out anywhere but by the Palace. Right?"
Haru's eyes widen. She looks out at the Bay. "Then, that would mean..."
"The car is in the water," Morgana manages. The others look to him.
"Dude!" Ryuji calls, dragging himself towards the cat. "You okay?"
"I'm-" Morgana starts, then hunches his back and spits out a thin trail of water. "Fine. Just, wet."
"I-I," Yusuke begins, his voice trembling. "Was under the i-impression th-th-that the car was broken."
No one says anything. Morgana lifts his head and turns his face in a slow roll over their eyes. "I did what I was supposed to do!" He protests. "I-I cut the stupid wires and everything!"
Ann starts to say something, but then Haru gasps.
"Rin!" She cries. Her hands grip one another, tight. "If his car is in the Bay, then-"
"No," Akira tells her. "No, he should still be with Iwai."
"How do we know that?" Ann asks.
Akira frowns. We don't. He has no idea why the car is in the Bay. Something must've gone wrong. If Sugimura had been in the car when it went into the Bay, then, well, he'd still be in there.
Is there a chance, his brain asks, that someone knew we were in there, and tried to kill us?
But how? Sugimura should've only seen the Calling Card for a few moments before getting knocked out. And if he had gotten away from Iwai, why would he think to sink his own car to get rid of the Thieves? It wasn't as if he'd know about Palaces.
"We don't know anything," Akira says. "We don't know what happened. We don't where Iwai is, or where Sugimura is. And since our phones are broken, we can't call anyone to ask." He looks over at the darkened buildings. "We're somewhere in the Tokyo Bay area. We need to get up, get out of here, and regroup."
"I-I-I," Yusuke starts. "Would request someplace, warm."
Akira pulls the dark sweatshirt off, over his head. He wrings it out. "Get your stuff dry," he says. "We're going to look real weird, walking around, soaking wet."
"Yeah," Ryuji says, and begins to squirm around on the ground.
"What're you doing?" Ann asks.
"Takin' my pants off," Ryuji replies.
"Don't do that here!"
"Where the hell else am I supposed to do it?"
"Guys," Akira says, and begins to unzip his own pants. "Look, just turn away from one another, okay? Do it quick, and get dressed again."
"You can't expect Haru and me to do that-"
"I said we'd turn around," Akira replies. "C'mon Ann, we're not going to sneak a peek. I swear."
"It's fine," Haru says, her words barely audible. "If this is what we have to do."
Akira slides out of his pants and does his best to wring them out. Ryuji does the same next to him. A moment later, he sees Yusuke struggling to pull his own bulky clothes off himself. Once Akira is done, he goes over to help him. "It's still summer, so they should get... well, not dry, but at least not soaking by the time we get back. Try to look normal."
"Right," Ann says, and Akira hears something that sounds like her clothes rustling. "Five wet teenagers and a waterlogged cat walking around. How hard could it be to look normal?"
She's just scared, Akira tells himself. He allows himself a small smile. So am I. "We'll head to LeBlanc. Once we're there, we'll figure out a way to communicate with Iwai." He turns to Ryuji. "Please tell me you've still got your MetroPass."
"Yep," Ryuji says, and reaches down and pulls it from his sock. "This should get us back alright, but we'll stand out on the train. Should we split up?"
Akira shakes his head. "No. Well, yes. We should. But none of us can communicate with one another. We should stick together for now, even if it does look worse." He casts a worries glance at Yusuke, who continues to shiver. "You okay?"
"I'll manage," Yusuke says, and begins to rub his arms. "Shall we be off?"
Akira searches his mind. I'm afraid I've forgotten something. No, I know I've forgotten something, but there's nothing for it now. We've just go to go and hope there was no one in that car. He looks up at the sky, the lights from Tokyo blotting out any stars. Iwai's gonna be pissed.
#
Iwai is pissed.
Not only has he had to staunch his own bleeding while he makes his way down the streets of Tokyo, drawing as little attention to himself as possible.
Not only has he still not heard from Akira as he mulls over how completely this plan has gone to shit.
But now, as he shoves open the door of the only Doc in the Box he can think to visit, screeching guitars cauterize his eardrums. He scowls and tries to cover them with his hands, which only makes his shoulder throb in pain.
"Fuck," he growls.
The music cuts out. "Excuse me?" Comes a voice.
He hears the clacking of heels against the floor, and looks up into the eyes of Tae Takemi as she opens the door to her waiting area.
When she sees him standing there, a few looks cross her face. Surprise, anger, then just plain annoyance. "What'd you want?" She asks.
Iwai smirks, and moves his hand away from his shoulder, showing her the blood. "Could use some help."
"My God," she says, and rushes over to him. "What happened to you?"
"I got cut."
"I can see that," she snaps. "I'm asking what happened."
"I got cut."
She halts for all of a second, then lets out a long sigh, and helps him further inside. "This'll be fun."
"You've no idea," Iwai mumbles, as she leads him into a room.
#
Makoto stares at the clock. Then she takes out her phone and glances at the time, as if it could somehow be different. She looks out the window and sees the fading light of dusk.
This is taking too long, she thinks. They should've been back by now.
But, was that true? Makoto has no idea how long it takes to 'steal a heart,' or 'infiltrate a Palace,' and since the Phantom Thieves were doing it all in one night, she figures it might take awhile.
Still, it'd been hours since Yusuke and Haru had left the restaurant.
Had something gone wrong?
Makoto takes out her phone and sends a text.
MAKOTO: Haru, are you there?
She sets the phone down on the table, waiting for the '...' symbol to pop up. A minute goes by, and nothing. She knows there's a good reason for this. They might still be in the Palace. They might be sneaking back to LeBlanc. She might not have heard or felt her phone vibrate.
Still.
She sends another text.
MAKOTO: Akira, are you available to talk?
Again, no response.
She considers busywork. She's finished her homework, and reviewed her test prep books already. She could go over them again. It never hurt to do so. Even as she entertains the thought, she knows it won't happen. She won't be able to summon the will to focus on those tasks.
She waits a few more minutes before she stands up, slides her phone into her pocket and stomps off to her room. "Screw it," she mutters as she snatches up her bag. She's not going to wait around for their call.
She hears the apartment door open and close once more. Curious, she steps out into the living room, and comes face to face with Sae.
"Oh," Makoto says. "Hi, Sis. I haven't seen you in a while."
"I've been busy at the office," Sae counters, arms crossed. Her stare is hard.
"Sorry," Makoto replies, and makes to move around her. "I've got to get going and-"
"Where are you going?" She asks.
Makoto looks up at her. "Um, well, I-" A part of her tells her to lie, but for whatever reason, the words don't come. Just tell her you're going to study, her mind tells her. But when she opens her mouth to repeat the instructions, the words don't come.
Sae shifts her weight to one leg and peers down at the couch, as if inspecting it for discrepancies. "I had an interesting visitor the other day."
"Oh?" Makoto asks.
Sae nods, and snaps her gaze back to Makoto so quickly that the latter flinches. "Officer Hideotoshi Kagawa. Would you care to guess what we discussed?"
Makoto's throat tries to swallow, but spasms out and fails.
"I have tried," Sae continues. "Very hard to give you the benefit of the doubt." Her tone is low and hollow, like a surgeon explaining an open wound. "I thought your little escapades of the last few weeks would've died down. I thought you would've come to your senses. I thought you were smarter than this."
"Sis, I don't know-"
"Akira Kurusu," Sae says, taking a step towards her. "Haru Okumura. Rin Sugimura. I went out of my way to resolve those situations for you, and you somehow managed to find yourself right back in the middle of them!"
Makoto shakes her head as Sae continues her advance. "You don't understand, Haru was-"
"I don't want to hear this, Makoto. I told you to stay out of all that. To focus on yourself. Your studies, your college entrance exams, everything."
Makoto spreads her hands, desperate. "Haru's my friend, Sae. I couldn't just-"
"You didn't even know this girl until, what, a handful of weeks ago? A few weeks of friendship and you summon the police to intervene on her behalf? Do you realize what could've happened?"
Makoto slinks back. She remembers Kagawa's words of warning back during that initial meeting. "I didn't think-"
"And that's the problem," Sae snaps. "You don't think, Makoto. The real world isn't like your stupid Student Council. It has consequences. You can't just act like it doesn't. You can't just make other people's problems your own and-"
"She's my friend," Makoto insists.
"Until when? Until you go to separate universities and stop talking to one another? Until you need something from her and she's nowhere to be found? You think something like that lasts, Makoto? It doesn't. It never does. But people like the Sugimura's don't forget. Pushing like this is a good way of getting them to-"
"He was hurting her!"
"I don't care," Sae shouts. She closes the remaining distance and grabs Makoto by the shoulders. "I don't care about that, don't you get that? That isn't our problem. The only one, the only one who cares about you is me. I'm the one who knows what the world will really do to you, if you let it. Not this heiress friend of yours, not Akira Kurusu. Me."
"Stop it," Makoto mumbles. "You're a prosecutor, don't you care about justice and-"
Sae spits out a laugh. It is a horrid sound. "Justice? You think that's a real thing? That's an idea. It's a concept. Maybe it meant something once. But now it's got no bearing on real life. It's-"
Makoto struggles in her sister's grasp. "Dad believed in it!"
"And look where that got him! It killed him, Makoto."
She shakes her head. "What're you talking about? It was an accident and-"
Sae's hand finds her cheek. It's not a slap, but her hand is firm against her face. "Makoto, tell me you're not naive enough to think that. Tell me you don't honestly believe Dad died from a drugged up truck driver."
"What're you talking about, Sae?"
"Think!" She demands. "Think! They threatened him. They wanted him to stop digging into them, and when he didn't, they killed him!"
"Who?" Makoto screams.
"Them," Sae shouts and waves at the wall with one hand. Then, the air seems to leave her. "Them," she repeats, only she doesn't seem as sure anymore.
"Sae," Makoto says. "You think Dad was murdered?"
"I-" Sae begins. She blinks, staring at the ground. "I don't know. Yes. I mean, he had to be, right?" She looks up and Makoto can only just stifle her gasp. Her sister's eyes bore into her, exhausted and pleading. "They had to have killed him. They had to. Because, if they didn't... if they didn't, it's just not fair."
Makoto's mouth works in slow circles, but no sounds emerge. Her mind instantly rejects this premise. Dad got hit by a truck. It was an accident. The truck driver couldn't even remember doing the deed. Her father had been a police officer, there had been a full investigation.
Sae stares at her, as if waiting for a response, a confirmation, anything. When nothing comes, Sae's face stiffens. She straightens, and removes her hands from Makoto's shoulders. "You need to focus on yourself. Your studies. Your activities. You don't have the time for anything else, or anyone else." Makoto opens her mouth to respond, and Sae steps in once more. "You're not going to see Akira Kurusu again. You're done with Haru Okumura as well. The both of them."
"You can't do that."
Sae's hand snaps up, and wraps around the collar of Makoto's shirt. "Yes, I can. And you're going to listen to me. Because I don't care about what they say to you. I'm the one that truly cares about you. I know what's best."
"Sae, stop," Makoto says, trying to pry herself from her sister's grasp. "That hurts."
"Tell me you won't see them again."
"Sae, stop it."
"Say it," Sae demands.
"Get off," Makoto replies, and shoves her hands out. They connect with Sae's chest, and her sister stumbles backwards, trips, then manages to throw her arms out and catch herself on the kitchen table.
The two stare at one another, both wide-eyed.
Both knowing things had just changed.
Makoto's heart hammers in her chest like an engine.
"I'm going now," Makoto says, shouldering her bag. "I'm going to find my friend. I'm sorry you don't approve of that."
Sae lifts herself up, her face ice. Then, she shrugs. "Do what you want." The words are dismissive, but Makoto knows this isn't over.
"Sae, I-"
"Go, Makoto. Just, go."
Makoto does. She walks out the door, doesn't look back, and waits until the doors have closed on the elevator to lean against the wall and shake.
One thing at a time, she tells herself. One thing at a time. She doesn't want to think about the implications of what Sae had said. She doesn't want to think about how Sae's last words had the edge of finality around them.
The elevator doors open, and Makoto rushes out into the lobby.
##
A/N: So, this was originally part of a much longer chapter. Easily the longest Crimson chapter so far. However, because the middle section falls apart, I realized I needed to edit it some more. So, I figured I'd just break off the beginning section and upload that, as I didn't want to leave you guys in suspense for any longer than necessary.
Thanks for reading, and the rest of 6-18 should be up soon!