6-30
"But how do they know?" Ann asks.
Akira offers her a shrug. "I don't know. I really don't."
He has constructed a small fort of textbooks on his desk, behind which Morgana crouches. The cat complained it was too difficult maintaining conversations between the three of them as he always had to hide in Akira's desk. Thus, when the lunch bell rang, Akira got to work. "Where were we talking about Kaneshiro?" The cat asks.
"Where weren't we?" Akira replies. Certainly at LeBlanc, but also Shujin, the streets of Shibuya, cafes, Untouchable, and on and on. Any of these places could've been where Ali Baba overheard them. But this raised other questions. It was obvious from Ali Baba's conversation that they didn't understand everything the Phantom Thieves could do. At the least, it seemed they didn't know about the need for names and keywords. All Akira needed to do was cross-reference where they had all of their Kaneshiro-centric conversations and where talks not involving the gangster had taken place.
Yeah right.
How could he be expected to remember all that? He shakes his head. "I think we may-" he starts. He had been about to finish with 'be screwed here,' but both Morgana and Ann look at him, searching for some kind of assurance. He smiles instead. "But look, it's not all bad. Ali Baba is apparently a skilled hacker. Not a bad person to have in our corner, right? It isn't as if they're blackmailing us and-"
"They kinda are," Ann points out.
"Okay," Akira concedes. "They kinda are. But they're still getting something out of this."
"A change of heart?" Morgana asks. "We don't know anything about this person. Why would someone want to trigger a change of heart in themselves?"
"That's true," Ann says. "That's like... crazy, right? Do they know they're going to have to give us their full name and a lot more information? Hell, how do we even know they're in Japan? They could be American or Russian or Chinese."
"Or Australian," Morgana mutters.
"Or Australian," Ann agrees.
Akira ponders this. He hasn't even gotten a chance to bring up Ohya's request yet. One thing at a time, he figures. "It's true we can't confirm their ethnicity or country, though their Japanese sounded authentic. But, if they are a foreigner, would that make a difference? Mementos is a subway stop away."
"Yeah, but if they have a Palace we'd need to go there," Morgana reminds him. "If it's at some underground hacker facility in Russia or Africa, how are we supposed to get to it?"
"That..." Akira says. "Is a good point." He raises a finger. "But it's moot at the moment. It's something to consider, but there's no point in freaking out about it until we get more information. We know Ali Baba knows who we are. They know where to find us. They don't know everything, but it's enough to point the authorities in our direction. So, we're stuck. But if Ali Baba really wants us to change their heart, then we should be upfront about how we do it. Tell them we'll need their name, their location - in a general sense - and let them know if we can or can't do it. If we can't, for whatever reason, we try to part ways amicably. If we can, we leverage that to get their help against Kaneshiro."
"But what do they even know about Kaneshiro?" Ann asks. "I get that having a hacker on our side would be awesome, but how are they supposed to help us against the yakuza? It's not like they can hack the Metaverse app and get us the keywords, right?"
Akira looks at Morgana. "Could they do that?"
Morgana arches his legs into a shrug. "I've no idea. I mean, it'd be pretty badass if they could, but I'm not going to hold my breath."
Akira nods. "Plus, do we want to provide them one of our phones to do it? That would give them even more information on how we operate. So far, they've got us at a disadvantage. They know a lot more about us than we do about them. The only thing we have going for us is they've admitted they want our help." He taps his fingers on the desk. "I'll have to give them another call soon. I'd like to get this thing with Kaneshiro done as quickly as possible, but until we get those keywords, we can't do anything." He sighs. "Here's hoping Makoto had better luck with Kagawa." They haven't heard from the girl since the day before, when she'd been about to go meet with the detective. Makoto had checked in later that night, confirming the meeting had taken place but she hadn't sounded excited. Then again, the past two days had been difficult for her.
"You're putting a lot of faith in her," Ann tells him.
Morgana clears his throat. "She's also not one of us."
"She may not be one of us," Akira agrees. "But she's got a lot at stake here too. Kaneshiro killed her father. She wants to help bring him to justice."
Morgana pops his head up over the books and glances at Ann. The blonde girl meets his gaze and frowns.
"What?" Akira asks.
"It's just..." Ann starts. "You know how she can be sometimes. She gets really intense, like when she visited Shiho and-" Ann holds up her hands as Akira opens his mouth. "I'm not stirring that up again, Akira. I'm not. We know how you feel about her, but she was hardcore about finding us back when she was just curious. If she's on a mission to avenge her Dad, don't you think she could take it too far?"
Akira leans back in his seat. His first inclination is to defend Makoto. Ann has always been her biggest detractor. Instead, he sighs. "You're right." He smiles when she blinks. "Oh, come on. Don't look so surprised. You are. Makoto hasn't been the same since she found out. I know we're dealing with a lot right now, but yeah, I am worried about her." He reaches out a hand and absently strokes Morgana's head. "I'll talk to her. Or maybe Haru should talk to her. Or maybe we both should talk to her."
Morgana purrs, then asks, "Have you thought about bringing her to the Metaverse?"
Akira's hand halts. "Why?"
"Well, so she could understand me," Morgana points out. "It might be helpful having her-"
"We're not doing that," Akira says. At their gazes, he purses his lips. "Okay. Maybe we could use Haru's phone to send her over to Mementos. Just so she could learn to understand you, finally. If we don't use my phone, it won't give her the app, so it should be safe. I just don't like the idea of putting her in more danger."
"I don't either," Ann says. "But if Makoto is going to help us out from now on, it'd be better if she understand Morgana so we didn't have to keep translating."
Akira concedes this. "When I talk to her, I'll bring that up, maybe we-"
Mishima explodes into the homeroom and bolts over to their desks. "Guys! You've got to help!"
Acid swirls through Akira's stomach as whispers through gritted teeth, "Low profile. How many fucking times do we have to say it?"
Ann reaches over and rests a hand on Akira's arm. "Chill. Yuuki, what's going on?"
"It's Ryuji," Mishima blurts, then whispers, "He's in trouble."
"That's nothing new," Morgana says, but Akira stands up.
Something about Mishima's tone worries him. "What kind of trouble?"
"Out behind the gymnasium. One of Sakoda's goonies has him and-"
Akira swallows a curse, and starts to run. He hears Ann call his name, and spares a glance to see her shove Morgana into her bag, and follow.
He bounds down the stairs and rushes for the courtyard. Eyes track him as he goes. A few people gasp as he sprints between them, and he hears Ann apologize as she brings up the rear. Once outside, he leaps over the railing and beelines for the gymnasium. He can already see a small crowd has gathered, and a few more who don't want to appear interested are clustered a longer distance away.
Akira rounds the corner and pushes his way through until he stumbles into a manmade clearing.
Ryuji is doubled over, clutching his side. Eiji Iwata stands a few paces from him. Akira recognizes him from Kaneshiro's Shibuya hideout. The kid wears a wide smile on his face, but Akira notices the mark just beginning to bruise beneath his right eye. Eiji touches at it, gingerly.
The surrounding students whisper amongst themselves and as anxious as Akira feels, he takes a step towards Ryuji. "What's going on?" He asks.
Ann breaks from the crowd and shouts, "Ryuji!" when she sees him.
Ryuji scowls and says, "Nothing."
"That's right," Eiji replies. "Nothing that concerns you, Kurusu. Take a walk." He looks past Akira and spies Ann. "Hey there, Takamaki. You're looking good today."
"I told you," Ryuji spits. "To cut that shit out." He starts towards Eiji, but Akira runs up to him and restrains him by the shoulder. "Let go of me," he protests.
"Yeah, let him go, Kurusu," Eiji tells him. "Let's see how tough this shithead really is. All the talkin' like a badass and dyed hair bullshit." He spreads his hands, anticipating. "You want to get into it? Let's get into it, motherfucker."
Ryuji emits something like a growl, but Akira leans in and whispers. "No. We can't afford this."
His friend glances up at him, and while he doesn't calm, he does straighten and mumble an, "Alright," under his breath.
Akira looks at Eiji. "This is over, Iwata. Go back to class, or whatever." He begins to help Ryuji back towards the edge of the crowd. Just walk away, he thinks at Eiji. Just walk away.
He doesn't.
"Fuck you, Kurusu. Stop sticking up for that punk and let him fight if that's what he wants. Unless you'd rather take his place, eh?"
Akira sighs. He brings Ryuji up to Ann and deposits him in her arms. "I'll be right back," he says, and turns to Eiji.
"Akira-" Ann starts, but he's already walking. He's loathe to do this, but it needs to be addressed before things get worse. He recalls something Kaneshiro had said to him, They all think you're some kind of monster. A real motherfucker.
Time to make that work for me, Akira thinks. He gets closer to Eiji, who takes a step back. Akira closes the distance until they're face to face. He keeps his face impassive; wearing the same kind of calm, collected, and predatory stare he's seen Kaneshiro use. He lifts a hand and places it on Eiji's shoulder. The boy twitches. When Akira speaks, he keeps his voice low. "Are you seriously pulling this right now?" He asks. "All the shit the Boss is involved in, and you're starting fights at school? Are you joking?"
Akira can feel the surrounding students take a few tentative steps forward, desperate to hear what the Akira Kurusu is saying to Eiji. He keeps his eyes on Eiji's. He watches the fight seep out of them. Holy shit, he thinks. This is working.
"Your friend hit me," Eiji protests. "I was minding my own business and-"
"If you were minding your own business, he wouldn't have hit you. And you decided to make it worse by turning it into a show." He lowers his voice even more. "I keep trying to help you guys and you keep fucking up."
"What're you talking ab-"
"It'd be better if you kept your mouth shut for now," Akira says. "And I'm talking about Sakoda, genius. He's still walking, thanks to me. You think Kaneshiro will appreciate his people making fools of themselves in school? How will that look? I've only got so much clout." He remembers Kaneshiro saying it's better not to be a target, but he keeps going. "You want me to bring this shit up with him? You want to bother him with this shit and explain why you felt it was necessary to start this at literally the worst possible time?"
Eiji swallows. "No."
"No," Akira agrees. "That's right. So walk away. Put some ice on your face, or something. If anyone asks you about this, say it's nothing." He drops his voice to a whisper. "And Eiji? Don't fuck with me."
He starts to back away. When he's far enough outside of Eiji's reach, he turns and walks towards his friends.
He hears Eiji mutter something under his breath, kick some dirt, and stomp away. Everyone watches Akira, instead.
Well, I just confirmed every bad thing people have said about me.
"Let's go," he mutters to Ann and Ryuji. The students in his path step back and Akira leads his friends away from the crowd and towards the vending machines tucked into the small alcove of the courtyard.
Ryuji collapses onto one of the benches and rubs his stomach. Ann stands before him, hands on her hips, glaring down at him. "The heck was that, Ryuji?"
The blonde boy rolls his eyes. "Cut me some slack, Ann. Okay?"
Morgana hefts himself out of Ann's bag and lands on the ground between them. He looks up at Akira and asks, "What did you say to him?"
Akira walks up to the vending machine and inserts a few yen into it. "Nothing much."
"Nothing much?" Ryuji asks. "His freakin' face dropped, bro. Whatever you said scared the shit out of him." He smirks. "Must've been pretty badass."
Akira bends down and scoops the drink from the machine. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Ann jab Ryuji in the shoulder, and make a cutting motion across her throat with her finger.
"Uh," Ryuji says in response. "That is, you know..."
"What was that all about?" Akira asks. He walks over to Ryuji and hands the drink out to him.
Ryuji takes it and mumbles, "Thanks. It was nothing, like I said. He was talking shit." He unscrews the cap and takes a swig of the soda. "Sorry I got carried away. I should've just let it go."
"What was he saying that got you so riled up?" Morgana demands.
"It's not important," Ryuji counters. "Seriously."
"It must've been important if you were fighting him," Morgana protests. "You need to control your temper and if you can't-"
Akira opens his mouth, intending to intervene. Ryuji beats him to it by snapping, "He was talking shit about Ann, okay?" He looks around at each of them, red faced. "Happy now?"
Ann looks at Ryuji for a few moments, then sighs. She reaches out a hand and flicks his forehead with her finger. Ryuji scowls and Ann says, "Thanks, but you don't have to do that for me. I don't need you swinging through the halls saving me from-"
"Oh, knock it off," Ryuji says. "I wasn't 'saving' you or any of that shit. You're my friend, he was talking shit. End of story." He shrugs his shoulders. "You shouldn't be able to just say stuff like that without anyone doing anything. Don't make it into a big thing." He doesn't meet her gaze. "Anyway, Akira. Thanks for having my back." He pushes himself to his feet. "Sorry I got carried away, yeah? Let's just move on." He pulls his phone from his pocket with his free hand. "Break's almost over." He finishes off the soda and tosses the bottle into a nearby trashcan, then sticks his hands in his pockets and walks off.
"That moron," Ann whispers, as he leaves.
#
Because things never go Akira's way, he was told to head to Principal Toko's office after school. Thankfully, though the order had come from Ushimaru-sensei, it was absent the man's usual admonishments. Akira hadn't been called out, only called up after class and told privately. Akira could appreciate small miracles. God knew there were enough tongues wagging about him today.
He left Morgana with Ann and sent the group a quick message, informing them their plans would be delayed a bit. To his surprise, when he reaches Toko's office, he finds Kawakami standing outside. She turns to him with a worried expression and says, "Akira, what's going on?"
"Why are you here?" He asks. "I thought she wanted to talk to me."
"You're my responsibility, remember?" She asks. "Whatever you do reflects poorly on me. Now, what happened? Nothing I've heard seems right."
"Well, what have you heard?" Akira asks.
"That you broke someone's neck in the courtyard."
Akira blinks. "That's... an exaggeration."
Kawakami throws her hands in the air. "I would hope so." A bit of the fire leaves her face and she seems to shrink. "You're doing well, Akira. You've got exams coming up, and soon. This is your chance to show everyone how smart you are and how hard you've been working. If you-"
She doesn't get to finish, as the door to Toko's office opens and the little lady smiles out at them. "Wonderful. Kurusu, Kawakami-sensei, please come in." She holds the door as they enter, bowing as they come. She shuts it behind them and makes her way behind her desk, gesturing for them to sit. Akira is hit with a distinct case of deja vu. Sitting here, with Toko across from him, Kawakami to his right. He can't imagine, however, that this will have the same pleasant surprise as last time.
"So," she says, once they're all seated. "It's come to my attention that there was something of a scuffle in the courtyard today?"
Kawakami leans forward. "Toko-sensei, if I may. I just want to say that I've been working with Kurusu often these past few weeks. Since our last meeting, in fact. He's working very hard and I think you'll see that on his next exams. I don't-"
Toko holds up a hand. "That's very commendable, Kawakami-sensei," she replies, smiling. "I'm sure you have the utmost faith in your student. But I'd like to hear what happened from Kurusu, directly." She turns to him. "Please, go ahead."
Time seems to slow for Akira. He knows the stipulations of his probation. They boil down to 'no funny business,' but here he was, back in the Principal's office. How much does she know already? An entire afternoon has gone by. Plenty of time for rumors to escalate, and for someone like Toko-sensei to find the truth. "Another student was bad mouthing one of my friends," Akira says. Kawakami heaves out a sigh and Akira manages to not react. "And another one of my friends got mad. Words were said. Then, I intervened. Talked everyone down. There was no fight. Just some flaring tempers." He tries to appear meek. "Everything is settled and good now."
Toko stares at him, hands folded together. "That's it?" She asks.
"That's it," he repeats.
"Who were the other students involved?" Toko asks.
Akira fidgets in his seat before he can stop himself. "Um, if it's alright, I'd rather not say." Toko just stares at him, her soft smile fixed on her face. "I mean, don't you know already? There were plenty of people there. The rumors are crazy, I know but-"
"Kurusu," Kawakami says, aghast.
"It's fine," Toko replies. She spreads her hands in defeat. "You got me, Akira Kurusu. I know it was Eiji Iwata and Ryuji Sakamoto. It didn't quite come as a surprise, though my interest was piqued when I learned you'd been there."
Akira tries to sit straighter. "Ryuji is my friend. I didn't want him to get in trouble."
"And he's not," Toko says. "And neither are you. I was pleased to learn you seemingly defused the situation. What I'm interested in is how you managed to do it."
"How?" Akira asks, and shrugs. "I just talked everyone down. That's all."
"I've heard rumors that Eiji Iwata runs with a difficult crowd," she says. "A group that may extend outside this school. I've heard the same of you."
Kawakami shakes her head. "That's ridiculous. Kurusu's not part of any gang." She gestures to him. "I mean, look at him. Who'd want him in their gang?"
Akira turns to her. "Gee, thanks."
"What?" She asks. "It's a compliment."
"It was?"
Kawakami nods.
"Again," Toko states, staring intently at Kawakami. "I'm more interesting in hearing from the student directly."
Akira suppresses the urge to swallow. "There are plenty of rumors about me," he tells her. "None of them are true." It was a way around the truth. All the rumors were bullshit. Even if he was presently part of a yakuza gang, it was in his capacity as a Phantom Thief.
"You understand that I only want the best for you, don't you, Kurusu?" Toko asks. Something about her smile shifts, and Akira feels something in his gut stir, but then the serene expression returns and Toko is Toko again. "I may be old, but I'm not so old I don't recall the temptations that revolve around youth. Your homeroom teacher here has apparent faith in you, and I would hate to learn that you betrayed that faith. Yes?"
Akira doesn't look at Kawakami. "Yeah," he says. "I mean, yes. I understand. And I won't, ma'am."
Toko takes a short breath. "Alright, then. I suppose that's everything. Good luck on your exams, Kurusu." She nods at his homeroom teacher. "Kawakami-sensei."
She stands up and bows. "Principal Toko." Akira follows suit. Then, the two are walking towards the exit.
They step out into the hall, and Akira lets out a long sigh. Kawakami whirls on him. "What is going on with you, Akira?"
He looks at her. "What? Like I said, I intervened. That's all. We don't have to make a big deal out of every little thing I do."
"It is a big deal," Kawakami points out. "It's-"
"I know, okay? It reflects poorly on you if I screw up. I get it." He doesn't mean to snap at her, but it comes out regardless. He's been trying to keep himself calm and collected since Eiji this morning. Getting called to Toko's office had been its own sort of anxiety attack. He didn't appreciate being called out by someone who moonlighted as a maid. He sighs, and adjusts his glasses because he needs his hands to do something. "I'm not going to screw anything up, alright? I'll do well on the exams and then you won't have to bother with me, yeah?" He turns. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Akira, that's not..." Kawakami tries. Akira sticks his hands in his pockets and walks away. He hears her whisper, "That's not what this is," but he's too proud to turn back and say anything else.
#
Toko stares at the door. She can hear the two talking to one another out in the hall.
She stares at the door for a very long time.
Then, she opens one of her desk drawers and takes out a small, nondescript phone. She dials in a number, and hits 'Call.'
She brings the phone to her ear.
#
RYUJI: I'm already in Shibuya bro. Ann dropped Mona with me before she headed to her gig.
YUSUKE: I am on my way.
Akira sighs. He stands on Shujin's steps and reads through the messages.
AKIRA: Meet at the Hachiko statue. There's something I want to check out.
His brain has already moved on from Toko's awkward meeting and onto the next steps. There's a theory he wants to test. Well, not so much a theory as a box he wants to check off.
He begins to descend when he hears, "Akira!" He finds Haru and Makoto heading towards him, faces a mix between stern and apprehensive.
"Are you alright?" Haru asks, when they're close enough. Akira holds up a hand in response, and nods towards the numerous other students who are still hanging around. No one appears to be paying attention, but that doesn't mean they aren't.
He continues his walk down the steps, and the two girls follow. Once they're off school property and tucked into the alley across the road, Akira asks, "What have you heard?"
"I heard you got into a brawl," Haru says at the same time Makoto replies with, "I heard you broke someone's spine."
Akira can't help the bitter smile that breaks across his lips. He looks back up at Shujin and shakes his head. "This fucking place, man. This fucking place."
"Somehow, I doubt either are true," Makoto tells him. "All anyone can seem to agree on is that it involved Eiji Iwata."
Akira nods. "Ryuji got into it with him during lunch. It was by the gym. I talked both down. Then the rumor mill started to spin. Everyone went nuts."
"Is it true you got called to the Principal's?" Haru asks.
Akira scowls. "Who told you that?"
She shrugs. "Someone saw you heading there."
He groans and lowers his head. "Yeah. I was. It wasn't a big deal though. She just..." He pauses, playing the conversation back in his mind. "Actually, I'm not really sure what she wanted. It seemed like she just wanted to make sure I wasn't causing any trouble, but the whole thing felt weird." He straightens. "I was too freaked out at the time to notice, but I would've expected her to ask more questions than she did."
"Isn't it good that she didn't?" Haru asks.
Makoto crosses her arms. "Toko-sensei doesn't strike me as the type of person who misses a lot."
Akira nods. "Yeah, you're right. She's not. She already knew everything before I went into her office. So, did she want to make sure I wouldn't lie to her?" He frowns. "I don't know." He chuckles once more. "Shit, maybe I'm getting paranoid."
"A valuable trait in the leader of a gang of thieves," Makoto points out.
Akira smiles at her. "Did you just make a joke?"
There's no humor in her eyes. "No."
He feels his own face drop. "Oh." Too bad.
Haru half turns towards Makoto, lips pressed together in a worried line. "Um, why don't we start heading for Shibuya?"
Makoto nods. "That's a good idea. I need to update you all on what Kagawa and I discussed."
"Before we do that," Akira tells them. "There's something I need to check out. Something that's been bothering me since Ali Baba reached out to us."
"Very well," Makoto says, and begins to head down the alley. "Shall we?"
Akira reaches out and takes Haru's arm. "Have you talked to her at all?" He whispers.
She responds in an even lower tone. "I've tried, but she doesn't seem open to it. It's like the words just bounce off her." She withdraws her arm from Akira's grasp and says, "We should talk about it tonight, at work."
He nods, and moves to catch up with Makoto. "So, what really did happen?" Makoto asks, once they're alongside her. "At lunch, I mean."
Akira explains it as best he can. "Ryuji hit him once and Eiji hit him once. It was hardly a fight."
Makoto listens and once he's finished says, "So, you adopted some of Kaneshiro's mannerisms to handle the situation?"
Akira tries to keep his face impassive. "Yeah. I guess I did."
"That kind of thinking," Makoto tells him, "may help us uncover his Palace keywords."
"Sure," Akira says. "We don't have to keep talking about this. There's a lot going on."
"Kaneshiro is the latest target," Makoto replies. "I'd say that takes precedent."
Haru drops back a step and looks at Akira. He is about to open his mouth when he catches her gaze. She shakes her head, eyes pleading.
He wants to tell Makoto that she isn't a Phantom Thief. He wants to tell her that she shouldn't do this to herself. He's already getting torn up by Kaneshiro, and there's no reason for her to suffer the same. But he can't, because he doesn't know how and he's not even sure he should. How could he justify telling Makoto to back off? Kaneshiro caused more damage to her than to anyone else. He wrecked her life when he killed her father. Compared to that, the shit Akira has endured seems trivial.
Haru mouths the word, "Please," and Akira nods. He doesn't know what to say, but that doesn't mean he can't figure it out. Haru is her best friend. If the two of them can sit down and come up with a strategy, maybe they can pull Makoto out from wherever place she's gone.
The three continue on towards the subway in silence.
##
A/N: What's up everyone, I'm back. Apologies for being gone, like I said, I got a little sick. Fortunately, it only lasted about a week, and now we're back in business.
Also, and this has nothing to do with Crimson, we found out that Baby Dowdz will be a boy! I'm super fucking excited for this (not that I would have been less excited had it been a girl), and again, I know this has nothing to do with Crimson but I wanted to share.
Have a great Monday, everyone!