Ann looked back and forth between Hifumi and Akechi, visibly confused. "Um, hold on a minute. You two know each other?" The growing tension in the air had to be sliced somehow, and Ann's confusion was the perfect tool for that.

"Oh! That's right." Hifumi turned to Ann with a nod. "We actually met the day after we first met…"

"I asked Togo-san to play a game with me. It was an interesting outcome." Akechi said, giving Hifumi a smile. He was vague about it intentionally, since he knew that her reputation as an undefeated Shogi player was important to her. The match was far from official or anything anyway, so he didn't see the harm in burying that little nugget of truth as a friendly gesture. "She is a very challenging opponent."

"Mm…" That felt like a backhanded compliment to Hifumi, considering how badly she lost. But she did change since then. "What's the game this time?"

"I don't have too much time to spare leisurely…so perhaps a game of darts?" Akechi suggested, adjusting his tie whilst doing so. "Let us see who can get the most amount of points within three attempts. Does that sound good to you?"

"Perfect." Hifumi nodded. She had her game face on, which was perfect since it did hide her uncertainty about her chances here. She asked Ann to come specifically because she felt her aim wasn't that great.

"Uh…" Ann blinked. Hifumi looked so serious. "You got this, Hifumi!" She decided to save her questions for later. It was best to cheer her friend on first and foremost; perhaps the encouragement would help Hifumi do better.

Akechi took a dart within his right hand and took aim. "I'll take the first move, unless you'd like to?"

"I'd like to go first." Hifumi said. Her green gaze curiously stared at Akechi's right hand. Something seemed…off about it. "Was that the hand he was using when he played against me…?" It felt like such a trivial thing to get hung up on, but she couldn't help but question it. She took a dart and prepared her shot, throwing it as best she could. Her first shot ended up hitting the plain 19 area, giving her a starting score of 19. Not a great shot, but not the most impressive one either.

"I see…" Akechi watched how Hifumi made her toss. After making a deduction in his head, he decided he knew how he wanted to play this. When Hifumi stepped aside, Akechi stepped forward and readied his shot. After a second of deliberation, he threw the dart. It looked like his aim was the bullseye, but he fell just short, striking the 20 just above it.

"Did he miss the bullseye, or did he intentionally aim for a better shot than me…?" Hifumi thought to herself.

Ann was just watching intently. So far this was already a kind of intense game. "….."

Hifumi took a deep breath as it was her turn again. She still had a chance to win this; it was just a rough start. "Here goes…" She told herself, throwing the dart once more. The aim was the bullseye, but she still had a ways to go. This time she struck the single 17 area, pushing her score up to 36. At this point Ann had a frown. She was beginning to see how Hifumi's mind worked as she competed in darts.

"I see…so that's how you play. You can learn a lot about someone by how they play darts, you know." Akechi remarked. When he took a glance at Ann, he wasn't so surprised to see that she seemed to draw the same conclusion as he did. So with another toss, his dart hit the single 17 area, pushing his score up to 37. He was consistently staying one point ahead of Hifumi and it wasn't like she was making it a challenge either.

"…" Hifumi furrowed her brows. Now she was certain Akechi was doing this intentionally. Her throws hadn't been as great as she would've liked. She seemed a bit nervous as she went up for her last throw.

"You got it, Hifumi." Ann said with a slight smile. "Become that arrow that pierces the darkness!" No better way to encourage her friend than by using her words to her.

Effective words indeed. Hifumi's green eyes lit up and she nodded. "Of course! I shall strike true!" That gave her the confidence boost she needed, throwing the dart without any hesitation. As it turned out, this was her first time hitting the bullseye as well, the extra 50 points boosting her score up to 86. "Ah! I hit it!"

"Yeah, nice shot!" Ann cheered.

"Impressive." Akechi gave a nod. Now it was his turn to close this out and he decided to do so promptly, throwing his final dart at the bullseye as well. As impressive as Hifumi's bullseye was, in the end, there was simply no way for her to win this game. His dart struck true, the 50 points pushing his score to up to 87. "But that, I believe is…checkmate."

"Ah…" Hifumi was so fired up from her bullseye she completely forgot she never had a chance to begin with. Defeated again by Akechi. "You win…" At least she knew how to accept defeat gracefully…not something she had to do very often…only twice and with him.

"Your thought process is only focused on victory." Akechi began while adjusting his tie. "Though considering your undefeated record, I can see why. You take the shortest route possible to victory…even if you consider other options, I see now you might need to expand your horizons a little bit."

"The shortest route…" Hifumi mumbled. That…wasn't wrong. She always made it a point to make her Shogi matches as swift as possible, and when she awakened her Persona, the first thing she tried to do was off Shadow Kaneshiro. During every fight in the Bank, she attempted to close the battle as fast as she was able to. She knew win conditions and often made efforts to fulfill them as quickly as possible. "I suppose…that's not incorrect."

Adjusting his tie, Akechi continued. "You're a smart one, I can tell. But haste makes waste. Perhaps if you slow down a bit and look at the bigger picture, you may be able to see things you haven't before."

"Things like…you using your right hand the whole time, instead of your left?" Hifumi titled her head.

"Huh?" Ann blinked. Was she missing something? Absolutely, but she also decided to just stay quiet and let this conversation play out.

"Hm?" Akechi raised a brow. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I remember…when we played our game before, you used your left hand. It's hardly anything but…people tend to gravitate towards their dominate hand when moving a piece." Hifumi explained. "I didn't realize you were capable of using both hands like that."

Akehci was admittedly impressed. Hifumi's memory was keener than he expected, plus she was able to deduce his dominate hand from that. "You're correct, Togo-san. I am predominately left handed, but I can use my right hand even for eating chopsticks. I don't expect many to notice. Ah, but I must be going now. Thank you for the game, I had fun. Perhaps we can play again sometime?" Akechi extended his hand out to Hifumi.

Hifumi took Akechi's hand. "You've bested me twice now…and it's ignited a burning desire within me to defeat you. I wish to claim victory over you at your best, Goro Akechi. The Togo Kingdom does not take kindly to being defeated. I will defeat you like I do all my rivals."

"Er…" Ann started to sweat. Hifumi was very…extra at times. She had to wonder if her lack of social interaction was the reason she was like this sometimes.

Akechi gave a quiet chuckle. "We're rivals now, are we? Very well, I accept that proposition. I'll tell you what I told another person not too long ago. As your senior, it would be very embarrassing as your senior if I were to lose…but if you are able to defeat me while I am using my right hand, I promise to go against you with everything I have. You have my word, Hifumi Togo."

"Heh…" Hifumi gave Akechi a confident grin. At that moment, she felt an odd sensation. She wasn't sure how to describe it, but it came from Akechi and caused her to pull her hand back a bit faster than she intended. "…!?"

"Hm? Is something wrong?" Akechi gave Hifumi a curious stare.

"I-I'm fine!" Hifumi gave a smile and shook her head. "W-What was that…? I can't even begin to explain what I just felt from him...but if felt so…" She cleared her throat before speaking. "Don't worry about it. Listen, before you leave, I have to tell you something. I have an answer for you…regarding your question about the Phantom Thieves."

"Oh? Let me hear it, then." Akechi responded.

"Hmmm…?" Ann tilted her head. Clearly there was still something she was missing but decided to listen.

"You asked me before if I would side with the Phantom Thieves even if they turned out to be criminals. I admit, you had me at a loss back then, because I couldn't deny the possibility that it could be true." Hifumi began. "But I'm going to stay true to my word. I support the Phantom Thieves, 100%."

Akechi was once again surprised. Hifumi was full of them. "And why is that, if I may ask?"

"Because I know that they're only in it to help people." Hifumi replied. "If they can help people like my friend from school…or the people that are oppressed by powers greater than their own, then they can't be bad people. What do they have to gain from it all? I'm sure you saw their calling card the other day, right? An entire city filled with people who couldn't fight back…if they succeeded in changing that person's heart, then…"

Akechi's lips twitched, almost turning into a scowl at the mention of Kaneshiro. Sure, the police did manage to bring him in, but…he knew there was far more to the case than that, even if they would end up taking all the credit. Despite that, he didn't let his distaste show. "I see. I was right about the look in your eyes. Something about you has changed…yet despite that, you're still being held back. A shame…someone like you may go far if you realized it sooner. Now if you'll excuse me, I really must be going…but I look forward to facing you again, Togo-san." With that, Akechi made his leave.

"Wow, Hifumi. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were almost a completely different person than when we first met." Ann said with a gleeful smile.

"I owe that mostly to you." Hifumi said with a sheepish smile. "I never had the chance to come out my shell much before you quite literally dragged me out of it. It's…been a fun time experiencing things my mother wouldn't allow me…but even then, I fear it'll end soon…"

"Why's that? I'm not gonna leave you alone, you know?" Ann said.

"Mmm…I know that." Hifumi played with the ribbon in her hair nervously. "But my mother, she's…she's allowing me to spend time with everyone for the time being. But I know she's looking for any excuse to pull me away from you all, whether it be by my doing or yours. It feels like you're all on thin ice with her and she's waiting for even the slightest crack to drag you under. I'm sorry, Ann…you shouldn't have to deal with my mother's wrath simply because you wanted to be my friend."

"Don't be. I am your friend, and I already said I wasn't going to leave you in your time of need. Trust me, I can handle it." Ann shook her head. But the topic of Hifumi's mother did make Ann recall how the Nav reacted…but it was best not to spoil the moment right now. Instead she just decided to focus on something else. "So…how do you feel? About that game, I mean?"

"Oh, that?" Hifumi let out a soft laugh. "The taste of defeat stings and leaves a bitter aftertaste. I think I've discovered that I truly do not like losing."

"Then I'll help train you up so you can beat him next time!" Ann pumped a fist into the air. "But it's going to cost you. Sweets, on you."

"You could've just asked." Hifumi rolled her eyes, which made her and Ann bust into a giggling fit. It was really nice to have a friend like this in her life…she was kind of afraid now what would happen if she was taken away from it all. It all felt so nice…too real to be true. Though she could laugh with Ann now, deep down, that fear of losing all of this had her frightened. Even now, her mother's oppressive shadow still loomed over her… "Ah…" She shuddered, bringing her arms around to hug herself. The thought was too much and she couldn't bear it.

Ann grew concerned immediately, placing a hand on Hifumi's shoulder. "Hey, are you okay…?"

"I-I'm fine…I just…" Hifumi wasn't sure how to describe it. "I should…go get ready for my match soon…"

"I'll get you some good luck sweets, okay…?" Ann said, wanting to help ease Hifumi's sudden panic as best she could.

"Thanks…" Hifumi gave a slight nod and a smile.

.

.

Akechi couldn't help but think on Hifumi's words. She was right, the Phantom Thieves did make the effort to challenge Junya Kaneshiro of all people…and he was taken into custody the day after their calling card was delivered. That wasn't a coincidence and he knew it. The Detective Prince scowled at the thought. The moment it all became official on the news was the moment he'd be forced to eat his own public words. That was not something he would be looking forward to either. Out of curiosity he looked at the poll on the Phansite, the current question being: Are the Phantom Thieves Just? With a growing approval rate of 35%. "Phantom Thieves…dammit…!"

.

.

"Good stretching today, Senpai! Kasumi told Ren after a brief workout. They were holding one another to the deal they made. However, as much as the gymniast would've liked to continue, she felt…in a bit of a rut and it showed. "I'd like to continue with the exercises, but…"

"Is something wrong?" Ren asked. "You looked a bit…out of it?"

"You could say that…" Kasum sighed while taking a seat on the bench. "To tell the truth, I haven't been feeling like myself lately. It's even begun to affect my performance in gymnastics…it's hard to move the way I want to."

Ren tilted his head. "You know, I can kind of relate to that…? I'm not sure how to explain it, but when you move in a way that's not what you're used to, it feels off?"

"Yeah…!" Kasumi nodded firmly. She was surprised that Ren knew how she felt, but that made her feel better. She did kind of hate how she was dropping all of her baggage on him. "It's hard to explain. My coach said I should take a break from gymnastics. Not stop entirely, but…just slow down a bit. I'm still wondering if that's the best idea, to be honest."

"If you push yourself, you won't make any progress." Ren said.

"I know…" Sighing, Kasumi looked out to the lake. "I should slow down and take it easy sometimes, but it's just not in my nature to do that." At least she was honest about it. There was a thought on her mind and she turned to Ren. "Senpai…even if we're not doing gymnastics, will you still go out with me?"

"Yeah, sure." Ren gave a nod. There was a very strong impulse to almost as if she meant in a romantic sense, but he held his cluelessness back for once.

"Thank you." Kasumi nodded, giving Ren a big smile. "My coach often praises me and says that my biggest strength is my boldness. I thought that was true for a time, but when I entered highschool, things got…difficult. I got taller and there were…other complications. It basically feels like it's not even my own body anymore. I fell into a kind of depression and it got pretty bad…but when you helped me in Shibuya, something occurred to me. I saw how confident you were and it spoke to me. If I stick with you, Senpai, I think I'll learn to be confident again!"

"Leave it to me." Ren said coolly.

"And I'll do my best to keep up on our end of the deal, too!" Kasumi nodded. That's when her phone buzzed. "Oh, excuse me! That's my coach; I have a meeting with her soon! Thank you for today, Senpai! Don't forget to rest and massage the muscles you haven't used before!" And in typical Kasumi fashion, she was off.

"As always, she's all over the place." Ren rubbed the back of his neck. Then realized how sore he was going to be shortly after he got home…