October 11th

The deadline for Haru to be sold off passed them yesterday, and something important happened at home. Something she had to tell everyone early in the morning before school. Ren was sitting in bed when his phone buzzed. "Hm..?"

Haru: Sorry for messaging you all so early in the morning. It seems my father will be holding an urgent press conference.

"Heh. I guess Okumura finally had his change of heart." Morgana said smugly. "That has to at least lift some of the burden on Haru's shoulders."

Ryuji: For real?!

Ann: Congrats!

Kasumi: I'm happy to hear that!

Makoto: When is that going to be?

Haru: 8pm tonight.

Makoto: I wonder if he'll talk about the mental shutdowns.

Futaba: Where should we watch it?

Makoto: Should we get together beforehand? I don't really have a reason for it, but it doesn't hurt to be together.

Ren: Sounds good to me. Will you be free after school, Kasumi?

Kasumi: I should be!

Haru: How about the Shujin Academy rooftop? I actually have some business up there.

Ann: Sounds good to me. I can sneak Fumi and Yusuke up there if I need to.

Hifumi: Sneaking into another school feels so odd…and speaking of Yusuke, I hope he isn't oversleeping.

Futaba: Wait. The…school?

Makoto: Futaba, make sure you come in through the front entrance. See you all there after school.

"Huh, Hifumi's right. Where is Yusuke?" Morgana asked. "…If he doesn't wake up, he's going to be late for school."

"Speaking of school, we should get going ourselves." Ren said, sliding his phone into his pocket. They were all going to gather after school, so it was best to keep moving.

.

.

Until it was time to meet up after school, it was just a normal school day. Since it was lunch time, and Kasumi happened to run into Ren, she wanted to have lunch with him. Maruki ended up stumbling upon them as well, so the three of them sat in the courtyard of the school. Ren and Maruki had a normal lunch, but Kasumi's pink lunch box was stuffed to the brim. "Umm…is that…your lunch, Yoshizawa-san?" Maruki asked with a sweat drop.

"Well, she is an athlete." Ren said.

"That…doesn't really…" Maruki did see the correlation, but something about it still just felt off.

This was completely normal to Kasumi. "I have to eat this much to stay active! I always burn through everything I eat. From my point of view, it's your two lunches that are the issue here." The gymnast nodded after speaking. "If you're going to strengthen your body, you have to eat right. You two have to work on your diets…"

"You're not the first person to tell me that." Ren sighed. Kasumi sounded just like Kawakami, nagging him about his diet.

Maruki simply laughed. "Hahaha, touche. And you're right, yours does look nutritious. You know, you've been giving off a completely different vibe lately. It's positive."

"Yes!" Kasumi smiled and nodded at Maruki's observation. "I was able to put my problems in the past and move on."

"Ah, so that's what it is." Maruki nodded. "You don't seem to be overexerting yourself, either." This was a good improvement, especially considering that huge conversation with the Vice Principal the other day.

"I'm sorry for worrying you." Kasumi replied.

"Oh, not at all. It's wonderful to hear how you've been." Maruki responded. "I must admit, I'm a bit surprised. If you don't mind my asking, was there some kind of reason for this breakthrough?"

"It was all thanks to Ren-senpai and my friends." Kasumi gave Ren a meek smile. "I suppose you could say they gave me a reason to rethink things – or more like a reason to stand up to my problems. Isn't that right, Senpai?" Being a part of the Phantom Thieves helped too, but that wasn't a specific detail Maruki needed to know about.

"That's right." Ren said with a smile of his own. "Although to be honest, Kasumi did most of the work. We were just there for support."

"Stand up to your problems, eh?" Maruku mumbled that part, his gaze averting for just a moment, expression somber. Kasumi made it sound so easy… "You've grown to be very strong, Yoshizawa-san."

"Mhm! I'm totally over it now!" Kasumi grinned. "I'm sorry for talking so much. Why don't we get eating now! Thanks for the food!" The trio dug into their lunch, and Kasumi was able to eat most of her lunch, but had to wrap up the rest of it. "I almost forgot I have PE next. Thanks for joining me for lunch, though. I'll see you later!" With that, Kasumi left, leaving Ren and Maruki alone.

"Yoshizawa-san really does seem to have found her footing." Maruki was smiling, but even still, he couldn't believe how fast she was able to bounce back. "She seemed absolutely tormented about her situation just the other day. I have to say, this drastic change really knocked me for a loop. Perhaps the Phantom Thieves changed her heart?"

"I don't think so." Ren said, naturally. "Like I said, it was mostly her."

"Ahah, I was just joking." Maruki laughed. The bell then rang, signaling that afternoon classes were about to begin. "Looks like time's up. See you around."

"See you." Ren nodded, standing up so he could head to class.

As Ren walked off, Maruki's expression fell once again. "Face your own problems, was it…? It's better you think of it that way…"

.

.

Once school was over for the day, everyone gathered at the Shujin rooftop, where Haru's garden was. Ann looked over the budding plants and smiled. "So you were the one who grew these plants, Haru." Ann did notice them a few times when she came up to the roof, but she never did know who was responsible for it.

"The seasons are changing soon, so I thought it'd be nice for the plants to change as well." Haru explained.

"They're really lovely flowers." Kasumi said.

"This time, it's a Yusuke Kitagawa production." Haru turned to Yusuke, smiling.

"All I did was add some…how do I put it…aesthetically simplicity by balancing the color arrangement." Yusuke said, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

"Yeah, sure. I totally got that." Ryuji replied.

"Furthermore, Haru chose the flowerbed herself. It will surely be a great bed no matter the arrangement." Yusuke said. Considering Haru's care of the plants, he thought that his work was minimal compared to everything the upperclassmen had done.

"I'm looking forward to it." Makoto smiled.

Futaba then turned to Morgana, grinning mischievously. "Why don't we plant you, Mona?"

"Weren't you a shut in until just recently? You better photosynthesize while you're here." Morgana clapped back immediately.

"I wonder how long you've had that one in the back pocket…" Ryuji scoffed.

Haru couldn't help but smile at the antics. She had grown to enjoy the time with everyone a lot recently, appreciating this circle of friends she happened to fall into by chance. "Well, let's get started!"

So, everyone began to tend to Haru's little garden in any way they could. Yusuke was looking over the current arrangement, trying to figure out the most aesthetically pleasing sight for the flowers. "Hm…perhaps the snapdragon should go two more millimeters to the left…"

"Um. I don't think that's going to make a difference…" Hifumi said.

"It really won't." Ann agreed with Hifumi. She was watering the plants.

"Hey, y'know how we're thinkin' of the school festival as our celebration party?" Ryuji asked the others. "Anyone else think we should have a real celebration on top of that."

"I agree." Yusuke said. "It would not only be a celebration, but a welcoming to our two new members as well. I'd like to do something among ourselves."

"Let's do it then!" Ann grinned widely. "A joint party to celebrate and welcome Haru and Kasumi!"

"To welcome both of us?" Kasumi blinked.

Haru stood up, brushing the dirt off her hands. "Oh, you don't have to do that. The school festival is more than enough for me."

"I may have to agree. The school festival seems perfectly fine with me as well." Kasumi nodded.

"How is everyone else supposed to get into the party if the stars aren't into it?" Morgana asked. That did make Kasumi and Haru reconsider.

Haru then had an idea. "Well then, how about a night party. At Destinyland." The fact Haru offered such a place caused everyone to freeze, unsure if they heard her correctly.

"By Destinyland, do you mean that kingdom of dreams?" Makoto stared at Haru with wide eyes.

Haru just nodded. "It would be a bit late, but there were some plans to rent out the park for the entire night."

"Wait." Ren had to take a moment to digest that information. "The park…? The whole park…?"

Ann recoiled from the shock. "The entire park!? You're talking about THE Destinyland, right!?"

"I-Is that place not gigantic…? I've never been, but…" Hifumi couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Didn't you say you'd like to do something amongst ourselves?" Haru asked.

"I-I did, but…" Yusuke couldn't find the words. Haru's thought process was on a completely different level than what everyone else was used to.

"Hold on, I'll go check!" Smiling, Haru walked off a bit and dialed a number on her phone.

"She really thinks like a celebrity." Ann scratched her head.

"She didn't even bat an eye when suggesting we use the entire park…" Futaba shook her head. Haru was certainly something else.

"What the heck is she gonna check…?" Ryuji mumbled.

"Is there really a chance we get to go to Destinyland…?" Kasumi tilted her head. "I know Sumire wanted to go there…" And if things panned out the way Haru was expecting, she'd get to go and enjoy Destinyland for both her and her sister.

Haru then came back with a wide smile. "Guys! It look like it will work!"

"We're really gonna have it at Destinyland…" Ann had no words. "Not like…one of the restaurants…but like…the entire park…?"

Futaba was looking at her laptop, eyes wider than dinner plates when staring at the price of a single night at Destinyland. "E-Even the price for a single night is insane….!"

"Oh, we won't have to worry about that." Haru explained. "We had originally booked it for a company party, then had to call it off because of the scandal. We'd barely get anything back if we canceled the reservation, so why not take advantage of it?"

"Er…doesn't that appear…a bit off?" Hifumi asked, simply out of worry.

"It's still officially under the company's name. We needn't worry." Haru reassured everyone.

"In that case, let's do this!" Ryuji rotated his arm. "We'll just celebrate twice as hard today!"

"I'm sorry for getting us off track, you did come here to help me. Let's get back to it!" Haru said.

"Oh, before I get swept away in the excitement later tonight." Hifumi turned to Ren. "I have a list ready, for your Doctor friend. I'll send it later."

"Gotcha." Ren nodded. As soon as Hifumi sent him that list of her Father's condition, he would take it to Takemi so she could figure something out.

Ryuji slowly turned to Futaba. "So seriously, what's the price on that thing…?" Futaba slowly turned her laptop for Ryuji to see, and his entire body recoiled at the number of 0's he saw. "GEEZ-!"

.

.

Destinyland was an incredible time for everyone. They had the entire, massive amusement park to themselves and there was plenty to do. Haru was looking at a picture taken from the group's ride on a rollercoaster. "I think this picture came out great!" How did the picture come out? Ren somehow had a stoic expression the whole time, Haru, Ann, and Ryuji were clearly enjoying the drop down; Futaba's hair was flowing so much that it actually blocked Yusuke from view completely; Hifumi's expression was filled with a mixture of mortal terror and excitement; Kasumi was panicking, not because of the ride itself, but it looked as though Makoto ended up completely passing out.

"I was worried for Makoto-senpai. I thought she died…" Kasumi looked over the picture with a sweatdrop. She and the others wore some cute headbands too; Makoto and Morgana were the only two exempt from the head accessory.

"I-I appreciate you concern." Makoto had a sheepish smile. "I think the excitement was a little too much for me. I don't really remember what happened after we reached the top."

"I don't remember anything but screaming." Hifumi had an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. "I was also squeezing something really hard…"

"My hand." Ann said, rubbing her hand. "I didn't know you had such a vice grip…."

"S-Sorry…" Hifumi scratched her cheek sheepishly.

Makoto was quick to change the subject. Since they just finished eating, she could comment on the food that they ate. "Mm, that food was delicious…"

"The food was arranged on my plate as though it were paint on a canvas." Yusuke said with a smile.

"The staff brought out this table and food just for us, huh?" Ann said, her gaze and everyone else's turning to Haru.

"I thought if we were going to dine together, it would best to do it with a view." Haru explained. "It is the least I could do for everyone, since you've all helped me so much."

"Wow…the VIP life is incredible. Then again, I shouldn't expect anything less from a private rental!" Ann smiled.

"There really is no one else here…" Makoto couldn't get over that. The entire park was for the 10 of them and they made good use of it.

"We are the rulers of the kingdom of dreams!" Futaba exclaimed

"And what a lofty throne it is as well!" Hifumi added, Futaba's words sparking that flame within her.

Ren glanced over to Kasumi, who had a mixture of a sad and happy look on her face. "Is something wrong…? Was it the rollercoaster?"

"Oh, no." Kasumi shook her head. "It's just…Sumire wanted to come here when we were younger. We were looking forward to coming here together, after we accomplished our dream. It feels a little odd to be here without her…it almost feels like cheating, I suppose."

"I think she would want you to enjoy yourself, you know?" Ryuji remarked. "For the both of you."

"Yes...yes, you're right, Ryuji-senpai!" Kasumi could smile a bit more. It was a wave of missing her sister that struck her, but Ryuji had a point. She did want to enjoy this time while she could. "I'm sorry for almost bringing down the mood."

"Don't worry about it." Ren smiled.

Makoto turned her attention to the fireworks in the sky. "Is the lighting just for our sake as well?"

"That's right." Haru nodded.

"It's beautiful…" Yusuke said.

"But not as beautiful as you!" Futaba snickered. "That's the kinda stuff that couples say, right?"

"Just about anyone would fall for that with a view like this." Ann replied.

Morgana's eyes flashed. This was his chance! "Lady Ann…!"

"….Hey-" Hifumi also opened her mouth to speak. That's when she and Morgana stopped and looked at each other, giving the other a shocked and slightly competitive look.

"C'mon, you guys're gettin' way too excited about this stuff." Ryuji said, effectively cutting that attempt short before it could begin.

"You say that like you're not tapping into your inner child too, Ryuji." Ann teased, pointing at his ears.

"This is just 'cause Futaba kept naggin' me to put 'em on!" Ryuji defended himself.

"I did not!" Futaba smiled.

"You said somethin' like that!" Ryuji retorted.

"I think Futaba-senpai had a point." Kasumi nodded.

Oh, Futaba was NOT ready for that at all. She started waving he thanks frantically towards Kasumi, mostly embarrassed about being called senpai. "W-Whoa, hold on! I'm not really your senpai, we're the same age...! I don't even go to school...! We're the same age...! And you're probably older than me, who knows?!"

"Fighting brings you closer." Ren leaned back in his seat.

"That's a good way of putting it. I wonder if that has to do with where we are." Makoto wondered aloud.

Peaceful silence followed. Everyone just enjoyed the moment together. "This is so heartwarming." Yusuke commented.

"Honestly, I would've liked to see the parade as well. But given how sudden the request was, they couldn't get enough staff together to do it." This was the only regret Haru had.

"That…seems a bit much." Hifumi said. Haru was introducing the group to some rather luxurious things. It was taking a lot for Hifumi to stay grounded and not fully indulge. It was honestly a little too much for her. A party like this was going to leave her exhausted when it was all over.

"Either way, this party's totally the best one so far! It's freakin' amazing!" Ryuji shouted.

"I'm glad to see you're all enjoying it." Haru had a soft smile. She was really happy to see everyone having a good time. It meant so much to her that she could provide something like this, after everyone went out of their way to help her on more than one occasion.

"Careful, Haru. You've given these guys a taste of luxury." Morgana said. "This'll really raise the bar for our next celebration."

"You're already talking about our next party?" Yusuke chuckled a little. "Isn't that somewhat premature?" Everyone laughed at this.

But despite how well things were going, Haru couldn't help but feel something was off. It was that same feeling she had after the collapse of her father's Palace. "…But still, something worries me. Everything just feels like it's going a little too well…it's actually a bit frightening…"

"You worry too much." Morgana said with a smile.

"…." Hifumi frowned a bit. Because in all honesty, if anyone knew how Haru was feeling right now, it was her. It was when she felt at her highest that things came crashing down. But she was really hoping such a thing wouldn't happen to Haru, she knew she didn't deserve that same crushing feeling…

"I'm sorry for bringing it up. I suppose I'm just feeling overly cautious…" Haru shook her head.

"Um, excuse me." Kasumi said while pulling out her phone. "Isn't it almost time for the press conference…?"

"Oh, you're right! Perfect timin'!" Ryuji nodded, and everyone pulled out their phones to watch Kunikazu Okumura's press conference.

.

.

Okumura stood up from his seat, multiple cameras flashing on him. This press conference was huge. Thanks to Okumura turning the calling card into the police, everyone knew that the Phantom Thieves targeted him, and so far, based on previous targets, the public believed the attempt was successful. "Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to gather here. Today, I'd like to elaborate on the whole truth of my company's labor situation. How my employees were forced to work under severe conditions, how…lax we were with sanitation. And how my corporation acted as a whole to…cover up every facet of this operation." His voice began to crack. "And for all of this, I wholeheartedly apologize!" He then bowed, and many cameras were flashing to take pictures of this moment.

"So are you saying all of this was done under your orders?" A reporter asked.

"Yes." Okumura nodded. "I…am solely responsible."

"We heard that dozens of employees were forced to resign due to mysterious illness. Furthermore, these happened to be officials who stood against your proposal for overseas expansion." That same journalist spoke. "The same thing also happened to executives at competing companies who were looking to expand abroad. Is all of this true?"

Okumura nodded once more. "Yes."

"Is it all coincidence?" The journalist asked. Okumura turned his head away, unresponsive. "We'd like some answers."

"About that. I have some critical news to share today." Okumura said. It was about the mental shutdown incidents. "I….." He stopped. There was a sudden pain in his chest and it felt like his heart just stopped. "NGH….?!" He clutched his chest, screaming out in agony. His eyes trembled before rolling slowly into the back of his head, a choked cry of pain escaping him as he collapsed onto the table. Everything fell silent, even the cameras stopped flashing, because nobody understood what just happened.

"Okumura-san….?"

Okumura sputtered black blood from his mouth, and slowly lifted his cold, dead gaze upward. Black blood trailed from his eyes and all over his face. It was a horrific sight and as soon as people saw it, there were screams of panic and cameras flashing, all before the transmission was cut with a cutesy image, horrible disproportionate to the situation at hand.

.

.

Haru and the others could only stare with looks of horrified shock.

"H-Huh….?" Ann's voice was a breathless whisper. She didn't realize she was holding her breath.

"W…what happened…?" Kasumi's voice was a low whisper as well. She couldn't process what she just watched.

"F-FATHER?!" Haru nearly screamed.

"W-What happened…why did he collapse….?" Hifumi's jaw dropped.

"W-What's going on!? What happened?!" Haru was nearly hysteric. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

"No…! That's impossible!" Morgana said in disbelief.

"W-We did everything right this time…" Ren grit his teeth. "What's going o-"

"No….." Futaba's eyes were wide, but for a different reason. "T-This is…exactly the same…this is what happened with Mom…"

"T-The same thing happened to your mother…?" Makoto turned to Futaba.

Ren was thinking over everything that happened in Okumura's Palace. "This isn't right, we were careful, we did the same thing…" And then it hit him. There was one astounding difference between the Okumura heist and everything else: Black Mask. "It was them…! Black Mask!"

"No! I was careful!" Futaba objected out of shock. "I made sure they weren't around…! I was doing everything I could to make sure they wouldn't get the jump on us a second time!" And that was true. Making sure Black Mask didn't get them was her job, she was keeping an eye out for them the entire time they dealt with Shadow Okumura…! But…there was one moment when she couldn't have: when Cognitive Haru jammed her radar near the end of the fight. She was unable to detect anything until they left the Palace. When Futaba made this realization, she sunk into her seat. She failed her one responsibly. "Oh no….I…."

"I…I…I have to go!" Haru was on the verge of tears. Before anyone could say anything, Haru was already sprinting off, hiding her expression.

"Haru, wait…!" Hifumi called out to Haru, reaching out for her, but also stopped. Too many things were happening all at once. Hifumi wanted to chase Haru, but right now, she also knew for a fact that Haru needed a little space. She was in a similar situation herself not too long ago… "We shouldn't let her be alone for too long…"

"Damn it!" Ryuji shouted, almost throwing his phone in frustration. "That Black Mask really snuck behind our backs and killed Haru's dad!? That BASTARD!"

"Is this still our fault…?" Ann frowned, staring down at the ground. "Should we have been more vigilant?" Even though time wasn't on their side, Ann couldn't help but feel like they could have done so much more. Haru trusted them and they all just let her down!

"…I…I'm unsure…" Yusuke clenched his hand into a fist.

Kasumi fell into shock. Watching Haru's father suffer a mental shutdown live was more than she was ready to handle. Things were going so well up until that point, but now she didn't know what to think. She…took part in that. She failed to help Haru. On top of that, watching a death like that…it reminded her of that time Sumire…no…her…? It was a fuzzy, vague memory that made her head hurt, vanishing the instant she put a little too much thought into it…

"Damn it…" Ren's hand was trembling as he held onto his phone. He swore to Haru that they wouldn't let any harm befall her father, but that promise he made was ultimately broken. He failed to keep his word to his friend, and he watched her run off in tears due to his own inability to follow through. That was first time he failed at something so important since becoming the leader of the Phantom Thieves….

.

.

Sae was watching the livestream on repeat in the lobby of the Prosecutor's office. Akechi approached, noting how it had been a while since they last spoke. "It's been a while…oh, what are you watching?" His eyes then widened to see it was the Mental Shutdown of Kunikazu Okumura. "T-That's…!" "About time."

"This might just be a hypothesis…" Sae began. "But perhaps Okumura was bitten by his lapdog."

"Are you implying the Phantom Thieves triggered a sudden mental shutdown on Okumura?" Akechi asked. Sae was making a dangerous assumption, yet internally, Akechi was glad to see things progressing just as expected.

"There might have been a falling out of sorts, so the Phantom Thieves abandoned a useless player." Sae surmised. "And to cover their tracks, they dealt with Okumura."

Now for Akechi's next move. "I hate to bring this up, but I'm actually here about that."

"Did you find any evidence?" Sae sounded a little hopeful.

"No." Akechi shook his head. "There's a chance that the party behind these is someone else, not the Phantom Thieves."

"How do you mean? You were suspecting the Phantom Thieves yourself." Sae questioned, finding Akechi's sudden thoughts dubious at best.

"It's only a hypothesis, but I don't wish to rule it out." Akechi said. "It's far too soon to go pointing the finger at them. That's all I'm saying."

"I see." Sae practically brushed that aside. As far as she was concerned, the Phantom Thieves were behind this, and all she needed to do was find that missing link to seal this case shut once and for all. "We're searching the Okumura residence tomorrow. Same for Shujin and its principal. We will find evidence on this, no matter what." Sae was ready to pounce on this opportunity. "By the way, I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it…?" Akechi inquired.

"You haven't looked at my laptop, or taken files from it without my permission, have you?" Sae wasn't outright accusing him, but as far as she was concerned, he was the only person who could've done such a thing.

"That's quite out of the blue…" Akechi raised a brow. Where did this come from?

"There were traces that someone transferred data from it. It was only a small error popup, but I noticed it immediately after I had that argument with you last month." That was Sae's reasoning for asking him.

Seriously? That's why she thought he was behind it? Akechi wasn't fond of being accused of something he didn't do, least of all something that was so trivial in his eyes. "And that's why you suspect me? Oh please, give me a break." He scoffed.

"Are you saying you didn't?" Sae wasn't convinced.

"As a detective myself, I honor the value of information, as well as the effort invested in it. I take pride in what I do." Akehci turned his back. "I thought you of all people would understand, Sae-san."

So it wasn't Akechi. "I apologize." Sae said, but Akechi didn't respond. He just walked off silently. Sae sighed, staring at her laptop. "But then, who stole my data…?" How irritating… "I let my guard down. They're mine. I'm the one who will catch them…"