5/20/20XX
Tuesday: After School
Mementos
Following Madarame's change of heart, The Phantom Thieves return to Mementos. While it was Samurai and Fox's first time in the labyrinth-sized Palace, the five original thieves headed straight for the bottom floor where they were blocked off previously.
As they made their way down, the group (minus Echo, who was busy driving the car Imp manifested) watched and listened as Fox excitedly sketched in his sketchbook as he observed the mysterious designs of the altered subway system. "Wonderful! No matter how often I see it, this bizarre scenery seems to spur my pen to create!" Fox exclaimed.
"Well, at least someone's gettin' a kick out of this place somehow." Skull sighed.
"What are your thoughts on Mementos, Samurai?" Maiden asked the swordswomen.
"I cannot say I share Fox's intrigue of this place to the same degree." Samurai stated. "Still, it's interesting that such a place like this even exists to begin with."
"Right? It's so weird!" Warrior exclaimed.
"We're here, everyone." Echo reported as she stopped the car at the exit terminal. "Time to see if changing Madarame's heart did anything down here."
Descending down the escalator, the thieves arrive at the wall that blocked their path last time they went this far down in Mementos. When they approached the door, they were all surprised when it actually opened up, revealing another set of escalators.
"Looks like that popularity we gained from exposing Madarame's twisted desires was enough to open the path for us dess!" Imp said proudly.
"That's cool an' all, but what are we supposed to do with all of this?" Skull asked, holding a pile of dirty rags.
"They're the spoils of war, obviously." Imp answered. "Those things might end up being worth a lot more than you'd think if we cleaned them off."
"Then why don't we head back to reality and do just that?" Echo suggested. "We could divide the load between the seven of us and get them cleaned separately. That way we don't draw unwanted attention as to where we got all of this stuff."
"I mean, I could always have them cleaned at my grandparents' Inn." Maiden suggested. "I help out with chores like laundry all the time, so they wouldn't mind a few extra items in the loads."
"Well, as long as you're okay with doing that." Echo said, agreeing to Maiden's request. "I guess, since we have that settled, we can call it a day and head back."
As they ascended the escalator and began their trek back to the entrance, they were suddenly met by a familiar figure in a small blue car filled with various boxes and bags, as well as several star-shaped balloons. "Hey, good job." Jose said, greeting the thieves, taking Fox and Samurai by surprise while everyone else was relaxed. "That one closed-up door's finally opened. Are you the one who did that?"
"That's right." Echo answered.
"I knew it! Mementos filled me in on it..." Jose replied. "But thank you. I should be able to find more flowers deeper down now."
"Do you all know this child?" Samurai asked.
"Oh, right! You haven't met him yet." Warrior exclaimed. "Jose, meet our new friends, Fox and Samurai. Fox and Samurai, meet Jose."
"Pleased to meet you." Jose said, greeting the newer Phantom Thieves.
"Likewise." Samurai replied, while Fox looked at Jose's vehicle with great intrigue.
"Oh! Before I forget, I want you to have something." Jose said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small book that he handed to Echo. "Remember when I told you I'd come up with a fun game for us to play in Mementos?"
"Sorta." Echo answered.
"Well, I came up with this one after seeing the subway in the other world. Plus, it'll also prove that you're checking for flowers in all sorts of places here." Jose said. "There's a different set of rewards for collecting stamps, so try and get as many of them as you can while also collecting the flowers."
Echo nodded. "I'll be sure to keep my eyes open for both."
Jose nodded in return, before hopping back into his car. "Well, now that I gave you that, I should get going. Good job!" He said, honking the horn of his car as he drove off past the thieves.
On the way back to the top of Mementos, the group talked about their interaction with Jose. "Well. That was interesting." Fox said.
"That's Jose for you." Warrior stated. "Sure, we may know next to nothing about him, but he's such a nice kid that it's hard to think he'd want to hurt us."
"He's also really cute." Maiden added, which made Imp start to sweat.
"Wh-What do you mean by that dess?!" Imp asked frantically. "I-I can be just as cute, you know! See?" To prove herself, Imp did a little twirl next to Maiden before striking a cutesy pose and letting out a soft "D-Dess."
Everyone looked at Imp as she looked back at them desperately trying to not look embarrassed. It was failing. "Kiri-chan, are... Are you jealous of Jose?" Maiden asked, which made Warrior and Skull both try their hardest not to laugh at Imp.
"WH-WHAT?! OF COURSE NOT DESS!" Imp shouted as her face went beet red. "Why would I be jealous of some kid that likes turning flowers into smoothies?!"
"Well, for starters, they're cuter." Echo stated, teasing Imp.
"YOU STAY OUT OF DESS!" Imp retorted.
"I'm only kidding, Imp." Echo chuckled. "Besides, you'll always be the cutest demon we know."
Imp blushed at the compliment. "W-Well, that does make me feel a little bit better... dess."
"Huh... I would've figured she'd comment on the-"
"Let her have this one, Skull." Warrior interjected.
Meanwhile, Samurai smirked as she listened to the chaos among her teammates. "I'm glad fate let me cross paths with the Phantom Thieves." She said to herself.
Tuesday: Evening
Tachibana residence
Once they returned to reality and gave Shirabe and Kirika the rags they collected from Mementos, the thieves returned to their homes for the night, planning on meeting again tomorrow to discuss their next move. But for now, they were all very tired and wanted to go to bed.
However, while the others enjoyed their various dreams, Miku was brought back to a facility she had begun to become all too familiar with...
The Velvet Room
When Miku woke up, she was surprised by the sound of confetti going off right in front of her. "GAH!" She screamed as she fell over. "What was that for?!"
"Our mistress wishes to congratulate you on your progress." Justine stated in a deadpan tone while she and Caroline held the party favors that shot the confetti.
"Consider yourself lucky that she even chose to celebrate your actions!" Caroline added.
"Now, now, girls. There's no need to be rude." Finé said. "I figured you'd probably enjoy a more grandiose way of celebrating your achievements instead of just some run-of-the-mill pat on the back."
Miku was still very confused, but ultimately decided to accept the gesture. "Thank you." She said. "Is this because of Madarame?"
"Precisely." Finé answered. "Thanks to you and your team's efforts on expelling one who was stained in vanity, you are now one step closer to stopping the ruin that shall befall your world in due time."
"I guess that is something worth celebrating." Miku chuckled.
"However, that man's remarks in the end were very concerning." Finé stated. "It would seem you and your friends aren't the only ones that have access to the Metaverse."
"Do you have any idea who that could be, Finé-san?" Miku asked.
"I'm afraid that I am just as clueless as to who that could be as you are..." Finé sighed. "But, if you keep going down the path you have been these past couple of months, I'm sure you'll find the answers you seek in no time! And knowing you, I'm more than certain you'll succeed."
"I better live up to those expectations then." Miku said. "I won't let you down!"
5/21/20XX
Wednesday: After School
Phantom Thieves Hideout
The next day, the Thieves planned to meet up after school let out, but as Miku and Hibiki were on their way to the hideout, the former of the two received a text from Mishima.
Mishima: Hey! Have you had the chance to check out the new feature I added to the Phan-site?
Miku: What are you talking about?
Mishima: I won't spoil the surprise if you haven't seen it yet, but I think you'll really like it.
Miku: I'll have to check it out then.
Mishima: Awesome!
"Who was that?" Hibiki asked.
"Mishima." Miku answered. "Apparently he added something to the Phan-site that he thinks I'll like."
"Cool." Hibiki replied. "Guess we'll have to see what our biggest fan has done this time. Hehe."
Reaching the hideout, Miku and Hibiki told the others about what they were told by Mishima, which the group immediately went to their phones to see what all the fuss was about. To their surprise, they were greeted by a poll with a single question.
"Do you believe in the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?"
"They're running a survey about us?" Shirabe asked aloud, both confused and intrigued by it.
"'If you think they exist, then prove it.'" Miku said, reading some of the comments on the survey. "'It all sounds kinda farfetched to me.'"
"'I mean, really, Phantom Thieves of Hearts?'" Hibiki said, reading one final comment that made her gasp. "After everything we've done, our approval rating is still this low?!"
"Guess we have no choice but to boost those numbers up!" Ryuji exclaimed. "Let's do somethin' that'll really knock their socks off!"
"Simply to gain notoriety?" Yusuke questioned.
"Well, it certainly wouldn't be that hard to find targets with how many corrupt adults hide in the shadows of the world..." Tsubasa stated.
"As much as I agree with you all, try not to forget that patience is a virtue dess." Kirika said. "Madarame was a much bigger catch than Kamoshida was. Regardless of what that survey says about us, the police and media will be on our tails if we're not careful."
"Seriously..." Ryuji sighed.
"Take your terrible midterm exam results for example." Kirika continued. "If your grades start falling, people are going to suspect that you're skipping studies to go off Phantom Thieving, and that'll put pressure on all of us!"
"That, and taking time to focus on your studies is important, Sakamoto." Tsubasa added. "It would look much better on you as a person if you got more than just passing grades."
"I get it!" Ryuji groaned. "Can we please go back to discussing potential targets to help us get popular?"
"Well, it wouldn't be the best of ideas for us to immediately go after another target this quickly, Ryuji." Miku stated. "For now, we should do like Kirika suggested and lay low until we make any plans for a potential big target."
Ryuji sighed again. "Fiiiiiine..."
"I'm sure everything will work out just fine, Ryuji." Hibiki said, reassuring her friend. "Our next target will show up before you know it!"
"Let's just hope he's able to keep himself out of trouble for that long." Kirika whispered.
"I heard that!" Ryuji shouted, which made everyone else laugh.
Wednesday: Evening
Shibuya
After the Thieves went their separate ways for the night, Ryuji grumbled to himself the whole way back home, annoyed that he was made to be the fall guy for Kirika's lecture. "That demon girl really lives up to her title sometimes..." He said. "Here I was, all hyped up, and she had to be all like, 'make sure you're studying, Ryuji. Dess, dess, dess.' Freakin' lame!"
Ryuji continued to vent his frustrations aloud as he reached the mailbox of his apartment complex. "Honestly, I'd kill for something even the slightest bit-" Ryuji cut himself off as he looked inside the mailbox to see a single card that took him by surprise. "Interesting..."
5/22/20XX
Thursday: Lunchtime
Shujin Academy
The next day, the Thieves did as Kirika requested and kept themselves out of trouble, while also keeping up with their studies and other school activities so as to not draw in any unnecessary attention. This was easy for most of the thieves to do since they were already known amongst their schools to be good, hard-working students. Ryuji, however, had another idea on how to spend the down time...
"Hey, there you guys are!" Ryuji exclaimed as he walked over to Hibiki and Miku, of which the former was busy stuffing her face with rice while the latter was sitting next to her, quietly reading a book she checked out from the school's library.
"Eh? Oh, hem Ryumi!" Hibiki asked while her mouth was still full.
"Hibiki. You shouldn't talk with your mouth full." Miku sighed.
"Sowwy." Hibiki replied, swallowing the rice in her mouth before she continued talking. "Anyways, what's up, Ryuji?"
"I need you two to help me with something." Ryuji said.
"Is everything okay?" Miku asked.
"Oh, yeah no, I'm fine." Ryuji answered. "I just found this flyer stuffed in my mailbox last night."
Saying this, Ryuji pulled out the flyer in question, which made both Hibiki and Miku look at it and Ryuji multiple times with a confused expression. "A housekeeping service?" Both Hibiki and Miku asked.
"Not just that, guys. It says that a cute maid will do anything for you!" Ryuji said. "A maid, dude! A MAID! Who'll do ANYTHING our hearts desire! Is that not the best thing you've ever heard in your entire life?!"
"I... Don't see why you would need our help with this..." Hibiki said. "That, and I don't know how this could help any of us in the long run."
"You're thinking about it too literally!" Ryuji said. "I mean, come on, are you sure you're not even a little bit curious? We've been working so hard lately. I feel it's only right that we get to have some fun every now and then!"
"I think I get it now..." Miku said.
Ryuji got excited to hear this. "Right? ...Right?!"
"You're only asking us because you think we'd be into it the same way you are because we're lesbians. That or you didn't have any guy friends who would be interested in this idea." Miku stated, which made Ryuji faceplant and Hibiki blush.
"Okay, first off: Ouch... And secondly: ...Somewhat..." Ryuji replied, which made Miku smirk and shake her head. "But still, surely you're somewhat curious about the maid, right?"
"I mean, sure, I'm curious. Just not in the way that you thought. I'm more curious about how legit this flyer is." Miku said. "A maid that will do anything you want them to? Really? And I mean, come on, what are the odds they actually show up to your house like this?"
"Not to mention, do you think they'd actually be THAT cute?" A familiar brown-haired girl asked as they walked over to where the trio were talking. "I see you're not the only one who's seen that flyer around, huh Ryuji?"
"Kanade-Senpai?!" Miku and Hibiki gasped.
"Wh-What are you doing here?" Hibiki asked nervously.
"I was looking for you guys because I wanted to ask you something." Kanade said, pulling out the same flier as Ryuji's. "But it seems Ryuji beat me to it."
"Well, well, well! I never realized you were into this kinda stuff!" Ryuji said.
"What? Did you think because I was captain of the boxing team that I was into more manly stuff or somethin'?" Kanade teased. "Even Hibiki could tell you how far that is from the truth!"
"She's right." Hibiki replied. "In fact, despite the fact we both trained under Master, Senpai's adapted his method of training by using various action movies, anime, and tokusatsu shows that have strong female characters in them."
"What can I say? I love me a woman who could kick my ass and look cute and/or hot while doing it!" Kanade said sheepishly. "But enough about me, you three seriously gonna call up a maid?"
"I was gonna." Ryuji answered. "Just tryin' to see if these two would be down for it too."
"Why Hibiki-chan and Miku-chan though?" Kanade asked. "Don't you have any other guy friends who would be interested in this kinda thing? Or is there a more specific reason that you're asking them?"
"Wh-Whaddya mean by that?" Ryuji asked in response, which made Hibiki and Miku start to quietly chuckle.
Kanade shrugged when Ryuji asked this. "Just kinda figured you'd see this as a guy thing to do." She said. "But, I guess I can't blame you for going to these two if you didn't have any other guy friends. Especially Miku-chan."
"What's that supposed to mean, Kanade-Senpai?" Miku asked.
Kanade shrugged. "You just kinda give off that vibe lately." She replied, which made Miku blush from embarrassment.
"I don't know if I should be taking that as a compliment or an insult..." Miku said.
"But let's get back to the topic I rudely interrupted: You still thinkin' about calling that maid service?" Kanade asked, changing the subject. "If so, then feel free to count me in."
"Well, that all depends." Ryuji said, turning to face Miku and Hibiki. "You two down?"
Miku and Hibiki turned to each other to discuss this. "What do you think, Miku?" Hibiki asked. "I mean, it wouldn't hurt to see how legit it is, right?"
"Besides, if this is a scam, we can always send a request to the Phantom Thieves over that 'Phan-site' or whatever it's called and they can get them to confess, right?" Kanade said jokingly, which made the trio sweat nervously before they all laughed about it with Kanade.
"I guess you're right, Hibiki. There's no harm in just looking into it." Miku said. "Alright, I'm in!"
"Me too!" Hibiki added.
"Hell yeah!" Kanade said. "But wait, how are you going to explain that to either of your moms when the maid shows up?"
"Luckily, I have a solution for that." Ryuji answered. "Some guy on my floor just moved out, so there's a vacant apartment in my complex. On top of that, the key is hidden behind the mailbox, so we can get in whenever we want!"
"Well, that's fortunate for us!" Kanade chuckled.
"Wait. You were also planning to call up a maid with these two. Didn't you have a plan for calling the maid without getting caught by your parents?" Ryuji asked Kanade, who blushed from embarrassment. "Were you just gonna call a maid over to your house?"
"...I may not have planned that far ahead..." Kanade admitted.
"Seems like the 'guy with no guy friends' came in clutch for you then, huh?" Ryuji taunted.
"Sh-Shut up!" Kanade retorted.
"Hold on." Miku said. "Won't your landlord get mad if he found out we were using a vacant apartment for stuff like this?"
"The landlord seriously doesn't care." Ryuji pffted.
"Then it's decided! Let's meet up in Shibuya Central later and go back to your complex from there." Kanade said.
"Sounds like a plan!" Ryuji replied.
"Well, I better start heading to class before the bell. See you three later!" Kanade said, walking away from the trio.
"See ya!" The trio replied as they too got up and headed towards their next classes, preparing, for better or for worse, for their plan.
Thursday: After School
Shibuya
After school let out for the day, Miku headed over to Shibuya to wait for the others. Hibiki and Kanade still had practice that day, so Miku decided to spend her time before meeting up with the others to train with Chris in the arcade. "Heh. Looks like you're really getting the hang of this!" Chris said. "At this rate, I doubt you'd be able to get any more useful training out of this machine."
"What can I say? I learned from the best, right?" Miku replied, which made Chris smirk.
Even though they had a shorter session than usual, Chris and Miku made a lot of progress in terms of teaching the latter how to use a gun. To celebrate, the duo went to the diner they went to the last time they talked to have a post-training drink.
"Gotta say, I'm really impressed, Miku!" Chris exclaimed. "To think, not even a month ago, you were a complete novice at Gun About. And now? You could probably go pro with FPS games and make the best of the best look like total chumps!"
Miku chuckled nervously. "Come now. I seriously doubt I'm that good." She said. "But I'm glad that my training has paid off. Thank you, Chris-Senpai."
"You don't have to be formal with me when we're just hangin' out, you know." Chris replied. "Besides, I'd say we're past the point of needing to be formal. We are friends, after all."
"Oh, okay." Miku said. "Either way, I'm grateful that you've been willing to train me."
"Hey, it's the least I can do." Chris chuckled. "By the way, I saw the news a couple days ago. Nice job gettin' that art-stealing geezer to confess."
"Thank you." Miku said.
"Out of curiosity, what's it like? Stealing someone's heart, I mean." Chris asked. "Like, I get the gist of it not being someone's physical heart, but is it just as simple as going into an alternate dimension where the person is in charge and robbing them?"
"Well, yes and no." Miku answered. "Sure, we need to steal from them, thus the phrase, but it's a lot more complicated than that. Especially since the person in question will be very much aware that we're going to steal their treasure."
"So they'll basically do everything in their power to stop you, then?" Chris asked. "I guess that's where things get confusing for me."
"How so?" Miku asked.
"I mean, sure, I can get that they'll know you're coming and everything like that, but, couldn't you just beat 'em up if they try to stop you?" Chris said. "I mean, they'd still be the same as they are in reality, right? So what's stoppin' you from just using that Persona to just..." Chris proceeds to make an exaggerated motion of chopping someone on the neck and knocking them out. "...Y'know?"
"That's where things get complicated." Miku answered, before looking at her phone and noticing the time. "I'd love to explain how that all works, but I need to get going. I have to meet up with Kanade-Senpai and Hibiki."
"I better get going, too." Chris said. "Well, have a good night, Miku."
"You too, Chris!" Miku replied.
Thursday: Evening
After she and Chris parted ways for the night, Miku walked around Shibuya Central, looking for the others. Along the way, she came across Mishima, who was reading a book at the Taiheido Bookstore. Shrugging to herself, Miku decided to stop next to him and chat while she waited for the others. "Hey Mishima." She said, startling the boy. "What are you reading?"
"Oh, hey Miku." Mishima replied, breathing a sigh of relief as he put the book he was reading back on the shelf. "I was just looking up some ideas for the Phan-site."
"'Phan-site'?" Miku asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about.
"Oh, come on. The Phantom Thieves Aficionado Website, remember?" Mishima said. "After Madarame's press conference, interest in the site exploded!"
"Interesting." Miku replied.
"To be completely honest, I'm hoping it's a huge hit." Mishima continued. "It's my life's work! IT'S MY MISSION!"
"Is that right?" Miku asked, concerned that Mishima might be taking this Phan-site a little too seriously. Thankfully, she noticed Kanade, Hibiki, and Ryuji from behind Mishima, so she started walking their way. "Well, I wish you luck in your research. Take care!"
"You as well!" Mishima replied as he waved off Miku, before picking up another book to gather more ideas.
After her conversation with Mishima, Miku walked over to the trio of Hibiki, Ryuji, and Kanade, who were also walking towards her. "There you guys are!" Miku said. "I was starting to wonder if you changed your mind about this whole thing."
"Come on, now. Do you know who you're talking to?" Ryuji asked. "Why would I back out of something like thi-"
"He completely forgot we were supposed to meet at Shibuya Central and thought we planned to meet at his place." Kanade interjected, which flustered Ryuji. "He only realized this when we called to ask where he was. Seriously, how did you forget that of all things?"
"Regardless, my statement stands." Ryuji said, puffing up his chest while he tries to hide his embarrassment. "So, you guys ready?"
"Hell yeah!" Kanade exclaimed.
"Let's do it!" Hibiki cheered.
"Let's do it..." Miku said, still very hesitant on doing this plan.
Ryuji's Apartment Complex
With the group ready to go, for better or worse, they left Shibuya Central and followed Ryuji back to his apartment complex. Once there, Ryuji led the girls to the vacant apartment he talked about and closed the door behind them. "So... We're really doing this, huh?" Miku asked.
"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now, Miku-chan!" Kanade replied.
"I-I'm not." Miku said. "It's just... It's only sinking in now that we're doing this."
"Relax! It'll be fine!" Ryuji said. "Besides, if this turns out to be sketchy, we can just bail. It's not like we're messing with anyone's home in this vacant apartment."
"I guess you're right." Miku sighed.
"Still, credit where credit's due, I'm impressed you thought all of this through, Ryuji." Hibiki added.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm a genius." Ryuji said, giving himself a pat on the back.
"Never thought I'd see the day where Ryuji's the smart one of the group." Kanade chuckled. "But now that everyone's nerves are settled, it's time to make the call. Miku?"
"Me?!" Miku gasped. "Why me?!"
"Simple: Out of the four of us, you're probably the only one who would be confident enough to make this call." Kanade stated.
"But, you're far more confident than me, Kanade-Senpai." Miku said. "I really think you should be the one to make the call."
Kanade shook her head. "As confident as I may be, I'm terrible when it comes to talking to people I know nothing about." She said. "That's why you're the best person for the job. You've got this!"
Miku thought about this for a moment, before confidently nodding her head. "Alright. I'll do it!" She said, pulling out her phone and dialing the number on the flyer.
"That was really nice, Kanade-Senpai!" Hibiki said while Miku was typing the number.
"I never realized you had trouble starting conversations with people." Ryuji added.
"Oh that part was a lie." Kanade whispered to Hibiki and Ryuji. "I just said that because I didn't want to be the one to make the call."
"Oh..." Hibiki and Ryuji both said, disappointed by the reasoning.
And so, Miku called the number on the flyer. The room was so quiet that everyone could hear the phone ringing as they waited for an answer. But after a brief moment, a male voice finally came in over the phone.
"Thanks for calling Victoria's Housekeeping for all your maid needs! Do you have a request this evening?"
Hearing this, everyone gasped. "Wh-What does he mean by request?" Ryuji asked. "I don't know what to ask for!"
"Well we better say something!" Kanade added.
"R-Request?" Miku asked into the phone, taking a deep breath before answering the man's question. "N-Not really."
The room was silent for a moment...
"Excellent! May I have your address?"
Miku gave the man the address to the vacant apartment.
"Alright! We have a maid available in... 20 minutes. We'll send her your way as soon as possible. Have a wonderful evening!"
With that, the call ended and the four teens were a mix of surprised and nervous. "That... Went surprisingly well." Miku said.
"Oh man! I can't believe this is really happening!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"I honestly can't believe that they allow high schoolers to use these kinds of services." Hibiki added.
"Speaking of. Ryuji? Did you make sure we were even allowed to do this as high schoolers?" Miku asked.
"Huh?" Ryuji asked, which made the trio of girls' look at Ryuji in shock.
"What do you mean 'huh'?!" Kanade asked. "Did you not check?"
"You got the flyer too! Why didn't you check?" Ryuji retorted.
"This was your idea!" Kanade retorted back. "How did you think of everything except that?"
Ryuji was about to retort, but suddenly, the doorbell to the apartment rang.
"Good evening! Victoria's Housekeeping service!"
The maid had arrived at the door, and the four students had begun to panic. "Sh-She's early!" Ryuji gasped.
"What are we gonna do?!" Hibiki asked in a panicked tone.
"Relax, guys." Kanade said. "The door's locked, so we have a minute to come up with a plan before we-"
"Oh, hold on. Looks like the door's unlocked. You don't mind if I come in, do you?"
Hearing this, even Kanade started to panic. But instead of making a scene, she took a deep breath. "Okay, here's the plan..." She said, before quickly taking off her jacket and putting it on Miku. "Miku, you handle the maid. I'll be out on the balcony supporting you from behind the blinds. Good luck!"
"Y-Yeah. Good luck!" Ryuji added, following Kanade outside.
"W-Wait!" Miku exclaimed, but they shut the door and closed the blinds before she could refuse. As this happened, Miku suddenly felt the bow on the back of her head get gently untied. "Hibiki? What are you doing?!"
"They'll be less likely to tell you're a high schooler without your bow, so I'm taking it and hiding in the closet." Hibiki said as she sprinted over to the closet and slammed the door. "You've got this. Love you!"
"Hibiki-"
"I'm coming in now!"
Before Miku could chase after Hibiki, the door opened and the maid walked in. With no other choice, Miku did her best to recompose herself without facing the maid. "Oh, there you are!" The maid said. "Good evening Mistress. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Hold on a minute..." Miku said to herself, recognizing the voice of the maid. "Is that..."
"My name is Becky from Victoria and I will be your maid for the evening." Becky introduced herself, doing a respectful curtsey as she did.
"It sounds just like her..." Miku said. "But it can't be, right?"
"I'm here to fill your tired heart with all the lovely energy I can muster. Nya!" Becky continued, making a heart with her hands, which made Miku hide her face even more.
"Umm... I-It's nice to meet you." Miku replied.
"So tell me. What would you like for me to do today?" Becky asked, startling Miku when she appeared right next to her. "I could do... Cooking, laundry, and cleaning. Although, should my lady wish it, there are... special services that I would be more than happy to provide."
"I-Is that so?" Miku asked nervously as she did what she could to avoid eye contact.
"Oh my... What healthy skin you have, my lady." Becky said, before she too became concerned. "How... How old are you, exactly?"
Miku could feel Becky's judgmental gaze beading down on her, so she came up with the first excuse she could think of. "W-Well, I'm..." Miku cleared her throat. "I'm in college."
The silence was deafening, but Becky finally broke it with a sigh. "Hmm... Well, I guess I'll just have to hold off on those services until you've matured a bit." She said. "It may be best if I go. Sleep tight, my la-"
"What the hell?! She can't leave yet!"
Ryuji shouted from the balcony, which caught Becky's attention. "Is someone there?"
"Dude! You just blew our cover!"
Kanade quietly exclaimed as she covered Ryuji's mouth. But as she did this, Kanade and Ryuji saw Becky walking towards the balcony door and their eyes went wide.
"Shit! Run for it, Ryuji!"
"Right behind you!"
The sound of footsteps leaping over the metal railing could be heard from inside as both Ryuji and Kanade jumped off the balcony. But that sound wasn't what surprised Becky. "That voice... Sakamoto-kun?!"
"So it is you!" Miku gasped, which made Becky gasp as she turned to see the shocked look on Miku's face. "Ms. Kawakami?"
Ms. Kawakami tried to think up an excuse to explain herself, but she eventually sighed. "Yes, it's me... It's your homeroom teacher... And I'm in a maid outfit..." Kawakami said, before her embarrassment turned quickly into anger. "Who put you up to this?"
Miku was taken aback by the question. "Wh-What?"
"It was Chouno, wasn't it? That harpy... She's always snooping around, trying to find something to use against me!" Kawakami continued. "Look, it won't be good for either of us if someone finds out you called a maid service while you were a high school student. It's best if we both forget this conversation ever happened."
"O-Okay." Miku replied.
"I'll treat this as if you canceled, so you won't owe anything." Kawakami said as she left the apartment. "Well, see you at school."
Once the door closed, Miku was left in shock, completely forgetting someone else was still there. "WHAAAAT?!" Hibiki shouted, scaring Miku. "Ms. Kawakami is a part-time maid?! But, why?"
"I... I don't know. I'm still trying to process what happened..." Miku replied, before letting out a tired groan. "I'm too tired to think about this right now... Let's go find Kanade and Ryuji and go home."
5/23/20XX
Friday: Morning
Shibuya
After a long night of trying to process the series of events that was the encounter with Ms. Kawakami as a maid, Miku and Hibiki talked with each other about the experience. "I still can't believe it..." Miku said.
"Me neither." Hibiki replied. "But, I still can't help but wonder why she would need the extra money from a job like that."
"More importantly, I'm curious as to what's going on between Ms. Kawakami and Ms. Chouno." Miku said.
"So what's the plan?" Hibiki asked.
"I'm going to find her once school lets out for the day." Miku answered. "Considering she didn't know you were there, it's probably best if I handled this alone."
"Makes sense to me." Hibiki said. "In that case, I'll see if any of the others want to hang out while you handle that."
Friday: After School
Shujin Academy
And so, Miku decided to meet up with her homeroom teacher to get some answers, but on her way, she saw Kawakami talking with the English teacher, Ms. Chouno. "This can't be good..." Miku said to herself as she hid around the corner to listen in on their conversation.
"We are not done talking, Ms. Kawakami!" Ms. Chouno said, backing Kawakami into the corner.
"Please, I just want to..."
"There have been all sorts of scandals on this campus lately." Chouno continued, interrupting Kawakami. "Every one of us teachers have been called into question. You, however, are always leaving work earlier than anyone, not to mention how you barely seem to make it to the faculty meetings!"
"That's it. I'm intervening." Miku said as she rushed over to the two teachers to save Kawakami. "Ms. Kawakami, do you have a moment?"
"Aren't you that transfer student from her homeroom?" Chouno asked Miku, which the latter nodded in response.
"Sorry to be a bother. I just wanted to thank you for helping me and Hibiki last night." Miku said. "That, and I was wondering if I could ask another question. Is now a good time?"
Kawakami was confused at first, but quickly caught on to Miku's plan. "Oh, uh, sure! I'd be happy to help!" She said.
"Another?" Chouno asked.
"That's right!" Kawakami answered. "Kohinata-chan and Tachibana-chan have complicated questions, so I take time after hours to help them."
"Giving lessons after school hours, hm?" Chouno said, before her expression shifted to one of surprise. "What passion! Truly, you are the ideal teacher, Ms. Kawakami!"
"It's nothing, really..." Kawakami replied. "I'm just happy to help my students."
"I was wrong to be suspicious of you. I am so sorry." Chouno continued. "Well then, keep up the hard work, you two. See you!"
Once Ms. Chouno was gone, both Kawakami and Miku let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for the help." Kawakami said. "You really didn't need to cover for me, you know?"
"You looked like you needed a hand." Miku replied, before she received a text from Hibiki. "I have to get going. Have a good night."
With that, Miku left Kawakami to read Hibiki's text.
Hibiki: So how did it go?
Miku: Well, I managed to get Ms. Chouno off of Ms. Kawakami's case, but I decided not to press her further on the maid stuff.
Miku: If anything, I think it's best if we just forget that even happened.
Hibiki: Fair enough.
Hibiki: Well, if you're done with that, want to join Ryuji and I for a bit? We're in the courtyard.
Miku: Sure thing. I'll be right there.
Hibiki: Oh, and one more thing, Ryuji wanted me to make sure you get into your gym clothes before coming.
Miku: Okay?
Shujin Academy: Courtyard
After making a slight detour to get on her gym clothes as Hibiki said, Miku met up with Ryuji and Hibiki in the courtyard, who were both busy catching their breath. "Hey guys!" Miku said to the duo.
"Oh... Hey, Miku..." Hibiki greeted between breaths. "You showed up... At a perfect time."
"Sorry if I took a bit longer than expected. I was already really close by when you asked me to join you, so I had to make a slight detour to change my clothes." Miku apologized. "What were you two doing out here, anyways?"
"Well, at times like this, when there's not much goin' on, we gotta train to prep for the next mission." Ryuji answered.
"I mean, you could always study." Miku suggested.
"We'll get to it later." Ryuji replied. "Besides, after last night, I've decided to turn over a new leaf, and I figured I'd ask you two to join me. Of course, Hibiki told me you were busy, so I told her to ask you when you weren't doin' anything."
"Fair enough, I suppose." Miku shrugged. "But, if I may ask, why here of all places?"
"This is my secret training spot." Ryuji answered. "Back in my track days, I'd always come here to train on my own."
"I can understand that, needing a place to train alone." Miku said. "Before I moved back here, I would always train myself at my school's track field after classes let out for the day."
"Like how you did before we met?" Hibiki asked, getting a nod from Miku as a reply. "I don't know why, but just hearing that makes me nostalgic..."
Flashback
Several years ago, Miku used to be the rising star of her school's track team. Every day, she would train herself on the empty track field until she could barely stand on her legs. Of course, with this massive amount of motivation to improve herself as an athlete, she would end up unintentionally isolating herself from others unless she had to.
However, this mindset would soon change after one particular training session. After she had done her laps for the day, Miku went to change back into her normal clothes and head home, but as she was heading towards the locker room, she noticed someone sitting in the bleachers with a smile on their face: It was a girl with short light brown hair wearing the same school uniform that she would wear during school hours.
Normally, she would just assume it was some passerby stopping to watch her train, but this wasn't the first time Miku had noticed her when she was training. Curious, Miku decided to approach her. "You've been watching me train for the past few days now." She said, which surprised the girl. "Can I help you with something?"
"N-Not really." The girl said. "I just always see you by yourself around school, and you seem lonely. So, when I saw that you were out here by yourself, I thought you could use some company."
Miku was confused by the girl's reasoning for watching her, but found it interesting to say the least. "I see." She said. "Well, I appreciate the thought, but I assure you, I'm okay being alone."
"But why?" The girl asked, which surprised Miku. "Why would you want to be alone?"
Miku thought for a moment before giving the girl an answer. "I mean, I don't really have a reason to be social, so I'm better off by myself." Miku said. "Besides, I'm able to train and become better at track by myself, so it works out for me in the end."
"But you shouldn't have to be alone!" The girl stated, standing up with a serious look on her face that surprised Miku. "Sure, you're able to become better at track by yourself, but what good is being alone if you can't celebrate your accomplishments with people you care for?"
Miku was stunned silent, which made the girl realize what she was doing. "I got a little carried away there... Sorry..." She said, nervously scratching the back of her head. "...I should probably leave now."
Just as the girl was getting ready to leave, Miku spoke up. "Wait." She said, catching the girl's attention. "Who are you?"
"My name's Hibiki Tachibana." The girl said.
"Why do you care about me so much, Hibiki-chan?" Miku asked.
"Like I said before, you looked lonely, so I figured you could use a friend." Hibiki answered.
Hearing this, Miku smiled. "You know what, Hibiki-chan... I could use a friend." She said, which made Hibiki light up with excitement.
Shujin Academy: Courtyard
"Looking back on it now, it's almost hard to believe I was okay with being alone." Miku said. "I'm just glad I found a friend in Ren-san before I regressed back to that isolated version of me."
"I honestly wanna meet Ren someday." Ryuji said. "Seems like a pretty chill guy."
"I think you guys would like him." Miku replied.
Suddenly, as the trio were talking amongst themselves, a male voice shouted over to them. "The hell you doing, Sakamoto?"
Hearing this, the trio turned to see two boys in gym clothes approach them. The one on the left had black hair and was wearing shorts while the one on the right had brown hair and a blue headband. "Nakaoka... Takeishi..." Ryuji mumbled. "H-Hey guys."
"Come on out with it. What's this crap about you not being done with track?" Takeishi asked.
"Sh-Shut up!" Ryuji retorted. "Besides, I was just-"
"Just get the hell out of here!" Takeishi interrupted. "There's a new track team now, and nobody invited you."
This surprised Ryuji. "There's a new team? You serious?"
"Like I said, nobody invited you, so it's none of your business either way!" Takeishi replied before he started walking away from the group. "C'mon, Nakaoka. Let's get away from these losers."
And so, the two track members left the trio, but it was clear that their short appearance left an impact on Ryuji, one that both Hibiki and Miku could see clearly. "Ryuji, are you alright?" Hibiki asked.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Ryuji quickly answered as he snapped back to reality.
"Are you sure?" Miku asked. "You seem bothered by what they said."
"It's got nothin' to do with me. Don't even worry about me, guys..." Ryuji replied as he started walking towards the locker rooms. "I'll see you later."
Miku and Hibiki watched as he walked away, both feeling equally as sorry for him. "I knew Kamoshida ruined his life when he shut down the track team because of him, but I never thought it was this bad..." Miku said.
"Yeah..." Hibiki added. "I just wish we could help him out with this the same way we could with Kamoshida..."
When Hibiki said that, Miku remembered something...
Flashback
4/12/20XX
Tuesday: After School
Shujin Academy
The day after Miku had started class at Shujin, the only thing she could think about was Kamoshida's mysterious castle. Thankfully, herself, Hibiki, and Ryuji were going to get the answers they were after thanks to Kirika.
And so, once school let out, the four planned to meet again to talk about this castle after school. However, on her way out of her homeroom class, Miku was stopped by Kawakami. "Kohinata-chan, do you have a minute?" She asked, confusing both herself and Hibiki.
"You can go on ahead Hibiki. I'll catch up with you in a bit." Miku said to Hibiki.
"Okay. See you in a bit!" Hibiki replied as she walked to where the four students planned to meet up.
"Am I in trouble, Ms. Kawakami?" Miku asked her teacher.
"It's nothing like that, I assure you." Kawakami said. "Since I'm your homeroom teacher, the school wanted me to make sure you were doing okay, given your reason for being transferred, that is."
"Oh. Okay." Miku replied. "I'm doing fine, but thanks for checking in on me."
"That's good to hear." Kawakami said. "Oh yeah, before I forget, try not to stick too close to Sakamoto. He's nothing but trouble."
"Why's that?" Miku asked.
Kawakami sighed upon hearing this question. "He wasn't always like this. He used to be different, before the track team disbanded."
"What do you mean by that?" Miku asked.
"Rumor has it..."
"Heya, Miku. What's up?" Ryuji asked as he walked over to the student and teacher.
"Speak of the devil..." Kawakami sighed.
"Just can't wait to spread the gossip, huh?" Ryuji asked.
"Weren't you supposed to dye your hair back to black?" Kawakami asked in retort.
"My bad, teach." Ryuji said before walking over to Miku and whispering. "I'll see you in a bit with the others." in Miku's ear before leaving.
"You see what I mean?" Kawakami asked Miku. "That's why I don't want you getting involved. Understood?"
"Understood..." Miku lied.
5/23/20XX
Friday: After School
Shujin Academy: Courtyard
"Hey, Hibiki?" Miku asked. "How late is Tachibana-san working tonight?"
"She won't be home until around eleven because they needed her to work overtime." Hibiki answered. "Why?"
"I think I might have a way to help Ryuji." Miku said.
Hibiki's eyes went wide. "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?"
Miku nodded.
"We're calling a maid tonight."
A/N: And with that, we end the chapter!
Now, I already know what you're going to say: "Why did I have Hibiki and Kanade go on Operation Maidwatch instead of Mishima?"
I felt like it gave me an opportunity to show Symphogear R's Kanade outside of just being the "Boxing Team Captain who just helps Miku and Hibiki get stronger."
But with that out of the way, I don't really have much else to add here, so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I shall see you all in the next one!