CHAPTER 19:

A STRENGTHENING BOND

They spent the evening explaining things to Kitagawa, who took things in his stride, surprisingly. Once he had been confronted with his teacher's true nature, some barrier in his mind had broken. So, despite Harry's personal misgivings on the matter, if only because of his haughty demeanour prior, Kitagawa was accepted as a member of the Phantom Thieves.

Kitagawa also had some bittersweet news. He'd spoken with Madarame after they left the Palace, and had managed to avoid bringing up what he saw there, instead focusing on the incident with the storeroom. Madarame told Kitagawa to tell Ann not to speak of it, or he would sue Ann into penury and cripple her modelling career. However, otherwise, his response was surprisingly if thankfully measured. No impending lawsuits, just the threat of one if Ann spoke out.

They brought back Futaba safely, with Sojiro told she had demanded a trip to Mementos at the last minute for research, something the curmudgeonly café owner accepted reluctantly. Sirius then had to go and do work at Crossroads on short notice: apparently its proprietor, Lala Escargot, had to fire someone. Which left Harry home alone…though not for long.

There was a brief group chat about the day's events, and when they were next going to tackle the Palace, but not long afterwards, Futaba called, requesting Facetime. Harry answered it, frowning at the image of the petite hacker, her glasses shining in the reflection from her computer screens. "Futaba?"

"Sorry, Harry, I'm not gonna keep you up long. I'm probably not long out of bed myself." She yawned, as if to emphasize the point. "Ugh, going into the Metaverse is tiring. And I've pulled all-nighters with my gaming and hacking, and yet, this crap is REALLY tiring. Anyway, Akira wants to wait until Saturday to try and push further into the Palace, give Kitagawa enough time to settle in."

"I know, Futaba, I was paying attention to the chat. Tonight's Thursday night," Harry pointed out.

"I know. But…I was thinking…can we go somewhere tomorrow afternoon? After school? I mean, I would go earlier, but the truant officers would be on me like Morgana on sushi," Futaba said. "I considered Akihabara, but a lot of that stuff, I can get online. But Nagano…I think there may be some collectables I can only find there. So, this is a party invite, Harry, on an expedition into the dungeon of Nagano!"

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the way she put it. "If you put it like that…sure."

After the usual warnings from Sojiro, Harry took Futaba on her way to Nagano at the appointed time. He had to admit, it made him happy to see her eyes light up like that on seeing the collectables in their cases. But as they approached, they heard a voice call out. "Hey, it's you, isn't it?"

Harry and Futaba turned, with the hacker recoiling slightly. The man standing there was thuggish-looking, a tattoo on his neck. He had a cap on his head with hearing-protection earmuffs used for shooters perched on it.

It took Harry a moment to recognise the man. On Akira's suggestion, soon after their first trip to Mementos, Harry, Sirius and Futaba had taken a trip to Untouchable, a somewhat shady shop in a Shibuya back-alley. It sold airsoft weapons, 'fake' guns that nonetheless looked realistic, but usually fired something not unlike paintballs, dangerous, but unlikely to be lethal. In the Metaverse, these fake guns acted like the real thing, something that still made Harry a little ill at ease.

The man was Untouchable's owner, Munehisa Iwai. Futaba reckoned the man was ex-Yakuza, or at least looked the part. Harry didn't want to make assumptions, but the man was gruff and shady at the least, and certainly looked thuggish. Though as he looked at them, he seemed a little friendlier.

"Didn't think I'd run into you two here," Iwai said. "You two kids on a date?"

Harry wasn't sure what to say to that, and neither did Futaba at first. Eventually, she said, "I haven't been here for a long time. Not for years."

"…Right, you mentioned you were a hikikomori before," Iwai said. "Well, Futaba, wasn't it? And Harry? Maybe you can do me a solid and help me out. I'm looking for a present for someone who's into the Featherman franchise. You know anything about that?"

"Oh boy, do I?" Futaba asked, albeit rhetorically. Harry knew for a fact that the Power Rangers-like franchise was her favourite.

What followed was a brief discussion, before Futaba gave Iwai some suggestions. Iwai gave her a smile, not his usual sardonic smirk (whenever he wasn't scowling, anyway), but a genuine smile. "Thanks, kid. Sorry to interrupt your date or outing or whatever this is, but I needed to get this present. Tell you what…if you want, I can customise your items for half-price for both of you, just this once. Just bring them in when you want."

"Hey, not that we're ungrateful, but I was just happy to help out," Futaba said.

"Well, you should be grateful, but thanks for the help. You two and the Kurusu kid…you guys are all right. Well, see you at the store later. Good luck with your date."

As Iwai strode away, Futaba sighed. "Holy shit, that was scary, though I guess he's definitely a case of not judging a book by its cover. Still, I wonder who he's getting the present for? A girlfriend? A kid he's looking after?"

"Buggered if I know," Harry said. "Though seriously, a date?"

"…Hey, it could be if we wanted it to be," Futaba said, turning to him with a cheeky smirk and waggled eyebrows.

He…didn't know what to say to that, he really didn't. He nearly retorted that Sojiro would probably have his hide. And there was, of course, the fact that his experience of dates had been pretty crappy. The Yule Ball didn't quite count with Parvati Patil, especially as that ended up being something of a clusterfuck. And his awkward attempts at dating Cho Chang didn't work out, and he wasn't sure he wanted to after that debacle with Marietta Edgecombe.

Harry had to wonder about his thoughts about his relationship with the various girls he had known. Hermione had been his first female friend, but she had been more like a bossy sister figure. Ginny was his first friend's sister, and while he had become attracted to her in the previous year, there was always that notion that she was Ron's sister. He had been infatuated with Cho Chang, but once he actually got her, it was because her real boyfriend was dead, which had hampered things somewhat. And Luna was…well, Luna.

Of course, he also remembered the fangirls. Those who thought they were entitled to have him. Ginny was never that bad, thank whatever god existed, though she had other elements of being a fangirl, but others?

He was definitely friends with Futaba now, he'd already affirmed that with her. And she had many great qualities. She was cute, intelligent, and compassionate. What's more, while many would have sneered at her quirks, Harry actually found them endearing. They were like Luna's quirks, but more relatable.

And he knew what it was like to be an outsider. He may not have had Asperger's Syndrome (as far as he knew(1)), and he certainly didn't have an eidetic memory, but the Dursleys and those within their circle of influence made him feel like an outsider. Even when he learned what he was, in a way, he still felt like an outsider to Magical Britain, raised in ignorance of his family's legacy, to say nothing of the fame thrust upon him, just for the act of surviving the Killing Curse when his parents did not.

Maybe this bond was the result of him being in her Palace, from some weird cognitive interaction. Or maybe it was interacting with her Shadow. Or maybe it was good old-fashioned human interaction, or a combination of the above.

But could it be developed further? Should it? Harry came from another timeline entirely. He had obligations there. True, people were saying it wasn't his place to fight Voldemort, but that was irrelevant. Even if Harry didn't wish to fight Voldemort, Voldemort would stop at nothing to exterminate Harry. Harry knew that the warlock's pride would never allow him to keep Harry alive, unless it was in unceasing agony.

And what of his friends? The last he saw of Hermione and Ron, they were both in mortal peril. Not that Neville or Luna weren't, but Ron was being attacked by those weird brain things, and Hermione had gone down to that curse from Dolohov. As much as Harry was angry with them for keeping shit from him, their friendship had only been shaken, not sundered. He didn't want to abandon them if they were alive.

But on the other hand…in this world, he was free. Free to be himself, not the Boy Who Lived. Free to help others on his own terms. He would always have that 'saving people thing' Hermione identified in a fit of exasperation, and being a Phantom Thief was a fun way to do it.

And of course, he and Sirius were stranded here. Until either they could find a means to go back via Mementos or somewhere else, or else Dumbledore or someone else found a means to come here, they were stuck. It was something he admittedly tried not to think about.

Maybe, if he did have the opportunity to go back, he'd only go back long enough to ensure Voldemort was stopped, and to gain closure with his friends, perhaps even persuade them to come here. Magical Britain in general had certainly shown its true colours when they believed the gutter press in thinking he was an attention-seeking brat. He wasn't their hero anymore, just a punching bag.

But here? Despite being adrift in time, and on the other side of the world, he felt like he had purpose, something he could do to help people. Hopefully, it was something more constructive and productive than what he did, which was what? Basically be a teacher for a bunch of teenagers when the actual teacher was deliberately sabotaging their lessons? Be a scapegoat? Fight a decades-old warlock who was basically a magical Neo-Nazi?

Besides, the relative normality of his life now was great. Aside from being part of the Phantom Thieves, it felt…comforting to be a relatively normal teenager for a change, instead of being a famous figure. Okay, it couldn't be considered truly normal, what with him being a wizard from another world, and Futaba being a prodigy hacker with Asperger's Syndrome and comorbid conditions, and they were Phantom Thieves doing their thing in mental worlds. And yet, at times like this…it felt normal, in a proper way, not in the mediocre mundanity that the Dursleys seemed determined to enforce.

So, if this was him going on with a date with Futaba, then why not?

"Well, if this is a date, then where would my lady like to go?" he asked facetiously.

Futaba seemed a little taken aback at his posh tone, before smirking. "Hmm…well, let's go to another store. I think it may have the treasure I seek…"

"Welp, dating sims certainly have it wrong," Futaba mused as they walked back to Leblanc from the Yongen-Jaya station, having bought what Futaba wanted. "Then again, they're not exactly filled with great dating advice. But hey, I had fun today."

"And you did well with the crowds, Futaba."

"And without the Calming Draught to boot!" Futaba said with a grin, which soon fell off her face. "It's still hard, though. I…I still find it hard to be around crowds, and unfamiliar people. But I can't rely on crutches forever. Even before Mom died, I was never that great around people."

"I wasn't that great around people either," Harry mused. "Then again, the Dursleys pretty much kept me isolated, save for when I needed to go to school."

"Yeah. But…well, you're pretty much my Key Item, Harry, to stay around crowds…but I can't rely on you forever." Her voice caught in her throat, and Harry turned to see her, looking up at him. "…Harry…when you find a way to go back to your world…you will come back here, to visit, at least?"

The answer was surprisingly easy. "…Futaba, of course I will. If anything…once Voldemort is dealt with, I may just stay here, and either visit my friends there, or else have them come here."

"Huh? Really?"

"…Futaba, I'm famous back there, but fame is a double-edged sword and fickle as anything," Harry said. "And I'm famous for surviving when my parents were murdered, and pretty much little else. I have friends and loved ones there, true, but Magical Britain decided it didn't want me as a hero. Here, though…I can do something worthwhile. I can do it on my own terms. I mean, I sought out trouble often enough, but…sometimes, it just got forced on me. But here, I can do some good as part of our group. I feel like I can actually do something."

"Well, don't forget, you already have, Harry," Futaba said, smiling gently. "You saved me. No matter what you decide, whether you go back and just visit this timeline, or stay here, I'll be forever grateful. And we're friends for life."

Harry chuckled. Yes, they were, weren't they? And with that, the wizard and the hacker headed onwards, the day over for now. But they had much to prepare for later. After all, Madarame's Palace still awaited them…

CHAPTER 19 ANNOTATIONS:

More Harry/Futaba fluff, with a cameo from Iwai. He's one of my favourite Confidants from the game, not least because he is voiced by Kaiji Tang.

Now, I did say this chapter wouldn't be out until my December update, but I managed to get the next one finished. Maybe you'll get some more before then, or maybe not. Who knows?

1. This is my nod to Harry Potter and the Daft Morons by Sinyk, where Sinyk claims that Harry is on the autistic spectrum. I honestly believe otherwise. Incidentally, for those who want a politically-savvy Harry who steamrollers the opposition, that fic is for you…