6/23 Saturday

Days Until Pics Leaked: 16

Thankfully, school wasn't too stressful or busy that day, though she did notice that Eiko wasn't around. Before she could wonder about it, she felt her phone buzzing.

Aiko: Eiko's at home. She's not feeling well. I'll grab her homework.

She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that nothing had happened to her.

Eiko was likely feeling really stressed… and she was too, honestly.

So after classes ended, she decided to follow Ren's advice from last night and head to Dr. Maruki's office.

"Oh, Niijima-san, hello!" Maruki greeted. "Did you need something?"

"I wanted to talk for a bit about… what's been going on in my life."

"This sounds serious. Did something happen, Niijima-san?" Maruki asked.

"Well…"

She explained the falling out that she had with her sister, as well as how the rift between them had been growing ever since their father died.

"I see… it certainly sounds like you have a lot on your plate, Niijima-san." Maruki stated. "And the same goes for your sister. Having all that responsibility placed on the two of you must be very rough."

"Yes, it is." Makoto nodded. "And it feels like things are only getting worse…"

"Do you believe that your father's death is the cause?" Maruki asked.

She nodded. "That's when I noticed things started to change. But also… I feel like there's more that I could be doing to help."

"Niijima-san, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself." Maruki told her. "You seem very willing to forgive others… but you need to learn how to forgive yourself as well."

"Maybe you're right…" Makoto muttered.

"You know, I... used to know someone in a similar situation." Maruki brought up. "She had lost both of her parents in a horrible event. Thankfully, I was able to… help them get over it. I'm hoping that one day, I'll be able to help many other people like her… starting with you, Niijima-san."

"T-Thank you… um, does this have to do with your research?" Makoto asked.

"A bit, yeah." Maruki smiled. "I was actually going to do a look into it a bit more today, but I had to get a few bandages from the nurse's office first."

"Why is that?" Makoto asked.

"Well, on the way to school today, I had to rescue a cat from a tree." Maruki said, frowning. "I had no idea cat claws were so sharp…"

"Tell me about it." Makoto nodded. "I have to be careful with my cat. He's a little feisty sometimes."

She let out a small giggle as she felt her backpack wriggling.

"Well, I did manage to rescue the kitten, at least." Maruki smiled. "And made sure to apply some antibiotics. Oh, but speaking of pain… we were talking about different types of pain before, weren't we?"

"Yes. Injuries of the heart, you called them." Makoto nodded.

"That's right." Maruki said. "We've made incredible progress with dealing with physical injuries, but we still have so much progress to make with mental injuries."

"I suppose it must be difficult." Makoto acknowledged. "Mental injuries aren't as obvious as physical ones. And there aren't exactly antibodies that can be applied to them."

"Yes, it's quite a bit more complex." Maruki agreed. "Oh, let me demonstrate!"

Maruki suddenly got up from his seat.

"Oh, Niijima-san, woe is me!" Maruki exclaimed. "My heart is in such pain! It's like a dagger piercing through my chest."

"Umm…"

"I have such a torturous feeling burning deep inside me!" Maruki acted.

Maruki's acting, if it could even be called that, seemed to be about on par with Ann's…

"Dr. Maruki…" Makoto trailed off. "I think I get it…"

"...Oh, sorry." Maruki frowned. "My acting skills aren't that great. Please don't look at me like that…"

Maruki sat back down.

"Anyway, what I was trying to say is that it's hard to understand trauma that isn't our own." Maruki stated. "It's not like… we can look directly into the hearts of others.

"...Right… of course not…" Makoto trailed off.

"However, I'm confident that if I continue to study the heart, I might be able to make a breakthrough in the field, and then the medical community as a whole will be able to understand and treat the psychological pains that affect people." Makoto excitedly said.

"That sounds wonderful." Makoto beamed.

"Thank you." Maruki replied. "Many others have written off my dreams as silly or pointless… and to be honest, I can't really blame them. Still, I have to thank you for listening and trying to understand."

"Your dream is hard to imagine, admittedly." Makoto said. "But I'm sure that there are many people whose dreams were dismissed as foolish, only for them to make great advances in their field."

"I'm glad you feel that way." Maruki smiled. "When I speak to you, I feel as if I can feel my dream becoming real."

"I'm glad that I was able to help." Makoto smiled.

"Oh? Well, maybe you'd like to become my assistant." Maruki suggested. "I don't exactly have much of a budget, so I can't really pay you, but it would be a big help!"

"Well… I suppose if it will help others, I'll see what I can do." Makoto promised.

"Thank you so much, Niijima-san!" Maruki replied. "I'm really thankful for your assistance."

As Maruki expressed his gratitude, she felt like she could trust him a little more.

COUNCILLOR CONFIDANT: RANK 4

"Alright, let's end things here for now." Maruki said. "I'll let you know if I need any help, and you can feel free to stop by my office at any time."

She thanked him and said goodbye before leaving his office.

As she walked down the halls, she noticed Ann nearby.

"Oh, hey Makoto." Ann greeted. "Doing council business?"

"Actually, I was seeing Dr. Maruki." Makoto explained.

"Oh yeah, the school made you guys see him, huh?" Ann recalled.

"It's actually not so bad." Makoto told her. "It's been really helpful to talk to a professional like him."

"Oh really?" Ann asked. "Do you think… that it would help if I talked to him?" Ann asked.

"If you have something on your mind, and you think that talking to someone could help, then I'd recommend it." Makoto encouraged.

"Hmm… maybe I will, then." Ann grinned.

Ann went off towards the direction of Maruki's office.


Ann slowly opened the door to the office, peeking her head inside.

"Umm… hello?"

"Oh, you're… Ann Takamaki, right?" Maruki asked. "Did you need anything?"

"I came here for a counselling session. Is now a bad time?" Ann asked.

"Not at all! Feel free to come by anytime!" Maruki offered. "Please, take a seat. Would you like some snacks?"

"S-Snacks?!" Ann exclaimed.

Ann quickly grabbed some sweets and a juice box, sitting down on the couch.

"Shall we get started?" Maruki asked. "Oh, but first, try to relax, ok? We don't need to talk about anything you don't want to."

"Um… ok." Ann mumbled. "To be honest, there's only one thing that's really on my mind right now."

"You don't need to force yourself." Maruki gently said.

"It's alright." Ann replied. "I know that I need to talk to someone about what happened. But… it's a pretty long story…"

"That's alright. Take all of the time you need." Maruki encouraged.

Ann nodded, explaining everything that had happened between herself, Shiho, and Kamoshida.

"...What a horrible thing to do to someone." Maruki muttered.

"That's why… I hated him so much." Ann confessed. "For what he did to Shiho.

Maruki scribbled something down on a notepad.

"Hmm… anything else?" Maruki asked.

"...At first, I thought Kamoshida should face the same fate as Shiho was going to do. But… that would just be giving him an easy way out."

"I see… that's an interesting perspective. You seem like a very smart and level-headed young woman, Takamaki-san."

"H-Huh?" Ann stammered. "Uh, I think you've got the wrong idea…"

"I'm not so sure." Maruki agreed. "At least, I think that you're more mature than I was at your age."

"It's not like I did anything special…" Ann muttered. "I don't think I'd be as mature as you say if I hadn't gone through what I had."

"Hmm… So how do you feel about all of this right now?" Maruki asked.

"Right now, I just hope Shiho will get better soon." Ann stated. "I… want us to go back to laughing and having fun together like we used to. I don't even care about Kamoshida anymore!"

"It's good not to dwell on the past!" Maruki praised. "You have to look towards the future, right?"

"Yeah, something like that." Ann nodded. "I guess it'd be better if none of this had ever happened at all, but…"

"Yes, I definitely agree with you there." Maruki chuckled. "But it's impossible to erase all of these tragedies."

"Hah, if only, right?" Ann grinned. "Everyone would be a lot happier if we could just do that."

"Yes… I'm sure that they would be." Maruki agreed.

The two continued to speak for a while until Maruki noticed the clock.

"Oh! It seems I've lost track of time." Maruki realized. "We should wrap things up for now. Thank you for coming to see me."

"Oh no, thank you!" Ann beamed. "I feel soooo much better now that that's all off of my chest."

"Glad to hear it." Maruki smiled. "Feel free to stop by again anytime."

"Will do! See you around!" Ann promised.

Ann left the room, heading home for the day.


6/24 Sunday

Days Until Pics Leaked: 15

As much as she wanted to head back to Kaneshiro's palace, Makoto knew that she needed to prepare as much as possible.

And those preparations involved getting stronger personas.

She made her way to the Velvet Room, hoping to fuse some better personas for herself.

As soon as she stepped inside, she saw a table that the twins must have set up, with the Jack Frost plush she bought for them on one of the seats, a teacup in front of him.

"DON'T LOOK, INMATE!" Both twins yelled, running up to her.

"Um… was I interrupting something?" Makoto asked.

"NO!" Caroline snapped. "What are you doing here, inmate?!"

"...Fuse personas, as usual." Makoto stated.

"O-Oh, of course." Justine muttered. "But once you're finished, we have another request."

"And what would that be?" Makoto asked.

"Somewhere young people like you tend to go." Justine explained. "It's where we can view the wildest fantasies of humans."

"We heard that there was a wide variety of these fantasies shown on a screen there… and it's not even in the Metaverse." Caroline added.

"These fantasies… they must be cognitions given form." Justine claimed. "I'm sure that they could assist you."

"Are you two… talking about a movie theater?" Makoto asked.

"Moving theater?!" Caroline gasped. "Why is it moving? Is it cursed to wander the land?"

"No, that's not… just follow me and you'll understand, ok?" Makoto explained.

The twins followed her to the movie theater and picked out a movie.

Thankfully, it was a movie aimed towards teenagers, so the employees didn't mind the twins watching it that much.

Unfortunately… It was a horror movie.

"O-Oh my!" Justine gasped as one of the people in the movie was ripped apart by a monster.

"A-Ah?! What is that?!" Caroline shrieked.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Makoto cried. "L-Let go of my arm!"

After an hour and a half of suffering, the movie finally ended, the three of them leaving the theater.

"H-Hah! That was pretty enjoyable, inmate!" Caroline grinned. "We won't underestimate the human imagination again."

"You can try to say that you enjoyed it, but your screams tell a different story." Justine pointed out. "Not to mention that you spent most of the movie clinging to the inmate."

Justine let out a sigh.

"It's no wonder how everyone mistakes us for little children." Justine frowned.

"S-Shut up!" Caroline snapped. "It was only because of that thing that jumped out of the screen to scare me! And what about the inmate?! They couldn't stop shaking the entire time!"

"D-Don't bring me into this!" Makoto protested. "I didn't want to go see a horror movie! And both of you were very scared as well!"

"It certainly was startling." Justine admitted. "The creature's face seemed to stretch out right at me… I think it was the moment I donned those black glasses. What were those?"

"Those were 3D glasses." Makoto explained. "They let things pop out on you from the screen."

"Oh, so there was a trick to the glasses." Caroline realized. "I wonder… why do humans even create such large and elaborate fabrications in the first place? Isn't imagining or dreaming of them enough?"

"And why do other humans spend their money to witness fictional events?" Justine asked.

"Well… for fun and entertainment." Makoto told them.

"Hrmp… how naive." Caroline scoffed. "Humans are so simple minded."

"But didn't you just say that you enjoyed it?" Makoto asked.

"W-Well…" Caroline mumbled.

"People do things just for fun all the time." Makoto mentioned, before letting out a small smirk. "Like, say… having tea parties with plush dolls."

"What are you trying to say, inmate?" Justine frowned.

"Yeah, tell us!" Caroline snapped.

"It's nothing." Makoto smiled, shaking her head.

"I wonder… perhaps humans immerse themselves in imaginary worlds as a means of escaping reality?" Justine questioned.

"Escape, huh… that sounds rather human." Caroline added. "You weren't planning an escape yourself, were you, Inmate?!"

"No, of course not!" Makoto denied. "Escapism… in moderation, it's fine, but too much isn't healthy."

"I'm glad you understand that even the very thought is foolish and pointless." Justine smiled. "No matter how much you might rail against it, you shall remain our Inmate."

"Hmph! I bet you were thinking about blasting away the cell door!" Caroline accused.

"W-What?! No!" Makoto stammered.

"That's enough, Caroline." Justine interjected. "If he were to attempt a jailbreak, we would surely notice."

"Oh really?" Caroline muttered. "Then how would you go about escaping?"

"I'd probably use a spoon to dig a hole through the wall, then conceal it with a distracting poster." Justine stated.

"Blowing open the cell door seems more impactful." Caroline grinned. "They even did that in one of the previews they showed before the movie!"

"That's not nearly as suspenseful or exciting." Justine claimed. "Those are necessary elements to an escape. Did you learn nothing from the movie, Caroline? Or were you to busy clinging to the Inma-"

"Shut up! We'll just have the Inmate decide for us!" Caroline snapped.

Really? They're making me decide for them again?" Makoto thought.

"Hey! Tell us how you'd try to escape! With a spoon or blasting the door down?" Caroline asked.

"Well… I think… that it's nice to see the two of you doing a bit of fantasizing yourselves." Makoto smiled.

Both twins let out small gasps.

"See? Not everything humans do is bad. Sometimes it can even be fun." Makoto told them.

"Well… I guess there's no harm in allowing yourself to fantasize a little bit, every now and then." Caroline admitted.

"Indeed, we learned quite a bit about the power of human imagination." Justine agreed. "That being said, too much imagination must play a role in the vile palaces that plague humanity."

"Hear that, Inmate?!" Caroline smirked. "You're free to fantasize, but make sure you keep it in check! You need to focus on your rehabilitation!"

Maybe it was just her imagination, but she thought that the twins were warming up to her just a bit...

STRENGTH CONFIDANT: RANK 3

After bringing the twins back to the Velvet Room, she returned home for the day.


6/25 Monday

Days Until Pics Leaked: 14

She quickly noticed that Eiko was attending school today, so Makoto decided to try and check up on her if she could.

As soon as classes ended for the day, she stopped Eiko outside of class.

"Hey… Eiko." Makoto greeted.

"O-Oh. Hey, Makoto." Eiko muttered.

"It's good to see you." Makoto smiled. "Are you free today?"

Eiko nodded.

"Would you like to get something to eat together?" Makoto asked.

"S-Sure." Eiko agreed.

"Great. We can go to that cafe again." Makoto suggested. "My treat."

"A-Are you sure? I can pay." Eiko offered.

"Eiko, it's fine." Makoto insisted. "You paid for the last one, remember?"

"Ok…" Eiko relented.

The two girls went off to the cafe.

After getting their orders, Makoto tried to strike up a conversation.

"How are you feeling?" Makoto asked.

"Fine…" Eiko mumbled.

"Is everything ok?" Makoto asked. "After… What happened?

"...I'll be ok." Eiko said. "I… didn't want to spend too long at home. My parents would get mad…"

"Eiko… you've been through a lot." Makoto told her. "It's ok to take a break."

"You didn't take a break." Eiko pointed out. "And you're suffering even more! You're… so much stronger than me..."

"No… if I was strong, I'd be able to protect the other students." Makoto argued.

"Haha… that's just like you, Miss Prez." Eiko replied. "You're always looking out for other people, and I always need other people's help."

"Eiko, I needed help too." Makoto pointed out. "We wouldn't have gotten out of there if not for the others."

"I guess, but…"

"Eiko?"

"You've got a lot of friends, Miss Prez." Eiko sighed. "I'm surprised you aren't spending time with them instead."

"Eiko, don't say things like that." Makoto insisted. "Nobody could replace you."

"Thanks…" Eiko whispered. "You and Tsukasa… sometimes it feels like you're the only people who care…"

Makoto frowned. "Tsukasa… he led you into that alleyway, right? Where those Yakuza members ambushed you…"

"W-What are you trying to say?!" Eiko snapped. "Tsukasa tried to protect me! He cares about me!"

She still had her suspicions about Tsukasa, but it seemed that Eiko didn't feel the same.

"I… was just worried about him." Makoto quickly backpedaled. "Did those Yakuza members do anything to him?"

"No, they didn't…" Eiko trailed off. "T-Thank goodness for that."

"Yeah… I'm a little surprised. I would have thought that they'd do something to him too." Makoto stated.

"W-Well… maybe they thought that he had a lot of money to pay." Eiko stammered. "S-Speaking of…"

"Don't worry. I have a plan, ok?" Makoto assured her. "I can handle this."

"That guy… Kaneshiro, I think his name was. Did he really… kill your dad?" Eiko whispered.

"Yes, he did." Makoto muttered. "And I'll never forgive him for it. I'll make sure he pays for what he's done, and… and…"

I'll destroy him…

I'll make him feel the pain he's caused others!

"Makoto!"

Makoto's eyes widened, realizing how hard she was gripping her glass, and how other customers at the cafe were starting to stare.

"S-Sorry…" Makoto said, embarrassed. "I guess I got a little carried away."

"I'm glad that you're looking out for me, Miss Prez." Eiko replied. "But… Please, don't do anything you'd regret. I don't want something bad happening to you."

"You're right." Makoto admitted. "I'll try not to be so reckless… but I'll still get us out of this situation."

"You're amazing, Makoto…" Eiko murmured. "I hope that one day, I can be more like you."

She could really feel Eiko's admiration.

FAITH CONFIDANT: RANK 5

After saying goodbye to Eiko, she decided to head home for the day.


6/26 Tuesday

Days Until Pics Leaked: 13

Kaneshiro would undoubtedly be their toughest challenge yet.

With that in mind, she figured that it would be essential to come up with a solid strategy.

And she knew exactly who to go to to help her come up with one.

After making a quick call, she made her way to a small church in Kanda, where a certain star shogi player was waiting for her.

"Oh, Niijima-san, hello." Hifumi greeted. "Did you come to practice your shogi?"

Makoto nodded. "From the few games I've played, I've really enjoyed it. I was hoping to play a few more matches with you."

"Wonderful. I'll get the board ready, then." Hifumi smiled.

After setting up the game board, she decided to play a few matches with Hifumi, hoping that it would help her develop a few strategies for the fight ahead.

If only Hifumi didn't act so… bizarre.

"Vanguard of my Togo Kingdom… go forth to the front lines! Trample upon them all!" Hifumi cried. "You think to protect yourself with that paltry defense? Hahaha… It's useless!"

"U-U-Ummmm…" Makoto trailed off, unsure how to respond.

"Awaken, dragon!" Hifumi exclaimed. "Let your shadowy hellfire consume them all! Dark Inferno Rock!"

Hifumi captured her pawn, in perhaps the most dramatic way possible.

This isn't going to go well, will it, Makoto mused.

Turn after turn, she would carefully scan the board and plan out her moves, only for Hifumi to blindside her with a move she hadn't seen coming, taking out her pieces one by one.

She hesitantly moved a piece, only for Hifumi to scoff at her.

"Do you hear them?" Hifumi asked.

"H-Hear what?" Makoto asked.

"The wailing of dying soldiers, echoing throughout the battlefield." Hifumi bluntly answered. "With an incompetent queen, a soldier cannot show his true bravery. Time for you to suffer!"

As Hifumi continued to capture her pieces, she couldn't help but picture them as her friends, slowly falling one by one in Kaneshiro's palace.

"My shogi hand trembles!" Hifumi shouted. "Now, I can unleash my full power! I summon forth the forbidden move that shall bring your end… Ultimate Excalibur Attack!"

Hifumi slammed her piece down with all of her might.

"Check." she calmly said.

Makoto found herself completely dumbfounded, unable to form a proper response to

"Ah, I did it again…" Hifumi frowned.

"Did what again?" Makoto wondered. "You mean…?

Hifumi nodded. "It's an embarrassing habit of mine. During a match, I, um… I tend to get very aggressive. It's as if I assume the role of a queen of a kingdom."

"I suppose I can be a little competitive as well, but not like this…" Makoto muttered. "It's… um, certainly interesting."

"I-It is?" Hifumi gasped. "You're a strange one, indeed."

Really? I'm the strange one?, Makoto mused, giving a deadpan look.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Hifumi asked. "You look like there's something that you really want to say."

"Err, it's nothing." Makoto lied. "But why do you act like that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"My father had me do image training exercises when I was younger, to help me learn the rules." Hifumi explained. "I gradually began to view the shogi board as my own kingdom. I had fun coming up with stories and strategies for, um… my subjects, but…"

"Is there a problem?" Makoto asked.

"I've heard that people make fun of me on the internet." Hifumi frowned. "People think I'm weird, or crazy, or an otaku…"

"That must be hard." Makoto frowned.

"I mean, I can't blame them…" Hifumi sighed. "I think I'm weird too."

"Well… you're not harming anyone, so it's not so bad." Makoto comforted. "Be confident in yourself!"

"Your positivity is a welcome relief." Hifumi smiled. "I might even be able to learn more from our matches than I thought."

She could sense a bond beginning to form between her and Hifumi…

STAR CONFIDANT: RANK 2

"Before we end for the day, I wanted to know… do you read weekly magazines?" Hifumi asked, an unsure look on her face. "Um, well… I'm doing a photoshoot for them, and I didn't want you to be surprised if you saw it."

"You seem… hesitant." Makoto noticed.

"You're very perspective." Hifumi noted. "To be honest, I am reluctant to do it… I also have an interview to do later, so let's end things here for now."

Makoto wondered why Hifumi would bother with the photoshoot if she didn't like it, but didn't dwell on it much. There were other matters she needed to deal with.

She went home, spending hours working on a strategy for Kaneshiro's Palace. Morgana frequently scolded her, insisting that she head to bed and get a good night's sleep. Despite that, however, she continued to work, and finally, late into the night, she managed to come up with a plan that she was satisfied with.

She would take Kaneshiro down, once and for all!


Makoto's Confidant Progress:

THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 6

THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 5

THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 4

THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 4

THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 5

THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 4

THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 4

THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 4

THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 4

THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 2

THE STAR - Hifumi Togo: Rank 2

THE DEVIL - Mitsuhide Matsuoka: Rank 1

THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 1

THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 2

THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 2

THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 1

THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 3

THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 2

THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 3

THE JUDGEMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 3

THE COUNCILLOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 4

Are the Phantom Thieves just? Yes 4.7%