Both of them slammed their fists into each other's faces, reeling back.
"Come on, Niijima! That it?!" Kaneshiro boasted.
Kaneshiro moved to hit her again, but she shifted her head to the side before kicking his head.
"Urk!"
"Plenty more where that came from." Makoto answered.
"Don't get cocky, punk!" Kaneshiro snapped.
Kaneshiro continued to try and attack Makoto, but due to her new burst of power, she was able to keep up with him and counterattack with greater strength.
"You think you're the only one who can power up?!" Kaneshiro snapped.
Kaneshiro let out a roar, the ground cracking beneath him.
She watched as his body grew even taller and muscular, a red aura enveloping his body.
"Well?! Scared yet?!" Kaneshiro grinned.
"You're even more pathetic than I thought you were." Makoto scoffed. "You view yourself as the strongest man in Tokyo, but in the real world, you're nothing but a coward! Your shadow looks nothing like you look in the real world!"
"Shut the hell up!" Kaneshiro snapped. "You're the one who had come here because you were too useless to do anything about me in the real world!"
"Useless…?" Makoto repeated.
"Yeah! Useless, just like your fathe-URK!"
Makoto fired off a punch with blinding speed, knocking Kaneshiro back a few steps.
"Oh? So you can fight a bit, huh?" Kaneshiro noted. "Not that it matters. I'm stronger than you in the real world, and I'm stronger than you here too!"
Kaneshiro charged, and she quickly moved to meet him, the two of them creating a clash of brilliant red and blue bright lights.
Makoto couldn't fend him off, however, and was eventually overpowered, the force of Kaneshiro's blow knocking her across the room.
"Just like I said… useless!" Kaneshiro mocked. "You're going to end up just like your little boyfriend over there when I'm through with you."
I failed…, Makoto thought. I couldn't help the students, or Ren, or anyone. I'm so weak… I'm sorry, father…
As she slowly began losing consciousness, she began to remember things from her childhood, such as the self-defense techniques that her father taught her…
Her father caught her strike and flipped her onto the mat.
"Hehe! Again, daddy!" Makoto squealed in happiness.
"You certainly are excited for this, princess." her dad smiled.
"That's cause when I grow up, I'm going to beat up bad guys like you, daddy!" Makoto exclaimed.
Her father frowned, kneeling down beside her.
"Joining the police is tough work, Princess." her father told her. "You have to work a lot, and it's also very dangerous."
"So I'll join and protect you, daddy!" Makoto beamed. "We can spend more time together, and I can protect you, and help you with your cases!"
"Hahah… alright, alright." her father smiled. "We'd better get you started then."
Her father began explaining the basics to her as she dutifully listened.
"You need to use their momentum against them." her father explained. "As well as…"
She laid on the ground, memories of her childhood coming back to her.
"I… wanted to be a cop when I was young…" Makoto muttered. "And help father… hahaha…"
It all seemed so long ago… she really was silly and childish back then, not understanding what she was saying.
But she had promised her father that she would help him with his cases.
Although he wasn't here anymore, she still felt the need to fulfill that promise she made to him.
So even as a trail of blood flowed down her forehead, she still stood tall, her determined expression unchanging.
"Just stay down already!" Kaneshiro exclaimed. "Don't you know when to give up?!"
"I'll never give up!" Makoto snapped. "It doesn't matter how many times you knock me down. I'll keep getting up until I destroy you!"
"Just try it, Niijima!" Kaneshiro roared.
Both of them recklessly charged each other, firing off punch after punch.
"You think I'm pathetic, huh?! I'll show you pathetic!" Kaneshiro roared.
Makoto punched his stomach and head again and again, not caring at all about the blows she was receiving in the process.
No matter how many times he hit her, she refused to back down.
Suddenly, however, Kaneshiro slammed his fist hard into the side of her head, sending her reeling back a step.
"What's wrong, Niijima?! Can't keep up with me?!" Kaneshiro boasted.
Kaneshiro hit her in the forehead again, but this time, she didn't flinch, much to Kaneshiro's surprise.
"This… is for my father, you asshole!" Makoto shouted.
Makoto fired off a powerful uppercut to Kaneshiro's chin, sending him flying a few feet off the ground before falling on his back.
Makoto quickly moved to finish him off, but Kaneshiro quickly moved out of the way.
Makoto narrowly missed, slamming her fist into the ground, cracking it.
Kaneshiro swiftly got up, trying to counterattack, but this time, Makoto dodged every blow, striking back twice as hard.
Seeing that Kaneshiro was beginning to tire out, she went on the offensive.
Makoto managed to strike him multiple times, backing him into the wall before trying to strike him again.
Kaneshiro ducked before Makoto's attack could connect, her fist denting the wall instead.
Seeing the damage that she did to the floor, Kaneshiro couldn't help but back up a few steps in fear.
"Y-You're not a little girl! You're a demon! A demon!" Kaneshiro cried, his voice trembling.
"It's over, Kaneshiro." Makoto said. "It's finally time for you to pay for everything you've done."
"Pay?!" Kaneshiro snapped. "I'll never pay! I'll never go back to how I was before!" Kaneshiro snapped.
Kaneshiro charged forward for one final assault, but Makoto stood firm.
She dodged at the last second, grabbing onto Kaneshiro's back.
Kaneshiro tried to stop himself, but Makoto quickly flipped him onto his back.
"All of my sorrow… all of my rage… are in this final blow!" Makoto shouted.
Makoto channeled every bit of energy she had left into her fist, which became enveloped in a bright blue aura.
"NUCLEAR… FIST OF JUSTICE!" Makoto cried, slamming her fist into Kaneshiro's stomach as hard as she could.
"GRAAAAAAHHHHH!" Kaneshiro cried out, pain spreading through his entire body.
A small nuclear explosion covered a small area around the two of them.
When the smoke cleared, Makoto stood over and glared at Kaneshiro, who had reverted down to his normal shadow form.
"H-How… how could I get beaten… to a punk like you…" Kaneshiro coughed.
Try as he might, Kaneshiro was unable to get up, his body completely out of energy
"...Time to finish this." Makoto whispered.
Makoto walked over to the gun that she had knocked out of Kaneshiro's hands.
"H-Hold on! W-What are you doing?!" Kaneshiro stammered, beginning to stammer.
She walked over and pointed the gun at Kaneshiro, ready to fire.
"I can end your life right now…" Makoto muttered.
"P-Please don't kill me!" Kaneshiro pleaded. "I'm begging you!"
"Why shouldn't I kill you after everything you've done?!" Makoto snapped. "After all of the people you've forced into sex and drug trafficking?! After all of the innocent people you've killed?! After all the families you've destroyed?! After you killed multiple people I love?!"
"W-What about me?!" Kaneshiro shouted. "I suffered too when I was a kid!"
"Just because you were a victim doesn't give you the right to victimize others!" Makoto shouted, holding the gun closer to him.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Kaneshiro cried. "Please don't shoot."
How could she possibly spare him after everything he had done?!
All of the people he had hurt?!
As her hands began to tremble, memories of those she cared about flashed through her mind…
But also...
"Remember, princess, no matter how cruel or awful a criminal is, we can never stoop to their level." her father explained. "It's our morals and sense of justice that sets us apart from them."
"I'm glad you're looking out for me, Miss Prez." Eiko murmured. "But… Please, don't do anything you'd regret.
She remembered the words of advice from her friends and family.
They… wouldn't want this…
Ren wouldn't want this...
Makoto slowly lowered the gun.
"You are the most despicable man I have ever met in my life." Makoto spat. "But… to kill you here… the rest of the world would never know about the extent of the crimes you committed."
After ensuring that he couldn't move, Makoto stored the gun away and went to check on the others.
She approached Morgana, taking medicine out of her pack to heal him.
"Ngh… Queen?" Morgana muttered.
"Thank goodness you're ok, Mona." Makoto said, giving a sigh of relief.
"Queen!" Morgana exclaimed. "What happened?! Where's Kaneshiro?!"
"I beat him… but the others aren't doing so well." Makoto explained. "I'm going to wake up the others, so you have to check on Joker."
"Did something happen to Joker?" Morgana asked, looking around.
When his eyes landed on Joker, he let out a gasp.
"Oh no!" Morgana gasped. "Joker looks like he's in really bad shape."
"Can you do something?!" Makoto cried. "I don't have any magic right, so-"
"I'll get right on it!" Morgana exclaimed.
As Morgana rushed to heal Joker, she went over and woke up all of the others.
"All right Kaneshiro, get ready, cause it's time for round… two…?" Ryuji trailed off, confused. "Hang on, what happened to that big robot thing?"
"The battle's over, Skull." Ann giggled. "Queen managed to beat him."
"Seriously?! And I missed the whole thing?!" Ryuji groaned.
"It seems that all of us did." Yusuke replied. "Did Joker get knocked out too?"
"J-Joker… he…" Makoto trailed off, the pain rushing back to her.
"Queen, what's wrong?" Ann asked.
She moved aside, showing them Ren's body.
"N-No…" Ann whispered.
"Ren!" Ryuji shouted, too surprised to remember the codename.
They all rushed over as fast as they could, seeing Morgana at work.
"Recarm!" Morgana shouted, trying to revive Joker.
Morgana did his best to heal Joker, but despite his best efforts, Joker's eyes still remained closed.
"I… don't think there's anything more we can do." Morgana frowned.
"What?! We have to do something!" Ann cried.
Ann desperately tried to help heal, but quickly found herself running out of magic.
"Damn it, there has to be something we can do!" Ryuji shouted. "We can't just let Joker die!"
"I've done everything I can!" Morgana snapped, clearly distressed. "B-But, I don't think that Joker will-"
"No… no, he can't be dead!" Makoto shouted, cutting him off. "Why?!"
She fell to her knees, weeping over Ren's body, the others on the verge of tears as well.
"Joker…" Mona trailed off.
"Why did this have to happen?!" Ann cried.
"Damn it! I should have been able to do something!" Ryuji snapped.
"This is… a hollow victory at best." Yusuke frowned.
"R-Ren… Why?!" Makoto stammered.
She cradled his head in her lap, tears falling onto his face.
"I never got to tell you…" Makoto whispered, trying to stop the tears. "I never told you that I… that I… that I lo-
"M-Makoto?"
Makoto's eyes shot open, glancing down at Ren.
"REN!" Makoto cried.
She immediately brought Ren into a tight hug, crying into his shoulder.
"He's ok!" Morgana exclaimed.
"T-Thank goddess." Ann whispered, wiping away her tears.
Yusuke sighed in relief, while Ryuji cheered.
"Hell yeah! I knew you'd pull through!" Ryuji grinned.
Makoto continued to sob as her grip tightened, fearing that if she let go he'd be gone for real.
"Y-You idiot!" Makoto sobbed. "Don't you ever do something like that again!"
Ann giggled, before getting the attention of the others.
"Let's give these two a moment alone." Ann suggested. "We'll check out the safe."
"But this is a wonderful scene! I wish too-Ah!" Yusuke gasped, Ann pulling him by his collar.
As Ann led the boys away, Makoto continued to happily sob on Ren's shoulder.
"You're ok!" Makoto exclaimed. "You're really ok!"
"M-Makoto!" Ren gasped. "T-Too tight. Can't breathe!"
"O-Oh, sorry." Makoto stammered, loosening her hug. "B-But, how are you ok?"
"I think… it had something to do with this." Ren muttered, pointing to the charm she had given him back in Hawaii.
It was currently glowing white, like her charm had during the fight with the Cleaner.
"Must have just barely kept me alive." Ren realized. "Told you it was my good luck charm."
"...I'm glad." Makoto whispered, closing her eyes. "I'm so, so glad…"
Makoto rested her head on his shoulder, and they embraced for a little while longer until the others called out for them.
"Hey you two lovebirds! Come over here!" Ann giggled.
The two immediately broke apart, faces red.
"W-We should probably get moving." Makoto stammered.
"Y-Yeah." Ren agreed.
The two of them walked over to the others at the safe door.
She opened it up, seeing several giant golden bars on the other side.
"All right, the safe is open!" Ryuji grinned. "We can nab the treasure now!
"Before that…'' Makoto muttered. "We need information."
Makoto walked up to Kaneshiro, noting that he had fallen unconscious at some point.
"Wake up!" she yelled, kicking his side.
"Urk!" Kaneshiro groaned. "Y-You again?! I thought you weren't going to kill me!"
"We need information." Makoto told him. "How did you cause the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns?"
"We know that you're the one behind all of these incidents!" Ryuji shouted.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Kaneshiro shouted.
"Don't play dumb!" Makoto snapped. "What about what you did to my father!"
"I had help!" Kaneshiro quickly said. "Someone who did my bidding."
"...You mean you're not the one behind these incidents?" Makoto asked.
"I'd put in a request, and if it was approved, then some kind of hitman would go and get rid of the target." Kaneshiro explained. "I don't know how they did it, but they're the one behind all those incidents!"
"Are there others who hire this hitman?" Ren asked.
"Probably." Kaneshiro answered. "I didn't call in all those incidents…. like that train crash a few months ago. I didn't cause that."
"Tell us everything you know about this hitman and how you make these 'requests'." Makoto demanded.
"I would contact a middleman who would contact their boss." Kaneshiro explained. "And no, I don't know who the boss is. Then, if the request was approved, the hitman would go inflict a mental shutdown or psychotic breakdown."
"And what can you tell us about this hitman?" Makoto asked.
"They can travel to this world just like you guys." Kaneshiro told her. "They wield a sword, and they wear all black. I don't know who they are, though, cause they wear a black mask."
"So Kaneshiro wasn't the mastermind after all." Ann frowned.
"It seems that this black-masked individual is the real culprit." Yusuke stated.
"T-There! I told you what I know, so please… don't take my money!" Kaneshiro pleaded. "It's mine!"
"It's not yours at all!" Makoto snapped. "You stole it from innocent people!"
"I-I'll call off the debt, j-just… please!" Kaneshiro bargained.
"If that was the only thing I cared about, you'd be nothing but a stain on the floor right now!" Makoto spat.
"Why?" Kaneshiro muttered. "You have the perfect opportunity to kill me, the man responsible for your father's death… but you won't take it. Why?!"
"I'm… not the only one who's suffered." Makoto pointed out. "All of your victims deserve justice and closure. And they're going to get it, because you're going to confess to every single crime that you've committed! To my father, to the principal, and everyone else!"
"...Fine, I guess I have no choice." Kaneshiro grumbled. "I can't believe that I lost to someone so naïve."
"Naïve?" Makoto questioned.
"Justice is an illusion." Kaneshiro scoffed. "A lie that people tell themselves because they're too weak to handle the truth of how rotten society is, and prefer the feeling of safety and security above all else. Then they ignore the suffering of victims because it doesn't fit with that lie. There's no place… for losers like us in society."
"On the contrary, I think you'll fit just fine… inside of a prison cell, for the rest of your life." Makoto countered. "And… if society really is like that… then I'll do my part to change it for the better."
"Hah… good luck with that." Kaneshiro muttered. "It's only a matter of time… before the real mastermind of this conspiracy… takes you down."
Kaneshiro's shadow faded away in a flash of light.
Makoto let out a sigh before turning towards the others.
"Looks like that's all we're getting out of him." Makoto sighed.
"I was hoping for a little more, but at least it's something." Ren shrugged.
"So this black masked guy is the real culprit!" Ryuji realized. "That means we'll have to take them down next!"
"These incidents started three years ago…" Morgana muttered. "If this black masked person has been doing this for that long, then they'll definitely be a powerful opponent."
The Palace began to violently shake, alerting them.
"U-Um, guys? Maybe we can talk about that later!" Ann shouted. "This place is going to collapse!"
"Quickly Mona, transform so that we can grab the treasure!" Makoto ordered. "...Mona?"
"Treasureeeeee!" Morgana purred. "Treasureeeee!"
"Seriously? Again?" Makoto groaned. "Now isn't the time, Mona!"
"That's it! It's yeetin' time!" Ryuji snapped.
"W-Wait, hold on, I'll beh-AHHHHHHHH!" Morgana cried.
Ryuji flung Morgana into the air, where we transformed into his car form.
"Quickly, everyone!" Yusuke called, grabbing a golden bar. "We need to get the money!"
He was very enthusiastic about it…
They unloaded all of the money into Morgana's trunk, and took off, escaping the Palace and returning to the real world…
They landed in an alley, away from anyone else.
"Oww…" Ann groaned.
"I think I cracked my ass…" Ryuji groaned.
"Ann, Makoto, are yours cracked as well?" Yusuke asked.
"No!" Ann shouted.
"And yours, Makoto?" Yusuke asked.
"Isn't it supposed to be?" Makoto asked.
"Eh, don't worry, Makoto, I'm sure Ren'll check it out late-URK!"
Ren elbowed Ryuji before looking around. `
"So where did the treasure go?" Ren asked.
They all looked around before seeing Morgana lying near a briefcase.
"Ugh… we really need to be more careful with these escapes." Morgana grumbled.
"Hey, that golden briefcase!" Ren exclaimed. "It must be the treasure!"
Makoto got a closer look at it, noting that it had a lock on it.
"We should probably find somewhere more secure to open this." Makoto suggested. "We wouldn't want anyone to walk in on us."
"Then let's head to Leblanc." Ren offered. "We can bring it up to my room.
"Sounds like a plan!" Morgana nodded. "Let's get going."
They made their way to Leblanc, Makoto immediately taking a look at the golden briefcase.
"There's a rotary lock." Makoto realized. "We need the combination to open it."
"What?! How are we supposed to know the combination?!" Morgana cried.
"Umm… didn't Kaneshiro have a briefcase with him when we met him in the real world?" Ann asked. "Maybe the combinations are the same?"
"Did you see him open it, Makoto?" Yusuke asked.
"I did!" Makoto realized. "Alright, I'll go and open it."
Makoto entered the combination, and sure enough, the briefcase opened, revealing several stacks of bills inside.
Everyone gasped, shocked at the enormous amount of money inside.
"How much money is this?!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"It looks like one stack is a million yen…" Yusuke observed.
"There's thirty stacks in here!" Ann gasped.
"Even splitting it six ways, that's five million each!" Ren realized.
"F-Five million each?!" Makoto repeated.
"Holy shit… I can eat the deluxe pork soup combo all I want!" Ryuji said.
"I can eat all the fatty tuna I want!" Mona cheered.
"I can eat all of the triple chocolate crepes I want!" Ann grinned.
"I can eat!" Yusuke exclaimed.
"Um… wait a minute." Ren muttered, looking over the money. "This money… it's all fake!"
"For real?!" Ann asked, looking it over.
All of the bills were marked with Kaneshiro's face.
"NOOOOOOO!" Ryuji cried out in despair.
"Well… at least we saved the rest of the students from Kaneshiro, right?" Ann beamed. "And when he confesses, our names will be cleared too!"
"Yes… and we've also given peace to all of Kaneshiro's victims." Makoto whispered, letting out a small smile.
"Actually… this briefcase is quite nice, being golden and all." Yusuke noted.
"All right then, let's go and sell it!" Ryuji suggested. "Then we can use the money to celebrate later."
"To be honest, I'm still a little worried about this black masked person." Ren brought up.
"I was troubled by that as well." Yusuke agreed.
"Well, there's no point in mulin' over it now. We should just wait for the change of heart right now." Ryuji replied.
"Yes, we'll lay low for a bit, then we'll meet up to discuss our next course of action after the change of heart." Makoto told them.
With the meeting over, they went their separate ways, Makoto going home for the day.
"That Kaneshiro guy really was a stain on society, wasn't he?" Morgana frowned. "Even worse than our last targets!"
"He really was… but we still beat him all the same." Makoto nodded.
"Still, there had to have been other people who noticed their terrible deeds, right?" Morgana asked. "Why wouldn't they say anything?"
"Well… part of it must have been fear." Makoto reasoned. "Kamoshida was the 'star' of Shujin Academy and was being protected by the principal. Students and teachers would probably get in trouble if they tried to speak out. And Madarame ruined the careers of any of his students who spoke out against him…"
"Huh… humans can be so weak, huh…" Morgana muttered. "I wonder if… what Kaneshiro said about people ignoring the problems in society was true too. Because they were too weak to handle it."
"I wonder…" Makoto whispered. "My father tried to find the truth… the connection between Kaneshiro, and the individuals that he was funding. And he was killed for it."
"Makoto…" Morgana trailed off. "I… I'm sure that your dad would be really proud of you."
"Thank you, Morgana." Makoto smiled. "I'm glad… that I was able to finish what he started."
"You know… you've really changed a lot from when we first met." Morgana noted.
"Have I? Well… maybe before, I was one of those people who ignored other's suffering… who was ignorant of how horrible parts of society can be." Makoto muttered. "Ever since joining the Phantom Thieves though, I can't look away…"
"Well, that's why we're Phantom Thieves!" Morgana exclaimed. "To stop people like Kaneshiro from getting away with their crimes!"
"Yeah… but I'm not sure where we'll go from here…" Makoto admitted. "We might have stumbled upon something really big..."
"Well, no matter what it is, you'll be perfectly fine, as long as you have me guiding you!" Morgana boasted.
"Haha, of course." Makoto lightly chucked, scratching behind Mona's ear. "Just try not to get distracted by the treasure next time!"
Morgana frowned. "Now that you mention that… when I touched the treasure, I could feel some of my memories returning. And… I was starting to wonder if I really am human."
"I'm sure that you are." Makoto consoled. "You just have to be confident."
"Who do you think you're talking to?!" Morgana. "I've got confidence to spare! The two of us are unstoppable together!"
She could feel their partnership growing even stronger than before.
MAGICIAN CONFIDENT: RANK 5
"Alright, come on, it's time for bed!" Morgana exclaimed. "It's not good to stay up late!"
"Yeah…" Makoto mumbled, letting out a yawn. "You're right…"
Exhausted from such a long day, Makoto drifted off to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 7
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 5
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 4
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 5
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 2
THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 2
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 4.5%
