8/13 Friday
Days until the Cleanse: 8
The moment that she woke up, she made sure that everyone else was already aware of Futaba's breakthrough.
Ren and herself would go and check on Futaba, while the others waited for them at Leblanc.
Their plan set, they made their way over to Futaba's home.
Makoto was surprised at how spotless the room was when she stepped inside.
"Wow. You did a wonderful job cleaning up around here, Ren." Makoto complemented.
"Thanks." Ren smiled. "My room in the attic was actually pretty messy too when I first came to Tokyo… though not quite as messy as this room was."
"Was it that bad?" Makoto asked.
"The floor was covered in soda, and chips… and soda flavored chips… and chip flavored soda." Ren told her.
"That… sounds disgusting." Makoto muttered.
"… Gamer fuel."
"Huh?" Makoto replied.
"It's my gamer fuel." Futaba mumbled.
"Gamer fuel…" Makoto repeated. "Right… um, so Futaba, are you almost-"
"And… done!" Futaba cheered, spinning in her chair in celebration.
"You're finished?" Makoto asked. "We don't have to worry about Medjed anymore?"
Futaba nodded. "Yeah, check this out!"
Futaba showed them Medjed's website, which was now covered with the Phantom Thief's logo.
"Incredible!" Makoto gasped. "You took down an entire hacking group!"
"Eh, Medjed's been pretty disorganized for a while now." Futaba shrugged. "There isn't really a big, united Medjed anymore. Just a bunch of little, smaller groups all claiming to be Medjed."
"So were they just bluffing when they said that they'd be able to do so much damage?" Ren asked.
"It's pretty strange…" Futaba frowned. "Their code seemed… too good."
"What do you mean, too good?" Makoto asked.
"They seemed really professional." Futaba noted. "From the way their code was written, it really seemed like it was done by someone with tons of experience."
"Not some ordinary hacker, then?" Makoto asked.
"I'm not sure." Futaba frowned. "It's possible that we might be dealing with some people in some high up places…"
"I see…that's the impression that we've had had ever since we took down Kaneshiro." Makoto admitted.
"Man… this is crazy." Ren muttered. "To think this goes so deep…"
It was a bit intimidating to think about their being someone in a position of power being behind this, and that they could possibly even be coming after them.
They would have to make their next move carefully, or maybe even lay low for a while…
"Welp, my work here is done!" Futaba shouted.
She laid her head on her computer desk… and immediately fell asleep.
"She's… sleeping?" Ren questioned.
"She must have been working really hard." Makoto said. "We should let her rest."
"I agree." Ren nodded. "Although… a part of me still can't help but worry about her…"
"How so?" Makoto asked.
"Even though she resolved to change her own heart, it'll probably be hard for her to reintegrate herself into society." Ren replied. "I don't want her to regress or anything like that."
Makoto thought for a moment. "I see… that certainly wouldn't be good… maybe we could help her."
"Yeah, we should try and support her however we can." Ren agreed. "It's the least we could do. If it wasn't for her, Wakaba would have taken us all out."
Makoto nodded. "Yes, you're right. Um…"
"What is it?" Ren asked.
"I'm sorry if this is too personal, but about your mother… did you…?" Makoto trailed off.
"I sent her a message." Ren replied. "She… actually replied with a text."
Ren pulled out his phone, showing the message.
"It says that I could visit during the summer festival." Ren told her.
"Summer festival?" Makoto repeated.
"Yeah, my hometown holds a festival every summer around this time." Ren brought up. "My mom actually said that I could bring some friends if I wanted to."
"Really? I'd love to come visit your hometown." she smiled. "We could invite all the others too."
"Yeah. Sounds like a great idea." Ren grinned. "The festival is pretty soon, I'll let everyone know."
The two of them left Futaba's home, their plans made for a while.
"I see… so that's how you took down Medjed." Sae acknowledged. "But I still have some questions."
"Such as?" Makoto asked.
"Several times, you mentioned these men in black that were present at Wakaba's funeral." Sae recalled. "But they weren't related to her in any way?"
"No, they were not." Makoto answered.
"Then why were they there?" Sae asked. "Why did they read out the suicide note to everyone?"
"It is strange, isn't it?" Makoto asked.
"… Do you know something?" Sae asked.
"I think… that it might be a part of a bigger conspiracy." Makoto theorized.
"You think?" Sae asked.
"Hear me out." Makoto stated. "I believe that this is all part of a larger cover up."
"And what do you think they were covering up?" Sae asked.
"The true cause of Wakaba's death." Makoto stated.
"The true cause?" Sae repeated. "What do you mean by that?!"
"Futaba's mother… I believe that she was killed by a psychotic breakdown." Makoto said.
"But what about the suicide note?" Sae asked.
"Forged." Makoto answered. "To throw people off of the culprit's trail. Futaba was just a convenient scapegoat."
"But why target Wakaba?" Sae asked.
"Because of her research." Makoto explained. "If it went public, then it would be much easier to trace back to the culprit."
"What was the research about, then? The Metaverse?" Sae wondered.
"You didn't know?" Makoto asked. "So when you blackmailed Sojiro to try and obtain Wakaba's research, that was just orders from your supervisors."
"…That's none of your business." Sae muttered.
"Did they promise you some kind of promotion as long as you just did what you were told, without asking questions?" Makoto scoffed.
"I told you it's none of your business!" Sae snapped.
"I just… want to know why. I know it's not for justice or me..." Makoto frowned.
"What are you talking about?" Sae asked.
"Why'd you go so far?" Makoto asked. "Money? Power? Are you just addicted to the feeling of winning? Because I can't think of any other reason why you would do all of this."
"That's just… how the system works." Sae said.
"It doesn't have to be like that." Makoto countered. "I remember when you first became a prosecutor, you wanted to shake up the legal world, and remove the corruption inside of it? What happened to that?"
"I grew up." Sae bluntly stated. "And I realized that this was just how society functioned. Either you conform or you're left behind..."
"And you're fine with that?" Makoto asked. "You're fine with the truth potentially being buried forever?"
For a brief moment, Makoto swore that she saw a glimmer in Sae's eyes. It was a spark of passion. It was an expression that she hadn't seen on her sister's face for a long time. Not since she first became a prosecutor.
It was the earnest desire to see justice done.
"The rest of your story… let's hear it." Sae requested. "Starting with the events that lead you to your latest target…"
Sae pulled out another file and opened it, revealing several documents… and a picture.
"Kunikazu Okumura." Sae muttered. "Tell me everything about what happened when you targeted him… and don't leave out a single detail."
"I understand." Makoto nodded. "And I assure you… just like Kobayakawa, we were framed for Okumura's death."
"We will see." Sae replied, though her voice lacked any hostility.
For perhaps the first time during the entire interrogation, it felt as if was Sae was finally willing to really hear her out.
JUDGEMENT CONFIDANT: RANK 5
She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself before counting with her story.
8/14 Saturday
Soon after she had woken up, she made sure to let the others know that Medjed was officially dealt with, and that they should meet at Leblanc if possible.
Thankfully, everyone was available, and she made her way to meet with them at their hideout.
Everyone was already at Leblanc by the time she arrived, although it seemed that Ren hadn't come down yet.
Sojiro yelled for him to come down, Ren yawning as he made his way down the stairs to meet them.
"So you're finally up, huh?" Sojiro frowned. "Don't slack off just because you're on summer vacation."
"I see that you guys have already made yourselves at home." Ren chuckled.
"Uh huh!" Ann grinned.
The T.V caught all of their attention, where the newscaster happened to be talking about Medjed.
"Late last night, it was discovered that someone tampered with the hacker group Medjed's website." the newscaster said. "The site's main page now displays what is thought to be the mark belonging to the Phantom Thieves. Moreso, the personal information of a Japanese man, a possible Medjed member, was illegally publicized.
Makoto frowned, hoping that Futaba wouldn't go too far…
"Medjed? Aren't those the guys people have in all up in arms about?" Sojiro asked.
"Medjed has yet to issue an official reply." the newscaster continued. "Furthermore, their previously announced cleanse of Japan has remained unimplemented for now. Some speculate that they have taken this series of events seriously and ultimately cancelled their plan."
The others couldn't help but grin at each other, satisfied with their victory over Medjed.
"What are you all smirking about?" Sojiro asked.
"Oh, um… I was just telling them about something exciting." Ren excused.
"Well stop it. You're gonna drive away all of my customers." Sojiro frowned.
They all looked around, seeing that they were the only ones in the cafe.
"But there ain't any customers…" Ryuji frowned.
"They must be slacking off too." Ren snarked.
"Can it." Sojiro grumbled. "My customers are on summer break too."
"Maaaan, it feels like our break's already over." Ryuji groaned.
"There is still plenty of time left." Yusuke pointed out.
"Maybe we could take a trip together?" Ann suggested.
"Actually, I was just about to talk to you guys about that." Ren suggested. "I was going to visit my mom in my hometown soon, and we have a summer festival around this time every year. Would you guys like to come?"
"A summer festival! That sounds great!" Ann beamed.
"Yeah, that'd be amazing!" Ryuji grinned. "You gotta show me around, man!"
"A festival in the countryside…" Yusuke muttered. "This could make for some wonderful inspiration…"
"Great. Glad you guys are all coming." Ren smiled. "Err… it's ok if I go, right Boss?"
"It's fine." Sojiro told him. "But how are you all getting there?"
"Oh, um… I guess I never thought of that." Ren frowned.
Sojiro chuckled. "It's fine, kid. I can rent you a camper van. You can drive, can't you, Niijima-san?"
"Yes, I can drive the camper van there." Makoto nodded. "Thank you, Boss."
Before they could talk any further, however, Futaba entered the cafe, yawning as she did so.
"Oh, did you just wake up?" Sojiro asked.
"Good morning, Futaba." Ann greeted.
"Eep!"
Futaba quickly went and hid behind Makoto.
"It seems she's still cautious of us…" Yusuke trailed off.
"Maybe we should head upstairs." Ren suggested. "If any other customers come in, Futaba will be even more upset."
"That's probably for the best." Sojiro frowned. "My regulars are going to be coming in soon."
Ren nodded, everyone following him upstairs to his room.
After they had all gotten settled, Yusuke spoke up.
"It's still hard to believe that a cognitive version of a person would change into such a powerful creature." Yusuke muttered.
"I believe that it must be the palace ruler that determines the strength of their cognitions." Makoto theorized. "It makes me wonder how far along Wakaba was with her research, and how much she knew about this."
"Oh yeah, she was researching' that cognitive psience stuff, huh?" Ryuji recalled.
"As Kaneshiro told us, someone has been using the Metaverse to cause all of the mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown incidents." Makoto continued. "It's very possible that there's a connection here. That whoever is causing these incidents also wanted Wakaba's research."
"They might also be the guys who forged the suicide note!" Morgana exclaimed.
"How unforgivable…" Yusuke frowned.
Despite the conversation involving her, Futaba had yet to respond to anything that they said.
"Hey, Futaba, is there anything else that you can remember?" Ren asked.
Futaba said nothing, however, instead going to grab some food that Sojiro must have ordered for her.
"That smell…" Yusuke whispered.
"Hey, no fair…" Ann whined.
"C-Can I have a bite?" Ryuji pleaded.
Futaba still said nothing, frowning at Ryuji for a few minutes before continuing to enjoy her meal.
"So mean…" Ryuji groaned.
Makoto let out a sigh at their antics. "Alright, let's just take a small break."
While everyone else started relaxing, Ren and Makoto continued speaking about their current situation.
"I know that Futaba's talented, but would she really be able to take down an entire hacker group by herself?" Ren wondered.
"It is quite surprising." Makoto nodded.
"That's cause it was just one guy in Japan, not an entire group."
To their surprise, Futaba spoke up.
"They were pretty good, but nothing special." Futaba shrugged.
"How do you know all of this?" Ann asked.
"Cause I'm the founder." Futaba nonchalantly said.
"S-Seriously?" Makoto gasped. "You really founded Medjed?!"
"Back then, it was just me, and I was called a hacker of justice." Futaba explained. "But since I was anonymous, a bunch of people around the world started using the name."
"Those must be the guys who are committin' all these crimes!" Ryuji snapped.
"It'd be a hassle to expose all of them, so I never bothered." Futaba said.
"Whaaat? You mean that these guys were just a bunch of amateurs?" Ryuji frowned.
"It's still possible that they are connected to the other Metaverse user." Yusuke pointed out.
"I discarded the Medjed name a while ago." Futaba smiled. "I'm Alibaba now."
"Futaba… What do you want to do now?" Makoto asked. "If you'd like to go back to having a normal life, we'd be happy to help you in any way that we can. And also… since you know our secret, you're welcome to join our team."
"Are you sure, Makoto?" Ren asked, concerned. "It's pretty dangerous in the Metaverse."
"That's true, but she does have a Persona of her own now." Makoto pointed out. "Let's see what she has to say about it."
"Kay." Futaba agreed.
"Wait, just like that?" Ann gasped.
"Thank you, Futaba. I'm sure you'll be a great asset to us in navigating Mementos and Palaces." Makoto smiled.
"Well, I guess…" Ryuji trailed off.
"You know, I'm kinda curious how you found out about us in the first place." Ren mentioned.
"Secret." Futaba muttered.
"Ok… so how did you learn about hacking?" Ren asked.
"Private." Futaba muttered.
"… When did you obtain the MetaNav?" Ren asked.
"I refuse to answer." Futaba said, a slight grin on her face.
She was enjoying this…
Ren frowned. "Alright, listen, you little gremlin-"
"Ren." Makoto cut him off.
"Sorry…" Ren mumbled.
"… Whipped." Futaba whispered.
Ren and Makoto blushed as the other began to snicker.
"This'll… be a problem." Ren frowned. "I wish she'd open up to us more."
"At the very least, we need to be able to communicate with her normally." Yusuke nodded.
"Well… we could always try to get to know her better." Ren suggested.
"How would we do that?" Ann asked.
"Well, first we just need her to open up." Makoto mentioned. "I'm sure that if we were all to spend one day with her, maybe she'll get more used to us."
Futaba turned to look at them, a shocked look on her face.
"Well, we certainly have the time, thanks to summer vacation." Yusuke grinned.
"Wonderful. We can begin tomorrow." Makoto smiled.
"Hey, wait a minute…" Futaba muttered.
"Oh, let's go to the beach!" Ryuji suggested. "It'll be nice to cool off!"
"Yeah, especially after we went through that desert." Ann agreed.
"W-Wait, hold on!" Futaba gasped.
After they set up a schedule for everyone, the others began to leave until only Ren, Makoto, Morgana, and Futaba remained
"Am I really going to be able to do this?" Futaba frowned, pacing around the room.
"I'm sure that It'll be fine." Makoto encouraged.
"Yeah, don't worry." Ren nodded. "We'll be there to help you every step of the way."
Futaba still looked very stressed, however, and walked over to Morgana.
"What are you… GAH!" Morgana cried.
Futaba began playing with Morgana's face, presumably as a form of stress relief.
"Whyyyyy meeeee!" Morgana cried.
Makoto spent a little while calming Futaba down, before she went home for the day.
When she arrived home, she saw her sister toiling over some documents on her table.
"Hey, sis." Makoto greeted. "I'm going to be going on a vacation with some friends soon. Is that ok?"
"Ignoring your studies again?" Sae scoffed.
Makoto frowned. "I can study while I'm there, sis."
Sae shook her head. "I told you, do whatever you want."
"… Is everything ok, sis?" Makoto asked.
"No, it's not!" Sae snapped. "Those Phantom Thieves keep making a laughingstock of us. They took down Medjed while we weren't able to do anything! And now the public is starting to support them over us!"
Makoto frowned. "I see…"
She wasn't quite sure what to say. She didn't want to risk angering her sister even more…
"I'm sorry to hear that." Makoto finally said. "I'm… going to study for a bit now…"
Sae said nothing as she went towards her room, studying for a while before going to bed, wondering what the future would hold.
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 8
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 6
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 6
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 6
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 6
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 5
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 7
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 5
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 5
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 5
THE STAR - Hifumi Togo: Rank 4
THE DEVIL - Mitsuhide Matsuoka: Rank 2
THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 2
THE DEATH - Yohei Kiritani: Rank 3
THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 4
THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 4
THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 4
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 6
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 4
THE PRIESTESS - Kasumi Yoshizawa: Rank 3
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 4
THE JUDGMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 5
THE COUNCILOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 5
Are the Phantom Thieves just? Yes 51.5%
