Begin!
~Normal POV
Zenkichi was standing alone in the PubSec briefing room. He was staring at a few case images being displayed through a projector, while being deep in thought about the case. Along with thinking about those Phantom Thieves and what they'd shown him the other day. It was beyond unnerving to think such a strange place existed…
"Inspector Hasegawa?"
Zenkichi turned his attention to the voice addressing him. "Ah, Commissioner Kaburagi." He greeted, bowing in respect.
Miyako Kaburagi was a severe-looking older woman with a very stiff manner. She was almost as tall as him, with grey hair done up in a perfectly proper bun, and cold grey eyes that were sharp and intimidating behind her square rimmed glasses. She spoke with a stern, clear voice of authority. She gave off the perfect vibe of the type of woman one should never cross.
"Are you feeling well," She asked, bluntly.
"It's just been a while since I've been undercover, that's all…" Zenkichi answered, vaguely. "Little tired, but I'll pull through."
"Don't work yourself too hard." Kaburagi said, "Have you liaisoned with the Phantom Thieves?"
"Yes, I've managed to persuade them to assist in this case."
"May I ask then why you have not reported on the identities of the other members?"
Zenkichi swallowed uncomfortably, adjusting his tie in the process. "Ah… About that… I'm sorry, commissioner, but their leader doesn't trust me. I need to show him that I'm serious about working with them peacefully. That includes keeping the others' off the record. It's the only way they'll listen to me. Thus, I am not at liberty to disclose the identities of his teammates."
Kaburagi gave him a skeptical look. "Hmph… Very well… I hope you know what you're doing, Hasegawa. Remember, if you find any evidence of their guilt, even the smallest trace, trust will no longer be an issue. If they truly are innocent, as you believe, they'd better be damn ready to prove it." She paused and changed the topic. "So, Kurusu doesn't trust you?"
"Not even a little." Zenkichi said, chuckling nervously. "Geez, every time he looks at me I keep thinking he's gonna set me on fire…"
Kaburagi smirked a bit. "Are you afraid of a 17 year old boy?"
"Of course not," Zenkichi replied, hastily.
"Well, if he ever decides to follow up on that threat, then you'll at least be able to catch him on something." She moved to the other side of the room to pour herself a cup of coffee from a machine on a table. "Damn Phantom Thieves… We know they've done vigilantism in the past, but we couldn't catch them because of the mysterious lack of any evidence… They're quite the crafty nuisance…"
"That's true…" Zenkichi said, thoughtfully. "Quite a few cells are full because of them though-"
Kaburagi nearly choked on her coffee. "Inspector! Are you insinuating these criminals are-!"
"I'm just saying, we caught some pretty big fish thanks to them! I didn't say they were right, just… we can't ignore what they've done for us, even indirectly."
Kaburagi sighed in mild relief. "Choose your words more carefully next time. I'm an old woman, you know." She took her cup and headed for the door. "Good luck on your investigation. And make sure you head home once in a while. Checking on the girl is important too." She left the room.
"...Yes, ma'am…"
~...
The gang had been driving on the highway for quite a while now. So far, much of the conversation had been about the sights to see around them. Akira had been so engrossed in his book he barely acknowledged what anyone was talking about. (Though everyone knew better than to explicitly try to bother him while he read.) Ann had chosen to sit up front, leaving Akira seated beside Yusuke and Futaba, while Ryuji, Haru, and Morgana sat across from them. Akira set up his phone stand on the table to let Sophia be included.
"Mako-chan, you've been driving for a while. Are you doing ok?" Haru asked, gently. "I have my license too, so I could always drive if you want."
"Not a good idea…" Ryuji mumbled.
"What was that, honey?" Haru snapped, giving her boyfriend a warning glare. "Is there something wrong with my driving?"
Ryuji stared back at her with wide, fearful eyes and stiffly replied, "Nothing at all, sweetheart!"
"That's what I thought." Haru said, crossing her arms in a satisfied way.
"Well, Haru, I think what Ryuji meant was you just got your license, so you're inexperienced!" Makoto said, hastily. "I'll handle as much of the driving as I can."
Sophia chimed in. "Driving sounds difficult, Makoto. Is there any way I can help?"
"You could find us a spot to take a lunch break," Makoto answered. "We could all use a chance to stretch our legs."
"Ok!" Sophia said, eagerly. "Searching… There is a riverbank nearby that is private at the moment."
~...
They stopped the car and got out to inspect the area. It was a picturesque riverside with, as Sophia said, no other people around to bother them. It was perfect for them to talk freely without worrying about eavesdropping.
The job of cooking had been left to Akira for the trip. Mainly because he knew how, and was happy to take responsibility for keeping everyone fed. Plus, him handling the food, and purchasing it, ensured that nobody would splurge all their funds on snacks. (Futaba was forcing Yusuke to budget his money to avoid that very issue.) Akira cooked a batch of LeBlanc curry for them and they set up under the camper's awning to eat. (There weren't enough chairs for Morgana to sit with them, so he ate from his bowl on the hood of the camper.)
"Mmm, so good…" Ann commented happily. "I could eat this forever!" Akira adjusted his glasses to hide his proud blush at her comment.
"Careful, Ann, you don't want to give your boyfriend a bigger ego than he already has," Futaba teased.
"And to be surrounded by nature in all its splendor makes the curry taste that much better." Yusuke said, calmly. "Is there more?"
"Sorry, Inari. The great phantom thief Futaba just swiped the very last plate!" Futaba said, grinning evilly.
"Last?!" Yusuke shouted, indignantly. "Fate is cruel…"
"Oh, it's not the end of the world, Yusuke," Makoto said, comfortingly.
"Yeah, we can always make it again, bro," Akira added.
"I'll hold you to that," Yusuke said, perking up.
"And here we were so worried about losing our vacation, but then we get to have such a beautiful spot all to ourselves," Haru commented, brightly.
"See? Like I told you guys, there's always plenty of good to be had," Akira said. "Just because we have to do this for inspector pain in the ass doesn't mean we can't have fun too."
"Speaking of that, Akira…" Makoto said, looking serious, "I understand your frustration with Hasegawa, but perhaps you shouldn't provoke him so much. I doubt verbal assault will make him any more tolerable to any of us."
Akira dismissed this concern. "Sorry, Makoto, but I tell it like it is. Pretending to be nice is only gonna make him think I'm up to something. He already doesn't like any of us, in case you couldn't tell."
Makoto sighed. "That is true, but do try not to push him over the edge. Say something too far out of line and it'll be our heads…"
"I know what I'm doing."
~...
Once they were back on the road, they stayed on it well into the evening. They had the curtains drawn over the side window and the lights were on in the car. Akira had finished his book from Ann hours ago, and had replaced it with another he had brought with him. Beside him, Yusuke was finishing the sketch he made of the riverbank, and Futaba was playing a handheld game.
Morgana yawned. "We've been on the road for a while. Where are we now?"
"We'll be entering Sendai soon," Yusuke said, distractedly.
"We made a lot of stops but there were no Jails, huh?" Futaba commented.
"That's good though, right?" Ann said, looking back at them from the front seat. "We don't want to see them popping up everywhere. And it's getting kinda late. We should look for a place to stop for the night."
"Hopefully near a good place for dinner. What's good in Sendai?" Ryuji asked.
"As far as local delicacies go, there's always beef tongue." Haru answered. "There's plenty of specialty shops around, too."
Yusuke finally looked up from his sketchbook. "Nonsense. Delicious as that sounds, we must go to Mount Aoba Park and see the remains of Sendai Castle. They house a statue of the late Lord Date Masamune. I'd very much like to see the One-Eyed Dragon for myself."
"And I wanna take a bath first." Futaba whined. "I'm not sleeping in the camper all sweaty and sticky!"
"Same!" Ann added in agreement.
"Geez, we're all over the place with this one," Morgana commented.
"Relax, we can do all of it," Akira said, bookmarking his page and putting it away.
Sophia chimed to get their attention. "This is where I come in. Searching; overnight parking lots, beef tongue, Date Masamune, and nearby bathhouses. Leave it to me. I'll find us the most efficient route to everything you've suggested." She said, smiling brightly.
"You can do all that Sophia?" Ann asked.
"It's nothing special. I'm just doing a wide search and lining up our destinations. We should first head to the parking lot at Mount Aoba Park. Then we can walk to the statue of Masamune…" She slowed her speech distractedly.
"What's up?" Ryuji asked.
"This smell…" Sophia said, looking alarmed. "There might be a Jail here…"
"Looks like we're staying in Sendai…" Akira said, dryly.
~End of Chapter
