Begin!

~Normal POV

8/2 - Wednesday

After Akira stocked them up on necessary supplies, they were ready to enter the Jail at last. Honestly, they didn't realize how they didn't simply guess Natsume's keyword. With how much the city went on about his damn book, they could have just tried the title in EMMA before this and gotten in already. Joking aside, it was best to be ready for anything. This was only their second Jail after all. And given that Natsume was likely aware of the Phantom Thieves' existence by now, it was a safe bet that he had tighter security than Alice did…

What they weren't prepared for was what they saw inside the Jail upon entry.

Natsume's Jail took up most of the Sendai area. At its core was a huge castle with a huge crown shaped birdcage on the highest tower. The area was littered with archaic fantasy imagery and artifacts. Cars were replaced by horse drawn carriages. It was daytime here but the sky was covered in ugly red clouds. Nearby they could see a huge golden statue of Natsume himself. Akira guessed that his sin had to do with vanity… As expected, they were seen as a threat already.

"So, that's it…" Morgana said, pointing at the castle in the distance.

"Once again, the domain reflects who's within…" Yusuke commented, looking at the gaudy imagery with discomfort.

Akira sighed to himself. "Why can't we ever go anywhere nice?"

"Since we're in the Jail, that means him being popular is a total lie," Ann said.

"Doesn't he feel any remorse for obtaining his success this way?" Haru asked, sadly. "His fans are only his fans because he forced them to be…"

"That's just how smug assholes like him think, Noir," Ryuji said, bluntly. "Anyway, we're here to stop him."

"There's a large tower in the distance." Sophia said, pointing. "Is that Natsume's castle?"

"No, it's Dracula's castle," Futaba said, simply.

Sophia looked at her with confusion. "Huh?"

"Oh, sorry- Yes, that is clearly Natsume's castle, but I was making a joke about how it looks nearly identical to Dracula's castle in the Castlevania video games…" Futaba clarified.

"Ok, but if we run into Dracula in there, I'm 500% done with this…" Akira muttered. "Oracle, what do you see?"

"Mount Aoba's over that way in reality… The main road here should lead us right to the castle…"

"Putting it simply, I believe we might be in the world of Natsume's novel in Jail form," Yusuke said, "The architecture is similar to the book's descriptions and set pieces."

Akira couldn't dispute that idea. It definitely looked like the kind of place one would find in a story titled Prince of Nightmares. "Ok then, what's it about? It'll probably help us figure out what we're up against."

"A man living a completely normal life in our world is reborn as a demon overlord in another." Yusuke explained. "Making the most of his villainous new role, he then attempts to repel the heroes who come to slay him. To that end, he deploys a number of traps about his castle. I would recommend extra caution once we actually get inside."

"And here I was stupidly hoping it'd be something worthwhile," Akira thought, disinterestedly.

~...

Akira had to say one thing for Natsume's writing, having had to essentially go through the novel's plot: It made things simpler at least. Trekking through the Jail was annoyingly simple. It's not like he didn't enjoy his fair share of fantasy novels, he had a few that were near to his heart, but this particular one he didn't care for. It didn't help that they were only doing this to change someone's heart either. They spent most of the day in the Jail, until they reached a comfortable stopping point, just before they'd attempt to enter the castle itself. When they got back to reality, it was evening again.

Akira sent Morgana off for a while with Futaba, and went to buy something special for Ann. She had a rough time at the end of their dungeon crawling and could use a pick me up.

"Hey, Ann."

Ann was sitting on a bench near the campsite. "Hey-" She noticed the cup in his hand, "What's that?"

He sat down next to her and gave her the cup. "A local treat; a supreme zunda parfait."

Her bright smile turned into a suspicious look. "Hm… giving me a tasty treat out of nowhere…? Ok, what'd you break? I promise I won't get mad-"

"I didn't break anything!" Akira laughed. "I just thought you could use it after what happened in the Jail earlier…"

Ann smiled again. "Well, aren't you sweet?" She kissed his cheek before digging into her creamy treat. "Yeah, these good looks are a curse sometimes. It's bad enough getting hit on by a creeper in reality. But there's something about a Shadow flirting with you that just makes you more confused than anything. I mean, do they really think they have a chance?"

"No, but I figure that was based on something from the novel too." Akira said, "Actually, I remember seeing that man in Natsume's entourage last night. The Shadows probably took the form of people he knows in reality. I doubt that's what they looked like in the book."

"Oh… that makes sense. By the way, how was your first night sleeping in the tent?" Ann asked, giggling.

Akira frowned grumpily. "I'd rather be sleeping next to you… Ryuji snores, Morgana has fur so he made it that much hotter there, and Yusuke's a sleep-talker…"

"What kinda things does he say?"

"Mostly gibberish. And the coherent words I could make out had no context, so no idea. But I was able to fall asleep eventually. How was sleeping in the car? Might as well have been sleeping in a castle, I bet."

Ann shrugged. "I've slept over with the girls before so I was used to it. Haru is a pretty peaceful sleeper, but she did talk a little, something about Ryuji; I'm glad I didn't hear the rest of it. Makoto is fine in the dark, as long as she has her Buchimaru-kun plushie. And Futaba was up a while because she was getting used to not having her special pillow. It wasn't that bad… But I would have rather slept next to you…"

Akira smirked. "Maybe at some point we can crash at a local hotel or something… Share a room…"

"Hmm, that sounds unlikely to happen, but we'll keep an eye out for a chance…" Ann replied, slyly.

~...

Unbeknownst to the young couple, they were being watched, somewhat. Zenkichi had come by to ask how things were going on the Natsume case, but he stopped himself from approaching when he saw the two together.

He couldn't help a small smirk forming as he listened in. When he was around, Kurusu was a watchful guard dog. He kept him well within his sights and watched his every move carefully, just waiting for him to slip up. But the second he's alone with Takamaki, the kid turns back into nothing more than a dopey, love-struck teenager. Love can do that to you, Zenkichi reasoned to himself. He couldn't say it wasn't a relatable feeling.

"Private conversations are perfectly legal, Inspector Hasegawa."

Zenkichi jumped and turned around to find Makoto standing behind him. "Ah- Niijima, I was just passing through and, uh, didn't want to interrupt them."

Makoto stared at him with an impassive expression. "Right… May we talk?"

"Uh, sure…"

She led him over to their camper and brought him inside. No one else was here at the moment. They were all out doing their own things. Makoto gestured for him to sit down at the table; he followed accordingly.

Before she could talk about whatever it was on her mind, he spoke first. "I've been wanting to talk to you, actually."

"You have?" Makoto asked, raising a curious brow at him.

"Call it curiosity, but I'm incredibly surprised that Daigo Niijima's daughter became second in command of the Phantom Thieves. How the hell did that happen?"

Makoto smirked, leaning back in her seat comfortably. "I proved my usefulness, and they asked. I assure you, the position itself is mostly a formality. Akira treats everyone as equals."

"Equals, huh… and that includes in-team dating?"

"I have a boyfriend, inspector," Makoto replied, smiling. "Just because I wasn't interested in my male teammates doesn't mean I'm going to ruin it for anyone else. Now, about why I asked to speak to you. You are very aware that my leader doesn't trust you, yes?"

Zenkichi nodded. "I'd be pretty blind if I couldn't see it by now. But I'd like to know your opinion. Your father was a detective, after all, you can't possibly think that low of me."

"Did you know my father?" She asked, simply.

"I never met him in person. But I remember hearing about his death. Everyone said he was a good cop."

"That he was. My father worked his whole career to stop the corruption in the force. When he died, nothing he tried to do mattered anymore… I loved my father, and I still do. And I like to think that he'd be proud of the decision I've made with my life. I have helped many victims by becoming a Phantom Thief, and I do not regret my choice. The law can't always help, don't try to tell me otherwise, you know I'm right, but if someone else can help… then why shouldn't they?" She cleared her throat. "And to answer your question, I won't make derogatory comments towards you, like Akira, but I do trust his judgement. You have proven yourself somewhat useful, but that's the end of it."

Zenkichi stared at her in silence. Sitting before him was a seemingly studious and intelligent girl who came from a long line of police officers, the Niijima name was well-known in the force, and she was telling him point blank that she preferred being a Phantom Thief, at least at the present time. He simply hadn't expected it at all.

"What was your real reason for calling me over here, Niijima?" Zenkichi asked, bluntly.

"To remind you that if you really want our trust, spying on personal conversations isn't going to get you anywhere." Makoto stood from her seat. "I'll let you off with a warning this time, but don't let me catch you doing it again."

His jaw dropped in shock. Scolded by a kid… what the hell was his life coming to?

~End of Chapter