Begin

~Normal POV

8/3 - Thursday

It took some time, but they'd stormed Natsume's castle, and reached the roof as fast as they could. The hazy pink cloud was hovering in the birdcage-like structure. But this area wasn't open; the top of the tower was in the cage and there was a door before them. No guards were present. And they had seen no sign of Natsume's Shadow. Good enough for them; at least they never got captured in this Jail. This door likely led to his throne room.

"This birdcage…" Makoto said, looking around. "It's just like the one back in Shibuya."

"Does that mean Natsume is in there," Ryuji asked.

"I'd be willing to bet." Akira answered. "But something tells me it's not gonna be as easy as simply busting down the door."

"You assume correctly, Joker," Sophia said. "The cage is locked. We'll need someone to touch the barrier so we can hear the voices in his heart."

"Ok then… Skull?" Ann said.

"Huh?!"

"Panther is right," Yusuke admitted. "You've experienced it before, so you're better prepared than any of us. You're the ideal candidate." Ryuji gave them both an unamused look.

"I'm sorry, Skull…" Haru said, sympathetically. "They do make a good point… Here, I'll be ready to pull you away if it gets to be too much."

Ryuji groaned and conceded. "Fine… At least buy me a bowl of ramen or something once we're done…"

"I could do it if you want," Sophia asked.

"It's cool, I got it." Ryuji didn't want their friend to get hurt just for his sake.

He stepped forward and touched the invisible barrier with one hand this time. He grunted in severe pain, but kept his hand in place so they could hear. Haru stayed close to him just in case he collapsed. Just like in Shibuya, touching the barrier had turned on a recording of sorts. There were a few male voices talking to each other.

"Sheesh, you'd think someone his age would have at least SOME talent…"

"Like it matters. This kid's gonna make us a fortune…"

"Sir, try to keep your voice down. He'll be back any minute."

"Oh, come off it. Can you really blame me for complaining? I'm the one who has to read his crap every day."

"The kid's got motivation, but that's about all he's got. Seems any talent for writing in that family died with his grandfather- Oh, excuse me, can I get another Gatorre Coffee?"

"Yes sir, just a moment."

"Well, he's still our little money tree. No way in hell we're letting him go."

"You're terrible, sir…"

"What's… What's going on here?"

Ryuji yanked his hand away from the barrier. "YOW! Damn, this shit hurts."

Haru examined his injured hand. "This one doesn't leave marks either, at least."

"But thanks to you, we've managed to hear a good amount," Yusuke commented.

"Yeah, it sounded like some kinda café," Ryuji said.

"One of them said Gatorre Coffee."

"Gatorre is the name of a café chain," Haru added, helpfully. "But I don't think I saw any around Sendai station."

"If there aren't a lot of them, it'll make it easier to find the right one," Morgana said.

"And that means we have our lead on finding the Trauma Room, so let's get moving," Futaba said, brightly.

Akira stared at the spot where the invisible barrier was, while everyone else started walking back without him. Just as with Alice, this imagery didn't seem right. If these Jails formed because of society fucking someone up so much that they wanted revenge then… Why did it take the form of a cage for the person themselves? After all, what was the purpose of a cage: To keep something inside. And there was the fact that they had to find the key to said cage hidden away in a separate location from the Jail… It didn't make any sense.

"Joker?" He heard Ann ask behind him. "You ok?"

Akira snapped out of his thoughts and turned to her with a smile. "Yeah, sorry… Just thinking about stuff."

~...

Once they were back in reality, Sophia set to work on searching for the nearest Gatorre Coffee shop. "There's only one that's close to Sendai station. It's a bit of a walk, but I'll happily guide you to the destination."

"You're amazing, Sophia, it's like you were born to be a navigator," Haru gushed.

"Being the navigator's my job…" Futaba grumbled.

"Don't worry, you're amazing, too," Akira said, patting her head.

"It's simply a question of having the right person for the right job." Yusuke added, smirking. "Fear not, Futaba, there are plenty of things that only you can do."

Futaba smiled a little. "I guess that's true. Nobody else can act like a weirdo quite like you do, Inari." Yusuke, being used to this treatment from her by this point, merely rolled his eyes. He knew she didn't mean it in a harmful way.

~...

The café looked normal enough to them. But that was the case with Shujin for Alice as well. Akira was especially curious what the details of this room would be. As a lover of the literary arts himself, he simply had to know what caused Natsume to lose his head like this. Hopefully, they would be able to make him see the light.

"This is it, Gatorre Coffee…"

"I can smell the coffee. It seems to be just an ordinary café," Yusuke said.

"Do we have the right place?" Haru asked.

"Try the keyword and find out," Morgana urged.

"Yeah, the Trauma Cell's calling our names," Futaba said.

"...Trauma Cell?" Ann said, quizzically.

"Eh, Trauma Room sounded too much like a cheesy hospital drama."

Akira shrugged. "Seems fitting enough. It's just adding to our ever growing list of 'weird thief jargon.'"

~...

When entering the Metaverse in this area, they found themselves inside the café. It looked mostly normal like any other one. Booths lined one wall, there was a counter in the back, and decorative plants sat in the room's corners. The windows had bars on them, just like in Shibuya.

"This is where Natsume's trauma came from…" Morgana said.

"What could have happened here, I wonder…" Yusuke said, cautiously keeping an eye out for danger.

"That's what we're here to find out," Akira said.

"Shh! Someone's here!" Makoto said, quickly.

She pointed at the front of the shop. Two Shadows taking the appearance of men in suits were seated at the counter, talking. They recognized them as the men Natsume was speaking to at his party. They were his editors.

"Are you sure about this? Awarding him the grand prize for that?" One Shadow said.

"Ango Natsume…" The other replied. "Heh, the kid's entered every contest, but he's never made it past the first stage. He's as stubborn as he is incompetent. What's more, his writing is so painfully generic. It only becomes more obvious when you compare it to the other candidates."

"W-What?" They heard Natsume's disembodied voice say. "It can't be… they acknowledged my work…"

"Eh, it's fine. He's the great Sogo Natsume's grandson." The Shadow continued. "Brand recognition is a huge part of marketability. Nobody gives a rat's ass what's beyond the cover. Though a certain someone seems to think he's actually worth a damn."

"Poor kid, can't even see how hopeless he really is." The other Shadow said, "Seriously, it's pathetic."

"No… I'm trying as hard as I can!"

"No skin off my nose, so long as he keeps raking it in." The Shadow said, evilly. "We hit the jackpot with that one, and I plan on riding him straight to the top. And if he does, by some miracle, make something decent of himself, well, then everyone wins, right?"

~...

Just as with the Shadow in Alice's Trauma Cell, these two ended up putting up a fight. Being better prepared this time, they were quick to dispose of them.

"We can get into the birdcage now, right? Better get going then-" Ryuji said.

"Wait, what was that we just saw," Ann asked.

"It seems Ango Natsume wasn't given that award on his own merit…" Makoto said, sadly. "Those editors just used him for his name…"

"So, there was a secret behind that novel after all…" Yusuke said, quietly. He looked distraught.

"But he's not a bad guy, is he?" Ann said, "It sounded like he entered the competition a whole bunch of times."

"He sounds like a case of getting fucked over by your publishers…" Akira replied, sighing. "It happens sometimes in the literary world. Publishers don't have to care what the book is actually about. Their job is to sell it. It's the author's job to make it special; because it's their story and they're the one who wants to share it."

"And just when he thought his hard work was paying off, he had to hear all that…" Morgana said, his ears drooping. "It must have been devastating…"

"Those editors are horrible…" Haru whined. "They knew his work wasn't good enough, but they still gave him the prize just to make money… It's sickening…"

"Agreed." Akira said, bluntly. "They're the ones to blame, but it doesn't excuse his current behavior."

"Nevertheless, I'm beginning to understand how he feels…" Yusuke said, avoiding eye contact with any of them. "Rising to fame atop stolen ideas, pulling at people's emotions with a fabricated story… Even worse, robbing others of their own free will, changing their hearts and wallowing in his own vanity. These crimes are unforgivable. There's no denying that he's been a fool. And yet… In spite of all of that, it doesn't change the fact that Natsume spent years giving it everything he had. Creative work is often a lonely endeavor, and battling against that loneliness is truly a challenge in and of itself. And as if it wasn't hard enough, if you don't produce results, no one will even think twice about you. One might even begin to think that such dark and unfulfilled times are all that's in store… Had I taken one wrong step, I may very well have turned out to be just as hideous as him."

As the rest of them watched him speak, they all couldn't help feeling like they understood their friend that much more. Close as they were, they could still occasionally find things they hadn't learned about each other yet. This was one of them.

"It's thanks to your friendship that I didn't stray from the path." Yusuke continued, looking at them again. "He, however, doesn't seem to have anyone. Natsume should know better than most that there's no meaning in superficial glory. And now, he's turned his back on what he truly wants to write for the sake of spinning his infernal novel of lies… Someone needs to bring him back to his senses."

"You seem pretty motivated this time around, Fox." Futaba said, smiling.

"As one who's dedicated his life to art, I simply cannot condone his actions. Now, let us bring this to an end. Joker, may I write the calling card this time?"

"You say that like you had to ask."

~...

Upon returning to the campsite, it was evening. Yusuke got to work on writing the card right away. Sophia was quick to inform them that Natsume had another book signing planned at the bookstore by the station. This would have been a perfect way to give him the calling card, but there was one problem…

"We'll all be recognized if we get too close…" Ryuji said, worriedly. "How are we gonna pull this off?"

Akira was thinking over that very question. "Hm… We don't have the screens to do another news broadcast… And this is a smaller occasion so it's best to go the subtle route…"

"Mommy!" Their attention was momentarily distracted by a boy's voice on the other side of the park; he was sobbing uncontrollably. Before any of them could wonder what was going on, they watched Zenkichi approach the kid.

"Hey, what's wrong, kid?" He asked, in a friendly tone. "Oh, you got separated from your mom, huh? Don't worry, I got you." He pulled out his phone and made a call. "Hey, it's me. I got a kid who was separated from his mom here. Send someone to look after him, would ya? I'm over at- Huh?! What do you mean it's not worth PubSec's time?! Quit screwing around! You call yourself an officer of the law?! Or are you saying you'd abandon your own kid, too, is that it? A lost kid's no joke, you know!"

Apparently, his yelling scared the boy as he ran off to look for his mother. Zenkichi hung up the call and was quick to follow the kid. "Hey, wait, where are you going!? It's ok, I'm not gonna hurt you or anything!"

Futaba snorted. "The kid totally thinks he's a creep."

Akira stared after Zenkichi with a thoughtful expression that slowly turned into a smirk. An idea had dropped into his head. By the time Zenkichi came to join them at the camp, the calling cards were ready.

"That kid sure made things difficult." Zenkichi said, panting. "He didn't have to run away like that, right? …Right?"

"You're not exactly cute and cuddly, gramps…" Futaba commented, dryly. "Honestly, I don't blame him."

"Will you stop calling me gramps!?"

Akira approached Zenkichi with a smirk, ignoring his demands. "Perfect timing, inspector. Would you like to make yourself useful?"

Zenkichi gave him a wary look. "...Is this you being polite, Kurusu? Because… it's a little freaky…"

"Oh no, I'm being genuine." Akira replied. "Now, something we haven't mentioned to you yet is this business with our calling cards. It's actually not just for looking cool, they're a necessary step to our heart thievery. You see, we have to make the target aware that their heart can be stolen, and that makes us able to do so. Ya with me so far?"

Zenkichi stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I think so…? You have to warn them?"

"Eh, don't get too wrapped up in the details, we just roll with it." Akira said, shrugging. "Anyway, we're at the crucial point in the Natsume case where he needs to be given his calling card, so we can do the actual heist. But, he's seen all our faces at least once! And got a good look at Yusuke back at his party the other day. So, we don't have any way to send him the card."

"And why haven't you reprimanded Kitagawa for his mistake," Zenkichi asked.

"Natsume insulted his mother!" Futaba shouted, "Have some damn respect for that kinda offense, gramps!"

"That and, in case I haven't made it clear, this team is a family first." Akira said, bluntly, crossing his arms. "I don't enjoy abusing my authority. Yusuke's decision was justified and it got us the keyword we needed to enter the Jail in the first place. But, getting to the point, Natsume is having another book signing tomorrow at the bookstore by the station. So, in order for him to get his card, we need you to sneak in and plant them all over his stall so that he sees them."

At first, Zenkichi merely stared at Akira blankly for a moment before laughing. "Oh, ok I get it now! This is why they call you Joker! Because you say shit like this!" When nobody replied, he added. "Come on, you can't be serious-"

"Note: serious face." Akira replied, without a hint of sarcasm, "Do it."

"If I get caught-"

"You won't if you haul ass." Akira interrupted. "Do it."

"No!" Zenkichi said, firmly. "Look, I may be helping you out, but I draw the line at breaking the law! And there's nothing you could do or say to change my mind!"

"Nothing?" Akira chuckled. He was greatly enjoying making Zenkichi flip out like this. "Ooo, look at this, everyone. A cowardly police officer too afraid to get his hands dirty, even just a little. But… he was willing to bargain with thieves in the first place? Bit of a hypocrite aren't you, inspector? And besides, I haven't even mentioned the repercussions for turning us down! I hate to tell ya, but if we can't get that calling card to Natsume tomorrow, then we're stuck in Sendai. Because we don't like unfinished business. And that means we're less likely to make it to Sapporo before the 8th! What if we can't get there in time, and your suspect gets away? That'd be a problem, wouldn't it?"

Zenkichi gulped. That would be a problem. And letting Natsume continue changing people's hearts to his own ends wouldn't help matters… He had to give Kurusu credit. The kid really knew how to push the right buttons. How to get right under your skin and use your weaknesses against you. Behind him, the other Phantom Thieves were sitting at their table and watching the scene with smug smirks, clearly finding this whole situation very amusing.

"I- you…" Zenkichi groaned. "You kids…"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Akira asked, playfully.

Zenkichi pinched his nose in frustration. "I- Ugh… give me the damn cards…"

"Ah, that's better!" Akira nodded, grinning. "I'll even let you do your own strategy! As long as it's somewhere he's likely to read it, then it'll work. And the store opens at 10 a.m. so you've got the rest of the night to pull this off."

Yusuke discreetly handed Zenkichi a stack of printed red and black cards. The inspector quickly pocketed them before anyone saw. "I'm really starting to hate you kids…" He said, as he ran off to perform his task. The second he was out of sight, the gang burst into laughter.

"Nice hustle, leader!" Ann complimented, between giggles.

"That's what we call a successful persuasion check," Futaba said, grinning.

Akira bowed. "Thank you; it's all about knowing the right thing to say."

~End of Chapter