Begin!

~Normal POV

8/15 - Tuesday

The next morning they had to leave very early in order to catch the ferry in time. Things were still tense between Zenkichi and Akane, but ultimately she did listen to her new friends and gave him a much nicer goodbye. As a parting gift, she gave them a small souvenir from Kyoto. With the request that the gang return someday. Despite this, Zenkichi seemed a lot happier now. (Especially from hearing Akane tell him to be careful.) Perhaps they did right by him after all.

~...

8/17 - Thursday

It took two days but they finally reached the island paradise of Kukojima. It was a thriving and populous place. It looked peaceful enough. The islanders were polite and welcoming, and people seemed quite friendly and normal. Upon arriving, Sophia did a search on the lab's location, but nothing came up. They chose to simply ask around. The locals would know if such a building was nearby.

"We'll split up and cover the town as much as possible," Akira said. "Inspector, you coming?"

"In a minute," Zenkichi replied, "I gotta call my boss and report-in real quick. I couldn't get a signal on the ferry."

The gang accepted this answer and went ahead without him. He pulled out his phone and made his call. "Hello, Commissioner? It's Hasegawa."

"What's the situation?" Kaburagi asked. "It's unlike you to go dark for three days straight."

"My apologies- I was on the ocean. I couldn't get a connection. The investigation's led us to Okinawa. Supposedly there's a research facility here with ties to the EMMA app; and it's being kept off the books. This was the best lead I had. I brought the Phantom Thieves along with me."

"I see. Off the books, hm- that is interesting… Any chance of locating concrete evidence there?"

"It's too soon to tell, we just arrived and we gotta find the place first. I'll start by questioning the facility staff. If I find out they're trying to cover their tracks, though, I'll have to escalate the investigation. And I'll definitely need you to send backup if that's how it pans out."

"Fine. Keep me posted. We're still looking into Madicce on our end. I'll let you know should anything turn up."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Remember, Hasegawa…" Kaburagi said, warningly. "The Phantom Thieves are not solely in your pocket to help you track down the perpetrator. You are keeping them close for when we are pressed to present a culprit. When the time comes, you will turn them in immediately. Is that clear?"

Zenkichi hesitated briefly before replying. "Understood…" He hung up the phone and sighed a little.

~...

The townspeople were oddly evasive and unhelpful to their questions. Everyone either said they "were new here" or "they'd never heard of the place." Despite the fact that the island wasn't very large. There was no reason for anyone to simply not know about this place. It was a bit… off, but they couldn't place why. Nonetheless, Zenkichi found what they were looking for by overhearing a delivery worker talking about a huge building in the back of the ferry town area.

"Is this the path to the research facility?" Yusuke asked, looking at it unsurely.

"I believe so, yes…" Makoto replied.

It was a simple dirt patch up a curvy hill with an archway in front of it. And strung across the arch was a straw festoon.

"A sacred festoon…?" Zenkichi said, quizzically.

"Odd placement for one…" Akira said, raising a brow curiously.

"Yeah, don't you only see that stuff at shrines and shit? What's it doing here?" Ryuji asked.

Futaba gasped excitedly. "I got it! They sealed a legendary yokai in there!"

"This is a lab though," Ann pointed out, "Wouldn't we be more likely to find zombies or things like that instead?"

"Well, whatever we find in there, it'd better be useful to us," Akira said. "Sophia, is there a Jail here?"

"...There is no Jail on this island- I think." Sophia answered, unsurely.

"You think? I thought you could smell them," Ryuji said.

"I am currently detecting zero scents." Sophia added. "Unlike Sendai and Sapporo, I cannot sense a Jail here. However, there is indeed something odd about this place. I'm getting… a bad feeling, to put it simply."

"A bad feeling, hm?" Yusuke said, looking concerned.

"Ooo, maybe you're picking up somebody with a grudge!" Futaba suggested. She then added in a mock spooky voice. "I'm coming for you…"

Makoto squeaked in fear. "Cut it out! That's not funny, Futaba!"

"Futaba, knock it off." Akira said, "You know how Makoto gets."

They walked through the archway without a second thought… without noticing that a nearby islander saw them do it, and ran off somewhere suddenly. They walked further up the path and found a large building complex at the end. The area appeared deserted. There was a closed security gate impeding them from entering the front doors. There was a notice pasted to the stall.

"It says, 'We are closed until August 18th due to prior engagements.'" Zenkichi read aloud. "Welp, sure didn't see that one coming."

"Guess we're done here," Akira said, shrugging.

"But leaving empty handed is no good!" Morgana whined, sitting up on Akira's shoulder. "You know, we could always just sneak in…"

"Hey-! Nothing that lands you in jail!" Zenkichi said, sternly. "Criminal trespassing will cop you a felony!"

"Or in his case, get him nabbed by animal control." Akira added, gesturing to Morgana.

"Plus, any evidence gained through a criminal act is impermissible in court." Zenkichi said, "That'd make this whole trip pointless." He glanced at the sign again and sighed. "Well, the sign says tomorrow so… we just have to wait. Easier and less illegal. Once the staff is back, I can start flashing my badge and asking questions. I'm sure I'll find something in no time cause this place is all kinds of shady."

"That we agree on." Akira said, "Here's hoping they'll actually be back tomorrow…"

Zenkichi nodded in agreement. "Once I've got some evidence, I can announce the start of an official investigation, and at that point we confiscate whatever we need."

"Quite the tactical approach," Yusuke complimented.

"Check out the skills of Zenkichi: Private Eye!" Futaba said, grinning.

"I'm in Public Security…" Everyone ignored this remark.

"Well, since we have the rest of the day off, you know what that means…" Akira said, smirking.

"We get to party all day on the beach!" Ryuji answered, eagerly.

This answer was met with collective excitement from everyone… except Zenkichi of course.

"You're kidding…"

"Again, not kidding at all, gramps!" Ann said.

"Besides, we can't just keep asking questions around town," Akira said, "It'll put people on edge."

"Y-Yeah, but… shouldn't you still be productive?" Zenkichi stammered. "Don't you have to… patrol the Metaverse or something?"

"That's not how the Metaverse works!" Futaba giggled.

Seeing that he was outvoted 9 to 1, Zenkichi eventually conceded. They left the lab area and returned to the parked camper to drive to the nearest beach. And somehow, they didn't notice an unusual amount of curious stares being sent their way from the townspeople.

~End of Chapter