DATE: OCTOBER 1ST
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF OKUMURA'S DEATH
CHAT LOG – "NO fucking way…"
RYUJI: no way
RYUJI: NO fucking way
RYUJI: GUYS did y
RYUJI: did you see the news?!
ANN: oh my god
MAKOTO: so everyone saw the broadcast as well
MAKOTO: Okay, let's
MAKOTO: Let's not jump to conclusions right away
RYUJI: I'm freaking the fuck out right now holy shit
MAKOTO: This
MAKOTO: This could just be something they cooked up to scare us off.
MAKOTO: They didn't show any pictures of a body. So… we can't tell for certain if he actually had a mental shutdown or not.
MAKOTO: All they showed were pictures of police cars and tape surrounding the house.
YUSUKE: they could be neglecting to show the body out of respect for the family.
YUSUKE: Or it's too grisly to comfortably show on public television.
MAKOTO: …yes, I suppose so
MAKOTO: But without definitive proof, this could well be a hoax.
MAKOTO: Given that Kobayakawa's "calling card" was clearly just a fake.
MAKOTO: God, we haven't even had time to look into that.
ANN: Makoto, look, imma be real with you
ANN: That's wishful thinking and we all know it.
MAKOTO: what?
ANN: …We were there. We took his Treasure. We felt his Palace collapse.
ANN: Haru said that he's been acting weird ever since.
ANN: and let's be real, the rest of us felt like something was off, too
ANN: we just… didn't know what it was or what to do.
ANN: …
ANN: and look where it got us
MAKOTO: …
RYUJI: fuck
RYUJI: Guys, no, dont
RYUJI: Don't be like that
RYUJI: There's no fucking way, cmon
RYUJI: We've done this shit right four times in a row
RYUJI: And we let the Shadow live! That's how it should work, right?!
YUSUKE: Okumura's Shadow was… awfully weak by the end of it all.
RYUJI: But that just doesn't add up!
RYUJI: We hit Kamoshida and those other bastards JUST as hard, right?!
RYUJI: What if it was that Black Mask guy?
YUSUKE: …It's possible the chance of causing a mental shutdown upon defeat – regardless of how 'hard' they were hit – was always a possibility for the target.
YUSUKE: Perhaps… Okumura was just unlucky.
RYUJI: WHY ARE YOU SO CALM RN, MAN?!
YUSUKE: it's easy to conceal your feelings behind text, Ryuji
FUTABA: actually, can I butt in
MAKOTO: Futaba? What is it?
FUTABA: …so, look
FUTABA: Necronomicon always shows me the stats on everyone, friend and foe alike
FUTABA: I can see your guys' health, stamina, status, the works
FUTABA: basically, think like HP and SP
FUTABA: this goes both ways– I can see the enemies' stats, too
FUTABA: which means I saw Okumura's as well
FUTABA: Okumura's Shadow was pretty weak in general
FUTABA: a pithy 200 HP at max health iirc
MAKOTO: …With that in mind…
MAKOTO: How much damage did we cause during our AOA?
FUTABA: …
FUTABA: …
FUTABA: about 1600
MAKOTO: …
ANN: oh fuck I'm g
ANN: I'm gonna be fucking sick
YUSUKE: …Ren. Are you there?
ANN: …
MAKOTO: …
MAKOTO: …Haru.
MAKOTO: Are you there?
ANN: …
RYUJI: …
MAKOTO: …
[Haru Okumura has left the chat.]
RYUJI: …
RYUJI: oh my god
RYUJI: what have we done
[***]
DATE: OCTOBER 2ND, AFTERNOON
THE DAY AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT
CHAT LOG – "Sitrep?"
MAKOTO: everyone, I'd like a sitrep.
MAKOTO: Has anyone managed to get into contact with Ren or Morgana?
ANN: I saw Morgana on the roof today
ANN: He looked fine. Kinda shaken, but otherwise fine I guess?
ANN: Ren didn't show up to school today. Morgana actually wasn't sure where he was
MAKOTO: Did he leave before Morgana woke up this morning?
ANN: he must have
ANN: I'm rlly worried about him
ANN: That's not like Joker at all.
MAKOTO: Did you check with Sojiro?
ANN: I don't have his number, sry
ANN: I'll drop by Leblanc first chance I get, though
MAKOTO: Alright, good idea. And Morgana?
ANN: still trying to find Ren.
RYUJI: god
YUSUKE: I tried contacting Ren personally. No answer.
YUSUKE: I have a feeling he's not going to do anything drastic, but I am worried all the same.
ANN: …yeah, you're probably right
ANN: Just can't help but jump to conclusions in my head
RYUJI: What about Haru?
RYUJI: Haven't seen her at school today
MAKOTO: No. She's… absent today.
RYUJI: …
MAKOTO: I tried calling her.
MAKOTO: Nothing.
ANN: fuck
ANN: fuck, she probably hates us
ANN: And I don't blame her.
MAKOTO: …it's not out of the realm of possibility. Because I have an update for everyone.
YUSUKE: what is it?
MAKOTO: Sae came home for a bit last night. I overheard her talking on the phone.
MAKOTO: …Talking to a forensic pathologist.
RYUJI: pathologist? What's that
RYUJI: …oh
RYUJI: nvm. Googled it.
RYUJI: fuck.
MAKOTO: …Yeah.
MAKOTO: …and I overheard her mention things like
MAKOTO: 'black blood', 'cardiac arrest', and 'cold skin'.
YUSUKE: …So outside of photographic proof, it's all but confirmed.
ANN: a mental shutdown
ANN: …
ANN: I'm
ANN: This can wait. I'm gonna head to Leblanc rn
ANN: hopefully I'll run into Morgana on my way there
ANN: I'll
ANN: I'll talk to you guys later.
YUSUKE: ...where is Futaba? She's been awfully quiet.
RYUJI: …don't know. Sleeping, maybe?
YUSUKE: …perhaps.
RYUJI: …
YUSUKE: …
[***]
DATE: OCTOBER 2ND, EVENING
CHAT LOG – "sorry about that, guys."
JOKER: sorry about that, guys.
JOKER: morgana says hey, too.
MAKOTO: Ren!
YUSUKE: There you are.
YUSUKE: Where have you been? We've been worried.
JOKER: i needed some time to clear my head
JOKER: I was gonna try and see Haru at first – figured she wasn't gonna come to school today.
MAKOTO: Your instincts were right.
JOKER: …but no one's allowing guests into the house. Or anywhere near haru, for that matter
JOKER: shouldn't be surprised – they probably don't want anyone targeting her rn.
JOKER: after that, I guess I just
JOKER: wandered around
JOKER: spent a lot of time at that church in Kanda, thinking about stuff.
JOKER: Sorry to worry you all. It was immature of me.
ANN: No one's gonna blame you for feeling shitty, Ren.
RYUJI: We've all been feeling it.
YUSUKE: None of us have been able to get into contact with Haru, either.
YUSUKE: She won't pick up, and it doesn't look like she's been reading our chats.
MAKOTO: She left the group chat. She wouldn't be able to, anyway.
YUSUKE: …ah, right.
JOKER: …god, I'm really worried about her.
JOKER: With Okumura gone, what if Sugimura tries something?
RYUJI: fuck, that fucking asshole
RYUJI: …well, there's no way he could, right?
MAKOTO: Actually, I'm not so sure.
MAKOTO: That depends on how binding the contract between them was.
MAKOTO: A scumbag like him would definitely dispute the fine print.
ANN: fuck
RYUJI: She'd reach out to us if something was really wrong… right?
Silence.
JOKER: …Futaba, I know you're reading these. Speak up.
JOKER: what's wrong?
…
FUTABA: …hey
YUSUKE: Good – I was worried about you, too.
ANN: ditto
ANN: what's on your mind, Futaba?
ANN: It's not like you to be this quiet.
FUTABA: …
FUTABA: i'm the fucking worst
RYUJI: whoa whoawhoawhoa what
RYUJI: no you're not, where is this coming from?
MAKOTO: Futaba, what's wrong?
JOKER: Don't say that about yourself
FUTABA: i am.
FUTABA: i'm the lowest of the low
FUTABA: this is the exact same way my mom died.
FUTABA: mental shutdown and everything.
FUTABA: i hated myself so much
FUTABA: thinking that I was the one that did it
FUTABA: thinking that I could've done more
FUTABA: thinking I was useless
FUTABA: and that's gotta be what haru's going through rn
FUTABA: …i was gonna honor my mom's legacy by finding her killer and putting an end to all this mental-shutdown bullshit
FUTABA: and then I go on and kill the dad of one of my friends
FUTABA: tarnishing mom's legacy in the process
FUTABA: and ruining haru's life on top of everything.
FUTABA: she probably hates herself rn
FUTABA: she probably feels so alone rn
FUTABA: and… yknow
FUTABA: shame on me
FUTABA: shame on me for making her feel this way
FUTABA: and shame on me for spitting on my mom's grave like this.
FUTABA: im sorry guys
FUTABA: I know this is selfish
FUTABA: but i cant really do this right now
[Futaba Sakura has left the chat.]
ANN: oh my god
RYUJI: …holy shit
JOKER: I'm going over to Sojiro's right now. I'm gonna make sure she's okay.
YUSUKE: …alright.
YUSUKE: Apologies that we can't do more for the both of you.
YUSUKE: Keep us updated about Futaba's condition.
JOKER: …will do
MAKOTO: …
MAKOTO: …you know
MAKOTO: Ryuji
MAKOTO: …I really think you said it perfectly last night.
RYUJI: …what's that?
MAKOTO: …
MAKOTO: …my god, what have we done?
