I own nothing. Monika does.
The following day, Sayori's mind was far from calm. At first, she had been terrified, fearing that the stealing of her treasure had only postponed her misery. However, as the day went on, she began to understand what was happening. She had been turning her face from the truth for far too long. I guess this is what happens when you avoid the fact that you aren't real.
From the very start of the day, Sayori hadn't been able to think of anything else. No matter how many times she tried to distract herself, reality would come slamming back into her head, and the problem only worsened. By the time Sayori met her friends for lunch, she was beginning to question such things as how living for yourself meant getting torturous headaches from out of nowhere, and being constantly assaulted with questions that she couldn't answer if she tried.
Her unfocused daze did not go unnoticed. Ann was snapping her fingers in Sayori's face two minutes into their lunchtime conversation. They all thought it odd how she hardly acknowledged them ever since she walked into the school that morning. However, now it was just getting ridiculous.
"Sayori… Sayori!" Ann spoke loudly into the girl's ear, snapping her back into focus. Looking at the concerned faces of her friends, she blushed and bowed her head.
"Sorry," she whispered quietly. "I guess I kind of zoned out a little bit."
"That would be the understatement of the year," Morgana said, poking his head out of Akira's backpack.
"Is something on your mind?" Akira asked, making sure nobody noticed his blatant violation of the school's pet rules.
"I'm just… having trouble grasping something. I have no real reason to be concerned or fearful, yet I still am. It makes me question things I don't think any of you would understand," Sayori answered, shuffling her feet nervously.
"Whaddaya mean? Of course you've gotta reason to be spooked," Ryuji replied with a confident smile. Sayori glanced at him for further explanation. "You said it yourself; you're livin' with a detective that's out to get us. I'd be scared shitless if I was in your situation."
"I'm not worried about that, though. Concerned maybe, but Goro hasn't given me a reason to be scared yet," Sayori assured, only to suddenly feel unsure. Whenever she thought of that situation, she found no real reason to have emotions so extreme. Yet at the same time, she couldn't help but remember how frightened she felt anyway. I'm not responding to these situations like I should, am I? What is this meaningless doing to me!?
Her thoughts were interrupted when Akira waved his hand in front of her face, "Tell you what. Let's go meet with Yusuke after school and get some practice in. I think you need a break from reality, Valiant," He whispered encouragingly.
Sayori slowly nodded. "I think that may be helpful. I still need to practice anyway."
For what felt like the hundredth time, Sayori landed hard on her back. The force of the blow had once again been too hard for her to take, and yet she still once again found herself getting back onto her feet. Gripping her shield tightly, she ran forward once again. Raising her shield, she successfully blocked the blow aimed at her face. Panting, she whipped out her sword and slashed at the shadow. It had almost no effect.
"Are you sure you don't want us to step in, Valiant?" She heard Fox yell from the sidelines. The question made her grit her teeth. She didn't know if she was frustrated with something, or if her brain had been battered to the point where she couldn't rationally think, but she desperately wanted to win against the beast she faced.
Briefly, Sayori recalled the beginning of the fight, where she had discovered the major disadvantage against the monster she was facing. It was immune to all of her attacks, but she was vulnerable to all of its. Why did I reject their offer for help when they first offered it? Perhaps I've finally lost it. Looking back up, she made up her mind. "I think I've changed my mind. Guys, I need help!"
The rest of the Phantom Thieves nodded and leapt into action. In almost no time at all, the enemy was utterly destroyed. Sayori watched, not able to stop the slight sense of envy from rising in her. However, she managed to push down the conflicting feelings as her comrades walked over to her.
"If you knew he was immune to all of your attacks, you should've asked for us sooner. You feeling alright?" Panther questioned with concern. Sayori avoided her worried gaze and sighed.
"Her disadvantage in the fight wasn't the only thing that was off," Mona commented. "I couldn't help but notice how hesitant she was in the beginning. It was only when she was already seriously beaten that she really started to try." The cat creature looked at Sayori, waiting for an explanation. However, that wasn't something Sayori could give without seeming like an absolute nutcase.
"I did notice myself that Valiant seemed a lot more aggressive yesterday," Fox commented, a look of concern on his face. "Do you have any idea why that might be?" Now all of her comrades were curious.
Sayori looked at the ground sheepishly. The girl couldn't really explain that her mercy was partly a product of her theory that she may be one of these creatures. Still, there was an even bigger concern that the "Noble" Thief held. "I guess I just don't think I'm cut out for battle at the moment," she whispered.
Now they were all really confused. The Phantom Thieves all looked at one another for a possible answer, but came up with nothing.
"I'm afraid none of us really understand, Valiant," Joker replied, hoping to prompt a better answer. "You kicked major ass yesterday. You looked so proud of yourself after you beat up that shadow, but now you almost look guilty."
"I guess it's just that I don't know how I want to contribute. I want to protect people weaker than me, that's why I joined you guys. I don't think I'm much of a fighter." Sayori explained. She hoped that this explanation would be better.
"I think I get it. What you're tryin' to say is that you don't think you can play on the offensive side like us. You think you might be better at being the defense," Skull hypothesized to himself. Sayori beamed, nodding happily.
"Well, you've got that huge shield on your arm, don't you? Plus, remember that spell you casted on me back when we fought your shadow? Maybe, if you figured out how to do that more consistently, then..." Joker was already deep in thought, his gloved hand on his chin.
"Also, I know this might be strange to request, but I still want to make sure I can contribute all I can to this group. If you figure out something else for me to do, I would be grateful," Sayori requested hopefully. Joker nodded as he lost himself in thought, thinking about how to take advantage of Sayori's abilities.
"I guess this means our Metaverse training is over for today," Panther said cheerfully. "Let's get out of here." With those words being said, Mona was quick to change into his bus form. The Phantom Thieves piled in and departed for the day.
Sayori swiveled around in her chair. From her spot at the library checkout, she had a clear view of the wall clock. Only a bit longer until she was dismissed. Mai was reshelving books on the other side of the room, and had requested that she not be disturbed while she was "in the zone." Earbuds in, the girl was in her own little world as she categorized each book alphabetically.
This left Sayori without much to do but think. Her earlier escapades in Mementos hadn't done much to clear her head. She still had so much to figure out about herself, about her own goals, and about where she wanted to go from here. It could only be considered an act of kindness that Yusuke had helped her pick a thief name for her. It was one less thing to worry about. Sayori yearned for something that would distract her from these troubling thoughts.
Unfortunately, she got one.
Makoto Niijima walked into the library, with a gleam in her eyes that Sayori didn't know how to interpret.
Why's the Student Council President coming around here all of a sudden?
Perhaps it was a confident look of success, but neither librarian could tell you why a person would go to a deserted library to celebrate an achievement. The normally cheerful girl couldn't help but freeze when Makoto turned that gaze towards her. Glancing around the intimidating girl, Sayori noticed that Mai had disappeared from her station by the shelves.
Gulping, Sayori offered Makoto a kind smile. "Oh, what a lovely surprise! I didn't expect to see you here again so soon. Did you come to inspect the library again?"
The serious expression that was now on Makoto's face said otherwise. "Actually, no. I wanted to talk to you about something that concerned me when I heard about it. Do you have a moment?" She was already taking a seat before Sayori could give an answer. Then again, she had a million moments to spare, considering the library was barren of other matters to attend to.
"I've got to get some work done, but sure. What do you want to talk about?" Sayori inquired innocently. The girl briefly remembered the cataloguing system they had. Taking a moment to log on, just in case she actually got a chance to use it, Makoto's first question almost went unheard.
"Is it true that you live with Goro Akechi?" Makoto asked, a now unreadable expression on her face. Sayori froze, wondering exactly where the Student Council President was going with this.
"Um, yes, I do. Why are you asking?" Sayori answered, trying to control her own expressions until she could figure out what Makoto wanted from this conversation.
"My sister mentioned that to me a little while ago, and I wasn't really worried about the detective's behavior towards you if that's what you're thinking," Makoto replied, taking notice of the slight way Sayori relaxed in her chair. "What really concerns me are the friends you hang out with away from your home life. Tell me, Sayori, why is there no record of you in the gardening club?"
Sayori's blood ran cold. How did she find out about that?! Thinking quickly, Sayori was amazed at how easy the lie came out. "That's because I'm an unofficial member. I stop by some afternoons and help kill the weeds. It gets kind of lonely just hanging out with Mai and Goro. That's not exactly the biggest friend group, don't you think?" Wherever Mai was, she wasn't here. Sayori needed to find a way to change the subject until her coworker could rescue her. Mentioning friend groups was a good way to start. After all, Makoto had to have a lot of friends, given her position. Right?
However, Makoto was not distracted by the subtle hint to change the subject. "Really, that's funny. I stopped by the gardening club on my way here, and they said they had no memory of you, at all. It's my job to keep track of these things. So could you tell me who you really spend all of this time with when you're unaccounted for, both at school, and at home?"
Sayori couldn't help but be suspicious at this point. "How did you know about this? I've only mentioned this to my roommate."
Makoto shifted in her seat, uncomfortably. "My sister mentioned this to me last night. It was only an attempt at casual conversation then, but I have found your entire dilemma very interesting." The girl had grown quiet, trying to recompose herself. Sayori couldn't help but wonder what was going on in her head.
Right now, however, was not the time to sympathize. With one glance down at herself, Sayori had an idea to turn this conversation in her favor. Making her own voice quiet and morose, the girl put her plan into motion. "I never got to thank you, by the way," Sayori watched as Makoto gained a curious look. She wasn't taking the bait quite yet, but it was a start.
"Thank me… for what?" Makoto inquired. Sayori smiled politely to hide her grin. She was successful in finding her niche! Now she just had to work with it, turn the conversation around, and keep it that way until Mai returned.
"For lending me your old clothes, of course! I have to admit I like them much more than my uniform from my old school," Sayori said, her sudden enthusiastic tone throwing Makoto off. "You absolutely have to tell me where you got them! I could probably use a few extra, but I also don't want to take advantage of your generosity, either," Sayori continued to prattle, watching as Makoto seemed to grow embarrassed and uncomfortable.
"I-I'm afraid I couldn't tell you where I got my clothes from, even if I wanted to. I'm not the one who bought them," Makoto explained, before succeeding in regaining her composure. Obviously, she wanted to get the subject back on track. Sayori, however, had other ideas.
"Well, the last time you came in here, you mentioned Shibuya. That place has a lot of shops, right? I've been there a couple of times myself. If you weren't shopping for clothes with your excellent taste in fashion, what were you doing there?" Sayori made sure to add in a bit of flattery. Her new tactic was proving effective. Makoto now looked extremely uncomfortable. Now she was the one who wanted a way out.
"I-I was… shopping for books," Makoto replied lamely.
Sayori beamed and looked back at the checkout computer, "Did you find what you were looking for? If not, I could probably be of service." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Mai finally come back into the room.
"Sorry, Sayori. I had take a piss," Mai stood in the doorway and stretched, not even noticing their mutual visitor. "Woah, Student Council Prez! Hi! Uh, didn't expect to see you here! You here for another inspection?" Mai had broken into a sweat yet again. She took notice of Sayori, who was gesturing to the back room. A clear "save me from social interaction" sign that they had taken the time to make up.
"Actually, I was just leaving," Makoto answered, sensing the tension in the room. "I just have one more question to ask Matsu-chan before I go."
Makoto turned to Sayori with a serious expression. Obviously, now that Mai was here, she could no longer try her interrogation technique. But that didn't mean Sayori wasn't intimidated. "Please answer truthfully, Matsu-chan. What is your opinion on the Phantom Thieves?"
Sayori smiled genuinely, "I don't know yet. I'm going to wait until they've made a few more appearances to form an opinion." Makoto nodded, taking the answer into consideration, but clearly no longer paying attention.
"Alright. I'll be going then. I'll see you two around," The Student Council President left without another word.
"The hell was that all about?" Mai asked. "You look like you've just seen her deck a shark in the face or somethin'."
Sayori wanted to smile at Mai's incredibly odd synonym, but her worry as to the purpose of Makoto's visit overpowered that urge. "I'm honestly not sure, Mai," Sayori responded. She would need to talk to her friends about this later.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Also, I have a question for you guys. In a few weeks, I'll be having an important exam that I will need to study for. As such, a chapter will probably not be written. However, I don't want to skip that week. Instead, I was thinking that my partner and I could have a fun Q&A chapter. But before any concrete decisions are made, we want to know what you all think. Any rules and regulations will be laid out in the chapter preceding it if we decide to go with that. Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!