Yusuke shifts in his seat. A few beads of sweat roll down his neck, and catch in his collar.
One would think air conditioning a priority in this kind of establishment.
Given the unoccupied space, it should not be so hot.
The priest continues his chant, his tone more bored than ecclesiastical. Yusuke can hardly blame him.
Madarame's wake is embarrassingly unattended. Yusuke had entered, adorned in a second-hand black suit he'd purchased at a thrift store earlier in the week, complete with a black tie. The shirt's collar does not fit properly. It squeezes around his neck, and he can feel the seed of a headache forming in the center of his skull.
He knows he should not be proud of himself, given the circumstances, but he is. Attending this wake had not been a difficult choice. Even so, he'd kept it a secret from his friends in the Phantom Thieves. One day, he was sure, they would understand.
Well... perhaps not Ryuji.
This is something he must do. For all the complications revolving around his relationship with the man, Madarame had raised him. Madarame had cared for him - admittedly in a rather twisted way - and sheltered him (in a series of ramshackle buildings).
The least Yusuke could do was attend his wake. He looks to his left and right. The chairs remain empty.
Madarame's friends in the art world.
His associates.
His fans.
No one had come.
How quickly they abandoned you, Sensei.
Yusuke sighs, then worries the noise is too loud and will interrupt the proceedings. But the sutra continues and continues, uninhibited.
Then, it's over.
Yusuke stands and turns towards the exit. He knows, from his vague recollections of his mother's wake and funeral, there tends to be more. But as Madarame had no family, there's nothing left to undertake.
He blinks in surprise.
A young man sits in the back of the room. His eyes stare at the floor behind a pair of glasses. His hair is the conservative cut of an office employee. His dark suit is threadbare and faded from too many washings.
He glances up, meets Yusuke's eyes, and looks away.
Yusuke steps up to him. "Hello."
The man lets out a long breath, and stands. "Good afternoon."
They lapse into silence. Behind them, the priest grumbles about something just out of earshot.
The man wets his lips. "I only heard the end of the prayer. It seemed... nice."
Yusuke shrugs. "I suppose. Were you an associate of Madarame-sensei's?"
A look crosses the man's face. A flicker of rage that dies into exhaustion. "I was. Some time ago."
Yusuke inclines his head. "I did not expect anyone else to come. My name's Yusuke Kitagawa."
The man blinks in surprise, and a small smile flits across his lips. "It took a long time for me to decide. I'm Natsuhiko Nakanohara."
Yusuke's eyes widen. A part of him wants to reach out and grab the man's hands. It was, after all, this man who put Akira and the others onto the trail of Madarame. Without his direction, Yusuke might still be slaving away in the atelier, beneath Sensei's tutelage.
He suppresses the urge. Akira had spoken with him - at length - about the need for secrecy and anonymity. The fewer people knew about the identities of the Phantom Thieves, the safer they were. Even if the individual knew a great deal already.
But Yusuke knows he has to say something. "Were you," he mutters, clears his throat, and continues, "one of Sensei's former apprentices?"
Nakanohara sticks his hands in his pockets. "Yes I was. It's been a few years now." He chuckles without mirth. "A few bad years."
Yusuke doesn't pry. He'd heard enough about Nakanohara's shadow from the others. "If I may ask," he says. "Why did you come today?"
Nakanohara looks beyond him, towards the front of the room. "Madarame's dead. This is what you do when people die, right?"
Yusuke frowns. "And yet, it would appear we are the only two aware of that tradition."
The man's face scrunches up, and he pries his eyes back to the ground. "It's..." He trails off, then scowls. "He was a piece of shit."
Yusuke has grown accustomed to vulgar vocabulary, thanks to Ryuji, but to hear such a phrase uttered in this place feels sacrilegious. He's pretty sure that's what 'sacrilegious' actually means. He is about to open his mouth to protest, when Nakanohara continues. "He threw me out into the street. He stole all my work. He made me hate art. He starved me, and I didn't even realize he was doing it until after.
"Still. I can't help but feel responsible, to a degree, for this." He nods back towards the dais.
"Responsible?" Yusuke asks. "You didn't..." he stumbles over the next word, "kill him."
He shrugs once more. "Maybe." He glances around, as if they weren't the only two in the room. Yusuke notices the priest has stepped out of the room. "But I told the Phantom Thieves about Madarame. They went after him because I asked them to. They made him confess his crimes, and then..." He takes his hands from his pockets and spreads them as if to say, 'You know.' "If I hadn't sent them after Madarame, he never would've confessed. Then, that kid wouldn't have stabbed him to death."
Yusuke isn't sure what to say. Should I feign ignorance? Something else? He chooses his next words carefully. "Well, I feel that I should thank you."
Nakanohara frowns. "Thank me?"
He nods. "I don't think I would've had the insight, nor the awareness, to free myself."
Nakanohara's frown doesn't leave his face, but his features soften a bit. "You don't have to thank me, Kitagawa."
"No. I do." He bows. "I wish it did not end this way, Nakanohara-san, but nevertheless, thank you for helping me."
When he straightens, there's a small smile and blush on the man's face. "Well, I guess, you're welcome."
"And," Yusuke puts in. "It should be noted that I am not alone. All of Madarame's present pupils have been freed from his clutches. And those who have already been cast aside have been vindicated."
Nakanohara's smile fades. He looks back towards the dais once more. "I wonder about that." Yusuke says nothing and waits for him to continue. "When I heard the news the other day, I was happy the Phantom Thieves had succeeded. But, I don't know. I didn't feel better about anything." He sighs. "It just feels like it's convenient for people to believe that Madarame was a bad person, now. But I've been saying it for years. I'm sure others have been saying the same thing, but no one listened then. Now, well, look around." He sweeps his arm across the room. "No one's here but us. No one cares. It just feels like believing Madarame was a good person was the thing to do. And now it's believing that he wasn't a good person." He takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, a gesture Yusuke has seen Akira perform numerous times. "I don't know if I'm saying this right. It just feels so over and done. I guess I'm just not satisfied." Yusuke ponders this, but before he can say anything, Nakanohara turns his gaze to him and asks, "Are you?"
And to this, Yusuke can only say one thing. "No. I am not."
#
A series of expressions flicker across Takamaki's face. Shock, fear, anger. Eventually, she settles on what looks like indifference. "I've got nothing to say to you," she declares, and begins to step around her.
Makoto moves to block her. "Wait."
The girl takes a step back, folds her arms across her chest, and frowns. "Look, Niijima-senpai. Jealousy isn't a good look for you, yeah? It's not my fault you can't handle the fact that Akira and I..."
Makoto tunes her out, she just stares at her, eyes locked.
You're not dating Akira Kurusu, Makoto says in her mind. You're a Phantom Thief. You're here, sweating, because you're looking for Morgana. The cat knows Rafflesia because Akira brings him here, so you figured he might be hiding here. That text the cat sent must've been either to you or Akira. Which leads me to believe Akira's in this station right now, searching for the cat as well.
"Well?" Takamaki asks, as if expecting an answer.
Makoto takes another step forward, and Takamaki takes one back, scowling when she does so.
The woman who made the first request of the Phantom Thieves also came here, last month. She bought eleven red roses, according to Haru, all in an effort to draw out her stalker, Natsuhiko Nakanohara. Haru remembers Akira acting very strangely when she arrived, for no real reason. She takes a step closer. On the sixth of May, you encountered Daisuke Takanashi. You were with Ryuji Sakamoto in an alley not far from Shujin. You witnessed him bullying Minoru Maehara. When he inquired about your presence together, you stated you were on a date. It's odd that you would've committed yourself to the charade to obfuscate me so completely that you would tell someone you happened across by chance that you were on a date. That you'd lie to Takanashi due to the low probability I'd encounter him later and inquire about that specific interaction. No, it's more likely that this was when you became aware of his misdeeds, and chose to act on Maehara's request on the PhanSite.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Takamaki demands.
These two events led you - or, to be more accurate, Akira - to recognize the overall sloppiness in how you conducted your missions. Which is why the PhanSite switched over to private requests. It's more secure. You still get to flaunt your successes, while mitigating the risks. That was, of course, right around the time you must've learned I was looking into the Phantom Thieves, which is why Akira had you conduct that false flag operation on May ninth.
"Either say something," Takamaki shouts, "or get the hell out of my way!" She makes another move to get around her. Makoto blocks her. "What the hell?"
And then there's the cat. And Madarame. And Kobayakawa. And all of it, and I can't say any of this to you because...
Because if the Phantom Thieves had killed Madarame and Kobayakawa, or even if they had just killed one of them, Makoto was standing face to face with a killer. She looks Ann Takamaki up and down, and a voice in her mind asks a question. What's the truth?
She feels a flush creep up her skin. I don't know. I just don't know.
"Get your psycho ass away from me," Takamaki growls.
Makoto sees the shoulders move. She knows what to look for. The last time, she was so caught off guard that the blow connected with her face before she could even process what was happening.
This time.
Makoto's arm snaps up. Her forearm blocks Takamaki's own, and the blow stops, barely an inch from her face. I can't say any of what I'm thinking. But there is something I can say.
She shoves Takamaki's arm away. "I'm sorry," she says. "About Suzui."
Takamaki's face goes pale. Her eyes widen. "You..." She starts, then trails off. Wets her lips. "Don't."
Long winded explanations race through her mind. Excuses. Redirections. Makoto says none of these. "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt her." It's an effort to keep her eyes focused on Takamaki's. She wants to look away. "I'm sorry to her, and I'm sorry to you too."
Takamaki's face contorts a bit. "Me?" She asks.
"I'm sorry for everything you went through. I'm sorry for everything Suzui went through. With Kamoshida. I'm sorry I didn't do anything."
Ann Takamaki is a Phantom Thief.
Maybe that makes her a murderer.
Maybe.
But she was - definitely - the victim of Kamoshida's advances, again and again.
She was - definitely - a girl who had her best friend raped and abused, and had done something about it.
Maybe the ends don't justify the means, she thinks. Maybe the reasons do.
And again, a voice in her mind asks a question, Is that your justice then?
Makoto brings herself back to the present. "I'm sorry, Takamaki."
Takamaki's eyes leave her own. They drift to the floor and stare. Makoto watches as Takamaki's hands ball into fists. She takes a deep breath.
And holds it.
And holds it.
And holds it.
She lets it out. Her fingers loosen. Takamaki makes another move to slide around Makoto. This time, Makoto lets her go.
She halts alongside her. "Just..." She starts, her voice almost a whisper. "Just leave us alone."
Makoto's phone rings.
With a sigh, she pulls it from her pocket and checks the ID. It's Haru.
She brings it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Mako-chan!" The voice says. "Great news! I think I've cornered him. I just saw Mona-chan run around a corner. I'm closing in."
Makoto smiles. "That's good, Haru. Listen. When you-"
"Oh my go-" Haru screams, and the line goes dead.
Makoto feels her throat dry. "Haru?"
#
Joker and Mona lay prone just beneath the lip of the stairs. "Okay," Joker whispers. "So this is bad."
"Bad?" Mona hisses. "Bad? Haru's in the Metaverse!"
She'd put her phone away, and stands now, arms clutched to her sides, eyes wide in terror. She turns from side to side, calling, but with each word, her voice diminishes. "Hello? Is someone there?"
"We need to get her out of here," Mona says.
Haru's eyes snap towards their direction. Joker holds a finger up to his lips. "Keep your voice down, I think she heard you."
"Crap," Mona moans, and slides further down the steps.
"Alright, forget that. How do we get her out of here? We had to push Ann out last time. We can't just do that for Haru. She'll recognize us." He glances over at Mona. "Well, she'll recognize me, anyway."
Haru takes a tentative step towards their hiding spot, and says, "Is someone there? I can hear you, I think. Are you..." She doesn't finish, but takes another step towards them.
Mona shakes his head back and forth. "Oh man, she's heading this way. Now what?"
Joker's brain works overtime. There had to be some way of getting her out of the Metaverse without her seeing them, and someway of convincing her the Metaverse didn't exist, once she left it.
He snaps his fingers. "I've got it," he says, a grin on his face. Without another word, he pushes himself to his feet and darts up and over the top of the stairs.
"What're you-" Mona cries, but it's too late.
Haru's eyes have only a bare second to focus on him before Joker's mask disappears, and he calls out, "White Rider!"
The horrid thing materializes in an explosion of blue fire. The cloaked skeleton, with its fearsome bow, rears up on its maggot white horse, itself dotted with eyes, and levels his weapon at Haru. The horse whinnies like the sound of a pounding drum.
Haru takes it all in, screams, and faints.
"Bingo," Joker replies, and banishes his Persona. He turns back to Mona, and gives him a thumbs up.
Mona's head pokes over the top of the stairs, and he stares at him, slack jawed. "You..."
"I know, I know," Joker says, and pats the air. "I'm-"
"You jackass!" Mona hollers.
Joker blinks. "Eh?"
"Your genius plan was to terrify Haru so she'd pass out?"
Joker frowns. "Well, you weren't exactly coming up with any gems yourself, Mona. And what's the big deal? It worked, didn't it? Now we can carry her out of the Metaverse, no problem."
Mona shakes his head. "Don't you have that one Persona? That one you called Sandman?"
Joker nods. "Yeah, so what?"
Mona waves his arms in the air. "So can't that Persona actually put people to sleep?"
Joker nods. "Uh-huh."
Mona groans. "So why didn't you just use Sandman to put her to sleep? Why'd you sick the scariest looking thing in the Universe on her?"
Joker frowns. "Oh." His eyes widen. "Oh." He turns back to Haru's prone body. "Oh no. You've got a point there."
"And what exactly are we supposed to do once we get here out of here? Dragging an unconscious girl out of Shibuya Station will look pretty out of place, so we'd have to leave her there."
Joker swallows. "I'm starting to see the flaw in my thinking."
#
Just walk away.
Ann stares at the ground, a scowl on her face.
Just walk away.
She doesn't need to be here. Doesn't need to deal with this girl's bullshit anymore.
She lifts her gaze and glances back.
Makoto Niijima paces the empty hall, her phone to her ear.
"Come on, come on," she whispers. "Pick up, Haru."
Just walk away.
Makoto Niijima was their enemy. She was investigating them. She had conspired with Haru Okumura to trap Morgana.
Just walk away.
Niijima takes the phone from her ear and looks at it. Her face is pale. Her hands shake. Her eyes are wide and white. Her fingers fly across the screen, sending what looks like text after text. "Where are you?" She mutters. "Please, Haru. Where are you?"
Just walk away.
This was the perfect time to leave. She checks her phone. Akira had sent a message about a hat, which she guessed meant he'd found Morgana. She could leave. Whatever's going on with Makoto Niijima, it's not her problem.
The Student Council President's voice runs through her mind once more.
I'm sorry.
Ann curses herself, and before she can talk herself out of doing it, turns back towards Niijima and asks, "Is everything alright, Niijima-senpai?"
The girl glances over at her, then blinks, as if surprised she's still there. "I... what?"
Ann points at the phone in her hand. "You seem freaked."
Niijima shakes her head. "Freaked? No. It's not that. It's Haru. My friend. Haru who works at-"
Ann nods. "I know, I know. She works at Rafflesia with Akira. What about her?"
"She called, and then it disconnected," Niijima says, and accentuates each word by gesturing with her phone.
"Okay... so?" Ann asks. "No biggie. You've heard of dropped calls, yeah? Happens all the time."
The girl's shoulders slump forward, and in an absolutely terrified voice, she asks, "Then why isn't she calling back?"
"Whoa, okay." Ann takes a step towards her. "Maybe she just dropped her phone and it broke? I've done that before, more times than I'd like to admit."
"No," Niijima replies. "No. It wasn't that. She sounded scared. Really scared. I think-" She stops herself, and stares at the wall in silence.
Ann takes another step, and waves a hand in front of her face. Niijima blinks. "You think what?"
Without looking at her, Niijima mumbles, "What if it's Sugimura?"
Ann frowns. "Who?"
"Nothing," Niijima blurts. "Forget it."
Ann rolls her eyes. "Okay, look. Where was she when she called you?"
"I don't know. Somewhere in Shibuya Station."
Ann nods. She already knew Haru was somewhere close by, but didn't need to let Niijima know that. "Oh, so here?" The girl nods. "Okay. Well then, come on. We're not going to find her by just standing here."
She turns and starts to walk back towards the crowded mall. Niijima follows alongside her for a few paces, then halts, eyes wide. She looks over at her and says, "You'll... help?"
Apparently. "Guess so," Ann mutters. "Let's go."
The two girls step back into the mall.
#
When Akira had left the Metaverse with Morgana and an unconscious Haru in tow, his burner phone had blown up with messages.
Messages from Ann's direct phone.
ANN: No time to explain! I'm with Niijima. Looking for Haru! Get Mona and get out!
They had materialized back into the side hall Akira had transported them from in the first place. Morgana had balked at this, stating that perhaps entering and exiting Mementos depended less on where you were when you left Mementos, and more on where you were when you entered.
Akira had hefted Haru and reminded him that they had more important things to discuss.
"Lady Ann's with Makoto?" Morgana asks, when Akira shows him the message. "Why?"
"No idea. But this could work, actually." Akira crouches down and props Haru up against the wall of the hallway. Her head dips towards her chest. "I'll text her back, and tell her where Haru is. Then, she leads Makoto here, picks her up, and problem solved."
Morgana stares up at him. "I don't know if I'd qualify that as 'problem solved,' but whatever. Fine. So long as we make sure Haru's safe, and get the group together and out of here, I'm all for it."
Akira nods, and types out a response from his burner.
AKIRA: Don't freak out. Haru's in a service corridor near the entrance. She's unconscious.
Ann's response comes a few seconds later.
ANN: WTF!? WHY?
AKIRA: Long story. Just lead Makoto here, but make it look natural.
"Alright," Akira says, and sticks the phone back in his pocket. He nods back towards the entrance to the hall. "Let's hide over there and make sure she's okay."
"Got it," Morgana says.
It only takes a few minutes for Makoto and Ann to show up. The two girls round a corner further down the hall, heads swiveling around, and Akira and Morgana sneak further back, and out of sight.
Then, he hears Ann say, "Hey, is that her?"
Makoto cries, "Haru," and Akira breathes a sigh of relief.
All he had to do now was get Morgana out of Shibuya Station, and he could meet up with Ann and the others. They'd have to figure out what to do with Morgana's intel, but they'd dodged a real bullet today.
Haru, of all people, had been to the Metaverse. But, they'd managed to extract her relatively simply, and there was no evidence of...
Evidence.
Evidence.
Akira rips his phone - his real phone, not his burner - from his pocket. The Metaverse Nav app stares up at him from his screen.
When Ann accidentally got transported to Kamoshida's Castle, the app appeared on her phone. When we took Yusuke to Madarame's, the same happened to his phone.
He pokes his head around the corner, and sees Makoto knelt next to Haru, jostling her shoulder gently. Ann stands before them, arms crossed.
"Shit," Akira hisses.
"What's wrong?" Morgana asks.
"The app," he replies.
"The app?" Morgana blinks, then his eyes widen. "Oh no."
He plunges his regular phone back into his pocket, and pulls out his burner.
#
Haru's eyelids shudder, and Ann thinks to herself, Akira has SO MUCH explaining to do.
Her phone vibrates. She pulls it out.
AKIRA: Don't overreact to my next message.
Ann's eyes narrow. Oh great, now what?
AKIRA: Haru was in Mementos. The app may be on her phone.
Ann bites down on her tongue to keep from shouting.
She begins to type.
ANN: HOW?
AKIRA: I'll explain later. Get her phone, and delete the app if it's there!
Ann looks down at Niijima and Haru.
ANN: HOW^2?!
AKIRA: I don't know! Think of something!
Haru's eyes open, and she blinks.
Niijima lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god."
Haru turns her head slightly and stares at her. "Mako-chan?" Her eyes widen, and she gasps. "Where is it?" She asks, her head twisting around, searching for something. "Where is it?"
"Haru," Niijima says, and takes the girl's shoulders firmly in her grasp. "Calm down. Calm down, you're alright."
"The monster," Haru exclaims. "There was a monster!"
Makoto wraps one arm around her shoulder. "Haru, it's okay. You're here now. You're safe."
Haru's breath gradually slows. A bit of color returns to her face. Finally, when it seems she understand her surroundings, she says, "Oh, Mako-chan, it was awful. I was in this place. It was like Shibuya, but it was like a nightmare or something."
That's Mementos alright, Ann thinks. Damn. How was she going to get this girl's phone away from her?
Niijima shakes her head. "You must've hit your head or something. We found you in this hallway. Remember? You called me and told me you'd found..." Niijima glances back up at Ann. "Well, you called me, and then it seemed like something had gone wrong. I'd thought, maybe Sugimura had-"
"Takamaki?" Haru asks, and stares up at her.
Ann tries to put a smile on her face, and raises a hand in greeting. "Uh, hi."
Haru - never taking her eyes from Ann - leans over towards Niijima and whispers, "I thought we weren't eliminating her until Phase Two?"
"What?" Ann asks.
"What?" Niijima asks, eyes bulging. "No. No, she actually helped me look for you. She's the one who found you, actually."
Ann rubs the back of her head. "Well, you were standing right next to me."
Haru starts to stand, but her legs wobble as she does so.
"Hey, relax," Niijima says. "Don't push yourself."
"I'm fine," Haru says. "I just feel a little off, that's all."
Niijima nods. "Let me help you up. My place is pretty close to here, remember? We can go there and recuperate."
Ann blanches. Oh boy. "I'll come too."
Both girls stare up at her. Niijima meets her gaze with a frown. "That's really not necessary. Now that I'm sure Haru's alright, there's-"
"I, uh, insist," Ann blurts. "Yep. I insist. I want to make sure she's okay. Besides, you know how guys are and stuff. They see Okumura looking vulnerable, they might try something, even with you there. But with three, there won't be a problem."
It's the dumbest, lamest excuse she can come up with, but it's all she's got.
Niijima stares at her for a longer time than she thinks is necessary. Then, she says, "Well, I suppose that's fine."
Together, they help Haru to her feet.
You are so dead, Akira.
##
A/N: Hey gang, hope you enjoyed today's chapter. The day's not done yet!
So, I've decided I'm going to take a break from posting after next week. My wife and I will be going on vacation, and I should probably pay more attention to her than this story about magical Japanese teenagers.
I'll be gone the week of 6/4 and 6/11, so we'll definitely conclude this big day before I leave.
Next week will be a Monday - Friday schedule.
As always, I want to thank every single one of you for reading Crimson. It means a lot, and I hope you'll continue to do so.