The trip is short. Niijima's apartment is a bare handful of blocks from Shibuya Station. Haru regains more of herself as they walk, but still, Niijima keeps a hand on her shoulder. Ann brings up the rear, doing her best to infer in which pocket Haru keeps her phone.

"...was awful," Haru is saying. "So vivid, too. It was like the Grim Reaper, but instead of a scythe, it had a golden bow. And its horse! Oh, Mako-chan, its horse was terrible."

Ann scowls. So, somehow Akira transports Haru into the Metaverse and sends White freaking Rider at her, and I'm the one who has to clear the app from her phone? This sucks. She intends to drag an explanation out of him, when next she sees him.

Niijima nods along with Haru's story, the very image of understanding, and repeats - like a litany, "Just a dream, Haru. Just a dream." Beyond nodding, the girl's head turns a few times towards Ann during their walk. Ann can't read the look. It's not quite suspicion, but she doesn't know what else it could be.

Niijima leads them through the front door of a newly built, steel-colored apartment complex. Ann whistles as the semi-spacious lobby. "Swanky."

"Thank you," Niijima says, and pushes the elevator button. "And thank you for your help, Takamaki. I've got Haru from here."

Ann throws on her most authentic smile. "Totally, I understand. But I'm the kind of girl who likes to finish things I start, you know? Mind if I come upstairs with you? Just to make sure she's okay?"

Haru's lips are a tight, white line. She glances over at Niijima, who meets her gaze. Neither says anything.

The elevator doors part with a ding, and Niijma says, "Sure."

They pile inside.

The ride doesn't take long, and Ann makes a note that they stop on the eighth floor. Niijima leads them down a hall of numbered doors, until she stops outside 823, and removes a keycard from her pocket.

"My sister won't be home," Niijima says, as she leans over the reader.

Sister? Ann thinks. What about her parents? She keeps her mouth shut, and Niijima opens the door and walks inside.

The place is very Makoto Niijima. Everything looks to be in its proper place. All the tables and countertops are pristine and uncluttered. The whole motif of the place though, between the dark furniture and stainless steel everything, gives off a sterile feel. It seems more – to Ann - like one of those mock-ups you see in a furniture store, than a place where flesh and blood humans reside.

"Nice," Ann says, but she can hear how unenthused her own voice is.

Niijima nods. "Thank you. Would you like some water?"

"Uh, sure."

Haru moves over towards the couch. Niijima steps behind her, and gives her friend's shoulder a single, solid squeeze. Haru halts and says, "I'll make us some snacks."

Niijima shakes her head as the girl joins her in walking towards the kitchen. "Haru, you should lie down and rest."

Haru smiles. "It won't take more than a moment, Mako-chan."

Both girls disappear into the kitchen, and Ann hears the sink turn on. Okay, think. How the hell am I going to get Haru's phone away from her? She could exchange numbers with the girls. If she can get Haru's phone in her hands, under the guise of entering her own number, she can find the app and delete it in a heartbeat. But would they buy that? You don't exchange numbers unless you're friends. And Ann is emphatically not a friend.

Haru reenters the living room with a big plastic bowl in one hand, a glass of water in the other, and a bag of celery sticks tucked under her arm. "Here you go," she says, setting the water before Ann. "Don't worry, it isn't poisoned."

Ann's eyes widen, and she stares up into the smiling face of Haru Okumura. What is up with this chick? Hadn't she mentioned something about 'eliminating' her during 'Phase Two?'

Haru places the bowl and celery sticks on the table, and sits down on the couch. She lets out a long yawn a moment later, and blinks her eyes a few times. "You won't mind if I lay down, would you, Takamaki-chan? I think the whole experience this afternoon exhausted me."

"Oh, uh, no," Ann says, smiling. "Go ahead."

Haru nods, then withdraws her phone from her pocket and sets it on the table, along with a keyring and small hand purse. "I can't stand to have those on me with I sleep, don't you agree?"

"Totally," Ann replies.

Haru nods, then settles back on the couch and shuts her eyes.

Holy crap, Ann thinks. The phone is right there. She looks back towards the kitchen. No sign of Niijima. What was she doing in there?

Haru's chest starts to rise and fall steadily. Was she asleep already?

This might be her best chance. Ann leans forward, and extends her hand out towards the phone, when Niijima reenters the room, a frown on her face.

"I wa-" Ann starts, but Niijima cuts her off.

"I'm sorry, Takamaki," she says, and Ann notices she has her own phone in her hand. "It's my sister. I'm just going to step into my bedroom and take it."

"Oh, right. No, of course. Go ahead."

Niijima's eyes fall on Haru. She smiles, warmly. "That one could sleep through a motorcycle rally."

"Really?" Ann asks.

Niijima nods. "Really." She holds the phone up to her ear and says, "Hi, Sis. What's up?"

Ann listens for her as she rounds the corner, and a moment later, hears a door close.

She waits ten seconds. Then, she whispers, "Okumura-san?" No response. "Haru?" She asks, a bit louder. Nothing.

She darts out with her hand and snatches up Haru's phone. She goes to the app menu and scrolls, scrolls, scrolls.

There it is.

The Metaverse Navigation app.

Damn. Ann places her thumb over the app, and drags it to the phone's trashcan. Then, she sets the phone back down in the approximate spot she'd taken it from.

She takes out her own phone and texts Akira.

ANN: Mission Complete.

He'll probably give her grief later for not 'being vague' enough, but she doesn't give a shit right now. Being in Makoto Niijima's apartment has sent her nerves skyrocketing.

A few moments pass, and she hears a door open.

Niijima steps back into the room and nods towards the unopened snacks. "Not hungry?"

Ann shakes her head, and stands. "Actually, I should be going. Haru's safe here with you."

Niijima nods. "Yeah." She gestures towards the door. "I'll see you out."

#

Makoto stands with her arms crossed, waiting for the elevator to arrive.

Takamaki rocks back and forth on her heels, eyes glued to the up/down arrows above the elevator door.

Makoto can hardly blame her for being uncomfortable. It had been a rather unsettling hour.

Makoto opens her mouth, shuts it, then mutters out, "Thank you."

Takamaki glances over at her. "Huh? For what?"

Makoto makes herself look her in the eye. "For helping me look for Haru. I was afraid something had happened to her. You didn't have to assist me. But you did. So, thank you."

The girl nods, then shrugs. "No problem."

When Haru's phone had disconnected, it had seemed like all rational thought had left her. All she could think of was that scumbag Sugimura, grabbing her in some hallway. The thought of his smug fucking face made her want to snap his neck, and the more she thought about it, the more her thoughts raced in turn, until she no longer had control over her own mind.

If Takamaki hadn't snapped her back to reality, and helped her find Haru, she might still be pacing that empty hall.

She didn't want to think about what would've happened to Haru if they hadn't found her.

And yet.

She swallows. She knows she's about to step on a landmine, but she pushes ahead regardless. "Is Akira alright?"

Makoto can almost taste the tension increase. When Takamaki speaks, her voice is cold. "What?"

Makoto doesn't look at her. She just stares at the doors. "We haven't spoken since... well, you remember. He was having a hard time adjusting. I just want to know if he's okay."

The elevator door opens with a ding. Takamaki and Makoto step inside.

She hits the ground floor button. Takamaki leans against the wall, tightlipped, brows furrowed.

"Please?" Makoto asks, as the elevator begins to descend. "All I-"

"He's fine," she mutters. "It's still hard for him. People give him crap a lot. People think the worst of him. But he's fine. He's got us."

And for a moment, Makoto allows herself to believe the 'us' Takamaki references includes herself.

But she knows it doesn't.

Something shifts in her chest like the grating of teeth. Because Takamaki is privy. Whatever may exist between Takamaki and Akira, she's a part of his inner circle. Along with Sakamoto and possibly Morgana, the Magical Cat. She knows the score. The secrets. And Makoto doesn't. No matter how much she wraps herself in all this, she'll always be the one on the outside, fighting to see her way in.

And that hurts.

"Good," she says.

The doors open, and Takamaki steps off. She turns and looks back at Makoto, and the two girls stare at one another, but neither says a thing.

Then, the doors close.

Makoto rides the elevator back up to her floor in silence.

She enters her apartment to find Haru sitting up on the couch. "Well?" She asks.

Haru nods towards her phone. "She did something to my phone," Haru replies.

Makoto's eyes widen. "Really?"

"Yes, but I can't tell what. It doesn't look like she installed anything on it."

Makoto takes a seat next to Haru on the couch. It had been way too suspicious. Takamaki's insistence on accompanying them to Makoto's home. Her wanting to come upstairs.

That was why Makoto had pulled Haru into the kitchen, and instructed her to pretend to fall asleep on the couch. Then, Makoto had acted as if Sae had called her, and stepped out of the room long enough for Takamaki to do whatever she'd planned on doing.

"You're sure it was your phone?" Makoto asks. "You didn't see or hear her walking around, did you?"

Haru shakes her head. "I kept my breathing steady, so she thought I was asleep, but I didn't hear her do anything else. I heard her set it back down, and I heard the small little noise it makes when you type on it."

"Maybe she sent a message?"

Haru shakes her head. "There's nothing in the sent folder."

"She might've deleted it afterwards," Makoto points out. "Eliminated the evidence." The thought gives her pause. "You said there's nothing new installed on your phone. What about anything removed?"

Haru scrolls through her apps, brows furrowed. "Everything looks the same. I don't know. I've got so many useless apps I don't use, it's hard to remember which are which." She sighs, and sets it down. "Sorry, Mako-chan. Whatever she did, I've got no idea what it is."

"That's alright," Makoto says, and sets a hand on her shoulder. "The important thing is that we know she did something." She frowns. "You may want to consider getting a new phone."

Haru nods, but doesn't reply.

Makoto leans back on the couch and thinks. I'm missing something. Haru and Makoto had split up to find Morgana. Makoto had encountered Ann Takamaki. Haru had called and stated she'd seen Morgana go around a corner. During that conversation, the call had dropped. Then, Takamaki and Makoto had spent approximately fifteen minutes looking for Haru, and had found her, unconscious, in a service hallway.

Takamaki had then helped Makoto bring Haru back to her home, and insisted on coming upstairs. Obviously, it was so she could do something to Haru's phone, but what? She'd only had it in her hands for a few seconds, and Takamaki didn't seem like a hacker. So whatever she did must've been quick.

Another question, is when did Takamaki decide to help us get home? Before, or after we found Haru? If it was before, then maybe their entire interaction had been planned. If it was after, then Takamaki must've realized something when they'd found Haru. Something to do with the phone.

There was something underlining all of this, Makoto just knew it.

But whatever the missing piece was, she couldn't fathom it.

#

"And that was it," Ann says. "That was everything."

They sit in various spots throughout Akira's room. Ann and Ryuji on the couch. Yusuke with one elbow balanced on Akira's desk. Morgana, spread out on the bed. Akira stands alone, pacing the room.

He stops, and stares at the floor. "Haru fell asleep that quickly?" He asks.

Ann shrugs. "Yeah. I mean, I grabbed her phone and everything, and she didn't wake up."

Akira nods. That, or she let you think she was asleep. He tried to work out how likely it was that the two girls knew Ann was up to something. Pretty freaking likely. Still, Ann had done what she'd needed to do. Deleted the app from Haru's phone. "Right, nice job, Ann."

She smiles. Ryuji leans his head against the couch and groans. "But, man! Haru was in the Metaverse? How freakin' crazy is that?"

Yusuke frowns. "I'm more perturbed with the discovery Morgana made. The Operation dubbed..." He glances over at Morgana. "What was it, again?"

Morgana stretches on his back. "Operation Destroy Akira Kurusu or Something Less Drastic."

"Yes, that. A particularly disturbing moniker."

Akira fights to keep the smile from his face. Of course it's called that. He approaches the wall and leans against it. "Well, the way I see it, we've got a few advantages." He looks back over at Yusuke. "First off, it seems like they don't know about you yet."

Yusuke straightens. "Me?"

Morgana nods. "That's true. I didn't see anything about Yusuke on the board they had."

"If they still think the Phantom Thieves only consist of Shujin Students," Akira continues. "Then we could use Yusuke to lead them astray."

Ryuji lifts his hand. "Yeah, but how? Yusuke ain't exactly...uh..." He snaps his fingers. "What's the word?"

"Discreet?" Akira asks.

"Subtle?" Ann asks.

"Careful?" Morgana asks.

Ryuji nods. "Yeah. All those."

Yusuke stands. "I resent this slander!"

Morgana frowns. "No offense, Yusuke. But you did kind of blurt out that you were a Phantom Thief to Mishima the other night."

Ann blinks. "Wait, Yusuke met Mishima? When did that happen?"

Akira and Ryuji share wide-eyed looks with one another. "The other night, no big deal," Akira puts in, quickly. "Regardless, the important thing is that Yusuke isn't known to them. So, with the right strategy, we could kick them off our trails once and for all."

Yusuke sits back down, arms crossed, pouting.

Ryuji leans forward, clasping his hands together. "Okay, but dude, forget about the whole Yusuke thing for a second-"

"This matter is not settled," Yusuke mumbles.

Ryuji presses on. "And forget about Haru's phone thing, too. Isn't the bigger deal that they know, that we know?"

"What'd you mean?" Ann asks.

Ryuji nods his head towards Morgana. "Makoto and Haru saw Morgana readin' the board where they kept all that crap on us. So, like, they know we know they think we're Phantom Thieves, right? Isn't this gonna be super awkward from now on?"

Akira smile. "Actually, they don't know that we know."

Ryuji's brows furrow. "Eh? What'd you mean? Morgana told us everything."

Akira shakes his head. "They never actually saw us recover Morgana. All they know for certain is that Morgana ran into Shibuya Station, and Makoto bumped into Ann." He spreads his hands wide. "What if we never found Morgana? What if Morgana is lost?"

The thieves glance at one another.

"Ann," Akira says, when he sees the looks they exchange with one another. "In all the time you spent with Makoto today, you never actually talked about the Phantom Thieves, did you?"

Ann nods. "No. It never came up, but I was getting some really creepy vibes from Niijima when she found me outside Rafflesia."

"Well," Akira continues, and sticks his thumb towards Morgana. "Haru never saw us either. We managed to knock her out before it became an issue, and got her out of the Metaverse. So, now we know what they know, but they can't know for sure that we know."

"But will they not just assume?" Yusuke asks. "Morgana, you said they saw you texting with my phone."

"That's true," Morgana replies.

Akira smirks. "They will assume. Of course they've assumed that we've got Morgana by now. But what happens when I go up to Haru tomorrow, at school, and ask her how Morgana is liking her house?"

Ryuji's smile spreads across his face. "So, she thinks we never found Morgana at Shibuya. She goes into panic mode."

Akira sits down on his bed, and runs his hand over Morgana's head. "If there is someone else who can access the Metaverse, that's something we need to deal with sooner, rather than later. I don't think any of us want Makoto or Haru in the crossfire of that. We need to get them off our backs, once and for all. We'll distance ourselves more and more. I can blame Haru for losing my cat. I can quit my job at the flower shop. We cut them out of our lives completely."

The Thieves glance at one another. "And..." Ann says. "You're okay with that?"

Akira sighs and stares at the floorboards. "It doesn't matter if I'm okay with it or not. It's what needs to be done. So, tonight, I'll have a little chat with Igor. Make sure he keeps the Nav off Haru's phone. Tomorrow, I'll head to school early."

Ryuji frowns. "Why, dude?"

Akira smiles. "Morgana, didn't Haru and Makoto start chasing you right after you escaped?"

Morgana stands up and stretches his legs. "Yeah?"

Akira smirks. "I bet it was pretty stressful, running all the way to Shibuya Station. Makoto losing Haru. Haru getting trapped in the Metaverse and getting the crap scared out of her-"

"Wasn't that your fault?" Ann asks.

Akira clears his throat. "And then the awkward situation with Ann as she followed them back to Makoto's place. A pretty eventful day, wouldn't you say?"

Yusuke moves a lock of hair from his face. "What are you saying, Akira?"

He shrugs. " I'm just wondering, if, in all the excitement, they forgot to go back to Shujin and take all their evidence down."

#

HARU: I'm back home. What a day!

Makoto stares at the blue light of her phone, and smiles.

MAKOTO: You could say that again.

HARU: We'll talk more about it tomorrow, goodnight, Mako-chan!

Makoto texts her own goodbye, and sets the phone down on her desk. She trudges over to her bed, and collapses onto the sheets. She'd racked her brain for hours after Takamaki left, but she couldn't figure it out.

The problem was she didn't have enough information. There were just too many things you could do with a phone. If she had just a little more information, she could've made a deduction, but with what little she had to go on, it was virtually impossible.

She yawns.

Too much had happened today.

Between Morgana being able to read and text, Haru's disappearance in Shibuya, Takamaki's offer of help and her suspicious behavior, Makoto can't keep her thoughts straight.

If the Phantom Thieves recovered Morgana, and he's able to convey what he saw, our Operation is blown.

She shakes her head, and shuts her eyes.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll deal with all this.

...

...

...

Her eyes snap open. She sits up, and bites her tongue as she curses.

"Shit!" She winces in pain.

The Student Council Room! Operation Destroy Akira Kurusu or Something Less Drastic!

It was all still up there.

All of it.

She'd completely forgotten about it.

How could I have been so stupid?

She barrels out of bed, and begins to pace the room. Checks the time. The trains weren't running anymore.

Did that matter?

She had a key to the school. She could go to Shujin now, and take everything down.

If someone saw that...

She takes a deep breath. Calm down. Think. Think of the possibilities.

If Morgana had been retrieved by the Phantom Thieves - by Akira - and had conveyed what he'd seen, no doubt Akira would want to see it. If he'd made a beeline for Shujin from Shibuya, it was possible he'd seen it already.

If not, it was possible he'd try tomorrow, as early as possible. Before the other students showed up.

Makoto's eyes widen. Oh no.

If anyone else saw that, there'd be trouble. If a student saw it, it'd be all over the school by first period. If a faculty member saw it... well, the same thing would happen.

I have to take it down. I have to go now. If anyone sees that they'll think Akira is a Phantom Thief! And if they did, he'd be arrested. He'd be arrested and it would be her fault.

What if someone had already seen it? All those photos and whatnot had been there all day. What if someone had seen it?

Stop it. Stop it! Think!

The clubs had no need to go to the student council room. No faculty ever went there unless it was during the week. Even her fellow student council members never showed up earlier than they needed to on Monday.

What about the janitorial staff?

No, no that was okay. The staff didn't clean the school on the weekends, just late at night on the weekdays. Which meant they hadn't seen it yet.

Which meant it was very likely no one had seen it yet.

The door locks automatically when you shut it from the inside, so long as you've engaged the lock.

Had she engaged the lock? She couldn't remember. She'd locked the door when Haru had brought Morgana in, but couldn't remember what she'd done when they'd chased him out into the hall. It was all a kind of muscle memory, and trying to actually recall it proved nearly impossible.

She had no choice. She'd just have to go as early as she could, and take it all down, before anyone had a chance to see it.

The only question was when to go.

#

Akira stares at Igor. "What'd you mean?"

Igor's manic grin grows a bit larger. "As I said, Trickster, the device you utilize is beyond my control."

His hands tighten on the bars of his cell. "The last time I was here, you said that you were the one who gave us access to the app."

"I stated," Igor says. "That I had given you access to the Metaverse Navigator. You, bequeathed it to your compatriots."

Akira blinks. "I didn't 'bequeath' anything. Haru got sent to the Metaverse by accident. It wasn't intentional. We got the app off her phone, but I need you to make sure it doesn't pop back onto it, like it did with mine."

Igor lifts a lazy hand into the air. "The Navigator, once given, cannot be relinquished. Is it not how you encountered your first companion?"

Akira rests his forehead against the bars. "Ryuji was an accident, too. But I didn't even know what the app was then. I do now. Haru can't be walking around with it on her phone. It's dangerous, and she's got nothing to do with this."

"It does not seem that way from my perspective."

Akira's eyes narrow. "And just what is your perspective? How many riddles are you going to talk in before you give me a straight answer? I'm asking for your help. Isn't that what you keep insisting you're all about? But all you do is sit there, behind that fucking ugly desk and-"

He feels Caroline's presence before he sees her, and shuts his eyes tight as her bulk launches from the shadows and smashes against his cell door.

"IWOULDTHINKYOUWOULDLEARNEDRESPECTBYNOWINMATEDOSPEAKTOTHEMASTERINSUCHAWAY"

Akira keeps his eyes closed, and cowers near the back of his cell. When he feels the presence shrink back, he approaches the door, but keeps his gaze on the floor. "Are you telling me, that we can't get the app off Haru's phone? That no matter how many times we delete, it'll just reinstall?"

Igor chuckles. "Yes. That is what I am telling you."

Akira lets out a sigh. "Fantastic."

##

A/N: Another Long Day ends, but we're not done yet!

What will the aftermath be?

Swing back on Friday to find out!

Just a reminder, I'll be taking a two week vacation after Friday's post. I'll still be around, so feel free to swing by on Twitter, or leave comments here or at the other site ( or ao3, depending on where you're reading this), and say hello, or ask any questions you might have. I do love a good chat.

Have a great week!