6-29

When Akechi wakes, he hears the soft tinkling of a bell. Then he realizes it's his phone.

He sits up, shifts to the edge of his futon and casts his hand out into the darkness. He sets the phone face down when he sleeps as the light sometimes bothers him but this makes it difficult to find in the pitch black of his bedroom. His hand brushes his lamp, but quickly recovers and finds the ringing device. He checks the number and brings it to his ear.

"Yes?"

The voice on the other end is distorted for necessary purposes but he recognizes the identifying phrase. "We've need."

"I see," Akechi replies. He straights and tucks his legs beneath him. "Proceed."

"You've heard of the gangster's recent movements?"

Akechi scowls into the darkness. Kaneshiro. "I have." He doesn't want to color this conversation; doesn't want them thinking he's too eager for this one.

"We were assured his actions against the Dragon Syndicate were still months away. As he's begun early, we are not ready to contain."

"Yes," Akechi replies. He could've told them that. Kaneshiro's Palace and Shadow were a particular brand of unstable. Akechi wasn't surprised the man went back on his word, he was only surprised it took this long. "The gangster has also cropped up in my own work. This should not have happened."

He was still reeling from the revelations from the previous day. Those phone records had been a shock. Kagawa and Sae believed they may tie together with Sugimura's death. He could attest they didn't, but then, what was their purpose? Why bring Sugimura out there for no real reason? Perhaps someone had meant to kill him, but screwed it up. Maybe I did someone else a favor.

Who, though? Not Makoto Niijima. Haru Okumura? Agents of the Okumura family? That was certainly possible, but made no sense. Why screw up a political alliance like that?

Akechi sets the theories aside for now. They will require more investigation, and he doesn't have enough information. Besides, Kaneshiro needed to be dealt with.

"We are in agreement, then," says the voice. The gangster has become a liability. However, you are not to initiate as of yet."

He blinks, and frowns at the bare wall ahead of him. "I see. May I ask why?"

"His actions have essentially broken open the hornet's nest. Before we take action, we need to mitigate as much risk as we can. We do not wish to suffer blowback, and there is the potential that other parties will handle the issue for us."

Akechi slides his tongue over the back of his lower teeth. "Allow me to offer my input. I've met with the gangster many times, over there." That was their keyword for the Metaverse. "Given his... well, I do not believe it's wise to rely on others in this situation."

"Then your present objective is to test the strength of his fortress, over there. Devise a path with which to initiate, with the assumption being that we will need to do so. Establish contingencies as well. Again, do not initiate unless explicitly told to do so."

"Very well," Akechi replies.

The call ends.

He sets his phone down and rests his head back on the thin pillow. It is almost time for him to get up. Almost time to put on his face and move through the world.

The pace is increasing, he thinks. It won't be much longer now.

Akechi rolls onto his side and shuts his eyes. A little bit more sleep won't hurt him.

Not much longer at all.

#

Makoto slides into the seat across from Kagawa and stares at him. He says something that must be a greeting but all she can think is, Does he know?

Sae knew their father's death was a murder. How could his own partner not know? She knows she should try and be diplomatic. She knows she needs to focus to uncover what he knows about the original investigation and by extension, Kaneshiro. Yet, part of her wants to reach across the table, grab him, and demand an explanation. You never wondered? You never searched for the truth?

How could he have known, though? A mental shutdown, three years ago? Makoto had bought the story. Why wouldn't he?

She blinks and realizes he's waiting for her to say something. "I'm sorry?"

Kagawa frowns, studying her. "I said, I was surprised by your phone call. Even more surprised by your request to meet." He looks over towards the waitress of the cafe, and waves her over. "How's Haru Okumura doing?"

The waitress arrives to take their order, and Makoto makes a show of studying the menu - she goes with just water for the time being - to cover her searching for something appropriate to say. "She's fine," she replies, once the waitress leaves. "Still reeling from Sugimura's death."

Kagawa withdraws his phone from his pocket, and glances at it. Without looking at her, he says, "Really? I would've thought she'd be happy given that he was something of a little shit." He glances up, and smirks at whatever look she wears on her face. "I know, I know. I'm not supposed to speak ill of the dead. Sue me. Hell, you shoved him once, right?"

"I did," Makoto says, slowly. "But I only wanted to protect Haru."

Kagawa nods. "People are willing to go to all sorts of lengths in order to protect someone, Mini-Makoto." A look passes over his face and Makoto can't tell if it's fear, shame, or something else.

All she does know is she needs to change the topic. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Alright," he says, and folds his hands together. "So. What couldn't you ask me over the phone?"

Makoto glances left, then right. She wants to look reluctant to share this. Akira had given her a few pointers, and Takamaki had corrected her on them. "I was recently contacted by a reporter. They were inquiring after someone my father investigated."

Kagawa's brow arches upward. "Why'd they contact you? I was his partner."

Makoto shakes her head. "She said she'd reach out to you eventually, but wanted to know if I remembered anything from back then. She said it involved someone named Junya Kaneshiro."

Her father's old friend goes still. She feels his scrutiny skyrocket. He's not smiling anymore. "What was this reporter's name?"

"I'd rather not say," Makoto tells him. "The questions seemed innocent enough, and it's not like I could tell her anything either. I don't want to get her in trouble."

"I'd still really like the name, Makoto."

She purses her lips, straightens in her chair and tries to make it look like she's doing it subconsciously. "Ohya. Ichiko Ohya. I'm sorry. I don't remember her publication. It was a bit of a shock and the conversation didn't last long." Akira assured her he would get Ohya on board with this so if - and he absolutely would - Kagawa looked her up, she could confirm Makoto's story.

"So," Makoto mumbles out. "Do you know that name? It kind of sounds like you recognize it."

Kagawa's eyes refocus and Makoto witnesses a small vein in his neck pulse once, then twice, then settle. "I do," he replies. "Did your Dad ever mention him?"

She shrugs. "He might've. I don't remember if he did."

Kagawa nods, a look of understanding writ on his face. "I hardly ever talked about this stuff at home. Wasn't really 'end of the day, winding down,' conversation." He laughs then but it's bitter and makes Makoto uncomfortable. "Another reason my house is empty."

Makoto feels a pang for him, but wonders if he's trying to change the subject. She clears her throat and asks, "So then, you did know him. Kaneshiro? Dad was investigating him before he died and-"

"He was," Kagawa cuts in. "We were, actually. This isn't pleasant stuff, Makoto. I'm surprised a reporter would've bothered you about it." The waitress returns with their drinks. Coffee for Kagawa. Water for Makoto. "He's a bad guy. Not the kind of person you want to cross paths with." He takes a sip of coffee, then asks, "You still keeping up with your regimen?"

Makoto blinks. "Like, studying?"

Kagawa's laugh is happier this time. "No, I mean with the boxing." He lifts his hands and throws a few slow, exaggerated punches. "Your Dad always talked about doing that stuff with you two."

She can't help but smile at this. "I am. As much as I can, anyway." A pleasant memory comes to the forefront of her mind. "I'm actually showing Haru some moves. Self-defense is good for-"

"Your mental fortitude," Kagawa quickly says, grinning. "I remember. Your Old Man used to remind me of that on a daily basis." He pats his stomach. "I think it was his not-so-subtle way of telling me to get myself together." He chuckles and shakes his head. "Your Dad always sounded like he was quoting from a textbook, or something. Maybe that's where you two got your smarts."

"Dad always said that was Mom," Makoto replies.

Kagawa wags a finger. "Sure. But your Dad wasn't a dummy. He saw connections and put theories together like you wouldn't believe. Maybe this is selling myself short, but on a lot of our cases, the only thing I had to do was tag along." His smile fades. "Your father once said to me that the only thing crazy about crazy theories was that everyone assumed they could never happen on account of them being crazy." The remnants of happiness in his face vanishes. "Like with Kaneshiro."

Makoto's pulse quickens. "Kaneshiro?"

Kagawa nods. "Yeah. It just came to me. Something your Dad said about that case. Ke kept going on about how Kaneshiro must've had friends outside the yakuza. But that was crazy. Kaneshiro wasn't some Captain, he was an up and comer. He wouldn't have had connections like that. Not at his level. Not yet. But your Dad insisted that he did, and then..." He trails off. "The only thing crazy about crazy theories is that everyone assumes they could never happen on account of them being crazy." He mutters something under his breath and to Makoto it looks like, "No fucking way," but she cannot be sure. He focuses back on her and says, "Level with me, Mini-Makoto. Your sister is worried about you. I know you two had a big fight a little while ago. If you don't want to talk to her about what's going on, that's fine. But talk to me, okay?"

She feels her mouth drop open just a fraction. What's going on? Did he realize something? And Sae's worried about me? It didn't sound like it. Not when we spoke last.

Kagawa rests a forearm on the table and leans a bit closer. "You know you can talk to me, right? And that you can trust me? If you have anything to tell me, anything you're scared of, or concerned about, you can talk to me. I won't go running to your sister if that's what you're afraid of."

Makoto tries to smile. She'd been so determined earlier, but after their brief trip down memory lane, she feels unsure. Not to mention, Kagawa's sudden intensity is intimidating. She feels like she missed something but she isn't sure what. "I'm fine," she says.

"Really?" Kagawa asks. His voice gets a bit harder. "Well, that's interesting. Because you didn't bat an eyelash when I told you Kaneshiro was in the yakuza."

Shit! Makoto thinks. He was right. She should've feigned surprise or something. Wait, no. There was a way out of this. "Well, I figured it was something like that," Makoto says, trying to sound calm. "The reporter mentioned organized crime, so all I had to do was put two and two together. So, if Kaneshiro was yakuza, what clan?"

She can't tell by his face whether he believes her or not. "He's Dragon Syndicate."

The words stumble out of her. "I mean, I did do a little research before reaching out to you. I didn't want to come into this meeting with no information, after all. I just couldn't find very much."

"Uh-huh," Kagawa replies. He slumps back in his chair, looking tired. "Listen, this isn't something you should really be diving into, okay?"

This isn't getting me anywhere, Makoto thinks. Kagawa has, so far, given her nothing new on Kaneshiro. She needed something new, something that could reveal the Palace's keywords. I've only got one move left, she reasons. Makoto grits her teeth and asks, "Do you think my Dad's death was an accident?"

Kagawa shifts in his head, but Makoto is shocked to find he doesn't appear surprised. He does, she realizes. He agrees with Sae. He thinks Dad was killed. But does he know it was by Kaneshiro?

"Let's just say," Kagawa replies, slowly. "That I'm seeing events in a new light." He holds up his hand before Makoto can ask a question. "I know you want to know. You have a right to know. But I can't give you what you want until I know exactly what happened, or have a more complete picture."

"But, you have to tell me what you suspect happened." She's breathless now. Her blood races through her veins. She imagines she's red-faced at the moment.

"I'm not sure," Kagawa tells her. "I'm looking into it. I'm wondering if the initial investigation was closed too early." He clears his throat. "Shit. Don't tell anyone I told you that. It could get me in a lot of trouble. If I'm going to find out the truth, I need to do it quietly. No targets on my back, you got me?"

"Who would put a target on your back?" Makoto asks. "Who do you think killed my father? Was it Kaneshiro? You said a minute ago that he might've had allies outside the yakuza. Was it them?" She knows she's pushing it but now that things were rolling she feels herself swept up in it all. "Can't you tell me anything about him?"

Kagawa sighs. "Makoto, relax. Okay? Take it down a notch. I told you, this is all speculative. I've got no real evidence." He lets out a low groan. "Kaneshiro, even as a low level operative was quiet. He wasn't flashy, loud or flamboyant, like a lot of other yakuza youngsters. He preferred a low profile. He ran girls. Drugs. Bad stuff like that. He ran Shibuya like it was his own little fiefdom. Rumor is, he's back. He vanished right after your father died and most assumed he'd fallen out of favor with the Dragon Syndicate for some reason. But if he is back and up to his old tricks again, Shibuya is going to get very dangerous, very fast. He lures in girls and gets them hooked on drugs. He poaches kids from local schools in order to get them into his organization."

Makoto frowns. "I'm not foolish enough to fall for something like that." Although, that is what's going on at Shujin right now.

"I know that," Kagawa replies. "But you don't know what he's capable of. Just, keep an eye out. There'll be students dropping out of school or cutting class. If you hear something, just stay away."

#

Kagawa leaves the meeting feeling sour. He hadn't meant to get into as much detail as he had. Makoto had just looked so damn desperate he'd had to tell her something. Lying wasn't an option. He had never lied to Akihiko and he wasn't about to lie to the man's kids.

Still, the more he'd talked with Makoto, the more things had snapped into place for him. The moment Akihiko had started asking questions about Kaneshiro's outside help, he'd died. And then, Kaneshiro had dropped off the map.

He had always felt the thing was a little strange, but never enough to question it. Accidents happened, after all. He'd spoken with the driver of that truck and the man had been properly heartbroken over it. But now?

He breaks it down in his head.

Mental shutdowns were real, and no one knew the causes.

In previous shutdown cases, those who hadn't died but only suffered through them for a brief period had no recollection of their actions during said period.

This was, in some ways, similar to the experiences of people on a heavy amount of drugs.

No one had heard of mental shutdowns at the time of Akihiko's death.

Given what he knew now, about the mysterious circumstances surrounding his friend's death, was it that much of a stretch to think Akihiko had been killed by a person suffering from a temporary mental shutdown?

The answer was no.

The only crazy thing about crazy theories is that everyone assumes they can't happen on account of being crazy.

But if he was going to start accepting the craziness of the Akihiko theory, that meant he had to accept the possibility of another crazy theory.

Could Makoto Niiijma and Haru Okumura had a hand in Sugimura's death? If he could accept one crazy theory, was it too much to accept the possibility of another?

The answer was sadly, no.

#

Akira keeps his eyes on the floor. He feels as if he shouldn't be here. This is the kind of situation one avoids. Ohya clears her throat and dips forward into a bow. Lala stands next to Akira, arms crossed, a stern loon on her face.

"I'm sorry," Ohya whispers and she truly does sound contrite. Akira can tell. Her sarcasm is so prevalent in her speech that its absence is like a supernova. "I was drunk and I know that's no excuse but it's the truth and you have to know I never meant to be hurtful to you like that, Lala-chan." The words sputter out of her absent her recent slurring. Akira has never heard her struggle to speak when she isn't drunk.

Lala inhales, deeply. She exhales, also deeply. "Alright," she says. "But you need to take stock of yourself, Ohya. You can't continue like this and if you think you can, you have a serious problem."

Ohya reaches up to her face and rubs her forearm across her eyes. Holy shit, Akira thinks. Is she crying? "I know," Ohya replies. "It's bad, isn't it?"

Lala sighs. She lowers her arms and walks around behind the bar. First, she rests a hand on Ohya's back and when the woman straightens, Lala folds her into a hug. "We're going to get you right." Ohya sniffles and nods, looking like a ragdoll in Lala's arms.

Akira realizes this isn't his story. This is not a part of his world, not really. This part of the world, this relationship, these trials, have always been a part of Ohya's story and the story of Lala-chan. This is something he entered at the tail-end. There were, perhaps, many years stacking themselves atop one another, building to this moment. He knows as surely as he knows may other things that this is an important step and his friend Ohya may finally be on a path towards healing.

And he hates himself to admit that he can't bring himself to enjoy it. He looks for the solace and calm he feels should accompany this moment but all he finds is - surprisingly - impatience. The notion shocks him for a moment because he knows he should feel something. He should feel good. He should feel happy. He should want to help.

He doesn't. All he can bitterly think is, I wish I wasn't infiltrating a yakuza gang led by a psychopath so I could enjoy this. He forces a smile onto his face as the two friends part.

"I'm sorry, Lala," Ohya tells her. "Things are..." She trails off. "I don't want to do that. I don't want to make excuses."

Lala rests her hands on Ohya's shoulders. "It's been hard. I know. I should've said something earlier. I'm sorry too."

Ohya nods but doesn't agree. She just sucks in her lips like she's trying to hold something back. Akira imagines she'd look very pale if they weren't in such dim light. "Mind if I talk with Akira for a minute?" She asks. "I'm trying to help him with something."

Lala nods and moves back behind the bar as there are still other patrons at Crossroads who've politely kept their eyes straight ahead as the two reconciled and offered no opinions or points of view. "Serve her some water," Lala whispers as she walks by Akira.

Ohya straddles a stool and mutters, "My head hurts."

Akira doesn't respond.

She glances up at him, and smiles nervously. "So, should I be expecting a call from your friend?"

Akira nods. "He's not my friend. He's Detective Hideotoshi Kagawa of the MET. You might want to call him. Head him off. Maybe he'd even give you something."

"I can worm my way into his good graces," Ohya says, and runs her fingertips across the bar top. "I'll see what I can find on Kaneshiro."

"That's right," Akira says, and pours her a glass of water. He sets it down in front of her. "You're looking into Kaneshiro because you've heard he's back. Akihiko Niijima was investigating Kaneshiro at the time of his death. You put the pieces together and called Makoto."

"Simple enough," Ohya replies. She picks up the water, studying it with a look of contempt. With a sigh, she tilts it back and takes a swallow. To Akira, it looks very much like she's downing alcohol. "Now then, Ali Baba."

"What'd you find out?" Akira asks.

Ohya shifts in her seat, fidgeting as she leans over the bar. "A nice amount. Ever heard of Medjed?"

Akira shrugs. "I think. They're some hacker group, right?"

"Hacktivist," Ohya sounds out, in terrible English. "As the Americans say. They're all about hacking into places where the corrupt congregate and bringing their lies and filth out into the sunlight, or something."

"So, Ali Baba is a member?"

Ohya shakes her head. "Apparently they were the Founder. Or used to be. Word on the Darknet is that they've split ways. Most people nowadays think Medjed is nothing but a hacker group for hire. Corporations pay them to hack into their competitors. They pretend to be standing for truth and justice, but the only side they're on is the one who'll ship them the biggest paycheck."

"So, maybe Ali Baba took issue with them? That's why they left?"

"Who knows?" Ohya asks. "Or maybe they're doing the same thing. You said they contacted the Phantom Thieves, right? Maybe Ali Baba is looking to hire themselves out to them."

They want us to change their heart, Akira thinks. So I guess that's technically true. "Thanks," he says. "I'll pass that along to the admin."

She nods, and slides the empty glass towards him. "Based on your questions, I take it that the Phantom Thieves will be going after Junya Kaneshiro next." Akira doesn't reply. "That's fine. Stay quiet. But listen, I'm renegotiating our deal. If you want my help with Kaneshiro, if you want me to run cover against this cop, then it'll cost you."

Akira narrows his eyes. "Seriously? You don't want to just help me because we're friends?"

"We are friends, cuz," Ohya says. "But I'm not willing to wait around another month for the Thieves to decide to do something. So, I want a meeting."

Akira blinks. "A meeting with who?"

Ohya rolls her eyes. "Who do you think, genius? The Phantom Thieves."

##
A/N: Happy Monday folks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Personally, I felt the Ohya/Lala bits were a bit jarring. I've been meaning to address Ohya's alcoholism for a while but I didn't want to keep beating a dead horse. She's already hit rock bottom. However, she's only just admitted to having a problem and as anyone with an addict in their life knows, that's only the first step. Ohya's got a long way to go.

Thanks for reading!