Naoto did not often get nervous, but when she did, there was one person she talked to in order to calm herself down.
As she went to dial Rise's number, however, a video call request came in - from Rise. Smiling, Naoto sat down in her chair in front of her laptop and accepted the call. Rise's face materialized on the monitor, wearing the wide, gorgeous smile that had stolen Naoto's heart the first time she had seen it. It stole nothing less this time around.
She was dressed in fluffy pants with her own logo on them and a Neo Featherman tank top, likely about to go to sleep. Naoto was herself in comfy clothes - a loose shirt and shorts. When Rise appeared, Naoto waved, and Rise did the same.
"Long time no see," Naoto blurted out, unable to contain her glee.
"You're one to talk," Rise replied with a giggle. "How's my Detective Prince doing in the big city? Had any wild encounters? Sipped some gin among neon lights? Made out under an umbrella in the rain?"
She gave Rise a wry smirk. "You should come here for that last one, but to answer your first question...not so great. At least not right now."
Rise's smile died a little, and her eyebrows raised up as her mouth turned down into an expression of sympathy. "Awww, I'm sorry, Nao-kun. Case got you down?"
"It, plus..." She sighed. It's not that she didn't want to tell Rise about what happened with Sae, it was more that she was so unsure herself about exactly what had happened. "I went out for drinks with Sae last night."
She relayed the story, as she knew it, to Rise. It started strong enough, with the offer at the office ("She caught you looking?" "Yes, I believe so." "How do you even function around her?" "Stop teasing me!"), the delicious dinner, the segway into drinks, the outburst, the talk, carrying her home, and everything up until when Naoto left Sae's apartment. Through it all, Rise listened attentively, lying down on her stomach and kicking her feet up into the air behind her.
"...so...that's it," Naoto concluded, a little worn out just from recalling the story. "What do you think, Rise?"
"Hmmmm." She brought a hand to her chin, rubbing thoughtfully as she mulled it over. "I think...she needs some time. I think when she told you all that, it kind of scared her."
Sae Niijima, scared? Of what? "What do you mean?"
"Do you remember back during the murders when you were still presenting male? Think back to how you felt when your Shadow filled us all in."
Oh, hell. There weren't really words for that kind of that feeling, aside from 'all-encompassing dread'.
"...I felt terrified," she mumbled, summoning up something to say. There had been a very real fear on Naoto's part that they would reject or abandon her, or worse, turn violent and threatening. Their kind reactions had surprised her, in part because she'd expected something so much worse. "If you hadn't welcomed me with open arms, I don't know what I would've done, especially when the entire school found out."
"I think she feels terrified, too. You didn't shut yourself out after that, partly because that's not who you are, and partly because we didn't let you. But I think she feels...embarrassed that she let someone in like that, that she was so open and honest when she didn't want to be."
"She can't really be open at work," Naoto noted. "It's hard for a woman in her position. I don't think she's been emotionally close with anyone since her parents died, not even her sister."
"I think she's panicking, Nao-kun. I think she's backpedaling after that, and...I don't know what you can really do, if she is. Ultimately, she'll have to decide to come to you. Just be friendly, and...I think the faster you can solve this case, the better."
"You're right." It made sense. Rise had always been a people person, more than Naoto. Sure, Naoto could make friends, but understanding what made someone tick past wanting to catch them as a criminal… "Thanks, Rise."
"Anytime, love," Rise said with her perfect smile. "Aside from your romantic troubles, how are things going?"
Naoto giggled. "Just the one trouble. But...I think things here are...it's odd. There's this kid here, this high schooler who reminds me a little too much of Yu."
"Oh? Is he impeccably charming, delightfully witty, and beloved by all?"
"No to the third, he's actually a criminal. But the first two are true, and there's something strange about him..."
As Naoto told Rise everything she knew about Akira, she realized how good it felt to be able to talk about this with someone that she not only trusted implicitly, but someone who would understand some of the weirdness that was going on. Rise, ever the wonderful girlfriend, listened attentively and actively.
I love her for that.
When Naoto was done explaining everything, over half an hour had passed, and she was growing a little bit hoarse.
"And you haven't told anyone else about this, right?" Rise asked. Her face was adorably scrunched up, eyebrows close together in thought.
Naoto shook her head. "I'm not sure who I could tell, honestly. And It's all just a theory at this point. For all I know, Akechi's the one doing all the heart stealing, and Kurusu is just a bystander with a lot of similarities to Yu."
"You know your instincts, Nao-kun, and you know they're too good for that. You just need to dig deeper." She offered Naoto a gentle smile. "You'll find the truth, love."
She put her head down on her arms, still smiling at Naoto, and in that moment Naoto felt a deep ache in her chest from the distance that separated them. She flushed and looked away from the camera, causing Rise to quirk up an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"
"Yes. Yes, I'm fine, Rise, I...I miss you."
Rise brought the laptop closer, nodding. "I miss you too, Naoto. We'll be together again before long, though." She made a kissy face, giggling. "I think this is the longest I've gone without kissing you since we started dating."
"Too long, then." She glanced down at the clock on the taskbar, then sighed. "I'm sorry, Rise. I should get some rest. It's going to be crazy tomorrow, if Sae's email is any indication. I'll call you later this week, okay?"
"Looking forward to it," Rise said with a nod. "Good night, Naoto. I love you."
Naoto had heard those words many, many times by now, but they still caused a warmth in her core that spread throughout her in the most comforting way. Rise wasn't here, but she would be soon.
"I love you too, Rise. Good night."
The facts, as Naoto learned soon after arriving, were these.
On September 11th, at 17:41, Masaru Kobayakawa was struck by a semi truck in the middle of the street. The truck had right of way, and due to the setup of the intersection, could not see the stationary Kobayakawa. The event was witnessed by two police officers standing outside of a nearby police station. They reported that Kobayakawa had frozen in the middle of the road, and did not attempt to avoid his death.
The autopsy revealed death was due to blunt force trauma from the impact with the truck and the ground, and given the circumstances, his death was ruled as a suicide. A tabloid newspaper had leaked the full details of Kobayakawa's cover up of Kamoshida's abuses, and heavy criticism had come at him from all sides - angry parents demanded his resignation, and while there had been no talk of a criminal investigation, rumblings in the higher-ups had surely been felt from Kobayakawa's seat atop Shujin.
To most of the police, this was cut and dry, if tragic. He'd committed suicide, unable to handle the pressure of his position, and he was by this point a disgrace anyway. His complicitness in hiding Kamoshida's horrific abuses made him a target for the aftermath, and few seemed to feel sympathy for his loss.
To the three gathered in Sae's officer, however, it was a different story.
Sae Niijima was seated behind her desk, finger on her chin, looking at the witness statements. Naoto Shirogane was on the opposite side of the desk, studying at the autopsy report. Goro Akechi was leaning against one of the cabinets, looking at an older case file.
With a frustrated sigh, Sae flipped the folder closed and slapped it onto her desk. "I can't believe this. The Phantom Thieves are running roughshod and the public doesn't care !"
"Why would they?" Naoto asked as she turned another page. "They're taking down bad guys the cops can't touch. Everybody loves a good vigilante."
Sae fixed Naoto with a glare. "Because this is about more than a few changes of hearts."
"It's about killing the principal of Shujin Academy," Akechi said, following in Sae's mental footsteps. "You think they did it."
Naoto's eyes widened as she looked from Akechi to Sae. "You can't be serious. What makes you so sure they did this? What proof do we have?"
"Another Shujin target can't be a coincidence," Sae argued, looking at Naoto with a furious gaze. "It's revenge. He was covering up the Kamoshida incidents, and they wanted to make an example of him."
"You can't just make wild accusations," Naoto argued back, looking to Akechi for support. "We need evidence, Niijima-san. The only similarity between this case and the known Phantom Thieves incidents is Shujin. From what we've seen, the Phantom Thieves don't kill."
"They don't. At least, not publically, but it fits the theory I've been working on - one I shared with Sae a month or so ago," Akechi noted. "The Phantom Thieves as we know them are simply a front, a publicised arm of them that brags about their good deeds. Meanwhile, they're free to perform mental shutdowns and other acts of domestic terrorism."
It wasn't a bad theory, to be honest. Naoto had to hand it to him that on one level, it made sense. "Then you believe the mental shutdowns, psychotic breakdowns, and changes of hearts are all related, and perpetrated by the same group?"
Akechi nodded. "As mentioned in our first meeting, I had considered the possibility - and now doubt, so had you, though you are of the thought that the Phantom Thieves are not the perpetrators of all three incidents." At that, Naoto nodded.
So he hasn't changed his mind, and neither have I. Both of us still lack proof, though.
"But," he said as he turned his attention to Sae, "Naoto is right. Would this accusation have anything to do with the Okumura Foods data you shared with me yesterday?"
Sae was silent for a moment, then she shook her head. "There's no clear connection, but if the Phantom Thieves are the ones performing these mental shutdowns on behalf of Okumura Foods, there's bound to be some kind of link."
"So you're jumping the gun," Akechi said as he put a hand over his face, disappointed with Sae. "So unlike you, Sae-san. Plus you threatened that cafe owner with a custody battle."
That was news to Naoto, who turned to look at Sae. She was determinedly not making eye contact. "That was for the sake of the case," Sae said.
"You're too aggressive, Sae-san," Akechi chided. "We're not police, and that's police territory. If this comes back to haunt you later, don't say I didn't warn you."
"I don't need your condescension, Akechi-san," Sae said, a definite edge to her tone. The tension in the room had thickened significantly, and at this point, Naoto wasn't even sure whose side she was on. "You're far from the only person to have told me that."
"Then you know how important it is that we stick to our methods." Akechi pushed himself off of the wall, arms folded as he looked over the other two. "If we can just find out how the Phantom Thieves are doing it, we can get the police involved."
Sae made a dismissive noise, brushing the air with her hand. "They can't be caught by following the rules, so why should we? Our formalities have done nothing for us."
Naoto could barely believe what she was hearing. Sae Niijima, stickler for justice and procedure, now willing to throw that all away? "Those formalities ensure that justice is delivered only to the deserving," she declared. "If we break the rules, our evidence is useless, and for good reason - they protect us as well as our suspects."
"Willing to break the rules to catch the bad guys, all in the name of justice...that sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Akechi's rhetorical question went mercifully unanswered. "We're all on the side of the law, Sae-san. Let me know when you remember that." Without another word, he picked up his briefcase and left, closing the door on his way out.
The silence reigned for a moment as Naoto waited for some kind of explanation, but none came. Sae, for better or worse, was set in her course. She was avoiding Naoto's gaze, steadfastly looking down at the far edge of her desk.
"Very well then, Niijima-san. Good luck with the case. Call me if you need anything." With that, Naoto followed Akechi out the door.
He was waiting for the elevator to arrive, staring at the indicator lights. Naoto got beside him. His small sigh after that was impossible to miss, and he turned to Naoto, downcast. "...thank you for your support, as unfortunate as the outcome was."
Naoto nodded, looking up at him. "I hate to admit she's right, but she's right. They can't be caught by normal means, or we would have by now. We don't know their methods, we don't know their targets in advance, and...what was that about Okumura Foods? And the cafe owner? What does he know?"
"I'll go in order. Over the weekend, Sae noticed a pattern in the mental shutdown victims - many of them, directly or indirectly, benefitted the company in some way. I mentioned to her earlier that I believed that the Phantom Thieves were also behind the mental shutdowns, but it was nothing more than a theory.
"Now, though...that seems to be her plan of attack," Akechi mused, eyebrows knitting as he thought to a conclusion. "As for the cafe owner, Sojiro Sakura was a former government employee who worked with a woman named Wakaba Isshiki on something called 'cognitive psience'. That's p-s-c-i-e-n-c-e. It deals with supernatural phenomena involving the cognitive world inside of the human mind.
"I normally don't put stock in such things, but Sae-san believed it significant, so she went to speak with him. It did not...go well, shall we say, so that was a dead end. Regardless, I'm worried. If she keeps up like this, she could ruin the entire investigation."
Naoto hadn't connected those dots about Okumura herself, but the bulk of her time had been spent on the Phantom Thieves themselves instead of the mental shutdown targets. Sae deserved credit for making such connections, but if they lead her down this path…
I shouldn't leave her. She's going to need help, or at least someone to talk to.
"...I'm going to talk to her. I can't let her just walk down this path and not try to stop her, at least." She nodded up at Akechi. "We'll speak again soon. Good luck with the start of school."
"Thank you, Shirogane-san. I hope you can talk some sense into her."
Naoto turned and headed back to Sae's office, every step filled with hesitation.