Date:?/ Time:?
A helicopter flied through the city, passing various buildings and houses, towards a big casino. The casino itself was strange place because it was the only place filled with light and people in an otherwise ghost town, but even more strange thing about casino wass that a little bit of it's left side wass covered in a blinding white light. The light was so bright that the it looked like a miniature sun in the night.
Inside the casino, the people were nervously looking around, muttering to themselves.
"What is the meaning of this!?", "What's happening?"
"Don't tell me! Are the phantom thieves here?"
… *Bam* A large door suddenly opened and half a dozen men in black suit with sunglasses, carrying guns entered the place.
The man on the front looked around the place before checking his earpiece. "He must still be inside the building. Surround the perimeter! Close all the exits! We must not let him escape!" As soon as the man said that, many more entered the place, making already nervous people become hectic. But the men didn't pay attention to them, checking every nooks and crannies with their weapons in hand.
But, what they didn't notice is a man in an all black suit with a frizzy hair and gloves as red as blood, was standing on the chandelier above them while carrying a briefcase on his hand. And to top it all off, a white mask with the shape of a bird sat squarely atop his face. The man's whole attire screamed suspicious. And that's still not include his expression.
The man looked down at the black-suited men running madly around the place with smug, arrogant, satisfying grin. Although, there's no one around him, the man started to talk.
"Hm, amateurs, didn't even bother to look up. Oracle, could you check around the table for a suggestion box? I like to write a tip or two."
And surprisingly, a girl's voice replied him back. "Ohhhh…Nice burn, sick joke, very funny, Haha, I laughed." The girl didn't even bother to cover her sarcasm.
But, the man just shrugged back with a smile, not looking even a bit offended.
"Is others with you?" The man said back to an invisible voice.
"We are here, Joker." A calm voice said back, follows by a bubbly girl's voice.
"Me and Skull are here, too."
"Man, let me tell you. All this running around is not good for my foot, you hear that?"
"Oh, suck it up, Skull." A feline voice said back to the whining boy before it was suddenly cut off by the first girl.
"There you have it."
"Hmm, what about Queen?"
"Ahhh, let me check on that." The voice suddenly got silence. "…Hmm, looks like they have not arrived yet."
"Hm? Did they encounter some trouble?" Joker said back, still acting nonchalantly.
"No, I don't think so. Why don't you ask them yourself…Patching throughhhhh now." *Click* A clicking noise was heard and Joker waited a little before speaking.
"Queen, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Joker." A charming young man's voice said back. He seemed to be in the middle of running.
"Crow, is Queen with you?"
"Yes, I'm here." A girl said back.
Joker nodded a little before he continued. "Heard you guys were running late. What happened?"
"Ahahaha, Ahhh, well long story short, that wei-Ahem, that uh-lady volunteered to cut off the lockdown and Me and Queen decided to take up her offer." Crow said back sheepishly.
"And?"
"And it was a mistake. We would have been better taking Fox." Queen said back, cutting off.
"Oh…That bad, huh?"
"~Don't worry! Joker-san and My Fellow Phantom Thieves! I, the great Elizabeth will always be there to save the day!~"
"…."
"Ahhh…."
"What the hell was that?"
"I don't know. This is the fourth time she said that."
"~Oh no!~ My Great Queen, Makoto-sama! Did me, humble Elizabeth, offended you somehow?"
"How many times do I have to tell you not to use my name!? Just Queen is enough!"
"~Ohohohoho~ But, I just like the name so much!"
"Ahahahah…Um, Ahaha. Ummmm…"
"You can say it, Crow…"
"Joker! That lady is really weird!"
"Noted, Crow." Joker said back not acting even a little bit sorry. 'Good thing I decided to go solo!'
"Oracle, Our sharpshooter is running a little late." Joker said.
"So?"
"A little change to the plan. I will make a diversion and also acts as a diversion."
"What!? That's dangerous!" The bubbly voice from before said back.
"No need to worry, Panther.…I got a plan." Joker said taking out his gun.
"What? You're gonna shoot?" Oracle said skeptically.
"Why not? After all I learned from the best."
"The best? The only thing he shot at is his head, what do you mean?"
"Hmph, just observe, Oracle." Joker said carefully aiming. *C…lick, Woosh!* The bullet went through the air at an incredible speed, hitting it's target, one of the rope holding the light, thus making the rope broke off.
"HAH!", *Snap*…*Bam* The lights that the rope holding fell down towards the floor, making a loud sound echoed through the place.
"Ahh!?" , "What is the meaning of this!?" The people below him shouted madly.
"There's a disturbance at point 4, all units, I repeat, there's a disturbance at point 4." The voice from the radio sounded throughout the place and before long, many men in black suits appeared on the scene.
"Hmph, told you." Joker said in a smug voice before jumping towards the another platform.
"Over there!" The men from below shouted and not long after that the sound of gunshots filled the place, competing with the screams of people.
"Ha, child play." But, Joker easily dodged them all, making jumps from platform to platform, as much stylishly as possible.
"Nice job, Joker! Now, all the enemies are focusing on him."
"I can't be the only one who thinks this is dangerous, right?"
"Well, that's to be expected, giving that this is our first actual heist without our chief strategist.", "Vice-strategist! Fox, Vice! You mean, Vice-strategist!", "Oh, sorry, Queen."
One of the bullets nearly missed him but, he turned around with a smug grin on his face, then shot his gun, hitting right on the mark to the man's gunhole. Making it explode in the process. "Damn, that was so sick!"
"But, maaannnn, we wouldn't be in this shit if he didn't f*ck up in the first place.", "Hey, Skull! You can't talk to my assistant like that!", "Since when did he become your assistant!?", "Well, since he is the only one who has navigational skill, of course, he becomes my assistant.", "Hey, I can navigate too!"
"Please! My fellow Phantom Thieves! A True Phantom Thief Shouldn't Talk So Loud!", "You're the loudest one here!", "Ohya…", "Don't 'Ohya' me!"
"Ahahaha, what a lovely bunch you got here, Joker. Are they always like this?"
"Well, it's true, more or less." *Bam, bam* Joker said dodging multitude of bullets in the air.
"Haha, that's nice.…Still wish that I could've meet your chie-I mean 'Vice-strategist', no need to look at me that way, Queen."
"…Yeah."
"Talking about him, what happened tho-"
"Save it for later, Joker! We're in position!"
"Got it, Queen."Joker said as he jumped onto a ledge. He then opened the air vent skillfully. "One treasure coming through." And he threw the case in his hand through the vent…
…Which is picked up by a woman in a suit like a biker gang…with spikes. "Oracle, the treasure is on our hands."
"Got it! Joker, you do remember our rendezvous point, right?"
"Of course, I do. I'm not like him. I can remember things just fine."
"Are you though? Because the past events suggest you don't."
"Oh, come on, have a little faith in me." Joker said lying on his back with his arms wide towards the ground…
…But, before he could drop headfirst to the floor, he makes a flip, making him falls like a cat. "Ha-"
"Don't move!" Before he could finish his celebration, the men surrounded him like a net with their weapons hot.
"Hmph, I don't need to move to beat you." A red aura flared on his surrounding, his eyes started to flash with a red light. "Ravage them, Arsene!" A humanoid being, cladded in red with a large top hat appears. His face was indiscernible with just flames dancing around, adorned with horns.
The being flapped it's feathery wings and all the men surrounding him were blown back like…well, feathers.
"Hm…" Joker stood up slowly, now with his mask gone, revealing his black eyes.
"Well…technically you did move."
"Shut up."
"Wait, that's not your catch phrase."
"…Ohhh, right. Sorry." *Bam* The door opened and men in black suit filled the place. They then suddenly morphed into beings, not even a little bit close to human but more like demons, Demons from tales and legends.
Joker watched them with a smug grin, while the being he summoned, Arsene was standing behind him. He then took out his dagger, flipping it once or twice.
….
"It's Showtime!"
x-x
"Burn!" Moloch shouted loudly as fire pillars sprouted beneath his feet.
"Arsene!" Joker called his persona and it came towards him then into him, almost as if he's fused with his persona with him having wings now at his back.
With a flap, Joker soared through the air, dodging the pillars of fire in the air. "Mannnn, using fire skills but…You are not actually bright, aren't you?"
"Gah!" The shadows seemed to get angry as the more fire pillars sprouted forth.
Joker unfused his persona, then it's carry him by his waist throws him towards the monster and he went flying like a bird.
"Well, here's something bright!" Joker said flashing both his dagger and his manic grin.
"Haha! Foolish human!" The shadow said as he prepared it's claw to slash at the man who's coming towards him.
But, Joker made a dive towards his side in the air, not making an attack but dodging the shadow's attack. "Oops! Sorry, I lied. It's actually not bright."
"What?"
"It's dark." The shadow finally noticed of the persona still in the air charging an attack. "Eigaon!"
"N-" The shadow didn't even finish his word as the large amount darkness with a red hue engulfed it completely.
x-x
"That's what you get for messing with a trickster." Joker said as he pocketed his dagger back. His persona went flying towards him and then it just floated behind him.
"If I have to give you any poi-"
…*Bam* "Hands in the air!" The door behind him suddenly opened with a shout as the men from downstairs finally got here.
"Ohhhhh…Poor choice of words." Joker flex his hands, and the persona behind him shines brightly and went flying towards them at light speed, destroying them on impact.
"Cut your stupid smack-talk short, and just escape now."
"Finnneee, I'm running now." The persona vanished in blue flames and his face was now adorned with the bird like mask again.
"Don't let him get away!" Another group of men followed him but, this time he didn't pay them any attention and just ran through the stairs.
…*Bam, Bam*
Stairs after stairs, floors after floors, the shouts of profanities and gunfires followed him and…
Joker finally reached the upper floor.
"We got him cornered, send reinforcements." The men said to his radio as Joker turned around towards them as the only thing in front of him was a glass wall. "You've got nowhere to run, surrender now!"
"Hmph." But, Joker still with the smug grin on his face, just gived them a salute with his hand. "Ciao."
Saying that he dived through the wall, making glass fell around him, shimmering in the light, as he soared through the air with the moon shining upon him.
"What a show off…"
"You never listened to him, don't you?"
…*Thud* As soon as he reached the ground, Joker made a roll to the side, making him safe from wounds, even when he jumped from the highest floor.
"I'm outside, Going to the meeting poi-"
"Wait, what the hell are these reading!?"
"Are those all shadows?"
"What!? Joker, it's dangerous there. Abort, Abort!"
The girl didn't even finish as a light was shined to him.
"What the…." Joker looked around the place to see him surrounded by a hundreds of police officers. 'Are those humans?'
"Arrest him!"
"Ah, Shit." Joker ran through the place, as the mobs of armed men came towards him.
Then, without even looking up he jumped towards a ladder, making them stopped as they couldn't reach him. 'Wew, Luc-' Then he finally looked up to see, dozens of guns aiming at him.
"Oh…" *Bwack* One of them hit him with back of a gun, making him fell into the group of men below him.
"Ahhhh!" , As soon as he reached the ground, many officers held him down, while some aimed at him with their guns while one of them hand-cuffed him.
"A kid?…Whatever, Congratulations. You are now a national criminal. And you have your teammate to thank for this."
Joker tried to struggle free, but the man holding him were too strong and too many.
"You were sold out."
"What?" That's what Joker said because he was hit again and passed out.
x-x
''*Gulp, Gulp…Gulp*…Hnngh." A woman in a black business suit let out a long sigh after drinking from the bottle. "Hmmm, Ahhhh…" The silver haired woman let out a grunt before drinking again.
She was in an apartment
It's weird to call this an apartment when this was her home.…But, it's so messy now that she didn't even want to call it her home. The clothes wrre strewn around on the floor. The glasses were broken. The cushions were lying on the ground. The whole place looked like a tornado just passes through. But, the woman didn't even bother trying to clean,…She just drank whatever she could find, beer…Whiskey…Gin, wine, just whatever she could find.
"…. Empty *Sighhh*" The woman looked around the place, completely ignoring the mess and setting her eyes on a framed photo on the table.
"Why…" The woman gently took the photo towards her. It's a photo taken on a lavish manor, there were business-owner, actors, singer, nearly almost all celebrities in Tokyo is there. And there was her and her sister.…But, the woman just focus on the blue-haired boy, watching at the camera with his silver eyes,…with a half-bitten bread in hand.
"Heh…" Sae lets out a soft laugh. It was a funding party…held by the Okumura family. She was invited there because of her position. And she desperately wanted to invite him too, but…in the end she's just too shy to ask him.
…But as if by fate or luck, when she arrived, she found him already there with Makoto.
….
That part always bugged her out a little but it was a mistake on her part. She should have expected that giving that both of them were in the same class as Miss Okumura.
It was a memory she would never forget, they talked about things…not work related…just things. He answered back…most of the time…otherwise, he just trying to stuff his face with food. But, she never saw him smiling that much before. His smile is just…beautiful. Too bad the camera didn't capture that.
She could even say it was a magical night. They did a little dance. He would pretend that he can dance,…while in truth he can't. "Ahaha…" She would never forget the looks Makoto and Okumura girl gave her.
Sae gently touched the photo.
Although the start was all well and good. Things took a little weird turn in the middle. He suddenly got just…just weird. He nervously looked around the place almost like he's scared and it was like…he was hiding from something or someone. He looked like he was having a panic attack. Then he suddenly left without saying goodbyes or anything. He just left.
….
"…Now that I think about it…I never got around to asking about that, didn't I…?" Tears started to swell again in her eyes. 'Now's too late for regrets. Now…it's just too late.' Sae Nijiima hardened herself with tears still in her eyes.
"I swear, Minato-kun, I will get my revenge.…I will capture those phantom thieves." Sae said with resolute in her voice.
….
….
"But now…is there something left to drink?" She said as she got up from her chair. She got a little dizzy and almost fell down but…she walked towards the refrigerator as if her life's depend on it.
"…Nothing here."
'What about the cupboard?'
…*Clang…Clang* , "Nothingggg."
"Ahhhhhhh…" She grunted as she took out everything from the cupboard. "…Why is no- what is this?" Sae took out a white envelope that's stuck on the corner between shelves. "Is this Makoto's?" Sae talked to herself as she looked at the envelope.
"…What is…Um!?" Sae rubbed her eyes and took a double looks at the words.
From Arisato…
"Minato!?" Sae broke the seal to takes out the letter inside. *Ring…Ring* Her phone started to ring but she's busy trying to open the envelope.
"Finally…got it." *Ring…Ring* Sae opened the letter fast and tries to read it.
….
….
"What?", 'What the hell did I just read?' Sae tried to collect herself. 'Must be the booze.' *Ring…Ring* "Ah, quiet!" Sae clicked her phone and it went into the voice mail, then she tried to read the letter again.
"…Metaverse…palace…" Sae tried to look closer. "…Akira…Kurusu…?"
"Hey, Niijima-san, Uhhh, are you okay?"
Sae looked towards the voice. 'Oh, the voice mail.'
"Uh, it's me.…Inspector Sanada. I know this is the bad time for you. I don't know what happened but I hear that someone close to you…die…Umm, I know first-hand of how much that hurts."
'He's not dead and You know nothing.'
"But, uh I just got this And I know you're off the investigation but…Uh…"
Sae took out her phone to hear it better.
"…I just received a report that the leader of the phantom thieves have been caught."
"What!?" Sae stood up suddenly, another dizzying spell hit her but she steadied herself.
"I don't know how but, yeah, it looks like they finally caught him. I don't know if you know or not but, it was a kid called Akira Kurusu."
'Finally, I can take m-wait,' , "…Akira…Kurusu…?" Sae looked at the letter that Minato supposedly wrote.
"I just thought that you mi-" Sae cut the voice off and dialed a number.
….
"He-hello, Niijima-san. I was worried a little when yo-"
"Where is he?"
"…I'm sorry?"
"Akira Kurusu! Where did they take him!?"
"I'm not sure. Uhhh, I will text yo-"
"Do it fast!" Sae closed her phone fast then walked towards the bathroom. "'*Sniffs* , Uh…need a change of clothes."
….
"What do you want me to do, Minato-kun?"
x-x
…*Splash*
'Ahhh….' Akira hazily opened his eyes. 'What…happened? Where am I?'
"Hey, No dozing off."
"w-hat?" Akira tried to look at the voice. 'Ahhh…god, My head…'
"Hey, I said no dozing off." The voice came closer to him before he felt a sharp pain on his head. "Akh!" The man before him pulled up his hair and looked him squarely in the eyes.
"Hm, the drugs were too strong, huh…no matter." The man released his hair and then walked around him.
"The leader of the infamous phantom thieves.…Hm, a little put off by that fact you are still a student, but" The man stopped in front of him again and Akira tried to look at him through hazy eyes.
"…Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons…and nice little murders to complete the set."
'Murders? What is he…crap, I can't remember anything…'
"Hmph, and you chose the wrong guys to test your little crazy impulses, kid." The man said taking a clipboard from the man behind him. "The SIU and the Okumuras pulled a freaking witch hunt to catch you, heh!"
The man then put the clipboard on the table while giving him a pen.
"And fortunately, or unfortunately, you've been caught because of a tip from your teammate."
Akira went wide eyes at the man's comment and the man seemed to take pleasure from that, showing a grin. "No honor among thieves, huh…*thud, thud* Sign here."
"S…ign…w-why?"
"Do you think you're in the position to ask questions!?" The man said glaring at him.
'…no point arguing, I guess.' And Akira took the pen with shaking hand and tried to write his name.
I, Akira Kurusu, hereby declares that I take full responsibility for my actions.
"Hmph, be obedient like this and maybe I will buy you a beef-bowl." *Clank* the door opened and Akira tried to look, but his head felt like it might explode.
The one from the door whispered something to the man in front of him.
'Why can't I…Ahhh, damn it, my head!' Akira tried to look up again, but then he saw…no he felt a blue butterfly flying around him.
'You must remember, Trickster.'
The butterfly said to him…well, he thought it said to him.
'You are our only hope now.…The Messiah has already helped you, And now It's your turn. Now, It's your turn to help him back. Trickster, Please, you must be the light for Messiah.'
'Me-messiah?…great, I'm high…'
x-x
"Director, This. Is. My case!"
"No, it's not, you are already off investigation. Don't make me repeat mys-"
"I will not believe it until I confirm it myself."
'….'
"…."
"…Huh, I know, I never win when you're like this, so I went ahead and cleared with them. So-"
"Thank you…" Sae said without even waiting for him to finish.
"Well, your time will be cut short." The man near her took the phone and talked to her. "We can't permit you to stay too long with him. After all his methods are st-"
"Shut up." She cut the man off and walked to the door. 'Must have picked up from him.' After taking a breath, Sae opened the door where she can hopefully get her answers.
x-x
…*Creak*
The door opened and Akira looked at the door to see a silver haired woman in a black suit.
"You…" As the door was closed, the woman said to him while glaring at him with venom in her eyes.
'I feel like I know this lady…'
"Aren't you the kid from that shop?"
"S-shop?" *Bam* Akira got startled as the woman suddenly slammed her hands on the table.
"Why did you do that to him!? Aren't you his friend!? The woman shouted holding him by the collar.
"T-to who?"
"Don't play dumb with me! I know yo-" The woman's eyes strayed to the side.
….
"Damn it, these guys are asking for a lawsuit. Using stuffs like this to a minor." Saying that the woman finally calmed herself and sat on her chair.
'S-scary'
….
The woman said nothing for some time, just looking…correction, glaring at him.
….
"*Sighhh*" Finally she let out a sigh, and threw an open envelop towards him.
"What…what is this?" Akira said as he looked at the envelop, his eyes still a little hazy.
"Read it." The woman said, not looking at him.
Akira again with his shaky hands took the envelope.
From Arisato…
'Arisato…Ari-', "Senpai?" Akira said in surprise, but the woman said nothing still not looking at him.
Akira quickly took out the letter.
From Arisato…
To Sae-san…But actually it doesn't matter if Makoto reads it, just the fact that it wouldn't make much difference. So, if Makoto read it, please put it back and please fold it neatly like I do. You may have a little trouble putting it back because the envelope is too small and the paper is too large, and the trick here is t-
"Skip that. It's just his usual crap." Sae said to him rolling her eyes.
"…Oh." Akira while tempting, skipped through that and read the passages below that.
….
"This is…"
"I may have only known him for about a year but I know he doesn't do drugs." Akira looked up from the paper. "But, the fact is I met some addicts that make more sense than…than whatever that is."
"This-this…Ahhhh.", 'Everything is so hazy.'
"I'm sure that you're guilty…Everyone knows that you're guilty…" The woman said finally turning towards him. "And this might be his last request but…I will not help you if I don't know everything."
"Ev-everything?"
"Akira Kurusu, I will ask this off you. I want to hear everythings…every single little things that happened from the start. Every choices that led to this situation…"
'…Choices…'
"First…" Sae said taking a file out from her bag. "You must remember this day. It's the day you first arrived here and the day that incident happened."
"That…incident…Ahhh…", '-With the wounded over a hundred and twenty deaths and still counting, this is the accident with most death to-'
"Was that accident because of your phantom thieves?"
"No…" Akira said, almost like he's telling to himself. "No, i didn't even learn of it until a day later."
"But, you're already here at that time, weren't you?" Sae looked at him, searching for any clues that he's lying. "Kurusu, like I said…everything from the start."
"…." Akira looked at the woman in front of him. "At that time…I was-"
x-x
Present
…*Ding…Dong…*
….
"Uhhh"
…*Ding…Dong…*
….
"Ah, Hello! Is An-anybody home!?"
"Is Sakura-san here?"
….
'No answer, Just great…Today's off to a stupid start.'
"Are you looking for Sakura-san?", "Huh?"
"If you're looking for Sakura-san, he's not here. At this time of the day, he's just at his shop." A postman said to him while carrying boxes.
"…Shop?"
"Ah, It's on the alleyway over there." The man said pointing towards a street. "You actually can't miss it, it really stands out from the rest."
"Is that so? Uh…Thank you very much!" Akira said bowing to the guy. But, the man just shrugged back. Then with a turn he got out the street, towards the shop the man just pointed out.
….
…. And he still didn't notice a woman following him.
x-x
'Leblanc…Cafe. Leblanc…Lebwanc…Lebanc. Okay, that's enough.' Akira opened the door, which make the bells clang loudly.
The first thing Akira thought when he first entered the cafe was 'this place looks nice' the second wass 'Isn't this a little small?' the third was 'Why is this place small'…And the fourth was 'I should have stopped at third.'
"Huh?"
"Um?" Akira finally noticed a middle aged man with glasses and a weird goatee, reading a newspaper.
"Oh right, they did say it was today." The man put the newspaper down with a sigh.
"Ahhh, Akira Kurusu! It's an honor to make your acquaintance." Akira said bowing.
"Wha?" The man seemed surprised before his face broke into a grin. "Well, I was thinking what kinds of delinquent would shows up, but you seems well-mannered enough.", 'Yep! Scored!', "Hehhhh, I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody for this year."
After hearing that, Akira became to feel bad again. 'Ahhhhh…A year.'
And the man explained how he know his parents and how he accepted and stuffs that he stopped listening in the middle.
"But, well, not that it matters. Come on, follow me." Saying that, the man walked to the back.
"Huh. Ah, yes."
The man led him up a stairs to a some kind of attic, or is it?
"This is uhhh…this is, 'messy!', cozy." Akira said as he looked the place that was neck deep in dust with all sort of things cluttered on the floor.
"This is your room."
….
"What?"
"I know it's a little…dusty 'A little?', but it was on short notice. 'No, it was not.' So, You will have to live with it, I guess."
….
"I will give you sheets for your bed, though." The man said flashing a mocking smile.
"…Ahh, Thanks?"
"You're welcome." The man said turning around. "I'll be leaving after I lock up each day. You'll be alone at night, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause trouble." With that said, he finally walked down the stairs…when Akira stopped him.
"Ahhh! Sakura-san!?"
"Huh?"
"…Umm, Can I have something to clean?"
x-x
8:26 AM
A couple of oldies walked out from the shop. They were talking among themselves to pay attention to us. No movement from the inmate.
11:48 AM
A woman that looked suspiciously like Margaret entered the shop. Still no movement from the inmate.
12:06 PM
The woman finally got out of the shop with the same frown Margaret always have when talking with that stupid convict and I'm starting to think 'Is this my long lost sister?' The woman didn't even looked at us and walked her way.
02:37 PM
The inmate made some kind of movement. He opened the window that seemed to be on the upstairs of the shop while coughing.…And that gave me the chance to look at his face closely. He seems…dumb and stupid but I don't think he's more stupid than the one at home.
04:45 PM
A warrior woman wearing a suit that looked like she just fights Orthrus and Fenrir at the same time, judging from the cuts from her pants, walked towards the shop. She looked at me weirdly. But, shrugged and walked inside the shop.…At that time I finally realized that from the moment I started to watch, excluding inmate, there's only three people that entered the shop. I can't help but worry for their business.
05:28 PM
A weird Jerkass with stupid blue hair walked near me and said, ''…What are you doing?" I ignored him…and, he didn't say any more.
….
And for some reason, that pissed me off more. I turned towards the jerk to see him still looking at me with his stupid eyes.
….
I didn't like the way he looked so, I decided I'd teach that punk a lesson. "HIYAH!"
….
Sadly, that drew too much attention so I have no choice but to retreat from the premise. But, at the very least, I was able to hit that jerk in the head, and hear him say, 'I'm sorry, Miss Caroline.' So, all in all it was pretty good day.
….
….
"…."
….
"…I feel like the last part is a little make-up."
"Why do you think that?" Caroline said back, messaging a big lump on her forehead.
"Why did you attack me out of nowhere?"
"Like I said, I don't like the way you look!"
"That's not good enough of a reason…" Minato said back with an annoyed face.
"*Sigh* , So Margaret, are you sure?"
"I'm sure. About 80%."
"…What's wrong with last 20%?"
"That I'm not sure."
….
"…Okay, …80%, Right? I will still take it. So, what are you guys waiting for? Call him in his dream, say his fate is blah, blah…blah, you are the fool, blah, blah, blah…show him a little card trick or two." Minato said dumping his bag on the floor.
"But, Makoto-sama, we can't do that." Justine said.
"…card tricks?"
"No, I can do tha-, I mean, forget about the card tricks!" Margaret said back glaring at the boy, who just shrugged back. "What she meant is we can't call him to velvet room."
"Oh, yeah? Then don't call him."
"But, we need to call him."
"Then do it."
"But, we can't call him."
"Margaret, what do you want me to say?" Minato said back in exasperated tone.
"…You've already forgot, don't you?"
"What?"
Margaret let out a long sigh. "We need your arcana for the velvet room!"
….
"…Oh."
"Honestly, Makoto-sama, you were not irresponsible this much before."
"People change,…whether they like it or not."
….
The atmosphere got suddenly got a little weird.
"So, any progress?"
"Nothing, I made friends…I think, but there's no social links or no burst of power."
"Are we missing something?" Margaret said thinking to herself.
"Nothing we can do about.…You said he wears the same uniform as me?" Minato said looking towards Margaret.
"Yes."
"Tomorrow, wait, it's Sunday, well, after that, then." Minato said while ruffling his hair.
"What's wrong with Sunday?" Caroline asked with a raised eyebrow.
"…The school's closed."
"Oh, that's true." Margaret said biting her thumb. '…why?', "So, Makoto-sama, what're you gonna do tomorrow?"
"…Sleep all day, of course."
x-x
The Next day…
….
"I thought I said I was gonna sleep all day." Minato whined to himself.
"But, we must check the wildcard." The answer from Justine came almost immediately.
"Yeah, why are you trying to sleep all day?" Caroline added in.
….
Minato checked his two teammates around him.
"…Where's Margaret?"
"She is preparing the compendium."
"Oh, please…." Minato turned towards Justine. "The only thing she's doing is reading that book. She just doesn't want to deal with Caroline."
''What!?"
"You were saying 'it's boring…it's boring', of course she's gonna be pissed."
"UCK!" Caroline face became pretty red. "W-well, it's really boring. Besides, you were also whining."
"I was whining because you wouldn't shut up." Both of them bickered along the way, while Justine just followed them quietly.
….
"We're here."
The trio stopped in front of a little shop that's called 'Leblanc Cafe'.
….
….
…*Glance*
….
….
Caroline turned towards him.
….
….
"What are you doing?"
"I don't know, what am I doing?"
"He's here!" Caroline said pointing towards the shop.
"So,…what do you want me to do?"
"Uh…Um, GAh! I don't know!"
"Why do you take me here, then?" Minato said sighing to himself.
"Uh…How about we just confirm he does really live here?" Justine intervened before they can make this a full blown argument.
….
"Good idea, Justine! Hah! You didn't even think of that, right, convict?"
"You didn't either." Saying that Minato walked towards the door.
….
….
"Well, open it!"
"It says it's closed." MInato said looking at the sign.
"What!?" Caroline walked over to him. "Why!?"
"How would I know? Aren't you the one who's supposed to be on the lookout?"
"What!? Are you saying it's my fault!?"
"I didn't say it's your fault…."
"But, that's what you're implying, right!?"
"…Maybe, but nevertheless I didn't say it's your fault."
"What kind of answer is that!?"
"*Sigh*" Justine can't help but sighed to herself that at her twin and her guest's antics. 'If he's not here, I wonder where the inmate is then?'
"Okay, I'm going home." Minato said turning around.
"No, you're not." Caroline said turning around. "I will die of boredom back there."
"That's better, one less mouth to feed."
"Is that something a Messiah's supposed to be saying?" Caroline said pulling his arm. "Besides, you didn't even give me anything to eat."
"Not too loud, beware of surr…oh…." Minato stopped talking,…Justine also turned around to see what he's looking at. "…Ahhh"
A woman in a lab coat was staring at them with the look that's awfully similar to Minato's expressionless face.
….
The woman walked along without saying anything.
….
"Makoto-sama, do you know her?"
….
"…Ahh…'' Justine turned towards him. "…I need to buy an umbrella." Minato said walking out of the street with Caroline following behind with an raised eyebrow.
"What?"
"…Is there anything you guys want to eat?"
"What?", "Why?"
"Meh, we're gonna just check along the way, I guess." Both her and Caroline looked at each other first before following him.
"What the hell!?", "I'm not sure."
….
'It's been a full week staying with Makoto-sama. But, I'm still not sure what is really going on his head…every single time.'
x-x
"You'll be expelled immediately if you cause any problems here.", '…Harsh.', "To be honest, I hesitated on accepting someone like you." The sorry excuse of a human(Not in a mean way, just…physically) of a principal said to him.
….
"I…uh understand."
"I'm Kawakami, your homeroom teacher. And here's your ID." She said taking out a card. "Here." Akira extends his hand to take it but the teacher just put it on the table.
'…I will try…not to think about that.', "Thank you, Ma'am." Akira said taking his ID.
"Ahem, when you come tomorrow, report to the faculty room first." The teacher said, not looking at him. "I…I will take you to class from there,"
"…Yes, Ma'am."
….
….
'Wow, the conversation's sparkling.', "Well, Sakura-san, Please keep an eye on him. See that he doesn't cause any trouble outside of school."
x-x
Due to the subway accident, the schedule for all trains has been affected-
"Another accident? There's been a lot of those lately." Sojiro said from beside him.
….
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Huh?" The man turns toward him.
"Why did you agree to take me in?" The man said back nothing for some time.
….
"Well, first I was asked and…I'm getting paid, so no reason t-"
"No, my question is…" Akira said looking at the man. "…why did you agree to take a criminal in?"
"Woah, there, kid, you got a record. You're not a full blown criminal yet."
"…." Akira stares at the man without turning away.
"…*Sigh* , it doesn't matter, is it? You are only going to be here for just a year, after that you go on your separate way and I went on with my life . Just don't get yourself involved in any nonsense. Even if something's happening in front of you, just pretend like you don't see it.…Is that satisfies you?"
"…I guess." Akira said looking around to the windows. '…the same old answer…Him, my parents…that teacher and principal…they may all act like they don't care…but at least tried to lie a little better, heh.', Akira let out a self-deprecating grin. '…Fine, if you all pretends around me then I will live my whole life here, pretending and if you're all planning to wear a mask around me then I will be the one you guys can't unmask no matter what.'
….
'Don't be like that. Maybe at there, you will find some friends,…Friends who can understand you.'
….
'…For someone who's so invested in Truth, you sure do like to tell lies, Narukami-san.'
x-x
"I didn't learn about it until later,…Heh, I was naive back then. I thought this was all a game. But, in a sick way, I was right…because turns out it's always a game for them."
"Them?"
"…I don't know how to explain it to you." Akira said with same grin he has on that day.
"…Fine." Sae said taking back the files then putting a photo of a man on the table. "You may be able to denies that but, don't try to deny this. We all know you're involved in this."
"…Ahh, Him."
"Suguru Kamoshida…A teacher from the Shujin Academy…and the first person for the so called 'change of heart' to occur." Sae said looking at him.
"I guess."
"And my question is how the hell did you do that?"
"It's in the letters, isn't it?"
"You expected me to believe that!?"
"Well, you wouldn't be here if you don't believe it."
….
"Don't be absurd. I'm only here because of this is his request." Akira scoffs a little which made his head hurts even more. "…Ow."
"Well, then I suppose…Explain…only truths."
x-x
…*Drippppp*
'…How many times do I have to delete this?' Akira thought to himself, looking at his phone. 'I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check it a little.' Akira touched the red eyeball icon.
Then a female student with a hoodie on came running towards the place where he's taking shelter from the rain. Then she took off her hood,(a little weird to say that) revealing the beautiful blond hair that was styled to twin tails. Her skin looks white and smooth while her blue little eyes that shone like diamond.
'…Just saying, I should become an poet.'
The girl suddenly turns towards him. She looks at him for sometime without saying anything. "…You are soaked…Ahe…haha." Saying that the girl lets out a soft laugh. '…pretty.'
"…Ah…wh-what is it?", 'Why is my voice shaking!?'
"Nothing." The girl said, still with the smile on her face. "Just remembering something."
"O-oh, is that so?"
"Don't worry, I'm not making fun of you." The girl said flashing him a smile.
"Oh, Um, it's ok-"
"Hey, you're going to be late!" Akira turns towards the voice to see a car stopping in front of them. "Takamaki, want a lift?" The man in a gym suits calls out from the car.
"…Uh…Sure, thank you." Saying that, the girl runs towards the car.
"Hah, it's alright." Then the man finally notices him. "Oh, do you want to come, too?"
"No, it's okay.", 'It's not but…it's not.'
"Sure, well then…" The man pulls his mirror up and drove off with the girl in tow.
'…does she look a little sad?', "Tch!", '…is this a meeting spot?' Akira turns towards the another voice that comes along.
"That Bastard Kamoshida…"
"Kamoshida?"
"Hm? It's that As*hole in that car, what do you think?"
"Um?", 'I'm not sure but I'm also not sure of what you're talking about?'
"Thinking he can do whatever he wants, who does he thinks he is, The King of the Castle?…Isn't that right?"
"…Uh.", 'Okay, you've officially lost me.'
"What? Why are you looking at me that way?"
"…Uh.", 'Should I say something? I feel like I should say something.'
"You…don't know?" The blonde haired boy looked at him carefully. "a second year…ohhhh, you're that guy."
"…that guy?", 'Oh, god, No, no! For god's sake, No!'
"Huh, you don't look like a…Uh, crap we're gonna be late.", ' I don't look like a crap…what?'
"The rain isn't this bad, Come on. Follow me, I know a shortcut." the boy said looking at him.
"…okay." After that the boy walked into the alleyway, when suddenly the world seemed to shift. "What?"
"Hey, what's wrong? Come on, we're gonna be late!" The blonde boy called out to him.
"Ah, sorry!", 'Must be my imagination.'
….Akira walked through the puddles of water, carefully avoiding them.
"Oh, shit. My pant's all we- what the hell?" The boy in front of him shouted loudly.
"Hm?" Akira quickly caught up to him. "What' wr…ong?" Then he saw what the boy's is looking at.
A…castle
….
'Whattttttt?'
….
"…Oh, it's my school."
"Of course, it's not your school!" The boy beside him shouted loudly.
"Huh, but it says Shujin Academy right there." Akira said pointing.
"HUH! NO, IT DOE-, oh, it does."
….
Both of them stares at the sight in front of their eyes. A full blown castle with bridges and all that…in the middle of the city.
….
"Well, let's go."
"Dude, there's a limit to how easy going you can get." Although saying that, the boy follows him, walking inside the castle. "Are you sure we should went inside?"
"…I don't know.", 'I really don't know.', "Maybe we can ask someone."
"Yeah, yeah, let's do that." The blonde haired boy said closely following behind him, while watching around the place.
….
….
'I don't want to go!'
x-x
''Good morning, Arisato-san." Haru said to the boy who's just nodded back. Minato took out his chair and sat without really saying or looking at anything. "It looks like you remember to take your umbrella today."
"…I suppose."
….
The conversation died down pretty fast.
"…Ah…Okumura-san, this may be a little late but…were you there when that train derailed?"
"No, I don't ride the train, my family chaperones me everyday." The girl said, a little fidgeting.
"…I see." But, Minato didn't comment on that.
"But, I heard it was really scary. A-and…you were there with Makoto-san, right?" The girl asked, coming a little closer to him.
"…yeah.''
"Together?"
"…Kinda…"
"Together, together or…Just together?"
….'…What?'
"…I don't und-" Minato turned towards her, but something stopped him. Outside the window, there's a little girl waving at him and shouting. He couldn't hear what she's shouting but he knew it's not something he should hear. And he knew that girl. "Uh…"
"Please answer the question." the girl asked again, he couldn't care about that. He's already in the middle of standing up.
"…Ah, Okumura-san…I need to excuse myself…I have something to…uh…Maybe next time." Minato quickly walked out of the class.
"Uh, Wait…." Minato ignored her and walked towards the door. *Slides* , "Arisato-san, what are you doing? Homeroom's about to start." The teacher stopped him before he can gets out.
"…I…Uh…I", '…Uh…Um.', "I have…Um…something…something to do…", 'What is that? What is that!? What the hell is that!?'
"Are you not…feeling well?" His teacher asked him when she's sure that she's not gonna get anything from him.
"Yes…" Minato nodded. "Yes…I'm not feeling well, so, I'm going to the…to the….", "Nurse office?", "Nurse office, yeah."
"Okay, do you know whe-"
"I know where is it, thank you and…Good bye." saying that Minato closed the door and got out.
….
"Good bye?" The teacher said with an raised eyebrow. "Yep, he doesn't know where the nurse office is…Niijima-san?"
"Yes?"
"Can you show him where is it?"
"…Uh,yes, of course." Makoto said after getting out of the chair and also walks out of the door. 'Why did I feel like someone's glaring at me?'
…*Slides*
"*sigh* I know you're not sick, Arisato-san, so why did you li-*Glance, glance* , Arisato-san?"
x-x
'That idiot, stupid, useless, good for nothing God. I know he saw me.'
'Just because he bought me a cake, he thinks he can make me do whatever he wants!'
"I swear, I will make sure that when he gets ho-, "What?", "WAGAHHHHHHHHH-Mmphhhhh!" Minato closed her mouth with his hand before her shout can attract wildlife.
"Blergh! What took you so long!?"
"It's not long. It's only been five minutes."
"Five minutes is long!"
"…*Sigh*…I told you to tail the wildcard…not to call me."
"That's why I'm calling you, the inmate! He vanished!"
"What?" Minato stared at the girl like she's just grown a second head. "…So, you lost him."
"NO! I said, He VANISHED! He just entered this dark street, and I didn't see him anymore!" Caroline said pointing towards the alleyway.
"…Didn't he just go into the school and you just didn't notice…"
"No!…Uh…Maybe…No, wait. I'm sure. He did vanish into thin air!"
"…Vanished?" Minato looked towards the alleyway. '…Did he…no, I'm not sure…But, maybe…', "Let's just check it first."
"I suppose.…yeah, you're right." Saying that both of them also entered the alleyway.
-x-x-
Well, another one. And I think a little bit of clarification is in order.
I went back and forth with revealing the casino scene, because with that I can't do more twists because the end is already shown. But, I feel like I could write better with an objective in mind, so I decided to do it.
And the second is narrative aspect. If Akira is talking, then he couldn't know what Minato(Or makoto, you guys can't really agree on that) is doing or thinking. But, then I realize even in the game, we saw scenes Akira couldn't know, so I decided to just go with it. So, if it doesn't make sense, please bear with me.
And if you guys think Sae is a little OOC here, I have a pretty logical explanation for that…well, I think I have a explanation, I don't know if it's gonna sound logical to you guys or not.
…For parings, I don't have any fixed one in mind…except for the obvious ones, of course.
I think that's about it. Thank you for reading, favouriting(is that a word?) and following and reviewing. I might still make grammar mistakes but I will fix them along the way, so thank you. Thank you very much.
…the next chapter gonna takes a little while.