A2, Ch. 3: From the Shadows, Pt. I

With the skidding of the brakes, Akira opened his eyes, eyes shut long enough to feel puffy, but not crusty. His senses crept back in: the rocking of the carriage, the brushing of soft, blue flannel on his cheek, the strobe of lit skyscrapers in the distance, and that scent.

The last part made him bashful in a flash. "Makoto! I-I'm being rud-"

He darted his eyes upwards to a Makoto reading a novel in her hands. "Don Quijote," huh? "Getting some reading in for school?"

"Just to pass the time," she mused. "You didn't bother me in the slightest. At this rate, any period of sleep would be good for you."

"I'm surprised you didn't snore this time," Morgana commented through Ren's bag.

The train sputtered to a stop at Central Station, now sparsely-populated with vagabonds, gauntly-looking salarymen.

As much as she enjoyed the night, Makoto could "It's late, Ren. You should head back to LeBlanc and catch up."

It should have been a simple request. But for Ren, it was a tug-of-war.

You should make sure she's safe.

Nonsense, she's got things together. It's late. You shouldn't drag the night out much longer, especially after she chewed you out for staying up.

You should make sure she's safe always. Kamoshida-

KAMOSHIDA? What is he, the boogeyman? He's gone.

'Minako' chimed in. ...But you know, don't you Renren?

Her icy words made the hairs on his back stand straight up, almost as if she were here but a sliver's distance away from his ears:

Man always makes a boogeyman. A boogeyman that can take everything you love away.

"...You're right," Ren said to Makoto. "I'll let you go, this time."

He cracked a smile, but his strained eyes and wavering irises gave him away.

Makoto couldn't help but lean forward and mimic his anguished look, unsure of what prompted it. "Ren..are you ok?"

He forced his smile to be softer. "I'm fine. I guess the exhaustion is kicking in."

"Well...get some rest then." You're starting to look as gaunt as my Sis is on a bad day. She then embraced him; and he reciprocated ever tighter, his arms not wanting to budge, lest he let the voices haunt him once more.

Still...

He had to let go, not wanting the good times spiral away.

She was about to head her way, but stopped and turned around. "You know Ren...if you have something to tell me...don't hesitate. I want to be..." She refrained for a moment. "I'm there if you need me. It's the least I can do." Being Student Council President...being little Sis...it feels like it's all I CAN do.

Just be there.

She was tempted to scowl at herself. "Night," she said softly.

She waved him off as he started walking west.

She was about to head off herself, when the greatest of coincidences occurred.

At first, she almost assumed it was a different person, with the only thing catching her eye being the weird side ponytail fashioned.

The straps tied to the Shujin shirt told her enough.

But the girl's face was a dead giveaway.

"Eiko," she said softly to herself. She thought about calling out to her, but there was something a tad troubling.

She saw her coming out of a line usually reserved for north.

There's only a few lines from north open at this time.

Her heart sunk when she saw the maid headband on her.

And Shinjuku's one of them.

She had to make sure.

Tomorrow.

A distance off, he relaxed the facade and frowned. Well, Renren. You've outdone yourself. Again.

"Another woman seems to pity me now," he commented out loud.

"You wouldn't seem pitiful if you took care of yourself," Morgana responded. "Sleep this time. Please."

"Arrgh, fine." I really should, though. It's starting to feel like someone is following me.

"Good."

A few minutes passed. And yet...

Something kept pricking at Akira's eardrums. At first, he thought it was just the wind, but he soon found it to be a distant echo, blended in with the occasional striking of something hard, like concrete.

Even Morgana's ears started to perk. "I think I hear an argument in the distance." Its left ear started to shift around, turning ever so slightly. "Northeast, by the sound of it. Pretty close by."

Before Morgana could ask, Akira pivoted towards that way, flexing his fingers in anticipation.

The source of the sound wasn't too far off. It came from a dimly-lit alleyway, near a trash can bordering a shallow puddle of water. Getting closer revealed a man and woman arguing.

Akira hugged a corner, leaning his ear closer to the corner.

He then heard a young adult, with a shaky, pained voice and a loose-fitting suit, lost in a tirade. "...You're seeing him again, aren't you?"

The lady with him had a trembling voice. "Please...Natsuhiko, I can see whoever-"

He hammered the dumpster next to him before she could finish her sentence. "Not unless I have anything to say about it!"

The lady was not reduced to quivering on the ground.

"This seems bad," Morgana then said, still staring ahead along with Akira. "Your call, but-"

"Shh. Quiet." Slowly, he pulled a hood from under his shirt and cowled his head, pulling the front of the sweatshirt over his face and pinning it in place.

Morgana kept quiet, but glared in judgment at, in its eyes, his overly eager companion.

The man kept raving. "After all we've done...you stupid whore. You belong to ME!"

By 'whore,' the baton was out, brandished...

And charged, Akira mused.

The air was silent; the biting wind buggered off.

Ren figured his baton could chirp a bit.

The baton sang for a moment.

It made the man snap in Ren's direction. "W-who's that?" he fidgeted.

Akira slowly came from his hiding place, far enough from the spotlight so that the man only saw his silhouette.

The baton chirped again.

"G-goddamnit, what you doing here!? Mind your own business!" the man cried while the woman kept cowering in fear.

All the while, Akira stayed silent, advancing slowly, with his baton dragging through the dribbles of water on the ground.

"S-stop, you punk! What are you d-doing?"

Now under the light, Akira felt like opening his mouth. "You know, I'm tempted to dial the police about a domestic disturbance, but...police..." He then stared at the fearful lady. "...Witnesses...they're not always reliable, are they?"

The salaryman loosened his damp collar furthered. "I-I'M...This is ADULT-"

He then took a page out of the Velvet Room and struck at the dumpster hard. "Adult business? Like I'd care. Right now, it's just me, you, and the lady. And, for all you know, I could be carrying more than a baton. AND, considering your outfit, and how late this is, and how you're sweating profusely at the collar, I'd reckon you're not the fighting type." He inched further. "You may be angry and stupid enough to try, though."

The salaryman Natsuhiko tightened a spare fist. "You'd fare no better."

"And I could care less," Akira feigned without a quiver. "Your voice, though, says otherwise. You can leave with your dignity intact, with none the wiser. And the lady can keep quiet about all of this. Right, miss?"

Dazed, she nodded, staring ahead.

"Now, go off," Akira further added. "It's late, and I want to sleep without you two making a racket. And with my long friend here unsullied, preferably."

Natsuhiko lingered. Without a word, he walks away from the other two, growling.

The woman, however, stayed downcast, in a quasi-trance. "This is the third time, this month," she lamented to herself. "He just doesn't quit...I'm doomed." Her eyes then snapped back to the boy who was concealing his face, and she resigned herself more to circumstance. "P-please, sir, whatever you are going to do to me..."

"Wait, what?"

"My purse...or, if you want something else..."

"Lady," Akira exclaimed. "I'm not some hoodlum!"

The lady's look did not budge.

"Look, I'm just...it's a precaution. As I said, I got to get home, but how about this: I'll hear you out if you want, and we never see each other again."

She paused for a good, long minute, the silence not budging once. Then:

"You know, when I first met that man, he was nice. I'm a silly girl, now that I think about it. I used to pass the time, hearing about all of the things he used to create, the things he used to paint...he seemed happier. And then, something happened."

"What happened?"

She started to sob. "I don't know. His mentor said everything was alright, but there was this one time. He visited me late at night, drunk. Said I'd ruined his ability to paint...we broke up the morning after. And then, two weeks later, I find him working an office job, yelling at me over the phone."

"And you tried blocking him? Avoiding him?"

She slunk deeper into herself. "He knows me too well. I've tried moving on, but...I...it's not easy. They'll just assume I was all my fault nothing worked out." She smiled sadly. "Even my friends and family would think so."

"Sounds like you just keep shit company."

The lady giggled. "You're blunt. For a kid, by the sounds of it." She then stood from the wall she was leaning on. "It's funny. I call you a kid, and here I am, still living with my parents and my sister, posting for someone to help me on some stupid Phansite or whatever..."

And now the picture comes together... "You did that recently?"

She nodded. "A few hours ago, to be precise."

"Akira...ask what her name is," Morgana said from his bag.

"You post a name?"

"Umm...Natsuhiko Nakanohana...why?"

And with that, he began to walk off, grinning under his veil. "Have faith miss. You have a good night."

She reached out for Akira in a panic. "Please, don't hurt him..."

His voice softened. "Miss, he won't be hurt. Just...you post on that site, something good will happen. These guys, the Phantom Thieves, they'll change his heart back to the man you loved. Trust me." He went back to walking west.

"I-I won't mention what happened tonight!" she then uttered.

He smirked. "Trust me. If it isn't your sense of gratitude, it will be either fear or shame." I know that too well...

Turning the corner, he packed his baton into his coat and tucked his hoodie back under his shirt.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Morgana growled.

"I, unfortunately, don't hesitate anymore," Akira said. "I can't."

"Were you really planning to assault him?"

Akira shrugged. "Let's just say I would have met any escalation of his with that of my own."

"Unbelievable," Morgana muttered. "Sometimes, I wish you just lay LOW. Why are all of the guys on the team like this?"

He sighed, knowing too well what 'laying low' permitted at Shujin: a gym teacher, a principal, and a black mark on his conscience. A black speck that I have to clear for a righteous society.

He could have explained this to Morgana...but he reckoned sleep was more important than clarification.

Another 15 minutes of walking under streetlights later, he opened the doors of LeBlanc, lazily shed his clothes, shoved his sleepwear on, and collapsed onto the bed.

Morgana, now free, curled next to a barely conscious Akira. "Well, on the bright side, I think we have all the marks ticked to visit Mementos finally."

"And that, Morgana, is better than a bedtime story." Akira shoved his face into his pillow. "Brief me in the morning. I'll relay it to the rest. Does two days worth of planning work for what you have in mind?"

"Two days is fine with me. Probably enough to repay your sleep debt."

"Hmpfh. Funny."

Before he closed his eyes, the thought came to him. "That bag..." He opened the bag up. "He said something about a 'sample.'"

"Funny, I was going to suggest we take a peak."

Akira brushed aside the money and, upon seeing the 'sample's' matte finish shine in the face of moonlight hues, woke himself up. "Crap, that looks REALLY real...I'd reckon that this REALLY could pass off as the real thing."

"You willing to bring this up with Iwai next time you see him? He asked you not to look inside..."

Akira sighed. "As much as I don't want to, I rather not leave any stone unturned." Especially, for our first 'official outing.' "Tomorrow then."

The morning crept through the blinds of the vacant Nijima residence, casting silky striations on the floor.

Sae moved the tumblers on the front door and dragged herself to the shower, removing an article of clothing with every pair of steps. I don't have much time. The job is starting in the early morning.

She then turned on the hot water and went to rinsing and scrubbing her hair furiously of any gunk she collected on her hairline from pressing her forehead into the table once she was done.

After roughly drying off her hair with a towel, she brushed her teeth, sprayed from a new bottle some perfume, and yanked, much to her luck, a finely ironed suit jacket and blouse to hastily put on and button up.

Jacket on and work shoes snug on her feet, Sae bolted to the kitchen. Much to her chagrin, there wasn't a meal left for her. Damnit, Makoto. Not right now... "I'll just resort to the convenience store then. Son of a bitch." She slammed the door and left, jogging to the elevator and punching "Ground Floor" in a mad dash.

A minute of Sae rapidly tapping her feet on the metal elevator door, she reached the floor to meet Endo at the dial and Akechi fussing with his collar. "Hope I didn't take too long."

"You get your grain of rice?" Endo then said.

"Food will have to wait."

"Fine by me, as long as you don't keel over."

The trio then walked to a police car on the nearest street. "I'll drive," Endo then said.

Sae rode shotgun. "I still can't believe we are hitting multiple places in one day. Even if we're doing a house call around a bunch of blocks, you'd think they mobilize more officers for something like this."

"We'll have the all of the ward's street members at our disposal," Endo commented. "But you're right, on first glance. Thing is, these places, if surveillance is right, have owners that don't take too kindly to having their 'gentleman's agreement' with the police being ripped up. Even if it's a house call."

"Gentleman's agreement? Tch. Wonderful. I'd expect no less from Shinjuku."

"I see...is corruption truly as entrenched as you claim?" Akechi wondered.

Endo lit another death stick, chuckling between coughs. "Corruption? It's a bit more complicated than that. People on the ground call it 'self-policing.'"

"Call it what it is, Endo. It's turning a blind eye," Sae bitterly muttered. "Bunch of 'saving face' measures that don't allot to anything."

"Most of those guys still associate with unsavory elements. And yeah, it ain't always peachy. But they're trying to make a living. And if they want to hurt anyone, they usually do it to themselves, according to their code."

"Doesn't really lend itself to civility in practice," Akechi added.

"Civility. Heh. Some people also preach civility while slamming a perp in the concrete."

Akechi smiled. "Interesting, the whataboutery you spout. Never would take you for an idealist."

"That's pragmatism, boy. You work the street long enough, you'll learn that stuff. Besides, I'm too old to dream."

Akechi chuckled. "Somehow, I believe you'll try anyway."

Endo grumbled.

"Enough of this," Sae boomed. "I'm not sitting here while we justify not doing goddamn policework. Where in Shinjuku are we heading, first?"

"The Red-Light district; perhaps Pretty Boy's balls will drop once he sees a maid girl."

Akechi laughed it off. "I prefer just staying on my consultation job, thank you very much." He then took out a laptop and opened a map on the screen. "It does make sense, though. We get a few pings in the area around the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, but most of them from surveillance showed most of the activity there. That reminds me." He then took off his jacket and pulled out a silver hoodie.

"What are you doing," asked Sae.

"...I wouldn't like having my reputation associated with a place like that," Akechi answered.

"Tch," Endo uttered. Goddamn kid...reputation should be the least of your concerns...

Both of you.

Sae relented. "Akechi, you still have a piece of bread on you?"

"I do. I was saving it for later, but if you really need something to eat..."

Sae snatched the bread Akechi held out and devoured it in seconds. "...It had custard in it."

"...I just like sweets."

First period.

Another web of gossip and idle chit-chat, Akira noted with his head lying on the window next to him.

Ann then went to her seat, her steps springier than usual, thanks to the recent development. "I got your message. So, we're actually doing this?"

Akira nodded. "Morgana said this job won't be as bad as Kamoshida. Just a teller at a government ward's office."

Ann dimmed. "I don't want to think about someone else worse than him, sorry. Still, a stalker? A bit small. BUT, I guess we can use the warm-up."

"And I bet Ryuji's jumping in his seat," Akira said, twirling his phone around his finger. "Hope he doesn't overdo it."

"Guess he could use the exercise. He always gets so grumpy if he goes without something to occupy his time."

"Sounds eerily familiar," Morgana whispered from the table.

"Be quiet," Akira seethed. "You're still under my desk, remember?"

"What did Mona say?" Ann wondered. "Something more about this Mementos place?"

"Ahh, nothing," Akira replied.

"Actually, speaking of Mona, did he ever explain as to why we can just go in there? Why we don't have to do the whole 'Calling Card' thing?"

Akira clasped Morgana's muzzle shut. "Something about Mementos being a Palace of the collective consciousness. I reckon that if someone were to declare their desire for someone's Heart to get stolen somewhere public, like a Phansite, then it can be stolen. As long as their name is posted, we can do whatever we need to do."

"I suppose that makes sense," Ann replied. "All of this Mementos stuff is so odd. I wish people's minds weren't so complicated."

Akira smiled insolently. "Is that why you prefer Ryuji over other boys?"

Ann's face became a crimson flush. "...I wish we were in Mementos already so I can burn your face off right now," she whispered. "Is the Student Council going to be a problem?"

"Not that I foresee..."

Ann squinted his eyes at him. "You don't seem sure."

He pressed his head further on the glass. "One can never be sure of anything with her around." He smiled sadly, tempted to hold back his next words. "...I'm always worried," he said, words trailing through the gaps in his mouth like sand through one's fingers.

Before Ann could, out of placation, crack a smile, Mishima approached the two.

"H-hey guys," Mishima said, fidgeting with his fingers. "How are you? Is…Suzui doing ok?"

"Fine," Ann said coldly. "Last time I checked, you can visit her yourself if you wanted to be sure."

Mishima's head tilted down. "…Right." A moment later, he snapped his head back up, now looking at Akira. "You know, I've added more to the design of the website. Now, it'll signal what targets we're planning on taking on."

"That's good," Akira responded. "...I guess. Anything else?"

"Um...also, um...look, I'm still really sorry..."

"And I hope you will continue to be sorry," Ann quickly added.

"Ann..." Akira uttered in disbelief.

"You are associating with us," Ann continued. "We're not buddy-buddy. You just assist in administrative duties on the website. We're not going to hear you out. Act sorry and continue working. Have I made that clear, Mishima?"

"...Yes, ma'am. Excuse me." He bowed and then returned to his seat.

"He really should stop bowing like that," Akira commented. "Freaks me out a bit."

"Yeah, I know...hey, did I overdo it back there? With Mishima?"

"A bit," Akira responded. "Still, we gave him a chance. Doesn't mean you get off the hook for the past." His spirts then lowered. "No one does."

Before Ann could respond, Kawakami walked in.

Or rather, trudged in, head bowed and swaying ever so slightly.

Even by previous standards, this was bad. The slurring, the scrunched brow, the heavy panting, and the multitudinous wrinkles on her already low-key choice of orange, long-sleeved shirt showed a desperate haste.

"Class..." She then coughed; she also didn't even bother to wear a medical mask to cover her mouth, so the front of the class had to brace himself. "We'll..."

She stumbled more.

Akira was now expecting the worst.

"We'll..."

She collapsed, hitting the front of a student's desk with her head.

Notes: Finally, I got this out.

Originally, I expected to be done on Christmas Eve. I thought, that, after I'd travel back home to my family in Los Angeles, I'd be able to type up the rest.

But (grumble), I was slated to wrap Christmas presents this year.

For the whole extended family.

So that, along with Christmas festivities, delayed everything. I also don't like posting on Wednesdays if I don't have to, so I decided to delay everything until Friday night.

The slow internet where I am didn't help things. So much frozen pages...

Anyways, hope you enjoy the newest chapter! I originally wanted to add a bit more at the end. But, after some thought, I decided to push that next chapter.

I'm shooting for the new chapter by Friday.

Stay tuned...

P.S. If any changes here in this chapter, it'll be some small phrasing edits (or fixing some small grammatical errors I'm not aware of).