Yo, been a while since this one was last updated but I finally got around to it thanks to some of the server regulars. Not much to say here other than I'll be trying to update it more frequently. I'm going to be replaying the game soon so hopefully that gets the creative juices flowing. Anyway, if you haven't already join the discord server to hang out with a bunch of readers and writers. The link will be down below.
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Naruto rested one leg on the other and leaned back into his seat. Across from him, the Phantom Thieves were seated, some staring at him while others decided to study the furniture in his house. Among those staring at him were their leader Ren, Ryuji, and Ann who seemingly expected some sort of answer. Why they were so interested in this, he wasn't sure.
"Are any of you kids hungry?" Naruto asked politely. "I was just about to make some lunch. I can make something for you guys if you'd like before we begin today's training."
It came as no surprise to him that everyone denied, though it looked as if Ryuji was going to take him up on his offer before an elbow from Ann put a cork in that plan. Sighing to himself, he stood up and made his way to the kitchen where he began to heat up the leftover food he had from the day before.
"Have it your way." He said with a shrug. "I'm sure you guys are just full of questions so go ahead and ask." Naruto raised a hand before anyone could say anything however, and added one last bit. "Just know that I won't hold back with my answers."
His words were enough to momentarily stop the influx of questions, that is, until Ann decided to speak up. Clearing her throat, she spoke.
"Kawakami-sensei was missing today. What was she doing here?" She asked, though the tone in her voice along with the awkward glances the teenagers shot each other told him they knew.
Smiling to himself, he was about to tell them why the woman was here but fortunately, they were saved by Makoto.
"I'm quite certain we all know why she was here." She said, her cheeks reddening at the thoughts that entered her mind. Naruto found it hilarious that Makoto still got flustered by anything that was even mildly inappropriate. He coughed into his hand to avoid letting her know that he was laughing at her plight.
The thieves didn't know how to respond to that, they'd made it this far but now with confirmation, they didn't know what to do with the information. Grabbing a plate, Naruto walked back to the living room and sat down, being careful not to drop anything and gently placing a napkin and the plate on his lap.
After taking a quick bite, he donned a serious expression and stared at the Phantom Thieves. "Well, I'm sorry you kids ended up in this awkward position. I'm sure seeing your teacher here was the last thing you expected. In truth it's completely my fault, I lost track of time and forgot you would be here today."
He took another bite and wiped his mouth with another napkin. "In any case, as far as my relationship with Kawakami, I'd like to keep that to myself. I'm sure everyone would agree that we're all entitled to our privacy."
To drive the point home, he made sure to give pointed looks to Makoto and Ren whose eyes widened at the silent accusation. Naruto knew his words were spot on by Makoto once again blushing and glancing at the young man. Ren, for his part, managed to keep a cool expression on his face, though Naruto was still able to see the heat rushing to his cheeks.
Seeing as he had gotten his point across, Naruto smiled brightly. "Putting that behind us now, tell me about this issue you guys have going on."
The awkward tension in the air dissipated within seconds, replaced by uneasy worry among the teens. Their faces fell into frowns as the events began to catch up with them. Naruto recalled them saying something about some hacker having made contact with them but then the Kawakami stuff had clouded their minds.
"We were contacted by a group of hackers, Medjed." Ren informed him, pausing for a moment to see if there was any reaction from the older man. "They want us to have a change of heart, and in exchange they'll 'accept us as their own.'" He finished with a frown.
Naruto nodded. "I've heard of these guys before. They're decent hackers but in order to do anything against you, they'd need to have some sort of idea of where to look. The obvious answer would be the website you guys have, but I doubt that will lead them anywhere except the kid who made it."
"They've made some pretty heavy threats in the past but most of those end up being nothing more than empty threats. Is there anything else?" He asked.
Ann nodded and took over. "Yeah, we were then contacted by someone else. They call themselves 'Alibaba' and offer their help to get Medjed off our backs."
The blond raised an eyebrow, that seemed pretty convenient. Too convenient. If someone reached out to them directly, then they already knew who they were. That meant it had to be someone close enough to them, but not in their immediate group. That didn't make things any easier however. Anyone in the school could be a potential suspect. The pool narrowed down to someone who would be good with computers but that still wasn't enough.
"Something tells me it isn't that simple as just helping you. This person has to want something in return. Did they say anything else?" Naruto asked.
Ren nodded. "The condition for helping us is that we need to steal their heart."
The blond blinked. "They're willingly allowing you to steal their heart? Did they do something they're repentful for?" He asked. This didn't make sense. "Why?"
Ann shrugged but still looked uneasy. "They didn't give us a reason, just that they would help us in return. What do you think?"
"It's a bit strange to be honest. But for one person to say they'll deal with a team of known hackers at least shows that they're confident in their work. Did they say anything else or was that it?"
"That's all." Ren finished. "We came straight here after that."
Naruto scratched his chin in thought for a moment, his brain working to figure out what or rather who this could be. After a moment of contemplation, he shook his head.
"Without more information, there isn't much we can do. Chances are this person will contact you again with some sort of threat because you haven't stolen their heart."
The thieves nodded in agreement. They had come to the same conclusion after they'd been contacted. That didn't make them feel better though, it was simply delaying the inevitable.
"The next time they contact you, get them to give you more information as to who they are. I doubt they'll give you a name, otherwise they'll lose their leverage. We just need something to narrow the suspect pool."
"What about Medjed?" Ann asked, still unable to keep the worry from her tone. The worry returned to the rest of the thieves almost at the same time. All this talk of the anonymous person who wanted their heart stolen had momentarily made them forget about their original problem.
Naruto smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry about them for the time being."
"Don't worry about them?" Ren asked. Although his voice was calm, Naruto could hear the apprehension and confusion laced within it. "That's easier said than done."
"Think about it for a moment." Naruto lectured. "If Medjed knew who you were, why wouldn't they contact you directly with your real names exposed already to prove they had dirt on you? It's because they don't know. Besides, even if they were serious about their threat, this Alibaba person will likely keep them at bay."
Mona rubbed his chin with a paw and nodded at the logic. Everything made sense, though they supposed he would be able to see that since his mind wasn't clouded by worry.
Makoto let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. With everything from Medjed, Alibaba, to her sister being on their case, the stress was beginning to pile up. Now however, it was as if a major weight had been removed from her shoulders. They weren't out of the fire yet though, it had only been contained for the time being.
Studying her former brother in law, she noted he seemed completely unbothered by the news. If Medjed really knew about them, and who they were, they would likely know his involvement with them to some degree as well. Perhaps not his own doings in the Metaverse, but his involvement with them. The fact that he was unnerved reassured her that things were alright. He might be a carefree man, but he wasn't reckless. They would be fine.
"I see some of you are still not completely convinced." Naruto said, taking note of the looks on some of their faces. "Just to be on the safe side, I'll have one of my buddies look into Medjed just in case. Sounds good?"
"Shikamaru?" Makoto asked hopefully.
"Yup."
Ryuji slumped in his seat and felt his muscles relax as his body sank into the cushion. He ran a hand through his hair and followed it up with feeling his heart which had now begun to calm down.
"It really does feel better being told this by someone with a lot of pull." The youth said.
Yusuke blinked in confusion. "Pull?"
Ryuji nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. He's strong, has been in the game much longer than we have, and from what we know about him, he has some powerful people in his payroll and his pockets. If he says something can be done, I'm inclined to believe him."
"For once, Ryuji has a point." Ann conceded.
Ryuji crossed his arms and nodded, feeling proud of his moment before her words registered in his mind. Sadly for him, Makoto had been following the interaction and knew an argument would start if she didn't step in soon. Just as she was going to interject, a look from her leader brought a small blush to her cheeks. He was smiling at her, likely knowing that she would jump in to avoid an argument.
Ignoring the look and the feeling in her chest, she cleared her throat loudly.
"Well, now that that's been settled, we can focus on our training. We only have a few days left after all."
Standing up to stretch, Naruto lifted his arms above his head and gently rocked side to side. The Phantom Thieves' attention was drawn to the faded scar on the side of his body that had become visible when his shirt lifted slightly. It didn't look pretty, and they could only imagine what could have caused it and what kind of pain must have accompanied it.
Noting the look on their faces, Naruto looked down and let out a silent 'ah' as he realized what their attention had been drawn to.
"Did you get that in the Metaverse?" Mona asked curiously.
The older blond inclined his head and ran a finger down along one of the jagged edges near the bottom. "Yeah. Maybe I'll tell you guys about it some time. Just know it's a consequence of not planning things through completely."
The thieves remained silent. They had gone into the Metaverse plenty of times and mostly come back unscathed. Sure, there had been times where they needed some medicine, but nothing had ever left a permanent mark on them like that. They all wondered just what kind of things they had yet to experience. The Naruto they knew was strong, they found it difficult to believe anything they'd faced so far would be able to mark him like that.
Seeing the looks on their faces, Naruto put on a carefree smile to try to quell their nerves. "Don't worry. I got this when I was still learning how things worked. It was an oversight on my part. You guys are a group, and you work well together. As long as you watch each other's back, this isn't something you will experience."
"That's true. You only had one person with you, correct?" Yusuke asked.
"Yeah. It was just the two of us. Like I said, sometime when we have less pressing matters to worry about I'll tell you stories of my time in the Metaverse. Anyway, I have good news for you kids. I might be able to train you guys a little more than originally planned." Naruto announced.
Makoto blinked. "Really? Don't you need to watch over Hajime?"
"Normally yes, but my sitter suddenly found herself with a lot more free time. It'll cost me a little more for an extra hour or two throughout the week but it won't break the bank."
At once, the teens' eyes seemed to droop down at the fact that they were now costing the man money but Naruto was quick to shut that down. He reminded them that he had more money that he realistically knew what to do with and that it was no issue. That brought up another issue, one that Ryuji was the first to express.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a large wad of bills. "Actually, before we start training, you mentioned something about money once."
Naruto let out a whistle at the semi large stack in the youths hand. "Yeah, I said you'll be making real money the longer you stay in the Metaverse."
Ryuji scratched the back of his head, something Naruto figured must have been a subconscious thing when he was nervous. "Well, I've been saving what I get from our trips and I don't know how to spend it and convince my mom I'm not stealing things. We don't have that much money for the things I want to buy."
His words had an effect on the whole group. They were all in similar situations, though the trouble they were in had made them all forget about the money. They now realized Ryuji brought up a good point. Makoto reached into her own bag and pulled out a number of large denomination bills. It wasn't comparable to what Naruto had, but it was definitely enough to arouse suspicion if she was seen with them.
"That takes me back." Naruto said with a wistful smile.
"What was your excuse?" Ryuji asked, pocketing his money.
"I had quite a few businesses I was able to funnel the money through. Even though it was a lot, the cash flows were large enough for it to slip in undetected and come out cleanly. After all, the government doesn't care where your money comes from, as long as they get their cut." Naruto replied.
Yusuke hummed. "That's fortunate. You had a viable way of evading detection."
Naruto nodded. "Until you remember that my parents were murdered and that's the reason why I had the businesses to begin with."
"That's unfortunate." Yusuke corrected himself, feeling awkward for bringing up what was obviously a terrible point in the man's life. Here he was, helping them out and he was saying that their deaths were a fortunate event.
To his relief, the older man took no offense and seemed to find entertainment out of seeing the artist stumble over his words. "I know what you meant, and it's good that you're bringing this up now. You." He said, looking straight at Makoto. "Are in the most danger considering Sae's occupation. If you're lucky her job will keep her busy enough to overlook you for a bit, but if you start buying things eventually she'll set her sights on you."
"So what do you suggest?" Makoto asked carefully.
"I have an idea that could help all of you. You're all doing decent in school right?" The thieves nodded, although Ryuji did get a few speculatory glances sent his way. "Knowing how the Metaverse works, in about a year or two, you'll be making money that corporations usually bring in. I can provide a temporary cover for you guys. You're all at least fifteen right?"
Again, they nodded, wondering where he was going with this.
"Your schools should all have temporary employment forms available in the administrators offices. Grab one and bring it to me, I'll sign off on it. You'll officially work for me and that's where your source of income will officially come from."
"Will it really be that simple?" Ann asked. "We would still have a lot of money."
Naruto nodded once again. "I'll be sure to pay generously. You'll just need to make sure not to spend more than what's considered reasonable. Just look at your paychecks every two weeks and think things through."
Ren had never been more thankful that Naruto had bumped into them when he had. Sojiro was a good man, but he wouldn't hesitate to grill him about where money came from if he began to spend too much. If he got a job, that would also help his image. He would be seen as more responsible, someone who was trying to understand the value of money.
"One more thing." The Phantom Thieves leader said. "You said in a year or two more money will come in. What then?"
All eyes turned to the blond once more. "Even though I approve of what you're doing, I want you kids to focus on your studies. By the time you're in university, I'll have another new business starting up. You kids will invest, buying thousands of shares at a low price, and using my connections, the stocks will skyrocket."
Ren blinked. "Then we can either collect dividends on the thousands of shares, or we can sell them off for a large lump sum."
Naruto winked. "Exactly. Now I'm curious, which one do you think is the better way to go?"
Ann raised her hand only to drop it in embarrassment when she remembered that she wasn't in a classroom. "Collect dividends. If we weren't sure how successful the company could be, then I would say sell the shares."
"Ann is right." Ren added. "Knowing that you have so many high profile people in your pocket gives us an advantage. If we buy hundreds of thousands of shares, the profits would far exceed the one time lump sum payment."
"Exactly. I'm sure Sojiro won't have any problem signing off on the sheet. I want them tomorrow or the next day at the latest." He told them.
Makoto, being the responsible one of the group, sent out a text message to all of them reminding them of their assignment. If she was able to, she would have gotten them all herself but there were rules in place against that sort of thing. Even for someone with a standing like hers wasn't exempt.
"We'll have them." She assured him. "So what's on the agenda today?"
The smile Naruto shot them sent shivers up their spine. They knew they were in for some hellish training. They were proven right when the words 'endurance training' left his mouth.
A few hours later, the training had come to an end, and the teens were once again barely able to stand from exhaustion. They never ceased to amaze him with their determination. They had been under the impression that he would only train them for a couple of days and they were committed to getting as strong as possible in that time.
"Don't forget the forms." Naruto called out as the last of the thieves exited his house. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and read a few emails while he made his way to the kitchen to prepare a snack for himself. The kids were getting better, not enough for him to take them seriously yet but enough to get his heart pumping.
Swiping his finger across the screen to get rid of the spam, he cleared the folder and opened his messages. Most were from work, asking about contracts, bonuses, requests, and even a petition to start their meetings an hour later. He ignored those as well.
Finally, there was the most recent one, having arrived only a few minutes prior to the end of his training with the kids.
Are you free right now?
He could almost feel the awkwardness that Kawakami must be feeling sending that message. Smiling to himself, he replied that he was and she was welcome to come over like she had wanted to. His snack now forgotten, he made his way to the bathroom to clean himself up before his guest arrived. It was almost a mute point considering he would be breaking a sweat again but he would be hygienic unless the woman asked otherwise.
xxxx
After the night he'd had, Naruto would have liked to sleep in and relax in bed for the day, but sadly that would have to wait. He still hadn't forgotten what Kaneshiro had said before he had been defeated. There was another person running around the Metaverse, one with less than noble intentions. It was no coincidence that high profile people were dropping like flies in unnatural ways. Whoever this was, they needed to be put down which was why the blond was here.
Oura Kanetake's palace was one that Naruto found quite nice. In terms of architecture that was. Like the man he was named after, Oura was one of the most corrupt politicians in Japan. The fact that he was still able to run in the political circles despite all of the allegations against him just showed how deep the corruption ran in the country. That wasn't to say it was a problem exclusive to Japan, every country had its problems, it just so happened to be extremely bad in this area. The shadows that inhabited the palace watched him cautiously, even though he had since taken over the palace, some maintained their allegiance to the former owner but would never attack. They knew better.
Heading up into the large shrine that acted as the main building of the palace, Naruto pushed the doors open only to find a large ornate chair devoid of anyone. He frowned. The shadow of the former owner was always seated there, always cowering whenever Naruto stepped through the doors.
He walked further into the building, keeping his eyes open for any sign of the man. If his shadows were still here, then he must be as well.
Knowing he'd have to check each individual room, he began with the closest one to his left. It was a large red door with the female stick figure depicted on the front. Pushing it open, he noticed three shadow women folding clothes dressed in lingerie.
"Got himself another one huh?" Naruto muttered to himself. The women looked at him with blank expressions and returned to their duties. The blond scoffed at the sight. The things some women would do for money. They were good looking enough to find decent guys, why they would go for an old man was beyond him.
Just as he closed the door, the palace began to shake, as if a tremor was beginning to build intensity. The walls of the shrine began to crumble and it was only due to his experience in the Metaverse that he'd quickly summoned his Persona to destroy the debris that would have fallen on him.
"Ahhh!" He heard the unmistakable voice of Oura yell from somewhere inside the palace. He ran further into the building, being careful not to get hit as he did so. When he arrived at the master bedroom, he noticed the old man spasming in his bed. Black liquid poured out of his mouth, eyes, and ears as his body violently shook. His eyes noticed the sole window of the room was open, and he dashed over.
Behind his mask, his eyes narrowed as he observed a cloaked individual running off in the distance. The hood he wore gave no clues as to what gender the person was. All he knew was that this was the one behind all the attacks. The palace began to shake even harder and Naruto knew he needed to get out of there. Slamming a fist onto the windowsill, he turned around and evacuated the area.
The palace was done for and he was sure within the next few minutes, he would get the news of Oura's death.
Tapping his phone, the world shifted and he found himself back in his living room. Quickly grabbing the tv remote, he changed the channel from morning cartoons his son had left it on to the news. His grip on the control tightened as he read the red strip at the bottom reporting Oura's death.
"He had to have known something." Naruto said to himself. Otherwise why would he have been targeted? Taking a seat he lamented on the fact that if he'd only gone a day before maybe he'd have a solid lead on who this person was.
Sadly, things didn't work out that way. He would have to start from scratch, but how exactly would he do it?
He sighed and rubbed a hand down his face in exasperation. This would likely take a while. Knowing he couldn't do anything for the time being, he checked his phone for the time only to raise an eyebrow when he saw Takemi send him a message.
Clicking the banner at the top of the screen, his eyes widened the more he read. Changing his clothes quicker than he ever had, he sped to the clinic.
He had been very careful not to push the door open too hard when he arrived. Despite the message saying it wasn't anything to worry too much about, it did nothing to actually ease his worry.
"Inside." He heard Takemi call out to him.
Heading to the small room, he saw his son sitting on the table. His little legs were swinging back and forth happily as he ate away on the sucker that had been provided to him.
Next to him sitting on one of the chairs, was Sae who looked almost relieved but the worry in her eyes couldn't be completely hidden.
"Dad!" His son cried out happily. He tried to move but Takemi stopped him, holding two fingers on the boy's chest.
"Do you remember what I told you about what people should do when they're on the table?" She asked him softly.
Hajime made a face and thought back. All was silent for a moment until he looked up at the woman. "They have to sit still or else they make things worse?"
Takemi nodded. "Exactly. You can go to your dad once I finish."
Sae's eyes darted between her son and the doctor and narrowed. It was a strange interaction because Sae was sure they'd never met this woman before today. But apparently her son had.
"What happened?" Naruto asked. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with his boy physically.
Sae sighed. "He had some bad milk last night with his cereal. I told him to grab the one deepest into the fridge and he forgot. The one he used expired two days ago."
Relief coursed through him, so that's all it was.
"He threw up?"
"A lot. It didn't stop so I was going to take him to the hospital I go to but he wanted to come here." Her eyes glanced at Takemi who made no indication that she had noticed. She had though, Sae was sure.
Ignoring the pointed look, he walked over to Takemi. "So do we need to do anything?"
The doctor shook her head. "Just make sure he doesn't eat heavy tonight. Other than that he'll be alright by tomorrow."
Sae was just as relieved as her ex. Seeing her son puking nonstop had filled her with worry like never before. Standing up, she opened her clutch.
"How much do we owe you?"
Takemi filed away the form she'd had to fill out for the child and sat down at her computer. "Don't worry about it."
Sae blinked in surprise. Don't worry about it?
"It was nothing more than a mild case of food poisoning. I didn't lose any resources treating him. Just make sure you follow directions carefully, understand?" She asked, directing the question to Hajime.
The young boy nodded and eyed another lollipop. Takemi raised an eyebrow at the boys father, silently asking if she should allow him to get another one.
He shrugged and Takemi handed the boy another. Sae was slightly miffed that the doctor had seemingly blown her off, leaving decisions to Naruto. She was the mother, she had just as much of a say in this.
Thanking the woman regardless, the three left the clinic and walked down to the black car that Sae had driven in. Their boy made his way into the back seat and closed the door. Content to play on a small tablet while he waited for his parents.
"Will you be alright with him?" Naruto asked. "I can take him early if you want."
"No, it's fine. If it's alright with you I'd like to keep him for an extra day." She requested.
Naruto was momentarily stumped. "That's fine with me but don't you have work?"
Sae pulled her phone out in response to his question and tapped at her screen. "I have hours to spare. I feel like I lost a day with him because of this and I don't want him to feel lie our time was cut short. We have things to do."
Naruto stared at his ex wife with a look of surprise. The Sae he knew would never just call out of work like that.
"Don't give me that look. Contrary to what you might think, I do love the time I can spend with our son." She said in a passive aggressive way.
Their conversation at her place was still fresh in his mind. It hadn't gone well.
"Look. I'm sorry about what happened a few days ago. I know you love him but your past actions haven't exactly painted a good picture. Can you blame me for thinking things would suddenly be different?"
Sae looked away from him as she knew he was right. For years her career had been one of the most important things in her life. When her child came it had become difficult to adjust and balance both, then with her promotion things became even harder.
"I suppose not. Look, I'm trying to be there more ok? He's asking why we don't live together like his friends' parents and it makes him sad."
Naruto felt his heart shatter a bit. His boy hadn't asked him anything regarding their situation yet. Was he hiding it? Why? And why ask Sae but not him?
He ran a hand through his hair. Why did life have to do this to him?
"Should we talk to him?" He proposed.
"Maybe sometime soon. When he can really understand what's going on. He has been asking to go to family oriented places. Why don't you come with us today? I'm sure he'd be ecstatic." She offered, surprising him once again. "Unless you have something else to do." She added, looking back at the clinic.
He followed her line of sight and blinked. "You think me…and Takemi?"
"I saw how you two interacted there." There was a hint of something in her tone that he couldn't quite pick out.
"She went to school with us. Takemi was a friend but we aren't in a relationship or anything like that." Not an official romantic one at least.
Sae didn't seem to buy it and he was sure she would try to ask Hajime when he wasn't around. If she was still the same as she was in high school, then she would likely look into her. No woman could even look at him in a way she seemed suspicious without Sae then making it known he was off the market.
"Right. Anyway, can you make it or not?" She asked.
Naruto sent out a message to Makoto that training would be canceled or pushed back today due to an emergency and pocketed the phone.
"Let's go." He said. Sae threw the keys in the air and took her place in the passenger seat. He could see his boy was confused only to break out in a smile when Naruto sat in the driver's seat.
"Ready to have some fun?" He asked as he started the engine?
"Oh yea I forgot to mention." He said as he pulled onto the street. "Makoto is going to talk to you later today."
"About?"
"Her and her friends came to me asking if I would allow them temporary employment."
Sae frowned. "I give her an allowance."
"Come on Sae. She's a young woman who probably wants a lot of things and wants to be able to buy them on her own. It'll be good for her. She'll be limited on hours too since she's a student."
The silver haired woman tapped her purple painted nails on the hard plastic on the door. "If her grades start to slip you terminate her."
He nodded. "That was the plan. Anyway, where are we going?"
Sae sighed. It was just like him to begin driving without having a clue of the destination. Even so she couldn't help but smile a bit. "Take a right here and go straight. It's not that far away."
Sitting silently, she observed the boys chatting and trading light banters back forth. It was nice, she thought. She liked to think she did a good job when it was her turn with him but she realized her son had never been as happy as he was now. Only when both of them were present.
"I'll solve this case." She thought to herself. Once the Phantom Thieves were dealt with, she could take her foot off the gas at work. She would improve her relationship with her son and if possible her ex. She was tired of their fighting.
A flash of black crossed through her mind, breaking her train of thought. "That doctor" she thought to herself. She was involved somehow, and for her sons sake, she would make sure that woman wasn't a danger to him.
That's the only reason she would look into her. The only reason.