Chapter 5: Student Council Stalker (II)

Victory was sweet.

Niijima Makoto stood before him with the look of a thief caught red-handed, though the only thing she'd arguably stolen was his sanity, as day after day he saw the same hefty tome with yakuza on the cover hovering in the crowds. It always disappeared so quickly he wondered if he was seeing things, or if book covers really did all have the same art style these days. When he saw her reflection in the glass case of a poster for The Cake Knight Rises, he finally had evidence of what he had suspected all along.

"Nice, Morgana," he said to the not-cat who had disappeared on his afternoon walk. "Thanks for looking out for Ann but not me, your wild card."

The student council president appeared not to see him until he had almost closed the distance between her and the movie theater. To his surprise and bewilderment, she hid behind the book she was holding, blocking her face from view.

Really? This is what she's been using as cover? Ren thought. He looked over the top of her book, which she promptly lowered in defeat.

"Niijima-senpai," he said.

"A-Amamiya," she quivered. "W-what a coincidence."

Ren couldn't help but smile. After her last two ambushes in the library and on the roof, it was only fitting that he got his chance to catch her off guard.

"What are you reading?" he asked.

Niijima slammed the book shut and tucked it under her arm. "Umm… nothing," she said.

"It definitely looks like something," he said, eyes drifting to the cover.

She sighed and presented him with the book, which turned out to be a manga anthology about the inner workings of organized crime. It wasn't what Ren expected to see: a fantasy shoujo or dainty romance maybe, like so many other girls.

"Different side of you," he said.

"Yes, well…" Annoyed passers-by jostled them as they squeezed past the pair, muttering something about dumb teenagers blocking the street. After a few moments, the guilty look on her face softened, and she looked more like the confident student council president who first approached him in the library.

"I should go," she said breezily, placing the anthology in her bag. "I have many errands to run…first to the pharmacy, then to Rocinante..."

Ren reached out and grasped her by the wrist. He immediately regretted doing so when she let out a small gasp and staggered backward into him. Her body felt soft and slight against his masculine frame.

"What are you doing?" she cried.

"Sorry." Ren held her by the shoulders. He led her to a deserted alleyway - not the one where he communed with the visitors in his dreams. This one was well-frequented by a street hawker who had struck up a friendship with an orange tabby. Ren had become well acquainted with the Shibuya side streets as he took care of the bulk of team shopping. Phantom Thief business required the utmost secrecy.

Today, however, all he needed was a quiet place to talk. When they were a fair distance away from the street, Ren turned to face the student council president. She looked at him defiantly, arms crossed.

"You've been following me," he said.

"I-I haven't," she stammered.

Ren glanced at his phone. "You know, it wouldn't be hard to take some pictures if you keep this up. Now that I know you're out there. Stalking isn't a good look for the student council president."

Niijima sighed, shoulders sagging. "Okay... yes. It's part of my investigation."

The memory of their conversation at the Ginza platform was vivid in his mind. "You can say no."

"I have my reasons," she murmured, as her gaze shifted to something - someone - behind his shoulder. Ren was about to ask what he had to do to get her off his back forever when he heard a deep, raspy voice drifting in with the cigarette smoke assaulting his nostrils. "What have we here? A lover's quarrel?"

A man in a loud blue and white button-down shirt blocked the exit to the street. He looked out of place among the uniformed students and suited commuters milling about in the afternoon. Though the man didn't present an immediate threat, he gave off a threatening vibe. Ren stepped in front of Niijima and stared him down.

"We're having a private conversation," he said.

"What could a couple of high schoolers have to talk about that's so important?" The man exhaled and flicked his cigarette to the ground. The burning end still glowed until he stomped it out.

Neither Ren nor the student council president responded.

"Kids can't take a joke," the man muttered. "Well, whatever. How about I offer you a chance to make some extra money? Don't you want to make more than your allowances?"

"What kind of job is it?" Ren asked. His guardian had made it clear he wouldn't be receiving an allowance.

"A delivery job."

"By delivery, do you mean that of illegal substances?" Niijima piped up.

What is she doing?

"Heh, you're a funny girl," the man said, but his smile did not reach his eyes.

"So you won't answer me? Then I was right…."

Now she's done it.

"What's up with you anyways? Why're you asking all these questions, huh?" The man shoved Niijima against the wall. Ren immediately rushed forward, reaching out to grab him from behind just like he had with the man in the suit. Before he could make contact, Niijima dispatched her attacker with a few swift movements. The man landed on his back with a loud thud. Ren was suddenly very glad he used a gentle hand when he caught Niijima by the wrist.

Makoto stood horrified over the body of the man she had just thrown. She had meant to protect herself, not knock the guy unconscious. To make things worse, Amamiya had seen everything. First, she'd been caught following him. As if that wasn't mortifying enough, he had seen what she was reading. So inelegant, so unladylike.

Now, she was personally responsible for this man's injuries - if he had any, which she hoped he didn't. He lay sprawled across the floor, moaning but not moving.

Amamiya nudged the man with his shoe. "He's out cold," he said. "Nice job."

Makoto shook her head. She had noticed the signet ring on the man's pinky finger. He was one of Kaneshiro's men, the mafia syndicate the police had been investigating for years. Both Sis and Dad had been involved at some point. Kaneshiro ran a thriving illegal drug trade that spanned all of Central Tokyo. It was unusual to see one of his operatives out in broad daylight. She learned long ago that groups like these typically operated at night and in much seedier parts of town.

Makoto imagined what Sis would say if she turned up with a squad of police and saw the two of them poking and prodding an unconscious man. She would take the man to the police station and interrogate him, of course. She'd also interrogate Makoto about why she was spending time with a boy.

It's a good thing Sis wasn't around, and that Makoto had no intention of telling her about the incident. She saw no point in telling Amamiya about Kaneshiro, either. For all he knew, a stranger attacked them out of nowhere. Controlling information was how she would maintain the upper hand.

Nevertheless, lies of omission were still lies. And she suspected it was only a matter of time before she'd trip up and expose herself.

Makoto's heart was beating out of her chest. Faster and faster, like it would explode.

"I...I need to go," she said to Amamiya and fled the scene.

Ren followed the student council president down Central Street, partially out of curiosity, partially to see if she was okay, and mostly because she had spent the past few weeks tailing him, and it was only fair that he got to do the same. He caught up to her outside the bookstore, where she had stopped to peruse the items on sale. Or pretended to, anyway. She was breathing heavily, her crimson eyes flush with focus.

There were many reasons Ren should have left her there with her thoughts. He had encountered her a grand total of three times, none of which were especially pleasant. Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana had already made their feelings about her clear. She was trying to get dirt on the Phantom Thieves, and on him in particular. But, as he was inclined to do whenever he saw someone in distress, he chose to intervene. Console. Empathize. It didn't mean he had to lower his guard.

That was how he ended up with Niijima at the Central Street arcade. She needed to get her mind off what happened. She wanted to know what her peers did for fun.

As the student council president stared blankly at the various games around the room, Ren walked up to the Gun About console and inserted two 100 yen coins. He used the gun-shape controller to take the moving targets out one by one. She stood behind him, watching his every move.

"That actually seems somewhat realistic," she asked.

"It's an experience," he said flatly.

"I-If it's all right with you… Do you think you could teach me?"

Curious to see how she would fare, Ren inserted two more coins and handed her the controls. Seeing her struggle to hit even the slowest targets was tiresome. After a few rounds, he offered to make some slight adjustments to her form, lowering her arms and rolling her shoulders back to make sure the body was aligned. He felt her skin tense against his. "Try now," he said.

Her second attempt went much better. So well, in fact, that Ren was very conscious of the small crowd gathering around him, of other players distracted by her loud play.

"What? No way!" she cried, as her final life flashed on screen. She set the controller back in its halter and resumed her faulty positioning from before. Ren had noticed was always tense around the shoulders.

"So this is where everyone comes to enjoy themselves…"

"You were really into it," he said.

Niijima smiled and brushed a lock of hair behind her ears. "I used to think games were a waste of time, but now I can see how they can teach you some useful skills."

"Such as throwing a guy over your shoulder?"

Niijima bit back a smile. "Aikido. My father taught me." She looked at her phone and blanched.

"I need to head back to Sis," she said, shouldering her bag and pushing past him. I didn't realize it had gotten so late."

Ren wanted to ask who Sis was, but it seemed imprudent to do so. He knew deep down that this was a temporary reprieve in the little game they were playing. The push and pull of enemies who might have been good friends had their interests aligned. More importantly, there was a fundamental difference between them that made him distrust her: she believed that following the rules was in everyone's best interest. He knew that the rule of law did not always bring about the right outcome.

Still, that didn't prevent him from appreciating some things about her.

"Hey Mako- ...Niijima-senpai."

She turned around.

"Great job kicking that guy's ass."

He thought he saw a hint of a smile as she walked away.

Sis was at her laptop typing away when Makoto arrived home. She figured it must be work-related because that was all Sis ever talked about these days.

"I'm sorry, Sis! I'll get started on dinner right away!" Leaving her purse by the door, she scrambled into the kitchen and began unloading the groceries.

"Don't worry, Makoto," Sis said. "I grabbed something outside an hour ago."

"Oh." Makoto slowed her frantic pace. She was glad Sis had had something to eat but disappointed that she hadn't called to let her know. Was she really so expendable? "I'll just make something for myself then."

She heated up some food and sat down at the table to eat. The room was filled with the sounds of typing and chewing. The conversation in the apartment had dwindled in recent weeks, as Sis's fixation on work now superseded everything else, including Makoto. She seemed angry all the time, complaining about doing twice as much work to get half as far as her male colleagues. She wondered how angry Sis would be if she found out about the afternoon's events. Hopefully, that won't happen. Hopefully, the man would just crawl back to Kaneshiro. He had every reason to avoid going to the police.

The silence was a far cry from their relationship in childhood. Even before their father died, Sae had been her precious Big Sis, watching over her when she would have otherwise been left home alone. Their ten year age difference was a blessing for Makoto and a burden for Sae, who began to feel the constraints on her life as she accumulated responsibilities at work and home. Their father's absence in life and after death didn't help matters.

Makoto washed all the dishes and cleared her throat. "I'm going to my room," she announced. Sis continued typing away until her hand was on the doorknob.

"Makoto."

"Yes, Sis?"

"You've been coming home late," Sis said, turning from her laptop screen. "Is everything all right?"

Makoto involuntarily thought of Amamiya's hand on her wrist and felt her face grow hot. She hoped Sis didn't notice.

"Oh… I've just had to stay after school longer to finish up council work," she said. "You know, the second years are going to Hawaii this year. It's a lot of work for the student council."

Sis smiled with a fraction of her old warmth. "I just want to make sure you're not getting distracted from your studies," she said.

Makoto nodded. Of course, that would be the priority. "Good night, Sis."

"Good night."

Makoto changed out of her school uniform, then sat on her bed hugging the Buchimaru plushie she received as a birthday present from Sis years ago. She took out her phone and began typing out a new message to Amamiya, whose contact information she had obtained from school records.

After several attempts to write a thank you message, she deleted her latest string of words and tossed her phone aside.

What am I doing?

She was supposed to be gathering evidence, not making friends! Was texting Amamiya truly integral to her investigation? There was no guarantee he would divulge information even if she did befriend him, which she most certainly would not. He was still a delinquent. He must have done something to warrant the assault charge on his record. And the arcade had been a truce they agreed upon after their encounter with Kaneshiro's man.

Makoto closed her eyes. She needed to be careful going forward. She was going to be as blasé as possible the next time she saw him. Unflappable. Robotic.

A/N: Happy new year! I'm sorry this update is so late. Life has been keeping me busy.

Instead of all original scenes, I took Makoto's 1-star rank up and the scene outside Protein Lovers and adapted them for my own purposes. So they're not 100 percent original, but close enough?

Next chapter: infiltrating Madarame's Palace and coffee with Haru. Then returning to Kaneshiro's arc in Chapter 7, which kicks off the story climax. I think there will be about 10-12 chapters total.