Chapter 9: In Pursuit

In the days since the rooftop confrontation, Ren kept his interactions with Makoto strictly business. She wanted to keep tabs on the Kaneshiro investigation and requested updates. Fine. He'd give her the information she wanted. They met every week in the student council office, where she was unrecognizable as the girl hiding behind a book on Central Street — not that he didn't try to draw it out of her.

"Don't you think it's time you called me Ren?" he said one afternoon. He watched as the student council president stiffened over her paperwork; her hand stilled, then continued moving across the page as if they had just been exchanging pleasantries.

"Amamiya-kun, do you have anything to report on Kaneshiro?" she replied after a beat, and Ren saw her lips curve slightly. It was gratifying for him to see. She was the one who kissed him, after all.

Behind him, he heard a grunt.

"If you guys want to wrap up soon, we have midterms to study for," Ann said. A blatant lie, considering she and Ryuji were most avoidant when it came to schoolwork.

Makoto watched the three of them, eyebrows raised. "I was just asking Amamiya if you all had made any progress. If there's nothing to report…well, then there's no reason for you to be here, is there?"

Ann's mouth dropped open, but Ren cut in before she could continue the argument.

"Drugs," he said. "We talked to Iida and his friend and they got roped into selling drugs. Kaneshiro's lackeys bribed them with an easy part-time job. Once Iida agreed to work, they sent him on his first delivery."

"They followed him and took pictures," Ann added, settling back in her chair.

"And they started the blackmailin' when he tried to quit," Ryuji said, concluding the elegant summary they had agreed upon before heading to the meeting.

"Hmm. That is good information. I wonder how many more are involved besides Iida and Nishiyama," Makoto murmured. She looked from Ren to Ryuji and Ann in the background. If she picked up on their lie about studying for midterms, she didn't let it show.

"Can we go now?" Ryuji looked ready to sprint out the door.

"Y-yes," Makoto said. "I was just thinking out loud." She nodded, and the three of them began gathering their things. Ren couldn't help but take a last look at the student council president as he shut the door. She sat primly at her desk, head lowered as she scribbled furiously.

"I'm still not sure what you see in her," Ann said as they strolled down the hall.

Ren wasn't sure how to explain it himself. She was his opponent in this game, yet he liked to think their kiss hadn't just been some calculated maneuver. He wasn't getting his hopes up when his friends hated her for who she was. Ann and Ryuji sat stone-faced at every meeting and kept their distance, like a pair of wary cats whenever Makoto spoke to them in the hall. It was all he could do to stop Morgana from hissing her name in conversation.

He was the leader, he told himself. He had to look out for his team's interests. That was the price of being the one people depended on.

He knew his loyalties were about to be tested again when he saw the student council president approaching their hideout in the accessway. Yusuke had just made the point that they could find the real Kaneshiro and change his cognition to chart a course to the floating bank when the entire team became attuned to her presence.

"Ah, there you are. I thought I might find you all here," Makoto said. It was a Saturday and the station was less busy than usual. Ren could almost see down the length of the underground walkway to the juice stand where he and Morgana stopped for a pick-me-up. Still, the din of the subway coming and going made it hard to hear, and so she was standing close. Too close.

"What do you want?" Ann practically spat.

Makoto stood firm. "Nothing in particular. I just saw you all together here."

"So you're here to check up on us?" Ann snorted. "You may be the student council president, but when it comes to what we do, you're useless."

Niijima looked stricken. "Useless…?" she said.

"To be frank, yes, " Yusuke interjected.

Ren saw a change in Niijima's face. A flash of rebellion in her eyes... and hurt. For a moment he could see through the mask of the perfect student council president. He suddenly had an inkling of what she'd been feeling that day when he approached her on Central Street: vulnerability. The thought made him feel some discomfort about the way his friends were piling on her. There was something different about her today. Perhaps they shouldn't push her too far.

"Just remember we're out there helpin' people,'' Ryuji said. "And people are rootin' for us. I'd root for me too, no questions asked. Say what you want about the Phantom Thieves, but at least they're dependable. Way more dependable than some people I know."

That was the final straw, apparently. Makoto balled her right hand into a fist, and when she spoke it was with a slight quiver.

"So you wish to get in contact with Kaneshiro?" she said. "Fine. I'll help you meet Kaneshiro."

And then the poised, straight-laced, rule-enforcing student council president did something none of them expected. She turned and ran.

Not useless, not useless, not useless….

Makoto searched Central Street for the alleyway where she and Amamiya had been approached during their so-called lover's quarrel. She knew the area so well from years of commuting that she could leave her thoughts churning in the background as she looked. The streets were full of weekend shoppers, their pleasant chatter a reprieve from the regular crowd of students and salarymen.

She left the apartment this morning with the intention of setting things right with the Phantom Thieves. To say that they had gotten off on the wrong foot was an understatement. She chased them away from their rooftop hideout and tracked their movements for weeks. She threatened to reveal their identities unless they helped her with a student council matter. In a way, she committed the same crime as Kaneshiro: she blackmailed them for her own benefit.

Except this was different, she told herself. She had the safety of Shujin Academy's students to think about. Wasn't that her goal? To kill two birds with one stone? The plan had been to apprehend the Phantom Thieves and get them to change Kaneshiro's heart so he'd stop the blackmail. She didn't know yet what would come after. They were still working on the "finding Kaneshiro" part of the whole operation.

She trusted the Thieves to gather intelligence about the mafia boss's whereabouts. The information they brought her was useful, yes, but it didn't get them any closer to finding out where he hid in the shadows. She felt silly for making Amamiya and his friends run all around Tokyo when a solution had been in front of her all along. What if she could help them with that missing piece of the puzzle?

It would be dangerous, yes. She would be sacrificing herself, but maybe that was what she deserved.

Perhaps it would even make up for her mistakes.

She stopped a short distance away from a hawker and his cat. The neon lights of Central Street hovered overhead, brilliant even in the daytime. This seemed like the right spot, down the street from the arcade.

Makoto knew from listening to Dad over the years that the police had been hunting Kaneshiro, though they didn't have much to show for it. Oh, they'd rounded up plenty of his lackeys, but none of them would betray their boss, and the detectives could only apply so much duress until the prosecutor's office told them to give it a rest.

Sis worked on the case after Dad died, and Makoto continued to listen as she talked about the facts of the case, the major developments, and her frustration when the trail went cold. It was how Makoto could tell that the man who approached her and Amamiya had been one of Kaneshiro's. She could still see the signet ring on the man's finger glistening in the mid-afternoon sun. Kaneshiro trafficked drugs, and with the Phantom Thieves' reconnaissance, she now knew how Shujin students got involved.

She should be glad about the progress. Instead, she felt worse than the handful of times she'd had to face Dad or Sis after underperforming on a test. It was the second time in as many days that she'd been called useless, after all. By Sis no less. It shouldn't be a surprise that Suzui's best friend would hate her. She could hardly stand being in the same room as Makoto - the atypicality of Takamaki and Sakamoto dedicating themselves to their studies was well known - and Makoto supposed she would feel the same in her shoes.

Maybe they're right. Maybe I am useless.

Once again, she found herself rifling through all her failures this semester. She failed to protect the volleyball team. She failed to protect Suzui, who was still in the hospital and would probably never return to Shujin Academy - rumor had it her parents were looking to transfer her. She hadn't heard from Okumura Haru in weeks, and though she'd been trying her best to reach out, a part of her wondered if her friend was simply tired of her company.

She couldn't even look out for her own interests properly. Kobayakawa had offered her a letter of recommendation to the university of her choice - the dream! The one thing she and Sis always wanted! - if she could unmask the Phantom Thieves, yet she'd confronted Amamiya and his friends first with the recorded evidence. While she'dd been contemplating turning them in after this mission, the idea of going back on her word felt wrong. Immoral. Is this how Dad would have wanted her to live? After last night's argument with Sis, it was clear that the answer was no.

It wasn't the only reason she took her time reporting back to Kobayakawa, though. She could admit to herself now that it was mostly because of a crush.

A stupid, stupid crush.

They hadn't even spoken of the kiss. Amamiya hadn't brought it up and neither had she. They were so formal with each other she wondered at times if he was pretending it never happened. And then there were those moments when she thought he kept his voice low so only she could hear. Like the other day - were they on a first name basis now? He seemed to think so, but then he left immediately with his friends. When Amamiya was with Takamaki and Sakamoto, he seemed more distant than ever. A delinquent among delinquents. No matter how good of a person he was, that was a hard label to shake in this society.

Depressing thought.

She didn't have to wait long before the man in the blue and white shirt appeared. His eyes widened at first upon seeing her, then narrowed as it dawned on him that this latest prey was the same girl who once knocked him unconscious. Makoto took great satisfaction that Dad's self-defense lessons paid off so well. The boost of confidence drove her to do something that would have given him a heart attack:

"Hey, do you know Kaneshiro?" she said. "I heard I could find someone named Kaneshiro if I came to Central Street." She stepped toward the man, who appeared dumbstruck.

In the aftermath of Niijima's departure and the subsequent pondering of what exactly she meant by "I'll help you meet Kaneshiro," the text from a number he didn't recognize was a welcome distraction. Ren glanced at his phone, hoping for good news.

I'm going to call you soon. Please pick up.

He furrowed his brows. Could it be…?

The message didn't tell him much, but it was more comforting than the argument Ann and Ryuji were having behind him. Yusuke was attempting to hail a taxi while the three of them debated whether to pursue Makoto - and if so, where she might have gone. Ren suggested splitting up to continue searching, but Ryuji wanted to call off the chase.

"Who cares what happens to her? She's been nothing but trouble for us," he moaned.

Ren was filled with a sudden awareness that he did, in fact, care about what happened to the student council president. He cared very much. And to his surprise, Ann was also in favor of rescuing her. She paced back and forth along the curb, shaking her head furiously.

"We can't just let her go like that," she said.

Ren's eyes were still glued to his phone, waiting for the call. Or another message. Anything. "Why the change?" he asked.

"I don't get it," Ryuji cried. "You were calling her a bitch five minutes ago!"

Ann huffed and began twisting the end of her long ponytail. "I know... I know I shouldn't feel this way. She sucks up to the teachers. She pretends to represent the students but only cares about herself. She wants a letter of recommendation from the principal. For doing his dirty work. And Shiho..." She trailed off, that familiar shadow crossing her face.

"See?!" Ryuji seemed baffled. "You hate her."

"Niijima-san has been nothing but trouble, and I don't see an issue with letting her suffer the consequences of her actions, to be frank." Yusuke had taken a momentary reprieve from his efforts to hail a taxi.

"Besides, there's way too many people here!" Morgana piped up. "We'll never find her!"

"That's just the thing, though. The mafia is ruthless. I don't like Niijima, I don't - but that doesn't mean I want anything bad to happen to her. Haven't you heard the stories ?" Ann exchanged a few more words with Ryuji, but Ren had stopped paying attention as another message had come through.

Just stay on the phone and listen. Make sure you record the call as well. Do you remember the day we went to the arcade?

Ren snapped his head up. He did remember. He'd caught Makoto following him and pulled her into an alleyway. They argued about her investigation with Principal Kobayakawa - why she was going along with his wishes, and why he shouldn't just out her as a stalker to the entire school. She was about to start talking when he smelled cigarette smoke, and some old guy accused them of a lover's quarrel. He couldn't quite remember what happened next, but there was an argument and Makoto knocked him out cold.

He began running in the direction of the alleyway, signaling for the others to follow with a sweep of his hand. Ann fell into step immediately, followed by Yusuke and finally Ryuji, who threw up his hands in defeat. They passed the bookstore, a Big Bang Burger joint, and the supermarket, dodging pedestrians and trying their best to stick together. All the while Ren wondered: were those Kaneshiro's people? Did she know they were Kaneshiro's people? And how she would know - the answer to that was obvious after meeting Sae Niijima.

They were within sight of the alleyway when he heard his phone ring. Ren answered without stopping. They were almost there. He could see the entrance. Just a few more yards...

"Hello?" he said, just in time to hear someone in the background scream "Get the fuck inside!"

He looked up to see a car speeding away.

Makoto found herself in the backseat of a sedan. It all happened so fast, really. One moment, she was telling the man her name and demanding that he take her to see Kaneshiro, and the next she was being strong-armed down the street, the man muttering something about death wishes as they approached a car parked in front of a shuttered grocery store.

Makoto resisted the urge to push back as the man in the blue and white shirt wrestled her inside and slammed the door behind her. She watched as he walked around back to speak with one of his associates who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

The car smelled like cigarette smoke and fast food, and when Makoto settled against the worn leather seats she glanced at her phone, hoping Amamiya had picked up. It was hard to tell when the thing was buried so far in her pocket.

She had but a few moments' peace.

"Contact Kaneshiro-san. Tell him we got a good one," the man barked as he settled into the driver's seat. His eyes met Makoto's in the rearview mirror. Sure enough, there was a gleam of recognition.

The man smirked. "Niijima Sae's younger sister. Who would have thought."

"I guess we can't do anythin' to her if she's Kaneshiro-san's customer," his associate muttered.

Makoto noticed that the two gangsters were conscientious enough to buckle their seatbelts. It was a short-lived distraction: they were soon tearing down the back streets, speeding past two-story homes and the occasional mom and pop shop. The entire time, she kept demanding that they tell her where they were going, that they better be taking her to Kaneshiro, that they better keep her alive because they know who she is right? That last one may have been more of a prayer than a demand.

Finally, they pulled up in front of an old warehouse. Blue-and-white shirt flung open the door and dragged Makoto out by the wrist. He marched her through a side entrance, then down a series of hallways until they reached a richly decorated room with neon lights and benches upholstered with velvet. A man who must have been Kaneshiro sat in one corner, arm curled around a scantily clad girl who couldn't have been much older than she was. The girl seemed inebriated, which was very likely given the empty cocktail glasses strewn about the table. Makoto couldn't help but feel sorry for her. It seemed that Kaneshiro's business encompassed more than just drugs.

"Who's this?" the mafia boss grunted as they entered the room.

"Niijima," one of the guards said. "Says she's the sister of Sae Niijima."

Blue-and-white shirt gave her a shove. Makoto stumbled forward but tried to keep her wits about her. She had gotten this far; all she had to do now was buy time for the Phantom Thieves.

"Sister of the beautiful Sae Niijima. What a pleasure." Kaneshiro leaned forward in his seat. "Not only that, but you aren't bad-looking yourself, are you?"

He was reaching out to touch her! Makoto fought to keep a straight face. It wouldn't do to recoil from the man who held her fate in his hands. She may have been able to defend herself against one of his lackeys, but who knew how many more people he had at his disposal? She knew had to say something, and her instinct told her it was best to respond politely as if he wasn't a very dangerous man.

"Yes," she began, hoping no one would notice her hands trembling. "I'm Niijima Sae's younger sister. I'm also the student council president of Shujin Academy."

Kaneshiro paused, and his hand dropped to his knee. " Very interesting. So, miss beautiful president, are you here on student council business?"

"I…I am," Makoto stammered. She summoned her most deferential tone of voice, the one she used with Sis and Kobayakawa. "With respect, I'd like to request that you release the students of Shujin Academy from your employment."

Kaneshiro's eyes widened in mock surprise. "What's wrong with giving high school students work? It only builds character."

"There is nothing wrong with work, but that's not what I've been hearing from our students. Rather, they've told me that you engage in blackmail when they no longer want to work."

"Blackmail! Did you hear that? We're being accused of blackmail." Kaneshiro looked over Makoto's shoulder, and she heard snickers. Even the woman sitting next to him started giggling. Makoto didn't know what was so funny.

"And if I say no?" Kaneshiro was no longer smiling.

"I… I'll tell the police." It was the only thing she could think of.

Kaneshiro shook his head. "I think I want you here actually. We could always use another girl. You are about the right age. You could earn a fair bit of money. Pick up some skills. And make a lot of people happy."

He said this last part with a grin, and Makoto felt the room grow smaller. Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest. What Kaneshiro proposed was basically her worst nightmare. Sis's worst-case scenario for her future. And something she let happen to Shiho Suzui. The thought wouldn't leave her.

"What's this lack of enthusiasm, miss President? Are you worried about how your sister will react when she finds out?"

Makoto shook her head. She didn't want to think about Sis right now.

"N-no!"

"Tsk tsk. I have a feeling you're lying, miss president. Now that's a habit we'll have to break."

She felt a rush of air behind her and twisted, but it was too late. Strong arms imprisoned her in a vise, pinning her arms to her sides. She kicked up and tried to scream, but blue-and-white-shirt was stuffing cloth in her mouth. Her hands were bound, and she felt something sharp pierce her side. Kaneshiro's men laid her down so she was facing the exit, cheek resting on the cool floor. Someone had started to bind her ankles together. Kaneshiro himself stepped into view, picking up the phone that had clattered to the floor with her.

"Whose number is this? Your boyfriend's?" he sneered.

Makoto closed her eyes, hoping Amamiya - Ren - would be here soon. He had to, or she might be better off dead by the time they were through with her.

"Niijima-san!"

There was a crash and what sounded like a stampede. Makoto's eyes flew open, her heart leaping with joy upon seeing Amamiya and his friends silhouetted against the open door. Amamiya looked primed and ready to throw down, a wild presence between Sakamoto's slouch and Kitagawa's tall frame. Even Takamaki was there, hair blowing in the wind like some sort of magical girl princess.

But it was Amamiya - strong, commanding Amamiya who was seeming less and less like a delinquent by the minute - who was speaking to Kaneshiro and negotiating her release. They exchanged angry words, but she couldn't understand much of the conversation. Her vision was blurred, the Phantom Thieves fading in and out of focus, their voices a faint rumbling in the background. She was tired - so very, very tired. How hard had she hit her head? What had they done to make her limbs feel so heavy?

"Oh, I get it. You dipshits got followed!" she heard Kaneshiro say.

And then the world went black.

A/N: Okay, so this chapter isn't perfect - among other things, there are some issues with the timeline and who-knows-what-and-when that I plan to fix someday. But I figured I would post it because it's been sitting on my computer for long enough. Next chapter we get to the good stuff. It's Metaverse heavy!