Sophia sensed a Jail within the city of Sendai, so the Phantom Thieves had one more reason to stop by and check things out. Hifumi parked the RV and everyone stepped out. Akechi had to find his own place to park before joining with the group. "Well. Sophia?" Makoto began. "Can you smell the Jail?"
"Yes. I'm sure of it." Sophia responded from Sumire's phone. "There is no doubt about it: there is a Jail somewhere in this City."
"So there really are more Jails besides the one in Shibuya?" Haru was hoping that this wasn't the case, but Sophia's detection made this otherwise.
"If there's a Jail, that means something rotten's going on in this city." Morgana stated.
"Then it is our first order of business to figure out what that is." Hifumi said.
"Agh, how are we supposed to do that?" Futaba groaned. "Sendai is a huge city…"
"I don't understand why you're all groaning." Akechi rolled his eyes. "The basic premise of investigation is to find what stands out. Much like how Alice was the most popular person in Shibuya, we must first find out who is drawing the most attention in Sendai."
"That…does sound like a decent idea." Ann couldn't deny that. She
"We could check some of the popular sightseeing spots?" Haru, with a bit of bile in her throat, followed up on Akechi's idea. "We might hear something if there's people around."
"Great thinking!" Yusuke said with his eyes closed. "And what's more, we're right here in Mt. Aoba Park, home to the statue of Lord Masamune." His excitement could not be contained about looking at the statue.
"You are so eager…" Hifumi said with an exasperated smile. "But can the statue not wait just a little longer?"
"Yeah, dude!" Ryuji groaned. "You can check out the statute tomorrow, I'm starvin'!"
"I have to agree, Yusuke-senpai. I'm pretty hungry myself…" Sumire said with a bashful smile.
Yusuke took offense to these objections. "Excuse me. There's no guarantee the statue will still be here come sunrise."
"…Huh?" Ren blinked and looked at Yusuke.
"A trip is a once in a lifetime experience! Once you've set a plan, you should act on it without delay!" Yusuke said.
"…Is he always like this?" Akechi felt a headache coming on.
"Unfortunately." Futaba replied. "I'll never understand that logic of his. I don't think I want to try, either."
Haru was going to try and shift the topic to something a little more important. "By the way, Mako-chan, Hifumi, did you find out if it was okay for us to sleep in the car tonight."
"We have permission." Hifumi nodded. "We are in the clear and have nothing to worry about tonight."
"And it looks like there're lots of sightseers here," Makoto said. "So we should have plenty of chances to ask around."
Ann was about to suggest something she may or may not regret. But she knew Yusuke was eager about it, and probably wasn't going to stop talking unless they went for it. So she'd be the one to bite the bullet. "Should we check out the statue? It's pretty close to here, right?"
"Yes, it's very close." Sophia confirmed.
Yusuke could not contain his excitement. "Then, let us depart! Lord Masamune awaits!" He was the first one to sprint off, leaving the others in the dust due to how eager he was.
"…You're very nice, Ann-senpai." Sumire said with a slight smile.
"We're already here, so I figured that we might as well." Ann said with her own smile, although it was a bit exasperated. "I didn't expect him to run off so fast, though."
"He'd do well on the track team." Ryuji said while scratching the back of his head. So the others followed Yusuke to the statue of Date Masamume. When they arrived, their gazes were drawn to the statue itself.
"Ohh, so this it is!" Futaba was mildly impressed about the statue's splendor. "This is that Masamume statue Inari was going on and on about. He looks so cool. I bet he'd be cutting down Shadows left and right if he were in a Jail with us."
"I admit, I would like to see that." Hifumi was entertained by the idea. "Although, I would say our group is quite large enough as is…"
"Such remarkable craftsmanship. It's truly the One Eyed Dragon in all his glory!" Yusuke was basking in the splendor of this statute. It was everything he imagined it to be and more.
"How majesty. It's so cool." Even Ren had to give his two cents on the matter. While nobody could come close to appreciating this statue as much as Yusuke did, they could still enjoy it.
"Indeed." Yusuke said, his gaze drifting downward. "I should have expected as much from such an icon. We must come back during the day and…" And then he noticed multiple posters stuck to the base of the statue.
The others noticed this as well and approached. "The hell is this…?" Ryuji scratched his head.
"Prince of Nightmares, Volume 1: 20th, Reissue Celebration…?" Haru was reading what was on the poster.
"Reissue Celebration? So they're promoting a book?" Makoto asked.
"…That sounds like a book I would read." Hifumi was already pulling something up on her phone.
"Sounds like a waste of time." Akechi let out an annoyed scoff. "This is not how you go about promotion."
"I agree. I doubt they got permission to do this." Makoto shook her head. "Maybe this is some kind of prank?"
"Why would they put something like this here?" Sumire tilted her head.
Yusuke was clearly irritated by this. "What a reprehensible miscreant, putting up such tasteless flyers for their own gain…" And then he started to take them down, while the others watched. "There. Much better."
"Someone looks happy." Ryuji remarked.
"Very much so." Yusuke nodded. "I apologize for taking up so much of everyone's time. We can move on now."
"Sounds like it's now time for the best beef tongue this city has to offer!" Futaba grinned.
Sumire's eyes lit up. She was starving. "I've been waiting for this. I can feel my stomach rumbling just thinking about it!"
"Mwehehehe…let's see if these local flavors are enough to impress a sophisticated palate like mine." Morgana said with a gleam in his eyes.
"The most sophisticated thing you've eaten is sushi." Ren said while shaking his head.
"Oh, sorry…it might be hard to get in if we bring a cat along…" Sophia remarked.
"WHAT!?" Morgana's world was falling apart from this terrible news. Everyone wore an exasperated expression.
"…How in the world does this surprise you?" Akechi pinched the bridge of his nose. Was this cat so spoiled with Leblanc that he forgot he wasn't allowed in normal restaurants?
.
.
Everyone was hungry, so it was time to eat. They grabbed a large table at Sekigan. They were all enjoying the beef tongue the place had to offer, and Ryuji was probably the most vocal about it. "Hoooooly shit! Is this for real!?" He asked with his mouth full of food. "This meat! It's so thick! So soft! Damn, that's good!"
"Ryuji, cut it out!" Futaba groaned. "You're spitting all over me!"
"Ahhhhhhh…" Meanwhile, Yusuke was actually crying from how good the beef tongue tasted.
"Ahaha….uh, guys…I think Yusuke's crying over here…" Ann said with a sweat drop.
"I don't even want to know what his regular diet is if this is enough to make him cry…." Makoto briefly shot Yusuke a glance, but he wasn't paying attention to anything other than the food.
"You really don't." Hifumi shook her head. She went to school with Yusuke, so she knew better than anyone else what short of diet he was surviving off of.
"But the food is so delicious…I could try too…" Sumire remarked. She had already gone through her second plate. This was her third.
"Hey…! I want some too!" Morgana spoke up from the bag.
"I swear, you are the noisiest cat on the planet." Ryuji responded while rolling his eyes. "Ask Ren to split some with you."
"Not happening." Ren finally spoke, and it was to completely shut down the idea of that happening. "You can share, Ryuji."
"Sorry, can't. Want to. Can't." Ryuji shook his head. Haru was watching the back and forth with a sweat drop.
"Hey! Don't be such a pig! I want some too!" Morgana whined.
Akechi, who was sitting at a table not too far away from the group, couldn't help but approach them. "…It is very annoying how loud you are."
"Yeah, not so loud!" Ryuji said.
A woman sitting at the bar overheard the commotion going on. She perked up upon hearing the sound of a faint meow. "Is that a cat I hear…?" Everyone heard this and now the panic was setting in.
"Oh shit…" Ryuji gasped.
"Now look what you've done…" Akechi closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. The Phantom Thieves were extremely careless when it came to certain things in reality.
The woman glanced their way, and Haru began to sweat. "…She's looking over here. She's approaching…"
The woman did approach the table, looking over the nervous group of teenagers curiously. "Am I hearing things? I could've sworn I heard a cat."
"I'm not dealing with this." Akechi metaphorically threw his hands up and went back to his table, planning on watching this as opposed to doing anything to help.
"Oh, uh…n-nope!" Ann was quick to act with the lie, panic still written on her expression. "Not a real cat, at least. We, uh, were practicing our cat sound! Right, Fumi!"
Hifumi turned to Ann, eyes wide. Why was she the one that had to be dragged into the lie!? "U-Um, yes! That's correct! M-Meow…." She was trying hard not to cringe at the sound she just had to make.
"…Just like the real thing." Ren added. This was not helping the way Hifumi was feeling at all.
"Oh, come on, you're not fooling anyone." The woman completely waved that aside. She was not buying what they were selling. "Sounds to me like he's in the bag of the gentleman with the glasses. Aw, that's sweet. Are you going to share? You and your cat should partake in the finest beef tongue this restaurant has to offer!"
"E-Erm, excuse me…" Sumire spoke up, nervously. "Not so loud, please…?" Even if this woman miraculously didn't care that they brought a cat into this restaurant, this just meant she was the odd one out. Everyone else would absolutely mind.
"She's even worse at this…" Akechi grumbled from his seat.
"Oops!" The woman's eyes widened at her own folly. "Sorry, sorry. You're right. If you get thrown out, then no more beef tongue. By the way, is this your first time having Sendai beef tongue? I should tell you, the oxtail is to die for!" She was continuing to ramble on. "A lot of people seem to think it's good for your skin. They say it's not as effective when it's ingested, but there's a fair number of reports that suggest others. Human cognition can be quite misleading. You may think you feel a change when none has occurred. This is the placebo effect and…"
"I remember Maruki telling me this before…" Ren muttered. This was not new information to him.
Ryuji felt his eyes spinning from how much this woman was talking. "Yo…she just keeps goin' on and on…."
"Does she even notice us talking right now?" Ann groaned.
"This overwhelming onslaught of pointless info…we've got ourselves a nerd, ladies and gentlemen…" Futaba would know, after all.
"Uh…sorry about, y'know, the bag thing…" Ryuji said.
"Huh?" The woman blinked. For a moment, she completely forgot about the reason she approached this group to begin with. "What? Oh, you mean the cat? Don't worry, I won't tell the staff or anything. By the way, are you all students? If I had to guess, I'd say most of you are in high school, right? So you'll be taking your college entrance exams. Have you decided where you'll apply?"
"She's still goin'…" Ryuji muttered.
"Oh! Forgive me, I haven't even introduced myself yet." The woman shook her head. "I'm Koun Ichinose. I work over as a researcher at Toho University!" Before anyone could open their mouths to say anything, Ichinose just kept going. "Hey! You guys should come check out the campus. It's way up in the mountains, but it's a lot of fun. Ltos of bears this season, too."
"B-Bears!?" Futaba gasped.
"Oh, uh, you know….we kinda got somethin' going on at the moment…" Ryuji was finally able to get a word in.
"Thank you for the offer, but we're quite busy…." Haru spoke.
"I see, I see!" Ichinose gave an understanding nod. "Yes, well, it's important that you do what you want while you're still young. Allow me to impart a little treat until next we meet." And then she handed Ryuji some candy.
"Uh…sure…" Ryuji responded flately.
"Well then, I've had my fill of beef tongue." Ichinose said, glancing over at Sumire who was content with the few plates of it that she did have. "Looks like your friend finally has too. So it's probably best I get going. Farewell young ones!" And with a wave, the woman left.
A few moments passed and Ann finally spoke. "So, uh…she was weirdly energetic, right?"
"Oh, absolutely so." Hifumi nodded in agreement.
"Well, thankfully, we avoided getting in trouble. We should be grateful she didn't tell on us." Makoto let out a heavy sigh.
"You are all lacking in subtly. You should really be more careful where you act." Akechi's gaze went right to Morgana, the cause of the commotion that nearly got them all kicked out of the restaurant.
"Sorry…that was my fault…" Morgana accepted responsibility for the situation.
"Nah…I got carried away too." Ryuji admitted.
"This is such a refreshing change from before…" Ren was glad to see Ryuji and Morgana not fighting as often.
"Sorry, Mona-chan. We'll by you some sasa-kamaboko later." Haru said. It was the least she could do to compensate for Morgana's inability to enjoy the restaurant like they did.
"You mean the fish cake on the skewers with the nice layer of char on top!? Ooh, I can't wait!" Morgana said excitedly.
"…You're being loud again." Akechi groaned.
Not too far away, there were some people at another table discussing something. "Oh, his work was just perfect! I was up all night reading it! Two nights in a row, if you can believe that!"
"Speaking of which, I read in a magazine interview that he's going to be at the station today! There's no way I'm missing that!"
Ren was curious about the conversation, but everyone decided to keep eating at Makotos' behest. Quietly. There was no arguing with the Fist of the Phantom Star…
/
/
Everyone finished eating and they were walking the streets of Sendai now. Ryuji and Sumire let out content sighs and rubbed their stomachs. "Ah…what a meal." Sumire beamed. She was so happy about the beef tongue.
"No kiddin'. I'm stuffed." Ryuji nodded in agreement.
"How you two can eat so much is truly beyond me! Ryuji had five bowls of rice and I can't even count how many plates Sumire had! Are your stomachs black holes or something!?" Futaba was just in shock.
"Look, they were offerin' free refills! So you can bet I'm takin' em!" Ryuji said.
"That was the most filling meal I've had all day." Sumire responded with a beaming smile. Between the ramen that she had before they left, lunch, and all that beef tongue…she was finally content today.
"Indeed. You can eat the first bowl and focus exclusively on the glistening of the meat, then the aroma of the next, and so on…" Yusuke went on and on…
"I think that's just you." Hifumi replied.
"Well, I will say that the food was certain delicious!" Haru said.
"Yeah, good job, Sophia!" Ann said.
"It was, as they say, a piece of cake." Sophia responded from Sumire's phone.
"Guess we should leave where we eat up to Sophia." Ren said.
Akechi was silent the whole time. In fact, he was about to just quietly slink away back to the parking area, but something caught his attention. "A crowd?" Everyone turned to see what had Akechi's attention. There was a large crowd gathered around a young man and his bodyguard.
"Natsume-san, your latest issue was just amazing, as always!" A woman said excitedly.
"Natsume-san, over here! Can you please sign my copy!" A man said.
The man known as Natsume simply laughed cordially. "Heheh. Thank you for all your support. Whoa, hold on now, only one autograph per person please. Oh. My apologies. Could the men please go to the back of the line? Ladies first."
"Who's that…?" Ryuji lifted a brow.
"He looks pretty popular. I heard that woman say 'latest book'. Does that mean he's a writer?" Makoto tilted her head.
"…Yes, he seems quite popular indeed." Akechi said while stroking his chin. It was too soon to make any judgement calls, but so far this was the most noticeable thing he'd noticed in Sendai when it came to the Jails.
Natsume glanced over in their direction. His gaze fell on Haru and he chuckled quietly, approaching her. "Hello there. Are you looking for an autograph as well? Or perhaps a handshake?"
Haru blinked, not expecting to be approached like this. "H-Huh? Oh, um…!"
"Oh, how rude of me to keep such a lovely fan waiting!" Natsume then got down on a knee before Haru, startling Makoto, Ann, Futaba, Hifumi, and Sumire with this sudden action. From his back pocket…he pulled out a book. "Please, accept this as a token of my apology, yes? Don't worry, I've already signed it."
"U-Um…okay…" Haru didn't accept the book, she was too in shock and awkward about this.
"We were just…passing by." Ann said.
"Yes, we didn't mean to take up any of your time." Hifumi said while shaking her head.
"Ah, is that so?" Natsume quirked a brow. "It seems I got a little ahead of myself."
"Prince of Nightmares…by Ango Natsume…" Hifumi read the title of the book. That was the book she was interested in! But…she wasn't particularly sure if she wanted to take it from the hands of this man.
"That's the name from those fliers on the Masamune statue…" Haru recalled.
"My flyers on Masamume's statue…?" Natsume stood back up, letting out a quiet sigh. "I think I know what happened. That's most likely the work of my more zealous fans. I appreciate them promoting my work, but…it appears they went overboard somewhat. Honestly, they can be a handful sometimes."
"Sometimes?" Futaba mumbled.
"Allow me to apologize on their behalf." Natsume said. "In exchange, allow me to offer you a kiss…"
"I don't think that's necessary." Hifumi spoke for Haru, shaking her head.
Ryuji stepped up as well. "Yo, back off, dude. Can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?"
"Yeah, that's enough. Back off." Ren stepped up next to Ryuji. Natsume wasn't going to have a chance in hell with Haru with her friends here. Of course, they knew Haru could handle herself, but Natsume was clearly pushy and needed some more incentive to back off.
The moment Ren and Ryuji stepped up, Natsume's friendly expression soured immediately. "And who are you supposed to be? I believe I was addressing these lovely young ladies here. I'd thank you not to interrupt."
"Mmm, sorry, but they're with us." Ryuji rolled his eyes. "If you got a problem, you can always talk to me 'n my pal here."
"Yeah, we'll gladly chat with you." Ren said. Akechi scoffed quietly in the background.
Natsume narrowed his eyes. "Do you seriously think you can get away with speaking to me like that? Do you know who I am?"
"This is getting a little out of hand…" Sumire said with a sweat drop.
"Try us." Ren said firmly.
"My…this one has some backbone, doesn't he?" Natsume glared at Ren and Ryuji.
It was then that Natsume's bodyguard approached. "Mr. Natsume, we should be going now."
"…Hmph." Natsume scoffed and turned around. "Well then, it seems I must be going. I have a magazine interview to be going to." He started to walk off, but not before bowing to his fans. "To all those who have read my book, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
As Natsume walked off, his fans cheered. "Natsume, I love you!"
"Oh, he's just so…dreamy…I'll have to buy ten more copies tomorrow to show just how much I care!"
"…Who was that man?" Yusuke felt like he had no idea what he just witnessed.
"Annoying." Akechi responded. But he was taking careful note of the things Natsume's fans said.
"I dunno if he's some local big shot or whatever, but he sure was pissin' me off." Ryuji grumbled.
"Are you okay, Haru? Hifumi asked.
"I'm alright. Thank you all." Haru smiled to everyone who came to her defense.
"He was a strange one, for sure." Sophia said. "But the people around him seemed really happy. Why was that?"
"Prolly 'cause they're a bunch of weirdoes!" Ryuji said, annoyed.
"How'd a jerk like him get so popular…" Ann muttered.
"I agree, he didn't at all seem deserving of the praise he was receiving." Yusuke agreed to that notion.
"….." Morgana was silent for a moment. "There may be something else going on here…."
"Oh, one of you finally speaks up about it." Akechi said with his arms crossed. "Doesn't such rabid behavior remind you of anything?"
"…You think he's changing hearts?" Ren asked.
"He's the Monarch of the Sendai Jail…!?" Makoto gasped.
"It's nothing more than a hypothesis." Akechi shrugged his shoulders. "We cannot say anything without proof, but the pieces of evidence we have towards that idea do point in that direction."
"It kinda makes sense, acutally…" Ryuji could see where Akechi was coming from.
"How about we head back to the RV first?" Ren suggested. "We can investigate properly there."
.
.
The group went to the RV. Akechi just sort of sat on the stairs since he wasn't allowed in, but he could still participate. "How this fits all of you is a mystery to me…" Akechi mumbled. He was actually glad he wasn't inside, it looked too tight for his liking.
"Alright, let's go over what we know so far." Makoto began. "Sophia, you can confirm there is a Jail here, correct?"
"The smell got a lot stronger once we entered the city, so yes, I'm sure of it." Sophia confirmed.
"And the man we met earlier, his name was Ango Natsume?" Haru asked for clarification.
Futaba was on her laptop, nodding at that information. "I just did a quick search on him. Ango Natsume, grandson of renowned writer Sogo Natsume. Currently a successful light novel author. Says the guy kicked off his debut work, Prince of Nightmares, which won the grand prize in the Soukaisha Awards. This thing's selling stupidly well…it's sold a million copies!"
"A MILLION!?" Ann couldn't count that high normally. "That's kinda nuts, right?!"
"Yeah, that's ridiculous." Ren said.
"Yeah, for someone's debut to hit that number is insane!" Futaba said.
"…I'm a little curious about the book now…" Hifumi rubbed her arm. She was clearly thinking about buying it out of curiosity.
"I checked social media and, well…" Makoto closed her eyes with a frown. "This whole thing is bizzard."
"The fans are going on a scary rampage, like with Alice, right?" Sumire shook her head.
"Yeah. There's a rumor that some people got beat within an inch of their lives just because they were sorta dressed like Natsume's characters." Futaba said.
"Well, isn't that pleasant." Akechi rolled his eyes.
"And the worst part…no one stepped into stop them. In fact, the attackers were praised for what they did." Makoto sighed.
"These are likely the same kinds of people who'd defile Masamume's stature with flyers." Yusuke scowled. "They clearly lack self-restraint."
"Is that what bothers you the most…" Hifumi asked with a deadpanned look.
"There's a bunch of threads about this dude every day too…" Futaba reported.
"Well, it appears as if we have a solid foundation for an investigation now." Akechi said while standing up. "We should start asking about Ango Natsume…but carefully. Least anyone ends up on the wrong side of his fanbase."
"Yeah. We should probably hit the hay then." Ann said. "We have a busy day tomorrow. So…you guys can leave now." She looked at the boys. They weren't welcome in the RV during night time.
"But wait…there are only four beds…" Sumire was doing some counting. Then her face turned red when she realized that Ann and Hifumi were going to share a bed…..
.
.
The boys were shooed from the RV since the girls were going to bed. This meant that Ren, Ryuji, Morgana, and Yusuke had to share the tent at the top. "So…why the hell are we sleepin' up top!?" Ryuji complained. "Might as well be sleepin' outside! Ain't it gonna be cramped?!"
"It cannot be helped. There isn't enough room in the car." Yusuke shrugged.
"Yeah. The girls would kill us." Ren said. He accepted this fate.
"This isn't so bad. Back when there were more students in the atelier, it was quite normal to sleep huddled together due to a lack of space." Yusuke was clearly used to this.
"…Well, you all have fun with that." Akechi said while adjusting his tie.
"Oh, actually, I think you might be stuck with us. I saw someone park in front of your car and it doesn't look like they're moving." Ren said.
Akechi closed his eyes and resisted letting out an annoyed groan. "I….see….."
"C'mon, man, are you really just gonna call it a night like this?" Ryuji was speaking to Akechi while including Ren, Yusuke and Morgana in this. Since Akechi was one of them, Ryuji felt that he should include him. "Shouldn't we like…all be playing cards until super late, or stargazin' or something!? Ain't that the kinda shit we're supposed to do on a big trip like this?"
"Sleep is fun!" Ren said while pumping his fist.
"You're missing the point dude." Ryuji fell flat.
"I would rather sleep. If I have to sleep in a tent with the four of you…I'd rather just get it over with." Akechi was not looking forward to this at all. He'd rather sleep in his car, but unfortunately, that just wasn't an option and all the hotels were already booked…
"Forget it, Ryuji. We're up early tomorrow anyway." Morgana stated.
"But, like…it's gonna be hot as hell with all of us in there! Especially Morgana!" Ryuji complained.
"That's true…" Yusuke glanced to the side. "That fur certainly won't help things either."
"What do you want from me!? I can't help that I'm a cat!" Morgana shouted.
BANG! Someone's fist hit the wall and it caused the boys to jump.
"GUYS. SHUT. UP." Ann snarled.
"I heard Akechi. I'm keeping my axe close to me." Haru grumbled. That was a threat.
"You do not wish for the Dragon to be awakened from a premature slumber…" Hifumi growled.
"…..Ah, shit…sorry…" Ryuji whispered.
"Well, I suppose we should just swallow this bitter pill before we incur their wrath." Akechi closed his eyes and accepted his fate. He really didn't have the energy to fight this. So everyone just decided to make due with the tent. It could at least accommodate all of them, but that didn't mean it was a pleasant experience. Ryuji was snoring peacefully, but Yusuke…
"Wrong! Not like that, like this! This!" Yusuke was talking in his sleep. Morgana was purring softly, brushed up against Akechi's cheek in the most annoying way possible.
"…I hate this." Akechi grumbled. He didn't think he'd be sleeping at all tonight….it was too crowded, too noisy, and he was extremely uncomfortable being stuck with the other boys like this.
"Ah…it's not…so bad…" Ren was already drifting to sleep. The sound of the others sleeping peacefully was enough to lull him to sleep. They had a target in mind…Ango Natsume may be the Monarch of Sendai's Jail. Once they're fully rested, the Phantom Thieves are going to spring into action once again…
