[June 3rd, Togo Household]
As the wait until the end of Madarame's exhibit were mere days away, the future of Yusuke somewhat hung over her mind. Of course, he'd probably be fine, just that… There was still a bit of doubt inside.
However, for today, this thought was completely out of her mind, from the moment she stepped inside her house.
Because right now, Mitsuyo was… sitting with a stranger at the dining table. A stranger of the opposite gender, on top of that. D-did her effort of 'moving on' went THIS far?!
Mouth dropped, and the same happened to her bag, Hifumi found her gaze darted between her mother and the stranger. On a second glance, the stranger looked around the same age as her (in his early forties), with plain-looking middle-length black hair and frameless glass.
He seemed legit enough, but still… it's way too weird.
Meanwhile, Mitsuyo just beamed at her appearance. "Hifumi! You're back in the perfect time!" She said, gesturing over to the stranger. "So I have some news for you-"
"That I have to call him 'dad'?" Cutting her off, Hifumi gave the stranger an awkward gaze. "No offense to you, sir. But mom, isn't it way too fast to move on?"
For ten straight seconds there, an awkward silence filled the entire space between them all. Out of them all, Mitsuyo was the most awkward, as her eyes kept darted between Hifumi and the stranger.
"U-uh… no, it's not like that," Hastily recomposed herself, Mitsuyo adjusted her posture and gestured at the stranger again. "So, he is your new manager. Hifumi, meet Danjou Katsuie."
"He was a friend with me and Mamoru back in college, and he's really experienced in managing talents too."
Eyes widened, Hifumi's gaze turned to Katsuie, and the two exchanged a long silent pause. "U-uh… I apologize for jumping to a conclusion, Danjou-san," Hifumi hastily bowing to him.
"No, it's fine," Breaking the mood with a soft chuckle, Katsuie adjusted his glasses. "I know it's really weird for you to see a stranger in your house without any kind of notice, but… I think Mitsuyo should tell you."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, I… do have something to tell you, Hifumi," Nodding to herself, Mitsuyo took a deep breath. "I am going to have a press conference and tell the truth, on the 5th. And I'll announce me stepping down from being your manager."
"Besides, I think you should take a long break from those interviews and photoshoots and… everything," She continued, as the guilt surfaced with each example she gave out. "Just be a normal teenage girl, hang out with your friends, and… just enjoy it."
Even though Hifumi was stunned by what she just heard, something didn't sound right though. "But then… why making Danjou-san be my new manager?"
"Because as much as we didn't want it to happen, you will be in the spotlight of paparazzi in the foreseeable future," Katsuie explained, giving out a sigh. "Technically, I'm more of a PR person to help you stay out of that spotlight."
"…Right," Hifumi nodded, returning Mitsuyo's guilt-filled gaze with a warm hug. "And mom… Please, don't be too hard on yourself."
"I'm just more worried about you," Returning the hug, Mitsuyo smiled. "I'm not going to monitor and control your every move, you need to be more careful when you're with friends…"
"I can say the same thing to you, mom."
"I know…"
Even though he definitively felt like he didn't belong in this room, Katsuie couldn't help but smile at the scene before him. Maybe Mamoru is beaming with joy right now, looking from above.
At least, they weren't alone.
[June 3rd, Madarame's shack]
As much as Yusuke hated it, he still had to stay in the shack until the end of the exhibition. Even though Madarame had just locked himself inside his room after the battle in his palace, but… Yusuke still couldn't stand it.
To live with his mother's murderer, felt like torture.
And the only thing that made it remotely tolerable was that he didn't need to see Madarame with his own eyes. Each sight of him only served as a reminder of the past, what happened to his mom, to everyone who left… how Madarame ruined every single one of them…
However, today wasn't the case. If there was a god, he certainly didn't want to cut him some slack.
"Madarame? What are you doing?" Watching how his former sensei bowed before him, Yusuke tried his best to mask his cold gaze with a neutral one. As much as Yusuke hated him, he didn't need to be this explicit.
"…I-I… I'm sorry, Yusuke…" Trailing off, Madarame's body shivered with tears and emotions, ready to break at any moment. "H-how could I do… do something like this…"
"Don't apologize to me, apologize to everyone you've ruined," Unable to keep the coldness in his eyes, the young artist tightened his fist. "It's useless."
"But-"
"There's no 'but', Madarame," Cutting him off, Yusuke only gave him a stern look. "What you had done to everyone… there's no going back now. Because of you, we lost Shinichi."
Noticing how he froze at the mention of Shinichi's name, Yusuke knew that was enough. Even if he was genuine right now, it fixed nothing.
"…I… I've retracted the whole threat about the lawsuit against you and your friends…"
"…That's good to know."
With that said, Yusuke calmly moved Madarame's hands away from his shoulder and sidestepped around him. Right now, it's best to get away from seeing Madarame, seeing the reminder of everything that had happened.
Even Madarame once was his father… it meant nothing now.
[June 5th]
To say that everyone didn't have their mind focused on single breaking news… would be a big fat lie. As the said news was broadcasting on the TV wall on one of the buildings, the camera flashed and one man's words could be heard.
A certain 'Artist'. Or in other words, Madarame himself.
"I… I have committed crimes that are unbecoming of an artist," With a downcasted look, Madarame glanced at the microphones surrounding him, as well as the camera flashes. "Plainly put… I, um… plagiarized work…"
"I-I… tainted thi-this country's art world… and… even 'Sayuri'!"
And at that exact moment, the dam had broken. Both as his emotion, his tears, and his actions.
"…H-HOW COULD I…" Slumping down on the table, Madarame fully broke down. "I… I possibly… apologize for t-to e-everyone for… for what I've done… Aaaah…"
"I-I WISHED T-TO CHANGE THI- AAAAAAAAA!"
Watching the press conference happening on the screen, a male pedestrian chuckled. "He's crying way too much…"
However, the sound of Madarame's weeping was swiftly cut off and was replaced by the voice of a Newscaster. "…And that was from the urgent apology conference by renowned artist, Madarame Ichiryusai that took place just a moment ago."
"After reporting to the association, Madarame has agreed to the police's request to turn himself in," He continued. "On top of charges of abuse to his pupils, causing one suicide of a 14-year-old child, MAdarame is under suspicion of claiming their works as his own."
"…Holy shit, suicide?!" One of the pedestrians muttered to herself, her hand covering her mouth.
"Some doubt the validity that his maiden work 'Sayuri' was stolen, believing it was used for fraud," The newscaster continued. "This large-scale criminal act has caused a great shock to the art world. And after the conference, MAdarame was taken to a police hospital for interrogation due to his age."
"That old geezer is done for," Another pedestrian said out loud, shaking her head.
"But how the hell did that guy just spill it all out?" Someone else asked.
"However, initial psych evaluations state that he is mentally sound and likely responsible to his action," As the newscaster paused for a moment, the picture next to him changed from Madarame to the back of the calling card, showing its logo. "Also, a group of 'Phantom Thieves' calling themselves 'The Phantoms' posted a dubious note at Madarame's exhibit."
"The police will investigate their relation to this case. But for now, did not identify them as suspects."
"Phantom thieves? Do those bandits have something to do with that old geezer's apology?" Scuffing it off like it was nothing, another pedestrian said.
"…Wait, I heard about it online! That whole calling card thing a while ago!"
"Holy crap, they said they're gonna still his heart… this must be what they did!"
"Damn, I should save those pictures before they got taken down on Twitter…"
However, among the crowd of pedestrians, a boy with shaggy brown hair stroked his chin in curiosity. "…The Phantom, huh?" He nodded to himself. "…Interesting."
Meanwhile, on the other end, Makoto watched this unfolding before her… with a conflicted look. "The Phantom Thieves again…" Trailing off, she tore her gaze downward. "…No, heroes aren't real, remember?"
Shaking her head, she turned around and left.
"…Up next, renowned cellist Kimisawa Airi has announced a cancellation of the Ayanagi stop of her ongoing Country-wide tour, as the threat of mysterious attacks continues to haunt the city…"
[Meanwhile, inside Teikyu Building Accessway]
As the pedestrian's reactions were indifferent or slightly shocked by the revelation and the conference, for the thieves… it was a different story. A totally different story.
"Holy shit, it's just like what happened with Kamoshida!" Ryuji exclaimed in excitement, somehow didn't attract any kind of attention from the passing crowd.
Ann nodded, sharing the same excitement and happiness as Ryuji. "And they mentioned The Phantom!"
"…And finally, Madarame gets what he deserves…" Yusuke trailed off, letting out a breath of relief. "I just hope… everyone would get their closure."
"I hope the same too," With a subtle nod, Hifumi only… sighed instead. "But… this just completely overshadowed mom's press conference…"
"Yeah, it sucks that no one is paying attention to Togo-san's confession," Ren nodded, eyes filled with sympathy for her. "…However, at least she still did the right thing, owning up to the mistake and responsibility."
"Besides, her conference is miles better than Madarame's anyway," Akira agreed, as the TV wall outside happened to switch its screen to the said conference.
Even though Mitsuyo was standing in a similar room as Madarame, surrounded by the same flashes and microphone, she kept her composure and bowed politely. Quite a big contrast from how Madarame was a moment ago.
Taking the seat, Mitsuyo took a deep breath before continuing. "I apologize for taking all of your time, but why I am asking all of you here…"
"Is that I have a confession to make."
"First, I think you've all heard about the rumors about me fixing my daughter's matches, in order to have a better public appearance and reception." As the flashes intensified, she kept her calm. "And… that rumor is true. I did fixed matches in order to boost my daughter's stardom, and to uphold the name my late husband once had."
"And here, I formally apologize to everyone. I lied to you all, and stripped my daughter from normal life as a teenage girl."
"Wait, so the whole 'Shogi princess' thing is a hoax?!"
Eyes widened from what a pedestrian near her, Hifumi was about to move away when two bodies acted as a wall between her and them. And it was Yusuke and Keigo, and their gaze of reassurance calmed her down.
"So from here, I want to announce that I will be stepping down from the position of my daughter's manager," Mitsuyo said, upholding the calm and professional look, as she took all responsibilities on herself. "Even though there will be a different person to take the manager position, my daughter will have the freedom to arrange her own schedule, let her have her life back."
"Finally, I would like to take all of the responsibility for this, and please, leave my daughter from the drama," With that said, the screen changed back to the newscaster. "And that is the press conference held by Togo Mitsuyo, the mother and former manager of Togo Hifumi…"
"It's gonna be a tough time after this," Hifumi said, brushing her bangs aside. "But I'm proud of mom. And now we can finally move on…"
"Yeah," Yusuke nodded, giving a pat on her shoulder.
"Same here, we're happy too," Akira added with a nod, as everyone else followed. "As much as I think we might be a bit too overboard on reassuring you, Hifumi."
"No, it's fine, I had done way too much hugging with mom since her change of heart too," The former Shogi princess chuckled. "I get how you feel."
Just as that said, Akira's phone suddenly buzzed, and he awkwardly took a few steps back. "Uh… Chidori-san is calling, just continue on without me," He said, turning back and leaving the group, as their widened gaze kept on his back.
For about ten seconds there, awkward silence held above their head.
"…I guess we're just gonna get used to this," Ren sighed, moving his mind's focus back to the conversation at hand. "Let's just move on."
And Ryuji spoke up, as his gaze landed on Yusuke. "Anyway, Yusuke, what're your gonna do now?"
"You're probably not going to stay in that shack, right?" Ren asked, tilting his head.
"Right, I'll be leaving that house," With a small nod, the young artist sighed. "I can't draw is such a place anymore."
"Then… where are you going to stay?" Ann asked, with a bit of concern clear on her face.
"The school dorms," Yusuke answered without any hesitation, almost in an instant. "I can stay there free of charge thanks to my fine arts scholarship."
"Scholarship, for real?!" His eyes widened, Ryuji physically took a step back.
"So you're really that good, huh," Hifumi raised an eye, crossing her arms.
However, the 'typical Kitagawa Yusuke' returned, just as quick as a mere breath. "Although, Takamaki-san's house would be a good alternative as well."
"Wait, what?!" Ann exclaimed, her voice was on the brink of accidentally switching to a new pitch.
"Huh?!" Shiho immediately took a step next to Ann, sending him a shocked gaze. "Oh hell no!"
"Woah woah woah, now hold on a sec," Ryuji chimed in, stepping in between the young artist and the model. "You're serious?!"
"Kind of, but… it's best not to do that," Feeling his body cringed from the memory of a certain modeling offer, Yusuke turned to Hifumi instead. "But other than that, Hifumi's house would also be-"
"Don't you even dare to consider it, Yusuke," Cutting him off, the former Shogi princess gave him a disappointed glance. "Unless you want to die by mom's hand, or by mine."
"…Okay, we can just chill out for a moment here," Keigo said, shaking his head. "But either way, now that Yusuke's living alone, it's better than how it was."
"And it'll be easier for us to meet up whenever we want too," Ryuji added, leaning back to the fence.
"For the time being, we should just wait and see how this plays out," Yusuke said, noting Akira who was still talking on his phone. "After all, there's still 'returning the painting' part here."
"Oh yeah, there's also that part too," Ren nodded, more to himself than to the others. "But either way, let's just try and act as normal students, for now, we can't afford to draw attention to ourselves."
"And it's not like a target as big as Madarame would just drop from nowhere," Ryuji added, shrugging. "It'll prolly take some time findin' one."
"We'll be counting on you about that, Ryuji," Morgana said, and the said ex-runner sighed.
"Let's hope it won't take too long then," Ann said, just as Akira came back from his phone call.
"Uh… I know it's kinda out of the blue," Akira said, brushing his hair aside. "But Kitagawa, are you free tonight?"
"I am, but why asking?"
"Chidori-san arranged a dinner tonight to talk about the return of the paintings," The amateur writer said. "And of course, as a former pupil of Madarame, she wants to meet you too."
At first, Yusuke didn't say a word, but seeing how much his eyes widened, everyone could pretty much guess what his thought was. And what he finally said reinforced it. "W-wait, you mean… Yoshino Chidori want to meet me?!"
"Just as I thought," Akira chuckled. "But yeah, she wants to meet you."
"I… wow, I still couldn't believe it…"
"I know, saves the amazement when you get to meet her," With an amused smile, he turned his gaze onto Ren instead. "Anyway, what did I miss?"
"Nothing big," The not-delinquent shrugged. "Just that Yusuke proposed to live in Ann's place, or Togo-san's place…"
And as the thieves continued on their little meetings, turning formal gathering about the change of heart into just a group of friends. They were unaware of a certain student council president watching them from afar.
"Kitagawa Yusuke… And Togo Hifumi…" Trailing off, Makoto felt her eyes widen. However, she didn't say another word about that, just a subtle nod to herself, and walked away.
[Evening, family dinner in Shibuya]
"I still cannot believe that you personally know Yoshino-san."
Seeing how Chidori waved at him like an old friend, Yusuke couldn't help but comment about it. Even though he was more just shocked that Chidori was there in person.
To add on top of that, instead of the signature white Gothic dress, she was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and black jeans. Besides, she didn't wear her headpiece either, that one which looked like a sword impaled her head.
"I guess I'm just lucky, quite a rare thing these days," Akira chuckled, returning the wave and leading the two of them to her.
"Sorry for taking your time, Chidori-san," He said, gesturing to his companion. "But uh… I think I should let him do the introduction instead."
"Nice to meet you, Yoshino-san," Taking the opportunity, Yusuke held out his hand in a respectful manner. "I am Kitagawa Yusuke, and I've been loving your artwork for years now."
"Oh, nice to meet you too, Kitagawa-kun," Returning the gesture, she shook his hand with a soft smile. "It must be hard to be the last pupil of Madarame, isn't it?"
"It was... but now things are getting better."
"That's good to know," Chidori nodded, and her gaze turned sympathetic. "But still, I'm sorry for what happened to you, Kitagawa-Kun."
"O… oh, that's…" Yusuke trailed off, too stunned to say anything for a few seconds. "It's fine, the work of my fellow pupils matters more."
Chidori nodded, gesturing both of them to the seats. "Anyway, take a seat, it'd be a bit awkward to see you two just standing here."
Exchanged a short glance to one another, Yusuke took the seat opposite of her, while Akira took the seat next to Chidori instead.
"Well, we should get the formal business away first," Chidori said, taking out a notebook and opening it, showing a list of names. "So about here is the list of former-pupil, I've established contacts with some of them. But there are still quite a few people I can't contact, they are the names without a phone number."
She passed the notebook to Yusuke, as he took a closer look at the said list. "…I think I might have ways to get in touch with a few of them, but for the rest… I think they might have left Tokyo or even Japan."
"That's… I'll continue to try then," Giving out a small sigh, Chidori gave him a pen. "But either way, can you label the former pupils that you have to ways to get in touch with?"
And his eyes scanned over those names, those people who Madarame wronged and had their passion ruined. Each and every one of them, as memories slowly but surely surfaced from the depth within.
How Mai-san would always buy some snacks for him on her way here.
How Karou-san helped him with sketching.
How Kensuke would compete with him on speed-painting, with an absurd 15 minutes time limit. And they both forced Mai-san to be their judge…
"…Sure," Yusuke nodded slowly, underlining every single name he recognized and could reach. "And by the way, I… if I could do it, I want to personally deliver the paintings to the… former pupils I labeled too."
"Of course, they must be close to you back then, right?" Seeing a nod from him, Chidori gave him a sad smile. "Anyway, and now I wanted to talk about the time I think we can start returning the paintings."
"So, thankfully, Madarame keeps most of his pupils' paintings for himself and exhibition," Continuing on, she took out a different notebook with the word 'calendar/schedule' written on it's cover. "And identifying those paintings' original owners should take around three weeks or so."
"That means it's around late June to early July," Akira finished her words, shifting his gaze onto Yusuke. "It should… be alright with you, Kitagawa?"
"Yes, I should be free during that time period," The young artist nodded. "Besides, this would take my utmost priority as well."
"Well, that's good to know, the sooner we return the paintings, the better it is," Chidori smiled, taking out her phone… which was a plain white flip phone. "I think we should exchange our contacts, so I don't need to rely on Akira to be my messenger."
"I'm really fine with that-"
"But I'm not," Cutting him off, she gave Akira a deadpanned look before turning back to Yusuke. "Anyway, I'm not really good on technologies, so… we're going to stick with a phone call for now."
Of course, Yusuke only stared at the sight before him with wide eyes. Not before he snapped out from it and hastily took out his phone, and exchanged their information. Or just their phone numbers.
"Now that's out of the way," Putting back her phone, and the notebooks, Chidori raised her hand and called for a waiter. "What do you two want to eat? I'm paying."
"Wha- no! I'm paying for this," His eyes widened, Akira took out his wallet and double checked how much money he still had. "I can't have you paying for us and also helping us no returning the paintings."
"I… don't really have any money on me, so…" Trailing off, Yusuke only felt the embarrassment intensified, as both Akira and Chidori laid their gaze on him. "Either way is fine."
"Then… I guess you're paying then, Akira," After a moment of considering, Chidori relented and accepted his offer. "And Kitagawa, I'm actually also interested in your creative process too…"
And with that, the meeting continued on. As the topic between Yusuke and Chidori turned from the serious matter of returning the paintings, into just discussion of art and her own works. With Akira here being a listener.
Not that he didn't enjoy hearing about this kind of topic and discussion.
[June 6th, Shujin Academy, Principal's Room]
Makoto hated coming here.
No, hated was… too tame to accurately describe her feeling toward it. She despised coming to this room, meeting with Kobayakawa. If not for that recommendation letter dangling above her head, she might just flip him off and left. That's what Shinji did when he left.
But… Shinji only did it because he wouldn't come back-
"How are things going in regard to that matter we spoke of earlier?" Snapping Makoto out from her thought, Kobayakawa leaned forward in his chair. "You know, the investigation…"
"I…" Trailing off, the student council president tried her best to keep that spiral of thought away, while not showing it at all. "I have nothing to report yet…"
And with a deep frown, the principal leaned a bit more forward. "Nothing at all?" He said with a clear edge in his voice. "How many students are there who could provoke a teacher?"
"I… I've already narrowed it down… I just can't get any solid evidence…" Trailing off, her mind wandered to one of the name on the list, and a certain memory started replaying automatically.
"…Do you know you're just putting on an excuse, Nijima?"
For a moment, Makoto felt like she was right there again. Akira was right in front of her, gritting his teeth and barely holding himself together. Yes, Makoto could easily protect herself if he did snap, but… she did stand aside when it was clear that Kamoshida was doing to Kimiko.
Maybe deep down, Makoto thought that she deserved whatever he'd do if he snap.
So, she froze. Not moving an inch, as the next set of words struck.
"For god sake, just do something useful in your life."
"…Just do something useful in your life."
"…Just do something useful…"
"…Something useful…"
"…Useful…"
"Are you listening, Nijima?" Forcing her back to reality again, Kobayakawa groaned out of frustration, his body leaning back and forth in his chair. "Dammit, it's just getting nowhere…"
Watching how this man before her delved into frustration, something popped up in her mind. A question she had wanted to ask since Kamoshida turned himself in, how this man just chose to ignore it and moved on… Only bringing Dr. Maruki here to save face, alongside that whole cleanup thing…
"You knew, didn't you?" She spoke up, unaware of how tight her fist had been for the last five minutes. "About Mr. Kamoshdia sexually harassing students, and abusing them, treating this whole school as his personal sex dungeon."
Shaking his head, the principal burrowed his brows. "What will come of you asking that?"
"This investigation is for a just cause, correct?" Still unaware of her fist, Makoto let a little edge in her tone.
"I believe I understand how flustered this must be making you," He sternly retorted. "I'm sure it was truly shocking for you as a student council president to see a peer attempt suicide…"
"We must provide a school environment where all students can feel at ease," He continued. "That is the most pressing issue we have to tackle at the moment."
At first glance, his statement did make a little sense. But… it didn't feel right, not at all. Kobayakawa here was dodging her question altogether, giving out empty words about 'providing a school environment where all students can feel at ease'.
If he really wanted to do that, why would he let Kamoshida stay for this long?
"…Fine," Muttering to herself, Makoto exited the conversation and moved toward the door, just as the principal called.
"Where are you going, Nijima? We aren't done yet."
"…I've told you that I have nothing to report as of now, sir," Not bothering to look back at him, Makoto kept the edge in her voice. "Now please, excuse me. I'm going back to continue the investigation."
With that said, she twisted the doorknob and left the room. And walking back to the student council's room, she gave out a sigh as she grabbed manga from there. As much as she wanted to rebel… what could she actually do?
Clutching her eyes shut, Makoto hastily shook her head and forced her mind away from that spiral again. "Don't break down, you're better than this…" Murmuring to herself, she took a few deep breaths and calmed down.
"Just… get this over with."
It didn't take her long to find Amamiya Ren.
After all, he's already in Class 2-D, and it's just a few minutes since the last bell rung. However, she didn't expect to see Amamiya with… him.
He was walking out with Akira, taking and chuckling like they'd been friends for a long time. Out of anyone who she watched to see right now, Akira had to be at the bottom of the list… No, he wasn't even on the list.
And the fact that… this sight kept reminding her of how it was only made it worse.
Keeping her face partially hidden behind the manga she grabbed from the student council room, she forced her mind to keep on her 'mission'. And from how it looked, they didn't notice her following them.
However, her thought was cut short, as Akira's voice rang right in front of her.
"Can I talk with you a second, Nijima?"
Eyes widened, Makoto looked up from her manga. There he was, Akira. Even though her first thought was another scolding on her following them, but Akira looked… guilt-ridden, the down-casted gaze, and the subtle but constant shift of his posture.
But that didn't matter.
"…I can't, I… I have something to do," Makoto said, more to herself than toward Akira in front of him. And she took a sidestep, more to just get away than to continue the whole 'mission'.
In spite of that, Akira interrupted her again, with words. "I just want to apologize," He said, turning around and kept his gaze on her back. "About what I said back then, about whether you're useful or not... I'm sorry."
"I can justify it by saying things like I'm angry and sad or anything in between, but it's still my fault. I called you 'useless' when I know you're also suffering," Hearing all this, Makoto stayed frozen at where she was, and listened. "I can't change what happened, and you can choose not to forgive me."
"Just… I never meant every single word I said back then, and I'm truly sorry for everything."
To say that Makoto felt conflicted, was a giant understatement. Should she just walk off like what he just said meant nothing, or turned around and chose to accept it or not? There was no shame in just… run away, right?
As much as she wanted to do just that, Makoto just couldn't move her legs and walk away. She just couldn't do it.
So, the student council president chose the other option, and faced Akira.
And he was bowing, as straight and as sincere as he could.
"I…" Trailing off, Makoto let her gaze wavered away, as her mind struggled to choose either accept this apology, or not.
But, in the end, she couldn't choose either one of them right now.
"I don't know, just… let me process it."
"It's fine," Leaning back from the said bow, Akira just nodded. "You don't need to answer me or anything, take your time."
Opening her mouth but nothing came out, Makoto pondered for a moment. And in the end, without saying another word, she turned around and left. But it didn't feel cold, as she tried not to come out like that.
It just… it took time, just like how he said it.
[Meanwhile, Shibuya Central Street, Akashi Bakery]
Today wasn't supposed to go like this. Today should just be like how it was a few days ago, those people came in for a 'protection fee' and that's it. It's bad, but she could handle the stress of it…
But it shouldn't be like this.
When Naoko walked inside the bakery, she was only greeted by her parent… sobbing. The store itself wasn't ruined or anything, but just seeing them breaking down like this… She could clearly see something bad just happened.
"…Mom? Dad?" With hesitance clear, Naoko slowly walked to them. "What… what happened?"
Of course, they could choose to hide it. But at this point, was there any use to keep her out of it? "…They… they told us that we had to pay double from now on…" Dad said, burying his face in his palms. "What should we do…"
"D-double?" Eyes widened, Naoko frozen at her feet. "We… we can only scrape by when they forced us to pay already, w-why?"
"Shinji… he… he tried to help us…" The older couple exchanged a glance full of uncertainty, and mom grabbed her hands. "…It's… it's not his fault, don't… don't blame him…"
Naoko didn't answer, she couldn't answer either. She just stood… frozen and completely still, as her worst fear came into reality. He… he just had to get himself involved, even if it wasn't his problem in the first place.
"…You… you god damn idiot, Shinji…" Clutching her eyes shut, Naoko could feel how tight her fist was. It wasn't out of anger toward him, just toward herself. "Still… You're still trying to make up for what happened with sis, huh?"
"…After all this time… you still haven't forgive yourself…"
(To be continued)
Preview:
As the news and influence of Phantom Thieves expand, they have to see it first-hand.
With a Social Studies trip to the TV station.
And there, a certain detective meets his match.
Meanwhile, The Fools meets a certain chef.
Next Chapter:
"Encounters"
Stay Tuned!
So, Chapter 37 is finally here!
First, all of you would probably notice besides just 'Another Thief: Royal Fools', there's also a different fic called 'Another Thief: Mementos Mission'.
And so, I'm happy to finally reveal the first spin-off anthology series of Another Thief. Mementos Mission is basically stories of different Mementos Requests the Phantom Thieves had handled in between the main Story here. And most of the time, it might even use POV from someone outside of the PTs. As shown in the first chapter of Mementos Mission.
Besides, there is a tie-in to the upcoming arc of Kaneshiro in the Mementos Mission chapter as well. So if you all can, I'd highly recommend reading Mementos Mission after this.
And that aside, one of the cases in Memento Mission will have a special guest from a different fic. Kimisawa Airi from 'This World Is Ours' by AristoMuse! I think some of you readers would have noticed the small cameo of her in this chapter (Spoilers: It's during the news segment of Madarame's confession).
And I want to thank AristoMuse so much for letting me have Airi as a guest character for Mementos Mission too!
For those who are interesting in reading that, it's on both AO3 and FFN. Just search 'This World Is Ours Persona 5' on Google and the first result is the fic itself.
(I wish I can just put the links here, but I don't think you can put links on FFN's fics. So... bummer.)
Anyway, with this chapter, I'm officially caught up from where the original version of AT ended too. I just realized that XD.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the story so far, and favorites and reviews are welcomed!
