[June 13th, evening, Shibuya]
After the one-to-one talk and seeing Shinji with all those bandages, Akira returned to the ground as Makoto went back home. And the group pretty much had everything settled when he returned. Which, Akira also agreed without much hesitation.
And offered to escort Shiho back to her home, the couple found themselves to be in awkward silence. It was clear that they had something to talk about, but… not a word had been said between them.
"So, what did you talk about with Niijima?" Finally mustered up all courage she could, Shiho asked. "You looked a bit… solemn the moment she arrived."
"...Well, it's about Shinji," Akira gave out a long sigh. "She didn't say it out loud, but… she was desperate because Shinji just has to tempt fate as if he'd be fine."
"...You mean that video Yanagishita-san showed us before?"
"Yeah, they've known each other for years, and probably dated for more than half of those times…" Trailing off, he slowly turned his gaze away from Shiho, as if he couldn't say what was on his mind while looking at her. "Besides, if I'm in her place, I'd probably do the same thing for you."
Silence hung high between the two for a few long moments, following his words.
"I… You really just said that with a straight face," With her cheeks still covered with a deep shade of red, Shiho opened her mouth but hastily shut it.
"W-well, that's the truth, after all," Replicating the same blush as her, Akira tried his best to keep his composure. "And uh… let's just move on. We can't do anything until we gave our response to Niijima anyway."
"Y-yeah… I understand her feeling though," She said, struggling to keep the blush away from painting her cheek fully crimson. "I'd do the same thing for you too."
With her voice faded out, silence hung high between them again. Until Akira suddenly took ahold of her hand and squeezed tightly, and he cheekily raised the corner of his mouth. As she subtly glanced over and watched her eyes widened in surprise.
"H-hey, n-not so sudden…"
"It's just because of how cute you are," With a small chuckle, Akira moved his palm so they had their fingers crossed. "Besides, with everything happening around us, I don't think we've acted like a couple in public ever since we became one…"
"...You have a point," She nodded, shifting her body and walking closer alongside him. "The cost of having a double life, am I right?"
"This and the fact we didn't go public with our relationship too," With a small shrug, the amateur writer subtly winced at the memories of the conversation he had back in the bathhouse. "Even though I think it's just an open secret at this point, there's no reason for us to try and keep it secret."
"...Even in the school?"
"I think so…" Trailing off, Akira winced again from a different conversation he had. "...At least I'm still not labeled as a 'cheater' or something like that."
"Huh?! Why?!"
Stopping in her track and her gaze filled with surprise, Shiho turned around and stared right into Akira.
"Well basically, I met Hifumi back in the TV station trip, and Akiyama from my class thought I was dating her while also dating you," Glancing away as he tried to remember everything about that conversation, the amateur writer shrugged again. "That's pretty much it, and no one called me names so… that's fine, I guess?"
"...Why do I feel like there's more to it?"
"Because it's literally one of the most common tropes in fictional works?"
"You have a point."
Nodding to herself, silence once again hung high between them. But unlike the last two times, it only lasted for short while, as the two realized they were in front of Shiho's home.
"Oh, uh… we've already arrived," Even though he tried his best to not show it, Shiho could still clearly see the unwillingness to let go of her hand. "Um… I think that's it-"
"Nope, I want to hold your hand for a bit longer," Cutting Akira off, the volleyball player smiled and rested her head on his chest. "I admit that we've made a mistake for not going public, I… you wouldn't believe how much I just want to hold you."
"I would believe you, the feeling's mutual here."
"Good to know."
With that said, Shiho smiled and tightened her hold, as if they weren't ever gonna let go of one another.
Until they both heard the sound of two people clearing their throats.
"Shiho, you're embarrassing the neighbors."
Eyes widened and snapped back to reality, the couple hastily broke off from each other and turned. Standing right before they were Shiho's parents, and they didn't look rather happy at this sight.
"So… this is the guy who's dating my precious daughter, huh?"
"As a woman, I'd say you're pretty handsome. But as a mother…"
Yep, they weren't really happy about it… On the surface.
Recognizing the subtle hint of playfulness within, Shiho gave out a sigh of disappointment. "Mom, dad, you two can drop that act. You're just gonna scare Aki-"
"I-I am- I am Shi- your daughter's boyfriend! M-my name is Ichijo Akira! N-nice t-to meet you! P-please don't kill me!"
His mouth constantly interrupting himself with the constant shivering, Akira hastily bowed deeply to them. Meanwhile, watching how Akira did a perfect 90 degrees bow, Shiho… for the first few times in her life, couldn't respond with any words.
And the same could be said for Shiho's parents.
"U-uh… I think we might have broken him, darling…" Trailing off, Shiho's mother rubbed the back of her neck out of nervousness.
"To be fair, I was mostly the same when I was facing your mom and dad-"
Before Shiho's father could finish his sentence, a loud 'ping' came from Akira's phone. And as if it snapped Akira off some kind of trance or something, he immediately stood up and turned around.
"U-uh… Before either of you ask, the furthest we've gone were kisses, that's pretty much it!" With his feet already moving in the opposite direction from the house, he only pick up his pace with each second that passed. "U-uh… Shiho! I'll see you tomorrow at school, yeah!"
With that said, and not letting Shiho to even open her mouth to say anything, Akira already had picked up his pace and ran as if his life depended on it.
However, it didn't last long as his head collided dead-on with a nearby light post.
"Akir-"
"I'm fine, don't worry, Shiho!" Rubbing his forehead and standing up at record speed, Akira bowed at 90 degrees again before speeding off into the night.
Her eyes still filled with worry, Shiho turned back and immediately changed into a glare toward her parents. "Mom, dad. Explain this act."
"U-uh… We just thought it was fun to mess around…" Trailing off and looking regretful, Shiho's father turned to his wife.
"Y-yeah, we're sorry… I think we can have dinner with him to compensate for this!"
In response, Shiho just crossed her arms and deadpanned.
"It's not a suggestion, it's mandatory, mom."
[June 14th, Afterschool, Shujin's Rooftop]
To say that Makoto didn't expect the thieves to not show up… would be a giant lie. Leaning against the spare tables that were piled together on the rooftop, she could feel a breath of relief leak as she saw the door open.
And everyone arrived, aside from Togo Hifumi and Kitagawa Yusuke.
"I was dreading that you might now show," Giving out a breath of relief, Makoto unconsciously hugged herself out of nervousness. "But… it's good to know you all accepted my request."
"Well, it's the mafia we're talking about," Ren said, sighing out loud and shifting his weight. "We can't ignore something this awful."
"And judgin' that it's the effin' mafia, the police won't do anythin' 'bout it," Ryuji added, crossing his arms with a huff.
"Besides, with something this serious, it'd be petty if we just reject it," Ann glanced away, crossing her arms with a faint frown. "Even if you're technically blackmailing us to do this."
"I… I know what I did was wrong, and… I don't have an excuse to justify it," With her gaze averted away from shame, Makoto could feel her throat drying. "Before anyone of you asks, I've deleted the recording, it's better to let this request to base on… more positive ground than me threatening you all."
Genuinely surprised by her words, Ann's snapped back with a pair of widened eyes.
"That's great to know, and… to be honest, we should just move on from that," Akira said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall next to the door. "We got a mafia to deal with, after all."
"I'm with Akira," Shiho nodded. "We can save the personal stuff for later."
"Shiho…" Opening her mouth for a mere moment, Ann closed soon after and nodded.
"But now onto the mafia itself. Can you tell anything about us?" Meanwhile, Keigo crossed his arms with a raised brow. "We can't really just go up to anyone and ask them about scams and stuff."
"Yeah, just 'mafia and scams' just… it's not enough, man," Ryuji nodded.
"I… I admit that I don't know much about them, and all of the requests were anonymous…" Trailing off, Makoto winced subtly. "But in almost all of the help requests, they all talked about a 'part-time job that makes quick money'."
"A part-time job… That'd be a good start," Ren nodded.
"And… I know it's obvious, but their main hub of operation is in Shibuya," She continued, subtly tightening her grip on her other arm. "That's all I know. I would like to know more, but knowing my reputation…"
"Yeah, I guess it's gonna be on us," The leader of The Phantom said, turning back and seeing a nod from everyone else. "But… I guess we'll have to start tomorrow then."
"That's totally fine, just… thank you," With a sincere bow to them, Makoto straightened up and gestured over to the door. "And um… I think that's pretty much it, you can go now."
As a nod came from the thieves, she watched them leave the rooftop. However, someone stayed behind. Akira.
"…Ichijo? Why didn't you leave with them?"
"Well, I just want to tell you that you should tell them about Shinji," With his arms crossed and leaning against the wall behind him, Akira gave her a sympathetic gaze. "It's still serious, you were scared about him, after all."
However, Makoto shook her head almost immediately. "I… I can't."
"Why?"
"Because that'd mean I blackmail all of you just for a selfish reason," Tightening her grip on her left upper arm, the student council president clutched her eyes shut. "Imagine this, they knew that I didn't do this for the students, or any justice. I just blackmailed and threatened them for keeping Shinji safe."
"It's just… selfish and pathetic."
"No, it's not," Shaing his head, Akira took a few steps forward and closer to her. "That's just being a human, and once we explained what kind of trouble he got himself into, they'll definitely understand you."
"And just accept how I ignored everything about Kamoshida because Shinji left?" Makoto said, opening her eyes and staring right into his eyes. "I just… let it all happen! And now you're saying they'll understand me and… and that it's all because Shinji left this place?"
"Yeah, because…" Trailing off, Akira turned his gaze to the edge of the rooftop. "We all dived head-first into danger after Shiho almost jumped. And… it's not that different from you diving headfirst into danger for Shinji."
Makoto opened her mouth, but said nothing in response. However, he could still see the conflict within her eyes, as she took in what he just said.
"Well, I bet they already noticed that I'm not with them, can't keep them waiting for me either," Straightening up from the wall he previously leaned on, Akira turned and reached for the doorknob. "Just… think about it, okay?"
With that said, he opened the door and left. And now, only Makoto remained on the rooftop. As her gaze turned to the sky above, she gave out a long sigh as if she was holding it the entire time.
"…I wish it'd be this easy."
[Later, Shibuya, Teikyu Building Accessway (Hideout)]
"…And that's what Niijima had on that mafia group."
As Hifumi and Yusuke both finished listening to the briefing from Ren, they just exchanged a slightly worried gaze to one another before returning to the group.
"That… not a lot for a lead," The Shogi player said, arms crossed with a small frown. "It's obvious that the mafia works right here in Shibuya, so the only new lead is the whole 'part-time job' thing."
"Well, when the police force can't catch that group's boss, it's only getting harder for us," Keigo said, adjusting his glasses as he pulled out a pocket-size notebook from his blazer's chest pocket. "However, at least we have a direction to start the investigation."
"And in the end, we don't hafta deal with 'em directly!" Ryuji added with a confident look. "We just gotta do what we always do, right?"
"Maybe, but… it's better to assume the worst here," Akira sighed. "It's the mafia, after all."
"We can start by asking them about some quick cash or part-time jobs," Ren added, as Morgana nodded next to his head. "Judging from how many requests for help that Niijima got, we should be able to get something."
"And I think the same could be said for Kosei too," Yusuke nodded, rubbing his shoulder as he straightened up. "I'll ask around there to see if there are any victims."
"There are definitely some victims there," Hifumi said, giving out a long breath. "Hinaki has been working hard on the requests about this too, I'd try to ask her if I can."
"Okay, I know some girls who go to Shibuya pretty often," Ann joined in with a nod, her arms crossed before her chest. "I'll check with them about it."
"Me and the volleyball team are still on good terms too," Shiho added. "I'll ask them to see if they know something too."
"I'll check out Central Street," Akira said, arms crossed. "…Kimiko's family has a bakery there, I'll ask them to see if they have anything."
"All right, and I'm gonna see what I can find on the net," Ryuji said, twirling his feet on the ground. "That leaves our school to up Renren, Keigo, and Morgana."
"Ren, you figured out what to do during the whole Kamoshida thing, right?"
"Yep," The said not-delinquent nodded, as Morgana on his shoulder followed.
"I'll try to look for someone to talk to too," Keigo said.
"All right! Let's get back together at the end of the week once we've got all our info!" Ryuji said, straightening himself. "I'll get in touch with you guys later!"
With the nod shared across the entire group, they were about to call it a day as Akira suddenly widened his eyes. As if he was reminded of something.
"Oh right, Ren, Keigo," For a moment, it was like a lightbulb shined above his head. "I know someone in our class that can help us?"
"Someone?"
[Afterschool, Class 2-D's Classroom]
"So… what's the matter?"
Surprised by Saya's reaction (or the lack of one) at him showing up, Ren blinked before quickly recomposing himself. Even if he had a pretty sizable group of friends and associates, it still feels weird to have someone not being afraid of his presence.
Snapping himself back into the task at hand, Ren tried his best to put on a friendly and approachable face. "Oh so, you're in the News Club, right?"
"Technically, I am what's left of the News Club," Giving out a long sigh and resting her head against her palm, Saya glanced at somewhere else for a moment. "After Miyahara-senpai graduated, just before Kamoshida air-dropped himself here, I'm the only person who still cares about reporting here."
"…Okay?" Ren sweatdropped at Saya's reaction. "T-that's… a lot."
"O-oh, sorry about that, I had a bad habit of being a bit over-detailed…" Trailing off and awkwardly smiling, Saya rubbed the back of her neck. "I guess we're even now."
"Yeah, anyway, Akira told me about you and I have something to ask about."
"Ichijo told you about me?" Blinked in surprise, the amateur journalist glanced over to the empty seat behind Ren's seat. "Well… I had to apologize for the harem accusation… Anyway, what is it?"
With a raised eye, Ren chose to cast the 'harem accusation' aside for this moment. "It's about the rumors of part-time jobs that earn quick money, have you heard anything about it?"
In response, all Ren could see on Saya's face… was fear, as her eyes widened and her face paled in seconds. "…Don't do it, it's not worth it."
"…Huh?"
"J-just listen to me, I can't get too much insight into that whole mess, but it's serious," With the fear on her face suddenly morphed into concern, she leaned closer to Ren. "I… It's just rumors, but I heard at least five people have committed suicide because of the extortions."
"…What?" His eyes widened in shock, Ren could feel his mouth suddenly turn dry for a moment. "That's… It's worse than we thought..."
"Why am I feeling like we're not on the same channel here?" And from within his bag, he heard Morgana quietly comment on this.
"Yeah, it's way worse," Saya nodded, adjusting her black thick-framed glasses. "So, I don't know why are you this desperate for money, just… don't do it, okay?"
Ren nodded at first, but something from her response caught his attention "Wait, I'm… I'm not desperate for money."
"…Heh? Aren't you asking me to get into that whole mess?"
"No, I'm investigating that."
For at least ten seconds here, an awkward silence fell between the two. And with her eyes slowly widened during those ten seconds of silence, the embarrassment slowly surfaced on her face.
"…Oh, oh, OH!" Shuttered and lost her thought for a split moment, Saya buried her head in the table. "Ahhh I rushed to the conclusion again! First is the rumor about you, then the harem accusation to Ichijo, and now this!"
"I… well, now that we're on the same ground…" Trailing off, Ren (for the first time in his life) felt overwhelmed. "Just… it's fine, and I actually want to know if you know any of the victims of the scam."
"…So you can talk with them or something?"
"Yeah, exactly. I wanted to help them."
"Well, I can't be sure whether just talking would really help, but I think I can give you some names…" Hastily recomposed herself and straightened up, Saya reached into her school bag and pulled out a notebook.
On the notebook's blue cover was a title called 'investigation notes'. And its side was filled with book tabs sticking out, both on top and on the side.
"Okay, it should be here…" Murmuring to herself, she flipped through the pages as she looked for something. "Just wait for a second…"
Seeing how each page of the notebook was filled with written words, Ren blinked and turned to his left side. And just as he expected, Morgana already poked his head out and stared at Saya with a raised brow.
But before either of them could say a single word, Saya ended on one page.
"Found it!" She exclaimed, looking up and coming face-to-face at the sight of Morgana on Ren's shoulder.
"…So… you do go around with a cat in your bag."
"…It's for my therapy."
"I know, it's a pretty big rumor. Anyway, back on track," Shaking her head, she turned her notebook and pointed at one name on the notebook. "Out of them all, I think you have the best chance to have a talk with him."
"…Hayata… Takeshi…" Repeating the name on the said notebook, Ren raised an eye with slight joy. "Class 2-A… Thank you, Akiyama-san."
"You can drop the 'san', I never liked being called that," Closing the notebook, Saya was about put it back in her bag when she noticed something in the front of the classroom. "…Wait a sec, is that Takamaki talking with Iida?"
Turning around, Ren saw just that.
"It seems to be that case."
"I guess she's also looking into that whole mess, right?" Giving him a questioning gaze, Saya shrugged before Ren had responded. "Well, Iida is on that list, but I don't think Takamaki can easily just get anything out of him."
"…Okay?"
With a slightly confused look, Ren slowly stepped away and walked toward where Ann was. Just close enough to overhear what they're saying, but far enough to not get any suspicion.
"…And so I really need some money right now," Ann said, trying her best to act distressed. "Can you tell me about this easy part-time job? I'm sure you know about it. Iida-kun, please!"
In response, Iida just groaned. "You don't need my help. A girl like you could probably get a job anywhere, right?"
"Huh?" Taken back and with her eyes widened, the model took a moment to organize her mind and responded. "Um… Now that you mention it… Yes."
"So, um… What I mean is…"
"Akiyama is right, this is going south fast," Morgana sighed.
But as if she just heard Morgana's voice, and a metaphorical light bulb just lit up above her head. Ann hastily put on a face filled with concern. "O-oh, François!"
For two seconds there, Iida just stared at her as if he couldn't believe what he just witnessed. "Huh?"
And the same could be said for both Ren and Morgana as well, "Huh?"
"M-my cat François got run over by a car…" Trailing off, it was surprisingly hard to see whether Ann was thinking of a way to convince Iida, or just in full panic mode within. "A-and also has an incurable illness! I-I need money fast!"
Ren and Morgana just blinked and turned to each other, sharing the same frown.
"That's not convincing at all…" The not-cat said, and seemingly caught on the subtle reference in Ann's performance. "W-wait a second, is she talking about me?"
"I-if François were to die, I think I'd die too! Probably…"
"Why did you have to add the 'probably' at the end, Lady Ann…"
Feeling the cringe slowly emerging from deep within, Iida just shook his head. "Come on, don't talk like that…"
"If you don't like it, then tell me about that easy part-time job," Ren had to do a double-take to process Ann's sudden change in demeanor, did she think it wasn't obvious? "You know something, don't you? I've heard the rumors."
"Rumors?!" Taken back, and literally took a step back, Ren noticed how Iida's eyes started darting around. "Was it Nishiyama who- Oh, uh…"
"Nishiyama?" Dropping her act altogether, Ann immediately caught onto this one little slip-up. "Hey, what was that about Nishiyama?"
"That's…"
"She actually got him to slip-up, and catch on it too," With his eyes widened in surprise, Morgana turned to Ren. "Now let's leave this guy to Lady Ann, we have questioning to do."
"Yeah, another potential lead here," With a slight smirk, Ren walked out of the classroom.
[The Hallway]
And literally two steps outside of his classroom, Ren was greeted by a certain admin for their valuable Phan-site.
"Do you have a minute?"
"Uh… not really, I'm in a bit of a hurry."
"I can see that, you're looking for something, right?" Mishima said, with his hands still in his trousers' pockets. "I want to help you out, so please ask me anything."
"U-uh…" Surprised by his offer, it didn't take Ren long to get the question he wanted to ask. "Well, do you know where Nishiyama and Hayata Takeshi are?"
"Oh, about Hayata, I saw Kamisaki-kun is already talking with him," Furrowing his brow and brainstorming, the brow only deepened as the admin struggled to find where the other person in question is. "But for Nishiyama? He usually hangs out with Iida. But… oh, that's why Takamaki-san has been chasing him, right?"
"…Yeah, you're right there."
"Okay. But… I'm sorry, I don't know where he is right now…" Mishima apologized, with his arms crossed and holding that deepened frown. "He usually stays till late, so I think he's probably still somewhere in the school."
"I'll keep digging around when you're looking for him!"
"Thank you for the help, Mishima," With a small smile, Ren nodded as a different idea popped up on his head. "And oh, I think you can ask Akiyama for more help, she uh… she seems to have a deep catalog of stuff like this."
"Really? I never noticed her, but… huh, thanks!"
[At the same time, Courtyard]
Meanwhile, in the courtyard with only a few students passing by occasionally, Keigo sat diagonally from a different student. One who was in the same year as him, and could easily be described as 'plain'.
"So… you won't spread this out, right?"
Flipping through his notebook's page and ending on a blank one, Keigo shook his head with a comforting smile to Takeshi. "No, at most, I'd only share this with my group, who is also investigating this whole thing."
"And I wouldn't mention your name, so don't worry about getting any kind of revenge from the mafia either."
"…It's not that I'm afraid of the mafia, but it's just…" Trailing off, Takeshi couldn't help but gave out a long breath. "My life has been a mess because of this already, I don't want to be in the middle of another rumor."
"I understand, this place is literally a rumor factory, after all," With a frown that disappeared as soon as it appeared, Keigo pressed his pen's button with his thumb. "Anyway, let's get into the main points, shall we?"
"S-sure."
"Okay. So… can you tell me anything about how you got roped into this part-time job?"
"It…" Trailing off, and with both of his hands held tightly together, a deep frown surfaced on Takeshi's features. "It all began with one time I went to Central Street, and some shady guy came to me with a job offer."
"Central Street, and just ask you right then and there…" Repeating what he was writing in the notebook, Keigo frowned. "That's bold."
"That man said the job is just to deliver some white envelope into some cash shop, and someone as plain as me is the perfect candidate for it," As he continued, the frown slowly surfaced again. "I… I know I'm an idiot, but I was trying to help my mom with her jobs, so I took it and… yeah."
"Hmm… deliver some white envolope…" Writing what Takeshi just said in his notebook, Keigo turned to Takeshi with a raised eye. "Have you checked what's in that envelope?"
"I… I didn't at first, but after a few times… I checked once and it's filled with some white crystal thing… And it's probably drugs."
"White crystal… it's probably Meth."
[Meanwhile, behind the door toward the rooftop]
"Let's not beat around the bush, you're smuggling drugs, right?"
After the small talk from Nishiyama alongside the texts from Mishima and Yusuke, Ren returned to the classroom to confront Iida. And now, the two of them were right outside of the door to the rooftop, away from everyone else.
"H-how do you…? I've only told one person about that…" Taken back and his eyes widened, Iida found his mouth dried. "Of all people, I can't believe you were the one to find out…"
"White envelope, a job that asks for people who wouldn't stand out, and quick money," Holding up his fingers for each thing he just counted, Ren adjusted his glasses. "It's pretty easy to assume it's drug trafficking."
Finding no way to get any kind of response to disprove his point, Iida just looked away with shame. "…You're right. They told me they had an easy part-time job for me, and I ended up smuggling drugs…"
"All I had to do was to put envelopes into coin lockers, and they said they'd give me a hefty paycheck," With his gaze turned back to Ren, the shame immediately turned into a slight panic. "I didn't know that was in the envelope though! Still, this is what came out of it…"
"Okay…" Twisting a few strands of his hair, Ren nodded after a few moments. "Well, are you being threatened?"
"…So you knew, huh?"
"I'm originally investigating into the scam portion, but now it's also drug trafficking…"
"It is!" Iida nodded. "They started threatening me right after they deposited the money into my bank account… They had pictures of me carrying the goods. Said they'd expose what I did unless I paid them off…"
Shaking his head, he turned and stared right into Ren's gaze. "You know… why are you even asking me this stuff? Are you just gonna use my job to blackmail me too?"
"Of course not."
"I see…" Nodding again, Iida looked away again. "Well even if you were planning on doing that, I don't have any money I could give you…"
"If you're really interested in that job, try heading over to Central Street," He continued. "That's where they told me about it…"
"I-I told you everything you want to know, right? Can I go?"
"…Yeah, you can."
"Well then…" With that said, Iida left in an instant.
And as if on cue or something, Ren's phone started to buzz with a text notification.
Ryuji: How'd it go?
Ryuji: Did Ann's acting help at all? I'm thinking prolly not.
Ann: It went perfectly, I think!
Ann: More importantly, were you able to find anything, Ren?
Ren: Oh, I did.
Ren: And it's quite a lot too.
Shiho: That's great to know!
Ren: Anyway, the 'part-time job' is drugs.
Keigo: Meth to be more specific, from what I got.
Yusuke: So they ask you to deliver drugs…
Hifumi: That's awful…
Ryuji: That's serious…
Ryuji: I just searched for "Shibuya drugs" and got tons of hits too.
Keigo: Which makes the fact they can just do it in broad daylight more ridiculous.
Hifumi: How can this just happen like this for this long?
Ann: Yeah!
Ann: Making people traffic drugs, then threatening them…
Yusuke: That must be what I heard from people talking about in Shibuya.
Shiho: Same for what I got too, they're all talking about more addicts showing up in karaoke spot and such.
Yusuke: Still, they seem to be going about this quite openly during the daytime. What bold Methodology.
Ann: I wouldn't imagine they would do it at night… I wonder why they chose the day.
Ren: It's pretty obvious.
Ren: They're targeting high-schooler like us.
Keigo: Teenagers are easy targets, after all.
Yusuke: I see.
Yusuke: Yes, more students will be out during the day, while the police with be more cautious at night.
Shiho: So both easy target and blindspot from the police force…
Shiho: What a great recipe for a disaster.
Ann: Oh wait! Isn't Akira investigating over in Shibuya?
Ren: Oh right, and he's been radio silent for the entire time too.
Keigo: Shiho, did you get anything from him?
Shiho: No, I… I'll try to text him and see if he'd respond or not.
Ann: Anyway, Ryuji! You're over in Shibuya now, right? Do you see anyone like that there?
Ryuji: Yeah, I'm at Central Street. It's tough to tell though.
Ryuji: I mean, there's just way too many people. The goddamn rain's not helping out either.
Ren: Talk about bad timing…
Akira: Oh hey, sorry for not responding.
Keigo: Now THAT's some bad timing.
Ren: Yeah.
Ann: Same.
Akira: I know, it's just… the talk with them lasted longer than I originally thought.
Akira: Anyway, they said they did see some people hanging out in the alleyway nearby with teenagers. Especially students.
Akira: And they're now being threatened with money because they found out about this too. Like sixty thousand Yen per week.
Ren: …WHAT.
Ann: HUH?!
Ryuji: Holy shit the audacity of them!
Keigo: Such human trash, Putain de merde.
Shiho: How could they… Unforgivable!
Hifumi: That's awful.
Yusuke: That means we need to be quicker with our investigation then.
Ren: Yeah, for the victims, and for them.
Yusuke: Anyway, the sun will be setting soon. What should we do, Ren?
Ren: As much as I wanted to get this done and change the mafia boss's heart ASAP, we can't really do anything more now.
Ren: Let's look more into it tomorrow.
Ann: Yeah, that seems like our only choice now. We can split up and search separately then.
Keigo: At least we have more intel and a better outlook on this whole mess. Can't force progress in one day.
Shiho: Yeah.
Akira: Same.
Ann: Also, whoever asks us to take on that job should know who their boss is too.
Ryuji: All right, I'll get in touch with you guys later tonight and we can come up with a plan.
Ren: Totally on board, thanks Ryuji.
Ryuji: No prob.
With that said, Ren closed the phone and slipped it to his pocket. As much as they wanted to continue, it just had to continue tomorrow instead.
[June 16th, Shibuya station]
With the sound of each step getting drowned out by the sound of everyone surrounding her, Makoto only tightened her grip on her school bag. To say that her mind was in conflict, would be a giant understatement.
"C'mon, Niijima Makoto, it's just telling them that it's about Shinji…" Trailing off, she hastily shook her head and cleared her mind. "They'd understand, of course, they would."
As if on cue or something like that, an old lady tripped and fell to the ground. And at the same time, all of the content in her bag were spilled onto the floor. However, not a single person who passed by helped, some not even bothered to bat an eye at her.
Without a second thought, Makoto immediately rushed to the old lady's side. "You're alright miss?" She asked, crouching down to her level with worried gazes.
"I… I'm fine, it's just my knee acting up," Still wincing with a hand clutching her right knee, the old lady tried her best to hold up a small smile. "Thank you though, dear."
"You don't need to thank me, miss," Shaking her head, Makoto held out her hand. "Here, let me help you stand. I'll help you pick up the stuff on the ground."
"Prez?!"
Surprised by the sudden voice, she turned and came face-to-face with a wide-eyed Ryuji. However, before Makoto could come up with a response, he noticed the scattered stuff on the ground and rushed in, started to pick them up, and put them back in her bag.
"Thank you for the help, Sakamoto."
"Nah, it's nothin', Prez," Finishing up the packing of all the content to the lady's bag, Ryuji was about to hand it back to her when he noticed how she relied on one leg. "And… crap, your knee doesn't look good, ma'am."
"I'm fine, dear, it's alright."
"Maybe," Slinging one of the old lady's arms around her shoulder, Makoto slowly helped her stand up. "But either way, we should get you somewhere to sit, ma'am."
"Yeah, you should take a rest," Ryuji agreed, holding the bag for her.
"I…" Trailing off as she winced at the pain from her knee, the old lady nodded. "You're right…"
After a short walk to the public seat near the green train cart, Makoto and Ryuji both released a breath of relief as the old lady sat down.
"Thank you," The old lady bowed her head. "I'm sorry for bothering you two, dear."
"No, it's fine," Makoto shook her head, offering a comforting smile as she spoke. "Take some rest, ma'am."
"Yeah, Prez's right here," Ryuji agreed, arm crossed. "Take some rest before gettin' back on your feet. I know how much it hurt."
With another nod from the old lady, the two Shujin students gave her a brief farewell before walking away. But not before Ryuji approached her with a slight frown.
"So… it ain't lookin' like you just happened to be here, Prez," As the two leaned against the green train cart, Ryuji couldn't help but ask. "You're here checkin' on us?"
With her eyes widened at the remembrance of her original purpose here, Makoto shook her head and looked away. "…Not really, I… I want to talk to Amamiya."
"Ren? Why?"
"It's… something personal, I… just-" Cutting herself off, Makoto squeezed her eyes shut before looking back at Ryuji. "Sakamoto-kun, can you tell Amamiya that I want to talk with him?"
Slightly confused and with a raised eye, silence hung high between the two students for a moment. However, Ryuji gave out a long breath and nodded, pulling out his phone. "I'll tell him that you're comin'."
"Thank you, Sakamoto-kun," Makoto said, bowing formally at him. "And… I'm sorry for everything, for not doing anything about the track club and you."
"…Save it after we're done with the mafia," Shaking his head, Ryuji's eyes were filled with conflict.
And Makoto understood, as she nodded. "…Okay."
[Later, Shibuya Central Street]
With what Ryuji told her before, It didn't take long for Makoto to find where Ren was exactly. In an alleyway that was right outside of the main street and the crowd, and right outside of the gym called "Protein Lovers".
Noticing the cat poking out from his bag, Makoto slowed down her walking pace. "…Hello."
As Ren turned around to face her, she could see the question in his eyes.
"…You made any progress toward finding the boss?" And with her heart sunk deeply with nervousness, she chose to go for a different topic instead.
"Yeah, Shibuya's a big place, but things are going well," He answered, the question in his gaze still holding. "Ryuji mentioned you were going to talk with me about something… Niijima-senpai, you're not going all this way just to check on us, right?"
"I… that's good to know," Still avoiding the elephant in the room, Makoto took in a deep breath. "But actually, I'm here to talk about-"
"Hey, you two got some time?" Before she could get it out of her system, a man's voice interrupted them. "I have a great job for you."
Catching their attention, the two students turned and saw a blond guy in a shirt with an eye-soring messy pattern. Judging from how he slightly hunched over and the clear smirk, even a blind man would feel the suspicious energy from him.
Makoto and Ren exchanged a glance and a frown, but said nothing in return.
"It's real easy," The Sleazy guy continued, holding a smirk on his face. "Guess you could call it a delivery job."
"That's… surprisingly easy to find," Ren blinked at the mention of 'delivery job'.
"You're high schoolers, yeah?" However, from the look of it, the sleazy man seemed to mistake Ren's words as a question about the job. "Don't you want something more than just your allowances?"
"…By delivery, do you mean that of suspicious materials?" Makoto didn't know where her sudden change of tone came from. Maybe it was the 'student council president' mode she had before, or something else.
"Heh, you're a funny girl."
Even if the sleazy man was trying to play it off with a chuckle, the two students could still see the drop of cold sweat on his face.
"So you won't answer me?" And seeing the opportunity, Makoto chose to press on. "Then I assume that I was right then…"
However, this seemed to press the button too hard, and the sleazy man dropped his facade. And he glared right into her eyes. "What's up with you anyway? Why are you asking these questions, huh?"
"I'm just curious."
"I'll call the cops if you keep doing that," To say that Ren's glare was terrifying, would be a giant understatement. And even though Makoto couldn't say it out loud right now, she was also intimated by the cold aura around him. "And I usually keep my word."
The same could be said for the sleazy guy too, even if he tried to play it off with a nervous laugh. "Chill out, it's all a joke. Why would I get worked up over some dumb kids anyway?"
"Anyways, I can't hang. Seeya!"
"Then what about your boss?" She pressed on, raising an eye at her. "If you don't want to deal with us, we could always go see your boss ourselves."
"You're really gonna say that, knowing who he is?" Makoto could see the surprise inside his eyes, but the sleazy guy was smart enough to not let it control him. "Heh, no way I believe that."
"I'm outta here, you guys are annoying me."
Without another thought or word, the sleazy guy left them and walked away. And she found herself giving out a long breath of relief, stripping away both the strong front she put up the whole time.
"…Thank you for stepping up for me, Amamiya-kun."
"It's nothing," Shaking his head, Ren adjusted his glasses. "But I'm pretty sure he's our lead, never thought it'd be this easy."
"You're right, it's… they're way too bold."
"Yeah," He nodded. "Anyway, what are you going to talk with me about?"
Her eyes widened in surprise and recollection, Makoto suddenly felt her mouth being extremely dry. "O-oh, uh… it's… about the reason I made my request."
"I… I know this sounds selfish, but…" Trailing off, she took in a deep breath and steeled herself. "It wasn't just because I'm worried for the students in Shujin, but also… because of Shinji."
"Shinji?" Recognition clear within his gaze, Ren couldn't help but had his eyes widen for a bit. "You mean… the same Shinji as Akira mentioned before?"
"Oh, Ichijo did mention him, then I guess it's easier for you to understand," Nodding to herself, Makoto took a small pause before continuing. "He… he got himself into trouble related to them, and… I was afraid that he might get hurt or even die… That's why I did what I did."
For a split second there, Ren's eyes widened in realization. However, it merely lasted for that split second as well. "Oh, that's… everything makes sense now."
"I… I know it's selfish on my part, just… doing all this just for him…" Trailing off, she looked away with both guilt and shame. "I'd understand if you just hate me from this point onward, Amamiya."
"…He must've been really important to you then, right?" Seeing a nod from Makoto, the delinquent had his gaze softened. "It wouldn't fix what you did, but… at least you're being honest."
"I know, I'm actually here to talk about me telling the team truth," Makoto said, feeling how her grip on her school bag tightened. "I know with what happened with Suzui, Takamaki and her must hate me to the gut. But I still want to tell them my real reason."
However, just before Ren could say anything as a reply, another voice chimed in.
"No, Shiho would understand."
Surprised, the two turned toward the street and saw Akira, who had his arms crossed and gave out a sigh.
"Before you ask, she also saw that video," He said, walking up to them. "And then just ask me after I talked with you, Niijima."
"…So Suzui knows?"
"Yeah, and… she understands your feeling," Akira nodded, and Ren could see his body relax for a bit. "Before you ask, I just saw some sleazy guy coming out from this alleyway after I talked with Naoko. And now we're here."
Finding himself nodding at his explanation, the delinquent was about to say something when Makoto took the chance to say something. "Did she say anything about Shinji?"
"…Yeah, she did," Akira said after a long pause, arms crossed again. "After what happened in that video, the mafia just gone worse instead. Shinji has been getting into more fights with the mafia, and… he hadn't gone to school since the 13th."
In response, Makoto's face paled. As Ren also widened his eyes in shock.
"…What?" Taking a step back, Akira and Ren could see how her hands started shaking.
"Naoko tried to call him, but he wouldn't answer… maybe you can-"
Before he could finish his words, Makoto immediately rushed to her feet and bolted away. And now left alone, an uneasy silence filled between the two leaders of the Phantom Thieves instead.
"…So, you still got some info, right?" After a long while, Ren finally broke the silence between them. "Other than the things about your friend."
"His name is Izumo Shinji. But yeah, I did."
[Outside of Izumo Household]
Before Makoto realized it, she already found herself in front of the Izumo household. Just like how she remembered, nothing had changed about the household. The plate above the doorbell was still the same, the door that she accidentally left a tiny crack before…
Nothing was changed, but nothing was the same anymore.
As her breath slowly regained its rhythm from all those running, the doubt in her mind crept in again. If Akira said that he wouldn't listen to Akashi's call, could she break through and have a talk with him?
She turned her focus onto the doorbell, and fixated on the button with the bell icon. And for a long while, her finger hovered just above the said button. However, she just couldn't do it.
As her arm slumped to her side, Makoto shook her head and pulled out her phone instead. And on the top of her contact list was a pinned number, named "Shin-chan".
With hesitation clear within her gaze, she paused for a long moment.
But in the end, she still pressed the green phone next to the contact and put the phone on her ear. With each buzz from the said phone, the student council president had to take in a deep breath to slightly lower her beating heart.
At some point, Makoto started to be unsure of whether she wanted Shinji to take the call or not.
However, before she could make up her mind, the buzzing was cut off. And following a brief moment of total silence, a familiar voice rang through the phone.
"…Ma-Makoto?"
"Y-yeah, it's me," Trying her best to stuff all her feeling to the bottom, she could barely say it out without having a voice crack. "It's… good to know you haven't changed your number, Shinji."
"I… it'd be too much of a hassle for me and mom," Shinji said, and she could hear the faint wince of pain in his voice. "But… why are you calling me?"
"It's…" Trailing off, Makoto suddenly felt her mouth dry. She wanted to say it, to say that she was scared of him risking his life… but she can't. "I just want to listen to your voice."
"…Oh."
Neither of them said a word after this, a deafening silence sucked the world away around her. Her breaths were shallow and quiet, not even dared to take a deep breath and broke down right here and now.
"…L-listen, if… if you wanted to ask how I'm doing. I'm… fine," Finally breaking the silence, Makoto could still hear the lie here. Shinji was never a good liar, and it hadn't changed. "Just… I'm trying to be better."
"That's… that's good to know."
She hated the words coming out of her mouth, how fake these words were.
"Yeah, just… yeah. It… Just… Don't worry about me."
"…How can I not worry about you?" Makoto didn't know where it came from, maybe it was rage, or pure worry, or both combined with something else mixed it… It was her last straw. "I know I can't change your mind, I know why you're doing this. But…"
Once again, the soul-crushing silence filled the void of their phone-call again. And it lasted for a long while, as all Makoto could do was to keep her deep breath. Afraid that if she break the pattern, she wouldn't be able to handle the weight in her heart.
"…I'm sorry."
"But you wouldn't stop, right?"
"I… I can't."
"…I'm not asking much, Shinji," With each breath becoming more and more shallow and quick, she had to struggle to keep her emotion in check, barely.
"I… I just don't want to wake up and found out that you're dead."
With that said, Makoto couldn't take it anymore and cut the call. Just standing right here before the bell to the Izumo Household, struggling to keep all those fear and angst from overwhelming her.
She shook her head as hard as she could, as if it would finally shake all those feeling out of her mind. In the end, it was futile.
Without another word, Makoto turned around and walked away. With each step being as heavy as the world itself.
(To be continued)
Preview:
The truth of Makoto's request was revealed to the thieves.
Meanwhile, as the investigation continued on, they found themselves in a bigger rabbit hole than they originally intended.
As they broke into the heart of a certain mafia boss.
One that views the city as his personal bank.
Next Chapter:
"The Bank"
Stay Tuned!
So uh... hello there, after like almost 3 months, Chapter 43 is finally here!
Anyway, I owed every reader here an explanation of why this chapter took so long. So basically, it's because of my assignment back at the end of the 1 semester. Like 2 scripts with 2 more plot outlines, and all of them basically have the same deadline... I had to focus on them first before returning to the chapter. And that it's pretty hard to get back into the groove to write this chapter after all those scripts and stuff.
So I'm sorry for the long wait here, everyone. (especially the one reader who lasted a review to ask when Chapter 43 is coming, I'm really REALLY sorry for the long wait.)
Anyway, this chapter is a bit more as a filler toward the actual discovery of the palace, but with details changed with all those new OCs and context. Also, the scene where Makoto helped the eldery was actually inspired by a scene in the P5 anime I happened to come across. It's basically the same, but it was during the 'stalking Ren' stage.
However, this chapter still ended in a somewhat somber note with Shinji and Makoto. At least they're kinda making progress.
But don't worry, it'd only last for around 3 chapters max.
And as a... sidenote, the 'confession' scene back in Chapter 42 was actually a second version that I rewrote for the new context. And well, I can post it here and... I wanna know whether you all like the 'beta' version or the one in the actual chapter. (Also, as a scene that kinda acts as an antidote for the somber feel of the ending.)
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the story so far, reviews and favorites are welcomed!
The beta version:
As the silence grew heavier and heavier, Shinji just kept his worried gaze on Makoto. As she sat on the edge of his bed, silent and her gaze downcasted, all Shinji could do was stand there.
By the door, upholding a certain distance between them.
He wanted to step closer, closed the distance between them, and gave her comfort. But... no, he didn't know what could he say to comfort her.
Unfortunately, Makoto broke the silence first. "Shinji... Did father's death... Hold any meaning?"
Looking up, Shinji could see the tears building up inside her eyelids, threatening to break free at any second. He wanted to say that his death did hold meaning, a death shouldn't be meaningless. Especially for a hero like Makoto's father.
But he couldn't.
And Makoto only continued. "P-please, answer me, did he... is there any meaning at all?" She pleaded. "Please, just... tell me his death holds something, anything!"
Conflicted, Shinji considered lying. But... he couldn't do that. "I... I don't know," He said, telling the truth.
"You... you don't know?" Eyes widened, Makoto slowly sat up from the bed, stepping closer to him, step by step. "But... he's... he's dead! I-I can't see him anymore... I-I don't want it to be like this!"
And Makoto only continued. "P-please, answer me, did he... is there any meaning at all?" She pleaded. "Please, just... tell me his death holds something, anything!"
As all the grief and emotions she struggled to hold finally broke through, the dam of tears was broken. With her legs giving out and slumped down, choked breaths and Makoto's weeping filled the entire room.
"I can't take it anymore... I can't take it anymore!" Makoto exclaimed, as a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her, tightly. "Why... why it had to be like this?"
"Because... it's not fair, it never is," Tightening his hold, Shinji continued. "But I promise, even if there's no one else left for you, I'll still be here."
"If there's no one to be your hero, I'll be your hero."
Makoto looked up from his hold, looking at him with a pair of widened, tear-filled eyes. She didn't say anything, just processing what she just heard. And she didn't need any kind of confirmation either, the determination and resolve in his eyes proved that.
"...Don't leave me, please."
"Don't worry, I won't."
After a few moments of silence, she leaned in, pressing her lips on his.
Surprised by her sudden move, Shinji leaned back subtly with widened eyes. But he soon leaned back, closed his eyes, and melted into the kiss. And before they realized it, the two were already laying on the bed sideways.
Separating their lips, they stared right into each other's gaze. Maybe they were afraid, afraid that if they tear this gaze away… it'd all turn out to be a mere dream.
"…Makoto, I…" Shinji started. "I don't want to take advantage of you, so…"
"It's fine..." Makoto murmured, wrapping her arms around his chest. "…Just hold me tight."
He didn't answer, just returned the hug and held her tight.
