Author's note:
Hello again,
Please enjoy this latest chapter. Some parts are a little rough I think, but it gets the job done hopefully.
I'm glad so many of you seem to be enjoying this story,
-asdf
PS. Yes, I realize that my events on the 17th somewhat break the timeslots the game provides, however, I think this makes more sense with the story.
Chapter 4: The Intentionally Obtuse Artist
Sunday May 15th, 20XX Morning
"Are we seriously doing this?" Ryuji sighed. "I mean… Appreciating the fine arts?"
Ren sighed and shook in his head in response. It wasn't that he didn't understand where Ryuji was coming from. Some of the paintings were… well, in a word, not easy to appreciate. "We need to see if there's any legitimacy to the claim. Come on, think of it as an investigation."
"…Fine."
"Come on, Ryuji," Morgana needled, poking his head out of Ren's bag, "Any phantom thief worth his salt needs to be able to recognize an original."
"Eff that…"
Despite his words though, Ryuji obediently followed Ren deeper into the exhibit. Immediately, in the large central area, Ren located their target. The elderly man that called out to Yusuke from the car. Approaching, Ren noticed that he was currently doing an interview.
Standing a couple steps away from the camera crew and host, Ren hoped they looked like fans and not stalkers. Ears focused on the words being said, Ren drowned out the rest of the noise coming from attendees murmuring about the various pieces on display in the area.
"A shack?" The host asked stunned. "I never thought I'd hear that word from your mouth! You sir truly are the epitome of what it means to be an artist!"
"Why thank you," Madarame replied with an easy smile.
Initially, Ren wanted to agree with the host. In order for one person to create all of these works, they would have to dedicate their entire life to it. Little to no time for anything else, even pleasant distractions. Yet, something seemed off about it to Ren. The host's comment about art style for one, the second was how Madarame kept mentioning his living conditions, even after the host had turned the interview away from it.
"Shack?" Ryuji muttered from beside him, "you know that word sounds familiar…"
Turning to face Ryuji, Ren was about to ask for an explanation when the place erupted.
"Is that Madarame!?"
"He's here!?"
Suddenly the dense attendees that had somehow missed the interview happening in the middle of them all crushed in on their position. Waves of eager art fans clamoring for a glimpse of the genius that had painted all of these masterpieces with their own two eyes.
Panting, Ren emerged from the swarm a few minutes later. Glancing over his shoulder, he confirmed that both Morgana and Ryuji had also survived the swarm of fans. It had truly been a peril on the level on Kamoshida.
"I thought I was going to die…" Morgana wheezed weakly, poking his head out the bag for fresh air.
"Seriously!" Ryuji agreed, panting from the exertion as well. "But anyway, get this, you know how I check the Phansite like… everyday?"
"I do now," Ren nodded wondering where this was going.
"So, get this. I'm pretty sure there was a post on there about an artist and a shack!"
"Uhh…" Unsure how to reply, Ren decided to trust Ryuji for now. There seemed to be too many coincidences lining up on Madarame not being as innocent as he appeared. The name coming up in too many places.
"Let's head back to the overpass for now," Ryuji suggested, "We can talk easier there and wait for Ann to get…"
With Ryuji staring ahead distracted, Ren followed his gaze. Trying not to gape was hard. Once again, at a seemingly random location, there they were. Sumire and her sister, trailed by two people who must be their parents.
Staring for a short second, Ren met the brown-haired one's gaze. While Ren was confident her name was Kasumi, he'd never actually been properly introduced. She nudged Sumire, pointing Ren out.
"S-Senpai!?" The loud squeak drawing disapproving glares from nearby patrons. All in spite of the loud commotion just behind them as people shouted for Madarame's attention.
"Oh ho, so this is the boy is it. The one that managed to draw my daughters' attention?"
"D-dad!" They both complained awkwardly, blushing simultaneously.
"D-dude…" Ryuji whispered beside him. "Y-you can't be serious…"
"Just… Give me a minute," Ren sighed, not wanting to explain everything to him at that minute. Walking forward, Ren bowed slightly to their father. "My name is Amamiya Ren, Sir. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"No need for such formalities!" The man laughed back, sticking out a hand to shake. "Please, call me Shinichi. As I'm sure you know already, these are my daughters Kasumi and Sumire."
"W-well," Ren stuttered actually shaking the hand.
"Eep!" Kasumi squeaked, blushing a scarlet colour on par with Sumire's hair.
"Hmm?" Shinichi puzzled, "I thought that you were all acquainted. Is something wrong Kasumi?"
Not answering her father, the girl tried to compose herself. As he watched, her skin got back to a more normal shade of colour before she bowed deeply. "I'm so sorry senpai! My name is Yoshizawa Kasumi! Please look after me."
"Kasumi…" Their father chided, "you never introduced yourself? Even Sumire did."
"Hey!" Sumire protested. "I-I can do stuff like that… A-anyway, why don't you go enjoy some art!?"
"A-alright," Shinichi agreed, put off by the strong push away. "You were the one that insisted we all go to this though…"
Absorbing this information, Ren looked at Sumire curiously. The girl looked far more embarrassed than she should be for getting called out on being an art fan. Unless… Suspicions rising in his mind, Ren wondered if them coming to this exact art show truly was a coincidence. "Hey Sumire…"
"…May I ask you a question Senpai!?"
Talking over each other, Ren smiled and waved the girl on, as her sister pulled the rest of the family away, taking glances back at them all the while.
"Umm… I-I just didn't exactly take you as an art fanatic… and it's umm… a little hard to get tickets to this exhibition… Especially opening day… So…"
Smiling internally, Ren couldn't believe it. "You're a huge fan of the Phantom thieves, aren't you?"
"E-eh!?" The girl squeaked, blushing deeply once again. "I-I mean… yes." Giving up on evasions, she hung her head while admitting the truth. After a few seconds though, she raised her head, eyes glimmering with passion through her glasses. "B-but I mean, is that why you're here too!?"
Unable to lie, Ren's eyes flicked around the room, cautiously looking for eavesdroppers.
"You shouldn't talk about that here," Morgana cautioned from Ren's bag.
Replying to the cat with an imperceptible nod, Ren turned back to Sumire. "Do you… Maybe want to get a breath of fresh air for a few minutes with me?"
"I-I would love to Senpai."
With Sumire demurely falling in line beside him, Ren wondered how the other patrons saw them. Did they see a couple? Any guy would be lucky to have her. Ren was forced to admit, that, as a person, he still had quite a bit of growing he needed to do in order to be worthy of a girl like her. These midterms had shown his knowledge needed work, too many times where he was afraid to speak his mind… The list went on.
All too soon, they were outside the exhibit building. An angry Ryuji tapping his foot waiting for Ren. "There you are!? When did you get to be so… Ah, uh… hey."
"Oh, I don't believe we've been introduced," Sumire replied politely. "I am Yoshizawa Sumire, you must be… Sakamoto senpai, yes?"
"Senpai…" Ryuji muttered, loving the sound of the word. "I mean, uh, yeah, I am!"
"U-Uh, okay…" Put off by Ryuji's response, Sumire's words stalled out. A lull in the conversation building.
"So," Ren interrupted, trying to move it forward, "why exactly did you come here today?"
"Oh." Sumire looked embarrassed, staring at her feet. Doing so, her bangs obscured most of face in Ren assumed was a very calculated look. It was amazing how wildly her mood could shift her appearance from athlete to shy schoolgirl. "W-well… There was a post on the phansite…"
"Go on," Ren prompted.
"A-and well… I just thought… I'd uh, help out by looking into it… I'm so sorry!"
Ren blinked in confusion as Sumire deeply bowed. Scratching his head, he looked at Ryuji. Something wasn't adding up here, but Ren couldn't quite figure out what it was. Ryuji only shrugged in reply and Morgana stayed silent, probably hoping to avoid having Sumire notice the cat in Ren's bag.
"Umm, well I think that's really cool!" Ryuji spoke, giving her a big thumbs-up. "You're trying to help people out who get abused by shitty adults, way to go!"
"B-but, you didn't need me…" Sumire's face blanched instantly. "I-I got to go! My family is waiting, bye!"
Overpowered by her final sentence and swift flight away from them, Ren briefly forgot about her initial statement.
"Didn't need her?" Morgana murmured, reminding Ren of the important part of her words.
"Maybe… She thinks we're big fans?" Ren replied weakly, knowing it definitely wasn't the case.
"Don't sweat it," Ryuji shrugs, clearly not seeing the issue. "She treats us like we're superheroes! It's awesome!"
Ren sighed, taking one last glance at the exhibit before following Ryuji back to Shibuya. He'd have to confront Sumire about this eventually, but today wasn't the time. They had a bigger fish to fry.
Sunday May 15th, 20XX Morning
Kasumi quickly retreated to the top of stairs before timing her slow descent to the front door. At the same time, that door opened, Sumire quite literally fleeing back inside. "Hey, I was just coming to get you."
"EH!?" Squeaking in panic, Sumire almost tripped walking up the stairs.
Shaking her head at her strange sister, Kasumi tried to understand the conversation that she'd overheard. It had been hard to make it all out, but the subject was clear: the phantom thieves. While Kasumi was sure that she'd probably overreacted, the group was still dangerous.
"O-Oh hey… right, the tickets are only an hour, aren't they?"
Kasumi fell in line beside her sister, escorting her back to the crammed exhibit. It was hard to believe that so many people were willing to pay to view something like this. Kasumi personally felt little from the paintings surrounding her that people ensured her were masterpieces. To her though, none of them looked any better than something you could find anywhere. Some of them looked quite a bit worse. Kasumi was pretty sure Sumire saw them the same way.
"So… art."
"Y-Yes, art!" Sumire stuttered again.
"…I didn't know you liked it." Probing her sister, Kasumi wasn't sure how to discuss the fact that she'd eavesdropped on her conversation with senpai. The introduction still embarrassing her.
"W-well… You know… just trying to b-broaden my horizons. Appreciate the fine arts…"
Kasumi knew it was a lie, but still sighed. Entering the gallery itself, Kasumi couldn't hold back her words. "You know, I've seen all of the best pieces here already. They are viewable on the website and were used as promotional images. There is literally no difference."
"Haha… I think… It's about the experience of the thing? Like seeing pictures of mountains is actually different from hiking in the mountains?"
Still filled with disbelief, Kasumi dropped it. She assumed that an art connoisseur would agree with Sumire's words. However… "You think, huh? That's not a very convincing reason to drag us here."
"T-To be honest…" Sumire stuttered, averting her gaze. "I didn't come here for the art."
Smiling internally, Kasumi wasn't surprised that she eventually got the truth out. She knew Sumire was too honest to lie to her for long. "So, what is the reason?"
"…You won't be happy."
"Because it's about the phantom thieves?"
"Eep!" Squealing again, Sumire's face flamed up. "I-I'm so sorry!" Bowing slightly to Kasumi, Sumire's body was shivering slightly, expecting a lecture.
Sighing yet again, Kasumi wondered where all of her energy had gone these past weeks. "Just… Be careful, alright?"
"W-wait, why aren't you telling me to stop!?"
"Would you listen if I did?" Kasumi laughed back, forcing some humour into her voice. "I'm your sister, not your keeper."
"T-Thank you," Sumire replied, sending Kasumi a small grateful smile.
"So, why are we at an art exhibit for the phantom thieves?"
"Hehe, get this! There was a post on the phansite about an artist named Madarame that exhorts his pupils and takes their works for his own!"
"Madarame…?" Kasumi muttered in surprise, "you can't possibly mean…"
"I think so!" Sumire continued, her personality having done a 180. The abashed repentance was nowhere to be seen. To Kasumi's eyes she was filled with an energy. A happiness that she found something to fulfill her.
"W-why?" Kasumi asked, confused by this new sister. She had always been the energetic one, leading ideas and conversations. Now though, it was Sumire taking the lead.
"Hehe, at first, I couldn't find anything to verify this claim. Buuut, then I started reading some reviews on his works. How art critics would point out Madarame's mastery of seemingly distinct styles. How miraculous it is for one man to be able to create art in so many different ways."
"…Isn't that extremely suspicious?" Kasumi asked. Even without knowing literally anything about art, that raised several red flags. Not that people can't be good at different things, a decathlete instantly came to her mind, however, the way Sumire said it made it sound more extreme than that. Like someone managing to be an Olympic sprinter, marathon runner, and powerlifter at the same time. A literal impossibility that would require multiple body and muscle types.
"I thought so!" Sumire replied, whispering excitedly. Her bright red eyes shining behind her glasses. "Yet no matter how hard I looked; I simply couldn't find negative comments on any official thread. It seemed very deliberately curated. So, I looked a little further. Began digging into his pupils, the ones that he had apparently plagiarized."
"And?" Kasumi queried, finding herself surprisingly interested in the subject.
"…Nothing!" Sumire answered happily.
"…What?"
"I mean… For a person that always talks about being a good mentor, and loving to support the next generation of artists… where are their works? Where are these people he has groomed to paint inspirational pieces?"
"Ah…" Kasumi nodded, finally figuring out where her sister was going with this. "So, his pupils never release their own art because Madarame takes them… Which is why he can paint so many styles."
"Yupp!" Sumire nodded happily.
"Makes sense, so… why are we here?"
"To find more information of course!" Sumire replied indignantly.
"Which would be…?" Kasumi asked with a smile, wondering how well this plan was thought through. "What, did you think you would be able to find the guy in a corner of the exhibit having a conversation detailing all of his crimes?"
"N-No!" Sumire replied, blushing profusely.
Rolling her eyes, Kasumi couldn't help but smile at her naïve sister's ideas. She certainly had determination as her research had shown, but her planning needed a bit of work.
Conversation lapsing, Kasumi was forced closer to the wall as a large number of patrons walked past, most of them whispering excitedly about what they had seen. Their words making Kasumi want to wince. Powerful, diverse, very experienced.
Was any of that true?
Debating it, Kasumi actually looked at one of the pieces. It was a painting of trees, that seemed to be in autumn. Colours of yellow, orange, and red were mixed together and blurred. It was frustrating, like a blurry photograph. If it was painted clearer, it would be beautiful. A fantastic landscape worth viewing. With everything mixed together though… the beauty was lost.
Blinking, Kasumi wondered if she wasn't actually beginning to understand art a little. She felt like she understood a small portion of what the artist was trying to convey. One of lost beauty, or an inability to see beauty and the frustration that comes from it. All combined with the realization that it was coming to an end. Soon, this beauty they couldn't view would end and they'd be left with nothing but barren trees.
"Are you… examining it?"
"Yes." Kasumi admitted. "I think… I may have been a bit harsh on art. This one is quite good."
"Good?" Sumire asked. "It's not very pretty though…"
"I don't think it's supposed to be," Kasumi spoke aloud, wondering if she sounded like the other patrons with their condescending views on the paintings. "I think the artist was trying to express their frustration."
"Frustration? I don't thin…"
Sumire's words were cut off by a hearty laugh. The man turned the corner, followed by hordes of adoring fans. Looking at him, Kasumi instantly knew that this was the painter, Ichiryusai Madarame. Glancing once between the painting and the happy old man, Kasumi believed. There was no way this painting was done by this man.
Monday May 16th, 20XX After school
"How dare you!?" Yusuke yelled. "Sensei took me in and has cared for me after my mother died! And you dare slander his name!?"
Ren was taken aback by the vehement denial. They had already checked Madarame's name in the nav. There was little doubt at this point that the claims were true. Ren certainly hadn't expected this vehement denial to Ryuji's accusations.
Listening silently, Ren simply watched as Madarame himself made an appearance, assuring Yusuke that everything was fine. Simply friends checking to make sure that he was alright. Ren wished he could believe the words. Assume that it was just people being jealous of an amazing artist that cared only for his art and raising pupils. But there was too much evidence. The palace was only the final straw that really guaranteed it.
As the door closed, Ren waved them back into the middle of the empty intersection. This part of town looked half abandoned. Quite a way from anywhere convenient. Frowning as he walked, Ren's thoughts were disrupted by a flash of red. Giving his eyes a rub, Ren stared but couldn't see anything that would be that colour. Giving up on it for now, he turned to the other two.
"Well, what now?"
"That's my question," Ryuji sighed heavily. "I mean… we're doing the right thing, yeah?"
"I don't know…" Ann murmured, sounding torn. "Yusuke seems to really care about him…"
"But he could also be blinded," Ren advised. "Madarame did raise him after all. Scared to admit the truths in front of his face."
"Come on," Morgana whined, popping out of the bag. "Let's figure out the palace keywords and check it out. That should tell us everything we need to know."
"Agreed," Ren nodded, "Kamoshida's revealed his true mature almost instantly."
"Yes!" Ryuji cheered, taking out his phone to do the honour's. "Alright, so, Ichiryusai Madarame, Ichiryusai Madarame's shack. Then…"
"Uhh… something to do with art, yes?" Ann wondered.
"Probably," Morgana added. "It will be whatever he sees this place as."
"So… an Art studio?" Ryuji guessed to no avail.
"…Or maybe a castle?"
Pursing his lips, Ren was pretty sure the correct answer was an obvious one. "An art museum."
"Target acquired."
"Way to go leader!" Ryuji cheered. "Well, everybody ready?"
With no time to answer yes or no, "Navigation commencing."
Tensing up, Ren hoped that there wouldn't be any shadows staring at them. Finding a reliable starting point could be quite a challenge. Immediately though, thoughts of shadows were wiped from his mind. Staring up in awe, Joker couldn't care less about the line of cognitive beings, for there was a giant golden… thing. The building was massive, dwarfing even Kamoshida's palace. It was supposed to be an art museum, but it resembled more an emperor's palace to Joker than an actual museum. The aesthetics screamed money and power, with beauty forgotten about under the assumption that gold made everything beautiful.
"W-well," Skull breathed, gathering his wits first, "looks like the front entrance is out, seeming as he sees us as intruders already."
"You're right," Joker agreed, gathering himself quickly. "Let's go check it out." Eyeing a conveniently placed van, Joker easily scaled it and led them in infiltrating the museum. Through the garden and over the oblivious guards' heads, Joker dropped down through an open window. Inside were… "Portraits?"
"It's creepy how similar they all are," Panther commented, their resident art expert. "The shading and positioning… none of them have any unique features."
"And look at this," Mona pointed out stiffly, gesturing at where the name of the piece should be. "Each one is a name of a person."
"…Let's keep going." Joker decided. He had a lingering suspicion about what this all meant, but it was far too early for him to make any deductions quite yet. Going through the next door was merely more of the same. Here the aisles were more confusing. Almost like a poorly arranged maze than a proper exhibit. Boards set up to display paintings randomly assembled.
Maybe Madarame thinks this looks good?
Joker passed through the room quickly wondering how on earth anyone could be deluded enough to think that that room was something anyone would ever want to pay money to visit was beyond him. The next room was far more interesting though. Here, those same portraits still hung, but each one was extremely large. A massive piece that would take hundreds of hours to complete in an actual painting of this size. Freezing, Joker realized he recognized the person portrayed in it. "Nakanohara…"
"Holy shit…" Skull agreed looking at it.
"Wait," Panther puzzled, "So these are portraits of his pupils? But why?"
"You aren't going to like that answer," Mona told her, "let's keep going."
Moving on, they walked down the hallway solemnly. Joker assumed this portion of the museum was of relative unimportance to Madarame. Usually Joker had a pretty good grasp of how the palace ruler viewed them, and how tight the security in the place was. Right now, it was extremely low. Either Madarame wasn't on guard or didn't really care about this area.
"No way…"
"So, he's here too huh?"
"Kitagawa Yusuke," Joker read out sadly. Strangely, his painting was one with a bit more life than some of the others. The blue hair and shirt in the portrait giving it a little more life. Still though, for such an enigmatic individual, this portrait did a horrible job of capturing that.
"So, this is how Madarame views his pupils," Mona shook his head sadly, "as his possessions."
"Wait," Panther broke in with disgust. "So, like the other me in Kamoshida's palace… This is the Yusuke in Madarame's?"
"Yep."
"…At least I was a human…"
"This proves it," Ren decided. "Madarame views his pupils as nothing more than objects he uses to make money. We have to change his heart before Yusuke, 'outlives his worth' as well."
"Hell yeah!" Skull fist pumped. "Let's keep going in then!"
"No," Ren disagreed. "I'd really like to get Yusuke on board with this. To hear from him that he wants Madarame's heart changed. We can't go messing with people's lives because we feel like it. We set out with a mission to reform society by straightening out rotten adults that abuse those around them. While Madarame certainly is one, we really do need to talk to Yusuke first."
"That's our Joker!" Mona praised him. "Couldn't have put it better myself."
"Fine!" Ryuji groaned, upset that he wasn't going to get to beat up shadows today. "But how are we getting him to talk to us?" Instinctively, three sets of eyes locked unto Panther. "Oh yeah!"
"Huh? D-don't all stare at me!"
"We just need you to model for the guy," Joker explained while leading them out of the palace. "We'll be there as well so no need to panic."
"…Fine! I mean, it's whatever."
"Thanks Panther," shooting her a wink, Joker led them silently across the garden once more toward the entrance. Landing back on the van, his instincts told him that there was something out of place. Activating his third eye ability from Igor, Joker scrutinized the area. Finding nothing, he jumped down and left the palace, the single strand of red hair going unnoticed, stuck in the roof of the van.
Monday May 16th, 20XX Evening
Sumire paced around her room, the confines making her feel claustrophobic. She wanted to go faster, to take more steps without being forced to turn around and walk the other way. She'd lost track of how long she'd paced at this point. It was probably approaching bedtime. Yet Sumire knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. Her emotions were wound tight.
The images from today kept flashing through her mind. How she had followed Senpai from school to that rundown house. She was glad she had abandoned the book strategy. It turned out to be much easier without one obscuring half her vision and she actually left less conspicuous without it. Then, after arriving, the yelling that had occurred there, revealing it to be Madarame's. Finally, when hiding around the corner, listening to their conversation when it suddenly happened. Something about a navigation app before she was brought… somewhere.
That giant golden abomination was burned into her mind. She had barely managed to process it before realizing that Senpai had left. The other two with him as well as… something. It looked like a stunted monster from the short glimpse she'd gotten from the back. Trying to follow them, Sumire had found herself quickly humiliated. She had thought that her body was one of the strongest around. Years of physical conditioning focusing on flexibility and control. Despite that, they outpaced her easily. Hopping from pillar to pillar as if there was no gap at all.
Finding where they had entered, Sumire's nerve had broken. Turning around, she had left the strange place, thankfully without getting seen by the strange guards walking the ground. Masks on top of misshapen bodies wearing security guard outfits. Shivering slightly as she thought about them, their unhuman presence made Sumire confident that she didn't want to try and talk to them, ask for an explanation. Nor the faceless people that stood in line at the main entrance.
Just as panic had been setting in, Sumire returned to the spot she had been when the world shifted and found herself back. Staring at Madarame's house for a minute, Sumire simply left. She didn't want to have the awkward conversation that would occur when senpai showed back up.
Since then, Sumire's mind hasn't stopped trying to reject the things she'd seen. Even knowing that Senpai was there as the phantom thieves couldn't help her out. She had expected something amazing from him, but this was beyond her wildest imagination. It just didn't seem possible that the phantoms thieves were… what? Walking between worlds?
Growling at her useless circling thoughts, Sumire began pulling on her hair as her pacing picked up its frequency. The little available room started to seriously annoy her. Briefly considering leaving the house to take a walk, Sumire took a deep breath and threw herself on her bed. Stroking the covers that were beginning to be too warm for the encroaching summer, she didn't have the motivation to change them just yet. There was just something appealing about reclining into softness and feeling like your body is floating on a pillow that Sumire wasn't willing to let go of until the heat grew too intense.
"The phantom thieves change hearts by entering a different world."
Speaking the statement aloud, Sumire felt the truth in it. The logical part of her had been warring with her for hours about what she had seen and felt. Finally, Sumire accepted it. The decision had been easy once she just accepted what she already knew. That she believed in Senpai and knew that he would do the right thing. If that involved travelling to another world, then so be it.
Chuckling slightly at her illogical conclusion, Sumire brought her phone out. Opening it, she instinctively scrolled through her short contact list. Pausing at where she hoped senpai's number would reside somewhat soon. Sighing at her delusions, Sumire closed it and looked for her browser, wanting to go through the comments on the phansite once more before bed.
Thumb pausing over the screen, Sumire's vision was drawn to a red app in the corner. Squinting at it, the shape inside appeared to be a caricature of an eye. Finding it more than a tad unsettling, Sumire clicked on it, opening an extremely simple interface. Pressing on the icon in the corner opened an empty search menu. Backing out of that led her back to the home screen. Frowning, Sumire was certain she didn't download the app, and it didn't seem to do anything. Pressing some more random buttons, Sumire paused as she made something happen.
Enter a name.
"Could this be…" Wondering if she found the navigation thingy that they'd talked about, Sumire opened the keypad. Ichiryusai Madarame.
"Hit found."
"Ah!" Jumping in surprise at the audible sound, Sumire lost control of her phone which fell squarely on her face. "Oww…" Groaning from the pain, Sumire felt far stupider as she turned on her side, no longer being forced to hold it above her head.
Enter a location.
Puzzling over this one, Sumire tried to remember, but couldn't pull the dialogue from the conversation. She had been too far away to properly hear what they had said. However, simply based on where they were standing… "Ichiryusai Madarame's house?"
"…Hit found."
Delaying this time, it was like the app was unhappy to receive it. However, the text changed yet again.
Enter a distortion.
"Distortion?" Now Sumire was good and lost. All she remembered was that they were standing outside Madarame's place, and then they were in front of that… thing. What was it?
"An art museum?"
"Destination found."
"Huh?" Sitting up straight, Sumire stared at her phone in wonder. "Can I… Go to that world?" Her screen had a large 'BEGIN NAVIGATION' button. Trembling in both excitement and fear, she couldn't believe it. For some reason, she now had the same ability as the phantom thieves. Maybe it was from accidently getting caught up in their first transportation.
Thumb hovering nervously over it, Sumire quickly backed out. Those guards had scared her. She certainly didn't want to face any of them alone. Even worse, she still wasn't sure exactly how she managed to leave.
Going to close the application and try to wring some sleep, one last thought came to her mind. Starting a new search, Sumire didn't bother with typing.
"Principal Kobayakawa."
"Too vague, enter a proper name."
Frowning, Sumire actually closed the application this time and opened the internet browser. A quick search later and… "Botan?" Giggling at the first name, Sumire could practically imagine a mother patting a baby on the head while calling it 'Bo-bo'. It was so extremely dissident form the principal's appearance and mannerisms that Sumire wasn't surprised the name didn't appear on his nameplate.
"Hit found."
"So it's true…" Having entered the name, Sumire stared at where the application had accepted the principal's full name. While it was possible that every single person could have something like this, something made Sumire doubt it. There was a feeling from that art museum that told Sumire only a select few people had their own world. That was only further solidified by the third question. A distortion.
Continuing to the second question, Sumire tapped the back of her phone with her finger while thinking. "Kobayakawa Botan's house."
"Hit not found."
Biting her lip, Sumire felt like she had expected that. While she was still stumbling around with the app, it seemed like the location was dependant on the person. It didn't have to be their house. Probably somewhere important to them. Like… "Shujin academy."
"Hit found."
Giving herself a small fist pump, Sumire was left staring at the last and final question. Also, the most challenging. The other two had been extremely easy in comparison. Here, there were almost no limits to things Sumire could try. A distortion. Madarame's house became an art museum. So, this was probably what Kobayakawa saw the school as.
"A castle?"
"Hit not found."
"An oasis?"
"Hit not found."
"A resort?"
"Hit not found."
"A casino."
"Hit not found."
"A ship?" Sumire finally tried growing desperate.
"Hit not found."
"Grr…" Growling at it, Sumire laid back down on her bed and stared at the roof. Taking a moment to herself, she finally looked back at her phone, to the clock in the corner. "11:30?" Groaning at the time, Sumire knew it was time for bed. "Maybe a couple more attempts…"
Searching for more things it could be, Sumire was about to keep guessing when her screen went black. Clicking the button on the side did nothing. It had died.
Taking that to be a sign she should quit for the day, Sumire went and plugged it in. Stretching she headed out to the bathroom to get ready for bed, the list she had been formulating fading from her mind.
Tuesday May 17th, 20XX After school
Staring at the blank canvas, Yusuke's hand shook with anger, not painting anything. He couldn't believe how casually they had infiltrated his house. Coming here when only Ann was desired. The two filthy tager-ons who had no business being associated with someone as beautiful as Ann. Someone as pure.
Yes, that's all it was. A righteous anger that they would inhibit his pursue for true beauty while slandering his sensei with those baseless rumours. That must be it.
"Sensei is just… in a slump right now." Muttering to himself, the usual platitude did nothing to soothe Yusuke's misgivings today. All too easily, the scene from the exhibit came back to him. How Ann had praised his painting. The one he had given to Madarame to aid the sensei that had been so kind to him.
So, why did seeing it there, hanging under Madarame's name hurt so much?
"Guh," grunting, Yusuke clasped his hand to his heart, unsure why he was in so much pain. Everywhere he looked, everything he did, that blond kid was in front of him. His words repeating endlessly in Yusuke's ears about how Madarame was abusing Yusuke. Had abused his past pupils.
"No, focus on Ann, the nude painting you will soon do."
The thought offered a brief respite to Yusuke. An oasis where he could consider the pinnacle of beauty. A pure, feminine form, undiluted by the aspirations of man as she was clad in only what god gave her and shimmering light, highlighting every perfect curve and lock of hair. The reflections captured in her blue eyes.
Yes!
Yusuke could see it now, the painting everyone the world over would someday adore. With his name, Kitagawa Yusuke hanging beneath it. A work of art he could put beside the Sayuri and not feel like it was the lesser of the two.
Wincing, Yusuke remembered his attempts today. How sure he had been previously that all he needed was Ann and a canvas to produce that painting. How badly that had failed. Would her being naked really solve these things?
Torn by his feelings of inadequacy and fear, Yusuke put his brush down, there would be no painting today.
Tuesday May 17th, 20XX After school
"What a god damn pain in the ass!" Ryuji raged once they'd left Madarame's house. "I don't remember inviting you two, seriously, what a dick!"
Trying to suppress it, Ren still found himself nodding slightly in agreement. The boy had refused to give up anything on Madarame even after being pressured. He had winced like the words had struck true but refused to face the truth. Yusuke was running away.
"Calm down Ryuji," Ann scolded him. "You aren't the one that he is trying to blackmail to model nude! Besides, Madarame is the only father figure he has ever known."
"Yes," Ren agreed, "we need to make a calm decision here. It's clear that Yusuke doesn't want our help. Do you change Madarame's heart anyway?"
"I wouldn't mind finding a new target," Ryuji shrugged. "Doesn't seem like we'll be helping anyone here."
"No!" Ann berated him once again. "Yusuke is just confused. We will be helping him by changing Madarame… I think…"
"Look at you," Morgana tsked. "Still helpless without me I see. It is obvious that we have to do this. How many lives has Madarame ruined? Even if Yusuke likes to pretend that everything is alright, that doesn't change anything."
"…What you need isn't always what you want." Ren murmured, agreeing with Morgana's statement even if it felt like Morgana wanted to do this for more selfish reasons. Even if that was true, he couldn't really blame him.
"Yes!" Ryuji fist pumped excitedly. "Let's go get a treasure route."
"You got it," Ren nodded, flashing them a joker-esque smile while quickly activating the metanav. A slight dizzy spell later, they were there again, outside the golden monstrosity with their phantom thieves' outfits on. Wasting no time, Joker led them towards the van to begin the route they had found last time. Even from here though, he could tell that the security had gone up. Madarame hearing them say the rumours had probably increased his wariness.
Pausing outside the van, Ren glanced at the appearing velvet room door and felt a bit of relief. He was wondering if he would have access to it here as well. "I'll be a bit." Waving them off, he approached the glowing blue door.
"Our master would like a word, inmate," Justine greeted him, with the typical words. Her face as cold and distant as ever.
Despite somewhat liking his wardens, Ren couldn't help but feel like they didn't share the same feelings for him. They oversaw him because Igor told them to. If Igor told them to kill him… shivering slightly at the thought, Ren assumed they would do that as well without a second of hesitation.
As usual, when Ren entered, his rebel's outfit faded, and his body was adorned with a prisoner's uniform. The distinct black and white uniform he was beginning to hate.
"Listen up Inmate! Our master has a gift for you, cry tears of joy!"
Smiling slightly, Ren wanted to chuckle at the all too familiar line. It was probably supposed to be intimidating, but when Caroline said it, it always came out cuter than scary.
"Wipe that smirk off your face!"
"Do you find our master's good will humorous?"
Getting berated, Ren tried to look abashed, as Caroline eyed the bars of his cage with her electric baton. The shock from which stung for a long while. Thankfully, Ren was getting better at identifying the swings and letting go in time.
"Peace," Igor's deep voice rang out. "It seems you have found your next villain who will prove yourselves to the world. However, there appear to be many things moving fast now. Stay on your toes to make sure they don't wash you away. This should help with your struggles."
Once again, Ren felt like a bond between himself and Igor had strengthened. It was evolving past master and inmate, but where it was heading Ren wasn't sure, only that he was glad for the aid and warnings he had provided over the last month and a bit.
"I believe the twins have something to discuss with you now…"
As Igor trailed off, Ren turned his attention to the two girls. Inside himself, he could instinctively feel the power that Igor had bestowed upon him. Or perhaps more accurately to say, that the bond between them had allowed Ren to awaken to.
"Sit!" Caroline commanded pointing at the ground.
Hesitating, Ren stared at them in disbelief. The floor of his prison looked like it had never been washed. Especially right beside the toilet…
"If you do not, we will not bestow our aid," Justine followed up with her icy glare.
Swallowing, Ren forced himself to sit, making sure he didn't place his hands against the ground as he did so.
"He actually did it… I mean, uh… Obey faster next time inmate!"
"Well?" Ren asked, unhappy about being bullied by these two, even if they were some sort of mystical entities.
"You lack patience," Justine criticized, "perhaps this will be too hard for you."
"Come on," Caroline prompted, strangely excited. "I want to see him struggle."
"…Very well. Inmate, as our job as your wardens, we are responsible in making sure you extract every last bit of your power in order to conquer the challenges ahead.
Are they… scared for me?
The errant thought flying through Ren's head as he listened obediently.
"To do that, we will give you a persona to fuse with a specific ability. Bring it to us, and then we shall give you the next task."
"Uhh… How exactly does this help?"
"Shut up inmate!" Caroline raged, pounding on the bars with her baton. "She was getting to that!"
"Precisely… Your first task is to fuse a Jack Frost with mabufu."
"…"
"…"
"Hey, uh, Justine?"
"I realize Caroline."
"Okay."
Unsure what to say at this point, Ren had realized it at the same time as the wardens. He already had a Jack frost with mabufu on him.
"Hmm, as acknowledgement of your accomplishment, we will now provide a new service. There are specific personas you can now fuse using a group guillotine involving three or more sacrifices.
Opening his mouth to reply with how useful that will be, and thanking the twins for the additional ritual, Ren felt it. The bond between the twins and him. Another one he could increase to forge stronger personas and gain additional abilities to aid him here in the metaverse.
"It seems that we have forged a bond inmate. Complete these tasks that we give you to nurture it and hope that the power it grants is enough to save you."
"You should be grateful, inmate!"
"I am," Ren replied simply, perhaps surprising Caroline. "What is the second task?"
"Hmm, eager, are we?" Caroline teased, "perhaps we will make something from you after all."
"Perhaps," Justine agreed with a tight-lipped smile, the closest to happiness Ren had seen from either of them. "The next task is to bring us a Ame-no-Uzume with frei."
Blinking in confusion, Joker slowly nodded, having no idea what either of those were. He hadn't encountered that skill, whatever it did, or that persona yet. Finally understanding that this list wouldn't be a couple day exercise, Ren prepared to leave.
"Be sure not to forget this inmate."
"I won't," Ren promised, waving them goodbye. Maybe he was imagining it, but he could have sworn their hands twitched in answer before they coldly stared at him until he left. One dizzying transition later and he was back in the real world.
"Damn Joker," Skull yelled at him from the van, "hurry it up already."
"It was important," Joker insisted, jogging to catch up. "I need time to manage my personas after all."
"Yeah yeah, you're more awesome than us, we get it."
"Don't forget it," Joker teased back before throwing himself into the garden. Crossing the now familiar path easily, they reached the open window in the roof and threw themselves inside.
Glancing around the interior, Joker whistled softly to himself. The security was night and day from the last time they'd entered. Glancing at the entrance to the next area, Joker quickly recoiled. Activating his third eye ability, they became clear.
Lasers crossing in front of the doorway.
The only advantage was that none were low enough to block a slide under them. Past that, the room that was completely empty before was now crawling with shadows. More lasers blocking off paths in that room as well.
"What the hell happened here?" Skull hissed.
"Madarame must sense how agitated Yusuke is," Panther murmured sympathetically for the boy. "Probably worried that his last pupil will try and get him arrested."
"Either way," Mona informed them, "they don't seem to be looking out for us specifically. As long as we keep a level head, we can get through this."
"Of course," Joker smiled broadly at them. "Let's get to the stealing." Leaving it there, he deftly slid under the lasers and quickly approached the first shadow. Jumping on it, Joker ripped its mask off, revealing the true shadows underneath the guise.
"Damn it, dude," Skull cursed, "don't leave us behind like that!" Racing to catch up, the two of them struggled to get underneath, Mona barely had to duck and was right by joker's side ready for the fight.
"Hurry up, slowpoke," Mona teased. "I'll show you how its done!" Summoning Zorro, Mona used his area of effect wind attack to blast both the odd shadows. They were a pair of old gnomes, hiding under a leaf which they held above their heads. As the wind washed over them, neither of them took much noticeable damage.
"Let's see how you like bullet then!" Joker laughed; glad he'd get a chance to attack them. Whipping out his handgun, Joker sunk four shots into both, dealing even less damage than Mona did. Feeling awkward that his performance had spectacularly failed, Joker waited for the other two to jump in on the fight.
"Ha! Guess I'll save you two!" Twin bolts of lightning rattled down upon the leaves and burst apart into sparks. The three of them had maybe managed to whittle away a third of their stamina.
"Boys," Panther criticized them, "always leaving the real work to the women. Dance Carmen!"
"Argh!" Releasing pathetic screams, the two leaf gnomes collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain from the burns coating their body. The resistance they had against the previous attack proving ineffective to Panther's fire.
Surrounding them, Joker pointed his gun mercilessly one of their heads, order to finish them on the tip of tongue. Thinking better of it, he changed his strategy. "You, join me."
"Slow down now sonny, I got a couple of questions first."
Joker gritted his teeth and struggled not to give up on this and slaughter them. Each shadow possessed its own personality and quirks that made convincing them annoying. Somehow the gun to their heads didn't do a good enough job.
Although, if that politician can improve my speech…
Finding himself with something to do this coming Sunday night, Joker waved for the shadow to ask its question.
"Well then, let's say you bring a girl back to your place, but she passes out before you get to the good part, which happened to me recently, what do you do?"
Doubting anything of the sort happened to the shadow recently Joker frowned at it. "Tuck her into bed?" Wondering what other answer there possibly was. Too many variables were missing from the scenario.
"No, no!" The shadow rejected. "What? You think this happens every day? She's in your room. You do the good part anyway!"
"…Can I kill them now?" Panther growled under her breath, clearly ticked off by its rather… inappropriate answer.
Waving her to calm down, Joker examined the shadow, waiting for its next question. Or wondering if he had disappointed it too badly.
"Now, I'll give you one more chance! Let's say you walking down the street when a fly honey catches your eye."
Fly honey?
"What do you do to turn her from some girl, into your girl?"
"Casually saunter over to her and smack her ass," Joker responded with a straight face. "Then follow that up with, damn girl, if it's that bouncy, can't wait to see you bounce on me in bed…" Trailing off, Joker felt extremely awkward. The other three's stupefied visages weighing down the incomprehensible words that he'd just spoke.
"Yes! Yes! That's it!" The shadow trailed. "You truly are the alpha among men! I remember now, I'm not just a shadow, I am a fragment of the sea of souls. My name is Koropokkuru. I shall become your mask."
Absorbing its power, the other one faded from existence, slinking back into the ether of power that surrounded them in the metaverse. Examining the new power within himself, Joker stared at the thing and the arcana to which it belonged, hermit. In this case the persona appeared to be a sleezy old man that dreamed of younger days where he had a chance with younger girls. Sighing from the strange personality he had picked up, Joker vowed to fuse it away at the soonest possible time.
"You… You were just saying that to get it to join you, right?" Panther asked with a wary glare.
"Of course," Joker confirmed. "I need to keep powering up and that means recruiting personas."
"W-way to go leader!" Skull cheered on, the conversation even a bit much for him.
"Now," Joker grinned, cracking his neck, "let's get some exploring done, yeah?"
Tuesday May 17th, 20XX Evening
"Again?" Kasumi asked in disbelief, not wanting to understand her father's words.
Wincing from having to convey the information to his daughter, Shinichi continued. "Unfortunately… Yes. It seems like you were quite a big hit. The public want to know more about this inspiring girl that got her school to rise up to dethrone their crooked teacher."
Sitting down with a thump at her desk, Kasumi felt the panic begin to rise. Breaths coming faster and faster, she was a moment away from hyperventilating. Once again, the walls and options were closing in around her. Sumire's phantom thieves either couldn't, or wouldn't, help. Without an admission from Principal Kobayakawa, Kasumi was thoroughly screwed.
"I know this isn't what you wanted," Shinichi tried to soothe her, "but it isn't as bad as you're making it out to be…"
"…You don't understand." Whispering under her breath, Kasumi turned to her desk and laid her head down upon on it. After a couple more seconds, her father turned and left, leaving her alone with her thoughts. The lacquered wood felt cool under her cheek as she stared at nothing. Her arms blotting everything out.
Kasumi could feel it coming now like an inevitable vice. How the public would consider her a hero. Then, investigators would begin circling the school, looking for interviews from students on how exactly Kasumi inspired them. Then, all the 'hot takes' would appear. Student lying for fame? Or maybe Hero to Zero: Yoshizawa found connectionless to teacher's confession.
"And I'd deserve it…"
Letting her eyes close, Kasumi felt her dream slipping away from her. Glory and victory at international gymnastics a feat no longer possible as public condemnation falls upon her. The only consolation was that she didn't think what she had done was a crime. Frowned upon, but she didn't testify in front of a judge that she had played a role in Kamoshida's confession. Somehow, that didn't make her feel any better about it.
Kasumi had always believed that someone should solve their own problems. Focus and improve yourself first. If everyone did that, there would be no issues left. However, that oversimplification had smacked her in the face more than once now. Shivering slightly from the encroaching fear, Kasumi wasn't sure if she could do it. Handle the messages and mail and posts condemning her, calling her a fake and liar. Even just the thought of it had her sick to her stomach.
"Isn't there anyone who can help me…"
Trailing off, Kasumi bolted upright as a thought came over her. With shaking hands, she withdrew her phone from her pocket. There, in her contacts sat a name, so normal and yet so different from the others: Goro Akechi.
Thumb hovering over the call button, Kasumi had second thoughts. The impact of how strange the boy had been had faded with time. She remembered not really liking him, but if he could help… Mashing the button, Kasumi waited, eyes closed, praying for an answer.
On the second ring, "detective Akechi speaking."
"H-hello." Kasumi replied unsteadily, "it's umm… Yoshizawa Kasumi, we talked a week ago at the television station."
"…Ah yes. The girl that made Suguru Kamoshida confess."
"I never said that." Kasumi retorted, holding onto the technicality she still had left in her favor.
"Regardless, you must be calling because you need my help to sort out your lies."
"…Yes," Kasumi relented with a sigh. She had made a chance to trust the boy, detective or not. There was little he could do that would result in worse consequences than what she already faced.
"I'll remind you; this is not an act of charity, I need… things from you as well."
Blanching Kasumi almost hung up then and there. "Y-you… can't be serious. I'm not giving you my body so…"
"I'm going to stop you there. I have no interest in a conceited child like yourself. What I need is a Shujin student, which you so happen to be."
"…" Blushing deeply, Kasumi felt both relieved and embarrassed at the same time. Akechi's words had hit her deeper than she thought. A pride that she had turned her body into one that men couldn't help but want to possess. The detective had talked about her like she was trash. Barely even tolerable.
"I may need information on students at your school. At most you will have to see where they go after school."
Trying to analyze the request, Kasumi couldn't see anything particularly sinister about it. Gossip flowed quite easily around the high school, and Kasumi doubted there was anything particularly exciting in any of her classmates' lives.
"That's fine. But how can you help me?"
A slight chuckle came over the line before Akechi began talking again, his voice even more condescending, if that was possible. "Let me see if I have this straight. You did absolutely nothing to Kamoshida, maybe talked to him a couple times, then suddenly there is a calling card and he confesses. Someone high up at your school, maybe your principal, is now blackmailing you, using your father's influence to get you on a show about being the one who sparked this confession.
"Now, you turned out to such a hit that the media is clamoring for more. Of course, as they investigate further, they will discover that you did nothing, and the media loves nothing more than to produce flashy headlines about disgraced idols. You, are therefore trapped."
Sighing, Kasumi hated hearing her own thoughts repeated back to her. Especially in such a smug tone. "So, how can you help?"
"Who exactly is blackmailing you?"
"…You were right, my principal."
"When do you appear next on television."
"I'm doing the shoot tomorrow morning. I don't think they air it until noon or so." Answering a second time, Kasumi heard only silence for awhile. Looking at the screen, she found herself relieved that it was still connected. This help, no matter how tenuous it was, was still something. A person trying to aid her, a person with some clout.
"Unfortunately, the easiest way to resolve this won't work right now."
"W-what do you mean?" Kasumi asked. The words easy and resolve didn't make sense together in this situation.
"Arresting the principal and getting a confession about blackmailing you would solve your problems rather elegantly I believe. You would even leave the ordeal as a low tier celebrity. Something every high school girl dreams of I'm sure."
Gnashing her teeth, Kasumi supressed growling back at the boy. She couldn't afford to upset him, yet he seemed to take every opportunity to prod her as if searching for a reaction.
"…" Delaying for a short pause, Akechi kept talking. "In lieu of that, you need to make sure you say as little as possible during these interviews. Heap praise upon some of the students. Also redirect their questions to someone else. You did this fairly well last time but ramp it up now. Never state you actually did anything."
"That doesn't fix my issue though!" Kasumi finally broke. She had figured out everything he had said on her own. This redundancy wasn't fixing her problem.
"I was getting there if you had patience." Akechi answered coldly. "Do you want me to bill you for ten minutes of a detective's time? Trust me, you won't like the sum since it rounds up to half an hour."
"…Please continue." Forcing the words out, Kasumi was pretty sure he was kidding. However, she doubted she could afford him on her own. Her father may help, but she didn't want to do that to him.
"Better. You'll be practically civilized by the time our deal is up."
"Grr…"
"So, tomorrow, after you give you interview, go to school. During lunch and afterwards canvas the school and get their feelings about you and the phantom thieves. If you have friends, get them to help. A solid basis of supporters will help."
"That's… Unlikely." Kasumi forced herself to admit. There was no way she would find even five students who were likely to help her.
"Why am I not surprised," Akechi's voice sighed back. "I should have expected that a conceited girl like yourself would be too high and mighty to make friends."
"Aren't you the same?" Kasumi found herself spitting back. "Does the great detective prince actually hang out with high school students?"
"As you said yourself, I am a detective. You are a lowly student. You are expected to make friends in keeping with social norms, I am not."
Despite the level tone, Kasumi felt like she had hit a sore spot. Akechi had shortcomings as well it seemed. Expected everyone else to go along with the herd while he scoffed down at them from his place above. "So, after I tell you that no one really believes in the phantom thieves and I am generally seen with envy among the student body, what then?"
"Then," Akechi continued, his last remnants of cordiality beginning to break down, "you will report back to me. Call me at exactly 9:30 pm tomorrow night. Don't be late."
"…And then?" Kasumi pressed, exasperated.
"Then I tell you what comes next."
"What!?" Screeching at him, Kasumi couldn't believe the sassy remark. Waiting for an answer, Kasumi realized that the line was dead. He'd hung up on her. "Unbelievable, rotten, filthy… thing!"
Swearing at that lousy, teasing detective, Kasumi threw her phone to her desk in disgust. She had never felt so humiliated, so belittled in all of her life. It was made worse by the fact that Akechi knew Kasumi had no choice but to obey him to the letter.
"Hey, uh Kas, you doing all right in there?"
"Huh?" Glancing at the door, Kasumi jumped slightly, not sure if she was more surprised by Sumire knocking or the nickname that she hadn't heard for at least two years. "Y-yeah, I'm not bad."
"Oh… I just thought I heard you loudly swearing… I must have been mistaken."
Blushing, Kasumi wondered when her sister had become so sassy. So bold. So unlike me nowadays. Kasumi couldn't even stand up to an impertinent detective or her principal.
"So, I'll just… Go back to my room?"
"Actually," Kasumi spoke, a question crossing her mind, "why do you have so much confidence in the phantom thieves? …Assuming they exist anyway."
"They exist." Sumire shot back from through the door instantly.
Frowning at her confidence, that didn't sound like hope to Kasumi. That sounded like someone who knew something. Walking to the door, Kasumi opened it and looked at her sister. Sumire was recently showered, her wet hair held up in a towel. She also wasn't wearing her glasses because of this. It was almost hard for Kasumi to recognize her in this state.
She was… glowing. An energy or happiness that had been missing previously. Now, it was easy for Kasumi to see exactly how much was wrong with her before. It was night and day. Looking at her only made Kasumi feel worse. Sumire kept improving while Kasumi's life seemed to fall apart more and more as the days went on.
"H-hey…" Sumire said awkwardly from a foot away. "U-Umm, to answer your question, I have confidence in them… because they help people. If you wait a little longer, they'll help you as well!"
"That's nice," Kasumi smiles politely, "but I don't have very long. I have another TV appearance tomorrow morning. Soon reporters will be clamoring over the students, hunting for information about me."
"Oh no…" Sumire gasped, eyes widening with fear. "I'll tell them to… I mean, uh… I'm sure they'll get to it soon!"
Narrowing her eyes, Kasumi felt her suspicions return. Leaning closer to Sumire, Kasumi watched as she flinched and shifted nervously. "…You're hiding something, aren't you?"
"W-what!? Me, hiding something? Psh, of course not!"
Sighing Kasumi dropped it and shook her head at the horrible display of innocence. "Whatever. And thank you for trying to help me. I'll be alright…"
I promise.
But the last two words wouldn't come. Kasumi didn't want to break a promise to her. Even if she lied on occasion, that was a line Kasumi wouldn't cross.
"Okay… Well, good night!"
"See you," giving her a parting wave, Kasumi shut the door again and retreated to her bed. Tumbling upon it, the energy to do the things she was supposed to wouldn't come. Falling into an uneasy sleep, Kasumi laid there with clothes on, unshowered as arrays of nightmares posing as dreams assaulted her subconscious.
Wednesday May 18th, 20XX After school
Sumire's heart hurt more as she continued to watch. She had initially noticed something at lunch, but now, following Kasumi from a safe distance, Sumire finally got a first-hand account of what exactly was happening. Her sister was walking around somewhat aimlessly stopping people and asking them questions.
In general, it seemed to Sumire that Kasumi had started mostly with girls but had begun gravitating to men. The boys of the school were more likely to talk to her and didn't give her those sullen half glares of envy. Sumire knew the expression well. It was one she had given to Kasumi for most of a year. An acknowledgement that, as a person, you knew Kasumi was better than you.
The boys at least were less likely to do that. Some of the more studious ones seemed upset that Kasumi got more time to write midterms and finals, not that she had used it for this last set, Sumire wanted to yell at them. What Sumire couldn't figure out, was the point of Kasumi's first question she was asking people. Maybe it was just a way of breaking the ice but querying them about the phantom thieves seemed strange. Then, like clockwork, Kasumi would transition it into a question about what they thought of her, one of the school's honour students.
Wincing for her sister, Sumire watched as yet another guy spoke some vague platitudes about it was cool to have high level athletes at the school, and, did she want to go get coffee? Turning down yet another proposal, Kasumi walked into an empty hallway, most of the student body having left for the day. There, as Sumire followed her, Kasumi slumped to the ground, arms over her head as she leaned against the wall.
"I'll help you… I promise." Whispering the words, Sumire ducked away and ran to the entrance. She hadn't seen the new interview yet, but once it got out to the student base, Sumire was sure their attitude toward Kasumi would only worsen. Maybe that's what this canvassing was. An effort to get them to see her a person, a fellow student, rather than a strange entity that only pretended to be one of them.
Reaching the front gate of the school, Sumire looked around for a place where she could hide. Seeing the alley just across the way, Sumire entered it part ways so that she wasn't visible from the main street. Even people leaving the school could easily miss her if they didn't look specifically at her.
Pulling out her phone, Sumire began her search anew. Noun after noun poured off her lips. An internet constructed list of buildings and structures fell one by one. Always with another to take its place.
Getting past the hundredth guess, Sumire closed her eyes, putting her phone in her bag. Rubbing her eyes for a bit, Sumire slid to the ground. The dirt and filth on the ground no longer bothering her. Her legs could stand for hours, but Sumire didn't have the energy for that anymore. It was all turned into motivation at the seemingly endless task ahead of her. It was like trying to pick a lock by inputting random numbers. Starting from 0000 and working her way to 9999 unsure of when she'd actually hit the correct entry.
"Observatory."
"No match found."
"Office building."
"No match found."
"Opera house."
"No match found."
"Outbuilding."
"No match found."
"Outhouse!"
"No match found."
"Gah!" With another character down, Sumire was growing desperate. It was possible that the correct answer wasn't even on this list. Staring nervously at the slowly darkening sky, Sumire made a decision. She'd finish what she had and if there was nothing, go home and do some more compiling.
"Parliament."
"No match found."
"Pavilion."
"No match found."
"Plant."
"No match found."
"Playground."
"Match found."
"Police station… Wait, what!?" Jumping to her feet, Sumire's numb legs stumbled from the unexpected use after killing their circulation for so long.
Finger hovering over the begin navigation button, Sumire took one last glance at the school, and the place where she saw Kasumi collapse. "I'll get you your help sis, I swear."
Mashing the button strongly, Sumire stood there as the dizzy sensation hit her again. Like entering Madarame's palace, the whole world shifted in front of her. Despite it only being early evening, the area where Sumire was standing was bathed in darkness. Looking nervously around her, Sumire felt like she could see things, figures, shifting in the total darkness.
Panting from fear, Sumire took a step toward the school. To where the building should be. A playground, Sumire guessed. Emerging from the pitch-dark alleyway, Sumire gaped at the building.
The ten-year-old inside her was screaming in pure, unadulterated joy. It looked so fun. The playground had every imaginable toy and feature, stacked on top of each other in layers through what appeared to be a maze, or obstacle course of levels. Hiding more fun inside. All around the massive building, was one massive slide that wound its way from the pinnacle to the base floor just in front of her.
Taking a moment to examine the structure of the whole, Sumire finally realized that the entire place was fully illuminated. A singular light at the top seemed to cast light upon the building. The higher the floor, the brighter it would be. While the base floor wasn't dark per se, Sumire would call it dingy.
Turning around, the rest of the city, as far as Sumire could see, was pitch black. Staring at any of the shadows for too long and she could practically see them staring back. This playground appeared to be some sort of utopia, or maybe it would be more accurate to call it a bastion of safety. The one bright spot in an otherwise dark and cruel world.
"Wait… Is this… How the principal… Sees the world?" While it sounded right to Sumire, she couldn't help but think of how strange that was. She imagined that only someone small, someone like her, could fear the world so much. What did the principal have to be scared of?
Curiosity piqued, Sumire found herself walking forward. Reaching the slide that wrapped around the building, Sumire blanched as she took in the scale of the thing. It was easily over three metres in diameter. Sumire could stand on top of Kasumi's shoulders and still fit within the behemoth. With a new perspective on scale, Sumire trembled as she regarded the rest of the playground. "…It's huge." Every single aspect of the place would take forever to navigate, to the point where the pleasure of the experience would be muted by the distance needed to travel.
Already Sumire could imagine ball pits the size of swimming pools. Monkey bars a hundred metres long with a fall also scaled up to the point of being exceedingly dangerous. Everything fun about a playground, playhouse mix taken up to a level where the entertainment aspect was left behind.
"Hehe, are you here to play with me?"
"W-what?" Turning, Sumire stared in shock at a small child, at least they looked like one at first. A girl, Sumire thought, however the face so exceedingly generic it was hard to tell. Straight black hair in the traditional style and wearing… a shujin uniform.
"I said," the girl pouted, "are you going to play with me."
"I-I'm sorry," Sumire apologized, wincing at rejected the strange child, "I can't today."
"Ignore her," a boy interrupted approaching the girl. Wincing upon viewing him, Sumire was positive something was wrong with the two. The boy as well had nothing remarkable about his appearance to mention. The only difference being he was wearing a male uniform and his hair was shorter. "Let's go play, Female Student 2948."
"Alright, Male Student 3591. Goodbye stranger. Let's play sometime."
With that the two generic students took off toward the entrance. Veering off the side, they reached a smaller playground set in front of the giant entrance. Taking up sides on a seesaw, the two got on and began going up and down. Making no noises while doing it. Shivering from the strange sight, Sumire gasped as she caught sight of the next piece of equipment. There, on the swing set were two more children, both in male uniforms swinging peacefully. However, they were both identical to the one that Sumire had met.
"T-this is insane…" Turning around, Sumire ran back to where she had entered. Unheeding the swirling darkness, Sumire tossed herself at the location she had entered; praying it would work like last time.
Thankfully, the dizzy sensation hit her again, signifying a change of world. Laying on the ground, Sumire shivered, unable to stand. It was too much. Her trust in Senpai may have helped Sumire with some things, but this was too far. She wasn't a phantom thief. She knew nothing about what Senpai and his friends were doing.
Convincing herself that she had done enough, Sumire slowly pulled herself off the cold pavement. Dashing for the train station, Sumire passed, not heeding, a confused set of brown eyes, unsure of what they had just witnessed.
