Chapter Eleven
Travel Preparations
June 21st, 2017
Kichijoji Sports Club - Noon
Ren was currently sitting in one of the guest chairs that sat against the walls inside of the gymnastics training room at the Kichijoji Sports Club while Morgana was sitting silently inside Ren's shoulder bag, watching Sumire as she practiced her rhythmic gymnastics routines with her coach and all the other students. Sumire was wearing her training clothes which consisted of a red sports tank top with a black sports bra underneath, a pair of black athletic tights that stopped halfway across her shins, a pair of black leather sneakers with red laces, and a blue hairband that kept her hair pulled back in a ponytail.
True to his word, Ren made sure to come over to Sumire's practice so he could accompany her as she asked Coach Hiraguchi for her permission to allow Sumire to do her gymnastics training as she traveled with Ren and the others across the country… Of course, Ren couldn't possibly actually tell Coach Hiraguchi that he'd be traveling around the entire country, so he figured it'd be better to simply say that he was going to Sapporo since that is one of the places he needed to go to. Although truth be told, the thought of asking Sumire's coach for such permission made Ren feel pretty nervous, but he was positive it wasn't nearly as much as the nervousness Sumire must have been feeling. However, seeing Sumire practice her routines, moving around like a dancing ballerina, was enough to help ease his nerves. Seeing Sumire move around like this reminded him of the time she performed her new style for gymnastics for her coach back in January, when everyone was stuck inside of Dr. Maruki's ideal reality, and even back when Sumire performed her little dance for Ren at the Shujin post-festival party back in October of last year. If he could, Ren would love to see Sumire dance for him again one day… or better yet, he would love to be able to dance with her.
A whole hour had passed by and the training session had officially come to an end. The students were now all panting in exhaustion from the intensity of Coach Hiraguchi's intense training exercise, which was to be expected since Ren remembered what Coach Hiraguchi said to Sumire back in January: The path to international gymnastics competitions is harsh and relentless.
"Alright, everyone!" Coach Hiraguchi addressed her students, catching all of their attention. "Good work today. Be sure to come back tomorrow at the same hour, and until then, you are all dismissed."
With that said, most of the other students had already begun grabbing their duffle bags and heading back to the locker rooms to change back into their regular clothes. However, Sumire stayed in the same position that she was standing in. She looked over at Ren, who in turn stood up from his chair, picked the Mona bag back up, placed it over his shoulder, and walked up to her. Ren could easily see in Sumire's eyes that she was definitely still very nervous about making this kind of request, even to the point where her hands were shaking.
Ren slowly reached out his right hand and grabbed a gentle hold of Sumire's left hand, softly stroking his thumb over her delicate skin and smiling softly at her. Slowly, Sumire began to feel her nervous feelings fade away. Although she was still feeling rather nervous, the gentle touch from her boyfriend's hand and his warm smile were enough to help ease Sumire's worries. Sumire then looked back over at Coach Hiraguchi, who was putting some of her own personal belongings into her duffle bag, before taking a big gulp and a sharp inhale.
"Coach…!" Sumire spoke loudly as she and Ren both walked up to the elder woman.
Coach Hiraguchi looked up from her duffle bag, at the young couple. She then gave Ren a friendly smile.
"Ah, Amamiya-kun. It's nice to see you again." Hiraguchi said politely.
"Nice to see you again too…" Ren kindly responded with a bow of his head.
"Sumire told me that you were coming to visit for your whole summer vacation." Hiraguchi said before her face changed to a cheeky smirk. "Let me guess, are you two going out for a lunch date today?"
"Actually, Coach…" Sumire started before she took in another deep breath. "...We have something we wanted to ask you."
"Oh…?" Hiraguchi asked as she slightly tilted her head to the side.
"...It turns out I won't be able to stay here in town for my whole summer." Ren began the explanation. "There is some very important family business I have to deal with in Sapporo, and it's rather likely that I'll be over there for the rest of the summer."
"So, me and Senpai were wondering if…" Sumire jumped into the explanation, her left hand tightly squeezed onto Ren's right hand. "...We were wondering if you'd be okay if I could go with Senpai to Sapporo, so we could continue to spend the summer together…"
Coach Hiraguchi looked at the young teenagers. She didn't say a word in response, but she had this look on her face that just screamed uncertainty and lack of approval. She then looked over at Ren.
"When exactly are you expected to leave for Sapporo?" Hiraguchi asked.
"About two days…" Ren answered as honestly as he possibly could.
Coach Hiraguchi silently hummed to herself as she placed a hand on her hip, her eyes darted down to the floor. She remained completely silent for about eighteen to twenty seconds before she closed her eyes and shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Amamiya-kun," Hiragushi began. "but I cannot allow Sumire to just leave Tokyo to go to another big city. Sumire has a major competition coming up by the end of August, and I cannot just allow her to skip out on all of her training sessions, putting her future to reach the top of the gymnastics world at risk, just so she can spend the summer with you."
"I understand, ma'am," Ren responded politely. "and that's actually something I wanted to bring up too… What if I helped Sumire with her gymnastics training while she was with me?"
"Do you even know what types of training Sumire will need to go through, every day?" Hiraguchi shot back at Ren.
Ren felt himself come to a pause. He couldn't utter a single word in response to Coach Hiraguchi's question, since he really had no idea whatsoever about the different kinds of training that would be necessary for Sumire to undergo in preparation for her big competition by the end of the summer… Ren really didn't think all of this through.
"I'll take your silence as a 'no' then." Hiraguchi spoke back up. "Again, I'm sorry for your unfortunate circumstances, but I personally chose Sumire to be this club's representative, and having Sumire show up either very unprepared or not even showing up at all will not only reflect badly on her but the rest of her fellow classmates… I cannot afford to put the futures of any of my students at risk."
Ren and Sumire were now both at a complete loss for words. They both looked at each other, their eyes were filled with both defeat and disappointment. It seemed like there really was no chance for them to remain together for the rest of the summer, that this was really where their time together came to an end… Sumire then looked back at her coach.
"I… I understand, Coach." Sumire choked on her own words. "...I'm sorry for taking up your time…"
With that said, Sumire turned around and walked over to where the girl's locker room was, to get herself changed out of her training clothes and back into her regular ones. Ren and Hiraguchi both looked at each other, feeling uncomfortable at knowing how harshly Sumire must be taking Hiraguchi's answer.
Twenty minutes had passed before Sumire came out of the locker room, wearing her regular clothes again and with her duffle bag over her shoulder. Hiraguchi watched as Ren walked over to Sumire, gently placed his left hand on her back, and escorted her out of the room. Even though she believed she made the right call for the sake of all of her students, it still personally hurt Hiraguchi to see Sumire so upset.
As Ren escorted Sumire out of the building, he couldn't help but notice that there were some small trails of tears left on Sumire's cheeks. It was more than likely that Sumire had spent those twenty minutes in the locker room, silently crying while she was getting changed. Ren felt his heart sink seeing her like this, and he gently pulled Sumire in for a soft hug.
"I'm so sorry, Sumire…" Ren said quietly.
"It's not your fault, Senpai…" Sumire responded, her voice shaking. "I honestly knew that Coach wouldn't be so likely to agree to let me leave with you, but I just… I- I just…"
Sumire could feel the tears coming back into her eyes. Her shaky voice suddenly changed into whimpers as she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks again. She then tightly closed her eyes while balling her hands into fists.
"I hate this!" Sumire cried out. "Why do you have to leave so soon, after we just go to be together again for only a week?! This just isn't fair!"
Ren, too, was feeling very hurt at knowing that he and Sumire will have to be separated from each other so soon. There really was no telling exactly when Ren and the others would be finished with the whole cross-country trip around Japan to find all of the other Jails and their Monarchs, which meant that Ren and Sumire may potentially not get to see each other again after he leaves. They'd both have to spend, at the very least, almost the rest of the year before they could potentially see each other again, which meant about double the time they both had to spend without being able to hold hands, hug, or kiss each other since the last time Ren left. This was always a major issue that couples had whenever it came to long-distance relationships. The total lack of feeling of your significant other's presence is always a troubling feeling, and it's something that makes the relationship just feel incomplete.
Ren slowly and gently pulled Sumire into a hug, allowing Sumire to sob into Ren's chest. As this happened, Morgana popped his head out of Ren's bag, his face filled with remorse at how unfortunate the circumstances were for the two young lovers.
"Sumire…" Morgana said softly.
Suddenly, Ren's phone pinged, which most likely meant Sophia had something to say.
"You've got an incoming call from Ryuji." Sophia's voice muffled from within Ren's pocket.
Upon hearing this, Sumire tried her best to get her crying under control while Ren pulled his phone out of his pocket and accepted the incoming call. Ren placed his phone up against his ear.
"Yo, man! What's bonkin'?!" Ryuji said as loudly and energetically as ever.
"...Nothing's really 'bonking' right now, Ryuji." Ren said a little bitterly.
"Hm?" Ryuji seemed to have picked up that something was off with his friend. "You alright, dude? You sound kinda down."
"...Yeah… Things just aren't really going the way I hoped they would today." Ren answered.
"...I dunno what's got ya so down in the dumps right now, but hopefully this'll cheer ya up." Ryuji said before continuing. "I'm callin' because I wanted to see if you'd like to go with me and Ann to get some ramen at Ogikubo. I kinda wanna do like a celebration for gettin' the whole band back together before we go off on our big trip."
Ren pondered at the idea for a bit. He wasn't sure if a bowl of well-made ramen would really help ease the pain that both Ren and Sumire were feeling right now, but Ren did know that he would at least like to spend as much time as he could with Sumire and make as many lovely memories as possible before they separate again.
"Hey, Ryuji, is it okay if Sumire comes with us too?" Ren asked in a hopeful tone.
"Hell yeah, man, of course she can tag along!" Ryuji responded positively. "The more, the fair-ier!"
Ren chuckled in amusement.
"The more, the 'merrier.'" Ren corrected his friend. "Anyway, thanks, Ryuji. We'll be on our way over there."
Ren said before ending the call and putting his phone back into his pocket. Sumire looked at Ren with slight confusion.
"Senpai, what just happened?" Sumire asked
"Ryuji asked if I wanted to meet up with him and Ann at Ogikubo for some ramen." Ren answered honestly.
"Oh, I see… But why did you ask if I could come with you?" Sumire asked with her head tilted to the side.
Ren leaned his head forward until his forehead gently touched Sumire's.
"Because I want to make sure I spend every minute I possibly can with you." Ren said softly. "I'd hate for us to be separated while on a down note. I'd rather us be as happy with each other's company before I have to leave."
"...Senpai…" Sumire softly responded.
"Alright, come on. Let's go join up with Ryuji and Ann." Ren said as he gently took hold of Sumire's hand before they both walked off to the train station.
Ogikubo Ramen Shop, One Hour Later…
Ren, Sumire, Ryuji, and Ann all sat alongside each other on the bar stools of Ryuji's favorite ramen shop, with Ren sitting in between Sumire and Ryuji, and Sumire sitting in between Ren and Ann. Once they arrived at the restaurant, Ren and Sumire both explained to the two blondes how Sumire's coach refused to give her permission to allow Sumire to join Ren and the others for the long road trip. Both Ryuji and Ann shared their condolences for the unfortunate couple, giving them pats on their shoulders and/or their backs.
Ryuji decided that Ren and Sumire's bowls would be paid for from his own pocket, as a way to help his two friends feel a little bit better. After about half an hour of waiting, the group of teenagers all received their steaming hot bowls of well-made ramen. Ryuji was already wolfing down his bowl as if it was the first thing he got to eat throughout the whole day, which wasn't much to either Ren or Ann's surprise since they both knew how much Ryuji adored ramen.
"DAMN! This shit's the bomb!" Ryuji cried out excitedly. "This is what I'm talkin' about! No ramen, no life!"
"You really love ramen, huh Ryuji-senpai?" Sumire asked while looking at the bleach-haired boy with an amused smile on her face.
"Hell yeah! I could eat this forever!" Ryuji responded energetically.
"You're gonna get fat, you know." Ann spoke up, poking fun at all the times Ryuji criticized Ann for eating a lot of calories. "But then again, the ramen is pretty good, though."
Ren couldn't help but feel a small smile form on his face, feeling a sudden sense of nostalgia.
"You know, this almost reminds me of when we first officially put together our organization." Ren said softly, reminiscing the time when he, Ryuji, and Ann all decided to continue being Phantom Thieves to continue helping people and to punish the criminals who make the people suffer.
"Oh yeah! That was back when it was just you, me, an' Ann." Ryuji responded, now also feeling nostalgic.
Suddenly, Morgana's head popped out of Ren's bag that sat on the floor. The black cat glared up at Ryuji.
"Hey, what about me?!" Morgana asked aloud. "I was part of the original team too, you know!"
"I remember that you ate too much food, that you ended up feelin' like crap." Ryuji said with a little laugh at the end.
"So did you, Ryuji." Ren pointed out with a deadpan expression.
"Ate too much? Senpai, what are you guys talking about?" Sumire asked with her head tilted to the side.
"Oh, well you see…" Ren began his explanation. "After Kamoshida came forth with the truth of every horrible thing he had done, me, Morgana, Ryuji, and Ann all decided to celebrate by dining at this really fancy hotel. Me, Ryuji, and Morgana ended up getting so much food that we basically overstuffed ourselves to the point where we felt pretty unwell…"
"Yeah, and Ann didn't even bother tryin' to help us finish it all." Ryuji added to the explanation.
"Hey, I told you guys that I was way too stuffed to help you finish all of that food." Ann responded in a defensive manner.
"Yeah, just before you continued to stuff your face with cheesecake and every other dessert you could get your hands on." Ren shot back at Ann, to which Ann gave him the stink eye.
Suddenly, Ren's phone pinged. Ren pulled his phone out from his pocket and Sophia showed up on the screen.
"Hey, can I see the ramen, please?" Sophia asked politely.
Ren kindly nodded at Sophia's request and aimed the screen down at his ramen bowl. Sophia's eyes sparkled with intrigue.
"Oh, so this is what ramen is." Sophia said in interest.
"Looks pretty tasty, doesn't it, Sophia?" Sumire asked while looking at the bright redheaded AI. "Too bad you can't taste it, though."
"They got extra large bowls too. You won't believe how much stuff they put in it." Ryuji added to the conversation.
Sophia's eyes were now beaming with intrigue once again.
"I want to see it." Sophia said excitedly.
"Huh?" Ryuji responded in confusion.
"I want to see some extra large ramen." Sophia repeated more specifically.
"...Show her, Ryuji." Ann spoke up with a mischievous grin on her face.
"No way! I'm already having a bowl!" Ryuji protested.
"You just said you could eat ramen forever." Ann shot back, her mischievous grin growing wider. "Do it for Sophia."
"Hrgh… Way to put me on the spot." Ryuji groaned before he formed a look of determination on his face. "Fine, challenge accepted! …But I'm taking you guys down with me!"
Ren, Sumire, and Ann all felt a wave of unease swoop over them upon hearing Ryuji's bold declaration. Ryuji then turned his attention to the head chef.
"Hey, Boss, we'll take four extra large bowls over here!" Ryuji shouted with gusto.
"Huh? Are we really doing this?!" Sumire asked in surprise.
One Hour and a Half Later…
An hour and a half had passed since Ryuji placed the order for four extra large ramen bowls. After fifty-five minutes of waiting and eating their regular bowls, the group of teenagers was all presented with their extra-large bowls. The ramen was towering above each of the extra large bowls, practically reaching each of the teenagers' chests.
Ren, Ryuji, and Ann all braced themselves for the inevitable full bellies that they'd all have once they were all finished as they all began to eat their bowls. It took them all a full thirty-five minutes to complete all of their ramen, and almost all of the teenagers felt as if they couldn't eat another bite. Ren specifically felt like he had gained a belt notch or two.
"I can't… No more…" Ann whined with her eyes closed.
"Urp… Gonna puke." Ryuji whined as he held a hand up to his mouth.
"Thanks for sharing, Ryuji…" Ren responded sarcastically with a groan, before looking over at Sumire. "...How about you, Sumi? …Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes, Senpai, I feel just fine. Thank you for asking." Sumire replied casually, as if eating all that ramen didn't do anything to her stomach.
"Are you serious?!..." Ann cried out as she looked at Sumire in disbelief. "You ate all of that ramen… and you're still not full?"
"Sumire… I envy your stomach…" Ryuji groaned some more.
"Are you guys done with your shenanigans?" Morgana asked the teenagers with a deadpan expression.
"We should be…" Ren groaned again before he looked at the screen of his phone. "...Did you see all of that, Sophia?"
"Yes. Thank you, Ren, I have learned a lot from this." Sophia replied with a smile on her face.
"Glad to know…" Ren groaned once again while also smiling gently.
"Oh, I'm definitely going to gain some weight from this… So much for being on a diet…" Ann whined some more. "...I really need to lie down."
"Yeah… I think all that ramen's going to put me into a food coma." Ren replied.
"Then I suppose we should get going now." Sumire suggested as she got up from her stool. "My dad actually wants me to be home early today."
"Alright… then let's get going." Ren said as he, Ryuji, and Ann all got up from their stools.
Ryuji paid the bill for all his, Ren's, and Sumire's regular bowls as well as all of the extra large bowls while Ann only paid for hers. Sumire picked her duffle bag up from the floor and placed it over her shoulder while Ren picked the Mona bag back up and placed it over his own shoulder. The teenagers then left the ramen shop.
As they all made it outside, attempting to make their way over to the closest train station, Ren noticed a black taxi cab driving up to them on the side of the road and, much to his surprise, slowed down just enough to match the movement of the teenagers. As the driver's seat window rolled down, Ren couldn't help but feel his eyes bolt wide open when he saw who it was that was driving the taxi.
"Well well well…" A familiar voice spoke up from inside the taxi. "I certainly wasn't expecting to find you kids here."
Ren and the others easily recognized the driver's voice all too well. They easily recognized the short, brown, unkempt hairstyle as well as the black rectangular glasses on the driver's face.
The driver was none other than Takuto Maruki, the former therapist and counselor for Shujin Academy.
"Dr. Maruki…" Ren responded with a smile forming on his face at seeing his old friend again.
"It's just 'Maruki' now, Ren. Remember, I'm not really a therapist anymore." Maruki responded with a smile of his own.
"Even so, it's amazing to see you again." Sumire said with a bright smile on her face.
"Hey, Doc!" Ryuji exclaimed excitedly, being able to ignore the discomfort in his stomach. "What'r you doin' here?"
"Just doing business," Maruki answered honestly, "helping people go to the places they all need to go and all that jazz… Now, do tell, what business do you kids have here?"
"Oh, we were just heading home after having some ramen…" Ann answered Maruki's question before holding onto her stomach. "...a little too much ramen, that is."
Maruki let out an amused chuckle.
"Well then," Maruki began, "would you kids like a ride home?"
"Are you sure, Maruki-san?" Sumire asked.
"Of course." Maruki responded full-heartedly. "It'll be a nice opportunity to catch up with you all."
"Alright, if you insist." Ren said as he walked over to the back-seat door and opened it.
As the group of teenagers all climbed into Maruki's cab, with Ren, Sumire, and Ryuji all sitting in the back seats, Morgana laying in Ren's bag on the floor, and Ann sitting up in the front passenger seat, Maruki drove the cab away from the ramen shop and back onto the open road.
"Alright, so you guys want to go straight to Leblanc. Is that correct?" Maruki asked his passengers.
"No, not quite yet." Ren answered quickly. "Sumire first needs to get dropped off at home because her father is expecting her to be home early."
"No, Senpai, it's okay." Sumire quickly interjected. "If we go straight to Leblanc, I can still catch a train back home and make it by that time."
"Are you sure?" Ren asked the redhead, who simply nodded in response. "...Alright, then I guess we're heading for Leblanc."
"Very well, then it's off to Yongen-Jaya we go." Maruki declared.
A couple of minutes had passed since Ren told Maruki to drive them over to Leblanc in Yongen-Jayai. During that time, most of the kids held onto their stomachs, trying to make sure that they didn't end up getting motion sickness along the way. Suddenly, Maruki cleared his throat.
"I must say…" Maruki began his train of thought. "...I really wasn't expecting the righteous Phantom Thieves to come back into action after what happened back in February."
Most of the kids found themselves chuckling rather sheepishly in response to Maruki's ice-breaking topic.
"Yeah… We honestly weren't really expecting it to happen either." Ren admitted. "We were so sure that our work was finished after we stole your treasure."
"I was too." Maruki responded. "Also, to think that your next target would have ended up being Alice Hiiragi. I honestly never would have expected her to have a Palace of her own."
"Actually, Dr. Maruki… Alice didn't have a Palace." Ann interjected.
Although he was keeping his eyes on the road ahead, Maruki's facial expression became one of surprise and confusion at what Ann just said.
"What do you mean?" Maruki asked. "...Didn't you kids send her that calling card because she had a treasure to steal?"
"Not quite." Morgana said as he looked up at the driver. "You see, what Alice Hiiragi had was something that is rather similar to a Palace, but not quite the exact same."
"What Alice had was instead called a 'Jail'." Sumire added to the conversation. "From what we understand, while Palaces are formed from the distorted desires from within one's heart, Jails are instead formed from the traumatic experiences that someone goes through in life."
"...It honestly reminded me of how your Palace was formed, Doc." Ren added with a solemn expression. "It reminded me of how your Palace was born from your own desire to end all suffering in the world because of the pain you experienced with being unable to heal Rumi's own trauma."
"Also, the reason why we sent Alice that callin' card was because she was actually stealin' other people's Desires." Ryuji stated, which made Maruki cock his eyebrow in confusion.
"...Stealing other people's Desires?" Maruki asked.
"From what we know, Desires are basically the same thing as Treasures in Palaces." Morgana began to explain. "However, unlike Palace rulers who spend their time guarding their own Treasures, Alice had the ability to steal Desires from other people by luring their Shadows into her Jail and using her guards to steal their Desires. Once the Desires were in her possession, she had the power to make those whose Desires she stole do whatever she wanted them to do."
"...Alice went through a miserable life of being bullied and having no friends. She even had her heart broken when one of her bullies took away a guy that she really liked." Ann added to the conversation with a solemn expression of her own. "That's why she saw it necessary to use her Jail to steal the Desires of so many men, to make other women feel what Alice felt for so long."
Maruki hummed to himself. This new revelation of a new form of the cognitive world, different from Palaces and having its own set of rules, all felt rather curious to him.
"A Jail…" Maruki said to himself. "...I wonder, had I never formed a Palace myself, if I ever would have gained a Jail of my own."
"I could only hope that you wouldn't have gotten one, Maruki-san." Sumire said softly.
"Well, no use in thinking about what could have been." Maruki responded with a positive tone. "My Treasure has already been stolen, and I'm doing my best to live my life much more honestly now."
The young thieves all felt themselves smiling.
"Speaking of which, Doc…" Ren started up. "How's life been going for you since we last saw you?"
"Life's been pretty simple, honestly." Maruki answered. "I haven't really been doing much other than my simple job of taking people places…"
Maruki felt himself come to a pause as he stopped the cab at a red light. He then looked down at the steering wheel.
"...Actually, that's not all I've been doing…" Maruki spoke up again. "...I actually went to see Rumi again a couple of months ago."
All of the young thieves widened their eyes in surprise at this new revelation.
"You went to see Rumi?!" Ren asked in shock. "...How did that go?"
"Well…" Maruki began before taking a deep inhale. "...A couple of weeks after you left to go back home, I started to think about what happened after the world was restored to normal and I lost my powers. I wondered if the cognitions of the people I've changed had reverted back to how they were before, and I became worried at the thought of Rumi reverting back to her unstable state. So, being driven by that fear, I looked up the address of Rumi's grandparents, and made my way over to their house… When I got there, I saw Rumi helping her grandparents with some chores around the house. It seemed like she was actually doing just fine from what I could see. I thought about driving away, but then Rumi seemed to have noticed my car and came walking up to it. When I got out of my car and revealed myself, she was utterly speechless; she could only cover her mouth with her eyes bolted wide open. It took her a few minutes to finally ask me why I was there, and I told her the truth, that I was worried about her mental state."
"She must've been happy to see ya again, Doc." Ryuji said
"...Not exactly." Maruki responded hesitantly. "...She was actually more upset with seeing me again after I just left her all alone after rewriting her cognition."
Maruki took his left hand off of the steering wheel and placed it on his left cheek.
"Rumi even has quite a slap, I must say." Maruki said before he placed his hand back on the steering wheel and continued, "I apologized to her for what I had done, and I explained to her that I had thought it was the right thing to do at the time, given her condition after the accident. She then seemed reluctant to accept my apology, but after a short while, she just hugged me and started crying… After that, for two whole months, things were slowly patching up between us. We've stayed in touch with each other, and I even found some chances to come to see her with her grandparents every once in a while. Things were going quite smoothly… until…"
Maruki felt himself come to a pause as a sad look crossed his face, causing Ren, Sumire, Morganga, Ryuji, and Ann to worry slightly.
"Until… what?" asked Ann cautiously.
"…Until we found out that Rumi's grandfather was diagnosed with cancer." Maruki answered with a croak in his voice, causing the hearts of the young thieves to sink as their eyes bolted wide open in disbelief. "The doctors say it's inoperable, and the most any chemo or radiation treatments could do was buy him some extra time. In short, it's terminal… Rumi was a sobbing mess when we arrived back at her grandparents' house. All I could do was watch as the tears rolled down her cheeks, and it killed me to know that there was nothing I could do to ease her pain… Rumi eventually snapped and yelled at me, saying that she didn't need me to keep her company, especially after what I had done to her in the past. She then accused me that after her grandfather passes, I would either rewrite her cognition again to make her forget about her grandfather, or just leave her all alone if I can't do anything to ease her pain. She demanded me to leave her alone and never come to see her again…"
Maruki then clenched his hands onto the steering wheel tightly and felt his face harden as he reminisced about what happened next.
"...But I refused." Maruki said strongly.
Just then, the street light turned from red to green. Maruki slowly pushed his foot onto the gas, and the cab slowly gained speed again as it continued to move down the road.
"I told Rumi that I was not going to leave her alone nor rewrite her cognition again… I then told her about my experience counseling at Shujin, about how I watched you kids be able to tackle the relentless and unfair hardships that life has been throwing at all of you, and still manage to find happiness in your lives. I even told her about you, Ren, how you helped me learn that a life without suffering can lead to a life without knowing exactly what someone finds to be most precious and knowing exactly what someone would want out of life. You kids all helped me have a change of heart… So I took hold of her hands, and I promised her that I will stay by her side as she goes through this painful moment and all others to come. Even though it hurts me to know that I can't do anything to take away her pain, I will still be there to lend her an open ear and a shoulder to cry on whenever she may need it."
Maruki's face softened up as he felt a small smile form on his face.
"Since then, I've been encouraging Rumi and her grandparents to spend as much time and do as much together as possible before Rumi's grandfather passes. So far, Rumi has been slowly coming to terms that her grandfather will eventually pass. She still feels pain knowing it'll happen, but she says that she believes she's becoming more capable of accepting it." Maruki said softly.
Ren, Sumire, Morgana, Ryuji, and Ann all couldn't help but smile. Maruki had really come a long way from being the clumsy school psychiatrist and gentle madman that he had been since the last time they had seen him, and Ren himself couldn't help but feel proud of the man for the choices he was now making in his life.
After a while of driving on the busy roads, the cab finally reached Yongen-Jaya. The cab eventually pulled up next to the alleyway where Leblanc was located.
"How much do we owe?" Ren asked Maruki.
"Don't worry about it. This ride's on the house." Maruki answered with a smile on his face before looking at the young thieves. "You kids have fun with the rest of your summer break, and just try not to do anything too crazy."
"We'll try." Ren responded with a smile of his own. "Take care of yourself, Doc… and be sure to give Rumi all of our condolences for her grandfather."
"Thank you. I'll make sure she knows." Maruki said.
Ren grabbed hold of the Mona bag as he, Sumire, Ryuji, and Ann all climbed out of the cab. The young thieves all waved "Goodbye" to Maruki as he slowly pulled out of Yongen-Jaya and drove back onto the main road.
As the cab vanished from sight, Sumire's face now had a saddened look plastered onto it.
"Well… I guess I should head on home now." Sumire said sadly.
Ren took hold of Sumire's hand with a sympathetic look on his face.
"Again, I'm sorry things didn't turn out the way you hoped, Sumi…" Ren said, softly. "...If you'd like, we could spend a whole day together tomorrow before I have to leave. I'll even spend the rest of the day today thinking of things we could do."
"I think I would like that." Sumire replied softly as she looked up at Ren.
Ren then placed the Mona bag over his shoulder before he placed his now free hand onto Sumire's cheek. Ren slowly leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Sumire's lips. Sumire let out a soft moan as she felt Ren's lips on hers. After a few seconds, Ren pulled away and looked at Sumire with soft eyes.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Sumi." Ren said softly, to which Sumire simply nodded in reply.
Sumire placed her duffle bag over her shoulder, and she made her way down the road that led to the train station. Ren could only let out a sad sigh as he watched Sumire walk off into the distance.
"Hey, man, it'll all be okay." Ryuji said in a comforting tone as he placed his arm around Ren's shoulders. "If we manage to find out who's causin' this whole heart changin' thing aroun' the country, and take care of it before break's over, you'll get to see Sumire again."
"Maybe… but that's if we figure it out before then." Ren said, unenthusiastically.
Suddenly, Ren's phone pinged. Ren pulled his phone out of his pocket and noticed Sophia on the screen.
"Are you okay, Ren?" Sophia asked in a concerned tone. "You sound rather upset; both you and Sumire sounded upset."
"Yeah… Me and Sumi are just bummed that we won't get to spend our summer vacation together as we had hoped." Ren answered the AI.
"Why is that?" Sophia asked.
"Because Sumire has a gymnastics competition that she has to prepare for by the end of the summer, and her coach doesn't want Sumire skipping out on any of her practice sessions." Ann answered.
"Plus, if we don't figure out who or what's causing this whole change of heart pandemic across the country before summer vacation ends, me and Sumi will have to be separated from each other for half of a whole year…" Ren added as he grimaced at the memory of how upsetting it was for him and Sumire to not have any physical contact for only three months. "...and long-distance relationships just suck."
"Why?" Sophia asked further.
"Because there's just much more satisfaction in getting to feel the presence of your significant other while in person; there's just something very special about being able to kiss and hold onto your partner. That's something that couples, who are in long-distance relationships, can't really have, and it just feels so wrong… and a lot of long-distance relationships suffer because of it." Ren answered Sophia's question.
"It'll be alright, man." Ryuji said, optimistically. "I'm sure there're some long-distance relationships that work out, an' I'm sure you and Sumire's will too."
Although Ren still didn't like the idea of him and Sumire needing to endure half a year apart from each other, Ren still found some comfort and appreciation in Ryuji's optimism.
"Alright, I should go ahead and shoot Zenkichi a text message asking him if he can get Alice's phone for Futaba to inspect." Ren said as he started making his way to Leblanc.
As Ren, Ryuji, and Ann all walked back over to Leblanc, little did they know that Sophia was listening to what Ryuji just said and was already deep in thought.
June 22nd, 2017
Kichijoji Sports Club - Noon
Sumire felt herself panting in exhaustion after another intense training session with her gymnastics club. Her arms and legs were both heavy, and her body was covered in sweat. However, Sumire was internally beating herself up for her performance during her training. She found herself missing specific cues and occasionally not following the same rhythm as all the other students. Sumire knew that this was all because she couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Ren would have to leave the next day, and she'd most likely have to be without her boyfriend for half a year. Sumire tried her best to push the troubling thoughts aside for the sake of her practice, but the fact that the realization that she and Ren would definitely be separated happened within the gymnastics training room, it just simply wasn't easy to keep those troubling thoughts at bay.
"Good work today, everyone." Coach Hiraguchi addressed all of her students. "Go on home, get some rest, and we'll all pick up again tomorrow. You are all dismissed."
All of the students began to grab their duffle bags and head to the locker room to freshen up and change. Sumire was about to head to the locker room herself, but then…
"Sumire!" Coach Hiraguchi called out to her young, redheaded student.
Sumire flinched at the sound of her coach calling out to her. Sumire hesitantly turned her head to face Hiraguchi, who then motioned her finger in a way that signaled Sumire to come towards her. Sumire gulped nervously as she walked up to her coach, fearing that she may already know the reason as to why her coach called her. Not long after, Sumire found herself standing before her coach.
"Sumire…" Hiraguchi began. "... I've been th-"
"I am so sorry, Coach!" Sumire practically shouted out an apology as she bowed her head down. "I know I wasn't performing as well as I could have been today! I really tried to keep my head clear today, but it just hasn't been easy!"
Hiraguchi just stood in silence, surprised by Sumire's sudden apology. The silence within the club lasted for a little over ten seconds.
"...Well, I did notice your routine was a little off a few times." Hiraguchi spoke back up, finally. "You seemed to have been pretty distracted today."
"...I was." Sumire admitted, sadly.
"Were you thinking of your boyfriend?" Hiraguchi asked.
Sumire felt a little bit of red reach her cheeks.
"...Yes." Sumire answered, embarrassed and ashamed. "...I just hate knowing that he's going to leave tomorrow, and I only got to spend a week with him…"
"I figured as much." Hiraguchi said bluntly.
Hiraguchi noticed that Sumire's eyes became filled with more sadness as the troubling thoughts once again flooded her mind.
"Listen, Sumire," Hiraguchi began. "I've been thinking long and hard last night about you and Amamiya-kun's request."
The sadness in Sumire's eyes was washed away almost instantly, and Sumire felt her breath get caught in her throat. Sumire was sure that her Coach wasn't actually going to say what she thought she was going to say… right?
Hiraguchi took a deep inhale.
"...If I allow you to go with Amamiya-kun to Sapporo," Hiraguchi started before her facial expression became more stern and serious. "You will have to promise that you will spend a full hour, every day, practicing your routines. I will expect a daily report on the progress of your training. As much as I understand how much you want to spend your time with Amamiya-kun, I still highly expect you to not skip out on your training."
Sumire felt her eyes slowly bolt wide open while she covered her mouth as a small gasp escaped. Her old hopes that had previously died just a day prior had all just been resurrected and made true in this very moment. Sumire's eyes were now glistening with pure joy and excitement and she felt a bright smile form from behind her hands.
"Oh, and one more thing, Sumire." Hiraguchi continued. "I know that Amamiya-kun said that he will be over at Sapporo for the rest of the summer, but I still want you to be back here by August 28th… Should you arrive back here any later, or even completely unprepared for the next competition, this will be the only time I ever allow this for you."
Despite how strict Hiraguchi was with how much she expected of her student, Sumire didn't care. Completely without warning, Sumire leaped forward and embraced her coach in a tight, and ever-so-grateful hug.
"Coach, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Sumire exclaimed with gratitude and glee.
Although Hiraguchi normally wasn't one to allow physical contact like this from her students, she still couldn't quite help but feel a small smile form on her face. Truth be told, it filled her heart with joy to see Sumire so happy.
Eventually, Sumire finally let go of her coach. Hiraguchi reached down into her duffle bag and pulled out some folded sheets of paper before handing them to Sumire.
"What's this?" Sumire asked as unfolded the sheets of paper.
As she unfolded the paper, Sure immediately realized that the sheets were all a big schedule with all of the different types of practice routines that Hiraguchi wanted her to practice for each day.
"Be sure that you strictly follow that schedule, and remember, I'll be checking up on you every day for a progress report." Hiraguchi said plainly.
"Got it." Sumire replied as she bowed her head. "Once again, Coach, thank you so much!"
Sumire quickly turned around and made her way toward the locker room.
As Sumire disappeared from her view, Hiraguchi let out a long sigh… Although she was glad to be granting Sumire's wish, she desperately hoped that she wasn't making a mistake in doing so.
Cafe Leblanc - Some Time Later…
"A CAMPER?!" exclaimed Zenkichi as he looked at Ren and the others in shock. "You guys are making this all into some kind of coming-of-age flick!"
"Well, it is our summer break, and an extended one at that," Ren pointed out. "If we're going to be doing a cross-country road trip searching for these Jails, we may as well have some fun while doing it."
"And besides, we have everything covered. We girls will be sleeping inside of the camper, most of the boys are sleeping in a tent on the roof, and Akechi will be sleeping in his own car." explained Futaba.
"And if anyone tries anything funny, we have Makoto and her fist of justice to keep us safe!" Ann added with a bit of a threatening tone.
Haru nodded. "And I'm quite handy with an axe!" she said, cheerfully, causing most boys to gulp in nervousness or fear.
"Sooo… Yeah, we've got it all covered." Ren said nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"These sisters are really doing it for themselves… Fine, whatever you gotta do." muttered Zenkichi as he shook his head.
Zenkichi then looked around at the group and noticed something was off.
"Hold on, you all seem to be one head short." Zenkichi pointed out with a cocked eyebrow. "Where's the little redhead with the ponytail?"
"Sumire won't be able to join us for this trip, unfortunately." Futaba answered the officer. "She has a gymnastics competition that she has to prepare for by the end of summer, and she can't skip out on any of her practice routines."
"Ah, I see." Zenkichi said with a sympathetic look on his face. "Well, I'm sorry she won't be joining you all."
Ren let out a sad groan.
"Anyway, about what I asked for…" Ren spoke up.
"Ah, right, Alice's phone!" said Zenkichi as he pulled out the former idol's phone from his pocket. "Here you go."
"Nice score, Zenkichi!" said Futaba as she snatched the phone off the table and made her way over to her laptop.
"Hey, that's important evidence! No breaking it, got that?" Zenkichi warned as Futaba sat down and got to work.
"So… how was Alice, anyway?" asked Ann.
"She was pretty upfront about the whole heart-changing situation," Zenkichi answered. "When people registered her as a friend on EMMA, she noticed that they'd suddenly grown obedient to her. At first, she was just curious about what was going on, but then she said she got such a thrill from making people do her bidding, she couldn't stop herself."
"It began with the friend registration, hm?" Yusuke said thoughtfully.
"Was there anything else?" asked Ren.
"The only other thing she did was apologize." Zenkichi further explained. "That's all we got, but it does seem like she was telling me the truth."
"So, she didn't actually know anything about the Jail or Desires… yeah, that checks out for the norm for the Metaverse," said Morgana.
"Well, I have to say, I wouldn't have bought one bit of it if you hadn't shown me what you did." said Zenkichi.
"Yeah, well it'd be next to impossible to properly explain any of what we had to say if we didn't show you." Ren pointed out.
"Hmm? What in the Hell…?!" Futaba cried out as she typed away on her laptop, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
"What is it, Futaba? Did you find something?" Ann asked as she, the rest of the Phantom Thieves, and Zenkichi gathered around the teenage gremlin.
"Well, that's the thing. I didn't." said Futaba. "I thought I'd find some unique aspect to Alice's version of EMMA, but… nope. This is just the standard commercial version. There aren't even any signs of it being tampered with."
"So, the problem is that there is no problem?" asked Ren before something clicked for him. "Oh, that's definitely a problem for a number of reasons."
"So we got nothin' outta this?" Ryuji asked as he rubbed his hand behind his neck.
"I didn't say that." Futaba immediately corrected the bleach-haired boy. "I did find traces of someone snooping in Alice's phone."
Everyone in the room was caught by surprise by this sudden new piece of information.
"What do you mean?" asked Ann.
"Someone was monitoring Alice's activity, whether it be her smartphone usage in general, or her EMMA usage specifically," explained Futaba.
"Hmm… Sounds to me like someone has been keeping tabs on her," Ren said before he turned to Zenkichi. "Zenkichi, you and your pals at PubSec wouldn't be involved with tracing someone's personal activity. Would you?"
Zenkichi laughed. "Oh, we wish. I'm probably gonna have to teach 'em all about this stuff for future cases."
"But if it wasn't Public Security, then that probably means that there's still someone out there involved with this incident." Yusuke stated.
"And chances are this person could also be involved in all the other ones too." Akechi pointed out.
"Do you see anything revealing the monitor's origins?" Makoto asked Futaba.
"Unfortunately no. All I've got is that they're somewhere in Japan." Futaba said.
"Well, that's convenient for us." Ren said. "This at least helps narrow down all the potential locations as to where this stalker could be."
Zenkichi smiled. "Getting even that's quite the feat. You're real good, kid."
Futaba chuckled. "Never underestimate the techie of the Phantom Thieves."
"So, someone was tracking Alice…" Makoto mumbled. "Who could it be?"
"Hey, try to take this one target at a time." said Zenkichi. "Remember, this isn't only case to work. I'm sure we'll find more leads as we investigate the incidents."
With all of that said and done, Futaba unplugged Alice's phone from her laptop and handed it back to Zenkichi.
"Well, I hope to see you guys at Sapporo Central by July 5th. I'll call ahead with the meetup location. Don't be late." Zenkichi said as he placed Alice's phone back into one of his free pockets. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to return this phone to its rightful owner."
With that said, Zenkichi turned around and made his way outside of the cafe. Ren then started to ponder over everything that he and the others had just learned.
"If there was nothing special about Alice's version of EMMA, then how exactly was she able to pull in people's Shadows into her jail and steal their Desires?" Ren thought out loud.
"It's likely that it's simply because she was a monarch of her own Jail, and EMMA was just simply a gateway." Haru suggested.
"But she still didn't have any idea of what was going on." Ren argued. "If Alice was unaware of her own Jail, and there was nothing abnormal about her EMMA app, then… UGH! None of this is making any sense."
Suddenly, Akechi hummed to himself as if he was also pondering.
"What if it's all linked to that mystery person that Futaba mentioned?" Akechi asked out loud. "Whoever this person is, they could probably be tampering with the EMMA app in ways we don't know about."
"I get what you're saying, but we still shouldn't jump to conclusions." Morgana advised, calmly. "Like Zenkichi said, there's still plenty to look into."
"That's true. If we don't know enough about what's happening, we should gather more intel." Makoto pointed out.
Suddenly, without much warning, the cafe door opened, causing everyone to turn their attention to the cafe's door. Standing in the open doorway, Sumire was panting heavily like she was out of breath.
"S- …Senpai…" Sumire panted as she tried gasping for air.
"Sumire?" Ren said as he walked over to his girlfriend. "What's going on, and why do you look like you just ran all the way here from Kichijoji?"
"I di- …I didn't…" Sumire panted some more. "I took… the train here, and… I ran the rest… of the way."
Sumire slowly backed away from the doorway, allowing Ren to follow her outside. As Sumire began to finally catch her breath, she then locked her eyes with Ren's.
"Senpai… my coach…" Sumire panted before she formed a bright smile on her face. "...My coach changed her mind!"
Ren's eyes bolted wide open at what Sumire just said.
"For real?!" Ren exclaimed in disbelief. "But I thought she said you couldn't miss any days of practice."
Sumire then reached her hand into her duffle bag and pulled out her training schedule. "Which is why she listed down all of the practice routines she wants me to do for an hour, each day."
Ren drew a blank as he looked at Sumire's training schedule for a short while.
"...So… does this mean…?" Ren spoke up, finally.
Sumire nodded her head in excitement. "Yes, Senpai, I get to come with you!"
Ren was silent, but the surprised look on his face slowly changed to glistening eyes and a big bright smile. Ren felt himself laughing happily before he quickly embraced Sumire in a tight hug that lifted her up off the ground and spun her around. The young couple both laughed happily together as the rest of the Phantom Thieves let out a hearty cheer for Sumire while Akechi stayed silent as he felt a small, approving smirk appear on his lips.
Ren eventually stopped the spinning and gently placed Sumire back into the ground. The rest of the thieves all made their way outside to join up with the young couple.
"Congratulations, Sumire!" Ann said, excitedly. "Our trip wouldn't have been as fun without you."
"Now we're going to have some proper girl time with all the girls here!" Futaba exclaimed, excitedly.
"Man, this summer vacation is gonna be a blast!" Ryuji also exclaimed, excitedly.
Suddenly, Ren felt his phone ping from within his pocket. Ren reached down into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and Sophia popped up on the screen.
"Did I hear that right? Did Sumire just say that she's going to come along with us?" Sophia asked
Ren nodded his head while still smiling. "You did, Sophia, Sumire is indeed coming with us."
Much to Ren's surprise, Sophia's facial expression became something that looked like she was feeling disappointed.
"Aw man…" Sophia whined. "...and I had just finished putting together the perfect long-distance relationship survival guide too."
Both Ren and Sumire felt their eyes widen a little in surprise at what Sophia had just said.
"You made a survival guide for long-distance relationships?" Sumire asked, completely bewildered. "When did you make that?"
"I started putting it together after you left to go back home yesterday." Sophia answered honestly.
"Where did you even make it, though?" Ren asked.
"In your Yoogle Docs app." Sophia answered again.
Ren pressed the backward arrow on the bottom of his phone's screen, making his phone go back to the home page. Ren scrolled through his apps until he got to the Yoogle Docs app and opened it up. At the very beginning of the list of documents, there was a new document that Ren had never seen before; Ren tapped his thumb on the document, causing it to open up.
The document was a list of several pages, from what Ren could tell, and it caused Ren's eyes to bolt wide open in surprise at how much there was on this document. At the top of the first page, in a really fancy font, there was a title that said "Sophia's Survival Guide to a Long-Distance Relationship." Ren scrolled through and skimmed some of the pages on the document. They were all filled with several notes and tips on things that a couple should do in order to ensure that their long-distance relationship works out.
Despite the shock and disbelief at what Sophia had put together, Ren felt himself chuckling in amusement. Ren exited out of Yoogle Docs and pressed the little Sophia icon floating on the screen, allowing Sophia to pop back up.
"That was very thoughtful of you, Sophia. Thank you." Ren said softly while smiling at the redheaded AI.
"You're welcome…" Sophia replied while still looking disappointed. "...But now it won't be of any use."
"Not necessarily, Sophia." Sumire interjected. "Even if and when we solve this whole Change of Heart pandemic across the country before the end of Summer, Senpai will still have to go back to his hometown by the end of it. So, if it helps you feel better, we can still put that guide of yours to use at a later date."
Upon hearing Sumire's reassuring words, Sophia felt a soft smile form on her face.
"I am glad that my efforts won't go to waste." Sophia stated.
"Well, this week seems to be going well for everyone." A brand new voice emerged from outside of the group.
Upon hearing this unfamiliar voice, the young thieves all turned their attention to the side. The thieves all noticed a woman, presumably in her mid-twenties, standing in the middle of the alleyway. She had a bob-cut hairdo, dyed in a mango orange color, with trimmed bangs and wavy curls at the bottom.
The woman wore a short-sleeve, black & white striped shirt that exposed the collarbones, a pair of tight, dark-blue short-shorts, a pair of black sandals, and even a large diamond necklace around her neck.
Unbeknownst to most of the group, both Yusuke and Akechi were getting a strong sense of familiarity from the looks of the stranger before them.
"I'm sorry?" Ren asked the woman.
"You kids all seem to be in such a good mood today. I'm feeling pretty great today myself." The woman responded while smiling. "In fact, this is probably the happiest I'm going to feel for a very long time."
"Really? Why is that?" Haru asked.
The woman's smile grew brighter.
"Because that filthy witch Alice Hiiragi is done for!" The woman cheered with glee. "The Phantom Thieves forced her to reveal her true colors to the world, and now she's finally going to live the rest of her miserable life being hated by everyone!"
The woman looked up into the sky before shouting: "You hear that, Alice!? You finally get what you rightfully deserve! This is the end for you!"
The woman lightly panted after she finished shouting into the sky. As he lowered her head to look straight ahead again, she noticed that most of the teenagers before her looked rather uncomfortable… especially the tall platinum-blonde girl.
"Oh, my apologies." The woman said. "Did I startle you all with what I said?"
"It's not really that. It's just that…" Ann spoke up with discomfort in her voice. "...I just have high hopes that Alice can turn herself around to make a better life for herself.
The woman's bright smile faded into a frown.
"You really want Alice to make a comeback?" The woman asked, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"Well… I just believe that Alice may have lost sight of what he wanted to do with her life at some point." Ann replied. "I just hope she can find her passion again, that she can find the means to be a ray of light for many people, even if she has to find another way to shine."
The woman let out a soft sigh as she crossed her arms.
"I will put this very clearly for you… Alice cannot and will not ever qualify to be a 'ray of light' for anybody." The woman spat out in a spiteful manner. "Alice has always been far too full of herself to ever actually care about doing any genuine good for anybody. All she ever cared about was manipulating people to like her bland and worthless self… I would know, because she was always like that during high school."
Everyone amongst the thieves, Ann especially, felt their eyes bolt wide open at the last sentence that the woman had just spoken.
"During high school?" Makoto asked specifically.
"Ever since I first knew Alice in high school, all she would ever do was manipulate boys in attempt to get them to like her. She'd bat her eyelashes at boys, trying to seduce them and get them to do whatever she wanted them to do. But that's not the worst of it…" The woman took in a sharp inhale before she continued. "...She tried to take away the boy that she knew damn well that I loved for so long. She had the disgusting audacity to spew bullshit like she loved him. But I wasn't going to stand for it. I held my head up high and told him the truth about what Alice was trying to do to him, and I then confessed my own true love for him… Alice had no right to try to take him away from me."
Most of the thieves looked at each other with confusion in their eyes. However, as if a sudden bolt of realization had struck the group, they all began to think back to what they all had witnessed in the trauma cell. They thought about everything the warden, who originally took the form of Alice's biggest bully, was saying to Alice. The way this woman was describing Alice's behavior in high school sounded just like what the warden was accusing Alice of doing.
As she thought along the lines of everything that this woman and the warden were saying, Ann felt as if she had been struck by another bolt of realization… Ann felt her hands ball up tightly into fists as she felt her teeth grit from behind her mouth and she felt her eyes forming a glare as she looked at the woman.
"...You mean you took that boy away from Alice." Ann spoke up, venom pouring out from her voice.
The woman looked at Ann with a cocked eyebrow.
"I beg your pardon?" The woman asked in a not-so-pleased tone.
"You stole that boy away from Alice." Ann repeated herself. "'I'll take him off your hands.' Am I remembering your words towards Alice correctly? …You saw Alice chasing after someone that made her feel happy, and you couldn't stand the idea of seeing her ever be happy with someone else. So you saw fit to steal away whatever brought Alice any form of joy."
Ann furrowed her eyebrows as she glared at the woman.
"I'll bet you didn't even actually like that boy that Alice was crushing on." Ann spat out. " In fact, I'm more convinced that you just simply used him as a tool to tear Alice down as much as you could, just like how you attempted to further humiliate her when she started to officially make a good name for herself after she graduated."
It was now the woman's turn to glare back at Ann.
"How dare you?!" The woman asked angrily. "I've been in love with that boy ever since I first laid my eyes on him in high school. Every time he'd walk right past me, my heart would melt at the very sight of him. Alice… That little bitch doesn't deserve to be with anyone. I did my boyfriend a favor by winning him over when Alice tried to manipulate him. He would have eventually realized that being with a worthless little shit like her would have been the biggest mistake of his life and that he wasted all of his time on her. Now the whole world finally sees Alice for what she really is, and now she's going to live the miserable life she always deserved to live."
Ann felt her fingernails digging into her skin as she clenched her fists tighter. She felt a vein pop onto her forehead.
"In fact, the day of that tiny little bitch's ruin is long over-due." The woman continued. "It's all because of her, that my boyfriend turned his back on me. It's all because of her, that I lost my job. It's because of her, that I lost all of my friends… Everywhere I go now, the people I once knew as friends just look down on me! Nobody would ever listen to me whenever I tried to tell them what she did! I even had to find work at a badly paying part time job just so I wouldn't starve!"
The woman panted heavily as her vision was now clouded with visions of only Alice in front of her. She could see Alice being so happy one second, and then falling apart into pieces as she sobs uncontrollably afterwards.
"I am going to bathe in all of the tears and everlasting misery and suffering of that abominable little trash, and I rightfully deserve to ravel in every single moment of it!" The woman rose her voice as she hissed through her teeth. "For at long last… ALICE HIIRAGI WILL PAY FOR MAKING MY LIFE A LIVING HELL!"
…Red… That was all Ann could see now. Ann wasn't even able to notice that she had officially dug her finger nails through the skin of her palms. Apart from only seeing red, there was only one thing that Ann could feel in this very moment… Hate.
"You really expect me to feel sorry for you, after everything you did to Alice?!" Ann spoke up, much more deadly venom spilling out from her voice than before.
Ann's words seem to have one again caught the woman's attention. The fact that she poured out all the reasons why she hated Alice Hiiragi so much, and this little blonde teenager before her is still acting like Alice Hiiragi is the victim in all of this… It was sickening to her.
"All of the bullying, the name calling, the belittling, the public shaming… and the physical abuse…" Ann continued to spew out. "Alice Hiiragi has suffered through self-esteem issues and the pain of loneliness for the longest time. All she could ever wonder was if she ever had a place in this world, or if anyone would ever want to have her in their lives. The pain of feeling like she had no place to begin with had been tearing her apart from the inside, and you with the rest of your 'friends' were the cause of it."
The woman felt a vein pop up on her forehead as the platinum-blonde teen continued to talk.
"I'm not blind. I know what Alice had done to so many men, how it affected so many innocent women, and my heart goes out to all of them… You, on the other hand, …I don't feel any pity for you whatsoever." Ann spat out, viciously. "If you ask me, everything that Alice did to you was justified payback. The only thing about it that does bug me is that, despite everything Alice did to you, you've still experienced only a fraction of all the pain and suffering you made Alice feel… It disappoints me to know that you most likely won't ever know what it's like to feel all the sadness that Alice had ever felt."
The woman's breathing was now getting heavier as she found herself furiously huffing for air by this point.
"But I promise you this…" Ann took in a sharp inhale, eyes still furiously locked onto Alice's old bully. "One way or another, Alice Hiiragi will be able to find herself again and find a way to rise back up from her own depths of hell. Alice Hiiragi will find a way to be a proper ray of light for everyone who needs one. Alice Hiiragi will find the people who truly do want her around, the people who know that she is someone special in this world, and that she will always be wanted by the people who truly believe in her and her dreams… Alice Hiiragi will never again allow herself to be torn apart by anybody who doesn't understand how special her dream is to her!"
Ann took in another deep inhale as she put her right foot out forward, stomped it hard into the ground, and pointed her right index finger at Alice's old bully.
"...ESPECIALLY NOT SOME STUPIDLY INSENSITIVE AND INSECURE C*** LIKE YOU!"
Most of the other members of the thieves let out exaggeratedly loud gasps or loudly shouted "WHOA!" at what Ann had just said to the woman. Ann has usually never been one to speak such profanities in her life, so to hear her use such a word would clearly come as a shock to most of the group. However, despite the overall surprise by how Ann was talking just now, Ryuji couldn't help but feel a great sense of pride in her. Seeing Ann stick true to her guns and stand up for the people she loves and cares for, was something that Ryuji always believed was one of Ann's best qualities.
The woman, however, was now practically steaming with fury. The absolute audacity of this blonde teenage girl had to talk to her like Alice did nothing wrong by ruining her life, and to be cursed at with such a word. It was inconceivable… It was unacceptable.
The woman marched straight over to Ann; her right hand clenched tightly into a fist.
"You. Little. BITCH!" The woman shouted as she threw her right fist straight at Ann's face.
Ann barely had any time to react to the incoming fist flying her way. All she could do was widen her eyes in surprise and brace herself for the painful impact.
However, just before the woman's fist could make contact with Ann's face, another hand quickly grabbed hold of the woman's right wrist, and pulled the fist away. The woman then felt her right hand, along with the rest of her right arm, be pulled behind her back before she was suddenly pushed up against the nearest wall in the alleyway, face first.
As Ann took in the moments that all happened so suddenly, she came to realize that the woman was being pinned against the nearby wall by none other than Makoto, who had the woman's arm pulled behind her back in an uncomfortable position.
"G- GET OFF ME!" The woman shouted, trying to shake herself out of Makoto's grasp.
However, Makoto tightened her grip on the woman's wrist and began twisting the woman's hand, causing the woman to let out both a surprised and painful yelp.
"You do not get to ever assault any of my friends." Makoto whispered to the woman in a threatening tone, her eyes glaring daggers. "You are going to turn around and walk away right now, because if you don't, you're going to learn what it's like to live the next several weeks with a broken wrist… Am I clear?"
The woman was now feeling frightened by the young adult's threat. She felt as if she wasn't strong enough to get out of the tight grip that she was trapped in, and the tone in the young woman's voice sounded like she was genuinely serious.
"P- Please… Please don't hurt me." The woman pleaded to Makoto.
Makoto twisted the woman's wrist some more, causing the woman shriek out in pain.
"Am. I. Clear?!" Makoto repeated her question, her voice sounding much more threatening and deadly this time.
"Y- YES! Crystal clear!" The woman shouted fearfully.
Makoto then pulled the woman away from the wall before lightly shoving the woman away from herself and her friends. The woman held onto her right wrist as she looked back at Makoto, who was still glaring daggers. The woman slowly began to back away from the group before she eventually jumped into a full sprint, running away and vanishing from the groups sight.
As the woman left, Makoto let out a sigh of relief as her face softened once more.
"Are you okay, Ann?" Makoto asked as she turned to face her platinum-blonde friend.
"Yes, Makoto, thank you." Ann replied kindly.
Suddenly, most of the group heard a humorous chuckle from close by. The entire group of thieves turned their attention to the source of the chuckling, which appeared to be coming from Akechi, who had a rather content smirk on his face.
"That was quite the show, I must say." Akechi said. "I must say, Makoto-san, I never thought I'd see you act so ruthlessly towards someone, much less threaten to break them."
"...I'll try taking that as a compliment." Makoto replied with uncertainty.
"I meant it as one." Akechi responded.
Yusuke looked over to the male brunette.
"Akechi, did you recognize that woman from anywhere?" Yusuke asked.
Akechi looked back at Yusuke with interest beaming in his eyes. "So you recognized her too."
"You two recognize her from somewhere?" Haru asked the two boys.
"That woman… She was the same woman who me and Yusuke saw badmouthing Alice in Shibuya about a week ago, when we were all investigating Alice's victims." Akechi answered with his arms crossed.
"For real?!" Ryuji exclaimed in disbelief.
Once again, Ann narrowed her eyes. "So, even after losing everything, the bully only continued to preach negative things about Alice…"
"Some people are just simply lost causes." Akechi said with his eyes darted to the side.
Ren's phone suddenly pinged, meaning that Sophia had something to say.
"That was pretty amazing, what you did back there, Ann." Sophia said while smiling brightly. "You must have felt really good to tell Alice's bully that she was wrong about Alice's life being ruined."
"Well… I cannot deny that Alice's life really will get much harder from here on out, and in a bunch of ways too…" Ann said with her hands behind her back. "...But I also know that there are a lot of people who truly looked up to Alice long before she lost her way. Those people are going to be very pumped when Alice makes her comeback, and Alice will be able to shine even brighter than ever before because she'll be acting like her true genuine self again. "
"And you'll be the friend she needs in order to make that happen, Ann-senpai." Sumire added to the conversation while smiling.
Ann chuckled heartedly. "Thanks, Sumire."
Before anything else could be said, the noise of someone clearing their throat had caught everyone's attention. Everyone turned to face where the noise came from, and they all saw Sojiro standing in the middle of the alleyway with a smirk on his face.
"Great, all of you are already out here." Sojiro said as he pointed his thumb behind him. "Come check out your wheels."
The whole group looked over Sojiro's shoulders and noticed a large vehicle parked right at the end of the alleyway. As they all walked forward to get a closer look, Ren couldn't help but notice that the camper was a bit bigger than the Mona-Bus that is often used to drive around in the Metaverse. It looks like it could perfectly fit a total of nine people in it, which is perfect for a group as big as theirs.
"Well, here you all are.," said Sojirro as the teenagers and young adults reached the camper.
"This is the camper?!" Ann exclaimed in delighted shock.
"Whoa, it's like three times more badass than I expected!" exclaimed Ryuji.
"This retro design… so simple, yet so elegant!" said Yusuke as he looked inside the window at the camper's interior.
"Thanks, Sojiro!" said Futaba, causing Sojiro to chuckle in embarrassment.
"This… looks awesome!" said Ren happily. "...We'll do our best not to crash it."
"Hey, don't go jinxing yourselves," warned Sojiro.
Ren's phone suddenly pinged, prompting the black-haired teen to pull it out of his pocket to find Sophia on the screen.
"Can I see the camper?" Sophia asked sweetly.
Ren nodded as he held his phone out in front of him, making sure to get every inch of the vehicle for Sophia to see. After a good twelve seconds, Ren turned his phone back around to face him.
"What do you think, Sophia?" Ren asked the redheaded AI.
"I've found the make and model online," said Sophia. "This is a Volgen Retrolife. It has four beds and a rooftop tent. There are enough power outlets for everyone, as well as cooking appliances for any culinary needs."
"Mwah heh heh heh rawr!" laughed Morgana excitedly. "We couldn't have asked for anything better! That's our chief for ya!"
"Well, what'r we standin' aroun' out here for? Let's go check out the inside!" said Ryuji as he led the way into the entrance on the other side of the camper.
Most of the group all climbed inside of the camper while Ren and Makoto hung around outside with Sojiro.
"Wow! I love the interior too!" said Haru in delight.
"Yes, it reminds me of American diners in the 1950s," said Yusuke.
"I hope I'll manage to drive something this big…" said Makoto.
"It's got its little quirks, but I'm sure you'll get used to them quick enough. Until then, though, make sure you drive carefully." said Sojiro before he turned to face Ren. "Anyway, you kids might wanna go ahead and start packing everything you need. I gotta take this thing to the nearest parking lot since I can't just leave it parked here."
Ren nodded in response. "That's a good idea."
Ren climbed inside of the camper and clapped his hands together loudly, getting everyone's attention.
"Alright, everyone, we officially have everyone present and accounted for, and we even have all of our vehicles. Now all we need to do is start packing up and getting everything ready for our departure tomorrow." Ren announced to everyone. "So, as of right now, I recommend that we all disband for the day and give ourselves all the time we need to get everything we need together."
"That's actually a good idea." Sumire spoke up. "I still have to tell my parents about what my coach has told me, and make sure they know that I'll be traveling with you all for the whole summer… I should probably also grab some toothpaste, body wash, and shampoo before heading home to start packing."
"Oooh! That gives me an idea!" Ann exclaimed, excitedly. "Why don't we girls all go shopping for road trip necessities together?"
"Oh, how wonderful!" Haru cheered.
"I kind of like that idea." Makoto said, still standing outside of the camper.
Futaba looked over at Sumire before lightly nudging her on the arm.
"What do you say, Sumire, You up for some girl time today?" Futaba asked.
Sumire hummed to herself… For the longest time, she only ever spent most of her time with Kasumi or the rest of her whole family. Even after Kasumi had passed away, Sumire never really had any friends to spend her time with, apart from Ren. However, with the chance to spend the entire summer with, not just Ren, but the rest of the thieves, Sumire believed this would be a great opportunity to expand her social circle beyond just her family, her coach, and her boyfriend. Sumire felt a bright smile form on her lips.
"Why not? Sounds like fun." Sumire said enthusiastically.
Ann pumped her fist in excitement.
"This really is going to be such an amazing summer!" Ann exclaimed.
With all of that said and done, the thieves all stepped out of the camper and allowed Sojiro to the vehicle over to the nearest parking lot. After Sojiro left with the camper, the group all decided to disband for the day in order to get final preparations underway, but not before Ren and Sumire swiped some goodbye kisses from each other.
June 23rd, 2017
Yongen-Jaya - Noon
Once the entire group had gathered together at Leblanch, Sojiro left to go grab the camper from the lot and bring it back for them. Once Sojiro had returned with the camper, the entire group of thieves had begun loading it with their suitcases; each suitcase was filled with their own clothes, hygiene and body-care products, and other personal belongings. Akechi had already loaded his belongings into the trunk of his car, which turned out to be a simple black car made to fit about a total of five people. The windows on Akechi's car, however, were tinted in a very dark color, which would make it nearly impossible to identify the face of the driver, or any of its passengers.
Ann had apparently packed the most out of everyone in the entire group. To ensure that she and the rest of the thieves wouldn't get bored during their long trip across the entire country, she made sure to purchase a couple of games such as The Game of Strife, JUNO, and Jonga. Ann even purchased a brand new deck of cards in case anyone was in the mood for playing some Tycoon.
Before he even finished packing, Ren was given a small pack of ingredients from Sojiro. The ingredients were easily recognizable as the ingredients needed to make Leblanc's infamous traditional plate of curry, and there was evidentally enough of the ingredients to make enough curry for everyone for at least one day.
With everything packed and officially ready to go, Ren and the other thieves all decided to say their final goodbyes to Sojiro before departing. Sojiro met with everyone outside of Leblance.
"You sure you kids are gonna be okay on your own?" Sojiro asked the group of teenagers and young adults, a note of concern in his voice.
"We'll be fiiiine… I mean, probably." Futaba said, trying to reassure her adopted father.
"Take care, Boss." Yusuke said.
Sojiro let out an exasperated sigh. "Same to you. Be careful out there," he said.
"Thanks, bye." said Makoto.
The group all tured away from Sojiro and began walking over to their respective vehicles; Akechi was following the group from behind. However, Akechi suddenly felt a hand tightly grasp onto the elbow of his right arm. Feeling certain that he knew exactly who it was that was grabbing onto him, he turned around and faced Sojiro with an unfazed expression.
Sojiro, on the other hand, was glaring hard at Akechi with distrust and anger in his eyes. Just looking at the very person responsible for killing the woman that Sojiro loved so much, who's actions caused Futaba to become a suicidal shut-in, and who personally tried to kill Ren, the very boy who became as much of family as Futaba… it sickened Sojiro to his very core. He despised Akechi almost as much as he loathed Shido, if not just as much.
"Ren may be willing to put his trust in you that you won't stab him in the back a second time, but I'm not. I don't know what kind of messed up scheme you're plotting by choosing to side with Ren and Futaba, but mark my words…" Sojiro started with a low, hateful tone of voice. "...If you dare do anything to harm either of them or their friends, or if they end up getting hurt and you did nothing to prevent it…"
Sojiro tightened his grip onto Akechi's arm. Akechi nearly let out a wince of pain from how tightly Sojiro's grip was, but remained perfectly silent.
"...There will be nobody, nothing in any form of existance that will save you from me." Sojiro threatened, venom as deadly as a cobra's pouring from his voice.
Despite Sojiro's vow to make Akechi suffer should anything happen to Ren, Futaba, or anyone else amongst the Phantom Thieves, Akechi's facial expression remained unchanged from the same stoic and apathetic look that he usually wears nowadays.
Akechi let out a soft sigh.
"Are you done?" Akechi asked. "If so, get your hand off of me… I've got work to do with Ren and the others."
Although he never dropped his hateful glare at the young former detective, and with nothing more to be said, Sojiro removed his hand from Akechi's arm. Akechi then turned around and walked over his own car, which was parked right behind the camper.
As Akechi climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine, Sojiro then walked up to the camper, and walked around to the other side. He tapped his index and middle fingers on the window, prompting Ren to open it up.
"What's up, Sojiro?" Ren asked.
"Just wanted to warn you to remember to be extra careful around Akechi." Sojiro said, a hint of desparate caution in his voice.
Ren simply nodded his head, perfectly understanding how Sojiro felt. Ren then smiled reassuringly.
"We'll be okay, Sojiro, that's a promise." Ren said, which caused Sojiro to smile a little bit. "...Goodbye, Boss, we'll see you again soon."
With everything officially said and done, Makoto shifted the camper out of park and began to pull away, with Akechi's car following right behind them.
As Makoto was sitting in the drivers seat, Ann was sitting in the passenger seat right next to her. Yusuke, Haru, and Futaba all sat in a row of three seats that stood in front of the table in the back of the camper, and Morgana was being held by Haru in her lap. Futaba began to tease Morgana with the snack she was currently eating, which caused Haru to let out a soft giggle. Yusuke began lining up his fingers like a portrait frame at the scene occurring next to him. On the other side of the table, Ren, Sumire, and Ryuji all sat in the other row of seats. Ren sat next to the window with his right elbow resting up against it while Sumire gently hugged onto Ren's left arm and rested her head on his shoulder while smiling brightly. Ryuji clenched his fist out in front of him as he felt his excitement begin to peak while a big smile crossed his face.
"Yeah! …Summer vacation, here we come!" Ryuji cheered out loud as the Camper and Akechi's car all drove out of the small streets of Yongen-Jaya, and onto the big open roads of the entire country of Japan. Their long cross-country journey had finally begun.
PubSec Briefing Room - Around the Same Time…
Zenkichi hummed in thought, thinking about what he had recently experienced just three days ago. The Metaverse… It was so out of the ordinary and so unbelievable. It's very existence practically just throws away everything Zenkichi knew about what was real and what wasn't, what made sense and what didn't. There was also the fact that an AI program was capable of having a physical body in that world, and Zenkichi was now capable of talking to and understanding a tuxedo cat. Even having three days to try and make sense of all of what he had experienced, he still couldn't help but feel like he was in some sort of fever dream.
"You look unusually serious, Inspector Hasegawa," a female voice said from nearby, snapping Zenkichi out of his thoughts.
Zenkichi turned to look at source of the voice, which happened to be the commissioner.
"Oh, Commissioner Kaburagi," Zenkichi said in slight surprise. "My apologies, I've been short on sleep. I've not been on an undercover case in quite some time."
"I wholly understand." Kaburagi said as she nodded. "Have you liaised with the Phantom Thieves?"
Zenkichi nodded in response. "Affirmative. I've gained their cooperation. However, proceedings are touch-and-go, as some of them are very quick on the uptake, Amamiya in particular… Nevertheless, I guarantee you that I will win them over."
"I see, as expected from someone so dependable." Kaburagi complimented.
"Well, I still owe you for taking me under your wing." Zenkichi responded. "I'm happy to do whatever you require."
"Keep at it until you get to the bottom of this case, but do not get too attached to the Phantom Thieves… At this point, their arrest is an inevitability," cautioned Kaburagi.
"Don't worry, ma'am. I haven't been attached to anything in a long time…" Zenkichi reassured her.
"So you say…" said Kaburagi with a small smile. "...And how's the girl?"
Upon hearing that question, Zenkichi darted his eyes over to the side as he gulped on his own saliva. Commissioner Kaburagi sighed.
"Go home, at least every once in a while. Understood?" Kaburagi said before she turned around and walked out of the room.
As the commissioner left, Zenkichi began to think about Ren Amamiya and the rest of his crew.
"Don't take it personally, Phantom Thieves. All I want is for this case to be solved…" Zenkichi said to himself. "... and I'll use you however I have to."
NewWorldFool: And that's a wrap on both Chapters Ten and Eleven! Now that our little two-year anniversary gift for you guys is finished, I think me and Cloud will go back to focusing on one chapter at a time again.
Now before we go, we would both just like to once again apologize for these two chapters taking us so long. We truly do hope we won't take as long going forward with newer chapters.
CloudStrife07: Also I'd like to personally thank NewWorldFool for kindly not going into details about some of the personal things I've been going through lately.
Now then, about the chapters themselves: When it came to writing for Chapter 10, since we were choosing to adapt P5 Strikers as if it takes place after P5R, I actually came to realize that there would have been some trouble with Sumire being able to go with Ren and the others across Japan because she is a gymnast, and she is very dedicated to making sure that she never misses any of her practice sessions. Sumire would have been torn between wanting to go with Ren so she can still have time with her boyfriend, or stay behind and continue practicing to make her dreams come true. So I had to figure out a way how to get Sumire to come along with Ren and the others while not hindering her dreams to become the best gymnast in the world, and I believe Ren requesting to Coach Hiraguchi for Sumire to do all of her necessary practice routines while on the road was the best idea.
NewWorldFool: As for Chapter 11, I honestly was originally planning to not include Dr. Maruki in any part of this story,, but I'm honestly glad that I changed my mind, and I'm sure you all were most happy to see Maruki again too.
Dr. Maruki's cameo appearance in this chapter is meant to serve as a tribute to his Engligh voice actor, Billy Kametz, who tragically passed away a year ago, due to stage 4 colon cancer. When CloudStrife07 informed me about Billy's death, it was he who suggested to me that we should allow Dr. Maruki to appear in one of our chapters, and I believed that he was right. It meant a lot to the both of us that we showed just how much Billy's character has grown as a person since having his heart changed, because we think having Maruki be able to face the world's constant and unfair struggles is something that Billy himself can be proud of.
CloudStrife07: Rest in peace, Billy. May you find your paradise in the afterlife, and may your spirit continue to stay right next to Erica Lindbeck for as long as she lives.
Also, in regards for Alice's bully turning up in this chapter, I was personally inspired by this one NPC in P5 Strikers, who stands outside of Leblanc during the whole Alice arc. The NPC in question also shares a lot of the same physical traits as Alice's bully in this chapter. If the player tries talking to her, she talks very badly about Alice because of everything that's going on, and she even cheers for when Alice falls from grace. The NPC's behavior felt like something Alice's big bully would do, and it made me really want to write a scene with Ann confronting Alice's old bully and give the bully the verbal bashing she rightfully deserved while also strongly standing up for Alice. I strongly believe this would have really solidified Ann's friendship with Alice, and how Ann will never allow anyone to talk like that about Alice and that her dreams are all worthless.
Lastly, I personally really wanted to make it crystal clear that, despite speaking normally and gently to Ren, Futaba, and the rest of the group while Akechi is around, Sojiro still despises Akechi for everything that Akechi has done. I didn't want anyone to think that Sojiro was just perfectly cool with Akechi hanging around Ren, Futaba, or anyone else in the group. He is not going to just suddenly forgive Akechi for killing Wakaba and nearly driving Futaba to suicide.
NewWorldFool: Anyway, thank you all so much for reading both chapters 10 and 11! We sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this special bundle of chapters! If you guys liked what you saw here, then be sure to favorite and follow this story, leave a review down below, and we will see you all next time as we officially kick off the Sendai arc!
However, before we go, we have something amazing we'd like to share… PERSONA 3 RELOAD IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
Both me and CloudStrife07 are vastly excited to see Persona 3 brought back to life with entirely new graphics, new mechanics, and even new/rearranged music. We know that some of you are pretty upset that P3 Reload won't include either The Answer or the FemC route, but it is evident that Reload does still include some features that were exclusive to both FES and Portable. It's also evident that there'll be some new/bonus game features and scenes that weren't in any of the past versions, such as cooking food with your dormmates for example. We also can't wait to see our favorite girls, Yukari and Mitsuru, dressed up in various costumes (both in game and DLC).
CloudStrife07: Speaking of DLCs, If you all choose to pre-order the AIGIS Edition or the Premium Digital Edition, you'll get access to the games Day-1 DLC pack. These DLCs include Phantom Thief outfits for the SEES group, Shujin Academy uniforms, Yasogami High uniforms, P5R Persona set, P4G Persona set, and even P5R background music… But wait, there's MORE! If you pre-order the game, you will get EXCLUSIVE access to some P4G background music, such as Reach Out To The Truth, Time to Make History, I'll Face Myself -Battle-, A New World Fool, The Fog, and Results!
NewWorldFool: So yeah! What are you all waiting for?! Go and get yourself a pre-ordered copy of this highly anticipated game! Get it for your console, your PS5 or PS4, your XBox Series X or S, or get the game for your computer off of Steam! …Or if you don't have any of those consoles, and your computer isn't strong enough to handle P3 Reload, then find yourself a friend who does have one, and have them get the game for you! Do whatever you have to do to get your hands on this game!
But you better act fast! Remember, the background music from P4G is pre-order exclusive, and will no longer be available when the game releases on Februrary 2nd, 2024!
Also, as a side note, we weren't paid by ATLUS for that advertisement, though that'd have been cool. In any case if you liked what you saw here, then be sure to fave, follow, review, and join us next time as we officially kick off the Sendai arc! See you then!
CloudStrife07: Adios!
