Chapter 42: The Hanged Man

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

He sent the message to Mishima, then looked up as he approached Penguin Sniper. Coincidentally, the place Akechi wanted to meet was the same place he'd gone with Ryuji for darts.

Akechi waited right next to the entrance and smiled pleasantly as he walked up. "Hey, Starr-kun, good evening. I wanted you all to you, but… since we have the time, do you want to go play billiards together? It's not that difficult, and we can chat and play at the same time. How about it?"

He smiled. "Sounds like fun to me." He'd also managed to start those darts and billiards books, so hopefully he wouldn't do too bad.

"I'm glad I asked. I was a little worried you'd turn me down. Well then, let's get going." They walked in and Morgana hopped out of his bag and began wandering the area. They paid and began playing a game, setting up tree billiards.

"I found myself with some free time," Akechi said, "so I was hoping to find someone to play against."

"You do seem like you'd always be busy," he hummed in response.

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm unoccupied, but I'm not busy all the time either. If anything, it's my policy to spend my spare time in meaningful ways."

"I'm honored," he chuckled.

Akechi just smiled. "Now, let's play a game. You've played pool before, correct?"

"Never," he replied just as Akechi struck the cue ball. The balls scattered, and the five, nine, and three balls were all sunk.

"Oh, my apologies. A break ace."

"Impressive. That's quite difficult."

"It was just a coincidence. Though, you know what that is without having played pool?"

"I studied the game some."

"Hm." It was hard to tell what exactly Akechi was thinking behind that pleasant smile. "Of course, this game won't count. Let's start over." They did so, and after some time, Akechi made a mistake. "Oof, bad move on my part. If you get this next one, I'm in trouble."

Akechi stepped aside and he took his spot, taking the pool cue in his hands carefully. He bent over and lined up the balls, closing one eye to focus better. He had the perfect shot to sink the yellow one-ball and took it. The cue ball bounced off the yellow ball, sending it into the far corner pocket, then knocked into the red three ball, also knocking it into a pocket, before rolling to a stop peacefully.

"Not bad. Everything's riding on your next shot, though, how will you handle this?"

"Trying to make me nervous?" He chuckled and walked along the table, eyeing the balls. "I'll take it carefully, of course."

"Well, let's see your skills." He once more struck the cue ball, bouncing it off the blue two-ball. Unfortunately, the ball stopped just short of a corner pocket. The remainder of the game passed quickly after that, Akechi easily clearing the table with his pool skills. After he sunk the final ball, he nodded in satisfaction. "I win."

"Impressive skills," he nodded.

"Oh, it's nothing, really. That was a close one, though. I suppose it would have been embarrassing to lose as your senior, huh?"

"Especially after using your weak hand."

"Hm?"

"Well, you're left-handed. That game you played with your right. That's incredible," he spoke with a shake of his head.

"I'm honestly impressed that you noticed," Akechi's smile widened. "That's right, this one's my dominant hand," he held up his left hand. "I switched hands during the game. It's not anything against you. Going all-out against a junior just seems a bit gauche… But I confess that you surprised me. I'm rather dextrous with my right hand. I can even use chopsticks with it. Frankly, I didn't expect you to see through it."

"Fair enough. But next time, you'd better not hold back on me."

"Ha! Interesting. It's a nice idea… I'd like to try a match where I don't have to hold anything back."

There was some subtext there, wasn't there? Arsène rhetorically asked him.

'Oh, definitely. I just don't know what it means.'

"In any case, you truly are interesting. You never cease to intrigue me."

"I'm… glad to hear that?" He asked, his smile becoming slightly confused. Akechi laughed, and he could feel the boy's appreciation, all while chains snapped inside him.

RANK UP!

Justice Arcana, Goro Akechi: Rank 2

"If you ever manage to win against me using my right hand, then I will face you with everything I have. You have my word."

"I'm looking forward to it, o' great pool rival." They exited Penguin Sniper and went their separate ways amicably, all while Akira ruminated on the mystery that was Goro Akechi, and Akechi did the same for Akira Starr.

Ω • Ω • Ω

6/14, Tuesday

Steal the mafia boss's heart

"Hey, it's you!" He looked over and saw some dark-haired woman with red sunglasses and lipstick… Ah, that was the journalist from Madrame's shack who… REALLY reeked of booze. "Morning, going to school now?"

This woman needs to learn of 'moderation,' Arsène sighed.

Hey, if she wants to drink, why not? Tangoo chuckled.

"Yeah," he cautiously replied. "What about you? Going into work?"

"I'm just heading home! The morning sun is too bright…"

"What about your job?"

"Oh, I pulled an all-nighter. Journalist Ichiko Ohya works around the clock, you know!" It seemed to him she'd been out drinking all night, but who was he to question her? "Well, you work hard on your studies!"

"Right…" Until school let out, that was the only notable thing that occurred. For the rest of the day he sat at his desk, tapping his pencil against the wood and thinking about the upcoming confrontation. He could tell that Ann was just as agitated, glaring at the window as she was. Thankfully, no teachers called on them for a surprise question or anything of the sort.

And, once the final bell rang, he, Ann, and Ryuji met up outside the classroom, along with— "Why is Mishima here?" Ryuji asked.

"Well…" Mishima blushed and looked away. "Starr-san texted me last night about what was going on. He said that since I was an auxiliary member, I could come if I wanted, but it wasn't really necessary to show up if I didn't want to break my cover. But… I really want to help as much as I can! So I'll come along too!"

Ryuji and Ann shared a look before Ann sighed. "Well, I guess if you're this enthusiastic about it…"

Mishima beamed brightly. "Awesome! Man, I didn't know you were a member too, Takamaki-san! Are you auxiliary like me?" Ann slowly turned to look at Akira deadpan, and he turned away while whistling.

Hee, nice work, ho.

"Dude, for real? You seriously forgot that he only suspected you and me of being PTs at first?"

"Let's head to the roof."

"Don't avoid the question!"

He avoided the question all the way up to the roof, and when they walked out, only Niijima was waiting for them, leaning against one of the desks with her hands crossed in her lap. She looked all four of them over, of course missing Morgana hiding within his bag, and a small smile spread across her face. "I was thinking you might not show, but… I suppose my suspicions were right. Though, I hadn't expected you to be one of them, Mishima-kun."

"Aha… ha…" The dark-haired boy laughed nervously, and slunk behind him. Akira rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, focusing instead on the red-eyed girl.

"I don't know what you could possibly mean, Niijima-senpai," he smiled. Even if he'd come up there with the intent to work together, he would not be carelessly confirming anything to her. To the best of his ability, anyway. "I heard during lunch from Ryuji that you actually want to work with those Phantom Thieves of Hearts. I wonder whose heart you want them to change?"

"We're still going with this charade?" She whispered, sighing. He just raised an eyebrow at her, and she nodded. "Alright. When I finally meet them, I'm going to ask them to change the heart of a mafia boss."

Ann's eyes widened. "Mafia?!"

Well now. Interesting...

"What're you talkin' about?" Ryuji asked.

"That's what they call themselves," she spoke in response. "This group seems to be the cause of the rise in phishing scams. And what's worse, once you're in their sights, they won't stop threatening you until they get what they want. They'll force you to take part in their scams, threaten your family, and ultimately destroy your life."

"Holy shit…" Ryuji whispered.

Makoto's eyes became downcast. "It appears that their victims include some of our students. They primarily target juveniles, it would seem."

"That's terrible!"

"Those bastards, avoiding the law!" Mishima huffed.

"So what's their bosses' name?!" Ryuji growled, already getting fired up.

"Nobody knows," Niijima answered. "The victims are being threatened not to testify, so even the police can't get a grasp of the situation."

"Even if they were able to, it's not like the boss of the operation would be the one that's street-level threatening kids," he murmured. "If they ratted out whoever was threatening them, it'd likely just be a grunt or a lackey. No real threat to the operation if they get caught."

Excellent point, Leanan Sidhe commented.

"That's who you want u— the Phantom Thieves to take down? Someone whose name isn't even known? How would they do that?!" Ann questioned, glaring.

"They should be able to pull it off, if they truly are righteous Phantom Thieves, after all. Or is Akechi-kun correct when he says you— I'm sorry— they act without justice?" She questioned with an innocent smile.

"Can't you say something witty back at her?" Morgana groaned from his bag.

He pushed his glasses up and smirked. "Something witty." Ann and Ryuji face-palmed, Mishima looked confused, and Niijima just looked unimpressed.

"I knew you'd say that!" Morgana cried.

"Being serious, now… I'm sure such a target could be taken down by the Phantom Thieves. But if even their name isn't known, it might take them some time, especially with no clues at all besides them operating within Shibuya."

Niijima nodded. "Maybe so, but that's a big clue there. Their main hub of activity is Shibuya. They may operate in some other locales, but it's mainly there. The Phantom Thieves could focus all their energy on searching Shibuya alone. But… that's all the information I have as well."

"Well then. It sounds like a difficult prospect… But I'm willing to bet the Phantom Thieves will get it done. I'm sure they won't let you down and I'll bet they'll have a member regularly get in contact with you, since you want to ask them for help, to coordinate." He looked around at his fellow Thieves, before nodding at Niijima. "In any case, we should get going. Homework, and all that. Have a good day, Niijima-senpai."

"Of course. Goodbye, Starr-kun, Takamaki-chan, Mishima-kun… Sakamoto-kun."

"...Prez." They descended the stairwell and began walking out of the school. "So… what now?"

"Yeah, that was… really intense," Mishima shuddered.

"Mishima, you can get going. I'll let you know if we need any help intel gathering… which we probably will." Mishima nodded and walked off. "As for the rest of us… let's meet with Yusuke and then go over the facts at the hideout. This will be our toughest target yet…"

Ω • Ω • Ω

"The mafia? Hm…"

"Can we really do this?" Ann questioned. "I mean… Kamoshida and Madarame were evil, but at least it was easy to find out about them… How are we supposed to take down someone even the police don't know anything about?"

"We'll have to get used to it. If we're going to continue taking down monsters that the police can't or won't go after, it's inevitable that some will be off the radar like this mob boss is."

"Either way, we have almost no information on our target right now. This guy's a crime boss, so I wouldn't be surprised if this guy had a Palace. Still…"

"Isn't this a prime opportunity for us, though?" Yusuke chimed in.

Ann paused. "Because of who we're going after?"

"Even after we punished an evil man who seemed to be good, the public did not acknowledge us. However, if we take down an actual criminal, let alone a target the police don't have answers for…"

"Yeah, that might get people to believe in us!"

"I get it!" Ryuji cheered. "That means even Akechi'll have to acknowledge us as the PTs! Whaddya say, Leader?"

"Let's prove our justice!"

"Hell yeah! We just gotta do what we always do!"

"At the very least we don't have a time limit this time…" Yusuke rolled his shoulders as he thought out loud. "However, considering fellow highschoolers are in danger, we shouldn't waste time. I'll ask around Kosei and see if there are any victims."

"Alright, I know some girls who go to Shibuya pretty often. I'll check with them about it."

"I'm gonna check what I can find on the net. So that leaves the school up to you and Morgana, huh?"

"Right. I'll see if my reputation can scare anyone into letting me in on anything. Hopefully, I'm scarier than whoever's blackmailing them," he chuckled. "I'll also get Mishima to look into the Phan Site and if see anything can be found there."

"Well, you knew what you were doing with the whole Kamoshita thing, so no need to worry there."

"And of course, I'm here to back you up," Morgana added smugly.

"All right! Let's get back together at the end of the week after we've got all our info!"

"One last thing, Ryu. Message Niijima and let her know to try and find out which students have asked for help with the blackmail. I'm sure there are some that would rather talk with the Student Council President, rather than myself."

"Do you really think she'll be any help?" Ann asked, crossing her arms. "Nobody trusts her, after all."

"I know you dislike her, Ann. But if they asked for help, even anonymously, then they'd probably be open to at least talking with her. Any information she can get will be helpful. We've agreed to work with her, so we'll just have to deal with it." Ann nodded, but she didn't look very happy about it. "Ryuji, I trust you know how to word the message?"

"Yeah, I've pretty much got the hang of it," he spoke proudly.

"Oh boy…" Ann and Ryuji walked off after Morgana's groan, while Yusuke stuck around.

"Yusuke, did you need something else?"

"Well, I…" Yusuke cleared his throat. "I had a yearning to see the 'Sayuri'. So if you're heading homeward, I'll accompany you."

"You're always free to come by, Yusuke. Come on." They hopped onto the subway and made their way to Yongen Jaya, and Yusuke's face grew visibly more relaxed upon laying eyes on his mother's painting. Sakura nodded at them as they walked in and Yusuke sat in the booth closest to the painting.

"Ah, the 'Sayrui'... It seems to suit this café quite well. I'm glad I chose to leave it here."

"It does give the place a more pleasant atmosphere, I suppose. So—"

Akira was cut off as Yusuke began speaking. Very dramatically. "Akira… I fear I have found myself in quite a horrible mess!"

"What are you talking about? What's wrong?"

"To put it bluntly, I am in need of your assistance. Please, listen to what I must say. Throughout my artistic career, there have been moments I've struggled with particular motifs or techniques. However, each of those struggles did eventually fade. Yet now I find myself in a similar situation… But the more I try to escape it, the worse it becomes. It seems I am in what we in the art world call a 'slump'."

"Right…"

"Are you aware that I attend Kosei High on an art scholarship?"

"I think you've mentioned it."

"Such coveted grants are not given as charity. I must continuously achieve within my field to remain eligible. Were I to lose my scholarship… I would likely have no choice but to leave the school as well."

"Shit, man."

At the very least thou could pay for a hotel room for him.

'How about we don't act like he's going to get kicked out right away?'

"In the earlier days of my career, I would exclusively paint what I desired, when I desired it. The only goal I had in mind was the pursuit of pure beauty… That goal is what drove me onward. I wanted nothing more than to attain the lustrous allure of the 'Sayuri' in my own work… Yet what reason do I have now? Holding on to my scholarship? Keeping a roof over my head?" He shook his head in despair. "Worldly desires are all that spur my brush to move… and the resulting work reflects such impurity of mind. To be honest, I am unsure as to whether I can even call myself an artist anymore."

"I don't think wanting to stay safe can really be described as impure… You're too tough on yourself, Yusuke."

He breathed in deeply. "My apologies. It seems I got somewhat carried away there. But I simply cannot accept this lack of purpose in my work. That is why I'm so upset with my own indecision. Such vague ambition is, in essence, a sin of sorts."

"Ah…"

"Though, I suppose allowing my young career to come to an end here would be even more sinful. I only wish to create a work of art I can be genuinely proud of." Yusuke went silent before his gaze drifted to the art on the wall. "Akira. Just look at the 'Sayuri'. Her incandescent beauty, alluring gaze… That is the meaning of pure beauty!"

"Well, there's a reason the saying 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' is so prevalent—"

"Yet no matter how hard I try to replicate it, an elegance so sweet remains elusive to me! Why is that, you ask? It is surely because the painter behind the work differs, because the soul differs! But if my estimations are correct, the 'soul' is nothing but another way to speak of the human heart. What, then, is the heart? How does it bring forth such beauty? I must understand!"

"..." He slowly raised an eyebrow.

"...To be perfectly frank, though… I am unsure of how to do so. Akira… Would you be able to provide me assistance? You have already brought profound change upon my world. Hence, I believe you of all people may be able to bring me closer to the truth."

"Sure, I'd be happy to."

"You would?! Wonderful!" Yusuke shot up and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him, and causing him to chuckle. "At the moment, my art teacher has yet to notice any drastic changes in my work… But I cannot hide this forever. Impurity of the heart will undoubtedly seep onto an artist's canvas eventually."

"Right…"

"Ah, I must go now. My curfew approaches. I look forward to speaking about this matter again!" He walked Yusuke to the station, his umbrella keeping the worst of the rain away, and when he returned to Leblanc, he shared a look with Sakura.

"Artists," he said in answer.

Sakura just nodded in understanding.

Ω • Ω • Ω

6/15, Wednesday

Steal the mafia boss's heart

•Makoto•

"Niijima-kun, what is going on here?! Apparently, the damage done by this so-called mafia has even reached our student body!"

She sighed. She had already tried to explain to him that students had been targeted just the other day, hadn't she? "Well—"

"I thought this absurdity was nothing but a joke!" A joke?! He thought their students potentially being harmed and blackmailed was a joke?! His head fell into his hands. "Not only are there victims, but there are even rumors that some are involved with such crimes. I've even received inquiries from their guardians. Why is this happening?"

She held her temper back, forcing her balled fists to relax before she could spill any blood from her palms. "Unfortunately, I do not have the answer to that…"

"This is the greatest disgrace in the history of this academy… If it were to be discovered…" THIS? Not Kamoshida? "This is a vital issue for the student council! Did I not ask you to resolve it?!"

"I'm working on it as best I can right now."

"A-And I can trust you?! You just do something about this at once! You're the only one who is reliable around here… don't let me down… From what I've heard, even the other students are starting to be dissatisfied with you. At this rate, you and I will both lose our roles at this school. Do you understand?"

"I do. Please, just give me a little more time…"

When she finally left his office near the end of the lunch period, she clenched her eyes shut and breathed out. She needed to resolve this as soon as possible. Sakamoto-kun had sent her a message last evening, worded as advice, but she could tell what it clearly was.

While the Phantom Thieves did their own investigations, they were asking her to interview everyone who had left anonymous information, in the hopes that she could get something from them that they couldn't, while also changing up their 'study session' today to fieldwork. That, she was fine with. They needed to find information after all, and couldn't do that by studying in the student council room. But didn't they realize what 'anonymous' meant?! It would be a nightmare to find out who each one was!

She shook her head. No, she'd figure out a way. She had to.

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

It felt like he was completing some damned fetch quest. It started with Ann finding out from the girls that went to Shibuya that Iida from their class apparently had some new spending money, while he had wasted time talking with boys that were so scared of him that they could barely get a few sentences out, and in the end weren't one of the kids being blackmailed.

After he returned to their class to back her up, he listened in as she created a whole sob story about her cat 'François' ("Is she talking about me?!" Morgana had exclaimed) being sick and having gotten run over by a car, and if 'François' were to die, she would too. Probably.

Somehow, against all logic, it worked, and Iida spilled some information that apparently another boy named Nishiyama knew about his 'part-time job'. Now he was on the hunt for this NIshiyama while he left Ann behind to keep pressing Iida. The problem was that he had no idea what the kid looked like.

"Starr-san!" Mishima ran up. "Have you gotten any info so far? I've got a couple of things from people on the Phan-site, but only that they've been blackmailed, not anything on who did it or what they're doing to be blackmailed."

"Great work, Mishima. I haven't gotten anything yet, but I'm looking for Nishiyama-san right now. He apparently has some information."

"Really? I didn't think he'd have anything to do with this. He's a pretty studious kid, from what I've heard."

"Hm. Alright, thanks. Good luck." He walked away as Mishima grinned, heading for the library. If he really was like Mishima described, he might be in there. Walking in, though, he realized he didn't know what he looked like. He sighed at the oversight, before looking to the library attendant.

"Ah—." She swallowed and gave him a shaky smile. "Um, how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a Nishiyama-san." He pulled some random papers from his bag. "Sensei asked me to give him these. I guess he forgot them in class? Anyway, he is here?"

"Oh! Uh, I think he came in a little while ago, he's in the back, over there."

"Thanks." He walked behind the shelves to where the student had pointed out. There were a couple of students, but they must have heard him asking the attendant about Nishiyama because they all immediately pointed to him.

Who he assumed was Nishiyama looked up as he walked over, and his eyes widened. "Oh, you're that… Transfer-student, right? Did you need something from me?"

"I heard something about a job. Give me the details."

"Are you talking about that one time? I-I don't know… I said I didn't want to do it… it's something that Iida— wait, are you doing something to him?! He's been acting really strange lately…"

"I heard from some… friends in Shibuya that some assholes I don't know are moving around in the area fucking with people. Seems like Iida's involved with it… so do you want to tell me what I want to know? Or do I have to ask not so nicely?" He moved over and boxed Nishiyama into the corner of the library so the boy would have to physically push past him to get out.

"Wh-What do you mean?!" He narrowed his eyes at Nishiyama, and the boy lowered his voice. "Is he really wrapped up in something shady…?"

"Seems like it. So tell me what you know. Now."

Nishiyama nodded. "So... One day the two of us went to Shibuya, and a man approached us over near Central Street. He asked if we were interested in an easy part-time job… I said I wasn't, but Iida was into it. He was asking the guy all sorts of questions."

"What was the job he wanted you to do?"

"U-Um, I don't know… I was so scared I ended up going home alone… But according to Iida, it only takes ten minutes, and is good for people who don't stand out."

"Uh-huh. And then?"

"Iida started spending a lot of money. That's when his strange behavior began too… But that's all I know… That's enough, right?"

"Fine, that's enough, for now. If I need anything else… Well, I'll find you." Nishiyama nodded nervously and he walked away, Morgana poking out of his bag.

"A man on Central Street… definitely suspicious."

"Agreed." His phone chimed with a notification, and he saw a private message from Yusuke.

Yusuke— Have you found anything out, Akira?

Yusuke— I have found some information from fellow Kosei high students.

You— I've found some stuff out as well. Go ahead.

Yusuke— Supposedly a man will talk to you in broad daylight over on Central Street. Your job is to deliver a small envelope he hands you.

Yusuke— I will contact you again if I learn anything more.

You— Great work.

He put his phone away and began walking back to his classroom. "So, we've determined that it's mostly happening around Central Street…"

"Right," Morgana nodded. "Of course, since they were being blackmailed they had to have been doing some kind of crime, but now we know it has something to do with envelopes. It only takes ten minutes, good for people that don't stand out… uh…"

"They're delivering drugs," he answered the unspoken question.

"Like illegal drugs? So they're making Iida smuggle drugs FOR them? Well, it fits, and you can get arrested just for possession. This won't be pretty…"

"Right. So let's go ask some Iida questions directly."

When he returned to the classroom, Ann was still talking about 'François'. He just sighed and stepped in. "Iida, you're gonna give it up, now."

"Wha— S-Starr?! Come on, you too…? I already told you, I don't know…"

"Nishiyama told me everything I wanted to know. So we're going somewhere more private to talk."

"He did?! That bastard… damnit!" Iida winced and looked away. "Shit, well… if you already know about it, fine. But can't we talk here…?"

"No." He grinned widely, causing Iida to swallow nervously. "If you're scared of being alone with me, don't worry. Everyone that's watching us will see you walking out with me. If anything were to happen to you, I'd be first in their list of suspects. So. Let's go."

"R-Right."

"Ann, good work. If you can think of anyone else to ask, go for it."

"Thanks! Good luck, Akira!"

"Whoa, so they really are dating?" He snorted as he heard Iida muttering to himself as he led him out of the room and into the stairwell towards the roof. Well, he figured that rumor would be circulating after what he and Ann had done to stall Niijima back when they were planning on sending Madarame's calling card. Nothing he could do about it now.

"So. I've been hearing quite a bit about this job of yours, Iida."

"Y-Yeah, I got a job! So what?" Iida defended himself, positioning his body by the door to the roof. "Isn't that normal? What're you getting at?"

"See, I've got a few friends with jobs of their own. Of course, none of them are blackmailers or with the mob, oh nothing like that… but I know when something suspicious or dirty is going down… just like with your little drug smuggling job."

"H-How do you…? Damn, of all people, I can't believe you were the one to find out…"

Lean into it just a touch more. But don't threaten him outright.

"So. You want to start talking? I'm being more gentle than I need to be here, but I'm in a pretty good mood today."

"Alright, alright… You're right, I'm smuggling for them. They told me they had an easy part-time job for me, and I ended up smuggling drugs. All I had to do was put envelopes in coin lockers, and they said they'd give me a hefty paycheck. I didn't know what was inside them, though! And this is what came out of it…"

"Did they end up paying you? I heard you've been spending some good money."

"Yeah, I gave them my bank info, and the money got deposited there, but then they started threatening me pretty soon after that. They had pictures of me carrying the goods. Said they'd expose what I did unless I paid them off."

"Hm."

"You know… why are you even asking me this stuff? Are you gonna use this to blackmail me too?" Iida asked bitterly. He just scoffed in reply.

"Oh please. I'm here on probation. If some shit's going down and students from Shujin are involved when the police investigate, I'll probably be one of the first people on their suspects list. Bastards. I'm gonna sort this shit out."

"Oh. Well, if you're gonna look into it further, it happened at Central Street, so… I'd look around there."

"Yeah, I figured that out by now." He grinned darkly and clapped Iida on the shoulder. "Stay out of trouble, now. I'm sure this'll allll blow over soon."

Ω • Ω • Ω

"Are you sure about this, Akira?"

"Nope. But we need the upgrades if we're going up against a mafia boss. Who knows how powerful the Shadows running around in their head will be?" He stood outside Untouchable, hyping himself up. As before, he was less worried about Iwai attacking him for prying into potentially illegal activity since he could easily blast him with a Rebellion, and more worried about what the police would do when they saw the security footage of that happening.

"Well, good luck…" Morgana ducked back into his bag while he pulled out the paper bag that held his Riot Pistol EX. After breathing in deeply he walked inside and up to the counter. Iwai was sitting in his chair, legs up and reading some magazine, as usual, barely bothering to glance up at him.

"Oh, 's you. Whaddya need?"

"Selling some shit."

"Mm." He dumped the items he wanted to sell, grabbed his money, and then plopped the paper bag down on the counter. "Also wanted to ask about this."

"Yeah?" Iwai looked up from his magazine to scrutinize him. "...That was a custom gun that I modified to make it look as real as possible. Had a customer that was interested in it. You helped me by smugglin' it outta here so that I didn't get caught by those detectives."

"Uh-huh."

Iwai tilted his head to the side and his eyes narrowed. "You're an accomplice now, so don't go snitchin'. I got everything on my security camera."

"Not here to snitch. I wanted to see more, actually."

"Huh." Iwai chewed on his toothpick, thinking to himself for a few moments. "...Wanna talk in the back?" When he nodded, Iwai put his magazine down and led him into the back room. The man took a seat on a stool, and after a moment, asked "Who the hell are you?"

"A gun enthusiast, I guess," he shrugged.

"At your age?" Iwai hunched over and rubbed his chin in thought. "...Well, I guess you got the heart of an enthusiast. You're a strange one, kid." Iwai chuckled while he stayed silent, watching with his hands in his pockets. After a moment Iwai nodded to himself. "Well… I guess that could work."

"Mind filling me in?"

"Well, I can grant that wish of yours… But you'd better have the money. These things are worth hundreds of thousands of yen per unit. Sometimes they even reach the millions, depending on how I feel."

"Yeah? And how do I go about lowering that price?"

"Heh. You catch on quick." Iwai stood up and shrugged. "Look, I ain't a bad dude. I've been known to compromise, from time to time. For example, you help me out with my 'business'..." Iwai suddenly got closer, getting in his space and looking down at him to try and intimidate him. "Smugglin' goods, destroyin' evidence, and as a special reward, I'll introduce you to the special menu, with good prices for a punk like you. Whaddya say? Not bad, huh?"

His attempt at intimidation didn't do much, since, again, he could pretty easily defend himself. He wasn't sure if any cameras were in the back with them, though. Either way, he definitely didn't like the sound of some of those things. That business definitely sounded illegal. But they needed those upgrades, and in the end, if it was anything too illegal, he would definitely bring up Iwai as a target whose heart needed to be changed.

"Sounds like a fair deal to me."

"Fair deal? I'd say it's a great deal," Iwai scoffed. "Gotta fight evil with evil, so I need a pawn of my own. Now, don't talk to no one about this. Got it? Just follow my orders. So, you takin' the deal?"

"'Course. As long as it's not anything too dangerous."

"...That's fine," Iwai acquiesced. "Alright, I'll work on that special menu for you. You should be grateful."

"I will be if I see it's worth it," he shot back.

His assistance with upgrading thy arsenal will be essential to thy journey from this point on. Iwai chuckled and they shook hands, all while chains shattered within him.

I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Hanged Man Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…

Hanged Arcana, Weapons Dealer: Rank 1

"Oh yeah, and when I don't got any 'buisness' goin' on, I'll have you do some miscellaneous chores. Must be pretty excitin' for a gun enthusiast like you, huh?"

"Right," he responded dryly. "Well, you need anything today?"

"Not today. You get goin', I need to go over what I'm gonna get you doin'." They walked out of the back room and as he was leaving the store Iwai stopped him. "One sec. …There, that's my contact info. When I text you from that ID, it'll be 'cause I need help around the shop. Just so you know, if you get caught or anything, I never met ya. Nothin' to do with me, we clear? If you want somethin', you're gonna have to work fo rit."

"You're just describing life in general," he drawled. "But sure, leave it to me."

"Heh. We'll see if you're actually up to it. Point is, we got a deal now, so you'd better put in some work."

"Fine by me. See you when you call me." He walked off and waved a hand lazily. Once he was around the corner he sighed in relief, and Morgana popped out of his bag. "That went well."

"Mm-hm. Now we've got upgrades for our weapons secured, and all you have to do is…" Morgana scrunched up his face. "Well, it sounded kind of illegal."

"No kidding," he chuckled. "Still, if what he's up to is too bad we'll talk with the others about changing his heart. For now, from what he said about 'fighting evil with evil', I'm tentatively hoping that he's fighting against worse people even if he himself is on the darker side of the law."

"We can only hope."

Ω • Ω • Ω

6/16, Thursday

Steal the mafia boss's heart

Throughout the day he heard mutterings from other students concerning Niijima. It seemed like they were dissatisfied with how she was doing things, though they also got several facts wrong like her wanting to be involved with the investigation just to play around. He may have disliked her, but he could admit that she was at least doing it for the right reasons… He could tell that much, after having talked with her the other day without trading barbs and instead focusing on the matter of protecting people.

In any case, once the school day was over the Phantom Thieves met at Shibuya, minus Mishima, who was once again focusing on the online front. While he had met with about as much success as they had, he also confirmed that most of the incidents were occurring in Central Street, which combined with their own investigations, greatly narrowed down the search area.

But, while Mishima may have stayed behind, Niijima had come along as well. Her appearance there was met with… mixed reactions. He and Yusuke had nodded at her when she approached them at their hideout, neither negatively nor positively. She was there to help, and that was that. Ann had glared, but said nothing to Niijima, instead moving to stand by his side, opposite her. Ryuji grinned weakly and nodded, to which she nodded back.

After going over the plan, which… wasn't much of a plan, just everyone splitting up to cover more ground and walk around talking to people, they moved out. He stepped out into Central Street and breathed out. This… would take a while.

He spent who knew how long just walking up the street, investigating the back alleys, listening to people talk, but he wasn't finding useful information. Even when he eavesdropped on a pair of officers, barely anything.

"Once again, nothing to report. There are many people falling victims, yet no perpetrators. They appear and disappear as they please… not only that, but they blend in with normal teenagers."

"Stop complaining! If we don't try getting information, people will say the police are useless! The media are already on our case, and the higher-ups aren't doing a thing… this is bad for morale."

He snorted and kept walking. Ironically, he wasn't one of those people who would think police useless, he had the Onett police force with Aunt Tracey and Captain Strong to disprove that— eccentric as the captain was— but if the police were only doing this to not look bad, then he'd happily take down this mafia before they could ever hope to. And of course, those corrupt bastards that had arrested him…

Focus, Trickster. Much as I'd enjoy making a show of the police, thou must stay upon thy track.

'Right, right.' So, what did he have? He hadn't truly learned anything new from those officers, they confirmed that the police didn't know who the perpetrators were, but at the least they might have the knowledge now that the mafia blended in easily with the teenagers they were using, so no obvious tattoos or clothing… unless, of course, the officers were talking about the teenagers being used to ferry drugs for the mafia. Even if they weren't, it meant the mafia men would not be easy to find, and…

He bit back an internal scream and kept looking.

He continued along the street and, eventually, found something suspicious. Two high-schoolers were being cornered by two older guys, maybe in their twenties, one wearing a suit with a briefcase and a stern face, and the other wearing clothes with skulls on them and piercings.

The more menacing of the men was speaking, "Hey, aren't you interested in all the hottest brand names? We're having a special sale just over there, how 'bout you go take a peek?"

"We ordered way too much," the pierced man added, "so I have a ton left over. My boss'll kill me if I go back to him with all these extras. Look, I'll sell 'em to you for cheap. Whaddya say?"

The student wearing glasses looked at his friend with a nervous expression. "What should we do?"

"It depends on the price, wouldn't you say?"

By that point, he was noticed, and the pierced man turned to him with a grin. "Hey, what about you? These are unforgettable deals."

"Sorry, I don't have the money to spend on anything besides really important stuff. Even if you've got a really good sale, sorry." He shook his head with an apologetic expression, and the man shrugged.

"Well, that's disappointing. Come find us if you change your mind." Turning back to the other teenagers, he continued. "C'mon, the shops' right around here, how about you come to take a look?"

Watching them walk away, he sighed. "Well, they didn't ask if I wanted to make some money, so… they might not be connected to the mafia…"

"I guess," Morgana commented. "It's too bad we can't be sure."

He nodded in agreement but made sure to memorize exactly what they were wearing and looked like, to let the others know. Just in case. "We've spent too much time just walking up and down Central Street… with almost nothing to show for it."

"What about that homeless guy?"

He looked at the man Morgana had pointed out. He was digging through the trash, but he had a certain glint in his eye that gave him pause. "What? What about him?"

"Well, if he's always in these alleys, maybe he saw one of those deals go down?"

"Huh… good idea." He thought about how to go about this, before rolling his shoulders and stepping forward. Hopefully, this would be a real lead.

A lot happened in this chapter. Mishima joined the gang in talking with Makoto, mostly because I've had Akira including him more as the auxiliary member he is. Yusuke's monologue in Leblanc was fun, he's just fun in general to write haha.

Of course, the search through the school is very slightly different with Akira leaning on his reputation to intimidate some answers out of Nishiyama and Iida. The Hanged Man begins, I thought this would be a good place to start it with them going up against the mafia, so in comes Gun Dad.

And of course, we close the chapter off with the start of the Shibuya investigation. It's kind of hard for me to skirt the line of Akira not completely hating the police, since of course his aunt is an officer, and Onett's so small that he probably knows literally everyone in the force, and him not trusting them thanks to what occurred with Shido and those officers.

Also, I replayed Phantom Strikers recently, and holy crap I somehow forgot that if I keep underlining anything to do with electronics, like people talking on the phone, on a television, texting, etc, I'd be underlining nearly entire chapters thanks to Sophia. And of course, FF hates underlining and undoes it all for no reason.

Fuck my life.

But anyway, let me know what you think of the chapter, or just leave a 'nice,' both are always great to read. See y'all next time!