"Ugh..." Mika groaned as she sat in Akane's room. At some point, Akane ended up passing out and Mika had to carry her all the way back home. So she had to sit and watch this unconscious child while the others were out risking their lives. She was also taking the chance to look around at Akane's room; Phantom Thief central. "Good grief, is there anything not red and black in here?"
"Nn..." Akane groaned lowly.
"Oh, good...she's still alive." Mika was glad about that. This was out of her comfort zone, so she wasn't really sure what to do. But she did at least have one idea. Something that could cement her as the coolest babysitter in the world. But she'd have to wait for that. It was a few moments later that she felt her phone buzz and she went to check it. It was a text from Hifumi!
Hifumi: We're back now. Thank you so much for looking after her. Zenkichi is on his way now.
"Thank goodness." Mika let out a sigh of relief. "I was running out of ideas..."
Shortly after Mika received that text, Zenkichi pretty much came barreling through his front door in a hurry. Mika met him in the living room. "Akane's here, right?!"
"Yeah." Mika nodded, pointing to Akane's room. "She slumped over at some point so I took her back there. "She's breathing, so I'm sure she's still alive."
"...Thanks." Zenkichi let out a sigh of relief. It had only been a few days since he laid eyes on Akane, but that time apart felt like forever.
"Also, I gave her 5,000 yen for food." Mika said while getting ready to leave.
"You gave her HOW MUCH!?" Zenkichi's eyes went wide.
"There's nothing in this house! It was the best option." Mika slid her heels back on and opened the door. "Anyway, I'm heading back now. Don't get caught again, old man." With that, she simply left.
"Wait, you can't just give a middle schooler-!" Too late. Any objections he had were pointless. Mika was already gone. So he was just going to have to let Akane keep that 5,000 yen. Zenkichi let out a defeated sigh before making his way to Akane's room, pulling the chair at her computer out to sit and wait for her to wake up.
"Zzz..." Akane was asleep.
Zenkichi looked over Akane with a fond smile, reaching out to gently stroke her hair. "Akane. Heh, you've become so much like your mother. You grew up maybe even a little too fast. I was so desperate to protect you that I became blind to just about everything else. I failed you as a father, but I'm done running away. Konoe's going to pay for using you. And Owada's going down with him. He's going to pay for taking Aoi from us. I won't lose sight of justice ever again.
Akane stirred awake. Her eyes opened and the first thing she saw was her father. "Dad...?"
"Akane...!" Zenkichi's eyes widened when she woke up. "Are you alright!? You're not hurt or anything, are you? I, uh..."
"I'm okay." Akane replied with gentle smile.
"Oh, uh...good." Zenkichi said with a relieved smile.
"...When did I fall asleep? Where did, uhm...Mika go...?" Akane asked. She barely had any memory of the previous events. She barely remembered being in Mika's company.
"...That's right, you wouldn't remember..." Zenkichi remembered being told that a person's Shadow never remembered the events in a Jail. So that meant it was up to him to explain what happened.
"Remember what...?" Akane sat up a little bit.
"Okay..." Zenkichi was going to explain, he just needed to find the right way to phrase it. "We'll take it nice and slow. There's a lot to talk about. Will you hear me out, Akane?"
.
.
While Zenkichi was speaking with Akane, Mika returned to the current hideout with the others, letting out an exasperated sigh. "You guys owe me. I had to spend time with an angtsy teenager. That was not fun."
"Thank for your help, Mika." Hifumi said with a soft smile. Mika only did it because Hifumi asked. Anyone else? She would've given a bit more pushback on the matter. "She wasn't too bad, was she?"
"I managed. I also gave her 5,000 yen for food." Mika shrugged.
"...Should you really be giving a middle schooler that much money?" Sumire questioned with a sweat drop.
"I don't see the problem with it!" Haru smiled innocently.
"See? She gets it." Mika pointed at Haru, her respect for her going up just a little bit.
"I still can't believe they'd use Akane as a means to get to us..." Hifumi frowned.
"This time was a little too close." Morgana said. They were quite literally captured save for a few of them. Any closer and the situation would be drastically different.
"But why did Akane-chan become a Monarch?" Haru asked.
"It was likely Konoe's order, as I assumed before." Akechi said while crossing his arms.
"But we don't know if it was on Owada's orders or not." Ren said.
"I can likely imagine how the conversation went." Akechi replied. "I've been involved in these conversations before. I imagine Owada has some reason to work with Konoe; it's likely because he wants a Jail of his own. Much like how Shido had followers who gave them support in exchange for his services, I can see this being much the same. Capture the Phantom Thieves as soon as possible, and once Owada has his Jail set up, there will be no one who can stop his influence. That is most likely why the police are so intent on hunting us down. Akane was just a means to an end. How they came to the conclusion of using her, specifically, however...I cannot yet say why."
"Do you think Konoe made Alice, Natsume, and Hyodo Monarchs too...?" Ann asked.
"I don't doubt it." Hifumi closed her eyes. "Although I doubt it was for the same reason as to why he made Akane a Monarch."
"These guys are so selfish." Mika still only had a decent idea as to what was going on, since she got the short version. But she could draw a simple conclusion from what she's seen and experienced so far.
"I know it's bad when you're the one calling someone selfish." Ann tried a light joke, but it didn't really improve her mood that much.
"If Konoe is the one behind it all, I will never forgive him." Haru said with a narrowed gaze. It was personal with Hyodo, and Haru was not going to take it lying down.
"When we grab Konoe's Shadow by the throat, I'm sure we'll get all the answers we're looking for." Akechi said darkly.
"Playing with other people's hearts like that. He won't get away with this." Makoto said with determination.
"Yeah." Ryuji said with a scowl. "Just you wait, you goat chinned mother-" Before he could finish, the sound of police sirens outside silenced him. Everyone tensed up for a moment, but those sirens eventually faded into the distance a few seconds later.
"...I hate that sound." Sumire said with a tense sigh. It felt like they could be caught at any moment. That was a risk of being a Phantom Thief, but the tension in this situation was stressful.
"We must do something soon." Yusuke said. "We have eluded capture for the time being, but it will do us no good if we are prisoners in our own hideout."
"So, this must be how it felt when I played this card on you." Akechi said with a dry chuckle. "Karma."
"I wasn't going to say anything." Ren shrugged, but he wasn't going to lie.
"...Oh, yeah. Before I forget." Mika piped up suddenly. "That girl's EMMA app was working just fine."
"...What do you mean?" Yusuke looked over at Mika.
"Well, you know how EMMA has shut down for most people, right?" Mika was filing her nails. "Granted, minus your Jail stuff. But when I was over there, EMMA was speaking and working just fine. It actually kind of felt like EMMA was talking to the girl...it was super freaky."
"EMMA was working for her?" Ann blinked. "No way. There's definitely something fishy going on here!"
"Only further reason for us to do something about it. Somehow." Hifumi had no idea. It was going to be hard to move with the police hunting them down like this. But at that moment...Ren's phone buzzed.
"Oh." Sophia spoke up. "Incoming call from 'Sae Niijima'."
"Sis?!" Makoto's eyes widened.
Without hesitation, Ren picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"It's been some time. Do you remember me? It's Sae Niijima." Sae answered. She hadn't dialed Ren's phone or spoken to him in months.
"How could I forget the person who got me out of jail?" Ren said with a slight grin. "How are you?"
"I'm as well as I could be. It sounds like you've stuck your nose into something big again. Is everyone else there? Can you put me on speaker?" Sae asked.
Ren did just that, putting Sae on speaker for all to hear. "The room's all yours."
"It's good to hear you're all okay." Sae said with a relieved smile.
"..." Akechi said nothing. If it weren't for the fact that leaving the hideout was ill advised, he probably would have exited the room. So he opted for silence instead.
"Sis, thank you for your help." Makoto replied.
"You owe me big time for this. My help doesn't come cheap, you know?" Even though she said this, one could hear the smile on her face.
"For real, you really saved our asses!" Ryuji nodded in agreement. "We woulda been totally boned if you didn't get Gramps out for us."
"Hello, I'm right here?" Mika pointed at herself.
"You helped too." Hifumi said while patting Mika on the shoulder with a smile.
"Gorgeous and professional! That's a recipe for a femme fatale super layer, if I've ever seen one!" Futaba snickered.
"Flattery won't get you anywhere, just so you're aware. Plus, I can't take all the credit." Sae replied. "The arrest warrant for the Phantom Thieves has been voided. That should keep the police of your backs for the time being."
"Wha...how'd that happen?!" Makoto's eyes were wide. Everyone was surprised by her news.
"The arrest warrant didn't have a judge's seal. What's more, the evidence submitted was fake. It seems like someone wanted you all arrested, and they didn't care what for, so long as it was done." Sae replied.
"Hah...of course that's what it was." Akechi said while shaking his head. "Just like Shido, making all the same mistakes, but without any of the power to actually see it through under scrutiny."
"...Was that Akechi?" Sae asked. Since she was out of the loop, she didn't know a lot of the specifics, especially about Akechi. They hadn't seen each other or spoken since...
"...Never mind me." Akechi responded, aware of his slip up, but he wasn't going to ignore her.
Sae was quiet for a moment. That was a conversation for later, but for now, she still had some news to deliver. "Moving on...not only that, but it turns out the Public Security Buraeu had a hand in Inspector Hasegawa's arrest. The prefectural police are scrambling to cover this up right now. They can't afford to be out looking for you. I'll contact you if anything happens. In the meantime, just focus on getting out of your current predicament, okay?"
"Wow...we really owe you one." Ren said. They never would've been able to worm out of this situation on their own. Sae's talents really did save them.
"You can thank me once this case is closed." Sae replied with a smile.
"Sis...thank you so much." Makoto was so grateful.
"We really owe you one." Ann smiled.
"Stay safe, Makoto. All right, I have business to take care of. I'm looking forward to hearing from you again." With that, Sae hung up.
"How encouraging." Yusuke smiled. "To know there are others out there who support us."
"The Phan-Site is still an uproar." Ren said. "At the end of the day, there are still people who believe in us despite everything."
"So we have to do everything we can to not let them down." Haru said.
"I'm also glad we don't have to worry about the police anymore." Sumire brushed her hair behind her ear. "This gives us much more freedom!"
"But we still don't have a plan..." Ryuji grumbled.
"The natural course of action would be to head straight to Konoe's home base." Hifumi said. "We already know there is a Jail in Osaka, and if we are to connect the dots, it is highly likely it belongs to him."
"But we still don't have the keyword for it." Haru sighed. They wouldn't be able to do anything without that crucial step. "I don't think he'll hand it over so easily either..."
"He seems to be more aware of our activities than we expected. I doubt we will be able to carry out Zenkichi's plan at this point." Yusuke stated.
"If he knows about us, he'll likely keep his keyword safe, as Hifumi said." Makoto furrowed her brows. "We won't be able to change his heart so easily."
"Up the creek without a paddle." Ryuji stretched his arms up. "What now?"
"Hmmm..." Sophia thought for a moment. "We just need someone who can get Konoe's keyword without raising suspicion, is that right?"
"Do you know such a person?" Yusuke asked.
"What about Kuon Ichinose?" Sophie suggested. Everyone's eyes went wide. Admittedly, they almost forgot about her with everything going on.
"Who's that?" Mika whispered to Hifumi.
"She's the one who developed EMMA." Hifumi answered. Mika blinked in response.
"How do you run into these people...!?" Mika said in shock.
"Ichinose-san might be able to get his keyword no problem!" The idea made Haru smile.
"This just might work. Good job, Sophia!" Morgana said.
"A piece of cake, as they say." Sophia replied with a prideful grin.
"Call her up right now!" Futaba told Ren.
'On it." Ren nodded and proceeded to dial Ichinose's number. After a few rings, she answered.
"Hello? Ah, Ren-kun! You seem to be doing okay. That's great to hear. Truly brightens my day!" Ichinose said with an upbeat tone.
Mika quirked a brow and let out a scoff. Ichinose was on speaker phone and that tone of voice was just hard to ignore. "Oh my god, she's so fake."
"You haven't even met her...!" Ann said to Mika with a hushed whisper.
"And I can already tell she's the fakest person I've ever heard!" Mika shot back.
"Faker than you or Alice?" Hifumi tilted her head.
"...Okay, second fakest." Mika admitted. She wasn't going to hide the fact she was fake; and she already knew Alice was fake from the beginning. But Ichinose? Something didn't sit right with her on that one. No way she was the only person who knew it.
"I agree with her, oddly enough." Akechi mumbled. The rare time he and Mika were in agreement.
"We're in a bit of a pinch and could use your help." Ren answered.
"Did something happen? Oh wait, let me back up a bit. How did things go in Okinawa?" Ichinose asked, completely out of the loop since the group went to Okinawa.
"Terribly." Mika huffed. "Wait, how does this chick even know who you guys are?"
"Badly timed cat." Ryuji replied. Morgana just scowled in response.
"Oh, right...we never told her about Okinawa." Ann blinked.
"That's true. We should fill her in on what's going on." Makoto said.
Ichinose could hear Makoto and Ann on the other side, so she rightfully assumed the group was all together. "Oh, it sounds like you're all together! Okay then, let's hear it!" And so, Ichinose was informed about what happened in Okinawa and even after. "I see! It sounds like you're all wrapped in another crazy adventure, ahahaha!"
"Erm, this is no laughing matter, Ichinose-san." Sumire said with a sweat drop.
"Oh, sorry...I guess that wasn't right of me." Ichinose replied.
"So fake, good lord..." Mika continued to shake her head. She could sense it from literally miles away. She did not trust this woman at all.
"I think I understand what's going on." Ichinose said. "You're looking for Konoe's keyword, is that right?"
"Do you think you can get it out of him?" Makoto asked. Ichinose was their only saving grace in this moment, so they were really hoping this idea wasn't for nothing.
"I mean...asking him for it would be kind of weird. I already got it from him awhile ago." Ichinose replied casually, and the tone of which she did surprised them all.
"You WHAT!?" Ryuji gasped.
"But HOW!?" Futaba asked.
"Well, the day you guys came to that lecture, there was a little social gathering afterward for some of the bigger names involved. It was there I ran into Konoe-san and he gave me his business card. The keyword was right there on the front!" Ichinose explained happily. "...Huh. Now, where'd I put it? I'm pretty sure I had it right here..."
"She lost it." Akechi pinched the bridge of his nose. They were so close, yet so far.
"P-Please find it! This is top priority!" Futaba pleaded.
"O-Oh, okay." Ichinose was a bit surprised at how vital this was, but she did do her best to search for it. "I was sure I had it somewhere..." They could hear the rustling of objects on the other line, shortly followed by... "WAH!?" The woman's panicked cries and the sounds of multiple objects collapsing all around her. She was not going to succeed in this task today, she knew that for a fact. "I'll have it for you by tomorrow! You have a nice day off!" And then she hung up, leaving everyone stunned as a result.
"Uuuuuh...Eccentric as ever, isn't she?" Ann laughed nervously. "And it's gonna take 'till tomorrow? Just how messy is her room."
"Fake, you mean." Mika pointed out.
"Stop saying that!" Ann groaned.
"A small price to pay, but if this gets us the keyword." Though it was a bit of an inconvenience, Yusuke could see the bright side of things. If Ichinose was successful, this would bring them one step closer to Konoe.
"Mhm! We'll be able to enter Konoe's Jail!" Haru smiled.
"But...can we really count on her, though?" Ryuji asked the real question.
"I'm...not too sure, honestly." Makoto hated to admit it, but their options were very limited. "But she's our only option right now."
"I have my reservations, but we do not have much of a choice in the matter." Akechi said while starting to leave. Since the police were no longer on them, he felt it alright to walk about freely and not cause any trouble. Crowded, small places like this were not his ideal environment.
"Seems like we'll just have to rest and wait it out." Ren said while sliding his phone into his pocket.
"We can prepare in the meantime. We should get ready to head to Osaka just in case." Hifumi suggested.
"Hifumi's right. Tomorrow, we'll link up with Zenkichi and head to Osaka!" Morgana exclaimed. It was the enemy's home, so they were effectively walking into hostile territory. They needed to prepare for what lies ahead.
"..." Mika said nothing, but crossed her arms, going into deep thought. "I'm not going to sit here on the sidelines forever..."