Chapter 34: All Work, No Play
[G]
Beep beep beep beep beep.
Beep beep beep beep beep.
Beep beep beep beep beep.
Akechi groaned and slapped his hand on his phone. Damn you. He hated when his requests were asked early in the morning. He preferred to be called late in the evening, when everything was more likely finished and he could fall asleep, but there wasn't much he could do about it. So he took a deep breath to compose himself and said,
"Hello?"
"Hello there. My apologies for calling you so early in the morning," the familiar elderly voice of the SIU director said.
Concealing his annoyance with his pleasant veneer, Akechi said, "Oh it's quite all right. I understand that this must be urgent if you're calling at such a time."
A long suffering sigh from the other end. "You could say. I had someone from Shujin Academy look into the Kamoshida incident, but it's been almost a month and he hasn't made any progress."
His heart dropped.
Akechi spoke as if the topic was the weather.
"Hmm? The Kamoshida incident? You wouldn't happen to be looking into the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, would you?"
"Indeed I am. I've been having an insider handle it. But that was just a precaution. After Madarame confessed, I need someone to definitely look into it. I was hoping you would not only provide...supplementary information to our other informant's intel, but publicly look for them."
In other words: investigate the Phantom Thieves because Kobayakawa, if he remembered the name of Shujin Academy's Principal correctly, was being incompetent, and go after them publicly to cover up any prodding he needed to do, if not other activities involving investigating them.
His stomach turned.
Akechu spoke as if the conversation was small talk.
"Very well. Anything in particular you would like me to obtain? I'm not sure how much I can gather compared to an insider after all."
"A list of suspects will do for now. Though I'm sure you can figure it out with your powers if the Phantom Thieves are using the same ones as well."
He clenched his free hand.
Akechi spoke as if it was a pleasant time.
"I shall provide one within the week then, if there aren't any complications of course."
"Of course. I look forward to it. I know you will do well."
Beep and the line was dead. Akechi lay on his futon, still holding his phone and staring at the ceiling before him. It would be very easy to provide suspects. He outright knew the identities after all. Why should he fear to provide that information to the SIU director, and by extension the organization? He wouldn't be in any danger.
But Akira-chan would be.
And there's no way in hell I'll let anyone else get their hands on her...
Akechi encrypted the recorded conversation before making a note to look at Shujin Academy's records, making sure Akira wouldn't notice him. He was sure he could come up with a convincing list. He had put up a convincing persona for two years now after all.
(A)
School was gossipy as usual, but instead of her and her brother being the "sensational" topic, it was about Madarame's confession, with more people starting to believe in the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Someone even drew on the chalkboard in the back of Ren's classroom a crying Madarame. While she found it hilarious someone had the guts to do that, she did feel bad about finding it funny at all, especially when Ren was mixed on it considering, well...
...it was mocking Yusuke's former father-figure.
As disgusting as the man's actions were, they cared about what their friend had gone through, so them laughing at the man's misfortune ended up tasting sour in her mouth.
Thankfully, the mood during their lunch was light, even when Ryuji complained about their upcoming social studies trip. But when a TV station was mentioned as an available option, the faux-blond changed his tune and ended up excited for trip. So, of course, as if to counteract all that, during a group chat about plans for today and Metaverse visits, they found out Yusuke was ostracized at Kosei High. It made sense in hindsight, and Yusuke was unfazed by it, but still, it sucked. And when school was over...
Akira glowered at the sky. "Really?"
...it started to rain.
Ren chuckled beside her. "At least we have umbrellas this time," he said as he took his out. "Don't want to keep Ann and Ryuji waiting."
She sighed and followed suit. "Yeah yeah, I know, but still..."
While Akira and Ren were ostracized at Shujin, at least they had Ann, Ryuji and each other for company. Yusuke had no one at Kosei. So it wasn't as easy to include him in group events, like the shared training session they planned at the gym Ryuji found for this afternoon. She had wanted to invite him this afternoon, but he had an art assignment to finish and they had already agreed to going to Mementos tomorrow, so he felt he had little reason to reschedule.
"I know. We'll have another chance."
"I sure hope so, or I'm makin' one."
"Ha ha ha, that's the spirit."
Just then a welcomed presence noticed them.
"Ah, Amamiya-senpai. Amamiya-san," Yoshizawa said. "What a pleasant surprise."
Akira laughed. "If you say so. What's up?" She frowned when she noticed a certain something not in her hands. "Did you forget your umbrella?"
Yoshizawa's sheepish chuckle confirmed it before she said, "Yes, actually. But it's fine. I'll barely get wet if I run to the station! It'll be good training for me."
Now Ren frowned. "Oh no you don't. You'll still get wet either way. What if you catch a cold?"
"Exactly. So just share an umbrella with us."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Here, come under—"
"Oh no you don't, Aki. You might get wet with that little space."
"Wha—oh come on! It'll only be my arm."
"Nope. You could get a cold with just that."
"Well, with your logic, you'll get a cold too."
"I can live with it."
"Well I don't want that! If I can't get sick, you can't get sick either."
"Uh..."
"Well, someone is going to have to share and I don't want it to be you."
"It is gonna be me and I can make it work. Watch."
In one fluid motion, she opened her umbrella, wrapped an arm around Yoshizawa's shoulders, and had it over them, completely shielding them from the rain. She grinned with teeth.
"See?"
Ren sighed and shook his head in exasperation.
"Uh...Amamiya-san...?"
It was only then she realized one wrinkle in her plan: Yoshizawa's comfort.
She flinched. "Agh. Sorry, Yoshizawa. I should've asked."
"Oh it's fine!" she said, waving a hand frantically. "I was just surprised is all. If this is the best we can all do, I'm fine with it."
Oh, good.
She gave her brother a look. He was the only thing stopping them from going when there was a perfectly workable solution to their problem. And he knew it. So he just sighed again, rolled his eyes and said, with a smile,
"Fine. You win. Let's go."
The walk to the station was a short one, but during it the red headed girl thanked them since she had two big competitions coming up, one in the beginning of summer and another one at its end. Once they got there, it should've been a simple good-bye, but...
"Hey, is that Yoshizawa?"
"You mean the honors gymnast?"
"She gets the VIP treatment from school and escorts?"
"I bet that guy is her boyfriend too..."
"Ugh. Miss Special Snowflake sure is living on easy street..."
"Those blathering half-wits...let us see how special they are after I—"
Breath. Don't let them provoke you, don't let them provoke you, don't let them provoke you...[/i]
She still wanted to shout like crazy, but then her brother's grip was on her shoulder and her anger fell into a low simmer. It was outright doused when Yoshizawa said,
"I'm sorry about that..."
Akira said, "You don't got anythin' to be sorry for."
Ren nodded. "Don't worry about it."
"Still... I wish I didn't get any special treatment... They're already wary of me because I'm an honor student. But because the school's expecting strong results in the upcoming competitions too, they keep excusing me from all sorts of things, like the cleanup event..."
"A bit much, huh?" Akira said.
"You mean way too much," Ren said with a smirk.
They all laughed.
"Yeah. It is."
"You deserve it though," she said. "You were pretty awesome when we trained after the cleanup. I know you'll be awesome at the contests."
Yoshizawa laughed, but this time from embarrasment. "Oh I—"
She was cut off as her phone rang. She answered it after they reassured her that she could do so without being rude. While she was busy speaking to her father, from the sound of things, her brother leaned towards her and said in a whisper,
"Don't you dare invite her to our training session."
"Don't worry. I wasn't even thinkin' it."
"Good."
They moved back to their previous positions as if they hadn't been conspiring just as Yoshizawa finished her call.
"Sorry about that. He asked if I needed a ride since it's raining."
"Hey, it's fine—wait, he'd pick you up?! Why didn't you ask in the first place?!"
Ren smirked again. "Didn't she just say she doesn't like special treatment?"
"Hey! It's not special treament if it's your dad who cares about ya! I'd take any chance to not ride the subway!" Then she remembered "new car smell". "Okay, almost any chance to not ride the subway."
They shared another laugh.
"He's a bit overprotective, isn't he?"
"Only because he cares."
"Yeah. I mean, he could be real busy now, but he still wants to give you a ride."
"Yes, that's true."
"So you'll ask him for help if you need it next time then?"
"Okay okay! I'll keep that in mind," she said. "I'll be going now. I need to get to training. Thank you so much for today."
"No problem. Bye Yoshizawa!"
"Good-bye," Ren said and waved.
With that, their little detour was done, so they took a brief stop at Leblanc to get essentials before they met with Ryuji and Ann, waiting by Buchiko. From there, they went a little down Central Street before taking a right past Ore no Beko.
"Here we are...Protein Lovers!" the faux-blond said.
"Eh? Really? This is the place?" Ann said.
"Yeah. It's pay per visit so you don't got to worry about bullshit contracts or nothin'. The equipment's pretty crappy but they got a ton of variety. Plus it's real damn cheap. Totally worth it, even without a pool or hot tub."
"Huh..."
"Contracts?"
"Are you sure this place's safe?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."
"For real...?"
"Yeah, for real! You brought your stuff, right?"
"Well, I brought my gym uniform if that's what you mean," Ann said.
"What? I meant spare undies!"
"What?!"
"Yes, we did," Ren said quickly.
"Ren?!"
"What? We're going to get sweaty."
"And it'll suck," Akira said.
Ann groaned. "I mean yeah but...don't just say that out loud!"
Akira smirked. "Well, there ain't many euphemisms for undies ya know."
Ren also smirked. "Unless you want us to say undergarment instead."
"Never mind! Let's go in already!"
"Oh yeah, that reminds me...what're you plannin' on doin' exactly? You know, what're your trainin' goals?"
"Oh, well..."
And then Ann went on to make a very detailed, and exhausting, plan on what she wanted to do, which Akira could best sum up as "absolutely everything". Even if she wasn't an expert on exercise, that many goals seemed like overkill for her. Thus she wasn't surprised Ryuji flat out told her it was nuts and she wouldn't make progress if just threw herself into exercise, like jumping into freezing water. Ann was quick to demand he create a regimen for her, but when he did give something easy to start out with, like he did for her, well...Ann ignored him anyway, even when Ren warned her of the consequences.
Though from the look on Ren's face, he fully expected her to go crazy on this and not realize what she was getting in to.
So, of course, by the time an hour and a half passed, Ann lay flat on her back, exhausted.
Akira snickered when she finished her jog on the treadmill. She grabbed her water bottle before she stood over the natural blonde with a cheeky smile and said,
"Soooo...? How'd it go? Feel stronger yet?"
"Shut up."
"We warned ya, ya know."
"Ugh...yeah yeah, I know, but..."
"Didn't think it'd be so hard, huh?"
"You're not much better, Aki," Ren said as he came and held out a water bottle for Ann. "Here. You should rehydrate. It'll keep your body healthy."
Akira stuck out her tongue while Ann gratefully took her brother's offered bottle to gulp its water down. His job done, Ren ignored Akira's action to give the other bottle to Ryuji. Akira plopped down beside the blonde and began to drink just as Ann finished hers.
"Phew... That was good..."
After a good chug, Akira said, "Yeah. Feels good too, right? Even though you're sore all over."
Ann laughed. "Yeah. It's actually fun..."
Akira chuckled. "Well, as long as you don't go too nuts. Hopefully you don't got an injury or something from this."
"What?! An injury?!"
"Come on! Ren told you that you could strain a muscle if you pushed yourself too hard! If you did, you'd have to cut off exercisin' for a while...and our extra stuff after school."
"... Oh."
Ann groaned.
Akira shook her head in amusement. While the blonde was bemoaning her choice though, she noticed Ryuji was talking to someone she didn't recognize, her brother standing with him. He probably felt her curiosity and slight worry from their Confidant as he suddenly turned and she felt reassurance from both their link and his gaze. She nodded, understanding that he'd tell her later if it was important, and he returned the nod, relieved, then returned his focus on the new person. So Akira busied herself with helping Ann recover from her over-the-top exercise until Ryuji and Ren were finished talking and they all left the gym, her brother informing them they got two new requests from Mishima, complete with full names, though she noticed Ren didn't say what those names were yet.
Well, that was convenient. Not that she was complaining.
What she did want to complain about though was that, as soon as they came back home, an unidentified number called Ren. He ignored it of course, but then another unidentified number called her phone. Their hearts raced as many very dangerous possibilities arose, particularly the thought of "Black Mask" being the caller, but when she answered her phone to figure out the truth...
"How dare you ignore our call Inmate?!"
"What the hell?!"
...she was glad her brother held her arms, otherwise she would've gotten really mad from accidentally dropping her phone.
"How dare you shout at us, Inmate!" Caroline said.
"You scared me! Of course I'm gonna shout!"
"What's so scary about us calling you?!"
"Aki."
Akira flinched. Right. Shouting loud.
"Sorry," she said to him.
Not to the twins though. She was still annoyed.
"Never mind that. Why are you calling?"
"Hmph. After that treatment, I think I might change my mind," Caroline said.
"But we don't have any other way to find our answer," Justine said to her.
"Grk!"
Akira smothered her snigger with her hand.
Caroline sighed. "Fine... But remember I'm only asking you because you're our only choice, got it?!"
She nearly suggested her brother, but the last thing she wanted was for these twins to bother him, so she said,
"Then what is it?"
"Come to the Velvet Room! And make it quick!"
"Huh? What? Wai—"
They cut it off.
Now she definitely didn't want her brother to deal with it in case it was something stupid. So she told him she'd see what they wanted and stay out for a while. And well...
"You're late! Next time we expect you in front of us within two seconds of calling you! And where's the other Inmate?!"
"Yeah, sorry, we can't fast travel outside the Metaverse so you're gonna have to deal with it," Akira said. "And maybe my brother would've come if you just told us what wanted over the phone."
Caroline almost snapped back but Justine said before she could,
"We have new duties lined up for you."
"New duties?"
She wondered what they were. So she agreed and offered her help.
She wished she hadn't.
"Why did it have to be Big Bang Burger...?" she said under her breath.
Meanwhile, Caroline and Justine were quite disappointed at the size of the burger Akira ordered for them.
"Well, if you want bigger, you could always do the Big Bang Challenge."
"Huh? Wait, this isn't the biggest they have?"
"They call it a challenge for a reason. Not everyone wants to eat the biggest burger and not everyone can."
"I see... The Big Bang Challenge... What an intriguing concept..." Justine smiled and said, "For the sake of your rehabilitation, you are to take this challenge. And you will take the largest they have to offer."
Akira stared.
"What?! Oh, no no no! No way I'm doin' that! If you wanna see, you try it!"
"Huh?! Grr...you forget your place Inmate! This is all for the sake of your rehabilitation. So even if we did want to, you still have to do it."
Akira scoffed. "And how does knowing about Big Bang Burger help with that?"
"We need to know if this place humans visit will help in your rehabilition," Justine said.
Well, at least one of them was explaining...even if it made little sense.
"Well I ain't gonna eat a burger, let alone a huge one, if I can help it. Most people like it, but not me."
Justine was astonished. "You...don't?"
But Caroline said, "Why? Is that Big Bang Challenge really so challenging that you can't overcome it?" She scoffed. "Then again, you are pretty pathetic, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised..."
Akira gritted her teeth.
"Why you contemptuous twins..."
"Oh yeah...?! Well I'll show you!"
She stood and went right to the cash register to sign on for the Big Bang Challenge. Just her luck, when a waiter delivered the burger to their table, it turned out Akira was the ten-thousandth customer, so she got the absolutely biggest burger from the challenge: the Cosmic Tower Burger. The twins were shocked at the size, the burger as tall as Akira's torso.
"Are you really going to do this?!"
Akira snarled. "Oh what? Now you change your minds? Well too bad!"
With that, her thirty minute timer started and she began her conquest, scarfing down as much as she could, as fast as she could. Or rather, eat as smart as she could.
"Hmph. Not a bad start..." Caroline said.
Akira tore off pieces but always made sure they could be swallowed without chewing. She breathed as much as she could inbetween swallows so she wouldn't accidentally choke. And she focused solely on Fantôme giving voice to her rage, letting her ignore the tears that threatened to spill from the growing nausea of stuffing herself beyond her limits with a food she disliked.
"Um...don't her eyes look a bit...scary to you?" the more brusque warden said.
Another bite. Another swallow.
"They look more pained to me. Perhaps her stomach really is creating a big bang..." the more cold warden said.
Another bite. Another swallow.
"Uh hey...is she really all right? She's not going to keel over, is she?"
She froze, stopped herself from barfing. Then she continued to bite and swallow.
"I think she's going to pass out at this rate," Caroline said.
"... It appears this truly was too much for her to handle," Justine said. "Very well, let us pitch in."
Akira slammed the table.
"Don't...you...fucking dare," she said, snarling and glaring. "Don't act like you care now that I'm trying! You don't care about me! You just care about your job!"
They were stunned, and dare she say hurt, but Akira ignored them, and her threatening bile, to focus on Fantôme's raging voice once more to scarf down the rest of the burger. She only had about twenty minutes left on her timer but only ate about one-fifth, if not less, of the burger.
Another bite. Another swallow.
Fifteen minutes.
Another bite. Another swallow.
Ten.
Another bite. Another swallow.
Five.
Another bite. Another swallow.
Zero.
Another bite. Another swallow...and there was still more.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You were so close to completing the challenge."
Akira collapsed against the table, trying to ignore her nausea from the endeavor and her frustration from failing it.
"Would you like me to take this?"
Akira nodded, unsure if they would let her bring it as leftovers, and too tired to ask then. She heard the clattering of the tray and the clapping of steps fading away as she took deep breaths. In, out. In, out. In, out. The last thing she wanted was to add barfing on her list of annoyances for the day.
"Inmate...?"
Akira tilted her head up just enough to look at them with one, very stern, eye. Or at least, it would've been a hard gaze, had she not seen them so downcast and worried. She flinched, remembering her actions earlier and regretting them. Ticked off as she had been, she didn't have to act like that, as much as she believed her words, even now.
She sighed. "Sorry about that. I shouldn't have shouted."
Caroline looked shocked before she turned away with a huff and arms crossed. "A-As you should feel, Inmate."
"Are you well, Inmate?" Justine said, Akira unsure if the little warden was fine now or not.
Another sigh. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just...let me lie down here for a bit."
"You better not do something like this again the next time you escort us," Caroline said, glaring but it lacked its usual intensity.
"It wouldn't be good to have our Inmate die on us," Justine said, seemingly stoic but there was a hint of remorse in her eyes.
Akira rolled her eyes. Of course they were still keeping it up. "Yeah yeah. Sure. Whatever you say." She thumped her head down and groaned. "I get takin' your job seriously, but this is ridiculous..."
"What was that?" Caroline said, a bit miffed.
"Nothin'...just thinkin' out loud." Because she doubted they were going to let up anytime soon, if at all. She would have to deal with it for now.
It wouldn't be her first time dealing with people who were sometimes annoying.
"Still, even if the woman said you failed, I think we should consider this a success since your stomach didn't burst."
"Gee, thanks," she said, sarcastic, though she doubted they would pick that up.
"I must say though. I'm rather dissatisfied with this place's usage of the moniker 'Big Bang Burger'. They certainly craft a meal of impressive size, but nothing beginning to compare to the big bang. Do humans have some sort of compulsion to exaggerate the size of things?"
"Well, it's pretty funny when you do."
"Funny? How is that funny?"
"If you don't get it, then you won't even if I explain." Nor was she in a proper mood to. She could end up shouting again in frustration.
"Hmph. Then I have a better question. Who in their right mind would willingly consume that much food? Why are humans always testing and pushing their limits? "
Akira stilled, contemplating for a moment.
"Well, I don't know about other people. Everyone's got their own reason for it. But when I wanna do it...it's 'cause I wanna see how far I can go. I wanna see if I can be better than before. And sometimes...it's 'cause I wanna see if I can do something not a lot of people can do."
"'Do something not a lot of people can do'...? Hmm..."
"Yeah. It feels good, y'know, when I do that."
"So should you have won by the challenge's rules..."
"I would've been damn proud of it. That's what."
Especially since it was a giant burger. She'd rub it in Ren's face that she could stand it if she needed to.
Though she was pretty sure that he'd scold her for taking the challenge...but still. It meant she could still eat what was available to her, even if she didn't like it, just like...
"If we were to thrust ourselves into this ordeal, maybe we can find answers," Justine said, pulling her out of her musings.
"What?"
Thankfully for her sanity, the server they asked from barred them from the Big Bang Challenge because their appearance looked below their minimum age requirement. Instead, the server took the opportunity to give them a "Lil Bang Meal", complete with a toy. To her surprise and amusement, while both were interested in the toy like the kids they appeared to be, Caroline was being tsun-tsun about it, unlike Justine who showed her intrigue freely. Not only that, well...they really did seem like kids.
When they finished their meal and went outside, while Caroline commented on the taste, Justine teased her for being more excited on the toy than the meal. Caroline then called out on Justine avoiding the pickles in her burger. The calmer twin reasoned it was because it was an "alien substance", while Caroline insisted she ate all of them, unlike her sister.
It made her guilt over shouting at them worsen.
On the bright side, they seemed to be feeling better now. As "acknowledgement" for completing their task, also know as "the reward for a sidequest", they gave her a Maragi and Mabufu skill card. And the whole ordeal reminded her she hadn't went back to her job at Ore no Beko in a while. She could only imagine how tired the full time workers there felt.
{R}
With his sister out to handle the twin wardens, Sojiro gone for the night, and Mona out for a walk, Ren thought it a good chance to call over Ms. Kawakami. The sooner he could ask her permission to inform Aki of their deal, the better. His homeroom teacher was astonished that he was indeed requesting her, but nonetheless came to help him clean up, Ms. Kawakami cleaning the side where Aki's bed was and him cleaning where the stairs were. When they finished and he turned around though, he was surprised at the sight before him.
Ms. Kawakami, in her maid suit, collapsed on Aki's bed.
"Ms. Kawakami? Are you all right?" he said, now beside the bed, looking down at her with a frown.
Again, his teacher was surprised, but that passed and she said, "Don't worry. I'm just...exhausted."
Ren frowned. "Exhausted?" he said, doubting. "But...how? I know cleaning can be tiring but it can't be that bad."
The older woman was hesitant. But to his luck, she explained that it wasn't just the maid job. She had schoolwork to do, like grading papers and preparing lessons. She worked overtime on weekends since it wasn't allowed on weekdays. And she had side jobs like cleaning tubs and walking dogs.
Ren frowned deepened. "That's...a lot of work. Don't you think that's too much?"
Ms. Kawakami flinched. Instead of answering, she said, "Speaking of pets... This room smells like a cat..." She glowered at him in suspicion. "Do you have one?"
Ren was caught off guard. "You can tell?"
"I...feed a lot of strays around my house. Now answer the question. Do you have one? Don't you know they're bad for your little sister's health?"
Ren wanted to grimace. Oh, he knew that. He still remembered how he had reacted when Mona insisted on living with them. But unlike before, Aki wasn't the only one who didn't want him gone.
"Yes, we do," he said. "But he's hypoallergenic and we clean him everyday. And nothing's happened so far. He's been with us for a couple of months."
Understandably, Ms. Kawakami was dubious and looked ready to protest.
Thankfully he remembered by then. "Never mind that. You didn't answer my question. Why are you working so much? Do you really need the money that bad?"
Ms. Kawakami flinched and scrambled for an explanation. "It's...for my little sister!" she said. "She's sick so I need money to pay for her medical expenses."
A flat stare.
Ren called bull.
It was clear she said an ill little sister in an attempt to appeal to his care for his own. And she was rather hesitant when she spoke. So she was lying. And that worried Ren. He couldn't help but think back to Ann's situation and wonder if Ms. Kawakami was going through a problem she didn't want to talk about either. He wanted to help if that was the case.
But he didn't know for sure.
The only thing he did know was that Ms. Kawakami didn't want to tell him.
So he'd help through the next best way.
"Then I'll request you as often as I can."
"What?! Uh...I appreciate it but..." She said under her breath, "Ugh...owing money to one of my students would be the worst..."
"Then don't think of it like that. Think of it as me asking help from my teacher to take care of my little sister and me thanking her."
Ms. Kawakami glowered. "That doesn't make it any better... We could get in trouble..."
Ren couldn't help but smirk. "Then don't get caught." Like a phantom thief.
His teacher groaned. "Of course you'd say that..."
Ren chuckled and smiled. "Sorry. My point still stands. I'd like your help and you need help. So win-win, right?"
"Fine..."
"Just rest for now," he said and headed for the stairs.
"Huh? What?"
He smirked over his shoulder. "I said rest. Take it as an order from your master."
"What...!?"
He didn't hear whatever else she had to say as he had already made it down. Since she was exhausted, he figured he would make her a meal. Nothing too complicated or with long prep time of course. Just a simple sunny side up and instant ramen combo. He ended up needing to reheat it though as Ms. Kawakami fell asleep on Aki's bed. Thankfully it wasn't too long and he got to see his teacher's shocked expression. But still, she worried him, even more so when she got a call and grew distressed from it, as much as she tried to dismiss it. He wouldn't be able to get anything out of her for now though.
So he instead, he asked if he could inform Aki of the situation, as he didn't want to tell his sister without her permission. Yet again, it took his teacher off guard, but she nonetheless allowed him to. With that, they bid each other good-bye.
(A)
After quickly giving the bottle caps she had managed to gather this time to Haru-senpai, Akira met up with her brother, who had finished gathering intel for their requests and leave calling cards for their targets, before going to their hideout and then they started the briefing. It was then that she realized why he hadn't mentioned the names to their requests when he got them. One was about an elderly man causing trouble named Heiji Ono. The other was a girl acting as a dominatrix on an unwilling guy named...
"Hikari Shimizu?" she said. "Is she...?"
"Related to Mr. Shimizu?" Ren said. He nodded. "Yes. She's his niece."
"Eh? Who's he?"
"He's my homeroom teacher," Akira said.
"Eh?! And he's lettin' this slide?!"
Ren frowned, but shook his head. "No. I asked him about it and it seemed that he's been trying to convince her to stop when the rumors about it started, but not only would she not listen, she..."
"She what?"
"She said he would know how she felt since he keeps his wife locked up."
"What?!" most of them said and looked ready to get mad, including Akira.
But Ren was quick to say, "Hey! She was just twisting the truth. His wife stays in home a lot because her health is frail."
Everyone sighed in relief.
It would also explain why Mr. Shimizu was rather accommodating with her and her medicines. He knew what it was like to take care of someone who needed them.
"Then we have all the more reason to change her heart," Ann said.
"So are we all in agreement of changing her heart and Ono?"
They all nodded. With that, they entered Mementos, Before they could do anything though, Mona said,
"Wait, you guys. Something doesn't seem right."
Turned out, that "something" that wasn't right was that they could go deeper now, the MetaNav telling them that a "new area has been confirmed", thus Mona's susupicion that Palaces would affect how deep they could go was proven. Though Fox then asked a good question.
"How far does this...Mementos run, anyway?"
Mona froze. "Uh..." said their "Metaverse expert". "It's huge! Extremely."
Skull sighed. "You're always so vague when it comes to the important stuff."
"I'm pretty sure the word for that is guessin'," Rogue said.
The not-cat jumped in agitation. "I'm not guessing! Mementos really is huge!"
"Uh huh. Sure. Whatever you say."
"I find that hard to believe when you're pretty flaky as our Metaverse expert."
"Why you...!"
"Now now, he's doing his best," Joker said before an argument could blow up.
Thankfully, Mona soon calmed down thanks to that, though not without sending one more jab at Skull, and thus transformed into the Monamobile to finally begin their trip.
"Oh, by the way, did you see the bulletin posting?" Joker said when she started to drive.
"What bulletin posting?" Fox said.
"It's from our school," Rogue said.
"Yeah I did," Skull said.
"Me too. Do you think they're...?" Panther said with worry.
"Yes. I think they might be looking for us."
"Damn it. It's gotta be 'cause of Miss Prez..."
"Someone is searching for you?"
"Yeah. Our student council president..."
"It could also be the principal," Joker said.
Panther scoffed. "Or it could be her asking help from him to bust us..."
Her brother frowned and looked at the blonde in concern.
Rogue sighed. "Either way, we gotta be careful. Right, Big Bro?"
Joker just nodded.
"Especially you, Skull."
"You don't gotta tell me twice you dumb cat!"
"I am not a cat!"
The Monamobile shook.
"Hey!" She kicked the interior lightly. "Cool it! I can't drive if ya jump without me makin' you to!"
So once again, Joker interfered. "Cut it out, you two."
The two bickering boys listened, though Skull threw a nasty look at Mona's dashboard, and it was back to a relatively quiet ride. At least until they found their first target, Heiji Ono, who was quite happy to see them annoyed at him, and while it made her more pissed...
"That shows how interested you are in me, Heiji Ono, right? Riiiight?"
...a part of her also pitied the man if this was how he decided to get other people's attention.
It turned out she was right. After they defeated the korupokkuru, Ono confessed to doing it because his family only paid attention to him whenever he caused trouble, when they were normally so cold to him. He practically got addicted and thus did it to everyone else as a result. Everyone's annoyance faded at his words.
"An unfortunate consequence of isolation..." Fox said, solemn.
The elderly sniffed. "I caused so much trouble... How am I supposed to live like this...?"
"You don't have to," Joker said. "You can still change."
"But...even if I do...what should I do...?"
"Well, you can start by apologizin' for one," Rogue said.
"Just make up for what you did, in any way you can."
"And from now on, instead of taking it out on others, you should communicate your needs directly to your family," Fox said. "Tell them you're 'lonely' before it's too late."
"Yeah... I'll do that... All of that..."
The mixed feelings continued when they found their last target, Hikari Shimizu, at the next junction between Mementos areas, yet another "wall door" beyond her. When they beat her and the girl returned to her normal form, she panicked over losing the boy she "loved"...and ended up saying,
"He's mine...isn't he...?"
And Rogue felt a burst of painful melancholy from Joker as he said, "Even if he was yours, if you keep this up, he'll hate you."
She had a guess on why.
Especially when she felt that disappear, with a hint of relief, when the girl was shocked before she said in remorse,
"I...could never stand that..."
"Then why do you keep treating him like that?" Panther said.
"He...just kept going along with it...so I misunderstood and thought I could do anything I want with my crush..."
"But now you won't anymore, right?"
"No... No, I won't... I...I want him to be happy..."
And with that, she faded away, leaving behind a melancholic Joker...and a sword whip. Seeing that, Rogue capitalized on the opportunity to say,
"Aw man. I was gonna make a weapon for Panther and here we get one for free..."
"Well, isn't that fortuitous? It means less money spent," Fox said.
"Aw, come on! Don't you get it? It means I gotta wait a while or else me making a whip for Panther'll be redundant."
"Yeah, y'know, like in RPGs," Skull said.
"We're not in a game you know," Panther said.
Rogue grinned. "We might as well be."
"What's an RPG...?" Fox said, tilting his head like his namesake.
Rogue whipped her head his way in shock.
"You don't know what an RPG is?!"
As genuine as her shock and her ensuing lecture with Fox was, she was glad it occured, Rogue able to feel Joker's content paired with his faint chuckle. And so, after that impromptu lesson and unlocking door to the next block of Mementos, they exited the labyrinth and went home.
{R}
Ren sighed as he contemplated on what to do. Yesterday had been a bit of a rollercoaster for him. Not only had the two Mementos requests had him thinking of his mother and Dad, but Ms. Kawakami, whom he called after Aki left to help Yoshida-san last night, continued her pretense of getting money for her "sick sister" despite her circumstances clearly getting worse. So he had planned on spending time with Aki or any of his friends today, but Haru-senpai had wanted to talk to his sister and all of his friends were busy with either errands, homework or a part-time job. Maybe he would check if any part-time jobs were open now, unlike before where he had been turned down.
It was then he got a text from Yoshizawa, asking if they could train. As dreadful as the mere thought of going through all of her "basic" training was...he accepted and Yoshizawa directed him to meet her at Inokashira Park. He had signed up for it after all.
It didn't mean he didn't curse and respect Yoshizawa after they warmed up. And after they stretched.
Not out loud, of course. That would be rude.
"I think that's enough stretching for now. Good effort, Ren-senpai!" Yoshizawa said, taking a seat on a bench.
"Thanks..." he said, seeing her action as invitation to copy her and rest.
"Well, actually...I'd continue our training but... I'm actually not doing great at the moment so I'm not sure I could do anything strenuous."
"Lucky for me..."
"Hmm? What was that, Amamiya-senpai?"
Ren shook his head, chastising himself for his slip, and said, "Are you okay?"
Because she didn't seem unwell.
It turned out though that Yoshizawa's problem was that she seemed to have plateaued in her gymnastic performance and she doesn't know how to solve it. Her coach told her to take a break and "find herself" but...she didn't really know what to do with that advice. But with that revelation, he realized why she wanted his help despite him not being familiar with any kind of athletic sport, as someone who was friendly enough with her.
"So will you still go out with me even when I'm not teaching you gymnastics?!" Yoshizawa said, somewhat pleading.
He was bit startled at that and said, hands out to calm her, "Of course I would. I'll keep saying it again and again, you're my friend. If you need my help, just ask."
The red haired athlete sighed in relief. "Oh thank you very much!"
Ren smiled. "It's no problem." Then he turned serious as he said, "But what exactly is wrong anyway? You say that you can't get any better...but why do you think that anyway? I mean...I'm sure you get better every time you practice, even if it's not by much."
"Well..."
Simply put, Yoshizawa thought that way because of growth spurts...in more ways than in just height. He snorted, thankfully able to hold back his laughter as he imagined Aki saying something along the lines of "And this is why I don't mind having a small chest" to Yoshizawa "growing in certain places".
"But when I saw you in Shibuya, it just occured to me... When I saw how fearless you are, how confident you are... I just knew you were the right one for the job!"
He stared.
"Oh? Really?"
He hadn't expected that, but...it was heartening to hear her faith in him.
Yoshizawa chuckled. "Yes. Well, so was Amamiya-san, but..."
"But what?"
"She's...a bit scary. I was so surprised to hear her talk and act like a delinquent out of nowhere. She looked ready to punch him."
He smirked. "Oh? She scared you? I'll have to tell Aki about this."
Yoshizawa tensed and turned horrified. "What?! Amamiya-senpai, no! Don't tell her!"
"But I'm her big brother. I tell her how my day goes when we talk."
The red haired whimpered. "Then just don't tell her I said that... I didn't mean to insult her..."
Ren laughed. "Okay okay. My lips are sealed," he said, making a zipping motion over his mouth. "I'm just teasing you anyways."
"Senpai!"
He laughed again.
She groaned.
"I'm sorry. I can't help it."
Yoshizawa grumbled. "Anyways...that's why I thought, if I stick with you, I'd learn to be more confident again. What do you think?"
Well, if that was the case...
Ren smiled and gave a bow. "Then I shall do my best to lead you, milady."
The young athlete looked surprised before she giggled. "Great! Thank you." Then she said, with a solemn undertone, "You're a strange one, Amamiya-senpai. I didn't think you'd accept."
He flinched, but hopefully masked it as he said,
"Anything for a friend."
It saddened him that how much he wanted to help was considered strange by so many.
(A)
"So, what is it you wanna talk about, Senpai?" Akira said when they arrived at the rooftop.
"Well...remember that I want to return the favor for giving me those bottle caps?"
"Yeah. Thought of somethin', I'm guessin'?"
Haru-senpai nodded and crouched before the garden. "I thought I'd give you the vegetables from my garden."
"Wait...for real?"
Her senpai nodded again.
"You sure...? I mean, I'm sure you'd prefer gettin' it for yourself or your family or somethin'."
For a brief moment, she saw her smile strain itself, but before Akira could ask if she was okay, the auburn girl said,
"Yes, I'm sure. It would be helpful for me too, to know if they taste good." She frowned. "Oh, I just realized that...I don't know if you or your brother can cook..."
Akira giggled, refraining from outright laughing since she was being nice.
"Well, good thing me and Big Bro can cook. Well, more Big Bro than me but I can cook some dishes."
"Oh wonderful! Then please, take your pick."
Akira nodded and went to take a few onions, since those were a spice easy enough to add into most dishes.
"I'll make sure to tell you if they taste good."
"Please do. Thank you, Akira."
"I should be sayin' thanks, Senpai."
"Then we're even then?" Haru-senpai said with a hint of mischief.
Now Akira allowed herself to laugh. "Yeah. Even."
With that, she bid good-bye and went home. As soon as she entered the café though, Sojiro-san noticed her plastic bag and said,
"What's with the onions, kid?"
"They're a gift from a friend."
"A gift?" he said with disbelief.
Akira gave him a flat stare. "I didn't steal 'em, if that's what you're worried about."
"I sure hope not. I alrea—"
"Yeah yeah I know. I'll be in trouble and then I'll get kicked out and stuff."
"Don't get cocky with me, kid."
She smirked behind her mask as she began her way to the stairs. "I'm not. I'm just sayin' what you told me before."
Sojiro-san huffed, but instead of continuing their scolding banter, he said,
"What do you plan on doing with them?"
"Besides cooking them? Nothin'."
Sojiro-san wasn't amused. Yet he said,
"Then how about we use 'em for practicing your curry?"
Akira stared.
She knew she shouldn't have, but...
"For real?"
"Don't make me regret this and change my mind."
She laughed then smiled. "Okay! Let me get changed then."
By the time she finished, Ren had returned from whatever he had been doing for the afternoon and quickly joined in helping, after changing his clothes as well. To her delight, not only was Sojiro teaching them about cooking curry, but also about how to deal with customers, already trying to see how to apply it with Shadow negotiations, and just dealing with people who annoyed her in general.
That kind of flew out the window when a man came in and Sojiro clearly recognized him.
"You..." he said in astonishment.
"Hello there! It's been quite a while, Sakura-san," the man said, smile and tone saccharine. "I heard you opened up a shop, so here I am! It wouldn't have hurt to mention it to me though."
And their caretaker said, more brusque than Akira thought possible, "Your order?"
Sojiro didn't like this man and the more he spoke, the more Ren put on his polite mask and Akira employed her calming techniques. He said things that tried to get a rise out of Sojiro, bringing up the apparently storied past of the curry, before he left without even taking an order.
"He's suspicious," Ren said the moment he was gone, serious.
"No kidding..."
Akira would've quipped at her brother as well for stating the obvious, but she was much too aggravated at the stranger's very obvious play at touching a sore spot of Sojiro.
To her surprise though, their caretaker was amused and said, "I guess you do have an eye for some things after all."
And Ren gasped. "I am offended, Sakura-san! I can see quite well, thank you very much."
The older man rolled his eyes and said, "Come on, let's eat. I'm going to close up when you're done."
Akira and Ren shared a chuckle but listened nonetheless, and before long, they were in bed, ready to sleep...
Ryuji: You know how we're going to that TV station tomorrow, right?
Ryuji: I'm thinking we might find our next target there.
...or at least they would've if Ryuji hadn't texted in chat.
Ann: Oh right! We're always hearing gossip about the dark side of celebrities.
Ryuji: With that much money, they've prolly got their fingers in all sorts of dirty businesses.
Ren: I wish we didn't have to rely on rumors, but a lead is a lead...
Akira: Same. I mean, not everyone who's popular is bad, like Yoshizawa.
Ren: Or Risette.
Ann: When you put it that way... I do kind of feel bad. All the corrupt ones make it hard to believe the nice ones are real.
Ryuji: ...just like us huh? Damn it.
Yusuke: Hmm...
Akira: Somethin' up, Yusuke?
Yusuke: That phrase Ryuji wrote has quite the immoral ring to it.
Ryuji: Dude, you react to the weirdest stuff...
Ann: Anyway, we get to observe a live recording of a show, right?
Ryuji: Ooh, maybe we're gonna be on TV!
Ann: We'll just be in the crowd, remember? Any appearance will be, like, two seconds.
Akira: Sometimes that's all you need.
Ren: We could do something for a nice freeze frame easter egg.
Yusuke: Try not to pull any fanciful stunts to garner any attention, yes?
"Exactly!" Mona said, startling both her and her brother. "We're phantom thieves, after all."
"Geez Mona! Be careful..."
Any annoyance at the not-cat left her, however, at what she saw next in the chat.
Ann: Yes. Especially you two, Ryuji, Ren.
She laughed while her brother gawked.
Ren: I understand Ryuji, but why me?
Ryuji: Hey! I'm not THAT stupid! I know I have to stay low!
Ann: Ren Really? Mr. "Fan of Arsène Lupin"?
Ren: le gasp! You wound me milady!
Ann: You're just proving my point.
Ryuji: Uh what does Ren bein a fan of his own Persona got to do with this?
Akira laughed once again as the chat went nuts, from the back and forth between everyone over Ryuji's words, digressing to other topics, and Mona trying to join in by dictating to her to tell everyone to go to sleep.
Author's Note: And thus begins Ren (and Akira) breaking the game with Temperance, starting with Ren calling Kawakami over after a Mementos visit. Like I said, I had liked the placements/pacing of the ranks too much (not to mention not wanting to rewrite entire chapters), so I'm purposefully "breaking the game" now to let them happen.
Fun fact: When I named Akira's homeroom teacher Shimizu, I hadn't known that Hikari Shimizu was the name of a quest target. When I did find out though, I thought I might as well.
I was tempted to split this into two chapters but then decided against it, mostly so that all the stuff between Madarame's confession and the TV station visit is all in one chapter, aka we'll get to delicious pancakes sooner.
Also, yes, I know Kasumi mentions later that "second-years got to go to a TV station", thus Akira probably shouldn't be with them for their trip. But the way Ann talked about the social studies trip before they went on it made it sound like the students got to pick which places they could go for social studies, so I was like "Gasp! I have an excuse for Akira to go with them to the trip!" and already had written out the chapters with Akira there...and I don't really feel like rewriting whole chapters with interactions I really like because of the game not being clear to me on who was able to go on that TV social studies trip. So more "game-breaking" that I won't change my mind on because of yet another mistake.
But I have said this is a self-indulgent fic so I don't feel too bad about it. :V