Catch-22: The Surprise
By: M14Mouse
Summary: Everyone should know by now. It is a bad idea to leave Lila alone.
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.- Misty Copeland
"Man, Black Frost is going to be pumped that you are back. He has been nagging us about you," Ryuji said to Yu.
"Yes, he would always go and pout in the corner when we told him no," Ann added.
"Hopefully, my gift will cheer him up," Yu said as the subway slimmer away into Mementos.
"Oh, thanks for the gifts by the way. I can't wait to try it on!" Ann said excitedly.
He waved it off.
"It's nothing. I'm glad that you enjoy them. Umph!" He said before Black Frost nearly tackled him to the ground.
"Hello, little one. Have you been good for Mint and the others?" He said as he beamed down at Black Frost.
"Hee Hoo!"
"That's good. Do you like Bob?" He asked.
"Hee Ho!"
"Black Frost has a nice cool hat. I like him. Thank you for bringing me here, Sensei," Bob the sprite said as he popped out from under Black Frost's hat.
"Hey, Bob!" Ann said happily.
"EEK!" Bob shouted before he hid himself back under Black Frost's hat.
"Ahh…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Hee Ho. Hee Ho," Black Frost said to Ann.
"He is shy and he likes hats. He kept trying to steal mine," He said with a chuckle.
"And he is eyeing Sensei's hat like a hungry wolf," Morgana added.
Ryuji started laughing.
"He will be after yours next!"
Black Frost nodded his head then grabbed his hand and pulled him down the stairs.
"Is that music?" Yusuke said as he followed them down the stairs.
"Yes, Lila got Daito a music box," He said.
"Ten bucks says that Daito is going to show it to Queen like a million times," Ryuji said.
"It has a lovely melody," Yusuke said.
"I agree," Makoto said.
"It is," He said as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He grinned at the sight. Lila was sitting on the bottom step with Daito "dancing" and "singing" to the music.
"You are going to run the batteries out before you can show Queen," Lila said as she shut the music box.
"No! AGAin! QuEEn! LilA gOt Me MuSic BoX! CoMe SeE!" Daito said as he rushed over and nudged Makoto to go down the stairs with him.
"Okay…Okay," Makoto laughed as she walked down the stairs.
"YAY! TheN We DaNcE!"
"I can't dance."
"DAiTo No EiTher! FuN! CoME! LiLA PLAy BoX!" Daito said happily.
"Oh, alright. One more time, okay?" Lila said with a smile.
"Where are the others?" He said when he noticed the absence of his other friends.
"Mint, Hiroko, Ivy, and Nom Nom went to play with Nom Nom's new toy. Personally, I think Mint went along to see if anyone dies. Hiroko went along to heal anyone if they did anything stupid. Oh, Haru is explaining cooking to Takeshi, Takeo, and Ume. I wished her luck with that since the boys are all about jerky."
"Haru? Like Haru that goes to our school? Not another shadow?" Ann said as horror creeped into her voice.
"OF course, she isn't another shadow, silly. I was on my way to the entrance and she spotted me. I invited her to come along to meet my friends."
Beside him, Yusuke sighed and shook his head. He really didn't want to say anything. He knew that it was going to happen. He just wasn't sure where and how but he looked like he was right.
"How did she react?" Makoto said with a sigh.
"I bet she screamed. I did," Futaba said.
"Oh, she did. I am not sure why. Anyway, it didn't last long because Bob and Daito worked their magic." Lila said happily.
"Their magic?" Futaba asked.
"Daito was being cute and asking Haru all sorts of questions about her favorite snacks. And Bob…"
"I was going to steal her hat. She just giggled at me. Honest, Sensei! I am going to steal her hat!" Bob said as he popped out from Black Frost's hat.
"But she doesn't have a hat, Bob," He pointed out.
"She will!"
"He Hoo. He," Black Frost mumbled.
"She didn't mean to be scary. She was just scared," He said as he patted Black Frost's head.
"Let's go and talk to her," He said as he moved to take off his glasses and hat.
"Why are you taking off your hat and glasses, Sensei?" Ryuji asked.
"I think that Haru will be quite shocked today and if we show up like this…" He said as he handed his hat and glasses to Black Frost.
"It might freak her out. It freaked me out when I changed the first time," Ann finished.
"Yes, these outfits do come as a surprise," Yusuke added.
"Oh, she already knows about the outfits because I asked why she didn't turn into hers," Lila said to the others.
He won't laugh at the number of sighs he heard around him but he did let out a chuckle.
Lila was a gem.
"Well then. We might approach her in small numbers. Not overwhelm her," Morgana said.
"I guess you are out, Mona," Ryuji said.
"So would you!"
"Dude, chill. I thought the cat thing would throw her off. I'm not going to talk to her. I just make things worse," Ryuji said as he scratched the back of his head.
Morgana's mouth dropped and he stared at Ryuji like he had three heads.
His eye brow rose slightly as he looked at Ren, who looked a little sheepish. He turned to Makoto, who looked just as sheepish.
They have been busy while he was away.
"Good thinking, Ryuji. So, which one of us will be going?" He said.
"I am out," Futaba said.
"Me too since I don't know her that well," Ann added.
"I believe that I will step out as well." Yusuke said.
"So, Queen, Sensei, and I will go." Ren said.
"AHhhH…QuEeN No DanCe?" Daito said sadly.
"When I come back, I will," Queen said as she leaned over and patted Daito's head.
"How about I dance with you until Queen comes back?" Ann said as she leaned over and smiled at Daito.
Daito smiled and bounced around Ann, who started laughing.
"YAY! ThAnK YoU! OrAcLe and FoX DaNcE toO?" Daito said as he stopped in front of Futaba.
"No. I don't dance. Why are you giving me that look?! You look like a puppy dog. Stop!" Futaba said as she tried to hide behind Yusuke.
"NoM NoM TeACh Me!"
He laughed as he took back his glasses and hat back from Black Frost.
"You want to come too?" He asked.
Black Frost nodded his head then took his hand.
"Where is she?" Ren asked Lila.
She pointed down the entryway.
"They aren't far. Just a little way. You should see a fire," Lila said.
The group looked at each other.
"This is going to be interesting," Makoto mumbled as they started to walk to the entryway.
They heard Futaba's shouting as they disappeared through the entryway.
"STOP LOOKING AT ME! You are too cute! Stop it!"
"That is rather impressive, Daito," Yusuke's voice echoed through the tunnel.
"Man, you're right. He really pulled off the look even better than Nom Nom," Ryuji added.
"Should we leave them alone?" Makoto asked.
"I'm sure that it will be fine. Lila and Panther are with them," Ren pointed out.
"Hee hoo!" Black Frost said as he tugged on his sleeve then pointed to the group.
Lila was right. They weren't very far. Takeshi, Takeo, and Ume were sitting around a bonfire. Haru was standing up and looked like she was explaining something to them.
When they approached the group, he heard some of their conversation.
"Why would we have salad? Does it have jerky?" Takeshi said.
"No, I mean…you could add bacon," Haru said thoughtfully.
"Bacon?" Takeo said as he tilted his head.
"It is a meat that…"
"Yes, we shall try your salad," Takeshi said.
"Yes, we will. Bacon is a meat. We like meat. Will it make us stronger?" Takeo said.
"Yes, we failed to protect Sensei. We wished to become stronger."
His heart twisted at their words. The brothers felt so guilty about his capture. No matter how many times he said that it wasn't their fault.
"Sensei isn't upset about your failures. You chop off the monster's head. You should be proud," Ume said with a snort.
"Still…Not strong enough," Takeo said sadly.
Haru leaned over and patted Takeo's knee.
"Sensei understands. Trust me."
"We like this version of Haru. Other one is sad," Takeshi said.
He stopped for a moment and paused the others to stop as well.
"She is in a gilded cage," Ume said.
"Is…it that bad?" Haru said as she looked down at the ground.
"You're a doll. Hollow and pose how he wants. It is pitiful," Ume said.
He watched as Haru's hands formed into fists.
"I want to see it for myself. Can…Can you take me?" Haru said.
His heart tightened at the fragility in her voice.
"They can't but we can," He said softly.
Haru's head jerked toward them.
The brothers got to their feet and eagerly approached the group.
"SENSEI!" The brothers shouted.
He smiled at them.
"I got you presents," He said as he pulled boxes out for Takeo and Takeshi.
"JERKY!"
"NEW FAVORS!"
"Thank you, Sensei!"
"Thank you!"
The brother tore into the boxes and started munching at it. He smiled then got out a little teddy bear for Black Frost.
"Here you go," He said as he handed Black Frost the teddy bear.
"HEE HO!" Black Frost said as he grabbed the bear and cuddled the bear.
"Where is my bear, Sensei?" Bob said as he popped out from under Black Frost's hat.
He grinned as he pulled out a little bear with a small hat.
"THE BEAR HAS A HAT!" Bob said as he grabbed the bear and hid right back under Black Frost's hat.
"You and Lila spoil them," Ume said with a frown.
"Then I guess that you don't want your chocolate," He said with a grin.
Ume's eyes narrowed.
"Gimme," She said.
He laughed as he handed her a box of chocolate. She grabbed it and went back to her spot by the fire.
"Well, that should keep them busy for a bit. Hello, Haru," He said as he turned his attention to Haru.
"Sensei…Makoto…Ren," Haru said with a bow.
"I'm not sure how much Lila explained," Makoto said.
"She explained a lot after I stopped screaming," Haru said with a flush face.
"I understand. I did the same thing when I first came here."
"Tell us what you know," Ren said.
"Well, she explained that you were Phantom Thieves and how you change people's hearts in super-secret worlds," Haru explained.
"That is kind of a good overview."
Haru looked down at the ground and took a deep breath then she looked back at them.
"Are…you trying to change my father's heart?"
"Yes," He said.
He watched as Haru's eyes lowered again.
"Take me with you. I want to see my father's heart."
"It won't be pretty," He said.
"His thoughts aren't kind to you," Makoto said.
"Still…I want to see. I want to know," She said as she looked up at them.
He nodded his head to Ren. He saw Makoto do the same.
"You can come," Ren said.
"Thank you."
"Well, the doll has strength to her. It should be interesting to see that strength in action," Ume said.
Ume was right.
Haru has strength in her that she doesn't see yet. It will be interesting to see how that develops into her persona.
End of The Surprise
Next Chapter: The Face to Face
A/N: And…now, we have begin. :D You are the right track on how Haru found out, Purpleswan. I am impressed. As for Shido and Yu, they won't be friends. Period. My beta seems to has vanished. So, the position is open if someone wants it. If not, we shall march on. Anyway, thanks for the wonderful reviews, kudos, etc. Read and review if you wish. Be safe. Be well.