Chapter 9: Cards on the Table, We're Both Showing Hearts

Sae Niijima had seen some odd turns of fate in her work, but this one took the cake and ate it too. "Could you please repeat that, Akechi?"

"It appears that Junya Kaneshiro has turned himself in." The ever-pleasant Ace Detective unnerved her. His input was invaluable, but there was something about him that set Sae on edge. "And he is making a full confession of his crimes." A grimace passed over his face for a moment. "It's... rather grisly."

Sae sighed. "What's the catch?"

Akechi produced an evidence bag. It contained a singular Phantom Thieves calling card. "This was one of many that was spread through Shibuya. On June the twenty-first, to be exact. Kaneshiro turned himself in last night, the twenty-third."

Sae leaned back in her chair, "I have no idea what methods they're using to steal hearts, but it seems like this calling card is a necessary step. They also use it as a... flourish of sorts. To evoke the stories of gentleman thieves such as Arsene Lupin."

"Ah yes, the myth of thieves on the side of justice. Preposterous." Akechi said, "We are the side of justice, after all. And the Phantom Thieves are our adversaries."

Sae frowned. Makoto had been utterly convinced that the Phantom Thieves were on the right side of justice. "Are they? Have they actually committed any crimes? There's no monetary value to a heart."

"When has that stopped you before, Sae-san?" Akechi asked, genuinely confused. "You've certainly not been shy about fabricating evidence to maintain your conviction rate. Are you really going to let these Phantom Thieves slip away?"

"I-"

"Didn't you once tell me that failure was tantamount to death?" Akechi said, using just a touch of Loki's power to exacerbate the growing distortion in Sae's heart. "Don't you want to win?"

Sae touched her hand to her forehead as she became lightheaded. The sensation passed, along with any sort of suspicion. "Yes. I want to win. I need to win, no matter what. Nothing else matters. I'll do whatever I must."

Akechi grinned, but Sae was too out of sorts to notice. "Very good, Sae-san. Let's get to work."

Ren stood stock-still in front of the door to the nurse's office. He knew why he was here. The past few days had shown him beyond a shadow of a doubt that he needed to seriously consider therapy. Kaneshiro had sucker punched him right in his fear of losing people that he cared about.

If Kaneshiro had actually hurt Makoto in that meeting, he probably would've let her lead him to her bed that night.

Morgana hopped out of his bag. "I'll wait here. I'm pretty sure you don't want me in there."

Ren smiled. Morgana was a lot more perceptive than he let on. He knelt down and patted his head. "Thanks, I appreciate it." He gave him a happy meow for his trouble.

He knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Ren opened the door and walked in. It was basically the same as the last time he had been here. Maruki was sitting at on a couch that faced an armchair that looked dangerously comfortable. On the table in-between, there was an assortment of snacks. "I'm sorry for being a dick last time." Ren said.

Maruki laughed, "Oh, I'm used to it. It's the normal reaction to being told you have to go to therapy."

Ren decided to cut right to the chase. "Is what I say to you actually going to stay confidential, or is Kobayakawa going to be reading your notes looking for a reason to say he's unstable, expel him!"

Maruki analyzed him for a moment. "You're not just being abrasive. That's a genuine concern." He gestured to the chair, wordlessly asking Ren to sit. He grudgingly did so. "Everything you say to me is confidential. I won't tell a soul."

Ren shook his head. "I'd like to believe you, Doc. But you're an adult saying that you're here to help. That worries me."

Maruki hummed noncommittally. "I see. In that case, let's proceed under the assumption that I'm being truthful and am not going to throw your future down the drain because of some arbitrary nonsense. Sound good?"

Ren stared at him. "Sure." He said after a long moment of silence.

"So, Ren. Why did you decide to treat our sessions seriously this time?"

Ren leaned forward and snatched a pack of crackers to stall for time. "I'm trying to figure out how to word it. I guess... if you break it down, I'm just so tired of losing."

Maruki raised an eyebrow. "Really? You seem to be doing pretty well. Your test scores are high, exceptionally so for someone in your position, and it sounds like you have a good circle of friends."

Ren hung his head, "I know! I know. It's just... things are going too well. I feel like it's only a matter of time until I lose someone." Damn it, I need a cover story so I can talk about Kaneshiro. "I mean... I would be losing someone if it weren't for the Phantom Thieves."

"What do you mean?" Maruki asked.

"Makoto Niijima asked for my help in investigating a rumor that a criminal organization was involved in blackmailing high school students, including some from Shujin."

Maruki jotted down some notes. "Am I to assume that she asked you for help due to your criminal past?"

Ren shrugged. "More or less."

Maruki bounced his pen off his knee. "Would you say you two are close?"

There was no point in lying to Maruki about that. "We're in love." There was a flicker of something in the doctor's face. Fear? Regret?

"Please continue." Maruki said.

Ren swallowed. He could already feel his anger bubbling up. "Well, long story short we did a real good job at investigating. We found out the boss's family name, but his goons picked us up and brought us to him. They didn't appreciate my sense of humor." He patted his side. "I had some lovely bruises."

Worry was etched on Maruki's face as he wrote down some more notes. "And then?"

"His... lady friend used his given name when she'd apparently been told not to. He shot her right in front of us." Ren said.

It was Maruki's turn to stare at Ren. "And you're... okay with that?"

"I'm... at peace with it. What could I have done to stop it? I was handcuffed to a chair!" He noticed a wetness around Maruki's eyes. "Uh... are you okay, doc?"

"I'm fine. Please keep going."

"Then... then he threatened Makoto. Three million yen. One week. If she had failed to pay the consequences would have been..." His voice cracked, choked off by the anger he had felt in that moment. "That he would sell her into sexual slavery."

Maruki's brow furrowed. "How did you react?"

"Poorly."

"Elaborate."

Ren ground his teeth. Of course Maruki wasn't going to let him tip toe around it. "I told him that if he laid a hand on Makoto that I would kill him."

Maruki did a double take. "That's... a very serious threat, Ren."

"Put yourself in my shoes, Doc. You get the shit beat out of you by your gym teacher and a pretty girl comes along and patches you up. Said girl also laughs at your jokes and is critically susceptible to corny pickup lines. You realize that not only are you falling for her, but that this is literally the first time you've ever been attracted to anyone that way." Ren took a breath before continuing, "You figure out she likes you too, and you lean into it. Then you help her with her student council stuff, and you end up kidnapped by mobsters, and their shithead boss threatens-" He cut himself off with a sob. "And their shithead boss tells you that he's not just going to take her from you, but that he's going to fucking violate her! What the everliving fuck do you think I was going to do? Nothing? NO!" Ren sank further into his chair. "Then you know the rest. Phantom Thieves drop the calling card, and it's all wrapped up."

"That's... incredibly lucky." Maruki said.

"Yep." Ren said. "Sure is. Uh... Makoto's... fine. I think. I should probably check in with her on that."

"That would probably be wise." Maruki leaned forward in his seat. "Ren, all of those feelings of fear and anger you expressed are perfectly valid, especially given the extreme situation you were in. Not many people could handle something like this as gracefully as you or Niijima-san seem to be."

"What part about that was graceful, Doc? I nearly bit your head off." Ren said with a half-hearted chuckle.

"Most people who are afraid of losing people refuse to develop friendships, much less romantic relationships, but you seem to almost hunger for it. Instead of hiding from the fear and potential pain, you stare it down until it blinks!"

"Huh. I didn't think of it like that before." Ren said.

"If I had a hundred yen for every time I've heard that, I'd never have to work again." Maruki laughed until he realized Ren wasn't laughing. "Oh come on! That was funny!"

Ren rolled his eyes. "And that's my cue to leave."

"Ah... Hmm. We're at a good stopping point. See you next week?" Maruki asked.

Internally Ren groaned. He knew he needed it but continued to be annoyed by it. "Yeah, fine." He left after grabbing a juice box.

"A juice box? Really?" Morgana asked as he hopped back into his bag.

"You have no room to talk, mister begs for tuna every chance you get."

"Hey, I resent that! Sometimes I beg for steak!"

Haru Okumura did not like who her father had become since inheriting Okumura Foods from her grandfather. Her childhood memories of him being a kind and doting father were just that. Memories. Now the only thing that mattered to him was to how to make Okumura Foods more profitable. Cost-cutting, sub-standard ingredients, smear campaigns against competitors, hostile takeovers. None of it was beneath him.

Every time he called for her, Haru couldn't help but feel a sense of impending doom. As she entered his office, she couldn't help but ponder how long it would be until he saw her as a commodity?

God, what would that do to Ryuji?

A spike of fear ran through her. Never mind that, what would her father do to Ryuji and his mother? Kunikazu Okumura had a reputation. If anything stood in his way, he would crush it, without mercy. She thought of Ryuji, that kind, sweet, stubborn boy that had crashed into her life like a runaway chariot -she wasn't sure why that was the analogy she went with, but she liked it- and his angel mother, struggling to make ends meet.

She hadn't met her, but Ryuji had told Haru about her. He never mentioned his father though.

But... her father, he'd destroy them if he found out about her and Ryuji. She carefully kept her true emotions off her face. She had to, it was the only way she could protect him. "You sent for me, father?"

"Yes, I did." Kunikazu said, "I've finally decided who you will marry."

Haru's stomach opened up into a bottomless pit. "What?" No! Don't do this to me, father! Please!

Her father was merciless. "He's the son of a prominent politician. Your marriage to him will open new avenues for both me and Okumura Foods."

She knew that tone of voice. It was her father's Shall Not Be Disobeyed voice. But knowing how much this would hurt the man that she actually cared about, she found just enough courage to take a stand. "What if I don't want to marry him?" Her father stared at her, causing her to panic and babble. "What if I don't want to marry him because I want to be with someone else, someone that actually makes me happy?"

Kunikaze Okumura looked at his daughter as if she was a stranger. "What connections does he have? How promising is his future?"

"None of that matters, father! Not anymore!" Haru declared in an unusual bout of defiance. "Before I met this boy, I had accepted that you would marry me off to get some sort of connection or advantage! But now... now I want to stay with him, even if it means defying you!"

Kunikaze pronounced his judgement. "It seems that you have forgotten your place. Your duty as my daughter is to do what I ask of you, and what I ask of you is to marry the man I tell you to."

"Father-"

He held up his hand to silence her, "I am not finished. You would do well to listen. I will allow you this rebellion, I'll even postpone your marriage until autumn. But when the time comes, you will marry who I decide. If you resist in any way at that time, there will be dire consequences for this..." He squinted at his computer screen. "Ryuji Sakamoto."

Haru gasped. "You- You had me followed?"

"Of course I did. Don't be naive." He turned back to his computer. "You may go."

Haru was able to hold in her emotions until she made it back to her bedroom. Then she lasted for about half of a count to ten.

Then she screamed.

Makoto's day had been going so well. She had finally told Kobayakawa that she had no leads on the Phantom Thieves and had conclusively proven that the students he had suspected were not involved in any way, shape, or form. When he tried to counter by threatening her college recommendation letter, she happily told him that she would get into a college on merit alone.

Then everything had gone straight to crap. She had received a text from her sister that had been worded more like a legal summons. Both her and Ren needed to make a statement on their encounter with Kaneshiro.

It was only thirty minutes by train to reach the courthouse, but somehow it felt like an eternity. Once they'd arrived, Ren started acting skittish. "Makoto, I really don't want to be here." His hands were balled up into fists and it was as if there was some force that kept him from moving forward. "If I say the wrong thing to the wrong person, my life is over."

Makoto squeezed his hand. "It's okay, Ren. I understand. I'll be right by your side the entire way."

Makoto led him through the courthouse to Sae's office. She had to convince her sister not to hold the meeting in an interrogation room, as that would've rubbed Ren's last nerve raw.

It was a standard lawyer's office, with a bookshelf full of law reference books. Makoto knew from personal experience that Sae tended to hide a few motorcycle magazines in the shelves for her off-hours. Whether it was for the actual articles or for the... depictions of women therein, her sister had declined to comment.

Sae was seated at her desk, which was made of mahogany wood. In a chair on her right was Goro Akechi. "Akechi-san! I didn't expect to see you here!" Ren said. Since he knew that Morgana could hear him inside the bag, that served as a signal to him to not talk. Of his own volition, he popped out of the bag and meowed.

"It's good go see you again, Ren." Akechi said, "Although I wish it were under better circumstances."

Sae narrowed her eyes. "Why do you have a cat?"

"He's my emotional support animal companion." Ren deadpanned. Morgana helpfully turned to the side, where he wore the badge the school gave him to denote that.

Sae's eye twitched. In any other circumstances, Ren would take great pleasure in sassing her to the ends of the Earth, but that would likely be a bad call here. "Right. In any event, you two are here because you were Kaneshiro's last victims before the intervention of the Phantom Thieves. I would like to ask you a few questions about what led to that."

"What would you like to know?" Makoto asked.

"Did the Phantom Thieves contact you in any way?" Sae asked.

"Are you serious?" Makoto asked. "Are you so obsessed with the Phantom Thieves that you don't care about anything Kaneshiro did to us?"

Akechi stepped in. "We already have more information than we need to put Kaneshiro away for life, and we're making sure that the police do everything in their power to release his victims from their... ah, obligations."

"We just want to know if the Phantom Thieves contacted you." Sae said, "Or if you have any insight into their methods, given you were likely among the last people to see and talk with Kaneshiro before his change of heart."

"They didn't contact us." Makoto said. "It was blind luck that the Phantom Thieves struck when they did. If I had to guess, I'd say the Thieves had some sort of inside man inside Kaneshiro's organization."

"Ren, anything to add?" Akechi asked.

"Nope."

Sae raised an eyebrow. "Really? I would've thought that my sister's paramour would be someone more observant."

"Sae, you're out of line!" Makoto snapped. "This is neither the time or the place to-"

"It's okay, Makoto." Ren said, "Let me put it this way, Sae-san. I was wholly occupied by trying to figure out how I could keep Makoto from being forced into sexual slavery, so I'm sure you can imagine that I really didn't have the mental energy to worry about the Phantom Thieves."

Sae was forced to admit that Ren had a point. "I see. What could you even do to prevent that?"

Makoto saw Ren tense up. He was gearing up for a verbal slugfest. This was not going to end well. She caught his eye and shook her head ever so slightly. "He did more than you did this week, sister."

Sae froze. Akechi looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. "Are we done here?" Ren asked.

"I would like to speak to Makoto alone for a moment."

Ren shrugged and got up. Before leaving he gave Makoto a supportive touch on the shoulder. She smiled and returned the contact before he and Akechi vacated the blast radius.

Sae took a breath to center herself. "Just what do you think you're doing, Makoto?"

"Living my life, sister. I don't need your permission to do that." Makoto said.

"That boy is a liability to you! He's nothing more than a distraction! A temptation! You are going to find that you'll never achieve your goals because you've deliberately shackled yourself to someone with a criminal record!"

Makoto shook her head. "You really don't get it, do you?" She stood up and started jabbing her finger through the air at Sae. "Because you constantly drilled into me that I had do whatever to achieve results, I hid nearly my entire persona behind that of a perfect honor student, I threw myself into student council because that would look the best on a college application. All for the low price of everyone seeing nothing but Miss Robot Prez." Makoto powered through Sae's rebuttal. She was going to speak her mind on this, no matter the consequences. "Would you like to know why I fell so hard and fast for Ren? It's because when everyone else treated me with indifference or enmity, He saw me. He would seek me out because he enjoyed my company."

Sae knew she was rapidly losing this argument. "He's a criminal, Makoto. He's been found guilty of assault. What's to stop him from-"

"You have no right to make that argument, Sae." Makoto hissed angrily. "You know why."

"Fine." Sae relented, "But his record will be a stigma that will follow him forever, and if you attach yourself to him, it will follow you too! You'll be-"

Makoto cut her off, "Yes, yes I know. You're going to say that I'm useless, a burden, that I eat away at your life. I don't care. I've made my choice."

Sae made one last attempt. "He's a teenage boy, Makoto! He only wants one thing, and when he gets it he'll leave you!"

"You know nothing, Sae. Nothing. Let me explain something to you. After Kaneshiro let us go, I tried to throw myself at him. Because I thought that in a week's time my life would be over, and-" Her voice caught as she pondered the possibilities, "-and I wanted Ren to love me before the end. Can you guess what he said to me?"

Sae began to shake her head, then stopped. "No?"

"Exactly!" Makoto said. "No one would've blamed him for indulging me. But he said no, because he didn't want to let the likes of Kaneshiro turn what should be an act of love into an act of fear." She looked Sae dead in the eye. "So, dear sister, you may have a negative opinion of Ren if you must, that is your prerogative. However, you can expect me to have an outburst of teenage rebellion and ignore you." She turned to leave before she stopped at the door. "I have also made the decision that I will not allow you to run from your mistakes. I will be expecting you to stop hiding in a hotel at your earliest convenience."

Makoto slammed the door behind her as she left, and Sae was left speechless, even to the empty room. On one hand, she wanted to be absolutely livid with her for so flagrantly defying her. On the other, the last time Sae had seen Makoto so alive was before their father's death.

Ann couldn't help but smile. Sure, there were the cameras, but it wasn't for them. Her smile was a direct result of her plan going perfectly. Namely, her plan to drive Mika crazy. For her, specifically. She even had the perfect setup for it, thanks to their manager wanting to play up the rivalry that had developed between the two. In the Japanese modeling world, there were certain expectations of these rivalries. Sexual tension, for one.

The timing worked out perfectly. The stakes involved in Kaneshiro's Palace had driven everyone's stress sky high. Ann really needed to blow off some steam, and she was perfectly happy to get Mika worked up enough that she did too. Normally she would've gone to Shiho, but she was still emotionally unavailable due to her struggles with the aftermath of Kamoshida and her attempted suicide.

And really, Mika made it way too easy. Longing looks, gentle touches. The way she gasped when Ann had dragged her finger along her jaw had been divine.

Ann idly wondered if Carmen was leaking into her personality from how often they were in contact. Questions for later. Soon enough, the shoot had come to an end and Ann returned to the dressing room. She noted that Mika followed her immediately.

Before today, Mika would usually try to butter up management. Her following right away was a sign that Ann's plan was working perfectly.

"Okay, what the hell are you trying to pull, Takamaki?" Mika demanded as soon as the door shut behind her.

Ann treated Mika to her best innocent face. "Me? I'm just doing my job."

"Don't play innocent with me! You were getting way too into it!"

Ann took in Mika's body language and smiled. Her subconscious knew what it wanted, even if her conscious mind hadn't caught up yet. "Oh, come on. You liked it. If you didn't you wouldn't be here right now. You'd be schmoozing with management like you always do after a shoot."

Mika stood there for a moment doing nothing. Ann backed up until her back was against a wall. "What makes you think I'd want to waste my time with you anyways?" Mika prodded.

Ann smiled and gazed at Mika with her best bedroom eyes. "Don't you want a chance to put your unruly senpai in her place, apprentie?"

There was a beat of silence before Mika dropped her purse and took off her sunglasses. "I'll make you eat those words, Takamaki." She crossed the distance between the two of them and grabbed Ann by the wrists and held them above her head, pinning her to the wall. There was no teasing, no buildup. Mika roughly kissed her, shoving her tongue in Ann's mouth and making out with her like her life depended on it.

Ann simply bided her time and let Mika do her thing. While she did want this, she wasn't about to let Mika control the pace. She gyrated her hips against Mika, causing the other girl to startle and loosen her grip on Ann's arms. In that moment of weakness Ann flipped her around and put Mika against the wall. "Slow down, Mii-chan." Ann purred in her ear, "What's the rush?" Ann continued her assault, planting teasing kisses on the other girl's neck and collarbone. Mika's only resistance were weak attempts to break free of Ann's embrace. "Oh, I see now. You talk a big game, but you're really just a brat that needs to be put in her place."

"Fuck you." Mika moaned.

Ann laughed, "Only proving my point, Mii-chan." She leaned over to the nearest vanity and grabbed a tube of lipstick. After a quick application, Ann began to pepper her with kisses again. Her face, her neck, even down towards her chest. She laughed, nearly lost in the molten desire between them. When she was finished, she pulled Mika away from the wall and stood her in front of a mirror. "You look so much better like this, Mika. It's a shame they'd never let us do a shoot like this." Mika was covered in lipstick marks. Ann couldn't keep the grin from her face, she had a thing for lipstick when used like this.

"Please..." Mika said breathlessly as she writhed against Ann.

"Please what?" Ann asked. "Use your words, I don't speak bottom."

"Fuck me..."

Ann licked her lips, now it was time for the coup de grace. "And ruin the anticipation? No, apprentie. I don't think you've lost enough sleep over me just yet." She whispered in Mika's ear again, reveling in how her body felt against hers. "Dream of me."

Then Ann released her, grabbed her purse and walked out before Mika could react. She immediately sent her a text.

"However much sleep you lose tonight to thoughts of what I might've done to you is how much sleep you get to make me lose next time."

She pocketed her phone and ignored the reply. She could check in later. So, who's the shark now, Carmen?

"I've created a monster. I could not be more proud. I just have one question. Where did you learn all that?"

Ann laughed sheepishly. Honestly? It was just a constant loop of asking myself what you would do.

Ryuji had been having a great day. Then he got a text from Haru that she needed to talk to him. That wasn't good, right? Yeah, it wasn't good. If he told her, Ann would probably be hitting him with what Ryuji called the Big Oof Stare.

If she even believed him about Haru to begin with.

When he got up to the roof, Haru was standing with her back facing him. Her head was slightly bowed, and... was she shaking? "Haru? What's wrong?" Ryuji asked.

She turned to face him with a sad smile on her face. "I'm afraid the answer to that might fill several books."

Ryuji drew closer to her and took her hands in his. "Whatever it is, I'll do whatever I can to help you through it. I know I can't exactly do much, but..."

"I still can't believe that I was fortunate enough to meet someone like you, Ryuji." Haru said, "To even begin to explain what's happening, I need to tell you my last name."

Ryuji was even more confused now.

"My full name is Haru Okumura."

Ryuji was no longer confused.

"So, what's going on that's got you so spooked?" Ryuji asked. He knew Okumura Foods owned Big Bang Burger, but he didn't know much more than that.

Haru averted her eyes. "My father... has decided who I am going to marry."

Ryuji made a weak attempt at humor. "I'm guessing I wasn't on the short list?"

Haru shook her head. "The man that I am due to be married to is the son of a prominent politician." She sobbed, "Father doesn't care what I want. He cares only for how he can use me to get the most benefit for himself."

Ryuji did his best to shove his anger down. That wouldn't help Haru now. "And... what do you want?"

Haru pitched forward into him, practically falling into his arms. "You! I want you, Ryuji!" She wept into his shoulder.

He held her tightly, doing what he could to help her weather the storm. "How... long do we have to figure out how to cancel your wedding?"

Haru laughed through the tears. "Mid-October."

"Hey, we've got three and a half months! That's plenty of time to figure something out, right?" Ryuji was doing his damnedest to give Haru some kind of hope.

Haru knew better. She knew that there was no hope. The marriage contract would be ironclad. But yet, there was some part of her that dared to dream. Somewhere in her psyche, a fire had been lit. She would do everything in her power to defy her father. She would fight for the future that she wanted for herself.

A future with Ryuji Sakamoto by her side.

Even when Makoto thought that Ren wouldn't be able to surprise her, he continued to prove her wrong in the best ways. He had called her and told her to be ready to go out Sunday evening. He was certainly confident, but she had never expected him to be so assertive.

He hadn't told her what they'd be doing, only telling her to dress nicely. Her outfit had somehow been chosen by committee, as she had asked Ann for help and Sae had been home at the time.

She had chosen her leather jacket and matching black pants. Ann had contributed a daring -for Makoto at least- white halter top shirt. Sae -despite her reservations about Ren- had helped her sister accessorize, recommending black lipstick.

Five minutes before Ren said he was going to arrive to meet Makoto, there was a knock at the door. Sae answered it to find Ren wearing slacks, dress shoes, a black v-neck t-shirt and an unbuttoned button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. "Is Makoto ready?"

"She will be in a moment." Sae said, "We need to have a talk first." She gestured to the dinner table. Ren sat down and Sae joined him. "I'll be blunt, I don't like you. However, Makoto has made it abundantly clear that she will be dating you with or without my approval."

"So we need to have a working relationship." Ren said.

"Hmm. That's more pragmatic than I expected from you. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt for now. Just keep your pants on, am I clear?"

Ren cleared his throat. "Yes, Sae-san."

Sae left to go get Makoto, leaving Ren with a moment to himself. Said moment was fleeting, as Makoto soon graced him with her presence. Ren broke out into a smile upon seeing her. "Good evening, madam." He said with mock formality and a little bow.

Makoto laughed, "Hmm, it seems my sister was correct. I do have a gentleman caller."

Ren offered her his arm. "Shall we?"

She looped her left arm through his. "Lead the way."

As they boarded the train to Kichijoji, Makoto thought about asking where they were going but decided not to. She was content to give herself to the magic of the evening. Still, she had to tease him. "You know, if we got all dressed up just to go play darts or billiards, I'm going to be slightly disappointed."

Ren smiled, "Don't worry, you know I always have a trick up my sleeve."

He led her down the promenade and turned into the alley where the jazz club was. "Really? I didn't think this place was high schooler friendly." Makoto said.

"It is, Akechi of all people clued me into it."

As he went to go pay for their table, Ren asked the employee an important question. "I know you don't open up the dance floor until high schooler hours are over, but do you think you can make an exception tonight?"

The man raised an eyebrow at Ren before looking over at Makoto. He nodded. "I got you, brother. Got any song requests?"

Ren wordlessly pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and handed it to him. He nodded. "Yeah, we can make that happen. I'll make sure y'all get some time to settle in before we drop the needle on it."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." Ren said before returning to Makoto.

She gave him the side-eye. "What are you scheming, Ren Amamiya?"

Ren made a show of denying her completely baseless accusations. "Me? Scheme? When have I ever done that?"

"Hmm... I'm sure I'll think of something."

A waitress showed them to their table and nodded appreciatively as Ren pulled out Makoto's chair for her. "You're really lucky to have a guy that'll treat you right."

Makoto looked Ren dead in the eye. "Yes, I am." Ren blushed. "Hah! Finally, I get you back."

Ren smirked. "That just means I'll have to step up my game. I am a gentleman thief after all."

"Hmm... I don't think you will. Not tonight, anyways. I seem to recall you saying something about not wanting to be swept off your feet until the second date." Makoto adopted a teasing smile.

The general mood of the night overpowered Ren's common sense. "God, I love you."

Makoto reached across the table and took his hand. "I know."

Their drinks arrived, and they enjoyed them in silence, simply finding joy in the vibe of the club and each other's presence. Soon enough, the staff announced that the dance floor would be opened earlier than usual due to a special request.

Makoto immediately knew who had requested it. "You think you're so slick, don't you?"

"I have to be to stay a step ahead of you, my dear detective." Ren stood and offered his hand. "May I have this dance, Makoto?"

She placed her hand in his and let him lead her to the dance floor. "You're fortunate that your only crime is stealing my heart, my darling thief."

As they took their positions, Ren egged on their little game further. "And what is my punishment for this clearly heinous crime?"

Makoto snaked her arms around his neck and held him close. Ren's arms were soon wrapped around her hips. "I'll have to detain you. Keep a close eye on you. Permanently."

(Music start: All of Me -John Legend)

As they began to sway back and forth to the music, Ren smiled. "I think I can live with that."

What would I do without your smart mouth?
Drawing me in, and you kicking me out
You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down.

If someone had told Ren when he had been arrested for assault that it was going to lead him to falling in love for the first time, he wouldn't have believed them. In this one perfect moment, all of the pain and struggle ceased to matter. If this was a dream or illusion, he would be perfectly alright with staying in its thrall forever.

What's going on in that beautiful mind?
I'm on your magical mystery ride
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright.

If someone had told Makoto two months ago that she would break out of her shell and reclaim her sense of justice, she would've thought them insane. But yet, all it had taken was a chance encounter with Ren Amamiya. Just one seemingly inconsequential instance of patching him up, and her curiosity in him had been piqued. Over the short time that they had known each other, that curiosity had turned to interest, which had bloomed into full blown love. Makoto had precious little experience with romance, but there was one thing that she knew for certain. No matter what came their way, be it Shadow or threat from their own reality, she would stand by his side.

After all, what was a King without his Queen?

My head's under water, but I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind.

What they had failed to notice was that all of the patrons of the jazz club that night had picked up on what was going on. It was elementary, really. When it came to each other, Ren and Makoto wore their hearts on their sleeves. As a result, they were the only couple on the dance floor. They were not flinging each other around in a display of their expertise at dancing -not even Ren had much background there- but it was just as captivating due to the complete devotion that Ren and Makoto had for each other that was clear to see for all who saw them together.

Cause all of me, loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me, I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning

As they looked into each other's eyes, they each realized that there was no point in holding back anymore. There would be challenges ahead of them, yes. Trials that would test them. But they would walk into the cold dawn unafraid, for they knew that they would face them all side by side.

"Makoto, can I kiss you?" Ren asked.

"You really are trying to put the gentleman back in gentleman thief, aren't you?" Makoto said, "Of course you can."

You're my downfall, you're my muse
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues
I can't stop singing, it's ringing in my head for you

Ren leaned in as Makoto closed her eyes. He placed a feathery peck on her lips before kissing her again. As she kissed him back, it felt like the entire world- no, like all of existence had melted away and they were everything. As he began to draw away, Makoto pulled him back in by tangling her hand up in his messy black hair. When they finally parted due to need for air, they could only smile and press their foreheads together. They wanted to preserve this feeling of euphoria for as long as possible before they had to return to reality.

Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts
Risking it all, though it's hard.

A/N: As Sojiro would say: HOO BOY!

So, let's talk about Akechi for a second, mainly what he can do with his Personas in reality. In the Metaverse, he can use Loki to make people have psychotic breakdowns. In reality he can't do anything that drastic, but he can literally make people worse by prodding at the distortion in their hearts if they have any. That's what he's doing to Sae here.

Ren has realized that he is Not Okay, and that he needs actual professional help. It's a big step for him to actually accept help from an adult that isn't connected to Sojiro or his family in some way, given his trauma from his arrest and trial.

Haru makes a stand against her father for the first time in her life, and it manages to buy her a few months. (We all know what's going to happen, but she doesn't)

From our perspective, Sae is being completely unreasonable. However, from her point of view, Ren is a delinquent trying to seduce her naive sister. It's fine though, because Makoto absolutely sets her straight. (Well, not completely straight since she has a Palace and all, but you know what I mean)

Yeah, Ann did that. Look, she needed to let off steam, Shiho is emotionally unavailable at the moment (Oh and you best believe there will be some backlash between Ann and Shiho about Ann's... activities with Mika) and Mika is her rival so there's already a bunch of tension between them. Perfect for a fling.

Ryuji is just in a constant loop of asking "What would Ren do in this situation". He'll find out about Okumura having a Palace soon enough, but it won't occur to him for a bit.

And there we go. If there was any doubt about Ren or Makoto being locked in, it has been put to rest.

Until next time.