Catch-22: The Point Where We Move Forward
By: M14Mouse
Summary: The Day After
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
-Seize the day, then let it go.- Marty Rubin
The last day or so…there are a lot of things that Ren wouldn't recommend.
Getting arrested.
Getting thrown into jail.
Getting drugged.
Getting shot. (Okay, he was being slightly dramatic but hey, he did technically get shot)
And having Morgana sitting and screaming in his face that he was alive and wasn't drugged anymore.
It made him feel warm and fuzzy that Morgana was worried about him.
He could do without his friend sitting on his face….and the screaming.
Even Morgana says that he is human…he sure acted like a cat sometimes.
For his sanity, he isn't going to say that out loud either.
When he stumbled down the stairs, his eyes widened at the café in disarray.
And Sojiro was cleaning his mugs in the middle of it like nothing happened.
"Shido's men showed up after your "arrest "and decided to search the place ... .well, Yu's lawyers showed soon after. Just say Shido's men left in a hurry. Your friends are coming over to help clean up the place and check up on you." Sojiro said as he paused in his cleaning to adjust his glasses.
"And Sensei?" He asked.
He knew of Sensei's plan to lure Akechi away to get him more time with Sae-san.
"He called about an hour or so ago. He got shot but he's fine. He had to move to a temporary location due to Akechi knowing where he lived."
"Wait…Sensei got shot!" He said in a panic.
"What?!" Morgana shouted behind him.
"I had the same reaction. He's entirely too damn calm about it. Apparently, Yu planned for it in some way because he had a bulletproof vest? I'm not 100% sure how that worked but the idiot is fine," Sojiro said with a sigh.
"Everyone else? And you?" He asked.
"I'm fine. Nothing that I couldn't handle myself. They're fine. They nearly had a heart attack when they announced your death."
He sighed in relief.
"Oh…Yu also wanted me to relate the message that he is at your other secret base. How many secret bases do you kids have?"
"Uhh..enough?"
He wasn't going to tell Boss about the other places that they used as bases.
-P4P5P4-
Ren made sure that he was hoodie firmly on his head as they approached the record shop.
He didn't want to get caught either even if he felt comfortable with everyone around him.
"Man, I hope Sensei is alright," Ryuji mumbled next to him.
"Me too…" Ann said.
"I'm sure that Sensei is fine." Haru added.
"He's fine. He called me and he has information like I do!" Futaba crackled.
"I fear for our lives when she does that," Yusuke said with a sigh.
He did notice a blonde woman in a blue business suit standing in front of the building. She didn't seem to stick out but there was something about her….
"That is Aigis-san," Makoto said with a mixture of awe and uncertainty.
"Sensei's partner…what is she doing here?" Ryuji asked.
"Well…Sensei was hurt but…" Haru said with a pause.
"Maybe, Sensei got into trouble? I mean…he has been covering for us," Morgana said.
Finally, Aigis-san noticed their presence and turned around.
"Ah, Phantom Thieves. It's a pleasure," Aigis-san said with a slight bow.
"Uhh…" Futaba said with the same uncertainty as everyone else. He didn't miss everyone looking at each other.
Aigis-san smiled slightly.
"Narukami-san is upstairs," She said.
"Aren't you…coming?" Makoto asked.
She shook her head no.
"My presence isn't welcome here. I will wait out here for you to return. We will talk later," Aigis-san said with a sigh before she turned and walked down the street.
"I wonder what that is about?" Morgana asked.
"No idea," Ryuji said.
"We shouldn't stand out here too long. We will talk inside," He said.
The group nodded and entered the record shop to see an angry Tomochika-san sitting behind the desk. There were a few customers around, but they were avoiding the Tomochika-san like the plague.
"He is in the back," Tomochika-san angrily.
He looked at everyone before they headed back. They had no clue what was going on. It was best to see Sensei for what the hell was going on before they made matters worse or get them kicked out as well.
It didn't take long to make it to the door. They had to stop when they arrived at the door. There were two huge guys in black suits standing beside the door. Both had black hair and eyes but that is where the similarity ended. The heavier set one had scars on his right cheek and forehead. One of those scars ran dangerously close to his left eye. The leaner and taller of the two had a long scar that ran from his chin to his right ear.
They were Sensei's bodyguards which made sense since Akechi might go after him.
"Why are we guarding the door, brother? The door doesn't need protecting," The lean one grumbled.
"Lila said that we should guard the door as the nurse lady looks after Sensei. You want her to be angry?" The heavier one said.
"No…" Takeo mumbled.
"Besides, Lila promises jerky if we do a good job," Takeshi answered back.
His eyes widened.
"Takeo and Takeshi…" Haru said in awe.
The brothers looked over at them from their spot.
"Hello, thieves. Sensei is inside. The nurse lady is looking at his injuries," Takeo said.
"I thought that Sensei was okay?" Makoto asked.
"Sensei is fine. Something about impact and ribs. Humans are fragile. Perhaps, we need that wrap to protect Sensei with," Takeshi said with a nod.
"Gum wrap," Takeo said.
"Uhh…." Morgana said confusedly as Takeo knocked on the door.
"Thieves are here, Lila," Takeo said.
He heard the door open then Lila's head popped into view.
"Everyone! Come in! Uehara-san is done! You two guard the door," Lila shouted from the doorway.
"But Lila…" Takeo said with a pout.
"Akechi is still out there! He knows that Sensei is alive and where we live! Do you want Sensei to get hurt again?" Lila said angrily as she stomped her foot on the ground.
The brothers sighed.
"It's fine, Lila. They can come in," Sensei's voice said from the room.
"Fine," Lila said as she turned back around and walked into the room.
"Good. Door is strong enough," Takeo mumbled.
"Besides, we can punch him a lot and Lila can stab him with her pencils if he comes," Takeshi said.
"Truly."
"I do have a question before….you know…How…did this happen? I mean…why are you two here? Not that I want you to go back! I'm happy that you're here. Lila-chan never told us how it worked. I…I'm curious," Haru asked the brothers.
"Sensei was in danger. Stupid Racoon Man hurt Sensei. We didn't want him to get hurt again…" Takeo said.
"We stopped him then we realized that he would follow Sensei and try to hurt him again. We decided to go into your world to protect him. When Sensei hit the phone, we got here and looked like this." Takeshi added.
"It was weird."
"Very."
"Lila and Theo were there when we came out…then Aigis-san was there. Lila was yelling. Theo was trying to stop her from killing Aigis-san."
"Aigis-san had guns."
"Lila had pencils. Sadly, we didn't have our weapons. We were naked. Very strange being naked. But Lila knew what to do."
"Lila is smart. She is a good auntie."
Auntie?
How…
You know…he is going to pull a Sensei and leave that hell alone.
"Auntie?" Morgana said in awe.
"Lila is auntie," Takeshi nodded.
"Theo-kun is a good uncle. He helped to make sure that Aigis-san didn't die by accident or Lila getting shot," Takeo added.
"That sounded exciting," Yusuke said.
"It was," Takeo noted.
"But we had more important things to do like protect Sensei," Takeshi added.
"So, we stopped it," Takeo said.
"There was even more screaming."
"Do women always scream a lot?"
"Does Theo-kun scream a lot?"
Ryuji snorted beside him.
"Then we pulled them apart," Takeshi said.
"Then there was more screaming than Lila got us clothes," Takeo added.
"End."
"You two had a very interesting time…" Haru said in awe.
Futaba snorted at the statement.
"Why don't we talk to Sensei? We have information to share and world conquering stuff to do," She said eagerly.
"Good point….on one of those things," Makoto said as Futaba pouted.
The group then filed into the room. Sensei was sitting on the sofa and buttoning up his shirt. On the table, there was a tablet. He guessed that he talked to his nurse friend. His normal black jacket was on the table in the kitchen area. In the corner of the room, he could make out suitcases and boxes. Theodore was working in their little kitchen area and the smell, it was so good.
"Hello, everyone. How is everyone?" Sensei asked.
"We're good. The news made us panic a bit. How are you, Sensei?" Morgana said as he jumped out of his bag.
"I'm fine. Sore. Apparently, even with a bulletproof vest, bullets hurt. Ren, how are you? Any side effects?"
"I was out of it for a while but now, I'm good." He said.
"Soo…can we share now? CAN WE?!"
"Should Aigis-san be here? She is your partner…this information is important," Makoto said.
Sensei paused for a moment then sighed.
"Not a good idea. Kenji-kun doesn't want her here and I wish to respect his wishes. I will pass on the information to her when we meet up this afternoon," Sensei said.
"SHIDO AND AKECHI ARE DEFINITELY WORKING TOGETHER. The conversation between each other was wild. Akechi is totally Shido's yes man," Futaba said excitedly.
"Akechi doesn't scream a "yes" man. Why would he work with such a man?" Yusuke said.
"Akechi is Shido's son. According to Akechi, Shido doesn't know of his origins. While I'm not sure of all of the details, Akechi is out for revenge."
"Shit," Ryuji said.
"A tale as old as time," Haru added.
"So, we have the connection, I guess…we're moving to part 2 of our plan?" Ann said.
"Yes, we just need the location of his palace," Makoto noted.
"More digging yet? I'm on it!" Futaba said.
"Ren, I am going to need to get a hold of your journalist friend," Sensei said.
He sighed.
"Sensei, I know that you know how to find her," He said.
"True. I do have manners after all."
He sighed again.
Maybe…he should warn them.
End of The Point Where We Move Forward
A/N: Read and Review if You Wish.