Chapter 16
Futaba's Training
Monday, August 22nd, 2016
The shrill ringing of her phone dragged Mitsuru out of the haze of sleep. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, before reaching for the device.
"Hello?" Mitsuru coughed, her voice still hoarse from sleep. She cleared her throat, before repeating, this time clearer, "Hello?"
"Mitsuru-senpai!" Yamagishi's voice was loud and clear. "You… You have to look at Medjed's website. Right now."
The mention of Medjed was like dumping a bucket of ice cold water on top of her head. Mitsuru immediately sat up, alert. Medjed's deadline had been yesterday, the second anniversary of Isshiki's death. They… They went through with it?! Dread made her stomach sink.
Mitsuru slid out of her bed, keeping her phone pressed to her ear.
"Yamagishi, just how bad is the damage?" she demanded.
Medjed had threatened to crash the economy itself, in their letter to the Phantom Thieves. Had they truly gone through that threat?
"Mitsuru-senpai… it's… it's not that…" Yamagishi suddenly trailed off.
"What are you referring to, Yamagishi?" Mitsuru frowned.
She had reached her study, where her laptop was resting on top of her desk. She booted it up, before opening up an internet browser. Her manicured nails tapped out Medjed's website url.
"Medjed lost, Mitsuru-senpai. Someone from Medjed also got their information leaked… "
Mitsuru hardly registered Yamagishi's words.
The website had loaded. And the webpage was now branded with the now well-known symbol of the Phantom Thieves.
Medjed got hacked?! This was just… unbelievable.
"And… that's not all," Yamagishi breathed. "Senpai, you have to look at the Phan-Site."
Mitsuru's eyes narrowed at the mention of the website. The site where some fool had listed her as a target. If she ever discovered whoever submitted her as a request… they would be begging for an execution.
Mitsuru only to type a little before the browser's history filled it out for her. She had… checked the website more than she's like to admit.
Then Mitsuru's jaw dropped.
Are the Phantom Thieves just?
The poll question had been rather skewed towards no. Mitsuru had refrained from answering, however. But… the yes result had jumped to nearly forty percent.
It had only been hours… and yet the approval had jumped that much?!
"Yamagishi, have you contacted Amada?" Mitsuru demanded. "What does he have to say about this?"
Yamagishi audibly swallowed.
"Well… I did try to call Ken-kun. But he's not answering. I think the Phantom Thieves are in a meeting or something," she explained.
"Does this mean… Isshiki's daughter had truly done this?" Mitsuru wondered aloud, feeling utterly baffled.
She was only fifteen! How is this possible?! She thought that Yamagishi was brilliant at this kind of thing but… it appeared that Futaba Sakura was in a completely different league.
Yamagishi let out a strained laugh. "Your guess is as good as mine, Senpai."
Everyone really needed to learn how to have a better poker face. After Futaba-san had shown up, Sakura-san had shooed them towards the attic. Ken had been the last to slide out of his seat, so he saw the report change to an interview with Shido.
Ken slowly inhaled at the sight of the man. He was the one responsible for the threat against Mitsuru-san. And what he was saying was concerning. It was like he wanted to create a utopia.
There had to be a catch.
"Hm?" Sakura-san looked at him quizzically. "Something the matter?"
"It's nothing," Ken said quietly, turning away from the television screen.
And yet, he couldn't stop himself from making a comment.
"This Shido person is awfully charismatic, isn't he?"
"Yeah, you could say that again." Sakura-san sighed.
He sounded almost nonchalant, but Ken noticed that something flashed in his eyes. That was interesting. Perhaps he knew more than what he was letting on. And he was feigning indifference.
Sakura-san's voice snapped him out of his ruminations. "But anyways, you're a bit young to be focusing on a politician like that. You can't even vote. Go on."
Ken tried not to frown. He didn't want Sakura-san to find him suspicious, with his interest in Shido. Ken quickly plastered a polite smile on his face, before giving the older man a polite bow.
"Thank you for the hospitality, Sakura-san."
Sakura-san laughed. "You know you can call me Boss, right?"
Ken chuckled nervously. "Old habits die hard."
"Well… at least I can't say you lack in manners," he chuckled out.
After excusing himself, Ken headed up the stairs where everyone was gathered.
"What took you so long?" Ren-san asked, turning to look at him as he entered the attic.
"I got caught up by the news report," Ken answered. "And then I ended up talking to Sakura-san for a little bit."
Anne-san wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I thought it was just some politician talking… So boring."
"Yeah, like celebrity gossip is much better," Ryuji-san scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I dunno why everyone's all over Risette dating someone."
Oh, right. Yu-san and Rise-san were planning on going public soon about their relationship, weren't they? The fact had completely slipped his mind, even though he had heard Fuuka-san talking about it with Rise-san before he and Shinjiro-san had moved to Tokyo.
Anne-san made a face at him, looked unimpressed. "Don't pretend you're not a Risette fan. You were so sore when you couldn't get a ticket to the LMB fest, back in middle school."
"But anyways…" Makoto-san quickly interjected before Ryuji could retaliate, "we were talking about how the cognitive forms are determined by the master of the Palace. Since before, they were always in the background."
Anne-san's expression darkened, before her hands clenched into fists. "You weren't there for Kamoshida."
Makoto-san's eyes widened. "Oh…"
Ren-san placed a hand on Anne-san's shoulder. "Hey, you gotta admit, it was pretty badass for you to wreck Kamoshida's image of you."
Anne-san reluctantly nodded, but gave him a smile of thanks.
But Ken's eyes wandered to Futaba-san, who had taken over the bed. She was quiet, but seemed rather okay.
However, he had to wonder, how did Futaba-san have such a vivid shade of orange for her hair? Her mother had black hair… But then again, Miyuki and Kaito had both inherited Minato-san's blue hair. Not to mention how Minato-san and Minako-san were twin siblings, and had completely different hair and eye colors.
"Meanwhile Yusuke was merely just a painting to Madarame…" Morgana mused, tilting his head. "The range that the Palaces have… is really something."
"I really do wonder how far Futaba's mother had gone with her research," Yusuke-san added. "If those men in black were so desperate to steal it… And her research must have been fascinating."
"Do you think she knows?" Ryuji-san asked. "It was called… cognitive psience, yeah?"
…She was right there. Then again, she didn't seem too interested in talking to them.
"Abuse of this… could lead to death, and may be related to the psychotic breakdowns," Makoto-san said thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. "We still haven't been able to unravel that mystery."
"It's like they've lost all consciousness…" Ken said slowly.
Ken tried not to wince. This really had its similarities to Apathy Syndrome. He never really talked about it, but the Apathy Syndrome cases slowly escalating during the last month before they fought Nyx had honestly scared him. It was like… they had lost their souls.
Ken slowly took a deep breath, to try and push it out of his head.
"And given that it's connected to cognition… it's most likely connected to the Metaverse," Ken said, hoping his voice came out as even.
Yusuke-san just tilted his head quizzically. "But the question is… how? How is this all connected? Just who is causing the mental shutdowns?"
He had a niggling suspicion, that the black-masked Persona-user had a hand in this. But given how they only had that single encounter, Ken wasn't sure how right he was. And it's not like he could actually voice these thoughts.
So, he just kept quiet.
"Not to mention that we have to take in account that the research was most likely stolen, by whoever is doing this," Morgana interjected. "But hmm… I'm not sure how we'd be able to track them down."
"What about you, Futaba?" Ryuji looked at her. "Is there anything you know 'bout this?"
Futaba stood up and walked right past everyone. Not even a peep from her.
Makoto-san tentatively took a step towards her, concerning filling her red eyes.
"Um… Futaba-chan? Did you hear Ryuji?" she said gently.
"Oh, she heard him," Ken said dryly. "She's just choosing not to answer."
She then came back with yet another bowl of ramen. Futaba's expression lit up as she dug into the food.
Makoto-san sighed. "Why don't we… give her some time to eat, then?"
They agreed, so Ren and Anne went down to bring up some cups of coffee and they drank that while waiting for Futaba to finish eating. Even then, she kept her distance, remaining on Ren-san's bed.
"Though, I have to wonder…" Yusuke-san began. "Futaba may be a genius, but just how could she crush Medjed so easily? She's so young…"
He had to agree. Fuuka-san was able to piece together part of the original video that Yukari-san's father had made, but this… this was on an entirely different level.
"The one who taunted the Phantom Thieves was in Japan."
Ken couldn't help but flinch at her sudden voice.
"She spoke!" Ren-san gasped, clutching a hand to his chest. "It's a miracle!"
"Hey, don't mock me!" She scrunched up her button nose at Ren-san. "And besides, the Medjed members in Japan are nothing special."
"How do you know that…?" Anne-san asked.
Futaba-san adjusted her glasses for a moment, before smirking in triumph. "I'm the founder."
…What.
She was the original Medjed?! Then the one who had tried to hack the Shadow Operatives' database was Futaba-san. He was so… stupid. It made perfect sense. Fuuka-san had described it happening two years ago. That fit the timeline…
Futaba-san began to explain. "It was only me at first… back when I was called the hacker of justice. And then some other guys… basically stole the name, taking it for themselves."
"And those are the ones who pulled off the cybercrimes, I'm guessing," Ryuji-san said.
"Yep. It was too much effort to expose everyone, so… I just let them be." Futaba-san shrugged.
"So, just to clarify, you're the true Medjed, and the ones who threatened us were just… copycats?" Makoto-san asked, her eyes wide.
"Why didn't you just inform us of the truth…?" Yusuke asked.
"Because I'm not Medjed anymore." Futaba-san lifted her chin. "I'm Alibaba now. Or whatever name you want to call me as a Phantom Thief."
"Just inviting yourself in, I see," Ken said dryly.
"I did good, didn't I?" Futaba-san demanded. "I bet you'll be running around like headless chickens this whole time."
Morgana bristled at that, his hackles on edge. "Hang on a moment! I may not be as good as you, but I have not been leading these guys into danger, okay?!"
Futaba-san simply shrugged. "Okay, kitty."
Morgana looked even more wound up at that. Looks like he would have to do damage control…
"Morgana, it's all right," Ken said, before the feline could make further protests. "Futaba-san's just missing a little something."
"She is?" Ryuji-san scratched the back of his head.
"Yes, it's called tact," Ken deadpanned.
Makoto-san cleared her throat before glancing towards the younger girl.
"So… how did you find out about us?" she asked.
Futaba-san hummed before drawing her knees to her chest. "Secret."
Makoto-san winced. "Okay… Where did you learn how to hack?"
Futaba-san pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Private."
"Okayyy, Makoto…" Anne-san put a hand on her wrist, before Makoto-san could try again. "I don't think she wants to talk about that."
Makoto made an exasperated sound. He honestly didn't blame her for feeling frustrated.
"But we have to help her somehow… She's still not fully open to us…" Makoto-san insisted.
Well… personally, Ken thought it was a little too optimistic to think that Futaba-san would be ready to jump into talking with them, given how she had spent the last two years.
"So, let's get to know her," Ren-san said, stepping forward. "We have school on September first. That gives us… a week and a half."
Yusuke-san stroked his chin in thought.
"Perhaps we could start with getting her to open up to us," he suggested. "How is everyone's schedules tomorrow? I happen to be free."
"I am too," Ken answered. "Not the day after, though, Fuuka-san's visiting."
"I can come tomorrow, too," Makoto-san chimed in. "What about you—Anne and Ryuji?"
Futaba-san stiffened, and she stared at Makoto-san in horror. Ken sighed to himself. They would really have to ease her into this…
"Not me." Anne-san shook her head, smiling apologetically. "I have a shoot tomorrow."
"Promised to help my mom out tomorrow with cleaning the house," Ryuji-san said, likewise shooting Makoto-san an apologetic look. "I can the day after, though."
"Okay, we'll split it up in two days, then," Ren-san decided. "Yusuke, Makoto, and Ken will spend the day with her tomorrow. Anne and Ryuji can on Wednesday. I'll be there both days. We'll slowly work her up."
"Oh, let's end it with the beach!" Ryuji-san suggested. "It'll be Futaba's final exam!"
"You… You want me to go to the beach?" Futaba-san adamantly shook her head. "I don't know…"
"Aw, come onnnnn…" Ryuji-san whined.
"How about we do your first outing with the Feathermen Rangers fan event on the twenty-eighth, then?" Ken suggested.
It would be perfect. He'd get to see Yukari-san with that too.
"I saw that you had the limited edition of the Victory rangers action figures. When we were in your room the other day," he added hastily.
There was a beat of silence, and Ken realized that everyone was staring at him.
The smirk on Ren-san's face could only be described as shit-eating.
"And just how do you know that?" he asked innocently, even as his expression screamed otherwise.
Crap.
"U-Uh… well…" Ken stammered out, feeling his face redden. "That's… That's… because…"
Okay, he knew that he had nothing to be embarrassed about. But he was eighteen. Feathermen was geared towards elementary students! Not to mention that everyone seemed to take a joy in teasing him about it.
It honestly reminded him the time Minato-san asked him if he happened to have a Feathermen figurine. Ken had forgotten about hiding that he loved the show and rambled on about it for five minutes. Minato-san had taken in stride at least, and promised to watch the show with him some time.
"You could always plead the fifth!" Anne-san suggested.
"Again, that applies to America, not Japan, Anne," Makoto-san sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You're acting like I'm being put on trial here," Ken muttered.
"Sooo... do you plead innocent or guilty?" Ryuji-san interjected with a grin.
"...I'm not going to dignify that with an answer."
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2016
Ken sneezed as a cloud of dust rose in the air. Okay, maybe keeping the box that contained his Feathermen DVDs under his bed wasn't the best idea. He opened the box, selecting a couple each from the different seasons he had amassed. Yukari-san liked to joke that she had it so easy when it came to birthday presents from him, ever since she had obtained her job.
He slipped them in his school satchel, before giving out a yawn. It was earlier than he usually got up during the summer. He usually ended up sleeping until ten, but he got up early since they would be spending the entire day with Futaba. He had gotten up early enough to see Shinjiro-san getting ready.
…Speaking of that, Shinjiro-san should be leaving soon. He should say goodbye…
Ken walked out to the kitchen, just in time to see Shinjiro-san finish pushing something from a wok into a bento box. Three bento boxes were stacked beside it, and there was one last one on the table.
"What's this for?"
"The Phantom Thieves' diets are shit," Shinjiro-san said bluntly, turning to face him. "And since you're spending the whole day with 'em, might as well ensure that they're getting a good meal today."
"Is this necessary?" Ken groaned.
Shinjiro-san just snorted in response. "Quit whining. Don't ask questions you know the answer to already."
Shinjiro-san then reached for the coffee pot and poured it in a mug filled with ice. He then stirred in milk before he transferred it into a thermos.
"Isshiki's diet is shitty too, but considering how she is, thought I'd leave her diet alone," he then added.
For now was left unsaid but Ken heard it loud and clear.
"I guess you're just not happy unless you're nagging at someone for their eating habits," Ken said dryly.
Shinjiro-san rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault teenagers have shitty eating habits. Can't forget how about you used to buy bento boxes from convenience stores."
"I was twelve."
"They don't have an excuse then," Shinjiro-san deadpanned.
Ken huffed. "Fine, fine," he grumbled. "Are you heading out to work now?"
"Yeah." Shinjiro-san nodded. "Good luck with Isshiki's daughter."
After Shinjiro-san left, Ken prepared his own breakfast. He was nearly finished with it when the group chat went off. Apparently Yusuke was there already, asking for Futaba to open up. So, they were meeting up at the Sakura house today…
He quickly finished eating and washed the dishes, before he grabbed his bag and left the apartment. He met Makoto-san at the train station, so they rode the train together.
Ren-san answered the door, greeting them with, "Morning, guys. Yusuke's already here, so let's get started."
He stepped aside, and after they removed their shoes, they entered the house. The house was surprisingly neat considering as far as he knew, Sakura-san was a bachelor. They climbed the stairs and entered Futaba-san's room. She was sitting at her desk… wearing some kind of… mask? He couldn't even begin to describe it.
"Futaba-san, you mind taking that off?" Ken sighed.
"What even is that…?" Makoto-san asked.
"Don't worry about that." Futaba-san's voice was muffled. "This way I can interact with you with no problem!"
She sounded so proud too…
"Such avant garde design…" Yusuke-san nodded in appreciation, staring at her through his hands forming a frame. "You have excellent taste."
…Of course Yusuke-san would think of the aesthetic.
They eventually convinced Futaba-san to take off it off, but Futaba-san still wouldn't look at them.
"L-Let's get started then, shall we?" Makoto said shakily, before biting her lip. "Um… let's start with a simple conversation."
"Why is that?" Morgana asked.
"It's the start of true communication," Makoto answered with a sagely nod. "We should take small steps first."
"You seem confident," Ren laughed, a smile tugging at his lips.
All the while, Yusuke-san wandered over to stand by Futaba-san. His back was turned to her, for some reason. Ken raised an eyebrow at that, but he pushed that out of his head. They had to focus on Futaba-san.
Makoto-san tapped her chin. "Let's start with… food. Or maybe the weather?"
Somehow, he didn't think Futaba-san would care too much about the weather.
"Speaking of food, can we eat the food that Ken brought?" Ren-san asked. "Had to skip breakfast today."
…Of course he did. He knew that he was lucky that Shinjiro-san was so insistent on him eating properly, but still.
"You have got to stop doing that," Ken sighed. "You have to eat something, even if it's just cup ramen."
"Okay, let's start with food," Makoto-san said, as Ren-san opened up the bento box.
Ren-san's expression lit up as he took the first bite. He fed Morgana as well, the cooked bits of fish.
"What do you like to eat, Futaba-chan?" Makoto-san inquired.
Futaba-san shrugged. "Organic ones."
…Organic? That was a surprise, with how many ramen bowls he had collected…
"She means what dishes are your favorites," Ken said, feeling a pang of pity when Makoto-san's face fell at Futaba's expression growing bored.
Futaba-san rested her cheek against her hand, her eyes growing dull.
"L-Let's try something else!" Makoto-san said hastily, before biting her lip. "How about the weather? The heat wave doesn't look like it's looking up any time soon…"
Futaba-san let out a gusty sigh, slumping against her chair.
Ouch.
Ren-san coughed awkwardly. "Futaba spends all day in her room. With air conditioning."
Makoto-san visibly deflated at that. "Oh. You're right…"
Hmm. Ken's eyes fell to her computer. "What kind of coding do you know how to do?"
Futaba-san sat up at that, blinking owlishly at Ken.
"What do you mean?" she said, sounding confused.
"Have you tried making any video games?" Ken asked.
Her tank did have a Pentris design, after all. Not to mention all that computer imagery in her Palace.
"My senpai made a couple while she was in university," he elaborated.
"Um… I've made a phone game actually—" Futaba then cut herself, freezing in place.
Her eyes suddenly glued themselves at Yusuke-san. They suddenly grew huge, horror filling them.
Wait a minute. Wasn't that where Futaba kept her Victory action figures?
"Yusuke… what exactly have you been doing?" Ren-san asked slowly.
"Come and take a look at the piece of art I've created!" Yusuke-san announced with a proud smile, turning around to face them all.
Then he stepped aside.
Ken knew he shouldn't be staring—it was rude after all—but what the hell was that?! Somehow, Yusuke had managed to mix every head with a different colored torso, arms, and legs. It was an… atrocity.
"Yusuke-san…" Ken ground out, suddenly feeling the need for some coffee, "what the hell is that?"
Yusuke-san tilted his head. "What's the matter?"
Did he really not realize what he had done?!
Ken opened his mouth several times before he finally managed to find the words.
"What's the matter—you completely ruined her figures!" Ken exclaimed, unable to keep the irritation from his voice. "And what are those poses?!"
"You're taking this rather seriously, Ken," Ren-san said with a smirk.
"They're just toys. What's the big deal, anyways?" Morgana interrupted, before Ken could think of a retort.
Futaba-san pushed Yusuke-san aside, her mouth agape.
"My children…" she whimpered out, her hands reaching out to the mangled action figures. "What did you do to my children?!"
She sounded ready to cry and honestly Ken didn't blame her.
Blunt as always, Yusuke just continued on blithely. "They were shoddily made."
And the Investigation Team said that Naoto-san couldn't read the mood…
"They are not shoddily made!" Futaba-san stomped her foot, a fire flaring in her eyes now. "They're limited edition, to commemorate the end of Victory!"
She then let out a little growl, glowering at Yusuke-san.
"I won't forgive you for this, Inari!" she spat out.
"Inari?" Yusuke-san echoed, his eyebrows furrowing together.
"Your thief clothes are like a fox." Futaba-san pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "According to Japanese folklore, foxes like inarizushi, so thus, you are Inari."
That was a bit convoluted. Then again, they've established that Futaba's train of thought wasn't exactly… straight. But then again, there was the Shinto god Inari…
"Rrgh… and they were in the perfect poses too!" Futaba-san moaned, before she craned her head up to glare at Yusuke.
It was almost comical to look at it, given how Yusuke-san was a good head and a half taller than Futaba-san.
"It was so much work to get them just right!" she griped, before she picked up the figure that had Pink Argus's torso.
Yusuke-san just crossed his arms over his chest, looking unimpressed. "You claim you work so hard, but the aesthetic was horrendous."
Futaba-san scoffed, before rolling her eyes. "You wouldn't know aesthetic even if it slapped you hard across the face."
"F-Futaba-chan, that's not—" Makoto-san began to remonstrate with her.
"Excuse me?!" Yusuke-san sputtered out, glowering at Futaba-san. "How dare you say something like that to someone like me!"
"Can you please just calm down—" Makoto-san tried again, only for Futaba-san to cut her off with, "Yeah, because it's true!"
Ken pressed a hand to his forehead as an argument broke out. Honestly, it was somewhat of a feat to get such a reaction from Yusuke-san, but it was… irritating. He was really feeling like he was a babysitter sometimes…
Makoto-san quickly clapped her hands. "Come on, guys, break it up," she scolded. "Is there anything you'd like to do, Futaba?"
"Um, I did bring some Feathermen DVDs," Ken volunteered, pulling out the top DVD from his bag.
Futaba then gasped, her eyes growing wide for a moment before she snatched the DVD from his hands.
"How did you get the Yukari Takeba to sign this?! She's my personal hero!" she demanded, her eyes glowing with delight.
"Isn't she your senpai?" Makoto-san asked.
"SHE'S YOUR SENPAI?!" Futaba-san suddenly was up in all his space before he could even blink.
Her purple eyes shone with excitement. "I'll give you five thousand—no, ten thousand—yen for this!"
"It's not for sale," Ken said. "It's my personal DVD and it was a present."
That and he didn't want to give it up…
Futaba-san pouted. "Meanie. But come on, Victory's the best version! Let's go!"
"I think R was the best, actually," Ken said.
"Nuh-uh!" Futaba-san shook her head, before waving her arms about.
It was like she was an entirely different person now, with how animated she had become.
"Victory opened up so many doors! Red Hawk is no longer shoehorned as the leader! And it had been the best action scenes!" she insisted.
Her voice was so lively now. It was giving him whiplash, if he was being honest. But… Ken couldn't help but focus on the Red Hawk comment.
Ken raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean shoehorned?"
"Come on, you can't tell me that Pink Argus wasn't awesome!" Futaba-san argued. "You should know this already, but Yukari Takeba does all of her stunts by herself! No stunt doubles! Plus she practiced archery ever since she was in high school! She's so cool!"
So… Futaba-san was a big-time fan of Yukari-san huh? Ken was already planning on seeing Yukari-san, but maybe Futaba-san needed some extra motivation.
"If you come to the fan event, I can ask if you can meet her," he offered.
Futaba-san's eyes just about popped out of her eye sockets.
"Really?!" she cried out. Then she gave a little nod, clenching her hands into fists. "Okay, I've gotta grind then!"
"Grind?" Makoto-san asked, looking utterly lost.
It might as well be all Greek to her, if Ken had to guess. Ken wasn't much of a gamer, but he liked playing when Minako-san, Fuuka-san, and Junpei-san invited him to.
"It's referring to video games," Ren-san answered, giving Makoto-san an amused smile. "But you want to watch Victory now, then?"
"Yeah!" Futaba-san cheered before darting out of the room, still clutching Ken's DVD.
"Futaba-chan, wait!"
Makoto-san and Yusuke-san scrambled after her, and out of the room.
Ken could feel Ren-san's eyes on him.
Ren-san sidled close to Ken, his face breaking out in a wide grin.
"So… you're a real Feathermen fan, huh?" he drawled out.
"D-Don't laugh," Ken muttered, feeling his face flush. "I just thought… Futaba could use a common ground…"
Ren-san snickered. "Aw, don't be like that way. Feathermen's a classic, after all."
"You're still laughing at me," Ken said flatly.
Ren-san just smirked. "I mean, it is kinda funny. You of all people, being a Feathermen fan?"
"I'm not the one who has glow in the dark stars plastered on my ceiling," Ken retorted.
"…Touché."
They had accomplished what they had meant to. But Makoto couldn't help but think back about how embarrassing it had all been.
What was she thinking, asking Futaba what she thought about the weather?! Yusuke and Ken had both managed to talk to Futaba, but she had utterly failed. She still didn't know how to talk to people…
Not if it wasn't related to business…
She suddenly felt a light touch on her elbow.
"Makoto-san, you've been awfully quiet."
Since they lived in the same district, Ken was walking her home. She had told him it wasn't necessary but Ken had insisted on it.
"It's nothing…" Makoto mumbled, not wanting to worry him. "It's… silly…"
Ken just tilted his head, studying her. "You don't have to dismiss it," he said.
"You can talk to me" hung in the air.
Makoto bit her lip, before looking up. "Can we talk in private?" she asked quietly.
Ken nodded. "Okay. There's the diner nearby, I think…"
After arriving at the diner, they grabbed a table and ordered a cup of coffee each. Makoto stared down at the mug, trying to pull her thoughts together.
"It's ridiculous," she finally said. But I felt useless today. I couldn't think of anything to talk about with Futaba. Both you and Yusuke managed to do it… but I failed."
She sighed before forcing herself to take a sip of coffee. Not as good as Café Leblanc's but it was still nice.
"I may be the student council president, but I don't know how to talk to people. Not when it counts," she lamented with a sigh.
Eiko was right. She was like a robot…
Ken was quiet for a moment. But then he set down his mug.
"Makoto-san, Futaba-san doesn't exactly know how to talk to people. A conversation is a two-way street. And besides, Futaba-san and Yusuke-san got into an argument for the most part. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."
Makoto heaved out a sigh. "I know, I know, it's stupid."
"No, because it's not true," Ken corrected. "You can talk to me fine, can't you?"
Makoto blinked at him. "Well, that's because…"
"We're friends." He sighed. "Look, it was just luck that Futaba happened to be really into something I like. I know what it's like, to not be able to strike up a conversation…"
He blew his bangs out of his face, before raising his mug to his lips. For a reason, his eyes suddenly grew sad.
"People used to say I acted cold, like I held myself at a distance. And in a way, it was true. I tried acting older than I was, because I was desperate for people to treat me not like a kid… and that made it harder for me when I realized that I had only one childhood and I shouldn't rush things. I felt like I couldn't connect to people my age. But even after I realized this… it was hard."
Ken shrugged at that, like it wasn't a big deal.
Makoto couldn't help but feel a little surprised. Okay, maybe Ken could be serious—though she supposed that she can't really talk—but he was so kind. Not just to her, but he had been patient with Futaba. And he tried to look out for everyone…
"But it's better now, isn't it?" Makoto asked.
Ken looked down at his mug, trailing his finger along the rim.
"I suppose. It's… been a while since I've really spent time with people my age," he admitted. "I quit soccer club at the beginning of this year, and I guess… I just drifted away from my friends in soccer. I felt odd about trying to strike a conversation with them."
"Ken…"
She had never really thought what Ken was like, back on Port Island. Several of her female classmates liked him still, even though Ken never gave them a second glance. It was honestly a little irksome, since they didn't even know him. But she had always assumed that he had been popular.
"It's okay." Ken looked up, meeting her gaze. "It's just… it's not something you experience, Makoto-san. It's more common than you think. And…"
He then hesitated for a moment, before smiling gently at her.
"You're wonderful, just the way you are. I like you already. You don't need to change."
Makoto blushed at his kind words before she smiled back at him. "Thank you, Ken."
Wednesday, August 24th, 2016
Since the end of summer vacation was creeping closer and closer, Ken had closeted himself in his room and worked on his schoolwork. Shinjiro-san had understood and told him that he could pick up Fuuka-san on his own.
He was so absorbed in his work that he didn't even notice when they came back. Or that his door was slowly being nudged open.
He had definitely noticed Koromaru knocking him down from his chair, though.
Koromaru let him sit up (though he spent a couple of minutes happily licking Ken's face), before he crawled into Ken's lap. Ken stroked the top of his head before giving him a proper hug. Koromaru just barked again, before licking his cheek.
A clicking sound caught his attention, and he whipped his head to see that Fuuka-san was standing at the doorway, her phone in her hand. Ken shot her a dirty look.
"Aw, don't look at me like that, Ken-kun," Fuuka-san said, pressing her free hand against her cheek. "That was just adorable! I couldn't not take a picture of it."
Ken grumbled to himself. Girls and their weird thing for cuteness. He just didn't get it.
"I'm surprised you brought Koromaru with you," Ken said, determined to change the subject. "Not that I'm not glad but…"
Koromaru then barked, before tugging at Ken's shirt.
"She didn't just bring Koro," Shinjiro-san said dryly. "She brought the entire family. She thought that you should meet the puppies."
…Sometimes he forgot that Koromaru even had puppies. Koromaru barked again, this time more insistent, so he got up and followed Koromaru out of his room.
A black furred shiba inu lounged on the couch. Two black and tan puppies were passed out on the couch, snuggled close to her. She looked at Ken curiously, but let Ken stroke the top of her head. The remaining four puppies, three of them also with black and tan fur, one with cream fur, frolicked in the living room, despite the long train ride.
"What's her name, Fuuka-san?" Ken asked, moving his hand so she could sniff it.
She seemed to deem him satisfactory, since she licked his hand.
"Hoshi," Fuuka-san answered. "Since her tail has a white tip."
Ken studied her closely. She was definitely younger than Koromaru, but she wasn't super young. Maybe around Koromaru's age around the time Sho Minazuki had shown up? She just blinked placidly at him.
Sometimes he wondered how they had ended up with shiba inus that had went against the stereotype. Sure, Koromaru was fairly independent and extraordinarily intelligent, but he had lost track of the number of times, Koromaru had come to one of them so he could curl up in one of their laps. And Koromaru was the opposite of a brat.
Someone suddenly knocked on the door, making all three of them look up. Fuuka-san was closest to the door, so she went to answer it. She opened it, revealing that it was Ren-san, Anne-san, and Ryuji-san.
"Oh, hey there, Fuuka-san!" Ryuji-san greeted cheerfully, giving her a wave. "How are ya?"
Fuuka-san took a step back. "O-Oh… hello, Ryuji-kun," she greeted.
Ken winced. It's not like they were expecting visitors.
Anne-san giggled. "Yeah, we were hanging out with Ren, and we didn't have much to do. Ken mentioned you were visiting, so we thought we'd say hello! We never did thank you properly for that dinner you gave us the day we met."
"Oh, that was mostly Shinji, not me," Fuuka-san was quick to dismiss. "But you did come all this way, so why don't you come in?"
"Are you… fostering?" Ren-san asked slowly, stepping inside and looking curiously at the puppies running around.
He then turned, quirking an eyebrow at Ken.
"You didn't mention anything about that, Ken," he remarked.
"It's because we're not," Shinjiro-san deadpanned. "Someone just went and decided to have a litter of puppies."
Koromaru just cocked his head, and gave Shinjiro-san the typical puppy dog eyes.
Shinjiro-san just scoffed in response. "Don't look at me like that, Koro, you know what you did."
"Aww, he's adorable!" Anne-san cooed, her eyes growing bright. She clasped her hands together. "You know, I thought albino animals are supposed to look creepy but he's just adorable!"
Ken just laughed. "You can pet him. Koromaru's pretty friendly."
Anne-san's eyes lit up and she all but ran to Koromaru, kneeling down and rubbing the top of his head. Koromaru shut his eyes, leaning into Anne's hand.
"Aww, who's a good boy?" Anne-san cooed. That's right—you are!"
"You've got some competition, RenRen," Ryuji-san teased, nudging Ren-san in the side.
Ren-san just scoffed, rolling his eyes at Ryuji-san. However, Ryuji-san ignored that, turning to face Ken.
"But damn, I never knew you owned a dog!" he exclaimed.
"It never came up," Ken pointed out.
"That's fair," Ren-san said with a light laugh, only to look down at his bag.
Morgana was being awfully quiet, now that he thought about it…
"Not feeling like coming out, Morgana?" Ren-san asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm good," Morgana grumbled. "It's already chaotic enough with all of these dogs running around."
"Taking a dislike to dogs, huh?" Ryuji-san asked, smirking now. "Wonder why…"
"I am not a cat!" Morgana hissed out.
Fuuka-san and Shinjiro-san just stared blankly. It took a moment for Ken to realize what was going on. He honestly forgot that you had to visit the Metaverse and have your cognition changed to understand Morgana.
Ryuji-san opened his mouth to retort, but then the smallest of the puppies suddenly wandered over and sat right at his feet. Ryuji blinked down at him, before a slow smile spread across his face.
"Oh, hey, little guy. Want some attention?" he asked with a chuckle.
He bent down, scooping the puppy up—holding it right to his face. The puppy gave a yip before licking at Ryuji-san's cheek.
"Damn, you're a regular fuzzball, aren't ya?" he chuckled.
The puppy barked in response, and Ryuji-san grinned.
"Should've known you were more of a dog person," Ren-san teased, earning a snicker from Ryuji-san.
"So, how has the search for homes been going?" Anne-san asked, looking to Fuuka-san for the answer.
"Oh, it's going well," Fuuka-san answered. "Three of the puppies have found homes already."
He'd bet good money that Kanji-san and Naoto-san would be getting one of them…
"Y'know, I've always kinda wanted a dog," Ryuji-san admitted. "My old man hated 'em, though, so my mom always had to say no."
"I mean, I don't really blame you. They're all so cute!" Anne-san laughed, before she cooed over the cream furred puppy.
"They're not that cute," Morgana grumbled as Anne-san petted the puppy.
"Jealous, Morgana?" Ren-san teased. "Come on, we all love you."
"I'm not jealous…!"
"Seriously, why do you bring that cat of yours everywhere," Shinjiro-san complained. "The dogs aside, doesn't the cat ever get bored?"
Ren-san just shrugged. "Morgana likes coming with me. He's pretty insistent, actually."
Okay, he knew that Ren-san was joking, but he couldn't help but think there was a grain of truth in it.
"Are you serious about that, though, Ryuji-san?" Ken asked, turning to the younger boy. "I know that some of the puppies have been claimed already, but…"
Ryuji-san blinked. "Uh… yeah. If my mom's up for it, that is. She wouldn't be happy if I just brought home a puppy."
Fuuka-san tapped her lips with her index finger, letting out a thoughtful hum.
"They were born at the beginning of July, so unfortunately, they can't leave their mother yet. There are psychological changes to the puppies if they're taken away too early. But… I was thinking of visiting during October."
"You are?" Ken asked, frowning.
This was news to him. It was nice that Fuuka-san was planning on visiting more but…
"Mm-hm." Fuuka-san nodded. "For the fourth. I always felt bad that I could never come to visit before, while I was studying at Tokyo U."
"Oh, is that your anniversary?" Anne-san asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's a… memorable date, that's for sure," Fuuka-san said slowly, ever so slightly wincing.
Ken bit his lip, trying not to think of the anniversary. Anne-san didn't seem to pick up on it, though.
"But if you're interested in taking in the puppy and your mother is open to the idea, I could always bring him down with me," Fuuka-san said with a kind smile.
"Shouldn't we give you somethin'?" Ryuji frowned, looking at Koromaru and then Hoshi. "They're both shiba inus, aren't they? Don't people pay a shit ton of money for purebred dogs? I feel kinda bad for just taking 'im."
"It's more important that they get good homes, not owners only interested in showing off a dog like it's a trophy," Shinjiro-san said darkly. "People have tried to offer us money for Koro, but that sure as hell ain't happening."
"That's really generous of you." Anne-san sighed longingly, pressing a hand to her cheek. "I wish that I could do the same, but my parents have a strict no pets policy. They hate the idea of dog or cat hair on the furniture."
She pulled a face at that. Ken didn't blame her. Ken had always loved animals. He honestly missed Koromaru's presence in Tokyo.
"You could always play with this little guy," Ren-san laughed. "Any idea for names, Ryuji?"
Ryuji scratched his nose, his forehead wrinkling as he thought. "Uh… How 'bout… Shoyu?"
"Shoyu?" Shinjiro-san said incredulously. "You wanna name him after soy sauce?"
"That is a very Ryuji-san thing to do." Ken shook his head.
"Aw, shuddup, Ken!" Ryuji-san huffed, pulling a face at Ken.
Ren-san and Anne-san just laughed at him, though.
"I dunno, it's pretty accurate," Anne-san teased.
"Shuddup! Names are hard, okay?!" Ryuji-san cried out. "Back me up, RenRen!"
Ren-san just smirked, folding his arms over his chest. "Eh… not feeling up to it."
"Traitor!" Ryuji-san's voice turned outraged.
Ken just shrugged. "I'm just saying, it's a very you thing to look to food for inspiration."
"Kinda have to agree with Ken, Ryuji." Ren-san's eyes were twinkling with barely contained laughter.
"Are you for real, man?!"
Thursday, August 25th, 2016
Futaba let out a loud squeak as she dropped a dish, catching Ren's attention.
"Futaba, are you okay?" Ren asked, looking to her in concern.
Futaba nodded slowly, biting her lip. "…It just startled me."
Sojiro just laughed. "Be more careful next time, yeah?"
Sometimes it was so… weird, how gentle Sojiro was with Futaba. It was the complete flip of how he had treated Ren when he had first moved out here.
"…What are you staring at?"
Ren tried for an innocent look. "Nothing. But Sojiro's right, Futaba, you need to be more careful. You don't have to rush, especially since there's not exactly a huge pile of dirty dishes."
"Haha, you're hilarious, Ren," Sojiro said dryly, before smacking him on the head with the dish rag he carried. "If you have time to joke around, you can brew coffee then."
Ren just grinned cheekily, before saluting him. "Sir, yes, sir!"
Sojiro looked ready to retort, but then the bell chimed. A middle aged man had arrive to the café.
"Hey, Boss! The usual, extra strong!" he called out, his voice jovial.
"Coming right up," Sojiro said, slipping into courteous mode. "Ren, watch Futaba, won't you?"
"I don't need to be watched," Futaba said sulkily, all while pouting.
Ren just grinned, patting her head. "Just keep it up, okay? I'll clean this up."
Futaba nodded, apparently determined to finish the dishes. Ren had finished sweeping up, when the customer spoke up.
"Sooo, another part-timer?" He laughed, shaking his head. "Man, smooth as always, huh? What number is she again?"
First of all, gross. Futaba was fifteen. Though Ren couldn't help but wonder… was Sojiro was really that much of a casanova?
"It's nothing like that," Sojiro sighed.
The customer started joking about how Sojiro apparently went for older women usually, and then he started rambling about some crap with Guatemala coffee.
"Ren, come on, don't stare," Sojiro scolded. "Bring him his coffee—"
He was cut off by a sudden scream.
"Yo, here's your coffee."
Ren turned to see that Futaba had taken the coffee… while wearing that ridiculous mask of hers. Where did that even come from…? He was pretty sure that Futaba hadn't brought that with her this morning. Did she have a back-up, then…?
"Where in the world did she…" Sojiro sighed, this time more resigned. "Hey, Futaba, how many times have I told you not to show up in front of people wearing that damn thing?"
The door suddenly opened, and in stepped Fuuka-san and Shinjiro-san. Shinjiro-san took one look at Futaba, before saying, "What the fuck is she wearing?"
"Um… I guess we came at a bad time…" Fuuka-san said slowly, all while wincing.
"Oh hey, Shinjiro-san, Fuuka-san," Ren greeted, waving at them. "Didn't figure you'd find us. We're kinda in a bad location."
"Why does it feel like you know half of the city by now?" Sojiro shook his head, before narrowing his eyes at Ren.
He looked fairly unimpressed with Ren's little quip.
"And you're not here to give wisecracks. You're here to work," he said sternly.
"Hey, I have a good reason," Ren defended. "Shinjiro-san is Ken's guardian, and he's dating Fuuka-san. She's visiting from Port Island."
For some reason, Sojiro seemed to stiffen at Port Island, before he looked at them. "Well, it's nice to meet you." He then tilted his head, looking at Shinjiro-san specifically. "…Though, aren't you on the young side to be a guardian?"
"And what's your point?" Shinjiro-san deadpanned, though his expression seemed to scream not this shit again.
He must get that a lot. Though Ren had to admit it was kinda weird. Who takes a look at a kid, and decides that they should adopt the kid because their relatives don't give a shit about them?
…Never mind.
"Nothing." Sojiro held up his hands in surrender. "But anyways, what can I get you?"
"One curry and two coffees?" Fuuka-san requested politely. "Ken-kun has told me that your curry is simply delicious."
"I'll determine that," Shinjiro-san muttered. "And Sakura, I've got a bone to pick with you—"
Fuuka-san sighed. "Shinji…"
"But Fuuka—" Shinjiro-san cut himself off, as Fuuka-san's expression became disappointed.
He started grumbling to himself, since apparently his girlfriend wasn't allowing him to be rude to Sojiro. Ren fought back a snicker. Ryuji was right… he was whipped.
"Anywayyy…" Sojiro drew out, looking confused at their apparently unspoken conversation.
He waved the couple to a booth. After they seated themselves, he gave them a genial smile.
"I'll prepare your curry now. Ren will take care of your coffee."
To emphasize his point, Ren stepped forward and gave them a little gave.
"Any cream or sugar?" Ren asked.
"Black," Shinjiro-san said shortly.
Fuuka-san let out a thoughtful hum, before answering. "Two creams and three sugars, please."
"Ooh, can I try making it?" Futaba asked eagerly, following Ren to behind the counter.
"We'll… practice first, okay?" Ren said quickly. "My first try wasn't great."
Sojiro had to walk him through the entire process, all while grumbling about people's reliance on instant coffee.
"Meanie," Futaba grumbled, a pout in her voice.
"You can bring it over to them," Ren reassured. "Though you should be more polite with the customer this time."
"Eh. We'll see."
"Futaba!" Ren couldn't help but laugh though.
Ren finished brewing the coffees and mixed in the requested amount of cream and sugar for Fuuka-san. He then handed them off to Futaba.
"Thank you, Futaba-chan." Fuuka-san smiled at her, even though Futaba set down the cup roughly, spilling a little bit of coffee.
"Huh?" Futaba tilted her head. "You know my name?"
"Ken-kun's mentioned you," she explained before picking up her cup and taking a careful sip. "He was worried about you for a while…"
Futaba was quiet for a moment. "I see…" she said slowly. "He seems nice. He knows his stuff about Feathermen Rangers."
"Yeah, he's a good kid," Shinjiro-san said absently, taking his own sip of coffee.
Shinjiro-san then stiffened when he realized that Ren was staring at him, before he narrowed his eyes.
"…Don't you dare tell him that I said that," he bit out, his voice turning threatening.
Someone was defensive. Ren had to bite his lip so he wouldn't start grinning like crazy.
"Aw, it's cute, Shinji." Fuuka-san leaned up to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "You don't have to get all embarrassed."
"I'm not embarrassed," he huffed.
"If it's not embarrassment… why are you blushing then?" Ren couldn't help but tease, even as Shinjiro-san glowered at him.
"Jeez, you're crowding," Sojiro scolded, coming up with a plate heaped with curry. "At least go behind the counter."
Fuuka-san picked up the fork and dug in. Her face lit up as she took a bite, her eyes practically glowing with delight.
"Mm, it's delicious!" She pressed a hand to her cheek, before letting out a content sigh.
She turned to Shinjiro-san, offering the fork covered with saucey rice.
"Shinji, you have to try. It really is delicious!" she urged.
Shinjiro-san looked unconvinced, even as he took the fork from her. Maybe he should be working as a food critic, instead of working at Crossroads.
He took a bite, and his face grew thoughtful. "It's… decent," he said grudgingly.
He took another bite, slowly chewing.
"Can taste cinnamon… saffron? There are a bunch of spices I'd never think to use in curry, too…" he mumbled out.
"There's a reason why it's the signature dish here," Sojiro said smugly.
Shinjiro-san's stare was flat. "And the only dish."
"It's a coffee shop," Sojiro retorted. "We don't need a huge variety of dishes."
"Shouldn't there be coffee cake or tiramisu?"
"Shinji, you hate sweets," Fuuka-san pointed out.
"No surprise there, you're like a bitter old man," Sojiro scoffed.
"So says the actual old man," Shinjiro-san shot back, and Ren had to bite down on his lip hard so he wouldn't burst out laughing.
Fuuka-san cried, "Shinji! Don't be rude!"
"Kids these days…" Sojiro grumbled.
"That's not helping your case, you know." Ren grinned at him.
Sojiro glared at him. "I didn't ask for your opinion."
Shinjiro-san and Fuuka-san continued their meal, all while taking time to talk to both Ren and Futaba. Ren wasn't sure how it happened, but Fuuka-san even managed to convince Futaba to take off the mask. Futaba seemed to really take a liking to her, for some reason…
"Phew…" Sojiro sighed, shaking his head. "This was an interesting day."
"I did good, though, didn't I?" Futaba said cheerfully.
"A few… hiccups, but overall, yeah."
Futaba beamed at him, before turning to Ren. "All right!" She pumped her fist. "I leveled up! This is one step closer to finishing the quest!"
Ren just grinned at her. "Great job, Futaba."
Saturday, August 27th, 2016
Message From: Futaba Sakura
[Futaba Sakura]: We need to talk
[Futaba Sakura]: I need to knowww
[Futaba Sakura]: Just are who the Shadow Operatives?
[Ken Amada]: I'll be at your house at 9:30 tomorrow
[Ken Amada]: We should talk then.
Ken had to take in several deep breaths, before knocking on the door. He could do this. He could do this.
But… would telling her really be such a bad thing? It'd be helpful if he had someone that knew about Shido. Maybe then he could convince everyone that it'd be better if they targeted Shido. But on the other hand, Mitsuru-san would not be happy if he just went and blabbed details to someone he didn't really know. She probably would get execution mad, with the Shadow Operatives being a secret organization. But on the other hand, the Investigation Team found out about them…
Maybe he should try to convince Mitsuru-san it'd be a good idea to tell them. They'd understand, wouldn't they? Shido was not who he seemed… He didn't know if he could convince that Shido would be a good target, just by claiming that there was more than met the eye.
The door suddenly swung open, making him jump. Futaba-san stared at him, her hair a tangled mess, and dark circles under her eyes.
"You," she ground out, "are. Evilllll."
"I'm evil for making you get up at 9:30?" Ken frowned.
"Why couldn't it be later?" she whined with a pout.
"Isn't Ren coming over, though?" Ken asked. "And you wanted to talk to me, didn't you?"
"Ugh. Fine." Futaba-san pouted again before turning on her heel and trudging inside.
Ken removed his shoes and followed her inside, shutting the door behind him. The air conditioning was a relief, if he was being honest. The heat really wasn't letting up. Port Island wasn't cool, but it had the sea breeze at least.
Futaba-san plopped onto the couch, patting the spot next to her.
"So… do you know what happened to my mom's research?" she blurted out as Ken sat down next to her. "What it was?! Come on, you've gotta know something!"
"Futaba-san, I never met your mother. I never heard of cognitive psience until you mentioned it," Ken said gently.
Futaba-san's eyes went wide. "Wha…? How can that be? My mom talked to the Shadow Operatives! Constantly!"
Ken fought the urge to sigh. Deeply. Why the hell did Isshiki-san talk to this to a thirteen year old? Furthermore, why did she bring Futaba with her when she talked with Mitsuru-san…?
"Futaba-san, who did you meet? Out of the Shadow Operatives?" he finally said.
"Um…" Futaba scrunched up her nose. "Mitsuru Kirijo. And a lady with auburn hair and red eyes. Miyako, I think?"
"Minako," Ken corrected. "But Futaba, look…"
He pressed a hand to his forehead as he struggled to find a way to phrase it. He didn't want to screw up, but he also knew that Futaba-san did deserve some kind of explanation.
He said slowly, "The Shadow Operatives are… complicated. When I had first awakened to my Persona, I had joined a Shadow fighting team called SEES. That team would move on to become the Shadow Operatives. The Shadow Operatives are meant to fight Shadows at a larger scale."
Futaba-san tilted her head. "The things you fought in my Palace, right?"
"Mm-hm." Ken nodded. "When I first gained my Persona, Shadows lurked on Port Island. The team—SEES—had been dedicated to fight them, to protect people from falling victim to the Shadows."
"So you were kinda like superheroes?" Futaba-san's eyes went wide. "You saved people from being killed, right?"
"Well… not exactly." Ken pursed his lips together, trying to gather together his thoughts.
He had to try and explain about SEES, in a way that he couldn't give things away. This felt so much harder than coming up with the half-lies he told everyone else a month ago.
Ken sighed. "You know about the mental shutdowns, right? How people have been causing accidents due to it… it's because their Shadow has been killed."
"Shadow?" Futaba-san repeated.
"Shadows are… the wild, untamed part of humans," Ken said. "But it's still a part of your psyche. If you destroy your Shadow… you become… soulless. Lifeless."
Futaba-san's eyes widened. "But my mom's research… I remember her talking about it. If you remove the core of someone's twisted cognition, the twisted cognition will disappear. How is that different?"
"Killing a Shadow and defeating it is different, from what I understand," Ken said. "Though, honestly I've only witnessed one change of heart, and that was Kaneshiro. He was defeated and they took his Treasure, what your mother called the 'core'. I think the Shadow is forced to return to Kaneshiro, while his Treasure was taken from him."
Futaba-san tilted her head. "I guess that makes sense. This stuff is prettyyy complicated."
"It is," Ken agreed. "I've been a Persona-user for a long time, and I don't think I'll ever understand the full extent."
He bit his lip. Maybe it'd be safe to talk about Tartarus? Vaguely, of course.
Ken swallowed down the lump in his throat. He hated this. He hated trying to live a lie, it only being safe to talk to Shinjiro-san about this kind of thing.
"To be honest, I'm not even sure how the Shadow nest had been eradicated from Port Island," he mumbled out.
Futaba-san scratched her nose. "Just how long have you been a Persona-user, anyways?"
"Seven years, but I haven't fought Shadows in years until I came to Tokyo," Ken said.
"Seven years?!" Futaba-san's eyes went as wide as saucers; the effect was magnified by her huge glasses. "That's crazy! You're eighteen now, so you fought Shadows when you were eleven?!"
Ken nodded. "I was. It wasn't easy convincing the others to let me fight, but…"
Though that had been all Ikutsuki. He still could remember everyone's reactions quite vividly. None of them had been thrilled with the idea, due to his age.
Futaba-san chewed her bottom lip. "The others… Like Mitsuru Kirijo, that Minako lady, and I'm guessing the other people on the list."
"What list?" Ken frowned.
"Oops." Futaba-san's hand moved to her mouth, before she lowered it. She sheepishly smiled. "Um… I may have hacked into the database?"
Oh. Right. At least he knew how Futaba-san had found out about him. Seeing that he had been a Shadow Operative for barely a year before he left the organization.
Ken sighed. "Okay, we need to talk about your little habit."
"What do you mean?" She frowned.
"You shouldn't have a bug at LeBlanc." Ken frowned sternly at her. "We talked about it being due to you were keeping an eye on Sakura-san, but either way, it's an invasion of privacy."
"I wouldn't have contacted you otherwise!" Futaba-san protested. "I wouldn't have found about the Phantom Thieves!"
Ken just raised an eyebrow.
"Ugh. Fiiiine." She huffed. "I'll deactivate the bug…"
Then she grumbled out something that sounded suspiciously close to killjoy. Ken just rolled his eyes. This was for the better.
Considering how Ren and Anne may… continue forward with their relationship, it'd be better for Futaba-san in the long run. So she wouldn't get traumatized by overhearing something she shouldn't.
…Then again, didn't Futaba-san spend a lot of time on the internet…? Either way, it'd be better for Futaba-san's sanity, even if she wasn't so innocent.
"Good." Ken smiled at her, before he stood up. "I probably should get going, though… Don't want Ren or Sakura-san to ask any weird questions about why I'm here."
Futaba-san just nodded so he turned towards the door.
"…Have you told anyone about what happened on Port Island?"
Ken slowly turned to her. Futaba-san was smiling hesitantly.
"You… You should tell us sometime. I-I'd like to know. And I think the others would too." Futaba adjusted her glasses, continuing to smile nervously. "It doesn't have to be today but…"
Ken's stomach twisted at her words.
This was wrong. Not telling them the truth. They deserved the full truth. He did trust them… But he was holding back this.
Maybe he could convince Mitsuru-san. Mitsuru-san would understand, wouldn't she? She had been fairly understanding and patient with him. The Shadow Operatives was a secret organization but…
It'd be better in the long run if they worked together… He just had to convince Mitsuru-san that they could be trusted. They weren't going to abuse the Metaverse. He was positive about that... That was why she was so adamant on the secrecy, why his mission was originally intended to be reconnaissance. He could convince Mitsuru-san… right?
"Not today," Ken said quietly. "But… soon."
He just hoped he hadn't lied to Futaba-san...
P3D shows that Ken buys bento lunches from convenience stores, with Minato wondering if that's healthy for him. And given how Shinji is about eating healthily… suffice to say, he wasn't too happy when he found out.
But next chapter will wrap up summer vacation! The next chapter is going to be fun, since it'll involve the Feathermen fan event and the beach episode.