Chapter 19
Back To School
Thursday, September 1st, 2016
Ken stifled a yawn as he trudged towards Shujin Academy. The first day of the semester always sucked… He was already missing sleeping in.
"Morning, Ken!" He turned to see Ryuji jog up to him.
"Good morning, Ryuji," he said absentmindedly.
Ryuji suddenly cocked his head. "What's with the new look?"
Ken flushed before tugging at the collar of his shirt. He had thought it'd be better if he wore something that was more... him, instead of completely sticking to the dress code. Especially since he had wanted to be more open and honest with everyone. So he had dug out the orange dress shirt he wore during summer while attending Gekkoukan. He had thought it'd be better to blend in, so he hadn't made many alterations with the Shujin uniform.
"I just needed a change, that's all," Ken said.
"Well, it looks good on ya!" Ryuji gave him a thumbs up, before leaning in close to whisper, "But dude, I got up early today to go and jog, and you wouldn't believe the things I heard people talk 'bout us," Ryuji whispered to him.
Ken just blinked. Oh… right. He had kinda zoned out during the train ride here…
"Dude, isn't this amazing?!" Ryuji asked, slinging an arm over his shoulders. "It's like, a complete flip from their attitudes when we left for the summer!"
Ken just raised an eyebrow at Ryuji. "Someone's excited. Especially for the first day of the semester."
Ryuji just gave him a little shove. "Aw, shut it," he grumbled. "I ain't that lazy. Don't listen to Anne!"
"Duly noted, Ryuji," he deadpanned.
He had to admit it still felt a little foreign to omit the honorific…
Ryuji let out a laugh. "…Damn, still getting used to that."
Ken gave him a side-way look. "I could go back to calling you Ryuji-san," he deadpanned.
"It was just a joke! Sheesh, lighten up!"
Ken opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by a couple of gossiping students.
"Seriously, man! I really can't believe the Phantom Thieves could be students here!"
"Yeah, they took down Kamoshida first. I wonder who their next target is."
Ryuji just nudged him, a wide grin on his face. Ken just rolled his eyes at him, before he began to walk again. He didn't want to be late.
"You need to work on your poker face, Ryuji," he said blandly.
"Yeah, yeah…" he grumbled. "But you got the text, right? About us getting together today, after school?"
"Yeah, of course," Ken answered. "We're going to my place, after all."
"Is Shinjiro-san gonna be there?"
"He's working at Crossroads tonight, so yeah. He probably won't stick long, though. He starts work at five."
"Jeez, he's a busy one," Ryuji grumbled, as they passed the gate and entered the main building. "I think we'll have to figure out what Makoto's sis's next move is."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
Despite himself, Ken frowned. They would have to do research on Shido too. Find out just what his Palace was as well. But they had to prioritize and figure out how to outmaneuver Makoto's sister…
"Ryuji!" Anne and Ren were standing at the foot of the stairs, waving at their fellow junior.
"See you later, man!" Ryuji said with a cheerful wave, before jogging over to Ren and Anne.
They began to chat as they ascended the stairs to the second floor. Ken watched them go with a slight smile before heading for 3-D. He pushed the door open, and he immediately spotted Makoto sitting at her desk.
"Good morning," Ken greeted, sliding into his seat as Makoto turned to a fresh page on her notebook.
Makoto smiled at him. "Good morning, Ken—"
She then paused as the chattering of their classmates grew even louder. They were talking about the Phantom Thieves. It kinda reminded him of the aftermath of Kamoshida's confession, just up to eleven.
Makoto sighed, shaking her head. "They really can't stop talking about the Phantom Thieves… can they?"
"Apparently not." Ken shook his head. "…Ryuji told me he overheard some people talking about it while he was on a morning jog, too."
Makoto chewed on her lip for a moment, deep in thought. "I don't know if you heard about the article written about Shujin but…" She shook her head. "It's… bad. Principal Kobayakawa is laying low, because of it."
"Shujin's reputation is really plummeting…" Ken said slowly, before glancing at his friend, "…isn't it?"
Makoto winced, before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It looks like it. People seem to be working themselves into a frenzy about how the Phantom Thieves took down Medjed too…"
Ken winced. Maybe Shinjiro-san had a point when he called the interest in the Phantom Thieves almost cult-like…
The hours quickly flew by, even though the teachers had to constantly scold their classmates about focusing on the Phantom Thieves instead of the class. It actually reminded him of his Gekkoukan classmates gossiping about the Phantom Thieves' debut.
"Ren, shouldn't we go get Futaba first…?" Anne asked as they boarded the train together. "Yongen-jaya isn't that far away."
"Nah." Ren shook his head. "Yusuke texted me and told me that he could go get Futaba since Kosei apparently let out early today."
"Hopefully they won't make a scene," Ken muttered.
"Come on, they're not that bad, Ken," Ryuji laughed.
Ken just stared at him. "They fought over lobsters, Ryuji. Lobsters."
"I mean, they're in a packed train," Anne said. "I don't think they would find something to argue over…" She then paused, frowning. "…At least I hope so."
The train ride to Shibuya was short, and the walk to the apartment complex was lively. At one point, Anne had gotten sidetracked by crepes being half off today, forcing Ren and Ryuji to all but drag her away.
"Honestly, Anne, just the cream alone is so fattening…" Makoto sighed, shaking her head at the younger girl.
"They're so good though," Anne moaned. "I can't help it. They call to me!"
"Don't be dramatic, Anne."
"But they do!" Anne whined.
Ren just laughed, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Guess we'll have to come up with a calorie burning routine for you, yeah?"
"Yeah, if Ryuji would just—"
"I ain't a trainer!" Ryuji retorted. "Come up with your own routine!"
"You're an athlete!"
"So is Ken! Why aren't you bugging him about this?!"
"Please don't drag me into this," Ken sighed, cradling his face with his palm, all while Ren and Makoto laughed at Anne and Ryuji's bickering.
Then he looked to Ren.
"But Ren, did Yusuke mention if he's going to be in the lobby or upstairs?"
"I think upstairs?" Ren said. "I mean, more privacy."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Ken began to dig out for his key as they approached the building.
"The friend you mentioned before…" Makoto said. "The one who's giving you the place to stay… it's Kirijo-san, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is," Ken answered with a nod, before lowering his voice. "She felt that she needed to provide lodging since I was doing this for her…"
They then entered the elevator, riding it to the top floor. The elevator doors opened, revealing Yusuke and Futaba. Futaba had brought her laptop and she was tapping furiously away at it.
"Hey, guys," Ren greeted, before cocking an eyebrow at them. "…I hope you didn't run into any trouble."
"None at all." Yusuke shook his head. "Futaba was rather surprised when I had showed up at her door."
"Such a patronizing Inari…" Futaba grumbled, shooting him an annoyed glance. "I can handle myself just fine! I don't need to be babysat by him!"
"Hey, there's nothing bad about needing help," Anne said gently. "Yusuke was just concerned."
Though honestly, he did sympathize a little with Futaba. He still remembered how everyone else seemed to fuss over him, especially during those grueling training sessions in Tartarus. He remembered Akihiko-san and Shinjiro-san giving him a ride on their backs when he felt exhausted to his very core, a few times. They had ignored Ken's protests that he was fine.
In hindsight, he realized they were right but still…
"Come on, let's get inside." Ken unlocked the door to let everyone inside.
They removed their shoes, before finding seats on the two couches. The juniors squished into the larger couch, with Morgana crawling into Anne's lap, while he, Makoto, and Futaba sat together.
"So, what's this meeting about?" Yusuke asked.
"Okay, so…" Ren rubbed his chin for a moment. "I was thinking. We need a game plan about our next step. Everyone is watching us, so we can't make a misstep."
"Yeah, seriously!" Ryuji grinned. "Look at us! The Phan-site is getting so many hits now!"
"And our rating is at sixty percent now!" Anne exclaimed. "This is honestly amazing!"
"Seriously, we're like heroes now!" Ryuji's eyes were gleaming with excitement now. "We've really made it big!"
"Hey, calm down," Ren chided with a frown. "But yeah, we've got a lot to think about. There's the black masked guy running around…"
"Sis…" Makoto said almost reluctantly.
"And Shido…" Futaba's voice came out as a hiss.
"So, we'll have to deal with them in succession," Ren said. "Dealing with Makoto's sister seems to be the best way. She just…"
Ren sighed, glancing at Makoto. He had a deep frown on his face.
"No offense, Makoto, but she's honestly kinda scary. The way she seems to have a one track mind when it comes to investigating…"
"No, I… I understand," Makoto murmured. "Sis came home in a foul mood, right after Medjed withdrew their threat. She was angry because we made 'fools' out of the police department… the SIU…"
"The SIU?" Ryuji repeated. "What's that?"
"The Special Investigation Unit," Makoto answered. "It's an elite team meant to deal with government scandals and equally serious cases."
Ryuji let out a low whistle. "Damn. How old is your sister again?"
"Twenty-five," Makoto answered.
"The same age as Shinjiro-san, then," Ken commented.
"Jeez…" Anne winced before wrapping an arm around herself. "…That's honestly kinda scary."
"But what can we do?" Yusuke asked. "If your sister is tied to such a powerful group… I doubt that she would be forthcoming with you."
"Well, I can't exactly say you're wrong, Yusuke…" Makoto heaved out a heavy sigh, closing her eyes. "I'll be honest. I'm lucky if I see her three nights out of the week. She's that dedicated to work…"
Ken winced. So… Niijima-san was the workaholic type, was she?
"There's nothing wrong with having a passion for work but…" Morgana studied Makoto with a concerned frown.
Makoto shook her head. "But that's not it."
That… reminded him of how Minako-san and Yukari-san often got onto Mitsuru-san's case for being so hyper focused on her work. But somehow he doubted that Niijima-san had that kind of luxury.
The thought was… saddening.
"She was already looking into us, with her interest in cognitive psience," Morgana mentioned. "We have to discover what our next move is."
"So we'll basically be playing chess with her," Ren said. "Or shogi. I'm more familiar with shogi."
Shogi huh? Ren didn't strike Ken to be the shogi-playing type.
"The question is… how?" Ken asked. "If she won't tell Makoto…"
Futaba let out a mischievous chuckle. "Silly KenKen—"
"Don't call me that," Ken interrupted.
KenKen was a nickname coined by Teddie-san and he did not need more people to start using it.
Futaba just flapped a hand at him. "But! I have a solution to that!"
She whipped out a… USB drive, from the looks of it. She waved it around for a moment, making Ken raise an eyebrow. Just what had she cooked up?
"Your sister has a laptop for work, right?" she asked, looking at Makoto. "Just pop this little baby in and it'll copy everything on the hard drive. You don't even have to sign into the computer."
That… That was a little uncomfortable.
"I don't know about this…" Ken said uncertainly.
"Come on, Ken!" Ryuji shook his head. "I mean, Futaba's solution is a pretty good one! And it's not like we're looking to see if she has any sexy pictures—"
"Ryuji!" Makoto exclaimed, looking rather horrified. "My sister… she's not like that, okay?!"
"But will you do it?" Futaba asked.
Makoto sighed. "All right. I'll do it. I don't know when my sister will come home though…"
"Don't rush," Ren said, giving Makoto a reassuring smile. "I mean, if she's away, she could be strategizing… or something."
"Yeah, that's true." Makoto took the USB from Futaba.
But despite her agreement… Ken couldn't help but be worried. They were basically asking her to invade her sister's privacy.
He didn't know the whole story with Niijima-san but… He had already seen what Makoto is like with her sister. Would all of these secrets wear down on her eventually?
Friday, September 2nd, 2016
You would think with a day to talk about the Phantom Thieves would be enough. But apparently not.
In all honesty, Ken found it… disturbing. Surely, there was something else to talk about… This interest wasn't natural. People talked like they were almost in a fever.
It felt almost… suffocating.
Ken stood up, making Makoto glance at him in surprise.
"Ken?" Makoto studied him closely, concern in her red eyes. "What's wrong?"
"It… It's nothing." Ken winced, forcing himself to smile reassure her. "I need some air."
"Are you feeling sick?" Makoto pressed.
"No, it's just… I need a break," Ken said wearily, before waving his hand.
Makoto's eyes swept over to their gossiping classmates, before her eyes filled with understanding. "I agree with that," she said quietly. "Can I come with you, then?"
Ken just smiled at her. "You don't even have to ask."
They ended up going to the roof, and Ken found himself staring at the skyline. Shujin offered a nice view and it really highlighted how big Tokyo was. You could see everything on Port Island if you stood on the roof of Gekkoukan.
"What's on your mind?" Makoto asked, looking at him in concern.
Ken just frowned. "A lot actually…" he said quietly.
Ken pursed his lips, trying to find a way to voice his thoughts.
"Everyone seems to be expecting us to go for someone even bigger than Medjed. Their expectations are… suffocating. And…" He shrugged. "…It's kinda stupid, but I found myself thinking about Port Island, looking out here."
"It's not stupid," Makoto contradicted. "You grew up there, didn't you? All your life?"
She looked at him straight in the eye before offering him a soft smile.
"There's nothing wrong with missing Port Island. You must have fond memories there."
Ken nodded in response. For some reason, the memory of the time they spent together on that last walk with Koromaru floated to his mind. And for some reason, he found himself talking about it.
"Just a couple nights before we were supposed to be fighting with Nyx, we went on a walk. We ended up at the local shrine. There was a playground built right next there, so we kinda… stayed there." He chuckled. "Akihiko-san scolded me for going down the slide in a 'boring' way."
"Boring?" Makoto parroted. "How is that even possible."
A snicker then escaped him. "He took off his shirt in the middle of the winter, too. He thought he could use it to slide down faster."
He recalled how Minako-san was obviously all for it, while Mitsuru-san and Yukari-san yelled at him to put his shirt back on. That was a good memory.
The sound of Makoto's laughter drew him out of his musings, however.
"Akihiko-san sounds like a… character." Makoto covered her mouth with a hand, even as her eyes danced with laughter. "He's childhood friends with Shinjiro-san… right?"
"Yeah, that's right. They've known each other for over twenty years now. They would get into the silliest arguments…" Ken mused. "Like, who could open a pickle jar the fastest. I think one time they tried to see who withstand standing next to a furnace the longest."
"I… I can't imagine that," Makoto laughed once more, only for her expression to grow somber. "Hey, Ken? Do you… regret coming to Tokyo? Getting entangled with all of this…"
Ken shook his head. "I… I know this isn't the safest thing to do but it feels right. Besides…"
He glanced in her direction before offering her a small smile.
"I wouldn't have met you and everyone else if I had stayed on Port Island."
Makoto looked a little surprised at what he said, but before she could say anything more, the door suddenly opened.
Haru-san was standing at the other side. She blinked at them, looking a little take aback. "Oh… I didn't expect anyone to be here…"
"Hello, Haru-san," Makoto greeted, before tilting her head slightly. "Are you here to tend to the flowers?"
Haru-san shook her head. "Actually, I'm here for the vegetables!"
She then beamed. The pride shining in her eyes was almost… motherly.
"The first crop should be ready for harvest!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, before pointing to where the crops were apparently growing.
Ken looked over to see that she had indeed cultivated quite an impressive crop of vegetables. The tomatoes especially were massive too. Maybe not the prettiest tomatoes, but the size was incredible.
"Wow… these look incredible," Makoto complimented before stepping closer to take a better look. "You grew them all by yourself!"
"Mm-hm!" Her head bobbed, before clasping her hands behind her back. "All natural too!"
"They must be full of nutrients…" Ken mused.
"Shinjiro-san would approve, no?" Makoto asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
Haru-san tilted her head. "Who would that be?"
Ken answered, "He's my guardian. He likes to cook. He's trying to save up money to open up a restaurant at some point."
Her eyes lit up in excitement. "If he's really such a good cook, why don't you bring some of the vegetables to him? I would love to hear some input from a cook!"
"I didn't mean—" Ken began to protest, but she was already plucking a couple of the ripest tomatoes from the vine. "Shouldn't you be taking them? You grew them…"
"I insist," she added, before all but pressing them into Ken's hands. "Tell me what your guardian thinks!"
"But—!" Ken tried to protest again, but Makoto caught his eye.
She smiled in amusement, but she mouthed "Take them" to him. He sighed, before accepting the tomatoes.
"Very well. I'll let you know. Thank you."
"Oh no, thank you!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly at him. But then she seemed to falter for a moment, before looking at them with curious eyes. "Though, Amada-kun, Niijima-san… just what are you doing here, exactly?"
"Well…" Makoto pursed her lips. "We just needed a break from all of the speculating about the Phantom Thieves."
Haru-san bit her lip. "So… you aren't fans?"
Ken shook his head, waving his hands for a moment. "That's not it. We both think the Phantom Thieves' work is… admirable. It's just a bit tiring of hearing about it so much."
"I can understand that…" She nodded. "Though if you admire the Phantom Thieves…" She clasped her hands behind her back again. "What do you think of the poll? Have you submitted any names?"
Ken and Makoto shared an uneasy look. The poll… It honestly unnerved Ken. He had overheard people talking about just submitting their boss's name to the website. That wasn't why the Phantom Thieves came to be.
"…We haven't," Makoto said cautiously. "What about you, Haru-san?"
She just smiled sadly. "I have. There are so many people in this world that should have their hearts changed…"
Ken frowned. Just what was she hiding…?
"So… it turns out that the school trip will be to Hawaii, after all."
Makoto rifled through the papers, her eyes going back and forth as she skimmed the contents.
"So who goes?" Ken asked.
"Just the second-years," Makoto answered.
Ken raised an eyebrow. That was odd. He always figured it'd be two grades going on the school trip like Gekkoukan.
"So it doesn't really pertain to us." She then let out a light laugh. "I suppose we'll have to ask Ren, Ryuji, and Anne to take pictures, huh?"
"Yeah, looks like it—"
Ken was suddenly interrupted by the door sliding open, revealing a woman in her late twenties, early thirties with dark, unkempt hair.
"Oh, Miss Kawakami." Makoto bowed her head in greeting. "Is there something Principal Kobayakawa needed…?"
"No, no, it's nothing like that, Niijima-san." Miss Kawakami shook her head, before folding her arms over her chest.
She tried to smile at them, but it was… strained. She honestly looked pretty exhausted.
"But as you know… the article written about Shujin Academy has led to some suspicion. Most of the faculty is required to remain here. So we're lacking some chaperones. You two are both dedicated students, so will you come and be chaperones?"
Ken frowned. "Well… if you really have need of us."
"Thank you." Miss Kawakami looked too relieved. "Seriously… thank you."
Makoto waved her off. "I-It's no problem…"
Miss Kawakami bid them farewell, leaving them alone in the room. Ken just turned to Makoto. "That was unprofessional."
"Oh, stop." Makoto huffed. "You know that the situation is… difficult. And it's too late to cancel the trip all together…"
"I suppose," Ken sighed. "Looks like we'll be going to Hawaii too, then."
Makoto just smiled. "Let's make some good memories there."
Sunday, September 4th, 2016
"Do you know a Tsukasa?"
The friendly promoter's face suddenly darkened before hissing out, "Tsukasa… that bastard…"
"So, you know him?" Makoto asked.
The promoter just shook his head.
"It's the sake bottle trick, isn't it?" he said wearily.
Sake bottle… That was just like with Eiko!
He looked sternly at both Makoto and Ren. "Get that girl out of there. He's known for wrecking lives he breaks a sake bottle, and then ends up selling his latest girl's life to pay it back." He then scowled, a single hand clenching into a fist. "It… happened to one of my friends. I never saw her again."
Makoto felt a pit form in her stomach. That was just awful…
Makoto slowly inhaled. But this was it. She had the proof she needed.
"Will this work as enough proof, Makoto?" Ren suddenly asked.
Makoto looked at Ren. "Come on, Eiko's shift is almost over."
She hoped that her plan worked…
Eiko emerged from the building, raising an eyebrow at them. "What do you want?"
Makoto winced. She was still mad about her refusing to give her some money, wasn't she…
"Um… Eiko… look." She took a deep breath. "W-We did some investigating into Tsukasa. He's infamous for tricking girls into debt and forcing them to sell themselves."
"Are you serious?" Eiko demanded, narrowing her eyes. "Ugh! I've had enough of your lying bullshit, Makoto!"
Makoto winced. She wasn't lying! Why couldn't Eiko see that?
"We spoke to a club promoter around here," Ren said.
Makoto nodded. "He said that Tsukasa ruined the life of a friend of his."
Eiko's mouth twisted and looked like she wanted to retort, but Makoto pressed forward.
"It'll start off as little… but it'll keep piling up. Eventually, he'll ask you to sell your body!" Makoto took a step forward and put a hand on Eiko's shoulder. "Eiko, please, I was just worried about you—"
"Shut up!" Eiko snapped, before wrenching her arm away.
"Eiko—" Makoto tried to say, but Eiko wouldn't let her talk.
"Just shut up, Makoto!" She shook her head. "Forget this… I have a date with Tsukasa today, anyways."
But then they suddenly heard approaching footsteps.
"Hey, did I make you wait, babe? Came a little late after your text but I guess you're already here…" He then glanced over at Makoto and Ren, before wrapping an arm around Eiko's waist. "Oh, hey, I remember you guys. Want to stop by my club? It'll be a blast!"
"They were lying about you, honey." Eiko frowned. "They made up all of this stuff about you tricking girls into debt… and selling themselves. But that's just a big lie, right?"
"Huh…? They seriously spouted that kind of crap?" He shook his head, smiling at Eiko. "Listen to me… I'd never lie to you, princess."
Makoto narrowed her eyes at Tsukasa. "It's always princess, isn't it? Why don't you ever call her by her real name? Or are there too many princesses to remember by name?"
Tsukasa was silent for a moment, but then he smiled at Eiko. "Come on, I know you! You just texted me, remember? I'd never forget you, Makoto."
Hook, line, sinker.
"I knew it…" Makoto tucked her hair behind her ear. "I was the one to text you. I mimicked Eiko's texting style, so you'd think I was her."
She took a step forward, staring down Tsukasa. She would make him confess to it all.
"Admit it. Every girl you get money from is your princess. You have too many princesses that you can't even remember their names!"
"You see now… don't you?" Ren asked. "Tsukasa is just tricking you, Eiko!"
"B-But you tricked him!" Eiko protested, shaking her head hard. She was in denial. "What do you know about love, huh? Tsukasa is all that I have!"
"Snap out of it!" Makoto pleaded. "Eiko, you're too good for him! He has you wrapped around his finger, but that's not true! 'Tsukasa is all that I have.' That's not true! You know it's not true!"
"I…"
Tsukasa then growled, glaring daggers at Makoto. "I'm really getting tired of your bullshit!" He then stalked forward. "Someone oughta shut your mouth!"
Eiko let out a squeak. "T-Tsukasa?"
Ren tensed up, but in the end he didn't have to do a thing.
A tanned hand suddenly grabbed onto Tsukasa's wrist, the shadow of its owner looming over Tsukasa.
"S-Shinjiro-san?" Makoto gasped.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Shinjiro-san growled out, his grip tightening on Tsukasa's wrist. "Tryin' to hit a girl like that?"
"Who the hell are you?" Tsukasa tried to struggle out of Shinjiro-san's grip, but Shinjiro-san just held on tighter. "This bitch… she's selling me out!"
"A host, huh?" Shinjiro-san looked him up and down, his lip curling with disgust.
Then he looked at Eiko, who still looked like she was at a loss, and then back to Tsukasa.
"You're a piece of shit," he said flatly. "Aiming to use a girl like that, huh?"
Tsukasa looked uneasy. "I don't have to answer to you!"
"Tch, and you don't even deny it." Shinjiro-san stared at him. "Give me one reason not to beat the shit out of you right now. Someone who targets high school girls like that…"
He suddenly let go of Tsukasa's wrist. He glared menacingly at Tsukasa before cracking his knuckles.
"They're nothing but scum."
Tsukasa let out a yelp, staggering away from them.
"Makoto… why?!" Eiko's eyes began to fill with tears. "Why did you…? Tsukasa is the only one who cares about me!"
She choked back a sob, even as the tears began to roll down her face.
"You drove him away!" she accused, pointing a finger at Makoto.
"Eiko, please—" Makoto extended a hand to her friend, but Eiko just smacked it away.
"You wouldn't understand!" she yelled, now angrily wiping away her tears. "You have a boyfriend, good friends… you're the damn student council president! I have nothing! My parents don't care about me, just throw money at me so I don't have to bother them… You… You have everything! It's not fair! Why did you take away Tsukasa too?!"
A protest was on the tip of her tongue, but it died when she saw the look on Eiko's face. She really felt that she had nothing, didn't she? That she was all alone…
"That's not true." Shinjiro-san approached Eiko. "Look, Tsukasa or whatever his face is… he's scum. He was only tryin' to use you. He was taking advantage of you, because you thought you were alone. But that ain't true."
He looked over to Makoto.
"Niijima cared enough to look into this, because she didn't think that he sounded right. She stuck her neck out for you."
"I…" Eiko hung her head. "…I'm sorry, Makoto." She rubbed her eyes. "Y-You're right, Mister… I'm sorry."
She then bit her lip, before fresh tears welled up in her eyes.
"I-I'm sorry, but my head's all messed up… I'm just gonna go home…"
Without another word, she turned on her heel and rushed away from them.
"Eiko…!"
"Let her go, Makoto." Ren grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. "She needs time to think this over…"
"Dude, did you see that?"
"Isn't that the guy who bartends at Crossroad?"
"I always thought he was scary…"
"But that other guy tried to hit that girl! What was that about?"
"Oh, jeez…" Ren muttered, shaking his head. "Sorry about dragging you into this, Shinjiro-san…"
Shinjiro-san just looked unimpressed with the gossiping. "Come on, let's get you to somewhere quiet." He jerked his head down the road. "And we're gonna to have a little chat while doing so."
Makoto couldn't help but feel trepidation at the stern look on his face. This would probably be worse than Sae's lectures…
She was right, of course. Shinjiro-san lectured them the whole walk, scolding them for being reckless, not going to anyone else for help. He finally ran out of steam, when they reached the place where Shinjiro-san seemed to be heading for, a bar called Crossroads.
"…I'm sorry for getting all worked up like that," Makoto sighed. "That's why I always try to remain composed… or else I get carried away as you saw back there…"
"Reminds me of a certain someone I know," Shinjiro-san muttered under his breath, before setting two glasses of water before them.
Makoto just looked at him curiously. Really? Who?
"Don't be," Ren said, catching her attention. "It's not good to bottle up your feelings like that, Makoto."
Makoto pursed her lips together. "I suppose… But I'm surprised that you're familiar with this. You… You know so much…"
"A little too much, if you asked me," Shinjiro-san said, eyeing Ren.
"Hey, at least I'm not making guys just about piss their pants," Ren said with a cheeky smile.
"Don't push it, Amamiya."
Makoto couldn't help but chuckle. But her smile quickly faded away.
"I really know too little," Makoto sighed. "You have so much more life experience than me, Ren. And you're younger than me…"
She then shifted in her seat, wrapping an arm around herself. She picked up her glass before taking a sip.
"Honestly, getting to know you and Eiko has given me a lot to think about," she said.
No… It was her whole experience with being a Phantom Thief. Her main motivation was to help Sae but she was grateful for the other things her experiences have taught her so far.
"There's so much you can miss by burying your head in a book…"
"There are just some things that life will have to teach you," Ren said simply. "It's not in the books."
"Yes." Makoto nodded. "Even after all of this… I still struggle to reach out to people. And I still don't understand…"
Makoto cut herself off, biting her lip.
Love… She didn't understand it now. She knew that Ren and Anne adored each other, that they supported each other through their own personal struggles. But… how did you know that you felt romantic attraction towards someone?Even when Ren held her hand, when he was posing as her boyfriend, she didn't really feel anything different.
"You'll find someone someday," Ren said, giving her an encouraging smile. "There's no need to rush."
His eyes then softened. It didn't take a genius to put together who he was thinking of.
"Trust me, when you do… it's the best feeling."
He'd know, wouldn't he? At least that was another good thing coming out of this… Ren and Anne would finally be able to date in the open. She still felt bad that they had to wait nearly a month…
"Mm. I suppose you're right—"
But then the door suddenly pushed open.
"Shinjiro-san!"
Shinjiro-san paused in pouring a drink for another customer, setting down the bottle before he looked at his ward. "Ken? What are you doing here?"
Ken just gave him a wry smile, before holding up a bento box. "Someone forgot their dinner today… I didn't want you to go hungry, since your shift ends at one in the morning."
The woman wearing a kimono behind the bar just raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, so this is the kid you're taking care of, Aragaki? He certainly looks like a smart boy," she remarked.
Ken gave his guardian an annoyed look now, before handing the box to Shinjiro-san.
He demanded, "What have you been talking about behind my back?"
The woman just chuckled. "It's nothing bad, honey, I promise."
"I'll have to take your word for it," Ken sighed, before stepping closer to Makoto and Ren. "Though, what are you guys doing here?"
"We… um…" Makoto bit her lip.
Ken hadn't been thrilled with what she was planning on doing before, so she couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious.
"W-We kinda caused a scene when confronting Tsukasa…" she managed to mumble out.
"He nearly hit Niijima," Shinjiro-san said flatly. "Probably would've if I hadn't caught him in the near act."
"He what?!"
Makoto caught his hand, which caught his attention.
"Ken, it's fine. I'm not hurt, thanks to Shinjiro-san…" She looked up at him. "He didn't lay a finger on me. It's sweet of you to be worried, but I'm okay."
Ken looked down at her, pink flushing his cheeks, but he didn't pull away. "As long as you're okay," he finally said, before he sighed. "But Makoto, I really wish you wouldn't be so reckless…"
Ren just gave him a playful smile. "You could use a walk on the wild side once in a while, you know."
"Oh hell no," Shinjiro-san said flatly. "Ken makes me worry enough already. I don't need you to fill ideas like that in his head."
Ken just rolled his eyes at his guardian. "Thank you for having so much faith in me."
"But you should get home," Shinjiro-san said. "It's gonna get dark sooner than later."
"Okay, Dad." Ren apparently couldn't resist teasing Shinjiro-san, all while flashing his trademark grin at him.
"Watch it, Amamiya," Shinjiro-san snapped, before glowering at Ren.
"Are you two children done?" Ken deadpanned.
"Okay, okay, I'm done." Ren held up his hands with a chuckle. Then he looked at Makoto. "Like I said… you don't have to rush, Makoto."
"Rush…?" Ken frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"U-Um, nothing!" Makoto blurted out, feeling her face flush for some reason.
The idea of Ken knowing what they were talking about was… embarrassing. He'd probably think it was silly…
"Okay…?" Ken asked slowly.
He looked pretty confused, but he was willing to let it slide, at least.
"Well, if that's the case, why don't we head home together, then?" he asked.
"It is getting pretty late," Shinjiro-san said. "You don't want to be in Shinjuku late at night."
"You're right…" Makoto agreed, before she stood up. She bowed before the two adults. "Thank you for having us."
"Oh, it's nothing." The woman waved her hand. "Besides…" She nodded in Ren's direction. "He's no stranger here, after all. He's always helping Ichiko-chan."
"…What?" Ken asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Helping with what?" Makoto demanded.
"Uh…" Ren grew pale. "I think Sojiro asked me to help him close anyways… Gottagothanksbye!"
"Hey! Ren, you get back here!"
Tuesday, September 6th, 2016
"Should we really be doing this today? You're leaving for Hawaii tomorrow!"
Ren just shrugged. "We've got a lot of targets. And we need to introduce Ken and Futaba to Mementos."
"I guess you have a point," Morgana grumbled. "You shouldn't put it off so much!"
"It'll be fine," Ren dismissed, waving his hand. "Though, Ken… I have a question for you."
"What is it?" Ken asked.
"Your…" Ren said carefully, "…Evoker. How does it work? It's not a real gun…"
Ken nodded. "Yeah, it's not. It was made in the shape of the gun, because our Personas are… different. Morgana described awakening to your Persona is a manifestation of rebellion, right? The Evoker is a symbol of death, a reminder of your mortality."
"That's cheerful," Ryuji said, before scratching his head. "I still don't get how it works, though. Really hard to wrap my mind around it."
"The Evokers were created by the Kirijo Group. I don't know the entire story but…" Ken frowned. "Evokers were created to take the form of a gun because of the reminder of death."
Anne shuddered. "I'll stick to our method, thanks."
"Right, because ripping off the mask from your skin hard enough that you bleed profusely is completely painless," Ken said dryly. "No method of awakening to your Persona is… harmless. You have to confront yourself, in order to tame your Shadow."
"Though I'm guessing that all of you confronted death… somehow?" Ryuji looked uneasy at that.
Ken nodded once more. "More or less. A lot of us in SEES… had lost someone they had loved. Fuuka-san and Junpei-san were the two exceptions, but they didn't have a happy childhood either way…"
"That's why you care about them so much, huh?" Futaba asked. "Because you guys didn't have anyone else…"
"…Yeah," Ken said.
Ken wasn't great… at vocalizing when it comes to feelings. He didn't think he'd ever be able to express how much his senpai meant to him.
Hopefully, someday… they would realize that SEES… the Shadow Operatives weren't so different from the Phantom Thieves. They were all taking steps in order to ease Minato-san's burden, even just a little bit.
"Ken… can I…" Makoto bit her lip. "Can I try using the Evoker? It may be morbid but I'm curious. To see what it's like."
…She wanted to what? Then again, Makoto had been interested in how they were able to determine the potential…
"Do we really have to focus on this?" Morgana grumbled. "The past is the past…"
"It would be useful if we could summon in the real world," Yusuke pointed out, before he winced. "Though the method itself… would be difficult to use, I'd find. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable utilizing an Evoker."
"I… I don't know, guys…" Anne said uneasily, her face paling. "I mean, it's not like the Metaverse is in the real world!"
"Though I'm kinda curious if the Evoker can be used as a gun in the Metaverse…" Makoto said.
Ha… Ha… If only they knew how close he was to using his Evoker in the Metaverse.
But the look on Anne's face… and Futaba still had very recently started to recover from her suicidal thoughts. That would probably not be the best idea.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Ken said carefully, glancing at Anne and Futaba for a moment, before looking back at Makoto. "Besides, we have Mementos to concern ourselves with."
Makoto just winced, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Right."
"Okay, we have a lot of targets today," Morgana announced. "We have the couple blackmailing Kawakami, a boss abusing his employees, a person attacking innocent cats, and Ohya's boss trying to silence her…"
"And someone who's trying to shut down areas of Yongen-jaya for development and a gamer using cheats," Ren continued. "And lastly… Tsukasa, who almost scammed Makoto's friend, Eiko."
Anne huffed, shaking her head. "So, we have seven targets. You've let them pile up, Ren."
Ren just smirked at her. "You mean like how you let your summer homework pile up?" he asked innocently.
"Yeah, exactly—" Anne flushed, her face as red as a beet, before glaring at Ren. "Hey!"
Ren just gave her a shit eating grin. "Just speaking the truth."
"You shouldn't bully your girlfriend," Anne said sulkily.
"Though… Tsukasa…" Yusuke frowned. "I did notice an influx of requests on him since yesterday."
"Eiko must have realized the truth about Tsukasa," Ren said. "
Makoto nodded. "It's time that he pays for his crimes."
"Let's do this, then," Morgana said firmly.
The keyword was simply Mementos, which was… surprising, considering the hoops they had to jump through in order to access Futaba's Palace. Not to mention the research they had to do for Kaneshiro.
But they stepped through the portal and into a subway? Blue flames swept over them, replacing their school uniforms (and Futaba's street clothes) into their thief outfits.
Futaba twisted around, examining her outfit. "Huh. This will take a while to get used to."
"This is Mementos?" Ken asked, looking around. "Not sure what I was expecting… but this wasn't exactly it."
"Well, it's not exactly Tartarus," Ryuji said, shrugging. "But yeah. This is Mementos. Not terribly exciting like Palaces, but this is the place where we fill requests."
Though… he wasn't so sure about that. There was the question of what exactly Fuuka-san had detected originally. If Mementos was everyone's Palace, and they had an easier access to the place… wouldn't it make sense that Juno would be able to sense Mementos more easily?
Well… either way, he'd have to see. At least he didn't have to worry about running into the Reaper here. The Reaper had been just… the stuff of nightmares. He was pretty sure that those encounters had shaved off at least a decade of his life.
"The Shadows…" Ken said slowly, "they're like in the Palaces, right?"
Morgana just stared blankly at him. "What else would they look like?"
Ken folded his arms. "Do you remember how I talked about the full moon Shadows?"
"Dude, those sound kinda freaky," Ryuji commented. "They're closer to what we had seen with the Palace hosts except for Oracle's, but still different."
"Right." Ken nodded. "Minato-san and Minako-san had never tried to talk to the Shadows we fought. They were a bit strange, to be honest."
"We've fought pixies, angels, a freaking demon on a toilet—"
"…I'm not gonna ask." Ken shook his head. "But yeah… some of the Shadows we had fought were strange. We had fought Shadows who had looked like a tank…"
Ren frowned. "But you said they had the Wild Card ability. How did they gain their Personas, then?"
"I'm guessing that you went into the blue room… the Velvet Room," Ken said.
He still had hazy memories of visiting that room with everyone in SEES… That was definitely… an experience. It did explain a lot, however.
"The… Velvet Room?" Ren suddenly froze, his complexion suddenly growing pale.
"The Velvet Room?" Yusuke repeated.
"It's—It's hard to explain," Ren said. "I visit it a lot during our trip to Palaces, actually."
Anne squinted at him. "Wait, is that why you would sometimes go off to a corner and just stare off into space?"
Ren nodded almost absently, before he looked to Ken.
"How do you know that, Ace?" Ren asked.
Ken just winced, running his hands through his hair. "It's a long story, but the entire group of SEES had visited the Velvet Room at one place… Shortly after Minato-san had died."
"Just how many 'long stories' do you have?" Makoto raised an eyebrow at him.
"Two," Ken answered. "But another time, okay? We're wasting time, aren't we?"
Technically three if he wanted to talk about the incident with the Midnight Stage. Mitsuru-san had not been happy about how the Investigation Team had just jumped into things. She had griped about the trouble that had given her for two weeks…
Though honestly, the idea of it was strange. Purging Shadows by dancing? The mere idea was ridiculous.
"Dude, what the hell have you seen…" Ryuji grumbled.
"I want to know what crazy thing that you've seen that makes a talking cat seem normal," Futaba piped up. "But anyways, Ace's got a point. Give me a sec!"
Blue flames swept away her goggles, as she summoned her Persona. Necronomicon lowered its tentacles, pulling her in the depths of the UFO.
"Did another area open up?" Yusuke asked. "Since we've taken the Treasure of another Palace…"
"Yep!" Futaba answered. "Though, that's not entirely it. Why Mementos keeps expanding."
"What do you mean?" Morgana demanded.
"It's more like… the more people try to search up the Phantom Thieves. The greater presence we have in people's cognition. That's what's expanding Mementos. Not just us taking Treasures."
Makoto rubbed her chin. "Hmm. That does make sense."
Then she glanced at Morgana, her expression growing sympathetic.
"Though, I do think that Morgana's theory did make sense with the information we had at the time…"
"I guess…" Morgana grumbled. "But… yeah. Let's get going. We reached to thirty floors when we last visited, so we should try and explore as much of the new area as possible."
"Ugh… I wonder how much further we have left…" Anne sighed. "It feels like it drags on forever."
…Guess he shouldn't say just how tall Tartarus was… If he remembered right, a block alone was about fifty floors high. Though to be fair, they could only scale about twenty-five floors each month…
"Enough comments from the peanut gallery," Ren laughed. "Morgana?"
Morgana nodded, before he leapt into the air and transformed into his bus form.
It was Ken's turn to stare blankly as everyone started to climb inside. "What are you doing?"
"Did you expect us to walk through Mementos?" Yusuke inquired, tilting his head. "Mementos is quite large, I assure you. It's convenient that we have Mona's alternate form."
"If you say so…"
"Ugh, just get in the bus, Ace!" Futaba shouted, sticking her head out of the door. "Stop flapping your jaws and get in! Times a'wasting!"
Mementos was… interesting. Like Tartarus, the different areas seemed to be color coded. But as they continued to descend, the area grew more… twisted.
This area had become purple, but that wasn't the disturbing part. The Mementos floors had rail tracks, twisting and winding through the area. But this area… the rail tracks looked more skeletal.
At least it wasn't hard on the eyes like the fifth block of Tartarus, dubbed the disco block by Minako-san and Junpei-san. The bright colors had just… seared his eyes.
But even then… Ken couldn't help but feel uneasy. Just what was Mementos hiding…?
The targets put up a fight, though he couldn't say the same about the Shadows that had roamed Mementos. He had recognized Shadows that both came from Kaneshiro and Futaba's Palaces.
"Okay… last stop," Ren announced. "The cheater was a bust, so I'm guessing all of you are raring to bust heads, right?"
"Hell yeah we are!" Ryuji cheered.
"Let's get going." Makoto's expression grew determined. "Tsukasa must pay for his crimes."
"He's seriously scum," Anne spat. "Using and manipulating girls like that!"
Ren just laughed. "Enough comments from the peanut gallery. Let's get him!"
Ren led the way, revealing a man in his late twenties cloaked in a black and red aura.
"Money, money, money!" he chanted. "It's not my fault that girls these days are so stupid! My princesses… they make me rich as a king!"
Makoto scowled. "We'll make you pay!"
"No… you'll be the ones who will pay!"
His form trembled before transforming into… Ken had to wrack his mind to remember what it was. It was Pazuzu!
"Joker, I think its weakness will be ice or bless!" Ken shouted.
"Go for it, then, Ace!" Ren extended a hand towards the Shadow.
Ken tore off his mask. "Kala-Nemi!"
Light surged forward, knocking the Shadow to the ground.
"Nicely done, Ace!" Futaba crowed. "Get 'im, guys!"
"Joker?" Ken prompted.
"Let's do it!" Ren nodded firmly.
They lunged forward, attacking the Shadow ferociously, but it was still standing when they pulled back.
"Ha!" the Shadow growled. "Take this!"
Shadowy energy exploded, the force sending Ken skidding backwards. The Shadow laughed, before leaping in the air and slamming down on the ground. The attack sent Ken flying. He heard a loud crack, before warm blood started to trickle down the back of his head.
"Ace!" Futaba shrieked. "Someone help him! He's not doing too well…"
He felt… so dizzy… His vision was blurring… His arms trembled as he struggled to at least sit up.
"Ace!"
He was vaguely aware of the sound of Johanna's engine revving, before Makoto knelt in front of him. He couldn't make out what she was saying to him however… Ken grimaced. His head hurt too much.
But then the pain abruptly lessened and he stopped feeling blood dripping from the back of his head. But he still felt really dizzy…
"Look out!" Futaba warned. "He's using Mudoon!"
He wasn't sure what happened next, but he felt a rush of air before he felt himself being set down on the ground again. Ken slowly blinked, before his cheeks became flushed. Makoto had… carried him…
"Ace, are you okay now?"
"Y-Yeah…" Ugh, why was he stuttering? Ken quickly shook his head. "Come on, let's get back to the fight."
Makoto's hand clenched into a fist as her red eyes darkened with anger. "…Agreed."
The fight dragged on longer than what he had expected, since most of the targets they had fought today had been weaker than them.
But eventually Shadow Tsukasa fell, reverting to his human form.
"What… What have I done?"
"Fallen victim to your greed," Yusuke said firmly.
"You understand what you've done is wrong now, don't you?" Makoto demanded. "What you did to Eiko… and countless other girls… it's unforgivable!"
"What should I do now then?"
"Repent," Ren said.
"I… I suppose you're right. It's the least I can do with what I've done…"
The Shadow then disappeared, leaving behind a pair of gauntlets.
"At least you get a nice pair of gloves out of this." Ren waved it at Makoto.
Makoto let out a chuckle. "Yes… but…" She bit her lip. "…I hope that Eiko will be okay."
"Hey." Anne put a hand on her arm. "Eiko was one of the girls who submitted him as a target. I think you'll patch things up with Eiko. Just give it time."
Makoto offered her a small smile. "…Thank you, Anne."
"So, Joker, what should we do now?" Yusuke asked as they walked outside. "Continue forward?"
"Nah…" Ren shook his head. "We're all pretty beat. And besides that, we spent a long time fighting Tsukasa's Shadow. We might attract the Reaper."
…What.
"The Reaper's here, too?!" Ken demanded.
Ren blinked slowly at him. "…Too? The Reaper ran around in Tartarus?"
"Yes…" Ken grumbled. "Nearly killed us too many times…"
It was official. Mementos was definitely what Fuuka-san had sensed…
"Well, in that case, let's get going then!" Anne said, before she stretched. "I'm beat…"
"At least we'll sleep like babies tonight," Ryuji laughed before rolling his shoulders. "Though we probably could use that on the flight to Hawaii…"
Ren just laughed. "Let's go home, guys."
Bit of a filler chapter, basically covering the start of school to the Hawaii trip. The Hawaii chapter will be fun, though.
And happy late birthday, Yusuke!