06/05 Sunday

DAYTIME

"Renren, is that Miss President following us?"

Ren Amamiya snapped out of his reverie. His mind was consumed by the image of Ichiryusai Madarame dramatically weeping on the television, confessing his grotesque crimes. The second target of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, publicly prostrating himself for all of Japan to witness. Knowing that he and his friends had done this left him feeling uncomfortably ambivalent.

That Scorpion-Man quote makes a lot more sense now.

Ryuji Sakamato, his Phantom Thieves compatriot and all-around best bro, took his shoulders and spun him around to emphasize his point.

"Dude, she's RIGHT THERE?! What the eff do you think she's doing here in Kichijoji?"

The boys were idling around and touring the shops while on their way to Penguin Sniper. Ren's best bro knew he would be in his head after seeing Madarame's confession and invited him to darts. Having two free tickets also helped.

Ren saw the now-familiar silhouette of Shujin Academy student council class president Makoto Niijima near the information desk. He sighed.

School not enough for you anymore?

"Yeah, she's been tailing me at school for the last few days."

"For real?! Why didn't you tell anyone?!"

"One, we were dealing with Madarame and two-" Ren took his right hand out of his pocket and motioned up and down over Ryuji's body "-this response. It's more suspicious if you make a big deal of it."

"Bro, she's stalking us!"

"Yeah, not well. Listen, she doesn't have anything solid on us because if she did then she wouldn't be doing this. Honestly, this is the least productive use of her time. We should be happy every time we see her."

The blonde absorbed what his raven-haired friend said and then shrugged. "This is why you're the leader, bro."

"This is more of a reason to stop shouting though."

"For real? Dammit."

Ren turned his gaze back to their stalker.

Makoto was holding an old edition of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure right in front of her face and she occasionally looked over the top edge of the manga to peer at the two boys who were now also looking at her. Whenever her eyes met Ren's, she would bring up the manga to obscure her face once more.

More Inspector Zenigata than Sherlock Holmes. But it's kinda cute.

A quizzical look came over Ryuji's face.

"Is that manga upside down?"

Ren gave him a lopsided grin. "Told you. Hey…what do you say we have some fun before darts?" His eyes returned to Makoto.

Ryuji quickly picked up on what his friend put down. His mouth morphed into a shit-eating grin.

"Oooh that's my boy's Joker face! Let's do it!"

"Follow my lead, Skull."

The two Phantom Thieves began their mission. Makoto saw them coming over and once again hid her face behind the manga. A few seconds passed and Ren coughed loudly. He could hear her labored breathing as she slowly brought her hands down.

"M-My what a coincidence meeting both of you here…."

Ren bit his lip to suppress a laugh. Normally, someone tracking his movements and actually following him around would have raised his ire and paranoia. Ryuji's response was admittedly reasonable. But seeing this obviously flustered young woman commit so strongly to the detective bit engendered feelings of…compassion? Fondness, even?

Whatever it was, Ren couldn't help but slightly enjoy seeing her shadow him.

Something is wrong with me. Niijima-san is smart and could ruin our lives if she finds out we are the Phantom Thieves. I don't need another trip to juvie. Ryuji and Ann don't need to have their lives upended. Boss doesn't need to have another reason to mistrust people.

Ren looked over at Makoto holding the manga so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her eyes furiously darted between the young men as she awaited a response.

Nevermind, this girl is absolutely adorable.

"It sure is, Niijima-san. However, we've been having a lot of these coincidences lately. Are you sure you're not….following us?" Ren ended his last sentence with a smile.

Makoto went white as a sheet. She nervously tittered under the overbearing glares of the delinquent transfer student and the resident troublemaker of Shujin Academy.

"N-not at a-all! I was just here to do errands and c-catch up on my favorite manga. "

Ryuji immediately pointed out the obvious. "Uh, by reading it upside down?"

Makoto's brows furrowed and she quickly scanned the comic in front of her. After further furrowing, she then flipped the book over to its correct position.

"Th-thank you. I guess I must be busier than I thought."

Ryuji hummed in response. "So, who's your favorite character?"

"Huh?"

"In Jojo." He pointed at the title of the manga. "Who's your favorite?"

Her red eyes widened like saucers. Makoto looked back down at the pages and her pupils were ping-ponging from right to left and from up to down.

"Uh….I really like Dio Brando. I think he's an amazing hero and I can't wait to see where they take his character."

Ren let out a sigh and put a hand up to cover his face. It hid a soft smile.

God, how is this girl making me feel embarrassed for her?

Ryuji had no such restraint. He immediately burst out into a cackle.

"WHAT!? Dio is the hero!? It's called effing Jojo!"

He doubled over laughing. "Oh God, dude…I think…I think I'm going to die!" He hoarsely drew in breath just to release it in another cackling fit. This went on for about a minute.

Makoto turned a very deep shade of red and stayed silent. She slowly closed the manga and brought it to her lap. Ren started to laugh now too.

Good work, Skull. I think I owe you some ramen.

Ryuji recovered and wiped a tear from his eye. "So, are you one of those people who are like, REALLY into Dio? Like-" The blonde waggled his eyebrows suggestively ."-sexua-uhhmmmfff"

Ren quickly covered Ryuji's mouth to stop him from finishing that sentence.

Goddammit, Ryuji. You started off so well too.

Makoto's face slowly returned to its natural color and Ren thought he saw her shoot him an appreciative look when he covered Ryuji's mouth. She remained silent but was still tightly holding the book in her hands.

Ren decided it was his turn. "So what's one of the errands you have? Maybe we can assist you."

The student council president gave him a look of dread. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, clearly taking her time to concoct a lie.

I should stop. I'm going to give her a heart attack at this rate.

He was about to end this conversation when Makoto responded. "I'm going to the jazz club."

Oh honey. Maybe I should teach her how to lie?

Ren cocked his head. "Oh really? What's it called?"

Makoto put her hand to her chin. "I believe it was called the Jazz…Jin?"

Gotta commit to the lie even if you're unsure. Don't sound like you're asking me.

He nodded. "Do you usually go by yourself?"

She shook her head. "No, I always go with my sister. It's something we do together before any major life events." Ren thought he saw a trace of sadness flicker across her face.

"That sounds like a fun sisterly bonding time. Shouldn't she be with you right now?"

He saw Makoto's face falter for a moment but quickly reverted. "She's busy a-at work right now! She said she'll meet me later."

Not bad.

"Is this the time you always go?

"Yes. We can't go at night due to our responsibilities of school and work. Sleep is paramount to everyday functioning, after all." She ended her last sentence closing her eyes and smiling.

She was really proud of that lie.

The young man sighed.

Is this how executioners feel before they do the deed?

Ren brought his blade down on Makoto. "It's closed."

The redness came into her cheeks again. "What? O-oh that's a shame I'll have to come by another day then."

"It's closed everyday at this time. It's only open at night."

The conversation did not just die at this point. It was completely obliterated. Makoto just stared at Ren and he stared right back at her. Her eyes filled with shame and embarrassment, his eyes filled with resignation and pity. Ryuji had the good sense to also stay quiet at this time, his eyes filled with confusion and maybe hunger.

After about a minute, Ren mercifully ended the silence. "Niijima-san, I hope you're able to finish your errands and catch up on your reading. We will leave you to it." Ren bowed and Ryuji tilted his chin up at her.

Makoto returned the bow. "Goodbye Amamiya-kun, Sakamato-kun."

The boys turned and walked deeper into Kichijoji, content to enjoy the rest of their day.

I think that's the last we're seeing of her. Time to bro-out.

Despite his best efforts, Ren's thoughts kept returning to the brunette student council president.

Was I too much of a dick to her? I shouldn't have gone as hard as I did. Maybe I'll apologize next time I see her.

Whatever residual guilt Ren harbored soon evaporated. No sooner had they picked up some nikuman to go did Ren spot a familiar teal pea coat with a new Kichijoji brochure a few feet behind them.

Never mind she's fine. At least she's learning.

She still peered over the brochure occasionally and retreated every time their eyes met. However she was a little farther behind them than before.

Ren scratched the back of his head and smiled. He really didn't know what to make of this girl. Her methods were absurd and weirdly endearing, but her persistence was concerning. He noticed this was a ratcheting up of Makoto's usual behavior too. She never followed him this far from school before.

She seems extra determined today. Was this due to Madarame's confession? Did we place a bigger target on our backs?

Ren could feel himself get steadily more anxious. He noticed his pulse quicken and his chest tighten slightly.

Shit, who knows how long she'll keep this up? All she needs is one of us to slip up.

He looked over at Ryuji. The blonde was busy shoveling nikuman into his mouth. He loved Ryuji, but subtlety was not his strength. If someone asked him what he ate for breakfast he'd most likely say, "I dunno, but it was probably filling because I had Phantom Thieves shit to do!" No matter the stakes, Ryuji's volume when discussing the Phantom Thieves was permanently stuck at 11. Ren was convinced that some part of Ryuji wanted to get caught.

A grimace formed on Ren's face.

What if she stops tailing me and starts following Ryuji or Ann? Or stakes out one of our meetings?

Ren could feel his head get heavy and his thoughts start to derail. He started inhaling on a count of four.

Feel the breath…..

He closed his eyes and observed his abs contract against his diaphragm on a count of four.

Hold the breath….

He opened his eyes and his mouth slightly and allowed his breath to slowly whoosh out on a count of four.

Let the breath leave you…

Ren felt his mind lighten and slow down.

"Pfft, dude what was that?" Ryuji looked at him with an amused smirk.

"Something that saved me in juvie." Ren replied seriously.

"Oh." Ryuji raised his eyebrows and dropped his smirk.

A few moments passed between them in silence. Ren glanced back and saw Makoto continuing to follow them.

"Ryuji, we've got to do something about Niijima."

"For real? I thought you said it was whatevs."

"I take it back. Our little routine should have scared her off. I also can't help but think her being here is related to Madarame's confession. She might be putting some pieces together."

Ryuji blanched. "Shit. Eff. Effing shit."

"Yup. We have to make her regret chasing us." Ren puckered his mouth as if something rotten passed his lips.

"Ooh, talk dirty to me Renren."

Ren burst out laughing. "Never fucking change, Ryuji."

Ren had complicated feelings about Makoto Niijima. Like any 16 year old boy with complicated feelings, he would soon find out that moving fast and breaking things was really only applicable to social media companies. Maybe Palace heists.

He made sure Makoto was in his line of sight before he gave Ryuji the signal to proceed.

Yuuki Mishima was also a person Ren had complicated feelings for, but more that it was like he was dealing with a supremely obnoxious individual who had six months to live.

Did Mishima suck? Emphatically yes. Was Mishima also a victim of circumstance? Also yes. Was he one of the most pathetic people he ever came across? Christ, even the blubbering Shadows had more pride than Mishima.

Was he useful? Unfortunately yes. Ren's information was not the only thing he had access to and Ren would be damned if he let someone follow him without knowing their weaknesses.

I'd like at some point today to not feel like a shitty person for messing with this girl.

"Hey Ren, lets go somewhere private so we can discuss sensitive topics!...Privately!" Ryuji yelled in a stilted manner. Ren's soul turned in on itself from pure cringe.

I don't think Ryuji can make fun of Ann's acting anymore.

"You got it! I'll run ahead and secure the area!" Ren said, somewhat less disjointedly. He then took off.

Cross screenwriting off my prospective career list.

For some inexplicable reason, Makoto bought the whole routine. She sped up and dashed by Ryuji and raced after Ren, eager to catch him in flagrante delicto.

She turned the corner and dashed down a dark hallway after the dark-haired teenager. After a couple of feet she noticed that the hallway was pitch black. Makoto slowed to a walk. She gripped her brochure more tightly and tried to look into the darkness for Ren's silhouette.

"Hello? Amamiya-kun?"

CRACK!

"Ahhh!"

Makoto heard the distinct crack of thunder. That was impossible though. There were no thunder storms scheduled for today. Little did she know Ryuji was near by, playing The World's Scariest Thunder Storms 11/14 on his smartphone.

CRACK!

Another crack brought her to her knees. Ren could see her whispering something but couldn't clearly hear it.

Don't go soft Amamiya. You've got to finish this.

"Who dares disturb my reeeeesssssstt?" Ren used a voice modulator app on his phone to give a grating, distorted quality to his voice.

Ren could see the young woman become as still as a statue.

"Makooootoooo Niiijiiimaaaaaa...you shall rue this day foreverrrrrmooooorrreee..."

Looking back on it, Ren would have likened this moment to that brief instance of silence before a massive explosion. Because everyone in Kichijoji and their mother and their future children heard the bloodcurdling, haunting scream of Makoto Niijima.

Ohfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckthatsnotgood.

Ren turned off the app and ran to Makoto's side. "Niijima-san! Calm down! Its only me. It's Amamiya! There's no ghost. You're safe!"

"Hey what the hell was that kid?! I thought this was a friendly prank on a friend. Look at her, she's scared to death!"

The incense merchant turned the lights to his shop back on and glared at Ren. Which Ren felt like he absolutely deserved.

Ren saw Ryuji run down the hallway to meet them. "Dude WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?" I thought she fucking died! Is she ok?!"

Now it was Ren's turn to turn bright red and be overwhelmed with shame. Makoto was continuing to mutter "SiscomesavemepleasesiscomesavemeI'msosorrysis" as tears ran down her face. Occasionally she would stop muttering and just start crying. Ren just looked down at her and felt his heart tear in two at the sight of the previously prim and proper student council president catatonically muttering and crying. People started to come from all over Kichijoji to see what made that banshee yell.

Scratch that, I am a complete piece of shit for messing with her. What the fuck is wrong with me?

"Did those two boys do something to that poor girl?"

"Maybe someone should call the police?"

"Is this some kind of marketing campaign? Cause if so its working."

Ren switched gears to flight mode. "Niijima-san, we need to go. People are looking at us."

"...why?" She croaked out.

"Hmm?" Ren barely heard her.

"Why did you do that to me?" She looked up at him and saw her bloodshot eyes, still swimming in tears. So much pain in those eyes. Anger too, but the pain and the sadness were most prominent.

Ren had no answer for her. He tried opening his mouth to say something but the words died on his tongue, the air refusing to leave his throat. Ryuji had never seen their leader so helpless.

Makoto slowly picked herself up and dusted herself off. She looked right at Ren and slowly walked up to him. She came close enough that he could feel her breath on his face. He felt a deep fear and struggled to look her in the eyes.

"Look at me, Amamiya." Ren did as commanded. The pain had receded and now it was only anger tinged with sadness in her eyes. "I think I can clear you as a potential suspect for being a Phantom Thief, Ren Amamiya. I don't think the Phantom Thieves would be capable of this level of cruelty. " She said in the most even tone she could muster. Makoto then turned on her heel and walked away. Ryuji quickly hopped to one side to allow Makoto passage through the hallway.

He sidled up to Ren. "Bro..."

"I fucked up massively Ryuji. I...I...I really hurt her."

Ryuji could only nod in agreement.

"I have to go after her. I have to apologize."

"I dunno man. I think we should probably give her a minute."

Ren did not hear that last part as he raced off to find Makoto in Kichijoji.