"And then, we brought you here." Morgana explained the situation to Makoto and Yusuke. Since they were the last two of the Phantom Thieves to be rescued, they needed to be caught up to the situation at hand.
Makoto gave a slow, understanding nod. "Thank you. I appreciate the update. First things first: I'm sorry. I was too careless out there, and you all suffered for it." Her biggest regret was being at a loss during the initial encounter with Marie. It caused so much trouble for everyone else.
"My apologies as well." Yusuke said with a frown. "I will find a way to make up for this careless blunder."
"You two are not to blame." Hifumi shook her head. "Our powers were hindered when we entered this world, and we were up against new enemies. But now that we are all here and knowledgeable, such a mistake will not happen a second time."
"Marie's the one who will be sorry anyway." Ren said firmly. Now that they had their team back together, they could finally get the ball rolling once again!
"I'm just glad that everyone's all right now. All of the rest is in the past." Haru gave a sweet smile. She knew the others were not to blame for what Marie made them do.
"Thanks, guys. I'm glad you guys have my back." Makoto could breathe a little easier. But due to being out of the action the longest, she felt like she needed to make up for it.
"We're just glad you guys are alright." Zenkichi said. "It was pretty jarring seeing all of you act that way."
"Thank you for your help, Zenkichi-san." Makoto gave Zenkichi a warm smile. "You as well. Ichinose, and Sophia!"
"Happy to help!" Sophia raised a hand happily.
"I can say I learned a thing or two throughout this so far." Ichinose crossed one leg over the other. "That Marie sure is something else, isn't she?"
"I, for one, am thankful that my voice doesn't have to utter such heinous words ever again." Yusuke shook his head. "It felt like a terrible nightmare, in which I was a prisoner in my own body..."
"We have to make sure not to let that happen again." Ryuji shook his head. He felt pretty bad for the things he did while under Marie's control, and she was going to make sure she paid for it!
"With all that said, uh..." Makoto slowly turned her gaze over to the other side of Leblanc. "We should discuss the elephant in the room." Her gaze went to Toshiro and Erina. The two of them did recover from their injuries. But in Toshiro's gaze, Erina was tightly wrapping some bandages around Toshiro's injured arm. The scene was a bit over the top, with Toshiro's screaming and Erina's slightly overzealous gaze.
"Gyaaah! I...I can't stop bleeding!" Toshiro cried out. "If someone loses fifty percent of their blood, they're done for!" Was this it? Was this how he was going to die, after everything!? "I'm already a thirty...fourty percent!"
"I know, I know!" Erina, once again, brushed aside Toshiro's concerns. "But all your're doing is making a fuss over a little scratch!"
"Gyaaaah!" Toshiro screamed once again. "Ow! IF you're going to offer me medical care, could you at least try actually caring!? I'm wounded here!"
"...She has a lot of energy for someone who was shot in the chest." Zenkichi shook his head. At least it was proof that Erina was okay. Toshiro's injury really wasn't even that bad to warrant all that screaming.
"If Takemi were here, I doubt this would be a problem." Ren commented absentmindedly. Not that he would want anyone else to be dragged into this situation, that is.
"So...those two over there are Toshiro and Erina?" Makoto asked.
"When I heard he was a Diet member who opposed the Phantom Thieves, I certainly didn't expect this lively fellow." Even Yusuke was a bit exasperated at the sight of Toshiro, and that was saying something. "I was prepared to see an older gentleman, among the likes of Shido or Owada."
"I guess all Diet members, no matter the age, can't stand us." Futaba remarked. "But I'd still say he's pretty old. He might give Gramps here a run for his money!"
"We're not that old..." Zenkichi rolled his eyes.
"But there's really not a lot about him we really get." Futaba added.
With his injury dealt with. Toshiro adjusted the tie on his suit. "Would you please not talk about me while I'm present like I'm some doddering elder?"
"Busted." Ann shrugged in the corner.
"Hi! Nice to meet you!" Erina greeted Makoto and Yusuke with a smile. "Sounds like you're all caught up, but I'm Erina - and this is Toshiro. You don't have to pay him any mind, though."
"THAT'S NOT YOUR CALL TO MAKE!" Toshiro exclaimed. Mika just laughed in the background. "With that said!~ We've spent enough time fooling around. Perhaps we should begin discussing the situation in full. First, I'd like to address the question you're all probably thinking: What's the history between Toshiro and Marie, I would assume."
"Which, we've already talked about." Zenkichi crossed his arms. "Although, to be fair, I couldn't make any conclusive statements without seeing the woman herself, and we didn't have Kitagawa or Niijima with us. But, now that I have seen Marie, I can conclusively say that in reality, she is your fiancé, Kasukabe."
"He really is married to that, huh?" Mika couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh. "What a terrible marriage. How do you forget you're married to a bitch like that?"
"Yeah, this would go a lot smoother if you just told us the deal already." Morgana then gave Toshiro a state. "Or are you going to play the amnesia card again?" In response to this, Toshiro let out a very audible gulp of fear. "I knew it!"
"I've never heard anyone actually gulp in fear before!" Haru said, shocked.
"He truly doesn't remember anything, it seems." Hifumi furrowed her brows. What were they supposed to do if Toshiro had no memory?
"It certainly doesn't help his case, I will say that." Akechi had no qualms doubting Toshiro, even if he was fighting on their side currently.
"That's not entirely true - can attest to the fact that I have lost my memory." Toshiro said. This, again, did not help him.
"So, useless information?" Ichinose raised a finger.
"We can't get anything out of him like this." Sumire said with a sweat drop.
"You really don't know anything about Marie?" Erina gazed at Toshiro.
"Yes." Toshiro responded firmly.
Erina continued to stare at him. "Really?"
Toshiro briefly glanced to the side. "...Y-Yes..."
"Hey, is it just me, or is he startin' to act fishy?" Ryuji asked the others. They all nodded in agreement.
"This reminds me of the interrogation Sojiro gave me when I took his pudding from the fridge." Futaba said with a flat expression.
"Or when some perps are really, really bad at lying." Zenkichi added. Toshiro's behavior was inherently suspicious.
"If there's something on your mind, you should say it now." Hifumi said. "Otherwise you're going to have a lot of very suspicious people in this room."
"You know, Yoshiro..." To add onto this Erina took a step closer, slinging her arm around his shoulders. "I'm not just your ally, but I am the leader of the Rebel Corp. So I really hope I don't have to come up with a punishment for you being Marie's spy."
Sensing that his standing in the group was in danger, Toshiro decided to speak. "Wait! Wait! Okay, okay! To be honest, I feel as if I should know Marie, but I can't remember! Even though Hasegawa-san has informed me of my own martial status, I cannot understand why I don't remember this. Because I would! There's no ring on my finger!"
"...That's a good point." Sumire tilted her head. "If you saw that, you would know you were to be wed..."
"So even if you cannot recall the exact situation, you can at least recall that you do have a connection with Marie." Makoto summarized. "Am I getting this right?"
"Yes, exactly!" Toshiro's expression lit up. "Ms. Niijima, was it? You're an excellent summarizer!"
"Uh...thank you...?" Makoto wasn't entirely sure what to do about that. It was a compliment, at least.
"Well, assuming Toshiro hasn't been playing us this whole time, right?" Erina gave Toshiro another glance.
"H-Hey, no need for the evil eye..." Toshiro felt defensive once again.
"Oh, you know. It's just that we've seen a lot over the last year and then some." Ann said with a smile, but her tone was a mildly annoyed one. She was holding back. "Lots of liars and frauds. Lots of people who regretted it..."
"And I know when someone is lying to me." Hifumi tilted her hand. When standing next to Ann like this, they made a very scary do.
"Okay, okay, we've razzed him enough." Ryuji stepped in to be the voice of reason for once. "We know he's gotta be at least a decent guy. I mean, he had enough guts to go after Erina, didn't he?"
"He was pretty helpful there." Ren added.
"Plus, if it turns out he's just another P.O.S politician, we can just knock him around until he comes to his senses!" Ryuji said. "Ain't that right?"
"Uh, how many times do I have to remind you that violence against a public official is illegal?" Zenkichi remarked. These damn kids talking about crimes right in front of him! He was still an officer, dammit! "Don't make me have to arrest you when we get back home."
At least someone had some sense! Toshiro was glad Zenkichi was present. That being said, he turned to Ryuji. "Mr. Sakamoto, I believe I need to apologize to you. I ahd thought you were merely an ill tempered, dead-end delinquent. I greatly underestimated you."
Ryuji's expression fell. "Great. Yeah, th-that's probably the first time I've been insulted in an apology..."
Toshiro then turned to Erina. Her opinion on him was still up in the air. "So, Erina...are you...?"
"Well, I'm not as nice as Ryuji, but..." Erina then waved her hand. "Are you kidding? What you did for us out there was incredible! So I trust you."
"That makes everyone but me, I guess." Mika shrugged casually. She wasn't so willing to give Toshiro the benefit of the doubt, even after his display of bravery earlier.
"...I know it shouldn't bother me, but will I ever get her approval?" Toshiro asked.
"Probably not." Ann and Hifumi answered at the same time.
"What a lovely conversation this has spiraled into." Akechi realized they were getting off track, which was mildly concerning. "Now that you're all done playing nice, can we get back to the matter at hand?"
"Still all business with you, isn't it?" Zenkichi realized that part of Akechi wasn't going to change, but he did have a point.
"We need to figure out what we do with Marie." Akechi shook his head.
"He's right." Ren crossed his arms.
"Did you see that mean ass grin on Marie's face? Just thinkin' about it makes my blood boil!" Ryuji grit his teeth. Marie was absolutely going to pay for the shit she put him and the others through. "I'm gonna wreck her shit!"
"I'm still trying to figure out what kind of being she is here." Haru mumbled. "Is she a Cognitive being, or just a Shadow of the real-life Marie?" That distinction was important going forward, and they needed to figure it out before anything else.
"I just don't think she's a Shadow." Ren said. "If she was a Shadow, she would have a Treasure. She can't be a Monarch, because we got rid of the Jails..."
"With everything we've seen thus far, it is more reminiscent to the Streets..." Yusuke surmised. But it wasn't something he could confirm either. It was just a feeling
"Yo! Morgana! Use your nose and sniff for any Treasure! Let those animal instincts fly!" Ryuji just wanted ot knock out that possibility.
"Don't treat me like some kind of beast! I don't smell anything." Morgana huffed.
"I don't remember seeing anything like that when we were brainwashed..." Sumire commented.
"It would be problematic to try and change Marie's heart without knowing what sort of position she is exactly." Sophia tilted her head. "This is a big deal."
"Regardless, it doesn't change the fact that we have to go toe to toe with her before we get out of here." Ann placed her hands on her hips. "It always comes down to a fight..."
"We're used to it." Hifumi was prepared for this.
"Usually, I'm not. But if I can scratch Marie's eyes out, I'm all for it!" Mika was excited, but for all the wrong reasons.
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Ryuji and Mika were oddly on the same page. "We're gonna beat the crap out of her!"
"...Please don't forger that if she's a Shadow, that would cause a mental shutdown." Hifumi pinched the bridge of her nose.
"...Oh, right. We gotta beat the crap out of her, and make sure she survives!" Ryuji quickly amended his statement.
"...How nice it must be, cruising on life with just one brain cell." Futaba rolled her eyes.
"Some things do not change." Yusuke added.
Erina and Toshiro looked at each other. The Phantom Thieves were talking about a lot of things that were frankly going over their heads. "...Do you have any idea what they're talking about? I haven't for a while now, honestly."
"Who the hell could keep up with any of this!?" Toshiro was at a loss as well. "Ever since we've met them, I've had difficulty keeping up with their conversations half the time! Some of these terms sound familiar, but I have no idea what they mean."
"Then allow me to elucidate you!" Ichinose chimed in. The Phantom Thieves were reuniting, so she didn't want to intrude on their conversation. She could, however, intrude on this. "I've been made aware of the Metaverses inner workings, so I can inform you on what things mean."
"Oh, that's very nice of you, Ichinose-san." Toshiro adjusted his tie. "Perhaps then, I could make a quiz for Erina, to make sure she properly understands the material..."
"...Now I'm the one getting a headache." Erina felt the sweat drop on her forehead. That was far and above the last thing she wanted to deal with. But, there was one thing Erina did feel in her chest when she looked at the Phantom Thieves discussing. There was hope in her heart that this revolution would truly succeeded. They had such strong allies in the Phantom Thieves, and everyone's goals were aligned against the tyrant Marie. She couldn't help but clench her hand into a fist, the excitement and anxiety nearly taking over. This was the most The Rebel Corp had ever pushed back against Marie. And now, for the first time in a very long time, she felt like...
"We can win this..." They were going to win this!
With the Phantom Thieves reunited, and the Rebel Corp by their side...they would win this battle, no matter what!
