Makoto was fourteen when her father died, her childhood innocence slaughtered with him. She cried and she wept, hot tears and snot dribbling down her face. She wished she could be like Sae, whose face might as well have been carved from marble after her initial tears were spent, but she couldn't. She cried like the child she was and hated every second of it. Still, while grief slipped between her ribcage like a knife the second she heard the news, it wasn't until her father's funeral – barely a month before her fifteenth birthday – that she felt angry.
"It might be quieter in the hall." Sae suggested as her little sister's eyes began watering yet again, each sympathetic condolence only serving to remind her that he was gone. While Sae didn't smile, something in her eyes softened for the first time since the fateful night they received the news. "I'll handle the guests."
A wave of gratitude ran through Makoto (unbeknownst to her, it would be the last one she felt towards Sae for a long, long time). It was cowardly, perhaps, but as she fled from the claustrophobic walls, sea of black judgement and memorial immortalising the fact that her father will never hold her tight again, never wish her goodnight or tell her well done, Makoto let out a deep breath she didn't even realise she was holding in.
It was then that everything changed.
"It's such a shame – he was a good officer." Peering curiously around the corner of the corridor, Makoto's eyes landed on a black-suited man leant against the wall, a wineglass in his hand.
His companion, a balding fellow with a paunch, snorted. "Just goes to show there are some things you shouldn't stick your neck into. Honestly, what was Niijima thinking, digging into matters like that? It's no wonder he got splattered by someone's car."
Breath caught in her throat, Makoto stilled as for the second time in less than a month, the bottom of her stomach felt as if it was hollowed out. Ice crawled through her veins as the funeral parlour spun dizzying spirals around her, her vision leeched of all colours and life.
Dad… was murdered?
…..
The first time Makoto brought up the fact that their father's death wasn't an accident, Sae took a sharp breath in, patted her on the head, and told her not to worry about it – justice would prevail eventually.
Having no reason to doubt her (yet), Makoto awaited the news that the man who orchestrated their father's death had finally received punishment with bated breath.
Her fifteenth birthday came, but despite the anticipation that crawled through her, the knowledge that Sae would surely give her the one thing she truly wanted – justice – she received nothing but some planners and a novelty Buchimaru-themed clear file.
Makoto's lips wobbled as she attempted to hide her disappointment. Sae was surely still hunting down their father's killer – she was probably just getting held up by work. Her sister certainly had the rings under her eyes to prove it. Besides, proper investigations took time, and Sae was doing so much for her right now. She shouldn't be ungrateful.
Sleep evaded her that night, however, as Makoto tossed and turned. He's our father – he's our dad. A myriad of memories of love and admiration and loneliness ran through her, a thousand blades of grief slicing at her oh-so-fragile heart. She wasn't like Sae – Makoto couldn't turn off the part of herself that ached and ached and ached at will.
Finally, the dam holding back her fury broke. Letting out a muffled roar, Makoto punched her pillow, red seeping into her vision as delicious, ferocious anger burned within her with all of the intoxicating power of a wildfire. For the first time in her life, she hated, and she embraced it. She hated the man who killed her father. She hated whoever made her feel this foul, wretched way. Her dad was a hero – he didn't deserve to have both his life and his death swept under the rug, becoming nothing but an obituary in the paper with a (false) cause of death.
He deserved justice.
She deserved vengeance.
She wanted to look his killer in the eye, tell him exactly what he'd done to their family – done to her – and break him with her fists.
Makoto knew that wasn't how justice worked. You didn't destroy people with your bare hands – you gathered evidence, interviewed suspects, issued an arrest, made an airtight case, and then tried them in court and gave them the sentence they're due.
But no matter how much she attempted to rationalise away her feelings, they lingered.
(They felt good.)
…..
Eventually, Makoto could be patient no longer and asked Sae the fateful question.
"It's not…" Her sister's brow furrowed as she shook her head. "There's no leads, Makoto. Besides, I'm too busy to waste my time looking into a cold case. I need to focus on keeping a roof over our heads."
"A-a cold case?" Sae's words hit her like a fist, and Makoto stepped backwards, gaping. A cold case?! It hadn't even been three months! "But Sis! This is our father we're talking about! You can't just stop investigating!" The brunette pleaded, desperation burning like a wildfire in her chest.
"Yes, Makoto, I can– you'll understand once you're older." Shaking her head, demeanour as prim and proper as ever, Sae resumed typing away at her laptop, clearly believing the conversation was done.
As surely as fire forged steel, however, Makoto's fury did nothing but temper her iron resolve. She knew Sae was busy. She knew Sae was stressed. Still, this was their dad they were talking about! The man who worked so hard to give them the best lives he could. The man whose sense of justice was so strong it killed him. The man who taught them that they should always strive to fight injustice, no matter the cost.
"Fine then. If you're too busy, I'll find his killer." Makoto clenched her fists. It would be hard – she didn't even know where to start – but she's always been a smart girl. She can do this.
Sae took in a sharp breath, wine-red eyes flashing dangerously. Rising to her feet, the table trembled as she suddenly slammed her palm against it, the resounding bang that echoed through the apartment instantly dwarfed by her ferocious scream. "Absolutely not! I'll not have you wasting your time on a fool's errand! Just accept reality already – dad's gone, and neither of us has the luxury to indulge in his – in his horseshit!" Sae's face contorted in a bestial snarl, gums showing, and Makoto didn't recognise her at all. "The only thing you need to do is focus on your studies and extracurriculars so you can get into a good university, okay?!"
As something cold seeped through her chest, hollowing out her insides and leaving her numb, realisation dawned on Makoto. She hadn't just lost her father – she'd lost her sister too.
That night, the Metanav appeared on her phone.
…..
While Makoto might not have been a child prodigy like Sae, her intellect was still keen. As outlandish as the Metaverse had seemed at first, it still followed certain rules, just like everything else did. Teachers guided the youth, police protected the people, and politicians steered the country. Those who were good obeyed the rules, while those who were bad ignored them and deserved the punishment they got in turn.
One month filled with tense dinners and awful silences later, Makoto finally believed she'd done enough research into the ins and outs of the Metaverse to strike.
"Niijima Sae, Mementos."
Swallowing, she pushed down the instinctive tremor of fear the unsettling, dark tunnels bade her, and slowly traversed across the railways, avoiding the hulking monsters that roamed in the dark. Her heart hammered like a rabbit, but Makoto paid it no heed. Her father didn't raise a coward, after all.
(Or at least, he only raised one of them.)
Eventually, the railways lifted off the ground, twisting into a physics-defying cocoon of light, and mustering her resolve, Makoto entered the portal. Footsteps echoing across the platform, a thousand different emotions screamed inside her as she set eyes on Sae's Shadow. It wore the same suit and had the same confident poise, but in its sickly yellow eyes, Makoto saw nothing but cruelty.
"Why?!" Self-loathing crushed her heart as Makoto's voice wavered like a pathetic child. "Why aren't you looking into dad's death?! You're meant to be better than this! You're meant to fight for him! He was your hero, wasn't he?!"
The Shadow sneered, showing all of the annoyance her sister clearly felt towards her but normally hid behind an unaffected mask. "You really are just a stupid child. There are no heroes in this world, only different kinds of villains! Our father was nothing but an idiot who bit off more than what he could chew, and forced us to pay the price! Unlike him, I have no intention of throwing our lives away on a self-righteous crusade!"
"Self-righteous?Self-righteous?!"Makoto's scream tore at her vocal cords, Mementos' red light mirroring her fury "How… how dare you dismiss everything he did as self-righteousness?! Our father would have done anything for us, and we owe him the same in turn!"
Your sister is right about one thing. Agony, unlike anything Makoto had ever experienced before exploded in her skull, and collapsing to the ground, she writhed, wailing. This world is full of villains, and one of them stands before you! Will you let injustice run rife, or will you fight for what is right no matter what or who stands in your path?!
There was only one answer. Makoto chose to fight, and with Johanna at her side, she swiftly crushed the horse-riding warrior her sister turned into.
Dark motes surrounded the Shadow as it crashed to the ground for the last time, reforming into the shape of the real Sae. Eyes wide, it scrambled away from her, sweat and grim covering its brow. "M-Makoto, I'm just trying to…!"
Make her try harder. Johanna purred, and Makoto did just that.
…..
About three hours after returning to the real world, Makoto received a visit from social services. While they hemmed and hawed, after she bluntly demanded they got to the point already, they relented. Two hours earlier, Niijima Sae had been arrested for assaulting one of the detectives in the precinct, completely unprovoked.
"We never would have left you in her custody if we knew she had such a violent character." Kneeling slightly so he could look her in the eye, the social worker gave her a polite smile.
No – apatronisingsmile. Makoto wasn't going to blindly respect people simply because they were older than her anymore. After all, she never would have awakened Johanna if she'd listened to Sae's awful demand that she just let her father go unavenged.
(And if Makoto's theory about Johanna's powers was correct, her sister's problem wasn't her violent nature, but her lack of it.)
Between dealing with social workers about her custody situation – while they were hoping to find a distant relative who wanted to take her in, Makoto much preferred the idea of getting emancipated – and school, it took her a little while before she could visit the Shadow of the detective Sae attacked, but she got there in the end. There would be a reason he of all people was the target for the justice Makoto forced onto Sae.
Revolver at the ready, she turned off the safety as she approached the middle-aged man. "You… what did you have to do with Niijima Isao's death?"
"Me? I ain't had anything to do with that." The Shadow chortled, slapping his stomach. "Still, can't say it didn't make me crack a smile! The man was an uptight ass, always harpin' on about shit like procedure and regulations – who the fuck cares if we decide to vent some stress on some criminal scum, or cop a feel of some pretty little immigrant? They're nobodies."
"You…" Trembling, Makoto snapped her revolver into position, pointing the barrel at the loathsome bastard's head. "How dare you make a mockery of the force like that!"
Her dad died for the sake of the police, to uphold the sacred institution that protected the weak and vulnerable members of this society. And yet, this man had the gall to abuse the powers entrusted to him?! To corrupt her father's legacy?!
This time, when Makoto crushed the Shadow's monstrous form, she didn't call on Johanna's righteous fury.
Instead, she emptied three rounds of ammo into his head.
…..
For all her faults, Sae was smart; she'd suspected their father's death was an inside job for a reason.
Some of the officers Makoto hunted down weren't bad men. They just needed a little… push, let's say, to do what was right. Others gave her valuable information on vile criminals and corrupt officers alike, and as much as it irritated her, the pragmatist in Makoto realised she needed to leave them be. The men they handed over to her on a silver platter though… They didn't get Johanna's rallying cry, but Makoto's revolver.
A string of incidents dubbed Psychotic Breakdowns and Mental Shutdowns started to get reported on TV. Truthfully, Makoto hated the names. She'd rather call them justice.
Thankfully, the income from her Metaverse adventures was enough to convince the judge to pass her emancipation appeal. School started falling to the wayside, but while it felt a bit uncomfortable slipping out of the top ten, it was a sacrifice Makoto was willing to make. Besides, it was hard to care about her grades when every day, she uncovered more and more evidence about the deep, dark rot pervading her father's beloved police force. After prying yet more information out of yet another Shadow in uniform, Makoto felt something within her crumbling.
Her dad believed in the force so, so much.
But they betrayed him.
There was a rot located at its very core, tainting everything her father worked towards. It would have broken his heart if he'd seen the things she'd seen.
… Or maybe he had seen it.
Maybe it was the very thing that had killed him in the end.
It was then that she developed her master plan. Avenging her father wasn't enough – no, the rusted cogs in the criminal justice system had to be fixed. True order - the order he died for - must be restored. She'd infiltrate the police, gain control over the web of corruption at its heart, and then crush it with her iron grip.
And if Makoto had to trample a few people under her feet to do so, then so be it.
(It's not like they'd be good people anyway.)
…..
With the Metanav on her phone and a fake (yet real) revolver slipped into her coat, she organised a meeting with the Director of the SIU, the most powerful member of law enforcement in Japan second to the justice minister himself.
… Which he will eventually become if she has anything to say about it.
Suffice to say, the Director is very interested in her proposal, just like his Shadow said he would be.
(And once he became the emperor he fancied himself as, Makoto would steal his crown.)
…..
Makoto loved being a detective. She could do without the fame – honestly, the blogs and talk shows and interviews were nothing but tedious – but solving crime? Ensuring monsters and killers faced the comeuppance they deserved? Maintaining law and order, preserving the country's stability? It's what she was born to do.
(Deep down inside, Makoto wished more of her cases were real. Not deductions made purely from Metaverse adventures, or mere scripts handed to her by the Director for her to recite like an actor. Still, that would change once she's in charge of the police. She'd finally get the chance to become a proper detective with none of this media malarky, just like her father was before her.)
Suffice to say, when she spotted a gaggle of teens in outfits just like her own fumbling around in Madarame's Palace, it hit her like a bludgeon to the face. Once the artist had his change of heart, one didn't have to be a detective to connect the dots.
For once, Makoto got to do some actual policing. It was clear one of them – Fox – had to be Kitagawa Yusuke. He fitted the profile of a Metaverse user, after all. All it took was following him from a distance – she'd learnt her lesson after a particular incident that Shall Not Be Named – for her to find his accomplices.
Takamaki Ann. Sakamoto Ryuji. Amamiya Ren. And maybe, just maybe, the cat he carried around with him. Perhaps it was a mascot of sorts?
Either way, with the Phantom Thieves identified, all that was left to do was make contact. While the Director wanted to assess if they were a threat – while Kamoshida was a nobody, Madarame was a friend of his – Makoto had other motives. Madarame's breakdown was one of those memories that would never quite leave her mind. To force people to feel the guilt they should have from the start… well, it was certainly intriguing. With a brief pang of discomfort she quickly tried to bury, Makoto was forced to admit it was far more elegant than either of her solutions to Shadow-related problems.
(Plus… perhaps they'd actually understand her. Understand that the unjust deserved to suffer, to experience the same evil they wrought upon this world. Perhaps they'd join her side as she purified the system, reforming it into what it should have been.)
In the end, while she first met Amamiya Ren in a cramped studio corridor, she first understood him when on live TV, he told her – to her face! – that he was better than the police, unfound arrogance burning in his smug grey eyes. While Makoto kept a polite, picture-perfect smile on her face, it was impossible not to clench her fists at his insinuation.
How dare he? How dare besmirch her father's name like that!
Whatever musings about forming an alliance with the Phantom Thieves she had were thrown out of the window.
No, they're going down.
…..
Makoto watched the Phantom Thieves' escalating escapades with an increasing sense of irritation, that deep down inside, somewhat resembled envy.
When Kaneshiro had a change of heart, Makoto was stupefied – how did they even get the mobster's bank to descend? Still, Madarame was one thing, but Kaneshiro was another. The Director had cut a deal with the man – yet another one of his numerous sins, and one Makoto was very much going to hold over his head once it was time to strike – and therefore, they'd messed with his goals one too many times.
She's not the one who proposed the Medjed-Okumura scheme, but Makoto had no qualms about ensuring it went to plan.
Still, despite the conspiracies she was weaving with a fine thread, Makoto still had detective work to do, even if admittedly, the case she was working on that day was slightly outside of her usual ballpark.
Peering around the Shinjuku street, she clenched the side of the wall with an iron grip as she glared at a sleazy host buttering up his high-school girlfriend. She'd met Takao Eiko purely by chance, the girl approaching Makoto not because of her fame, but because she'd spotted the latter's Buchimaru-kun pencil case.
Friendship was far too strong a word to describe their relationship, but at the same time, Makoto wasn't going to just stand by as she got exploited by a man a decade her senior. Unfortunately, finding actual concrete evidence of Tsukasa's crimes was proving to be a nightmare. She wouldn't get the force backing her on a trifling case like this, and none of the bars nor clubs the host frequented would let her in without a warrant. Tsukasa was clever enough not to let his guard down in public, too. Makoto knew deep in her soul he was exploiting Takao, but had absolutely no idea how to punish him for it. She didn't even his full name, for crying out loud.
"… Niijima?"
Startled, she flipped around, only to land eyes on an equally shocked Amamiya.
"What are you doing here?" She glared at him suspiciously.
"I'm friends with a fortune teller who works here."
It was such a bizarre excuse, Makoto thought he might actually be telling the truth.
"… If I can ask, why are you here?" Amamiya tilted his head, following her gaze.
Makoto's lips thinned. For all of their ideological disagreements, she wouldn't do him the disservice of pretending he lacked a sense of justice, even if it differed from her own. "… I'm working on a case of sorts. You see that girl over there?"
As she ran over the situation for him, a sense of satisfaction rose within her when she saw his frown deepen into a scowl. Good – she's not alone. Amamiya thought this reeked as much as she did.
"So, you need to get him away from her, but don't have any charges you can bring him in on?"
"Before you ask, I don't even have his full name. Suffice to say, it's not making things easy." Makoto sighed, deciding to throw him a bone and diffuse any notions of getting his Thieves involved with this.
Adjusting his glasses, to her surprise, a subtle smirk pried at Amamiya's lips. "Leave this to me. We don't need to arrest him – just get her to see him for what he truly is."
He sauntered off, forcing Makoto to tail the thief like a lost puppy. Still, her curiosity overrode her common sense – just what on earth was Amamiya planning?
It turns out the answer was something stupid, predictably enough.
The second Takao and Tsukasa slipped down a dark alley, clearly looking for some privacy, he crept behind a bin, a shit-eating grin on his face. Withdrawing a knife - fake, mostly likely - from his pocket, he suddenly lunged out at the lovebirds, gibberish pouring from his mouth.
Makoto facepalmed.
Takao screamed.
Tsukasa also screamed, before booking it out of there and leaving his girlfriend in the clutches of an apparent wannabe knife murderer.
Even least Takao had enough self-esteem to look at her so-called boyfriend's retreating back with offense.
"You should get a better partner." Amamiya calmly explained, stowing his knife like he hadn't just pounced at them like a lunatic.
Suffice to say, it was very satisfying when Takao slapped him in the face before storming off, very much not in the same direction Tsukasa had gone.
"You shouldn't have done that." Makoto pursed her lip, approaching the other teen. "Intimidation is a crime, and for a good reason too. People can't just go around threatening other people around willy-nilly."
"It wasn't like I did it on a whim." Amamiya drawled, crossing his arms. "We needed to show that girl his true colours, and we did. I'veseenwhat Kaneshiro did to people – getting her out of his clutches was my priority."
Makoto gritted her teeth. "Yes, but there are procedures in place for a reason. Law and order are the backbone of our country – the only thing stopping it from descending it into anarchy. If we think we're above the rules, we're no better than men like Tsukasa."
"Order? The same order that tells Takao that she has no value outside of what she provides for a man?" Amamiya snorted. "Tsukasa wasn't breaking the order, he was exploiting it. I see no benefits of protecting a system like that."
She didn't know why she even bothered. Of course she and Amamiya weren't going to see eye-to-eye.
(Even more irritating than his flippant disregard for the rules is the fact that Makoto suspected her father might have approved of his antics.)
…..
Makoto was en route to Leblanc – the perfect place to keep an eye on Amamiya, and get a lovely drink to boot – when she caught a glimpse of unruly black hair in the corner of her eyes. It seemed the Phantom Thief was out, chatting to yet another one of his numerous friends.
She hated how loved he was. Despite being nothing but a criminal, everyone and their mother acted like he was a gift from god. Meanwhile, Makoto was a detective, a hero, fighting to restore Japan's order, but she has had nobody, nothing, not since her father…
… Died….
Eyes widening, Makoto stilled, frigid shock rooting her in place as she finally realised who Amamiya was talking to.
Sae's changed in the two years since Makoto last saw her. Gone are the sharp suits and stylish hair, replaced by a casual tracksuit – perhaps she was out jogging – and a messy ponytail. There's a warmth in her eyes, however, that Makoto hadn't seen since before their father's death. Paradoxically, she almost looked like the beloved sister Makoto thought she once was, instead of the monster she became or the stranger she was right now.
Amamiya noticed Makoto first.
"Oh, Niijima." His eyes flicked towards her. "Morning."
Sae glanced her way, nonchalance melting into shock as the blood drained from her skin, staring at Makoto as if she was a ghost.
Amamiya's brows wrinkled in confusion as the silence continued, the puzzled teen looking between both Niijima's.
In the end, Sae was the one to break the silence. "M-Makoto? It's… it's been a while."
"… Sis. How are you?" Makoto bowed, hands trembling as the world spun around. Why this? Why now? Why on earth was her sister talking to Amamiya of all people?!
"I've… been better. I've also been worse though." Sae swallowed. She looked uncertain, a completely foreign expression on her face. "How about you? I've seen you on the news."
Stomach twisting awkwardly, Makoto can't meet her sister's gaze. "I see. I've… been trying to…" A nauseous lump forms in her throat, and suddenly, Makoto realised there was no way in hell she could tell Sae of all people that she's been trying to uphold their father's legacy. "I've been busy trying to solve the mental shutdowns lately. I like to think I'm making good progress, though."
"Oh. I see." This time, it was Sae's turn to look away. "… Stay safe, alright?"
"I'll do my best." Makoto bowed yet again, an awkward movement to fill an awkward silence that never should have existed in the first place. She couldn't get out of this conversation soon enough. "On that note, I should probably be going. I have work to do."
The brunette had barely turned away before Sae's voice echoed.
"W-wait!" Glancing over her shoulder, she saw her sister step towards her. "Do you… want to exchange numbers? Just in case you want to talk in the future."
No, Makoto absolutely did not. However, she was also painfully aware of Amamiya's presence by Sae's side, along with the way he was watching this excruciating exchange with increasingly widening eyes. She'd given him enough ammunition today, and the polite Detective Princess would never brush off her clearly desperate elder sister, unfortunately.
"… Sure." Makoto forced a grin. "I can't promise anything though – like I said, I'm quite busy at the moment."
A flicker of surprise flashed across Sae's face – it was clear she expected Makoto to say no – but soon it was replaced by a weak, but sincere smile. "That's okay. Here – let's swap phones. It'll be quicker that way."
Internally acknowledging Sae had a point, reluctantly, Makoto passed her phone to her sister, accepting Sae's in turn. The first thing Makoto noticed was that it was cheap. A budget brand, nothing like anything the sister of her past would ever have deigned to purchase. Then again, she supposed that wasn't surprising – no one was going to hire a prosecutor who'd been arrested for assault.
Perhaps that's why she was chums with Amamiya – they were two peas in a pod.
Entering her details, Makoto waited impatiently while Sae typed in her own at what felt like an excruciatingly slow pace, but eventually, her sister returned her device. The second it was back in her hand, a wave of relief flooded Makoto. Finally, she could get out of here.
"It was lovely seeing you Sis, but I really must be going now. Until later."
She didn't bother watching Sae's farewell wave.
…..
The Phantom Thieves of Heart fell into the rigged poll's trap, moving to change Okumura's heart. Watching them from the factory's eaves, Makoto frowned. There have been several new additions to the motley crew since Madarame's Palace; a brown-haired boy in a black jumpsuit, a short girl with a garish bleach job and a UFO of all things for a Persona, and another with curly locks that was likely Okumura Haru.
As they beat down another wave of Shadows, Makoto bit her lips. They were taking their sweet time with the Palace, only ever going into it once or twice a week, but even then the Phantom Thieves were slowly but surely progressing towards their final fight against Okumura. Then, it would be time to frame them for the CEO's demise before finishing Amamiya off for good. The thought brought her surprisingly little comfort, but he'd made his bed – it was his time to lie in it.
(She didn't notice the girl with bleached hair staring in her direction for a moment too long.)
…..
Okumura received his calling card, and Makoto entered his Palace. Red light danced across her vision, the Spaceport filled with the dreadful hum of a Palace Ruler on full alert. Slipping into the shadows, she crept to the furthest reach of the Palace, hiding in the darkness as Okumura paced around his spaceship in agitation. It seems she'd bet the Phantom Thieves to the punch.
Makoto waited, still as a statue as her red eyes remained glued to the spaceship's entrance. Her heart beat almost in time with Okumura's, the brunette's every muscle tensed with anticipation. The Phantom Thieves were going to get here any second now.
But then, they didn't.
Seconds trickled into minutes, a hollow pit forming in her stomach as those minutes then warped into what felt like hours. What on earth was taking them so long? Makoto knew they'd mapped the infiltration route – she'd been stalking them while they had. Sure, there were a few Shadows between the weapon facility and the true depths of Okumura's Palace, but nothing that would give the Phantom Thieves any serious trouble.
Makoto bit her lip, shuffling in place as her steadfast façade crumbled. What if something had happened to them? What if they hadn't even entered Okumura's Palace to begin with?
Her guts churned with anxiety. She hated abandoning plans. She hated, hated, hated it. There was a certain safety in following a series of logical steps from point A to B. But now, everything was up in the air. Makoto could just kill Okumura, but without a confession, the public might not buy that the Phantom Thieves were the ones who did him in. If the Phantom Thieves never managed to make it to the Palace though, Okumura wouldn't be confessing regardless. If Makoto left to find them, however, but they managed to slip past her and change his heart before she could intervene…
No matter how much she pondered, there was no right choice, no singular decision she could make that covered all of her bases.
Nervous sweat staining her palms, Makoto left the Palace.
As reality returned, the pounding pulse of Okumura's fear was replaced by the mid-city din, but it all faded to a distant blur as Makoto's phone began to buzz. As one, then two, then nearly twenty messages from the Director reached her all at once, Makoto felt as if she'd been hollowed out.
She'd always been quick on the uptake. It was easy enough to figure out what happened. Somehow, she didn't know how, the Phantom Thieves had tricked her. And now, they were going to steal her ultimate prize from under her nose, leaving her dreams of reform dead in the water.
No. Makoto's eyes narrowed to slits as she gripped her phone so tightly it cracked. She refused to let those goddamn Thieves' take her vengeance away from her – it's time they witnessed her form of justice.
The train ride to Kasumigaseki is unbearably slow, each second nudging Makoto's agitation into divine rage.
...
The second she entered the Director's Palace – a grandiose eastern castle, a mockery of the emperor's home for a regent who fancied becoming the king of law enforcement – a wave of relief crashed over her. It was faint, but she could sense the Phantom Thieves' distant presence. They were close – they were so close – but they hadn't reached the Palace's sanctum yet.
Summoning Johanna, Shadows yelled, leaping out of her way as she drove the motorbike straight through the Palace. Tearing through screen walls and sending gravel flying across the stone-laden courtyards, if Makoto was less incensed, she probably would have vomited in relief once she finally laid eyes on the Phantom Thieves.
"Stop right there!" She yelled, revving Johanna's engines and blocking the Thieves' path with a burst of azure light. "If you think I'm going to let you undo everything I've been working for, you're mistaken! Do you understand how much sweat, blood, and tears I've put into securing my perfect vengeance!?"
"… Niijima." Amamiya sighed at her as if she was a disappointing child and god, she hated him. She really, really hated him. "What on earth about serving a man like this is revenge?"
"You wouldn't understand." Her nostrils flared. "Before we start, tell me – how did you do it? How did a criminal like you outwit me?! I'm the detective, yet somehow, you're the one who managed to play me for a fool!"
Silent, Amamiya glanced to the side. No – not just to the side. Looking over his shoulder, his eyes landed on one of the Phantom Thieves. A hat far too large to belong to Okumura sat on her head, white roses adorning it. A leather jacket hung off her shoulders, revealing heavily tattooed arms, an ensemble topped off with tight black pants and a spiked choker ensnaring her neck. With a prickle of alarm, Makoto realised she was a stranger – there wasn't anyone dressed like that in Okumura's Palace.
On cue, the woman stepped forward, out of the castle's shadows and into the light.
Makoto recognised her then.
"You."An incredulous hiss escaped Makoto's throat. "How…?"
It was impossible – impossible. Yet somehow, despite that, standing across the Palace's shiny wooden floors was none other than Niijima Sae.
"… I really hoped I was wrong. I knew I wasn't, but a distant part of me wished this was just in my head – that you were the same precocious child I remembered." Sae's eyes wavered as if she wanted to look away, but with a deep sigh, her sister grounded herself. "You haven't changed in some regards, however. You're smart, Makoto, but not that smart."
…..
Amamiya Ren first met Niijima Sae on a nondescript day in Leblanc.
Walking down the stairs, he spotted Sojiro already deep in conversation with a customer. Though, perhaps conversation was too strong a word – the barista was simply nodding along mindlessly to her agitated rant as he dried the dishes.
"Oh, it's you." His guardian arched a brow, eyes devoid of the warmth that'll fill them barely several months later. "You should pay attention to her – she's living proof of what will happen to you if you don't learn to behave."
"What'sthatsupposed to mean?!" The woman huffed, wine-red eyes burning like an inferno.
(The expression was familiar. Ren saw it in the mirror nearly every single day.)
Sojiro, meanwhile, just shook his head. "You know exactly what it means. You're a smart woman – you could have been someone, but instead, because you couldn't control your temper, your family doesn't talk to you, you work two shitty jobs you hate, and also have to deal with the landlord from hell."
Her scowl deepened, but she made no retort, forced to simply simmer in her rage because there was simply nothing to say. Ren's experienced the same things more times than he can count ever since his arrest. Once society has labelled you lesser, no pretty words can ever remove the stain.
The second Sojiro's attention was distracted by another pair of customers, Ren approached the woman, whispering in her ear.
"I was innocent too."
He'd gotten plenty of sympathy from his friends after telling them about his checkered past. Before that day, however, nobody had looked at him with understanding.
…..
Ren liked Sae. She was a bit more uptight than most of his other confidants, but she had a subtle, dry wit that occasionally shone through when she was in a good mood, and her combat advice was simply brilliant. Plus, well, she got what it was like to have a criminal record hanging over your head. God knows Shujin had hammered it in numerous times that it made him the scum of the earth, and unlike Sae, he hadn't even been to prison.
It was only natural that once her landlord threatened to evict her from her apartment due to said record, the Phantom Thieves of Heart stepped in. He wasn't at all surprised when she texted him shortly after, asking if they could meet up.
Suffice to say, however, he was surprised when their encounter started to go off-script.
"You know…" She drawled, a strange edge to her voice that instantly raised the hairs on the back of his neck. "The Phantom Thieves are causing quite a stir. I'm pretty sure the police would even listen to me if I told them I had evidence of your identity."
Ren froze, blood replaced with ice as a sense of betrayal slapped him across the face. "W-what?"
"I could be convinced to keep quiet, however."
Clenching his fists, his heart thumped like a rabbit in his chest. "You're blackmailing me."
Sae's cold mask finally cracked, bland indifference replaced with something apologetic. "If it's any consolation, I don't want you to do anything outside your comfort zone. I… I need you to change the heart of Niijima Makoto."
… The Detective Princess? Ren blinked, caught completely off guard in an entirely different way. It was then, though, that the gears started running in his mind. Could Sae and Niijima be related? They did share the same name after all, and now that he was paying attention to it, he could see certain similarities in their appearance.
Still, there was a problem with her request. Namely, the fact that Niijima was almost certainly a Metaverse user.
"I… can't."
"What do you mean, you can't?" Sae snapped. "She…!" Almost as quickly as she started speaking, the silver-haired woman's mouth suddenly clamped shut as a flicker of something it dawned on him was fear flashed across her face.
Realisation crashed over him like a waterfall. Saeknewsomething. She knew something about the perfectly polished detective who had somehow heard Morgana speak. Something they didn't.
"What has she done?" Ren stepped forward, careful to keep his voice low. "Please, I need to know."
Glancing furtively, Sae whispered. "Come with me."
…..
"Uh." Was the first thing out of Ren's mouth as he stepped inside Sae's apartment.
Poking his head out of his bag, Morgana frowned. "Are you sure she's not a serial killer?"
He couldn't blame the not-cat for the question. Most of Sae's cramped studio apartment was faintly sad in the normal way, such as the mattress on the floor and threadbare kitchen. The wall covered head-to-toe with photos connected by red string, however, was concerning in a distinctively abnormal way.
"Look, I have a background in criminal investigation – it's a good way of sorting information." Sae raised her hands defensively as if she could sense the not-cat's complaint.
Frowning, Ren glanced at the photos, only to still when he saw a familiar face. Okumura Kunikazu – the man topping the Phansite's polls – stared imperiously down at him. Following the red strings, his eyes landed on an article. As he skimmed it, the teenager took in a sharp breath. The CEO of a rival fast-food company had died in a tragic accident after his driver had a mental shutdown. Suddenly on full alert, he glanced at the rest of the information connected to Okumura, his blood growing cold. Somehow, Sae had traced over a dozen incidents that sounded like mental shutdowns or psychotic breakdowns back to the CEO.
Sojiro had mentioned she was smart, but it's one thing to hear that, and another to find out that she'd made so much headway into investigating the incidents with no knowledge of the Metaverse whatsoever.
The question remained, however. "What does this have to do with Niijima?"
Sae's shoulders slumped. "Far too much. Do you know who patient zero of the psychotic breakdown incidents was?"
"No?"
Walking deeper into her apartment, Sae tapped a picture, her expression unreadable. "Me. I had no idea what had happened at first - I blacked out, came too, and had somehow broken a colleague's arm." The silver-haired woman started to pace. "Several months later, however, other incidents started to appear on the news. People attacking others, harming themselves, or otherwise acting deranged only to return to normal with no memories of what had happened. There was a connecting thread between the incidents which wasn't reported, however."
"Really?" Ren blinked, the news entirely new to him.
Sae nodded. "The primary targets of the breakdowns and shutdowns were members of the police. Still, that didn't explain why one had happened to me. Most of the other victims had been on the force for years. I, however, hadn't even worked at the SIU for six months. So why was I targeted? I didn't even have the opportunity to make any real enemies of any criminals."
"I assume you figured out the answer to that eventually."
For a moment, she was silent. "Did you know Makoto's my sister?"
Ren shrugged. "I assumed she might have been."
"She was removed from my custody after my psychotic breakdown, and while I tried contacting her after my release, she'd changed her number." Sae's voice was wistful. "I then saw her on TV, and everything clicked in place. Our father was murdered in the line of duty – Makoto and I argued about him not long before I had my breakdown, and deep down inside, a part of me had suspected his colleagues had helped arrange his death. Looking back on the incidents, nearly all of the prior victims were her enemies, and this Detective Princess nonsense explained the others."
"How?" Ren's stomach churned, her every word more awful than the last.
Sae shrugged. "Makoto's bright, but she's not a prodigy – no sane commissioner would have hired her. I assume she decided to loan out her services in return for getting a position on the force."
Mouth dry, he averted his gaze as all the awful little puzzle pieces slotted in place. Christ.
Taking a deep breath in, he took the plunge. "I can't change your sister's heart."
Instantly, Sae bristled. "Oh, come on! I know it's all circumstantial, but-!"
Raising a hand, he interjected. "I can't change your sister's heart because she has powers like mine."
…..
"We knew you had to be working for someone, so, we made sure you ran into Rose one day." Amamiya tipped his head towards her sister, still using those childish nicknames of his even when everyone here knew who everyone else was. "All she needed to do was slip a bug onto your phone, and we'd find out who was pulling your strings soon enough."
Jaw hanging open in indignation, Makoto trembled with sheer, utter rage as the Phantom Thief brought his wretched tale to an end. Eyes flashing dangerously, the brunette's glare flicked over to Sae. The gall of her! Makoto had deluded herself into thinking Sae actually wanted something to do with her, but it had been a trick this entire time.
"We found out about the Director – and what you planned to do to us – shortly after we first entered Okumura's Palace. We decided to keep up our infiltration, but finish the Director's Palace at the same time." Amamiya played with his knife. "As long as you never saw Rose in the Metaverse, we knew you'd never suspect a thing."
"I decided it was worth never changing my father's heart if it meant I could take down the man responsible for so much suffering." The younger Okumura concluded, handing Makoto the final piece of the puzzle.
Somehow, the brunette managed to feel a wave of revulsion through her fury. Giving up on her father just like that? How despicable.
On cue, Sae stepped forward. "Please, Makoto – stop this. Is this really how you want to uphold father's legacy? By serving a man as vile as this?"
It was the last straw – finally, Makoto snapped. "How dare you talk to me about our father?! You were the one to betray him, not me!"Lips curled, her gaze swept all over the Phantom Thieves, none of them undeserving of her ire. "Men like the Director killed our father, and worse – they made a mockery of everything he ever fought for! That's why I'm doing this – so I can save the system he gave everything for! SoI'mthe one pulling all the strings!"
"My god, Makoto." Sae blanched, skin pale. "Don't you realise by doing this, you've become nearly as bad as he has?!"
"No – don't you dare judge me! Come to me, Johanna!" A furious yell burst from her throat, spittle flying through the air as her voice cracked. "Grant me the power I need to see my justice through!"
Very well, my other self. The Persona's voice was a gentle murmur as the throbbing lights of the Palace were burnt away by an azure glow. As Johanna's magic took hold, Makoto's very self was extinguished, all logic and emotion and every trait that made her herself smothered out in favour of a single directive.
Make them pay.
Nuclear energy detonated across the Palace, the traditional wooden arches set aglow with eerie blue light. Okumura crumpled under the onslaught in an instant, and charging forward, Makoto's iron knuckles smashed into the cat, sending the creature flying. Despite her initial advantage, however, the tides turned as surely as the moon waned.
Bloodied swords, hefty bats and even the crack of a whip launched her way, flaying her skin. Occasionally, flickers of silver broke through Makoto's Johanna-induced haze, and whenever she set eyes on her sister, for some reason, the brunette froze. Eventually, it led to her undoing. Sae called her knight-like Persona with a yell, and Makoto hesitated for just a moment too long, a blinding pillar of light engulfing her for her troubles. She didn't remember screaming – only felt the tell-tale ache in her throat after the act – but the thousand needle-like stabs of agony that pierced every surface of her body managed to even obliterate Johanna's single-minded focus.
Well and truly defeated, Makoto collapsed to the ground. The energy bled out from her body as surely as her blood, rage dying like embers as a cold, hard fact became readily apparent.
She'd lost. She'd failed.
The iron of her mask cracked, along with the last dredges of her resolve.
"It-it's not fair!" Makoto sobbed, thick tears staining the floorboards as she slammed her fist into them. "W-why are you helping them?! Why not me? Why not dad…?"
"Oh, Makoto." Sae's soft voice was a gentle whisper as she knelt by her sister's side. "I… I'm so sorry. I was too scared."
"Scared?" Her brows wrinkled, lips curling in confusion. Of all the myriad of justifications her sister could have given her, it wasn't the one she was expecting. "Scared of what?"
The voice that replied distinctly did not belong to Sae. "You, of course."
Instantly, Makoto's head snapped upwards, and she glanced over her shoulder. Somehow, it sounded familiar, but deep in her gut she knew it was wrong, wrong, wrong. Discordant, a note out of place. Blinking the tears from her eyes, the readily approaching beige blur solidified, and at the sight before her, Makoto couldn't help but gape.
Looming over her, was well, her.
Not the Makoto lying broken and beaten on the charred Palace floor, no, but the Detective Princess, the Director's perfect little salesman for his false justice. Unlike the Detective Princess, however, the Cognitive Makoto – because what else would she be – wasn't just a teenager roleplaying an adult. No, she was also the Director's attack dog.
And right now, her revolver pointed directly at Makoto's heart.
"All the Regent needed to do was slip Niijima-san a little note, a small threat on her pathetic baby sister's life, and she dropped her irritating little investigation like a hot potato!" The Cognition chuckled, her every word echoing in Makoto's ears as a chill seeped into her bones.
Sae… stopped looking into their father's death because someone had threatened her? Except, no, it wasn't just someone – it was the Director himself.
"W-why didn't you tell me?!" Makoto hissed, eyes wide with dismay as she watched her grimacing sister, desperately hoping to find some indication this was nothing but a sick lie.
"I didn't want you to worry." Taking a deep, shuddering breath in, Sae stared at the ground. "… Though perhaps I'm being too charitable towards myself. I was scared, and didn't want to admit that it had happened. That I was so weak."
Speechless, Makoto couldn't have taken her eyes off her sister even if she wanted to.
"So surprised." The Cognition tutted, and Makoto wondered if that awful smug smarminess was what people saw when they looked at her. "Then again, that's hardly surprising. I'm not that smart, but I am good at doing what people tell me. Firstly, killing for the Regent, and now, dying for him."
Ice crawled down her spine as she stared gormlessly at her other self. "E-excuse me?"
"Isn't it obvious?" The Cognition frowned. "The pieces for the Regent's coronation are all in place. Defeating the Phantom Thieves was your last job, but now that you've failed that task, he doesn't need you anymore."
"Last job?" Makoto hissed, goosebumps prickling across her skin as an awful, sinking suspicion overcame her. But no, that couldn't be right. Itcouldn'tbe.
"So blind, as always." It shook its head. "You simply know too much – you're a liability. Isn't it obvious the Regent was always going to get rid of you the second he'd achieved his goals?"
The Palace swayed around her as the Cognition's words crushed down upon Makoto like a leaden weight. All this time, the Director was just using her. She'd be naïve enough to think she was the one controlling him, but all this time, he'd been playing her like a fiddle.
A disgusting, squelching splatter echoed through the Palace as behind the Cognition, a horde of Shadows spawned into existence.
"You know, I don't really want to die." It admitted amiably, revolver moving away from Makoto's heart to point straight at Amamiya's skull. "If you flee now and leave the Phantom Thieves to me, I won't pursue you. Not yet, anyway. The Regent's orders are absolute."
As more and more Shadows filled the hall, heart racing, Makoto turned back to face the Phantom Thieves. Sweat dripped down from their brows as they panted for air, skin still blistered from Makoto's nuclear strikes. Perhaps if they had the time to recharge and recover they'd be able to face the oncoming horde, but they didn't.
Makoto could leave this place, possibly even smuggling Sae with her, but it would come at the cost of each of their lives. Perhaps, if the Cognition hadn't told her everything she'd done for the last two years was for naught, she might have considered doing so. But now, clarity parted the fog of shock and dismay cloying her mind. Rising to her feet, the iron-hard resolve that flooded through Makoto was nothing like the grim determination Johanna had unlocked within her, but it was just as unbreakable.
As vermillion light fractured like a kaleidoscope in the corner of her vision, every jagged cut or purpling bruise the Phantom Thieves inflicted on her throbbed, her breath reduced to a rasping gasp. All the while, the Director's fear drummed throughout the Palace, a rhythmic pulse like a frantic heartbeat. There was no fleeing for the Phantom Thieves, but if they could escape the horde, changing his heart… then the Palace's collapse would lead them to safety.
And her father could finally rest in peace.
(For the first time, she thought she truly understood him. True justice wasn't about harming those who wronged you, but putting every fibre of your being into protecting the innocent from the villains who sought to exploit them.)
"Go. Change his heart." She commanded, turning her back on the Phantom Thieves as she slipped into a fighting stance for what she knew with cold certainty would be the last time. "It's my fault these Shadows are here, and therefore my duty to take them down."
"But you'll…!" Amamiya's voice hitched, and Makoto couldn't help but smile. How odd. Despite all of their differences, for some reason, he actually cared.
"We don't have any other choice, Joker." Morgana interjected. "If we don't get to the Director soon, his Treasure will dematerialise, and everything we've done will have been for nothing!"
With one long, last look at her back, Amamiya took a deep breath in. "Fine. Good luck, Niijima. Phantom Thieves, with me!"
As he turned around with a swish of his coat, his friends thundered after him.
All but one of them, that was.
"Sis…?" Makoto paled, staring to her side.
Sae hadn't budged an inch. Instead, fists curled and jaw clenched, she glared daggers into the Cognition wearing her sister's face. "… I've already failed as your sister one too many times. I'm not doing it again."
Makoto froze, stomach twisting. Sae might not have gotten as banged up as the other Thieves, but she hadn't escaped their fight unscathed. Faint burns pocket her skin, and Makoto can sense her dwindling magical reserves as clear as day. With Sae at her side, they'd last longer, but the chances of either of them getting out of this situation were still...
Taking a deep breath in, she quashed her fear. Sae was well aware of the odds, and Makoto could tell by the stubborn set of her jaw that nothing was going to dissuade her sister from staying here regardless. The brunette couldn't help but chuckle – how nostalgic. Reaching towards her sister, Makoto gave Sae's hand a tight squeeze, tuning out the Cognition's furious ranting.
"… Very well. Let's do this together."
Sae's eyes sparkled brightly despite the odds they faced, and she nodded firmly at Makoto's words. "Together."