Chapter 58: Society's chains

Thursday, November 3rd, Afternoon 20XX

"Urgh," Groaning with pain, Ren held his side as he staggered back into his cell. Slumping down on his hard bed, Ren drew his knees to his chest and stared across at his roommate. The spindly man who called himself Jed gave no indication that he even noticed Ren's arrival. He only continued to flip the pages of a motorcycle magazine while chewing on the end of a thin plastic stirrer.

Breathing in relief, Ren let his head fall back against the cool concrete wall and allowed his eyes to close. With one sense shut off though, the pain in body became more acute. A week of injuries taking their toll on his endurance and fortitude.

"Got beat up again, huh?" Jed drawled.

Ren's eyes snapped open. His cellmate hadn't moved. He gave no indication that he cared at all if Ren answered. "Yeah, the thugs from that family you feuded with got me in the lunch line."

"Heh. Well it's your fault for being in my cell."

"It's—" This was why Ren hated Jed. The idiot would say shit like that to try and rile him up. On his first day in this cell—exactly one week ago—Jed had shown Ren the shiv he kept and told him what would happen if Ren stepped up on him.

"So? What's your plan?" Jed drawled, still flipping pages.

"Plan?" Ren fired back angrily. "What am I supposed to do against five full grown men that enjoy picking on me?"

"I don't know, be a man and stand up for yourself?"

"Easy for you to say," Ren mumbled under his breath. "Not everyone is in prison for murder…"

The hypocrisy of the words quickly caught up to Ren. That was precisely why he was here. He had lost control of his power and taken justice into his own hands. After shutting down Shido's mind, Ren had turned himself into Sae and ended up in prison. Locked in Fuchu prison now, Ren had to get used to his new life.

"Hey, boy," Jed said rising to his feet. "I'm stepping out to take a shit. You end this, alright?"

Ren did not understand. The words were spoken in Japanese, but the meaning went over his head. Less than a dozen seconds later, the sounds of multiple heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway.

"Shit!" Jumping to his feet, Ren could do nothing but watch as the door of his cell was blocked by five tattooed men. All of them belonged to the same Yakuza clan. The leader was missing his right eye curtesy of Jed's shiv.

"Well well, all alone, four eyes?"

Like you didn't plan this around Jed's departure!

Even as they filtered in, none of them were brave enough to enter Jed's side of the room. There was an invisible barrier halfway through that they wouldn't cross.

"Leave me alone," Ren barked at them. "I'm not part of Jed's Yakuza family."

"Yeah, maybe. But you look like him and live in his cell. Good enough for me!"

"Assholes…" Ren had been taking their abuse for a week now. It had started like standard bullying. Tripping him at at work. A discreetly thrown pebble at his back. Recently though, it had ramped up. Metal lunch trayed rammed into his side and back. Kicks and punches in the showers.

Tired of dealing with it all, Ren spread his arms and stepped up to them. "Well? What do you want?"

The man smiled. It was all the warming Ren got before a fist was rammed into his gut.

Gagging from the blow, Ren collapsed to his knees. Eyes watering from the pain, Ren looked up and finally understood his mistake. These men, despite being locked in a prison, forced to do hours of manual labor every day, were free. The conventions and desires of society that chained citizens into behaving certain ways had been broken in these people.

They weren't here because of family feuds or even for revenge against Jed. They were here because they liked causing pain and Ren was a good target. As the boot caught Ren's chin, sending his glasses flying, for a brief moment, he thought the sight was beautiful.

Laying flat on his back, moaning in agony, a single comprehensive thought pierced the pain. They're going to kill me.

Ren's attempt to crawl away was halted as one of the goons stomped on his hand.

"Where you think you're going?"

Writhing in pain, Ren curled into a ball. That didn't stop the kicks and punches from hitting his body. Each one a sharp pain that would bruise.

"Oi oi oi! Cut the shit and stand up. You have three seconds before I cut your throat."

Ahh, I'm dead… That should have scared Ren. Instead, he felt resigned to it. He had gotten on the wrong side of men who expressed their desire to hurt people with no inhibition. Ren couldn't even get mad at them. This is what he had been trying to inspire in the people. Not unchecked violence, but the ability to exercise their free will.

Just like the palace masters had.

Gasping, Ren's eyes widened at the realization. It was truly something obvious, but at the same time, Ren could not comprehend the information. It had nothing to do with being a criminal and everything about doing what you want.

"I said stand up!" Clearly acting too slow for the boss, Ren stared as he pulled a shiv from his pants band. It had a handle shorter than his thumb with a blade about the same length. It was a poor weapon, but good enough to slit Ren's throat.

Ren just stared, not responding. It was already over. He failed. While his life was ending, his friends would be enjoying Culture day.

I wonder… what Sumire is up to.

Her smiling face flashed through his mind. The sun shining off her beautiful red locks. The adorable way that she would look up over the rim of her glasses at him.

I don't want to die.

Desperation flowed through Ren's body. The same power that had led to him killing Shido flowed back out. Ren had trained thoroughly to contain his personas from impacting his decisions and actions. Now, he let loose.

Raoul's laughter echoed in Ren's mind as he suddenly lunged upwards. His fist connected solidly with the fork of the legs of the man that had stepped on him. He let out a grunt of pain and collapsed to his knees as Ren darted up and behind the fallen member.

"The hell!?" One of the others lunged at Ren.

Swiping with his right forearm, Ren knocked away the outstretched hands grabbing for his collar. Instincts taking over, he swung hard with his left. The massive hook connecting with the man's moving jaw. The collision sent a hoorible jolt up Ren's arm to the sound of a loud crack.

As the goon sprawled out on the ground with his friend, Ren took a look at his now bloodied fist. "Wow… It's so much realer here…"

As Ren mumbled to himself, the final two goons staggered away. That left only the leader whose shiv began to vibrate in his shaky hands. "Y-You think you're tough because Jed taught you some moves!? Let's see how strong you are when I jam this blade in your side, asshole!"

Ren had executed the motion thousands of times. Darting in and gutting a shadow before retreating away from a counterattack. It was almost laughable how bad the yakuza member was at doing it. He had bulked up on pure strength and sacrificed all speed.

Ducking around the strike, Ren's foot came down hard on the top of his. Through the thick boot, he was unable to break the foot, but it was enough to send the yakuza leader falling to the hard ground, shiv skirting away across the concrete.

Jumping over to it, Ren rose smoothly with a weapon in his right hand. Pushing up his glasses, he almost felt like Joker. The weapon wasn't quite right, and he was not as strong as in the metaverse.

"H-Huh?"

As the leader pushed himself up, Ren stepped forward and kicked him hard across the face. The remnants of a broken tooth shot out of the man's mouth and struck the wall. Continuing to pursue, Ren grabbed the short black hair and pulled, lifting his head up. Placing a knee on the man's chest, Ren hovered the shiv right above his left eye.

"I guess it's actually you dying."

"N-No, wait please!"

Ren froze. Raoul's veil of influence and power shattering. If I do this, I'm never getting out. Shoving him down, Ren backed away to the far wall, still holding the shiv. He had no plans of ever relinquishing a weapon again. "Go! Get out of here, all five of you!"

"Y-Yes!" The leader began dragging himself to the jail door, a hand on his bloody jaw.

"Heh, kid is soft after all," the final member muttered. He stared at Ren, analyzing his true resolve.

Ren stared back, giving a final warning. "I'm only sparing you so I don't get out any later. There's a girl I have to go see."

Whether that was the right or wrong thing say, Ren didn't know as the five made their way out in various states of beaten up. Seconds after they left, Jed walked in, eyes gleaming with mirth.

"Sounds like your problems are taken care of, yeah?"

"…Yes, I think they are."

Thursday, November 3rd, Afternoon 20XX

"This sucks…" Muttering to herself, Sumire stared listlessly at the displays of cloths in the store. Standing on the outside, looking in, she could not muster the motivation to even enter. Shopping like this should have meant her trip would last an, maybe two at most. However, she had fled her home early and been out all day.

Sumire's stomach growled to remind her that she hadn't even paused for lunch. As she had done all day though, Sumire did not quite ignore, but reveled in the growing, dull pain. She felt that it was a fair compromise. Ren had sacrificed everything, so she should be punished as well. "And he did it… without telling me!"

Her conversation with Kasumi last week was still crystal clear in her mind. The fateful words they had exchanged back and forth forming a cross she could not put down.

Hey, Sumi… I umm… went on that date with Ren.

HUH? Really? H-How is he!?

He… Sumi… I'm so sorry.

Kas… What happened?

He… Ren that is… Is going to the police. He was hoping—

Sumire's memory went blank at that point. She didn't want their empty platitudes. She needed Ren in her life, not locked in a jail cell. She hadn't been able to look at Kasumi since. Every time her sister tried to talk to her, Sumire heard the same damning words. She felt the same sense of betrayal. The two of them had plotted it together and hadn't even told her. Going to Sae was also unhelpful. The sympathetic director could only look ashamed that she hadn't done more.

Turning away in disgust, Sumire made to leave the mall. Her day of fasting had to end. It was a delicate balance. Sumire didn't want to abandon gymnastics—to lose the last pillar of her life—but also punished herself in such a manner that hurt her ability to improve and compete.

Just before she could turn her gaze to the ground and walk home in shame, Sumire caught sight of a person that she thought she would never see again. One that had left and Sumire wanted to talk to again.

"Doctor Maruki?"

"Sumire? Ahh, I'm glad to see you!"

"W-What are you doing here!?" letting out an excited cry, she rushed over. Her hands hung out in front of her, desperately reaching for the flaps of his ever-present lab coat.

Maruki gave her a bright smile. "I finished my work, so I'm back here to implement it."

"Implement it…?"

Maruki ignored her question, looking intently at Sumire. "Are you ill? You shouldn't be out shopping in such poor condition."

"I'm fine!" Sumire replied unconvincingly. "It… it isn't an illness."

"Not an illness…" Maruki frowned. Sumire's weak excuses only serving to deepen his frown. "Well, if you say so. I'm not employed at the school anymore, but if you want…"

"Can we?" Sumire asked, somewhat desperately. She could not contain the slight rise in her voice giving her away.

"Of course, this way."

A few minutes later they found themselves sitting on a bench on the street, a cold drink filled with plenty of calories gripped in Sumire's hands. Kicking against the ground, she waited for Maruki's explanation.

"Have you ever been to Okinawa? I must say, it was a first for me, but it was quite spectacular. The beaches are as advertised. White and clean. The waves would wax and wane allowing for both peaceful days and the possibility of surfing. I suppose it isn't anything you haven't seen after your Hawaii trip."

"Ahaha, Waikiki certainly was pretty…" Sumire admitted, not following the point of Maruki's talk.

"The legendary Waikiki beach, huh? I bet there isn't a person in the first world that hasn't heard of it. Our poor little Okinawa can't stack up, huh?"

"I never said that," Sumire sulked. "Seriously, why do you always do this? You start conversations with these pointless jokes."

"Pointless, you say?" Maruki's eyes lost their focus as he stared at the crowds milling past. "I don't think that what I said is pointless. For all the popularity that Waikiki has, whenever someone mentions a beach now, my mind will return to Okinawa. That's the funny thing about humans, isn't it? A new trend can consume our active thoughts, but when we are reminded, what is most important often rises to the top."

"So… tourist traps aren't worth the time?"

"No! Well, I mean, kind of, but umm…"

Sumire giggled. "You're so silly Doctor Maruki. I know that you can't help me, but somehow I'm still relieved."

"Don't give up on me so quickly!" Maruki protested. "You never can tell who around you will have the power to change everything."

"And is that you?" Sumire asked, looking up, expecting nothing.

Maruki just smiled and rubbed her head. "Keep your head up. I promise that soon you will never need to cry another tear of sadness."

What? Sumire jerked away. His statement had been delivered with ardent belief. "I-I don't understand."

"That's fine for now. I know that you've carried a heavy burden until this point, but fret not. I will manage from here on out."

Sumire wanted to follow up, but a loud buzz of a cellphone broke the tension. Maruki took his phone from his pants' pocket and sighed at the screen. "I need to take this. You go home and get some rest, alright?"

"B-But Doctor Maruki!" Sumire yelled; her shaking hand unable to grab him. "Can I… Can I trust you?"

He paused on the verge of answering the call. He shot her the gentlest smile she'd seen in her life. It was the expression of a saint, concerned only with soothing the ails of others. "Yes, you can, Sumire. I'm doing this out of kindness."

Sumire watched silently as Maruki waved goodbye, answering the call all the while. Left alone once again, Sumire held a hand to her chest, feeling her heartbeat. Usually slow and powerful, it was pounding at a ferocious pace.

"Maybe… Maruki will help?" Sumire went home slightly relieved. Through it all, she forgot that she hadn't told him about Ren's plight.

Friday, November 4th, Noon 20XX

Kasumi took a deep breath to compose herself. I can do this! I can do it!

Standing outside of a classroom, Kasumi took another look inside to double check that her target was still there. Minami was eating lunch by herself, homework spread out on her desk as well. It looked more like an excuse to not to interact with people than a genuine urge to do her schoolwork.

Sighing, Kasumi ripped off the band aid and entered. The lonely girl did not look up. So, mustering her confidence, Kasumi walked across the room and sat backwards on the chair in front of Minami. Arms crossed on the back of the chair, Kasumi's words failed all of a sudden.

"Why are you here, Yoshito? Aren't you eating with Yuuki today? Really, you don't need to keep bugging me."

"Ahaha, I think you may need glasses, Minami." Kasumi laughed, unable to help herself.

"Huh?" Minami's head jerked up as a piece of rice fell from mouth. It would have been comical if not for the fear that contorted her features.

Seeing that was more painful than any mean comments that could have been said. Smile fading, Kasumi stared back, unable to find the right words.

"What do you want? I think you said everything that needs to be said."

Having a starting point, Kasumi latched unto it. "No, I haven't. I let myself get tricked and abandoned you. I wanted to apologize for that."

"Tricked?" Minami mumbled. "I know that feeling."

"Yeah, you mentioned that. It was Akechi, wasn't it?" Kasumi questioned her. "He pushed you to ask me out."

"Yes…" Minami replied, head bowed. "But why does it matter now!? You rejected me and said those horrible things and—"

"That wasn't me!" Kasumi yelled, standing up. Reaching across the desk, she grabbed onto the girl's shoulder. She had no idea what volume she was speaking at as blood pounded in her ears. "I left that job to Akechi! I shouldn't have, and I want to apologize for it! I-I never wanted to hurt you. H-Honestly…"

Stuttering, Kasumi took a stabilizing breath. "You all were my first real friends. Losing you all really hurt. And I am really sorry that I couldn't be a better friend to you all."

"Friend?" Minami continued to mumble without looking at her. "I was the one that pushed their feelings so one-sidedly… So why apologize?"

"You did. But real friends could have talked through it. Come to an understanding."

"Maybe…" Minami's head slowly come up. She took a moment to steady herself before executing a sitting bow. "I am very sorry for my actions that day! It's clear in retrospect that you had no romantic intentions."

"Apology accepted," Kasumi smiled. Her pulse finally began to cool as relief flooded her body. The red heat of distress, guilt, and nervousness being washed away. At the end of the day, the girl in front of her was just another clumsy high schooler. "So why are you up here by yourself?"

"Homework, obviously. My grades are slipping."

"Oh really? Why's that?"

Minami sighed, resting her head on her hand. "You. I've been a mess since you sent me those messages and blocked me. Or well, that detective did I guess."

"I-Is that right…"

"I can't focus at all during class. At this rate, I'm going to have to enroll in cram school just to graduate."

"I… had no idea."

"Why would you?" Minami shrugged. "Umm… so why are you still here?"

"Well I…" Kasumi hesitated, unable to say it.

"Kas, this is going to sound harsh but… I don't want to be your friend."

"Huh?" Stunned, she could only stare blankly at the girl that had once confessed to her.

"Even now, I wouldn't mind trying to date but I don't want to be just your friend. The whole time I'd just be hoping for you to fall for me."

"You're so honest now…" Kasumi muttered, somewhat impressed. "So you don't hate me, right?"

"I never could."

The embarrassing line was accompanied by a blush. Seeing that, Kasumi smiled wide and jumped to her feet. Rushing over to the other side, she pulled Minami's head against her tightly. "Thanks for being amazing, Minami. I won't forgive you if you fail your exams though, alright?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Goodbye now, Minami!" Kasumi spoke with a sense of finality. Leaving the classroom, Kasumi felt slightly better at having finished off one of her mistakes. Some she would never get another chance to fix, but there was one girl that needed her more than Minami did. "Wait for me, Sumi. We'll figure this out together."

Wednesday, November 9th, Evening 20XX

"Remind me why we are here again?" Haru whispered to her vice-president of Okumura Foods. "It feels a little outside of our purview."

Champagne glass in hand, Haru slowly sipped it to calm her nerves. The man's glass was still untouched, he just carried it to look refined. Sighing, he gave Haru a pointed look. "How many times have I explained this? Mr. Konoe Akira is extremely popular. More importantly, he is innovative and actively changing the world's economy and trends. Being present at his newest reveal will give us the best opportunity to react and capitalize on it."

"I get that. I'm just struggling to comprehend what kind of technology could help us."

"New social media for example," the vice-president supplied easily. "We'd need to open a committee to study its landscape and decide if we and how we market ourselves on there."

"You really are the backbone of this company," Haru sighed. Shifting, she pulled at her pink dress. It shone vibrantly in the light with a metallic sheen and hugged her body. The dress only went down to her midthigh, revealing most of her legs that were on full display with the high heels she wore.

"Then you are the heart, Ms. Haru. Never forget that."

Taking the compliment with all the grace that she could manage, she nodded her head in thanks. Taking another quick sip of her glass, she was suddenly very aware of the heat in the room. I'm drinking too much; I need to keep a clear head! Even as she told herself that, the glass began to move instinctively back up to her mouth. It took a herculean effort to keep it away.

"Say, do you think we could do some sort of student promotion in the new year around graduation?" Haru asked as a way to distract herself. She figured that as long as she was talking, she wouldn't be drinking.

"Hmm, a distinct possibility. Especially since we could tie it into your graduation. May lose us some money, but there's a chance that the boost in reputation will have a long-term impact. We can discuss it further with the board."

"Oh, just like that huh?" Haru chuckled. "And here I thought that ideas like those were best left to the marketing team. Isn't that why we hire them?"

"Haha, throwing my words back at me, are you? In general, yes, you are correct. Not to repeat myself too often, but I mean it when I call you the heart of the company. People trust your honest words and promises. If this is something you earnestly believe in, that alone is worth more than any marketing team."

Haru did blush this time at the rampant, undeserved praise. "I'll do my best to match up to your expectations." With her attempt at conversation stymied, Haru took another sip of her drink. There was only the smallest amount left at the bottom.

Seeing her state, the vice-president got a chuckle at her expense. "You should grab a new glass and stop drinking, my young president."

"Will do," Haru bowed her head, "and thank you for the advice."

"Don't worry about it. But seriously, slow down on the drink."

Determined to maintain appearances, Haru did as advised and switched glasses with the next waiter. She barely had time to think about restraining herself when she was mobbed by other attendees. Perhaps giving up on waiting for her to come to them, curious guests approached her in groups of two and three.

Every single person was dressed to impressed. However, with similar quality threads around them, it only served to highlight their inherit differences. Woman who may have been beautiful in any other crowd were rendered plain. Men whose money could buy them attention were quietly sneered at.

Haru was not super confident in her own looks, but she knew that her youth was in itself appealing to many. Caught up in the swell of conversation, time disappeared in the blink of an eye as unofficial promises were exchanged in plenty. Haru could not even begin to imagine how many lives were changed with the whims and jokes of the people here. Whole departments were folded in the course of a conversation as upper managers exchange hearsay about increasing productivity and profits.

The clinking of a glass ended the talking. Turning to find the source, Haru looked up slightly as a man walked out onto the raised stage. Even amongst the best groomed, he stood out as an especially rare jewel. His chiseled jaw with a well-trimmed beard gave him an exotic, western look, among the primarily Japanese crowd.

"Thank you all for coming, I am your host, Konoe Akira. While I am eager to tell you about our newest product, there is someone that I must first introduce. Please put your hands together for my head researcher, Dr. Maruki Takuto!"

"Doctor… Maruki?" Haru spoke the name in disbelief. But true to her expectations, a man in a white lab coat with a pair of glasses appeared to polite applause. It wasn't enough to hide the mutterings from all around her.

"A lab coat?"

"Who?"

The sentiments were surely shared by everyone here. Maruki stood out like a sore thumb. Or perhaps more accurately, a white-collar worker in a swarm of people who would be his boss. Considering their recent change in social standing, Haru looked on with an amused smile. Maruki always managed to make things seem less important than they were. Whatever he was going to say, it was almost certainly going to disappoint the crowd.

Almost fully relaxed, Haru took another sip of her new glass as she waited for Maruki's performance to start.

"Thank you for letting me be the one to share the news, Akira." Maruki started. His words, while serious, had the underlying excitement of a dog wagging its tail. With that brown mop of hair, Haru kind of wanted to rub his head and call him a good boy. Maruki's words divided the audience instantly. There were those like Haru that were smiling at his good-natured manner of speaking and those that were grumbling about wasted time.

Accentuating his words, Maruki rubbed his hair with an absent finger. Haru winced to see it. The first rule of upper society was to never touch your face or hair. Genuine giggles were emitted by some of the gathered members.

"Well, since I have the stage, I'd like to tell you all about the new application that we are almost finished developing. In two weeks, the first platform that integrates cognitive pscience into its very framework will be released."

Cognitive psience!? The words words were like a thunderbolt to Haru's system. Paralyzed, she was helpless to do anything but listen as Maruki explained his completed project.

"This application will allow its users to relieve stress through a passive exercise as well as communicate with state-of-the-art AI that will assess their situation and provide recommendations. Together, these functions will allow us to vastly reduce the stress of the average person, improving their quality of life. I believe that the improvement of mental health of our citizens will be an important step in improving our country and creating more opportunities for you all gathered today. That is why Akira and I would like to discuss with many of you about recommending and promoting our application. Thank you all for your help."

Maruki bowed, ending his speech.

Haru was still standing there dumbfounded as the vice-president laid a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "And that is why we came."

Haru only nodded silently as Akira joined the floor to mingle and make deals.

Wednesday, November 16th, Evening 20XX

"One week left, huh?" Makoto mumbled as she looked at her phone. No matter how much she stared as it though, the date did not change. It still read at the sixteenth with an event on the twenty-third. The day that the Konoe corporation's newest application would go live on all mobile platforms.

"Dr. Maruki remains inaccessible," Haru replied from the other side of the table in frustration. "All of our company's prodding only got us a brief meeting with Konoe and being delegated to his underlings. It's frustrating."

"I don't like it!" Futaba added for what must have been the fifth time. "Cognitive psience is the basis for the palaces! Why would Dr. Maruki know how to integrate that into an application!?"

Of course, no one had an answer for Futaba's one-sided question. Tapping her phone again, Makoto looked over the people gathered today. No longer using LeBlanc, they had gathered in Haru's massive living room. From their max, the remnants of the phantom thieves were down three members: Ren, Ann, and Ryuji. Sumire, while present, hadn't said a word.

"We have wasted a week discussing this already," Yusuke reminded them. "It comes down to one simple question, do we trust this Dr. Maruki or not? I haven't met him and can't say."

Those words must have struck a nerve as Sumire jerked in place. "Trust… Yes, you're right, Yusuke!"

"What is it?" Haru asked.

Jumping to her feet, Sumire stared them down. "Doctor Maruki is really kind. I know that we've had negative experiences with many adults, but most are still good people! My parents, Makoto's sister, LeBlanc's master. Doctor Maruki would never betray the common citizen to make money!"

"Well, yeah…" Makoto scratched her head, struggling to follow the impassioned rant. "It's more like…"

"How," Futaba filled in. "Sumire, this application shouldn't exist."

"Like the MetaNav?"

Countered by her own logic, Futaba lowered her head. However, her words continued unabated. "Exactly. We trusted it freely without even thinking about it. Mona, can you tell us how you enter palaces?"

Makoto was stummed by the quick change. Morgana clearly was as well as he froze with his tongue out, still licking his forepaw. "Aye, but it won't help. I navigate from mementos. At certain locations, I can sense the branching path to a palace. At that point, I get sucked into it and end up in a palace."

"And how do you enter Mementos from the real world?" Futaba asked.

"How? Jeez, it's similar to you all. I find a convergence of human energy and step through the barrier separating the two worlds."

How? How did I never question or notice it before!? Makoto wondered dumbfounded. But as usual, the reason was plain. They always used a phone to navigate to a specific palace or mementos. She had never seen Morgana enter by himself or considered that he could.

"That's not similar at all…" Yusuke muttered, a bewildered expression on his face.

"It is though," Futaba corrected, raising a finger. "The app's search function is streamlining Morgana's process. Think of him as walking around a forest looking for wildlife while the app is like a helicopter seeing everything from above."

"So… completely different?"

"W-Well… Stupid Inari," Futaba huffed. "That isn't the point! The thing is that Morgana has the innate ability to do what normal humans require this special application to do. An application that we automatically receive upon awakening to our powers. Aren't you at all concerned that somehow they've managed to gain access to this power?"

"That's why we gathered," Makoto jumped in. "Because the statement is so disturbing. Not to belittle your mother's research, but it is called a psience for a reason."

"Then where does our power come from? Where did Morgana come from!? Don't you see? We all inherently believe that humans are unable to develop this technology, yet we use it freely. Were we blessed by a god then? How does that make more sense?"

Makoto was still trying to wrap her head around those words when Sumire spoke up. "Ren knows."

"Huh? S-Sumire. Ren talked to you about this!?"

"Ah, a little." She nodded her head. "Haven't we all commented on it when Ren sometimes goes off to a side of the room in a palace, stands in place for a moment and then returns? Every time it's like a bit of déjà vu, that we aren't remembering everything. When he returns, he starts using personas we haven't seen before with new skills and abilities. I asked him once and he shrugged it off. But one time, he did say that someone fuses his personas."

"Someone?" The word chilled Makoto more than she would like to admit. "Then… there is a god manipulating us from behind the scenes?"

"I don't think Ren would go along with something like that," Haru said, taking a sip of tea. "Also, consider Akechi. He got his power independent of our group which relies on Ren as its origin."

"So that's the question then," Yusuke mused, "is the origin of Maruki's application the same as ours, Akechi's, or neither."

"Neither?" Futaba groaned. "Ahh, I never even considered that! But I think we can eliminate one of the three."

"Ours," Morgana sighed. "Yeah, its pretty clear that whoever is helping Ren, they would never do something like this."

"Why not?" Sumire questioned; her voice dull. "Ren is stuck in prison. If they want to help people, they need to get someone else. Besides, unlike us, Maruki is going to help everyone. He won't need to kill people."

"Then your vote is for us to do nothing and wait, Sumire?" Haru asked.

The gymnast nodded. "Ah, yeah, it is."

"Well, mine isn't!" Morgana huffed, standing up. "We've done so much already! Just look at how far we can dive into mementos! If we keep this up, change a few more hearts…"

Makoto was unable to look at the cat. Not even Morgana could talk himself into changing more hearts. "Morgana does have a point. If we aren't willing to pursue our group's activities, why did we all agree to meet today? If we aren't going to try and change anything… Shouldn't we just act like normal students?"

"I'm not a student," Haru laughed, "but I wonder if you all are being honest with yourselves. Are you truly normal students? Or did you arrange this meeting because you want to do something?"

"I want… I want to do something." Yusuke looked listless as he stared out the balcony window. "I don't want to abandon people like me who can only imagine darkness in their future. I want to light up their lives with my paintings… and with our power."

"I'm done." Sumire added to ruin the mood. "I trust Doctor Maruki."

"I'll help you, Yusuke," Futaba spoke up next. "I also have my computer prowess to help out."

"Obviously I think we should continue operations," Morgana growled. "A couple slip-ups doesn't mean what we are doing is wrong!"

"I…" As the only person left who was yet to speak, Makoto looked at her friends. Haru had a gentle smile, supporting her regardless. The others were mixed: Morgana was expectant, Yusuke guarded, and Sumire was just bored. Futaba didn't look at her. "I want to help people as well, obviously. But I have entrance exams coming up. Studying is taking up most of my time. Why don't we hold off on any operations until the application comes out next week? We'll meet up at launch time, and Sae will have more information of Ren's release by then."

That finally got Sumire to perk up. "Release? We can get him out?"

"Of course we can," Makoto assured her. "Since you trust Maruki so much, give a little to my sister, okay? She is trying her best."

"I do," Sumire finally smiled, even if it still had a hint of sadness in it. "I'm certain she will do her best. I just hope Ren cooperates."

"Then we will find out next week," Futaba sighed. "Whether Maruki's cognitive interference can save the country."

With that somber note, the meeting of the thieves' remnant came to an end.