Disclaimer: Persona 5 Characters except Fujin Katsuo belongs to Atlus, this fanfic has no commercial purpose.


"A woman was threatening Boss…?" Makoto was the first one to ask. From what Kurusu saw last night, someone came to his place and talked to Boss regarding someone's custody. He couldn't indulge in more details, but there was no room for doubt that it sounded severe from what he and Morgana witnessed.

"Yeah, she was going on about domestic abuse and taking the case to court and stuff…" Morgana explained further. Makoto looked curious as to if something caught her attention.

"What's up?" Sakamoto asked her.

"It's nothing," she replied, focusing again on the topic. "So to summarize what you told us, Futaba is Boss's daughter, and he's abusing her? I don't know him very well… Is he really the kind of person who would do that?"

"There's no way," Kurusu responded firmly. He wasn't lying, that's for sure.

"Agreed, I don't know much about him either, but Boss doesn't strike me as someone abusive. At least, I assume," I commented. I rubbed my eyes while analyzing the discussion.

"I would like to believe so as well, but we don't have any conclusive evidence, do we…?" Makoto asked everyone. She wasn't wrong as trusting gut-feeling won't yearn 100% results. And just when she asked, Kurusu's phone started to buzz.

"Is it Alibaba!?"

"Yes, I don't know what he wants now," Kurusu showed everyone the conversation log after Morgana asked. It was the moment or never.

Alibaba: I've given you a calling card and told you the target's name. You should be ready for this.
Alibaba: Why aren't you doing?
Alibaba: I told you I'd help if you stole her heart. What seems to be the hold-up?
Alibaba: I also said I'd report your identity to the police if you didn't help me.
Alibaba: Are you okay with that? I'm serious here.

"What a selfish person," Kitagawa commented scornfully.

"Well, he does have information on us…" Makoto added.

"Anyways, this Futaba he's talking about have a Palace? If so, we'll need keywords to get in," Sakamoto's words were certain; we never checked in before, but it probably wouldn't hurt knowing more. "Try messaging him about 'em."

Akira: Tell me her keywords.
Alibaba: Keywords?
Alibaba: What are you talking about?
Alibaba: Are you just saying random stuff to dodge the issue?

"Dammit, we are walking on thin ice right now," I groaned.

"What're we supposed to do about this?" Takamaki looked worried too.

"We'd be able to figure out Alibaba's identity if we could just meet him…" Morgana's idea wasn't so farfetched. We needed to meet our benefactor if he wants our services after all. "Try asking him if there's any way we could meet up."

Akira: I want to meet you.
Alibaba: Meet? With me?
Alibaba: That will be difficult.
Alibaba: I have reasons for not being able to go out.
Alibaba: That's why I'm contacting you like this.

"Not very smooth of you, Kurusu..." I shook my head.

"He can't go out?" Morgana commented.

Alibaba: Wait, I get it.
Alibaba: You steal people's hearts directly… That might make things difficult.
Alibaba: Extremely difficult.
Alibaba: One moment.
Alibaba: I'm thinking…
Alibaba: Okay. It's a shame, but I'm calling this deal off. Stop looking into Sakura Futaba.
Alibaba: Forget this ever happened. I won't report you to the police either, don't worry.
Alibaba: Sorry for taking your time. Now, if you'll excuse me…
Akira: Wait a second.
Alibaba: I said the deal's off!
Alibaba: We're never going to speak again. Don't expect me to contact you anymore, either.
Akira: We're not done here.
Error

And with that, the conversation got cut short as Kurusu wasn't allowed to make more replies. What in the world was all that about? One second, Alibaba pestered us to change someone's heart; and the next, he retracted and acted like nothing happened. I met everyone's eyes with confusion. Most of us were out of words.

"Huh…? Did he just shut the whole operation down?" Tamaki asked.

"This doesn't make any sense… Not only can Alibaba not go out, but he won't let us meet Futaba either?" Morgana couldn't stop asking about this.

"Well, it's none of our business now. We can't contact him anymore." Sakamoto said with a very laid back attitude.

"But… what do we do about Medjed? We won't be able to get Alibaba to help us with them now," the blond girl commented, still lingering worries.

"Maybe they were just prankin' us. They made that huge declaration, but they ain't done nothin' since. I bet we got 'em freaked out."

"You mean they backed out because out because they're afraid we'll change their hearts?" Morgana said.

"Yep. And now it'd just make 'em look lame if they came out and apologized!" He was pleased about it.

"Hmph. Cowards…" I added.

"But…" Makoto was trying to say something, but Sakamoto interrupted her before she could ever say anything.

"I guess with Alibaba and Medjed outta the picture, can we just say this case is closed?" After what Sakamoto said, everyone didn't say anything, just nodded to each other.

"…You do have a point. I guess it is safe for us to relax a little." Makoto said with an assuring smile. It still worried me, though…

"Oh yeah, remember Kaneshiro's Treasure? Prepare to have your minds blown!" The punk said as he slowed himself down to build up some excitement for us. "We got 150,000 yen out of it!" We were surprised by hearing that quantity; it was almost unbelievable we got that much.

"That's awesome! We can really go all out with that kinda money!" Takamaki couldn't help herself with all that excitement.

"Yeah, let's make up for what happened at the fireworks festival! We gotta go eat something fittin' for the Phantom Thieves' worldwide debut!" Sakamoto acted like a kid after winning a prize.

"Where would be good…?" Takamaki wondered with a big grin.

"Ooh, how 'bout sushi!? I could really go for some eel too!"

"Heh, now we are talking. I know a good place that I always wanted to go some time ago," I agreed with Sakamoto's suggestion, for once.

"The best method is to fill yourself on ginger before beginning to eat sushi. That is my master technique," Kitagawa proudly did a suggestion, but everyone wasn't up to that.

"You don't need to do that this time. Actually, definitely don't do it, okay?" Makoto replied to the artist.

"I'm all for sushi! You're okay with that too, right?" Morgana asked Kurusu with excitement.

"Sushi's fine."

"Then it's decided."

"All right! We'll go tomorrow night!" After what Sakamoto said, we scattered and left the station.

It couldn't stop thinking that all that scandal with Medjed and Alibaba was so suddenly over during the evening at my work. And man, with that money, we could have the best sushi in all Tokyo. Our spirits were up and motivated now that we had so much off our shoulders.

Or that was supposed to be the feeling.

My head wouldn't stop bugging me since everything we tried for the last days was for nothing. Should I discuss it with the others? That wasn't necessary as Makoto already sent a message to the group.

Makoto: I wonder if all that Medjed business was just a prank.
Makoto: Now that I think about it calmly, it's strange that they haven't actually done anything yet.
Makoto: If their goal is to target the Phantom Thieves, they should want to be acting now, given our fame.
Ann: Huh. When you put it that way, it kinda makes me wonder too.
Ann: Especially after they taunted us theatrically like that.
Yusuke: Yes. However, it would be best for us to come up with a countermeasure regardless.
Yusuke: For now, we should cautiously enjoy the sushi. That is all we can do.
Akira: Something's not right…
Ryuji: I was thinking that too! I can't really put it into words.
Katsuo: But should it matter now?
Makoto: Hm, Yusuke is right.
Makoto: I'm sorry for bringing this up. On the day before our celebration party too…
Ann: Cheer up, Makoto! We'll be eating sushi like kings tomorrow!
Yusuke: I hope one person, in particular, is on their best behavior. I'll refrain from saying who, though.
Ryuji: …You better not be talking about me!
Katsuo: No comments…


The following day was Sunday 24th, I had a free day, and at least I could enjoy some sweet, sweet eel with the others at Ginza. I told them the address of the place. I remembered hearing about such luxurious sushi from my coworkers in delivery. I was curious but couldn't bother since I also heard how expensive it was. With the money we got, it was an excellent opportunity to try it out. And let me tell you, I was getting tired of eating cheaply cooked meals for months.

Once inside and the sushi was on the table, I began to see the group drooling non-stop, some more subtle than others. The fact that a bunch of teenagers could afford such a feast could raise some eyebrows, but who cares! I only wanted real food for once!

"Man, the flounder is outta this world! That texture…" Sakamoto said with the mouth stuffed.

"I-I don't see any prices listed here…" Kitagawa said hesitantly.

"It's called market price. Don't worry 'bout it; we got the cash!" The punk explained to Yusuke while his mouth was still stuffed. Shouldn't expect him to have some manners.

"Sooo goooooood…" Takamaki didn't miss out on any of the fun, either. We couldn't stop ordering more sushi; it was addictive. Although, not everyone could enjoy it first-hand.

"Hey, is the fatty tuna ready yet?" Morgana poked his head out of Kurusu's bag.

"Hold your horses. And don't talk!" Sakamoto whispered.

"By the way, Akira-kun… Is Boss really the kind of person who would abuse someone?" Makoto brought an interesting question.

"That again?" Sakamoto was exasperated.

"Is something bothering you, Makoto?" I asked.

"I can't get it off my mind. Especially if it means he could be taken to court…" She was serious about it. "What kind of person is he? Do you truly believe he'd do such a thing?"

"He is pretty strict," Kurusu sighed.

"…Oh, because of your record."

"If it's really true about the abuse, he'd be a no-good jerk pretendin' to be a guardian."

"Maybe the chief is the one who needs a change of heart…" Sakamoto and Morgana were jumping to conclusions pretty fast.

"Hold on a sec! About that…" Takamaki interrupted them. "I actually got curious after our conversation… and checked his name in the Nav."

"Sounds to me like there wasn't a hit," Makoto commented.

"Right. Anything beyond this is his family's problem. We probably shouldn't get any more involved."

"Well said," I complimented the blonde's idea. Before we could continue enjoying our meal, Sakamoto's lightbulb turned on out of the blue.

"Wait… You think Alibaba could be Boss's ex-wife!?" Everyone looked confused about what the punk said. "He musta cheated on her, and that's where Futaba came from."

"Doubtful."

"Your imagination has run rampant."

"How foolish."

"Should I even bother?" Everyone shut down Sakamoto's zany idea. Kurusu remained quiet while still eating.

We kept eating our sushi. The octopus was a little raw but combined with the sauce made the difference. I couldn't stop myself.

"Still, this is delicious. I've never experienced anything quite like it before." Yusuke commented with a smile on his face.

"Umm, Katsuo? I think you should take it easy. Overeating sushi might get you sick."

"Who are you? My mother?" I frowned after hearing Makoto nagging me. "I thought we were celebrating. We don't always get the chance to go to a place like here."

"I understand, but there are limits."

"Relax, Miss Prez, Katsuo is right! We can get as much we like since we deserve it after doin' some hard work!" Sakamoto kept munching his portion.

"There's nothing wrong about celebrating, but one should always take things with moderation."

"We should enjoy ourselves once in a while, too," Takamaki said.

"Yeah, and it's all thanks to us bein' the Phantom Thieves…" And the moment was gone, thanks to that idiot. Everyone was shocked and looked at him. The chef and customers turned their heads at us. "Crap!"

"U-Ummm… Ph-Phan…" Makoto's stumbled, thinking of the best possible response to cease the awkward moment. Still, nothing came out of her mind until a few seconds later. "Fantastic! This sushi is delicious!"

"So delicious that you almost want to steal it, don't you think!?" I tried to follow her to drive away attention. I began getting anxious.

"Y-Yeah! The fish is so fresh!" Takamaki made a forced smile while playing along with Makoto and me.

"Hmph. Everywhere we go, we hear about these Phantom Thieves," an arrogant woman said with nuisance.

"What rubbish," the haughty man added. Those two customers kept minding their own business while we looked at the punk with judgemental eyes.

"Hey, Takamaki..." I said with a low-key tone.

"Yes?"

"Could you be so kind by smacking him hard in the head, please?"

"Sure thing." She did it without complaints.

"Owww… Hey! You don't have to do what he says!" He looked at the blonde and me with an annoyed expression.

"But he asked me so politely. Still, think about where we are, Ryuji," she scolded him.

"Sorry, it just kinda slipped…" Sakamoto apologized, but it wasn't enough for us to calm down.

"You almost blow up our cover for the fourth time," I whispered.

"Fourth time? When the other three times happened?"

"Makoto, me, Alibaba, do I need to say more…?" I raised an eyebrow while counting the incidents with my fingers.

"No…"

"Good," I kept eating my squid while everyone was silent for a moment. Although my stomach began to act strange.

"My apologies for bringing up Boss again. We should just enjoy the food," Makoto broke the silence.

"Please," I said while everyone continued to enjoy that magnificent meal. We talked about random stuff until it was already late for us. Kurusu asked for the fatty tuna as take-out. We took the train heading to Shibuya, but it wasn't a pleasant trip as my stomach kept groaning until I feeling sick. The group looked at me, worried, and asked if everything was alright. I tried to act natural, but none of them believed me.

"I warned you about eating in excess," Makoto said, unamusingly.

"Yeah, yeah... I get it... " I put my hand on my guts, trying to tolerate the annoying stomachache. "Ugh... I guess I should stop at the restroom as soon as we arrive..." And so, when we reached Shibuya station, I ran towards the closest public restroom while the rest waited for me. I felt somewhat bad that I kinda spoiled the after-dinner with me feeling nauseous. I couldn't tell how long I resisted before finally reaching a toilet. It was for the best to refrain from any graphical description of that embarrassing moment. The only thing I could say was that I spent half an hour gagging. Thankfully, there was no one in the restroom to hear me. At least for the time being.

"Stupid octopus... it was fucking spoiled..." I said while slowly approaching the mirror. I practically moved as if I was limping. Accompanying with a headache, I washed off my hands and face for a couple of seconds, but not enough to be refreshed. One particular thing I noticed after a closer inspection was that I missed a spot from shaving. Probably distracted that morning since I was impatient for the sushi. So much for a decent meal.

Minutes later, I heard someone coming inside the restroom. I hid back in the same stall I was in moments ago. I put my best effort to remain quiet and see through the little gap, and surprise-surprise, it was Akechi.

From what I could see, he seemed a little bitter. What was the deal with him? Probably not having a good day. The detective put his briefcase down and took off both of his gloves before using the sink. He washed his face and accommodated his hair. Odd. The attitude was different than his usual cheerful and prideful image in public. Hard to say; even the best people had one of those stressful days. I wasn't in the best position to even come out and say hi. None of my business, but my only hope was for me to wait until he could leave.

Too bad my cover couldn't last long. When I slowly moved away from the stall's door, I accidentally hit myself in the elbow, making myself swear before quickly covering my mouth.

"Huh? Who's there?" the detective asked. I was in the worst spot possible and damned either responding or not. I could feel him approaching my stall while hearing slow steps until I could see him standing behind the door. I did not say another thing, but the tension turned into a more lethargic feeling. I couldn't hold it for much longer until I began gaging again on the toilet.

"Gross..." Akechi said, disgusted by hearing that to the point that he hastily picked his briefcase and left the restroom without hesitation. Seriously, I made up my mind to never return to that sushi restaurant, ever again. Minutes after finally getting better, I left the restroom and returned back to the group. When I saw them, everyone was checking their phones with strange looks.

"Hey," I said very casually. "You won't believe who did I stumble in the restroom."

"Was Akechi?" the leader surprisingly nailed it.

"Yeah... How did you?

"He was here a moment ago," Kurusu clarified.

"Really? I guess I missed out on the conversation."

"A lot."

"Do you think he's ascertained our true identities?" Kitagawa added.

"Nah, couldn't be. Right?" Sakamoto sounded unsure about it.

"I'd like to say that it's simply us overthinking this, but… it may be cautious from now on. We shouldn't forget that Alibaba was able to discover who we are." Makoto warned us.

"Agreed. We should not risk ourselves as long as we are under the radar." I commented. Akechi could quickly discover us if we continued acting carelessly.

"True, but it's not as though he had tangible evidence to prove that discovery. Just keep acting normally," the artist reaffirmed.

"More importantly, things are getting serious with Medjed!" the blonde took out her phone, and that sounded troublesome.

"Oh yeah! What'd they write!?" Sakamoto asked her.

"Here, I'll read it…" She started to redact Medjed's message. "We are disappointed in the people of Japan and their belief in the Phantom Thieves' false justice."

"This 'justice' crap again…?" I murmured.

"Keep listening…" Makoto shushed me.

"Hence, we shall proceed with our plan to cleanse Japan. This process will commence on August 21st. As a result, the Japanese economy shall suffer devastating damages."

"For real!?" Sakamoto interrupted Takamaki.

"Keep going," Makoto said.

"However, we are magnanimous. We will give the Phantom Thieves once final opportunity to repent. As proof of this repentance, we demand that they reveal their identities to the public. We will attack if these demands remain unmet. The future of Japan rests with the Phantom Thieves. We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil," the blonde was done reading the message. "…That's what it says."

"Sounds bad…"

"Understatement of the century..." I replied to the punk's comment while trying to keep calm. No one

"In other words, if we don't unmask ourselves, Medjed will attack Japan… correct?" Kitagawa said, unsettled about the news. "It seems they are quite the attention seekers…"

"What are we gonna do about this…?" Takamaki asked.

"If only we could get in contact with Alibaba," Makoto looked down.

"Our only clues… are Boss and Futaba," Sakamoto commented while scratching his head. "Anyways, it's too damn hot out here. Why don't we go to Leblanc? We can talk more over there."

Following his suggestion, we took the train to Yongen-Jaya and planned for our next move. The day just got worse by one minute after another. I didn't think I could deal if it kept progressing at alarming levels. What else we needed? We traveled until we reached Leblanc and started thinking about it; we didn't have many options.

"So, what's our plan?" I asked while still uneasy about everything at the moment.

"We went through all sortsa options on our way here, but… Looks like we got no choice but to ask for Alibaba's help." Sakamoto suggested. We began to consider our positions, and there was nothing else as our chances were slim.

"Question is, how do we get in touch with him?" Takamaki asked.

"He cut off all contact with us after that misunderstanding. Then again, if we manage to steal Futaba's heart, he may attempt to reach out to us once more." Kitagawa's explanation was sound.

"But we don't have any clues on what her keywords are," Morgana pointed out.

"Dammit, Alibaba! Where the hell is you!?" Sakamoto was exasperated. Just when we thought everything was hopeless, Makoto's eyes widened.

"Actually, he may be closer than we think," she commented, prompting Sakamoto and me to react with curiosity.

"Huh?"

"Say that again?"

"Hypothetically speaking, even if we stole Futaba's heart… How would Alibaba know that the deed has been done? Would he truly be able to discern that just from cell phone messages?" We were looking at each other as Makoto raised an interesting question about the status of Alibaba.

"You mean he'd have to meet her in person?" Morgana asked her.

"Alibaba was able to deliver the calling card here. On top of that, he can check on Futaba's condition. However, according to the circumstances he put forth, he's unable to meet with us. This leads me to believe that it would be bad for him if we were to see the two of them together." Makoto briefly paused her train of thought until she delivered her conclusion. "It seems to me… Alibaba may, in fact, be Futaba herself."

Makoto's theory. It was crazy; even Sakamoto wouldn't come to such a conclusion.

"For real!?"

"So she's asking that we steal her own heart?" Kitagawa said with shock. For all I could think, it was madness.

"Maybe she wants us to save her from the scars of her abuse? That would be hard to ask directly." Takamaki turned gloomy.

"I'd like to meet with Boss… He lives nearby, right?" Makoto asked our leader.

"I know where he lives, but we may have a problem right now… He will suspect if we are coming to his home during these hours," Kurusu was right. That would raise red flags for all of us.

"I agree. It's real late, though. What're we gonna tell Boss when we get there?" Sakamoto was concerned. What kind of excuse would work?

"We'll say this take-out sushi is a gift for him," Makoto's excuse looked at the green box that was on the table. Morgana didn't like the idea, however.

"But my fatty tuna…!"

"No complaining," the blonde added.

"Sorry, but this is more important…" I tried to reason with the cat, I doubted that would work. "I will bring you some more another time."

"Let's all go together. Boss may get the wrong idea if Akira-kun and I show up alone." After what Makoto said, Kurusu guided us around the area. Boss's home was literally around the corner of Leblanc. We tried to use the doorbell, but we got no response.

"Nobody is answering," Makoto said while looking at the windows. "But the lights are on…"

"Think she's nappin'?" Sakamoto asked in regards to Futaba.

"Even Boss would've woken up with how many times we've rung this doorbell," Takamaki commented.

"I would think Futaba would have answered by now if she was here too," Morgana said. Shortly after that, Kitagawa gently pushed the gates.

"Ah, the gate is unlocked," the artist said with surprise.

"Well, that's awfully convenient," I commented.

"Dude, you can't go openin' other people's stuff like that," Sakamoto called out the artist for his odd behavior.

"But look. The door seems to be slightly open, as well. I wonder why. That's rather careless…" Makoto pointed it that little detail for us. I didn't like where that was going until we heard the roaring thunders.

"Whoa, it sounds like it's going to rain… We should get inside!" Morgana warned everyone.

"…Do you think that's okay?" Makoto asked the others.

"Prolly…?" Sakamoto replied with a smile.

"My apologies, Boss!" Makoto said before trespassing into Boss's house.

"If we get caught, I don't know any of you guys," I said as we took refuge from the rain.

That place was literally dark, almost like I couldn't see what was in front of us from the entrance to the hallway. The interior was cramped that barely had enough space for all of us.

"Hello, sir?" Makoto tried to call, but there was no response.

"Well, seems nobody is here. How about we come back later?" I asked everyone while getting a chill from the place.

"What? Are you afraid of the dark?" the punk teased me.

"How old are you, 9? I'm more afraid of being arrested! How about that!?"

"Be quiet, you two!" Takamaki intervened between Sakamoto and me. We started to hear the thunder outside the house; the hallway's appearance was almost coming from that horror movie, The Glowing.

"He's not out, is he? The door ahead is open, and I can hear the TV," Makoto said.

"I hope he didn't pass out or something… I mean, Boss is kind old, ain't he?" Sakamoto asked.

"I don't think he is that old," I refuted.

"I'm a bit worried. Should we go in and check on him?" Takamaki seemed concerned.

"Please excuse us…" After what Makoto said before going further into the house. Everything went normal until, out of the blue, we got a blackout while someone's scream. But it was none of us. "A scream!? What was that!?" Makoto was getting a little panicky.

"H-How should I know?" Morgana replied before we heard strange noises coming from the upper level.

"Did you hear that?" Makoto was slowly getting more anxious.

"Let's get out of here, please? Can we just go?" the blonde whispered in a high-pitch voice. Shaking and almost out of breath.

"What're you freakin' out for?" Sakamoto asked.

"I-I-I'm not freaking out!"

"Could it be Alibaba? I mean, Futaba?" Morgana was feeling uneasy as well from our surroundings. We turned our backs and walked towards the entrance to investigate the house even further, but it was so goddamn dark that I almost tripped. I wished I brought my lighter or something to see better. Makoto and Kurusu were behind us, and out of all of us, she couldn't stop trembling. Never saw her acting like that. How was that possible? We fought Shadows and such, but she was afraid of the dark? I couldn't understand how.

And then, we heard a door opening with an irritating sound. Everyone jumped a little; we couldn't tell if it was someone coming or just by itself. No one was sure of it since we were still in the dark.

"I can sense someone's presence..." Kitagawa whispered.

"Who is it? Who's there!?" Makoto wouldn't stop talking as she looked over her shoulders. "I can't take this anymore! I'm leaving!"

"Shush! We don't know if there's really anyone here!?" I tried to mitigate the yelling, but Miss Perfect wouldn't stop acting confrontational.

"I don't care! I only want to-," and she stopped mid-sentence. "N-No… My legs won't move…" She held our leader's shirt tighter while almost falling to the floor. Everyone began feeling an ominous aura coming behind Kurusu's back and next to Makoto. She slowly tilted her head to see the strange presence. The next second, as we could imagine an eerie violin's sound on a higher pitch, there was a thunderstruck. Long hair and big bug eyes met eye-to-eye with Makoto until she reached her limit. We heard screams back and forth between her and the shadowy figure until the third-year student was on the floor while still clinging on Kurusu's leg, begging. The other presence ran away before we could get a clear image of her. However, we already got an idea who it was.

"Alibaba! Futaba!" Takamaki tried to call for her, but she didn't respond. "Hey! C'mon, where are you!? You're a hacker, right? Just show yourself!"

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry! PleasesavemeSis…" Makoto wouldn't stop repeating that as if she lost her mind. It looked pretty pathetic.

"Are you okay, Futaba!?" We heard Boss's voice coming from outside.

"Crap, he's home!"

"Don't stand there, hide!" I pointed at the other hallway while everyone followed me there; Kurusu and Makoto were left behind because Miss Perfect was scared the shit out of it.

We were fast enough to hide before Boss opened the door. "Who the hell are you!? Don't move!" We tried to do not move a single muscle. "You hear me!?" He got closer to the table until he grabbed and turned on the flashlight. Boss' face said it all.

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msosorrySis… Somebodypleasesaveme…"

"You…? What're you doing in my house?" Boss's reaction was priceless.

"Ah…" Makoto couldn't say a single word

"You're…" Boss looked at Makoto and Kurusu with perplexion.

"Oh… G-Good… evening, sir… We… didn't mean… to intrude…" Makoto couldn't stop stuttering.

"Niijima-san! Wait, are you two dating?" Boss asked both of them. Everyone snickered from hearing that.

"W-We're j-just friends!" She tried to excuse herself, but that didn't make things better.

"Friends nowadays get that close to each other?"

"That's not it! This, um… Things happened… and…" It was pointless trying to come up with more excuses. Just to get over it with, we decided to step in front of Boss before Makoto would complicate what we could handle.

"You kids are here too!?" He looked even more surprised.

"Um, we brought you some sushi, but nobody answered when we rang the bell… The door was unlocked too," Takamaki was quick with the explanation. "We could hear the TV, though, so we got worried you might have passed out or something…"

"The door was unlocked?"

"Yes," Takamaki said remorsefully.

"…I do that sometimes. Guess I'm getting old," Boss looked embarrassed, too.

"Um, excuse me. There's something we'd like to ask," Makoto said, finally regaining the composure.

"Hm? You wanna ask me?" Boss looked curious.

"There's someone else living here… isn't there?" The environment felt pretty heavy after she asked. Boss seemed hesitant, but it didn't take him long until he could give us a straight answer.

"Yeah… My daughter."

"Could she be Sakura Futaba…?"

"You told Niijima-san too!?" Boss said with an upset tone.

"U-Um… is there any way we could meet with Futaba-san? I think we may have frightened her earlier, so we'd like to apologize if at all possible…"

"Be grateful she didn't have a heart attack or something," I interjected.

"Well…That's…"

"Is she sick?"

"No, it's not like that," Boss looked at us with an ashamed expression, but it wasn't to us. "I don't want you all getting the wrong idea… I shouldn't have kept this a secret from you. Let's talk at my shop. She'll hear us if we stay here."

We did like what Boss told us to do and followed him to Leblanc to clear up for us thoroughly. We couldn't tell why all the drama, but it was sure that there was more than what we anticipated. Once we entered Leblanc, some of us leaned back against the counter or sat on the chairs before listening to his version. And that's when we learned the truth.

"Now, where do I start? Futaba's mother and I knew each other long before Futaba was born. Her mother was a bit of a weird one, but we got along well for some reason… She was sharp-witted, somewhat stern, a little socially inept, but always carefree… She truly was a great woman."

"I see…" Makoto commented with a somber look.

"When something piqued her interest, that'd be all she focused on. She always worked deep into the night. I thought that'd change after her kid was born, but having Futaba didn't do much. Even with that, she always took good care of her."

"Working and watch over a child at the same time sounds rough…" Takamaki said with lament.

"I guess raising Futaba alone turned out to be tough on her in more ways than one…"

"What about the father?" Kurusu asked Boss.

"There wasn't a father."

"Do you mean…" Kitagawa was about to ask something, maybe out of context but concerned.

"Well, there probably was one. I didn't know him, though. She never said a word about him, either. She was single when she gave birth to Futaba and single when she raised her. They were an ordinary, loving family. You could really tell how much she cared for Futaba," Boss let a long, exhausting sigh before continuing his narration. "But one day, she left… leaving Futaba behind."

"Did she die…?" Kurusu asked Boss once more; the owner just nodded.

"Yes. She committed suicide."

"Suicide…!?" The blonde said with sadness. Everyone was out of words, having a difficult moment to put the right words. But no matter how much we wanted to open our mouths, we got a sour taste.

"Threw herself into the street, right in front of Futaba's eyes…"

"Shocking doesn't begin to describe that…" Makoto said, entirely uncertain.

"That's gotta be devastating for a kid," the punk wouldn't stop looking down.

Makoto and Sakamoto commented with long faces. I kept quiet.

"So… Well, a lot happened after that, but I ended up taking custody of Futaba… First, she was so depressed she… she wouldn't even talk to me."

"Was that because she couldn't get over her mother's suicide?" Takamaki asked.

"I kept talking to her, though, and she started opening up to me little by little. That's when I found out… Futaba blames herself for her mother's death."

"What!? But why!?"

"That part she's never told me. I wanted to know what led her to believe that, but I decided not to rub salt in the wound. Then, a few months ago… She started getting real scared, even when nothing was happening. She'd say things like, 'I hear voices…' and, 'Mom is looking at me…' "

"Visual and auditory hallucinations… Have you taken Futaba to a doctor?" Kitagawa asked.

"I wanted to, but she refused. Even when I had a doctor come, she locked herself away in her room. Since then, she's become what you'd call a shut-in. She won't take a single step outside the house or even try to see other people."

"What about you?" Kitigawa asked more directly to Boss.

"She doesn't even let me come to her room."

"That's pretty harsh…" Sakamoto commented.

"Futaba is, well, a unique girl. She's so quick-minded that conversations with her tend to jump from one topic to the next… It seems like she's always coming to conclusions in her head. There's a lot I don't get about her… So yeah… her situation is why I couldn't let Akira in my house."

"I understand," Kurusu said, very empathetic of the complicated situation.

"Thanks," Boss smiled. "What Futaba needs is a safe place where nobody will threaten her. Somewhere she can be at ease. That's why I won't do anything she doesn't want. I don't make her do anything she's unwilling to either. Then again, I know that's no way for her to live. It's all I can do, though…"

"What does Futaba want?" Kurusu acted more straightforward.

"I don't know. She just asks me for things that she wants, like food or these complicated books…" Boss was disconcerted. "Well, that's that. So can you just… leave her be?"

"I give you my word," our leader said, firmly.

"I'm gonna head back then. You all had a better head home soon too." And just like that, Boss left Leblanc without another word. The tense ambient wouldn't lift as we looked at each other, distressed and guilty, as none of us were really ready to hear such a tale. I, on the other hand, couldn't even look at them. I was on the counter looking at the coffee beans' jars as I wanted to avoid the topic. There was nothing I could say or even feel. And in a way, I was able to sympathize with Futaba.

"I feel awful for prying into his personal affairs..." Makoto said remorsefully.

"No way in hell he's abusin' her," Sakamoto shook his head.

"The reason why Futaba wants her heart stolen must be related to what happened to her mother," Takamaki shared her thoughts. It became much clear for us.

"So she'd like to discard her feelings of pain, but can't do anything it herself," Kitagawa added.

"Will changing her heart really, though?"

"If we can help her, we may be able to stand up to Medjed," the artist sounded determined.

"We do need clues..." Kurusu was more skeptical.

"Hold on a sec. Do we even know if she has a Palace?" the punk asked the leader.

"I'm not sure."

"Let's check," Kurusu followed Sakamoto's advice as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He got the Metaverse App ready while the punk would try it for us. " 'The Sakura Futaba that lives at Sakura Sojiro's house.' Is that gonna be enough?"

"Candidate found."

"What the ..?" Kitagawa's reaction summed up how we felt as it took us by surprise. We felt a chill in the air while a small distortion in our reality occurred due to the app. How or why? What was the meaning of this?

"She's got one..." Sakamoto murmured.

"So someone can have a Palace even if they're not evil?" Takamaki said. "Hey, Morgana-" Right when she called for the cat, we realized that he wasn't with us. "Where's Morgana?"

"I haven't seen him for some time," the artist affirmed.

"So, ever since we went inside Boss' house?" Makoto asked everyone.

"...Somewhere 'round there. He'll be fine, though. He's a cat, after all," Sakamoto said with a laidback attitude. He looked at his phone, checking the hour. "The trains're gonna shuttin' down for the night soon, so we should prolly be headin' home."

"We have to go to school in the morning, after all," Makoto said, much to everyone's consternation.

"Ohh, right. The urgent assembly."

"An assembly? What about?" Kitagawa asked Takamaki.

"Shujin has been garnering a lot of attention ever since Medjed called out the Phantom Thieves. So, they need to remind us not to say arbitrary stuff online and add more fuel to the fire."

"We've gotta meet up for every goddamn little thing. Talk about a pain in the ass," Sakamoto complained.

"I mean, it is our fault."

"Anyway, let's contact each other afterward," and just after hearing Makoto, the group left Leblanc, one by one. All except me, who was still sitting by the counter, thinking of the bizarre discovery regarding Futaba. How was that even possible? But it was worse as I couldn't stop thinking about what happened to her mother. No person should deal with that trauma, ever. It was all over again.

"Hey," Kurusu said as he touched my shoulder. "Are you alright? You are going to miss your train."

"Huh? Oh, right..." I said while feeling tired and disheartened.

"Is there something you want to talk? You've been too quiet," the leader seemed concerned for my lack of participation in the conversation. It wasn't the best time for me at the moment.

"I... It's nothing," I took a deep breath. "I will see you tomorrow," I said while avoiding eye-contact and with a significant weight on my shoulders. The moment I touched the doorknob, I stand still for a couple seconds. My body was on its own as if I couldn't go out, at least, not without saying something more to Kurusu. "Have you ever felt guilty of something before?" I asked.

"Guilty? Of what exactly?" he replied. Confused.

"I don't know... Goodnight," I left Leblanc. The hour was already late, and I probably missed my train. I couldn't care less about that as I wanted to take the long walk home, hoping to clear my thoughts. It's a shame that didn't work either.