Vangran: Glad you like it. And I totally agree with you about Shido, it was pretty obvious that something was up there. That's why I wanted to get that point out in the open. I'm not about to have them go to the Palace earlier or anything, I know how dangerous that would be but now they'll just have reason to be wary of him.
Also, you made an excellent point about Goro. I really didn't think of that before but yeah, it's weird that the thieves didn't at least check his name in the Nav. I can't think of a reason they shouldn't have. I'm pretty sure they even run Sojiro's name on it at one point...
EngineeredNeko: Sorry, but no. I did try adding the date when I first worked on the drafts of this story but keeping track of it just got old and I really didn't see the point after a while. But it's mainly because look how far the story's come, I don't feel like I can include it now.
The day of the trip came and before heading to the airport, Namine bid Futaba and Morgana goodbye, before coming down and doing the same with Sojiro and a couple of Leblanc's regulars who had been present at the time.
At the airport, the students began gathering around in groups and chatting among each other as they waited for the rest to arrive. Ryuji spotted Namine and Ann, making to approach them but he almost bumped into a newly Gozaka in the process in the other boy's haste.
''Sorry about that, man.''
''Eh, no worries.'' Ryuji shrugged.
''So you three sure hang out a lot.'' The boy went on, glancing from him to Namine and Ann. ''You seeing one of them or somethin', Sakamoto?''
''What?!'' Ryuji gave him a weirded out look. ''What the hell, Gozaka? We're just friends!''
''Well, I'm just saying that they're both real pretty. Wouldn't be a surprise for them to catch anyone's eye.''
The ex-athlete had to agree with that one. He'd always thought they were pretty, it was why Yusuke's choice at painting them made sense to him. But still, he didn't see either of them like that. Namine was his best friend-kind of like a sister or something and Ann...
He suddenly remembered the last photoshoot, remembering how beautiful she looked at the time.
Gozaka noted his changing expressions ''Ho, would you look at that?''
''Sh-shut up!''
''Heh, fine. You're off the hook now, Sakamoto.''
Annoyed, Ryuji went off before he noticing Nakaoka nearby. He might not want to rejoin the track team but they were friends. He was still curious about how they were doing on that front. After a moment of thought, he decided to find out.
After the plane landed, they all went to the hotel chosen for them to stay in as planned. Many looked at the scenery in awe, admiring the area's beauty and feeling all the more excited to be here.
Ann's smile grww as she6looked around the hotel's lobby ''Looks like a great place, huh?''
Namine nodded with a smile of her own, and then...
''Yes, we're here! Hawaiiiiiiii!''
Ann didn't even bother looking back as Ryuji and Mishima arrived. She may be far too used to his outbursts by now...''...Was that necessary?"
Mishima was thinking along similar lines ''A little much, don't you think?''
''Hell no, man! I'm happy and I wanna show it! Anyway, we've been I've been wonderin' since the airport but what is this smell?''
''Supposedly, the lingering scent of carpet cleaner. It's coconut scented.'' Mishima offered, noticing Makoto walking over. ''Plus I'd say the scent of plumerias are amplifying the tropical atmosphere here.''
The boy gave him an incredulous look ''What're you, the king of random facts?!''
''I'm the type that likes to look up stuff beforehand.''
Ryuji looked intrigued ''Then tell me a cheap but good place to eat.''
''Do that after you figure out your room assignments! We can't go out until we get our key.'' Ann reminded.
''Yeah?'' He cocked his head. ''So who do I room with? One of you two?''
''No way.'' Ann already knew who she wanted for her roommate even before they came here. ''We already agreed that we're rooming together.''
''Yup, besides from what Makoto told us, people from different classes can't room together. Right?'' Namine directed the question at the girl.
Makoto nodded ''It's just to keep things organized.''
''Fine, guess I'll have to go ask someone...'' Ryuji trailed off.
Namine had a thought ''Ah, Makoto. All the third years came, right?'' The brunette quirked I brow. ''I met a girl who might be in your class but I never actually remembered to ask. I know for a fact that she's a third year in Shujin though.''
''Oh, I see. What's her name? I can check if she is here.''
The girl perked up ''That'd be great! It's...''
Haru looked around the hall, wondering why she was called to come here then. Just as she decided to find Makoto, a pair of hands came over her eyes.
''Guess who?''
Perking up, Haru turned around and gently pushed the hands to reveal Namine. ''Nami-chan! I was hoping I'd find you.''
Namine beamed ''Well, Makoto helped me make sure you did come. Never thought you were in the same class though.''
''So you actually know Nijima-san?''
''Oh yeah, we're good friends. Actually, since we're both here, how about I introduce you to her and my other friends?''
''That sounds nice.''
While admittedly surprised at the turnout, the others welcomed Haru to join them. The group decided to head to the beach first, intent on trying out as many things as they could while they were here. Since Haru and Makoto had to be chaperones for a while, Namine, Ann and Ryuji agreed to wait around for them to finish their turn before getting started on any plans. They had just sat down after swimming for a little break and started to talk...
''Haru seems really nice.'' Ann remarked.
''Oh yeah, she is.'' Namine returned. ''We met by chance before but we wound up hanging out a bunch, she's a lot of fun too.''
''So what's that like? I mean with someone like her...'' Ryuji started. He could only imagine what a girl like the heiress of Okumura Foods does enjoyed in her spare time. She clearly hadn't been thrilled when Makoto used her family name even if it was reflex and they got the impression that she avoided using it when possible. She'd even asked them to just call her Haru.
''This is about her family's money, right?'' Namine guessed correctly. ''We just went to hang out, it's hardly any different from what any of us do. I don't see why that money would chance anything about that. She's more interested about experiencing things on her own. Haru's not exactly one to flaunt her wealth around or anything.''
''Cool. So what do you wanna do after the girls wrap things up?''
''Well, I looked up some info about this place and there are some really nice spots we should check out.'' Ann stated. ''That money we put together sure comes in handy now.''
By that, she was referring to the money they had gotten with their work in Mementos. Shadows tended to have some more often than not, Namine and Makoto had taken to keeping a close eye on it for quite some time now. It had become something of a sharing thing where most of them would put in a little money every now and then. Because of that care, they had been able to gather a sizeable portion to use for the trip.
In the spirit of keeping things fair, they'd also given Yusuke his own share. Makoto had waited for the day before they had to leave to hand it over though, to some surprise. The team agreed that Ryuji put I it best when declaring that the money wouldn't even last a week with him...and that was him being generous.
A short while later when Makoto and Haru joined them, Ryuji spotted an ice cream shop and urged the group to try some. Noticing Mishima along the way, he and Namine invited him to join them.
''Wait, you came here before?'' Ann blinked.
Haru nodded ''It's like I told Nami-chan the other day, it was more of a buisness thing with my father.''
''I see. By the way, you two must certainly get along, Haru-san. Last time I checked, only Namine's grandparents address her like you do.'' Makoto remarked.
Haru laughed a bit sheepishly ''Well, we do but...I wound up calling Nami-chan that way once by accident and she said it was all right. It just became a habit ever since.''
''So what was the last time like?'' Mishima asked.
''Oh, compared to this one, it was dull. I like this one much more, it's so much relaxing and I have the chance to enjoy all I missed.''
''I guess that makes sense. People would assume you've got it easy as an heiress but there's a whole lot of responsibilty for you to handle, huh?'' Ann noted.
''Yes. I don't mind though, I want to help my father.''
''Well that's good. You can really have fun with everyone now.'' Haru nodded to Namine with a growing smile of her own.
''...Are you still going at it?''
Ryuji's eyes roved around the beach, his concentration on girls. They'd just stopped after visiting a famous street nearby and Mishima was glad he could have joined the group. This was really fun, they'd not only played volleyball in two groups but also went about to do a bunch of activities together. They were going to check out a shop Haru told them about that she knew to be excellent in a short while. Already, this trip was looking great.
That being said, Mishima couldn't help but look in exasperation at Ryuji. The boy was clearly trying to be nonchalant, but Mishima thought it was really obvious that he was checking girls out.
''Takamaki-san just told you off for that kind of attitude, you know.''
''What Ann thinks is her own problem.'' Ryuji waved dismissively. ''I don't want to miss this, besides...at least I'm honest about it.''
''W-what?!'' Mishima felt his face grow warm at the blond's knowing smirk. ''I don't know what you're talking about!''
''Sure you don't. I totally saw you looking.'' Ryuji ignored the boy's protests. ''Come on, we gotta make the best of this. Odds are, we can get a couple of hot dates if we be each other's wingmen.''
''...You think so?'' His gaze drifting towards Namine, Ann, Makoto and Haru, who weren't too far away.
''Come on, Mishima, throw me a bone here. I mean it!''
The boy sighed ''Fine. How do you want to go about this?''
The girls went to a nearby shop that seemed to have a lot of attention from passersby. Ann was particularly intrigued when she saw some of their selections, picking out a couple of items she liked.
''Say, Ann? Which one do you think is better?'' Namine held up a couple of shirts. One was blue with yellow and red lining, the other was white with some intricate black and blue patterns.
''They both look nice but...I'd have to say that one.'' She pointed at the second shirt. ''It definitely suits you more.''
''Hmm, all right then!''
When they'd finished paying up, they were curious to find Haru at the shop's entrance, staring at something outside.
''What's up?'' Ann asked.
''Oh...ah...'' She gestured to the other side of the street, where they could see Ryuji and Mishima coming up the stairs. Both appeared rather weary and there was suspicious redness on the former's face, as if he had been hit there.
''Huh. Weird, what's that about?''
The boys' plans had gone awry rather fast, to their chagrin. And to make matters worse, their companions quickly realized something was up due to seeing them just a few minutes ago. The boys had to admit, their weary appearances would be enough to rouse suspicion so it was no surprise the girls began questioning them.
Ryuji's earlier behavior wound up being a big tip-off, so when Makoto guessed correctly that they were hitting on girls, the boy could only splutter as he tried to say something. But they could already tell how badly the attempts had gone...
''Oh, save it.'' Ann deadpanned. ''We already know you're a pervert anyway. And it looks like Mishima's just as bad.''
''H-hey!''
But Mishima figured that anything he said in protest would go ignored. It was clear that the girls were on two sides in this matter; uncaring and thinking they deserved it (Ann and Makoto), feeling bad for the two (Haru and Namine).
Deciding to try lifting the moot, Haru opted to treat everyone to a restaurant.
''Thanks for this, Haru.'' Namine smiled
The girl shook her head ''It's nothing. I'm glad you invited me; it's been fun. I just want to show thanks.''
''That's really nice but we were glad to have you.'' Makoto smiled.
Mishima stared at Ryuji's pineapple pizza as the food arrived ''All the stuff on the menu and that's what you choose?''
''What? I heard that it was first made in the States so I want to try it here.''
Eventually, they all wound up sharing food with each other, wanting to try out the most of the present selection. Ryuji took the opportunity to pick up some beef from Makoto's plate before putting a bit on a piece of the pizza and eating it.
Makoto raised an eye ''That's...a first.''
''I'll say. It's just weird...'' Ann trailed off.
''Ah, don't knock it till you try it!'' Ryuji grinned at the taste.
Haru looked curious ''In that case, may I have some?''
''Sure!''
''Hmm...it's unique but not bad at all.'' Haru decided.
''Right? The food here is great!'' Ryuji agreed happily.
''You'd really eat beef with anything, I swear. Don't encourage him, Haru.'' Ann pleaded.
''Ah, ease up. You act like all my ideas are bad.''
''Look at what happened today.'' She deadpanned.
''Remember what happened the last time we went to the gym?''
Namine looked between the two as Ann glowered at the boy ''Do we want to know, you two?''
''It all happened because he...''
Ann never got to finish because Ryuji seized the opportunity to pick another piece of the pizza and beef before placing in her mouth. Surprised as she was, the model quickly found herself having to eat it and avoid making a mess.
Ryuji ignored the look she was shooting him, grinning with ease ''See? Told you, just try it!''
''...He did that to show he was right, didn't he?'' Mishima spoke after a moment.
Makoto sighed ''Knowing Ryuji, that wouldn't surprise me at all.''
''You better savor this one, Ryuji. By your track record, who knows when you'll come out on top again.'' Namine put in.
''Oi!''
Ann and Makoto laughed, the most amusing part to them was that Ryuji couldn't argue as the girl had hit the nail on the head.
Haru giggled ''They really are interesting, Nami-chan.''
''Haha, I know, right? You haven't seen anything yet.''
Back in Japan...
Morgana was eating some of the food Sojiro gave him, relieved that the barista was really looking out for him as promised. He was also very thankful for Namine's thoughtfulness as the girl knew that he hated eating cat food and so tried to leave some food for him before she left.
''You're really mean, Mona! Why do you keep acting so jumpy with me?'' Futaba asked.
Both Sojiro and Morgana knew she was referring to what happened a few minutes ago, when the girl gathered him in her arms and while it looked comfortable at first; he had immediately gotten away when it looked like Futaba was getting carried again.
''You're too rough on him.'' Sojiro chided. ''I really don't think I'm the only one who told you so far.''
The girl scowled ''I'm not that bad! Why do you all keep acting like this...?''
''For the last time, you're the only one who thinks so!'' Morgana huffed.
Futaba gave him a look ''Sometimes I wonder if Namine spoiled you after all...''
''Hey!''
''Nah, I don't think so.'' Sojiro argued. ''If anything, she's taken good care of him and he's a pretty well behaved little guy. If he doesn't like what you do then leave it be, Futaba.''
''Fine...''
Morgana sighed as the barista headed for Leblanc minutes ''Thanks for the consideration, Chief.''
''I was going to tell you what I found but now I don't feel it...''
He looked at Futaba in surprise ''Aw, come on! Is it about the data?''
''It's a secret. You're going to have to wait until everyone gets back.'' The hacker stated.
''Futaba...''
''Look, I'm not done anyway. It's like I told you guys before, there was a whole lot more than I thought so I don't want to miss anything.''
Morgana frowned a bit ''Fair enough, I guess...''
As he watched her head to her room, he began to think. Futaba was a much better navigator than he ever was, even with his prior knowledge of the Metaverse. Ever since she joined, he felt as if his role was diminishing. As usual, in the real world, there was little he could do.
It didn't feel like he was contributing anything to the Phantom Thieves. He was sure Namine would scold him if she heard this line of thought but he felt it was true. What could he do now? Futaba was working hard to decipher all that data and all he could do was wait? He really didn't like that.
This was something he'd been keeping from everyone but the truth was, he had been having the strange dream about what looked like his yellow eyed doppelganger recently. Something felt really, really wrong about the whole thing and for the life of him he didn't know what. He wanted to find out what it meant but he had no idea where to even start looking.
At the moment, one question remained to him. What could he do?
In Hawaii...
The group returned to the hotel, all happy with the day they had. The trip was already proving to be good for them.
''This was really fun!'' Ann smiled.
''Totally.'' Ryuji grinned and the others nodded.
''You know, I was surprised, I heard a lot of people talking about the Phantom Thieves here. It sounds like they've been a big hit over here too.'' Mishima remarked.
''So was I. I never thought their fame would spread so fast that easily.'' Haru admitted.
Ryuji looked at the girl curiously ''So what do you think of them anyway, Haru?''
''I wasn't sure at first but I've come to believe in them.'' The heiress admitted. ''I really could care less for all the terrible things people said about them. They've always gone after people doing bad things, they're helping others. Why should they be condemned for that?''
''Heh, you got that right.''
But as they would find out in a short while, all was not well. Namine and Makoto, who had stopped to talk a little before heading to their rooms happened to overhear some passerby talking.
It was also about the Phantom Thieves, which wasn't too surprising. It was mostly centered on their actions and who they wanted to see targeted. The problem with that was that no one even cared that the thieves weren't about that, it was just that they wanted to see people taken down. As if they were just looking forward to a spectacle, that the Thieves' work was just for their entertainment. None of the speakers even considered why the thieves were doing this, that they were standing for what was right and trying to help people. The people just seemed to want chaos and anarchy.
It went without saying that both the leader and second in command of the Phantom Thieves found this troubling. They'd heard some opinions in the past (some of which they definitely didn't like) but this was too much.
''That even sounded like some of the things I read online.'' A frustrated Makoto grumbled. ''Is this really all people care about?''
Namine appeared thoughtful ''...It shouldn't be this way. We'll just have to keep working and show everyone what we're really about.''
''Right.''
And we're done.
And this kickstarts the trip. Honestly, the game's version was a little boring to me so I wanted to mix things up a little. That's how things are in both Japan and Hawaii, where the Phantom Thieves get another reminder of how the opinion about them is.
The sharing fund I put in here was something my family used to do, everyone would get a certain amount of money and they'd pool it together for what was needed. I don't actually remember what the point of Mona's dream with that yellow eyed doppelganger was, or if they even stated it in game but it gave me a certain idea that I'm going to work out in this arc.
That's all I have to say but if there's any questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer, though I won't provide spoilers. Anywho, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it, till next time!
Confidants:
Sakamoto Ryuji (Chariot Rank Max)
Morgana (Magician Rank 5)
Takamaki Ann (Lovers Rank Max)
Takemi Tae (Death Rank 8)
Okumura Haru (Empress Rank 4)
Igor (Aeon Rank 4)
Sakura Sojiro (Hierophant Rank 5)
Mishima Yuuki (Moon Rank 6)
Suzui Shiho (Temperance Rank Max)
Yoshida Toranosuke (Sun Rank 6)
Caroline and Justine (Strength Rank 5)
The Phantom Thieves (Fool Rank 3)
Kitagawa Yusuke (Emperor Rank 6)
Akechi Goro (Justice Rank 3)
Ohya Ichiko (Devil Rank 3)
Nijima Makoto (Priestess Rank 3)
Mifune Chihaya (Wheel of Fortune Rank 4)
Sakura Futaba (Hermit Rank 2)
Togo Hifumi (Star Rank 2)