Chapter 8 / Forward Momentum
Tuesday / May 3rd, 2016 / Shibuya - Natsu Diner / Daytime
Natsukawa Naozumi
I sat at the bar of the diner and looked over the finances over the last few weeks since we had started our own marketing campaign. Flyers and a social media presence had started to gain traction. Sure we weren't showing up on ads in newspapers or websites like we were supposed to before, but these were things that no amount of Okumura Foods could get in the way and stop.
"How's it look, Onii-chan?" Shiori asked as she put an orange cream soda in front of me. Trying to bribe me or something?
I sighed as I flipped through some of the pages from all four locations of Natsu Diner. "We have made progress. Can't expect a complete turnaround after just a couple weeks though. Overall we have seen about a fourteen percent increase in profit. But part of that has to do with us no longer paying the advertising company from before and how flier handouts and social media presence is significantly cheaper. Taking that into account we've only seen an actual five percent increase in sales."
"That's great, Nao-chan!" An energetic voice sat next to me with her usual smile on her face. Okumura Haru.
"Oh, Haru. I didn't expect to see you for a couple hours or so. Don't you usually look after the flowers at this time?" I asked her as I started sorting through the papers.
"Hmm… yeah but not today. It isn't good to over water plants you know," Haru stated matter-of-factually as she settled in, placing her school bag in the empty seat on the other side of her. "Hey, Shiori-chan. You shouldn't let your Onii-chan overwork himself, you know."
"I know, but you know how serious he gets when it comes to the Diner. He's been slacking, you know," Shiori added.
"Has he now?" Haru then turned her gaze to me.
Shiori… I didn't know you hated me so much. I could feel a sudden sweat drop rolling down my face. "It isn't like I haven't been studying. I've just been watching the activities of the Diners a bit more…"
"Nao-chan," Haru wielded her smile like a deadly weapon as she looked at me with a piercing stare. "Your Mom made me promise to make sure you keep up with your studies. So that is what we are going to do."
There was no stopping her when she got like this. That was for sure. I wasn't sure if it was something I feared or enjoyed when it came to Haru. Actually, I'm a bit concerned about myself if it is the latter. I put the reports of the other Diner's down.
"I suppose there is no point in being overly worried about it. The plan is still ongoing and you can't expect results to be so immediate. Still, an increase of five percent is definitely good. Plus with the money we've saved we have at least made up some ground for the moment," I sighed, defeated for the moment.
"Good, it's time to study, Nao-chan," Haru pressed a reminder that she wasn't going to be letting go of this. "You have to keep your good grades going, you know. You can't afford to let your grades drop."
"Yeah, I know," I said as I was pulling my books out from my bag that I had placed on the counter. Haru was doing this for my sake as well. As it stood I was currently in college on a scholarship due to my academics. Keeping my grades up was important to keep the scholarship. Plus my Mother had also asked Haru to ensure I was keeping up with my studies as well. Not that she needed the extra motivation.
"Don't worry, I'll help," Haru said as she grabbed one of my books. The one she grabbed was on business ethics. "This seems like a subject you wouldn't have too much of a problem with."
"No, it's mostly logical, but there are still a lot of things to learn about it. After all there are a multitude of ethical standards and practices that you have to keep in mind when running any company. Not to mention that most countries recognize the corporation as its own entity with its own rights. It can be complicated at times. More than you would expect at any rate," I gave a brief explanation.
She then grabbed another book, "You have a class on negotiation?"
"It is a major part of business. Although I would say I know more about it because of my Father than this class. I have learned a lot of the reasoning behind what my Father taught me though," I admitted. "Should you really be helping me though? You have midterms to worry about yourself."
"And I will be fine. I still have my schedule," Haru replied simply. I'm not surprised. She was always pretty adamant about the whole thing. I had no doubts that she would keep up on her own studies, it was the only reason she was allowed any amount of freedom to begin with, thanks to her Father.
Things were definitely moving in the right direction for the Diner at the very least. But unless sales really pick up, it was going to stay in the red. That could wait for another day. Continuing to focus on that would likely make Haru mad at me. I knew she just wanted to remind me that I needed to stay successful in school. It was important. But there was only so much cushion the Diner's had to allow a loss for repeated months. If they didn't get back into the black soon… things could be dire. And losing my family's business was not something I was going to ever accept.
Wednesday / May 4th, 2016 / Cafe Leblanc / Daytime
Ichihara Tadashi
After waking up, I quickly dressed, grabbed my other bag, and Morgana hopped inside and we made our way out. Yesterday we had been roped into helping Sojiro with the cafe. Not too surprising that it got busy during the holiday. But we needed to sell the medal. How I had this task when I really didn't even care for this celebration was beyond me. I went down stairs and only got about halfway to the door before Sojiro stopped me.
"Make sure to do the dishes," Sojiro spoke with a stern voice.
"I'll do it when I get back," I said and took another step towards the door.
"Just do it. Don't get cocky with me," his look was equally stern.
"I won't be gone long. You think I'm going to do something stupid?" I met his stubbornness with my own head on. After my words left, the sound of the bell and front door paused Sojiro from responding to me.
"Welcome," Sojiro said to the customer coming in. Surprisingly losing the stiff tone he had with me just a moment ago.
A woman came in in a black business suit. She definitely stood out. Her posture was definitely one of an individual with confidence. And she seemed to have brown eyes but there was also red there as well. It was certainly unique. Her hair was a flat dark gray and was asymmetrically parted on her right side, and has natural waves to it. She also had on silver earrings that weren't particularly fancy but still her entire look made her look professional but she was definitely still attractive. Actually, something about her seemed really familiar.
She looked at Sojiro then me, "Am I interrupting something?"
"Not at all," Sojiro shook his head. Looks like he was conceding this fight for the moment, thankfully. The woman took a seat at the bar.
"The cause of the runaway-train incident in the subway the other day still has not been found," the sound came from the TV and I couldn't help but look back at it. "Police are hurrying to solve the matter as it may relate to the rise in psychotic breakdown incidents."
"Oh, is that the thing everyone's been talking about?" Sojiro likely heard a lot from his patrons. Considering how busy it had been yesterday I do recall some of them talking about it. Though I really hadn't been paying attention to it. Maybe I should be.
"Doesn't it make you curious?" The woman speaks up suddenly. "People who were living normal lives suddenly went mad or deranged out of the blue. Not to mention that it's happening one after another... Could they really be coincidental?"
Normally I would dismiss such a crazy idea. People suddenly go mad. But we had forced someone to have a change of heart...would it be possible for someone to cause something like that? That would be utterly ridiculous...right? Anything is possible. I certainly believed that more now than I ever had before.
"Hmm... Leaving that aside," Sojiro shifted the conversation. "What'll you have?"
She looked like she wasn't happy with Sojiro pushing the conversation aside. "I'll have the house blend please." She looked back at me and then asked a question. "Are you a part-timer? I'm surprised this place can afford one."
Sojiro spoke up before I could say anything, "Uh, no, not exactly..." I wonder if Sojiro had a reason not to let people know of the arrangement of me living here. Maybe I was supposed to be living with him at his house and not the cafe he runs a block or so away. I guess I owed him for that bit of freedom it gave me.
"Are you a high school student? Where do you attend?" the women pressed.
"I go to Shujin Academy," I answered without hesitation. Her knowing where I go to school isn't a big deal, and not really a factor with my living arrangements. Besides, avoiding to answer questions would likely only irritate this woman and make her want to press for more. She looked like someone that pushed to have things go her way. Best way to deal with someone like her is to give clear and concise answers.
"Oh...? Someone I know goes there as well," the woman seemed somewhat sympathetic. "I've heard that things are rough right now."
"That's putting it lightly," I commented.
"A teacher named Kamoshida confessed his crimes like he was a completely different person, supposedly. And it happened 'all of a sudden' one day," she seemed like she knew a lot more about the situation than she was letting on. She's a tricky one I see. "Can a person's mental state change so easily?"
"Nothing happens without a reason. I only just transferred to the school at the beginning of the month so I really don't know much. I know that his change has definitely shaken up the school. And right before midterms too," I sighed and scratched my head.
"Are you concerned it might affect your studies?" she asked.
"I realize his confession might have been important for him so I don't want to really sound selfish about me being concerned with my grades. But I did make a commitment to do the best I can in my midterms. And I think it will help bring a sense of normalcy to the school. So I'm trying not to let the news affect my everyday life," I say this being mostly honest. I am a selfish person though. I wanted to live a normal life as a High School Student. And yet so many things have changed that for me in my life. Maybe that was why I valued my wager with Makoto so much. The thought of a competition that was pretty normal was appealing to me.
"That's rather commendable. More students would do well to have an outlook like yours. I wish you luck with your tests," the woman smiled slightly but only for the briefest of moments. "Is my drink ready yet?"
Sojiro seemed rather impressed with my answer and gave me an approving glance towards the door. I shared a brief glance with him before I walked out of the cafe. Time to sell that stupid medal so we can celebrate. Ugh...dammit. Can't I just fucking skip it and just let them celebrate on their own? I have a feeling that isn't possible… and Morgana would bitch if I didn't go because I was more or less the only way he would get there. Fuck me. I'll never be able to just live a normal fucking life would I?
Thursday / May 5th, 2016 / Wilton Hotel - Buffet / Daytime
Ichihara Tadashi
Fuck me. Why am I here?
"So good...!" Ryuji said between bites of the slabs of meat he had taken from the buffet.
"No wonder Lady Ann chose this place..." Morgana seemed impressed. I personally just wanted to smash my head against the table.
"Of course it's good. This is a famous hotel, after all," Ann actually seemed proud. But she was saying that with nothing but sweets in front of her. "Oh yeah, I heard that the police are coming to interview some people at school."
"That's troublesome," Morgana commented.
"It's hardly surprising. I'm sorry but it isn't normal for someone to suddenly confess things they have been doing out of some weird change of heart bullshit. And they especially don't go looking for atonement for their sins either. Even if someone does have a change of heart they usually just silently stop enacting those things and try to fade into obscurity and keep their dirty secrets to themselves, hoping that no one else will expose them either. They don't go fucking turning themselves into the police," I shook my head. Come on, did nobody really see that? Kamoshida suddenly doing something like this was definitely going to get people to turn their heads.
"It doesn't help that our names are gonna come up for sure. People're spreadin' all sorts of rumors about us and Kamoshida," Ryuji just had to remind me. Then his tone changed, "But we got 'em pumped up. I keep hearin' stuff like, 'The Phantom Thieves really stole his heart.' I think most people don't believe it, but some of them actually seem grateful."
"That's because they knew how Kamoshida was before, and that something had to happen for him to suddenly confess like that," I pointed out.
"That's true but look at this," Ryuji brought up his phone and switched the screen for Ann, Morgana and I to take a look.
"The Phantom Aficionado Website?" Ann read the title on the top of the page.
Really? Fuck my life.
"Listen to this, 'Well done, Phantom Thieves. Now I can keep going too. Thank you for giving us hope.' Must be a lot of messages on there like it," Ann said after a moment. I hate where this is going.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Ryuji did seem happy about it.
"I was just desperate to deal with my own problems, but seeing people saying all this feels... strange," Ann said.
Oh great… Please don't tell me these two are being swept in with all this garbage. Who gives a shit? We did what we had to because we were left with no other options. We didn't have a choice. It is hardly right to take any claim for helping people to begin with. We did it for our own selfish reasons… to help ourselves, not anyone else. If someone else managed to be helped along the way… big fucking deal. It has nothing to do with me.
"Hey... Tadashi, you alright?" Ryuji asked, probably noticing my bitter expression.
"Are you planning on eating?" I asked hoping to get off of this ridiculous topic.
"Well of course I'm gonna eat, but..." Ryuji was going to press again but Ann stood up and took his attention.
Ann audibly gasped, "This place has a time limit!"
"Oh crap, we only got an hour to eat," Ryuji stood up.
"Just fifty minutes left," Ann and Ryuji were making this sound a lot more dire than it had any right to be.
"I'm not gonna finish all the beef dishes at this pace!"
"I need to eat my way through the entire dessert menu...!"
I am starting to seriously worry about Ann and Ryuji for how fucked up their priorities seemed to be sometimes.
"Look after our stuff. We'll snag something for you guys too, don't worry," Ryuji said before turning away.
"Don't bother!" I called out to him but he didn't break stride or even acknowledge it. "Fuck me."
"Tadashi, what's going on? You seem high strung today," Morgana asked from next to me. High fucking strung is right. I've had about enough of all the shit lately. If it isn't one thing it's something else. Even the long soaks at the bathhouse at night didn't seem to relax me enough to get my mind off all the Kamoshida crap. I'm glad that Suzui-san is recovering...that Ann never has to deal with the sexual abuse...or the rest of the girls at the school. Hell, I'm glad that the volleyball club and all its members are no longer under that abusive asshole. But that's it. We're done. That was all we needed to do to move on in our fucking lives. So why did it feel like nothing was over? Mother Fucker! I didn't want to deal with this shit. "Tadashi?"
I ignored Morgana. I didn't feel like expressing myself at the moment. Thankfully, Ann and Ryuji were returning with an absurd amount of plates. Ann with even more from the desert table and Ryuji mostly meats. They also put something down by me but I didn't even look at it. Was this really a celebration? I didn't feel like we had done anything worth celebrating about. If we forced a change of heart in someone… that was scary shit.
I believed it was the right thing to do. Kamoshida had taken away people's ability to choose. He manipulated, blackmailed and abused those around him for his own gain, to satisfy himself. I believe you lose the ability to choose when you take it away from someone else. We were a society where individuals had the free will to decide what they want out of life. So Kamoshida got what he fucking deserved. To truly feel remorse and to beg for forgiveness that he knew he would never deserve. To pay for his crimes with the rest of his life. But all of that did not change just how fucking terrifying what we did was. To change someone's heart, to forcefully make them acknowledge what they have done is wrong. It was fine this time. I strongly believe that my actions were right but that did not give me the power or the right to judge others. And that was exactly what we had done.
How odd of a feeling I have. I don't feel I had done anything wrong and yet I am scared of that power. To be honest, I wanted nothing to do with it. Persona, Palaces, Shadows. Fuck all of that shit. I didn't fucking ask for a power that was so utterly frightening. It scared the fuck out of me. I ignored both Ann and Ryuji and tried to calm my thoughts. I need to take some deep breaths.
Morgana was talking to Ann and Ryuji now. I didn't really notice until Morgana had his paws on my arm, "Let's go Tadashi."
"Go where?" I glanced at him.
"Have you not been paying attention? To go get us some food, of course," Morgana seemed annoyed I guess. Probably something to do with that monstrous pile of food sitting on the table.
"What? Is that not what you want?" I don't even care at this point.
"Just look at it! It's not a balanced meal at all," Morgana was insulted or something. He was right though. I wonder if they had a salad or something. It's pretty hard to fuck up a salad. Honestly the rest of this food did not look appetizing. I also did not find the concept of a buffet appealing at all. Let's make all this food and put it in hot pans or whatever and then make it a free-for-all. It was a ridiculous business model that probably had the day ending with a lot of wasted food.
"I'm not interested, but I'll go around and grab what you want I guess," I shrugged and picked up my bag.
"You for real man? How can you not want to dig into all this food?" Ryuji seemed surprised by my nonchalance.
"Food is just a means to an end. As long as you maintain a healthy balance you can efficiently maintain energy and keep your body at its peak to fight off things that are bad for it. And also...overeating is incredibly bad for you," I got to my feet and slung the bag over my shoulder.
"You're missing out, man," Ryuji said as he dug into another meat dish.
"No… no I'm not," I muttered as I walked away. Morgana in his place in my bag. Morgana directed me around the different areas and told me what he wanted. Eesh.. was he really able to eat all of this? Still as we went along we happened to hear a lot of adults talking. Not surprising to me most of them weren't interested in the news about Kamoshida. Someone being like Kamoshida was hardly a huge surprise. After gathering the last of it I brought it back over to where we were sitting and placed my bag down. And then the plate along the edge of the table so Morgana could get to it.
"Ooh, you brought a ton back. And I thought you said you weren't hungry," he looked at me.
"It isn't for me," I said and turned to leave. "I'm getting a salad. Feel free to dig in without me."
There was a part of me that just wanted to ditch this stupid thing. But I had the money for this "luxurious" meal. I moved to the salad bar portion of the buffet and grabbed a plate. I guess this just showed how stupid I was...and how different. I spent my life being the "good" son after all. I ate right, did well in school and was also good at sports. My room was always perfectly clean. I didn't have any porn mags hiding under my bed or did anything remotely that could be considered bad behavior. The real word that applied to me in that life would be, a fool. Doing as he's told, being the good son so he gets praised by his parents. All so that his parents can be proud of him. What an absolute joke that had been. The only one that had ever cared about me was my Grandfather. And he died two years ago. Grandfather told me I needed to learn to live selfishly. I think I'm understanding it more and more every day recently.
Sure, my life had been completely fucked by a single man, after I had stepped in to protect a woman from him. But I knew that what I did was right. I knew my Grandfather would agree with me. I just had to move forward and not second guess my actions. Even now… what I did to stop Kamoshida was the right thing to do. I knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. But that power... Goddammit! Again my mind comes back around to this bullshit topic! I try to clear my head again and focus on filling my salad with a good variety. And then top it with oil and vinegar. Oddly it was something I got from my Grandmother with my food habits. It certainly wasn't my parents that got me to eat this well.
I finally went back to rejoin the others and took a seat as I saw Ryuji and Morgana working on the mass amounts of food. I casually took a bite of the salad. Hmm, it was better than I expected. Then again salad is hard to screw up. But the ingredients were pretty high quality so I commend them for that much. Meanwhile, Ryuji and Morgana seemed to be struggling.
"Tadashi...do you really not want any of this?" Ryuji asked.
"Absolutely none of that looks appealing at all. If I am going to eat hot food, I want it to come straight to me and not wait in some hot plate for me to come pick it up," I said blankly.
"Then why did you bring so much back?" Ryuji groaned.
"Blame Morgana, he wanted it and told me how much to get," I shrugged.
"I was hoping I could entice him if I made him get it...sorry Ryuji," Morgana actually apologized.
"The salad is good though," I commented before taking another bite.
"I hate you so much right now," Ryuji muttered, which made me laugh.
Somehow over the next half hour or so both Morgana and Ryuji managed to finish everything between the two of them. Honestly I hadn't grabbed that much. But it was really all the meat that Ryuji had gotten that had made it more difficult. After a while the two groaned in defeat and Ryuji went to the bathroom. I came with him along with Morgana. Well I could use a trip to the bathroom too. Hearing the two of them groan though was pretty funny to me.
"Ughhh, I'm stuffed," Morgana said as we made our way back to the elevators after leaving the bathroom.
"I totally panicked when I saw the closed for cleaning sign at the bathrooms..." Ryuji shook his head.
"You were talking big about eating until you puked, but you really did puke... Are you some kind of moron?" Morgana pointed out.
"Hey, same goes for you," Ryuji countered.
"I did warn you that overeating is bad for you," I commented.
Ryuji ignored me and looked at the call buttons, "What floor was that restaurant on...?"
"We came up to get here, so it has to be on a lower floor, right?" Morgana suggested.
Ryuji hit the down button but shortly after several men in suits came pushing past us to the door of the elevator as if we weren't even there. Well, I suppose it takes all kinds.
"There's still no update on the case?" a bald man standing in the center of the group of men was asking.
"N-Not yet..." another said, and seemed a bit nervous to give the report. "Excuse me, but why are you so involved? It's not something you should be concerned with."
"I don't care about your opinion, you incompetent buffoon. When I say pick up the pace, you do it!" The bald man glared at the other who was clearly his subordinate.
"Hey, you're cuttin' in line!" Ryuji called out. Irritated with these men...obviously. Though I doubt anything good would result from Ryuji doing this.
"What do you want?" one of the subordinates to the bald man turned to us.
"I dunno… we were just wondering why such upstanding gentlemen such as yourselves don't seem to know a thing about common courtesy," I added with a glare. My temper had pretty much been going back and forth today so why not take the chance to blow some steam.
"We're in a hurry," the subordinate replied back simply, and didn't even notice my tone of voice it seemed.
"Oh, I'm sorry. So you can butt in front of other people if you're in a hurry?" Ryuji was affronted with the subordinates' dismissal of us.
"It seems the customer base has changed since I was here last. Have they started a daycare?" The bald man didn't even look in our direction with this comment.
"What?" Ryuji was making a fist now.
"Sir, we don't have time for this," the subordinate turned away from us.
"I know," the bald man said as the elevator arrived. "Don't bother with them."
Then they all loaded into the elevator car and disappeared as the elevator doors closed. Something about that tone of voice sounded familiar actually.
"The hell was with that bossy guy?" Ryuji shook his head.
"Shouldn't we head back down?" Morgana pressed.
"Yeah but..." Ryuji pushed the down button again. "That dick really pissed me off. He wasn't even hidin' the fact that he looks down on everyone."
"Don't lose your temper over this," Morgana was right, not that Ryuji would listen.
"I just can't forgive shitty adults like that..." Ryuji was clearly frustrated. "Ugh, that 'sir' bullshit makes me sick. Dammit!"
Thankfully we didn't have to wait long and we were back on the elevator and heading back down again. Thankfully the buffet was labeled in the elevators directory of floors so we made it back to Ann without further incident.
"What took you so long?" Ann demanded. Eesh… just can't win today.
"Why're you all pissy?" Ryuji countered.
"Sorry... I had a run-in with some woman a second ago. She bumped into me, but then said it was all my fault when she dropped her plate..." Ann complained.
"Sounds like a real bitch," Ryuji seemed to only propagate the situation more
"Yeah... Thanks though," Ann seemed to ease a bit. I guess she just needed to vent a bit. "But... the restaurant workers all looked at me with this disapproving expression." Ryuji and I sat back down where we had been before. Ann sighed before speaking again, "I wonder if we're out of place here..."
"It always feels like this," I shrugged. "Who cares what they think?"
"Hey, Morgana," Ryuji said suddenly.
"What is it?" Morgana peeked his head out of my bag.
"Anyone could have a Palace, yeah?" Ryuji asked.
"Anyone with a strong distorted desire," Morgana answered.
"Same for them havin' a change of heart if their Treasure gets stolen?" Ryuji was leading this to a conversation that I did not want to have.
"That would be the case," Morgana tilted his head.
"Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?" Ann asked even though it was obvious where this was going. And fuck you Ryuji in advance.
"We had trouble earlier too. These selfish shitheads who just looked down on everyone else. I was just wonderin' if we'd be able to change those kindsa people too," Ryuji was curious...right.
"You mean... you want to continue as the Phantom Thieves?" Ann asks him straight out. I turn my head. I can't fucking believe this conversation is going to happen. No, maybe its because I knew this was going to happen that I didn't want to even be here today.
"I've been thinkin'. We put a lot of work into changin' Kamoshida's heart, but nobody believes in the Phantom Thieves. Plus... those guys who had no other choice but to just deal with it are thankin' us. Us, of all people," Ryuji looked like he wanted me to add something but I kept my eyes away from the conversation.
"I... I agree," Ann said. "If we ignore people who are in trouble, I'd go back to being the same as I was before."
I get it. I know what Ann was saying. Standing by and letting things happen was what led to Kamoshida getting the kind of power he had over people. But that had nothing to do with us being Phantom Thieves. Jesus Christ...Thieves. Why does that word have to be in the same subject as doing the right thing? This isn't some fucking old radio show or novel where the thief steals for good and everything gets a happy ending at the end. No! That is not how the fucking world works.
"You're under my tutelage. There's nothing we can't accomplish as phantom thieves," Morgana proclaimed.
"Will you fucking stop saying that?" I said, somewhat annoyed. "What the fuck is wrong with all of you? Listen to yourselves. Changing people's hearts, being phantom thieves… let me emphasize a key word here. Thieves. You want to help people by going around and judging others and forcing them to have a change of heart just because we believe it's the right thing to do? This is not a power we should even fucking have."
"Tadashi..." Morgana seemed unsure of what to say. Ann and Ryuji were definitely surprised by my words too.
"And let me remind you that not a goddamn one of those people asked for our help. None of them! What did they tell us, Ryuji? Go ahead, you remember what they said right?" Ryuji didn't say anything. "They told us to mind our own fucking business. They told us to back the fuck off and to leave it alone. We got ourselves into a goddamn mess, so we went to that Palace because we had no other fucking option. Kamoshida had to be stopped. But don't you fucking mistake it into thinking we had some sort of moral high ground over Kamoshida because we fucking didn't. Each one of us here had our own selfish fucking reasons to take him down. If Ann-san had decided to finish off Kamoshida's shadow, we wouldn't have blamed her...and right now Kamoshida would be dead. Fucking think about that for a moment. You can't just go around and change people just because they have a Palace...or they are a bad person. The world isn't going to accept it. I don't want to accept it!"
Ann, Morgana and Ryuji were silent for a long moment after I had spoken. Goddammit I was just so pissed off.
"What if it was for the right reason? You have the power to do something about it, to help people. Isn't that part of what your Grandfather taught you? To live selfishly?" Ann was the one that spoke next.
"Really, Ann-san? You're gonna go there?" I glared at her.
"Damn right I am!" Ann seemed to be a bit more confident and met my glare head on. "You're the one that told me about it. Can you honestly tell me that you'd be able to walk away and then look in the mirror and be proud about this decision? That you just walked away when you had the power and ability to do something?"
I felt myself losing control of my temper and got to my feet, "Fuck you, Ann."
Ann instead jumped up to my feet and slapped me hard across my face, "No! Fuck you, Tadashi! You Goddamn coward!"
Her hand stung and there was whispering nearby about us, no doubt. I didn't move for a moment. She's right. She's fucking right. What was I really afraid of? It wasn't the consequences at all. No… I didn't give a damn about any of that. I silently sat back down. And so did Ann.
"Holy shit..." Ryuji was looking between Ann and I.
"Everyone I thought was my friend. My Mother and Father… all of them abandoned me," I said after a moment. "You do realize that being Phantom Thieves is not something we do for glory or fame. We do it against the will of the people we may be helping. We do it because it's what we believe to be right. No other reason. We never do it for personal gain, only to protect what we already have. I want you to understand that if at some point we get caught… and the methods for what we do are somehow exposed. It's the end for us. Our lives, our futures. Everything. This isn't some half hearted commitment that we just do every once in a while. This will be just as important as everything else in our lives. Becoming experts at the craft will be what saves our lives and lets us continue to do what we believe is right. Got it?"
"Yeah, I do. But if we can help those that need it, then we should do it," Ryuji said.
"People need courage. And I think the Phantom Thieves can give them that. So they aren't afraid to stand up for themselves," Ann told me.
I sighed and looked at Morgana, "This is what you wanted right? A group of Phantom Thieves?"
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you are all well trained to ease the burden as much as possible," Morgana proposed.
"In that case… I vote for Tadashi to be our leader," Ann then said which made me raise an eyebrow.
"Me? After everything I just said, you want me to be the leader?" I shook my head. I just could not understand Ann's thought process sometimes.
"It's because of what you said that makes you the ideal leader," Ann smiled. "You were thinking about us, weren't you? You're worried that we might go through something like you. This isn't a decision we are making on a whim. I think it's been on all of our minds since Kamoshida's change of heart. About what it means and what we could do. I made my decision."
"No objections here! I can't handle all that responsibility stuff," Ryuji looked at me. "But I'm here to get your back."
"I have to agree with Lady Ann's judgment. And with your ability to use multiple Persona it makes you an even more ideal candidate to be the leader," Morgana added in his agreement. I guess it was unanimous.
Me… a leader to a bunch of thieves? Fuck my life.
Friday / May 6th, 2016 / Shujin Academy - Principal's Office / Lunchtime
Niijima Makoto
Why would he call me now? And why me to begin with? I had enough to deal with and midterms were going to start in a few days. I understand the Principal had a lot to deal with too, but I still needed to deal with things as the Student Council President. Then again there was that competition with Ichihara to think about too. Honestly...why had I agreed to it? I even went out and had dinner with him. Isn't that something close to a date? He was certainly polite and gave me many opportunities to back out. I wonder why I hadn't though. I shook my head and entered the Principal's office. Focus.
"Excuse me," I say softly as to not jolt the overweight Principal. He looked up to me. "Did you wish to see me, Principal Kobayakawa?"
"You saw the state Kamoshida-kun was in, didn't you?" The Principal dived right into the topic I assumed he would want to talk about. What I don't understand is why he would talk to me. Unless he had another motive in mind. "It's as if his personality has completely changed. Something is definitely wrong here."
This was what he was worried about? What about the lives of the students that he abused? Or the girls that were sexually abused? That seems a bit more wrong than Kamoshida's sudden confession. Just what did he want? I better be somewhat diplomatic about this, "I'm not sure I follow."
"From what I've heard, it appears as though some students were meddling in his business," The Principal continued.
So what? Considering what he admitted to doing they had every right to be. I don't enjoy where this conversation is going.
"If they did something to him. Who could they be?" The Principal was being coy. He's trying to appeal to my intellectual side. Because of that, everything about this conversation felt wrong.
"Are you saying that these students may have caused Kamoshida-sensei to change?" I asked but after learning about what Kamoshida had done, adding 'sensei' to the end of his name felt repulsive in my mouth.
"That is what I wish to know. Even if it takes some probing into student matters," He said and shifted his posture to indicate how serious he was about this. "I would like you to look into this for me."
I unconsciously tensed up hearing his words. That was why he was asking me. Interrogating students openly would not net the results he wanted. The most effective matter is to enlist someone that would be in a position that students' guards might be down and information might be unintentionally leaked. He wanted me to do the dirty work and look into the lives of the students I was supposed to be helping.
The gall of this man... No… don't think of it that way. On the other side of this was also the possibility that students had blackmailed Kamoshida into confessing his crimes. That calling card sent to him might have been a final warning to Kamoshida. It also lined up with the fact that after the calling card was sent Kamoshida had stopped coming to school entirely. Regardless of the results, the intentions behind it could put other people in danger. I need to keep a cool head and think clearly about this situation. Consider every angle.
I composed myself and looked back to the Principal, "It is true that there are many rumors regarding Kamoshida-sensei, but do you mean all of this talk about those Phantom Thieves?"
"It is undeniable that Kamoshida-kun has 'changed' in some way. I'd like to have a grasp of the cause. This shall also ensure that I handle the mass media and police in the correct fashion," The Principal elaborated. "I will continue speaking to Kamoshida-kun myself. Unless you find whomever did this, these irresponsible rumors will likely never die down. Don't you agree?" He eyed me but when I didn't immediately respond or nod in agreement he shifted his approach. "You have been at the top of your class since day one. Your conduct is good, and teachers favor you. I could write you a recommendation for any college of your choosing, Niijima Makoto."
"Th-Thank you..." my eyes widened. Was he bribing me now?
"Your lineage must certainly play a part in this excellence. Your sister is still young, yet she holds an admirable position at the Public Prosecutors Office, no?" The smile the Principal had on his face made me sick to my stomach. This son of a bitch. "If something disappointing were to happen here, that wouldn't reflect very well on your sister. Do you understand?'
You plotting, conniving, tub of lard. You dare to threaten me with my sister! No, I can't get worked up like this. My Sister had enough on her plate. If I spoke out and went against him now, he could make a scene with me and ruin my chance at getting into a good college. Not to mention Sae would likely tell me to just deal with it and that I should have just done what was asked of me. There was no other choice to be made here. I looked down to the ground, "Yes, I understand."
"How wise," the Principal chuckled. I'm guessing that his little puppet was dancing for him and that made him happy. "It's no wonder you're our student council president. I'd appreciate it if you looked into this as soon as possible. I ask that you begin at once."
He had better hope I find out something about it quickly...before I figured out another way out of his grasp, "Yes. If you'll excuse me then." I turned away from him and walked out of his office. I usually bowed to him after talking to him, but I had no intention of doing so ever again. I left and made my way back into the hall of Shujin Academy. I was clenching my hand, I had to make a conscious effort to cool my temper. And now I was supposed to hunt down the ones responsible for Kamoshida's change of heart? How was that even possible?
Okay, given what I know of the situation, Kamoshida had been abusing the volleyball team members. Physically abusing the males and sexually abusing the females. Moreover, the team members had been keeping quiet about it. Despite what they were going through they said nothing. Why was that? Out of fear of retaliation? There were a lot of details I didn't know about the situation.
I'll have to start from the beginning. When did things start to change? What significant event happened recently that could have been the cause in shaking up the status quo? Something had happened, and someone had decided to face Kamoshida and what he was doing head on. I needed to know what it was. I could decide what to do after I got to that point.
It was still lunchtime now and I stepped into the Student Council office and found it empty as it often was. I moved over to the table where my things were and sat down. My lunch was there ready for me to eat.
I looked down at my food, disgusted with what Principal Kobayakawa was asking me to do.
My Father wouldn't have put up with this kind of thing. He would have done what he thought was right until the end. That was what he did, fighting for what he believed in. Right now, I didn't know what was right. The Principal had been threatening me but it was possible it was just the pressure of the whole situation getting to him. There were too many unanswered questions at the moment. Who was right? Who was wrong? Who is the victim? Who is innocent? None of this situation was simple. And I know that the answers I would be looking for would be hard to get.
I pushed my food away from me. Any appetite I might have had before was gone.
Saturday / May 7th, 2016 / Shujin Academy - Rooftop / After School
Ichihara Tadashi
"None of these posts are any good. Everyone's just bitchin' about their parents or their boyfriends. There ain't even a hint of a hint about a new Palace..." Ryuji was frustrated. Can't say that I was though.
"Are you expecting someone to just show up there and say. Look at me I'm an asshole that needs his heart changed," I groaned. "C'mon Ryuji."
"Yeah, I know," Ryuji sighed.
"We can't get everything online. Finding a post with a name and location is asking a lot," Ann added.
Being on the rooftop again was a bit nostalgic actually. Not for anything here though. Back in my home town I had retreated up to the roof of my old school and would find a place up there to read. I pulled over my bag and looked inside. Right...books. I feel like I need to do some searching to get a decent book to read. No...now I was on the roof while my friends were more interested in us having a new target to steal a heart from. Steal. And me the leader? Fucking ridiculous. Leader to a group that wanted to call themselves Phantom Thieves. This just all had to be a fucking joke. And guess what? The joke's on me. Mother Fucker, I needed a book...an extra big book that would take forever to finish and could double as a means to smack someone in the head with. Because that's what I want to do right now.
"Guess we just gotta find one ourselves then," Ryuji surmised. As if that was just such a simple solution for us to do.
"Are you seriously suggesting we look for a target that even the police have overlooked?" Morgana asked incredulously.
"Yeah, you're right. We should prolly just hold off 'till exams are done with, huh?" Ryuji shook his head. "We can wait and see for a little longer, then worry about comin' up empty handed if it happens."
Exams. Midterms were next week. Come to think of it, I hadn't heard from Makoto since the two of us had been at that diner. I hadn't even seen her in the library. I hope I didn't scare her off or something. Did I come on to her too strongly maybe? She seemed receptive to the idea. I mean she could have rejected me at any time. My attention was diverted but I noticed Morgana jump past me and the sound of a door opening to the roof.
I find myself completely floored by the girl in my thoughts walking onto the roof. Ann and Ryuji are alarmed but I just keep my eyes on her as she walks over to us. Her stride was stiff and so were her movements. Her body language told me one thing. Something had happened.
"This place is off limits, you know," she started. Well, she was Student Council President. I figured something like this might happen eventually. I could understand wanting to enforce it a bit more after what happened with Suzui-san.
"Yeah, not a problem," I speak up and her eyes meet mine for a moment. However, she quickly diverts them.
"We'll get outta here once we're done chattin'. Anyways, what's Miss Council President want with us?" Ryuji must have suspected that it wasn't related to her and I's little wager.
She paused for a moment and looked at Ann then Ryuji and reluctantly to me again before she spoke again, "All three of you are individuals of interest around the school you know. Sakamoto is seen as a troublemaker, Takamaki is the center of many rumors, and Ichihara's criminal record seems to be big talk. I was curious how the three of you all became friends."
I raised an eyebrow at the implications of the inquiry. She had told me before she didn't put much stock in rumors. So what was the motivation for her being up here?
"I sit behind Ann-san in class. And Ryuji and I had a bit of a run in with each other on my first day here. They have known each other since Middle School," I gave a brief explanation but there was far more she was leaving unsaid. She had been prepping for the test… and as far as I knew she had accepted our friendly wager. Something changed, and it was why she was here confronting us now. Okay, so why? If she was Student Council President there could be a few reasons. I should see if she lets anything else slip. "We only come up to the roof because it's out of the way and we don't usually have people interrupt us when we talk. Is that suspicious to you?"
She looked at me and then again shifted her gaze away, "No, that seems perfectly reasonable. However, I have heard that you were able to get to know Kamoshida-sensei pretty well since your arrival." The way she said Kamoshida's name… I could tell in her tone. The word sensei must have felt wrong to her. Especially after learning what he had done. This was a clue too?
"That's pretty vague for you to say," I commented and shifted my weight and sat down on one of the desks. "Can you go anywhere in this school without hearing about him?"
"Y'know he's only been here a month or so," Ryuji added, though I'm pretty sure he didn't understand the situation at all.
I feel like Makoto was trying to tell me something. Something she didn't want to say out loud. Or couldn't. Was everything alright? Was this part of what had been bothering me in our previous interactions?
Makoto shifted slightly on her feet, "I hope you forgive this line of inquiry but I also heard that Kamoshida-sensei used a volleyball team member to spread details of your past record. Don't you hate him? Kamoshida-sensei, I mean."
Ah, I get it.
"What's all this about?" Ryuji asks. "My friend here's an upstanding guy."
Ryuji didn't get it. Someone had asked Makoto to look into possible reasons Kamoshida had a sudden change of heart. Someone she couldn't say no to. She was looking for answers. I had already started one of those Confidant links with her… something that Caroline and Justine in the Velvet Room said would only be started with people that could be allies.
I didn't know enough about Makoto right now. What I did know was that she lived alone with her Sister. Her parents had died. I had no details on anything beyond that in her life. She was also an outstanding student and the Student Council President. Not just anyone can do both of those things. I had heard from Ryuji that her name was typically on the top of exam results. So I know she was intelligent. I knew she wasn't so shallow to only look for a smoking gun… she would look as to why that gun had been fired as well. This wasn't an interrogation. She was warning us… warning me. What concerned me more was who was it that had the leverage for her to actually take action.
Makoto shook her head, "I don't mean to offend. Many students have been shaken up by what happened to Kamoshida-sensei. The rumors about that odd, calling card-esque posting aren't going away either."
"I didn't expect someone like you would care about that tactless stuff, Niijima-senpai," Ann said. It was a neutral statement, not bad Ann..
"I dunno that it was tactless..." Ryuji muttered. Please don't say anything, Ryuji. Not right now. "Anyways, we done here? We can't leave if you keep talkin' to us."
"At least try to understand my position. Being forced to deal with this horseplay..." Makoto was frustrated. It wasn't directed at us though.
"Horseplay?" Ann picked up the word.
So there was someone forcing her to look into it. But who would... wait... Who could there be that could tell Makoto, the Student Council President what to do? It wasn't a student. It had to be an adult. A teacher? No… one teacher wouldn't have enough influence to force her into it right? The Principal? Ah yes… Principal Kobayakawa. Someone who was all about the reputation of the school. Not to mention had personally seen him stroke the ego of Kamoshida as well. Having had my own interactions with him, it was not surprising.
Okay… then what is he holding over her head? There had to be something that made her go along with this. There was no way simply asking her to look into it would make her do so. If anything, I doubt she even had much interest in the events and was repulsed by what Kamoshida had done as well. Son of a bitch, what could it be that made her have to take this stance?
"Niijima-senpai, you alright? You seem stressed," I asked her straight out.
She looked at me, "I'm fine. I'm still looking forward to our wager."
"So am I," I eyed her, and she dodged my eyes.
"By the way, It's been decided that this place will be closed off due to the incident. I heard some people are coming up here without permission, after all," she turned away. She took a couple steps and looked back, "I'm sorry to have interrupted you." Then she walked away and left the roof. The door shut behind her, leaving us alone once more.
I pushed up my glasses, thinking of our interaction.
"What was that about?" Ann got to her feet.
"It's a warning," I said after a moment and pulled out my phone and flicked the screen on and went to my messages.
"A warning?" Ann asked me.
"Niijima-senpai just told us a few things. One, that she has been directed by someone to investigate Kamoshida's change of heart. Two, that she is being forced to do this and the last being that we should watch our actions from now on. Because she has no choice but to watch us," I quickly summarized what I had already figured out in my head. "I would wager that the Principal is the one pressuring her. It would look bad if he was the one that started interrogating students so he's using her to get that information. Not to mention she is a respected individual among her peers… Kobayakawa probably believed that a fellow student would be more willingly open to her than himself."
Then again, Makoto had told me before she didn't really have any friends and there was an odd distance between her and the students she interacted with. So what was it that he could use to pressure her to act?
"You got all of that from what she said jus' now?" Ryuji was impressed.
"From what I know of her, this isn't something she would want to waste her time on. Looking into an issue where a fucking scumbag admitted to his crimes? Yeah I doubt she could care less about why it happened," I shook my head.
"So she's onto us," Morgana came bouncing back down from his hiding spot and onto the desks. I wouldn't say she was onto us, only that the talk about us was something she couldn't dismiss. "Why warn us though?"
"Because the why is more important than the who," I said as I scrolled through my chat and stopped on Makoto's icon and opened up our chat history. "She heard Kamoshida's confession just like the rest of us. Think for a moment on how she referred to him. She said Kamoshida-sensei. You heard it too right? The shift in her tone as she spoke?"
"Yeah, like she didn't want to say it," Ann nodded.
"Precisely. Either way, I don't think the situation is that simple," I shrugged.
I created a new chat with Makoto and typed out a message.
Tadashi: Is everything alright?
Makoto: If I said yes, would you believe me?
Tadashi: No
Makoto: Then yes, everything is fine.
I sighed as it was clear as day. Something was wrong and she didn't feel she could tell me. Not directly at any rate. "We'll just have to be careful while at school. It's somewhat fortuitous in a way. If this place is gonna be locked up we'll need a new headquarters. And it would be better if it wasn't at the school to begin with."
Tadashi: I hope our competition is still on. As a bonus, if you get a perfect score I'll take you to eat wherever you want.
Makoto: If I do that, then you'll have to take me out on our already agreed upon wager and an additional meal? Would you have the money for such an expenditure?
Tadashi: So you're saying you are going to get a perfect score then?
Makoto: I've done so before.
Tadashi: Then get one this time and you'll see that I'm good for it.
Makoto: Very well. I accept.
"In the meantime, you guys should study hard. Especially you, Ryuji. There are bound to be traps that will need to be solved with brains in the Metaverse. Keep in mind that everything you do in your daily lives has an impact on your abilities," Morgana spoke up after I had gone silent and was looking at my phone.
"True, studying won't be so bad if we just think of it as helping us prepare to be phantom thieves..." Ann smiled a bit.
"I guess you got a point..." Ryuji sighed.
"Just focus on the midterms for now. I can deal with Niijima-senpai for the time being. So try not to get worked up against her, alright? I feel like there is something else going on here," I said looking at my phone, unsure if I should reply back to Makoto or not.
"Why do you say that?" Morgana asked.
I shrugged again, "Just a feeling. For now."
"Well, you do have pretty good instincts. Plus you already have an established association with her," Morgana praised me. But if he adds anything to do with the phantom thieves I'll strangle him.
"But man, it's just so lame. I was all fired up about helpin' people, not about studyin'," Ryuji sighed heavily once more.
"Well, I do have somewhere interesting to show you beforehand," Morgana had an odd grin. Seeing a cat grin is just creepy as fuck. What's worse was that I think I was starting to get used to him. Why, oh why, did Morgana have to live with me again? "You guys did originally promise to help me out with my mission, after all."
Yeah, I guess we did say something like that. "I guess we're out of here then," I went to gather up my bag.
"Follow me," Morgana said and bounced off.
I looked at my phone again and saw a new message.
Makoto: I want to apologize in advance if I have to pry once more into your life.
I didn't expect such an upfront statement. If she was going to look into the truth… she was going to come across my name again, without a doubt. That's fine.
Tadashi: Do what you have to do.
Tadashi: Whoever they are, don't let them control your life.
Makoto didn't respond back.
A/N:
I always found it difficult to accept that P5's protagonist would simply accept things and embrace the change in his life so quickly. I've said it a number of times in previous chapters, but I think this chapter really shows it. Tadashi isn't really up to being a Phantom Thief, and even has an aversion to the use of the word thief. While I think it makes sense for both Ryuji and Ann to be on board with creating a permanent group as Phantom Thieves (obviously Morgana as well) but the protagonist always stuck out to me.
I mean, okay, his reason he is in Tokyo could be all the motivation needed. Found guilty of something he didn't commit. I can concede that it alone is reasonable explanation. The inherent problem I have with most of the Persona games (3 through 5 specifically) is that there is often so much information that is lacking to give proper context to the main characters motivations. In P5 we do get a brief view of him walking through a neighborhood and him acting on his morals to protect a woman in danger. It's the inciting incident and a big character moment. But why did he act? What kind of person would act to save a stranger? While I understand that all of P5 is often in reference to the message of the game about society, it always seemed like it was missing greater depth.
I hope you'll come to understand why I say this as we get further into the story. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter in my small corner of the internet and see you next month with Chapter 9.