Makoto gives the team a heartfelt apology. Sae and the Phantom Thieves reach an understanding of sorts.


[10/02, The Present Day - Afternoon]


"So… I heard from Amamiya about his probation situation in full." Sae spoke idly after she asked Sojiro to brew her a second cup.

The older man crossed his arms as he gave her a stern stare. "What of it? You better not try to make his situation any harder, you hear me?"

In response, the silver haired woman put both her hands up defensively. "Hey, I swear it's nothing like that. I just happen to have a relative of mine that suffered a similar degree of injustice a few years ago."

Futaba, who was sitting in the booth minding her own business on her phone, seemed to also perk up at her declaration.

Sojiro raised an eyebrow at Sae's comment. "Is that so?"

"Quite. It was a mess involving a powerful politician covering up for his son and framing my grandfather as the result. Which makes me believe Amamiya pissed off someone rather important as well."

Sojiro averted his eyes. Sae narrowed her own.

'Does Sakura know who is responsible for the boy's predicament? Is this why he is sheltering Amamiya?'

"I'm sorry to hear that." Sojiro said simply, probably to deflect her attention away from his visible unease.

Knowing that she had wronged the Sakuras and that she no longer had the right to pry or badger Sojiro over anything else, Sae decided to just make her point.

"What I mean to say with all of this is that, If your family or Amamiya ever needs an ally in the side of the law for any reason, I'll be more than willing to cooperate."

Boss stared at her with squinted eyes as he analyzed her offer.

Then he nodded and finally relaxed, smirking. "Fine, if that will help assuage your guilt."

At his quip, she grimaced, her shame returning in full. Behind her, she heard an amused snicker coming from Futaba, who likely noticed her reaction and uncomfortable position.

'This is going to be my life now, isn't?'

The response to her plight came in the form of Leviathan's faint, affirming chuckles.

The silver haired woman sighed in resignation.


Ren and Makoto returned soon after. As soon as they entered the café, he noticed that Sojiro was minding his own business, and Sae held an expression that was a mix of tired and defeated as she nursed what seemed like a second cup of coffee. Futaba looked curiously between them and Sae.

Makoto sat down next to her sister.

"All done?" The elder sister asked.

"Yeah. I should be good in a couple of days, and I can go back to school tomorrow."

Sae snorted. "Take my advice and at least stay home tomorrow. It's not like a couple of skips on your attendance records are gonna ruin your future. I have cleared your absense up with the faculty, anyways."

"Yeah, skip it. I'm homeschooled and I'm totally fine." Futaba chimed in unhelpfully.

Makoto shook her head at Futaba's comments, then playfully glared at her sister as she crossed her arms. "Who are you and what have you done with Sae Niijima?"

Sae put a hand on her own cheek and smiled smugly at her sister. "You know, I actually used to skip school all the time to babysit you, and I still managed to pass the bar exam on my own. You'll be fine if it's just a day or two. I'm not asking you to abandon school, I'm asking you to step back a little and relax while you recover."

"I have a lot of council duties to attend to…" Makoto grumbled.

"Well, I have a couple of days off work this week. We could treat tomorrow as a mini vacation and go visit our uncles." The silver haired woman offered with a different strategy.

Makoto perked up cutely. "Wait, really?"

"Uncles?" Futaba echoed, curiously.

Makoto smiled. "Our mother's younger brothers. They're both cops, and they live in Sumaru City."

Then the younger Niijima frowned. "But, um, won't they be at work tomorrow?"

Sae just waved her concerns off. "I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll call uncle Katsuya tonight to confirm, and we can go from there if they agree with it."

Ren kept his hands in his pockets. "That sounds like it could be good for you."

Makoto nodded. "Alright. I do miss them..."

Sae flashed him a grateful smile. He raised his eyebrow and smirked, then turned to Makoto.

"Now, the others will arrive soon. Why don't you head upstairs and wait for everyone? Morgana is up there napping."

"Okay." Makoto sighed, then got up and went ahead.

Futaba shrugged and got up as well, joining the older girl on her way up.

He turned to Sae. "You're welcome to join them."

Sojiro looked puzzled between them all, registering their odd interactions. "Hold up, what exactly is going on?"

Sae rubbed her temples. "A lot to get into, Sakura-san. Let me just say for now that it's a delicate situation involving my sister and the kids…"

Sojiro looked on in disbelief. Then, he narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Does this have anything to do with why you have come to apologize?"

"Yes, partially. Of course, I truly do believe I was in the wrong in that situation involving your family. However, like I told you earlier, I have come across some developments that have given me clarity in other areas as well." She finished, her voice carrying a tiredness and a hint of defeat.

"Just what kind of trouble did you all get involved with, kid?" Sojiro asked Ren, shaking his head.

"It's complicated…" Ren trailed off.

Sojiro looked stern, expecting the boy to elaborate.

Ren ran a hand through his hair and approached Boss.

"She knows. You know, about that." He whispered.

The older man's eyes widened and his head whipped to stare at Sae, who met his gaze calmly.

"It's okay Sakura-san. I promise it's nothing I can't or won't help them with. I wish to support them." She finally spoke, trying to placate the man's concerns.

"Damn. If you say so. But this better not bring me any more trouble."

She assured Sojiro. "It won't, I'll take responsibility."

He acquiesced. "Fine."

Sae then nodded at Ren, and followed Makoto upstairs. The boy sighed and sat down, deciding to stay down to greet the others first.


Morgana was looking at the dramatic, red horizon. The clouds parted ways to reveal a shining, beautiful golden sun.

He closed his feline eyes. "My dear lady, I believe we must part ways now. There is no place in this oppressive, lawful world for a scoundrel thief like me." He said dramatically as he waved the wanted poster sign that depicted his handsome face and a majestic bounty.

Behind him, was a beautiful blue eyed, blonde woman dressed in the most luxurious, elaborate black and red dress. She opened a fan and positioned it delicately to cover her face, to hide the pained look that his tragic departing has caused.

"Don Morgana, please, do not leave me. Our love is yet unrealized…" She pleaded tearfully.

The gentleman closed his eyes and shook his head vehemently, manly tears sliding down his feline eye sockets. He took in the reins of his gorgeous black stallion and mounted.

Dipping his hat to the fair lady, he spurned his companion to ride into the setting sun, tears in his wake.

"Adios, señorita! May we see each other again, someday!" He shouted.

She clutched at her skirts and ran, trying to catch up with him, crying out desperately. "Morgana!"

...

"Morgana! Please!"

...

"Morgana…"

"Yoo Morgana!"


Morgana was rudely awakened to the sound of snickers and hushed voices.

"Ugh, what the…"

As soon as he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Futaba's face leaning uncomfortably close to his. She was sporting her usual gremlin smile.

Beside her, and to his surprise, were the Niijima sisters. The prosecutor looked at him with amusement and a raised eyebrow. Makoto's face was holding a mix of mischief and disapproval.

"Oh no…"

"You were having weird dreams with Ann again, weren't you!?" Futaba asked, chuckling.

"Ugh shut up…"

Futaba chuckled like a little demon at his misery, then spent a few more moments making fun of Morgana.

After he was harassed by the hacker, prosecutor smirked. "Your legs were kicking around in the cutest way while you slept, you see."

Makoto let out a laugh. Then she shook her head, and approached Morgana, patting on his head. "Don't mind them. And thank you, Morgana."

"What for?" He inquired, glad for the change of subject.

"For getting me and my sis out of the palace." She smiled. "And for sticking around to explain things to her. I owe you one."

Morgana purred then nodded sagely. "Hah! No worries Queen. A gentleman Thief never does a mission by half."

Makoto chuckled then sat down on the couch, near her sister. "I'm sure of it."

The not-cat stretched himself, then jumped off the bed, walked a few steps forward, and then jumped onto Ren's desk. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

Sae crossed her legs elegantly and relaxed on the couch. "Your team is going to have a group meeting. I am here as a guest."

"Oh. It's for a good reason, right?" He questioned, sounding quite concerned.

Sae shook her head. "I am here to make peace. Don't worry."

Morgana relaxed hearing her assurances.

He turned to Makoto. "How are you feeling, Queen?"

Makoto smiled. "I'm much better. Ren-kun and I got a batch of medications from the clinic here. I should be invigorated in no time."

His tail flicked lazily. "That's good. Well, you could always go to mementos, you know."

The girl shook her head. "I think I need a respite from the metaverse for the time being."

Then she nervously tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and winced. "At least until we return to continue the Okumura heist…"


Nobody said anything after, but they didn't have to think up of ways to break the tense silence since soon enough, a couple of footsteps echoed from the stairs. Makoto tensed further, but then relaxed as she saw Ryuji appear.

He spotted her and grinned. She beamed as he held his hand up for a high five.

"Yo Makoto!" He greeted her cheerfully as they high fived, then bro-fisted.

"Hey Ryuji-kun." She said in greeting, chuckling at his enthusiasm. A few months back Ryuji had insisted she needed to learn the art of brofisting and they have always done it ever since.

"Feelin' better?" He asked with concern.

Makoto nodded. "Thanks for worrying Ryuji-kun, but I'm fine."


Sae arched a curious, if not a little judgmental eyebrow at their odd exchange and the clearly delinquent style of the boy associating with her sister.

The boy, finally noticing her, widened his eyes and then he assumed a defiant and defensive posture.

"Tch. So you're the sister?" He spat out.

"Ryuji!" Makoto whispered, reprimanding his choice of tone.

"Isn't that obvious?" Sae responded dryly, but without her usual venom, even though she wasn't impressed with his posturing.

Realizing he was rude and that Makoto was glaring at him, the boy wiped the sweat off his hands on his pants and held out a hand "Ermm… I'm Ryuji Sakamoto."

Sae looked at his hand curiously as if it was icky, then smirked as she shook it. "I know."

His eyes widened. "Wait, for real?"

Sae nodded, then a hint of genuine sympathy fell over her features. "I assisted in Kamoshida's conviction case. I'm very sorry about what happened to your leg."

The boy looked to the sides and nodded, as if surprised she would say something that considerate. "It's cool."

He sat down in a chair, far away from the prosecutor and fidgeted. Sae noticed Futaba holding in her snickers and pulling out her phone.


[Alibaba The Ghost Robbers]

[Alibaba: Bonehead I bet you are shitting yourself right now rofl

[Bonehead: Shut up

[Bonehead: MakotoNiijima Dude, with all due respect

[Bonehead: Your sister looks hot up close

[Bonehead: Too bad she's a world class effing asshole.

[Nasty Crime Boy: The good looks and sharp wits runs in the family, but Makoto is like, the better Niijima in every single aspect and criteria in existence for sure

[Makoto Niijima: Please refrain from talking about mine or my sister's looks in the group chat.

[Makoto Niijima: Or from calling her names.

[Nasty Crime Boy: Yes dear to the first, no promises to the second

[Bonehead: Yo I meant it in a very deeply politely respectfully gentlemanly bro way

[Alibaba: Sure, and I don't need glasses.


Sae curiously watched the teens typing furiously to each other, which was too much for her to keep up with.

'Right, this generation can't be away from their phones for single second.'

She was broken out of her curious musings when someone else arrived.

She looked at the stairs from where a very stunning girl appeared. While she still possessed some Japanese heritage in her, it was clear the girl also had some foreign background, likely european.

Upon noticing her, the girl smiled politely at Sae, but soon squealed and forgot to introduce herself as she spotted Makoto. She crossed the room and reached the brunette, hugging her.

Makoto winced, clearly still pained.

"Girl, what happened to you!?" The girl exclaimed as she let Makoto go, seeing the brunette all bruised. Her sister looked awkward as her friend fussed all over her.

"Umm, ah… I had a few mishaps with some shadows." She said, sheepish.

The girl put her hands on her hips and huffed. "And, that's why we don't go into palaces alone! Don't ever do that again, okay?"

Makoto had her trademark wounded puppy look back. "I know. Sorry…"

The girl shook her head as if realizing her words would start Makoto on a self loathing spiral. "Look, I just had to say that once. Now let's move on!"

Then the blonde girl sheepishly realized she hadn't greeted the others and looked embarrassed as she realized Sae watched the whole exchange.

"Um, right. Hey guys." She said looking at her other friends. Then she approached the older woman.

"I'm Ann Takamaki." She said, introducing herself to Sae in a weirdly polite tone.

Sae looked amused. "I'm Sae. I believe you must be the friend that called Makoto yesterday?"

"Yup. She was freaking out." Ann said, exasperated. Makoto looked offended.

The woman chuckled. "That's definitely her."

Ann grinned and sat on the other side of Makoto. Morgana approached the couch and sat on the armrest, on Sae's side.

"So, how are you adjusting?" He asked the woman.

The others perked up, as If curious of her answer.

Sae herself seemed to ponder his question. "Can't say I'm having a great time. But the change is definitely for the best. There is a lot to take in. I have taken into consideration all of the conversations we've had so far, though."

The cat nodded, looking satisfied.

Soon, they heard more sounds as the last thieves arrived. Beside Sae, Makoto tensed as she saw a boy and another girl arrive.

The boy was tall, and clearly looked a little too thin, but he seemed the most composed and polite of all the teens she had met so far.

He must be Kitagawa-kun.

"Madam. My name is Yusuke Kitagawa." He greeted her politely, but coldly. Not affected by the frosty treatment, Sae simply nodded back in greeting.

Kitagawa turned towards Makoto.

"Makoto-senpai. I hope you are well." He said in a deep, soothing voice, sounding a bit gentler even if he seemed a little less warm than the others in the greeting.

Beside her, Makoto seemed a bit sheepish and nervous. "Thank you, Yusuke-kun…"

The boy softened and smiled for Makoto's benefit. Then he sat on another spare chair, near his friend Ryuji.

The newly arrived girl also approached them. Prim and proper, and clearly of higher standing than everyone else in the room, she warmly greeted the others.

Upon looking at her sister however, the girl paused. Beside Sae, Makoto went stiff as a board, looking pale.

"Hi, Mako-chan." She greeted simply, with a strained smile.

"Hello, Haru-chan…" Makoto stammered out.

The other girl looked at Sae with a neutral expression and introduced herself politely. "You must be her sister. I'm Okumura Haru."

Sae raised an eyebrow. Weren't they currently going after Kunikazu Okumura?

"Is that so? It's nice to meet you, Okumura-san."

The girl nodded, then walked past them and sat near Futaba.

Makoto looked crestfallen after that interaction, so Sae squeezed her shoulder in support as Takamaki gave her sister a reassuring smile.

Ren strode in and paused at the center of the room, his hands in his pockets.

"Alright everyone. As you guys are all aware, Niijima-san here has been to the metaverse and has awakened to a persona thanks to the events of Friday."

Makoto hung her head in shame. Sae pursed her lips, concerned for her sister.

"While I believe we are not collectively happy with Makoto's decision to go into a palace on her own, we have decided via our group chat that she stays on the team, and maintains her position as our strategist."

Everyone seemed to agree as they nodded and muttered their confirmations.

"Good. Makoto?"


The younger Niijima got up and walked forward as she looked at every single one of her friends, while she fidgeted with her hands.

'How to even begin?'

"I… I know we have talked about this over in the group chat… And I know you guys have alteady given me a second chance."

She stopped, unsure of how to proceed. Ren sent her an encouraging smile. Then, she looked at Sae, who also gave her a look of support.

"But even then… Even then I know that just words won't be enough to undo any damages to the trust between us." She said.

All her friends kept silent, their attention solely focused on her.

"All that is left for me to say now is that I'm very glad to have you guys as my friends. And that I will do all that is within my power to prove that this second chance isn't misplaced."

She turned to Haru. "To Haru-chan, I want to apologize for letting my own fears and insecurities cause another setback in changing your father's heart. I promise that as soon as I'm good to go, I'm gonna work twice as hard in the palace."

Haru smiled politely in response as she shook her head. "I accept your apology, but there is no need to push yourself, your efforts have been more than stellar."

"Still, I would like to keep up the efforts."

Haru tentatively nodded at her.

Makoto then turned to Yusuke.

"To Yusuke-kun, I want to also say sorry. You have faced Madarame and dealt with that situation with grace. I should have come to you and Haru to ask for advice. And for not doing that, I am truly sorry."

Yusuke gave her a friendly smile. "It's okay, senpai. It's in the past, let us focus on the future."

She smiled back at him, then turned to everyone else.

"As for the others... One final time, I want to apologize for my actions. I should have known better, and for that, and all the hurt I have caused, I am deeply sorry." She said as she bowed.

Futaba got up and crushed her into a hug, to which she quickly reciprocated.

Not too far from them, Ryuji gave her a thumbs up. "All good, no worries!"

Ann sent her a supportive grin. "Yup."

Ren approached Makoto and Futaba and put a gentle hand on Makoto's shoulder. "You heard the people."

Afterwards, Futaba went back to Ren's bed near Haru, and Makoto sat back down between her sister and Ann

"You did great." Her sister mumbled at her.

In response, Makoto just leaned closer to Sae a bit.

Ren took over the floor once more. "Okay guys, does anyone else have any other grievances to air out?"

Ann and Futaba shook their heads, Ryuji let out a quiet 'nah', and Morgana and Haru both stayed quiet. Yusuke, on the other hand, seemed like he wanted to speak out.

"I just wish to say that, going forward, please let us not rush out into palaces without the others. We are a team for a reason and we need to always trust each other." The boy said.

"That's a fair point Yusuke, thanks. I believe we should be as honest and as open with each other as possible. We should always ask for help if there is anything bothering us, especially if it's something that can be dealt with using the metaverse. Is that understood?"

Ren heard choruses of "Yes.", "You bet." and "Got it!"

Makoto held both hands in her own lap, and she nodded. "I promise. I will never do that ever again."

Morgana, tail swishing around lazily, agreed. "Same. I promise it too."

Ren relaxed and adjusted his glasses. "Great. Now, to the real matter at hand…"

"Yesterday evening, Niijima-san and I had a long discussion of our activities up to date."

He turned to stare at Sae.

"We've laid all the cards on your table. On the subject of our justice, what is your verdict?"

They all turned to her, faces anxious and expectant.


Unfazed at the collective attention she received, Sae uncrossed her legs and sat straight. "I fully believe none of you are responsible for or linked to the mental shutdown cases."

She felt everyone in the room relax with relief at her words.

"However…"

They stared at her again, curious.

"I believe you guys need to be more careful going forward, or perhaps even consider stopping this whole business. You have all drawn too much attention to yourselves and got mixed up with something that may end up getting someone hurt, unintentionally."

"I see… Perhaps you're right madam. we cannot just rush into targets for the wrong reasons going forward." Yusuke responded. Then he crossed his arms and sighed bitterly. "But still, I am not sure we should just stop altogether. What if someone needs our help?"

The other kids all looked unsure.

Ren decided to intervene. "We had issues with this a few weeks ago until…. Well, these situations happened. But our hand is forced right now because we must help Haru. That is non negotiable."

Sae stared at Ren for a long time, then nodded.

"That is more than fair. I have no issues with what you are currently doing for the sake of your friend. But I strongly advise you kids to be careful and reconsider your options after."

They all collectively agreed, albeit reluctantly.

"So…" Ann started, sounding unsure. "Now that you are sort of on our side, what will happen to your investigation? You were going after the Phantom Thieves right?"

Sae looked pensive. "I cannot say for sure. Personally I would call off the manhunt for you kids, but that is beyond my control. The best I can do for the time being is to try to cover up for you guys, and then return my focus to the original shutdown cases."

Morgana perked up, excited. "Oh, you'd be willing to be our ally on the government side? That sounds amazing!"

"I don't honestly have a choice, and I would never do anything that could harm Makoto in the proccess." She said, sounding tired. "My priority is now protecting her at all costs."

"Sis…" Makoto mumbled, looking emotional.

Ren worked his hand through his hair and shifted his posture. "I share the sentiment. And I believe I can say this for everyone else here that we would all be more than willing to collaborate with you. Both to protect ourselves, but also to be of use in solving the mental shutdown cases."

"That would be appreciated. From the looks of it, the metaverse is definitely linked to this mess. There was no way I could solve these cases without knowing how cognitive psience worked… Until now."

Futaba dorkily adjusted her glasses. "Yeah, judging by your work files, you were hitting a lot of dead ends…"

Everyone looked at the hacker, shaking their heads.

"Oops." She mumbled.

Sae suddenly remembered that they had spied on her confidential work files. "Right, you kids have stolen data from my laptop. Please, never do that again." She said sternly.

Futaba and Makoto both looked sheepish. Ren just shrugged, uncaring of Sae's looks of disapproval. "Of course not, we can always just ask you directly, going forward."

Sae crossed her arms. "Within reason, Amamiya. For the sake of maintaining victim confidentiality and other privacy concerns, I cannot just hand over too much sensitive information."

"That's fair, I guess. A need to know basis will be good enough." He relented

"Good. We can discuss what you know regarding the investigation, though." She offered, trying to give them an olive branch.

Haru seemed to ponder her offer. "I heard from the others you have made connections in regard to my father and his… Opposition disappearing quite strangely…"

The prosecutor nodded. "Yes. In all honesty, I am convinced your father either knows something about the people behind the shutdowns, or…"

"...He is one of them." Haru finished in her place, voice strained and clenching her fists.

Sae pinched the bridge of her nose. "But it doesn't matter what I believe. At this point, everything is a conjecture. If you manage to change his heart, and he knows something, then he will most likely confess."

Haru nodded, accepting her words.

"Very well then. It seems that continuing the heist at Okumura's palace is our best route for the time being, for more than one reason." Morgana concluded. Everyone else seemed to agree.

Sae nodded. "On my end, I shall continue to investigate and try to cover up your tracks as much as I can. I cannot guarantee full safety for you kids though, so please, try to avoid any kind of unwanted attention."

The teens looked at each other.

"Is that understood?" She asked firmly.

"Perfectly. We'll be careful." Ren assured her.

"Good, that is all I wanted to hear."


'It seemed like things are going smoother than even I expected,'Thought Morgana.

They all stayed quiet for a moment. Then Morgana put on a pensive face. Well, as pensive as a cat could look.

"I do have one question. Now that you have undergone an awakening and have a persona, would you be interested in joining the team?"

Everyone else looked at each other, as if surprised they didn't come up with the question themselves.

Ren turned to his friends. "What do you guys think about Niijima-san joining us?"

"I wouldn't oppose it." Haru said warily.

Futaba looked around, then just shrugged, her usual response whenever she agreed to anything.

Yusuke seemed to hesitate and put his hand on his chin as if thinking. A few seconds later he sighed dramatically, then nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

"That would be cool. The more the merrier, right?" Ann said.

Ryuji narrowed his eyes on Sae as if measuring her worth, then much like Futaba, just shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

Ren looked at Makoto, who seemed hesitant. She pushed a stray hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Only if she wants to."

Ren nodded. "So, Niijima-san, what do you say?"


Sae rubbed her temples. "I am not sure if it's wise to do so."

"Why not?" Sakamoto asked, genuinely curious.

"For starters I assume you perform your heists during after school hours, and I have work well into the night for the most part. I could stop doing overtime but I don't want to simply give away that I'm not my usual self. At least not for the time being."

Morgana deflated. "Well, that is a bummer, but I understand. The last thing we'd want is to interfere with your routine, especially since your role at your job is too valuable for us as well."

Ren put a hand on his chin. "You're welcome to join us anytime, though. And I suppose we could always have a couple of runs with you in it during the weekends if that would interfere less."

Sae considered his offer. She would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about their activities, and if she could leverage it to her advantage in the mental shutdown case, then it wouldn't be too bad.

Perhaps a more active role could indeed benefit her… Even if it would be extra awkward hanging around a couple of highschoolers.

"That would be doable. Well, I still have some off duty days this week thanks to my suspension. Perhaps this tuesday, wednesday, and next sunday?"

Ren seemed to agree. "Yes, that would be a good time. We could also have a go at mementos."

"Very well. Then I shall join you on those days." She nodded.

"Welcome to the team." Amamiya said with a smug smile on his face.

Sae looked at everyone, especially at Makoto, and nodded. "I will be in your care."

"Nice! Now we have a new powerful ally!" Morgana cheered.

Sae raised an eyebrow at his enthusiasm. "We'll see, you guys will have to guide me through it."

The not-cat seemed psyched up. "You can count on us!"


After giving the team and Boss their goodbyes, the sisters left Leblanc.

The sun was hanging low in the sky as the comforting signs of a lazy, late sunday afternoon passed them by in the scenery as Sae drove their car. Makoto had her head leaning on the window of the passenger seat, observing the streets of Tokyo with a far away look.

They enjoyed the silence for a bit, then Sae quickly glanced at her sister. "You okay?"

'I don't know.'

"Yeah." Makoto quietly responded instead.

"Your friends sure are an interesting bunch." Sae said casually, trying to maintain a conversation.

'They're too good for someone like me.'

Makoto sighed deeply.

"What?" Sae asked, confused by her reaction.

"My friends…" She started quietly, sounding melancholic. "They just accepted my mistakes so easily, when I clearly deserved a bit more… I don't know. Punishment, I guess."

"Well, they must care for you a lot. I suppose that's what friends would do." Sae said awkwardly, clearly a bit out of her depth.

Makoto shook her head slightly. "That's the problem."

Sae glanced at her, her eyebrows raised.

"You know… Everything so far has been too good to be true. I guess I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Don't get all melancholic on me now, baby sis. Come on, it's going to be fine." Her elder sister tried to encourage her.

'Why are you doing this?'

Makoto let out a quiet chuckle, laced with sadness. "See? It's weird, you're being so optimistic, nice to me and my friends, and I feel so… I don't know, lost I guess. I feel like I got rewarded for doing something selfish…"

The elder sister went silent at Makoto's cynical statement. After a few moments, she let out a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry, Makoto. I'm just… I'm just trying. For you." The older woman said, with a tone of soul deep tiredness.

'You forgot I existed for months…'

"I don't want you to force yourself for my sake." The younger girl said quietly, a few tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.

'Do you really care?'

Sae looked pained. "I'm not forcing myself. I'm just trying to make up to you to the best I can."

'So you're just doing it out of guilt.'

Makoto said nothing.

Sae tried again. "You need to accept that you are worth all the effort in the world."

'Liar. I am useless.'

"It's hard." Makoto whispered.

The younger girl stared at the beautiful rose tinted skies as the setting sun bid her goodbye, and the neon signs of convenience stores, shops and restaurants came alive.

The view passed them by as Sae drove. Makoto decided to push at least one more painful thought off her chest.

"I guess all these months I have just been trying to not think of these things ever, and just pretended to be fine. But… I don't know, after your palace, and after everything… I just can't. Not anymore."

Beside her, Sae stiffened. "Well, I don't want you to do that either. Be true to your feelings. This is all my fault, so I'm going to fix it."

Makoto just rubbed her eyes so as to not cry, since she has been feeling rather sick of weeping so often as of late. After she was done, she leaned her head against the window further.

There was nothing else she could say. Makoto knew her sister meant well, but it didn't change the deep feeling of sadness that was lurking inside her.


With a feeling of heartache within her, Sae considered her sister's behavior. It was clear to her that Makoto's problems, feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness ran much deeper than she thought.

It went without saying that Makoto still felt guilty of her actions in regard to the casino palace, especially since it seemed to disappoint her friends.

However, Sae couldn't help but hold a different opinion: she was saved by her sister, and was reached out before the point of no return. Without Makoto's actions, Sae would continue to suffer with lies and self delusions, and become even more twisted, arrogant... And perhaps even evil.

So she vowed, whatever hurt Makoto still carried inside, she would find a way to help heal it.

She was shaken out of her musings as she entered the garage of their building and reached her own parking spot. Makoto just got out of the car and stayed quiet all the way up to their apartment.

Upon arriving at their home and removing their shoes, Her sister just swiftly threw herself on the couch, then proceeded to stare at the ceiling. Sae sat on her favorite armchair and leaned back.

She had a lot of things to do, starting with making a very important call she was dreading, but for now, she decided to relax.


Yusuke Kitagawa was said to be many things. A gifted artist, a passionate connoisseur of true beauty, an eccentric fool, a plain weirdo and a strange, cold boy with a very limited emotional range.

While he often felt great irritation at the publicly expressed negativity of his character, Yusuke had to eventually accept that there was some valid reason for the narrow minded view that others possessed in regards to his person.

As an artist and as a human, he had a hunger for aesthetics, a thirst for passion, and a craving for real connection. Alas, Yusuke had trouble expressing his complex views to others in a succinct, approachable and adequate manner.

The blue haired boy wishes he could reach out to his dearest friends in a relatively normal form, but it was quite difficult to properly do so for reasons he could quite not grasp.

No matter how much he tried, Yusuke struggled to serve the appropriate emotional response suited to each situation, and that often led to him coming off as an insensitive cretin that had to be scolded and chided.

Regretful.

In this struggle, he thought to have an ally in Makoto Niijima. His senpai, who, despite being a stern and analytical fine lady, is a woman of powerful brute grace and methodical excellence that fails at the most basic of things: Adequately expressing her feelings.

In Futaba's rudimentary, terribly chronically online language it would be something along the lines of "Nah she is based af, but sucks at talking about heavy stuff just like us, you know Inari?"

Indeed, the three of them were kindred spirits in the matters of emotional battles. It was just truly lamentable that his senpai chose to follow the whims of her heart without relying on the strengths of her steadfast allies.

But, in a way, Yusuke could see the full, tragic picture as he painted it in his mind: A girl shattered and lost, desperate for the love of her only sister, the fraternal guardian figure, running blindly towards a foolish situation, in the hopes of reaching the heart of familial bonds. It would be quite aesthetic if it didn't cause him worry and concern for his friend.

In truth, his senpai did not fail in her endeavors, as she indeed assisted her sister in awakening to something beautiful in the end. However, was such a woman worthy of betraying the trust of their team over?

Madarame was certainly not, as the irredeemable scoundrel put the final nail in the coffin of their master and pupil relationship by depriving Yusuke of the maternal embrace of a loving mother.

Unforgivable, despicable cur, yet… Did he not sometimes feel an ache in his heart, thinking, perhaps that the man had true regret in his soul? Maybe, deep down, there were still slivers of the long forged, time tempered familial kinship between him and his master.

A terrifying thought, for Yusuke had no answer to how he should feel about it.

Unfortunately, such a contemplation was no longer a good use of his brain matter. Madarame was justly locked away, paying for his crimes, and Yusuke was living off the meager settlement allowance that he had graciously been granted while humbly residing in the Kosei dorms.

He would soon be a ruined vagabond if he did not take care to think about his future, yet… He feared becoming a money obsessed imbecile if he thought too much about economics.

His stray thoughts, then, returned to Makoto's plight.

He concluded that perhaps he could forgive Makoto in his heart for her folly. He told her as much, that it was in the past and that they had to focus on the future. He would obviously follow his own words.

However, he held great skepticism towards the motivations of his senpai's older sister. The rebellious breaking of the silver haired woman's shackles may have led them towards a new path, but was it worth it? Was it sufficient? Was the woman truly ready to repent for the abuse and mistreatment towards her younger sister? He surely hoped so, otherwise, he'd feel nauseated working with someone that was still rotten at their core.

It was a wait and see situation, then.

His deep contemplations were broken by the loudness of Ryuji, Morgana and Ann having their usual comotion post meeting. He loved those fools, but their loudness tended to give him headaches.

At that moment, it was merely the Thieves in the attic, minus Makoto and her sister, who left not too long ago.

He saw their leader sigh and clap to get the attention of the hyperactive trio.

"Alright guys, settle down. Before you all go home, I'd like to discuss what everyone thinks of today's meeting with the sisters, in general. So?"

"It was an adequate meeting." Yusuke said simply. There was not much else that he could add that was not yet said to exhaustion, after all.

Haru elegantly nodded in harmonious agreement with Yusuke's own words.

"It felt productive, despite everything that led us here. My concerns are a little more assuaged." The heiress said in refined simplicity, though you could still feel the unease radiating off her.

Yusuke sensed that Haru was still on a emotional conflict with Makoto's actions, but was trying to be gracious and patient after her fiery outburst in the chat the previous day. He felt a pang of sympathy at their awkward predicament.

Truly woeful.

"I was expectin' her sister to come guns blazin' and shit, y'know?" Ryuji opinionated in his indelicate language.

Ann rolled her eyes. "She literally has a persona now, and she's Makoto's sister. I know she was a bitch to her but, you know, we gotta be supportive for Queen's sake here. At least give the woman the benefit of the doubt, okay?"

"She's been calling Makoto useless and stuff, that's pretty bad man." Ryuji said in a huff.

Morgana narrowed his feline eyes on their blonde friend. "Ryuji, YOU called me useless too, you dumbass. Where is my apology!?"

"Hey cat, I apologized a lot! And you call me a perverted monkey all the time. And you can't ask for an apology while calling me names either, what is your damn problem!?"

"You're being hypocritical, is what I'm saying!" The not-cat insisted.

"Am not!" Ryuji retorted.

"Yes you are!"

Another loud clap was heard.

"Okay, let's stop before this escalates. Morgana, your thoughts on what I have asked?" Ren prompted seriously.

The cat looked chastised, but complied. "I think Miss Niijima is difficult but not unreasonable. I feel like we can work with her, and she has resources as an adult that none of us would have otherwise. It was a good thing to invite her to the team, even if you guys don't like her much." The cat said seriously.

"She is only gonna join us now because you cornered us into doing so during the meeting." Ryuji grumbled. Morgana looked ready to strangle him.

"No, it's fine. Trust me, I am her number one hater but, I agree with Morgana and Ann. Let's give it a shot, for Makoto." Ren said, sighing.

They all stared at each other, then nodded.

Yusuke hoped that their leader was indeed correct, and that this woman would become a boon, or else it would be the beginning of their downfall.


"We need to call uncle Katsuya." Sae said with an exasperated sigh.

"Do you want me to call him for you?" Makoto asked, voice sleepy.

"No, just relax. Besides I am the one who has been rudely ignoring him and uncle Tatsu for months, so…" She trailed off.

Makoto gave her a gentle smile. "Good luck."

Rubbing her eyes in exhaustion, Sae decided to rip the bandaid off and dialed her uncle.

She felt tense as she waited for him to answer. Then-

"Sae?" Was the first thing he said, as if in disbelief that she finally called him.

"Hey uncle. How are you, sir?" She asked respectfully, voice strained.

Katsuya snorted. "What is with all the sudden respect? You're usually full of attitude when speaking to your elders." He joked for her benefit.

Sae relaxed. "Sorry. I guess I'm just feeling awful. I'm sorry for not answering yours and Tatsu's other phone calls, uncle."

"Hey, it's fine. You're calling now." He soothed her. "I'm fine. I did miss you, kid."

"I missed you too, uncle Katsu."

"So, how have you been?" He asked.

"I'm alright. Let's just say I had a… Change of heart, so to speak."

Katsuya went silent at her odd statement. Then he sighed.

"Like those Phantom Thieves? Did they target you somehow?" He asked, sounding concerned.

Sae let out an amused chuckle at the irony of the situation. "Not really. You could say it came out of my own volition, for Makoto's sake."

"How so?" He prompted, curiously.

"I don't know, I just had a wake up call. I need to be better for her. I have also been with a wrong mindset at work lately, and I fear I may have lost my way."

"That's… A lot of self reflection kiddo. I don't know if I should feel proud or concerned." He joked warmly.

"I guess I deserve that huh?"

"Hey, I'm just joking. I'm glad to hear you had a change of perspective. So, how is Makoto?"

"She's here. A bit bruised since she got into an accident of sorts, but alive and kicking." Sae said with amusement.

"Isn't she a bit too old to get into school brawls?"

Sae held back a laugh at the strange irony. If only he knew Makoto was getting into more than one brawl as a Phantom Thief.

"She hasn't had one of those since grade school." She said diplomatically.

"I'm disappointed. We needed a delinquent in the family." He quipped.

This is also why Katsuya was her favorite uncle. He was all serious and goody two shoes, until you got him comfortable enough to go on a sarcastic joking streak.

A laugh escaped from her uninvited. As a Phantom Thief, Makoto was in fact the delinquent of the family.

"I'd rather she don't become one. Well, do you wanna talk to her?"

"Put her on the line."

Sae prompted Makoto to sit up and take the phone. The brunette groaned, but complied and took it.

"Hi, sir." She said simply.

"Hello, little panda." He greeted her back with a teasing tone.

Makoto grumbled. "Uncle, I am in my third year… Can't we just drop with the silly nickname?"

"Nope. You are the baby of the family, you get the silly nickname privileges."

Makoto rolled her eyes and huffed. "Okay. Fine."

Katsuya chuckled from the other side of the line. "How are you, Mako-chan?"

"I'm doing okay sir."

"Alright. How are your studies?"

"Same as always uncle."

"You sound a bit tired, darling."

"Yeah, but I'll be fine, I promise."

"Okay, I'll leave you to rest. Take care kiddo."

"You too sir."

She passed the phone to Sae, and went back to trying to doze off on the couch.

Sae swiftly took the phone back and returned to her conversation.

"Sir, I was considering dropping by tomorrow, and have lunch with you and uncle Tatsu, if that is alright."

"Don't you have work?"

She glanced outside the window of their apartment for a second, staring at the mesmerizing lights of the metropolis.

"I have gotten a few days off work this week, and Makoto is still recovering so she won't be at school tomorrow."

"That's alright. I'll let Tatsuya know. I think I can finally whip out something good in the kitchen. I have been dying to cook for more people for a while now."

Sae chuckled. Katsuya loved making pastries and desserts, as it was his dream before he changed his career goals to becoming a police officer.

"That works. Tell uncle Tatsu I said hi, please."

"Will do. See you tomorrow?"

"Yes. See you tomorrow sir."

"Good. Take care, Sae-chan."

He ended the call and Sae relaxed on her armchair. After a few minutes of lazy silence, she got up and approached Makoto, who was napping on the couch.

"Hey." She said as she poked Makoto lightly. The younger girl grumbled and turned her back on her.

Smirking, Sae picked a fluffy pillow from the couch and hit Makoto playfully with it.

"Wakey wakey, Mako."

"What the f- Sae!" The younger girl cried out, startled out of her nap.

Sae held back a laugh seeing her sister almost swear at her.

She had no idea what prompted her childish behavior, all she knew is that it was very freeing to act like the annoying older sister like she used to when they were very little.

"Get up kiddo. The couch is awful, go to your room if you are tired." Sae said with a smirk, while offering her sister a hand.

Makoto grumbled. "Ugh, fine."

She accepted Sae's hand.


To be continued…