The general public turns against the Phantom Thieves. The team wonders where they went wrong.
[10/12, The Present Day - Evening]
"Sit down." Sojiro told him sternly as soon as he arrived home. Ren sighed.
A few weeks ago, Sojiro had found a calling card in Futaba's room. It was a mess to clean up both for him and Futaba, but they managed to bring a reluctant Boss to their side, and up to speed on their identities.
"It's all over the news that Okumura died. And they just released a press statement that a calling card of the 'Phantom Thieves' was found in his home. You have a full minute to explain yourself. Start. Now." The older man growled out.
Ren gulped.
"A friend of ours is Okumura's own daughter. He was threatening to sell her out to a political marriage with an abusive prick. We weren't exactly sure if we should've changed his heart, but that was an urgent situation, so we went through with it."
Boss continued with his stern posturing and angry stare, expecting to hear more.
Ren was on the verge of tearing up. "Sojiro, I swear to you… We didn't kill him. Please believe us."
Silence permeated the environment following his words. Sojiro then relaxed his posture a bit, and removed his glasses from his face.
"This is still a goddamn mess."
"I know." Ren replied helplessly.
"Is that Niijima lady aware of your activities? Did you change her heart too?" He asked, voice tired.
"We didn't have to, but yes, she is aware of who we are. That is what I alluded to when she was here several days ago."
Sojiro sighed and ran a hand through his face. "You've gotta to be fucking kidding me. You know she is a federal prosecutor, don't you?"
"I know, but she won't get us arrested." The fluffy haired boy told him with conviction.
"How the hell are you so sure?" Sojiro demanded.
Ren scratched the back of his neck. "...She is a Phantom Thief too."
The older man blinked twice, then his features morphed into absolute shock and disbelief.
"...What in the actual fuck!?"
[Ace Attorney The Ghost Robbers]
[Ace Attorney]: How is everyone holding up?
[Nasty Crime Boy]: We're managing it. Did you talk to Haru?
[Ace Attorney]: Yes. She's putting on a brave face, but I sensed she wasn't doing well at all. My colleagues didn't help either, and some developments twisted the knife further.
[Ann T]: Oh no, that doesn't sound good…
[Life Coach Inari]: She hasn't responded to any of us. Nor has she seen any of our chats.
[Ace Attorney]: She spent the whole day dealing with the police, so it's only natural that she wouldn't be able to.
[Ace Attorney]: We also have other pressing matters to deal with. I want to talk to all of you as soon as possible.
[Ace Attorney]: And I mean, ALL of you, except Okumura-chan for obvious reasons. Is that clear? Tomorrow, after school.
[Phantom Rage!]: Is this about the calling card they found in the principal's office?
[Ace Attorney]: Yes.
[Coach Bonehead]: What the eff, we never went after that guy!
[Ace Attorney]: Calm down, Sakamoto-kun. I'm not accusing any of you.
[Ace Attorney]: But we still need to have a serious conversation about it.
[Nasty Crime Boy]: That's fine. We'll do as you say, right guys?
[Ann T]: Yup…
[Coach Bonehead]: Fine.
[Life Coach Inari]: I understand.
[Phantom Rage!]: Of course.
[Ace Attorney]: Thank you, everyone.
[Double Agent Ace The Inside Job]
[Double Agent Ace]: Hey, I noticed you weren't talking at all in the group chat. How are you doing?
[Informant Alibaba]: I can't even
[Informant Alibaba]: Like, literally reliving trauma speedrun any% except I'm the top runner cos I can't tank that kind of shit anymore
Futaba had to type the most unhinged thing she could think of to distract herself, and stop the urge to cry thinking of her dear mother in that same situation as Okumura all over again.
'Fake it until you make it, baby!'
[Double Agent Ace]: I'm sorry to hear that. If you ever need something, I'm here.
[Informant Alibaba]: Eh it's fine. Haru got the worst end of the stick anyways.
[Double Agent Ace]: I know exactly the feeling. Someone I cared about was also a victim of a mental shutdown.
[Informant Alibaba]: WTF
[Informant Alibaba]: Was this why you were going around like crazy trying to catch us?
[Double Agent Ace]: Somewhat. He was my mentor and former boss. I Wouldn't be half the prosecutor I am today without his guidance. So that, and losing my father made things really hard for me to stay sane.
[Informant Alibaba]: Damn. I'm sorry to hear that, you must have gotten triggered pretty hard too…
[Double Agent Ace]: Don't worry about it, I'm fine.
[Informant Alibaba]: Okay, but
[Informant Alibaba]: Does NOBODY in this team have a normal life?
[Double Agent Ace]: I'm afraid not. But we have each other now, so that has to count for something.
[Double Agent Ace]: And I'll do my best to protect you guys too.
[Informant Alibaba]: Yooo your redemption arc is going way too fast, we need to add brakes on your char development!
[Double Agent Ace]: I'll take that as a compliment?
[Informant Alibaba]: I guess? lmao half the time idk what I'm typing, I'm on cope mode rn, mb.
She was pretty sure the woman didn't actually get half the crap she typed, but that was fine. They shared the same kind of wavelength that could get the full meaning of a conversation through subtext instead, when the words literally made no sense.
[Double Agent Ace]: Alright. We'll get through this, okay?
[Informant Alibaba]: K thx
Futaba put her phone away and burrowed her face further into her pillow. Ren had stopped by to check in on her, but she asked to be left alone a little.
It was a painful reminder. Her mother spent several days looking ill and paranoid, always looking over her shoulder. At the time, Futaba was too little to grasp the full implications of her mother's apparent erratic and unnatural behaviors.
She has no idea how unwell Okumura must really have been other than what Haru has told them, and the expected symptoms of the change of heart as described by Inari thanks to Madarame, but she hoped Haru was coping alright.
Other than that, Futaba also had a nagging suspicion. Back in August, she had at first thought that Medjed as a group had become a joke, but maybe she had been looking at things with the wrong mentality.
The coding style of "Medjed" was off. Their code was so fucking pleb that honestly Mishima could have taken that thing down by himself if he had tried, and that was saying something.
She trusted her instincts. With that line of thought in mind, she got up from her bed, sat down on her gaming chair, and started to check the source code of the Phan-site.
At first, nothing amiss. Finally it looked like Mishima was listening to her advice instead of grandstanding that he knew the Phantom Thieves (a fact that never ceased to make her cackle and troll him since the dumbass was unaware that one of his anon hacker buddies was one of them).
She then decided to check the polls where Okumura ranked first, then ran a comparison with other candidates by checking the access counter. After a brief analysis, Futaba sighed with some exasperation.
The access counter number was manipulated to look higher than what it was. What's more, they had the same "fingerprints" as the fake Medjed, and even had the gall to throw a botnet in the mix.
She had to give Mishima a heads up. This was way too amateurish.
[Party Member Roasting Zone]
[Party Member]: Town NPC Dude, you gotta up your game.
[Town NPC]: Um, I don't understand?
[Party Member]: The site poll where Okumura is at the top. Fakest shit ever, the site is compromised. Plus, shit tons of bots to spam jank comments about Okumura.
[Town NPC]: What? But I clean up any bot activities every two hours or so.
[Party Member]: lmao u need to get a life. You legit don't need to do that if you set up a good barrier.
[Town NPC]: I have the direct trust of the Phantom Thieves. They rely on me, so I'm always making sure things are in perfect condition to best assist them!
[Party Member]: Ayy nobody gives a fuck if you know a guy who knows another guy who knows a Phantom Thief, man, I'm talking about THE BASICS of websecurity rofl.
[Party Member]: You can't seriously think that 3 shitty captchas are gonna be enough to curb a large scale manipulation, a toddler could do a DDOS on this site if you rely on those things alone.
[Town NPC]: I do WAY MORE than just add captchas wtf.
[Party Member]: Look, stop defending your skill issues and listen. I'm 100% certain some cuck bought a botnet, changed the display numbers in the poll, used those bots to roast Okumura, and set up those ghost robbing guys. Do ya get what I mean?
[Town NPC]: Oh no… But this is awful! I don't want someone to use the site to make the Thieves look bad!
[Party Member]: Eh, I think we're already past that point and stuff, buddy. Just let me give you a couple of pointers and I'll help you out of the goodness of my heart.
[Town NPC]: K thx dude, that's a huge help. Wanna play some Defense of the Archaics after?
[Party Member]: Nah not in the mood but gg.
[10/13, The Present Day - School Hours]
The student council president of Shujin Academy walked into the room, stone faced, but with a lot of irritation brewing up inside her.
That Akechi guy pestered her again at the train station in the early morning. That was the second time in the span of a few days.
'What does he want from me?'
Anat did not like Akechi at all. Anat actually didn't seem to agree much with her these days, but at least they were both certain that Akechi Goro was trouble.
She always had the feelings of ants, spiders and other nasty things crawling up her arms whenever she was near that guy. Besides, there was also the fact that he had all the attention of her own sister for himself for months.
It made her feel jealous and irrationally angry.
Akechi repulsed her at the most fundamental level, and since she had been told by Ren he might have overheard Morgana, that only further served to cement her dislike.
'But being an asshole doesn't necessarily equate to making him the black mask.' She wondered.
"Ren-kun?" She startled out loud, when she noticed her boyfriend and their cat friend inside the student council room, likely waiting for her.
"Hey." He said quietly.
Ren looked haggard and tired, which was not a surprise. She gave him a peck on the cheek and then moved to sit down on her own chair.
"Hello, Morgana." She greeted the feline, who was lounging ontop of the table, with his head down.
He looked up at her, nodded, then put his head down again. One could easily mistake him for being ill.
She ran a hand through her hair. The three of them stayed quiet, unsure of what to say.
"I don't understand what we did wrong." Morgana mumbled.
"We did nothing wrong." Ren said firmly, even if he too, looked uncertain.
"Ren-kun's right." She told their feline friend. "We have proceeded as usual."
Morgana's voice was full of emotion. "But I promised Haru things would work out. And that she should stop worrying about it, but look at what happened. What if she thinks I lied to her?"
"We need to have faith in Haru. And even if she doubts us now, we know we did nothing wrong, Mona." Ren told him gently.
Their friend kept his head down. Makoto started to pet him to give him some comfort.
She wished she could say something comforting and supportive, but she herself had severe doubts of where exactly they were heading. Makoto was, in truth, terrified, lost and confused.
Sadly, she couldn't afford to figure her feelings out, they were in the middle of a crisis, with the whole team practically at her sister and Haru's mercy. They'd have to be very very careful to not alienate those two, or they're doomed.
Makoto hated it. Not because she doesn't want to cooperate, but because it made her feel helpless.
"We'll discuss what to do when we gather everyone later today." Ren reassured them both.
Makoto nodded, and they started to eat their lunch in silence.
'My priestess. Do tell your lover about the carrion bird's vulture moves.'
'I don't want to add more burdens upon his shoulders.' She protested.
Anat clearly disagreed with her justification by making a strident, metallic, whirring sound echo painfully in Makoto's own mind.
"Ow! Stop that!" She spoke out loud as she clutched her own head in pain.
"Makoto, what's wrong?" Ren asked in concern.
She clutched the side of her head for a little more time and gritted her teeth. "It's nothing, Anat is cranky today."
Her boyfriend tossed her an incredulous look. "To the point of making you feel physically ill?"
"I guess…" She mumbled.
'My priestess… That was not my doing.'
Makoto frowned.
'What?'
Her persona went silent, which both served to irritate her and concern her.
"Makoto, are you sure you are okay?" Morgana questioned her.
"Huh? Yeah… Sorry, I think the stress is just getting to me… I'll be fine, don't worry."
Neither Ren nor Morgana look reassured at her words, but they acquiesced as there was nothing they could feasibly do at the time.
Makoto decided to not think about it. Maybe Anat was right?
She sighed. "Ren-kun… Goro Akechi has sort of put a move on me the other day."
Ren furrowed his eyebrows, then a confused and pissed off look crossed over his features. "He did what now?"
Makoto pursed her lips in contemplation, then started to tell her tale.
"A couple of days ago, he cornered me at the train station. He said something about wanting to get to know me, and asked me out for coffee. I declined, of course, and told him I was dating you, full commitment. He still insisted after, as friends, of course, but that whole interaction rubbed me off the wrong way."
Ren looked murderous. She resisted the urge to smile at his jealous looks. But then, suddenly, he grinned and leaned over.
"Full commitment, huh? You're openly admitting to other people to seriously dating a criminal now, my beep boop?"
Her cheeks went crimson at his teasing tone despite knowing he was just doing it on purpose. "S-stop calling yourself a criminal."
His grin was devilish. "Well, I stole your heart, didn't I?"
Despite still being flustered, the corners of her mouth curled up in amusement, and she teased him back. "You think you are clever, don't you my Joker?"
"The cleverest, my Queen." He purred.
"Hey! Don't forget that I'm in the room!" Morgana protested with a revolted look upon his feline features.
Ren grinned ferally. "Watch and learn, Mona-chan, that is what true love is like."
"Ren-kun!" She protested.
"Blergh. Anyways, I don't like that Akechi guy. Besides, don't you guys remember how he heard me back at the TV station?"
Both Makoto and Ren looked solemn at the reminder.
Makoto put a hand on her chin. "Do you think he…"
"Is the black mask? Constantly. He acts a little obvious without realizing, sometimes, but… You know, we don't have definitive proof. And honestly, sometimes I question whether he really had heard Morgana, or if our minds fabricated that."
Morgana and Makoto shared a look.
"Well, should we tell this to sis and Haru? I feel like if we don't, and it turns out he is involved somehow, then that might come across as another breach of trust…" Makoto whispered, hugging herself.
Morgana nodded eagerly. "I, for one, agree with Makoto. I'm tired of drama and secrets, we need to make sure we are all constantly on the same page. I'm sure the others will agree."
Ren looked unsure. Makoto had a hunch that he saw Akechi in a friendly light, and was also terrified of accusing someone without proof after what happened to him, but this was their team.
Ren pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright. Though I am honestly afraid of your sister's reaction, since, you know, she works with Akechi. What if she tries to confront him?"
She shook her head. "Give her some credit. Unlike myself, sis never rushes into things, she always bait and taunts others into her territory instead. She will be absolutely furious, but I assure you that she will stay put."
"If you say so… Very well, once the storm passes and Haru is available, I'll share the information with her and your sister both."
"Thank you, Ren-kun."
"As for Akechi himself… Be Careful, Mako. Try your best to not let him corner you alone again, okay?"
She gave him a fond smile. "Don't worry, darling. I can take care of myself."
Parking her car as she arrived in Yongen-Jaya, Sae could feel the beginnings of a headache form in her head. To make matters worse, there was some bald asshole loudly making a speech in the area, with populist arguments. If she wasn't mistaken, that was Masayoshi Shido, a candidate from the United Future Party.
Ugh, she would make sure to NOT vote on this bastard in particular, just for this slight alone, nevermind him parroting discourses that barely covered any real policies.
Deciding to ignore the loud rally taking place not far from where she was, she went towards Leblanc, her mind full of implications. She didn't have the opportunity to talk to Makoto properly yesterday as she had been forced to stay up late in the office to maintain appearances.
It was starting to get draining to keep that up.
"Good afternoon, Boss."
"Sae-san." He greeted her with a nod, then returned his attention to the TV. The news was obviously still milking the story about Okumura's death. Sae pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation.
"That was a mess." She commented out loud. Boss let out a grunt in agreement.
"That's all everyone is talking about. In any case, the usual?"
"Yes, please."
Soon, Futaba arrived, giving her a peace sign and sitting down in a nearby booth. "Yo."
"Hey, is that any way to greet an adult?" Sojiro asked her, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Sae merely chuckled.
"That's alright, Sojiro-san. I have been assisting the kids with a few things, so they're more at ease around me."
"Assisting, huh? Is that what you call being a Phantom Thief?"
In a sudden shock, Sae spit up her coffee all over her expensive suit. Sojiro grimaced and gave her a couple of napkins to clean herself up.
"Oh shit." Futaba squeaked out quietly in the background, while also holding back the urge to laugh.
Sae looked wide eyed at the man. "W-what?"
"The kid told me after I pressured him yesterday. I know about their little secret, and apparently, so do you, huh?"
Sae felt a massive amount of irritation at Amamiya. She told him to law low, and stay quiet. This was the very opposite of doing that.
Her anger soon left her body, though. There were worse things for her to worry about.
"Yes. And no, before you ask, we did NOT kill Okumura." She told him firmly.
Boss shook his head in exasperation. "I know. But listen, you have to agree with me that they are in over their heads. It's time to stop with this whole business, don't you think?"
"Oh, I agree wholeheartedly, but I'm afraid stopping right now will not be enough to guarantee their safety, mine or yours."
"No, but it won't put them into further danger either. We shouldn't enable them."
"Again, we shouldn't, but what use is there to sit down and hide? Something is afoot, and I will get to the bottom of it. So long as I'm there, I'll protect them."
"Look lady, you're being awfully arrogant and overconfident. Trust me, those are the two base requirements to get caught red handed."
Sae didn't budge. "We'll cross that bridge IF we ever get there, Boss."
Sojiro threw his hands up. "Whatever. But if anything happens to them, I am holding YOU accountable, Niijima. Do you understand?"
"Perfectly." She told him.
All the while, Futaba looked at them with a look of fascination. "That was a fun tennis match, thanks for the entertainment!"
Sae grimaced as she noticed the ruined suit, and its humiliating state.
Boss looked both resigned and stressed out. "I'm gonna step out for a smoke. Mind the shop, Futaba."
"W-what!? Hey, don't do that!" The young hacker protested.
Sojiro chuckled and left.
"Meanie…" Futaba grumbled.
About half an hour later, the whole gang arrived from school and they started the meeting. Ren observed the whole group enter the attic as if they were marching to their collective doom.
Outside, there were muffled sounds of a crowd cheering and a man speaking. The rally was still loudly going on, which irritated everyone, especially Ryuji.
"It's so damn loud…" He grumbled.
"Unfortunately we'll have to ignore it, as we have more pressing matters." Sae told him, looking just as irritated as the boy.
"Yes. Did you see the posts this morning!? Everyone is saying we killed president Okumura and the principal of Shujin!" Ann exclaimed in indignation.
Makoto rubbed her temples. "They've been doing that since yesterday, after the police left the Okumura home."
"Some asshole in the force leaked the information of both calling cards to the press." Sae told them bluntly. "I swear to god, if it was Akechi-kun…"
"What? Akechi was there with you?" Makoto asked, shocked and alarmed.
Sae nodded. "Yes, unfortunately he has leave to aid us in the investigation."
Ren and Makoto looked at each other, clearly rethinking their earlier conversation.
He wanted to believe Akechi was not the culprit, but everytime he was brought up, it was almost always because he was doing something suspicious. First overhearing Morgana, then engaging with him about the Phantom Thieves, then cornering Makoto alone and suddenly appearing in the investigations?
It would be hard even for Ren to justify the guy's innocence.
"Either way, their reactions are not unexpected." Yusuke said cryptically.
Ryuji squinted his eyes at their friend. "What the hell are you on about, man?"
"Think about it. The CEO collapsed the way he did, during an apology that only happened thanks to our interference. Wouldn't you think us the culprits too, if you were an outsider?"
"Obviously, yes." Sae said in agreement.
Ann looked pissed off at the injustice. "Still, they were raving about us so much… and now they just treat us like murderers!?"
"That's too effing unfair! They don't know a damn thing about our situation!"
Makoto shook her head. "Calm down, Ryuji-kun. Not everyone is necessarily saying that."
"Indeed. Yet, there's no way for us to vindicate ourselves." Yusuke concluded.
"What are we going to do now?" Morgana asked, feeling clearly out of his depth.
Ren pushed his glasses up. "Now we sit down and discuss what the hell happened."
Sae took over. "I concur. First order of business. I'm only going to ask this once, and please do not interpret this as an accusation. But what happened inside the Okumura treasure room?"
They all looked towards one another. Ren cleared up his throat. "We did everything as we usually would. We boarded the ship SS Utopia, which was his treasure room, and we fought against him. We took the treasure, and only the treasure, then left the palace as it started to self-destruct. His shadow was still there."
"I see. Are you sure of this? Does any other detail come to mind? Anything can help."
Everyone shook their heads negatively, except for Ann, who put a hand on her chin.
"Actually," the blonde started, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration. "For a moment, I swear I saw something reflected in the room."
Ryuji looked at her in surprise. "Wait, what?"
Ann looked cornered after everyone's attention was drawn to her. "H-hey! I am not sure what it was, just that there was something that struck me as odd. Maybe a reflection of something or someone? Something like that, I'm not sure…"
"Why didn't you tell us, man!?" Ryuji asked with irritation.
"Um, I don't know? I forgot, okay!? It looked like a trick of the light!"
"Hey, it's fine. Thanks for bringing that up to us, Takamaki-chan." Sae told as a way to diffuse the tension between the two teens and refocus the conversation.
Ren put his hands on his pockets and adjusted his posture. "In any case, I believe that is all that happened in the treasure room."
"Very well. Let's move onto the second point." She said, pulling out her phone, and showing them pictures of the Kobayakawa calling card. "This is the calling card for the principal."
"May I see it, madam?" Yusuke asked politely. Sae nodded and passed him her phone.
His friend analyzed the card for a few seconds and then snorted. "How pathetic. This is a facsimile of our actual cards. Nothing in this card's style or language is similar to what we have done in the past. I have draft copies of Madarame's and Kaneshiro's to prove it."
"That won't be necessary, your reaction is enough. Besides, It was very unlikely that you would do that, in any case."
"Why?" Ann asked curiously.
"Kobayakawa died at a crossing before he reached the police station. And if he was going towards the police station…"
"...It was because he knew something." Makoto concluded for her sister.
"Yes. And I frankly doubt it has anything to do with you. Rather, it's very likely that he had some ties to the conspiracy itself, and implicating the Phantom Thieves was a bonus." Sae reinforced her point.
Ren snorted in disbelief. "But the principal of a school? Don't you think that is a little loose of a connection?"
"I would normally agree with you. But recently, I had to deal with about a dozen girls being charged for illegal prostitution after being coerced by Kaneshiro… And they're all Shujin students."
Everyone went silent at the horrifying implications.
"S-so you think the principal was purposefully letting the students get scammed to b-benefit Kaneshiro?" Makoto asked with a devastated look, as if she had failed them.
"Pretty much." Sae told her sister. "I'm trying what I can to help those girls, but I cannot do that entirely because I'm the prosecution, not the defense. I have already been reprimanded for attempting it."
"This is bullshit, man!" Ryuji said, incensed at the injustice.
"It is, but there is not much we can do about that now. We'll have to move on." Sae told them with brutal honesty.
"Very well. So we did everything correctly in stealing Okumura's heart, and the principal's card is obviously a setup. What else did not go well?"
Futaba stepped in. "Eh, I guess this is where I step in. I'm gonna be honest, this ain't gonna be fun, but I think it puts the nail in the coffin. Remember Medjed?"
They all nodded.
"Turns out, they aren't Medjed at all, but someone posing as them."
"What? Seriously?" Ann asked in surprise.
"Yep. A code is like your fingerprints. No matter how you try to disguise it, your own quirks appear in it. The code I found from 'Medjed' was pasted with no consistency. No skill at all."
Makoto put a hand on her chin. "But aren't there multiple people across the world that are part of Medjed? Couldn't it have been done by someone that joined recently?"
Futaba snorted in indignation. "Hah, that code was so not done by anyone interested in cracking, it was pure garbage. At the very least, there's no way it was an official Medjed member, no self-respecting hacktivist would be that stupid."
"So someone with a lower skill ceiling usurped the Medjed name to provoke the Phantom Thieves…? For what purpose?" Yusuke asked in puzzlement.
"Could they have been doing it for fun…? It was around the time our group started getting popular, so maybe they wanted in on the hype…" Ann wondered out loud.
They all spent some time in silence, contemplating what the hell happened. Ren wondered the same, until he noticed his girlfriend perk up.
"Wait a moment. What if it's the other way around?"
He noticed Sae seemed to connect some invisible dots in her mind's eye as well. "Hm. I see what you mean."
She nodded to her sister. "Yes. Perhaps they used the Medjed name to make the Phantom Thieves known…"
Ryuji scratched the back of his head. "What? That makes no sense."
Futaba adjusted her glasses. "I actually thought the same as Makoto. Remember how I said that code is like fingerprints?"
Everyone nodded.
"Well… I found those same fingerprints on the Phan-site. Someone had fun tampering with it from the outside."
"For real…?"
"Yep. Before summer vacation, the access counter was made to be much higher than the actual number. Same with the rankings. Particularly the time when President Okumura ranked first."
Sae crossed her arms and let out a huff. "I see. The logical conclusion is that whoever tampered with the site and posed as Medjed is likely the same person or group, perhaps even connected with the whole conspiracy or at least, the perpetrator of the shutdowns."
"Yup." Futaba concluded. "Feels like it."
Makoto fidgeted. "...I think I'm starting to see the big picture. Both Medjed's provocation and the tampering of the website brought attention to us as a result. On top of that, our reason for targeting Okumura was influenced by the public and the rankings… The perfect timing, and the perfect target. If both of those had been set up…"
"...It would all make sense." Yusuke concluded for her.
Ann was alarmed. "Wait, hold up, the culprit was planning to put the blame on us from the start?"
"...I think so." Ren spoke bluntly.
The whole group sans Sae looked at one another in horror.
"Well. There is nothing we can do even if that is true. We lack hard evidence. For now, let's lay low and reconsider what to do next after the dust settles. Does that sound good?"
They all collectively agreed.
"Alright. We'll have another meeting with Okumura-chan present when she is ready and available, we'll discuss a proper route to get over this crisis. For now, try to find some distractions."
Makoto hugged herself. "I guess you're right, sis… Perhaps we can focus on exams?"
Ryuji and Ann groaned at the same time.
Ren just grinned ferally. "Sounds like a plan, sweetheart."
Takakura-san was appointed as the interim president of the company and executor of her father's will. That did not surprise Haru at all, but what did irritate her was the assumption that she should sit back and not get herself involved with the organizing of her own father's funeral.
"Do not worry your pretty little head over it, Okumura-chan, we'll take care of it." Takakura declared in a patronizing tone of voice as he sat on her father's chair, in front of her father's desk, going over her father's papers, documents, everything.
What did they think she was, a doll? This was her father.
'Bow down to no one, you are Haru Okumura. Do you understand me?' Came the memory of his last, prideful words.
"With all due respect, Takakura-san, this is my father we are talking about. Don't you see the dishonor that it would bring for me to sit back and do nothing?"
Takakura held a hand up in the air in a placating gesture. "We don't wish for you to have to undergo such a stressful situation. It's best if you focus on mourning, rather than the gruesome details of organizing the funeral."
Haru shrunk upon herself. She has never organized a funeral before, but…
Milady surged from within the depths of her mind, giving her strength.
"Takakura-san. This is non negotiable. I'll organize the wake myself. I'll oversee every single detail. I was too small to honor my mother, but I am close to being a grown woman, and I will not allow someone that is not an Okumura to have to do the honors for my father. He was my father, regardless of his egregious actions. I will see everything done until the end." She said with a brave face.
Takakura looked up from his papers, and he pursed his lips. He didn't seem to frankly take her seriously, but the man also looked overwhelmed in other aspects.
"Very well, young lady. if that is your wish." He acquiesced.
"Yes, it is. Thank you." She said while bowing to show humility.
Later, after she left the office and sat in the backseat of her car, Haru checked her phone. Niijima-san promised to get to the bottom of the situation with the principal's calling card, and thankfully, she had a follow up.
[Sae Niijima Haru Okumura]
[Sae Niijima]: Hi, Okumura-chan. How are you doing at the moment?
[Haru Okumura]: Good afternoon, Niijima-san. I am managing to the best of my ability.
[Sae Niijima]: I see, I hope things become better soon.
[Sae Niijima]: We've just finished a meeting, and reached the conclusion that they were set up, likely by the culprit. I have managed to get ahold of the photo evidence of the calling card and cross referenced it with Kitagawa-kun, and they do not look entirely similar to how the others usually write a card. The language was more rigid, likely done by an adult or some other person who is not used to the way the team speaks
[Sae Niijima]: What is more, Sakura-chan has given us some evidence that the site was tampered with to put your father in the top of the target poll. I believe, with that, we have large and sufficient data to believe they are not responsible for what happened to your father and Kobayakawa both, even though none of it is hard evidence.
[Haru Okumura]: Hm… I see. That does sound like some very solid pieces of evidence. Besides, I was there when we stole my father's heart…
[Sae Niijima]: Takamaki-chan did mention she saw something a bit unusual somewhere in the treasure room, but dismissed it as a trick of the light.
[Haru Okumura]: Hmm… I think I also heard some loud bangs after Mona-chan and I left after. We were the last to leave my father's treasure room.
[Sae Niijima]: So there IS some evidence that there was someone else with you there, if we combine with Takamaki-chan's attention being caught by something.
[Sae Niijima]: As for myself, I do have an alibi in the form of my work and have multiple ways to prove that I never left the office during the heist period.
[Haru Okumura]: Of course, it didn't occur to me to accuse you of taking out my father, but I do appreciate the directness and honesty.
[Sae Niijima]: I Just had to make sure I covered all the bases. In any case… I don't want to take much more of your time, I assume you have other matters to take care of.
[Haru Okumura]: In a way, yes. I have to prepare for my father's funeral…
[Sae Niijima]: My deepest condolences again, Okumura-chan.
[Haru Okumura]: Thank you. Please, tell the others I'll be absent for a while.
[Sae Niijima]: I understand. I will pass the message along.
[Haru Okumura]: You have my deepest thanks. Good day, Niijima-san.
She finished chatting with the prosecutor, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
The more time she spent alone, more questions ran through her mind. She wanted so much to believe in them, to believe that it was indeed a setup as presented by the new evidence.
But by whom? Just what kind of people had her father got involved with?
She recalls in the palace that he did seem to know a lot about the mental shutdowns, so maybe he was taken out due to that…?
She was mourning, confused and conflicted. Mona-chan said and promised so many things to her. That everything was going to work out, but it didn't. Maybe she was naive, or maybe…
Haru focused on her phone again, and stared at the screen for what felt like an infinite amount of time. The probability of finding anything was absolutely slim, after all, they were all persona users…
…But could she still trust Mona-chan's theories at this current time? If he was wrong about her father's survivability odds - well, a fact that she has yet to verify entirely - then maybe, most of his knowledge of the metaverse was wrong too.
"I am sorry, Mona-chan, but I won't rest until I am certain." She whispered to herself, partially feeling like a traitor, and partially eager to find out some answers.
She brought up the nav.
"Morgana."
"Target not found."
Haru closed her eyes, in partial relief.
"Ren Amamiya."
"Target not found."
'So Ren-kun is in the clear too.' She mused.
"Ryuji Sakamoto."
"Target not found."
"Ann Takamaki."
"Target not found."
"Yusuke Kitagawa."
"Target not found."
Haru sighed. What else should she have expected? Perhaps, persona users indeed can't have distortions. And she truly wanted to believe in her friends.
Maybe she should try something different.
"Sae Niijima."
"Target not found. Destination has been deleted."
The nav maintained a history of previous palaces that were destroyed? Interesting. That made sense. Niijima-san's palace had just been recently destroyed by Mako-chan's actions after all.
Maybe Futaba-chan was the same?
"Futaba Sakura."
"Target not found. Destination has been deleted."
So it seems like they were telling the truth so far.
There was no use to do any of this anymore then, if everyone was in the clear, coupled with the evidence she discussed with Niijma-san.
Feeling incredibly relieved, she decided to give up, and was about to put her phone down, when she just remembered she forgot to put Makoto's.
'I'm sorry Mako-chan. I know we patched things up, but I just need to do my due diligence.' She thought apologetically.
"Makoto Niijima."
"ERROR."
…
…What?
Haru's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and dread. Maybe she pronounced the name wrong?
"Makoto Niijima."
"ERROR."
…
Haru put her hand on her mouth to cover it. What on earth could this mean!?
"Haru Okumura." She spoke aloud.
"Target not found."
Well, it was good to know, but still, why did Mako-chan's name return an error message? That made no sense. Unless…
Haru's eyes widened as she had an idea.
"Makoto Niijima, Shujin Academy."
"ERROR."
"Makoto Niijima, Home."
"ERROR."
"Makoto Niijima, Mementos."
"ERROR."
Well, nothing with a destination either, but…
Haru sat there dumbfounded, looking at her phone uncomprehendingly.
'What is going on?'
To be continued...
