Persona 5: Daywatch

Tuesday, 30 August 2016
Early Morning
Yongen, Back Streets

Akira adjusted the strap of his leather day satchel on his shoulder as he led Futaba out of Leblanc. Despite the early hour of the morning, he could already feel the heat of the day starting in the sunshine beaming down. His long-sleeved shirt helped with keeping direct sunlight off, but wouldn't with shedding heat as the day went on. The orange-haired girl followed less than a pace behind.

Leaving the two customers for a bit, Sojiro followed them out. "You don't let her out of your sight." He crossed his arms. "And watch yourself around my daughter."

Futaba gave a cheeky grin and shoulder-bumped the transfer student. "Oh, don't worry. He's already blinded by a special someone."

Heat blazed over his face. "Futaba!"

The little troll's grin widened even more. "You mad she couldn't come today?"

"Not mad, I just don't like it," Akira said, putting his best nonchalant face on. Hifumi's morning text indicated a busy day at the court house. Whether her testimony on behalf of her mother – and cooperation with the Kaneshiro task force – would compensate for her role in Kaneshiro's money laundering operation he couldn't guess.

Sojiro's face remained cool as the mountain peak. "This is her first time out in a long time. Don't let some gross dudes ruin it."

Akira snapped a British salute. "I will keep her separated from Ryuji at all times."

Futaba snorted.

The restaurateur took a step closer, his narrow gaze locked on the transfer student's. "Summer and the beach is prime combination to bring out idiots. Don't let anything happen to her."

Futaba took a few steps closer to the train station and waved at them. "Don't be such a worrywart! I may be low level, but if I never go out I'm never gonna get XP! Besides, we have a Stargate team bonus!" She grabbed Akira's long sleeve. "C'mon, we're gonna be late!"

Akira held fast against the middle-aged man. "Don't worry. She has to go out into the world eventually, this is just a day trip. I'll bring her back safe and sound."

An old woman in a yellow sundress shuffled up to the entrance. "Oh, Boss! Are you greeting people at the door now?"

Sojiro huffed at the transfer student, but turned. "Just giving a send-off. I'll get you your usual."

Late Morning
Miura Beach

Akira sipped a cold, canned iced tea. While not as good as the cold-brewed ones he'd make at Inaba, the chill helped fight the sweltering sun. While there were thousands of people out and about, the beach was big enough to let them spread out a bit and it felt more like Shinjou. Well, with the heat it more resembled Inaba, but without the charm of a smaller town. He moved a lancer up on his phone shogi and hit End Turn.

Yusuke stood, shielding his eyes, then waved. "Over here!"

Moments later, Ann, Makoto, and Futaba slipped out of the crowd. Futaba seemed comfortable in an orange swimsuit with an off-the-shoulder shirt, though she stuck close to the class president. Makoto herself wore a frilly, flattering white bikini. His eyes might have lingered on her were it not for the stunning blonde next to her. Ann wore a high ponytail, like on the Marine Day celebration, if rougher in a way that somehow highlighted the tease in her face. A body he always knew was curvaceous turned out to be breath-taking, filling out a yellow-and-blue bikini that had all four of the male Phantom Thieves gawking.

Ryuji's mouth hung open and a shocked, pleased sound leaked out.

Futaba nudged the blonde. "At last, we finally found a way to shut Ryuji up."

Yusuke stepped closer. "You three are truly visions of feminine beauty," he paused to take Ann's hand, "but as always you shine brighter than the sun and take our breath away."

Pink bloomed over Ann's cheeks as she gave a shy smile.

The transfer student noticed Makoto's face going pink and she wrapped her arms around herself. After a beat, she cleared her throat but still didn't make eye contact as she sat down next to him. "Could I start with a soda? It's almost lunch time, might as well sit down and relax. We spent enough time putting it together."

Yusuke sat down opposite Ann, his eyes on the cooler Makoto left Akira to stake their spot in the morning. "Could there be anything more iconic than refreshing nourishment at a beach side vacation?"

Futaba dug through the ice-packed cooler. "Where's my ramen?"

Akira popped open a plastic container of quinoa salad. "I never packed instant ramen. Didn't you read about the college girl who died of a heart attack from sodium overdose after eating nothing but instant ramen? Makoto and I made real food." He picked up a set of chopsticks as the others took their own portioned-out containers and dug in. "You need to watch what you eat. Instant ramen once in a while is one thing, but it shouldn't be anybody's staple."

Futaba rolled her eyes at him. "Thanks, dad."

While the hacker grumped, Ann poked at her salad. "Is this for real quinoa?"

Akira swallowed a bite. "Yeah, that's what you asked for. Same as I used to make at Amagi Inn." He noticed her scrutinizing gaze and the way she poked at a slice of black olive. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head and ate, then swallowed. "Nothing, I just thought quinoa was always… boring. It's the big thing for models because it's low carb, but this has tons of veggies in it." She popped a halved cherry tomato in her mouth. "Mm. You're even better than the caterers."

Yusuke slurped in a chilled soba noodle drenched in a dark soy sauce, then swallowed. "This is truly the work of a master."

Akira gestured an elbow at the upperclassman as he dug into his salad. "Soba's all Makoto." He moved up a bishop and hit End Turn. "Now fall into my trap, you bastard, or I'll never beat the real thing."

Ryuji made far more noise in slurping down his soba. The minutes passed as they ate, but after a while, he paused when he noticed one member no longer chowing down. "You okay?"

Makoto just averted her crimson eyes.

Morgana swallowed a chunk of carp. "Honestly, Ryuji, is the context so hard to figure out? Girls in swimsuits work hard to look as slim as possible."

Makoto's phone buzzed and she checked the screen. "Boat's ready." She and the three girls all packed their lunches up. Ryuji scarfed down his lunch and Akira packed his up to follow.

Ann gave an abashed smile. "We only got a reservation for a three-person boat."

Slumping against the folding beach chair, Akira gave a show smile. "That's okay. I will remember this treason later."

Futaba stuck out her tongue. He returned the gesture.

Ryuji crossed his arms, narrow gaze resting on the blonde. The annoyance in the gesture was undercut by the tupperware in one hand and chopsticks in the other. "What're we s'posed to do?"

Ann flashed them an over-pleased smile. "Keep an eye on our spot?"

Akira brought up his phone shogi. "For you, I'll keep two eyes."

The model gave a cheery laugh that brought a blush to his face.

Despite still having some soba left, Ryuji grumped at her. "We're for-real hotshots. Why you treatin' us like spot sitters?"

Akira moved his knight over to capture his enemy's bishop. "Because somebody's got to do it. The closest I ever got to visiting a beach was first year at Inuri High. They made us clean up garbage around some dumpy river not even half an hour out from town. The water felt so slimy nobody even wanted to go swimming."

Futaba's face scrunched up. "Ewww!"

Ryuji closed a fist. "You can't just walk off to have fun and leave us hangin'!"

Makoto shook her head and stood, turning to Ann. "They might be reliable in the Metaverse, but in reality…" She shook her head again, though the corners of her lips turned up.

Ann snickered. "You said it." She flashed them a smirk. "Stealing treasure is nothing, but they're too clueless to steal a girl's heart."

Your 'queen' is too good for you.

Akira felt himself crumple. He forced his focus to his shogi game and tried not to wonder how long Hifumi would humor him when she had so many better prospects. When she could have someone who could fully return her affection.

"We're gonna miss the banana boat!" Futaba shouted before zipping off, forcing the other girls to give chase with their own pleas not to get lost or separated.

Ryuji slurped down the last of his soba and threw the plastic bowl to the beach towel. "They're just jealous of how amazin' we are."

Eyes on his game, Akira hit End Turn and waited to see which counter-strategy he would have to deploy against his opponent. He wasn't sure if she was really strong enough to brush off the amount of uncertainty swirling around her family at the moment with the court still adjudicating her mother's guilty plea, but if it wasn't for her insistence that they go celebrate, he wouldn't have come. "Don't be full of yourself, Ryuji."

The runner and his annoyance remained undimmed, but at least he spoke at what was the closest a Sakamoto had to a private volume, "We risk our lives as Phantom Thieves. They don't get it 'cause they're always 'round. It's like… those frogs and the boilin' water."

Yusuke looked up from his second bowl of food, shielding his eyes. "You are referring to Friedrich Goltz's famed experiment with frogs?"

Ryuji's grin returned. "Yeah, man!" Then dimmed. "I think."

Akira moved up another pawn and hit End Turn. "You know he had to lobotomize the frogs to get them to stay, right? Intact frogs jumped out by the time the water hit twenty-five degrees."

Head hanging, Ryuji managed that full-body slump that should have caused anybody else to fall over. "C'mon, ya know what I'm talkin' about. We've gotta be way above the other dudes here. Why shouldn't we party harder too?"

Those words tickled the memory of the last boy who thought he deserved access to Hifumi's body, and Akira couldn't stop a snarl from flickering across his face. He took in a breath and mumbled, "Tell me when you're done stroking your ego."

Despite the transfer student's protest, Ryuji glared right back. "We're special." He flexed his shoulder and looked at the artist putting away the last of the lunch. "Ain't that right?"

Snapping the lid of the cooler closed, Yusuke stood. "Hm. There is a logic to what you say."

To the transfer student's surprise, Morgana's tail drooped and his ears twitched. "How would we get Lady Ann to notice our special charm?"

Ryuji flashed a toothy, too-perfect grin. "We could steal you-know-what."

Waiting for his shogi opponent to take his turn, Akira snarked, "The ring of the Dark Lord?"

The smack of Ryuji's palm against his forehead filled the transfer student with satisfaction. "Dude, what is wrong with you? Girls' hearts!" He turned his desperation to the artist. "C'mon, man, I bet we've got vibes ta put old heroes to shame. We outta follow the footsteps of Heracles and Diarmuid."

Yusuke lowered the finger-frame he was staring at the beach to turn surprise to the runner. "You… you know of their ancient legends?"

Pumping a fist, Ryuji thrust his chest out and his grin grew. "Totally! Babes were all over 'em."

Of course that would be his criteria for a great hero.

Yusuke scratched at his hoodie. "Both of those venerated figures were betrayed to death, Heracles by his father Zeus and Diarmuid by his king."

Ryuji flinched back a step, but in just an eyeblink even that gut punch was shoved back. "C'mon, dude. How can you know if Ann's such hot stuff if you've never seen other chicks? You owe it to your art to get out there an' see the world!" He stepped close and threw an arm around the artist's shoulder. "You can't paint with only one color, right? Real life's totally the same. You gotta get out there an' see what life's got or you can't appreciate what's beautiful at home. Even if you're all in on Ann, knowin' how other girls are just enhances how you can appreciate her."

Now the artist fumbled. "I… your words do have a sense to them I cannot counter."

Ryuji's too-perfect grin could have blinded, and he closed in to hook his arm around the artist's shoulders. "See? Variety's the spice of life, you can't savor it if you ain't willin' to try." He let go of the artist to pace in front of the transfer student. "Come on, you need some action too. You got that brooding hero thing girls go nuts for, an' if anyone needs to cut loose, it's you."

Akira finished his move and hit End Turn before glancing up from his phone. Heart still crumpled from the certainty that he could never deserve her, venom crept into his voice, "I'm not interested in ego-stroking. Hearts aren't toys to play with." Besides, he could travel the whole Earth and not find someone with Hifumi's charm, wisdom, and kindness.

If Ryuji noticed the tone, he shrugged it off with greater ease than a duck letting rain slide down its back. "For real? Ain't all life a game? How you gonna know how much you got if you never put yourself out there?"

"And where would I find anybody like Hifumi?" Akira spat back. In a hush, he added, "I don't even deserve her. Why would I inflict myself on someone else?"

Ryuji gave a heavy huff, as if all of this was somehow supposed to be for the transfer student's benefit. "Fine, I ain't gonna drag you out if you really don't wanna get out there. But you seriously need to stop puttin' it like it's somethin' anyone deserves. Romance is what peeps want, an' that's it. Even 'Fumi ain't gonna like a dude who's bitter."

Akira was on his feet in a heartbeat, snarl bearing teeth, but he caught himself before he put a hand on the runner's throat. "Don't you dare. I know better than anyone she deserves better than me."

"C'mon, Yusuke. Let's do what men do." They trotted off.

Morgana hopped onto the cooler next to the transfer student. "Hey, I know Ryuji's childish about a lot of things, but he's right that you need to loosen up and have fun while the sun is shining. She chose to be your friend because you chose to be hers, not after you changed her mother's heart. Sitting around moping isn't going to make the judge any faster."

That voice telling him he could never be good enough for her echoed, and for a moment all he could feel was a crushing pressure inside and a desperate need to take her in his arms. Akira adjusted his glasses with his middle finger.

The team leader tisked. "Fine then, watch our spot while I keep those two from getting in too much trouble," he said, before taking off after the artist and runner.

Tuesday, 30 August 2016
Afternoon
Miura Beach

Ryuji strutted over the sand, the artist and cat following after. Just showed what kind of a leader the cat was, he only got the spot by pretending to offer the role to a kid with crippling lack of self-worth. Pity he wouldn't take a hint and come along to pick up chicks, getting some interest could've helped his image issues. If only the acrobatic runner wasn't so stuck on one girl in particular. Sure she was hot but how could he know if she was so great if he never struck out into the world? Well, fine. At least the artist had enough true curiosity to take cue from a real man among men, though with the interest Morgana followed the runner almost wondered if he really used to be a human.

Ryuji bypassed a couple families and obvious couples hanging out. That would be the majority of the beach-goers this close to the end of summer break. Then his eyes alighted on the prize: a pair of girls sitting in beach chairs. No children, no guys. And they were in cute bikinis. Not a guarantee they came to the beach for some action, but it was a shot. He took a deep breath to put on his manliest facade and swaggered up to them, bearing a confident grin. "Yo, ladies."

"Buzz off," the woman in a darker green said. "We're talking." She turned to the other young woman, someone college age-ish. "I just don't know what to do with the quarterly bonus. Maybe I should've taken a loan and bought while the stock market was low, but after the Phantom Thief hacked Medjed, it's almost back at an all-time high, and who knows when the next low is going to arrive?"

The other woman nodded. "Well, the market can go up, but the rule's a rule for a reason. You never want to invest while the market's high. That's where the greatest potential for falling indices is. You want to wait until you're doing well, and the market is not."

Ryuji took a step closer. Maybe a different approach. "I hear you're talking 'bout the Phantom Thief."

"You idiot!" Morgana snapped at him. "Don't you go giving us away just to show off to people who are already too busy to give you the time of day!"

Both young women dropped their boring conversation about the stock market and locked onto the black cat. The former cooed, "Ohhh! Look, it's a cute widdle kittie!"

"Now listen here," Morgana protested, before Light Green Bikini got up and started scratching behind his ears. A thrum sounded from his throat. "Lower."

Afternoon
Miura Beach

Ryuji trotted down the beach, looking for the next opportunity. Family, family, couple sharing a beach towel.

The rotten, no-good girl-stealing cat who certainly wasn't a human trailed behind. "Don't be jealous you don't have a true gentleman's magnetic personality. I can't help if it shines through even despite this distorted body."

He would have whirled around and kicked sand, but Ryuji spotted a prime target. A girl even cuter than Ann, if a bit shorter, standing in the shade of a beach umbrella, a hand over her eyes as she glanced this way and that. If that wasn't a girl scoping for a stud, he'd buy the next group dinner. And that white bikini was so hot.

"Hel-lo," Ryuji greeted her with a grin.

The girl brushed at her curly, brown hair done up in pigtails by black scrunchies. Her eyes flicked to his hair for just one beat. "Not interested."

He put his hands on his hips and thrust out his chest just a bit. Confidence, he told himself. "It's a warm day, the sun is shining. It's perfect to try something new!"

Her dark eyes glared at him. "I already have a date."

Ryuji spied her small beach towel, just one small handbag, and a single empty soda can. He spread his hands. "And hey, I'm right here."

"But there are three of us," Yusuke protested.

Footsteps shuffled over the sandy beach from the snack hut off by the bus stop. "Got us a few cold ones," a man's voice said. When the runner turned, he saw a muscular dude almost as tall as him, but brawny across the chest and arms carrying a sweating four-pack of cold beer. Clearly this guy skipped leg day but not anything else. "What're you kids doing here?"

Ryuji ducked his head just a bit. "Just leaving."

Feet padded after them and for a beat the runner thought she was going after the artist, but she instead knelt down. "I love cats!"

Afternoon
Miura Beach

After at least ten more minutes of spotting no promising potential, Ryuji spotted a girl pacing out of the water. This one wore a more conservative dark blue bikini and her wet hair cascaded down to mid-shoulder-blade but was plenty to get his blood pumping. He dashed a pace ahead so he and the artist still with him stood in any of her most likely paths. By this point he didn't care if she went for the fruity artist, he would've settled for some giggling and eye candy. "Hey, hot stuff. You lookin' for some company?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Boys. I came to the beach to swim."

Afternoon
Miura Beach

Ryuji maintained his pace through sheer grit. This was the beach in the summer. The prime of his teenage years. Where were the thrilling experiences he kept hearing other people talking about? This should have been ground zero with hundreds of hot girls in sexy swimsuits. It was the perfect place to flaunt it! And so many were, but nobody wanted to go a step further!

Then a girl in a backless one-piece stepped out of the meandering crowds and closed on him. She had shoulder-length hair, a super cute smile, and junk in the trunk. Score!

She looked at the assembled group and clasped her hands together. "Your cat is sooo cute!"

Afternoon
Miura Beach

Ryuji stared out at the water as the surf advanced and retreated. The mighty ocean never looked so dull. It wasn't striking out – that happened, it was just rolling the dice against life. Couldn't have a chance of success without a chance of failure. It wasn't that the only girl who traded conversation only wanted to talk to the artist.

It was that every single one went for the gods-damned cat!

"Don't worry," Morgana said, and for a beat the runner wondered if he was about to dispense some sympathy. "Maybe in a hundred years you'll have my gentleman's charisma!" He laughed and bounded away around two fruity guys.

Ryuji whirled around and broke into a run after the no-good cat and give him an appropriate punishment like a dunk in the Pacific.

Tuesday, 30 August 2016
Late Afternoon
Miura Beach

As the boys packed up the towels, umbrella, and cooler, Futaba soaked in their praise but couldn't help that hollow feeling gnawing at her insides. She tugged at the off-one-shoulder shirt which felt several sizes too big but also preserved her modesty. After some pacing, she managed to stop her feet at the water's edge, descended into her familiar crouch, and looked out into the endless waves. She noticed even Akira seemed antsy and kept checking his phone. What would Mom have said about them? Would she have appreciated Ann's exuberant cheer or picked it apart? Ryuji's candor, honest to the point of crass? Yusuke's almost alien perspective? Hifumi's understated, hesitant friendliness?

She didn't realize Akira approached until after he crouched next to her and patted her beach-shirted shoulder. "You okay?"

Ann stepped closer, but stopped a pace away. "Hey, you're doing great, Futaba-chan!" She stepped closer to whisper to him, "What's up?"

Futaba wiped at the tears she hadn't realized she was shedding. "I thought everything would be fine after I accepted Marcus. That after people who had been in my mind, seen my memories, and confirmed that story about Mom was a lie…" She wiped, but the tears kept coming. Why was it so easy to put everything aside and go into Togo's palace? Why'd everything have to pile on now? Why did such a carefree day have to come to resemble one of Mom's trips to Mogami Park? Struggling to keep a brave face, she wiped harder. "I wished so hard I'd go to sleep and Mom would be there and it would all be a bad dream."

Akira's knee sank into the wet sand and he wrapped an arm around her. Her arms latched onto him of her own accord and he patted her head. "Don't you cry. You're strong."

Ann smacked him across the top of his head and knelt down to rest a hand on the hacker's shoulder. "Tears shed for another are a sign of strength. We know how much you loved your mother. It doesn't matter if the rest of society is stupid. If you need to cry for your mother, every one of the Phantom Thieves are still with you."

For some baffling reason, that shut off the waterworks and that rising sense of pressure inside Futaba ebbed.

Akira remained tense and avoided eye contact, but his grip on her loosened. "She's probably right."

Futaba let go of the transfer student to wipe her eyes and he let her stand back. "I remember every day with Mom. She'd wake up early to fix a boxed lunch for me, or add something special to the ones from the convenience store. She'd scold me for peeking at her notes, but work late into the night to unlock the mysteries of cognition."

She could hear the others coming closer, but hanging a little past Akira and Ann. After a beat, Yusuke offered, "She was a woman who wouldn't have wanted you to sleep your life away. You were a treasure to her just as surely as I was to the mother who painted Sayuri for me."

Morgana, despite his cat-like dislike of all things wet, paced close. "Are you worried about your Shadow? Such a distortion would be obvious from problematic behavior in reality. You've accepted and overcome your distorted desires."

"And you guys already removed the core of my distorted reality. My desire to escape life is gone, I guess I'm just not quite as quick on figuring out how I'm supposed to go out into life." Futaba brushed away sand.

"It's understandable that you felt trapped before," Morgana said, before retreating from the advancing surf. "Your mind twisted itself into a labyrinth to try to handle the horrible real world you found yourself in."

Yusuke took a step closer. "Just like I clung to Sensei for anything familiar, even when I knew he was hurting us, you found yourself in a labyrinth of your own fear. Your exact footsteps may have varied from ours, but we are not so different."

Ryuji paced in and scratched his head. "Uh, I have a question. I tote get feelin' bad when your Ma died, but you went after Akira 'cause you heard 'bout the Phantom Thieves, right?"

She nodded.

"How'd you find 'bout us specifically?" he said. "I mean, we were tryin' to get famous so people'd know they ain't alone out there. And you knew the Phantom Thieves could change hearts an' weren't havin' any luck changin' yourself on your own, but how'd you get to Akira to start things off?"

Futaba wrapped her arms around her torso. "Bug I put on Sojiro's phone. At the time I was still traumatized from… my last home, and I wanted to be forewarned if he was planning on getting rid of me. He didn't, but I was scared about being caught unprepared so I listened in on his bug and copied to any other convenient phones I had the chance."

Makoto crossed her arms. "Futaba… have you bugged all our phones?"

The hacker tapped her chin. "I think I'm missing yours, actually. But I have plenty of bugs on phones in the police. Anyway, when I learned how close you were I thought 'this is my chance to find someone who can save me'. Plus Sojiro'd been nice every time I saw him in Shinjou, and he protected me in Tokyo. When that lawyer came in and started threatening him, I thought I was about to lose everything all over again." She awkwardly fiddled with her hands. "And, now here we are. I'm just glad that it worked. Now I'm even paying it forward by changing Hifumi's mom."

Makoto nodded. "That sounds horrible. Who would threaten a man just trying to protect a traumatized girl?"

Akira held out a flat hand against his scalp roughly where the bullying lawyer's hair was parted. "Medium-height fascist chick with grey hair with an asymmetrical part. Threatened to revoke Boss' custody."

Makoto's eyes went wide. "Big Sis?" She held her head. "I knew she'd been getting stressed since the summer break started, but I never imagined she'd threaten his ability to keep care of her."

Maybe it was the horrified self-realization she recognized, but Futaba walked over to the president. "Don't worry. She left and I'd never let anyone get between me and Sojiro again." She gave a show smile and looked across the other Phantom Thieves. "We could even change her heart if we can just get deeper into Mementos."

A distant quality entered the president's crimson gaze. "I haven't given up hope that we can change her heart before she gets so bad as to form her own Palace."

Futaba gave a subtle nod of acknowledgment. "Well, you guys helped me. So I'm gonna help them. Besides, Mom definitely died of a mental shutdown. If Blue Cove air gapped Mom's research, that means not only can I not get to it remotely, they're definitely still conducting cognitive psience research. Maybe they were even directly responsible for killing her. I wanna know who and why."

Morgana retreated from the advancing surf. "You think it's related to the Black Mask we're investigating?"

Futaba nodded. "I remember her notes said if the cognitive self is extinguished, the host self would die. Changing Hifumi's mother should protect her from the Black Mask, but there's still lots of people out there who are vulnerable to somebody killing and blackmailing people's Shadows." Her hands clenched into fists. "I'm gonna stop him, and I'm gonna avenge Mom."

"Just be careful," Morgana pointed out. "Your mother died a year and a half ago. That means whoever is out there has more than a year of experience on all of you. Even I might be in danger and I've been navigating Mementos and people's Palaces for almost two years."

Futaba's eyes narrowed. "I'll be ready to take down the men in black."

Akira tilted his head. "What's this got to do with Will Smith?"

Futaba threw her hands in the air. "How can you know about movies like that and never have seen Star Wars?"

Ryuji cleared his throat, no smile on his face. "Well, far as I'm concerned, you proved yourself in Togo's temple. As long as you ain't got a petty reason like impressin' a girlfriend, I got your back."

A brief glare exchanged between he and Akira.

Makoto stepped in between them. "All right, you two. Akira, Futaba? Take our garbage to the dumpster. You two live in the same place, so head home as soon as we're done. Ryuji? Help us finish packing up. It looks like a new wave of beach-goers is coming, so let's get out of here. Check in on the group chat when you get there."

Tuesday, 30 August 2016
Early Evening
Yongen, Bath House

Akira rubbed himself dry with a fresh towel, trying to scour the last feeling of wind-blown dust and that faint slimy feel seawater left behind. He didn't get to see Hifumi in a swimsuit, but her text during the train ride indicated she'd be home to practice shogi with her father for her title match tomorrow. Futaba took the biggest step from her life as a shut in that he could have imagined. She looked even more comfortable than he did out there.

His phone buzzed as he finished toweling himself dry. More chat as the other Phantom Thieves got home, and what their next step should be. At least Morgana granted them tomorrow off, for Kosei's school and for him to join Hifumi's tournament in the evening. The last message on the group chat, Ryuji speculated on the cognitive assassin the Black Mask might turn out to be.

Futaba singled Akira out specifically to ask, [What about the Metaverse Navigator? Bastet doesn't use it, and everyone else says they got it from you. Who'd you get it from? Steal it from your old man before he kicked you to Tokyo?]

Akira set down the phone to change into fresh clothes. To tell them or not to tell them? Ah, who was he kidding? He didn't back down when faced with some drunk who turned out to be his old bastard's patron, he wouldn't back down now. [A long-nosed guy in a strange not-quite-dream place gave it to me so I could change hearts.]

Makoto texted, [I shouldn't have expected you to give a serious answer.]

[That wasn't a joke. If you have a better answer for how I got a cell phone app that lets us go into a mind realm, I'm all ears.] Akira set the phone back down to pull on a new long-sleeved shirt to hide the scars on his wrists.

Yusuke texted, [Do we have any idea if this Black Mask assassin person uses the Nav as well?]

[No clue.] Futaba texted, [I recall a gate idea in Mom's notes while she was working at Blue Cove, but I don't think it went anywhere or I doubt they'd have hired Kurusu. Vice-Director Kurusu, not Akira.]

Yuuki logged in, and after a few moments of reading sent, [I find the idea of a gate to a mental world even harder to believe than a cell phone app.]

Akira chuckled. [Not as weird as the idea of people dying in the fog and appearing on top of TV antennas.]

[That's not funny, Akira-san,] Yuuki responded.

[Still not joking. Happened a couple years before I went to Tanizaki Middle School. A detective from the city snapped and killed a couple people. The papers called it the Fog Killer. His mental competence was called into question when he claimed to do it by pushing people into TVs, but I guess prosecutors were more interested in closing a case than not putting away a man who needed a straight-jacket more than a barred cell.]

Makoto texted, [That still doesn't explain how Black Mask is getting into the Metaverse to do his evil deeds. Or why.]

Ryuji jumped in to say, [Dudes, don't you remember what Madarame said? 'When he says you pay, you pay'. He's in it for the money.]

[I can imagine that just being able to go into a magic world and affect people without them being able to touch you would be a real power trip,] Yuuki sent. [You're the expert at computers, Futaba-san. What do you think of the app?]

Three dots danced next to Futaba's ID for long seconds. [It's not really an app. It looks like one, but it's more like a pointer than a true app.]

Makoto texted, [Well, it seems like there aren't going to be any answers on that front, either. Might as well get some sleep. Good luck at school tomorrow, Yusuke and Hifumi-san. Akira, if Hifumi's really going through with talking about her mother the change of heart is going to come up. You should keep your distance so there aren't so many dots connecting her to us. No reason to draw police attention. For the rest of you, study. Shujin starts on Thursday.]

AN: Akira is referring to the temperature of the water in Celsius. For those with addiction to Fahrenheit, the non-lobotomized frogs jumped out shortly before the temperature reached 80 degrees.