Author's Note: Just to let you all know, I'll be taking a 2 week hiatus for the holidays after this chapter, but then I'll be back! Happy Holidays everyone, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
5/25 Wednesday
When she woke up, she went through her morning routine as normal, until she entered the kitchen and let out a tiny squeal.
"H-Huh? What?! What's going on?!" a startled Morgana exclaimed.
"B-B-Buchi!" she cried out.
On the kitchen table was a big, extra fluffy Buchi plush, along with a note.
"Congratulations on doing so well on your exams. I got you this to celebrate. Keep up the good work."
Sae
She let out a bright smile. "It's a gift from sis."
"Ohhh, maybe she can take us out for sushi too!" Morgana yelled excitedly.
"Maybe. I'll ask her later." she smiled.
After gushing over her new plushie for a little while, she made her way to class.
"Uggggh, do I have too?"
"You're the only one of us who hasn't gone to counselling yet, Ryuji." Makoto pointed out. "You'll have to go soon, or people will get suspicious."
The three of them sat at the lunch table, discussing their counselling sessions.
"You don't even have to talk to him much if you want." Ren said. "He's a pretty chill guy."
"Man, I was hoping to bring you guys somewhere cool today." Ryuji sighed.
"Somewhere cool?" Makoto repeated. "Well, the counselling session shouldn't take too long. At least, it didn't for me."
"Alright then, I'll get it done really quick, so wait for me!" Ryuji said.
"Just make sure you don't say too much!" Morgana warned.
"Yeah, yeah." Ryuji scoffed.
With Ryuji promising to go and see Dr. Maruki, they enjoyed the rest of their lunch in peace.
"Come on in!"
Ryuji walked into the room, a bored expression on his face.
"Sup." Ryuji greeted.
"Oh, Sakamoto-kun, hello!" Maruki greeted. "Are you here for a counselling session?"
"Well… it's not like I wanted to or nothin'." Ryuji grumbled, crossing his arms.
"Ahaha, I'm sorry that they forced you into this." Maruki sympathized. "I'll try not to take up too much of your time."
Ryuji sat on the couch, giving Maruki a skeptical look.
"This is kinda awkward…" Ryuji admitted. "Usually when I'm meeting with a teacher it's cause they want to chew me out about somethin'."
"Try not to think of me as a teacher." Maruki suggested. "If anything, I'm here to be on the student's side."
"Right… So, is this the part where I have to tell you all about Kamoshida." Ryuji muttered.
"Oh, no, no- this isn't some kind of interrogation." Maruki insisted. "Feel free to talk about whatever you want."
"Like what?" Ryuji asked.
"Hmm… well, is there anyone at school that you like?" Maruki asked.
"That's not exactly easy to talk about either." Ryuji frowned.
"O-Oh, sorry." Maruki said. "Then… what about hobbies? What do you like to do in your spare time?"
"Well, recently I've been hangin' out with my friends." Ryuji said. "But I guess before then I just did a lot of track."
"I see… and how is your leg doing?" Maruki asked.
"So, you know about that too…" Ryuji frowned.
"Sorry… the school gave me a lot of information about what happened." Maruki admitted.
"Well… it's alright." Ryuji said. "But if I run too much it'll start to strain."
"I see… you must have really enjoyed running, huh?"
"Guess so… I mean, after all the trainin' I did, it would be weird if I didn't like it." Ryuji replied. "Back then, I was always running. I was hoping that I'd eventually get a running scholarship to make things easier on my mom…"
"I see. That's a very admirable goal." Maruki complemented.
"Yeah, well, that's all in the past now." Ryuji sighed. "Can't really do that now with my banged up knee."
"Oh? Couldn't you get some surgery to repair the damage? Physical therapy, maybe?" Maruki asked.
"Well… yeah, I could, but… I don't know, going back to track just seems kinda strange." Ryuji muttered. "Uggh, I'm not good at explaining this kinda stuff!"
"I think I understand… you have bad memories associated with track, hence the hesitation." Maruki noted. "I imagine that, if that traumatic event hadn't happened, you would be freely pursuing your dream, right?
"Um… yeah, I guess." Ryuji said. "But it did happen."
"Well, I think that you should never give up on your dream!" Maruki smiled. "I'm sure if you wish hard enough, your dreams will come true."
"The hell? You tryin' to sell me some kinda line now?" Ryuji asked suspiciously.
"Oh now, it's a very real phenomenon, with tons of research backing it." Maruki explained. "Let's try this… what do you want the most, right now?"
"Right now? Uhh… ohh! I'm really thirsty, so I want something to drink." Ryuji answered.
"Oho! Just this morning, I lucked into a coupon for a free can of apple juice!" Maruki exclaimed, handing it to Ryuji "See? Your wish came true!"
"Yeaaaaah…" Ryuji trailed off. "You know, Doc, you're kinda… a weirdo."
"You think so?" Maruki asked, surprised. "Oh, wait, did you mean that as a compliment?"
"Uhhhh, no." Ryuji bluntly stated.
"O-Oh…"
"So, um, are we done now?" Ryuji asked. "I kinda got somethin' to do."
"Oh, of course!" Maruki nodded. "Thank you for coming!"
"Hey guys, thanks for waiting!"
Ryuji met up with them outside of the school.
"How was your counselling?" Makoto asked.
"It was alright." Ryuji shrugged. "The guy's kinda weird though. He wanted to talk a lot about my future and my dreams and stuff. I guess I've been having second thoughts about stuff like that lately."
"Second thoughts?" Morgana questioned. "Hey, congrats. That's two more thoughts than you usually have."
"Shut the hell up, cat!" Ryuji snapped.
"Behave." she scolded Morgana. "Or no sushi."
"I-I'll be good!" Morgana quickly said.
"So, where were you going to take us, Ryuji?" Ren asked.
"Kichijoji!" Ryuji grinned. "Trust me, you guys will love it!"
"Should we ask Yusuke if he wants to come?" Makoto asked.
"I already texted him. He said he'd meet us there." Ryuji explained.
"Sounds like fun." Ren grinned. "And I've got free time today, so let's go."
The four of them went to the subway so that they could ride to their destination.
"Wow… the atmosphere here is a lot different than Shibuya..." she trailed off.
"There's still a lot of people here." Ren noticed.
"Not good with crowds?" Ryuji asked.
"Still not really used to them." Ren confessed. "I was in awe the first time I stepped into Shibuya. I'd never seen that many people in one place before."
"Oh yeah, you live out in the country, huh?" Ryuji recalled. "Maybe one day we could all go and visit your hometown."
"Eh, I don't know." Ren shrugged. "There's nothing really exciting over there."
"Come on, that can't be true. You live there!" Ryuji grinned.
"I really would like to visit your hometown someday." she told him.
"W-Well… maybe someday, I guess." Ren mumbled, a little embarrassed.
"Well, anyway, I got a couple of tickets for free darts and billiards a while back." Ryuji told them. "They expired today, so I figured we could go and try it out."
"Mind if we explore for a but beforehand?" she asked. "I'd like to check out some of the shops, if you don't mind."
"Yeah, sure, let's go!" Ryuji grinned.
The four of them checked the various stalls and shops around Kichijoji, noting the variety of products being sold.
As they browsed through the stores however, she couldn't help but feel that something was off…
"Hmm…"
"Did you find something you liked, Makoto?" Ren asked.
"No, it's just… don't you have a bit of a strange feeling?" she asked him.
"I'm not sure what you mean." Ren said.
"Did somebody grope ya or something?" Ryuji bluntly asked.
"What?! No, that's not… hmm…"
She glanced around, looking over all the people in the area.
None of them appeared to be paying any attention at the moment, but…
"Gorgeous…" Morgana whispered.
"Huh? What are you talkin' about, cat?" Ryuji asked.
"Whenever I peek my head out, I see this gorgeous girl walking behind us." Morgana purred. "She must have been drawn in by my charm."
"...Ok, Morgana's delusions aside…" Ren trailed off, before whispering to her. "...you think we're being followed.
"Maybe… she whispered back before looking around some more. "Ok, on the count of three, we run into the nearest back alley. Got it?"
The others nodded.
"One...two...three!"
The thieves ran into the ally, hiding behind a nearby dumpster, and sure enough, a girl around their age ran into the ally soon afterwards.
"Ugh, why'd they run off like that?"
"ANN?!"
Ryuji came out from behind the dumpster, a shocked look on his face.
"You're… Ann Takamaki, right?" she asked as Ren and her came out after him.
"O-Oh, hey, Niijima-sempai!" Ann nervously stammered. "And Ryuji and… the transfer student. That's an interesting group!"
"Why are you following us." she accused.
"F-Following you? Whaaaaaat, no, I would never do thaaaat!" Ann insisted, a nervous grin on her face. "I was just here to, um, uh… well, you know…
"Know what?" Ren muttered.
"Just, like… buying… things." Ann excused, her acting growing worse by the second.
"Right…" Makoto muttered, not believing her for a moment. "Well, there aren't any shops here, so I guess you'll be on your way then."
"W-Wait, hold on!" Ann cried. "I mean, since we're all here, we should totally have, um… a little chat?"
"Excellent. I was meaning to chat with you."
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Ann screamed, whipping around to face the person now standing behind her.
"Who the hell are you!" Ann shouted.
"Wha- Yusuke, what the hell are you doing here?!" Ryuji exclaimed. "Why are you following Ann around, who's following Makoto around, who's following me around?"
"I'm not following anyone!" Ann yelled. "Not like… this stalker right here!"
"Stalking you? That's ridiculous. I just thought you would make a wonderful muse." Yusuke noted. "But I wanted to keep a low profile, so I tried to be stealthy by copying Makoto's stealth technique, but I was too poor to afford a manga, so I found a flyer in a trash can and hoped it would suffice."
"...And who exactly told you about my 'stealth technique'?" Makoto asked, her irritation growing.
"H-Hey now, let's not change the subject." Ren quickly said.
"Indeed." Yusuke nodded. "Now, getting back to the modeling."
"Who even are you?!" Ann exclaimed.
"I'm Yusuke Kitagawa." Yusuke answered. "I was hoping that you would be my muse for a painting."
"Kitagawa… that's the same last name as that lady that Madarame talked about on the news." Ann muttered. "And this guy's an artist like her."
The gears in her brain started turning…
"And with Kamoshida… there were rumors that he threatened to expel Ryuji and that transfer student…" Ann mused. "I wonder..."
"Now would be a good time to leave while she's distracted." she whispered.
"Sounds good." Ren nodded. "Let's go."
They quickly ran away, leaving Ann alone with Yusuke.
"Well… ok, I guess we could, as long as the others are… wait, where'd they go?!" Ann cried.
"Excellent." Yusuke smiled. "Now then, if you could come with me back to my dorm, you can strip off your clothes and I can begin to paint you."
"WHAT?! NO!" Ann screamed. "Get away from me you pervert!"
"It's nothing like that!" Yusuke insisted. "I am only attracted to you in an artistic sense."
"HEY! RYUJIIIIIII!" Ann yelled. "GET BACK HERE! DON'T LEAVE ME WITH THIS WEIRDO!"
"Is she still following us?" Ryuji asked
"Nah, I… I think we lost her." Ren panted.
"Why the hell was she following us around anyway?" Ryuji grumbled.
"It could have something to do with the principal, but I can't be sure." she said.
"Ah, who cares about that shit right now?" Ryuji scoffed. "We came here to have some fun, right? So let's go!"
"You're right." she smiled. "We shouldn't let this ruin our day."
They made their way to a place called Penguin Sniper to play darts and billiards.
"Hey, Makoto, want to play around with me?" Ren asked.
"Together?" she wondered.
"Yeah. We start with a certain number of points, and we try to reach zero by throwing the darts at certain sections of the dart board." Ren explained.
She had never actually played either in real life before, but she had played a dart game the one time Ren and Ryuji brought her to the arcade.
They played a couple rounds, bringing their score a little lower before it was her turn again.
"Ok… just like the simulations." Makoto whispered.
"Simulations?" Ren repeated, giving a small chuckle.
"D-Don't laugh!" she stammered.
She took a deep breath and focused before throwing the dart with pinpoint accuracy.
"I… I did it!" she said in disbelief.
She had thrown the dart in the perfect spot, so that now they only had a score of one.
"Wow… that was really good." Ren complimented.
She reached up to high five him. "You're up, Ren!"
"Yeah…"
She saw that Ren seemed a little nervous, as it was all on him to bring their score to zero.
She tried to think of a way to encourage him.
"Ren, I'm counting on you. I know you can do this!" she cheered.
Her encouragement seemed to work, as Ren immediately began to focus, throwing the dart in just the right place.
"Hey, we did it!" Ren grinned. "We did great!"
"You two make a great team!" Morgana praised. "Now it's my turn!"
"Um… can you even play with your paws?" Ryuji asked.
"Of course I can! Just watch!" Morgana boasted.
They played a few more rounds of darts before leaving.
"That was pretty fun, am I right?" Ryuji grinned.
"I kinda want to explore other places in Tokyo now." Ren grinned. "We should do that another day."
"Oh, I know!" Morgana shouted. "There's this one huge building that looks like a pancake! We should go there"
"You mean Dome Town?" she asked. "There are plenty of amusement park rides there. It could be fun."
"Ugh, damn it, now I'm hungry." Ryuji moaned.
"Say, Ryuji, what's this place?" Ren asked, pointing to a building in front of them.
"Oh, that's a jazz club." Ryuji explained. "I've never been there myself, though."
As soon as he said that, someone walked out of the jazz club, causing her to gasp.
"Akechi-kun?!"
"Oh, Niijima-san, hello." Akechi greeted. "I didn't expect to see you here. Are these friends?"
She nodded. "These are Ren and Ryuji."
"You know this guy, Makoto?" Ren asked.
"This is Goro Akechi." she introduced. "He works with my sister sometimes. He's a detective."
"For real?!" Ryuji gasped. "This guy's a detective?!"
"I'm surprised you haven't heard about me before." Akechi grinned. "I've been all over the news lately. Oh, but speaking of the news, have you heard about the recent scandal with that artist?"
"You mean Madarame?" she asked. "Yes, I… heard about it while riding the subway yesterday."
"It was quite the shook, that's for sure, especially with the mention of those Phantom Thieves."
"You believe in the Phantom Thieves?" Ren asked, playing ignorant.
"I won't deny the possibility." Akechi told them. "But, hypothetically speaking, if these Phantom Thieves are real… I believe that they should be tried in a court of law."
"WHAT?!" Ryuji yelled. "If it weren't for them, Madarame would still be committing crimes!"
"While Madarame's actions are unforgivable, the Phantom Thieves are taking the law into their own hands, and that isn't justice." Akechi argued.
"What the hell!" Ryuji scowled. "That's-"
"Ryuji!" she snapped, cutting him off.
They couldn't risk anyone, least of all a detective, growing suspicious.
"I'm sorry, Akechi-kun." she apologized. "It's just that a lot of students at our school are very passionate about this, considering what happened with Kamoshida."
"Ah, yes, the Phantom Thieves' first target was the gym teacher at your school." Akechi recalled. "I suppose it makes sense that so many students would feel passionate about this. But I'm curious… what do you think about the Phantom Thieves, Niijima-san?"
"What do I think?" she repeated.
She considered her words carefully, not wanting to tip him off.
"I think… that occasionally, there are times where groups like the Phantom Thieves are necessarily." she explained. "Kamoshida… his crimes were being covered up by the staff, and all of the student's cries for help fell on deaf ears."
"I see… I must say, I didn't expect that kind of answer from someone like you, Niijima-san." Akechi admitted. "But don't you think it's a little disturbing how they forcibly change people's hearts."
"Well… they've only gone after criminals so far, correct?" she replied.
"But what if they start using that power for more nefarious purposes?" Akechi countered.
"You shouldn't try people based on 'what ifs'." she told him.
"I see. What an interesting position." Akechi acknowledged, giving a wide grin. "Our discussions are always quite meaningful."
"Really?" she asked.
"Not many people are willing to speak their mind once they realize who I am." Akechi told her. "There certainly is a lot of corruption in our world. I can understand why you'd support them."
"I suppose I can understand your point of view as well." she confessed. "We… don't know about their methods, and it is possible that they don't have the best of intentions."
"I'm glad you understand my point of view." Akechi smiled. "But I have to wonder… if they were to encounter an even more powerful and connected, would they flee without a second thought?"
"...That remains to be seen." she simply said. "But I do think it required a bit of courage to go after people like Kamoshida and Madarame."
"Hmm… I suppose so." Akechi admitted. "You know, you'd make for a great debate partner, Niijima-san."
Akechi held out his hand, an inviting smile on his face.
"I would love it if, perhaps, the two of us could meet up again someday and discuss our thoughts on justice some more." Akechi offered, giving a wide smile.
For some reason, something about his smile seemed… off to her, but maybe the nervousness of getting caught was just making her paranoid.
She shook his hand and nodded. "Yes. I'd like that."
"Oh? Wonderful, that's great news!" Akechi beamed. "I sense something quite different in you than other people."
"You sense it?" she wondered.
"I guess you could call it a detective's intuition." Akechi chuckled.
As she shook his hand, she felt an odd sensation...
I am thou, thou art I… thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that carry you to thy future. With the birth of the Justice Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…
JUSTICE CONFIDANT: RANK 1
"I'd like to stay and have pancakes with the rest of you, but I have some business to attend to." Akechi excused.
"Huh?" Pancakes? What are you talkin' about?" Ryuji muttered.
"Oh, am I mistaken?" Akechi asked, eyes widening. "I thought I heard something about delicious pancakes… Well, no matter. Be seeing you, Niijima-san."
As Akechi walked out of earshot, Ryuji frowned.
"Who does that guy think he is, framin' us as the bad guys." Ryuji grumbled.
"I do get what he's saying." Ren admitted. "We know that we have good intentions, but he doesn't."
"That's true." she nodded. "Let's not let this sour our day, though. Let's try to make the rest of the day enjoyable."
"Maybe get some dinner first. I'm starving." Ryuji brought up.
"Now that I think about it… pancakes do sound good right now…" Ren added.
"Pancakes… wait a moment…" she mused.
Something seemed… off about that last conversation.
Putting it at the back of her mind, she spent the rest of the day having fun with Ren and Ryuji before heading home for the day.
A long high school girl walked along the streets of Shinjuku, frowning.
"I know he said that I can become whoever I want if I believe, but is it really that simple…?" Eiko thought to herself.
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't realized where she was going, and accidentally bumped into someone.
"Hey, what the hell… oh?" a man muttered. "Say, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this all alone?"
"I'm just doing some shopping… and some thinking…" she muttered. "It's not like anyone cares that I'm gone right now…"
"Hey, come on, don't say that." the man said. "I'd care, for starters."
"You're just saying that…" Eiko muttered.
"No, no, not at all." the man insisted. "It's just… there are a lot of sketchy guys hanging around Shinjuku during these hours, and they all love to prey on beautiful women like you."
"O-Oh…" Eiko stammered.
"I'd hate for anyone to get involved with those types." the man said. "Why don't I show you around?"
"Well… ok." Eiko replied, giving a small smile. "And thanks… for caring about me."
"No problem." the man grinned. "Name's Tsukasa, by the way."
"I'm Eiko." she beamed. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." Tsukasa grinned, a charming smile on his face. "Now come on. I'll show you a fun time."
Eiko followed him, not noticing the sinister grin on his face...
5/26 Thursday
As soon as she made her way to school, she ran into Daichi.
"Hey, Miss Prez." Daichi called. "There's an emergency council meeting after school. Try to be there, ok?"
"Oh, of course." she nodded.
"Alright, see you then." Daichi grinned.
She waved goodbye before heading to class.
After classes ended for the day, she went to the council meeting.
"Hello everyone." she greeted. "I heard that there was an emergency meeting today."
"Oh yeah! The principal told us that we're going to be holding a cleanup event on the 30th!" Kayo commented.
"They want us to arrange some of the details." Daichi added.
"On the 29th? That's on rather short notice." she commented.
"I guess he must have arranged it last minute." Kayo replied.
"So, what did they want us to arrange?" Makoto asked.
"It's already been decided that we're going to be cleaning a park." Chiaki explained. "All the students are going to taking part, and lunch will be served by the school. The principal wants us to be there"
"Most of the staff won't be present, though, so we'll have to help supervise." Kayo added.
"I see… is there anything else that's coming up soon?" she asked.
"B-Bake sale…"
They all turned towards Akemi.
"T-There's a bake sale soon… from the cooking club." Akemi muttered.
"Oh yeah!" Kayo realized. "So, what are you and the rest of the cooking club going to make, Akemi-kun?"
"Cookies…" Akemi mumbled. "We're going to sell cookies. Um… speaking of…
Akemi pulled out a basket of cookies, handing them to everyone.
"I, um, made these for everyone…" Akemi mumbled.
She took a bite out of the cookie, immediately loving it.
"This is delicious! Thank you, Akemi-kun." she beamed.
"Y-You're welcome…" Akemi whispered.
"There's one more thing that I wanted to discuss." Chiaki brought up. "There have been rumors about this gang in Shibuya. I heard a couple of students talking about them. I think that they might be targeting some of the students here, and getting them to transport drugs and other illegal activities for money."
"That's very concerning..." Makoto trailed off.
"We should bring that up to the principal!" Kayo suggested.
"That's if he even listens to us." Chiaki scoffed.
"He does seem to be more concerned with those Phantom Thieves." Daichi noted. "He's really been breathing down our necks about finding out about them."
"I'll talk to him about it." she offered. "I'll do it after I turn in the budget today."
"Yeah! I'm sure if the principal will listen to anyone, it'll be you, Niijima-sempai!" Kayo mentioned.
"I'll do my best to convince him to look into it." she promised.
After going through a few more minor things, they ended their meeting, Chiaki once again meeting her outside."
"Niijima." Chiaki called. "Do you really think that you'll be able to convince the principal?"
"I'm… not the most confidant, but I have to try." Makoto confessed.
"I'm not confident either." Chiaki muttered. "This whole cleanup event just seems like a way to save face."
"You might be right." Makoto admitted.
"If the principal refuses to deal with this, then we might have to take this into our own hands." Chiaki mentioned.
"Then I'll do everything I can to help them myself." she promised.
Chiaki actually gave a small smile. "Heh. Guess I'll hold you too that."
I could feel her trust in me.
TOWER CONFIDANT: RANK 3
After speaking with Chiaki for a bit longer, she went to the principal's office.
"Hello, sir?" she asked, knocking on his door.
"Niijima-san! Come in, come in!" the principal called.
She walked into his office, placing the budget on his desk.
"The yearly budget, sir." she informed him.
"It's… quite a bit different from last years." the principal noticed.
"Well, with… what happened to Kamoshida, we couldn't really put the majority of the budget in the volleyball team."
"Ah, yes, about that…" Kobayakawa trailed off. "Have you made any progress on your investigation into the Phantom Thieves."
"No, sir… I haven't."
The principal sighed. "A shame. I thought you'd have had more success. I know that your sister would have easily solved this by now.
She said nothing, biting her lip and staring at the floor.
"Those people are dangerous, Niijima-san!" the principal huffed. "They could go after any one of us!"
"I-I'm sure it's fine, sir." she insisted. "They've only gone after criminals, so far…"
"And how can you be so sure?" the principal asked. "I feel that you aren't treating this situation with the urgency that it requires. This reflects rather poorly on you as the Student Council President!"
"Their last target wasn't related to the school at all." she pointed out.
"You seem awfully quick to defend them." Kobayakawa noted. "You aren't hiding something from me, are you?"
"N-No, of course not!" she insisted.
"Hmm… I've heard that you've been spending quite a bit of time with a few… delinquents." the principal muttered. "Sakamoto and… the criminal transfer student."
"Is that a problem?" she asked.
"I ask that you don't associate with them." the principal ordered. "I noticed you've been acting strangely ever since you started speaking with them."
"By strangely… he means that I'm not just his obedient lapdog anymore." she thought angrily.
"Don't let me catch you around those two again." the principal
"Sir-!"
"Enough!" the principal cut her off. "I'm giving you 2 weeks to find out information on these Phantom Thieves, and not a second more."
"...Yes, sir." she muttered. "But… there's one thing I have to bring to your attention. I've heard rumors about a gang from Shibuya that's targeting students from Shujin. They're having them do various illegal activities for money."
"A-A gang in Shibuya, y-you say?" the principal stammered. "C-Could they be…"
"Be what, sir?" she replied.
"N-Never mind!" the principal quickly said, trying to regain his composure. "Niijima-san, don't bother looking into those incidents."
"But sir, these incidents concern Shujin students!" she argued.
"What they do outside of school is none of our concern." the principal declared. "If they want to get involved with criminals, that's their own problem. Don't go investigating, or there will be consequences."
She clenched her fists, trying to calm herself down.
"...Yes, sir." she finally said.
The principal nodded. "Good. Now then, if that's all, you're dismissed."
She stepped out of his office, no longer feeling the need to hide her anger as soon as she stepped outside.
"How can he be so callous?!" she exclaimed.
"For someone who said he didn't care, he really didn't want to investigate." Mona commented.
"That's true… I wonder if he's hiding something…" she replied.
"We'll have to find some way to get out of his demands, and fast!" Morgana advised. "We only have two weeks!"
"I'll try to text the others." she said.
She pulled out her phone to put a message into the group chat.
Makoto: Are you all free to meet tomorrow?
Yusuke: Unfortunately, I'm in the process of moving my possessions to my dorm and getting settled in. It will take a few more days.
Ryuji: Ren and I are busy too, but we're free tomorrow.
Ren: Makoto, please save me.
Ryuji: Shut up, man! Don't tell her about the operation!
Makoto: Operation?
Ryuji: Never mind! We'll meet up later, I promise!
"What are those two up to?" Morgana wondered.
"I'm not sure I want to know." she admitted. "It's fine. We can tell them later."
"Yeah, you do look kinda stressed." the not cat pointed out. "Maybe a good night's sleep will help refresh you, and then you can tell them with a clear head."
Seeing the logic in his words, she nodded.
With the principal's demands weighing on her mind, she went home.
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 4
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 4
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 3
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 3
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 2
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 3
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 2
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 2
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 3
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 2
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 1
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 1
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 1
THE JUDGEMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 2
THE COUNCILLOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 3
Do you believe in the Phantom Thieves? Yes 15.4%