"Y-You… you know my father." Makoto whispered.
Kaneshiro gave a wicked grin, his arms wrapped around two women.
"That's right." Kaneshiro answered. "I could never forget him."
"What do you mean?!" she yelled.
"He was pretty close to figuring me out and uncovering a huge conspiracy."
"A conspiracy…?" Makoto repeated.
"Almost found out about my entire gang, and everyone that I was working with." Kaneshiro told her. "He was the first one who I got to use my... special powers on."
"Special powers… are you the one behind the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns?!" Makoto exclaimed.
"Dealing with your father was the first time I got to test them out." Kaneshiro grinned. "I made sure that a psychotic breakdown was given to a truck driver, and that they'd crash into your daddy. That little pig's nothing but roadkill now."
Her entire body was shaking with rage.
Him… he's the one… who murdered my father!, Makoto internally raged.
She tried to get up to rush Kaneshiro, only for the Cleaner to slam her back into the ground.
No matter how much she struggled, however, the Cleaner wouldn't let go.
"The more you struggle, the tighter I'll grip." the Cleaner sadistically grinned.
"Oh, she's a tough one, isn't she?" Kaneshiro grinned. "It'll be fun to break her!"
"M-Makoto…" Eiko whimpered.
Damn it… I'm not strong at all... I'm so weak…, Makoto lamented.
"Honestly, I'm real touched that you went through all this trouble to find me, Ms. Student Council President." Kaneshiro grinned.
"Hey, boss, what do we do with them now?" one of the yakuza holding Eiko asked.
"We take some pictures to send to their families to get them to pay… and to our clients if they can't." Kaneshiro told them. "Strip off their clothes. That'll send a message."
"N-No… please…" Eiko whimpered.
"S-Stop!" Makoto pleaded. "Do whatever you want to me, just please leave Eiko out of this!"
"Makoto, no!" Eiko cried.
As the yakuza started grabbing at their clothes, the doors to the room burst open.
"Makoto!"
"Ren?" Makoto gasped. "Everyone! You're here!"
Ren, Ryuji, Yusuke and Ann stood at the entrance.
"We heard you over the phone!" Ryuji shouted. "You gave us a location, and Morgana let us inside!" Ryuji grinned.
Kaneshiro turned to the Cleaner "You dumbass. You got followed by these punks?"
The cleaner grumbled something about 'Not seeing anyone but a stray cat.'
"Let them go!" Ren snapped.
Kaneshiro sighed, slamming a huge suitcase in front of him.
He pulled out two large stacks of bills and passed them to the two ladies at his sides.
"Get yourself something nice with those." Kaneshiro said.
"For real?!" the woman squealed.
"Wait, why are you giving them money?" Ann asked.
"Well, I'll let you in on a little secret… I'm really pissed off right now." Kaneshiro said.
Despite his words, he was still grinning ear from ear right now.
"I gotta deal with you brats trying to mess with my business, your dumbass of a principal, and now I've got some prosecutor investigating me. So, I'm spendin' a lot of money, cause it's a good way to relieve stress. Thing is…"
Kaneshiro swung the briefcase around on the table, revealing the rest of its contents to the Thieves.
"T-That's a lotta cash…" Ryuji muttered.
"Money… So much money…" Yusuke whispered.
"Too bad there's a six million gap in there!" Kaneshiro exclaimed. "Now I'm pissed off all over again…. But it's alright. Cause I know that you brats will pay it back for me!"
"Why the hell would we be the ones paying you back!" Ryuji snapped.
Suddenly, Kaneshiro pulled out his cellphone, snapping a picture with all of them in it.
"So tense… at least smile for the camera." Kaneshiro joked. "Oh? Looks like I got some booze and cigs in the pic. Drugs, too. Wonder what your schools will think of that?"
"D-Don't send it!" Ren stammered.
"You kids really thought that you'd just barge in here and get the better of me?" Kaneshiro asked. "Should have kept your noses out of this."
Kaneshiro took a good look at their group.
"Well, I'd usually give you the normal amount of time to get the money, but since you're such a big group…" Kaneshiro trailed off. "July 9th. You have until then to get me 6 million yen."
"6 million?!" Ann exclaimed. "How are we going to get that much money?"
Kaneshiro turned towards Eiko, a greedy look in his eyes.
"Well, I hear that this girl comes from a really well-off family." Kaneshiro stated. "Better hope that they're worth at least a few million to them."
Eiko's eye's widened, and she began shaking in fear.
"I… I don't… I'm not…" Eiko mumbled.
"Why do you need so much money, anyway?!" Ann snapped. "You already have so much!"
"You can never have enough money." Kaneshiro told her. "Even if I could afford to blow a billion yen a day, it wouldn't be enough! But… there might be another way that you can pay me back."
"Another way?" Makoto repeated. "How?!"
"Your older sister's a prosecutor… and she's been messin' with my business." Kaneshiro explained. "But I'm sure she'd back off if she thought that her sister was in danger."
Makoto froze. So this was his plan all along. To use her as a hostage so that Sae would call off the investigation.
She had just made everything worse...
"How much does getting justice for your father's death worth to you… surely, it isn't worth more than 6 million yen, is it?" Kaneshiro grinned. "And what about your little friends, miss council president? How much is their safety worth?"
"P-Please… don't involve them." Makoto pleaded.
"It's funny that you think that you're in any position to be bargaining." Kaneshiro grinned.
"You son of a bitch…!" Ryuji snapped. "I'll-"
"Stop it!" Makoto pleated. "I'll… I'll get you your money or whatever you want! Just please… let Eiko and the others go."
"That's more like it. Better start asking mommy and daddy for a bigger allowance." Kaneshiro laughed, before turning to Makoto. "Well, those of you who still have parents anyway."
Makoto fought back tears, cursing her own powerlessness.
"Damn it, like hell we're gonna pay!" Ryuji snapped.
"Ryuji, that's enough!" Ren argued. "We need to make sure everyone gets out safe."
Ryuji scowled, but didn't argue.
"Alright, let them go." Kaneshiro ordered.
The yakuza members let go of Makoto and Eiko, and they quickly ran towards the group.
"Now get out of my sight." Kaneshiro commanded. "And don't come back until you have the money or the investigation's been called off."
"How will you know if the investigation's been called off?" Yusuke asked.
"I have my methods." Kaneshiro grinned.
Makoto quickly gathered the others and led them out of the building, struggling not to look back as Kaneshiro's laughter echoed in the background.
They exited the club and ran a few blocks away. As soon as they had some room to catch their breath, Eiko immediately rushed over to Makoto and hugged her.
"M-Makoto." Eiko whimpered. "I-I was so scared… I thought I was going to die! I… I…"
Makoto slowly returned the hug. "It's ok, Eiko. You're safe now."
"I-I'm sorry that I got you involved." Eiko wept. "I'm so sorry! It's all my fault…"
"It's ok." Makoto assured her. "I'll take care of this."
"R-Really?" Eiko stammered.
"I promise." she told Eiko. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"O-Ok…" Eiko mumbled.
Eiko explained about how Tsukasa and her were ambushed in an alley.
Makoto had her suspicions that Tsukasa might have had something to do with her kidnapping, but kept her theory to herself. There was no need to make Eiko stress out even more than she already was.
"Ok, I'm going to call your brother, alright?" Makoto asked.
"H-Huh? W-Why?" Eiko stammered.
"He asked me to." Makoto told her. "He seemed really worried about you."
"H-He did?" Eiko gasped.
Makoto nodded. "He was…"
"Hey…" Ren trailed off. "Should we tell him about Kaneshiro?"
"I… I'm not sure if mom and dad would pay 6 million yen… not for me." Eiko muttered, the last bit barely a whisper.
She called Aiko, telling him that they had found Eiko, and waited for him to arrive.
"Kidnapped?!"
They filled Aiko in on everything that had happened.
"Why on Earth would you go into some dark alley?!" Aiko snapped. "Don't you know how dangerous that is?! How stupid are y-"
"Hey!" Makoto snapped.
"S-Sorry… sorry…" Eiko stammered, starting to shake as tears started to fall.
Makoto glared at Aiko, causing him to glance away.
"...It's ok." Aiko said. "I was just… really worried."
Aiko took a deep breath before turning back to look at Eiko.
"So… what's going to happen now?" Aiko grimaced. "Is the yakuza going to come after our family?"
"Don't worry, I'll handle this." Makoto assured him. "Kaneshiro… gave me an opportunity. If I did a favor for him, we won't have to pay the money."
"Nothing illegal, I hope." Aiko frowned.
"Nothing like that." Makoto answered, shaking her head. "But you don't have to worry. I'll handle this."
"We're in your debt, Niijima-sempai." Aiko replied, giving a small bow.
"A-Aiko… won't mom and dad be mad that you're here, and not home studying?" Eiko asked.
"That… that's fine." Aiko assured her. "Just let me handle things. I'll think of something."
"Sorry… I'm the older one… but you're always bailing me out of messes." Eiko muttered. "I just wish that there was more that I could do now that we're Kaneshiro's customers."
"Customers…" Makoto repeated. "That's it!"
"H-Huh? What's it?" Eiko asked.
"You've just given me a great idea, Eiko!" Makoto exclaimed. "Thank you!"
"I-I did?" Eiko wondered. "I'm not sure how, but I'm glad… that I could help."
They spoke for a little while longer before Aiko and Eiko went home, leaving Makoto with the rest of Thieves.
"Makoto, you said you had an idea?" Ren brought up. "What was it?"
"You remember how Eiko said that we were Kaneshiro customers?" Makoto asked. "Do you all know what that means?"
"Oh! We can infiltrate his palace now, right?" Ann assumed.
"Exactly." Makoto nodded. "Hopefully, we'll be able to start the infiltration tomorrow. Would that work, everyone?"
They all nodded.
"Also… I wanted to apologize for dragging you all into this." Makoto frowned. "Now that the yakuza is after us… please, be careful, everyone."
"Don't worry about it." Ren told her.
"We have to save our school!" Ann exclaimed.
"We'll all do everything we can to assist you." Yusuke assured her.
"Everyone… thank you." Makoto beamed.
She said her goodbyes to the others before heading home for the day.
6/21 Thursday
Days Until Pics leaked: 18
Today was the day.
As soon as school ended, she wasted no time in gathering the others and making sure that everyone was prepared.
They entered Kaneshiro's palace once again, determined looks on their faces.
"Now, if we really are his customers…" Makoto trailed off.
They approached the floating bank, and sure enough, an escalator descended down, allowing them to reach the palace.
Everyone was silent as they ascended the escalator, even as countless screams rang out from down below, and countless bills flew into the building.
It all served to strengthen Makoto's resolve.
She would show Kaneshiro no mercy.
Makoto opened the doors to the bank, leading the group inside, two guards immediately ran up to them.
"Halt! What business do you have here?!" the guard yelled.
"We're customers of Kaneshiro." Makoto told them. "I'd like to speak with him."
"Do you have an appointment?" the guards asked.
Suddenly, an intercom sounded throughout the room.
"Let them through."
"That sounded like Kaneshiro!" Ryuji shouted.
"...Alright. Come with us to the reception room." the guard ordered.
They followed the guards to the right of the entrance, into a small room filled with large stacks of money.
"Queen, look! More money!" Yusuke said excitedly.
"I could buy a lotta beef bowls with this…" Ryuji said in awe.
Suddenly, the screen turned on, showing Kaneshiro sitting in a security room.
"Unauthorized entry, property damage, and other disturbances…" Kaneshiro listed. "All of that comes out to an even six million yen. You here about that, Miss Beautiful President?"
She clenched her teeth at his condescending tone.
"If you're not willing to speak to your sister, I'd be willing to give you a loan." Kaneshiro grinned.
"I'm not sure taking a loan from you would be a good idea." Ren frowned.
"Don't be so doubtful… the interest rate is only ten percent a day." Kaneshiro replied.
"T-Ten percent…" Ann gasped. "That's… um… one day… um…"
"Six hundred thousand yen a day." Makoto explained.
"The hell?! That's crazy!" Ryuji snapped. "There's no way we can pay that much!"
"There's no need to be alarmed. I have a much more manageable option for people like you." Kaneshiro assured them.
"I'm sure that's what you wanted in the first place." Makoto accused.
"What wonderful insight you have." Kaneshiro smirked. "I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less from the younger sister of the beautiful prosecutor Sae Niijima."
"Don't say her name!" Makoto spat.
Kaneshiro laughed in response. "I never would have thought things would have worked out so well. That such wonderful goods would come falling into my lap."
"Goods?!" Ren exclaimed, eyes narrowing.
"Young women make for the best targets." Kaneshiro claimed. "They lack physical strength and are stupid. They're so useless that it feels like they only exist to be devoured by the strong."
"You truly are despicable." Yusuke frowned.
"The strong conquer the weak. That's just how the world works." Kaneshiro argued.
"Well then you'd better get ready, cause we're gonna kick your ass and steal your treasure!" Ryuji boasted.
"Petty thieves…!" Kaneshiro snapped. "If you won't pay with money, then you'll pay with your lives!"
Several guards rushed into the room, transforming into red, ogre like creatures wielding giant clubs.
"They look strong. Keep your distance." Makoto ordered.
She dodged out of the way of the shadow's club before firing off a Frei spell.
The other thieves fired off their spells, dealing lots of damage to the shadow, but it was still standing.
"Doesn't this thing have a weakness?!" Mona exclaimed before gasping. "Queen, look out!"
The weakened shadow raised its club to strike, so Makoto quickly brought out her new gun and fired.
It did little damage, but to Makoto's surprise, her bullets had managed to shock the shadow.
"Now's my chance." Makoto muttered. "Frei!"
She blasted the first shadow apart with her spell but was blindsided with the other one's club.
"Urk!" she groaned.
"Queen!" Ren cried.
"Hit them with ailments!" Makoto yelled.
"G-Got it!" Ren nodded. "Dormina!"
Ren lured the shadow to sleep, and Ryuji and Yusuke quickly rushed it, knocking it to the ground so that they could finish it off with an All-Out Attack.
"Heh, that wasn't so bad." Mona grinned.
As soon as he said that, however, more guards immediately entered the room, transforming into shadows.
This time, however, they charged straight towards Ren, not wanting to be lulled to sleep.
"Oh no you don't!" Ryuji yelled.
Ryuji and Yusuke moved to intercept the shadows but were quickly batted away by the shadow's superior strength.
Ren tried to fire off a Dormina spell, but the shadow smacked him with his club, knocking him to the ground.
"That's enough!" Makoto shouted.
She fired several shots from her gun. The shadows dodged, not wanting to be shocked, but the distraction allowed Morgana enough time to start healing.
The shadow renewed their assault, hoping to stop Morgana, only for Ann to get in front of them.
"O-Ok. Let's try this." Ann stammered. "M-Marin Karin!"
Ann struck a pose, causing one of the shadows to freeze in place… and then begin attacking its teammate.
The shadow cried out in pain, the sudden betrayal taking it by surprise.
"Panther must have charmed it!" Makoto realized. "Now's our chance!"
The two shadows were too busy fighting each other, not able to focus on the Thieves as they struck them with multiple spells, bringing them down.
"Alright, let's retreat before more of them ambush us!" Morgana recommended.
"What?! Why would we retreat?!" Makoto exclaimed. "We finally have the chance to take down Kaneshiro!"
"If we stay much longer, we'll have every security guard in the palace on us!" Morgana argued.
As such as she hated to admit it, Makoto knew that Morgana had a point.
"...Alright, we'll retreat." Makoto agreed. "Let's run towards the entrance!"
Everyone followed her out of the reception room, trying to head towards the entrance, only to find it blocked by more guards.
"Ugh… how many of them are there?!" Ann cried.
"You seem to be in quite the pickle."
The thieves whipped around, coming face to face with Kaneshiro's shadow.
Now that she got a good look at them, she saw that Kaneshiro's shadow was much taller and more muscular than his real life self.
"Kaneshiro, you little sneak!" Mona snapped.
"Heh, that's rich coming from a thief." Kaneshiro laughed. "Getting rid of troublesome customers like you will set a great example."
"Leave them alone!" Makoto pleaded. "They have nothing to do with this! I'm your main customer, aren't I?"
"Exactly. I wouldn't want to hurt my 'precious goods', but the rest of you are fair game." Kaneshiro explained. "Of course, once I've sold you off, I could have a lot of fun with your sister. I could make her my own personal slave."
"S-Stop!" Makoto stammered. "Stop involving everyone I care about!"
"Maybe you should have thought about it before you started sticking your nose where it didn't belong." Kaneshiro smirked. "But I guess that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh?"
"You…" Makoto scowled.
"Your daddy must be rolling in his grave seeing what a stupid daughter he had." Kaneshiro grinned. "Well, assuming there's even enough left of him to roll around. I bet getting hit by a truck would really fuck you up."
"Hang on!" Ren yelled. "How do you know so much about Makoto's father?!"
"Cause I'm the one who's responsible for his death!" Kaneshiro laughed. "I'm the one that called for a psychotic breakdown in the truck driver!"
"So you really are the one behind them!" Ren snapped. "Do you realize how many lives you've ruined?!"
"Don't know. I lost track a long time ago." Kaneshiro scoffed. "Why ask me such a stupid question?"
"Do you really not care at all for any of your victims?!" Ann cried.
"Of course not. I told you, didn't I? This is how the world works." Kaneshiro told them. "The weak devour the strong, and anyone who tries to rebel against that system is punished."
"The hell? What kind of effed up system is that?!" Ryuji raged.
"It's the one we have. Why do you think I haven't been captured yet?" Kaneshiro asked. "It's because I've got powerful connections. Politicians, police, and all kinds of people in high places. People who will look the over way when it comes to my crimes, and help me cover them up…"
"Are you saying… that the real cause of my father's death was covered up?!" Makoto exclaimed. "And that the police were in on it?!"
"They were pretty quick to label it as an accident." Kaneshiro smirked. "The rank and file probably didn't know, but the higher ups certainly did."
"The police, the principal… how many people do you have under your control…?" Yusuke muttered.
"This entire district belongs to me!" Kaneshiro exclaimed. "Shinjuku, Shibuya… soon all of Tokyo will belong to me! Things would have been so much easier for you brats if you just did what you were told."
"Do as I'm told…?" Makoto scowled.
"You wouldn't be in this situation if you kept your head low and ignored other people suffering like the rest of society." Kaneshiro chastised. "And your father would still be alive if he realized that his job as an officer isn't to protect the people, but the interests of powerful men like me!"
Makoto's fist clenched, her anger rising by the second.
"But instead, he acted like some naive fool that believed that there's any sort of justice in this world." Kaneshiro continued. "And ended up dying a stupid, pointless dea-"
*BAM*
Makoto slammed her fist into Kaneshiro's face, sending him flying across the room.
"I'LL CRUSH YOU, ASSHOLE!" Makoto screamed, running towards him.
Kaneshiro slowly got up, clenching his jaw, before narrowly dodging another punch.
If looks could kill, Makoto's glare would have reduced Kaneshiro to a bloody mess, the force of her punch being so strong that it dented the steel wall behind Kaneshiro.
"G-Guards! What the hell are you doing?!" Kaneshiro roared. "Take her down or I'll kill you myself!"
The shadows guarding the exit ran towards Makoto, being led by one oni-looking creature with purple skin and long black hair.
The purple shadow summoned a large blizzard, obscuring their vision.
"Ahh! I can't see a thing!" Morgana cried. "We need to-GAH!"
Queen quickly picked up on their strategy. The purple shadow would obscure their vision with a blizzard, while the other shadows picked them off one by one.
She quickly devised a countermeasure.
"...Panther. Burn it away!" Makoto coldly ordered.
Panther let loose a Maragi, pushing back against the blizzard.
One of the shadows got too close to the flames, burning itself, and Makoto fired a Frei spell at them, knocking it to the ground for the others to finish off.
The other red shadow tried to approach her, only for her to fire her gun at it, stun it, and blast it with another Frei spell.
She slowly approached the final shadow, who backed away in fear.
"S-Stay back!" the purple shadow pleaded. "Don't hurt me."
Don't let them get away with what they did. Crush them. Kill them.
Her inner voice was crying out for vengeance, and she would have it.
"Freila!" Makoto shouted, blasting the shadow with a large amount of nuclear energy.
The shadow screamed in pain as it collapsed to the floor in pain. Makoto walked up to the downed shadow, slamming her foot onto the shadow's stomach, and glaring daggers at it.
"P-Please…" the shadow begged.
Makoto slammed her fist into its face, finishing it off for good.
"Queen…" Ren trailed off. "Is everything ok?"
Makoto turned around, seeing the concerned and exhausted faces of her teammates.
"...I'm fine." Makoto muttered. "We should go now, before more come."
"We should… probably give it a few days before returning." Morgana advised. "Let things calm down for a bit, you know?
Makoto reluctantly agreed, seeing how exhausted everyone was, and they returned to the real world, but she could sense a certain tension as they did.
As they left, Kaneshiro re-entered the room, having seen the entire thing.
"That girl… she's stronger than I thought." Kaneshiro muttered. "But it doesn't matter. She's still nothing compared to me. I've spared no expense in making sure I have the highest quality security. I know this…"
He scowled, glancing at his arm.
"So why… am I shaking?" Kaneshiro muttered. "That shouldn't be, unless..."
Kaneshiro gave a soft chuckle.
"Ah, I see. It's been a long time… since I've felt fear…"
As soon as they returned, Makoto turned to face the team.
"Everyone, I-"
"Is it true that that guy killed your dad, Makoto?" Ryuji asked.
"Ryuji!" Ann scolded.
"It's alright." Makoto told them "And… yes, he confirmed it to me when I was with him at his little hideout."
"Makoto, I'm so sorry…" Ann muttered.
"It must have been very hard for you." Yusuke added.
"I'm… ok." she murmured. "It's just another reason why we need to take him down."
"Makoto… if you ever want to talk, we're all here for you." Ann promised.
"...Madarame did many terrible things, partially due to Kaneshiro's blackmailing." Yusuke muttered. "I… don't claim to understand exactly what you're going through, but I'll be willing to help you."
"We'll do everything we can to help you bring down Kaneshiro!" Ryuji promised. "We'll make sure that he never messes with anyone else!"
"We're partners, aren't we?" Morgana asked. "So you can count on me too!"
"You've always been there for us, Makoto." Ren smiled. "So let us be there for you."
"Everyone…" Makoto whispered. "Thank you…!"
She tried her hardest to hold back her tears.
She would be strong.
For them, and the rest of the students.
She said her goodbyes, and headed home for the day.
6/22 Friday
Days Until Pics leaked: 17
School seemed to go by quickly, and she was thankful to seemingly have a day to relax after yesterday had been so hectic. Except...
It was storming heavily outside.
She hated lightning storms. They always reminded her of the day her father died. When the police came to their home and informed Sae and her about their father's passing.
Morgana was peacefully sleeping at the foot of her bed, but she found herself unable to sleep, even if it was well past midnight.
Suddenly, a large flash of lightning shut off the power in her home, shutting off all the lights.
"Ahh!" Makoto squeaked, the loud boom of lightning frightening her.
She hated how weak and helpless she felt. Why did she have to be afraid of a simple storm?
She glanced over at Morgana, who was still sleeping soundly.
She nervously took out her phone.
"This is pathetic…" Makoto muttered. "There's no way that he'll answer."
She dialed the number and waited.
"...Makoto?"
"Ren?!" she gasped.
"Makoto, is something wrong?" Ren asked. "It's really late."
"I know, I know… I just…" Makoto trailed off. "There was a very harsh storm outside, and…"
"Trouble falling asleep?" Ren asked.
"I'm sorry… I must sound so pathetic." Makoto muttered. "It's just… on the day that dad died… it was storming just like this."
"It's alright." Ren assured her. "We're all afraid of something. Did you want to talk for a bit to take your mind off of the storm?"
"You don't mind?" she asked.
"It's alright. After everything that's happened lately, I've been a little restless myself." Ren admitted.
"Still, I'd rather not take advantage of your generosity." Makoto told him. "I'll try not to make a habit of this."
"Really, it's fine, Makoto." Ren insisted. "Like I said, you can let us be there for you too."
"Thank you." she expressed. "But… I'm not really sure what to talk about."
"Maybe… you could talk about your father. It might help." Ren suggested. "Of course, you don't have to if you're uncomfortable."
"Well, alright… maybe it will help." Makoto smiled. "My father… he wasn't home a lot when I was little, so I'd always get upset. I suppose I was a little spoiled when I was little…"
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to spend more time with family." Ren told her.
"Maybe… anyway, outside of work, he always made sure to spend as much time with Sis and I as possible." Makoto recalled. "Father… was very kind and had a strong sense of justice. I… I've always looked up to him."
She gave a small laugh.
"I remember some of the mischief Sis and I would get into when we were little." Makoto smiled. "Some days, we'd play cop and robber with dad, and use our plushies as hostages. We'd also try to sneak into the living room late at night when dad was watching cop shows, even though we were too young to watch them." Makoto smiled. "Sis would try to hide behind some manga while she was sneaking around."
"Is that where you got that from?!" Ren exclaimed, laughing.
"H-Hey! Don't tell me you still haven't forgotten about that!" Makoto stammered. "C-Come on, you have to have some silly stories too, don't you?"
"Well, my mom likes to put her hair in a bun, so when I was little, I would always smack and tug on it."
"Aww… that's so cute." Makoto giggled. "Speaking of hair, was yours just as messy when you were younger?"
"It was!" Ren laughed. "My mom would spend so long trying to comb it, only for it to just get messy again a little bit later."
"Haha, I can imagine." Makoto laughed. "It sounds like you have lots of fond memories of your mom."
"Ah… yeah…" Ren murmured.
"Hmm? Is something wrong?" she asked.
"No, it's nothing." Ren insisted. "Anyway, back when I was little-"
The two of them continued sharing stories about their childhoods, and all of the fun memories they had.
The two of them talked like that for a long while…
"Oh my goodness! I didn't even realize how late it was!" Makoto exclaimed.
"Well, is the storm over?" Ren asked.
"It… is!" Makoto realized. "Thank you, Ren, for distracting me. I think I'll be able to get some sleep in."
"I'm glad. You seemed to be really stressed lately." Ren mentioned.
"There's been a lot going on…" Makoto admitted.
"Well, maybe you could talk to Dr. Maruki." Ren suggested. "Obviously, you wouldn't tell him everything, but he could still help a little."
"I'll consider it." she replied.
"And, well, if things get too tough… we could always consider telling your sister about Kaneshiro and having her drop the case against him." Ren said.
"...I… I'm not sure she would drop it." Makoto admitted.
"What? But she's your sister, isn't she?" Ren asked.
"She is, but… ever since dad died, we've been growing more and more apart." Makoto muttered. "We had a falling out recently..."
"What do you mean?" Ren asked.
"She… she called me useless…" Makoto whispered. "And that I only ate away at her life."
"WHAT?!" Ren exclaimed. "Why would she say that?!"
"It's… it's my fault." Makoto whispered. "Sis was feeling so stressed, and I was speaking about father around her. It… was a sore subject."
"Makoto, that's not your fault. Sore subject or not, she shouldn't have said something horrible like that to you." Ren told her.
"But Sis… she has a commendable job, and she's a much more remarkable person than me…" Makoto trailed off. "All I can do is cook and clean… I can't help support us in any way."
"That's not your fault, Makoto. You didn't ask to be in this situation." Ren told her. "And trust me, nobody on the team considers you a burden, useless, or anything like that."
"Ren…"
"You've already helped so many people, including us, Makoto." Ren smiled. "So don't look down on yourself, ok?"
"T-Thanks… you're sweet." she beamed.
"Y-Yeah, anytime." Ren stammered.
"So, um…"
"Uhh…"
"I should…"
"I'll just..."
"H-Hang up. Good night, Makoto." Ren said.
"Good night, Ren." Makoto replied.
She ended the call before slowly drifting to sleep, dreaming about a certain boy with black, messy hair.
FOOL CONFIDANT: RANK 6
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 6
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 5
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 4
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 4
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 4
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 4
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 4
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 4
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 4
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 2
THE STAR - Hifumi Togo: Rank 1
THE DEVIL - Mitsuhide Matsuoka: Rank 1
THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 1
THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 2
THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 2
THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 1
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 2
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 2
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 3
THE JUDGEMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 3
THE COUNCILLOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 3
Are the Phantom Thieves just? Yes 5.0%