7/23 Saturday
As soon as she woke up, she turned on the Metanav.
She needed to check if it was even possible to change Futaba's heart.
Sure enough, when she entered the name, a match was found, and the Metanav began asking her for keywords.
"Keywords…" Makoto muttered. "So, her desires are distorted enough to have formed a palace."
"That complicates things." Morgana frowned.
She could only hope that Alibaba would contact her again so that she could possibly get more information out of them.
When classes ended for the day, she stared at her phone, hoping that she would be contacted again.
After a few moments of waiting…
Alibaba: Have you started changing the target's heart?
Makoto: We need more information. We need the source of the target's distortion.
Alibaba: What do you mean?
Makoto: For example, Kaneshiro's distortion took place at Shujin Academy, because that was where he was abusing the students.
Alibaba: So you need a location significant to the victim?
Makoto: Yes, that's right.
Alibaba: Never mind then. I'm calling this off.
"What?!" Makoto gasped. "Why are they calling it off so suddenly?"
Makoto: Hold on, why is that a problem?
Alibaba: I can't meet with you directly or give up Futaba's location.
Alibaba: So I'm calling this off. Don't worry about your identities. I won't tell the police.
Alibaba: Sorry for wasting your time.
Makoto: Hold on! Who are you?! How did you contact me?!
Alibaba: Enough! I told you the deal is over. We will never meet, and this is the last time that we speak to each other.
Makoto tried to type another response, only for her to receive an error.
After putting her phone away, she couldn't help but let out a groan in frustration.
"They cut contact." Makoto muttered.
"Now what are we going to do?" Morgana frowned. "We can't just let Medjed do whatever they want!"
"Futaba Sakura is still our only lead." Makoto stated. "We have to try and find out what we can about her. She just might be the key to all of this."
"Shouldn't we be careful?" Morgana asked. "I don't know if Alibaba would appreciate us snooping around… although…"
"What is it?"
"I was wondering why they don't like us snooping." Morgana frowned. "They want us to change Futaba's heart, so why would it matter where her distortion is?"
It had been playing on her mind as well. She began to closely think about what all of Alibaba's actions could mean.
"I wonder… maybe Alibaba is closer to Futaba than we think." Makoto said.
"Closer than we… wait! You don't think that they're the same person, do you?!" Morgana asked.
"It's certainly possible." Makoto replied. "I think… I might have to end up having to take Boss up on his offer soon…"
"It's our best chance for piecing things together." Morgana advised. "Let's make sure that we do this right!"
"Oh course." Makoto nodded. "I'll have everyone meet up again tomorrow."
She grabbed her things and left the school, getting another text on her phone as she did so.
Shiho: Hello Makoto. Would you like to spend some time together? If that's ok?
She let out a smile, happy to see that Shiho was healthy enough to be out and about more often.
She texted her reply before setting out to spend time with her.
She met Shiho at her home, and wheeled her over to a nearby park, the two of them sitting at a nearby bench.
"How's everything been?" Makoto asked.
"It's been… good." Shiho responded. "I'm glad that I'll be out of the wheelchair by the time school starts up again."
"I'm glad to hear that… although, I'm sure you'll have a lot of studying to do in order to catch up, right?" Makoto asked.
"Y-You'll help me, right?" Shiho stammered. "It's really daunting to do all of that studying by myself!"
"Oh course I will." Makoto promised. "I'd be happy to help you."
"Thank you." Shiho smiled. "I'm sure that I'll catch up in no time with your help."
"Just let me know when you want to get started." Makoto told her.
The two of them talked for a little while longer until a girl around her age walked up to them, surprised at seeing Shiho.
"Oh… it's you." the girl muttered.
"Ah… um…" Shiho muttered.
"Shiho, do you know who this is?" Makoto asked.
"Oh course she knows who I am." the girl scoffed. "She knows what she did to me."
"I…I'm sorry…" Shiho muttered as she glanced at the ground.
"What she did to you?" Makoto repeated. "What are you talking about?"
"Why don't you ask her?" the other girl frowned.
She turned towards Shiho, who quickly glanced away.
"What's wrong? Are you going to ruin her life too?" the girl scoffed.
"I… I…" Shiho stammered.
"Hold on a moment!" Makoto snapped. "What are you talking about?!"
"Don't you remember?!" the girl frowned. "It's all her fault that the volleyball team got disbanded! The rest of us dreamed of going pro, but she ruined it for all of us!"
Shiho said nothing as she shut her eyes.
"If it wasn't for the little stunt you pulled… Kamoshida would have still been with us. He could have brought us to nationals if it wasn't for you!" the girl snapped.
"That's what this is about?!" Makoto snapped. "What's wrong with you?! What happened was Kamoshida's fault, not Shiho's!"
"Shut up! It's all… all a bunch of lies!" the other girl cried.
Seeing Shiho on the verge of tears, Makoto shot one of her fierce glares towards the other girl, who took a step back in response.
"I'm going to ask you this one." Makoto said, eerily calm. "Leave. Now!"
The other girl scoffed, but thankfully walked away and let them alone.
Makoto immediately turned back towards Shiho.
"Shiho, don't listen to her." Makoto comforted.
"But she's right." Shiho frowned. "I let Kayo and the rest of the volleyball team down."
"Kayo… so that was that girl's name?" Makoto asked.
Shiho nodded. "She was one of the best members on the team. We were always pushing each other to be our best. But after the incident…"
"Oh. I see…" Makoto trailed off.
"That's why… I'm so afraid of confronting the rest of the team…" Shiho whispered. "They must all feel the same way about me."
"Shiho, you can't think like that." Makoto comforted. "I'm sure most of them understood your situation."
"You think so…?" Shiho wondered.
"I know so." Makoto promised. "I'm sure that all of you had to deal with Kamoshida's abuses to a degree, so most of them would sympathize."
"I hope so." Shiho muttered.
"Shiho, if anyone tries to harass you like that again, let me know, ok?" Makoto requested. "I want to help you however I can."
"…O-Ok. Thank you, Makoto." Shiho whispered. "Thank you so much… for everything."
She could feel herself growing closer to Shiho.
SUN CONFIDANT: RANK 6
After speaking with Shiho for a little longer, she brought her home and went back to her own home for the day.
7/24 Sunday
She quickly set up a meeting with the other Thieves in the afternoon so that they could set up the plan.
Still, she couldn't help but feel nervous about the entire situation.
Medjed, Alibaba, Futaba… Sae's investigations into Boss and his involvement… the entire situation definitely seemed bigger than she first thought.
She decided to go to the gym, hoping that it would at least calm her nerves.
When she arrived, she saw a familiar face getting in a workout.
"Oh, Makigami-kun, hello." Makoto greeted.
"Hello, Niijima-san." Naoya smiled. "It's good to see you. How have you been?"
"I've been… fine." Makoto replied. "What about you?"
"I've, um… also been fine." Naoya answered. "I've just been practicing my kendo lately. Although it's always better to practice with a partner."
"Then would you like me to spar with you?" Makoto asked.
"I would like that very much." Naoya smiled.
She played a few practice matches against Naoya, but quickly noticed that something felt off.
Normally, she would struggle to land even a single blow against him, but this time, she easily managed to land blow after blow on him.
"Makigami-kun, is everything ok?" Makoto asked.
"Y-Yeah… everything's fine." Naoya panted. "I just… I'm just tired. Studying for exams and everything…"
"Well, ok…" Makoto frowned, not entirely convinced.
This time, Naoya was paying more attention, but seemed to be straining himself in the process.
Before she could ask if he was ok again, he collapsed to his knees, clutching his arm and groaning in pain.
"M-Makigami-kun!" Makoto cried.
She rushed over and carefully lifted his arm and sleeve, gasping at the numerous bruises on his arm.
"D-Did I… I-I'm so sorry!" Makoto stammered. "Let me-"
"I-It's fine!" Naoya shouted, startling her. "You… you aren't the one who did this…"
"I'm not? Then who did?" Makoto asked.
"I… just pushed myself too hard during training one day, that's all." Naoya claimed
"How did training too hard lead to… this?" Makoto asked.
"It was just an accident!" Naoya cried. "Really, it was!"
"If you say so…" Makoto frowned. "But try to be more careful in the future, ok?"
"Yes, of course. I know better now." Naoya muttered.
"And, if you ever get into any more… accidents, let me know, ok?" Makoto requested.
"Y-Yeah, I will." Naoya promised.
"Will you be able to get home by yourself?" Makoto said, still worried.
"Yes, I-I'll be fine." Naoya mumbled. "But to be honest… I'd rather you just forget about the whole thing."
"What? Why?"
"Because… it isn't really that big of a deal, is it?" Naoya claimed. "It's… just a couple of bruises, that's all."
"A couple of bruises that caused you to collapse." Makoto pointed out.
"R-Really, it's fine. I'll just get some rest and be fine." Naoya told her.
She could tell that he was hiding something but felt that she wouldn't be able to get it out of him right now.
Still, she didn't want him getting hurt again, so she would have to keep a close eye on him.
She felt a strong urge to protect him, and with it,
she could feel the bond between herself and Naoya growing.
TEMPERANCE CONFIDANT: RANK 4
The talked for a little while longer until someone approached them.
"Yo, Naoya! Gettin' some training in?"
"O-Oh. H-Hey, Kazuya." Naoya murmured.
"How about getting some kendo practice with me?" Kazuya asked.
"A-Actually, I'm feeling really tired right now." Naoya excused. "Maybe we can spar another day…"
Kazuya let out a groan. "Come on, Naoya, how are you going to be the best if you keep skipping out on training."
"He can't train right now." Makoto said, defending him. "He's inju-"
"Ok, I'll spar with you!" Naoya quickly said, cutting her off. "Let's go."
"That's what I like to hear!" Kazuya grinned. "All right then, let's go."
"Makigami-kun…" Makoto trailed off. "Are you-"
"I'm sure!" he insisted. "Really, it's fine."
Makoto watched as the two brothers walked off, a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Unfortunately, she didn't have time to dwell on it, however, because the team meeting was starting soon…
She met with the rest of the team near Leblanc, ready to execute the plan.
"So are we really doing this?" Ann asked. "What if we get caught?"
"If we're getting to do this, we should do it now." Ren brought up. "Sojiro told me that he's going to the store soon."
"But what about Alibaba?" Yusuke asked. "Would they approve of us going behind their back and possibly changing Futaba's heart anyway?"
"About that… I actually had a theory." Makoto said. "A theory that Alibaba and Futaba… are the same person."
"For real?!" Ryuji exclaimed. "How?!"
"I was wondering why it would matter that we have to meet with Futaba, and then I started to wonder how Alibaba would know that Futaba's heart was changed." Makoto explained.
"Then she wants us to change her own heart?" Yusuke asked.
"Maybe she did go through something traumatic." Ann muttered. "And she wants us to help her with it by changing her heart."
"Still, it's kinda late, ain't it?" Ryuji pointed out. "What are we gonna say to him if he catches us?"
"We'll bring him some takeout sushi as thanks." Makoto suggested. "He offered to let me stay at his place if I had to, so we'll use that as an excuse."
"Sounds like a plan." Ren nodded. "If you guys are all ready, we can go get the sushi and then I'll lead you all to Boss' house."
After grabbing the sushi, they made their way to Sojiro's home.
"Looks like he still isn't home." Ren muttered. "The lights are on, and the door is a little open, but no one's answering the doorbell."
"Then is Futaba not here either?" Ann asked.
"Maybe she just won't open the door if Boss isn't with her." Yusuke said.
"Well… it's prolly ok if we just go in, right?" Ryuji grinned.
"Let's just hurry up!" Morgana shouted. "It's starting to rain!"
"Sorry about this, Boss." Makoto whispered.
She slowly opened the door, the six of them entering one by one.
The inside of the house was pitch black.
She hated the dark…
But she would be fine, as long as there wasn't-
*BOOM*
…lightning.
Makoto let out a gasp, clinging to the closest thing in reach.
Which happened to be Ren.
"M-Makoto!" Ren stammered.
"S-Sorry." Makoto whimpered. "Um… could I hold your hand?!"
"Y-Yeah… s-sure…" Ren stuttered.
Suddenly, they heard an unfamiliar voice.
"Lewd."
"WHO SAID THAT?!" Makoto shrieked, now fully gripping onto Ren's entire arm.
"Who the eff said that?!" Ryuji exclaimed. "That wasn't Boss' voice!"
"There's someone else in this house besides us…" Yusuke whispered.
"H-Hello?" Ann nervously called. "Alibaba? Futaba?"
Everyone glanced around, trying to find out where the voice had come from.
"Oh no… my legs… w-won't move…" Makoto muttered.
She fell to her knees, still gripping to Ren's arm.
"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorrySispleasesaveme!" Makoto cried out, overwhelmed by fear.
"H-Hey, it's ok, Makoto." Ren assured her. "It's going to be ok. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you, ok?"
"T-Thank you…" Makoto mumbled.
Despite his assurances, however, she still let out a gasp when she heard footsteps behind her.
"W-Who's there?!" Makoto exclaimed.
"They're gettin' closer!" Ryuji shouted.
The footsteps crept closer and closer until they were right behind the two of them.
Ren and Makoto slowly looked behind them, a flash of lightning happening at the same time, revealing a girl behind them.
Makoto let out a scream, causing the girl behind them to scream as well.
The girl quickly ran off, but Makoto's hands started clinging to Ren's leg.
"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" Makoto cried.
"M-Makoto, let go of my pants!" Ren stammered. "You're going to- "
"What's going on here?!"
Boss' voice rang throughout the house.
"Shit! Boss is already back!" Ryuji panicked.
"We need to hide!" Ann exclaimed.
Ann, Ryuji, and Yusuke quickly moved to a hiding spot, but Makoto found herself frozen in the spot.
"M-Makoto, we need to-"
"Who's there?!" Sojiro shouted.
Sojiro quickly turned on the lights, immediately catching Ren and Makoto.
"You… and Niijima-san?" Sojiro questioned, before his eyes widened at their position "Wait, are you two dating?"
"Huh?!" The two of them exclaimed.
Sojiro sighed. "Hoo boy… if you wanted some alone time, you could have gone to the attic at the cafe."
It was at that moment that Makoto realized what a… compromising position they were in.
"Eep!"
Makoto quickly detached herself from Ren, her face as red as a tomato.
"Wha-What are… that's not… we're not… I mean… we're just friends!" Makoto cried.
"Y-Yeah… that's right!" Ren stammered.
"Friends do things like this now…?" Sojiro muttered.
The others came out of their hiding place, surprising Sojiro.
"Heeeey, Boss." Ann said, a little embarrassed.
"You three too? What's going on here?" Sojiro asked.
"Ummm, well…" Ann mumbled.
"Makoto wanted to thank you for everything that you'd done, so she came to us for some ideas." Ren lied. "So we decided to all chip in and get you some nice sushi."
"Y-Yeah." Makoto nodded, playing along. "But when we got here, the light was on and the door was open, so we were worried."
"Did I really leave the front door unlocked again?" Sojiro muttered. "I must be getting old…"
"Um, Boss… while we were here, we saw… someone else." Ann brought up. "A girl, maybe a little younger than us. Do they… live here too?"
Sojiro let out a sigh. "Guess there's no point in hiding it. That's Futaba Sakura… my daughter."
Even if they had suspected it, it was still a surprise to hear confirmation of it from Boss himself.
"I should apologize to her." Makoto suggested. "I must have frightened her."
"Err, well… about that…" Sojiro muttered.
"What's wrong? Is she sick?" Ren asked.
Sojiro scratched the back of his head, as if wondering how to respond.
"We should go to Leblanc for now." Sojiro said. "I'll explain everything there."
As Sojiro led them out of his house, she couldn't help but wonder what the rest of the story could possibly be.
They all sat down when they arrived back at Leblanc, grim expressions on their faces.
Ren immediately tried to lighten the mood.
"Boss, you never told me I had a little sister!" Ren joked.
"Can it, brat." Sojiro grumbled. "Anyway, she is my daughter… but not by blood."
"So she's adopted?" Ryuji asked.
Sojiro nodded. "I was a friend of her mother's, so I took Futaba in after her mother's death. Her mother… she was a brilliant woman. Smart, carefree, and a little awkward, but still amazing."
"What about her, um… biological father?" Makoto asked.
"Well, there is a father, but… he just wasn't around." Sojiro frowned.
"That must have been hard for them." Ren frowned.
"Ren…" Makoto trailed off.
"How did she die?" Ryuji asked.
"Ryuji!" Ann snapped.
"It's fine." Sojiro muttered. "Futaba's mother… committed suicide."
"S-Suicide…?!" Ann gasped.
"She threw herself into the street, right in front of Futaba's eyes." Sojiro recalled.
"I… I can't imagine how traumatic that would be for her." Makoto whispered.
"A while after that, I got custody of Futaba, but she was so depressed at first she wouldn't even talk to me." Sojiro frowned. "When she finally opened up to me… I found out that she blames herself for her mother's death."
"That's horrible!" Ren exclaimed. "Why would she think that?!"
"That I don't know." Sojiro frowned. "I didn't want to pry, thinking I'd make things worse… but her condition worsened recently anyway. A few months ago, she started telling me that she'd been hearing voices and seeing things."
"They must be hallucinations." Yusuke realized. "Have you taken her to a doctor?"
"She refuses to leave her room." Sojiro sighed. "So when I called one to the house, she locked herself in her house. She doesn't leave that room except to eat or bathe."
"Does everyone include you?" Yusuke asked.
"It does." Sojiro nodded. "Futaba… well, she's a unique girl. She can go on and on about things she's interested in, and quickly switch from topic to topic. It's hard for me to keep up."
"I see… now I understand why you don't want me staying at your house." Ren realized.
"Futaba needs a safe place where she won't feel threatened." Sojiro explained. "I know staying it's no way to live, but I don't know what to do. I don't want to pressure her to change. Still…I just want her to be happy."
Hearing Sojiro's story made her feel like she understood him a little more, and gained more respect for him.
She felt as if her bond with Sojiro had grown stronger.
HIEROPHANT CONFIDANT: RANK 5
"Um…" Makoto trailed off.
"Yeah?"
"Since you offered before, I was going to ask if it would be ok if I stayed the night." Makoto asked. "But now that I know about Futaba…"
"It's fine, you can stay. I guess since you already know about Futaba, there's no problem with you staying over." Sojiro said. "Just… try not to scare or bother her, ok?"
"Of course. Thank you very much." Makoto expressed. "I'll meet you there."
"Alright. The rest of you should be getting home soon too." Sojiro said before leaving.
"Man… after hearing that, there's no way he's abusin' her." Ryuji concluded.
"Of course not." Ren said.
"Still, I need to go and talk to Futaba if I can." Makoto stated.
"To get the keywords?" Ann asked.
"Exactly." Makoto nodded.
"Good luck." Ren replied. "Hopefully we'll be able to help her soon."
She discussed the plan with the others for a little longer before leaving for Sojiro's home.
She decided to text Sae and let her know where she would be.
Makoto: Sis, I'm staying over at a friend's house for a night, if that's ok. I'll be sure to get some studying in.
She waited about ten minutes before letting out a sigh.
"Guess she's not responding." Makoto frowned. "I don't know what I expected…"
She arrived at Sojiro's home, staying in a small guest room.
In the dead of night, Makoto carefully snuck her way out of her room, making her way to Futaba's room.
She gently knocked on the door. "Futaba?"
No response.
"…Alibaba?"
She felt her phone buzz.
Alibaba: I'm not talking.
"That's fine, you can just keep texting me." Makoto told her.
Alibaba: What do you want?
"I want to change your heart, like we talked about." Makoto answered.
Alibaba: I thought I told you to forget about that.
"Boss… er, your father wants you to be happy, and so do we." Makoto insisted.
Alibaba: I am happy.
"What?"
Alibaba: I know of a place where you never get harmed… A magical place with magical charms. Indoors! Indoors! Indoooooooors!
"Futaba!" Makoto hissed. "Be serious!"
Makoto let out a sigh.
"If you really are happy, then fine." Makoto began. "But if you're still hurting… then please, let us know. We want to help you, Futaba… but you have to trust us."
Several minutes passed without a response from Futaba, but she could tell that she was typing something. She must have been nervous.
Finally, after about ten minutes of waiting…
Alibaba: What do you want to know?
Finally, a breakthrough!, Makoto thought.
She thought carefully about what to ask her, and how it could relate to the keywords.
"What is it like living here?" Makoto asked.
Alibaba: It's painful…
"Why can't you go outside?" Makoto asked.
Alibaba: Because… this place… is my tomb. I'm going to die here…
"You can't think like that!" Makoto cried.
Alibaba: How much longer will this go on?
She didn't want to push her too far.
"That's all for now. Thank you, Futaba." Makoto expressed. "And… I promise that we'll do everything we can to help you."
Makoto returned to her room, and as she lay down in bed, she began to think about Futaba's words.
"Tomb…" Makoto muttered. "Tomb…"
"Did you figure something out?" Morgana asked.
"I just might have." Makoto replied.
Makoto opened up the Metanav, going back to try entering the keywords to Futaba's palace.
"Futaba Sakura, Sojiro Sakura's house, and… tomb." Makoto muttered.
All three keywords were accepted, so she quickly exited the Metanav before navigation had begun.
"That's it!" Morgana exclaimed. "Those were the keywords that we were looking for!"
"Then… we'll have to change her heart soon." Makoto said. "She must be in so much pain… I want to help her if I can."
"Alright. We'll go and tell the others and make preparations tomorrow." Morgana responded.
Her mind made up, Makoto drifted off to sleep.
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 7
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 6
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 5
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 5
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 5
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 5
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 6
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 5
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 5
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 4
THE STAR - Hifumi Togo: Rank 3
THE DEVIL - Mitsuhide Matsuoka: Rank 2
THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 2
THE DEATH - Yohei Kiritani: Rank 1
THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 3
THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 3
THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 3
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 4
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 3
THE PRIESTESS - Kasumi Yoshizawa: Rank 1
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 4
THE JUDGEMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 4
THE COUNCILLOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 5