Sae frowned, glancing at her laptop in frustration.
"Any progress, Sae-san?"
She glanced at Akechi, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"The more I look into this, the deeper it goes." Sae responded. "But people are losing more and more faith in the police and gaining more faith in the Phantom Thieves!"
"Yes, I've certainly caught a fair bit of flak for some of my comments about them." Akechi stated. "Even so, it's imperative that we catch them as soon as possible."
"I know that." Sae scoffed.
"Do you have any leads?" Akechi asked.
"Okumura Foods." Sae stated.
"… What about them?" Akechi frowned.
"A lot of Okumura Food's competition suffered from mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns." Sae noted. "Sometimes they would suddenly show strange behavior that gave them bad PR… and sometimes they would get into accidents resulting in death."
"That seems like a bit of a stretch, don't you think?" Akechi asked.
"That's what I thought at first…" Sae muttered. "But they all exhibited similar signs, and none of them happened more than three years ago."
"I see… and you think Okumura Foods might be involved in this?" Akechi asked.
"It's possible that the Phantom Thieves might be working with him." Sae reasoned.
"… Assuming that's true, I'm not sure that that really justifies your actions." Akechi pointed out.
"What do you mean, my actions?" Sae questioned.
"The way you dealt with the case of Wakaba's daughter and her guardian." Akechi told her.
"Did you really threaten to take custody away from him because you thought he had information?"
"I needed a lead." Sae told him. "I had to do whatever I could to find it."
"Still, don't you think you're going too far?" Akechi frowned. "Between this and interfering with police business…"
"These criminals don't play by the rules." Sae pointed out. "So how can we be expected to stop them if we do?!"
"If you begin to ignore the law, then you are no better than the Phantom Thieves!" Akechi glared. "It's a shame that you turned out like this… considering that we had the same goal."
Sae scoffed as Akechi left, continuing to work on her laptop.
It didn't matter if she had no allies. She was determined to stop the Phantom Thieves by any means necessary.
"Ryu- Skull, what are those things?!" Haru gasped.
"They're shadows!" Ryuji answered. "Come on, we gotta get to a safe room!"
The two of them ran through the hall, avoiding the shadows along the way, before arriving in a large open room.
"Oh come on!" Ryuji snapped. "Why's this place gotta be an effin' maze?!"
"Skull… you said this place was how my father sees the world, right?" Haru asked.
"Uh, yeah, something like that." Ryuji answered. "It's a little complicated… why do you ask?"
"Look over there." Haru muttered, pointing towards the corner of the room.
A bunch of machines were slaving away at conveyor belts, with a larger robot supervising them.
"Faster! Faster!" The robot shouted. "Do you want to get scrapped or what?!"
"P-Please, let us take a break!" one of the workers cried. "We've been working nonstop for so long!"
"A break?! You don't get a break!" the supervisor snapped. "There's work to be done!"
"B-But I… But I…I…"
The robot suddenly collapsed, unable to continue speaking.
"Tch… up to the scrap heap with you then." the supervisor scoffed, signaling for two other robots.
The robots grabbed their fellow employee and threw him down a nearby chute like a piece of discarded trash.
"This is awful…" Haru whispered. "Can this really be… how Father sees his employees?
"Just seein' it makes my blood boil." Ryuji snarled.
"Well now, what do we have here?"
Both of them turned around, seeing a man in a pure black spacesuit and helmet approach them, his cape trailing behind him.
"A couple of brats infiltrating my space station?" the man scoffed. "And one of them…"
The man scowled, glaring at Haru.
"So, you must be the one in charge around here, am I right?!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"Y-Yes, this man, whoever he is, must be the shadow we're after! H-How dare you mess with my father's mind!" Haru cried.
The man shook his head, removing his helmet and revealing who he was.
Haru gasped.
"No, I am your father." Okumura revealed.
"N-No! That's not true!" Haru cried. "Father… would never…"
"Search your feelings. You know it to be true." Okumura continued.
"I-Is this really how you see our workers, Father?!" Haru cried. "Like disposable waste?!"
"That is what they are!" Okumura claimed. "They exist for us to benefit from!"
"You're a real scumbag, aren't you?!" Ryuji snapped. "
"I'll take you on myself!"
"What a reckless and stupid little brat you are." Okumura scoffed. "Are you really one of those infamous Phantom Thieves?"
"I ain't stupid!" Ryuji snapped. "I'm just speaking my mind!
"Your ability to speak does not make you intelligent." Okumura scoffed. "You are beneath me in every way imaginable. I don't need to sully my hands fighting you."
Okumura snapped his fingers, and the supervisor and two other robots appeared by his side.
The two regular robots transformed into black, slime like creatures, while the supervisor transformed as well.
A giant blue elephant-like shadow now stood before them, giving a loud battle cry from his trunk.
"Ha! Let's see you try and beat this one!" Okumura grinned. "You'll be dead in no time!
"Don't count on it, slimeball!" Ryuji shouted.
Ryuji slammed his weapon into the shadow as hard as he could, but not only did it do no damage at all, but Ryuji was sent flying back, as if he had been the one struck.
"What the hell?! It reflected my attack?!" Ryuji exclaimed.
The shadow swatted him away, Ryuji groaning in pain as he hit a wall.
"Alright, how about this!" Ryuji shouted, firing off a Zionga.
The attack struck the elephant, but it wasn't enough to finish it off.
Ryuji tried to fire another Zionga, only for the black slimes to tackle him.
"Skull!" Haru cried.
Suddenly, Haru felt her head throbbing.
"Are you ready?"
"W-Who said that…?" Haru muttered.
"Are you ready to release your rebellious spirit?" the voice asked.
"R-Rebel… no, I… I don't know any more… I just want to save Skull!" Haru cried.
The voice in her head seemed to quiet down for a moment, as if considering something.
"... Very well then." the voice finally said.
Suddenly, a brilliant beam of light shone on Haru, starting to change her appearance.
She now wore a black mask, with violet gloves, a pink blouse, and a feathered cavalier hat.
The slimes quickly moved towards her, only to be swatted back by a powerful greataxe.
"What the…?" Ryuji gasped.
"L-Let's try this!" Haru stammered.
…As she pulled out a huge grenade launcher.
"WHAT THE EFF?!" Ryuji gasped. "Haru, do you have powers too?!"
"This is getting out of hand, now there are two of them!" Okumura exclaimed.
Seeing a new target, the shadows immediately charged Haru.
Haru shot a blast of psychic energy at them, instantly knocking the slimes to the ground and injuring the elephant.
Ryuji wasted no time, slamming his weapon into the black smile, finishing it off.
Haru fired a grenade at the other slime, finishing it off.
The elephant gave another battle cry, charging towards Haru with surprising speed.
"S-Stay away!" Haru shouted. "T-Tetrakarn!"
Haru created a barrier just in time, deflecting the shadows sword swipe right back at them.
"H-Hey!" the shadow shouted. "You can't just deflect physical attacks! That's cheating!"
"Like you're one to talk!" Ryuji shouted, blasting the shadow with thunder, stunning it long enough for Haru to finish it off.
"Ha! How do you like that?!" Ryuji smirked, pointing his weapon at Okumura. "You're next!"
Okumura simply scoffed.
"No matter. Those workers were as disposable as the rest." Okumura said. "And now…"
A door opened behind him, several large robots pouring into the room.
"… It is time to dispose of you."
"S-Skull…" Haru gasped, short of breath. "This is a battle I don't think we can win."
Ryuji grimaced, but nodded, throwing down a smoke bomb before running away with Haru.
"Smoke?!" Okumura shouted. "Quickly, clear it out!"
The robots blew away the smoke, only to find that Ryuji and Haru were nowhere to be found.
"What?! Where did they go?!" Okumura shouted.
"They seemed to have retreated. The fight must have tired them out."
Okumura whipped around, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Ah, it's just you." Okumura muttered. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
A black masked man stood before Okumura, a menacing and powerful aura seemingly coming off of them.
"A request." the black-masked man said. "The Phantom Thieves are likely to launch another attack here. You are to either capture or kill them."
"And what is in it for me?" Okumura asked.
"... You mean, aside from not getting your heart stolen?" the man scoffed. "An in with the future Prime Minister. You will be nominated to one of the highest positions in his cabinet."
"A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one." Okumura said. "Now, if they're going to be coming back, I had best prepare…"
They arrived back out in the real world.
"Everything ok?" Ryuji asked.
"I… I feel so exhausted." Haru whispered. "I can barely move."
"I didn't think it would be this bad…" Ryuji muttered. "It wasn't this bad for me at least…"
Ryuji helped her up, wondering what the difference could be.
"Say, um… when you got your Persona, did you feel any pain?" he asked.
"No. Why?" Haru asked.
"Huh. That's weird." Ryuji muttered.
"Will… we be coming back?" Haru panted. "I know I was a bit of a burden, but…"
"A burden…" Ryuji muttered. "Nah, you were fine. People always get tired after awakening to their Persona. The next time we go there, things'll go much better!"
"I'm glad to hear it." Haru smiled. "I hope I'll be able to help out more."
"Course you will!" Ryuji encouraged. "You've already helped a lot! You managed to figure out all the keywords yourself!"
"Well, I am his daughter, so it wasn't that impressive…" Haru modestly said.
"Well, the way you handled that shadow was pretty awesome!" Ryuji grinned. "We just need to train a bit and we'll be good!"
"We can use that app on your phone, right?" Haru asked.
Ryuji nodded. "You should have it on your phone too now."
Haru checked her phone, nodding when she saw the app.
"Oh, and one more thing!" Ryuji grinned. "You're gonna need a code name!"
"A code name?" Haru asked.
"Yeah, exactly!" Ryuji grinned.
Ryuji thought about it for a minute or two before inspiration struck.
"I've got it!" Ryuji grinned. "I've got the perfect name!"
9/13 Monday
She woke up nice and early, eating her breakfast and showering before starting to… prepare for her meeting with Ren later in the day.
"Makoto?" Sae questioned.
"Ah! Sis!" Makoto cried. "I was just, uh… preparing my lunch! That's all."
Sae glanced over at the counter, narrowing her eyes.
"Why are there two boxed lunches?" Sae asked.
"O-Oh, well…" Makoto trailed off. "T-That's because… because I wanted to thank a classmate!"
"For what?" Sae asked.
"For helping me with some of my student council work." Makoto lied. "I wanted to thank them in some way, so I thought to make them lunch!"
"… Fine." Sae muttered, leaving the room.
Makoto let out a sigh.
She wished it wasn't so hard to talk to her own sister.
After preparing both lunches, she started making her way to Shujin.
"Come on, I didn't mean for him to leave the team!" Morgana defended. "The two of us have messed with each other before and this hasn't happened."
"I know, but you should still apologize." Makoto told him as she walked through the halls.
"Alright, alright." Morgana conceded. "Anyway, where are we going?"
"I'm going up to the rooftop to meet with someone." Makoto said. "You can take a walk around the school in the meantime."
"Really? A private talk?" Morgana asked. "Well alright."
Morgana hopped out of her bag, stretching a bit before walking off.
"Actually… Could you tail Ryuji?" Makoto requested. "Make sure you aren't seen."
"Sure thing!" Morgana exclaimed.
After he left, she made her way up to the roof, seeing that Ren was already there.
"Hey." Ren greeted.
"Hello." Makoto said, waving. "I, um… brought you lunch."
"Really?" Ren replied. "Thanks!"
"I-It's the least I could do." she whispered. "I mean, you're always making us coffee and curry…"
She nervously watched as he took a bite out of her food.
"This is really good!" Ren complimented.
"Really?" Makoto asked.
Ren nodded. "Yeah, it's amazing!"
Makoto glanced towards the ground. "I'm glad that you enjoy it… I was worried that you wouldn't.
She snuck at glance at Ren, who's smile somehow seemed brighter than the sun to her.
The two ate in peace, away from the prying eyes of the other students.
"Do you eat lunch up here often?" Makoto asked.
Ren nodded. "It's quiet up here."
"Ah, I see."
After they finished their meals, she checked the time, seeing that there was still a bit of time left before they had to come back to class.
"Thank you for this." Makoto whispered. "I just… so much has been happening lately, sometimes I forget how to relax."
"Yeah." Ren agreed. "I get like that sometimes too."
Feeling a surge of courage, Makoto slowly began to rest her head on Ren's shoulder.
"Is this… ok?" she asked.
"... Yeah. It's fine." Ren replied.
She smiled, closing her eyes as she felt his arm wrap around her.
They must have stayed like for some time, sitting in silence and doing nothing but enjoying each other's company.
"O-OH!"
The two of them immediately separated, standing up with shocked expressions.
"H-Haru?" Makoto gasped.
"O-Oh, I'm so sorry!" Haru gasped. "I-I didn't mean to interrupt!"
"N-No, it's fine." Makoto insisted. "We're just friends!"
Ren raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry, force of habit." she whispered. "And also… we need to keep it a secret, right?"
"Yeah, you're right." Ren nodded, before turning to Haru. "Um… we'd appreciate it if you kept seeing us here a secret."
"Oh, of course!" Haru exclaimed. "I won't tell a soul, I promise."
"But… what exactly are you doing here?" Makoto asked.
"I've been given special permission to have a small garden up here." Haru explained. "I didn't think that someone else would already be here."
"We were just having lunch." Ren explained.
"Oh, I see." Haru nodded. "P-Please, don't mind me. I'll just be… attending the plants."
Haru walked towards a small patch of what looked like vegetables on the roof, trying not to make too much noise.
Still, things were just a little too awkward now…
"Guess we can't escape our work, huh?" Makoto sighed.
"Guess not." Ren agreed, giving a sad smile.
She walked over to Haru, watching her watering her plants.
"How have things been?" she asked.
"… They've been fine." Haru whispered.
"Even with-"
"Yes." Haru quickly said. "Sugimura hasn't tried anything. Not lately…"
"Oh, that's good." Makoto nodded. "But I wasn't… well, I was, but… I was wondering if things were going ok with your father, too."
She saw Haru bite her lip for a moment before quickly responding.
"… That's also fine." Haru claimed.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Y-Yes, of course." Haru stammered. "Actually… I think that things might get a little better soon!"
"Really? Well, that's good." Makoto replied.
"Yes, it's nice that things are finally-"
"Hey, Makoto, are you almost done?! Lunch is almost over!"
"Um, was that a cat?" Haru asked. "I feel like I've heard one meowing around here before…"
Ren opened the door, allowing Morgana to walk onto the roof.
"Makoto!" Morgana called. "I saw Ryuji talking to some girl, and they were talking about a palac-ahh!"
"Hehehe… you're a very noisy kitty, aren't you?" Haru giggled, picking Morgana up.
"H-Her!" Morgana gasped. "It was her!"
Makoto's eyes widened as Haru set Morgana down.
"Wait a minute…" Makoto whispered.
Before Haru left, Makoto quickly caught up to her.
"Okumura-san, hold on a moment." she said.
"W-What is it, Niijima-san?" Haru asked.
"I… noticed your phone looks… um, really nice!" Makoto excused. "May I see it?"
"Oh, of course." Haru smiled. "Here you are."
Makoto carefully looked over the phone, her eyes quickly focusing on one of the apps.
"Say, Okumura-san…" she trailed off. "What's this app here? It looks very interesting."
"T-That's private!" Haru cried, snatching the phone away. "S-Sorry, Niijima-san, but I have to get to class."
Haru quickly ran off, leaving the three of them alone.
"Makoto…" Ren whispered. "Did she…?"
"She had the app." Makoto frowned. "We'll have to keep an eye on her…"
As her classes ended, she had to stay after school to work on council business. It didn't take too long, thankfully, but just as she was about to leave…
"Hey." Ren greeted.
"Oh! Hello, Ren… and Futaba?" Makoto questioned.
"Futaba wanted to try and visit a school." Ren explained.
"I figured that since I'll be going back to school one day, I should try to see what it's like." Futaba said.
"Well, I'd be happy to give you a tour." Makoto smiled.
"... Thanks, but…" Futaba frowned, trailing off. "I'm starting to have second thoughts now that I'm here."
"Come on, you can do it." Makoto encouraged.
"Most of the students are probably already gone by now." Ren reasoned. "And I'm sure that our wonderful student council president will make sure there isn't any trouble."
"Well, I guess if I have you guys on my side, this'll be like fighting a trash mob!" Futaba grinned.
Makoto looked at Ren in confusion, who just chuckled at her.
First, they had brought her to the cafeteria, but that had only stirred up bad memories for Futaba, so they decided to head to the library next.
"So this is the library. As you can see, we have quite the selection here. And because of some more… vocal students, we even have some manga available." Makoto explained.
Futaba glanced through the various books available.
There were books on people like Goemon, Captain Kidd, Carmen, and many more…
Futaba continued looking through all of the books.
Anubis, Loki, Jack Frost, Samael, Pixie, Angel, Joan of Arc, Mara…
"Woah, they have a book on Mothman!" Futaba exclaimed. "That's super based!"
"Based?" Makoto questioned. "Based on what?
Futaba turned to Ren. "Is she serious?"
Ren chuckled. "That's our beep boop."
Both of them laughed as Makoto's face turned beet red.
"Stop teasing me!"
After they finished up in the library, they showed Futaba a few more places around the school before finishing up their tour back at the main entrance.
"So, how was the tour?" Makoto asked.
"It was ok." Futaba muttered. "I'm sorry that I kept bringing up depressing stuff from when I used to go to school."
"That's alright." Ren said. "Dwelling on the past is something that we all do sometimes."
"But we're still very proud of all the progress you've been making, Futaba." Makoto smiled.
"Could you imagine yourself ever going back to school a year ago?"
"I guess you're right." Futaba smiled. "Thanks, you guys!"
She felt a little closer to Futaba.
HERMIT CONFIDANT: RANK 3
"Heeeeeeey, Miss Prez!"
Makoto turned around to see Eiko running up to them.
"Hello, Eiko." Makoto greeted. "What are you doing here so late?"
"I was just seeing Dr. Maruki." Eiko grinned. "He's been a big help!"
"... I see." Makoto muttered. "That's… nice."
Eiko's eyes traveled over to Futaba. "Oh hey, I haven't ever seen you around.
Futaba scooted behind Ren, hiding behind him.
"Hey Renny, is she, like, your little sister or something?" Eiko asked.
"Umm… sorta?" Ren answered. "Something like that."
"Umm… Hi." Futaba whispered.
"Aww, hello there!" Eiko beamed. "Are you taking a tour of Shujin?"
"U-Um… y-yeah." Futaba mumbled.
"It's alright." Makoto encouraged.
"She's a little shy." Ren explained.
"How cute!" Eiko giggled. "It's nice to meet you! My name's Eiko!"
"F-Futaba." Futaba stammered.
"Are you liking Shujin so far, Futaba-chan?" Eiko asked.
"Uh-huh." Futaba nodded. "It's… nice. I… like the manga in the library."
"Oooh, you like manga? What kind do you like?" Eiko asked.
Makoto smiled as the two of them had a small conversation on manga and anime.
After a while, the three of them said goodbye to Eiko, and went home for the day.
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 9
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 8
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 7
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 6
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 6
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 6
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 8
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 7
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 6
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 6
THE STAR - Hifumi Togo: Rank 5
THE DEVIL - Mitsuhide Matsuoka: Rank 4
THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 4
THE DEATH - Yohei Kiritani: Rank 4
THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 6
THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 4
THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 6
THE HERMIT - Futaba Sakura: Rank 3
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 6
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 4
THE PRIESTESS - Kasumi Yoshizawa: Rank 4
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 5
THE JUDGMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 5
THE COUNCILOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 6
Are the Phantom Thieves just? Yes 76.2%