10/23 Tuesday
As classes ended for the day, she noticed many students making hasty last-minute additions to the school festival. With everything that had been happening recently, she had nearly forgotten that it was happening in only a few days.
As she exited the school, she felt her phone beginning to vibrate, so she took it out, seeing a message.
Hifumi: Hello, Niijima-san. Would you like to come practice shogi with me again? If so, I will be on the usual spot.
She quickly confirmed that she would, heading to join Hifumi at their usual meeting spot.
"Hahaha… you have been defeated! The Togo Kingdom is now complete!" Hifumi declared.
Makoto looked over the board, sighing as she had once again been trounced by Hifumi's superior shogi skills.
Hifumi had been invaluable in teaching her tactics during their last couple of shogi sessions. Tactics that she would desperately need if she didn't want to get outplayed by the masked man again. She had to get better.
"Hold on… you seem tense." Hifumi commented. "As if something is ailing you."
"It's… nothing." Makoto lied. "I'm just a little tired from preparing for my school's festival, that's all."
"NO EXCUSES!" Hifumi exclaimed, startling her. "A general must never show weakness, or allow themselves to be overwhelmed with emotion!"
"Ah… I suppose you're right." Makoto conceded. "Wait, hang on! What about those, um, outbursts of yours? Aren't those overwhelming emotions?"
Hifumi's eyes widened, suddenly reverting back to her regular self before beginning to twiddle her fingers.
"U-Um, well…" Hifumi mumbled. "T-That's different…"
"If you say so." Makoto said, letting out a small laugh.
"A-Anyway!" Hifumi stammered, wishing to change the subject. "I was quite surprised when you remained standing after my White Lightning attack. You've certainly improved, and the determination that I sense from you is quite inspiring."
"I'm glad to hear it." Makoto smiled. "If you say so, it must be true."
"With your rapid improvement, I'll have to come up with a few new moves if I intend so stay sharp." Hifumi reasoned. "Especially with that exhibition match that's coming up."
"Who will you be facing off against?" Makoto wondered.
"He's a very famous player." Hifumi explained. "I certainly have my work cut out for me, but I have to win."
"You're certainly determined." Makoto complimented.
Hifumi nodded. "I'm aiming to be the first woman to reach the pro league. I'm sure that this match will draw a lot of attention, especially after the article about me."
"I'm sure you'll do great." Makoto encouraged.
"Thank you." Hifumi smiled. "I don't intend to lose. This will be my chance to showcase my true skills!"
Hifumi let out a shaky breath.
"I confess that I am a little nervous." Hifumi admitted.
"Just be calm." Makoto advised. "A general can never show weakness, right?"
"Haha… I suppose you are right." Hifumi smiled. "My opponent may be ranked higher than me, but that doesn't mean I can't win."
"Have you ever faced off against a professional like them before?" Makoto asked.
"I haven't." Hifumi answered. "I'm not sure how my skills will stack up to them… but even so, I want to prove that I'm a good shogi player in my own right! I'm sick of being treated like I'm just an idol!"
"Speaking of… how's everything going with your mother?" Makoto asked.
Hifumi's expression immediately darkened.
"I… tried to speak to her about possibly stopping all of the idol business… but she wasn't having any of it." Hifumi sighed.
"She sounds a little… overbearing." Makoto said. "It must be tricky to deal with family members like that."
"Do you speak from experience?" Hifumi asked, giving a sad smile.
"I suppose I do." Makoto admitted.
"I want to believe that my mother wants what's best for me, but… sometimes it almost feels like she's trying to live through me." Hifumi sighed. "Still, she's my mother, and I want to try and work things out."
"… Yeah. I get that." Makoto whispered.
"Anyway, I have a few new moves I want to practice." Hifumi brought up. "Do you mind playing a few more matches?"
"Not at all." Makoto said.
"Thank you." Hifumi smiled. "Now then, let me teach you how to strategically place your pieces into the enemy's territory."
As she carefully absorbed the lessons that Hifumi taught her, she felt their bond growing a little stronger.
STAR CONFIDANT: RANK 7
After she had finished playing a few more matches with Hifumi, and promptly getting destroyed by her Dark Magic Attack, she went home for the day.
10/24 Wednesday
Right after classes had ended, she noticed a crowd of students huddled around a bulletin board.
"Looks like the exam results are posted…" Makoto noted.
Waiting for the others to see their score, she made her way to look at the bulletin board to look at her scores, as well as everyone else's.
She still managed to get the top spot of her grade level, and to her surprise, so did Ren.
… Did she really manage to give him good luck?
She shook her head before the blush could set in.
"No, he must have just studied really hard." Makoto insisted.
Ryuji and Ann… well, they didn't completely bomb their exams, so she supposed she should take that as a victory.
"Hmm… middle of the road, huh?"
Makoto glanced to the side, seeing Eiko frowning as she looked at her exam scores.
"Eiko, you did good." Makoto smiled. "Your exam scores are much better this time."
"Yeah, go me. Now I'm just incredibly mediocre instead of just bad." Eiko muttered bitterly.
"Eiko, there's no need to put yourself down." Makoto replied. "I think you did well."
"Would you have been satisfied with my score?" Eiko muttered.
"T-That…" Makoto trailed off.
"Yeah. That's what I thought." Eiko sighed. "You'd be devastated if you got a score as low as mine."
"Eiko, it took a lot of hard work to get the top score." Makoto said. "You're improved a lot over this year, and I'm sure that if you keep it up, you'll improve even more."
"Well, I should hope so, with all the free time she has."
Makoto turned around, seeing Eiko's brother staring at the two of them.
She had taken a quick peek at the first year's exam scores, and sure enough, Eiko's brother had gotten the top score.
"If you stopped getting yourself involved in trouble, maybe you would have more time to study." Aiko scoffed.
"Hey, that's going a bit far, don't you think?" Makoto frowned.
"No, he's right." Eiko sighed. "I'm still a bit of a burden, huh? I take up so much of your time when you help me study, but it's not like I have much to show for it."
"Eiko, I spend time with you because I enjoy it." Makoto assured her. "So please don't think of yourself like that."
"Don't coddle her." Aiko frowned. "She'll just end up getting into trouble again."
"Could you just be quiet!" Makoto hissed.
Aiko scoffed, but complied, walking off.
"Eiko, you shouldn't-"
"Just stop." Eiko cut her off. "Whatever you're going to say… just stop. I don't want to hear it."
"Eiko, I…"
"S-Sorry, Prez. I'm not upset with you. I just need some time to myself." Eiko whispered.
"R-Right, of course." Makoto nodded. "I'll see you later, Eiko."
"Yeah…"
Eiko walked off, a sorrowful expression on her face. It seemed that lately she had been feeling absolutely miserable.
"I just wish there was something I could do for her." Makoto lamented.
Seeing as her business was done at school, she decided to head to Leblanc to clear her head.
When she arrived, she saw Futaba sitting at the counter, her promise list in front of her.
"Oh! Makoto! Perfect timing!" Futaba exclaimed. "I need you to come with me to my room!"
"Oh, did you need something, Futaba?" Makoto asked.
"Yeah, you gotta help me out with my promise list, Makoto!" Futaba pleaded.
"Alright, alright, just let me get some coffee first and I'll be right with you." Makoto promised.
After taking the time to enjoy her coffee, she thanked Sojiro before heading to see Futaba in her room.
"So, what's next on the promise list, Futaba?" Makoto asked.
"Well… actually… I found one of the old promise lists I made with my mom." Futaba whispered.
"Oh! Did you ever get to finish everything on it?" Makoto asked.
"Well… it says that every promise was completed, but… that's kind of a lie." Futaba admitted.
"A lie? How so?" Makoto asked.
"I had a promise to 'get along with Kana-chan'." Futaba recalled.
"Kana-chan?" Makoto questioned.
"It all started back in elementary school." Futaba began. "I used to be bullied pretty hard because of how weird I was… It was really horrible. Sometimes during recess, I'd lock myself in the bathroom and cry…"
"Oh, Futaba…" Makoto trailed off.
"I didn't have any friends at my old school… not until a girl named Kana transferred to my school." Futaba explained. "She was absent a lot, but when she was there, she got bullied a lot by the other kids, just like me. But one day, she walked up to me and said, 'Good Morning.' She would say it every day to me."
"Were you happy?" Makoto asked.
"More like confused." Futaba said. "I didn't understand why she was saying hi to me. I kinda ignored her the first few times cause I thought the bullies were putting her up to it. But she'd just keep saying it…"
"She must have really wanted to be your friend." Makoto realized.
"Yeah… It felt like heart was gunna beat out of my chest, but I eventually said it back to her." Futaba continued. "And it's just like you said… she was saying it to me because she thought that we could be friends. She was the first person who didn't mind what I was like…"
"That must be when you added this to your promise list, right?" Makoto assumed.
"Yup! I was so excited that I told my mom, and she added 'getting along with Kana-chan' to my promise list." Futaba answered. "But… I wasn't able to keep that promise."
"What happened?" Makoto asked. "Did you two have a falling out?"
"It was a really windy day… Kana-chan dropped her diary and the pages started flying everywhere." Futaba frowned. "I didn't really mean to look, but I ended up seeing something that she had written down."
"What did it say?" Makoto asked.
"It was horrible…" Futaba winced. "She wrote about how her parents hit her, and took pictures of her in weird clothes…"
"T-That's awful!" Makoto cried. "How could they do something like that?!"
"I tried to talk to her about it, but she got really defensive about it." Futaba continued. "I felt terrible when she started yelling at me for reading her diary."
"It wasn't your fault Futaba." Makoto said, trying to comfort the younger girl.
"I just wish I could have said something to her." Futaba muttered. "But back then… I just froze up… and ran away. Kana-chan ended up moving away soon after that."
"I'm sorry things ended up like that." Makoto expressed.
"Yeah… it was awful… but I couldn't bring myself to tell Mom what happened. So I lied and told her that we were still friends every month. I just wish that I could apologize to her." Futaba lamented. "Sorry for everything."
"Well, maybe you could still reach out to her." Makoto suggested. "To let her know how you feel."
"Yeah… ever since I became a part of the Phantom Thieves, I've grown a lot more confident." Futaba acknowledged. "So maybe I can fulfill that promise for real this time!"
"Sounds good." Makoto smiled.
"You know… I haven't really told anyone about this. Not even Sojiro knows." Futaba confessed. "So that means you gotta help me!"
"O-Oh, sure." Makoto nodded. "I'm not sure how helpful I'll be, but I'll do what I can to help.
She felt a close bond with Futaba…
HERMIT CONFIDANT: RANK 6
"Say, Futaba… any update on your uncle yet?" Makoto asked.
"No..." Futaba muttered. "I don't know if we were fast enough... me might have done something..."
"I see." Makoto plainly said.
"If he did do something... are you...?"
"N-No, I would never... do something in the real world." Makoto promised. "But what about you? Do you... forgive him?"
"Never." Futaba bluntly stated. "But... I don't want him to die, either. I just... I dunno, is that wired?"
"No, I think I get it." Makoto whispered. "Thank you, Futaba."
After discussing things for a bit longer with Futaba, she went home for the day.
10/25 Thursday
Preparations had finally finished for the school festival. She had made sure to contact Akechi and let him know about the change in date.
Still, considering that they were trying to get information out of Akechi, she still couldn't afford to let her guard down.
Checking her phone, she saw that she had received a text message from Naoya.
Naoya: Excuse me, Niijima-san. Are you available today? Something's come up and I wanted to discuss it with you.
She quickly replied to him, saying that she would meet with him.
She could only hope that their efforts in the Metaverse had borne fruit.
She met with Naoya over at his family's restaurant.
"Oh, Niijima-san! I'm glad you could make it." Naoya greeted.
"Of course, Makigami-kun. What did you want to talk about?" Makoto asked. "It sounded very urgent."
"It's about my brother." Naoya confessed.
"What happened? Are you ok?" Makoto worriedly asked. "He didn't…"
"No, nothing bad happened. Strangely enough… it was the opposite." Naoya explained. "I don't think that'll be a problem anymore."
"Really? Are you sure?" Makoto asked.
"I… don't understand how it happened, but my brother suddenly stopped harassing me. Not only that, but he apologized for doing it." Naoya told her.
"He did?! That's wonderful, Makigami-kun!" Makoto smiled.
"Yeah. I wonder if it was the Phantom Thieves again." Naoya said. "That would be twice they've helped me if it was."
"Well…" Makoto awkwardly trailed off. "We can't really know for sure."
"I suppose not." Naoya agreed. "Still, it seemed so abrupt."
"Speaking of your brother," Makoto began, wanting to change the subject. "Did he ever give any sort of explanation for why he was abusing you?"
"I did ask him about it, but he seemed too ashamed to say anything about it. All he did was hand me a small key." Naoya explained.
"Do you know what the key is for?" Makoto asked.
"I have a good idea what it's for, but I feel like I'd need some time to mentally prepare myself for what could be inside." Naoya admitted.
"I understand." Makoto replied. "If it helps, I don't feel like this situation is your fault."
"Thank you, Niijima-san." Naoya expressed. "I'm glad that you were there to talk to me. I probably would have been a lot worse off if you and Kitagawa-san weren't there to help listen to me. If there's anything I can to help you…"
"There's no need for that." Makoto insisted. "I'm just happy to help."
"Surely there's some way I can pay you back." Naoya insisted.
"Well, now that you mention it…" Makoto trailed off.
There was one thing that she was curious about.
"Umm… Makigami-kun… would it be alright if I ask you a personal question?" Makoto asked.
"A personal question?" Naoya repeated. "Well, I guess it would depend on what it was."
"I just wanted to know if you think you could forgive your brother one day." Makoto replied.
"Ah…" Naoya trailed off. "To tell you the truth, I don't know. He seemed genuinely remorseful for what he did, but even so… after what he did to me…"
Naoya paused for a second before continuing.
"It's hard to say. I'd need some time to think about it. Even if I could forgive him, I'm not really sure if we could ever fully mend our relationship."
"I see. That makes sense." Makoto said. "Thank you for telling me that."
"Is everything alright, Niijima-chan?" Naoya asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Makoto insisted. "I'm just lost in thought, that's all."
"I see. Well, once again, thank you for everything, Niijima-san. I'll be sure to let you know what I find when I use this key." Naoya promised.
"Thank you, Makigami-kun. I'll be looking forward to it." Makoto smiled.
She felt her bond with Naoya growing a little closer,
TEMPERANCE CONFIDANT: RANK 8
After confirming that his older brother wouldn't be a problem any longer, Makoto went home for the day.
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 9
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 9
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 8
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 8
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 7
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 8
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 9
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 8
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 8
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 8
THE STAR - Hifumi Togo: Rank 7
THE DEVIL - Mitsuhide Matsuoka: Rank 5
THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 5
THE DEATH - Yohei Kiritani: Rank 6
THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 8
THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 5
THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 8
THE HERMIT - Futaba Sakura: Rank 6
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 8
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 5
THE PRIESTESS - Kasumi Yoshizawa: Rank 5
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 7
THE JUDGMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 6
THE COUNCILOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 9
Are the Phantom Thieves just? Yes 52.2%