Chapter 70: Deep Sleep
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Akira•
Akira carried Futaba into her room, Makoto helping from her other side. She wasn't heavy, she was frighteningly light despite looking healthy. It was more so that she wasn't accidentally hurt by one of them slinging her over their shoulder and bumping her into things.
Setting her down carefully on her bed, he nodded at Makoto. "Alright, Takemi-sensei should be here soon."
"Why didn't you tell us about this doctor of yours while you were sick?"
"I already had all the medicine I needed from her, and we already knew it was a fever. She would have just told me to rest like you all were."
Makoto sighed and rolled her eyes.
After their escape from the Palace, its collapse had launched them far from the Sakura household, into the street right in front of Leblanc. Some very stilted acting courtesy of Ann distracted Sojiro when he came out to see what the ruckus was, and now she, Ryuji, and Yusuke were getting some coffee.
He and Makoto found Futaba sitting right outside her house, unconscious. Makoto had almost begun to panic before Morgana suggested calling Takemi. So now—
Ding-dong.
"Speak of the devil. Or the Death."
"What?"
He snorted at her question. "Nothing."
Ω • Ω • Ω
"A house call is going to cost you, you know."
He heard Makoto nervously shuffle at Takemi's mischievous smile as she finished checking on Futaba. "How much will it be?"
"…That was a joke."
"Heh. I would've expected you to demand a longer testing session next time."
"If you keep teasing me, I just might, my little guinea pig."
"Um… So, how is her condition?"
Takemi looked back at Makoto and shrugged. "Her pulse, breathing, temperature, and blood pressure are all normal. No ocular abnormalities either. I'm not sure why, but it seems this girl is in some kind of light stupor. Furthermore, she lacks muscle for her age. I doubt she has much stamina either."
"I see. The rebound from her awakening was too strong…"
"It might also just be because the only moving she does is from this room to her bathroom, probably." He sighed and looked at Futaba with concern. "As little as it was, it might have been the most exercise she's done in years."
"There may have been too many abnormal circumstances," Morgana agreed.
"We simply cannot keep quiet about this. We should let Boss know."
Morgana's ears flattened. "Wouldn't he figure out our identities?"
Makoto shook her head subtly at the not-cat, aware of Takemi. "Still… We should tell him, shouldn't we?"
He crossed his arms and thought. "Well… We can grab him now, but honestly, I don't think much will come from this. We tell him the truth, that we found Futaba unconscious outside the house and called my doctor. Takemi-sensei, you said she's just in a light stupor?"
"Essentially, yes."
"Then it's not like we did anything wrong," he spoke meaningfully at Makoto. "He should know his daughter's like this."
"If that's all, I'll be heading out." Takemi stepped past them, patting him on the cheek with a wink. "Stay safe, guinea pig."
He rolled his eyes while Makoto eyed the punk doctor. "What… exactly is your relationship with her?"
"What she said. I'm her guinea pig." Morgana rolled his eyes at his answer, while Makoto just looked concerned, before they left to inform Sakura what had happened.
Ω • Ω • Ω
"Hey, Futaba! Hey!" The orange-haired girl didn't answer Sakura, continuing to slumber. Ryuji and Yusuke looked guilty, and the café owner sighed. "Oh dear…"
Ann rubbed her arm nervously, and Makoto cleared her throat. "Um… About Futaba…"
"Hm? Why do you guys look so down?"
"Well, Futaba-chan's condition…"
He raised his eyebrow at Ann. "What, this? It happens every so often."
"Huh?" He and Ryuji spoke in sync, both just as confused.
"She must've used up all her energy. It's like she ran out of batteries. I think it happens 'cause she doesn't get enough exercise." Sakura ignored the subsequent groan from Ryuji at them worrying over nothing. "She stays like this for a few days whenever this happens. I'll make sure she gets plenty of rest. Here, keep an eye on her. I'm gonna go close the store."
"A few days, huh?" Sakura walked out, and he smirked at Makoto. "Guess I was right to rush through that Palace, huh? OW!" He rubbed his shoulder as Ann slapped him on it, glaring at him. He just cheekily grinned in reply.
"Don't joke about that! Do you want to get sick again?"
"Does that mean you can nurse me again?" She floundered for a moment at his reply, and he cackled.
Someone's in a good mood.
'We changed Futaba's heart a good few days before the deadline. It's not like she's going to sleep for three weeks straight. Once she's awake, she can take care of Medjed, and all will be well.'
No one in his head said anything.
'She won't sleep for three weeks, right?'
…Probably not?
"So…" Ann sighed and looked down at Futaba. "I'm glad she's okay… But what are we gonna do about Medjed?"
"Ah…"
Ryuji recoiled. "She's up!"
"Medjed… Tired. Gonna sleep for a bit…"
"She fell asleep again?!"
"Futaba-chan!" She didn't respond. "Ugh, for a bit? How much is she planning on sleeping? We probably shouldn't wake her up either…"
"What to do…"
Makoto shook her head in response to the artist's question. "It's too late for us to find another hacker…"
Morgana looked at him, and he shook his head in response. The not-cat sighed.. "All we can do is wait for her to wake up."
Ω • Ω • Ω
7/30, Saturday
DEADLINE: July 31st
DAYS UNTIL THE PURGE: 2
Wait for Futaba to recover.
Stopping by Takemi's the next day seemed like the logical thing to do. He could thank her again for her help, have a quick checkup for himself just in case, and assist with her research. "…All right, that's it for today."
He began to stand, stretching. "Get some good results?"
"Mm-hmm. Oh, are you going home already? If you have some time, why don't you stay and enjoy an apple? It's a gift from one of my elderly patients. She gave me a lot."
He smiled at the offer, but before he could accept, the door of the exam room opened. A bland man with black hair holding a suitcase standing in the doorway. "Hello, Takemi-sensei."
"…Chief Oyamada."
"There was a medical conference nearby, so I thought I'd check up on you," he explained, answering the unasked question. "Who's this? He doesn't look like a patient."
"He's a part-time staffer. I'm having him handle some miscellaneous tasks for me. So, do you have some business with me?"
Oyamada glanced between them as Akira kept silent. "…I hear you stole one of my patients. A girl with bronchitis. She came here with her father…"
"Bronchitis, you say? Well, I had no intention of taking her from you. I certainly didn't encourage her to visit my clinic."
"Be that as it may, now there's talk that the care at a university hospital is inferior to that of a general practitioner! 'Original medicine.' Ha! What you're doing here is simply absurd!"
Akira began to glare at Oyamada as the atmosphere became heated, while Takemi just glanced away. "…You're right."
"I would've turned a blind eye if you had just rotted away out here in this little town. But this is your final warning. Shut this place down and resign your medical license."
"…"
"And why should such a great doctor have to shut down her clinic?" He finally spoke up, adjusting his glasses to hide the anger in his eyes.
"What did you say?"
As he and Oyamada locked eyes, he heard Takemi let out a huff of laughter. "Don't worry about it, guinea pig."
Oyamada scoffed. "You seem to be quite fond of her. Perhaps I should reveal this woman's true identity. She's a monster who tortured a patient with her unregulated medicine!" He saw Takemi tense up out of the corner of his eye and prepared to make a snarky comment to shut Oyamada up before he continued with a sneer. "Terrible, isn't it? She was such a brave girl, always smiling…"
Takemi flinched. "'Was'?"
"She passed away."
"What?!"
"Perhaps you'll suffer the same fate, hm? Ha, she is the Plague, after all."
"Don't you—!"
"Don't lie to me!" Takemi shoved him aside, getting in Oyamada's face. "She should still have some time! She was slowly recovering… Her condition couldn't have deteriorated that quickly!"
"But it did. You must've misjudged. Now, back to the reason I'm here. Don't ever take another patient away from me again. You don't want to make me angry."
This filth disgusts me. Expel him from this place at once!
No, let's teach him a lesson he'll never forget!
Tear him apart!
Akira stepped up to stand by Takemi's side, gently holding her shoulder while leveling his full glare on the older man. "Get the hell out of here before I make you leave on a stretcher, bastard." Either because he had nothing else to say or he subconsciously felt the danger that his Personas exuded in the back of his mind as they shouted for him to tear the doctor apart, Oyamada quickly left. The door had barely closed before Takemi collapsed to her knees, and he frantically knelt beside her. "Takemi!"
"Miwa-chan's… dead? No, no, no… But she's all I've been working toward, all this time… Curing her was my only…"
He heard her voice begin to break, and he gently held her shoulders, trying to get her to look him in the eyes. "Takemi, listen to me. I trust your judgment way more than that trash's. If you think that Miwa should still be alive, I believe you over him. He's just trying to break your spirit. I'll go to that hospital myself and find out about Miwa!"
"…There's no point. What have I been doing all this time…? I can't…"
"Takemi…" He watched her eyes become glassy, unshed tears in them. "I promise we'll figure this out."
"No…" She got up, facing away from him. "I'll be fine. I feel better now." Turning back to him, she flashed a weak smile. "Thanks for your help, my little guinea pig…"
RANK UP!
Death Arcana, Back-Alley Doctor: Rank 7
As the sound of chains faded away, Takemi sighed. "I wish I hadn't shown you that side of me…"
"I'm glad you did. It's good to know you're not a sadistic goth doctor all the time."
He managed to get a laugh out of her. "Really? Well… I suppose that's fine. As long as it's you." She took a breath. "Go on home for today. We'll continue another time. Take care…"
He gave her one last look before he walked out of the exam room, finding Morgana waiting on one of the chairs. "I heard some of that. So…?"
"She's not doing too good," he replied as Morgana climbed up him and jumped into his bag. "I'm going to give her a few days, then come back. Hopefully, she's feeling more… upbeat by then. I still think that asshole was lying, I trust Takemi's medical skills more than his."
"Sounds good to me." Morgana began to growl, his tail flicking in agitation. "Either way, he's someone who deserves to have a change of heart… Try to get his full name from Takemi when we come back!"
"You read my mind," his mouth spreading into a dark grin as Arsène chuckled within him.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Ryuji•
He nervously drank his soda as he waited at a table in Big Bang Burger, checking the time on his phone again. He hadn't gotten it wrong, right? Sure enough, Haru had texted him to meet at one, so he was a good few minutes early.
"Oh, hello, Ryuji-kun! I see you're early as well!"
He jumped as he looked up, seeing Haru smiling at him. "H-Haru-senpai! Uh, yeah, just figured that showing up early is better than being on time, right? Haha…" He wasn't sure why she'd texted him, but hey, he wasn't gonna look a… look a gift… What was the saying?
She sat down across from him and smiled. "That's true. So… I'm sure you're probably wondering why I texted you to meet me out of the blue?"
"Uh, a little, I guess. I figured it maybe had something to do with my extra credit stuff? It's not like we can go to the roof during summer."
"Oh! Yes, that too, I suppose… Well, I was given permission and keys to access the rooftop during the summer, but I actually wanted to talk to you about the night of the fireworks festival."
He blinked and nodded. "Sure, okay. Uh, what about it?"
She looked confused. "Did you… not hear my last name when my bodyguard said it?"
"Yeah, I heard 'em call you— Wait, you have bodyguards?! Huh, I guess that's who the guys in black suits were…"
"Ryuji, did you not look up my last name?"
"Nah."
She tilted her head slightly. "Why not?"
"I mean, I just figured that you didn't want me knowin' it, considering you've had me callin' you Haru-senpai since we met. Just cuz your bodyguard said it out loud, doesn't mean I should invade your privacy by lookin' it up or anythin', right?" Though it had been a struggle not to look anything up, his curiosity had been really strong after seeing that limo. Was she rich, or super rich? Cuz there was a pretty big difference there.
She stared at him, and he fidgeted in his seat. After a moment, she smiled, then began giggling. "Thank you, Ryuji-kun. But it's alright. I came here intending to make sure things wouldn't be different after you found out about who I was, so I'm fine telling you. My father is Kunikazu Okumura, the CEO of Okumura Foods."
"Whoa…" He didn't know who that was.
Haru could tell, as her smile widened in amusement. "They own Big Bang Burger."
"Whoa!"
"'Whoa', indeed."
"That's crazy, Haru-senpai… But, uh, I promise things won't be any different now that I know! I ain't gonna treat you like some, uh, princess or nothin'. I mean, seeing you covered in dirt whenever we garden kinda hurts that image."
Haru held a hand over her mouth as she burst out into laughter. "Haha! I suppose that's true! Yes, I would be a very odd princess if I enjoyed playing in the dirt, wouldn't I?"
Laughing alongside her, he grinned and shook his head. "I guess you didn't want anybody at school to know, huh? That's why you kept so quiet about it?"
"That's right. I'm sure all the teachers know, but they've been very amicable and have only called me by my first name." Her smile slipped for a moment. "Perhaps that's also why Kamoshida-se— why he never tried to do anything to me or get me on his volleyball team… Thank goodness for that…"
"Yeah, that sick bastard was probably too afraid to do anythin' to somebody he thought could screw him over." Thinking of the bastard angered him enough that he crushed the cup of soda in his hand, and he cursed quietly as he spilled the Coke all over his arm. Haru handed him a napkin, and he smiled in thanks as he cleaned off his hand. "Prick treated Shujin like he was the king of the castle, but w- The Phantom Thieves really showed Kamoshita that he was nothin', huh?"
Haru looked like she was caught between laughing at his insults plus the nickname he and Aki had for the bastard, and scolding him for his language. "Yes, that's true. If it weren't for them, who knows what could have happened?" She opened her mouth, before closing it with a frown. Then, she shook her head. "Ryuji-kun, do you mind… If I ask you your thoughts on the Phantom Thieves?"
"They're the best!" Haru blinked at how quickly he responded and how happy he was. But it wasn't like he had to lie or anything; it was totally normal for dude's to love the Phantom Thieves! "They're totally taking down trashy adults and savin' people!"
"My, you certainly like them!"
"'Course I do! They take down evil pieces of shit and save the people that can't save themselves!"
"They take down evildoers…"
"Yep! Everyone they've gone after's been a total tool! Kamoshita, Madarame, Kaneshiro, all complete P-O-S's!"
"…" Too absorbed in his own excitement, Ryuji didn't notice the sad, contemplative expression on Haru Okumura's face.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Sapphire•
"And you're sure that you're alright?"
He held back a snicker at the worry in his son's voice. Sometimes, it felt like he was the child and Akira the adult. "Totally. Honestly, a few months off the field, and I'll be fine. Just a minor break in the bone."
"Well… If that's all it is…"
"Yups. The most danger I'll be in is when I'm finally back, and the manager chews me out for throwing the season. Although…"
"What?! What's wrong?!"
"Honestly, now that I'm home, my pelvis might be in danger of shattering with how much your mom is riding me in bed—"
"FUCK OFF!" He burst into laughter as his son hung up, and Anthony looked over at him from his desk, exasperated.
"Seriously?"
"What? He wanted to know if I was in danger, and I told him a very valid danger I'm in!"
"Your relationship with your son is weird as hell, Sapph."
He just chuckled and sat on the blond's desk. "Eh, I think bein' open about that stuff with your kid once they're old enough is healthy. And it's way more fun than being some old prude. Anyway, enough about that. Any ninjas stopped by to try and assassinate you?"
Anthony paused, fingers hovering over the holographic keyboard. "…Seriously?"
Sapphire nodded, faux-despair on his face. "They're quite deadly. Medjed might have sent some."
"I… I'm not going to dignify that with a response."
"So there WAS a ninja attack!"
Anthony's eye twitched and he began to resume typing. "Die in a fire."
"I'm too hot for that."
"I beg to differ, I wouldn't fuck you if I was paid to do so."
"That's just because you have bad taste in men, Anty."
"Tony would disagree."
"Tony's your yes-man."
"Please leave my office."
"No can do, I'm on guard for ninjas." Anthony's head passed through his holographic keyboard as he slammed his forehead into his desk repeatedly. Sapphire just grinned and watched. "Anyway, in all seriousness, any moves from Medjed?"
His friend took a moment to compose himself. "Ugh… There have been none so far. The internet had a little scare a day ago when a bank's systems had a little glitch. I had my team look into it, it was simply a mistake on their end. Honestly, the whole world's getting riled up over nothing."
"Someone threatening to shut Japan down financially is a pretty big deal, even if they can't do it in the end," Sapphire laughed.
"Whether it's possible for them, they aren't doing anything to my company. I can guarantee that."
"Yeah, yeah. I wonder what those Phantom Thieves'll do? It's either give up their identities or be blamed when Medjed does their thing."
"None of their calling cards have been delivered digitally so far. It either means they prefer physical media, or they don't have anyone capable of coding and hacking. I'm hoping it's the former, for their sake."
"I just hope they don't give in, they've done some good work. And Japan being safer makes me less worried about Akira being stuck here. Can you believe their first target was some piece of trash teacher at his school?! If that bastard did anything to him, I'll break into that damn prison and wring his neck!"
"Akira would have told you if anything happened to him, he tells you everything."
"Yeah, I guess…" Sapphire sighed and shook his head. "Whatever. Another couple of days before the deadline's up, then you take 'em down when they try to mess up your servers or… Whatever hackers do. Or I beat up the ninjas that try and break in. Then I visit Akira and head home."
"There aren't going to be ninjas."
He grinned, taking off his cap and slapping it into place on his friend's head. "Four-eyes, after what we've gone through, can you guarantee ninjas aren't going to attack?"
Anthony paused his typing. After a moment, he groaned. "Fuck, I actually can't… I swear to god, if ninjas break in, I'm letting you beat them up, then tossing you out a window for talking them into existence."
"Even with your mech suit, you can't hurt me."
Anthony simply pulled out his laser pistol and set it to its strongest setting before shooting Sapphire in the head, causing him to shriek as his (in his opinion, immaculate) hair caught on fire.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Akira•
Grumbling to himself as he walked down the streets of Shinjuku, he ignored the cackles of his Personas as they laughed at his father's 'joke'. 'Absolute prick.'
The smell of alcohol as he entered Crossroads distracted him at the very least, and the stench only got stronger as he walked up to the drunk journalist. Morgana hopped out of his bag and ran out the closing door, trying to escape the smell of booze. It's barely sundown; how is she so drunk already?
She would make an excellent drinking partner had she been around in my time, Setanta laughed.
He could practically hear the sneer in Principality's voice. You say that as though it were a good thing.
"Ohya. Lala-chan Evening."
"Heyyyyy! My favorite source of info!" Ohya cheered and raised her drink in his direction, some of the alcohol sloshing out of it. "So, what do you have for me today~?"
"You get started early, don't you?" He asked rhetorically, a tired smile already slipping into place.
"You're stating the obvious, dear," Lala-chan laughed.
"Oh, now you two are ganging up on me! How meaaaan!" Ohya slugged back another shot. "Alright, now dispense the info!"
Ω • Ω • Ω
"A fan site? Oh, you mean the Phantom Aficionado Website? I didn't know it was so popular with high school kids. I haven't been paying much attention to it. But if it's newsworthy, I guess I should keep tabs on it."
"I scroll it from time to time. I don't know how much on there is real and how much is fake, but I do see people thanking the Thieves for changing the heart of someone they know." He shrugged and sipped his glass of water. "I guess not all their targets are so huge that they're dropping thousands of cards onto Shibuya and getting the cops involved."
"The Phantom Thieves must be really bored if they're going after small-time criminals now," Ohya scoffed as she swirled his whiskey glass. "I have a theory that they're all minors, and their leader is some simpleton dying from boredom…"
Several Personas within him burst into laughter, while others growled. Personally, he sided with the angry ones over being called a simpleton, but didn't let it show on his face. Instead, he chuckled with a twinkle in his eyes. "I don't like the idea of kids my age going after a mob-boss, but hey, you never know… Though I wouldn't make assumptions if I were a journalist, Ohya-chan."
She scoffed at his teasing. "Eh, guess you're right about that. I don't have any real proof of it, anyway. Ugh, I'm not really interested in writing entertainment articles about whatever fad's caught on…"
Lala raised an eyebrow at her. "But they do really well, right? Some journalists who were in here seemed frustrated about that."
"Journalists? Oh, you mean Nakao and the others? You'd really lump me in with those hyenas? Ha! Don't insult me." Ohya angrily knocked back the liquor in his glass before slamming it down and glaring at the bar. "People at work call them paparazzi behind their backs… But me? I'm a REAL journalist!"
"Paparazzi get a bad rep and can be… annoying, but they do write some truthful articles from time to time, don't they?" He honestly questioned, thinking about some that had tried getting scoops on his own family in the past.
"Hey, I wasn't looking for some kid to butt in! Entertainment articles are all about selling copies… The truth doesn't even matter. Nobody wants to read real news…" Ohya lay her head on the table and let out a sigh.
"If that's the case, why haven't you changed careers?" She was quite adamant about it, and his curiosity was piqued.
This is rather entertaining, his other self chuckled.
"…Never."
"But at this rate, you…"
Ohya shook her head as she interrupted Lala. "If I quit now, it'd be the same as declaring my partner guilty. 'Jointly responsible'… What a joke! She didn't do anything! That's why I can't quit… And why I'll never give up."
"Mind filling in the poor, confused boy listening in? Your friend was falsely accused of something?"
"Of course she was!" Ohya caught herself sputtering. "I-I mean, never mind! Don't worry about it! Hahaha!"
"Uh-huh."
Ohya glanced away, a huff escaping her ruby lips. "But… Thanks to you, I've had more time to focus on my own investigation. I'm going to write an article that you'll really enjoy! Think of it as a sign of my appreciation! I can see it now! 'Exclusive: Behind the Incredible Phantom Thieves! Dial 110 for Justice! How's that sound?" She giggled, half-drunkenly, half-amused. "Don't worry! I'll take it seriously. After all, that's what I promised you."
He smiled at her genuine words, sensing her appreciation and honesty.
RANK UP!
Devil Arcana, Ichiko Ohya: Rank 3
"You sure are weird, though, coming all this way to Shinjuku at night…" Ohya's phone rang, and she sat up as she answered. "Hello? Mm-hm. Wait, what?! I can talk with him? Really? Okay, I'll be right there. Work? Nah, I'm already off the clock." She hung up and stood from her stool. "Sorry, I have some urgent business I need to attend to. Just put this one on my tab, Lala-chan. See ya!"
He and Lala shared an amused glance as Ohya ran out the door, and he heard a startled yowl in the distance as she sprinted past Morgana. "Geez, she's such a child… She gets so excited the moment something comes up about her favorite assignment."
"There's a pretty big difference from her enthusiasm when it comes to questioning me about the Phantom Thieves," he agreed with a laugh.
"Alright, you should start heading home now, hon. It's getting late!" He smiled in thanks at Lala, finishing his glass and picking up his bag.
"Alright, good night, Lala-chan. See you when I see you." Morgana huffed as he exited the bar, hopping into his bag.
"Such a rude lady."
"Hey, once you get past the alcohol, she's… Nice?" He heard Morgana grumble and just grinned.
Thou just thinks she is nice because of the articles she writes for thee.
'Fair.'
Ω • Ω • Ω
7/31, Sunday
DEADLINE: July 31st
DAYS UNTIL THE PURGE: 1
Wait for Futaba to recover.
They were out of time. Either Futaba woke up today and stopped Medjed, or their hard work was for nothing. "Something got you down?"
His lips quirked into a mix of a smile and a grimace, descending the last of the steps from his attic. "Not exactly."
"Hm…" Sakura looked around the empty Leblanc, then jerked his head. "Come on over. You haven't brewed me a cup for a while let's see how good you've gotten."
"…Sure, why not?" It wasn't as though he had anything else to do that day. Morgana hopped out of his bag and curled up in a booth while he slipped on an apron and began the process of brewing a cup.
He followed the steps he had been taught, and when he was done, he poured it into a mug. Sakura took a seat and sipped from it, thinking for a few moments. "Hm… Mocha Motari, huh?"
"Your taste buds are fine-tuned when it comes to coffee and curry," he chuckled as he leaned against the counter.
"That's what happens when you spend enough time owning a café." Sakura took another sip, a small smile on his face. That alone was a compliment from a strict coffee maker.
"How long have you owned Leblanc?"
"Hoo boy… A long time. Longer than I knew Wakaba and Futaba, actually. Remember how I said I knew your parents? They've stopped by here in the past. They brought you when you were a toddler. If I remember right, Wakaba and Futaba were here at the time. She was so small, then…"
"I don't remember anything like that. Futaba definitely doesn't ring any bells."
"Hey, like I said, you were a toddler. I doubt you'd remember anything at that age." Sakura looked lost in memories, and Akira crossed his arms.
"Is she… Doing any better?"
"Futaba? Yeah, she's… stirring. Like I said, this happens from time to time. She'll sleep most of the day, wake up to eat or drink or use the bathroom, then pass out again. I expect she'll sleep for a couple more days—"
The bell on the door to the café rang as Futaba unceremoniously walked in, sat next to a flabbergasted Sakura, and took the mug of coffee. She sipped at it and made a disgruntled face. "Ugh, way too spicy. Sojiro, are you sure you've been teaching this guy to make coffee?"
"Screw you too, pint-sized, Mocha Motari is supposed to be a bit spicy" he shot back with a raised eyebrow.
Sakura had a much more drastic reaction to Futaba casually strolling into Leblanc. "F-Futaba?! How did you get here?"
"Uh… I walked?"
"You're okay?!"
"Was that bad?"
"Th-That's not it! I'm just shocked to see you out of the house…"
Futaba looked down into the coffee. "Uh… I'm sorry I worried you."
"Ha…" Sakura wiped at his eyes as they moistened, a fragile laugh escaping him. "It's all right."
"Oh, by the way, what's the date today?"
"Eh? It's uh… It's the thirty-first."
Sakura shook his head and stood while Futaba frowned. "I feel like I'm forgetting something…"
"The cleanse, maybe?" He asked with a smirk, leaning on the counter.
"Oh, I remember now. Medjed." She glanced at Sakura before leaning closer to him. "Let's take care of it now. Come."
He chuckled and removed his apron. "I'm gonna walk Futaba back home, Sakura-san. It's great she's feeling better, but she shouldn't push herself so soon."
"Oh… Thanks. You do that." He winked at Futaba after getting Sakura's approval, and they quickly walked back to the Sakura household, with Morgana hopping onto his shoulder.
"Woke up right on time, pint-sized."
She puffed her cheeks out in annoyance as they went down the Yongen-Jaya alleys. "Don't call me that!"
"Don't insult a man's coffee."
"Brew better coffee, then. Sojiro's been teaching you for months now, you should be way further in the skill-tree!"
"Skill-tree…? Seriously?"
Oh great, she's one of those, Arsène groaned.
"Could we maybe focus on Medjed?" Morgana asked, leaning further over his shoulder.
Futaba stumbled, and he caught her arm. "Th-The kitty talked?! Is this a dream? I should get back to bed…"
"It is NOT a dream! Stay awake! Akira!"
Smiling in amusement, he pulled the young girl back up onto her feet. "Don't you remember Morgana talking back in the Pyramid? He does that."
"R-Right…" They entered Futaba's house and then her room, where she sat down in her chair while cracking her fingers. "It's my turn to help out. Heh. 'Medjed.' Now, how do we cook them?"
Akira thought about what they had threatened to do to not just Japan's economy, but to his uncle and his company. "Eliminate them."
Futaba snorted in amusement. "Violent much?"
"Hey, Futaba? We don't have much time left. Are you sure you can do this?"
"Who do you think you're talking to, kitty? I'll S-rank this, easily."
"Uh…"
"She'll handle it," he translated.
Futaba began to type, and her screens showed the Medjed website, where they espoused all about their justified hacking. To Akira, it all looked like an Anonymous knock-off, but that wasn't important. "You're just tapping away over there," Morgana spoke, impatiently. "Are you sure this will work?"
"…"
"Hey, Futaba!"
"…"
"She's concentrating, Morgana. Hell, I don't think she can even hear you. Let's let her work."
Our job is done at this point.
Yeah, kick back and relax!
He chuckled at the words spoken in his mind while he pulled out his phone and began texting the group chat that Futaba was awake and handling Medjed. He also made sure to message Mishima and tell him that they had found someone to take down Medjed.
He quickly ignored the dozens of replies that Mishima began sending in his excitement, talking about how he knew the Phantom Thieves wouldn't be defeated by some 'hackers of justice'.
"This place is a mess," Morgana spoke up again after several minutes of silence, only the clacking of keyboard keys filling the room. "I'm surprised she can focus at all."
"Agreed. I couldn't imagine letting my room become this bad."
"…Waiting around is pretty boring. Why don't we clean the place up for her?"
"Sure. Not like there's anything else to do."
Ω • Ω • Ω
"Phew… It looks a little better now, don't you think?"
"You can see what the floor looks like now," Akira noted with amusement. He'd spent an hour dusting, bagging trash, and mopping the floor to make the living space liveable.
"Well, Futaba? We're done on our end. Are you finished yet?"
"…" Futaba's eyes were completely focused on the computer screens, big blocks of text and code scrolling past. It wasn't anything like the movies depicted, where the lines of green letters would zip by at incredible speeds, and the hacker would type away at superhuman speeds. No, Futaba took it slowly, reading every piece of code thoroughly and only clacking away once in a while, slowly.
"She's not listening at all."
"Back to waiting… Right, I'm heading out. Keep an eye on her, Morgana."
"…Ugh, fine. Nothing else to do…" He ruffled the not-cat's fur before stepping out, pulling up his phone. If Futaba kept up the pace, he probably had a few hours. He could finally say hello to Chihaya.
He hopped on a train to Shinjuku and found Chihaya in her usual spot. "Oh, Starr! Are you here to help me today?"
"I finally had some free time and figured I could continue our deal. Have you had any customers yet today?"
"A few, but they all had simple questions. Now that you're here, hopefully we get someone that you can prove your power to change fate with!" He nodded and relaxed into the chair next to her, purposefully trying not to think about the weird robot… plushy… thing that let out a 'βơïη𝙶!' as it lay beneath the stand. Eventually, a middle-aged woman came over and happily sat down. "Good evening!"
"Hello there, Mifune-sensei. I can't wait for today's session. Your last prediction was practically perfect. By the way, um… who is this boy?"
"Oh, you needn't mind him. That's just my apprentice." He smiled in greeting. "If anything, you can think of him as a human-sized stuffed animal. I mean, look how fluffy his hair is." His smile wavered as he fought the urge to look at her in utter confusion. His hair wasn't… that messy, was it? And didn't Chihaya already have that weird stuffed animal beneath her stand? Whatever…
She's weird, just don't question her, Master.
"Wait… So he's okay with working for a woman, even though he's a guy?" The office lady sighed. "Something like that is just unthinkable in my line of work…"
Are we going to unpack that? Arsène drawled.
'Fuck that,' he internally chuckled.
"I take that to mean something else has happened with your job?"
"Yes. A male coworker of mine was given all the credit for a successful project I poured my soul into… And do you know what my boss told me? He said it was just the natural order of things because I'm a woman."
Chihaya gasped while Akira's eyebrows rose. "How terrible!"
"That's why I'm thinking of leaving and starting up my own business! I've actually been planning for some time. I'm not sure if we'll be able to find a foothold in the market though…"
"In that case, let's ask the tarot! Show us the truth, O divine power…" Chihaya flipped her cards, and Akira felt the world bloom and then click into place. "Yes… I've seen everything. Hm, the cards have appeared in reverse. In other words… it seems as though your business is doomed to failure."
"No! Wh-What should I do?!"
"I'm sorry… But in this case, it appears your fate is inescapable."
"Inescapable?"
"ᨓƌɣꔠƌφی ƌ ꔠơℓɣ یơη, βơî-ơîη𝙶?"
Chihaya almost answered with an affirmative towards the thing she called a 'Mr. Saturn', then paused and turned to him. "What are your thoughts? What can we do to help this woman who is so oppressed by the savagery of a male-dominated work environment?"
He crossed his arms and smiled. "Encourage her."
"What?! It's a little idealistic to expect that will actually work."
"So what? She just has to give it her all and overturn her fate. Just because she might fail doesn't mean she shouldn't give it her all and, at the very least, try."
"Don't be so irresponsible! That's simply not an option! How can you expect her to overturn that which is inescapable?!"
"Overturning fate…" The office lady muttered to herself before becoming more confident. "That's right… I don't have to follow the rules of this oppressive society! I can do it, I'll reshape every aspect of my antiquated industry!" He nodded at her encouragingly, and she breathed deep. "My mind is made up. I'm going to quit my job and set off on my own private business venture! And even if I fail, at least I won't be wasting away doing busywork for that sexist bastard anymore… Thank you, young man! If you'll excuse me, Mifune-sensei."
"H-Huh?"
The woman sped off, and he watched her go with a grin as Chihaya continued to sit there, flabbergasted. "That went well."
"Wha… You're far too irresponsible, Starr-san! Her misfortune has already been made clear! The cards back me up on that!"
"The buffoon is flummoxed!" Chihaya whacked him on the shoulder, and he laughed at the outrage. "Fine, fine, do another reading for her, then!"
She glared at him before doing so. As he felt the world click into place, Chihaya's eyes widened. "Wh-What?! It seems the sequence of cards has changed… Her financial future is now appearing as extremely successful! What did you do? Are you… Are you psychic?!"
He bit the inside of his mouth and tried not to laugh. She's gotten pretty close to the truth, eh, Múinteoir? He heard the Persona chuckle, as did his others at the joke.
"Did you use your powers to change the order of the cards?! My divine power is capable of sending people like you down to the depths of hell, you know!"
"Psh, I'm already bound to hell itself. No need for that."
Chihaya's head fell into her hands as she groaned. "Yes… That has to be it. That's the only way this could happen… Fate cannot be changed. Fate is absolute… That is how it must be."
"Who decided that? What law of the universe dictates that? Chihaya, you have to open your mind to change."
"That… May not be such a bad idea. But if that possibility were the truth, how would I keep my Holy Stone business intact?" He raised an eyebrow, and she cleared her throat. "A-Anyway! You've changed the flow of destiny twice now, both times coming before my very eyes… It seems this verification process is turning out to be much more meaningful than I expected!"
He smiled as he sensed her intense motivation, and chains crashed within.
RANK UP!
Fortune Arcana, Fortune Teller: Rank 2
"You'll come back again soon, right? Promise me!"
"Alright, alright," he chuckled, "I promise. See ya."
"βɣę-βɣę!"
"Ah…" He side-eyed the weird plush toy. "Bye, Mr. Saturn…"
He tried to put the odd thing out of his mind as he got on the train back towards Yongen-Jaya, answering the phone when Chihaya called as he passed Leblanc walking towards Futaba's house. He chatted with her as he entered the home, and when he knocked on the door to Futaba's room, he heard Morgana's voice call him in.
The room was dark, only lit by the computer screens, and he sighed at the sight. "Is she still going?"
Morgana yawned, lying on her bed. "Yeah. Get comfy, it looks like it'll be a while." Akira shook his head and joined Morgana, crossing his legs as he sat down, waiting for Futaba to finish. Time seemed to pass by slowly, and he almost fell asleep before a cheer woke him up.
"I'm doooooooone!"
"Wh-What's up?" Morgana, who had been sleeping, was startled awake. "Something happened?"
"It's finished."
"Finished? What is?"
Futaba didn't answer the not-cat, instead looking around her room in shock. "It's so clean! Why?!"
"We cleaned it."
"Thoroughly, I might add," Akira snarked.
"Anyways, is it true? Did you really take care of Medjed?"
"I handled them, and someone else handled my room! I don't understand, but this is good! Nice quest reward!" She then pulled out a pillow, put it on her keyboard, and passed out.
He facepalmed. "You have GOT to be kidding…"
Is this girl serious?
"Futaba? Hey, Futaba! What's wrong?!"
"Morgana, she just went back to sleep. But honestly, how much does this girl nap?!"
"This has to be abnormal, even for her…" Morgana shook his head in exasperation before climbing into his bag. "Well, it looks like it's been taken care of. I guess we should get home and sleep too…"
"This girl…" He picked Futaba up and placed her down in her bed. She would be sleeping in her clothes, but there was no chance in hell that he'd be undressing her and grabbing pajamas for her. After throwing a blanket over the girl, he walked out of the Sakura household and returned to Leblanc just as Sakura was leaving.
Once upstairs, he texted the group chat that Medjed had been taken care of by Futaba. Messages came in quickly, and everyone agreed to meet the next day. After they finished reading, Morgana curled up next to him, frowning as Akira got ready for bed. "We should be in the clear now, right?"
"If Futaba really took care of them, then yes. Come on, Morgana. Let's get to sleep. Tomorrow can't come quick enough."
"Right…" Even though they were both worried, the two friends took comfort in each other's presence, and the not-cat purred as Akira scratched behind his ears before they drifted to sleep.
Futaba sleeping for several week straight if you finish her Palace in one day will never not be funny lmao… And then she goes right back to sleep.
So, a couple Confidant rank-ups, a little segment with Sapph and Ant, and my favorite part, Ryuji meeting up with Haru. That'll probably change a later Palace, or at least its intro.
I probably said it before, but I really enjoy Ohya's Confidant. Yeah her benefits aren't that good, but her story is great. Death also got to rank 7, and we're changing fate with Fortune.
Other than that, I'm excited for the next chapter. We'll finally get Futaba actually interacting with the Phantom Thieves. So let me know what you think of the chapter, or just leave a 'nice,' both are always great to read. See y'all next time!