Chapter 68: The Pharaoh of Sloth…

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Ann•

Akira coughed again and groaned. Ann lifted the water bottle to his lips once more, and he drank greedily. "Feeling any better?"

"Mm. A little. Can I—?"

"No~."

"Okay…" Morgana failed to hide his snickers at Akira's grumbles and Ann's chastisement.

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Ryuji•

"Wish we could help," he muttered as he scooped up some curry. "I'd be great at takin' care of a sick Akira!"

"It's better to not overwhelm Akira with people while he's sick," Prez responded. "Besides, we don't want to risk all of us getting sick."

"That's true. All we can do on our end would be to hope for Akira's swift recovery."

Yusuke was right, but his wise words were ruined by the fact that he was gobbling down his third plate of curry. Prez sighed and used her napkin to dab at Yusuke's chin like a mother hen.

…He did remember that they weren't on the house, right?

"I guess. Just want to do more, y'know? He was totally freakin' out back in, uh…" He wanted to say 'the Palace', but he probably shouldn't say that out loud in a public place. See, Aki? He was learnin'! "The Pyramid."

Prez gave him a deadpan stare, which confused him. He'd covered up their activities well enough!

"He was rather… rattled," Yusuke spoke. "He seemed especially anxious to get through as quickly as possible."

"We have quite the short time limit for our summer project," Prez interjected, making up a good excuse for what they were doing. "I'm sure that's why he was so panicked."

"You mean rattled," Yusuke repeated, for some reason. "But yes, I'm sure that was the reason."

"I dunno, he was really freaked out. Like, he was goin' so hard that even Prez had to tell him to chill out. Ain't that kinda weird? I mean, it's all about pacin' in the end, if you push too hard then you get burnt out and can't keep goin'. That's just common sense, especially when it comes to stuff like track and field. But he ignored all that."

Prez and Yusuke looked at him in surprise, for some reason. "That's… A good point," Prez slowly agreed.

"He's responsible for all of us. Perhaps he was worried what might happen to all of us if we… fail our assignment."

Prez drummed her fingers against the table. "Whatever the case, we can ask Akira when he's fully recovered. Let's let Ann and Morgana take care of him for now."

"I'm pretty sure Monamona's more focused on Ann than Akira," he snickered. Prez looked like she wanted to argue back, but she really, really couldn't.

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

The room had finally stopped spinning whenever his eyes were open, so… That was good. Ann gave him a look before he could even think about sitting up, and he grumbled as he lay back into the pillow.

"Even if you're feeling better, you aren't getting up," she lectured.

"Listen to Lady Ann," Morgana snickered from the windowsill.

"Whatever… Is my temperature down yet?"

Ann sighed but still leaned down to check. He expected her to use the back of her hand, instead, she cupped his neck and placed her forehead against his. He felt his cheeks heat up, and that wasn't because of his fever.

"Hm… Well, you're cooler, but you're not back to normal just yet." Ann blushed as well, but she powered through and nodded. "We'll put on another cold pack and make sure you drink a lot more water."

"Yes, mom."

She huffed. "Don't get snippy with me, mister, or I'll put you in time-out."

"Sorry," he chuckled, a weak cough escaping him. At the very least, it wasn't as bad as his earlier ones. "Do you think I'll be alright by tomorrow?"

"Probably, but we still won't send the card if you are. Another day of rest won't hurt you." Akira bit his tongue before he could start arguing. Ann was just as stubborn as he was, at least, when it came to the safety of her friends.

Well, all the Phantom Thieves cared about each other, but he was pretty confident in saying that Ann was the only one who would physically tie him down to his bed using her weapon if he kept trying to escape it.

…Though, if he was annoying enough, Makoto might consider knocking him out with her fists.

"Hear that, Morgana? Tomorrow, he doesn't get to leave the café."

"Got it, Lady Ann!"

"Traitor," he grumbled half-heartedly.

"You can call me a traitor when you're capable of fighting us off without passing out from exhaustion," Morgana scoffed.

Unable to argue with that, he crossed his arms, petulant. Ann giggled at him. "You'll be fine soon enough. I'll let the others know that you're doing better."

He glanced out the window. "It's starting to get late, isn't it? You can get going if this is a bother."

Ann rolled her eyes. "This isn't a bother, dummy. I'm happy to take care of you! Uh, w-well, I'm sure any of us would be happy to help you, you know?"

He blinked as she nervously giggled and rushed down the stairs. "…Okay?"

"She's right, Akira." Morgana hopped down onto the bed. "None of us would be upset about having to help you. You've helped the rest of us so much, after all."

"I don't want to be a burden to any of you. And… And with my uncle possibly being in danger, I just…"

Morgana batted him on the head with his paw lightly. "As if. You aren't a burden, even sick. And we'll protect your uncle when we save Futaba and have her take down Medjed, so don't worry, okay?"

He gave his partner a shaky smile. "I'll try not to."

Some time passed and Ann poked her head up the stairs. "Everyone's got to get going, so make sure you stay in bed! I'm going to the gym with Ryuji to get some training in for my modeling, but Boss agreed to let me borrow the keys so I could come back after and make you dinner!"

He was partially happy about that, but he internally groaned as he just knew what Sojiro's face would look like the next time he saw him.

Smug old man.

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Ann•

After leaving Leblanc they split up so she could grab her gym clothes, and she met up with Ryuji again at Central Street.

According to him, there was a gym there that he and Akira went to, and it would be a good place for her to get fitter for modeling. After changing in the locker room, she met Ryuji by the treadmills, where he stood with a huge smile on his face. "This place ain't half bad, huh? Nobody's hoggin' the barbells, though I guess that's 'cause basically nobody's even here."

"Well, it's not the fanciest place."

Ryuji rolled his eyes. "Anyways, today's a trial day, so you're gonna have to start payin' if you wanna keep comin' back after this."

She pumped her fists. "We'll just have to see how this first session goes, then!"

"Right… Hey, uh, why'd you wanna come here in the first place?"

"I want to slim down!"

"Huh. You tried joggin'?"

"Aerobics alone aren't enough!" And that was the right word, because she looked it up when she had become determined to be a serious model! "I want to tone up too, so I need to start lifting weights. Plus my shoulders are drooping, I wanna make my biceps leaner, and I need to straighten my back out!" She didn't notice the exasperated look on Ryuji's face as she continued. "Obviously I want to cut down on my waist size too… And firm up my butt and calves!"

"That's a lotta work you gotta get done, then… Anyways, motivation's good n' all, but you're not gonna be able to move tomorrow if you do all that shit."

She lifted a hand to her chin, thinking. "Then you come up with a training regimen for me."

"Ugh, you're such a pain."

She giggled at her old friend's reaction, winking as she bent forward and put her hand on her hip. "If you do that for me, I'll go on a date with you as a reward! ️"

"Eff that. Quit thinkin' you're some sexy character in an anime. It's sad watchin' you like this."

"What?!" Sure, it had mostly been a joke since she really couldn't think of Ryuji as anything other than a great friend, but he could have at least played along! What did he mean 'Eff that'?!

"First off, one of them sexy characters'd never come to the gym in their PE uniform."

"How am I supposed to know that?! I've never even been to the gym before today!"

"Second, I really don't want a pity date from some chick that clearly wants my bro."

"T-The heck do you mean by that?!" Ryuji just rolled his eyes at her stammering, and before she could grill him further, her phone rang. Seeing the name of her agency, her eyes widened, before glaring at Ryuji to let him know the conversation wasn't over as she picked up.

"Hello, Takamaki-chan?"

"Hi! what's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we had to switch up the plans for our next shoots. The magazine that wanted to do a black and white issue said that you wouldn't stand out enough."

"Ah… Well, alright! Even a smaller article would be great!"

"They… The magazine said that they wouldn't be able to fit you in even with a smaller article. Sorry, Takamaki-chan."

"It fell through? …Alright. Thanks for letting me know." She hung up and sighed. Ryuji looked awkward, having heard the whole thing, so she explained what she had been told. "Haha, it's nothing serious, just my agency. I was supposed to be in two magazines the month after next, but apparently one canceled on me. It was a black-and-white shoot, so they said I wouldn't stand out."

"Uh, don't most people not really stand out in black-and-white?" Ryuji asked in confusion. She couldn't tell if he was really confused, or trying to cheer her up, but she was grateful either way.

"Ha. I guess. It sounded like fun though. It was about the everyday life of models…"

"Guess you just gotta find somewhere you do stand out then."

"Huh… There has to be somewhere my vibrant charm will shine, right?!"

"Eh…" Ryuji eyed her unflattering gym outfit. "You'd know better than me, I guess. Oh!" Ryuji grinned and stood a bit straighter. "Speakin' of magazines, there was a real pretty girl in that one you said you were starrin' in. She's got this innocent vibe, but she's sexy too. Now that's what real charm looks like to me."

She took a deep breath and crossed her arms. "…Were there photos of me next to her?"

"Uh, yeah."

"…And did she have long, brown hair?"

"Yup, that's the one! You know her?! You gotta introduce me, dude!"

She finally exploded. "You dick! Of all the girls you could have been talking about, it just HAD to be Mika! UrghhhhHHH! I'm so PISSED!" Ryuji just looked baffled as she stomped past him. "Come on, which machine are we using first?! I'm gonna break it!"

"I don't think we can afford to do that…!"

Ryuji started her on the treadmills, making sure to keep a safe distance from her as he set up the machine on a good speed and resistance for her. His treadmill was set for a higher speed and resistance, and they started to run. Soon enough her blood was pumping and what Ryuji called a 'runner's high' set in, as she forgot about whatever was upsetting her.

Ryuji had to tap out first, the more intense setting for his treadmill causing his knee to start throbbing. Instead, he stood beside her treadmill, pushing her on every time she started to slow down. "Keep it up! Just one more minute! You've got this!"

"You… said that… five minutes ago!"

"And you're still going, aren't you?! Move, move! Pretend you're being chased by one of them huge boulders from the pyramid!"

That one got another spurt of energy from her.

Once they were done with the treadmills he walked her through more exercises with more machines, until she was fully exhausted. "Hah…" She panted as she lay on the ground, while Ryuji stretched his arms over his head and was still breathing steadily. "My body… Hurts… But for some reason… I feel… Satisfied."

"That's what workin' hard feels like. Not bad, huh?"

"Yeah, that was actually… Pretty fun. I think having a friend with me helped with that."

"Yup, working out with a friend is a lot better than working out alone. When I'm trainin' with Aki, we can push ourselves further than we can alone, and have a lot more fun when we do! Heh, when I was on the track team, workin' together like that helped everyone push forward and get better n' better times, even if it is mostly solo sport!"

"Yeah… With someone else here, I had to prove I was working extra hard."

"It's simple stuff like that that'll help keep you pushin'."

"Dammit, I wish I had thought of that…"

"Uh, this ain't a competition." Ryuji's phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his shorts. "Crap, for real? Man… Mom forgot to buy stuff for dinner, so I guess I gotta head home now. Seeya." She watched him rush off to the changing room and laughed.

"He just can't say no when his mom needs help, huh?" Checking the time she saw it wasn't too late. Nodding to herself, Ann quickly washed the sweat from her workout off and changed back into her casual clothes, before hopping on the train back to Leblanc.

It looked like Boss had already left for the day, so she unlocked the door with the key she'd been given and shouted out to the two upstairs. "Akira, Morgana! I'm back from the gym! I'm gonna cook you some more porridge, okay?!"

"Welcome back, Lady Ann!" After a moment Morgana descended the stairs and hopped onto the counter. "How was your workout?"

"Well, it was tough, but by the end, I felt pretty good! When Akira's feeling better, we should all go together!" Morgana perked up at that, and she began setting up to cook. As she did, she set aside a plate of fish for Morgana, who mewled happily and started eating.

Taking the finished porridge upstairs, Akira turned to her as she walked over to his bed. "Hey. Thanks for this, you didn't have to come back and make me dinner."

"Oh, don't worry about it! You have to eat, or you'll just get sicker!"

"No, I mean that Sakura would have probably made me something if you didn't offer."

"Yeah, but he has to take care of Futaba-chan, and…" She eyed him, and he raised an eyebrow.

"And?"

She turned away to hide her smile. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

"Alright…" She heard him begin eating, and she lightly slapped her cheeks. To distract herself, she began talking about the exercises they went through at the gym. "Yeah," Akira mentioned between bites, "Exercising with friends is much better than doing it alone. Even when it's just me and Morgana, he helps push me forward. Of course, he does try to help in other ways, like hanging onto my leg when I do pull-ups…"

Ann giggled at the thought of Akira doing pull-ups while Morgana hung from him, shouting encouragements. "That's a sight I'd pay to see." She continued to talk about the session, including Ryuji's crush on Mika which got Akira to start laughing so hard he began to cough, and how Ryuji eventually left to help his mom buy stuff for dinner. "You know, Ryuji really can't say no when it comes to his mom. I'm actually kinda jealous of their relationship."

"Ryuji and his mom?"

"Yeah. I mean, even growing up, my parents were super busy. They always told me I was strong, that I'd be fine on my own. I was free… But I was lonely. I'd make friends, but we moved a lot… And every time, I had to start all over again. I actually got used to the loneliness…"

Akira mumbled something to himself, but she couldn't hear what. Either way, Ann smiled, remembering the first encounter with her best friend. "But that all changed once I met Shiho. The world seemed so hopeful!"

"How is she, by the way?"

"I heard her rehab is going well… She'll have to continue afterward, but she's going to be officially transferring schools soon too. I need to show her that I'm working hard… And that she doesn't need to worry so much about me."

She felt Akira take her hand in his, the warmth of his fever having died down, but still noticeable. "She'll be happy to hear that."

She turned to look back at him, smiling as her resolve shone through. "Right. She needs to see how much I've learned from her!"

RANK UP!

Lovers Arcana, Ann Takamaki: Rank 8

Taking a moment, she realized she was still holding Akira's hand and blushed. "Ah, l-lemme take that bowl from you! You're finished, right?!"

"Huh? Uh, yeah. Here." He handed her the empty bowl, and she stood up. "Thanks again."

"Right. I'll go wash it out, then get going. Remember, even if you feel better tomorrow, no leaving Leblanc, alright?"

"Alright…" Akira yawned, covering his mouth as he lay back down. "Even after sleeping all day, I'm still tired… Ugh…"

"Get some rest. Goodnight, Akira."

"G'night… Ann…" Ann giggled and pulled the covers up over him. He looked cute, all tuckered out like that.

She wasn't afraid to admit that he was handsome, she'd known that since they first met, even if she didn't acknowledge it. And of course, when he'd burst into the torture room that she'd awakened to Carmen in riding Bicorn, he was like a knight in shining armor. But here, he looked more like an adorable, sleeping kitten. Maybe he was spending too much time around Morgana and taking his mannerisms.

She bit back laughter at the thought and walked downstairs, to find Morgana had almost finished his plate. She chatted with him casually as she washed out the bowl, before doing the same with Morgana's and placing them in a cupboard.

"Alright, I'm off. Remember, he doesn't leave Leblanc and preferably stays in his room, too. Good night, Morgana!"

"Good night, Lady Ann!"

Ω • Ω • Ω

7/28, Thursday

DEADLINE: July 31st

DAYS UNTIL THE PURGE: 4

Steal Futaba's heart.

•Sapphire•

He laughed as Diamond and Moon clambered over Akira, the teenager suffering in the quiet way only an indulgent older brother could.

Willow giggled as she leaned against him, watching their children.

The tree they sat under swayed quietly in the gentle breeze.

"I can't wait for the next one~"

"Are you trying to make a full baseball team?!" He asked incredulously.

There was a moment of silence before they both burst out laughing.

"...I love you. Promise you'll never leave us?"

"I promise."

Ỷ̸̵̴̸̵̸̴̷̶̶̴̶̶̴̵̴̸̴̴̶̸̶̵̵̸̷̵̶̸̷̵̵̴̸̛̼̘̣̲̠̫͎̹͇͈͍͎̲̑̑͋̔͛̔̐͆̅͂̊̌͌̕͝ͅo̷̴̵̶̶̸̵̴̸̵̵̷̵̸̷̸̶̴̷̴̷̴̸̸̴̷̷̷̸̸̵̡͔͉̖̦̤̟̙͖͔̘͙̳̪̗͊͐͛̓͗̏̽̔̑͒͊͆̕ư̶̵̷̶̴̵̶̴̴̷̸̴̷̵̶̴̸̷̛̯͖̅͐̈̎̿̋̊̔̌̑͝ȓ̵̷̴̴̵̶̴̷̸̸̷̶̴̴̷̶̷̴̴̴̶̸̴͖̠͕͐̽̀̽̄͆͊̌̆̍̐͑̽̋͘͝c̵̵̶̵̵̵̵̷̸̵̸̴̴̵̵̸̶̷̴̶̵̸̡̨̬̻̜̻͖͈̝̜͖͐̑͒̅̔̀̚͝h̴̸̵̵̶̵̶̸̶̴̶̸̶̲̬̦̘̮̮̦͈̒́o̵̸̵̸̷̸̴̵̸̸̷̵̸̷̴͓̜̲̪͆̏͊͗͌̂́͝ĭ̸̴̵̶̸̷̵̶̴̴̴̵̶̴̸̶̶̴̵̵̸̷̳͔̯̖͂̀͋́̾͌̀͌̇̾̀́͠͝c̷̸̴̴̸̵̶̸̵̶̸̷̵̴̴̸̸̶̷̸̙̏̅̿̒͆̀͌̐͒̈́͑̋͆̂̽͘ẹ̸̶̴̵̴̶̵̵̵̸̵̵̵̶̷̴̴̴̶͚̝̞́͌͐̀̈́́̽̈̑͊̍ͅd̸̷̵̸̴̶̶̵̴̶̴̴̶̵̶̴̵̸̶̶̴͇̟̦͔̥̲͇̺͉̯̰͙̽͒̍͗͋̍ë̶̵̴̸̴̷̴̷̶̷̵̴̸̷̸̶̸̵͖͕̭͉͒͛̽̍̅̎͋͌̚͠ċ̶̸̵̵̸̴̷̷̶̴̴̵̷̶̶̸̴̸̷̵̷̶̴̶̡̣͔̳̣̟̜̬̲͚̝̼̅̀́͒̑̀͜͝ḯ̸̴̸̷̴̷̴̴̸̷̷̷̴̸̵̷̶̵̸̷̶̶̴̶̴̶̷̵̢̧̼̪͉̜͇͉̤͕̬͚̮̰̙͕̅͋͊́͆͒̏̕d̷̵̴̵̷̷̴̷̸̴̵̸̶̴̸̴̸̶̢͉̟̟̞̺̬̹̯͓͉̒̈́̎̕ḙ̵̷̸̶̶̷̶̴̡̫͚͝s̷̶̷̷̵̴̵̵̸̵̸̴̴̷̵̡̡̢̳̥͕̣̳͎̩̝̓ÿ̴̷̷̶̶̴̴̶̸̵̶̴̸̴̸̷̸̴̹͔͇̗̲̭͖̺̅̈́́̔͐̚ȏ̷̶̶̷̷̶̸̶̷̴̸̸̵̸̷̵̶̴̴͕̥̜̟̯̳̮͇̺̞͎͚̘̑͜ų̵̶̵̴̴̶̶̶̷̸̶̶̸̸̵̵̷̸̸̵̸̵̸̸̶̶̨̨̣̖̻̳̗͚̯͚͖̭͍̟̩͖̍͋͗́̏̇r̷̴̶̸̴̴̸̴̷̵̸̸̷̷̷̸̶̴̵̵̴̴͔̹̝̝̈́̽̌̈́͒̋̅̒̔̽̀̊̄̆͝f̸̶̴̵̶̷̷̷̴̸̷̷̷̸̴̗͕̭͕̓̓̇̂͋̎́̚ạ̴̴̴̸̵̷̷̴̶̵̵̸̴̸̷̵̷̷̷̷̵̵̴̷̷̶̷̵̵̸̧̡̜̹͖̱̩̪̟͙̬͎̒̌̊̈́̌̆͗̋͑̓̏̔̀͠ẗ̴̶̸̴̸̷̴̸̶̴̸̴̷̵̸̵̷̴̴̵̴̶̵̶̵̸̢̛͍͍̖̝̞͈͚͎̤́̈́̊̃͗̈́̐̏̚͘͘ͅę̵̶̶̵̴̵̶̴̸̸͕̄͒̈́̚̕

The grassy field transformed into the metal bowels of an underground area.

"Come on! Give me a challenge!"

Blood spurted, and pain tore through his body.

A silver and blue spear ripped his heart to shreds, red dripping down its length.

He laughed and grabbed the spear, tearing it from his chest and continuing to fight.

He only fell once every last monster was killed.

"Sorry… I couldn't keep our promise…"

He jerked awake, sweat soaking his clothes. It took him several moments to calm down, and he slowly sat up. "Goddamn premonitions, interrupting good dreams…" Sapphire rubbed his face with his hands, shaking his head and reorienting himself, while at the same time, a chuckle escaped him.

After all, he had to have seen that one coming. It was such a stereotypically good dream that he should have immediately become lucid and realized it was going to go to shit. It was too cliche not to. A breezy picnic with his children playing and his wife implying she wanted a fourth one?

Maybe he'd watched too many wholesome romance movies with her recently. They needed to see some kind of action flick soon. He reorientated himself, sitting up. He was back home, PSI was very helpful with expediting the process of having a doctor check him out.

It was simple enough to use a quick Hypnosis and fool the Doctor looking at the results of the X-ray machine and all his tests into giving a prognosis that sent him home for the rest of the season. His manager wasn't exactly happy at him being out for the next few months, but he'd send the guy a gift basket, that might cheer him up.

He laughed at the idea, and Willow burst into the room within seconds. "Darling! You're awake!"

"I noticed. Were you waiting for me to wake up this whole time?"

"Of course! You fell asleep as soon as you got home!"

"Travel by anything other than PSI is so boring, of course I fell asleep," he snickered. "Anyway, there's no need to worry." Sapphire stuck his leg into the air and waggled it around, before turning to sit on the edge of their bed. "PSI Lifeup is a miracle worker, ya know?"

Willow huffed and put her hands on her hips. "That doesn't mean I can't worry! I've never seen you take a fall that you didn't immediately get back up from! Let me guess, you want time off so you can keep an eye on Anty?"

"That was the plan," he shrugged.

"Well, I don't like it! Even if you can heal yourself, I don't want you just hurting yourself like that. You being hurt for any reason is…"

"I know, I'm sorry, Sunshine." He smiled and pulled her down to sit on the bed next to him. "Honestly, breaking my leg just to keep an eye on Anthony was, uh… kinda spur of the moment and probably not the best idea. But, y'know, I'm worried about him."

"Mm-hm, I get it." She lay her head on his shoulder. "I'm also worried. Even if he's a super-genius, he can still make mistakes. And Medjed is like some sorta super hacker group, right? If there's anyone that might be able to hurt him, they could! Maybe! What if they turn off his security system and send in ninjas to attack him?!"

"Yeah! And it's not like Noct can take time off from kinging, and you've got the preschool and the kids! He can't fight off ninjas on his own, he'd get his ass handed to him!"

They were both silent a moment before Willow turned to look up at him. "...Do you think they really have ninjas?"

"Maybe?"

"Huh. That'd be cool…"

He blinked. "What were we talking about again?"

"I 'unno… Oh! I was telling you to not hurt yourself, even if it's to help people you love, okay?"

He felt a pang of guilt and smiled sadly. "I'll try my best. You know that I'm the toughest outta all of us, right? Even if Noct can fight better, he can't take a hit like me."

His wife rolled her eyes, smiling. "And Anthony isn't going to be fighting monsters or PSI users. You don't have to throw yourself in front of some big psychic blast! It'll probably be some weird hackers online, and maybe some ninjas."

"True, I'll have to be ready for sneak attacks, rather than big blasts of PSI," he muttered to himself, mock-seriously. Willow snorted, and he laughed alongside her. "Anyway, it should be fine if I don't leave right away. I can take a day or so to spend time with you and the twins before I go to act as Ant's bodyguard. I'm sure they'll be ecstatic that I'm home early."

"Great! We'll have so much fun! It's too bad Akira hasn't called to see if you're alright, though…"

"I'm sure he's busy. He's probably made a lot of friends over there that he's spending time with, I don't expect him to watch every one of my games, he probably just didn't see my last one and doesn't know I'm 'hurt'."

"Yeah, that's true… Well, let's go make breakfast, it'll be like Christmas morning when Diamond and Moon see you there!"

"Yep! Just gotta grab my crutches and remember not to walk normally when they're around, they think I'm injured after all. Now come on, you can get the table ready. You aren't going anywhere near the stove." Willow pouted as he poked fun at her inability to cook, and he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, trying to forget all about his dream as they went.

Ω • Ω • Ω

7/29, Friday

DEADLINE: July 31st

DAYS UNTIL THE PURGE: 3

Steal Futaba's heart.

•Akira•

He was still upset about his forced two days off, but at the very least he was back to tip-top shape. He felt much better, and he was ready to finally steal the Treasure. Everyone was coming to Leblanc for one final meeting before they got ready to steal the Treasure, while he had his phone out to call his Uncle.

It rang twice before he heard a click. "Hello? Akira?"

"Yup, it's me."

"It's good to hear from you. Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

"No, no. I just… Wanted to call. Say hi. I would have come in to see you, but I figure security is probably pretty high with the whole Medjed thing going on?"

"Ha. Yes, you could say that… Smart of you to not come in right now." He heard a laugh and the flapping of paper. "There's no need to worry. That's really why you're calling, right? Medjed has no chance against me or my company."

He smiled. "I know that I just… Yeah. I worry. The group is pretty renowned."

"Not as renowned as I." He could practically hear the grin in his uncle's voice. "Don't worry, Little Star. These amateurs won't even be able to touch me."

He grumbled into the phone. "I told you to stop calling me that…"

"No. Now, have you called your father? He's alright, of course, but I'm sure he'd appreciate a call. I'm sure you have, though."

"W-What do you mean?"

"…You didn't see his latest game?"

He got up from his bed, and began to pace. "I've been sick the past two days. Couldn't go on my phone, I've been resting the whole time."

"Sick? You never get sick, Sapph— Ah." His uncle cleared his throat. "Well, no matter. In his last game, he hit home plate wrong when he was sliding toward it, and the catcher landed on his leg in a bad way. Your mother called and let me know that the doctors say it's a minor break, but by the time he'll be recovered enough to play again, the season will have ended."

"O-Oh. But he's alright? It's just a minor break? That's it?"

"That's it." Uncle Anthony's voice was a mixture of amusement and reassurance. "Trust me, he's fine. Call if you can, but don't get sick again from worry."

"Right. Uh, thanks for letting me know. I'll— I'll call him when I can."

"Great. Though, maybe not right now. Considering the time differential, and the fact that he's back several months early, I don't think you want to interuppt whatever may be going on in that bedroom right now."

"Ugh, gross! Don't put that image in my head!" He hung up, cutting off the man's laughter. He immediately began to dial the number for his father's phone, regardless of the time in Onett at the moment, before he heard his teammates' voices drifting up the stairs.

"Yo, Akira! We're here!"

He bit his lip in thought before Arsène's soothing voice rang out. It is as thy uncle said, Trickster. Worrying thyself sick over thy father's condition will help no one. Trust in thy uncle's words that he is alright, and focus on thy mission.

'You're right. I need to keep a cool head and focus. Not rush, but instead tackle one thing at a time. I just hate the fact that it feels like everything's happening all at once...'

Besides, he is right that I'd rather not call and interrupt thy parents mid-coitus… It's bad enough dealing with the repressed memories of thee walking in on them.

'DON'T BRING THAT UP, THOSE MEMORIES ARE REPRESSED FOR A REASON! FUCK!'

When his friends entered his attic, they were greeted by the sight of him smashing his forehead against the wall.

"…Ann, you sure he's healed?"

Ω • Ω • Ω

"Alright," he spoke up, pretending that nothing had happened. "It's time for the heist."

Everyone glanced at each other, before deciding to follow his example and not mention the scene they'd just witnessed. Ryuji cleared his throat, leaning back in the chair he'd chosen. "Uh… So, we're chargin' into Futaba's room? Cuz, I got the calling card ready, so I'm good to go."

"This is different from past cases," Morgana spoke up. "We'll be handing the calling card directly to Futaba herself. Once we give it to her, we'll head straight into her Palace. There won't be any time for prep work in between, but we're as ready as we'll ever be, so we don't have to worry about that."

"Then let's do it."

"Ooh, you're set on doin' this?!"

"Well, we're all healthy and ready to go…" Makoto sighed and brushed aside a strand of hair. "As much as I dislike you pushing yourself to the point your health declined, it is true that we managed to make great progress through an entire Palace in a single day and made excellent use of our limited time. You also made sure everyone was stocked on weapons, equipment, and supplies."

"Yeah. Even though what you did was dumb, it did work out in the end, so we might as well do the heist now while we still have time. Just don't do that ever again!"

He laughed nervously at Ann's reprimand. "Can we just forget about that?"

"No," Yusuke denied. "Putting your health at risk is something we will not allow to happen again. Should you try and push through a Palace like that, or do anything similar that could jeopardize you, I'm confident that we will all stop you before you can hurt yourself again."

Ryuji grinned. "You got that right!"

He just sighed but still smiled at everyone's resolve. "I can't complain about my friends being worried about me. Alright. I'll be counting on all of you to rein me in if I ever do something similar again."

"Mwehehe, you got it, Akira! Alright, now let's get to the Sakura household. Forgive me, Chief, but I'll unlock the front door and get us inside!"

"How will we convince Futaba to let us into her room though? Even Boss is forbidden entry."

"We'll have to be honest with her," he answered Yusuke.

"Yes, that is the best course of action."

Yusuke's eyebrows rose at Makoto's agreement. "You know a method?"

"I just think it's quite straightforward. Futaba doesn't know what we're doing inside her Palace, correct? Hence, if we tell her we've come to steal her heart, she'll surely open the door and allow us inside."

"Wait… That's it?"

Makoto nodded at Ann. "Futaba wants to have a change of heart. After all, she contacted us for that express purpose. That desire should lead her to open the door as well."

"You're right… Our feelings should get through if we just try and talk to her."

He hated to shut down the beautiful blonde, but he had to be realistic. "I wouldn't be so sure. While I believe being honest will be the easiest way in, even inside her heart we had to deal with tricks and traps that prevented easy progress, even though she asked us to change her heart. It might not be that easy."

"Well, maybe not, but I believe in Futaba! C'mon, Aki, let's get this done!"

Seeing his friend's enthusiasm, he couldn't help but chuckle. Looking around the table and seeing everyone's determined expressions to save Futaba, he stood up, everyone nodded, and they set out to save Futaba Sakura from herself.

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Futaba•

She looked down at her phone quizzically, the red and black eye of the mystery app staring back. "An eyeball…? What's this? When did it even get on my phone?" She tapped it, and the world wavered, for lack of a better word. Gasping, she nearly knocked her chair over as she scrambled back, watching a red and black fog burst into existence in front of her, a near-identical version of herself wearing Egyptian clothing appearing out of it. "Wh-Whooooaaaa… Wh-Who're you?"

"I am the other you," Mirror-her spoke, her voice oddly distorted.

She stood out of her chair, looking at the Pharaoh version of herself with a mix of shock, confusion, and alarm. "I-Is this some kinda hallucination? It's different from usual…"

"How long will you continue blaming yourself and shutting yourself away from the world?"

Her heart skipped a beat. "Blaming myself for what?"

"For your mother's death." She looked away from the fake her. "Don't you think it's time you grasped the truth of that moment? What happened before your eyes… What happened to your mother…"

"The truth…"

Not-Futaba tilted her head. "Why did you choose to rely on the Phantom Thieves?"

"That's…"

"Are you simply going to shut yourself in and do nothing? Are you going to avert your eyes from the true answer?" She took a shuddering breath as her head began to pound. The weird figure just watched her, before casually nonchalantly lifting a hand. "If so… I will kill them in your world."

The fog dissipated, as did her copy, and she continued to stand there staring at nothing. "I… What should I do?"

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

"We're sorry for sneaking in so many times, Boss."

"No need to apologize when he's not even here," he chuckled.

"I-It's the principle of the matter!"

"There's no mistaking it," Morgana spoke as he observed the door to Futaba's room. "This is the same door as in the Palace."

After taking a moment Makoto knocked on the door, and Akira heard shuffling from within. "Hello, Futaba? You're there, aren't you? Please answer us."

"I doubt she'd answer," Morgana sighed sympathetically.

"Alibaba, we know you're there," she spoke again, trying a different approach. "It doesn't matter if it's through chat messaging. Just answer us."

His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to see a familiar cat-like icon messaging him.

Futaba— You should've told me you were going to come here.

Makoto looked over his shoulder and read the message, before turning to the door. "In order to steal your heart, we need you to open this door. We can't change your heart otherwise. Please let us in."

"Kali maaaaa," he whispered to himself.

Futaba— I'm not mentally prepared!

Futaba— And that was a terrible reference!

You— You have to do this.

Futaba— That's easy for you to say…

"The other you within your heart told us to have you open it," Makoto spoke again. "Deep down, you want us to open this door, don't you?"

"She's probably confused as hell about that 'other you' shit," Ryuji muttered.

Futaba— The other me?

"Called it."

"Shush!"

"Right. We're trying to uphold our promise, but you're the one resisting us."

Futaba— Give me some time.

"Ten seconds." He heard something thud on the other side of the door.

She reminds me of my old teacher, Setanta cackled.

She's certainly a slave driver, Leanan Sidhe agreed.

Futaba— That's too short! At least minutes, please!

"Fine. But if Boss comes home, we'll kick down the door and enter if we must." Futaba didn't send an affirmative, but the rustling sounds on the other side of the door made him assume that she had heard Makoto's threat.

"I feel kind of bad about this…"

Yusuke sighed. "While I agree, Ann, It is necessary. Unfortunately."

Akira started a timer on his phone, before crossing his arms. Ten minutes passed slowly, and he was ready at any moment to blast down Futaba's door if he heard Sakura coming home. He would feel bad about it, and he would call out a warning so the young girl could hopefully get out of the way, but this was the only way to open the path to the Treasure.

To him, the timer ringing was a relief. For Futaba, he assumed it must have sounded like the doomsday clock. "Time's up, Alibaba." To her credit, Futaba didn't waste any time sending a message after Makoto's knock.

Futaba— All right, I'll open it now.

"We need to change her cognition. Better to be completely safe than sorry."

"So she has to be the one to invite us in…"

Akira shrugged at the artist. "Possibly. We might be able to open the way by forcing the door open, but let's play it safe."

"Futaba, please open the door." A moment of silence passed. Then, the door handle shook and it creaked open, just an inch.

"All right, let's go in…" Ryuji was the first through the door, followed by Yusuke, himself, Ann, Makoto, and Morgana. The inside of the room was… about what Akira expected. After hearing that she was a shut-in, he'd imagined a room filled with trash, blackout curtains, and things like that…

That was exactly what they saw. The floor was covered with magazines and articles, haphazardly thrown about and crinkling underfoot. Trash bags filled with cups of ramen noodles and other fast food junk lay about the room. The bed was completely unmade. The only places that looked well cared for were a shelf covered in anime figurines, discs, and books, and a desk with an impressive computer setup.

"What is this…?"

"The result of the life of a shut-in," he answered Yusuke despondently. Seeing as how Futaba must have some form of depression, he figured she would barely care about her living space. If at all.

"Medical science, information technology, biology, psychology… These are all technical books…"

"She keeps herself cooped up in a room like this all the time?" Ann asked sadly.

Yusuke glanced around and asked the question that should have been first in everyone's mind. "Where's Futaba?"

"Where could she be hiding in this tiny place?" A small thud echoed after Ryuji's question, and everyone slowly turned to the closet.

"She'll shut herself in to the bitter end, hm?"

"Even if that door's opened up, we'll get stopped again inside. I bet a fence formed right in front of the Treasure now."

"I'd make a 'coming out of the closet joke', but this isn't exactly light enough of a situation." He walked over to the closet and rapped his knuckles against it. "Come on, Baba. We've got to enact our Temple of Doom moment."

Oh, but it's light enough to make references?

'Oh, shush, Yaksini.'

Futaba's voice was muffled by the closet door. "I-If changing my heart means literally ripping it out, then I don't want anything to do with that! N-None of this makes any sense! Now explain yourselves!"

"Whoa, she talked…"

"She's not a mute, Ryuji…"

Makoto ignored the byplay of the blonds. "We- We don't actually need to take out your heart, Akira was just joking. We just needed to change your cognition. Unless we do so, we can't steal your heart."

"I highly doubt she would understand it even if we explained it to her…"

Futaba immediately proved Yusuke wrong as she started rambling. "So basically, my cognition is being a hindrance, keeping you away from the core of my cognitive world?"

"H-Huh? She understood it?"

Just as shocked as Ann, Makoto stepped closer to the closet. "Why do you know about that? Who are you?"

Futaba didn't answer. Glancing around, Ryuji asked the next question. "Why'd you call yourself Alibaba and make things more complicated? If you wanted help, you could've just asked for it."

"...s …rrassed."

"Uh? M-My bad. I didn't catch that?"

"...'Cause I was embarrassed." Futaba's admittance got Ann to look at the closet with sympathy.

"I think I get it. Asking someone for help isn't that easy."

"Futaba, can you tell us more? How do you know so much about the cognitive world?"

"'Cause I knew about it."

Ann's eyes lit up. "Oh… That reminds me. Boss was talking about 'cognition' or something before, right?"

"You think this is related to how he was gettin' grilled by that one lady?"

"Perhaps her mother was researching this cognitive science that was mentioned?"

"'Cognitive psience', with a PSI in front! Less science, more supernatural. That's important!"

"I'm suing for copyright infringement," Akira immediately spoke up as a spark of PSI hovered over his finger.

"Well," Yusuke spoke as he and everyone else ignored Akira, "that certainly got her attention… It seems we're on the right track."

"Alright then, cognitive psience, then." He whipped away the spark of PSI and folded his arms. "What was your mother trying to do with it? What was she researching?"

"..."

"...Alright, she's gone silent again."

"Aki, maybe save this for later? Seems she's been through some serious shit, so… You know?"

"True… She did say things like 'die'..."

"Hold on…" Ann interrupted, turning to the closet. "Futaba-chan. Did you really kill your mother?"

That was blunt, his other self cackled.

Ryuji agreed. "Whoa, you moron!"

Ann ignored him, stepping closer to Futaba's hiding place. "Wasn't her death an accident? What actually happened? 'Maternity neurosis?' Is that really true?"

"Ann," Yusuke warned.

But she plowed ahead, her natural empathy letting her ask the hard questions that no one else seemed to want to ask of Futaba, forcing her to confront her own heart. "We saw what your heart is really like, but we still can't figure anything out. The mother that Boss told us about is completely different from your cognition." Ann spoke with both sympathy and determination, placing a hand on her chest. "We want to hear the truth from your own mouth."

"...M-My mom… Was…" The young girl spoke haltingly, and he stepped up next to Ann, looking at the door with concern. "The… One who killed her… Was… Ngh…"

"It's possible that she can't remember because her heart has become distorted, blocking the memory of the incident."

What a truly terrible fate, Principality mourned.

"I'm so sorry, Futaba-chan. It's just that… I went through a lot myself, and I… I'm sorry…"

Ann's words, her admittance, must have struck a chord. Or perhaps, it was everything they'd said all combined that changed her mind. The closet door slammed open and out stepped Futaba, her eyes squeezed shut and arms outstretched as she shouted at them in a shaking voice. "Th-There! Now steal it!"

She was a small girl, barely a few inches over five foot, with orange hair that was likely dyed. She wore a plain black tank top with the letters 'JLMK!' on it, a longer-sleeved, white and black striped shirt beneath that, short-shorts, thick glasses, and a set of huge headphones. She didn't look malnourished or out-of-shape, oddly enough, but that was beside the point.

"…What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

She shook her head at Ryuji's question. "C-C'mon, hurry it up!"

"We did come to steal your heart, but it's not really done right here at this moment… All you really had to do was open that closet door…" Futaba slowly opened her eyes and turned to stare at Makoto. "…I'm sorry we made you jump to conclusions. You don't have to be like that…"

"I-I see." A moment passed and everyone glanced at each other awkwardly. Then, Futaba hung her head, shuffled backward into the closet once more, and slammed the door.

Ann groaned. "She went back in!"

"Wh-What's the meaning of this?! D-Did you guys trick me?"

"No! Please listen! There's a reason we had to do this!"

Morgana flicked his tail as he shuffled around on her bed. "She's aware of the cognitive world, but it seems she doesn't understand how a change of heart occurs."

Makoto put a hand to her chin, thinking. "Um, Futaba, how much do you know about the cognitive world?"

"I know there's another world based on cognition. But I don't know how to get there. Can you guys go there? You said you 'saw my heart' earlier."

"Yes, that's right."

"How do you do it?"

Makoto glanced at him, and he shrugged. She nodded. "We use a smartphone app."

"An app?"

"Free on the App Store," he joked quietly to himself.

"Yes," Makoto continued, "by entering the required information, we can go to the cognitive world."

"A name, a place, and a distortion— those three. So in this case, 'Futaba Sakura,' 'Sojiro Sakura's house,' and—"

"Wait—" Makoto interrupted. "Futaba, you don't happen to have this app, do you?"

"This…" A pause. "…I don't."

"Hm…" Akira eyed the closet, before turning to Makoto. "She shouldn't. Everyone gained the app on their phones after they were pulled into the Metaverse with us. And it only appeared on my phone by chance. Theoretically, it could appear on hers, but it's unlikely."

Unless she is lying.

'Considering the hesitation in her answer, she might have it. But we shouldn't push.'

"Thank goodness… Okay then."

"Can you take me with you too?"

"Vetoing that one," he immediately shut her down. "Who knows what could happen if we bring someone inside their cognitive world?"

"I gotta agree with Aki. Just leave this to us."

"I'll leave it to you then…"

He raised an eyebrow at the tone of her voice, but Ryuji just rolled his shoulder and nodded. "Good. And you better not forget about our promise, all right?" Everyone began to leave the room before the blond paused. "Oh yeah! Almost forgot! The Treasure's not gonna appear if we don't have her read this!"

Ryuji pulled out the card and slipped it through the crack in the door. "Hm? A calling card?"

"Its the one you prepared. Read it."

"...I can't read it. It's too dark in here."

"You could just come out. We've already seen ya face to face."

"It's embarrassing…"

"What."

Morgana sighed and shook his head. "Go, Ryuji. I'll make sure that she reads it, you guys head on into the Palace and wait for me."

"Futaba, make sure you read it, okay?"

"Okay," she responded quietly to Makoto.

"Alright. Let's do this." He led Makoto and Ryuji out of the room, pulling out his phone. Time for a heist.

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Futaba•

She pulled open her closet slightly, peeking out. Sure enough, they were gone. Now that she could see thanks to the light of her computer, she lifted the card up to read it. "Let's see…"

"'Futaba Sakura has committed a great sin of drowning in sloth.'" She took a deep breath and continued. "'...Thus, we will rob every last bit of those distorted desires.'" She shuddered, heart palpitating, and the world distorted, unbeknownst to her, as her Shadow responded to the 'threat'. "No. I'm going to die…"

"Nya."

She shrieked and fell backward as Starr's black car suddenly jumped onto her bed, staring at her. It then sprinted out of her room as she glared at its retreating form. "Kitty! You again?!"

Alright, heist time. This means a double feature! The battle will be posted tomorrow, as per usual.

So, Akira's still sick at the beginning of the chapter, because I don't want to just breeze past consequences. I also enjoyed changing up the Rank 8 a tad, to make up for the fact that he couldn't go to the gym with them. I'd say Ann taking care of him while sick while having a similar discussion to the actual rank-up constitutes them getting closer.

We also had Sapphire using PSI to expedite the process of being diagnosed and sent home, and getting ready for a trip to Japan. He doesn't feel a need to rush, as there is a deadline and he figures the chance of anything going down before the deadline is up is unlikely. Plus, he gets to spend some time at home with family. Dom would be proud.

Akira also learns about his father's injury, but there's no time to focus on that now. He's secure in the knowledge that he's not in mortal danger, and while he does want to check in, has to stay focused. Time's wasting. Futaba finally meets everyone face-to-face, brief as it was, and reads the calling card. Time to grab the Treasure.

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!