After confirming that they had all returned to the real world, she decided to check on the other's condition.
"Everyone okay?" she asked.
"I'm good." Ryuji assured her. "Just tired as hell… and still tryin' to wrap my head around this shit."
"It's a lot to take in at once." Ren admitted. "I don't we head somewhere we can sit down.
They all agreed, heading to some nearby benches by some vending machines.
"Well, even if we had to leave early, I'm much more confident in taking Kamoshida's treasure now that we have more manpower." Morgana said.
"That cat… err, whatever he is… really can talk." Ryuji muttered.
"Morgana, you want Ryuji to join us?" Makoto asked.
"Hell yeah I want to join!" Ryuji yelled. "This is the only way I can think of to stop Kamoshida!"
"I feel like you'd go even if we said no, you'd still go charging in there." Ren chuckled. "Guess we have to let you join."
"Aw, come on, Renren!" Ryuji grinned. "I ain't that reckless!"
"Wait… Renren?" she repeated.
"Damn it, Ryuji." Ren muttered.
"It's my nickname for him!" Ryuji grinned.
"I told you to stop calling me that." Ren muttered.
She walked in front of him, a bright smile on her face. "I think it's a great nickname… Renren."
Ren tried to hide his bright red face behind his hand, looking to the side.
Ryuji and Makoto started to laugh, which only made him blush harder.
"Heh… for someone who cracks a lot of jokes, you sure get flustered really easily." Morgana grinned.
"I-I guess if Ma-if both of you want to call me that… then I guess it's ok." Ren muttered.
She let out a few more giggles, happy to have turned the tables on him before facing Ryuji.
"Sakamoto-kun… I wanted to apologize." she confessed. "I said some rather harsh words to you."
Ryuji shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I said some rude stuff too… I'm sorry too."
She saw Ren give a small smile, happy that they were getting along.
"If you want, you can just Ryuji." Ryuji suggested.
"In that case, please, call me Makoto." she offered. "I hope that we can continue to work together and make Kamoshida pay for his crimes!"
"Hell yeah!" Ryujj agreed. "That bastard won't know what hit him! We'll stop him… for Ann, for the teams, and for Suzui-san!"
She sensed a strong determination from Ryuji...
I am thou, thou art I… thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that carry you to thy future. With the birth of the Chariot Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…
CHARIOT CONFIDANT: RANK 1
"Glad you two are getting along." Ren grinned.
"Yeah! I even taught her about your nickname!" Ryuji smirked.
"...Never mind, I take it back." Ren deadpanned.
"Ryuji, we should all exchange contact info." she suggested. "I'll make a group chat for the three of us."
"Oh yeah, good idea!" Ryuji nodded.
He took out his phone, and after exchanging info, Morgana leapt atop the bench.
"We're going to need a secret hideout where we can quickly meet up!" Morgana spoke up.
"Why not the roof?" Ryuji suggested. "Not many people go there."
"They'll likely close it off after… what happened." she brought up. "But I think we can make it work."
"We'll also need to craft infiltration tools, like lockpicks and smoke bombs." Morgana added.
"I can handle that." Ren offered. "My guardian leaves at night, so I can make them then."
"Good! We can discuss further preparations tomorrow on the roof!" Morgana said.
"Err… what about you, Morgana?" Ryuji wondered. "Ain't the staff gonna be lookin' for you? You can't just keep wandering around."
"Maybe one of us could take him in?" Ren suggested.
"I could try to convince my sister to take him in." Makoto told them.
"Sounds good." Ren nodded. "Let's meet up tomorrow then."
After Morgana gave Ren tips for making infiltration tools, they went their separate ways, and she went on the train.
She found that petting Morgana helped put her at ease.
When she arrived home, she saw that her sister still hadn't gotten off work.
After studying for an hour, the sound of the door opening alerted her to her sister's arrival.
"Makoto, I'm h… is that a cat?" Sae muttered.
"It's a stray." she quickly said. "I found him on the way home."
"You should have just left it." Sae scoffed. "Bring it to a shelter tomorrow then."
"I want to keep him."
"...What?"
"I want to keep him, sis." she repeated.
Sae shook her head. "Makoto, are you serious? Do you really think I have time to take care of both you and a cat?!"
"I-I'll take care of him!" she insisted. "I'll feed him, play with him, make sure he gets enough exercise… everything!"
"Makoto, why are you so insistent about this?" Sae wondered.
She paused, knowing she couldn't tell her truth.
"Or maybe I can…" she mused.
"He… calms me down when I take the train." she admitted.
Sae's expression softened. "I see."
Sae seemed to think it over for a few moments before letting out a sigh.
"Fine." Sae relented. "I suppose you could stand to learn a little personal responsibility for once. But if it starts interfering with your stud-"
"Thank you, sis!" she beamed. "Thank you very much!"
"You're welcome." Sae nodded. "I have some work to do. Don't stay up too late."
As her sister went to her room, Morgana jumped next to her.
"Geez, your sister is intense!" Morgana grimaced.
"Sorry about that." Makoto apologized. "Her work is very stressful."
"Why does she get to decide that I stay, anyway?" Morgana scoffed. "What about your parents?"
She frowned. "My parents… aren't around anymore."
Morgana gave a sympathetic look. "Oh, I'm sorry… it's not too much for me to stay here, is it?"
She gave the not-cat a small smile, petting his head. "It's alright." she assured him. "Sis works so hard to support me… but it gets a little lonely sometimes."
Morgana couldn't help but let out a purr as she began scratching behind his ears.
"Here."
They looked up, seeing Sae placing a bowl of milk for Morgana.
"I prepared some milk for him… but only because he keeps meowing!" Sae insisted.
"Has Morgana already grown on you, sis?" she giggled.
"You've already named him?" Sae asked.
"Did you… want to name him yourself, sis?" she asked.
"Of course not!" Sae quickly denied. "I was just curious."
She brought her textbooks to her room, Morgana following after her.
The not-cat glanced around her room before giving her a weird look.
"You, uh… really like pandas, huh?" Morgana observed. "It's better than that cell I was in, but, uh..."
"T-That's not important right now!" she squeaked, her face heating up. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Do you really not have any memory of your past?" she asked.
"All I remember are things related to the Metaverse and phantom thievery." Morgana admitted. "But because of that, I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do to get back my true form."
"That must've been why he was in the castle." she mused.
"So, your true form… is it human?" she asked.
"It has to be!" Morgana insisted. "That's why I can talk like this!"
"I suppose so…" she replied. "Well, you've been a big help to us so far, so if there's anything I can do to help you…"
"Mweh heh heh!" Morgana laughed. "I was hoping you'd ask. Having someone as strong as you helps my plan a lot!"
"He sounds so mischievous when he puts it like that…" she thought.
"Although, I want our deal to be equally beneficial to both of us!" Morgana told her. "You help me, and I'll help you become a better phantom thief… cause let's be honest, your stealth skills kinda suck."
"They do not!"
"Um, yeah they do." Morgana argued. "You really thought hiding behind a book was stealthy?"
She groaned, burying her face in her pillow to hide her embarrassment.
"Pillows aren't stealthy either." Morgana pointed out.
"Fine!" she exclaimed. "I guess that… I could use a bit of help."
She reached out her hand and shook Morgana's… paw, and sealed their deal.
I am thou, thou art I… thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that carry you to thy future. With the birth of the Magician Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…
MAGICIAN CONFIDANT: RANK 1
"It's getting pretty late though, so you should go to bed." Morgana recommended.
"You're right." she nodded. "We'll work things out tomorrow."
She rested her head on her pillow, drifting off to sleep.
4/16 Saturday
Thankfully, no one seemed to notice Morgana hanging out in her desk or bag for the entire day.
After classes had concluded, she made her way to the roof, but when she arrived, she didn't find Ren or Ryuji, but a girl with the fluffiest hair she had ever seen.
"O-Oh, Niijima-san?" the girl gasped. "I-I'm sorry, I just needed to grab my plants. I'll leave soon."
"Your… plants?" she repeated.
"I grow plants here on the rooftop." the girl explained. "But I suppose I'll have to grow them somewhere else now."
"Do you need any help moving them, uh..."
"Haru Okumura." the girl answered.
"Okumura… wait, as in Okumura Foods?!" she gasped.
"...Yes… that's right." Haru whispered, frowning.
Before she could ask what was wrong, Haru excused herself, leaving the roof. Hopefully, no one else except for Ren and Ryuji would come to the roof.
They didn't want to draw attention to themselves.
"HELL YEAH! I BEAT YOU, REN!"
Well, so much for that…
Ryuji burst through the door to the roof, Ren following after him.
"I… can't keep up." Ren panted.
"What the heck are you two doing?!" Morgana yelled.
"I challenged Ren to a race." Ryuji grinned.
She placed her index finger to her forehead, letting out a sigh.
"Please don't make so much noise." she requested. "We aren't supposed to be up here."
Morgana hopped out of her bag, listing everything they'd need for the infiltration.
Ryuji looked very excited, while Ren idly spun his phone on his finger.
Predictably, it fell, Ren barely able to catch it before it hit the ground, then trying to play it cool.
A dangerous criminal, he most certainly was not.
"All right, listen up!" Morgana command. "If we want this infiltration to go smoothly, we'll need supplies. Stuff like medicine."
"There's a small clinic near Leblanc." Ren brought up.
"Perfect! You can grab some pain medicine and ointments there!" Morgana advised. "And for what else we need…"
Morgana pointed his paw at Ryuji.
"Ren said he got his model gun from you, Ryuji." Morgana recalled. "Do you know where we can get more?"
"Oh yeah! I know a place." Ryuji grinned.
"Great! Ren already has one, so the three of us can get guns there too!" Morgana said.
"Actually, I already got somethin'." Ryuji grinned, pulling out a slingshot from his bag.
"A slingshot?!" Morgana complained. "Why would you bring that!?"
"I mean, it could be a good weapon for you." Ren shrugged. "Can you handle a gun with your, uh… paws?"
"Grr... fine!" Morgana relented.
"Alright! Ren'll get the drugs, and we'll get the guns!" Ryuji said excitedly.
"Do you want the entire city to hear you?!" Morgana yelled.
She shook her head, letting Ryuji lead the way to their destination.
"So, uh… I know you're a girl… but do you know anything about guns and shit?" Ryuji asked.
"A decent amount." she confessed. "And if we have questions, we can ask."
Ryuji led her to an Airsoft shop in a back alley of Shibuya. To stay that it looked incredibly sketchy would be an understatement. The man behind the counter looked rather intimidating. He wore a long grey coat, as well as a grey hat with yellow ear protectors. On his neck was a tattoo of a gecko.
They walked up to the counter, and she cleared her throat to grab his attention from the magazine he was holding.
He raised an eyebrow at her, although, to be fair, she probably looked very out of place here.
"...You want a recommendation or something?" the man asked.
"Uh… yeah, something like that." Ryuji answered.
The man shrugged, getting back to his magazine. "Dunno. Just get whatever catches your eye."
Not exactly a shining example of customer service.
"Come on, man, what kinda answer is that?" Ryuji groaned.
The man sighed. "Fine, what do you want then? An automatic? A revolver?"
That caught her attention.
Ryuji, however, just looked confused. "Automatic? Why are you talkin' about cars?"
"Listen, this is an enthusiast shop. My regulars will get annoyed if I let a casual like you hang here." the man said, beginning to grow annoyed.
Before Ryuji could respond, she quickly spoke up.
"Apologies about my friend. He's still new to collecting. Now, you said you had revolvers?" she asked. "Would you, by chance, happen to stock Peacemakers?"
The man's lips curled into a smile. "What, you into western films?"
"I'm a collector." she smoothly said. "The gun didn't originate here in Japan, but it still has quite a history to it, being used in numerous conflicts in the west. And I heard that I could find high quality models here."
"You heard right." the man grinned. "You know your stuff, lady. The revolvers are to your left."
"Thank you." she grinned.
She went over the revolver section, Ryuji following her with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"W-W-Wha… you know about guns, Miss Prez?!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"When I was little, I begged and begged my father for a model revolver until he finally got me one." she admitted. "And I researched guns like it a lot a few years later."
She remembered making her father and sister play cops and robbers with her all the time when she got the model.
She let out a small laugh, remembering a time when she threw a fit when Sae took Buchi-kun hostage.
Those were simpler times…
"Well, shit, you know this stuff better than me!" Ryuji said, surprised.
"Was there anything that you wanted?" she asked.
"Well…" Ryuji trailed off, glancing around the store. "Oh, a shotgun! Kickass!"
"I guess that settles it." Makoto smiled.
They went up to the register, ready to make their purchase.
"Don't go pointing these things at people, ok?" the man warned. "I don't want the police coming here to question me cause you caused some trouble."
"We'll be careful." Makoto promised.
"You'd better." the man grunted.
As they exited the store, she checked her remaining yen.
"Not much…" she mused. "Maybe… I should look into getting a part-time job."
"Man, you're more hardcore than I thought, Miss Prez." Ryuji grinned.
"H-Hardcore?!" she repeated.
"Hell yeah!" Ryuji grinned. "You know about guns, you have a badass thief outfit, you ride a motorcycle, and you called Kamoshida a bastard to his face!"
"I-I was just really angry!" she stammered.
"You also beat those shadows with your fists. Maybe we ought to call you the Fist of the Phantom Star!" Ryuji laughed.
"Please don't…"
"Next you're gonna be tellin' me you like Yakuza movies or somethin'." Ryuji laughed.
"...Um…"
"Wait… FOR REAL?!" Ryuji gasped. "I was joking!"
"L-Let's just drop it!" she insisted, handing him the bag with the shotgun. "I'll see you Monday."
"Yeah, see you!" Ryuji grinned.
She returned home, thankful that her sister wasn't home so that she could hide her model revolver.
After studying for exams, she headed to bed, but received a text message before falling asleep.
Ren: You still up?
Makoto: Yes. Is something wrong?
Ren: I was just worried. Kamoshida didn't try anything on you today, did he?
Makoto: He hasn't tried anything yet, but I'll be careful.
Makoto: And I promise that we'll steal Kamoshida's treasure soon, ok?
Ren: Thanks. Good night.
She let out a little smirk, a mischievous idea coming to her.
Makoto: Good night… Renren.
Typing…
Typing…
She let out a giggle, picturing the embarrassed look on his face.
Makoto: Isn't this the part where you say something witty?
Ren: Um…
Ren: Something witty?
She smiled as she wrote her response.
Makoto: See you tomorrow, Ren.
Typing…
Ren: Yeah. See you.
She placed her head on her pillow, smiling as she fell asleep.
4/17 Sunday
She was awoken by the sound of her phone dinging.
"Urgh, who's texting you this early?" Morgana groaned.
She rubbed at her eyes before glancing at her phone.
Eiko: Heyyy, Miss Prez! You wanna go shopping in the Underground Mall at 10?
Right, Eiko did suggest that the two of them shop together sometime.
Makoto: Sure, I'd love to.
Eiko: Great! See you there!
She put her phone back down, trying to get a little more sleep in before her day began.
"She should be around here somewhere…" she muttered.
"You think something came up?" Morgana asked from her bag.
"She would have said something." she replied.
They looked around a little more, eventually spotting her.
"Oh, Miss Prez!" Eiko greeted, running up to her. "There you are!"
"Hello, Takao-san." she greeted.
"You don't, like, have to be so formal." Eiko assured her. "You can just call me Eiko."
"O-Oh, alright." she nodded. "So, what are we shopping for?"
Eiko looked her up and down, thinking to herself.
"Eiko?" she questioned, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Maybe… we could shop for clothes." Eiko's suggested. "No offense, but like, your clothes aren't… the most fashionable."
"I suppose… I've always gone for functional over fashionable." she admitted. "I don't really know a whole lot about fashion or makeup…"
"What?" Eiko gasped. "Do you not wear makeup?!"
"N-No." she stammered. "Is that… bad?"
"Alright Miss Prez, come with me." Eiko told her. "I'm about to introduce you to the wonderful world of cosmetics!"
Eiko dragged her to a bunch of stores, each one selling a variety of jewelry and makeup.
"Let's start simple." Eiko suggested. "With some perfume!"
She held out a small sample.
"This is one of my favorites." Eiko said. "Come on, give it a try!"
She sprayed the sample, the smell of strawberries filling the air.
"That… smells really nice." she admitted.
"Uh-huh!" Eiko nodded. "I knew you'd like it. Oh, and BTDubs, this place has all kinds of other products, so if you ever need advice, you can ask me, ok?"
"BTDubs…?" she repeated.
"It means 'by the way'." Eiko clarified. "Anyway, I'm a little hungry from all this running around. You want to grab something to eat? My treat~"
"Are you sure?" she asked. "I can pay."
"Don't worry about it." Eiko grinned. "I have a big allowance."
"Well, alright, if you insist." she relented.
Eiko led her to a nearby sweet stand, the two of them ordering ice cream parfaits at Eiko's recommendation.
"Aren't these great, Miss Prez?" Eiko grinned.
"I don't know… there's so much sugar…" she trailed off.
"Aw, come on Miss Prez, live a little!" Eiko encouraged. "A little sweet now and then isn't that bad!"
"Well… I guess you're right." she smiled, happily digging into her parfait. "To be honest, I'm glad that you asked me to do this. I needed something to get my mind off of…"
"...Everything that happened, right?" Eiko whispered.
"Yeah." Makoto muttered. "What happened on Friday was… awful."
Eiko nodded. "Kamoshida was already looking for someone to replace her on Saturday. Like, it's too soon, you know?"
"That's horrible." Makoto replied. "He hasn't asked you, has he?"
"He did, but I refused." Eiko explained. "I saw all the bruises his team has after practice, and I wanted none of that."
"I just wish they would talk with me." she sighed. "But I'm afraid that I'm too… different from them, I suppose."
"Well… today helped a little, didn't it?" Eiko asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Like, a lot of students come down here to hang out together." Eiko brought up. "So now you know. And wouldn't that like, totally make you more relatable to the other students?"
"That's a good point." she admitted. "Although, I have no idea where to start."
"Relax." Eiko assured her. "You just need to expand your horizons a bit."
"Expand my horizons… yes, I suppose you're right." she nodded.
"And, well… if you really want to help out the student body…" Eiko trailed off. "Well, exams are coming up, and I'm not exactly confident in my math skills, sooooo…"
She smiled. "I'd be happy to help you. We're in the same year, so we can study for our exams together."
"Thank you so much! I owe you, Miss Prez!" Eiko grinned.
They studied for about an hour, as by then, Eiko's head was on the table.
"Eiko?" she called, concerned.
"Uggggggh." Eiko groaned. "I haaaaate math."
"Come on, it's not that bad." she replied.
"That's easy for you to say." Eiko mumbled. "You have, like, the best grades of the third years."
Eiko let out another groan, her brain completely fried.
"Hmm… oh, I know how to cheer you up!" Makoto beamed, bringing out her phone. "Look Eiko, I took a picture of my Buchi collection."
"Really?!" Eiko exclaimed, immediately perking up. "Ohhh, let me see!"
She sent her a picture on her phone, showing her with all of her Buchi plushies, mousepad, calculator, her pajamas, and of course her pencil case.
"Aww, that's so cute, Miss Prez!" Eiko grinned. "Oh, and that reminds me!"
She pulled out a white notebook with a panda pattern.
"I wanted to give you this Buchi diary!" Eiko offered. "To add to your collection."
"Eiko, are you sure? Don't you want it?" she asked.
"I already have one, so I thought I'd give this to you." Eiko told her. "Think of it as thanks for helping me out and spending time with me."
"In that case, I'll happily accept." she smiled, taking the diary. "I had a lot of fun. Maybe we could do this again another time."
"Yeah! It's a promise!"
As they agreed to meet up again, she heard the voice once more...
I am thou, thou art I… thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that carry you to thy future. With the birth of the Faith Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…
FAITH CONFIDANT: RANK 1
She said goodbye to Eiko before heading home. For once, her sister was home, typing on her laptop.
"Hey, sis, I'm home." she smiled.
"Where were you?" Sae asked. "You were gone for a while."
"I was spending time with a friend." she answered.
"Aren't your exams coming up?" Sae asked, not lifting her gaze from her computer.
"W-We studied a bit while we were spending time together." she defended.
Sae looked a little skeptical, but didn't press her.
"Working on a case, sis?" she asked.
Sae nodded. "Another psychotic breakdown. It was a journalist for a small tabloid looking into gangs and mental shutdowns in Shibuya. But a few days ago, he suddenly started attacking people in the area."
"Why would they do that?" she asked.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Sae muttered. "He claims to have no memory of the incident, but he burst into tears when he told him what he did."
"Did he have a history of violence? Was he ever convicted for something like that?" Makoto wondered.
Sae scoffed. "He will be soon."
"...You certainly are looking into these types of cases a lot." she mentioned. "Psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns."
"They've been the only thing the news will talk about for months." Sae sighed. "We don't know why they happen, and there's no pattern with the targets. Politicians, yakuza, law enforcement… even regular people like that conductor have all been targeted."
"Maybe they had enemies?" she suggested.
Sae rolled her eyes. "That was the first thing we checked, Makoto. The victims aren't connected in any way, and many of them don't have enemies.
"Then-"
"Makoto, just focus on your studies." Sae cut her off. "A naive high schooler doesn't know the first thing about solving a case."
It seemed her sister was in a sour mood…
"Sorry, sis." she whispered, heading off to her room.
Sae continued to glance at her screen.
There was a lot of pressure to solve these cases as soon as possible. The longer it took for them to solve these cases, the more faith the public would lose in them.
And maybe…
She shook her head. Right now, there were more important things to do than to figure that out…
4/18 Monday
Days until Ren and Ryuji's Expulsion: 14
She walked up to the gate at Shujin Academy. While she had appreciated the respite from school and Phantom Thievery on Sunday, they needed to steal Kamoshida's treasure, and fast.
Speaking of which, she saw him standing at the front entrance, greeting students.
"Niijima-san, good morning!" Kamoshida greeted.
She saw him take a quick glance around, before stepping in front of her.
It really sunk in how he towered over her in that moment.
She cringed as he placed a hand on her shoulder, getting closer to her face.
"I heard a very interesting conversation on Friday." Kamoshida told her. "You, Sakamoto, and Amamiya had a… fascinating conversation with Mishima."
She felt her blood run cold. They should have been more careful.
"Makoto, run." Morgana whispered. "I'll distract him!"
She quickly shushed him, causing Kamoshdida to raise an eyebrow.
"What was that?" the gym teacher asked.
"N-Nothing." she lied. "And I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, sir."
Kamoshida frowned, gripping her shoulder harder. "Don't be like that, Niijima. You know what I'm talking about.
"...Are you going to expel me too?" she asked.
Kamoshida's expression turned into an unnerving grin. "Of course not. I'd never expel someone as… gifted as you are. It's always a shame when things happen to gifted students like Suzui."
His hand moved from her shoulder, sliding down her arm towards her hand.
"Suzui… was one of my favorites." Kamoshida grinned. "I've been looking for someone to replace her.
She had the distinct feeling he wasn't referring to volleyball.
She forcefully removed her arm from his hand, sidestepping him. "I need to head to class."
She quickly entered the building before he could harass her any further.
As classes continued, Kamoshida's behavior and his palace continued to unnerve her, making it hard to concentrate. She figured that he wouldn't try to expel her… but he feared that he still had something horrible planned for her.
And her fears were realized when, at the end of the day, as she heard the intercom blaring, her heart sank into her stomach.
"Makoto Niijima, please report to the P.E Faculty Office."
Makoto Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 1
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 1
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 1
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 1
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 1