5/2 Monday
When she woke up and got ready, she saw her sister watching an interview on
Television.
"Is that Akechi-kun on T.V?" she asked.
"He's doing another interview." Sae answered. "I've lost count of how many he's had."
"So, Akechi-kun, when you're not solving cases, what do you do in your spare time?" the interviewer asked.
"Well, lately, I've been hanging out around a cafe called Leblanc." Akechi mentioned. "I really like the atmosphere there. I actually left a positive review of it on my blog."
"You know, I met a friend of yours over at Leblanc." Sae mentioned.
"Oh, really?" she asked. "That must have been R-er, Amamiya-kun, right?"
"...Yes, that was it." Sae nodded, before narrowing her eyes. "He seemed to be very familiar with you…"
"W-We're just friends, sis!" she insisted.
The last thing she needed was for her sister to go around interrogating her friends.
"Well, alright… I just don't want you hanging out with the wrong crowd, that's all." Sae mentioned.
"...I'll be careful, sis, I promise." she told her.
"Good." Sae said. "Now hurry on to school, ok? Your exams are coming up, so you can't afford to miss a day."
"Bye, sis!" she said, giving a small wave as she headed out the door.
"A painter named Madarame, huh?"
She sat across from Takayo in the student council room, who she had called down after classes ended, and watched the girl as she was deep in thought.
"Have you heard of anyone like that?" she asked.
"As a matter of fact, I have!" Takayo grinned. "He's a pretty famous artist. There have been tons of stories on him."
"Could you perhaps look into him for me?" she asked.
"Oh? Is he a potential target?" Takayo grinned.
"Possibly…" she answered. "I want to see what kind of person he is."
"So, you want to see if there's anything to suggest that he might not be a good person." Takayo noted.
"That's what I was hoping for." she nodded. "I don't want to target someone who's innocent."
"That strong sense of justice is what I like about you, Niijima-san!" Takayo beamed. "I just wish I could be there with you doing… whatever it is you do to guys like Kamoshida."
"Trust me, you've been a big help as well!"
"O-Of course!" Takayo agreed. "Never underestimate the power of journalism!"
"You certainly have quite a passion for it." she observed. "Were you hoping to become a journalist in the future?"
"I was! I come from a long line of people with jobs in journalism, whether they be independent or working for a major network!" Takayo proudly said.
"That's interesting. It's sort of the same thing in my family." she claimed. "A lot of the members in my family were in law enforcement."
"Then were you thinking about joining law enforcement yourself?" Takayo asked.
"I'm… not really sure." she answered honestly.
Before, she had thought that she would become a prosecutor, but that was only because that was what her older sister did.
Now she considered herself to be a bit more independent, but she wasn't sure what she wanted to be.
It might be because… no one had ever asked.
For so long, she had just let others decide the course of her life…
"Well, I still think it's really cool how we're teaming up!" Takayo grinned, pushing up her glasses. "We're like this awesome crime fighting duo, exposing criminals left and right!"
"H-Hey, calm down, ok!" she insisted. "Someone could be listening."
"O-Oh, my bad." Takayo apologized. "Actually, I was wondering if you knew the person who made the Phan-Site? I wanted to see if I could work with them when it came to posting any targets I might snoop out."
"Do you know Mishima Yuuki?" she asked. "He was the one who set it up. If you talk to him about it he might let you."
"Great! We should exchange phone numbers too, so I can get back to you quickly." Takayo suggested.
After doing just that, Takayo gave her a determined expression.
"I promise that I'm going to do my best to help you out!" Takayo told her. "I'll even run a few stories about you guys to help get you some positive press."
"Thank you very much." she said sincerely. "I really appreciate it."
Having Takayo's support made her feel a bit more confident.
MOON CONFIDANT: RANK 2
After her meeting with Takayo, she stepped outside, feeling a vibration in her pocket.
Checking her phone, she saw that she had gotten a text from Ren.
Ren: Hey, could we meet up at Leblanc? I wanted to study a bit, since exams are coming up.
Right, exams. With everything that had happened, she had nearly forgotten, which was quite unlike her.
She took the subway to Yongen-Jaya, making her way to Leblanc.
As soon as she entered the cafe, however. she saw that it was surprisingly packed. She had never seen the cozy cafe so bustling before.
"Hey! You said you'd help me out if I needed it, right?" Sojiro asked, grabbing her attention.
"O-Oh, yes, but I don't know how-"
"It's fine, you can take out the orders to the customers." Sojiro told her. "Don't worry, you'll be compensated."
She nodded, heading into the kitchen and putting on the white apron.
"How do I look?" she asked.
"O-Oh, um, uh…" Ren trailed off, his cheeks reddening.
"Hey, quit staring and get back to work." Sojiro ordered.
She took out a small notepad and began diligently taking orders and bringing food out to customers.
"You could learn a thing or two from her, you know?" Sojiro pointed out to Ren.
"I know, I know." he sighed. "I'll do my best."
The two worked as a team, perfectly in sync, Ren making the food she asked for, giving them to her to serve, and taking back the plates to clean.
Everything had been going perfectly fine until an elderly woman got up from her chair, bumping into her, causing a cup of coffee to fall from her tray.
Thankfully, Ren was there to quickly grab the coffee cup, preventing it from spilling…
However, his other arm… was wrapped around her waist.
"O-Oh… thank you." she whispered, her face heating up for some reason.
Ren seemed to realize where his hand was, as he quickly pulled away.
"S-Sorry." he stammered. "I just… I thought you were about to fall, a-and that you n-needed to balance, and-"
"N-No, it's ok. I understand." she replied.
"Sorry about that, dear." the old woman said.
"No, I should have been paying attention to where I was going." Makoto insisted.
"Well, I must say, the two of you look suit each other very nicely." the old woman smiled. "It takes me back to when I was first married."
"H-H-Huh?!" Makoto stammered, her brain taking several seconds to process what the old woman had just said.
"W-We're just friends." Ren quickly said.
"Y-Yes! You're misunderstanding!" she added.
The older woman simply let out a laugh before leaving her payment on the table and leaving.
After what felt like an eternity, business finally started to slow down, and Sojiro came to take out the trash and close up shop as the last customers left.
"Sorry about all of that." Ren apologized. "We weren't able to get any studying done."
"That's ok. We can study another day." she offered. "Hopefully when Leblanc isn't so busy."
"It's strange. Usually this place is closer to empty than full." Ren smirked.
"Careful, or I might tell Boss." she teased.
"Don't do that." Ren chuckled. "He might dock my non-existent paycheck."
She let out a giggle. "How's everything been between you two?"
"A little better." Ren said. "He's still kinda cold, but I think he just wants me to stay out of trouble."
"Do you have any idea why the cafe was so packed today?" she asked.
"Some of the new customers mentioned an interview…"
"Oh, maybe the one with Akechi-kun." she realized. "He was actually talking about Leblanc in an interview."
"Who's that?" he asked.
"He's a famous detective, despite being the same age as me." she told him. "He's worked with my sister several times before, so that's how I know him."
"Well, thanks for helping me out back there." Ren said. "There's no way I would have been able to handle that many customers myself."
"I'm happy to help and support you whenever you need me." she beamed.
"Thanks. Hopefully, I can do the same for you." Ren smiled back.
Sojiro came back into the cafe, walking up to her.
"Thanks for helping out today." the older man said. "Here's your pay."
"Thank you, Boss." she smiled, taking the payment.
"So, how was your first day on the job?" the cafe owner asked.
"It was a lot more hectic than I thought it would be, that's for sure." she laughed. "But I really enjoyed it."
"Well, if you ever want to come back and work here again, you're welcome too." Sojiro smiled. "I might just call you down on busy days."
"Oh, I'd be happy to!" she nodded. "Thank you for the opportunity."
"Don't mention it." Sojiro said. "If you'd like, I could even give you a few tips on making coffee too, so you could help a bit inside the kitchen."
"Could even get a nice cup of coffee and study on your break." Ren suggested.
"That sounds wonderful." she beamed. "I'd be happy to."
As she worked out the details with Sojiro, she felt a shiver run through her...
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 Hierophant Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…
HIEROPHANT CONFIDANT: RANK 1
After gathering her belongings, she said her goodbyes to Boss and Ren, and headed home.
5/3 Tuesday
Not having classes for the day, she decided to head back to the gym that Ryuji had shown her before. If it really could make her stronger in the Metaverse, it would be even more important for her to maintain a solid exercise routine.
She spent most of her time running on the treadmill or practicing her aikido, thought she spent a bit of time punching the punching bag in the gym as well.
With everything that had happened so far, as well as the coming exams, it was good to have an outlet for her stress, whether it be shadows or a punching bag.
After finishing her workout, she walked towards the exit, only to spy a familiar face on her way there.
"O-Oh, Niijima-san, I'm glad you're here!"
Naoya, the boy she had spoken to the last time she was here, walked up to her with a bright smile on his face.
"Niijima-san, you'll never believe what happened!" Naoya grinned.
"What could it be?" she asked, feigning ignorance. "Whatever it is, you seem quite excited about it."
"It's about those thieves I talked to you about before!" Naoya told her.
"The… Phantom Thieves?" she asked.
"No… well, yes, but the other thieves too!" Naoya said excitedly. "The ones that were stealing from restaurants."
"Did something happen to them?" she asked.
"Just the other day, they confessed in front of my entire neighborhood about all of the places they stole from. A bunch of people surrounded them until the police arrived. They weren't able to return all the money they stole, but at least we won't be able to deal with those two anymore."
"That's incredible!" she exclaimed. "But how did that happen?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but I think that it might have had something to do with the Phantom Thieves." Naoya theorized. "The way that they confessed seemed really similar to how that gym teacher at your school confessed, at least from what I heard."
"Then did you end up posting a request to the Phan Site?" she asked.
"I did!" Naoya smiled. "I really wanted to thank you for suggesting that I send in a request. I was a little skeptical at first, but everything turned out great."
"You're very welcome." she smiled. "Did your parents get back all the money that was stolen?"
Naoya sighed. "Unfortunately, they only had a fraction of the money that was stolen. I guess that they must have already spent the rest of it."
"I'm sorry that happened." she sympathized.
Naoya shook his head. "That's ok. My family's restaurant is very well liked in the community, so I'm sure that we'll make it through this."
"Well, I'm happy that everything worked out for you." she said sincerely.
"Thanks to you and the Phantom Thieves." Naoya said. "Perhaps we could… help each other out. Teach each other more about our martial arts."
"That sounds like a great idea." she complemented.
"Great! I'll be sure to teach you everything I can!" Naoya smiled.
As she made her deal with Naoya, a voice that she was now all too familiar with rang out in her head...
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 Temperance Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…
TEMPERANCE CONFIDANT: RANK 1
"So, Naoya, is your family's restaurant popular?" she wondered. "I might want to head there sometime myself.
"Decently so, yeah." Naoya answered. "It's a small restaurant in Shibuya. But my folks are also very generous. They'll even give out meals to those who can't afford them sometimes, including some of my classmates."
"That is very generous." Makoto acknowledged. "And… you said they feed some of your classmates?"
"Yes, there's a classmate of mine who I'm always worrying about. I'm worried that he doesn't get enough to eat, so I offer him meals at the restaurant sometimes."
"That's very kind of you." she told him. "Although I'm a little concerned about that other student now."
"His name's Yusuke Kitagawa." Naoya told her. "He's an apprentice of the famous artist Madarame."
"M-Madarame?!" she stammered.
"Have you heard of him?" Naoya wondered. "He's doing an art exhibit soon. Kitagawa-san was telling how he wanted to have an art piece ready to put in the exhibit too, but he's been busy looking for a muse."
"A muse?" she repeated.
"Yeah. He told me that he was looking for someone to paint. Someone… elegant, he said."
She thought to herself, considering how she should respond.
"If this Yusuke Kitagawa is an apprentice of Madarame, this might be my chance." she mused.
"Niijima-san?"
"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking." she explained. "Thinking… that I wouldn't mind being his muse."
"Really?" Naoya asked. "Well, I could talk to him about it if you're serious. He might just take you up on that offer."
"I'm considering it." she admitted to him. "Let's exchange cellphone numbers so we can keep in touch about this and our workout sessions."
"Good idea." Naoya nodded.
After they exchanged numbers, she went out of the gym, Morgana popping his head out of her bag.
"Looks like we just found a great lead!" Morgana exclaimed. "If you agree to be a muse for that guy, you could get a bunch of information on Madarame."
"I want to wait and see if Tachibana-san can get some information as well." she told the not-cat. "We don't want to charge into this with guns blazing."
"I guess not, but we'll have to choose a target eventually." Morgana pointed out.
With Morgana's words in mind, she went back home and went to bed.
5/4 Wednesday
With another day off from school, she found herself not knowing what she should do. She could study, sure, but even she would grow tired of it eventually, especially when she was doing it alone.
And despite it being Golden Week, her sister was still spending most of her time in the office.
'Crime never sleeps', as her sister would say.
She really needed to pick up a hobby or two…
She considered calling Ren or Ryuji, and maybe they could go somewhere together.
"Ren wanted to study with you before, right?" Morgana asked.
"That's true." she nodded. "There's a nice library in Shibuya that I go to sometimes. We could study there."
She took out her phone, hoping that Ren wasn't too busy as she texted him.
Makoto: Would you like to meet up at a library to study? I can text you directions.
He quickly responded.
Ren: Yeah, sounds great.
She bit her lip, wondering how to word her next question.
Makoto: Maybe afterwards, we could… hang out a little?
She really hoped she didn't sound too awkward.
It took him a bit longer to respond to this text, which made her nervous, but she was quickly relieved when she saw his response.
Ren: Yeah, that sounds great. See you there.
She texted him the directions before setting out for the library.
"Where is he?" Morgana groaned. "You don't think he ditched, do you?"
"Ren wouldn't do that." she insisted. "He's probably just running late."
Sure enough, 15 minutes after she arrived, Ren came running up to them, out of breath.
"Sorry, sorry." Ren panted. "I'm still getting used to navigating Tokyo."
"I understand." she smiled. "It must be a bit overwhelming for you, trying to get used to the big city."
"Thanks for understanding." Ren told her. "Should we start our study session?"
She nodded, the two of them entering the library.
As they walked towards a table to study at, she noticed a bookshelf with tons of manga on them.
She knew that Ryuji really enjoyed manga, so maybe she would like it too…
Two manga seemed to catch her eyes. One of them seemed to be a sort of action manga, with a muscular martial artist in some sort of post-apocalyptic city. The second one seemed to be a romance manga, with a smirking, scruffy looking boy and a blushing girl next to him.
She glanced around, making sure that no one was looking, and took the two manga to check out.
She sat down next to Ren, quizzing him on everything he needed to know the upcoming exams, and even getting some studying in herself.
After about an hour, the two of them decided to take a break.
"You did very good." she complimented. "If you keep this up, you'll easily ace your exams."
"All thanks to my tutor." he grinned.
"Would you, um… like to go somewhere… together?" she asked.
"Did you have anywhere in mind?" he asked.
"I… was hoping that you'd have an idea on where to go." she confessed. "I don't really know what other people do for fun."
"Well… there's a batting cage near Leblanc. We could head there." Ren suggested.
"A batting cage… I can't say I've ever been there before." she admitted. "Sure. Let's go."
As they got up from their seats, however.
"PREZZZZZZZZZZ!"
Someone called out loudly to them, earning annoyed glares from the other people in the library.
"Eiko?" she said.
"Miss Prez, it's an emergency!" Eiko yelled. "An E-MER-GEN-CY!"
"Eiko, quiet down!" she hissed. "We're in a library."
"O-Oh, my bad." Eiko whispered.
"Is this a friend of yours?" Ren asked.
"This is Eiko Takao." she told him. "And Eiko, this is Ren Amamiya."
"Oh, hello!" Eiko beamed. "Miss Prez's told me all about you."
"Good things, I hope." Ren chuckled.
"Oh yes. Very, very, good things." Eiko grinned.
"E-Eiko!" she stammered.
"It's great to finally meet you, Amamiya-kun!" Eiko said sincerely.
"It's good to meet you too." Ren smiled.
"Soooo, what were the two of you up to?" Eiko asked, seemingly forgetting why she had called out to Makoto in the first place.
"We got some studying done, but we were going to head to a batting cage together after this." Ren told her.
"Ooooh, I see." Eiko giggled. "Well, never mind then."
"Hold on, didn't you need to ask me something?" she asked Eiko.
"Oh, I was just going to ask you to help me study for my exams, but that can wait for another day." Eiko grinned. "I wouldn't want to interrupt your little date!"
"D-Date?!" she stammered. "N-No, you have it all wrong."
"If you say soooo." Eiko giggled. "Make sure you treat her well, Amamiya-kun!"
"Like a Queen." Ren chuckled.
"R-Ren! Don't encourage her." Makoto stammered.
"See you Miss Prez! See you Renny!" Eiko waved, before heading to another aisle to look at magazines.
"Renny?" Ren repeated. "How many people are gonna have different nicknames for me?"
"What, you don't like it, Renren?" she smirked.
"L-Let's just get going to the batting cage." Ren muttered.
"Eep!"
The ball whizzed by her at incredible speeds, causing her to flinch and miss the ball completely.
"Relax." Ren encouraged. "Just take a deep breath and focus, ok?"
"Right." she nodded, taking a deep breath before keeping her eyes glued to the ball.
She began unconsciously using her third eyes, seeing the ball heading straight forward…
And she swung her bat at just the right time.
"I-I did it!" she gasped. "I did it, Ren!"
"You did great!" Ren grinned. "But, uh, your round's not over yet."
"O-Oh, right!"
The two Thieves played a few more rounds of baseball before ending. By the end of it, she was hitting nearly every ball that came her way.
"That was really fun!" Makoto expressed. "Thank you for bringing me here."
"Thanks for coming with me." Ren smiled. "Uh…"
"What is it, Ren?"
"Sorry if I'm bringing down the mood, but I was curious… how's everything going with our current target?"
"Madarame? Well, I think I might have a lead." she told him. "I might wait for a bit more information, but I learned that Madarame has an apprentice named Yusuke Kitagawa."
"Maybe we could get some more information about Madarame from him." Ren suggested.
"That's what I was hoping for." she nodded. "From what I hear, he's looking for a muse, so I thought offering to become one would allow me to glean information from him."
"Pretty smart." Ren grinned. "But we don't know the guy, so maybe Ryuji and I could come with you to make sure he doesn't try anything funny."
"Thank you for that." she smiled.
"You can rely on me!" Ren grinned. "Oh, but speaking of targets, I wonder if there's anything on the Phan-Site."
He brought up the website on his phone, but frowned when he saw what was on there.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Someone… wrote a request to change your heart." Ren told her.
"What?!" she exclaimed.
She quickly glanced over at her phone, seeing it for herself.
I'm putting in a request for Makoto Niijima, the student council president at Shujin Academy. You were the guys who changed Kamoshida's heart, right? Well, you should know that she totally knew all about his abuses, but turned a blind eye to it! She's supposed to represent the students, but all she cares about is sucking up to the staff for a letter of recommendation!
She felt tears begin to prick at her eyes as she read through the request.
"This… is how they think about me." she whispered. "I-I knew there were rumors, but I… I didn't know that…"
"You didn't know what was happening." Ren said softly. "I know, Makoto. I know the truth. I know that you're not at fault at all. You're an amazing person, no matter what anyone else says."
"Thank you, Ren." she mumbled.
She continued to look through the requests, but they only made her sadder.
I want to make a request to change Ren Amamiya's heart. He's a no good delinquent that deserves to be in prison, not our school.
There was a request to change Ren's heart too. And it wasn't the only one...
I heard that Ren Amamiya beats his girlfriend. Change his heart!
And another...
I heard that he's part of the Yakuza. Change his heart right now!
And another...
Nobody likes him. Everyone hates that psychopath criminal. Just change his damn heart!
"What is it?" he asked.
"It's…" she trailed off, not sure whether to tell him.
"I know… there are lots of requests about me." Ren said. "But it's ok! Because it doesn't bother me at all."
She saw him flash her a bright smile…
But once again, it was a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Ren, are you sure you're ok?" she asked again.
"...It's ok. I'm used to the rumors at this point." he told her. "I'm fine… I'm fine."
"You shouldn't have to get used to it!" she yelled.
He turned to look at her, surprised at her sudden outburst.
"I'm sorry for yelling, but what they're doing to you is wrong." she said. "You're a good person too, Ren. If… those rumors are bothering you, even if it's just a little bit, you can tell me, ok?"
Ren seemed to hesitate for just a moment, his smile dropping ever so slightly.
"I…I..."
...But it came back just as quickly.
"I will. I-If I do feel upset in the future, that is." Ren said, smiling brightly. "Thanks for today, Makoto. I had a lot of fun."
"...Yeah. Me too. I'll see you later, then."
"...Yeah. See you… and thanks." Ren told her. "I appreciate you being there."
She let out a small smile, happy that she had earned a little more of his trust.
FOOL CONFIDANT: RANK 3
They parted ways, and on her way home, she couldn't help but wonder if Ren was really as fine as he claimed, as well as Madarame's apprentice, and what type of person he would be...
Diligently, he had continued to paint the canvas well into the night. He frowned as his stomach growled for the umpteenth time, a consequence of eating just a single meal today.
His master had always told him, however, that an artist must suffer for his art, hence why he insisted that, as his apprentice, that he should limit himself to one small meal a day. This pain would only further fuel his desire to create the perfect painting, just like the Sayuri that inspired him.
"Not good enough…" Yusuke muttered, frowning as he looked at his painting.
Feeling a little dizzy, he decided to tune in for the night. Although there was only a mat to sleep in, he was thankful that he was the only one here. When there had been more apprentices, they had all been pressed up against each other, as there was barely enough room on the floor to lay down and sleep.
Finally, despite his aching head and rumbling stomach, exhaustion took hold of him, bringing him to sleep.
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 3
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 3
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 2
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 2
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 1
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 1
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 1
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 2
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 1
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 1
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 1
THE JUDGEMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 1
Do you believe in the Phantom Thieves? Yes 6.6%