"… Was that last part really necessary?"
"You told me to explain everything."
Sae gave her an annoyed look.
"I meant about the Phantom Thieves." Sae muttered.
"Unless you're about to tell me that I'm going to be an aunt, I don't care."
"W-What?! No!" Makoto stammered. "W-We haven't done… t-that yet."
"I see." Sae nodded.
Another awkward silence…
"How does he treat you?" Sae asked.
Makoto smiled. "Like a Queen."
Sae scoffed. "Can you be more specific than that?"
Makoto nodded. "He's very kind. He always listens to what I have to say, and cares about what I think. He never berates me for what I say either."
"… Ok then." Sae replied.
She couldn't quite read the expression on her elder sister's face.
Not knowing what she was thinking was more than a little unnerving.
Finally, Sae spoke again.
"Is there anything else that you wanted to tell me before we move on?" Sae asked.
Makoto thought for a moment before she replied.
"Morgana really likes the kimono that you packed for him."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
8/28 Saturday
She had a very hard time sleeping.
The entire night, she was thinking about Ren, and the relationship the two of them now shared.
Coming to terms with the fact that she wouldn't be getting much sleep, she decided to do something more productive.
Her face starting to redden, she slowly grabbed her phone and began to type something out in the search bar.
How to be a good girlfriend.
She cautiously opened the first search result that she saw…
She was only able to read a few sentences before she had to cover her blushing face in embarrassment, nearly flinging her phone across the room in the process.
She buried her face into her pillow, thankful that no one was awake to see her right now.
Eventually, she was able to get some sleep, though not without dreaming of a certain messy-haired delinquent.
She woke up a few hours later, heading into the kitchen.
She was about to make herself some breakfast, but remembered that they were going to be heading to the beach today…
Maybe it would be best if she skipped breakfast today…
They all made their way to the beach, which was thankfully within walking distance.
They all went into the changing rooms and put on their swimsuits.
When they had all gathered outside, however, they realized that Futaba was taking a long time.
"Um, aren't we missing someone?" Ren asked.
"Futaba's still in the changing room." Makoto explained. "She should be out soon."
"She's been in there a long time." Ryuji brought up.
"Maybe one of us should go and check on her." Ann suggested.
"I-I'm ready!"
Before they could discuss any further, Futaba slowly walked out of the changing booth, wearing her swimsuit… as well as a bunch of cloth wrapped around her head.
"Come on, let's go!" Futaba cheered l, trying to find her way around."
Futaba tries walking towards them, which was very difficult considering that she couldn't see.
"This is perfect!" Futaba cried, trying to feel around with her arms.
"There's nothing perfect about that." Makoto sighed.
Makoto carefully walked up to Futaba.
"Come now, hold still. You can do this." Makoto gently encouraged.
Makoto slowly took the cloth off of Futaba, revealing her face.
"Better?" Makoto asked.
"… Uh huh." Futaba nodded.
Ren gave her a thumbs up, Futaba grinning in response.
"Ooh, look over there!" Futaba shouted!
Futaba pointed towards a volleyball net that had been set up.
"Oh, that looks fun!" Ann grinned. "We should all play a game together!"
"All right!" Ryuji grinned, expressing his excitement.
The others quickly expressed their own excitement, eager to start the game.
After they set up some space for them on the beach, they grabbed the volleyball, and the six of them decided to play a game with the boys vs. the girls, with Morgana acting as referee.
Futaba spent most of the game hiding behind Makoto so she wouldn't get hit by the ball.
Because of that, however, the boys were able to get an early lead.
Not about to give them an easy win, Makoto spiked the volleyball as hard as she could… and ended up smacking Ren right in the face with it.
Ren fell to the ground, blood starting to leak out of his nose.
"Ren!" Makoto cried.
Makoto rushed over to him, panic written all over her face.
"A-Are you ok?!" Makoto exclaimed.
She leaned down next to him, gently holding his head to look for injuries.
"I-I'm fine." Ren insisted, glancing away.
"You're bleeding." Makoto pointed out. "I'm so sorry…"
"Really, it's fine, it's fine." Ren insisted. "I'll just clean it off and I'll be as good as new."
"Ok… there should be something to clean it off back near our stuff." Makoto told him.
Ren nodded, thanking her before leaving to wipe off the blood.
After Ren cleaned up his nose, he was approached by Futaba.
"Soooo… What's with you and Makoto?" Futaba asked.
"What do you mean?" Ren asked.
"Come on, it's obvious that there's something happening between you two." Futaba smirked. "Well… obvious to me at least."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Did you… bug my room too?!"
"I did… but I got rid of it." Futaba shrugged. "I got sick of listening to you and Makoto's awkward almost flirting."
"Wha- don't be ridiculous!" Ren shouted. "There's nothing like that happening!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure." Futaba said. "But I'm kinda surprised. Makoto is really kind, but she also seems pretty intense. I mean… if you ever pissed her off, you'd have a lot worse than a broken nose."
"She wouldn't hurt a friend." Ren quickly defended.
"I know." Futaba said. "But I remember that she was really intense back in the palace.
"You mean how she fights?" Ren asked. "Yeah, I suppose it's intense… but I don't think that's a bad thing."
Futaba seemed to think for a few minutes before smirking again.
"Oh… I get it." Futaba said. "You're like Spike, right?"
"Spike?" Ren repeated.
"Yeah." Futaba grinned. "You love a woman that can kick your ass."
"H-Hey!" Ren stammered.
"Hah! I thought nosebleeds like that only happened in anime!" Ryuji grinned, approaching them.
"Shut up." Ren growned. "It's because of the volleyball."
"More like cause you were distracted." Ryuji teased. "Guess that's the power of the Fist of the Phantom Star."
"Ooooh, I like that name!" Futaba grinned.
"Makoto doesn't though." Ren smirked. "You wouldn't want her to overhear?"
"Overhear what?"
Ryuji and Futaba whipped around, seeing Makoto staring at them in confusion.
"Nothing!" They both said.
"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked.
"Oh no, everything's fine!" Futaba insisted.
"… Well, alright." Makoto said. "Are any of you hungry? Lunch is ready."
The others quickly made their way over, checking out the lunch that she had prepared.
"What? Salad?" Futaba frowned. "That's lunch."
"You can't just eat instant ramen every day." Makoto chided.
"Hmm… I think we should add 'eating healthy' to the promise list." Ren suggested.
"Oh, that's a wonderful idea!" Makoto beamed.
Ren snuck a smirk at Futaba while Makoto wasn't looking. "Yeah, I agree."
"Y-You fiend!" Futaba snapped. "Come on, Makoto, you haven't always stuck toa healthy diet, have you?"
"I have, actually." Makoto smiled.
"… Ren?" Futaba asked, narrowing her eyes.
Ren gulped, remembering his numerous attempts at the Big Bang Burger Challenge.
"O-Of course she hasn't!" Ren exclaimed. "Makoto's never strayed from her diet."
Futaba giggled when Makoto glanced at him.
Ren was about to give an excuse before Ryuji spoke up.
"Hey, Makoto, you ok?" Ryuji asked. "You ain't eatin' much."
"Oh, um…" Makoto trailed off.
"Are you sick or something?" Ryuji wondered.
"Heh, it figures that you wouldn't know, Ryuji." Morgana grinned.
"Know what, cat?" Ryuji scoffed.
"When a woman is wearing a swimsuit, she wants to look as slim as she can." Morgana explained. "But… don't you think you're overdoing it, Makoto? Did you even have breakfast today?"
Her growling stomach answered for her, much to her embarrassment.
"Mona lacks tact.
"Relax, Makoto, you don't need to be so self-conscious. You look beautiful!" Ann insisted. "Isn't that right, Ren?"
"H-Huh? Me?" Ren gasped.
Ann gave him an expecting look, one that said 'Don't screw this up'.
"Y-Yeah, you look… really beautiful, Makoto." Ren mumbled.
"O-Oh… thank you." Makoto smiled.
As Ann giggled in the background, Ren turned away, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Hey, um… are you ok, Futaba?" he asked, changing the subject. "There are a lot of people here."
"I'm fine." Futaba nodded. "But you should probably get some food."
Makoto smiled. "Well, I don't want you guys worrying about me…"
"Oh, I have an idea!" Ann grinned. "Ren, you probably know all the great places to eat around here, right? Why don't you show Makoto?"
"Ah, a wonderful idea." Yusuke agreed. "We can all go and eat toget-OOF!"
Ann elbowed Yusuke, her expression unchanging.
"Come on, you two, go have some fun!" Ann encouraged. "The rest of us will be fine."
It was pretty clear that Ann was trying to wingwoman for Ren, not aware that they were already dating.
Still, she'd be lying if she said that she didn't want to spend more time with Ren.
"Alright." Ren nodded. "That ok with you, Makoto?"
She smiled, looking up at him. "Of course. Where are you going to bring me?"
Ren brought her to a nearby seafood stand at the beach, treating her to lunch.
She resisted the urge to wolf it down, her stomach growling just at the sight of it.
As they ate their meal, she found herself at a loss.
She had some alone time with her boyfriend, but she didn't know what to do.
"Um… I'm sorry." Makoto muttered.
"For what?" Ren asked.
"We have some alone time together, but… I'm not really sure what to do now that we're… dating." Makoto explained, whispering the last part.
"Oh." Ren replied. "Well… we don't have to rush things, you know. We're both new to this. So just be yourself. That's enough."
"Thank you." Makoto smiled.
He was right.
He was still her best friend. He was still Ren. He was still the one person she could allow herself to be vulnerable around.
None of that changed now that they were dating.
The two thieves sat and enjoyed their meal, as well as each other's company.
"Say, Ren?"
"Yeah?"
"How do you think the others are doing without us?" Makoto asked.
"Gimmie those lobsters, Yusuke!" Futaba shouted.
"How dare you!" Yusuke exclaimed. "These lobsters are my next art piece!"
"More like my next meal!" Futaba cried, reaching for the lobsters in his hands.
"Unhand me, you uncultured gremlin!" Yusuke snapped.
"Grr… how dare you be so tall!" Futaba scowled.
"Ryuji."
"Yeah, Ann?"
"Why is Morgana buried in the sand?" Ann frowned.
"… I don't know." Ryuji shrugged.
"Ryuji, get me out of here right now!" Morgana snapped. "How dare you bury me during my nap!"
Ann gave Ryuji an annoyed look.
"Look, he had it comin'!" Ryuji insisted.
Ann rolled her eyes. "Fine, let's just dig him out bef-"
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
Ryuji and Ann quickly turned towards Morgana, who was now surrounded by two lobsters.
"These things are gonna clip my tail off!" Morgana cried.
"No! Quickly my muses, you must flee!" Yusuke shouted, holding Futaba back.
"I'm sure that they're fine." Ren replied. "And I'm sure Futaba'll appreciate you working on her diet… just not immediately."
"And what about you?" she asked. "Do I have to work on your diet too? Don't tell me you only eat burgers and curry."
"Well, if you're offering to cook for me, then I definitely won't refuse." Ren grinned.
"I… I see!" Makoto stammered, silently cursing the effect his smile had on her. "I'll keep that in mind."
They finished their meal and went back to the others.
As the sun began to set, they started packing their things, and getting ready to leave.
"Futaba, we're leaving now." Makoto called. "Futaba?"
"There she is." Ren pointed.
They approached Futaba, who was staring out into the water.
"Futaba, is everything alright?" Makoto asked.
"We're goin' home, Futaba." Ryuji called. "Quit standing around and help."
Futaba kneeled down, frowning.
"You know… this whole time, I thought that I was responsible for my mom's death." Futaba whispered. "Everyone that I knew told me that it was my fault. That I was a murderer."
Futaba started to shake a bit, holding back tears.
"I… started hating the world, and started shutting myself off from it." Futaba admitted. "I started wishing and dreaming that my mother was alive… but every day I'd wake up and it'd be the same."
Makoto moved to place a hand on Futaba's shoulder, but the younger girl got up before she could.
"I loved my mom." Futaba said. "I wanted to be just like her. She was really dedicated… she'd woke late into the night and wake up early to make my lunch… how she poured so much time into her research."
"Cognitive Psience, right?" Ren asked.
Futaba nodded. "The cognitive world can become distorted through desire, and the distorted person can start showing problematic behavior in real life. However, the cognitive world will disappear if the core is removed."
"That was all in her research?" Ann gasped.
"Then she really must have known about the Metaverse!" Morgana realized.
"It didn't really make any sense to me at first, but now that it's happened to me, I understand." Futaba stated.
"And you bugged Leblanc, which is how you found out about us." Ren recalled.
"And good thing I did. You guys would have been hopeless against Medjed's threats!" Futaba said. "And Sojiro… he was being accused of all sorts of lies, like that he was abusing me."
"Ah…" Makoto muttered.
"I felt like I had to save Sojiro… but to do that, I had to save myself first." Futaba explained. "I'm sorry that I caused you all so much trouble I caused you guys."
"That's alright. I mean, everything worked out in the end, right?" Ann smiled.
"I was hoping that if it's not too much trouble… could I join your team?" Futaba asked.
"You don't need to ask." Ren smiled. "You're already one of us, Futaba."
"Thank you. To be honest, my main goal… is finding out what happened to my mom. Why she was killed. From her notes, it's possible that… she could have suffered some sort of mental shutdown or psycothic breakdown."
"That was… the same concussion that I came to." Makoto stated. "We saw… her final moments in your palace."
"She didn't seem right?" Futaba asked.
Makoto nodded.
"Yeah… she wouldn't respond to me… and the way she moved was strange." Futaba recalled. "After her death, I tried looking into her reasearch, but I couldn't find it at all."
"Was it stolen?" Ryuji asked.
"It had to have been. Those men in the black suits… the ones who read that fake suiside note… it must have been them!" Futaba cried. "I'll never forgive them!"
Ren nodded. "We're actually keeping a lookout for someone who might be involved. Someone in a black mask."
"They're a hitman that was hired by the Yakuza to kill people through the cognitive world." Makoto explained. "Although, I'm sure that they have other employers."
"... And one of them could be those men in black." Futaba realized. "Then you have to let me help you! I know my reason to join is selfish, but please let me join!"
"Well, you do have your own Persona, and are a pretty amazing hacker." Morgana acknowledged. "And you really helped out back at your palace."
"Yeah… I guess that she'll be pretty useful then, huh?" Ryuji muttered.
"So, what's her code name gonna be?" Ann asked.
"Code names? Oh, right, I guess you used different names in the Metaverse." Futaba realized.
"Do you have any idea what you want your codename to be?" Makoto asked.
"Hey, listen!" Futaba cried. "I wanna be called…"
"Navi?" Ren guessed.
"No. Oracle. With my vision, I'll guide you all to victory." Futaba claimed.
"Oracle it is, then." Makoto smiled.
Everyone seemed happy at the new edition to their group, knowing that they were one step closer to stopping the masked hitman…
She felt as if the entire group as a whole was getting closer.
FORTUNE CONFIDANT: RANK 5
They grabbed all of their things and went back to the Amamiya residence, calling it a day.
8/29 Sunday
Ren made sure to get up early in the morning, knowing that his mother would do the same.
He figured that now would be his last chance to talk to her about… everything.
He fixed a pot of coffee, and poured two cups of it.
"Oh, you're up."
He turned around, seeing his mother enter the kitchen.
"Good morning." Ren greeted. "I, um… made coffee."
His mother sat down, glancing at the coffee for a moment before hesitantly taking a sip…
And then quickly taking another as her eyes widened.
"This is really good…" his mother whispered. "When did you…?"
"… Staying at a cafe, remember?" Ren said.
"Oh, right. I'm glad Sakura-san has been teaching you some things." his mother mentioned.
Another silence fell over them…
"Um…"
"So…"
"Are you doing ok by yourself?" Ren asked.
"I'm managing, but…" Ms. Amamiya trailed off. "I don't want you worrying about me. It should be the other way around…"
"I'm fine, really." Ren insisted. "I'm not getting into any trouble."
"… I can tell when you're lying to me." Ms. Amamiya frowned.
Ren winced. It wasn't like he wanted to lie to his mother, especially when he was trying to have a heart to heart with her. But he couldn't just tell her that he was a Phantom Thief.
Maybe he could tell her a little bit without actually revealing that…
"Did you hear about the gym teacher from our school?" Ren asked.
"I did… don't tell me you got involved with that." his mother frowned.
"Well, I didn't really have a choice." Ren admitted.
"What do you mean?" his mother asked, panic flashing across her face.
Ren proceeded to explain everything that happened involving Kamoshida, excluding anything involving the Phantom Thieves.
"I see… he leaked your record and wanted to expel you." Ms. Amamiya summarized. "I guess you had no choice then. But…"
"But what?"
"I feel like you would have involved yourself regardless." Ms. Amamiya said. "That's just the person you are. You would have stepped in to help… just like… on that day."
Ren's eyes widened. "Then you believe me?"
"At first, I didn't." his mother confessed. "I believed the police… because, well, they're the police. They're authority. We're supposed to believe whatever they say. But… the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. I just… can't believe that you would assault someone out of the blue like that."
His mother paused for a moment.
"That woman was really in danger, wasn't she?" Ms. Amamiya whispered.
Ren nodded. "She was."
His mother sighed. "I suppose there was no stopping you, then."
Another pause.
"How's everything been in Tokyo?" his mother asked. "Aside from that incident with your gym teacher, I mean?"
"Good. It's been good." Ren replied.
She nodded. "It must be. You've made a lot of friends…"
"Yeah. I don't know what I would have done without them." Ren smiled.
"I heard from your probation officer that your grades are much better now." she mentioned.
"Yeah. I'm nearly at the top of my grade now." Ren grinned.
"I see… you've been doing much better, huh?" his mother whispered. "Everything must be so much better in the big city."
Ren frowned, seeing the sad expression on his mother's face.
"Mom, I-"
"It's alright. I know that I haven't been a very good mother to you." Ms. Amamiya muttered.
"Not everything…"
"Hmm?"
"Not everything is better in the city." Ren replied. "There are some things that I love here."
"Like what?" his mother asked.
"Like you." Ren smiled. "I like my hometown because you're there, Mom."
And then, like a dam breaking, Ren's mother burst into tears, engulfing Ren into a hug.
"M-My baby boy!" she sobbed. "I missed you so much."
"Mom…" Ren whispered. "I-I missed you too."
He'd normally be a little embarrassed that his mother was calling him her 'baby boy', but right now…
He was just happy to have some affection.
"No matter what happens… I will always love you." Ms. Amamiya whispered.
"I… I love you too, Mom." Ren stammered.
They stayed hugging for a while, finally pulling apart when they heard the others getting out of bed.
Everyone packed their things and piled into the van.
"Thank you very much for having us." Makoto expressed.
"Of course. Any time." Ms. Amamiya smiled
As Makoto walked away, Ren was pulled aside by his mother.
"She seems like a nice girl." Ms. Amamiya whispered. "Don't screw things up with her."
"W-What?!" Ren stammered. "How do you…?"
"I'm your mother." she smiled. "I know these things."
They said goodbye to Ms. Amamiya, and got into the camper van to head back home.
After dropping everyone off, she finally arrived home, exhausted from the drive.
"I'm home, sis!" Makoto called.
Sae nodded, not looking up from her laptop.
Makoto tried not to sigh as she unpacked her luggage.
When she went to the kitchen to get something to drink, she could smell something awful.
It smelled like something had been burning.
… Which meant that Sae had probably tried to cook something for herself.
"Sis, would you like me to make you something for dinner?" Makoto asked.
"I'm not hungry."
"Oh… all right." Makoto trailed off.
Makoto went to her room, immediately climbing into bed.
Morgana climbed up after her, deep in thought.
"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked.
"I was just thinking…" Morgana muttered. "What will our next move be?"
"I'm not sure." Morgana answered. "I was pretty surprised to figure out that the death of Futaba's mom might be connected to this too."
"It seems like everything is connected…" Makoto frowned. "But where do we go from here?"
"Well, no matter what happens, I'm sure that things will be fine." Morgana assured her. "You seem to have a gift for drawing people to you and being in the right place at the right time."
"What do you mean?" Makoto asked.
"Finding both another Persona user and an expert hacker to deal with Medjed was an incredible stroke of luck." Morgana grinned. "Although at this point, with how many people you've brought to our side, you've definitely surpassed my expectations. I'm sure that we'll find that hitman… and my memories too."
Makoto smiled. "Of couse. Can I trust you to keep helping me along the way?"
"Hehehe! You've got it!" Morgana promised.
She felt a little closer to Morgana.
MAGICIAN CONFIDANT: RANK 6
Their talk over, Makoto shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 9
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 7
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 7
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 6
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 6
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 5
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 7
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 5
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 5
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 5
THE STAR - Hifumi Togo: Rank 5
THE DEVIL - Mitsuhide Matsuoka: Rank 3
THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 3
THE DEATH - Yohei Kiritani: Rank 4
THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 5
THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 4
THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 5
THE HERMIT - Futaba Sakura: Rank 2
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 6
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 4
THE PRIESTESS - Kasumi Yoshizawa: Rank 3
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 5
THE JUDGMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 5
THE COUNCILOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 5
Are the Phantom Thieves just? Yes 69.4%