They met up near a courthouse, away from prying eyes and ears.
"So, why did you decide to meet up here, Makoto-chan?" Akechi asked.
"I'll tell you soon." Makoto promised. "But for now-"
"I assume you've heard the news." Akechi stated. "There's a 30 million yen reward for anyone with information on the Phantom Thieves."
"3-30 million yen?! For real?!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"So, we're public enemy number 1 right now." Yusuke frowned.
"I'm sorry." Haru whispered. "If I had found another way of dealing with my father and Sugimura, then…"
"It's not your fault, Haru." Ann said. "It's the fault of the people who killed your father.
"And my mom, and everyone else they've killed too!" Futaba added.
"Indeed. However, it seems that the people responsible intend to place the blame for all of those incidents on you." Akechi noted.
She clenched her fists, barely repressing her rage.
"Numerous notable politicians have spoken out against you." Akechi noted. "Take a look at this."
Akechi showed them a video on his phone of a man giving a speech.
"That's Shido Masayoshi, a popular candidate for the next prime minister." Akechi informed them.
"Criminals that do whatever they want in the name of justice cannot be tolerated!" Shido declared. "Only now does the government speak out about them, but once again, their actions are too little, too late!"
The people watching seemed practically mesmerized by Shido's words.
"Yakuza walked the streets freely, preying on our children while our government did nothing! Our infrastructure and transportation crumbled, our trains derailed, and again, they did nothing. The only times they take action is when it's far too late!" Shido criticized. "Simply put, our government has become obsolete and ineffective!"
She didn't exactly disagree with him, but she also knew there was a good chance that he was just saying what people wanted to hear.
"With them in charge, we as a country are but a sinking ship! But I refuse to go down with them! With my hands and yours, joined as one, we can end this chaos together!"
Akechi ended the video there, gauging our reactions.
"Making headlines with your arrest warrant, and then having a 30 million yen initiative to capture you all. It's not a terrible strategy, I admit." Akechi stated.
"Do the police even have any evidence on us?" Futaba asked.
"That's true, they don't know your identities… but if the conspiracy is able to inflict psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns on people across Tokyo, then falsifying some evidence and testimony should be simple for them" Akechi brought up.
"And are you alright with that?" Makoto asked.
"I'm not. That's why I came to you with a deal." Akechi noted.
"And even sis would be fine with it, would she?" Makoto sighed.
"Possibly. I do think if it meant capturing the Thieves… well, she'd be willing to let others bend the rules a bit for her benefit." Akechi stated.
"So we truly do have no choice." Makoto realized.
"At the very least, changing Sae's heart might have another benefit." Akechi noted. "For one thing, Sae having her heart changed means that she would likely be taken off of the investigation… which means that the true culprit would have no reason to target her."
"Speaking of the investigation, do you have any information about it?" Ren asked.
Akechi nodded. "On the 20th of November, an investigation will be carried out at both Shujin Academy… and the Sakura residence."
"My home…" Futaba frowned.
"So, our time limit will be November 20th." Yusuke realized.
"The Sakura residence… is it because of Wakaba?" Makoto asked.
"I would assume so." Akechi nodded.
"Akechi-kun… it's not that I'm not thankful for you refraining from turning us in, but are you truly willing to dirty your own hands." Haru asked.
"There's no other option for taking down the true culprit." Akechi noted. "Although, I do have some personal reasons myself."
"Personal reasons…?" Morgana questions.
"I was also taken advantage of by a corrupt authority figure, some time ago." Akechi mentioned. "I'd rather not give too many details, but I suppose that it was that experience that shaped my current viewpoints on justice."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Ren expressed, empathizing with him.
"Well, it's all in the past now." Akechi shook his head. "In any case, we should focus on getting into the palace."
"Wait, in order to do that, we'll need the keywords, right?" Ann asked.
"Keywords? Interesting… But I'm sure you're on top of that, Makoto-chan." Akechi smiled.
Makoto frowned. "Yeah… I know them already."
"I would expect nothing less from Sae-san's little sister." Akechi said, his smile growing wider.
She was about 90% sure he was trying to goad her on purpose…
"It's a casino." Makoto stated. "That's the form her distortion takes.
"How very telling." Akechi noted. "Casinos are illegal in this country, after all."
"... Let's get moving." Makoto muttered.
"Oh, wait! Akechi, let me check your phone!" Futaba cried.
Not even waiting for an answer, Futaba snatched the phone from him.
"W-What?" Akechi stammered in surprise.
"Let me show you something on the app!" Futaba said excitedly.
"F-Futaba!" Makoto cried.
"Sorry about her." Ren said, getting Akechi's attention. "She's still a little… eccentric, especially around people she doesn't know that well."
"Oh, no, it's no trouble at all. Sae-san told me the gist of her situation." Akechi stated.
As Ren smoothed things over with Akechi, Futaba fiddled with the phone for a bit before showing it to Akechi.
"The Metaverse has a bookmark feature in case you need to quickly go back to a palace!" Futaba stated. "It's pretty handy."
"I see. Well, since we may end up having to take multiple trips, this could really come in handy." Akechi realized. "Now then, shall we?"
Together, the entire group ventured into the palace…
"I know that you said that I was your next target, but it's still a bit hard to believe. You're saying that I had one of these palaces?" Sae asked.
"Yes, that's right." Makoto nodded.
"That… that doesn't make any sense!" Sae insisted. "And you expect me to believe that Goro Akechi was the one who made the request?!"
"I never mentioned a name." Makoto pointed out.
"It's rather obvious who you're referring to." Sae argued. "Even so, it's hard to believe that Akechi had experience with the Metaverse around the same time your group gained access to it. He… never said anything to me."
"... I would like to stress something." Makoto muttered. "Goro Akechi…"
"Yes?"
"Isn't one of us." Makoto stressed.
"I'll be the judge of that." Sae stated. "Although it seems that I'm the one who's been kept in the dark the most…"
"That's because you're being used as a pawn." Makoto bluntly said. "Someone needs you to apprehend and lay all of the blame on us so that the real culprit can go free."
"And that's why you targeted me, then?" Sae asked. "Not for your own preservation, but to stop that from happening?"
"Well, that wasn't the only reason." Makoto admitted. "As I said, you are a pawn. And to the leaders of this conspiracy, pawns are easy to dispose of when they're no longer needed… just like Okumura."
"So, they would be targeting me next, then." Sae realized. "Still, I-"
"Urk!"
She clutched her forehead, feeling her consciousness beginning to slip.
"Hey! Makoto! I need you to focus!" Sae yelled, slamming her hands on the table.
"I-I'm fine." Makoto insisted. "I just needed a moment."
She took a moment to compose myself as best as I could, considering my current condition.
"I'm surprised that you're able to keep a brave face, even knowing your current predicament." Sae frowned. "You seem completely worn out, and yet…"
"I haven't lost yet." Makoto insisted.
"So, you can still keep going, huh?" Sae asked. "Well, in that case, do you remember how an officer at the scene said that you had been 'sold out'? This points to the existence of a traitor."
"Well… just let me explain what happened between entering your palace and the time of my arrest." Makoto offered.
When they arrived, they found almost everything about the area to be completely the same, including the nearby police station.
Except for the courthouse itself, of course, which had now been transformed into a giant casino.
Flashing lights led them to the building, A giant, gaudy sign of a woman, who she could only assume was meant to be her sister, standing atop the casino.
"First of all, I have a question." Akechi began. "When I awoke to that… persona thing you were all talking about, my appearance changed as well. Do you understand why that is?"
"Well, we'll probably only be forced into our costumes when we enter the palace proper, and even then, only if we are perceived as a threat." Makoto mentioned.
"Interesting." Akechi noted. "Was there anything else that you wanted to tell me?"
"Yes. Before we enter, I should let you know a few things." Makoto stated. "First of all, avoid using our real names. Just as a precaution."
"Of course." Akechi nodded. "Might I ask that you extend the same courtesy to me?"
Makoto nodded. "One last thing. If you ever need to leave the palace, just come back here."
"So, going to the same place I entered the Metaverse will allow me to exit it?" Akechi asked.
"Correct" Makoto nodded. "Alternatively, you can leave simply by being around someone who's exiting a palace."
Just as you can pull people close enough to you into the Metaverse when you were entering, you could pull someone out of the Metaverse if they were close enough to you when you were leaving.
It was something that they had discovered all the way back at Madarame's Palace, when Ren had shown Yusuke the study containing the Sayuri forgeries. Ren, Yusuke, and Morgana had entered the Metaverse at a different point, but they had exited at the same point that everyone else could.
It was an interesting fact, but they hadn't really found any major use for it that wasn't too risky.
"Alright then. Let's get going." Akechi nodded.
They quickly found an entrance to the casino that they could sneak into.
The moment that they did sneak into the casino, however…
"Ah, it seems that you were correct." Akechi noted. "The moment we stepped inside of the casino, our outfits immediately changed. Sae-san must be very on guard."
"Um… are you really thinkin' of infiltrating this place in that outfit?" Ryuji questioned.
Akechi's thief costume was a stark contrast to most of their outfits. Instead of having darker colors, his outfit was composed of bright whites and reds.
"This must simply be my mental image of what a person who sticks to their justice looks like." Akechi noted.
"Um… everyone… look at all the people down there." Haru stammered, directing everyone's attention to the ground floor.
Looking down, they saw several men and women on the ground floor of the casino. They all looked completely normal, if a little ordinary looking.
"All of those people couldn't possibly be infiltrating the palace too." Akechi reasoned. "So what are they doing here?"
"Oh right, you don't really have any idea about cognitive people, huh?" Ann asked.
"Alongside locations, cognitive people can also exist based on the palace ruler's perceptions." Yusuke briefly explained.
"I see." Akechi nodded. "So when it comes to these regular people, Sae's cognition is surprisingly undistorted."
"Just be careful. Not all cognitions will be ordinary." Morgana warned. "We've been attacked by some before."
"Is this what you've had to deal with in every palace?" Akechi asked.
"Yes, that's right." Makoto nodded. "After we secure an infiltration route to her treasure, we'll need to send a calling card in the real world in order for the treasure to materialize for the next 24 hours. Then, we steal it."
"Oh, so the calling card was really necessary?" Akechi asked.
"That's right." Makoto nodded. "Now let's get moving."
Carefully, the group climbed down to the ground floor, avoiding the eyes of any of the people down below.
Just as they were about to go into the next room, however…
"You're under arrest!"
They whipped around, expecting to see a shadow or guard behind them…
Only for it to be a little girl instead.
"Just kidding! Hehe!" the girl giggled.
What on Earth was a young girl doing in a place like this?!
"Woah, you look so cool!" the little girl exclaimed, noticing her outfit. "I wanna try that on… if only there was one in my size."
Feeling a little self-conscious, Makoto backed away a bit. "I-It's not that cool…"
"Whaaaat! Of course it is! You look like you're from an action movie! Like Fist of the No-"
"A-Alright, that's enough!" Makoto insisted, trying to ignore the snickering behind her. "How old are you anyway?"
"I'm this many!" the little girl chirped, holding up 5 fingers. "That means 5!"
"Very good!" Haru praised, causing the little girl to smile wider.
"H-Hold on, aren't you a little young to be watching violent shows like that?!" Makoto asked.
The little girl suddenly looked a little guilty.
"Please don't tell my daddy." the girl frowned. "Sometimes I stay up past my bedtime to watch action shows."
"You shouldn't do that." Makoto scolded. "You need your rest."
"Daddy says the same thing." the girl said.
"Your daddy really cares about you, doesn't he?" Haru softly said.
"Uh huh! He even calls me his little princess!" the girl giggled.
"Aww, that's adorable!" Ann beamed. "Say… what's your name?"
"My name is Makoto!" the girl answered.
Immediately, everyone's eyes were on the young girl.
"M-Makoto?" Ryuji asked. "For real?!"
"For real!" the girl repeated.
The little girl in front of them was a cognitive version of herself…
In retrospect, the big, fluffy panda design on her shirt really should have been a dead giveaway.
"Makoto… as in, Makoto Niijima?" Akechi asked.
"Yeah, that's right! How'd you know?" the girl asked.
"We're… friends of your older sister." Ren answered. "She mentioned something about grabbing a treasure for her. Would you happen to know where it is?"
The cognitive Makoto shook her head before letting out a pout. "Nuh uh. Big sis says I'm not responsible enough for stuff like that. She keeps telling me to just sit here and do what I'm told."
"… Is that right?" Makoto muttered.
"But she is my big sis, so I have to listen to what she says." the cognitive Makoto said.
"Hmm… maybe you could show us around then, Makoto-chan?" Ann suggested.
"Okay! If you're sis' friends, then it's ok!" the cognitive Makoto agreed.
"Hold on, before we go, how did you manage to sneak up on us?" Yusuke asked.
"That's easy! It's a trick I learned from my big sis!" the cognitive Makoto beamed. "Whenever she wanted to sneak up on Daddy, she would grab some manga and-"
"Alright, that's enough!" Makoto cut her off. "We don't have time for this."
"Now hold on, Leader, this could be some valuable info!" Ren grinned. "I really want to hear this."
"I'm sure this could help me to be stealthier as well." Akechi agreed. "Wouldn't want to hold the rest of you back."
"Great, now I have to deal with two Jokers." Makoto thought.
As the group moved to follow after hearing the explanation, Akechi approached her.
"We're lucky that Sae's cognitive version of you is a little on the naive side." Akechi noted, before flashing her an amused smirk. "Now then, let's get going, Princess."
Akechi chuckled at his own words, the two of them walking behind the group.
The cognitive Makoto led them into a large, open room.
"There are lots of fun games here!" the cognitive Makoto chirped. "But Big Sis says I can't play any of them, though…"
"It's because of how irresponsible you are."
Alerted to the sound of someone's voice, Makoto glanced upwards… right at her sister's shadow, flanked by two guards.
"So, you all must be those Phantom Thieves. Here to steal my treasure, I presume?" Sae asked.
"Ah, big sis, I…" the cognitive Makoto trailed off.
"Quiet, Makoto. The adults are talking." Sae scoffed. "Although it seems like I'll have to pick up your mess again. Typical."
Sae turned to the Thieves, an amused look on her face.
For a moment, she was taken aback by her appearance.
A revealing black dress with matching, thick makeup. Her body was covered in tattoos of dogs and yellow flowers.
"So, would you like to know where my treasure is, my petty little thieves?" Sae asked.
"W-What?! As if we'd fall for a trick like that!" Morgana shouted.
"No tricks. We do everything fair and square here." Sae insisted. "So what will you do? Will you run away?"
"She's already seen us, so perhaps we should at least hear her out." Akechi suggested.
"... Alright then." Makoto nodded.
With great effort, she slowly dragged herself over to Sae's shadow, dreading what was to come.
The moment Sae's shadow got a better look at them, she saw Sae's expression change for just a moment.
"Y-You… are you…" Sae trailed off. "No, that's impossible. She wouldn't do something like this."
It seemed that Sae didn't recognize her. She wasn't really sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.
But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't open her mouth to speak. She couldn't let her sister know who she was even if she wanted to. She had waited for this moment for so long, and yet…
"Anyway… the treasure is on the highest floor point of the building." Sae grinned. "On the Manager's floor."
"Why are you telling us this?" Ren asked.
Another pause. Instead of answering Ren's question, she could feel Sae's eyes glaring at her, as if she was trying to drill a hole into her skull.
If anyone could actually do that with just their eyes, it would be her sister.
How could she not say anything after all this time?! How could she not speak up?!
Akechi seemed to notice, giving her a contemplative look.
"It's just as I said. I want to do this fair and square." Sae answered. "I'll be waiting."
Sae snapped her fingers, her and her guards suddenly disappearing, only to reappear at a nearby elevator.
"We gotta go after them!" Ryuji shouted.
"Um…"
They glanced at the cognitive Makoto, who seemed very uncomfortable at the whole situation.
"Skull, could you bring her back to the last room?" Makoto asked, finally finding her voice. "Meet with us back here."
"Will you guys come back to see me?" the cognitive Makoto asked.
"Yeah, sure." Ryuji promised. "And the next time we visit…"
Ryuji knelt down and whispered something into the little girl's ear.
"Really? They'll like it?" the cognitive Makoto asked.
"They'll love it, I promise!" Ryuji grinned.
She couldn't quite overhear what they were saying as Ryuji led her cognitive self down to the other room, but she had to focus on leaving here for now.
They went to the elevator and called it down, Ryuji coming back in the meantime.
"Say, while we're waiting, we should tell you about our codenames!" Futaba brought up to Akechi.
"First, we should probably come up with a codename for you." Ryuji pointed out.
"Hmm… a codename?" Akechi repeated.
Akechi seemed to think it over for a moment before seemingly coming up with something.
"Ah, what about Kasuru?" Akechi suggested.
"Kasuru… it does stand out a bit." Makoto stated. "It would be the only codename that's Japanese."
"So in that case, what about Crow?" Ren suggested.
"Crow, huh? Alright." Akechi grinned. "Crow it is, then. But what about the rest of you? What are your codenames?"
"Oh, I'll tell you." Ren offered.
One by one, Ren pointed to each of the others, starting with himself.
"I'm Joker. That's Mona, that's Skull, then Fox, and Panther, and Oracle, and Noir-
"Everyone, there's a shadow coming!" Futaba cried. "Get into position!"
"Everyone, be careful!" Makoto warned. "We don't know how strong the shadows are here!"
"It seems that grabbing the treasure will not be such a simple matter." Akechi frowned.
"Ugh, she's just toyin' with us!" Ryuji snapped.
"Everyone! It's about to attack!" Futaba warned.
A security guard rushed towards them before dissolving into ooze, reforming into a humanoid leopard wielding two swords.
"No need to worry. I'll handle this." Akechi promised.
"Are you sure?" Makoto asked.
"Of course. I have to prove my worth to you, don't I?" Akechi grinned.
"... Well, I hope you can meet my expectations, then." Makoto stated.
"I promise to surpass even the loftiest of hopes you may have." Akechi promised.
His expression swiftly turned serious as he gripped his mask.
"Take them down, Robin Hood!" Akechi shouted.
Suddenly, blue flames danced around him as a muscular superhero-like persona appeared, dressed in blue, white, and gold as they aimed a large bow and arrow.
The shadow charged forward, but Akechi easily managed to outmaneuver it, dodging and parrying every blow, slashing back before the creature could dodge.
It was as if he was toying with the shadow.
The shadow grew enraged, attempting to slam both of its swords down onto Akechi.
Unperturbed, Akechi simply jumped back before firing off a blast of light, bringing the shadow to its knees.
Before Akechi could land the finishing blow, however…
"Got you!" Ren shouted.
He fired off several bullets at the shadow, bringing it to its knees.
Makoto rushed ahead, slamming her fist into the shadow, bringing it down for good.
"Hmm? You didn't have to assist there." Akechi commented. "I had it fully under control."
"We didn't want you to have to do all the work." Ren told him. "It's better if we all work as a team."
"As a team…" Akechi muttered. "Right, of course…"
"Shall we keep moving?" Yusuke asked.
"No… not yet. We have an infiltration route and a destination in mind. For now, I think we should call it here and make some additional preparations before we come back." Makoto ordered.
"… Even if it is your sister, you can't afford to hold back." Akechi pointed out.
"I'm not." Makoto replied, clenching her fists. "This is standard procedure."
"... Very well then. I'll trust your experience and judgement." Akechi relented.
The group left the palace, going their separate ways for the day.
She was glad that Sae wasn't home when she arrived, as she was sure that she wouldn't be able to face her at this point.
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 9
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 9
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 8
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 8
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 7
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 8
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 9
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 8
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 8
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 8
THE STAR - Hifumi Togo: Rank 7
THE DEVIL - Mitsuhide Matsuoka: Rank 6
THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 6
THE DEATH - Yohei Kiritani: Rank 6
THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 8
THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 5
THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 8
THE HERMIT - Futaba Sakura: Rank 63
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 8
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 5
THE PRIESTESS - Kasumi Yoshizawa?: Rank 6
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 7
THE JUDGMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 6
THE COUNCILOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 9
Are the Phantom Thieves just? Yes 35.9%