10/30 Wednesday
Days Until Investigation: 21
After going over their supplies, Makoto determined that what they had would last them throughout the palace.
She gathered everyone together, going back into the palace with them.
They wasted no time getting back to the area where they had left off.
When they arrived at the elevator, they saw the cognitive Makoto sitting nearby, kicking her feet back and forth.
"Hey everyone! What's bonkin'?!" the cognitive Makoto greeted.
Ryuji gave her a thumbs up, while she just sighed in exasperation.
"Stop corrupting her!" Ann snapped.
"Ah, come on, it's not that bad!" Ryuji defended.
"Anyway…" Makoto trailed off, shaking her head. "Makoto-chan, would you have any idea about how to navigate this place? And possibly get to your sister's treasure?
"Why do you keep talking about Big sis' treasure?" the cognitive Makoto frowned. "I've got plenty of treasures too, you know."
"I don't know if panda plushies really count as treasure." Ren joked.
The cognitive Makoto let out a pout.
"Don't tease me!" the cognitive Makoto huffed. "You shouldn't be mean to girls, or else you'll never get a girlfriend, mister!"
"W-What?" Ren stammered.
"And why's your hair so scruffy? Don't you have a comb?" The cognitive Makoto continued.
"Trust me, I've tried." Ren muttered.
"Hahaha… It seems that the mighty Joker is no match for a little girl." Akechi chuckled.
The cognitive Makoto walked up to Akechi, a contemplative look on her face.
"Hmm… your costume." the cognitive Makoto muttered. "It's…"
"Rather impressive, isn't it." Akechi grinned. "It's like a valiant superhero coming to save the day."
"It's kinda lame, actually." the cognitive Makoto said. "Like, what's with that nose?"
"A-Ah…"
Akechi found himself at a loss for words.
"Geez, you were ruthless as a kid." Ann mentioned.
"I might have been a little spoiled." Makoto admitted.
"Say, what gives?!" Ryuji yelled. "I can't get onto this elevator!"
"That's cause you need a membership card!" the cognitive Makoto said.
"A membership card?" Ann repeated. "Where are we going to find something like that?"
"Well, I have a hunch." Akechi grinned. "I think that we might be able to find something-"
"In the back room!" the cognitive Makoto beamed. "There are some guards back there that have some!"
"Ah, of course. Just as I was about to say…" Akechi muttered.
"Thank you, Makoto-chan." Makoto expressed. "We'll be right back."
The group left the elevator area, heading into the back rooms.
"Hopefully, there's some sort of terminal here that I can hack into." Futaba mentioned.
"Yes, that's probably a good idea." Akechi nodded.
"Hey! What are you all doing here!"
A guard suddenly charged into the room, impeding their path.
"I won't let you get to the data terminal!" the guard shouted.
The guard dissolved and reformed, becoming an elegant, masked shadow with large purple hair and green and blue stripes on their outfit.
"... We don't have time for this." Makoto scowled. "Frelia, Johanna!"
She fired off a blast of nuclear energy, staggering the shadow but not doing nearly enough damage to take it down on its own.
The shadow retaliated with vicious flames, Ann countering with flames of her own.
"Fortuna!" Makoto shouted. "Garudyne!"
Sharp winds surrounded the shadow, cutting into every part of it before bringing it to its knees.
With all the training she had done, ordinary shadow stood no chance.
"Finish it." Makoto demanded.
The other Thieves rushed down the shadow, attacking it all at once until it went down for good.
"My, how ruthless." Akechi noted.
"We don't have any time to waste." Makoto stressed. "We have to find the treasure as soon as possible."
"Oh, of course." Akechi nodded. "But now that I see you all in action, I can understand why you're the leader. Although, there was something I was curious about?"
"What is it?"
"It's quite impressive how you're able to use multiple personas." Akechi praised. "But it doesn't seem like any of the rest of us are capable of doing that. How does it work, exactly?"
"I'm able to recruit them onto our side and fuse them together to form new ones." Makoto explained. "There's a bit more to it than that, but that's the basics."
"I see. How fascinating. I always did think that there was something different about you." Akechi noted.
As they continued making their way through the back rooms, she began to think about Akechi's behavior.
There was something about the way he spoke that rubbed her the wrong way.
It was as if everything he said had a hint of condescension to it. Even his compliments seemed somewhat insincere.
She wondered if her suspicions of him were clouding her judgment. It was certainly possible.
For now, she would just have to be cautious.
It wasn't long before they managed to reach the data terminal, having eliminated every shadow in their path.
"Annnnd… done!" Futaba grinned. "With these registration cards, we should be able to access more of the palace.
Futaba had hacked into the system before giving each and every one of them registration cards.
"That should allow us to use that elevator, correct?" Akechi inquired.
Makoto nodded. "That's right, so let's get moving.
"Hold on guys!" Morgana called. "Guys, I'm sensing a Will Seed nearby."
"A Will Seed?" Akechi asked.
"The memories of the palace ruler." Futaba explained. "It shows how their desires became distorted."
"Interesting, but… is that really helpful to us?" Akechi asked. "It doesn't really matter how they became distorted, does it. Only that they are, in fact, distorted."
"Aren't you a little concerned?" Ren asked. "She's a coworker of yours, isn't she?"
"Oh, well of course!" Akechi insisted. "I care very much! But I was just speaking generally. I mean, I imagine that there was at least some indifference or dislike towards some of your previous targets, no?"
"... It also refreshes us a bit, allowing us to use our magic a bit more before running out." Makoto explained.
"Ah, I see. So these Will Seeds seem quite useful, in many ways!" Akechi grinned. "So it would be in our best interest to grab them."
"Yes, exactly." Morgana explained. "Think you can keep an eye out, leader?"
Makoto said nothing, staring out into the distance.
"Um, Leader?" Morgana asked. "Everything ok?"
"H-Huh? O-Oh right, of course." Makoto muttered. "Sorry, I was just… looking out for the door to the Will Seed."
The others probably saw through her lie quite easily.
A part of her desperately wanted to help her sister, and knowing how her desires had become so distorted would certainly help with that.
But even so, she was very afraid of what memories those Will Seeds contained.
What could have possibly sent her sister over the edge?
Did she even want to know?
Sensing her distress, Ren carefully placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Whatever we see in there, it's not your fault." Ren promised her.
"I… I know." she replied. "I'll be fine."
She gave Ren a thankful smile before taking a deep breath and forging ahead, finding the Will Seed just a few minutes later.
Slowly, she followed the others into the will seed door.
"So, how does this work? Could you please demonstrate?" Akechi requested.
"Right…" Makoto muttered.
Taking a deep breath, she reached out and grabbed the skull.
The world began twisting around them… until they found themselves in her apartment.
Sae sat at the table, late at night, pouring over what appeared to be law books.
A minute or so passed before the door to their home opened, the color leaving Makoto's face when she saw who entered.
The man entering their home… was her father.
"Oh, Sae, you're still up."
"Makoto's already been fed and sent to bed."
Sae muttered monotonously, not bothering to look up from her books.
"Oh, uh… right. Thanks for that." her father said. "But it's awfully late. You should get to bed yourself."
"I'm fine. I'll be going to bed soon." Sae replied.
"You don't have to wait for me to get home." her father insisted.
"If I didn't, then I'd never even see you." Sae scoffed. "You might as well not even live here."
A guilty expression crossed their father's face.
"I'm sorry, Sae. It's just that things have been really hectic around the station and-"
"I don't care about excuses. I know that you're busy." Sae frowned.
Her father frowned, not saying anything as he walked over and glanced at what she was reading.
"Law books, huh?" he commented, attempting to defuse the situation.
"I had to take care of Makoto all day, so I didn't have much time to study." Sae mentioned.
"Oh. Well, what have you been learning?" her father asked.
"What you'd expect, mostly. The history and current state of the legal system." Sae answered. "I've been trying to talk with actual lawyers and…"
"And…?"
"I've been hearing some things." Sae frowned. "Over 99% conviction rate, huh?"
"That's a bit misleading." her father claimed. "That's only counting the cases that aren't dropped. Prosecutors drop cases very frequently if they don't think they have enough evidence."
"Even so, the questions that I have… pertain more to how those convictions are gotten." Sae asked. "I've heard stories of people detained for extended periods of time. Denied bail at every opportunity. Having several charges tacked on in order to extend their detainment. Being subjected to brutal interrogations for days on end. And told that the only way to make it stop would be to confess."
"... All of that is true." her father admitted. "I suppose it's better that you figure these things out now rather than later. Has it made you second guess your career choice?"
"No. If anything, it makes me even more determined." Sae answered.
"Really? Why is that?" her father asked.
"I want to reform the justice system." Sae answered. "I want to make it more like the fair and impartial system it claims to be."
"Do you… think you'd be up to such a task?" her father asked. "Even if it's only a little bit, changing a system is no easy task."
"I'm well aware of that." Sae scoffed. "But if nobody's willing to do anything, then nothing will get solved."
"I suppose that's true." her father admitted. "I guess I'm just worried that you might get burnt out."
"It's a bit late for that." Sae sighed. "I've been playing parent for a while now. While going to school as well."
"I'm really sorry for having to push that on you." her father confessed. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to find a way to balance work and home life better."
"I told you that I don't care for excuses." Sae scoffed. "And why are you saying this now?"
"It feels like you've grown up in the blink of an eye. It seems like only yesterday you were still my little princess."
"I'm in college now, father." Sae replied.
"I know, I know. But you're still my daughter." he said, smiling at her. "And I'm proud of you."
"… Thank you." Sae whispered.
Their surroundings returned to normal, everyone thinking about what they had just seen.
"Well, that didn't seem so bad." Akechi stated. "She didn't seem that distorted."
"There are typically multiple Will Seeds to find." Morgana explained. "We'll probably get the full story when we find them all."
Akechi nodded in understanding. "So, that man in that vision…"
"That guy was your pops, right?" Ryuji asked.
"Yes." Makoto nodded. "Mom died when I was very young, so Sae had to step up to take care of me. Father had to work very long hours at the police station to provide for us. So Sae and my father… had a bit of a strained relationship."
She wanted to believe that Sae still cared about their father… and for herself too, of course.
Hopefully, that wasn't just wishful thinking.
"Alright then, now that we've activated the elevator, let's get moving." Makoto ordered.
"Oh, hey, look at this!"
Turning around, they saw Futaba rummaging through some boxes nearby.
"These are uniforms! For police officers and security guards and stuff!" Futaba noted.
"I suppose it would make sense to have these sorts of uniforms here." Akechi noted. "Maybe they'd make for a good disguise!"
"... Maybe." Makoto nodded. "I'll grab a couple."
Grabbing the uniforms, they made their way back to the elevator.
As expected, things weren't so simple. The elevator would only bring them up a single floor, which was quite a ways off from the top.
As they exited the elevator, they found themselves in a room filled with slot machines, and money pouring down from the ceiling.
"Well now, looks like you've actually managed to get to this floor." Sae noted. "I'm almost impressed."
"You wanna settle things now? We'll take you out right here!" Ryuji taunted.
"Don't speak to me as if you are my equal." Sae scoffed. "I am the manager of this casino, and I'm its number-one player."
"And how exactly would we be able to reach your level?" Akechi asked.
"We'll do whatever it takes to change your heart!" Ren added.
"In here, the only thing that matters is winning." Sae grinned. "I had to do whatever it took to win time and time again in order to get to where I am. If you wish to face me, you'll have to do the same."
"You mean… with these casino games?" Haru questioned.
"Correct." Sae grinned. "Do you have it in you to do whatever it takes to win? I don't expect much from you… but I'll still be waiting."
Sae disappeared yet again, likely to a higher floor.
"It seems like she's just toying with us." Yusuke frowned.
"Yeah, it's like it's all just a game to her." Morgana replied.
Ann walked over to the slot machines, a nervous look on her face.
"I've never done anything like this before." Ann admitted. "What about you guys?"
"Heh! You're looking at a Gacha game master over here!" Futaba smirked.
"Gacha game?" Makoto questioned.
"It's like gambling, but with a few extra steps so even minors like me can play them!" Futaba grinned.
"That sounds… terrible, actually." Makoto muttered.
"Even so, this whole thing is luck-based, right?" Ren asked. "And they do say that the house always wins…"
"We don't have time to wait forever." Akechi frowned. "I'm sure that there's some sort of trick to this."
"Umm… to even play these games, won't we need some casino chips?" Haru asked.
"Please, let me handle that."
A shadow in a suit walked up to them, handing out some casino chips.
"I was told by the manager to give you these. The value of these chips in total is about 1000. Might I suggest starting with the dice game?"
"Hang on, can't we exchange the chips for somethin'?" Ryuji asked.
"Of course." the dealer nodded. "We offer a variety of prizes should you obtain enough chips to purchase them, including a member's card to the next floor."
"How much is it?" Makoto asked.
"50000 chips." the man answered.
"Wow, that's steep…"
"It wouldn't surprise me if Sae-san has rigged all of the games too." Akechi brought up. "I suppose it would be comparable to how prosecutors are nigh unbeatable in the courtroom, with the conviction rate being so high…"
"If the games are rigged, then maybe we should keep looking around." Yusuke suggested. "We might discover just how they're rigging the games."
"Alright, then before we start playing the games, let's take a look around." Makoto ordered. "Now let's go!"
It didn't take long for them to find what they were looking for.
Sure enough, there was a hidden room where a shadow was working at a terminal to rig all of the games.
Spotting them, the shadow quickly morphed into a creepy, red robed demon holding a marionette.
"Hold on a moment… try wind magic!" Akechi advised.
Deciding to trust Akechi for now, Makoto quickly switched her persona.
"Garuda!" Makoto shouted. "Garudyne!"
Giving no time for the enemy to react, Makoto blasted the shadow with wind, slamming it into a wall.
The shadow groaned in pain, trying to get back to its feet.
"Crush them. Now." Makoto ordered.
The Thieves went all out, striking the shadow until it stopped moving.
"My, how ruthless." Akechi observed. "For a moment, I was concerned that might be going easy on your sister, but I see that my fears were unfounded."
"... How did you realize its weakness?" Makoto asked. "Have you seen this shadow before?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that." Akechi answered. "Just call it… a detective's intuition. Sleuthing Mastery, if you will."
Was that really it? Or did Akechi know these weaknesses because he had knowledge of these persona? And if he did, was it because…
Well, she didn't have concrete proof of anything yet. For now, they'd just need to keep moving.
Futaba walked over to the terminal, examining it.
"Yup, they're definitely rigging this in their favor." Futaba frowned. "There's no way we'll get the right number of coins this way."
"In that case, would you be able to bring it back to normal?" Yusuke asked.
"Actually…" Akechi trailed off. "If I could make a suggestion-"
"Rig it in our favor." Makoto stated.
"Huh? Are you sure?" Futaba asked.
"Yes, that's an order." Makoto commanded. "We don't have time to waste on these stupid games."
"R-Right…"
"Tch…" Akechi scoffed. "Well, let's hurry then…"
Futaba altered the settings on the terminal in order to rig the odds in their favor.
They continued going through the rest of the floor like that, finding the source of Sae's cheating before rigging it in their own favor, easily gaining 50,000 chips in the process.
But before they could head to the elevator with their new member's card…
"Hey, guys!" Morgana called.
"... Another Will Seed, right? Makoto assumed. "Alright. Then let's look for that first."
As they began searching for where it could be, Haru approached Makoto.
"Say, Leader, there was something I wanted to run by you. In case we ran into another powerful shadow." Haru said. "You see, I thought we could try something like this…"
Haru explained her plan to her. It sounded… a little out there, admittedly, but she'd be lying if she said there wasn't a part of her that wanted to try it.
"Alright. We can try it out if it becomes necessary." Makoto nodded.
"Hey everyone! I found it!" Ryuji called. "Over here!"
Everyone gathered around Ryuji, who stood near the door to the Will Seed.
She opened the door, making her way inside and grabbing the seed.
This time, they found themselves in an office, Sae speaking to what appeared to be a colleague.
"Sir, I really think that I should take on this case." Sae insisted.
"You seem rather adamant about this." the man noted. "But I was thinking about giving this case to someone a bit more experienced."
"... With all due respect, sir, if I'm not assigned any major cases, then I won't be able to get experience." Sae argued.
"This case is very important." the man said. "We can't have even the slightest chance for a not guilty verdict."
"I haven't lost a case yet!" Sae exclaimed. "If they're guilty, then-"
"There is no if, Niijima." the man corrected. "We need someone who is willing to find the suspect guilty by any means necessary. And your methodology is just a bit too soft."
"Soft?!" Sae gasped. "Just because I don't resort to some of the methods that other prosecutors use-"
"Why have such leniency for criminals?" the man asked. "In order to conduct a fair trial, I only assign prosecutors that believe that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If you don't believe that…"
"I DO believe that!" Sae insisted. "I just don't believe that we need to resort to… unethical methods to obtain those guilty verdicts."
"Unethical?" the man scoffed. "Absurd. We are the law. Nothing we do can be unethical if it is in the pursuit of justice."
"That…"
"Why are you so committed anyway?" the man asked. "You're still a young woman, aren't you? You shouldn't be focusing so much on your career at your age.
"My career is important to me." Sae stated. "And I have a younger sister to take care of."
"Well, that's all the more reason why you should be focused less on your career and more on finding a good husband." the man replied.
"W-What does that have to do with anything?!" Sae snapped.
"A good man could take care of both of you." the man said.
"... I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Sae insisted.
"Oh, of course, of course." the man replied. "I just wanted to mention…"
"Sir, is there… any way that you would allow me to take on more cases? Or more important cases like this one?" Sae asked.
"Well… I suppose I could be convinced." the man brought up. "But I would need a favor from you."
"A favor?" Sae questioned.
"Yes, exactly." the man nodded. "Perhaps we could discuss your career over dinner?"
"I'm sorry?" Sae asked.
"I know a good place. We can have dinner and a few drinks… and discuss your future career." the man said. "I think that if you truly are serious about your career, you should accept."
Sae hesitated for a moment, clenching her fists before taking a deep breath.
"I will… consider your generous offer, sir." Sae answered. "... Thank you for the opportunity."
"Sis…" Makoto whispered.
Her sister would occasionally show some disdain towards her coworkers, but she rarely went into any specifics.
Seeing it firsthand was infuriating.
Was this what she had to deal with all the time?
"I do recall Sae mentioning that she was rather annoyed with all the attention she was getting at first." Akechi noted. "The media was always going on about the young beautiful prosecutor."
"Hey, Leader, are you ok?" Ren asked. "We can take a small break if you have to."
"I'm fine." Makoto insisted. "Now isn't the time to be getting sentimental. Let's move."
They all gathered into the elevator with their cards, riding up to the next floor.
Everyone was completely silent as the elevator rode up towards its destination.
Makoto stood towards the front of the elevator door, anxious to get out of it the moment it opened.
Finally, the door opened, all of them pouring out of the elevator at once, only to be greeted by another guard.
"What a clever little trick you've pulled." Sae stated, waiting for them the moment they arrived.
"Didn't expect us to turn the tables, did ya?!" Ryuji scowled.
"You never intended to play fair at all, did you?!" Ann snapped.
"Sae-san, I expected better from you." Akechi frowned. "Would you truly be willing to break any rule, any law, to capture the Phantom Thieves?"
Sae scoffed. "Trials are just games, and games are meant to be won, no matter what! Even if I have to throw dozens of false charges at them, I will see the Thieves behind bars."
How could you say that…?!
Makoto curled her fists in anger.
What would father say?!
Her body began to shake.
What happened to your sense of justice?!
She was quickly becoming overwhelmed by rage.
What…
What…
What…!
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
She screamed at the top of her lungs, everyone's attention on her.
Even her sister's.
The calm, confident expression on her sister's face morphed into one of shock.
"Makoto… what are you doing here?"
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 6
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%