Chapter Text
-XII-
23:11, ???
The manager of Nehan ran through the halls of his dimly lit soapland, parrying a fist flying at him then countering with a brutal round kick to the head, ducking under the swipe of a baseball bat then catching the assailant’s legs, throwing him into the air at an angle then smashing him back down, kicking his head as it lay there on the floor.
Two more armed men came at him, one with a knife, and another a hammer. He grunted, taking off his coat and wrapped it around his hand, and engaged the knife attacker, now in the process of lunging forward. He swiped, and stabbed swiftly enough to force the manager on the defensive, dodging, and parrying deathly blows with his wrapped hand as the hammer man came at him from another side, raising his hammer to drop on his face.
The hammer, however, jammed itself into the busted wall as the manager ducked and pulled the knife man’s arm to his chest, trapping it as he ran forward with brute force until smacking into another wall, dazing the attacker.
He readjusted his grip to squeeze his arm around the elbow and violently cranked his body upwards, forcefully wrenching the elbow joint and shoulder of his assailant, pushing him to scream horridly and drop the knife. He then delivered a heavy left uppercut to the body, then a left hook to the head, knocking the man out cold.
Turning around, the hammer came at him again. The manager whipped the rolled-up coat in his hand to the man’s face, stinging his nose and eyes before he felt a foot smash into his groin, and a flying knee putting his lights out right against the locked double door to the lobby, warping and damaging the hinges severely.
The manager huffed, catching his breath before gathering a big one as he planted a foot and twisted his body into a sidekick, budging the door. He hit it again with the same technique, and again, feeling the stinging in his heel. But he was certain one more would do it. He hyped himself up and shouted, gathering all the energy and force from his body for a devastating sidekick, busting the door open wildly, revealing a chilling sight.
-MONDAY-
[12:04]
June 6, 2016, Shujin Academy Rooftop
Makoto closed the door behind her, quickly setting a bento box aside as she found the Okumura heiress in her summer garb tending to her plants in the pleasant breeze. “Are you not bothered by the heat?”
“Oh!” Haru stood up to meet the president’s gaze and bowed slightly before turning back. “I’m only going to be here for a while, President. I just wanted to start preparing my plants for the summer heat. What brings you here, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Makoto’s jaw tightened for a moment as her eyes darted. “I was… just thinking about what to do with all the old junk here. While I'm here, do you um, need help with anything?”
“I already bothered Suzui-san earlier-”
“It’s really no issue.”
“I-If you’re sure.” Haru pointed at a large bag of soil about as long as her torso, and wider than her shoulders. “Could you help me carry this to where I was standing?”
“I can do that.” Makoto squatted down and hoisted the bag over her shoulders with ease. “Where do you want this?”
…
“Okumura-san…?”
“Oh!” Haru snapped herself out of her shocked face. “I’m sorry, I just… I’ve never seen a girl lift thirty kilos so easily… Even a boy I asked earlier broke a sweat just picking this up.”
Makoto tightened her grip around the bag slightly and began moving, trying to make a small show of effort on the way. “A-Ah… well, I um, I work out quite a bit…?”
“I can see that…” The fluffy-haired girl’s shock half-changed into a smile. “Your arms are quite toned. I only realized now that we’re in summer uniforms.”
Before Makoto could engage in her defensive, self-conscious deflection, the door of the roof clicked open again, revealing Ren carrying plastic-wrapped yakisoba buns and tea in his summer uniform debut- the hairs on his temples and back of the head characteristically messy but short, and the messy top portions of hair parted to the right, the tip of his bangs tickling the right side of his forehead. The short-sleeved top with the sleeves rolled up slightly more, emphasizing his broad shoulders and toned arms. Taking a cue from Ryuji, he let the suspenders hang by his thighs, and his pants rolled up, showing off his beat-up white hi-tops. “Oh, right… she uses this place too…”
“Ren-” Makoto loudly whispered before remembering who was behind her. “Amamiya-ku- uh, san …?”
Ren nodded along sarcastically. “Niijima-kaichou-san-senpai.”
The cogs in Haru’s mind turned quickly; between Makoto checking her phone out, the rumors, and their first-name basis, it was only natural to assume the mood didn’t have her in the conversation. “Um… I was just about done. I’ll be heading off now.”
She then began her uneasy walk to the door, which Ren opened for her as she politely offered her thanks. Heshut the door and playfully nudged Makoto with his shoulder. “You can’t be subtle, can you?”
The flustered president smiled back, struggling to add power to her nudge. “I-I just can’t think up lies that fast.”
“If you’re gonna play the President X Delinquent trope, you’re gonna have to be good with the excuses.”
“Okay, but at the same time… I don’t want to make you feel like I’m ashamed of being with- hanging out with you.”
“That’s very cute of you to say, buuuut~” Ren sat behind an unused classroom desk under the shade of the roof’s awning. “People have found more interesting things to talk about than me. Don't worry.”
“A by-product of regular Phantom Thievery.” Makoto smiled and took her place on the opposite side of the table, picking up her hidden bento and opening it. “D-Do you want to share with me…?”
Ren chuckled, taking a bite of his bread. “I’m mentally checking the list of cliches…”
“Wha-!”
“I’m fine, thanks. Besides, we’d both end up starving.”
“I-I know what you mean…” She gulped a bite slowly. “I’m not a particularly big eater, but lately my appetite’s been growing.”
Ren hummed in approval. “I feel like I’m preparing to move up a weight class. Just yesterday, I’m pretty sure I had three cups of rice to myself on top of everything else.”
“That sounds like a sumo diet.” She chuckled, but suddenly the word ‘just yesterday’ came to repeat itself in her head, and she suddenly found her smile escaping.
…
“Ren…” She cleared her throat. “You’re not bothered, are you?”
Quite experienced in dealing with an issue like this, Ren shook his head. “No, but what brought this on?”
“I was just thinking…” She shrugged. “I don’t want to feel like I’m pressuring you considering you only just said your goodbyes to Shion. I was… I acted on instinct when I asked you out here.”
He shook his head and smiled softly. “Trust me, I think we're fine.”
…
Ren glanced at his shirt, following Makoto’s eyes. “Something on my face?”
“N-No, I was just thinking that your decisiveness is admirable, considering whom you just had to let go.”
“Well… wasn’t the first time.” He shrugged. “At least this time, I got to give a proper goodbye.”
…
Ren left a hand on the desk as he focused back on his food. Makoto watched it and decided it appeared pensive- lonely, even.
She scooted her free hand towards his, and planted her palm on the back of his hand, resting tentatively before she caught his attention.
“Is this too much…?” She said, nervously enjoying the contact.
The boy chuckled softly, looking at the ground momentarily before facing his palm up, clasping his thumb around her hand. “Not even close.”
She squeezed him back slightly, fighting her nerves to maintain eye contact. She felt her gaze drift downward for a split second towards his lips.
‘Not even close…’
“If you don’t mind…” Ren scoffed, breaking Makoto’s train of thought. “I’m not in the mood to mope in front of you. That is unless you got baggage you’re waiting to drop on me?”
“Er…” Makoto froze a bit. “If I do, I’ll let you know…? B-But anyway, let’s get to the other thing- the real reason I wanted to ask you out- here. Out here.”
“Mhmm… I’ll keep pretending I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Thank you- hey!” The giggling overpowered her level of being upset. “Um, are you familiar with the Like a Dragon series?”
“Uhuh. Crime drama game series, right?”
“Right!” Makoto’s demeanor picked up drastically, easily turning excitable. “There’s a movie version of the series. And um, one of the student council members won free tickets and gave them out to me. If you’d like we could see it together after class on Wednesday…? I hear it’s quite long though, b-but the action is exhilarating! The shots are great, they emphasize the large movements and violence inflicted. The plot can be a slow start, but it’s intenseand detailed, and the lead actors are amazing. Oh! And this one features a ton of actors from other famous crime shows and-”
“So cute.” Ren smiled.
“And then- what?!”
“Nothing.”
“You d-definitely said something.”
“If you didn’t hear it, was it really anything?”
“I-I did hear it…”
Ren leaned forward, encroaching on Makoto’s space as she failed to fight the instinct to lean away. “So you just wanted me to say it again huh…”
“No…”
"Uhuh."
…
“Maybe…”
“Aww, so sneaky…” He grinned. If Makoto could muster the courage, she could’ve sworn he was coming closer to her. She gulped, awaiting his continuation.
…
“Well, tough luck.”
“I hate you.”
???, Velvet Room
Ren sat in front of Caroline and Justine as he received what seemed to be a floating tarot card glowing in blue light that descended into his hands. It depicts a giant structure being struck and destroyed by lightning, with the supposed ruler falling to apparent demise. “The Tower…”
Justine nodded, looking at notes from… someone down in her clipboard. “When pain and difficulties abound, humans isolate within themselves and call it protection; a fortress from hurt. They know not that their construct is a prison unto their heart, shielding them from the bounties of life. It is only when one accepts the inevitability of loss and the ephemerality of life that they can temper their ego, free oneself from their doom, and cherish that which is temporary. For it is these little things that shape everyone's world.”
The card rotated, and its backside showed a glimpse of Shion walking away, guitar in hand before she left Ren with the biggest smile he’d ever seen from her.
Caroline crossed her arms. “The contents of that world vary from one to another. What will it mean to you?”
-TUESDAY-
[18:12]
June 7, 2016, Inokashira Sports Institute
Ren slipped a punch, the jab of his sparring partner whizzing past the side of his temple seemingly in slow motion as he found that he had enough time to glance at the foe’s forearm and back to his opponent. Instinctively, he almost backed away in anticipation of the follow-up lead hook, as was the pattern he noticed in the minute he sparred him.
However, as he leaned away, his partner’s hook missed by a mile, throwing him off balance as Ren caught himself in his thoughts, unable to completely focus on the task at hand. His eyes darted to the other fighters on the open mats, catching their movements, their takedowns, their strikes all in the time it took for his sparring partner to come forward.
Ren allowed himself into his opponent’s punching range, and studied him; his rear shoulder twitching and his torso teetering over slightly. Ren simply shifted his weight back, leaning away and letting the punch fly barely past his chin, forcing the opponent to overcommit and expose his chin. Ren launched his counter- gently of course, and planted his right hand to his opponent’s jaw.
But he didn’t stop- he kept coming forward. Ren thought his partner merely had bad manners- failing to recognize a clean, restrained shot in sparring tends to be frowned upon, so he followed with a left hook to the body, then he shoved him off with the right hand and landed a right round kick to the head, finally catching his opponent’s attention and getting him to reset with a nod.
Still feeling adventurous, Ren allowed his opponent to work his offense, pushing him back and around with steady boxing pressure as he willingly backed himself into walls, rolling, slipping, and making the unfortunate opponent miss by mere millimeters.
Back into open space, the man’s frustration was apparent; he threw a leg kick, and Ren instantly moved his hips back, slightly tugging his legs with it as the kick whiffed past his own. Again, Ren saw the same shoulder twitch, flaring elbow, and punch extension.
‘Maybe one of Makoto’s moves?’ He moved in as if to jab with his left but stepped outside to the right, grabbing his opponent’s left waist with his left hand as an anchor, and dipped for a knee-slide to get around to his opponent’s back, jumping and hooking his legs around the torso while his arms worked to finish his rear-naked choke, which he eventually got.
…
The digital clock’s alarm sounded at the end of that round. Following a quick apology from Ren for turning the spar into a bully session, the pro laughed, saying something about Ren taking over any weight division he wanted, to which he just smiled and nodded as he switched partners.
Yet the same thing happened over and over. Nothing was a surprise anymore. His alert levels never raised, and his heart never beat any faster.
He moved away and headed back to the heavy bags. No one else was waiting for him- every other thief was busy with other things in the meantime.
Except for Morgana, that is, staying on the racks above the interconnected heavy bag frames with express permission as a pet. “I probably should’ve told you this before, but you really are a special kind of fighter, aren’t you?”
The boy chuckled. “I was thinking of asking three of those pros to gang up on me.”
“I’m glad you didn’t do that…” The cat’s ears twitched. ”Our cover’s pretty delicate as is.”
“Mhmm…”
…
“You okay, Ren?”
“Just bored.”
…
The feline’s ears drooped as Ren continued on, uninterested as he settled into the routine of relentlessly striking the bag.
In the middle of a spin kick, he caught a familiar silhouette approaching him, and as his heel pierced the bag and rechambered, he settled and turned around smoothly. “Hiraguchi-san?”
Hiraguchi, slightly shocked, stopped behind him. “You don’t look like you’ve been sparring for the last half hour.”
Ren frowned. “It’s been that long?”
“You didn’t realize?”
He shook his head, chuckling to himself. “Time flies when you aren’t hyperventilating on the mats.” Seeing the coach’s confused smile, shook his head. “He never sounded as funny as he wanted to. All that brain damage was a lifestyle choice, unfortunately.”
She laughed politely. “Only someone really close to him would make a joke like that.”
“He would’ve done the same to me. Any time I was feeling good about myself, he would make fun of some dumb detail; ‘your knee was tilted weird!’ or something like that.”
The coach leaned her back against one of the bags. “Perhaps he was trying to keep you humble?”
“He might’ve messed up.” Ren scoffed. “Without him though, my ego’s higher than Tokyo Tower. I could be a three-weight division champion if I wanted to.”
Hiraguchi chuckled. “With the clinic you were putting on those guys, I wouldn’t put it past you.”
“Thanks, but…” Ren stiffened, glancing at Morgana for a moment before earnestly looking at the coach. “Are you sure those were pros?”
She rolled her eyes. “Maybe someone ought to make fun of your form right about now… But yes they are. To be fair, they’re rather new- only a handful of fights in regional promotions between them. Not a lot of fighters can claim they’ve been involved in the art for their entire lives like you have. And even fewer have had coaching that so effortlessly suits them, what more by someone like Imahara?”
“Right.”
“Most importantly, not every fighter is quite like you.”
…
Ren smiled with a light exhale, shaking his head. “Thanks.”
“By the way… Since you’re looking for a change of pace, we got a bunch of different martial artists coming over for a big-time seminar in about three weeks; wing chun, kali, sambo- I think we got a capoeirista coming too; I think that’ll be a good one for you to keep your eye on.”
“I’ll take you up on that, I guess.” Ren returned to jabbing the heavy bag but one high kick later ticked him off to something she said as he turned around. “Wait, when did I say I was looking for a change of pace?”
But the coach was already halfway gone, as she waved him goodbye.
-WEDNESDAY-
[14:39]
June 8, 2016
[Makoto]: Shall we go there together? If so, where are we meeting? I’m just at the entrance.
[Ren]: Let me fix that for you- ‘let’s walk there together’
[Makoto]: That’s another way to phrase it, certainly…
[Ren]: Don’t be shy…
[Ren]: Behind you btw
Makoto turned around to find-
“Boo.”
“AAAH!” Makoto quickly covered her mouth before the full shriek could escape her and torture the other students and embarrass her as she toned her voice down. “R-Ren…!”
“So you scare easily, huh…”
“Don’t take note of that…!”
“Mhmm.” He chuckled to himself. “Already did.”
[18:19]
TOYO Cinemas, Central Street, Shibuya
At the tail end of the movie’s climax, Makoto’s fists tightened around her seat's armrests as she leaned forward in suspense.
On the silver screen, the suited man with a walking cane calmly talked to the maddened deuteragonist. “When she learns what you’ve done… it will hurt her.”
And right there, tears that were hiding behind her expectant eyes began to fall. “H-He just wants to protect her…” She muttered to herself. The sobbing mess of a student council president tried not to look to her right. “I-I’m s-horry for getting so emotional, Ren… I jusht couldn’t h-help myshelf…”
“Y-Yeah…” Slightly emotional, amused, yet endeared all the same, Ren offered his hand to pat her back as she failed to collect herself. He looked back at the screen:
“Do you intend to saddle her with a debt she can never repay?”
…
…
…
Give or take twenty minutes, the movie ended on a bittersweet note, and the pair made it out into the hall connecting to the individual theaters. Ren was the first to begin commenting as people began to leave the cinema. “I can’t tell if that was really three and a half hours- they went by so fast, y’know?”
“Mhm…” Makoto whimpered out as the last of her tears fell. “It’s just so epic… and sad.”
Ren felt another laugh exit his mouth. He offered her one more tissue and-
A gruff voice came from behind. “Oh, hey.”
Ren turned and found his weapons dealer Iwai standing there in the summer heat in his standard attire beside a boy, seemingly a middle schooler in a simple polo shirt and pants. “Iwai-san. Didn’t know you were here.”
“Huh?” Makoto panickingly turned around, sniffling one more time.
“Shop’s literally down the street; I can walk in here anytime I want.” The grizzled man chuckled, patting the shoulder of the boy beside him. “Besides, it was this guy here who wanted to watch. This here’s uh, my son- name’s Kaoru. Kaoru, these are a few regulars of mine.”
The young boy in glasses gave a polite bow. “Thank you for offering your patronage to my father.”
Iwai sighed. “Come on, just talk to them like you’d talk to someone your age.” As he got that scolding out of his system, he returned his focus to the two. “You two uh, meet coincidentally?”
The girl finally felt comfortable enough to stand out. “N-No.”
The older man exhaled with a smile. “Come by next time you’re free- I think I got a few things you might be into.”
“More freebies?” Ren smirked. “It’s not even my birthday-”
The older man scoffed. “When did I say it was free?”
“Worth a shot…”
The father and son walked out of the theater into the bustling street. Through his peripherals, there were sights in the alleys that set off his radar- people in particular who have been out and about Shibuya for a while at this point. Older punks in ’fancy’ tracksuits and gaudy dress shirts adorned in jewelry that he couldn’t properly appraise. When he tried to follow what it was they were eyeing, he suspected the news lately was right; they could’ve been eyeing teenagers for scams. At this time of night, however, no one was being approached, possibly due to the police presence.
But he kept walking anyway, making sure to not stay in one area for long as they marched on and keeping extra attention on shielding an excited, ranting Kaoru. “That movie was so cool!”
“Not a lot cool about criminals, but I gotta admit, the movies have a way of makin’ it look heroic and all.”
“Do you think there are people like them, Dad? Like heroic types out there in gangs and stuff?”
…
“If a good person ends up in there in the first place, then they’re stupid. That might be worse than just being bad.”
“Huh. Well, it’s cool to have heroes like that, still. Even in bad places, there’s still good stuff. Kinda like yin and yang, you know?”
“Yeah? I guess so.” They passed by the alley where Untouchable was, reminding Iwai to stop. “Gimme a minute.”
He marched down the alley and placed his hand on the door.
It was unlocked. His hand tightened. Was he just forgetful? His hand already went to his back pocket- to an instrument made for emergencies like this. He clicked a button and the lights to the shop opened.
No one.
But someone began marching out from behind the counter. A face he never should have seen. A blue pinstripe suit with a telltale pin on the lapel. “Tsuda…”
“Long time no see, kyoudai.”
…
Iwai fished his phone out of his pocket, not letting his eyes off of his old oath brother for a second. His fingers moved in tandem with his words. ”It’s pretty nostalgic seein’ a bunch of grunts hustlin’ on the streets in droves. Don’t suppose you being here has anything to do with that?”
“Come on.” The man in a pinstripe suit chuckled. “Not even gonna try and shoot the sh*t?”
Iwai pocketed the phone, keeping his glare trained. “No.”
Tsuda scoffed, leaning against the counter. “Already feels like old times with your wet blanket of an ass.”
…
“But I wasn’t askin’ anyway. Let’s catch up.”
Meanwhile, Ren and Makoto moved within the flow of foot traffic. The latter crossed her arms, ensuring to not be caught up. “You know…My father told me that it’s not necessarily illegal to be a part of the yakuza.”
“But at the same time, the government would rather you aren’t a part of them either, right? They only like them when they’re helping them do shady stuff.”
“Right…” Makoto said. “Ushimaru-sensei was ranting about something similar, you know? He said the Phantom Thieves ought to be treated the same way instead of just outright arrested.”
“Is he even allowed to imply gray zones to students?” Ren scoffed. “Well, that guy just says whatever he wants. Chuck a piece of chalk at you if you inhale in his general direction.”
Makoto laughed a little, and their conversation continued as they walked down the street. The concentration of people seemed to wane towards the crossing towards the direction of the bookstore.
But suddenly she gasped. “Nee-san…!”
Without question, Ren immediately wrapped an arm around Makoto’s waist and pulled her to him, prompting a gasp as he made a beeline for the wall in a nearby alley. Ren gently pushed her back to the wall and leaned over her, placing a hand behind her head to cover her from prying eyes. Without any thought to where she’d place her hands, Makoto’s arms immediately went forward, palms and fingers tingling on Ren’s warming chest.
“Don’t mind my hands.” The boy whispered carefully. But the elevating stress of the situation pushed his breath a little more to the labored side, and the heat touched Makoto's ears.
“T-Trying…”
Needless to say, they were now left face to face and within each other’s rapidly increasing breaths with Ren practically holding her head and caressing her cheek, and Makoto feeling the fruits of her date’s lifetime of athletic endeavors.
Ren was the first to crack a smile, slightly red. “Are we in the clear?”
Makoto suddenly remembered to look at the crowd as she swallowed a breath, watching the ashen hair of her sister pass by, gazing at the opposite side of the street like a hawk. Immediately, she pitied whoever was on the receiving end of her sister’s eyes. “Y-Yes…” She looked back at him, eyes flickering up and down. “Sorry for touching your c-chest like this… You can um, let go of me.”
Ren’s eyes trailed like hers did, witnessing the instability in her voice and chest, but the smarter part of him won as he backed off. “By the way, does your sister wear a section sign necklace with a black suit and turtleneck? Dark silver hair parted to her right with scary eyes?”
The younger sister nodded slowly, mildly astonished. “How did you know?”
“Huh.” Ren nodded to himself. “There are multiple reasons. For one, she stops by Leblanc every so often for a cup of coffee. I shoulda put two and two together way earlier the moment I thought you two looked similar.”
“I see…” She saw Ren scratch the back of his head, his smile disappearing slightly, further prompting some curiosity. “You mentioned multiple reasons?”
“There was that one TV interview she had some time ago, right? Where the interviewer was trying to hit on her? Something about wanting to be shouted at and prosecuted by her?”
Makoto shook her head. “I still don’t know who let that air…”
“Imahara-sensei saw it too, and it reminded him of the time he sparred against her.”
“Wait what?” Makoto frowned. “Let’s get out of this alley first…”
They marched on to the crossing, currently stopped on their end to let cars run through while the hordes of pedestrians waited under the barrage of neon and video billboards. Luckily, they had space waiting in front. Ren continued his thoughts first. “Sensei would go off to random places when he wasn’t teaching; real Street Fighter, wandering warrior-type. He’d keep a big archive of his sparring videos that he had me and the other students watch, a lot of which he’d upload online as a sort of diary and free tutorial. I guess at a certain point in his travels, he came across her. He loved using her to teach me about defense and pressure.”
“That makes sense- people generally had a hard time landing cleanly on her even though she wasn’t the most mobile fighter. Though those videos are at least over three years old- that’s how long it’s been since she’s stepped onto the mats- hasn’t stopped her from going to the heavy bag when she needs to blow off steam. Which is… a lot .” She sighed, her voice losing volume and brightness. “People liked to talk about her back then… I guess that remains true nowadays considering her career and, well… her.”
Ren carefully gauged the phrasing of her statement, glancing a little to get a clear picture of her expression. “I might be reaching, but it sounds hard growing up with her.”
“Well… maybe a bit.” Makoto tried to give an air of nonchalance to her shrug. “I thought it was only natural that I’d find myself standing in an older sibling’s shadow.”
…
“Um… maybe we should go home.” Makoto uneasily murmured. “I wouldn’t want to risk her seeing us. And I know I said I didn’t want to seem like I’m ashamed of being with you and all-”
“Yeah I get it…” Ren nearly whispered. “We can make an exception this time. She scares me too.”
“I’m really sorry…”
“Come on, don’t do that…”
A few seconds more, and the light turned green for pedestrians, prompting the crowd to push the people forward into motion, including the two students.
…
Ren immediately reached out for Makoto’s hand, prompting a flinch and an immediate look up at him, blushing and looking behind her as if Sae would magically appear to berate her. “H-Huh?”
“Dating behind a disapproving party’s back is its own brand of spice, y’know? Might as well enjoy it. Besides, knowing this is your first date… would you really wanna let it end on a whimper?”
“First date…” Makoto’s eyes opened wider in realization. “Wait, this is a date!”
“Weren’t you the one who asked me out?”
“I mean… I wasn’t going to just outright say it… It’s kinda embarrassing.”
Ren grinned, squeezing her hand a little as he tugged her along beside him. “Know any nice places nearby yours? A cafe maybe?”
“I believe there’s plenty in an area near home…” The sheltered girl pulled out her phone to perhaps scour any locations walkable from her apartment.
‘First date…’ The word lingered in Makoto’s mind as they walked.
Eventually, they came across the Buchiko statue, and Makoto spoke up. “Ren, do you still have your movie ticket?”
“Huh? Sure, why?”
She took out her phone and put her ticket under the camera. “Can we take a picture of our tickets together?”
…
“Pfft- ehem.”
Makoto slowly turned, as if she had just been slapped in the face. “Did you just laugh at me?”
“N-No… Let’s take the picture.”
*SNAP*
Makoto lowered her phone and looked at the picture, suddenly a lot more gleeful than earlier. Ren’s head couldn’t help but shake. “You’re such a dork, y’know?”
“Stop teasing me.” The girl replied with her own laugh as she looked back at the new picture.
[19:21]
Ivy Place, Daikanyama T-Site, Shibuya
A brief train ride south of Shibuya was the hip neighborhood of Daikanyama; somewhat more subtle and low-key than other places in Shibuya with mostly low-rise buildings and less traffic. In particular, Makoto and Ren found themselves in the commercial complex landmarked by a wide white lattice building, spawning a lifestyle zone of cafes, a bookstore, and a rental shop in spacious streets meant specifically for walking.
While hot, the roofed, wooden open-air portion of the trendy cafe featured small, cylinder-shaped lights in the middle of the two-person tables, lighting up the night sky and adding a trickle of ambiance with some greenery, juxtaposed a few meters beside the tall windows of the indoor portion of the cafe.
It was here the two helped themselves to a more intimate experience. Aside from the odd couple, or the group of foreigners talking inside the building, the space was empty enough for them to enjoy a fairly unmoderated volume while talking.
Mostly Makoto, as she could not help but keep talking about the movie, leaving her phone screen-side up beside her order of spaghetti and their shared flatbread untouched in the middle. “I just can’t fathom a billion yen. That much money… especially for such a tiny plot of land.”
“I can.” Ren chuckled, putting down his burger and taking a single fry. “That’s about…forty million of these burgers?”
“That’s less comprehensible.” Makoto giggled. “I just don’t have the mental references to understand property value, economic inflation, or taxes… I know what it is conceptually, however I have no reference to picture it in my day-to-day life, you know?”
“Can’t think of adult stuff?”
“Could you not say it like that?”
“Grown-up business?”
“Sure…?” Makoto finally started to dig into her food.
“Anyway,” Ren nodded along, chuckling. ”I get ya. The farthest I got down the pipeline is jobs and stuff. Everything else is beyond me.”
“I’ve never even gone that far…” Makoto pondered, reclining in her seat. “Between the whispers of students our schoolmates paid well with part-time jobs and all. I feel like I’m missing something from my youth.”
Ren fiddled with the straw of his drink, ensuring Makoto could see the cheeky look on his face, the same one that appeared everytime the topic came to something fishy. “How about top secret vigilantism? Does it fall under the adulthood scope? Definitely a much simpler concept than all the other silly financial stuff you were talking about.”
“I don’t know about simpler. However when you put it that way, adulthood becomes a bit more complex of an idea to grasp.”
Ren pushed his finished plate of food aside and leaned on the table. “Maybe something like-” Ren cleared his throat and hunched his posture, adopting his best Sojiro-voice. “Let me explain: adulthood is when you understand where your role in society begins and ends. A kid like you has to understand the things he shouldn’t be doing no matter how you feel about it.”
Ren shrugged nonchalantly, taking a sip from his glass. “Something like that.”
“I suppose criminals like Kamoshida or Madarame wouldn’t be considered adults by that logic…”
‘She’s just gonna ignore that, huh…’ The boy chuckled. “Neither would any yakuza.”
“Right…” Makoto then set aside her empty plate, leaving the flatbread in the middle as the sole item of food left. “Maybe it’s about… choices?”
“That’s another can of worms you’re opening.” Ren took a piece from the middle. “What’s bringing this on?”
“I mean, you mentioned adult things- let me rephrase that.” She coughed into her hand. “It’s n-nothing… It’s just that I get carried away when someone lets me talk… And you know, I feel as if I’ve talked more in these past few months than I have in the last three years, so there’s a lot of thoughts to voice out.”
…
Ren prevented himself from furrowing his brow. He cracked the knuckles on one hand with his thumb slowly, and then the words tentatively pieced themselves into a sentence. “Do you feel pressured by your sister?”
Makoto leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms slightly. “…Maybe it’s more that I get more conscious of the things she does considering she’s basically my parent. I’m just thinking of the time when I’ll have to do similar things.”
…
Reluctantly, Ren looked off to the side at the walking path outside of the bounds of the cafe. “Well, you are a third-year. I was probably supposed to start thinking about that stuff too by this time.” Ren flashed Makoto a grin. “Try not to grow up too fast though.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “You put a lot of pressure on yourself when you do certain things, I feel.”
“It’s just…” She looked away sheepishly. “I ran for student council because I wanted to do something. You know how that went; I want to make up for the lost time.”
Ren frowned. “Well, if you’re gonna be stubborn about it, then you ought to at least know when to give yourself a break.”
She fidgeted a bit. “Am I not doing that now…? With you?”
“Not when you’re talking about it…”
“Didn’t you bring this up?”
“Didn’t you ?”
…
Makoto pouted at his insistence, prompting Ren’s blank look to transform into light laughter. “Oh well… Whatever the case-” He leaned forward, catching a glimpse of Makoto’s stiffening torso. “I guess it’s up to me to force you to take breaks every so often.”
“Well…” She smiled, her embarrassment showcased clearly. “I suppose I can afford a little downtime.”
…
…
…
Later on, they dropped by the bookstore for a quick look, and passed the rental stores, chatting about anything and nothing in between, allowing the night to take them away from their usual hijinks of Phantom Thievery and other drama. Every once in a while, they each took note of their growing lack of distance from each other as they perused aisles and talked; perhaps bumped each others' shoulders, and even offered a fleeting touch of each others' hands.
…
When the time came for it, Ren brought Makoto home to her very respectable condominium in Meguro, teetering into Shibuya.
And not even a five-minute walk.
Before she said goodbye, Makoto turned to Ren, her form backlit by the lights of her building against the night. “I’m sorry for earlier when I upset myself… I don’t think people expect to argue on first dates…”
“Don’t apologize….” Ren shrugged. “I’m just glad to know you’re capable of sulking too.”
She scoffed playfully. “I’d rather not be known for that…”
“I know. Still.” He chuckled.
…
“H-Hey, Ren?”
He barely spoke when she stopped right in front of him before she took a step back, averting her gaze all the while. “S-Sorry… I-I just… I think I wanted to see you for a little while longer.”
Ren used Thief’s eye for a split second to survey his surroundings before looking back at her. “You think ?”
“That’s what my gut said, at least…” She met his eyes again as she looked up at him, his features illuminated by the lights behind her.
Ren looked at her looking at him, and he couldn’t help but keep smiling at her mix of awkwardness and curiosity. “What else does it say?”
Makoto slowly reached for Ren’s hands, intertwining her fingers in his. He reciprocated her gesture, gently feeling the textures of her palms, her fingers, and the back of her hands.
Warm.
…
Her eyes widened as she stepped away. “S-Someone from inside might see us, and recognize me…”
“Huh.” Mildly disappointed, Ren looked back and began walking backwards. “Should I go then?”
She frowned. “You don’t have to sound that disappointed…”
“Aren’t you the same way?”
Makoto paused for a moment before she giggled. “Right. We’ll be more careful next time.”
‘Next time.’
…
“Yeah.” With that, Ren waved as he turned around. “Night.”
“Yeah.” She replied.
…
“Goodnight.”
-THURSDAY-
[16:42]
June 9, Akasaka-Mitsuke, TV Station
The PR woman droned on, explaining the intricacies of behind-the-scenes action of television; something about attractive ladies at night, and soap operas in the morning.
Plenty of the students didn’t seem keen on anything coming out of the woman’s mouth, however, the chosen guide for the second-years, Kawakami, decided she’d put the eager ones in front to give the impression of interest and to save face for Shujin. God knows how much their image was tanking in the general public. Her ears couldn’t help but pick up the nonstop theory-crafting and gossiping of the students. For once though, she couldn’t blame them; just what was going on with the management?
But that didn’t stop her from having to do her job. “Sakamoto, I told you again- quiet down.”
“I am…” Ryuji moaned. “Why’s it always me…?”
Beside him, Shiho, and Ann held their laughs in. The former volleyball player in particular patted the top of his head. “Aw, poor Ryu-chan, always the butt monkey.”
“Don’t do me like this, guys…” Ryuji grumbled as Kawakami gave up and walked away, turning to Ren. “You good, dude?”
The bespectacled boy grunted. “Can’t we do a game show or something?”
Ryuji sighed too. “Yeah man, I’ll even take a weird punishment game… at least I’ll get to be around cute idols or something…”
Ann shook her head. “One track mind…”
“But aside from that, I wanna get back in the swing of things too, you know? Wouldn’t wanna sit around too long before our next-”
Ren’s bag shook and suddenly produced a sharp hiss, prompting Ann to ‘ sneeze’ loudly, and Ryuji to freeze. “B-Before our next… trip to the institute.”
Shiho raised a brow, silently side-eyeing Ann for her poorly concealed reactions. “Right…”
Ren sighed, meeting the eyes of Morgana tucked in his quarter-opened bag; he assumed the cat was expressing similar discontent. Luckily, the day was close to over, and students could now leave at their discretion. The squad stopped by the white hallway of the building, intermittently meeting other staff and perhaps workers from other ongoing programs in the same building.
Ann brushed past some man in a suit before coming upon Ryuji and Ren. “You guys got any plans? We’re not around these parts so much, so Shiho was thinking we could check someplace out near Dome City.”
Morgana purred from the bag, his voice muffled. “Mrr… I think I remember seeing a sign talking about pancakes while we were commuting here!”
Ren checked his phone, swiping through the Maps app. “I guess we’re bound to find something there.” He chuckled softly, looking back at the others. “Then we can throw up all of the food when we go for a ride!”
…
Ryuji, slightly confused at his sudden levity, grimaced. “Oh, you were jokin’, right…?” Ren smiled menacingly, prompting Ryuji’s knees to buckle. “You’re not that cruel, are ya?”
“I dunno man… seeing you run one less lap around the track last time-”
“You’re insane.” Ryuji passed the embarrassment on and tapped Ren’s bag. “Maybe you could take the kitty-cat on one of the rides; show off your courage to Lady Ann, yeah?”
Ann groaned. “Don’t do that…” She turned around the corner, hoping to see if Shiho was finished.
Instead, a peculiar boy walked past her, only to stop in the middle of the hall as if he didn’t just unintentionally shoulder-check her. The boy with shaggy, brown hair, in a double-breasted coat with a tie and an emblazoned suitcase- he was staring at something with an exceptional curiosity. Or perhaps a darker term was more appropriate- intrigue.
Unnerved by the intensity of his gaze, Ann turned to see what it was that could’ve captured his attention so completely, and found Ren’s eyes locking in on him too, much less hostile, however, and much more confused.
Ren furrowed his brow, clearly a bit annoyed. “Do I know you?”
“Ah…” The brown-haired boy quickly glanced back and forth at the others. “Where are my manners? I’m Akechi Goro.”
“Akechi…” Ren nodded slowly, looking him up from head to toe as he regarded the name. “The ‘second coming’ of the Detective Prince, right?”
“I suppose so.” The boy replied jovially. “We’ll be filming together tomorrow, so let’s all dial in, shall we?”
“Dial in?” Ren chuckled, though it came off more coldly than he thought, catching everyone’s attention. “None of us are gonna do the talking though, are we?”
“Crowd participation is always a possibility with these shows.” Akechi shrugged. “Who knows? One of you just might be lucky enough to be a part of the conversation.”
Ren smirked. “Does this count to our recitation grades?”
Akechi smiled primly. “Would you like me to vouch for you to your teachers?”
“Not really.”
“How cold…” The detective snickered. “Hmm, I don’t suppose you were at Jazz Jin last Sunday evening with some company? That seems to be where my memory takes me.”
…
“Yeah.”
“That must be why my eyes were drawn to you…”
“I’m flattered.” He exhaled. “But you’re not my type.”
…
“I’m aware.” Akechi stepped back, coughing into his hand as he walked away with a wave. “Anyway, I should really be on my way. Do enjoy your cake.”
Ren didn’t let him out of his sight until he saw him disappear behind a door, no one else really said anything on account of the strange air. Then Shiho came back around, horribly uncomfortable at the current air hanging over her friends. “Why was he talking about cake…?”
Ren dropped his hands. “I guess he overheard us.”
[…]
Hifumi: Thank you, Makoto-san. I’ll be sure to try.
Makoto: I have to warn you; whether or not she’ll see your email the first time around is uncertain. I feel as if certain factors play into the chance.
Hifumi: Those factors being?
Makoto: Whether or not she’s sober.
Hifumi: Right…
Makoto: But she should be eager to take you up on your story.
Makoto: No second thoughts?
Hifumi: Try fifth or seventh….
Hifumi: But I’m certain of the play I must make.
Makoto: A real gamble, isn’t it?
…
Hifumi: More like a forfeit.
[19:49]
Niijima Residence
Makoto pocketed her phone as soon as she heard the door open, walking to the entrance to greet the only possible entrant. “Welcome home, Nee-san.”
“Is dinner ready, Makoto?”
The younger Niijima turned around, following her elder’s standoffish strut through the hall to the table. “Yes, I just have to take it out to the table.”
…
The routine night settled in with two siblings sitting across from each other, the TV on the news revealing yet another couple of clients involved in Madarame’s laundering schemes, some of which involved a select few politicians’ aides. Sae was the first to pierce the silence after she took a decent portion of her meal down. “I heard the principal has been absent for quite a while now. Are you managing?”
Makoto looked back to her sister and put down her glass gently. “Well, it is worrying. The vice principal has been trying to assure me that everything will work out.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
The younger girl tried to ignore feeling as if she was being interrogated. This was still her sister, wasn’t it? “I guess I’m not…”
“It would hurt Shujin’s credibility. Well, more so.” Sae muttered. “The Kamoshida incident was one thing- Kobayakawa’s prolonged absence makes everything look that much worse.”
Makoto nodded tersely. The question that tickled her brain finally found the courage to be spoken out. “Do you think those incidents are related…?”
The older sister shook her head. “That’s out of your control; there’s no need to think about it. Just hope whatever college you end up in will be more focused on your academics than whatever reputation Shujin will gather by the time you graduate.”
The younger one sighed. ‘Of course she wouldn’t entertain that…’ “Right…”
“On that note.” Sae returned her gaze to Makoto. “You’re preparing well for the mock exams, aren’t you?”
Makoto gulped. “Oh, yes! Of course. I wouldn’t overlook something like that.”
…
‘Did she notice something…?’
“Is something wrong, Makoto?”
“No…” She barely said, tending to her food absently. “Just a bit mixed up.”
…
“Well, ensure you’re in good condition.” Sae smiled tiredly. “Your efforts may have to pick up the slack for your alma mater.”
“Alright.”
The conversation continued. Nothing exciting, however. Sae was bringing up switching up their service provider due to surrounding news and controversy with their current one regarding leaks of data.
While vital, and Makoto listened intently, she just wished she could talk about something less serious for once.
-FRIDAY-
[15:32]
June 10, Akasaka-Mitsuke, TV Station
“Yo.” Ryuji ‘ whispered’ to Ann beside him, getting some people from the front and behind to turn around before the former runner scowled irritatedly before trying to lower his voice more. “Hasn’t he been kinda like… off since yesterday?”
“I get it, but shush! Those hosts look like they’re looking right at us…!”
Almost right on cue, Akechi spoke out to the audience. “But hypothetically speaking, if these Phantom Thieves are real, I believe they should be tried in a court of law.”
Ryuji and Ann muttered something under their breaths, all the while the edges of Ren’s lips ticked upward.
“What the artist Madarame did was truly unforgivable, and those of his compatriots who seem to also be having their hearts changed or their deeds exposed are in the same lot. However we can’t assume justice is on their minds when they forcefully coerce their targets, and take the law into their own hands instead of trusting our institutions.”
The female host nodded. “As expected from you, Akechi-san. Why don’t we turn to our youthful audience and get their minds on this?”
The woman stood up, and began scanning for potential candidates. The other students rustled in their seats, either nervous to be picked or praying a microphone would end up in front of them.
However, she stopped right in front of Ren, who was trying to keep a sigh from escaping him.
The boy begrudgingly stood up, facing the front while the woman talked to him. “Direct your answer to Akechi-san: if the Phantom Thieves were real, what would you think of them?”
Ren wrapped his fingers around the microphone, trying his best to keep himself incognito. “Um… I’ve been too preoccupied with my studies to think about it… but they don’t really affect my life, you know?”
‘He had the chance to talk to Akechi-kun and he says boring crap like that?’ Was one of the whispers that Ren took a mental laugh to. Akechi nodded along in response. “I see what you mean, but you say that now from a position of comfort- of privilege .”
‘There it is…’ Ren scoffed silently, maintaining eye contact. ‘The ol guilt trip. My favorite takedown.’
Akechi continued. “You may not have been affected, and therefore you have the privilege of not having strong feelings, but that may not be the case for those in the Phantom Thieves unknown range of targets. For example, if they changed the heart of your friend beside you, wouldn’t you find this dubious? Not only that, but their methods are mysterious. If they can force confessions out of people, what more?”
Ren kept his eye trained on Akechi’s mannerisms, his apparent confidence, his vocal projection, and his tone as he seduced his crowd. But most importantly, he was honing in on his words. “Can they control public thought? What if they could take lives? There’s a reason the justice system exists- police forces, security, prosecution, lawyers. They have earned their trust through their rigorous training, and they are kept accountable by checks and balances. That’s not something the Phantom Thieves can say, no? Flamboyant displays of vigilantism are cute, and Kamoshida and Madarame are heinous criminals deserving of punishment, but when those who claim to side with justice operate without accountability and actively take someone’s ability to choose away… can they really be deserving of praise? An unknown is not something people should ever put their faith in.”
Everyone mumbled, turning their attention back to Ren, expecting him to crumble and perhaps agree with the young detective who was about to open his mouth again.
‘Fine…’
Ren pocketed one hand and scratched his chin, playfully glazing to his upper right. “Not much is different from a change of heart to incarceration or capital punishment; the criminal loses the means to choose their path in life, and is forever shunned, but I don’t think we as a society care much about people who willingly exist to be a nuisance to the law’s pride, and for no other possible well-intentioned motive. Criminals, am I right?”
If Ren particularly cared, he’d have felt the energy in the studio drop.
“The Phantom Thieves can at least say they catch everyone they set their eyes on, especially villains like Kamoshida and Madarame who’re unseen from the law’s selective gaze. Meanwhile, a troubled girl gets shooed away and shamed if she has the audacity to report a groper on a train because she can’t prove it happened. And another gets shot down the moment she tells her principal that his financially advantageous Olympian coach was sexually assaulting whichever teenage girl he fancied.”
Ryuji was really awake now, whispering to Ann amidst the growing murmurs. “D-Do we know where this is going…?”
She tensely ground her teeth. “Dunno…”
Akechi crossed his arms and maintained his smile, his countenance the benchmark by which everyone on set measured their comfort levels in spite of the uncomfortable statements being aired. “Imperfect as the law and its practitioners may be, they can be mended, and are forced to be transparent, whereas there’s no way to guarantee these Phantom Thieves’ motives without them also having to subject themselves to the law. It can’t be helped if some cases slip through the cracks. It’s unfortunate, but we only operate on certainties and trusted conventions. You can’t provide examples of the things that just go wrong; you miss all the things that we do get correct.”
Ren almost clicked his tongue, and instead shook his head. “Then why don't they get mended after these things keep happening? But anyway, I’m not talking about what goes right because that should be the default. I’m talking about the baffling things that are going wrong. And it’s because of who can do what. If the power of the law is supposed to be the shield of the citizens, it’s also the sword of authority. The same authorities who abuse kids, steal their work- their futures, and as you have brought up just a moment ago, are not against relying on a money launderer’s enterprises to clean their own money and cozy up to like-minded scum for their political futures.”
It seemed as if people were cozying up to Ren’s ideas even if his start and choice of words were a bit rocky. However, they started noticing the commotion of the staff, the camera crew, or the audio engineers, and especially the uncomfortable host who couldn’t decide to take her microphone back or get Ren’s attention away from Akechi.
“So yeah, it ‘can’t be helped’ but for the reason that no one is empowered to question so-called leaders, innovators, public servants, or mentors. That anytime someone tries to stand up, they’re beaten into resenting their compassion. So transparency is useless because even when presented with an opportunity to act, they’d give up everyone else’s happiness for their peace of mind. I can’t blame them though, because what it seems to me is that anyone who makes noise of any kind is branded as the real criminal, and everyone who shuts up and takes their publicly-mandated finger-wagging is a model citizen.”
Ren’s whitening knuckles around the mic kept his voice in everyone’s minds. “But at least we have you, a detective with no certifications; no law school degree, no passed bar exams, and who isn’t even old enough to even apply to become a police officer. I guess rigorous training or checks and balances don’t apply when you wake up looking like you missed your host club’s cosplay event.”
With the hushed protesting of Ann, Ryuji, and even Morgana, along with offstage commotion of staff and production assistants, teachers unable to contain students’ murmuring, Ren immediately released his grip from the microphone, and took his hand out of his pocket, awkwardly trying to sit down while looking at the mess he made.
The host almost hit herself in the face with her hand as she smiled awkwardly, trying to stealthily swipe a bead of sweat falling down her face. “W-Well… quite a lively debate partner I’ve chosen for you, Akechi-san…!”
“Indeed.” The young detective chuckled, steepling his fingers as he leaned back into his seat.
And stared at the clammy hands of his opponent, now seated awkwardly; cognizant of the energy he had just created in the studio.
[16:21]
The end of the interview also signified the end of the school trip, hence the students were able to leave at their leisure, filing out of the studio in small increments as the set emptied itself, leaving the staff to wrap up.
And leaving Kawakami to essentially babysit Ren outside of the studio, down the white hallway as exiting students on the opposite end of them snickered or sent stink-eyes directed at Ren. “Amamiya… did you have to put on a show and embarrass Akechi-kun like that?”
“Sorry…” Ren glibly sighed. “Intrusive thoughts, y’know?”
The teacher frowned, prompting Ren to dramatically stick the back of his hand to his forehead in woe. “You got me… I’m just really bitter that he took Naoto-kun’s Detective Prince shtick, y’know?”
Kawakami groaned. “Are you aware that this is grounds for disciplinary action? You know, your second offense in the semester if we’re being generous? The school was more lenient on you after learning of Kamoshida’s power trips, but you can’t ride on that when you instigated this.”
“Sure, but with Kobayakawa flaking lately, and with the Vice Principal still not showing up, no teacher in our school seems to like the idea of spending the extra time to file any reports. Kinda get the vibe they don't want to spend any unnecessary time around me.”
“Of course they wouldn’t,” Kawakami grunted. “It's always worse if the homeroom teacher looks like she just lets this happen! They all want me to report you .”
“Report me for… answering when I was asked a question?”
“You know that's not it.”
“For having a bad opinion?” Ren's eyebrow twitched. “It’s their problem for asking me what I thought.”
…
Seeing his teacher’s broken-down expression, Ren’s composure softened, seeing the clear eyebags of his teacher, and hearing the hoarseness of her voice. “I'm sorry, but there are some things I can't let slide.”
“Don't say sorry if you're not going to change.” The teacher softly replied, her combativeness replaced with melancholy. “It's not that I disagree with what you said, I'm just frustrated that you don't seem to care about the consequences and the trouble you cause everyone when you step out of line.”
…
“Just… what’s the point of making a scene if it won’t change anything?” The teacher met the eyes of her student, slightly regretful but not apologetic. The kind of gaze that was tiresome, annoying- resolute, decisive. Frustrating. “Can you just… not live without some sort of fight going on?”
Before Ren could move his lips, she walked away and exited the hallway.
…
He began to turn around and walk, but unfortunately, he immediately met the eye line of a certain detective.
Ren eyed him up and down. “I don’t suppose you’re here to hand me a restraining order.”
“Oh, no.” Akechi smiled. “I hold no ill will towards you. I’d say our little repartee is going to stick out in my mind for a while.”
The Shujin delinquent raised an eyebrow. “Even the last part?”
“Don’t worry.” Akechi chuckled. “It won’t make the final cut. And besides, your criticism of me isn’t novel. I work alongside people who whisper the same things behind my back; you’re the only one who has given it to me straight. I admire that boldness. Your creativity with words is also much more welcome.”
‘Doesn’t make it less true…’ Ren smirked. “That boldness won’t do me any favors for my now-dead TV prospects… But at least I get to skip the part where I beg for your forgiveness.”
“Indeed.” Akechi raised his left hand out to Ren, who merely stared. “You never know though; the potential is certainly there. I, for one, believe we’d make great co-stars. Thesis and antithesis, as Hegel himself said.”
‘I don’t think that was Hegel…?’ Ren blinked twice. “You really think we’d achieve some kinda synthesis?”
“Not for a lack of trying.” Akechi left his hand in the air to be shaken. “What do you say?”
Ren shook his head. “I’m privileged with preoccupation.”
“I’m not talking about a spot in the entertainment world, by the way. Just the ability to chat would be wonderful.”
Ren sighed, ditching the boy. “Your fangirls wouldn’t like it if they knew their Akechi-kun couldn’t take a hint.”
Without looking back, Ren hurriedly paced away and found his troupe of friends plus Shiho walking in his direction, with eyes widening as soon as they saw him.
“Thank God…” He said, gesturing for them to start walking the other way as he took a stride beside Ryuji. “Pretty boy just wouldn’t let me leave.”
Ryuji snickered. “That B-tier host-looking bastard was all smug and sh*t before you laid into him!”
Ann nodded. “I almost thought he was making good points too before you steamrolled him. You okay?”
“Just passionate, I guess.” He muttered, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve had plenty of time to think about that kinda stuff; it just… sticks with you.”
Ann nodded sympathetically. “I can imagine.”
Shiho nodded along. “We all can…”
Not wanting to let the mood spiral, Ryuji beamed widely and wrapped an arm around Ren. “Anyway, how're things between you and our student council president?”
Ren shrugged playfully. “Why would I tell you that?”
“Come on, man… we all see it!”
“Then I don't really need to tell you, right?”
“You're impossible, dude…”
“I’ve never been one to kiss and tell.”
The runner sighed. “Just wanted to make sure it was smooth sailing from here. I mean, between your thing with Shion-chan, it probably killed the vibes between you two a little.”
Ann clicked her tongue. “Ryuji!”
As opposed to her, Ren just caught Shiho’s attention with a look. “Shion’s my ex. We broke up recently.”
“Recently?” Shiho looked up. “Weren’t you all lovey-dovey with Niijima-senpai like… the moment you started going to Shujin?”
Ren blinked. “…Officially broke up recently. It was complicated.”
“Not even denying it…” Shiho giggled. “How did you and Niijima-senpai get so close so quickly, anyway? I mean, like, you just transferred, and she barely talks to anyone outside of duty-reasons.”
“Same reason I ended up with these dorks.” The Phantom Thief leader wrapped his arms around Ryuji and Ann. “Complete coincidence.”
…
Shiho looked behind them and craned her head in slowly, getting her head past Ann. “You don’t need to hide it from me, you know?”
Ren’s bag rustled, Ann coughed, and Ryuji choked, all in sequence as if activating an ancient magic trick. The runner recomposed himself. “H-Hide what?”
“The cat in Ren’s bag!”
“Oh…” Ann let out a harsh breath. “Y-Yeah… i-it’s his comfort cat-”
“Guys…” Shiho blinked, unimpressed. “You know what I really mean…”
“N-No we don’t…” Ryuji stuttered. “Right, Ren…?”
Ren scoffed, leaning towards Shiho in front of Ann. “What- who tipped you off?”
Shiho smirked. “I mean, you train some karate together, hang out where no one else goes, you were gonna get expelled by the school before a miracle happened, you talk to a cat… But let’s just say it’s Ryuji’s fault.”
The blonde grunted. “Me again…?! The hell does talking to a cat have to do with what you’re saying?”
“But I feel bad making Ryuji the butt of the joke again…” Shiho sighed. “So for his sake, it’s also Ann’s fault for having garbage alibis.”
“W-Wha…!”
Ryuji snickered, making a face at Ann, who then stuck her tongue out and pouted. Again, Morgana groaned from Ren’s bag. ‘This isn’t very Phantom Thief behavior…’
“Anyway,” Shiho continued. “Now that that’s outta the way, why did dear Akechi-sama approach you just then?”
“He’s probably into me…” Ren sighed dreamily. “I think I gave him too much when I was laying it on him. Now he can’t get enough of me.”
Shiho snickered. “You mean like one of those ‘no one’s ever talked to me like that before- kyun~!’ kinda guys?”
“That’s the impression I got.” Ren shook his head.
Ann scoffed playfully. “I wish I had half of your confidence.”
…
Ryuji leaned in to gauge Ren’s expression. “Something wrong?”
“There’s something off about him.” He crossed his arms. “I feel like he was inviting that kind of dialogue. Maybe not the part where I called his career a fraud, but… I dunno. He's got a… vibe that I can’t really put my finger on.”
Ryuji frowned, now easing back in. “T-This is sounding more and more weird by the minute.”
“Only because you made it…” Ann shook her head before nudging Ren. “But what would Makoto say about you talking about other people like that?”
Ren smiled, looking down at his phone. “I’m sure she’ll give me a chance after I’m done flirting with her.”
The blonde runner smacked Ren’s shoulder. “This guy…!”
Morgana groaned from the bag. “He’s not even hiding it now, huh…?”
As they exited the building and made their way to the nearest subway, Ann slowly left Ryuji to talk Ren’s ear off and took behind them, where she noticed Shiho idly looking up and around with a face she couldn’t read.
“Hey.” Ann nudged her best friend. “You okay?”
“Hmm?” Shiho nodded. “Y-Yeah… Just thinking about Ren laying into that detective prince dude.”
“What about it?”
“Um…”
Ann grimaced, lowering her volume again. “Was it because they kept talking about… y’know, Kamoshida?”
…
“Probably…”
Ann clasped her hand around Shiho’s, hoping to impart some sort of comfort. “Shiho… I’ll talk to Ren about-”
“He wouldn’t have known how I would react to him being brought up- it’s not his fault. Plus, he was just following Akechi’s debate. I'll be fine, Ann.” She smiled warmly. “I just have to get used to it.”
[17:21]
Shujin Academy
“Right.” Makoto nodded, sitting opposite to the newspaper club’s ever-present Ueda Kaori in the student council room. “I’m glad you understand.”
“Yes…” The girl pushed up her glasses, somewhat tired. “To think these first few months would be so rough for Shujin… It makes everyone look bad. It might be good for me, but I’m still a student here.”
“This must be what they mean by ‘too interesting’ .” Makoto smiled a bit. “I’m hoping it’ll smoothen out soon.”
‘Someone’s positive…’ Ueda noted the odd smile on the notoriously-robotic president. “What have you been up to recently?”
“Well…” Makoto crossed her arms. “The council has been trying to uplift the track and volleyball teams, who are eagerly looking to rise up again. Soon, we’re hoping we can give the basketball team and the kendo team similar treatment. Unfortunately, many of those students have transferred… In general, though, we’re just a bit lacking in coaches. After Kamoshida, I’m certain the school board will want to put extra scrutiny on who we choose to employ here in the future.”
‘Understandable…’ Kaori thought, biting her cheek.
“Oh, and we finally got to get clearer resolutions on budgets for the clubs.” Makoto excitedly leaned forward. “Those were up in the air for a while… and the principal’s prolonged absence has only made that more difficult.”
“Any projects outside of clubs, President?”
“Well…” Makoto smiled shyly to herself. “I’ve had some plans to get more socially involved with the student body, let’s say. I won’t give much more than that.”
‘Woah…’ The student journalist thought, slightly taken aback. ‘That was kind of cute…!’
“Anyway, uh, do you feel like these past incidents have unfairly burdened you and your council’s potential to do work?”
“Well…” Makoto shook her head. “Let’s just say I’m glad we have a chance to breathe now.”
Ueda nodded. “Even with the principal’s absence?”
“Well… to be frank, yes. Kamoshida admitted himself to a journalist that his… actions have been abetted thanks in no small part to certain people who turned a blind eye. Though… I ’d rather not speak on that without any hard facts-”
The two’s ears perked up upon hearing what sounded like distant shouting coming from outside. Makoto didn’t like the sound and stood up instinctively. “Where did that come from…?”
With a brief apology, Makoto exited the room, and found a concerning amount of students talking while a few braver ones rushed down the stairs, gathering in the school courtyard. She followed, finding a squad of five teenage boys in differing school uniforms ganging up on a Shujin student unfamiliar to Makoto, now scooting away on the grass.
‘Five, all unarmed high school boys. All of them outweigh me which goes without saying, though nowadays that isn’t a concern. Relatively open area, grassy; no worry of serious head injuries if they fall-’
‘Wait… what is going on here?’
She caught herself as she ran through the crowd, now needing to say something as she stood face-to-face with the apparent leader. “Excuse me, who are you?”
The boy in the middle spoke up, putting on a brave face before looking back at his potential victim. “Don’t bother.”
She looked briefly at her schoolmate. “It has to do with him, I suppose?”
The same one spoke again. “That ain’t obvious?”
Makoto’s fists tingled, her heartbeat steadily climbed up, but at the same time, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it almost didn’t feel genuine. Every second that passed, the more strange she felt, particularly upon identifying the expressions of each boy; no one seemed particularly keen on being here.
Nevertheless, Makoto kept her position and kept her arms behind her back, choosing to look them directly in the eye. “Anything you do to escalate this situation won’t do anyone any good. I’d rather not see young students lose their futures over something that can still be taken back. Please. Let him go, and let’s talk this out.”
No one from the gang spoke, not even a hint of bravado from anyone, especially the apparent leader. The only response was their tense look of agreement between each other as they nodded, and all clenched their fists and rolled their shoulders.
“Listen…” The leader walked forward, groaning all the while. “This is more complicated than it looks. Please don’t try to stop us.”
‘Please…?' Makoto breathed out subtly as he encroached on her space. “I can’t let you lay a hand on our students.”
“Takanashi’s a real piece of work, you know? You shouldn’t be sad if he lost some lunch money.”
The president shook her head. “That’s my problem to deal with.”
“Stubborn little-” Now visibly more agitated, the boy grunted and started walking forward, pointing his hand and posturing it to land on Makoto’s shoulder. “Alright, you know what? Me roughing you up won’t change the-"
Makoto’s two hands instantly torqued his wrist inward for the kotegaeshi, forcing his body to flip across the air and slam into the earth.
Everyone watching collectively forgot to draw their breath, including the rest of the bullies, who were debating between running in or staying put, now much less confident, seeing the otherwise mild and harmless-looking Makoto with a fearless, yet merciful countenance. To their surprise, they didn’t realize that their captive student had bolted.
“Please.” The president pleaded, allowing the boy she took down to run back to the group. “We shouldn’t fight…”
Their fear was now known to all the onlookers and their phones. Makoto bit her tongue, praying for the best possible outcome. She observed the hesitation on their faces as they looked at each other and nodded, squaring up and raising their fists.
…
‘If they’re so scared… Why…?’ Then they ran at her, and Makoto cursed to herself silently. ‘Dammit…”
She took a sidestep, disrupting their charge and keeping them all in line as they scrambled to go around each other. She dodged under the first one’s punch, and exploded forward, smashing her hips into his from an angle as she held his blazer for a split second for his legs to swing upwards and launch him through the air, rotating backward and eating the dirt mouth first.
Makoto’s heart dropped for a moment. ‘That’s never-’
Her new, swift eyes took in everyone dashing in on her, as she evaded another strike and repositioned before catching someone’s sleeve through a punch and round-kicking the outside of his calf, tripping him as he shriveled in unfamiliar pain.
To the next, she slipped a punch and retaliated with a body uppercut, stunning him. One more came and attempted a poor round kick which she simultaneously slipped and caught with two arms, using the continued movement to torque and throw downward to her side, ragdolling him off the ground before reintroducing him to it.
‘Too strong…?’
She then leaned away from a high-strung soccer kick, right in the path of someone coming at her side with a long, running punch. She allowed him to come, turning her back slightly and catching his sleeve as it whiffed past her. She pulled his momentum to complete the shoulder throw while falling forward, instantly accelerating their combined mass into the ground, taking him out while her back bounced on him, rolling forward over and away.
And the first thing she saw when attempting to stand was a shin flying at her left temple, she reflexively raised her arms to block and wrapped her arms tightly around it, instantly twisting to her left like a crocodile grabbing its prey, forcing her and the bully to the floor for a flashy single leg takedown before diving away again.
‘Can’t keep giving them these openings with the throws and takedowns…!’
Standing up quickly, she then dropped again under a foe’s terrified haymaker, and twisted her body into a crumpling left hook to the liver, then a chopping round kick to the thigh, instantly dropping the foe to the ground in groaning pain. ‘Too hard!’
And now there were three, one covering his mouth, another with a limp, and the leader whom she took down previously. She sighed and grit her teeth, dashing in with a raised fist to the next unfortunate foe.
Her frightening advance forced them to retreat in a disorderly fashion. One dove away, revealing the one behind raising his guard raised in panic. Makoto dropped levels, grabbing his far waist and knee-sliding around the other side, immediately standing to launch a short sidekick to another’s gut, folding him swiftly.
Her left arm remained tight around her anchor’s blazer while she threw her free hand under his legs and caught his pants by the hips, then threw her weight down and backwards as if to roll. Instead, her grips and momentum flung the boy over her to the side she rolled, smacking harshly on his lower back and smashing the gut of the recently-kicked boy.
Makoto returned to her feet, patting grass off her as the last boy looked at his fallen buddies, seemingly reconsidering his courses of action.
Unfortunately, he chose to charge; swinging wild punches at Makoto as she slipped them all before she caught the underside of his blazer arm and his collar as he was moving towards her, giving her the perfect opening to continue his momentum and tugged downward as she stepped aside, executing a perfect uki-otoshi to end the fight.
The president exhaled sharply upon letting go. “I’m sorry… You didn’t give me a choice…!”
From the crowd, Makoto’s ears heard someone. “H-He’s running away!”
She instantly turned around, finding one of the five missing. “Where?!”
The random student pointed. “The hall-”
The runaway staggered out of the connecting hall and leapt over the walkway barrier, tripping in front of Makoto’s feet. He thought to stand up, but instead, he stayed down on his knees. “Am- how the hell?! Please please please, I won’t run, I won’t run!” I-I won’t run…”
“Why’d you come back…?” She questioned.
And Ren walked onto the scene, hands in his pocket as the student body cleared the way. “Because he recognizes me.”
“Ren…” Makoto instantly perked up, almost smiling in reflex but remembering the situation and audience.
“I wanted to see you…” He glanced at the injured crowd behind and the back at her, some dirt and bits of grass stuck to her clothes. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” She sighed in relief. “Just upset that it had to come to a fight… But w-wait, what do you mean this one recognizes you?”
“Yamada Keisuke.” He hid a grimace and lowered his voice. “Used to be my classmate back home. Last I heard, he transferred to Tokyo.”
Ren turned his peripheral vision to his old acquaintance, eyes blank but heavy.
Makoto took note of the gravity of the air. “Is he… one of the five you hurt?”
Wordlessly, Ren sent her a look. If she was careful, she could see him nod. “Between everyone making a beeline for here, I saw one dude run the opposite direction. I’m guessing he’s involved?”
The president nodded, gesturing to the boys she beat. “They threatened him before I stepped in.”
Ren bit his tongue, and furrowed a brow. “Why would a bunch of dudes from different schools come to a super public place in their uniforms to rough some other guy up?”
Yamada kept his head low as he scrunched his pants. “W-We were all threatened…!”
Before Ren could continue to converse with Yamada, the crowd of students was beginning to disperse as the voice of Ushimaru was reverberating from far off. Makoto reflexively stuck her hand onto Ren’s shoulder. “Find the boy who ran. I have to stay here.”
“Wait, why stay?”
“They’re being threatened… I don’t want whatever's coming to them to be too harsh.”
…
Ren took one more gander at Yamada. “Name of the runaway?”
He looked down, trying his best to avert Ren’s gaze. “Takanashi Daisuke…”
“Thanks-”
“A-And it was me! Amamiya, I-I was the one who spread that video around in the first place… I’m sorry.”
…
‘Video…?’ Makoto looked over to Ren, hoping for clarification, but she couldn’t really put together the mood of Ren as he had already turned on his heel and left, leaving Yamada in the air.
With her concern only growing, Makoto was left alone. She looked at the boys whom she had just beaten, resigned, and bruised as they lay on the ground. Then she looked at the crowd of students talking, about her but never to her, whispering to each other, and others just either pocketing their phones and a few others still recording.
Among them in the crowd were some of her student council looking in astonishment, the newspaper club’s Ueda gulping down, Haru carrying a potted plant looking on with wide eyes, and Kasumi reminding herself to let go of her breath.
Everyone watched.
…
Makoto closed her eyes for a moment, focusing on her breathing. Not for the sake of her cardio, but for clarity. The fight was over. No more enemies. Everyone was safe, and no one was hurt.
She could now release the tension in her body.
And prepare herself for the next part.
-XII-
