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judgement i

October 30, 6:10pm
Cafe Leblanc

Those golden eyes once held all the stars in the sky. Now all they saw was darkness.

Despite being emptier than a bird's nest in December, Leblanc was filled by Sae Niijima's presence alone. Everything about it was imposing, larger than life, mythical, especially in those dagger stiletto heels. It certainly fit well with her peers' nickname for her — the Leviathan of the Courtroom.

With a cursory scan of the cafe she squinted towards the bar, looking for something, someone. "Where is Sojiro?" she asked. "Is he not in today?"

Akira pinned Sae with a glower. He didn't mince his words. "No, he's not. Why are you?"

Sae's attention cut to Akira's face. It was sharp and angled like his response. She studied it for a moment longer before gesturing a short nod at Morgana. "I found him outside my apartment tonight. He was clawing at my door and hissing up a storm, I almost mistook him for an intruder. I thought I might as well bring him back to save you the trouble of putting up missing posters."

Akira did not reply at once. Scooping up Morgana in his arms, he waited for his companion's account of things to corroborate her claim.

"It's… the truth…" the feline said, his voice breathy and weak. "But… we can't trust her… After all… she has a Palace..."

That was right. Even if she came here in good faith she was still the enemy. The Phantom Thieves were going to infiltrate her Palace, and there was little room for niceties when it came to stealing hearts.

Akira lifted his chin and cast her a muted glance. "Thank you. I can take care of things from here."

Then, showing his back to Sae, he began to walk away.

"Hold on," Sae called out, taking a step forward. "Where are you going?"

He stopped and turned halfway to meet her. "I'm going to take Morgana upstairs to make sure he's okay."

"And what about me?"

"What about you?"

"Aren't you supposed to provide exceptional service to all your customers?"

Akira blinked. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean," Sae said, extending a diplomatic smile. "Is that I'd like to order a cup of coffee. House blend."

Her expression seemed fabricated, disconnected, as if there was something missing from it to make it a real, human expression.

He didn't trust it.

"I'm going to put this one upstairs first," Akira said. "I'll come down to brew you a cup after."

Sae bowed her head in understanding. She pulled out the bar chair closest to the door, set her handbag over its crest rail, and took a seat. "Take your time," she said, picking up a copy of the news that had been left on the counter. "I can wait."

She didn't have to tell him twice.

Walking deeper into the cafe, Akira climbed the set of stairs at the rear and headed up to his attic room, the halffconscious Morgana groaning with each of his choppy steps. Once he arrived, he sat at the edge of his bed and laid Morgana down on the covers. He glossed his hand through his jet black fur and felt his lips tug into a gentle grin. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, brows tight with concern.

Having finally caught his breath, Morgana rolled onto his stomach and grumbled, "If you call having to run across half of the neighborhood and almost getting hit by a car in the process okay…" He groaned into his paws. "I can't believe I got lost. I was so sure I knew the way back home!"

Akira chuckled. "It happens to all of us." He gently pet the slope of Morgana's back, his eyes settling on the cat's bright yellow collar "Where have you been? You said something about Niijima's apartment?"

"That's right," Morgana said, tilting his body into Akira's caresses. "I thought that Makoto might be able to help me find my way home, or at least contact you to let you know that I was okay."

"Oh. So you remember where Makoto lives, but not me?" Akira delivered a light pinch to the nape of the cat's neck. "I'm jealous."

Morgana sprang up on all fours. "Ouch! H-hey, it wasn't my fault!" he whined. "I had no idea how complicated the subway systems were! And besides, there was no way I was gonna walk all the way back to Leblanc. That would've taken forever!"

"I bet if I were a pretty girl like Makoto you would have."

If Morgana could blush, his face would be pink as a peach. "N-nuh uh! It's not like that!" he stammered, stamping his front paw down in protest. "I went to her apartment because I remembered how to get there from school, that's all! And besides, if you hadn't left me, I wouldn't have even been in this situation?"

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who wanted to leave me," Akira cited.

Morgana let out a churlish pout, his nose pointed toward the ceiling. "Well, whatever! You know, if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't be bullying me so much. In fact, I would be thanking me!"

That was a curious response. "What for?" Akira asked.

Morgana paused. Now staring straight at Akira, his demeanor grew terribly severe. "I saw him there," he said, the hairs on his back standing on end. His eyes were round and his jaw was taut with tension. It was as if he had seen the ghost of a man long since dead. "At Niijima-san's apartment. He was there, Akira, I saw him."

The warmth across Akira's complexion vanished like the last spark of a dying fire. His voice became low and humorless. "Are you sure Morgana? Could you have mistaken someone else for him?"

He shook his head. "It couldn't have been anyone else. I'm sure of it."

Akira planted his elbows on his thighs, his brows lowered to just above his silvered eyes. "So, he was there," he thought into his clasped hands. "It looks like our suspicions were correct." Looking down at Morgana, he said, "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything."

Morgana nodded. "I was following Makoto home. She had just gotten off at the Shibuya station…"

October 30, 4:36pm
Shibuya Station

"Gah! Where did she go? Don't tell me I lost her!"

Morgana's eyes darted left, then right, then left again. He was looking for any sign of Makoto, any indication that she had gone through this way. He looked past the stairs, up the escalator, over the booths.

Nothing.

He cursed under his breath. Who in the world built this place, he thought. M.C. Escher? Compared to this exploring Mementos was a cinch. He was capable of moving around the Metaverse as if he were reading the back of his palm. But this labyrinth of winding channels and spiraling pathways was impossible to maneuver. "These humans must have some kind of sixth sense when it comes to navigating terribly designed tunnels."

He paused as he rewound that sentence over in his head. Why did it sound so... wrong? These humans…

These humans?

"W-wait… that's not what I meant!" he mentally lashed himself. He didn't mean to put it like that. It must have been the stress getting to him. After all, he was one of those human too — he was, truly! It was just… He was transformed into a cat for some reason. Yes, that was it! Morgana was sure of his humanity, cocksure, certain in fact! And he would prove it by transforming back into one when all of this was over. That'll show that idiot Ryuji, he thought. That'll show them all. And once he was human, he could finally court the woman of his dreams…

With a violent shake of his body, he snapped back to reality and restated his priorities. He was lost in Shibuya. He had to get back home. Makoto was his best chance to get back home. He had to find Makoto.

Morgana drew in a swift breath. "Alright then, let's find Makoto!" Rearing up on his hind legs like an Olympic runner, he broke into a sprint and dashed off. Zigging and zagging between the legs of his taller, humanoid counterparts, he bound through the Shibuya subways as fast a lion chasing its prey. And seeing his pace, it wouldn't be long before he found it.

All walks of life converged in Shibuya. There were people with big bellies, people with expensive handbags, and people with tattoos strewn across their bodies. Some wore suits, others t-shirts and jeans, and some wore little to nothing at all. Yet all of them carried the same, complacent expression. Their eyes were dimmed as if the life had been drained from them. All the dreams and aspirations that once populated their faces had deliquesced into the same, blank half-lidded stare. It reminded him of Mementos and of the Shadows that inhabited it, shambling along like mindless drones. It was hard to look at them, to watch them living out their torturous eternities. He wondered if the Phantom Thieves could steal their hearts too.

Then an unexpected sensation struck him. He felt a presence within the crowd, one that wasn't like the others. It held an air of regality, like that of a queen watching over her subjects. Strong and resolute, yet still genteel and kind, it was the kind of presence that Morgana could identify in a heartbeat. "That has to Makoto!" he deduced. "Only she could be giving off an energy like that, I just know it!"

Morgana followed the aura to its source. He shifted through the sea of people and their absent attentions until at last he caught sight of the person it attached to sitting across the tracks. To his surprise it came from someone he knew, a someone that was a girl. And to his greater surprise, that someone wasn't Makoto.

She was sitting on a green bench wearing a sun hat with a large brim that shadowed her complexion. Russet brown hair circled her ears, voluminous and fluffy like two dazzling clouds of cotton candy. She wore a pink turtleneck cardigan, ribbed and billowy, and white tights with a flower pattern. In her hands was a violin, but unlike a street performer she did not have a jar of donations. That was when Morgana noticed several children circled around her. They had large, eager eyes and watched her expectantly.

With a graceful draw of her bow, she began to play the violin. And what a beautiful sound she produced! Soulful and bright and full of life, it reverberated off the subway walls with such grace, such a wonderful timbre that it evoked the performance of a Classic virtuoso. It captivated Morgana like the whispers of sweet nothings from a lover, lulled him into a state of lethargy. It music befitting of an Empress.

There were few women in Japan as powerful as Haru Okumura. At the tender age of seventeen, she inherited the Okumura Foods dynasty after the sudden death of her father Kunikazu Okumura. An international corporation that held an enormous share of the Japanese fast food market, Okumura Foods was infamous for its cheap food and even cheaper scandals. Fake earnings reports, humans rights violations, and unethically boosted revenue were only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the company's offenses. Her father, an ambitious tycoon with little regard for his employees well being, did an excellent job of covering these incidents up through his money and connections. One call to the right person and all the complaints vanished overnight.

However, Kunikazu was gone, and Haru did not share her father's ruthless appetite for success. She hardly even had an interest in the fast food industry. Her true passions laid in ventures that did not involve so much capital and corruption. Perhaps it was unfair for her to say, as she had lived her whole life in wealth, but she prescribed to the belief that excessive money warped the soul. So instead she dedicated herself to humbler undertakings, ones that involved helping the less fortunate. That included volunteering at soup kitchens, attending charity dinners, or even playing music in the subways for lonely orphans.

With a final draw of her string, Haru finished her piece. She gestured a flourish of her hand and bowed. "Thank you all for listening. You've truly been a wonderful audience," she said to the four children standing before her.

"Wow! That was incredible!" a girl standing by her side clapped, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You're amazing at the violin, oneesama!"

The boy next to her agreed with a series of rapid head bobs. "Yeah, that was seriously awesome Haru-sama! I've never heard anyone play as good as you!"

Haru smiled with beautiful candor. "Thank you Kagami-chan, Yasuo-kun. I'm glad you all enjoyed it. Truthfully I believe I'm adequate at best, but I deeply appreciate your compliments."

"Huh? Adequate?! What are you talking about!" Yasuo crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, "You always act so humble Haru-sama. You should be more confident! If I were as good as you at anything, I'd let the whole world know!"

"That's because the only thing you're good at is wetting your pants," an older boy taunted behind him. The others broke out in laughter.

Yasuo's ears burned red. Staring at the floor, he said, "Hey, that's not fair Hideo! That was only one time… and it wasn't even my fault!"

"Oh right. I guess someone else told you to drink three bottles of water before getting on the bus for the big field trip."

"It was only two and a half, and I didn't know the ride was gonna be that long!"

"Or apparently that your bladder was that small," Hideo snickered.

The sides of Haru's mouth slanted into a frown after listening to their back and forth. "That wasn't very nice of you to say, Hideo-kun," she said, her voice half schooling, half scolding. "You shouldn't pick on Yasuo like that."

Hideo — who was moments ago grinning like a Cheshire Cat — froze like a deer in headlights. "Ah… S-Sorry Haru-sama," he began, rubbing his right elbow with his opposite hand. "I was only teasing."

Haru shook her head. "Teasing or not, that was an unkind thing for you to say to Yasuo. And what did Mikami-sama tell you about saying unkind things?"

"If you have nothing nice to say, don't say nothing at all," Hideo recited as he were reading the phrase out of a self-help book.

"Very good. What should you say instead if you hurt someone's feelings?"

Eyes now planted on his knees, Hideo pivoted to face Yasuo. "Sorry Yasuo…" he said. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings…"

Yasuo, who appeared equally embarrassed by this turn of events, replied with a low hum, "That's okay, Hideo. I forgive you."

As Haru watched the two children reconcile, her demeanor softened. "Thank you, Hideo. That was very kind of you." She set her violin back in its case. "I don't mean to be so overbearing, but you should all be kind to one another. After all, you're good friends, aren't you?" The children inclined their heads in compliance. "Then you should all take care of each other."

"Oh! Oh! Does oneesama have good friends too?" the youngest girl in the group asked.

"Yes, Mizuki-chan. In fact, I have four friends very dear to me who are here right now," Haru beamed.

"No, besides us!" Mizuki said. "Do you have any friends besides us?"

"Yeah Haru-sama, who are they?" Kagami pressed. "Tell us! Tell us!"

"Well," Haru began with an excited whisper, leaning forward in her seat like a teacher telling her class a story. "If you'd really like to know, my other friends are actually very interesting people."

"How so?" Yasuo asked, sitting on the bench beside Haru. Kagami and Mizuki also sat down while Hideo stayed standing.

"One of them is a cat named Mona, the Outlaw," she said. "He's a noble swordsman with a heart of gold, who outmaneuvers all his foes with his incredible speed and wit. Known far and wide for his heroic exploits, he captures the hearts of all women who cross paths with him!"

"Huh? You're friends with a swordsman cat?" Kagami asked, tilting her head. "But that's impossible! Cats can't use swords…! Can they?"

"When love is your power and imagination is your guide, nothing is impossible."

The surety with which she spoke those words imbued the children with enthusiasm. "Wow! Who are your other friends, Haru-sama?" Yasuo asked as he jumped up and down in his seat. "Are they all swordsmen like Mona?"

"Let me see," Haru began, placing a finger on her cheek. "There's Skull, the Pirate Legend. He's a daring buccaneer who has conquered the seven seas and wrested countless treasures from ignoble kings! And then there's Panther, the Alluring Dancer, a woman with a voice so sweet and an appearance so captivating that all men fall to their knees at the very sight of her." The way she spoke about her friends with such childish splendor, it was hard to imagine that she was a student at Shujin Academy, let alone a third year.

"What does she look like?" Yasuo interjected. "Panther, I mean. Is she… is she really pretty?"

"Of course she's pretty, she's friends with Haru-sama!" shouted Kagami. "There's no way she'd hang out with ugly people!"

"Yes, she is quite beautiful," Haru said, her face gleaming with enthusiasm. "But even her looks are nothing compared to the drawings of my other friend Fox, the Gallant Rogue. A distinguished artist by day and a charming rogue by night, he steals from the rich and gives to the needy in the hopes of making the world a better place!"

"Woah!" Mizuki cheered. "That's so cool! I wanna be like Fox when I grow up, he sounds like a superhero!"

"I wanna be like Panther! I'll dance so well, all the guys at school will have to be my boyfriends!" Kagami said.

"Well I'm gonna be like Skull!" Yasuo said. "That way I can get all the treasure I want and buy myself a big palace!"

Haru watched their excitement with a mild smile. It was nice not having to act her age around them, she thought, not having to worry about them judging her like the callous old men on the board of directors at Okumura Foods did. As she looked to her side, she noticed that Hideo was not joining in on the revelry. The boy, who was typically extroverted and open, had his hands stuffed in his pockets. He seemed only peripherally aware of his surroundings, his attention focused on the floor beneath his feet. Studying his downtrodden gaze for a moment, she inquired, "What's wrong, Hideo? Are you feeling alright?"

Hideo's body and complexion abruptly shot up. "Yeah! Everything's fine!" he exclaimed, perhaps a little too eagerly. "Don't worry about me, Haru-sama. I'm just a little distracted." His eyes lowered when he finished speaking, as if he were looking inward and consulting with himself.

Haru cast him a knowing glance. "Are you sure?"

Hideo remained quiet for some time. "Well actually…" he began, his voice soft and conciliatory. "I was actually wondering about your other friends..."

"Yes?" Haru said, leaning forward towards the boy. "What about them?"

He rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his gaze up to her eyes. "Are any of them... closer than friends to you?"

Haru fluttered her lashes. "Oh, you mean like..." she said once she understood the implication of his question. She tugged the collar of her turtleneck and lowered her head, her sun hat obscuring her face. "Well… they are my dear companions," she said, the surety that was once prevalent in her tone now nowhere to be found. "I consider them — like all of you — my family, so in that way they're closer than friends to me." It was a cop-out response, but she hoped it would convince him. Deep in her heart though she knew the real answer to his question. Within that motley crew called the Phantom Thieves, there was one particular individual she was interested in, a gentleman thief of the highest caliber who had stolen her heart at first sight.

Hearing her response, Hideo's eyes fixed back on the floor. "Oh, okay," he said, the blush that started in his cheeks rising up his face until he was practically red with embarrassment. "I was just curious because…" He swatted the air. "Ah, nevermind. It's a stupid reason."

Observing his reaction, Mizuki put two and two together and cried, "Wait a sec, do you have a crush on oneesama?!"

"Haha! He totally does!" Kagami teased. "Just look at how red his face is getting!"

His complexion had betrayed him. "N-no!" Hideo stuttered as he threw his hands down to his sides. "It's not like that at all! I'm just… I'm just looking out for Haru-sama! There's a lot of scummy guys out there, and one of them is probably just trying to date her to take all her money!"

"That sounds like you, Hideo," Kagami snickered.

"No way! I would never treat Haru-sama like that! She's way too precious to me to do something like that! I would rather…!" His eyes suddenly widened with the realization of what he said.

"He said it!" squealed Yasuo. "Hideo likes Haru-sama! Hideo likes Haru-sama!"

"I wonder if oneesama likes Hideo back?" wondered Mizuki.

Kagami released a boisterous laugh and sang, "Hehehe! I knew you had a crush on Haru-sama! Hideo and Haru sitting in a tree: K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Shut up Kagami! That's not funny!"

As the children began bickering with one another, Haru saw a figure with a slew of grocery bags hanging off her arms hurrying toward them. She blinked with realization as it drew closer. "Oh, that must be Mikami-sama."

Karin Mikami was in her mid-twenties, though the dark bags beneath her eyes aged her at least another ten years. As the children's caretaker, she was always busy making sure they were properly fed, clothed, and handled. It would have been much easier with a few other helping hands, but the Watanabe Orphanage where she worked was small and lacked any kind of funding. For the most part, care of the orphans was a one woman job, and to Mikami's chagrin, that woman happened to be her.

There was a slight waddle in her step as she tried to keep her balance with all the bags on her arms. Cheeks puffed out and expression strained with concentration, she slowly made her way to Haru and the children. Seeing the difficulty she had with holding up those groceries, Haru stood up and helped her by taking several off her hands. With a loud huff, Mikami set down the remaining bags and fell backwards into the bench. "God, I can't believe the nearest grocery store was two kilometers away," she croaked, practically melting in her seat. "My arms are on fire…"

Haru extended an apologetic gaze. "I apologize for not being able to help more. If I knew how much trouble it would be, I would have offered to come with you to the grocery store."

Mikami dismissed the notion with a glib wave of the hand. "Don't even think about it. You've already done more than enough by offering to look after the kids while I went shopping." Staring down at the rambunctious youngsters as they bickered with one another, she asked, "They didn't cause too much trouble for you, yeah?"

"Oh no, not at all," Haru said. "They were absolute angels."

Mikami snorted sharply. "You'll have to forgive me if I doubt that…" Rolling her shoulders until they cracked, she sat up in her seat and called out to the children, "Alright kids, time to say goodbye to Haru. We gotta get home so I can cook you all dinner."

Their attentions turned to the older woman. "What! But we were just starting to have fun!" Mizuki whined. "Please, can we stay just a little longer with Haru-sama?"

"Haru's got other things to do today. We shouldn't bother her any longer," Mikami said. "And besides, you got me! We can all have a ton of fun together when we get home!"

"But Mikami-san is boring," Mizuki complained. "Haru-sama is much more fun!"

Yasuo agreed, "Yeah! I wish you took care of us instead of Mikami, Haru-sama! She's so mean and stingy, she always makes us eat gross vegetables and hardly ever lets us go out into the city!"

"Plus she's super old!" added Kagami. "I once heard in a movie that anyone with lines around their eyes is really old, and Mikami-san has a ton of them!" She tugged on the sides of her eyes to imitate the appearance of crow's feet.

Mikami's veins practically popped out of her forehead. "You ungrateful little brats…"

"Oh my," Haru said, looking over the children. "That isn't very fair to Mikami-sama. She does so much for you, like cook, and clean, and take care of you."

"But you're the only one who actually spends time with us at the orphanage!" Kagami said. "All Mikami-san does is yell and tell us to go to bed, you're way better than her!"

"And you're much prettier than her too," Yasuo said. "Even Hideo thinks so, and he's the oldest so he has to be right!"

Hideo, who had remained uninvolved so far, suddenly jolted with surprise. "Hey! Don't drag me into this!" he exclaimed. "You're the ones who made the hag angry, this isn't my problem!"

There were only so many times she could be called old and ugly before her patience ran out. "Alright, that's it!" Mikami shouted in a stern tone. "Let's go, up and at 'em, up and at 'em! Get off your butts and form a line, we're headed home!" She repeatedly lifted her hands as if she were clearing away a pile of debris with the force of her movement alone.

Seeing the angered state that Mikami was in, the children stopped their clamoring. They formed a single file line from shortest to tallest and waited for further orders before even thinking about moving a single muscle.

Mikami turned to face Haru, her lips forming a weary smile. "Hey Haru, thanks again for looking after the kids," she said, running a hand through her short, black hair. "It really made grocery shopping a lot easier for me. Let me grab you dinner some time. It'll be my treat."

"It's really no problem at all, Mikami-sama," Haru replied. "I wasn't able to make my weekly visit to Watanabe last weekend, so I was more than happy to offer to help today."

"Well, you're a real lifesaver, just remember that." With a thumbs up, Mikami concluded, "Anyway, take care, Haru," and made her way for the Central Street exit, her gaggle of children following like ducklings behind her.

"Bye Haru-sama!" Yasuo waved. "Take care!"

"Come visit soon, Haru-sama!" said Mizumi.

"Yeah, we can't wait to see you again! Especially not Hideo!" said Kagami.

"Sh-shut up Kagami!"

Haru's lips spread into a gentle smile as she watched Mikami and her orphans disappear up Central Street. Sitting back down on the bench, she sighed and closed her eyes. The hardship those poor children suffered was immense. She was sympathetic to their plight — she too knew what it was like to be abandoned by one's parents — but unlike her, they were so young, so little. She hoped the small deeds she performed were enough to lift their moods, even if only for a moment.

As Haru pondered the impact of her actions, she was wholly unaware of the presence of her companion on the other side of the tracks. "Come on, Haru!" Morgana shouted, pacing in frustration. All attempts he had made to get her attention had been in vain. "Just look across the tracks! I'm right here! I'm right…!"

Suddenly Morgana caught sight of someone walking out of the restroom. Brown hair, a black halter vest, and a pleated plaid skirt. It was Makoto! "Oh thank goodness! I found her!" Raising his head high, he turned his attention to his other companion and called out, "Makoto! Hey Makoto! Hey! I'm over here! Can you hear…?"

Yet before he could finish calling out to her, another figure appeared in the side of his vision, this one blonde and beautiful. It approached Haru, then hugged her, then sat down on the bench beside her and began talking. It took only a second for Morgana to recognize it as the light of his life, the fire of his soul: the one and only Ann Takamaki.

Morgana's heart swooned at the very sight of Ann Takamaki. Everything about her was a treasure to behold, her personality, her figure, her smile. If only she knew just how much he cared for her. His love for her was like a great fire that could not be contained, like a powerful flood that could not be stopped. As soon as she appeared, the rest of the world blurred, and his thoughts turned to her alone…

Or at least most of them did. Before Morgana could make his way across the tracks to be with his Lady Ann, he spotted a man in a tan peacoat slip out of an alley. Morgana immediately knew it could have only been one person: Goro Akechi. "What's he doing here?" he thought, watching the detective follow the same trajectory as Makoto. He looked intently at him, then at Makoto, then at Ann, then at Haru. With the sheer number of people he recognized suddenly coming into view, he was indecisive of which one he should focus on. But while Haru and Ann seemed to be chatting by the bench, Makoto and Akira looked like they were leaving up Central Street. He felt his vision being wrenched from side to side like a bone between a pack of hungry dogs.

Torn between joining with following after Makoto and Akechi… or staying with Haru and Lady Ann.

Morgana whined in frustration. "I'd better get a whole plate of sushi for this." With a hesitant peer over his shoulder at the woman of his dreams, he shook his head and looked towards Makoto. He had to go after her and protect her from Akechi. It was the choice a a gentleman thief would have made, he thought, and that was the kind of gentleman he had to be to capture his Lady's heart.

With that, he sprinted up the steps to Central Street and stole away into the fading late-afternoon orange light.

October 30, 6:20pm
Cafe Leblanc

Akira was motionless. Covering his mouth with his fist, he asked, "What happened next?"

"I went after them of course!" Morgana said. "I followed them all the way back to Makoto's apartment to see what was going on."

"And that's where you saw Akechi?"

Morgana's little button nose twitched. "Er... Well not exactly..."

Akira quirked a brow. "What does that mean?"

"Well… you know how I said he was at Niijima-san's apartment? I might have been… speculating a little," Morgana said, observing Akira's reaction with an anxious, gauging laugh.

Akira's eyes flattened. "So you didn't see him."

"Th-that's not entirely true!" he stammered. "I saw him exiting the subway behind Makoto!"

"But you didn't see where he went after."

"... No, I didn't." Searching for a way to save face, he continued, "But I'm sure he went to Makoto's apartment! I just know it! The way he was tailing her just out of view... He was definitely up to something sneaky!"

Akira pinched his chin in his hand. It was an odd coincidence that Akechi appeared at the Shibuya station at the same time as Makoto. And it was an even odder coincidence that he exited to Central Street right after she did. But that was all Morgana's conjecture amounted to: coincidence, not proof. Without concrete evidence, Akira couldn't establish Akechi's motive. He was still in the dark about where his allegiance lied. With a slow exhale out his nostrils, he hummed, "I'll talk to Futaba tomorrow and see if anything came up in his phone conversations. Other than that, there's nothing we could do."

Morgana's expression deflated. "I figured as much. If Akechi is planning to betray us, we can't let him know that we're onto him. But it's still lousy that he can just get away with everything he does in the meantime. What if he wiretapped Makoto's apartment? Isn't there anything we can do about it?"

"Sometimes the best choice is to do nothing at all."

"I guess you're right," Morgana said. "It's really hard to turn a blind eye, but if it's for the good of our plan, I guess we have to."

"I'm sorry it has to be like this," Akira replied. "I know it's hard, but we have to stick to the plan." Recollecting his thoughts, he asked, "By the by, you never told me how you ended up back at Leblanc. What happened after you followed Makoto back to her apartment?"

"The front door to the complex was locked, so I had to find another way in," Morgana said. "I think I arrived about forty-five minutes after she did. When I finally got there, I scratched like crazy on the door to get her attention." He shook his head with dismay. "Unfortunately, I got her older sister's attention instead."

"And she decided to bring you back to Leblanc."

"Right. She recognized me immediately and decided to bring me back in person. I tried my best to get away, but she's got a strong grip!"

It was more likely that he was infatuated by her devilish good looks. "You arrived at Leblanc before she did though."

"That's because I managed to slip out of her grasp while she was answering her phone," Morgana said. "I ran here as quickly as I could to warn you that she was coming. I was going to tell you to hide and pretend like you weren't here." He huffed in disatisfaction. "Little good that did. She ended up seeing you anyway, and what's worse, she actually wants to stick around and drink coffee!"

That was troublesome, Akira thought. Sae Niijima was head of the task force meant to capture the Phantom Thieves, who had been wrongly accused of causing the psychotic breakdowns that plagued Japan of late. Stealing her heart would give them a substantial amount of time to find the true perpetrator of these crimes. Unfortunately, her filial relation to Makoto Niijima, one of their teammates, made infiltrating her Palace a difficult matter. Any kind of negative interaction they had with Sae in the real world would make her cognitive Palace raise its defenses, thus making stealing her heart more difficult...

… But what if they had positive interactions with Sae? Playing with the concept in his head, Akira asked, "Morgana, a person's Palace is their distorted cognitive desires materialized in the Metaverse, correct?"

"Right," Morgana said, and swished his tail. "Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking," Akira began. "When you and Ann opened that door in Madarame's house in the real world, Ryuji and I were able to access a part of his Palace that was previously blocked off in the Metaverse. That happened because Madarame's cognition realized the room he had locked in the real world was not impenetrable as he perceived."

"Mhm," Morgana said. "That barrier we ran into in the Metaverse was linked to the locked room in Madarame's house. By opening that room, we were able to take out the barrier."

"And with Kaneshiro, after he blackmailed us, we were able to reach his Palace in the Metaverse because, in his mind, we became customers and his bank automatically allowed us in."

"Yup, right again."

"We've seen that having negative interactions with an individual in the real world changes their Palace's defenses in the Metaverse. When their guards are up in the real world, they have more Shadows patrolling their Palace. They become more violent towards individuals they perceive as threats." Akira paused for a second to recollect his thoughts. "But what about positive interactions? What if we were to interact positively with an individual with a palace? Could their Palaces accept us, like Kaneshiro's, and allow us to reach areas that were otherwise unaccessible like Madarame's? Or could we even just stroll in through the front doors and sneak our way into the upper levels of the Palace if they didn't perceive us as a threat?"

Morgana hummed lowly, his face wrinkling with thought. "It's not a bad idea," he said. "We know that a person's Palace's reacts to actions performed in the real world, like with the calling cards. But I never thought about interacting positively with an individual to infiltrate their Palace easier. It might work, but I can't be sure."

"In that case, I might as well test out this theory on Niijima-san."

Morgana gaped at Akira in disbelief. "Wait, what?! You're gonna test something like that out on Niijima-san when you don't even know if it'll work?!"

"It could save us a huge amount of time and trouble," Akira reasoned.

"But what if you're wrong! What if getting closer with Niijima-san backfires and makes infiltrating her Palace that much harder! We should talk to the rest of the group before making such a big decision."

In retrospect, Morgana was probably right. It was a gamble, and considering how dire the situation was, taking a risk like that without consulting the rest of the Phantom Thieves would only put their mission in more jeopardy. Looking at the time on the wall, Akira said, "I guess I should be heading down then."

"Try your best not to make Niijima-san angry," Morgana said. "Or happy. Or any emotion at all, really. In fact, limit your interactions with her as much as possible. Just serve her coffee and let her go. The less we have to deal with her, the better."

He nodded. With a final pat on Morgana's head, he headed downstairs.

"Good luck, Joker!" Morgana called out from the comfort of the bed. "I'll be with you in spirit!"

He mentally sighed. Seeing how Ryuji drugged him with those love pills, he was going to need all the luck he could get.

When Akira reached the bottom of the staircase, he noticed Sae sitting in the same position by the bar, legs crossed, eyes scouring the news. It was only after he walked behind the counter that she raised her eyes over her newspaper and looked at him. "You were up there with your cat for quite some time," she said. "What were you two talking about?" Her lips spread into the ghost of a grin as she laid down the newspaper.

"If only she knew how right she was." As Akira walked behind the counter, he glossed over Sae's features, the bow of her pouty lips, the gleam of her amber hues. He felt his attention being absorbed by that captivating gaze, like the world was tunnel visioning around it. He knew she was the enemy, that he shouldn't be attracted to her... But why did the enemy have to be so damn sexy?

"Damn Ryuji and his inability to read labels," Akira mentally cursed. He diverted his sights back to the counter and played Morgana's words over in his head. "Remember Akira: limit your interactions with her as much as possible. Just serve her coffee and let her go." Without looking up at Sae again — even though he very much wanted to — he put on an apron, grabbed a bag of Leblanc's house blend coffee, and started brewing in silence.

Sae didn't notice Akira ogling her. She mistook his eye contact as cursory, superficial. But she did recognize his lack of response to her question. Not like that would stop her from striking up a conversation anyway. "He's a beautiful cat. You're lucky to have him."

He measured a half cup of roasted coffee beans and put them in a bowl.

"I had one too when I was in middle school, but my father didn't let me keep it."

He brought out a frying pan.

"It was a stray, I found it as I passed by an alley on my way home."

He went to the kitchen and turned on the gas stove.

"I figured if it was no one else's I could take it."

He put the pan on the stove and waited for it to heat up.

"When my father came home that day he was furious."

He put water in the pan.

"He told me how foolish I was to bring a stray home."

He put the beans in the pan with the water.

"He told me it was diseased, I told him he was heartless."

He began to stir the beans.

"I told him if he wanted to get rid of my cat, he would have to do it himself."

He turned up the heat on the stove.

"We argued back and forth into the night."

He watched as the beans turned yellow.

"Eventually my mother intervened and calmed us both down."

He watched as the beans turned golden brown.

"She told my father to bring my cat to a shelter."

He watched as the beans turned dark brown.

"He agreed and promised he would in the morning."

He turned off the stove.

"The next day I passed by the same alley on my way home."

He took the pan off the stove.

"My cat was there in that alley, just like the day before."

He poured the beans in a colander.

"My father didn't take it to a shelter, he just put it back on the streets."

He stirred the beans until their chaffes fell off leaving only coffee in the colander.

"I confronted my father when he got home, and I asked him how he could do such a thing."

He poured the coffee in a cup and put the cup in front of Sae.

"He told me it was because that cat didn't belong. It didn't matter where he put it, a shelter, a house, the streets. It would simply never belong."

Sae grasped the handle of the porcelain cup and brought it to her mouth. She felt the lines of heat radiating off its black surface, brushing against her full lips. Delicately she sipped from it, breathed in its earthy aroma, tasted its mild flavor, noted its lack of bitterness. It was far better than she expected. She looked up at Akira. The boy's mouth seemed twisted, as if he were restraining himself from speaking his mind. She had but to lift a brow to coax a response.

"Why did you tell me all that?" Akira asked. "I never asked you in the first place."

Sae stared at Akira's expression. It was staunch and indignant and full of spite. She should have expected this kind of reaction. To him she was the woman who always came by to bully Sojiro into talking. Of course he hated her. Yet in that same expression she could also sense a semblance of interest, an urge to understand her motives. She would gladly satisfy it.

"Because I thought you of all people would know what it's like to be abandoned, Akira Kurusu."

Akira's eyes widened, then tore away from hers. "What do you mean?" he asked, feeling as if he already knew the answer to his question.

She leaned forward, yellow eyes glinting. Her face was predatory but her voice was gentle. "I know about your criminal record."

Akira froze up and stayed silent, perhaps because he was speechless, perhaps because he wanted to hear what else she had to say.

"You assaulted a man as you were walking home one night," Sae said. "A woman who was with him testified that you did so, and two police officers who were in the neighborhood arrested you on the scene. You were found guilty on the spot without ever going to court." Sae's lips cambered into a shadowy grin, almost as if she enjoyed seeing the look of uncomfort that slowly unfurled over his face. "How am I doing?"

Pretty well, Akira thought but didn't vocalize. Except for the part where it was all a lie.

"If this were any other person, I would have left it as is. It's an open and shut case after all, the violent outburst of an adolescent delinquent." A slight pause as Sae took another sip of her coffee. "But I gave you the benefit of the doubt and decided to dig deeper."

Akira stared at her stunned. She believed in his innocence? "Why?" was all he could muster.

"Because you're friends with Makoto, and I knew if she trusted you, I could too."

He was shocked by her honesty.

"It turned out my instincts were correct," Sae said. "As I looked more into your background, I realized you never had a history of violence. You didn't even have a single infraction to your name. Up until that moment you were an upstanding Japanese citizen with a bright future. So why did you throw it all away?"

"The next step was inferring your motive. What made you attack that man? It wasn't substance induced aggression, all the drug screens came up negative. It also wasn't malicious intent, because neither the woman or man knew who you were before the incident. The only logical conclusion I could draw was that something triggered you to assault him. But as I said earlier, you didn't have a history of violence. So what could have prompted it?"

"That's when I looked into the woman who testified against you. Otome Hanasaki, age thirty-two, unmarried, an accountant at Takayama Mutual. She had four charges filed against her for the embezzlement of corporate funds, but all of them were dropped. It seemed someone higher up had ordered a cease and desist. I tried to figure out who it was that gave the order, but the trail ended there."

"What was curious about this however was how the charges were all brought up and then dropped within several months of one another. This either meant multiple high government officials had a stake in Takayama Mutual — which is rather unlikely considering how small the firm is — or one individual was covering for her repeatedly. If the latter were the case, that would mean Otome knew this man intimately."

"Then I thought back to the man who you assaulted. He wasn't given a name, an age, an identity, nothing. There was absolutely no information on him in the entire report. That kind of anonymity isn't given in assault cases where an assailant like you has no previous history of violence. It only happens when the individual who was assaulted cannot be revealed for the sake of their own safety, or when he or she is so high up that they erase their involvement in the incident entirely. Seeing as it was highly unlikely to be the former, I concluded the latter might have been the case."

"Once I made that assumption, I took all the evidence I had gathered and observed it under a lens. First, Otome Hanasaki's guardian angel, the person who pulled the charges for her cases, was anonymous in her report. Second, the man who you assaulted was also given complete anonymity. Third, Otome was the only person on the scene who could testify to your guilt. Fourth, you had no history of violence or previous infractions. And fifth, there was no recognizable motive for you other than a spur of the moment reaction."

"Normally if only two or three of these points partially line up, it can be dismissed as coincidence. But having all five points line up as well as they do, and taking into account my assumptions that the man in your case was a high ranking individual who erased their involvement in the case and that Otome Hanasaki knew her guardian angel personally — there's only one logical conclusion you could draw from all this."

"You didn't mindlessly assault the man like it says you did in the report. There might have been something he was doing that you didn't agree with, and you saw that and tried to stop it. Maybe you got in a tussle with him, or maybe you just accidentally knocked him over. Whatever happened, you angered him in some way, shape, or form through your actions."

"Furthermore, I concluded that the mark on your criminal record was far too significant for a simple case of petty assault, so the man you assaulted must have been a high ranking individual. And if we assume Otome had one high ranking benefactor who was constantly bailing her out of those embezzlement charges, a benefactor she personally knew, we can assume that the anonymous man in your case was also the anonymous individual in Otome's cases. Because this man and Otome were so well acquainted, he either told her to testify against you, or she did so out of her own volition because she was afraid that if the man were brought in for questioning, the details surrounding her embezzlement cases might also come to light."

"So instead she told the officers you assaulted the man, he walked away without having to be questioned, and the case was settled without ever needing to go to court. No one's dirty laundry was aired out, and all parties lived happily ever after. That is, except for you. You were abandoned."

Sae laid all of this out to Akira between intermittent sips of coffee. Her words were carefully chosen, and her eye contact was held strictly on his face. It was like she was in a courtroom giving a debriefing to the jury.

Akira had been rendered speechless by the end of it. Her detective work was flawless. Every assumption she made was logical, every conclusion correct. She knew the nuances of the case better than he did, and he was the one who actually experienced it. He could understand why she was considered one of Japan's top prosecutors. Drunk with listener fatigue, he leaned into the counter and uttered a single word of response. "Wow."

A bitter smirk played across Sae's countenance. "It isn't fair, is it? Being labeled by others when they don't know the truth?"

He couldn't have agreed with her more. And that was exactly what made this conversation so odd. Wasn't she the Phantom Thieves' enemy? Didn't they have to infiltrate her Palace? Why was it that she seemed so put together compared to their other targets? She wasn't an unhinged sociopath like Kamoshida, or a pathological liar like Madarame, or an underground crime lord like Kaneshiro. She was a prosecutor, and a damn good one at that. An intelligent, determined, beautiful, gorgeous prosecutor...

"Dammit, Ryuji." Akira gradually returned to thoughts of Sae that were less carnal in nature, like why she was trying to connect with him. Did he have something she wanted? Or was he a piece to some plan she concocted? He knew that since she had a Palace, she had distorted desires too. Could it be possible that she was wearing a mask for him and hiding her true intentions? Or could he be mistaken in believing that all Palace owners' desires were inherently twisted and malignant? There was so much to the Metaverse he still didn't understand after all.

Maybe Sae was an exception.

"You're right," Akira replied. "It isn't."

"And even if you do tell them the truth, they don't believe it," Sae said.

"That or they don't want to hear it," he said.

"Of course not. It's easier to hate a bogeyman than it is to empathize with a normal person like you or me who just made a simple mistake."

The heaviness that formed in Akira's chest felt like a millstone. "There's a saying my parents told me as a child, good things happen to good people. I want to believe it's true. But when you see all the terrible things that happen to good people every day, it's hard."

Sae rested her chin on her palm and her elbow on the bar top. "It doesn't matter how good or bad you are. It's always the people in power who get what they want. The rest of us are there to pick up the scraps they leave behind."

"I wish it didn't have to be that way," Akira said.

"Unfortunately that's the cycle of life," Sae said. "The strong consume the weak, and the weak do nothing but suffer."

"Is that why you became a prosecutor?" Akira asked. "To break the cycle?"

Sae sneered. "I became a prosecutor because it paid well and I had to support my family."

"That's all?"

"Mhm. If you're looking for a story about a young, beady eyed girl with a misaligned sense of justice who vowed to change the justice system, you're going to be disappointed." She finished her coffee and set down the cup, her eyes passing over its porcelain features. "Maybe there was a time I lied to myself and said that was the case, but I know better now. The system is broken."

He sensed a longstanding resentment in her voice. "Isn't there anything you can do to fix it?"

"If it were something that could be fixed, it would have been a long time ago," Sae said. "The corruption in the government — the House of Councilors, the judicial system, the House of Representative — it's spread too deep. Nothing I do will even make a dent in it."

"Have you tried?"

Sae thinned her gaze. "Have you tried swallowing the ocean?" Akira shook his head. "Of course not, because it's impossible. Likewise, you can't just root out corruption in the government by trying hard. These aren't petty criminals you're convicting, these are powerful, high ranking officials, the elites of society. You need to build a solid case against them, gather evidence, find witnesses who aren't scared to death of testifying. That alone takes years. By the time you're ready to go to court, the corruption you tried to stop has already spread, and you're left putting out fires on houses that've already burned down."

"Sure you might be able to prove someone's guilt, have them lose face. You might even get them removed from the Diet. But more often than not, they're just a scapegoat for someone higher up. The cycle of corruption will continue, and all that work you put in will be for nothing. Absolutely nothing." For the briefest of moments, she shed her exterior of invulnerability and sighed. A deep, heart wrenching, soul crushing sigh. "Like I said, it's impossible."

Akira's eyes dipped sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how hard it was."

"No one does," Sae said, focusing on the legs of her chair. "That's why everyone thinks prosecutors are corrupt, complacent, useless at our jobs. Because we can't put these untouchables away."

"But it's not your fault," Akira said. "It's the system that's corrupt, not you."

"Right. But you said it yourself Akira, people don't care about the truth. They don't want to hear it. They just give you a label and move on, because it's easier that way." She lifted her gaze and looked straight into his eyes. "You know better than anyone else how that feels."

The hairs on the back of Akira's neck stood on end. It was eerie how much of Sae he saw in himself. She was another outcast, vilified and abandoned, thrust into a world that did not want her, conferred responsibilities she did not ask for. But whereas he had friends to support him, to pull him up whenever he fell, Sae did not.

She was utterly alone.

Akira studied that empty look on her face, the one that spoke to years of solitude, and pain, and misunderstanding. And then, for the first time that night, he didn't see Sae Niijima as the enemy whose distorted desires the Phantom Thieves had to fix. He saw her as a woman. His gaze softened, and his lips broke into a smile. "I hope one day people realize how much they misjudged you, Sae."

Sae blinked. She had not expected that response from him. Seeing a warmth of his complexion, her lips unconsciously pulled into a small smile of their own. "Thank you. I hope the same goes for you."

Akira took off his apron. He rounded the other side of the counter and sat in the chair next to Sae. At this proximity he could smell her perfume, citrusy and sweet, yet not to the point of cloying. He was drawn to it like he was drawn to her, in a curious, apprehensive sort of way. "How was the coffee?"

Sae looked down at the empty cup, then back up at Akira. "I drank it all, didn't I?"

"You could have just been being polite."

"I could have." She smirked. "No, but if it were bad, you would know."

"How so?"

"I would have slapped a subpoena on the receipt."

Akira almost laughed out loud. "You wouldn't."

A playful glimmer shined in Sae's eye. "I've sued for less."

"And I've made my fair share of prison breaks," Akira countered with a sly smile.

"When exactly?" Sae asked, entertaining the thought. "Between the museum pilferages and the bank heists?"

"Don't forget the castle plundering."

"Of course, I forgot I was dealing with a master thief. I suppose you know how to pick locks as well?"

"What kind of master thief doesn't?"

"Then I suppose when I take you in, I'll have to cuff you myself and throw away the key." Sae pushed the hair out of her eyes and offered him a coquettish grin.

Akira's face tingled with excitement. Maybe it was just the drugs, but he could have sworn she was flirting with him. He swallowed inaudibly and traced the contours of those plush, curved lips, fighting the onset of a blush.

"In actuality, it was very good coffee," Sae said, returning to his question. "Sojiro should be proud for hiring such a competent barista."

"Being hired would imply that I was being paid, "Akira said.

"Ah, so you're an 'unpaid intern,'" Sae said. "That's Sojiro for you, a heart of gold underneath a mountain of frugality. Does he at least let you drink coffee for free?"

"Only once I've finished a shift."

Sae chuckled. "At least he's gotten better about that. Before he didn't let his workers have any."

"Before?" Akira asked.

"Two years ago, when he first opened Leblanc," Sae said. "He had about as many customers then as he does now."

"I didn't know you came to Leblanc," Akira said.

"I don't now. But back then I did, usually on weekday nights after work. It was always quiet, but that's what I liked about it. I could sit by the bar, finish a few crosswords, and enjoy the house blend without any disturbances." Sae stared into the bottom of her cup, gazing at those elusive, nostalgic moments. "As I started getting promoted at work, I had less time to visit. Eventually I stopped coming altogether." Her brows knitted and she shook her head with disappointment. "It was especially a shame because of how close I used to be with Sojiro."

Akira's face opened with surprise. "You used to be close with Sojiro?"

Sae nodded. "I've known him since I was a child, back when he was still a House representative in the Diet. My father was friends with him and invited him over every other week for dinner. He always brought curry. It wasn't as good as it now, but I think he was still perfecting it."

It was curious to imagine Sojiro when he was younger. "What was he like back then?" Akira asked, leaning into the counter on his forearms.

"About the same as he is now. Stubborn, sometimes harsh. But he had a soft spot for children. He'd always bring a gift for me whenever came by. Sometimes it was chocolate, sometimes it was a toy. It always made me smile." She paused for a moment to cherish the memory.

"He was much more of a Casanova, though," Sae said. "I remember whenever my family went to visit his house, there'd be a different woman inside each time. I didn't understand as a child, I just thought he had a lot of sisters."

"So he wasn't lying about being a ladies man." Akira grinned and ran a hand through his black hair. "I can't believe you knew him as a child."

"It's a small world," Sae smiled. Her face suddenly dropped, as if she'd just come to the truth of a matter. "But as I mentioned, we've grown apart. It's my fault it happened. After my father passed away, I stopped visiting Sojiro at his home. I'd come by Leblanc, but it wasn't the same. The conversations we had always felt stilted and forced. We never talked about my father. And then when I stopped coming to Leblanc, we stopped having conversations altogether. There were no farewells or goodbyes or see you laters. We just didn't talk anymore."

A solemn silence fell over the cafe. Akira looked over at Sae, whose gaze was set upon the empty space before her. He chose not to say anything, it wasn't his place to. He allowed her time to reflect by herself until she was ready to speak again.

"Akira," Sae said after about a minute of quiet. "I know you don't enjoy my being here or anything about me, but I have a request to ask of you."

Perhaps before today Sae's words would have been true, but after seeing this gentler side of her, Akira's heart had unhardened. "What is it?"

She looked over at him, her brows tight, her eyes compassionate. "Please look after Makoto for me."

His brows immediately furrowed. "What?"

"You didn't deserve having your future ruined by that case on your criminal record," Sae said. "You're a good person, I can tell. So can Makoto. That's why she talks about you so often, why she looks up to you. She says you've been a good influence on her life, and I can see it in her eyes that it's true. But Makoto's had a hard life, and not many good influences." Her chest tightened and she felt her breath stifle for a moment in her throat. "That's why I'm asking you to look after her, as a friend. I know after everything I've done to Sojiro, I have no right to ask this of you. But Makoto is my little sister, and I love her more than anything in the world."

Akira was humbled by Sae's appeal. "I… look… of course," he said, unable to properly form the words to describe how he felt. "Makoto's one of my best friends. Of course I'll look after her."

A great weight lifted from Sae's countenance. "Thank you," she said. "I appreciate it more than you'll ever know."

Akira nodded to showed he understood. Still, he had one lingering question. "What did you mean earlier? When you said Makoto didn't have many good influences?"

Sae felt the lump in her throat return. "The only other person Makoto has ever looked up to was our father," she began. "But he wasn't always the man she remembered. He was a very different person before our mother passed away. He was harsh, strict, jaded." She inhaled softly through her nostrils. "Makoto was too young to remember that side of him, and I never bring it up when I'm around her. She doesn't need to know that it took our mother dying for him to realize he wasn't a good man. "

It was appalling for Akira to hear that. The way Makoto spoke about her father, the reverence she held in her tone whenever he came up in a conversation, Akira assumed he was a paragon of virtue. Yet to hear from Sae that there was a darker side to him, one that even Makoto wasn't aware of…

As Akira ruminated on what she had told him, Sae turned back towards the counter. A beep emitted from her handbag. It was her phone. Taking out the device, she saw that she had a new text. She put in her password, swiped, and read the contents of the message.

Her face immediately grew pale. She stared at the text for a long time, her face filled with horror but not disbelief. Then she looked up at Akira. She held her gaze on him for several seconds, as if she were analyzing him. Then she looked back at the text. After a few more seconds, she wordlessly put the phone back in her bag and straightened in her seat.

"Akira, how familiar are you with the Phantom Thieves?"

Akira blinked his eyes back into focus. "Huh?" was his only response, half-confused, half-concerned. Where was this question coming from?

"How well do you know them?" Sae asked again.

Her face was different than before. It was sharper, stricter. Akira could tell something was on her mind. "As well as anyone else. I hear about them on time on television talk shows."

"So how familiar are you with them?"

His brows grooved. "Like I said, I've heard about them on television talk…"

"Akira," Sae repeated one final time, her eyes locked solely on his. All traces of the upbeat smile that once colored her complexion had vanished. A hollow stare took its place, and it bore a hole through Akira's visage. She asked her question again, and his face fell with terrible understanding as she intonated each word of it with meticulous, dreadful care.

"How familiar are you with the Phantom Thieves?"

October 30, 6:30pm
Big Bang Burger

The outlandish names of the menu items, the larger-than-life portion sizes, the marquee-esque store sign that flashed a cache of yellow and orange lights with such constancy one would have thought they didn't have an off switch — everything about Big Bang Burger was subtle as a punch to the gut. Adults hardly ever ate here. They considered the heavy stench of grease and the childish outer space theme too uncouth for their tastes. That was probably what made it the perfect place for loud, unruly teenagers like Ryuji.

Sliding into one of the empty booths, Ryuji wore a large, ear-to-ear grin across his visage. "Man, I can't wait to dig into one of these burgers!" he exclaimed, rubbing his hands together like a miser. Casting Yusuke a glance from across the table, he grinned, "Yo, thanks for taggin' along with me. I really appreciate it dude."

Yusuke nodded with a grandeur unbefitting of his surroundings. "No need to extend such gratitudes, Sakamoto-san. I too was interested in coming to Big Bang Burger." He wiped away several spatterings of leftover crumbs on the table with his napkin and crossed his right leg over his left. "I had heard this restaurant served a burger the size of a moon. For the sake of expanding my horizons, I decided I had to see it for myself."

"Oh yeah, that's the Moon Burger you're talkin' about," Ryuji said. "I think it's a challenge they have here."

Yusuke tweaked a brow. "Challenge?"

"You know, like an eating challenge," Ryuji explained. "For five-hundred yen they cook you up a massive burger! And if you can finish it in under thirty minutes, you get the chance to eat an even bigger burger the next time you take the challenge!"

"So for finishing the meal you purchased," Yusuke restated, "Your reward is the opportunity to purchase another meal?"

"Yeah! Isn't it totally sweet?"

He held his chin in deep thought. "How curious."

A shapely girl with long red hair and a white apron stopped by their table. Setting a menu in front of each of them, she introduced, "Welcome to Big Bang Burger! My name is Keiko, I'll be your waitress for tonight. Can I get you two anything to drink besides water? Soda? Iced tea?"

Ryuji looked up at the girl and grinned. "I'll take a Mad Bull."

"Water is fine for me," Yusuke said.

"Okay! One Mad Bull for you, and one water for you! Be right back!" She wrote their orders down on her notepad and, with a polite bow, excused herself from their presence.

As she walked away, Ryuji leaned out of the booth to ogle her. "Dammmmn," he whistled once she had disappeared from sight. "That Keiko girl sure is a dime. If she looks that smokin' in a Big Bang Burger uniform, just imagine what she looks like in regular clothes. She's definitely model material."

Yusuke agreed. "She is rather appealing to the eyes."

Ryuji's gaze thinned over his friend. "Seriously? 'Appealing to the eyes'?" he deadpanned. "What kinda artsy fartsy jargon is that?"

"It is the way I would describe how her appearance makes me feel," Yusuke said.

"You ever think of calling a girl hot? Or sexy? Or any term that doesn't also describe a painting?"

"I have never had to use such language to describe my feelings for a woman."

"Huh?" Ryuji sat forward. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I have never thought of a girl as attractive in that way."

He could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Wait, so you're saying you've never been like… attracted to a girl? At all? Not even once?"

"I cannot say I have," Yusuke admitted. "The closest I have been to being attracted to a woman is Takamaki-san, who I find very visually pleasing. Yet that is merely aesthetic attraction, I have never harbored any feelings for her on a physical level. I pursued her before only because I found her figure and complexion appropriate for my upcoming composition, nothing more, nothing less."

Ryuji stared at Yusuke with intense surprise, as if he had just revealed a dark secret to him. His face was a mixture of the shock one felt after receiving a call from the hospital notifying that a family member had passed away and the confusion of receiving yet another call apologizing that they had accidentally dialed the wrong number. "I… didn't know you didn't like girls, Yusuke." In retrospect it made sense with how he dressed, how he was so good at talking to girls, how he wanted to paint Akira naked...

Hearing the tone of Ryuji's voice, Yusuke let out a soft harrumph. "If you are insinuating that I am interested in males, I can assure you that that is not the case either." Gliding a hand through his midnight blue locks, he asserted, "Beyond using them as models for my artwork, they are not attractive to me in the slightest. Like women, I find them only interesting to an aesthetic degree."

Now Ryuji was hopelessly confused. Yusuke just confessed he wasn't physically attracted in Ann Takamaki, the most gorgeous girl on this side of the Shinano. But then he just said he wasn't attracted to guys either? "So in that case… what are you interested in?"

"I am an artist, Ryuji. I am interested in art."

Ryuji's paused. "So... you're not gay?"

"No."

"... And you're not interested in girls?"

"No."

"... And you don't think Ann is sexy, like not even a little bit?"

Yusuke's lips squeezed together. This exchange was going nowhere. "How about you, Ryuji?" he asked to divert the conversation. "Is there anyone you are interested in?"

Ryuji blinked. "Huh? Me?" Coughing into his fist, he stumbled over his words, "Ah, psh, hah! Well… Yeah! You know, tons of girls. Like I was just sayin', that Keiko girl is totally drop dead sexy."

"I was referring to romantic interest."

He was taken aback by the bluntness of his question. "Oh…" Ryuji said, looking away from Yusuke. "I mean… there's this one girl I think I like… But it's nothing serious. I just think she's cool, that's all."

"Yes, I believe you mentioned during our truth or dare last night that you were interested in someone from your school," Yusuke said. "A crush, you called it."

Ryuji's face began to feel warm with embarrassment. "Well when you put it like that…"

"Who is it you have a crush on, Sakamoto-san?"

That warmth suddenly multiplied tenfold. "W-woah! You can't just ask me a question like that out of the blue dude!"

"Why not?" Yusuke asked, his head cocked.

"Because… That's like a sensitive issue, y'know? I can't just go around sharing that kind of information. What if you tell everyone!"

Yusuke made a puzzled expression. "What would I gain by revealing your affections?"

Ryuji tried to find a plausible answer to his question. "Maybe you'd swoop in on the girl I was interested in…?"

"I already told you I am not interested in women in that way, Sakamoto. And even if I were, I would never do something as dishonorable as attempt to steal your muse from you." Yusuke leaned back in the booth and placed his clasped hands on his lap. "I only broached the subject because I wished to better understand your feeling."

Ryuji relented with a deep, shoulder slouching sigh. "If you really wanna know… it's someone in our group."

"You mean the Phantom Thieves."

"Yeah."

Yusuke paused for a moment to consider the possibilities. "Is it Takamaki-san?" he finally asked.

Ryuji stared at him wide-eyed. "What! No way man, there's no way I'd be interested in Ann like that! We've been friends since grade school, she basically like a sister to me."

"Then who is it?"

He grasped onto the back of his neck and looked away. "It's uh… it's someone else."

Yusuke sensed the reticence in Ryuji's body language and did not pry further. Instead, he approached the topic from a different angle. "What is it about this person that you're attracted to?"

Ryuji's eyes returned to Yusuke. Bringing his hands to the table, he opened up, "I guess for starters, she's beautiful. And I'm not talking about the hot or sexy type of beautiful. I mean the type that makes your chest hurt, y'know? The type that makes you feel dizzy just looking at 'em."

Yusuke followed along quietly, his silence an invitation for Ryuji to keep speaking.

"She's incredibly smart too, definitely the smartest girl at Shujin. At first I was kinda jealous that she was always at the top of the class, but then I realized how hard she studies for her grades compared to me. She goes to the library pretty much every day to review class notes, and I can barely get my ass off the couch to prepare for midterms."

"You admire her tenacity," said Yusuke.

Ryuji nodded. "Damn right I do. She puts her all into everything she does, especially her duties as a Phantom Thief. Not only does she try her hardest during every infiltration, she has this look in her eyes when we're in the Metaverse, this really fiery look, like all she wants to do is get rid of the bad guys and make the world a better place. She's not doing any of this for fame or fortune or to live some kind of power fantasy, she's just a genuinely good person who wants to help others." He paused and stared down at his arms, which laid crossed upon the table. "Looking back at it, I think I realized I liked her when we were confronting Kaneshiro together. The look on her face, the tone of her voice… She was so passionate about stopping him, about getting justice for all those kids he screwed over. I got goosebumps just thinking about it."

Yusuke continued to silently note each of Ryuji's remarks.

"But y'know, it's crazy when I think about how different we are, actually," Ryuji chuckled. "She's smart, I'm a dunce, she's organized, I'm a mess, she's the student council president, and I'm just the class delinquent. We're world's apart." A sigh, followed by a solemn shake of his head. "But damn, what I'd give for a chance to go on a date with her."

After hearing all Ryuji had to say, Yusuke covered a thoughtful hand over his mouth. "Have you tried pursuing one with her?" he asked.

"What, a date?" Ryuji flicked his wrist and scoffed. "Pffft. There's no way she'd go on a date with me. She's way out of my league." His expression suddenly held a deep sadness as he averted his gaze to his wrists. "Besides… she's interested in someone else."

Yusuke knew that look from a mile away. Unrequited love, he thought, the infinite curse of a lonely heart. "Have you spoken to her about your feelings?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't think you understand the situation dude. She likes someone else, and that someone happens to be my best friend. I can't just go and tell her how I feel."

"Why not?"

"Because that would be totally uncool! I mean, didn't you say you'd never try to steal away a guy's girl? The same goes for me. I couldn't do that to Akira, it just wouldn't be right."

"Well, do you know if Akira interested in her?"

Ryuji blinked. "I actually don't. I never really asked him. I just assumed that because she liked him, he also liked her back."

"Perhaps you should bring up this matter with Akira and see if that's the case."

Thinking over Yusuke's words for a moment, Ryuji agreed with renewed vigor, "You know what, you're right! I should talk to Akira and see if he likes her too. I mean, worst-case scenario I'm just back to where I am now, but otherwise I have a chance at getting together with her! Right?"

"Correct."

Ryuji leaned forward in his seat and smiled. "Dang Yusuke, for a guy who's not into girls, you're really good at figuring out how to go about romancing them."

He didn't think common sense was a commendable quality to have, but he accepted the compliment nonetheless. "I am glad I was able to help."

Ryuji felt refreshed after unloading his feelings onto Yusuke. He hadn't thought of Yusuke as a confidant in the past, but this conversation framed him in a new light. He was a good listener, he didn't judge, and it seemed like he had a good idea of how to go about talking to girls. Maybe this could be the start of something beautiful.

Spotting Keiko as she walked back to their table, Ryuji passed Yusuke a sly glance. "Hey, think you could give me tips on how to charm this one too?"

Yusuke released a put-upon sigh. "You have yet to even charm your crush."

"Aw come on! You gotta have something for me. A snappy one-liner? A mushy quote? I mean, just look at her! She's a total babe! We can't let this opportunity slip away!"

"I will have nothing to do with your shallow attempt to court our waitress."

"Well, boo to you too," Ryuji sneered. Looking up at Keiko as she stopped beside them, Ryuji's face brightened with a wily grin. "Two Moon Burger challenges, and hold off on the sugary drinks. You're sweet enough as is, gorgeous."

Yusuke sighed. Maybe he should have given him a one-liner after all.

October 30, 6:43pm
Shinjuku

Shinjuku was home to Japan's busiest railway station, and for good reason. Neon lights and stunning sights were the ward's signature draws. People all across Tokyo came to experience its one-of-a-kind nightlife, flush with twenty-four seven department stores and the wildest red light district in the country.

While the latter was something they adamantly avoided, Ann and Haru found their money's worth in the city's sprawling subterranean malls. From clothing boutiques to bakeries to everyday emporiums, they left no store unvisited. They were fully drained by the time they finished their shopping spree. Stopping to rest at one of the underground food plazas, the duo shed their possessions and collapsed into a pair of empty seats.

"Phew!" Ann exhaled, sinking into a plastic folding chair. "I'm totally beat. I didn't think there'd be so many good deals today!"

Haru lounged with a graceful, straight-backed posture. "It was quite surprising how much we were able to purchase with just ten thousand yen each."

"Right? Those prices were out of this world," Ann said, pushing her tousled platinum hair out of her eyes. Snapping her fingers, she started up again, "Oh, that reminds me! Thanks for waiting for me at the Shibuya station. I totally forgot I had to swing by my apartment to sign for a package. I managed to get back just in time, so everything worked out, but I feel bad for making you wait."

"It was no problem at all," Haru said. "Coincidentally I had business to take care of in Shibuya as well, so it all worked out."

"Ooo, what kind of business?" Ann asked.

Haru's eyes shined with remembrance as her gaze fell to the violin case at her side. "Oh... I was meeting with some other friends of mine. I hadn't visited them in two weeks, so they were very excited to see me."

"Oh, that's great!" Ann cheered. "I'm kind of amazed the timings worked out as well as they did. We managed to get to Shinjuku right before rush hour and hit up all the stores before all the good deals were gone. And good thing, too. All this Phantom Thievery has really put a hole in my wallet." She patted her front pocket as if to imply its emptiness.

The sides of Haru's lips dimpled. She locked her ankles beneath the table, her legs pressed together and her knees pointing right. "I could hardly keep up with you Ann. You were so excited by all those sales, you flew right out of my sight as soon as we arrived at Shinjuku."

Ann hung her head with a sheepish grin. "Oh yeah, sorry about that. Sometimes I can get a little carried away. My mom tells me I have shop 'til you drop syndrome."

"Yes, I believe you mentioned it last night as well," Haru said. "What a curious phrase, 'shop 'til you drop.' I never heard such an expression before meeting you."

"My mom came from the States, so I picked up some American lingo from her," Ann said. "But apparently the malls over there are crazy. People are constantly cutting each other in line or fighting over clothes, it's total chaos."

"Oh my..." Haru said, covering her mouth. "That certainly doesn't sound like proper mall etiquette. I doubt I would ever shop in America if all the malls were truly like that..."

"Huh?" Ann blinked, leaning forward in her seat. "What are you saying, Haru! You can't be thinking about proper etiquette when it comes to discounts!" A passionate glimmer shined in Ann's eyes as she folded her arms over her chest. "Just because those kinds of things happen in America doesn't mean they can't happen here too! No one's going to play fair, so you have to do whatever it takes to get that half-off summer blouse before anyone else does, or those buy one get one free high heels!"

Haru tittered at her friend's excitement. "I think it would be best to leave such matters to you. I've never been good at being assertive."

"But what if it's something you really want?" Ann asked. "Like a one of a kind necklace, or an amazing new dress, and there's only one left in the whole store and someone else grabs it before you?"

"Then I'll ask the manager to put one on hold for me and wait until they've restocked the item," Haru said.

"But that defeats the whole purpose of shopping 'til you drop!" Ann whined.

"Oh... Well, maybe I could use a different motto then, like shopping until you're satisfied with what you have!"

Ann laid her crossed arms on the table and slumped forward with a short, "Hmph." She quietly thought to herself for a moment before speaking up again. "I feel like such a kid compared to you, Haru."

Haru's head canted sideways. "What makes you say that?"

"You're so quiet and composed all the time, like nothing ever bothers you," Ann said. "I feel like I'm always running my mouth and complaining about everything, like an immature little kid."

She was amused at the compliment. "Ah... thank you very much, Ann, but I can assure you I can be just as immature and childish as anyone. It just so happens that you catch me in my more composed moments..."

"Psh. I can't imagine you acting childish about anything. I mean, you're basically the owner of Okumura Foods now, you're a serious big shot!"

Haru's gaze lowered. The mere mention of Okumura Foods still had a sore taste in her mouth. She had become the majority shareholder of the company after inheriting her late father's shares, yet that meant nothing to her. She would give them all back if that meant seeing him again. "I suppose..." she whispered, fingering the sleeve of her turtleneck.

Ann could tell by Haru's sudden shift in demeanor that she had said something wrong. "Oh shit," she cursed in realization. "Haru, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up."

Haru shook her head. "It's okay. I've already come to terms with his passing. My father was... a terrible man. He abused his power over his family and employees to do whatever he pleased, including hurting others..." Her face dropped. "But I still miss him. Even if he was a liar and a swindler, he was still my father. And I'll never be able to see him again..."

"Haru…"

"I know it was never the Phantom Thieves' intention to harm him, so please don't think that I hold a grudge towards any of you. My only grievances are against the people who took my father's life..." Haru's fists blanched on her knees as she began to grow misty-eyed. "When I find them, I will make them wish they had never crossed me."

The chilling anger in Haru's eyes caught Ann off guard. It was a side of her she hadn't seen before. Still, she held a caring gaze towards her friend. "I'm so sorry Haru. I feel your pain. Just know that if you ever need anything — really, anything at all — I'm only one call away. Okay?" She leaned across the table and put her hand comfortingly on Haru's shoulder.

Haru knuckled the corners of her eyes. "Thank you," she said. "It means so much to know I have friends like you who are looking out for me..." Her lips broke into a muted smile as she reached up to hold Ann's hand. "I know it's silly of me to say, but I really do miss him..."

"It's not silly at all," Ann said, thumbing a circle on the back of Haru's hand. "Would you like to talk about him? Your father?"

Haru's lids brimmed with the onset of tears. "I miss him so much... It feels like the whole world has moved on without me. Whenever I see my father's friends, they smile and bow and ask me how my day was... But none of them mention him. They go about their days like usual, as if nothing had ever happened. It's like they've forgotten all about him."

"That's terrible," Ann murmured. "I can't believe they're being so cold."

"I can," Haru said, "My father's friends were never really his friends... I saw it whenever they came over for dinner, always nodding along, agreeing to everything he said. They never actually listened to him. They just wanted to seem like they were interested in what he had to say. I think my father suspected that was the case, but he didn't want to believe it was true. He wanted to think that there were still people who wanted to spend time with him for who he was, not because of his money... But I knew better. I could tell when someone only wanted to be friends with me because of my family's wealth."

"That must have been really hard for you."

"It was. I never knew who I could trust when I was younger. To be frank, I still have a hard time trusting people today..." Haru blinked, and several tears dripped from her eyes onto her downy cheeks. "And yet I felt like I could trust you, and Akira, and everyone else right away. When I met you all in the Metaverse, I could tell you were good, honest people. You were all so noble and moral... so much more than me..." She closed her eyes and the tears began to stream, slowly, steadily.

"It's okay, it's okay," Ann soothed. "You're a good person too, you know. You care about others so much and you're so kind to everyone. I can't think of a single person who doesn't like you."

"That's not true," Haru said, trying to dash away her tears. "I'm not a good person. I'm spoiled, and selfish... and I'm the reason my father is..." A single, throaty cry escaped her lips, and she bit down to silence it. "I'm the reason my father is dead."

A frown line delved between Ann's brows."How could you ever think that Haru? You had nothing to do with your father's death."

"It was my fault the Phantom Thieves got involved in the first place. If I had just obeyed him and married Sugimura, he would still be..."

"Sugimura was a horrible man," Ann interjected. "Wanting to get out of that relationship doesn't make you a bad person, Haru. It makes you sane."

"But even still... I didn't want to change my father's heart for any reason other than to nullify my marriage to Sugimura. I heard about all the awful rumors of how he treated his employees, but I didn't protest at all. I willingly allowed him to get away with it. I was so selfish..."

Ann tightened her grip on Haru's hand. "That might have been you in the past, but that definitely isn't you now. If you never leave that past self behind, you'll always be stuck chasing demons that no longer exist."

Haru looked up to meet Ann's eyes. They were wide and full of sincerity. Taking in a deep breath, she dried her eyes on her forearm and collected herself. "Yes... I have to keep moving forward. For my sake and for my father's."

"That's exactly right," Ann said, smiling. "I know it's hard, and it doesn't just get easier overnight, but you have all of us. We'll be there for you every step of the way." She reached down for her purse and pulled out a packet of disposable napkins, the kind that mothers always had to clean up their kids' messes. She ripped off the plastic and passed them over to Haru. "Here."

Haru took a napkin from Ann and blew her nose into it. "Thank you," she said when she was finished, neatly folding it in halves until it was the size of a Post-it. "... And thank you so much for listening. I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

"Ah, it's nothing," Ann said, her teeth gleaming in a grin. "I know you'd do the same for me."

The two sat in comfortable silence, simply enjoying the other's company. They listened to the hustle of the plaza around them, the jeers of vendors, the whirrs of machines. Everything seemed so removed, like they were watching a movie of their surroundings. It was surprisingly peaceful.

A few moments later, Ann broke the quiet with a question. "Hey Haru," she said, her expression captured in deep thought. "Can I ask you something?"

Haru glanced over at Ann. "Ah, of course. What is it?"

"Well, I was just wondering..." Ann began. "Do you ever sometimes feel like one of your friends isn't being totally honest with you? Like they're lying to you for your own good?"

Her face scrunched with concern. "Is something the matter Ann?"

"It's nothing really," Ann said, biting down on her thumb. "I just feel like someone I know might not be telling me the whole truth about something, that's all."

That certainly didn't constitute 'nothing really' in Haru's mind. "Um... if you don't mind me asking, who is it that isn't telling you the truth?"

"It's… it's embarrassing."

"Oh... Well, if that's the case, I won't pry."

"But I want you to pry!" Ann suddenly shouted, which caused Haru to jolt. Suddenly remembering her shame, she spoke again, this time a whisper, "I mean, it's just that I've been thinking about this a lot… and I feel like I'm gonna explode if I don't tell at least someone what I'm thinking. I know it's embarrassing… but I want to get this off my chest. I'm tired of keeping it to myself."

"If you need to talk, I'm always an open shoulder," Haru said.

Ann surrendered with a sigh. "Okay. But if I tell you, can you promise me you won't tell anyone else?"

She placed a hand over her heart. "I won't tell a soul."

Ann swallowed, the dry sides of her throat rubbing together for a moment. Then she drew in a short, gulping breath and let the words fly from her lips. "I feel like Ryuji still holds a grudge towards me but I want to tell him how I feel about him but I'm also afraid it might ruin our friendship if he doesn't feel the same way about me and seeing how I already ruined our friendship once before I don't want to take that risk again." Her lips pressed into a line after she had finished.

Forget telling another soul. At the speed Ann spoke, Haru would have been lucky to repeat what she just said to herself. Her explanation came so fast that she hardly had time to analyze it. Ann ruined her friendship with Ryuji? When did that happen? Before the Phantom Thieves formed? And what exactly did she mean when she said she wanted to tell Ryuji how she felt about him? Did she mean as a friend? Or something more? Starting with the first question on her mind, Haru reiterated, "You ruined your friendship with Sakamoto-kun once before...?"

Ann's gaze retreated to the floor, unmoving and filled with anguish. "Yeah. After Kamoshida broke his leg, Ryuji was labeled as a delinquent by the whole school. He was always known for being a troublemaker, but that incident completely isolated him. The track team, his middle school friends, all of them started drifting away from him one by one because they didn't want to be associated with him. Including me. I saw how much he was hurting but I didn't do anything about it. I just sat back and watched because I was too scared to do anything."

Haru's gaze became sympathetic. "You can't blame yourself for that, Ann. Kamoshida was a despicable person. He tore apart your friendship with Ryuji, not you."

"But I could have at least tried to keep in touch with him. I was just so scared of what everyone else thought, of what they'd think of me if I associated with Ryuji. So I ignored him. I ignored one of my best friends out of fear."

Haru ruminated on everything Ann had to say. When she was finished compiling her thoughts into words, she asked, "Do you think you would abandon him again?"

Ann was surprised by the bluntness of Haru's response. "Huh?"

"Do you think if something like that happened again, you would abandon Sakamoto-kun?" Haru repeated.

She vehemently shook her head, her twin pigtails whipping in her face. "No way! After everything I put him through, there's no way I'd abandon him again. I'd rather face down ten Kamoshidas."

"Then you shouldn't worry about ruining your friendship," Haru smiled. "You've learned from your past mistakes. You won't let him down like that again."

Her reasoning was sound, Ann thought. But everyone's reasoning was sound it was exactly what she wanted to hear. "Maybe… But even then, it's not like I can just tell him how I feel about him," she replied with a sigh.

"How come?" Haru asked.

"Because I'm afraid if I do and he doesn't feel the same way back, things will be weird between us and he'll start drifting away again." Ann's gaze fell to her lap as she squeezed her knees. "I know it sounds selfish, but I don't want to lose him as a friend. Not again."

Haru could tell by the look on Ann's face that she had thought about this at length. She looked introspective, nervous, like she was afraid the ground would disappear beneath her feet. "Well... what if I talked to him for you?"

Ann's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hairline. "Huh?! W-wait! I thought you said you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"I wouldn't mention you by name," Haru said. "I would just ask Ryuji if he's interested in anyone and perhaps let him know that someone is interested in him back. That way, you'll be able to see what he thinks of you and things won't be awkward."

Ann pensively chewed her bottom lip. "You know... that's actually a really good idea," she hummed. "Ryuji wouldn't suspect it was me who liked him if you were the one asking, and you'd probably get an honest answer from him." Coming to terms with the plan, her disposition began to relax. "But whatever happens, you absolutely, one-hundred percent cannot mention my name. Okay?"

Haru traced her fingers across her lips as if she were closing a ziplock bag.

"Alright, okay. Awesome." Ann exhaled and brushed the hair back from her forehead. "Sorry for being so jumpy, I just really don't want to mess things up between Ryuji and me, you know? But I really do appreciate what you're doing for me. You're a lifesaver."

"Of course Ann," Haru said. "I know you'd do the same for me."

Ann's face lit up with a smile. Before she could reply, she felt her stomach growl pitifully like a car chugging along with no gas in its tank. All this shopping and talking seemed to have worked up her appetite. Thankfully she knew just the place to sate it.

"Hey Haru, if you're free, there's this nice restaurant nearby where we can grab dinner. Wanna go?"

October 30, 6:57pm
Cafe Leblanc

The only sound that dared disturb the quiet of the room was the drip of water from the sink faucet.

Plink. Plink. Plink.

Sae impaled Akira Kurusu with her gaze. Eyes slitted, jaw tensed, lips curled, she asked, "Do you know Ichiryusai Madarame?"

Akira knew lethal intent when he saw it. His heart pounded in his chest. "I don't."

She cast him a skeptical glower. "He's a famous painter. Until recently, he was one of the most renowned artists in Japan. But it's come to light that a great many of his paintings were actually forgeries."

"That's terrible," was the only thing Akira could say without his voice breaking.

"Yes, it is," Sae said. "These crime were revealed by Madrame himself after his heart was stolen by the Phantom Thieves."

He thought of saying something but instead held his lips together like two pieces of driftwood a drowning man clung to.

"An anonymous source recently sent my department a security video from Madarame's house. It's dated a few days before his change of heart," Sae said. "In the video the following individuals were identified: Ichiryusai Madarame, the victim in question, Yusuke Kitagawa, one of Madarame's pupils, Ann Takamaki, a student at Shujin Academy… and a black cat with blue eyes." Sae stared hard at Akira. He knew exactly what she was thinking. "I'll have to look at the video in more detail when I get back to the station, but from what I saw, the cat looked just like yours. Just like Morgana."

Akira wet his tongue over his lips — it produced a sound in his head like sandpaper running across a board. How did Sae get that video? Who could have possibly been the anonymous source? His gaze diverted away from Sae's and into the kitchen. He watched those brazen drops of water form on the snout of the sink faucet, grow heavy and fat there, and then fall off.

Plink. Plink. Plink.

Ring.

The bell at the front entrance of the cafe jingled. The cherry oak door opened with a long, creaky moan, and both Akira and Sae turned to see what had stepped through.

Neither of them were prepared for who it was.

Billowy red eye shadow plumed the rims of her lids. Liner dark as midnight framed her striking crimson gaze. Four lacquered layers of carefully applied mascara pronounced her long, butterfly lashes.

"... Sis? What are you doing here?"

Makoto Niijima was many things to Akira. A senpai, a friend, a confidant. But it wasn't until he saw her standing there in the entrance of Leblanc, the spitting image of beauty in that gorgeous red dress, that he considered her beautiful. He drank in her image as she approached the bar, his eyes falling over her figure like fingers through silk. The roundness of her bare shoulder made the bone above it more visible, but not unappealingly so. It rose and tempted his eyes to trace her collarbone to the shallow dimple of her throat. Her legs, which exposed themselves up to her thighs with each of her measured steps, were carved like marble, seamless and smooth. The hypnotic sway of her hips mimicked the motion of a swinging pendulum, and he was quite sure he lost himself in their movement. He sucked in a breath between his teeth and held it there. "Wow."

But despite the beauty she radiated, Makoto did not well with confidence. In fact it appeared just the opposite. Her arms were bent behind her back, her gaze was downcast, and her shoulders were raised. She was like a child lost in a mall, nervous and tight with tension. After all, she was standing before her date and her sister, and between the two of them she didn't know which was more embarrassing to maintain eye contact with. Stopping at the front of the counter, she tucked in a strand of loose hair behind her ear and swallowed. "It's... nice to see you again, sis."

Sae stared at her younger sister, her eyes round and her jaw slackened. Questions immediately began swimming in her head. Wasn't Makoto in her room when she left for Leblanc? How was she here now? If she had left after her, she should have still been on the subway. Was that her red dress she was wearing? Why was she here? Wasn't she supposed to meet someone for a…?

Date.

Like a scene straight out of a horror movie, Sae's head slowly turned until she was giving Akira a sidelong glance over her shoulder. "Makoto," she said aloud, her voice low and threatening. "You were going to go on a date… with Akira Kurusu?"

Akira prayed to whatever gods would listen to him to send help.

Ring.

"Hey, sorry I took so long. The damn bank called, and…"

Sojiro Sakura, who had finally returned from his errand, stopped in his tracks as he entered Leblanc. His eyes were wide behind his glasses, and he studied the scene before him with slow, daunted care.

First there was Makoto Niijima, standing by the door, garbed in a beautiful red dress and made up to look like a queen.

Second there was Sae Niijima, sitting by the bar, wearing a scowl so sharp it could cut through the toughest of demeanors.

And last there was Akira, sitting next to Sae by the counter, looking back at him with the same amount of shock, surprise, and stupefaction plastered across his own face.

He looked at Makoto, then Sae, then Akira, then Makoto once more. Then he ran a hand up his widow's peak, pulled his hair back, and let out a deep, chest deflating sigh.

"Hoo boy."

Author's Note: Hi friends! I hope you're all having a great week. Thank you for all the well wishes regarding my mother. She has made a swift and full recovery and is doing much better now.

I took a break from writing three words last week to spend time with family after my mother's car accident. During that time I read Stephen King's On Writing, a memoir of King's life and love for writing. The book is chock full of amazing advice for aspiring writers. I highly recommend reading it not only because it is a spectacular literary resource but because it touches upon some deeply important life topics, like how to follow your passions, how to deal with stress and loss, and how to live life to the fullest.

This week's chapter was a lot of fun to write, though I hope it wasn't too long. I enjoy exploring the relationships between the Phantom Thieves, especially ones that don't get a lot of interaction together in the game. The Ryuji and Yusuke scene pretty much wrote itself because I was having such a great time writing it. The Haru and Ann scene was a little more difficult, but hopefully I captured their likenesses in their interactions. I also really enjoyed writing Sae's scene. It was fun to create a lighthearted atmosphere in the first half, then follow it up with an incredibly serious and tense atmosphere in the second. Overall I thought I was able to do a lot of character building while still progressing the plot, so I'm very happy!

I usually listen to music whenever I write to help me visualize a scene or feel a certain mood. This week, I couldn't help but match songs to characters. Like, if each character had a soundtrack to their lives, what songs would be on them? I came to the conclusion that Ryuji's life soundtrack had to at least contain Seven Nation Army, Thunderstruck, and Teenagers, they just seem to fit his personality so well.

On a final note, it's September and my final year of high school will be starting soon! However, this won't change my update schedule for three words. I'll continue putting out chapters either weekly or biweekly depending on the chapter in question. Chapter eight should be out in two weeks or less depending on how much I can get done in these next few days. I'm really excited to wrap up the first big arc of the story!

Also, in case anyone is interested, the following is the current love situation within the Phantom Thieves:

Morgana → Ann

Ann → Ryuji

Ryuji → Makoto

Makoto → Akira

Haru → Akira

Futaba → Akira

Akira → ?

Akechi → ?

Yusuke → Aesthetically Pleasing Art

Thank you all again for your kind words and wishes. I hope you all have a great Labor Day weekend. See you next time, friends!

NEXT TIME: priestess iii