Chapter 52: Complications

Yu walked with Naoto away from Shibuya square, making their way towards central street and his home a little ways away. He knew they both ached something fiercely. All the running and the day's events had worn on them. And thankfully, as he remembered, they had gotten the cake to share the day before. Neither of them had known how busy they were going to be though, so it made things a bit easier.

"I think this might be the first time I just sleep." Yu said. He had never really felt the exhaustion others did with Mementos and the Metaverse, but now it was like he was ready to sleep for a few days.

"Mm. I think I will join you with that." Naoto said softly. "Though I will likely have to report to the Police Prefecture tomorrow." She said, giving a soft sound of annoyance. Not that he blamed her for that. Naoto got cranky when she was tired.

"How's your shoulder?" Yu asked. Her coat was hiding the cut along her shoulder she had taken, but only barely. Without it, someone would be able to see where the blue top had been cut open.

"Healed, thanks to you." Naoto said. Truly, Salvation was a good thing to have.

Yu paused a moment, almost pulling Naoto to a stop. "I feel like we're being followed." He said, his hand dipping into his duffle bag and grabbing the hilt of his sword. He wasn't about to be attacked because he was caught with his pants down. He and Naoto both turned to look down the street a moment, both of them tense. "Come on out." He said sharply.

Only to see Morgana padding up to them.

"Morgana?" Naoto asked, bending down. "But we thought- Why didn't you go with Akira?" She asked.

"Well… it's embarrassing but after such a heartfelt goodbye, I really thought I was going to disappear." The cat said. "And by the time I made the idea to go after Akira, I couldn't find him, but I spotted you two heading for the train station. Do you think I can at least stay the night?"

Yu sighed and settled down. He took his hand from his duffle bag. "Yeah, yeah." He bent down and picked up Morgana, he tucked the cat into his duffle bag.

"Ooh… much more room than Akira's bag. Though, I could definitely do without the sword." He said, poking his head out.

Yu shook his head. "Just do me a favor, don't look around the house too much." He said. "I'd rather not my folks asking me why there's cat hair everywhere."

"And my room still contains sensitive police information, so off limits." Naoto said. She tugged her cap down a bit more on her head, shaking her head. "We'll take you back tomorrow." she said.

Yu gave a murmur of his own assent. That was a good idea. But as they began to come up to his home, Yu actually drew up short once more. He blinked a moment, and he saw Naoto pause and follow his gaze to the carport beside his home.

Where another car was sitting, blocking in his motorcycle and his parents' car.

Yu's footsteps quickened as he made long strides towards his house. Who could be there at this time? He grabbed his keyes and he watched as Naoto moved to match his stride. His keys jangled as he brought them up to unlock the door, pushing it open loudly.

"Yu!" He was suddenly seized about by his biceps and pulled in closer. "You're not hurt are you?" The female voice demanded, half shaking him. "We saw you fall! You were fighting with a sword and- and... And Naoto-san, are you alright?" Yu could only blink as the frantic figure moved past him to grab Naoto. "You were fighting too! You got injured! There was so much blood!"

And when Yu spoke, it was with no small amount of disbelief. "M-Mom?" He asked, baffled and dumbfounded. His parents shouldn't have been back until March.

And it was probably his statement that kept Naoto from throwing his mother to the wall and pinning her.

"Mom?" Morgana echoed at the same time that Naoto did poking his head out of his bag, both sleuth and cat looking at the woman that had given birth to Yu Narukami.

"Wahh! Talking cat… Monster… thing!"

"Mom!" Yu finally yelled to get his mother's attention. "The Hell?! I have so many questions right now!"

.That seemed to actually get the woman to stop and let Yu take a good look at her. Maaya Narukami was a woman of a bit taller stature, actually being close to Ann's height. Her dark hair was pulled into a braid that hung over one shoulder. She had on a pair of thin wire frame glasses done in a nice metallic blue that had a pair of sharp blue eyes that were looking to Yu. She was slender and still looked to be dressed in her business suit, or at least most of it. The blazer was missing from the pantsuit, leaving her in a white blouse tucked into and a pair of charcoal gray slacks. There was no makeup, and his mother's eyes looked red and puffy like she had been crying and he could see the starting wrinkles forming at the corners of her eyes.

"You have questions?" His mother asked sharply. "I have more questions I imagine, starting with why you were fighting for your life?!"

Yu recoiled a bit, reminded that his mother had somehow seen that fight, as impossible as that sounded. He ran a hand over his face a moment. He locked eyes with Naoto for a moment. "Coffee?" he asked.

"Coffee." She said, nodding her head.

"Coffee…" Yu turned away from his mother to go and start the coffee.

"Yu!" His mother was clearly not intending for him to get away.

"Mom, with all due respect, sit down, shut up and let me get some coffee." Yu said a bit snappishly at his mother. He could see her recoil in surprise at his comment. "I have been fighting since about nine this morning, running and fighting, I am exhausted."

"Yu, quit snapping at your mother. Maaya, let him be." Yu turned to see his father coming in from his bedroom. "But we will be having this conversation Yu." The older man said.

Jouji Narukami was just a bit shorter than Yu, a product of a bad case of scoliosis. He still had the same broad shoulders and his silver hair was cropped short. Yu thought the moustache looked ridiculous. And his father had a pair of sharp gray eyes that matched Yu's. His father was dressed in a plain brown suit, the blazer off. No doubt his father had been in the middle of changing clothes when he heard him and his mother speaking rather loudly.

Yu headed into the kitchen and quickly began to brew coffee. He prepared Naoto's just the way she wanted it, black with sugar. His own he had plain black and bitter. His mother got creamer with a hint of chocolate syrup and his father also got black. He brought the coffee out and began to set them around the kotatsu.

He and Naoto sat on one side of the kotatsu away from his parents. "So?" His mother asked a bit impatiently. And in unison, both he and his father gave a sigh.

"That's… disconcerting." Naoto said, looking between the two Narukami males for a moment, no doubt seeing the similarities.

"Alright, before we get into this story, can you two explain a few things for me?" Yu asked. "You said you shouldn't be back before the first week of March. It's Christmas." Two months ahead of schedule.

"We're only here for the week." Jouji said, heading off his wife. "The company we're doing work for in San Francisco is closed until the new year. We decided to come back and see if we couldn't spend Christmas with you."

Yu nodded his head and took a sip of his coffee. It made a certain amount of sense. "How much did you see?" he asked.

"We saw you racing up the tower. We saw Naoto-san fighting. We saw. You. Fall." Maaya said, looking sharply at Yu. "The TV suddenly snapped on to show you guys fighting, we had no idea what was going on." Her features softened. "I thought I lost you Yu." she said softly.

"More reason to thank Akira for the save." Yu said and sighed. He looked to Naoto a moment, just taking in her stoic quiet for a while. "I take it you didn't see it happen either, did you?" He asked her.

"No." Naoto said, her fingers tightening just slightly on the mug. No doubt she wasn't thrilled to be hearing that Yu had almost died. And there would have been no saving him had he hit the concrete.

Yu inhaled deeply and took a drink of his coffee. He leaned back a bit onto his heels, thinking about it for a long time and trying to figure out how in Hell he was supposed to explain things to his parents. All he had wanted to do was spend Christmas alone with Naoto. Now he had to explain to his parents and deal with Morgana who he had thought just disappeared not that long ago.

"Yu," He looked up to his father. "I realize that your mother and I have been rather… distant parents all your life." Yu was surprised to see his father even had the grace to look a bit embarrassed at that. "But we do love you, and we're worried about you." Yu was about to say something but his father cut him off. "Yu, you've already made it painfully obvious that we haven't been there as much as we should have been." Jouji Narukami shook his head a moment. "You came back from Inaba, glowing and radiating and talking nonstop about your friends, about your time there with your Uncle Ryutaro, about your Cousin Nanako, even about Shirogane-san sitting beside you. I am painfully aware that I may not have been the closest or most loving of parents, but I have listened. Please, don't punish us for being concerned. We just want to know what we saw."

"The Collective Unconscious Wish of Humanity twisted into a God of Control." Naoto said as she lowered her coffee mug.

"Not what I'd start with." Yu said with a slight grimace. "But, she's right." He looked to his parents, inhaling a bit. "When I went to Inaba, I was drawn into a fight that has been going on longer than I want to know about. It was an experiment by… something that called herself a Goddess. She granted the power to traverse into a different world and show another facet of themselves to three men." He shared a look with Naoto who nodded and stood up.

He watched his parents follow his girlfriend as she walked over to the TV and stuck her hand through the surface, making it ripple like water.

"For whatever reason, I can't traverse over by myself anymore. Or maybe I can, I don't know, I haven't tried in a while." Yu said. "But in Inaba, I forged bonds that can't be broken, fighting alongside my friends and trying to get to the truth of the matter of what was going on. Three people died in pursuit of that truth."

Yu's mother nodded her head. "Ryutaro mentioned the murder case. He said you seemed tense about it going on, but didn't seem to let it get to you and tried to be a normal high school student."

"Yes, his partner was the one that perpetrated those crimes." Yu's father said.

"He was pushing people through the TV." Yu said as Naoto came and sat back down. "Every time the fog lifted in the TV world, the denizens got more ferocious. And they killed two of the people. The third was a copycat that almost threw us off the scent." Indeed, had it not been for Naoto's act, Adachi may have gotten away with it. "When I found out about what was happening, there was no way that I could just sit back and watch it happen." Yu closed his eyes a moment. "Originally it was me, Yosuke, Chie, and Teddie. Yukiko was added shortly after, then Kanji, then Rise, then Naoto here." He turned to look at his girlfriend. "I was under some suspicion by Uncle Ryutaro, but that was to be expected. When I came back… I was happy, more happy than I think I had ever been. I had friends, I had a girlfriend, and I had done good work. I kept that damned fog from spilling from the TV world, I kept it from consuming Inaba and turning everyone into Shadows or having Shadows attack everyone, I don't know." Yu shook his head a moment.

"Then he stayed here." Naoto said softly.

"I… Don't understand Shirogane-san." Yu's father said, confused. His parents had clearly been paying attention and listening but it was such a drastic change that they couldn't quite keep up.

Yu sighed softly. "The Power I was granted by Izanami was called Persona. As I said earlier, it is another side of you, maybe the truest side of you. But I, unlike my friends, was given the power of the Wild Card. I wasn't limited to just one Persona. I had many, dozens. Innocent little creatures that just wanted to help, noble warriors that acted like a bulwark for my team… And monstrous murderous things that wanted nothing but the chance to kill and destroy. They were all me but after coming back here, I could no longer express those parts of myself. And it was killing me, it was slowly eating away at me as I stayed here in Shibuya, away from my friends, unable to express these newfound sides of myself." Yu closed his eyes for a moment as he bared all to his parents.

He took a moment and shrugged out of the jacket he was still wearing. He lifted the sweater he had on and tossed it to the side. He opened his eyes to see the surprise on his parents' faces. "I risked everything in Inaba and I became someone to so many people. I was a friend, a mentor, a confidant, a leader, a boyfriend." He motioned to Naoto. "That's what Naoto means when she says then I stayed here. I stopped being me. The real me, the real me represented by my Persona. My truest Persona, Izanagi-no-Okami. And no, I didn't name him that. The name just pops into your head."

"Mine is Yamato-Sumeragi, the epitaph for all the Emperors of Japan. The names are often ostentatious, pretentious even. Akira's was Satanael, the original Rebel against God." Naoto supplied. "And all of that is only the background."

"I can only imagine how crazy it all sounds too." Yu said, shaking his head. "The repressed sides of people, their true feelings, a God of Control manifested by people's desire to just give everything up? Fighting against all of that? Risking all because of that? I'm only twenty and I've seen more combat than some veterans of the JSDF. I have more combat experience than Uncle Ryutaro and he's SAT trained. And I find out, I find out that everything I'm capable of… it just wasn't enough to beat the God of Control. And to further add to my plate, my parents witnessed me fighting." Yu lightly punched the ground beside him. "I can't even begin to understand the hell is going on and normalcy passed me up almost three years ago now."

"Yu…" His mother spoke softly, her gaze soft. But there were no words that could be offered between Yu and his parents. He had drifted so far away from them. They were career professionals that helped set up any number of business deals. Yu had strayed from the path of going for an office job and had been away from it for a long time.

His father inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly. He took a large drink of coffee, clearly gathering his thoughts before he set the cup down. "Is it over?" He asked. And there was where Yu got it from, a sort of practicality that took the impossible and looked for the concrete.

"Should be." Yu said. "Shido won't be elected, Yaldabaoth is defeated. Izanami was beaten years ago." So it should all be over.

"Then what do you plan to do now son?" His father asked. "What's your plans for the future?"

Yu glanced for a moment to Naoto. They had talked about that very discussion several times, but it seemed that the chance to talk to his parents about it had come much faster than he had anticipated. He turned to gaze back to his father. "I plan to move back to Inaba." He said. "I'll stay with either Naoto or Uncle Ryutaro." He said. "I can get a job either at Junes or the hospital I worked at before, that'll let me pull my weight again. Plus Nanako is still too young to be really cooking. I'll be taking online courses for teaching. I don't know if I'll teach at Yasogami High or not, but I want to be teaching. I want to have a stable home life where I'm not having to travel constantly." Yu said.

He had questioned it after Naoto had been shot, but further discussions with his girlfriend had confirmed that they would both like that stability.

"I want to be there for my friends, I don't want to neglect my girlfriend anymore." Yu said. And he had saved enough to act as a nest egg for a little bit if living with Dojima or Naoto didn't work out.

"You love her then?" Yu's father asked neutrally.

"It was the hardest thing to do to leave her behind today." Yu said, nodding softly. "And even if we don't work out, I'll still be proud to call her friend."

"And you Shirogane-san?" Yu's father turned his attention to Naoto.

"Senpai… He… He means the world to me." Naoto admitted, blushing and gazing down. But she raised her eyes and let them bore into Jouji Narukami. "My life has been better and brighter for knowing Yu Narukami, and having his love, especially when others sought the same, it brings more joy to me than I know how to put into words. That he has stood by my side through all the issues we have faced as a couple, I can confidently say that I love him."

His father nodded a moment and looked to Yu for awhile longer. "I know you don't need it, but you have my blessing with your plans." He said.

"Jouji!" Yu's mother said loudly, turning to her husband.

"He looks at Shirogane-san the same way I look at you Maaya. Like there's nothing else. And if we tried to keep him here, we'd be losing our son. At least this way, Ryutaro can keep an eye on him and help him if he needs it." Yu's father said.

Yu's mother opened her mouth before closing it and sighing softly, shaking her head. "For the record, I don't like it." She said. Yu went to try and allay his mother's worries, but she cut him off. "I'm your mother." She said with a wry grin. "I'm always going to be worried about you. Always. Just make sure to come visit as often as you can."

Yu nodded his head at that. "I can manage that." He said. He'd make the time when his parents were in Shibuya, just as he should have made the time for everyone else. "Now, can we please go get some sleep? I'd love to catch up properly in the morning, but like I said, we've been running and fighting since this morning." Yu said.

"Just one last question," His mother said. She glanced towards Morgana. "Can he really talk?" she asked.

"Yes, though he has been oddly quiet. And I'm going to assume that the reason you can hear him is the same reason you remember the fight. Which I have no damned idea why that is." Yu said, shaking his head as he looked to Morgana.

"This seemed like a really serious conversation and me speaking up might make things more difficult." Morgana answered. "Hi, I'm Morgana. I also use a Persona." Yu was amused to see the leery looks they were sending the cat. "I'm technically with Akira's group, but I got seperated and spotted Yu and Naoto, so I'm staying with them for the evening."

"It is a talking cat." His mom said, rubbing her face in disbelief.

"Not the weirdest thing I've seen, but I can see why you'd be bothered." Yu said with some amusement. He finished his coffee and watched as Naoto drank hers down as well. They both stood up, various aches and pains filling them.

"I'm grabbing a shower first, Senpai." Naoto began to make her way up the stairs.

Yu smiled with a hint of amusement while he watched her trudge off. He inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled before he reached down for his sweater.

"Son..." His father sounded in shock and Yu paused. He heard his mother gasp as well.

He then slowly turned around and spread his arms out to show the scarring on his back. "Word of advice, lightning sucks to be hit by, dodge if you can." Yu said.

"How did you hide that from us?" His mother asked, sounding horrified.

"Very carefully." Yu said as he slipped his sweater on. "I can still move with full range because of how active I am."

"Was that also gotten in Inaba?" His father asked.

Yu laughed a bit as he bent down and picked Morgana up. He turned to look at his parents as he held the cat in his arms. "Almost all of the noticeable scars on my body, I got in Inaba. But the one that hurts the most is this one." He pointed to where he knew the scar was from Naoto shooting him. "At one point, Nanako was kidnapped and taken into the TV world. We went after her and my team was mind controlled. Naoto shot me." He said.

Yu then left his parents to contemplate his words, what he had told them, what they had seen. He headed up the stairs to get ready for bed. He grabbed a pillow and set it outside the door for Morgana and put the cat down on it. "Sorry, but I think tonight will be a night just for Naoto and I."

"I understand." Morgana said as he began to circle some to get comfortable. "Hey Yu?"

"Yeah?" Yu paused to look at the cat, crouching down slightly.

"Thanks for everything. I know you didn't have to help us, I know you could have just as easily turned us in or left us to our own devices." Morgana said. "But it was nice having some backup like you."

Yu nodded his head. "I won't say it was fun but… I did feel like my old self again, my real self. Now I know not to lose that self."

"Would you go back and change anything if you could?" Morgana asked, tilting his head.

Yu inhaled a bit but refrained from answering the question. There were a number of things that he would have liked to change, but such a question was… difficult to answer. After all, if he did something different would things still have turned out okay? "Good night Morgana." Yu said as he went into his room.

He got his own sleepwear together and took out the futon. He also texted everyone to inform them that somehow, someway, his parents had seen what had happened and retained their memories. He also invited everyone to come meet his parents. And when Naoto came into his room, he headed off to take a shower of his own. Truly, he was just ready for bed. He dried off and changed while he was in the bathroom

When he came back to the bed, he saw Naoto was still up and waiting for him. Yu made his way over and climbed into the futon with her, drawing the covers up over both of them. He felt her turn into his body and he turned to glance at the Detective for a while.

"It's over." Naoto said softly, wrapping her arms around him. "We're finally done. We're finally safe."

Yu nodded his head and inhaled. "At least for now." he said softly. "Hopefully no more Metaverse shenanigans though." He was realistic about that. Neither of them knew if Philemon or Igor or whatever the enemy of Philemon was had anything more in store for him or Akira. And unfortunately, if he or Akira were dragged into something else, so would their friends.

Naruto laid her head on his chest and just listened to his heartbeat for a while. "Senpai," She said softly. "What happened at the top of the tower?" Yu could hear the pain in her voice, not knowing how he might have died had to be eating at her.

"Akira and I used Armageddon as we planned, wasting the Shadows. Akira went down and I started battling Yaldabaoth on my own. I'm the only one that really can." He said softly. "The others started to come and join me, helping out as they got their energy back, even Akechi was there. And just before Akira could join us… Yaldabaoth destroyed part of the tower I was standing on." He said softly. "I managed to get Morgana out but…"

But he had still been slipping.

Naoto buried her face into his chest. "I hate and love how selfless you are at times." she said. "Please, try to be more conscious of yourself in the future." She said.

Yu nodded softly and he moved up to gently brush his fingers through her hair. But he knew that things were bound to get easier for a time. He just had to believe that. He'd get his degree, he'd go into teaching.

And hopefully he would be by Naoto's side during that time.

Take Your Time

Akira grunted a moment as he sat up. Christmas Day. It was just before day break. He heard the gentle snores coming from his bed and he looked over to see Makoto still asleep. Not that he blamed her. He'd still be asleep if he could be. But having slept on his couch for the night, it was time to get up as his body was aching something fierce.

Inhaling, he got part of his Shujin Uniform out and began to put everything on. Black slacks, white t-shirt, and the suspenders. He grabbed a dark blue jacket and tossed it on, though not the one he had been wearing while he was trying to hide who he was. He kept his glasses off and sighed a bit. He grabbed his phone a moment and brought up the newest number that had been put in.

'I'll be along shortly.' He texted Sae Niijima, he wanted her to know that he hadn't forgotten what he had said.

'I take it Makoto is still with you?'

'She's still asleep. I'll be waking her up before I go. I won't be bringing my phone.' He grabbed his wallet and tucked it inside his jacket.

He set his phone on the work counter he had, alongside the old laptop he had fixed up. He glanced around a moment, taking in the space that Sojiro had let him have. He wouldn't be waking to the smell of coffee and curry any longer. He swallowed thickly as he sat down and rested his elbows on his thighs and clasped his hands in front of his face. No more Morgana stretching out on his chest.

He closed his eyes and hung his head. It wasn't right. Why did he have to keep getting shafted by Justice? What was the damn point?

But then he knew. It was for his friends, and Akira Kurusu would do anything for the friends that he had made. He opened his eyes to look over to Makoto. He stood up and made his way over towards her. "Makoto." He said firmly and gently touched her shoulder.

She jolted awake, fist cocked and ready to come swinging. But she paused as she blinked and registered who it was that woke her. "Oh… Akira-kun." She said. "Sorry about that, I just… I went on reflex." She said.

Akira nodded his head. "It's time." He said.

He watched her tilt her head in confusion before the prior night's conversation came rushing back. And then her look sobered. She swallowed and nodded softly. She swung her legs out of the bed, bare feet touching the cold hardwood. "Jeez, that's cold." She said and moved to grab her boots.

"I'll make us some coffee." Akira said. If it was to be his last day, he wanted to leave to a cup of warm coffee in him, to the smell of it brewing.

He headed down the stairs and quietly set to work, grinding the house blend fresh. He could handle the more expensive beans as he pleased, but for this he just wanted a cup of good Le Blanc Coffee. Coffee he couldn't get anywhere else. He watched the process, a process he had memorized by then. And while his cups of coffee were still routinely beaten out by Sojiro Sakura, Akira liked to think that he made a mean cup of coffee.

He finally pulled two cups of coffee and began to prepare them. Makoto liked hers with real cream and heavy sugar. In fact, he knew how each one of his friends liked their coffee. Ann liked it with lots of cream and lots of sugar. Ryuji preferred his with an additional shot of espresso to keep him going. Yusuke had a monstrosity using vanilla, cream, cinnamon, chocolate syrup, and caramel. But if he couldn't, he'd take it straight black and slightly cooled to drink all in one go. Futaba didn't really drink coffee, instead sticking to his stash of sodas, often the Dr. NEOs. And Haru's was simple, two spoonfuls of sugar with a dash of salt.

He also knew their tastes in curry. Ann liked it beef, not too spicy but with heat. Ryuji liked it with meat of any kind and as hot as he could make it. Yusuke liked his to be mild and vegetable as it was cheaper. Makoto liked chicken with a hint of a kick with her rice on the side. Futaba liked it anyway she could get it. And Haru liked the vegetable curry but wanted things on the spicier side.

He was finishing up washing the dishes when Makoto came down and looked at him. "Akira-kun," She said. He glanced up. "You're crying…" She whispered.

"Am I?" Akira dried his hands and reached up. Sure enough, there had been tears spilling down his face. "Well… That's rather unbecoming of the Leader of the Phantom Thieves." He said with a slightly rueful chuckle.

"Akira-kun," Makoto whispered. "What's wrong?" She asked as she moved around the counter.

What was wrong… More like what wasn't wrong… But then he knew. He knew what was wrong. He had already seen the Reflection in the mirror to this. The version of himself that had won, had gotten Satanael and beaten Yaldabaoth and then had come to a different world to fight himself.

There was no happy ending. He didn't want to go. He wanted to stay there with Makoto, or run away with her. Run away with all his friends, continue their work as the Phantom Thieves, continue to put the bad guys away and give courage to people. He wanted to continue to help people.

But he had to go. To make sure that Makoto and Haru and Yu and Naoto and all the rest got to be safe, he had to go meet Sae Niijima at the Police Station.

Akira inhaled deeply. He ignored the tears that wanted to spill down once more. He turned to face Makoto and pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms tight around her. He could feel her stiffen up in surprise. But slowly her arms wrapped around him and she leaned into him. He squeezed her tightly, he never wanted to forget the feel of her arms around his body, her slender form against him

"Makoto Niijima, from the bottom of my heart, thank you." Akira said softly. "You have brought so much light to my life, I'm not sure where to even begin to thank you for what you have done for me. And I am more sorry for this than I can say." He gave another tight squeeze before he stepped away. He looked to her face, seeing the tears that wanted to spill down.

"I love you Makoto." Akira said softly before he turned and headed out of Leblanc in the early hours of the morning. He didn't look back, he couldn't look back. If he did…

The Fool had to become the World.

Take Your Time

Makoto barely made it to a bar stool before she slumped down. Her hands trembled as she reached for the cup of coffee. But she couldn't grab it, not without spilling it onto the saucer. She felt so hopeless in those few moments. She stopped trying to grab the cup and instead just buried her face in her hands, finally sobbing.

She never heard the door open. But eventually the smell of cigarettes and cologne was near her, a hand touching her shoulder. She looked up to see Sojiro Sakura, looking at her with concern. "Where's Akira?" he asked.

"Oh Boss…" Makoto said, tears flowing still. "He's gone. Sis… She needed…"

"Jeez… thought I taught him better than to make a girl cry." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'll wait until the others get here to hear this story." He said. No doubt Sojiro still knew that it wasn't going to be a happy ending of a story. He gently helped her up. "Come on, the others shouldn't see you like this." Makoto could only nod and walk as he lead her towards the small bathroom

The door closed behind her and Makoto went to the sink, starting it up. She just stood there for a time, crying softly. She couldn't quite stop the sniffles or the sobs. She knew Akira was doing the right thing… She knew that in order for society to reform, that Shido needed to be brought to justice.

But Akira was being sacrificed.

She began to wash her face. Makoto looked up to see the water dripping from her face and into the sink below. She stared at the mirror for a long while. Akira needed her. Needed all of them. And here she was, hiding in a bathroom.

Hadn't she sworn to herself to never be that person that just rolled over and let others walk all over her?

She dried her face and this time when she looked in the mirror, Makoto's eyes were filled with determination. She didn't know what she could do, but she would clear Akira's name. It wasn't impossible, and then no one could claim 'Gross Misconduct while on Probation.' Akira would likely get quite the blackmark on his record, but they wouldn't be able to hold him anymore for breaking his Probation.

She stepped out of the bathroom and glanced towards Sojiro who was busy preparing what he normally had to. It had since become daybreak, a bit of time passing since Akira had left. "Boss, I'm going to need another cup of coffee please." Makoto said. "Something strong, cream with heavy sugar."

Sojiro turned to look at her a moment. "Oh? Looks like you've pulled yourself together." But he began to make her the cup of coffee she asked for.

Makoto nodded her head. "It'll take some research, but that's something I'm good at." Makoto got her phone out and began to look things up while she sat at a booth.

She heard Futaba come in after some time and glanced up. "Hey, where's Akira?" Futaba asked as she made her way to her usual seat.

"Futaba-chan, I need you to get your laptop. I'll explain everything when everyone else is here, but Akira-kun did something stupid but important." Makoto said as she continued reading on her phone. She needed to figure out what they'd need.

It looked like they needed a name.

Eventually, Yusuke, Ann, Ryuji, and Haru showed up, much at the same time. And Ryuji came in like his usual boisterous self. "Merry Christmas!" He said, drawing it out. But he seemed to take in Makoto sitting and reading on her phone and Futaba looking visibly down. "Hey, what's with this gloomy vibe? Where's Akira?" He asked.

"Sit down and I'll explain when the Investigation Team gets here. They deserve to know what happened as well." Makoto said as she returned to her phone. There were some looks around before everyone took their seats.

And Haru sat on the same side as Makoto, briefly glancing over her shoulder. "What are you looking at Mako-chan?" she asked.

"Something to help Akira-kun if we can pull it off." Makoto said.

"What's happened to Akira?" Ryuji asked, suddenly sitting straight up. And it was of little wonder. Ryuji had been by Akira's side the longest, even before Morgana. But Makoto didn't answer him, choosing to continue with her research.

Eventually Yu and Naoto came into Leblanc followed closely by the rest of the Investigation Team. It certainly made Leblanc a little cramped, but there was plenty of room as long as there wasn't a fire. "Hey guys, I even managed to find a mangy cat." Yu joked as he pulled Morgana of all cats out of his bag and set him by Futaba. However, he was quick on the uptake. "What's happened?" he asked more seriously.

"Yeah, and where's Akira?" Yosuke asked, glancing about.

Makoto finally set her phone down and inhaled deeply before exhaling. Her throat felt tight, but she decided to push ahead. "Akira-kun went to turn himself into the police." She said.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Ryuji yelled the loudest of everyone as he jumped to his feet.

"Why? What happened?" Ann asked, desperate for answers, but soon everyone was talking over each other.

"Shut it!" Makoto finally yelled out herself, letting Queen come out in full. "Maybe if I didn't have to talk over all of you, I can explain what I know and how we might be able to help!" The silence that filled the cafe at her yelling was thankfully complete/ Makoto settled back into her seat a bit with a calmness she didn't really feel.

"When Akechi came to help us, or kill Akira-kun I'm not sure which, he put a big wrench in Sis' case. As in, there's no one else that would testify against Shido." Makoto said. "And without someone to testify the correlation between Shido's crimes and the Metaverse, Shido will walk. Everything we did will be for nothing. And if Shido walks, every last bit of what Naoto-kun did will be for nothing. Her getting shot will be for nothing."

"No one could testify against Shido's accomplices except Shido." Naoto said with a soft mutter of understanding. "Sonofa-"

"Akira-kun decided to go of his own volition after Sis asked him." Makoto said. "He's doing it to protect us all. With Akechi in the ground, Shido in jail, there's no one that's going after Akira's life as hard as before. So he left this morning. The higher ups would try to put a stop to the Phantom Thief nonsense, even if they had to fabricate evidence against us. By Akira-kun going to them, they can think we're finished." And it pissed Makoto off something fiercely. "The problem is his past record. If it wasn't for that, there'd be so little they could actually prove. But he's on probation."

"Gross Misconduct, immediately back to jail." Naoto said with a grimace. "He's a minor, so he'd likely only be in until he's eighteen. But by then, they might tack more onto him."

"I would have to double check some of Sis' books," Makoto said, giving Naoto a bit of a look at her interrupting. "But if we can prove that Akira-kun was innocent of the original assault crime, that Shido falsified the report…"

Futaba nodded her head. "That's why you need me to get my laptop." She said. "I might be able to pull up some videos, but I'd need the original date and where it took place." She said. "I can get video evidence."

"It'd be unlawfully obtained." Naoto said. "The prosecutors will have a field day with that and probably slam Akira with more."

"Then what can we do?" Rise asked, looking between Naoto and Makoto.

"Not sure how much we can do out in Inaba." Chie said. "And it's not like we can stay here in Shibuya for weeks to help settle the matter."

"You guys leave that to us." Haru said. "We appreciate the help so far, but this is for our Leader." She said and gave a soft bow and a smile.

"She's right." Yusuke said. "You needn't stick your head out so far."

"Hey… what about Dojima-san?" Kanji asked.

Yu shook his head. "Dojima won't be able to help out as much as you guys think. While he's pretty well respected in Inaba, he's a small town detective versus possible homicide detectives of a big city." Not to mention Dojima had no real reason to be asking about Akira Kurusu.

Makoto glanced towards Futaba. "Akira-kun has mentioned saving a woman." She said, gaining Futaba's attention. "The video might not help us with evidence, but if we could instead convince the woman to testify that she was pressurized by Shido into giving a false report about the assault," Makoto said meaningfully.

Futaba nodded her head. "And if we can have a picture of the woman, then we can have a face to ask around about." She said.

Makoto nodded her head. She then turned to Naoto. "I… I don't mean to presume… but would it be possible for you to get the name of the woman?" Makoto asked.

"Oh yeah, the police hafta keep stuff like that, right?!" Ryuji asked, getting excited at the idea.

"Please Naoto? We can leave it to you, right?" Morgana asked, standing up on the counter he was on.

"The cat really does talk…" Sojiro said from behind the counter, staring at Morgana a bit in surprise.

Naoto sighed and touched her hat, tilting it down slightly. Makoto frowned a bit, surely Naoto wasn't going to decline helping them? "It is a big risk." Naoto said neutrally.

"Come on!" Ryuji said a bit aggressively. "We can't just leave Akira in jail! What risk would there be?! Your reputation?"

"Ryuji!" Yu snapped at the blond boy. "It is not just about Naoto's reputation." He said.

"My family has been around for five generations of detectives." Naoto said. "It is not my reputation I worry about, it is the reputation of my grandfather, my mother, my father." Naoto looked over towards Ryuji. "It is one thing to ruin your own reputation, that would be your choice. But it is another to ruin someone else's. But I did not say that I would not help. I will see what I can dig up. Kindly don't insinuate that I won't help. I would have thought, after everything we have been through, that you would have learned by now that I do care for my friends rather deeply."

Ryuji had the good grace to look away. "Sorry… It's just… after everythin' we've been through, Akira doesn't deserve to be in jail. And… he was the first person to treat me like I wasn't some fuck up. And… I still don't have a handle on bein' much of an upstandin' person. I just know Akira needs our help."

Naoto nodded her head a moment. "Once I get a name and Futaba is able to get a picture, I recommend going to Ichiko Ohya with this." Naoto offered. "Ohya-san knows Akira, and she is friendly enough for a reporter." Makoto had to give Naoto credit, she wasn't phased by Ryuji in the slightest, merely accepted the apology for what it was for and continued to focus on their current problem.

Yu gave a slight snort and shook his head. "So much for no more problems, huh?" He asked, looking at Naoto.

"Indeed." Naoto said, her own tone was tinged with amusement. "We need a vacation." She sipped at her coffee.

Makoto gave a slight snort of amusement, but she couldn't help but agree with the assessment, especially after how the past several weeks had gone.

Take Your Time

Akira sighed as he got off the train and began to look around. He knew that he had to look strange to the regulars that rode that particular train at that particular time. He was a young man that looked dejected, because he was, and seemed lost. Mostly because he didn't want to go where he knew he was heading. Someone bumped past his shoulder and he sighed a bit before starting to move with the flow of traffic. Despite what he wanted, there was no point in holding everything up.

A small niggling part of him continued to remind him that he could turn around. He could be back to Leblanc before it opened for the morning, probably not before Sojiro got there, but before it opened. He could call the Prosecutors bluff. They didn't have anything on him. They didn't have anything on his friends.

He ignored that little part of him.

He was going to the police station and that would be it. Sae needed him to testify, and that would be it. Shido's advocate was going to grill him and put him on the spot and it wasn't going to be pretty. But Akira was determined to see this through to the end and make sure Shido saw the justice that was coming to him.

He snorted with amusement. Justice. A word that had left a bitter taste in his mouth not a year ago, now it left hope blooming in his chest. Hope for a better world. He was going to be paraded in the paper as a pariah for everyone to hate. Someone that had been soliciting anarchy or some sort of crap that he was sure someone would love to spout about him.

His reputation would be well and truly in tatters. Not that he had much of a reputation to begin with, what with the criminal record. He shook his head. Even getting any savings would be difficult, getting a business loan would be near impossible. He couldn't ask his mother for anything after all. He doubted any office would accept a resume, and teaching? He'd be lucky if he was laughed out of the building.

It meant he was even called back.

But Gross Misconduct while on Probation, it was almost like a noose was tightening up around his neck. He might be able to find work after high school with some of his confidants, but working in Sojiro's shop wasn't going to bring much in. There was a reason after all why Sojiro didn't have any other employees. Iwai's shop? It was too specialized. No way was he going to be able to make a career out of that.

Akira gave a derisive laugh. He was about to go turn himself into the cops, the last time he had been there he had gotten his ass handed to him and narrowly dodged an assassination attempt. And he was thinking about potential careers for a criminal out of prison.

"I must be crazy." Akira said, shaking his head.

He came to the police station and paused momentarily. He wondered if he should have let Sojiro turn him in and claim that ridiculous bounty on his head. Nah... That would just get Sojiro into trouble.

His feet dragged him in and he glanced around, seeing everyone milling about. It wasn't yet busy, what with it being early in the morning. But he went to the officer on duty at the front desk. What exactly was he supposed to say?

"Can I help you kid?" The uniform at the desk asked, sounding bored. Not that Akira blamed him, it looked to be an older man in his forties that was still working a desk job and in uniform at that. How many younger men in plain clothes were above him?

"Yeah… I suppose you could." Akira said with a sigh. He cleared his throat a moment. "I am the Leader of the Phantom Thieves, here to turn myself in." He said it loud enough that everyone could hear him. But he was also sounding rather bored himself. He half expected to be tackled to the ground, yet everyone just kept milling about.

"Sure you are kid." The uniform at the desk said. "Look, we've had about two dozen imposters come in since-"

"I was captured by a full group of armed officers including two SATs, had my shit kicked in while I was imprisoned down in the underground cells, last one in the west wing on the right by the way, pumped full of drugs in an attempt to make myself talk, and signed my name as 'Go Fuck Yourself' to the Detective trying to get me to sign a testimony in my name." Akira said bluntly. "I can name every victim in order since April, and not just the big names but the small ones too. But lo and behold, I come in here and try to actively do the right thing and turn myself in so I can testify against Shido for the murders he committed, especially Okumura-san he tried to pin on me, and I'm getting turned away by some jaded uniform working the front desk?"

Okay, he was actually getting worked up. He needed to calm down before he made too big of a scene. Actually… Damn, he forgot his cell phone.

"You know what? I don't have time for politeness. I'm going home." Akira said and turned on his heel.

"And renegade on our deal?" An amused voice sounded out. He turned to see Sae leaning against a wall with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"N-niijima-san," The officer at the front desk said, clearly not expecting her.

Akira looked at the coffee and shook his head. "That looks awful and weak. What are you doing drinking that?"

"Sorry, I didn't have time to go and get proper coffee, so I'm making do." Sae said. She then glanced towards the officer at the desk. "Your superior will know what a good job you have done." She said neutrally, but even Akira felt a chill run down his spine. She looked to another Detective. "Would you please handcuff him and take him to a holding cell?" She asked. "And be gentle, he is here of his own accord."

The officer in question came over and hesitated a moment. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to cuff yourself, would you kid? Sorry, but I don't know how you do the whole 'stealing hearts' business."

Akira snorted and held his hands out. He accepted the handcuffs and made a grandiose show of putting them on and even clicking them nice and tight so that he couldn't escape. He held his hands out for inspection, fingers curled inwards.

The Detective checked the cuffs, making sure that they were secure before he began to lead Akira by the shoulder towards the holding cells. He even got one to himself, how generous. He was given a thorough patdown where they didn't find anything. He had just taken enough money for the train and that had been it.

The Detective undid the handcuffs and took a half step back. Akira took a half step forward and splayed his hands out. "Boo!" He said. He couldn't help his little joke, especially given how the Detective was being so damned worried about him. Though he supposed he did take it a bit far, especially seeing the Detective's hand drop down to his pistol.

"Kurusu-san." Sae said in a warning manner.

"Sorry, sorry. Nerves are worked." Akira said and he looked to the Detective. "No hard feelings?" He asked and held a hand out. "I promise, I can't take your heart without my cellphone."

The Detective grunted a moment and took Akira's hand. "Yeah, no hard feelings." He said, though it felt like he was trying to crush Akira's hand. "Detective Tomokazu Fujimaru." He offered.

Huh… This was the detective that Naoto had called a favor in with. But he looked so bland. Like there was just nothing notable about him. Except his tie. His tie had pawprints as a design. Akira liked his tie.

Akira sighed and moved to sit down on the cot. No doubt he'd be transferred soon enough to an actual detention facility.

"We'll get Shido." Sae said. "I promise."

Akira smiled. "I know." He said.

He had to believe that the woman could do her job, and do it well. Or else, what was he doing there?

Chapter End

A/N: Sorry, having some complications with this chapter's posting.