(A/N: I really don't have anything to say, except that you know what'll go down in this part of the game's plot. ;)
Lol, one of my personal favorite scenes, tbh. And the anime managed to make it better somehow. XD
So without any further ado, BUCKLE THE FUCK UP!!! 'CUZ HERE WE GO!!!)

*******

Opening

*******

------Evening: Shibuya's Station------

Like all good things must come to an end, the fun time the group had at Ginza eating sushi was over. It was just as Ann stated before, they did have their sushi like kings; the taste was simply beyond description which momentarily led them to forget everything that's been happening. Obviously, that wasn't the first time any of them had sushi in their lives, but something about that experience stood out to them... perhaps it was the good company? Or the fact that Yusuke wolfed it all down like he hadn't eaten a decent meal since forever? Well, that shouldn't be surprising given how slender and thin-built he was. They left the restaurant full and satisfied after such a good meal, walking in Shibuya's train station to head home and go their separate ways, still complementing the extraordinary taste of the sushi they ate. They truly wanted to savor the flavor for a bit longer, and that restaurant really lived to the reputation it had--the price wasn't bad either so that sure was a bonus.

And just when they thought that the day would end perfectly after that celebration...

"Niijima-san! What are you doing here?"

The ears of the thieves perked up, thus they turned to the source of that sudden call, seeing the famous high school detective approaching them.

Goro Akechi...

"Akechi-kun..." Makoto looked at him with slightly wide eyes.

"Akechi...?" Ryuji mumbled angrily.

"You're the ones from the TV station... could it be that you're friends of Niijima-san?" Akechi asked.

"That's right." Ren replied.

"Do you know this guy?" Yusuke questioned.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Akechi. Glad to make your acquaintance, Yusuke Kitagawa."

"How do you know my name?"

"Well, because I'm a psychic, of course."

"........." Emiko face-palmed her forehead comically.

"Haha, I'm only joking. In truth, I'm a rookie detective. You're a former pupil of Madarame, right? I have actually just recently joined the investigation team looking into the Phantom Thieves. Did you see that Medjed has declared war on them?"

"War...?" Ryuji repeated.

"Their website was updated just a moment ago." Akechi added.

"For real?!" Ryuji gasped while pulling his phone out, "English again..."

"........?" Having her interest piqued by that statement, Emiko grabbed her device as well.

"Wait, what...?!" Ann pulled her own phone out as well.

"What's it say?!"

"Hm? Why do you seem so agitated?" Akechi queried.

"Oh, um..." Ann trailed.

"She's, uh... a huge fan of the Phantom Thieves. A total nutjob for 'em." Ryuji replied nervously.

"Hm, I don't know how wise it is to be a fan of groups like them." Akechi commented.

"Speak for yourself, Detective. Aren't they the only case on your mind currently?" Emiko shot back.

"Haha, I can't deny that. Quite an interesting observation for someone who's neutral about them, Hayashi-san."

"Even so, that doesn't stop me from hearing their news. They're everywhere, after all."

"That's quite true."

"What is with these comments?" Makoto asked Akechi suspiciously.

"My apologies. I didn't mean to butt into your conversation. But I must say, this is an interesting group. Prosecutor Niijima's sister, an ex-pupil of Madarame, and a few Shujin Academy students... it seems you're all connected to the Phantom Thieves. Perhaps you have better intel than I do."

"........." Ren narrowed his eyes.

"Ah, yes. I wanted to ask you something. Regarding this whole Medjed commotion... if you were one of the Phantom Thieves, what would you do? You said you're a supporter of the Phantom Thieves, did you not?" Akechi turned his gaze to Ren.

"I'm in no position to answer that." Ren replied.

"Unsurprising, I suppose you aren't interested in such gossip..."

"Sorry to disappoint, but we're just normal high school kids. If anything, we wanna hear what you gotta say, Mr. Detective." Ryuji knitted his eyebrows.

"...My profiling of the Phantom Thieves has led me to believe they are a group of juveniles. They have a relative amount of free time after school, and a hideout to slip away to. Furthermore, considering Kamoshida was their first target, it seems they began activity around April."

"........!" The group felt like someone had poured boiling water on them.

"In a way, all I've just said about the Phantom Thieves coincides with the group you have here."

"What, you gonna report us?" Ryuji grunted.

"I didn't say I was being suspicious of you." Akechi pointed out.

"But you kinda implied it." Emiko stated.

"Oh, did I?" Akechi questioned.

"You're the suspicious one." Ren rebutted.

"Hm...? I wasn't anticipating that response. You always find a way to rise above my expectations. You really are an intriguing one. I lack your calm mannerisms... but don't you think my deduction is an interesting one? I bet we'd make a great team if we worked together." Akechi chuckled.

"What?! The hell're you sayin'?!" Ryuji snapped.

"I'm curious to hear what you have to say. You seem to be a wealth of information. In return, I'll teach you how to make deductions. I believe that is a fair trade-off for you." Akechi approached Ren.

"Personal space, please..."

"Oh, my apologies."

Ren could only sigh deeply.

"Well, this has been a valuable point of reference for me. I hope to see you all again." Akechi smiled at them one last time before leaving them alone.

The moment the teenagers made sure that the coast was clear, they all exhaled deeply as if they were holding their breath that entire time. Ever since Akechi walked to them and began his line of questioning, all of them had to be extra cautious and on guard, careful not to say anything that might raise his suspicion. Akechi was a detective, so it should be natural for him to pick up the smallest slips from people he'd interrogate and piece them together, and that alone was nerve-wracking. After exchanging some concerned glances, the high schoolers gathered around one another in a small circle to discuss what the hell just happened.

"What was that about...?" Ann whispered.

"He's definitely on us." Emiko emphasized.

"Do you think he's ascertained our true identities?" Yusuke questioned.

"Nah, it couldn't be. Right?" Ryuji asked.

"We can't rule that possibility out. Even if he doesn't know, he's suspicious of us." Emiko glanced at the blonde-haired.

"I'd like to say that it's simply us overthinking this, but... it may be best to be cautious from now on. We shouldn't forget that Alibaba was able to discover who we are." Makoto added.

"True, but it's not as though he had tangible evidence to prove that discovery. Just keep acting normally." Yusuke stated matter-of-factly.

"More importantly, things are getting serious with Medjed!" Ann brought her phone out.

"Oh yeah! What'd they write?!" Ryuji recalled.

"Here, I'll read it. 'We are disappointed in the people of Japan and their belief in the Phantom Thieves' false justice. Hence, we shall proceed with our plan to cleanse Japan. This process will commence on August 21st. As a result, the Japanese economy shall suffer devastating damages.'" Ann read.

"For real...?" Ryuji widened his eyes.

"Cleanse?" Ren repeated.

"Keep going." Makoto said firmly.

"'However, we are magnanimous. We will give the Phantom Thieves one final opportunity to repent. As proof of this repentance, we demand that they reveal their identities to the public. We will attack if these demands remain unmet. The future of Japan rests with the Phantom Thieves. We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil.' ...That's what it says." Ann finished.

"Sounds bad..." Ryuji cleared his throat.

"In other words, if we don't unmask ourselves, Medjed will attack Japan... correct? It seems they are quite the attention seekers..." Yusuke trailed.

"What the hell is that?!" Ryuji yelled.

"If Medjed's cyberattack caused Japan's economy to fall into chaos..." Yusuke started.

"...blame would probably be pinned on the Phantom Thieves." Morgana continued the artist's statement.

"Even though they did it?!" Ryuji couldn't believe it.

"The Phantom Thieves are the ones who pulled the trigger, that's how it would look." Makoto added.

"That shouldn't be surprising... given how we were the ones who remained silent." Emiko held her chin.

"What are we gonna do about this...? We're going to do what they want?" Ann asked worriedly.

"No."

That bluntness coming from Ren, caused the group's fullest attention to shift toward him. The dark-haired leader had a rather firm and serious expression on his face as he eyed his comrades--it looked like he set his mind on that matter and there was no way of going back.

"Our justice would lose in that case." Ren's voice didn't hold the slightest tint of hesitation.

"Yeah! That's right, Ren!" Ryuji wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulder happily.

".........." Even Emiko was a little surprised by his leader-like persona.

"Then what should we do? They're international hackers. Do you have a plan?" Ann asked once more.

"If only we could get in contact with Alibaba." Makoto closed her eyes.

"Our only clues... are Boss and Futaba. Anyways, it's too damn hot out here. Why don't we go to Leblanc? We can talk more over there." Ryuji suggested.

*******

------Café Leblanc------

Along the way from the train station to Yongen-Jaya, the young thieves kept going through all kinds of options and possibilities they had to stand up against Medjed's new threat. It seemed like every idea they tried to come up with might backfire on them in a way or another, much to their disappointment. Even Makoto, who was the sharpest and smartest person in the group, was having difficulties coming up with a sufficient solution that'd work best with the least amount of damage. Finally arriving at their destination, Ren opened Leblanc's door which was surprisingly unlocked despite how late it was... could it be that Sojiro waited for him all that time? But there was no one there... oh no, he forgot to lock it, didn't he? But luckily, the shop remained in its usual state, no one had robbed it or anything, thank goodness, thus the team seated themselves inside to talk the situation through.

"We went through all sortsa options on our way here, but... looks like we got no choice but to ask for Alibaba's help." Ryuji admitted.

"Question is, how do we get in touch with him?" Ann wondered.

"He cut off all contact with us after that misunderstanding. Then again, if we manage to steal Futaba's heart, he may attempt to reach out to us once more." Yusuke added.

"But we don't have any clues on what her keywords are." Morgana rebutted.

"Dammit, Alibaba! Where the hell are you?!" Ryuji growled angrily.

"Actually, he may be closer than we think." Makoto blunted out.

"Huh?" Ryuji was dumbfounded.

"What do you mean?" Emiko questioned.

"Ren, show me your phone." Makoto requested.

"Sure."

Grabbing the boy's phone and scrolling back into his latest conversation with Alibaba, Makoto found what she was looking for and showed the screen to the others. Her finger pointed at the message Ren when he typed "Could we meet?," making the others blink in confusion at the context of the message. Seeing that they wouldn't get what she was getting at, Makoto sighed deeply and hopelessly before proceeding to explain her point.

"Right here. When Ren asked, 'Could we meet?' At first Alibaba answered, 'Meet? With me?' Then he said, 'Wait. I get it. You steal people's hearts directly... that might make things difficult.' Looking at it in context, doesn't it make sense that 'me' equals Futaba Sakura, whose heart is to be stolen?" Makoto asked.

"You're right!" Ann agreed.

"What do you mean? I don't get it..." Ryuji trailed.

"Hypothetically speaking, even if we stole Futaba's heart... how would Alibaba know that the deed has been done? Would he truly be able to discern that just from cell phone messages?"

Makoto's question raised a very good point that slipped their minds.

"You mean, he'd have to meet her in person?" Morgana pressed on.

"Alibaba was able to deliver the calling card here. On top of that, he can check on Futaba's condition. However, according to the circumstances he put forth, he's unable to meet with us. This leads me to believe that it would be bad for him if we were to see the two of them together. It seems to me..." Makoto held her chin.

"Wait, you're not saying that..." A cold sweat rolled down Emiko's face.

" ...Alibaba may in fact be Futaba herself." Makoto nodded.

".........?!" Everyone widened their eyes in shock.

It all made sense now. The perfect timing of Alibaba's first contact with Ren, how the calling card was delivered to Leblanc, the fact that they can't get out, their panic and withdrawal... all of it.

"For real?!" Ryuji gasped while taking a few steps backward.

"It all starts to fit now... I can see why you'd think like that. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense now." Emiko held her chin as she narrowed her eyes.

"So she's asking that we steal her own heart...?" Yusuke questioned astonishingly.

"Maybe she wants us to save her from the scars of her abuse...? That would be hard to ask directly." Ann stared down.

"Right..." A frown was planted on Emiko's lips.

".........." Ren couldn't help himself but look at the girl with a mixture of worry and guilt.

He knew what she must've been thinking... Emiko was also someone who suffered from domestic abuse for two straight years from the age of eleven to thirteen. Had the Phantom Thieves existed back then, her father's heart would change and she'd return to live a normal, happy life. Plus, she was a Persona-user, so she couldn't possibly have a Palace or a Shadow to undergo a change of heart herself; that was a painful and slow process she needed to accomplish on her own.

"I'd like to meet with Boss... he lives nearby, right?" Makoto asked politely.

"I know where his house is." Ren spoke.

"I agree. It's real late though. What're we gonna tell Boss when we get there?" Ryuji wondered.

"We'll say this take-out sushi is a gift for him." Makoto suggested.

"But my fatty tuna...!" Morgana whined.

"No complaining." Ann said.

"Sucks to be you, Morgana." Emiko flopped her loose strands behind her shoulders.

"You little...!" Morgana growled angrily.

"Let's go together. Boss may get the wrong idea if Ren and I show up alone." Makoto pointed out.

"Let's go." Ren nodded firmly before heading to the door.

*******

------Sakura Residence: The Front------

Skies were colored in a pitch-black color with dark clouds scattering in it, giving it rather a gloomy atmosphere. The only desperate source of light that could illuminate that darkness was the weak luminance of streetlights, giving a noticeably low radiance compared to the darkness that enveloped the streets. The cold night breeze blew on the teens' faces, sending light shivers to them as goosebumps grew on their skin from how chilly the weather was. Not only that, but the air held a smell of moisture in it, indicating a big chance that a storm was coming along, plus the weak sound of thunder in the distance.

"I don't like this weather." Ann looked up at the dark and cloudy sky.

On cue, Yusuke rang the doorbell once before waiting a few minutes for someone to open the door, but no movement could be heard inside and no one showed up. He rang it again for good measure and waited once more, but there was still no response.

"Nobody is answering. But the lights are on..." Makoto pointed.

"Think he's nappin'?" Ryuji questioned.

"Even Boss would've woken up with how many times we've rung this doorbell." Ann pointed out.

"I would think Futaba would have answered by now if she were here too." Morgana spoke.

"Don't tell me there's abuse goin' on in there right now?" Ryuji sweatdropped.

"Oh, come on." Ann's voice trembled.

"That's just absurd." Emiko followed.

From what she'd seen of Sojiro until now, he didn't strike her as someone abusive, then again... with her late father's case, she learned that she shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Yet, Ren lived under his roof, so he should've noticed if something was off about his guardian no matter how much he'd try to hide it, right?

"Ah, the gate is unlocked." Yusuke stated after pushing the rusty gate open, creating a light squeaky voice.

"Dude, you can't go openin' other people's stuff like that." Ryuji raised his voice.

"But look. The door seems to be slightly open as well. I wonder why. That's rather careless..." Makoto pointed her finger.

A flash of lightning struck, drawing a loud voice that pierced through their ears along with a quick, bright flash of light.

"Whoa, it sounds like it's going to rain... we should get inside!" Morgana nearly freaked out.

"...Do you think that's OK?" Makoto asked worriedly.

"Prolly...? If nothing's happening, we can always apologize!" Ryuji replied with his usual goofy grin before walking in.

"Hey!" Ann called as she followed him.

"That's NOT fine, we're basically breaking and entering." Emiko deadpanned as she entered the house too.

"My apologies, Boss!" Makoto murmured to herself while walking towards the door.

However, the interior of the house wasn't any better than the outside; it was almost pitch black, minus the faint old light that hung on the ceiling. It was so quiet and dead as they looked at the hallway that extended to the limit of their view, giving the vibe of typical scenes from horror movies. How could anyone possibly live in such a place?

"Hello, sir?" Makoto called as she stepped into the house.

"Anybody home?" Emiko followed.

"He's not out, is he? The door ahead is open, and I can hear the TV." Makoto whispered.

"I hope he didn't pass out or something... I mean, Boss is kinda old, ain't he?" Ryuji scratched his head.

"I'm a bit worried. Should we go in and check on him?" Ann asked worriedly.

"Let's check it out, we've come this far. We're comin' in!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"Please excuse us..." Makoto muttered, stepping in after taking her shoes off.

Then the teens began walking in, sneakily and carefully making their way into the dark house, the old wooden floor creaking under their feet in the process. The extremely dimly lit corridor didn't provide much help either since they could barely distinguish any of their surroundings in the darkness, making it a little harder to know their way inside.

"This is creepy. I'm kind of scared..." Ann murmured.

"Don't say that when you're in someone's--"

Makoto couldn't even continue her sentence because, and very suddenly, the only light that was illuminating the corridor turned off due to a blackout. The group's eyes widened fully in shock due to the unexpected blackout as they looked around them aimlessly. Thunder struck again, accompanied by a loud high-pitched blood-curdling scream that pierced through their ears and souls.

"A scream?! What was that?!" Makoto was about to jump back.

"H-How should I know?" Morgana replied nervously.

To make matters only worse, a loud thud came from the second floor as if something hard fell on the ground there. The girls flinched at the sound, even Emiko was a little shaken by the sound despite her cool demeanor, before they exchanged concerned looks. For a split second, Emiko's hand tugged into Ren's sleeve for dear life, earning rather a questionable look from him before she quickly regained her posture with an audible huff. She was scared too, that was for certain but tended not to show it like Ann and Makoto.

"Did you hear that?!" Makoto whispered while slightly shaking.

"Let's get out of here, please? Can we just go?" Ann asked, clearly starting to freaking out and gripping her fingers into Ryuji's shirt.

"What're you freakin' out for?" Ryuji asked casually.

"I-I-I'm not freaking out!" Ann yelped as she backed away from him, cheeks dusted in pink.

"Could it be Alibaba...? I mean, Futaba?" Morgana questioned.

Being fed up with enough horror for a single day, every single one of the party began walking away toward the main entrance of the house. Makoto, however, remained behind; her breath quickened, sweat rolling down her forehead, and limbs shaking from all the noises she heard. She felt unable to walk or take any step forward, she was too spooked to do so. While trying to walk away, Ren's shoulder bumped into the student council prez, making him look at her with slightly wide eyes when he saw the miserable state she was in.

"Um, sorry... can I hold your hand?" Makoto whispered to Ren.

"Sure..."

Taking his approval, Makoto clung to his arm as if her life depended on it as they took a few more steps forward. Ren turned his face away from the terrified girl, feeling slightly awkward and uncomfortable to have her so close to him like that.

"Eek!" Makoto froze as she shut her eyes, stopping her tracks.

"I can sense someone's presence..." Yusuke muttered.

"Who is it...? Who's there...?! I can't take this anymore! I'm leaving!" Makoto shouted.

To make matters only worse, the girl's knees were shaking terribly and were no longer able to support her weight, eventually collapsing on them. No matter how much she tried to move them, they wouldn't comply--as if she lost all control over her body as footsteps were walking down the old wooden stairs, their creaking becoming louder and louder.

"Makoto?" Ren called worriedly.

"N-No... my legs won't move..."

Soon enough, the sound of the footsteps came to a halt, bringing Makoto to turn her head back to its source, tears were piling in her eyes from how awfully scared she was. Behind her and Ren, a person's silhouette stood there but she wasn't able to see it from the utter blackness that was filling the house. That was until another bolt of thunder struck again, illuminating the person's face for mere seconds only that had long hair and lenses glowing in the dark.

"Aaaaaaahhhh!" Makoto screamed from the top of her lungs.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!" The silhouette also yelled before rushing back to the stairs.

"Alibaba! Futaba! Hey! C'mon, where are you?! You're a hacker, right? Just show yourself!" Ann called.

"What?!" The blonde-haired boy nearly jumped.

"She was here?" Yusuke questioned.

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry! PleasesavemeSis." Makoto chanted while clinging to Ren's leg.

"..........!" His body stiffened from how tight she was grabbing him.

"Are you OK, Futaba?!" Sojiro's voice cried out from outside of the house.

"Crap, he's home!" Ryuji gasped, making everybody run away to hide behind a corner.

The four remaining Ann, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Emiko all leaned their backs against a wall while covering their mouths with their hands to muffle any sound that might come out. Emiko stole a quick peek at Ren and Makoto from the corner of the wall, knitting her eyebrows in the process while grunting quietly under her breath. Then, the door swung fully open, causing Ann to squirm underneath her hands that covered her mouth while shutting her eyes tightly, Ryuji glancing at her in worry at her reaction.

"Who the hell are you?! Don't move! You hear me?!" Sojiro barged into the door.

Quickly, he pointed his flashlight to see Makoto holding Ren's leg while trembling crazily and chanting nonsensical sentences due to how fast and scared she was talking. His eyes shot wide open to the rather unexpected scene of the teen he was taking care of and one of his friends present in his house at that hour and in such a state.

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msosorrySis...somebodypleasesaveme..." Makoto was repeating these words over and over again.

"You... what're you doing in my house?" Sojiro asked shockingly.

"Um..." Ren couldn't form the right words to say.

"Ah..." Makoto opened her eyes, seeing Sojiro standing right across them.

"You're..." Sojiro trailed breathlessly.

"Oh... g-good... evening, sir... we... didn't mean... to intrude..." Makoto stuttered.

"Niijima-san! Wait, are you two dating?" Sojiro asked.

"W-We're j-just friends!"

"Friends nowadays get that close to each other...?"

"That's not it! This, um... things happened... and..."

Seeing that there was no point in hiding anymore, the other four teenagers came out from their hiding spots who were all laughing quite nervously. Sojiro's shock didn't ease from seeing that not only those two were there, but the whole group as well!

"You kids are here too...?!"

"Um, we brought you some sushi, but nobody answered when we rang the bell... the door was unlocked too. We could hear the TV though, so we got worried you might have passed out or something..." Ann explained nervously.

"The door was unlocked?" Sojiro asked astonishingly.

"Yes."

"...I do that sometimes. Guess I'm getting old."

"Hm, no wonder." Emiko commented.

"Um, excuse me. There's something we'd like to ask." Makoto spoke up.

"Hm? You wanna ask me?" Sojiro asked.

"There's someone else living here... isn't there?"

"Yeah... my daughter."

"Could she be Futaba Sakura...?"

"You told Niijima-san too?!"

"Well, I..." Ren trailed.

"U-Um... is there any way we could meet with Futaba-san? I think we may have frightened her earlier, so we'd like to apologize if at all possible..." Makoto spoke politely.

"Well... that's..." Sojiro trailed, not knowing how to respond.

"Is she sick...?"

"No, it's not like that." Sojiro said before sighing deeply and looking at the kids, "I don't want you all getting the wrong idea... I shouldn't have kept this a secret from you. Let's talk at my shop. She'll hear us if we stay here."

Each one of the group exchanged questionable looks to the other before nodding to themselves and following Sojiro out to hear the answers they sought of those said questions. However, Emiko stopped her tracks and had her brown eyes darting around the corridor where that little fiasco took place just a few moments ago. She felt as if there was a heavy weight being placed on her heart, which caused her to place a hand on her chest before she stared down at her feet. Her ribcage hurt once more and winced, making her fingers grip tightly into her shirt while her jaw pressed tightly... what was that feeling? It was eating her soul from the inside out. The way Makoto was grabbing Ren's arm and leg while burying her face into him and clinging to him for dear life, she didn't like seeing that at all.

What the hell was wrong with her...?

*******

------Café Leblanc------

Returning to the shop which was closed by Ren before he and his friends left, Sojiro made his way into one of the chairs that stood in front of the counter. He buried his face into his hand while sighing deeply and tiredly to himself, his finger tapping on the counter constantly. It was more than obvious that he had a lot on his mind, but didn't know where or how to start. Once he took his hand off his face, he was met with the worried and anticipated expressions of the young high schoolers who looked rather concerned about his well-being.

"Now, where do I start....?" Sojiro let out a deep, distressed sigh.

"Start from the beginning." Ren responded calmly.

"Futaba's mother and I knew each other long before Futaba was born. Her mother was a bit of a weird one, but we got along well for some reason... she was sharp-witted, somewhat stern, a little socially inept, but always carefree... she truly was a great woman."

"I see..." Makoto nodded.

"When something piqued her interest, that'd be all she focused on. She always worked deep into the night. I thought that'd change after her kid was born, but having Futaba didn't do much. Even with that, she always took good care of her."

"Working and watching over a child at the same time sounds rough..." Ann looked down.

"..........." Emiko grunted under her breath.

"I guess raising Futaba alone turned out to be tough on her in more ways than one..." Sojiro trailed.

"What about her father? Didn't he do anything?" Ren asked.

"There wasn't a father."

"Do you mean...?" Yusuke widened his eyes.

"Well, there probably was one. I didn't know him though. She never said a word about him, either. She was single when she gave birth to Futaba, and single when she raised her. They were an ordinary, loving family. You could really tell how much she cared for Futaba. But one day, she left... leaving Futaba behind."

"She left?" Ren dared to ask.

"Yes. She committed suicide." Sojiro replied.

The thieves' eyes shot wide open at the mere mention of the word.

"Suicide...?!" Ann gasped in shock.

"Wh-What...?!" Emiko's voice trembled.

"Threw herself into the street, right in front of Futaba's eyes..." Sojiro explained bitterly.

"Shocking doesn't begin to describe that..." Makoto covered her mouth.

"That's gotta be devastating for a kid." Ryuji said.

"So... well, a lot happened after that, but I ended up taking custody of Futaba... first, she was so depressed, she... she wouldn't even talk to me." Sojiro adjusted himself.

"Was that because she couldn't get over her mother's suicide...?" Ann asked sadly.

"I kept talking to her though, and she started opening up to me little by little. That's when I found out... Futaba blames herself for her mother's death."

".........!" Emiko's lips parted from shock.

"What...?! But why?" Ann questioned shockingly while widening her eyes.

"That part she's never told me. I wanted to know what led her to believing that, but I decided not to rub salt in the wound. Then, a few months ago... she started getting real scared, even when nothing was happening. She'd say things like 'I hear voices...' and 'Mom is looking at me...'"

"Hallucinations, huh? Just... like me..." Emiko covered her mouth, jaw trembling beneath her hand.

"Visual and auditory hallucinations... have you taken Futaba to a doctor?" Yusuke asked.

"I wanted to, but she refused. Even when I had a doctor come, she locked herself away in her room. Since then, she's become what you'd call a shut-in. She won't take a single step outside the house, or even try to see other people."

"What about you?" Yusuke questioned.

"Yeah, didn't you say that she started warming up to you?" Emiko finally opened her mouth.

"She doesn't even let me come into her room."

"That's pretty harsh..." Ryuji commented.

"Futaba is, well, a unique girl. She's so quick-minded that conversations with her tend to jump from one topic to the next... it seems like she's always coming to conclusions in her head. There's a lot I don't get about her..."

"Hmm..." Makoto hummed to herself.

"So yeah... her situation is why I couldn't let you in my house." Sojiro pointed out.

"I understand..." Ren looked away, feeling ashamed of himself.

"What Futaba needs is a safe place where nobody will threaten her. Somewhere she can be at ease. That's why I won't do anything she doesn't want. I don't make her do anything she's unwilling to either. Then again, I know that's no way for her to live. That's all I can do though..." Sojiro stood up.

"What does Futaba want in her life?" Ren lowered his head.

"I don't know. She just asks me for things she wants, like food or these complicated books... well, that's that. So can you just... leave her be?"

".........." The leader didn't say anything.

"I'm gonna head back then. You all better head home soon too." Sojiro stated before leaving the teenagers alone.

The moment the door closed behind the man, Ren sat down on a chair with an undeniably shocked expression on his face... it was all too much to take. He felt bad and guilty after knowing all of this, so it was no wonder why Sojiro never wanted to talk about it and got angry whenever the subject was mentioned, but that gave Ren another reason why he wanted to help him. And looking up at his comrades, he could tell that all of them were feeling the same, given how they were looking down, their expressions twitching in pain and sympathy... especially Emiko.

"I feel awful for prying into his personal affairs..." Makoto looked down.

"No way in hell he's abusin' her." Ryuji said.

"The reason why Futaba wants her heart stolen must be related to what happened to her mother." Ann pointed out.

"So she'd like to discard her feelings of pain, but can't do anything about it herself." Yusuke had a genuine sad look on his face.

"Will changing her heart really help her though?" Ann questioned worriedly.

"I don't know... but I wish it would..." Emiko looked down sadly.

"If we can help her, we may be able to stand up to Medjed." Yusuke stood up firmly.

"A Palace..." Ren fiddled with his hair.

"Huh...?" Ryuji looked at him questionably.

"Do we even know if she has a Palace?" Ren asked the group.

Realization struck them.

"Good question. Let's take a look." Makoto pulled her phone out.

"'The Futaba Sakura that lives at Sojiro Sakura's house.' Is that gonna be enough?" Ryuji asked.

"Candidate found."

"What the...?" Yusuke widened his eyes.

"How...?!" Emiko widened her eyes.

"She's got one..." Ryuji trailed shockingly.

"So someone can have a Palace even if they're not evil? Hey, Morgana--"

Looking at Ren's bag, the cat wasn't resting in it like he normally would... huh, weird. She swore that Morgana was with them only a few moments ago.

"Where's Morgana?" Ann asked.

"Wasn't he with us?" Emiko followed.

"I haven't seen him for some time." Yusuke replied.

"So, ever since we went inside Boss's house?" Makoto wondered.

"...Somewhere 'round there. He'll be fine though. He's a cat, after all. The trains're gonna be shuttin' down for the night soon, so we should prolly be headin' home." Ryuji said.

"We have to go to school in the morning, after all." Makoto added.

"Ohhh, right. The urgent assembly." Ann whined.

"An assembly? What about?" Yusuke questioned.

"Shujin has been garnering a lot of attention ever since Medjed called out the Phantom Thieves. So, they need to remind us not to say arbitrary stuff online and add more fuel to the fire." Ann explained.

"We gotta meet up for every goddamn little thing. Talk about a pain in the ass." Ryuji complained.

"I mean, it is our fault." Ann added.

"Anyway, let's contact each other afterwards." Makoto stated firmly.

*******

------Meanwhile: Sakura Residence------

"No way in hell he's abusin' her."

"The reason why Futaba wants her heart stolen must be related to what happened to her mother."

"So she'd like to discard her feelings of pain, but can't do anything about it herself."

"Will changing her heart really help her though?"

"I don't know... but I wish it would..."

"If we can help her, we may be able to stand up to Medjed."

"A Palace..."

"Huh...?"

"Do we even know if she has a Palace?"

"Good question. Let's take a look."

"'The Futaba Sakura that lives at Sojiro Sakura's house.' Is that gonna be enough?"

"What the...?"

"How...?!"

"She's got one..."

"So someone can have a Palace even if they're not evil? Hey, Morgana--"

Listening closely to the conversation in Leblanc with a set of AKG K845BT headphones with red earpads, the girl sitting in front of various computer monitors that dimly lit her petite and pale face couldn't help herself but widen her eyes due to the mention of a "Palace." That girl was none other than Futaba Sakura herself. She was a bespectacled girl with hip-length bright orange hair with straight-cut bangs and two long strands in the front along with a single small, thin ahoge stood at the top. Her brown eyes also seemed to have some faint purple tones in them, appearing mauve. She wore large black circular glasses, a black shirt with "JLMK!" over a white-and-black striped long sleeve shirt, and black short shorts with a light green trim.

The more she indulged herself in the conversation, the more questions arose in her head... a Palace? What in the world was that? Then she swore that she heard something moving and shifting in a corner in her room. Out of nowhere, a black cat with bright blue eyes jumped in front of her face while dashing toward the slightly parted door, almost throwing her off her chair from surprise. She definitely didn't see that coming.

*******

------Hayashi Residence------

The sound of water running echoed through the empty corners of the bathroom after the squeaky voice of the tap being open. Water splashed on her face a few times before closing the tap once more, water dripping from her face and the ends of her brown locks on the porcelain surface of the sink. She grabbed a towel and dried her face before Emiko stared at her own blurry reflection in the mirror with dull, bored, and tired eyes... remembering for the millionth time how much she resembled that bastard of a father she had. Even though he was long gone by her own hands, he didn't leave her alone in peace either in her sleep or wake--his image kept haunting her for the last three years whenever she looked at herself.

Her fingers went to her bangs that covered her forehead to move them away, exposing the old scar that asshole left on her as a memento before he was gone. Her jaw clenched at that memory as she knitted her eyebrows, looking obviously angry whenever she had to revisit that terrible incident. Her lips let out a deep, troubled sigh as she put her glasses back on once again, her surroundings clearing once she did as she kept the same neutral expression on her face. Futaba's case never left her mind... she lost a parent too in the most terrible way, blaming herself over it, and experiencing hallucinations of that deceased person, exactly like her. She was trapped in the same endless abyss of pain and torture that'd only make her life more miserable.

Emiko was and still going through that hell, and she knew that she didn't want to see another person going through that as well.

Another thing that didn't slip past her mind... was Ren. She couldn't understand why, but she didn't like the way Makoto was holding him... there was something into it that made her both sad and angry at the same time. There was something in how she was clinging to him, being so close to him, and even grabbing him as tight as possible... something that was slicing through her like a million edges of swords. Shaking her head to dismiss those thoughts, she looked back at the mirror to see that she had the saddest and most pitiful expression on her face, thus she slapped her cheeks in order to snap out of that. She was getting way too distracted nowadays.

"Focus, Emiko... focus!"

"Fufufufu~"

Hearing the most chilling laugh ever, Emiko's eyes darted back at the mirror once more to catch the glimpse of a dark silhouette standing right beside her with no clear expressions to pinpoint on it whatsoever. The wall behind the mysterious figure was also covered with blood that was rolling down on its polished white walls down to the floor. Looking back with a horrified yelp, Emiko panted heavily when she saw that there was nothing there, and looking back at the mirror, everything she saw no longer existed either. Covering her mouth while feeling the urge to vomit, Emiko slowly collapsed on her knees while leaning on the sink for support as sweat was rolling down her forehead... her face grew pale too. What the hell...? What was that illusion just now? It wasn't like anything she saw yet, but its voice... was similar to that one at the sushi place in Ginza.

What did it all mean?

Before she could even regain her composure, the room fell into utter and killing darkness to the point that she was unable to see anything at all. A surprised gasp escaped her lips before she felt something hard hitting the top of her head, causing her to wince from the pain as she rubbed the throbbing area; her stupid-ass hit her head with the sink.

"What the-- a blackout?" Emiko questioned, trying to distinguish anything around her.

"Emiko? Emiko? Where are you?" Natsumi called from a distance.

"In the bathroom, Mom!"

"Don't move, I'm coming for you!"

Wait... that couldn't be their doing, could it?

*******

------Café Leblanc's Attic------

Sighing deeply to himself while staring at the ceiling above him, Ren was feeling uneasy and unable to sleep due to today's events repeating themselves in his head. Sojiro looked so pained while telling him and his friends about his daughter despite him trying so hard to hide it, making Ren feel even worse about the whole thing. Although his guardian was a bit harsh on him sometimes, he still took good care of him; taught him how to make coffee and curry, provided him with somewhere to sleep in, and allowed him to have his friends over. He was a good person and didn't deserve any of what he was going through, thus he had already set his mind to help him by changing Futaba's heart, and perhaps easing a lot of worries for him... that was the least thing Ren could do.

"Were you just going to go to sleep without even wondering where I was?"

".........!" Feeling alarmed, Ren quickly sat down to see a very familiar cat walking up the stairs to him.

"I take it the chief told you about Futaba, and then you guys disbanded in relief for now." Morgana jumped on the bed.

"Morgana! Where were you?"

"You can't underestimate my intel-gathering skills, you know. I was checking out the chief's house. I didn't think our Alibaba would be so young..."

"Young? What was she like?"

"She had long hair and a pretty young-sounding voice. Well... I say young, but I think she's probably about the same age as you guys. At the very least, she's surely no amateur. She completely overheard your conversation with the chief, and she can hack into our chats too. Even if she can't take Medjed down directly, she might have some kind of lead on them."

"Just who is she...?"

"In any case, we'll need to rely on Futaba to get closer to Medjed. Let's meet up again tomorrow. How about we do it in here? It's way too hot outside... anyway, make sure you let everyone know."

"Yeah." Ren nodded firmly.

They were going to change Futaba's heart, no matter what! It wasn't for anyone's sake but the poor girl and Sojiro, so it was personal this time. But with that thought in mind, all the lights inside the room went out, even the ones from downstairs, throwing Ren and Morgana completely off guard from how dark it was to the point of not seeing anything but the color black.

"Mrreow! Wh-What just happened...?"

Struggling to find his phone that rested on his bed, Ren turned the flashlight on before rushing toward the open window to check whether that sudden power outage was only in Leblanc or not. His eyes widened when he was greeted with the sight of the neighborhood also falling into darkness one building after the other.

"What?!"

"The power's out! Over there too!"

"........!" A cold sweat rolled down Ren's shocked face.

"Hey, check the news quickly!" Morgana urged as he jumped on the edge of the window.

Ren didn't need to be told twice, thus he opened the live stream to see that the news was covering it rather immediately.

"A major blackout has occurred just now in the whole city of Tokyo, along with Kanagawa Prefecture. Medjed put a statement regarding the incident on their homepage." The newscaster spoke.

So it WAS Medjed's doing, after all.

"'Cutting the lights in Shibuya is our demonstration. The Phantom Thieves met our question with silence, so we showed the power of our justice.'"

"Hey, this is serious... Medjed's not playing around anymore." Morgana commented.

"...I know."

That wasn't just a declaration of ruining Japan's economy anymore, it was a literal war.

*******

Ending

********

Word count: 7560 words

A/N: WHEEHOO!! NOW THAT WAS... something... .-.

Yet, KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! MORE RENEMI AND RYUANN IN THIS CHAPTER!!! THESE TWO SHIPS ARE ON FIRE!! 🔥🔥🔥

Anyways, I loved adding the scene of the fake Medjed cutting the power from the anime into the story, but in a slightly different way. :)
To make them feel more like this arc's antagonists, of course.

And Emiko...? Daaamn, this is getting VERY serious now!

Anyways, what did you think of this chapter? Liked it?

Let me know! 😊

Rand Talih💞

Published on: Thu/Mar 26/2020