5/18

Akira trudges his way toward Shujin. A drizzle darkens the pavement. Umbrella in hand, cat in the bag, he continues. Two boys dressed in Shujin uniforms walk ahead of him, but whatever their words, they fail to capture his attention. Akira’s mind remains insistently focused on Makoto and the disaster from yesterday.

Distracted as Akira is, only the familiar yet alien to this situation sound of a picture being taken grounds his attention back to his surroundings. Akira whips his head around and finds Ohya, shoulder against the sterile metal of a streetlight, lowering a blocky camera from her face. She smiles.

Unconcerned by the rain, she says, "Hi!"

Shit! Akira looks around but isn't sure what he's hoping to see, then gives up and beelines to the woman. "What're you doing here? How'd you find me?"

Ohya frowns and glances up at the clouds. "Yes, how did I manage to find you? How did I, the investigative journalist, manage to track down the boy I already knew attended Shujin? What a conundrum." She chuckles at herself, then holds up a single finger. "Journalism one-oh-one, kid. Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to sit in one place for a long time and wait for it to walk past."

Akira rolls his eyes. "I thought journalism one-oh-one was 'protect your sources' and 'tell the truth.'"

"Meh," Ohya replies with a shrug. "There's a couple of one-oh-ones."

"Fine, whatever. What're you doing here?"

Ohya nods toward the school just down the road. "Let's walk and talk. Don't want you to be late." She steps out into the road with a yawn, and Akira falls in alongside her. "So," she says, voice low. "You've got the Madarame thing coming up, yeah?"

"I do."

"Cool," Ohya says. "I'm going to need you to hack his phone."

Akira stops. "Huh?"

Ohya turns back to him, brows furrowed. "Did you not hear me?"

"No, I heard you. I just-"

"What?" Ohya asks. "You're the one who called me from an unregistered number. I thought you were all about this clandestine crap."

"But I don't know how to hack a phone!"

Ohya groans and shakes her head. "Yeah, I figured as much. But, look, I've already taken care of that part. All you have to do is get close to him."

"What'd you mean?" Akira asks.

Ohya reaches into her pocket, pulls out a small, boxy device, and jiggles it before his eyes. "See this button on the side?" Akira spots it and nods. "When you're close to Madarame, press it." She hands it to him.

Akira turns it over in his palm. "This isn't a bomb, is it?" He asks, remembering Ryuji's criticism about Iwai's package.

"Are you joking?" Ohya asks, eyes widening.

"Never mind," Akira replies, not wanting to inflict the agony of going down that road onto himself. "What exactly is this? What does it do? Where'd you get it?"

Ohya makes a face and raises her hands. "Easy there, inspector. One question at a time. Look, it's simple. You press the button, and the device locks onto the nearest phone less than a meter away. So, make sure there's no other phone close by, especially yours. Turn it off. It mirrors the GPS of the target phone and sends the data back to a remote source, a device I can access. As to where I got it, I got a guy."

"You've got a guy?"

Ohya nods. "I got a guy."

"You have a 'mirror a phone's GPS' guy?"

Ohya releases a frustrated groan. "And you've got a 'Phantom Thieves website admin' guy. Are we going to plan this or keep comparing our guys?"

They reach the front gates of Shujin, and the rain begins to let up. Ohya runs her fingers through her hair and yawns again, apparently unconcerned. A few students heading inside stare at the two as they pass, and Akira mentally wishes he could kick something. Great, another rumor about me.

"So, okay," Akira says. "Why, exactly, am I doing this?"

"Why are you mirroring the GPS of Madarame's phone?" Ohya asks. When Akira nods, she says, "You tell me. What reason would someone have to mirror a phone's GPS?"

Akira thinks for a moment. "You want to know where they're going."

Ohya nods. "Aaaaannnnnddddd?" She drawls.

"You want to know where they've been."

"Bingo," Ohya replies. "You in?"

Akira mulls it over for a moment, then mumbles, "I'm in. But, isn't this all illegal?"

Ohya laughs and shakes her head. "Oh, man. So illegal." Like someone has flipped a switch, her laughter cuts off, and she glares at him. "Don't tell me that bothers you?"

"I don't want to get into it, but I'd prefer if we did things above board."

"Kid, you've got a small keychain thingy in your pocket, not a knife. So don't wave it around, and you'll be fine."

Akira shoves down his trepidation and nods. "Okay."

"Perfect. I'll-"

A voice cuts, "Kurusu!" Akira turns without thinking and finds Kawakami-sensei heading down the steps, frowning.

"Huh," Ohya says, grinning. "So your name is Kurusu, eh?"

Akira scowls but manages to smudge the look from his face by the time Kawakami reaches the bottom of the stairs. "Good morning, Kawakami-sensei."

"Good morning," she says, frowning. "You're usually early. I was beginning to suspect you were going to cut school again."

"Again?" Ohya asks, and she takes an exaggerated gasp.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Akira replies through gritted teeth.

"Who is this?" Kawakami asks, eyeing Ohya.

"This is," Akira starts, and spins his mind once more. "Uh, my cousin."

"That's right!" Ohya replies and throws an arm over Akira's shoulders. "I thought I'd walk him to school today. Isn't that right, cuz?"

Akira tries to smile, and what ends on his face is close enough. "Uh-huh."

Kawakami's brows furrow. "Okay. Well, homeroom is about to start. I trust you'll be there?"

Akira nods and is about to say something to exit the conversation when another voice erupts into his eardrums. "Yo, Akira!"

Akira shuts his eyes. Ryuji, goddammit.

Ryuji trots up to the three of them, his smile wide. "Hey, Kawakami-sensei," he says.

"Sakamoto," Kawakami replies, with a nod.

Ryuji looks over at Ohya, and the arm she has around Akira's shoulder. "Who's this lady, Akira?"

"Yes, Akira," Ohya says, her grin bigger than before. "Tell him who I am."

"This," Akira says, jabbing at Ohya with his eyes. "Is my cousin, Ohya. I've told you about Ohya, right?"

"Oh," Ryuji says. His eyes widen. "Oh! Oh, uh, yeah. Yep, that is something you have told me about."

Kawakami rolls her eyes and sighs. "You know what? I can't with you two right now. Get to class." She turns and stalks her way back up the steps.

Ohya removes her arm from around Akira's shoulder and moves away. "We'll be in touch, Akira Kurusu. I'm looking forward to it, Akira Kurusu. Bye, Akira Kurusu!" Then, laughing, she takes off down the road.

Ryuji and Akira stand at the entrance of Shujin, watching her retreat.

"So," Ryuji says, after a time. "Just so I'm clear, that wasn't your cousin, right?"

"Bonehead," Akira hears Morgana whisper from his bag.

#

The door to 'Untouchable' offers Akira an escape from the afternoon rain. He sees no customers, not even the slivers of patrons sometimes smuggled behind the aisles in the back, but does notice the bespectacled boy from the other day behind the counter. The boy stiffens and nods as the door jingles shut behind Akira, and blurts out, "Welcome to 'Untouchable,' sir!"

"Uh," Akira replies. It feels off to be greeted so warmly in this place. "Thanks." Akira casts around in his mind for some thread that can lead him back to the boy's name. "Your name was..." He starts, hoping to lead the boy into giving his name, and too tired to be embarrassed about forgetting. The boy stares. It dawns on Akira. "Kaoru. Right? Your name was Kaoru?"

The boy's face alights even more, and he nods. "That's right. I know you too. You're the one who had the box of sand."

Akira forces the corners of his mouth up. "Yeah. That's me."

Mishima had been less than helpful when it came to Ohya's GPS phone box thing. Akira had grabbed the boy during lunch, dragged him up to the roof, and shown him Ohya's little gift. Mishima had speculated wildly before Akira told him what it was supposed to do. Mishima had shrugged and told Akira he guessed that was what it would do. Akira asked him if there was any other way to tell, and Mishima had suggested using it, but Akira wasn't prepared to go that far yet.

After politely thanking Mishima for his help (Akira had had a nice enough time going out to eat with Mishima yesterday), he found Ryuji in the hall on his way back to class.

Against his better judgment, Akira had said, "Hey Ryuji, what'd you suppose this is?" and showed him the device.

"A bomb," Ryuji replied with almost no hesitation.

Akira figures Iwai is his next best choice, so after leaving Morgana on 'patrol,' he made his way through Shibuya and down Central to the store's dark alley. "So," Akira says to Kaoru when the boy prompts no further response. "Is your dad home? Or 'in,' I guess?"

"Nope," Kaoru says, then winks.

"What?"

"I said," Kaoru replies, a bit louder this time, "that my dad is definitely not in right now. No way. He's not in the back room at all."

A very loud sigh escapes from the back room, and a moment later, the door opens, and Iwai stomps out. "Kaoru," he growls, and subjects the boy to a long, hard stare. "Awful."

Kaoru's smile deflates, and his shoulders slump.

Iwai slides past Kaoru and takes his spot at the counter. "What're you doing here, kid? Don't tell me those phones ran out of minutes already."

Akira tries on a smirk. "You're not gonna scan me?"

Iwai frowns. "I wasn't." Then, he bends down and pulls out the paddle-shaped device. Akira rolls his eyes and submits to the search. "What do you want?" Iwai asks, once he's finished.

Akira removes the small device Ohya had given him and places it on the counter. "I'd like to know more about this."

Iwai stares at it. So does Kaoru. "What is it?" The older man eventually asks.

Akira shrugs. "I was hoping you could tell me. It's supposed to be able to hack phones."

"Cool!" Kaoru exclaims.

Iwai smacks his kid on the back of the head. "Go in the back and see about that shipment."

"What shipment?" Kaoru asks.

"Any shipment," Iwai replies. When the boy hesitates, he grumbles, "Now." Kaoru slinks into the back room from where his father emerged. Once his son is gone, Iwai turns his attention back to Akira. "Why'd you bring it here?"

"I told you," Akira replies. "I wanted you to tell me a bit more about it. You seem knowledgeable on all this technical stuff. You got me those burner phones after all, and..." Akira waves his hand across his body, indicating Iwai's paddle scanner.

The gruff older man shakes his head. "Kid, burner phones are hardly technical. They're just... burner phones. And as for the scanner? Necessary precaution. A three-year-old could operate it." He reaches out a hand and taps the small, black device. "This kind of thing? After my time."

After his time?

Iwai frowns. "Shouldn't you know someone good with computers? With whatever vague shit you're into, I figured that would be a given."

"Already tried that," Akira mutters, and picks up the device from the counter. "Thanks anyway." He starts to head towards the door.

"One more thing," Iwai says, an edge to his voice. Akira turns back and suffers the man's glare. "It's about Kaoru." His voice drops. "Don't tell him about this kind of shit. Tell him to get me if you swing by and I'm not out front. I'll send him on an errand or something. But not one damn word to him about what you're into."

Akira sees no room for argument in the man's eyes. He nods, says, "Got it," and walks out the door.

#

"Nothing adverse, then?" Takemi asks. A heart rate monitor is wrapped around Akira's arm. The pressure seems to lessen at the same pace as the sick, chalky taste in his mouth fades.

"Beyond the taste," Akira replies, over-enunciating each syllable to stretch his mouth open, hoping to force the remnants of the medicine away. "No."

"Mmmmm," is Takemi's almost lackadaisical response. She unwraps the monitor from Akira and lays it on the counter by her clipboard, which she takes up in its stead. A pen appears from her pocket, and Takemi begins scratching over the paper Akira cannot see. "And how have you been feeling otherwise?"

Akira considers before replying, "I broke up with the girl I wanted to go out with. So there's that. That sucks."

Takemi pauses in her jotting for only a moment, then says, "If you only wanted to go out with her, I don't think that would qualify as 'breaking up.'" She begins to write once more, then stops again, just another moment later. "Then again, I wouldn't put it past you to manage something like that."

"Thanks," Akira grumbles.

"I'm asking after your medical health. Not girl trouble. That's just part of being a teenager, or were you too busy stealing hearts to notice?"

"She's the one who," and Akira gestures to his face with the fingers on his hand splayed out. "That time? When Kamoshida beat the shit out of me? It's because I stopped him from going into a room with her alone. She was trying to help me. We had a rocky start and a rocky middle, but outside of the Thieves, she felt like someone I could talk to. Someone who could've been a friend. Was, actually."

"So, why'd you break up?" Takemi asks. Akira summarizes Sae Niijima. "Yeah, I suppose that'll do it."

“Hard to justify spending time with her, you know?” Akira continues. “Plus, she was spying on us. But it wasn’t bad spying, but we thought it was because we heard about it secondhand. She came clean, but by then?” Akira shrugs.

Takemi nods and takes some more notes. “I think the medicine may be having an actual effect. A loquacious one.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Means you won’t shut up,” Takemi replies. She sets the clipboard down and crosses her arms. “Not the worst side effect, all things considered.” Takemi jerks her head towards the door. She doesn’t smile but doesn’t look unkind. “Come on, let’s take a walk. If I have to stay cooped up here while you talk about your girl problems, I’m liable to go insane.”

Akira does not protest but follows Takemi out into Yongen-jaya. The rain had let up shortly after his afterschool jaunt to ‘Untouchable,’ and the local residents populate the slowly drying pavement more than usual. They aimlessly move through side streets, and within a block or two Akira no longer feels like discussing Makoto. Takemi slows when they spy a bench that looks drier than the others they’ve seen and takes a seat, motioning for Akira to join her. He does and finds that the bench is dry enough not to inflict any dampness upon his clothes.

Across the street, a small commotion has gathered around a local movie theatre. Akira remembers seeing it during his initial pass through the neighborhood, but where it was shuttered before, it now appears to be undergoing a renovation. A few folks and some children mingle outside, and someone has set up a food stand, handing out skewers of something Akira can only catch a whiff of but smells meaty.

“When I asked after your mental well-being-” Takemi starts, but Akira cuts her off.

“I know. Sojiro set up another MRI appointment for this weekend. A therapist too.”

Takemi nods. “That’s good. Have you been having any more hallucinations?”

Akira shakes his head. “They weren’t hallucinations, remember? My Persona. The Metaverse. The app.”

“Still,” Takemi says. “The last time you saw that doctor, they mentioned the sensory input, right? It’ll be good to see if that’s still an issue.” Akira just shrugs in response. “Have you managed to dig anymore into that whole Metaverse thing? Cognitive Science?”

“No,” Akira replies. “I have a computer set up now. I plan to use it to look for more information online, but I need to be careful. I’ve got someone showing me how to navigate safely, so I’m hesitant to start until I know what to do.” He leans back on the bench and watches the people across the street. One little girl, no older than two or three, is given a skewer and takes a healthy-sized bite out of the proffered food. “Honestly, if you can remember anything, that would probably be a huge help. I don’t even know where to start.”

The little girl puts her hand to her throat. Akira watches as her mouth opens and shuts, and though he is across the street, he doesn’t believe any sound emits.

The parents, both in their early thirties, glance down at the girl with matching looks of confusion, then growing alarm.

Akira opens his mouth, but Takemi is already up and moving. By the time Akira is halfway off the bench, Takemi is halfway across the road. She closes the remaining distance between herself and the family and moves behind the little girl. With strength Akira did not know she possessed, Takemi lifts the child into her arms, spins her around, and props her up on her left forearm, then brings her right arm back before slamming it down onto the girl’s back with a solid thwack Akira has no problem hearing.

Akira can just make out a small something exit the girl’s mouth and splash onto the concrete. The girl begins to wail, but Takemi calmly grips the girl beneath her armpits and hands her back to her stunned mother. The father steps up to Takemi and starts to offer what looks to Akira – based on the man’s body language – a mixture of gratitude and apology. Takemi just waves him off and starts to walk back toward Akira.

“What were we talking about?” Takemi asks.

“That was awesome,” Akira tells her.

Takemi shrugs. “I guess.”

Akira feels a bit deflated at this and checks the time on his phone. “I need to head back to Shibuya. It’s almost time for my shift.” He glances up at Takemi, who nods, and wants to say more about what the doctor just did but cannot find the words. Finally, Akira settles on, “See you,” and heads off.

#

"Hey, Haru," Akira calls, his hands above his head as he reaches for the fertilizer bag on the top shelf. "Can you roll that dolly over here?"

What follows next is a distinct stomping, coupled with the squeak of wheels. When Haru straightens the dolly, she slams the flat metal bed against the ground and punctuates it with a distinct, "Humph!"

Akira yanks the fertilizer off the shelf, turns, and finds wrath itself emanating from her eyes. The look takes him aback, and he drops the bag. It slams onto his foot. "Ah!" He yells and pulls himself out from beneath it.

"Did that hurt?" Haru asks, her voice like a still volcano before an eruption.

"Yes!" Akira groans, reaching down and rubbing the sore spot through his shoe.

"Good," Haru says.

Akira's eyes snap up to find hers. "Haru, what the hell?"

"What the hell?" Haru asks, hands on her hips. "Are you seriously asking me that right now?" She shakes her head. "Oh, I'm so mad at you I can't even think straight."

Akira glances up at Morgana, who stares back, eyes wide in confusion. "What did I do?"

"How should I know?" The cat hisses back.

"Are you serious?" Haru asks. "You're going to feign innocence?"

Akira straightens back up. "Haru, honestly. I have no idea what-"

Haru leans over until her face is inches from his own. "I'm talking about the Makoto Deception."

Akira blinks. "The Makoto Decep..." He stops talking. Recalls the awkward conversation from the other day. The questions. Haru's assertion that she was, 'asking for someone else.' "Oh, crap," Akira says.

"Yes," Haru replies.

"So you were-"

"Yes."

"And it was for-"

"Yes."

"Because-"

"Yes."

Akira stares at her. "Oh, crap," he says, again.

"What?" Morgana asks, from his perch. "What?"

"Your friends with Makoto," Akira says. She nods. "And Makoto-"

"Mako-chan told me everything," Haru states.

Akira feels his head start to swim. "Everything?"

Haru frowns. "Well, not everything. But she told me enough. After all the ridiculous dancing you did, after taking her out, you decide to stop seeing her?" Haru throws her hands in the air. "Preposterous!"

"Haru, there's-"

"Preposterous," Haru proclaims once more.

Akira hesitates another moment if only to ensure she won't blurt the word once more. "There's a bit more context I don't believe you understand."

"So I'm a fool, now?" Haru demands.

"I didn't say that. But if Makoto didn't tell you everything, then it stands to reason you don't know the full story, right?"

Haru gasps. "And now you're trying to drive a wedge between us? What is it about Makoto's happiness that you find so abhorrent, Akira?"

Akira nods and takes a few steps back. "I think I'm going to stop talking."

"Probably for the best," mutters Morgana.

Haru crosses her arms across her chest. "Do whatever you like. It's fine. After all, you don't deserve Makoto."

"Listen, Haru," Akira begs, immediately disregarding his stated strategy. "I'm willing to admit there was some misunderstanding, but-"

"Misunderstanding?" Haru blurts out. "If there was a misunderstanding, it was your fault. You're the one who got that present for her. You're the one who did all the smiley face texts, and you're the one who made her think she was special."

"She is special," Akira says, quickly. "But things got out of hand, and-"

"Please don't try and backtrack now, Akira-kun. It's unbecoming." Haru shakes her head and turns away. She glances up at Morgana. "Come to think of it, you don't deserve Mona, either. I'm taking him."

"Wait, what?" Akira asks.

"Huh?" Morgana asks.

"You heard me," Haru says. "Mona will be staying with me from now on."

"Uh," Akira replies, rubbing the back of his neck. "Haru, I know you're mad, but you can't just have my cat."

"I disagree," Haru retorts.

She marches up beneath where Morgana sits and raises her arms. "Come here, Mona-chan."

"What should I do?" Morgana asks.

"Well, don't go with her!" Akira replies.

Haru glares at him over her shoulder, but lowers her arms. "Fine. I suppose it'll take a bit longer for Mona-chan to realize how terrible a caregiver you are." She turns and stomps away to undertake some other task in the flower shop, leaving Akira speechless.

The rest of their time passes in awful and angry silence.

#

Once her shift ends, Haru calls Makoto. When she picks up, Haru states, "Operation Punish Akira is underway!"

"Um," Makoto answers. "I thought we agreed to call it something different."

"Did we?" Haru asks, putting a little twist to her voice. "I don't recall."

"Well, whatever," Makoto says, her voice increasing in excitement. "So, did he buy it?"

"Oh yes," Haru replies, grinning. "Akira believes I'm holding quite a grudge. Although, I suppose I am. I said a few nasty things to him." She giggles. "I even tried to kidnap his cat."

Silence from the other end. "I'm sorry?" Makoto asks.

"Something wrong?"

"Did you just say that Akira has a cat?"

Haru nods. "I did. Morgana. Mona-chan. He carries him everywhere in his bag. Did you not know that?"

Makoto says nothing for a while. Then, with an almost amused cadence, she says, "Son of a bitch."