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P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 49: The Heart of the Matter

Before school, Makoto Niijima called a special meeting of the student council. “What’s this about?” one asked.

“If you can just be patient,” Makoto explained, exacerbated, “I can explain.” She took a breath. “Ever since Mr. Kamoshida confessed his sins, I've been gathering information about students who have been victims of his. I’ve divided them up into these lists, and I ask that you each take a list and start interviewing them one by one.”

They were handed out their lists. “Why are we doing this?” another member asked.

Makoto stared at them. “We are the student council. Yet we knew none of what was happening with Mr. Kamoshida. This is to evaluate our standing with the student body, and assure them we are on their side, as well as creating a template to make sure something like this never happens again. Are we clear?”

“Yes ma’am!” they shouted in unison.

“Good” Makoto responded. “Now, I divided them up by year. Since the second years are going on their social studies field trips today and tomorrow, the second year student council members will handle them after that. Otherwise, everyone else can start right away. You have free use of the student council room. Dismissed.” The student council members left. Makoto flopped on the couch and sighed. “This is going to be complicated.”

When school started, the second years left to go on their field trips. The three second year thieves, as well as a hidden Morgana, headed to the TV station in hopes of finding some dirt that could lead them to a possible new target. As the trip progressed, they didn’t find that. The only thing they found was boredom. As a TV station worker went over things they already understood, the students were bored out of their mind. “Why did we do this again?” Ryuji asked.

The chaperone, Miss Kawakami, turned to them and whispered “I know you’re bored, but at least act like you’re paying attention.”

“Sorry” Ryuji said. Miss Kawakami looked at them, and turned her focus back to other students and the presenter.

After the bulk of the trip, the thieves met in a hall. “Ugh, what a waste,” Ann said.

“Yeah, we didn’t learn anything” Ryuji said

“Hey now” Ren said. “While it’s true this trip was a snoozefest, we did succeed in acting like normal students for now.”

“Ugh, I’d rather be taken to the principal’s office” Ryuji groaned. “And we still have another day of this.”

“Well,” Ann began, “tomorrow we get to see them shooting an actual show. Maybe that might be interesting.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Ryuji said, still unamused.

Morgana popped out. “Well, that’s tomorrow. Is there anything we can do today while we’re here?”

“I doubt that they’re going to let us snoop around outside of the school’s presence,” Ren explained.

“Yeah, I guess,” Morgana said.

Ryuji’s face lit up. “BUT we have free reign in the area, AND Dome Town’s nearby.”

“YES!” Ann exclaimed. “Soooooo many sweets.”

“Sweets?!” Morgana said. “Like pancakes?”

“Yeah!” Ryuji said. “But we should go on the rides first. I mean, I’d hate to go and puke up all that stuff.”

“Ryuji…” Ann said, disgusted.

“P-puke?!” Morgana said. “Um, cat’s can't go on those things, right?”

“Oh, so NOW you're a cat?” Ryuji fired back.

Morgana growled at him. Ren interrupted. “From what I’ve read, there’s tons of stuff to do. Maybe we can hit up a few things for all of us.”

“Yeah!” Morgana said, cheering up. “And we can start by getting some of those pancakes!”

As they were talking, Akechi was passing by. Their conversation caught his attention. “Excuse me?” he said, walking up to them. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I overheard your conversation. Talking about Dome Town?”

“Uh, yeah” Ann said, shook by this boy’s approach.

“Ah, well, enjoy yourselves,” Akechi responded. “Although, I haven’t really seen any of you before. What brings you here?”

“We’re on a field trip,” Ren informed him.

“Oh right,” Akechi said. “I was told about this. So, are you having fun?”

“Uhhhhhh” Ryuji said, not knowing how to answer that without being rude.

“Well, I guess this is a school event after all,” Akechi said. “‘Fun’ has to take a back seat.”

“Right…” Ann said, confused by his demeanor.

“Well, I hope your visit to Dome Town makes up for it,” Akechi said. “At least, until tomorrow that is. Later.” He started walking away. “Oh, by the way, the pancakes there are delicious.”

“What?” Ryuji said, confused.

“Ah, terribly sorry,” Akechi said. “I heard her say that she was interested in the sweets lineup they had. I just wanted to give my personal recommendation.” He finished walking away.

They were all confused. “Lady Ann, I also recommended the pancakes, '' Morgana said.

“Yeah, but all he heard was meowing, if that” Ann reminded him.

“I guess...” Morgana said, a bit disappointed.

“Well then, shall we head out?” Ren said.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom first,” Ryuji said. “But then totally.” He rushed off.

“I’m going to give Shiho a call,” Ann said. “I wonder if her field trip went any better.” Ann walked off.

Ren began waiting for her friends. “Amamiya-chan” said a voice from behind her. Ren was surprised. She turned around, almost scared of who was calling out to her.

She was relieved when she saw a smiling man she remembered from not too long ago. “Oh. You’re Yoshizawa’s dad.”

Shinichi nodded. “I’m glad you remember me. So, you’re on your field trip, eh?” Ren nodded. “I’ve got to thank Sumire for recommending this for you.”

Ren was shocked. “Um, she didn’t…” she admitted.

“Oh” Shinichi. “Well, I still hope you’re having fun.” Ren decided not to say anything there. “So, I’ve heard a lot about you from Sumire,” Ren started blushing, “but we’ve only met once before, and that was when she was still pretending to be her sister.”

“Yeah…” Ren said. “I’m sorry.” She said. Shinichi looked at him. “About Kasumi. And agreeing to Sumire thinking she was Kasumi. I didn’t know.”

Shinichi smiled. “You don’t need to apologize,” he explained. “None of that was your fault. Besides, whenever Sumire talks about you she has the brightest smile on her face. I hadn’t seen that in a while. So that alone would more than make up for any wrongdoing you might have done.”

Ren’s entire face was now beat red. “Thank you, sir.”

“Yo” Ryuji said, coming back.

“Hey” Ann said, returning as well. Both were surprised by the man talking with Ren. “Uh, who is this?”

Ren smiled and said “This is Sumire’s dad.”

“Hello,” Shinichi said.

Ann and Ryuji were surprised. “Uh, hello” Ann said nervously.

“These are my friends, Takamaki, and Sakamoto,” Ren said, introducing them.

“Oh, so you’re Ann and Ryuji,” Shinichi said, apparently knowing who they are. “Sumire has told me about you two as well.”

“Good things I hope,” Ryuji said.

“Of course,” Shinichi explained. “Sumire really loves her friends.” He looked around. “Um, are Yusuke and Jose with you?”

Ren shook her head. “They go to a different school.”

“Ah, I see” Shinichi. “Well tell them I say thank you as well.” The trio were surprised. “I haven’t seen Sumire in such high spirits for a while. I know it’s because of her friends. So thank you.”

All three of them were blushing. Ren smiled, nodded, and said “We’ll tell Yusuke and Jose as well.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Well, I’ve gotta go. As you may have learned, working here is pretty busy.” He walked off.

“What part of the TV station does HE work at where things are interesting?” Ryuji said.

“He must be pretty high up,” Morgana said.

“Besides, it doesn’t matter,” Ann said. “After being complimented like that, the least we can do is pretend like we aren’t bored.”

“Right” Ryuji said, slinking himself nowhere in particular.

“So, Dome Town?” Ren said.

“DOME TOWN!” Ryuji rallied.

“DOME TOWN!” Ann yelled.

“DOME TOWN!” Morgana cheered. The four went off to Dome Town.

They had a delightful time. Riding the rides, eating the food, doing all sorts of things. “Man that was great!” Ryuji exclaimed.

“Yeah, and I didn’t go on any of the puke rides!” Mogana added.

“I’m telling ya, you’re missing out,” Ryuji said.

“Really?” Ann said. “Because you were the only one of us to actually puke afterwards.”

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it,” Ryuji explained.

Ann sighed. “Why are boys like that?”

“I have no idea” Ren said. “But today was fun.”

“Totally” Ann said. “And that boy was right. The pancakes were delicious!”

“Yeah, but we need to cap it off somehow,” Ryuji said. “Something amazing, ya know?”

Ren looked up. “Well, we haven’t been on the ferris wheel yet. What do you say? It won’t make you puke, so Morgana can ride along as well.”

“Well, if I’m not puking, then count me in,” Morgana said.

“Yeah, that totally sounds like fun!” Ann said.

“Yeah! Seeing Tokyo from that high up! It’s perfect!” Ryuji exclaimed. They headed to the ferris wheel.

As they approached the front of the line, the person manning the ferris wheel asked “So, is it the three of you?”

Ren shook her head. “Just the two of them.” Ann and Ryuji’s faces went pale.

“I see,” the worker said.

“No! No, it's the three of us!” Ryuji said, panicking.

“Y-Yeah” Ann continued. “She's just joking.”

“I see. A joker, eh?” the worker responded. “Well, hop in you three.” Ren rolled her eyes, as she, Ann, and Ryuji went in.

It started to move. “Why’d you do that?” Ann asked.

“Fun,” Ren replied. In reality, she was hoping to give them the opportunity to maybe open up about how they feel, but she wasn’t about to say that to them.

“Well it wasn’t fun for me…” Morgana pouted.

“Why are you complaining?” Ryuji said. “You weren’t involved.”

“Well…” Morgana said. He didn’t have the courage to finish his thought. “...Nevermind.” Ren giggled.

Ryuji sighed. He turned to Ann. “So, how did Shiho’s field trip go?”

Ann was slightly taken aback, but adjusted to this new conversation. “She was just as bored.”

“Huh,” Ryuji said. Well, I guess that means it didn’t matter where we went.”

“I disagree,” Ren said. They turned to her. “Well, just because we ran into Sumire’s dad. That wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t come to the TV station.”

“Yeah” Ann smiled. “Plus, we had fun here afterwards. So I can’t complain.”

“Yeah. Today was good” Ryuji said. When they reached the apex of the wheel, they looked out. “Woah!”

“This is amazing!” Morgana said.

“Yeah,” Ann agreed. “And I’m glad we all got to experience it together,” taking a slight jab at Ren’s earlier proposal of having them go separately. She rolled her eyes.

Ren took a good look herself. “This is lovely though.” As she looked at the glowing city, she smiled. She found herself blushing slightly.

After being told about how much Sumire liked her, and was shining, she found herself hoping that she could take her on a ferris wheel like this, just the two of them. In this hypothetical Ren created, once at the top, she could compare the bright lights of Tokyo to the girl she adored, and find that the latter would win out. Still, today had been great too, and the ferris wheel perfectly capped off the day. Once they reached the bottom, they got off, and headed for the school’s meeting place for the evening.

The next day, the second years were preparing for the taping. Meanwhile, at Shujin during break, Sumire was walking around when she was stopped by someone. “Yoshizawa,” the voice said.

She turned around and saw a girl from her class. She was a bit taller, with a hairclip in the back of her hair, but her hair still went straight down. “Oh, high Hagiwara-san. How are you?”

“I’m doing fine” she stated, matter of factly. “I’m here on student council business. If you could please follow me.”

“Oh, sure,” Sumire said. Hagiwara led the way as Sumire followed. Once they got to the student council room, they sat down. “What’s this about?” Sumire asked.

Hagiwara took a deep breath. “I’d like to talk about your experience with Kamoshida, if that’s alright with you?”

Sumire was perplexed. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I just want to hear what happened between him and you,” Hagiwara explained. “Is that alright?”

“Um, I guess so,” Sumire answered. Hagiwara nodded, instructing her to begin. “Well, ever since school started, Kamoshida was helping me out.” Hagiwara was surprised, but took notes diligently. “Since I’m an honors student, he took care of me, and seemed concerned with what and how I was doing. However, all of that crumbled the day of the volleyball exhibition. After the exhibition was over, he appeared to me. He was showing himself off to me in a way that made me feel weird. I didn’t understand what was going on. He then tried grabbing me, but before that could happen…”

Hagiwara looked up at her. “What happened?”

Sumire smiled. “Ren-senpai saved me.”

“I see,” Hagiwara said, writing this down.

“After that, we discussed that, and some other things,” Sumire continued. “I’d like to think that was the start of our friendship. But I wasn’t all there, so I don’t know if it counts, you know?”

Hagiwara finished writing. “Is that it?”

“Well, after that, not much happened” Sumire answered. “Like I said, I was having some difficulties of my own, and I soon got sick because of it.The day after I came back, the calling card was sent out.”

Hagiwara nodded. “Thank you. You're free to go now.”

Sumire smiled. “Thank you.” She got up and left.

Meanwhile, the second years were sitting in the audience, waiting for the show to begin. The two hosts were seated, and the crew started counting down to airing. “Hello, and welcome to the show,” the male host said.

“Today, we’ve got a special guest” the female host followed up. “He’s been here before a few times, but today he’s agreed to talk about something big.”

“Pshhh” Ryuji said. “Probably some jerk who’s all high and mighty. Maybe he has a palace.”

“Ryuji! Quite!’ Ann shushed.

“Give it up for the boy being called the second Detective Prince of Japan, Goro Akechi!” the male host shouted.

As Akechi took the stage, there were a lot of cheers, especially from the girls in the audience. However, Ren, Ann, and Ryuji were shocked. “Isn’t that…?” Ann asked

“Yeah,” Ren said.

“Him?!” Ryuji exclaimed, surprised by this whole ordeal.

Akechi sat down next to the hosts. “Welcome back, Akechi-san,” the female host said.

“A pleasure as always,” Akechi responded, smiling.

“So, what is this big scoop you wish to talk about today” the female host asked.

“It’s simple,” Akechi said. “I wish to discuss the Phantom Thieves.”

A wave of surprise overtook the crowd. “Us?” Ryuji whispered. Ann nudged him to keep him quiet. “Ow!”

“The Phantom Thieves?” the male host said. “You mean those people that claim to be changing hearts. Do you believe they actually exist?”

“What?!” Ann asked, incensed.

“I thought we were supposed to be quiet,” Ryuji teased.

“Shut it” Ann snapped.

“Yes ma’am” Ryuji backed down.

“Hm hm” Akechi chuckled. “While it is true that a lot of people don’t believe them, they have been taking credit for two recent high profile stories. So, even if they are fake, they are worth investigating.”

“I see,” the female host said.

“That said, why make that claim if they aren’t actually doing it?” Akechi proposed.

“Well, for attention, right?” the male host answered.

Akechi shook his head. “If this was just for attention, we probably would have seen the people making the claim by now. Nothing about either of the cases makes sense if you’re coming at it from the point of view that the Phantom Thieves don’t exist.”

“So, you really believe these people can change hearts?” the female host asked.

“Well, it does seem bizarre at the outset,” Akechi responded. “But nothing adds up if they weren’t real. Hence, when investigating them, I have to believe they do exist.”

“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” the female host noted.

“Well, to be honest, I am the kind of person who wishes Santa Claus were real,” Akechi replied. “Although, if he were, I’d have to arrest him for breaking and entering.” The crowd laughed.

Ryuji seemed frustrated. “Ryuji?” Ren asked.

“Stupid asshole” Ryuji muttered. “Thinking Santa isn’t real.”

Ren was surprised. “What?” she asked.

“Who gives out all those presents?” Ryuji asked.

“Are you OK?” Ren asked.

Ann turned to Ren and whispered. “OK, so, basically Ryuji’s mom keeps up the Santa act because she doesn’t want Ryuji to know she’s Santa, because then he’ll be even more frustrated that he isn’t doing enough for her.”

Ren was dumbfounded. “That’s...sweet I guess…”

“Yeah...I get it...but…” Ann continued.

“So, you believe these Phantom Thieves to be real?” the male host asked, capturing the teen’s attention once again.

Akechi nodded. “However, I do not support them,” he continued. This shocked everyone.

“Oh my” the female host exclaimed. “Would you care to explain?”

“Of course,” Akechi answered. “While there is no doubt the two high profile cases we’ve seen so far have yielded confessions from heinous criminals, I believe the ability to steal hearts and force them to is in defiance of justice itself.” Another wave of shock overtook the audience. “While these criminals should, and are, being brought to justice, the Phantom Thieves are going around forcing that justice onto them.”

“But wouldn’t that be a good thing?” the male host asked.

“Well, if they stick to criminals, I suppose,” Akechi said. “But what if their sense of justice spreads from criminals to people they don’t agree with? In that instance, they have the upper hand because they can force people to agree with them.”

“My, that sounds harrowing” the male host responded.

“It is,” Akechi agreed. “Which is why I’d like to see them brought to justice.” The crowd gasped and stammered.

“Well, let’s see what our audience thinks,” the female host said. “People of the audience, please take out your buzzers.” Everyone did so. “How many of you believe and support the Phantom Thieves? Press your buzzer if you do.” The results came in. “About 30%.”

“Hm. Higher than the national average ,” Akechi noted. “But then again, there is a higher amount of support for the Phantom Thieves among students, and as I understand it, a lot of our audience today is made up of students.”

“You are correct,” the male host replied.

“Let’s see if we can talk with one of them,” the female host said. She got up and walked to Ren. “How about you, young lady? What do you think of the Phantom Thieves?”

Ren was taken aback. The smart thing to do would be to disengage, but Ren was no stranger to playing with fire. “Oh, I believe they exist, and I fully support them” she exclaimed.

The crowd was ecstatic. “My, it looks like we’ve found someone who disagrees with you” the male host said.

“I see,” Akechi said, still surprised they picked out the girl he talked to yesterday. “Well, I’m not fully surprised. Three in ten isn’t the worst odds. So, if you don’t mind, might I ask why?”

Ren smirked at the provocation. “I think they’re bringing justice to people who couldn’t be brought to justice using conventional methods. People who go overlooked by the justice system in favor of people who are easier to apprehend.”

The whole room was shook. “I see,” Akechi said. “While I am no stranger to some of the shortcomings of traditional police work, the answer isn’t to take the law into your own hands. I agree that things need to change, but this might be going overboard.”

“And who will help the people that need it in the meantime?” Ren asked. “If they’re only going after criminals, then what’s the issue?”

“Hm. You do bring up a good point” Akechi answered. “They are helping people who otherwise cannot ask for it. But again, where does it end? What is a criminal to an unknown group of people? Someone might say I’m an upstanding citizen, but if these thieves think I’m a criminal, then there’s nothing I can do to stop them from changing my heart.”

Ren was peeved, but continued. “Even if that’s the case, how do you know that would happen?” she asked. “People make all sorts of judgments about people they don’t know all the time. It might be smarter to keep those preconceived notions to yourself until you’re face to face with an actual Phantom Thief. Unless you want to provoke them to steal your heart.”

“Oooooooo” the crowd said, collectively.

Akechi smiled. “That’s a fair assessment. While it’s true that all of this is speculative, I can’t be certain one way or another until that face to face meeting occurs. And until then, I need to be honest about how I feel. That’s fair on my part, don’t you think so?”

Everyone looked at Ren. “Yeah” she relented.

Akechi smiled. “Still, I thank you. This has been a most interesting conversation, and I am beginning to rethink some of my conclusions. So thank you.” He bowed.

The crowd erupted. “My, this is the first time Akechi-san seemed so grateful after an audience interaction.”

“My apologies to all those other guests,” Akechi responded. “It’s just, as a detective, and a third year student, I have so much on my mind.”

“Of course,” the female host said, turning to her seat. “Well, I think that does it for today. Join us again, won’t you?” The filming stopped

The audience got out of their seats one by one. Ren, Morgana, Ann, and Ryuji met up in an area by themselves. “Man, that detective!” Ryuji cursed. “Sayin’ we’re the bad guys.”

“Yeah, but some of what he was saying makes sense,” Ann tentatively agreed. “I mean, if someone else had these abilities, what’s stopping them from doing evil things?”

“Well it’s good that it’s us then” Morgana reminded them. “He might have his own sense of justice, but we have ours. And we plan to stick to it until the end.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself” Ren complimented.

“By the way, you did great up there,” Ann said. “If it were Ryuji, he’d probably blurt out that it’s us.”

“Hey!” Ryuji said, taking offence. He relaxed. “But yeah, you were super cool! You put that detective in his place.”

Ren blushed. “Thanks.”

Ann checked the time. “It’s almost time to go. I’m gonna go get a drink of water. Be right back.” She left.

“I’m gonna head back,” Ryuji said. “The teachers have been watching me like a hawk. Maybe they think I’m up to somethin’ cause I haven’t done anything out of line yet. You wait for Ann, and I’ll wait for the two of you over there, ‘K?” Ren nodded. Ryuji left.

“Pardon me,” Akechi said. He walked up to Ren. “I didn’t wish to interrupt your conversation with your friends again. I wanted to thank you personally. As Hegel said, new ideas can’t be brought out without thesis and antithesis. Still, our conversation today was excellent.” He reached out his left hand. “I wish to continue our discussions, and perhaps we could even become friends, Miss…”

Ren began reaching with her right hand but stopped herself. She switched hands and said “Amamiya. Ren Amamiya.”

They shook. “I see. Well, Miss Amamiya, I look forward to our next conversation.”

I am thou... Thou art I… Thou hast acquired a new vow...

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Justice Persona I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power.

Justice-Goro Akechi: Rank 1

“Shall we exchange contact information?” Akechich asked. Ren nodded, and they did so.

“Akechi-san” Shinichi from behind him.

Akechi turned around. “Ah Mr. Yoshizawa. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well, I did wish to thank you for your interview today,” Shinichi said. “Our ratings and people messaging in are through the roof.”

“You’re too kind,” Akechi replied.

“But” Shinichi said, getting a little more serious, causing Akechi to worry a bit, “I’m here to make sure you're not harassing this young woman here. She’s my daughter’s best friend, you know?”

“Sumire’s…” Akechi said, shocked. Meanwhile, Ren blushed at the notion of being Sumire’s best friend. He smiled. “I see. No wonder you make such a wonderful debate partner.”

Ren was perplexed. “You know Sumire?”

“We’ve met once or twice,” Akechi said. “Whenever she was here to visit Mr. Yoshizawa here. I don’t know her as well as you do, but we are friendly with each other, and I know it can be hard for her to get close to people. So anyone she is close with, let alone someone she considers her best friend, is alright in my book.” Ren smiled. “Well, I should get going. I’ve got a million other things I need to attend to.”

“As do I,” Shinichi said. They both walked off.

“OK, I’m back,” Ann said. “Where's Ryuji?”

“He’s with the teachers to take us back,” Ren said. “Apparently the teachers are keeping a sharp eye on him.”

“Yeah, I guess it is hard to believe he can behave himself,” Ann said. “Still, I know he can do it,” she smiled. “Let’s head out then. Don’t wanna keep them waiting.” Ren nodded, and together they met up with the rest of the students and headed out.

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