Chapter Text
Echoing in your headset was furious tapping and clicking, and you could do little but sit back and watch incredulously as Fuuka raged on. "And there we go," she finished. Your screen was still greyed out as you waited to revive, but Fuuka had enacted her revenge on the enemy team by murdering every last one of them in exchange for your own death. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you in time."
"No, no, it's fine." You blinked at your screen before you went to check out everyone's statistics. You had the same number of deaths as Fuuka did kills, twenty. "I didn't know you were this good, Fuuka." More importantly, you had no idea she played League of Legends until you mentioned it off-handedly after seeing news about the World Championships, then she had propositioned you to play, then you made an account to check out the fuss over the most toxic game, and then...
If you could see her, you were sure she would've blushed nervously. "Oh, no, I'm not really that good. I only play sometimes. It was just luck this time." She said that when she roped you into playing Final Fantasy XIV too, even though you had looked her up later and found out she was in the top ten global players. "Do you know what they're saying, by the way?"
Since League wasn't very popular in Japan, the two of you were playing in the American server. Thank god Fuuka wasn't fluent in American gamer speak, because the enemy jungler was calling her names, slurs, and bashing on her for no reason. "Complimenting your playstyle," you told her, while you typed a response.
[All] MassivePen15 (Master Yi): Lol your so trash idiot. Everyone knows youre character is op none of that takes skill
[All] MassivePen15 (Master Yi): Why dont you fk off and go die no one wants you here
[All] usagichi (Lux): you are literally 0/13
[All] MassivePen15 (Master Yi): Stfu noob
[All] MassivePen15 (Master Yi): At least im not 0/20 fking trash
[All] MassivePen15 (Master Yi): Your basially inting so fking stupid
[All] saberphantasm (Garen): can u focus on the game
"Wow, they sure are typing a lot," Fuuka commented. "What are they saying now?"
"That you're really impressive," you told her, ignoring the influx of messages sent by the Master Yi in response. Just as toxic as your memories recalled. If anything, League of Legends would never change even in the endless flow of time. "You want to try something else after this game?"
"Yeah! Let me end it really quick." You didn't mind playing whatever Fuuka wanted, so long as you didn't have to read more texts from people being mean over a MOBA. "I'm not boring you, am I?"
"Of course not!" you assured her, reporting the Master Yi before closing the game. "I like being able to do stuff together, even if it's you completely thrashing people in games. I wish we could hang out in person, but this is good too."
"I'll see when my next break is," Fuuka gravely responded, which confused you. Sure, it'd be good to see her, but you didn't think it was such a serious topic. "By the way, how is the Phantom Thief thing going? I know recently they've been more popular, but..." She hesitated then, and you knew it wasn't because she doubted you. She always worried deeply for you, in a way that made you love her and feel guilty towards her in equal measures.
But the answer to her question was simple. "We're fine, actually!" you cheerfully replied. "Thank you for worrying. You should hear something about Okumura soon, actually." You spoke calmly, like everything was in control, when that wasn't true. Of course you worried about Okumura's collapse; of course you worried that when the cards were dealt in the end, your hand would be no different than if you had let him die. His announcement was fast approaching but you had no idea if your actions truly changed fate.
Fate was a dirt path. Fate was the wheel in the road, hitting a pebble in its path but continuing onwards. Igor had, in no uncertain terms, laid before you the certainty of forces beyond your control. "That's good to hear," Fuuka replied, voice quiet but no less powerful. "And you can always rely on us if there's something you need, okay?"
Yes, it was good to ask for help. "I will," you assured her. "But first, I want to try to solve things myself."
"Just don't push yourself too hard," she warned you. "I think it's really admirable you work so hard, but you have to take care of yourself too." It would be a shame if you went through the same mistake of worrying your friends, wouldn't it?
"I promise." You grinned at her through the Skype call, nodding in reassurance. "I trust your video gaming skills very much, Fuuka."
"Ah." She smiled behind her hand. "I was thinking about my technology expertise, but that works too."
"I have the utmost faith you can completely wreck any gamer. Want to play something else while you still have time?"
"Yes!" You spent the rest of your day playing video games with Fuuka, though more often than not you would lag out since you only played on your personal laptop and refused to buy a monitor in fear you'd become a gamer, and not the cool kind like Fuuka. The kind that played League of Legends on the daily.
Eventually you said your goodbyes and hung up the call, yawning into your hand as you got ready to sleep. You had a relatively free few days ahead of you before Okumura was scheduled to make his speech, and nearly everyone you knew had lined up to make a hang out appointment with you. Tomorrow you'd go shopping with Ann, Ryuji, and Akira; in the evening Mitsuru wanted to drop by Tokyo and have dinner with you; the day after that Futaba had roped you into teaching Yusuke how to play Smash Bros; then Yukari and Junpei wanted to sit and call later that night since they couldn't come to Tokyo themselves.
You would willingly admit it, that having such a friend-packed schedule was nice. It did wonders for your ego and self-confidence, that was for sure. Sae wanted to grab lunch again, insisting on paying for the meal, and even Shinjiro had a few nice things to say to you.
But if you were honest with yourself, you were looking forward to seeing Sae the most. You met her at the station, where she stood near the stairway on her phone. Once you called her name she looked up, smiling and pocketing her phone. "I hope I didn't make you wait long," you gasped, patting down your chest a little. You had run over when you saw her, and she helped you up seeing how out of breath you were.
"I came early, so don't worry. More importantly, are you okay? You came running all the way across the street." Her hand on your shoulder was firm, but not too tight. It was casual in its intimacy and you gladly accepted the support if it meant you weren't going to collapse dramatically on the street.
"I'll be fine in a moment," you assured her. "So where are we going to lunch?"
"You know the hotel nearby? They got a new chef at the French restaurant at the bottom floor, so I was thinking we could check it out." Not to brag or anything, but you were practically an expert in French food thanks to Mitsuru's lavish tastes. You knew escargot, wine, and ratatouille. No, scratch that, you were not an expert since Mitsuru always did the ordering.
You were stubborn—had always been—and if you couldn't pay for your meal, you'd find other ways of compensation. "Okay. But I'm paying for drinks after." Of course a few rounds of drinks wouldn't be the same as a full French meal, but you'd find another alternative, just you wait. Sae had a smile smile on, expression warm. You couldn't help but smile back.
"Then it's a deal. I made a reservation, so we won't have to worry about the line." Oh wow, she even went all out. You followed her down the road thinking of fancy French food before Makoto crossed your mind.
"What about your sister?" you asked curiously. "Should we get her some takeout?"
Sae nodded as if she hadn't thought of it, which was probably true. Silly Sae, always preoccupied with what was in front of her first. "That's a good idea. She deserves a nice reward anyways, since her grades have been stellar." You closed your eyes for a moment, trying to remember why that sounded so familiar. Right, she was forced to study more recently so she could tutor the rest of the Phantom Thieves since you forgot every subject unrelated to your job and couldn't help much.
"And I'll get dessert too," you suggested, already drawing up a mental list of bakeries that had achieved moderate success with Makoto. Saying she loved a certain place would be overkill, but she certainly had her ones she didn't hate. "Sae, how have you been recently?" Okumura's palace had only just been finished, and it was her next. Could she feel, to some extent, the change that would happen?
Her smile was charming, if not a little forced. Her head tilted towards the side just a little and the corner of her mouth quirked up. She led you into the hotel with enough grace, but it was clear to you her mind was elsewhere. "Work has just been hectic recently," she finally decided to say. "I have no doubt it'll get worse, since I still had the time to sneak out to meet with you."
"Sorry." You kept your expression light hearted anyways, just to show how you weren't serious. "I'm just too charming, is that it?"
"Absolutely." Sae turned away to speak with the waitress about your reservation, waiting until the waitress began walking you to your seats before she spoke again. "I wanted to apologize, by the way, for not being in contact as often as before."
"It can't be helped! I mean, you're really so busy. I wouldn't hold it against you." In a moment of weakness, you tapped your fingers against the smooth table, brushing your thumb across the polished grains. "When I was younger, I didn't realize how far you go without seeing your friends. We don't get the luxury of seeing each other at school, which is a shame...I think we could've been good friends if we went to the same one."
You let yourself imagine that for a moment. Sae was competitive for sure, but Minato was on another level. She'd probably have a friendly competition with you and him every exam period. You'd switch places with her every exam, but Minato would stay at the top, and when the two of you inevitably turned on him, he'd smile. It was then Sae's voice cut cleanly through your reverie. "I'm sure we would've," she said, fingers glossing over the text in the menu. "You seem like you'd have been the popular kid."
She wasn't wrong. You were charmingly silly, how about that? "Maybe," you conceded. "And you were the honor student, right?"
Her smile was a little tight, though she wasn't mean about it. You remembered that little moment anyways, deciding to not bring up things about academics around her anymore. "I had to be. It's always a struggle trying to make it in a man's world. You get it, right?"
Not as much as she did. Not as much as she would. Mitsuru had paved a mostly smooth path for you, even if there were some things she couldn't shield you from, but compared to someone treading around in the highly competitive law field, you walked a clear, paved path as opposed to her thorny one. "I'm sure it's nothing compared to what you have to go through."
Sae was quiet for a moment. She wasn't the type who would disagree and say something nice like, oh, no, we all experience gender discrimination considering the very conservative political views of Japan, and not one experience is worse than the other! No, the both of you knew it was true, and she was a touch too prideful to say some meaningless pleasantries. "That doesn't mean you haven't gone through anything similar." She was sympathetic, at least, but you saw her eyes fall to the menu for a moment, trembling not in sadness but in something more impassioned.
Ah. Sitting across from her then, you felt a little out of place. You were probably the kind of person Sae hated and was jealous of most—oh, and she envied, envied so deeply she manifested a palace in her unconsciousness—and here you were, trouncing around with a brilliant education, a brilliant job, the kind of brilliant life she had to work her skin to the bones for. Mitsuru took care of you. Who took care of Sae?
"If anyone starts getting too far on your case, make sure you tell me, okay? Even if I can't take care of it, at least we can badmouth them behind their back."
She raised her eyes to yours again, briefly turning around to catch the eye of the waiter. "I won't need you to take care of anything for me," she firmly declared. "But I'll definitely take up your offer to complain. Honestly, some of the people I work with could take a few lessons from you." The waiter arrived, and with your approval she quickly rattled off a few dishes that soundly mildly familiar to you, including ratatouille. Like the rat.
When dinner was over and takeout was acquired you did indeed go out for a round of drinks, laughing at each other unreservedly. Seeing her grinning like that under the dim yellow lights of the bar made you think of how different she was from the envious, hypocritical Sae from your past memories.
You hoped she'd be like this forever. You weren't so conceited to call it all your influence, but surely having a confidant could help ease some of her worries. "You're amazing," she was saying, shoulder bumping into yours. "How did you even convince him?"
"I watched a drama the other night! And so when I thought of it I decided to use the exact same words—"
"And he believed you!" The wonder in her voice was greatly exaggerated by the flush on her cheeks from the beer, and you quickly steadied her before she toppled over the bar stool.
"Let's get going," you quickly told her, raising your hand for the bill. "At this rate, you're going to have an awful hangover tomorrow. Thank god it's Friday night."
"Mm." She squinted a little. "Oh no. I still have a case I need to close."
"Knowing you, it's practically done and you just need to review it before you send it in." You slung her arm around your shoulders, dragging her outside with you to hail a cab. Once one arrived you helped her inside before crawling in after her, digging around in your bag. "Here, I have some coconut water in my bag. The fancy kind I got at work. Also, I've been counting our drinks! Your hangover should be very mild if you have one at all."
She sighed, the color in her face fading a little in the cold night air. "Seriously, thank you."
"You have nothing to thank me for," you replied. "We're friends! Between you and I, there is no need for thank you or sorry." Thank you, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, for using that quote in a better way than I ever could.
"I appreciate it." She was dozing off already, so you looked out the cab window while you monitored the driver's route through Google Maps just to double check you weren't getting scammed. You paid a little extra once you arrived and pulled Sae with you up the elevator to their apartment, where Makoto opened the door in surprise.
You lifted the takeout first. "Surprise! We got you something." Makoto quickly let you in, helping you pull Sae towards her bedroom, setting her in bed. You walked with Makoto as she fetched a glass of water and aspirin to set at Sae's nightstand, before the two of you stepped out of her room.
"Thank you so much," she told you, making sure the hallway lights were off too. "I didn't think my sister was the type to get this drunk, though. Not to the point of falling asleep."
"Honestly, I think she's just tired." You peered down the hall for a moment. "Did you eat yet?"
"Just a little. I was doing my homework and I lost track of time."
"Perfect! Why don't we go heat this up together?" It wasn't too late yet, so Makoto nodded and you walked with her to the kitchen with the bag in hand. "Personally, the best thing in here is the dessert. I put it at the top so it wouldn't get crushed."
"Well... Thank you for your foresight." With your combined efforts you warmed back up the takeout and sat with Makoto as she cautiously began eating in small bites. You had assured her you weren't hungry but she stopped to ask you every other bite anyways.
Eventually she finished and refused to let you wash the dishes. You waited for her at the dinner table, already feeling the exhaustion seep in. "Are you worried?" you asked her, and for a moment the hands which were diligently scrubbing at the dishes paused.
"About what?" she carefully replied.
"Anything. School. College. Your sister. Okumura's confession. The Phantom Thieves. Society." Your fingers tapped at the table. "I can't say I'm completely without my own concerns."
She shut off the tap, drying off her last plate. She wiped her hands off before she returned to your side. "I'm concerned too, but more than that, I trust you." She held you gaze firmly. "Akira is our leader, but I think all of us rely on you to help guide us as well."
"So for Okumura..."
"I'm not worried," she explained, "even if that person in the palace you mentioned was trying to kill him. I might not know everything, but I'm certain you're doing your best to help us. And for that reason, I'm sure everything will be fine." Her smile was wry as she cocked her head at you. "Are you nervous? I thought you were supposed to be the calm one."
So that was how she saw you. She wasn't wrong. Growing up along all those life experiences certainly taught you to be calm, even if it didn't reflect your real thoughts. "Just a little, but you've completed wiped away those worries." Akechi could pick his battles. Okumura was your duty, and so too was this world only you knew the full truth of. You and the Velvet Room denizens, but only you were able to step outside and make some real impacts.
"In that case, I'm glad." You exchanged a few more words with Makoto before you finally took your leave and hailed one last taxi to get you back to your apartment, where you showered, brushed your teeth, and promptly fell asleep.
The next time the Phantom Thieves had a proper meeting was at Disneyland—or Destinyland, according to them. It didn't stop you from slipping up all the time. "And you're sure Disney—"
"Destiny," added Futaba. "Seriously, where is the Disney coming from?"
"The corporation," you solemnly replied, taking a sip of your iced tea. "The one that's involved in Kingdom Hearts."
"You mean Heart Kingdom," Futaba replied again. "The one with Danny Duck?"
You raised a hand to stop her. "Please. No more."
Futaba shrugged, smile effortlessly taunting. "Whatever you say. You know, now I'm starting to think you've got a serious case of the Mandela Effect."
She had brought this up many times before, and you were starting to understanding just how frequently you slipped up. Just the other day you had mentioned grabbing coffee, and she had turned on you faster than Akechi could start backstabbing. "Is this about the Starbucks?"
"Starvicks." Before Futaba could start waxing about parallel universes and some other internet theory, the others jumped to switch the topic. Swept along by them, Futaba could only drop the subject matter, and you watched her flounder under the sudden attention lavished upon her.
You looked towards the fireworks in the sky, watching them set off as the others spoke among themselves. They were beautiful to behold, but it wasn't as if it was your first time seeing them. They exploded into color, reflected into the water in your glass, ice cubes clinking as they melted. You poked at the bunny ears headband on your head, which was a little uncomfortable, but you could bear with it.
"Wait, guys, the press conference is almost beginning." You turned back to the group, who were now pulling out their phones. Instead of grabbing yours, you leaned over to get a look at Akira's. He shifted in his seat, moving his hand over to give you a better view.
The meeting proceeded as you thought, for the first few minutes. Everyone at the table was nervous, even you. They knew full well there had been some sort of attempt at Okumura's life, even if it was foiled by your wits. Your hand gripped at the hem of your shirt, watching him drone on and on about the ethical failings of Big Bang Burger. That was nothing. Miniscule. What you wanted to see was how far fate could be jostled off that same path Igor explained to you. If sparing his life would change the story in any way.
His shadow wasn't dead. Surely that meant he wouldn't die as well, and if he wasn't dead, then he could simply reveal the culprit behind the mental shutdowns. It was just a name. You could easily supply it, but there were roles and destinies at play. You were a puppet at the whim of the storyteller, despite how much you fought against its strings. "The incidents you mentioned are indeed true." He took in a deep breath. "However—"
It was small, but you noticed it then, how he had looked to a space in the distance behind the camera and swallowed. "—I take full responsibility for the harm my actions have caused. These incidents are through my own fault, no one else's." Your mouth quirked up in a wry smile, even as everyone else stared blankly at their screens. Of course they'd find a way to use his newfound conscience against him. Fate was once more preserved, and if he even knew of you, maybe Philemon would be having a good chuckle at your expense. Look at the poor idiot trying to change fate.
Wheels, pebbles, roads. If the current Igor were not an imposter then perhaps you'd have gone over to chew him out and maybe throw some hands. You weren't afraid of Igor, but you certainly were afraid of a false god threatening to destroy the world. "So still no lead to the culprits of the mental shutdowns," you finally said, speaking for the group. "But what matters is that we keep moving."
Akira raised an eyebrow. "But we do have a lead. That person who tried to kill Okumura in the palace."
"The strange person in black?" Ryuji asked. "I mean, yeah, but we don't know anything about that person."
"They're showing up in palaces for a purpose, right?" Futaba added. "As long as we keep going through palaces, we will find them again. It's basic gamer logic." Right, gamer logic.
Haru nodded. "More importantly, I'm just glad my dad is okay." She sighed to herself, even as she put on a smile. "Even if he is—was—committing these horrible acts, I just can't stop thinking of him as my dad. And now he won't be doing any of that anymore."
Ann pat her shoulder kindly. "That's good. You know, I'm starting to really like this Phantom Thief thing! Even if we got nowhere with this current lead, we've already helped so many people. I don't regret this at all."
Yusuke smiled softly, his eyes closed. "And one way or another, we're all beneficiaries of being able to change hearts. It's certainly a wonderful sentiment. I wonder if this can be expressed in a painting..."
"You'll find a way, I bet," sighed Ryuji. "Isn't art all about the abstract? You're great at that."
"Thank you for the compliment." Yusuke turned to you now, and you raised your head, smiling politely. "And you as well. I'm sure this would have a very different outcome if you hadn't risked your life to stay behind on that day."
Fate can't be changed. That thought which had bummed you out earlier seemed to lose its sharpness and bite. Fate can be changed. Can't it? I did something. I was able to change something. "I completely agree," Haru chimed in. "Words can't express how thankful I am. After all, who knows what would've happened if we just left without assuring my father's safety?"
You knew what would've happened. He'd have died. The Phantom Thieves would hit an era of unpopularity, and Akechi would jump on board. But then life would go on and everything would resolve, in the end, just not as perfectly as they might've wanted.
Fate. You thought about Igor's words once again. You were the rock in the path of the wheel of destiny. You couldn't change the destination, but you could change the road.
Back at Tatsumi Port Island, back in Iwatodai, you had resolved yourself to the highest of destinies; a martyr's death. And perhaps you had been thinking only in extremes, that if you couldn't change his death you couldn't change anything. An observer, watching humanity march on not unlike Philemon himself.
But you could change things. Not the bigger picture, but the smaller things. The little details that didn't seem to matter in front of the big things, like saving the world, but could change so much of a person's life. "It's nothing," you told them, but you wished you could express towards them your endless gratitude. They had given you something much more important than a life—it was the ability to conceptualize change. You wanted to smooth out their road, lead them to their final destination with as much ease as you could give them. "There's this Korean saying, though I'm not sure if you've heard of it. I hope you walk on a path of flowers. It may not be realistic, but I want us to have the happiest, most successful journey together."
You could give your all for that. Minato would've, if he was here. He was selfless like that and you were only a cheap imitation, but the love you felt could not be fake. "Then I hope we walk on the flower path together," said Akira, and you nodded, feeling your heart swell in happiness.