Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Makoto came to with a start, the cool air burning her lungs with every breath. She sat up too quickly and her head began to swim. Fighting back the dizziness with her eyes still closed, she forced herself to take stock of her situation.

Physically, she didn’t feel any pain. There were no aches, cuts, or bruises that she could detect. In fact, other than the subsiding dizziness, she seemed to be in perfect health.

The surface that she was now sitting on felt soft, like a bed. She closed her hands around the fabric that had gathered near them when she sat up and confirmed that they felt like a blanket and bedsheets.

She could faintly hear cars and trucks passing by and the sound of a television or radio softly playing a talk show of some kind.

Perplexed, Makoto opened her eyes. She recognized her own bedroom immediately. Bookshelves containing her favorite novels and textbooks. A well-kept desk with pens, pencils, notebooks, and her laptop open on it. Photos of herself with her sister hanging on the wall and her school supplies stuffed in her backpack next to the door.

What’s going on? Makoto thought. The last thing I remember…

It was Christmas Eve. Akria led the Phantom Thieves into Mementos, all the way to the bottom of its depths. Fighting against Holy Grail. All of Tokyo aflame. Yaldabaoth rushing towards her. And then darkness.

She was drawn from her thoughts by a voice calling from the other room, “Makoto, come get breakfast. You’ll be late.”

Makoto hesitated only a moment before responding, “Just a minute!”

She moved to the mirror next to her closet, gasping as she took in the view of herself. She was a good few inches shorter than expected, and her red eyes looked out of a face that was far more youthful than the one she usually saw in the mirror. A quick inspection also showed muscles that were less toned than those she had built over months of training and phantom thievery.

Pushing the panic to the back of her mind, Makoto walked to her desk and picked up her phone. Looking at the date confirmed her suspicions.

Monday, April 7^th, 2014

The date of my first day of classes at Shujin. What’s going on here? Yaldabaoth styled itself as some sort of god. Is this some illusion of its doing? If so, why choose this?

“Makoto, your food is getting cold.” Sae’s voice came from the kitchen.

No time to worry about this now.

“Coming Sis.” She called through the door.

After she quickly dressed in her Shujin Academy uniform, Makoto walked into the main room of the apartment she shared with her sister. Sae did not look much different than Makoto remembered as she sat at the table, already wearing her prosecutor’s outfit and eating her breakfast as she watched the news on the television. The only hint of anything being wrong was Sae’s slightly shorter hair and her face showing fewer effects of the stress that had built up over the years of being the sole provider for the two of them.

“I know I don’t usually cook, but I wanted your first day of high school to be special,” Sae said as she offered Makoto a plate.

“Thanks, Sis.” Makoto sat down and began to serve herself. She snuck a quick glance at the TV and caught the date from the corner of the news broadcast. It confirmed her phone’s insistence that it was April 7^th, 2014. She then focused intently on eating, hoping to avoid conversation as much as possible.

Sae torpedoed that plan almost immediately. “Are you alright Makoto? You look pale.”

“Just a little nervous about the first day of school.” Makoto chuckled weakly, hoping that Sae would buy her excuse.

Sae gave her a skeptical look. “You’ve been excited about starting high school for weeks and you’re just nervous now? Just study hard and focus on your work, don’t let yourself get distracted by social clubs that won’t do anything for your future, and you’ll be fine.” Her face softened slightly. “Us Nijima women are strong. You’ll do great Makoto.”

“Thanks, Sis.”

“I’m only telling you the truth. Now, I hope you enjoyed breakfast, but I have to go. I have an early meeting about a new case. It’s an important one, so I have to make sure everything goes smoothly.”

“Good luck,” Makoto called as her sister walked out the door.

Makoto took a deep breath and glanced at the clock. She had ten minutes before she needed to leave for school if she didn’t want to be late. Enough time to take a few moments to think about her predicament and draw up a plan of attack for the school day.

Sae clearly doesn’t remember anything, but that’s not enough information to draw any useful conclusions from.

There are a few possibilities at the moment:

1. I’m currently dead or dying and hallucinating, and nothing that is happening here is real.
2. Yaldabaoth has done something to me to induce this illusion for some unknown purpose.
3. Some entity has truly sent me back in time.

Ignoring the first possibility, because it renders anything I do moot, that leaves two possibilities.

If the second case is true, Yaldabaoth may be hoping to use how I react to gain some information about me or the Phantom Thieves. I don’t see how that would help it given that the last thing I recall is us battling it while shadows overtook the city. Unless the rest of the Thieves managed to retreat and somehow save Tokyo without defeating Yaldabaoth, it has nothing to gain from whatever information it gathers from this illusion.

Alternatively, Yaldabaoth may be using this illusion to torture me. She shuddered. It certainly didn’t seem like a benevolent god, so I cannot rule that possibility out, but given what has happened so far, this seems unlikely.

That leaves true time travel.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that any of these possibilities are true. I may be missing what is truly going on.

A sharp ringing from her phone caused Makoto to jump. Ten minutes had passed more quickly than she’d expected.

Makoto hurriedly grabbed her bag, noticing with a soft smile that her Buchimaru pencil case was balanced at the top of the notebooks and textbooks. At least one thing is normal today.

She traced her usual route to school, allowing her brain to focus on the well-memorized movements rather than running wild focusing on her situation.

As she walked towards the school’s gate, she was hit by a realization.

Kamoshida. He’s still here. When did his abuse start? Was it always as terrible as it was last time?

Sure enough, Kamoshida stood at the front gate welcoming students as they arrived. His voice carried a pleasant, friendly tone, but Makoto easily noticed his gaze linger on a few of the female students that filed into the building.

Makoto tried to walk past Kamoshida but his attention focused on her as soon as she neared him.

“And you must be a new student. Welcome to Shujin Academy,” Kamoshida said jovially. “Best volleyball team in the country. It’s great for school spirit. You should come see some of our games. We could always do with more students like you cheering us on.” He barely tried to disguise his attempt to look her up and down before giving Makoto a thinly veiled lascivious grin.

For the first time that morning, Makoto felt some of the fire that she felt while she worked with the Phantom Thieves return to her. She took a small step forward, placing herself uncomfortably close, and stared directly into Kamoshida’s eyes, daring him to keep talking.

Kamoshida recoiled slightly, leaving Makoto enough time to state, “I prefer to focus on my studies,” before continuing into the school building.

Once she crossed the threshold of the building, Makoto exhaled. I’ll need to do something about him. She thought. Maybe I can stop him from hurting anyone this time around. Ann’s friend isn’t even at Shujin yet…  I need to make sure he doesn’t push anyone to the edge like he did with Shiho.

Looking around her to make sure no one was watching, Makoto pulled her cell phone out of her bag. It was an older model than the one she was used to, her usual cell phone being a gift from Sae that she’d received for becoming student council president.

She quickly entered her passcode and swiped through the screens. After a moment she was disappointed, but not surprised to confirm that the Metaverse Navigator app was not installed on her phone. A quick search of the device’s app store also turned up no results.

Getting access to the Metaverse will have to be a priority. If Yaldabaoth came from Mementos, then that seems like the best place to search to figure out what’s going on. It’ll also give me a way to deal with Kamoshida.

But can I handle Mementos and a palace on my own? I’ve never worked with a team of fewer than five. I need to find a way to get in touch with the other Thieves and see if they remember anything.

Akira isn’t in Tokyo yet. Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke are still in middle school, Futaba is…

Futaba’s mother might still be alive! And she was doing research on cognitive psience. I need to save her if I can. And she might be able to help me figure out what’s going on.

I really need to write down a list of things I need to do. I need to prioritize.

First things first. The closest member of the Thieves right now is Haru. She should be at Shujin today too. I need to reach out and see if she remembers anything without making myself too obvious.

Makoto nodded to herself, her goal for the day set.

A droning voice came on over the loudspeaker. “All students. Report to the gymnasium for the start of term assembly. The assembly will start in ten minutes.”

With practiced ease, Makoto made her way from the entrance hall towards the gym, just stopping herself from making her way to the front, her autopilot bringing her towards the podium where she would usually have to speak.

Instead, she found a seat in the back of the room near the doors. She focused on the incoming stream of students, hoping to catch a glimpse of Haru to confirm that she was at the school today. Sure enough, after a few minutes, she saw a girl with soft, brown curls and a fluffy pink sweater come in and sit down a few rows ahead of her.

With Haru’s presence at the school confirmed, Makoto took a moment to look around. She recognized a few of her fellow students in passing, either as classmates or students who had come to her for help while she worked with the student council.

The gymnasium looked much like she was used to. A well-maintained floor with freshly painted lines for volleyball. A stage at the front of the room with a few chairs and podium set up on it. Behind the stage was a red curtain with a flag of Shujin Academy providing a backdrop for the speaker.

After a few minutes, a heavyset man in a beige suit walked onto the stage and made his way to the podium. The chatter filling the room died down as the man cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Good morning students. I am Principal Kobayakawa. For those of you returning to the school for a second or third year, welcome back. To our new students, welcome to Shujin Academy.

“Here at Shujin, we strive to be the best school in Japan and to prepare you for the rigors of university and your adult life. I hope you appreciate our academic programs and use these next three years to gain knowledge about the world and about yourselves.

“We also have some of the best after-school clubs and teams here at Shujin. The artistically inclined may enjoy our music club. Writers can help produce our student newspapers. Our athletes have helped us have a successful track team, and of course, our volleyball team is the best in the country thanks in no small part to our own Olympian, Suguru Kamoshida.

“Whatever it is that you hope to get out of your time at Shujin Academy, I am sure that we will be able to provide it to you. I hope you all enjoy the year, and again, welcome to Shujin Academy.”

After polite applause from the student body and young man stepped up to the podium. “Hello everyone. I’m Takara Okuda, the student body president. First years, please report to the tables in the back of the gymnasium to get your room assignments and class schedules. Second and third years, please go directly to class. Thank you.”

Makoto stood and made her way to the back of the gym with the rest of the first years. She kept her eyes on Haru, looking for an opening, but the other girl was too far ahead of her for Makoto to be able to get to her without drawing attention.

Instead, Makoto waited in line in front of the teacher who was handing out the paperwork. She received her room assignment and class schedule before exiting the gym. A quick look around showed that Haru was nowhere to be seen, so Makoto instead double checked her room assignment and set out on her way to class.

When the teacher finally dismissed them for lunch, Makoto let out a sigh of relief. Even for the most dedicated students, the first day of classes was always a drag. The teachers had to spend time getting to know each student and setting expectations for the year and most students were too busy swapping stories about how they had spent their vacation to pay attention anyway.

Makoto stepped into the hallway. I still have to make contact with Haru. I know she usually ate lunch on the roof, but that was after the garden was installed. Where would she be eating on the first day of school?

Without any better plan, Makoto started walking down the hallway, trying to sneak a peek into each first-year classroom as she passed.

She walked the entire length of the floor but did not see Haru in any of the classrooms. Deciding that she could focus on finding Haru after school, Makoto turned around to return to her classroom to eat her lunch. As she turned Makoto felt a weight impact her side, sending her falling to the ground.

“Oh, my goodness, I’m so sorry,” said a voice that managed to sound both intensely apologetic and cheerful.

Makoto looked up and sure enough, the face of Haru Okumura looked down at her with the image of concern on her face.

“It’s quite alright Ha…” Makoto coughed, hiding her near slip. “I mean, It’s alright. I was the one who wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings.”

Haru held out a hand to help Makoto up, her arm strength doing the majority of the work. No wonder she was able to handle that battle axe without training. She must have started some training regimen long before she joined the Phantom Thieves.

“No, no. I shouldn’t have been walking without paying attention. I’ve just been distracted by,” Haru’s face began to drop and she paused for a moment, but she seemed to force herself to brighten up. “by the first day at a new school. None of my friends from my old school wanted to come to Shujin, but Father insisted that it was the best place for me.”

It sounds like her father might already be involved in the conspiracy somehow. Or at least he knows something and is interest in joining. I’ll have to do something about that. Still, this is the perfect opportunity to speak to her.

“I understand that feeling. I never had many friends at my previous school, so it’s just me here.” Makoto said, taking a glance at the nearby clock. “We still have some time. Would you like to eat lunch together?”

“That would be wonderful.” Haru beamed at her. “Oh! I don’t think I’ve introduced myself. I’m Haru Okumura.”

“Makoto Nijima. It’s good to meet you.”

“I saw a nice bench out in the courtyard that seemed like it was out of the way. Would you like to eat there?”

Makoto nodded. “It’s not too cold outside today. That would be nice.”

Haru’s etiquette training kicked in almost immediately as she kept up a good level of small talk as they walked outside. Makoto focused just enough to make sure she’d be able to respond, but the rest of her mind was racing.

At first glance, it looks like Haru doesn’t remember anything, but it may be that she’s in the same position as me and is trying to feel out whether I remember anything as well.

I can’t just come out and say anything about the Phantom Thieves. If she doesn’t remember anything, I don’t want to scare her off. She’s the closest thing I have to an ally at the moment, even if she doesn’t have her memories of the future. I’ll need to find a way to hint at it subtly.

As they sat down on the bench, Haru and Makoto removed their lunches from the bags.

“What did you bring for lunch today?” Haru asked.

Makoto, who had been too focused on her predicament to pay attention to her lunch as she left home, looked at the box in her hand, opening it. “My sister made me a bento. I usually cook, but she wanted me to have something special for the first day.” I can’t picture Sis making this for me at all. Did she really change that much in two years?

“That’s wonderful!” Haru said with a smile. “Your sister must really care about you. I have a bento as well.” She pulled out a box of her own, along with a small thermos.

As Haru opened the thermos and took a sip, Makoto caught sight of the dark liquid within and the small amount of steam that escaped through the opening at the top.

There’s my opening.

“Is that coffee?” Makoto said.

“Yes, it is. I know it’s not a typical drink to bring for lunch, but I’ve always like coffee. Something about the atmosphere of a nice café is so relaxing.” Haru said.

“There’s a really nice café I know in Yongen Jaya. The proprietor seems gruff, but it’s a very relaxing place. He makes a wonderful café noir.”

“That sounds wonderful. I’ll have to visit it sometime.”

Clearly, Haru either is showing a large amount of caution, or truly doesn’t remember anything. I should start to prepare myself for the possibility that I’m alone here. Makoto fought back the slight sense of panic that she felt rising in the back of her mind. At the very least, I should make friends with Haru. I know her, even if she doesn’t know me, and maybe I can do something to help her handle her father.

Haru drew Makoto out of her thoughts, “what clubs do you think you want to join this year?”

“I hadn’t given it much thought,” Makoto said. And truly, she hadn’t. The first time around, she joined student council because it would look the best on college applications. There wasn’t an aikido club at the school and she had little interest in the arts or sports, so student council had seemed like the natural choice. “I might join the student council. It seems like a good way to get involved in different parts of the school.”

“That’s a good idea. I don’t know all the clubs they have here, but I hope that there’s something like a gardening club. I’ve always wanted to grow my own foods.” Haru said.

“I’m sure you’d be wonderful at it,” Makoto said, recalling just how often Haru’s rooftop-grown foods had gotten them out of a sticky spot in a palace. “If there’s no club like that, I’m sure you could try starting one up. If I get into the student council, I could even help with your petition.”

Haru gave a light laugh. “I guess it’s good to have friends in high places. I’m glad that I bumped into you Makoto, even though I’m still sorry to have knocked you over.”

Makoto smiled. “I’m quite alright. Don’t worry about it.”

The pair stood and began walking back towards the class building in companionable silence. When they reached the door, Haru paused. “We should do this again another time Makoto. I’m glad that we met.”

“Likewise,” Makoto said. “Here, let me give you my contact information so we can set up a time to eat together again.”

Haru happily took Makoto’s phone and entered her own information into the device’s contact list. She departed with a cheerful smile and walked back towards her classroom. After a moment’s pause, Makoto walked back towards her own.

Makoto walked through the front door of the apartment she shared with Sae and sat down heavily on the couch, allowing the silence of the room to settle around her. Sae wouldn’t be home for a few hours yet so she had time before she needed to begin cooking dinner.

As the day had worn the reality of what was going on had begun to set it. That, combined with the clear evidence that Haru did not recognize her meant that, as far as she could tell, she was alone, without backup from any of the other Phantom Thieves.

Makoto took a moment, allowing the stress to and worry to wash over her before pushing it to the side.

I need to focus. Things look bad, but I need to look forward. I have the chance to change things for the better. If Yaldabaoth wins, they certainly can’t get any worse, so I’ll try, even if I have to do it alone.

I need a plan. But how can I come up with a plan to change what’s going to happen in the next two years? There are too many variables. Too many things to change.

Makoto thought on it for a moment, trying to leverage all of the time she spent as the Phantom Thieves’ strategist to help her come up with one more plan.

Logically speaking, time travelers have two options. Try to maintain the timeline at all costs so they can leverage their future knowledge or try to change things to make them better.

Keeping the timeline the same is nearly impossible in practice, and regardless, I want things to change. If I can stop Shido early, maybe Yaldabaoth never becomes a problem at all. That means that I shouldn’t worry about trying to keep things the same as they were before.

What are the consequences of that? I imagine that any knowledge of low-level events, will be useless, but the big picture will be the same. Shido is still trying to take over the country. Madarame is still plagiarizing his students’ work. Kaneshiro is still blackmailing students. Kamoshida is still abusing the school’s athletes.

Without the Metaverse, I can’t do much about any of that. I might be able to have some effect on Kamoshida, and maybe Kaneshiro since I can tip-off Sis and the police, but I won’t be able to do much…

If I stop Kamoshida now, that means he won’t break Ryuji’s leg and Shiho won’t jump off the roof. Ann and Ryuji wouldn’t have any reason to become Thieves. If I can save Futaba’s mother, she won’t have any reason either. Stopping Shido means Akira won’t come to Tokyo.

The Phantom Thieves were Makoto’s dearest friends. Her family really. The thought of not having them in her life was a difficult one to bear.

I need to do it anyway. If I can save from the pain that was inflicted on them, it’ll be worth it, even if it means that I don’t get to know them this time.

There’s a lot I need to do. I need to come up with a plan, or a checklist of some kind to make sure I fix as much as I can.

My first priority should be getting access to the Metaverse. I can’t do much without it. Morgana should be able to get me in if I can find him. If Futaba’s mother is still alive, her research might also open some doors. And it wouldn’t hurt to try to get Futaba on my side, even if she has no reason to join the Thieves.

I should also find out if Sis has a palace. She was willing to help us once. She might be willing to help me now. I just need to introduce the idea to her properly.

Makoto got out a notebook and a pen and set to work. After some time spent wracking her brain and going through at least ten pages of scrap paper, she had a neat checklist sitting in front of her.

• Get access to the Metaverse
  • Find Morgana
  • Make contact with Wakaba Isshiki
    • Save Wakaba
      • or, save Futaba from her uncle
• Find out if Sis has a palace yet
  • Steal Sis’ treasure?
• Contact the other Thieves to see if they remember anything
  • Ann
  • Futaba
  • Haru
  • Akira
  • Ryuji
  • Yusuke
• Rescue Yusuke from Madarame
  • Steal Madarame’s treasure
• Find out if Kunikazu Okumura has a palace yet
  • Save Haru from his abuse
  • Steal his treasure
• Stop Kamoshida and Kaneshiro from preying on Shujin students
  • Steal their treasures
• Determine when Akechi got involved with the conspiracy
  • Neutralize Akechi
• Stop Shido

Makoto looked down at the list she held in her hands. It wouldn’t be easy, and she was nearly certain she was missing something, but it was a start.

She looked around the apartment and noticed that darkness had fallen over the room, most of the illumination coming from dim streetlights outside the window. She had been so focused on her task that she hadn’t noticed how much time had passed.

She quickly packed up and put all of her materials in her bag so that she would be ready for school the next day before folding up the checklist and hiding it in the middle of a book on her bookshelf.

With her plan made, Makoto left her room and walked toward the kitchen to start preparing dinner for herself and Sae.