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The Phantom Thieves all stood where they were when they entered Cafe Leblanc.
As each of them, now refined as young adults, looking at the figure that seated itself promptly on the center of the room, they were curious as to how such a person had arrived before Ren had opened the doors. To be quite honest, the Phantom Thieves’ leader was hoping to bring their celebration upon the defeat of Grim Ripper after months of hardship and turmoil to a conclusive and well-earned break, but seeing this unknown figure irked them in ways in which Grim had not.
The figure appeared to be a middle-aged man with a complexity that spoke of equal hardships and yet with a sense of adventure to them. He donned a grayish-white beard and long hair that was tied to a bun on the backside, yet most of the strands would cover his eyes though his rectangular eyewear would conceal the colors and nature of them. He wore a fine lab coat and a neat blue button-down that the top buttons were unbuttoned and his black tie loose around his neck. The rest of his coat would then go on to cover his black pants and shoes, which tapped lightly the ground despite how high the chairs were. He did appear taller than Ren, who was the tallest of the group.
Ren continued to examine the man before he looked back at the Phantom Thieves and smiled radiantly, throwing them off their tracks when it came to asking them who they were as he quickly answered their question without them asking.
“I’ve been waiting for you all, Phantom Thieves,” he said with no connotation, completely throwing the gang off as they were taken aback.
Makoto, who was too busy adjusting her new rectangular eyeglasses due to her eye injuries gazed back at the old man. “How did you…”
“Sojiro invited me in. We go way back.” he then shuffled his hand around to get the ice away from his tea and drank a little more before he stood up and placed his hands on his lab coat pockets, almost as if he was Maruki…
In fact, and Ren and Akechi felt this the most as they looked at the man upon closer inspecting, reminding themselves of Takuto Maruki, the brilliant man who also had his own dark side to him. As they continued to look at the old man, the feeling as if Maruki himself was back in the cafe grounds intrigued them, yet they didn’t bother to pressure the subject further. Both Ren and Akechi knew that at the moment, they were tired and wanted a seat.
“Before we address anything more,” Ren spoke moving forward. “May we have a seat?”
“It’s no problem at all.” the old man smiled back.
As each of the Phantom Thieves took their spots and grabbed food, the old man then began to speak once more. He had his backs on them as he was continuing to drink his beverage, the whiteness of his lab coat blinding the seats of Haru and Akechi, whom she clung onto romantically. Futaba was in the far back with her laptop and Morgana who was whispering something to her before the old man chuckled.
“There’s no need to be subtle dear cat,” he smirked.
“You can hear Mona?” Ryuji quickly retorted.
“Is that really the question you should be asking?” Ann smacked the back of her boyfriend.
Makoto fixed her new eyeglasses and stared down at the old man.
“Who are you?” she asked calmly.
“Quite the question I’ve been expecting.” he stopped drinking. “However, don’t you wish to know why I can understand the cat first?”
“Because you must’ve been involved with the Metaverse, or at least a field in cognitive pscience.” Yusuke answered.
“Correct answer. And what does that say about me?”
“That you work in the field of cognitive pscience given your presence.” Akechi continued and stood from his seat to get a closer look at the old man. “And it seems that you weren’t a part of Shido’s crew either. Otherwise, I’ve would’ve known who you are.”
“And the perfect deductions coming from the Detective Prince.” the old man chuckled, and as he was about to continue drinking his tea, Makoto slapped her hand on the table loudly. The force of the act caused a reverberation throughout the room and stopped everyone in their tracks. Her red eyes then sternly stared down at the old man’s bluish-green ones, which Ren could only surmise was her Death Stare.
“Enough with these games! Who are you?” she asked in a Sae-like voice which made Ren blinked twice to make sure he wasn’t seeing the older sister. After he made sure it was his wife, he then felt a twitch in his right eye and massaged the scar that now grazed on his skin.
It was then the old man sighed and placed his drink down.
“Very well. It seems rather disrespectful for me to play these mind games with you.” he turned around and took a look at the room, the eyes of each of the young adults mirroring the old man’s movements. He didn’t stand up nor did he avert his eyes off the Phantom Thieves.
“My name is Shinomiya Akihiko, Takuto Maruki’s teacher and head researcher of cognitive pscience.” the moment he finished his sentence, the entire cafe stood to a halt. Their eyes still looked at the old man, who still smiled and looked back at them, now with a fatherly tone instead of a mysterious one. However, among the eyes that stared back at them, Futaba’s was the one that had a trembling feeling to them.
“Teacher…” Haru spoke first.
“Of Dr. Maruki…” Morgana gasped and then everyone yelled at the same time.
“TEACHER OF DR. MARUKI?!”
Akihiko smiled and waved off the surprise as he chucked.
“Yes, Taki is an old student of mine back during his days of research with me. Though that means I would have to apologize for all his antics back then.” he looked around for a moment. “Come to think of it, Sumire isn’t here either…”
“She’s in America studying abroad.” Ren answered.
“I see.”
“What’s this about head researcher?” Ren then asked back towards the old man.
“I was the head researcher for the cognitive pscience phenomenon. I was the first of many who began to tackle this subject with haste and curiosity. However, as you saw throughout your lifetime, that research is completely dangerous to utilize. I had to go into hiding when I heard about Wakaba’s tragedy and resurfaced after Shido’s imprisonment.”
“Wait, you knew Mom?” Futaba now asked the question.
Akihiko looked at Futaba and smiled. “Ah, you are her daughter. I also knew her well and taught her as well. She was a wonderful student, though more conservative than Maruki.” he chuckled once more, confusing the atmosphere as the gang couldn’t tell if this was a serious or light-toned conversation. With his remark, however, the gang understood what kind of a man he was and were more comfortable with him more so than ever.
“How come you can understand Morgana?” Ann asked her question now.
“Prolly because he entered the Metaverse.” Ryuji quickly added.
Akihiko smiled once more. “Good answer.”
“I’m surprised no one has asked this question yet,” Akechi interjected. “But why are you here to have a chat with us? Especially after the events, we witnessed with Grim, you suddenly appear. Why is that?” the room was silent and everyone gazed back at Akihiko. Something was quite odd about his sudden arrival, given Grim’s defeat a few days earlier and his sentence being given today. Ren tried to use his Third Eye, but it seemed that Akihiko knew he was using that ability and proceeded not to further utilize its use.
“Interesting question Detective Prince, and to answer that question-”
“It’s because you know about the Secret, don’t you?” Futaba continued to ask her questions, addressing Akihiko selfishly. Ann stopped in her tracks and looked at Futaba, the same with everyone. The Secret? What did Futaba mean by that exactly?
“You know about the Secret, don’t you? The one that Mom always wrote about in her research about cognitive pscience. The same Secret that even earlier researchers and psychologists such as Freud and Jung uncovered but were killed because of it.”
“I thought they died of old age,” Ryuji whispered but it was not Haru’s turn to smack him.
“Mom never had access to the Metaverse, but she knew about the potential threat and ability to enter it, which was through the MetaNav. She could only measure the wavelengths of potential Palaces and how it altered personalities, as well as Jung’s old reference, notes about Shadow theory and Freud’s dream theory. And given how only those who have a will of rebellion to change the world such as us and Sumire have access to it could only mean one thing for you- you know about the Secret, don’t you?”
“Futaba, what are you talking about?” Ann asked back.
“This Secret thing, now that I think about it…” Makoto placed her hand on her chin in thought before quickly placing back her glasses as they were falling down slightly. “Ren dear, remember those old files Grim stole from Shido?”
“The ones that he boasted about his Palace and cognitive pscience? Sure do Mako.” Ren replied. “Why do you ask?”
“He kept asking about this Secret thing that no one was able to find an answer to. He wrote over and over again about how no a single person was competent enough to get at least an interpretation of what that Secret was.” Makoto then looked at Akechi, who shook his head immediately.
“This is all new to me. Shido never explicitly told me about this other than...you know.” he stopped short and then sighed before he had to tell Haru calmly that he was being squeezed too hard. She apologized and while that encounter was going on, Futuba continued. “So what’s your answer then?”
There was a pause in the room, covering the Phantom Thieves with curiosity and mystique. Though it was nearing the end of Summer, for Fall was approaching, the room felt as if the winter had arrived early and forces of nature would playing at their feet.
Then, he uttered the voice that would then change the course of history as the gang would know it. The three words that would burn the one memory of Shinomiya Akihiko as the gang was once more taken aback by his answer.
“Yeah, I know.”
The wind blew mysteriously around the cafe.
“I know exactly what it is you were talking about, the Secret of the Metaverse. The very details of it and how it affects the world at large. I know every single detail”- he caught Futaba’s eyes as if he knew she was going to pressure the subject further. “However Wakaba’s daughter, don’t get too careless with your curiosity.”
“What do you mean?” Futaba asked.
“Despite me knowing what the Secret is as well as your mother, we were perhaps too impatient in uncovering its truth. I may know what it is, but if I were to tell you everything there is to know about it and more, it’s not like you can do anything about it given the state you are. Especially after witnessing what Grim tried to do with his knowledge of the Metaverse.”
Makoto and Ren shuddered as they were reminded of that horrid encounter with the blood like a summoning circle and its figures. So it is linked to the Metaverse, then? How exactly? They waited for Akihiko to continue.
“So Wakaba’s daughter, allow me to answer with this: once you’ve taken the time to see it all yourself and do the research, perhaps you will have a better understanding of it than what your mother did, or I did. Take your time in this endeavor, but if you still wish to learn about it here and now, I will make sure to not leave out a single detail of it.”
Futaba gulped when she was given the chance to learn about the Secret. It bugged her ever since she recovered her mother’s journals on the subject, actually reading them and learning more than what she understood from the word alone. Now was her chance, but as she looked at the others, she soon realized something else. Perhaps it was destiny for her to fill in the blanks and figure out the mystery herself, and her friends, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts would help her as well. Almost as if she was foreseeing the future, she understood what she needed to do.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll find it myself considering I was the navigator and main plot point towards deceiving that guy over there.” she cheerfully pointed at Akechi, who sighed and wanted to forget about those days. She smirked and looked back at Akihiko. “I’ll find the answer,” she said with confidence.
“As I’m sure you will.” Akihiko smiled and then looked back at the others before he finished off. “However, before you do, I will answer this as it pertains to everyone. Wakaba’s research did bring to life one aspect of the cognitive world that even I couldn’t fathom thinking. She didn’t see the Metaverse as you call is like another world filled with the desires of people’s hearts. She saw it as a life force of some kind that was made to balance the world and its desires. Almost as if it was its own person with a heart.” and with that, he finished speaking and looked at the time. It was now getting late and he began to stand up, slowly but reassuringly. “It appears I wasted too much time for your victory party. It was nice meeting all of you and perhaps we shall all meet again when the times is right.” he walked out the door without a single word and looked at Ren for a brief moment. “Send Igor my regards if you ever see him again…” it wasn’t through words but Ren knew that at that moment in time, Akihiko telepathically spoke with him and he couldn’t bother to pressure it as he was now gone, almost as if he disappeared into the night…
“And then what happened Dad?” Touya’s voice was now cutting through Ren’s memories as he stopped to look at the same dark grey eyes that his son had. Touya, as well as Ianus who was now a hologram beside Touya, were patiently waiting for Ren to finish his thought.
“What happened then was nothing more than a party and we celebrated our victory with Grim.”
“Nothing more? What about that Akihiko guy?”
“He vanished. Nowhere to be seen.”
“Perhaps he was not human,” Ianus replied.
“That’s what I told your mother when we got home.” Ren then tapped his foot and sighed. ”However, his message back then seems to be clear now since you as well as everyone else knows about the Metaverse and are now the Saviors of Hearts. This Secret your aunt Futaba mentioned could be the key to understanding everything that’s been going on. Maybe you’ll shed it to light finally, Touya.”
Touya took the words for a moment of consideration. As they were ready to enter their fifth palace in order to fulfill the promise that was once broken, Touya then went back to that moment. The moment he met him.
“Maybe the Metaverse is this life force after all….perhaps that was why I met him and entered that place…” Touya then nodded and stood up from his chair where it was facing his father. “I got it Dad. I’ll make sure to find the answer to the Secret when I can, especially during my time in your home town.”
Ren smiled and stood up as well. “Don’t do it for me. Do it mostly for your mother, especially considering…” he stopped talking and cast his eyes down. Touya did too as he couldn’t bear the thought of how it was a month since the funeral.
“I’ll definitely do it for Mom and for him as well. I promise.”
And with that, Touya walked out of the door of his father’s home office with a confident stride and Ianus swirling around him in his new hologram presence that was undoubtedly annoying Touya even more now that he was a miniature figure of himself, Ren chuckled a little before his eyes gazed back at the one photo of a memory that was nothing more than the past...