Chapter Text
The girl impatiently tapped her foot listening to the ringing on the other line. She could hear everyone behind the door next to her discussing the next script. She groaned annoyed, “Come on pick up. Sanada senpai.”
“Takeba?” She heard a male voice finally answer on the other line. “We still have time until March, so...”
“Sanada senpai are you stationed in Tokyo right now?” She asked looking out the window again. The sky had gone red and skeleton structures had burst out of the ground. To top it off it seemed like the streets were flooded with red water. Still everyone outside seemed to be moving and acting as though nothing was going on. Everything about the air and situation felt strangely familiar and yet completely wrong.
“Yeah I’m stationed nearby Shibuya with Mitsuru.” There was a pause where she wasn’t sure if she should ask if he was seeing this also when his voice came again, “So I’m not imagining this after all. You can see this too can’t you Yukari?”
“Yeah I can see it too. It feels familiar but I can’t place my finger on it. It reminds me of school...” she hesitated. What she had meant to say was it reminded her of him. There was an awkward pause before she heard him give a long sigh.
“Yeah I get what you mean. No one else seems to be able to though.” She felt her heart drop listening to him. “Say Yukari, have you seen anything about those Phantom Thieves? The main police force has been putting so many hours into trying to apprehend them but something feels familiar about that last calling card.”
Yukari opened her mouth before closing it again. “Yeah Junpei has been following them for a while now. Won’t stop filling me in on their exploits. Didn’t their leader commit suicide?” She asked, rubbing her arm with her free hand.
“Officially? Yes. Yet if you ask anyone not directly connected to that case you get conflicting reports. Supposedly he tricked the station and escaped.”
“Do...” Yukari took a moment to think before continuing. “You think this has something to do with them?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. Still something sits strange in my gut about what happened. For now let’s wait and see how this plays out. Although if we’re seeing this I’m worried about its origin.” Yukari took a shaky breath staring at the landscape.
“I’ll...I’ll contact everyone and...” she stilled the shaking as she continued with her train of thought, “And I’ll see if they’re seeing this too. If they are, should we get together earlier this year?” She asked, waiting now for a response. A minute passed by before she got her answer.
“Yeah, if they can see it too, have everyone meet in Shibuya soon. Let me know the time and place. Talk to you later Yukari.”
“You too Sanada senpai” She hung up her hand shaking ‘Yuki-San’ she thought before closing her eyes.
———
The nothingness was all there was. Stillness and nothingness. Yet the quiet seemed to begin to fill with noise. A sense of consciousness was coming back.
“They... time... . Ya...has fallen. His ...ment ...ended.” there were voices just beyond the realm of consciousness. Yet still they were hard to make out “....should be...decide this.” “...till weak. I... in his place. Do... deal?” The words were coming stronger now. “Deal...enza.” The world fell to silence once again yet a familiar piano seemed to be playing and a strange glow enveloped everything. He was aware again of who he was and what he was doing. His body felt strange and heavy. Not even his eyes would obey his command to open.
“Live Makoto.” He heard a striking familiar voice. Finally he was able to open his mouth before the light completely enveloped him as well. A sense of understanding rushed through him as he allowed it to take him.
“Thank you...Ryoji.”