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Makoto limps into the shadows of the nearest row of bank locks as soon as she hits the ground, ears still ringing.
They’d already secured the route to Kaneshiro’s Palace, but Joker still wanted to train a bit to make sure they were all sharp.
Makoto and Kitagawa swapped out for Takamaki and Sakamoto, and hung back while Joker’s main team fought shadows.
Normally that front team takes the brunt of Shadow fighting, but in this case, Makoto was an idiot and didn’t cover their rear well enough, too busy feeling entranced by how effortlessly the original four Phantom Thieves worked together, and missed a shadow sneaking up on her and Kitagawa.
Before she’d had a chance to react, the Shadow blew itself up, knocking Makoto through the glass floors of the laundering room and into the bank vault below.
Now alarms are squealing, everyone’s on high alert, and she has to get back to the others but she has no way to contact them. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Why hadn’t she been paying attention, isn’t that her role? The smart one? The strategist? What’s the point of getting them into the Palace (completely on accident, putting them all at risk in the process) and figuring out a lock if she still gets them killed.
Makoto’s still dizzy, so has to lean against the row of safes to keep her footing. Even the short dashes across the gaps leave her chest burning. She can’t get caught here, what would Sis think?
She’d be thankful you weren’t a burden anymore.
Makoto bites the inside of her cheek to bury the thought. She has to figure out where the others are, and where how to get by without setting off the shadows, and how to get to the elevator and-
A chill runs down her spine as Makoto realizes someone is behind her. Without thinking, she spins and points her gun at the assailant.
Kitagawa throws one hand up quickly. “It’s just me.”
“Ki- erm Fox!” Makoto breathes. Of course, he was with her, how could she forget that? Of course he’d have been blasted down here too, where is her head at right now?
Kitagawa is staring at her, and Makoto swallows. “How did you find me?”
Kitagwa points at the wall Makoto’d been leaning against, and there are smears of blood along it in the direction she went. Makoto looks down and sees a giant bleeding gash she’d missed with all the rest of the throbbing pain her body is in.
“Shit,” Makoto mutters. “This is just perfect, if you’d been a shadow I–”
“Can I bandage your arm?” Kitagawa asks.
“Huh?”
“Your arm, it needs to be bandaged.”
Makoto nods. “Right, I–” Joker has their bandages. Actually, Joker has all their supplies. Why does Joker have all their supplies, what if this exact thing happens why didn’t she think of this sooner?
Kitagawa takes part of his belt and rips it off, awkwardly wrapping it around her gash with one hand and pulling the knot with his teeth.
“Ok we have to get back up the elevator to the others before one of the shadows find us because if we die then it’ll be bad and what happens to our bodies if we die in the Metaverse anyway?” Makoto starts, and great now spots are dancing in front of her eyes she cannot let the blood loss get to her right now she’s the smart one figuring out a plan is her job .
“Queen!” Kitagawa says sternly. “Take a deep breath.”
Makoto gulps in air, and Kitagawa’s tail twitches, like an annoyed cat.
“Slowly, with me,” Kitagawa says, and Makoto follows him as he takes in a deep breath and lets it out in a long exhale.
Her vision has cleared a little bit, and now that she’s looking, Makoto realizes Kitagwa’s left arm is limp.
“Did you dislocate your shoulder?” Makoto asks.
“I believe so, yes.”
Makoto’s way too drained to try a healing spell, so that means she has to do it the old-fashioned way.
“Ok, I can set it just—” Makoto’s taken a first aid class, she does know how to set it, she needs Kitagawa distracted. “Uh… tell me about school? What’s Kosei like?”
“The each department is planning their exhibits for the school fair,” Kitagawa says. “It’s not for a few months, but there’s a competition to see who has the best exhibit and each department takes it very seriously.”
“What’s the art department thinking of doing?”
“I’m not sure, it’s a big debate, but I’m excited to be able to take part this year because last year I was busy helping Sen– AHH!”
Makoto pops Kitagawa’s shoulder back into place. “Sorry! Sorry, it’s supposed to hurt,” she says, tearing off part of her scarf to make a makeshift sling for him.
“It’s fine,” Kitagawa says. “We should stay put until we can find the others. I’m sure Morgana can track us with his nose.”
Makoto shakes her head. “There are too many shadows here, and they’re too high alert, we’ll be caught and we’re in no shape for a fight.”
“A distraction then?”
“Yes, I want to at least get out of the vault, it’s the most high security area.” Makoto says. Which leaves her back where she was before, just with Kitagwa here.
Wait–
“I have an idea,” Makoto says.
-
One of Kaneshiro’s guards is observing the entrance to the Treasure room, extra careful.
Suddenly there’s a chilly blast, and the guard whips its head around. A large wall of ice is blocking the entrance to the treasure room.
“Stop slacking you idiot! They sealed themselves in the Vault with Ice!” someone snaps. “If you don’t break it down, Kaneshiro will have your heads!”
The guard tries to find who gave the order, but someone snaps again. “THE ICE, DUMBASS!” The guard hurries and joins the others at hacking away at the ice wall.
-
The guards are completely focused on trying to break down the wall, so Makoto gives Kitagwa a nod and they both make a break for the elevators.
Some guards notice them, but not enough to stop them before Makoto can slam the close doors button and they’re riding up back to where the others were.
“Very impressive,” Kitagawa says.
“I mean, it was risky,” Makoto blinks. “I was banking on the psychology working well, most people if given an order from what they perceive of as a figure of authority will at least start doing it without thinking so I hoped the shadows would be the same.”
“And you conveyed that authority with just your voice. I think they truly feared repercussions.”
“Well I, just made my voice deeper,” Makoto says. She’d actually been trying to imagine how Sae would say it and hoped that would work.
“It’s more than the pitch, it was your tone,” Kitagawa says. “No one would have believed you were panicking just minutes ago.”
The elevator falls into awkward silence.
“I’m sorry,” they both say at the same time.
“I shouldn’t have panicked when you were hurt–”
“I didn’t mean to imply there was anything wrong–”
“I’m still getting used to this–”
“It’s perfectly normal to be stressed, I was worried myself and–”
“I promise I’m going to be a better strategist, so–
“I know sometimes I can say things without thinking about how they come across and–”
“I’m very sorry,” they both finish.
They reach their stop, and with a quick look both brace themselves for guards on the other side.
Instead, it’s Sakamoto. “Holy shit!” he says. “Panther, get over here! We need healing!”
-
After they’ve returned to reality, Kitagawa is stretching his both his arms, and Makoto keeps feeling where her gash had been.
The others had already left, so it’s just the two of them.
“Thank you,” Makoto says. “If it weren’t for you I probably would have just been freaking out the whole time.”
“No need, you’re the one who came up with the plan,” Kitagawa says.
“How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Stay so calm?” Makoto asks. “I-I mean, I’m supposed to be the strategist but I keep panicking and doing stupid things but you’re just–”
“If I’m able to stay calm, it’s only because I’ve had a lot of practice,” Kitagawa says. “I don’t know what’s been reported about the Madarame case, or what he was like towards his pupils, but I learned from a young age to control any outbursts or school my emotions. It’s… not particularly a skill.”
“Oh,” Makoto says. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up anything unpleasant, I–” Makoto swallows. If there’s one thing she’s observed about the Phantom Thieves, it’s that taking Kitagawa out for food is the best apology. “Want to grab ramen?”
Kitagwa doesn’t say no, so they get a corner booth at a ramen place, and Makoto orders extra toppings for both of them after Kitagawa picks the cheapest option.
“Can I ask you something?” Makoto asks.
“Anything.”
“Do you think I’m still useless to you?”
Kitagwa pauses, food halfway to his mouth. “... I shouldn’t have called you that.”
“You were right,” Makoto says. “I’ve been nothing but a nuisance to you, and even as strategist I came short today.”
“Someone’s worth isn’t determined by their usefulness to others,” Kitagawa says. “The others taught me that, and it was wrong of me to turn that around on you. You’ve been nothing but helpful, certainly more helpful than I was on my first palace.”
“I threatened to turn you in to the police.”
“So did I.”
“Huh?” Makoto asks.
Kitagawa takes a long slurp of his ramen. “When the others were asking too many questions about Sensei, I wanted them to leave before someone got hurt, either them or myself. So I threatened to call the police on them for trespassing if they didn’t leave.”
“Oh,” Makoto says. “But, you were under a lot of pressure,”
“I also added that Ann could come back if she promised to model nude.”
“What.”
“I didn’t think she’d actually do it, even when she texted me about it, not until she was wearing strange clothes in my studio and I was rapidly realizing I still didn’t know what to draw, I just wanted something I’d never drawn before, and we don’t have a nude modeling workshop until we’re third years at Kosei.”
“N-nude modeling?” Makoto repeats.
Kitagawa looks askance. “At the time, I was annoyed that anyone would take it in a sexual way, nude art has a long history and having the full extent of the human form on display can have more meanings than simple base desires. Then after I joined Ryuji took me aside and explained to me Ann’s history with Kamoshida, and I apologized profusely. I spent most of money that month on a proper gift to try and make it up to her.”
Makoto does not know what to say to that.
“So combine that with my not being necessary to enter Madarame’s Palace and you being necessary for Kaneshiro’s, and the new strategies you and Joker have come up with, your joining has overall been much smoother than mine. There’s nothing for you to apologize for, and you’ve more than proven yourself.”
“Thank you,” Makoto says. “And for what it’s worth, I’ve never gotten a sense that Takamaki’s mad at you still.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that,” Kitagawa says. “It’s simply another in my long list of social faux pas.”
“H-hey, Kitagawa?”
“You can use my given name,” he says.
“Oh, well, Yusuke? Do you ever feel… separate from the others? Like you’re not really part of the group?”
“All the time,” Yusuke says. “I don’t think I ever will. They swooped in out of nowhere and saved my life, simply based on a comment on a forum. I can’t see myself as one of them, not really. They’re my saviors, I owe them.”
“Ah,” Makoto says. “I get it, I owe them too. I feel like I need to make up to being blind to Kamoshida, to letting the principal and teachers bully me into teaching them like a bunch criminal delinquents.”
“It’s quite the dilemma, isn’t it?”
Makoto nods. “Maybe, you want to try and repay our debts together?”
“I’d be happy to, Makoto."