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  April 10th, 11:56 am
Cafe Leblanc

Opening the front door to this coffee shop rings a small bell, and it sends a shiver down my spine hearing it again. This is the ring I used to hear every time I came home from school, work, or exploring the city. For that crucial year of my life, Cafe Leblanc was my home. And a home away from home for my friends, at that. So many pleasant memories of using the place as our hideout...
So it was no surprise when Ann texted me telling me that was the location we would meet at.

---Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental) ---

   I can tell I have a big, dopey grin on my face as I enter the building, and I get a little emotional at the chorus of "hey!"s, "yo!"s, and "Akira!"s that my friends all cry out in unison as soon as they turn their heads to see me. It's barely a few seconds before they've all left their seats to surround me.
"First dibs! I've got first dibs!" Futaba shouts, energetic as ever. She tackles me full force to give me a hug, which more or less knocks the wind out of me. "I missed you so much!!"
"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes! How's it going, man!" Ryuji comments, giving me a friendly slap on the back, almost knocking me over unintentionally. Only two greetings down and I already feel like I've gone fifteen rounds in a boxing ring.
"Hey, give the guy some space, will ya'?" a deep, fatherly voice insists from across the room. It can only have come from Sojiro Sakura, Futaba's foster father and the man who took me under his care for that fateful year. I see him behind the cafe's counter, cleaning a glass. He walks towards me and places his hand on my shoulder. "It's great to see you again," he tells me with a familiar kindness to his voice. "You look different without the glasses."
Morgana's head pops out of my backpack. "Hey everyone! I'm here, too!"
Sojiro curls his eyebrow and half-smiles in endearment. "I see the cat is still as noisy as ever," he comments jokingly. To him and anyone outside of the Phantom Thieves, it still sounds like Morgana is a normal cat who just happens to meow frequently. (It's only because we have been with him inside the Meta-verse that our cognitions have adjusted and we can permanently understand him.)
Morgana hops out of his hiding spot and onto the shoulders of the Phantom Thieves one by one, starting with Haru. "I'm so happy to see you again, Mona-chan!" she giggles as he rubs his face against her cheek. He leaps to Yusuke, Makoto, and then Futaba in much the same manner.
Surprisingly, he even jumps towards Ryuji. Unsurprisingly, he simply uses Ryuji's shoulder to springboard straight toward Ann, whom he snuggles affectionately.
"It seems some things never change," Yusuke chuckles, composed as ever.
"Not to ruin the mood, but where's Mishima?" I ask, rather concerned. "You guys wouldn't tell me what happened over text. Is he alright?"

---(Music End)---

  I hear the sound of a flushing toilet. Mishima comes out of the bathroom. "Hey guys, what'd I miss?"

---Music: Investigation ~ Opening 2016 ---

He has his arm in in a sling, but he's up and about like normal for the most part. What a relief to see him alright! The positivity is mutual, as he lights up upon seeing me. "Akira!" he calls, "I had heard you were coming back, but I had no idea you'd be here so soon!"
"Thank goodness you're ok," I exhaustedly breathe, relieving my worries, "I take it the court trial went well?"
Sae Niijima is here, too, as it turns out. She nods her head at me. "That's right. Mishima-kun is in the clear. I was going to buy everyone lunch to celebrate, but they all insisted on coming here."
Sojiro laughs in the background. "And of course the food's on the house for you kids," he smiles.
"I suppose I'll just have to cover all the fees and legal expenses instead," Sae asserts.
"Why are you so determined to burn a hole in your pocket, sis?" Makoto asks in humorous disbelief.
Sae returns an equally ambivalent expression. "I just feel so bad for being unable to defend Mishima-kun myself, even though I said I'd always be there for any of you. I have to do SOMETHING to show my support."
"Oh, that's right, some other lawyer took up your defense, huh, Mishima?" I press for clarity.
He nods. "That's right! A man named Phoenix Wright stood up for me. I didn't get to see the trial myself, but he proved me totally innocent," he explains, before excitedly raising his fist in front of his chest and leaning forward with determined excitement, "I even heard he got taken hostage at gunpoint by the real murderer, but he STILL managed to win and catch the bad guy!"
I'm not sure if my eyes can widen anymore than they are already. Considering my own speechlessness, Morgana speaks for me. "What in the world happened in that courtroom???"
"It's a long story, and it looks like the food is ready," Futaba answers, her passive dismissal due to her watering mouth. "We'll tell you all about it over the meal."
And what a meal it is. It's been so long since I've had the true Leblanc style curry, the bold flavors could bring a tear to my eye. Sojiro taught me a lot about cooking, and of course I can hold my own in the kitchen, but deep down I secretly feel like nothing can truly surpass the original. It's a good thing that everyone else does the talking, because I'm so busy stuffing my mouth that I can't speak anyway.
They tell me all about what transpired during Mishima's trial. Apparently, the lawyer actually WAS held at gunpoint while the real killer tried to make his escape. Knowing what I know about Mishima owning that model gun, I already know how the story is going to turn out. Still, it's blood pumping hearing the details of what must have felt like a court drama.
"So he proved that the gun was a model, and he wasn't actually in danger of being shot," Makoto explains.
Futaba nearly jumps out of her seat to make grand gestures with her arm, raising her arm to point dramatically. "And it was right then, in front of everybody, Wright-san shouted, 'The one who fired both bullets and murdered Vi Aipi was YOU!'"
"It was truly impressive!" Yusuke adds.
Mishima and I are both captivated as if children during story time. "Whoa....." Mishima exhales.

---(Music end)---

"Niijima-san, are you alright?" I hear Haru ask. I turn to see Sae looking rather distant, leaning with her shoulder against the wall directly next to the front window while gazing out of said window. "You look like something is bothering you."
Sae sighs--pun unintended--and responds to us indirectly without changing the direction of her stare. "It's about Vi Aipi. We know for fact that Mizusawa was the one to kill Aipi-san, but no one seems to know why."
"Vi Aipi, you say?" Sojiro responds from across the bar counter, "Pardon me for interrupting, I've been tuning in and out. But I keep hearing that name. Are you talking about the politician?"
Sae straightens her neck to look at Sojiro as he speaks. "That's right, Sakura-san. Their friend Mishima-kun was going to be in big trouble if he had been convicted, because Aipi-san wasn't some no-name. He is--well, was---a fairly influential man in politics over the last few years. He had made a reputation for himself by being an official who voted on his own morals, rather than following any party lines. For a number of different important votes, he has been a tie breaker."
I cross my arms and lean back in the booth. "I can imagine why people might want him dead if he had been fickle on big issues."
Sae nods. "I thought the same thing. However, there was an unsigned, unfinished check at the crime scene. Wright-san managed to reveal that money was the motive for Mizusawa... as far as we can tell."
Makoto rests her forearms on the table and leans forward. "I've heard that tone of voice from you a million times. You aren't satisfied with that conclusion, are you, sis?"
The older Niijima closes her eyes and lowers her head a bit. "That's right. I've got a feeling things aren't that simple. For starters, we don't know what the money was in relation to. I'm planning on going over to question Mizusawa once they get him situated. I'm going to stop by the evidence lockers and see if I can get a look at that check, too."
"Trying to find out what the money dispute was over... that seems like a good course of action," Ann comments, "But I've got a bad feeling about all of this."
Ryuji rotates his shoulders and hangs his elbows over the back of the booth, stretching out casually. "Same here. Call me crazy, but I think it might be related to everything else."

---Music: Rise from the Ashes - Ending ---

"Do you mean about the things we were talking about yesterday?" Morgana is the first to catch on.
"Yeah," Futaba confirms, "About the strange deaths Ryuji brought up."
Sae raises an eyebrow. "Strange deaths...?"
"Oh, right, I guess we wouldn't have mentioned this to Sae-san or Sojiro-san, or even Mishima-kun," Ann recognizes, "She's talking about a text conversation we had."
"Is this perhaps... about recent instances where individuals are being murdered by people close to them?" Sae asks.
"Wow! She's sharp as a tack. I knew she'd catch on quick," Morgana praises.
"That's exactly it!" Ryuji exclaims energetically, "Man, you're quick. How'd you know so fast?"
Sae smiles politely, but softly, not losing her overall aura of seriousness. "I was considering there may be connections as well. I was thinking about my trial this morning, which was going on at the same time as Mishima-kun's."
I suppose none of us had paid any mind to that. Mishima speaks up, recognizing that we never asked for details. "What exactly was your trial about, Niijima-san?"
"Well, it isn't surprising that it went under the radar compared to yours, since I didn't end up dealing with anything as alarming as a hostage situation," she jokes, taking a sip of coffee, "But to make a long story short, I was representing a social worker from overseas named Mii Shunari. She was an exchange worker of sorts, as the corporation she works for is primarily focused on sending Japanese workers to aid foreign countries. She got accused of something pretty heinous, murdering one of the supervisors via strangulation. Said supervisor was the head of the global outreach program. Luckily, I was able to help prove she had an honest alibi, and as it turns out the actual murderer was a government worker from a different organization which was partnered with the program."
She takes another sip, savoring the legendary flavor Leblanc's coffee has to offer, possibly to ward off the growing uncertainty in the conversation. "There's where I'm sensing something off. The true murderer was a personal friend of the victim. On top of that, I did some more digging. I found out the true criminal had also been tampering with the ledgers and budgeting behind the scenes, and was essentially sabotaging the project and the company itself, trying to make both fail."
Ryuji is considerable less excited than usual, but seemingly more introspective as he narrows his eyes and holds his chin in thought. "And there goes another case of murder and betrayal between two close buds."
Morgana leaps onto my shoulder and whispers into my ear. "I'm still not used to Ryuji NOT being a total moron. It's so bizarre."
"Hey, I heard that," Ryuji snapped back, "I don't have the brains of some of you other guys, but what I do got is spirit. I've been trying really hard to be a better observer of things, because, honestly... I've been hoping that some day the Phantom Thieves would have a reason to get back together, sorta like this."
"Well, I believe an intuition is something that can be honed and sharpened just like any other tool," Yusuke adds with professionalism to his voice, "And considering you were the first one to bring any of this to our attention, I'd say you've certainly improved."
Morgana laughs with a toothy grin, jumping to his side to pat Ryuji on the shoulder. "Well, your name was Skull. It's only natural that there's a brain underneath. It just took a while to show."
Skull blushes with frustration, "You guys sure know how to be backhanded with compliments..."
"Well, we're certainly back together..." Ann smiles, "In fact, this feels just like old times."
"Well, there's no real connection between the two events, as far as I can tell," Futaba jumps in. She had been quiet for a while, and it turns out that was because she was hard at work on her laptop. "I've searched public records, social media, work histories... no one in either Sae-san's case or Mishima's case had any relationship to one another. As far as I could dig up, the incidents seem isolated from one another."
No one has anything to say initially, though the atmosphere feels on edge. Sojiro speaks up once more. "I hate to be the stick in the mud, but isn't it possible that this is just a coincidence?" he suggests.
"If it were just these two things, then I would think the same thing," Sae concedes, "But more and more of these 'coincidences' seem to be appearing."
Within her briefcase she has documents galore, and of them she pulls out a newspaper clipping to visually present her next topic. "Some of you may recall a story being covered a few weeks ago. One of Japan's ambassadors killed a foreign ambassador on a good will exchange. It was a huge scandal, and even still no one has been able to decipher a motive for the murder. The two were close colleagues who worked together many times in the past."
Ryuji's getting worked up, and slaps his hands against the surface of the table as he jumps in. "And the business head who got killed a week ago! And two other politicians have been killed within a few months! And-"
"Whoa there, calm down," Mishima cautions humorously, "You're going to spill everyone's drinks if you keep rocking the table."
Rising energy in the room aside, Sae is still collected and nods her head. "You've been paying attention to current events, I see. I've been compiling information on a number of different incidents over the last few months, and everything you just mentioned sounded like what I've been researching."
"I suppose most of those do sound familiar," Sojiro adds, "I heard about some of those on TV. But, do any of them have any relation to one another?"
Sae gathers everyone's attention. "Well, let's lay them all out and see what similarities they share," she suggests. She has more than enough documents within her briefcase to cover the entire table. We immediately get started reading over all we can, and hopefully we'll be able to make some sense of this.

---(Music End)---

  April 10th, 2:11 pm
Cafe Leblanc

---Music: Investigation ~ Examination ---

"Ugh..." Ryuji groans, "My head hurts..."
Futaba holds her fingers to her temple and squints her eyes shut in discomfort. "I'm starting to get eye strain," she mentions, due to her having been doing all of her research on a laptop while the rest of us were physically sifting through information in front of us.
Even the normally cheerful Haru seems worse for the wear. "How long have we been at this... "
"I'm... honestly not seeing much that can connect these events," Ann tells us regretfully, "The only common point is that every situation involves someone acting in a way they wouldn't normally."
"And that's not really much to go on..." Morgana mumbles, though his tone of voice suggests that he is still thinking deeply.
Yusuke wears a slight frown. "Is it possible we're perhaps over analyzing things, and trying to find something that isn't there..?"
"But..." Ryuji interjects, "At the same time, it's natural to assume that something is amiss when so many bizarre incidents take place in such a short amount of time, right?"
Makoto holds her chin as her eyes make a slow sweep of everything on the table in front of her. "We're never going to make any progress while looking at so much information at once. At this point it's not even really clear what our goal is."
She makes a good point. Now would make a great time to refocus, so I speak up to rally everyone into doing just that. "Ok, so let's summarize all this. There have been a slew of recent events both high and low profile. Even at their best, these cases have all involved someone betraying their morals or stances to act in an unpredictable way. At their worst, they've even involved murder."
"Ok, that's a start," Makoto nods, "Now let's try to pick apart these instances one at a time. Let's start in order. A month and a half ago, that campaign manager killed the politician they were trying to promote."
"Political assassination... that could be tricky to find a goal behind," Haru reasons.
Sae's eyes light up ever so slightly. "That's right. And we'll only be able to relate these events if we can determine what the goals of the culprits were."
"It's going to be hard to figure out," Ann points out, "Politicians have so many different issues they have opinions and influence on."
"I've been probing the related figures to these cases," Futaba announces, having resumed her laptop browsing. "I'm going to keep searching around that date to see if there were any important votes or events that killing that politician would have impacted."
"Alright. We should move on then," I suggest, "The next would be the foreign ambassador being killed by one of our own ambassadors."
"Did that happen overseas or did it happen in Japan?" Ann asks.
"In Japan," Sae replies, "The foreigner was in our country promoting the possibility of new trade deals."
"Was that the only reason for the diplomatic visit?" Makoto questions.
"I believe so, yes," Yusuke answers, holding one of the particular newspapers in his hand, "It says here that it was only a temporary visit of a few weeks. The trade deal was certainly the primary concern of the visit."
"Ok, let's keep this moving. This is progress," Makoto cheers, still using an indoor voice, "Let's make note of that. If there was a reason behind the killing, it would likely have been because of an important trade deal."
Ryuji seems to be getting back some of his energy and zeal now that we are getting somewhere. "Alright, well the next event was that CEO chick getting killed by her subordinate."
"What kind of business was it?" Mishima asks.
"It's a shipping company," Haru responds, seeming familiar with the subject, "They managed a lot of exporting, and my company did business with them quite often."

---Music: Logic Construct ---

"I can already see a pattern here," Morgana speaks to us, sounding very confident, "Exporting is another element of trade. So both of those involved trade in some way."
"Hey! That's our first real connection!" Ann congratulates, "So what's next, another politician, right?"
Our progress feels abruptly halted yet again. "The political ones are really the biggest roadblock yet," Sae points out, "There could be a million different reasons someone could be upset with a politician. Finding a motive for any of these would be hard, not even considering trying to find a common motive."
"Working on it still," Futaba mentions passively, not even noticing her own tongue slipping out a bit as she focuses intensely on her online research.
We all seem to reach the consensus to skip this one and come back. "So, our next incident was none other than Niijima-san's case with the social worker," Yusuke explains.
"We already learned that the project was being sabotaged to fail from within," Ann recalls, "So that makes it clear that the goal was for the project to fail, even if it meant having to kill."
Sae nods. "And that project was a global outreach program, and one of the biggest ones Japan has seen in years. It was aimed at sending and trading skilled workers with various countries as an exchange of talent and techniques."
Haru leans her head to the side as she considers everything so far. "So someone really didn't like the idea of sending off Japanese workers to other countries, perhaps?"
I think a lot of our team seem to be teetering on the edge of getting to the bottom of this, and are probably considering the same thoughts I am.
  "Foreign affairs..." I mention at first quietly, before repeating more loudly, "Everything we've looked at so far has dealt with foreign affairs with other countries."
"So that just leaves my case..." Mishima speaks up, "Vi Aipi being killed by his own bodyguard."
"Not another politician..." Ryuji groans.
"Futaba, what have you found so far?" Makoto quizzes our navigator.
She intertwines her fingers and stretches them to pop her joints. "Well, I've compiled a list of every stance these politicians have been confirmed to hold before they died. I pulled together a list of votes that have taken place in the past two months, as well, in case that could help."
Before anyone can respond, Futaba's eyes widen and she presses onward. "And I think you're on to something, Akira! So I skimmed through all of those votes to see if any of them dealt with trade or foreign affairs."
"What did you find?" I ask.
Futaba gazes deeply into her screen as she rapidly scrolls her mouse wheel. "Well, it turns out that a very important new tariff law will be going into effect very soon. They just had a vote on it today, in fact. Tariffs can have a huge impact on how Japan interacts in the global setting. All of the politicians killed in this time frame would have been present during the vote... and on top of that, going through their stances leads me to believe that they would have all voted against the tariff. Including our unfortunate Vi Aipi-san."
  "Hey, they're talking about it on the TV right now, in fact," Sojiro draws to our attention. Sure enough, the talk show hosts are all talking about the new tariff law and what it will entail, and how surprising it is that it was able to pass in the first place when there was so much opposition to it.
  "So there really is something connecting all of these cases!" Ryuji exclaims.
  Sae's eyes are wider than I've ever seen them. "You've all really found a connection...! They all deal with foreign affairs!"



The room feels really lively in our state of success, but over the next few seconds, a realization hits us.

---(Music End)---

Yusuke is the first to point out that realization. "So now that we have reason to believe all of these murders and betrayals are likely connected... what exactly can we do with this information?"
"In all of these instances, the true culprits have been caught already, isn't that correct?" Haru notes.
"That's right," Makoto confirms, "Which means that, if there is a common goal and a connection, it would need to be much larger than just one or two people."
"Well, it wouldn't be our first time dealing with political conspiracies," Ann speaks, recalling that entire debacle with Shido.
Makoto seems to be in a meditative state. "Aside from who could be behind this, there's a question we have to answer first. What aspect of foreign affairs would be their true motive?"
Sojiro seems to be finishing up another round of cooking, but his voice sounds clear even as he speaks to us from across the room. "As long as you are all speculating, may I throw out an idea? From what you all have been discussing, everything sounds very isolationist. If this is another conspiracy and someone is behind everything, it sounds like they don't want Japanese interaction with other countries."

---Music: Wicked Plan ---

I certainly wasn't expecting any of us to get such a clear hypothesis from what little information we have. "That... does make sense. All of the businesses that were effected were sending their influence and their programs oversee. And then there's the foreign ambassador getting killed, that speaks for itself."
"Not to mention, a tariff law can become a fairly substantial trade barrier against the rest of the world," Sae adds, "It seems to me like special interest was taken in making sure that tariff vote passed, considering how many politicians had to die for it to happen..."
"Very impressive deduction, Sakura-san," Haru praises, "How did you reach this idea so quickly?"
"People come in to Leblanc and talk politics pretty often," he explains, "And more than a few of them are old fogies and a bit... out of touch, I suppose. I can think of one pair in particular who are always talking about historical Japan."
"Historical Japan?" Mishima repeats, "Are we talking historical as in, like, ANCIENT Japan? Or are we talking about pre-World War II? What's the time frame here?"
"Well, both, I suppose," Sojiro clarifies broadly. "I'm speaking of how Japan spent centuries staying out of everyone else's business. Maybe I've just got those old folks' conversation stuck in my head because they were here right before you kids showed up. But the things you've talked about, be it trying to stop foreign exchange programs or trying to deter importing by a new tariff law... I can't put my finger on it, but the all seem relevant to Japan's relationship with the rest of the world."
We all seem to be lost in thought. Sojiro coughs to clear his throat. "I mean, that's just how I was looking at it."
"That's a rather compelling theory, actually," Yusuke agrees, taking a sip of coffee himself, "It certainly makes sense of the relationship these events hold with one another. But, I return to my earlier question... what can we do with this information?"
Sae has already begun to gather and reorganize her documents. "I was planning on going to the detention center to ask Kaz Mizusawa a few questions."
"What exactly do you expect to learn from Mizusawa?" Ann asks.
"I'm not sure, exactly," Sae admits, "Hopefully I can learn something about the check that was being written, and see if that gives us any new info at all. It might be worth a shot to ask if I can go through the evidence locker to see the check myself."
"I see..." Morgana comments, "If Mizusawa is indeed related to some sort of bigger conspiracy, then it's possible that tracing such a large amount of money could give us new leads."
"May I go with you?" Mishima requests, "I'd like to have some closure on this whole thing. Mizusawa DID shoot me, after all..."
"Well, going with a huge crowd would certainly seem questionable, but I suppose one or two of you could accompany me if you'd like."
"Oh! Then I want this guy to go, too," Mishima instantly replies, pointing right at me.
"Huh?" I blink.
"You are the leader, after all!" he justifies, "You aught to be as informed as possible before making any decisions, right?"
"Sounds good to me," Futaba agrees, "I can tag along via your phone, too."
I almost chuckle at Futaba's utter disregard to personal privacy, but by now I'm used to her invading phones freely.
Sae nods her head. "Well, alright. We should get a move on, then."

---(Music End)---

  April 10th, 2:49 pm
  Suramā Prison Facility, Visiting Area

A guard leads up into the room where we will be conversing with Mizusawa. It's very bare-bones, and the only real features in the room are the chairs to sit in and the wall of glass meant to separate us from the prisoners. It's a nice change to be on the free side of the glass instead of the detained side. Sae, Mishima, and I all sit down and wait patiently as we watch the other half of the room from through the glass.
A guard on the opposite side opens a door, and Kaz Mizusawa enters. The door is closed and locked behind him, and the guard stands dutifully at attention.
The man looks rather odd. He seems to have helmet-hair, is wearing goggles, and they have put a mouth guard around his lower head. Really, I can't see any of his face at all. On top of it all, he has been restrained by a straight jacket. "Hello, sirs!" he greets, though he is very hard to hear through both the glass and the mouth thing.
"You must be Mizusawa-san," Sae speaks formally.
"Sir, yes, sir!" he answers in military fashion.
Sae clears her throat. "I had a few questions for you, in relation to the events surrounding the murder of Vi Aipi."

  ---Music: Detention Center ~ Elegy of the Bulletproof Glass ---

"Was money the actual reason you killed your client?" Sae asks, jumping right to the point at breakneck speed.
He turns his head off to the side slightly. "Well, not exactly, sir... it's complicated, sir!"
"So, did the large sum of money have anything to do with the murder at all?" Sae continues.
"Sir, kinda, sir! It's unexpected, but had Aipi-san accepted the money, none of this would have happened, sir!"
Sae's doesn't seem surprised, for some reason. "Wait. You said, accepted? Wasn't Vi Aipi writing the check to you?" she asks, regardless.
"That's incorrect, sir! That was my check, and I was writing it to him, sir!"
"Hmm... that's the opposite of what was established in court," Sae leads the conversation.
"Sir, permission to speculate, sir! I believe the foreign lawyer might have read the check wrong because he isn't used to reading in Japanese..."
She nods her head. "I went by the evidence locker before coming here, and it's as you say. I was testing to see if you would be telling the truth, and it seems you are."
"I have no reasons to lie, sir! I'm already arrested, sir!" he speaks with jarring detachment to the implications of his situation.
"That's good. So allow me to ask... how was the money related to the situation?"
His enthusiasm hides his slight hesitation. "Sir, well, you see, sir... it was a bribe, sir!"
"A bribe for what?" Mishima asks.
"It was for a vote, sir! I was tasked with paying Aipi-san money to convince him to vote in favor of a new law, sir!"
!
I find myself speaking aloud now. "Was it the law to pass the new tariff?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
!!!
Sae slaps the counter in front of the window and pushes to use the force of her arms to rise up out of her chair into a standing position. "Please, tell me more! You said that you were tasked! Does that mean you were working for someone else?!"
Mizusawa's hesitation finally reaches an insurmountable state. "I can't say, sir! That would be betraying my contract, sir!"
"Contract?" Mishima repeats, "What does a contract matter now that you are in jail?"
"It's more important than that, sir!" Mizusawa answers, shaking his head violently. "With all due respect, sir, I'd sooner die than break my contract, sir!"
With one look at his behavior and his new temperament, it's clear he isn't going to say anything else that could help us.
"Alright," Sae closes her eyes, "Thank you for your time, Mizusawa-san," she says, bowing out and then leading us out of the room.
"I'm actually getting kinda dizzy, guys," Mishima tells us. Though Sae and I are both concerned, he calms us. "Don't worry, it's not a big deal. I just think it may be time for me to go get some rest. I'm going to split and head home now."
"Alright. You do that then," Sae confirms, "You've more than earned a good rest after what you've been through."
Before leaving, Mishima nudges me. "And hey, keep in touch, alright? The Phan-Site is still running strong, you know. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you guys out."
We part ways, with Sae and I going to return to the cafe. We'll definitely have some new info to talk about back at Leblanc.

---(Music End)---

  April 10th, 3:40 pm
Cafe Leblanc

---Music: Wicked Plan ---

"So there really could be a connection! I knew it!!" Ryuji cheers with a fist pump.
I nod my head. "If this murder and this tariff vote are indeed two parts of a bigger picture, this may be the proof we were looking for."
Sojiro laughs in disbelief. "It's astounding, really. I can't believe that you all, out of the blue, picked up on an obscure set of events, found a connection, and discovered a secret conspiracy in just two days."
Morgana hops onto my shoulder and sports a proud grin. "Information can be a treasure, too! Finding and taking treasure where no one else looks... this is what it means to be part of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts!"
"It's definitely clear now that Mizusawa was in fact working for someone else," Ann reiterates, "Which means that this incident leads somewhere or to someone. And if this murder and tariff vote were just two parts of a bigger picture, then we just found our proof."
Makoto is deep in thought now. "Now, the next question is, how can we trace this so-called 'contract' to find out more?"
"I think I should take a stroll through Mizusawa's financial history, see where his money has been coming from..."

---(Music End)---

"Hey, uh, guys?" Sojiro calls, "You might want to look at the TV screen here."

---Music: Borderline of Madness ---

  "--directly from the neighboring nation of Koridai. At approximately 11:00 am JST, Vice President Tyson Rant gunned down three of the most powerful officials of the Koridainian government, including President Richard Tator. The entire state is in chaos," a young woman with a microphone cries out, "Rant was immediately subdued by military police as soon as the murdered happened, and he did not survive the gun wounds inflicted on him during his capture..."
"What the hell...?" Ryuji mutters with shock written on his face.
  "... Vice President Rant has consistently proven himself to be one of the most loyal patriots in the country's history, so assassinating the President is an alarming and frankly horrifying turn of events."
Haru gulps. "Oh my... do you think...?"
"It sounds like this is yet another act of betrayal and murder, on a much larger scale..." Yusuke points out.
Sae's sight is locked to the TV and her eyes are narrowed, and she has a foreboding scowl all over her face.

---(Music End)---

"The Prime Minister has yet to comment on this terrifying event. However, Chief of Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Force, Momus Melpomene, has begun broadcasting an emergency announcement."
The screen changes to a scene of an austere man standing at a podium, wearing full military attire. This is the first time I've ever seen this person, though his title seems to denote significant importance. He doesn't look very Japanese at all, interestingly.

---Music: A Cornered Heart ---

"It is with a heavy heart that I react to today's disaster in Koridai," he speaks deeply, "For many decades, Koridai has been a staunch and dependable ally to our country. Such a profound loss to their nation is nothing short of a national tragedy to Japan as well."
  The man has a stern and rigid face, and is rather bulky. He's even a tad intimidating, in terms of height and presence. But, despite that, his disposition seems earnest, and he seems like he would be rather personable, under different circumstances. The incident in Koridai has clearly left an impression on his expression. "In frank terms, I see this horrendous act as a culmination of the very same dissent which lead to the once-active rebellion that was thought quelled last year. For that reason, I have decided to act upon one of the stipulations of our treaty with the fair nation of Koridai. Namely, in emergencies such as this one, I am invoking the permission given to Japan to act with military intervention. I am rallying special forces as we speak--"
There is a sharp, painful silence all throughout Cafe Leblanc. However, the members of the audience of the speech on the TV are anything but silent. They have erupted completely into a worrying state of chaos. One reporter from the audience shouts a statement to the military man which can be heard over the loud crowd. "Melpomene-san! This is unprecedented!! Japan's very constitution prevents the act of extending military force to international disputes!"
More reporters can be heard shrieking as well.
  "Is this an act of war??"
"How can you justify an invasion of an allied nation???"
  "Is this even legal?!?!"
By this point, so many onlookers have pressed upon the issue that Melpomene-san doesn't have much choice but to reply to those addressing him. "I understand full well how radical of a decision this is to make, but I implore you to consider the circumstances. Koridai's most powerful leaders have been killed in what intelligence suggests was an attempted coup. Their current state of governance is falling apart, and they need aid desperately. I believe Japan has every right granted to us by our treaty to step in and act to regain control of Koridai until their nation can recover from this calamity--"
The crowd is in utter shambles, to the point where the chief of staff has to prepare to leave the podium. "My fellow citizens, expect to hear more from me as the situation develops. Thank you," he ends the speech on, as his associates lead him off the stage.

---Music: Restlessness ---

"Isn't this like he's declaring war, kind of?" Ann questions.
"It's more complicated than that," Makoto answers, "This is a really fragile situation, and it seems like the top brass of the military are really trying to push for an intervention."
"Are we... going to invade another country...?" Morgana asks with hesitation.
Ryuji blinks a few times. "Uhhh... where exactly is Koridai? I don't think I've ever heard of it before."
"It's a small island nation in the Pacific," Sojiro answers back, "I had heard of it a few times in the past. But I didn't know anything about a rebellion or anything like that."
Haru rolls her lips back pensively. "They have been a very reliable trade partner towards Japan and several other nations, and Okumura Foods has even recently been working on overseas expansion there. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the rebellion was because of how the people haven't always agreed on how to best utilize the plentiful natural resources of the nation."
"There's something else we can't ignore, either," I add, weaving my fingers together and leaning my head into my hands, "This is yet another event dealing with trade and foreign interests, that involves unexpected betrayal and murder."
The room is in a state of quiet but intense focus. Yusuke bites his lip. "You think... even something this big is connected to what we're looking into right now?"
"It's certainly possible," Morgana replies as he paces back and forth across the table a few times before sitting down. "I wouldn't say that there's a definitive connection, yet, but considering that we've been dealing with hypothetical connections from the start, I definitely wouldn't rule this out as part of the bigger picture."
"Hey, you guys, I've got an important announcement," Futaba speaks up, "Check this out. I got curious enough to do some digging into that military guy's life. Momus Melpomene, I mean. I checked out all of his recent involvements with current events. I found a recording of a speech he held no too long ago, and guess what it's about?"
Futaba rotates her laptop so we can all see the screen as a clip begins playing.

---Music: Telling the Truth 2007 ---

  The clip being played seems to be a trimmed segment from a larger speech, but it is of the same man in the same attire. "... with that being said, I believe our economy is our first step towards regaining a strong position in international politics."
  "Melpomene-san," a reporter interjects, "Such a strong tariff on foreign imports could easily stress our relationships with trade partners. Can you explain your reasoning for why strengthening our internal economy would help our presence internationally?"
He has the same gravity of presence, but I was correct in assuming that he would seem personable. His expression appears earnest, and he is even smiling a bit. "I'm glad you asked that. You see, no one holds a greater dream of international cooperation than I do. I am a huge advocate of global unity in terms of trade, politics, and even cultural relationships. But, where I'm from, we have a saying. You cannot help others if you cannot help yourself. To that end, I believe we as a nation must focus on bolstering our economy first, before securing a stronger foothold in the global market. It is for that reason that I strongly encourage our representatives in government to deeply consider enacting the new tariff laws."
"No way...!" Ann gasps, "It's that tariff law again!"
Sae breathes in a contradiction of momentary relief yet looming anxiety. "I was worried we wouldn't be able to go any further with what little we knew, but it looks like our next lead has appeared right in front of us."
Futaba nods. "I think this Melpomene guy is someone we definitely need to keep on our radar."
Sojiro closes his eyes to think for a moment. "I see. So the Chief of Staff, eh? He's right in the middle of a major interaction between Japan and a foreign nation, and the incident that started it was a bizarre betrayal and murder. He also took a personal interest in supporting a very specific vote, and that same vote has connections to the murder of Vi Aipi which could also very well be related. The murderer in that case claims to be under contract, which means somebody else was calling the shots to have that politician killed. It would make sense that someone very invested in seeing that vote pass could be behind eliminating a politician who would have voted against it."
He adjusts his glasses and taps his fingers against the bar counter. "When you think about it, this is a whole lot of uncanny connections to this idea of a greater conspiracy. It's looking less like coincidences and more like a pattern..."
"Then, it's essentially decided," Yusuke declares, "We need to observe this man, Momus Melpomene. He has far too many abnormal relationships to all of these incidents, and that makes him a person of interest to this investigation."

---(Music End)---

Morgana inadvertently draws attention to himself with a few small laughs. "I'm proud that you all still have it in you. I was worried you guys would be rusty at being Phantom Thieves, but you guys have been super sleuthing like nobody's business. I'm sorry I doubted your suspicions, Ryuji. It looks like you were right from the start that something is definitely amiss."
Morgana raises his paw towards Ryuji, who seems skeptical at first. After a moment of hesitation passes, he returns the gesture by giving Morgana a fist bump (paw bump?). It's good to see those two getting along.
Haru joins in on the laughter. "This certainly is exciting! I'm just happy to have us all sitting around the same table again. It's great to see everyone after so long."
Makoto jumps in on the waves of positive emotion, and by now the entire room is feeling cheery. "Considering there's not much more we can do for this investigation at the moment, why don't we set it aside? This really is our first time back together in years now. We should go somewhere or do something fun to celebrate!"
Futaba crashes head first into the conversation. "Ooo! Oooo! I know! Let's go hang out in Shibuya! The arcade is still open, there are tons of shops and stuff, and later tonight we can maybe catch a movie!"
"Now that's a plan I can get behind," I agree, myself smiling brightly. "Let's get a move on, then."
We all gather our things and prepare to leave. "You kids have fun," Sae tells us, "I'm going to stay for more coffee for a while."
Sojiro tosses me a key that I haven't held in a long time, but a key I'm intimately familiar with. "Use the shop whenever you'd like. And I haven't really moved or changed anything in your old room upstairs, if you need a place to stay."
I can't help but hug my psuedo-dad before heading out with the others.

  To be continued...

  ---(Music End)---

  ---Music: Victory ---

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  April 10th, 11:56 am
Cafe Leblanc

Opening the front door to this coffee shop rings a small bell, and it sends a shiver down my spine hearing it again. This is the ring I used to hear every time I came home from school, work, or exploring the city. For that crucial year of my life, Cafe Leblanc was my home. And a home away from home for my friends, at that. So many pleasant memories of using the place as our hideout...
So it was no surprise when Ann texted me telling me that was the location we would meet at.

---Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental) ---

   I can tell I have a big, dopey grin on my face as I enter the building, and I get a little emotional at the chorus of "hey!"s, "yo!"s, and "Akira!"s that my friends all cry out in unison as soon as they turn their heads to see me. It's barely a few seconds before they've all left their seats to surround me.
"First dibs! I've got first dibs!" Futaba shouts, energetic as ever. She tackles me full force to give me a hug, which more or less knocks the wind out of me. "I missed you so much!!"
"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes! How's it going, man!" Ryuji comments, giving me a friendly slap on the back, almost knocking me over unintentionally. Only two greetings down and I already feel like I've gone fifteen rounds in a boxing ring.
"Hey, give the guy some space, will ya'?" a deep, fatherly voice insists from across the room. It can only have come from Sojiro Sakura, Futaba's foster father and the man who took me under his care for that fateful year. I see him behind the cafe's counter, cleaning a glass. He walks towards me and places his hand on my shoulder. "It's great to see you again," he tells me with a familiar kindness to his voice. "You look different without the glasses."
Morgana's head pops out of my backpack. "Hey everyone! I'm here, too!"
Sojiro curls his eyebrow and half-smiles in endearment. "I see the cat is still as noisy as ever," he comments jokingly. To him and anyone outside of the Phantom Thieves, it still sounds like Morgana is a normal cat who just happens to meow frequently. (It's only because we have been with him inside the Meta-verse that our cognitions have adjusted and we can permanently understand him.)
Morgana hops out of his hiding spot and onto the shoulders of the Phantom Thieves one by one, starting with Haru. "I'm so happy to see you again, Mona-chan!" she giggles as he rubs his face against her cheek. He leaps to Yusuke, Makoto, and then Futaba in much the same manner.
Surprisingly, he even jumps towards Ryuji. Unsurprisingly, he simply uses Ryuji's shoulder to springboard straight toward Ann, whom he snuggles affectionately.
"It seems some things never change," Yusuke chuckles, composed as ever.
"Not to ruin the mood, but where's Mishima?" I ask, rather concerned. "You guys wouldn't tell me what happened over text. Is he alright?"

---(Music End)---

  I hear the sound of a flushing toilet. Mishima comes out of the bathroom. "Hey guys, what'd I miss?"

---Music: Investigation ~ Opening 2016 ---

He has his arm in in a sling, but he's up and about like normal for the most part. What a relief to see him alright! The positivity is mutual, as he lights up upon seeing me. "Akira!" he calls, "I had heard you were coming back, but I had no idea you'd be here so soon!"
"Thank goodness you're ok," I exhaustedly breathe, relieving my worries, "I take it the court trial went well?"
Sae Niijima is here, too, as it turns out. She nods her head at me. "That's right. Mishima-kun is in the clear. I was going to buy everyone lunch to celebrate, but they all insisted on coming here."
Sojiro laughs in the background. "And of course the food's on the house for you kids," he smiles.
"I suppose I'll just have to cover all the fees and legal expenses instead," Sae asserts.
"Why are you so determined to burn a hole in your pocket, sis?" Makoto asks in humorous disbelief.
Sae returns an equally ambivalent expression. "I just feel so bad for being unable to defend Mishima-kun myself, even though I said I'd always be there for any of you. I have to do SOMETHING to show my support."
"Oh, that's right, some other lawyer took up your defense, huh, Mishima?" I press for clarity.
He nods. "That's right! A man named Phoenix Wright stood up for me. I didn't get to see the trial myself, but he proved me totally innocent," he explains, before excitedly raising his fist in front of his chest and leaning forward with determined excitement, "I even heard he got taken hostage at gunpoint by the real murderer, but he STILL managed to win and catch the bad guy!"
I'm not sure if my eyes can widen anymore than they are already. Considering my own speechlessness, Morgana speaks for me. "What in the world happened in that courtroom???"
"It's a long story, and it looks like the food is ready," Futaba answers, her passive dismissal due to her watering mouth. "We'll tell you all about it over the meal."
And what a meal it is. It's been so long since I've had the true Leblanc style curry, the bold flavors could bring a tear to my eye. Sojiro taught me a lot about cooking, and of course I can hold my own in the kitchen, but deep down I secretly feel like nothing can truly surpass the original. It's a good thing that everyone else does the talking, because I'm so busy stuffing my mouth that I can't speak anyway.
They tell me all about what transpired during Mishima's trial. Apparently, the lawyer actually WAS held at gunpoint while the real killer tried to make his escape. Knowing what I know about Mishima owning that model gun, I already know how the story is going to turn out. Still, it's blood pumping hearing the details of what must have felt like a court drama.
"So he proved that the gun was a model, and he wasn't actually in danger of being shot," Makoto explains.
Futaba nearly jumps out of her seat to make grand gestures with her arm, raising her arm to point dramatically. "And it was right then, in front of everybody, Wright-san shouted, 'The one who fired both bullets and murdered Vi Aipi was YOU!'"
"It was truly impressive!" Yusuke adds.
Mishima and I are both captivated as if children during story time. "Whoa....." Mishima exhales.

---(Music end)---

"Niijima-san, are you alright?" I hear Haru ask. I turn to see Sae looking rather distant, leaning with her shoulder against the wall directly next to the front window while gazing out of said window. "You look like something is bothering you."
Sae sighs--pun unintended--and responds to us indirectly without changing the direction of her stare. "It's about Vi Aipi. We know for fact that Mizusawa was the one to kill Aipi-san, but no one seems to know why."
"Vi Aipi, you say?" Sojiro responds from across the bar counter, "Pardon me for interrupting, I've been tuning in and out. But I keep hearing that name. Are you talking about the politician?"
Sae straightens her neck to look at Sojiro as he speaks. "That's right, Sakura-san. Their friend Mishima-kun was going to be in big trouble if he had been convicted, because Aipi-san wasn't some no-name. He is--well, was---a fairly influential man in politics over the last few years. He had made a reputation for himself by being an official who voted on his own morals, rather than following any party lines. For a number of different important votes, he has been a tie breaker."
I cross my arms and lean back in the booth. "I can imagine why people might want him dead if he had been fickle on big issues."
Sae nods. "I thought the same thing. However, there was an unsigned, unfinished check at the crime scene. Wright-san managed to reveal that money was the motive for Mizusawa... as far as we can tell."
Makoto rests her forearms on the table and leans forward. "I've heard that tone of voice from you a million times. You aren't satisfied with that conclusion, are you, sis?"
The older Niijima closes her eyes and lowers her head a bit. "That's right. I've got a feeling things aren't that simple. For starters, we don't know what the money was in relation to. I'm planning on going over to question Mizusawa once they get him situated. I'm going to stop by the evidence lockers and see if I can get a look at that check, too."
"Trying to find out what the money dispute was over... that seems like a good course of action," Ann comments, "But I've got a bad feeling about all of this."
Ryuji rotates his shoulders and hangs his elbows over the back of the booth, stretching out casually. "Same here. Call me crazy, but I think it might be related to everything else."

---Music: Rise from the Ashes - Ending ---

"Do you mean about the things we were talking about yesterday?" Morgana is the first to catch on.
"Yeah," Futaba confirms, "About the strange deaths Ryuji brought up."
Sae raises an eyebrow. "Strange deaths...?"
"Oh, right, I guess we wouldn't have mentioned this to Sae-san or Sojiro-san, or even Mishima-kun," Ann recognizes, "She's talking about a text conversation we had."
"Is this perhaps... about recent instances where individuals are being murdered by people close to them?" Sae asks.
"Wow! She's sharp as a tack. I knew she'd catch on quick," Morgana praises.
"That's exactly it!" Ryuji exclaims energetically, "Man, you're quick. How'd you know so fast?"
Sae smiles politely, but softly, not losing her overall aura of seriousness. "I was considering there may be connections as well. I was thinking about my trial this morning, which was going on at the same time as Mishima-kun's."
I suppose none of us had paid any mind to that. Mishima speaks up, recognizing that we never asked for details. "What exactly was your trial about, Niijima-san?"
"Well, it isn't surprising that it went under the radar compared to yours, since I didn't end up dealing with anything as alarming as a hostage situation," she jokes, taking a sip of coffee, "But to make a long story short, I was representing a social worker from overseas named Mii Shunari. She was an exchange worker of sorts, as the corporation she works for is primarily focused on sending Japanese workers to aid foreign countries. She got accused of something pretty heinous, murdering one of the supervisors via strangulation. Said supervisor was the head of the global outreach program. Luckily, I was able to help prove she had an honest alibi, and as it turns out the actual murderer was a government worker from a different organization which was partnered with the program."
She takes another sip, savoring the legendary flavor Leblanc's coffee has to offer, possibly to ward off the growing uncertainty in the conversation. "There's where I'm sensing something off. The true murderer was a personal friend of the victim. On top of that, I did some more digging. I found out the true criminal had also been tampering with the ledgers and budgeting behind the scenes, and was essentially sabotaging the project and the company itself, trying to make both fail."
Ryuji is considerable less excited than usual, but seemingly more introspective as he narrows his eyes and holds his chin in thought. "And there goes another case of murder and betrayal between two close buds."
Morgana leaps onto my shoulder and whispers into my ear. "I'm still not used to Ryuji NOT being a total moron. It's so bizarre."
"Hey, I heard that," Ryuji snapped back, "I don't have the brains of some of you other guys, but what I do got is spirit. I've been trying really hard to be a better observer of things, because, honestly... I've been hoping that some day the Phantom Thieves would have a reason to get back together, sorta like this."
"Well, I believe an intuition is something that can be honed and sharpened just like any other tool," Yusuke adds with professionalism to his voice, "And considering you were the first one to bring any of this to our attention, I'd say you've certainly improved."
Morgana laughs with a toothy grin, jumping to his side to pat Ryuji on the shoulder. "Well, your name was Skull. It's only natural that there's a brain underneath. It just took a while to show."
Skull blushes with frustration, "You guys sure know how to be backhanded with compliments..."
"Well, we're certainly back together..." Ann smiles, "In fact, this feels just like old times."
"Well, there's no real connection between the two events, as far as I can tell," Futaba jumps in. She had been quiet for a while, and it turns out that was because she was hard at work on her laptop. "I've searched public records, social media, work histories... no one in either Sae-san's case or Mishima's case had any relationship to one another. As far as I could dig up, the incidents seem isolated from one another."
No one has anything to say initially, though the atmosphere feels on edge. Sojiro speaks up once more. "I hate to be the stick in the mud, but isn't it possible that this is just a coincidence?" he suggests.
"If it were just these two things, then I would think the same thing," Sae concedes, "But more and more of these 'coincidences' seem to be appearing."
Within her briefcase she has documents galore, and of them she pulls out a newspaper clipping to visually present her next topic. "Some of you may recall a story being covered a few weeks ago. One of Japan's ambassadors killed a foreign ambassador on a good will exchange. It was a huge scandal, and even still no one has been able to decipher a motive for the murder. The two were close colleagues who worked together many times in the past."
Ryuji's getting worked up, and slaps his hands against the surface of the table as he jumps in. "And the business head who got killed a week ago! And two other politicians have been killed within a few months! And-"
"Whoa there, calm down," Mishima cautions humorously, "You're going to spill everyone's drinks if you keep rocking the table."
Rising energy in the room aside, Sae is still collected and nods her head. "You've been paying attention to current events, I see. I've been compiling information on a number of different incidents over the last few months, and everything you just mentioned sounded like what I've been researching."
"I suppose most of those do sound familiar," Sojiro adds, "I heard about some of those on TV. But, do any of them have any relation to one another?"
Sae gathers everyone's attention. "Well, let's lay them all out and see what similarities they share," she suggests. She has more than enough documents within her briefcase to cover the entire table. We immediately get started reading over all we can, and hopefully we'll be able to make some sense of this.

---(Music End)---

  April 10th, 2:11 pm
Cafe Leblanc

---Music: Investigation ~ Examination ---

"Ugh..." Ryuji groans, "My head hurts..."
Futaba holds her fingers to her temple and squints her eyes shut in discomfort. "I'm starting to get eye strain," she mentions, due to her having been doing all of her research on a laptop while the rest of us were physically sifting through information in front of us.
Even the normally cheerful Haru seems worse for the wear. "How long have we been at this... "
"I'm... honestly not seeing much that can connect these events," Ann tells us regretfully, "The only common point is that every situation involves someone acting in a way they wouldn't normally."
"And that's not really much to go on..." Morgana mumbles, though his tone of voice suggests that he is still thinking deeply.
Yusuke wears a slight frown. "Is it possible we're perhaps over analyzing things, and trying to find something that isn't there..?"
"But..." Ryuji interjects, "At the same time, it's natural to assume that something is amiss when so many bizarre incidents take place in such a short amount of time, right?"
Makoto holds her chin as her eyes make a slow sweep of everything on the table in front of her. "We're never going to make any progress while looking at so much information at once. At this point it's not even really clear what our goal is."
She makes a good point. Now would make a great time to refocus, so I speak up to rally everyone into doing just that. "Ok, so let's summarize all this. There have been a slew of recent events both high and low profile. Even at their best, these cases have all involved someone betraying their morals or stances to act in an unpredictable way. At their worst, they've even involved murder."
"Ok, that's a start," Makoto nods, "Now let's try to pick apart these instances one at a time. Let's start in order. A month and a half ago, that campaign manager killed the politician they were trying to promote."
"Political assassination... that could be tricky to find a goal behind," Haru reasons.
Sae's eyes light up ever so slightly. "That's right. And we'll only be able to relate these events if we can determine what the goals of the culprits were."
"It's going to be hard to figure out," Ann points out, "Politicians have so many different issues they have opinions and influence on."
"I've been probing the related figures to these cases," Futaba announces, having resumed her laptop browsing. "I'm going to keep searching around that date to see if there were any important votes or events that killing that politician would have impacted."
"Alright. We should move on then," I suggest, "The next would be the foreign ambassador being killed by one of our own ambassadors."
"Did that happen overseas or did it happen in Japan?" Ann asks.
"In Japan," Sae replies, "The foreigner was in our country promoting the possibility of new trade deals."
"Was that the only reason for the diplomatic visit?" Makoto questions.
"I believe so, yes," Yusuke answers, holding one of the particular newspapers in his hand, "It says here that it was only a temporary visit of a few weeks. The trade deal was certainly the primary concern of the visit."
"Ok, let's keep this moving. This is progress," Makoto cheers, still using an indoor voice, "Let's make note of that. If there was a reason behind the killing, it would likely have been because of an important trade deal."
Ryuji seems to be getting back some of his energy and zeal now that we are getting somewhere. "Alright, well the next event was that CEO chick getting killed by her subordinate."
"What kind of business was it?" Mishima asks.
"It's a shipping company," Haru responds, seeming familiar with the subject, "They managed a lot of exporting, and my company did business with them quite often."

---Music: Logic Construct ---

"I can already see a pattern here," Morgana speaks to us, sounding very confident, "Exporting is another element of trade. So both of those involved trade in some way."
"Hey! That's our first real connection!" Ann congratulates, "So what's next, another politician, right?"
Our progress feels abruptly halted yet again. "The political ones are really the biggest roadblock yet," Sae points out, "There could be a million different reasons someone could be upset with a politician. Finding a motive for any of these would be hard, not even considering trying to find a common motive."
"Working on it still," Futaba mentions passively, not even noticing her own tongue slipping out a bit as she focuses intensely on her online research.
We all seem to reach the consensus to skip this one and come back. "So, our next incident was none other than Niijima-san's case with the social worker," Yusuke explains.
"We already learned that the project was being sabotaged to fail from within," Ann recalls, "So that makes it clear that the goal was for the project to fail, even if it meant having to kill."
Sae nods. "And that project was a global outreach program, and one of the biggest ones Japan has seen in years. It was aimed at sending and trading skilled workers with various countries as an exchange of talent and techniques."
Haru leans her head to the side as she considers everything so far. "So someone really didn't like the idea of sending off Japanese workers to other countries, perhaps?"
I think a lot of our team seem to be teetering on the edge of getting to the bottom of this, and are probably considering the same thoughts I am.
  "Foreign affairs..." I mention at first quietly, before repeating more loudly, "Everything we've looked at so far has dealt with foreign affairs with other countries."
"So that just leaves my case..." Mishima speaks up, "Vi Aipi being killed by his own bodyguard."
"Not another politician..." Ryuji groans.
"Futaba, what have you found so far?" Makoto quizzes our navigator.
She intertwines her fingers and stretches them to pop her joints. "Well, I've compiled a list of every stance these politicians have been confirmed to hold before they died. I pulled together a list of votes that have taken place in the past two months, as well, in case that could help."
Before anyone can respond, Futaba's eyes widen and she presses onward. "And I think you're on to something, Akira! So I skimmed through all of those votes to see if any of them dealt with trade or foreign affairs."
"What did you find?" I ask.
Futaba gazes deeply into her screen as she rapidly scrolls her mouse wheel. "Well, it turns out that a very important new tariff law will be going into effect very soon. They just had a vote on it today, in fact. Tariffs can have a huge impact on how Japan interacts in the global setting. All of the politicians killed in this time frame would have been present during the vote... and on top of that, going through their stances leads me to believe that they would have all voted against the tariff. Including our unfortunate Vi Aipi-san."
  "Hey, they're talking about it on the TV right now, in fact," Sojiro draws to our attention. Sure enough, the talk show hosts are all talking about the new tariff law and what it will entail, and how surprising it is that it was able to pass in the first place when there was so much opposition to it.
  "So there really is something connecting all of these cases!" Ryuji exclaims.
  Sae's eyes are wider than I've ever seen them. "You've all really found a connection...! They all deal with foreign affairs!"



The room feels really lively in our state of success, but over the next few seconds, a realization hits us.

---(Music End)---

Yusuke is the first to point out that realization. "So now that we have reason to believe all of these murders and betrayals are likely connected... what exactly can we do with this information?"
"In all of these instances, the true culprits have been caught already, isn't that correct?" Haru notes.
"That's right," Makoto confirms, "Which means that, if there is a common goal and a connection, it would need to be much larger than just one or two people."
"Well, it wouldn't be our first time dealing with political conspiracies," Ann speaks, recalling that entire debacle with Shido.
Makoto seems to be in a meditative state. "Aside from who could be behind this, there's a question we have to answer first. What aspect of foreign affairs would be their true motive?"
Sojiro seems to be finishing up another round of cooking, but his voice sounds clear even as he speaks to us from across the room. "As long as you are all speculating, may I throw out an idea? From what you all have been discussing, everything sounds very isolationist. If this is another conspiracy and someone is behind everything, it sounds like they don't want Japanese interaction with other countries."

---Music: Wicked Plan ---

I certainly wasn't expecting any of us to get such a clear hypothesis from what little information we have. "That... does make sense. All of the businesses that were effected were sending their influence and their programs oversee. And then there's the foreign ambassador getting killed, that speaks for itself."
"Not to mention, a tariff law can become a fairly substantial trade barrier against the rest of the world," Sae adds, "It seems to me like special interest was taken in making sure that tariff vote passed, considering how many politicians had to die for it to happen..."
"Very impressive deduction, Sakura-san," Haru praises, "How did you reach this idea so quickly?"
"People come in to Leblanc and talk politics pretty often," he explains, "And more than a few of them are old fogies and a bit... out of touch, I suppose. I can think of one pair in particular who are always talking about historical Japan."
"Historical Japan?" Mishima repeats, "Are we talking historical as in, like, ANCIENT Japan? Or are we talking about pre-World War II? What's the time frame here?"
"Well, both, I suppose," Sojiro clarifies broadly. "I'm speaking of how Japan spent centuries staying out of everyone else's business. Maybe I've just got those old folks' conversation stuck in my head because they were here right before you kids showed up. But the things you've talked about, be it trying to stop foreign exchange programs or trying to deter importing by a new tariff law... I can't put my finger on it, but the all seem relevant to Japan's relationship with the rest of the world."
We all seem to be lost in thought. Sojiro coughs to clear his throat. "I mean, that's just how I was looking at it."
"That's a rather compelling theory, actually," Yusuke agrees, taking a sip of coffee himself, "It certainly makes sense of the relationship these events hold with one another. But, I return to my earlier question... what can we do with this information?"
Sae has already begun to gather and reorganize her documents. "I was planning on going to the detention center to ask Kaz Mizusawa a few questions."
"What exactly do you expect to learn from Mizusawa?" Ann asks.
"I'm not sure, exactly," Sae admits, "Hopefully I can learn something about the check that was being written, and see if that gives us any new info at all. It might be worth a shot to ask if I can go through the evidence locker to see the check myself."
"I see..." Morgana comments, "If Mizusawa is indeed related to some sort of bigger conspiracy, then it's possible that tracing such a large amount of money could give us new leads."
"May I go with you?" Mishima requests, "I'd like to have some closure on this whole thing. Mizusawa DID shoot me, after all..."
"Well, going with a huge crowd would certainly seem questionable, but I suppose one or two of you could accompany me if you'd like."
"Oh! Then I want this guy to go, too," Mishima instantly replies, pointing right at me.
"Huh?" I blink.
"You are the leader, after all!" he justifies, "You aught to be as informed as possible before making any decisions, right?"
"Sounds good to me," Futaba agrees, "I can tag along via your phone, too."
I almost chuckle at Futaba's utter disregard to personal privacy, but by now I'm used to her invading phones freely.
Sae nods her head. "Well, alright. We should get a move on, then."

---(Music End)---

  April 10th, 2:49 pm
  Suramā Prison Facility, Visiting Area

A guard leads up into the room where we will be conversing with Mizusawa. It's very bare-bones, and the only real features in the room are the chairs to sit in and the wall of glass meant to separate us from the prisoners. It's a nice change to be on the free side of the glass instead of the detained side. Sae, Mishima, and I all sit down and wait patiently as we watch the other half of the room from through the glass.
A guard on the opposite side opens a door, and Kaz Mizusawa enters. The door is closed and locked behind him, and the guard stands dutifully at attention.
The man looks rather odd. He seems to have helmet-hair, is wearing goggles, and they have put a mouth guard around his lower head. Really, I can't see any of his face at all. On top of it all, he has been restrained by a straight jacket. "Hello, sirs!" he greets, though he is very hard to hear through both the glass and the mouth thing.
"You must be Mizusawa-san," Sae speaks formally.
"Sir, yes, sir!" he answers in military fashion.
Sae clears her throat. "I had a few questions for you, in relation to the events surrounding the murder of Vi Aipi."

  ---Music: Detention Center ~ Elegy of the Bulletproof Glass ---

"Was money the actual reason you killed your client?" Sae asks, jumping right to the point at breakneck speed.
He turns his head off to the side slightly. "Well, not exactly, sir... it's complicated, sir!"
"So, did the large sum of money have anything to do with the murder at all?" Sae continues.
"Sir, kinda, sir! It's unexpected, but had Aipi-san accepted the money, none of this would have happened, sir!"
Sae's doesn't seem surprised, for some reason. "Wait. You said, accepted? Wasn't Vi Aipi writing the check to you?" she asks, regardless.
"That's incorrect, sir! That was my check, and I was writing it to him, sir!"
"Hmm... that's the opposite of what was established in court," Sae leads the conversation.
"Sir, permission to speculate, sir! I believe the foreign lawyer might have read the check wrong because he isn't used to reading in Japanese..."
She nods her head. "I went by the evidence locker before coming here, and it's as you say. I was testing to see if you would be telling the truth, and it seems you are."
"I have no reasons to lie, sir! I'm already arrested, sir!" he speaks with jarring detachment to the implications of his situation.
"That's good. So allow me to ask... how was the money related to the situation?"
His enthusiasm hides his slight hesitation. "Sir, well, you see, sir... it was a bribe, sir!"
"A bribe for what?" Mishima asks.
"It was for a vote, sir! I was tasked with paying Aipi-san money to convince him to vote in favor of a new law, sir!"
!
I find myself speaking aloud now. "Was it the law to pass the new tariff?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
!!!
Sae slaps the counter in front of the window and pushes to use the force of her arms to rise up out of her chair into a standing position. "Please, tell me more! You said that you were tasked! Does that mean you were working for someone else?!"
Mizusawa's hesitation finally reaches an insurmountable state. "I can't say, sir! That would be betraying my contract, sir!"
"Contract?" Mishima repeats, "What does a contract matter now that you are in jail?"
"It's more important than that, sir!" Mizusawa answers, shaking his head violently. "With all due respect, sir, I'd sooner die than break my contract, sir!"
With one look at his behavior and his new temperament, it's clear he isn't going to say anything else that could help us.
"Alright," Sae closes her eyes, "Thank you for your time, Mizusawa-san," she says, bowing out and then leading us out of the room.
"I'm actually getting kinda dizzy, guys," Mishima tells us. Though Sae and I are both concerned, he calms us. "Don't worry, it's not a big deal. I just think it may be time for me to go get some rest. I'm going to split and head home now."
"Alright. You do that then," Sae confirms, "You've more than earned a good rest after what you've been through."
Before leaving, Mishima nudges me. "And hey, keep in touch, alright? The Phan-Site is still running strong, you know. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you guys out."
We part ways, with Sae and I going to return to the cafe. We'll definitely have some new info to talk about back at Leblanc.

---(Music End)---

  April 10th, 3:40 pm
Cafe Leblanc

---Music: Wicked Plan ---

"So there really could be a connection! I knew it!!" Ryuji cheers with a fist pump.
I nod my head. "If this murder and this tariff vote are indeed two parts of a bigger picture, this may be the proof we were looking for."
Sojiro laughs in disbelief. "It's astounding, really. I can't believe that you all, out of the blue, picked up on an obscure set of events, found a connection, and discovered a secret conspiracy in just two days."
Morgana hops onto my shoulder and sports a proud grin. "Information can be a treasure, too! Finding and taking treasure where no one else looks... this is what it means to be part of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts!"
"It's definitely clear now that Mizusawa was in fact working for someone else," Ann reiterates, "Which means that this incident leads somewhere or to someone. And if this murder and tariff vote were just two parts of a bigger picture, then we just found our proof."
Makoto is deep in thought now. "Now, the next question is, how can we trace this so-called 'contract' to find out more?"
"I think I should take a stroll through Mizusawa's financial history, see where his money has been coming from..."

---(Music End)---

"Hey, uh, guys?" Sojiro calls, "You might want to look at the TV screen here."

---Music: Borderline of Madness ---

  "--directly from the neighboring nation of Koridai. At approximately 11:00 am JST, Vice President Tyson Rant gunned down three of the most powerful officials of the Koridainian government, including President Richard Tator. The entire state is in chaos," a young woman with a microphone cries out, "Rant was immediately subdued by military police as soon as the murdered happened, and he did not survive the gun wounds inflicted on him during his capture..."
"What the hell...?" Ryuji mutters with shock written on his face.
  "... Vice President Rant has consistently proven himself to be one of the most loyal patriots in the country's history, so assassinating the President is an alarming and frankly horrifying turn of events."
Haru gulps. "Oh my... do you think...?"
"It sounds like this is yet another act of betrayal and murder, on a much larger scale..." Yusuke points out.
Sae's sight is locked to the TV and her eyes are narrowed, and she has a foreboding scowl all over her face.

---(Music End)---

"The Prime Minister has yet to comment on this terrifying event. However, Chief of Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Force, Momus Melpomene, has begun broadcasting an emergency announcement."
The screen changes to a scene of an austere man standing at a podium, wearing full military attire. This is the first time I've ever seen this person, though his title seems to denote significant importance. He doesn't look very Japanese at all, interestingly.

---Music: A Cornered Heart ---

"It is with a heavy heart that I react to today's disaster in Koridai," he speaks deeply, "For many decades, Koridai has been a staunch and dependable ally to our country. Such a profound loss to their nation is nothing short of a national tragedy to Japan as well."
  The man has a stern and rigid face, and is rather bulky. He's even a tad intimidating, in terms of height and presence. But, despite that, his disposition seems earnest, and he seems like he would be rather personable, under different circumstances. The incident in Koridai has clearly left an impression on his expression. "In frank terms, I see this horrendous act as a culmination of the very same dissent which lead to the once-active rebellion that was thought quelled last year. For that reason, I have decided to act upon one of the stipulations of our treaty with the fair nation of Koridai. Namely, in emergencies such as this one, I am invoking the permission given to Japan to act with military intervention. I am rallying special forces as we speak--"
There is a sharp, painful silence all throughout Cafe Leblanc. However, the members of the audience of the speech on the TV are anything but silent. They have erupted completely into a worrying state of chaos. One reporter from the audience shouts a statement to the military man which can be heard over the loud crowd. "Melpomene-san! This is unprecedented!! Japan's very constitution prevents the act of extending military force to international disputes!"
More reporters can be heard shrieking as well.
  "Is this an act of war??"
"How can you justify an invasion of an allied nation???"
  "Is this even legal?!?!"
By this point, so many onlookers have pressed upon the issue that Melpomene-san doesn't have much choice but to reply to those addressing him. "I understand full well how radical of a decision this is to make, but I implore you to consider the circumstances. Koridai's most powerful leaders have been killed in what intelligence suggests was an attempted coup. Their current state of governance is falling apart, and they need aid desperately. I believe Japan has every right granted to us by our treaty to step in and act to regain control of Koridai until their nation can recover from this calamity--"
The crowd is in utter shambles, to the point where the chief of staff has to prepare to leave the podium. "My fellow citizens, expect to hear more from me as the situation develops. Thank you," he ends the speech on, as his associates lead him off the stage.

---Music: Restlessness ---

"Isn't this like he's declaring war, kind of?" Ann questions.
"It's more complicated than that," Makoto answers, "This is a really fragile situation, and it seems like the top brass of the military are really trying to push for an intervention."
"Are we... going to invade another country...?" Morgana asks with hesitation.
Ryuji blinks a few times. "Uhhh... where exactly is Koridai? I don't think I've ever heard of it before."
"It's a small island nation in the Pacific," Sojiro answers back, "I had heard of it a few times in the past. But I didn't know anything about a rebellion or anything like that."
Haru rolls her lips back pensively. "They have been a very reliable trade partner towards Japan and several other nations, and Okumura Foods has even recently been working on overseas expansion there. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the rebellion was because of how the people haven't always agreed on how to best utilize the plentiful natural resources of the nation."
"There's something else we can't ignore, either," I add, weaving my fingers together and leaning my head into my hands, "This is yet another event dealing with trade and foreign interests, that involves unexpected betrayal and murder."
The room is in a state of quiet but intense focus. Yusuke bites his lip. "You think... even something this big is connected to what we're looking into right now?"
"It's certainly possible," Morgana replies as he paces back and forth across the table a few times before sitting down. "I wouldn't say that there's a definitive connection, yet, but considering that we've been dealing with hypothetical connections from the start, I definitely wouldn't rule this out as part of the bigger picture."
"Hey, you guys, I've got an important announcement," Futaba speaks up, "Check this out. I got curious enough to do some digging into that military guy's life. Momus Melpomene, I mean. I checked out all of his recent involvements with current events. I found a recording of a speech he held no too long ago, and guess what it's about?"
Futaba rotates her laptop so we can all see the screen as a clip begins playing.

---Music: Telling the Truth 2007 ---

  The clip being played seems to be a trimmed segment from a larger speech, but it is of the same man in the same attire. "... with that being said, I believe our economy is our first step towards regaining a strong position in international politics."
  "Melpomene-san," a reporter interjects, "Such a strong tariff on foreign imports could easily stress our relationships with trade partners. Can you explain your reasoning for why strengthening our internal economy would help our presence internationally?"
He has the same gravity of presence, but I was correct in assuming that he would seem personable. His expression appears earnest, and he is even smiling a bit. "I'm glad you asked that. You see, no one holds a greater dream of international cooperation than I do. I am a huge advocate of global unity in terms of trade, politics, and even cultural relationships. But, where I'm from, we have a saying. You cannot help others if you cannot help yourself. To that end, I believe we as a nation must focus on bolstering our economy first, before securing a stronger foothold in the global market. It is for that reason that I strongly encourage our representatives in government to deeply consider enacting the new tariff laws."
"No way...!" Ann gasps, "It's that tariff law again!"
Sae breathes in a contradiction of momentary relief yet looming anxiety. "I was worried we wouldn't be able to go any further with what little we knew, but it looks like our next lead has appeared right in front of us."
Futaba nods. "I think this Melpomene guy is someone we definitely need to keep on our radar."
Sojiro closes his eyes to think for a moment. "I see. So the Chief of Staff, eh? He's right in the middle of a major interaction between Japan and a foreign nation, and the incident that started it was a bizarre betrayal and murder. He also took a personal interest in supporting a very specific vote, and that same vote has connections to the murder of Vi Aipi which could also very well be related. The murderer in that case claims to be under contract, which means somebody else was calling the shots to have that politician killed. It would make sense that someone very invested in seeing that vote pass could be behind eliminating a politician who would have voted against it."
He adjusts his glasses and taps his fingers against the bar counter. "When you think about it, this is a whole lot of uncanny connections to this idea of a greater conspiracy. It's looking less like coincidences and more like a pattern..."
"Then, it's essentially decided," Yusuke declares, "We need to observe this man, Momus Melpomene. He has far too many abnormal relationships to all of these incidents, and that makes him a person of interest to this investigation."

---(Music End)---

Morgana inadvertently draws attention to himself with a few small laughs. "I'm proud that you all still have it in you. I was worried you guys would be rusty at being Phantom Thieves, but you guys have been super sleuthing like nobody's business. I'm sorry I doubted your suspicions, Ryuji. It looks like you were right from the start that something is definitely amiss."
Morgana raises his paw towards Ryuji, who seems skeptical at first. After a moment of hesitation passes, he returns the gesture by giving Morgana a fist bump (paw bump?). It's good to see those two getting along.
Haru joins in on the laughter. "This certainly is exciting! I'm just happy to have us all sitting around the same table again. It's great to see everyone after so long."
Makoto jumps in on the waves of positive emotion, and by now the entire room is feeling cheery. "Considering there's not much more we can do for this investigation at the moment, why don't we set it aside? This really is our first time back together in years now. We should go somewhere or do something fun to celebrate!"
Futaba crashes head first into the conversation. "Ooo! Oooo! I know! Let's go hang out in Shibuya! The arcade is still open, there are tons of shops and stuff, and later tonight we can maybe catch a movie!"
"Now that's a plan I can get behind," I agree, myself smiling brightly. "Let's get a move on, then."
We all gather our things and prepare to leave. "You kids have fun," Sae tells us, "I'm going to stay for more coffee for a while."
Sojiro tosses me a key that I haven't held in a long time, but a key I'm intimately familiar with. "Use the shop whenever you'd like. And I haven't really moved or changed anything in your old room upstairs, if you need a place to stay."
I can't help but hug my psuedo-dad before heading out with the others.

  To be continued...

  ---(Music End)---

  ---Music: Victory ---

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