Phantom Thieves of Hope - A Danganronpa X Persona 5 Story.

Chapter 23: Minority Report.

[5 DAYS AGO]

Old World Order - Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy

Kyoko sat in the Headmaster's Office of Hope's Peak Academy on the sofa, quietly sipping out of a cup of coffee. Her father, Jin, doing the same from his desk.

Even after coming to terms with one another, and both learning the full story behind Fuhito Kirigiri's deception, communication was still...difficult between the two. As a matter of fact, it had made their relationship even more awkward.

From Kyoko's side of things, she couldn't forgive herself for spending the majority of her life hating the man next to her, even though he had done very little wrong. It didn't help her that Jin was trying to take responsibility for what little mistakes he HAD made, and it just left Kyoko feeling like she was the asshole in this situation.

Which wasn't entirely untrue. She had let herself be groomed into that mindset by her grandfather after all...it wasn't easy to admit that, however...

Still, the two had done their best to bridge whatever gaps they could. Hence this situation where they were sitting down and attempting to have a chat over cases Kyoko had received.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Kyoko..." Jin raised his voice to get her attention, "the search for the Phantom Thieves that the Steering Committee has you on..."

"Sorry to say, but it's classified," Kyoko interrupted, "though to be honest, I haven't made much progress anyway."

"You really don't have to go through with it if it's too much stress, you know?" Jin reminded her, "you could always turn it down. With what happened to your grandfather, you've been up to your neck in detective work and managing the agency. The Steering Committee can't possibly extort you like that."

"Do you think Ashikawa and the other Committee members will take that excuse at face value?" Kyoko asked, "besides, I did already approach them before today. I told them that I had suddenly become very busy and that I don't even know if they really exist, so I couldn't prioritize the work they'd provided me."

"And what did they say?" Jin asked.

"Uragami-san's response was "You don't need to worry about any of that. Just do as we tell you.""

Jin's grip on his cup tightened with frustration. He couldn't exactly oppose the Steering Committee, since they were technically his higher-ups, but to know they were using his daughter for their own selfish interests made his blood boil.

"I can be blunt with you, can't I?" he asked suddenly. Kyoko lifted her head in confusion but nodded.

"Y-Yes...What is it?" she inquired.

"Given how many times I've asked for your help in the past, this is a little bit hypocritical of me, but I personally believe that the Steering Committee is trying too hard to keep you as an asset," Jin grumbled, "the reason they hired you initially was to investigate what happened after Haiji Towa's case, and now, someone close to you made a similar confession to him on live TV. I believe that if these Phantom Thieves exist, the Steering Committee considers them a problem, and they're using you to get rid of them so they don't get their hands dirty."

"The only reason I accepted the proposal in the first place is because I myself was curious about who or what the Phantom Thieves were, but it's become a pointless drag by this point," Kyoko admitted, "though it wouldn't be wise for me to openly say that to Uragami, lest he take away my right as an Ultimate Student. I never really cared much for the school itself, but having the reputation of an expelled Ultimate is almost as bad as being the daughter of a traitor to the family."