~Afternoon~
You: Kasumi please respond. I want to talk
You: I'm sorry for what happened. Just come over so we can figure this out
It had been two days since your escape from police custody. In that time, you had been primarily bedridden, slowly healing from the wounds you received. Every day you had messaged Kasumi over and over, begging her to come and talk to you...and every day you received no response. You were currently walking around the clinic, Takemi keeping a close eye on you as you tried to support yourself on your wounded leg. It still hurt here and there, but overall you seemed okay at this point, a slight limp still being visible.
Takemi: "I think it's safe to discharge you. Long as you aren't running around like crazy any time soon, you should be okay. I'll prescribe you some painkillers and deliver them to your place every couple or so days"
You: "I really can't thank you enough for your help Tae"
The blue haired doctor waved my compliment away. With what she had said, you finally sent off a message to your friends, with them having waited at Leblanc for your coming arrival today. On the first day at the clinic, Tae had messaged them all on your condition, explaining that currently you just needed time to heal. As a result, you hadn't really seen any of them in the past two days. With what was going on with Kasumi and you, seeing your friends might help lighten your mood once more you thought. With your things packed away, you headed towards the exit, using a hooded jacket Sae had dropped off on one of her visits to hide your face on the streets.
Takemi: "Just...be careful okay? Your physical wounds may have begun to heal but...I'm not sure about the rest..."
You: "The rest? What's that mean?"
Takemi: "...nevermind...just me worrying over my patient"
You gave Tae one last sincere smile before you headed back out into the streets of Yongen. You kept your head down as you made your way to Leblanc, stopping outside the front door for a moment. With a deep breath, you tried to relax yourself before entering.
You: "Okay..."
With that, you opened up the door, seeing the faces of your comrades. Everyone eye's lit up at the sight of you, all of them quickly rushing over to see you.
Sojiro: "H-Hey! Give the kid some space...he's still healing you know..."
Haru: "It's great to see you again F/n!"
Yusuke: "Indeed, things truly weren't the same in your absence"
Ann: "How ya been?"
You: "Well...I died..."
Ann: "Hehe, you must be doing alright if you can joke like that!"
Makoto: "Are you sure you're fully healed? My sis gave me updates on your condition from time to time"
You: "I'll be okay. Where is Sae actually?"
Makoto: "On her way over, she got held up at the office"
Ryuji: "Yeah yeah, enough about that boring stuff man! Lemme see it!"
You: "Huh? See what?"
Ryuji: "The wound man! From what I hear, me and you got matching bum legs now!"
You rolled your eyes at the blonde before lifting up the bottom of your jeans, allowing everyone to see the scar from the bullet hole. It was still in the early stages of healing, currently being held together by stitches that Takemi had put in. The entire party looked at the wound.
Futaba: "Damn...that must have suuuucked"
Yusuke: "It doesn't even appear to have an exit wound"
You: "The bullet got stuck in there, so the doc had to pry it out"
Haru: "Goodness..."
Morgana: "We'll be sure to pay 'em back for it... right Joker?!"
You: "Heh...yeah"
Ryuji: "But man...we were seriously worried there for a bit. I had to remind myself bout the plan when that broadcast came on! Real happy you're still alive and kickin!"
Everything was going great for a change. You were happy to see the smiling faces of your comrades, all of them having worried about you during your absence. It sure as hell didnt distract you from your argument with Kasumi, but ot definitely did help you in general. It was almost perfect...
Almost...
And then Ryuji gave you a pat on the back....
Just a simple pat, he had done it plenty of times in the past, you both had...but for some reason this time it was different. One second, you were standing surrounded by your smiling teammates...the next...you had Ryuji pinned to the floor, your fist raised to strike him. Realising what you were doing, you let him go, backing away quickly as you looked confused as to what had happened. As you backed up, the others rushed over to Ryuji to help him, the blonde coughing out as they did.
You: "What...what did I..."
Ann: "Ryuji! Are you okay?!"
Ryuji: "Y-Yeah...I'm...I'm alright"
Your friends all turned to you, confused looks on their faces. You didn't understand why you had done that. Ryuji was one of your closest friends, you could never do that to him...
Futaba: "F/n...are you-"
Futaba began moving towards you, her hand stretching out to try and touch you. Instinctively, you backed away fast, knocking a mug off the counter and onto the ground as it smashed into pieces.
You: "DON'T...don't touch me...get away from me...all of you..."
Makoto: "What are you-"
You: "I said get back!"
You began backing away towards the stairs up to your room, needing to get as far away from your friends as you could. You had no idea why you wished to hurt them, but your mind was telling you to flee, to put as much distance between you and them as you could. As you backed away from the group, Sae suddenly burst into the shop, spotting Ryuji on the ground before looking at you worried.
Makoto: "Sis!"
Sae: "F/n...it's okay...no one here is gonna hurt you..."
You: "What are you- what are you saying?! What's going on?!"
You couldn't take the stares everyone was giving you. Things were going so well up until this point, and now you had no idea what was going on with your body that would make you hurt your friends. Without another word, you rushed up to your room, sitting down at your bed and focusing your attention on the stairs.
Yusuke: "F/n!"
Your body did not want anyone close to you now, and you hoped your friends would get that idea now you had left. Confused and alone, you sat there, not knowing what to do for the first time in a while, hearing the quiet talking downstairs as everyone, including yourself, wondered what was wrong with you...
[Kasumi's POV]
~A Few Days Later - Afternoon~
This had been the third day in a row I hadn't received a text from F/n. Part of me wondered why that was...maybe he was finally back with his friends...and his mind was taken off me as he tried to enjoy myself. The other part of me didn't care, not wanting to see him after he had broken a promise so dear to me. I was sat in my room, both sides of my mind battling as I debated sending him a message. Before a conclusion could be chosen, the doorbell rang. With the suicide of the leader of the Phantom Thieves, Dad was busy, so I was the only one home. Heading down from my room, I headed to the front door and opened it up, a woman with gray hair wearing a suit on the other side.
Sae: "Hello. Is this the Yoshizawa residence? My name is Sae Nijima, would you happen to be Kasumi?"
Kasumi: "Yes...how can I help you miss?"
Sae: "I believe we have a mutual acquaintance. F/n?"
Immediately my mind filled in the blanks, knowing F/n had been too disheartened to come out here himself and apologise.
Kasumi: "I'm sorry but I can't help you. If F/n wants to talk, he can come himself"
I was about to shut the door, upset he hadn't even put in the effort to come here himself, but the Nijima lady stopped me, grabbing the door with a desperate look on her face.
Sae: "I'm aware you two had a fight, but please listen to me. He's...he's not doing well. Yesterday...he attacked Sakamoto-kun"
Kasumi: "...w-what?"
The mere thought of that made zero sense. Sure, I hadn't spent much time in their social group, but I knew senpai and Ryuji were extremely close, and he would never willingly attack him.
Kasumi: "Why would he..."
Sae: "I wish to talk about this along with his friends. Would you be willing to accompany me to join them?"
Kasumi: "...Yes. Just let me get my things..."
I got a jacket and pair of shoes on quickly, following along with Miss Nijima until we were back in Yongen. Instead of meeting in Leblanc like I had originally expected, she led me to a nearby house, the plaque outside saying it was the Sakura residence. Inside in the living room, were all of senpai's friends, as well as his doctor and guardian.
Ann: "Kasumi?! What are you doing here?"
Sae: "I invited her along...this affects her too..."
Yusuke: "But she is unaware of our... activities..."
Kasumi: "I...know that you're all the Phantom Thieves..."
Ryuji: "Wait seriously?!"
Futaba: "Wait...you were the strange reading I was getting in the Palace!"
Ann: "Since when were you involved in all this?! Did F/n tell you?"
Morgana: "It's...a long story"
Yusuke: "You knew of this also? when were you planning to inform us?!"
Morgana stayed silent in response to that, the atmosphere becoming a bit more tense than it was already.
Futaba: "H-Hey...we're all here for F/n right? Let's...just calm down and find out what's wrong with him"
The members of the group calmed down a bit in response to Futaba's words, Sae starting off her explanation.
Sae: "As you know...F/n isn't exactly himself at the moment"
Sojiro: "That's putting it mildly...he doesn't come down from his room anymore. The only interaction I get is him leaving his empty plates near the stairs..."
Sae: "Me and Miss Takemi here believe the cause to be what he went through during his time in police custody..."
Ryuji: "Huh? What do you mean?"
Haru: "His injuries are all healing up though, isn't he fine now?"
Takemi: "Physically maybe, but he still went through a great deal of mental trauma during his interrogation"
Sae: "The bullet wound aside, he was heavily drugged up and beaten. The detectives who interrogated him were relentless, and while his capture was a crucial part of your plan in determining the traitor, the truth serum F/n was given made recalling said plan almost impossible for him. To him, he was in a situation completely out of his control, with no conceivable way to survive"
Takemi: "As a result of that stress, his body is perceiving any sort of physical stimuli as a threat...hence why he attacked you the other day..."
Ryuji: "Damn it..."
Sakamoto slammed his fist against the table, clearly angered by what had happened to his friend. He then turned his attention to Sae, an accusing look on his face.
Ryuji: "Whole lot of help you were..."
Sae: "What's that supposed to mean?"
Ryuji: "He's only in this mess cus we had to spend so much time fighting you"
Makoto: "That's not fair Ryuji! F/n wouldn't even be alive without my sister's help"
Yusuke: "If she had been more willing to trust him, and less willing to accuse innocents of crimes they did not commit, perhaps he could have avoided the brutal treatment he received!"
Sae: "My superiors took me off the case...I wasn't even allowed to-"
Ryuji: "I ain't gonna listen to any of your bullshit excuses!"
Ryuji kicked the table in front of him, almost flipping it over as he stood up and looked at Sae.
Ryuji: "My best friend almost died!"
Makoto: "It's not her fault!"
Ryuji: "Zip it Makoto!"
Ann: "Ryuji stop it! He agreed to the plan...we all did!"
Ryuji looked over at Ann, infuriated at her and the situation, but unable to reject the fact that they had all agreed to what had happened. The blonde collapsed back into his seat, him and his friends hanging their heads as they realised they had let this happen. The entire time as they had argued I had been holding my tongue, wanting nothing more than to blame the people in front of me for allowing the use of such a dangerous plan that put senpai at risk.
Ann: "We just let him do it...none of us argued it..."
Haru: "He sacrificed so much for us..."
Yusuke: "...but he shouldn't have had to in the first place..."
Ryuji: "...damn it..."
Ann: "...I feel awful..."
Makoto: "What...what can we do?! There has to be something, right?"
Takemi: "I...frankly don't know...I've never had to deal with such a high level of mental trauma. Normally I would recommend a psychiatrist but...I doubt his current situation would allow for one"
Futaba: "M-Maybe we change his heart? That helped with my trauma..."
Yusuke: "Without him? He is our leader...I doubt things would go smoothly in his absence"
Ann: "But...what choice do we have?"
Kasumi: "That would be the easy way out..."
Senpai's friends looked over to me as I finally spoke up, the emotions inside me threatening to explode as I spoke.
Kasumi: "He has dedicated every waking moment of his time living here to helping you all. Fighting along side you, listening to your problems, everything! Didn't he show you enough that you don't need the Metaverse to help people?!"
Futaba: "But...what can we-"
Kasumi: "Be there for him! You're his friends. Deep down, he loves every single one of you. He's always been there for you...now its time for you to be there for him"
Ryuji: "...Yoshizawa's right...I know I ain't the easiest to get along with...but he made time for me...always. I promised him I'd always have his back, so there's no way in hell I'd ever abandon him! 'Eff that!"
Morgana: "For the longest time I thought he should just leave me behind...that I was a burden...but he didnt. I...I found my place in life because of him...and I can't stand seeing him like this!"
Ann: "He would always be there... whenever I just needed someone to talk to. I can do the same for him! I know I can! And I don't need to rely on this power to do it..."
Yusuke: "Before I met him, I turned a blind eye to so much injustice in the world. He opened my eyes, and I refuse to ever look away again!"
Makoto: "He had no reason to trust in me, and I gave him none for so long...but he still cared for me...and he helped me find my own justice..."
Futaba: "I wouldn't be here without him. I'd still be trapped in my own heart. He showed me the way out of that trauma...only fair I do the same for him..."
Haru: "Everything in my life was planned in advance, not an ounce of freedom supplied to me. He broke me out of that fate, and I owe him more than I could ever pay back for that!"
Despite my feelings towards what they had done to senpai, I still felt happy that they had all finally understood what they had to do. Without another word, they all stood up to leave.
Ryuji: "Sorry to cut and run...but there's somewhere we gotta be..."
Sae looked over at the group, a smile slowly forming on his face.
Sae: "Be sure to give him my regards"
[Your POV]
You sat on your bed, your gaze set towards the wall as you hid away from the world. You had no one. No friends, no lover, and no future... everything was gone. You could hear the ding of the bell on the door go off, and the sound of many sets of shoes on the ground. You instinctively curled up more, they were all back again and you didn't want to hurt them...
Ann: "Hey...we're coming up!"
You: "Please...don't..."
Ryuji: "Sorry pal...ain't got much say in this!"
Why couldn't they leave you alone? You would only hurt them if they tried to get close to you. Going against your wishes, you heard them all come up to your room, unable to face them as you hid away.
Haru: "F/n..."
You: "Guys...please..."
Makoto: "We came to apologize"
Yusuke: "You were already carrying such a tremendous burden, yet we agreed to a plan that stacked you with more nonetheless"
Futaba: "We're...sorry...you shouldn't have gone through what you did..."
You: "...I don't deserve your apologies"
Ann: "Actually, yes you do"
You looked back towards them out of the corner of your eye, spotting Futaba's ginger hair as she stepped forward.
Futaba: "You're...you're hurting F/n. I know because the same thing happened to me! Shutting myself away from everything and everyone only made it worse! It was all of you...you all saved me..."
You stayed silent as Futaba continued walking towards you. All your instincts told you to get away from her, but you knew she was right...your body trying to fight against your mind.
Ann: "F/n...we won't hurt you...."
Haru: "You're our friend..."
Yusuke: "We all care for you more than we could ever possibly express"
You slowly began to turn around, seeing everyone gathered round with smiles on their faces. You didn't think you deserved this after what had happened...but yet it was still happening. Slowly but surely, you got to your feet, turning around fully to look at the faces of all your friends.
You: "I..."
You could feel a dam start to break as you saw their sincere smiles, the worry in their eyes as they wondered how to help you. You began to feel tears streaming down your face, wiping them away as you looked at them all smiling.
You: "Thank you..."
You just stood there, your mind slowly trying to fight through it's trauma and understand that these were your friends that would never hurt you. Futaba tried to reach out a hand to you, but you backed away once more.
Futaba: "I...I'm sorry!"
You: "No...it's okay. It's just...this is gonna take some time for me..."
Futaba: "Y-Yeah...okay..."
Yusuke: "Please take as much time as you need"
Haru: "We're here for you whenever you need us"
Behind your friends, you could see someone, spotting Kasumi waiting on the stairs, looking at you with a conflicted gaze.
You: "Kasumi..."
Ann saw how you were looking at your lover, turning to the others in your party to speak.
Ann: "Hey...let's go okay?"
Ryuji: "Huh? But we just got here"
Makoto grabbed Ryuji by the ear, pulling him down the stairs as everyone followed behind.
Makoto: "Learn to read the room moron..."
Haru: "We'll contact you a bit later..."
You: "Y-Yeah..."
Ryuji: "Ow! Alright! I'm going!"
You couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Makoto's comment to Ryuji. As the others left down the stairs, Kasumi slowly entered your room, this being the first time you had seen her in three days.
Kasumi: "It's...good to see you're doing better..."
You: "Kasumi..."
You could see your lover had plenty she wanted to say...but also how reluctant she was to do so.
Kasumi: "You're....you're still recovering...I shouldn't keep you from your rest..."
Kasumi turned around to leave but you suddenly grabbed her hand, not aggressively...moreso desperately. Both of you were surprised that your body had reacted this way instinctively. Your mind seemed to know Kasumi wouldn't hurt you...but that you had done plenty to hurt her. Once it caught up with your actions though, you instinctively let go of your lover's hand, worried you could hurt her.
You: "Please...can't we just talk?"
Kasumi: "Not if all you're gonna tell me is lies again..."
You: "No- just...look...I'm sorry okay? You were right, I wasn't honest with you...I put myself in harm's way without thinking of how that would affect you"
Kasumi turned to face you fully, an expression of worry now on her face.
Kasumi: "I'm not looking for an apology F/n...I just want you to help me understand...understand why you always put yourself at risk!"
To your dismay, her eyes began to tear up a bit. More than anything you want to comfort her, to hold her in your arms...but your mind was still fighting it.
Kasumi: "Senpai...why..."
You: "I'm...I'm so sorry..."
Kasumi: "...I know you are..."
You: "Let's just talk okay? I want us to get through this"
As Kasumi wiped the tears out of her eyes, she nodded in agreement, with you sitting back down on your bed and Kasumi taking a seat near to you, waiting for you patiently to begin. After calming down a bit and collecting your thoughts, you began to speak.
You: "Half a year ago...when I got this power...I thought I understood my true feelings. I had heard them echoing in my heart, that I wanted to help people, to seek out justice by any means necessary...but..."
Kasumi: "But?"
You: "The longer things went on...the more time I spent in that world...I understood something, I undersood my real reason on why I kept fighting...."
You looked Kasumi in the eye as you continued, wanting her to know that this...was the truth...
You: "It felt good. The rush of it all, the feeling of that power coursing through me and becoming stronger every day. It was... intoxicating..."
You clenched your fists instinctively, almost feeling that power, even now.
You: "When we became certain Akechi was the traitor...part of me was...happy. He wanted to break our group up, stop us being the Phantom Thieves. I hated that...I wanted to keep this power, no matter the cost"
Kasumi: "Senpai..."
You: "But being in that room...cuffed to a chair as they beat me and drugged me...that was the first time I truly felt scared. I couldn't remember anything about the plan...only that I was in this cold, dark place with no way out...and that I might not ever get to see you or the others ever again. I can give the excuse of lofty ideals and the 'pursuit of justice' all I want...but in reality? I put myself through all that torture just for the chance to keep this power of mine....isn't that pathetic..."
You locked eyes with the red headed girl you had fallen for, wanting everything you felt to be out in the open.
You: "You're the only one who called me out on that, made me see I was just lying to myself. I know I can't leave things here, or it'll only be a matter of time until Akechi tracks down me and everyone else...and deals with them"
Kasumi: "I...I know..."
You: "I want you to know something though. This isn't about staying a Phantom Thief anymore, or justice...this is about not losing myself, or the things I care about to this power. I know some people will say its selfish, but I'm tying up every loose end to do with that world...and then quitting the Phantom Thieves"
Kasumi looked a bit surprised at what you had just said, but you truly had meant it. Things had gotten out of hand, and you had too much to lose now to end up dead in some different reality. She could heard the resolve in your voice, knowing you were done letting your power control you. From now on, your only goal was to end this, and the need for the Phantom Thieves...for good.
You: "I...know my promises mean nothing to you right now...and that I'm the last person you wanna be with...but-"
Kasumi: "Shut up you big dummy"
You looked at Kasumi surprised, the first year adopting a sincere smile as she continued.
Kasumi: "I always want to be with you..."
You: "Kasumi..."
Kasumi: "You really did hurt me F/n...and it might take a while for things between us to truly go back to normal. However...I love you, and everything I did, yelling at you, asking if you knew your true reason for doing all this, all of it was just to try to make you see that you were just lying to yourself. And despite our argument...I'm glad you see that now..."
You finally understood your feelings...and accepted them. Kasumi had made you see the true reason you had continued for this long, and you couldn't be more grateful to her.
You: "Thank you..."
Kasumi: "For what?"
You: "Understanding me"
Kasumi: "Hehe...you sure took your time figuring out those thoughts of yours senpai!"
Kasumi pointed at you with a pouting look on her face, making you laugh slightly.
You: "Heh, sorry it took so long. Wait for me...okay?"
Kasumi: "Yeah...I will..."
The two of you spent just a bit longer there, sitting on your bed near to each other. You were happy you had been able to rectify things with your lover, knowing that winning her trust back would be hard...but worth all the effort put in.
~Evening~
After a few hours, Kasumi eventually went home, knowing her father would be wondering where she was when he got back. Now feeling better, you headed downstairs to see Futaba, Morgana, and Sojiro all there.
Sojiro: "Heh...look who finally stopped moping"
You: "Charming as always boss"
Sojiro: "Wanna join us for dinner?"
You: "Yeah...I'd like that"
Futaba: "He acts all tough, but he was totally worried about you. Kept blaming himself for not keeping a better eye on you"
Sojiro: "H-Hey! Futaba!"
Futaba gave her guardian a light hearted grin in response as she took a seat at the counter, Sojiro sighing out to himself in embarrassment, causing you to smile slightly at seeing his more caring side. Now sat down, Morgana hopped over to you, nuzzling under your hand as he allowed you to pet him. It seemed your mind was okay with the affection from Morgana, with you honestly being surprised how much you missed petting your feline friend.
You: "Missed you buddy"
Morgana: "That's my line. These guys were totally lost without you"
You: "Heh...you did okay..."
Futaba: "Soooo...you and Yoshizawa doing better? S-Sorry if its personal or whatever..."
Futaba scooted her seat just a bit closer to yours, still making sure to give you some space as she looked at you with caring eyes, awaiting a response.
You: "It's alright. We just got into a little argument a few days ago. She...wasn't exactly pleased about the plan"
Futaba: "Yeaaah...I can kinda understand why"
You: "Thanks though..for earlier"
Futaba: "W-Well...you saved my life...felt only right I return the favour..."
You both shared a smile as you sat together. After a bit of waiting, you all got dished up some curry, enjoying it all together for the first time in a long time. As you chatted, you told Futaba of your newfound feelings that you had come to understand with Kasumi's help. You knew that what was ahead of you would probably be your toughest fight yet, but now at least you knew...what you were fighting for...