#anne takamakli

[pulaasul]

Ryuji’s AI

The Phantom Thieves just escaped the police from the hotel they were checked in. They were currently staying at the hideout where they met Inspector Hasegawa when they arrived in Kyoto. They were voicing out their worries with Inspector Hasegawa arrested when Makoto, and everyone else although she's the only one reading it, received a text message.’

[FFN] I [Ao3]

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The Phantom Thieves just escaped the police from the hotel they were checked in. They were currently staying at the hideout where they met Inspector Hasegawa when they arrived in Kyoto. They were voicing out their worries with Inspector Hasegawa arrested when Makoto, and everyone else although she's the only one reading it, received a text message.

"What's wrong?" Anne asked as Makoto read the text message she received.

"Akane-chan's been taken!" Makoto exclaimed. "It says, if we want her back, we have to go to Inari Taisha!" She panicked

"Huh?! The hell's that supposed to mean?!" Ryuji questioned.

"Taken?" Anne processed the words. "You mean kidnapped?!" She realized the gravity of the message. "Why?! She's got nothing to do with us!"

"I don't know!" Makoto snapped. "I'm just going off of the message her number sent us."

"You guys think…" Ryuji trailed off, not wanting to believe his train of thought. "Maybe Akane's just messin' around?" He offered.

"Akane-chan doesn't know our other identities!" Makoto debunked the suggestion. "And even if she did, she wouldn't trick us."

"True…" Anne nodded. "Who would do such an awful thing?" She lamented.

"Konoe." Ren growled.

"That's definitely a possibility." Morgana agreed.

"So they're using Akane-chan just to lure us out?" Haru also growled, deducing the situation.

"Given the timing, what else could it be?" Yusuke nodded.

"Unforgivable." Makoto bristled in rage.

"What do we do?" Anne asked. "We can't even go to the cops."

"What else is there to do?! We go after her!"

"Calm down a moment." Yusuke placated. "This has to be a trap." He suggested.

"They'd probably catch us the moment we step out of the door." Ryuji growled.

"But we can't just leave her," Makoto exclaimed. "If they even lay a finger on her… I'll…" She cut her train of thought before shifting to another, albeit, related topic. "Anyway, with Zenkichi-san behind bars, we're the only ones who can save her," She reasoned out. "If we put our safety above that of an innocent life, then we have no right to call ourselves the Phantom Thieves."

Makoto was full panicking at the state of a fellow policeman's daughter both from the guilt of having involved her in the state of things and for her general safety.

"I'm well aware of what this is, and I'm fine going out there alone." Makoto continued. "You guys stay here and hold the fort."

"Calm down, Makoto." Ryuji admonished.

"We're all in this together." Ren nodded.

"I guess, there's no helping it." Ryuji sighed as he fished his phone. "This is an emergency."

"Ryuji?" Anne looked at the boy beside her.

"Hey, Ritsu, can you hear me?" Ryuji spoke to the phone.

"Loud and clear, Sakamoto-kun." A feminine voice, Ryuji identified as Ritsu, spoke from the phone. "Is there something you need?"

Ren walked towards his best friend, curious about the AI Ryuji was talking to. He was aware of Ritsu when he met a few of Ryuji's, dare he say it, eccentric mentors.

Ren has not met the AI in question ever, nor has Ryuji used it for Phantom Thief operations or otherwise.

The AI in Ryuji's phone was a girl with purple hair wearing an outfit that mimics an Idol Group, different from Alice's usual outfits.

"Can you check on a girl named Akane Hasegawa?" Ryuji asked. "She's the daughter of Inspector Zenkichi Hasegawa."

"Sure!" Ritsu replied enthusiastically as she gave off a smile. "Can I ask why?"

"Someone texted us that she was kidnapped," Ryuji answered. "We just want to make sure if she's actually alright."

The rest of the Phantom Thieves were quite aghast at the bomb that Ryuji casually dropped at them. He had an AI in his phone and did not deem to tell anyone about it.

"Sakamoto-kun, she's home, in her room, sobbing." Ritsu voiced out. "Is this because her father was arrested?"

"Yeah, we've been helping Inspector Hasegawa get to the bottom of the change of hearts all over Japan, even when we lost access to mementos and all that," Ryuji admitted. "It's probably because of that."

A live feed of a sobbing Akane Hasegawa was shown on Ryuji's phone, from the angle it's from the girl's webcam she used for streaming. Ryuji showed his phone's screen to everyone else, and give them at least an assurance of the girl's safety.

"I see, Tomohito-kun wants you to check-in, he's been worried." Ritsu suggested, as soon as Ryuji faced the phone to himself.

"Will do." Ryuji nodded. "Thanks, Ritsu."

"Let's talk about Ritsu after we get to the bottom of that text message." Ren spoke.

"If she's safe, then there's no need to go there, right?" Futaba asked, hopeful.

"Ren's right," Makoto nodded. "If she's safe, then why did her number send us the kidnap notice?"

"What if, EMMA's just like Ritsu-san and Sophia-chan?" Haru offered. "They can do things with your phone without your input?"

"What do you mean, Haru?" Anne asked, not understanding what the older girl was saying.

"You know how Ren doesn't need to answer his phone because Sophia's doing it for him?" Haru explained. "What if it's the same as that?"

"I can definitely do that, but Koro-sensei told me not to do that, unless with the explicit permission of the phone's owner," Ritsu answered. "I can also send dictated messages through text."

"Koro-sensei?" Anne couldn't help but repeat the weird name.

"If that's true, then why use Akane-chan?" Makoto hummed.

"Is it safe to assume that Akane-chan is in no danger?" Futaba asked.

"No, I don't think that's the case," Morgana disagreed.

"Her Shadow," Ren filled in. "EMMA and Konoe are the ones creating the jails,"

"It isn't the real Akane-chan they have, but Akane-chan's Shadow!" Anne put the pieces together.

As everyone realized the gravity of the situation, they took a subtle glance at Haru, who was the most affected by her father's mental shutdown.

"We definitely need to save Akane-chan!" Haru stood up, determined.

"The question remains, how?" Futaba pointed out.

"Like I said, I'm willing to go alone." Makoto turned her back to her fellow Phantom Thieves. "You guys hold the fort."

"Are you losing it, Prez?" Ryuji grinned, putting some levity into an otherwise grim situation. "We'd never let a friend risk their neck without at least givin' back up."

"Plus, Akane-chan's our fan," Anne added. "She knows more than anyone we never abandon people in need."

"Otherwise, we couldn't live up to our name." Yusuke agreed.

"Let's turn the tables against them with their trap." Haru continued with conviction.

"Darn right Haru!" Futaba clenched her fists. "Let's show them how big of a mistake they've made!"

"Thanks, everyone." Makoto expressed her gratitude to her teammates.

"All right, I'll take point and guide you past trouble." Morgana relayed his orders. "Sophia, you navigate."

"Okay, got it!" Sophia voiced her agreement. "I'll find the quickest and safest route there."

"Is that everything, Sakamoto-kun-kun?" Ritsu voiced her question.

"Yeah, thanks, Ritsu, I owe you one." Ryuji nodded.

"Okay, good luck on your rescue mission," Ritsu wished the group luck. "Just call me if you need anything."

"Will do."

"Is that everything?" Morgana asked.

"Yeah!" Sophia voiced out as each of the Phantom Thief nodded.

"Then let's go!"