Chapter Text
[Begin.]
[Whazzat?]
[Begin.]
[Who’s sayin’ that?]
[Begin.]
[…got it, boss.]
Monday, July 24th 2017.
The First Day of Summer Vacation. Technically.
Kotone Yamagishi had made a mistake.
She had made her alarm a song she actually used to like.
“I tried hard, but where did we go wrong?” The familiar words floated up from her phone, the once sweet melody like poison as Kotone’s hand fumbled to try and shut it off so she could fall back to sleep. “I hope we could, but I won't start all over again-“
Kotone’s hand smacked the edge of her phone, sending it tumbling from her bedside table and under the bed. The music went muffled then, the lyrics faint and indistinct but still undeniably audible. The girl groaned, sitting up in bed and rubbing the back of her neck. A part of her considered saying screw it and just going back to sleep anyways, alarm or not. Rest was important after all. Sleeping in so she got a full eight hours was probably more important than whatever she had to do today, right?
Unfortunately not.
Kotone forced herself to stand, digging under her bed for a moment and finally silencing the traitorous sounds of Rise Kujikawa. She took the blessed silence as an opportunity to stretch, looking around her room in the light of the morning sun peeking through her windows.
It was smaller than her room back in Yongen-Jaya, that was for sure. It had been built in the front space of the house’s second floor, probably intended as an office or nursery of some kind, not as the domain of a rogue teenage girl. Still, she made the most of it. Band posters lined the walls, a small collection of stuffed animals and knick-knacks piled up beneath them on her desk. Her bed was half sunk into an alcove that was built over the stairs, a small architectural quirk that Kotone honestly sort of loved. It made that part of the room feel cozier, more like home.
More her own.
“Kotone?” There was a knock on her door as Fuuka’s voice floated through, muffled by the wood and the mirror Kotone had placed over it. “Are you awake? I heard your alarm.”
“I’m up!” Kotone finished stretching, yawning as she scratched her head. “Be right there, sis!”
Fuuka giggled as she moved away from the door, bringing a smile to Kotone’s face. Maybe she was laying it on heavy calling Fuuka her sister whenever she had the chance, but the other girl seemed to like it. Kotone did too. It was nice having a sibling again, considering her other one was… well…
He was fine. Probably.
Kotone clicked her phone on, scanning the last messages she’d gotten from Sakuya. It had been over a week ago, and despite her best efforts to reach out to him and the Amagi Group, she hadn’t heard a thing since.
DETECTIVEPRINCE – PHONETONE DM
detectiveprince: Kotone.
detectiveprince: I’ll be out of contact. I don’t know how long.
detectiveprince: Nothing dangerous, but it’s important that I stay isolated.
detectiveprince: Don’t get involved.
detectiveprince: I’ll call you when I can.
phonetone: Huh?
phonetone: Sakuya?
phonetone: What are you talking about?
phonetone: Sakuya???
---
Kotone sighed, tucking her phone into the waistband of her pajamas and shaking her head. She didn’t like the silence. It wasn’t the first time he’d done something like this, working for a corporate kill squad that went on secret missions to destroy Shadows tended to make contact spotty, but it was the first time he’d done it so… suddenly. So completely.
She hoped he was alright.
There was nothing she could do about it now. Her hands instinctively went to her desk, where her usual hair clips and hairband were already waiting. She paused for a moment, glancing at the mirror on the door. Her early morning self looked back at her, scruffy at the edges but undeniably her. She’d had a haircut recently, the tips of what was left dyed a nice Yamagishi cyan in contrast to her deep auburn roots. It was maybe a little shorter than she was used to, not quite as much poof to put in a ponytail like there had been before whenever she wore it up. That wasn’t a bad thing per say, but…
Well, new things were always a little hard to get used to. That’s what made them so interesting.
With a smile, Kotone stepped out into the hall.
---
The smell of breakfast wafted up as Kotone went down, the sound of a frying pan echoing from the stove as Kotone reached the bottom of the stairs next to the kitchen and looked inside. Mom was stood by the stove, humming a jaunty tune as she waged war against the eggs in the pan with her spatula. Fuuka was already halfway through setting the table, placing the placemats at their usual spots and lining out the cutlery.
“Here, I’ll get the plates.” Kotone hopped into motion, opening the cupboard and pulling out a set of plates so she could place them by the stove. She grinned at her mother as she did, tilting her head to the side. “Morning.”
“Good morning, my dear second daughter.” Mom laughed, angling the pan toward Kotone. “Eggs?”
“Sounds good to me!” Kotone nodded, making her way past her mother and toward the fridge. She pulled it open, inspecting the contents inside. “Mind if we finish off the orange juice?”
“Of course not.” Mom shook her head, still humming as she moved to plate the eggs. “You girls are the only ones who enjoy that citrusy overload. Better to finish it now!”
“Mhm. We didn’t buy more for a reason.” Fuuka nodded, finishing setting out the cutlery as Kotone pulled out the orange juice, as well as a pair of glasses from the cupboard. “Oh, thank you.”
“ ‘course!” Kotone grinned, pouring out a pair of glasses for her and her sister. “Better not leave it to go bad, right?”
“Actually, orange juice wouldn’t go bad.” Mom smiled as she finished plating the eggs, spinning around to place them at each of their seats alongside an apple she had procured from the fruit bowl. “An old friend taught me that. Or was it vodka?”
“…I think it was vodka.” Fuuka giggled, shaking her head as they all took their seats around the table. “Thank you for the food!”
“And thank you for being so prompt in waking up your sister.” Mom winked at Kotone, earning an eye-roll from the former Wildcard. “We have a big day ahead of us, wakefulness is key!”
“My alarm was going off already!” Kotone stuck her tongue out, then shrugged with a smile. “What’s the plan anyways?”
“Well, the bus for the big Kirijo group trip leaves at 1:00, so I think all the students have to be there at 12:00.” Fuuka hummed, tapping her cutlery against her eggs. “But Mom is a parent, teacher, and chaperone, so I think her meetings start at 10:00?”
“Very astute, yes!” Mom grinned, tapping her fingers against the table. “And since we will all be away for some time, we will not be able to bring the car. It’s up to you girls if you’d like to bus with me, or come by later.”
“With you, duh.” Kotone nodded enthusiastically. “You know what you say, it’s always better to get there early.”
“Because that way, you always have the element of surprise.” Fuuka smiled her agreement. “Right?”
“Oh yes, full points to you both!” Mom laughed, before looking back down at her breakfast. “Now, we’ve been blathering enough already. We should finish breakfast and get ready promptly. No point making your dear old mother late, hm?”
Yes ma’am!
---
Navigating Tokyo’s subways with three suitcases packed full of supplies for a road trip around Japan was, theoretically speaking, a nightmare.
Fortunately for the Yamagishis, they were the Yamagishis. And they weren’t going to let something like the anticipated difficulties of public transit stop them from reaching their goal! They’d break through no matter what!
…an inclination that was admittedly helped by the fact that it was just after rush hour so the trains were a lot emptier than they had been expecting, but it was an obstacle surpassed nonetheless.
All this to say that Kotone was feeling determined as she and her family made their way out onto the streets of Aoyama-Itchome, heading down the path towards Shujin Academy and turning down the walkway that lead to its door. A girl with white hair and a leather jacket was stood at the base of the school’s steps as they approached, one hand in her pocket and the other on a worn metal cane as she glanced around expectantly. Her golden eyes almost seemed to literally glow as she caught sight of the Yamagishis approaching from down the way, a smile growing on her face as she elbowed the person standing next to her, a woman with dyed white hair in a blue dress with a tesselation of crescent moons spilling down the front.
“See? They weren’t that late.” Metis nodded assuredly, leaning on her cane as she went to meet Kotone halfway. Kotone didn’t wait, lifting her girlfriend in a hug and spinning her around with a grin. “Wha- pfft, miss me that much?”
“You know I did.” Kotone planted a kiss on Metis’ lips, still grinning as she set her down with her arms still around the other girl’s waist. “Like a flower misses the sun.”
“You’re so embarrassing, we saw each other yesterday.” Metis rolled her eyes, nonetheless kissing Kotone back and leaning her head against her shoulder. Her eyes scanned the rest of Kotone’s family, a faint blush spreading to her cheeks. “Uh, hey Fuuka. Elly.”
“Hi.” Fuuka gave a little wave, smiling politely. “It’s good to see you Metis.”
“Quite so!” Mom nodded her agreement, stepping forward and curtsying the moon-dressed woman somewhat dramatically. The woman returned the curtsy with the same depth. “And a pleasure as ever to see you too, Alice!”
“Of course, it’s good to see you as always. Fuuka, you’ve gotten taller, it looks good on you.” Alice took a step back, hovering near Metis. “And Kotone, always good to see you as well. You’re all ready for the summer, got everything?”
“I think so!” Fuuka nodded, before frowning faintly and holding a hand up to the top of her head. “I have?”
“Just a smidgeon.” Mom gently mussed Fuuka’s hair, earning a faint sound of daughterly indignation. “And yours? I see Metis is shipshape already, but where’s your other?”
“Aigis doesn’t have to play spot the girlfriend.” Alice teased, giving her lovebird daughter and a look. “She headed inside already with what we packed.”
“It’s a lot. Like way more than we need.” Metis rolled her eyes, blushing as Kotone pulled her tighter. “Hey, what’s the big idea with that?”
“Just wanted to make sure you spotted me.” Kotone winked at Metis, earning her a very different sound of girlfriendy indignation. “I’m sure Aigis has it handled, she’s crazy strong.”
“Yeah, wonder why.” A gruff voice interrupted the five of them, Shinji’s silhouette coming into view at the top of the stairs. “Shoulda’ known you all would be messing around like this.”
“Shinji!” Kotone grinned, letting Metis loose so she could wave at the older boy. “Hey, it’s been a while!”
“A bit.” Shinji made his way down the stairs, glancing between the two moms with a shrug. “The old man sent me over to get you two. Said they’re waiting on you for the pre-trip parent-teacher meeting.”
“Ah, of course!” Mom clapped, turning once more to raise an eyebrow at Alice. “Shall we go then?”
“We should. Don’t get in more trouble than either of us would while you catch up.” Alice paused at the bottom of the stairs to the school before looking back with a smile on her face. “Love you, Metis.”
“C’mon, you know that’s a lot of trouble, right?” Metis rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she leaned against Kotone like she was too cool for school. Kotone knew better. Alice did too, based on the way her smile never faltered. “Love you too, mom.”
“I do know, to both points.” Alice laughed before heading up the stairs. “Thanks for making sure I’m responsible Shinji!”
“Yeah yeah, someone’s got to.” Shinji scoffed as Alice and Mom made their way inside, leaving only the former Thieves to congregate outside Shujin’s front entrance. “So, what’s been up with you all?”
“Oh y’know, the usual. School sucks, girls are pretty.” Kotone stuck her tongue out at her friend, winking. “How’s culinary school treating you?”
“Fine. Feels like I need to teach the professors sometimes, but what do you expect?” Shinji shrugged, glancing around. “Trip’s gonna be a break, at least.”
“You and your siblings are chaperoning, right?” Metis leaned against her cane, raising an eyebrow. “Is it just you three and Elly, or what?”
“No, we got plenty of supervision for you little shits.” Shinji snorted, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. “Us three, Elly, Ms. Toriumi, the old man and the older man too. You’re getting most of the Kirijos coming with. Oh, and that Hasegawa girl’s volunteering as well.”
“Saori?” Kotone grinned, glancing toward the school. “She’s coming too? Sweet!”
“Yeah, and we got Ken in too under special admission.” Shinji shrugged passively. “Might as well be everyone.”
“Oh wow.” Fuuka clasped her hands together, smiling happily. “And we’re touring the east of the country, right?”
“We’ll go over the itinerary once everyone’s here, don’t worry.” Shinji nodded, glancing around. “Speaking of, we should head inside, I’m pretty sure-“
“Hey!” There was a sudden sound of flapping feathers, followed by something smacking against concrete. “Hey you guys! Guys!”
“Huh? Who’s…” Metis trailed off as the four Thieves looked off toward the source of the voice, catching sight of a midnight black hawk with a yellow scarf scrambling to try and turn his flight towards them. “Ah shit.”
“Guys!” Ryoji finally righted himself, flapping to a stop on top of the wall around Shujin and peeking down at the former Thieves. “There you are! I’ve been looking for you!”
“Hi to you too, Ryoji.” Kotone smiled up at the bird, tilting her head at the side. “Is everything alright?”
“No!” Ryoji spread his wings, chittering unhappily. “Sakuya is in trouble!”
Sakuya is in trouble.
Kotone froze on the spot, her heart jumping in her chest. Shit. Shit shit shit. She knew she was right to be worried about him! Her mind kickstarted into motion, possibilities playing out at the speed of thought as she tried to assess what had happened. He could have been hurt, or paralyzed, or blinded, or disembowled, or-
“Trouble?” Fuuka furrowed her brow at the bird, unsure. “What kind of trouble?”
“It’s hard to explain. We don’t have much time, c’mon!” Ryoji hopped down from the wall, gliding and landing on Kotone’s shoulder. “We need to go!”
“Go? Go where?” Metis stared at the bird, not moving from her spot even as Ryoji gestured down the way with his wing. “Okay, but that’s just a direction. You’re not explaining.”
“It’s too important to!” Ryoji squawked, hopping around on Kotone’s shoulder. “We need to hurry!”
“Still not giving us enough.” Shinji shook his head, moving to cross his arms in front of him, only to freeze as Kotone began making her way down the path Ryoji had pointed. “Seriously?”
“He’s my brother.” Kotone glanced over her shoulder, shaking her head. “Of course I’m going.”
“Dumbass.” Shinji huffed, glancing at the other two girls. “Are you two going along with this shit?”
“Mhm. Of course I’m going.” Fuuka smiled, following after Kotone alongside Metis. “She’s my sister.”
---
Ryoji’s path led them a few blocks away, to a nondescript office building in the heart of Aoyama-Itchome. Somewhere deep inside, Kotone knew she was unreasonable. Chasing after her brother right now was probably a bad idea, especially considering they were supposed to be leaving town entirely in just a few hours. Nonetheless she went, her friends following after her as they stopped outside the sealed door of the building and Ryoji gestured at the intercom outside.
“There, that!” Ryoji hopped up and down, his claws digging into Kotone’s shoulder. “The unit is 035!”
“You’re kidding me.” Metis blinked at the bird. “Kotone, you know this is suspicious as all hell, right?”
“Yeah.” Kotone exhaled, moving to input the code. 0. 3. 5. “I do.”
The intercom buzzed for a moment, static playing out over the airwaves. Then it clicked, and the sound of a woman’s voice came through clear as day.
“Hey, who is it? Did the bird actually find people?” The woman paused for a moment, uncertain. “Or is it the pizza guy? Because if it’s the pizza guy, you didn’t hear that bird thing, got it?”
“It’s uh, Kotone Yamagishi.” Kotone glanced at her friends for a moment, before turning back to the intercom. “I’m Sakuya’s sister?”
“Oh crap, he actually got you huh?” The woman on the other side sounded surprised, a pleasant beep emitting from the intercom as the door unlocked. “Here, come inside. Ryoji knows the way, he’ll show you.”
“See, I told you!” Ryoji flapped his wings as Kotone pulled open the door and stepped into the nondescript hallway that stood on the other side, shooting a glare at the other former Thieves. “Now do you believe me?”
“All this proves is that you got someone on an intercom.” Shinji shook his head, hands in his pockets as the group made their way inside. “Doesn’t mean anything when you still haven’t explained.”
“She’ll do a better job at it.” Ryoji huffed, looking back ahead. “Turn left here, it’s just down the hall.”
Kotone did as instructed, thoughts still racing through her head as her feet carried her forward down the hallway of unmarked doors. Was this really a good idea? Was it a trap? Was Ryoji taking advantage of her desire to see her brother, her desire to help?
She didn’t know.
She wished she still had Anne Bonny to ask.
“Hey!” The woman from the intercom poked her head out one of the doorways ahead, waving at the students as they approached. She was wearing a midnight black suit, a bright red flower in her lapel contrasting against the white of her dress shirt beneath. Her light brown hair was cropped short, what was left bouncing around her head as she moved. “You’re the Moonlit Thieves, right?”
“Uh.” Kotone stopped, glancing at her friends. “…maybe?”
“Great cover.” Metis rolled her eyes, bumping Kotone’s leg with her cane. “Doofus.”
“It’s okay, she’s one of the people Sakuya and I have been with!” Ryoji chirped, fluttering forward to land on the woman's shoulder. “This is Chie!”
“Hey, I’m Chie Amagi.” Chie cocked her head to the side, reaching up to scratch Ryoji under his chin. “I can’t actually understand Ryoji so I dunno if he said that already, but it’s good to meetcha.”
“He did.” Fuuka nodded, smiling at the bird as he cooed from the scratches. “Are you… Mrs. Amagi? Of the Amagi Group?”
“Oh, no way. Well, technically yeah, but not the Mrs. Amagi. That’s my wife. I’m just her head of security. And A.S.S.E.T. agent. And wife, did I mention that?” Chie blinked, before jabbing a thumb back the way she came. “Anyways, not important. You came about Sakuya, right?”
“We did.” Kotone took a step forward, slowly flexing her fingers to try and keep herself calm. “Where is he?”
“Here.” Chie pushed the door open further, beckoning the former Thieves inside. “I’ll show you.”
Chie led them into the room beyond the door, a surprisingly spacious office space that was nonetheless almost entirely devoid of life. All the computers were powered off, all the desks cleared of accoutrements and any sign of anyone having even used them at all. The only indication the office was in use was a single desk located near the back which was stacked high with empty cup noodles and various documents, and a light visible through the closed curtains of the boss’ office near the back of the space.
“What is this place anyway?” Shinji grumbled as the students made their way through the office, his eyes scanning the environment around them. “There a reason you got a place like this so close to Shujin?”
“Oh yeah, A.S.S.E.T. has offices like these all over the place. We gotta have a field HQ anywhere, right?” Chie shrugged, glancing over her shoulder with a smile. “Sakuya actually asked to be deployed to this one. He wanted to be close by in case anything ever happened to you all. It’s kinda sweet, right?”
“Or creepy, all things considered.” Metis grumbled, shaking her head. “Where is he?”
“That’s what we need to show you!” Ryoji hopped from Chie’s shoulder, flying forward to perch outside the window and pecking at it. “Look!”
“What are you…” Kotone trailed off as she moved up to the window, peering through the slats in the blinds to catch sight of what was inside. “Oh fuck.”
Sakuya was sitting behind a desk in the room, his eyes focused intently on a piece of paper he had laid out across it. He had a pen in his hand, which he was using to painstakingly draw a single word over and over again:
‘UNDO’
His hand moved in slow, fluid motions, each movement scratching another line in another character in another list on another piece of paper. He already had a whole pile stacked next to him, several dozen pages of the same, over and over and over again. UNDO. UNDO. UNDO.
“Oh fuck.” Kotone’s mouth went dry. Her heart almost felt like it stopped beating. Her eyes clouded, vision warbling as she stared at what was happening. “Sakuya…”
“What the hell-“ Metis sputtered, leaning against the glass as she watched him work. “What happened to him?”
“It started a couple weeks ago.” Chie frowned as she turned to what must have been her desk, flipping rather haphazardly through a pile of documents. “We were clearing a Shadow Nest near Sumaru City when Sakuya started acting… weird. Weirder than usual, I mean.”
“Weirder than usual?” Kotone shook, clenching her fist as she watched her brother scribble away at his piece of paper. “What do you mean weirder than usual?”
“He was getting, you know, distant. I’m sure you know Sakuya’s pretty quiet a lot of the time, but he’s usually good at staying focused right?” Chie procured a document, holding it up to the light before tossing it aside. “Well, he started getting distracted. He kept talking about needing to undo his mistake, wishing he hadn’t dragged ‘her’ into ‘this’. Stuff like that.”
“Fucked up.” Shinji huffed, glancing between the room and the woman. “So instead of letting us know, you had him cut contact?”
“Hey, that wasn’t my decision! It’s just protocol, that’s all.” Chie huffed, giving up on finding the documents and turning to the former Thieves with her arms crossed. “We were hoping he’d get better if we pulled him from the field for a while and had some of our experts look at him, but uh… well, you saw.”
“And now you’re calling us?” Metis raised an eyebrow, not hiding her disdain for the woman. “Is that protocol?”
“Well… no. But you guys were leaving today, and Yaoyorozu’s back at HQ giving a report to the boss lady. Y’know, my wife.” Chie smirked, before shrugging and rubbing the back of her head. “So, I figured… hey, who needs protocol anyways?”
“I think that’s the right decision.” Fuuka smiled reassuringly. “It’s good that you’re letting us know. This… this isn’t okay.”
“Yeah. Well. It’s been worse since Yao left. I think she’d agree that we needed to try something. He still eats and sleeps and all that, so he’s not mistreated or anything. He just spends all his free time doing… that.” Chie swallowed, glancing nervously to the side. “I uh… I really am sorry. We’ve tried everything we can, but we don’t know what’s doing this to him. None of our cognitive psientists have been able to figure it out. You’re kinda a hail mary.”
“It doesn’t matter now.” Kotone finally summoned the strength to push herself away from the window, turning to face the woman directly. “I need to talk to him.”
“Yeah, definitely.” Chie coughed, moving toward the door to the back office and gesturing at it. “It’s unlocked, so go whenever you want.”
“Thanks.” Kotone took a deep breath, walking toward the door and placing her hand on the knob. She paused then, glancing back at the others. “Come with me?”
“You sure?” Shinji raised an eyebrow. “He’s your brother.”
“And you’re my friend. And my girlfriend. And my sister.” Kotone smiled weakly, shrugging. “I’d… I don’t want to do this alone. I’ve never seen him like this.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t either.” Metis shook her head, taking Kotone’s other hand and nodding seriously. “I’m always with you, you know that.”
“Mhm.” Fuuka smiled in agreement. “Whatever’s going on, we’ll figure it out.”
“Guess so.” Shinji sighed, smiling nonetheless as he went to join them all. “Shit. Here we go again.”
“Thanks, everyone. Alright then.” Kotone closed her eyes for a moment, hesitating for just a few seconds before pushing the door open and smiling at her brother. “Hey, Sakuya.”
“Kotone.” Sakuya looked up, and in that moment Kotone saw that they were an undeniable glowing yellow. “You’re-“
[FOUND YA’]
And the world went white.